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 DICTIONARY 
 
 OF 
 
 Phrase and Fable 
 
 GIVING THE 
 
 Dcn'vatiou^ Source, or On's^in of Coinmou Phrases, AIIhsvjus, 
 and Wiirds that Inwc a Talc to Tell 
 
 BY THE REV. 
 
 E. COBHAAl BREWER, LL.D. 
 
 NEW EDITION 
 REVISED, CORRECTED, AND ENLARGED 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 A CONCISE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE 
 
 100th THOUSAND 
 
 CASSELL AND COMPANY, Limited 
 
 LONDON, PARIS £- MELBOURNE 
 1895 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RF.SERVED
 
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 THE 
 
 DICTIONARY 
 
 OF 
 
 PHRASE A-TD FABLE. 
 
 A. This letter is modified from the 
 Hebrew n {(dcph — an ox), which was 
 meant to indicate the outline of an ox's 
 head. 
 
 A among the Egyptians is denoted by 
 the hierogh'phic which represents the 
 ibis. Among the Greeks it was the 
 symbol of a bad augury in the sacrifices. 
 
 A in logic is the symbol of a universal 
 affirmative. A asserts, E denies. Thus, 
 syllogisms in h&.rhA.yA. contain three uni- 
 versal affirmative propositions. 
 
 Al means first-rate — the very best. 
 In Lloyd's Eegister of British and Foreign 
 Shipping, the character of the ship's hull 
 is designated by letters, and that of the 
 anchors, cables, and stores by figures. 
 Al means hull first-rate, and also an- 
 chors, cables, and stores ; A2, hull 
 first-rate, but furniture second-rate. 
 Vessels of an inferior character are clas- 
 sified under the letters iE, E, and r. 
 
 ".She is a prime girl, sbe i5 : she is Al."— 5«ni 
 Slick. 
 
 A,B. (.SV^Able.) 
 
 A.B.C. z= Aerated Bread Company. 
 
 ABC Book. A primer, a book in 
 which articles are set in alphabetical 
 order, as the A B C Railicai/ Guide. 
 The old Pi-imers contained the Cate- 
 chism, as is evident from the Hues : — 
 
 " That is nuestiou now ; 
 And then comes answer like an .\l)sey book." 
 Shakespeare : Kiiuj John, i. 1. 
 
 A.B.C. Process {The) of making 
 artificial manure. An acrostic of Alum, 
 Blood, Clay, the three chief ingredients. 
 
 A. E. I. O. U. The device adopted 
 by Frederick V., Archduke of Austria 
 
 1 
 
 (the Emperor Frederick III. — 1440- 
 1493). 
 
 Austria Est Trnjierare Orhi Universo. 
 Alles Erdreich 1st Oesterreich Unterthan. 
 Austria's Empire Is Overall Tniversal. 
 
 To which wags added after the war of 
 
 1866, 
 
 Austria's Emperor Is Ousted Utterly. 
 
 Frederick II. of Prussia is said to have 
 
 translated the motto thus :— 
 
 "Austria Erit In Orbe ritima " (J(ts/na iciU 
 oneclaij be lowest in the world). 
 
 A.U.C. Anno urbis concUtee (Latin), 
 "from the foundation of the city " — i.e., 
 Rome. 
 
 Aaron. An Aeawi's serpent. Some- 
 thing so powerful as to swallow up minor 
 powers. — Exodus vii. \Q-\'2. 
 
 Ab. Aboio. From the very beginning. 
 Stasinos, in the ei^ic poem called the 
 Little Iliad, does not rush in mcdias 
 res, but begins with the eggs of Leda, 
 from one of which Helen was bom. If 
 Leda had not laid this egg, Helen would 
 never have been bom. If Helen had not 
 been bom, Paris could not have elojied 
 with her. If Paris had not eloped -with 
 Helen, there would have been no Trojan 
 War, etc. 
 
 Ab oro usque ad mala. From the first 
 dish to the last. A Roman eu-na (dinner) 
 consisted of three parts. The first course 
 was the appetiser, and consisted chiefly 
 of eggs, with stimulants ; the second was 
 the "dinner proper ; " and the third the 
 dessert, at which nwAa {i.e., all sorts of 
 apples, pears, quinces, pomegranates, and 
 so on) formed the most conspicuous part. 
 —Hor. Sat. I. iii. 5.
 
 Aback 
 
 Abd 
 
 — 00 — oouooooo— 
 
 — 0000 OOOOOI )— 
 
 — o ooooooooo — 
 
 — ooooooo ooo— 
 
 — 00000 — ooooti— 
 —ooooooooo ()— 
 
 Aback'. / n-as tdlcen ahach — I was 
 greatly astonished —taken by surprise — 
 startled. It is a sea term. A ship is 
 "taken aback " when the sails are sud- 
 denly carried by the ;viud back against 
 the mast, instantly staying the ship's 
 progress — very dangerous in a strong 
 gale. 
 
 Ab'acus. A small frame with wires 
 stretched across it. Each wire contains 
 ten movable balls, 
 which can be shifted 
 backwards or for- 
 wards, so as to vary 
 ad libitum the num- 
 ber in two or more 
 blocks. It is used to 
 teach children addi- 
 tion and subtraction. 
 The ancient Greeks and Eomans em- 
 ployed it for calculations, and so do the 
 Chinese. The woi'd is derived from the 
 Phoen. uhak (dust) ; the Orientals used 
 tables covered with dust for ciphering 
 and diagrams. In Turkish schools this 
 method is still used for teaching writing. 
 The multiplication table invented by 
 Pythagoras is called Ab'acus Fi/thagor'i- 
 cun. (Latin, abacus ; Greek, ipa^.) 
 
 Abaddon. The angel of the bottom- 
 less pit (Rev. ix. 11). The Hebrew abaci 
 means " he perished." 
 
 "Tlic aiiKiMl iif tUo liiittoiiilo.-ise p.vtt, wlio.se 
 name in Mil' Ik'IjiX'W tou^'e is A\iMhm."—Tindiile. 
 
 Abam'bou. The evil spirit of the 
 Gamma tribes in Africa. A fire is kept 
 always burning in his house. He is 
 supposed to have the power of causing 
 sickness and death. 
 
 Abandon means put at anyone's 
 orders; hence, to give up. (Latin, acl, 
 to; bann-nm, late Latin for "a decree.") 
 
 Abandon fait larron. As oppor- 
 tunity makes the thief, the person who 
 neglects to take proper care of his goods, 
 leads into temptation, hence the proverb, 
 "Neglect leads to theft." 
 
 Ab'aris. The dart of Aharls. Abaris, 
 the Scythian, was a priest of Apollo ; 
 and the god gave him a golden arrow 
 on which to ride through the air. This 
 dart rendered him invisible ; it also 
 cured diseases, and gave oracles. Abaris 
 gave it to Pythagoras. 
 
 "Tbe dart of Aliaris carrieil tlio philosopher 
 wheresoever he desired it."— IVi^Hiott. 
 
 Abate (2 syl.) means properly to knock 
 down. (French, abattre, whence a battue, 
 i.e., wholesale destruction of game; 
 O.E. abccitan.) 
 
 Abate, in hor.sei«anship, is to per- 
 form well the downward motion. A 
 horse is said to abate when, working 
 upon curvets, he puts or beats dou'it both 
 his hind legs to the ground at once, and 
 keeps exact time. 
 
 Abatement, in herakhy, is a mark 
 of dishonour annexed to coat amiour, 
 whereby the honour of it is abated. 
 
 Ab'aton. (Greek a, not ; /Suiiw, I go.) 
 As inaccessible as Abcttoii. Artemisia, to 
 commemorate her conquest of Rhodes, 
 erected two statues in the island, one 
 representing herself, and the other em- 
 blematical of Rhodes. When the 
 Rhodiaus recovered their liberty Ihey 
 looked upon this monument as a kind of 
 palladium, and to prevent iis destruction 
 surrounded it with a fortihed enclosure 
 which they called Abaton, or the inac- 
 cessible place. (Lucan speaks of an 
 island difficult of access in the feus of 
 Memphis, called Abaton.) 
 
 Abb'assides (3 syl.). A dj-nasty of 
 caliphs who reigned from 750-1258. 
 The name is derived from Abbas, uncle 
 of Mahomet. The most celebrated of 
 them was Haroun-al-Raschid (boni 765, 
 reigned 786-808). 
 
 Abbey Laird (An). An insolvent 
 debtor sheltered by the precincts of 
 Holyrood Abbey. 
 
 "As diligence cannot lip proceeded with on 
 Suuda.v, the Aliliey Lairds (as tliey were jocularly 
 called) were enabled to cmiie fcirtli on that day 
 to mingle in our society."— /J. Chamhiri-. 
 
 Abbey-lubber (An). An idle, well- 
 fed dcjjendent or loafer. 
 
 "It came into a ciimmnu )M-overl>e to call liini 
 an Abhnihliil,},!-!-, tliat was idle, wel feci, a Inni,', 
 lewd, lirliei- Initerer, tliat niiu'lit wurkeand W(jnld 
 not."- 7Vu Biiniiiniie «J Paiihit Church, 1S6-3. 
 
 It is used also of religions in con- 
 tempt ; see Drydeu's Spanish Friar. 
 
 Abbot of Misrule, or Lord of Misrule. 
 A person who used to superintend the 
 Christmas diversions. In France the 
 "Abbot of Misrule" was called XV/iie 
 de Liesse (jollity). In Scotland the 
 master of revels was called the "Master 
 of Unreason." 
 
 Abbotsford. A name given by Sir 
 Walter Scott to Clarty Hole, on the 
 south bank of the Tweed, after it be- 
 came his residence. Sir Walter devised 
 the name from a fancy he loved to in- 
 dulge in, that the abbots of Melrose 
 Abbej', in ancient times, passed over the 
 fords of the Tweed. 
 
 Abd in Arabic ::= slave or servant, as 
 Abd-Allah (servant of God), Abd-el- 
 Kader (servant of the Mightij One), Abd-
 
 Abdael 
 
 Abhor 
 
 ul-Latif {servant of the Gracious One), 
 etc. 
 
 Abdael (2 syl.). George Monk, third 
 Duke of Albemarle. 
 "Bmvo Aliiiiiol o'er tbe pi'opliets' school was 
 
 Al"l:iel, with all his father's virtues graced. . . 
 AViihDUt one Helirew'slildiKl, restored the crown." 
 DiiKlcn and T.iit : Absalom iind .ichitophel, ran ii. 
 
 V Tate's blunder for Abdiel (?.*'•). 
 
 Abdall'ah, the father of Mahomet, 
 was so beautiful, that when he married 
 Amina, 200 virgins broke their hearts 
 from disappointed love. — JCashinz/ton 
 Irving : Life of Mahomet. 
 
 Abdall'ah. Brother and predecessor 
 of (jiaflir, pacha, of Aby'do.s. He was 
 muiiU'red by Giaftir (2 sj'l.). — Bijron : 
 Jlridc iif ^Ihi^/dos. 
 
 Ab'dals. Persian fanatics, who think 
 it a merit to kill anyone of a different 
 religion ; and if slain in the attempt, are 
 accounted martyrs. 
 
 Abde'ra. A maritime town of Thrace, 
 said in fable to have been founded by 
 Abdera, sister of Diomede. It was so 
 overrun with rats that it was abandoned, 
 and the Abderitans migrated to Mace- 
 donia. 
 
 Abderi'tan. A native of Abdera, a 
 maritime city of Thrace. The Abderi- 
 tans were proverbial for stupidity, hence 
 the phrase, "You have no more mind 
 than an Abderite." Yet the city gave 
 birth to some of the wisest men of I 
 Greece : as Democritos (the laughing 
 philosopher), Protagoras (the great so- 
 phist), Anaxarchos (the philosopher and 
 friend of Alexander), Hecaticos (the 
 historian), etc. 
 
 Abderitan Laughter. Scoffing 
 laughter, incessant laughter. So called 
 from Abdera, the birthplace of Democ- 
 litos, the laughing philosopher. 
 
 Abderite (3 syl.). A scoffer, so called 
 from Democ'ritos. 
 
 Abde'rus. One of Herakles's friends, 
 devoured by the horses of Diomede. 
 Diomede gave him his horses to hold, 
 and they devoured him. 
 
 Ab'diel. The faithful seraph who 
 withstood Satan when he urged the 
 angels to revolt. (See Farudine Lost, 
 Bk. v., lines 896, etc.) 
 
 "[He] adheres, with the faith of Alidiel, to the 
 ancient form oi adoration." — -iir W. .sVoW. 
 
 Abeceda'rian. One who teaches or 
 is learning his ABC. 
 
 Abecednrian hijinns. Hymns wliich 
 began with the letter A, and each verse 
 
 or clause following took up the letters 
 of the alphabet in regular succession. 
 {'Sec Acrostic Poetey.) 
 
 Abel and Cain. The Mahometan 
 tradition of the death of Abel is this : 
 Cain was born with a twin sister who 
 was named Aclima, and Abel with a 
 twin sister named Jumella. Adam 
 wished Cain to marry Abel's twin sister, 
 and Abel to marry Cain's. Cain would 
 not consent to this an-angement, anil 
 Adam proposed to refer the question to 
 God by means of a sacrifice. God re- 
 jected Cain's sacrifice to signify his dis- 
 approval of his marriage with Aclima, 
 his twin sister, and Cain .slew his brother 
 in a fit of jealousy. 
 
 Abel Keene. A village schoolnia.ster, 
 afterwai'ds a merchant's clerk. He was 
 led astray, lest his place, and hanged 
 himself. — Craljbe : Borowjh, Letter xxi. 
 
 A'belites (3 syl.), Abel'ians, or Abe- 
 lo'nians. A Christian sect of the fourth 
 century, chiefly found in Hippo (N. 
 Africa). They married, but lived in 
 continence, as they affirm Abel did. 
 The sect was maintained by adopting 
 the children of others. No children of 
 Abel being mentioned in Scrijiture, the 
 Abelites assmne that he had none. 
 
 Abes'sa. The imiiersonation of 
 Abbeys and Convents, represented by 
 Spenser as a damsel. When Una asked 
 if she had seen the Red Cross Knight, 
 Abessa, frightened at the lion, ran to the 
 cottage of blind Superstition, and shut 
 the door. Una arrived, and the lion 
 burst the door open. The meaning is, 
 that at the Reformation, when Truth 
 came, the abbeys and convents got 
 alarmed, and would not let Truth enter, 
 but England (the lion) broke down the 
 door. — Fa'crij Queen, i. 3. 
 
 Abesta. A book said to have been 
 written by Abraham as a commentary 
 on the Zend and the Pazeud. It is 
 furthermore said that Abraham read 
 these three books in the midst of the 
 furnace into w^hich he was cast by 
 Nimrod. — Fersian Mi/tholor/ij. 
 
 Abeyance really means something 
 gapetl after (French, baijer, to gape). 
 The allusion is to men standing with 
 their mouths open, in expectation of 
 some sight about to appear. 
 
 Abhigit. The propitiatory sacrifice 
 made by an lutlian rajah who has slain 
 a priest without premeditation. 
 
 Abhor' (Liitin, ab, away from, and 
 ]iorreo, to shrink ; originally, to shudder,
 
 Abiala 
 
 Above 
 
 have the hair on end). To athor is to 
 have a uatui-al antipathy, and to ehow it 
 by shuddering with disgust. 
 
 Abiala. Wife of Makambi ; African 
 deities. She holds a pistol in her hand, 
 and is greatly feared. Her aid is im- 
 plored in sickness. 
 
 Abida. A god of the Kalmucks, who 
 receives the souls of the dead at the 
 moment of decease, and gives them 
 permission to enter a new body, either 
 human or not, and have another spell 
 of life on earth. If the spirit is sjiotless 
 it may, if it likes, rise and live in the 
 air. 
 
 Abidhar'ma. The book of meta- 
 physics in the Tripifaka {o.i\). 
 
 Abigail. A lady's maid, or lady- 
 maid. Abigail, wife of Nabal, who 
 introduced herself to Da\ad and after- 
 wards married him, is a well-known 
 Scripture heroine (1 Sam. xxv. 3). Abi- 
 gail was a xiopular middle class Christian 
 name in the seventeenth century. Beau- 
 mont and Fletcher, in T/ic Scoiiifid 
 L'(di/, call the "waiting gentlewoman" 
 Abigail, a name employed by Smft, 
 Fielding, and others, in their novels. 
 Probably "AVjigail Hill," the original 
 name of Mrs. Masham, waiting-woman 
 to Queen Aime, popularised the name. 
 
 Abim'elecli is no proper name, but 
 a regal title of the Philistines, meaning 
 FntldV-klntj. 
 
 Able. An able seaman is a skilled 
 seaman. Such a man is termed an A.B. 
 (Abie-Bodied) ; unskilled seamen are 
 called " boys " without regard to age. 
 
 Able-bodied Seaman. A sailor of 
 the first class. A crew is divided into 
 three classes: — (1) able seamen, or 
 skilled sailors, termed A.B. ; ("2) ordin- 
 ary seamen ; and (3) boys, which in- 
 clude green - hands, or ine.xperienced 
 men, without regard to age or size. 
 
 Aboard. He fell aboard of me—vaei 
 me ; abused me. A ship is said to fall 
 aboard another when, being in motion, 
 it runs against the other. 
 
 To (10 aboard, is to embark, to go on 
 the board or deck. 
 
 Aboard main tack is to draw one of 
 the lower corners of the main -sail down 
 to the chess-tree. Fignrativel}', it means 
 " to keep to the point." 
 
 Aboll'a. An ancient military garment 
 worn by the Greeks and Romans, opposed 
 to the fof/a or robe of peace. The abolla 
 being worn by the lower orders, was 
 
 affected by philosophers in the vanity of 
 humility. 
 
 Abominate {a bom i nor, I pray that 
 the omen may be averted ; used on men- 
 tioning anj^thing unluck}'). As ill-oraeued 
 things are disliked, so, by a simjjlc figure 
 of siJeech, what we dislike we consider 
 ill-omened. 
 
 Abomination of Desolation ( The) . 
 The Roman standard is so called (Matt. 
 xxiv. 1.3). As it was set up in the holy 
 temple, it was an abojninatiou ; and, 
 as it brought destruction, it was the 
 " abomination of desolation." 
 
 Abon Hassan. A rich merchant, 
 transferred during sleep to the bed and 
 palace of the Caliph Harouu-al-Raschid. 
 Next morning he was treated as the 
 caliph, and every effort was made to 
 make him forget his identity. Arabian 
 Nif/J(ts ("The Sleeper Awakened"). 
 The same trick was played on Christo- 
 pher Sly, in the Induction of Shake- 
 speare's comedy of Taminy of the S/ireic ; 
 and, according to Burton {Anatomy of 
 Melaiiehohj, ii. 2, 4), by Philippe the 
 Good, Duke of Burgundy, on his mar- 
 riage with Eleonora. 
 
 " Were I caliph for ji day, as bonest Abou 
 Hassan, I would scouvfie me these jugglers out 
 ol the Counuonwealth."— .S'ir Walter ficott. 
 
 Abonde {Dame). The French Santa 
 Claus, the good fairy who comes at 
 night to bring toj's to children while 
 they sleeji, especiallv on New Year's 
 Day. 
 
 Abortive Flowers are those which 
 have stamens but no pistils. 
 
 Abou ebn Sina, commonly called 
 Arieei/na. A great Persian physician, 
 born at Shiraz, whose canons of medi- 
 cine were those adopted by Hiiipoc'rates 
 and Aristotle. Died 1037. 
 
 Abou-Bekr, called Father of the 
 Jlrr/in, i.e., Mahomet's favourite wife. 
 He was the first caliph, and was founder 
 of the sect called the Sunnites. (571- 
 634.) 
 
 Abou Jahi'a. The angel of death 
 in Mohammedan mythology. Called 
 Azrael by the Arabs, and Mordad by 
 the Persians. 
 
 Aboulomri {in Mohammedan mijtho- 
 logy). A fabulous bird of the vulture 
 sort which lives 1,000 years. Called by 
 the Persians Kerkes, and by the Turks 
 Ak-Bahn.—Hcrbelot . 
 
 Above properly applies only to matter 
 on the same page, but has been extended
 
 Above-board 
 
 Abrabamites 
 
 to any previous part of the book, as Sec 
 above, p. *. 
 
 Above-board. lu a straiiilitfurwanl 
 manner. Conjurers place tlieir liauds 
 iiiidcr the table when they are preparing 
 their tricks, but above when they show 
 them. "Let all be above-board" 
 means "let there be no under-hamA. 
 woi'k, but let us see everything." 
 
 Above par. A commercial term mean- 
 ing tliat the article referred to is more 
 than its nominal value. Thus, if you 
 must give more than £100 for a £100 
 share in a bank company, a railway 
 share, or other stock, we say the stock 
 is "' above par." 
 
 If, on the other hand, a nominal 
 £100 worth can be bought for less than 
 £100, we say the stock is " below par." 
 
 Figuratively, a person in low spirits 
 or ill health says he is " below par." 
 
 Above your hooli — i.e., beyond your 
 coniiireliension ; beyond your mark. The 
 allusion is to hat-pegs placed in rows ; 
 the higher rows are above the reach of 
 small statures. 
 
 Abracadabra. A charm. It is said 
 that Abracadabra was the supreme deity 
 of the Assyrians. Q. Severus Sammou'- 
 icus recommended the use of the word 
 as a powerful antidote against ague, 
 flux, and toothache. The word was to 
 be written on parchment, and suspended 
 round the neck by a linen thread, in tlie 
 form given below : — 
 
 A B R A C .V D A B R A 
 
 ABRACADABR 
 
 ABRACADAB 
 
 ABRACADA 
 
 A B R A C A D 
 
 A B R A C A 
 
 A B R A C 
 
 A B R A 
 
 A B R 
 
 A B 
 
 A 
 
 Abrac'ax, also written AJiya.r'as or 
 Abras'ax, in Persian mythology denotes 
 the Supreme Being. In Greek notation 
 it stands for 36.5. In Persian mythology 
 Abracax presides over 36.3 impersonated 
 virtues, one of which is supposed to jjre- 
 vail on each day of the year. In the 
 second century the word was employed 
 by the Basilid'ians for the deity ; it was 
 also the principle of the Gnostic hier- 
 archy, and that from which sprang their 
 numerous ^Eons. {See Abeaxas Stones.) 
 
 Abraham. 
 
 His parei/ts. According to Moham- 
 medan mj-thology, the parents of Abra- 
 
 ham were Prince Azar and his wife, 
 Adna. 
 
 Mis ii/faiiei/. As King Nimrod had 
 been told that one shortly to be bom 
 would dethrone him, he commanded the 
 death of all such ; so Adna retired to a 
 cave where Abraham was born. He 
 was nourished by sucking two of her 
 fingers, one of which supplied milk and 
 the other honey. 
 
 His boi/hood. At the age of fifteen 
 months he was equal in size to a lad of 
 fifteen, and very wise ; so his father 
 introduced him to the court of King 
 Nimrod. — Herbelot : BibUotheqite Orien- 
 tale. 
 
 His off'erii)(f. According to Moham- 
 medan tradition, the mountain on 
 which Abraham offered up his son was 
 Arfaday ; but is more generally thought 
 to have been Morlah. 
 
 His death. The Ghebers say that 
 Abraham was thrown into the fire by 
 Nimrod's order, but the flame turned 
 into a bed of roses, on which the child 
 Abraham went to sleep. — TaveiJiier. 
 
 " Sweot .ami welonmc as tbp bed 
 Fur tlieir own infant iiiiiiilict sjireail, 
 When pit.ving Heaven tii roses tinned 
 The ileath-flanies that lieneatli liini bnrne.l." 
 T. Moure : tire Wurshi/iiierf. 
 
 To Sham Abraham. To pretend illness 
 or distress, in order to get off work. 
 {See Abe Ail -Max.) 
 
 " I liave heanl iieople sa.v tiUum Abram you nmv, 
 But must not sham Ahiaham Xewlanil." 
 
 T. Dihciin or l'i>to-n. 
 
 Abraham Newland was cashier of the 
 Bank of England, and signed the notes. 
 
 Abraham's Bosom. The repose of 
 the happy in death (Luke xvi. 22). The 
 figure is taken from the ancient custom 
 of allowing a dear friend to recline at 
 dinner on your bosom. Thus the beloved 
 John reclined on the bosom of Jesus. 
 
 There is no leapiny from iJeli'lali^s lap 
 into Ahrfiliam''s bosom— i.e., those who 
 live and die in notorious sin must not 
 expect to go to heaven at death. — Bos- 
 toji : Crook in the Lot. 
 
 Abraham Newland {An). A bank- 
 note. So called because, in the early part 
 of the nineteenth centurj', none were 
 genuine but those signed by this name. 
 
 Abraham ic Covenant. The cove- 
 nant made bj- (iod with Abraham, that 
 Messiah should spring from his seed. 
 This promise was given to Abraham, 
 because he left his country and father's 
 house to live in a strange laud, as God 
 told him. 
 
 Abrahamites (4 syl.). Certain Bo- 
 hemian deists, so called because they
 
 Abram-colour 
 
 6 
 
 Absquatulate 
 
 professed to believe what Abraham be- 
 lieved before he was circumcised. The 
 sect was forbidden by the Emperor 
 Joseph II. ill 1783. 
 
 Abram-colour. Probably a cor- 
 ruiition of Abroii, meaning auburn. 
 Halliwell quotes the following from 
 Corioliii/iis, ii. 3 : " Our heads are some 
 brown, some black, some Abram, some 
 bald." And again, "Where is the 
 eldest son of Priam, the Abram-coloured 
 Ti-ojaur"' "A goodly, long, thick 
 Abram-coloured beard."— i<V«»7, Master 
 Constable. 
 
 Hall, in his Satires, iii. 5, use i a'non fur aHbuiii. 
 " A lusty Cdurtier . . . witli al.ri)U locks was 
 fairly fui-nisliod." 
 
 Abram-Man, or Abraham Core. A 
 Tom o' Bedlam ; a naked vagabond ; a 
 begging impostor. 
 
 The Abraham Ward, in Bedlam, had 
 for its inmates begging lunatics, who 
 used to array themselves ' ' with party- 
 coloured ribbons, tape in their hats, a 
 fox-tail hanging down, a long stick with 
 streamers," and beg alms; but " for all 
 their seeming madness, they had wit 
 enough to steal as they went along." 
 — Can tun/ AcadeiJii/. 
 
 See liiitff Lear, ii. 3. 
 
 In Beaumont and Fletcher we have 
 several synonyms :— 
 "And tlioso, wliat name or title e'er tliey liear, 
 
 Jdckmiiii iir Piit'iicit, Cravke or Cloniier-diulyton, 
 
 t'idier M Abi((in-i}iaH, I speak to all." 
 
 Biriijar's Diiuli, ii. 1. 
 
 Abraxas Stones. Stones with the 
 word Abraxas engraved on them, and 
 used as talismans. They were cut into 
 symbolic forms combining afowl's head, 
 a serpent's body, and human limbs. [See 
 Abracax.) 
 
 Abreast. Side by side, the breasts 
 being all in a line. 
 
 Tin: sliips ire re all abreast — i.e., their 
 lieads were all equally advanced, as 
 soldiers marching abreast. 
 
 Abridge is not formed from the 
 •word brirlije ; but comes from the Latin 
 abhrcvidrr, to shorten, from _ brcr'is 
 (short), through the French abrajcr (to 
 shorten). 
 
 Abroach. To set viisehief ahroae/i is 
 to set it afoot. The figure is from a 
 cask of liquor, which is ])roaehed that 
 the liquor may be drawn from it. (Fr., 
 broclar, to prick, abrochcr.) 
 
 Abroad. You are all abroad. Wide 
 of the mark ; not at home with the sub- 
 ject. Abroad ; in all directions. 
 
 " Au elm ilisiilays lier dusky arms alirond." 
 Vrudcn. 
 
 Ab'rogate. When the Roman senate 
 wanted a law to be passed, they asked 
 the people to give their votes in its fa- 
 vour. The Latin for this is roi/drr lef/em 
 (to solicit or propose a law). If they 
 wanted a law repealed, they asked the 
 people to vote against it ; this was ab- 
 ror/urc legem (to solicit against the law). 
 
 Absalom. James, Duke of Mon- 
 mouth, the handsome but rebellious sou 
 of Charles II. in Drydeu's Absalom 
 ami Aehitophel (1649-1685). 
 
 Absalom and Aehitophel. A poli- 
 tical satire by Dryden (1649-1685). 
 David is meant for Charles II. ; Absalom 
 for his natural son James, Duke of Mon- 
 mouth, handsome like Absalom, and, 
 like him, rebellious. Aehitophel is 
 meant for Lord Shaftesbury, Ziniri for 
 the Duke of Buckingham, and Abdael for 
 Monk. The selections are so skilfully 
 made that the history of David seems 
 repeated. Of Absalom, Dryden says 
 (Part i.) :— 
 
 " Wliate'er lie did was done with so mnch ease, 
 In iiim alone 'twas natural to please ; 
 His motions all accompanied with grace, 
 And paradise was opened in his face." 
 
 Abscond' means properly to hide; 
 but we generally use the word in the 
 sense of stealing off secretly from au 
 employer. (Latin, abseondo.) 
 
 Ab'sent. "Out of mind as soon as 
 out of sight." Generally misquoted 
 "Out of sight, out of mind." — Lord 
 Brooke. 
 
 The absent are ahrai/s icronr/. The 
 translation of the French proverb, Les 
 absents ont toajoars tort. 
 
 Absent Man (The). The character 
 of Bruyere's Absent Man, translated 
 in the Speetator and exhibited on the 
 stage, is a caricature of Comte de 
 Braneas. 
 
 Ab'solute. A Captain Absolnte, a 
 bold, despotic man, determined to have 
 his own way. The character is in Sheri- 
 dan's play called The Rivals. 
 
 SirAiithoni/ Absolnte, a warmhearted, 
 testj', overbearing country squire, in (he 
 same play. William Dowton (1764- 1851) 
 was nick-named "Sir Anthony Abso- 
 lute." 
 
 Absquatulate. To run away or ab- 
 scond. A comic American word, from 
 <(b and stjaat (to go away from your 
 squatting). A squatting is a tenement 
 taken in some unclaimed part, without 
 purchase or permission. The persons 
 who take up their squatting are termed 
 s(jnatters.
 
 Abstemious 
 
 Acadia 
 
 itself, as 6, the divisors of which are 1, 
 2, 3 = 6. 
 
 Abus, tlie river Humber. 
 
 " Fur liy tlie river tUat whylonie was liigbt 
 The aniieu Ahiis . . . [was fromj T . . 
 Tbeir chieftain, Humber, named aright." 
 
 And Drayton, in his Poli/olbion, 28, 
 says : — 
 
 " For my princely name, 
 From Hiimtier, king (il Huns, as anciently it 
 came." 
 
 See Geoffrey's Chronicles, Bk. ii. 2. 
 
 Ab'yla. A mountain in Gibraltar. 
 This, with Calpe in Spain, sixteen miles 
 distant, fonus the tivo pillars of Hercules. 
 
 " Heaves up huge Abyla on Afric's sand. 
 Crowns with high Calie Europe's salient 
 strand." 
 
 Diinciii : Fcoiiouijj of Vetietatiini. 
 
 Abyssin'ians. A sect of Christians 
 in Abyssinia, who admit only one nature 
 in Jesus Christ, and reject the Council 
 of Chalce'dou. 
 
 Acace'tus. One who does nothing 
 badlj'. It was a name given to Mercury 
 or Hennes for his eloquence. (Greek, 
 (f, not ; kakofi, bad.) 
 
 Academics The followers of Plato 
 were so called, because they attended his 
 lectures in the Academy, a garden 
 planted by Acade'mos. 
 
 " See there the olive grove of Aeademus, Plato'.s 
 retreat." MUtuu : ruradise Lust, Book iv. 
 
 Acad'emy. Divided into — Old, the 
 philosophic teaching of Plato and his 
 immediate followers ; Middle, a modifi- 
 cation of the Platonic system, taught by 
 Arcesila'os ; New, the half - sceptical 
 school of Car'neades. 
 
 Plato taught that matter is eternal 
 and infinite, but without form or order ; 
 and that there is an intelligent cause, 
 the author of everything. He maintained 
 that we could grasp truth only so far 
 as we had elevated our mind by thought 
 to its divine essence. 
 
 Arcesila'os was the great antagonist of 
 the Stoics, and wholly denied man's ca- 
 pacity for grasping truth. 
 
 Car'neades maintained that neither our 
 senses nor our understanding could suj)- 
 ply us with a sure criterion of truth. 
 
 The talent of the Acadeimi, so Plato 
 called Aristotle (b.c. 384-32'2). 
 
 Academy Figures. Drawings in 
 black and white chalk, on tinted paper, 
 from living models, used by artists. So 
 calledfrom the Royal Academy of Artists. 
 
 Aca'dia — i.e., Nova Scotia, so called 
 by the French from the river Shiihen- 
 acadie. The name was changed in 1621. 
 
 Abste'mious, according to Fabius 
 and Aulus Gellius, is compounded of ahs 
 and teuie'taiii. " Teme'tum" was a strong, 
 intoxicating drink, allied to the Greek 
 iiiethn (strong drink). 
 
 "Viiuim prisra lingin temettm appcllabant."— 
 AhUis Gcllias, x. -:i. 
 
 Abstract Numbers are numbers 
 considered abstractly — 1, 2, 3; but if 
 we say 1 year, 2 feet, 3 men, etc., the 
 numbers are no longer abstract, but con- 
 crete. 
 
 Taken in the abstract. Things are said 
 to be taken in the abstract when they 
 are considered absolutely, that is, with- 
 out reference to other matters or per- 
 sons. Thus, in the abstract, one man is 
 as good as another, tut not so socially 
 aiui politically. 
 
 Abstraction. A n cmptij A hstr action , 
 a mere ideality, of no practical use. 
 Every noun is an abstraction, but the 
 narrower genera may be raised to higher 
 ones, till the common thread is so fine 
 that hardly anything is left. These high 
 abstractions, from which everything but 
 one common cord is taken, are called 
 cinpttj abstractions. 
 
 For example, man is a genus, but may 
 be raised to the genus an mud, thence to 
 ori/anised beiinj, tlience to created being, 
 tlience to matter in the abstract, and so 
 on, till everything but one is emptied 
 out. 
 
 Absurd means strictly, quite deaf. 
 (Latin, ab, intensive, and sardas, deaf.) 
 
 licductio ad absardam. Proving a 
 proposition to be right by showing that 
 every supposable deviation from it would 
 involve an absurdity. 
 
 Abu'dah. A merchant of Bagdad, 
 haiuited every night by an old hag ; he 
 finds at last that the way to rid himself 
 of this torment is to "fear God, and 
 keep his commandments." — Tales of the 
 Genii. 
 
 " Like .^liuilab, he is always looking out for the 
 J'uri-, ami knows that the niu'ht will come with 
 the iiie\ italjle hag with it."— r/idc/.trity. 
 
 Abundant Number (.4^0 ■ A num- 
 ber such that the sum of all its divis- 
 ors (except itself) is greater than the 
 number itself. Thus 12 is an abundant 
 nimiber, because its divisors, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 
 =z 16, which is greater than 12. 
 
 A Bejicient number is one of which 
 the sum of all its divisors is less than 
 itself, as 10, the divisors of which are 1, 
 2, .5 z= 8, which is less than 10. 
 
 A Ferfect number is one of which the 
 sum of all its divisors exactly measui'es
 
 Acadine 
 
 Accost 
 
 In 1755 the old French inhabitants were 
 diiven into exile by order of George II. 
 
 " Thus dwelt together in love these siiiuile 
 Acadian farmers." Long/tlluic : Emityiline. 
 
 Acadine. A fountain of Sicily which 
 revealed if writings were authentic and 
 genuine or not. The writings to be 
 tested were thrown into the fountain, 
 and if spurious they sank to the bottom. 
 Oaths and promises were tried in the 
 same way, after being written down. — 
 Diodorus Siciiliis. 
 
 Acan'tlius. The leafy ornament used 
 in the cajiitals of Corinthian and com- 
 posite columns. It is said that Callim'- 
 achos lost his daughter, and set a basket 
 of flowers on her gi-ave, with a tile to 
 keep the wind from blowing it away. 
 The next time he went to visit the grave 
 an acanthus had sprung uji around the 
 basket, which so struck the fancy of the 
 architect that he introduced the design 
 in his buildings. 
 
 Acceptance. A bill or note accepted. 
 This is done by the diawee writing on it 
 "accepted," and signing his name. The 
 person who accepts it is called the 
 
 ' ' acceptor. ' ' 
 
 Accessory. Acccssonj hefore the fact 
 is one who is aware that another intends 
 to commit an offence, but is himself ab- 
 sent wlien tlie offence is perpetrated. 
 
 Accessor;/ after tlw fact is one wlio 
 screens a felon, aids him in eluding 
 justice, or helps him in any way to 
 profit by his crime. Thus, the receiver 
 of stolen goods, knowing or even sus- 
 pecting them to be stolen, is an accessory 
 ex post facto. 
 
 Ac'cident. A hcjlcal accldoit is some 
 property or ijuality which a thing pos- 
 sesses, but whicli does not essentially 
 belong to it, as the tint of our skin, the 
 height of our body, the redness of a 
 brick, or the whiteness of paper. If 
 any of these were changed, the sub- 
 ■stance would remain intact. 
 
 Accidental or Subjective Colours. 
 
 Those which depend on the state of our 
 eye, and not those which the object 
 really possesses. Thus, after looking at 
 the bright sun, all olijccts appear dark ; 
 that dark colour is the accidental colour 
 of the bright sim. When, again, we 
 come from a dark room, all objects at 
 first have a yellow tinge. This is es- 
 pecially the case if we wear blue glasses, 
 for a minute or two after we have taken 
 them off. 
 
 The accidental colour of red is bluish 
 
 green, of orange dark blue, of violet yel- 
 low, of hlacTi white ; and the converse. 
 
 Acciden'tals in music are those 
 shai-ps and flats, etc., which do not 
 properly belong to the key in which the 
 music is set, but which the composer 
 arbitrarily introduces. 
 
 Accidente! (1 syl.) An Italian curse 
 or oath : " Ce qui vent dire en bon fran- 
 (^•ais, ' Puisses-tu mourir d' accident, sans 
 confession,' damnc." — E. About : Tulla. 
 
 Accidents, in theology. After con- 
 secration, say the Catholics, the satistance 
 of the bread and wine is changed into 
 that of the body and blood of Christ, 
 but their aecidotts (flavour, appearance, 
 and so on) remain the same as before, 
 
 Ac'cius Na'vius. A Roman augur 
 iu tlie reign of Tarquin the Elder. When 
 he forbade the king to increase the num- 
 ber of the tribes without consulting the 
 augurs, Tarquin asked him if the thought 
 tlien iu his mind was feasible. " Un- 
 doubtedly," said Accius. "Then cut 
 tlirough this whetstone with the razor 
 in your hand." Tlie priest gave a bold 
 cut, and the block fell in two. Tliis 
 story (from Liv^', Bk. i., chap. 3G) is 
 humorously retold in Bon Gaultier's 
 Ballads. 
 
 Accolade (3 syl.). The touch of a 
 sword on the shoulder in the ceremony 
 of conferring kuightliood ; originally an 
 embrace or touch by the liand on the 
 neck. (Latin, ad coltain, on the neck.) 
 
 Accommoda'tion. A loan of money, 
 which accommodates us, or fits a want. 
 
 Accommodation Note or Bill. An 
 acceptance given on a Bill of Exchange 
 for which value has not been received hy 
 the acceptor from the drawer, and which, 
 not representing a commercial transac- 
 tion, is so far fictitious. 
 
 Accommodation Ladder. The light 
 ladder hung over the side of a ship at 
 the gangway. 
 
 Accord' means "heart to heart." 
 (Latin, ad corda.) If two persons like 
 and dislike the same things, they are 
 heart to heart witli eacli other. 
 
 Similarly, "con-cord" means heart 
 with heart; "dis-cord," heart divided 
 from heart ; " re-cord " properly means 
 to recollect — i.e., re-corddre, to bring 
 again to the mind or heart ; then to set 
 down in writing for the purjiose of recol- 
 lectnig. 
 
 Accost' means to " come to the side " 
 of a person for the purpose of speaking 
 to him. (Latin, ad costain, to the side.)
 
 Accotmt 
 
 Achemon 
 
 Account'. To open an account, to 
 euter a customer's uame ou j'our ledger 
 for the first time. (Latin, accomputaie, 
 to reckon with.) 
 
 To keep open account is when merchants 
 agree to honour each other's bills of ex- 
 change. 
 
 A current account or "account cur- 
 rent, fdc A commercial term, meaning 
 that the customer is entered by name in 
 the creditor's ledger for goods purchased 
 but not paid for at the time. The 
 account runs on for a mouth or more, 
 according to agreement. 
 
 To cast accounts. To give the results 
 of the debits and credits entered, bal- 
 ancing the two, and caiTying over the 
 surplus. 
 
 A sale for the account in the Stock 
 Exchange means : the sale of stock not 
 for immediate payment, but for the 
 fortnightly settlement. Generally this 
 is speculative, and the broker or cus- 
 tomer pays the difference of price be- 
 tween the time of pui'chase and time of 
 settlement. 
 
 IVc u- ill (/ice a f/ood account of them — 
 i.e. we will give them a thorough good 
 drubbing. 
 
 Accurate means well and carefully 
 done. (Latiu, ad-curdre, accuratus.) 
 
 Accu'sative {The), Calvin was so 
 called by his college companions. We 
 speak of an " accusative age," meaning 
 searchinff, one eliminating error by ac- 
 cusiny it. 
 
 "This li:ith been a very accusative ar?.?."— 
 Sir E. Ueniiij. 
 
 Ace (1 S5'l.). The unit of cards or 
 dice, from as, the Latiu unit of weight. 
 (Italian, asso; French and Spanish, as.) 
 
 in thin an ace. Within a shave. An 
 ace is the lowest numeral, and he who 
 wins within au ace, wins within a single 
 mark. {Sec AitBES-AS.) 
 
 To bate an ace is to make an abate- 
 ment, or to give a competitor some 
 start or other advantage, in order to 
 render the combatants more equal. It 
 is said that the expression originated in 
 tlie reign of Heniy VIII., wheu one of 
 tlie courtiers named Bolton, in order to 
 flatter the king, used to say at cards, 
 "Your Majesty must bate me an ace, 
 or I shall have no chance at all." 
 Taylor, the water poet (Io80-16o4), 
 speakiug of certain women, says— 
 
 " Thougli bail tliey lie, they will not bate an ace 
 To lie calil Piuileuce, Tomp'rance, Faith, auil 
 Grace." 
 
 Acel'dama. A battle-field, a place 
 where much blood has been shed. To 
 
 the south of Jerusalem there was a field 
 so called ; it was purchased by the priests 
 with the blood-money thrown down by 
 Judas, and appropriated as a cemetery 
 for strangers (Matt, xxvii. 8; Acts i. 
 19). (Aramaic, okSl-daincl.) 
 
 Aceph'alites (4 syl.) properlj^ means 
 men without a head. (1) A faction 
 among the Eutych'iaus in the fifth cen- 
 tury after the submission of Mongus their 
 chief, by which they were " deiirived 
 of their head." (2) Certain bishops 
 exempt from the jurisdiction and disci- 
 pline of their patriarch. (3) A sect of 
 levellers in the reign of Henry I., who 
 acknowledged no leader. (4) The fabu- 
 lous Blemmyes of Africa, wlio are de- 
 scribed as having no head, their eyes 
 and mouth being jjlaced elsewhere, 
 (Greek, a-kcph'ale, without a head.) 
 
 Aces'tes (3 syl.). The Arrow of 
 Accsfcs. In a trial of skill Acestes, the 
 Sicilian, discharged his aiTow with such 
 force that it took fire. {^-En. 5, line 526.) 
 
 " Like Ace.-ites' shaft of old, 
 The swift thought kiuuiuo as it tlie.^." 
 
 J.oiigjfeHow. 
 
 Achaean League. A confederacy 
 of the twelve towns of Acha^a. It was 
 broken up by Alexander the Great, but 
 was again reorganised B.C. 280, and 
 dissolved by the Romans in 147 B.C. 
 
 Achar in Indi.an philosophy means 
 the AU-in-All. The world is spun out 
 of Achar as a web from a spider, and 
 will ultimately return to him, as a sjiider 
 sometimes takes back into itself its own 
 thread. Phenomena are not independ- 
 ent realities, but merely partial and in- 
 dividual manifestations of the Allin-AU. 
 
 Achates (3 syl.). A fdus Achates. 
 A faithful companion, a bosom friend. 
 Achates in Virgil's JEneid is the chosen 
 companion of the hero in adventures of 
 all kind.i. 
 
 " He has chosen this fellow for his fuUis 
 Acli<itcs."—Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 Ache'mon, or Achmon, and his 
 brother Basalas were two CercopCs for 
 ever quarrelUug. One day they saw 
 Hercules asleep under a tree and insulted 
 him, but Hercules tied them by their 
 feet to his club and walked off with them, 
 heads downwards, like a brace of hares. 
 Everyone laughed at the sight, and it 
 became a proverbial cry among the 
 Greeks, when two men were seen quar- 
 relling — "Look out for Melampy'gos I " 
 (i.e. Hercules). 
 
 " Xe insiilas in Melainiiy -'uni." 
 
 V According to Greek fable, monkeys
 
 Acheron 
 
 10 
 
 Achitophel 
 
 are degraded men. The Cerc5p5s were 
 changed into monkeys for attemptmg to 
 deceive Zeus. 
 
 Ac'heron. The " River of Sorrows ' ' 
 (Greek, uriws roos) ; one of the five rivers 
 of the infernal regions. 
 
 " Sad Acheron nf sorrow, Wack and deep/' 
 Milton : I'aradise Lost, ii. 5.8. 
 
 Fahtthnn Acherontis. Food for the 
 churchj^ard ; said of a dead body. 
 
 Acheron'tian Books. The most cele- 
 brated looks of augury m the world. 
 They are the books which the Etruscans 
 received from Tages, grandson of Jupiter. 
 
 Acherusia. A cavern on the bor- 
 ders of Pontus, said to lead down to the 
 infernal regions. It was through this 
 cavern that Hercules dragged Cerberus 
 to earth. 
 
 Achillea. The Yarrow, called by 
 the French the hcrhe mix charpentiers— 
 i e carpenter's wort, because it was 
 supposed to heal wounds made by car- 
 penters' tools. Called Achillea from 
 Ar'hillGs, who was taught the uses and 
 virtues of plauts by Cliirou the ceutaiu-. 
 The tale is, that when the Greeks in- 
 vaded Troy, Telephus, a son-in-law ot 
 Kin'^ Priam, attempted to stop their 
 laudiug ; but Bacclius caused him to 
 stumble over a vine, and, when he ha_d 
 fallen, Achilles wounded him witli his 
 spear. The young Trojan was told by 
 an oracle that "Achilles (meaning mil- 
 foil or yarrow) woidd cure the wound ; 
 but, histead of seeking the plant, he 
 applied to the Grecian chief and pro- 
 niised to conduct the host to Troy if he 
 would cure the wouucL Achilles con- 
 sented to do so, scraped some rust from 
 his siiear, and from the tilings rose the 
 plant milfoil, which, being applied to 
 the wound, had the desired ettect. 
 
 Achilles (3 syl.). Kiug of ^}^^ ^yr;- 
 midfiii^ (in Thessalv),thehero of Homer s 
 epic poem called the Iluf He is re- 
 presented as brave iind relentless. Ihe 
 poem begins with a quarrel between 
 him and Agamemnon, the commander- 
 in-chief of the allied Greeks ; in c^nse- 
 ciuence of which Achilles retused to go 
 to battle. The Trojans prevail, and 
 Achilles sends forth his friend Patroclos 
 to oppose them. Patroc;los fell ; and 
 Achilles, in anger, rushing into the battle, 
 killed Hector, the commander ot the 
 Troiaus. He himself, according to later 
 poems, fell in battle a few days after- 
 wards, before Troy was taken. 
 
 Achilles. 
 
 Arm<i : Tin- Jlvruii-lons followp.l l.iin to Tr,)y. 
 lead of- It was I'lins who w..ui„lf( AclJilles 
 i„ tl ■ .'olwith :u, arrow (a i,ost-Hom..ncstur.v). 
 FatluA I'rlcus CJ syl.), King "£ TUossaly. 
 
 /?,',r"1- BaUos*''('= swift-footed) and Xantb.is 
 ( V ciie'stnut-coloured), endowed witU liuniau 
 
 ^'msl'ress in Troy: Hippodan.iii, surnamed 
 Briseis (2 syl.). . 
 
 jVoHier: Tbeti3,aseaRoddesh. 
 
 ^o» : Pyrrhos, suruanied NcoptolSmos ( = the 
 
 " Tomf."- 'in Sigoeum, over ^vhich no bird ever flies. 
 
 ~ThMs^' i'^'rst, Phrenix, who taught him the 
 Clements ; then Chinm the ceiitaur. 
 
 ir;/e : Deidaniia. (.5 syl.) De-i-da-nij -ah. 
 
 Achilles (pronounce A-kil'-leez). The 
 F.mihxh, John Talbot, first Earl of 
 Shrewsbury (1373-1453). 
 
 Achilles of Enqhnxl, the Duke of 
 Wellington (1769 -1852). 
 
 Of (Tcrmnmi, Albert, Elector of Bran- 
 denburg (1414-1486). 
 
 Of lowhardi/, brother of Sforza and 
 Pal'amedes. A:11 the three brothers were 
 in the allied armv of Godfrey {Jcrnsiilcm 
 Delivered). Acliilles of Lombardy was 
 slain by Coriima. This was not a com- 
 plimentary title, but a proper name. 
 
 Of Rome, Lucius Sicinius Deniatiis, 
 the" Eoman tribune ; also called tlie 
 Second Achilles. Put to death B.C. 4o0. 
 Achilles of the West. Roland the 
 Paladin; also called "The Christum 
 Theseus" (2 syl.). 
 " Achilles' Spear. (.SVc Achillea.) 
 
 Achilles' Tendon. A strong sinew 
 running along the heel to the calf ot the 
 leo- The tale is that Thetis took her 
 son Achilles by the heel, and dipped hira 
 in the river Styx to make him invulner- 
 able The water washed every part, 
 except the heel covered with his mother s 
 hantl It was on this vulnerable point 
 the hero was slain ; and the sinew of the 
 heel is called, in couspqueuce, (ciido 
 AchUUs. A post-Hoinenc story 
 
 The Heel of Achilles. The vulnenible 
 or weak pohit in a mans character or 
 of a nation. {See dhore.) 
 
 Aching Void {A„). That desolation 
 of heart which arises from the recollec- 
 tion of some cherished endearment no 
 longer possessed. 
 
 " What peaoeful hours 1 once enjoyed ! 
 How swec't their memory still. 
 But they have left an ac >",',t' \oul 
 The world can never nil. . 
 
 Cm-icr: Wulkitig Kilh God. 
 
 I Achifophel. (.SVy' Absalom and 
 Achitophel.) Achitophel was David s 
 traitorous counsellor, who deserted to
 
 Achor 
 
 11 
 
 Acrostic 
 
 Absalom ; but his advice beiug disre- 
 garded, he hanged liiinself (2 Sam. xv.). 
 The Achitophel of Drydeu'a satire was 
 the Earl of Shaftesbury :— 
 
 '•Of tliiT'e (llic rebels) the false AcUitdiihcl was 
 tir.-t : 
 A naiiu' til all :;iiri'i-i'iliri'-' aci-;; curst ; 
 Km- (. liisr il.-si^'us ami I'liiiikrd ciaiiisels fit ; 
 S:\i-'aciiius, liiilil, ami tiirlmli-iit nf wit ; 
 lU'Stlc -s, unli-xi-.l ill iniiii-ijili's and place ; 
 111 powiT uiiiilcased, iiiiiiatieiit in disgrace." 
 Pan i. ljo-5. 
 
 A'chor. God of flies, worshipped by 
 the C}'reiieaus, that they might not be 
 annoyed with these tiny tormentors. 
 {•Sic Flies, God of.) 
 
 A'cis. The sou of Faunus, in love 
 with Galatea. Polyphe'mos, his rival, 
 crushed him under a huge rock. 
 
 Ac'me. The crisis of a disease. Old 
 medical writers used to divide the pro- 
 gress of a disease into four jieriods : the 
 ar-che, or beginning ; the ((iiiib'asif!, or 
 increase ; the ac'iiic, or term of its utmost 
 violence ; and tlie pa-rac'-nic, or decline. 
 Figuratively, the highest point of any- 
 thing. 
 
 Acmon'ian Wood (T/ic). The tryst - 
 place of unlawful love. It was here 
 that Mars had his assignation with 
 Ilannonia, who became the mother of 
 the Amazons. 
 
 "("est la ijue . . . Mavs eiit les faveiirs de la 
 nyiiiiilie Haniniiiie, coiiiiiierce dmit iia'iuireiit les 
 Aiiiaznues."— AVu'HHf .- Ueuijrapliie. 
 
 Acoime tse. An order of monks in 
 tlie fifth century wlio watched day and 
 uight. (Greek, icatchers.) 
 
 Ac'olyfce (3 syl.). A subordinate officer 
 in the Catholic Church, whose duty is 
 to light the lamps, prepare the sacred 
 elements, attend the officiating priests, 
 etc. (Greek, a follower.) 
 
 Aconite. The herb Monkshood or 
 Wolfsbane. Classic fabulists ascribe its 
 poisonous qualities to the foam which 
 dropped from the mouths of the three- 
 headed CertSrus, when Hercules, at the 
 command of Eurystheus, dragged the 
 monster from the infernal regions. 
 (Greek, o-kovltov] Latin, acontitm.) 
 
 " Lurida tenil.iles iiiiseeiit A.-oni a noverr^." 
 Ovid: Metiim(irit}iof:s, i. 147. 
 
 Acra'sia {Sclf-buhilgeDce). An en- 
 chantress who lived in the "Bower of 
 Bliss," situate in " Wandering Island." 
 She transformed lier lovers into mon- 
 strous shapes, and kept them captives. 
 Sir Guyou having crept up softly, threw 
 a net over her, and bound her in chains 
 of adamant : then broke down her 
 
 bower and burnt it to ashes. — Spoiser : 
 Fa'vry Queen, ii. 12. 
 
 Acra'tes (3 syl.), i.e., i)ico>iti>ien-c ; 
 called by Spenser the father of Cymoch'- 
 les and Pyroch'les. — Favrij Qiueii, ii. 4. 
 
 Acre. "God's acre," a cemetery or 
 churchyard. The word "acre," Old 
 English, (eccr, is akin to the Latin 
 ager and German acker (a field). 
 
 Acre-fight. A duel in the open field. 
 The combats of the Scotch and English 
 Borderers were so called. 
 
 Acre-shot. A land tax. "Acre" 
 is Old English, acer (land), and "shot" 
 is scot or sceat (a tax). 
 
 A'cres. A Boh Acres— -i.e., ix.cowa.vA. 
 From Slieridan's comedy called The 
 Rirah-. His courage always "oozed out 
 at his fingers' ends." 
 
 Acroamat ics. Esoter'ical lectures ; 
 the lectures of Aristotle, which none but 
 his chosen disciples were allowed to 
 attend. Those given to the public gene- 
 rally were called ccotcr'ic. (Acroamatic 
 is a Greek word, meaning deli rered to (in 
 audience ; aKpoaofiai, to attend lectures.) 
 
 Acroat'ic. Same as esoter'ic. {See 
 
 ACHOAMATICS.) 
 
 Acrobat means one who goes on his 
 e.rtreniities, or uses only the tips of his 
 fingers and toes in moving about. (It is 
 from the two Greek words, ii/n-os hniiiu, 
 to go on the extremities of one's limbs.) 
 
 Acrop'olis. The citadel of ancient 
 Athens. 
 
 Of course, tlie word is compounded of n/rro.'s and 
 piilis z the city on the height, i.e., the high rock. 
 
 Acros'tic (Greek, a7:ros sticho.'i). The 
 term was first applied to the verses of 
 the Erj'tlirsean sibyl, written on leaves. 
 These prophecies were e.xcessively ob- 
 scure ; but were so contrived that when 
 the leaves were sorted and laid in order, 
 their initial letters always made a word. 
 — Biongs., iv. 62. 
 
 Acrostic poelrg among the Hebrews 
 consisted of twenty-two lines or stanzas 
 beginning with the letters of the alphabet 
 in succession, as Psalm cxix., etc. 
 
 Acrostics. Puzzles, generally in verse, 
 consisting of two words of equal length. 
 The initial letters of the several lines 
 constitute one of the secret words, and 
 the final letters constitute the other 
 word. 
 
 Also words re-arranged so as to make 
 other words of similar significance, as 
 " Horatio Nelson " re-arranged into
 
 Act 
 
 12 
 
 Ad valorem 
 
 Honor cut a Nilo. Auotlier form of 
 acrostic is to fiud a seiiteuce which reads 
 the same backwards and forwards, as 
 E.T.L.N.L.T.E., the initial letters of 
 ' ' Eat To Live, Never Live To Eat;" which 
 in Latin would be, E.U.V.N.V.U.E. 
 {Edc Ut Vtra.s, Ke J'iras Ut Edm). 
 
 Act and Opponency. An "Act," 
 
 in our University language, consists of 
 a thesis and " dis2Dutation " thereon, 
 covering continuous parts of three hours, 
 'i'lie person " disputing " with the 
 '■ keeper of the Act " is called the "op- 
 ponent," and his function is called an 
 "opponency." In some degrees the 
 student is required to keep his Act, and 
 then to bo the opponent of another 
 disputant. Much alteration in these 
 matters has been introduced of late, 
 with other college reforms. 
 
 Act of Faith {auto da ft), in Spain, 
 is a day set apart by the Inquisition for 
 the punishment of heretics, and the 
 absolution of those who renounce tlieir 
 heretical doctrines. The sentence of the 
 Inquisition is also so called ; and so is 
 the cereTUony of burning, or otherwise 
 torturing tlie condemned. 
 
 Act of God {An). "Damnum fatale," 
 such as loss by lightning, shipwreck, 
 tire, etc. ; loss arising from fatality, and 
 not from one's own fault, theft, and so 
 on. A Devonshire jury once found a 
 verdict—" That deceased died by the 
 act of God, brought about by the flooded 
 condition of the river." 
 
 Actseon. A hunter. In Grecian 
 mythology Actteon was a huntsman, who 
 surprised Diana bathing, was changed 
 by her into a stag, and torn to pieces 
 by his own hounds. Hence, a man 
 whose wife is unfaithful. {See Horns.) 
 
 " Go thou, like Sir .^etipon, with Rinprwood at thy 
 heel." Slialcesiicaie : Merry Wives, ii. 1. 
 
 "Divulge Papre hiinsell for a s cure an<l wilful 
 ActiBon." Ibid. iii. 2. 
 
 Ac'tian Years. Years in wliich the 
 Actian games were celebrated. Au- 
 gustus instituted gajnes at Actium to 
 celebrate his naval victory over Antony. 
 They were held every five years. 
 
 Action Sermon. A sacramental 
 sermon (in the Scots Presbyterian 
 Church). 
 
 " I returned home about seven, anil aildrea ^ed 
 myself towards my Action Sermon, Mrs. Olivant." 
 —E. Irvimj. 
 
 Ac'tive. Active verbs, verbs which act 
 on the noun governed. 
 
 Active capital. Property in actual 
 employment in a given concern. 
 
 Active commerce. Exports and imports 
 
 carried to and fro in our own ships. 
 Passive commerce is when they are carried 
 in foreign vessels. The commerce of 
 England is active, of Chinvi passive. 
 
 Activity. The sphere of actiriti/, the 
 whole field through which the influence 
 of an object or person extends. 
 
 Acton. A taffeta, or leather-quilted 
 dress, worn under the habergeon to keep 
 the body from being chafed or bruised. 
 (French, hocqucton.') 
 
 Actresses. Female characters used 
 to be plaj-ed by boys. Coryat, in h's 
 ('rudities (1611), says, "When I went 
 to a theatre (in Venice) I observed 
 certain things that I never saw before ; 
 for I saw women acte. ... I have 
 heard that it hath sometimes been used 
 in London" (Vol. ii.). 
 
 " Whereas, women's parts in plays have hitherto 
 been acted liy men in the hahits of women . . . 
 we do permit and (,'ive leave for the time tocome 
 that all wiimeu's parts he acted hy women, ICtiJ." 
 -Clinrlrs II. 
 
 The first female actress on the Enclish sta^re 
 was Jlrs. (dienian (IGjU), who played lautho 
 in I he Sifi/f i,f Hhiiili's. 
 
 The last mali' actor that took the p.irt of a 
 woman on the English stage, in serinus drama, 
 was Edward Kynastou, noted for his heauty 
 (1U1'J-1G,S7). 
 
 Acu tetigisti. You have hit the 
 nail on the head. (Lit. , you have touched 
 it with a needle.) Plautus {linden^, v. 
 2, 19) says, " Rem acu tetigisti ; " and 
 Cicero {Pro Milonc, 24) has " Vulnus acu 
 punctuni," evidently referring to a sur- 
 geon's probe. 
 
 Acutia'tor. A person in the Middle 
 Ages who attended armies and knights 
 to sharpen their iiistnnncnts of war. 
 (Latin, acuo, to shari^eu.) 
 
 Ad Graecas Calendas. (Deferred) 
 to the Greek Calends — i.e., for ever. 
 (It shall be done) on the Greek Calends 
 — i.e., never. There were no Calends 
 in the Greek notation of the months. 
 {See Never.) 
 
 Ad inquirendum. A judicial writ 
 connnanding an inquiry to be made iuto 
 some complaint. 
 
 Ad libitum. Without restraint. 
 
 Ad rem (Latin). To the point in 
 hand ; to the purfjose. {Acu rem tcti- 
 (jisti.) {St'c above, Acu.) 
 
 Ad unum omnes. All to a man 
 
 (Latin). 
 
 Ad valo'rem. According to the price 
 charged. Some custom - duties vary 
 according to the different values of the 
 goods imported. Thus, at one time teas
 
 Ad vitam 
 
 13 
 
 Adamant 
 
 paid duty ad valorem, the high-priced tea 
 paying more duty than that of a lower 
 price. 
 
 Ad vitam aut culpam. A Latin 
 phrase, used iu Scotch law, to indicate 
 the legal permanency of an appoint- 
 ment, unless forfeited by misconduct. 
 
 Adam. The Talmudists say that 
 Adam lived in Paradise only twelve 
 hours, and account for the time thus : — 
 
 The first hour, God collected the dust 
 and animated it. 
 
 The second hour, Adam stood on his 
 feet. 
 
 The fourth hour, he named the 
 animals. 
 
 The sixth hour, he slept and Eve was 
 created. 
 
 The seventh hour, he married the 
 woman. 
 
 The tenth hour, he fell. 
 
 The twelfth hour, he was thrust out 
 of Paradise. 
 
 The Mohammedans tell us he fell on 
 Mount Sereudib, iu Ceylon, where there 
 is a curious impression in the granite 
 resembling a human foot, above o feet 
 long and 22 feet broad. They tell us it was 
 made by Adam, who stood there on one 
 foot for 200 years to expiate his crime ; 
 when Gabriel took him to Mount Ara- 
 fath, where he found Eve. {Jiec Adam's 
 Peak.) 
 
 Adam vasbiirifd, according to Arabian 
 tradition, on Aboucais, a mountain of 
 Arabia. 
 
 Adam. The old Adam ; beat the 
 ojf'eiidnuj Adam out of thee ; the first 
 Adam. Adam, as the head of unre- 
 deemed man, stands for "original sin," 
 or " man without regenerating grace." 
 
 The seeoiid Adam ; the new Adam, etc.; 
 I irill f/ivc )jon the »ew Adam. Jesus 
 Christ, as the covenant head, is so called ; 
 also the " new birth unto righteousness." 
 
 Ifhen Adam delred and Eve span. 
 " An temps passe, Berthe filait." This 
 Bertha was the wife of liing Pepin. 
 
 '■ Wlien Ailaiii delved and Eve spau, 
 AVho was then the geutlemau ?" 
 
 Adam. A sergeant, bailiff, or any 
 one clad iu buff, or a skin-coat, like 
 Adam. 
 
 '• Xdt tliat Adaiix that kept Paradise, l)iit that 
 .\dam that keeps the prison." — Shake'peaie: 
 Coined!/ of Ei run, iv. 3. 
 
 A faithful Adam. A faithful old 
 servant. The character is taken from 
 Shakespeare's comedy of As You Like 
 It, whei'e a retainer of that name, who 
 had served the family sixty -three years, 
 offers to accomj)any Orlando in his flight, 
 
 and to share with him his thrifty savings 
 of 500 crowns. 
 
 Adam Bell. A northern outlaw, 
 whose name has become a sj'nonym for 
 a good archer. {See Clym of the 
 Clough.) 
 
 Adam Cupid— a.^*., Archer Cupid, 
 perhaps with allusion to Adam Bell, 
 the celebrated archer. (See Terefs 
 Itcliqucs, vol. i., p. 7.) 
 
 Adam's Ale. Water as a beverage ; 
 from the supposition that Adam had 
 nothing but water to drink. In Scotland 
 water for a beverage is called Adam's 
 Wine. 
 
 Adam's Apple. The protuberance 
 in the fore-part of a man's throat ; so 
 called from the superstition that a piece 
 of the forbidden fruit which Adam ate 
 stuck in his throat, and occasioned the 
 swelling. 
 
 Adam's Needle. The yucca, so called 
 because it is sharp-pointed like a needle. 
 
 Adam's Peak, iu Ceylon, is where the 
 Arabs say Adam bewailed his expulsion 
 from Paradise, and stood on one foot till 
 God forgave him. It was the Portuguese 
 who first called it " Pico de Adam." 
 {See Kaaba.) 
 
 In the granite is the mark nf a human foot, 
 above .5 feet h)US by -Jj broad, said to have been 
 made liy Adam, wlio, ve are told, sto(jd there on 
 one foot for 2ixi years, to expiate his crime. After 
 his penance he was restored to Eve. The Hindiis 
 assert tliat the footprint is that made by Buddlia, 
 when he ascended to heaven. 
 
 Adam's Profession. Gardening, 
 agriculture. Adam was appointed by 
 God to dress the garden of Eden, and to 
 keep it (Gen. ii. 15) ; and after the fall 
 he was sent out of the garden ' ' to till 
 the ground" (Gen. iii. 2',i). 
 
 " There is no ancient L-cntlemen. bnt gardeners, 
 ditchers, and grave-makers ; they hokl np Adam's 
 profession."— J/ie Cluicii in'' Hamlet " v. 1. 
 
 Adams. Parson Adams, the ideal of 
 a benevolent, simple-minded, eccentric 
 country clergyman; ignorant of the 
 world, bold as a lion for the truth, and 
 modest as a girl. The character is in 
 Fielding's novel of Joseph Andrors. 
 
 Adamant is really the mineral cor- 
 undum ; but the word is indifferently 
 used for rock crystal, diamond, or any 
 hard substance, and also for the magnet 
 or loadstone. It is often used by poets 
 for no specific substance, but as hardness 
 or firmness in the abstract. Thus, 
 Virgil, in his ^-Eneid vi. 552, speaks of 
 "adamantine pillars " merely to exjiress 
 solid and strong ones ; and Milton fre- 
 quently uses the word in the same way.
 
 Adamastor 
 
 1-t 
 
 Adept 
 
 Thus, in Paradise Lost, ii. 436, he says 
 the gates of hell were made of bumiug 
 adamaut : 
 
 "This liuge convex of flio 
 Outrageous to devour, immures us round 
 Ninefold, and gates of burning adamant 
 Btirred over us proliibit all egre.^s." 
 
 Satan, he tells us, wore adamautine 
 armour (Book vi. 110): 
 
 "Satan, with vast and haughty strides ad- 
 vanced, 
 Came towering, armed in adamant and gold." 
 
 Aud a little further on he tells us his 
 shield was made of adamaut (vL 255) : 
 
 " He [Satan] hasted, and opposed the rocky orb 
 Of ten-fold adamant, his ample shield 
 A vast circumference." 
 
 Tasso (canto vii. 82) speaks of .sciidn 
 di htcidissimo diamante (a shield of 
 clearest diamond). 
 
 Other poets make adamant to mean 
 the magnet. Thus, in Troilus and Crcs- 
 sida, iii. 2 : 
 
 " As true as steel, as plantage to the moon, 
 As sun to day, as turtle to her mate, 
 As iron to adamant." 
 
 ("Plantage to the moon," from the notion that 
 plants grew liest with the increasing moon.) 
 
 And Green says : 
 
 " As true to thee as steel to adamant." 
 
 So, in the Arabian Xiffhts, the " Third 
 Calendar," we read: 
 
 "To-morrow about noon we shall lie near the 
 black mountain, or mine of adamant, which at 
 this very minute draws all your fleet towards it, 
 by virtue of the iron in your ships." 
 
 Adamant is a (negative) and damao (to 
 conquer). Pliny tells us there are six 
 iiubreakable stones (xxxvii. 15), but the 
 classical adamas (gen. adaiiia>it-i.s) is 
 generally supjjosed to mean the diamond. 
 Diamond aud adamant are originally the 
 same word. 
 
 Adamastor. The spirit of the 
 stormy Cape (Good Hope), described by 
 Camoens in the Lusiad as a hideous 
 phantom. According to Barreto, he was 
 one of tlie giants who invaded heaven. 
 
 Adam'ic Covenant. The covenant 
 made with God to Adam, that "the 
 seed of tlie woman should bruise the 
 serpent's head " (Gen. iii. 15). 
 
 Ad'amites (3 syl.). A sect of fanatics 
 who spread themselves over Bohemia 
 and Moravia in the fifteenth and six- 
 teenth centuries. One Picard, of Bo- 
 liemia, was the founder in 1400, aud 
 styled himself " Adam, sou of God." 
 He professed to recall his followers to 
 the state of primitive innocence. No 
 clothes were worn, wives were in com- 
 mon, and there was no such thing as 
 good and evil, but all actions were in- 
 dilfereut. . - 
 
 Ad'aran', according to the Parsee 
 superstition, is a sacred fire less holy 
 than that called Behx-am {q.v.). 
 
 Adays. Noicadai/s, at the present 
 time (or day). So in Latin, Xiincdieram. 
 and Xtinc tonjjoris. The pretix "a" = 
 at, of, or Oil. Simularly, aniijlifs, of late, 
 on Sundays. All used adverbially. 
 
 Addison of the North— /.r., Henry 
 Mackenzie, the author of the Man of 
 Ftrluifj (1745-1831). 
 
 Addixit, or Addixc'rnnt (Latin). 
 All right. The word uttered by the 
 augurs when the " birds " were favour- 
 able. 
 
 Addle is the Old English adcli 
 (tilth ), hence rotten, j)utrid, worthless. 
 
 Addled egg, better '• addle-egg," a 
 worthless egg. An egg which has not 
 the vital principle. 
 
 Addle -headed, addle-pate, empty- 
 headed. As an addle-egg produces no 
 living bird, so an addle-i)ate lacks 
 brains. 
 
 Addle Parliament {T/ie) — bth April to 
 7th June, 1614, So called because it 
 did not jiass one single measure. (61 e 
 Parliament.) 
 
 Adelantado. A big-wig, the great 
 boss of the place. It is a Spanish word 
 for " his excellency " {adehaitar, to 
 excel), and is given to the governor 
 of a province. 
 
 "Open no door. If the adelantado of Spain 
 were liere he should not eMvr.'—Ben Juitsoii: 
 Frcru Man vat of his Hiimom; v. 4. 
 
 Ad'emar, or Adema'ro (in Jerusalem 
 Delivered). Archbishop of Poggio, au 
 ecclesiastical warrior, who with Wil- 
 liam, Archbishop of Orange, besought 
 Pope Urban ou his knees th:it he 
 might be sent on the crusade. He took 
 400 armed men from Poggio, but tlicy 
 sneaked off diu'ing a drouglit, aud lelt 
 the crusade (Book xili.). Aderaar was 
 not alive at the time, he had been slain 
 at tlie attack on Antioch by Clorinda 
 (Book xi.) ; but in the final attack ou 
 Jerusalem, his spirit came with three 
 squadrons of angels to aid the besiegers 
 (Book xviii.). 
 
 Adept' properly means one who has 
 attained (from the Latin, adeptus, jiarti- 
 ciple of ((dipiscor). The alchemists 
 applied the term rere adeptus to those 
 persons who professed to have ' ' attained 
 to the knowledge of" the elixir of life 
 or of the philosopher's stone. 
 
 Alchemists tell us there are always II adepts, 
 neither more nor less. Like the sacred chickens
 
 Adeasenarians 
 
 15 
 
 Adonai 
 
 of Ciiiiiposfella, of which there are only 2 and 
 always -—a cuck and a hen. 
 
 " In Rdsicrucian lore as learn'd 
 As he that, i\re aUcptus earu'd." 
 
 K Butler : Hudibras. 
 
 Adcs'scna'rians. A temi aiipliecl to 
 thosi! wlio hold tlie real presence of 
 Christ's body in the eucharist, hut do 
 not maintain that the bread and vviue 
 lose any of their original properties. 
 (The word is from the Latin adcubc, to 
 be present.) 
 
 Ades'te Fide'les. Composed by 
 John Ecading, who wrote "Dulce 
 Domum." It is called the "Portuguese 
 Hymn," from being heard at the Portu- 
 guese Chapel by the Duke of Leeds, who 
 supposed it to be a part of the usual 
 Portuguese service. 
 
 Adfil'iate, Adfilia tion. The ancient 
 Goths adopted the children of a former 
 marriage, and put them on the same 
 footing as those of the new family. 
 (Latin, ad-JHins, equal to a real son.) 
 
 Adha, (il {the slit --cared). The swiftest 
 of Mahomet's camels. 
 
 Ad'bab-al-Cabr. The first purgatory 
 of the Mahometans. 
 
 Adiaph'orists. Followers of Me- 
 lanchthou ; moderate Lutherans, who 
 hold that .some of the dogmas of Luther 
 are matters of indifference. (Greek, 
 (idkiph'oroK, indifferent.) 
 
 Macaulaij : Esmij, Burleigh. 
 
 Adieu, good-b'ye. A Bieu, an ellip- 
 tical fonn for / commend you to God. 
 Good-b'ye is God be with ye. 
 
 Adis'sechen. The serjjent with a 
 thousand heads which sustains the uni- 
 verse. {^Indian mythology.') 
 
 Adjective Colours are those which 
 require a mordant before they can be 
 used as dyes. 
 
 Adjourn'. Once written r(/or«. French, 
 ci-journer, to put off to another day. 
 
 "He ajorned tliani v.) relie in the Nuith of 
 Caricle."— ioH(y(o/t.- Clironuii/, \<. 3nj. 
 
 Adjournment of the House. {See 
 Moving the Adjouexmext.) 
 
 Admirable (The). Aben-Ezra, a 
 Spanish rabbi, born at Toledo (1119- 
 1174). 
 
 Admirable Crichton {The). James 
 Crichton {kry-tou). (1551-1573.) 
 
 Admirable Doctor {Doctor admira- 
 hilis). Roger Bacon (r214-r292). 
 
 ■al. 
 
 Admiral, corruption of Amir 
 Milton, speaking of Satan, says : — 
 
 " HiB siiear (to eiiual which tlie talle.-st pino 
 Hewn on Xorwc.Lriau hills, lo bo th(! mast 
 ()t sonic tali nniii-al. were hut a wand) 
 Ho walked \\\\.\i ." —Paradise Lost, i. :;»•_'. 
 The word was introduced by the Turks 
 or Genoese in the twelfth century, and 
 is the Arabic Amir with the article al 
 (lord or commander) ; as Amir-al-ma 
 (commander of the water), Amir-al- 
 Umra (commander of the forces), Awir- 
 al-Muminim (commander of the faith- 
 ful). 
 
 English admirals used to be of three 
 classes, according to the colour of their 
 flag— 
 
 Admiral of the Jitrl, used to hold the 
 centre in an engagement. 
 
 Admiral of the JJ'hite, used to hold 
 the van. 
 
 Admiral of the Blue, used to hold the 
 rear. 
 
 The distinction was abolished in 1861 ; 
 now all admirals carry the white flag. 
 
 Admirals are called I'l/ig Officers. 
 
 Admiral of the Blue. A butcher who 
 dresses in blue to conceal blood-stains. 
 A tapster also is so called, from his blue 
 apron. A play on the rear-admiral of 
 the British navy, called " Admiral of the 
 Blue (Flag)." 
 
 "As soon as customers begin to stir 
 The Admiral of the Blue cries, ' Cominsr, Sir ' " 
 Poor Jiobl,,, 1731. 
 
 Admiral of the Red. A punning 
 tenn applied to a wiue-bibber whose 
 face and nose are very red. 
 
 Admittance. Licence. Shakesj^earo 
 says. " Sir John, you are a gentleman of 
 excellent breeding, of great admittance " 
 — ?'.('., to whom great freedom is allowed 
 {Merry IVivcs, ii. 2). The allusion is to 
 an obsolete custom called admig.^ioii, l)y 
 which a prince avowed another prince 
 to be under his protection. Mnximiliaii, 
 Emperor of Mexico, was the ' ' admittaut ' ' 
 of the Emperor Napoleon III. 
 
 Admonitionists, or Admonition- 
 
 ers. Certain Puritans who in 1.571 sent 
 an admonition to the Parliament con- 
 demning everything in the Church of 
 England which was not in accordance 
 with the doctrines and practices of 
 Geue'va. 
 
 Adolpha. Daughter of General 
 Kleiner, governor of Prague and wife 
 of Ideustein. Her only fault was 
 ''excess of too sweet nature, which 
 ever made another's gi-ief her own." — • 
 Knowlcs : Maid of Maricjidorpt (1838). 
 
 Adonai. Son of the star-beam, and 
 god of light among the Rosicru cians.
 
 Adonais 
 
 16 
 
 Adrastus 
 
 One of the names given by the Jews to 
 Jehovah, for fear of breaking the com- 
 mand, "Thou shalt not take the name 
 of tlie Lord [Jehovah] thy God in vain." 
 
 Adona'is (4 syl.). The song about 
 Ado'nis ; Shelley's elegy on Keats is so 
 called. Sec Bion's Lament for Adonis. 
 
 Ado'nies. Feasts of Adonis, cele- 
 brated in Assyria, Alexandria, Egypt, 
 Judea, Persia, Cyprus, and all Greece, 
 for eiglit daj's. Lucian gives a long 
 description of them. In these feasts 
 wlieat, flowers, herbs, fruits, and 
 branches of trees were carried in pro- 
 cession, and thrown into the sea or some 
 fountain. 
 
 Ado'nis. A beautiful boy. The allu- 
 sion is to Ado'nis, who was beloved by 
 Venus, and was killed by a boar while 
 hunting. 
 
 " Rose-cheeked Adonis liiert liim to the chase ; 
 Huutiiif-' he loved ; but love he laughed to 
 
 SL-oru. 
 Siok-fhou.^'htecl Venus makes amain unto him, 
 And, like ii bold-faced suitor, 'gius to woo him." 
 iSliaket'peare: Venus and Adoiiis, 
 
 Adonis of 50. Leigh Hunt was sent 
 to prison for applying this term to 
 George IV. when Regent. 
 
 Adonis Flower (T//e), according to 
 Bion, is the rose ; Pliny (i. 23) says it 
 is the anemone ; others say it is the field 
 poppy, certainly the prince of weeds ; 
 but what we now generally mean by the 
 Adonis flower is jiheasant's eye, called in 
 French ffontc-dc miif/, because in fable 
 it sprang from the blood of the gored 
 hunter. 
 
 "Ai(ia poSov TtKTei, Ta Se BaKpvarav ave)xii>vai'." 
 
 (Blood briiif-'S forth roses, tears anemone.)— K'"" .' 
 Elean (i». AdiDiis, See also Ovid: McUiiiwrplioscs, 
 Bk. X., Fable l.'..) 
 
 Adonis Garden, or A gardoi of 
 Ado>ns (Greek). A worthless toy ; a 
 very perishable good. Tlie allusion is 
 to the fennel and lettuce jars of the 
 ancient Greeks, called " Adonis gar- 
 dens," because these herbs were planted 
 in them for the annual festival of the 
 young huntsman, and thrown away the 
 next morning. (1 Iloiry VI., i. 6.) 
 
 Adonis River. A river in Phoenicia, 
 which always runs red at the season 
 of the year when the feast of Adonis is 
 held. The legend ascribes this redness 
 to sympathy with the young hunter ; 
 others ascribe it to a sort of minium, or 
 red earth, which mixes with the water. 
 " Thammuz came next behind, 
 Who.se annual wound in Lebanon allured 
 The Syrian damsels to lament his fate 
 111 amorous ditties all a summer's day, 
 ■\vbil'' smooth Adonis from his native rock 
 liau I'wri'le to the sea, supposed with blood 
 t)f 'I'liammuz yearly wounded." 
 
 MiUon : Paradise Lost, Book 1, line 4-15, etc. 
 
 Ado'nists. Those Jews who maintain 
 that the proper vowels of the word Je- 
 hovah are unknown, and that the word 
 is never to be pronounced Ado'iiai. 
 (Hebrew, adon, lord.) 
 
 Adop'tion. Adoption bi/ arins. An 
 ancient custom of giving arms to a 
 person of merit, which 1 lid liim under 
 the obligation of being j-our champion 
 and defender. 
 
 Adoption by baptism. Being god- 
 father or godmother to a child. The 
 child by liajitism is your god-child. 
 
 uidoption by hair. Cutting off your 
 hair, and giving it to a person in proof 
 that you receive him as your adopted 
 father. Thus Boson, King of Aries, cut 
 off liis liair and gave it to Pope Jolui 
 VIII., who adojited him. 
 
 Adoption Controversy. Eliitand, 
 Archbishop of Tole'do, and Felix, Bishop 
 of Urgel, maintained that Jesus Christ 
 in liis human nature was the son of God 
 bj^ adoption only (Rom. viii. 29), though 
 in his pre-existing state he was the " be- 
 gotten Son of God " in the ordinary 
 catholic acceptation. Duns Scotus, Du- 
 randus, Calixtus, and others supported 
 this view. 
 
 Adop'tionist. A disciple of Elipand, 
 Archbishop of Tole'do, and Felix, Bishop 
 of Urgel (in Spain), is so called. 
 
 Adore (2 syl.) means to " carry to 
 one's mouth" "to kiss" (ad-os, ad- 
 ordrc). The Romans performed adora- 
 tion by jjlacing their right hand on their 
 mouth and bowing. The Greeks paid 
 adoration to kings by putting the royal 
 robe to their lips. The Jews kissed in 
 homage : thus God said to Elijah he 
 had 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed 
 unto Baal, "every mouth which hath 
 not kissed him " (1 Kngs xix. 18 ; 
 see aim Hos. xiii. 2). "Kiss the Son 
 lest He be angry " (Psalm ii. 12), means 
 worship, reverence the Son. Even in 
 England we do homage by kissing the 
 hand of the sovereign. 
 
 Adram'melech. God of the people 
 of Sepharvaim, to whom infants were 
 burnt in sacrifice (Kings xvii. 31). Prob- 
 ably the sun. 
 
 Adrastus. An Indian prince from 
 the banks of the Ganges, who aided the 
 King of Egypt against the crusaders. 
 He wore a serpent's skin, and rode on 
 an elephant. Adrastus was slain by 
 Rinaldo. — Tasso : Jerusalem Delivered, 
 Book XX.
 
 Adrian 
 
 17 
 
 Advowson 
 
 Adrian (Si.), represented, iu Chris- 
 tian art, with an anvil, and a sword or 
 axe close by it. He had his limbs cut 
 off on a smith's anvil, and was after- 
 wards beheaded. St. Adrian is the 
 patron saint of tlie Flemish brewers. 
 
 Adriel, in Dryden's Ahtialom and 
 
 AcJt'itopJicI, is meant for the Earl of 
 Mulgrave. 
 
 "Sliarp-iiulsiii;,' A(lri>'l, the muses' frienil, 
 Hiniscif :i ijiusi' : in S inlie.lriiii's ileli;ite 
 Tnii> til liis )i|-inrr. liiit noi ;, sl:i\.' .if state ; 
 Wliiiiii l)a\i(l< l.n,- null hi.ieiiii-s dhl ailoril, 
 Tliut frciui Ills (|isohe>lieiU Si.ii w.-ie lovn." 
 
 Part T. 
 
 Adrift. / ai)i all adrift. He is quite 
 adrift. Til turn one adrift. Sea phrases. 
 A sliip is said to be adrift when it has 
 broken from its moorings, and is driven 
 at random by the winds. To be adrift 
 is to be wide of the mark, or not iu the 
 right course. To turn one adrift is to 
 turn him from liouse and home to go 
 his own way. 
 
 Adroit' jiroperly nieans ' ' to tlio 
 right" (French, a droitc). The French 
 call a person who is not adroit (jauchc 
 (left-handed), meaning awkward, boor- 
 ish. 
 
 Adsidel ta. The table at which the 
 flamous sat during sacrifice. 
 
 AduUamites (4 syl.). The adherents 
 of Lowe and Horsman, seceders in IHCiG 
 from tlie Reform Partj'. John Biiglit 
 said of tliese members that they retired 
 to the cave of AduUam, and tried to 
 gather round them all the discontented. 
 The allusion is to David in his flight 
 from Saul, who " escai^ed to the cave 
 Adullam; and every one that was in 
 distress, and every one that was in debt, 
 and every one that was discontented, 
 gathered themselves unto him" (1 Sam. 
 xxii. 1, 2). 
 
 Advauncar. The second branches of 
 a stag's horn. 
 
 "In a hart the main hnrne itself they call the 
 beame. The lowest antliei- is called the hinic- 
 antlier; the next, rojaJ ; the next that, sitn'oui/; 
 and then the top. 
 
 "In a buck, they say hnr. heamv., hrauvcli, ail- 
 vaunrers, paline, and speilers."— Mai wood : Forest 
 La iLvs. 
 
 Advent. Four weeks to comme- 
 morate the first and second coming of 
 .Christ ; the first to redeem, and th'i 
 second to judge the world. The season 
 begins on St. Andrew's Day, or the Sun- 
 day nearest to it. (Latin, ad-venfiis, the 
 coming to.) 
 
 Ad'vsrsary (The). Satan. (1 Fet. 
 V. 8.) 
 
 Advocato i^iii) means one called to 
 
 assist clients in a court of law. (Latin, 
 adrucdrc.) 
 
 The DcriVs Adrocate. One who brings 
 forward mtilicious accusations. When 
 any name is proposed for canonisation 
 iu the lloman Catholic Church, two 
 advocates are appointed, one to oppose 
 the motion and one to defend it. The 
 former, called Adroca'tns l)iuh'oli (the 
 Devil's Advocate), advances all he can 
 against the person in question ; the 
 latter, called Adroca'tns Dei (God's 
 Ads'ocate), says all he can in support 
 of tlie propostil. 
 
 Advocates' Library, in Edinburgh, 
 founded 168'2, is one of the five libraries 
 to which copyright books are sent. {See 
 Copyright.)' 
 
 Advowson means the right of ap- 
 pointing the incumbent of a clmrdi or 
 ecclesiastical benefice. In mediaeval times 
 the "advocacy" or patronnge of 
 bishoprics and abbeys was freipiently in 
 the hands of powerful nobles, who often 
 claimed the right to appoint in the event 
 of a vacancy ; lience the word (f ri nu 
 Latin, adrocatio, the office of a jiatron). 
 
 A presentatire adroirson is when the 
 patron presents to tlie bishop a person to 
 whom he is willing to give the i)lace of 
 preferment. 
 
 A eolla'tire adroicson is when the 
 liisho}) himself is patron, and collates his 
 client without any intermediate person. 
 
 A don'atire adroirson is where the 
 Crown gives a living to a clergyman 
 without presentation, institution, or in- 
 duction. This is done when a church or 
 chapel has been founded by the Crown, 
 and is not subject to the ordinary. 
 
 Adroirson in f/ross is an advowson 
 separated from the manor, and belong- 
 ing wliolly to the owner. Wliile at- 
 tached to the manor it is an advowson 
 appendant. " Grops " (French) means 
 h,bsolute, entire ; thus gross weight is 
 the entire weight without deductions. 
 A rillain in gross was a villain tlie 
 entire property of his master, and not 
 attached to the land. A common in ijross 
 is one which is entirely j'our own, anil 
 which belongs to the manor. 
 
 Sale of Adroirsons. When lords of 
 manors built churches upon their owu 
 demesnes, and endowed tliem, they be- 
 came i^rivato property, whicli the lord 
 might give away or even sell, under 
 certain limitations. These livings ;iro 
 called ^Idroirsoris appcii'dant, being ap- 
 pended to the manor. After a time they 
 became regular " commercial property,"
 
 Adytum 
 
 18 
 
 2Eon 
 
 and we still see the sale of some of them 
 in the public joiiruals. 
 
 Ad'ytum. The Holy of Holies in the 
 (iruek aud Roman temples, into which 
 the general j)ublic were not admitted. 
 (Greek, a-ditton :^ not to be entered ; 
 (inn, to go.) 
 
 JE'diles (2 syl.)- Those who, in 
 nnciiMit Home, had charge of the public 
 buildings (rtv/cv), such as the temples, 
 theatres, baths, aqueducts, sewers, in- 
 cluding roads and streets also. 
 
 .^geus (2 syl.). A fabxdous king of 
 Athens who gave name to the ^guan 
 Sea. His son, Theseus, went to Ci'ete 
 to deliver Athens from the tribute ex- 
 acted by Minos. Theseus said, if he 
 succeeded he would hoist a white sail on 
 his home-voyage, as a signal of his 
 safety. This he neglected to do ; and 
 iEgeus, who watched the ship from a 
 rock, thinking his son had jierished, 
 threw himself into the sea. 
 
 This incident has been copied in the 
 tale of Sir Tristram and Ysoldc. Sir 
 Tristram being severely wounded in 
 Brittany, sent for Ysolde to come and 
 see him before he died. He told his 
 messenger, if Ysolde conssnted to come 
 to hoist a white Hag. Sir Tristram's 
 wife told him the ship was in sight with 
 a black tlag at the helm, whereupon 
 Sir Tristram bowed his head aud died. 
 [Tristr.vji.] 
 
 .^gine'tan Sculptures. Sculjjtures 
 excavated bv a company of Germans, 
 Danes, and English (ISll), in the little 
 island of ^gi'na. They were purchased 
 by Ludwig, Crown Prince of Bavaria, 
 and are now the most remarkable orna- 
 ments of the Glyptothek, at Miinich. 
 
 ^gir*. God of the ocean, whose wife 
 is liana. They had nine daughters, who 
 wore white robes and veils (Scui/diii- 
 iirirui iiii/t/tolo!/!/). These daughters are 
 the billows, etc. The word means ''to 
 How." 
 
 JE'gis. The shield of Jupiter made 
 by Vulcan was so called, and .symbolised 
 "Divine protection." The shield of 
 Minerva was called an evf/is also. The 
 shield of Jupiter was covered with the 
 skin of the goat Anraltha-a, and the 
 Greek for goat is, in the genitive case, 
 (lif/os. The »gis made by Vulcan was 
 of brass. 
 
 I tliroir mil (tgis over you, I give you 
 my protection. 
 
 .^gro'tat. To sport an (pqrolat. In 
 university parlance, an aegrotat is a 
 
 medical certificate of indisposition to 
 exempt the bearer from attending chapel 
 and college lectures. 
 
 A E I {^A — i), a common motto on 
 jewellery, means " for ever and for 
 aj'e." (Greek.; 
 
 .^lu'rus. The cat. An Egyptian 
 deity held in the greatest veneration. 
 Herodutus (ii. 66) tells us that Diana, 
 to avoid being molested by the giants, 
 changed herself into a cat. Tlie deity 
 used to be rejjresented with a cat's head 
 on a human body. (Greek, ailouros, 
 a cat.) 
 
 .^milian Law. Mad3 bv iEiuilius 
 Mamercus the pi'a^tor. It enjoined that 
 the oldest jjriest should drive a nail every 
 year into the capitol on the ides of Sep- 
 tember (Sejitember ;>). 
 
 .^monia .^mo'nian (Hxmoxia 
 H.f.monian). 
 
 .^ne'as. The hero of Virgil's oiiic. 
 He carried his father Anchi'ses on his 
 shoulders from the flames of Troy. After 
 roaming about for many years, he came 
 to Italy, where he founded a colony 
 which the Romans claim as their origin. 
 The epithet applied to him is p't us = pious, 
 dutiful. 
 
 .^ne'id. The epic poem of Yu'gil, 
 (in twelve book.s). So called from 
 ^■Enc'iis aud the suffi.x -is, plur. i(Ks 
 (belonging to). 
 
 "The story of Sinoii/'-savs M-icro'iiu-i. ".anil the 
 t.'ikiiii.' of Troy is horroweil from Pisamlcr. 
 
 " Till' loyi's of Diilo and .Eiieis are taken from 
 those of Medei aud Jasou, in Apolloiiius of 
 i;iio,les. 
 
 ■"Tliestorv of tlie Wooden Horse anil liurnin&' 
 of Troy i, fr.im Areiliius of Mile.ns." 
 
 .^ol'ic Digamma. An ancient 
 Greek letter (p), sounded like our n\ 
 Thus o'tiios with the digamma was 
 sounded woiuos ; whence the Latin 
 riiium, our irinc. Gamma, or //, was 
 shaped thus f", hence digamma = 
 double //. 
 
 .^olic Mode, in music, noted for its 
 simplicity, tit for ballads aud songs. 
 The Phrygian Mode was for religious 
 music, as hymns and anthems. 
 
 .^'olus, in Roman mythologj', wa3 
 " god of the winds." 
 
 ^■Eo/ian /larp. The wind-harp. A box 
 on which strings are stretched. Being 
 placed where a draught gets to the 
 strings, they utter musical sounds. 
 
 .^on (Greek, n'toii), eternity, an im- 
 measurable length of time ; any being 
 that is eternal. BasilidGs reckons there 
 have been 365 such teons, or gods ; but
 
 MrA 
 
 19 
 
 Aetites 
 
 Valentinius resti'icts the number to 30. 
 Sometimes writteu "eon." 
 
 In Lreiilo'.'y each series (if rucks covers an ;von, 
 or an iudetlnite and immeasurable period of 
 time. 
 
 JExa. [Era.] 
 
 Aerated Bread. Bread made light 
 by means of carbonic acid gas instead of 
 leaven. 
 
 Aerated Water. Water impregnated 
 with carbonic acid gas, called Jixed air. 
 
 Ae'rians. Followers of Ae'rius, who 
 maintained that there is no difference 
 between bishops and priests. 
 
 .^s'chylus (Greek, Aio-xuAo?), the 
 most sublime of the Greek tragic poets. 
 He wrote 90 plays, only 7 of which 
 are now extant. iEscliylus was killed 
 by a tortoise thrown by an eagle (to 
 break the shell) against his bald head, 
 which it mistook for a stone (b.c. o3o- 
 4o6). See Horace, Ars I'ocilca, 278. 
 
 Pronounce Ecs'-ke-lKs. 
 
 .ffis'chylus of France. Prosper 
 Jolyot de Orebillon. (1674-1702.) 
 
 .^scula'pius. The Latin form of 
 tlie Gieek word Asklepios, the god of 
 medicine and of healing. Now used for 
 ' ' a medical practitioner. ' ' 
 
 .Xsir, plural of As or Asa, the celestial 
 gods of Scandinavia, who lived in As- 
 gard (god's ward), situate on the hea- 
 venly hills between earth and the rain- 
 bow. The chief was Odin. We are told 
 that there were twelve, but it would be 
 hard to determine who the twelve are, 
 for, like Arthur's knights, the number 
 seems variable. The following may be 
 mentioned: — (1) (Jdin ; (2) Thor (liis 
 eldest son, the god of thunder) ; (3) Tyr 
 (another son, tlie god of wisdom) ; (4) 
 Baldur (another son, the Scandinavian 
 Apollo) ; (5) Bragi (the god of elo- 
 quence) ; (6) Vidar (god of silence) ; (7) 
 Hodur the blind (Baldur's twin brother) ; 
 (S) Hermod (Odin's son and messenger) ; 
 (9) Hcenir (divine intelligence) ; (10) 
 Odur (husband of Freyja, the Scandin- 
 avian Venus) ; (11) Loki (the god of 
 mischief, though not an asa, lived in 
 Asgard) ; (12) Vali (Odin's youngest 
 son) ; another of Odin's sons was Kvasir 
 the keen-sighted. Then there Avere the 
 Vanir, or gods of air, ocean, and water ; 
 the gods of fire ; the gods of the Lower 
 World ; and the Mysterious Three, who 
 sat on three tlirones above the rainbow. 
 Their names were Har (the perfect), the 
 Like-perfect, and the Third person. 
 
 iVivcs of the JEsir : Odin's wife was 
 Frigga ; Thor's wife was Sif (beauty) ; 
 
 Baldur's wife was Nanna (daring) ; 
 Bragi's wife was Iduna ; Odur's wife 
 was Freyja (the Scandinavian Venus) ; 
 Loki's wife was Siguna. 
 
 The JEsir built Asgard themselves, 
 but each god had his own private man- 
 sion. That of Odin was Gladsheim ; 
 but his wife Frigga had also her private 
 abode, named Fensalir ; the mansion of 
 Thor was Bilskirnir ; that of Baldur 
 was Broadblink ; that of Odur's wife 
 Avas Folkbang ; of Vidar was Landvidi 
 (wide land) ; the private abode of the 
 goddesses generally was Vingolf. 
 
 The refectory or banquet hall of the 
 ^sir was called Valhalla. 
 
 Niord, the water-god, was not one of 
 the ^sir, but chief of the Vanir ; his son 
 was Frey ; his daughter, Freyja (the 
 Scandinavian Venus) ; his wife was 
 Skadi ; and his home, Noatun. 
 
 .^son's Bath. Sir Thomas Browne 
 {llvliijio Jlcdici, p. G7) rationalises this 
 into " hair- dye." The reference is to 
 Medea renovating iEson, father of 
 Jason, with the juices of a concoction 
 made of sundry articles. After iEsou 
 had imbibed these juices, Ovid says : — 
 
 " Barha con^teiiiie, 
 Canitic posita, nigrum raimere, colorem." 
 
 Metaiiiwyhusci', vii. •.'ss. 
 
 .^sonian Hero {The). Jason, who 
 was the son of ^-Eson. 
 
 ^'sop's Fables were compiled by 
 Bab'rios, a Greek, who lived in the Alex- 
 andrian age. 
 
 ^■Esop, a Phrygian slave, very de- 
 formed, and the writer of fables. He 
 was contemporary with Pythag5ras, 
 about B.C. .570. 
 
 Almost all Ureek and Latin faMes are asc ilipd 
 ti> -Esop, as all our Psalms are ascrihed to I),n id. 
 Tlie Latin fables of Pliieilrus are supposed to be 
 translations of .Esopian faldes. 
 
 JEsop of Arabid. Lokman (?). Nasser, 
 who lived in the fifth century, is gener- 
 ally called tlie " Arabian ^sop." 
 
 JEaop of Eiujland. John Gay. (168S- 
 1732.) 
 
 JExop of France. Jean de la Fontaine. 
 (1621-169.5.) 
 
 JEsop of Germmnf, Gotthold Ephruim 
 Lessing. (1729-1781.) 
 
 u-Esop of India. I3idpay or Pilpay. 
 (About three centuries before the Chris- 
 tian era.) 
 
 A'etites (3 syl.). Eagle - stones. 
 (Greek, aetus, an eagle.) Hollow stones 
 composed of several crusts, one within 
 another. Supposed at one time to form 
 part of an eagle's nest. Pliny mentions 
 them. Kirwan applies the name to
 
 ^tolian Hero 
 
 20 
 
 Agag 
 
 clay-iioustones having a globular crust 
 of oxide investing an ochreous kernel. 
 Mytliically, they are supposed to have 
 the property of detecting theft. 
 
 .^tolian Hero (T/ic). Diomede, who 
 was king of ^toUa. Orid. 
 
 Aifable means " one easy to be spoken 
 to." (Latin, ad fari, to sj)eak to.) 
 
 Affect'. To love, to desire. (Latin, 
 affcctu.) 
 
 "Some affoct the liKht, sind sonii- the simile." 
 Ulair: Urarc. 
 
 I'Affection aveugle raison (French). 
 Cassius says to Brutus, ' ' A friendly eye 
 could never see such faults." " L'esjjrit 
 est i^resque toujours la dupe du coeur." 
 (La Rochefoucauld : Md.vini/'s.) 
 
 Again, " a mother thinks all her geese 
 are swans." 
 
 Italian : A ogni grolla paion belli i 
 suoi groUatini. Ad ogni uccello, suo 
 nido e bello. 
 
 French : A chaquo oiseau son nid 
 parait beau. 
 
 Latin : Asinus asino, sus sui, jnilcher. 
 Sua cuique res est carissima. 
 
 AfiTront' pro23erly means to stand 
 front to front. In savage nations oppos- 
 ing armies draw up front to front befoi'e 
 they begin hostilities, and by grimaces, 
 sounds, words, and all conceivable 
 means, try to provoke and terrify their 
 ris-d-vis. When this "aifronthig" is 
 over, the adversaries rush against each 
 other, and the fight begins in earnest. 
 
 Affront. A salute ; a coming in front 
 
 of another to salute. 
 
 "Only, sir, fbis I must caution ^ou of, in >(iur 
 affront, or salute, never to move your liat.''— 
 Gn'in: Ta Quoqtie, vii. lij. 
 
 Afraid. He tcho trcinhlc.f to hear a 
 Iciif fall sliouhl keep out of the. tcood. 
 This is a French proverb : '' Qui a peur 
 de feuilles, ne doit aller au bois." Our 
 corresponding English jn'overb is, " He 
 who fears scars shouldn't go the wars." 
 The timid should not voluntarily exjjose 
 themselves to danger. 
 
 " Little boats sbould keeii neir slmre, 
 Larger ones may ventui'e more." 
 
 Africa. Tcneo to, Africa (I take 
 possession of thee, O Africa). When 
 Ca!sar landed at AdrumCtum, in Africa, 
 he tripped and fell — a bad omen ; but, 
 with wonderful presence of mind, he 
 pretended that he had done so inten- 
 tionally, and kissing the soil, exclaimed, 
 "Thus do I take possession of thee, O 
 Africa." Told also of Scipio. {See I)on 
 Quixote, Pt. II. Bk. vi. ch. G.) 
 
 Africa semper aliquid novi afert. 
 "Africa is always producing some 
 novelty." A Greek jjvoverb quoted 
 
 (in Latin) by Pliny, in allusion to the 
 ancient belief that Afrita abounded in 
 strange monsters. 
 
 African Sisters {The). The Hes- 
 jierides (1 syl.) wlio lived in Africa. 
 They were the daughters of Atlas. 
 
 Afriet, or "Afrit." The beau ideal 
 of what is terrible and monstrous in 
 Arabian suj)erstition. A sort of ghoul 
 or demon. Solomon, we are told, once 
 tamed an Afrit, and made it submissive 
 to his will. 
 
 Aft. The hinder part of a ship. 
 Fore and Aft. The entire length (of 
 a sliii)), from stem to stern. 
 
 After-cast. A throw of dice after 
 the game is ended ; anything done too 
 late. 
 
 " Kvcr be playetb an after-east 
 Of all tbat be sball say ur do."—Goim: 
 
 After-clap. Beirarc of after-claps. 
 An after- clap is a catastrophe or threat 
 after an affair is supposed to be over. 
 It is very common in thunderstorms to 
 hear a "clap" after the rain subsides, 
 and the clouds break. 
 
 " Wbat plaguy niisebief ami mishap.? 
 Do dug bini still with afler-elaps." 
 
 Bidlti-: Ilml.Oru.t, Pt. i. 3. 
 
 After Meat, Mustard. In Latin, 
 "Post bellum, auxilium." We have 
 also, " After death, the doctor," which 
 is the German, " Wann der krauke ist 
 todt, so kommt der arztnei " (when the 
 patient's dead, comes the physic). To 
 the same effect is " When tlie steed is 
 stolen, lock the stable door." Meaning, 
 doing a thing, or oti'ering service when 
 it is too late, or when there is no longer 
 need thereof. 
 
 After us, the Deluge. " I care not 
 what liappens when 1 am dead and 
 gone." So said Mdme. de Pompadour, 
 the mistress of Louis XV. (171^2-1764). 
 Metternich, the Austrian statesman 
 (1773-18")9), is credited with the same; 
 but probably he simply quoted the words 
 of the French marchioness. 
 
 Aft-meal. An extra meal ; a meal 
 taken after and in addition to the ordin- 
 ary meals. 
 
 " At aft-nieals who sball pay for the wine ?" 
 
 Thi/nne: Debute. 
 
 A'gag, in Drj-den's satire of Absa- 
 lom and Aehif'ophel, is meant for Sir 
 Edmoudbiiry Godfrey, the magistrate 
 before whom Titus Gates made his de- 
 claration, and was afterwards found 
 barbarously murdered in a tlitch near
 
 Agamarshana 
 
 21 
 
 Agdistes 
 
 Primrose Hill. Agag was hewed to 
 pieces by Samuel (1 Sam. xv.). 
 
 "And Corah (.Titus Gates) might for Agag's 
 iim iler call 
 In torins as coarse as Samuel used to Saul." 
 1. C7.i-G. 
 
 Agamarshana. A passage of the 
 Veda, tlic reputitiou of which will purify 
 the soul like absolution after confession. 
 
 Agamemnon. King of Argos, in 
 Greece, and commander-in-chief of the 
 allied Greeks who went to the siege of 
 Troy. The fleet being delayed by ad- 
 verse winds at Aulis, Agamemnon sacri- 
 ficed his daughter Iph'igeni'a to Diana, 
 and the winds became at once favourable. 
 — Hoii/cr^n Il'tad. 
 
 "Till Aganio.iinnn's daughter's Mood 
 Apiieascd the gods that them withstood." 
 
 Kurlof Hurrcy. 
 
 His brother was Jlenelaos. 
 
 Hi?, daugtiters were Iphigeuia, Elec'.ra, Tphian- 
 assa, and t'hrysotliemis {Supliocles). 
 
 He was grdndson of I'elops. 
 
 He was killcil in a Imth by his wife Clytcni- 
 nestra. after his return from Troy. 
 
 His son was Oresie.s.who slew his mother for 
 muriieriug his father, and was called Agameni- 
 nonide;. 
 
 His wife was Clytemnestra, who lived in adult- 
 ery with Egistheus. At Troy he fell in love with 
 Cassandra, a daughter of King Piiam. 
 
 J'i.re IT fortes anU Agamcnuiona ("there 
 are hills bej-ond Pentland, and fields 
 beyond Forth"), i.e., we arc not to 
 su2ij)0se that our own age or locality 
 monopolises all that is good. — Ilor. Od. 
 iv. 9, "2.). We might add, et pout A(ja- 
 meiiuiona rivent. 
 
 " Gre It men there lived ere Agamemnon came, 
 And after him will others risj tofan.e."— £. C. i?. 
 
 Aganice (4 syl.), or Aglaonice, the 
 Thessalian, being able to calculate 
 eclipses, she pretended to have the moon 
 under her command, and to be able 
 when she chose to draw it from heaven. 
 Her secret being found out, her vamiting 
 became a laughing-stock, and gave birth 
 to the Greek proverb cast at braggarts, 
 " Yes, as the Moon obeys Aga.nici;." 
 
 Aganippe (1 syl.). A fountain of 
 Boeotia at the foot of Mount Helicon, 
 dedicated to the Muses, because it had 
 the vu'tue of imparting poetic inspira- 
 tion. From this fountain the Muses are 
 called Aganippedes (o syl.) or Agauip- 
 pides (5 syl.). 
 
 Ag'ape (3 syl.). A love-feast. The 
 early Christians held a love-feast before 
 or after communion, when contributions 
 were made for the poor. These feasts 
 became a scandal, and were condemned 
 at the Council of Carthage, 397. (Greek, 
 (Kjdpe, love.) 
 
 Agapem'one (o syl.). A somewhat 
 disreputable association of men and 
 
 women living promiscuously on a com- 
 mon fund, which existed for a time at 
 Charlynch, near Bridgewater, in Somer- 
 setshire. (Greek, cir/ape, love.) 
 
 Agape tse. Women under vows of 
 virginity, who undertook to attend the 
 monks. (The word is Greek, and means 
 
 hrloved.) 
 
 Ag'ate (2syl.). So called, says Pliny 
 (xxxvii. 10), from Acha'tes or Gaga'tes, 
 a river in Sicily, near which it is found 
 in abundance. 
 
 " These, these are they, if we consider well, 
 That saiihirs and the diiniouds doe excel 1, 
 The iiearle, the enierauld, and the turkesse 
 
 Men, 
 The sanguine corrall, amber's golden hiew, 
 The chrfstall, jacinth, achate, ruby red." 
 
 Taylor: The Waterspout iXWO). 
 
 Agate is sujjposed to render a person 
 invisible, and to turn the sword of foes 
 against themselves. 
 
 Agate. A very diminutive jierson. 
 Shakespeare speaks of Queen Mab as no 
 bigger than an agate-stone ou the fore- 
 finger of an alderman. 
 
 " 1 was never manned with an agate till now." 
 !<haki:spcare: 3 Ucii. IV. i. -J. 
 
 Agatha. Daughter of Cuno, the 
 ranger, in love with Max, to whom she 
 is to be married, provided he caiTies off 
 the prize in the annual trial-shot. She 
 is in danger of being shot by Max un- 
 wittingly, but is rescued by a hermit, 
 and becomes the bride of the young 
 huntsman. — TT'cber's Opera of Der 
 Freischiitz. 
 
 Agatha i^St.). Represented in Chris- 
 tian art with a pair of shears, and 
 holding in her hand a salver, ou which 
 her breasts are placed. The reference 
 is to her martyrdom, when her breasts 
 were cut off by a pair of shears. 
 
 Agave (3 syl.) or "American aloe," 
 from the Greek, ayauoK, admirable. 
 The Mexicans plant fences of Agave 
 round their wigwams, as a defence 
 against wild beasts. The Mahometans 
 of Egypt regard it a.s a chtirm and 
 religious symbol ; and jjilgrims to Mecca 
 indicate their exploit by hanging over 
 the door of their dwelling a leaf of 
 Agave, which has the further charm of 
 warding off evil spirits. The Jews in 
 Cairo attribute a similar virtue to the 
 plant, every part of which is utiUsed. 
 
 Agdistes {self-iiiduh/oice). The god 
 who kept the porch of the " Bower of 
 Bliss." He united in his own person the 
 two sexes, and sprang from the stone 
 Agdus, parts of which were taken by 
 Deucalion and Pyrrha to cast over their
 
 Ag3 as accords 
 
 Agist 
 
 shoulders, after the flood, for re-peopling 
 the world. {Spenser : Faerie Qncciie, 
 book ii. 12.) Ag-dis'-tes in 3 syl. 
 
 Age as accords {To). To do what 
 is fit and right (Scotch law term). Here 
 "Age " is from the Latin ay^re, to do. 
 
 " To set iibniu the matter in !i reaular nianiirr, 
 or, as he termed it . . . to 'ajre asaocovils.' "— 
 bir W. Hcvtl: UedjiaiuitUt, cbap. •_'. 
 
 Age of Animals. An old Celtic 
 rliymo, put into modern English, says : — 
 
 "Tlirirp llie ase of a dof; is that of a horse ; 
 Tlirice the age of a horse is that of a luaii ; 
 Thrice tlie aire of a man is t hat of a ileir ; 
 Thrice the aye of a deer is tliat of an eayle." 
 
 Age ofWomen (2%f). Though many 
 women are mentioned in the Bible, tlie 
 age of only one (Sarah, Abraham's wife) 
 is recorded, and that to show at her 
 advanced age she would become the 
 mother of Isaac. 
 
 "Klizaheth, tlie mother of tlie Baiitist," we 
 a e told liy 8t. Luke, " was well-striokcn in age." 
 
 Age of the Bishops {T/ie). The 
 ninth century. {Ilnllaiii : Middle Aijcs.) 
 
 Age of the Popes {The). The 
 twelfth century. {Ifallain: 31iddleAgcs.) 
 
 Age hoc. "Attend to this." In 
 sacrifice the Koman crier perpetually 
 repeated these words to arouse attention. 
 In the "Common Prayer Book" the 
 attention of the congregation is fre- 
 quently aroused by the exhortation, 
 " Let us pray," though nearly the whole 
 service is that of prayer. 
 
 Ages. Varit) {Frogme)ils, p. 219, 
 Scaliger's edition, 1G23) recognises three 
 ages : — • 
 
 (1) From the beginning of mankind 
 to the Deluge, a time wholly unknown. 
 
 (2) From the Deluge to the First 
 Olympiad, called the mythical period. 
 
 (3) From the first Olympiad to the 
 present time, called the historic period. 
 
 Titian symbolised the three ages of 
 man thus : — 
 
 (1) An infant in a cradle. 
 
 (2) A shepherd playing a flute. 
 
 (3) An old man meditating on two 
 skulls. 
 
 According to Lucre'tius also, there are 
 three ages, distinguished by the materials 
 employed in implements (v. 1282), viz. : 
 
 (1) Tlic cifjc of stone, when celts or im- 
 plements of stone were emidoyed. 
 
 (2) Tlie ar/e of bronze, when im^dements 
 were made of copper or Ijrass. 
 
 (3) 'The age of Iron, when implements 
 were made of iron, as at present, 
 
 Hesiod names flve ages, viz. : — 
 
 The Goldeu or i>atriarchal, under the care of 
 Saturn. 
 
 The .Silver or vohiptuous, under the care of 
 Jupiter. 
 
 The Brazen or warlike, under the care of 
 Neptune. 
 
 The Heroic or renaissant, under the care of 
 Mars. 
 
 The Iron or present, under the care of Pluto. 
 
 *i The present is sometimes called 
 the wire age, from its telegraphs, by 
 means of which well-nigli the whole 
 earth is in intercommunication. 
 
 Fichte names five ages also : the ante- 
 diluviaii, post-diluvian, Christian, Satanic, 
 and milleunian. 
 
 Ag'elas'ta. The stone on which 
 Ce're.s rested when worn down by fatigue 
 in searching for her daughter. (Greek, 
 joyless. ) 
 
 Agenor ides (5 syl.). Cadmos, who 
 was the son of Agenor. 
 
 Agent. Ts man a free ayent ? This 
 is a question of theology, which has long 
 been mooted. The point is this : If 
 God fore-ordains all our actions, they 
 must take place as he fore-ordains them, 
 and man acts as a watch or clock ; but 
 if, on the other hand, man is responsible 
 for his actions, he must be free to act as 
 his inclination leads him. Those who 
 hold the former view are called neeessi ia- 
 rlans ; thoie who hold the latter, liberta- 
 rians. 
 
 Agglutinate Languages. The 
 
 Tura'nian family of languages are so 
 called because every syllable is a word, 
 and these are ylned together to form 
 other words, anil mtty be unglued so as 
 to letive the roots distinct, as "inkstand." 
 
 Aghast'. Frightened, as by a ghost ; 
 rom Anglo-Saxon ydst, a gliost. 
 
 Agi'o. The jiercentage of charge 
 made for the exchange of paper money 
 into cash. (Italian). 
 
 'Tlie protit is called by the Italians aggio."— 
 
 .Si-d licit. 
 
 Agis. King of Sparta, who tried to 
 deliver Greece from the Macedonian 
 yoke, and was slain in the attempt. 
 
 " To save a rotten state, Agis, who saw 
 E'en Sparta's self to servile avarice sink." 
 
 Thomson: Winter, 4.ss-9. 
 
 Agist'. To take the cattle of another 
 to graze at a certain sum. The feeding 
 of these beasts is called ayistnieut. The 
 words are from the Norman ayiser (to 
 be levant and couchant, rise up and lie 
 down), because, says Coke, beasts are 
 levant and couchant whilst they are ou 
 the land. 
 
 fr
 
 Agla 
 
 23 
 
 i^grimony 
 
 Agla. A cabalistic uame of God, 
 formed from the iuitial letters of Attuli, 
 Gibbor, Leliolam, Adoirai {Thou arl 
 strong for ever, O Lord!). [Siv Nox- 
 
 AEICA.) 
 
 Aglaos. The jjoorest man iu Arcadia,, 
 pronounced by Apollo to be far ha,j)i)ier 
 than Gyges, because he was " contented 
 with his lot." 
 
 " Poor find content is rich ami licli encmf-'li ; 
 But riches enilless aieas iiuoias winter 
 To him who ever feai's be sliall lie iio'ir." 
 
 Shakespeore : Othellu iii. 3. 
 
 Agnes. S/ic is an Agnes (elle fait 
 VAgnea) — i.e., she is a sort of female 
 " Verdant Greeu," who is so unsophistic- 
 ated that she does not even know what 
 love means. It is a character in Mo- 
 liere's V Ecolc dcs Fcnimes. 
 
 Agnes {St.) is represented by Dom- 
 enichiuo as kneeling on a pile of fagots, 
 the tireextnguished, and the executioner 
 about to slay her with the sword. The 
 introduction of a lamb {aginis) is a 
 modern innovation, and play on the 
 name. St. Agnes is the patron of young 
 virgins. 
 
 " St. Agnes was first tied to a stake, 
 but the lire of the stakes went out ; 
 whereupon Aspasius, set to watch the 
 martyrdom, drew his sword, aud cut off 
 her head. ' ' 
 
 Agnes'Day {St.), Hist January. Upon 
 St. Agnes' night, you take a row of pins, 
 aud 23ull out every one, one after another. 
 Saying a jiater-noster, stick a ])in in 
 your sleeve, and you will dream of him 
 or her you shall marry. — ^Ixbrcg : Mia- 
 ccllaiiy, 1^. loG. 
 
 Agnoites (3 syl.). Ag' -no-it cs, or 
 Ag-no'-i-tse (4 syl.). 
 
 ( 1 ) Certain heretics in the fourth 
 century who said "God did not know 
 everything." 
 
 (2) Another sect, iu the sixth century, 
 who maintained that Christ " did not 
 know the time of the day of judgment." 
 (Greek, a, not ; yiyvi^aKbi, to know.) 
 
 Agnostic {A)i). A term invented by 
 Prof. Huxley in 1885 to indicate the 
 mental attitude of those who withhold 
 their assent to whatever is incapable of 
 proof, such as the absolute. In regard 
 to miracles and revelation, agnostics 
 neither dogmatically accept nor reject 
 such matters, but simply say Agiiosco—1 
 do not know — they are not capable of 
 proof. 
 
 Agnus-castus. A slnub of the Vitex 
 tribe, called agnos (chaste) by the 
 Greeks, because the Atheniau la,dies, at 
 
 the feast of Ceres, used to strew their 
 couches with vitex leaves, as a palladium 
 of chastity. The monks, mirtaking 
 agiwx (chaste) for agnns (a lamb), but 
 knowing the use made of the plant, 
 added castas to explain its character, 
 making it chaste-lamb. (For another 
 similar blunder, .see I.H.S.) 
 
 Agnus Dei. A cake of wax or 
 dough stanijicd with the figure of a 
 lamb supporting the banner of the Cross, 
 and distributed by the Pope on the 
 Sunday after Easter as an amulet. Our 
 Lord is called Agnus Lei (the Lamb of 
 (iod). There is also a prayer so called, 
 becau'je it begins with the words, Agnus 
 Jk'i, qui tollis pccca'ta inundi (O Lamb of 
 God, that takest away the sins of the 
 world) . 
 
 Agog'. Ih' is all agog, in nei'vous 
 anxiety ; on the qui rirc, like a horse in 
 clover. (French, a gogo, or rivre a gogo, 
 to live in clover.) 
 
 Agonis'tes (4 svl.). Samson Agonistes 
 (the title of Mdton's drama) means 
 Samson wrestling with adversity — Sam- 
 son combating with trouble. (Greek, 
 agoni'zoniai, to combat, to struggle.) 
 
 Agonis'tics. A branch of the Dona- 
 tists of Africa who roamed from town to 
 town affirming they were ministers of 
 justice. The Greek agon (an assembly) 
 ^z. the Latin nunduuc, days when the 
 law-courts were opened, that country 
 people might go and get their law -suits 
 settled. 
 
 Agony properly means contention iu 
 the athletic games ; aiid to agonise is the 
 act of contending. (Greek, agon^ a game 
 of contest, as well as a "place of 
 assembly "). 
 
 Agony, meaning "great pain," is the 
 wrestle with pain or struggle with suffer- 
 ing. 
 
 Agony Column of a newspaper. A 
 colunui containing advertisements of 
 missing relatives and friends ; indicating 
 great distress of mind in the advertiser. 
 
 Agrarian Law, from the Latin ager 
 (land), is a law for making land the 
 common property of a nation, and not 
 the particular property of individuals. 
 In a modified fonn, it means a re- 
 distribution of land, giving to each citizen 
 a i)ortion. 
 
 Agrimony. The older spelling was 
 Argemony, and Pliny ctAls it argeinonia, 
 from the Greek argemos, a white speck 
 on the eye, which this plant was supposed 
 to cure,
 
 Ague 
 
 21 
 
 Air one's opinions 
 
 Ague {A cure for). (See Homer.) 
 
 Ague-cheek. Sir Andrew Ar/uc- 
 ehirl,\ a straiglit-liaired couutry squire, 
 stupid cveu to silliuess, self- conceited, 
 living to eat, aud wholly unacquainted 
 with the world of fashion. The character 
 is in Shakespeare's 'Tarlfth Niglit. 
 
 A'gur's Wish (Prov. xxx. 8). " Give 
 me neither riches nor jjoverty." 
 
 Ahasue rus, or Ahashverosh. A title 
 common to several Persian kings. The 
 three mentioned in the Bible are sup- 
 posed to be Cyaxares (Dau. xi. 1) ; 
 Xerxes (Esther) ; aud Cambyses (Ezra 
 iv. 6). 
 
 An nlaliiister v;isp fimiiil at Halir:inin>sus t-'ive^ 
 four n'lidcriiiKScif tlip ii:i,iiie Xr! m^s, \ iz.. I'crsian, 
 Klisliiii/:ir.-lia; At^swi-.n). Klii.-.ilinrs,ili,i : K. -i pti.-ui, 
 J<li!<h!iinsli(i : and tlic (4rfek, .Xiuis; ilic Sans- 
 kfit runt Kshl niL'aus "to vulo,'' Kt^liatlira (.Zend 
 KaatliKi), a king. 
 
 Ahead. Tke tciiuPs ahcail — i.e., blows 
 in the direction towards which the shijj's 
 head points ; in front. If the wind 
 blows in tlie opposite direction ('.<"., 
 towards the stern) it is said to be astern. 
 When one ship is ahead of another, it is 
 Zf^/'orf it, or further advanced. " Aliead 
 of his class," means at the head. Ahead 
 in a race, means before the rest of the 
 runners. 
 
 To (10 nhcnd is to go on without hesi- 
 tation, as a ship runs ahead of anotlier. 
 
 Ahith'ophel, or Achifophd. A 
 treacherous friend and adviser. Ahitho- 
 phel was David's counsellor, but joined 
 Alisalom in revolt, aud advised him 
 " like tlie oracle of God" ("i Sam. xvi. 
 20-'2;}). In Dryden's political satire, 
 Achitophel stands for the Earl of Shaftes- 
 burj^ (.SV'i? AciiiTornEL.) 
 
 Ahmed (Prince). Noted for the tent 
 given him liy the fairy Pari-bau'ou, whicli 
 would cover a whole army, but might bo 
 carried in one's pocket ; and for the 
 apple of Samarcand', which would cure 
 all diseases. — Arabian Niylitx, Priucc 
 Ahmed, cte. 
 
 This tent coincides in a marvellous 
 manner with the Norse ship called Skid- 
 bladnir {q.r.). {See Solomon's Caepet.) 
 
 Aholibah (Ezek. xxiii. 4, 11, etc.). 
 The personification of prostitution. Used 
 by the prophet to signify religious adult- 
 ery or harlotry. {See Harlot.) 
 
 " Tlie great didii-ult.v in exposing the immoral- 
 ities of this Alioliliah is tliat lier [acts] are so 
 revolting."— Prt/^fj-s oh the Social Evil, 1885. 
 
 Aholiba'mah. A granddaughter of 
 Cain, loved by the seraph Samia'sa. She 
 is a proud, amlutious, queen-like beauty, 
 a female typo of Cain. When the flood 
 
 came, her angel-lover carried her under 
 his wings to some other planet. — Bijro)i : 
 Heaven and Uarfh. 
 
 Ah'riman, or A/iriui'anes. The prin- 
 ciple or angel of darkness and evil in the 
 Magian system. {See Ormusd.) 
 
 " 1 recognise tlie evil spirit, sir, and do linnour 
 to Abrinianes in this youug n:!in."—Tliaclicroii. 
 
 Aide toi et le Ciel t'aidera {God 
 win liclp those lelio help thvni^clvex). The 
 party-motto of a political society of 
 France, established in 1824. The object 
 of the society was, by agitation and the 
 press, to induce the middle classes to 
 resist the Government. Guizot was at 
 one time its president, and Le Globe and 
 Le National its organs. This society, 
 which doubtless aided in bringing about 
 the Revolution of 1830, was dissolved in 
 1832. 
 
 Ai'grette (2 syl.). A lady's head- 
 dress, consisting of feathers or flowers. 
 The French call the down of thistles and 
 dandelions, as well as the tuft of birds, 
 aiyrette. 
 
 Aim. I'y (/ire aim, to stand aloof. 
 A term in archery, meaning to stand 
 within a convenient distance from the 
 butts, to f/ivc the archers infonnation 
 how ncai their arrows fall to the mark 
 aimed at. 
 
 "But, gentle people, give nieaini awhile, 
 For nature puts me to a heavy task ; 
 Stand all aloof." 
 
 Shakespeare : Tittis Aiidronicns, v. ."). 
 
 To ertj aim. To applaud, encourage. 
 In archery it was customary to appoint 
 certain persons to cry aiui, for the sake 
 of encouraging those who were about to 
 shoot. 
 
 " All my nei.ghlioirs shall cry aim." 
 Sliakc.fpenre : Mirnj Wivts of Windsor, iii. 2. 
 
 Aim -crier. An abettor, one who 
 encourages. In archery, the ijerson em- 
 ployed ta " cry aim." {See above.) 
 
 " Thcni smiliirg aim-crier at princes' fall." 
 
 Jiiiijlish Arcadia. 
 
 Air, an element-, Anaxag'oras held 
 air to be the primary form of matter. 
 
 Aristotle gives Fire, Air, Earth, and 
 Water as the four elements. 
 
 Air, a manner, as " the air of the 
 court," the " air of gentility ; " "a good 
 air" (manner, deportment) means the 
 pervading habit. 
 
 Air, in musie, is that melody which 
 predominates and gives its chtiracter to 
 tlie piece. 
 
 Air one's opinions {7o). To state 
 oi)inions without having fii-mly based
 
 Air-brained 
 
 25 
 
 Aladdin's Windo-w 
 
 them oil proper datca. To let them fly 
 loose, Uke a caged bird. 
 
 To irntllatc an iiiunidn ineiins to suggest fortlie 
 pui'iHise of Laviiiir it duly tested. A conceited 
 man airs liis opinions, a discreet one ri-iitilaii's 
 tlieni, IIS corn wlieu it is wiuuowed, and the cliall! 
 is l)lo\vnolT. 
 
 Air-brained. Giddy, heedless. This 
 ■word is now generally spelt " hare- 
 brained ; " but, by ancient authors, /lair- 
 hra'nwd. In C. Thomson's Antubio- 
 (jraphij it is spelt "Air-brained," which 
 seems plausible. 
 
 Air-line signifies (in the United 
 States) tlie most direct and shortest 
 possible route between two given places, 
 as the Eastern and Western Air- line 
 Kail way. 
 
 Air-sMp {An). A balloon. 
 
 "Presently a nortli-eas:erly curreut of wind 
 struck the air-sliip, and it began to move wilh 
 great velocitv upon a horizontal line." — ,l/(ix 
 AiUhr: The CaiitahCs MS. 
 
 Air-throne. Odin's throne in Glads- 
 heim. His palace was in Asgard. 
 
 Airs. To gire oneself mif/Jit>j airs : 
 to assume, in manner, appearance, and 
 tone, a superiority to which you have 
 no claim. The same as ^4 »', manner (q.r.). 
 The plural is essential in this case to take it out 
 of the category of mere eccentricity, or to dis- 
 tinguish it from "air" in the sense of deport- 
 uuMU, as " he had a fine, manly air," " his air was 
 tint of a gentleman." Air, in the singular, hciu',' 
 g ■nerally complimentary, liut "airs" in ihe plural 
 ahvavs convevinv' i-cusure. Ill Italian, we liml 
 the phrase, , Si, (.M/t-;; line. 
 
 Airapadam. The white elephant, 
 one of the eight which, according to 
 Indian mythology, sustain the earth. 
 
 Aisle (pronounce i/c). The north and 
 south wings of a church. Latin, a/a 
 (a.x;illa, ascella), through the French, aile, 
 a wing. In German the nave of a 
 church is schijf, and the aisle fliigcl (a 
 wing). In some church documents the 
 aisles are called allci/s (walks), and 
 hence the nave is still sometimes called 
 the "middle ai.sle " or alley. The choir 
 of Lincoln Cathedral used to be called 
 the " Chanters' alley ; " and Olden tells 
 us that when he came to be church- 
 warden, in 1638, he made the Puritans 
 " come up the middle alley on their 
 knees to the raile." 
 
 Aitch-bone of beef. Con-uption of 
 " Xaitch-bone," i.e. the hamich-bone 
 (Latin, nates, a haimch or buttock). 
 
 similarly, "an apmu" is a corruption of a 
 iKiliiKrou ; "an luMcr " is a CDrruplion of a naililrr 
 (Old fZug., iiiTii'lri). In other words, we have 
 leverscd the order ; thus "a newt" is ir/i art; "a 
 nag " is ail iig ^Danish). Latin, cqlniis], a h(U'so. 
 
 Ajax, i/ie Greater. King of Sal'amis, 
 a mnn of giant stature, daring, and self- 
 confident. Generally called Tel'amon 
 
 Ajax, because he was the son of Tel'a- 
 mon. When the armour of Hector was 
 awarded to Ulysses instead of to himself, 
 he turned mad from vexation and stabbed 
 himself. — Homer'' s Iliad, and later poets. 
 
 Ajax, the Less. Son of Oileus (3 syl.), 
 King of Locris, in Greece. The night Troy 
 was taken, he offered violence to Cas- 
 sandra, the prophetic daugliter of Priam ; 
 in consequence of whicli his ship was 
 driven on a rock, and he perished at sea. 
 — Homer's Iliad, and later poets. 
 
 " Il'sa (.luno), Jovis rapidum jaculata e nubihus 
 igneui, 
 Disjecitiiue rates, e\ ertitque a^cjuora ventis ; 
 Ilium (,\jax) expirauteni trausli.\o pectore 
 
 Hauimas 
 Turliine corriiuut, scopuhxiue inflxit acuto." 
 Virijil : ^Encid, i. 42, etc. 
 
 Akbar. An Arabic word, meaning 
 "Very Great." Akbar-Khan, the "very 
 great Khan," is applied especially to the 
 Khan of Hindustan who reigned l.'iJG- 
 160.5. 
 
 Ak'uan, the giant whom Kustan 
 slew. (Persian m>jtIiolo(jij.) 
 
 Ak'uman. The most malevolent of 
 all the Persian gods. 
 
 Alabama, U. S. America. The name 
 of tin Iiulian tribe of the Mississiiipi 
 Valley, meaning " here we rest." 
 
 Alabaster. A stone of great purity 
 and whiteness, used for ornaments. So 
 called from " Alabastron, " in Upper 
 Egypt, where it abounds. 
 
 Alad'din, in the Arabian Nights'' 
 Tales, obtains a magic lamp, and has a 
 splendid palace built by the genius of the 
 lamp. He marries the daughter of the 
 sultan of China, loses his lamp, and his 
 palace is transported to Africa. Sir 
 Walter Scott says, somewhat incor- 
 rectly : - 
 
 "Vanished into air like tlii' lalace of Alad'iin." 
 
 V The palace did not vanish into air, 
 but was transported to another i^lace. 
 
 Aladdin's Lamp. The source oi 
 wealth and good fortune. After Aladdin 
 came to his wealth and was married, he 
 suffered his lamp to hang up and gel 
 rusty. 
 
 "It was impossible that a family, ludding a 
 document whicli gave them access to the most 
 powerful noblemen in Scotland, should have 
 suffered it to remain unemployed, like Aladdin's 
 rusty lamii."— .S'tHior. 
 
 Aladdin's Ring, given him by the 
 African magician, was a " preservative 
 against every evil." — Arabian Nights: 
 Aladdin and the IVuuderful Lamp. 
 
 Aladdin's Window. To finish Alad- 
 din's Window — i.e. to attempt to com-
 
 Aladine 
 
 26 
 
 Albatross 
 
 plete something begun by a great genius, 
 but left imperfect. The genius of the 
 lamji built a imlace with twenty-four 
 windows, all but one being set in frames 
 of jjrecious stones ; the last was left for 
 the sultan to finish ; but after exhausting 
 his treasures, the sultan was obliged to 
 abandon the task as hopeless. 
 
 Tait's second part of Dryden's Abmloiii. 
 and Avltitophd is an Aladdin's TFiiiduu-. 
 
 Al adine (3 syl.) . The sagacious but 
 cruel old king of Jerusalem in Tassn's 
 Jcniaalcin Delivered, book xx. This 
 is a fictitious character, inasmuch as the 
 Holy Land was at the time under the 
 dominion of the caliph of Egyi)t. Alad- 
 ine was slain by Raymond. 
 
 Alako. Son of Baro-De'vel, the 
 great god of the gipsies. The gipsies 
 say that he will ultimately restore them 
 toAssaj in Assyria, their native country. 
 The image of Alako has a pen in his left 
 hand and a sword in his right. 
 
 Alans. Large dogs, of various species, 
 used for hunting deer. 
 
 ".Skill- of nniniMls slain in tlip i-lias" wpit 
 stretched (in the i--niuiiil . . . aii.l iipmi a lienii 
 iif tliPw lav .-i ,ihi,if. as they were .allnl. i.i-.. «(ilf 
 p ■eyiuiiuuls "f tlie largest size."— .sic ir..Sc»H: Tlic 
 Talism.iii, chap. vi. 
 
 Alar'con. King of Barca, who joined 
 the armament of Egypt against the 
 Crusaders. His men were^ only half 
 armed. — Jenisalcin JJeli I'ered. 
 
 Alarm. An outcry made to give 
 notice of danger. (ItaHan, all' anne, 
 "to arms;" French, alarme.) 
 
 Alarum Bell. In fevidal times a 
 'larum bell wa ; rung in the castle in 
 times of danger to summon the retainers 
 to arms. A variant of alai-m ('/.«'.). 
 
 " Awake ! awake ! 
 nin3 the alaniiii bell ! Murder and tre.ason : " 
 Shakespeare : Macbeth, ii, ."!. 
 
 Alasnam. Alasnain's lady. In the 
 Arabian Xif/Iits' Tales Alasnam has 
 eight diamond statues, but had to go in 
 quest of a ninth more precious still, to 
 iill the vacant pedestal. The prize was 
 found in the lady who bec;ime his wife, 
 at ouce the most beautiful and the most 
 perfect of her race. 
 
 " There is wanrinpr one pure and perfect model, 
 and that one, wherever it is to he found, is like 
 Alasuaui's ladv, worth thcni all."— ,Sir Waltir 
 .Scott. 
 
 Alasnam's Mirror. Tlie "touch- 
 stone of virtue," given to Alasnam by 
 one of the Genii. If he looked in this 
 mirror it informed him whether a damsel 
 would remain to him faithful or not. If 
 the mirror remained uusullied so would 
 the maiden ; if it clouded, the maiden 
 
 would prove faithless. — Arabian XiyJits : 
 I'rinee Zeijn Alasnam. 
 
 Alas'tor. The evil genius of a house ; 
 a Nemesis. Cicero says : " Who medi- 
 tated kilUng himself that he might 
 become the Alastor of Augustus, whom 
 he hated." Shelley has a poem entitled 
 " Alastor, or The Spirit of Solitude." 
 The word is Greek [alastur, the aveng- 
 ing god, a title applied to Zeus) ; the 
 Romans had their Jupiter Viudex ; and 
 we read in the Bible, " Vengeance is 
 mine. I will repa}', .saith the Lord " 
 {Itojii. xii. 19). 
 
 Alauda. A Roman legion raised by 
 Julius Ctesar in Gaul, and so called 
 because they carried a lark's taft on the 
 top of their lielmets. 
 
 Alawy. The Nile is so called by the 
 Abyssinians. The word means " the 
 giant." 
 
 Alb. The long white tunic (Latin, 
 albax, white) bound round the waist 
 with a girdle. The dress is emblematical 
 of purity and continence, and worn by 
 priests when saying Mass. 
 
 Albadara. A bone which the Arabs 
 say defies destruction, and which, at the 
 resurrection, will be the germ of the new 
 body. The Jews called it Luz i'/.r.) ; 
 and the " Os sacrum " (<•/.''.) refers prob- 
 aWy to the same suiierstitiou. 
 
 Alban ('S7.), like St. Denis, is re- 
 presented as carrj'ing liis head between 
 his hands. His attributes are a sword 
 and a crown. 
 
 St. Aphiddisius, St. Aventine, St. Desiderins, 
 St. Chrysoliiis, St. Hilarian, St. Leo, St. Lucamis. 
 St. I.nciaii, St. Prolia, St. Solanj-'ia, and several 
 oilier niai'tyrs. are represented as carrying; their 
 he.ids in their hands. .\n artist's liungliui,' way 
 (d' id''ntif.\iiiL.'a headless trunk. 
 
 Albania, Tiu'key, or rather the 
 region about the Caucasus. The word 
 mciins tlie '' mountainous region." 
 
 Albanian Hat {Ai/). " Un chapeau 
 a rAlbantiise." A sugar-lotif hat, such 
 as, was worn by the Albanians in the 
 sixteenth centur}'. 
 
 Alba'no Stone or Peperi'no, used by 
 the Romtins in building ; a volctmic tufa 
 quarried ;it Alba'no. 
 
 Albany. Scotland. (See Albin.) 
 
 Alba'ti. The white brethi-en. Certain 
 Cliristitiii fanatics of the fourteenth 
 century, so called because they dressed 
 in white. Also tlie recently baptised. 
 (Latin.) 
 
 Albatross. The largest of web- 
 fonteil liirds, called by sailors the Cape 
 S/ierj), from its frcc^uenting the Cape of
 
 Albert 
 
 27 
 
 Album. 
 
 Good Hope. It gorges itself, and then 
 sits motionless upon the waves. It is said 
 to sleep in the air, because its flight is a 
 gliding witliout any apparent motion of 
 its long wings. Sailors say it is fatal to 
 shoot an albatross. Coleridge's Aii- 
 ciciif Mariner is founded on tliis super- 
 stition. 
 
 Albert {An). A chain from the 
 waistcoat pocket to a button in front of 
 the waistcoat. So called from Prince 
 Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria. 
 When he went to Birmingham, in 1819, 
 he was presented bj^ the jewellers of the 
 town with such a chain, and the fashion 
 took the public fancy. 
 
 Albertaz'zo (in Orlando FnrioHo) 
 married Alda, daughter of Otho, Duke of 
 Saxony. His sons were Hugh or Ugo, 
 and Fulke or Fulco. From this family 
 springs the Royal Family of England. 
 
 Albia'zar (in Jerusalem Belivcrcd). 
 One of the leaders of the Arab host which 
 joined the Egyptian armament against 
 the Crusaders. ''A chief in rapine, not 
 in knighthood bred." (Book xvii.) 
 
 Albigen'ses (4 syl.). A common name 
 for /icrcticn prior to the Reformation ; so 
 called from the Albigeois, inhabitants of 
 the district which now is the-xlepartment 
 of theTani,thecaiiitalof whicliwas Allti. 
 It was here the persecution of the Re- 
 fonners began, under the dii'ection of 
 Pope Iimocent III., in 1209. The Wal- 
 den'ses rose after them, but are not 
 unfrequeutly confounded with them. 
 
 Albin. A name at one time applied 
 to the northern part of Scotland, called 
 by the Romans " Caledonia." This 
 was the part inhabited by the Pict^. 
 The Scots migi'ated from Scotia in the 
 North of Ireland, and acquired mastery 
 under Kenneth M'Alpin in 813. In 
 poetry Scotland is called Albin. 
 
 (i.iclic, «/7/) ; KPllic, alp, our Alps. Alpin is 
 either AHp-bci) s m of the hills, i.e., the hill- 
 cciiiiitry, or Ali}-i>in (hilly island). Albauia 
 liiCMiis the "hilly ccnintry." 
 " Woe to his kitidreii, ami woe to liis cause. 
 When Alljin her ilayniore indifrnaiitly draws." 
 Campbell: Lochicl's Wariiinij. 
 
 Albino. A term originally applied 
 by the Portuguese to those negroes who 
 were mottled with white .spots ; but now 
 applied to those who are born with red 
 eyes and white hair. Albinos are found 
 among ichitf people as well as among 
 negroes. The term is also applied to 
 beasts and plants. (Latin, alban, white.) 
 
 Albino-poets. Oliver Wendell 
 Holmes, in the Autocrat of the Breakfant 
 Table (chap, viii.), speaks of Kirke 
 
 White as one of the " sweet Albino 
 poets," whose "plaintive song" he 
 admires. It impUes some deficiency of 
 virility, as albinism suggests weakness, 
 and possibly is meant as a play upon 
 the name in this particular instance. 
 
 Al'bion. England, so named from 
 the ancient inhaliitants called Albio'nes. 
 The usual etymology of albiis (white), 
 said to have been given by Julius Caesar 
 in allusion to the " white cliffs," is quite 
 untenable, as an old Greek treatise, tlie 
 I)c Miiiido, fonnerl}' ascribed to Aris- 
 totle, mentions the islands of Albion 
 and lerne three hundred years before 
 the invasion of Csesar. Probably 
 " Albion " or Albany was the Celtic 
 name of all Great Britain, subsequently 
 restricted to Scotland, and then to the 
 Highlands of Scotland. Certainly the 
 inhabitants of the whole island are im- 
 plied in the word Albiones in Festus 
 Avienus's account of the voyage of 
 Hamilcar in the fifth century B.C. {See 
 Albin.) 
 
 "Beyond the Pillars of Hercu'e; is the ocean 
 \vh)ch flows round the earth, and in it are 2 very 
 huT'e islnnds lalled Biit.annia, viz., Albion and 
 le \.ii."—l)€ Miindo, .Sec. iii. 
 
 Albion. Son of the king of this 
 island when Oberon held his court in 
 what Ave call Kensington Gardens. He 
 was stolen by the elfin Milkah, and 
 brought up in fairyland. When nine- 
 teen years of age, he fell in love with 
 Kenna, daughter of King O'beron, but 
 was driven from the empire by the in- 
 dignant monarch. Albion invaded the 
 territory, but was slain in the battle. 
 When Kenna knew this, she poured the 
 juice of moly over the dead body, and it 
 changed into a snow-drop. — 'I\ 'I'uhell. 
 
 Albion the Giant. Fourth son of 
 Neptune, sixth son of O.'-irLs, and brother 
 of Hercules, his mother being Amphi- 
 trita. Albion the Giant was put by his 
 father in possession of the isle of Britain, 
 where he speedil}- subdued the Samo- 
 theans, the first inhabitants. His 
 brother Bergion ruled over Ireland and 
 the Orkneys. Another of his brothers 
 was Lestrigo, who subjected Ital}^ {See 
 W. Harrison's IntrodHclion to Hoiuished' s 
 C/ironiele.) 
 
 Albracca's Damsel (in Orlando 
 F/irioso) is Angelica. Albracca is the 
 Ciqiital of Cathay {>j.r.). 
 
 Album. A blank book for scraps. 
 The Romans applied the word to certain 
 tables overlaid with gypsum, on which 
 were inscribed the annals of the chief 
 priests, the edicts of the praetors, and
 
 Alcade 
 
 28 
 
 Alderman 
 
 rules relating to civil matters. lu the 
 Middle Ages, "album" was the general 
 name of a register or list ; so called from 
 heing kejit either on a white {ciI/mik) board 
 with black letters, or on a black board 
 witli white letters. For the same reason 
 the boards in chui-ches for notices, and 
 the boards in universities containing the 
 names of the college men, are called 
 albums. 
 
 Alca'de (3 syl.). A magistrate is so 
 called in 8pain and Portugal. The word 
 is the Arabic ol cadi (the judge). 
 
 Alcaic Verse or Alcaim. A Greek 
 and Latin metre, so callel from Alocon, 
 a lj"ric poet, who invented it. Each line 
 is di\dded into two parts, thus : 
 
 The first two lines of each stanza of the 
 
 ninth ode of Horace are in Alcaics. The 
 
 first two lines of the ode run thus, and 
 
 in the same metre : 
 
 " See how Sovactc sroans with its wintry snow, 
 
 And weMVy woudlkuiis bend with the toilsome 
 
 weight." 
 
 Alcan'tara {Order of). A military, 
 and religious order instituted in 1214 by 
 Alfonso IX., King of Castile, to com- 
 memorate the taking of Alcantara from 
 the Moors. The sovereign of Spain is, 
 ex-ojficio, head of the Oriler. A resusci- 
 tation of the order of Sf. Jididn of the 
 rear-tree, instituted by Fernando Gomez 
 in 117(3, better known by the French 
 title iSY. Jiilien da foirier. The badge 
 of the order was a pear-tree., 
 
 Alcastus (in Jerusalem Delircred). 
 The Cap'aneus of the Crusaders, leader 
 of 6,000 foot soldiers from Helvetia. 
 
 Alee (2 syl.). One of the dogs of 
 Actae'on. The word means " strength." 
 
 M,.. Alces'te (2 syl.). The hero of Mo- 
 "'*' litre's Mi.saiit]irope. Not unlike Shake- 
 speare's character of Timon. 
 
 Alchemilla or Lady's Mantle. The 
 alchemist's plant ; so called because al- 
 chemists collected the dew of its leaves 
 for their operations. Lady means the 
 Virgin Mary, to Avhom the plant was 
 declicated. 
 
 Alchemy (Al'-ki-me) is the Arabic 
 al kuiii'ii (the secret art) ; so called 
 not only because it was carried on in 
 secret, but because its main objects were 
 the three great secrets of science -the 
 transmutation of baser metals into gold, 
 the universal solvent, and the elixir- of 
 life. 
 
 Alcim'edon. A generic name for a. 
 first-rate carver in wood. 
 
 " Pnrula iiiinam 
 Fatrina. c<iPlatuni di\ ini oinis Alciniedontis." 
 Virgil : Jiclogue, iii. 36. 
 
 Alci'na. The personification of car- 
 nal pleasure in Orlaitdo Fiirioso ; the 
 ('tree of classic fable, and ImLS of the 
 Arabians. She enjoyed her lovers for a 
 time, and then changed them into trees, 
 stones, fountains, or beasts, as her fancy 
 dictated. 
 
 Alcinoo pama dare (to give apples 
 to Alcimjiis). To carry coals to New- 
 castle ; sending cider to Herefordshire. 
 The orchards of Alciuous, King of 
 CorcjTa (Corfu), were famous for their 
 fruits. 
 
 Alcofribas. The pseudonym of 
 Eabelais in his Garyantua and Vanta- 
 (jrucl. Alcofribas Nasier is an anagram 
 of " Fran(^ois Eabelais." The intro- 
 duction runs thus: "The inestimable 
 life of the great Gargautua, father of 
 Pautagruel, heretofore composed by M. 
 Alcofribas, abstractor of the quint- 
 essence, a book full of iJantagruelism." 
 
 Alcuitli, mentioned by the Venerable 
 Bede, is Dumbarton. 
 
 Aldabella or AklahcUe (in Orlando 
 Ftiriom). Sister of Oliviero and 
 Brandimarte, daughter of Monodantes, 
 and wife of Orlando. 
 
 Aldabella. A marchioness of Florence, 
 who gave entertainment to the mag- 
 nates of the city. She was very hand- 
 some, heartless, and arrogant. When 
 Fazio became rich with Bartoldo's 
 money, Aldabella inveigled him from 
 his wife, and his wife, out of jealousj'', 
 accused her husband of being privy to 
 Bartoldo's death. Fazio being con- 
 demned for murder and robbery, his 
 wife Bianca accused Aldabella of in- 
 veigling him, and the marchioness was 
 condemned by the Duke of Florence to 
 spend the rest of her life in a nunnery. 
 — l)ea)i Mihnan : Fazio. 
 
 Aldeb'aran. The sun in Arabian 
 mythology. lu astronomy, the star 
 called the BuWs eye in the constellation 
 Taurus. (Arabic «/ the, debaran.) 
 
 Alderman. One of the seniors or 
 elders. Now applied to a class of 
 magistrates in corporate towns. In 
 London an alderman is the chief magis- 
 trate in a ward appointed by election. 
 Tliere are also aldermen of the County 
 Council. 
 
 A t/trkei/ is called an aldennan, both 
 from its presence in aldermanic feasts,
 
 Alderman 
 
 29 
 
 Alectromancy 
 
 aud also because of its red and purple 
 coloui'S about the bead aud ueck, which 
 make it a sort of poultry alderiuaii. 
 
 An alderman in cJiains, by a similar 
 effort of wit, is a turkey hung with 
 sausages. 
 
 Alderman (^-i«). A burglar's tool; 
 a crowbar for forcing safes. So called 
 from the high rauk it holds with 
 burglars. 
 
 Alderman (^l>i). A cant term for 
 half a-crowu. An alderman as chief 
 magistrate is half a king in his own 
 ward ; and half a crown is half a king. 
 
 Aldgate Pump. A dniKi/ht on 
 Altlyate rump. A cheque with no 
 effects. A worthless bill. The pun is 
 on the word draught, which means 
 either an order on a bank for money or 
 a sup of liquor. 
 
 Al dibo-ron te-p2ios co-phor nio. A 
 
 courtier in Henry Carey's farce called 
 Cliro'Hoit-Jiu'toH-thol'ogos. 
 
 Aldiger (in Orlando Fiirioso). 
 Buo'vo's sou, of the house of Clarmont, 
 who lived in Ag'rismont Castle. He 
 was brother of Malagi'gi and Vivian ; all 
 
 Christians. 
 
 Aldine ('2 syl.). Leader of the second 
 squadron of Arabs who joined the Egyp- 
 tian annament against the Crusaders. 
 — ■ Tdsso : Jeritmlcm Ldirervd. {See 
 Sypiiax.) 
 
 Aldine Editions. Editions of the 
 Greek and Latin classics, published and 
 printed under the superintendence of 
 Aldo Manuz'io, his father-in-law Andrea 
 of Asolo, aud his son Paolo (1490-1597) ; 
 most of them in small octavo, and all 
 noted for their accuracy. The father 
 invented the type called Unlies, once 
 called AldUie, and first used in printing 
 Vin/U, loOl. 
 
 Aldingar {Sir). Steward of Queen 
 Eleanor, wife of Henry II. He im- 
 peached her fidelity, and submitted to 
 a combat to substantiate his charge ; 
 but an angel, in the shajie of a child, 
 established the queen's innocence. — 
 Fercifs Ileliques. 
 
 Ale is the Scandinavian HI, called ealo 
 in our island. Beer, writteu here, even in 
 the reign of James I., is the Anglo-Saxon 
 hear, from berc (barley). A beverage 
 made from barley is mentioned by 
 Tacitus aud even Herodotus. Hops were 
 introduced from Holland aud used for 
 brewing in 1524:, but their use was pro- 
 hibit'd by Act of Parliament in 1.528— a 
 
 prohibition which soon fell into disu?c. 
 Ale is made from pale malt, whence its 
 light colour ; porter and stout from malt 
 more highly dried. Beer is the general 
 word, and in many parts of England 
 includes ale, poiter, and stout. The 
 word ale was introduced by the Danes, 
 and the word beer by the Teutons. 
 Among Loudon brewers beer means the 
 dark form, called also stout or porter. 
 
 '• Calka ale am. mi; nn'ii ; but l,y tlie yods lallel 
 hL\'r."-Tlu: AU-ismi'd. 
 
 Aleberry, a corruption of ale-bree. 
 A drink made of hot ale, spice, sugai', 
 and toast. Bums speaks of the barley- 
 bi'ee (Anglo-Saxon brin, broth). 
 
 " Cause an aleberry to be made for ber, and put 
 into it powder of aiuipUor." — T/ie J'utliway to 
 Health. 
 
 Ale-dagger {An). A dagger used 
 in self-defence in ale-house brawls. 
 
 "He that cliiiikes with cutleis nuist not be 
 williiiut Ins aic-dau'i/er." (l.-,«0. (See N. E. D.) 
 
 I'lenr P.-iinilessc sa.vs:— " All tliat will Mot . . . 
 wcaie ali'-lidusr dau'tri'rs at your backi'S [sbould 
 abstain from taverns]."— See Slutkeapeare fiocieti), 
 P.M. 
 
 Ale-draper, a tapster. Ale-drapenj, 
 the selling of ale, etc. 
 
 " Xo otlier orcupation liave T but to bean alc- 
 diaper,"— //. Clietlle: Kiiid-liaits' IJreiimc, lo'J-'. 
 
 Ale Knight {An). A knight of the 
 ale-tub, a tippler, a sot. 
 
 Ale-silver. A yearly tribute paid to 
 the corporation of London, as a licence 
 for selling ale. 
 
 Ale-stake. The pole set up before 
 ale-houses by way of "sign." A bush 
 was very often fixed to its top. A 
 tavern. 
 
 " A garland bad he set upon bis bead 
 As great as it werein for an ale-stake." 
 
 C'liaitcer. 
 " I know many an ale-stake." 
 
 JIawkins: Evglhh Drama, i. KX). 
 
 Ale-wife. The landlady of an ale- 
 house or ale-stand. 
 
 Alec'to. One of the Furies, whose 
 head was covered with snakes. 
 
 " Tben like Alecto, terrible to \ iew, 
 (Jr lilie Medusa, tbe Circassian grew." 
 
 Jioole: Jerusalem Delivered, b. vi. 
 
 Alectorian Stone {An). A stone, 
 said to T)C of talismanic power, found 
 in the stomach of cocks. Those who 
 possess it are strong, brave, and wealthy. 
 Milo of Crotoua owed his strength to 
 this talisman. As a philtre it has the 
 power of preventing thirst or of assuag- 
 ing it. (Greek, aleelur, a cock.) 
 
 Alectromancy. Divination hy a 
 cock. Draw a circle, and write in 
 succession round it the letters of the
 
 Aleria 
 
 SO 
 
 Alexandrian School 
 
 alphabet, on each of which lay a graiu 
 of com. Theu put a cock iu tlie centre 
 of the circle, and watcli what grains he 
 eats. The letters will prognosticate tlie 
 answer. Libauius and Jamblicus thus 
 discovered wlio was to succeed tlie 
 emperor Yalens. The cock ate tlie 
 grains over the letters t, h, e, o, d = 
 Theod [orus]. Greek akctor, cock ; 
 viantcia, divination. 
 
 Ale'ria (in Orhoido Fitrioso). One 
 of the Amazons, and the best beloved of 
 the ten wives of Guido the Savage. 
 
 Alert. To be on the watch. From 
 the Latin crectns, part, of erif/eir, to 
 set upright ; Italian, ciio ; French, crtc, 
 a watch-tower. Hence the Italian stare 
 aW crta, the Spanish cattir alcrta, and 
 the French cire a Vcrlc, to be on the 
 watch. 
 
 Alessio. The lover of Liza, in Bel- 
 li'ui's opera of La tiunnamhula (Scribe's 
 libretto). 
 
 Alethes (3 sj-l.). An ambassador 
 from Egypt to King Al'adine. He is 
 represented as a man of low birth raised 
 to the highest rank, subtle, false, de- 
 ceitful, and wily. — Taum : Jerusalem 
 Delivered. 
 
 Alexander and the Robber. Tlie 
 
 robber's name was Uiomedes. — Gesta 
 Muiiianono)!, cxlvi. 
 
 YoH arc tli'uikuig of Fariiienio, and I 
 of Alexander —i.e., you are thinking 
 what you ought to receive, and I what 
 I ought to give ; you ai'e thinking of 
 those castigated, rewarded, or gifted ; 
 but I of my own position, and what 
 punishment, reward, or gift is con- 
 sistent with my rank. The allusion is 
 to the tale about Parmenio and Alex- 
 ander, when the king said, "I consider 
 not what Parmenio should receive, but 
 what Alexander should give." 
 
 Oiihj tiro Alexanders. Alexander said, 
 "There are but two Alexanders — the 
 invincible son of Philip, and the inimit- 
 able painting of the hero by Apelles." 
 
 The eonVuienec of Alexander. Having 
 gained the battle of Issus (b.c. 333) the 
 family of King Darius fell into his 
 hand ; but he treated the ladies as 
 queens, and observed the greatest de- 
 corum towards them. A eunuch, having 
 escaped, told Darius of this noble con- 
 tinence, and Darius could not but admire 
 such nobility in a rival. — Arrian Ana- 
 basis of Alexander, iv. 20. (<SVe Con- 
 tinence.) 
 
 Alexander, so Paris, son of Priam, 
 
 was called by the shepherds who brought 
 him up. 
 
 Alexander of the North. Gharks 
 XII. of Sweden, so called from his mili- 
 tary achievements. He was coiKjiiered at 
 Pultowa, in llussia (170'J), by Czar Peter 
 the Great (1682-1718). 
 
 " ReiiressiiiL' lieve 
 The frantic Ale,\;unlei- of the Nortli." 
 
 ThumsDii : ^\^ivtel■. 
 
 The Fersian Alexander. Sandjar (1117- 
 11-58). 
 
 Alexander the Corrector. Alex- 
 ander Grudeu, author of the "Concord- 
 ance to the Bible," who petitioned 
 Parliament to constitute him " Corrector 
 of the People," and went about con- 
 stantly with a sponge to wipe out the 
 licentious, coarse, and ijrofane chalk 
 sci'awls which met his eye. (1701- 
 1770.) 
 
 Alexander's Beard. A smooth 
 chin, no beard at all. An Amazonian 
 chin. 
 
 " Disgraced yet with Alexamler's bearde." 
 liascoiyiie: Tiie Steele 67ns. 
 
 Alexandra (in Orlando Fnrioso). 
 Oronthea's daughter ; the Amazon 
 queen. 
 
 Alexandra, so Cassandra, daughter 
 of Priam, is called. The two names are 
 mere variants of eacli other. 
 
 Alexan'drian. Anything from the 
 East was so called by the old chroniclers 
 and romancers, because Alexandria was 
 the dejiot from which Eastern stores 
 reached Europe. 
 
 "Itecliiied (111 Alexandrian carpets (i.e., PeminH). 
 Il(i.'<e: Orhimio Fariuso, x. 37. 
 
 Alexandrian Codex. A manuscript 
 of tlie Scriptures in Greek, which be- 
 longed to the library of the ijatriarchs 
 of Alexandria, in Africa, A.D. 1098. 
 In 1(528 it was sent as a present to 
 Charles I., and (iu Ho'.]) was placed in 
 the British Museum. It is on parchment, 
 in uncial letters, and contains the Sep- 
 tuagint version (excejjt the Psalms), a 
 part of the New Testament, and the 
 Epistles of Clemens Romanus. 
 
 Alexandrian Library. Founded 
 by Ptolemy So'ter, in Alexandria, in 
 Egypt. The tale is that it was burnt 
 and partly consumed iu 391 ; but when 
 the city fell into the hands of the calif 
 Omar, in (342, the Arabs found books 
 sufficient to " heat the baths of the city 
 for six months." It is said that it con- 
 t.ained 700,000 volumes. 
 
 Alexandrian School. An academy 
 of literature by Ptolemy, son of La'gos,
 
 Alexandrine Age 
 
 31 
 
 Alhambra 
 
 especially famous foi- its graminariaus 
 aud matliematiciaus. Of its r/irnii- 
 ■maricDis the most noted are Aristarchos, 
 Harpocra'tiou, and Eratos theues ; aud 
 of its mathematicians, Ptolemy aud 
 Euclid, the former an astronomer, and 
 the latter the geometer whose Jihmeitts 
 are still very generally used. 
 
 Alexandrine Age. From a.d. 323 
 to (JKJ, wiicu Alexaudria, in Egypt, was 
 tiio centre of science and literature. 
 
 Alexandrine Philosophy. The 
 
 system of the Gnostics, or Platonised 
 form of Christianitj'. 
 
 Alexandrines (4 syl.). Iambic 
 verses of 12 or 13 syllables, divided into 
 two parts between the sixth aud seventh 
 syllable ; so called because they were 
 first employed in a metrical romance of 
 Alcxanai'f tlic Great, commeuced by 
 Lambert-li-Cors, and continued by 
 Alexandre de Bernay, also called Alex- 
 andre de Paris. The final line of the 
 Spenserian stanza is an Alexandrine. 
 
 " A needless Alexandrine ends the song, 
 "NVliicli, like a Willi iided sualce, | drag's its slow 
 len.urtli aluni.'," 
 ro)ie : Ksifiiii vn Criticism, Vurt ii., li.ies Sjli-r. 
 
 Alexandrite (4 syl.). A variety of 
 chiysobery fouud in the mica-slate of 
 the Urals. So named from Czar Alex- 
 ander II. (1818, 18.55-1881), because it 
 shows the Russian colours, greeu and 
 red. 
 
 Alexis ('S7.). Patron saint of hermits 
 and beggars. The story goes that he 
 lived on his father's estate as a hermit 
 till death, but was never recognised. 
 
 He is rejjresented, in Christian art, 
 with a pilgrim's haljit and staff. Some- 
 times he is drawn as if extended on a 
 mat, with a letter in his hand, dying. 
 
 Alfa'der {father of all). The most 
 ancient and chief of the Scandinavian 
 gods. Odin, father of the jEsir, or 
 gods. 
 
 Alfana. {Sec Hoese.) 
 
 Alfar'. The good and bad genii of 
 the Scandina vians. 
 
 Alf'heim {home of the (/noil (jiiiii). A 
 celestial city inhabited by the elves aud 
 fairies. {Seandiuavian inytholoipj.) 
 
 Alfonsin. An instrument for ex- 
 tractiug balls. So called from Alfonse 
 Ferri, a surgeon of Naples, who in- 
 vented it. (irj.32.) 
 
 Alfonsine Tables. Astronomical 
 tables constructed in 1252, by Isaac 
 Hazau, a Jewish rabbi, who named 
 
 them iu honour of his patrou, Alfonso 
 X., King of Castile, surnamcd "The 
 Wise." 
 
 Alfonso, to whom Tasso dedicated 
 his Jerasa/eiu llelivercd, was Alfonso 
 d'Esto, Duke of Ferrai'a. 
 
 Alfonso XL, of Castile, whose 
 " favourite " was Leonora de Guzman. 
 Being threatened withexconunuuicatiou 
 unless he put her away (as Leonora was 
 in love with Ferdiuando, abraveotticer), 
 the king created Ferdinando Marquis 
 of Montreal, and gave him the baud of 
 his mistress in marriage. As soon as 
 Ferdinando discovered who Leonora 
 was, he restored her to the kiug, and 
 retired to a monaster}'. — Jjonizettrs 
 Opera, La Faevrita. 
 
 Alfred's Scholars. AVerfrith, Bishop 
 of Worcester ; Ethelstau and Werwulf , 
 two Mercian priests ; Plegmund (a 
 Mercian) , afterwards Archbishoj) of Can- 
 terbury ; Asser a Welshman ; Grhnbald, 
 a great French scholar, etc., invited over 
 to England by Kiug Alfred. 
 
 Al'garsife (3 syl.). Son of Cambus- 
 can, and brother of Cam'balo, who 
 " won Theod'ora to wife." It was in the 
 "Squire's Tale," by Chaucer, but was 
 never finished. {See Canace.) 
 
 "Call him up that left half told 
 The storv of Canilnisi-an Imld, 
 Of Canihall, and of Alu'aisife, 
 Aud who had L'auace lo wife.' 
 
 Miltiin : !l Penseroan. 
 
 Al'gebra is the Arabic al e/ebr (the 
 equalisation), "the supplementing and 
 equalising (process) ; " so called because 
 the probleuis are solved by equations, 
 and tlie e(piatious are made by supple- 
 mentary terms. Fancifully ideutitied 
 with tlie Arabian chemist Gebir. 
 
 Algrind, of Spenser, is meant for 
 Grindal, Bishop of London iu the be- 
 ginning of Elizabeth's reign. He was 
 a Marian exile, aud not a very cordial 
 co-operator with BishojD Parker. 
 
 "The hills where dwelled holy saints 
 
 I revereuce aud adore ; 
 Not for themselves, but for the saints, 
 
 Which had lieen dead nf yore. 
 Aud unw they lieen to lioaven for went, 
 
 Thi'ir u'oo<l is with tliein go ; 
 Their sample to us only lent, 
 
 That als we mought do so. 
 " Shepherds they wereu of the best, 
 
 And lived in lowly leas. 
 And sitli their sonls he now at rest, 
 
 Why ilom- we thrni ili-ease ? 
 Surh one ho was las 1 li;i\e heard) 
 
 Old Ali-'riuil.iftcn same. 
 That whilonie was the first shepherd, 
 
 And lived with little gain." 
 
 Eclogue \ ii. 
 
 Alham'bra. The palace of Ihe 
 
 ancient Moors iu Grana'da. The word
 
 Ali 
 
 32 
 
 All cannot do all 
 
 is the Arabic al-hamra, or at full leugth 
 haV-at al hamra (the red castle). 
 
 Ali. Cousin aud son-iu-law of Ma- 
 homet, the heauty of whose eyes is with 
 the Persiaus proverbial ; insomuch that 
 the highest term they emj^loy to express 
 beauty is Ayn liali (eyes of Ali). — 
 Chardin. 
 
 Alias. "You have as many aliases 
 as Robin of Bagshot," one of Mac- 
 heath's gang : he was Robin of Bag- 
 shot, alias Gordon, alias Bluff Bob, alinn 
 Carbuncle, alias 'Bob 'Booty. — Gaij: Tlw 
 Bcgyar^s Opera. 
 
 Alibi (elsewhere). A plea of having 
 been at another place at the time that 
 an offence is alleged to have been com- 
 mitted. 
 
 "Xover mind the charactor, and stick to the 
 alley l)i, XiMhiii:-' like an alley hi, Samiii,v, no- 
 thinj-'."— /^ ((■/.( ».s'; Pickicick fupers. 
 
 Alibi Clock {An), 1887. A clock 
 which strikes one hour, while the hands 
 point to a dift'ereut time, the real time 
 being neither one nor the other. 
 
 Aliboron. J/aitrc Alihoyoti. Mr. 
 Jackass. Aliboron is the name of a 
 jackass in La Fontaine's Fables. {Sec 
 
 GrONIN.) 
 
 Alice. The foster-sister of Robert le 
 Diable, aud bride of Rambaldo, the 
 Norman troubadour. She came to Pa- 
 lermo to place in the duke's hand her 
 mol'ior's will, which he was enjoined 
 not to read till he was a virtuous man. 
 When Bertram, his fiend-father, tempted 
 his son to evil, Alice proved his good 
 genius ; and when, at last, Bertram 
 claimed his soul as the price of his ill 
 deeds, Alice read the "will," and won 
 him from the evil one. — Meyerbeer'' s 
 Opera, Ilohcrto il Diavolo. 
 
 Alice Brand. Wife of Lord Richard, 
 
 cursed with the " sleepless ej-o." Alice 
 signed Urgau the dwarf thrice with the 
 sign of the ci'oss, and he became "the 
 fairest knight in all Scotland ; " when 
 Alice recognised in him her own brother. 
 — SVr Walter Seott : The Laihj of the 
 Like, iv. VI. 
 
 Aliclii'no {a-iiifz-rlrooped). A devil, in 
 The Inferno of Dante. 
 
 Alick and Sandie. Contractions of 
 Alexander ; the one being Alex' aud the 
 other 'xander. 
 
 Al'icon. The seventh heaven, to 
 which Azrael conveys the siiirits of the 
 just, {^[ahoinetan mi/tholof/ij.) 
 
 Alien Priory {An). A priory which 
 owes allegiance to another priory. A 
 
 sub-priory, like Rufford Abbey, Notts, 
 which was under the prior of Rievaulx 
 in Yorkshire. 
 
 Alifan'faron, the giant. Don Quixote 
 attacked a flock of sheej), which he 
 declared to be the army of the giant 
 Alifanfarou. Similarly Ajax, in a tit of 
 madness, fell upon a flock of sheep, 
 which he mistook for Grecian princes. 
 
 Alilat. The name by which the 
 Artilis adore nature, which they repre- 
 sent by a crescent moon. 
 
 Aliprando (in Jerusalem Behrered). 
 One of the Christian knights. Having 
 discovered the armour of Riualdo cast 
 on one side, he took it to Godfrey, who 
 very naturally inferred that Riualdo had 
 been shiin. {See Gen. xxxvii. 31-35.) 
 
 Al'iris. Sultan of Lower Buehar'ia. 
 Under the disguised name of Fer'amorz, 
 he accompanied Lalla Rookh, his be- 
 trothed, from Delhi, and won her heart by 
 his ways, and the tales he told on the 
 journey. The lady fell in love with the 
 poet, and was delighted to find, on the 
 morning of the wedding, that Feramorz 
 was, in fact, the sultan, her intended 
 husband. — 'T. Jloore : Lalla Rookh. 
 
 Al Kader {tlie Dieuie decree). A 
 particuhir night in the month Ramad- 
 han, when the Arabs say that angels 
 descend to earth, and Galiriel reveals to 
 man the decrees of God. — Al Lioran, 
 ch. xcviii. 
 
 Alkahest. The hypothetical uni- 
 versal solvent. The word was invented 
 by Paracelsus. 
 
 Al Rakim (pronounce Rah-keem'). 
 The dog in the legend of the Seven 
 Sleepers of Ephesus. 
 
 Al-Sirat (Arabian, the path). The 
 bridge over hell, no wider than the 
 edge of a sword, across which every one 
 who enters heaven must pass. (Jla- 
 hoiiietan tlieoloyij.) 
 
 All. Everything. " Our all," every- 
 thing we jjossess. 
 
 "Our all is at slake." 
 
 .UUti>.im: State 0/ War. 
 
 All and Some. "One and all." 
 (Old English, calle cct soiiuiie, all at once, 
 altogether.) 
 
 '■^^u^v stop your niiprs, readers, ;'.ll and S(inie." 
 Driiihn: .\bsahin and .\(:hito,,li(l. 
 
 All and Sundry. All without ex- 
 ception. 
 
 " He iM\i:ed all and snndry to pirtake freely I'f 
 tl e .laten cake and ale."— //(i(i Vume. 
 
 All cannot do all. Horace says, 
 " Non omnia jiossumus omnes." Ger- 
 man proverb, "Eiu jeder kauu nicht
 
 All Fools' Day 
 
 S3 
 
 All Souls' Day 
 
 alles." All are not equally clever. Or 
 rather, "Be not suiiH-ised that I cannot 
 do what you can do, for we are not all 
 exactlj' alike." 
 
 All Fools' Day (Ai)ril 1st). {Sec 
 Apkil Fool.) 
 
 All Fours. A game of cards ; so 
 called from the four jjoints tliut are at 
 stake, viz. High, Low, Jack, and Game. 
 
 To (JO on all fours is to crawl about 
 on knees and hands like a little child. 
 
 It dues not r/o on all fours means it 
 does not suit in every minute particular ; 
 it does not fully satisfy the demand. It 
 limps as a quadruped which does not go 
 on all its four legs. Oninis cuinparatio 
 claudicat (all similes limp). 
 
 " X(j simile can go on :ill-fours." 
 
 ilacauhiy. 
 
 All-hallown Summer. The second 
 summer, or the summerly time which 
 sets in about AU-Hallows-tide. Called 
 by the French, Vcte de St. Mart'ni 
 (from October 9th to November 11th). 
 Also called St. Luke's Summer (St. 
 Luke's Day is October ISth). The 
 Indian summer. Shakespeare uses the 
 tenn— 
 
 "Farewell, tlioii latter spring; farewell, AU- 
 liallowu Summer !" 
 
 1 Beiinj IV. i. •_'. 
 
 All Hallow's Day (November 1st). 
 The French call it Toiissaiiif, which we 
 have translated All Saints' Day. Hallow- 
 mas is All -Saints' festival. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, hal'uj, but HdUg-niondth was 
 September, and Hal'uj-dieg was simply 
 a Holy -day.) 
 
 All Hallows' Eve. The Scotch tradi- 
 tion is, that those born on All Hallows' 
 Eve liave the gift of double sight, and 
 commanding powers over spirits. Mary 
 Avenel, on this supposition, is made 
 to see the White Ladj', invisible to less 
 gifted visions. 
 
 " Beiii'JT born on All-hallows' Eve, slie (Mary 
 Avenel) was sniiposeil to tie investeil with p )wer 
 over the invisilile world." (.See Sir Walter Scott ; 
 'I'he Mon;istiiry, chap, xiv.) 
 
 All in all. He is all in all to vie, 
 that is, the dearest object of my affec- 
 tion. (Jod shall he all in all means all 
 creation shall be absorbed or gatliered 
 into God. The phrase is also used ad- 
 verbially, meaning altogether, as : — 
 
 "Take him for all in all. 
 I shall n(jt loiik n|Hin his like airain." 
 
 Shakespeare : llctiidet, ii. -'. 
 
 All in the Wrong. A drama, by 
 Murphy, borrowed from Destouches, the 
 French dramatist. 
 
 All is lost that is jiut in a riven dish. 
 In Latin, " Pertiisum quicquid infun- 
 dltur in dolium, perit." (It is no use 
 helping the insolvent.) 
 
 All is not gold that glitters or 
 glisters. Trust not to appearances. In 
 Latin, " Nulla fides fronti." 
 
 " Not all that tempts your wandering eyes 
 And heedless hearts is lawful prize, 
 Nor all that glisters gold." 
 
 Cridj : Tfie Cat and the Gold Fiah. 
 
 All my Eye (and) Betty Martin. 
 
 All nonsense. Joe Miller says that a 
 Jack Tar went into a foreign church, 
 where he heard some one uttering these 
 words — Ah .' inihi, bea'te 3fariine (Ah! 
 [grant] me, Blessed Martin). On gi\'ing 
 an account of his adventure. Jack said 
 he could not make much out of it, but it 
 seemed to him very like "All my eye 
 and Betty Martin." Grose has " Mihi 
 beataj Martinis " [sie]. The shortened 
 phrase, " All my eye," is very common. 
 
 All one. The same in effect. An- 
 swers the same purpose. 
 
 All-overish. A familiar expression 
 meaning all orer ill at ease. "I feel all- 
 overish," not exactly ill, but uncom- 
 fortable all over. The precursor of a 
 fever, influenza, ague, etc. 
 
 All Saints or All Hallows. In 610 
 the Pope of Rome ordered that the 
 heathen Pantheon should be converted 
 into a Christian church, and dedicated 
 to the honour of all martjTS. The 
 festival of All Saints was first lield on 
 May 1st, but in the year 834 it was 
 changed to November 1st. " Hallows " 
 is from the Anglo-Saxon /idliff (holy). 
 
 All Serene, derived from the Spanish 
 word seri'na. In Cuba the word is used 
 as a coiuitersigu by sentinels, and is 
 about equivalent to our "All right," or 
 "All's well." 
 
 All Souls' Day. The 2nd of No- 
 vember, so called because the Roman 
 Catholics on that day seek by prayer 
 and almsgiving to'alleviate the sufferings 
 of sovds in purgatory. It was first insti- 
 tuted in the monastery of Clugny, in 993. 
 
 According to tradition, a pilgrim, re- 
 turning from the Holy Land, was com- 
 pelled by a stonn to land on a rocky 
 island, where he found a hermit, who 
 told him that among Ihe cliffs of the 
 island was an opening into the infernal 
 regions through whicli huge flames as- 
 cended, and where the groans of the 
 tormented were distinctly audible. The 
 pilgiim told Odilo, abbot of Clugny, of 
 this ; and the abbot appointed the day 
 following, which was November '-'ud, to
 
 All the go 
 
 34 
 
 Alliteration 
 
 be set apart for the benefit of souls in 
 purgatoiy. 
 
 All the go. All the fashion. Drapers 
 will tell you that certain goods "go off 
 well." They are in great demand, all 
 the mode, quite in vogue. 
 
 " Her cartr is liuncr in tlje West-eii<i jlrniis, 
 Witli lier niuue in full «n Ilie wliite l.eluw ; 
 And ;ill <l.iv loiii.- tliei-e's a hit; crowd st.oiis 
 To look ;it tlic'liidy who's " ;ill the i-'o." 
 Sims: Ballada ofliabijlon 0' Beauty and the Beast "i. 
 
 All there. Said of a sharp-witted 
 person. Not all there, said of one of 
 weak intellect. The one has all his 
 wits about him, the other lias not. 
 
 All this for a Song ! The exclama- 
 tion of Burleigh, wlieu Queen Elizabeth 
 ordered him to give £100 to Spenser for 
 a royal gratuity. 
 
 All to break (Judges ix. .53). " A 
 certain woman cast a piece of millstone 
 upon Abimelech's head, and all to 
 brake his skull " does not mean for the 
 sake of breaking his skull, but that she 
 wholly smashed his skull. A spurious 
 fonn, owing its existence to a typo- 
 gi-aphical mistake. The to really be- 
 longs to the verb; and in the last 
 passage quoted it should be I'eud " all 
 to-brake." The to is a Teutonic par- 
 ticle, meaning asunder, in pieces. It is 
 very common in Old English, where we 
 have "To-bite," i.e. bite in pieces, to- 
 cleave, to-rend, to-tear. All is the 
 adverb = entirely, wholly. So "all to 
 bebattered " = wholly battered to pieces. 
 All -to -frozen. Here to-frozen is in- 
 tensitive. So in Latin ,dis-crucior = 
 valde crucior. Plautus (in his Mcnaehmi, 
 ii. line 24) uses the phrase " dis-caveas 
 malo," i.e. be fully on your guard, etc., 
 be very much beware of. 
 
 Gotliie, rfj.'!; O. lJ.,tor; Old Hiirh German, 2«r; 
 Latin, dis ; (ireek, lU. 
 
 •' Mercutio's icy hand liad all-to-frozen mine" 
 {i.e. wholly frozen up mine).— Romeo and Juliet 
 
 •' Her winirs . . . were al-to-ruffled and 
 sometimes iiiipaired/'—Jfi/tuii; Coiikis. .. . 
 
 All waters {T am for). I am a Jack 
 of all trades, can turn mj^ hand to any- 
 thing, a good all-round man. Like a 
 fish which can live in salt or fresh 
 water. 
 
 " I am for .all waters." 
 Khakenpeare : TivclflJi Xight, \y. 2. 
 
 All-work. A iiiaid of all irork. A 
 general servant who does all the work 
 of a house ; at once nurse-maid, house- 
 maid, and cook. 
 
 Alia or Allah (that is, al-ildh). " The 
 
 adorable." The Arabic name of the 
 
 Supreme Being. 
 
 "The city won for Allah from tlie Giaour." 
 ^ Dyrun : Childe Uurultl, ii. 7'. 
 
 Alia Akbar'. Allah is most inii/hfi/. 
 The cry of the Arabs. — Ockley. 
 
 Allan - a - Dale. The minstrel of 
 Robin Hood's yeomen. He was assisted 
 by Robin Hood in carrying off his bride, 
 when on the point of being married 
 against her will to a rich old knight. 
 
 Allemand. " Une querelle d' Alle- 
 maud," a iiuarrel about nothing. We 
 call pot valour " Dutch courage." 
 
 Allen. {Sec Allwoethy.) 
 
 Allestree. Richard Allestree, of 
 Derby, was a noted almanac maker in 
 Ben Jonson's time. 
 
 " A little more 
 Would fetch all his astronomy from Allestree." 
 lien Juiisoii : Mugnttic Lady, i\ . ■' (1C3J). 
 
 The Stock Exchange 
 
 AUey {The). 
 Alley. 
 
 "John Rive, after many active years in the 
 Alley, retired to the Continent, and died at the 
 at'e of l\»."—Old and Xew London, p. 4"fi. 
 
 Alliensis {Hies) (June 16th, B.C. 390), 
 when the Romans were cut to pieces by 
 the Gauls near the banks of the river 
 AUia; and ever after held to be a dies 
 nefastus, or unlucky day. 
 
 Alligator. When the Spaniards first 
 saw this reptile in the New World, they 
 called it el lagurto (the lizard). Sir Wal- 
 ter Raleigh called these creatures layartos, 
 and Ben Jouson alligartas. 
 
 "To the present day the Europeans in Ceylon 
 apply the term ailii-'ator to what are in reality 
 crocodiles."— 7. E. Teiineut: Ceylon (vol. 1. part i', 
 chap. iii. p. Isi)'. 
 
 Alligator Pears (the fruit of Pet-sea 
 gratissinia) is a curious corruption. The 
 aboriginal Carib word for the tree is 
 "aouacate," which the Spanish dis- 
 coverers pronounced "avocado," and 
 English sailors called "alligator," as 
 the nearest approach which occurred to 
 them. 
 
 Alliteration. 
 
 Dr. Bethel of Eton, 
 
 " Ilidactic, drv, declamatory, dull, 
 Bir, iiurly Bethel bellows like a hull " 
 
 Eton College. 
 
 Caedinal Wolsey. 
 
 " BcKot liv liutchers, hut by liishnps bred, 
 How hi«h his Honour holds his haughty head." 
 
 U Hucbald composed an alliterative 
 poem on Charles the Bald, every word 
 of which begins with c. 
 
 Henry Harder composed a poem of 
 100 lines, in Latin hexameters, on cats, 
 every word of which begins with c. The 
 title is Canmn cam Catis certamcn 
 carmine conipositam currente calamo 
 C Catulli Cajiinii. The first line is — 
 " C'attorum cauimus cerlamiua clara cauunniue."
 
 Allodials 
 
 Alman 
 
 Hamouicus wrote the Certamen catho- 
 licum CUM Calrhiistis, every word of 
 which begins with c. 
 
 V It is a curious coincideuce that the 
 names of these three men all begin with 
 H. 
 
 H In the Mdferla more Magistralis 
 every word begins with m. 
 
 H Placentius, the Dominican, who died 
 1.518, wrote a poem of 258 Latin hexa- 
 meters, called Ptigna I'orcorum, every 
 word of which begins with p. It begins 
 thus : — 
 
 " PIrtuilite, Povcelli, purcuruni pigra pi'opa&'u." 
 Which may be translated^ 
 
 " Praise, Paul, prize pig's prolitlc progeny. " 
 % Tusser, who died 1.580, has a rhym- 
 ii)g pnem of twelve lines, every word 
 of which begins with t. 
 
 H The Rev. B. Poulter, prebendary of 
 Winchester, composed in 1828 the famous 
 alliterative alphabetic poem in rhymes. 
 Each word of each line begins with the 
 letter of the alphabet which it represents. 
 It begins thus : — 
 
 " .^11 .Austrian army awfully arrayed, 
 BuliUy liy hattery liesieged Belgrade ; 
 Cdssick c'ciniiiianders, i-aiinouadiiig ciime. 
 Dealing destructiun's de\ astating duoiu ; . . ." 
 
 V Some ascribe this alliterative poem 
 to Alaric A. Watts (1820). (.SVr H. 
 SouTHGATE, Miuuj Thoucjhts on Many 
 Thinys.) 
 
 Another attempt of the same kind 
 begins thus : — 
 
 " Aliout an age ago, as all agree, 
 Beauteous Belinda, brewing best Bobea 
 Carelessly chattered, controverting clean, 
 
 DiiMin's derisive, disputatious dean . . ." 
 
 Allodials. Lands which are held by 
 an absolute right, without even the bur- 
 den of homage or fidelity ; opposed to 
 feudal. The word is Teutonic — all-Od 
 (all property). 
 
 AUop'athy is in opposition to Ho- 
 tnwoiyathy. The latter word is from the 
 Greek, homwon pathos, similar disease ; 
 and the former is alio pathos, a different 
 disease. In one case, " like is to cure 
 like " ; and in the latter, the disease is 
 cured by its "antidote." 
 
 Alls. The five Alls. A public-house 
 sI^M. It has five human iigures, with a 
 motto to each : — 
 
 (O A king in bis regalia .. motto 7 goivrn fiH. 
 
 (ii A bislKjp, in bis pontificals „ Ipriiij firr all. 
 
 (:!) A lawyer, iu bis gown .. „ / iilnni for nil. 
 
 (4) A soldier in regimentals „ 1 flfiht for all. 
 
 (51 A labouier, with bis tools „ I ptiy for till. 
 
 Several of these signs still e.xist. 
 
 Alh. Tap -droppings. The refuse of 
 all sorts of spirits drained from the 
 
 glasses, or spilt iu drawing. The 
 mixture is sold in gin-houses at a cheap 
 rate. 
 
 Allworth. In A Xew IVay to lay 
 Old Jh-lits, by Massinger. 
 
 All worthy, in Fielding's 7'om Jone.i, 
 is designed for the author's friend, 
 Ralph Allen, of Bristol. 
 
 " Let bumble Allen, with an awkward sbanie, 
 Do good by stcaltb, and blush to find it fame." 
 J'ope: Epilogue to Sat. i. 13,5, 1."*;. 
 
 Al'ma {the human smiT), quean of 
 ''Body Castle," beset by enemies for 
 seven years {the tSeveii Ayes of Man). 
 The besiegers are a rabble rout of evil 
 desires, foul imaginations, and silly 
 conceits. Alma conducted Arthur and 
 Sir Guy on over her castle. " Tlie 
 d'tvuie part of a man," says Spenser, 
 "is eirciilar, a circle being the emblem 
 of eternity ; but the moi'tal part tri- 
 anyular, as it consists of three things — 
 blood, flesh, and bones." — I'riot's I'oem. 
 
 Alma Mater. A collegian so calls 
 the university of which he is a member. 
 The words are Latin for "fostering 
 mother." 
 
 "Expulsion from bis Alma 'ila.iei."—Tlie Col- 
 legian and the I'ortcr. 
 
 Almack's. A suite of assembly rooms 
 in King Street, St. James's (London), 
 built in 176.5 by a Scotchman named 
 Macall, who inverted his name to obviate 
 all prejudice and hide his origin. Balls, 
 presided over by a committee of ladies 
 of the highest rank, used to be given at 
 these rooms ; and to be admitted to 
 them was as great a distinction as to 
 be presented at Court. The rooms 
 were afterwards known as Willis's, 
 from the name of the next proprietor, 
 and iised chiefly for large dinners. 
 They were closed in 1890. 
 
 Almagest. The Syntaxis-meyiste of 
 Ptolenij% translated by the Arabians iu^ 
 800, by order of the calif Al Maimon, 
 and then called Al-mayhesti, i.e. "the 
 megiste." It contains numerous obser- 
 vations and problems of geometry and 
 astronomy. It is verj- rare, and more 
 precious than gold. 
 
 Alman, a German. The French 
 Allc/iiand, a German, which, of course, 
 is the classic Alamani or Alamaiini. 
 Similarly, Almany = Germany, French, 
 AUcmaync. 
 
 "Chonodomariusand Vestralpus, Aleinan kings, 
 . . . sat them downe neerenntoArgentoratum." 
 Holliind: Ammicnius MarcelUns. 
 
 "Now Fnlko comes . . . And dwelt in 
 Ama.uy. "—IlaningiOH : Orlando Furioso, iii. 30.
 
 Almanac 
 
 36 
 
 Aloe 
 
 Al'manac is the Arabic al manac 
 (the diary). Verstegeu says it is the 
 Saxon al-mon-aght (all moon heed), aud 
 that it refers to the tallies of the full 
 and new moons kept by our Saxon an- 
 cestors. One of these tallies may still 
 be seen at St. John's College, Cam- 
 bridge. 
 
 Before priiitiiiL', or Ijeforc it was roiiunou : 
 By SoloiiKin .J;ui'l)i . . . . in and after ll.")0 
 
 „ Peter de Dacia about i»k) 
 
 „ Walter de Elvendene i:t.7 
 
 „ Jolin Sonieis, Oxford i:wi ! ! 
 
 „ Nicholas de Lyniia l:'«ii 
 
 „ PurhacU H.-,o-UHl 
 
 First printed by Gutenl e g, at Jlentz U;>7 
 By Regioinonfanus, at Nureinlierg ..lJ7'_'-.'i 
 
 „ Zainer, at I'lni 1I7.-1 
 
 „ Eichard I'viison iSlieapeheard's 
 
 Kulendan Wj' '.'. 
 
 „ Stijfflor, in Veui.-e UuH 
 
 „ Poor Koljiu's Alniauaik .. .. lusi 
 „ Francis Moore's Almanack be- 
 tween IIWS and 1713 
 
 Stamp duty imposed 17I11, repealed 1n:h. 
 
 The Man V the Almanac stack icith 
 pins (Nat. Lee), is a man marked with 
 points refening to signs of the zodiac, 
 and intended to indicate the favourable 
 and unfavourable times of letting blood. 
 
 / sJianU consalt your almanac (French), 
 I shall not come to you to know what 
 weather to expect. The reference is to 
 the prognostications of weather in al- 
 manacs. 
 
 Almesbury. It was in a sanctuary 
 at Almesbury that Queen Guenever took 
 refuge, after her adulterous passion for 
 Lancelot was revealed to the king 
 (Arthur) . Here she died ; but her body 
 was buried at Glastonbury. 
 
 Almighty Dollar. Washington 
 Irving first made use of this expression, 
 in his sketch of a " Creole Village " 
 (1837). 
 
 "Tbealmii-'lity dollar, tliat grejit oliiect of uni- 
 versal devotion tbroughout our land. . . ."— 
 ^Y. living : }yol/ert's Huost, Creole Vtlhige, p. 40. 
 
 V Ben Jonson speaks of " almiglity 
 gold." 
 
 Almond Tree. Grey hairs. The 
 Preacher thus ilescribes old age : — 
 
 "Iiillirdav wbeii tlic kci-prrsof Ilic house ff/<c 
 hail, Is) sliall IreuiMc.and 1 he siroML- men i/;,c /n/s) 
 how Iln'iiis.'hes. and the i-'iiuilcrs illif teeth) cease 
 hec'ausc they aie few, and those that look out of 
 the windows (//(('<;/(■»■) he darkened . . . and the 
 ahiiond-tree shall tlourisli njiey hairs on a hald 
 pall')- and the grasshopper he a burden, and de- 
 sire shall fail . . . when the silver cord (Jhe 
 f!l.iiiiiil iiiiirriiw) shall be loosed, the golden bowl 
 (ititrltert) liroken,and the pitcher broken at the 
 cislern (Iht fudse of the lieiirt st(ijijied)."—Eccks. 
 xii. rj-i;. 
 
 Almonry. The place where the 
 almoner resides, or where alms are 
 distributed. An almoner is a jierson 
 whose duty it is to distribute alms, 
 
 which, in ancient times, consiated of 
 one -tenth of the entire income of a 
 monastery. {Sec Ambey.) 
 
 Alms. Gifts to the poor. 
 
 Dr. Jolmson says the word has uo siiiyvlur; 
 whereas Todd s;iys it has no plural. Like riches, 
 it is wholly singular in construction, but is used 
 l)oth as a noun singular and noun plural. Of 
 course.it isAlmos-ine, almos-ie, Alnnisc, alniesse, 
 almes, alms, the s Is not the plural suflix. Riches 
 is the French richesse. Both words are singular, 
 but, as nouns of multitude, prefer the plural con- 
 struction. (Latin dlimoi-iua, Greek cleemosyne, 
 from the verb tlteo, 1 pity.) 
 
 Alms Basket. To lire on the alms 
 basket. To live on charity. 
 
 Alms-drinlc Another's leavings ; for 
 alms consists of broken bread aud the 
 residue of drink. It is also ajjplied to 
 the liquor which a drinker finds too 
 much, and therefore hands to another. 
 
 Alms-fee. Peter's pence, or Rome 
 scot. Abolished in England by Henry 
 VIII. 
 
 Alms-house. A house where paupers 
 are sujiported at the public expense ; a 
 poor-house. Also a house set apart for 
 the aged poor free of rent. 
 
 " Only, alas ! the poor who had neitlier friends 
 nor attendants. 
 Crept away to die in the alms-house, home 
 of the homeless." 
 
 Loiigjelluw : Evangeline, part ii. 3, t!. 
 
 Alms-man. One who lives on alms. 
 
 Alna,schar Dream {An). Counting 
 j-our chickens before they are hatched. 
 Alnaschar, the barber's fifth brother, 
 invested all liis money in a basket of 
 glass-ware, on which lie was to make 
 a certain profit. The profit, being in- 
 vested, was to make more, and this was 
 to go on till he grew lich enough to 
 marry the vizier's daughter. Being 
 angry witli his imttginary wife he gave 
 a kick, overturned his basket, and broke 
 all his wares. 
 
 " To indulge in Alnasrhar-like dreams of cimi- 
 pound interest ad iii/iintuiii."—The 'J'iiiies. 
 
 Alnaschar of Modern Literature. 
 
 Coleridge has been so called because he 
 "dreamt "his Kahla Khan, and wrote 
 it out next morning. (1772-1834.) 
 
 V Probably he had been reading 
 Purchas's Pilgrimage, for none can 
 doubt the resemblance of the two 
 pieces. 
 
 Aloe. A Hebrew word, Greek aloe. 
 A very bitter plant ; hence the proverb, 
 riiis aloes cjuani niellis hahet, " (Life) has 
 more bitters than sweets." The French 
 say, "La cote d'Adam contieut plus
 
 Along-shore Men 
 
 37 
 
 Alphonso 
 
 d'aloL's que de miel," where cote (V Adam, 
 of course, means woman or cue's wife. 
 
 Socotriue Aloes came originally from 
 the island called Socotra, in the Indian 
 Ocean. 
 
 Along-shore Men or Longshoremen, 
 that is stevedores (2 syl.), or men em- 
 ployed to load and unload vessels. 
 
 Alonzo of A'guilar'. When Fer- 
 nando, King of Aragon, was laying siege 
 to Gi'aua'da, after chasing Zagal from 
 the gates, he asked who would imder- 
 take to plant his banner on the heights. 
 Alonzo, " the lowmost of the dons," un- 
 dertook the task, hut was cut down by 
 the Moors. His body was exposed in 
 the wood of Oxije'ra, and the Moorish 
 damsels, struck with its beauty, buried 
 it near the brook of Alpuxarra. 
 
 Aloof. Stand aloof, away. A sea 
 term, meaning originally to bear to 
 ■windward, or liijf. (Norwegian, Ger- 
 man, etc., liift, wmd, breeze.) 
 
 Alorus, so tlie Chaldeans called their 
 first king, who, they sa}', came from 
 Babylon. 
 
 A I'outrance. To the uttermost. 
 (Anglo-French for a outrancc.) 
 
 "A cliiiniiiion lias started lU' ti) iiiaintaiii 
 a Vonlrciiire lier iuiiuceuce of the great offence." 
 —Stiiiiilard. 
 
 Alp. The Adrian renegade, a Vene- 
 tian b}' extraction, who forswore tlie 
 Christian faith to become a commander 
 in the Turkish army. He led the host 
 to the siege of Corinth, while that 
 country was under the dominion of the 
 Doge. He loved Fraucesca, daughter of 
 MLnotti, governor of Corinth, but she 
 died of a broken heart because he de- 
 serted his country and was an apostate. 
 The renegade was shot in the siege. — 
 Bijroii : Sicffc of Cor'uith. 
 
 Alph. A mythical ' ' sacred river in 
 Xanadu," which ran " through caverns 
 measureless to man." — Cohridye : Knhla 
 Khan. 
 
 Al'pha. '■'■ I am Alpha and Oinrr/a, 
 the first and the last " (Rev. i. 8). 
 "Alpha" is the first, and ''0-meg'a" 
 the last letter of the Greek alphabet. 
 A n. 
 
 Alphabet. This is the only word 
 compounded of lettei-s only. The Greek 
 alplia (a) beta (b) ; our ABC (book), 
 etc. 
 
 V The number of letters in an 
 
 alphabet varies in different languages. 
 Thus there are 
 
 21 letters in tlie Italian alplialiet. 
 
 ^•.' „ Hebrew & Syriac aliiliabet 
 
 •2S „ Latin „ 
 
 •-'4 „ Greek 
 
 "5 „ French „ 
 
 "i> „ English, German, Dutch „ 
 
 '.'7 „ Spanish „ 
 
 -S „ Araliic „ 
 
 Ki „ foptic „ 
 
 Xt „ Unssian „ 
 
 as „ Armenian „ 
 
 :i!i „ (icorgian „ 
 
 40 „ Slavonic „ 
 
 4S „ Persian (Zendi „ 
 
 49 „ Sanskrit „ 
 
 V The Chinese have no alphabet, but 
 about 20,000 syllabic characters. 
 
 Ezra vii. 'Jl contains all the letters of the En- 
 glish laniruage, presuming /and J to lie identical. 
 
 Even the Italian alphabet is capable of more 
 than seventeen trillion cunibinations ; that is, 17 
 followed by eighteen other figures, as— 
 
 17,000.000,01 Kl,i>H1,(XlO;000 ; 
 while the English alphabet will combine into 
 more than twenty-nine thousand nuatrillion com- 
 binations ; that is, aj followed by twenty-seven 
 other ligiires, as— 
 
 •j9,noo,ooo,ixio,ooo,ooo,noo,ooo,ooo,ooo. 
 
 Yet we have no means of marking the se\ eral 
 soiiiuls of our different vowels ; nor can we show 
 how to pronounce such simple words as font, 
 (pull and dull), SMgar (father and rather), (gin an(l 
 be-.!,'in), cabn, lioiirges, Bcevf in "Boeuf-gias," 
 aa/s, and thousands of other words. 
 
 V We want the restoration of th to 
 distinguish between this and thin; a 
 Greek ch to distingui.sh between C'hairh 
 and Christ, two ^'s (one soft and one 
 hard), two c's, two o's, half a dozen w's, 
 and so on. 
 
 V Take a, we have fate, fat, Thames 
 (c), war (o), salt (au), etc. So with e, 
 we have pre;/ (a), met (e), England (ij, 
 seiv (o), herl) (u), etc. The other vowels 
 are equally indefinite. 
 
 Alphe'os and Arethu'sa. The 
 
 Greek ftible says tluit Alphe'os, the 
 river-god, fell in love with the nymph 
 Arethu'sa, who fled from him in affriglit. 
 The god pursued under the sea, but the 
 nymph was changed into a spring, which 
 comes up in the harbour of Syracuse. 
 
 "We have seen a moustachioed Alpheos, at 
 Ramsgate, pursue an affrighted Arethusa." — 
 London Jleview. 
 
 Alphe'us (in Orlando Fnrioso). A 
 magician and prophet in the army of 
 Charlemagne, slain in sleep by Clorida'no. 
 
 Alphesibe'a or "Arsiniie," wife of 
 Alcmeou. She gave her spouse the 
 fatal collar, the source of numberless 
 
 evils. 
 
 So was the necklace of Harmon i:i, and so 
 were the collar and veil of Eviphylc, wife of 
 AiuphiaiSos. 
 
 Alphonso, etc. {See Alfonso, etc.)
 
 Alpleich 
 
 38 
 
 Alvina Weeps 
 
 Alpleich or " Elfenreigen" (the weird 
 spirit -song), that music which some hear 
 before death. Faber refers to it in his 
 J^ihjrims of the Nu/ht. 
 
 " Hark, liark, my soul I Angelic songs are 
 swc'lliii!,'." 
 Pope also says, in the Bymg Chris- 
 tian — 
 
 " Hark ! tliey whisper ; anpels say, 
 Ssti'r spirit, come away." 
 
 Alpue, Alpieu {Alpu), in the game 
 of Basset, doubling the stake on a 
 WLDiiiug card. 
 
 " Wliat pity 'tis tlicisi' ronquering eyes 
 Wliicli all iLe world subdue, 
 .Should, while the lover gazing dies. 
 Be only on alpue." Etherege: Dasert. 
 
 Alquife {al-ke-fi/). A famous en- 
 chanter, introduced into the romances 
 of ancient times, especially tliose re- 
 lating to Amadis of Gaul. 
 
 Alrinach. The demon who presides 
 over floods and earthquakes, rain and 
 liail. It is this demon who causes ship- 
 wrecks. When visible, it is in a female 
 form. {Eastern iiujtl(olo(j>j.) 
 
 Alruna-wife {An). The Alrunes 
 were the lares or penates of the ancient 
 Germans. An Alruna-wife was the 
 household goddess of a German family. 
 An Alruna-maiden is a liousehold 
 maiden goddess. 
 
 "She CHypatia) looked »s fair as the sun, and 
 talked like an Alruna-wife."— A'lH.'/s'f!/.' JlyiKitia, 
 chap. x\\. 
 
 Alsa'tia. The Whitefriars sanctuary 
 for debtors and law-breakers. Cunning- 
 ham thinks the name is borrowed from 
 Alsace, in France, which being a frontier 
 of the Rhine, was everlastingly the seat 
 of war and the refuge of the disaffected. 
 Sir Walter Scott, in his Fvrtnnen of 
 Xif/cl, has described the life and state 
 of this rookery. He has borrowed 
 largely from Shadwell's comedy, Tlie 
 ISrjiiirc of Ahatia. {Sec Petand.) 
 
 Alsvidur. {Sec Hoese.) 
 
 Altamo'rus (in Jerusalem T)eUrcre(T). 
 King of Samarcand', who joined the 
 Egyptian armament tigainst the Crusa- 
 ders. " He was sujjreme in courage 
 as in might." (Book xvii.) He sur- 
 rendered himself to Godfrey. (Book 
 
 XX.) 
 
 Altan Kol or Gold Hirer (Thibet). 
 So called from the gold whicli abounds 
 in its .stmds. 
 
 Altar (An), in Christian art. St. 
 Stephen (the Pope) , and Thomas Becket 
 are represented as immolated before an 
 tiltar. St. Canute is represented as 
 lying before an altar. St. Charles 
 
 Borromeo is represented as kneeling 
 before an altar. St. Gregory (the Pope) 
 is represented as offcrinfi saerijirr before 
 an altar. And the attribute of Victor is 
 an altar overthrown, in allusion to his 
 throwing down a Roman altar in the 
 presence of the Emperor Maximian. 
 
 jA-d to tlie altar, i.e. married. Said 
 of a lady. The altar is the communion- 
 table railed off from the body of the 
 church, where marriages are solemnised. 
 The bride is led up the aisle to the rail. 
 
 Alter ego. My double or counter- 
 part. In The Corsican Brothers, the 
 same actor performs tlie two brothers, 
 the one being the alter ego of the other. 
 (Latin, "a second I "). One who has 
 full powers to act for another. 
 
 Althaea's Brand, a fatal contin- 
 gency. Althtea's son was to live so long 
 as a log of wood, then on the fire, re- 
 mained unconsumed. She contrived to 
 keep the log unconsumed for many 
 j'ears, but being angry one day with 
 Meleager, she pushed it into the midst 
 of the fire, and it was consumed in a 
 few minutes. Meleager died at the 
 same time. — Ovid: Metamorphoses, viii. i. 
 
 "The fatal brand .\ltli:pa burned." 
 
 Mni/if.fpeorf.- :.' Ilenrij l'/.. Act i. 1. 
 
 Althe'a {Birine). The divine Althea 
 of Richard Lovelace was Lucy Sachev- 
 crell, called by the poet, " Lucretia." 
 
 " When lo\ e with unconflned win^rs 
 Hovels within my gates, 
 Anil my divine Althea brings 
 To whi.sper at my grates." 
 
 The "grates" referred to were the 
 prison grates. Lovelace was thrown 
 into prison by the Long Parliament for 
 his petition from Kent in favour of the 
 king. 
 
 Altisido'ra (in the ' ' Curious Imper- 
 tinent "), au episode in JJon Qnixote. 
 
 Altis. The plot of ground on which 
 the Greeks held their ijublic games. 
 
 Alto relle'vo. Italian for " high 
 relief." A term used in sculpture for 
 figures in wood, stone, mai'ble, etc., so 
 cut as to project at least one-half from 
 the tablet. It should be riliero (3 syl.). 
 
 Alumbra'do, a perfectionist ; so 
 called from a Spanish sect which arose 
 in lo7o. and claimed .special illumination. 
 (Spanish, meaning "illuminated," "en- 
 lightened "). 
 
 Alvina Weeps, or "Hark! Alvina 
 weeps," i.e. the wind liowls loudly, 
 a Flemish saying. Alvina was the 
 daughter of a king, who was cursed 
 by her parents because she married
 
 Alyface 
 
 39 
 
 Amasis 
 
 unsuitably. From that day she roamed 
 about the air invisible to the eye of mau, 
 but her moans are audible. 
 
 Alyface (Aiiiiot), servant of Dame 
 Christian Custance, the gay widow, iu 
 Udall's comedy Italph Jioister Dointcr, 
 
 Alzirdo (in Orfni/do Fiiriosd). King 
 of Trem'izcn, iu Africa. He was over- 
 thrown by Orlando on his way to join 
 the allied army of Ag'ramant. 
 
 A.M. or M.A. When the Latin form 
 is iuteudeil the A comes first, as ArtiKin 
 Magister ; but where the English form 
 is meant the M precedes, as Master of 
 A tin. 
 
 Am'adis of Gaul. The hero of a 
 romance in prose of the same title, 
 originally written in Portuguese in four 
 books. These four were translated into 
 Spanish by Montalvo, who added a fifth. 
 Subsequent romancers added the ex- 
 ploits and adventures of other knights, 
 so as to swell the romance to fourteen 
 books. The French vei'sion is much 
 larger still, one containing twenty-four 
 books, and another running through 
 seven volumes. The original author 
 was Vasco de Lobeira, of Oporto, who 
 died 1403. 
 
 The /tiro, called the "Lion-knight," 
 from the device on his shield, and ''Bel- 
 teuebros " {darkh/ hcaHtifiil), from his 
 personal appearance, was a love-child 
 of Perion, King of Gaid, and Elizena, 
 Princess of Brittany. He is represented 
 as a poet and musician, a linguist and a 
 gallant, a knight-errant and a king, the 
 vcrj' model of chivalry. 
 
 Other names by wliich Am'adis was 
 called were the Lovch/ Obscure, the 
 Knir/ht of the Bitrniiuj Sword, the 
 Knight of the I)uarf, etc. Bernardo, iu 
 1.560, wrote " Amadigi di Gaula." 
 
 Am'adis of Greece. A supjilo- 
 mental part of the romance called 
 A III' ad is of Gaul, added by Felicia'no 
 de Silva. 
 
 Amai'mon (3 syl.). One of the chief 
 devils whoso dominion is on the north 
 side of the infernal gulf. He might be 
 bound or restrained from doinghurtfrom 
 the third hour till noon, and from the 
 ninth hour till evening. 
 
 " AirainioM soiinds \\iA\ ■ Liicifor well." 
 Shaki'trmn- : Meirij ICeccs uf Wlndsiir, ii. 2. 
 
 - Amal'fitan Code. A compilation of 
 maritime laws, compiled in the eleventh 
 century at Amalti, then an important 
 trading town. 
 
 Ama^liVaca, A-u American spirit. 
 
 who had seven daughters. He broke 
 their legs to prevent their running away, 
 and left them to people the forests. 
 
 Amalthaea. {See Sibylline Books.) 
 
 Amalthe'a's Horn. The comucojiia 
 or horn of plenty. The infant Zeus 
 was fed with goats' milk by Amalthca, 
 one of the daughters of Melisseus, King 
 of Crete. Zeus, in gratitude, broke off 
 one of the goat's homs, and gave it to 
 Amalthea, promising that the possessor 
 should always have iu abundance eveiy- 
 thing desired. {Sec iEais.) 
 
 Amanda, the impersonation of love 
 in Thomson's Spring, is Miss Young, 
 afterwards married ito Admiral Camp- 
 bell. 
 
 Am'arant. A cruel giant slain by 
 Guy of Warwick. — Guy and Aniarant, 
 
 I'ereg's lieliqiies. 
 
 Am'aranth. Clement of Alexandria 
 
 says — Aiiiaraiitas Jtos, si/iii'/jo/uiii est i>ii- 
 worialita'tis. The word is from the 
 Greek aniaran'tus (everlasting) . So called 
 because its flowers never fade like other 
 flowers, but retain to the last much of 
 their deep blood-red colour. 
 
 " Iiiiiiiiirtiil aiiiaiaiit— a tlciwer wliirli once 
 In I'araclisc, fast by tlie tiee of life, 
 Bi'L'an to lilooiii ; but soon, for man's offence. 
 To heaven removed, wliere first it b'rew, there 
 
 t'rows 
 And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life. . . . 
 With these, that never fade, the siiirits elect 
 Bind Iheir residendent locks." 
 
 Miltdii : I'liradise Lost iii. ajS-Gl. 
 
 V In 1653 Christina, Queen of Sweden, 
 iu.stituted the Order of the "Knights of 
 the Amaranth," but it ceased to exist 
 at the death of the Queen. Ajuong the 
 ancients it was the sj^mbol of immor- 
 tality. 
 
 The best known sjoecies are "Love 
 lies bleeding" {amarantus cai(ddtus), 
 and "Prince's feather " {amarantus hy- 
 pochondriaeus). "Cock's comb" is 
 now ranked under the genus Celosia. 
 
 Amaryllis. A pastoral sweetheart. 
 The name is borrowed from the pastorals 
 of Theocritos and Virgil. 
 
 "To sport with Amaryllis in the shade." 
 
 Milton : Lijcidtis, 6."*. 
 
 Amasis {Ring of) , same as Polycrates' 
 Ring. Pol3'crates, tyrant of Samos, was 
 so fortunate in everything that Amasis, 
 King of Egypt, advised him to part 
 with something which he highly prized. 
 Polycrates accordingly threw into the 
 sea an engraved ring of extraordinary 
 value. A few days afterwards, a fish 
 was presented to the tyrant, iu which 
 the ring was found. Amasis now re- 
 nounced all friendship with Polycrates,
 
 Amati 
 
 40 
 
 Arabi-dexter 
 
 as a man doomed by the gods ; and not 
 long afterwards, a satrap, lia\'iug en- 
 trapped the too fortunate despot, put 
 him to death hy cmcifixio'a.— Herodotus, 
 iii. 40. 
 
 Amati. A first-rate violin ; properlj', 
 one made by Ama'ti of Cremona {c, IGOO). 
 (iSVr Ceemona.) 
 
 Amaurot (Greek, the shadowy or 
 unknown place), the chief city in Utopia 
 (no-place), a political novel by Sir 
 Thomas More. Rabelais, in his I'aiita- 
 qrnvl, had previously introduced the 
 "word, and tells us tliat the Amaurots 
 conquered the Dipsodes (or Duplicians). 
 
 Amaurote, a bridge in Utopia. Sir 
 Thomas More says he could not recollect 
 whether Raphael Hyghloday told him 
 it was 500 paces or 300 paces long ; and 
 he requested his friend Peter Giles, of 
 Antwerp, to put the question to the 
 adventurer. 
 
 " I cannot recollect wlietlier the reception room 
 of tlie Spaniard's Castle in the Air is I'Oo or .Too 
 feet Ions. I will get the next aeronaut -nbo 
 journevs'to tbe moon to take the exact dimen- 
 sions for me, and will memorialise tbe learned 
 society of Laputa. "—iienw ,S'tc//t ; GuUivcr'sTraL-elg. 
 
 Amazement. Hot nfraid u-ith any 
 amiiznnvnt (1 Peter iii. 6), introduced at 
 the close of the marriage service in the 
 Book of Common Prayer. The mean- 
 ing is, you will be God's children so long 
 as j'ou do his bidding, and are not 
 drawn aside by any distraction (n-TorjTis). 
 No doubt St. Peter meant "by any 
 terror of persecution." Cranmer, being 
 so afraid, was drawn aside from the 
 path of duty. 
 
 Amazia, meant for Charles II., in 
 Pordage's poem of Azar'xa and Ilitshai. 
 We are told by the poet, " his father's 
 murtherers he destroyed; " and then he 
 preposterously adds — 
 
 " Beloved of all, for merciful was he, 
 Like God, in tlie superlative degree." 
 
 To say that such a selfish, promise- 
 breaking, impious libertine was "like 
 God, in the superlative degree," is an 
 outrage against even poetical liceucc aud 
 court flattery. 
 
 Am'azon. A horsewoman, a fighting 
 or masculine woman. The word means 
 uitlioid breast, or rather, "deprived of 
 a pap." According to Grecian story, 
 there was a nation of women in Africa 
 of a very warlike character. There 
 were no men in the nation ; and if a 
 boy was born, it was either killed or 
 sent to his father, who lived in some 
 neighbouring state. The girls had their 
 
 right breasts burnt off, that they might 
 the better di-aw the bow. 
 
 " These dreadful Amazons, gallant viragoes who 
 . . . carried victorious arms . . . into Syria aud 
 Asia Minor."—./. E. VliambUss: Viivid Livingstone 
 (Introduction, p. '24). 
 
 Amazo'nia. In South America, ori- 
 ginally called Mar'anon'. The Spaniards 
 first called it Orella'na ; but after the 
 women joined their husbands in at- 
 tacking the invaders, the Spaniards 
 called the people Amazons and the 
 country Amazonia. 
 
 Amazonian Chin (Ait). A beardless 
 chin, like that of a woman warrior. 
 
 " When with his Amazonian chin he drove 
 Tlic hrisllcd lips before him." 
 
 filuikci'iieare : Coriulaiius, ii. i'. 
 
 Ambassador, a practical joke played 
 on greenhorns aboard shijj. A tub full 
 of water is placed between two stools, 
 aud the whole being covered with a 
 green cloth, a sailor sits on each stool, 
 to keep the cloth tight. The two 
 sailors represent Neptune and Am phi- 
 trite, and the greenhorn, as ambassador, 
 is introduced to their majesties. He is 
 given the seat of honour between them ; 
 but no sooner does he take his seat than 
 the two sailors rise, and the greenhorn 
 falls into the tub, amidst the laughter 
 of the whole crew. 
 
 Am'ber. This fossilised vegetable 
 resin is, according to legend, a con- 
 cretion of birds' tears. Tlie birds were 
 the sisters of Meleuger, who never ceased 
 weeping for the death of their brother. — 
 OvUl : Metamorphoses, viii. hne 270, etc. 
 
 "Around thee shall glisten the loveliest amher 
 That ever the sorrowing sea-)ii:il bath wept." 
 T. Moore: Fire Worshippers. 
 
 Amber, a repository. So called be- 
 cause insects and small leaves are pre- 
 served in amber. 
 
 "Vou may he disposed to preserve it in your 
 amber." — Xotes and Queries. — W. Dmee. 
 " Pretty ! in amher, to observe tbe forms 
 Of hairs, or straws, or dirt, or grubs, nr worms, 
 The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare, 
 But wonder how the devil they got there." 
 
 Pope : Ep. to Arbuthiiut, Ki'J-?:!. 
 
 Amberabad'. Amber- city, one of 
 the towns of Jinuistau, or Fairy Land. 
 
 Ambes'-as or Ambes-aee. Two aces, 
 the lowest tlirow in dice ; figuratively, 
 bad luck. (Latin, ambo-asses, both or 
 two aces.) 
 
 "1 had rather be in this choice than throw 
 ames-ace for my life."— .l//'s He//, etc., ii. 3. 
 
 Ambi-dexter properly means both 
 hands right hands ; a double dealer ; a 
 juror who takes money from both parties 
 for his verdict ; one who can use his 
 left hand as deftly as his right.
 
 Ambition 
 
 41 
 
 Amenthes 
 
 Ambition, strictly speaking, means 
 " the going from house to house " (Latin, 
 ambitio, going about canvassing). In 
 Rome it was customary, some time 
 before an election came on, for the can- 
 didates to go round to the diflfereut 
 dwellings to solicit votes, and those 
 who did so were ambitious of office. 
 
 Ambree {Muri/). An English heroine, 
 who has immortalised her name by her 
 valour at the siege of Ghent, in loSi. 
 Her name is a proverbial one for a 
 woman of heroic spirit. 
 
 " My ilaut'bter will )>c valiant, 
 And prove a very Mary Aniliry i' the business." 
 Beit Jonsoit : Tale of a Tub, i. 4. 
 
 Ambrose (Sf.), represented in Chris- 
 tian art in the costume of a bishop. 
 His attributes arc (1) a bce-hivc, in 
 allusion to the legend that a swarm of 
 bees settled on his mouth Avhen lying in 
 his cradle ; (2) a scourge, by which he 
 expelled the Arians from Italy. 
 
 Tlie jienaiire he inflicted on the Empei'm" The(V 
 dosins has lieen represented by Rubens, a ocipy 
 ijf which, hy Vandyck, is in the National Gallery. 
 
 Ambro'sia. The food of the gods 
 (Greek, a privative, brotos, mortal); so 
 called because it made them not mortal, 
 I.e. it made them immortal. Anj'thiug 
 ' delicious to the taste or fragrant in 
 perfume is so called from the notion 
 that whatever is used by the celestials 
 must be excellent. 
 
 " A table where the heaped ambrosia lay." 
 
 Ilomir, hii Bniniit: (Miissri/, v. line 1-11. 
 
 " Husband and wife must drink from tlie cup of 
 
 conjufral life ; but they n)ust boih taste the same 
 
 ambrosia, (U- the same f-'all."— /f. V. Jlowjiitun : 
 
 H'oMOi oj the Orient, part iii. 
 
 Ambrosian Chant. The choral 
 music introduced from the Eastern to the 
 Western Church by St. Ambrose, the 
 Bishop of Mil'an, in the fourth century. 
 It was used till Gregory i/ie Great 
 changed it for the Gregorian. 
 
 Ambro'sian Library. A library in 
 Mil'an, so called in compliment of St. 
 Ambrose, tlie patron saint. 
 
 Ambrosio, the hero of Lewis's ro- 
 mance, called T}ie Monk. Abbot of the 
 Capuchins at Madrid. The temptations 
 of Matilda overcome his virtue, and he 
 proceeds from ciime to crime, till at last 
 he sells his soul to the devil. Ambrosio, 
 being condemned to death by the In- 
 quisition, is released by Lucifer ; but no 
 sooner is he out of prison than he is 
 dashed to pieces on a rock. 
 
 Am'bry, a cupboard, locker, or recess. 
 In church, for keejiing vestments, books, 
 or other articles. Used by a confusion 
 for (dnionrij, or niche in the wall where 
 
 alms, etc., were deposited. Now used 
 for holding the sacramental plate, con- 
 secrated oil, and so on. The secret 
 drawers of an escritoire are called am- 
 bries. (Archaic English almarij, Latin 
 (iniKviitiii, French annoirc.) 
 
 " Thcr avarice hath almaries. 
 And yren-bounden cofres.'' 
 
 Piers I'liiiitjUman, p. 'JS8. 
 
 Ah)wnrij is from the Latin clcemosyn- 
 (iri/iiii. a place for alms. 
 
 "The place wherein this Chapel or Almshouse 
 stands was called the ' Klemosinary ' or Aluionr.v, 
 now corrupted into Anihrey, for that the alms of 
 the Alibey are tliere distributed to the poor."— 
 .s'toic ; Surveij. 
 
 Ambusca'de (3 syl.) is the Italian 
 iiiibonca'ta (concealed in a wood). 
 
 Ame damnee (French), a scape-goat. 
 
 "He is the ame damnfe of everyone about the 
 court— the scapegoat, who is to carry away all 
 Iheir iniquities."— Sir Walter Scott: Ptveril of the 
 Vciilc, chap. 48. 
 
 Amedieu (3 syl.). " Friends of 
 God ; " a religious body in the Church 
 of Rome, founded in 1400. They wore 
 no breeches, but a grey cloak girded 
 with a cord, and were shod with wooden 
 shoes. 
 
 Amelia. A model of conjugal affec- 
 tion, in Fielding's novel so called. It is 
 said that the character is intended foi 
 his own wife. 
 
 Amelon. A Chaldean hero, who 
 reigned thirteen sares. A sare=: 3,000 
 years. — Banicr : Mijthologij, vol. i. 
 
 Anienon is another hero of Chalden, who 
 reijrnrd 1:; sares. Amphis reigned sares. 
 
 Amen Corner, London, the end of 
 Paternoster Row, where the monks 
 finished their Pater Xonfer, on Corjms 
 Christi Day, as they went in procession 
 to St. Paul's Cathedral. They began in 
 Ptitemoster Row with the Lord's prayer 
 in Latin, which was continued to the 
 end of the street ; then said Amen, at 
 the corner or bottom of the Row ; tlien 
 tuniiug down Ave-Maria Lane, com- 
 menced chanting the " Hail, Mary I " 
 then crossing Ludgate, they chanted the 
 Credo. Amen Ltine no longer exists. 
 
 Amende honorable, in France, 
 was a degrading punishment inflicted 
 on traitors, parricides, and sacrilegious 
 persons, who were brought into court 
 with a rope round their neck, and made 
 to beg pardon of God, the king, aud the 
 court. 
 
 Now the public acknowledgment of 
 the offence is all that is required. 
 
 Amen'thes (3 syl.). The Egyptian 
 Hades. The word means Jiiduig -place.
 
 American Flag 
 
 42 
 
 Amina 
 
 American Flag. The American 
 Congress resolved (Juno 14, 1777), that 
 the flag of the United States should 
 liave thirteen stripes, alternately red 
 and white, to represent the thirteen 
 States of the Union, together with 
 tliirteen white stars, ou a blue ground. 
 General Washington's escutcheon con- 
 tained two stripes, each alternated with 
 red and white, and, like the American 
 stars, those of the General liad only five 
 points instead of six. A new star is 
 now added for each new State, but the 
 stripes remain the same. 
 
 Hiiwevor, before tlie seimratiim t)ie fla.tr cim- 
 taiiied fliirtc-en sfriiirs of alfcrnaie rcil and whitr 
 to iiidii-atf the tlnrtceii colonies: and ilie Kast 
 India Comiianv tlai;, as far hack as 17ol, had tliir- 
 teen sfi-iiies. The Company tla?.' was cantoned 
 ■with St. (Jeori-'e's Cross, tile lirilish Aineiicau 
 tlai,' with the Union Jack. 
 
 American Peculiarities : — 
 
 Kalives of New KnKland .. .. siiy Guess. 
 
 „ N. York & Middle States „ Kx]vet. 
 
 „ Southern Stales .. .. „ Reckon. 
 
 „ Western States .. .. „ Calculate. 
 
 American States. The Americans 
 are rich in nicknames. Every state has, 
 or has had, its sobriquet. The people 
 of 
 
 Alabavia .. are lizards. 
 
 Ari-am-ax .. „ toothpicks 
 
 Califoniia .. „ f-'old-lumlers. 
 
 Colorado .. „ rovers. 
 
 Covnecticut .. „ wooden nutmegs. 
 
 Delaware .. „ innsk rats. 
 
 Florida .. •• „ H.v-np-the-cieeks. 
 
 Geoniia ■• .. „ Imx/.ards. 
 
 Illinois .. .. „ Slickers. 
 
 Indiana.- .. „ lioosiers. 
 
 Iowa .. .. „ hawk-eyes. 
 
 Kansas.. .. „ jay -hawkers. 
 
 Kentiickii •• i, corn-crackers. 
 
 Louisiana . - „ Creoles. 
 
 Maine •- •• ,, foxes. 
 
 M'lrj/laiid .. „ craw-thtinipers. 
 
 Michiijan .. „ wolverines. 
 
 Minnesota .. ,, gophers. 
 
 Migsissijipi . . „ taclpnles. 
 
 Missouri .. „ ptikes. 
 
 Nebraska .. „ Ims-eaters. 
 
 Nevada... .. „ saire-hens. 
 
 New Hampshire ,, frranite-hoys. 
 
 New ./ersey .. „ Bines ec claiii-eatchers. 
 
 New Vorl;, .. „ knickerbockers. 
 
 North Carolina „ tar-hoilers or Tuekoes. 
 
 Ohio .. -. ,, buck-eyes. 
 
 Oregon .. .. „ web-feet «r liard cases. 
 
 renmsylvania . . „ Pennainites or LeatUer- 
 
 lieads. 
 
 lihode Island ■■ „ gun-flints. 
 
 tiotdh Carolina „ weasels. 
 
 Tennessee •• ,, whelps. 
 
 Texas .. ■■ „ beef-heads. 
 
 Vermont .. „ green-iucjuiitaiu boys. 
 
 I Virginia •• ,, beadies. 
 
 Wisconsin .. „ badgers. 
 
 American States. The eight states 
 which retain the Indian names of the 
 chief rivers, as : Alabama, Arkansas, 
 Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, 
 Ohio, and Wisconsin. 
 
 Ameth'ea. {See Horse.) 
 Amethyst. A species of rock-crystal 
 sujiposed to prevcut iiitoxicatiou 
 
 (Greek, ri-iiiei/iu.sta, the antidote of in- 
 toxication). Drinking-cups made of 
 amethyst were supposed to be a charm 
 against inebriety. 
 
 •.• It was the most cherished of all 
 precious stones by Roman matrons, 
 from the superstition that it wouhl 
 preserve inviolate the affection of their 
 husbands. 
 
 Amiable Numbers. {Sec Amicable, 
 etc.) 
 
 Amicable Numbers. Numbers 
 which are mutually equal to the sum 
 of all their aliquot j.arts : as 220, 284. 
 The aliquot parts of 220 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 
 10, 11, 20, 22, 44, 55, 110, the sum of 
 which is 284. Again, the aliipiot parts 
 of 284 are I, 2, 4, 71, 142, the sum of 
 which is 220. 
 
 Amicus cu'riae (Latin, a friend to 
 the eourt). One in the court who in- 
 forms the jiulge of some eiTor he has 
 detected, or makes some suggestion to 
 assist tlie court. 
 
 Aoii'eHs ri((io, .led itiae/i.t aini'en J'er'iteis 
 (Plato I love, but I love Truth more). 
 A noble dictum attributed to Aristotle, 
 but certainly a very free translation 
 of a phrase in the yieomaehe'nn Etliie.s 
 ('' Where both are friends, it is light to 
 11 refer Truth "). 
 
 Am'iel (o syl.). A form of the name 
 Eliam {friend of God). In Dryden's 
 siitire of Absalom and Aehitophel it 
 is meant for Sir Edwtird Seymour, 
 Speaker of the House of Commons. (2 
 Sam. xxii. 34.) 
 
 " Who can Aniiel's praise refuse? 
 Of ancient lace liy birth, liut nobler yet 
 In his own worth, and without title great. 
 The Sanhedrim long time as chief he ruled, 
 Their reason guided and their passion cooled." 
 Dri/dcn,: .ibsaloni and Aehitophel, i. 8119-903. 
 
 Amiens (3 syl.). 17ie Feace of 
 Amiens, March 27, 1802, a treaty signed 
 by Joseph Bonaparte, the Marquis of 
 Cornwtillis, Azara, and Schimmelpen- 
 ninck, to settle the disputed points 
 between France, England, Spain, and 
 Holland. It was dissolved in 1803. 
 
 Ami'na. An orphan adopted by a 
 miller, and beloved by Elvi'no, a rich 
 farmer. The night before her espousals 
 she is found in the bed of Count Eo- 
 dolpho, and is renounced by her be- 
 trothed husband. The count explains 
 to the J'oung farmer and his friends that 
 Ami'na is innocent, and has wandered 
 in her sleep. While he is still talking, 
 the oiphan is seen getting out of the 
 window of the mill, and walking in her 
 sleep along the edge of the roof under
 
 Aminadab 
 
 43 
 
 Ampersand 
 
 which the mill wheel is rapidly revolving. 
 She crosses a crazy bridge, and comes 
 among the spectators. In a few niimites 
 she awakes, flies to Elvi'uo, and is 
 claimed by him as his beloved and inno- 
 cent bride. — Ilc/lini''s best upcvd^ La 
 Hiinnumhida. 
 
 Amin'adab. A Quaker. The Scrip- 
 ture name has a doulile ;;/, but in old 
 comedies, where the character represents 
 a Quaker, the name has generally only 
 one. Obadiah is used, also, to signify a 
 Quaker, and llachcl a Quakeress. 
 
 Amine (3 syl.). Wife of Sidi Nou- 
 man, who ate her rice with a bodkin, 
 and was iu fact a ghoul. " She was so 
 hard-hearted that she led about her 
 three sisters like a leash of grej'houuds." 
 — Arabian Nights. 
 
 Aminte (2 syl.). The name assumed 
 bj^ Cathos as more aristocratic than her 
 own. She is courted by a gentleman, 
 but discards him because his manneis 
 are too simple and easy for " bon ton ; " 
 he then sends his valet, who ])retends to 
 be a raaiquis, and Aminte is charmed 
 with his " distinguished style of manners 
 and talk." When the game has gone 
 far enough, the trick is exposed, and 
 Aminte is saved from a mesalliance. — 
 Molivrc : Lcs Frevicnscs liidiciih's. 
 
 It was a in-evailin'-r fasliinn in tlip 5Iiilillo 
 A.u'es ti) rliaii'-'e names -. Vnltairc's priircf iiMiiic 
 was AriiiiH (lfti-l-17rsi ; .Alchuntlinirs \\:\^S<-Uir,,i- 
 Zi-ri1e (14!ir-l.Viii). The real names nf Desidi litis 
 Erasmus were Gheriurd Gheniird (l-U'l-lXm ; 
 AnacLiarsis rlootz was Jean Biiytisle Clootz, etc. 
 
 Am'iral or AmmiraJ. An early 
 form of the word " admiral." (French, 
 aiiiiral ; It'dlmn, aiJU)iirai/lio.) (AVr Ad- 
 miral.) 
 
 Ainlet (Ricliard). The gamester in 
 Vimbrugh's drama called The Con- 
 J'l'drracij. 
 
 Arn'mon. The Libyan Juj)iter ; so 
 called from the Greek ammos (sand), 
 because his temple was in the desert. 
 Herodotus calls it an Egyptian woi'd 
 (ii. 42). 
 
 So)) of Jupiter A)))moi). Alexander the 
 Great. His father, Philip, claimed to 
 be a descendant of Hercules, and there- 
 fore of Jupiter ; and the sou was saluted 
 by the priests of the Libyan temple as 
 son of Amnion. Hence was he called 
 the son or descendant both of Jupiter 
 and of Ammou. 
 
 Ammonian Hern (The), the cornu- 
 copia. It was in reality a tract of very 
 fertile land, in the shape of a ram's horn, 
 given by Amnion, King of Libya, to his 
 
 mistress, Amalthea (q.v.) (the mother of 
 Bacchus). 
 
 Am'monites (3 syl.). Fossif )))o/t)isrs 
 allied to the nautilus and cuttlefish. 
 So called because they resemlile the 
 horn upon the ancient statues of Jupiter 
 Ammon. {See above.) 
 
 A'mon's Son (in OrIa))do Farioso) 
 is Einaldo. He was the eldest son of 
 Anion or Aymon, Marquis d'Este, and 
 nephew of Charlemagne. 
 
 Am'cret, brought up by Venus in the 
 courts of love. She is the type of female 
 loveliness— young, handsome, gay, witty, 
 and good ; soft as a rose, sweet as a 
 violet, chaste as a lily, gentle as a dove, 
 loving everybody and by all beloved. 
 She is no Diana to make '" gods and men 
 fear h( r stern frown " ; no Minerva to 
 " freeze her foes into congealed stone 
 with rigid looks of chaste austerity " ; 
 but a living, breathuig virgin, with a 
 warm heart, and beaming ej'e, and jias- 
 sions strong, and all that man can wish 
 and woman want. She becomes the 
 loving, tender wife of Sir Scu'damore. 
 Tim'ias finds her in the arms of Cor- 
 flambo {f<e))>i)tal paxsio))) ; combats the 
 monster inisuccessfully, but wounds the 
 lady. — Sj::c))ier: Feurij f,«6' ■«, book iii. 
 
 Amcret, a love-song, love-knot, love- 
 affair, love personified. A jrctty word, 
 which might be reintroduced. 
 
 '•He will be in liis aiiinrefs, ami liis canzoiirls, 
 liis pastiirals, and liis niailrigals."— /yii/uwin* ; 
 Luve's Mistress. 
 
 " For not iciadde In silke was lip, 
 But all iu flouiis and tlourettes, 
 1-1'aint'uI all witli anioretie.s." 
 
 Uoiiiiince of the Hoee, SfC. 
 
 Amorous ( The). Philippe I. of France ; 
 so called because he divorced his wife 
 Berthe to espouse Bertrade, who was 
 already married to Foulques, count of 
 Anjou. (1061-1108.) 
 
 Amour propre. One's sclf-lcve, 
 vanity, or opinion of what is due to self. 
 To Diake ait appeal to owc'.s- aiiioiir propir, 
 is to put a jierson on his metal. To 
 tcotoxl o))e's a))ioiir propre, is to gall his 
 good opinion of himself — to wound his 
 vanity. (French.) 
 
 Ampa'ro de Pobres. A book ex- 
 posing the begging impostors of Madrid, 
 written by Herrera, physician to Felipe 
 III. 
 
 Ampersand, the character made 
 thus, " & " = and. In the old Horn- 
 books, after givingthe twenty-six letters, 
 the character & was added, and was 
 called "Ampersand," a corruption of
 
 Amphialus 
 
 44 
 
 Amundeville 
 
 "and per-se &" (aud by itself, and). 
 A B C D . . . . X Y Z &. 
 
 " Any oilil slmio fulks understaud 
 To mean inv rroti'an amiier/.anil." 
 
 Puiicli (17 Aiail, iNtm, p. 153, col. '-'). 
 The martyr Brailfcjrd, says Lonl Russell, was 
 " A i>er se A " willi Iliem, " to their coiniort," 
 etc.— i.e. stood alone in their defence. 
 
 Amphialus, son of Cecropia, in love 
 witli I'hiloclca . but he ultimately 
 married Ciueeu Helen of Corinth. — AVr 
 riiUip Sidtu'i/: The Countess of Teiii- 
 bro/ic's Arcadia. 
 
 Amphictyon'ic Council. A council 
 of confederate Greeks from twelve of 
 their trilics, each of which had two 
 deputies. The council met twice a year 
 — in the spring at Delphi, and in the 
 autumn at Thermop'ylse. According to 
 fable, it was so called from Amphic'tyon, 
 son of Deuca'lion, its supposed founder. 
 (Greek, amp/iictioiies, dwellers round 
 about.) 
 
 Amphig'ons. "Words strung together 
 without any real connection. The two 
 ])leaders in Faiitae/rael by Rabelais (book 
 ii. c. 11-13) give au excellent example. 
 
 Amphigouri, nonsense verse, rigma- 
 role. 
 
 "A kind of overgrown amphigonri, a hetero- 
 geneous combination."— Qiiarter/i/ Review, i. 30, 
 
 rsijy. ' 
 
 V Person's "Three Children sliding 
 on the Ice" is a good specimen of 
 amphigouri. 
 
 Amphion is said to have built Thebes 
 by the nrusic of his lute, -which was so 
 melodious that the stones danced into 
 walls and houses of their own accord. 
 Tennyson has a rhymuig./V» d' esprit. 
 
 Amphitri'te (either 3 or 4 syl.). The 
 sea. In classic mythology, the wife of 
 Neptune (Greek, 'awplii-trio for tribo, 
 rubbing or wearing away [the shore] on 
 all sides). 
 
 " Hi.-i wearv chariot sought the bowers 
 Of Auiphitritcand her tending nymiihs." 
 
 Thomson: Summer. (IIJUS-O). 
 
 Amphit'ryon. Le vvrltahle Amphi- 
 tryon est rAinphitri/on ouVon dine (Mo- 
 liere). That is, the person who provides 
 the feast (whether master of the house 
 or n"ot) is the real host. The tale is that 
 Jupiter assumed the likeness of Am- 
 phit'ryon, and gave a banquet ; but 
 Amphitryon himself came home, and 
 claimed the honour of being the master 
 of the liouse. As far as the servants 
 and guests were concerned, the dispute 
 was soon decided—" he who gave the 
 feast was to them the host." 
 
 Amphrysian Prophetess {Am- 
 phrifsia I'ates). The C'umtean sibyl ; so 
 called from Amphrysos, a river of 
 Thessal}', on the banks of which Apollo 
 fed the herds of Adme'tos ; consequently 
 Amplaysian means Apollo'nian. 
 
 Ampoulle (Sainte). The jug or 
 bottle containing oil used in anointing 
 the kings of France, and said to have 
 been brouglit from heaven by a dove for 
 the coronation service of St. Louis. It 
 was preserved at Eheims till the first 
 Kevolutiou, when it was destroj'cd. 
 
 Amram's Son. Moses. (Exodus vi. 
 •20.) 
 
 " As when the potent rod 
 Of Amram's son. in Egypt's evil day, 
 AVa\ ed round the coast.'' 
 
 MillQ}! : I'diadise Lost, i. 338-40. 
 
 Amri, in the satire of Absalom and 
 Achitophet, by Dryden and Tate, is 
 designed for Heneage Finch, Earl of 
 Nottingham and Lord Chancellor. 
 
 " Our list of nobles next let Amri grace, 
 Whose merits claimed the Ahethdiu's {Lord 
 
 ClKnicillnr's) high place- 
 To whom the double blessing does belong. 
 With Moses' inspiration, Aaron's tongue." 
 
 Part ii. 
 
 Amri'ta. The elixir of immortality, 
 made by clinrning the milk-sea {Hindu 
 miitholofiii). Sir William Jones speaks 
 of an apple so called, because it bestows 
 immortality on those who partake of it. 
 The word means immortal. {See Am- 
 
 BKOSIA.) 
 
 Amsanc'tus. A lake in Italy, in the 
 territory of Hirpi num, said to lead down 
 to the infernal regions. The word means 
 sacred water. 
 
 Amuck'. To run amuch. To talk or 
 write on a subject of which you are 
 wholly ignorant ; to run foul of. The 
 Malaj's, under the influence of opium, 
 become so excited that they sometimes 
 rush forth with daggers, yelling ^'Amoq ! 
 amoq ! " (Kill ! kill !), and fall foul of 
 any one they chance to meet. 
 
 "Satire's my weapon, but I'm too discreet 
 To run amuck and tilt at all I meet." 
 
 Pope: Entires, i. 0!)-70. 
 
 Am'ulet. Something worn, generally 
 round the neck, as a charm. (Arabic, 
 haDixlef, that which is suspended.) 
 
 I'he early Christians used to wear 
 amulets called Ichthits, fish; the word 
 is composed of the initial letters of 
 le'sos CHristos THeou Uios Soter (Jesus 
 Christ, Son of God, our Saviour). {See 
 
 NOTARICA.) 
 
 Amun'deville. Zadi/ Adeline Amun- 
 derille, a lady who " liad a twilight tinge 
 of blue," could make ejiigrams, give
 
 Amyclsean Brothers 
 
 Anah 
 
 delightful soirees, aud was foud of 
 making matches. — Byron : Dun Jitan, 
 XT., xvi. 
 
 Amyclsean Brothers {Tlic). C;istor 
 and Pollux, who were born at Amyclas. 
 
 Amyclse'an Silence. More silent 
 than AiiiijcI(C. The inhabitants of 
 Amycke were so often alarmed by false 
 rumours of the approach of the Spartans, 
 that they made a decree no one should 
 ever again mention the subject. When 
 the Spartans actually came against the 
 town, no one durst mention it, and the 
 town was taken. 
 
 Amyris plays the fool, i.e. a person 
 assumes a false character with an ulterior 
 object, like Junius Brutus. Amyris was 
 a Sybarite (3 syl.) sent to Delphi to 
 consult the Oracle, who informed hiui 
 of the approaching destruction of his 
 nation. Amyris fled to Peloponnesus 
 and his countrymen called him a fool ; 
 but, like the madness of David, his 
 ' ' folly " was true wisdom, for thereby he 
 saved his life. 
 
 A'mys aud Amyl'ion. The Py''adGs 
 
 and Ures'tes of mediaeval story. — 
 Jilli.t's Spcrijiiri/a. 
 
 Anabaptists. A nickname of the 
 Baptist Dissenters ; so called because, 
 in the first instances, they liad been 
 baptised in infancy, and were again 
 baptised on a coufession of faith in adult 
 age. The word means the tic'tcc-haptiscd. 
 
 Anabaptists. A sect which arose in 
 Germany in 1521. 
 
 Anachar'sls. Anacliarsis among the 
 Sci/tliianx. A wise man amongst fools; 
 "Good out of Nazareth"; "A Sir 
 Sidney Smith on Salisbury Plani." The 
 opposite proverb is "Saul amongst the 
 Prophets," i.e. a fool amongst wise men. 
 Anacharsis was a Scythian by bhlh, and 
 the Scytliians were proverbial for their 
 uncultivated state and great ignorance. 
 
 Anacharsis Clootz. Baron Jean Bap- 
 tiste Clootz, a Prussian by birth, but 
 brought up in Paris, where he adopted 
 the revolutionary principles, and called 
 himself Tlic Orator of the Hainan Race. 
 (1755-1794.) 
 
 Anacleth'ra. The stone on which 
 Ceres rested after searching in vain for 
 her daughter. It was kept as a sacred 
 deposit in the Prytane'um of Athens. 
 
 Anac'reon. A Greek poet, who 
 wrote chiefly in praise of love and wine. 
 (B.C. 503-178.) 
 
 d'nwreon of the Twelfth Centanj. 
 
 Walter Mapes, also called ' ' The Jovial 
 Toper." (1L50-119C). His best-known 
 piece is the famous drinking-song, 
 " Meum est propos'itum in taberua 
 mori," translated by Leigh Hunt. 
 
 Anacreon Moore. Thomas Moore, who 
 not only translated Anacreon into Eng- 
 lish, but also wrote original poems in 
 the same style. (1779-1852.) 
 
 Anacreon of the Gudlotinc. Bertrand 
 Barere de Vieuzac, president of the 
 National Convention ; so called from the 
 flowery language and convivial jests 
 used by him towards his miserable 
 victims. (1755-1811.) 
 
 Anacreon uf the Temple. Guillaume 
 Amfrye, abbe de Chalieu ; the "Tom 
 Moore" of France. (1039-1720.) 
 
 The French Anacreon. Pontus do 
 Tyard, one of the Pleiad poets (1521- 
 1005). P. Laujon. (1727-1811.) 
 
 The Persian Anacreon. Mohammed 
 Hatiz. (Fourteenth century.) 
 
 'The Scotch Anacreon. Alexander 
 Scot, who flourished about 1550. 
 
 The Sicilian Anacreon. Giovanni Meli. 
 (1740-1815.) 
 
 Anacreon of Painters. Francesco 
 Albano, a famous painter of lovely 
 females. (1573- 1009.) 
 
 Anacreontic. In imitation of Anac'- 
 reon {q.c). 
 
 Anach'ronism. An event placed at 
 a wrong date ; as when Shakespeare, in 
 Troilns and (Jressida, makes Nestor quote 
 Aristotle. (Greeic, ana vhronos, out of 
 time.) 
 
 Anag'nostes (Greek). A domestic 
 servant employed by the wealthy 
 Romans to read to them at meals. 
 Charlemagne had his reader ; and monks 
 and nuns were read to at meals. (Greek, 
 anaginosko, to read.) 
 
 Anagrams. 
 
 l);itiie Kleaiioi- D:i\ie.5 (proplietess in the reign 
 uf ('li:irle-! IJ = jV( ()(■)■ .so mad a lady. 
 
 <iiist:L\ us — Au<iti.'^Tns. 
 
 Hcirati<j Nelsiin = //ii»oc est aX(7o (made by Dr. 
 Burney), 
 
 Qiieeii victoria's Jubilee Year = / require lone in 
 a i>ubject. 
 
 Quid est Veritas (Joliii xviii. 3s)?=Vir est qui 
 ariest. 
 
 Marie Toucliet (mistress of Charles IX. of 
 France = Je clianne tmd (made by Henri IV. i. 
 
 Voltaire is an anagram of Aroael ((e)j((?«ne). 
 
 These are interchangeable icords : — 
 
 Ali-uiiuis and Calviniis ; Amor and Roma; Eros 
 and Hose ; Evil and Live ; and many more. 
 
 Anah, a tender-hearted, pious, meek, 
 and loving creature, granddaughter of 
 Cain, and sister of Aholiba'mah. Japhet 
 loved her, but she had set her heart on 
 the sera2)h Aza'ziel, who carried her off
 
 An ana 
 
 46 
 
 Ancient Mariner" 
 
 to some other planet when the flood 
 c;ime. — Bjrott : Hiavi-n Mid Eurth. 
 
 Ana'na. The pine-apple (the Bra- 
 zilian ananas). 
 
 " Witness tbou, l)p;t Aii.an.a ! tlidii tlie priile 
 Of ve^'etahle life." Thomson : Skiiiiiui-, iiK>,<>x(J. 
 
 Anastasia (St.). Her attributes are 
 a stake and faggots, with a palm branch 
 in her hand. The allusion is, of course, 
 to her martyrdom at the stake. 
 
 Anathema. A denunciation or 
 curse. The word is Greek, and means 
 to place, or set up, in allusion to the 
 mythological custom of hanging in the 
 temple of a jjatron god something de- 
 voted to him. Tlius Gordius huug up 
 his yoke and beam ; the shipwrecked 
 living up their wet clothes ; workmen 
 retired from business hung up their 
 tools, etc. Hence ani/thiin/ .set apart for 
 distraction ; and so, set apart from the 
 Church as under a cui'se. 
 " Me tabula sacer 
 
 Votiva ii.iries indicat u\ ida 
 
 Susiienilisse potent i 
 
 Vestimenta maris ileo." 
 
 Horace: Oilfs (v. 13—111). 
 
 V Horace, having escaped the love- 
 snares of Pyrrlia, haugs up his votive 
 tablet, as one who has escajjed the 
 dangers of the sea. 
 
 Anatomy. Ife was like an anatom;/ — 
 i.e. a mere skeleton, very thin, like one 
 whose flesh had been anatomised or cut 
 off'. Shakespeare uses atomy as a syno- 
 nj'm. Thus the hostess Quicklij says to 
 the Beadle : " Thou atomy, thou ! " and 
 Jhll Tearsheet caps the " phrase with, 
 " Come, you thin thing ; come, you 
 rascal." — 2 Henry IV., v. 4. 
 
 Anaxarete (o syl.) of Salamis was 
 changed into stone for despising the love 
 of Iphis, who hung himself. — Odd: 
 Metainorplioses, xiv. 750. 
 
 Anaxar'te (4 syl.). A knight whose 
 adventures and exploits form a supple- 
 mental part of the Spanish romance 
 called Ain'adis of Gaul. This part 
 Avas added by Feliciano de Silva. 
 
 Ancse'os. Helmsman of the ship 
 Ari/o, after the death of Ti'phys. He 
 was told by a slave that he would never 
 live to taste the wine of his vineyards. 
 When a bottle made from his own 
 grape? was set before him, he sent for 
 the slave to laugh at his prognostica- 
 tions ; but the shive made answer, 
 " There's many a slip 'twixt the cup 
 and the lip." At this instant a mes- 
 senger came in, and told Ancseos that 
 
 a wild boar was laying his vineyard 
 waste, whereupon he set down his cup, 
 went out against the boar, and was 
 killed in the eucounter. 
 
 Ancalites (4 syl.) Inhabitants of 
 parts of Berkshire and Wiltshire, re- 
 ferred to by Ctesar in las Coin men - 
 
 tarics. 
 
 Anchor. T/iat icas mi/ sheet anchor 
 ■ — i.e. my best hope, my last refuge. 
 The sheet anchor is the largest anclior 
 of a ship, which, in stress of weather, is 
 the sailor's chief dependence. The word 
 sheet is a corruption of the word sliote 
 (thrown out), meaning the anchor 
 "thrown out" in foul weather. The 
 Greeks and Romans said, " my sacred 
 anchor," because the sheet anchor was 
 always dedicated to some god. 
 
 Anchor {The), in Christian art, is 
 given to Clement of Rome and Nicolas 
 of Bari. Pope Clement, in a.d. 80. was 
 bound to an anclior and cast into the 
 sea. Nicolas of Bari is the patron 
 saint of sailors. 
 
 The anchor is apeak — that is, the cable 
 of the anchor is so tight that the ship is 
 drawn completely over it. {See Bowee 
 Anchor, Sheet Anchoe.) 
 
 'The anchor comes liome, the anchor has 
 been dragged from its hold. Figura- 
 tivelj", the euteriirise has failed, not- 
 withstanding the precautions employed. 
 
 To weigh anchor, to haul in the anchor, 
 that the shij) may sail away from its 
 mooring. Figuratively, to begin an 
 enterijrise which has hung on liaud. 
 
 Anchor 'Watch {An). A watch of 
 one or two men, while the vessel rides 
 at anchor, in jjort. 
 
 Ancien Regime. An antiquated 
 .system of governtueut. This phrase, 
 ill the French Revolution, meant the 
 monarchical form of government, or the 
 system of government, with all its evils, 
 which existed jirior to that great change. 
 
 Ancient. A corruption of ensign — a 
 flag and the officer who bore it. Pistol 
 was Falstaff's "ancient." 
 
 "Ten times more dislionourablj- ra)-'ged than 
 an (ikl-faced ancient." — Sltakespeure: J lleiuy IV., 
 iv. -.'I. 
 
 '■ .My whole charge consists of ancients, cnr- 
 poniis, lieutenants, gentlemen ol roniiianies 
 . . . ."—Sluike.':peare:lJIciir!jiy., iv. :;. 
 
 Ancient Mariner. Having shot an 
 albatross, he and his companions were 
 subjected to fearful penalties. On re- 
 pentance he was forgiven, and on reach- 
 ing land told his story to a hermit.
 
 Ancient of Days 
 
 47 
 
 Android 
 
 At times, however, distress of mind 
 drove him from hiud to hiiid, ;iud 
 wherever he abode lie told his tale of 
 woe, to waru from cruelty and persuade 
 meu to love God's creatures. — Cohridge. 
 
 Ancient of Days (Dauiel iii. 9), 
 Jehovah. 
 
 Ancile (3 syl.)- The Palladium of 
 Rome. It was the sacred buckler which 
 Nunia said fell from heaven. To prevent 
 its being stolen, he caused eleven others 
 to be made precisely like it, and confided 
 them to twelve priests called Salii, who 
 bore them in jjrocession through the city 
 every year at the beginning of March. 
 " Idiiueaucile vocat,(iuodab onmi parte recisuni 
 est, 
 ^ Qiidiniiie uote3 oculis, angiiUis omnis aliest." 
 Utid: Fasti, iii. 377. 
 
 And. The character " &" is a mono- 
 gram of ct (and), made in Italian type, &=. 
 
 Andirons or Hand-irons, a corrup- 
 tion of andcria, aiidera, and^la, or a)tdeiia. 
 Ducange says, " Andena est ferrum, 
 quo appodiautur ligna in foco, ut melius 
 luceant, et melius comburantur." Far- 
 ther on he gives anderia, auderius, an- 
 dellus, etc., as variants. Called "dogs " 
 because they were often made in the 
 resemblance of dogs. The derivation of 
 ta/dcru/is is not clear ; Ducange saj's, 
 " dicitur andena, quasi ai/te ruporcm, 
 i.e. calorem," but this probably will 
 satisfy no one. The modern French 
 word is laiuUer, old French andicr, Low 
 Latin ainUcns. 
 
 Andrea Ferra'ra. A sword. So 
 called from a famous sword-maker of 
 the name. (Si.xteeuth century.) 
 
 " We'll pnt in hail, my boy ; old Andrea Ferrara 
 shall lodge his security."— .Scott; Waceiley, cli. .lO. 
 
 Andrew, a name commonly used in 
 old plays for a valet or man-servant. 
 Probably a Merry Andrew is simply 
 the mirth-making Andrew or domestic 
 jester. {Sec Merhy Andrew.) 
 
 Similirly, Alii'-rail i.s ii~ed in old plays for a 
 waitiii!-' gentlewoman. (Sie .XiiicAii..) 
 
 Andrew {An). A merchant vessel, 
 probably so called from Andrew Doria, 
 the famous Genoese admiral. 
 
 " I should think of shallows and of flat-, 
 And see my wealthy Andrew docked in s-ind." 
 Slitkcspiare : Merchant of Venice, i. 1. 
 
 Andrew («S'/.), depicted in Christian 
 art as an okt man with long white hair 
 and beard, holding the Gospel in his 
 rio'ht hand, and leaning on a cross like 
 the letter X, termed St. Andrew's cross. 
 The great pictures of St. Andrew are his 
 FlageUutiun by Domenichino, and the 
 Adoration of the Cross by Guido, which 
 
 has also been depicted by Andrea 
 Sacchi, in the Vatican at Rome. Both 
 the FliKjellation and the Adoration 
 form the subjects of frescoes in the 
 chapel of St. Andrea, in the church of 
 San Gregorio, at Rome. His day is 
 November 30th. It is said that he 
 suffered martyrdom in Patraj (a.d. 70). 
 {•Sec St. Rule.) 
 
 The "adoration of the cross" means liisfervent 
 address to the cross on which he was ahont to 
 suffer. " Hail, precious ci-os.s, ci>nsci'ralpd hv the 
 body of Christ ! 1 come to thee exullin'-' and full 
 of joy. Receive me into thy dear arms." The 
 " flairellation " means the soourgini,' >vbich always 
 preceded capital punishments, according to Ro- 
 man custom. 
 
 St. A)idrcw\s Cross is represented in 
 the form of an X (white on a blue field). 
 The cross, however, on which the 
 apostle suffered was of the ordinary 
 .shape, if we may believe the relic in the 
 convent of St. Victor, near Marseilles. 
 The error rose from the way in which 
 that cross is exhibited, resting on the 
 end of the cross-beam and point of the 
 foot. 
 
 According to J. Leslie {History of 
 Scotland), this sort of cross appeared 
 in the heavens to Achaius, King of the 
 Scots, and Hungus, King of the Picts, 
 the night before their engagement with 
 Athelstane. As they were the victors, 
 they went barefoot to the kirk of St. 
 Andrew, and vowed to adojit his cross 
 as their national emblem. {See Con- 
 stantine's Cross.) 
 
 Andrew Maos {T/n). The crew 
 of H.M.S. Androni'ac/ie. Similarly, 
 the Jhd/crop/ton was called by Engli.sh 
 sailors " Billy ruffian," and the Acliilles 
 the "Ash heels." {Sec Beefeatkr, 
 etc.) 
 
 Androcles and the Lion. Au- 
 
 drocles was a runaway slave who took 
 refuge in a cavern. A lion entered, and 
 instead of tearing him to pieces, lifted 
 up his fore paw that Androcles miglit 
 extract from it a thorn. The slave being 
 subsequently captured, was doomed to 
 fight with a lion in the Roman arena. 
 It so happened that the same lion was 
 let out against him, and, recognising his 
 benefactor, showed towards him every 
 demonstration of love and gratitude. 
 
 In the Gesta Itomanorum (Tale civ.) 
 the same story is told, and there is 
 a similar one in jEsop's Faldcs. The 
 original tale, however, is from Aulus 
 Gellius, on the authority of Plistonices, 
 who asserts that he was himself an cye- 
 witucss of the encounter. 
 
 Android. An automaton figure of a
 
 Andromeda 
 
 48 
 
 Angelica 
 
 humau beiug (Greek, andros-culos, a 
 mail's likeness). One of the most 
 famous of these machines is that by 
 M. Vaucauson, called the flute-player. 
 The chess-player by Kempeleu is also 
 celebrated, {^ee Auiomaton.) 
 
 Androm'eda. Daughter of Cepheus 
 (2 syl.) and Cassiopeia. Her mother 
 boasted that the beauty of Andromeda 
 surpassed that of the Nereids ; so the 
 Nereids induced Neptune to send a sea- 
 monster on the country, and an oracle 
 declared that Andromeda must be given 
 up to it. She was accordingly chained 
 to a rock, but was delivered by Perseus 
 (2 syl.). After death she was placed 
 among the stars. {See Angelica.) 
 
 Ovid: MLtiDiiorplioses, v. 1, t'tc. 
 
 Androni'ca (in Orhoulo Furioso). 
 One of Logistilla's handmaids, famous 
 for her beauty. She was sent with 
 Sophros'yne to conduct Astolpho from 
 India to Arabia. 
 
 Anent. Over against ; concerning. 
 (Old English, on-emn ; later forms, on- 
 efcii, oii-cfciit, aH-''ent.) 
 
 Ange de Greve (French), a hang- 
 man or executioner. The "Place ile 
 (jri-cve" was at one time the Tyburn of 
 Paris. 
 
 Angel. Half a sovereign in gold ; so 
 called because, at one time, it bore the 
 ligure of the archangel Michael slaying 
 the dragon. 
 
 V "When the Rev. Mr. Patten, vicar 
 of Whitstable, was dymg, the Arcli- 
 Irisliop of Canterbury sent him £10. 
 The wit said, " Tell his Grace that now 
 I am sure he is a man of God, for I have 
 seen liis angels." 
 
 AiKjel (« puhiic-liOHse sign), in compli- 
 ment to llichard II., who placed an 
 augel above his shield, holding it up in 
 liis hands. 
 
 To ar'de like an angel (French). The 
 angel referred to was Aiigelo Vergece 
 [Vergezio], a Cretan of tlie sixteenth 
 century. He was employed both ])y 
 Henri II. and by Fianc^ois I., and was 
 noted for his caligraphy. {iJidot : 
 Nottcelle Biographie Universelle 11852- 
 GG]). 
 
 Angel of the Schools. St. Tliomas 
 Aquinas. {See Angelic Doctoe.) 
 
 Angels, say the Arabs, were created 
 from pure, bright gems ; the genii, of 
 /i/'c ; and man, of clag. 
 
 Angels, according" to Diouysius the 
 
 Areop'agite, were divided into nine or- 
 ders: — 
 
 (i) Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones, in the 
 first circle. 
 
 (ii) Dominions, Virtues, and Powers, in the 
 second circle. 
 
 (iiii Principalities, Archangels, and Angels, in 
 the third circle. 
 
 iS(. Gregory the Great : Homily 34. 
 " In heaven ahove. 
 The effulgent bands in triple circles move." 
 
 Tasso: Jerusalem Delivered, xi. 13. 
 
 Angels, The seven holy angels are — 
 Abdiel, Gabriel, Michael, Raguel, 
 Raphael, Simiel, and Uriel. Michael 
 and Gabriel ai-e mentioned in the Biblj, 
 Raphael in the Apocrypha. 
 
 V Milton (Paradise Lost, book i., from 
 392) gives a List of the fallen angels. 
 
 Angel-beast. A favourite round 
 game of cards, which enabled gentlemen 
 to let tlie ladies win small stakes. Five 
 cards are dealt to each pla5'er, and three 
 heaps formed — one for the king, one for 
 play, and the third for Tri'olet. The 
 name of the game was la bete (beast). 
 Angel was the stake. Thus we say, 
 ShilKng- whist. 
 
 "This gentleman offers to play at Angel-beast, 
 though he scarce knows the cards."— J/it/ierri/ 
 Garden. 
 
 Angel Visits. Delightful intercourse 
 of short duration and rare occurrence. 
 " (Visitsl Like those of angels, short and far 
 between." Blair: U rave, i>t. ii. itm. 
 
 " Like angel-visits, few and far between." 
 
 Campbell : Flea^ureg of Ilojie, line STj. 
 
 Angel-water, a Spanish cosmetic, 
 made of roses, trefoil, and lavender. 
 Short for Angelica- water, because ori- 
 ginally it was chiefly made of the plant 
 Angelica. 
 
 "Angel-water was the wor.st scent about her." 
 —Sedley : Bellam. 
 
 Angelic Doctor. Thomas Aqui'nas 
 was so called, because he discussed the 
 knotty points in connection with the 
 being and nature of angels. An ex- 
 ample is, " Utr/iin Aii'gelas inoreatur de 
 loco ad locum trunsenndo per me'diuni ? " 
 The Doctor says that it depends upon 
 circumstances. 
 
 •.■ It is said, by way of a quiz, that one of his 
 iiuestions was : " How many angels can dance on 
 the point of a pin ?" 
 
 Angelic Hymn. The liymn begin- 
 ning witli (llorg be to God on kigh^ etc. 
 (Luke ii. 14); so called because the former 
 part of it was sung by the angel host 
 that appeared to the shepherds of Beth- 
 lehem. 
 
 Angelica. Daughter of Gal'aphron, 
 king of Cathay, the capital of which was 
 Albracca. She was sent to sow discord 
 among the Christians. Charlemagne
 
 Angelica's Draught 
 
 49 
 
 Angoulaflfre 
 
 sent her to the Duke of Bavaria, but 
 she made her escape from the duke's 
 castle. Being captured in her flight, 
 she was bound to a rock, and exposed 
 to sea-monsters. Rogcro delivered her, 
 but she escaped out of his hands by a 
 magic ring. Orlando greatly loved her, 
 but she married Medoro, a young Moor, 
 and retui'ned to India, where Medoro suc- 
 ceeded to the crown in right of his wife. 
 {Orlcoido Furioso.) (-SV(; Andromeda). 
 
 Angelica's Draught, something 
 which completely changes affection. 
 The tale is that Angelica was passion- 
 ately in love with Itinaldo, who hated 
 her, whereas Orlando, whom she hated, 
 actually adored her shadow. Angelica 
 and Rinaldo drink from a certain foun- 
 tain, when a complete change takes 
 place ; Rinaldo is drunk with love, and 
 Angelica's jsassion changes to abhor- 
 rence. Angelica ultimately married 
 Medo'ro, and Orlando went mad. 
 (^Ariosto : Orla)ido Fiiriugo.) 
 
 Angel ical Stone. The speculum of 
 Dr. Dee. He asserted that it was given 
 him by the angels Raphael and Gabriel. 
 It passed into the possession of the Earl 
 of Peterborough, thence to Lady Betty 
 Germaiue, by whom it was given to the 
 Duke of Argyll, whose son presented it 
 to Horace Walpole. It was sold in 
 1842, at the dispersion of the curiosities 
 of Strawberry Hill. 
 
 Angel'ici. Certain heretics of the 
 second century, who advocated the 
 worshiji of angels. 
 
 An'gelites (3 syl.). A branch of the 
 Sabelliau heretics ; so called from An- 
 gel'ius, in Alexandria, where they used 
 to meet. {Dr. Hook: Church Dictionary .) 
 
 An'gelo. (/SVv Michael Angelo.) 
 
 Angelo and Raffaelle. Michael 
 Augelo criticised Raffaelle very severelJ^ 
 
 " SucU was the language of this false Italian 
 [Angelo] : 
 Oue time he christened Raphael a Tyg- 
 nialion, 
 Swore that his maidens were composed 
 of stone ; 
 Swore his expressions were like owls, so 
 
 tame, 
 His drawings, like the lamest cripple, lame ; 
 And as for composition, he had none." 
 Peter Pindar : Lyric Odes, viii. 
 
 {See Michael Angelo.) 
 
 Angelus {The). A Roman Catholic 
 devotion in honour of the Incarnation, 
 instituted by Urban II. It consists of 
 three texts, each said as versicle and 
 response, and followed by the salutation 
 of Gabriel. The name is derived from 
 
 the first words, Angelus Domini (The 
 angel of the Lord, etc.). 
 
 The jirayer is recited three times a 
 day, generally about 6 a.m., at noon, 
 and about 6 p.m., at the sound of a bell 
 called the yingeUis. 
 
 The Angelus bell (often wrongly 
 called the Curfew) is still rung at 8 j^.m. 
 in some country churches. 
 
 "Sweetly over the village the bell of the An- 
 gelus sounded," 
 
 Loncifelloio : EvaitrjcUiie. 
 
 Anger. Athenodo'rus, the Stoic, told 
 Augustus the best way to restrain unruly 
 anger was to repeat the alphabet before 
 giving way to it. {Sec Dandee. ) 
 
 " The sacred line he did but once repeat, 
 And laid the storm, and cooled the raging 
 heat." Tickell ; The Horn huolc. 
 
 Angevin, adjective of Anjou. 
 
 John w.is not the last of the Angevin kings of 
 England, though he was the last kingof England 
 who reigned over Anjou. 
 
 Angioli'na (4 syl.). The young wife 
 of Mari'no Falie'ro, the doge. She was 
 the daughter of Loreda'no. {Bijroii : 
 Marino Fnl cro.) 
 
 i^nglaat'e's Lord. Orlando, who was 
 lord of Anglaut and knight of Brava. 
 
 An'gle. A dead awjle. A term in 
 fortilication aj^plied to the plot of earth 
 before an angle in a wall which can 
 neither be seen nor defended from the 
 parapet. 
 
 Angle with a Silver Hook {Tij). 
 To buy hsh at market. 
 
 An'gling. The father of aiKiliiiq, 
 Izaak Walton (1693-1083). Angling 
 is called "the gentle craft"; shoe- 
 making was also so called. Probably 
 there is a pun concealed in the first of 
 these ; a common bait of anglers being 
 a "gentle." In the second case, St. 
 Crispin was a Roman gentleman of high 
 birth, and his craftsmen took from him 
 their title of "gentle" {(/enerO^i). 
 
 Angoulaffre of the Broken Teeth, 
 a giant "12 cubits in height." His face 
 measured 3 feet across ; his nose was 
 9 inches long ; his arms and legs were 
 each 6 feet ; his fingers 6 inclies and 2 
 lines ; his enormous mouth was armed 
 with sharij-pointed yellow tusks. He 
 was descended from Goliath, and as- 
 sumed the title of " Governor of Jeru- 
 salem." Angoulaffre had the strength of 
 30 men, and his mace was the trunk of 
 an oak-tree 300 years old. Some say 
 the Tower of Pisa lost its perpendicu- 
 larity by the weight of this giant, whfl
 
 Angry 
 
 60 
 
 Animals 
 
 one day leaned against it to rest himself. 
 He was slain by Roland, the paladin, in 
 single combat at the Fronsac. (CVo- 
 quiinitaiiic.) 
 
 Angry (The). Christian II., of Den- 
 mark, Xorwaj', and Sweden, was so 
 called on account of his ungovernable 
 temper. (1.513-1.559.) 
 
 An gular. Cross-grained ; of a patchy 
 temper ; one full of angles, whose 
 temper is not smooth. 
 
 Angurva'del. Frithiof's sword, in- 
 scribed with Kuuic letters, which blazed 
 in time of war, but gleamed with a dim 
 light in time of peace. {Hee Swoed.) 
 
 An'ima Mundi [the soul of the irorfd], 
 with the oldest of the ancient philo- 
 sophers, meant "the source of life"; 
 with Plato, it meant "the animating 
 principle of matter," inferior to pure 
 spirit; with the Stoics, it meant "the 
 whole vital force of the imiverse." 
 
 Stahl (1710) taught that the pheno- 
 mena of animal life are due to an im- 
 mortal eniiiiiK, or vital principle distinct 
 from matter. 
 
 Animal. To rjo the eiiiife animal, a 
 facetious euphuism for "To go the 
 whole hog." {See Hoo.) 
 
 Animal Spirits. Liveliness and 
 animation arising from physical vigour. 
 
 Animals admitted into Heaven 
 ( Tlie). They are ten : (1) Jonah's wlinle ; 
 (2) Solomon's ant ; (:5) the ram caught by 
 Abraham and sacrificed instead of Isaac ; 
 (4) the enekoo of Belkis ; (o) the camel 
 of the pi-ophet Saleh ; (6) Balaam's ass ; 
 (7) the ox of Moses ; (8) the do;/ Kratim 
 of the Seven Sleepers ; (9) Mahomet's 
 ass, called Al Borak ; and (10) Noah's 
 dove. 
 
 Animals in Christian Art. The 
 
 ant sJ^nbolises prudence ; the r?/;^, malice, 
 lust, and cunning ; the ass, sobriet}^ or 
 the Jewish nation ; the asp, Christ, or 
 Christian faith ; the hee, industry ; the 
 camel, submission ; the cock, vigilance ; 
 the dfifi, fidelity ; the fox, fraud and 
 cunning ; the hoy, iraiiurity ; the lamb, 
 innocence ; the leopard, sin ; the ox, 
 pride ; the irolf cruelty. 
 
 Some animals are appropriated to 
 certain saints : as the calf or ox to 
 J. like : the cock to I'cter : the eagle to 
 John the l)iiine ; the lion to Mark ; the 
 raven to lienediet, etc. 
 
 The lamb, the pelican, and the uni- 
 roiii, :iru symbols of Christ. 
 
 The drngoti, serpent, and swine, sym- 
 bolise Satan and his crew. 
 
 Animals sacred to special Dei- 
 ties. To Apollo, the u-rjlf the griffvu, 
 and the crow ; to Bacchus, the dragon 
 s.nAt\ie panther ; to Diana, the stag ; to 
 .^sculapius, the serpent ; to Hercules, the 
 deer ; to Isis, the heifer ; to Jupiter, the 
 eagle ; to Juno, the peacock and the lamb; 
 to the Lares, tlie dog ; to Mars, the horse 
 and the rulturc ; to Mercurj', the cock ; 
 to Minerva, the owl; to Neptune, the 
 bull ; toTethys, the halgcon ; to Venus, 
 the dove, the sa-an, and the sparrow ; to 
 Vidcan, the lion, etc. 
 
 Animals {Sginbolicctl) . The ant, frii- 
 galitg and precision; ape, iniclca/incss ; 
 ass, stiipiditg ; bantam coc'k, plnckiness, 
 priggishness ; bat, blindness; bear, ill- 
 ieinper, iiiicoiithness ; bee, indiestrg ; 
 beetle, blindness; bull, strength, straight- 
 forwardness ; bull-dog, pertinacitg ; but- 
 terfly, «/;o>'^irr«('««, living in pleasure; cat, 
 deceit; ca.\i, liimpishmss, cowardice; ci- 
 cada, poctrg ; cock, vigilance, overbearing 
 insolence; crow, longcvitg ; crocodile, 
 hgpocrisg ; cuckoo, cuckoldom. ; dog, 
 fdelitg, dirty habits ; dove, innocence, 
 harnilessness ; duck, deceit (French, 
 canard, a hoax) ; eagle, majestg, in- 
 spiration ; elephant, sagacitg, ponder- 
 osity ; f[y, feebleness, insignificance ; fox, 
 cunning, artifice ; frog and toad, inspira- 
 tion ; goat, lascivioiisncss ; goose, conceit, 
 foily ; gull, gullibility ; grasshopper, 
 old age ; hare, timidity; hawk, rapacity, 
 penetration ; hen, maternal care ; horse, 
 speed, grace ; jackdaw, rain assumption, 
 empty conceit; jay, senseless chatter; 
 'kitten, playfulness; Isimh, innocence, sacri- 
 fice; lark, cheerfulness; lion, noble courage; 
 lynx, suspicions vigilance ; magjiie, gar- 
 rulity ; mole, blindness, obtuseness ; mon- 
 key, tricks ; mule, obstinacy ; nightin- 
 gale, y(yr/o>-««rs« ; ostrich, stupidity ; ox, 
 patience, strength ; owl, wisdom ; parrot, 
 mocking rcrbosity ; peacock, pride ; 
 pigeon, cowardice (pigeon-livered) ; pig, 
 obstinacy, dirtiness; puppy, empty-headed 
 conceit ; mhhit, fecundity ; raven, illluck ; 
 robin red-breast, confiding trust; ser- 
 pent, wisdom; &\\ee\i,' silli)icss, timidity ; 
 sparrow, lascivioiisncss ; spider, iiiliness; 
 stag, cuckoldom ; swallow, a sunshine 
 friend; swan, grace ; swino, flthiness, 
 greed ; tiger, ferocity; tortoise, chastity ; 
 turkey-cock, official insolence ; turtle- 
 dove, conjugal fdclity ; vulture, rapine ; 
 wolf, cruelty, savage ferocity, anAnqnne; 
 worm, cringing ; etc. 
 
 Animals ( The cries of). Apes gibber; 
 asses bray ; bees hum; beetles drone; 
 bears growl; bittern-s boom; blackbirds 
 tchistle : blackcaps — we speak of the
 
 Animosity 
 
 51 
 
 Annunciation 
 
 "chick-chick" of the blackcap; bulls 
 I'dlotr ; cana'-ies si)iff or quaver; cats 
 nicir, purr, .iurfir,a.ndca'eru(ad ; calves 
 /jh'(i( and b/rur ; chaffinches c/iirp or pink; 
 chickens pip ; cicadas si>/ff ; cocks rrow ; 
 cows moo or low ; crows can- ; cuckoos 
 cry cuckoo ; deer bell ; dogs bark, bay, 
 /lon-l, and i/clp; doves coo ; ducks quack; 
 eagles scrcaiu ; falcons chant ; flies buzz ; 
 foxes bark and i/elp ; frogs croak ; geese 
 cackle -Aud /li.ss ; goldtinch — we speak of 
 the "merry twinkle" of the female; 
 grasshoppers c/iirp and pitlcr ; gi'ouse — 
 we speak of the "drumming" of the 
 grouse; guineaf owls cry ^^ conic buck''' ; 
 guineapigs squeak ; hares squeak ; hawks 
 scream ;heuscackleand cluck; horses ueiffh 
 and whinini; hyenas laugh; jays chatter; 
 kittens mew ; lambs baa and bleat ; larks 
 sine/; linnets f A /^f/iVt' in their call; lions 
 roar; magpies chatter; mice sywcrt/.' and 
 squeal ; monkeys chatter and c/ibber ; 
 nightingales pipe and warble — we also 
 speak of its "jug-jug" ; owls hoot and 
 screech ; oxen low and bellow ; parrots 
 talk ; peacocks screaiu ; peewits cry 
 pcc-icit ; pigeons roo ,• pigs grunt, squeak, 
 and squeal ; ravens croak ; redstarts 
 whistle; rooks caw; screech-owls screech 
 or shriek; sheep baa or bleat; snakes 
 hiss; sparrows chirp or )/elp ; stags 
 bellow and call ; swallows twitter; swans 
 crij — we also speak of the ' ' bombilation " 
 of the swan; thrushes irhisflc ; tigers 
 //rou-l ; tits — we speak of the "twit- 
 twit" of the bottle-tit; turkey-cocks 
 gobble; vultures scream; whitethroats 
 chirr ; wolves howl. 
 
 Animosity means animation, spirit, 
 as the tire of a horse, called in Latin 
 equi auimos'itas. Its present exclusive 
 use in a bad sense is an instance of the 
 tendency which words originally neutral 
 have to assume a bad meaning. (Compare 
 churl, villain.) 
 
 Animula. 
 
 " Animula, vagula, blandula, 
 Hospcs, comosque, corporis ; 
 Quae nunc abibis in loca, 
 Pallidula, rigida, nudula?" 
 The £mperor Hadrian to his Soul. 
 
 Sorry-lived, blithe-little, flutterintr Sprite, 
 Comrade and guest in this hody of clav, 
 
 Whither, ah : whither, departing iu flisht, 
 Rifid, half-naked, pale minion, away ? 
 
 E. C. B. 
 
 Anna {Donna). A lady beloved by 
 Don Otta'vio, but seduced by Don Gio- 
 vanni, who also killed her father, the 
 " Commandant of the City," in a duel. 
 (Mozart\s opera of Don Giovanni.) 
 
 .An'nabel, in Drydeu's satire of 
 
 Absalom and Achitophel is designed for 
 the Duchess of Monmouth. Her maiden 
 name and title were Anne Scott, Countess 
 of Buccleuch, the richest heiress in 
 Europe. The duke was faithless to 
 her, and after his death, the widow, 
 still handsome, maiTied again. 
 
 "To all his [Monmouth's] wishes, nothinc he 
 [David] denied ; 
 And made tlie cliarining Annabel his bride." 
 I'art i. lines ,■«, :)l. 
 
 Anna Matilda {An), an ultra-seuti- 
 mentid girl. Mrs. Hannah Cowley used 
 this pen-name in her responses in the 
 ll'orld to Delia Crusca (R. Meri-y). 
 {See the Baviad by GiflFord.) 
 
 Annates (2 syl.). One entire year's 
 income claimed by the Pope on the 
 appointment of a bishop or other eccle- 
 siastic in the Catholic Church. This is 
 called the Jirst fruits (Latin, annus, a 
 year). By the Statute of Recusants 
 (25 Hen. VIII. c. 20, and the Confirm- 
 ing Act), the right to English Annates 
 and Tenths was transferred to the 
 Crown ; but, in the reign of Queeu 
 Anne, annates were given up to form a 
 fund for the augmentation of poor 
 livings. (iSVe Bounty, Queex Anne's.) 
 
 Anne. Sister Anne. Sister of Fat'ima, 
 the seventh and hist of Bluebeard's 
 wives. 
 
 Anne's Fan {Queen). Your thumb 
 to your nose and your fingers spread. 
 
 Anne's Great Captain. The Duke 
 
 of Marlborough (lGo()-1722). 
 
 Annie Laurie was eldest of the 
 three daughters of Sir Robert Laurie, 
 of Maxwellton, born December 16, 1632. 
 WiUiam Douglas, of Fingland (Kirk- 
 cudbright), wrote the popular song, but 
 Annie married, in 1709, James Fer- 
 gusson, of Craigdarroch, and was the 
 mother of Alexander Fergusson, the hero 
 of Bums's song called The Whistle. 
 
 William Douclas was the hero of the son? 
 " Willie was a wanton wag." 
 
 Annulo Dei figuram ne gestato 
 
 {In). Wear Hot God's image in a ring 
 (or inscribe ....), the 24th symbol 
 of the Protrcptics. Jamblicus tells us 
 that Pythagoras wished to teach by this 
 prohibition that God had an "incor- 
 poreal subsistence." In fact, that it 
 meant " thou shalt not liken God to any 
 of His works." 
 
 Probably the ring, svmboliiing eternity, bore 
 npiin the special prohihiticm. 
 
 Annuncia'tion. Dag of the Annun- 
 ciation. The 25t]i of March, also called 
 Lady Day, on which the angel announced
 
 Annus Luctus 
 
 Anthony 
 
 to the Virgin Mary that she would bs 
 the mother of the Messiah. 
 
 Annus Luctus, the period during 
 which a widow is morally supposed to 
 remain chaste. If she marries within 
 about nine mouths from the death of 
 her late husband and a child is born, a 
 doubt might arise as to the paternity of 
 the child. Such a marriage is not 
 illegal, but it is iuexjiedieut. 
 
 Annus Mirab'ilis. The year of 
 wonders, 1666, memorable for the great 
 fire of Loudon and the successes of our 
 arms over the Dutch. Dryden has 
 written a poem with this title, in which 
 he describes both these events. 
 
 Anodyne Necklace (^Ln), a halter. 
 An anodyne is a medicine to relieve 
 pain. Probably a pun on iioihis, a knot, 
 IS intended also. George Primrose says: 
 "May I die by an anodyne necklace, 
 but I had rather be an uuder-turukey 
 than an usher in a boarding-school." 
 
 Anomoe'ans or Uiilihists. A sect in 
 the fourth ceutuiy which maintained 
 that the essence of the Son is wholly 
 unlike that of the Father. (Greek, 
 (iH'omoios, unlike.) 
 
 Anon, immediately, at once. The 
 Old Engli.sli a/i-on or an-ane = at once. 
 Variants, on one, anonc. 
 
 " Tliey knewye hym in brekyng of brede, and 
 onone he vanvste awaye fro hem."— J/.S. Lincoln, 
 A 1, 17. 
 
 " Spek the lion . . . 
 To the fox annne his wille." 
 
 Wright's Political Songs. 
 
 V " For the nonce" is a corrupt 
 form of " For the-n once," where tfic-n 
 is the accusative case, meaning "For 
 the once " or " For this once." 
 
 Anon-rightes. Right quickly. 
 
 '■ Hu liad in l.nvn live hundred kniKhte,-, 
 llo lirni [thcni] uf [aff] sent anon-riu'lites." 
 Arthur (tml Merlin. i<. f»8. 
 
 Ansa'rian. The Moslems of Medi'na 
 were called Ansariaiis {aif.rilirfrief!) by 
 Mahomet, because they received him and 
 took his part when he was driven from 
 house and home by the Koreishites 
 (Kore-ish'-ites). 
 
 Answer is the Old English and-sn-aru, 
 verb and su:ar-ian or swerian, where 
 And is the preposition = the Latin re 
 in re-spond-eo. (See SwEAE.) 
 
 To an.swfr like a Xormnn, that is, 
 evasively. 
 
 " We say, in France, ' Answering like a Nor- 
 man,' which means to give an evasive answer, 
 neither vesnorno."— Jr<wO'Kf((; Friend M' Donald, 
 ch. V. 
 
 To ansicer its purpose, to carry out 
 
 what was expected or what was in- 
 tended. Celsus says, " Mediclna sfepius 
 respondet, iuterdum tamen fallit." 
 
 To ansHcr the bell is to go and see 
 what it was rung for. 
 
 To ansicer the door is to go and open 
 
 it when a knock or ring has been given. 
 
 In both the last two instances the 
 
 word is " answering to a summons." 
 
 To swear means literally " to aifirm 
 
 something," and to a)i-strear is to "say 
 
 something " by way of rejoinder ; but 
 
 figuratively both the "swer" and the 
 
 " answer " may be made without words. 
 
 ". . . . Mv story being done, . . . 
 
 She [Desdemomi:\ swore [itprmed] 'twas 
 
 strange, .... 
 'Twas iiitif 111, 'twas wondrous pitiful." 
 
 Shakespmre : Uthclln, i. X 
 
 Answer more Scotico (lo). To 
 divert the direct question by starting 
 another question or subject. 
 
 '"Hark you, sirrah,' said the doctor, ' I trust 
 you renieniber you arc owing to the laird 4 stone 
 of harleynieal and a bow of oats ' 
 
 " 'I was thinking,' replied the man nurre Scotico, 
 that is, returning'no direct answer on the subject 
 on which he was addressed, ' I was thinking my 
 tiest wav would be to come down to your honour, 
 and take your advice, in case my trouble sh(m!d 
 come back.'"— ,S'!C Walter Scott: The Abbot, cb. 
 xx\ i. 
 
 Antse'os, in Greek mythology, was a 
 gigantic wrestler, whose strength was 
 invincible so long as he touched the 
 earth ; and every time he was lifted 
 from it, was renewed by touching it 
 again. (See Male'gae.) 
 
 " As once Antaeos, on the Libyan strand, 
 More fierce recovered when he reached the 
 sind." Uoole's Ariosto, liook iv. 
 
 It was Hercules who succeeded in killing 
 this charmed giant. He 
 " Lifts proud Antipos from his mother's plains. 
 And with strong grasp the struggling giant 
 
 stnjins -, 
 Back falls his panting head and clammy hair. 
 Writhe his weak limbs and flits his life in air." 
 Ihiririn : Economy of Vegetalion. 
 
 Antece'dents. I know nothing of Ids 
 antecedents— his previous life, character, 
 or conduct. (Latin, antecedens, fore- 
 going.) 
 
 Antediluvian. Before the Deluge, 
 meaning the Scripture Deluge. 
 
 Anthi'a. The lady-love of Abroc'- 
 omas in Xeuophon's romance, called 
 Ephesi'aca. Shakespeare has boi'rowed 
 from this Greek novel the leading 
 incidents of his Romeo and Juliet, es- 
 pecially that of the potion and mock 
 entombment. X.B. This is not the 
 historian, but a Xenophou who lived in 
 the fourth Christian century. 
 
 Antbony. 
 
 Anthon;/ (St.). Patron saint of swine- 
 herds, betjause he always lived in wood§ 
 and forests.
 
 Anthroposoplius 
 
 53 
 
 Antrustions 
 
 -S'^. AntJionifs Cross. The taucross, 
 T, called a lace. 
 
 <SY. Antho)iif's Fire. Erysip'elas is so 
 called from the tradition that those who 
 sought the iutercessiou of St. Authouy 
 recovered from the pestilential erysipelas 
 called the sacred Ji re, which proved ex- 
 tremely fatal in 1089. 
 
 )Sf. Antlionifs Pig. A pet pig, the 
 smallest of the whole litter. St. An- 
 thony was originally a swineherd, and, 
 therefore, the patron saint of pigs. 
 
 Anthropos'ophus. The nickname of 
 Dr. Vaughau, rector of 8t. Bride's, in 
 Bedfordsliire. So called from his Aii- 
 throposoph'ia Teomiigica, to show the 
 condition of man after death. 
 
 Anti-Christ, or the Man of Siii, ex- 
 pected by some to precede the second 
 coming of Christ. St. John so calls 
 every one who denies the incarnation of 
 the eternal Son of God. 
 
 Antig'one. T/ic Modern Anfiffoi/e. 
 Marie Thc-rese Charlotte, Duchesse d'An- 
 gouleme, daughter of Louis XVI. ; so 
 called for her attachment to Louis 
 XVIII., whose companion she was. 
 (1778-18.31.) 
 
 An'timony. Said to he derived from 
 the Greek aiifijuon'tichosi (bad for 
 monks) . The tale is that Valentine once 
 gave some of this mineral to his convent 
 pigs, who thrived upon it, and became 
 very fat. He next tried it on the 
 monks, who died from its effects ; so 
 Valentine said, " tho' good for pigs, it 
 was bad for monks." This table is 
 given by Furetiere. 
 
 Another derivation is a)tti -monos 
 (averse to being alone), because it is 
 found in combination with sulphur, 
 silver, or some other substance. 
 
 Littre suggests i-stJiiiiuiiit, and connects 
 it with stthiuiii. 
 
 Antino'mian. [Greek, antl - nomos, 
 exempt from the law.] One who believes 
 that Chi-istians are not bound to observe 
 the "law of God," but "may continue 
 iu sin that gi-ace may abound." The 
 temi was first applied to John Agricola 
 by Martin Luther. 
 
 Antin'ous (1 syl.). A model of manly 
 beaut}-. He was the page of Hadrian, 
 the Roman Emperor. 
 
 "The 11 ilisheil grace of .•Vutiiiuu.s." — Doi/^/ 
 Tdegrtiiih. 
 
 Antipathy (of human beings) 
 To Aniiiicth : Henri III. and the 
 Duke of Schoenberg felt faint at the 
 sight of a cat ; Vaughelm felt the same 
 
 at the sight of a pig, and abhorred pork ; 
 Marshal Breze sickened at the sight of 
 a rabbit ; the Due d'Epemon always 
 swooned at the sight of a leveret, though 
 he was not affected at the sight of a 
 hare. 
 
 To Fish : Erasmus felt gi-ievous 
 nausea at the smell of fresh fish. 
 
 To Flowers and Frtats : Queen Anne, 
 Gretry the composer, Faverite the Italian 
 poet, and Vincent the painter, all ab- 
 horred the smell of roses ; Scaliger had 
 the same aversion to watercresses ; and 
 King Vladislas sickened at the smell of 
 apples. 
 
 To Music : Le Mothe de Xayer felt 
 faint at the sound of any musical instru- 
 ment ; Nicano had a strong aversion to 
 the sound of a flute. 
 
 To 'Thunder : Augustus trembled at 
 the noise of thunder, and retired to a 
 vault when a thunderstonn was ap- 
 lirehended. 
 
 Witches have an antipathy to ruuuiug 
 water. 
 
 '■ .Sun e men tliere are love not a gaping; pig, 
 SdUie that are mail if tlie> heboid a cat." 
 
 Sliakesjieare : Mtrcliant of Venice, iv. 1. 
 
 Antipathy (of animals). According 
 to tradition, wolves have a mortal anti- 
 pathy to scillaroots ; geese to the soil of 
 Whitby ; snakes to soil of Ireland ; cats 
 to dogs ; all animals dislike the castor- 
 oil plant ; camphor keeps off insects ; Rus- 
 sian leather is disliked by bookwonns ; 
 paraffin by flies ; cedar-wood is used for 
 wardrobes, because its odour Ls disliked 
 bj- moths. Ants diiliko green sage. 
 
 Anti-pope is a pope elected by a 
 /:i)i!/ iu opposition to the pope elected by 
 the cardinals ; or one who usuips the 
 jJOiDedom in opposition to the rightful 
 pope. Geddcs gives a list of twenty-four 
 anti-popes, three of whom were deposed 
 bj' the council of Constance. 
 
 Antis'thenes. Founder of the Cynic 
 School in Athens. He wore a ragged 
 cloak, and carried a wallet and staff like 
 a beggar. Soc'rates wittily said he 
 could "see rank pride peering through 
 the holes of AntistheuCs' rags." 
 
 Antcni'nus. The Jfull of Antoni»e. 
 A turf entrenchment raised by the 
 Romans from Dunglass Castle, on the 
 Clyde, to Caer Ridden Kirk, near the 
 Firth of Forth, under the direction of 
 LoUius Urbicus, legate of Antoninus 
 Pius, A.D. HO. 
 
 Antony. (.SVcAnthomy.) 
 
 Antrus tions. The chief followers of 
 the Fraukish kings, who were specially
 
 Ants 
 
 54 
 
 Apis 
 
 trusty to tliem. (Old German, trost, 
 
 trust, fidelity.) 
 
 "Noiu'l)iu tlic kiii^' coiiM liave antrustious." 
 — Sttdibs: CoiistituUouul Histcnj. 
 
 Ants. " Go to the ant, thou sliKjriard, 
 . . . . ahicli providcth her meat at the 
 suMiner" (Proverbs vi. 6-8; aud xxx. 
 25). The uotiou that ants in general 
 gather food in harvest for a winter's 
 store is quite an error ; in the first place, 
 they do not live on grain, but chiefiy on 
 animal food ; and in tlie next place 
 they are torpid in winter, aud do not 
 require food. Colonel Sykes, however, 
 says there is in Poonah a grain-feeding 
 species, which stores up millet-seed ; and 
 according to Lubbock and Moggridge, 
 ants in the south of Eurojje and in 
 Texas make stores. 
 
 V What are called "ant eggs" are 
 not eggs, but the pupae of ants. 
 
 Anu'bis. In Egyptian mythology, 
 similar to the Hermes of Greece, whose 
 ofiice it was to take the souls of the dead 
 before the judge of the infernal regions. 
 Auu'bis is represented with a human 
 body and jackal's head. 
 
 Anvil. It in on the anvil, under de- 
 liberation ; the jjroject is in hand. Of 
 course, the reference is to a smithy. 
 
 "She li:ul iUKitliei- arranseinent on the anvil." 
 —Le Fanu : Tlie JIuiise in the Ckurchyard. 
 
 Any-how, i.e. in an irregular 
 manner. "He did it any-how," in a 
 careless, slovenly manner. "He went 
 on any-how," in a wild, reckless manner. 
 Ant/how, you niKst manage it for me ; by 
 hook or crook ; at all events. (Old 
 Englisli, (cni<j-hu.) 
 
 Aon'ian. Poetical, pertaining to the 
 Muses. The Muses, according to Grecian 
 mythology, dwelt in Aon'ia, that part of 
 Bceo'tia which contains Mount Helicon 
 and the Muses' Fountain. Thomson 
 calls the fraternity of poets 
 
 "The Aotiian liivc 
 Who praised are, ami starve ri.i,'ht iiievril.v." 
 Ca.-tle of liidoltnce, ii. -'. 
 
 A outrance. (French.) To the 
 farthest point. The correct form of 
 the phrase. {See A l'outeance.) 
 
 Ape. The buffoon ape, in Drydeu's 
 poem called lite Hind and the Fanther, 
 means the Free-thinkers. 
 "Ne.Nt her \lhe bear] the buffoon aiie, as atheists 
 use, 
 Mimicked all sects, and had his own to choose." 
 Part i. 3'J, 40. 
 
 He keeps them, like an ape, in the corner 
 of his jaw ; first mouthed, to he last siral- 
 mved {Hamlet iv. 2). Most of the Old 
 World monkeys have cheek pouches, 
 used as receptacles for food. 
 
 To lead apes or To lead apss in hell. 
 It is said of old maids. Hence, to die 
 an old maid. 
 
 " I will even take sLvjienre in earnest r)f tlie 
 tiear-ward, and lead his apes into hell."— .SVinAc- 
 speure: Much Adu about Xutliiiiy, ii. 1. 
 
 Fadladin'da says to Tatlanthe (3 syl ) : 
 
 " Pit.v that .vou who've served so long and well 
 Should die a viririn, and lead apes iii hell." 
 
 H. Caren : Cliroiwtihotontholocios. 
 '■ Women, d.ving maids, lead apes in hell."— 77(e 
 
 Lovdoji Prudiyal, i. :;. 
 
 To play the ape, to play practical 
 jokes ; to play silly tricks ; to make 
 facial imitations, like an ape. 
 
 T'o put an ape into your hood (or) eap^ 
 i.e. to make a fool of you. Aj)es were 
 fonnerly carried ou the shoulders of 
 fools and simpletons. 
 
 'To say an ape's paternoster, is to chatter 
 with fright or cold, like an ape. 
 
 Apelles. A famous Grecian painter, 
 contemporary with Alexander the Gi'eat. 
 
 "There comelier forms embroidered rose to view 
 Than e'er .\iielles' wondrous pencil drew." 
 
 Aiiiistu: Vrlaudu Furious. Iiook xxiv. 
 
 Ap'eman'tus. A churlish i)hiloso- 
 pher, in 8hakesj)eare's Tiinon of Athens. 
 
 "The cvnicism of .^iiemantus conlnisted with 
 the misantlirop.v of Tinion."— .Sir It a.d-r Srolt. 
 
 A-per-se. An A 1 ; a person or 
 thing of unusual merit. "A" all alone, 
 with no one who can follow, nemo proxi- 
 inus uut secundus. 
 
 Chaucer calls Cresseide "the floure 
 and A-per-se of Troi aud Greek." 
 
 "London, thou art of towac^ A-per-se."— Lans- 
 dowiie J/.S'.S. 
 
 Apex, the topmost height, really 
 means the pointed olive-wood spike on 
 the top of the cap of a Roman priest. 
 The cap fitted close to the head and was 
 fastened under the chin by a fillet. It 
 Avas applied also to the crest or spike of 
 a lielmet. The 'word now means the 
 summit or tiptop. 
 
 Aphrodite (4 syl.). The Greek 
 Venus ; so called because she sprang 
 from the foain of the sea. ("Greek, 
 aphros, foam.) 
 
 Aph'rodite's Girdle. Whoever wore 
 Aphrodite's magic girdle, immediately 
 became the object of love. {Greek 
 mytholoyy.) 
 
 Apic'ius. A gourmand. Apicius 
 was a Roman goui-mand, whose income 
 being reduced by his luxurious living to 
 £S0,000, put an end to his life, to avoid 
 the misery of being obliged to live on 
 plain diet. 
 
 A-pigga-back. {See Pig-back. ) 
 
 A'pis, in Egyptian mythology, is 
 the bull symbolical of the god Apis. It 
 was not suffered to live more than
 
 Aplomb 
 
 Apostles 
 
 twenty-five years, when it was sacrificed 
 and buried in great pomp. The mad- 
 ness of Canibyses is said to liave been in 
 retribution for liis killing a sacred bull. 
 
 Aplomb means true to the plumb- 
 line, but is generally used to express 
 that self-possession which arises from 
 perfect self-confidence. We also talk 
 of a dancer's aplomb, meaning that he 
 is a ijerfect master of his art. (French, 
 a pluinh. ) 
 
 " H(!re exists tlio liest stuck in tliewnrlil . . . 
 iiK'ii lit aiilmiil) ami ivsei've, (if Kreat I'aii.Ke and 
 iiiaiiv iiiiMiils, iif sti(piii; iiistiiK-is, yet :\\>l f(ir 
 c'iiltiirc."-/w//M-s"/i : Eiujlitih Traits, \i. Uti. 
 
 Apocalyptic Number. The mys- 
 tic number GtiO. (llev. xiii. 18.) {Sec 
 
 NUMDEU OF THE BeAST.) 
 
 Apo'crypha, Those books included 
 in tlu^ Si'[ituagiut and Vulgate versions 
 of the Old Testament, but not considered 
 to be parts of the original canon. They 
 are accepted as canonical by Catholics, 
 but not by Protestants, and are not 
 printed in I'rotestant Bibles in ordinary 
 circidatiou. The word means hidden 
 (Greek, apokrnpUi), " because they were 
 wont to be read not openly. . . . 
 but, as it were, in secret and apart" 
 {Bible, 1539, I'refdce to the Apocnjplta). 
 As the reason why these books are not 
 received as canonical is because either 
 their genuineness or their authenticity 
 is doubtful, therefore the word "apo- 
 cryphal " means not genuine or not 
 authentic. 
 
 Apollina'rians. An ancient sect 
 founded in the middle of the fourth 
 century by Apollina'ris, bishop of Lao- 
 dice'a. They denied that Christ had a 
 human soul, and asserted that the Loijos 
 supplied its place. The Athanasian 
 creed condemns this heresy. 
 
 Apollo. The sun, the god of music. 
 {Ituman iiii/tholo<ji/.) 
 
 " Apollo's aiisry, and tlie lieaveus tlioniajlve.i 
 Do strike at my injustice." 
 
 Hhukespeare : Winter's Tide, iii. 2. 
 
 A perfect Apollo. A model of manly 
 beauty, referring to the Apollo Belvidere 
 {q.v.). 
 
 The Apollo of Tortugal. Luis 
 Camoi-ns, author of the Luslml ; so 
 called, not for his beauty, but for his 
 poetry. He was god of poetry in Portu- 
 gal, but was allowed to die iu the streets 
 of Lisbon like a dog, literally of starva- 
 tion. Our own Otvvay suffered a similar 
 fate. (1527- lo79.) 
 
 Apollo Belvidere [£el'-ve-dear']. A 
 marble statue, supposed to be from the 
 chisel of the Greek sculptor Cal'amis, 
 
 who flourished iu the fifth ante-Christian 
 era. It represents the god holding a 
 bow in his left hand, and is called 
 Belvidere from the Belvidere Gallery of 
 the Vat icau, in Rome, where it stands. 
 It was discovered in 1503, amidst the 
 ruins of Au'tium, antl was purchased by 
 Pojie Julius II. 
 
 Apollodo'ros. Plato says : ' ' Who 
 Would not rather be a man of sorrows 
 than Apollodoros, envied by all for his 
 enormous wealth, yet nourishing in his 
 heart the scorpions of a guilty con- 
 science?" {The ItepnMic). This Apollo- 
 doros was the tyrant of Cassan'drea 
 (formerly I'otii/c'o). He obtained tho 
 sui)reme power li.c. 379, exercised it 
 with tlio utmost cruelty, and was i)ut to 
 death by Autig onos Gou'atas. 
 
 ApoUo'nius. Master of the Rosi- 
 crucians. He is said to have had the 
 power of raising the dead, of making 
 himself invisible, and of being iu two 
 places at the same time. 
 
 ApoU'yon. King of the bottomless pit. 
 (Rev. ix. 11.) His contest with Chris- 
 tian, in Bunyan's allegory, has made his 
 name familiar. (Greek, the dentrojer.) 
 
 Apostate {The). Julian, the Roman 
 emperor. So called because he forsook 
 the Christian faith and returned to 
 Paganism again. (331, 361-3(33.) 
 
 A posteriori [Latin, from the latter]. 
 An rt posteriori argument is proving the 
 cause from the effect. Thus, if we .see 
 a watch, we conclude there was a watch- 
 maker. Robinson Crusoe inferred there 
 was another human being on the desert 
 island, because lie saw a human foot- 
 print in the wet sand. It is thus the ex- 
 istence and chai'acter of Deity is inferred 
 from his works. {See A PEiOEt.) 
 
 Apostles. The badges or symbols of 
 the fourteen apostles. 
 
 Andrew, n cross, hecauso lie was crucified on a 
 cross shaped like tUe letter x. 
 
 Bartliiiloniew, a kiiife, because he was flayed 
 with a knife. 
 
 •iMuics I lie (Ireater, a scaUnp-slieV, a pilgrim's 
 fit(iff,iir II i/oiird buttle, heciiwse he is the patron 
 saiiLt of pilu-riins. (.See ScAl.l.op-SKKi.r,.) 
 
 James the Less, a fullers pule, because he was 
 killed by a blow (jn the head with a pole, dealt 
 him by .Simeon the fuller. 
 
 .lohii, (I ciiii iritli a iriiuii d serpent flyiiHi out of it, 
 in allusion to the tradition about Aristode'mos, 
 piiest of Diana, wlio rlialli'MLri'il .lohn to drink a 
 cup of iioison. .lohn made the siKU of a cross on 
 the cup, iSatan like a ilrai,'on Hew from it, and 
 John then drank the cuts which was ipiite in- 
 nocuous. 
 
 Judas Iscariot, n. fcixs, because he had the has 
 and " bare what was put therein " (John xii. fi). 
 
 J nde, a club, because he was martyred with a club. 
 
 Matthew, a hatchet or kiilbert, because he was 
 slain at Nad'abar with a halbert. 
 
 Matthias, a battle-axe, because he was first 
 stoned, and then beheaded with a battle-axe.
 
 Apostles 
 
 m 
 
 Apparel 
 
 Paul, a su-ord, liecause Lis head was cutoff witli 
 a swdnl. 'fhe eonveut of La Lisla, in Siiain, 
 Ijoasts iif imssessinw the vci'y iustruuient. 
 
 I'fiL'V, a hunch »/ /,vi/,s-. because Clirist gave him 
 the "keys ci{ ihe kiui-'iiiiiii uf lie;iveu." A cock, 
 because he weut nut and wept liilterly wheu he 
 heard the cock Cfovv. (Matt, x.xvi. 73.) 
 
 I'hilip, II hiiig !<t(iff sKniwunted with a cross, he- 
 eause he suffered ik'ath liy being suspended hy 
 the neck to a tall iiillar. 
 
 Siiuou, (I aiiw, because he was sawn to death, 
 acciirdiu;-,' tn trailiiiuu. 
 
 Thomas, a dr/icc, because he was pierced 
 thriiui-'h tlie body, at Mel'iapour, with a lance. 
 
 {St'C EVANGKLISTS.) 
 
 Apostles, where buried. Accord- 
 ing to Catholic legend, seven of the 
 Apostles are buried at Rome. These 
 seven are distinguished by a star (*). 
 
 Andrew Ties buried at Amalfl (Naplesi. 
 
 liAitTHOLOMEW,* at Kome, iu the church of 
 Ban.hiilouu'w Island, on the Tiber. 
 
 James tiik (iKEATEii was buried at St. Jagode 
 t'<]iiiiiosteUa, in Spain. 
 
 .lA.MEs TUK Less, * at Rome, in the church of 
 the Holy Apostles. 
 
 .loHN, at Kphesus. 
 
 .If 111-:,* at Kome. 
 
 JlATTHEW, at Salerno (Naples). 
 
 Matthias,* at Rome, uiuler the altar of the 
 Basilica. 
 
 I'ALL, somewhere in Italy. 
 
 PETEii,* at Rome, iu the church of St. Peter. 
 
 Philip,* at Rome. 
 
 Si.MOX or SiMBox,* at Rome. 
 
 Tho.mas, at OrtSna (Naples;). (? Madi-as.) 
 
 II Maiik the EvASGELisT is Said to have been 
 buried at Venice. 
 
 LiUvE the EvAXtiELiST is Said to have been 
 buried at I'adua. 
 
 N. 1!.— H.ily claims thirteen of these apostles or 
 evau'-'elisis— Home seven, Naples three, Paul 
 soii.ewhere in Italy, Mark at Venice, Luke at 
 Padua. 
 
 Apostles of 
 
 Ahiissui'uiiis, St. Frumentius. (Fourth century.) 
 
 Ml>>:, Felix Xetr. (irus-lsiH.) 
 
 Aiihaiiix.iil. Huliert. ((5.50-7311.) 
 
 ArnieitiaiiK, (4ret,'ory of Armenia. (256-331.) 
 
 /,'/;!///.<;;, St. Aui-'ustine. (Died 607.) St. George. 
 
 KUuopia. (.S'tf AitvssixiAXS.) 
 
 Free Traile, Richard Cobden. (180-1-1865.) 
 
 French, St. Denis. (Thinl century.) 
 
 Frisicum.at. Wilbrod. ((K7-7:W.-) 
 
 Gauls, St. IrenaiUS (130-200) ; St. Martin. (316- 
 3'.I7.) 
 
 dentlh's.fit. Paul. 
 
 (ii rminiii.f^l. lioiiiface. (6S(V7.t5.1 
 
 Jli(lhhlii,l,r.-<,!>1. Columb. (.521-,i<l7.) 
 
 Jlihif/arii, St. Aiiastatius. («5-l-104-i.1 
 
 Jndiii.ns (American), Bartolome de Las Casas 
 (1474-l.WO); Rev. John Eliot. (1U03-16UO.) 
 
 Indies (ICcisO, St. Francis Xavier. (15(06-15.52.) 
 
 In/irielitii. Voltaire. (1694-1778.) 
 
 Ireland, St. Patrick. (372-4H3.) 
 
 Netheiiands, St. Armaud, Bishop of Maestricht. 
 (5S!I t'i7'.t. ) 
 
 Xnrth, St. Aussar or Auscariug (801-864) ; Ber- 
 nard (iilpin. (1.517-1583.) 
 
 I'irts, St. Ninian. 
 
 ,s'.-„»;,s/, Ile/„rmers.. lohn Knox. (1.505-1572.) 
 
 ,s7i(r.v, SI. Cvril. i Die.i sc.s.) 
 
 ,s';)(!iyi, St. James I lie (ireater. (Died 44.1 
 
 Triiiprniiue, Father Malhew. (I7!i0-18.56.1 
 
 iiirlishire, Paiili'nus, bishop of York and 
 Rochester. (.597-644.) 
 
 )Vedes, St. David. (480-544.) 
 
 K TJic Tivelvc Apostles. The last twelve 
 names on the poll or list of ordinary de- 
 grees vs'ere so called, wheu the list was 
 arranged in order of merit, and not 
 al})habetically, as now ; they were also 
 called the CIioscu Twelve. The last of the 
 
 twelve was designated Ht. Fdiil from a 
 play on the verse 1 Cor. xv. 9. The same 
 term is now applied to the last twelve 
 in the Mathematical Tripos. 
 
 Apostle of the tSicord. So Mahomet 
 was called, becau,se he enforced liis creed 
 at the point of the sword. (570-032.) 
 
 Friiiee of the Apostles. St. Peter. 
 (Mtvtt. xvi. 18, 19.) 
 
 Apostle Spoons. Spoons formerly 
 given at christenings ; so called because 
 one of the apostles figured at the top of 
 the handle. Sometimes twelve sjioons, 
 representing the twelve apostles ; some- 
 times four, representing the four evan- 
 gelists ; and sometimes only one, was 
 presented. Sometimes, but very rarely, 
 a set occurs containing in addition the 
 " Master Spoon " and the " Lady 
 Spoon." We still give at christenings 
 a silver sjioon, though the apostolic 
 handle is no longer retained. 
 
 Apostles' Creed (T/ic). A church 
 creed supposed to be an epitome of 
 Scripture doctrines, or doctrines tauglit 
 by the apostles. It was received into 
 the Latin Church, in its present form, 
 in tlie eleventh century ; but a formula 
 somewhat like it existed in the second 
 century. Items vere added iu the 
 fourth and fifth ceutiuies, and verbal 
 alterations much later. 
 
 •.• It is said that Tullo, Bishop of Antioch, in- 
 troduced the fr, ed as )iart of the daily service in 
 471. 
 
 Apostolic Fathers. Christian au- 
 thors born in the hrst centuiy, wheu the 
 apostles lived. John is sui>posed to 
 have died about a.d. 99, and Polycarp, 
 the last of the Apostolic Fathers, born 
 about 80, was his discijile. These three 
 are tolerably certain : Clement of Rome 
 (30-100), Ignatius (died llo), and Poly- 
 carp (80-169). Three others are Barna- 
 bas, Hermas, and Papias. Barnabas 
 was the companion of Paul, Hermas is a 
 very doubtful name, and Papias (Bp. of 
 Hienipolis) is mentioned by Eusebius. 
 
 '.' Polycarp could hardly have been a 
 disciple of John, although he might have 
 received Christinn instruction from the 
 old "beloved one." 
 
 Apostol ic Majesty. A title borne 
 by the Emperor of Austria, as King of 
 Hungaiy. It was conferred V)y Pope 
 Sylvester II. on the Khig of Hungary 
 in 1000. 
 
 Apparel. Dress. The ornamental 
 parts of the alb, at the lower edge and 
 at the wrists. Catechu'mens used to 
 talk of putting on their apparels, or fine
 
 Appeal 
 
 57 
 
 Apple-pie Bed 
 
 white surplices, for the feast of Pente- 
 cost. 
 
 Pugin says: "The albe should lie made witli 
 aiiparels worked in silk or gold, erahroideied with 
 orii.iinents." 
 
 Hock tells us—" That apparels were stitclifd ou 
 the upper part of tlie amice, like a collar to it. " 
 
 Appeal to the Country (An). 
 Asking electors by their clioice of repre- 
 sentatives to express their opinion of 
 some moot question. In order to obtain 
 the public opinion Parliament is dissolved, 
 and a new election must be made. 
 
 Appiades (4 syl.). Five divinities 
 wliose temple stood near the fountains 
 of Ap'pius, in Koine. Their names are 
 Venus, Pallas, Concord, Peace, and 
 Vesta. They were represented on horse- 
 back, like Amazons. 
 
 Ap'pian Way. Tlie oldest and best 
 of all tlie Roman roads, leading from the 
 I'orta Cupc'iKi of Rome to Capua. This 
 "queen of roads" was commenced by 
 Appius Claudius, the ilecemvir, B.C. 
 3i;i. 
 
 Apple {Xctrfo/i find tin). Voltaire 
 tells us that Mrs. Conduit, Newton's 
 niece, told him that Newton was at 
 Woolsthorpe, when, seeing an apple fall, 
 he was led into a train of thought 
 which resulted in his discovery of gravi- 
 tation (166G). 
 
 His iiiotlier had married a Rev, 15. Siiiitli.and 
 in IffiO had returned to Wool»th(jrpe. Her ttraiid- 
 daughter was the wife of Mr. Conduit, who suc- 
 ceeded Newton in the Mint. Newton was on a 
 visit to hia mother. 
 
 The apph of discord. A cause of 
 dispute ; something to contend about. 
 At the marriage of Thetis and Pe'leus, 
 where all the gods and goddesses met 
 together. Discord threw on the table a 
 golden apple "for the most beautiful." 
 Juno, Minerva, and Venus put in their 
 separate claims ; and not being able to 
 settle the point, referred the question 
 to Paris, who gave judgment in favour 
 of Venus. This brought upon him the 
 vengeance of Juno and Minerva, to 
 whose spite the fall of Troy is attributed. 
 
 " The " apple " plays a large part in 
 Greek story. Besides the " Apple of 
 Discord," related above, we have the 
 three apples thrown down by Hippo- 
 mSnes when he raced with Atalanta. 
 The story says that Atalanta stopped to 
 pick up the apples, whereby Kijjpo- 
 mSnes won the race, and according to 
 the terms obtained her for wife. 
 
 Then there are the golden apples of 
 the Hesperides, guarded by a sleepless 
 dragon with a hundred heads ; but 
 Hercules slew the dragon and carried 
 
 some of the apples to Eurystheus. 
 This was the twelfth and last of Ids 
 "labours." 
 
 Of course, the Bible story of Eve and 
 the Apple will be familiar to every 
 reader of this dictionary. 
 
 Apples of Istakhar' are " all sweetness 
 on one side, and all bitterness on the 
 other." 
 
 Apples of I'liradisc, according to tradi- 
 tion, had a bite on one side, to com- 
 memorate the bite given by Eve. 
 
 Apples of Fjibdn, says Sir John Mande- 
 ville, fed the pigmies with their odour 
 only. 
 
 Apples of Sudoiii. Thevenot says — 
 " There are apple-trees on the sides of 
 the Dead Sea which bear lovely fruit, 
 but within are full of ashes." Josephus 
 speaks of these apples. Witman says 
 the same is asserted of the oranges there. 
 (See Tacitus, Hist., v. 7.) 
 
 " Like to the apples on the Dead Sea's shore. 
 All ashes to the taste." 
 
 Byron: Chihie Ilaruld, iii. 31. 
 
 T/ic apple of perpetual i/out/i. This is 
 the apple of Idun, daughter of the 
 dwarf Svald, and wife of Bragi. It is 
 by tasting this apple that the gods pre- 
 serve their perpetual youth. (^Scaiutdi- 
 ariaii mythologi/.) 
 
 The siiigiiifj apple had the power of 
 persuading any one to anything, {t'hcnj 
 and Fairstar : Coantess IP Aiiois.) 
 
 Prince Ahmed's apple — a cure for 
 every disorder. This apple the prince 
 purchased at Samarcaud'. {Arabian 
 Si(/hts, I'rince Ahmed, etc.) 
 
 The apple of the eye. The pupil, of 
 which perhaps it is a corruption. If 
 not, it is from an erroneous notion that 
 the little black spot of the eye is a little 
 round solid ball like an apple. Any- 
 thing extremely dear or extremely sen- 
 sitive. 
 
 "He kept him as the apple of his eye."— Ueiit. 
 xx.\ii. :). 
 
 Apple-john {An). An apple so 
 called from its being at maturity about 
 St. John's Day (May 6th). We are told 
 that apple-johns will keep for two 
 years, and are best when shrivelled. 
 
 " I am withered like an old apiile-johu." 
 
 Shakespeaie: 1 Hviirii IV. ill. .■?. 
 
 ■ • Sometimes called the .\p)>les of King Jidin, 
 wliich, if correct, woulil militate agaiust the 
 iiotii.n alHiut " St. .ruhn's Day." 
 
 "There were some tilings, for instance, the 
 Apples of Kiut-' .Inhn, . . . I sIkuiM be tempted 
 U.,\iu\,:'-!ihjeh>,c:LiAo/!I.Fi;iiildiii 
 
 ■ ■ In the fuitfd States there is a drink called 
 " Apple-Jack," which is aiiple or cider brandy. 
 
 Apple-pie Bed. A bed in which the 
 sheets are so folded that a person cannot
 
 Apple-pie Order 
 
 58 
 
 Aquarians 
 
 get his legs down ; from the apple 
 turnover ; or, more jirobably, a corrup- 
 tion of " a nap-pe-pli bed." (French, 
 nappe pl\h\ a folded sheet.) 
 
 Apple-pie Order. Prim and precise 
 order. 
 
 Tlie origin of this phrase is still 
 doubtful. Some suggest eap-a-pie, 
 like a knight in complete armour. Some 
 toll us that apples made into a pie are 
 (juartered and methodically arranged 
 when the cores have been taken out. 
 I'erha.ps the suggestion made above of 
 iiap-pc-pli (French, va/ipes plmw, folded 
 linen, neat as folded linen, Latin, plico, 
 to fold) is nearer the mark. 
 
 It has also beeu suggested tlmt " Apple-iiie 
 order" may be a coivuptiioi of ali>ha. lietu, meau- 
 iiij; as orderly as rlie letters of tlic alplialiet. 
 
 "EverylbiiiK l>riirJ; ui ;ipiile-i>ii' (inli>r, . . . Dr. 
 JobusuM . . . piMi'osfd ni;il wi'sliniiblaccnnipaTiy 
 liim ... to >riassa's kraal.' —-U(c</(^(/<s i« J/iis/i- 
 vnahmil, p. L"Jt US.i3;. 
 
 April. The opening month, when 
 the trees luifold, and the womb of 
 nature opens with young life. (Latin, 
 apcri're, to open.) 
 
 April Fool. Called in France tin 
 poinxoii iPArrtl {q.i\), and in Scotland a 
 (jowk (cuckoo). In Hindustan similar 
 tricks are played at the Huli Festival 
 (March 31st). So that it cannot refer 
 to tlie uncertainty of the weather, nor 
 yet to the mockery trial of our Redeemer, 
 the two most pojjular explanations. A 
 better solution is this : As March '2oth 
 used to be New Year's Bay, April 1st 
 was its octave, when its festivities 
 culminated and ended. 
 
 For the same reason that the "Mockery of 
 Jesiis" is rejected as a soUuion of this custom, 
 the tradition that it arose from Noah sending out 
 the dove on the first of the month may be set 
 aside. 
 
 Perliaps it may lie a relic of the Roman 
 " Cerealia," held at the liefe'iniiing of April. The 
 tale is tliat ProJcrpinii was spnrtin.!,' in the Elysiaii 
 meadows, anil had just filled her lap \viih daffo- 
 dils, when I'liUii lairicd her off fo the lower 
 World. Her mot lier, t'eie.;, heard the echo of her 
 screams, and went in search of " the voice ;" but 
 lier search was a fool's errand, it was hunting 
 the gowk, or looking for the " eclio of a scream." 
 
 ■.■ Of course this fable is an allegory of seed- 
 time. 
 
 Mij April morn — i.e. my wedding 
 day ; the day when I was made a fool 
 of. The allusion is to the custom of 
 making fools of each other on the 1st of 
 April. 
 
 April Gentleman (An). A man 
 
 newly married, who has made himself 
 thus "an April fool." 
 
 April Squire {An). A norn.^ homo. 
 A man who has accumulated money, 
 and has retired into the country, where 
 
 his money may give him the position of 
 a squire. 
 
 A prio'ri [Latin, from an anteeedent]. 
 An a priori argument is when we 
 deduce a fact from something ante- 
 cedent, as when we infer certain effects 
 from given causes. All mathematical 
 proofs are of the a priori kiud, whereas 
 judgments in the law courts are of the 
 a posteriori eviilence; we infer the animus 
 from the act. {See A postekiori.) 
 
 Apron. This is a strange blunder. 
 A napperon, converted into An apperon. 
 " Nappta-ou " is French for a napkin, 
 from nappe (cloth in general). Halliwell, 
 in his Arehaic JJictionari/, p. 571, gives 
 Napperu (an apron) Korlli. 
 
 (iihcr example's of » attached to the fidlnwing 
 niuiii, or (let;irlieil fr.ULi it, are an (uhlef for a 
 nadder (Old English, i/ip./i/cc-; a vent for an iwt; 
 A iiiuj (l)Miiish, iHf) : viiiirh- iShakespeaiei, mine 
 uncle ; For the »/>»cc (Ibis once., whe eii is trans- 
 ferred from the preceding pronoun tlia-ii urilie-n, 
 i.e. Iliis-n (accusali\e case after "for "). 
 
 Apron- String Tenure {An). A 
 tenure held in virtue of one's wife. 
 
 Tied to hin mot/ier''s apron-.strinf/, com- 
 jjletely under his mother's thumb. 
 Applied to a big boy or young man who 
 is fetill under mother rule. 
 
 A propos de bottes (French). 
 Turning to quite another subject; d 
 propos de rien. 
 
 Aqua Re'gia [roi/al trater']. So called 
 because it dissolves gold, the liny of 
 metals. It consists of (me part of nitric 
 acid, with from two to four of hydro- 
 chloric acid. 
 
 Aqua Tofana or Acquu Tofunua. A 
 poisonous li(juid much used in Italy in 
 the seventeenth century by young wives 
 who wanted to get rid of their husbands. 
 It was invented by a woman named 
 Tofana, who called it the Manna of St. 
 Nicholas of liari, from the widespread 
 notion that an oil of miraculous efficacy 
 flowed from the tomb of that saint. In 
 Italian called also Aqiiella di Xupjli. 
 
 Aqua Vitse [trater of life]. Certain 
 ardent .spirits used by the alchemists. 
 Ben Jouson terms a seller of ardent 
 spirits an " aqua-vitfe man" {Al- 
 elieinist. i. 1). The "elixir of life" was 
 made from distilled spirits, which were 
 tliought to have the power of prolonging 
 life. {See P]au-de-Vie.) 
 
 Aquarians. A sect in the early 
 Christian Church which insisted on the 
 use of water instead of wine in the 
 Lord's Supper.
 
 Aqaarius 
 
 S9 
 
 Arbaces 
 
 Aqua'rius [the tvater-bearer']. Oue 
 of the signs of the zodiac (January 20th 
 to February 18th). So called because it 
 appears when the Nile begins to over- 
 flow. 
 
 Aqueous Rocks. Eocks produced 
 by the agency of water, such as bedded 
 limestones, sandstones, and clays ; in 
 short, all the geological rocks which are 
 arranged in laj'ers or strata. 
 
 Aq'uilant (in Ovhunh) Fiiriou)). A 
 
 knight in Charlemagne's amiy, S(jn of 
 (Jlive'ro and Sigismunda. He was called 
 black from his armour, and his brother 
 Gryphon wliitr. While Aquilant was 
 searching for his brother he met Martano 
 in Gryphon's annour, and took him 
 bound to Damascus, where his brother 
 was. 
 
 Aquiline (3syl.). Raymond's match- 
 less steed, bred on the banks of the 
 Tagus. {GcorgicK, iii. 271-277; and 
 Tdsso, Jernsalfiii Ikl'ivervd, book vii.) 
 (6te Horse.) 
 
 Aquinian Sage {TJie). Ju'venal is 
 so called because he was born at Aqui'- 
 num, a town of the Volscians. 
 
 Arabesque [^-i rr«if.vA-] . The gor- 
 geous Moorish jjatterns, like those in 
 the Alhambra, esx>ecially employed in 
 architectural decoration. During the 
 Spanish wars, in the reign of Louis 
 XIV., arabesque decorations were i)ro- 
 fusely introduced into France. (French, 
 '• Arab-like.") 
 
 Arabian Bird (T/ic). The jiha-uix ; 
 a marvellous man, quite aid goicr'ts. 
 "O Antdu.v ! tliim Araljiaii liiid I" 
 Siiiikfupeate : Antuiiij and Ctecpdtra. iii. ■_'. 
 
 Arabian Nights {The). First made 
 known in Europe b}' Autoine Gallaud, a 
 French Oriental scholar, who translated 
 them and called them The Thonsand and 
 One Nu/h ts (from the number of nights 
 occupied in their i-ecital). They are of 
 Indian, Persian, Egyptian, and Arabian 
 origin. 
 
 Common English translations — 
 
 4 vols. IL'nin, 179'-', by K. Herou, iniblisLeJ in 
 
 Edinburgli :iii(l Ldinlcni. 
 3 vols. 121110, 17'.i4, liy Mr. Beloe, London. 
 
 „ „ IT'.i.i, by Kiciiard Gough, enlarged. 
 Paris edition. 
 
 5 vols. 8VO, ISOL", by Rev. Edward Foster. 
 
 „ „ 1830, by Edw. Wm. Lane. 
 
 The Tales of the Genii, by Sir Charles 
 Morell {i.e. Rev. James Ridley), are 
 excellent imitations. 
 
 Arabians. A class of Arabian here- 
 tics of the third century, who maintained 
 that the soul dies with the b:)dy. 
 
 Ar'abic Figures. The figures 1, 2, 
 3, 4, etc. So called because they were 
 introduced into Europe (Spain) by the 
 Moor.s or Arabs, who learnt them from 
 the Hindus. Far more important than 
 the characters, is the decimalism of these 
 tigui-es : I figure — units, 2 figures = 
 tens, 3 figures = hundreds, and so on ad 
 itijinituin. 
 
 The figures i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, i.v, x, etc., 
 are called Roman Bgiires. 
 
 Tbe (irceks arrani-'ed their tltriires innier three 
 Culiiiiins nf nine ll^'urrs, iiiiits, tens, and hun- 
 dreds, and enjiiluyrd t lie letter.s c.f the alpliabet. 
 As there are hut twenty-four letters, a siusculotie 
 letter had to he iiilruduei'ii iiitii e.o-h euluiun. 
 Iji the units i-oluinn it represeuied i;. ami w.is 
 I, ailed f}>'isriniiii. hit lie feTiseohniin it rei>re^eiuei| 
 '.HI, and was called /,../i;/,..<. .\iid: in the third 
 ciilunin it reinvseulcd uoo, and was called saiiin. 
 Thonsands were ri'i'icseiited by a dash under 
 some letter of the liisi three coluiiius : 
 As, ^ = :■, hut fi = u.uoo ; 
 
 e = 5, but e = 5,0(X); 
 O- = :00, but cr = ^X1,l>X) ; 
 and so on. 
 
 Ar'abs. Street Arabs. The houseless 
 pf)or ; street cliildren. So called because, 
 like the Arabs, they are nomads or 
 wanderers with no settled home. 
 
 Arachne's Labours. Spinning and 
 weaving. Arachue was so skilful a 
 needlewoman that she challenged 
 Minerva to a trial of skill, and hanged 
 herself because the goddess beat her. 
 Minerva then changed her into a spider. 
 
 " Araclines labours ne'er l<er h.uirs di\ ide. 
 Her noble hands nor hxnns imi- siiiinllcs Lfulde.' 
 Hoole's Jerufaleni J)i lin nd, hook ii. 
 
 A'raf, Al [the partition]. A region, 
 according to the Koran, between Para- 
 dise and Jeheuuam, for those who are 
 neither morally good nor bad, such as 
 infants, lunatics, and idiots. The in- 
 mates of Al Araf will be allowed to con- 
 verse with the blessed and the cunsed ; 
 to the former this region will appear a 
 hell, to the latter a heaven. (S:e 
 Limbo.) 
 
 Aras'pes (in Jerusalem Delivered), 
 King of Ale.xandria, more famed for 
 devices than courage. He joined the 
 Egyptian annament against the Cru- 
 saders. 
 
 Ara'tos of Achasa, in Greece, mur- 
 dered Nic'ocles, the tyrant, in order to 
 restore his country to liberty, and would 
 not allow even a picture of a king to 
 exist. He was jjoisoued by PliiJip of 
 Macedon. 
 
 " .^ratus, who awhile relumed the soul 
 Of fondly-lingering lilierty in (Greece." 
 
 Tliumsnii : Winter, 4yl, 4Ui'. 
 
 Arba'ces (3 syl.). A Mede and As- 
 sj'iiau satrap, who conspired against
 
 Arbor Day 
 
 60 
 
 Arckimedes Screw 
 
 Sardanapa'lus, and founded the empire 
 of Me'clia on the ruins of the Assyrian 
 kingdom. {Bi/ron : SayclanapalusJ) 
 
 Arbor Day. A day set apart in 
 Canada and tlie United States for plant- 
 ing trees. (See Historic Note Book, 
 p. 42.) 
 
 Arbor Judse. Said to be so called 
 b3cause Judas Iscariot hanged himself 
 thereon. This is one of those word-re- 
 semblances so delusive to etymologists. 
 Judffi is the Spanish jud'ia (a French 
 beau), and Arbor Judtc is a coiTuption 
 of Arbol Ji(dia (the beau-tree), so called 
 from its bean-like pods. 
 
 Arcades Ambo [Amides 3 syl.], 
 both sweet innocents or simpletons, 
 both Verdant Greens. From Virgil's 
 lu-lor/Hc, vii. r. 4. {l^ec below, Arcadiax 
 Youth.) Byron's translation was 
 "blackguards Vjoth." 
 
 Arcadian. A shepherd, a fancy 
 farmer ; so called because the Arcadiaus 
 were a pastoral people, and hence pas- 
 toral poeti'y is called Arcci'die. 
 
 All Arcadian youth. A dunce or 
 blockhead ; so called because the Arca- 
 dians were the least intellectual of all 
 tlie Greeks. Juvenal (vii. IGO) uses the 
 phrase Arcadlcns jiiveiiis fur a stupid 
 fool. 
 
 Arcadian Nightingales. Asses. 
 " April is the nioiitU of love ; and llie country 
 of Cbastelleniiui abouncls with Avcailian nit,'htin- 
 U;\\ei."— Rabelais : Pantagitid. v. 7 (note). 
 
 Archangels. According to the Koran, 
 there are four archangels. Ga'briel, the 
 angel of revelations, who writes down 
 the divine decrees ; Mi'chael, the cham- 
 pion, who fights the battles of faith ; 
 Az'rael, the angel of death ; and Az'rafil, 
 who is commissioned to soimd the trum- 
 pet of tlie resurrection. 
 
 Arch-monarch of the World. Na- 
 poleon III. of France. (1808, 18 J'2-1870, 
 dud 187;5.) 
 
 Archers. The best archers in British 
 history and story are Robin Hood and 
 liis two comrades Little John and Will 
 Scarlet. 
 
 The famous archers of Henry II. were 
 Tepus his bowman of the Guards, 
 Gilbert of the white hind, Hubert of 
 Suffolk, and Clifton of Hampshire. 
 
 Nearly equal to these were Egbert of 
 Kent and William of Southampton. 
 
 Uoniitian, the llonian eniperor. we are tohi, 
 coul<l shoot fcinr arrows between the spreail 
 lUifrers of a man's liand. 
 
 Tell, who shot an apiile set on tlie heafl of Iris 
 son, is a replica of the Scandinavian tale of Efe'il, 
 
 who, at the command of KiugNidung, performed 
 a precisely similar feat. 
 
 Uohiu Hood, we are told, could shoot an arrow 
 a mile or more. 
 
 Arches {The Court of). The most 
 ancient consistory court of England, the 
 dean of which anciently held his court 
 under the arches of Bow church. Of 
 course we refer to the old church, the 
 steeple of which was supported on 
 arches. The present structin-e was the 
 work of Sir Christopher Wren. 
 
 Arche'us (3 syl.), according to the 
 Paracelsians, is that immaterial prin- 
 ciple which energises all living sub- 
 stances. There were supposed to b3 
 numerous archei, but the chief one was 
 said to reside in the stomach. 
 
 Archiloch'ian Bitterness. Ill- 
 natured satire, so named from Archil'- 
 ochos, the Grecian satirist (b.c. 714-676). 
 
 Ar'chimage (3 syl.). The name given 
 by Thomson to the " demon Indolence." 
 Archimagus is the title borne by the 
 High Priest of the Persian Magi. 
 
 " ' 1 will,' lie crie 1, ' so help me God I destroy 
 That \illain Arcluni^ige.' " 
 
 TliDiiisoii : Caatle of Indolence^ c. ii. 
 
 Archima'go [Hi/pocrisi/]. In Spen- 
 ser's Fui/rie Qneene (ii. 1). He assimies 
 the guise of the Red Cross Knight, and 
 deceives Una ; but Sansloy sets upon 
 him, and reveals his true character. 
 When the Red Cross Knight is about to 
 be married to Una, he presents himse'f 
 before the King of Eden, and tells him 
 that the Knight is betrothed to Duessa. 
 The falsehood being exposed, Archimago 
 is cast into a vile dungeon (book i.). In 
 book ii. the arch-hypocrite is loosed 
 again for a season, and employs Bragga- 
 docchio to attack the Red Cross Knight. 
 These allegories are pretty obvious : 
 thus the first incident means that Truth 
 {Una), when Piety (the lied Cross 
 luiiff/it) is absent, is iu danger of being 
 led astray by Hypocrisy ; but any In- 
 fidel {iSansloij) can lay bare religious 
 liypocrisy. 
 "Such whenas .\rchima,go them <lid view 
 
 He weened w-ell to worke s.ime uncouth wyle." 
 S/ieiiser: Fatirie (Juuiie, ii. 1, St. K. 
 
 V Sometimes Spenser emplo3^s the 
 shortened form " Archimage." 
 
 Archimedes Principle. The quan- 
 tity of water removed by any body 
 immersed therein will equal in bulk the 
 l)ulk of the body immersed. This scien- 
 tific fact was noted by the philosopher 
 Arcliime'dCs. {See Eureka.) 
 
 Archimedes Screw. An endless 
 screw, used for raising water, propellins
 
 Architect 
 
 61 
 
 Argantes 
 
 ships, etc., invented by Archime'cles of 
 Syracuse. 
 Ar'chitect of his own Fortune. 
 
 Appius says, '^ Fabridii skcc ('xhc qiicntqnr 
 fortumey Longfellow says, "All are 
 architects of Fate." {The Biithhri'.) 
 
 Axchon'tics. Heretics of the second 
 century, who held a number of idle 
 stoiies about creation, which they attri- 
 buted to a number of agents called 
 "archous.'' (Greek, arclion, a prince 
 or ruler. ) 
 
 Ar'cite ('2 syl.). A young Theban 
 knight, made captive by Duke Theseus, 
 and shut up with Pal'amou in a prison at 
 Athens. Here both the captives fell in 
 love with Emily, the duke's sister-in- 
 law. After a time both captives gained 
 their liberty, and Emily was promised 
 by the duke to the victor in a tourna- 
 ment. Arcite was the victor, but, as he 
 was riding to receive the prize of his 
 prowess, he was thrown from his horse, 
 and died. So Emily became the bride 
 of Pal'amon. {Chancer: The IvmghVn 
 Tale.) 
 
 The story is perhaps better known 
 through Dryden's version, Talamon and 
 uLrcltc. 
 
 Ar'cos Barbs. "War steeds of Arcos, 
 in Audalu'sia, very famous in Spanish 
 ballads. (.See Barbed Steeds.) 
 
 Arctic Region means the region of 
 Arctn'ros (the Bear stars). Ark in San- 
 skrit means "to be bright," applied to 
 stars or anything bright. The Greeks 
 translated ark into arktQjii), " a bear" ; 
 hence Arctu'rus {the Bear stars), and 
 Arctic region, the region where the 
 north star is found. 
 
 Arden (Enoch). Mr. G. R. Emerson, 
 in a letter to the Athciuciim (August 
 18th, 18G6), points out the resemblance 
 of this tale by Tennyson to one entitled 
 Homeward Jioat/d, by Adelaide Anne 
 Procter, in a volume of Lerjcnds and 
 Lyrics, 1858. Mr. Emerson concludes 
 his letter thus : "Atthis point {i.e. when 
 the hero sees his wife ' seated by the 
 fire, whispering baby words and smiling 
 on the father of her child ') Tennyson 
 departs from the story. Enoch goes 
 away broken-hearted to die, without 
 revealing his secret ; but Miss Procter 
 makes the three recognise each other, 
 and the hero having blessed his wife, 
 leaves her, to roam ' over the restless 
 ocean.' " 
 
 Mrs. Gaskell's Munchester iTnrriarie if a similar 
 tale. In this tale -'Frank" is made to drown 
 himself; and liis wife ttbeu Mrs. Opeushaw) never 
 knows of his return. 
 
 Area-sneak. A boy or girl who 
 sneaks about areas to commit petty 
 thefts. 
 
 Areop'agus or Mars'' Hill. The seat 
 of a famous tribunal in Athens ; so 
 called because the first cause tried there 
 was that of Mars or Ares, accused by 
 Neptune of the death of his sou Halir- 
 rhoth'ius. 
 
 "Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' Hill." 
 —Acts x\ ii. TJ. 
 
 Aretine (3 syl.), or rather Pietro 
 Aretino, patronised bj^ Frant^ois I. of 
 France. A poet noted for his dis- 
 reputable life and licentious verses. 
 (1492-1557.) 
 
 "[Sli;ikes|i<'are] tried his band with Aretine on 
 a licentious suhjecL'—Stccvins, 
 
 Aretin'ian Syllables. Ut, re, mi, 
 
 fa, sol, la, used by Guido d'Arezzo in 
 the eleventh centiuy for his .system of 
 hexachords. Hexachord means a scale 
 of six notes. They are the first syllables 
 of some words in the opening stanza of a 
 hymn for St. John's Day. " Ut queant 
 laxis cf-souare fibris," etc. 'St, the 
 seventh note, was not introduced till the 
 seventeenth century. Originally thescale 
 consisted of six notes only. {8ce Do.) 
 
 " Auparavant on ne se ser\ ait que de six notes ; 
 et on remiila(;ait le »t an mo,\ en de combinaisons 
 appelees nuan'^es." — HouV't: JJUtioiinarie dei 
 ficiencea, i>. l.iXi, col. ;.'.) 
 
 Argan, a miserly hypochondriac. He 
 reduced himself to this dilemma : if his 
 apothecary would not charge less, he 
 could not afford to be sick ; but if he 
 swallowed fewer drugs, he would suffer 
 in health. {Moliere's Le Malade Lmagi- 
 naire.) 
 
 Argand' Lamp. A lamp with a 
 circular wick, through which a current 
 of air flows, to supply oxygen to the 
 flame, and increase its brilliancj'. In- 
 vented by Aime Argand, 1789. 
 
 Argan'te (3 syl.). A giantess of un- 
 bridled licentiousness, in Spenser's Faerie 
 Queene, iii. 7. 
 
 " That geauntesse Argante is beUight, ; 
 
 A daughter of the 1 itans .... 
 
 Her sire T.vphoeus was " 
 
 Book iii. 7, St. 4r, 
 
 Argan'tes (3 syl.). A Circassian of 
 high rank and matchless courage, but 
 fierce to brutality, and an ultra-despiser 
 of the sect of the Nazarenes. He was 
 sent as an ambassador from Egv'pt to 
 King Al'adine. He and SoljTiian were 
 by far the most doughty of the Pagan 
 knights. The former was slain by 
 Rinaldo, and the other by Tancred. 
 {Tasso : Jerusalem Delivered.) 
 
 '■ Bonapute stood before the deputies like the 
 Argantes of Ital.v'g heroic poet, and gave tbeiu
 
 Argenis 
 
 62 
 
 Ariel 
 
 the choice of peace and war, with the air of a 
 supprior beiupr, capable at ouce of dictating their 
 fate."— .Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 Argenis. A political allegory bj' 
 John Barclay, contaiuiiig allusious to the 
 state of Europe, and more especially to 
 France, during the time of the league. 
 (1.582-1621.) (.SVr Utopia.) 
 
 Ar'gentile and Cur'an. Argeutile 
 was the daugliter of King Ad'elbright, 
 who, on his deathbed, committed her in 
 charge to King Edel. Edel kept her a 
 close prisoner, under hope of getting 
 into his possession her lands and do- 
 minion. Curan, the sou of a Danske 
 king, in order to woo her, became a 
 kitchen drudge in Edel's household, and 
 Edel resolved to marry Argentile to this 
 drudge, but she fled away. Curan now 
 turned shepherd, and fell in love with a 
 neatherd's maid, who turned out to be 
 Argeutile. The two were married, and 
 Curan claiming his wife's dominions, 
 became King of Northumberland, and 
 put Edel to death. {Fcrcifs Reliqiies.) 
 
 Argentine Republic. The Republic 
 of the Argentine, or Silver River ; in 
 other words, the Confederation of the 
 Rio de la Plata. 
 
 Arge'o (in Orlando Fi<rio.io). Baron 
 of Servia, and husband of Gabri'ua. 
 He is a sort of Potiphar. His wife tried 
 to seduce Philander, a young Dutch 
 knight, and failing in her effort, she 
 accused him to her husband of adultery ; 
 whereupon Arge'o threw the "faithless 
 guest" into durance. In the course of 
 time Gabri'na implored the young cap- 
 tive to defend her against a wicked 
 knight who had assailed her Anrtue. 
 He consented to be her champion, and 
 was placed in concealment. Presently 
 a knight drew near, and Philander, 
 rushing on him, dispatched him ; but 
 the supposed "adulterer" w.as, in 
 reality, Arge'o himself ; and Gabri'na, 
 being now a widow, was free to marry 
 her Dutch "Joseph." 
 
 Ar'gillan (in Jcntsnlcm DfliverecT). 
 A haughty, turbulent knight, born on 
 the banks of the Trent. Accusing God- 
 frey and his brother of having murdered 
 Rinaldo, he induced the Latians to 
 revolt. The revolt spread to the Swiss 
 and English, but Godfrey succeeded in 
 restoring order. Argillau was arrested, 
 but made his escape, and was slain in 
 battle by Solyman. (Books viii. ix.) 
 
 Ar go. A ship sailing on an adven- 
 ture. The galley of Jason that went in 
 search of the Golden Fleece was so 
 called, from the Greek arffos (swift). 
 
 Ar'gonauts. The sailors of the ship 
 An/o. Apollo'nios of Rhodes wrote an 
 epic ijoem on the subject. (Greek, ar//o 
 naxs.) 
 
 Argosy. A merchant ship. A cor- 
 ruption of " ragusea." Ships of the 
 largest size were built at Ragusa in 
 Dalmatia and Venice. 
 
 " He liatli an art-'osy bound to Tripolis, another 
 to the Iiiillcs .... a third to Mexico, a fourth 
 to England."— .SViaVe.spfare; Merchant uf Venice, 
 i.X 
 
 Argot [Aj-'ffo']. Slang or flash lan- 
 guage (French). 
 
 " Sans le (Ic mot d' argot) faire venir du grec argos. 
 e.(i. coninie Ton a prfetendu avant nous, nous y 
 verrions loi,'iijueniont undiuiinute du vieux mot 
 (irf/H qui signilin,it injure, reproclie, et aussi riise, 
 p}nsxe, subtilite."—Larchiii : Victiiiiniaire d' Argot. 
 
 FranciS(jue-MichcK however, in his Philologie 
 Comparee, sa.vs, " L ancienne langue Fran^aise 
 avail le mot argii, mais dans un sens hien differ- 
 ent, c)ue ron'peut etahlir paries passjiges suivaut 
 . . ." He then givi's five examples. 
 
 Ar'gus-eyed. Jealously watchful. 
 According to Grecian fable, Argos had 
 100 eyes, and Juno set him to watch lo, 
 of whom she was jealous. 
 
 Argyle (2 syl.) — of whom Thomson 
 says, in his Axtumn (928-30) — 
 
 "On thee, Arg.vle, 
 
 Her hope, her stay, her darling, and her hoast, 
 
 Thy fond, imploring country turns her eye—" 
 
 was John, the great duke, who lived 
 only two years after he succeeded to the 
 dukedom. Pope {Ep. Sat. ii. 86, 87) 
 says — 
 
 "Argyle the state'.s whole thunder born to wield, 
 Ami shake alike the senate and the field.'' 
 
 Arians. The followers of Arius, a, 
 presbyter of the church of Alexandria, 
 in the fourth century. He maintaiued 
 (1) that the Father and Son are distinct 
 beings ; (2) that the Son, though divine, 
 is not equal to the Father ; (3) that the 
 Son had a state of existence previous to 
 His appearance on earth, but not from 
 eternity ; and (4) that the Messiah was 
 not real man, but a divine being in a 
 case of flesh. 
 
 Arideus l^A-rce'-de-tis] in Jerusalem 
 Ihiirered, herald in the Christian army. 
 The other herald is Pindorus. 
 
 Ariel. A spirit of the air and guar- 
 dian of innocence. He was enslaved to 
 the witch Sycorax, who overtasked him ; 
 and in punishment for not doing what 
 was beyond his power, shut him up in a 
 pine-rift for twelve years. On the death 
 of Sycorax, Ariel became the slave of 
 Cal'iban, who tortured him most cruelly. 
 Pros'f)ero liberated him from the pine- 
 rift, and the grateful fairy served him 
 for sixteen years, when he was set free. 
 {S//ii/,-rspcnrt' : Tempest.) 
 
 A'ri'l. The sylph that watched over 
 Belinda. {I'opc : Mope of the Lock, i.)
 
 Aries 
 
 63 
 
 Arraeniaois 
 
 Ariel. One of the angels cast out of 
 heaven. The word means lion of God. 
 {Milton : Furadise Lout, book vi. 371.) 
 
 A'ries. The Ram. The sign of the 
 Zodiac in which the sun is from March 
 21st to April 20th. 
 '• At L-ist frc,in Aries itiUs tlie liiiuntenns smi." 
 Thomson : .Sftritiij, :iii. 
 
 Ariman'es (4 syl.). " The prince of 
 earth and air," and the fountain-head of 
 evil. It is a personage in Persian my- 
 thology, introduced into Grecian faVjlo 
 uuder the name of Ariman'ni=!. Byron 
 introduces him in his drama called Man- 
 fn-d. 
 
 Arimas'pians. A one-eyed people 
 of 8cythia, who adorned their hair with 
 gold. They were constantly at war with 
 the gryphons who guarded the gold 
 mines. 
 
 'As when a gryphon, through the wilderness . . . 
 Pinsues the Arimaspian, who My steilth 
 Had fnim his wakeful custody purloined 
 The ■-•uarded gold." 
 
 ixi'i-on: Paradise Lost, ii. 913-6. 
 
 Ar'ioch. One of the fallen angels 
 cast out of heaven. The word means a 
 fierce lion. {.l[i/toii : Faradi.se Lost, vi. 
 371.) 
 
 Ari'on. A Greek musician, cast into 
 the sea by mariners, but carried to Tje- 
 uaros on the back of a dolphin. 
 
 Arioii, The wonderful horse which 
 Hercules gave to Adras'tos. It sprang 
 from Ceres and Neptune, had the power 
 of speech , and its feet on the right side 
 were the feet of a man. (.Vcf Horse.) 
 
 Arios'to was privately married to 
 Alessandra Benucci, widow of Tito 
 Strozzi ; she is generally called his 
 mistress. 
 
 Ariosto of the Xorth. So Lord Byron 
 calls Sir Walter Scott. {Childe Llarold, 
 iv. 40.) 
 
 Ariste'as. The wandering Jew of 
 
 Grecian fable. {Hec Jew.) 
 
 Aristi'des (4 syl.). Surnamed The 
 Just. Au Athenian statesman. 
 ' Then Aristides lilts his honest front, 
 Sliotless of heart ; to whom the untiattering 
 
 voice 
 Of Freedom gave the noMest nameof Just.' " 
 Thomson: tVinfcr, 45a-6l. 
 
 The British Aristides. Andrew 
 Marvell (1620-1678). 
 
 The French Aristides. Mons. Grevy, 
 born 1813, president of the Third Re- 
 public 1879-1887, died 1891. He was a 
 barrister by profession. 
 
 Aristippos. {See Hedonism.) 
 
 Aristocracy. The cold shade of the 
 aristocracy — i.e. the unsympathising 
 
 patronage of the great. The expression 
 first occurs in Sir W. F. P. Napier's 
 Historij of the Feninsular War. 
 
 The word "aristocracy " is the Greek 
 aristo-cnitia (rule of the best-bom). 
 
 Aristoph'anes. The English or 
 modern Aristophanes. Samuel Foote 
 (1722-1777). 
 
 The French Aristophanes. J. Baptiste 
 Poquelin de Molic-re (1622-1073). 
 
 Aristotle. 
 
 Aristotle of China. Tehuhe, who died 
 A.D. 1200, called the "Prince of Science." 
 
 Aristotle of the nineteenth cinturij. 
 Baron Ciivier, the great naturalist 
 (1769-1832). 
 
 Aristote lian Philosophy. Aris- 
 totle maintained that four separate causes 
 are necessary before auytlung exists : 
 the material cause, the formal, the linal. 
 and the moving cause. The first is the 
 antecedents from which the thing comes 
 into existence ; the second, that which 
 gives it its individuality ; the moving or 
 efficient cause is that which causes matter 
 to assume its individual fonns ; and the 
 final cause is that for which the thing 
 exists. According to Aristotle, matter 
 is eternal. 
 
 Aristotelian Unities. Ari.totle, 
 the Greek philosopher, laid it down as 
 a rule that every tragedy, propeiij' con- 
 structed, should contain but one cata- 
 strophe ; should be limited to one denou- 
 ment ; and be circumscribed to the action 
 of one single day. These are called tlie 
 Aristotel'ic or Dramatic unities. To 
 these the French have added a fourth, 
 the unity of iiniforiiiitij, i.e. in tragedy 
 all the '* ilramatis persoiiEe " should be 
 tragic in style, in comedy comic, and in 
 farce farcical. 
 
 Ark. Yon mast hare come out of the 
 ark, or ijoh icere born in thearh ; because 
 you are so old-fashioned, and ignorant of 
 current events. 
 
 Armada. The Spanish Arm'idn. 
 The fleet assembled by Philip II. of 
 Spain, in lo8S, for the conquest of 
 England. Used for any fleet. 
 
 Arme'nians. A religious sect so 
 called from Anne'nia, where Christianity 
 was introduced in the second century. 
 They attribute only one nature to Christ 
 and'hold that the Spirit proceeds from 
 the Father only. They enjoin the ado- 
 ration of saints, have some peculiar ways 
 of administering baptism and the Lord's 
 Supper, but do not maintain the doctrine 
 of purgatory.
 
 Armida 
 
 64 
 
 Arn-monat 
 
 Armida. One of the prominent 
 female characters in Tasso's Jcrxmlcm 
 Ueli vcrcd. She was a beautiful sorceress, 
 with whom Rinaldo fell in love, and 
 wasted his time in voluptuous pleasure. 
 Two messengers were sent from the 
 Christian army with a talisman to dis- 
 enchant him. After liis escape, Armida 
 followed him in distraction, but not 
 being able to allure him back, set fire to 
 her palace, rushed into the midst of a 
 combat, and was slain. 
 
 In 1806, Frederick William of Prussia 
 declared war against Napoleoti, and his 
 young queen rode about in niihtary cos- 
 tume to arouse the enthusiasm of the 
 people. When Napoleon was told of it, 
 he wittily said of her : " She is Armi'da, 
 in her distraction setting fire to her own 
 palace." 
 
 Armin'ians (Anti - Calvinists) , so 
 called from James Harmensen, of Hol- 
 land, whose name. Latinised, is Jaco'bus 
 Armiuius. He asserted that God bestows 
 forgiveness and eternal life on all who 
 repent and believe ; that He wills all men 
 to be saved ; and that His predestination 
 is founded on His foreknowledge. 
 
 Armory. Heraldry is so called, 
 because it first found its special use in 
 direct connection witli military equip- 
 ments, knightly exercises, and the iiirlcc 
 of actual battle. 
 "Same L'l'L'at ninn's bart^e of war or armory." 
 Mums : liarthlij Paradise, ii. 107. 
 
 Armoury. The place where armour 
 IS kept. ■■ B„t ti,e sword 
 
 of Micbael from the armoury of God 
 Was f,'iveii liim." 
 MiJtcm : J'aradise Lost, vi. 320. See also vii. '2m. 
 
 Arms. In the Bayeux tapestry, the 
 Saxons fight on foot with javelin and 
 battle-axe, and bear shields with the 
 Biitish characteristic of a boss in the 
 centre. The men were moustached. 
 
 The Normans are on horseback, with 
 long shields and pennoned lances. Tlie 
 men are not only shaven, but most of 
 them have a complete tonsure on the 
 back of the head, whence the spies said 
 to Harold, "There are more ])riests in 
 the Norman army thnn men in Harold's." 
 
 Arms of England ( 17ir Roijal). The 
 three lions leopardised were the cog- 
 nisance of William the Conqueror ; the 
 lion rampant in the second quarter is 
 from the arms of Scotland ; and the harp 
 in the fourth quarter represents Ireland. 
 The lion supporter is in honour of 
 England, and the unicorn in honour of 
 Scotland. These two supporters were 
 introduced by James I. 
 
 William I. had only two ]io\\B passa)it 
 parchoit ; the third was introduced by 
 Henry II. The lion rampant first ap- 
 peared on Scotch seals in the reign of 
 Alexander II. (1214-1249). The harp 
 was assigned to Ireland in the time of 
 Henry VII. ; before that time the arm! 
 of Ireland were three crouns. The uni- 
 corn was not a supporter of the royal 
 arms of Scotland before the reign ol 
 Mary Stuart. 
 
 Which arm of the serricc. Military or 
 naval ? 
 
 Tlie secular arm. Civil, in contra- 
 distinction to ecclesiastical jurisdiction. 
 
 "The relapsed ai-m delivered to tlie secular 
 arm." — Priestley : Corruptions of Christianity. 
 
 To arm a marjnct. To put an arma- 
 ture on a loadstone. 
 
 A coat of arms. An heraldic device, 
 
 A 2}'^ssage of arms. A literary con- 
 troversy ; a battle of words. 
 
 An assault at arms (or of arms). An 
 attack by fencers ; a hand-to-hand 
 military exercise. 
 
 At arm's lein/th. At a distance. To 
 keep one at arm's length is to repel 
 familiarity. 
 
 /// arms. A child in arms is an infant 
 carried about in one's aims. 
 
 A city in arms is one in which the 
 people are anned for war. 
 
 Ki)iff of arms. A chief herald in the 
 College of Heralds. Here arms means 
 heraldic devices. 
 
 Smrdl arms. Those which do not, like 
 artillery, require carriages. 
 
 To appeal to arms. To determine to 
 decide a litigation by wai". 
 
 To arms ! Make ready for battle. 
 
 " To arms ! cried Mortimer, 
 Aud coucbed his iiuiveriiiK lance." 
 
 Gniii : 'I'lic Bard. 
 
 Come to my arms. Come, and let me 
 embrace you. 
 
 To laij doicn their ar/jis. To cease 
 from armed hostility ; to surrender. 
 
 Under arms. Prepared for battle ; in 
 battle array. 
 
 Up ill arms. In open rebellion ; 
 roused to anger, as the clergy were up 
 in arms against Colenso for publishing 
 his Lectures on the Pentateuch. The latter 
 is a figure of speech. 
 
 If'ith open arms. Cordially ; as per- 
 sons receive a dear friend when they 
 open their arms for an embrace. 
 
 Arnauts [f>rr/re men]. Albanian 
 
 mountaineers. 
 
 " stained with the be.U of Arnaufs blood." 
 Byron : The Giaour. 
 
 Arn-monat. Anglo - Saxon, (crn- 
 monath, barn month. The Anglo-Saxon
 
 Arnold 
 
 65 
 
 Artemus Ward 
 
 name for August, because it was the 
 month for garnermg the corn. 
 
 Arnold, of Melch'thal, patriarch of 
 the forest cantons of Switzerland. He 
 was in love with Matilda, a sister of 
 Gessler, the Austrian governor of i,he 
 district. When the tyi'anny of Gessler 
 drove the people into rebellion, Arnold 
 gave ixp Matilda and joined the in- 
 surgents ; but when Gessler was shot by 
 William Tell, he became united to her in 
 marriage. (Hossiiii's opera of Gunlicluio 
 Tell.) 
 
 Arnol'dists. The partisans of Arnold 
 of BresL'ia, who raised his voice against 
 the abuses and vices of the papacy in the 
 twelfth century. He was burnt alive by 
 Pojie Adrian IV. 
 
 Arod, in the satire of Absalom and 
 Achitophcl, by Dryden and Tate, is 
 designed for Sir William Waller. 
 
 " But in the sacred annals of our plot 
 Inilustrious Arod never be forsot^ 
 The labours ol this midnight magistrate 
 May vie with Corah [Titus Gates] to preserve 
 the state." Part ii. 
 
 Aroint thee. Get ye gone, be off. 
 
 In Cheshire they say, rynt ye, witch ; 
 and milk-maids say to their cows when 
 they have done milking them, rijnt yc, 
 (or 'roi//t) my beauties; but it is doubtful 
 whether this is connected with the word 
 in question. 
 
 Aron'teus (i syl.), in Jerusalem 
 Delirereel. An Asiatic king, who joined 
 the Egyptian armameiit against the 
 Crusaders, "not by virtue fired, but 
 vain of his titles and ambitious of fame." 
 
 Ar'oundight. The sword of Sir 
 Lauucelot of the Lake. {See Swoed.) 
 " It is the sword of a good knight, 
 Though homespun was his mail, 
 What matter if it be not hight, 
 
 Joyeuse, Cola'da, Durindale, 
 Excalibar, or Arouudight ? " 
 
 Loniifellow. 
 
 Arras, tapestry. So called from Arras, 
 in Artois, famed for its manufacture. 
 When rooms were hung with tapestiy it 
 was a common thing for i^ersons to hide 
 behind it, especially the arras curtain 
 before the door. Hubert concealed the 
 two villains who were to put out 
 Arthur's eyes behind the arras. Polo'- 
 nius was slain by Hamlet while con- 
 cealed behind the arras. Falstaff pro- 
 posed to hide beliind the arras at 
 Windsor, etc. 
 
 Arria, a Roman Indy, the wife of 
 Cteciua Fastus. Psetus being accused of 
 conspiring against the Emperor Claudius 
 
 was condemned to death and sent by sea 
 to Rome. Arria accompanied him, and 
 stabbed herself in the boat, then pre- 
 senting the dagger to her husband, she 
 said: "Ptetus, it gives no pain" (iion 
 (Met). {Pliny, vii.) 
 
 •* Her daughter Arria, wife of 
 Thraseas, when her husliand was con- 
 demned to death by Nero, opened her 
 veins ; but Thraseas entreated her to 
 live, for the sake of her children. 
 
 Arriere Pensee (plural arriercs pen- 
 sees), a iiiddeu or re.served motive, not 
 ajjparent on the surface. 
 
 Arrot, the weasel, in the tale of 
 Reynard the Fox. 
 
 Arrow. The broad arrow, thus /^. 
 A mark used by the Britisli Board of Ord- 
 nance, and placed on their stores. {See 
 Beoad Aeeow.) 
 
 Arrowroot is ararata, the Indian 
 word am is the name of the jilant. 
 There is no evidence of its being used to 
 absorb the poison of poisoned arrows in 
 fleshy wounds. 
 
 Arse'tes (in Jerusalem Delirered). 
 The aged eunuch who brought up Clo- 
 rin'da, and attended her stejis. 
 
 Artaxerxes, called by the Persians 
 Kai-Ardeshir, and suruamed diraz-dest 
 (long-handed), because his right hand 
 was longer than his left. The Romans 
 translated diraz-dest into longi-maiius ; 
 the Greek Arta into Arde (" noble "). 
 
 Art'egal {Sir) (in Spenser's lai'rie 
 Queene), is the hero of the fifth book, 
 and impersonates Justice, the foster child 
 of Astraea. In the previous books he 
 occasionally appears, and is called Sir 
 Artliegal. It is said that Arthur, Lord 
 Grey of Wilton, was the prototype of 
 this character. He was sent to Ireland 
 as Lord Lieutenant in I08O, and the poet 
 was his secretary. In book iv., canto 6, 
 Sir Art'egal is married to Brifomart. and 
 proceeds to succour Irena (Ireland), whose 
 heritage had been withheld by the tyrant 
 Grantorto. {See Aethegal.) 
 
 Ar'temus Ward. A showman, very 
 cute, and very American. The hypo- 
 thetical writer of the essays or papers 
 so called, the real author being Charles 
 F. Browne. 
 
 Being asked if his name was Art6m\is 
 or Artemus, he wrote on his address 
 card : — 
 
 " Don't bother me with your etas and short e's. 
 Nor ask me for more than you have ou my 
 card ; 
 Oil ! spare me from etymological sorties. 
 And simply accept me as Artemus Ward,"
 
 Artesian "Wells 
 
 6f; 
 
 Ayrans 
 
 V Which, however, leaves the pro- 
 nunciation of " Ward " doubtful. 
 
 Artesian Wells. So called from 
 ylrte'nunii (the Latin for Artois), in 
 France, where they were first bored. 
 
 Artful Dodger. A young thief, a 
 most perfect adept in villainy, up to 
 every sort of wicked dodge. {Bickcns : 
 Olircr Tw/sf.) 
 
 Ar'thegal. Uterine brother of Prince 
 Arthur. Spenser, in his Farric Qncciic 
 (book iii.), makes Brit'omart see his 
 person and name in the magic glass. 
 She falls in love with the looking-glass 
 hero, and is told by Merlin that she will 
 marry him, and become the mother of 
 a line of kings that would supersede 
 both the Saxons and Noi-mans. He re- 
 ferred, of course, to the Tudors, who 
 were descendants of Cadwallador. {Sec 
 Artecal.) 
 
 Arthur, King of the Sil'ures, a 
 tribe of ancient Britons, was mortally 
 wounded in the battle of Camlan, in 
 Cornwall, raised by the revolt of his 
 nephew, Modred. He was taken to 
 Glastonbury, where he died. 
 
 Hix irifc was Guinever, vs^ho com- 
 mitted adultery with Sir Launcelot of 
 the Lnke, one of the Knights of the 
 Round Table. 
 
 He was the natural fon of Uther and 
 Igerna (wife of Gorlois, duke of Corn- 
 wall), and was brought up by Sir Ector. 
 
 He wan horn at Tintad'gel or Tintagel, 
 a castle in Cornwall. 
 
 His habitual residence \\i\s, Caerleon, iu 
 Wales ; and he was buried at Av'alon. 
 
 His sirorcl was called Excol'ihar or 
 Excalihor ; his npear, Itoiie {\ syl.), and 
 his shield, Frirhrii/. His dor/ was named 
 Cavall. (See Round Table Knights.) 
 
 Arthurian Romances. These may 
 be divided into six jiarts : 
 
 (1) The romance of the San Graal. 
 By Robert Borron. 
 
 (2) The Merlin, which celebrates the 
 birth and exploits of King Arthur. By 
 Walter Mapes. 
 
 (3) The Liiancelot. By Thomas a 
 Becket. 
 
 (4) The search or Qa/nf of the Sail 
 Graal. It is found by Sir Gal'ahad, a 
 knight of pure heart and great courage ; 
 but no sooner does he find it thwu ln^ 
 is taken up to heaven. By Thomas a 
 Becket. 
 
 (5) The Mori d^ Arthur, or Death of 
 Arthur. By Thomas a Becket. 
 
 (()) Sundry Talcs, but especially the 
 
 adventures of Sir Tristan. By Luke 
 Gast, of Salisbury. 
 
 Arthur's Seat, a hill near Edinburgh, 
 is A'rd Seir (hill of aiTows), where 
 people shot at a mark. 
 
 Articles of Roup (Scotch). Con- 
 ditions of sale at an auction announced 
 by a crier. (Roup is the Teutonic re- 
 open, to cry out.) 
 
 Artists, The Prince of, All)ert 
 Diirer ; so called by his countrymen. 
 (1471-1-V2S.) 
 
 Ar'totyrites (4 syl.). Certain here- 
 tics from among the Montanists-; so 
 called because they iised bread and 
 cheese in the Eucharist. They admitted 
 women to the priesthood. (Greek, artos, 
 barley-broad, and taros, cheese.) 
 
 Arts. Degrees in Arts. In the mod i- 
 Ecval ages the full course consisted of the 
 three subjects which constituted the 
 Triv'iam, and the four subjects which 
 constituted the Qaadrir'ium : — 
 
 The Trir'iainvfas grammar, logic, and 
 rhetoric. 
 
 The Qaadrir'iaiii was music, ai'ithme- 
 tic, geometry, and astronomy. 
 
 The Master of Arts was the person 
 qualified to teach or be the master of 
 students in arts ; as the Doctor was the 
 person qualified to teach theology, law, 
 or medicine. 
 
 Ar'undel. The heraldic device of the 
 family is six swallows {hirondcllcs), a 
 pun upon the name. 
 
 Arandel. (See Hoese.) 
 
 Arunde'lian Marbles. A collection 
 of ancient sculptiu'es collected nt great 
 expense by Thomas Howard, Earl of 
 Arundel, and presented to the Univer- 
 sity of Oxford iu 1G67 by his grandson, 
 Henry Howard, afterwards Duke of 
 Norfolk. They contain tables of an- 
 cient chronology, especially that of 
 Athens, from B.C. 1582 to 264, engraved 
 in old Greek capitals. Date of the 
 tables, B.C. 263. 
 
 Arvakur'. (See Horse.) 
 
 A'ryans. The parent stock of what 
 is called tlie Indo-European family of 
 nations. They lived probaV)ly in Bactria, 
 i.e. between the river Oxus and the 
 Hindu-koosh mountains. The Aryan 
 family of languages include the Persian 
 and Hindu, with all the European 
 except Basque, Turkish, Hungarian, 
 and Finnic. Sometimes called the Indo- 
 EuropeaTi, sometimes thelndo-Germanic, 
 and sometimes the Japetic. 
 
 •Sanskrit, Zenil, L;itiii, Gieck, and Celtic are, of 
 ci>iii»e, included.
 
 Arzina 
 
 C7 
 
 Asgard 
 
 Arzi'na. A river tliat flows into the 
 North Sea, near Wardlxus, where Sir 
 Willoughby's three ships were frozen, 
 and the whole crew perished of starva- 
 tion. 
 " 111 these fell regions, in Aizina caught, 
 
 And to the stony deep his idle ship 
 
 Iniuiediiite sealed, he with his hapless crew . . . 
 
 Froze into statues." 
 
 Thomson: Whiter, 'Mi. 
 
 Ass you were, in military drillinr^, 
 means. Return to the position in which 
 you were before tlie last exercise. As 
 you were before. 
 
 Asa was a term of address to all the 
 gods of Gladsheim ; as Asa Odin, Asa 
 Thor, Asa Loki, Asa Tyr, etc. 
 
 "'That's all very well, Asa Odiu,' answered 
 Frey ; 'liut who, let nie ask, is to undertake the 
 feeciiui,' iif the human animal i'"—Keary : Ilcrocs 
 o/Amjiinl, p. r;). 
 
 . Asa Loki. Descended from the 
 giants and received among tlie celestials. 
 He is represented as a treacherous 
 malignant power, fond of assuming 
 disguises, and jilotting evil. One of his 
 progeny is Hela {'/■>'■)■ {Sratidinariaj/ 
 mijihohgij.) (<SV'c tEsir.) 
 
 Asa Thor. Eldest son of Asa Odin, 
 n.nd tlte tirst-born of mortals. {Svau- 
 duiKrian ))itjtholo(jij.) 
 
 Asaph. A famous musician in 
 David's time (1 Chron. xxv. 1, '2). Mr. 
 Tate, wlio wrote the second jiart of 
 ^t/i.sd/oiii (Old Achitophcl, lauds Dryden 
 under this name. 
 
 " While Judah's throne and Siou's rock stand 
 fast, 
 The song of Asaph and the fame shall last." 
 Absdloin and Ackitiiphvl, part ii. 10G.'i-l. 
 
 As'bolos. One of Actseon's dogs. 
 Tlio word means soot-coJourcd. {See 
 Amarynthos.) 
 
 Ascal'aphos. Turned by Proserpine, 
 f ( )v miscliief -making, into an owl. ( Greek 
 
 filhlc.) 
 
 As'capart. A giant conquered l>y 
 Sir Bevis of Southampton. He was thirty 
 feet high, and the space between his eyes 
 was twelve inches. This mighty giant, 
 whose effigy figures on the city gates of 
 Southampton, could carry iinder his aiTu 
 without feeling distressed Sir Bevis with 
 his wife and horse. {Sec Giants.) 
 
 "As Bevis of Southanu'ton f(dl npon Ascapart." 
 .S/;((7.('sp.'(ire: 2 Ileuri/ V'/.,act ii. S. 
 
 Ascendant. In casting a horoscope 
 the easternmost star, re}3resenting the 
 house of life, is called the ascendant, be- 
 cause it is in the act of ascending. This 
 is a man's strongest star, and so long as 
 it is above the horizon Itis fortune is 
 said to be in the ascendant. When a 
 
 man's cii'cumstances begin to improve, 
 and things look brighter, we say his 
 star is in tJie ascendant. {See Houses, 
 Stars.) 
 
 House of the AseenddiU includes five 
 degrees of the zodiac above the point 
 just rising, and twenty-five below it. 
 Usually, the iDoint of birth is referred to. 
 
 The lord of the Asecndant is any planet 
 within the "hou.se of the Ascendant." 
 Tlie house and lord of the Ascendant 
 at birth were said by astrologers to 
 exercise great influence on the future 
 life of the child. PerhaiJS Deborali re- 
 ferred to the influence of the stars when 
 she said "the stars in their courses 
 fought against Sisera." (Judges v. 20.) 
 
 Ascension Day or Ilohi Thtirsday. 
 The day set apart by the Catholic and 
 AngHcan Church to commemorate the 
 ascent of our Lord from earth to 
 heaven. 
 
 Formerly it was customary to hcut tlie hnindi 
 of each respective parish ou this day, and many 
 lU'actical jokes were pImvciI even <lnriii'-; ilic lirst 
 (inarter of the iiin.-ii'.-nl li .■.■nliii'y. In iii:ike the 
 boys i"emeiiilier I h. mIcIi in 1 1 :i i n mis si i.- 1 1 :is ■■ hump- 
 ing them," piiuriii.i,' wiiiri- rl.nid.'si niclv .m lliem 
 frcMii house windows, heating llicm wilh lliin 
 rods, etc. Beating the bounds was called in Scot- 
 laud RUlinc/ the inarches (bounds). 
 
 Asclepi'adics or Aselepiadic Metre. 
 A Greek and Latin verse, so called from 
 Asclcpi'ades, the inventor. Each line is 
 divided into two parts, thus : — 
 
 The first ode of Horace is Asclepi'adic. 
 The first and last two linos run thus, 
 and in the same metre : — 
 
 Dear friend, patron of song, sprung from the 
 
 race of kings ; 
 Thy name ever a grace and a protection brings. 
 
 My name, if to the lyre haply you chance to 
 
 wed. 
 Pride would high as the stars lift my exalted 
 
 head. ' E. ('. 1!. 
 
 Ascod'rogites (4 syl.). Certain 
 heretics who said "they were vessels 
 full of new wine" (Greek, ashos). By 
 new wine they meant the Gosjiel. (Matt. 
 ix. 17.) 
 
 Ascot Races. A very fashionable 
 " meet," rim on Ascot Heath, Berkshire 
 (6 miles from Windsor) . Th e best liorses 
 of all England compete, and at a some- 
 what more advanced age titan at the 
 " great classic races " {q.i'.). 
 
 Ascrse'an Poet or Sage. Hesiod, 
 the Greek didactic ])oet, born at Ascra. 
 in Bceotia. Virgil calls liiin the " Old 
 AscrfEon." {Eelogaes, vii, 70.) 
 
 As'gard. The fortress of the Asir or 
 the Northern gods, the Olympos of
 
 Ash Tree 
 
 08 
 
 Aspen 
 
 Scaudiua'viau mythology. It is said to be 
 situated in the ceutre of the universe, and 
 accessible only by the rainbow-bridge 
 {Bifrost). The word A>i means a " god," 
 and (jard an ''enclosure," our "yard." 
 (Jdiu was priest of Asgard before he 
 migrated to the Lake Logur or Moelar 
 Sea. 
 
 Ash Tree, or "Tree of the Universe." 
 {Sec Yggdeasil.) 
 
 Ash Wednesday. The first Wednes- 
 day in Lent, so called from an ancient 
 Roman Catholic custom of sprinkling 
 ashes on the heads of those condemned 
 to do penance on this day. 
 
 The aslies were tlmse of flie iinliiis Imnit on 
 Palm Siuulay. Tlie ;)«■.««/(«(' were siniiikli'il willi 
 ashes, the less offoiKliiii.' were si,i,'ii('il on tlie fore- 
 head with tlie si,!-'n of the cross, the ofHciatiiiL,' 
 minister saying, " Mi-mentr; jmrno, quia piilvis e.-<, 
 et in piilvi'rem reverterin." The custom, it is 
 said, was iuti'oduced Ijy Gregory the Great. 
 
 Ashmolean Museum. Presented to 
 the University of Oxford in KiS'i liy 
 Elias Aslimole. Sometimes called the 
 Trades'cant, because it belonged to the 
 Tradescant family. 
 
 Ash'taroth. The goddess-raoon in 
 Syrian mythology, called by Jeremiah 
 (vii. 18, xliv. 17, 25) "the queen of 
 heaven." Goddess of the Zidoniaus. 
 
 " Mooned Ashlaroth, 
 Heaven's queen and mother both." 
 
 Milton: Thellymii. 
 
 Ashur. The highest god of the 
 
 Assyrians. It had the head of an 
 
 eagle and four wings, but the body 
 of a m.an. 
 
 "Ont of that land went forth Assliur, and 
 huildi-d Nineveh."— Gen. x. ll._ 
 
 As'inus. As'inns as'iit/nii fricat 
 (Latin, "one ass rubs another"), that 
 is, we fraternise with j^ersons like our- 
 selves ; or, in other words, "Birds of a 
 feather flock together." The allusion 
 needs no explanation. 
 
 A'sir. {Sec J3siE.] 
 
 Ask. The vulgar Ax is the more 
 correct (Saxon, (/.riaii, to ask). In as- 
 senting to Bills, the king used to reply, 
 " Be it as it is axed." Chaucer says in 
 the Doctor of JIr//icii/c''s Tii/c, " For my 
 werke nothing will I axe." Launfal, 
 1027, has, "Ho that wyll there axsy 
 Justus." Other quotations could easily 
 be added. 
 
 Ask and Etnbla. The Adam and 
 Eve made by Odin, one from ash-wood 
 and the otlter from elm. 
 
 Aslo. {Sec HOKSK.) 
 
 Asmode'us [t/ie dcstroi/cr]. The 
 demon of vanity and dress, called in the 
 Talmud "the king of devils." 
 
 T/ic A.i/iiodc'ns of domestic peace (in the 
 Book of Tobit). Asmode'us falls in love 
 with Sara, daughter of Rag'uel, and 
 causes the death of seven husbands in 
 succession, each on his bridal night. After 
 her marriage to Tobit, he was driven 
 into Egyjit by a charm, made by Tobias 
 of the heart and liver of a fish burnt on 
 perfumed ashes, and being pursued was 
 taken prisoner and bound. 
 
 " Better pleased 
 Than Asmode'us with the lishy fume 
 Tliat drove him, though euanioured, from the 
 
 siiouse 
 Of Tohit's son, and with a vengeance sent 
 From Media iiost to Egypt, there fast bound." 
 Hilton: Paradise Lout, iv. lur-ri. 
 
 Asmode'us. The companion of Don 
 Cle'ofas in 17te JJevil on l\vo SticJa. 
 (Chaji. iii.) 
 
 Asmodc' Hf! fifiht. Don Cle'ofas, catch- 
 ing hold of his companion's cloak, is 
 perched on the steeple of St. Salva'dor. 
 Here the foul fiend stretches out his 
 hand, and the roofs of all the houses open 
 in a moment, to show the Don what is 
 going on privately in each respective 
 dwelling. 
 
 "Could tlie reader t:ikean Asniodeustlii-'lit.and, 
 wavinu' o]ien all roofs aiid iiri\ .■o-ics, iuok down 
 from the roof of Notre l).-uiie. wliai a I'aris were 
 it !"— C((W///f.- French Uiroliitioii /A, vi. chap. \ i. 
 
 As'oka of Magad'ha. In the third 
 century the " nursing father" of Buddh- 
 ism, as Constantine was of Christianity. 
 He is called ' ' the king beloved of the 
 gods." 
 
 Aso'ors. Evil genii of the Indians. 
 
 Aspa'sia, a courtesan. She was the 
 most celebrated of the Greek HetiErse, to 
 whom Per'icles attached himself. On 
 the death of Pericles she lived witli 
 Lys'icles, a cattle-dealer. 
 
 *«* Tlie Het:)era3 of Athens were, many 
 of them, distinguished for talents and 
 accomplishments. Those of Corinth 
 were connected with the wor.shii3 of 
 Aphrodite (Venus). 
 
 Aspa'tia, in the Muid's Trdc/edi/, of 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, is uoted for her 
 deep sorrows, her great resignation, and 
 the ])athos of her speeches. Amyn'tor 
 deserts her, women point at her with 
 scorn, she is the jest and bye-word of 
 every one, but she bears it all with 
 patience. 
 
 Aspen. The aspen leaf is said to 
 tremble, from shame and horror, because 
 our Lord's cross was made of tliis wood. 
 The fact is this : the leaf is broad, and
 
 Aspersions 
 
 69 
 
 Ass 
 
 placed on a long leaf-stalk so flexible 
 as scarcely to bo able to support it in 
 an upright position. The upper part 
 of the stalk, on which the play mainly 
 depends, is flattened ; and, being at 
 right angles with the leaf, is peculiarly 
 liable to be acted on by the least breath 
 of air. 
 
 Aspen leaf. Metaphorically, a chatter- 
 ing tongue, never quiet. 
 
 "Those asiien leaves uf tboirs never leave 
 Tvagrgiiig."— «(■)• T. More. 
 
 Asper'sions properly means ' ' sprink- 
 lings" or "scatterings." Its present 
 meaning is base insinuations or slanders. 
 "Xo sweet aspei'sion [jyk'h] shall the heavens 
 let fall 
 To make this oontfact grow." 
 
 Shiikeapcare : The Tempest, iv. 1. 
 
 Casting aspersions on one, i.e. sprink- 
 ling ■\\'ith calumnies, slandering or in- 
 sinuating misconduct. 
 
 " I defy all the Avnrlil to cast a just aspersion on 
 my character."— fV( /(((Hi; ; Tom Joins. 
 
 Asphal'tic Lake. The Dead Sea, 
 whore asphalt abounds both on the 
 surftice of the water and on the banks. 
 Asphalt is a bitumen. (From the Greek 
 asphaltos.) 
 
 As'rael. {See Azeael.) 
 
 Ass. {See Golden Ass.) 
 
 Ass. The ass on which Mahomet 
 went to heaven to learn the will of God 
 was called Al Borah (the lightning). 
 
 Ass. There is a dark stripe running 
 down the back of an ass, crossed by 
 another at the shoulders. The tradition 
 is that this cross was communicated to 
 the creature when our Lord rode on the 
 back of an ass in His triumphant entry 
 into Jerusalem. {Sec Christian Tra- 
 ditions.) 
 
 Ass, deaf to miisie. This tradition 
 arose from the hideous noi'se made by 
 " Sir Balaam " in braying. Because 
 Midas had no power to appreciate music, 
 Apollo gave him the ears of an ass. (Sec 
 Ass-eared.) 
 
 "Avarice is as ileaf to the voice of virtue, 
 as the ass to the voice o£ AiwUo." — Orlando 
 Fiirloso, xvii. 
 
 An ass in a Hnn''s slcin. A coward 
 who hectors, a fool that apes the wise 
 man. The allusion is to the fable of 
 an ass that put on a lion's hide, but was 
 betrayed when he began to bray. 
 
 An ass irith tiro panniers. A man 
 walking the streets with a lady on each 
 arm. This occupies the whole pave- 
 ment, and is therefore bad manners well 
 meriting the reproach. In Italy they 
 call such a simpleton a ^ji<f//^r vith tiro 
 handles, his two arms akimbo forming 
 
 the two handles. In London we call it 
 walking bodkin, because tlie man is 
 sheathed like a bodkin and powerless. 
 Our expression is probably a corruption 
 of the French Faire le panier a deux 
 anses (" jnit your arms akimbo" or 
 " make yourself a basket with two 
 handles"). 
 
 The ass iraggeth his ears. This pro- 
 verb is applied to those who lack 
 learning, and yet talk as if they were 
 very wise ; men wise in their own con- 
 ceit. The ass, proverbial for having 
 no " taste for music," will neverthe- 
 less wag its ears at a "concord of 
 sweet sounds," just as if it could well 
 appreciate it. 
 
 'Till the ass ascends the /adder — i.e. 
 never. A rabbinical expression. The 
 Romans had a similar one. Cam as'inas 
 in. teg'nlis ascen'derit (when the ass 
 climbs to the tiles). And Buxtorf has 
 Si ascen'derit as' inns per scatas. 
 
 Self your ass. Get rid of your foolish 
 ways. 
 
 'That n-hich thou Jcnoircst not perchance 
 thine ass can tell thee. An allusion to 
 Balaam's ass. 
 
 To mahc an ass of oneself. To do 
 something very foolish. To expose 
 oneself to ridicule. 
 
 To inonnt the ass (French). To be- 
 come bankrupt. The allusion is to a 
 custom very common in the sixteenth 
 century of mounting a bankrupt on an 
 ass, with his face to its tail. Thus 
 mounted, the defaulter was made to ride 
 through the princij^al thoroughfares of 
 the town. 
 
 ^[.tses have ears as irell as pitchers. 
 Children, and even the densest minds, 
 hear and understand many a word and 
 hint which the speaker siijjposed would 
 pass unheeded. 
 
 Asses that carry the mysteries (as'inns 
 porta t myste'ria). A classical knock at 
 the Roman clergy. The allusion is to 
 the custom of employing asses to carry 
 the cista which contained the sacred 
 symbols, when processions were made 
 through the streets. ( Jrarburton .• Divine 
 Legation, ii. -1.) 
 
 TFell, well I honey is not for the ass's 
 mouth. Persuasion will not persuade 
 fools. The gentlest words will not divert 
 the anger of the unreasonable. 
 
 Wrangle for an ass\t shadow. To 
 contend about trifles. The tale told by 
 Demostli8u5s is, that a man hired an ass 
 to take him to MegJlra ; and at noon, the 
 sun being very hot, the traveller dis- 
 mounted, and sat himself down in the 
 shadow of the ass. Just then the owner
 
 Ass's Bridge 
 
 70 
 
 Astarte 
 
 came up and claimed the right of sitting 
 in this shady spot, saying that he let out 
 the ass for hire, but there was uo bargain 
 made about the ass's shade. The two 
 men then fell to blows to settle tlie iioint 
 in dispute. A passer-by told the tra- 
 veller to move on, and leave the owner 
 of the beast to walk in the ass's shadow 
 as long as he thought proper. 
 
 Ass's Bridge {TIic). Prop. 5, book 
 i. of Euclid. This is the first difficult 
 proposition in geometry, and stupid 
 boys rarely get over it the first time 
 without trijiping. 
 
 It is the a.ss''s pitfuH, not his bridge. 
 
 If this be ri-'btly called the " Bridge of Asses," 
 
 He's not tlie fool who sticks, but be that 
 
 passes. E. C. B. 
 
 Asses (Feast of). (<SVe Fools.) 
 
 Ass-eared. Midas had the ears of 
 an ass. The tale says Apollo and Pan 
 had a contest, and chose Midas to decide 
 wliich was the better musician. Midas 
 gave sentence in favour of Pan ; and 
 Apollo, in disgust, changed Ids ears into 
 those of an ass. 
 
 Assas'sins. A baud of Carmatliians, 
 collected by Hassan, subah of Nish'- 
 apour, called the OM Jfait of tJic Moun- 
 tains, because he made Mount Leb'anon 
 his stronghold. This baud was the 
 terror of the world for two centuries, 
 when it w^as put down by Sultan 
 Bib'aris. The assassins indulged in 
 haschiscli (bang), an intoxicating drink, 
 and from this liquor received their name. 
 (a.d. 1090.) 
 
 " The Assassins .... before they attacked the 
 enemy, would intoxicate thenisehes with a 
 powdev made of hciiip-leave.i .... called 
 hm.'niihr—J. Wolff. 
 
 Assay' or Esmi/. To take the assay 
 is to taste wine to prove it io not 
 poisoned. Hence, to try, to taste; a 
 savour, trial, or sample. Holinshed 
 says, " Wolsey made dukes and earls 
 serve him of wine with a say taken " 
 (p. 847). 
 
 Edmund, in Ki)ig Lear (v. 5), says 
 to Edgar, "Thy tongue, some say of 
 breeding breathes ; " i.e. thy speech 
 gives indication of good breeding — it 
 savours of it. Hence the expression, 1 
 make my first assay (trial). 
 
 " [He] makes vow before bis undo never more 
 To give the assay of arms au'ainstyuur majesty." 
 tihiKkisffiiufi- : llaiiikt, ii. i". 
 
 A cup of assay. A cup for the assay 
 of wine. 
 
 To put it in assay. To put it to the 
 test. 
 
 Assaye Regiment. The 7-lth Foot, 
 so called because they first distinguished 
 themselves in the battle of Assaj'e, where 
 2,000 British and 2,500 Sepoy troops 
 under Wellington defeated 50,000 Mah- 
 rattas, commanded by Freitch officers, 
 in 1803. This regiment is now called 
 " the 2nd Battalion of the Highland 
 Light Infantry." Tlie first battalion 
 was the old No. 71. 
 
 Assien'to Treaties. [S2)anish, agree- 
 ment treaties.] Contracts entered into 
 by Spain with Portugal, France, and 
 England, to supply her South American 
 colonies with negro slaves. England 
 joined in 1713, after the peace of 
 Utrecht. 
 
 Ass'ine'go. A young ass, a simple- 
 ton (a Portuguese word). 
 
 "Tliou bast no more liraiu than I have in mine 
 elliiiws ; an assinc:,'o may tutor thee."— S/ia/re- 
 sjieare: Troilas unci Crcirsida, ii. I. 
 
 Assumption {Feast of the). The 
 15th of August, so called in honour of 
 the Virgin Mary, who (according to the 
 Roman and Greek Churches) was taken 
 to heaven that day (a.d. 45), in her 
 cor^joreal form, being at the time 
 seventy-five years of age. 
 
 This seems very improbable, if Christ was 
 crucifted a.d. 3.3. It would make Mary survive 
 her son twelvu years, and to have lieen thirty 
 years old at his birth instead of about flfteeu. 
 
 Assurance. Audacity, brazen self- 
 confidence. " His assm-ance is quite 
 unbearable." 
 
 To make assurance douhle sure. To 
 make security doubly secure. 
 
 " But yet I'll make assurance double sure, 
 Aud take a bond of fate." 
 
 Shakespeare : Macbeth, iv. 1. 
 
 Astag'oras (in Jerusalem Delivered). 
 A female fiend, who had the power of 
 raising storms, and whose partners were 
 the three Fm'ies : Tisiph'one, Meg'ara, 
 and Alec'to. 
 
 Astar'te (3 syl.). Goddess of the 
 Moon, in Phoenician mythology. 
 
 "With these in trooji 
 Oame Astoreth, whom the lihcpniiians called 
 Astarte, uueen of heaven, with crescent horns." 
 Milt, III : PnriKihe Lost, i. 4H7-S». 
 
 Astarte (3 sjd.). The lady beloved 
 by Manfi'i'd. In order to see and speak 
 to her, the m.-igiciau entered the hall of 
 Arima'nes, and the spirits called up the 
 phantom of the young lady, which told 
 the count that " to-morrow would end 
 his earthly ills." Wlien Manfred asked 
 her if slie loved liim, slie sighed 
 "Manfred," and vanished. {Byron: 
 Manfred.) 
 
 ".\starte, my l)eloveil, speak to me." 
 
 Manfred, ii. 4.
 
 Astolat 
 
 71 
 
 Ate 
 
 As'tolat. By some identified with 
 Guildford, iu Surrey. 
 
 Astol'pho (ill Orlando Fnrioso). An 
 Englisli duke (son of Otho), who joined 
 Charlemagne against the Saracens. He 
 was cari-ied on the back of a whale to 
 Alci'ua's isle ; but when Alciua tti-ed of 
 him, she tiu'ued him into a myrtle. He 
 was disenchanted b}- Melissa. Astol^jho 
 descended into the infernal regions, and 
 his flight to the moon (book xvui.) is 
 one of the best parts of the whole poem. 
 (•Vf Infeeno.) 
 
 It came upon them like a blast from 
 Astulpho''s horn — i.e. it produced a 
 panic. Logistilla gave Astolpho a magic 
 horn, and whatever man or beast heard 
 its blast was seized with panic, and be- 
 came an easy captive. {Orlando Farioso, 
 book viii.) 
 
 Like Astolpho^s hook, it told >ioh 
 evcnjthinij. The same fairy gave 
 Astolpho a book, which would not only 
 direct him aright in liis journeys, but 
 would tell him anything he desu'ed 
 to know. {Arioato : Orlando Furioso, 
 book viii.) 
 
 As'toreth. (.S'w Ashtaeotii.) 
 
 Astrse'a. Equity, innocence. Dming 
 the Golden Age this goddess dwelt on 
 earth, but when sin began to prevail, she 
 reluctantly left it, and was metamor- 
 phosed into the constellation Virgo. 
 
 " Wbeu banl-bearted interest first heu'.in 
 To imisuii earth. Astriea left tlie I'laiii.' 
 Tliumeun : Castle of Indulcncc, aui.u 1. 
 
 Astral Body (The). The noumenou 
 of a phenomenal body. This ''spirit 
 body" survives after the death of the 
 material body, and is the "ghost" or 
 "double." Macbeth' s dagger was an 
 astral body ; so, in theosophy, i.s the 
 "kama-rupa" or mind body; and in 
 transubstantiatiou the veritable ' ' blood 
 and flesh" of Christ is the astral body 
 of the accidents "bread and wine." 
 
 Mall !.< suiiiHiseil to consist iif body, soul, ami 
 spirit. The last is the astral hody of mau. 
 
 Astral Spirits. The spirits of the 
 stars. According to the mythology of 
 the Persians, Greeks, Jews, etc., each 
 star has its special spirit. Paracelsus 
 maintained that every man had his 
 attendant star, which received him at 
 death, and took charge of liiui till the 
 gi-eat resuirectiou. 
 
 Astre'a. A poetical name of Mrs. 
 Aphra Behn, born of good family in the 
 reign of Charles I. Her works are very 
 numerous and very indecent, including 
 
 seventeen di-amatic pieces. She died 
 1689, and was bmied iu Westminster 
 Abbey. 
 
 '■ The stage how loosely does Astrea tread." 
 Pope : Satiress, v. TM. 
 
 Astrology. {See Diapason, Miceo- 
 
 COSM.) 
 
 Astronomer of Dublin (2'Ae). The 
 
 head of tlie cliief rebel of JJubHu, set on 
 a tall white-iKiinted stake on the highest 
 point of Dublin Castle, where it remains 
 till it falls to decay or is replaced by 
 the head of a greater rebel. The Irish 
 say : " God send to Dublin many more 
 astronomers." 
 
 " His head is poled liii<h 
 Upon the castle here, 
 Beholding stars as thoiigli he were 
 A giear astrononiei." Derrick. 
 
 Astronomers Royal: (1) Flamsteed, 
 1075; (2) Halley, 171y ; (3) Bradley, 
 1742; (4) Bhss, 17G2; (5) Maskelyne, 
 who originated the Nautical Almanack, 
 1703; (6) Pond, 1811; (7) Aiiy, 183-5; 
 (8) Chi-istie, 1881. 
 
 As'trophel. Sir Philip Sidney. 
 " I'liil. Sid." being a contraction of 
 Philos Sidus, and the Latin sidiis being 
 changed to the Greek astron, we get 
 astron-philos (star-lover). The "star" 
 that he lovetl was Penelope Devereux, 
 whom he called Stella (star), and to whom 
 he was betrothed. Edmund Spenser 
 wrote a pastoral called Asfrophel, to the 
 memorv of his fiiend and patron, who 
 fell at 'the battle of Zutphen. (1554- 
 1586.) 
 
 Asylum means, literally, a place 
 where pillage is forbidden (Greek, a 
 (negative), .salon, right of pillage). The 
 ancients set apart certain places of 
 refuge, where the vilest criminals were 
 protected, both from privtite and ijublic 
 tissaults. 
 
 Asyniur. The goddesses of Asgaxd. 
 Tlie gods were called the .^su', the sin- 
 gular of which is Asa. 
 
 At. Strain at a cpiat (Matt, xxiii. 24). 
 Greek, di-aidl:o, to strain off. Here 
 "at" is an eri'or, probably in the first 
 instance tj^jographical, for "out." 
 " Out" is given in the Bible of 160;3, and 
 has been restored by the llevisers. 
 
 Ate (2 syl.). Goddess of vengeance 
 and mischief. This goddess was driven 
 out of heaven, and took refuge among 
 tlie sons of men. 
 
 •• With Ate hy liis side come hot from hell, . . . 
 Cry ' Havoc," and let slip the dogs of war." 
 Sliakesiieare : Julius C'cesar, iii. 1,
 
 Atellanae 
 
 Atomic Philosophy 
 
 Atella'nae or AteU'an Fables. Inter- 
 ludes in the Roman theatres, introduced 
 from Atella, in Campa'nia. The char- 
 acters of Macohus and Bucco are the 
 foundations of our Punch and Clown. 
 {See Punch.) 
 
 Ater'gata. A deity with the upi^er 
 part like a woman and the lower part 
 like a tish. She had a temple at As'ca- 
 lon. ('S'<r Dagon.) 
 
 Athana'sian Creed, so called be- 
 cause it embodies the opinions of Atha- 
 na'sius resj)ecting the Trinitj'. It was 
 compiled in the fifth century by Hilary, 
 Bislioji of Aries. 
 
 V In the Episcopal Prayer Book of 
 America this creed is omitted. 
 
 Athel'stane (3 syl.), sumamed "The 
 Unready" {i.e. impolitic, unwise), thane 
 of Coniugsburgh. {Sir IValtcr Scott : 
 Ivajilioe.) 
 
 Athenaeum (the review so called) 
 was founded by James Silk Buckingham 
 in 18-9. It was named after the insti- 
 tution founded by Hadrian, where works 
 of art and learning were dedicated to 
 AthruiG. 
 
 Athe'nian Bee. Plato, a native of 
 Athens, was so called because his words 
 flowed with the sweetness of honey. 
 
 Athens. The Modern Athens, i.e. 
 Edinburgh. Willis says that its singular 
 resemblau'^e to Athens, approached from 
 the Piraeus, is very striking. 
 
 " An imiration Acroii'olis is commenced on the 
 Calton Hill, and has llJe effect of tbe Partlieiioii. 
 Hyiiiettus is ratlier move lofty than the Peutlaml 
 hills, and Pentel'icus is farther off and grander 
 than Arthur's Seat ; but the old Castle of Edin- 
 liurjih is a noble feature, superbly inagniliceut." 
 —J'encilliiKjs. 
 
 Athens of Ireland. Belfast. 
 
 Alliens of the New World. Boston, 
 noted for its literary merit and institu- 
 tions. 
 
 Athens of the West. Cor'dova, in Spain, 
 was so called in the Middle Ages. 
 
 Athole Brose (Scotch). A com- 
 pound of oatmeal, honey, and whisky. 
 
 At Home {An'). A notification sent 
 to friends that the lady who sends it 
 will be at home on the day and at the 
 hour specified, and will be glad to see 
 the persons mentioned in the card of 
 invitation. These "At homes" are 
 generally held in an afternoon before 
 dinner. Light refreshments are pro- 
 vided, and generally some popular games 
 are introduced, occasionally music and 
 dancing. 
 
 Not at Home. Not disengaged, or 
 prepared for the reception of visitors; 
 not in the house. 
 
 Atin. Strife. The squire of Py- 
 rochles, and stirrer up of contention. 
 {Spenser: Fa'irie Qiieene, book ii.) 
 
 Atkins. {See Tojijiy Atkins.) 
 
 Atlante'an Shoulders. Shoulders 
 able to bear a great weight, like those 
 of Atlas, which, according to heathen 
 mythology, suxJi^orted the whole world. 
 
 " Sage he stood, 
 AVith Atlantean shouUlefS fit to bear 
 The weight of nughtiest monarchies." 
 
 Milton : Paradise Lost, book ii. 305-7. 
 
 Atlan'tes. Figm-es of men, used in 
 architecture instead of pillars. So called 
 from Atlas, who in Greek mythology 
 supijorted the world on his shoulders. 
 Female figures are called Caryat'ides 
 {q.r.). (6tY' Telamones.) 
 
 Atlan'tes (3 syl.) (in Orlando Fnrioso). 
 A sage and a magician who lived in an 
 enchanted palace, and brovight up 
 Roge'ro to all manly vh'tues. 
 
 Atlan'tic Ocean. An ocean, so called 
 
 from the Atlas mouutains. 
 
 Atlant'is. A mythic island which 
 contained the Elysian Fields. 
 
 Tlie Neif ^Lthnitis. An island imagined 
 by Lord Bacon, where was establislied a 
 pliilosoiihical commonwealth bent on the 
 cultivation of the natural sciences. {See 
 Utopia, City of the Sun.) 
 
 Atlas. King of Maurita'uia in Africa, 
 fabled to have supported the world upon 
 his shoulders. Of course, the tale is 
 merely a poetical way of saying that the 
 Atlas mountains j)rop up the heavens, 
 because they are so lofty. We call a 
 book of maps an "Atlas," because it 
 contains or holds the world. The word 
 was first employed in this sense by Mer- 
 ca'tor, and the title-page of his collec- 
 tion of maps had the figure of Atlas 
 with the world on his back. 
 
 " Bid Atlas, propping heaven, as poets feign, 
 His subteriaueau wonders spread ! " 
 
 Thomson : Autumn, 797-8. 
 
 Atman, in Buddhist philosophy, is the 
 noumeuon of one's own self. Not the 
 Ego, but the ego divested of all that is 
 objective ; the " sj)ark of heaveulj' 
 flame." 
 
 "The unseen and unperceivable, which was 
 forinerlv i-alleil the soul, was now called the self, 
 Atmau." Nothiu'-' covild be predicated of it ex- 
 cept that it was. that it perceived and thought, 
 and that it must be blessed." — Max Muller: 
 Niucttcntli Century, May, 181)3, p. 777. 
 
 Atom'ic Philosophy. The hypo- 
 thesis of Leucippus, Democritus, and 
 Epicurus, that the world is composed 
 of a congeries of atoms, or particles of
 
 Atomic Theory 
 
 78 
 
 Atticus 
 
 matter so minute as to be incapable of 
 further diminution. 
 
 iif course it is (luite init'ossibleeven to tbiuk of 
 a portion ol matter which has lujt an uiiper and 
 under side, -witli some lireadth and thickness. 
 
 "AccordiugtoDeinocvIluSjthecxiiouuder of the 
 Atomic Theory of matter, imaKes composed of 
 the flnesD atoms floated from the object to the 
 mini."— McCosh : Psychological Cognitive Powers, 
 p. -23. 
 
 Atoni'ic Theory. That all elemental 
 bo(.lies consist of aggregations of atoms, 
 not united fortuitously, but according to 
 fixed proportions. The four laws of 
 Dalton are — constant proportion, recip- 
 rocal proportion, multiple proportion, 
 and compound j)roi3ortion. 
 
 ■.• This lias notliins; to do with tlie atomic 
 theory of Lcncippiis. It merely means that trases 
 and other eleiiioiits always combine in certain 
 known ratios or units. 
 
 Atomic Volume. The space occu- 
 pied by a quantity, compared with, or 
 in projiortion to, atomic weight. 
 
 Atomic Weight. The weight of an 
 atom of an element, compared with an 
 atom of hydrogen, the standard of unity. 
 
 Atos'sa. Sarah, Duchess of Marl- 
 borough, so called by Pope, becavise she 
 was the friend of Lady Mary Wortley 
 Montague, whom he calls Sapplio. He- 
 rod'otus says that Atossa, the mother 
 of Xerxes, was ;i follower of Sapjiho. 
 
 Atrip. The anchor is atrip when it 
 has just been drawn from the ground 
 in a perpendicular direction. A sail is 
 (drip when it has been hoisted from tlie 
 cap, tmd is ready for trimming. The 
 word is from the Norwegian and Danish 
 trip, a short step. 
 
 Attaint. A term in chivalry, mean- 
 ing to strike the helmet and shield of an 
 antagonist so firmly with the lance, held 
 in a direct line, as either to break the 
 lance or overthrow the person struck. 
 Hence to "attaint of treason," etc. 
 
 " Attaint was a term of tiltiuy, used to express 
 the champion's having attained his mark, or, in 
 other words, struck his lance straight and fair 
 against the helmet or breast of his adversary."— 
 Sif Wiilttr .Scott : The Monastery (n^ln)- 
 
 At'tercop. An ill-tempered person, 
 who mars all sociability. Strictly speak- 
 ing, the attercoj) is the poison-siiider. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, attcr, poison ; cop, spider. 
 Oiu- cob-web should be cop-web, i.e. 
 spider-web.) 
 
 Attic Bee (T/ie). Soph'ocles, the 
 tragic poet, a native of Athens ; so 
 called from the great sweetness of his 
 compositions, (e.g. 495-405.) 
 
 Attic Bird (T/ie). The niglitingalu ; 
 
 so called because Philomel was the 
 daughter of the King of Athens. 
 
 " Where the Attic liinl 
 Trills her thick-warblcdiiotes the summer long." 
 Milton: Paiadisc Rajaiiwd, \\. i.'4,j-C. 
 
 Attic Boy {The). Cephaios, beloved 
 by Aurora or Morn ; passionately fond 
 of hunting. 
 
 '■ Till civil-suited Morn appear. 
 Not tricked and frounced, as she was wont 
 With the Attic boy to hunt, 
 But kerchiefed in a conicly cloud." 
 
 Miltciii : 11 Penseroso. 
 
 Attic Faith. luviohible faith, the 
 very opposite of "Piuiic Fiiith." 
 
 Attic Muse (The). Xenophon, the 
 historitiu, a native of Athens ; so ctilled 
 because the style of his composition is a 
 model of elegance, (e.g. 444-359.) 
 
 Attic Order, in architecture, a square 
 column of any of the five orders. {Sec 
 Oedees.) 
 
 Attic Salt. Elegant and delicate wit. 
 Stilt, botli in Latin and Greek, was a 
 common term for icit, or si^arkling 
 thought well expressed : thus Cicero 
 says, '■^ Scipio out lies sale s/cpeya'bat^'' 
 (Scipio surpassed all in wit). The 
 Athenians were noted for their wit and 
 elegant turns of thought, and hence 
 Attic salt means wit as pointed and 
 delicately expressed as by the Athenians. 
 "Attic point," wit. 
 
 Attic Science. A knowledge of 
 Attic Greek. 
 
 Attics, Attic Storey. Attics are tlie 
 rooms in the attic storey, and the attic 
 storey generally is an extra storey made 
 in the roof. In the Roman and Renais- 
 s.ance styles of architecture the low storey 
 above the cornice or entablature is called 
 the "Attic." Professor Goldstucker 
 derives the word from the Sanskrit 
 attaha (a room on the top of a house). 
 {See The Transactions of the Philo- 
 logical Society, 1854.) 
 
 Attic storcij. The head; the body 
 being comjiared to a house, the head is 
 the highest, or attic storey. 
 " Here a gentleman present, win; had in his attic 
 
 More pepper than brains, shrieked : ' The man's 
 a fanatic' " 
 
 Lowell: Fahlefor Critics (stanza .'jO). 
 
 Ill fitrmshed in the attic storey. Not 
 clever, dull. 
 
 Queer in the attic storeij. Fuddled, 
 partitxlly intoxicated. 
 
 At'ticus. The most elegant and 
 finished scholar of tlie Romans. His 
 admirable taste and sound judgment 
 wei'C so highly thought of that even 
 Cicero submitted to him several of his 
 treatises.
 
 Attingians 
 
 74 Augsburg Confession 
 
 The English A tt kits. Joseph Addison ; 
 so called by PoiDe, on account of his 
 refined taste and pliilosophical mind. 
 (1672-1719.) 
 
 The Christian Afticns. Reginald 
 Heber, Bishop of Calcutta. (1783- 
 1826.) 
 
 The Irish Atticus. George Faulkner ; 
 so called by Lord Chesterfield. (1700- 
 177.3.) 
 
 Attin'gians. Heretics of the eighth 
 century, who solemnised baptism with 
 the words, "I am the living water." 
 (Attin, a name of Nejitune.) 
 
 Attock. The forbidden river, beyond 
 which no pure Hindoo can i)ass. 
 
 Attorney, Solicitor (French, 
 atoiirucr, to attorn, or tuni over to 
 another). One legally qualified to 
 manage matters in law for others, and 
 to prosecute or defend others, as the case 
 may be. A solicitor is one who solicits 
 or petitions in Courts of Equity on 
 behalf of his clients. At one time 
 solicitors belonged to Courts of Equity, 
 and attorneys to the other courts. 
 
 From and after Act 36, 37 Vict. Ixvi. 87, "all 
 persnus adiiiitteil as solicitors, attorneys, or 
 prectors .... empowered to practise in any 
 court, the jurisdiction of which is hcieliv Ma.ns- 
 ferrcd to the Hi^'h ('(uirt of .Tnsticp, or Ihe t'ourt 
 of Appeal, shall he called Solicitors of the Su- 
 proii.e Court." (1873.) 
 
 Power of At for net/. Legal au- 
 thority given to another to collect rents, 
 pay wages, invest money, or to act in 
 matters stated in the instrument on your 
 behalf, according to his own judgment. 
 In such cases (]uod aliquis facit per ali- 
 qucm,facit per se. 
 
 Warrcoit of Attornei/. The legal in- 
 strument which confers on another the 
 "Power of Attorney." 
 
 A'tys. Metamorphosed into a fir-tree 
 by Cyb'ele. Sec the poem by Catullus, 
 translated by Leigh Hunt. 
 
 Au Courant (French), "acquainted 
 with " (lit. = in the current [of events]). 
 To hecp one cm eourunt of cverijtJiiue/ 
 that passes, is to keep one famihar with, 
 or iufonned of, passing events. 
 
 Au Fait (French) . Skilful, thorough 
 master of; as, He is ([Hitc au fait in those 
 viiittcrs, i.e. quite master of them or 
 conversant with them. 
 
 Au Grand S^rieux (French). In 
 sober earnest. 
 
 " We are not asked to take these narratives »« 
 (lidiiil si'iirti.i: They are rather sketches of the 
 past, ilhislrai ini,' what could have heen d(me, 
 and may he done awiin hy wonien . . . ."— 
 Aiitfx and (Jncrita (Nvtcn on Hooks, Juue 10, 18'J3, 
 p. 45'JJ. 
 
 Au Pied de la Lettre (French). 
 Literatim et verhntini ; according to the 
 strict letter of the text. 
 
 " In reading an r'led de la httre the stcu'y of his 
 rUnddlia's] fatal illness supervened on a meal of 
 (hied lioar's tlesh,' served to him hy a certain 
 K\\ni\:\."—Ximtecnth Century (Juue, 18!I3, p. 1020). 
 
 Au Revoir (French). " Good bye 
 for the ijreseut." Literally, till seeing 
 i/oii (Kja'tn. 
 
 Aubry's Dog. (.SVy- Dog.) 
 
 Au'deanism. The doctrine of Au'- 
 deus of Mesopotamia, who lived in the 
 fourth century. He maintained that the 
 Old Testament justifies the belief that 
 God has a sensible form (Gen. i. 26) . 
 
 Audhum'la [the nonrishing poire)'], 
 in Sctuidiuavian mythology, is the cow 
 created by Surt to nourish Ymir. She 
 supplied him with foin- rivers of milk, 
 and was herself nourished by licking the 
 rocks. (Sec Ymir.) 
 
 V Bor, the first man, was made by 
 Audhumla licking salt from the snow. 
 Odin was the son of Bor. 
 
 Audley. JFe trill John Aiullei/ it, 
 i.e. abridge it. A theatrical jjhrase. 
 In the eighteenth century one Shuter 
 had a travelling company which visited 
 different fairs. It was his custom to 
 lengthen out his performance till a 
 gootlly number of newcomers had col- 
 lected on the open stage of his theatre, 
 when a boy called out John Andleg, and 
 the play which was going on inside was 
 brought to an end as soon as possible. 
 (17.59.) 
 
 Aud'rey. A coimtry wench, who 
 jilted William for Touchstone. {Shake- 
 speare : As Yon Like It.) 
 
 Auge'an Stables. The stables of 
 Augeas, King of Elis, in Greece. In 
 these stables he had kept 3,000 oxen, 
 and the stalls had not been cleansed for 
 thirty years. When Hercules was ap- 
 pointed to cleanse these stables, he 
 caused two rivers to run through them. 
 
 2h cleanse the Angean stables. To 
 clear away an accumulated mass of 
 corruption, moral, religious, physical, or 
 legal. To refonn wrongs almost past 
 the power of man to tackle. 
 
 Augsburg Confession. The chief 
 standard of faith in the Luthertin 
 church. So called because, while the 
 Diet of the German Empire was sitting 
 at Augsburg, in 1.530, the confession of 
 faith drawn up by Melancthon and 
 Luther was presented to Charles V.
 
 August 
 
 75 
 
 Aunt Sally 
 
 Au'gury meaus properly the func- 
 tion of an augur (jjerhaps from arlmii 
 (fnrritifs). St. Pierre says: "The 
 first navigators, when out of sight of 
 land, watched the flight of birds, as 
 indications of the shore, and ^snth no 
 other guidance discovered many new 
 islands." From this custom (he says) 
 arose the practice of consulting birds 
 before entering on any important enter- 
 prise. {Stiidit's.) 
 
 August. The sixth month (beginning 
 from March) was once called scxtlUs, 
 but was changed to Augustus in com- 
 pliment to Augustus Ciesar of Rome, 
 whose " lucky month " it was, in which 
 occurred many of his most fortmiate 
 events. 
 
 The preceding mouth (July), origin- 
 ally called Qini/tllif:, had already been 
 changed to JuUus in honom- of Julius 
 Caesar. 
 
 Augusta. London ; so called by the 
 Romans. 
 
 " Oft let me wauder o'er the acwy fields, 
 
 (ir ascend 
 
 Some eminence, Augusta, in thy plains, 
 And see the country far diffused aioiuid." 
 Thomson : Upriurj, lOi", 107-ii. 
 
 Augustan Age. Tlie best literary 
 period of a nation ; so called from Au- 
 gustus, the Emperor of Rome, the most 
 jjalmy time of Latin literature. Horace, 
 Ovid, Propertius, Tibullus, Virgil, etc., 
 flourished in this reign. 
 
 Aiifiiistfui Af/e of English Literature. 
 Begimiing in the reign of Elizabeth and 
 ending in that of James I. For list of 
 authors, see Historic Note-book, p. 59. 
 
 ^liif/if.'itai? Ar/e of China, Franee, 
 Germaiuj, Hitidustan, TorUKjaJ, etc., see 
 ditto. 
 
 Augustan History. A series of 
 histories of the Roman Empire from lo7 
 to 2So, ascribed to the six following 
 authors : Delius Spartifinus, JuUus 
 Capitollnus, ^lius Lampridius, Vul- 
 catius G-allicanus, TrebelUus Pollio, and 
 Flaxnus Vopiscus. 
 
 Augustine {The Seeoiid). Thomas 
 Aquinas, also called the Aiit/clic JJoetor. 
 (1224- 1270.) 
 
 Augustinians. Friars or nuns of 
 the Augtistine Order, estabHshed in the 
 eleventh century in commemoration of 
 St. Augustine, and in imitation of the 
 ancient order founded by liim in the 
 fourth century. 
 
 Those who believe, on the authority 
 of St. Augustine, in absolute |)redestiua- 
 tion and effectual grace. Tliat is, that 
 predestination is quite indejiendent of 
 man, and that arrace has no reference to 
 
 preceding piety and moral conduct, but 
 is vouchsafed by God's own absolute 
 will. Whom He would He did pre- 
 destinate, and "whom He did predes- 
 tinate, them He also called" (Romans 
 viii. 30). 
 
 Augustus. No proper name, but a 
 mere title given to Octavian, because 
 he was head of the jjriesthood. In the 
 reign of Diocle'tian the two emperors 
 were each styled Auynstus (sacred 
 majesty), and the two viceroys CUesar. 
 Prior to that time Ha'ch'ian limited the 
 title of C(csar to the heir presumjitive. 
 
 AHf/nstiis. Philijipe II. of France ; so 
 called because he was born in the month 
 of August. (1165,1180-1223.) 
 
 Sigismund II. of Poland. (1520, 1548- 
 1572.) 
 
 Aulay, in Indian mythology, is the 
 horse with a huge trunk, on which Baly 
 the giant rode. 
 
 '■ThrouKh the'?e \nde iioitals oft harl Baly rode 
 Trinmiihaut from his inoud aluide, 
 When, in his greatness, he hcstnide 
 The Aulay, hugest of finir-f<iiited kind. 
 Till' Aulav-horse, that in his force 
 Willi fici'hantine trunk, could l.iiid 
 And lifl thcelci.hant.an.l on ihewind 
 ^Vhjrl hini awai , wi(h sway .and swing, 
 E'en like a iielil)le from the practised sling." 
 Soatheij : Cuysu of Kdiauia, .wi. '2. 
 
 Auld Brig and New Brig, of Robert 
 Burns, refers to the bridges over the 
 river Ayr, in Scotland. 
 
 Auld Hornie. After the establish- 
 ment of Christianity, the heathen deities 
 were degraded by the Chm-ch into fallen 
 angels ; and Pan, with his Iioms, crooked 
 nose, goat's beard, pointed ears, and 
 goats' feet, was transformed to his Sa- 
 tanic majesty, and called Old Horny. 
 
 " O thou, whatever title suit thee, 
 Auld Horuie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie." 
 
 Hums. 
 
 Auld Reekie. Edinburgh old town ; 
 so called because it generally ajipears 
 to be capped by a cloud of "reek" or 
 smoke. 
 
 Aulic Council. The council of the 
 Kaiser in the old German Empire, from 
 wliich there was no appeal (1495-1806) 
 (Latin, aula, a court). The name is 
 now given in Austria to a council of 
 Vienna which manages the war de^jart- 
 ment of the Austrian Emjiire. 
 
 Aunt Sally. A game in which a 
 wooden head is mounted on a pole. The 
 fun of the game is to knock the nose of 
 the figure, or break the pipe stuck in its 
 moutii. This is to be done by throwing 
 nt it, from a stated distance, a short 
 club. The word aiod was anciently
 
 Aureola 
 
 76 
 
 Autolycus 
 
 applied to any old woman : thus, in 
 
 Shakespeare, Puck speaks of 
 
 " Tlie wisest aunt telling tlie saddest tal(^" 
 JiUdaummer Night's Dream, ii. 1. 
 
 Aure'ola. A cii-cle of light, emble- 
 matical of glory, placed by the old 
 painters round the heads of martyrs and 
 saints. The notion was derived from 
 Exod. XXV. 2o. Fades coro'nam aurc'olam 
 ("Thou shalt by thine own merits make 
 for thyself a crown, besides that of gold 
 which God has promised to the faith- 
 ful") {I)o)iHc: Sermonx). Strictly speak- 
 ing, the glory confined to the head alone 
 is a itiiiibus, and only when it envelops 
 the entire body is it called an aureola. 
 
 I)u Canire iufDrins us that the aureola of nuns 
 is irliltr, I if martyrs red, and of doctors green. 
 
 ■.■ The nhii))us of a Christ should contain a 
 cross ; of the Virgin Mary, a circlet of stars : of 
 God the Fatlier, a triangle with rays ; of a living 
 saint, a square without Vays. 
 
 "They siiy, wlm know the life divine, 
 And uinvaiil gaze with eagle eyne, 
 That liy each golden crown on high, 
 Rich with celestial jewelry, 
 Which for our Lord's redeemed is set, 
 There hangs a radiant coronet, 
 All gemmed with pure and living light 
 Too dazzling for a sinner's sight, 
 Prepared for vii-giu souls, and them 
 Who seek the martyr's diadem." 
 
 Kehle: Christian Yeur. 
 
 Au'ri. Aiiri sacra fames (the cui-sed 
 hunger for wealth), api^lied to that rest- 
 less craving for money which is almost a 
 monomtiuia. 
 
 Aurora. Early morning. Accord- 
 ing to Grecian mythology, the goddess 
 Aurora, called by Homer "rosy-fin- 
 gered, ' ' sets out before the sun, and is 
 the pioneer of his rising. 
 " You cannot shut the windows of the sky, 
 Through which Aurora shows ber hrightening 
 face." 
 
 Thomson: Castle of Indolence, canto ii. 3. 
 
 Aurora's tears. The morning dew. 
 
 Auro'ra Austra'lis. The Southern 
 lights, a similar phenomenon to the 
 " Aurora Borealis." 
 
 Auro'ra Borealis (Latin). The elec- 
 trical lights occasionally seen in the 
 northern jiart of the sky ; also called 
 " Northern Lights, " and " Merry 
 Dancers." {See Derwentwatee.) 
 
 Aurora Raby. A rich, noble English 
 orphan ; left to the care of guardians ; a 
 Catholic in religion ; and in person 
 
 "A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded." 
 Bj/rnii : Don Jnan, xv. -13. 
 
 Aurora Septentriona'lis. Same 
 as Aurora Australis {q.v.). 
 
 Auso'nia. An ancient name of Italy ; 
 so called from Auson, son of Ulysses, and 
 father of tlie Auso'nOs. 
 
 " All the green delights Ausonia pours." 
 
 ThuiHson : .Sammer, O.Vi. 
 
 Auspices. Under your good auspices, 
 i.e. through your influence, or the in- 
 fluence of your good name. Li Rome 
 only the Commander-in-Chief was allowed 
 to take the auspices of war. If a legate 
 gained a victor}', he was said to wui it 
 under the good auspices of his superior 
 in command. 
 
 "Auspex" is from avispe.r {arts and 
 spirtu), one who observes the flight, etc., 
 of birds. 
 
 Aus'ter. A wind pernicious to flowers 
 and health. In Italy one of the South 
 winds was so ctilled ; its modern name is 
 the Sirocco. (Greek, austc'ros, hot, dry). 
 In England it is a damp wind, generally 
 bringing wet weather. 
 
 " Nought liut putrid streams and noisome fogs. 
 For ever hung on drizzly Auster's heard." 
 
 Thunisun : Castle of Indolence, ii. 78. 
 
 Austin Friars. Friars of the Order 
 
 of St. Augustine. {See Begging.) 
 
 Austrian Lip. The thick under-lip, 
 chaiacteristic of the house of Haps'burg. 
 Derived from Cymburgis, daughter of 
 Ziemovitz, Duke of Maso'via, and niece 
 of the then King of Poland. Cymburgis 
 was noted for her beauty and unusual 
 strength. 
 
 Aut Csesar aut nuUus [Latin, 
 FAther Cicsar or no owe], everything or 
 nothing ; all or not at all. Caesar used 
 to say, " he would sooner be first in a 
 village than second at Eome." Milton 
 makes Satan say, 
 
 " Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven." 
 Milton : Par. Lost, i. 263. 
 
 {Sec Six.) 
 
 Authentic Doctor. Gregory of 
 Rim'ini. (Fourteenth century.) 
 
 Auto da Fe. lA)i act of faith.'] A 
 day set apart by the Inquisition for the 
 examination of " heretics." Those not 
 acijuitted were burnt. The reason why 
 inquisitors burnt their victims was, be- 
 cnuse they are forbidden to " shed 
 blood " ; an axiom of the Roman Cath- 
 olic Church being, '^ Fec/e'.^-ia non norit 
 sau'r/uiiiem " (the chui-ch is untainted 
 with blood). 
 
 Autol'ycus. The craftiest of thieves. 
 He stole the flocks of his neighbours, and 
 changed then' marks. Si'syphos out- 
 witted him by marking his slieep imder 
 their feet, a device wliich so tickled the 
 rogue that he instantly "cottoned" to 
 him. Shakespeare introduces him in 
 'The Winter''s 'Tale as a pedlar, and says 
 he was called the son of Mercurj', because
 
 Automaton 
 
 77 
 
 Avernus 
 
 he was boru uuder tliat ' ' tliieviug 
 planet." 
 
 " Autolycus is no lapidary, tliouirli he drives a 
 roaring trade in flash jewellery." — Pall Mall 
 Gazette. 
 
 Automaton — plural, axtomafoiis or 
 (uito))Kit(t. Machines which imitate the 
 actious, etc., of living creatures. The 
 most famous are the following : — (1) The 
 pigeon that could fly, made, B.C. 400, by 
 Archy tas, of Tareutum ; ('2) the wooden 
 cafilc of Regiomonta'nus, the German, 
 which flew from the city of Kcenigsberg 
 to meet the emperor, saluted him, and 
 returned, 1436-1476; (3) the duck of 
 Vaucanson of Grenoble, which could eat 
 and drink, and even in a way digest 
 food ; its wings, \'iscera, bones, etc., 
 minutely resembled those of a living 
 animal. Vaucanson also made an image 
 of Pan, which, at the beck of Syrinx, 
 rose from his seat, played on his pipe, 
 bowed when applauded, and sat down 
 again. He also made an asp which, 
 on being touched by an actress, in the 
 character of CIeof)atra, flew at her breast 
 with a malignant hiss. Louis XV. set 
 him to make a human figure, but he died 
 before he had completed it. (Greek, 
 tiutos-mao, I self-move.) (&'t' Android.) 
 
 '.* Pierre Droz and his son Louis were 
 noted for their automatons ; so was 
 Frederick of Knause (Vienna). The 
 chess-player of Wolfgang, baron of 
 Kempelen, in 1784, created quite a furor 
 in Paris. Napoleon on one occasion 
 jilayed chess with tliis automaton. {!Sce 
 BeIzex Heads.) 
 
 Autom'edon. A coachman. He was 
 the charioteer of Achilles. 
 
 Autumn. Ho is come to Ins atitiini)), 
 i.e. to be hanged, to his "fall." A 
 pun on the plan of ''turning a man ofE " 
 by dropping the plank on which he 
 stands. The drop is the "leaf," and 
 autumn is called the "fall," or "fall of 
 the leaf." 
 
 A'va, in Burmah, has marble quarries 
 of which idols are made, and only priests 
 are allowed to trade there. {Si/nws, vol. 
 ii. p. 376.) 
 
 " As on Ava's shore. 
 
 Where none liut priests are privileged to trade 
 
 In that best iiiurlile of which Kods are made." 
 T. Mocre: Lalla Ruokh, part 1. 
 
 Avalanche (3 syl.) means properly 
 something which goes downwards 
 (French, a val). The word is applied to 
 a mass of snow mixed with earth, ice, 
 and stones, which slips down a mountain 
 side to the lower ground. Metaphoric- 
 ally, we speak of an ' ' avalanche of 
 applause," an "avalanche of bouquets" 
 showered on the stage, etc. 
 
 Avalon. An ocean island, where 
 King Arthur resided and was buried. 
 The word means " Aj)ple island " {aval, 
 apple ; //«', island) ; and it is generally 
 thought to mean Glastonbury, a name 
 derived from the Saxon glastn (green 
 like glass). 
 
 Avant Courier. (French, arant 
 coiirrirr.) A " messenger sent before" 
 to get things ready for a party of tra- 
 vellers, or to announce their approach. 
 Anything said or done to prepare the 
 way for something more important to 
 follow ; a feeler, a liarbiuger. 
 
 Avant Garde. (French.) The van 
 or advanced guard of an army. 
 
 Avatar'. The advent to earth of a 
 deity in a visible form . The ten aviita'ras 
 of Vishnu, in Hindii mythology, are by 
 far the most celebrated. 1st advent, in 
 the form of a fish ; 2nd, in that of a 
 tortoise ; 3rd, of a hog ; 4th, of a mon- 
 ster, half man and half lion, to destroy 
 the giant Iranian ; .5th, in the form of a 
 dwarf (this AvStar is called Vartimna) ; 
 6th, in human form, under the name of 
 Ruma ; 7th, imder the same figure and 
 name, to slay the thousand-armed giant 
 Cartas uciriargunan; 8th, as a child named 
 Krishna, who performed numerotis mir- 
 acles (this is the most memorable of 
 all the advents) ; 9t]i, under the form 
 of Buddha. These are all past. The 
 10th advent will be in the form of a 
 white horse (Kalki) with wings, to 
 destroy the earth. 
 
 " In Vishnu land what avatar? 
 Or who in Moscow, towards the czar?" 
 BroiciiiiKj. 
 
 Ave Mari'a [Rail, Mar;/ .'] (Ave, 2 
 syl.). The first two words of the 
 angel's salutation to the Virgin Mary. 
 (Luke i. 28.) Li the Roman Catholic 
 Church the phrase is ajiplied to an iji- 
 vocation to the Virgin begiiming with 
 those words ; and also to the smaller 
 beads of a rosary, the larger ones being 
 tevuied p((ter-7iosters. 
 
 Avenel (2 syl.). White Ladtj of 
 Arencl. A tutelary spirit in Scott's 
 Monaster//. 
 
 Avenger of Blood (T/ie). The man 
 who, in the Jewish polity, had the right 
 of taking vengeance on him who liad 
 slain one of his kinsmen. The Avenger 
 in Hebrew is called ffol^l. 
 
 cities of refuse were appointed for the pro- 
 tection of homicides, an<l of those who had 
 caused another's death liy accident. The Koran 
 sanctions the Jewish custom. Family feuds 
 have been a common hunting ground of poets 
 and nnvelists. 
 
 Avernus (Greek, a-oriiis, "without 
 a bird ") . A lake in Campa'nia, so called
 
 Avertin 
 
 78 
 
 Axinoinancy 
 
 from the belief that its sulphurous and 
 raepliitic vapours killed auy bird that 
 happened to inhale them. Poets call it 
 the entrance to the infernal regions ; 
 hence the proverb, Tltc descent to Acernus 
 i.s easy, but cominy back ayaln is quite 
 another matter, meaning that all bad 
 hnbits are easily acquired, but very hard 
 to be abandoned. 
 
 Av'ertin (-SY.). The patron saint of 
 lunatics ; so called from the French 
 arertincux (lunatics). 
 
 Aves'ta. The sacred Scriptures of the 
 Magians, composed by Zoroaster. Better 
 known as the Zend-Avesta or "living 
 word in the Zend language." 
 
 Aveu'gle. Son of Erebus and Nox. 
 {Spenser : Faerie Qnccne.) 
 
 Avie'nus. A writer of fables iu the 
 decline of the Roman empire. In the 
 Middle Ages, a collection of fables used 
 to be called Av'ynet, or E'sopet. 
 
 A vinculo matrimonii (Latin). 
 Divorced from marriage ties. A total 
 divorce. A divorce a iiiensa et tliuro is 
 a partial divorce. The divorce a vinculo 
 niatrimonii is because the marriage was 
 never legal, as in the case of bigamy, or 
 marriage within the prohibited degrees ; 
 but a divorce a wensa et tJtoro is because 
 the parties cannot live together from 
 incompatibility of temper, iu which case 
 they may, if they choose, come together 
 again. 
 
 Aviz. An order of knighthood in 
 Portugal, founded by Sancho I., and 
 leaving for its object the subjugation of 
 the Moors. 
 
 Avoid Etxremes. The wise saw of 
 Piftacos of Mityle'ue. (B.C. 652-5G9.) 
 
 Avoir. Aroir Martel en tete (French). 
 To be distracted. Martel is a hammer, 
 hence distraction, torment, tortnre. 
 
 Avoirdupois. French, aroir, aver or 
 arier, goods in general, and poisc=poids 
 (weight). Not the verb, but the noun 
 aroir. Properly aroir de poids (goods 
 having weight), goods sold by weight. 
 We have the word aver, meaning goods 
 in general, hence also cattle ; whence 
 such compounds as aver-corn, aver- 
 jienny, aver-silver, aver-land, and so on. 
 We have also thenoun ''having, havings " 
 = possessions. 
 
 Tlieie is a i-diiiiiKm French xihva.^a avoir dnpoids 
 (tn l.c \vri'_'lii 1, with which our word avoirdupois 
 liixs licen liiuililii'il up. 
 " Pareii my iiresent havings [property] to hestow 
 
 My bouu'ties upon you." 
 
 Ulialcespeare: Henry VIII., iii. 2. 
 
 " One of youi liaving, and yet carlv and care." 
 Muses' Lookinti Glass. 
 Kven medicines, as wholesale goods, iireljought 
 and sold by avoirdupois weight. 
 
 A- weather. The reverse of a -lee. 
 "A- weather" is towards the weather, 
 or the side on which the wind strikes. 
 " A-lee " is iu the lee or shelter, and 
 therefore opposite to the wind side ; as 
 helm a-weather. 
 
 Awkward. French, yauche, not dex- 
 terous. Awk means the left liand. 
 Hence in Holland's I'latarclt we have 
 •The airkc or left hand" ; and again, 
 " They receive her aickly when she pre- 
 senteth . . . the right hand." {See 
 Sinister.) 
 
 Awkward Squad. In military lan- 
 guage means recruits not yet fitted to 
 take their place in the regimental line. 
 
 •.■ A squad is a troop or company of soldiers 
 under a sergeant. It is a contraction of siiuad- 
 roii. A squadron of cavalry is the unit of a 
 rcL-'imeut. Three or fcnir squadrons make a regi- 
 ment, and a certain numlier of regiments con- 
 siifute an anuy. In naval affairs a sqiuulron is a 
 section of a tle'et. 
 
 Awl. " rU pack tip my airls dinl 
 he yone,^'' i.e. all my goods. The play is 
 on awl and all. 
 
 Axe. " To haiiy up one''s axe." To 
 retire from business, to give over a use- 
 less jH-oject. The allusion is to the 
 ancient battle - axe, hung up to the 
 gods when the fight was done. All 
 classical scholars will call to mind the 
 allusion of Horace to a similar Roman 
 custom. Being snubbed by Pyrrha, 
 he says, ' ' He will hang up his axe 
 upon her wall," or more literally, his 
 ' ' drenched garments on the temple- 
 walls of Neptune." (1 Odes, V. U-17.) 
 {See Ask.) 
 
 To pat the axe on the helve. To solve 
 a difficulty. To hit the right nail on 
 the head. 
 
 To send the axe after the helve. To 
 spend good money after bad, or under 
 the hope of recovering bad debts. 
 
 He has an axe to yrind. Some selfish 
 motive in the background ; some per- 
 sonal interest to answer. Franklin tells 
 of a man who wanted to grind his axe, 
 but had no one to turn the grindstone. 
 Going to the yard where he saw young 
 Franklin, he asked the boy to show him 
 how the machine worked, and kept 
 praising him till his axe was ground, 
 and then laughed at him for his jiains. 
 
 Ax'inoman'cy. Divination by an 
 axe ; much practised by the ancient 
 Greeks with a view of discovering
 
 Ayah 
 
 79 
 
 Azymites 
 
 crime. An agate was placed ou a red- 
 hot axe, aud iudicated the guilty itersou 
 by its motion. (Greek, ax'ute inantciu.) 
 
 A'yah (Auglo-Iudiau). A native 
 Hindii nm-se or lady's maid. 
 
 '• Tlie ;iyiUis, m- nurses, are said to be the best in 
 tlie world."— /J. Taylor: Visit to India, cliap. ii. 
 
 11. .-sr. 
 
 Aye'shah (3 syl.)- Mahomet's second 
 and favourite wife. He married her 
 when slie was only nine years old, and 
 died in her arms. 
 
 Ayrshire Poet. Robert Bums, born 
 near the town of Ayr. (17-39-1796.) 
 
 Azaz'el. The scape-goat ; so called 
 by the Jews, because the high priest 
 cast lots ou two goats ; one lot was for 
 the Lord, and the other lot for Azaz'el or 
 Satan, and the goat on which the latter 
 lot fell was the scajie-goat. 
 
 Azaz'iel. A seraph who fell in love 
 with An'ah, a granddaughter of Cain. 
 When tlie flood came, he carried her 
 under his wing to some other planet. 
 (£i/ron : Heaven and Earth.) 
 
 Azaz'il. In Milton's Paradise Lost, 
 Azazil is the standard-bearer of the in- 
 fernal best. According to the Koran, 
 when God commanded the angels to 
 worship Adam, Azazil replied, "Why 
 should the son of fire fall down before a 
 son of clay 'r " and God cast him out of 
 heaven. His name was then changed 
 to Eblis, wliich means " despair." 
 
 "Tlien strais'lit commands that at the warlike 
 sound 
 Of trumpets loud, and clarions, he upreareil 
 His mighty standard j that proud honour 
 
 claimed 
 Azazil, as his riijlit, a cherub tall." 
 
 union : Paradise Lost, book i. 531-4. 
 
 Azim. The young convert who joined 
 " the creed and standard " of the veUed 
 prophet of Khorassau, iu Moore's La//a 
 Eookh. When he was witness of the 
 prophet's infamy, he joined the caliph's 
 army, aud was mainly instrumental in 
 defeating that of the veiled proj)het. 
 
 Az'o, Marquis of Este, married Pari- 
 si'na, who fell in love with Hugo, a 
 natural son of Azo. The marquis 
 ordered Hugo to be beheaded ; but no 
 one knows what the fate of Parisi'na 
 was. Azo, at any rate, mariied again, 
 and had a family. This Azo was in 
 reality Niccolo of Perra'ra. {Byron : 
 Parishia.) 
 
 A'zor's Mirror. Zemi'ra is the name 
 of the ladj', and Azor that of the bear, 
 in Mannontel's tale of lieatdi/ and the 
 Beast. Zemi'ra entreats the kind 
 
 monster to let her see her father, if only 
 for a few moments ; so drawing aside a 
 cui'tain, he shows him to her in a magic 
 mirror. This mirror was a sort of tele- 
 scope, which rendered objects otherwise 
 too far off distinctly visible. 
 
 Az'oth. The panace'a of Paracelsus, 
 regarded by his followers as " the tinc- 
 ture of Ufe." 
 
 Az'rael (3 syl.). The angel that 
 watches over the dj^ing, and takes the 
 soul from the body. The angel of death. 
 He will be the last to die, but wiU do so 
 at the second trump of the archangel. 
 
 "The Mohammedan doctors say.that Azrael was 
 commissioned to inflict thepenalty of deathonall 
 mankind."—//. Christtnas. ■ 
 
 The xv'uigs of Azrael. The approach 
 
 of death ; the signs of death coming on 
 
 the dying. 
 
 "Those who listen in the . . . watches of the 
 night for the wings of Azrael."— /fesa/it. 
 
 Az'rafil. The archangel commissioned 
 to blow the trumpet of the resiuTcction. 
 [The Koran') 
 
 Aztecs. An indigenotis peojjle of 
 Mexico who, in 132;), founded Teuoch- 
 titlan. They were iu the zenith of 
 their power in the fom'teenth and fif- 
 teenth centuries. When tlie Spaniards 
 arrived, their king was Montezuma ; 
 their supreme god was Taoti ; and 
 Huitzilopochtli was the divine protector 
 of their nation, to whom they offered 
 human victims. 
 
 Azuce'na. An old gipsy who stole 
 Mau'rico, infant son of Garzia, the 
 Conte di Luna's brother. ( Vcrdl : II 
 Troratorc.) 
 
 Azure. Sky blue. Represented in 
 royal anns by the j^l'iuet .Tuiiiter, in 
 noblemen's by the sapphire. The 
 ground of the old shield of France was 
 azure. Emblem of fidelity aud truth. 
 Represented in heraldic devices by hori- 
 zontal lines. 
 
 Azu'riel. The fairy who owned what 
 we call Holland Park. King Oberon 
 gave him his daughter Kenua iu mar- 
 riage when he drove Albion from his 
 empire. Albion invaded Kensington, the 
 teiritory of King Oberon, but was slain 
 in battle bj^ Aziuiel. {Tic/cell.) 
 
 Az'ymites (3 syl.). The Roman Cath- 
 olics are so called by the Greek Church, 
 because the holj' wafers used by them 
 in the eucharist are made of unleavened 
 bread. (Greek, aznmos, unleavened.)
 
 80 
 
 Babel 
 
 B 
 
 B. This letter is the outline of a 
 house. It is called in Hebrew bvth (a 
 liouse). lu Egyptian hierology this 
 letter is a sheep. 
 
 B stands for 300. Sclt B. trecciititin 
 sibl cof/iidtnin retinere. And, again, FA 
 ]i. trccentiim per sc retinere ridetiir. But 
 with a H/ie above, it denotes 3,000. 
 
 F(ir Becarre and Bcmol (French for B sharp 
 and B flat), see Becauub. 
 
 Marked jcith a B (French), i.e. a poor 
 thing. In the French language almost 
 all personal defects begin with the letter 
 B ; e.g. high (squint-eyed), borgnc (one- 
 eyed), bourn (hunij)ty), boiteux (lame), 
 etc. 
 
 Not to Jii/ow B from a battledoor. To 
 be quite illiterate, not to know even his 
 letters. Miege tells ns that Jiornboo/cs 
 used to be called battledoors. The 
 phrase might therefore originally mean 
 not to know the B of, from, or out of, 
 your hornbook. But its more general 
 meaning is " not able to distinguish one 
 letter from another." 
 
 "He kiinupth nut a B from a hattlcduure."— 
 IloirdI : lUiiilish Proverbs. 
 
 " Disi iiiu'iiisli a B from a battledore."— Pct/ici-; 
 Uiils lluriivbonk. 
 
 I Icnoiv B from a BhWs foot. Similar 
 to the proverb, " I know a hawk from 
 ahernshaw." (6Ve Hawk.) The bull's 
 parted hoof somewhat resembles a B. 
 
 "There were members who scarcely knew B 
 from a liuU's finit." — BrackenOridye: Modern 
 Chiviilri/. 
 
 B. C. Marled with B.C. (bad 
 character). When a soldier disgraced 
 himself by insubordination he was 
 formerly marked with "B. C." before 
 he was drummed out of the regiment. 
 
 B. and S. Brandy and soda-water. 
 
 B. K. S. The name of "residence" 
 given by officers in mufti, who do ni.t 
 wish to give up their address. The word 
 stands for BarracKS. 
 
 B Flats. Bugs. The pun is "B" 
 (the initial letter), and "flat," from the 
 flatness of the obnoxious insect. Also 
 called Norfolk Jlon-ards, from Mr. Bugg, 
 who advertised in the Times that he 
 should in future change his name into 
 " Norfolk Howard. " {See F Shaep.) 
 
 B.'s. Four B.^s essential for soeial 
 sacccss. Blood, brains, bi'ass, brads 
 (money). (American.) 
 
 Beware of the B.'s, i.e. the British. 
 A Carlo w caution. 
 
 B. of B. K. Some mysterious initials 
 applied to himself in his diary by 
 
 Arthur Orton, " tlie Tichborne Claim- 
 ant." Supiiosed to denote " Baronet of 
 British Kingdom." 
 
 Baal-Peor or Bd'phegor. The Bria'- 
 piis of the ^Nlo'abites and Midiauites. 
 
 Baal Samin. The god of celestial 
 jjlaccs. 
 
 Baal Shemesh. The Sun-god. 
 
 Baal Zeboub [Beelzebub], god of 
 corruption or of flies. {See Flies.) 
 
 Ba'ba. Sameasyj^/^rt (Tiu-kish). Ali- 
 baba is " father Ali." 
 
 Babau. The bogie with whicli 
 nurses in Languedoc terrify unruly 
 children. 
 
 Babes in the Wood. (1) Simple 
 trustful folks, never susi)icious, and 
 easily gulled. 
 
 (2) Insurrectionary hordes that in- 
 fested the mountains of Wicklow and 
 the woods of Enuiscorthy towards the 
 close of the eighteenth century. {See 
 Children.) 
 
 (3) Men in the stocks or in the pillory. 
 
 Babes {Deities of), in Rome. VATI- 
 CAN, or, more correctly, VAGITAN-US 
 {(J. v.), the god who caused infants to 
 utter their first erg. FABULIN-US 
 {q.r.), the god to whom Roman parents 
 made an offering when an infant uttered 
 its first word. CUBA (y.r.), the goddess 
 who kept infants quiet in their cots. 
 DOMIDU'CA, the goddess who brought 
 young children safe home, and kept 
 guard over them when out of their 
 l^arents' sight. 
 
 Babies in the Eyes. Tliat is, love 
 in the expression of tlie eyes. Love is 
 the little babe Cupid, and hence the 
 conceit, originating from the reflection 
 of the onlooker in the pupil of another's 
 eyes. 
 
 " In each of her two crystal eyes 
 Smileth a naked l)oy [Cupid]." 
 
 Lord Surrey. 
 She cliuior about his neclc, gave him ten kisses, 
 Toyed with his locks, looked baliies in his 
 eyes." lleyivood : Love's Mistress. 
 
 Babel. A perfect Babel. A thorough 
 confusion. "A Babel of sounds." A 
 confused uproar, in which nothing can 
 be heard but hiibbub. The allusion is 
 to the confusion of tongues at Babel. 
 (Genesis xi.) 
 " God . . . comes down to see their city, 
 
 and in derision sets 
 
 Upon their tongues a various spirit, to raze 
 Quite nut their native lanpua.cre, and instead 
 T'> snw a jangling noise of words unknown. 
 F<irilnvith a hideous gabble rises Inud 
 Among the builders ; each to other calls 
 Not understood. . . . Thus w;ib thelniilding left 
 Uidiculous, anil the work Ciiufiisi..ii nnuicd." 
 Milton : Paradise Lost, xii. 48-6S.
 
 Babouc 
 
 81 
 
 Bacchus 
 
 Babouc. {See Bacbuc.) 
 
 Babouin. Tuiscz-rous, pvl'itc hahuitiu; 
 la'is^cz parlcz voire mere, qm est pins suyc 
 que voKa. The tale or fable is this : A 
 girl oue day weut to make au oftering to 
 Veuus, aud prayed the goddess to give 
 her for husband a young mau on wlioni 
 she had fixed her affections. A young 
 fellow hajipeued at the time to be behind 
 the image of Cujiid, and hearing the 
 petition, replied, "So fine a gentleman 
 is not for such as you." The voice 
 seemed to j^roceed from the image, aud 
 the girl rejjlied, ''Hold your tongue, 
 you little monkey ; let youi- mother 
 speak, for she is vviaer than you." 
 
 Baby Charles. So James I. used 
 to call his son Charles, afterwards 
 Charles I. 
 
 Babylon. The modern BnhijIo)i. So 
 Loudon is sometimes called, on account 
 of its wealth, luxurj', and dissipation. 
 
 Babylonian Numbers. Xe Jhihij- 
 lonio.f tentaris iiiiiiicros. Do not pry into 
 futurity by astrological calculations and 
 lioroscopes. Do not consult fortune- 
 tellers. The Chaldieans were the most 
 noted of astrologers. {Horace : Udets, 
 book i. xi. 2.) 
 
 Babylonish Captivity. The seventy 
 j'ears that the Jews were captives in 
 Babjdon. They were made captives by 
 Nebuchadnezzar, and released by Cyrus 
 (B.C. 5;38). 
 
 Babylonish Garment {A). Bahij- 
 hmieii rcvti!<, a garmeut woven with 
 divers colour's. (I'/mi/, viii. 7-1.) 
 
 " [ saw amoug the spuil.s a auudly BaliyluiusU 
 ganueut."— Josliua vii. 21. 
 
 Baca. T/ie Valleif of Baea, also 
 called the Valley of Tears, translated in 
 the New Version " the Valley of Weep- 
 ing," a^jparently a dry sterile valley, 
 the tj^pe of this earth spoilt by sorrow 
 aud sin. " Blessed is the mau . . . 
 in whose heart are the ways of them. 
 Who passing through the valley of Baca 
 make it a well . . ." (Psabn Ixxxiv. 
 6). That man is blessed whose trust in 
 God converts adverse circumstances into 
 proofs of divine love. " Whom He loveth 
 He chasteneth." They ' ' go from strength 
 to strength." 
 
 In the mountains of Lebanon is a 
 valley called Baca, but it is described as 
 fertile and very delicious. The Valley 
 of Lebanon (Joshua xi. 17) is encom- 
 passed by mountains, oue of which is 
 very barren, and abounds in thorns, 
 rocks, and Hints, but another is called 
 
 a terrestrial paradise. Baca means 
 "mulberry trees," but Bekah means 
 a "plain." Perowne says Bacah is 
 from a Hebrew root which means 
 " weeping." 
 
 " Our souices uf coiiimou pleasure dry up as we 
 jmuuoy ou tlirough tlie vale of Ba'cUa." — blr 
 Wiiltir Scutt : The Aidiqiuirii. 
 
 Bacbuc. The Holy Bottle, aud also 
 the priestess of the Holy Bottle, the 
 oracle of Lantern-laud consulted by 
 Panui'ge on the momentous question 
 whether or not he ought to marry. Tlie 
 Holy Bottle answered with a click like 
 the noise made by a glass snapping. 
 Bacbuc told Panurge the noise meant 
 tri)ic (diiuk), and that was the response, 
 the most direct and positive ever given 
 by the oracle. I'anurge might interpret 
 it as he liked, the obscurity would 
 always save the oracle. 
 
 So Pic or Gluck (say I) or ueitlier, 
 Or both, for aught I care, or either ; 
 More uudecided than Bacbuc, 
 Here's heads for I'ic, aud tails for (iUick. 
 H. C. B. 
 
 Bacchanalia. Festivals iu honour 
 of Bacchus, distinguished for their licen- 
 tiousness and debauchery. Plato says he 
 has seeu the whole population of Athens 
 druuk at these festivals. 
 
 Bacchanalian. Drunken, rolUck- 
 sonie, devoted or pertaiuiug to Bacchus 
 
 {q.c). 
 
 Bacchant. A person given to habits 
 of di-inkiug ; so called from the " bac- 
 chauts," or men admitted to the feasts of 
 Bacchus. Bacchants wore fillets of ivy. 
 
 Bacchante ('2 syl.). A female wine- 
 bibber ; so called from the "bacchantes," 
 or female priestesses of Bacchus. They 
 wore fillets of ivy. 
 
 Bacchis. A sacred bull which changed 
 its colour every hour of the day. 
 [Efjiiptiati mijtholoyij.') 
 
 Bacchus [(<■/«<']. In Eomaii mytho- 
 logy the god of wine. He is represented 
 as a beautiful youth with black eyes, 
 golden locks, flowiug with curls about 
 his shoulders aud filleted with ivy. Iu 
 peace his robe was i^urple, in war he 
 was covered with a pautlier's skin. His 
 chariot was drawn by iiauthers. 
 
 The famous statue of Bacchus in the 
 palace of Borghese (3 syl.) is represented 
 with a bunch of grapes in his hand and 
 a pauther at his feet. Pliny tells us 
 that, after his conquest of India, Bacchus 
 entered Thebes in a chariot drawn by 
 elephants. 
 
 V The Etruscan Bacchus was called 
 Eaar or Nenur ; the Umbriau Beaar ; the
 
 Baccoch 
 
 82 
 
 Back 
 
 Assyrian Insus ; the Greek J)lon->/sHS ; 
 the Galatian JVi/sms ; the Hebrew Nizziz; 
 a Greek form was lacchus (from lache, 
 a shout) ; the Latui Bacchns ; other 
 forms of the word are tlie Norse Eix ; 
 the ludiau Ics ; the Persian I'cz; the 
 GauUsh Hcs ; the German Ilist ; and 
 the Chinese Jos. 
 " As jolly Bacchus, god of iile:isiii'e, 
 
 Cba. med the wide world with diiiikauddauccs, 
 
 And all his thousaud airy fancies, 
 
 Alas ! he unite forgot the while 
 
 His favourite viues in Lesbos' isle." ParncU. 
 
 Bacchus, in the Lusiad, is the evil 
 demon or antagonist of Juijiter, the lord 
 of destiny. As Mars is the guardian 
 l)0wer of Cliristianity, Bacchus is the 
 guardian power of Mohammedanism. 
 
 liacchus sprcDKj frojii the thitjhof Zeus. 
 The tale is that Semele asked Zeus to 
 appear before her iu all his glorj', but 
 tlie foolish request proved her death. 
 Zeus saved the child which was prema- 
 turely born by sewing it uj) iu his thigh 
 till it came to maturity. The Arabian 
 tradition is that the infant Bacchus was 
 nourished during infancy in a cave of 
 Mount Meros. As "Meros" is Greek 
 for a thigh, the Greek fable is readily 
 explained. 
 
 H'lial lias that to do with Bacchus ? 
 i.e. what has that to do with the matter 
 in hand? When Thespis introduced 
 recitations in tlie vintage songs, the 
 innovation was suffered to pass, so long 
 as the subject of recitation bore on the 
 exploits of Bacchus ; but when, for 
 variety sake, he wandered to other 
 subjects, the Greeks pulled him up with 
 the exclamation, " What has that to do 
 with Bacchus?" (*6' Hecuba, Mou- 
 
 TONS.) 
 
 Bacchus a noijc plus (Vhoiiunes quo 
 Ncptnnc. The ale-house wrecks more 
 men than the ocean. 
 
 A jjriest of Bacchus. A toper. 
 
 "The ,i(dly old priests of Baecliusiu the parlour 
 make their lihaiions of claret."— X S. Le Fana: 
 'The Uuai-c in tha Cliurchyard, v. 113. 
 
 A sou of Bacchus. A toper. 
 
 Baccoch. The travelling crij^ple of 
 Ireland. Generally, a talkative, face- 
 tious fellow, i^rompt at repartee, and 
 not unlike the ancient jester. 
 
 Bachelor. A man who has not 
 been married. Probably from haccalaris, 
 "a man employed on a grazing -farm " 
 (Low Latin, bacca, for racca, a cow). 
 French, l/achclicr, hachclctfe (a damsel). 
 
 A Bachelor of Arts. The student who 
 has passed his examination, but is not 
 yet of standing to be a master. For- 
 merly the bachelor was the candidate 
 for examination. The word used to 
 
 be spelt bacltillcr ; thus iu the Bro- 
 cccduigs of the Frivi/ Council, vol. i. 
 13. 72, we read: — "The king ordered 
 that the bachillers should have reason- 
 able pay for their trouble." 
 
 Froissart styles Itichard II. le jeune 
 dauioiscl liichart. The Italian is doii- 
 zclla. 
 
 Bachelor of Salamanca ( Tht) . Don 
 Cherubim. He is placed in different 
 situations of life, aud is made to asso- 
 ciate with all classes of society. {Le 
 Haye : The Bachelor of !Salatnanca (a 
 novel).) 
 
 Bachelor's Buttons. Several flowers 
 are so called, liud Bachelor's Buttons, 
 the double red campion ; yellow Bach- 
 elor's Buttons, the " ujH'ight crowfoot "; 
 white Bachelor's Buttons, the white 
 ranunculus and white campion. 
 
 "The siuiilitudo these flowers have to the 
 jaggi'd cloath liuttous anciently worue . . . gave 
 occasion . . . to call them Baclielour'sHuttons."— 
 Gerald: IlcrOal. 
 
 Or else from a custom still sometimes 
 observed by rustics of carrying the 
 flower in their pockets to know how 
 they stand with their sweethearts. If 
 the flower dies, it is a bad omen ; but if 
 it does not fade, they may hope for the 
 best. 
 
 To iirar hachelor^s buttons. To remain 
 a bachelor. {Sec above.') 
 
 Bachelor's Fare. Bread aud cheese 
 and kisses. 
 
 Bachelor's Porch. The north door 
 used to be so called. The meuservauts 
 and other poor men used to sit on 
 benches down the north aisle, and the 
 maidservants, with other poor women, 
 on the south side. Even when married 
 the custom was not discontinued. After 
 service the men formed one line and the 
 women another, down whicli the clergy 
 and gentry passed amidst salutations, 
 and the two lines flled off. In some 
 country churches these arrangements 
 are still observed. 
 
 Bachelor's Wife (.^ ). A hypothetical 
 wile. A bachelor has only an imaginary 
 wife. 
 
 "Bachelors' wives and old maids' children lie 
 well taught."— iff!/ itJood; I'romrhs. 
 
 Back {To). To support with money, 
 influence, or encouragement: as to 
 " back a friend." A commercial term 
 meaning to endorse. When a merchant 
 backs or endorses a bill, he guarantees 
 its value. 
 
 Falstaff says to the Prince : — 
 "You care not who sees your Lack. Call ycut
 
 Back and Edge 
 
 83 
 
 Back- stair 
 
 that backing of your friends ? A plague upon sucU 
 backing '."—Shakestieiire : 1 Ilcury IV., ii. 4. 
 
 •'Englishmen will ligbt now as well as ever 
 tliey did ; and there isaliii'le power to l>ack them." 
 — W. Rubertsoii: John Briijlit, chap. xxxi. p. I'US. 
 
 Back and Edge. Eiitirelj', heartily, 
 tooth aud uail, with might and raaiu. 
 The reference is to a wedge driveu home 
 to sj)lit wood. 
 
 •'They were wcirking back and edge for me."— 
 lioldrcwuod : Rubbery aiidcr Arms, ch. ii. 
 
 To back and fill. A mode of tacking, 
 when the tide i.s with the vessel and the 
 wind against it. Metaphorically, to be 
 irresolute. 
 
 To back out. To draw back from an 
 engagement, bargain, etc., because it 
 does not seem so plausible as you once 
 thought it. Many horses are unwilling 
 to go out of a stable head foremost, and 
 are backed out. 
 
 " Octavius backs cnit ; his caution and reserve 
 come to her rescue."— 6'. Clarke : Sliakespeare. 
 
 To back the field. To bet on all the 
 horses bar one. A sporting term used 
 in betting. 
 
 To back the sails. So to arrange them 
 that the ship's way may be checked. 
 
 To back up. To uphold, to support. 
 As one who stands at your back to 
 support you. 
 
 At the back of. Behind, following 
 close after. Figui'e from following a 
 leader. 
 
 " With half the city at his back." 
 
 liyron: Don Juan. 
 
 To see his back ; to see the back, of any- 
 thing. To get rid of a person or thing ; 
 to see it leave. 
 
 Back the oars or back water is to row 
 backwards, that the boat may move the 
 reverse of its ordinary direction. 
 
 Uu tlie back of. Immediately after. 
 Figure from soldiers on the march. 
 
 To the hack, that is, to the backbone, 
 entirely. 
 
 To orcak the hack of a thing. To 
 surmount the hardest part. 
 
 His back is up. He is angry, he 
 shows that he is annoyed. The allusion 
 is to a cat, which sets its back up when 
 attacked by a dog or other animal. 
 
 To get one^s back up. To be irritated 
 {Sec above). 
 
 To have his hack at the wall. To act 
 on the defensive against odds. One 
 beset with foes tries to get his back 
 agamst a wall that he may not be 
 attacked by foes behind. 
 
 " He planted his backagainst a wall.inaskilful 
 iUtitude offence, ready with his bright glancing 
 rapier to do Ijattle with all the heavy tierce un- 
 armed men, some six or seven in uumljer. "— J//s. 
 Guskell: The Povr Clare, iii. 
 
 To set one's back up. {See above.) 
 
 ■•That word set my back up." 
 
 Uaiue IliulUles Letter (1710\ 
 
 To turn one's hack on another. To 
 leave, forsake, or neglect him. To leave 
 one by going away. 
 
 ■'At length we . . . turn our liacks on the 
 outskirts of civilisation."— TrtrfraHt; iloab.ii. l!i. 
 
 Behind mg lack. When I was not 
 present. When my back was tiu-ned. 
 
 Laid on onc^s back. Laid up with 
 chronic ill-health ; helpless. Figure from 
 persons extremely ill. 
 
 Thrown on his back. Completely 
 worsted. A figure taken from wrestlers. 
 
 Backbite {To). To slander behind 
 one's back. 
 
 •■ The only thing in which all parties agreed was 
 to liackbite the manager."— ir. Irviiiy: Traceller, 
 Buclctliuni, p. 1'J3. 
 
 Backbone {The). The main stay. 
 "Sober .... practical men .... cimstitiite 
 the moral backiione of the country."- U'. Loiith: 
 In Darldat Eivjland U'art i. :;, p. 17;. 
 
 To the backbone. Thoroughly, as true 
 
 to the backbone. 
 
 "A union man, and a nationalist to the back- 
 bone."- r. Eoo^ecclt : T. H. Benton, chap. v. p. 
 li:j. 
 
 Backgammon is the Anglo-Saxon hae 
 oamen (back game) ; so called because 
 the pieces (in certain circumstances) are 
 taken up aud obliged to go back to enter 
 at the table again. 
 
 Background. Placed in the back- 
 around, i.e. made of no consequence. 
 Pictures have three disttmces, called 
 grounds : the foreground, where the 
 artist is supposed to be ; the middle 
 ground, where the most salient jxtrt of 
 the picture is placed ; and the back- 
 gromid or distance, beyond which the 
 eye cannot penetrate. 
 
 Back-hander. A l)low on the face 
 with the back of the hand. Also one 
 who takes back the decanter in order to 
 hand himself another glass before the 
 decanter is passed on. 
 
 '"Ill take a back-hander, as Clive dou't seem to 
 drink." — Tliackeray ; Tlie Xeicconies. 
 
 Back-speer {To). To cross-examine. 
 (Scotch.) 
 
 "He has the wit to lay the scene in snch a 
 remote . . . country that nobody should In; 
 able to back-speer him." — Sir W. iicutt : The 
 Betrothed (Introduction ). 
 
 Back-stair Influence. Fiivate or 
 unrecognised intluence. It was cus- 
 tomary to build roj'al palaces with a 
 staircase for state visitors, and another 
 for those who sought the sovereign upon 
 private matters. If any one wanted a 
 private interview with royalty, it was 
 highly desirable to conciliate tltose
 
 B ack^war dation 
 
 84 
 
 Badaud 
 
 appointed to guard the back stairs, as 
 they could admit or exclude a visitor. 
 
 " Once, we confess, beneatli tlie patriot's cloak, 
 From the clacked bag the tli-oia'iUo guiue;is 
 
 tjroke, 
 And, jinglius down the hack stairs, told the 
 
 crew 
 ' Old Cato is as Rreat a rogue as you.' " 
 
 J'opc : Jipistle to Lord Datliurst, 35-8. 
 
 Backwardation (Stocl-hrokcr^^ term). 
 The sum paid by a speculator on a "bear 
 account " {i.e. a sjieculation on a fall in 
 the price of certain stock), in order 
 to i^ostpoue the completion of the 
 transaction till the next settling day. 
 {ISce Contango.) 
 
 Backward Blessing {Muttering a). 
 Muttering a curse. To say the Lord's 
 Prayer backwards was to invoke the 
 devil. 
 
 Backwater. (1) Water at the 
 lower end of a niillrace to check the 
 speed of the wheel. (2) A current of 
 water from the iiiJaiid, which clears off 
 the deposit of sand and silt left by the 
 action of the sea ; as the Backwater of 
 Weymouth. 
 
 Bacon. The Bacon of Theology . Bishop 
 Butler, author of the Analogy. (1692- 
 1752.) 
 
 Bacon's brazen head. {See Brazen.) 
 
 To baste your bacon. To strike or 
 scourge one. The Saxons were called 
 " hogs " by their Norman lords. Henry 
 VIII. spoke of the common people as 
 the "swinish multitude"; and Falstalf 
 says to the travellers at Gadshill, " On, 
 bacons, on!" (1 Ilcnrg IV., ii. 2). 
 Bacon is the outside portion of the sides 
 of pork, and may be considered gener- 
 ally as the part which would receive a 
 blow. 
 
 2o save one's bacon. To save oneself 
 from injury. 
 
 " But as he rose to save his bacon. 
 By hat and wig he was forsaken." 
 
 Coo)iihe: l)i: Syntax, canto vi. line ;;-in. 
 
 There seems to be another sense in 
 which the term is used — viz. to escajie 
 loss ; and in this sense the allusion is to 
 the care taken by our forefathers to save 
 from tlie numerous dogs that fi'equented 
 their houses the bacon which was laid up 
 for winter store, the loss of which would 
 have been a very serious calamity. 
 
 A cli/iir-l)(ic<Ji/. A rustic. Till com- 
 ])aratively modern times the oidy meat 
 which rustics had to eat was bacon. I 
 myself know several farm labourers who 
 never taste any meat but bacon, except 
 on club and feast days. 
 
 lie mag fetch a flitch (f bacon from 
 T)ainnotv, i.e. he is so amiable and good- 
 tempered he will never qu.irrcl with his 
 
 wife. The allusion is to a custom founded 
 by Juga, a noble lady, in 1111, and 
 restored by Robert de Fitz waiter in 
 1244 ; which was, that " any person 
 from any part of England going to 
 Dunmow, in Essex, and humbly kneel- 
 ing on two stones at the church door, 
 may claim a gammon of bacon, if he 
 can swear that for twelve months and a 
 day he has never had a household brawl 
 QX wished himself unmarried." 
 
 Baconian Philosophy. A system 
 of philosophy based on principles laid 
 down by Francis Bacon, Lord Ver'ulam, 
 in the 2nd book of his Xonim Or'ga- 
 nitm. It is also called inductive j)hilo 
 sojjhy. 
 
 Baconian Theory. The theory that 
 Lord Bacon wrote the plays attributed 
 to Shakespeare. 
 
 Bac'trian Sage. Zoroaster, a native 
 of Bactria (Balkh), about 500 years 
 before the birth of Christ. 
 
 Bad. Charles le manrais. Charles II. 
 of Navarre (1332-1387). 
 
 He is gone to the bad. Has become a 
 ruined man, or a depraved character. 
 He has gone amongst bad peoijle, in bad 
 ways, or to bad circumstances. 
 
 To the bad. On the wrong side of the 
 accoimt ; in arrears. 
 
 Bad Blood. Viudictiveness, ill- 
 feeling. 
 
 " If there is any I'ad blood in the fellow ho will 
 be sure to show it."— Erothcr Joiiatliaii. 
 
 To malce bad blood, to stir up bad blood. 
 To create or renew ill-feeling and a vin- 
 dictive spirit. 
 
 Bad Books. You are in mg bad 
 boolcK. Under disgrace. Also 1)1 my 
 black books. {Sec under Black Bodes.) 
 
 Bad Debts. Debts not likelj^ to be 
 paid. 
 
 Bad Form, not comme il fant. Not 
 in good taste. 
 
 Bad Lot {A). A person of bad moral 
 character, or one commercially unsound. 
 Also a commercial x^i'oject or stock of 
 worthless value. The allusion is to 
 auctioneering slang, meaning a lot which 
 no one will bid for. So an inefficient 
 soldier is called one of the Queen's bad 
 bargains. 
 
 Bad Shot {A). A wrong guess. A 
 sporting phrase : a bad shot is one wliich 
 does not bring down the bird shot at, 
 one that misses the mark. 
 
 Badaud. A booby. C'est nn franc 
 badaud, he is a regular booby. Le
 
 Badge 
 
 Bag 
 
 badaud de Paris, a French cockuey. 
 From the Itahau, badare, to gaze in the 
 air, to stare about oue. 
 
 Badge of Poverty. In former 
 times tliose who received parish relief 
 had to wear a badye. It was the letter 
 P, with the initial of the parish to which 
 they belonged, in red or blue cloth, on 
 the shoulder of the right sleeve. {See 
 Dyvour.) 
 
 Badge-men. Alms-house men; so 
 called because they wear some special 
 dress, or other badge, to indicate that 
 they belong to a particular foundation. 
 
 " Ho quits tbe gay and rich, the youn,!,' and free, 
 Aniiin',' the badge-men with a liadge to lie." 
 
 Crubbe: Bminigh. 
 
 Badger {A). A licensed huckster, 
 who was obliged to wear a badge. 
 By 5 Eliz., c. 12, it was enacted that 
 " Badgers were to be licensed annually, 
 under a penalty of £5." 
 
 "Under Dec. 17, l.lio, we read of 'Certain 
 perscms npou Humlier side who . . . hy great 
 quantities of corn, two of whom were authorised 
 liadgers.' "State Papers (Domestic Scries). 
 
 Badger (To). To tease or annoy by 
 superior numbers. In allusion to the 
 ancient custom of badger-baiting. A 
 badger was kennelled in a tub, where 
 dogs were set upon him to worry him 
 out. When dragged from his tub tlie 
 poor beast was allowed to retire to it till 
 he recovered from the attack. This 
 process was repeated several times. 
 
 Badger. It is a vulgar error that the 
 legs of a badger are shorter on oue side 
 than on the other. 
 
 " I think that Titns Gates was as uneven as a 
 badger."— itntZ ihtcaulay. 
 
 Drawing a badger is drawing him out 
 of his tub by means of dogs. 
 
 Badinage. Plaj'ful raillery, banter 
 (French), from the verb badnicr, to joke 
 or jest. The noun bad'uie means a 
 switch, and in France they catch wild 
 ducks by covering a boat with switches, 
 in which the ducks seek j)rotection. A 
 person quizzed is like these wild ducks. 
 
 Badinguet. A nickname given to 
 Napoleon III. It was the name of the 
 workman whose clothes he wore when he 
 contrived to escape from the fort of 
 Ham, in 1846. 
 
 " If Badinguet and Bismarck have a row to- 
 gether let them settle it; Ijetween them with theii- 
 Usts, instead of troubling hundreds of thousands 
 of men who . . . have uo wish to fight."— Zote : 
 The Vomifall, chap. ii. (1892). 
 
 Badingueux. The party of the 
 Emperor Napoleon III. Tlie party of 
 the Empress were called " Moutijoyeux " 
 and " Montijocrisses," from Montijo in 
 
 Spain. She was the second daughter of 
 the Count of Montijo. 
 
 Badminton is properly a ' ' copus 
 cup," made of claret spiced and sweet- 
 ened, a favourite with the Duke of 
 Beaufort of Badminton. As the duke 
 used to be a great patron of the prize 
 ring, Badminton was iised as equivalent 
 to claret as the synonym of blood. 
 
 Also a game similar to lawn tennis, 
 only played with shuttlecocks instead of 
 balls. 
 
 Baffle. To erase the cognisance of 
 a recretint knight. To degrade a kniglit 
 from his rank. To be knocked about by 
 the winds. 
 
 " I am disgraced, impeached, and baffled here." 
 Shakespeare : Richard If., act i. 1. 
 
 Bag. Jjcig a»d Baggage, as "Get 
 away with you, bag and baggage," i.e. 
 get away, and carry with you all your 
 belongings. The bag or sack is the 
 pouch in which a soldier packs his few 
 articles when he moves from jilace to 
 place. Baggage is a contemptuous term 
 for a woman, either because soldiers 
 send their wives in the baggage wagons, 
 or from the Italian bagascia (a harlot), 
 French bagasse, Spanish bagazo, Persian, 
 baga. 
 
 Bag and baggage policy. In 1876 Mr. 
 Gladstone, speaking on the Eastern 
 question, said, "Let the Turks now 
 carry away their abuses in the only 
 possible manner, namely, by carrying 
 away themselves. . . . One and all, bag 
 and baggage, shall, I hope, clear out 
 from the province they have desolated 
 and profaned." This was termed by 
 the Conservatives tlie bag and baggage 
 policy. 
 
 A bag of bones. Very emaciated ; 
 generally " A mere bag of bones." 
 
 A hag of game. A large battue. 
 From the custom of carrying game 
 home in " bags." 
 
 A hag of triclis or A ivhole bag of 
 tricks. Nmnerous expedients. In al- 
 lusion to the fable of the Fo.v and the 
 Cat. The fox was commiserating the 
 cat because she had only one shift in the 
 case of danger, while he had a thousand 
 tricks to evade it. Being set upon by 
 a pack of hounds, the fox was soon 
 caught, while puss ran up a tree and 
 was quite secure. 
 
 A good bag. A large catch of game, 
 fish, or other animals sought after by 
 si:)ortsmen. 
 
 Got the bug. Got his dismissal, (fiee 
 Sack.) 
 
 The bottom of the bag. The last
 
 Bag 
 
 86 
 
 Baillif 
 
 expedient, ha^'ing emptied every other 
 one out of liis bag. 
 
 To cuiptji the hay. To tell the whole 
 matter and conceal nothing. (French, 
 vider le sac, to expose all to view.) 
 
 To let the cat out of the bag. {See 
 under Cat.) 
 
 Bag {To). To steal, or slip into one's 
 bag, as a jioacher or pilferer who slyly 
 slips into his bag what he has con- 
 trived to imrloin. 
 
 Bags. A slang word for trousers, 
 which are the bags of the body. When 
 the pattern was very staring and ' ' loud," 
 they once were called howli/i{/-bae/s. 
 
 Bag-man (^4). A commercial tra- 
 veller, who carries a bag with specimens 
 to show to those whose custom he 
 solicits. In former times commercial 
 travellers used to ride a horse with 
 saddle-bags sometimes so large as almost 
 to conceal the rider. 
 
 Bag o' Nails. Some hundreds of 
 years ago there stood in the Tylturn 
 Koad, Oxford Street, a public-house 
 called 2'he llacehaiials : the sign was 
 Pan and the Satyrs. The jolly god, 
 with his cloven lioof and his horns, was 
 called " The devil ; " and the word Bac- 
 chanals soon got corrupted into '' Bag o' 
 Nails." The JJeeil and the Bag o' JSaih 
 is a sign not uncommon even now in 
 the midland counties. 
 
 Baga de Secretis. Records in the 
 Record Oflice of trials for high treason 
 and other State offences from the reign of 
 Edward IV. to the close of the reign of 
 George III. These records contain the 
 proceedings in the trials of Anne Bolepi, 
 Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes, the 
 regicides, and of the risings of ITlo and 
 17-15. (Baga = Bag.) 
 
 Bagatelle {A) . A trifle ; a thing of 
 no consideration. "Oh! nothing. A 
 mere bagatelle." In French, " // dc- 
 petise font son argent en hugatellcs " 
 means, he squanders his money on trash. 
 " // tie sUnnase qnW des bagatelles,^'' he 
 finds no pleasure except in frivolities. 
 Bagatelle ! as an exclamation, means 
 Nonsense ! as "J'uas dites qiCU me j'eri 
 in> 2}>'oces. Bagatelle !^^ (fiddlesticks I) 
 
 " He cnnsiilered liis wife a bagatelle, to be sliut 
 up at iilmisure " [i.e. a tny to be put away at 
 pleasui''].— V7(e Depraved Husband. 
 
 Baguette d'Armide (La). The 
 sorcerer's wand. Armida is a sorceress 
 in Tasso's Jer/tsalein. Delivered. Ba- 
 guette is a rod or wand. 
 
 Bahagnla, Bohemia ; Bahaignons, 
 Bohemians. (1330.) 
 
 Bahr Geist (A). A banshee or grey- 
 spectre. 
 
 "Know tben (said Eveline) it [tbe Baliv Geist] 
 is a spectre, usually the image of tbe departed 
 person, who, either for wrong suffered, sustained 
 durini; life, or throui-'li tveiisure hiihleu, . . . 
 haunts the spot from tiioe to tinu>, ber.imc> fami- 
 liar to those wlio dwell there, and takes an 
 interest in their fate."— .S'lr H'. Scntt: The Be- 
 trothed, chap. l.">. 
 
 Bail (French, hailler). To deliver up. 
 
 Coiniiioii h'ld or hail below. A bail 
 given to the sheriff, after arresting a 
 person, to guarantee that the defendant 
 will api^ear in cotirt at any day and time 
 the court demands. 
 
 Special bail or hail ahore, consists of 
 persons who undertake to satisfy all 
 claims made on the defendant, and to 
 guarantee his rendering himself up to 
 justice when required. 
 
 Bail. (.SV'c Leo-Bail. ) 
 
 To bail up. To disarm before rol)l)ing, 
 to force to throw up the arms. (Austra- 
 lian.) 
 
 Bailey. The space enclosed within 
 the external walls of a castle, not 
 including the " Keep." The entrance 
 was over a drawbridge, and through the 
 embattled gate (Middle-age Latin haliain 
 or ballium, a coiTujition of vallum, a 
 rampart) . 
 
 When there were two courts to a 
 castle, they were distinguished as the 
 outer and inner bailey (rampart). Sub- 
 sequently the word included the court 
 and all its buildings ; and when the 
 court was abolished, the term was 
 att-ached to the castle, as the Old Bailey 
 (London) and the Bailey (Oxford). 
 
 Bailiff. At Constantinople, the per- 
 son who had charge of the imj^erial 
 children used to be called the hajaln.s, 
 from haios, a child. The word was sub- 
 sequently attached to the Venetian con> 
 sul at Constantinoijle, and the Venetiaii 
 ambassador was called the balio, a word 
 afterwards extended to any superinten- 
 dent or magistrate. In France the bailli 
 was a superintendent of the royal do- 
 mains and commander of the troops. In 
 time, any superintendent of even a 
 private estate was so called, whence our 
 farmer'' s bailiff. The sheriff is the king's 
 bailiff — a title now applied almost ex- 
 clusively to his deinities or officers. {See 
 
 BUMBAILIFF. ) 
 
 Bailleur. Un bon bailleur en fait 
 bdiller de/i.r (French). Yawning is catch- 
 ing. 
 
 Baillif (Herrg). Mine host in 
 Chaucer's Canterhary Tales. When the 
 poet began the second "Fit" of the
 
 Bain Marie 
 
 87 
 
 Balaam 
 
 Itime of Sir Thopas, Herry Baillif 
 interrupts him with unmitigated con- 
 tempt : — 
 
 " ' No iiior of this, for Goddes dignitie ! ' 
 Qucid (lur host, 'for thou iiiakest me 
 So wery . . . that 
 
 :Miiie t'l'ivs akeu for thy nasty speeche.' " 
 Verse 1S327. 
 
 Bain Marie. A saucepan containing 
 hot water into which a smaller sauce- 
 pan is jiluuged, either to keep it hot, or 
 that it may boil without burning. A 
 glue pot is a good example. Mons. 
 Bouillet says, '■' Ainsi appele dn nom de 
 rinroifciir'''' (Balneum Mariae). But 
 derivations from proper names require 
 autheutication. 
 
 Bairam (3 syl.). The name given to 
 two movable Moslem feasts. The first, 
 which begins on the first day of the 
 moon which follows that of Kamadaii, 
 and lasts three days, is a kind of Paschal 
 feast. The second, seventy days later, 
 lasts four days, and is not uidike the 
 Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. 
 
 V As the Mohammedan year is a lunar 
 one, in .33 years these feasts will have 
 occurred at all the four seasons. 
 
 Baisser. // seinhle qiCil n^ ij a qu^l sc 
 baisscr ct en prendre (French). One 
 would think he has only to pick and choose. 
 Said of a jierson who fancies that fortune 
 will fall into his lap, without his stir- 
 ring. Literally, " to stoop down and 
 pick up what he wants." 
 
 Bait. Food to entice or allure, as 
 bait for fish. Bait for travellers is a 
 "feed" by way of refreshment taken 
 en pdssdiit. (Anglo-Saxon, hcctun, to 
 bait or feed.) 
 
 Bajaderes. Indian dancing girls. 
 A corruption of the Portuguese baila- 
 dcir((, whence haWidcra, hajadire. 
 
 Bajulus. A pedagogue. A Grand 
 Bajiilus, a "big" j)edagogue. lu the 
 Greek court, the preceptor of the Em- 
 peror was called the Grand Bajulus. 
 Originally "porter." {Cf. Bailiff.) 
 
 Bajura. Mahomet's standard. 
 
 Baked. Half-balced. Imbecile, of 
 weak mind. The metaphor from half- 
 baked food. 
 
 Baked Meat means meat-pie. " The 
 funeral liaked meats did coldly furnish 
 forth the marriage table " {Hamlet) ; i.e. 
 the hot meat- pies (venison pasties) served 
 at the funeral and not eaten, were served 
 cold at the marriage banquet. 
 
 Baker ( The). Louis '^Xl. was called 
 "the Baker," the queen was called 
 
 " the baker's wife " (or La lioiclaiif/cre), 
 and the dauphin the " shop boy ; " be- 
 cause a heavy trade in com was carried 
 on at Versailles, and consequently very 
 little was brought to Paris. 
 
 '■The return of the liaker, his wife, and tlie 
 shop-hoy to Paris [after the kint,' was hroiiu'lit 
 from Versailles] had not had the expected etfeet. 
 Flour and hread were >till scarce."— .I. Duiiidg: 
 The Coiuitess de Chdruii, chap. ix. 
 
 Baker's Dozen. Thirteen for twelve. 
 When a heavy penalty was inflicted for 
 short weight, bakers used to give a 
 surplus number of loaves, called the 
 inbread, to avoid all risk of incurring 
 the fine. The 13th was the "vantage 
 loaf." 
 
 Mr. Riley (Liber Albus) tells us that 
 the 13th loaf was "the extent of the 
 profit allowed to retail dealers," and 
 therefore the reoitaf/e loaf means, the 
 loaf allowed for jirofit. 
 
 I'o give one a baker'' s dozen, in slang 
 pliraseology, is to give him a sound 
 drubbing — i.e. all he deserves and one 
 stroke more. 
 
 Baker's Knee (^i). A knop-knee, 
 or knee bent inwards, from carrying the 
 heavy bread-ba.sket on the right arm. 
 
 Bakshish. A Persian word for a 
 gratuity. These gifts are insolently de- 
 manded by all sorts of officials in Tm-kej^, 
 Egypt, and Asia Minor, more as a claim 
 than a gratuity. 
 
 Bal. Bonner lebal a qt(elqu''Hn (French). 
 To make one dance for it ; to abuse one. 
 In several games played with a ball, the 
 person who catches the ball or to whom 
 the ball is given, is put to an immense 
 amount of labom-. Thus, in Hurling, 
 the person who holds the ball has one of 
 the labours of Hercules to pass through. 
 His opponent tries to lay hold of him, 
 and the hurler makes his way over hills, 
 dales, hedges, and ditches, through 
 bushes, briars, mire, plashes, and even 
 rivers. Sometimes twenty or thirtj^ per- 
 sons lie tugging together in the water, 
 scrambling and scratching for the ball. 
 {See Strutt, Sports and Fnstimes, section 
 xii.) (jfe- Ball.) 
 
 Balaam. The Earl of Huntingdon, 
 one of the rebels in Monmouth's army. 
 
 " .\iid, therefore, in the name of dulness, he 
 The well-hun!.' Balaam." 
 
 Drydcii : Absalom imd AcUitopliel, 1573-4. 
 
 Balaam. A " citizen of sober fajne," 
 who lived hard by the Monument of 
 London; "he was a plain, good man; 
 religious, punctual, and frugal," his 
 week-day meal being only " one solid 
 dish." He grew rich; got knighted;
 
 Balaam 
 
 88 
 
 Balder 
 
 seldom went to church ; hecame a cour- 
 tier ; "took a bribe from France ; " was 
 hanged for treason, and all his goods 
 were confiscated to the State. {Sie 
 Diamond Pitt.) It was Thomas Pitt, 
 grandfather of the Earl of Chathain, 
 who suggested to Pope this sketch. 
 {I'upe : Mural Essays, Ep. iii.) 
 
 Balaam. Matter kept in type for fill- 
 ing up odd spaces in periodicals. These 
 are generally refuse bits — the words of 
 au oaf, who talks like "Balaam's ass." 
 (Numb. xxii. 3(i.) (American.) 
 
 Balaam Basket or Box {A). An 
 ass's pannier. In printer's slang of 
 America, it is tlie place where rejected 
 articles are deposited. {Sec Balaam.) 
 
 Balafre, Le [the f/asJied]. Henri, sou 
 of Fram;ois, second Duke of Guise. In 
 the Battle of Dormans he received a 
 sword-cut which left a frightful scar on 
 his face (1550-1588). So Ludovic Lesly, 
 an old archer of the Scottish Guards, 
 is called, in Sir Walter Scott's Qaeiitin 
 Daricard. 
 
 Balai. Doinier trois tours de halai 
 par la elieitiUice (French). To be a witch. 
 Literally, to run your brush three times 
 ujj tlie chimney. According to an 
 ancient sujjerstition, all witches had to 
 liass their brooms on wliich they rode 
 three times up the chimney between one 
 Sabbath and the following. 
 
 Balak, in the second part of Ahsa- 
 loiii and Achitaphel, a satire by Drydeu 
 and Tate, is meant for Dr. Burnet, 
 author of Bariiefs Oa-n Time. 
 
 Balam the ox, and the fieh Nun, are 
 the food of Maliomet's paradise ; the 
 mere lobes of the livers of these animals 
 will suffice for 70,000 saints. {Al Koran.) 
 
 Balan. Bravest and strongest of the 
 giant race. Vasco de Lobeira, in Aiiiarlis 
 of Gaal. Also, Emir of the Saracens, 
 and father of Ferumbras or Fierabras 
 {q.r.). 
 
 Balance {Tlie). "Libra," the 7th 
 sign of the zodiac, which contains the 
 autumnal equinox. According to fable 
 it is Astrtea, who, in the iron age, re- 
 turned from earth to heaven. Virgil, to 
 praise the equity of Augustus, promises 
 him a future residence in this sign. 
 
 V According to Persian mytliology, 
 at the last day there will be a huge 
 balance big as the vault of heaven. 
 The two scale pans will be called that 
 of light and that of darkness. In the 
 former all good will be placed, in the 
 latter all evil. And each individual will 
 
 receive an award according to the judg- 
 ment of the balance. 
 
 Balance. He has a (jood balance at 
 his bai(kers. His credit side shows a 
 large balance in his favour. 
 
 Balance of power. The States of 
 Euro2Je being so balanced that no one 
 nation shall have such a i^reponderance 
 as to endanger the independence of 
 another. 
 
 Balance of trade. The money-value 
 difference between the exports and im- 
 ports of a nation. 
 
 To balance an account. To add up the 
 debit and credit sides, and subtract the 
 less of the two from the greater. The 
 remainder is called the balance. 
 
 To strike a balance. To calculate the 
 exact difference, if any, between the 
 debit and credit side of au account. 
 
 Balayer. Chacun doit balaijer decant 
 sa porte (French), " Let everyone correct 
 his own faults." The allusion is to a 
 custom, nearly obsolete in large ''owns, 
 but common still in Loudon and in 
 villages, for each housewife to sweej) 
 and keej) clean the pavement before her 
 own dwelling. 
 
 Balclutha {The tower of), in Ossian, 
 is Dun-dee, where Dun means a tower. 
 Those circular buildings so common in 
 the Orkney aud Shetland Islands, the 
 Hebrides, and all tlie north of Scotland, 
 are duns. Dee is a corruption of 'Taij, 
 the river on which the city is built ; in 
 Latin, Tao-dunum. 
 
 Bald. Charles le Chaave. Charles I., 
 son of Louis le Dibonnairc (823, 840- 
 877). 
 
 Baldachin. The dais or cauojiy 
 under wliich, in Roman Catholic pro- 
 cessions, tlie Holy Sacrament is carried 
 (Italian, baldacchino, so-called from 
 Baldacco (Italian for Bagdad), where 
 the cloth was made). Also the canopy 
 above an altar. 
 
 Baldassa're. Chief of the monastery 
 of St. Jacopo di Compostella. {Doni- 
 zefti''s opera La Favorita.) 
 
 Balder, the god of peace, second sou 
 of Odin and Frigga. He was killed by 
 the blind war-god Hoder, at the instiga- 
 tion of Loki, but restored to life at the 
 general request of the gods. {Scan- 
 dinar ian nii/tholoqi/.) 
 
 N.B.— Sydney' Dobell {born 1824) has 
 a poem entitled Balder, published in 
 1854. 
 
 B:il(ler is the sun (ir ilaylijilit ■wbicli is killed liy 
 tlie iiliiid-j-'udat the instigation (if Ldki cii- dark- 
 ness, l>ut is restored to life the ne.\t day.
 
 Balderdash 
 
 89 
 
 Balls 
 
 B(ilder''s abode was Broadbliuk {rast 
 S2)lctidoH r) . 
 
 Balderdash. Eibalclry, jargon. 
 (Danish balder, tattle, clatter.) 
 
 Baldwin. The youngest and come- 
 liest of Charlemagne's paladins ; and the 
 nejjhew of Sir Roland. 
 
 Baldu-in (in Jerusalem Delivered). 
 The restless and ambitious Duke of Bo- 
 logna, leader of 1,200 horse in the allied 
 Christian army. He was Godfrey's bro- 
 ther ; not so tall, but very like him. 
 
 Baldubi, the Ass (in the tale of liei/- 
 nard the Fox). In the third part of the 
 Beast-epic he is called " Dr. Baldwin." 
 (Old German, bold friend.) 
 
 Bale. When bale is hiyhesi, boot is 
 nii/hest. When things have come to the 
 worst they must needs mend. 
 
 Balearica Tormenta. Here tor- 
 inenta means instruments for throwing 
 stones. Cffisar {Gallic War, iv. 25) says: 
 '■^ Fundis, torrncntis, sagittis hastes pro- 
 pellere.'' ' The inhabitants of the Balearic 
 Islands were noted slingers, and indeed 
 owe their name to this skill. (Greek, 
 hallo, to cast or hurl.) Pronounce Bal- 
 e-ari-ca. 
 
 Balfour of Burley. Leader of the 
 Covenanters in Scott's Old Mortality, a 
 novel (181C). 
 
 Balios. (.S'tY' Horse.) 
 
 Balisar'da or Balisardo. Roge'ro's 
 sword, made by a sorceress, and caf>able 
 of cutting through enchanted substances. 
 
 " Witli Balisarda's slightest IiIdw 
 Nor lielni, nor sliir Id. nor cuirass conlil avail, 
 -Nor stron-'ly-temiieied idate. nor twisted mail." 
 Ariosh) Uil.indu Farioso,]nH)k .x.Kiii. 
 
 Balistra'ria. NaiTOW apertures in 
 the form of a cross in the walls of an- 
 cient castles, through which cross-bow- 
 men discharged their arrows. 
 
 Baliverso (in Orlando Fa rioso). The 
 basest knight in the Saracen anny. 
 
 Balk means the high ridge between 
 furrows (Anglo-Saxon balea, a beam, a 
 ridge ) ; hence a rising ground. 
 
 A balk of timber is a beam running 
 across the ceiling, etc. , like a ridge. As 
 the balk is the part not cut by the 
 plough, therefore "to balk " means to 
 leave imtouched, or to disappoint. 
 
 To make a balk. To miss a part of 
 the field in ploughing. Hence to dis- 
 appoint, to withliold deceitfully. 
 
 To make a balk of good (/round. To 
 throw away a good chance. 
 
 Balker. One who from an eminence 
 balks or directs fishermen where shoals 
 of herrings have gathered together. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, bmlc-an, to shout.) 
 
 Balkis. The Queen of Sheba or Saba, 
 who visited Solomon. (Al Koran, c. it.) 
 
 Ball. To strike the ball under the 
 line. To fail in one's object. The al- 
 lusion is to the game of tennis, in which a 
 line is stretched in the middle of the 
 court, and the players standing on each 
 side have, with their rackets, to knock 
 it alternately over the line. 
 
 "Tlioii hast stricken the hall under the line.''— 
 Juhu Ilei/icoadc's Works (London, l."iiiii). 
 
 To take the ball before the bound. To 
 anticipate an opportunity ; to be over- 
 hasty. A metaphor from cricket, as 
 when a batsman runs up to meet the 
 ball at full pitch, before it bounds. (See 
 Balle.) 
 
 Ba/l of Fortune {A). One tos.sed, 
 like a ball, from pillar to post ; one who 
 has experienced many vicissitudes of 
 fortune. 
 
 " Brcra'n had heen from infancy a hall fm' fortune 
 to spurn at."— ,S'/?' Walter Scott: Guy Manner imj, 
 chaii. xxi. 
 
 The ball is ivith you. It is your turn 
 now. 
 
 To have the ball at your feet. To have 
 a thing in one's power. A metaphor 
 from foot-ball. 
 
 '■ We have the hall at our feet ; and, if the 
 .trovernmeut will allow it . . . \ve can now <-rusli 
 out the rehelliou."— Z-or(J^Mc/.';««(i. 
 
 To keep the hall a-rolliny. To con- 
 tinue Avithout intermission. To keep 
 the fun alive ; to keep the matter going. 
 A metaphor from the game of bandy, 
 or lajeu de la cross. 
 
 " It is Russia that keeps the hall rollinfr [the 
 Servian and Bulgarian War, lf*s.'>, fomented and 
 encouraged hy Russian usenls]." — Newspaper 
 parayraph, isw. 
 
 To keep the hall up. Not to let con- 
 versation or fun flag ; to keep the thing 
 going. A metaphor taken from several 
 games played with balls. 
 
 " I put in a word now and then to keep the hall 
 \\\^."—lienlham. 
 
 To open the hall. To lead off the first 
 dance at a ball. (Italian, ballaro, to 
 dance.) 
 
 Balls. The three golden balls. The 
 emblem of St. Nicholas, who is .said to 
 have given three purses of gold to three 
 vii-gin sisters to enable them to marry. 
 
 As the cognisance of the Medici family, 
 they probably represent three golden pills 
 — a punning device on the name. Bo 
 this, however, as it may, it is from the
 
 Ballad 
 
 90 
 
 Bambino 
 
 Lombard family (the first great money- 
 lenders in England) that the sign has 
 been appropriated by pawnbrokers. (<S'«! 
 MuGELLO for another account.) 
 
 Ballad means, strictly, a song to 
 dance-music, or a song sung while 
 dancing. (Italian, ballare, to dance, 
 hallata, our ballad, hallet [17. t'.]). 
 
 Ballads. " Let me make the hullads, 
 and who will maij make the laics.'" 
 Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, in Scot- 
 laud, wrote to the Marquis of Montrose, 
 "I knew a very wise man of Sir 
 Christopher Musgrave's sentiment. He 
 believed, if a man were permitted to 
 make all the ballads, he need not care 
 who should make the laws " (1703). 
 
 Ballambangjan {The Straits of). A 
 sailor's joke for a place where he may 
 lay any wonderful adventure. These 
 straits, he will tell us, are so narrow 
 that a ship cannot pass through without 
 jamming the tails of the monkeys which 
 haunt the trees on each side of the 
 strait ; or any other rigmarole which his 
 fancy may conjure up at the moment. 
 
 Ballast. A man of no ballast. Not 
 steady ; not to be depended on. Un- 
 steady as a ship without ballast. A 
 similar phrase is, " The man wants 
 ballast." 
 
 Balle. Prriuhr la balle an bond 
 (French). Strike while the iron is hot; 
 make hay while the sun shines. The 
 allusion is to certain games at ball, 
 which must be struck at the moment of 
 the rebound. 
 
 Renvoyer la balle a qitelqu'' an (French). 
 To pay one off in his own coin. Liter- 
 ally, to strike back the ball to the 
 sender. 
 
 Ballcndino {Bon Antonio). Intended 
 for Anthony Munday, the dramatist. 
 (Ben Jonson, The Case Altered,acom.edy.) 
 
 Ballet (pronounce bal-lai/). A 
 theatrical representation of some adven- 
 ture or intrigue by pantomime and 
 dancing. Baltazari'ni, director of music 
 to Catherine de' Medici, was the in- 
 ventor of modern ballets. 
 
 Balliol College, Oxford, founded in 
 1263, by John de Baliol, Knight (father 
 of Baliol, King of Scotland). 
 
 Balloon {A pilot). Metaphorically, 
 a feeler, sent to ascertain public opinion. 
 
 "The pilot balloon sent from .... has shown 
 [the sender] the direction of the wind, and lie 
 now trims his sails accordingly." — JVett'spiipcr 
 }>aru!jrcti}li, January, ls»6. 
 
 Balloon Post. During the siege of 
 Paris, in 1871, fifty- four balloon posts 
 were dispatched, carrying two-and-a- 
 half million letters, weighing ten tons. 
 
 Balm (French, ban me). Contraction 
 of balsam (</.''.). The Balm of Gilead 
 = the balsam of Gilead. 
 
 Is there no balm in Gilead ? Is there 
 no remedj', no consolation, not even in 
 religion ;■ 
 
 Balmawhapple. A stupid, obstinate 
 Scottish laii'd in Scott's U'arerlei/, a 
 novtl (180.5). 
 
 Balmerino {Lord) was beheaded, 
 but the executioner at the first stroke 
 cut oidy half through the neck, and (we 
 are tokl) his lordsliijJ turned round and 
 griinied at the bungler. 
 
 Balmung or Gram. The sword of 
 Siegfried, forged by Wieland, the Vulcan 
 of the Scandinavians. Wieland, in a 
 trial of merit, clove Amil'ias, a brother 
 smith, through steel helmet and aimour, 
 down to the waist ; but the cut was so 
 fine that Amilias was not even aware 
 tliat he was wounded till he attempted 
 to move, when he fell into two pieces. 
 (Seajidiiiavian mythology.) 
 
 Balmy. " / am goiny to the balmy " 
 — /.('. to "Balmy sleep; " one of Dirk 
 Swiveller's pet phrases. {Diekeits : Old 
 Cariosity Shop.) 
 
 Balmy-stick {To pat on the). In 
 prison slang means to feign insanity ; 
 and the "Balmy Ward" is the prison 
 ward in which the insane, real or feigned, 
 are confined. 
 
 Balnibar'bi. A land occupied by 
 
 projectors. {Sicift : GalUver's 2'ruvels.) 
 
 Baltha'zar. One of the kings of 
 Cologne — i.e. the three Magi, who came 
 from the East to pay reverence to the 
 infant Jesus. The two other magi were 
 Melchior and Gasper. 
 
 Baltic. The Mediterranean of the 
 nortli (Swedish, bait ; Danish, bre/te ; 
 Latin, ba/tSas ; English, belt), the sea of 
 the "Belts." 
 
 ^ Balwhidder {The Rev. Mieah). A 
 Scotch Presbyterian niinister, full of 
 fossilised national prejudices, but both 
 kind-hearted and sincere. {Gait : Annals 
 of the Parish, a novel (1821).) 
 
 Bambi'no. A picture or image of 
 the infant Jesus, swaddled (Italian, 
 bambi'no, a little boy). The most cele- 
 brated is that in the church of Sta. 
 Maria, in the Ara Coeli of Rome.
 
 Bambocciades 
 
 Bande Noire 
 
 Bambocciades (4 syl.). Pictures 
 of grotesque scenes in low life, such as 
 country wakes, penny weddings, and so 
 on. They are so called from tlie Italian 
 word bahihoccio (a cripple), a nickname 
 given to Pieter van Laer, the first Dutch 
 painter of such scenes, distiuguishcd in 
 Rome. 
 
 Bamboc cio or Bamboche. ( <SVe 
 Michael- AxGELO des Bamboches.) 
 
 Bamboo'zle. To cheat by cunning, 
 or daze with tricks. 
 
 ".The tliird retiueiiient oliservaWe in the letter 
 I seiiil vail, cousists iif the clioice of certain 
 words iuveuted hy some vretty feUows, such as 
 banter, haiubouzle . . . and Uidney . . . some of 
 wliicli are now strufglinsj for tbe vogue, and 
 others are in possession of it."— Swift: The Tatler 
 (Sept. M, ino). 
 
 To hamhoozle into (doing something). 
 To induce by trickery. 
 
 'To baixboozlc one out of something. To 
 get something by trickery. 
 
 Bampton Lectures. Founded by 
 the Rev. John Bampton, canon of Salis- 
 bury. He left an estate to the university 
 of Oxford, to i^ay for eight divinity lec- 
 tures on given sul)jects, to be preached 
 at Great St. Mary's, and printed after- 
 wards. 
 
 Ban. A proclamation of outlawry ; 
 a denunciation by the church (Anglo- 
 Saxon, gc-baii, a proclamation ; verb, 
 ge-bannan). 
 
 MarruKje bans. {Sec Banns.) 
 
 To ban is to make a proclamation of 
 outlawry. To banish is to proclaim a 
 man an exile. {See Bandit.) 
 
 Lefcr le bun et I'arriere ban (French). 
 To levy the ban was to call the Iting's 
 vassals to active .service ; to levy the 
 (irrierc ban was to levy the vassals of a 
 suzerain or uuder-lord. 
 
 " Le mot ban. ciui signifie l>anuiere, se disait de 
 I'appel fait par le seit-'iieur a ses vasauix pour les 
 couvoiiuer sous son utendard. On distingiiait ie 
 ban compose des vassaux imm6diat?J. qui etaieiit 
 c<mvo(iu03 par le roi luimOme, et Varrierc ban, 
 conipiiso des vassaux couvoiiues par leiirs 
 auztrainii."—Bouillet : Uictionnaire d'Uistoirc. etc. 
 
 Banagber. {See under Beats. ) 
 
 Ban'at. A territory under a ban 
 (lord), fiom the Illyrican word bojan, a 
 lord. The Turks gave this title to the 
 loi'ds of frontier provinces — e.g. the 
 Banat of Croatia, which now forms part 
 of the kingdom of Hungary. 
 
 Banbury. A Banburij-inan—i.e. a 
 Puritan {Ben ./onson); a bigot. From the 
 reign of Elizabeth to that of Charles II. 
 Banbury was noted for its number of 
 Puritans and its religious " zeal." 
 
 Ax thin a.s Banbiiri/ elieese. In Jiteh 
 Brumes £ntertainmeHi we read, '"You 
 
 are like a Banbury cheese, nothing but 
 paring;" and Bardolph compares Slender 
 to Banbury cheese {Merry Wiien, i. 1). 
 The Banbury cheese is a rich milk 
 cheese about an inch in thickness. 
 
 Banco. Slttine/s in Banco. Sittings 
 of the Superior Com't of Common Law 
 in its ovvu bench or court, and not in 
 circuit, as a judge of Xisi Friiis {ij.r.). 
 (Banc is Italian for "bench" or "seat 
 of justice.") 
 
 So niHch banco — i.e. so much bank 
 money, as distinguished from current 
 coin. At Hambm'g, etc., ciu'rency is in- 
 ferior to " bank money." (Not money 
 in the bank, but tlie fictitious value set 
 on cash by bankers.) 
 
 Bancus Regius. The king's or 
 queeu's bench. Uaneits Conuniinia, the 
 bench of common pleas. 
 
 Bandan a or Bandanna. A pocket- 
 handkerchief. It is an Indian word, 
 properly applied to silk goods, but now 
 restricted to cotton handkerchiefs having 
 a dark ground of Turkey red or blue, 
 with little white or yellow spots. (Hin- 
 dij, bandhnu, a mode of dyeing.) 
 
 Bandbox. He eoines oat of a band- 
 bo.r — ('.('. he is so neat and precise, so 
 carefully got up in his di'ess and person, 
 that he "looks like some company di'ess, 
 carefully kept in a bandbox. 
 
 2\eat an a bandbox. Neat as clothes 
 folded and put by in a bandbox. 
 
 Bandbox Plot {Th,). Rapiu {Hin- 
 torij of Eni/Iand, iv. li'JT) tells us that a 
 baiidbox was sent to the lord-treasurer, 
 in Queen Anne's reign, with three pistols 
 charged and cocked, the triggers being 
 tied to a pack-thread fastened to the 
 lid. When the lid was lifted, the pistols 
 would go off, and shoot the person who 
 opened the Uu. He adds that [dean] 
 Swift happened to be by at the time, and 
 seeing the pack-thread, cut it, thereby 
 saving the life of the lord-treasurer. 
 "Two ink-horn tops your Whigs did All 
 With gunpowder and lead; 
 Which with two serpents made of ciuill, 
 
 You in a bandbox laid; 
 A tinder-box there was beside, 
 
 Which had a trigger to it, 
 To which the very string was ty'd 
 That was designed to do it." 
 
 I'M iiiion rtot (aliout 1713). 
 
 Bande Noire. Properly, a blaeh 
 band; metaphorically, the I'andal So- 
 ciety. Those capitalists that bought up 
 the Church property confiscated in the 
 gi-eat French revolution were so called, 
 because they recklessly pulled down 
 ancient buildings and destroyed relics of 
 great antiquity.
 
 Bandit 
 
 92 
 
 Ban net 
 
 Bandit, plural banditti or bandits, 
 properly means outlaw (Italian, bandito, 
 banished, men pronounced "banned"). 
 As these outlaws very often became 
 robbers, the term soon came to signify 
 banded highwaymen. 
 
 Bands. Clerical bands are a relic of 
 the ancient amice, a square linen tippet 
 tied about the neck of priests during the 
 administration of mass (Discontinued 
 by the parochial clergy the hitter part of 
 the 19th century, but still used by 
 clerics on the C'r>ntinent.) 
 
 Leijal bands are a relic of the wide col- 
 lars whicli formed a part of the ordinary 
 dress in the reign of Henry VIII., and 
 which were especially conspicuous in the 
 reign of the Stuarts. In the showy daj^s 
 of Charles II. the plain bands were 
 changed for lace ends. 
 
 " Tlic eislitli Henry, as I understand. 
 Was ttu' first prince tliat ever wore a liand." 
 John Tii!ilor,the Il'ater Poet {I S»>lli54). 
 
 Bandy. / am. not going to bandij 
 tvords icith yon — i.e. to dispute about 
 words. The reference is to a game 
 called Bandy. The players have each a 
 stick with a crook at the end to strike a 
 wooden or other hard ball. The ball is 
 bandied from side to side, eacli party 
 trying to beat it home to the opiJosite 
 goal. (Anglo-Saxon, bcndan, to bend.) 
 
 "Tlie l)at was called a bandy from its lieini,' 
 lient." — Brund: PopiLlar AvtiquUies{s.Yl\c\e"Go\f," 
 II. sai). 
 
 Bane really means ruin, death, or 
 destruction (Anglo-Saxon, bana, a mur- 
 derer) ; and " I will be his bane," means 
 I will ruin or murder him. Bane is, 
 therefore, a mortal inj-ury. 
 " Jly liane ami antidote are both before it. 
 
 Tljis [sword] in a moment brings me to an end. 
 
 But this [I'liUo] assures me I shall never die." 
 Addison: Cnto. 
 
 Bango'rian Controversy. A theo- 
 logical paper-war stured up by a sermon 
 preached March 31st, 1717, before George 
 I., by Dr. Hoadly, Bishop of Bangor, 
 on the text, ' ' My kingdom is not of this 
 world." The best rej^ly is by Law, in a 
 series of Letters to Hoadhj. 
 
 Bang-up, or lilap-bang. First-rate, 
 thumping, as a " thumping legacy." 
 It is a slang punning synonym of 
 thumping or striknig. Slap bang is 
 double bang, or doubly striking. 
 
 Banian or Banyan {A). A loose 
 coat (Anglo-Indian). 
 
 " His coat was brownish Mack perliaiis of yore, 
 In snnjnipr time a banyan loose he wore." 
 
 Loin II : FitzAdant's Story (Stanza l.M. 
 
 Banian Days [Ban-yan]. Days when 
 no meat is served to a ship's crew. The 
 
 term is derived from the Banians, a class 
 of Hindu merchants, who carried on a 
 most extensive trade with the interior of 
 Asia, but being a caste of the Vaisya, 
 abstained from the use of meat. (Sans- 
 krit, banij, a merchant.) 
 
 Bank. A money-changer's bench or 
 table. (Italian banco or banca.) 
 
 Bank of a River. Stand with 
 your back to the source, and face to the 
 sea or outlet : the left bank is on your 
 left, and rig /it bank on your right hand. 
 
 iSisfers of t/ie JUank, i.e. of the bank- 
 side, " the brothel quarter" of London. 
 Now removed to a different quarter, 
 and divided into ''North" and "South." 
 
 " On this side of the Ranke was sometinics the 
 liordello or stewes."— .S'toit' ; Surven. 
 
 Bankrupt. Money-lenders in Italy 
 used to disjilay the money they had to 
 lend out on a banco or bench. When 
 one of these money-lenders was unable 
 to continue business, his bench or coun- 
 ter was broken up, and he himself was 
 spoken of as a bancorotto — i.e. a bank- 
 rupt. 
 
 Bankside. Part of the borough of 
 Southwark, noted in the time of Shake- 
 speare for its theatres and retreats of tlie 
 demi-monde, called "Sisters of the 
 Bank." 
 
 "Come, 1 will send for a whole coach or two of 
 Bankside ladies, and w^ will be jovial."— 7fn?i- 
 doliili : The Muses' Loukh.j Glass. 
 
 Banks's Horse. A learned horse, 
 called Marocco, belonging to one Banks, 
 in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It is 
 said that his shoes were of silver. One 
 of his exploits was "the ascent of St. 
 Paul's steeple." 
 
 Ban'natyne Club. A literary club 
 which takes its name from George Ban- 
 natyne, to whose industry we owe the 
 preservation of very much of the early 
 Scotch poetry. It was instituted in 1823 
 by Sir Walter Scott, and had for its 
 object the publication of rare works 
 illustrative of Scotch history, poetry, 
 and general literature. The club was 
 dissolved in 1859. 
 
 Banner means a piece of cloth. 
 
 (Anglo-Saxon, fa)>a ; Latin, paniras ; 
 Welsh, baner; Italian, bandie'ra; French, 
 bauniere.) 
 
 "An emperor's banner should be sixe footc 
 lonse, and the same in breadth ; a kind's lianner 
 Hve foote ; a prince's and a dnkc's liaiiner. four 
 foote ; a marquys's, an crle's, a viscount's, a 
 baron's, and a banneret's banner shall be but 
 three fuote scjuare.''— Air/.-. 
 
 The banner of tlie Trophet is called
 
 Banneret 
 
 93 
 
 Baptes 
 
 ISanjck-shcrif, and is kept in the Eyab 
 mos(iue of Coustantiuojile. 
 
 The tiro black bai/ncrn borne before the 
 Cahfs of the house of Abbas were called 
 Kif/ht and •Shadow. 
 
 The sacral hu)incr of France is the 
 Orijlauiiuc {q.v.). 
 
 Banners in churches. These are sus- 
 pended as thauk-ofteiings to God. Those 
 in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, Henry 
 VII. 's Chapel, Westmuister, etc., are to 
 indicate that the knight whose banner is 
 hung up, avows himself devoted to God's 
 service. 
 
 Banneret. One who leads his vassals 
 to battle mider his own banner. A 
 kniglit made in the field was called a 
 banneret, because the chief ceremony 
 was cutting or teaiiiig off the pointed 
 ends of his banner. 
 
 Banniere. Cent ans bannihe, cent 
 ans civicre. The ups and downs of life. 
 A grand seigneur who has had his 
 banner caiiied before him for a centurj', 
 may come to drive his hand-barrow 
 tlirough the streets as a costermonger. 
 
 Banniere. // faut la croi.r ct la 
 hdituicre pour I'avoir. If you want to 
 have him, j-ou must make a gi-eat fuss 
 over him — you must go to meet him 
 with cross and banner, "«//«• an (levant 
 (Ic liii avcc iin croix et la banniere." 
 
 Banns of Marriage. Tlie publi- 
 cation in the parish church for three 
 successive Sundays of an intended mar- 
 riage. It is made after the Second 
 Lesson of the Moniiug Service. To 
 announce the iatention is called " Pub- 
 lishing the banns," from the words " I 
 publish the banns of marriage bet^veen 
 . . . ." (Anglo-Saxon, gv-bannan, to 
 in'oclaim, to announce). 
 
 To forbid the banns. To object to the 
 projiosed mamage. 
 
 " And a better fate <liil poor Maria deserve tlian 
 to have a banns forbidden l)y t'.ie curate of tlie 
 IBirisli who iniblishea tUeiu."— i'icrHC ; flentiiiau- 
 tal Journey. 
 
 Banquet used at one time to mean 
 the dessert. Thus, Taylor, in the 
 Penny less Tilr/riiji, says : " Our first and 
 second course being threescore dishes 
 at one boord, and after that, always a 
 banquet." (French, banquet; banc, a 
 liench or table. We use "table" also 
 for a meal or feast, as "the funeral 
 baked meats did coldly furnish forth 
 the marriage table," i.e. feast.) 
 
 " After suinier ... a delirate liaminet, with 
 abundance of wine.'— Cogan (l.j.<i'. 
 
 A banquet of brine. A flood of tears. 
 
 "Jly heart was charged to overflowiug, and 
 
 forced into my eyes a banciiict of Ijrine."— C. 
 
 Thomson,: Antobioijrapliij, \i. :;(iy. 
 
 Ban'quo. A Scotch general of royal 
 extraction, who obtained several victories 
 over the Highlanders and Danes iu the 
 reign of Donald YII. He was murdered 
 by the order of Macbeth, and his ghost 
 haunted the guilty usurper. {Shake- 
 speare : 2Iacbeth.) 
 
 Banshee. The supposed domestic 
 spirit of certaia Irish or Highland 
 Scottish families, supi^osed to take an 
 interest iu its welfare, and to wail at 
 the death of one of the family. The 
 Welsh " Cyhyraeth " is a sort of 
 Banshee. 
 
 V The distinction of a Banshee is 
 allowed only to families of pure Milesian 
 stock. (Gaelic, ban-si th, a woman- 
 faiiy.) 
 
 Bantam. A little bantam cork. A 
 little plucky fellow that will not be 
 ])ullied bj- a person bigger than himself. 
 The bantam cock will encounter a dung- 
 hill cock five times his own weight, and 
 is therefore said to " have a great souliu 
 a little body." The bantam originally 
 came from Bantam, in Java. 
 
 Banting. Doing Banting. Eeducing 
 superfluous fat by livmg on meat diet, 
 and abstaining from beer, farinaceous 
 food, and vegetables, according to the 
 method adopted by WilHam Banting, a 
 London cabinet-maker, once a very fat 
 \aimfljorn 1796, died\%'i'S). The word 
 was introduced about 1864. 
 
 Bantling. A child. Mahn suggests 
 the German, bdnkling, a bastard. 
 (Query, baiulling, a little one in swadd- 
 ling-clothes.) 
 
 Banyan. A Hmdii shopkeeper. In 
 Bengal it denotes a native who manages 
 the money concei-ns of a European, and 
 also serves as an inteipreter. In Madras 
 such an agent is called Dubash {^i.e. one 
 who can speak two languages). {See 
 Baijia^j Days.) 
 
 Bap or Bap'homet. An imaginary 
 idol or symbol, which the Templars were 
 said to employ in their mysterious rites. 
 The word is a corruption of Mahomet. 
 (French, Baplvjuut ; Old S^janish, Mato- 
 mat.) 
 
 Bap'tes (2 syl.). Priests of the god- 
 dess Cotyt'to, -whose midnight orgies 
 were so obscene that they disgusted even 
 Cotytto, the goddess of obscenity. They 
 received their name from the Greek 
 verb hapto, to wash, because they bathed 
 themselves in the most effeminate man- 
 ner. {Juvenal, u. 91.)
 
 Baptist 
 
 94 
 
 Barbary 
 
 Baptist. John the Baptist. His 
 symbol is a sword, the instrument by 
 which he was beheaded. 
 
 Bar. Tlie whole body of barristers ; 
 as hcncli means the whole body of 
 bishops. 
 
 " A dinner was given to tbe English Bar."— T/ie 
 Times. , 
 
 Bar, excepting. In racing phrase a 
 man will bet "Two to one, bar one," 
 that is, two to one against any horse in 
 the field with one exception. The word 
 means " barring out " one, shutting out, 
 or debaning one. 
 
 Bar. uif the bar. As the prisoner at 
 the bar, the prisoner in the dock before 
 the judge. 
 
 Trial at bar, i.e. by the full court of 
 judges. The bar means the jjlace set 
 apart for the business of the court. 
 
 2h be ealled to the bar. To be admitted 
 a barrister. The bar is the partition 
 sejiaratiug the seats of the benchers 
 from the rest of the hall. Students 
 having attained a certain status used to 
 be called from the body of the hall 
 within the bar. to take part in the 
 proceedings of the court. To disbar is 
 to fJi.feard froui tlie bar. Now, "to be 
 called within the bar " means to be ap- 
 pointed king's (or queen's) counsel ; and 
 to disbar means to exjiel a banister 
 from his profession. 
 
 Bar, in heraldry. An honourable or- 
 dinary, consisting of two parallel lines 
 drawn across the shield and containing 
 a fifth part of the field. 
 
 " A iKirre ... is dia-n-ne overtliwart tlie cs- 
 riicliDn . . . it Cdntaiiietli tlie tlfth part of tlie 
 Kii-hl.''— rV!Ci7//;)( ; Ihraldnj. 
 
 A Bar sinister in an heraldic shield 
 means one drawn the reverse way ; thtit 
 is, not from left to right, but from right 
 to left. Popularlj^ but erroneously 
 supposed to indicate bastardy. 
 
 Bar {Trial at). The examination of 
 a difficult cause before the four judges 
 iu the suiierior courts. 
 
 Bar abas. The hero of Marlow's 
 tragedy, The Jew of Malta. 
 
 "A mere monster, lirouglit in with a large 
 liainteil nose. . . . He kills in sport, iioisonswlmir 
 nunneries, invents infernal machines. . . .'■—('. 
 
 Barata'ria. Sancho Panza's island- 
 city, over which he was appointed go- 
 vernor. The table was presided over 
 by Doctor Pedro Kezio de Ague'ro, who 
 caused every dish set ujioii the board to 
 be removed without being tasted — some 
 because they heated the blood, and others 
 because they chilled it ; some for one ill 
 effect, and some for another ; so that 
 
 Sancho was allowed to eat nothing. The 
 word is from harato (cheap). 
 
 "The meat was put on the tahle, and whisked 
 away, like rtaiicho's inauguration least at Bara- 
 taria."— TZ/oc/icro;/. 
 
 Barathron. A deep ditch behind 
 the Acropolis of Athens into which 
 malefactors were thrown : somewhat iu 
 the same wa}- as criminals at Rome were 
 cast from the " Tarpeian Rock." 
 
 Barb. An arrow. The feathers under 
 the beak of a hawk were called barb 
 feathers (beard feathers). The point of 
 an arrow has two iron " feathers," which 
 stick out so as to hinder the extraction 
 of the arrow. (Latin, Jmrba, a beard.) 
 
 N.B. — The barb is not the feather on 
 the upper part of the shaft, but the 
 hooked iron point or head. 
 
 Barb. A Barbary steed, noted for 
 docility, speed, endurance, and spirit. 
 {Sec Barbed Steeds.) 
 
 Bar'bari. Quod nonfeee' rant Barbari, 
 fcee'runt Barberi'ni (What the barbarians 
 left standing, Barberiui contrived to 
 destroy). Pope Barberini robbed the 
 roof of the Pantheon to build the Bald- 
 acchi'no, or canopj^ of St. Peter's. It is 
 made entirely of bronze, and weighs 
 ninety tons. 
 
 Barbarians is certainly not derived 
 from the Latin barba (a beard), as many 
 su^jpose, because it is a Greek word, and 
 has many analogous ones. The Greeks 
 and Romans called all foreigners bar- 
 barians (babblers ; men who spoke a lan- 
 guage not understood by them) ; the Jews 
 called them Gentiles (other nations) ; 
 the Russians Ostiaks (foreigners). The 
 reproachful meaning crej^t in from the 
 natural egotism of man. It is not very 
 long ago that an Englishman looked 
 with disdainful pity on a foreigner, 
 and the French still retain much of 
 the same national exclwsiveness. {See 
 
 WUNDEEBEEG.) 
 
 " If tlien I know not the meaning of the voice 
 [irnrds], I shall lie to him that speaketh a bar- 
 barian [a fnreifiner'], and he that speaketh will 
 be a barliarian unto me."— 1 Cor. xiv. 11. 
 
 Barbarossa [Bed-beard, similar to 
 Bafts]. The surname of Frederick I. 
 of Gormnny (1121-1190). Also Khair- 
 eddin BarViarossa, a famous corsair of 
 the sixteenth century. 
 
 Barbary. St. Barbari/, the patron 
 saint of arsenals and powder magazines. 
 Her father delivered her up to Martian, 
 governor of Nicome'dia, for being a 
 Christian. After she had been subjected 
 to the most cruel tortures, her unnatural
 
 Barbason 
 
 95 
 
 Barcelona 
 
 father was about to strike off her head, 
 when a liglitniug flash laid liim dead at 
 her feet. Heuce, those who invoke 
 saiuts select St. Barbary in thvuider- 
 storms. (.Vrc Baebe.) 
 
 lioaii Burbarij. The favourite horse 
 of Kichard II. {See Hoesb.) 
 " O, liow it. yoanieil my lieart when I beheld 
 
 In Loiiildii sireets that ccironatiim ilay, 
 
 When Biiliii.i-'liroke rode on i-oan Barljary ! 
 
 That hcii'se that thou [Rich. II.] so often hast 
 hestrid, 
 
 Tliat horse tliat I so carefully have dressed." 
 ShuUeapeare : Richard II., v. 5. 
 
 Bar'bason. A fiend mentioned by 
 Shakespeare in the Merry IFires of 
 iri/idaur, ii. 2, and in Henri/ V., ii. 1. 
 
 " .Auiaimon souuds well, I,ueifer well, Tiarliason 
 well ; yet tbey are . . . the names of tlends."— 
 Marij Wives. 
 
 Barbazure (or liliie-Benrd). See 
 " rtincli^s Prize Novelists," by Thack- 
 eray. 
 
 Barbe {Ste.). The powder-room in a 
 Freucli ship ; so called from St. Barbara, 
 the patron saint of artillery. {See Bae- 
 
 BAEY.) 
 
 A harhe de foil appreud-on a retire 
 (French). An apprentice is taught to 
 shave on the chin of a fool. 
 
 2\l a flit sa barbe, eiiii n''est pas bean 
 fils (French). You may waste half the 
 clay ou making your toilet, and j'et not 
 come forth an Adonis. You cannot 
 make a silk j)urse of a sow's ear. Not 
 every block will make a Mercury. 
 
 " Heaii lying curls a million on your head. 
 On s(jcks, a cubit high, plant your iiroud tread. 
 You're just what you are— that's all about it." 
 Goethe: Faust (Dr. Anstcr), p. 103. 
 
 Bar'becue (3 syl). A West Indian 
 dish, consisting of a hog roasted whole, 
 stuffed with spice, and basted with 
 Madeira wine. Any animal roasted 
 whole is so called. 
 
 " OldMeld. with more than liarpy throat subdued. 
 Cries, 'i^end me, ye gods, a whole hog har- 
 liecueil ! ' " Poiie : Satires, ii. L'5, 28. 
 
 Barbed Steed (a corruption of 
 barded). A horse in armoui-. (French, 
 barde, caparisoned.) 
 
 " And now, instead of mountim-' barbed steeds 
 T(i friu'ht I lie souls nf fi'.-irful adversaries, 
 lie rajirrs ninildv in a l.-idv's clianilier, 
 To the lasciviiius pleasing of a lute." 
 
 t<liiil;csj>eare : Richard III., act i. 1. 
 
 Barbel. Latin, barbe/f/is (the barbed 
 fi.'ih) ; so called from the barbules, or 
 fleshy appendages round the mouth. 
 
 Barbeliots. A sect of Gnostics. Their 
 first immortal son they called Barbeloth, 
 omniscient, eternal, and incorruptible. 
 He engendered light by the instrument- 
 ality of Christ, author of Wisdom. From 
 Wisdom sprang Autogenes, and from 
 Autogenes, Adam (male and female). 
 
 and from Adam, matter. The first 
 angel created was the Holy Ghost, 
 from whom sprang the first prince, 
 named Protarchoutes, who married Ar- 
 rogance, whose oft'spriug was Sin. 
 
 Barber. Every barber knotvs tJmt 
 
 " Omnibus uoluui tonsoribus." 
 
 Horace: 1 Satires, VII. 3. 
 
 In Eonie the toiistri'iia; or barbers' shops 
 were the fashionable resort of loungers 
 and idlers. Here every scandal was 
 known, and all the talk of the town was 
 rejieated. 
 
 Barber Poet. Jacques Jasmin, last 
 of the Troubadours, who was a barber 
 ofGascouy. (1798-1861.) 
 
 Barber's Pole. The gilt knob at the 
 end represents a brass basin, which is 
 sometimes actually suspended on the 
 pole. The basin has a notch cut in it to 
 tit the throat, and was used for lathering 
 customers who came to be shaved. The 
 pole represents the staff held by jiersons 
 in venesection ; and the two sjiiral ribbons 
 paiuted round it represent the two ban- 
 dages, one for twisting round the arm 
 previous to blood-letting, and the other 
 for binding. Barbers used to be the 
 surgeons, but have fallen from "their 
 high estate" since science has made its 
 voice " to be heard on high." 
 
 N.B. — The Barbers' Hall stood in 
 Moukwell Street, Cripplegate. Tlie last 
 barber-surgeon in London was Middle- 
 ditch, of Great Suffolk Street, in the 
 Borough. He died 1821. 
 
 "To this year" (I.Vin, says Wornnm . . . 
 "belongs the Barber-Surgeons' pirinri-uf llmry 
 (VIII. I granting a charter lo llie ('(irp(.r:ition. 
 The barljers and surgeons of Lnndnn, urijinally 
 constituting one company, had Icrn srp.n.ited, 
 but were awiin, in the :U Henry \' I II ., combined 
 into a single society, and it was the ceremony nf 
 presenting them with a new charter whi<di is 
 commemorated by H(dbein's lucture, miw in llieir 
 hall in Moukwell .Street." 
 
 Barbican (The) or Jlitrbitemt. The 
 outwork intended to defend the draw- 
 bridge in a fortified town or castle 
 (French, barbaertiie). Also an opening 
 or loophole in the wall of a fortress, 
 through which guns may be fired. 
 
 Barbier. Un harbicr ra.se Paufrc 
 (French). Caw me and I'll caw thee. 
 One good turn deserves another. One 
 barber shaves another. 
 
 Barcarole (3 syl.). A song sung by 
 Venetian barettroli, as they row their 
 gondolas. (Italian, barcaroh, a boatman.) 
 
 Barcelona (A). A fichu, piece of 
 velvet for the neck, or small neck-tie, 
 made at Barcelona, and common in
 
 Barclayans 
 
 9(5 
 
 Bark 
 
 Euglaud iu the fii-st quarter of the iiine- 
 toeuth ceutury. Also a neckcloth of 
 some bright coloiu', as red with yellow 
 spots. 
 
 " Ami on this liandkevcliii'f so sl:ircli :ni(l wliite 
 She riuucd a liiii-ccloiia Mack ;iiiil ti.Lrlil." 
 
 I'cfi-r I'iiiditr: VoiifoUn (l)iinih'i. 
 " A (loulile Barcelona in-oleileil liis nock."— 
 
 iScult: Pcoeiil u/tlic I'aik {I'n/atuiii Letter.) 
 
 Barclayans. {Sec Bkee'ans.) 
 
 Barco'chebah or Barchochebas 
 
 (Shiincoii). A fanatical leader of the 
 Jews who headed a revolt of the Jews 
 against the Romans a.d. 132, took Jeru- 
 salem iu Vi'l, and was slain by Julius 
 Sevtlrus in an assault of Bethel, a.d. 13.3. 
 {Didot: XonccUc Blvynipliiv Unii'crscUc.) 
 
 "Shared the fall of the Antichrist Barco- 
 chohaSx."— Professor Seeley : Ecce Homo. 
 
 Bardesanists. Followers of Bar- 
 desa,iios, of Edessa, founder of a Gnostic 
 sect iu the second century. They be- 
 lieved that tlie human body was ethereal 
 till it became imbruted with sin. Milton, 
 in his C'oiims, refers to this : — 
 
 " When Lust 
 liv unchaste looks, loose postures, and foul talk, 
 r.nl most 1)V lewd ami la\ ish acls of sin, 
 l.i'is in dollh-niont to I ho inward parts, 
 'I'lio s.iiil u'l'ous cloiicd hy c(inla;,'iou, 
 Inihndics and inilinuos." 
 
 Bardit. The ancient German chant, 
 which incited to war. 
 
 Bardo de' Bardi. A wealthy Flor- 
 entine scholar, father of llomola, iu 
 George Eliot's lloinola, a novel (1863). 
 
 Bardolph. One of Falstaff's inferior 
 oflicers. Falstaft' calls him " the knight 
 of the burning lamp," because his nose 
 was so red, and his face so "full of 
 meteors." He is a low-l)red, drunken 
 swaggerer, without principle, and poor 
 as a church mouse. {Mcrrij IV'iccs ; 
 ILciiri/ IV., i., ii.) 
 
 "We must have hotlor assui'ance for Sir .Tuhn 
 tlian Bardolf's. Wo like uot the security."— /,o/-(( 
 Miu-aitUiii. 
 
 Bards. The oldest bardic composi- 
 tio];s that have been preserved are of the 
 fifth century ; the oklest existing manu- 
 script is the Pki(H(T of Caifhr/, a col- 
 li'ition of bardic legends, comjiiledin tlie 
 ninth century by Cormac Mac Culiiiau, 
 bishoiJ of Cashcl and king of Minister. 
 
 Jiard of A voii . Sliakespeare, who was 
 bom and buried at Stratford- u])on- Avon. 
 Also called "The bard of all times." 
 (I.")l)l-1G1().) 
 
 Bard of Ai/rs/iirr. Ro1>ert Burns, a 
 native of Ayrshire. (17-')!)- 179(5.) 
 
 Bard of Ifo/jc. Thomas Cam]iboll, 
 author of T/w r/msitrcs of Hojie. (1777- 
 1814.) 
 
 Bard of the Ima<fut.al'wn. Mark Akeu- 
 side, author of I'lcaiittres of the I may illa- 
 tion. (1721-1770.) 
 
 Bard of Meiiiorj/. Rogers, author of 
 Tlie Fleamrcs of Meinori/. (17()2-18.i.5.) 
 
 Bard of Olnei/. Cowper, who resided 
 at OIney, iu Bucks, for many years. 
 (1731-1800.) 
 
 The Bard of Prose. 
 
 " He of the hundred tales of love." 
 
 Uliildc Harold, iv. 56. 
 
 t.e Boccaccio. 
 
 The Bard of Bi/dal Monnf. William 
 Wordsworth ; so called because Rydal 
 Mount was his mountain home. Also 
 called the " Poet of the Excursion," 
 from his principal poem. (1770-18.30.) 
 
 Hard of Tn-icl:<iih(nii. Alexander Pope, 
 who resided atTwickunhain. (1G88-I7il.) 
 
 Barcbone Parliament {The). The 
 Parliament convened by Cromwell in 
 1633 ; so called from Praise-God Bare- 
 bone, a fanatical leader, who was a 
 XH'ominent member. 
 
 Barefaced. Audacious, shameless, 
 impudent. This seems to imply that 
 social and good manners require cou- 
 cealraent, or, at any rate, to veil the face 
 with "white lies." Iu Latin — r electa 
 faeic ; iu French— ff visaf/e diconrert. 
 Cassius says to his friend Brutus, "If I 
 have veiled my looks . . . ," that is, 
 concealed my thoughts from you. 
 
 Barefooted. Certain monks and 
 nuns, who use sandals instead of shoes. 
 The Jews and Romaus used to put off 
 their shoes in mourning and public 
 calamities, by way of humiliation. The 
 practice is defended by the command of 
 our Lord to His disciples: "Carry 
 neither purse, nor scrip, uor shoes " 
 (Lukex. 4). 
 
 Bare Poles ( Under) implies that the 
 weather is rough and the wind so high 
 that the ship displays no sails on the 
 masts. Figuratively applied to a man 
 
 reduced to the last extremity. Figura- 
 tively, a disingenuous j^erson sails under 
 bare poles. 
 
 " We were sruddins before a heavy gale, under 
 hare jioles."— C«p(. MarrytU. 
 
 Bargain. Into the barr/ain. Iu ad- 
 dilinii thereto; besides what was bar- 
 gMiucd for. 
 
 To make the best of a bad harejnin. To 
 bear bad luck, or "a bad bargain, with 
 eipianimity. 
 
 Bark. Dogs iu their wild state never 
 b;irk ; they howl, whine, and growl, but 
 do not kirk. Ba,rking is an acquired 
 habit ; and as only domesticated dogs
 
 Barker 
 
 97 
 
 Barnacle 
 
 bark, this effort of a dog to speak is no 
 indication of a savage temper. 
 
 JUirkiiitj dogs schloni lute. Huffing, 
 bouncing, hectoring fellows rarely pos- 
 sess cool courage. 
 
 French: "Tout chien qui aboye ne 
 mord pas." 
 
 Latin : " Canes timidi vehementius 
 latrant quam mordent." 
 
 Italian: " Can che abbaianonmorde." 
 
 German : "Ein hellender hund beisst 
 nicht leicht." 
 
 Tn bark at the moon. To rail at those 
 in high places, as a dog thinks to 
 frighten the moon by baying at it. 
 There is a superstition that it portends 
 death or ill-luck. 
 
 " I'd rather be a ilofj, ami bay the moon, 
 Tl]aii such a Iloinaii." 
 
 Shakespeare : Julius Ccesar, iv. ."?. 
 
 Jlin bark is worse titan his bite. He 
 scolds and abuses roundly, but does not 
 bear malice, or do mischief. The pro- 
 verb says, " Barking dogs never bite." 
 
 Barker. A pistol, which barks or 
 mnkcs a loud rejjort. 
 
 Barktan. The famous black stone in 
 the eastern corner of the Kaaba ; it is 4^ 
 feet in length, and is surrounded with a 
 circle of gold. The legend is that when 
 Abraham wished to build the Kaaba, the 
 stones came to him of their own accord, 
 and the patriarch commanded all the 
 faithful to kiss the Barktan. 
 
 Bar'laham. A hermit who converted 
 Jos'aphat, an Indian prince. This Ger- 
 man romance, entitled Barlahani and 
 Josap/iat, was immensely popular in the 
 Middle Ages. It was written by Eudolf 
 of Ems (13th century). 
 
 Barley. To en/ harlcij. To ask for 
 truce (in children's games). Query, a 
 corruption of parley. 
 
 " A in'oiier lad o' his qiiarlers, that will uot, rry 
 bai-ley in a bnilzie."— .S'ii' ^Y. Scott: Wan-rley, xiii. 
 
 Barley-bree. Barley-broth ; that is, 
 malt liquor brewed from barley {Scotch). 
 
 '■The oock may ovaw, the dav mav daw, 
 Ami aye we'll taste the barley-brco." 
 
 Bitnis : ll'i7;!e Hreiv'd a Pecku Maui. 
 
 BarJ^y Cap. To wear the baric;/ 
 cap. lo be top-heavy or tipsy with 
 barley-bree. The liquor got into the 
 head. 
 
 Barleycorn. John or Sir John Bar- 
 hijcorn. A pei'souification of malt liquor. 
 The term has been made pojiular by 
 Kobert Burns. 
 
 " Inspiring bold John Barleycorn, 
 AVhat dangers them canst make us scorn '. " 
 Burns: 'I'am o' Sliautci; 103, loii. 
 
 Barley-mow. A lieap of barley 
 housed, or where it is housed. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, moirc, a heap; Italian, mncchio ; 
 Spanish, iiutcho.) 
 
 Barley Sugar. Sugar boiled in a 
 decoction of barley. It is not now made 
 so, but with sail'ron, sugar, and water, 
 flavoured with oil of citron, orange, or 
 lemon, 
 
 " Barley sugar was prepared by boiling down 
 ordinary siiuar in a decociiun of pearl-barlev."-- 
 Kiinirledc/e (.luly fJtli, bsSi). 
 
 Bar'mecide (3 syl.). The word is 
 used to express the uncertainty of things 
 on which we set our heart. As the 
 beggar looked forward to a feast, but 
 found only empty dishes ; so many a 
 joy is found to be mere illusion when 
 we come to partake of it. 
 
 "To-morrow : Ihe mysterious unknown guest 
 Who cries aloud, ' Keniomber Barmecide! 
 And tremble to be happy with the rest.' " 
 
 LiMKjfelhiw. 
 
 Bar'mecide's Feast. A feast where 
 there is nothing to eat ; any illusion. 
 Barmecide asked Schac'abac, a poor, 
 starving wretch, to dinner, and set 
 before him an empty jilate. "How do 
 you like your soup r* " asked the mer- 
 chant. " Excellently well," rci)li(>d 
 Schac'abac. "Did you ever see whiter 
 bread':'" "Never, lionourable sir," 
 was the civil answer. Wine was then 
 brought in, and Schac'abac was jiressetl 
 to drink, but excused himself by saying 
 he was alwaj's quarrelsome in his cups. 
 Being over-persuaded, he fell foul of 
 his host, and was provided with food to 
 his heart's content. {Arabian Xights : 
 Barhcr''s Sixth Brother.) 
 
 Bar'nabas. St. Barnabas' -Off//, June 
 11. St. Barnabas was a fellow-labourer 
 of St. Paul. His symbol is a rake, 
 because the 11th of June is the time of 
 hay-harvest. 
 
 Bar'nabltes (3 syl.). An Order of 
 monks, so called because the church of 
 St. Barnabas, in Milan, was given to 
 them to preach in. They are also called 
 " Canons of St. Paul," because the oi'igi- 
 nal society made a poiut of reading St. 
 Paul's Epistles. 
 
 Barnaby Lecturers. Four lei - 
 turers in the University- of Cambridge, 
 elected annually on St. Barnabas' Day 
 (June 11), to lecture on mathematics, 
 philosophy, rhetoric, and logic. 
 
 Barnaby Rudge. A half-witted 
 lad whose companion is a raven. 
 
 {JJickrns : B</rnat>/ Uxdijc.) 
 
 Bar'nacle. The Solan goose. TIkj 
 stnmge tnles of this creature have arisen
 
 Barnacles 
 
 93 
 
 Barratry 
 
 from a tissue of blunders. The Latin 
 pcrnac'ula is a "small limpet," and her- 
 nacidd (Portuguese, hcriutca: French, bfir- 
 nachc) is the Scotch brcu-dalce or " Solan 
 goose." Both words being corrupted 
 into " barnacle," it was natural to look 
 for an identity of nature in the two 
 creatures, so it was given out that the 
 'goose was the ott'sijriug of the limpet. 
 Gerard, in 1636, sjjieaks of "broken 
 pieces of old ships on which is found 
 certain spume or froth, which in time 
 breedeth into shells, and the fish which 
 is hatched therefrom is iu shape and 
 habit like a bird." 
 
 Barnacles. Placemen who stick to 
 their ofiices but do little work, like the 
 barnacles which live on the shiiJ but 
 impede its progress. 
 
 "The roduud;ints would l>e ' Biirnacles ' witli a 
 veusjeaiioe . . . and the work lie aU the worse 
 done lor tliese Xanacn-ow."— Nineteenth Ceiitmy 
 CAiit'USt, l^s.s, p. L'SOJ. 
 
 Barnacles. Spectacles, or rather 
 reading-glasses ; so called because in 
 shape they resemble the twitchers used 
 by farriers to keep under restraint unruly 
 horses during the process of bleeding, 
 dressing, or shoeing. This instrument, 
 formerly called a baroacle, consisting of 
 two branches joined at one end by a 
 hinge, was fixed on the horse's nose. 
 Dr. Latham considers the word a cor- 
 ruption of bhwch's (double-eyes), Latin, 
 dill IIS ociihis. Another suggestion is 
 "binnacle," the case on board &h\\> in 
 which the steering compass is placed, 
 illuminated when it is dark by a lamp. 
 
 Barnardine. A reckless, dissolute 
 fellow, "fearless of what's past, present, 
 and to come." (Shakespeare: Measure 
 
 for Measure.) 
 
 Barn-burners. Destructives, who, 
 like the Dutchman of story, would burn 
 down their barns to rid themselves of 
 the rats. 
 
 Barnet. An ejiicure who falls in 
 love with, and marries, a lady on account 
 of her skill in dressing a dish of stewed 
 carp. {Edward, a novel by Dr. John 
 Moore, 1796.) 
 
 Barnwell {Gcorric). The chief cha- 
 racter iu a prosn tragedy, so called, by 
 George Lillo. He was a London appren- 
 tice, who fell in with a wanton in Shore- 
 ditch, named Sarah Millwood, whom he 
 visited, and to whom he gave £200 of his 
 master's money, and ran awa}^ He ue.xt 
 robbed his uncle, a rich grazier at Lud- 
 low, and beat out his brains. Having 
 spent the money, Sarah turned him out 
 
 of doors, and each informed against the 
 other. Sarah Millwood and George 
 Barnwell were both hanged. (Lillo, 
 1693-1739.) 
 
 Baro-Devel. The great god of the 
 gil^sies. His son is named Alako. 
 
 Baron properly means a man (Old 
 High German, haro). It was a term 
 applied to a serving- soldier, then to a 
 miUtary chief, and ultimately to a lord. 
 The reverse of this is seen in our word 
 slave (a servile menial), which is the 
 Slavonic word slav (noble, illustrious). 
 Baroiies vei rarroiies dlcinitur serrl mili- 
 lii/ii, qui utiquc stiiltissiitii siintservi ride- 
 lieet siiiltoruni. (^Scholiast.) {See Idiot.) 
 
 Baron Bung. Mine host, master of 
 the beer bung. 
 
 Baron Munchausen (pron. Moo/ui- 
 kow'-zn). Said to be a satire on Bruce, 
 the Abyssinian traveller, to whom the 
 work was dedicated. The author was 
 Easjie, a Geiman fugitive from the 
 officers of justice, living iu Cornwall 
 (1785). The chief incidents were com- 
 piled from various sources, such as the 
 Mendu'cia Ridie'iila of J. P. Lange ; 
 Lucian's True History of Things J)is- 
 corered in the Moon : liahehiis ; and the 
 Folhe'to dc Amhas Lis'hoa. 
 
 Baron of Beef. Two sirloins left 
 imcut at the backbone. The huroii is the 
 backjjart of the ox, called in Danish, the 
 rug. Jocosely said to be a pun ujion 
 baron and sir loin. 
 
 Barons' War {The). An historical 
 poem by Michael Drayton (1603). 
 
 "Tlie iiictures of Men timer and tlie queen, and 
 of Edward's onirauce into the castle, are splendid 
 and spirited."— C'((i»;*tK. 
 
 Barrack Hack (The). A lady who 
 hangs on the sleeve of a military officer, 
 attends all bnrrack fetes of every descrip- 
 tion, and is always ready to get up a 
 dance, dinner, or picnic, to please the 
 officers on whom she dances attendance. 
 
 Barracks means huts made of the 
 branches of trees (Gaelic, barr, the top 
 of anything; barrach, the tojj-branchc; 
 of trees ; barraehad, a hut made oi 
 branches). Our word is plmal, indica- 
 tive of the whole collection ; but the 
 French baraque is singular. (-S't't'E. K. S.) 
 
 Barratry or Barretrg. Qui fait 
 barat, bet rat liii vient (French). With 
 what measure ye mete, it shall be 
 measured to you again. Barratry is 
 false faith to one's employers. It is a 
 sea term, and means the commission of 
 a fraud on the owners or insurers of a
 
 Barrel Fever 
 
 90 
 
 Barristers' Bags 
 
 ship by the captain or the crew. The 
 fraud may consist of many phases, such 
 as deserting the ship, sinking her, falsi- 
 f3'ing her cargo, etc. The French have 
 other proverbs to the same effect : as. 
 La t richer ie revient presque ionjours d son 
 maitre. "He made a pit and ... is 
 fallen into the ditch which he made. 
 His mischief shall return upou his own 
 head." (P-rialm vii. U, 1.5, 16.) 
 
 Barrel Fever. Intoxication or ill- 
 ness from intemi)erance in drink. 
 
 Barren's Blues. The 4th Foot; 
 so called from the colour of their facings, 
 and William Barrell, colonel of the 
 regiment (1734-1739). Now called "The 
 King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regi- 
 ment)." They were called "Lions" 
 from their badge. The Lion of Emjland. 
 
 Barrette. Farlcr a la hnrrcitc (French) . 
 To give one a thump o' the head. The 
 word harrdtc means the cap worn by 
 the lower orders. 
 '" Et luiii. je iwunais Meu parler a ta banette." 
 Muliire: L' Avarc. 
 
 It is also used to signify the ordinary 
 birretta of ecclesiastics and (probably) 
 of French lawyers. II a rc<;H Ic chapcati 
 or la barrette. He has been made a 
 cardinal. 
 
 " Le iiape lui envoyait la barrette, mais elle ne 
 scivit iiu' a Ie faire mmirir cardiual."— VoHoiic; 
 .S h-tc da Louis XIV., cliap. xx.xix. 
 
 Barricade (3 syl.). To block up. 
 Tlie tenu rose in France in 1588, when 
 Henri de Guise returned to Paris in 
 defiance of the king's order. The king 
 sent for his Swiss Guards, and the 
 Parisians tore up the pavement, threw 
 chains across the streets, and piled up 
 barrels filled with earth and stones, 
 behind which they shot down the Swiss 
 as they passed through the streets. The 
 French for barrel is barriquc, and to 
 barricade is to stop up the streets with 
 these barrels. 
 
 The da>/ of the Barricades : 
 
 (1) May ■l2th, 1588, when the people 
 forced Henri III. to flee from Paris. 
 
 (2) August oth, 1648, the beginning 
 of the Fronde War. 
 
 (3) July 27th, 1830, the first day of 
 Ie /jra))d fi'inain wliich drove Charles X. 
 from the throne. 
 
 (4) February 24th, 1848, which drove 
 Louis Philippe to abdicate and flee to 
 England. 
 
 (5) June 23rd, 1848, when Affre, 
 Archbishop of Paris, was shot in his 
 attempt to (piell the insurrection. 
 
 (6) December 2nd, 1851, the day of 
 the coup d^etat, when Louis Xapoleou 
 
 made his appeal to the people for 're- 
 election to the Presidency for ten years. 
 
 Barrier Treaty, November 5th, 1715, 
 by whicli the Dutch reserved the right of 
 holding garrisons in certain fortresses of 
 the Spanish Netherlands. 
 
 Bar rikin. Jargon, words not under- 
 stood. (Old French, baracan, from the 
 Breton, hara 'jirijii, "white bread," 
 taken as a type of barbarous words ; 
 modern French, baraf/onin, gibberish.) 
 
 Barring-out. A practice of barring 
 the master out of the schoolroom in 
 order to dictate terms to him. It was 
 once common, but is now numbered 
 with past customs. Miss Edgeworth has 
 a tale so called. 
 
 Barrister. One admitted to plead 
 at the bar ; one who has been "called 
 to the bar." The bar is the rail which 
 divides the counsel from the audience, 
 or the i^lacc thus enclosed. Tantamount 
 to the rood-screen of a church, which 
 separates the chancel from the rest of 
 the building. Both these are relics of 
 the ancient notion that the laity are an 
 inferior order to the privileged class. 
 
 V A silk gown or bencher jjleads 
 within the bar, a stuff gown or outer 
 ban-ister pleads without the bar. 
 
 An Outer or Utter Barrister. This 
 phrase alludes to an ancient custom 
 observed in courts of law, when certain 
 barristers were allowed to jilead ; but 
 not being benchers (king's counsel or 
 sergeants-at-law) they took their seats 
 ' ' at the end of the forms called the 
 bar." The Utter Banister comes next 
 lo a bencher, and all barristers inferior 
 to theL'tter Barristers are termed "Inner 
 BaiTisters." 
 
 V The whole society is di\nded into 
 three ranks : Benchers, Letter Barristers, 
 and Inner Bamsters. 
 
 An Inner Barrister. A baiTister in- 
 ferior in grade to a Bencher or Utter 
 Banister. 
 
 A Revising Barrister. One ai3j)ointed 
 to revise the lists of electors. 
 
 A Vacation Barrister. One newly 
 called to the bar, who for three years 
 has to attend in "long A'acation." 
 
 Barristers' Bags. In the Common 
 Law bar. barristers' bags are either red 
 or dark blue. Red bags are reserved for 
 Queen's Counsel and sergeants : but a 
 stuff gownsman may cany one " if pre- 
 sented with it by a silk. " Only red bags 
 may be taken into Common Law Courts ; 
 blue bags must be carried no farther
 
 Barristers' Gowns 
 
 100 
 
 Bas Bleu 
 
 than the robing room. In the Chancery 
 Courts the etiquette is not so strict. 
 
 Barristers' Gowns. ' ' Utter barns - 
 ters wear a stuff or bombazine gown, 
 and the puckered material between the 
 shoulders of tlie gown is all that is now 
 left of the iiurse into which, in early 
 days, the successful litigant . . . dropped 
 his . . . pecuniary tribute . . . for 
 services rendered " (JVofcs and Queries, 
 11 March, 1893, p. 121). The fact is 
 that the counsel was supposed to appear 
 merely as a friend of the litigant. Even 
 now he caimot recover his fees. 
 
 Barry Cornwall, poet. A noiii de 
 phone of Bryan Waller Procter. It is 
 an anagram of his name. (1788-1871.) 
 
 Barsa'nians. Heretics who arose in 
 the sixtli century. They made their 
 sacrifices consist ]n taking wheat flour 
 on the tip of their first finger, and 
 cairj'ing it to their mouth. 
 
 Bar-sur-Aube (Prcrot). Jc ve rou- 
 flrais jHd t'tir roi, si fetais prh'ot de 
 liar-sxr-Auhc (French). I should not 
 care to be king, if I were Provost of 
 Bar-sur-Aube [the most lucrative and 
 honourable of all the provostships of 
 Frauce]. Almost the same idea is ex- 
 pressed in the words 
 
 " And often to our comfort we sliall find, 
 The sliai-ded beetle in a safer liold 
 Than is the full-winged eagle." 
 
 Almost to the same effect Pope says : 
 
 " And more tnie jo.v Marcellns exiled feels, 
 Tliau C;rsar with a c-enate at his heels." 
 
 V See Castle of Bungay. 
 
 Bartholo. A doctor in the comedies 
 of Le Mariaye de lur/aro, and -Le Bnibicr 
 dc ScriUe, by Beaumarchais. 
 
 Barthol'omew {St.). The symbol 
 of this saint is a knife, in allusion to the 
 knife with which he was flayed alive. 
 
 Sf. BartholouH'iv's Ihtrj, August 24th. 
 Probably Bartholomew is the apostle 
 called " Nathanael " by St. John the 
 Evangelist (i. 45-51). 
 
 Massacre of St. Bartholomcu-. The 
 slaughter of the French Protestants in 
 the reign of Charles IX., begun on St. 
 Bartholomew's Day, i.e. between the 
 24th and 25th August, 1572. It is said 
 that 30,000 persons fell in this dreadful 
 per.secution. 
 
 Bartholome'w Fair. Held in West 
 Smithfield (1133-1855) on St. Bartholo- 
 mew's Day. 
 
 A llnrt//o/o)iieii' doll. A tawdry, over- 
 dressed woman ; like a flashy, bespangled 
 doll offered for sale at Bartholomew 
 Fair. 
 
 A Bartlwlomor pig. A very fat 
 person. At Bartholomew Fair one of 
 the chief atti'actions used to be a pig, 
 roasted whole, and sold piping hot. 
 Falstaff calls himself, 
 
 '■ A little tid.\ I5iirtliolomew boar-pig."'— 2 Ucnry 
 IV.\\.A. 
 
 Barthram's Dirge (in Sir Walter 
 Scott's Border Mliistreh;/). Sir Noel 
 Paton, iu a private letter, says: "The 
 subject of this dirge was communi- 
 cated to Sir Walter as a genuine 
 fragment of the ancient Border Muse 
 by his friend Mr. Siu'tees, who is in 
 reality its author. The ballad has no 
 foundation iu history ; and the fair 
 lady, her lover, and the nine brothers, 
 are but the creation of the poet's fancy." 
 Sir Noel adds : "I never painted a 
 picture cf this subject, though I have 
 often thought of doing so. The engrav- 
 ing which appeared in the Art Journal 
 was executed without my concurrence 
 from the oil sketch, still, I presume, in 
 the collection of Mr. Pender, the late 
 M.P., by whom it was brought to the Ex- 
 hibition of the Royal Scottish Academy 
 here" (at Edinburgh) November 19th, 
 1806. 
 
 Bartol'do. A lich old miser, who 
 died of fear and penurious self-denial. 
 Fazio rifled his treasures, and, being 
 accu.sed by his own wife Bianca, was 
 jjut to death. {Dean Milinau : Fazio.) 
 
 Bartole (2 syl.). Ife knoics J/is ^'Bar- 
 tole " as ircll as a cordelier his " iJormi " 
 (French). Bartole was an Italian lawyer, 
 born in tlmbria (1313-1356), whose autho- 
 rity amongst French barristers is equal 
 to that of Blackstone with us. The cor- 
 deliers or Franciscans were not great at 
 preaching, and jjerhaps for this reason 
 used a collection called Doriiii, contain- 
 ing the best specimens of the fourteenth 
 and fifteenth centuries. This compila- 
 tion was called iJanni from the first 
 word in the book. The compilation is 
 anonymous. 
 
 Bartolist. One skilled in law. {See 
 aba re.) 
 
 Harzil'lai (3 syl.). The Duke of 
 Ormond, a friend and staunch adherent 
 of Charles II. The allusion is to Bar- 
 zillai, who assisted David when he was 
 expelled by Absalom from his kingdom 
 (2Sam. xvii. 27-29). 
 "Barzillal crowned with hfinonrs and with 
 
 In exile with his podlike jirince he monrned. 
 For him lie suffered, and with him returned." 
 Drydin : Absalom and Achitaphel, 1. .117--4 
 
 Bas Bl^u. {Sec Blue Stocking.)
 
 Base 
 
 101 
 
 Bass 
 
 Base. The basis, or that on which 
 an animal walks (Greek, baino, to go, 
 and basis, a footstep). The foot is 
 the foundation — hence, base of a pillar, 
 etc. It is also the lowest part, and 
 hence the notion of worthless. Bass in 
 music (Italian, basso) is the lowest part, 
 or the part for the lowest compass of 
 voice. 
 
 Base Tenure. Holding by cojiy of 
 court-roll, in opposition to freeholders. 
 
 Base of Operation, in war. That 
 ii, a fortitied or otherwise secure spot, 
 ivhere the magazines of all sorts can be 
 formed, whence the army can derive 
 stores, and upon which (in case of 
 reverse) it can fall back. If a fleet, it is 
 called a movuble base : if a fortified or 
 other immovable spot, it is called ajixfd 
 base. The line from such a base to the 
 object auned at is called "the Line of 
 Operation." 
 
 Bashaw". An arrogant, domineering 
 man ; so called fronx the Turkish vice- 
 roy's and provincial governors, each of 
 whom bears the title of basclia (pacha). 
 
 ^L thrce-tailfd baslunv. A beglerbeg 
 or prince of princes among the Turks, 
 having a standard of three horse-tails 
 borne before him. The next iu rank is 
 the bashaw with two tails, and then the 
 bej', who has only one horse-tail. 
 
 Basil ian Monks. Monks of the Order 
 of !-'t. Basil, who lived in the fourth 
 century. This Oi'der has produced 14 
 jjopes, 1,80.5 bi.shops, 3,010 abbots, and 
 11,08-3 martyrs. 
 
 Basilica. Originally the com-t of 
 th'j Athenian archon, called the basilcits, 
 who used to give judgment in the stoa 
 basililce. At Rome these courts of 
 justice had theii- nave, aisles, iJorticoes, 
 aud tribunals ; so that when used for 
 Christian worship very little alteration 
 was needed. The church of St. John 
 Lat'erau at Eome was an ancient basiUca. 
 
 Basilics or Basilica. A digest of 
 laws begun by the Byzantine emperor 
 Basilius in 867, aud completed by his 
 son Leo, tlie philosoj)her, in 880. 
 
 Basilid'ians. A sect of Gnostic 
 heretics, followers of Basilides, an 
 Alexandrian Gnostic, who taught that 
 from the unborn Father "Mind" was 
 begotten; from Mind proceeded "The 
 Word" ; from the Word or Lo(/os 
 pi'oceeded " L'nderstanding " ; from Un- 
 derstanding "Wisdom" and "Power" ; 
 from Wisdom and Power "Excellen- 
 cies," " Princes," and " Angels," 
 
 the agents which created heaven. 
 Next to these high mightinesses come 
 365 celestial beings, the chief of whom 
 is Abraxas {q.v.), and each of whom has 
 his special heaven. What we call Christ 
 is what the Basilidians tei-m 'The Jirst- 
 bcgotten ^' Mind.'''' 
 
 Basilisco. A l)raggart ; a character 
 iu an old play entitled Solijiiian and 
 Ferscda. Shakespeare makes the Bas- 
 tard say to his mother, who asks him 
 why he boasted of his ill-birth, "Knight, 
 knight, good mother, Basilisco-like" — 
 i.e. my boasting has made me a knight. 
 {King John, i. 1.) 
 
 Basilisk. The king of serpents 
 (Greek, basilens, a king), supposed to 
 have the power of ' ' looking any one 
 dead on whom it fixed its eyes." Hence 
 Di'yden makes Clytus say to Alexander, 
 " Nay, frown uot so ; you cannot look 
 me dead. " This creature is called a king 
 from having on its head a mitre-shaped 
 crest. Also called a cockatrice, and 
 fabulously alleged to be hatched by a 
 seii^eut from a cock's egg. 
 
 " Like a hoar 
 Pluiigiiii? liis tiisk in iiiHStiff's fe'iire ; 
 Or l)asilisk, when roused, wliose lireatli, 
 Teeth, stiug, and e.\ eSalls all are death." 
 
 KiiKj: Art 0/ Lu vc, 
 
 Basket. To be left in the hasket. 
 Neglected or uncared for. Left in the 
 waste-basket. 
 
 'I'o (jive a basket. To refuse to marry. 
 In Germany a basket [korb'X is fixed on 
 the roof of one who has been jilted, or 
 one who, after long courtship, cannot 
 persuade the lady courted to become his 
 wife. 
 
 Baso'chians. Clerks of the basilica or 
 palace. When the Kings of France in- 
 habited the "Palace of Justice," the 
 judges, advocates, i^roctors, and lawyei-s 
 went by the common name of the clcrcs 
 de la hasoehe ; subsequently (in 1303) 
 divided into " Clerks of the Palace," and 
 "Clerks of the Chatelet." The chief of 
 the basochians was called Lc roi de la 
 basochc, aud had his coiu't, coin, and 
 grand officers. He reviewed his "sub- 
 jects " every year, and administered 
 justice twice a week. Henri III. sup- 
 pressed the title of the chief, and trans- 
 ferred all his functions and privileges 
 to the Chancelloi'. 
 
 Bass. Matting made of bast, that is 
 the lime or linden tree. Dutch, bast, 
 bark ; Swedish, basta, to bind ; so called 
 because used for binding. "Ribbons 
 from the linden tree give a wreath no 
 chaims to me." The shepherds of
 
 Bastard 
 
 102 
 
 Bath. Stone 
 
 Caniiola make a cloth of the outer bark. 
 Tlie inner bark is made into Russian 
 matting, and is serviceable to gardeners 
 for packing, tying ujJ plants, iirotectiug 
 trees, etc. Other materials are now 
 used for the same purjioses, and for 
 hassocks, etc., but the generic word hass 
 designates both bast -bark and all its 
 imitations. 
 
 Bastard. Any sweetened wine, 
 but more correctly applied to a sweet 
 Spanish wine (white or brown) made of 
 the bastard muscadine grape. 
 
 "I will pledge you willingly in a c\\\\ <if 
 liastarJ."— .S'(V Wultci- Scott: Kenilicorth, i:\m\K iii. 
 
 Ba'ste (1 sy].). Ill baste yoxr jacket 
 for i/oa, i.e. cane you. /'// ffire i/ou a 
 thorough /lastiiif/, i.e. heating. (Spanish, 
 bastoii, a stick ; Italian, baslone ; French, 
 baton.) 
 
 Ba'stille means simj^ly a building 
 (French, bastir, now bdttr, to build). 
 Charles V. built it as a royal chateau ; 
 Philippe-Auguste enclosed it with a high 
 wall ; St. Louis administered justice in 
 the liark, under the oak-trees ; Philippe 
 do Valois demolished the old chateau 
 and commenced a new one ; Louis XL 
 first used it as a state i^rison ; and it was 
 demolished by the rabble in the French 
 Revolution, July 14th, 1789. 
 
 Bastina'do. A beating (Italian, 
 ha stone ; French, baston, now baton, a 
 stick). The Chinese, Turks, and Per- 
 sians punish offenders by beating them 
 on the soles of the feet. The Turks call 
 the punishment zarb. 
 
 Bastion {A), in fortification, is a 
 work having two faces and two flanks, 
 all tlie angles of which are salient, 
 that is, pointing outwards towards the 
 country. The line of rampart which 
 joins together the flanks of two bastions 
 is technically called a curtain. 
 
 Ristiiins in fcirtifications were invented in ]4,s0 
 l)y Acbmet Pasba ; but San Micliaeli of Verona, 
 in 1.527, is said by Maffei and Vasari to have been 
 tlie real inventor. 
 
 Bat. Harlequin's lath wand (French, 
 battc, a wooden sword). 
 
 To carrij out one''s bat (in cricket). Not 
 to be " out " when the time for drawing 
 the stumps has arrived. 
 
 OJ^' Ji is own bat. By his own exertions ; 
 on his own account. A cricketer's 
 phrase, meaning runs won by a single 
 player. 
 
 Bat-horses and Bat-men. Bat-horses 
 are those which carry officers' baggage 
 during a campaign (French, bat, a pack- 
 saddle). Bat-men are those who look 
 after the pack-horses. 
 
 Batavia. The Netherlands ; so called 
 from the Bata'vi, a Celtic tribe who 
 dwelt there. 
 
 " Flat Bata\ ia's willowy groves." 
 
 Wordsicorlli . 
 
 Bate me an Ace. {-Sec Bolton.) 
 
 Bath. Knif/hts of the Bath. This 
 name is derived from the ceremony of 
 bathing, which used to be practised at 
 the inauguration of a knight, as a symbol 
 of purity. The last knights created in 
 this ancient fonn were at the coronation 
 of Charles II. in 1661. G.C.B. stands for 
 Grand Cross of the Bath (the first-class) ; 
 K.C.B. Knifht Commander of tlic Bath 
 (the second class) ; C.B. Companio)i of 
 the Bath (the third class). 
 
 Kinf/ of Bath. Richard Nash, gener- 
 ally called Beau Nash, a celebrated 
 master of the ceremonies at Bath for 
 fifty-six y€ars. (1674-1761.) 
 
 There, go to Bath irith gon ! Don't 
 talk nonsense. Insane persons used to 
 be sent to Bath for the benefit of its 
 mineral waters. The implied reproof is, 
 what you say is so silly, you ought to go 
 to Bath and get j'our head shaved. 
 
 Bath Brick. Alluvial matter made 
 in the form of a brick, and used for 
 cleaning knives and jiolishing metals. 
 It is not made at Bath, but at Bridg- 
 water, being dredged from the river 
 Parrett, which runs through Bridgwater. 
 
 Bath Chair (vY). A chair mounted 
 on wheels and used for invalids. Much 
 used at Bath, frequented by invalids for 
 its hot R23rings. 
 
 Bath Metal. The same as Pinch- 
 beck {q.v.). An alloj' consisting of six- 
 teen parts copper and five of zinc. 
 
 Bath Post. A letter paper with a 
 highly - glazed surface, used by the 
 highly- fashionable visitors of Bath when 
 that watering-place was at its jn-ime. 
 {See Post.) Since the introduction of 
 the penny post and envelope system, 
 this jjaper has gone out of general use. 
 
 Bath Shillings. Silver tokens coined 
 at Bath in 1811-1812, and issued for 
 4s., for 2s., and for Is., by C. Culver- 
 house, J. Orchard, and J. Phijips. 
 
 Bath Stone. A species of limestone, 
 used for building, and found in the 
 Lower Oolite, in Wiltshire and Somer- 
 setshire. It is easily wrought in the 
 quarry, but hardens on exposure to the 
 air. Called "Bath" stone because 
 several of the quarries ai-e near Bath, 
 in Somersetshire.
 
 Bath 
 
 103 
 
 Battle 
 
 Bath {M(ijur). A poor, liigh -minded 
 officer, who tries to conceal his poverty 
 by bold speech and ostentatious bearing. 
 Colman's Poor Gcntlcmun (Lieutenant 
 Worthingtou) is a similar character. 
 {FiolduKj : Amelia (a novel) 17ol.) 
 
 Bath-kol {fhdif/hter of the voice). A 
 sort of divination common among the 
 ancient Jews after the gift of prophecj' 
 had ceased. When an appeal was made 
 to Bath-kol, the first words uttered after 
 the appeal were considered oracular. 
 
 Bathos [Greek, hathox, depth]. A 
 ludicrous descent from grandiloquence 
 to commonplace. A literary mermaid. 
 
 "Huinano capiti cervicem iiictdi- eiiuiiiain 
 Jiiii,i,'eie SI velit ... lit tiiriiiteratiiim 
 DesiiiHt in piscem nuilier loniuisa siiiierne." 
 
 " Piii'turiunt iiumtes, nascetiu' ridiciilus imis." 
 Horace: De Arte I'oetica, line 13U. 
 
 A good example is the well-known 
 
 couplet : 
 
 " Anil tlidu, Dalliousie, tbe grea't f,'i»I of war, 
 Jiieutenaiit-general to the earl of Mar." 
 
 Bath'sheba. The Duchess of Ports- 
 moutli, a favourite court lady of Charles 
 II. The allusion is to the wife of Uri'ah 
 the Hittito, criminally beloved by David 
 (2 Sam. xi.). The Duke of Monmouth 
 says : 
 
 " My fatlirr, whom with reveroiice \fit 1 name, 
 fliariiied into case, is cari'lfss of los fame; 
 Ami, l.ril.i-.l with iietty sums o£ foveii-'u Kold, 
 Is u'rown in Jiatlislieiias eiiil.rai'os old." 
 Driidiii : Abauiuin and Achiloi'licl, i. 707-lii. 
 
 Bathyllus. A beautifid boy of 
 Samos, greatly beloved by Polycriites 
 the tyrant, and by the poet Anacreon. 
 {See Moracc : Epistle xiv. 9.) 
 
 "To them [i.e. the esthetic school] the boy- 
 liooil of Bathyllus is of more moment than tlie 
 manhood of Napoleon."— -IfoV/onfc ; Tht Sew lli-pub- 
 iic, hook iv. chap. 1. 
 
 Batiste. The fabric is so called from 
 Baptiste of Cambrai, who first manu- 
 factured it. 
 
 Ba'trachomyomach ia (pronounce 
 Ba-trak'o-iii;i'o-)nak'ifi). A storm in a 
 puddle ; much ado about nothing. The 
 word is the name of a mock heroic 
 poem in Greek, supposed to be by Pi'gres 
 of Caria, and means The Battle of the 
 Frogs and Mice, 
 
 Batta or liatt;/ (Hindu stance). Per- 
 quisites ; wages. Prajjerly, an allowance 
 to East Indian troops in the field. In 
 garrison they are put on half-batta. 
 
 ■' He W(nild rather li\e on half- pay in a garrison 
 that could hoast of a lives-court, than vecetate 
 on full hatta where there wasnone."— G". iJ. Gleiij: 
 Thomas Mimro, vol. i. chap. Iv. p. 2i'7. 
 
 Battar, Al [the Trenchanf]. One of 
 Maliomet's swords, confiscated from the 
 
 Jews when tliey were exiled from Me- 
 dina. 
 
 Battels. Rations or "commons" 
 allowed to students at the University of 
 Oxford. (To batten, to feast.) 
 
 Battel Bills. Buttery bills at the 
 universities. {See above.) 
 
 Battersea. Yoii must go to Buttersca 
 to get yoitr simples cut. A reproof to a 
 simjjleton, or one wlio makes a very 
 foolish observation. The market gar- 
 deners of Battersea used to grow simples 
 (medicinal herbs), and the London apoth- 
 ecaries went there to select or cut such 
 as they wanted. {See Navioa.) 
 
 Battle. Professor Creasy says there 
 are fifteen decisive battles ; that is, 
 battles wliich have decided some political 
 change : B.C. 490, Mar'athon ; 413, Syra- 
 cuse ; 331,Arbe'la; 207, Metau'rus ; the 
 defeat of the Romans by Varus, 9 ; 
 Chalons, a.d. 4o1 ; Tours, 732; Hastings, 
 1066 ; Joan of Arc's victory at Orleans, 
 1429; the Arma'da, ' 158S ; Blenheim, 
 1704; Pultow'a, 1709; Sarato'ga, 1777; 
 Valmy, 1792; and Waterloo, 1815. 
 
 Battle royal. A certain number of 
 cocks, say sixteen, are pitted togetlier ; 
 tlie eight victors are then pitted, then 
 the four, and last of all the two ; and 
 the winner is victor of the battle roj'al. 
 Meta]3horically, the term is appUed to 
 chess, etc. 
 
 Bottle scenes. Lo Clerc could arrange 
 on a small piece of paper not larger than 
 one's hand an army of 20,000 men. 
 
 The Battle-painter or JJelle Battaglic. 
 {See Michael Angelo.) 
 
 Battle of the Books. A satire, by Dean 
 Swift, on the contention among literary 
 men whether ancient or modern authors 
 were the better. In the battle the 
 ancient books fight against the modern 
 books in St. James's Library. 
 
 Battle of the Giants ; i.e. the battle of 
 Marignan {Ma-rin-yan') in 1515, when 
 Fran(;ois I. won a complete victory over 
 12,000 Swiss, allies of the Milanese. 
 
 Battle of the Herviiigs, in 1429. A 
 sortie made by the men of Orleans, 
 during the siege of their citj% to inter- 
 cept a supply of salt herrings sent to 
 the besiegers. 
 
 Battle of the Moat. A skirmish or 
 battle between Mahomet and Abti Sofian 
 (chief.of the Koreishites) before Medi'na ; 
 so called because the "ijroiihet" had a 
 moat dug before the city to keeis oi? the 
 invaders ; and in the moat much of the 
 fighting took place. 
 
 Battle of tlie Standard, in 1138, when
 
 Battle 
 
 lOi 
 
 Battus paieront 
 
 the English overthrew the Scotch, at 
 Northallerton, in Yorkshii-e. The stan- 
 dard was a high crucifix borue by the 
 English on a wagon. 
 
 liattle of the Spurs (1302), in which the 
 allied citizens of Ghent and Bruges won 
 a famous victory over the chivalry of 
 France under the walls of Courtray. 
 After the battle more than 700 gilt spurs 
 (worn by French nobles) were gathered 
 from the field. 
 
 In English history the Battle of Guine- 
 gate (1513) is so called, "because the 
 French spurred their horses to fiight, 
 almost as soon as they came in sight of 
 the English troops." 
 
 A close battle. A naval fight at " close 
 quarters," in which opposing ships en- 
 gage each other side by side. 
 
 A line of battle. The position of 
 troops drawn u^j in battle array. At 
 sea, the arrangement formed by ships in 
 a naval engagement. A Une-of-battle 
 s/i ip is a ship fit to take part in a main 
 attack. Frigates do not join in a 
 general engagement. 
 
 A pitched battle. A battle which has 
 been planned, and the ground pitched on 
 or chosen beforehand, by both sides. 
 
 Half the battle. Half determines the 
 battle. Thus, "The first stroke is half 
 the battle," that is, the way in which 
 the battle is begun half determines what 
 the end will be. 
 
 Trial by battle. The submission of a 
 legal suit to a combat between the liti- 
 gants, under the notion that God would 
 defend the right. It was legal in Eng- 
 land till the nineteenth century. 
 
 JFaffer of Battle. One of the forms of 
 ordeal or appeal to the judgment of 
 God, in the old Norman courts of the 
 kingdom. It consisted of a personal com- 
 bat between the i)laintiff and the defen- 
 dant, in the presence of the court itself. 
 Abolished by 59 Geo. III. c. 46. 
 
 Battle of the Frogs and Mice 
 
 i'J'he). [See Bateachomyomachia.] 
 
 Battle of the Kegs (The). A mock- 
 heroic by Francis Hopkinson (1738-1791). 
 In the War of Independence certain 
 machines, in the form of kegs, charged 
 with gunpowder, were sent down the 
 river to amioy the British at Philadel- 
 phia. When the British found out the 
 nature of these machines, they waged 
 relentless war with everything they saw 
 fioating about the river. 
 
 Battle of the Poets (The). A 
 satirical poem by John [Sheffield], Duke 
 of Buckingham, in which a,ll the 
 
 versifiers of the time are brought into 
 the field (1725). 
 
 Battle of the Whips. The Scythian 
 slaves once rose in rebellion against 
 their masters, and many a bloody en- 
 counter followed. At length, one of 
 the Scytliian masters said to his fol- 
 lowers : Let us throw away our spears 
 and swords, and figlit in future with 
 whips. We get killed by the former 
 weapons and weakened. So in the next 
 encounter they armed themselves with 
 whips, and immediately the slaves saw 
 the whips, remembering former scourg- 
 ings, they turned tail and were no more 
 trouble. 
 
 Battle (Sarah), who considered whist 
 the business of life and literature one of 
 the relaxations. When a young gentle- 
 man, of a literary turn, said to her ho 
 had no objection to unbend his mind for 
 a little time by taking a hand with her, 
 Sarah was indignant, and declared it 
 worse than sacrilege to speak thus of 
 her noble occuj)ation. Whist " was her 
 life business ; her duty ; the thing she 
 came into the world to do, and she did 
 it. She unbent her mind afterwards 
 over a book." i^C. Zaiiib : Elia.) 
 
 Battledore (3 syl.) means, properly, 
 a baton for washing linen by striking 
 on it to knock out the dirt. The plan 
 is still common in France. The word 
 is the French battoir, a beater used 
 by washerwomen ; Portuguese, Batidvr, 
 Sjianish, batidero, a wash-board. 
 
 Battu. Aatai/t jjle/tre vial b<(tfa que 
 bien battu (French). It little matters 
 whether stripes are given maliciously ov 
 not, as they smart the same. Wliether 
 misfortunes come from God or Satan, 
 they are misfortunes still. A slight 
 variant is "■ Autaiit raat bien battu que 
 mal battu,'" which means, it is of no 
 consequence whether badly beaten or 
 not, enough that I am beaten ; " over 
 shoes, over boots." 
 
 Battu de fol Oiseau {FAre), or 
 " etre battu de V oiseau,'''' to be utterly 
 dismayed ; to be dazed. The allusion is 
 to bird-catching at night, when a candle 
 or lantern is held up before the birds 
 aroused from their sleej) ; the birds, 
 being dazed, are beaten down easily 
 with sticks. 
 
 Battus paieront {Les). Vjc victis! 
 Those who lose must pay the piper. 
 
 " Cest le loi da, pai/s de Beam que le 
 battle paie Vamende.''^ Again, " Vest la 
 coutume de Lorris, les battus pa'ieut
 
 Baubee 
 
 105 
 
 Bay 
 
 V amende." This is certainly the general 
 custom in law and war. 
 
 Baubee. {See Bawbee.) 
 
 Bauble. A. fool .s/w/ihi »erer hold a 
 hnnhle iii Ills hand. " 'Tis a foolish bird 
 that fouls its own nest." The bauble 
 was a short stick, ornamented with ass's 
 ears, carried by licensed fools. (French, 
 bahiole, a plaything ; Old French, hauhel, 
 a child's toy.) 
 
 //■ evcrii fool held a hauhle , fuel ivonld 
 he dear. The ijroverb indicates that the 
 world contains so many fools that if eacli 
 had a separate bauble there would be 
 but little wood left for lighting fires. 
 
 To deserre the li/iable. To be so foolish 
 as to be qualified to carry a fool's em- 
 blem of office. 
 
 Baucis. {See Philemon.) 
 
 Ba'viad {The). A merciless satire 
 by GifFord on the Delia Cruscan j)oetry, 
 published 1791. The word is from 
 Virgil's Eelii(jiu\ iii. 9. 
 He iiia.v with foxes pluiigl), and inilk lie-aroats, 
 Who praises Bavins or on Miuviiis dotes. 
 
 E. C. B. 
 Bavie'ca. The Cid's horse. 
 
 Ba'vius. Any bad poet. {See Ba- 
 
 VIAD.) 
 
 "May some clinice iKi'r.m liless each grey goose 
 iliiill, 
 M;iv every Ba\ ins lia\ e his Biifn still." 
 
 /Vipc; Prului/iie tii tin- .Satires, ti-lSKW. 
 
 Bawbee. 
 
 " Wha'll liire, wha'll liire, wha'll hire me ? 
 Tliree pliiniiis niul a wallnii for ae hawliee." 
 
 The tale is that the jieople of Kirk- 
 niahoe were so poor, they could not 
 afford to put any meat into their broth. 
 A 'cute cobbler invested all his money 
 in buying four sheep-shanks, and when 
 a neighbour wanted to make mutton 
 broth, for the payment of one halfpenny 
 tlie cobbler would " plump " one of the 
 sheep-shanks into the boiling water, and 
 give it a " wallop " or whisk round. He 
 then wrapped it in a cabbage-leaf and 
 took it home. TJiis was called a f/iistiu 
 hone, and was supposed to give a ricli 
 "gust" to the broth. The cobbler 
 found his r/astiu bone very profitable. 
 
 Jenufs haivbee. Her marriage portion. 
 The word means, properly, a debased 
 copper coin, equal in value to a half- 
 penny, issued in the reign of James V. 
 of Scotland. (French, bus b'dlon, de- 
 based copper money. ) 
 
 V The word "bawbee" is derived 
 from the laird of Sillebawby, a mint- 
 master. Tliat there was such a laird 
 is quite certain from the Treasurer's 
 account, September 7th, 151 1, "/« argenio 
 
 reecptis a Jaeobo Atzinsone, et Alexandra 
 Orok dc Sillebaiib)j resjjeetire." 
 
 Bawley Boat {A). A small fishing- 
 smack used on t)>e coasts of Kent and 
 Essex, about the mouth of the Thames 
 and Medway. Bawleys are generally 
 about 40 feet long, 13 feet beam, o feet 
 draught, and from 15 to 20 tons 
 measurement. They differ in rig from 
 a cutter in having no booms to the 
 mainsail, which is, consequently, easily 
 brailed up when working the trawl nets. 
 They are lialf-dccked, with a wot well 
 to keep fish alive. 
 
 Bawtry. Tike the saddler of Bawtrij, 
 vho teas lianged for leaving his liquor 
 (Yorkshire proverb). It was customary 
 for criminals on their way to execution 
 to stop at a certain tavern in York for 
 a "parting draught." llie saddler of 
 Bawtry refused to accej^t the liquor and 
 was hanged. If he had stopj)ed a few 
 minutes at the tavern, his reprieve, 
 which was on the road, would have 
 arrived in time to save his life. 
 
 Baxtcrians. Those who entertain 
 the same religious views as Richard 
 Baxter. The chief points are— (1) That 
 Christ died in a spiritual sense for the 
 elect, and in a general sense for all ; (2) 
 that there is no such thing as reproba- 
 tion ; (3) that even saints may fall 
 from grace. Dr. Isaac Watts and Dr. 
 Doddridge held these views. 
 
 Bay. 
 
 Sui)posed to be an antidote against 
 lightning, because it was the tree of 
 Apollo. Hence Tibe'rius and some 
 other of the Roman emperors wore a 
 wreath of bay as an amulet, especially 
 in thunder-storms. {I'ling.) 
 
 " Ueach tlie hays— 
 I'll tie a garland here ahont his head ; 
 'Twill keep iny hoy from lightning." 
 
 The White Devil. 
 
 The withering of a bay-tree was sup- 
 posed to be the omen of a death. 
 
 " 'Tis thonglit the king is dead. We'll not stay— 
 The liay-trees in our conntry are withered.' 
 
 Shakespeare: Richard II., ii. 4. 
 
 Croicned icith bays, in sign of victory. 
 The general who obtained a victory 
 among the Romans was crowned with a 
 wreath of bay leaves. 
 
 Bag. The reason why Apollo and a'l 
 those under his pi'otection are crowned 
 with bay is a pretty fable. Daphne, 
 daughter of the river-god Peueo.=, in 
 Thessaly, was very beautiful and re- 
 solved to pass her life in perpetual 
 virginity. Apollo fell in love with her,
 
 Bay the Moon 
 
 lOfi 
 
 Bead 
 
 but she rejected his suit. On oue occa- 
 sion the god was so importunate that 
 Daphne tied from liim and souglit the 
 protection of lier father, who cliauged 
 her into the bay- tree. The gallant god 
 declared henceforth he would wear bay 
 leaves on his brow and lyre instead of 
 the oak, and that all who sought his 
 favour eliould follow his example. 
 
 The (pd'ot'' s Bays. The 2nd Dragoon 
 Guards ; so called because they are 
 mounted on bay horses. Now called The 
 Q/(fcn's. 
 
 Baij. The colour of a horse is Varro's 
 cqiiiis badiiis, given by Ainsworth as, 
 " brown, bay, sorrel, chestnut colour." 
 Coles gives the same. Our bayard ; 
 bright bay, light bay, blood bay, etc. 
 
 Bay the Moon {To). To bark at the 
 inoon. (French, aboyer, to bark at.) 
 {'See Bark.) 
 
 Bay Salt is salt of a bay colour. It 
 is tlie salt of sea-water hardened by the 
 heat of the sun. 
 
 Bayadere {baJi-ya-dare). A dancing 
 girl dressed in Eastern costume ; so called 
 fi-oni the hajadercs of India, whose 
 duty is to dance before the images of the 
 gods ; but the grandees employ similar 
 dancers for their private amusements. 
 The word is a corruption of the Portu- 
 guese hdiladcira. 
 
 Bayard {CJun-aUer), Pierre du Terrail, 
 a celebrated French knight (1470-1524). 
 Le clievaHer sans pair et sans rcproche. 
 
 The British Bayard. Sir Philip Sidney. 
 (lo54-1584.) 
 
 The Polish Bai/ard. Pxince Joseph 
 Poniatowski. (1763-1814.), 
 
 Bayard of the East {Th() or Of the 
 Indian Arm if. Sir James Outram 
 (1803-18(>3). ' 
 
 Bayard. A horse of incredible swift- 
 ness, belonging to the four sous of 
 Ay'mon. If only one of the sons 
 mounted, the horse was of the ordinary 
 size ; but if all four mounted, his body 
 became elongated to the requisite length. 
 The name is used for any valuable or 
 wonderful horse, and means a " high- 
 bay" {hay-ard). {VillencHvc : Les 
 Qiiatre-Fiiz Ayiiion.) {See Horse.) 
 
 Keep Bayard in the stable, i.e. keep 
 what is of value under lock and key. 
 {See a bo re.) 
 
 Bold as Blind Bayard. Foolhardy. 
 If a blind horse leaps, the chance is he 
 will fall into a ditch. Grose mentions 
 the following expression. To ride bayard 
 often toes — " Going by the marrow-bone 
 stage" — i.e. walking. 
 
 Bayar'do. The famous steed of 
 Riiuildo, which once belonged to Am'adis 
 cf Gaul. {See Horse.) 
 
 Bayardo^s Leap. Three stones, about 
 thirty yards apart, near Sleaford. It 
 is said that Rinaldo was riding on his 
 favourite steed Bayardo, when the 
 demon of the jilace sprang behind him ; 
 but the animal in terror took three tre- 
 mendous leaps and unhorsed the fiend. 
 
 Bayes, in the Behearsal, by the Duke 
 of Buckingham, was designed to satirise 
 John Dryden, the i^oet laureate. 
 
 Bayes's Troops. Dead men may rise 
 ayain, like Bayiss troops, or the sarayes 
 in the Fantoci'ni {Sonwthiny Xeir). In 
 the Rehearsal, by George Yilliers, Duke 
 of Buckingham, a battle is fought be- 
 tween foot-soldiers and great hobby- 
 horses. At last Drawcansir kills all on 
 both sides. Smith then asks how they 
 are to go off, to which Bayes replies, 
 "As they came on — upon their legs"; 
 upon which they all jum^i up alive 
 again. 
 
 Bayeux Tapestry. Supposed to 
 be the work of Matilda, wife of William 
 the Conqueror. It rejiresents the mis- 
 sion of Harold to the duke, and all the 
 incidents of his history from that event 
 till his death at Hastings in lOGG. It is 
 called Bayeux from the place where it 
 is i^reserved. A drawing, on a reduced 
 scale, of this curious antique is preserved 
 in the Guildhall Library. 
 
 Bayle (2syl.). Dances of the common 
 people were so called in Spain, in ojipo- 
 sition to the stately coui't dances, called 
 danza. The Bayle were of Moorish in- 
 vention, the most celebrated being La 
 Sarabanda, La Chacona, Las Gambclas, 
 and 7iV Ilerinano Bartolo. 
 
 Bay'onet. So called from La Bayo- 
 nette, a lower ridge of the Montague 
 d'Arrhune. A Basque regiment, early in 
 the seventeenth century, running short 
 of powder, stuck their knives into their 
 muskets, and charged the Spaniards with 
 success. Some derive this word from 
 Bayonne. 
 
 Bayonets. A synonym of " rank and 
 file," that is, privates and corporals of 
 infantry. As, " the number of bayonets 
 was 25,000." 
 
 "It is (>ii the l);»y<mets that a Qiiai'ternaster- 
 General relies for his working and fati.u'ue iiavtiep." 
 —Ifoicilt: Hist, of Eiuj. (year 1854, ]). IW). , 
 
 Bead (Anglo-Saxon, led, a prayer). 
 When little balls with a hole through 
 them were used for keeping account of
 
 Bead-house 
 
 107 
 
 Beans 
 
 the number of prayers rejieated, the 
 term was applied to the prayers also. 
 (_Sf(' Beadsman.) 
 
 To coiDit oi/c^n beads. To say one's 
 prayers. In the Catholic Church heads 
 ore threaded on a string, some large 
 and some small, to assist in keeping 
 count how often a i^erson repeats a 
 certain form of words. 
 
 7o prrii/ irithont o)u'\s heads. To be 
 out of one's reckoning. (See above.) 
 
 ]iaUi/s Beads. When the disc of the 
 moon has (in an eclipse) reduced that of 
 the sun to a thin crescent, the crescent 
 assumes the aj^pearance of a string of 
 beads. This was first observed by 
 Francis Baily, wlienco the name of the 
 lihenomenou. 
 
 St. Cathherfs Beads. Single joints 
 f)f the articulated stems of eucrinites. 
 They are perforated in the centre, and 
 bear a fanciful resemblance to a cross ; 
 hence, they were once used for rosaries 
 (beads). St. Cuthbert was a Scotch 
 monk of the sixth century, and may be 
 called the St. Patrick of the north of 
 England and south of Scotland. 
 
 St. Martbt's beads. Flash jewellery. 
 St. Martins-le-Grand was at one time a 
 noted place for sham jewellery. 
 
 Bead-house. An almshouse for beads- 
 men. 
 
 Bead-roll. A list of persons to be 
 prayed for ; hence, also, any list. 
 
 Beadle. A person whose duty it is 
 (() hid or cite persons to appear to a 
 summons ; also a church servant, whose 
 duty it is to hid the parishioners to 
 attend the vestry, or to give notice of 
 vestry meetings. (Anglo-Saxon, bccdel, 
 from Icodau, to bid or summon.) 
 
 Beadsman or Bedesman. An in- 
 habitant of an almshouse ; so called 
 because in Catholic times most charities 
 of this class were instituted that the 
 inmates might " pray for the soul of the 
 founder." (<S'('e Bead.) 
 
 " Seated with Some grey beadsman." 
 
 Crabbe: liuroufjh. 
 
 Beak. A magistrate. (Anglo-Saxon 
 heaf/, a gold collar worn by civic magis- 
 trates.) 
 
 V W. H. Black says, "The term is 
 derived from a Mr. Beke, who was for- 
 merly a resident magistrate at the Tower 
 Hamlets. 
 
 Beaker. A drinking-glass; a rum- 
 mer. (Greek, hikos, a wine jar.) 
 
 " Here, Gerard, reach your beaker." 
 Broicnitig: Blot in the 'SciiU'litou, i. 1. 
 
 Beam. Throan on my heaiii-ends. 
 Driven to my last shift. A ship is said 
 to be on her beam-ends wlien she is laid 
 by a heavy gale completely on her beams 
 or sides. Not uufrequently the only 
 means of righting her in such a case is 
 to cvit away lier masts. 
 
 On the starho((rd beam. A distant 
 jioint out at sea on the right-hand side, 
 and at right angles to the keel. 
 
 On the port heain. A similar point on 
 the left-hand side. 
 
 On the ueather beam. On that side of 
 a shi^s which faces the wind. 
 
 Beam {of a star/). That part of the 
 head from which the horns sj^ring. 
 (Anglo-Saxon beam, a tree ; the horns 
 are called branches.) 
 
 Bean. Urer// bean has its blaek. 
 Xemo sine vitiis nas'eitar, ''everyone 
 has his faidts." The bean has a black 
 eye. {Ogni ejrano ha la sua semohi.) 
 
 He has foand the bean in the ecdie, he 
 has got a prize in the lottery, has come 
 to some unexpected good fortune. The 
 allusion is to twelfth cukes in which a 
 bean is buried. Wlicn the cake is cut 
 up and distributed, he who gets the beau 
 is the twelfth-night king. 
 
 Beans, slang for property, money, 
 is the French bie)is, goods. '• A bean " 
 = a guinea, is iu Grose. 
 
 " Like a beane [alms-money] in a moukesliood. ' 
 —Cotijnu-e. 
 
 (See Baeeistees' Gowns.) 
 
 Beans. Pythag'oras forbade the use 
 of beans to his disciples — not the use of 
 beans as a food, but the use of beans for 
 political elections. Magistrates and 
 other public officers were elected by 
 beans cast by the voters into a helmet, 
 and what Pythag'oras advised was tluit 
 his disciples shoidd not interfere with 
 politics or " love beans " — i.e. office. 
 
 Aristotle says the word bean means 
 ven'ery, and that the prohibition to 
 ' ' abstain from beans ' ' was equivalent 
 to " keeping the body chaste." 
 
 V The French have the proverb, " If 
 he gives me peas I will give him beans," 
 (S"(7 ine donne des pois,je liii ehnnerai des 
 feres, i.e. I will give him tit for tat, a 
 Eowland for an Oliver. 
 
 Beans are in Jtoxcer, les ferres flearis- 
 sent, and this will account for your 
 being so silly. Our forefathers imagined 
 that the perfume of the flowering bean 
 was bad for the head, and made men 
 silly or light-headed. 
 
 He hioics how many beans go to make
 
 Bean Feast 
 
 108 
 
 Bear 
 
 up five. He is " up to snuff ; " he is uo 
 fool ; lie is not to be imposed upon. The 
 refpi-ence is to the ancient custom of 
 moving heans in counting. 
 
 "I was a fool, I was, ami didn't know liow ilia ny 
 1 eaus make five [tliat is, liow many beans must 
 be moved to make up flveJ."-/''«i-je(/H. 
 
 " Few men better knew bow many blue beans 
 it takes to make tive."— G«!t. 
 
 V Blue Beans: " Three blue beans in 
 
 a blue bladder." A rattle for cliildreu. 
 
 "F. Hark ! does it rattle? . ,,,,.. 
 
 ,s' Yes, like three blue beans in a blue Idadder. 
 Old Fortanutns {Aiicient Vramas), lu. p. US. 
 
 V "Blue beans" are bullets or shot. 
 Three small bullets or large shot in a 
 bladder would make a very good rattle 
 for a child. {See Blue Beans.) 
 
 Fall of beans. Said of a fresh and 
 spirited horse. 
 
 To fjet beanfi. To incur reproof. 
 
 I'll (/ire him beans. A licking; a 
 jolly good hiding. A very common 
 phrase. Probably from the French re- 
 ferred to above, meaning as good as I 
 got ; " beans for his peas." 
 
 Bean Feast. Much the same as 
 wayz-goose {q.r.). A feast given by an 
 employer to those he employs. 
 
 Bean Goose {The^. A migratory 
 bird which appears in England in the 
 autumn of the year, and is so named 
 from a mark on its bill like a horse- 
 bean. It is ne.xt in size to the Grey 
 La^-goose. The term comes from the 
 uortliern counties where the beau Ujoose) 
 is common. 
 
 " E-iiieoe d'oie duiit les mandibules sunt laillees 
 en fnrme de fL-\ eroKs."— iJoi/ai Dictiuuuuire. 
 
 Bean-king {T/iey. Meij de Habas, 
 the child appointed to play the part of 
 king on twelfth-night. In France it 
 was at one time customary to hide a 
 bean in a large cake, and he to whom 
 the bean fell, when the cake was dis- 
 tributed, was for the nonce the beau 
 king, to whom all the other guests 
 showed playful reverence. The Greeks 
 used beans for voting by ballot. 
 
 Bean-Kin(/s festiial. TweKth-night. 
 {See above.) 
 
 Bear {A). (Stock Exchange), a fall, 
 or a speculator for a fall. I'o ope- 
 rate for a bear. To realise a profitable 
 bear. 
 
 lirarinc/ the market is using every 
 effort to 'depress the price of stocks in 
 order to buy it. , , „ ■ i. 
 
 The arena of bears and OkUs, i.e. the 
 Stock Exchange. 
 
 V Dr. Warton says the term bear came 
 from the proverb of "Selling the skin 
 
 before you have caught the bear," and 
 refened to those who entered into 
 contracts in the South Sea Scheme to 
 transfer stock at a stated price. {See 
 Bull.) 
 
 "So was tlie luintsman by I lie bear opl'i'pssed. ^^ 
 Whose hide he sold before he caught the beast. 
 WcUer: Battle uj the Snmmir Jsloiitts, c. ii. 
 
 A Bear aecuxnt. A speculation in 
 stocks on the chance of a fall in the 
 price of the stock sold, with a view of 
 buying it back at a lower price or re- 
 ceiving the difference. {See Bulls.) 
 
 Bear {The). Albert, margrave of 
 Brandenburg. He was also called " The 
 Fair" (1106-1170). 
 
 The bloodij Bear, in Dryden's poem 
 called The Hind and Fanther, means , 
 the Independents. 
 
 " The bloody bear, an independent beast, ^_ 
 
 Uulicked to form, in groans her hate expresseJ. 
 
 pt. 1. ;i.j, .••>. 
 The Great Bear and Little Bear. The 
 constellations so called are specimens of 
 a large class of blunders founded on 
 approximate sounds. The Sanskrit ral.h 
 means " to be bright ; " the Greeks cor- 
 rupted the word into urktos, which 
 means a bear; so that the " bear "^ 
 should in reality be the "bright ones." 
 The fable is that Calisto, a nymph of 
 Diana, had two sons by Jupiter, which 
 Juno changed into bears, and Jupiter 
 converted into constellations. 
 
 "The wind-shaked surge, with high and mon- 
 strous mane, 
 Seems to cast water on the burning bear, 
 And .luench the guards of th' ever-fixed pole. 
 Slittkespeaie : Othello, ii. 1. 
 " 'Twas here we saw Calisto's star retire 
 Beneath the waves, unawed by Juno's ire. 
 Camoeus: i-iisiaif, book v. 
 
 The Bear or Northern Bear. Eussia. 
 " Prance turns from heraliandoned fiiendsafresh. 
 And soothes the bear that prowls for patriot 
 flesh." Cumpbell : Poland, stanza .•>. 
 
 A Bridled Bear. A young nobleman 
 under the control of a travelhug tutor. 
 (.SVr Beae-leader.) 
 
 The Bear and Ragged Staff. A public- 
 house sign in compliment to Warwick, 
 the king-maker, whose cognisance it 
 was. The first earl was Arth or Arth- 
 gal, of the Round Table, whose cogni- 
 sance was a bear, because arth means 
 a bear (Latin, urs'). Morvid, the second 
 earl, overcame, in single combat, a 
 mighty giant, who came against hnn 
 with a club, which was a tree pulled 
 up by the roots, but stripped of its 
 branches. In remembrance of his victory 
 over the giant he added "the ragged 
 
 staff." ^ , , ,.,, 
 
 The Bear and the Tea-kettle (Kams- 
 chatka). Said of a person who injures
 
 Bear 
 
 109 
 
 Beard 
 
 himself by foolish rage. One day a 
 bear entered a hut in Kamschatka, where 
 a kettle was on the fire. Master Bruin 
 went to the kettle, and smelling at it 
 burnt his nose , being gi'eatly irritated, 
 he seized the kettle with his paws, and 
 squeezed it against his breast. This, of 
 course, made matters worse, for the 
 boiling water scalded him tenibly, 
 and he gi'owled in agony till some 
 neighbours put an end to his life with 
 their guns. 
 
 A bear sitcldnf/ his paws. It is said 
 that when a bear is deprived of food, it 
 sustains life by sucking its paws. The 
 same is said of the English badger. 
 Applied to industrious idleness. 
 
 As savage as a bear irit/i a sore (or 
 sca/t) head. Unreasonably ill-tempered. 
 
 As a bear has no tail, for c ^'■on heUl 
 fall. The same as Xe sator supra crep'- 
 idaiii, "let not the cobbler aspire above 
 his last." Robert Dudley, Earl of Lei- 
 cester, being a descendant of the 
 Warwick family, changed his own crest, 
 which was ' ' a green Hon with two tails, 
 for the "Warwick crest, a " bear and 
 ragged staff." When made governor of 
 the Low Countries, he was suspected of 
 aiming at absolute supremac}^, or the 
 desire of being the monarch of his 
 fellows, as the Hon is monarch among 
 beasts. Some wit wrote under his crest 
 the Latin verse, " Ursa caret cauda non 
 qacat esse leo.'" 
 
 To take the bear bi/ the tooth. To put 
 your head into the lion's mouth ; need- 
 lessly to run into danger. 
 
 You dare as soon take a bear by his 
 tooth. You would no more attempt 
 such a thing, than attempt to take a 
 bear by its tooth. 
 
 Bear (To). C'ome,beara hand ' Come 
 and render help! In French, '■'•Bonner 
 an coup « quehpCun.'^ Bring a hand, or 
 bring your hand to bear on the work 
 going on. 
 
 To bear arms. To do military service. 
 
 To bear aicaij (Xautical). To keep 
 away from the wind. 
 
 2b bear one company. To be one's 
 companion. 
 
 '■. His faitliful dog shall hear liim crvmpany.'' 
 
 Pope : Essay on Man , epistle i . 1 13. 
 
 To bear doun. To overpower ; to force 
 down. 
 
 " Fully prepared to liear down all resistance. "— 
 Cooper : The Pilot, chap, xviii. 
 
 To bear doivn upon (Nautical). To 
 api)io;ich from the weather side. 
 
 To bear in mind. Remember ; do not 
 forget. Carry in your recollection. 
 
 " To learn by heart," means to le;irn niemoriter. 
 Mind and heart stand for memory in Iwjth 
 phrases. 
 
 To bear out. To corroborate, to con- 
 firm. 
 
 To bear np. To support ; to keep the 
 spirits up. 
 
 To bear with. To show forbearance ; 
 
 to endure with complacency. 
 
 " How Ions shall I hear with this evil congre- 
 gation ?"— Numbers xiv. -^T. 
 
 To bear the bell. {See Bell.) 
 
 Bear of Bradwardine {The) was a 
 wine goblet, holding about an English 
 pint, and, according to Scott, was made 
 by command of St. Duthac, Abbot of 
 Aberbrothoc, to be ^jresented to the 
 Baron of Bradwardine for services ren- 
 dered ,in defence of the monasterj'. 
 Inscribed upon the goblet was the motto : 
 " Beware the bear." 
 
 Bear Account (A). (See Beau.) 
 
 Bear Garden. This ptace is a perfect 
 hear-garden — that is, full of confusion, 
 noise, tumult, and quaiTels. Bear-gar- 
 dens were places where bears used to be 
 kept and baited for public amusement. 
 
 Bear-leader. One who undertakes 
 the charge of a yoimg man of rank 
 on his travels. It was oiice customaiy 
 to lead muzzled bears about the streets, 
 and to make them show off in order to 
 attract notice and gain money. 
 
 " Bear I [said Dr. Pangloss to his pupil]. Vnder 
 favour, young gentleman, 1 am the Oear-learter, 
 being appointed your tutor."— G. Cohiian : llcir- 
 (it-Lau: 
 
 Bears are caught by Honey. In 
 
 French, " Ilfaut avoir maueaise bi-te par 
 douceur,'''' for, as La Fontaine saj-s, ^'Plus 
 fait douceur que violence.'''' Bears are 
 very fond of honey. Biibes win even 
 bears. 
 
 •.' There is another phrase: Diviile honeii iriih n. 
 broy. i.e. It is better tn divide your honey w;t!i a 
 bear than to provoke its anger. 
 
 Beard. Cutting the beard. The Turks 
 think it a dire disgrace to have the beard 
 cut. Slaves who serve in the seraglio 
 have clean chins, as a sign of their 
 servitude. 
 
 Kissing the beard. In Turkey wives 
 kiss their husband, and children their 
 father on the beard. 
 
 To make one's beard (Chaucer). This is 
 the French "Fairc la barbed quelqu'un."' 
 and refers to a barber's taking hold of a 
 man's beard to dress it, or to his shaving 
 the chin of a customer. To make one's 
 beard is to have him wholly at your 
 mercy.
 
 Beard 
 
 no 
 
 Beasts 
 
 I told him to his beard. I told him to 
 his face, regardless of consequences ; to 
 speak openly and fearlessly. 
 
 Beard {To). To beard one is to defy 
 him, to contradict him flatly, to insult 
 by plucking the beard. Among the 
 Jews, no greater insult could be offered 
 to a man than to pluck or even touch 
 his beard. 
 
 To beard the lion in his den. To con- 
 tradict one either in his own growlery, 
 or on some subject he has made his 
 hobby. To defy personally or face to 
 face. 
 
 " Dar'st thou, then, 
 To beard the lion in his den, 
 The Douglas in his hall ? " 
 Sir W. Scott : Marmion, canto vi. stanza 14. 
 
 Ilaugrc his beard. In spite of him. 
 
 To lauyh at one's beard. .To attempt 
 to make a fool of a person — to deceive 
 by ridiculous exaggeration. 
 
 "' Bvthe i>ni)ihet ! but he laughs at our beards,' 
 exclaimed the Pacha angrily. ' These are foolish 
 lies.' "—Marryat : Pacha of Many Talcs. 
 
 To langh in one's beard [''Mire dans 
 sa barbe "] To laugh in one's sleeve. 
 
 To run in one's beard. To offer oppo- 
 sition to a person ; to do something 
 obnoxious to a person before }iis face. 
 The French say, "a la barbe de quel- 
 qii'iin," under one's very nose. 
 
 If'ith tlie beard on the shoulder (Span- 
 ish), lu the attitude of listening to 
 overhear something ; with circumspec- 
 tion, looking in all directions for sur- 
 prises and ambuscades. 
 
 '•The.v rode, as the Spanish proverb e.xpresses 
 it, 'with the beard on the shoulder,' looking 
 ri>Mn(l from time t^i time, and using ever.v pre- 
 caiitiou . . . agiinst pursuit." — S/r W. Scott: 
 I'crcril of the Peak, chap, vii.- 
 
 Tax vpon beards. Peter the Great 
 imposed a tax upon beards. Every one 
 above the lowest class had to pay 100 
 roubles, and the lowest class had to pay 
 a copec, for enjoying this "luxury." 
 Clerks were stationed at the gates of 
 every town to collect the beard-tax. 
 
 Bearded. Bearded Master {^[agister 
 barba'tus). So Persius styled Socrates, 
 imder the notion that the beard is the 
 symbol of wisdom. (B.C. 468-399.) 
 " Foqona'tus (Bearded). Coustantine 
 IV.. "Emperor of Rome (648, 668-685). 
 
 The Bearded. Geoffrey the Crusader, 
 and Bouchard of the house of Mont- 
 morency. 
 
 Handsome-heard. Baldwin IV., Earl 
 of Fhinders. (1160-1186.) 
 
 Joint the Bearded. Johann Mayo, the 
 German painter, whose beard touched 
 the ground when he stood upright. 
 
 Bearded Women: 
 
 Bartel Graetje, of Stuttgard, born 
 lo6'2. 
 
 The Duke of Saxony had the portrait 
 taken of a poor Swiss woman, remarkable 
 for her large bushy beard. 
 
 In 1726 a female dancer appeared at 
 Venice, with a large bushy beard. 
 
 Charles XII. had in his army a woman 
 whose beard was a j'ard and a half long. 
 She was taken iirisoner at the battle of 
 Pultowa., and presented to the Czar, 
 1724. 
 
 Mile. Bois de Chene, born at Geneva 
 in 1834, was exhibited in London in 
 18.52-3 ; she had a i^rofuse head of hair, 
 a strong black beard, large wliiskers, 
 and thick hair on her arms and back. 
 
 Julia Pastra'ua was exhibited in Lou- 
 don in 1857 ; died, 1862, at Moscow ; was 
 embalmed by Professor Suckaloft' ; and 
 the embalmed body was exhibited at 
 191, Piccadill}'. She was found among 
 the Digger Indians of Mexico. 
 
 Margaret of Holland had a long, stiff 
 beard. 
 
 Bearings. I'll bring him to his bear- 
 ings. I'll bring him to his senses. A 
 sea term. The bearings of a ship at 
 anchor is that part of her liuU which is 
 on the water-line when she is in good 
 trim. To bring a ship to her bearings is 
 to get her into this trim. {Dana : The 
 Seanxin's Manual, 84.) 
 
 To lose one's bearings. To become be- 
 wildered ; to get perplexed as to which 
 is the right road. 
 
 To take the hearings. To ascertain the 
 relative position of some object. 
 
 Bearnais [Le-). Henri IV. of France ; 
 so called from Le Beam, his native pro- 
 vince (1553-1610). 
 
 Beasts {Heraldic) : 
 
 Vouchant, lying down. 
 
 Vounter-passant, moving in opposite 
 directions. 
 
 Dormant, sleeping. 
 
 Gardant, full-faced. 
 
 Issuant, rising from the top or bottom 
 of an ordinary. 
 
 Xaseent, rising out of the middle of 
 an ordinary. 
 
 Passaht, walking. 
 
 I'assant gardant, walking, and with 
 full face. 
 
 Fassant regardant, walking and look- 
 ing behind. 
 
 Mam pant, rearing. 
 
 lierjardaut, looking back. 
 
 Sejant, seated. 
 
 Salient, springing. 
 
 Statant, standing still.
 
 Beastly Drunk 
 
 111 
 
 Beaten 
 
 Beastly Drunk. It was an ancient 
 notion tliat men in their cups exhibited 
 the vicious qualities of beasts. Nash 
 describes seven kinds of drunkards :— 
 
 (1) The Apc-dru>ih\ who leaps and sings ; 
 
 (2) The Lion-dniuk, who is quarrelsome ; 
 (o) The Stvbie-drnitk, who is sleejjy and 
 l)uking ; (4) The Sheep-drunk, wise in 
 Jiis own conceit, but unable to speak ; 
 (5) The Martin-drunk, who drinks him- 
 self sober again ; (6) The Goat-drunk, 
 who is lascivious ; and (7) The Fox- 
 dnink, who is crafty, like a Dutchman 
 in liis cups. {See Maitdlin.] 
 
 Beat. A track, line, or appointed 
 range. A walk often trodden or beaten 
 by the feet, as a 2Mliceiuan's beat. The 
 word means a beaten path. 
 
 Xo( in nuj heat. Not in my line ; not 
 in the range of my talents or inclination. 
 
 Off Jdfi beat. Not on duty ; not in his 
 appointed walk; not his speciality or 
 line. 
 
 '■ (JfE his own beat his opinions were of no 
 \A\\\c."—Emersim: English Traits, cLap. i. 
 
 On hi.s beat. In his appointed walk; 
 on duty. 
 
 Out of kin beat. In his wrong walk ; 
 out of his proper sphere. 
 
 2o beat up one''s quarters. To hunt 
 out where one lives ; to visit without 
 ceremony. A military tenn, signifying 
 to make an unexpected attack on an 
 enemy in camp. 
 
 ■•To beat op tlie ciiiai-ters of some of our less- 
 kuiiwu relaticius.' — iy«rii(;; Essaijs of Elia. 
 
 Beat {To). To strike. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 beat an.) 
 
 To beat an alarm. To give notice of 
 danger by beat of drum. 
 
 To beat or drum a thing into one. To 
 lepeat as a drummer repeats his strokes 
 on a drum. 
 
 To beat a retreat (French, battre en 
 retraite) ; to beat to arms ; to beat a 
 eharge. Militaiy terms similar to the 
 above. 
 
 To beat the air. To strike out at no- 
 thing, merely to bring one's muscles into 
 play, as pugilists do before they begin to 
 tight ; to toil without profit ; to work to 
 no purpose. 
 
 ".-^ r light I, not as cue that beatetU the air.' — 
 1 Cor. i\. '.ti. 
 
 To heat the bush. One beat the bush 
 and another caught the hare. "// a 
 battii les buissons, et autre a pris les 
 oiseaux." " II bat le buisson sans prendre 
 /rs oisitlons''^ is a slightly different idea, 
 meaning he has toiled in vain. " Other 
 men laboin^ed, and ye are entered into 
 their labours " (John iv. 48). The allu- 
 sion is to beaters, who.?e business it i.5 to 
 
 beat the bushes and start the game for a 
 shooting party. 
 
 To beat the DeviVs Tattoo. {Sec 
 Tattoo.) 
 
 To beat the Butch. To draw a very 
 long bow; to say something very in- 
 credible. 
 
 " Well ! it that dnu't heat the Dutch!" 
 
 l\j heat time. To mark time in music 
 by beating or moving the hands, feet, or 
 a wand. 
 
 To beat up supporters. To hunt them 
 up or call them together, as soldiers are 
 by beat of drum. 
 
 Beat {To). To overcome or get the 
 better of. This does not mean to strike, 
 which is the Anglo-Saxon bedtan, but to 
 better, to be better, from the Anglo- 
 Saxon verb betan. 
 
 iJeeid beat. So completely beaten or 
 worsted as to have no leg to stand on. 
 Like a dead man with no light left in 
 him ; quite tired out. 
 
 " I'm dead heat, but I thini.irht I'd like to ciiuin 
 in and see you all once nicu-e."— ii'ue; H'lHiout <i 
 Home, p. 3J. 
 
 Dead beat escapement (of a watch). 
 One in which there is no reverse motion 
 of the escape-wheel. 
 
 That beats Ban'aejher. Wonderfidly 
 inconsistent and absurd — exceedingly 
 lidiculous. Banagher is a town in 
 Ireland, on the Shannon, in King's 
 County. It formerly sent two members 
 to Parliament, and was, of course, a 
 famous pocket borough. When a mem- 
 ber spoke of a family borough where 
 every voter was a man em2Jloyed by the 
 lord, it was not unusual to reply, ' ' Well, 
 that beats Banagher." 
 
 "'Well,' says he, 'toRratify them I will. So just 
 a morsel. But, Jack, this beats Banna.Lther' (.■<!(■;." 
 — W. B. Yeats: Eairy Tales of the Irish Pcasaiitnj, 
 p. 1%. 
 
 That beats Termagant. Your rantitig, 
 raging pomjjosity, or exaggeration, sur- 
 passes that of Termagant {q.v.). 
 
 To beat hollow is to beat wholly, to bs 
 wholly the sujjerior. 
 
 To beat up aqainst the wind. To tack 
 against an adverse wind ; to get the 
 better of the wind. 
 
 Beat. (French, cchattre, to abate.) 
 
 To beat down. To make a seller 
 "abate" his price. 
 
 Beaten to a Mummy. Beaten so 
 that one can distinguish neither form 
 nor feature. 
 
 Beaten with his own Staff. Con- 
 futed by one's own words. An argu- 
 uwntum ad honunem. 
 
 "fan High Church bigotry go farther than 
 this? And bow well have I since been beaten 
 with mine own staff."—/. 1V'cs/f(/. (He refers to
 
 Beating 
 
 112 
 
 Beauty 
 
 liis exchidinK Bcilziiis fi-om "the Lnni's talile," 
 because lie liad not been canonically baiitized.) 
 
 Beating about the Bush. Not 
 
 coming directly to the matter in hand, 
 hut feeling your way timidly by indirec- 
 tion, as persons beat hushes to ascertain 
 if game is hirking under them. 
 
 Beating the Bounds. On Holy 
 Tliursdaj', or Ascension Day, it used to 
 be customary for the parisli school chil- 
 dren, accompanied by the clergymen and 
 parish officers, to walk through their 
 parish from end to end. The boys were 
 struck with willow wands all along the 
 lines of boundary. Before maps were 
 common, the boys were thus taught to 
 know tlie bounds of their own parish. 
 The custom still prevails in some parishes. 
 
 Beati Possidentes. Blessed are 
 those who have [for they shall receive] . 
 "Possession is nine points of the law." 
 
 Beatific Vision. The sight of the 
 Deity, or of the blessed in the realms of 
 heaven. {Sec Isaiah vi. 1-4, and Acts 
 vii. 55, 56.) 
 
 Beatrice, beloved from girlhood by 
 Daiite, a native of Florence, was of the 
 Portinari family. She died imder 
 twenty-four years of age (12(36-1290). 
 Beati'ice married Simone do' Bardi, and 
 Dante married Gemma Donati. 
 
 Beau. 
 
 BeanBrummel. George Bryan. (1778- 
 1810.) 
 
 Lc Beau lyOrsay. Father of Count 
 D'Orsay, and called by Byron Jenne 
 Ciipldoii. 
 
 Bean Fielduifi, called "Handsome 
 Fielding" by Charles II., whose name 
 was Hendrome Fielding. He died in 
 Scotland Yard, London. 
 
 Beau Hewitt. The " Sir Fopling 
 Flutter" of Etheredge. {The Man of 
 Mode; or, Sir Foplunj Flutter.) 
 
 Beau Xufili. Son of a "Welsh gentle- 
 man, a notorious diner-out. He under- 
 took the management of the bath-rooms 
 at Bath, and conducted the public balls 
 Avith a splendour and decorum never 
 before witnessed. In old age he sank 
 into poverty. (1674-1761.) 
 
 Beau Ttbbs, noted for his finery, 
 vanity, and poverty. {Goldsmith : Citizen 
 of the World.) 
 
 Beau Id'eal. The model of beauty 
 or excellency formed by fancy. 
 
 Beau Jour beau Retour {A). My 
 turn will come next. (Never used iu a 
 
 good sense, but always to signify the 
 resentment of an injury.) 
 
 Beau Lion (f'«). A fine dashing 
 fellow ; an aristocrat every inch ; the 
 " lion " of society. The lion is the king 
 of beasts. 
 
 Beau Monde. The fashionable 
 world; people who make up the coterie 
 of fashion. 
 
 Beau Trap. A loose pavement 
 imder which water lodges, and which 
 squirts up filth when trodden on, to the 
 annoyance of the smartly dressed. 
 
 Beauclerc \^good scholar']. Applied 
 to Henry I., who had clerk-like accom- 
 plishments, very rare in the times iu 
 which he lived (1068, 1100-1135). 
 
 Beaumontague [pronounce ho-woii- 
 faif/]. Bad work, especiall}^ ill-fitting 
 carpenter's work ; literary padding ; 
 paste and scissors literature ; so called 
 from putty used by carpenters, etc., for 
 filling up cracks and bad joinery. Ger- 
 man, teir/, dough ; and Emile Beaumont, 
 the geologist (1798-1851), who also gives 
 his name to " Beaumontite. " 
 
 Beautiful. Beautiful or fair «.".• ni>, 
 angel. Throughout the Middle Ages it 
 was common to associate beautj' ■with 
 virtue, and ugliness with sin ; hence 
 the exjiressions given above, and the 
 following also — "Seraphic beauty," 
 "Cherubic loveliness," "Ugly as sin," 
 etc. 
 
 Beautiful Parricide. Beatrice Cenci, 
 the daughter of a Roman nobleman, who 
 plotted the death of her father because 
 he violently defiled her. (Died 1599.) 
 
 " Francesco Cenci (xvi. siecle) . . . avait <iuatre 
 fils et line fille (Beatrix). 11 les nialtraitait 
 cruellemeut, on les faisait seivir a ses plaisiis 
 bnitaux. . . . Revoltee de taut d'boiTeurs, Bea- 
 trix, sa fille, de concert avec deux de ses freres, 
 et Lucrece leur mere, tit assassiner Francesco 
 Cenci. Accuses de parricide, ils purirent tons 
 quatre sur I'ecbafaud par la sentence de Clement 
 VIII. (1605)."— iVitlHei. 
 
 •.• Tbis is Mmatori's version of the affair, but it 
 is mucU disputed. It is a favourite tlieme fi r 
 tragedy. 
 
 Beauty. Tout est beau sans chan- 
 delles. " La nuit tous les chats sont ffris." 
 Beauty is but skin deep. 
 
 "O fovuinse puer, uitiiium ue crede colori." 
 Virgil, Bucolics, ii. 
 
 Beauty and the Beast. The hero 
 and heroine of Madame Villeneuve's 
 fairy tale. Beauty saved the life of 
 her father by consenting to live with 
 the Beast ; and the Beast, being dis- 
 enchanted by Beauty's love, became a 
 handsome prince, and married her. 
 {Contes Marines, 1740.)
 
 Beauty 
 
 llfJ 
 
 Bed-post 
 
 ',* A haudsome womau with an liu- 
 couth or uncomely male companion. 
 
 Beauty of Buttermere. Mary 
 Robinson, married to John Hatfield, a 
 lieartless impostor, executed for forgery 
 at Carlisle in 1803. 
 
 Beauty Sleep. Sleep taken before 
 midnight. Tliose who habitually go to 
 bed, especially during j'outh, after mid- 
 night, are usually pale and more or less 
 haggard. 
 
 "Would I please to rememliortlmt 1 liad rnuserl 
 him up ;it iiicrlit .... [in] bis lieaiuy sleep." — 
 Jilackmore : Lonia Doone, chap. fil. 
 
 Beaux Esprits (French). Men of 
 wit or genius (singular number, U/t hcl 
 esprit, a wit, a genius). 
 
 Beaux Yeux (French). Beautiful 
 eyes or attractive looks. "I will do it 
 for your bcait.v yciix^'' (because you are 
 so pretty, or because your eyes are so 
 attractive). 
 
 Beaver. A hat ; so called from its 
 being made of beaver- skins. 
 
 Beaver. That jDart of the helmet 
 which lifted up to enable the wearer to 
 drink. Similarly lever, the afternoon 
 draught in the harvest-field, called 
 fours'' s. (Italian, bevere, to drink ; 
 Spanish, Leber ; Latin, b'lbo ; French, 
 biiveur, a drinker ; Armoric, beiivranli, 
 beverage, etc.) 
 
 " Hamlet : Then you saw not his face ? 
 
 "Horatio: O.yes, my lord ; he wore bis heaver 
 up." ' SiKtkespcare : Hamlet, i. i. 
 
 Becarre, Bemol. Sautcr de hecarre 
 en bemol (French), to jump from one 
 subject to another without regard to 
 pertinence; ^^ Hunter dii cuq a Pane,'''' 
 from Genesis to Revelation. Literall}', 
 to jump from shar^js to flats. Becarre 
 is the Latin B quadratum or H quarre. 
 In old musical notation B sharp was 
 expressed by a square b, and B flat by 
 a round B. 
 
 V Beniol is B inolUs, soft (flat). 
 
 Becasse. You goose ; you simple- 
 ton ; you booby. Becasse is a wood- 
 cock. " Cest line becasse,''^ he or she is 
 a fool. 
 
 Becket's Assassins. William de 
 Tracj', Hugh de Morville, Richard Brito 
 (or le Bret), and Fitz-Urse. 
 
 Bed. The yreat bed of Ware. Abed 
 twelve feet square, and capable of hold- 
 ing twelve persons ; assigned by tradi- 
 tion to the Earl of Warwick, the king- 
 maker. It is now in Rye House. 
 
 " AlthouKh the sheet were big encmgh for the 
 hed of Ware in England."— S/intCfpettre ; TwelfJi 
 Night, iii. "J. 
 
 8 
 
 To mal-e the bed. To arrange it and 
 make it fit for use. In America this 
 sense of "make " is much more common 
 tluin it is with us. ' ' Your room is 
 made," arranged in due order. To 
 make it all right. 
 
 As i/oii viake your bed you must lie on 
 it. Everyone must bear the conse- 
 quences of his own acts. " As you sow, 
 so must yoti reap." "As you brew, so 
 mirst you bake." 
 
 To bed out. To plant what are called 
 '' bedding-out jjlants " in a flower-bed. 
 
 V Bedding-out jjlants are reared in 
 pots, generally in a hot-house, and are 
 transferred into garden-beds early in 
 the summer. Such plants as geraniums, 
 marguerites, fuchsias, penstemons, jje- 
 tunias, verbenas, lobelias, calceolarias, 
 etc., are meant. 
 
 You qot out of bed the wronq iraij, or 
 with the left leg foremost. Said of a 
 person who is patchy and ill-tempered. 
 It was an ancient superstition that it 
 was unlucky to set the left foot on the 
 ground first on getting out of bed. The 
 same superstition applies to putting on 
 the left shoe first, a "fancy" not yet 
 wholly exploded. 
 
 V Augustus Cajsar Avas very super- 
 stitious in this respect. 
 
 Bed of Justice. {See Lit.) 
 
 Bed of Roses {A). A situation of 
 ease and pleasure. 
 
 Bed of Thorns {A). A situation of 
 great anxiety and apprehension. 
 
 Bed-post. lu the tivinlilini/ of a bed- 
 post. As quickly as jjossible. In the 
 ancient bed-frames movable staves were 
 laid as we now lay iron laths ; there 
 were also staves in the two sides of the 
 bedstead for keej^ing the bed-clothes 
 from rolling off ; and in some cases a 
 staif was used to beat the bed and 
 clean it. In the reign of Edward I., 
 Sir John Chichester had a mock skirmish 
 with his servant (Sir John with his 
 rapier and the servant with the bed- 
 staff), in which the servant was acci- 
 dentally killed. Wright, in his Domes- 
 tic Muiniers, shows us a chamber- 
 maid of the seventeenth century using 
 a bed-staff to beat up the bedding. 
 "Twinkling" means a rapid twist or 
 turn. (Old French, guinc'her : Welsh, 
 (/ici/iff, giringaw, our icrif/e/le.) 
 
 " I'll do it iustaiillv. ill the twinkling of a hed- 
 Stan."—Slnliliri'll : Vntufisn. P. 7(1. 
 
 " He would liiiM- rill liiiu (low II iu the twinkling 
 of a bed-post."—" JtiiUcluin:' dune into Eni/lisli. 
 
 Bobadil, in Every Man in his Humour,
 
 Bede 
 
 114 
 
 Bee 
 
 and Lord Duberley, in the Heir-at-Law, 
 use the same expression. 
 
 Bede {Adam). A novel by George 
 Eliot (Marian Evans), 1859. One of 
 llie chief characters is Mrs. Poyser, a 
 woman of shrewd observation, and as 
 full of wise saws as Sancho Panza. 
 
 Bedell. The Vicc-c/iaiicclhr's hcdcll 
 (not beadle) . The officer who carries the 
 mace before the Vice-Chancellor, etc., 
 in the universities is not a beadle but a 
 liedell (the same word in an older form). 
 
 Be'der. A valley famous for the 
 victory gained by Mahomet, in which 
 " ho was assisted by 3,000 angels, led by 
 Gabriel, mounted on his horse Ilaizum." 
 {Al Koran.) 
 
 Bcdcy. King of Persia, who married 
 Giauha're, daughter of the most power- 
 ful of the under- sea emperors. Queen 
 Labe tried to change him into a horse, 
 but he changed her into a mare instead. 
 {Ara/)ian Kighis, '■^ Ijcder and Gian- 
 harc.'''') 
 
 Bedford. Saxon, Bcdeanforda (for- 
 tress ford) — that is, the ford at the 
 fortress of the river Ouse. 
 
 Bedford Level. Land drained by 
 the Earl of Bedford in 1049. This large 
 tract of fenny laud lay in the counties 
 of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Hunt- 
 ingdonshire, Northamptonshire, and 
 Lincolnshire. 
 
 Bedfordshire. I am of' to Bedford- 
 shire. To tlie land of Nod, to bed. The 
 language abounds with tlicse pims, 
 e.g. "the marrowbone stage," "A 
 Dunse scholar," "Knight of the beer- 
 barrel," " Admiral of the blue," "Mas- 
 tor of the Mint" {c[.r.), "Master of 
 the Rolls" (q.r.), etc. And the French 
 even more than the English. 
 
 Bed'iver. A knight of the Round 
 Table, and the butler of King Arthur. 
 
 Bedlam. A lunatic asylum or mad- 
 house ; a contraction for Bethlehem, the 
 name of a religious house in London, 
 converted into a hospital for lunatics. 
 
 Tom o' Bedlam. {'See Tom.) 
 
 ".■ St. Mary of Betlileliem, Lcmilnn, was fouiuleil 
 as a priory in 1lM7, .and in Vi\~ it was {,'iven tn ilie 
 iiiaynv and corjioration of London, and incorpor- 
 ated as a royal f oundatiou for lunatics. 
 
 Bedlamite (3 syl.). A madman, a 
 fool, an inhabitant of a Bedlam. 
 
 Bedouins [Bed xcins]. The homeless 
 street poor are so called. Thus the 
 Times calls the ragged, houseless boys 
 "the Bedouins of London." The 
 Bedouins are the nomadic tribes of 
 
 Arabia (Arabic, bedairhi, a dweller in 
 a desert ; bad a; a desert). {tSee Street 
 
 Aeabs.) 
 
 " Tliese Bedouins of tbp prairie invarialily carry 
 tlicir lodtrcs with t\icm."—.i. T). liichardsou : Be- 
 yond llie .Vissit^sipiii, chaii. v. 
 
 Bedreddin' Hassan, in the story 
 of Xvar'rddm' and his ISon, in the 
 Arabian Xights. 
 
 "('(nuparinfe'liprself to Bedreddin Hassan, wlioni 
 tlievi/.ier . . . discovered by liis superlative skill 
 in coMuiosini; cream-tarts without pepper in 
 tliein."— .Seo«; llcait of indlothian. 
 
 Bed-rook. American slang for one's 
 last shilling. A miner's terra, called in 
 England the " stone-head, " and in 
 America, the "Bed-rock," the hard 
 b;isis rock. When miners get to this 
 bed the mine is exhau.'^tcd. "I'm come 
 down to the bed-rock," i.e. my last 
 dollar. 
 
 "'No, no!' continnoil Tennessee's partner, 
 hastily, ' I'll play this yer hand alone. I've come 
 down to the bed-rock ; it's just this: Tennessee, 
 thar, has played it pretty rouyh and expensive, 
 like, on a stranger. . . . Now what's the fair 
 thing? Some would say more, and some w(nild 
 say less. Here's seventeen hundred dollars in 
 coarse gold and a watch— it's alKuit all my pile — 
 and call it S(iuare.' "— lircf Unite: Tciuwssct's 
 Piirtner. 
 
 Bedver. King Arthur's butler ; 
 Caius or Kaye was his sewer. {Oeoffreg : 
 British Ilistorg, ix. 13.) 
 
 Bee. TJie Athenian Bee. Plato. (See 
 Athenian Bee, page 72, col. 1.) 
 
 It is said that when Plato was in his 
 cradle, a swarm of bees alighted on his 
 mouth. The story is good enough for 
 poets and orators. The same tale is 
 told of St. Ambrose. {See Ambeose, 
 page 41, col. 1.) 
 
 Tlie Bee of Athens. Soph'oclGs. {S(-c 
 Attic Bee, page 73, col. 1.) 
 
 Xenophon (b.c. 444-3.59) is also called 
 "the Bee of Athens," or " the Athen- 
 ian Bee." 
 
 V See also Animals (Symbolical), 
 page 50, col. 2. 
 
 To hare your head fall of hees. Full 
 of devices, crotchets, fancies, inventions, 
 and dreamy theories. The connection 
 between bees and the soul was once 
 generally maintained : hence Mahomet 
 admits bees to Paradise. Porphyry says 
 of fountains, ' ' they are adapted to the 
 nymphs, or those souls which Ihe an- 
 cients called bees." The moon was 
 called a bee by the priestesses of Ceres, 
 and the word lunatic or moon-struck 
 still means one with " bees in his head." 
 
 " II a di'S rats dans la {He."— French Proverb. 
 
 {See Maggot.) 
 
 To hare a bee in. goiir bonnet. To be 
 cranky ; to have an idiosyncrasy ; also,
 
 Bee 
 
 115 
 
 Beefeaters 
 
 to caiTy a jewel or ornament in your 
 cap. {See Biohes.) 
 
 " For pity, sir, find out tliut l>ee 
 Tli;it liiire )ny love away— 
 ' I'll seek liiiu in your bonnet brave.' . . ." 
 lleirick: The Mad Maid's Hony. 
 
 Bee. A social gathering for some 
 useful work. The object generally pre- 
 cedes the word, as a spelling - bee (a 
 gathering to compete in sioelling). There 
 are apple-bees, husking-bees, and half 
 a dozen other sorts of bees or gatherings. 
 It is an old Devonshire custom, which 
 was carried across the Atlantic in Eliza- 
 bethan times. 
 
 Bee-line. The line that a bee takes 
 in making for the hive ; the shortest 
 distance between two given points. 
 
 "Our footmarks, seen afterwards, showed that 
 we had steered a bee-line to the brig."— /i'oNe; 
 Arctic Explorations, vol. i. chap. xvii. p. 198. 
 
 Bees. 
 
 Jupiter was novurished by bees in in- 
 fancy. (iSVeATHENI-ixBEE, p. 72, col. 1.) 
 
 Pindar is said to have been nourished 
 by bees with honey instead of milk. 
 
 The coins of Ephesus had a bee on tlie 
 reverse. 
 
 The Greeks consecrated bees to the 
 moon. 
 
 With the Romans a flight of bees was 
 considered a bad omen. Apj^iau {Civil 
 ll'dr, book ii.) says a swarm of bees 
 lighted on the altar and prognosticated 
 the fatal issue of the battle of Phai'salla. 
 
 The priestesses of Ceres were called 
 bees. 
 
 In Christian Art St. Ambrose is repre - 
 sented with a beehive, from the tradi- 
 tion that a swarm of bees settled on liis 
 moutli in his infancy. 
 
 Beef, Ox. Tlte former is Norman, 
 and tlie latter Saxon. The Normans 
 had the cooked meat, and when set 
 before tliem used the word they were 
 accustomed to. The Saxon was the 
 herdsman, and while the beast was under 
 his charge called it by its Saxon name. 
 
 "Old Alderman Ox continues to hold his Sax(ni 
 title while he is under the charge of serfs and 
 liondsiuen ; but becomes Beef, a fiery French 
 gallant, when he arrives before the worshipful 
 jaws that are destined to consume bin"!."— /ra7i7io(>. 
 
 Wearer'' s beef of Colchester, i.e. sprats, 
 caught abundantiyin the neighbourhood, 
 
 ( Fuller : IForth ies. ) 
 
 Beefeaters. Yeomen of the Gruard 
 in the royal household, appointed, in 
 1485, by Henry VII., to form part of 
 the royal train in banquets and other 
 grand occasions. The old theory was 
 that the word means "an attendant on 
 the royal buffets," Anglicised into 
 
 hiiffeters or huffeteem, and corrupted into 
 Beefeaters ; but Professor Skeat says no 
 such word as haffeter has yet been found 
 in any book ; nor does hijj'etier exist in 
 French. 
 
 A plausible reply to tliis objection is that 
 the word may have got corrupted almost 
 ub initio in those unlettered days ; and 
 the earliest quotation of "Beefeater," 
 already adduced, is above 160 years from 
 tlie institution of the force, and even 
 then the allusions are either satirical or 
 humorous : as " Begone, yee greedy 
 beefe-eaters, y' are best " {Histrio- 
 inastix, in. 1; a.d. 1610); "Bows, or 
 Beefeaters, as the French were jileased 
 to tei-me us " (1628) ; "You beef-eater, 
 you saucy cur " (1671). Not one of the 
 quotations fixes the word on the Yeomen 
 of the Guard, and that the English have 
 been called Beefeaters none will deny. 
 Even if the allusion given above could 
 be certainly affixed to Yeonieu of the 
 Guard it would only prove that 150 or 
 IGO years after their establishment in 
 the palace tliey were so called (corruptly, 
 humorously or otherwise). 
 
 Arffumoits infarour of the old deriva- 
 tion : — 
 
 (1) Certainly Henry VII. himself did 
 not call these yeomen "beef-eaters." 
 He was as much French as Welsh, and 
 must have been familiar with the buffet 
 {hii-fey) ; he had no spark of humour in 
 his constitution, and it is extremely 
 doubtful whether beef was a standing 
 dish at the time, certainly it was not so 
 in Wales. We liave a good number of 
 iiienas extant of the period, but beef does 
 not appear in any of them. 
 
 (2) We have a host of similar corrup- 
 tions in our language, as Andrew Macs 
 {q.v.), Bilhf-ruJIians {sec Belleeophon), 
 Bull and Mouth {q.v.), Cliarlcs's Jfaiii 
 {q.v.), Bag-o''-Xails, Goat and Compasses, 
 tiparroiv -grass (asparagus), ancient (en- 
 sign), lutestring (lustring, from lustre), 
 iJog-clieap (god-kejie, i.e. a good bar- 
 gain), and many more of the same sort. 
 
 (3) There can be no doubt that the 
 " beefeaters " waited at the roj^al table, 
 
 ■ for in 1602 we read that "the dishes 
 were brought in by the halberdiers 
 [beefeaters], who are fine, big fellows " 
 (quoted in Notes and Queries, February 
 -1th, 1893, p. 86). 
 
 (4) If beef was a general food in the 
 sixteenth century, which is extremely 
 doubtful, it would be supremely ridic- 
 ulous to call a few yeomen "eaters of 
 beef," unless beef was restricted to 
 them. In the present Argentine Re- 
 public, beef dried, called " jerked beef,"
 
 Beef-steak Club 
 
 116 
 
 Before the Mast 
 
 is the common diet, aud it would be 
 foolish indeed to restrict the jilirase 
 "eaters of jerked beef" to some hulf- 
 score waiters at the President's table. 
 
 (5) That the word htiWctvcr or 
 hnffclicr is not to be found (in the 
 Euglisli sense) in any French author, 
 does not prove that it was never used 
 in Anglo-French. We liave scores of 
 perverted French words, with English 
 meanings, unrecognised by the French ; 
 for examjjle : oicore, double entendre, 
 siirtout (a frock coat), cpcrgne, and so on. 
 
 (6) Historic etj-mology has its value, 
 but, like all other general rules, it re- 
 (iuires to be naiTowly watched, or it may 
 not unfrequeiitly over-ride the truth. 
 Historically, Home comes from Komulus, 
 iSeotlaiid from Scota or Scotia, Jtritnin 
 from Brutus. All sorts of rubbishy 
 etymology belong to tlie liistoiic craze. 
 
 Jieefeatem. Yeomen Extraordiuaiy of 
 the (ifnard appointed as warders of tlxe 
 Tower by Edward VI. They wear tlie 
 same costume as the Yeomen of the 
 Guard mentioned above. {Hee Bupha- 
 GOS.) 
 
 Beef-steak Club owed its origin to 
 an accidental dinner taken by Lord 
 Peterboi'ough in the sceiiie-room of Kich, 
 over Covcnt Garden Theatre. The 
 original gridiron on which Rich broiled 
 the peer's steak is still preserved in the 
 palhulium of the club, and the members 
 have it eugiaved on their buttons. 
 {History of the Clubs of London.) 
 
 Beefington or Milor Beefington, a 
 cliaracter m Canning's mock tragedy, 
 'llw Jiorer.s, a burlesque, in the Anti- 
 Jaeohin, on the sentimental German 
 dramas of the period. ' Casimere is a 
 Polish emigrant, and Beefiugtou an 
 English nobleman, exiled by the tyranny 
 of King John. 
 
 Beelzebub. God of flies, supposed 
 to ward off flies from his votaries. One 
 of the gods of the Pliilistines. {See 
 ACHOE.) The Greeks had a similar deity, 
 Zeus Apomi/'ios. The Jews, by way of 
 reproach, changed Beelzebub iuto Baal 
 Zeboub (q.v.), aud placed him among 
 the da?mous. Milton says he was next 
 in rauk to Satan, and stood 
 
 " With Atlante'an slioiilders. fit to l>ear 
 The weight ol iiiightiest luonarcliies." 
 
 (Book ii.) 
 " One next himself in power, and next in crime, 
 Lonsr after kuimu in Palestine, and nameil 
 Beelzeliul)." J'arudise Lost, i. 7y-81. 
 
 Beer. Ceres, when wandering over 
 the earth in quest of her daughter, 
 taught men the ai't of making beer, 
 because "(7s ine nepurent apprenclre Vart 
 
 de fa'ire le t'j«." {Mem. dc VAcademie 
 des Iiiscri2)tiones, xvii.) {See Ale.) 
 
 He docs not th'uik small beer of himnelf. 
 {See Small Bekr.] 
 
 Beer and Skittles. Life is not all 
 
 beer and skitl/is, i.e. not all eating, 
 drinking, and i>lay ; not all pleasure ; 
 not all harmony and love. 
 
 '■ .-^i' >rt like life, ami life like 9p<jrt, 
 Isu'l all skililertaml heer." 
 
 Beer aux Mouches, or Jleer anx cor- 
 neilles. To stand gaping in the air (at 
 the flics or the rooks). Jteer, Old 
 Freiu'h for bai/er, to gape. 
 
 Beeswing. The tilm wliich forms on 
 the sides of a bottle of good old jiort. 
 This fllm, broken up into small pieces, 
 looks like the wings of bees. A i)ort 
 drinker is very particular not to " break 
 tlie beeswing" by shaking the bottle, or 
 turning it the wrong way up. 
 
 ■.■ neeswintfeil i">rt is olil port which h.isfiinned 
 its soconil crust or lieeswiiii,'. 
 
 Beetle {To). To overliang, to 
 threaten, to jut over (Anglo-Saxon, 
 beot-ian, to menace). Hence beetle or 
 beetled brow, 
 
 " Or to the dreadful summit of the clilT, 
 That heetles o'er his Pase into the sesi." 
 Slidkenpeare : Hamlet, i. 4. 
 
 Beetle-crusher. A large, flat foot. 
 The expression was fii^st used in I'uiu/i, 
 in one of Leedi's caricatiu'cs. Those 
 who know London know liow it is over- 
 run with cockroaclies, wrongly called 
 black-beetles. 
 
 Befana. The good fairy of Italian 
 children, who is supposed to fill their 
 stockings with toj's when they go to lied 
 on Twelftli Night. Some one enters the 
 children's bedroom for tlie purpose, and 
 the wakeful j'oungsters cry out, "/>co 
 la Jiefa')ia.'" 'According to legend, 
 Befana was too busy with house aftairs 
 to look after the Magi when they went 
 to offer their gifts, and said she would { 
 wait to see them on their return ; but ^ 
 they went another way, and Befana, 
 every Twelfth Night, watches to see 
 them. The name is a corruiitiou of 
 Epipliania. 
 
 Before the Lights, in theatrical par- 
 lance, means on the stage, before the 
 foot-lights. 
 
 Before the Mast. To serve before the 
 onast. To be one of the common sailors, 
 whose quarters are in the forward part of 
 the ship. Tlie half-deck is the sanctum 
 of the second mate, and, in Greenland 
 fishers, of the spikeoneer, harpooners,
 
 Beg the Question 
 
 117 
 
 B^guins 
 
 carpenters, coopers, boatswains, and all 
 secondary officers ; of low birth. 
 
 " I myself cmiie from before the mast."— .Sir 11'. 
 Scdtt : Tlie Antiqitiiiii, cliap. xx. 
 
 Beg the Question (To). (See Beg- 
 ging.) 
 
 Beggar. A hcgcjar ma;/ suiff before a 
 pivkpockit. (In Latin, '■'■ Cantubit racuits 
 coram latrone liafor.'' ) A beggar may 
 sing before a highwayman because he 
 has nothing in his pocket to lose. 
 
 Set a beggar on horseback, and he'll ride 
 to the de^il. There is no one so proud 
 and arrogant as a beggar who has sud- 
 denly grown rich. 
 
 "Such is tlie sail etfect of wejilth— rank pride— 
 Mount hut a liej-'nar, how the rogue will riile !" 
 I'eler Pindar : ^pintle to Lord Lonsdale. 
 
 Latin : " Asperius nihil est humili cum 
 surgit in altum." 
 
 Irench : "II n'est orgueil que de 
 pauvre enrichi." 
 
 Kalian : "II vilan nobihtado non con- 
 nosce il parentado " (A beggar ennobled 
 does not know his own kinstneu). 
 
 Spanish : " Quaudo el villano est/i en 
 el nmlo, non couoze a dios, ni al mundo " 
 (vvlien a beggar is mounted on a mule, 
 he knows neither gods nor men). 
 
 Beggars. Kinq of theliefiqars. Bamp- 
 fylde Moore Carew"(1693-l'770). 
 
 Beggars should not be choosers. Beggars 
 sliouid take what is given them, and 
 not dictate to the giver what they like 
 best. They must accept and be thank- 
 ful. 
 
 Beggars' Barm. The thick foam 
 whicli collects on the surface of ponds, 
 brooks, and other pieces of water where 
 the current meets stoppage. It looks 
 Uke barm or yeast, but, being unfit for 
 use, is only beggarly barm at best. 
 
 Beggars' Bullets. Stones. 
 
 Beggar's Bush. To go hij beggar's 
 bush, or do lioinc bg beggar's bush — i.e. to 
 go to ruin. Beggar's bush is the name 
 of a tree which once stood on the left 
 hand of the London road from Hunting- 
 don to Caxton ; so called because it was 
 a noted rendezvous for beggars. These 
 punning phrases and proverbs are very 
 common. 
 
 Beggar's Daughter. Bessee, the 
 beggar's daughter of Bed nail Green. 
 Bessee was very beautiful, and was 
 courted by four suitors at once — a 
 knight, a gentleman of fortune, a Lon- 
 don merchant, and the son of the inn- 
 keeper at Romford. She told them that 
 they must obtain the consent of her 
 father, the poor blind beggar of Bethnal 
 
 Green. When they heard that, they all 
 slunk off except the knight, who went 
 to ask the beggar's leave to wed the 
 " pretty Bessee." The beggar gave her 
 .£3,000 for her dower, and £100 to buy 
 her wedding gown. At the wedding 
 feast he explained to the guests that he 
 was Henry, son and heir of Sir Simon 
 de Montfort. At the battle of Evesham 
 the liarons were routed, Montfort slain, 
 and himself left on the field for dead. 
 A baron's daughter discovered him, 
 nursed him with care, and married him; 
 the fruit of this marriage was "pretty 
 Bessee." Henry de Montfort assumed 
 the garb and semblance of a beggar to 
 escape the vigilance of King Henry's 
 spies, (rerci/ : Iteliqacs.) 
 
 Begging Hermits were of the Au- 
 gustine nnliT : thcj' reiiounccil all pro- 
 perty, and lived on the voluntary abns 
 of "'the faithful." 
 
 V Begging Friars were restricted to 
 four orders: Franciscans (Grey Friars), 
 Augustincs {Black Friars), Camielites 
 {White Friars), and Dominicans {Preach- 
 ing Friars). 
 
 Begging the Question. Assuming 
 a proposition which, in reality, involves 
 the conclusion. Thus, to say that ])ar- 
 allcl lines will never meet because they 
 are parallel, is simply to assume as a 
 fact the very thing you profess to prove, 
 llie phrase is a translation of the Latin 
 term, petifio princip'ii, and was first 
 used by Ari>;totle. 
 
 Beghards. A brotherhood which 
 rose in the Low Countries in the twelfth 
 century, and was so called from Lambert 
 B^gue. The male society were Beg- 
 hards, the female, Beguins. They took 
 no vows, and were free to leave the 
 society when they liked. In the seven- 
 teenth century, those who survived the 
 persecutions of the popes and inquisition 
 joined the Tertiarii of the Franciscans. 
 {See Beguins.) 
 
 Begtash'i. A religious order in the 
 Ottoman Empire, which had its origin 
 in the fourteenth century. The word is 
 derived from Hadji Begtash, a dervish, 
 its founder. 
 
 Begue d'entendement. This is a 
 really happ}- phra.'^e for one whose wits 
 are gone wool-gatheiing ; he is a man 
 of " stammering understanding." 
 
 Beguins. A sisterhood instituted 
 in the twelfth centurj', founded by 
 Lambert Begue or Lambert le Begue. 
 The members of the male society were
 
 Begum 
 
 118 
 
 Belial 
 
 called Beghards (</.?'.)• The Beguins 
 were at liberty to quit the cloister, 
 if they chose, and maiTy. The cap 
 called a begitin was named from this 
 sisterhood. 
 
 "Secta qiiKdam pestifera illorum qui Beguiui 
 vulgariter apiiellautur, qui Be Fratres Pauperes 
 de tertia ordine S. Francisci commuuiter nomina; 
 bant, ex quilAis plures f uerunt tanquam lia?retici 
 condemnati et combusti."— -BenMird Gnido: Life 
 of John, xxii. 
 
 Begum. A lady, princess, or woman 
 of high rank in India ; the wife of a 
 ruler. {ilci/ or Bcff, governor of a 
 Turkish iirovince, a title of honour. ) 
 
 Behe'moth (Hebrew). The hippo- 
 pot'amus ; once thought to be the rhino- 
 ceros. (See Job xl. 15.) 
 
 " Bobdid ! iu plaited mail, 
 Behe'moth rears his head." 
 
 Thomson : Summer, 7TO, 7P1. 
 
 V The word is generally, but incor- 
 rectly, pronounced Be'hemoth ; but Mil- 
 ton, like Thomson, places the accent on 
 the second syllable. 
 
 " Scarce from liis mnld 
 I Behemoth, In.ngest born of earth, upliejived 
 [ His vastness." ililton_: Paradise Lost, vii. 471. 
 
 Beb'menists. A sect of visionary 
 religionists, so called from Jacob Beh- 
 men (Bohme), their foimder. (1575- 
 1625.) 
 
 Behram. Tlio most holy kind of 
 fire, according to Parseeism. (See Ada- 
 
 EAN.) 
 
 Be Jan. A freshman or greenhorn. 
 This term is employed in the French and 
 Scotch universities, and is evidently a 
 corruption of dec Jaime (yellow beak), 
 a French expression to designate a 
 nestling or unfledged bird. In the 
 university of Vienna the freshman is 
 termed beaiiiis, and in France footing- 
 money is hejaunla. 
 
 " His grandmother yielded, and Robert was 
 straightway a l)ejan or yellow-ljeak."— J/flcrfo»aZ;/; 
 R. Falconer. 
 
 Bel-^-faire-peur. A handsome, dare- 
 devil of a fellow. 
 
 Bel Esprit (French). A vivacious 
 wit ; a man or woman of quick and 
 livelj^ parts, ready at repartee. (Plural, 
 
 beaux cuprits.) 
 
 Belch. Sir Tohij Belch. A reckless, 
 roistering, jolly knight of the Eliza- 
 bethan period. {Shakcapeare : Tirelflh 
 Mr/ /it.) 
 
 Belcher. A pocket-handkerchief — 
 properly, a blue ground with white 
 spots ; so called from Jim Belcher, the 
 pugilist, who adopted it. 
 
 Beldam. An old woman ; literally, 
 a grandmother. The French also use bel 
 (i(/e for old age. 
 
 " Old men and beldames in the streets 
 Do iiropbesy upon it dangerously." 
 
 Shakespeare : Kimj John, iv. 2. 
 
 Bele'ses (3 syl.). A Chaldean sooth- 
 sayer and Assyrian satrap, who told 
 Arba'ces, governor of Me'dia, that he 
 would one day sit on the throne of Sar- 
 danapa'lus, King of Nineveh and As- 
 syria. His prophecy was verified, and 
 he was rewarded by Arba'ces with the 
 government of Babylon. {Ili/ron : Sar- 
 (koiapa/ii.s.) 
 
 Belfast Regiment {T/ic). The 35th 
 Foot, which was raised in Belfast in 
 1701. There is no such regiment now 
 in the British Army. What used to be 
 called No. 35 is now called the 1st ))at- 
 talion of the Royal Sussex, the l2nd 
 battalion being the old No. 107. 
 
 Bel-fires. Bctu-een BeVs tiro fires. 
 Scylla on one side and Charybdis on the 
 other. In Irish, Itter dha trine Bhcit, 
 in a dilemma. The reference is to the 
 two fires kindled on May Eve in every 
 village, between which all men and 
 beasts devoted to sacrifice were com- 
 pelled to imss. 
 
 Bel'ford. A friend of Lovelace iu 
 Bichardson's Clarhsn llarJuire. These 
 "friends" made a covenant to pardon 
 every sort of liberty which they took 
 with each other. 
 
 Belfry. A military tower, pushed 
 by besiegers against the wall of a be- 
 sieged city, that missiles may be thrown 
 more easily against the defenders. Pro- 
 bably a church steeple is called a belfry 
 from its resemblance to these towers, 
 and not because bells are hung in it. 
 (French, befroiy a watch-towei'. Old 
 French, herfreit, bclrfrelf, from German, 
 berfi-frif, bergen, to protect, /rii \rr'ule\, 
 a place fenced iu for security.) 
 
 "Alone, and warniin£r his Are viits. 
 The white owl in the belfry sitsy 
 
 Tcniiijsoii : The Old, stanza 1. 
 
 Belial (Hebrew). The worthless or 
 lawless one, i.e. the devil. Milton, in 
 his pandemonium, makes him a very 
 high and distinguished prince of dark- 
 ness. (Paradise Lost.) 
 
 "What concord hath Christ with Belial?"— 2 
 Cor. vi. 15. 
 " Belial came last— than whom a spirit more lewd 
 
 Fell not from heaven, or more gross to love 
 
 Vice for itself." 
 
 Milton : rarndise Lost, book i. 490-2. 
 
 Sons of Belial. Lawless, worthless, 
 rebellious jjeople. (See above.) 
 
 "Now the sons of Eli were s.iu3 of Belial."— 
 1 Sam. il. 1.'.
 
 Belinda 
 
 119 
 
 Bells 
 
 Belin'da. The heroine of Pope's 
 serio-comical poem, entitled the liape 
 of the Lock. The poem is based on a 
 real incident : — Lord Pctre cut off a lock 
 of Miss Fermor's hair, and this liberty 
 gave rise to a bitter feud between the 
 two noble famihes. The poet says that 
 Belinda wore on her neck two curls, one 
 of which the baron cut off with a jjair of 
 scissors borrowed of Clarissa. Belinda, 
 in auger, demanded back the ringlet ; 
 but it had flown to the skies and become 
 a meteor, which ' ' shot through liquid 
 ail', and drew behind a radiant trail of 
 hair." (6'ftf Berenice.) 
 
 Belinun'cia. A herb sacred to Belis, 
 with the juice of which the Gauls used 
 to poison their arrows. 
 
 Belisa'rius. Sclisaiins hcyyuHj for 
 an oh'oltia. Belisa'rius, the greate.st of 
 Justiniaus generals, being accused of 
 conspiring against the life of the 
 emperor, was depi'ived of all his 
 property ; and his eyes being put 
 out, he lived a beggar iu Constan- 
 tinople. The tale is that he fastened 
 a bag to his road-side hut, and had 
 inscribed over it, " Grive an obolus to 
 poor old Belisarius." This tradition is 
 of no historic value. 
 
 Bell. Acton, Ciiito; and Ullis. As- 
 sumed names of Anne, Charlotte, and 
 Emily Bronte. 
 
 Bell. As the hell cliiiks, so the fool 
 th'uikf, or, ^Ln the fool thinks, no the bell 
 c/in/iS. The tale says when Whitting- 
 ton ran away from his master, and had 
 got as far as Houuslow Heath, he was 
 hungry, tired, and wished to return. 
 Bow Bells liegau to ring, and Whitting- 
 ton fancied they said, "Turn again, 
 Whittington, Lord Mayor of London." 
 The bells clinked iu response to the 
 boy's thoughts. " Zes gens de peu de 
 jngement mnt commc Ics cloches, a qi/i 
 Fon fait dire tout ce que Von reuf.^' 
 Dickens has the same idea iu his Christ- 
 mas Chimes. 
 
 The Fassinr/ Sell is the hallowed bell 
 ■which used to be rung when persons 
 were in e.rtre'inis, to scare awa}^ evil 
 spirits which were supposed to lurk 
 about the dying, to pounce on the soul 
 while ' ' passing from the body to its 
 resting-place." A secondary object was 
 to announce to the neighbourhood the 
 fact that all good Christians might oft'er 
 up a prayer for the safe passage of the 
 dying j)erson into Paradise. We now 
 call the bell rung at a person's decease 
 the " passing bell." 
 
 The Athenians used to beat on brazen 
 kettles at the moment of a decease to 
 scare away the Furies. 
 
 liitu/inff the hallowed bell. Bells were 
 believed to disperse storms and jDesti- 
 lence, drive away devils, and extinguish 
 fire. In France it is still by no means 
 unusual to ring church bells to ward off 
 the effects of lightning. Nor is this 
 peculiar to France, for even in 18o'2 the 
 Bishop of Malta ordered the church bells 
 to be rung for au hour to " lay a gale 
 of wind." Of course, the supj^osed 
 efficacy of a bell resides iu its having 
 been consecrated. 
 
 " Ku'nera iilaugo, f iil'gura f rango, salj'hata pangn, 
 Ex'cito leutos, dis'sipu veutos, paco crueutos." 
 
 (Death's tale I tell, the winds dispel, ill- feeliug 
 (luell, 
 The slothful shake, the stdrra-clouds break, the 
 Sabbath wake. B. C. B.) 
 
 {Sec Ringing the Bells Backwaeds.) 
 Sound as a bell. (Sec Similes.) 
 Tolling the hell {for church). A relic 
 of the Ave Bell, which, before the Re- 
 formation, was tolled before service to 
 invite worshippers to a preparatory 
 prayer to the Virgin. 
 
 To bear the bell. To be first fiddle : to 
 carry off the palm ; to be the best. Be- 
 fore cups were presented to winners of 
 horse-races, etc., a little gold or silver 
 bell used to be given for the prize. 
 
 " Jnokey and his horse were by their masters seut 
 To put in fcir the bell. . . . 
 They are to rim and caunnt miss the ball." 
 
 Kvitli : Purest of Varieties. 
 
 V It does not refer to bell-wethers, 
 or the leading horse of a team, but 
 " bear " means bear or carry off'. 
 
 jrho is to bell the cat ? Who will risk 
 his own life to save his neighbours 'i 
 Any one who encounters great personal 
 hazard for the sake of others uudertakes 
 to " bell the cat." The allusion is to the 
 fable of the cunning old mouse, w'ho 
 suggested that they should hang a bell 
 on the cat's neck to give notice to all 
 mice of her approach. "Excellent," 
 said a wise young mouse, "but who is 
 to undertake the job 'r " {See Bell-the- 
 Cat.) 
 
 " Is tliere a man in all Spain able and willing to 
 bell the cat [/.e. persuade theciueen toalKlinite]?'' 
 — The Timest. 
 
 Bells. The Koran says that bells 
 hang on the trees of Paradise, and are 
 set in motion by wind from the throne 
 of God, as often as the blessed wish for 
 music. {Sale.) 
 
 " Bells as musical 
 As those that, on the golden-shafted trees 
 Of Eden, shook by ihe eternal lireeze." 
 
 T. Moore: Lalla Bookh, part i.
 
 Bell, Book, and Candle 120 
 
 Bellarmine 
 
 At three bells, at five bells, etc. A 
 term ou board ship pretty nearly tan- 
 tamouut to our expression o'clock. Five 
 out of the seven watches last four hours, 
 and each half-hour is marked by a bell, 
 which gives a number of strokes corre- 
 sjionding to the number of half-hours 
 passed. Thus, " three bells '' denotes 
 the tliird lialf-hour of the watch, " five 
 bells " the fifth half-hour of the watch, 
 and so on. The two short watches, 
 which last only two hours each, are 
 from four to six and six to eight in 
 the afternoon. At eight bells a new 
 watch begins. {Sec Watch. ) 
 
 " Do ynu there hear? Clean sbirt and a shave 
 for muster at live heWs,."— Basil Uall. 
 
 I'll not luing all iiii/ bells on one horse. 
 I'll not leave all my property to one son. 
 The allusion is manifest. 
 
 Give her the hells anel let her fiij. 
 Don't throw good money after bad ; 
 make the best of the matter, liut do 
 not attempt to bolster it w^. When a 
 hawk was wortldess, the bells were 
 taken off, and the bu'd was suffered to 
 escape, but the advice given above is to 
 " leave the bells " and let the hawk go. 
 
 Rinf/lnfi the bells backtcards, is ringing 
 a muf&ed peal. Baekicards is often used 
 to denote "in a contrary direction" 
 (toxt le contrairc), as, " I hear you are 
 grown rich— " *' Yes, backwards." To 
 riiHf a muffled peal, is to ring a peal 
 of sorrow, not oil joy. 
 
 V In olden times bells were rung 
 backwards as a tocsin, or notice of 
 danger. 
 
 "Beacons were lighted upon crags and emi- 
 nences ; the bells were rung backwards in the 
 churches ; and the general summons to arm 
 announced an extremity of danger."— .Sir 11'. Scott : 
 The betrothed, chap. iii. 
 
 Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune 
 and harsh {Hamlet, iii. 1). A most ex- 
 quisite metaphor for a deranged mind, 
 . such as that of Don Quixote. 
 
 IVarivick shakes his bells. Beware of 
 danger, for Warwick is in the field. 
 Trojans beware, Achilles has donned 
 his armour. The bells mean the bells of 
 a hawk, the hawk shakes his bells. 
 
 " Neither the king, nor he that hives liim best, 
 Dares stir a wing, if Warwick shakes his hells." 
 Shakespeare : 3 Henry T'/., i. 1. 
 
 Bell, Book, and Candle. A cere- 
 mony in the greater excomminiication 
 iutroducetl into the Catholic Church in 
 the eighth century. After reading the 
 sentence a bell is rung, a book closed, 
 and a candle extinguished. From that 
 moment the excommunicated person 
 
 is excluded from the sacraments and 
 even divine worship. 
 
 "Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me 
 ^)!lck."—.Shal:efi>tare: King JuliH, iii. 3. 
 
 In spite of bell, book, and candle, i.e. 
 in spite of all the opposition which the 
 Christian hierarchy can offer. {See 
 Cursing.) 
 
 Bell of Patrick's Will {dor/ an 
 eadhachta Phatraic) is six inches high, 
 five broad, and four deep. It certaitily 
 was in existence in the sixth centurj\ 
 In tlie eleventh century a shrine was 
 made for it of gold antl silver filigree, 
 adorned with jewels. 
 
 Bell Savage, or La BelleSauvagezr 
 Pocahontas. According to one deriva- 
 tion it is a contraction of Isabelle Savage, 
 who originally kept the inn. It is some- 
 what remarkable that the sign of the inn 
 was a pun on the Christian name, a 
 " bell on the Hope " (hoop), as may be 
 seen in the Close Roll of 14.53. The 
 hoop seems to have formed a garter or 
 frame to most signs. The site of the 
 inn is now occupied by tlie premises of 
 Messrs. Cassell & Co. 
 
 "They now returned to their inn. the famous 
 Bell .Savage."— <S'co(t; Kciiilicorlh, xiii. 
 
 Bell-the-Cat. Archibald Douglas, 
 Earl of Angus, was so called. James 
 III. made favourites of architects and 
 masons. One mason, named Cochrane, 
 he created Earl of Mar. The Scotch 
 nobles held a council in the church of 
 Lauder for the purpose of ptitting down 
 these upstarts, when Lord Gray asked, 
 ' ' Who will bell the cat •:- " " Tliat will 
 I," said Douglas, and he fearlessl}^ put 
 to death, in the king's presence, the 
 obnoxious minions. {See Bell.) 
 
 Bell-"wavering. Vacillating, sway- 
 ing from side to side Uke a bell. A man 
 whose mind jangles out of tune from 
 delirium, drunkenness, or temj)orarj' in- 
 sanity, is said to have his wits gone bell- 
 wavering. 
 
 " [ d(nibt me his wits have gone liell-wavering 
 1 ly the road."— S«- W. Scott : The Monastery, chap, 
 vii. 
 
 Belladonna (Italian, beautiful lad;/). 
 This name was given to the Deadly 
 Nightshade, from a practice once com- 
 mon among ladies of touching their 
 eyes with it to make the pupils large 
 and lustrous. 
 
 Bell'armine (./). A large Flemish 
 gotch, i.e. a corpulent beer-jug of some 
 strong ware, originally made in Flan- 
 ders in ridicule of Cardinal Bellarmine, 
 the great persecutor of the reformed 
 party there. These jugs had at the
 
 Bellaston 
 
 121 
 
 BeUy 
 
 neck a rude likeness of the cardinal with 
 his large, square, ecclesiastical beard. 
 
 "... like a larfe'er jug, that some men call 
 A bellariuiue . . . 
 
 "VVliereon the lewder hand of pagan •wnrkii en, 
 Over the proud ambitious head, liath carved 
 An idol large, with beard episcopal. 
 Making the vessel look like tyrant Eglon." 
 Cartright : The Ordinary. 
 
 " One of the Fellows of Exeter [College], when 
 Dr. Prideaux was rector, sent his servitor, after 
 nine o'clock at night, with a large bottle to fetch 
 some ale from the alehouse. When he was coming 
 home with it under his gown the proctor met 
 liini, and asked him what he did out so late, and 
 what he had under his gown ? The man answered 
 that his master had sent him to the stationers to 
 borrow HelUirmine, which book he had under his 
 arm ; and so he went home. Whence a bottle 
 with a big belly is called a BeUarmine to this day, 
 liK."—Oxoniana, vol. i. p. 13J. 
 
 Bell'aston {Lady): A profligate, 
 wliose conduct and conversation are 
 a life-like photograjih of the court 
 '"beauties" of Louis XV. {Ficldunj : 
 Tom Jones.) 
 
 Belle. A beauty. TJic Belle of the 
 room. The most beautiful lady in the 
 rooju (French). 
 
 La belle France. A common French 
 phrase applied to France, as "Merry 
 England" is to our own country. 
 
 Belles Lettres. Polite literature 
 (Freuch) ; similarly, Bcaicx arts, the fine 
 arts. 
 
 Bellefontaine {Benedict). The most 
 wealthy farmer of Grand Pre {Xova 
 Scotia)", and father of Evangeline. When 
 the inhabitants of his village were 
 exiled, and he was about to embark, 
 he died of a broken heart, and was 
 buried on the sea-shore. (Lonfffellow : 
 Evanrjcliiie.) 
 
 Beller'ophon. One of the ships 
 which took part in the Battle of the 
 Nile, and was called by the English 
 sailors " the BuUy-ruffrau," or " Belly- 
 ruff rou." 
 
 " Why, she and the Bolly-ruffron seem to have 
 IM-ctry well shared and shared alike."— C'a;//ai)( 
 Mairiiat : Poor Jack, chap. xiii. 
 
 Beller'ophon. The Joseph of Greek 
 mythology ; Anttea, the wiie of PrcB- 
 tos, being the " Potiphar's wife" who 
 tempted him, and afterwards falsely ac- 
 cused him. Being successful in various 
 enterprises, he attempted to fly to heaven 
 on the winged horse Peg'asos, but Zeus 
 sent a gad-fly to sting the horse, and 
 the rider was overthrown. 
 
 Letters of Bcllerophon. Letters or 
 other documents either dangerous or 
 ]irejudicial to the bearer. Proetos sent 
 Belierophon with a letter to the King of 
 Lycia, his wife's father, recounting the 
 
 charge, and praying that the bearer 
 might be put to death. 
 
 Pausa'nias, the Spartan, sent messen- 
 gers from time to time to King Xerxes, 
 with similar letters ; the discoveiy by 
 one of the bearers proved the ruin of 
 the traitor. 
 
 David's letter sent by Uriah (2 Sam. 
 xi. 14) was of a similar treacherous cha- 
 racter ; hence the phrase, "Letters of 
 L^riah." 
 
 Belle'rus. Belle'rium is the Land's 
 End, Cornwall, the fabled land of the 
 giant Belle'rus. 
 
 ".Sleep'st liy the fable of Bellerus old." 
 
 Hilton : Lycidas, 160. 
 
 Bellicent. Daughter of Gorloiseand 
 Igerna. According to Tennyson, she 
 was the wife of Lot, King of Orkney ; 
 but in La 3forte eV Arthur Margause is 
 called Lot's wife. 
 
 Bellin. The ram, in the tale of 
 Reynard the Fee. 
 
 Belllsant. Sister to King Pepin of 
 Franco, wife of Alexander, Emperor of 
 Constantinofile. Being accused of in- 
 fidelity, the emperor banished her, and 
 she became the mother of Valentine and 
 Orson. ( Valentine and Orson.) 
 
 Bellman. Before the new police force 
 was established, watchmen or bellmen 
 used to parade the streets at night, and 
 at Easter a copy of verses was left at 
 the chief houses in the hope of obtain- 
 ing an offering. These verses were the 
 relics of the old incantations sung or 
 said Ijy the bellman to keep off elves 
 and hobgoblins. The town crier. 
 
 Bello'na. Goddess of war and wife 
 of Mars. {Eoman mythology.) 
 
 "Her features, late so exuuisitely lovely, in- 
 flamed with the furv of frenzy, resembled those 
 of a Bi'llr)na."— .Sir Waller Svott. 
 
 Bellows. The pit of the stomacli. 
 To knock a man on the " bellows " takes 
 his " wind (breath) away." 
 
 AV//r/ old rose and barn the belloics. {See 
 
 SlXG.) 
 
 Bellwether of the Fleck. A jocose 
 and rather depreciating term applied to 
 the leader of a party. Of course the 
 allusion is to the wether or sheep which 
 leads the flock -with a beU fastened to its 
 neck. 
 
 Belly. The belly and its members. 
 The fable of Meneiiius Agrippa to the 
 Eoman people when they seceded to the 
 Sacred Monnt : "Once on a time the 
 membtrs refused to work for the lazy 
 billy; but, as the supply of food was
 
 Belly-timber 
 
 122 
 
 Ben 
 
 thus stopped, they found there was a 
 necessary aud mutual depeudeuce be- 
 tween them." Shakespeare introduces 
 the fable in his Coriolanus, i. 1. 
 
 The lellij has no ears. A hungry man 
 will not listen to advice or arguments. 
 The Romans had the same proverb, 
 Voitcr noil habet aurcs ; and in French, 
 Ventre affaine n''apoi)it d^oreilles. 
 
 Belly-timber. Food. 
 
 " Ami now, Dame Pevcril, to dinner, to dinner. 
 The old fox must have liis belly-timner, tliongh 
 tlie bounds have been after him the whole day." 
 Sir W. Scott: Pevcril of the Feak, chap. 48. 
 
 Belomancy (Greek). Divination by 
 arrows. Labels being attached to a given 
 number of arrows, the archers let them 
 tiy, aud the advice on the label of the 
 arrow which flies farthest is accepted and 
 acted on. This practice is common with 
 the Arab?. 
 
 Beloved Disciple. St. John. (Jolin 
 xiii. 23, etc.) 
 
 Beloved Physician. St, Luke. 
 (Col. iv. 14.) 
 
 Below the Belt. {See Belt.) 
 
 Bel'phegor. A nasty, licentious, 
 obscene fellow. Bel-Phegor was a Mo- 
 abitish deit}', whose I'ites were celebrated 
 on Mount Phegor, and were noted for 
 their obscenity. The Standard, speak- 
 ing of certain museums in Loudon, says, 
 " When will men cease to be deluded 
 by these unscrupulous Bel'phegors 'r " 
 (meaning " quacks "). 
 
 V Phegor, Phogor, or Peor, a famous 
 mountain beyond the Jordan. Nebo 
 aud Pisgah were neighbouring moun- 
 tains. Beth-Pcor is refel'red to iu 
 Deut. iii. 29. 
 
 Belphoebe, meant for Queen Eliza- 
 beth. She was sister of Am'oret. 
 Equally chaste, but of the Diana and 
 Minerva ty^je. Cold as an icicle, pas- 
 sionless, immovable. She is a white 
 flower without iJerfume, and her only 
 tender passion is that of chivalry. 
 Like a moonbeam, she is light without 
 warmth. You admire her as you admire 
 a marble statue. {Spenser : Faerie 
 Qncene, book iii.) 
 
 Belt. To hit below the leU. To 
 strike unfairly. It is prohibited in 
 prize-fighting to hit below the waist- 
 belt. 
 
 To call men knaves and fools, to charf-'o a man 
 with nepotism, to make a slanderous report wbicli 
 is not actionable, indeed to take away a man's 
 character in any way where self-defence is im- 
 possible, is " hitting him below the belt." 
 
 " Lord Salislmry hits hard, but never liits behiw 
 the he\t.''— Daily Tctcyraph, November, 1885. 
 
 To hold the belt. To be the champion. 
 In pugilism, etc., a belt is passed on to 
 the champion. 
 
 Bel'tane (2 syl.). A festival observed 
 in Ireland on June 21st, and iu some 
 parts of Scotland on May Day. A fire 
 is kindled on the hills, and the yoimg 
 peojile daitce round it, and feast on 
 cakes made of milk and eggs. It is 
 supposed to be a relic of the worship of 
 Baal. The word is Gaelic, aud means 
 Jiel's frc ; and the cakes are called 
 beltane-rakes. 
 
 Belted Knight. The right of wear- 
 ing belt and sjmrs. Even to the present 
 day knights of the shire are " girt with 
 a belt and sword," when the declaration 
 of their election is ofticially made. 
 
 Belted Will. Lord William Howard, 
 warden of the western marches (156o- 
 1640). 
 
 "His Biltjoa blade, bv iiiiu'ilmieii felt, 
 HuuKina br.. ad ami studded hell; 
 Hence, in nulc plirasc, the liorderers still 
 Called noble How ard Belted Will." ,Seott. 
 
 Belten'ebros. Am'adis of Gaul so 
 calls himself after he retires to the Poor 
 Rock. His lady-love is Oria'ua. [Ainadis 
 of Ga/il, ii. 6.) 
 
 Belvawney {Miss), of the Ports- 
 mouth theatre. She always took the 
 part of a page, and wore tights and silk 
 stockings. {lUckens : Nicholas Kieklcbif, 
 1838.) 
 
 Belvedere \bel-re-dear']. A sort of 
 pleasure-house or look-out on the top of 
 a house. The word is Italian, and means 
 
 sxJineprosjH'et. 
 
 Belvide'ra (in Otway's Venice Prc- 
 serred). Sir Walter Scott says, "More 
 tears have been shed for the sorrows 
 of Belvide'ra, and Monimia than for 
 those of Juliet and Desdemona." 
 
 ".\nd Belvidera pours her soul in love." 
 
 Thomson : ^yinter. 
 
 Bemuse (2 syl.). To get into a 
 dreamj', lialf-intoxicated state. 
 
 " BemiisinK himself with beer."— .Sd/a; Gaslight 
 avd Daylight. 
 
 Ben. The Neptune of the Saxons. 
 
 Ben (a theatrical word). Benefit. 
 " A big ben," a good or bumping bene- 
 fit. 
 
 Jiif/ Ben of IVestmlnsfer. A name given 
 to the large bell, which weighs 13 tons 
 lOcwt., and is named after Sir Benjamin 
 Hall, the Cliief Commissioner of Works 
 when the boll was cast. (1S5G.)
 
 Ben Jochanan 
 
 12.-? 
 
 Bendigo 
 
 Ben Joc'hanan', in the satire of 
 Absalom and Ach'itophd, by Drydeii aud 
 Tate, is meaut for tlie Eev. Samuel 
 Johusou, who suffered much persecution 
 for his defence of the right of private 
 judgment. 
 
 " A Jew \_EngXisliman'\ of liumble xiarentage was 
 he ; 
 By trade a Levite [cto-ffj/inanl though of low 
 degree." . Part ii. 354, 355. 
 
 Ben trovato (Italian). Well found ; 
 a happy discovery or invention. 
 
 Benai'ah (3 syl.), in the satire of 
 Ahsaloiii and Achitophd, by Dryden and 
 Tate, is meant for George Edward Sack- 
 ville, called General Sackville, a gentle- 
 man of familj% and a zealous partisan 
 of the Duke of York. Beuaiah was cap- 
 tain in David's anny, aud was made by 
 Solomon generalissimo. (1 Kings ii. 35.) 
 
 " Xor can Beuaiab's worth forgotten lie, 
 Of slead.v soul when public storms were high : 
 "Whose conduct, while the Moors fierce onsets 
 
 made, 
 Secured at once our honour and our trade." 
 
 Part ii. «iy-». 
 
 Bena'res (3 syl.). One of the "most 
 holy" cities of the Hindus, reverenced 
 by them as much as Mecca is by the 
 Mohaminedaus. 
 
 Benbow {Admiral), in an engage- 
 ment with the French near St. Martha, 
 on the Spanish coast, in 1701, had his 
 legs aud thighs shivered into splinters 
 by a chaiu-shot, but, supportetl in a 
 wooden frame, he remaiued on the 
 quarter-deck till morning, when Du 
 Casse bore away. Almey'da, the Portu- 
 guese governor of India, in his engage- 
 ment with the united fleet of Cambay'a 
 and Egypt, had his legs and thighs 
 shattered in a similar manner ; but, in- 
 stead of retreating, had himself bound 
 to the ship's mast, where he "waved 
 his sword to cheer on the combatants," 
 till he died from loss of blood. (SVv 
 Cynjegeeos, Jaafee, etc.) 
 
 " Whirled by the cannon's rage, in shivers turn. 
 His thighs far shattered o'er the waves are 
 
 horno : 
 Bound to the mast the god-like hero stands, 
 Waves his proud sword and cheers his woeful 
 
 bands : 
 Though winds and seas their wonted aid deny. 
 To yield he knows not, but he knows to die." 
 Ctimovns: Liisiatl, hook x. 
 
 Benbow. A sot, generous, free, idle, 
 and always hanging about the ale-house. 
 He inherited a good estate, spent it all, 
 and ended life in the workhouse. The 
 tale is in Crabbe's Borough. 
 
 "Benbow. a boon companion, long approved 
 By jovial sets, and (as he thought) beloved. 
 Was judged as one to joy and friendship prone. 
 And deeiiied injurious to himself alone." 
 
 Letter .\vi. 
 
 Bench. The seat of a judge in the 
 law courts ; the office of judge. 
 
 To he raised to the bench. To be made 
 a judge. 
 
 The King's [queen's] hoich. Tlie 
 Supreme Cotirt of Common Law ; so called 
 because at one time the sovereign pre- 
 sided in this court, and the court fol- 
 lowed the sovereign when he moved 
 from one place to another. Now a 
 division of the High Court of Judicature. 
 
 Bench. Bench of bishops. The whole 
 body of English prelates, who sit together 
 on a bench in the House of Lords. 
 
 To be raised to the Episcopal bench. To 
 be made a bishop. 
 
 Bench and Bar. Judges and 
 pleaders. The bench is the seat on 
 which a judge sits. The bar of a court 
 was formerly a wooden barrier, to 
 sej)arate the counsel from the audience. 
 Now, silk gowns ('/.''.) sit nearer the 
 judge, aud their jiuiiors behiud them. 
 {Sec Bakeistees.) 
 
 Benchers. Senior members of the 
 Inns of Court ; so called from the bencli 
 on which they used to sit. The}- exercise 
 the function of calling students to the 
 bar, and have the right of expelling the 
 obnoxious. {See Bae, page 94, col. 1.) 
 
 "He was made successively Barrister, L'tter 
 Biirrister, Bencher, and Reader."— H'oorf. 
 
 Bend, meaning power, as Bego)id mg 
 beud, i.e. my means or power. The 
 allusion is to a bow or spring ; if strained 
 beyond its bendiug power, it breaks. 
 {Sec Bext.) 
 
 Bend Sinister. ITc has a bend 
 sinister. He was not born in lawfid 
 wedlock. In heraldry, a band rtnming 
 fi'om the upper right-hand comer to the 
 lower left-haud corner (as the shield 
 appears before j^ovi on paper) is called a 
 bend-sinister, and is popularlj', but 
 eiToneously, supposed to indicate has- 
 tardy. 
 
 Ben'demeer'. A river that flows 
 near the ruins of Chil'miuar' or Istachar', 
 in the province of Chusistan' in Persia. 
 
 " There's a bower of roses liy Bendemeor's stream. 
 And the nightingale sings round it all the day 
 long." ■ T. Muore : Lalla liiiokh. Part 1. 
 
 Bender. Sixpence. 
 
 Ben'digo. A rough fur cap, named 
 from a noted pugilist, William Thomp- 
 son ; so nicknamed from his birthplace 
 in Australia.
 
 Bendy 
 
 12i 
 
 BensMe 
 
 Bendy {Old). The devil, wlio is 
 williug to bend to anyone's inclina- 
 tion. The way of sin is so broad that 
 every shade of error can be admitted 
 without obstruction. 
 
 Benedicite (o syl.). "Bless j'ou : " 
 a benediction used in the Roman Catho- 
 lic Church ; also the canticle. 
 
 Benedick. A sworn bachelor caught 
 in the wiles of mati-imony, like Bene- 
 dick in Shakespeare's comedy of Iluch 
 Ado about Nothing. 
 
 " Let our worthy Cantab be baclielor or BeiiP- 
 dick what concern is it of ours."— l/i'S. Edwards: 
 A Girtoii Girl, chap. xv. 
 
 '.• Benedick and Benedict are used 
 indiscriminately, but the distinction 
 should be observed. 
 
 Benedict. A bachelor, not neces- 
 sarily one pledged to celibacy, but simply 
 a man of marriageable age, not married. 
 St. Benedict was a most uncompromis- 
 ing stickler for celibacy. 
 
 "Is it not a pun? There is an old saying, 
 'Needles and pins; when a man marries his trou- 
 ble l)e!.'ins.' If so, the unmarried man is bcnedic- 
 tiisr-Life in the )Vi'st. 
 
 Benedictines (4 syl.). Monks who 
 follow the rule of St. Benedict, viz. 
 implicit obedience, celibacy, abstaining 
 from laughter, spare diet, poverty, the 
 exercise of hospitality, and uuremittiug 
 industry. 
 
 Ben'efice (3 syl.). Under the Romans 
 certain grants of lands made to veteran 
 soldiers were called heneficia, and in the 
 Middle Ages an estate held ex mcro 
 hcuejicio of the donor was called "a 
 benefice." When the popes assumed 
 the power of the feudal lords with re- 
 ference to ecclesiastical patronage, a 
 " living " was termed by them a benefice 
 held under the pope as superior lord. 
 This assumption roused the jealousy of 
 France and England, and was stoutly 
 resisted. 
 
 Benefit of Clergy. Exemption of 
 the clerical order from civil punishment, 
 based on the text, "Touch not mine 
 anointed, and do my prophets no harm " 
 (I Chi-on. xvi. 22). In time it compre- 
 hended not only the ordained clergy, 
 but all who, being able to write and 
 read, were capable of entering iuto holy 
 orders. This law was abolished in the 
 reigu of George IV. (1827). 
 
 Ben'en-ge'li. {See Hamet.) 
 
 Benet (French). A simpleton, so 
 
 called because they were supposed to be, 
 
 in a special way, the objects of God's 
 
 care. (French, bini, Old French, beneit, 
 
 from Latin, henedietus.) "We call an 
 idiot an " Innocent " {q.i'.). 
 
 Benevolence. A ' ' forced " gratuity, 
 under the excuse of a loan, exacted by 
 some of the Plautagenet kings. Plrst 
 enforced in 1473, it was declai-ed illegal 
 by the Bill of Rights in 1689. 
 
 "Roval l)ene\dlences were encroaching more 
 and more on tlie right of parliamentary taxation." 
 —Gircii, : History of Vie KiKjIish VeuiAe, vol. ii. 
 book vi. chap. i. p. l'J7. 
 
 Benev'olus, in Cowper's Task, is John 
 Courtney Throckmorton of Weston Un- 
 derwood. 
 
 Bengal Tigers. The old 17th Foot, 
 whose badge, a royal tiger, was granted 
 them for their services in India (1802-23). 
 Now the Leicester Regiment. 
 
 Bengalese (3 .syl.) for Ben'galis or 
 Bengalees. Natives of Bengal. (Sin- 
 gular, Ben'gali or Bengalee.) 
 
 Bengo'di. A wonderful country 
 where " they tie the vines with sausages, 
 where you may buy a fat goose for a 
 penny and have the giblets given iuto 
 the bargaiu. In this place there is a 
 mountain of Parmesan cheese, and peo- 
 jDle's employment is making cheesecakes 
 and macaroons. There is also a river 
 which runs Malmsey wine of the very 
 best quality. {Boccaeelo : E'ujhth Duij, 
 Novel iii.) 
 
 Benicia Boy. John C. Heeiiau, 
 the American pugilist, who challenged 
 and fought Tom Sayers for " the belt " 
 in 18(J0 : so called from Benicia in Cali- 
 fornia, his birthplace. 
 
 Benjamin. The pet, the j'oungest. 
 Queensland is the Benjamin of our colo- 
 nial possessions. The allusion is to 
 Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob 
 (Gen. XXXV. 18). 
 
 Benjamin. A smart overcoat ; so 
 called from a tailor of the name, and 
 rendered popular by its association with 
 Josejih's " coat of many colours." 
 
 Benjamin's Mess. The largest share. 
 The allusion is to the banquet given by 
 Joseph, viceroy of Egypt, to his brethren. 
 "Benjamin's mess was five times so 
 much as any of theirs " (Gen. xliii. 31). 
 
 Bennaskar. A wealthy merchant 
 and magician of Delhi, in Ridley's Tales 
 of the Gcmi. 
 
 " Like the jeweller of Delhi, in the house of the 
 magician Bennaskar, I at length reached a vaulted 
 room dedicated to secrecy and silence."— .Sir H'. 
 Heott. 
 
 Benshie, Benshee [see Banshee). 
 The Scotch Jiodach Glaij, _ or Grey 
 Spectre, is a similar superstition ; and 
 the Tan-Banon (Nymjih of tJie Air)
 
 Bent 
 
 12; 
 
 Berlin Time 
 
 of the Arabian Nights is also a sort of 
 Benshee. 
 
 " Hiiw oft lias the Beusliee cried !" [How busy 
 death has been nf late with our notaljles.]— T. 
 Miinre : Irish Melodies, 'So. ii. 
 
 Bent. Inclinatiou ; talent for some- 
 thing. Out of III// hoit, not in my way, 
 not in the range of my talent. Bent on 
 it, inclined to it. As a tiling bent is in- 
 clined, so a bent is an inclination or 
 bias. Genius or talent is a bent or bias. 
 1 " Whatever is done best, is done from the 
 natural bent and dispositiun of the mind.' — 
 Iliizlitt : Table Talk. 
 
 Theij fool me to the top of my bent, i.e. 
 as far as the bow can be bent without 
 snapping. {irr(ml('t,m.2.) (<S'ee Bend. ) 
 
 Benvo'lio. Xephew to Montague, 
 a testy, litigious gentleman, who would 
 " quarrel with a man that had a hair 
 more or a hair less in his beard than he 
 had." Mercutio says to him, "Thou 
 hast quarrelled with a man for coughing 
 in the street, because he hath wakened 
 thy dog that hath lain asleep in the 
 sun." {Shakespeare : Romeo and Juliet, 
 iii. 1.) 
 
 Beppo. The contraction of Giuseppe, 
 and therefore equal to our Joe. Hus- 
 band of Laura, a Venetian lady. He 
 was taken captive in Troy, turned Turk, 
 joined a band of pirates, grew rich, and, 
 after several years' absence, returned to 
 his native laud, where he discovered his 
 wife at a carnival ball with her cavuliero 
 ser rente. He made himself known to 
 her, and they lived together again as 
 man and wife. {Byron : Beppo.) 
 
 Berch'ta [the ivliite lady]. This fair}% 
 ill Southern Germany, answers to Hulda 
 {tlie gracious lady) of Northern Gemiany; 
 but afterthe introduction of Christianity, 
 when pagan deities were represented as 
 demons, Berchta lost her former charac- 
 ter, and became a bogie to frighten 
 children. 
 
 Bere'ans (3 syl.). The followers 
 of the Eev. John Barclay, of Kin- 
 cardineshire (1773). They believe that 
 all we know of God is from revela- 
 tion ; that all the Psahns refer to 
 Christ ; that assurance is the proof of 
 faith; and that unbelief is the unpar- 
 donable sin. They took their name 
 from the Bereans, mentioned in the 
 Book of the Acts (xvii. II), who 
 " received the Word with all readiness 
 of mind, and searched the Scriptures 
 dail}-." 
 
 Berecyn'thian Hero. Midas, the 
 Phrygian king ; so called from Mount 
 Berecyntus, iu Phrygia, 
 
 Berenga'rians. Followers of Be- 
 renger, archdeacon of Angers, tlie learned 
 opponent of Laufranc (eleventh cen- 
 tury). He said that the bread by 
 consecration did not become the very 
 body of Christ ''generated on earth so 
 many years before, but becomes to the 
 faithful, nevertheless, the blessed body 
 of Christ." 
 
 Bereni'ce (4 syl.) . The sister- wife of 
 Ptolemy III. , who vowed to sacrifice her 
 hair to the gods, if her husband returned 
 home the vanquisher of Asia. She sus- 
 pended her hair in the temple of the 
 wargod, but it was stolen the first 
 night, and Couon of Samostold the kiug 
 that the winds had wafted it to heaven, 
 where it still forms the seven stars near 
 the tail of Leo, called Coma Berenices. 
 
 " Pope, in his Bapc of the Loch-, con- 
 verts the purloined ringlet into a star or 
 meteor, " which drew behind a radiant 
 trail of hair." (Canto v.) 
 
 Berg Folk. Pagan spirits doomed 
 to Hve on the Scandinavian hills till 
 the day of redemption. {Scandinavian 
 mythology.) 
 
 Bergsean (,/). A gi-eat liar; so 
 called from Antiphaues Berga. 
 
 Bergelmir. A frost-giant, father of 
 the Jcituus, or second dynasty of giants. 
 {Scandinavian mythology. ) 
 
 Berger. Z^hciire dii Berger (French). 
 The shepherd's honr, i.e. the swain's or 
 lover's hour; the happy hour of tryst; 
 the critical moment. 
 
 Bergomasli:. A clown or merry- 
 andrew ; a native of Bergamo. Com- 
 jiare, a gasconader ; a Boeotian. 
 
 Berkley {Mr.). An Englishman of 
 fortune, good-humoured, and humane. 
 He is a bachelor and somewhat eccentric, 
 but sound common sense is a silver 
 thread which is never lost. {Longfellow: 
 Jlyperion (a romance), 1839.) 
 
 Berkshire (Saxon, Bcaroc - scire, 
 forest-shire), a name peculiarly appro- 
 priate to this county, which contains the 
 forest districts of Windsor and Bagshot. 
 
 Berlin Decree. A decree issued at 
 Berlin by Napoleon L, forbidding any 
 of the nations of Euroiie to trade with 
 Great Britain (1806). This mad fancy 
 was the first step to the great man's 
 fall. 
 
 Berlin Time. The new Berlin Ob- 
 servatory is 44' 14" east of Paris, and 
 53' 3.5" east of Greenwich. The Berlin 
 day begins at noon, but our civil day 
 begins the midnight preceding.
 
 Berliner £ 
 
 126 
 
 Bertha 
 
 Berliners. The people of Berlin, in 
 
 Prussia. 
 
 Berme'ja. Insula de la Torre, from 
 which Amadis of Gaul starts when he 
 goes in quest of the Euchautress-Damsel, 
 daughter of Fin'etor the necromancer. 
 
 Bermoothes. An hj^jothetical island 
 feigned by Shakespeare to be enchanted, 
 and inhabited by witches and devils. 
 Supposed by some to be Bermudas ; but 
 a correspondent in Xutcs and Queries 
 (January 23rd, 1886, p. 72) utterly 
 denies this, and favom-s the suggestion 
 that the island meant was Lampedusa. 
 
 ■•From the still-vexed Bennodthcs, there she's 
 liid." Shiikespeare : The Tsiiipest,i.'2. 
 
 Bermudas. To lire in the Bermudas, 
 i.t'. in some out-of-the-way place for 
 cheapness. The shabby genteel hire a 
 knocker in some West-end square, where 
 letters may be left for them, but live in 
 tlie Bermudas, or narrow passages north 
 of the Strand, near Coveut Garden. 
 
 Bernard (■S'^.). Abbot of the monas- 
 tery of Clairvaux in the twelfth century. 
 His fame for wisdom was very great, 
 and few church matters wei-e under- 
 taken without his being consulted. 
 
 Fetit Bernard. Solomon Bernard, en- 
 graver of Lyons. (Sixteenth century.) 
 
 Poor Bernard. Claude Bernard, of 
 Dijon, philanthropist (1588-1641). 
 
 Lncallm. Samuel Bernard, capitalist 
 (16,)1-1739). 
 
 Le gen til Bernard. Pierre Joseph Ber- 
 nard, the French j)oet (1710-1775). 
 
 Bernard. Bonus Bernardiisnon ridef 
 Oiiniia (see above). We are all apt to 
 forget sometimes ; events do not always 
 turn out as they are planned before- 
 hand. 
 
 " Poor Peter was to win honours at Shrewsbury 
 school and carry them thick to t'aniliridge ; and 
 after that a living aM'aited him, the gift of his 
 godfather, Sir Peter Arley ; but lioniis Bernardus 
 nail viriit mnnia, and Poor Peter's lot in life was 
 very different to what bis friends bad planned." 
 —Mrs. Gasliell : Cranford, chaii. vi. 
 
 Bernard Soup (■*»'/'.). (Sec Stone 
 Soup. ) 
 
 Bernardo, in Dibdiu's Bibliomania 
 (a romance), is meant for Joseph Hazle- 
 wood, antiquary and critic (1811). 
 
 Bernardo del Car'pio. One of the 
 
 most favourite subjects of the Spanish 
 minstrels ; the other two being the Cid 
 and Lara's seven infants. 
 
 Bernard's Inn. Formerly called 
 Mackworth Imi, from Dean Mackworth, 
 who died 1454. 
 
 '•This house wa?, in the thirty-first year of the 
 reign of Henry VI., a messuage belonging to Dr. 
 John Mackworth, dean of the cathedral church 
 of Lincoln, and at that time in the holding of 
 one Lionel Bernard .... and it bath ever since 
 retained the name of Bernard's Inn."— Ilarlciaii 
 Mas. No. noj. 
 
 Berners or Barnes (Juliana). 
 Prioress of Sopewell nunnery, near St. 
 Albans, reputed authoress of the BoJcys 
 of Han-king and ILunting (1486). Gener- 
 ally called " Dame Berners." Another 
 book ascribed to her is the Bohe of the 
 Blazinej of Arms (1485). 
 
 Bernese (2 syl.). A native of Berne, 
 in Switzerland. 
 
 Bernesqne Poetry. Serio-comic 
 poetry ; so called from Francesco Bemi, 
 of Tuscany, who greatly excelled in it. 
 (1490-1530.) 
 
 Bernouilli's Numbers or the pro- 
 perties of numbers first discovered by 
 James Bei-nouilli, professor of mathe- 
 matics at Basle (1654-1705). 
 
 Berser'ker. Grandson of the eight- 
 handed Starka'der and the beautiful 
 Alfhilde, called har-seree (bare of mail) 
 because he went into battle imharnessed. 
 Hence, any man with the fighting fever 
 on him. 
 
 "You say that I am berserker. And . . . bare- 
 sarK I go to-morrow to the war."— iiec. V. Kinqs- 
 hi/: Ihrewanlthe M'akc. 
 
 Berth. He has tumbled into a nice 
 berth. A nice situation or fortune. The 
 lilace in which a ship is anchored is 
 called its berth, and the sailors call it a 
 good, or bad- berth as they think it favour- 
 able or otherwise. The space also 
 allotted to a seaman for his hammock is 
 called his berth, (Norman, berth, a 
 cradle. ) 
 
 2h give a wide berth. Not to come 
 near a person ; to keep a person at a 
 distance. The place where a ship Hes 
 in harbour is called her berth : hence, 
 to give a " wide berth " is to give a ship 
 plenty of room to swing at anchor. 
 
 Bertha. The betrothed of John of 
 Leyden, but, being a vassal of Count 
 Oberthal, she was unable to marry with- 
 out her lord's consent. When she went 
 with her mother to ask permission of 
 marriage, the count, struck with her 
 beauty, determined to make her his 
 mistress. She afterwards makes her 
 escape from the castle, and, fancying 
 that the "projjhet" had caused the 
 death of her lover, goes to Munster 
 fully resolved to compass his death by 
 setting fire to the jDalace. She is appre- 
 hended, and, being brought before the 
 proi^het-kiiig, recognises her lover in
 
 Bertha 
 
 127 
 
 Besom 
 
 him, sayiug, "I loved thee ouce, but 
 now my love is turned to hate," and 
 stabs herself. (Mtu/crbeer's ojwra, Lc 
 I'lojihite.) 
 
 Bertha. Tlie bliud daughter of Caleb 
 Plummer in Dickens's Cricket on the 
 Hearth (a Christmas storj'), 184-5. 
 
 Bertha (Fran). A German imper- 
 sonation of the Epiphany, correspoudiug 
 to the Italian 'Beiana. Represented as 
 a white lady, who steals softly into 
 nurseries and rocks infants asleep in 
 the absence of negligent uurses ; she 
 is, however, the terror of all naughty 
 children. Her feet are very large, and 
 she has an iron nose. {Sec Eefana.) 
 
 Berthas [Stock Excliangc terui]. The 
 Loudon, Briglitou, it South Coast Rail- 
 waj- Deferred Stock. 
 
 Berthe au Grand Pied. Mother of 
 Charieraague, and great granddaughter 
 of Charles Martel ; so called because she 
 had a club-foot. 
 
 Bertolde {Bar-toh^. Impcrturhahle 
 an Bertolde, i.e. not to be taken by 
 sui-prise, thrown off your guard, or dis- 
 concerted at anything. Bertolde is the 
 hero of a little Jen (/'esprit in Italian 
 l)rose, J. Cesare Croce. He is a com- 
 edian by luofessiou, whom nothing as- 
 tonishes, and is as much at his ease 
 ■\vith kings and queens as with persons 
 of his own rank and vocation. 
 
 Bertram. One of the conspirators 
 against the Republic of Venice "in 
 whom there was a hesitating softness 
 fatal to a great enterprise." He be- 
 trayed the consj)iracy to the senate. 
 {By roil : 3Iariiio Faliero.) 
 
 Bertram {Henry), in Sir W. Scott's 
 novel of Gay Manneriny, was suggested 
 by James Anuesley, Esq., rightful heir 
 of the earldom of Anglesey, of which he 
 was dispossessed by his uncle Richard. 
 He died in 174o. 
 
 Bertram, Count of Rousillon, 
 
 beloved by HelSna, the hero of Shake- 
 speare's comedy, AITs Well that Ends 
 Well. 
 
 •• T Oiinni't i-econcile.iny heart to Bertr:im,aiiiau 
 nnble witlunit t'eiiero-sity, and younij without 
 truth ; wlio marries Helena as a coward, and 
 leavers her as a iirofligate."— /Jr. Johnaon. 
 
 Bertram Risingham. The vassal 
 of Phihp of Mortham. Oswald \Vy- 
 cliffe induced him to shoot his lord at 
 Marstou Moor, and for this vile deed 
 the vassal demanded of him all the gold 
 and movables of his late master. Oswald, 
 being a villain, tried to outwit Bertram, 
 
 and even murder him ; but in the end it 
 turns out that Morthani was not killed, 
 neither was Oswald his heir, for Red- 
 mond O'Xeale, the page of Rokeby, is 
 found to be Mortham's son. (Scott : 
 Rokeby.) 
 
 Bertramo. The fiend -father of 
 Robert le Ditible. After alluring his 
 son to gamble away all his possessions, 
 he meets him near the rocks St. Ire'ne, 
 and Hel'eua seduces him in the "Dance 
 of Love." When Bertra'mo at last 
 comes to claim his victim, he is resisted 
 by Alice, the foster-sister of the duke, 
 who reads to him his mother's will, and 
 angels come to celebrate the triumph of 
 good over evil. [Meyerbeer'' n opera of 
 Roberto il hiarolo.) 
 
 Berwicks {^Stock Exehanye terin\ 
 meaning the Nor th-Eas tern Railway 
 shares. The line rims to Berwick. 
 
 Beryl Molozane (3 syl.). The lady 
 beloved b}' George Geith ; a laughing, 
 loving beauty, all simshine ami art- 
 lessness ; tender, frank, full of innocent 
 chatter ; helping everyone and loving 
 everyone. Her lot is painfully unhappy, 
 and she dies. {F. (J. Trafford [J. H. 
 Riddell] : Gcorye Geith.) 
 
 Berzak [the interval]. The space 
 between death and the resurrection. 
 {2'he Koran.) 
 
 Besaile. A great grandfather (Frencli, 
 bisaieal). This word should be restored. 
 
 Besants or Bezants. Circular pieces 
 of bullion without any impression, suji- 
 l^osed to represent the old coinage of 
 Byzantium, and to have been brought 
 to Eui-ope by the Crusaders. 
 
 Beside the Cushion. Beside the 
 question ; not to the point ; not perti- 
 nent to the matter in liand. French, 
 hors dc propos ; Latin, nihil ad rhoinbinji. 
 It was Judge Jeffreys who used the 
 phi-ase, " Besides [sie] the cushion." 
 
 Besom. To huny out the besom. To 
 have a fling when your wife is gone on 
 a visit. To be a quasi bachelor once 
 more. Taking this in connection with 
 the following phrase, it e%'idently means, 
 holding the marriage service in abey- 
 ance. 
 
 "This is French argot. Hotir le hnhii (to Imrn 
 the hesom) means to live the life of a liber- 
 tine, whence balocliard, Paris slang for a lilier- 
 tine. Probal)ly our phrase, " huru the hellowg," 
 is pretty much the same as rotir le butai. 
 
 Jinnpiny the besom. Omitting the 
 marriage service after the iiublication 
 of banns, and li\'iug together as man
 
 Bess 
 
 128 
 
 Beth Gelerfc 
 
 aud wife. In Soutliern Scotch, a street- 
 walker is called a besoui, and in French 
 b'dai (a besom) means the life of a liber- 
 tine, as liotir le balai ; II out bioi rati Ic 
 halai ciiseiiible, where balai means a de- 
 bauch or something worse. No further 
 explanation can be needed or could be 
 given. 
 
 Bess. Good Queen Bess. Queen Eliza- 
 beth (1533, 1558-1603). 
 
 Bess o' Bedlam. A female lunatic 
 vagrant. Bedlam is a common name 
 for a madhouse, and Bess is a national 
 name for a woman, especially of the 
 lower order. The male lunatic is a 
 Tojji 6i' Bedlam. 
 
 Bess of Hardwicke. Elizabeth, 
 Countess of Slirewsbury, to whose 
 charge, in 1572, Mary Queen of Scots 
 was committed. The countess treated 
 the captive queen with great harshness, 
 being jealous of the earl her husband. 
 Bess of Hardwicke married four times : 
 Alexander Barley (when she was only 
 fourteen years of age) ; William Caven- 
 dish ; Sir WiUiam St. Loe, Captain of 
 Queen Elizabeth's Guard ; and lastl,y, 
 George, Earl of Shrewsbury. She built 
 Hardwicke Hall, and founded the wealth 
 and dignity of the Cavendish family. 
 
 Bessemer Iron. Pig-iron refined, 
 and converted into steel or malleable 
 iron by passing currents of air through 
 the molten metal, according to a process 
 discovered by Sir H. Bessemer, and 
 patented in 1850. 
 
 Bessie Bell and Mary Gray. A 
 
 ballad. The tale is that these two young 
 ladies, natives of Perth, to avoid the 
 plague of 1666, retired to a rural retreat 
 called the Burnbraes, about a mile from 
 Lynedock, the residence of Mary Gray. 
 A j'onng man, in love with both, carried 
 them provisions. Both ladies died of 
 the plague, and were buried at Dornock 
 Hough. 
 
 Bessus. A cowardly, bragging cap- 
 tain, a sort of Bob'adil (q-V.). {Beaioiwiit 
 and Fletcher : A Kinr/ and no Kiny.) 
 
 Best. At best or At the very best. 
 Looking at the matter in the most 
 favourable light. Making every allow- 
 ance. 
 
 " Life at Ijcst is Init a mingled yarn." 
 
 ylt one^s best. At the highest or best 
 point attainable by the person referred to. 
 
 For tJie best. With the best of motives ; 
 with the view of obtaining the best 
 results. 
 . I mast Diake the best of my icay home. 
 
 It is getting late and I must use my 
 utmost diligence to get home as soon as 
 possible. 
 
 lo have the best of it, or, To have the 
 best of the bargain. To have the advan- 
 tage or best of a transaction. 
 
 To make the best of the matter. To 
 submit to ill-luck with the best grace in 
 3'our power. 
 
 Best Man (at a wedding). The bride- 
 groom's chosen friend who waits on him, 
 as the bride's maids wait on the bride. 
 
 Best Things [Tlie Fiyht), according 
 to Scandinavian m3'thology : — 
 
 (1) The ash Yggdrasil is the best of 
 
 trees ; 
 
 (2) Skidbladnir, of shii^s ; 
 
 (3) Odin, of the ^Esir' ; 
 
 (4) Sleii^nir, of steeds ; 
 
 (5) Bifrost, of bridges ; 
 
 (6) Bragi, of bards ; 
 
 (7) Habrok, of hawks 
 
 (8) Garm, of hoimds. 
 
 Bestiaries or Bestials. Books very 
 popular in the eleventh, twelfth, and 
 thii'teenth centuries, containing the pic- 
 tures of animals and their symbolisms. 
 
 "Tlio unicorn lias but one linni in tlie middle 
 of its fiireliead. It is tlie unly animal that ven- 
 tures to attack tlie oleiiliant ; and so sliarp is tlie 
 nail of its foot, that with one blow it can rip 
 the tielly of that beast. Hunters can catch the. 
 unicorn only by placing a young virgin in its 
 liaunts. No sooner does he see the damsel, than 
 lie runs towards her, and lies down at her feet, and 
 so suffers himself to be captured by the hunters. 
 The iiHicorn represents .Tesns Christ, who took m\ 
 Him our nature in the virgin's womb, was iie- 
 traved to the .lews, and delivered into the hands 
 of Pontius Pilate. Its one horn signiHes the 
 (xospel of Truth. . . ."—Le JBestiaire Dit-in de 
 Giiillaume, C'lerc dc Normandic U3th centuryl. 
 
 Bete. Morte la hete, mort le reiun. 
 Dead men tell no tales ; dead dogs don't 
 bite. When one is dead his power of 
 mischief is over. Literally, if the beast 
 is dead, its poison is dead also. 
 
 Qaand Jean-Bete est mort, il a laisse 
 hicn des heritiers. Casimir Delavigne 
 says to the same effect, Les sots depiiis _ 
 Adam sont en. majoritc. Jean-Bete' 
 means a fool or dolt. 
 
 Bete Noire. The thorn in the side, 
 the bitter in the cup, the spoke in the 
 wheel, the black sheep, the object of 
 aversion. A black sheep has always 
 been considered an eyesore in a flock, 
 and its wool is really less valuable. In 
 times of superstition it was looked on as 
 bearing the devil's mark. 
 
 "The Dutch sale of tin is the hUc noire of the 
 Cornish miners."— T/ic Times. 
 
 Beth Gelert, or " the Grave of the 
 Greyhound." A ballad by the Hon. 
 William Kobert Spencer. The tale is that
 
 BetMemenites 
 
 129 
 
 Beurre 
 
 one day Llewellyn returned from hunt- 
 ing, when his favourite hound, covered 
 witii gore, ran to meet him. The chief- 
 tain ran to see if anytliing had happened 
 to his infant son, found the cradle over- 
 turned, and all around was sprinkled 
 with gore and blood. Thinking the 
 hound had eaten the child, he stabbed it 
 to the heart. Afterwards he found the 
 babe quite safe, and a huge wolf under 
 the bed, quite dead. Gclert had killed 
 the wolf and saved the child. 
 
 Beth'lemenites (4 syl.). Followers 
 of John Huss, so called because he used 
 to preach in the clnu-ch called Bethlehem 
 of Prague. 
 
 Betrothed {The). One of the Tales 
 of the Crusaders, by Sir Walter Scott, 
 1832. Lady Eveline Berenger is the 
 betrothed of Sir Damian de Lacy, whom 
 she marries. 
 
 Better. Mij better half. A jocose 
 way of saying my wife. As the twain 
 are one, each is half. Horace calls his 
 fi'iend animcc dimidiuni mecc. (1 Odes 
 m. 8.) 
 
 I'o he better than his ivord. To do 
 more than he promised. 
 
 To th'inli better of the matter. To 
 give it further consideration ; to form a 
 more correct oi^iuion respecting it. 
 
 Better kind Friend, etc. Better 
 kind friend than friend kind. Friend is 
 a corruption of freind, meaning a stran- 
 ger. Better [a] kind stranger than a 
 kinsman who makes himself a stranger, 
 or an estranged kinsman. 
 
 Better off. In more easy circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Bettina. A mascotte who always 
 brought good luck wherever she went. 
 Though a mere peasant, she is taken to 
 the Prince of Piombino's palace of 
 Laurent, to avert his ill-luck ; but by 
 marrying Pippo (a shepherd) she loses 
 her gift. However, the prince is re- 
 minded that the children of a mascotte 
 are hereditary mascottes, and makes 
 Bettiua promise that her first child shall 
 be adopted by the i)rince. {Sec Mas- 
 cotte.) 
 
 Bettina. The name under which 
 Elizabeth Brentano translated into Eng- 
 lish Goethe's Letters to a Child in 183.5. 
 She was the wife of Ludwig Achim von 
 Arnim, and it was her correspondence 
 with Goethe which were the Letters to a 
 Child referred to. Elizabeth Brentano 
 was born 1785. 
 
 Betty. A name of contempt given 
 to a man who interferes with the duties 
 
 9 
 
 of female servants, or occupies liimself in 
 female pursuits ; also called a " Molly." 
 
 Betty. A skeleton key ; the servant 
 of a picklock. Burglars call their short 
 crowbars for forcing locks Jenniea and 
 Jemmies. "Jenny" is a "small engine," 
 i. e. 'ffinie, and Jemmy is merely a variant. 
 
 Betu'bium. Dumsby, or the Cape of 
 St. Antkew, in Scotland. 
 
 " The nm-th-iiillated tempest foams 
 O'er Orka's aud Betiibiuiu's highest peak." 
 Thomson : Auttmm, 891, 2. 
 
 Between. Between hay and grass. 
 Neither one thing nor yet tinother ; a 
 hobbledehoy, neither a man nor yet a 
 boy. 
 
 Between cup and lip. {See Slip.) 
 
 Between Scylla and Charybdis. Be- 
 tween two equal dangers ; on the horns 
 of a dilemma. {See Chaeybdis.) 
 
 Between two fires. Between two dan- 
 gers. In war, an army fired upon from 
 opposite sides is in imminent danger. 
 
 Between two stools you conte to the 
 y round. "Like a man on double busi- 
 ness bound, I stand in pause where I shall 
 first begin, and both neglect." He who 
 hunts two hares leaves one and loses the 
 other." Simul sorbere ac Jtare non pos- 
 sum. The allusion is to a children's 
 game called "The Ambassador," also a 
 practical joke at one time played at sea 
 when the ship crossed the line. Two 
 stools are set side by side, but somewhat 
 apart, and a cloth is covered over tlieni . 
 A person sits on each stool to keep the 
 cloth taut, and the ambassador is in- 
 vited to sit in the middle ; but , as soon 
 as he is seated, the two rise and the 
 ambassador comes to the ground. 
 
 Between you and me (French, enlre 
 nous). In confidence be it spoken. 
 Sometimes, Between you and me and the 
 yate-post. These phrases, for the most 
 part, indicate that some ill-natured re- 
 mark or slander is about to be made of a 
 third person, but occasionally they refer 
 to some offer or private aft'air. "Be- 
 tween ourselves" is another form of the 
 same phrase. 
 
 Betwixt and Between. Neither 
 one nor the other, but somewhere be- 
 tween the two. Thus, grey is neither 
 white nor black, but betwixt and be- 
 tween the two. 
 
 Beurre. Avoir beurre sur la iite. To 
 bo covered with crimes. Taken from a 
 Jewish saying, "If you have butter on 
 your head {i.e. have stolen butter and put 
 it in your cap), don't go into the sun." 
 {Vidocq : Voleurs, vol. i. f. 16.)
 
 Beuves 
 
 130 
 
 Bias 
 
 /'// snis pour iiwn hcitrrc. Here 
 heurre means argent. I paid for it 
 through the nose. Beurre or butter has 
 the same relation to food as wealth has 
 to civil life ; it does not take the place 
 of it, and does not make it, but it makes 
 it go down more pleasantlj', and adds 
 somewhat to its wholesomeness. As 
 Shakesj^eare says, " Where vii'tue is, it 
 makes more virtuous." 
 
 Fromcttrc jiliis de heurre que de pain. 
 To promise much, but jDerforni little. 
 To promise more than one can, or 
 chooses to, ]ierform. The butter of a j 
 promise is of no use without substantial 
 bread. "Be thou fed" will not fill an 
 empty stomach. A little help is worth a 
 deal of i)ity. 
 
 Beuves (1 syl.), or Buo'ro of Ai/gre'- 
 luoiif. The father of Malagigi, and uncle 
 of Einaldo. (Ariosio : Orlando Furioso.) 
 
 Bever. A "di-ink" between meals 
 (Italian, hercre, to drink — oiu- beverage ; 
 Latin, hiberc — our iin-hihe). At Eton 
 they used to have " Bever days," when 
 extra beer and bread were served during 
 the afternoon in the College Hall to 
 scholars, and any friends whom they 
 might bring in. 
 
 '■ He . . . will devour tliree lireakfasts . . . 
 
 witliout iirejiidii'o to his \ie\evi."— Beaumont 
 mid FUtiliir: Woman Hater, i. 3. 
 
 Bev'il. A model gentleman in Steele's 
 Conscious Zorers. 
 
 " Wliate'er can dock mankind, 
 Or cbarni the licart, ;u s-'enenms Bcvil showed." 
 Thomson: Winter, 054-.). 
 
 Be'vis. The horse of Lord Marmion. 
 
 (Sir Walter Scott.) (See Horse.) 
 
 Bevis of Southampton. A. knight of 
 romance, whose ex^jloits are recounted 
 in Draj'ton's Pohjolbion. The French 
 call him Beuves de Hantone. 
 
 Bevoriskius, whose Coimncntarij on 
 the (rcnerations of Adam is referred to 
 by Sterne in the Sentimental Joarnei/, 
 was Johannes Bevoricitts, physician and 
 senator, author of a large nimiber of 
 books. The Commentanj will be foimd 
 at fol. 1 (16.32). 
 
 Bev'y. A bevy of ladies. A throng 
 or company ; properly applied to roe- 
 bucks, quails, and pheasants. Timid 
 gregarious animals, in self-defence, go 
 down to a river to drink in bevies or 
 , small comimnies. Ladies, from their 
 timidity, are placed in the same category 
 (Italian, bcvcre, to drink). 
 
 "And npon lier deck what a bevy of human 
 flowers— yonnc women, how lovely !— yimni,' men, 
 how nolile '."—Be Quince!/: Dream-fugue. 
 
 Beza'liel, in the satii'e of Absalom 
 
 a)id Aehitophel, by Drj-den and Tate, is 
 meant for the Marquis of Worcester, 
 afterwards Duke of Beaufort. 
 
 " Bi'zaliel with each grace and virtue fraught, 
 Serene his looks, serene his life and thought ; 
 (la wboiii Si) largely Nature heaped her store. 
 There scarce reniaiued fcir arts to give him 
 mure." Part ii. y47-5«. 
 
 Bezo'nian. A new recruit ; apjilied 
 originally in derision, to young soldiers 
 sent from Spain to Italj', who landed 
 both ill-accoutred and in want of every- 
 thing (Ital. hesogni, from bisor/no, need; 
 French hesoi)i). 
 
 " Base and pilfering hesoguios ami marauders. ' 
 —Sir W. Scott: Mojiastertj.xxi. 
 
 "Great men oft die hy vile liezonians. ' 
 
 Slial;e$peare : -J Ucnrii VI., act iv. I. 
 
 " Under which king, Bezonian 'i Speak 
 or die" (2 Hen. IV., act v. 3). Choose 
 your leader or take the consequences 
 — CtEsar or Pompey ? " Sjieak or die." 
 
 Bheem or Bliima. One of the five 
 Pandoos, or brotherhoods of Indian 
 demi-gods, famous for his strength. He 
 slew the giant Kinchick, and dra<;ged 
 his body from the hills, thereby making 
 the Kinchick ravine. 
 
 Biseuin, in rhetoric, means converting 
 the proof into a disproof. As thus : 
 That you were the murderer is proved 
 by your being on the spot at the time. 
 Iteplij : Just the contrary, if I had been 
 the guilty person most certainly I should 
 have run away. (Greek, biaton.) 
 
 Bian'ca. Wife of Fazio. When Fazio 
 became ricli, and got entangled with the 
 Marchioness Aldabella, she accused him 
 to the Duke of Florence of being privy 
 to the death of Bartoldo, an old miser. 
 Fazio was arrested and condemned to 
 death. Bianca now repented of her 
 jealous rashness, and tried to save her 
 husband, but failing in her endeavours, 
 went mad, and died of a broken heart. 
 (Dean Mibi/an : Fazio.) 
 
 N. B. — The name is employed by 
 Shakespeare both in his Tamiiuj of the 
 Shreiv and also in Othello. 
 
 Bianchi. (See Xeei.) 
 
 Bias. The weight in bowls which 
 makes them deviate from the straight 
 line ; hence any favourite idea or pur- 
 suit, or whatever predisposes the mind 
 in a particular direction. 
 
 Bowls are not now loaded, but the 
 bias depends on the shape of the bowls. 
 They are flattened on one side, and 
 therefore roll obliquely. 
 
 " Vour st<jnmch niake.'i your fabric roll, 
 Just as the bias rules the bowl." 
 
 Prior : Alma, iii. line i;81.
 
 Biberius 
 
 131 
 
 Bible 
 
 Biberius Caldius Mero. The piiu- 
 niug nickname of Tiberius Cliiudiiis 
 Nero. Biberius [Tiberius], drink-loving, 
 Caldius Mero [Claudius Nero] , by meta- 
 thesis for calidits mero, hot with wine. 
 
 Bible means simply a book, but is 
 now exclusively confined to the "Book 
 of Books." (Greek, bihlus, a book.) 
 
 'The /lect'Iiiu/s of t/ic chapters 'vvero pre- 
 fixed by Miles ymith, Bishop of Glou- 
 cester, one of the translators. 
 
 (i) Bibles named from eeeoes of 
 TYPE, or from archaic words : — 
 
 The Breeches Bible. So called because 
 Genesis iii. 7 was rendered, " The eyes 
 of them botho were opened .... and 
 they sowed figge-tree leaves together, and 
 made themselves breeches." By Whit- 
 tiugham. Gilby, and Sampson, 1579. 
 
 The Idle Bible, 1809. In which the 
 " idole shepherd " (Zech. xi. 17) is 
 printed "the idle shei^herd." 
 
 The Bug Bible, 15.51. So called 
 because Psalm xci. 5 is translated, "Thou 
 shalt not be afraid of bugges [bogies] 
 hy nighte." 
 
 Tlie Urcnt Bible. The same as Mat- 
 thew Parker's Bible {'j.r.). 
 
 2'hc Flacc-malccr'' s Bible. So called 
 from a printer's error in Matt. v. 9, 
 "Blessed are the placemakers [peace- 
 makers], for they shall be called the 
 children of God." 
 
 The Printers^ Bible makes David 
 pathetically comijlaiu that " the printers 
 [princes] have persecuted me without a 
 cause " (Ps. cxix. 161). 
 
 The Treacle Btblc, 1549 (Beck's Bible), 
 in which the word "balm" is rendered 
 "treacle." The Bisho^js' Bible has 
 tryacle in Jer. iii. 28; xlvi. 11; and in 
 Ezek. xxvii. 17. 
 
 The Uuriffhteon.i Bible, 1G52 (Cam- 
 hridge Press). So called from the print- 
 er's error, "Know ye not that the 
 unrighteous shall inherit the Kingdom 
 of God?" (1 Cor. vi. 9). 
 
 The Viiieijar Bible. So called because 
 the heading to Luke xx. is given as 
 " The parable of the Vinegar" (instead 
 of Viuej'ard). Printed at the Clarendon 
 Press in 1717. 
 
 The Wicked Bible. So called because 
 the word )iot is omitted in the seventh 
 commandment, making it, " Thou shalt 
 commit adultery." Printed by Barker 
 and Lucas, 1632. 
 
 To tliese may he added: the Discharge Bible, 
 the Ears to Ear Bible, Rebecca'8 Camels Bible, 
 the Kosin Bible, the Standing Fishes Bible, and 
 some others. 
 
 ' (ii) Bibles named from peoper 
 KAiiES, or dignities. 
 
 Bishop's Bible. The revised edition of 
 Archbishop Parker's version. Published 
 1568. 
 
 (Jovcrdale'' s Bible, 1535. Translated by 
 Miles Coverdale, afterwards Bishop of 
 Exeter. This was the first Bible sanc- 
 tioned by roj^al authority. 
 
 CraiiiHer's Bible, 1539. This is Cover- 
 dale's Bible corrected by Archbishop 
 Craumer. It was printed in 1540, and 
 in 1549 every parish church was enjoined 
 to have a copy under a penalty of 40s. a 
 month. 
 
 The Doiiai/ Bible, 1581. A translation 
 made by tlio professors of the Douay 
 College for the use of English boys de- 
 signed for the Catholic pilesthood. 
 
 The Geneva Bible. The Bible trans- 
 lated by the English exiles at Geneva. 
 The same as the "Breeches Bible" 
 
 I\.i>'f/ James's Bible. The Authorised 
 Version ; so called because it was under- 
 taken by command of James I. Pub- 
 lished 1611. 
 
 Mattheir FayJai-'s Bible, or "The 
 Great Bible," published in the reign 
 of Henry VIII. under the care of Ai-ch- 
 bishop Parker and his staff (1539-1541). 
 In 1572 several jjrolegomena were 
 added. 
 
 Matt heirs' Bible is Tindal's version. It 
 was so called by John Rogers, super- 
 intendent of the English churches in 
 Germany, and was published with notes 
 under the fictitious name of Thomas 
 Matthews, 1537. 
 
 The Mazarine Bible. Tlie earliest book 
 jn-iuted in movable metal type. It con- 
 tains no date. Copies have been re- 
 cently sold from £2,000 to £3,900. Called 
 the Mazarine Bible from the Bibliotheqiie 
 Mazurinc, founded in Paris by Cardinal 
 Mazarine in 1648. 
 
 Sact/'s Bible. So called from Isaac 
 Louis Sacy {Le-maistre), director of the 
 Port Royal Monastery. He was im- 
 prisoned for three years in the Bastille 
 for his Jansenist opinions, and translated 
 the Bible during his captivity (1666- 
 1670). 
 
 'Ti/ndale's Bible. "William Tyndale, or 
 Tindal, having embraced the Refoimcd 
 religion, retired to Antwerp, where lu 
 printed an English translation of the 
 Scriptures. All the copies were bouglit 
 tip, whereupon Tjiidale printed a revised 
 edition. The book excited the rancour 
 of the Catholics, who strangled the 
 " heretic " and burnt his body near Ant- 
 werp in 153G. 
 
 JFi/elif's Bible, 1380, but first printed 
 in 1850.
 
 Bible-backed 
 
 13d 
 
 Bickerstaff 
 
 (iii) Versions. 
 
 Tlic AatJioriscd J'ersioti, 1611. {SfC 
 King James's Bible.) 
 
 'T/ie Revised Version. Published in 
 May, 1885. The work was begun in 
 June, 1870, by twenty-five scholars, ten 
 of whom died before the version was 
 completed. The revisers had eighty-five 
 sessions, which extended over fourteen 
 years. 
 
 Bible-backed. Eound-shouldered, 
 like one who is always poring over a 
 book. 
 
 Bible-carrier (^). Apogram; creak- 
 shoes ; or saint, in a scornful sense. 
 
 "Of all biiokes, tbey least respect the Bible. 
 Many will have statute bookes, cronicles, yea 
 lilay-bookes, and sucli-like toyish pamiihlets, but 
 ii;it a biljle iu their house or bands. . . . Some 
 vse to carry other bookes with them to church 
 . . . to draw away their mindes from hearing 
 (-fod's Word when it is read ami preached to them. 
 Some {.'lie yet further, and will not suffer their 
 wives, children, or other of their household to 
 reade the AVord. And some scoflfe at such as 
 carry the scriptures with them to church, termini; 
 them in reproach Bibh-carriers." — Gouc/e: Whole 
 Aimuur of God, p. 318 U616'. 
 
 Bible Christians. A Protestant 
 sect founded in 1815 by William 
 O'Bryan, a Weslej-an, of Cornwall; 
 also called Bryauites (3 syl.). 
 
 Bible-Clerk. A sizar of tlie Oxford 
 university ; a student who gets certain 
 pecuniary advantages for reading the 
 Bible aloud at chaijel. The office is 
 almo.st a sinecure now, but the emolu- 
 ment is given, in some colleges, to the 
 sons of poor gentlemen, either as a free 
 gift, or as the reward of merit tested by 
 examination. 
 
 Bible Statistics. 
 
 The Xumlier of Authors is .W. 
 
 Aiiout 30 hooks are mentioned in the Bilde, but 
 not included in the canon. 
 
 In the Old In the New Tit-ji 
 
 Testament. Testament. -lotai. 
 
 Books .... 39 27 fifi 
 
 flmpters .. Sfj'j 260 ],isy 
 
 Verses.. .. 2.3,214 7,fti9 31,173 
 
 "Words.. .. .5!i2,439 181,253 773'«i« 
 
 Letters .. 2,728,800 838,.380 3,.i(i7,l8n 
 
 Apncriipha. Books, 14; chapters, 183; verses, 
 6,fk'<l ; words, 252,185 ; letters, 1,063,876. 
 Jliildle book.. .. Proverbs 2 Thess. 
 Middle chapter .. Job xxix. Rom. xiii. i- xiv. 
 Middle verse .. 2 Chron. xx. Acts xvii. 17. 
 
 (between verses 17 and 18) 
 Least verse . . .. ICliron. i. 25, John xi. 35. 
 Smallest chapter Psalra cxvii. 
 Longest chapter Psalm cxix. 
 
 Ezra vii. 21 contains all the letters of the alpha- 
 be*, except;. 
 
 2 Kinjis XIX. and Isaiali xxxvi. are exactly alike. 
 
 The hist two verses of 2 Chron. and the opening 
 verses of Ezra are alike. 
 
 E/ra ii. and Nehemiah vii. are alike. 
 
 The word and occurB in the Old Testament 
 35.543 times. 
 
 The word and occurs in the New Testament 
 10,684 times. 
 
 The vorilJehovah occurs efiao times. 
 
 The letter Mem in the Hebrew text occurs 
 77,778 times, 
 
 The letter Vau in the Hebrew text occurs 
 76,'.i22 times. (These are the most frenuent.) 
 
 The letter Tetli occurs 11,052 times. 
 
 The letter Samech occurs 13,580 times. (These 
 are the least freciuent.l 
 
 The BilUe was divided'into cAa/iffrs by Cardinal 
 Hugo de Sancto-Caro, about 12.'i6. 
 
 The Old Testament was divided into verses by 
 Rabbi Mordecai Nathan ; and the NewTestament, 
 in 1544, by R. Stephens, a French printer, it is 
 said, wuile on horseback. 
 
 Of the 3,000 languages and dialects on the earth, 
 the Bible has been translated into 180. 
 
 The Septuagiut, a translation into Greek, was 
 made in Egypt 285 B.C. 
 
 The first complete English translation was bv 
 Wicklif, A.D. 1.3,sn ; the first French translation, 
 in 1160 ; the first German, in 1460 ; the first .\meri- 
 c:in edition was printed at Boston in 17.i2. 
 
 The oldest MS. of the Bible in the British 
 Museum is the "Codex Alexandrinus." Parts of 
 tlie New Testament are omitted. The " Corlex 
 Vaficanns" is the oldest in the Vatican Library 
 a I Rome. 
 
 Bib'lia Pau'perum [f^ie poor mai/^s 
 Jjible]. Some forty or fifty pictures of 
 Bible subjects used iu the Middle Ages, 
 when few could read, to teach the leading 
 events of Scripture history. {See Mierok 
 OF Human Salvation.) 
 
 Biblical. Father of Bib/ical critieisin 
 and exegesis. Origen (185-25-1). 
 
 Bibliomancy. Forecasting future 
 events by the Bible. The plan was to 
 open the sacred volume at random, and 
 lay your finger on a passage without 
 looking at it. The text thus pointed out 
 was sujjposed to be applicable to the 
 person who pointed it out. (Greek, 
 bihlia, Bible ; iiieiiiteicc, prophecy.) {Sea 
 SOETES. ) 
 
 V Another process was to weigh a 
 person suspected of magic against a 
 Bible. If the Bible bore dowm the 
 other scale, the accused was acquitted. 
 
 Bib'ulus. Colleague of Julius Caesar, 
 a mere cipher in office, whence his name 
 has become proverbial for one in office 
 who is a vaexe faineant. 
 
 Biceps. Muscular strength of tlie 
 arm ; properly, the prominent muscles of 
 the uj)per arm ; so called because they 
 have two heads. (Latin, bieepx, two 
 heads.) 
 
 Biceps Parnassus {Pers. Frol. 2), 
 i.e. Parnassus with two heads or tops 
 {bis eaput). 
 
 " Xec foute labra prolui caballino, 
 Nee in bicipiti somniasse Parnasso 
 Memiui, ut repente sic poeta prodireir. 
 Pirniits : Saiirrs (prologue . 
 
 Bick'erstaff {Isaae). A name as- 
 sumed by Dean Swift iu a satirical 
 pamjihlet against Partridge, the alman- 
 ack-maker. This produced a paper war 
 so diverting that Steele issued tlie 
 Tatler under the editorial name of 
 "Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq., Astrologer'' 
 (1709).
 
 Bicorn 
 
 133 
 
 Big Gooseberry 
 
 Bicorn. An hypothetical beast sup- 
 posed to devour all meu under petti- 
 coat govemnieut. It is described as 
 very fat and well liking. There was 
 another beast called Chichevache, which 
 fed on obedient wives, but the famished 
 beast was thinner than the most rascal 
 of Pharaoh's lean kine, for its food 
 always fell short. Of course, bi-corn 
 (two-homs) contains an allusion familiar 
 to all readers of our early literature. 
 
 Bid. To bid fair. To seem likely: 
 as "He bids fair to do well;" '"It 
 bids fair to be a fine day." (Anglo- 
 Saxon, btd(()i or bcodau, to promise, to 
 otfer.) 
 
 I'u bid for [votes]. To promise to 
 support in ParUameut certuiu measures, 
 in order to obtain votes. 
 
 To bid (ijjuiust one. To offer or pro- 
 mise a higher price for au article at 
 auction. 
 
 I bid him defiance. I offer him de- 
 fiance ; I defy him. 
 
 Bid. I bid ijou good niyht. I wish 
 you good night, or 1 pray that j^ou may 
 have a good night. This is the Anglo- 
 Saxon liddan, to ask, pray, or intreat. 
 Whence "beads-men" {q.i'.), "bidding 
 praj'er " (q.v.). "Bid him welcome." 
 " Xeitber bid him God-speed."— 2 John 10, 11. 
 
 To bid the \_inarria(ie'\ banns. To ask 
 if anyone objects to the maiTiage of the 
 jjersous named. " 'S7 rjais" {q.v.). 
 
 To bid to the icedding. In the New 
 Testament is to ask to the wedding 
 feast. 
 
 Bid-ale. An invitation of friends to 
 assemble at the house of a poor man to 
 drink ale, and thus to raise alms for his 
 relief. 
 
 "The ordinary amusements in country parishes 
 (in IBSa) were church-ales, clerk-ales, and hid- 
 ales, . . . consisting of drinking and spurts, 
 particularly dancing."— T. V. Short, D.D.: Uistonj 
 o/ the Church of England, p. 39'J. 
 
 " Denham, in 1634, issued an order in the western 
 circuit to put an end to the disorders attending 
 church-ales, bid-ales, clerk-ales, and the like."— 
 llirtvitt: History oj England (Charles I., chap. iii. 
 p. 159i. 
 
 Bidding Beads. Telling off praj-ers 
 by beads (Anglo-Saxon, biddan, to ask, 
 to pray). 
 
 Bidding-Prayer. The prayer for 
 the soaU of benefactors said before the 
 sermon ; a reUc of this remains in the 
 prayer used in cathedrals, university 
 churches, etc. Bidding is from bead or 
 hede. (Anglo-Saxon, biddan, to pray 
 for the souls of benefactors.) {Sec 
 Beadsman.) 
 
 Biddy {i.e. Bridget). A generic name 
 for an Iri.sh servant-maid, as Mike is for 
 an Irish labourer. These generic names 
 are very common : for example, Tom 
 Tug, a watennan ; Jack Pudding, a 
 buffoon ; Cousin Jonathan, an American 
 of the United States ; Cousin Michel, a 
 Gei-man ; John Bull, an Enghshman ; 
 Moll and Betty, English female servants 
 of the lower oi-der ; John Chinaman, a 
 Chinese ; Colin Tompou, a Swiss ; Kic 
 Frog, a Dutchman; Mossoo, a French- 
 man ; and manj- othei's. 
 
 V In Ai'buthnot's John Ball 'Sic Frog 
 is certainly a Dutchman ; and Frogs 
 are called "Dutch Xightiugales." Tlic 
 French sometimes serve Liege frogs at 
 table as a great delicac}-, and this has 
 caused the word to be transferred to the 
 French ; but, properly, Nic Frog is a 
 Dutchman. 
 
 Bideford Postman. Edward Capern, 
 the poet (born 1819), so called because 
 at one time he was a letter-carrier at 
 Bideford. He died in 1894. 
 
 Bidpai. {Sec Pilpai.] 
 
 Biforked Letter of the Greeks. 
 
 The cajjital U, made thus V, which re- 
 sembles a bird flyiug. 
 
 ■'[The birds] flying, write upon the sky 
 The biforked letter of the Greeks." 
 
 Loui/fcUoic : The Wui/side fun, prelude. 
 
 Bif rost, in Scandinavian mythology, 
 is the name of the bridge between heaven 
 and earth ; the rainbow may be consi- 
 dered to be this bridge, and its various 
 colours are the reflections of its precious 
 stones. (Icelandic, bifa, tremble, and 
 rost, path.) 
 
 V The keeper of the bridge is Heim- 
 dall. It leads to Doomstead, the palace 
 of the Norns or Fates. 
 
 Big. To look bi(/. To assume a con- 
 sequential air. 
 
 'To talk biff. To boast or brag. 
 " The archdeacon waxeil wroth, talked big. and 
 looked liig^'er."— rro;(«j;e ; The ll'iotZrH, chap. lo. 
 
 Big Bird. To get the big bird {i.e. 
 the goose). To be hissed on the stage. 
 A tlieatrical expression. 
 
 Big-en dians. A religious party in 
 the empire of Lilliput, who made it a 
 matter of conscience to break their eggs 
 at the big end; they were looked on , as 
 heretics by the orthodox party, who 
 broke theirs at the small end. The Big- 
 endians are the Catholics, and the Little- 
 endians the Protestants. 
 
 Big Gooseberry Season {The). The 
 time when Parliament is not assembled.
 
 Big-wig 
 
 134 
 
 Bill 
 
 It is at siicli times that newspapers 
 are glad of any subject to till their 
 columus aud amuse their readers ; 
 monster gooseberries will do for such 
 a purpose for the nonce, or the sea- 
 serpent. 
 
 Big-wig (A). A person in authority, 
 a " nob." Of course, the term arises 
 from the custom of judges, bishops, and 
 so on, wearing large wigs. Bishojjs no 
 longer wear them. 
 
 Bigaroon. Incorrectly spelt Bicn- 
 rooii. A white-heart cherry. (French, 
 
 bif/arrean; Latin, bif/an'Ua ; i.e. bisvar- 
 clhfs, double-varied, red and white 
 mixed. The French word, bigarrurc, 
 means party-colour, bif/arrcr). 
 
 Bighes (pron. bees). Jewels, female 
 ornaments. (Also wi'itten bic.) 
 
 iShc is all in her biffJies to-day — i.e. in 
 full fig, in excellent spii'its, in good 
 humour. 
 
 Bight. To hook the biijht—i.e. to get 
 entangled. The bight is the bend or 
 doubled jiart of a rope, and when the 
 rope of one anchor gets into the ' • bight ' ' 
 of another, it gets " hooked." 
 
 Bigorne (2 syl.). A corruption of 
 
 " Bicorn " [q.e.). 
 
 Big'ot means simply a worshipper 
 (Anglo-oaxon, bir/aii, to worship : Ger- 
 man, higott). Various explanations have 
 been given from time to time, but none 
 are well supported. 
 
 Bigot and his Castle of Bungay. 
 
 ('SVf Uastle, etc.) 
 
 Bil'bo. A rapier or sword. So called 
 from Bilba'o, in Spain, once famous for 
 its finely-tempered blades. Falstaff says 
 to Ford : 
 
 " I suffered tlie pangs of three se\ eral deaths ; 
 first, .an intoloraljle friwht, to be detected . . . 
 next, t,o lie comr.issed, liku a good bilbo . . . hilt 
 to point, heel to head ; and then . . ."—Merry 
 Wivs. iii. ."). 
 
 Bilboes. A bar of iron with fetters 
 annexed to it, by which mutinous sailors 
 are linked together. The word is de- 
 rived from Bilba'o, in Spain, where they 
 Avere first made. Some of tlie bilboes 
 taken from the Spanish Arma'da are 
 still kept in the Tower of London. 
 
 Bile. li roHses my bile. It makes mo 
 angry or indignant. In Latin, bi/iostis 
 (a bilious man) meant a choleric one. 
 According to the ancient theory, bile is 
 one of the humours of the body, and 
 
 when excited abnormally it produces 
 choler or rage. 
 
 "It raised my bile to see him so rcflei-t tlieir 
 grief aside."— /ioorf ; Pica of Midsummer Fairies, 
 stanza 54. 
 
 *.' Black bile is melancholy. 
 
 Bilge Water. Filthy draiuiugs. The 
 bilge is the lowest part of a ship, and, 
 as the rain or sea-water which trickles 
 down to this part is hard to get at, it is 
 apt to become foul and very offensive. 
 
 Bilk. To cheat, to obtain goods and 
 decamp without paj'ing for them. 
 
 "The landlord explained it by saying that 'a 
 bilk ' is a man who never missL's a nie.il and never 
 pays a cent."— ^. A. McClurc: liocky Mountains, 
 letter xxii. p. 211. 
 
 *«* To "bilk" in cribbage is to spoil 
 your adversaries' score ; to balk him. 
 Perhaps the two words are mere variants. 
 
 Bilker {A). A person who gives a 
 cabman less than his fare, and, when 
 remonstrated with, gives a false name 
 and address. Sometimes a "bilker" 
 gets out and says, " Cabby, I sliall bo 
 back in a minute," turns the corner and 
 is no more seen. 
 
 "Th-' time for taking out a summons expires in 
 s 'ven days, and it often takers longer than lliat 
 to hunt a 'bilker' do\\n."—Xinctcentlt Century 
 (March, 18U3, p. 177). 
 
 Also a cabman who does not pay the 
 owner for the cab. 
 
 Bill {The). The nose, also called the 
 beak. Hence, "Billy" is slang for a 
 pocket - handkerchief. 
 
 " Lastly came Winter, clothed all in frize. 
 
 Chattering his teeth for cold that did him 
 chill ; 
 Whilst on his hoary l)eard his breath did freeze ; 
 And the dull drops that from his purple bill 
 
 [nose], 
 As from a limbeck, did adown distill." 
 
 Spenser : Faerie Qnecne, canto vii. 
 
 Bill {A). The draft of an Act of 
 Parliament. 
 
 A public bill is the draft of an Act of 
 Parliament affecting the general public. 
 
 A private bill is the draft of an Act of 
 Parliament for the granting of some- 
 thing to a company, coriDOratiou, or 
 certain individuals. 
 
 A true bill. I confess what you say 
 is true. The case against the accused is 
 first submitted to the grand jury. If 
 they think the clinrge has a fair colour, 
 they write on the declaration "A true 
 bill," and the case is submitted to the 
 petty jury. Otherwise, they write "No 
 true bill," or "Not found," and the case 
 is at once dismissed or " ignored." 
 
 To ignore a bill is to write on it igno- 
 ra III /!.'<. 
 
 "' Ignoramus' is the word proi.erly used by I he 
 Grand Buiiuest . . . aud written upon the bill."— 
 Cuwell.
 
 Bill of Fare 
 
 ]:« 
 
 Billy Barlow 
 
 Bills payahlc. Bills of exchange, 
 promissory uotes, or other documeuts 
 promising to pay a sum of money. 
 
 Bills recei cable. Promissory notes, 
 bills of exchange, or other acceptances 
 held by a person to whom the money 
 stated is payable. 
 
 Bill of Fare (.i). A Hst of the menu 
 pro\'ided, or which may be ordered, at a 
 restaurant. 
 
 Bill of Health. A clean hill of health. 
 A document, duly signed by the proper 
 authorities, to certify that when the ship 
 set sail no infectious disorder existed in 
 the place. 
 
 A foul bill of health is a document to 
 show that the place was suffering from 
 some infection when the ship set sail. 
 If a captain cannot show a clean bill, he 
 is supposed to have a foul one. 
 
 Bill of Lading. A document signed 
 by the master of a ship in acknowledg- 
 ment of goods laden in his vessel. In 
 tliis document he ])inds himself to deliver 
 the articles in good condition to the 
 ]iersons named in the bill, certain excep- 
 tions being duly provided for. These 
 bills are generally in triplicate — one for 
 the sender, one for the receiver, and one 
 for the master of the vessel. 
 
 Bill of Pains and Penalties {A). 
 A legislative act imposing punishment 
 (less than capital) upon a person charged 
 with treason or other high crimes. 
 
 Bill of Quantities. An abstract of 
 the probable cost of a building. 
 
 Bill of Rights. The declaration de- 
 livered to the I'riuce of Orange on his 
 election to the British throne, coutirm- 
 iug the rights and privileges of the 
 people. (Feb. Kith, 1689.) 
 
 Bill of Sale. When a fierson borrows 
 money and delivers goods as security, he 
 gives him a bill of sale, that is, i^ermis- 
 sion to sell the goods if the money is not 
 returned on a stated day. 
 
 Bills of Mortality took their rise 
 in 1.592. when a great pestilence broke 
 out, which continued till 1.595. The 
 term is now used for those abstracts 
 from parish registers which show the 
 births, deaths, and baptisms of the 
 district. 
 
 Within the Bills of Mjvfalitij = within 
 the disti'ict. 
 
 Bills of Parcels. An itemised 
 statement of articles purchased. These 
 bills are iteuii^ed by the seller. 
 
 Billee' {Utile). The youngest of 
 "Three sailors of Bristol city," who 
 " took a boat and went to sea." 
 
 " There Avas gorging Jack, and frnzzlincr Jimiiiv, 
 
 And the youngest— he was little Billee. 
 
 Now, when the.v got as far as the equatdr. 
 
 They had nothing left Imt one si)lit iie.i. 
 
 To gorging Jack s.ays guzzling Jimmy, 
 
 ■ We've nothing left, we must eat we.' ' 
 
 Thackeniy. 
 
 [They decide to eat Little Billee, but 
 he contrives to escape.] 
 
 Billet-doux Qn-onounce billy doo]. 
 French, a love-letter, a sweet or affec- 
 tionate letter. 
 
 Billiards. A corrupt form of the 
 French billard. " Autrtfoi-^, le baton 
 area lequel on poussait les billes " ; then 
 " la table verte sur laqiiellc onjoiie "; and, 
 lastly, the " game itself." 
 
 Similar plural forms are the games called 
 liowls, cards, domiuoes,draughts, marbles, nuoits, 
 skittles, tovj, etc. 
 
 Billings {-Tosh). The no/n de plxma 
 of H. \V. Shaw, an American humorist, 
 who died 18S). Yi.hBook of Saijingswsi's 
 published in ISGG. 
 
 Billingsgate (London). (J ale = 
 quay, and bcllan is to bawl or bellow. 
 This quay is so called from the shouting 
 of the fishemien in trying to attract 
 attention and vend their fish. 
 
 ThaVs BilU)Hj»(jate. Vulgar and 
 coarse, like the manners and language 
 of Billingsgate fish-fags. 
 
 '■Parnassus spoke the cant of BillincsL'nie." 
 lliijden : .4 it of P(i(try, c. 1. 
 
 To talk Billingsignfc, i.e. to slang, to 
 scold in a vulgar, coarse style. 
 
 You arc no better than a Billingsgate 
 fishfag, i.e. you are as rude and ill- 
 mannered as the women of Billingsgate 
 fish-market. The French say ''Maubert " 
 instead of Billingsgate, as Your compli- 
 ments are like those of the Place Maubert, 
 i.e. no compliments at all, but vulgar 
 dirt-flinging. The '• Place Maubert " has 
 long been noted for its market. 
 
 Billingsgate Pheasant (-/). A red 
 
 heiTing. 
 
 Billy. A policeman's staff, which is a 
 little bill or bUlet. 
 
 A pocket-handkerchief. "A blue 
 billy" is a handkerchief with blue 
 groimd and white spots. 
 
 Billy Barlow. A street droll, a 
 merry Andrew ; so called from a half- 
 idiot of the name, who fancied himself 
 "some gi'ent personage." He was well 
 known in the East of London, and died 
 iu Whitechanel workhouse. Some of his
 
 Billycock Hats 
 
 136 
 
 Bird in the Hand 
 
 sayings were really witty, and some of 
 his attitudes realljr droll. 
 
 Billycock Hats. First used by 
 Billy Coke (Mr. William Coke) at the 
 great shooting parties at Holkham. The 
 old-established hatters in the West End 
 still call them " Coke hats." 
 
 Bi-metallism. The employment of 
 two metals, silver and gold, of fixed 
 relative value. Now gold is the only 
 standard metal in England and some 
 other countries. Silver coins are mere 
 tokens, like copper coins ; and if given 
 in payment of large sums are estimated 
 at the market value, so much an ounce ; 
 but a gold sovereign is always of one 
 fixed legal value. 
 
 Binary Arithmetic. Arithmetic in 
 which the base of the notation is 2 
 instead of 10. The unit followed by a 
 cipher signifies two, by another xitif it 
 signifies three, by two cip/ierx it signifies 
 four, and so on. Thus, 10 signifies two, 
 100 signifies four; wliile 11 signifies 3, 
 • etc. 
 
 Bi'nary Theory. A theory which 
 supi^oses that all definite chemical salts 
 are combinations of two radicles or 
 elements, one of which is electro-positive 
 (basic), and the other electro-negative 
 (acid). 
 
 Bingham's Dandies. The 17th 
 Lancers ; so called from their colonel, 
 the Earl of Lucan, formerly Lord 
 Bingham. The imiform is noted for its 
 admu-able fit and smartness. Now 
 called " The Duke of Cambridge's Own 
 Lancers." 
 
 Bin'nacle. The case of the mariner's 
 compass, which used to be wi-itten 
 bittacle, a corruption of the Portuguese 
 bitacola, French, habitacle, properlj' an 
 abode. 
 
 Birchin Lane. I must soul you to 
 Bircliin Lane, i.e. whip you. The play 
 is on birch (a rod). 
 
 yi suit in Birchin Lane. Birchin Lane 
 was once famous for all sorts of apparel ; 
 references to second-hand clothes in 
 Birchin Lane are common enough in 
 Elizabethan books. 
 
 " Passing through Birchin Lane amidst a camp- 
 royal of hose and doublets, I took . . . occasion 
 to slip into a captaiu'ssuit— a valiant liuff doublet 
 stuffed with points and a pair of vehet slops 
 Bcored thick with la.ce. "—Middleton : Black Booh 
 (1601). 
 
 Bird. An endearing name for giil. 
 
 " And liy my word, your bonuie bird 
 In danger shall not tarry ; 
 So, though the waves are raging white, 
 I'll row you o'er the ferry." 
 
 Campbell: Lord Ullin's Daiif/Mcr. 
 
 Bird is the Anglo-Saxon brid, the 
 young of any animal, hence bride, verb, 
 be ran, to bi'ing forth. 
 
 A bird of iU-omen. A person who is 
 regarded as unlucky ; one who is in the 
 habit of bringing ill-news. The ancients 
 thought that some birds indicated good 
 luck, and others evil. Even to the pre- 
 sent day many look upon owls, crows, 
 and ravens as unlucky birds ; swallows 
 and storks as lucky ones. 
 
 Eavens, by their acute sense of smell, 
 discern the savour of dying bodies, 
 and, under the hope of prej^ing on 
 tliem, light on chinmey-tops or flutter 
 about sick rooms ; hence the raven indi- 
 cates death. Owls screech when bad 
 weather is at hand, and as foul weather 
 often precedes sickness, so the owl is 
 looked on as a fimeral bird. 
 
 A bird of passage. A person who shifts 
 from place to place ; a temporary visit- 
 ant, like a cuckoo, the swallows, star- 
 lings, etc. 
 
 A jail-bird. (Sec Jail.) 
 
 2'hc bird of Juno. The peacock. 
 
 *.' Minerva's bird is either the cock or 
 the owl ; that of Venus is the dove. 
 
 The bird of Washington. The Ameri- 
 can or baldheaded eagle. 
 
 " The well-known bahl-headed eagle, sometimes 
 called the Bird of Washington."— iroorf. 
 
 The Arabian bird. The phoenix. 
 
 The green bird tells everything a 
 person wishes to know. {Cherrg and 
 Fairstar.) 
 
 The talking bird spoke ■with a human 
 voice, and could bid all other birds join 
 in concert. {Arabian Kights.) 
 
 Old birds are not to be caught tvith 
 chaff. Experience teaches wisdom. 
 
 One beats the bush, and another takes 
 the bird. The workman does the work, 
 the master makes the money. 
 
 ^Tts the carig bird that catches the 
 
 u'orm. 
 
 " Early to bed and early to rise, 
 Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." 
 
 A little bird told me so. From Eccles. 
 x. 20 : '' Curse not the king, no not in 
 thy thought, . . . for a bird of the air 
 shall carry the voice, and that which 
 hath wings shall tell the matter." 
 
 Bird in the hand. A bird in the 
 
 hand is worth two in the bush. Posses- 
 sion is better than expectation. 
 
 Jtalinn: "K meglio aver oggi un novo, che 
 dimani una gallina." 
 
 French: " 11 vaut mieuxavoirl'ceuf aujourd'hui, 
 que la poule domain " (Turklsli). 
 
 " I'u tien vaut mieux <iue deux tu I'auras." 
 
 " Un sou, i|uand il est assure, vaut mieux que 
 cinq en esperance." 
 
 German : " Kin vogel in der hand ist besser als 
 zehen Uber land."
 
 Bird in thy Bosom 
 
 137 
 
 Bishop 
 
 " Besser ein spatz in tier hand, als ein storch auf 
 deni daclie." 
 
 Latin : " Ego sjieni pretio nun eniam." 
 
 English : " A pijuud in the purse is worth two 
 in the l)ook." 
 
 On the other side we have : " Qui ne s'a venture, 
 n'a ni cheval ni mule." " Xothing venture, uo- 
 thinst have." " Give a sprat to catch a nuckerel." 
 '■ Chi'nou s'arrischia, uou guadagna." 
 
 Bird in thy Bosom. Thou hast 
 lept well the bird in tity bosom. Thou 
 liast remained faithful to thy allegiance 
 or faith. The expression was used by 
 Sii' Ralph Percy (slain in the battle of 
 Hedgly Moor in 1461) to express his 
 having preserved unstained his fidelity 
 to the House of Lancaster. 
 
 Bird of Este. The white eagle, the 
 cognisance of the house. 
 
 " His dazzling wa.v 
 The bird of Este soars lieyond the solar ray." 
 Tastso : Jerusalem Delivered, x. 
 
 Birds. Birds of a feather flock 
 together. Persons associate with those 
 of a suuilar taste and station as them- 
 selves. Qui se ressemble s\<sseiiible. 
 Cicero says, " Similes similibiis gaudent, 
 parescum paribus facilUmecongregantur.''^ 
 " Xe nous associons qu''avec nos igaux " 
 {La Fontaine). 
 
 To kill two birds with one stone. To 
 effect two objects with one outlay of 
 trouble. 
 
 Birds Qjrotected by superstitions) . 
 
 Choughs are protected in Cornwall, 
 because the soul of King Aiihur mi- 
 grated into a chough. 
 
 The Hatch is held sacred by the 
 Egj^tians, because it is the form as- 
 sumed by Ra or Horns. 
 
 The Ibis is sacred in Egypt, and to 
 kill one was at one time a capital offence. 
 It LS said that the god Thoth escaped 
 (as an Ibis) from the piu'suit of Typhou. 
 
 Mother Careifs Chickens, or Storm 
 Petrels are protected by sailors, from a 
 superstition that they are the living 
 forms of the souls of deceased sailors. 
 
 TIte Robin is protected, both from 
 Cliristian tradition and nursery legend. 
 {See Robin Redbeeast.) 
 
 The Stork is a sacred bird in Sweden, 
 from the legend that it flew round the 
 cross, crying Sti/rka, Styrka, when 
 Jesus was crucified. {See Stoek.) 
 
 Sicuns are suj)erstitiously protected in 
 Ireland from the legend of the Fion- 
 niiala (daughter of Lir), who was 
 metamorphosed into a swan and con- 
 demned to wander in lakes and rivers 
 till Clu'istiauity was introduced. (See 
 Irish Melodies, Silent WMoyle.) 
 
 •." The bat (a winged animal) was regarded b.v 
 the Caribs as a good angel, which protected their 
 
 dwellings at night ; and it was accounted sacri- 
 legious to kill one. 
 
 Bird's-eye View. A mode of per- 
 spective drawing in wliich the artist is 
 supposed to be ocer the objects deline- 
 ated, iu which case he beliolds them as 
 a htrd in the air would see them. A 
 general view. 
 
 Birdcage Walk (St. James's Park, 
 London) ; so called from an aviary. 
 
 Birmingham Poet. John Freeth, 
 who died at the age of seventy-eight in 
 1808. He was wit, poet, and imblican, 
 who not only wrote the words and tunes 
 of song.s, but sang them also, and sang 
 tliem well. 
 
 Birthday Suit. He teas in his birth- 
 day suit. Quite nude, as when first 
 bom. 
 
 Bis. Bis dat, r/ui cito dat (he gives 
 twice who gives promptly) — i.e. prompt 
 relief will do as much good as twice the 
 suTu at a futui'e period {Fublius Syrns 
 I'rorerbs.) 
 
 I'urple and bis, i.e. purple and fine 
 linen (Latin, byssus, fine flax). The 
 spelling is sometimes biss, bys, etc. 
 
 Biscuit (French-Latin, bis, twice ; 
 euit, baked). So called because it was 
 originally twice evened. The Romans 
 had a bread of this kind. 
 
 In pottery, earthenware or porcelain, 
 after it has been hardened in tlie fire, but 
 has not yet been glazed, is so called. 
 
 Bise. A wind that acts notabh' on 
 the nervous system. It is prevalent iu 
 those vaUeys of Savoy that open to the 
 north. 
 
 "The B:se lilew cold." 
 Jiogirs: Italy, part 1. div. ii. stanza -1. 
 
 Bishop {Evequc), the same word, 
 
 episcopus ; whence episc, cvese, cvcsrjue, 
 eceque ; also ^piscop, bishop. 
 
 Bishop, Cardinal, Pope (as bever- 
 ages) : 
 
 Bishop is made by pouring red wine 
 (such as claret or burgundj'), either hot 
 or cold, on ripe bitter oranges. The 
 liquor is then sugared and spiced to 
 taste. In Germany, "bishop" is a 
 mixture of wine, sugar, nutmeg, and 
 orange or lemon. It is sometimes called 
 "Piuple Wine," and has received its 
 name of bishop i'rom its colour. 
 
 Cardinal is made by using uhiie vrine 
 instead of red. 
 
 Pojje is made by using tokay. 
 
 " When T was at coUei-'e, Cup was spiced audit 
 ale; liisliop was "rup ' with wine (properl.v 
 claret or burgundy) added ; Cardinal was " cup" 
 with brandy added. All were served with a 
 Uedge-hog [i.e. a whole lemon or orange bristling
 
 Bishop Barnaby 
 
 138 
 
 Bites and Bams 
 
 with cloves] floatiuf; in the midst. Each Ruest 
 had his own glass or cup HUed by a ladle from the 
 common bowl (.a large silver one)." 
 
 The bishop hath, put his foot in if. 
 Said of milk or porridge that is burnt, or 
 of meat over-roasted. Tvndale says, 
 " If the podech be burued-to, or the 
 meate ouer rosted, we saye the byshope 
 hath put l)is fote in the potte," aud ex- 
 plains it thus, "because the bishopes 
 burn who they lust." Such food is also 
 said to be hinliupjjcd. 
 
 Bishop Barnaby. The May-bug, 
 lady-bird, etc. 
 
 Bishop in Partibus. {Sec In Pae- 
 
 TUiUS.) 
 
 Bishop of Hippo. St. Augustine 
 (3')4-loO) is ofteu so referred to. He 
 held the Sec for mauj^ years. 
 
 Bishop's Apron represents the short 
 cassock which, by the 74th canon, all 
 clergy men were enjoined to wear. 
 
 Bishop's Bible (Tht). (See imder 
 LiBLK, page I'-'A, ciil. 2.) 
 
 Bishop's Mitre. Dean Stanley tells 
 us tliat the cleft of a bishop's mitre 
 represents the mark of the crease of the 
 mitre, when folded and carried under 
 the arm, like an opera hat. {Christian 
 
 Il/f:fitt(tio/IS, p. 15-1.) 
 
 Bissextile. Leap-year. We add a 
 day to February in leap-year, but the 
 Itomans counted the '24th of February 
 twice. Now, the 24th of February was 
 called by them '■'dies l/isse.rfi/s^' (se.vto 
 cnleiidas Martins), the sextile or sixth 
 day before IMarch 1st; and this day 
 being reckoned twice {bis) in leap-year, 
 was called " aiuu(» bissextus.*^ 
 
 Bisson or Hisen [blind] is the Anglo- 
 Saxon biseii. Shakespeare {Uaiiilet, ii. 
 2) speaks of hissoii rheum (blinding 
 tears), and in Coriolanus, ii. 1, "What 
 harni can your bisson couspectuities 
 glean out of tlus character ? " 
 
 Biston'ians. The Thracians ; so 
 called from Biston, son of Mars, who 
 built Biston'ia on the Lake Bis'tonis. 
 
 " So the Bistonian race, a madilenint.' train, 
 Kxnlt and revel on the Thracian plain: 
 AVith milk their bloodv bamiuets they allay. 
 Or from the linn rend his pantini.' prey; 
 On soniealjnniloned savaije tieroely fly, 
 Seize, tear, devour, and tliink it luxury." 
 
 Pitt: Stiititts, Book ii. 
 Bit. A iDicce. 
 
 A bit of mi/ luiud, as "I'll tell him a 
 bit of my mind," I'll reprove him. 
 Same word as bite, meaning a jjiece 
 bitten off, hence a piece generally. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, bitaii, to bite.) 
 
 Jill tij bit. A little at a tune : piece- 
 meal. 
 
 I\ut a bit, or Xut the least bit. Not at 
 all ; not the least likely. This may be 
 not a morsel, or not a doit, rap, or sou. 
 " Bit " used to be a small Jamaica coin. 
 We still talk of a threepeuny-bit. Bit, 
 of course, is the substantive of bite, as 
 ■morsel (French mor^eau) of mordrc. 
 
 Bit {of a horse). To take the bit in (or 
 between) his teeth. To be obstinately 
 self-willed : to make ui> one's mind not 
 to yield. When a horse has a mind to 
 run away, he catches the bit "between 
 his teeth," and the driver has no longer 
 control over him. 
 
 '■.Mr. X. will not yield. He has taken the bit 
 between bis teeth, aud is resolved to carry out 
 his original measure."— yeicspiiper paragraph, 
 April, ISSG. 
 
 Bit. Money. The word is used in 
 the West Indies for a half jiistareen 
 (fivepeucc) . In Jamaica, a bit is worth 
 sixjience, English ; in America, l'2h 
 cents ; iu Ireland, teniience. 
 
 The word is still thieves' slang for 
 money generally, and coiners are called 
 bit-makers. 
 
 V In English we use the word for ;i 
 coin which is a fraction of a vmit. Thus, 
 a shilling being a unit, wo have a six- 
 penu}- bit and threepenny bit (or not iu 
 bits but in divers pieces). So, taking a 
 sovereign for a unit, we had seveu-sliil- 
 ling bits, etc. 
 
 Bite. A cheat ; one who bit^s u.s. 
 "The biter bit" explains tlie origin. 
 We saj' "a man was bitten" when he 
 " bums his fingers " meddling with 
 something which promised well but 
 turned out a failure. 
 
 2'o bite the dust, as "Their enemies 
 shall bite the dust," i.e. be slain in 
 battle. 
 
 Bite. Tu bite oue''s Ihuiub at another. 
 To insult ; to provoke to a quarrel. 
 
 " Greaorii. I will frown as I pass by: aud let 
 them take it as they list. 
 
 "^V(mp^■o». Xay, as they d;ire. I will bite my 
 thumb at tbeni : which is a disgrace to them, if 
 they bear it."— .'^hakespctirc : Uumeo and Juliet, i. 1., 
 
 To bite the Up. indicative of suppressed 
 chagrin, passion, or annoyance. 
 
 '■ She had to bite her lips till the bloml came in 
 order to keep down the angry words that would 
 rise in her heart." — ilfis. Ouslcell: Mary Barton, 
 chap. xi. 
 
 To bite upon the bridle. To champ the 
 bit, like an imijatient or restless hor.se. 
 
 Bit'elas. Sister of Fairlimb, and 
 daughter of Eukeuaw, the ape, in tlio 
 story of Eei/nard the Fox. {A/kinar.) 
 
 Bites and Bams. Hoaxes and 
 quizzes ; huml)ugerj'. 
 
 " [Ili.-l huujble elforts at jocularity were chiefly 
 conlined to . . . bites aud bams."— i'l'r W. Scott: 
 Gnu ilaniieritnj, chap. 3.
 
 Biting Remark 
 
 W.) 
 
 Black Acts 
 
 Biting Remark (A). A remark 
 more liit'uK/ thini Z('iii)'s. Near'chos 
 ordered Zeiio the j'l'ilosoplier to be 
 pouuded to death in a mortar. AVhen 
 he had been pouuded some time, he tokl 
 Nearchos lie had an important secret to 
 communicate to him ; but, when the 
 tyrant bent over the mortar to hear 
 what Zeno had to say, the dying man 
 bit off his ear. 
 
 ■' That would liave been a l)iting jest." 
 
 Shakcspeitrc: Richard HI., act ii. 4. 
 
 Bitt. To bitt the cable is to fasten it 
 round tlie " bitt " or frame made for the 
 purpose, and placed in the fore part of 
 the vessel. 
 
 Bitten. Imposed upon, let in, made 
 to suffer loss. " I was terribly bitten in 
 that affair." I suffered great loss. To 
 bite is to cheat or suffer retaliation. 
 Thus, Pope says, "The rogue was bit," 
 he intended to cheat, but was liimself 
 t.iken in. " The biter bit " is the moral 
 of .E:s()p'sfa1)le called The Viper and the 
 Till' : and GoMsmith's mad dog, which, 
 " for some private ends, went mad and 
 bit a man," but the biter wa^ bit, for 
 " The man recovered of the bite, the 
 d(ig it was tluit died." 
 
 Bitter End {The). A out ranee ; with 
 relentless, hostility ; also ajiplied to afflic- 
 tion, as, '• she bore it to the bitter end," 
 meaning to the last stroke of adverse 
 fortune. "All Thy waves have gone 
 over me, but I have borne up under them 
 to the bitter end." Hero " bitter end " 
 means the end of the rope. The " bitter- 
 end" is a sea term meaning "that part 
 of the cable which is " abaft the bitts." 
 When there is no windlass the cables are 
 fastened to bitts, that is, jiieces of timber 
 so called ; and when a rope is payed out 
 to the bitter-end, or to these pieces of 
 timber, all of it is let out, and no more 
 remains. However, we read in Prov. v. 
 ■i, "Her end is bitter as wormwood," 
 which, after all, may be the oi-igin of 
 the phrase. 
 
 Bitter as Gall, as soot, as worm- 
 wood. Absinthe is made of wormwood. 
 (iSV^ Similes.) 
 
 Bittock. A little bit ; -ock as a 
 diminutive is preserved in bull-ock, hill- 
 oi^k, butt-ock, etc. "A mile and a 
 bittoek " is a mile and a little bit. {Sir 
 Walter Seoti : Guij Maiuiering , i.) 
 
 Biz, in theatrical slang, moans "busi- 
 ness." Good biz means full houses ; but 
 an actor's " biz" is quite another thing, 
 meaning by-play. Thus, Hamlet trifluig 
 with Ophelia's fan, Lord Dundreary's 
 
 hop, and so on, arc the special "busi- 
 ness" of tlie actor of the part. As a 
 rule, the "business" is invented hy the 
 actor who creates the part, and is 
 handed down by tradition. 
 
 Black for mourning was a Roman 
 custom {Jiiveital, x. 215) borrowed from 
 the Egyjitians. 
 
 Black, in blazonry, means constancy, 
 wisdom, and jDrudence. 
 
 Black, in several of the Oriental 
 nations, is a badge of servitude, slavery, 
 and low birth. Oiu- word blach(jiinrd 
 seems to point to this meaning. The 
 Latin nUjcr meant bud, uuprointioun. 
 {Sec Blackguard.) 
 
 Black. {See under Colouks for its 
 
 symbolisms, etc.). 
 
 Black as a Crow (or a^ a rarni) ; 
 
 "as a raven's wing;" as ink; as hell, 
 i.e. hades (2 syl.), meaning death or tho 
 grave ; as your hat, etc. {See Similes.) 
 
 Black as a Newgate Knocker. A 
 
 Newgate knocker is the fringe or lock of 
 hair which costermongers and thieves 
 twist back towards the ear. 
 
 Black in the Face. Extremely 
 angry. The face discoloured with passion 
 or distress. 
 
 "Mv. Winkle pulled . . . till he was black in I ho 
 fare." — Dicheim : I'icl'wick I'uper.i. 
 
 " He swciro liiuiself black in the face."— /V/cc 
 rinclarOyolcutt: 
 
 Black is White. {See Sweab.) 
 
 Beaten black and blue. So that the 
 skin is black and blue with the marks of 
 the beating. 
 
 T must hare it in black and ichite, i.e. 
 in phiin writing ; the i)aper being white 
 and the ink black. 
 
 'J'o ain/ black'' s his eye, i.e. to vituper- 
 ate, to blame. The expression, Black's 
 the white of his ei/e, is a modern corrup- 
 tion. To say the eye is black or evil, 
 is to accuse a jierson of an evil heart or 
 great ignorance. The Latin }iif/er also 
 meant evil. (See Black Prince.) 
 
 "A fool niav do nil lliiir,'-;, and no man pay 
 blach'.^ hi.i C!/c."—Tlic Ti U Tale. 
 
 Black Act. 9 Geo. I. c. 22 is so 
 called, ])Ocatisn it was directed against 
 tlie Waltham deer-stealers, who black- 
 ened therr faces for disguise, and, imder 
 the name of Blcccks, appeared in Epping 
 Forest. This Act was repealed in 1827. 
 
 Black Acts. Acts of the Scottish 
 Parliament between the ain-ession of 
 James I. and the year l.')S7: so called 
 because they were printed in black 
 characters.
 
 Black Art 
 
 140 
 
 Blackfoot 
 
 Black Art. Tlie art practised by 
 conjurors, wizards, and others, who pro- 
 fessed to have dealings with the devil. 
 Black here means diabolical or wicked. 
 Some derive it from nir/romanctj, a cor- 
 ruption of necromancy. 
 
 Black Assize. July Gth, 1.577, when 
 a putrid pestilence broke out at Oxford 
 during the time of assize. 
 
 Black-balled. Not admitted to a 
 
 club ; the candidate ju'oposed is not ac- 
 cepted as a member. In voting by bal- 
 lot, those who accept the person proposed 
 drop a white or red ball into the box, but 
 those who would exclude the candidate 
 drop into it a black one. It is now 
 more usually done \>y two compartments, 
 for " yes " and " no " respectively. 
 
 Black Book. A book exposing 
 abuses iu Church and State, which fur- 
 nished much material for political reform 
 in the early part of the present century. 
 {Src Black Books.) 
 
 V Amherst speaks of the Proctor's 
 black book, and tells us that no one can 
 proceed to a degree whose name is found 
 there. (172(5.) It also appears that 
 each regiment keeps a black book or 
 record of ill-behaviour. 
 
 Black Book of the Adiinralty. An old 
 navy code, said to have been compiled 
 iu tiie reign of Edward III. 
 
 Black Books. To he in nnj black 
 hooks. In bad odour ; iu disgrace ; out 
 of favour. The black books were those 
 compiled in the reign of Henry VIII. to 
 set forth the scandalous i)roceedings of 
 the English monasteries, and were so 
 called from the colour of their binding. 
 We have similarly the Blue Book, the 
 Red Book, and so on. 
 
 Black Books of the Exchequer. An 
 official account of the royal revenues, 
 payments, jjerquisites, etc., in the reign 
 of Henry II. Its cover was black 
 leather. There are two of them pre- 
 served iu the Public Record Office. 
 
 Black Brunswickers. A corps of 
 700 volunteer hussars under the com- 
 mand of Frederick William, Duke of 
 Brunswick, who had been forbidden by 
 Napoleon to succeed to his father's 
 dukedom. They were called "Black" 
 because they wore mourning for the 
 deceased Duke. Frederick William fell 
 at Quatre-Bras, 1815. One of Millais's 
 best pictures is called "The Black 
 Brunswicker." 
 
 Black Cap, or the Jachjwcnt Cap, 
 worn by a judge when he jiasscs 
 
 sentence of death on a prisoner. This 
 cap is part of the judge's full dress. The 
 judges wear their black caps on Novem- 
 ber 9th, when the Lord Mayor is pre- 
 sented in the Court of Exchequer. 
 Covermg the head was a sign of mourn- 
 ing among the Israelites, Greeks, 
 Romans, and Anglo-Saxons. (2 Sam. 
 XV. 30.) 
 
 Black Cattle. Oxen for slaughter ; 
 so called because black is their prevailing 
 colour, at least in the north. 
 
 Black Cattle. Negro slaves. 
 
 " She was chartered for the "West Coast of 
 Africa to trade with the natives, but not iu black 
 cattle, for slavery was never our lineuf business." 
 —J. Grant: Dick Rodney, chap. xi. 
 
 Black Death. A putrid typhus, 
 in which the body turned black with 
 rapid j^utref action. It occurred in 1348, 
 and carried oft' twenty-tive millions in 
 Europe alone, wliile in Asia and Africa 
 the mortality was even greater. 
 
 Black Diamonds. Coals ; also clever 
 fellows of the lower orders. Coals and 
 diamonds are both carbon. 
 
 Black Dog. A fiend still dreaded in 
 many country places. {See DoG.) 
 
 Black I>o(j. Base silver coin in the 
 reign of Anne. Made of pewter double 
 washed. 
 
 Black Doll {A). The sign of a 
 marine store shop. The doll was a 
 dummy dressed to indicate that cast-off 
 garments were bought. 
 
 Black Douglas. William Douglas, 
 Lord of Nithsdale. Died 1390. 
 
 Black Flag (./) denotes a pirate, 
 and is called the " Jolly Roger." 
 
 Black Flags. Moslem soldiers. The 
 banner of the Abbasides (3 syl.) is black ; 
 that of the Fatimites (3 syl.) green ; and 
 that of the Ommiades (3 syl.) white. 
 Hence the banner of the Kalif of Bag- 
 dad is black, but that of the Sultan of 
 Damascus is green. {Gibbon, cliap. iii.) 
 
 Black Flags. Pirates of the Chinese 
 Sea who opposed the French iu Tonquin, 
 etc. 
 
 Black-foot. There is a powerful and 
 numerous tribe of North American 
 Indians called Black-feet. A black-foot 
 is an intermediary in love affairs; but if 
 perfidious to the wooer he was called a 
 white-foot. 
 
 Blackfoot {The). One of the mnny 
 Irish factious which disturbed the jieace
 
 Black Friars 
 
 141 
 
 Black Mail 
 
 iu the first half of the uiueteenth cen- 
 tury. 
 
 '■ And tlie Bhickfuot, who courted each foeniau's 
 aiiimiacli, 
 Faith ! 'tis Imt-font lupendily] lie'd fly from the 
 stout Fathei- Roach." Luver. 
 
 Black Friars. The Domiiiicaus were 
 formerly so called iu Englaud. 
 
 Black Friday. December Gth, 1 745, 
 the day ou whicli the news arrived iu 
 Lnudou that the Pretender had reached 
 Derby. 
 
 Black Game. Heath-fowl; in contra- 
 distinction to red game, as grouse. The 
 male bird is called a blackcock. 
 
 Black Genevan (A). A black 
 preaching gowu ; ouce used iu some 
 Anglican churches, and still used by 
 some Dissenters iu the pulpit. So called 
 from Geneva, where Calvin preached iu 
 such a robe. 
 
 " The Nonconformist divine leaves his vestry in 
 liis Idack Genevan, toadied l)y his deacons and 
 eUlers."—Xeicspaper paragraph, July 18tli, I»»j (on 
 Sunday bands). 
 
 Black-guards. Those horse-boys 
 and unmilitary folk, such as cooks with 
 their pots, pans, and other kitchen 
 utensils, which travel with an army, and 
 greatly impede its march. 
 
 Gift'ord, in his edition of Ben Jonson, 
 says : "In all great houses there were a 
 number of dirty dependents, whose olRce 
 it was to attend the wool-yards, scul- 
 leries, etc. Of these the most forlorn 
 were selected to carry coals to the kit- 
 chen. They rode with the pots and 
 pans, and were iu derision called the 
 black-guards." 
 
 In the Lord Steward's office a pro- 
 clamation (May 7th, 1683) begins thus: 
 ' ' Whereas ... a sort of vicious, idle, 
 and masterless boyes and rogues, com- 
 monly called the Black-guard, with 
 divers other lewd and loose follows . . . 
 do usually haunt and follow the court. 
 . . . Wee do hereby strictly charge . . . 
 all those so called, . . . with all other 
 loose, idle . . . men . . . who have in- 
 truded themselves into his Majesty's 
 court and stables ... to dejiart uj)ou 
 pain of imprisonment." 
 
 Black Hole of Calcutta. A dark 
 cell iu a prison into which Suraja Dow- 
 lah thrust 146 British prisoners. Next 
 morning only twenty-three were found 
 alive (17-56). 
 
 '.* The punishment cell or lock-up in 
 barracks. 
 
 Black Horse. The 7th Dragoon 
 Guards, or "the Princess Royal's D. G." 
 
 Their " facings " are black. Also called 
 
 " Strawboots," " The Blacks." 
 
 Black Jack. Black Jack ridca a good 
 horse (Cornish). The miners call blende 
 or sulphide of zinc "Black Jack," the 
 occurrence of which is considered by 
 them a favourable indication. The 
 bleude rides upou a lode of good ore. 
 
 Black Jack {A). A large leather 
 (jotcli for beer and ale, so called from the 
 outside being tarred. 
 
 Black Joke. An old tune, now 
 called 2'he Sprig of ShlUclagh. Tom 
 Moore has adapted words to the tune, 
 beginning, " Sublime was the warning 
 which Liberty spoke." 
 
 Black Leg. A swindler, especially 
 iu cards and races. Also, one who 
 works for less than trade -union wages ; 
 a non-union workman. 
 
 " Pledging the strikers not to return to work so 
 lon.i; as a siucle Black-lei; was retained in the 
 ser\icc."— .Vi(iei(f(iWt Centuri/, February, 1»U1, p. 
 L'4:i. 
 
 Black Letter. The Gothic or Ger- 
 man type. So called because of its black 
 appearance. The initial items of this 
 book are now called "black letter," 
 sometimes called " Clarendon tj-pe." 
 
 Black Letter Day. An luilucky 
 da J' ; one to be recalled with regret. 
 The Romans marked their unlucky 
 days with a piece of black cliarcoal, and 
 their lucky ones with white chalk. 
 
 Black-letter dogs. Literary antiquaries 
 who jDoke and pry into every hole and 
 corner to find out black-letter copies of 
 books. 
 
 " By fell Mack-letter'dogs . . . 
 That from fiotbic kennels eager strut." 
 
 Matthias : Pursuits of Literal ire. 
 
 Black Lists. Lists of insolvency 
 and bankrujitc}'', for the private guidance 
 of the mercantile community. {See Black 
 Books.) 
 
 Black Looks. Looks of displeasure. 
 To look black. To look displeased. The 
 figure is from black clouds indicative of 
 fold weather. 
 
 Black Mail. Moncj' given to free- 
 booters by way of exempting property 
 from depredation. (Anglo-Saxon, uial, 
 " rent-tax ; " French, ma tile, an old coin 
 worth-0S3 farthing). Grass mailvm?. rent 
 paid for pasturage. Math and datics 
 (Scotch) are rents of an estate iu money 
 or otherwise. "Black" in this jjhrase 
 does not mean wicked or wrongful, but 
 is the Gaelic, to cherish or pi-otect. 
 Black mail was a rent paid to Free Com- 
 panies for protecting the property ^aid
 
 Black Man 
 
 U'2 
 
 Black Sheep 
 
 for, from the depredations of freebooters, 
 etc. 
 
 T(j lei'ii hidck mall now means to exact 
 exorbitant cliarges ; thus the cabs and 
 omnibuses during the Great Exhibition 
 3'uars " levied black mail " on the public. 
 
 Black Man {The). Tlie Evil One. 
 
 Black Maria. The black van.wliicli 
 conveys prisoners from the police courts 
 to jaiL Tlie French call a mud-barge a 
 " Marie -salope." The ti-adition is that 
 the van referred to was so called from 
 Maria Lee, a negress, who ke2:)t a sailors' 
 boarding house in Boston. She was a 
 woman of such gr-eat size and strength 
 that the unruly stood in dread of her, 
 and when constables required helj), it 
 was a common thing to send for Black 
 Maria, who soon collared the refractory 
 and led them to the lock-up. So a 
 prison-van was called a "Black Maria." 
 
 Black Monday. Easter Monday, 
 AiJril Uth, loGO, was so called. Edward 
 III. was with his army lying before 
 Paris, and the day was so dark, Avith 
 mist and liail, so bitterly cold and so 
 windy, that many of his horses and 
 men died. Monday after Easter holi- 
 days is called "Black Monday," in 
 allusion to this fatal day. Launcelot 
 says : 
 
 " rt was not for nolliing tliat my nose fell a- 
 bleeilinB on Black Monday last, at six o'clock i' 
 the raoniing."— ,S7i«/res;'care ; Merchant of Yetiice, 
 ii. 5. 
 
 February 27th, I860, was so called in 
 Melbourne from a terrible sirocco from 
 the N.N.W., which produced dreadful 
 havoc between Sandhurst and Castle- 
 maine. 
 
 Black Mondat/. In schoolboy phrase- 
 ology is the first Monday after the 
 holidays are over, when lessons begin 
 again. 
 
 Black Money. Base coin brought 
 to England by foreigners, and prohibited 
 by Edward III. 
 
 Black Ox. Tlie hJacJc ox has trod on 
 his foot — i.e. misfortune has come to 
 him. Black oxen were sacrificed to 
 Pluto and other infernal deities. 
 
 Black Parliament. The Parlia- 
 ment held by Henry VIII. in Bridewell. 
 
 Black Prince. Edward, Prince of 
 Wales, son of Edward III. Froissart 
 says lie was ' ' styled black by terror of 
 his arms" (c. 1C9). Strutt confirms this 
 saying : " for his martial deeds sur- 
 named Black the Prince " {Antiquities). 
 Meyrick says there is not the slightest 
 proof that Edward, Prince of Wales, 
 
 ever wore black aiTaour (vol. ii. ) ; indeed, 
 we have much indirect proof against the 
 supi^osition. Thus Shaw (vol. i. plate 
 ;il) gives a facsimile from a picture on 
 the wall of St. Stephen's Chapel, West- 
 minster, in which the prince is clad in 
 (jilt armour. Stothard says "the eflfigy 
 is of copper gilt." In the British 
 Museum is an 'llumination of Edward 
 III. granting to his sou the duchy of 
 Aquitaiue, in which both figures are 
 represented in silver armour with gilt 
 joints. The first mention of the term 
 '' Black Prince " occurs in a jiarliament- 
 ary paper of the second year of Kiciiard 
 II.; so that Shakespeare has good reason 
 for tlie iise of the word in his tragedy of 
 that king : — 
 
 " Brave Gannt, tby father ami myself 
 Rescued the Black Prince, that youu^j Mars of 
 
 men, 
 From forth the ranks of many thousand French." 
 liichaid I[.,n.'S. 
 " That black name, Edward, black Prince of 
 Wales."— i/c/f 17/ y. ii. 1. 
 
 Black Republicans. The Repub- 
 licans were so called by the pro-slavery 
 party of the States, because they resisted 
 the introduction of slavery into any 
 State where it was not alreadj'' recog- 
 nised. 
 
 Black Rod, i.r. " Gentleman Usher 
 of the Black Rod," so called from his 
 staff of office — a black wand surmounted 
 by a lion. 
 
 Black Rood of Scotland. The 
 
 "piece of tlie true cross " or rood, .sot in 
 an cboiii/ crucifix, which Margaret, the 
 wife of King Malcolm, left at death to 
 the Scottish nation. It passed into vari- 
 ous hands, but was lost at the Reform- 
 ation. 
 
 Black Russia. Central and Southern 
 Russia is so called from its black soil. 
 
 "The winter crops in the %vhole of European 
 Russia are very good, especially in the black- 
 earth regions. In the government of Northern 
 Russia tlie comlitinn is less favourable."— ^Vics- 
 paim- jnnitijiniili, December, lsii3. 
 
 Black Saturday. August 4th, 1621; 
 so called in Scotland, because a violent 
 storm occurred at the very moment the 
 Parliament was sitting to enforce episco- 
 pacy on the people. 
 
 Black Sea. So called from the 
 abounding black rock in the extensive 
 coal-fields between the Bos'iihorus and 
 Heracle'a. 
 
 Black Sheep [Kdrd-Koiii-ho]. A 
 tribe of Turkomans, so called from their 
 standards. This tribe was extirpated by 
 the IJ hitc Sheep {q.r.). 
 
 A Black Sheep. A disgrace to the
 
 Black Standard 
 
 U3 
 
 Blank Cartridge 
 
 family ; a niaurais siijet ; a workman who 
 will not join iu a strike. Black sheep 
 are looked on with dislike by shepherds, 
 and are not so valuable as white ones. 
 
 Black Standard. Tlic dross, tur- 
 bans, and standards of the Abbasside 
 caliphs were all black. {Jj'Hcrbvlot.) 
 
 Black Strap. Bad port wine. A 
 sailor's name for any bad liquor. In 
 North America, " Black-strajj " is a 
 mixture of rum and molasses, sometimes 
 vinegar is added. 
 
 ■ The spetliin? libukstraii was pronouncpd ready 
 fill- use.'— /'ii(/.(-rtoH ; ilolUi ifoa'iifes, chap. xvii. 
 1>. 171. 
 
 Black Swan. {Src Eara Avis.) 
 
 Black-thorn Winter {The). The 
 cold weather which frequently occurs 
 when the black-thorn is iu blossom. 
 {See Borrowed Days.) 
 
 Black Thursday. February 6th, 
 18.)1 ; so called iu the colony of Vic- 
 toria, from a terrible bush-tire which 
 then occurred. 
 
 Black Tom. The Earl of Ormonde, 
 Lord Deputy of Ireland in the reign of 
 Elizabeth ; so called from his ungracious 
 ways and " black looks." 
 
 " He beiug very stately in apparel, ami erect in 
 p irt, despite his great age, yet with a (l;irk, dour, 
 and menacing look upon his face, so that all who 
 met his gaze seemed to quake before the same." 
 —Hull. EinHij Lawless: }','Uli Essex iu Irehind, p. loj. 
 
 Black Watch. Companies employed 
 to watch the Islands of Scotland. They 
 dressed in a "black" or dark tartan- 
 (17'2.5). Subsequently they were en- 
 rolled into the 4'2nd regiment, under the 
 Earl of Crawford, in 1737. Their tartan 
 is still called ' ' The Black Watch Tartan. ' ' 
 The regiment is now called "The Royal 
 Highlanders." 
 
 Black< "White. To sirear black is 
 leltite. To persist iu an obvious un- 
 truth. The French locution, 81 roiis hii 
 dites l/laiic, il repo)idra iwir, means, 
 He will contradict Avhat you say point 
 blank. 
 
 Blacks. Mutes at funerals, who 
 wore a black cloak ; sometimes called 
 the Black Guards. 
 
 " I do pray ye 
 To give me leave to live a little longer. 
 You stand about me like my Blacks." 
 Beaumont and Fktcher: Mons. Tlioma.t, iii. 1. 
 
 Blacks {T/ie), or "The 7th Dragoon 
 Gtiards," or "The Princess Roj-al's D. 
 Ct." Called Hacks from their facings. 
 Nicknames : ' ' TheVirginMary's Guard, ' ' 
 " Straw boots," " Lingoniers," etc. 
 
 Blackacre {TFidoie). The best of 
 Wycherley's comic characters ; she is a 
 
 masculine, litigious, pettifogging, head- 
 strong woman. {T/ie Plain Beciler.) 
 
 Blackamoor. Washintj the hlacku- 
 rnuor ichite — i.e. engaged ujiou a hope- 
 less and useless task. The allusion is to 
 one of iEsop's fables so entitled. 
 
 Blackness. All faces shall gather 
 hlackjiess (Joel ii. 6) — i.e. be downcast iu 
 consequence of trouble. 
 
 Blacksmith. The learned blacJcsmJlt. 
 Elihu Burritt, U.S. (1811-1879.) 
 
 Bladamour. The friend of Paridel 
 in Spenser's Faerie Queciie. The iioot 
 had his eye upon the Earl of Northimi- 
 berland, one of the leaders in the northern 
 insurrection of 1569. {See Par'idel.) 
 
 Blade. A knou-inri blade, a sharp 
 fellow ; a regular blade, a buck or fop. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, blad or hkcd, a branch or 
 sprig.) 
 
 V i//ff(f= " branch," whence "fruit, 
 prosperity, glory," etc. The compound, 
 Jil(ed-da'g = a, prosperous day : bhed-gifa, 
 a glory-giver, i.e. a king, a " regular 
 blade." 
 
 Bladud. A mythical king of Eng- 
 land, and father of King Lear. He 
 built the city of Bath, and dedicated the 
 medicinal springs to Minerva. Bladud 
 studied magic, and, attempting to fly, 
 fell into the temple of Apollo and was 
 dashed to pieces. {Geoffreg of Monmouth.) 
 
 " Inexhaustible as Bladud's v:eU."—Tliacl:eiH!i. 
 
 Blanche'fleur. The heroine of Boc- 
 caccio's prose romance called II I'doeopo. 
 Her lover, Flores, is Boccaccio himself, 
 and Blanchefleur was a young ladj' pas- 
 sionately beloved by him, the natural 
 daughter of King Eobert. The story 
 of Blanchefleur aud Flores is substan- 
 tially the same as that of Dor'igeu and 
 AureUus by Chaucer, and that of Dianora 
 nnd Ansaldo iu the Deeamcro)t. {See 
 Dianora and Doeigen.) 
 
 Blan'diman. The faithful man- 
 servant of fair Bellisant {fj.v.), who 
 attended her when she was divorced. 
 ( Valentine and Orson.) 
 
 Blaney. A wealthy heir, ruined by 
 dissipation, iu Crabbe's Borough. 
 
 '• Misery and mirth are blended in his face, 
 Much innate vilenesaand some outward grace:... 
 The serpent's cunning aud the sinner's fall." 
 Letter xiv. 
 
 Blank Cartridge. Cartridge with 
 powder only, that is, without shot, 
 bullet, or ball. Used in di'ill and in 
 saluting. Figuratively, empty threats.
 
 Blank Cheque 
 
 U4 
 
 Blaze 
 
 Blank Cheque. A cheque duly 
 sigued, but without specifyiujj any sum 
 of money ; the amount to be tilled in by 
 the payee. 
 
 Blank Practice. Shooting for prac- 
 tice with blank cartridges. 
 
 Blank Verse. English verse with- 
 out rhyme. 
 
 Blanket. The wrong side of the 
 blanket. A love-child is said to come 
 of the wrong side of the blanket. 
 
 " He grew up to l)e a fine waule fallow, like 
 moiiy ane that cimies <i' tlie wraiii,' side o' the 
 blanket."— ,S'ir If. Scutt: Tlie Antiquary , chaii. x\iy . 
 
 A wet blanket. A discouragement, a 
 marplot. A person is a wet blanket who 
 discourages a proposed scheme. "Treated 
 with a wet blanket," discouraged. "A 
 wet blanket influence," etc. A wet 
 blanket is used to smother fire, or to 
 prevent one escaping from a fire from 
 being burnt. 
 
 Blanketeers. The Coxeyites were 
 so called in 18'J4. "General" Coxey of 
 the United States induced 50,000 persons 
 to undertake a 700 miles' march to Wash- 
 ington, with blankets on their backs, to 
 terrorise Congress into fimling work for 
 the unemployed. 
 
 Previous to this, the word had been 
 applied to some 5,000 Kadical operatives 
 who assembled on St. Peter's Field, 
 near Manchester, March 10, 1817. They 
 provided themselves with blankets and 
 rugs, intending to march to London, to 
 lay before the Prince Regent a petition 
 of grievances. Only six got as far as 
 Ashbourne Bridge, when the expedition 
 collapsed. 
 
 "Tlie Americans have no royal dnkes. no bench 
 of bishops, no House of Lords, no effete mon- 
 archy; but they have Home Rule, one man one 
 vote, and Coxey with his blanketeers."— ii6c-;t(/ 
 Ileviar, May 5tli, 1894, p. 354. 
 
 Blare. To cry with a great noise, 
 like a child in a tricky temper; to 
 bellow. (Latiu, i^/oro, to weep with 
 noise.) 
 
 Blarney. None of your hlarney. Soft, 
 wheedling speeches to gain some end ; 
 sugar-words. Cormack Macarthy held 
 the castle of Blarney in 1602, and con- 
 cluded an armistice with Carew, the 
 Lord President, on condition of sur- 
 rendering the fort to the English garri- 
 son. Day after day his lordship looked 
 for the fulfilment of the terms, but re- 
 ceived nothing except protocols and soft 
 speeches, till he became the laughing- 
 stock of Elizabeth's ministers, and the 
 dupe of the Lord of Blarney. 
 
 2'u kiss the Blarnei/ Stone. Whoever 
 does this shall be able to persuade to 
 anything. The Blarney Stone is tri- 
 angular, lowered from the north angle 
 of the castle, about twenty feet from 
 the toji, and containing this inscription : 
 " Connac Mac Carthy for lis me fieri 
 fecit, A.D. 144G." Blarney is near Cork. 
 
 Blas6 (pronounce blah-zay). Sur- 
 feited with pleasure. A man blase is 
 one who has had full swing to all the 
 pleasures of life, and has no longer any 
 api^etite for any of them. A worn out 
 debauchee (French, blascr, to exhaust 
 with enjoyment). 
 
 Blasphemous Balfour. Sir James 
 Balfour, the Scottish judge, was so 
 called becaase of his apostasy. He died 
 1583, 
 
 Blast. In full blast. In the extreme. 
 In America will be lieard such a sentence 
 as this: "When she came to the meet- 
 ing in her yellow hat and feathers, 
 wasn't she in full blast V " A metaphor 
 from the blast furnace in full operation. 
 
 Blast. To strike by lightning ; to 
 make to wither. The "blasted oak." 
 This is the sense in which the word is 
 used as an exclamation. 
 
 " If it 'the [b'host] assume my noble father's 
 person, 
 I'll cross it, though it blast me." 
 
 Shakespeare : Hamlet, i. ]. 
 
 Blatant Beast (The). "A dreadful 
 fiend of gods and men, ydrad ;" type of 
 " Common Rumour " or " Slander." 
 He has 100 tongues and a sting; with 
 his tongues he speaks things "most 
 shameful, most unrighteous, most un- 
 true ; " and with his sting " steeps them 
 in poison." Sir Calidore muzzled the 
 monster, and drew him with a chain to 
 Faerie Land. After a time the beast 
 broke his chain and regained his Uberty. 
 (Saxon, blictan, to bellow.) {Spenser: 
 Faerie Qucene, books v. vi.) 
 
 Blayney's Bloodhounds. The old 
 
 89th Foot ; so called because of their 
 unerring certainty, and untiring perse- 
 verance in hunting down the Irish rebels 
 in 1798, when the corps was commanded 
 by Lord Blaney. 
 
 This regiment is now called " the 
 Second Battalion of the Princess Vic- 
 toria's Irish Fusiliers." The ^V*/ bat- 
 talion is the old 87th Foot. 
 
 Blaze. A white mark in the forehead 
 of a horse. (Icelandic, blesi, a white 
 star on the forehead of a horse ; GennaUv 
 blasz, pale.)
 
 Blaze 
 
 145 
 
 Blessing 
 
 *,* A star is a sort of white diamond 
 in the forehead. A blaze is an elongated 
 star or dash of white. 
 
 To blaze a path. To notch trees as a 
 clue. Trees so notched are called in 
 America " blazed trees," and the white 
 wood shown by the notch is called " a 
 blaze." {See above.) 
 
 "Guided by the lihized trees . . . they came to 
 the s\mt."—Gonldhtg : The Young Marocners, 118. 
 
 "Tliey Imi-ied liiiii where he lay, a blazed tree 
 mark in,!; his last restiug-place."— .ld«enf«)-C4- iu 
 Ma,-<lio)ialaiid, p. 158. 
 
 Blaze (To). To blaze abroad. To 
 noise abroad is the German verb blascu, 
 to blow or sound. Shakespeare uses the 
 noun blazon : 
 
 " But this eternal blazon must not be 
 Tu ears of flesh and blood." 
 
 UuiHlcl,\. 5. 
 
 Blazer {A). A boatman's jacket. 
 Properly and originally applied to the 
 Johniau crew (Camb.), whose boat 
 jackets are the brightest possible scarlet. 
 
 " A blazer is the red Haunel Ijoating jaclcet worn 
 by the Lady JIargaret. St. John's College, t'ani- 
 bridge, Boat ^i\\x\K"— Daily News, August TMul, 
 
 1.88!>. 
 
 Blazon [Blazonry']. To bhizon is to 
 announce with a trumpet, hence the 
 Ghost in Ilninh't says, " But this eternal 
 blazon must not be to ears of flesh and 
 blood," i.e. this babbling about eternal 
 things, or things of the other world, 
 must not be made to persons still in the 
 flesh. Knights were wont to be an- 
 nounced by the blast of a trumpet on 
 their entrance into the lists ; the flourish 
 was answered by the heralds, who de- 
 scribed aloud the arms and devices 
 borne by the kaight ; hence, to blazon 
 came to signify to "describe the charges 
 borne"; and blazonry is "the science 
 of describing or deciphering arms." 
 (German, blascn, to blow.) 
 
 B16. 3fa»fier son Hi' en herbe (French), 
 to eat tlie calf before it is cast ; to siJend 
 your fortune before it comes to you ; to 
 spend your income in advance. Liter- 
 ally, to feed off j'our green wheat. 
 
 Blear-eyed (T/ie). Aurelius Bran- 
 doli'ni, the Italian poet, called II Lippo 
 (144i)-1497). 
 
 Bleed. To make a man bleed is to 
 make him pay dearly for something ; to 
 victimise him. Money is the life-blood 
 of commerce. 
 
 It makes my heart bleed. It makes me 
 very sorrowful. 
 
 "■ Slie found them indeed, 
 But it made her heart bleed." 
 
 Little Bo-Prip. 
 
 Bleeding of a Dead Body (The). 
 It was at one time believed that, at the 
 
 10 
 
 approach of a murderer, the blood of the 
 murdered body gushed out. If iu a 
 dead body the slightest change was ob- 
 servable in the ej'es, mouth, feet, or 
 hands, the murderer was supposed to be 
 jn-esent. The notion still survives in 
 some places. 
 
 Blefus'cu. An island severed from 
 Lilliput by a channel 800 yards wide, 
 inhabited by pigmies. Swift meant it 
 for France. (G a Hirer'' s Travels.) 
 
 Bleidablik [vast splendour]. Tlie 
 abode of Baldur, the Scandinaviau 
 Apollo. 
 
 Blemmyes (of Africa). Men said to 
 have no head, their eyes and mouth 
 being placed in the breast. ( See Aceph.v- 
 LiTEs; Caoka.) 
 
 Blenheim Dog. A small spaniel : so 
 called from Blenheim Palace in Oxford- 
 shire, where the breed has been preserved 
 ever since the palace was built. 
 
 Blenheim House (Oxfordshire). The 
 house given by the nation to the Duke 
 of Marlborough, for his victory over the 
 French at Blenheim, in Bavaria, iu the 
 reign of Queen Anne (1701). 
 
 " When Europe freed confessed the saving power 
 Of Marlborough's hand, Britaiu. who sent him 
 
 forth. 
 Chief of confederate hosts, to fl;,'ht the cause 
 Of liberty aud justice, grateful raised 
 This palace, sacred to the Ic.oler's fame." 
 
 Littleton. : Blenheim. 
 
 Blenheim Steps. Once noted for 
 an anatomical school, over which Sir 
 Astley Cooper presided. Here "resur- 
 rectionists " were sure to find a ready 
 mart for their gruesome wares, for which 
 they received sums of money varying 
 from £3 to £10, and sometimes more. 
 Such phrases as " going to Blenheim 
 Steps," meant going to be dissected, or 
 unearthed from one's grave. 
 
 " The body-snatchers, they have come, 
 And made a snatch at me; 
 'Tis very hard them kind of men 
 
 Won't let a liody be. 
 Till' cock it crou s— 1 must be gone— 
 
 JIv William, we must part: 
 But I'll l)e yours in death although 
 .Sir .\stlev has my heart." 
 
 Hood : Mary's Ghost. 
 
 Bless. He has not a [si.i-penee] to 
 ///r.sA himself icith, i.e. in his possession ; 
 wherewith to make himself happy. This 
 expression may p)robably be traced to 
 the time when coins were marked with 
 a deeply-indented cross. Cf. To keep 
 the devil out of one's pocket. 
 
 Blessing with three fnyers is sym- 
 bolical of the Trinity, iu the name of 
 the Father, aud of the Sou, and of the 
 Holy Ghost.
 
 Blest 
 
 146 
 
 Blindmen's Dinner 
 
 Blest, ril be blest if I do if. I 
 am resolved uot to do it. A euphemism 
 for atrst, 
 
 Blikian'dabol [.tplf/idid niiscri/]. The 
 cano]!}' of the goddess Hel or Hela {q. v.). 
 
 Blimber (Jliss). A blue -stocking, 
 who knows the dead languages, and 
 wears learned spectacles. She is the 
 daughter of Dr. Blimber, a fossil school- 
 master of the high and dry grammar 
 type. {Dickois : JJomboj and hion.) 
 
 Blind. TJinfs a mere blind. A pre- 
 tence ; something ostensible to conceal 
 a covert design. The metaphor is from 
 v.'indow-blinds, which jireveut outsiders 
 from seeing into a room. 
 
 Uliiid an a bat. A bat is uot blind, 
 but when it enters a room well lighted, 
 it cannot see, and blunders about. It 
 sees best, like a cat, in the dusk. {See 
 Similes.) 
 
 li/iiid as a beetle. Beetles are uot blind, 
 but the dor-beetle or hedge-chafer, in its 
 rapid flight, will occasionally bump 
 against one as if it could uot see. 
 
 Blind as a mole. Moles are not blind, 
 but as they work underground, their 
 eyes are very small. There is a mole 
 found in the south of Europe, the eyes 
 of which are covered by niembi'anes, 
 and probably this is the animal to wliich 
 Aristotle refers when he says, " the mole 
 is Wind." {See Similes.) 
 
 Blind as an owl. Owls are not 
 blind, but being night birds, they see 
 better in partial darkness than in the 
 full hght of day. {Sec Similes.) 
 
 Yon came on /lis blind side. His soft 
 or tender-hearted side. Said of persons 
 who wheedle some favour out of another. 
 He yielded because he was not wide 
 awake to his own interest. 
 
 " Lincoln wrote to the same friend that tLc 
 nomination took the democrats on the lilinil 
 Bide.''— X/coIo!/ and Hay: Abraham Linculn, 
 vol. i. chap. xv. p. i'75. 
 
 Blind leaders of the blind. The allu- 
 sion is to a sect of the Pharisees, who 
 were wont to shut their eyes when they 
 walked abroad, and often ran their 
 heads against a wall or fell into a ditch. 
 (Matt. XV. 14.) 
 
 The Blind:— 
 
 Francesco Bello, called // Cieeo. 
 
 Luigi Grotto, called // Cieeo, the 
 Italian poet. (lo41-lo8o.) 
 
 Lieutenant James Holman, T/ie Blind 
 Traveller. (1787-1857.) 
 
 Ludwig III., Emperor of Germany, 
 VArciKjle. (880, 8D0-9o4.) 
 
 Blind Alley [A). A "cul de sac," 
 an alley with no outlet. It is blind 
 because it has no " eye " or passage 
 through it. 
 
 Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green 
 
 {TJie). A 23ublic-house sign in the 
 Whitechapel Road. {Hoften : Histonj of 
 Sign-Boards.) {See Beggae. ) 
 
 Blind Department {Tlic). In Post 
 Olhce parlance, means that department 
 where letters with incoherent, insuffi- 
 cient, or illegible addresses are examined, 
 and, if possible, put upon tlie proper 
 track for delivery. Tlie clerk so em- 
 jjloyed is called "The Blind Man." 
 
 ".One (if these addresses was "Santlings, Hile- 
 wite" est. Helen's, Isle of Wight). 1, ni.vself. 
 had one from France addressed, 'A Mons. E. 
 t'obham, brasseur, Angleterre.'and it reached nic. 
 Another address was ' Haselfeach in no fanit- 
 sliere ' iHazelbeach, Novthamptonshire)." 
 
 Blind Ditch (.i). One which cannot 
 be seen. Here blind means obscure, as 
 
 a blind rill/ir/r. 
 
 Blind Harper {Tin). John Pany, 
 who died 1730. 
 
 Blind Harry. A Scotch minstrel of 
 the tifteenth ceutuiy. His epic of Sir 
 If'illiain Wallace runs to 11, SGI lines. 
 
 Blind Hedge {A). A hawhaw 
 hedge, not easily seen. Milton uses the 
 word blind for concealed, as "In the 
 blind mazes of this tangled wood." 
 [Comas, line 181.) 
 
 Blind old Man of Scio's rocky 
 Isle. Homer is so called by Bj-ron in 
 his Bride of Ahijdos. 
 
 Blind Magistrate {The). Sir John 
 Fielding, knighted in 1761, was born 
 blind. He wa s in the commission of the 
 Peace for Middlesex, Surrey, Essex, and 
 the liberties of Westminster. 
 
 Blindman's Holiday. The hour 
 of dusk, when it is too dark to work, 
 and too soon to light candles. 
 
 Blindman's Lantern {The), ox "Eyes 
 to the Blind." A walking stick Mith 
 which a blind man guides his wa3'. In 
 French argot bougie means a walking 
 
 stick. 
 
 Blindmen's Dinner {The). A din- 
 ner unpaid for. A dinner in which the 
 landlord is made the victim. Euleu- 
 spiegel being asked for alms by twelve 
 blind men, said, "Go to the inn; eat, 
 drink, and be merry, my men ; and here 
 are twenty florins to pay the fare." 
 The blind men thanked him ; each
 
 Blinkers 
 
 147 
 
 Bloody- 
 
 supposing one of the others had received 
 the money. Reaching tlie inn, they told 
 the landlord of their luck, and were at 
 once provided with food and drink to 
 the amount of twenty florins. On 
 asking for payment, they all said, ' ' Let 
 him who received the money pay for the 
 dinner ; ' ' but none had received a penny. 
 
 Blinkers. Spectacles; the allusion 
 is to a horse's blinkers. 
 
 Block. To block a BUI. In parlia- 
 meutarj^ language means to postjjone or 
 prevent the x^assage of a Bill by giving 
 notice of opposition, and thus jjreventing 
 its being taken after half-past twelve at 
 night. 
 
 " Bv Mocking tbe Bill [he] dPiiieil to two iiiil- 
 lidii I'lersdns the rJKht of haviiiK votes."— t'oiidm- 
 imranj Ilcvicw, August, 1884, ii. i71. 
 
 Blockhead. A stupid person ; one 
 without brains. The allusion is to a 
 wig-maker's dummy or fete a 2}crruqitc, 
 on which he fits his wigs. 
 
 " Your wit will not so soon out as another man's 
 will ; 'tis strongly wedged up in a block-head."— 
 Shakespeare : Coriolanus, ii. 3. 
 
 Blood. A buck, an aristocratic rowdy. 
 A tei-m taken from blood horses. 
 
 "A blood or dandy about tmvn."— Thackeray : 
 Vanity Fair, chap. x. p. -I'.i. 
 
 Blood. Family descent. 
 
 ''And bath made of one blood all natii.'iis of 
 men."— Acts xvii. -'6. 
 
 Blood thicker than water. Kelation- 
 ship has a claim ■which is generally 
 acknowledged. It is better to seek kind- 
 ness from a kinsman than from a 
 stranger. Water soon evaporates and 
 leaves no mark behind ; not so blood. 
 So the interest we take in a stranger is 
 thinner and more evanescent than that 
 which we take in a blood relation. 
 
 " Weel ! blude's thicker than water. Sue's 
 welcome to the cheeses and the hams just the 
 same."— i'lj' W. Scott : Guy Mamiering. 
 
 A Prince of the Blood. One of the 
 Royal Family. 
 
 Bad blood. Anger, quarrels ; as. It 
 itirs up bad blood. It provokes to ill- 
 feeling and contention. 
 
 Bine blood. {Sec under Blue.) 
 
 Yoniiff blood. Fresh members; as, 
 "To bring young blood into the con- 
 cern." 
 
 In cold blood. Deliberately : not in 
 the excitement of passion or of battle. 
 
 It makes onc^s blood boil. It provokes 
 indignation and anger. 
 
 /;; rans in the blood. It is inherited or 
 exists in the family race. 
 
 "It runs in the blood of our family."— .S'/icri- 
 dan : The Rivals, iv. :;. 
 
 3fij oivn flesh and blood. My own 
 children, brothers, sisters, or other near 
 kindred. 
 
 Laics icritien in Hood. Dema'des said 
 that the laws of Draco were written in 
 blood, because every offence was pun- 
 ished by death. 
 
 The Jicld of blood. Acel'dama (Acts i. 
 19), the piece of ground purchased with 
 the blood-money of our Saviour, and set 
 apart for the burial of strangers. 
 
 The field of the battle of Cannae, 
 where Hannibal defeated the Romans, 
 B.C. 21G. 
 
 Blood of our Saviour. An order of 
 knighthood in Mantua ; so called because 
 their special office was to guard " the 
 drops of the Saviour's blood " ]ireserved 
 in St. Andrew's church, Mantua. 
 
 Blood and iron policy — i.e. war policy. 
 No explanation needed. 
 
 Blood • guiltiness. The guilt of 
 murder. 
 Blood-horse (.i). A thorough-bred. 
 
 Bloodhound. Figuratively, one who 
 follows up an enemy with pertinacity. 
 Bloodhounds used to be employed for 
 tracking wounded game by the blood 
 spilt ; subsequently they were emj^loyed 
 for tracking criminals and slaves who 
 had made their escape, and were hunters 
 of blood, not hunters by blood. The 
 most noted breeds are the African, 
 Cuban, and English. 
 
 Blood Money. Money paid to a 
 person for giving such evidence as shall 
 lead to the conviction of another ; money 
 paid to the next of kin to induce him to 
 forego his "xight" of seeking blood for 
 blood ; money paid to a person for be- 
 traying another, as Judas was paid 
 blood-money for showing the band the 
 place where Jesus might be found. 
 
 Blood Relation {A). One in direct 
 descent from the same father or mother ; 
 one of the same family stock. 
 
 Blood-thirsty. Eager for shedding 
 blood. 
 
 Blood of the Grograms {The). 
 Taffety gentility ; make-believe aristo- 
 cratic blood. Grogram is a coarse siDc 
 taffety stiffened with gum (French, gros- 
 grain). 
 
 " Our first tracedian was always boasting of bis 
 being 'an old actor,' and was full of the 'blood 
 of theGrograms.'"— C. T;iD)Hst>u; Autobiography, 
 15.200. 
 
 Bloody, used as an expletive in such 
 phrases as "A bloody fool," "Bloody 
 drunk," etc., arose from associating 
 folly and druukeuness, etc., with what
 
 Bloody 
 
 148 
 
 Blow 
 
 are called "Bloods," or aristocratic 
 rowdies. Similar to "Drunk as a lord." 
 
 "It was bloody bot walking to-day."— .S'(Ci/( ; 
 Journal to Stella, letter xxii. 
 
 Bloody {T/ip). Otho II., Emperor of 
 Germany. (955, 973-983.) 
 
 The Bloodi) mcccnth. The old lltli 
 Foot was so called from their having 
 been several times nearly annihilated, as 
 at Almanza, Fontenoy, Roucoux, Os- 
 tend, and Salamanca (1812), in captur- 
 ing a French standard. Now called 
 " The Devonshire Regiment." 
 
 Bloody Assizes, The infamous as- 
 sizes held by Judge Jeffreys in 1685. 
 Three hundred were executed, more 
 whipped or imprisoned, aud a thousand 
 sent to the plantations for taking part 
 in Monmouth's rebellion. 
 
 Bloody Bill. The 31 Henry VIII., 
 
 c. 14, which denounced death, by hang- 
 ing or burning, on all who denied the 
 doctrine of trausubstautiatiou. 
 
 Bloody-bones. A hobgoblin ; gen- 
 erally " Raw-head and Bloody-Bones." 
 
 Bloody Butcher. {Sec BuTcnEE.) 
 
 Bloody Hand. A man whose hand 
 was bloody, and was therefore presumed 
 to be the jjerson guilty of killing the 
 deer shot or otherwise slain. {Cf. Red 
 Hand.) Also the badge of a baronet. 
 
 Bloody Wedding. St. Bartholo- 
 mew's slaughter in lo7'2 is so called 
 because it took place dm-iug the mar- 
 riage feast of Henri (afterwards Henri 
 IV.) and Marguerite (daughter of Cath- 
 erine de Medici) . 
 
 Bloody Week {Thi). The week 
 ending on Sunday, May 28th, 1871, when 
 Paris was burning, being set on tire by 
 the Communists in hundreds of places. 
 The destruction was frightful, but Notre 
 Dame, the Hotel Dieu, and the magnifi- 
 cent collection of pictures in the Louvre, 
 happily escaped demolition. 
 
 Bloom. From hhom io bloom. A 
 floral rent. The Lord of the Manor 
 received a red rose or gillyflower, on the 
 Feast of John the Baptist, yearly (July 
 .5th, O. S.). (See Notes and Queries, 
 Feb. 13th, 1886, p. 135.) 
 
 Bloom'erism. A female costume ; 
 so called from Mrs. Amelia Bloomer, of 
 New York, who tried in 1849 to intro- 
 duce the fashion. The dress consisted 
 of a short skirt and loose trousers 
 gathered closely round the ankles — 
 becoming enough to young ladies in 
 
 their teens, but ridiculous for " the fat 
 and forty." 
 
 Blount (Charles). Author of some 
 deistical writings in the time of Charles 
 II. (1654-1693.) 
 " He heard of Blount, etc." Crabbe : Borough. ' 
 Blouse. A short smock-frock of a 
 blue colour worn commonly by French 
 w*orkmen. Bleu is French argot for 
 mantcau. 
 
 "A garment called bliant or bliniis, wLich ap- 
 pears to bare been another name for a snrcoat 
 
 In this bliaus we may discover the modern French 
 blouse, a . . . sniock-f rock."— Pidncfte ; British 
 Costume. 
 
 1. Blow (To). As the wind blows ; 
 or to blow with the breath. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, blawan, to blow or breathe.) 
 
 It will soon blow over. It will soon be 
 no longer talked about ; it will soon 
 come to an end, as a gale or storm blows 
 over or ceases. 
 
 V To blow off is another form of the 
 same phrase. ^ 
 
 'To blow (jreat ffiins. The wind blows 
 so violently that its noise resembles the 
 roar of artillery. 
 
 To blow hot and cold, (or) To blow hot 
 and cold tcith the same breath. To be 
 inconsistent. The allusion is to the fable 
 of a traveller who was entertained by 
 a satyr. Being cold, the traveller blew 
 his fingers to warm them, and afterwards 
 blew his hot broth to cool it. The satyr, 
 iu great indignation, turned him out of 
 doors, because he blew both hot and cold 
 with the same breath. 
 
 To blow off the ste'tm. To get rid of 
 superfluous energy. The allusion is to 
 the forcible escape of superfluous steam 
 no longer required. 
 
 2. Blow {To'). To sound a trumpet. 
 
 " But. when tljc blast of war blows in our cars, 
 Let us lio tigers in our tlerre deportment." 
 tihakesiKure : Ihiiry 1'., iii. 1. 
 
 To blow. To inform against a com- 
 panion ; to "ijeach." The reference is 
 to the announcing of knights by blast of 
 trumpet. 
 
 3. Blow {To). To blast as with gnu- 
 powder. 
 
 / will blow him up ski/ hifili. Give him 
 a good scolding. A rcyuJar blowing up 
 is a thorough jobation. The metajihor 
 is from blasting by gunpowder. 
 
 V But to blow up a bladder, etc., means 
 to inflate it. 
 
 4. Blow. A stroke. (German, blducn, 
 to beat or strike.) 
 
 At one blou:. By one stroke. 
 The first blou^ is half the battle. Well 
 bcgunis half done. Pythagoras used to
 
 Blow a Cloud 
 
 149 
 
 Blue 
 
 say, " The begiiniiiig is half the whole." 
 '^Incipe : l)'iiitldi(iiii faeti est cccpisse " 
 {Aiisonius). "■ JJunidiiiiiifacti, qui cwp'it, 
 hahct " {Horace). " Ce ii'cst que le 
 premier pas qui coilte.^' 
 
 If'itJwut striking a hhic. Without 
 coming to a contest. 
 
 Blow a Cloud. To smoke a cigar or 
 pipe. This terra was in use in Queen 
 Elizabeth's reign. 
 
 Blow Me (an oath). You be blowed 
 (an oath), a play on the word Dash vie, 
 whicli is a euphemism for a more offen- 
 sive oath. 
 
 "' Well, if you won't sUnd a iiint,' iiviotli tlie tall 
 man, ' 1 will, tljal's all, and blow lonipcauce.' "'— 
 Kiiigsley : Alton Locke, cbaii. ii. 
 
 Blow Out (A). A " tuck in, " or feast 
 which swells out the paunch. 
 
 Blow-point, A game similar to our 
 pea-puffing, only instead of peas small 
 wooden skewers or hits of pointed wood 
 were jjuffed through the tube. The 
 game is alluded to by Florio, Strutt, 
 ;iud several other authors. 
 
 Blown, in the jihrase "fly-blown," 
 lias nothing to do with the verb to b/oiv 
 (as the wind blows). It means that flies 
 have deposited their eggs and tainted 
 tlie artichi. In French, dvposcr des wufs 
 de Dioiiches sur . . . and a fly-blow is 
 HH «.7(/' ,,V nioHche. The word seems to be 
 connected with blot, the egg of a motli 
 or other insect. 
 
 Blown Herrings are bloated lier- 
 rings. Tlie French boiiffi (blown) is 
 iuialogous to both expressions. Blown 
 herrings are herrings bloated, swollen, 
 or cured by smoking. 
 
 Blown upon. Made the subject of a 
 Bcaudal. His reputation has been blown 
 upon, means has been the subject of 
 ttilk wherein something derogatory was 
 hinted at or even asserted. Blown upon 
 by the breath of slander. 
 
 " Blown," meaning stale, tainted, is probably 
 tlie same as the above ; but blown iiyoii, can- 
 not be. 
 
 Blowzelin'da. A country maiden in 
 Gay's pastoral called The Shepherd's 
 Week. 
 
 ".Sweet is my toil when Blowzelind is near ; 
 Of her bereft, 'tis winter all the year. . . . 
 Come, Blowzelinda, ease tliy swain's desire, 
 Jly summer's shadow and my winter's Are." 
 
 Pastoral i. 
 
 Blowzy. Coarse, red-faced, bloated ; 
 applied to women. The word is allied 
 to blush, blaze, etc. (Dutch, bloozen 
 and blaazcn ; Danish, blusser, to blaze.) 
 
 Blubber. To cry like a child, -with 
 
 noise and slavering. Connected with 
 slobber, slaver. 
 
 " I play the boy, and blubber in thy bosom." 
 Vticuy : Venice Preserved, i. 1. 
 
 Blubber Cheeks. Fat, flabby cheeks, 
 like whale's blubber. "The blubber 
 cheeks of my friend the baronet." 
 
 Bluchers. Half boots ; so called after 
 Field-Marshal von Blucher (1742-1819). 
 
 Blue or Azure is the symbol of Divine 
 eternity and hmnan immortality. Con- 
 sequently, it is a mortuary colour — 
 hence its use in covering the coffins of 
 young persons. When used for the gar- 
 ment of an angel, it signifies faith and 
 fidelity. As the dress of the Virgin, it 
 indicates modesty. In blazonrif, it sig- 
 nifies chastity, loyalty, fidelity, and a 
 sjiotless reputation. 
 
 The Covenanters wore blue as their 
 badge, in oi^ijosition to the scarlet of 
 royalty. They based their choice on 
 Numb. XV. 38, " Sjieak unto the children 
 of Israel, and bid them that they make 
 them fringes in the borders of their 
 garments . . . and that they put upon 
 the fringe . . . ix. ribband of blue." 
 
 (iSee Colours for its syml)olisms.) 
 
 Blue (-•/), or a "staunch blue," de- 
 scrijitive of political opinions, for the 
 most jiart means a Tory, for in most 
 counties the Conservative coloiu' is blue. 
 {See True Blue.) 
 
 " This was a blue demonstration, a gathering of 
 the Conservative clans."~//o/Hje Lie. 
 
 A blue. {Sec Blue Stocking.) 
 
 A dark blue. An Oxford man or 
 Harrow boy. 
 
 A liylit blue. A Cambridge man or 
 Eton boy. 
 
 An old blue. One who lias pulled in 
 a University boat-race, or taken part in 
 any of their athletic contests. 
 
 " There were five old blues liXfiying." —Standard, 
 May .sth, ls«:j. 
 
 True blue. This is a Spanish phrase, 
 and refers to the notion that the veins 
 shown in the skin of aristocratic families 
 are more blue than that of inferior i^er- 
 sons. {See Sang.) 
 
 'True blue n-ill never stain. A really 
 noble heart will never disgrace itself. 
 The reference is to blue aprons and 
 blouses woi-n by butchers, which do not 
 show blood-stains. 
 
 True as (Joventry blue. The reference 
 is to a blue cloth and blue thread made 
 at Coventry, noted for its pennaneut 
 dye. 
 
 ^Tu-as Presbj/ferian true blue {Hudibras, 
 i, 1). The allusion is to the blue apron
 
 Blue-apron 
 
 I.IO 
 
 Blue Devils 
 
 which some of the Presbyteriau preachers 
 used to throw over their preaching-tub 
 before they began to address the people. 
 In one of the Rump songs we read of a 
 jjerson going to hear a lecture, and the 
 song says — 
 
 " Wlieve I a tub did view, 
 Hung with au apron blue; 
 'Twas the preacher's, I conjecturo." 
 
 To h'ok blue. To be disconcerted. He 
 ■was blue in the face. Aghast with won- 
 der. The effect of fear and wonder is to 
 drive the colour from the cheeks, and 
 give them a pale-bluish tinge. 
 
 Blue-apron Statesman (^i). A lay 
 politician, a tradesman who interferes 
 with the affairs of the nation. The 
 reference is to the blue aiirou once 
 worn by almost all tradesmen, but now 
 restricted to butchers, i^oulterers, fish- 
 mongers, and so on. 
 
 Blue Beans. Bullets. Lead is blue. 
 
 " Mauy a valiaut Gaul had no breakfast that 
 morning but what the Germans call ' blue 
 bCiins,' i.e. bullets."— IK. Maccall : My School Vai/s, 
 1885. 
 
 Three blue beans in a Hue bottle or 
 Madder. {See under Beans.) 
 
 Bluebeard. A bogey, a merciless 
 tyrant, in Charles Pcrrault's C'onfcs dn 
 Tctnjjs. The talc of Bluebeard (Cheva- 
 lier Raoul) is known to every child, but 
 mauy have speculated on the original of 
 this despot. Some say it was a satire on 
 Henry VIII., of wife-killing notoriety. 
 Dr. C. Taylor thinks it is a type of the 
 castle lords in the days of knight- 
 errantry. Holinshed calls Giles de Eetz, 
 Marquis de Laval, the original Blue- 
 beard. This Giles or Gilles who lived at 
 Machecoul, in Brittany, was accused of 
 murdering six of his seven Avives, and 
 was ultimately strangled and burnt in 
 14t0. 
 
 "The Bluebeard chamber of his mind, into 
 which no e.ve but his own must look."— Cor^i/Ze. 
 
 *,* Campbell has a Bluebeard story in 
 his Tales of the Western HighhDuh, 
 called Tlic JVidow and her JDaugltters. 
 A similar one is No. 39 of Visentini's 
 collection of Italian stories. So is No. 3 
 of Bernoui's collection. 
 
 Bluebeard's Key. When the blood 
 stain of this key was rubbed out on one 
 side, it appeared on the opposite side ; so 
 prodigality being overcome will appear 
 in the fonn of meanness ; and friends, 
 over-fond, will often become enemies. 
 
 Blue Billy {A). A blue neckcloth 
 with white spots, worn by "V\''illiam 
 Mace. More likely the allusion is to the 
 bill or uose. (-SVt Billy.) 
 
 Blue Blood. (-SVr-page 149, True Blue.) 
 
 Blue Boar. A iiublic-house sign ; 
 the cognisance of Eicliard III. In 
 Leicester is a lane in the i)arish of St. 
 Nicholas, called the Blue Boar Lnnc, be- 
 cause Richard slejjt there the night 
 before the battle of Bosworth Field. 
 
 '■The bristly boar, in infant gore, 
 Wallows beneath the thoriiy shade." 
 
 Gniij : The Hard. 
 
 Blue Bonnets (T/)/). The Scotch 
 Highlanders ; the Scotch generally. So 
 called from the blue woollen cap at one 
 time in very general use in Scotland, 
 and still far from uncommon. 
 
 " Ensland shall many a day 
 Tell of the bloody fray, 
 When tlie lilue lionnets came over Ibo liorder." 
 Sir ^y. Sfolt. 
 
 Blue Books. In England, iiarlia- 
 mentary reports and ofhcial publications 
 jiiresented by the Crown to both Houses 
 of Parliament. Each volume is in folio, 
 and is covered with a blue wrapper. 
 
 '.' Short Acts of Parliament, etc., even 
 without a wrapper, come under the same 
 designation. 
 
 In America, the "Blue Bonks" (like our "Red 
 Bonks") c(julaiii li.<ls of those persons who hold 
 u-oveninient appdinliiients. The ollicial colour of 
 Spiiiii is ?c(/, of Italy ijirii), of France yclloic, of 
 Germany and PuituuMl aliite. 
 
 Blue Bottle. A beadsman, a police- 
 man ; so called from the colour of his 
 dress. Shakespeare makes Doll Tear- 
 sheet denounce the beadle as a " blue- 
 bottle rogue." 
 
 " You proud varlets, you need not lie ashamed 
 to wear lilue, when your master is one of your 
 fellows."— i>etec)-; The Honest ^\^hore ami). 
 
 " I'll have you soundly swinged for this, you 
 blue-bottle rogue." — SftaA'cspeare .- 'i hen. IV., 
 act v. 4. 
 
 Blue Caps or Blue Buj/nets. The 
 
 Scotch. 
 
 " He is there, too, . . . and a thousand blue 
 caps more."— Shakespeare : 1 Henry IV., ii. 4. 
 
 Blue-coat School. Christ's Hos- 
 pital is so called because the boys there 
 wear a long blae coat girded at the loins 
 with a leather belt. Some who attend 
 the mathematical school are termed 
 Kbui''s bo;/s, and those who constitute 
 the highest class are Grecians. 
 
 Founded by Edward VI. in the j-ear 
 of his death. There are several other 
 blue-coat schools in England besides 
 Christ's Hosi^ital. 
 
 Blue Devils, or A fit of the Lines. 
 A fit of spleen, low spirits. Roach and 
 Esqutrol affirm, from observation, that 
 indigo dyei-s are especially subject to 
 melancholy ; and that those who dye
 
 Blue-eyed Maid 
 
 151 
 
 Blue Peter 
 
 scarlet are choleric. Paracelsus also 
 asserts that hkio is iujurious to the 
 health and spirits. There may, there- 
 fore, be more science in calling melan- 
 choly blue than is generally allowed. 
 The Gennan blci (lead) which gives rise 
 to our slang word blue or blnetj (lead) 
 seems to bear upon the ' ' leaden down- 
 cast eyes " of melancholy. 
 
 Blue-eyed Maid {The). Minerva, 
 the goddess of wisdom, is so called l)y 
 Homer. 
 
 "Now Prudence gently pulled tlie poet's e:ir, 
 And tbus tUe dauslitei- nf the Blue-eyed Mriid, 
 In flattery's sootliin^' sounds, divinely s:iid, 
 ' Peter, eldest-hcmi nf PUoehus, liear.' " 
 
 Peter Pindar : A Falling Minister. 
 
 Blue Fish (T/ie). The shark, tech- 
 nically called Carcharias c/laucits, tlie 
 ujjpcr parts of which are blue. 
 
 Blue Flag. He has hoisted the bhte 
 flu'j. He lias turned ]3ublican or fisli- 
 monger, iu allusion to the blue apron at 
 one time worn by publicans, and still 
 worn by fishmongers. 
 
 Blue Gown {.V). A liarlot. Xares 
 tells us that "a blue gown was a dress 
 of ignominy for a liarlot in the House of 
 Correction. {See beloiv.) 
 
 Blue-gowns. The bedesmen, to wliom 
 the kings of Scotland distributed cer- 
 tain alms. Their dress was a cloak or 
 gown of coarse blue cloth, with a pewter 
 badge. The number of these bedesmen 
 ■was equal to that of the king's years, so 
 that an extra one was added every re- 
 turning birthday. These paupers \^'ere 
 privileged to ask alms through the whole 
 realm of Scotland. No new member has 
 been added since 1833. {See Gabee- 
 
 LUNZIE.) 
 
 Blue Guards {The). So the Oxford 
 Blues, now called the Royal Horse 
 Guards, w^ere called during the cam- 
 paign in Flanders (1742-1715). 
 
 Blue Hen. Captain Caldwell u^ed 
 to say that no cock could be truly 
 game whose mother was not a blue 
 hen. As Caldwell commanded the 
 1st Delaware regiment in the war, 
 the State of Delaware was nicknamed 
 Blue Hen. 
 
 Your Mother teas a blue hen, no doubt. 
 A reproof given to a braggart. {See 
 above.) 
 
 Blue-jackets. Sailors ; so called be- 
 cause the colour of their jackets is blue. 
 
 Blue John (vi). A petrefactiou of 
 blue fluor-spar, found in the Blue John 
 mine of Tre Cliff, Derbyshire ; and so 
 
 called to distinguish it from the Black 
 Jack, an ore of zinc. Called John from 
 John Kirk, a miner, who lii-st noticed it. 
 
 Blue Laws {The). These were 
 puritanical laws enacted in 1732, at New 
 Haven, Connecticut, in the United 
 States of America. Their object was to 
 stamp out ''heresy," and enforce a 
 strict observance of the Sunday. Many 
 persons insist that they are apocryphal ; 
 but in October, 1891, the German Ameri- 
 can Lincoln Club protested against their 
 enforcement by a democratic j udge, and 
 resolved — ■ 
 
 "To c;ill upon ,ill right-thinking citizens to 
 assist in an effort to have the laws repealed, liv 
 suppirting and voting only for such candidates 
 for the legislature as would pledge themselves 
 to vote f<ir their repeal." 
 
 Blue-light Federalists. A name 
 given to those Americans who were be- 
 lieved to have made friendly (''blue- 
 light") signals to British ships in the 
 Avar. (181'.^.) 
 
 Blue-mantle. The English pursui- 
 vant at arms is so called from his oilicitil 
 robe. 
 
 Blue Monday. The Monday before 
 Lent, spent in dissipation. (German, 
 (ler blaiie Mun tdf/.) It is said that dissipa- 
 tion gives everything a blue tinge. Hence 
 " blue " means tijisy . {See Blue Devils. ) 
 
 •■ nrlnlc till all is Idue. 
 Cracking bottles till all is blue." 
 
 Fraser's Magazine, xvii. (1838). 
 
 Blue Moon. Once in a blue moon. 
 Very rarely indeed. 
 
 V On December 10th, 1883, we liad a 
 "blue moon." The winter was un- 
 usually mild. 
 
 Blue Mould. Applied to cheese which 
 has become the bed of a fungus, tech- 
 nically called Aspergillas ahtuctis. 
 
 The blue mould of bread, paste, jams, 
 etc., is the fungus called Macor Mucedo. 
 
 Blue Murder. To sJiout blue murder. 
 Indicative more of terror or alarm than 
 of real danger. It appears to be a play 
 on the French exclamation morbleii ; 
 there may also be a distinct allusion to 
 the common phrase "blue ruin." 
 
 Blue-noses. The Nova Scotians. 
 
 '• • Pray, sir,' said one of my fellow-passengers, 
 ' can you tell me the reason why the N()\ a Scotians 
 are called " Blue-noses ' ?' 
 
 '■' It is the name of a potato,' said I,' which they 
 produce in the greatest perfection, and boast to 
 be the best in the world. The Americans have, 
 in consequence, given them the nickname of £i«e 
 Noses.' "—Haliburton : Sam Slick. 
 
 Blue Peter. A flag with a blue 
 ground and white square in the centre, 
 hoisted as a signal that the sliip is tibout 
 to sail. Peter is a corruption of the
 
 Blue-pigeon 
 
 152 
 
 Bluff 
 
 French partir (leave or notice of de- 
 parture). The flag is hoisted to give 
 notice to the town that any person 
 having a money-claim may make it 
 hefore the ship starts, and that all about 
 to sail are to come on board. 
 
 According to Falconer, it is a cori'up- 
 tiou of the " blue repeater." 
 
 In whist, it is a " call for trumps " ; 
 tliat is, laying on your partner's card a 
 liiy,her one than is requu'ed. 
 
 To hoist the blue Peter. To leave. 
 
 " ' Wlien are you going to sail ? ' 
 
 "'I caiiuot justly say. .Our sbip's bound for 
 America next voyage . . . but I've got to go to 
 tlie Isle of Man first . . . And I may have to hoist 
 the blue Peter any day.' "— JIfrs. Gaskell : Mary 
 lliirton, chap. xiii. 
 
 Rlue-pigeon Flyer. A man who 
 
 steals the lead oft' of a house or church. 
 "Bluey" is slang for lead, so called 
 from its colour. To "pigeon" is to 
 gull, cheat, or fub. Hence, blue-pigeon, 
 one who cheats another of his lead, or 
 fiibs his lead. "Flyer," of course, is 
 one who flies off ^vith the stolen lead. 
 
 Blue Ribbon (The). " To be adorned 
 with the blue ribbon," to be made 
 knight of the garter, or adoi-ued with a 
 blue ribbon at the knee. Blue ribbon 
 is also a temperance badge. {See Coedon 
 Bleu.) 
 
 "Lord Lansdown is to be made Knight of the 
 fiarter .... thmigh there is no vacancy. Lord 
 Derby received the Blue Ril)bon in 18.59, although 
 lliere was no \;ic:incy ."—Truth : March, 18U4. 
 
 The Blue Iltbhon of the Turf. The 
 Derby. Lord George Bentinck sold his 
 stud, and found to his vexation that one 
 of the horses sold won the Derby a few 
 months afterwards. Bewailing his ill- 
 luck, he said to Disraeli, "All! you don't 
 know what the Derby is." "Yes, I do," 
 replied Disraeli ; " it is the blue ribbon 
 of the turf," alluding to the term cordon 
 lifeit {(j.r.) ; or else to the blue garter, 
 the highest of all orders. 
 
 " "The blue ribbon of the profession " 
 is the highest point of honour attainable 
 tlierein. The blue ribbon of the Church 
 is tlie Archbishopric of Canterbiury, that 
 in law is the oftice of Lord Chancellor. 
 
 Blue Ribbon (A). A wale from a 
 blow. A bruise turns the skin blue. 
 
 '• ' Do you want a blue ribbon round those white 
 sides of yoiu-s, you monkey ?' answered Orestes ; 
 • because, if yon do. the hii>poi>otamus hide hangs 
 ready outside.' "—Kingsley : Uypatia, chap. iv. 
 
 Blue Ruin. Gin. Called blue from 
 its tint, and ridn from its eftects. 
 
 Blue Squadron {TIk). One of the 
 three divisions of the British Fleet in 
 the seventeenth century. {See Admieal 
 OF THE Blue.) 
 
 Blue Stocking A female pedant. 
 In 1400 a society of ladies and gentle- 
 men was formed at Venice, distinguished 
 by the colour of their stockings, and 
 called della caha. It lasted till 1590, 
 when it appeared in Paris and was the 
 rage among the lady sacaiites. From 
 France it came to England in 1780, when 
 Mrs. Mon'tague displaj-ed the badge of 
 the Bas-bleu club at her evening assem- 
 blies. Mr. Benjamin Stillingfleet was a 
 constant attendant of the soirees. The 
 last of the clique was Miss Mouckton, 
 afterwards Countess of Cork, who died 
 1840. 
 
 " ' You used to be fond enough of books .... a 
 regular blue-stocking Mr. Bland called you.' "— 
 -K. .s'. Pliclps: The Gates Ajar, cuap. i\. 
 
 Blue Talk. Indecent conversation, 
 from the French, Bibliofher/ne Bleu. 
 (Harlots are called "Blues" from the 
 blue gown they were once compelled to 
 wear in the House of Correction.) 
 
 Blue Wonder {A). The German 
 Blaites Wiitider, which means "a queer 
 story," as T)n soUst dein blanes irnitder 
 seJien, You will be filled with amaze- 
 ment (at the queer story I have to 
 relate). A "blue wonder" is a cock 
 and bull story, an imf)robable tale, 
 something to make one stare. The 
 French, eontcs bleus. 
 
 Blue and Red, in public-house signs, 
 are heraldic colours, as the Blue Pig, 
 the Blue Cow, the Eed Lion, the Eed 
 Hart, etc. 
 
 Blue and Yello-w {The). The Edin- 
 burgh Revieic ; so called from its yellow 
 and blue cover. The back is yellow, the 
 rest of the cover is blue. 
 
 Blues {The), ai^ijlied to troops. 
 
 The O.tford Blues. The Royal Horse 
 Guards were so called in 1690, from the 
 Earl of Oxford their conunander and the 
 blue facings. WelHngton, in one of his 
 despatches, writes: — "I have been ap- 
 pointed colonel of the Blues." 
 
 "It was also known as the 'Blue C4iiards' 
 during the campaign in Flanders (1742-1745)."— 
 Trimtii : Ititjiiiients ufthe British Army. 
 
 BluflF(2w), in the game called Poker, 
 is to stake on a bad hand. This is a 
 dodge resorted to by players to lead an 
 adversary to throw up his cards and 
 forfeit his stake rather than risk them 
 against the " bluft'er." 
 
 "The game proceeded. George, although he 
 atfected no ignorance of the ordinary principles 
 of poker, played like a novice— that is to sjiy, he 
 bluffed extravagantly on absurdly low hands."— 
 Truth : Queer Stories, Sept. 3rd, 1885.
 
 Bluff Harry 
 
 153 
 
 Boar's Flesh 
 
 Bluff Harry or Hal. Heury VIII., 
 so called from his blufY and burly man- 
 ners (1491, 1.j09-1o47.) 
 
 Blunderbore. A giant, brother of 
 Cormorau, who put Jack the Giant 
 Killer to bed and intended to kill him ; 
 but Jack thrust a billet of wood into 
 the l)ed, and crept under the bedstead. 
 Blunderbore came with his club and 
 broke the billet to pieces, but was much 
 amazed at seeing Jack next morning at 
 broakfast-time. When his astoui.sh- 
 ment was abated he asked Jack how 
 he had slept. "Pretty well," said the 
 Cornish hero, "but once or twice I 
 fancied a mouse tickled me with its 
 tail." This increased the giant's sur- 
 prise. Hasty pudding being provided 
 for breakfast. Jack stowed away such 
 huge stores in a bag concealed within 
 his dress that the giant could not keep 
 l^ace with him. Jack cut the bag open 
 to relieve " the gorge," and the giant, 
 to effect the same relief, cut his throat 
 and thus killed himself. {See Giants.) 
 
 Blunderbuss. A short gun with a 
 large bore. (Dutch, donderbus, a thun- 
 der-tube.) 
 
 Blunt. Eeady money. 
 
 Blunt {Mdjur-Genernl). An old 
 cavalry officer, rough in speech, but 
 very brave and honest, of good under- 
 standing, and a true patriot. {ShcuU 
 well: The Volunteers.) 
 
 Blurt out [To). To tell something 
 from impulse which should not have 
 been told. To speak incautiously, or 
 without due reflection. Florio makes 
 the distinction, to " flurt with one's 
 fingers, and blurt with one's mouth." 
 
 Blush. At the first Mush. At the 
 first glance ; speaking off-hand without 
 having given the subject mature deliber- 
 ation. The allusion is to blushing at 
 some sudden or unexpected allusion ; 
 tlie first time the thought has flashed 
 into your mind. 
 
 'To put to the hlush. To make one 
 blush with shame, annoyance, or con- 
 fusion. 
 
 "Enaland mU'ht bliisli in IGi'O, wbeu English- 
 men n-L-iu hied at a fODl's frown [i.e. James ].], but 
 not in u;i!i, wlieu an enraured people cutoff liis 
 son's [Charles 1.] head."— Tt'cudeii PhiUips: Ora- 
 tions, p. 419. 
 
 Bo or Boh, in old Runic, was a fierce 
 Gothic captain, son of Odin. His name 
 was used by his soldiers when they 
 would take the enemy by surprise. [Ser 
 William Temple.) 
 
 From this name comes our Imjie, a 
 hobgoblin or little Bo. Gifford Castle 
 is called Bo Hall, being said to have 
 been constructed by bogies or magic. 
 Compare Greek, hoi, bah ! verb, boao, to 
 shout out ; Latin, hoo, to bellow like a 
 bull {bos) . {Sec Bogie.) 
 
 You cannot say Bo ! to a goose— i.e. 
 j'ou are a coward who dare not say bo ! 
 even to a fool. When Ben Jonsoii was 
 introduced to a nobleman, the peer was 
 so struck with his homely appearance 
 that he exclaimed, "What! are you 
 Ben Jonson ? Why, you look as if you 
 could not say Bo ! to a goose." " Bo I " 
 exclaimed the witty dramatist, turning 
 to the peer and making his bow. (Latin, 
 bo-are; Greek, boa-ein, to cry aloud.) 
 
 Bo-tree. A corruption of bodhi or 
 bodhiritnia (the tree of wisdom), under 
 which Sakyamuni used to sit when he 
 concocted the system called Buddhism. 
 
 Boa. riiuy says the word is from 
 bos (a cow), and aro.se from the supposi- 
 tion that the boa sucked the milk of 
 cows. 
 
 Boanerges (sons of thunder). A 
 name given to James and John, the sons 
 of Zeb'edee, because they wanted to call 
 down "fire from heaveu " to consume 
 the Samaritans for not "receiving" the 
 Lord Jesus. (Luke ix. 54 ; see Mark 
 iii. 17.) 
 
 Boar. The Boar. Richard III. ; so 
 called from his cognisance. 
 
 " The wretched, hloody, and usurping boar 
 That spoiled your summer fields and fruitful 
 
 vines ; 
 . . . This foul swine . . . lies now . . . 
 Near to the town of Leicester, as we learn." 
 Shakespeare : Jikliard III., v. 3. 
 
 The bristled Baptist hoar. So Drydeu 
 denominates the Anabaptists in his ITuul 
 and Panther. 
 
 " The bristled Baptist boar, impure as lie[f7ienpe], 
 But whitened with the foam of sanctity, 
 With fat pollutions tilled the sacred place. 
 And mountains levelled in his furious race." 
 Part i. 43-0. 
 
 The u-ild boar of Ardennes [Ze sanf/lier 
 des Ardennes'], Guillaume, Comte de la 
 Marck, so called because he was fierce 
 as the wild boar, which he delighted to 
 hunt. Introduced by Sir Walter Scott 
 as William, Count of la Marck, in Qacn- 
 tin Durward. 
 
 Boar {The), eaten every evening in 
 Valhalla by the ^sir, was named S^EH- 
 RIMXIR. It was eaten every evening 
 and next morning was restored whole 
 again. 
 
 Boar's Flesh. Buddha died from a 
 meal of dried boar'' s flesh, Mr. Sinnett
 
 Boar's Head 
 
 154 
 
 Boaz 
 
 tells us that the " boar " referred to was 
 the boar avatar of Vishnu, aucl that 
 " dried boar's flesh " means esoteric 
 knowledge prepared for pojjular use. 
 None but Buddha himself must take 
 the responsibility of giving out occult 
 secrets, and he died while so occupied, 
 i.e. in preparing for the general esoteric 
 knowledge. The protreptics of Jambh- 
 cus are examjiles of similar interpreta- 
 tions. (See Niiicti'oith Coitunj, June, 
 1893, p. 1021.) 
 
 Boar's Head. [Tlie Christmas dish.] 
 Freyr, the Scandiuavian god of peace 
 and plenty, used to ride on the boar 
 Gullinbm'sti ; his festival was held at 
 Yuletide (^ivuitei- solstice), when a boar 
 Avas sacrificed to his honour. 
 
 The Hoards Head. This tavern, made 
 immortal by Shakespeare, used to stand 
 in Eastcheap, on the site of the present 
 statue of William IV". It was the cog- 
 nisance of the Gordons, the progenitor 
 of which clan slew, in the forest of 
 Huntley, a wild boar, the terror of all 
 the Merse (lO'Jo). 
 
 Board. A council which sits at a 
 board or table ; as " Board of Directors," 
 " Board of Guardians," "School Board," 
 " Board of Trade," etc. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 hord, a board, table, etc.) 
 
 To sweep the board. To win and carry 
 off all the stakes in a game of cards. 
 
 "2. Board, hi sea jjhrases, is all that 
 space of tlie sea which a ship passes 
 over in tackiug. 
 
 Uii board. In the ship. " To go on 
 board," to enter the ship or other sea 
 vessel. 
 
 Overboard. Fallen out of the ship 
 into the sea. 
 
 To board a ship is to get on board an 
 enemy's vessel. 
 
 To make a fjood board. To make a good 
 or long tack in beating to windward. 
 
 To make a short board. To make a 
 short tack. "To make short boards/' 
 to tack frequently. 
 
 To make a stern board. To sail stern 
 foremost. 
 
 To run aboard of. To run foul of 
 [another shij)]. 
 
 3. To board. To feed and lodge to- 
 gether, is taken from the custom of the 
 university members, etc., dining together 
 at a common table or board. 
 
 Board. To accost. (French, aborder, 
 to accost.) 
 " I'll l)(iar(l lier, though she chide as loud 
 As thunder." 
 
 Khakespeare : Taming of the Sltrciv, i. 2, 
 (See also Ilavilet, ii. 2.) 
 
 Board of Green Cloth. So called 
 because the lord steward and his board 
 sat at a table covered witli green 
 cloth. It existed certainly in tlie reign 
 of Henry I., and probably earher, and 
 was aboLshid in lSi9. 
 
 "Board of t4re.en Cloth, June l.'th, 1681. Order 
 was this day given that the JIaides of Honour 
 should have cherry-tarts instead of gooseiierry- 
 tarts, it being observed that cherrys are three- 
 pence a pound." 
 
 Board School (A). An undenomi- 
 national elemcntarj^ school m magcd by 
 a School Board, ;aid supiioited by a 
 parliamentary grant collected by a rate. 
 
 Boarding School. / am going to 
 boarding school. Going to iirison to be 
 taught good behaviotir. 
 
 Boards. He is on the boards, i.e. an 
 actor by profession. 
 
 Boast (The). The vainglory, the 
 ostentation, that which a person boasts 
 of, or is proud of. 
 
 " The lioast of herablry. the poni]i of power, 
 Awaits [sic] alike the iucvitibli- hour." 
 
 (I'lKii : The Klfyy. stanza 9. 
 
 Boast of England {The). Tom 
 Thumb or Tom-a-lin. Richard Johnson, 
 in 1.599, published a "history of this 
 ever-renowned soldier, the Red Rose 
 Knight, surnamed The Boast of Eng- 
 land, showing his honorable victories iu 
 foreign countries, witli his strange for- 
 times in Fat-ry Land, and how he 
 married the fair Angliterra, daughter of 
 Prester John. . . ." 
 
 Boat. Both in the same boat. Both 
 treated alike ; both placed in the same 
 conditions. The reference is to the boat 
 launched when a ship is wrecked. 
 
 To be rejiresented in a boat is the 
 ordinary sj-mbol of apotheo'sis. Many 
 sovereigns are so represented on coins. 
 
 Boatswain. The officer Avho has 
 charge of the boats, sails, rigging, an- 
 chors, cordage, cables, and colours. 
 Swain is the Saxon swei)t (a boy, ser- 
 vant), Swedish seen. Hence, a shepherd 
 is a swain, and a sweetheart is a woman's 
 servant or swain. 
 
 Boafsicain. The name of Byron's 
 favourite dog, bui'ied in Newstaad Abbey 
 garden. 
 
 Boaz and Jachin. The names of tlie 
 two brazen jjillars set uj) by Solomon 
 at the entrance of his temple — Boaz 
 (strength) on the left hand, and Jachin 
 \stabiHtg) on the right. (1 Kings vii. 21.) 
 
 "Two pillars raising by their skill profound. 
 
 lioaz and Jachin, thro' the East renowned." 
 
 C'loWe.' Borouyh.
 
 Bob 
 
 155 
 
 Bodkin 
 
 Bob. A shilling. A "bender" is a 
 sixpence. (Compare Bawbee.) 
 
 Bob. A set of changes rung on [church] 
 bells: as a "bob major," a " bob- 
 miuor," a "triple bob." 
 
 To (fire the bob to any one. To deceive, 
 to balk. This word is a corruption of 
 pop. The bob of a i^enduluni or 
 mason's plumb-line is the weight that 
 pops backwards and forwards. The bob 
 of a fishing-line pops up and down when 
 iish nibble at the bait. To bob for apples 
 or cherries is to tiy and catch them 
 while they swing backwards and for- 
 wards. As this is ve-ry decejitive, it is 
 easy to see how the word signifies to 
 balk, etc. 
 
 To hob means also to thump, and a boh 
 is a blow. 
 
 '• He tlmt. a fnnl ddtU very wisely hit, 
 Uoth very foolislily, altliongh lie smart. 
 Not to seem senseless of the bob." 
 
 aiialcespeare : As Yvu Like It, ii. 7. 
 
 Bear a boh. Be brisk. The allusion 
 is to bobbing for apples, in which it 
 requires great agility and quickness to 
 catch the apple. 
 
 A boh H-'iff. A wig in which the 
 bottom locks are turned up into bobs or 
 short curls. 
 
 Bobadil. A military braggart of 
 the first water. Captain Bobadil is a 
 character in Ben Jonson's comedy of 
 IJrcri/ Jfaii in his Hiunour. This name was 
 probably suggested by Bobadilla, first 
 governor of Cuba, who sent Columbus 
 home in chains. {See Vincent.) 
 
 " Bobadil is the author's best invention, and Is 
 worthy to nian-h in the same regiment with 
 Bessus and Pistol, Parolles, and the Copper Cap- 
 tain" {q.i:).—n. ir. Procter. 
 
 *.* See all these names iu their ijrojjer 
 jilaces. 
 
 Bobbery, as "Kicking up a bobbeiy,'' 
 making a squabble or tumult, kicking 
 up a shindy. It is much used in India, 
 and Colonel Yule says it is of Indian 
 origin. 
 
 Bobbish. I're/fi/ bohhish. Pretty 
 well (in spirits and health), from boh, 
 brisk. {See above.) A very ancient ex- 
 l^ression. 
 
 Bobbit. If it isn''t u-eel bobbit ire^ll 
 boh it again. ' If it is not done well 
 enough, we will try again. To bob is to 
 dance, and literally the proverb means, 
 " If it is not well danced, we will dance 
 over again." 
 
 Bobby. A policeman ; so called be- 
 cause Sir Eobert Peel introduced the 
 
 force, at least into Ireland. {See 
 Peeler.) 
 
 " nut oh ' f,,r llic tirip of Ihe bobby's hand 
 I'lmn his neck that dav," 
 
 I'inich: July M, Ks84. 
 
 Boccus {King). A kind of Solomon, 
 who not only drank strong poison "iu 
 the name of the Ti-inite " without hurt ; 
 but also answered questions of wisdom, 
 morality, and natural science. {The 
 Hintoyi/ of Kdifi Boccus and Sydrack, 
 from the French.) 
 
 Dockland or Booldand. Land severed 
 from the folclanJ, and converted into a 
 private estate of jierpetual inheritance 
 by a short and simple deed or bock. 
 
 Bod. The divinity invoked by Indian 
 women who desire fecundity. Children 
 born after an invocation to Bod must be 
 redeemed, or else serve in the temple of 
 the goddess. {Indian inijtholoy)/.) 
 
 Boden-See. The Lake of Constance ; 
 so called because it lies iu the Boden, or 
 low country at the foot of the Al^is. 
 (Latin, Senas Bodainici/s.) 
 
 Bodies. Compound bodies, in chemi- 
 cal phraseology, mean those wliich have 
 two or more simple bodies or elements 
 in their composition, as water. 
 
 Simple bodies, in chemical jihrascology, 
 mean the elements. 
 
 The Iiearenli/ bodies. The sun, moon, 
 stars, and so on. 
 
 The sercn bodies (of alchemists). The 
 seven metals supposed to correspond 
 with the seven ' ' planets. ' ' 
 
 riaiiets. lUiuls. 
 
 ]. Apollo, or the rtun (iold. 
 
 •J. Diana, or the Moon Siher. 
 
 3. Mercury (Jiiicksilvcr. 
 
 4. Venus Clipper. 
 
 5. Mars Iron. 
 
 Ii. Jupiter Tin. 
 
 T.Saturn Lead. 
 
 Bodkin. A dagger. (Welsh, bodogyn, 
 a small dtigger.) 
 
 Bodkin. IVhcn hie himself miyht his 
 qaietas make with a bare bodkin {Hamlet, 
 iii. 1). A stiletto worn by ladies in the 
 hair, not a dagger. In the Seven Cham- 
 pions, Castria took her silver bodkin 
 from her hair, and stabbed to death first 
 her sister and then herself. Praxida 
 stabbed herself in a similar manner. 
 Shakespeare could not mean that a man 
 might kill himself with a naked dagger, 
 but that even a hair-pin would suffice 
 to give a man his quietus. 
 
 Bodkin. To ride bodkin. To ride iu 
 a carriage between two others, the ac- 
 commodation being only for two. 
 
 V Dr. Payne says that l)0<lkin iu this 
 sense is a contraction of bodykiu, c
 
 Bodle 
 
 156 
 
 Bogtrotters 
 
 little body, -which may be squeezed into 
 a small space. 
 
 " Tf ydu ran bnakin the sweet creature into the 
 coa.c\\."— Gibbon. 
 
 "There is hardly rnoni between Jos and Miss 
 Sharp, who are on the front seat, 5Ir. Oslionie 
 sittins bodkin opposite, between Captain Dolibiu 
 -and Aiuelia."— T/mc/i^rfli/: Vanity Fair. 
 
 Bodle. A Scotch coin, worth the 
 sixth of a penny ; so called from Both- 
 well, a mint-master. 
 
 " Fair play, lie car'd na deils a boddlc." 
 
 Burns: Tain o' Shanter, line ibi. 
 
 To cure not a bodle =z our English 
 phrase, " Not to care a farthing." 
 
 Bodle'ian Library (Oxford). So 
 called because it was restored by Sir 
 Thomas Bodley in 1597. 
 
 Body. (Anglo-Saxon, lod'ig.) 
 
 A nrjular bodij, in geometry, means 
 one of the five regular solids, called 
 "Platonic" because first suggested by 
 Plato. {See Platonic Bodies.) 
 
 To bod 1/ forth. To give mental shape 
 to an ideal form. 
 
 " Imat-'ination bodies forth 
 The forms of things unknown." 
 
 SlKikenped re : Midsiiiiimer Night's Dream, v. 1. 
 
 Body and Soul. To heep bod;/ and 
 sotil toyetlier. To sustain life ; from the 
 notion that the soul gives life. The 
 Latni animn, and the Greek psyche, 
 mean both soul and life ; and, according 
 to Homeric mythology, the departed 
 sold retains the shape and semblance 
 of the body, hence the notion of ghosts. 
 Indeed, if the soul is the "principle of 
 life," it must of necessity be the fac- 
 simile of every living atom of the body. 
 {See AsTEAL Body.) 
 
 Body-colour {A). Is a paint con- 
 taining a body or consistency. In water- 
 colours it is mixed with white lead and 
 laid on thicklj'. 
 
 Body Corporate {A) . An aggregate 
 of individuals legally united into a cor- 
 poratio'.i. 
 
 Body Politic {^l). A whole nation 
 consjderod as a political corporation ; the 
 state. In Latin, tot inn corpus rcipubliecc. 
 
 Body-snatcher {A). One who 
 snatches or imrloins bodies, newly 
 buried, to sell them to surgeons for 
 dissection. By a play on the words, a 
 bum-bailiff was so called, because his 
 duty was to snatch or captm-e the body 
 of a delinquent. 
 
 V The first instance of body-snatching 
 on record was in 1777. It was the body 
 of Mrs. Jane Sainsbury from the burial 
 ground near Gray's Inn Lane. The 
 men, being convicted, were imprisoned 
 for six months. 
 
 Boemond. The Christian King of 
 Antioch, who tried to teach his subjects 
 arts, laws, and religion. Pyrrhus de- 
 livered to him a fort, by which Antioch 
 was taken by the Christians after an 
 eight months' siege. Boemond and 
 Eoge'ro were two brothers, the sons of 
 Roberto Guiscardo, of the Norman race. 
 {Tds.io : Jerusalem Belh'cred.) 
 
 Bceo'tia. According to fable it is 
 so-called because Cadmus was conducted 
 by an ox (Greek Jjou.'<) to the spot wliere 
 he built Thebes ; but, according to fact, 
 it was so called because it abounded in 
 cattle. (Greek, Bolotia.) 
 
 Boeo'tian. A rude, unlettered person , 
 a dull blockhead. The ancient Buiotians 
 loved agricultural and pastoral pursuits, 
 so the Athenians used to say they were 
 dull and thick as their own atmosphere ; 
 yet Hesiod, Pindar, Corinna, Plutarch, 
 Polop'idas, and Epaminondas, were all 
 Bceotians. 
 
 Boeo'tian Ears. Ears unable to ap- 
 preciate music or rhetoric. 
 
 " Well, friend, I assure thee thou hast not got 
 Boeotian ears (because yoit can appreriate the 
 beauties of my sermous]."— Le &ige: Gil BUis, 
 \ ii. .■). 
 
 Boe'thius. Last of the Latin authors, 
 properly so called (470-524). Alfred 
 the Great translated his Be Coiisolatio'ue 
 l'hilosophi(c into Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 Bogie. A scarecrow, a goblin. (Bul- 
 garian, bog, a god ; Slavonic, bogn ; 
 Welsh, buy, a goblin, our bur/bear.) 
 
 The Assyrian mothers used to scare 
 their children with the name of Narses 
 {Gibbon) ; the Syrians with that of 
 Richard Coeur de Lion ; the Dutch with 
 Boh, the Gothic general {Wnrton) ; the 
 Jews with Lilith ; the Turks with 
 Mathias Corvi'nus, the Hungarian king; 
 and the English with the name of Luns- 
 iovt{q.v.). {SecBo.) 
 
 Bo'gio (in Orlando Furioso). One of 
 the allies of Charlemagne. He promised 
 his wife to return within six moons, but 
 was slain by Dardiuello. 
 
 Bogle Swindle. A gigantic swindle 
 concocted in Paris by fourteen persons, 
 who expected to net at least a nullion. 
 sterling. It was exposed in the Times. 
 
 Bogomili. A religious sect of the 
 twelfth century, whose chief seat was 
 Thrace. So called from their constant 
 repetition of the words, " Lord, have 
 mercy upon us," which, in Bulgarian, is 
 hog (Lord), inilui (have mercy). 
 
 Bogtrotters. Irish tramps ; so called 
 from their skill in crossing the Irish
 
 Bogus 
 
 157 
 
 Bolognese School 
 
 bogs, from tussock to tussock, either as 
 guides or to escape pursuit. 
 
 Bogus. Bogus currency. Forged or 
 sham bills. Bor/us transactions. Fraudu- 
 lent transactions. The word is by some 
 connected with bogie. 
 
 Iy)well (Biglnio Papers) says, "I more than sus- 
 jiett the wui'd to be a corruption of the Freuch 
 liiifiasac" 
 
 in French argot is another word (bogue\ the 
 rind of a green chestnut, or case of a watch ; a 
 Imjjtus chestnut or watch. 
 
 Boheme (La). A Bohemian, that is, 
 one living on his wits, such as a jjenny- 
 a-liner, journalist, politician, artist, 
 dancer, or in fact any chevalier of 
 unsettled habits and no settled home. 
 From the Freuch, Boldinieii, a gipsy. 
 
 I'ue i/iaisoit cle Bohcmc means a house 
 where no regularity is observed, but all 
 things are at sixes and sevens. 
 
 Bohe'mia. llie Queen of Bohemia. 
 A public-house sign in honour of Lady 
 Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I., 
 who was married to Frederick, elector 
 lialatine, for whom Bohemia was raised 
 into a separate kingdom. It is through 
 this lady that the Brunswick family suc- 
 ceeded to the throne of Great Britain. 
 
 Bohemian. A gipsy, an impostor. 
 The first gipsies that entered France 
 came from Bohemia, and appeared before 
 Paris in 1427. They were not allowed to 
 enter the city, but were lodged at La 
 Chapelle St. Denis. 
 
 A slang term applied to literary men 
 and artists of loose and irregular habits, 
 living by what they can pick up by their 
 brains. 
 
 ■■ N'e\ ev was there an editor with less about him 
 "f tin- litrr:iry Bohemian. A strong contrast to 
 Iii-i unliapvy coutciiiporary, C'hatterton.''— /ort- 
 iiii/lillij h'liieir : r^i.-<tiiii Letter. 
 
 Bohemian Brethren. A religious 
 sect formed out of the remnants of the 
 Hussites. They arose at Prague in the 
 fifteenth century, and were nicknamed 
 Care-dircUcrs. because they lurked in 
 caves to avoid persecution. 
 
 Bohemian Life {A). An irregular, 
 restless way of living, Hke that of a gipsy. 
 
 Bohort {Sir). A knight of Arthur's 
 Round Table, brother of Sir Lionel, and 
 nephew of Lancelot of the Lake. Also 
 called Sir Bors. 
 
 Boi'es (2 sj'l.). Priests of the savages 
 of Florida. Each priest has his special 
 idol, which must be invoked by the fumes 
 of tobacco. [American Indian m>jfholog>j.) 
 
 Boiling-point. He was at boiling- 
 piiiiit. Very angry indeed. Properly 
 the point of heat at which water, uuder 
 
 ordinary conditions, boils. (212' Fah- 
 renheit, 100= Centigrade, 80' Reaumur.) 
 
 Boiley or Boihj. Bread soaked in 
 water. A word used in baby-farming 
 establishments (French, bouiUie). (Pall 
 Mall Budget, Aug. 22, 1889.) 
 
 Boissere'an Collection. A collec- 
 tion at Stuttgart of the early specimens 
 of German art, made by the three 
 brothers Boisseree. 
 
 Bo'lay or Boleg. The giant which the 
 Indians say conquered heaven, earth, and 
 the inferno. {IiuUan mgthohigg.) 
 
 Bold. Bold as Beauchamp (Beech-um). 
 It is said that Thomas Beaiichamp, Earl 
 of Warwick, with one squire and six 
 archers, overthrew 100 armed men at 
 Hogges, in Normandy, in 1346. 
 
 This exploit is not more incredible 
 than that attributed to Captal-de-Buch, 
 who, with forty followers, cleared Meaux 
 of the insurgents called " La Jacquerie," 
 7,000 of whom were slain by this little 
 band, or tram2)led to death in tlie 
 narrow .streets as they fled panic-struck 
 (13.58). 
 
 Bold as brass. Downright imi)udent ; 
 without modesty. Similarlj', we say 
 " brazen-faced." 
 
 / make bold to sag. I take the liberty 
 of .saying ; I vcntiu'e to say. 
 
 Bole'rium Promontory. The Land's 
 End. 
 
 Bole'ro. A Spanish dance ; so called 
 from the name of the inventor. 
 
 Bolingbroke. Henry lY. of En^:- 
 land ; so called from Bolingbroke, in 
 Lincolnshire, where he was born. (1366, 
 1399-1413.) 
 
 Bollandists. Editors of the Acta 
 Sanrtoruiii begun by John Bolland (1596- 
 1665) ; the sixty-first folio volume was 
 published in 1875. 
 
 BoUen. Swollen. (Anglo - Saxon, 
 holla, a bowl.) Hence "joints bolne- 
 big " (Gokliiig), and '"bolne in pride" 
 (Phaer). The seed capsule or pod of 
 llax is called a " boll." 
 
 "TboliMvlev was in the ear, and the flax was 
 boiled.'— E.\uil.ix.:il. 
 
 Bolo'gna Stone. A variety of barite, 
 found in masses near Bologna. After 
 being heated, powdered, and exposed to 
 the light it becomes phosphorescent in 
 the dark. 
 
 Bolognese School. There were three 
 periods to the Bolognese School in paint- 
 ing — the Early, the Roman, and the 
 Eclectic. The first was founded by
 
 Bolt 
 
 158 
 
 Bomb 
 
 Marco Zoppo, in the fifteenth centurj', 
 and its best exponent was Francia. The 
 second was founded in the sixteenth 
 century by Bagnacavallo, and its chief 
 exponents were Primatic'io, Tibaldi, and 
 Nicole dell' Abate. The third was 
 founded by the Carracci, at the close of 
 the sixteenth century, and its best 
 masters have been Domenichi'no, Lan- 
 franco, Guido, Schido'ne, Guerci'no, and 
 Alba'ui. 
 
 Bolt. An arrow, a shaft (Anglo - 
 Saxon, holfa ; Danish, bolt ; Greek, hallo, 
 to cast ; Latin, jjcUo, to drive). A door 
 bolt is a shaft of wood or iron, which 
 may be shot or driven forward to secure 
 a door. A thunderbolt is an hyijothetical 
 shaft cast from the clouds ; an aerolite. 
 CupuVs bolt is Cuj^id's arrow. 
 
 The fooVs holt is soon spent. A foolish 
 archer shoots all his arrows so heedlessly 
 that he leaves himself no resovu'ces in 
 case of need. 
 
 / mutit bolt. Be off like an arrow. 
 
 To bolt food. To swallow it quickly 
 without waiting to chew it. 
 
 To bjlt out the truth. To blurt it out ; 
 also To bolt out, to exclude or shut out 
 by bolting the door. 
 
 To bolt. To sift, as flour is bolted. 
 This has a different derivation to the 
 above (Low Latin, bult-ella, a boulter, 
 from an Old French word for coarse 
 cloth). 
 
 " 1 ciiimot liolt tbis matter to the brau, 
 As Bradwaiden and holy Austin can." 
 
 J)ru(lea's version of the Cock and Fux. 
 
 Bolt from the Blue (A). There fell 
 (t holt from the blue. A sudden aud 
 wholly unexpected catastrophe or event 
 occurred, like a " thunderbolt'' from the 
 blue sky, or flash of lightning without 
 warning and wholly imexpected. 
 ".Namque Diespiter 
 Isni corusco nubila dividens, 
 Plei'imKU'e. pel" purum tonantes 
 Egit eqiios volucrenniiie currura. . . ." 
 
 Horace: 1 Ode xxxiv. 5, etc. 
 " On Monday. Dec. i:2nd [ISW], there fell a bolt 
 from the blue. The nionuu'.' iiapers announced 
 that the men were out [nn ^inke}."— Nineteenth 
 Centary, Feln-uary, IS'JI, p. -Jo. 
 
 V In this phrase the word " bolt " is 
 used in the po^iular sense for lightning, 
 the JjaXiu filinen, the Tveiich fondre and 
 tonnerre, in English sometimes for an 
 aerolite. Of course, in strict scientific 
 language, a flash of lightning is not a 
 thunderbolt. Metaphoricallj% it means 
 a sudden and wholly unexpected catas- 
 trophe, like a thunderbolt [flash of 
 lightning] from a blue or serene sky. 
 
 German: Wieein Blitzstrahlausblaueni Aether. 
 
 ItalMii: Conime un fulmine a ciel sereno. 
 
 Ldthi: Audiit et cieli genitor de iwrtc sereua 
 intouuit Uuvum. CViryil : ..Hiiekl, ix. esu.) 
 
 Bolt in Tun, a public-house sign, 
 is heraldic. In heraldry it is applied to 
 a bird- bolt, in pale, piercing tlirough a 
 tun. The punning crest of Serjeant 
 Bolton, who died 17^7, was " on a wreath 
 a tun erect i)roper, transpierced by an 
 arrow f esse ways or." Another family 
 of the same name has for crest "a tun 
 with a bird-bolt through it projier. " A 
 third, harping on the same string, has " a 
 bolt gules in a tun or." The public- 
 house sign distinguished by this device 
 or name adopted it in honour of some 
 family claiming one of the devices men- 
 tioned above. 
 
 Bolt Upright. Straight as an arrow. 
 A bolt is an arrow with a round knob at 
 the end, used for shooting at rooks, etc. 
 
 Bolted. JBolted out. Either ran off 
 
 suddenly, or being barred out of the 
 house. 
 
 The horse bolted. The horse shot off 
 like a bolt or arrow. 
 
 Bolted Arrow. A blunt arrow for 
 shooting young rooks with a cross-bow ; 
 called " bolting rooks." A gun would 
 not do, and an arrow would mangle the 
 little things too much. 
 
 Bolton. T/ic Bolton Jss. This crea- 
 ture is said to have chewed tobacco and 
 taken snuff. {l)r. Boreui.) 
 
 Bate me an aec, rjuoth Bolton. Give 
 me some advantage. What you say 
 must be quaUfled, as it is too strong. 
 Ray says that a collection of proverbs 
 were once presented to the Virgin Queen, 
 with the assurance that it contained all 
 the proverbs in the language ; but the 
 Queen rebuked the boaster with the pro- 
 verb, " Bate me an ace, quoth Bolton," 
 a proverb omitted in the comj)ilation. 
 John Bolton was one of the courtiers 
 who used to play cards and dice with 
 Henry YIII., aud flattered the king by 
 asking him to allow him an aee or some 
 advantage in the game. 
 
 Bolus. An apothecarj'. Apothecaries 
 are so called because they administer 
 holuscs. Similarly Mrs. Suds is a washer- 
 woman ; Boots is the shoeblack of an 
 inn, etc. 
 
 George Colman adopts the name for 
 his apothecary, who wi'ote his labels in 
 rhyme, one of which was — 
 
 " When taken, 
 To be well shaken " ; 
 
 but the patient being shaken, instead of 
 the mixture, died. 
 
 Bomb. A shell filled with gunpowder. 
 (Greek, boinbos ; Latin, boDibits, any
 
 Bomba 
 
 159 
 
 Bone 
 
 deep noise. Thus Fcsiies says: " Boiii- 
 bus, soiiiis non apixm Utntum, aut pocidi 
 hilbieutis, scd etidin toi/itnh.'''' And 
 Catullus applies it to the blast of a trum- 
 pet, '•' fjlhtbaiit conuia hoinbis,'''' Ixiv. 263.) 
 
 Bomba. Kiiiff Bomba. A nickname 
 given to Ferdinand II., King of Naples, 
 in consequence of his cruel bombard- 
 ment of Messi'na in 1848, m which the 
 slaughter and destruction of property- 
 was most wanton. 
 
 Bomba II. was the nickname given to 
 his son Francis II. for bombarding Pa- 
 lermo in 1860. He was also called 
 Bombali'no (Little Bomba). 
 
 Another meaning equally applicable is 
 Vox ct prcctcr'ca nihil, Bomba being the 
 explosion made by puffing out the cheeks, 
 ami causing them suddenly to collapse. 
 Liar, break-promise, worthless. 
 
 Bombast literally means the produce 
 of the bombyx (Middle Latin bomhax, 
 Greek bombH.r), and applied to cotton- 
 wool used for padding. The head of the 
 cotton plant was called ' ' bombast ' ' or 
 "bombace'' in the sixteenth century. 
 Bombast was much used in the reign of 
 Henry VIII. for padding, and hence in- 
 flated language was so called. 
 " We liave received your letters full of love, . . . 
 
 And in our njaideu council rated them . . . 
 
 j\s hoiiilia^t and as lining- to tbe time." 
 
 iS7(((/.<:s;)<'occ; Love's Labour's Lost, v. "J. 
 
 Bombastes Furio'so. One who 
 
 talks big and uses long sesquipedalian 
 words ; the ideal of bombast. He is 
 the hero of a burlesque opera so called, 
 by William Barnes Ehodes. (1790.) 
 
 Bombas'tus. The family name of 
 Am-eolus Paracelsus (1-193-1541). He 
 is said to have kept a small devil 
 prisoner in the pommel of his sword. 
 " Bombastus kept a devil's bird 
 Shut in the i>omniel of his sword, ■ 
 That tauf-'ht him all the cunninpr rranks 
 Of past and future moiinreiianks." 
 
 8. Butler: Hudibras, part ii. .'). 
 
 Bon Gaultier Ballads. Parodies 
 of modem poetry by "W. E. Aytouu and 
 Theodore Martin (Sir). 
 
 Bon gr6 mal gr6. Willing or un- 
 
 williug, willy nilly, nolens vohns. 
 
 Bon Mot (French). A good or witty 
 saying ; a jam ; a clever rejiartee. 
 
 Bon Ton (French). Good manners, 
 or manners accredited by good society. 
 
 Bon Vivant (French) . A free liver ; 
 one who indulges in the " good things of 
 the table." 
 
 Bona Fide. Without subterfuge or 
 deception ; really and truly. Literally, 
 ill good faith (Latin). 
 
 Bona-ro'ba. A courtesan (Italian) ; 
 so called from the smartness of their 
 robes or dresses. 
 
 " We knew where the bona-robas were." 
 Sliukespeure: 'Z Henry IV., iii. 2. 
 
 Bonduca = Boadicea. {F/etcher^s 
 Trarjcdi/, 1647.) 
 
 Bone. Brcdinthebonc. Apartof one's 
 nature. " What's bred in the bone will 
 come out in the flesh." A natural pro- 
 pensity cannot be repressed. Xntnraiii 
 jitrcd c.rjHi/'is, atttcm asqnc redibit. 
 
 Bone in my Tbroat. / have a bone 
 in in// throat. 1 cannot talk; I cannot 
 answer your question. 
 
 / hare a bone in my Icr/. An excuse 
 given to children for not moving from 
 one's seat. Similarly, "I have a bone 
 in my arm," and must be excused using 
 it for the i:>resent. 
 
 Bone of Contention. A disputed 
 jioint ; a point not yet settled. The 
 meta2)hor is taken from the proverb 
 about "Two dogs fighting for a bone," 
 etc. 
 
 Bones. Deuca'lion, after the Deluge, 
 was ordered to cast behind him the bones 
 of his mother, i.e. the stones of mother 
 earth. Those thrown by Deuca'lion be- 
 came men, and those thrown by his wife, 
 Pyrrha, became women. 
 
 Pindar suggests that laas,s, stone, is a pun on 
 Uios, the people. Both words, in the /senitive 
 case singular, are alike lami. ((Jlynthies, fx. CO.) 
 
 BOiie to pick {A). A sop to Cer- 
 bSrus. A lucrative appointment given 
 to a troublesome opponent iu order to 
 silence him. Thus Chisholra Anstcy was 
 sent to Hong-Kong as a judge to keep 
 him away from the House of Commons. 
 Of course the allusion is to throwing a 
 bone to a dog barking at you. 
 
 " In those rtay.s the usual plan to get rid of an 
 oratorical patriot in the House was to give him 
 ' a l)one to pick.' "—Anihoni/ Collins. 
 
 I hare a bone to pick u-ith you. An 
 unpleasant matter to settle with you. At 
 the marriage banquets of the Sicilian 
 poor, the bride's father, after the meal, 
 used to hand the bridegroom a bone, 
 saymg, "Pick this bone, for you have 
 taken in hand a much harder task." 
 
 Bone. {See Albadaka ; Luz ; Os 
 Saceum.) 
 
 Bone [To). To filch, as, / boned it. 
 Shakespeare ('2 Henry VI., act i. 3) says, 
 "By these ten bones, my lord . . ." 
 meaning his ten fingers ; and {Hamlet, 
 iii. 2) calls the fingers "pickers and 
 stealers." Putting the two together, 
 there can be no doubt that "to bone"
 
 Bone-grubber 
 
 160 
 
 Bonnet 
 
 means to finger, that is, "to pick and 
 steal." 
 
 " You thnuKlit that I was buried deep 
 Quite deceut-like aud chary, 
 But. frnni her Krave iu Mary-bone, 
 They've come and honed your Mary I" 
 
 llood: Mary's Ghost. 
 
 Bone-grubber {A). A person who 
 grubs about dust-bins, gutters, etc., for 
 refuse bones, which he sells to bone- 
 griuders, and other dealers iu such stores. 
 
 Bone-lace. Lace woven on bobbins 
 
 made of trotter-bones. 
 
 Bone-shaker {A). A four-wheel 
 cab ; also an old bicycle. 
 
 " A good swift hansom is worth twice as much 
 as a ' bone-shaker ' any day."— A'ineteenJ/i Cc7i- 
 tury, March, ISUS, ii. 473. 
 
 Boned. / boned him. Caught or 
 seized him. {See above, To Bone.) 
 
 Bones. Tlie man who rattles or plays 
 the bones in nigger troupes. 
 
 To Diakc no bunes ((boiU the matter, i.e. 
 no difficulty, no scruple. Dice are called 
 '"bones," and the Yxenc\i, flatter le de 
 (to mince the matter) , is the opposite of 
 our expression. To make no bones of a 
 thing is not to flatter, or "make much 
 of," or humour the dice in order to show 
 favour. 
 
 Napier'' s bones. (See tinder Napiee.) 
 
 jntJiout more bones. Without further 
 scruple or objection. {See above, " Make 
 no bones,'''' etc.) 
 
 Bonese (2 syl.). The inhabitants of 
 Bo'ui, one of the Celebes. 
 
 Bonfire. L/nisossium. T'heAthentvam 
 shows that tlie word means a fire made 
 of bones; one quotation ruus thus, "In 
 the worship of St. John, the people . . . 
 made three manner of fires : one was of 
 clean bones and no wood, aud that is 
 called a bonefire ; another of clean wood 
 and no bones, and that is called a wood- 
 fire . . . aud the third is made of wood 
 and bones, and is called ' St. John's 
 fii"e'" {Qaataor Sermones, 1499). Cer- 
 tainly bone (Scotch, bane) is the more 
 ancient way of spelling the first syllable 
 of the word ; but some suggest that 
 " bon-fire " is really "boon-fire." 
 
 " In some parts of Lincolnshire . . . they make 
 fires in the public streuts . . . with bones of oxen, 
 sheep, etc. . . . heaped together . . . hence came 
 the origin of liontlies."— ie/oHcJ, 1352. 
 
 '.* Whatever the origin of the word, it 
 has long been used to signify either a 
 beacon fire, or a boon fire, i.e. a fire ex- 
 pressive of joy. We often find the word 
 spelt " bane-tire," where bane may mean 
 "bone" or beacon. We'sh ban, lofty; 
 allied to the Norwegian baa)i, a beacon 
 or cresset. 
 
 Bon'homie'. Iviudness, good nature ; 
 free and easj' manners ; cordial benevo- 
 lence. (French.) 
 
 " I never knew a 
 bnnhoiiiie was iiifi 
 Joiirnc.n, chap. vi. 
 
 Bonhomme ( f ';/) . A goody man ; 
 according to Dr. Young's line, "What 
 is mere good nature, but a fool ? " The 
 word, divided into two, is used in a good 
 sense, as £tre nn bon honime. Jaeqaes 
 Bonhonnne means a peasant. 
 
 Jacques Bonhomme (French). A peas- 
 ant who ventures to interfere iu politics. 
 Hence, the peasants' rebellion in 1358 
 was called La Jcwqaerie. The term 
 means "James Goodfellow"; we also 
 often address the poor as "My good 
 fellow." 
 
 Boniface. A sleek, good-tempered, 
 jolly landlord. From Farqidiar's comedy 
 of The Beaux^ Stratagem. 
 
 " A regular British Boniface."— T/ic John Dull. 
 
 St. Boniface. The apostle of Germany, 
 an Anglo-Saxon whose original name 
 was JJ'inifrid or Winfrith. (680-750.) 
 
 St. Buniface''s cap. An extra cup of 
 wine (to the health of the Pope). Pope 
 Boniface, we are told in the Ebrietatis 
 Encomiain, instituted an indulgence to 
 those who drank his good health after 
 grace, or the health of the Pope of the 
 time being. An excuse for an extra 
 glass. 
 
 Bonne (French). A nursemaid, a 
 nursery governess. 
 
 Bonne Bouche {A). A delicious 
 morsel ; a tit-bit (tid-bit). 
 
 " Now I'll give yon a real bointc-hovrhc This is 
 a liotllc of the lamous comet port of \s\\."—The 
 E)iicarc. 
 
 Bonnet. A pretended player at a 
 gamiug-table, or bidder at an auction, 
 to lure others to play ; so called because 
 he blinds the eyes of his dupes, just as 
 if he had struck their bonnet over their 
 eyes. 
 
 " A man who sits at a gaming table, and appears 
 to be playing against the table ; when a stranger 
 appears the Bonnet generally wins."— I'/ie Times. 
 
 Bonnet. 
 
 Braid Bonnet. The old Scotch cap, 
 made of milled woollen, without seam or 
 lining. 
 
 Glenf/arri/ Bonnet. The Highland bon- 
 net, wiiich rises to a point iu front. 
 
 Me has a green bonnet. Has failed in 
 trade. In France it used to be custom- 
 ary, even in the seventeenth ceutury, for 
 bankrupts to wear a green bonnet (cloth 
 cap) . 
 
 Jle has a bee in his bonnet, {See Bee,)
 
 Bonnet Lairds 
 
 161 
 
 Book 
 
 Bonnet Lairds. Local magnates of 
 Scotland, who wore the Braid Bounet. 
 
 Bonnet-piece. A gold coin of James 
 V. of Scotland, the king's head on which 
 wears a bonnet. 
 
 Bonnet Rouge. The red cap of 
 
 Liberty worn by the leaders of the 
 French revolution. It is the emblem of 
 Ked Eepublicanism. 
 
 Bonnie Dundee. John Graham, of 
 Claverhouse, Viscount Duudee (16.50- 
 1G89). 
 
 Bonnyclabber. A drink made of 
 beer and buttermilk. (Irish, launic, 
 milk ; claba, thick or thickened.) 
 
 " With lieer and butterniilk, mingled togetber, . . 
 To drink such . . . txmuy-claiiper." 
 
 Ben Joiisnn : The Xeiv Inn, i. 3. 
 
 Bono Johnny. John Bull is so 
 called in the East Indies. 
 
 Bontemps. Roger Bonteitips (French). 
 The personification of " Xever say die." 
 The phrase is from Beranger. 
 
 " Vous paiivres, pleins d'envie ; 
 
 Vous riches, desireux ; 
 Vous, dont le cliar devie 
 
 Api'es un cours heureiix ; 
 Vdus, qui perdrez peut-etre 
 
 Des litres eclatans. 
 Ell ! gai ! prenez pour niaitre 
 
 Le gros Roger Bonte:ups." Be'rcm'jer. 
 
 Ye pool', with envy goaded ; 
 
 Ye rich, for more who hing ; 
 Ye who by fortune loaded. 
 
 Find all things going wrong 
 Ye who by some disaster 
 
 See all your cables break. 
 From henceforth for your master 
 
 Bluff Roger Bontemps take. 
 
 F. C. B. 
 
 Bonus. A bounty over and above 
 the interest of a share in any compaiij'. 
 (Latin, boii/is quastus, a good profit or 
 bounty. The interest or fruit of money 
 put out in an investment was by the 
 Eomans called the qucpsfiis.) 
 
 Bonus Ilomerus. {See HoMEE.) 
 
 Bonzes (sing. Boii'ze) . Indian priests. 
 In China they are the priests of the 
 Fohists ; their number is .50,000, and 
 they are represented as idle and dis- 
 solute. In Japan they are men of rank 
 and family. In Touquin every pagoda 
 has at least two bonzes, and some as 
 many as fifty. 
 
 Booby. A spiritless fool, who suffers 
 himself to be imposed upon. In Eng- 
 land the Solan goose is called a booby or 
 noddy. (Spanish, boho ; Gennan, bube.) 
 
 A boohij iciU never make a hawk. The 
 bii'd called the boobj' , that allows itself 
 to be fleeced by other birds, will never 
 become a bird of prey itself. 
 
 11 
 
 Booby {Ladij). A caricature on 
 Richardson's Pam'ela. A vulgar upstart, 
 who tries to seduce Joseph Andrews. 
 {FicMmff : Joseph Andrews.) 
 
 Booby-trap {A) . A pitcher of water, 
 book, or something else, balanced gin- 
 gerly on the top of a door set ajar, so 
 that when the booby or victim is enticed 
 to pass through the door, the iDitcher or 
 book falls on him. 
 
 Book (Aug. -Saxon, ioc,- Danish, beiike; 
 Gennan, biiche. a beech-tree). Beech- 
 bark was employed for carving names 
 on before the invention of printing. 
 " Here on my trunk's surviving frame, 
 Carved many a long-forgotti'ii name. . . 
 As love's own altar, honnur me : 
 Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree." 
 Campbell: Beech Tree's Petition. 
 
 Book. The dearest ever sold. A 
 Mazarin Bible at the Thorold sale, in 
 1884, bought by Mr. Quaritch, book- 
 seller, Piccadilly, London, for £'o,900. 
 In 1873 Lord Ashburnham gave £3,400 
 for a copy. 
 
 Book. The oldest in the xeorld. That 
 bj' Ptah-Hotep, the Egyptian, compiled 
 ill the reign of Assa, about B.C. .3366. 
 This MS. is preserved in the Bibliothe- 
 que Nationale in Paris. It is written 
 on pafiyrus in hieratic characters, and is 
 a compilation of moral, political, and 
 religious aphorisms. It strongly insists 
 on reverence to women, politeness, and 
 monothei-sm. Ptiih-HoteiJ was a prince 
 of the blood, and lived to the age of 110 
 years. 
 
 Book. Logistilla gave Astolpho, at 
 parting, a book which would tell him 
 anything he wanted to know, and save 
 him from the power of enchantment. 
 {Ariosfo : Orlando Furioso, book viii ) 
 
 Betvare of a man of one book. Never 
 attempt to controvert the statement of 
 any one in his own special subject. A 
 shepherd who cannot read will know 
 more about sheep than the wisest book- 
 worm. This caution is given by St. 
 Thomas Aqui'nas. 
 
 That does not suit mij book. Does not 
 accord with my aiTangements. The 
 reference is to betting-books, in which 
 the bets are formally entered. 
 
 To bring him to book. To make him 
 prove his words ; to call him to account. 
 Make him show that what he says 
 accords with what is written down in 
 the indentures, the written agreement, 
 or the book which treats of the subject. 
 
 To book it. To take down an order ; 
 to make a memorandum ; to enter in a 
 book. 
 
 I'o speak hij the book. With minute
 
 Book of Books 
 
 1G2 
 
 Boots 
 
 exactness. To speak literatim, accord- 
 ing to what is in the book. 
 
 To speak like a hook. To sj^eak with 
 great precision and accuracy ; to be full 
 of information. 
 
 To speak icithout hook. Without au- 
 thority ; from memory only, without 
 consulting or referring to the book. 
 
 Bell, hook, and candle. {See iiinlcrBELL.) 
 
 Book of Books {Tke). The Bible. 
 
 Book of Life (Tkc). In Bible lan- 
 guage, is a register of tlie names of those 
 who are to inherit eternal life. (Phil. 
 iv. 3 ; Eev. xx. 12.) 
 
 Books. 
 
 JTe is in nil/ hooks, or in m;/ good hooks. 
 The former is the older form ; both 
 mean to be in favovn*. The word book 
 was at one time used more widely, a 
 single sheet, or even a list being called a 
 book. To be in my books is to be on 
 my list of friends. 
 
 " I was so iiiucli in his bonks, that at his decease 
 lie left me bis lamii."— .-l(/(/(.«ore. 
 
 "If you want to keep in lier good books, don't 
 call her ' the old lady.' "—Dickens. 
 
 He is in mij hhick (or had) hooks. In 
 disfavour. {See Black Books.) 
 
 On the hooks. On the list of a club, on 
 the list of candidates, on the list of 
 voters, etc. 
 ".' In the universities we say, "on the lioards." 
 
 Out of my hooks. Not in favour ; no 
 longer in my list of fiiends. 
 
 The battle of the hooks. The Boyle 
 controversy {(j.r.). {Sec Battle.) 
 
 To take one^s name off the books. To 
 withdi'aw from a club. In the passive 
 voice it means to be excluded, or no 
 longer admissible to enjoy the benefits 
 of the institution. The university phrases 
 are ' ' to keej) my name on the boards ' ' ; 
 " to take my name ofE the boards," etc. 
 
 Book-keeper. One who borrows 
 books, but does not return them. 
 
 Book-keeping. The system of keep- 
 ing the debtor and creditor accounts 
 of merchants in books provided for the 
 purpose, either by single or by double 
 entry. 
 
 Waste-hook. A book in which items 
 are not posted under heads, but are left 
 at random, as each transaction occurred. 
 
 Day-book. A book in which are set 
 down the debits and credits which occur 
 day by day. These are ultimately sorted 
 into the ledger. 
 
 Ledger (Dutch, legcn, to lay). The 
 book which is laid up in counting-houses. 
 In the ledger the different items are 
 
 regularly sorted according to the system 
 in use. (Ledgek-lines.) 
 
 By single entry. Book - keeping in 
 which each debit or credit is entered 
 only once into the ledger, either as a 
 debit or credit item, under the cus- 
 tomer's or salesman's name. 
 
 By doable entry. By which each 
 item is entered twice into the ledger, 
 once on the debit and once on the credit 
 side. 
 
 Bookworm. One always ijoringover 
 liis books ; so called in allusion to tlie 
 insect that eats holes in books, and lives 
 both in and on its leaves. 
 
 Boom. A sudden and great demand 
 of a tiling, with a corresijonding rise in 
 its price. The rush of a ship under 
 press of sail. The word arises from the 
 sound of booming or rushing water. 
 
 " The lio.ini was somethiner wonderful. Every- 
 body bouKlit, everybody sold."— Jfaj-fc Twain: 
 Lifi- on the Mississippi, chap. 57. 
 
 Boom-Passenger {A). A convict 
 on board ship, who was chained to the 
 boom when made to take his daily 
 exercise. 
 
 Boon Companion {A). A convivial 
 companion. A ho/i rirant is one fond 
 of good living. "Who leads a good 
 Hfe is sure to live well." (French, hon, 
 good.) 
 
 Boot. licill give you that to hoot, i.e. 
 in addition. The Anglo-Saxon boot or 
 hot means "compensation." (Gothic, 
 hota, profit.) 
 
 "As anyone shall be more powerful .... or 
 higher in degree, shall he the more deeply irake 
 boot for sin, and pay for every misdeed."— iaics 
 of King Ethelrcd. 
 
 Boot-jack. {See under Jack.) 
 
 Boots. Seren - leagued hoots. The 
 boots worn by the giant in the fairy tale, 
 called Tlie Seven-leagued Boots. These 
 boots would stride over seven leagues at 
 a pace. 
 
 I measure fvc feet ten inches icithout my 
 hoots. The allusion is to the chopine or 
 high-heeled boot, worn at one time to 
 increase the stature. Hamlet says of the 
 lady actress, "You are nearer heaven 
 than when I saw you last, by the altitude 
 of a chopine." (ii. 2.) 
 
 Boots (an instrument of torture). 
 They were made of four ])ieces of narrow 
 board nailed together, of a competent 
 length to fit the leg. The leg being 
 placed therein, wedges were inserted till 
 the sufferer confessed or fainted. 
 
 " All your empirics could never do the like cure 
 upon tlie gout as the rack in England or your 
 Scotch boots."— iUdcrfoii ; The Malcontent.
 
 Boots 
 
 163 
 
 Bore 
 
 Boots. The youngest bishop of the 
 House of Lords, whose duty it is to read 
 prayers ; so called because he walks 
 into the house in a dead mau's shoes or 
 boots, i.e. he was uot iu the house till 
 some bishop there died, and left a 
 vacancy. 
 
 Boots. To go (o bed in liis hoots. 
 To be very tipsy. 
 
 Boots at an Inn. A servant whose 
 duty it is to clean tlie boots. The Boots 
 of the llollii-tree Inn, a Christmas tale 
 ity Charles Dickens (1855). 
 
 Bootless Errand. An unprofitable 
 or futile message. The Saxon tiot moans 
 " reparation " — "overplus to profit" ; as 
 " I will give you that to boot " ; " what 
 boots it me 'i " (what does it profit me 'r). 
 
 " I sent liim 
 Boiitless home and weathev-hcaten Iiaclc." 
 Slialcc.'<pe((re : 1 Henry /('., iii. 1. 
 
 Bootes (So-o'-fees), or the ox-driver, 
 a constellation. According to ancient 
 niytliology, Bootes invented the plough, 
 to which ho yoked two oxen, and at 
 death, being taken to heaven with his 
 l>lough and oxen, was made a constel- 
 lation. Homer calls it " the wagoner." 
 
 " Wiile o'er tlie spacious re,!,'ii)ns of tlip nortli, 
 That see Bootes urge his tardy wain." 
 
 Tliomsmi: M'iulcr, ><iA-'). 
 
 Booth. Husband of Amelia. {Fieht- 
 ii/t/ : Aiiu'lia.) 
 
 Boozy. Partly intoxicated. (Russian, 
 liitsii. millet-beer ; Latin, Imza, from Iiko, 
 to till ; Welsh, bozi ; Old Dutch, h'djzcn, 
 to tipple ; Cojitic, honza, intoxicating 
 drink.) 
 
 "In Egypt tliere is a lieer called 'Boozer,' 
 wliicli is intoxicating."— Jfo?-)j(?i(7 Chronicle^ Ami. 
 •JTIJi, 185L'. 
 
 Bor (in Norfolk) is a familiar term of 
 address to a lad or young man ; as, 
 " Well, bor, I saw the morther you 
 spoke of" — i.e. "Well, sir, I saw 'the 
 lass. . . ." "Bor" is the Dutch hoer, 
 a farmer ; and " mor " the Dutch inoer, 
 a female. 
 
 Borach'io. A drunkard. From the 
 Spanish hornch'oe or horruch'o, a bottle 
 made of pig's skin, with the hair inside, 
 dressed with resin and pitch to keep the 
 •wine sweet. {Minsheii.) 
 
 Bornehio. A follower of Don John, 
 in Much Ado About Xotliiny, who thus 
 plays upon his own name :— 
 
 " I will, like a true drunkard [horachUi], nttor all 
 to thee."— Act iii. 5. 
 
 Bor'ak or Al Borah (the lightning). 
 The animal brought by Gabriel to carry 
 
 Mahomet to the seventh heaven. It had 
 the face of a man, but the cheeks of a 
 horse ; its eyes were like jacinths, but 
 brilliant as the stars ; it had the wings 
 of an eagle, spoke with the voice of a 
 man, and glittered all over with radiant 
 light. This creature was received into 
 Paradise, {^ve Animals, Camel.) 
 
 Bord Halfpenny. A toll paid by 
 the Saxons to the lord for the privilege 
 of having a bord or bench at some fair 
 for the sale of articles. 
 
 Borda'rii or Bord men. A class of 
 agriculturists superior to the Villa'ni, 
 who paid their rent bj^ supplying the 
 lord's board with eggs and jjoultry. 
 
 {Doinesdaij Bool\) 
 
 Border {The). The frontier of Eng- 
 land and Scotland, which, from the 
 eleventh to the fifteenth century, was 
 the field of constant forays, and a must 
 fertile source of ill blood between North 
 and South Britain. 
 
 "March, march, Ettrick and Tc\ ioldale ; 
 
 Why the dcil dinna \c iiiarrh lniward in 
 order ? 
 March, march, EsktUle and Liddesd.ale— 
 All the Blue Bonnets are iKumd for the 
 border." 
 
 Sir Walter ficotf : Tlie Moiuntterii. 
 
 Border Minstrel. Sir Walter Scott, 
 because he sang of the border. (1771- 
 1832.) 
 
 Border States {The). The five 
 "slave" states (Delaware, Maryland, 
 Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri) which 
 lay next to the ' ' free states " were so 
 called in the Civil War, 18tJl-1865. _ 
 
 Bordlands. Lands kept by lords in 
 Saxon times for the supply of their own 
 board or table. (Anglo-Saxon, bord, a 
 table.) 
 
 Bordlcde. Service jmid for the land. 
 
 Bore {A). A person who bestows 
 his tediousness on you ; one who wearies 
 you with his prate, his company, or his 
 solicitations. Verb hear, bore, home, to 
 endure. A bore is someone wo bore with 
 or endured. 
 
 " At this instant 
 He liores me with son e trick." 
 
 Shulccspccire: Henry VJIf., i. 1. 
 
 Bore. A tidal wave. 
 
 The most ec/ebrated bores are those 
 of the Brahmaputra, Gauges, Hooghly, 
 Indus, and Tsintaug (in China). Bores 
 occur regularlij in the Bristol Channel 
 and Solway Frith ; occamonaUij (iu high 
 tides), in the Clyde, Dee (Cheshire), 
 Dornoch Frith, Lune, Severn, Trent
 
 Bore 
 
 164 
 
 Bos 
 
 {eygre), and Wj'e. The bore of the Bay 
 of Fimdy is caused by the collinioii of the 
 tides. (Icelandic l/dra, a wave or billow.) 
 
 Bore (in pugilistic language) is one 
 who bears or presses on a man so as to 
 force him to the ropes of the ring by his 
 physical weiglit ; figuratively, one who 
 bears or presses on you by his pertin- 
 acity. 
 
 " All liespars are liable to vebufls, with tlie cev- 
 tiiintv besides of being considered bores."— Prince 
 Albert, ls,v.t. 
 
 Boreal. Northern. 
 
 " In r;iili;int streams, 
 Briylit over EiiroiK-, bursts the Boreal moni." 
 'J'liumson : Autnmu, US. 
 
 Bor'eas. The north wind. According 
 to mythology, he was the son of Astrffius, 
 a Titan, and Eos, the morning, and lived 
 in a cave of Mount Ha^mus, in Thrace. 
 (Greek, boros, voracious ; liureas, the 
 north wind ; Russian, horia, stonn.) 
 "Cease, rude Boreas ! lilii^terinj; railer." 
 
 Geo. Mex. SttTciis. 
 " Oiiiiiiii pnntus haurit saxa vorax." Lncaii. 
 
 Borghese {Bor-ga'-zy). The Prhicesi^ 
 Borcjhcse pulled down a church con- 
 tiguous to her palace, because the in- 
 cense turned her sick and the organ made 
 her head uneasy. 
 
 Bor'gia. {Hee Lucrezia.) 
 
 Born, y^ot horn yesterdaij. Not to 
 be ttikcn hi ; worldly wise. 
 
 Born Days. In all my horn days. 
 Ever since I was born. 
 
 Born in the Purple (a translation 
 of porphyrogenitiis). The infant of 
 roj'al parents in opposition to horn in 
 the gutter, or child of beggars. This 
 has nothing to do with the purple robes 
 of royalty. It refers to the chamber 
 lined with porphpy by one of the Bj'zan- 
 tine empresses for her accouchement. 
 (See Xuieteenth Century, March, 1894, 
 p. 510.) 
 
 " Zoe, the fourtU wife* of Leo VI., gave birth to 
 the future Emperor Constantine PorphyroKenitus 
 iu the purple chamber of the imperial palace."— 
 F ill la II : Jlistonj of tlie Biizantine and Greelc Em- 
 jjires, vol. i. 
 
 Born with a Silver Spoon, or Born 
 xvith a silrer spoon in one\'< mouth. Bom 
 to good luck ; bom with hereditary 
 wealth. The reference is to the usual 
 gift of a silver spoon by the godfather or 
 godmother of a child. The lucky child 
 does not need to wait for the gift, for it 
 is born with it in its mouth or inherits it 
 fi'om infancy. 
 
 Borough English is where the 
 youngest son inherits instead of the 
 
 eldest. It is of Sa.ron origin, and is so 
 called to distinguish it from the Noiinan 
 custom. 
 
 "The custom of Borouirh English abounds in 
 Kcrt, Sussex. Surrey, llie ueii-'libiuirhood of 
 Louiloii, and Some set. Iu llu' .Midliiuds it is 
 rare, and north •if Ilie Hunilier ... it does not 
 seeui to o<-euv."— i". I'ullacl- : Macmillaiiis Maija- 
 ziiie. .\l\i. (l>s-ji. 
 
 Borowe. -S'^. George to horowe, i.e. 
 St. George being surety. (Danish, horgeu, 
 bail ; Swedish, horgnn, a giving of bail.) 
 
 Borr. Son of Ymer, and father of 
 Odin, Ville, Ve, and Hertha or Earth. 
 The Celtic priests claimed descent from 
 this deity. (Ce/tie niytho/ogy.) 
 
 Borrow. A pledge. To borrow is to 
 take something which wo i)k'dge our- 
 selves to return. (Anglo-Stixon, borg, a 
 loan or pledge ; verb borg-iun.) 
 
 " Ye mav retain as borrows my two priests."— 
 Si-i)tt: JniuUiii'. chap, xxxiii. 
 
 Borrowed days of February ( The) . 
 12th, i;5th and 14th of February, said to 
 be borrowed front January. If these 
 days prove stormj-, the year will be 
 favoured with good weather ; but if 
 fine, the year will be foul and unfavour- 
 able. These three days are called by 
 the Scotch Faoilteaeh, and lience the 
 wovdj'aoiltef(eh means execrable weather. 
 
 Borrowed days of March. The 
 
 last three days of March are said to be 
 
 " borrowed from AjJiil." 
 
 ' March said to .\pcrill, 
 ] see .1 hoKps lhoK?-'ets sheep] upon a hill ; 
 And if you'll Icuil me dayes 3 
 I'll And a way to make them dee [die]. 
 The first o' them wus wind and weet. 
 The second o' them wus snaw and sleet, 
 The third o' them wus sic a freeze 
 1 1 froze the birds' nehs to the trees. 
 When the S days were past and irane 
 The .3 silly hoggs came hirpling [limping] hame." 
 
 Bortell. The bull, in the tale of 
 lieyiKird the I'o.r. {Heinrich von Alk- 
 inan.) 
 
 Bos[ei] in lingua. He is bribed to 
 silence ; he has a coin (marked with a 
 bull's head) on his tongue. Adalardus, 
 in Statiitis Abbatia: Corbeiensis (bk. i. 
 0. 8), seems to refer to the bos as a coin. 
 '■'■ Bores et reViquam 2)ecuniam hubeat . . . 
 vnde et ipse et omnis familia ejusvirere 
 pos.sit'''' {i.e. plenty of gold and silver. . .). 
 Plautus, however, distinctly says {Persa, 
 ii. 5, 16), ^' Bores bini hie sxiit in er/i- 
 iiieiia " (Two bulls in a purse.) The 
 Greeks had the phrase, /3ovs em yXuttijs. 
 Servius tells us that even the Romans 
 had a coin with a bull stamped on it. 
 (See Fling, 18, 3.) Presuming that there 
 was no such coin, there caimot be a 
 doubt that the word Bos was used as 
 the equivalent of the price of an ox.
 
 Bosh 
 
 16= 
 
 Bottle-chart 
 
 Bosh. A Persian word meaning non- 
 sense. It was popularised in 1824 by 
 James Morier in his Adventures of 
 Hnjji Baba of Ispahan, a Persian 
 romance. (Turkish, bosh lalccrdi, silly 
 talk.) 
 
 " I iihvays like to read old Darwin's Loves of the 
 Plants ; bosh as it is in a scientilic point of view." 
 — Kinysley : Two Years Aijo tcbap. x.). 
 
 Bosky. On the verge of drunken- 
 ness. University slang, from bos/co, to 
 pasture, to feed. Everyone will remem- 
 ber how Sir John Falstaff made sack his 
 meat and drink. 
 
 Bosom Friend {A). A very dear 
 friend. Nathan says, "It lay in his 
 bosom, and was unto him as a daughter." 
 ('2 Sam. xii. 3.) Bosom friend, aiiiie ihi 
 cwiir. St. John is represented in the 
 New Testament as the "bosom friend" 
 of Jesus. 
 
 Bosom Sermons. "Written sermons, 
 not extemporary ones or from notes. 
 Does it not mean committed to memory 
 or learnt by heart ? 
 
 "Tlie iireacliing from 'bosom sermons,' or from 
 writill^■,bein^' considered a life less practice before 
 tlie Keformatiou."— Bdmi ; Jleformatioii in Eikj- 
 1(111(1, p. ]7'.i. 
 
 Bosphorus=Oxford. The Thracian 
 Bosphorus, or Bosporus, unites the Sea 
 of MarmSra with the Euxine (2 syl.) or 
 Black Sea. According to Greek fable, 
 Zeus (Jupiter) greatly loved lo, and 
 changed her into a white cow or heifer 
 from fear of Hera or Juno ; to flee 
 from whom she swam across the strait, 
 which was thence called bos poros, 
 the passage of the cow. Hera dis- 
 covered the trick, and sent a gadfly to 
 torment lo, who was made to wander, 
 in a state of phreuzy, from laud to land. 
 The wanderings of lo were a favourite 
 subject of story with the ancients. 
 Ultimately, the persecuted Argive prin- 
 cess found rest on the banks of the 
 
 xae. 
 
 Diotnisiiis of ITnlicdrnassus and Valerius Flaccns 
 give tliis account, but .\ccarion sa.vs it was a ship, 
 with tbe pr(jw of an ox, sent by some Tlii'acians 
 through the straits, that gave name to this irjs- 
 saye. 
 
 Boss, a master, is the Dutch baas, 
 
 head of the household. Hence the 
 
 great man, chief, a masher, a swell. 
 
 " Mr. Stead calls Mr. O'Connor the 'Boss of the 
 Huuse.' " 
 
 Bossum. One of the two chief 
 deities of the negroes on the Gold Coast, 
 the other being Demonio. Bos.sum, the 
 principle of good, is said to be ichitc ; 
 and Demonio, the principle of evil, black. 
 {African mythology.) 
 
 Bostal or Borstal!. A naiTow road- 
 way up the steep ascent of hills or downs. 
 (Anglo-Saxon biorh, a hill; sthjele, a 
 rising path ; our stile.) 
 
 Bot'anomancy. Divination by leaves. 
 Words were written on leaves which 
 were exposed to the wind. The leaves 
 left contained the response. (iS'«'BoTAXY.) 
 
 Bot'any means a treatise on fodder 
 (Greek, bot'aiie, fodder, from boskeiii, to 
 feed). The science of plants would be 
 "phytol'ogy," from phi/ton-loyos (plant- 
 ti'eatise). 
 
 Botch. A patch. Bofeh and patch 
 are the same word ; the older form was 
 bo(lf/e, whence hoyyle. (Italian pezzo, pro- 
 nounced patzo.) 
 
 Bother, i.e. pother (Hihemivin). Hal- 
 liwell gives us blotltcr, which he says 
 means to chatter idly. 
 
 '• ' Sir,' cries the umph-e, ' cease your poMuM\ 
 The creature's neither one nor t'oilier.' " 
 
 Lloyd: The C'hamvteoii. 
 
 " Thelrish bodhar (baaUJhirt, trouble), 
 or its cognate verb, to deafen, seems to 
 be the original word. 
 
 Bothie System. The Scotch system 
 of building, like a baiTack, all the out- 
 houses of a farmstead, as the byres, 
 stables, barus, etc. The farm men- 
 servants live here. (Gaelic, bothay, a 
 cot or hut, our booth.) 
 
 "The biithie system prevails, more or le.ss. in 
 the eastern and north-eastern districts."— X liegg, 
 D.D. 
 
 Botley Assizes. The joke is to ask 
 a Botley man, " When the assizes are 
 coming on?" and an innuendo is sup- 
 posed to be implied to the tradition that 
 the men of Botley once hanged a man 
 because he could not drink so deep as 
 his neighbours. 
 
 Bottes. A propos de bottes. By the 
 by, thus : Mais, Jfons., a propos de bottes, 
 comment se porte madamc voire mere { 
 
 "That venerable personace [the f'haldiean 
 Charon] not only gives Izdubar instructions bow 
 to regain his health, but tells him, somewhat 
 a propos des bottes . . . the long story of his per- 
 fidious nd\eutare."—X incteentli Century, June, 
 1891, p. 911. 
 
 Bottle. Looking for a needle in a 
 bottle of hay. Looking for a very small 
 article amidst a mass of other things. 
 Bottle is a diminutive of the French 
 botte, a bmidle; as botte dcfoin, a bundle 
 of hay. 
 
 Hang mc in a bottle. (See Cat.) 
 
 Bottle-chart. A chart of ocean siu'- 
 face ciu'rents to show the track of sealed 
 bottles thrown fi-om ships into the sea.
 
 Bottle-holder 
 
 ir,() 
 
 Boucan 
 
 Bottle-holder. One who gives moral 
 but not material support. The allusion 
 is to boxing or prize-tightiug, where each 
 combatant has a bottle-holder to wii^e oit" 
 blood, refresh with water, and do other 
 services to encourage his man to perse- 
 vere and win. 
 
 " LovdPaliiicrstoiironsideredliimself tlieliottle- 
 liDhler of (ipiiresscd States. . . . Hewastlie stead- 
 t'asf, iBirtisaii nf (■(lusritiitioiial liljei'ty ill every 
 liart of till- N\()i-ld."— 77(C Times. 
 
 Bottle-imps. Tlie Hebrew word for 
 familiar spirits is obot/i, leather bottles, 
 to indicate that the magicians were wont 
 to imprison in bottles those spirits whicli 
 their spells had subdued. 
 
 Bottle-washer {Head) . Chief agent ; 
 the princii^al man employed by another ; 
 a factotum. Head waiter or butler 
 (fiottdler). 
 
 Bottled Beer is said to have been 
 discovered by Dean Xowell as a most ex- 
 cellent beverage. The Dean was very 
 fond of lishiug, and took a bottle of 
 beer witli him in his excursions. One 
 day, being disturbed, he buried his bottle 
 under the grass, and when he disinterred 
 it some ten daj's afterwards, found it 
 so gi'eatly improved that he ever after 
 drank bottled beer. 
 
 Bottled Moonshine. Social and 
 benevolent schemes, such as Utopia, 
 Coleridge's Pautisocracy, the dreams of 
 Owen, Fourier, St. Simon, the New 
 Republic, and so on. 
 
 "Gcidwiiil Hiizlitt ! ('olevid'-rc ! Wlii-re now 
 arc tlieir 'novel idiilosoiiliies and systems"? 
 Bottled nioonsliine, wldcli does not improve hy 
 keoiiing."— BirrcH : Vbitcr Dicta, p. loy U»«J). 
 
 Bottom. 
 
 A tiliij/s bottom is that part which is 
 used for freight or stowage. 
 
 Goods imported in Britisli hotloms are 
 tliose which come in our own vessels. 
 
 Goods imported in foreign bottoms are 
 those which come in foreign ships. 
 
 Afnlllmttom is where tlie lower half 
 of the hull is so disposed as to allow 
 large stowage. 
 
 A sharp bottom is when a ship is capa- 
 ble of speed. 
 
 A t bottom. Radically, fundamentally : 
 as, the young prodigal lived a riotous 
 life, but was good at bottom, or below 
 the surface. 
 
 At the bottom. At the base or root. 
 
 " Pride is at tlie bottom of all great mistakes." 
 —Kiinkiii: True and Beaati/ul, p. 4i'(). 
 
 From the bottom of mi/ heart. With- 
 out reservation. {Imo eorde.) 
 
 "If one of tlie parties . . . lieeonieiit to foru-ive 
 from tlic liottom of his lieart all tliat tlie other 
 hatli tresrasscd against him."— Cu/umou I'rcnjcr 
 Book. 
 
 • He teas at the bottom of it. He really 
 instigated it, or promj^ted it. 
 
 Never venture nil in one bottom — i.e. 
 one ship. "Do not put all your eggs 
 into one basket." 
 
 "My ventures are not in one builoiii trusted."— 
 Sluihespeare: Merchant of Venice, i. 1. 
 
 To have no bottom. To be unfathom- 
 able. 
 
 To ffet to the bottom of the matter. To 
 ascertain the entire truth ; to bolt a 
 matter to its bran. 
 
 To stand on one''s ou'n bottom. To be 
 independent. "Every tub must stand 
 on its own bottom." 
 
 2'o toiieli bottom. To reach the lowest 
 depth. 
 
 A horse of good bottom means of good 
 stamina, good foundation. 
 
 Bottom {XkJ,-), the n-eaver. A man 
 who fancies he c;iu do everything, ami 
 do it better than anyone else. Sliake- 
 speare has drawn him as profoundly 
 ignorant, brawny, mock heroic, and with 
 an overflow of self-conceit. He is in 
 one part of 2Lidsummcr Nif/hTs J) ream 
 represented with an ass's head, and 
 Tittinia, queen of the fairies, under ti 
 spell, caresses him as an Ado'nis. 
 
 V The name is very appropriate, as 
 the word bottom means a ball of thread 
 used in weaving, etc. Thus in Clark's 
 Ilernldru we lead, " The coat of Bad- 
 land is argent, three bottoms in fess 
 gules, the thread or.^'' 
 
 "Wlien (ioldsmitli, jealous of the atleiilinii 
 wliiih a d.niiing iiumkey atlraeted, said, '1 e.ni 
 do that,' he was hut playing Bottom."—/;. (1. 
 White. 
 
 Bottcniless. The bottomless pit. An 
 allusion to William Pitt, who was re- 
 markably thin. 
 
 Botty. Conceited. Tlie frog that 
 tried to look as big as an ox was a 
 " botty " frog {Xorfdh). A similar word 
 is " swell," though not identical in mean- 
 ing. "Bumpkin" and "bumptious" 
 are of similar construction. (Welsh, bot, 
 a round body, our bottle; Imtli, the boss 
 of a shield ; botliel, a rotundity.) 
 
 Boucan. Jnmner an houean. To 
 give a diince. Boucan or Bocan was a 
 musician and dancing master in the 
 middle of the seventeenth century. W c 
 was alive in 161.3. 
 
 "Thiliaiit se dit cstre Mereiire, 
 El I'oigiicilleiix Colin nous jure 
 Qu'il est aussi liieu Apollon 
 One Buccau est hoii vicdon." 
 
 Sienr dc St. Amant (Ifirdl 
 " Les mnsieiens qui jouent an ballet du roi soiit 
 appeles 'disciples dc Bocan.' "—Ilistoire Cumiquc de 
 t'raneion clli.'ij).
 
 Bonders 
 
 167 
 
 Bow 
 
 Bouders or Boudons. A tribe of 
 giants and evil genii, the guard of Shiva. 
 {Lid inn iin/thologij.') 
 
 Boudoir, iiroperly si^eakiug, is the 
 room to which a hidy retires when she 
 is in the sulks. (French, bonder, to pout 
 or sulk.) 
 
 The first boudoirs were those of the 
 mistresses of Louis XV. {Sec Bower.) 
 
 Boues de St. Amand {Lck). The 
 mud baths of St. Amand (that is, St. 
 Amand - les - Eaux, near Valenciennes, 
 famous for its mineral waters). These 
 mud-baths are a '■'■ sorte de limou qid sc 
 troitre 2^res des eaux mincraJes.'''' By a 
 figure of speech, one says, by way of 
 reproof, to an insolent, foul-mouthed 
 fellow, "I see you have been to the 
 mud-baths of St. Amand." 
 
 Bought and Sold, or Bour/ht, sold, 
 and done for. Ruined, done foi', out- 
 witted. 
 
 " .Tin-ky of Norfolk, lie not too bold, 
 For Diccoii, tliy iiiiister, is liouiflit aud sold." 
 
 Shakefpeure: Kicliard III., act v. it. 
 " It would make a man mad as a Inu-k to be so 
 
 bonu'bt and sold."— t'o7H«/^ of Jirrors, iii. 1. 
 
 Bougie. A wax candle ; so called 
 from Bougiah, in Algeria, whence the 
 wax was imported. A medical instru- 
 ment used for dilating strictures or re- 
 moving obstructions. 
 
 Boule or Boide-rcorh (not Buhl). A 
 kind of marquetry ; so called from Andre 
 Charles Boule, a cabinetmaker, to whom 
 Louis XIV. gave apartments in the 
 Louvre. (1642-173-2.) 
 
 Boul'janus. An idol worshipped at 
 Nantes, in ancient Gaul. An inscription 
 was found to this god in 1592. {Celtic 
 miithologii.) 
 
 Bouncer. ThaVn a bouncer. A gross 
 exaggeration, a braggart's Ue. (Dutch, 
 honz, verb bonzcn, to bounce or thump. 
 A boHiicuKj lie is a thunqnny lie, and a 
 hoHiwer is a thiiinjjer.) 
 
 "He spe.'iks plain cannon, fire, and smoke, and 
 \ivmice."—lili<tke!<pcare: Kiwj John, ii. L'. 
 
 Bounty. Qneen Anne's Bounfi/. The 
 produce of the first-fruits and tenths 
 due to the Crown, made over by Queen 
 Anne to a corporation established in the 
 year 1704, for the purpose of augmenting 
 church livings under £50 a year. 
 
 Bouquet. French for nosegay. 
 
 " Mr. Disraeli was able to niakea financial state- 
 ment burst iiituabouijuet of tlowers."— .1/cC(ict/i»/: 
 Uar Oii-n Trmes, vol. iii. chap. .\.\x. p. 11. 
 
 The box fj net of wine, also called its 
 nosegay, is its aro'ma. 
 
 Bourbon. So named from the castle 
 and seigniory of Bourbon, in the old 
 
 province of Bourbonnais. The Bourbon 
 fatnUif is a branch of the Cap'ct stock, 
 through the brother of Philippe le Bel. 
 
 Bourgeois (French), our burgess. 
 The class between the "gentleman" 
 and the peasantry. It includes all mer- 
 chants, shopkeepers, and what we call 
 the " middle class." 
 
 Bourgeoisie (French). The mer- 
 chants, manufacturers, and master- 
 tradesmen considered as a class. Cito- 
 i/en is a freeman, a citizen of the State ; 
 boure/eois, an individual of the Bour- 
 geoisie class. Moliere has a comedy 
 entitled Le Bourgeois Gcntilhomme. 
 
 "The commons of England, the Tiers-Elat of 
 France, the bourgeoisie of the Continent pener- 
 all.v.are the descendants of this class [artisans] 
 .Lreiicrally." — J/(/(; Political Economy (Prelim, 
 p. 11'). 
 
 Bouse. {Sec Boozy.) 
 
 Boustrap'a. Napoleon III. The 
 word is compounded of the first syllables 
 Bou-logne, Stra-sbourg, Fa-vis, and al- 
 ludes to his escapades in 1836 and 1840. 
 
 Boustroph'edon. A method of 
 writing or printing, alternately from 
 right to left and left to right, like the 
 path of oxen in ploughing. (Greek, 
 boKS-strepho, ox-turning.) 
 
 Bouts-rimes [rliinned-endi)igs']. A 
 person writes a line and gives the last word 
 to another i:)erson, who writes a second 
 to rhyme with it, and so on. Dean 
 Swift employs the term for a poem, each 
 stanza of which tenninates with the same 
 word. He has given a poem of nine 
 verses, each of which ends with Domi- 
 tilla, to which, of course, he finds nine 
 rhymes. (French.) 
 
 Bovcy Coal. A ligiute found at 
 Bovey Tracy, in Devonshire. 
 
 Bow (to rhyme with, /o^r). (Anglo- 
 Saxon, boga ; verb, bog an or bugan, to 
 arch.) 
 
 Draw not your bow till your arrow is 
 fi.ird. Have everything ready before 
 yoti begin. 
 
 Ifc lias a famous bow up at the castle. 
 Said of a braggart or pretender. 
 
 He has two strings to his bou\ Two 
 means of accomplishing his object ; if 
 one fails,' he can try the other. The 
 allusion is to the custom of the British 
 bowmen can-ying a reserve string in case 
 of accident. 
 
 To draw a bow at a venture. To attack 
 with a random remark ; to make a ran- 
 dom remark which may hit the trutli. 
 
 "A certain man drew a liow at a venture and 
 smote the Ring of Israel."—! Kings .\.\ii. 'M.
 
 Bcw 
 
 168 
 
 Bower of Bliss 
 
 To draw the lo)ig bow. To exaggerate. 1 
 The long-bow was the famous Euglish 
 weapon till gunpowder was introduced, 
 and it is said that a good archer could 
 hit between the fingers of a man's hand 
 at a considerable distance, and could 
 propel his arrow a mile. The tales told 
 about long-bow adventures are so won- 
 derful that they fully justify the phrase 
 givfcn above. 
 
 To loiKtring the how icill not heal the 
 ■woioid (Italian) . Rene of Anion, king of 
 Sicily, on the death of his wife, Isabeau 
 of Lorraine, adopted the emblem of a 
 bow with the string broken, and with 
 the words given above for the motto, by 
 which he meant, "Lamentation for the 
 li>ss of his wife was but poor satisfac- 
 tion." 
 
 Bow (to rhyme with now). The fore- 
 end of a boat or ship. (Danish and 
 Norwegian, boKg or hov, a shoulder; Ice- 
 landic, bogr.) 
 
 On the bow. Within a range of 45' on 
 one side or the other of the prow. 
 
 Bow Bells. Born within sound of 
 Bow bells. A true cockney. St. Mary- 
 le-Bow has long had one of the most 
 celebrated bell-peals in London. John 
 Duu, mercer, gave in 1472 two tene- 
 ments to maintain the ringing of Bow 
 bell every night at nine o'clock, to direct 
 travellers on the road to town ; and in 
 lo20 William Copland gave a bigger bell 
 for the purpose of "sounding a retreat 
 from work." Bow church is nearly the 
 centre of the City. (This bow rhymes 
 yvith Jloic .) 
 
 Bow-catcher {A). A corruption of 
 " Beau Catcher," a love-curl, termed by 
 the French an accroche coeur. A love- 
 curl worn by a man is a Bell-rope, i.e. 
 a rope to pull the belles with. 
 
 Bow-hand. The left hand ; the hand 
 which holds the bow. (This bow rhymes 
 \f \i\i flow.) 
 
 To be too much of the bow-hand. To 
 fail in a design ; not be suiRciently dex- 
 terous. 
 
 Bow-street Runners. Detectives 
 who scoured the country to find crim- 
 inals, before the introduction of the 
 police force. Bow Street, near Covent 
 Garden, London, is where tlie principal 
 police-court stands. (This bow rhymes 
 VilVuflow.) 
 
 Bow-window in Front {A) A big 
 
 corporation. 
 
 "He was a very Jarge man, . . . with what is 
 tenued a considerable b(]W-wiuduw iu front."— 
 Capi. Marryat : Poor Jack, i. 
 
 Bow-wow Word. A word in imita- 
 tion of the sound made, as hiss, cackle, 
 nuirmur, cuckoo, whip-poor-will, etc. 
 (Max Mil Her.) 
 
 Bowden. I^^ot every man can be vicar 
 of Bowden. Not everyone can occupy 
 the first place. Bowden is one of the best 
 livings in Cheshu-e. [Cheshire proverb.) 
 
 Bowdlerise {To). To expurgate a 
 book in editing it. Thomas Bowdler, 
 iu 1818, gave to the world an ex- 
 IHirgated edition of Shakespeare's works. 
 We have also Bowdlerite, Bowdlerist, 
 Bowdleriser, Bowdlerism, Bowdlerisa- 
 tion, etc. {See Geangeeise.) 
 
 Bowels of Mercy. Compassion, 
 symptithy. The tift'ections were ;it one 
 time supposed to be the outcome of 
 certain secretions or organs, as the bile, 
 the kidneys, the heart, the head, the 
 liver, the bowels, the spleen, and so on. 
 Hence such words ;ind phrases as inchni- 
 eliohj (black bile) ; the Psalmist says 
 that his reins, or kidneys, instructed him 
 (Psa. X. 7), meaning his inward convic- 
 tion ; the head is the seat of under- 
 standing ; the heart of affection and 
 memory (hence "loarning'by heart"), the 
 bowels of mercy, the spleen of jiassion cr 
 anger, etc. 
 
 7/(6' bowels gearned over him [upon or 
 towards him). He felt a secret affection 
 for him. 
 
 " Joseph made haste, for bis bowels did yearn 
 upon his brother."— Gen. xliii. 30 ; see also 1 Kings 
 ill. i6. 
 
 Bower. A lady's private room. 
 (Anglo-Saxon bur, a chamber.) (To 
 rhyme with flower.) {See Boudoie.) 
 
 '• Bv a back staircase she slipped to her own 
 hov.X'\-:'—Bret Ihirtc : Tliaiil.-ful Blmi.inms, part ii. 
 
 Bower Anchor. An anchor carried 
 at the bow of a shii^. There tire two : 
 one called the best bower, and the other 
 the snwdl bower. (To rhyme with flower. ) 
 
 "Starboard being the best liower, and port the 
 small Iwwer."— i'»i//(/i ; Sailor's H'ord-ftiw/r. 
 
 Bower-woman {A). A lady's nuiid 
 and companion. The attendants were 
 admitted to considerable freedom of 
 speech, and were treated with familiarity 
 and kindness. ("Bower" to rhyme 
 withflower.) 
 
 " ' This maiden,' replied Eveline, ' is my bower- 
 woman, and acmiainted with my most inward 
 thongbts. I beseech ymi to permit lici- iivcs<Mice 
 at our <'ouference."'— .S'ic W.Scott: The Betrothed, 
 chap. xi. 
 
 Bower of Bliss, in Wandering 
 Island, the enchanted residence of Acra'- 
 sia, destroyed by Sir Guyon. {Spenser : 
 Faerie Qiteene, book ii.) ("Bower" to 
 rhyme with flower.)
 
 Bo"wie 
 
 169 
 
 Boy Bishop 
 
 Bowie Knife. A loug, stout kuife, 
 carried by hunters iu the Western States 
 of America. So called from Colonel James 
 Bowie, one of the most daring characters 
 of the States. Born in Logan, co. Ken- 
 tucky. A bowie knife has a horn handle, 
 and the curved blade is 1.5 in. long, and 
 1^ wide at the hilt. (" Bowie " to rhyme 
 with tilioicij.) 
 
 Bowing. "We uncover the liead when 
 we wish to salute anyone with respect ; 
 but the Jews, Turks, Siamese, etc., un- 
 cover their feet. The reason is this : 
 With us the chief act of investiture is 
 crowning or placing a cap on the head ; 
 but in the East it is putting on the slip- 
 pers. To take off our symbol of honour 
 is to confess we are but "the humble 
 servant" of the person whom we thus 
 salute. ("Bowing" to rhyme with 
 ploinjhing ox plowiivj.') 
 
 Bowled. He u-as howled out. A 
 term in cricket. (Pronounce bold.) 
 
 Bowling. Tom Boicluig. The tj'pe 
 of a model sailor in Smollett's liodcrh-k 
 lidndoin. (To rhyme with rolling.) 
 
 *,' The Tom Bowling referred to in 
 Dibdin's famous sea-song was Cai^taiu 
 Thomas Dibdin, brother of Charles 
 Dibdin, who wrote the song, and father 
 of Dr. Dibdin, the bibliomaniac. 
 
 " Here ,-1 slii'er hulk lies imur Tom Buwliu'-', 
 TLo Jurliujj of tho crew." Dibdin. 
 
 Bowls. They who play lioich nuiM 
 e.rpcct to meet icith ruhhers. Those who 
 touch pitch must expect to defile their 
 fingers. Those who enter upon affairs 
 of chance, adventure, or dangerous 
 hazard must make up their minds to 
 encounter crosses, losses, or difficulties. 
 Those who play with edged instruments 
 must expect to get cut. Soldiers in 
 battle must look out for wounds, gam- 
 blers for losses, libertines for diseases. 
 
 V " Bowls " to rhyme with rolls. 
 
 Bowse. {Sec Browse.) 
 
 Bowyer God. The same as the 
 " archer god," meaning Cupid. ("Bow- 
 er " to rhyme with gruicer.) 
 
 Box. I've got into the irroi/g ho.r. I 
 am out of my element. Lord Lyttelton 
 used to say he ought to have been 
 brought up to some business ; that when- 
 ever he went to Yauxhall and heard the 
 mirth of his neighbours, he used to 
 fancy pleasure was in every box but his 
 own. Wherever he went for happiness, 
 he somehow always got into the wrong 
 box. {iSee Christmas Box. ) 
 
 Box and Cox. The two chief char- 
 acters in John M. Morton's farce, usuallj' 
 called Boj: and Co.i\ 
 
 Box the Compass. Eepeat iu order 
 the 32 points. (Spanish, boxar, to sail 
 round.) 
 
 Box Days. Two daj's iu spring and 
 autumn, and one at Christmas, during 
 vacation, in which pleadings may be 
 filed. This custom was established in 
 1690, for the purpose of expediting busi- 
 ness. Each judge has a jnivate box 
 with a slit, into which informations may 
 be j)laced on box daj-s, and the judge, 
 who alone has the key, examines the 
 palmers in private. 
 
 Box Harry {To), among commercial 
 ti'avellers, is to shirk the table d'hote iind 
 take something substantial for tea, in 
 order to save expense. Halliwell says, 
 "to take care after having beeu ex- 
 travagant." To box a tree is to cut 
 the bark to procure the sap, and 
 these travellers drain the landlord by 
 having a cheap tea instead of an expen- 
 sive dinner. To ' ' box the fox " is to 
 rob an orchard. 
 
 Bcxing-Day. {See Christmas Box. ) 
 
 Boy iu sailor language has no refer- 
 ence to age, but oidy to experience in 
 seamanshii). A boy may be fifty or any 
 other age. A crew is divided into able 
 seamen, ordinary seamen, and boys or 
 greenhorns. A "boy" is not required 
 to know anything about the practical 
 working of the vessel, but an "able 
 seaman" must know all his duties and 
 be able to perform them. 
 
 "A l)ny dues uot ship to know anytUiiig." 
 
 Boy Bachelor. William Wotton, 
 D.D., was admitted at St. Catherine's 
 Hall iDefore he was ten, and took his B. A. 
 when he was twelve and a half. (IGijG- 
 1726.) 
 
 Boy Bishop. St. Nicholas. From 
 his cradle he is said to have manifested 
 marvellous indications of piety, and was 
 therefore selected for the patron saint of 
 boys. (Fourth century.) 
 
 £og Bishop. The custom of choosing 
 a boy from the cathedral choir, etc., on 
 St. Nicholas Day (December 6th), as a 
 mock bishop, is very ancicut. The boy 
 possessed episcopal honour for three 
 weeks, and the rest of the choir were his 
 prebendaries. If he died during the time 
 of his prelacy, he was buried in poi/li^fica'l- 
 il)/fs. Probably the reference is to Jesus 
 Christ sitting in the Temple among the 
 doctors while He was a boy. The
 
 Boycott 
 
 170 
 
 Brag 
 
 custom was abolished in the reign of 
 Henry VIII. 
 livij hi buttons (A). {See Buttons.) 
 
 Boycott ( To) . To hoijcott a prrsoii is 
 to refuse to deal with him, to take any 
 notice of him, or even to sell to him. 
 The term arose in 1881, when Captain 
 Boycott, an Irish landlord, was thus 
 ostracised by tlie Irish agrarian insur- 
 gents. The custom of ostracising is of 
 very old standing. St. Paul exhorts 
 Christians to "boycott'' idolaters (2 
 Cor. vi. 17); and the Jews " boj-- 
 cotted " the Samaritans. The French 
 phrases, iJuiiutcr unc boutique and Dam- 
 ner tme riJle, convey the same idea ; and 
 the Catholic Church anathematises and 
 interdicts freely. 
 
 "One word as to the way in wliicli aiiian slimiltl 
 1)6 buycotted. WIk'h any man has taken a farm 
 from whicli a tenant lias been evk-teil, or is a 
 grab!)er, let everyi>ne in tlie parisb turn bis back 
 (in him ; have mi cunimunication with him ; have 
 no dealings with him. Ymi need iie\<'r s:iy an 
 unkind word to him ; but never s;iy anythini,' at 
 all to him. If yon mnst meet him in fair, walk 
 away from him silently. Do him no x iolciue, bnt 
 have no dealings with him. Let every man's 
 door be closed against him ; and make him feel 
 himself a stranger and a castaway in his own 
 neighbourhood." — T. Dillon, M.P. {Sj)cecU tu the 
 Land Learjue, Fob. i'«, issli. 
 
 Boyle Controversy. A book-battle 
 between the Hon. Charles Boyle, third 
 Earl of Orrery, and the famous Beiitley, 
 respecting the Epistles of rital'itris. 
 Charles Boyle edited the EjAs'les of 
 r/ialriris in 1695. Two year.) later 
 Bentley published his celebrated iJis- 
 scrtafion, to jirove that the eijistles were 
 not wi'itten till tlie second century after 
 Christ instead of six centuries before 
 that epoch. In 1699 he, pubhshed an- 
 other rejoinder, and uttei'ly annihilated 
 the Boj-leists. • 
 
 Boyle's Law. "The volume of a 
 gas is inversely as the pressure." If we 
 double the pressure on a gas, its volume 
 is reduced to one-half ; if we quadruple 
 the ijressure, it will be reduced to one- 
 fourth ; and so on ; so called from the 
 Hon. Robert Boyle. (1627-1691.) 
 
 Boyle Lectures. Eight sermons a 
 year in defence of Christianitj', founded 
 by the Hon. Robert Boyle. 
 
 Boz. Charles Dickens (1812-1870). 
 
 "B')Z, my signature in ihe ilorxiwi Chronicle," 
 lie tells us, " was the nickname of a pet child, a 
 vounger brother, whom I had dubbed Moses, in 
 i-.onour of the Vicar of Wakefield, which, being 
 pronounced Bozcs, got shortened into Bos, 
 
 "Who the dickens ' Boz' could be 
 ruzzled many a learned elf ; 
 But time revealed the mystery, 
 For ' Boz' appeared as Dickens' self." 
 
 Eliiijram in the CaHhusian. 
 
 Bozzy. James Boswell, the bio- 
 grajjlier of Dr. Johnson (1740-179')). 
 
 Braban9onne. A Belgian patriotic 
 song, composed in the revolution of 18:j(t, 
 and so named from Brabant, of which 
 Brussels is the cliief city. 
 
 Braban9ons. Troops of adventurers 
 and bandits, who made war a tra<le 
 and lent themselves for money to any- 
 one who would pay them ; so called 
 from Brabant, their great nest. (Twelfth 
 century.) 
 
 Brace. T/ie Brace Turerii, south- 
 east corner of King's Bench ; originally 
 kept by two brothers named Partridge, 
 i.e. a brace of bii'ds. 
 
 Brace of Shakes. In a brace of 
 shctkes. Very soon. {See Shakes.) 
 Similar phrases are : "In the twinkling 
 of an eye." {See Eye.) "In the 
 twinkling of a bed-post." {See Bed- 
 tost.) 
 
 Brad'amant or BradanKui'te. Sister 
 of Einaldo, in Ariosto's Orlando F/irioso. 
 She is represented as a most wonderful 
 Christian Am'azon, possessed of an irre- 
 sistible spear, which unhorsed every 
 knight that it touched. The same 
 character appears in the Orlando Inita- 
 mora'to of Bojardo. 
 
 Bradshaw's Guide was' started in 
 1839 by George Bradshaw, printer, in 
 Manchester. The Muntldn Guide was 
 first issued in December, 1841, and con- 
 sisted of thirty-two pages, giving tables 
 of forty-three lines of English railway. 
 
 Brad'wardine {Uosi) . The daughter 
 of Baron Bradwardine. and the heroine 
 of Scott's Waverleij. She is in love with 
 young Waverlej', and ultimately manies 
 iiim. 
 
 Brag. A game at cards: so called 
 because the players brag of their cards 
 to induce the company to make bets. 
 The principal sport of the game is occa- 
 sioned by any player brueiijincj that he 
 holds a better hand than the rest of the 
 partjs which is declared by saying " I 
 brag," and staking a sum of money on 
 the issue. {Hoi/le.) 
 
 Brag is a c/ood dor/, bid Holdfast is a 
 better. Talking is all very well, but doing 
 is far better. 
 
 Jack Brar/. A vulgar, pretentious 
 braggart, who gets into aristocratic 
 society, where his vulgarity stands out 
 in strong relief. The character is in 
 Theodore Hook's novel of the same name. 
 
 "He -was a sort of literary Jack Brag."— 7'. //. 
 Durton.
 
 Braggadochio 
 
 171 
 
 Brandy 
 
 Braggadochio. A braggart. One 
 who is very valiaut with his tougue, but 
 a gi'oat coward at heart. A barking dog 
 tliat bites not. The character is from 
 Spenser's Faerie Qxi'ene, and a type of 
 tlie '• Intemperance of the Tongue." 
 After a time, like the jackdaw in bor- 
 rowed plumes, Braggadocliio is stripped 
 of all his ' ' glories ' ' : his shield is 
 claimed by Sir Mar'inel ; his lady Ls 
 proved by the golden girdle to be the 
 false Florimel ; his horse is claimed by 
 Sii' Guyon ; Talus shaves off his beard 
 and scourges his squire ; and the pre- 
 tender sneaks off amidst the jeers of 
 everyone. It is thought that the poet 
 had Felipe of Spain in his eye when he 
 drew this character. {Favrie Qitecne, iii. 
 8, 10 ; V. 3.) 
 
 Bra'gi. Son of Odin and Frigga. 
 According to Scandinavian mythology, 
 he was the inventor of poetry ; but, 
 unlike Ai3ollo, he is always represented 
 as an old man with a long white beard. 
 His wife was Iduna. 
 
 Bragi's Apples. An instant cure of 
 weariness, decay of power, ill temper, 
 and failing health. These apples were 
 inexhaustible, for immediately one was 
 eaten its place was supplied by another. 
 
 Bragi's Story. Always enchanting, 
 but never coming to an end. 
 
 '•But I lia\eiiiaile my story liniu' enoii'-'li ; if I 
 siy nunc, yiui may fancy tliat it is Bragi «li(> lias 
 Clime amimg you, and that lie bas enteieil on his 
 endless stmy."— A'e«/i/ ; Heroes of Asgard, p. TJ4. 
 
 Bragmar'do. "When Gargantua took 
 the bells of Notre Dame de Paris to 
 hang about the neck of his horse, the 
 citizens sent Bragmardo to him with a 
 remonstrance. {Rabelais : Gargantua 
 and I'antaij'rud.) 
 
 Brah'ma {Indin)i). The self-existing 
 and invisible Creator of the universe ; 
 represented with four heads looking to 
 the four comers of the world. The 
 divine triad is Brahma, Vishnu, and 
 Siva. 
 
 Brahma. One of the three beings 
 created by God to assist in the creation 
 of the world. The Brahmins claim him 
 as the founder of their religious system. 
 " Whate'er in India holds the sacred name 
 Of piety or lore, the Brahmins claim ; 
 In wildest rituals, vain and painful, lost, 
 Brahma, their founder, as a god they boast." 
 Camocns : Ltistad, liook vii. 
 
 Brah'mi. One of the three goddess- 
 daughters of Vishnu, representing " crea- 
 tive energy." 
 
 Brahmin. A worshipper of Brahma, 
 the highest caste in the system of Hin- 
 duism, and of the priestly order. 
 
 Bramble (Jfatt/iew) . A testy, gouty, 
 benevolent, country squire, in Smollett's 
 novel of Hainijlrrcij Clinker. Colman 
 has introduced the same character as 
 Sir Robert Bramble in his Fuor Gentle- 
 man. Sheridan's "Sir Anthony Abso- 
 lute " is of the same tj-pe. 
 
 "A'ut I a baronet? Sir Robert Bramble at 
 Blacklierry Hall, in the county of Kent? 'Tis 
 time you sluuild know it, for you have lieeii my 
 clumsy, two-tisti'd valei-de-chamlire these thirty 
 years."— Tftc Pour Gentleman, iii. 1. 
 
 Bran. If not Bran, it is Bran'.s 
 hratlier. If not the real " Simon Pure," 
 it is just as good. A complimentary 
 expression. Bran was Fingal's dog, a 
 mighty ftivourite. 
 
 Bran-new cr Brand-new. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, hranil, a torch.) Fire new. 
 Shakespeare, iu Lore's l.ahour Lost, i. 1, 
 saj's, " A man of fire-new words." And 
 again iu Ta-elfth Night, iii. 2, " Fire- 
 new from the mint"; and again in 
 King Lear, v. 3, "Fire-new fortiuie"; 
 and again iu Richard III., act i. 3, 
 "Your tire-new stamp of honour is 
 scarce current." Originally applied to 
 metals and things manufactured in 
 metal which shine. Subsequently ap- 
 plied generally to things quite new. 
 
 Brand. The CHeqaot brand, etc., the 
 lest braiid, etc. That is the merchant's 
 or excise mark branded on the article 
 itself, the vessel which contains the 
 article, the wrapper which, covers it, the 
 cork of the bottle, etc., to guarantee its 
 being genuine, etc. Madame Clicquot, 
 of champagne notoriety, died in 18G6. 
 
 He has the brand of villain in his lookv. 
 It was once customarj' to brand the 
 cheeks of felons with an F. The custom 
 was abolished by law in 1822. 
 
 Brandenburg. Confession of Bran- 
 denburg. A formulary or confession of 
 faith drawn up in the city of Brnndeu- 
 bm-g, by order of the elector, with the 
 view of reconciling the tenets of Luther 
 with those of Calvin, and to put an end 
 to the disputes occasioned by the con- 
 fession of Augsburg. 
 
 Bran'dimart, in Orlando Furioso, is 
 Orlando's brother-in-law. 
 
 Brandon, the juggler, lived in the 
 reign of Heury VIII. 
 
 Brandons. Lighted torclies. Ihw- 
 iniea de bra)idonibiis (St. Valentine's 
 Day), when boj's used to carry about 
 brandons (Cupid's torches). 
 
 Brandy is Latin for Goose. Here 
 
 is a pun between aiiser, a goose, and 
 amu'cr, to rei^ly. What is the Latin for
 
 Brandy Nan 
 
 172 
 
 Breaches 
 
 goose? Answer [anser] braudy. {See 
 Tace the Latin foe Candle.) 
 
 Brandy Nan. Queen Anne, who 
 was very fond of braudy (1664, 1702- 
 1714). On the statue of Queen Anne 
 in St. Paul's Churchyard a wit wrote — 
 
 " Brandy Nan, Biandy Xan, left in tbe lurch, 
 HtT face to the gin-shop, her hack to th? 
 church." 
 
 A "gin palace" used to stand at the 
 south corner of St. Paul's Churchyard. 
 
 Branghtons (IV/fc). Vulgar, malicious, 
 jealous women. The characters are taken 
 from Miss Burney's novel called i'/f/*«rt. 
 One of the brothers is a Cockney snob. 
 
 Brank. A gag for scolds. (Dutch, 
 pra/ti/, a fetter ; Urerm:in, pruiif/cr, Gaelic, 
 bnuicas, a kind of liillory.) 
 
 Brasenose (Oxford). Over the gate 
 is a brass nose, the arms of the college ; 
 but the word is a corruption of hnmen- 
 hins, a brasserie or brewhouse. (Latui, 
 
 bfasln'lum.') 
 
 Brass. Impudence. A lawyer said 
 to a troublesome witness, "Why, man, 
 you have brass enough Lu your head to 
 make a teakettle." "And you, sir," 
 rejilied the witness, " have water enough 
 in yours to fill it." 
 
 h (iiipso)i Brass. A knavish attorney ; 
 servile, affecting S3'mpathy, but making 
 his clients his lawful prey. {Dickois : 
 Old Curionity SJiop.) 
 
 Brat. A child ; so called from the 
 Welsh, bntt^ a child's pinafore ; and brat 
 is a contraction of brattach, a cloth, also 
 a standard. 
 
 "Every man must repair t'l the lirattach of his 
 tribe."— .Sfo«. 
 " Israel ! O household of the Lord ! 
 
 Abraham's brats ! O brood of lilessed seed! " 
 Gascoi(jne: Ve Profiindis. 
 
 Brave. The Brave. 
 
 Alfonso IV. of Portugal (1290, 1324- 
 1357). 
 
 John Andr. van der Mersch, patriot, 
 The brave Fkming (1734-1792). 
 
 Bravery. Finery is the French bravc- 
 rte. The French for courage is bracoure. 
 
 " What woman in the city do I name 
 When that I say the city woman bears 
 ■ The cost of princes on unworthy shoulders ? 
 Who can come in and say that I mean her ? . . . 
 Or what is he of basest function 
 That says his bravery is not of my cost ?" 
 
 Shakespeare : As You Like It, ii. 7. 
 
 Bravest of the Brave. Marshal 
 Ney. So called by the troops of Fried- 
 land (1807), on account of his fearless 
 bravery. Napoleon said of him, " That 
 man i.s a lion." C1769-1S1.5.) 
 
 Brawn. The test of the brawn's head. 
 A little boy one day came to the court of 
 King Arthur, and, drawing his wand 
 over a boar's head, declared, " There's 
 never a cuckold's knife can carve this 
 head of brawn." No knight in the 
 com't excejit Sir Cradock was able to 
 accomplish the feat. {Fcrci/^s Rcliqties.) 
 
 Bray. {Sec Vicae.) 
 
 Brazen Age. The age of war and 
 
 violence. It followed the silver age. 
 
 "To this next came in cour.se the brazen a-,' ■, 
 A warlike offspring, prompt to bloody rai,'e. 
 Not impious yet. Hard steel succeeded then, 
 And stubborn as the metal were the men." 
 Dryden : Metamorphoses, i. 
 
 Brazen-faced. Bold (in a bad sense), 
 without shame. 
 
 " Wliat a brazen-faced varlet art thou 1 " 
 
 ,Shakespe((re : Kiiuj Lear, ii. 2. 
 
 Brazen Head. The following are 
 noted : — One by Albertus Magnus, which 
 cost him thirty years' labour, and was 
 broken into a thousand pieces by Thomas 
 Aqui'nas, liis disciple. One by Friar 
 Bacon. 
 
 " Bacon trembled for his brazen head." 
 
 I'djie : Diiiieiad, iii. 101. 
 " Quoth he, ' Jly head's not nia<l(! of brass, 
 As Friar Bacon's noddle was.'" 
 
 S. Bailer : Uadibra^, ii. -'. 
 
 The brazen head of the Marquis de 
 Ville'na, of Spain. 
 
 Another by a Polander, a disciple of 
 Escotillo, an Italian. 
 
 V It was said if Bacon heard his head 
 speak he would succeed ; if not, he would 
 fail. Miles was set to watch, and while 
 Bacon slept the Head spoke thrice : 
 "Time is"; half an hour later it said, 
 "Time was." In another half-hour it 
 said, "Time's past," fell down, and was 
 broken to atoms. Byron refers to this 
 legend. 
 " Like Friar Bacon's brazen head, I've spoken, 
 
 ' Time is,' ' Time was,' ' Time's past.' " 
 
 Don Jaaii, i. L'17. 
 
 Brazen Head. A gigantic head kept 
 in the castle of the giant Fer'ragus, of 
 Portugal. It was omniscient, and told 
 those who consulted it whatever they 
 required to know, i^ast, present, or to 
 come. {Valentine aj/d Orson.) 
 
 Brazen out (To). To stick to an 
 assertion knowing it to be wrong ; to 
 outface in a shameless manner ; to dis- 
 regard public opinion. 
 
 Breaches, meaning crcrl-s or small 
 bf/i/s, is to be found in Judges v. 17. 
 Deborah, complaining of the tribes who 
 refused to assist her in her war with 
 Sisera, says Reuben continued in his 
 sheepfolds, Gilead remained beyond
 
 Bread 
 
 173 
 
 Breath. 
 
 Jordan, Dan in ships, and Asher in his 
 breaches, that is, creeks ou the sea- 
 shore. 
 
 Bread. To fjfrak bread. To partake 
 of food. Common in Scripture langu- 
 age. Breaking of bread. The Eucharist. 
 '•Tliey continued . . . in lu'eakin'-'cif inead.and 
 in iiniyev^."— Acts ii. 4:; ; and a;,'ain viTse -iii. 
 
 Bread. He took bread and salt, i.e. 
 he took his oath. Bread and salt were 
 formerly eaten when an oath was taken. 
 
 Cast thij bread upon the tvaters: for thou 
 shalt find it after niant/ dai/s (Eccles. 
 xi. 1). Wheu the Nile ovei-flovvs its 
 banks the weeds perish and the soil is 
 disintegrated. The rice-seed being cast 
 into the water takes root, and is found 
 in due time growing in healthful vigour. 
 
 I)o>i''t quarrel icith yonr bread and 
 batter. Don't foolishly give up the 
 l^ursuit by which you earn your living. 
 
 Tu knotr a'hii'h side one's bread is 
 battered. To be mindful of one's own 
 interest. 
 
 To take the bread oat of one''s month. 
 To forestall another ; to say something 
 which another was on the i^oiut of 
 saying ; to take away another's liveli- 
 hood. {Sec under Butter.) 
 
 Bread-basket ( One's) . The stomach. 
 
 Bread and Cheese. The barest 
 
 necessities of life. 
 
 Break {To). To become a bankrupt. 
 {See Bankrupt.) 
 
 To break a bond. To dishonour it. 
 
 To break a journeij. To stop before 
 the journey is accomplished. 
 
 To break a matter to a person. To be 
 the first to impart it, and to do so 
 cautiously and by piecemeal. 
 
 'To break bread. To partake of the 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 " Uiifm the first day of the week, when the 
 di-^ciples came together to break Ijread, Paul 
 I'veaclied to them."— Acts xx. 7. 
 
 To break one's fast. To take food 
 after long abstinence ; to eat one's 
 breakfast after the night's fast. 
 
 To tn-cak one's neck. To dislocate the 
 bones of one's neck. 
 
 2o break on the tcheel. To torture one 
 on a "wheel" by breaking the long 
 bones with an iron bar. {Cf. Coup de 
 Grace.) 
 
 To break a butterf!;/ on a vheeJ. To 
 employ superabundant effort in the ac- 
 complishment of a small matter. 
 
 "Satire or sense, alas ! can Sporus feel, 
 
 AVho Itreaks a tnnterflv upon a wheel." 
 
 Pope : Epistle to Dr. Arhnthnot, 307-a. 
 
 To break out of bounds. To go beyond 
 the prescribed limits. 
 
 Break Cover {Td). To start forth 
 from a hiding-place. 
 
 Break Down {Tu). To lose all 
 control of one's feelings. 
 
 Break Faith ( To). To violate one's 
 word or pledge. 
 
 Break Ground {To). To commence 
 a new project. As a settler does. 
 
 Break In {To). To interpose a re- 
 mark. To train a horse to the .saddle or 
 to harness. 
 
 Break of Day. Day-break. 
 
 '■'At lu'e.'ik of (lav 1 will cume to thee ai-'.-iin." 
 Wnnl^ii-iirth : Pet Lamb, stanza l.".. 
 
 Break the Ice {To). To prepare 
 the way ; to cause the stiffness and re- 
 serve of intercourse with a stranger to 
 relax : to impart to another bit by bit 
 distres.sing news or a delicate subject. 
 
 Break your Back {To). Make you 
 bankrupt. The metaphor is from carry- 
 ing burdens on the back. 
 
 I Break up Housekeeping (To). To 
 
 diseoutiuue keeping a sej)arate house, 
 
 I Break with One {To). To cease 
 1 from intercourse. 
 
 t " What cause have I given hini to break with 
 me ? " — Fliiiciice MarriKit. 
 
 Breakers Ahead. Hidden danger 
 at hand. Breakers in the oijen sea 
 ' always announce sunken rocks, sand- 
 banks, etc. 
 
 Breaking a Stick. Part of the 
 marriage ceremony of the American 
 Indians, as breaking a wine-glass is 
 part of the marriage ceremony of the 
 Jews. {Ladi/ Anr/usta Hamilton : Mar- 
 riage Bites, etc., -iO'i, 298.) 
 
 In one of Raj)hael's pictures we see 
 an unsuccessful suitor of the Virgin 
 Mary breaking his stick. This alludes 
 to the legend that the several suitors 
 were each to bring an almond stick, 
 which was to be laid up in the sanctuary 
 over-night, and the owner of the stick 
 which budded was to be accounted the 
 suitor which God approved of. It was 
 thus that Joseph became the husband 
 of Mary. {Fscudo-Mattheiv's Gospel, 
 40,41.) 
 
 In Florence is a picture in which the 
 rejected suitors break their sticks on 
 Joseijh's back. 
 
 Breast. To make a clean breast of it. 
 To make a full confession ; concealing 
 nothing. 
 
 Breath. ^iW in a breath. Without 
 taking breath. (Latin, continenti spirita.)
 
 Breathe 
 
 174 
 
 Brevet Rank 
 
 It talces away one's hreaih. The news 
 is so astouudiug it causes one to hold his 
 breath witli svirprise. 
 
 Out of breath. Panting from exer- 
 tion ; temporarily short of breath. 
 
 Save ijour breath to cool your porr'ulye. 
 Don't talk to me, it is only wasting 
 your breath. 
 
 " You iiiiglitliave saveilyouv brcatli to cool your 
 lion-idge."— 3/rs. Gaslcell: Llbbie Mamk (Era 11 li. 
 
 To eatch one''s breath. To check sud- 
 denly the free act of breathing. 
 
 " ' I see lior,' reiilied I, nitcliing my breath witli 
 joy.''— CoJ(^ Marryiit: I'cter Simple. 
 
 To hold one's breath. Voluntarily to 
 cease breathing for a time. 
 
 To take breath. To cease for a little 
 time from some exertion in order to 
 recover from exhaustion of breath. 
 
 Under o/ie's breath. In a whisper or 
 undertone of voice. 
 
 Breathe. To breathe one's last. To 
 die. 
 
 Br6che de Roland. A deep defile 
 in the crest of tlie Pyrenees, some three 
 liuudred feet in width, between two pre- 
 cipitous rocks. The legend is that Ro- 
 land, the paladin, cleft the rock iu two 
 with his sword Durandal, when he was 
 set upon by the Gascons at lionces- 
 valles. 
 
 " Tlien would I seek tlio Pvreneau l>reacli 
 Which Roland clove witli liiisje two-handed 
 sway." Woiilsiforlli. 
 
 Breeches. To wear the breeches. Said 
 of a woman who usurps the prerogative 
 of her husband. Similar to 2'he yrey 
 mare is the better horse. {See Geey.) 
 
 The phrase is common to the French, 
 Dutch, Germans, etc., as lil/e parte Ics 
 braies. Die rroaw die hosen anhaben. 
 Sie hat die IliJ.veii. 
 
 Breeches Bible. (See Bible.) 
 
 Breeze. House-sweepings, as fluflf, 
 dust, ashes, and so on, thrown as refuse 
 into the dust-bin. We generally limit 
 tlie meaning now to small ashes and 
 cinders used for coals in burning bricks. 
 The word is a corruption of the French, 
 debris (rubbish, or rather the jjart broken 
 or rubbed off by wear, tear, and stress 
 of weather). The French, braise, older 
 form brese, means small coke or charcoal. 
 
 The Breeze-Jly. The gad-fly; so called 
 from _ its sting. (Anglo-Saxon, briose ; 
 Gothic, bry, a sting. ) 
 
 Breeze. A gentle ■wind or gale. 
 (French, brise, a breeze.) Figuratively, 
 a slight quarrel. 
 
 Breidablik {wide - shining']. The 
 palace of Baldur, which stood in the 
 Milky Way. (Scandinavian mytliology.) 
 
 Brennus. A Latin form of the 
 Kymric word Brenhin (a war-chief). 
 In times of danger the Druids appointed 
 a hroii! to lead the confederate tribes to 
 battle. 
 
 Brent. Without a wrinkle. Burns 
 says of John Anderson, in his jiriine of 
 life, his "locks were like the raven," 
 and his " bonnie brow was brent" 
 (without a wrinkle). 
 
 Brent-goose (A). Properly a brant- 
 goose, the braata berniela, a brownish- 
 grey goose of the genus branta. 
 
 " For the people of the village 
 S.uv the tloek of brant with wonder." 
 Luiu/fiUow : Hiawatha, part xvi. stanza 32. 
 
 Brent-hill means the eyebrows. 
 
 Looking or gazing from under brent- 
 Jtill. In Devonshire means " fi-owning 
 at one ; " and in West Coriawall to bread 
 means to wrinkle the brows. It is very 
 remarkable that the word should have 
 such opposite meanings. 
 
 Brentford. Like the two kings of 
 Brentford smelling at one nosegay. Said 
 of persons who were once rivals, but 
 have become reconciled. The allusion 
 is to an old farce called Tlie Rehearsal, 
 by the Duke of Buckingham. "The 
 two kings of Brentford enter hand in 
 hand," and the actors, to heighten the 
 absurdity, used to make them enter 
 " smelling at one nosegay " (act ii. s. 2). 
 
 Bressommer, or Brest -summer. 
 (French, sommicr, a lintel or bressnmmer.) 
 A beam supporting the whole weight of 
 the building above it ; as, the beam over 
 a shop-front, the beam extending over 
 an opening through a wall when a 
 communication lietween two contiguous 
 rooms is required. Sometimes these 
 beams support a large superstructure. 
 (The word bress, brest, or breast, in car- 
 pentry, means a rafter, and the German 
 bret:=a plank.) 
 
 Bretwalda (raler rf Britain). Tlie 
 chief of the kings of the heptarchy who 
 exercised a certain undefined power over 
 the other rulers ; something like that of 
 Hugues Cap'et over his jieers. 
 
 "The office of Bretwahla, a kind of elective 
 chieftainship, of all Britain, was held by several 
 Northumbrian kings, iu succes.sion." — £«?•/<• .- 
 English 'J'umjuc, p. L'ti. 
 
 Brevet Rank is rank one degree 
 higher than your pay. Thus, a brevet- 
 major has the title of major, but the
 
 Breviary 
 
 17.1 
 
 Brick-tea 
 
 pay of captain. (French, brcref, a 
 patent, a concession.) 
 
 Breviary. An epitome of the old 
 office of matins and lauds for daily 
 service in the Koman Catholic Church. 
 The Breviary contains the daily ' ' Divine 
 Office," which those in orders in the 
 Catholic Church are bound to recite. 
 The office consists of psalms, collects, 
 readings from Scripture, and tlie life of 
 some saint or saints. 
 
 Brew. Brew me a glass of grog, i.e. 
 mix one for me. Brew me a cup of tea, 
 I.e. make one for rae. T/ie tea is set to 
 lireir, i.e. to draw. The general meaning 
 of the word is to boil or mi.x ; the re- 
 stricted meaning is to make malt liquor. 
 
 Brewer. The Brewer of Ghent . James 
 van Artevelde. (Fourteenth century.) 
 
 It may here be remarked that it is a 
 great error to derive proper names of 
 any antiquity from modern words of a 
 siinilir sound or sjjelling. As a rule, 
 very few ancient names ai'e the names 
 of trailes ; and to su^jpose that such 
 words as Bacon, Hogg, and I'igg refer 
 to swineherds, or Uaiter, Miller, Tanner, 
 Kinger, and Bottles to handicrafts, is 
 a great mistake. A few examples of a 
 more scientific derivation will suffice for 
 a hint : — 
 
 Brewer. This name, which exists in 
 France as Bruhiere and Brugiere, is not 
 derived from the Saxon briicdii (to brew), 
 but the French hriigere (heath), and is 
 about tantamount to the German " Plan- 
 tageuet " {broom-plant). {See Rymer's 
 Fmlera, William I.) 
 
 Bacon is from the High Germaii 
 verb hagan (to fight), and means "the 
 fighter." 
 
 PiGG and Bigg are from the old High 
 German pichan (to slash). 
 
 Hogg is the Anglo-Saxon hgge 
 (scholar), from the verb hogan (to 
 study). In some cases it may be from 
 the Crerman hoch (high). 
 
 Bottle is the Anglo-Saxon Bod'-el 
 (little envoy). Norse, hodi ; Danish, 
 bad. 
 
 Gaiter is the Saxon Gaidcr (the 
 darter). Celtic, gais, oiiv goad. 
 
 Miller is the old Norse, melia, our 
 null and maul, and means a "mauler" 
 or " fighter." 
 
 Rixgee is the Anglo-Saxon hrlng gar 
 (the mailed warrior). 
 
 Smith is the man who smites. 
 
 Tanner (German Thaiiger, old Ger- 
 man Danegand) is the Dane-Goth. 
 
 This list might easily be extended. 
 
 Briar eos or ^Egc'on. A giant with 
 fifty heads and a hundred hands. Homer 
 says the gods called him Briar'eos, but 
 men called him ^geon. {Iliad, i. 403.) 
 
 " Not lie will) braiulisbed in his luiiulreil liands 
 His lifiy swords and fifty sliields in llulir, 
 L'lnild liave surpassed tlie lierce Argantes' 
 might." 
 
 'fasso: Jerusalem Delivered, biidk vii. 
 
 The Briarens of languages. Cardinal 
 Mezzofauti, who knew fifty-eight dif- 
 ferent tongues. Byron called him " a 
 walking polyglot; a monster of lan- 
 guages ; a Briareus of parts of speech." 
 (1774 - 1849.) Generally pronounced 
 Bri'-a-ruee. 
 
 Bold Briareus. Handel (lG8r)-17.")6). 
 
 3riar-root Pipe. A pipe made from 
 the root-wood of the large heatli(/i/7^//e;Y), 
 which grows in the south of France. 
 
 Bribo'ci. Inhabitants of part of 
 Berkshire and the adjacent counties 
 referred to by Ctesar in his Commen- 
 taries. 
 
 Bric-^-brac. Odds and ends of 
 curiosities. In French, a vuircliaud de 
 brie-d-brac is a seller of rubbish, as old 
 nails, old screws, old hinges, and other 
 odds and ends of small value ; but we 
 employ the j)hrase for odds and ends of 
 vertu. {Bricoler in archaic French 
 means Faire toate espece de metier, to b ■ 
 Jack of all trades. Brae is the ricochet 
 of brie, as fiddle-faddle and scores of 
 other double words in English. ) 
 
 "A mail with a iiassimi fur brio-a-brac is 
 always stuiiililiug uvei'aiitiiiue liroiizes, intaglios, 
 mosaics, aud daggers of the time of Benveuuto 
 Celliui."— JMj'ic/t; Miss Mehetable's Son, chap. ii. 
 
 Brick. A regular brick. A jolly 
 
 good fellow. (Compare TeTpaywi'o? au^p ; 
 
 "square"; and "four-square to all 
 the winds that blow.") 
 
 "A fellow like iiobodv else, aud, in fine, a 
 brick. "-CJeoj-i/p Jiliot: Duniel Deroiulu, book ii. 
 chai>. 16. 
 
 Brick-and-mortar Franchise. A 
 
 Chartist phrase for the £10 household 
 system, now abolished. 
 
 Brickdusts. The oSrd Foot; so 
 called from tlie brickdust-red colour of 
 their facings. Also called Fire-and- 
 tltrc" pennies, a play on the number and 
 tlaily pay of the ensigns. 
 
 Now called the 1st battalion of the 
 "King's Shropshire Light Infantry." 
 The 2ud battahon is the old 8.5tli. 
 
 Brick-tea. The inferior leaves of the 
 tea-plant mixed with sheep's blood aud
 
 Bride 
 
 17« 
 
 B rid port 
 
 pressed into cubes ; the ordinary drink of 
 tlio common people south of Moscow. 
 
 "Tlie Tartiir* swill n li.irrllile Kriiel, lliifk nnd 
 Kliili, i)t lirirk-U'ii, mii't, wtit, iwl'l-T, uikI »iiKnr, 
 Ixiilcd III 11 .liiililr.iii mu).'— r/»e iMnlit fetet/ritph, 
 Kniliiy, Dciolier lutli, liwl. 
 
 Bride. Thchtitltl wnnth is a relic of 
 tlu! curo'iin miptiiiiis uscil by the Uroc-ks 
 iiud Uoinaiis to indicate triumph. 
 
 Bride Cake. A relic of the Roman 
 Coiit'arnatin, a mode of miinia<»o prac- 
 tised by tho liighcst chiss in Rome. It 
 was performed before tea witnesses by 
 the I'uu'tifex Max'imus, and tho coii- 
 tnictiug jiarties mutually partouk of a 
 cake made of salt, water, and Hour 
 (/(//•). Only those born in such wedlock 
 were elitrible for the hif^h sac re 1 ottices. 
 
 Bride or Wedding Favours repre- 
 sent tiie Inif li/r,r'.s /:,i ,f, and symbolise 
 union. 
 
 Bride of Aby'dos. Ziileika, daughtei 
 of (iiallii-, J'acha uf Aby'dos. As she 
 was uovi-r wed, slie sliould bo culled tho 
 atU meed or betrothrd. {/Ii/ron.) 
 
 Bride of Lammormoor. Lucy 
 
 Aslit ill. {Si-iit/ : Itnil- uj l.iiinnfiiit'Ktr.) 
 
 Bride of the Sea. Venice ; wi call«»«l 
 fiiiin till' ainiint ci-remouy of th-- I> >>»e, 
 who thnw a riiij^ into tho Adriatic, 
 savin;;, •' We wed thei-, O sea, iu token 
 of per|i<'tual d<imination." 
 
 Bridegroom is the old Dutch prom 
 (a vouii^; man). Thus, (irifuii o/t/f Stole 
 is the youii}? man over tho wardrobe. 
 (.Troom, an ostler, is ijiiite another word, 
 being the I'ersian ijunni (a keeper of 
 liorses), unless, indeed, it is a contracted 
 form of stable-groom (st4ible-b<>y). The 
 Anglo Saxon Uri/il-i/mnit (guma = man) 
 confused with groom, a lad. 
 
 Bridegroom's Men. In the Roman 
 
 inania;40 liy riiiifiirrrut m, the bride was 
 led to tlio i'outit'ex Max'imus by bache- 
 lors, but was conducted home by married 
 men. I'olydore Virgil says that a married 
 man preceded the bride on her return, 
 hearing a vessel of gold and silver. {Str 
 iSuiDE Cake.) 
 
 BridewelL The city Bride well. 
 Bridge Street, Blackfriars, was built over 
 a holy well of medical water, called St. 
 Bride's Well, where was founded a 
 liospital for the poor. After the Re- 
 lorniatiou, Edward VI. chartered this 
 hosiiital to the city. Christ Church was 
 given to the education of the young : 
 St. Thomas's Hospital to the cure of 
 the sick ; and Bridewell w;is made a 
 penitentiary for unruly apprentices 
 and vagrants. 
 
 BlidC* of Gold. A'<'.rdlh;{ t.> u 
 Uenn.-iii trailitjon, I'hai 
 cr<iHH<^!< the Rhine oil a 
 
 Hi.. ' 
 
 tli 
 
 c AtUmmm. 
 
 .Viitlf a hr'tdije ■> htm ; *.e. 
 
 enabling a man to ri-tifut Intm a falae 
 ])*)sitioii without losH of dignity. 
 Bridge of Johennam. i "> > Skbat.) 
 Bridge of Slgha, n^Iu' li '"iiU''< ts thu 
 palaie ol the li.igc with tie- tt.itf prison-i 
 of Venice. Over this bridgf the statu 
 pri.soners were ojnveyed from thf judg- 
 ment-hall to tho pLice of execution. 
 
 '• I «1...mI III Vfiii.-c. i>il llw llri.Ui- .if rti^lii, 
 A inliirc itml It |iri«<iii ml ciili lutinl. ' 
 
 Ityrun: VtnUle Untold » I'UgrtmitiJf, \\ . I. 
 
 V Waterloo Bridge, in I/ondon, umhI, 
 Home years ago, when suiciden wore 
 fre<iuent there, to bo calleil Tlir Itrtdtje 
 
 o/.Su//,n. 
 
 Brldgowator Troatisoa. In.<iti- 
 
 tiit.'l liy til.' K" hriii I- M-nry Kger- 
 ton, Karl ..I I IH.'.'i. He 
 
 loft thf iiiti'i " given to 
 
 the author 111 ... on "Tho 
 
 piwiT, wi.Hdom. and g.>o«ln<*«w of 0<¥l, 
 an maiiifi'st.'.l in i-rfaM'ti." Fis'ht an* 
 pubh-h.-d by thef.ill.iwi' n: - 
 
 (I) Th.. R.'v. Dr. Cli Dr. 
 
 John Kidil, (,:() th« R.^ .>.. ....well, 
 
 (1) Sir Charl.'s Bell, (.■») Dr. I'.-t.-r .M. 
 Roget, (tJ) the Rev. Dr. Bu« kland. (7) 
 tho Rev. W. Kirby, and («) Dr. William 
 I'roiit. 
 
 Bridle. To hii,- on thi- hrulU is to 
 sutT.-r great hardships. Tin' bri.lle w;ui 
 an instriimi^nt for punishing a scold : 
 to bite oil tho bridle Ls to suiTer Uiiii 
 punishment. 
 
 Bridle Road or Way. A way for a 
 ridm:,'-liiir-.', Imt in .t I'orahorse and eart. 
 
 Bridle up (/'")• I" French, sr 
 rtiiiinnirr, to draw in tin? chin and toss 
 the head back in scorn or pridi-. The 
 metaphor is to a hr)rse pulli-d up sud- 
 denly and sharjdy. 
 
 Bridlegoose (.//<'A/r),orBridoie. who 
 j decidi'd the raases brought to him by 
 I the throw of dice, {hnlteluix : (jurtjanlmi 
 \ tind I'd n ((Iff rut/, iii. U'J.) 
 
 Bridport. Stahhcd trilh a Brldport 
 diKjijir, I.e. hanged. Bridport, in Dorset- 
 shire, was once famous for its hempen 
 goods, and monopolised the manufacture 
 of ropes, cables, and tackling for the 
 British navy. The hangman's rojie being 
 made at Bridport gave birth to the 
 proverb. {Fuller : irorthies.)
 
 Brigadore 
 
 177 
 
 Brisk 
 
 Brig adore ('i syl.). {-^'f Hoese.) 
 
 Brigand i>ioj)erly means a setlitious 
 follow. 'Ihc Jini/iimfi WL-vii lif;lit-aniie(.l, 
 irrcfTular troops, like the Ba-shi-Biucoiiks, 
 and like them were addicted to maniud- 
 iiij;. The I'ltf ( 'oiiiptiiiitK of France were 
 Brigands. (Italian, bnyaitU, seditious ; 
 biiijd, variance.) 
 
 Brigondino. Tlio armour of a 
 brigand, consisting of small plates of 
 iron ou quilted linen, and covered with 
 leather, hemp, or something of the kind. 
 
 Brlgantlno (:{ .^yl.) or Jltimti/j/irodih 
 ling. A two-masted vessel with a brig's 
 foremast and a schooner's mainmast. 
 (Jfaiid'n dcuiiiiin'a JI<iiiu<il.) A pirate 
 ves.scl. 
 
 Brlght's Disease. A degeneration 
 of tli<- tiN^-iK.s oi thf kidneys into fat, 
 tirst investigated bv iJr. Bright. The 
 patient under this disease has a flabby, 
 hloodlcM ajiiH-arance, is always diowsy, 
 and eiisily fatigued. 
 
 Brigians. The Ciistilians ; so called 
 frnni ciiif uf tlieir ancient kings, nanie<l 
 Brix or Brigus, said by monkish fabulists 
 to be the granilson of Noali. 
 
 '■ Kilw:iril nml IVilin. riiiiiloiis c.f fiimi- . . . 
 Tlirii" the lltTce Uriumus lii'Wril ilirir Moo'ly 
 
 Till in u cuUl enilinico tlie mrii'liii'-'-* l;».v. 
 Brigliado'ro. '; Vf IIohsk.) 
 
 Brilliant ftlodmon (7'//';. Charles 
 Xll. of Sweden. (1082-1097-1718.) 
 
 •• >l:ii 0(l"iii:i'« iniKltiriii nr tin- .SwinIc." 
 
 JtiliiifiiH r Vtniity '•/ IliiiHtiii H'laArf. 
 
 Brlncy or Briny. I'ln on the biiinj. 
 
 Thi' s< .1, whi' h is s;ilt like brine. 
 
 Bring About (7'")- To cause a thing 
 to !«■ dun.'. 
 
 Bring Down tbo House {Tu). To 
 cause raptuiiiui .ijniliu-'' in a theatre. 
 
 Bring into Play (7^). To cause to 
 
 act, to M.t in niutinn. 
 
 Bring Round (T"-). To restore to 
 oimscinu.sne.ss <>r liealth ; to cause one to 
 recover [from a tit, etc.]. 
 
 Bring To (To). To restore to con- 
 sciousness ; to resuscitate. Muuy other 
 uicaiiings. 
 
 ••• rill'rinc bcrt">,"iinl"I tlie<lrivcr. with a l>riil;il 
 
 LTiii : '111 i.'ii.- Ill r >'>iii>-lliiiii: I«-ltor lUaii oitu- 
 lli"! .■ ■ — .1// V Wiiff .- l'<id< Tkih's Viibin. 
 
 Bring to Bear (Tl). To cause to 
 h.ipi)eu sucoesafuUy. 
 
 Bring to Book ( Tu). To detect oue 
 ill a mistake. 
 
 Bring to Pass {To). 
 
 happen. 
 
 12 
 
 To cause to 
 
 Bring to the Hammer {To). To 
 
 otter or sell by public auction. 
 
 Bring Under {Tu). To bring iuto 
 subjection. 
 
 Bring Up (7^.*). To rear from birth 
 or an early age. Also uumerous other 
 meanings. 
 
 Brioche (2 syl.). A sort of bun or 
 cake cumniuu in France, and now pretty 
 generally sold in England. When Marie 
 Antoinette was talking about the bread 
 riots of Paris duiiug the 3th and 
 Gth Octoljer, 1789, the Duchessc do 
 Boliguac naively exclaimed, ** How is it 
 that these silly i)eople are so clamorous 
 inr Oitd'/, when they cjiu buy such nice 
 brioches for a few sous : " This was in 
 spirit not unlike tlie remark of our own 
 Princess Charlotte, who avowed "that 
 she would for her jiart tul/ier cut hirf 
 tliiiii utanr," and wondered that the 
 l)cople sliould be so obstinate as to insist 
 up<ju having bread wheu it was so 
 scarce. 
 
 Bris. II couto di Sau Bris, governor 
 of the Louvre, was father of Valentina, 
 and leader of the St. Bartholomew nias- 
 siicrc. {.Vfi/irbtrr^n Ojjoa: O'lt I'ljoiiolti.) 
 
 Brisels (3 syl.). The patronymic 
 iiamo of Ilippodamia. daughter of 
 Briseiis (2 syl.). A concubine of Achilles, 
 to whom he was greatly attached. 
 When Agamemnon was comi)elled to 
 give up Ills own concubine, who w;us the 
 daughter of a priest of Apollo, he took 
 BrLseis away from Achilles. This so 
 annoyed the hero that he refused any 
 longer to go to battle, and the Greeks 
 lost giound daily. Ultimately, Achilles 
 sent his friend Patroclos to supply his 
 place. Patroclos w;is slain, and Achilles, 
 towering with rage, rushed to battle, 
 slew Hector, and Troy fell. 
 
 Brisingamen. Frevja's necklace 
 made by tin; fairies, treyja left her 
 liusband Odin in order to obtain this 
 necklace ; and Odin deserted her because 
 her love was changed into vanity. It is 
 not possible to love Brisingamen and 
 Odin too, for no one can serve two 
 masters. 
 
 As a moral tale this is excellent. If 
 Freyja personifies " the beauty of the 
 year," then the uccklmr means the rich 
 autumn tints and flowers, which (soon 
 as Freyja puts ou) her husband leaves 
 her— that is, the fertility of the genial 
 year is gone away, and winter is at 
 band. 
 
 Brisk as a Bee. {S'C Similes.)
 
 Brissotins 
 
 178 
 
 Brittany 
 
 Brissotins. A nickname given to | 
 
 the advocates of reforiu in the Ficncli 
 llevolutioii, because they were *' led 
 hy the nose" by Jean Piene Brissot. | 
 The party was subsei|iieutly called the 
 
 Girondists. 
 
 Bristol Board. A stiff drawing- 
 jiaper, originally niauufacturedat Bristol. 
 
 Bristol Boy {The). Thomas Chat- 
 
 terton the poet (17J"i-1770). 
 
 "The inarvflloiis liciy, 
 Tbc slceiiless soul tliat i>i'ilslicil in liis iiriile." 
 Woidswnrth: Itisuliitioii and hidi tiimknce. 
 
 Bristol Diamonds. Brilliant crys- 
 tals of colourless cpiartz found in St. 
 Vincent's Itock, Clifton, near Bristol. 
 
 Bristol Fashion {In)- Melhodicul 
 and orderly. More ^euerally "yiiip- 
 shapo and Bristol fashion." 
 
 •' III llic Kical m.-iss iiicctiin:, Ocli.lpor l>lli, l!«.*-l, 
 ■A iiiiui' iit'alio\o llircc iiiilf^ was olpstTxt'il In unc 
 unlinikoii line. N<i clictiiin.' illstnrlifd Hie siatclv 
 Kiili'ninit.\ ; ni) nne ran to >-'i\f any Uirciiinn; n'l 
 noise lit' any kind wa.-? Iieaiil: l>nl on, in oni- iin- 
 liiiiken line, sieady and .•.ijirely, niiirt'lii'il tin' 
 til ion trill' Urjs tol fashion.' "—iiiM/i;.Veir,<,OiUil)ei- 
 JUtli, L^t. 
 
 Bristol Milk. Sliorry sack, at one 
 time given by the Bristol people to tlieu' 
 friends. 
 
 " This inctJiphnriral milk, wlierrliy Xoii'S or 
 h<licny-9;ick is intcnili-il."— >'«Her; HciW/iirn. 
 
 Bristol Waters. Mineral waters of 
 Clifton, iKvir Biistol, with a temperature 
 not exceeding 71 ; formerly celebrated 
 in c;iscs of pulmonary consuniptiou. 
 They are very rarely used now. 
 
 Britain. Bv far the most probable 
 derivation of this word is that given by 
 Bochart, from the Pheenician lidrutaittc 
 (country of tin), contracted into B'ratau'. 
 The Greek CKs.sitrfidc.s (tin islands) is a 
 translation of Baratanic, once applied to 
 the whole known gronji, but now re- 
 stricted to the Scilly Isles. Aristotle, 
 who lived some 350 years before the 
 Christian era, calls the island Britaiinic, 
 which is so close to IP rat an ic that the 
 suggestion of Bochart can scarcely admit 
 of a doubt. {Ih' Jf'd/ifo, sec. o.) 
 
 Pliny says, " Opposite to Celtiberia are 
 a number of islands which the Greeks 
 called ' Cassiterides ' " (evidently he 
 means the British group). Strabo says 
 the Cassiterides are situated about the 
 same latitude as Britain. 
 
 Great Britain consists of "Britannia 
 prima" (England), "Britannia secunda" 
 (Wales), and "North Britain" (Scot- 
 laud), united imder one sway. 
 
 Greater Britain. The whole British 
 empire. 
 
 Britannia. The first known repre- 
 sentation of Britannia as a female figure 
 
 sitting on a globe, leaning with one arm 
 on a shield, and grasjiing a sjicar in the 
 other hauil, is on u iComan coin of 
 Antoninus Pius, who died A. D. IGl. 
 Tlie figure reappeared on our cojiper 
 coin in tlie reign of Charles II., IGO.j, 
 and the model was Miss Stewart, after- 
 wards crcateil Due]ie.<s of Bichniond. 
 The engiaver was Pliiiip Roetier, IGGo. 
 In 18'Jo W. Wyon made a new design. 
 
 "The Kind's new niedjiU, wheie, in lillle. there 
 in Mr.s. Hlewart'ij fare, . . , anil a ineity tliiiiu It 
 is, that he sliould climise lier fare to rei>reM.'iit 
 Uritaiinia liy."~Pii>!i«' JiUiiy C-'J Kcl>.). 
 
 British Lion (7'/"). The pugnacity 
 of tin; British nation, as oi>posetl to tlio 
 Jo/i/i Ball, whidi symbiihses the sub- 
 stantiahty, solidity, and obstinacy of the 
 l)eoplc, with all their prejutlices and 
 national peculiarities. 
 
 To roimv (he British Lion is to flourish 
 a red flag in the face of John Bull ; to 
 provoke liiin to resistance even to the 
 jioint of war. 
 
 " To twist the lion's tiiil " is a favour- 
 ite phnuso and favourite policy with 
 some rival inifriendly powers. 
 
 Britomart [I'a-eet maitl] (see Mou). 
 Daughter of King Kyence of Wales, 
 whose tlcsiio was to be a lieroine. Siie 
 is the impersonation of saintly cha.stify 
 aud purity of mind. She encountei-s tlie 
 " savage, fierce bandit and mountaineer" 
 without injury ; is assailed by " hag and 
 unlaid ghost, goblin, ami swart fairy of 
 the mine," but " dashes their lirute vio- 
 lence into sudden adoration and blank 
 awe." Britomart is not the imjieisona- 
 tiou of celibacy, as she is in love with 
 an unknown hero, but of "virgin 
 purity." {Spenser: I'aerie Queene, hook 
 iii. Her marriage, book v. 6.) 
 
 ".She eharnud at iiiice and tamed the heart, 
 Mii-iiiniianiliie Briloiiiart." licoU. 
 
 Brit'omartis. A Cretan nymi)h, 
 very fond of the cha.se. King Minos fell 
 in love with her, and persisted in liis 
 advances for nine months, when she 
 threw herself into the sea. (Cretan, 
 briias-niartis, sweet maiden.) 
 
 Briton {Like a). Vigorously, perse- 
 veringly. " To fight like a Briton " is 
 to tight with indomitable courage. " To 
 work like a Briton " is to work hard and 
 perseveringly. Certiiiidy, without the 
 sUghtest flattery, dogged courage and 
 perseverance are the strong characteiis- 
 tics of John Bull. A similar phrase is 
 " To fight like a Trojan." 
 
 Brit'tany. The damsel of Brittany. 
 Eleanora, daughter of Geoffrey, second 
 son of Henry II., King of England and 
 Duke of Brittany. At the death of
 
 Broach 
 
 179 
 
 Broker 
 
 Priucc! Artlmr slic •\vas the real heir to 
 tli.0 Clown, but Joliii coniincd licr iu the 
 custle of Bristol till death (Till). 
 
 Broach. To hroavh a iicir si(hjtct. 
 To start one in couvcrsatiou. The allu- 
 siou is to beer tubs. If oue is flat, 
 another must be tapped. A broach is a 
 peg or pin, and to broach a ctisk is to 
 bore a hole iu the top for the veut-pej,'. 
 
 " I did hriciili I Ills biisiiirss tn yniir lii'-'lincss. " 
 •s/Kt/as/'fKre; lltnnj VII I., ii. 1. 
 
 Broad as Long. ^Tis ahonlanhroml 
 IIS it IS lutiij. One way or the other 
 would bring about the same result. 
 
 Broad Arrow on Government stores. 
 It was the (ii^fiiisMnce of Henry, Viscount 
 Sydney, Earl at Konnicy, niastcr-geueral 
 of the ordnance. (16!)o-170"i.) ^ 
 
 V It seems like a symbol of the Trin- 
 ity, and Wh.irton says, " It was used by 
 the Kelts to signify holiness and royalty." 
 
 Broad Bottom Ministry (17H). 
 Funned by a ( oalitioiKif p.'rties : I'clham 
 retained the lead : I'itt sui)i)orted the 
 (loveriiment ; Biibb Doddiugtou was 
 treasurer of the uavy. 
 
 Broadcloth. The best cloth for 
 men's cl'^tlies. So called from its great 
 breadth. It required two weavers, side 
 by side, to fling the shuttle across it. 
 Originally two yards wide, now about 
 fifty-four inches ; but the word is now 
 used to signify the best quality of 
 (black) doth. 
 
 Broadside. I'linted matter spread 
 over an entire sheet of ))aper. The 
 whole must be in one type and oue 
 measure, i.i. must not be divided into 
 columus. A folio is when the sheet is 
 foldeil, iu which case a page occupies 
 ouly half the sheet. 
 
 •' I'ami'ldi'ts iuiil Iiri>;ulsi(le3 wpiv scattereil 
 liu'lit :iiid WU.' —I'iike : Amnricaii, UUttiiy, djap. 
 \ii. 1'. :ill. 
 
 Iu naval language, a hromhifte means 
 the whole side of a ship ; and to " open 
 a broadside on the enemy " is to dis- 
 charge all the guns on oue side at the 
 same muuient. 
 
 Brobdingnag. The couidry of gi- 
 gantic giants, to whom Gulliver was a 
 pigmy " uot half so big as a round little 
 woiTu plucked from the lazy tiiiger of 
 a maid." 
 
 " Villi liiv'li chnrdi steeple, you miwk.v stau, 
 Yiuir liiisl'aiid must cdur- froiii Brolnlini-'Tiat,'." 
 A'ttde O'llara: Midun. 
 
 Brobdingnagian. Colossal ; tall as 
 a church steeple. {Hec above.) 
 ^ " I.iiiilis uf Brubdingnasian iiroiioitiuiis."— T/te 
 
 Brockcn. Tlir spirfrc of the Bnx-li'ii. 
 This is tlie shadow of men and other 
 objects greatly magnified and reflected 
 ill the mist and cloud of the mountain 
 opposite. The Brockcn is the highest 
 summit of the Harz range. 
 
 Brocklehurst {Thv Jlir. llohcrt). A 
 Calviiiistic clergyman, the son of Naomi 
 Brocklehurst, of Brocklehurst Hall, part 
 founder of Lowood Institutimi, wlieie 
 young ladies were boarded, clotlu^l, and 
 taught for £1.) a year, su])sidiscd l>y 
 private subscriptions. The Kev. lit^bcrt 
 Brocklehurst was treasurer, and half 
 starved the iumatcs in order to augment 
 bis own income, and scared the childicii 
 by talking to them of hell-lire, ;iTid 
 making capital out of their young faults 
 or supposed shortcomings. He and liis 
 fumily fared sumptuously every day, but 
 made the inmates of his institution deny 
 themselves and carry the cross of vexa- 
 tion and want. (C Bruiitc : Jiiiw Kji'i .) 
 
 Brogue (1 syl.) ]n-opcrly means the 
 Irish bruij, or shoe of rough hide. Tlie 
 application of hmij to the dialect or 
 manner of speaking is similar to that of 
 buskiu to tragedy and sock to comedy. 
 •■.\iid imt my clmitfd lii(n.-ues fnnii nir my foet." 
 Sliakc-i/iearc : Cijiubciiiic, iv. :.'. 
 
 Brogues (1 syl.). Trousers. From 
 the Irisli //i'di/, resembling those still worn 
 by some of tlie French cavalry, in which 
 trousers and boots are all oue garment. 
 
 Broken Feather (.i). A broken 
 fiiithcr III Iii.s iniiij. A scandal couuccted 
 with one's character. 
 
 " If an angel were to walk alioui, Mrs. Sam 
 Hurst would never rest till slie liad fninid mir, 
 where he came from; and perliaps wlielhii' he had 
 a hinUeii feather in his wins,'.'— J/ca. 0Ui>liaiU : 
 I'hubi'. 
 
 Broken Music. A "consort" con- 
 sisted of sLx viols, usually kept in one 
 case. When the six were played to- 
 gether it was called a " whole consort," 
 wheu less than the six were played it 
 was called "a broken consort." Some- 
 times applied to oi)eu chords or arpeg- 
 gios. 
 
 "Ilerr i> ^•o(Ml liroken music." 
 SluiLc.-ijicdix-: Truitiis and Orcsiida, iii. 1. 
 
 V Lord Bacon iu his Si/lva Si/harum 
 gives a different explauatiou : he says 
 certain instruments agree together and 
 produce concordant music, but others 
 (as the virginal and lute, the Welsh and 
 Irish harps) do not accord. 
 
 Broken on the Wheel. (.S'tr Beeak.) 
 
 Broker. Properly speaking, is one 
 who sells refuse. In German, called 
 mdklcrs, that is, ' ' sellers of damaged
 
 Brontes 
 
 180 
 
 Brown 
 
 stores." (Teutonic, brak or wrak, refuse, 
 allied with German braKchcn.) 
 
 V Generally some special word is pre- 
 fixed : as bill-broker, cotton- broker, 
 shijJ-broker, stock-broker, etc. 
 
 Brontes (2 sj-l.). A blacksmith per- 
 sonified ; one of the Cyclops. The name 
 signifies Tltiotdcr. 
 
 "IS'ijt -Hith sucli wcijflic, to frame the forky 
 brand, 
 The iwiutlerous baumier falls from Brontes' 
 band." 
 
 IIvclc : Jerusalem Delivered, book xx. 
 
 Bronzomar'te. {Sec Hoese.) 
 
 Brook (Master). The name assinned 
 by Ford when he visits Sir John Falstaff . 
 The amorous kniglit tells Master Brook 
 all about his amour with Mrs. Ford, and 
 how he duped her husband by being 
 stowed into a basket of dirty hnen. 
 
 "iFvrri. I'll uiyc you a imttle of Imrnl Hack to 
 u-ivt' nic reioiMsf to him, and tell him my name is 
 Bro(pk, only for a jest. 
 
 "7/us(. My hand, bully. Thou Kliallhavco^'rcss 
 and re'-'ress, . . . and thy name shall be Brook.'' — 
 .'ihukeiiieare : ileiry ir/i-ts of Wiiidnor, ii. 1. 
 
 Brooks of Sheffield. An imaginary 
 individual mentioned in JJuiid Cvjqjcr- 
 Jicld. {Sec Haebis, Mes.) 
 
 Broom. A broom is hung at the 
 mast-head of ships about to be sold, to 
 indicate that they are to be swept awaj*. 
 The idea is iiopularly taken from Ad- 
 miral Tromp ; but probably this allusion 
 is more witty than true. Tlie custom of 
 hanging up something to attract notice 
 seems very common. Thus an old 
 piece of carjiet from a window indicates 
 household tiiruiture for sale ; a wisp of 
 straw indicates oysters for sale ; a bush 
 means wine for sale ; an old broom, ships 
 to sell, etc. etc. (Sec Pennant.) 
 
 A )>ew broom. One fresh in office. 
 
 Xcw brooms sucep cleuii. ' Those newly 
 ai)pointed to an office find fault and 
 want to swee}) away old customs. 
 
 Brosier. Eating one out of house 
 and home. At Eton, when a dame keeps 
 an iniusually bad table, the boys agree 
 together on a day to eat, pocket, or 
 waste everything eatable in tlie house. 
 The censure is well understood, and the 
 hint is generally effective. (Greek, broso, 
 to eat.) 
 
 Brother or Frcre. A friar not in 
 orders. (Sec Father.) 
 
 Brother (So-and-so). A fellow-bar- 
 rister. 
 
 Brother Benedict, A married man. 
 (See Benedict.) 
 
 Brother Birch. A fellow - school- 
 master. 
 
 Brother Blade. A fellow -soldier, 
 
 properly ; but now anyone of the same 
 calling as yoiu"self . 
 
 Brother Brush. A fellow-painter. 
 
 Brother Bung. A fellow-tapster. 
 
 Brother Buskin. A fellow -comediat 
 or actor. 
 
 A Brother Chip. A fellow-caqicuter. 
 
 ul Brother L'lergytnun. A fellow- 
 clergyman. 
 
 A Brother Crispin. A fellow-shoe- 
 maker. 
 
 A Brother Manon. A fellow-Free- 
 mason. 
 
 A Brother Quill. A fellow -author. 
 
 ^i Brother Salt. A fellow-seaman or 
 sailor. 
 
 uL Brother Shuttle. A fellow-weaver. 
 
 A Brother Stitch. A fellow-tailor. 
 
 A Brother String. A fellow-violinist. 
 
 A Brother Hhijj. A fellow-coachman. 
 
 Brother German. A real l)rother. 
 (Latin, germdnus, of the same stock ; 
 gcrmen, a bud or sjjrout.) 
 
 '■ Te in germani fnilris dilexi loco."— ycifucc. ■ 
 .imlria, 1. i, :>x. 
 
 A tderinc brother is a brother by the 
 mother's side only. (Latin, uterlnus, 
 born of the same mother, as "frater 
 iiterluus," uterus.) 
 
 Brother Jonathan. Wlien Wash- 
 ington was in want of ammunition, he 
 called a council of officers, but no prac- 
 tical suggestion could be olTcred. " Wo 
 must consult brother Jonathan," said 
 the general, meaning his excellency, 
 Jonathan Trumbull, tlic elder governor 
 of the State of Connecticut. This was 
 done, and the difficulty was remedied. 
 To consult brother Jonathan then be- 
 came a set phrase, and brother Jonatlian 
 grew to be the John Bull of tlie United 
 States. (/. E. Bartletl : Diclionarg oj 
 Americanisms.) 
 
 Brother Sam. The brother of Lord 
 Dundreary (q.r.). the hero of a comedy 
 based on a German drama, by John 
 Oxenford, with additions and altera- 
 tions by E. A. Sothern and T. B. Buck- 
 stone. {Supplied bg T. B. Buckstone, 
 Esq.) 
 
 Browbeat. To beat or put a man 
 tlown by knitting the brows. 
 
 BrOAvn. A copjier coin, a jienuy ; so 
 called from its colour. Similarly a sove- 
 reign is a " yellow boy." (Sec Blunt.) 
 
 To be done brown. To be roasted, 
 deceived, taken in. 
 
 Brown as a Berry. (Sec Similes.) 
 
 Brown, Jones, and Robinson. 
 
 Three Englishmen who travel together. 
 Their adveutiu'es were jjublished in
 
 Brown Bess 
 
 181 
 
 Bruins 
 
 Punch, and were the production of 
 Richard Doyle. They typify the middle- 
 cLass English abroad ; and hold up to 
 ridicule their gaucherie and contracted 
 notions, their vulgarity and extrava- 
 gance, their conceit and suobbism. 
 
 Brown Bess means brown baiTel. 
 The barrels were browned to keep them 
 from rusting. (Dutch, Iks, a gun-barrel ; 
 Low German, hi<sse ; Swedish, bi/.ssrf. 
 (Jur ariji/r/i/is, hhoiderliiss.) In 1808 a 
 process of browning was introduced, but 
 this has, of course, nothing to do with 
 the distinctive epithet. Probably Bess is 
 a companion word to Bill. {Sec beloir.) 
 
 Brown Bill. A kind of halbert used 
 by English foot-soldiers before muskets 
 were employed. We find in the me- 
 dieval ballads the expressions, "brown 
 brand," "brown sword," "brown blade," 
 etc. Sometimes the word ri<-sti/ is sub- 
 stituted for brown, as in Chaucer : "And 
 in his side he had a rousty blade"; 
 which, being the god Mars, cannot mean 
 a bad one. Keeping the weapons bright 
 is a modem fashion ; our forefathers 
 prefeiTed the honour of blood stains. 
 Some say the weapons were varnished 
 with a brown varnish to prevent rust, 
 and some affirm that one Brown was a 
 famous maker of these instruments, and 
 that Brown Bill is a phrase similar to 
 Armstrong gun and Colt's revolver. 
 {See above.) 
 
 '■ Sii, with a l)and of liowiiipn and of pikes, 
 Browu hills anil targetieis." 
 
 Mailoire : Edicard IT. (lOi'i.) 
 
 *.* Brown also means shining (Dutch, 
 hvmi). hence, "My bounie brown sword," 
 "brown as glass," etc., so that a "brown 
 bill" might refer to the shining steel, 
 and " brown Bess " to the bright baiTel. 
 
 Brown Study. Absence of mind ; 
 apparent thought, but real vacuity. The 
 corresponding French expression ex- 
 plains it — Sdmbre reverie. Sombre and 
 brim both mean sad, melancholy, gloomy, 
 dull. 
 
 " Invention flags, his tirain grows imiddy, 
 And hiack desiiair succeeds brown study." 
 Coiigreve: Aji Imponsible Thing. 
 
 Browns. To astonish the Broirns. To 
 do or say something regardless of the 
 annoj'ance it may cause or the shock it 
 may give to Mrs. Grundy. 
 
 Anne Bolej'n had a whole host of 
 Browns, or " country cousins," who 
 were welcomed at Court in the reign 
 of Elizabeth. The queen, however, was 
 quick to see what was {/aaehe, and did 
 not scruple to reprove the Browns if 
 she noticed anything in their conduct 
 
 not coiume il faitt. Her bluntuess of 
 sjieech often " astonished the Browms," 
 
 Brownie. The house spirit in Scot- 
 tish superstition. He is called in Eng- 
 land liobiu Ooodfctlow. At night he 
 is supposed to busy himself in doing 
 little jobs for the family over which 
 he presides. Farms are his favourite 
 abode. Brownies are bi'owu or tawny 
 spirits, in opposition to fairies, which 
 are fair or elegant ones. {See Fairies.) 
 " It is nut loni.' since every faniilv of con.-ider- 
 alile sulistanci' was liannted Oya spirit tUev called 
 Browny, which did several sons of work ; and 
 this was the reasiui why they gave him offerings 
 ...on what they called ■ Browny's stone.'"— 
 
 ildttiil : Srotllltlil. 
 
 Brownists. Followers of Robert 
 Brown, of Rutlandshire, a violent op- 
 ponent of the Established Church in the 
 time of Queen Elizabeth. The present 
 "Independents" hold pretty well the 
 same religious tenets as tlie Brownists. 
 Sir Andi-ew Aguecheek says : 
 
 '■I'd as lief 111' a Brownist as a politician."— 
 Sh<tl;,s,,ntrf: Twelfth Sight, iii. -J. 
 
 Browse his Jib (To). A sailor's 
 phrase, meaning to drink till the face 
 is flushed and swollen. The 7/^ means 
 the face, and to browse here means " to 
 fatten." 
 
 V The onl}' con-ect form of the phrase, 
 liowever, is "to bowse his jib." To 
 bowse the jib means to haul the sail taut ; 
 and as a metaphor signifies that a man 
 is "tight." 
 
 Bruel. The goose, in the tale of 
 Reynard the Fo.t. The word means 
 little- roarer. 
 
 Bruin. One of the leaders aiTayed 
 against Hudibras. He was Talgol, a 
 Xewgate butcher, who obtained a cap- 
 tain's commission for valour at Naseby. 
 He marched next Orsin (Joshua Gosling, 
 landlord of the bear-gardens at South- 
 wark). 
 
 Sir Bruin. The name of the bear in 
 the famous German beast-epic, called 
 Beijnard the Fox. (Dutch for brown.) 
 
 Brumaire. The celebrated 18th 
 Brumaire (Xov. 9th, 1799) was the day 
 on which the Directory was overthrown 
 and Xapoleon established his supremacy. 
 
 Brum'magem. Worthless or very 
 inferior metallic articles made in imita- 
 tion of better ones. Binningham is the 
 great mart and manufactory of gilt toys, 
 cheap jeweller}-, imitation gems, mosaic 
 gold, and such-like, Birmingham was 
 called by the Romans " Bremenium." 
 
 Brums. In Stock Exchange phrase- 
 ology this means the " London and
 
 Bruneliild 
 
 182 
 
 Brutus 
 
 North-Western Railway shares." The 
 Brum, i.e. the Birmingham line. 
 
 Bruneliild (3 syl.) or BniiicliU'dd. 
 Daughter of the King of Isslaud, he- 
 loved by Giinthcr, one of the two great 
 chieftains of the Nibelungenlied or Teu- 
 tonic Iliad. Slie was to be carried otf 
 by force, and Uiinther asked his friend 
 Siegfried to hell) him. Siegfried con- 
 trived the matter by snatching from her 
 the talisman whicli was her protector, 
 but she never forgave him for his 
 treachery. (Old Gorman, br/nii, coat of 
 mail; //Ut, battle.) 
 
 Brunello (in Oiiaiido F/irioso). A 
 deformed dwarf of Biserta, to whom 
 King Ag'ramant gave a ring -which had 
 the virtue to withstand the power of 
 magic (book ii.). He was leader of the 
 Tiiigita'uians in the Saracen arnry. He 
 also figures in Bojardo's (Jiiii/ido Ldhi- 
 morato. 
 
 Brunswickor. A native of Bruns- 
 wick. {Sic Black Brunswicker.) 
 
 Brunt. Tn hear thr brunt. To bear 
 the stress, the heat, and collision. Tlie 
 same word as " burn." (Icelandic, 
 hnin'i, burning lieat, brrti ; Anglo-Saxon, 
 hreun'tiifi, bm'uing.) The " brunt of a 
 battle" is the hottest part of the fight. 
 (Compiarc " lire-brand.") 
 
 Brush. The tail of a fox or squirrel, 
 
 wliicli is bnixhi/. 
 
 Jtynsh airdij. Get along. 
 
 Uriish of. Move on. 
 
 He brushed by me. He just touched 
 me as he went quickly past. Hence also 
 brush, a slight skirmisli. 
 
 All these are metaphors from brushing 
 with a brush. • 
 
 Give it another bruaji. A little moi-e 
 attention ; bestow a little more labour 
 on it ; return it to the file for a little 
 more polish. 
 
 Brush up {To). To renovate or 
 revive ; to liring again into use what 
 has been neglected, as, "I must brush 
 up my French." Wlien a fire is slack 
 we brush up the hearth and then sweep 
 clean the lower bars of the stove and 
 stir the sleepy coals into activity. 
 
 Brut. A rhyming chronicle, as the 
 Tirat d''A)i(iIeterre and Le Roman de 
 Brat, by Wace (twelfth century). Brut 
 is the Romance word bruit (a rumour, 
 hence a tradition, or a chronicle based 
 on tradition). It is by mere accident 
 that the word resembles "Brute" or 
 "Brutus," the traditional king. {See 
 next column.) 
 
 Brut d'Angleterre. A chronicle of 
 the acliievemeuts of King Arthur and 
 his Knights of tlie liound Table. Arthur 
 is described as the natural sou of Uther, 
 Ijendragon (or chief) of the ancient 
 Britons. He suci^eeded his fatlier, in 
 516, by the aid of Merlin, who gave him 
 a magic sword, with which he conquered 
 the Saxons, Picts, Scots, antl Irish. 
 Besides the lirut referred to, several 
 other romances record the exploits of 
 this heroic kuig. {See Aetiiue.) 
 
 Brute, in CambridgeUniversitj- slang, 
 is a man who has not yet matriculated. 
 The play is evident. A "man," in 
 college phrase, is a collegian ; and, as 
 matriculation is the sign and seal of 
 acceptance, a scholar before that cere- 
 mony is not a "man," and therefore 
 only a " biped brute." 
 
 Brute {Sir John). A coarse, pot- 
 valiant knight, ignobly noted for his 
 absurdities. {]'anbrnfjh : Tlie I'rorokcd 
 
 fiy-e.) 
 
 Brute or Brutus, in the mytho- 
 logical history of England, tlie first 
 king of the Britons, was son of Sylvius 
 (grandson of Ascanius and great grand- 
 son of iEne'as). Having inadvertentlj' 
 killed his father, he first took refuge 
 in Greece and then in Britain. In 
 remembrance of Troy, he called the 
 capital of his kingdom Troy-novant 
 (New Troy), now London. 
 
 V The pedigree was as follows : — 
 (1) iEne'as, (2) Ascanius, (3) Silvius, (-4) 
 Brutus. {Sec Teoy Xovant.) 
 
 Brutum Fulmen (Latin). A noisy 
 but harmless threatening ; an innocuous 
 thunderbolt. 
 
 "His [tlie Pope's] dcMuincintinns are but a 
 hriUiiia fidmcii."—The Standanl. 
 
 Brutus {Junius), the first consul of 
 Rome. He condemned to death his own 
 two sous for joining a conspiracy to re- 
 store to the throne the banished Tarquin. 
 
 '■Tlie pwhlic fatUrr [Brutus], who tlic iirivale 
 quelled, 
 And im the dread trilmuiil steviily sat." 
 
 TItniiifoi, : ^Villh■,■. 
 
 The Spanish Brutus. Alphonso Perez 
 de Guzman (12.18-1320). W'"!*^ ^'*^ 
 was governor, Castile was besieged liy 
 Don Juan, who had revolted from his 
 brother, Sancho IV. Juan, who held in 
 captivity one of the sons of Guzman, 
 threatened to cut his tlu'oat uidess 
 Guzman surrendered the city. Guzman 
 replied, "Sooner tlian be a traitor, 
 I would myself lend j-ou a sword to 
 slay him," and he tlnew a sword over 
 the city wall. The son, we are told,
 
 Brutus 
 
 183 
 
 Buck-rider 
 
 was slain by the father's sword before 
 liis eyes. 
 
 Brutus (JfarcKs). Ctcsar's friend, 
 joined the conspirators to murder him, 
 because he made himself a king. 
 
 " And tlioii, iiiiliappy Brutus, kiiKl of Ijeart, 
 Whiise steady arm, liy awful virtue ur^'t'd, 
 Lifted tlie Roman strel av'ainst thy friend." 
 Thiiiii.iiin ; Winter, 5-.'l-U. 
 
 Et til, Brute. What ! does my own 
 familiar friend lift up his heel against 
 me? The reference is to that Marcus 
 Brutus whose "bastard hand stabbed 
 Julius Cajsar." {Suetonius.) 
 
 Bruxellois. The inhabitants of 
 Brussels or Bruxelles. 
 
 Brydport Dagger. (See Bridpoet.) 
 
 Bub. Drink. (Connected with bubble 
 — Latin, bibo, to drink ; our imbibe.) {See 
 Grub.) 
 
 " liruiik witli Helicon's waters and donlile- 
 lirewed \m\i: —I'rioy : Tu u Pci-.-iua iclm irrote Hi. 
 
 Bubas'tis. The Diana of Egyptian 
 mythology ; the daughter of Isis and 
 sister of Horus. 
 
 Bubble (./). A. scheme of no sterling 
 wortli and of very ephemeral duration 
 — as worthless and frail as a bubble. 
 
 "The whole scheme [the Fenian raid on British 
 AmericaJ was a collapsed liublile."— T/ie Times. 
 
 The Bubble Act, 6 George I., cap. 18 ; 
 published 1719, and repoaled July 5th, 
 18'io. Its object was to punish the pro- 
 moters of bubble schemes. 
 
 A bubble compamj. A company whose 
 object is to enrich themselves at the 
 expense of subscribers to their scheme. 
 
 A bubble scliemc. A project for getting 
 money from subscribers to a scheme of 
 no vaUie. 
 
 Bubble and Squeak. Cold boiled 
 meat and greens fried. They first bub- 
 bled in water when boiled, and afterwards 
 hissed or squeaked in the fryiug-pan. 
 
 Something pretentious, but of no real 
 value, such as " rank and title," or a 
 bit of ribbon in one's button hole. 
 
 Bucca. A goljliii of the wind, sup- 
 posed bj' the ancient inhabitants of 
 Coruwali to foretell shipwi-ecks, 
 
 Buc'caneer' means sellers of smoke- 
 dried meat, from the Caribbean word 
 boiicnn, smoke-dried meat. The term 
 was first given to the French settlers in 
 Hayti, whose business it was to hunt 
 animals for their skins. The flesh they 
 smoke-dried and sold, chiefly to the 
 Dutch. 
 
 When the Spaniards laid claim to all 
 America, many English and French ard- 
 venturers lived by buccaneering, and 
 
 hunted Spaniards as lawful prey. After 
 the peace of Ryswick this was no longer 
 tolerated, and the term was then ap- 
 plied to any desiderate, lawless, inratical 
 adventurer. 
 
 Bucen'taur. A monster, half-man 
 and half-ox. The Venetian state-galley 
 employed by the Doge when he went on 
 Ascension Day to wed the Adriatic was 
 so called. (Greek, bous, ox ; centauros, 
 centaur.) 
 
 Buceph'alos [bull-headed']. Ahorse. 
 Strictly speaking, the charger of Alex- 
 ander the (ireat, bought of a Thessalian 
 for thirteen talents (£3,')0!)). 
 
 "True, true; T fori-'ot your Bucephalus."— .Sl/r W. 
 Scutt: The Aiitiqiiai-n. 
 
 Buc'hanites (3 syl.). A sect of fan- 
 atics who appeared in the west of Scot- 
 land in 1783. They were named after 
 Mrs. or Lucky Buchan, their founder, 
 who called herself "Friend Mother in 
 the Lord," claiming to be the woman 
 mentioned in Rev. xii. , and maintaining 
 that the Rev. Hugh White, a convert, 
 was the " man-child." 
 
 " I neyer heard of alewife that turned preacher, 
 exc'i'iit I,uckie Huchan in the West."—!^cutt:St, 
 ll'iiiKiix M't'/i, c. ii. 
 
 Buck. A dandy. {See below.) 
 
 "A most tremendous huclc he was, as he sat 
 there serene, in state, drivinghissreys."— 7V(ac/,-- 
 eray : Vaiiity Fair, cliap. vi. 
 
 Buck-basket. A linen-basket. To 
 buck is to wash clothes in lye ; and a 
 buck is one whose clothes are buck, or 
 nicely got up. When Cade says his 
 mother was "descended from the 
 Lacies," two men overhear him, and 
 say, " She was a pedlar's daughter, but 
 not being able to travel with her furred 
 pack, she washes bucks here at home." 
 ('2 Henry VI., iv. 2.) (German, 
 beuehen, to steep clothes in lye ; beiicJie, 
 clothes so steejied. However, compare 
 "bucket," a diminutive of the Anglo- 
 Saxon bue.) 
 
 Buck-bean. A corruption of hog- 
 bean, a native of wet bog-lands. 
 
 Buck-rider {A). A dummy fare who 
 enables a cabman to pass police-con- 
 stables who prevent empty cabs loitering 
 at places whei-e cabs will be likely to be 
 required, as at theatres, music-halls, and 
 large hotels. A cabman who wants to 
 get at such a place under hope of picking 
 up a fare gives a ' ' back ' ' a shilling to 
 get into his cab that he may seem to 
 have a fare, and so pass the police. 
 
 "Constables are stationed at certain points to 
 spot the professional ' buck-riders.' "—Nineteenth 
 Century (March, 1893, p. 576).
 
 Buck-tooth. 
 
 184 
 
 Budget 
 
 Buck-tooth. A large projecting 
 f rout-tooth. (.S'fc BuTTEE Tooth.) 
 
 Buckwheat. A corruption of hoc. 
 German, buche, beech-wheat ; it is so 
 called because it is triangular, like beech- 
 mast. The botanical name is Fuyo- 
 pyrum (beech- wheat). 
 
 " The liuckwUeat 
 Wliiterieil brnad acres, sweeteiungwith its flowers 
 Tlie August wind." 
 
 Bryant : The Fountain, stanza 7. 
 
 Buckhorse. A severe blow or slap 
 on the face. So called from a boxer of 
 that name. 
 
 Buckingham. (Saxon, hoecen-ham, 
 beech - tree village.) Fuller, in his 
 JFort/iies, speaks of the beech-trees as 
 the most characteristic feature of this 
 county. 
 
 Bucklaw, or rather FranJc irai/stoii, 
 lord of Biiclilaw, a wealthy nobleman, 
 who marries Lucia di Lammermoor {Luc;/ 
 As]tton), who had pledged lier troth to 
 Edgar, master of Raveuswood. On the 
 wedding-night Lucy murders him, goes 
 mad, and dies. [DonizcttPs opera of 
 Lncia di Lammcrinoor. Sir Walter Scott^s 
 Bride of Lainmermoor.) 
 
 Buckle. / can't hucllc to. I can't 
 give my mind to work. The allusion is 
 to buckling on one's armour or belt. 
 
 To cat the hackle. To caper about, to 
 heel and toe it in dancing. In jigs the 
 two feet buckle or twist into each other 
 with great rapidity. 
 
 " Tlirotli, it wouldn't lave a lausli in ynn to see 
 the iiarsnn dancin' down tlie road on his way 
 homo, and the niinisther and niethodist praicher 
 rnttin' the liuckle as they went along." — W. Ti. 
 Yrats: Fairii Talcs of tlie Iruh Peasantry, p. !)8 
 (.tef also p. 1U6). 
 
 To put into haelcle. To put into pawn 
 
 at the rate of 40 per cent, interest. 
 
 To talk hackle. To talk about marriage. 
 
 " I took a pirl to dinner who talked buckle to 
 me."— Vera, l.-,4. 
 
 Buckler. {Sec Shield.) 
 
 Bucklersbury (London) was at one 
 time the noted street for druggists and 
 herbalists ; hence Falstaff says — 
 
 " I cannot cost, and say thou art this and that, 
 like a many of these lisping hawthorn Inuls. that 
 come like women iu men's apparel, and smell like 
 liucklersbiiiy in simple t'\m^." — Shakespeare : 
 Merry Wives of Windsor, iii. .3. 
 
 Buckmaster's Light Infantry. 
 
 The 3rd West India Regiment was so 
 called from Buckmaster, the tailor, who 
 used to issue "Light Infantry uniforms " 
 to the officers of the corps without any 
 authority from the Commander-in-Chief. 
 Buckra. Superior, excellent. Thafs 
 haekra. A hackra coat is a smart coat; 
 a buckra man, a man of consequence. 
 
 This word among the West Indians does 
 the service of hurra among the Anglo- 
 Indians : as harra .la'ib (great master, 
 i.e. white man), harra khana (a magni- 
 ficent sjDread or dinner). 
 
 Buckshish ov Baksheeslt. A gratuity, 
 poar boire. A term common to India, 
 Persia, and indeed all the East. 
 
 Buddha means the IJ'ise One. From 
 the Indian word budJi, to know. 'i"ho 
 title was given to Priuce Siddhar'tha, 
 generally called Saky'a-muni, the founder 
 of Buddhism. His wife's name was 
 Gopa. 
 
 Buddhism. A system of religion 
 established iu India in the tliird century. 
 The general outline of the S3'stem is that 
 the world is a transient reflex of deity ; 
 that the soul is a " vital spark " of deity ; 
 and that after death it will be bound to 
 matter again till its "wearer" has, by 
 divine contemiilation, so purged and 
 purified it that it is fit to be absorbed 
 iuto the divine essence. 
 
 Buddhist. One whese system of 
 religion is Buddhism. 
 
 Bude or Gurney Light. The latter 
 is the name of the inventor, and the 
 former the place of his abode. (Golds- 
 worthy Gurney, of Bude, Cornwall.) 
 
 Budge is lambskin with the wool 
 dressed outwai-ds, worn on the edge of 
 capes, bachelors' hoods, and so on. 
 Budge Row, Cannon Street, is so-called 
 because it was chiefly occui^ied by budge- 
 makers. 
 
 " O foolishness of men! that lend their ears 
 To those luidge-doctors of the stoic fur." 
 
 Milton: Comas, Too, Tfl". 
 
 Budge (To) is the French longer, to 
 stir. 
 
 Budge Bachelors. A company of 
 men clothed iu long gowns lined with 
 budge or lambs' wool, who used to 
 accompany the Lord Mayor of London 
 at his inauguration. 
 
 Budget. The statement which the 
 Chancellor of tlie Exchequer lays before 
 the House of Commons every session, 
 respecting the national income and ex- 
 penditure, taxes and salaries. The word 
 is the oldi French bouc/ette, a bag, and 
 the j)resent use arose from the custom of 
 bringing to the House the papers per- 
 taining to these matters iu a leather bag, 
 and laying them on the table. Hence, 
 to open the budget or bag, i.e. to take the 
 pajiers from the bag and submit them to 
 the House. 
 
 .A budget of neica is a bagful of news, 
 a large stock of news.
 
 Buff 
 
 185 
 
 Build 
 
 Cnj Budget. A watchword or shib- 
 boleth. Thus Slender says to Shallow — 
 " We bave a iiay-wordhow to know one aiKitlier. 
 7 come to lier in white and cry mum; slic ciM^'s 
 liii.dtiet; and liy that we know one another.' — 
 Shakespeare : Mei-ry Wives of Windsor, v. 2. 
 
 Buff. Buff is a contrn.ctiou of hiiftlc 
 or buffalo; and buff skin is tlie skin of 
 the buffalo jjrepared. "To stand in 
 buff" is to stand without clothing in 
 one's bare skin. " To strip to the buff " 
 is to strip to tlie skin. The French for 
 " buff " is hi(ff((\ which also means a 
 buffalo. 
 
 To stand lnifi\ also written hhtff, 
 meaning firm, without flinching. Sheri- 
 dan, in his Scliool fur Scinidat, ii. 3, says, 
 " That he sliould liave stood bluff to old 
 bachelor so long, and sink into a husband 
 at last." It is a nautical term ; a 
 "bluff shore" is one with a bold and 
 almost perpendicular front. The word 
 /'a^ff', a blow or buft'et, may have got con- 
 founded with blurt", but without doubt 
 numerous instances of "butt'" can be 
 adduced. 
 
 " And for tlie sood ohl cause stood imff, 
 'Uainst itiany a hitter kick and cuff." 
 
 linthr: U iniiln-.'f s lipla.ph. 
 "T nuist even stand hntr and ontf.ice him."— 
 Fiehiitiij. 
 
 Buff in "Blind-man's buff," the 
 well-known game, is an allusion to the 
 tlu'ee butts or pats which tho "blind- 
 man " gets when he has caught a player. 
 (Norman-French, huffc, a blow ; Welsh, 
 paf, verb, palfio, to" thump ; our buffet 
 \A a little slap.) 
 
 Buffalo Bill. Colonel Cody. 
 
 Buffalo Robe {A). The skin of a 
 bison dressed witliout removing the hair, 
 and used as a travelling rug. The word 
 " robe " is often omitted. 
 
 '■The large and roomy sleii-'h w.ts decked with 
 liuffalo robes, red-honnd, and t'urnisheil with 
 Kliani eyes and cars."— IVie V/iper Ten Thousand, 
 l>.4. 
 
 " fjeavins: all hands under their hnffaloes."— 
 Kane.: Arctic IJ.rpcdilinn. 
 
 Buffer of a railway carriage is an 
 apparatus to rebuff' or deaden the force 
 of collision. 
 
 Buffer {A). A chap. The French 
 bouffer (older form, bauffer) meant to 
 eat, as il bauff'era tout seul. If this is 
 the basis of the word, a buffer is one 
 who eats with us, called a Commoner 
 in our universities. 
 
 " I always said the (dd hnffer would. '—il/m 
 liraddoii : Lady Audteifs Secret. 
 
 Buffoon means one who puffs out his 
 cheeks, and makes a ridiculous explosion 
 by causing them suddenly to collapse. 
 This being a standing trick with clowns, 
 caused the name to be applied to low 
 
 jesters. The Italian buffare is " to puff 
 out the cheeks for the purpose of making 
 an explosion;" our 2}uff'. (Italian 
 buffnue, a buffoon ; ¥ve\\c\\ bouffon.) 
 
 Buffoons. Names synonymous with 
 
 Buffoon : — 
 
 Bobcehe. A clown in a small theatre 
 in the Boulevart du Temple, Paris. 
 (1815-182;).) 
 
 GaVtmafre. A contemporary and rival 
 of the former. 
 
 Tabarhi. I (Of the seventeenth 
 
 BruscanibiUe. | century.) 
 
 Grimaldi. (1779-1837.) {See Scara- 
 mouch.) 
 
 Buffs. The old 3rd regiment of foot 
 soldiers. The men's coats were lined 
 and faced with buff ; they also wore buff 
 waistcoats, buff breeches, and butt' 
 stockings. These are the " Old Buffs," 
 raised in 1GS9. 
 
 At one time cMllcd the Buff Howards, from 
 Howard ilicir col I i I7:;7-I7l:il. 
 
 The" V.Miir-' Itnll-' :n>- lie nid .list Foot raised 
 in ITirj; nnw i.illi'd tlic II niii niLidonsliire Regi- 
 ment." whose incsi'Ut luiiliuiu isscarlct with huff 
 facings. 
 
 The Rothshire Bufs. The old 78th, 
 now the second battalion of the Seaforth 
 Highlanders. 
 
 Bugaboo. A monster, or goblin, 
 introduced into the tales of the old 
 Italian romancers. {See below.) 
 
 Bugbear. A scarecrow. Bug is the 
 Welsh bu-ff, a hobgoblin, called in Eussia 
 budca. Spenser says, "A ghastly bug 
 doth greatly them affear " (book ii. 
 canto 3); and Hamlet has "bugs and 
 goblins" (v. 2). 
 
 '• Warwick was a bug that feared us all." 
 
 Shakespeare : .3 Henri/ IV., v. 3. 
 " To the world no Ijughear is so great 
 .As want of tigure and a small estate." 
 
 Pope: Satires, iii. or-BS. 
 
 " The latter half of this word is some- 
 what doubtful. The Welsh 6a/- = ire, 
 fury, -WTath, whence buroi/, spiteful, 
 seems probable. 
 
 Buggy. A light vehicle without a 
 hood, drawn by one horse. (Hindu- 
 stani, hCu/Jti.) 
 
 Buhl-work. Cabinet - work, inlaid 
 with brass ; so called from Siguor Boule, 
 the inventor, who settled in Paris during 
 the reign of Louis XIV. (The word 
 should be spelt Boule-wobk.) 
 
 Build, for make, as, A man of stronej 
 build, a man of robust make. The 
 metaphor is evident. 
 
 Build. Applied to dress. Xot so bad 
 a build after all, not badly made.
 
 Builder's 
 
 186 
 
 Bullet 
 
 Builder's Square. Emblematic of 
 St. Tliomas, p.itrou of architects. 
 
 Bulbul. The nightingale. A Persian 
 word, familiarised by Tom Moore. 
 
 " 'Twas like t.lie notes, lialf-ocsliisy, lialf-paiii, 
 
 TUe Inilbul iittevs." 
 Mum-e: Lalla Bookh (Veiled Prophet, part I, 
 stanza 14). 
 
 Bulls, metamorphosed into a drake ; 
 and liis son, Egyjiios, into a vulture. 
 
 Bull. One of the twelve signs of tlie 
 Zodiac (April 20 to May -21). The time 
 for ploughing, which in Egypt was per- 
 formed by oxen or bulls. 
 
 '■ At last from Aries rolls tlie lionnlenns snn. 
 And Ihe l>ri>;lit Hull rei-cives liini." 
 
 TUiiiiiaiiii : Spriiifi, _'(',, l'7. 
 
 Hid!. A blunder, or inadvertent con- 
 tradiction of terms, for which the Irisli 
 are ijroverbial. T/ie British Apollo, 
 1740, says the term is derived from one 
 Obadiah Bull, an Irish lawyer of London, 
 in the reign of Henry VII., whose blun- 
 dering in this way was notorious. 
 
 Bull is a five-shilling piece. " Half a 
 bull" is half-a-crown. From hulla, a 
 great leaden seal. Hood, in one of his 
 comic sketches, speaks of a crier who, 
 beiug apprehended, "swallowed three 
 hogs (shillings) and a bull." 
 
 The pope' s bull . So called from the hulht 
 or capsule of the seal appended to the 
 document. Subsequently the seal was 
 called the bulla, and then the document 
 itself. 
 
 The edict of the Emperor Charles IV. 
 (1356) had a golden htilla, and was there- 
 fore called the golden bull. (.S'ct Golden 
 Bull.) 
 
 Bull. A public-house sign, the cogni- 
 sance of the house of Clare. The bull 
 and the boar were signs used by the par- 
 tisans of Clare, and llichard, Duke of 
 Gloucester (Richard III.). 
 
 Bull. 
 
 A bull ill a china fihop. A maladroit 
 hand interfering with a delicate busi- 
 ness ; one who produces reckless destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 A brazen bull. An instrument of tor- 
 ture. («SVe PlIALAMS.) 
 
 He may bear a ball that hath borne a 
 calf [Erasmus: Brovcrbs) — "He that 
 accustometh hym-selfe to lytic tliynges, 
 by lytic and lytle shalbe able to go a 
 waye with greater thynges {Tarerner). 
 
 To talce tlie ball bi/ tlie horns. To 
 attack or encounter a threatened danger 
 fearlessly ; to go forth boldly to meet a 
 difficulty. The figure is taken from bull- 
 fights, in which a strong and skilful 
 
 matadore will grasp the horns of a bull 
 
 about to toss him and hold it prisoner. 
 
 John Bull. An Englishman. Applied 
 to a native of England in Arbuthnot's 
 ludicrous IFistori/ of Europe. This liis- 
 tory is sometimes erroneously ascribed 
 to Dean Swift. In this satire the Freneli 
 are called Lewis Baboon, and the Dutch 
 Xieholas Frog. 
 
 "One would think, in person if yinqr itself, 
 a naiion would . . . luclure soniethiim' Krand, 
 heroic, and inipo-in^', liut it is cliaraen'risiii- i.f 
 I lie peculiar Iniuiour of i lie Kn','lisli. and of ilicir 
 love for what is hliiiit. eoiiiic, and familiar, I hat 
 Ihev have emiiodied I heir national odd i lies ill Ihe 
 lliriire of a sturdy, corpulent old fcdiow . . . with 
 red waistcoat, leather hreecliesaiid a stunt oaken 
 cuik-el . . . [whom tliev callj .Iidiii Hull."— HVix/i- 
 iiujtnu Ti-viiKj. 
 
 Bull and Gate. Bull and Mouth. 
 
 Public-house signs. A corniption uf 
 Boulogne Gate or Moutli, a(lii])ted out 
 of cnmpliment to Henry VIII., who 
 took Boulogne in lolt. 
 
 Bull-dog {A). A man of relentless, 
 savage disposition is sometimes so called. 
 A " bull-dog courage " is one that 
 flinches from no dtinger. The "bull- 
 dog" was the dog formerly used iu bull- 
 baiting. 
 
 Bull-dogs, in University slang, are 
 the two myrmidons of the proctor, who 
 attend his lieels like dogs, and are ready 
 to spring on any offending undergraduate 
 like bull-dogs. (.SVr Mykmidons.) 
 
 Bull-necked. TheBull-necked Forger. 
 Cagliostio, lh(' huge impostor, was so 
 called. (I7f:M795.) 
 
 Bull-ring. '{See Mayor of the Bull- 
 Eixd.) 
 
 Bull's Eye. A smtiU cloud suddenly 
 appearing, seemingly in violent motion, 
 and growing out of itself. It soon 
 cover's the entire vault of heaven, pro- 
 ducing a tumult of wind and rain. 
 (1 Kings xviii. 44.) 
 
 Ball's Eye. The inner disc of a target. 
 
 "A little way from the centre there is a spot 
 where the shots are thickly gathered ; some few 
 have hit the liuH's-eye."— i^/sA'c ; Excursimis, etc., 
 chap. vi. p. ir.s. 
 
 To make a bull's eye. To gain some 
 signal advantage ; a successful coup. 
 To tire or shoot an arrow right into tlie 
 centre disc of the target. 
 
 Bulls, in Stock Exchange plirase- 
 ology, means those dealers who "bull," 
 or try to raise the price of stock, with 
 the view of effecting sales. A bull- 
 account is a speculation made under the 
 liope that the stock purchased will rise 
 before tlie day of settlement. {See Beab.) 
 
 Bullet. Erery bullet has its billet. 
 Nothing happens by chance, and no act
 
 Bulletin 
 
 187 
 
 Bun 
 
 is altogether without some effect. ' ' There 
 is a divinity that shapes our euds, rough 
 hew them as we will." Another mean- 
 ing is this : an arrow or bullet is not 
 discharged at random, hut at some mark 
 or for some deliberate purpose. 
 
 " Let tlic arrow fly that lias a mark.''— Crt'snc 
 Dunrid, rliaii. XK. 
 
 Bulletin. French for a certificate. 
 An ofticial report of an officer to his 
 superior, or of medical attendants re- 
 specting the health of persons of notor- 
 iety ; so called because they were au- 
 tlienticated by an official //«//« or seal. 
 (8pani.sh, holcliu, a Avarrant ; Italian, 
 Ijitlkttiiio, a roll.) 
 
 Bulling the Barrel is poui-ing water 
 iuto a rum cask, when it is nearly empty, 
 to prevent its leaking. The water, which 
 gets impregnated with the spirit and is 
 veiy intoxicating, is called hidl. 
 
 Seamen talk of hiiU'uuj the teapot 
 (making a second brew), hi(U'i)tg the 
 coffee, etc. 
 
 Bullion proi)erly means the mint 
 wliere holla, little round coins, are made. 
 Subsequently the metal in the mint. 
 
 Bully. To overbear with words. A 
 hxlhf is a blustering menacer. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, biih/ian, to bellow like a bull.) 
 
 It is often used, without any mixtm-e 
 of reproof, as a term of eudeai-meut, 
 as: — 
 
 " () «\veet Imllv Bottom."— 3/((f8Hni)nf)- Xic/hfn 
 1 1 nam, iv. 4. 
 
 "1{|.'<< thee, hiilly diictor." — J/i-iTj/ JFa-cs <■/ 
 
 Bully-boy (-1). A jolly companion, 
 a '' lirirk." (Genuan, bulile, a lover; 
 Lii/iler, a gallant.) 
 
 " We lie three pcinr mariners 
 Newly come froiii the seas, 
 We spend our lives in jeopardy, 
 While others live at ease ; 
 Shall we go dance the round, the round. 
 Shall we go dance the round ? 
 And he that is a Imlly lioy 
 Come pledge me on this ground." 
 
 IJciitejumelia. UCM.) 
 
 Bully-rook. A blustering cheat. Like 
 ///?////, it is sometimes used without any 
 offensive meaning. Thus the Host, in 
 T/ie Merry JJ'iren of Jl'iudxor, addresses 
 Sir John Falstaff, Ford, and Page, etc., 
 as hiillij-rook — "How now, my bully- 
 rook 'r" equal to " my fine fellow." 
 
 V A hidlij rake is " one who fights 
 for fighting's sake." To hulbi-ray is to 
 intimidate ; hallij-raggbuj is abusive in- 
 timidation. According to Halliwell, a 
 rag is a scold, and hence a "ragging" 
 means a scolding. Connected with rage. 
 
 Bum-bailiff. 
 
 The French pousftc-cul seems to favour 
 
 the notion that A/f/;/-bailiff is no corrup- 
 tion. These officers are frequently re- 
 ferred to as buni^. 
 
 '•Scout me for him at the corner of the orchard, 
 likea lium-liailift.' 
 
 S:ial;,:<i,rnre: Tndftli y!o)it,ui.4. 
 
 Bum-boat. A small wide boat to 
 carry provisions to vessels Ij'ing off shore. 
 Also called "dirt-boats," being used for 
 removing filth from ships Ij'ing in the 
 Thames. (Dutch, hamboot, a wide fish- 
 ing boat. In Canada a i)unt is called a 
 ban. A bitn is a receptacle for keeping 
 fish alive.) 
 
 Bumble. A beadle. So called from 
 the officious, overbearing beadle in 
 Dickens's Olitcr Taist. 
 
 Bumbledom. The dominion of an 
 overbearing parish oflicer, tlie aiTO- 
 gance of parish authorities, the conceit 
 of parish dignity. {'See aboce.) 
 
 Bummarees. A class of middlemen 
 or fish-jobbers in Billingsgate Market, 
 who get a living by bannnareeiiig, i.e. 
 buying parcels of fish from the sales- 
 men, and tlien retailing them. A cor- 
 ruj)tiou of hotuie iiiarer, good fresh fish, 
 or the seller thereof. According to the 
 Dictionnaire de f Acadeiiiie, )itaree means 
 toate sorte de poisson dv iiier qae it'e.st pas 
 sali. Bonne marie, maree fraiche. 
 
 Bumper. A full glass, generally 
 connected with a "toast." Dr. Arn 
 says a bumper is when the surface of 
 the wine bum^js up in the middle. 
 (French, bomber, to render convex, to 
 bulge or swell out.) 
 
 "A fancied connection with hump, a swelling, 
 has not only iiiHuenced the form of the word, 
 hut [has] added the notion of fulness.'"— .S'/.ca', : 
 Utijitioliyirid iJirtiuiiarii. 
 
 Bumpkin. A loutish person. (Dutch, 
 boomken, a sprout, a fool.) This word 
 very closely resembles the word "cliit." 
 {See Chitty.) 
 
 Bumptious. AiTogant, full of mighty 
 airs and graces ; aj)t to take offence at 
 presumed slights. A corruption of pre- 
 sumptuous, first into "sumptious," then 
 to bumijtious. 
 
 Bun. A small cake. (Irish, bobineog, 
 Scotch, bauniick. ) 
 
 V In regard to "hot cross buns" on 
 Good Friday, it may be stated that the 
 Greeks offered to Apollo, Diana, Hecate, 
 and the Moon, cakes with "horns." 
 Such a cake was called a baaft, and (it is 
 said) never grew mouldy. The " cross " 
 symbolised the four quarters of the moon. 
 " Good Friday comes this mouth : the old woman 
 runs 
 WitUoneapenny, two a penny ' hot cross liuns,'
 
 Buncli 
 
 188 
 
 Burbon 
 
 Whose virtue is, if you believe what's said, 
 They'll not gniw iiioukly like the cuminoa 
 bread." 
 
 Poor Robin: Almanack, 173.!. 
 
 Bunch of Fives. A slang tcrai for 
 
 tlie liauil or fist. 
 
 Buncle {Joint). " A prodigious hand 
 at matrimony, divinity, a song, and a 
 peck." He marries seven wives, loses all 
 ill the flower of their age, is inconsolable 
 for two or three days, then resigns him- 
 self to tlie decrees of Providence, and 
 marries again. ( TIic Life and Opiiiions of 
 John Buncle, TJm/., by Thomas Amor;/.) 
 
 "John is a kind of Innocent Henry VII 1. of 
 private Me."—Lei</h Hunt. 
 
 Bundle. Bundle off. Get away. To 
 hididle a person, off, is to send him away 
 iincerpmoniously. Sintilar to pack off. 
 Tlie alLusidu is oln'ious. 
 
 Bundle of Sticks, ^sop, in one of 
 his fables, shows tlifit sticks one bj- one 
 may be readily broken ; not so when 
 several are bound together in a bundle. 
 The lesson taught is, that ' ' Union gives 
 strength." 
 
 "Tliov n.iw lay to lionrt the lessiin of the Imn- 
 dliMif sticks. ■-77«' Tinii.t. 
 
 Bundschuh [hit/hloirs]. An insur- 
 rection of the peasants of Germany in 
 the sixteenth centui'y. So called from 
 tlie highlows or clouted shoon of the 
 insurgents. 
 
 Bung. A cant term for a toper. 
 " Away, . . . you fdtliy bung," says 
 Doll to Pistol. \2 ITrnr/i IV., ii. 4.) 
 
 Brother Bang. A cant term for a 
 publican. 
 
 Bung up. Close up, as a bung closes 
 a cask. 
 
 Bun'galow (Indian). The house of 
 a European in India, generally a ground 
 floor with a verpndah all round it, and 
 the roof tliatched to keep off the hot 
 rays of the sun. There are English 
 burtgalows at Birchington and on the 
 Norfolk coast near Cromer. A dah- 
 hangahiv is a caravansary or house 
 built by the Government for the use of 
 travellers. (Hindustani, bangld.) 
 
 Bungay. Go to Bungag vith you, ! — 
 i.e. get away and don't bother me, or 
 don't talk such stuff. Bungay, in 
 Suffolk, used to be famous for the manu- 
 facture of leather breeches, once very 
 fashionable. Persons who required new 
 ones, or to have their old ones new- 
 seated, went or sent to Bungay for that 
 purpose. Hence rose the cant saying, 
 " Go to Bungay, and get your breeches 
 mended," shortened into "Go to Bungay 
 with you! " 
 
 Bungay. 3[y castle of Bungay. {See 
 under Castle.) 
 
 Bunkum. Claptrap. A representa- 
 tive at Washington being asked why he 
 made such a flowery and angry speech, 
 so wholly uncalled for, made answer, " I 
 was not speaking to the House, but to 
 Buncombe," which he represented (North 
 Carolina). 
 
 " Anicrii-a, too, will (Ind that caucuses, stiinip- 
 oralnry,and siieeclies to Bunconihe will not carry 
 men to tlie iiiiinortal gods."— ri(i?i/'('; Latter-day 
 J'aiHiihlits U'arliaments, \>. it:)). 
 
 Bunny. A rabbit. So called from 
 the provincial word bnn, a tail. The 
 Scotch say of the hare, " she cocks her 
 bun." Bunny, a itiminutive of bun, 
 applied to a rabbit, means the animal 
 with the " little tail." 
 
 " Bunny, lying in the grass, 
 Saw tile sliinv coliiiun p.-iss." 
 Jlnt llarte : Battle Baiiini, stanza I. 
 
 Bunsby {Jack). Captain Cuttle's 
 friend ; a Sir Oracle of his neighViours ; 
 profoundly mysterious, and koejiing his 
 eye always fixed upon invisible dream- 
 land somewhere be3-ond the limits of 
 infinite space, {liickenx : Jlombei/ and 
 Son.) 
 
 Bunting. In Somersetshire buutujg 
 means sifting Hour. Sieves were at one 
 time made of a strong gi'iizy woollen 
 cloth, which being tough iiud ciipiible of 
 resisting wear, was found suitalile for 
 flags, and now has changed its reference 
 from sieves to flags. A " bunt-iuill " is 
 a machine for sifting com. 
 
 '■ N'ot unlike ... a baker's luint, when he separ- 
 ates the Hour from the ]iy:u\."—Stc(tmaii. 
 
 Biiphagos. Pausanias (viii. '11) tells 
 us that tlie son of Jujihet was called Bu- 
 phagos (glutton), as Hercules was called 
 Adcphagus, because on one occasion ho 
 ate a whole ox {Atlieneeos x.). The 
 French call the English " Beefeaters," 
 because they are eaters of large joints of 
 meat, and not of delicate, well-dressed 
 viands. Neither of these lias anj' rela- 
 tion to our Yeomen of the Guards. 
 {See Beefeatees, page 115.) 
 
 Burbon. A knight assailed by a 
 rabble rout, who batter his shield to 
 pieces, and compel him to cast it aside. 
 Talus renders him assistance, and is in- 
 formed by the rescued knight that Four- 
 de'lis, his own true love, had been enticed 
 away from liim by Grantorto. When 
 the rabble is dispersed, and Fourde'lis 
 i-ecovered, Burbon places her on his 
 steed, and rides off as fast as possible. 
 Burbon is Henri IV. of France; Fourde'- 
 lis, the ki)igdom of France; the rabble 
 rout, the Itoman Catholic party tha-t tried
 
 Buchardise 
 
 189 
 
 Burn 
 
 to set him aside ; the shield he is com- 
 pelled to abandon is Protestantism ; his 
 carrying off Fourde'lis is his obtaining 
 the kingdom by a coxp after his renunci- 
 ation of the Protestant cause. {Spciiscr : 
 Faerie Qiieeiie, v. 11.) 
 
 Burchardise. To speak ex eathedra ; 
 to speak wth authority. Bui'chard (who 
 died 1026) compiled a volume of canons 
 of such undisputed authority, that any 
 sentence it gave was beyond ajJiieal. 
 
 Burchell {Mr.'). A baronet who passes 
 himself off as a poor man, his real name 
 and title being Sir William Thoruhill. 
 His favourite cant word is "Fudge." 
 {GuUhinith : Viear of U'alxejield.) 
 
 Burd {Helen). The Scotch female 
 impersonation of the French preu.c or 
 pr/fd'/ioiiniie, with this difference, that 
 she is discreet, rather than brave and 
 Avise. 
 
 Burden of a Song. The words re- 
 jieated in each verse, the chorus or re- 
 frain. It is the French /lo/trdon, the big 
 drone of a bagjiipe, or double -diapason 
 of an organ, used in fortii parts and 
 choruses. 
 
 Burden of Isidnh. The "measure'' of 
 a proijhecy announcing a calamity, or a 
 denunciation of hardships on those 
 against whom the burden is uttered. 
 (Isa. xiii. 1, etc.) 
 
 The bnrden of proof. The obligation 
 to prove sometliing. 
 
 '■Tlie liiu'tlen of proof is on tbe jnrty Ijoliling 
 the ;ittiniiative " [because no one can jinive a 
 iie^'ative, except liy reilKctiu ad ((hxurdum]. — 
 i!ni iihiit': On Evidence {.vol. i. part ■_', cliap. iii. 
 1.. lo:,.. 
 
 Bure (2 syl.). The first woman, and 
 sister of Borr, the father of Odiu. (.bVrt«- 
 dinavian ini/t/iolo(/i/.) 
 
 Bureauc'racy. A system of govern- 
 ment iu wliich the business is carried on 
 in bureaux or departments. The French 
 tinreoH means not only the office of a 
 public functionary, but also the whole 
 staff of officers attached to the depart- 
 ment. As a word of reproach, bureau- 
 cracy has nearly the same meaning as 
 Dickens's word, rcd-tapeisni (q.i\). 
 
 Burglar [bitrg-hrron']. The robber 
 of a burgh, castle, or house. Burglary 
 is called, iu ancient law-books, hanie- 
 seeken or ha in-seen, house-violation. 
 
 Burgun'dian. A Burejundian hloir, 
 i.e. decapitation. The Due de Biron, 
 who was jjut to death for treason by 
 Henri IV., was told in his youth, by a 
 fortune-teller, " to beware of a Burgun- 
 diau blow." When going to execution, 
 
 he asked who was to be his executioner, 
 and was told he was a man from Bur- 
 gundy. 
 
 Burial of an Ass. No burial at all. 
 
 "He shall he Imiiea with the burial of an ass, 
 drawn and cast forth licyoud the yates of Jeru- 
 salem."— Jer. xxii. 111. 
 
 Bu'ridan's Ass. A man of inde- 
 cision ; like one " on double business 
 bound, who stands in pause where he 
 should first begin, and both neglects," 
 Bu'ridan the scholastic said: "If a 
 liuugrj- ass were placed exactly between 
 two hay -stacks in every respect equal, 
 it would starve to death, because there 
 would be no motive why it should go to 
 one rather than to the other." 
 
 Burke. To murder by placing some- 
 thing over the mouth of the person at- 
 tacked to prevent his giving alarm. So 
 cidled from Burke, an Irishnum, who 
 used to suffocate his victims and murder 
 them for the sole i5uii)ose of selling tlie 
 dead bodies to surgeons for dissection. 
 Hanged at Edinburgh, 1829. 
 
 To burke a question. To strangle it in 
 its birth. The pubUealio)i was burked: 
 suppressed before it was circulated. 
 
 Burkers. Body-snatchers ; those who 
 kill by burking. 
 
 Burl, Burler. In Cumberland, a 
 liurler is the master of the revels at a 
 bidden-weddiug, who is to see that the 
 guests are well furnished with drink. 
 To burl is to carouse or pour out htpior. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, bi/rlian.) 
 
 " Mr. H. called for a quart uf beer. ... He told 
 nie to burl out the beer, as he was in a hurr.v, and 
 I burled out the glass and gave it to liim."—T/(C 
 Times: Law Ilcpurts, 
 
 Burlaw or Byrlaw. A sort of Lynch- 
 law in the rural districts of Scotland. 
 The inhabitants of a district used to 
 make certain laws ioj their own observ- 
 ance, and appoint one of their neigh- 
 bours, called the Burlau'-nian, to carry 
 out the jjaius and penalties. The word 
 is a corrupt form of bi/r-law, byr=a 
 burgh, common in such names as JJerb//, 
 the burgh on the Derwent ; Urimsbp 
 (.q.r.), Grims-town. 
 
 Burlesque. Fatherof burlesque poetri/. 
 Hijipo'uax of Ephcsus. (Sixth century 
 
 B.C.) 
 
 Burlond. A giant whose legs Sir 
 Try'amour cut off. {liomanee cf Sir 
 Tryamour.) 
 
 Burn. His monei/ burns a hole in his 
 poeket. He cannot keep it iu his pocket, 
 or forbear spending it.
 
 Burn 
 
 ifto 
 
 Busby 
 
 To hum uiic^s hodls. To cut oueself ofY 
 from all moaus or hope of retreat. The 
 allusion is to Julius Cffisar and other 
 generals, who burned their boats or ships 
 when they invaded a foreign country, 
 in order that their soldiers might feel 
 that they must cither conquer the 
 country or die, as retreat would be 
 impossible. 
 
 To burti (Dies Jii/ijryti. To suffer loss 
 T)y speculation or interference. The 
 allusion is to taking chestnuts from 
 the hrc. 
 
 " lie li;is brcii ImNlciiir.- u|i tlioso vnttcii ircm- 
 wdi'ks. I liilcl liini lie wiMild liiirii Ills liii.wrs."— 
 Mrs. LijHii Lhiliiii. 
 
 Yon caiui'U hiini I lie cmidh' at both r/i/h. 
 You cannot do two opi)osite things at 
 one and tlic .sunu; time ; j'ou cannot 
 exhaust your energies in one direction, 
 and yet reserve tliem unimpaired for 
 something else. If you go to bed late 
 you cannot get uj) early. You cannot 
 eat your cake and have it too. Ytni 
 cannot serve God and Mammon. You 
 cannot serve two masters, runrsiiis deux 
 lirrrcx, rt hs iikiikikcs. (La Foiitaiiic.) 
 Siiinil tiorberc uc Jiurc iioii jjonsiiiii. 
 
 IFc burn ih(\ili<ihl. We waste time in 
 talk instead of action. {Xhulcvspcarc : 
 Mcni/ IViccs of Jl'iiidfior, ii. 1.) 
 
 Burn, a stream. A variant of bourn 
 (Anglo-Saxon, h/ni/r, a brook, as in 
 VVintcrbourne,Burnhani,Swiuburn,etc ). 
 
 Burning Crown (J). A crown of 
 red-hot iron set on the head of regicides. 
 
 "He \v;is ;uljnilL'eil 
 To have liis liead se;iri'<l witli a l)iii'uiiij,' crown," 
 Tniijeilii (>/ lliiffmanii. ( li«l. i 
 
 Burnt. TJie hxDit child drradx fhr 
 fur. Once cauglit, twice shy. "What I 
 wouldst thou have a serpent sting tluie 
 twice':'" 
 
 Burnt Candlemas Day. Feb. '_*, 
 
 13")-j-(i, wlnu Edward III. marched 
 through tlie Lothians witli tire and 
 svvonl. He burnt to the gronud Edin- 
 burgh and Haddington, and then re- 
 treated from want of prorisions. The 
 Scots call the period "Burnt Candlemas." 
 {See "Epoclas of History," Emjhnid 
 under the I'lanlnyciietn ; and Macmillan's 
 series, Little ILisforij of IScotland, edited 
 by Prof. Freeman.) 
 
 Bursa (a bull's hide). So the citadel 
 of Carthage was called. The tale is 
 that when Dido came to Africa she 
 bouglit of the natives " as much land as 
 could be encompassed by a bidl's hide." 
 The agreement was made, and Dido cut 
 the hide into thongs, so as to enclose a 
 space sufficient for a citadel. 
 
 The following is a similai' story : The 
 Yakutsks granted to the Russian ex- 
 plorers as much land as they could 
 encompass witli a cow's hide ; but the 
 Kussians, cutting the hide into strips, 
 obtained land enough for the port and 
 town of Yakutsk. 
 
 The Indians liavc a somcwhtat similar 
 tradition. The fifth incarnation of 
 Vishnu was in the form of a dwarf called 
 Vamen. Vamcn, presenting himself 
 before the giant Baly, ;vsked as a reward 
 for services as much land as lie coidd 
 measure in three i»aces to build a hut 
 on. Baly laughed at the request, and 
 freely granted it. Wliereupon the 
 dwarf grew so prodigiously large that, 
 with tlirec paces, he strode orer the 
 whole world. (Soinierat: Vo'/'if/rs, vol. 
 i.p.'il.) 
 
 Burst. To inform against an accom- 
 plice. Slang variety of ".split" (tuni 
 king's evidence, imjieach). The person 
 who does this spliln or breaks up the 
 whole concern. 
 
 Bury the Hatchet. Let bygones 
 be by-gones. The " (heat Sjiirit " com- 
 manded the North American Indians, 
 when they smoked the cal'umet or peace- 
 pipe, to bury their hatchet, scalpiug- 
 knives, and war- clubs in the ground, 
 that all thought of hostility might be 
 buiied out of sight. 
 
 " It, is iiiiuli lo he rej-'ietteil lluit the AiueiieHii 
 poveriinient, h;n iiiK' liroiitrlit the f-'i-eat war to a 
 eoncliisioii, diJ not Iniiy the U.it'cliet iiltogethcr." 
 —'I'lie Timex. 
 
 " Hiiiied was the Idoodv liatrhet ; 
 liiiried was the dreadful wai-cluli ; 
 Hiiried were all warlike weaiioiis, 
 And the war-cry was forKolteii ; 
 Theu was iicaceaiiioiif.' the nations." 
 
 Loiifi/i How : Jliduiilhii, xiii. 
 
 Burying, Cn )ii((tio)i. The Parsees 
 neither Imry or burn their dead, because 
 they will not defile the elements (fire 
 and ciirth). So they carry their dead 
 to the Tower of Silence, and leave the 
 body there to be devoured by vultures. 
 ('S're Xinetecnth Ccntiirij, October, 1893, 
 p. Gil.) 
 
 Burying at Cross Roads. {Sec 
 Cross- KoADs.) 
 
 Bus. A contraction of Oiiniib/ts. Of 
 course, Omuibi, as a plural, though some- 
 times used, is quite absurd. 
 
 "Busby (A). A frizzled wig. Doctor 
 Busby, master of Westminster school, 
 did not wear a frizzled wig, but a close 
 cap, somewhat like a Welsh wig. {See 
 Wigs.) 
 
 Busby. The tall cap of a hussar, 
 artillery-man, etc., which hangs from 
 the top over the right shoulder.
 
 Bush 
 
 191 
 
 Butcher 
 
 Bush. One heats the hush, hut another 
 has the Hare, i.e. oue does the work, but 
 another reaps the profit. The Latius 
 said, Sic cos iion robis. The allusion is 
 to beating the bush to start game. {See 
 Beating. ) 
 
 Ouod iriiie needs no bush. A good ar- 
 ticle will make itself known without 
 being puffed. The booths in faii-s used 
 to be dressed with ivy, to indicate that 
 wine was sold there, ivy being sacred to 
 Bacchus. An ivy-bush was once the 
 common sign of taverns, and especially of 
 private houses where beer or wine could 
 be obtamed by travellers. In France, a 
 jjeasant wlio sells his vineyard has to put 
 a green bush over liis door. 
 
 The proverb is Latin, and shows that 
 the Romans introduced the custom into 
 Europe. " ]'ino rendih'di hed'era non 
 opus est " {Colitiiu'lfa). It was also com- 
 mon to France. "^1« rin qid so tend 
 bien, il lie fa at point dc lierre.'" 
 
 " If it lie true that good wine needs no liusli,'tii 
 true tUat a i,-ood play needs no jirologue." 
 
 Shaheapeare : As You Like It i.BiiiIo,!-'iU'). 
 
 To take to the bush. To become bush- 
 rangers, like riuiaway convicts who hve 
 ])\' plunder. The bush in this case 
 means what the Dutch call boseh, the 
 imcleared land as opposed to towns and 
 clearings. 
 
 "Ever\ thing l)eins much cheaper in Toronto 
 th:iii away iu the \nisli."—0'cikie : Life in the 
 
 Wunds. 
 
 Bushel. To measure other people^s 
 eorii hi/ one's own bushel. To make one- 
 self the standard of right and wrong ; to 
 api^raise everji;hing as it accords or dis- 
 agrees with one's own habits of thought 
 and preconceived oj)inious ; to be ex- 
 tremely bigoted and self-opiniated. 
 
 Under a bushel. Secretly ; in order to 
 liide it. 
 
 " !)!> mm lii;ht a caudle and put it under a 
 builie|v"-Matl. V. li. 
 
 Bushman (Dutch, Boschjesman). Na- 
 tives of South Africa who live in the 
 "bush"; the aborigines of the Cape; 
 dwellers in the Australian "bush;" a 
 bush farmer. 
 
 " Buslnueu .... are the only nuniades in the 
 country. They never cultivate the soil, nor rear 
 any domestic animal save wretched dogs."— 
 Livinfjstone : Trirveh, chap. ii. p. 55. 
 
 Bushrangers. Escaped convicts who 
 have taken refuge in the Australian 
 " bush," and subsist by plunder. 
 
 "The bushrangers at first were absentees [i.e. 
 escaped convicts] who were soon allured or 
 driven to theft and vi(dence. So early as Iww 
 they had, by systematic robbery, excited feelings 
 of alarm."— Went : Tasmania. 
 
 Business, Busy. Saxon, bi/sffian, the 
 verb, bijsiff (busy) ; Dutch, bezir/cn ; Ger- 
 man, bcsorgniss (care, management) ; 
 
 sorijc (care) ; Saxon, seo<jan (to see). 
 From the German sort/en we get the 
 French soiyncr (to look after something), 
 soigne, and be-sogne (business, or that 
 which is oiu- care and concern), with 
 he-soin (something looked after but not 
 found, hence "want"); the Italian 
 hesofjnio (a beggar). 
 
 Business To-morrow. When tlio 
 Spartans seized u2)ou Tholtes, they placed 
 Arc'hias over the garrison. Pelop'idas, 
 with eleven others, banded together to 
 put Archias to the sword. A letter con- 
 taining full details of the plot was given 
 to the S})artau polemarch at the banquet 
 table; but Archias thrust Iho letter 
 under his cushion, saying, " Business to- 
 morrow." But long ere that sun arose 
 he was numbered with the dead. 
 
 Bu'sirane (3 syl.). An enchanter 
 bound by Brit'omart. {Spenser : Faerie 
 Hueene, book iii. 11, 12.) 
 
 Busi ris. A king of Egypt, who used 
 to immolate to the gods all strangers 
 who set foot on his shores. Hercules 
 was seized by liim ; and would have 
 fallen a victim, but he broke his chain, 
 and slew the inhospitable king. 
 
 Busi' ris, according to Milton, is the 
 Pharaoh who was drowned in the Red Sea. 
 
 "Ve.\'d the Red-Seii coast, whose waves o'er- 
 threw 
 Busiris and his jremphian chi\ airy." 
 
 Paradise Lost, book i. 3ofi, .inr. 
 
 Buskin. Tragedy. The Greek tra- 
 gic actors used to wear a sandal some 
 two or three inches thick, to elevate 
 thcii- statiu-e. To this sole was attached 
 a very elegant buskin, and the whole 
 was called cothur'nus. {See Sock.) 
 " Or what (though rare) of later age 
 Ennobled hat h the buskined stage." 
 
 Milton : II Peiiseroso, 79, Sn. 
 
 Buss. To kiss. (Welsh, bus, the 
 human lip ; Gaelic, bus, the mouth ; 
 French, baiser, a kiss.) 
 
 " Yon towers, whose wanton tops do buss the 
 chiuds, 
 Must kiss their own feet." 
 
 Uluiluspeare : Troilus and Cnssida, iv. 5. 
 
 Busterich. A Genuan god. His 
 idol may stQl be seen at Sondershusa, 
 the castle of Schwartzenburg. 
 
 Busy as a Bee. The ctjuivalent 
 Latin phrase is '^ Satagis tamquain iiius in 
 matella.'^ {See Similes.) 
 
 Butcher. The Butcher. Achmed 
 Pasha was called djezzar (the butcher), 
 and is said to have whipped off the heads 
 of his seven wives. He is famous for 
 his defence of Acre against Napoleon I. 
 
 The Butcher. John, ninth lord Cliiford, 
 also called The Black, died 1461.
 
 Butcher 
 
 192 
 
 Buttons 
 
 The Bloody Butcher. The Duke of 
 Cumberland, second son of George II. 
 So called from his barbarities iu sup- 
 pressing the rebelUou of the youug Pre- 
 tender. 
 
 The Roijidist Butcher. Blaise de Mout- 
 luc, distinguished for his cruelties to the 
 Protestants in the reign of Charles IX. 
 of France (1.502-1572). 
 
 Butcher Boots. The black boots 
 ■worn en pttiic tciiue in the huutiug field. 
 
 Butter. Soft soap, soft solder (prou. 
 SKic-der), " wijjing down " with winning 
 words. FioH'h expressively calls it ' ' the 
 milk of human kindness churned into 
 butter." (Anglo-Suxon, hntcrc ovhiitijre, 
 Latin, buti/riiiii, Greek, boidyrvii, i.e. 
 hoM-turoi, cow-cheese, as distinguished 
 from goat- or ewe-butter.) 
 
 Soft words butter no paraiiips. Saying 
 " ' Be thou fed,' will not feed a hungrj' 
 man." Mere words will not fuid salt tu 
 our porridge, or butter to our parsnips. 
 
 '■ Kiue words, aiys mw lioiiicly old lU'overli, l)Ul- 
 tei" ncj iiaisuiiis."— ioirtW. 
 
 He looks as if butter ivould not melt in 
 his mouth. He looks like a dolt. He 
 looks quite harmless and exjjressly made 
 to be played \\\Km. Yet beware, and 
 " touch not a cat but a glove." 
 
 "She smiles aud laii!,'iiislies, .vuu'il think that 
 Initter would uut melt iu \u^i\ii'>ulh." —Tluickeray : 
 Pendennis, l.\. 
 
 He knows on which side his bread is 
 buttered. He knows his own interest. 
 Scit utlforo. 
 
 He that has good store of butter may 
 lay it thick on his bread. Cut multum est 
 pip^ris, ctiain oleribus imniiscct. 
 
 To butter one^s bread on both sides. To 
 be wastef ully extravagant and luxurious. 
 
 Butter-fingers. Said of a ijersou 
 
 who lets things fall out of his hand. His 
 
 fingers are slipper}-, and things slip from 
 
 them as if they were greased with butter. 
 
 Often heard on the cricket field. 
 
 " I never was a liulter-Bugers, thoujih a bad 
 batter."—//. Kinyslcij. 
 
 Butter-tooth (A). A wide front 
 tooth. (.SVf Buck-tooth.) 
 
 Buttered Ale. A beverage made of 
 ale or beer (without hops) mixed with 
 butter, sugar, aud cinnamon. 
 
 Buttercups. So called because they 
 were once supposed to increase the butter 
 of milk. No doubt those cows give the 
 best milk that pasture iu fields where 
 buttercups abound, not because these 
 flowers produce butter, but because they 
 grow only on sound, dry, old pastures, 
 which afford the best food. Miller, in 
 his Gardener'' s Bictionary, says they were 
 so called "under the notion that tlie 
 
 yellow coloui- of butter is owing to these 
 
 l^lauts." 
 
 Butterflies, iu the cab trade, are 
 those di'ivers who take to the occupation 
 only in summer-time, and at the best of 
 tlie season. At other times they follow 
 some other occupation. 
 
 "The feeliii'-' of the resfiilar drivers avainsl 
 these ' biitierllies ' is v<'ry stroug."— .V(i(cfteH</t 
 Century (March Is'.iii. p. i"). 
 
 Butterfly Kiss (A). A kiss with 
 one's eyelashes, that is, stroking the 
 cheek with one's eyelashes. 
 
 Button. A decoy iu an auction- 
 room ; so called because he buttons or 
 ties the unwary to bargains offered for 
 sale. The button fiisteus or fixes what 
 else would slip away. 
 
 'The button of the cap. The tijj-toj). 
 Thus, iu Hamlet, Guildensteni says: 
 '' On fortune's cap we are not the very 
 button" (act ii. sc. 2), i.e. the most 
 highly favoured. The button on the 
 ca}} was a mark of honour. Thus, iu 
 China to the jiresent liour, the first 
 grade of litertiry honour is the privilege 
 of adding a gold button to the cap, a 
 custom adopted iu several collegiate 
 schools of England. This gives the ex- 
 pression quoted a further force. Also, 
 the several grades of mtindarius are dis- 
 tinguished by a different coloured button 
 on the toji of their cap. 
 
 Button (of a foil). The piece of cork 
 fixed to the cud of a foil to protect the 
 point and prevent injury iu fencing. 
 
 Buttons. The two buttons ou the 
 back of a coat, iu the fall of the back, 
 are a sm-vival of the buttons ou the back 
 of riding-coats and military frocks of the 
 eighteenth century, occasionally used to 
 button back the coat-tails. 
 
 A boy in buttons. A jjage, whose 
 jacket iu front is remarkable for a disjjiay 
 of small round buttons, as close as they 
 can be inserted, from chin to waist. 
 
 "The titter [tingle] of an electric bell briuigbl 
 a large fat buttons, with a stage effect of belns 
 dres-ed to look small."— 7/oh(?(^ ; Hazard of Xeih 
 Furtuiics, (vol. i. part i. chap. vii. p. 5.si. 
 
 He has not all his buttons. He is half- 
 silly ; " not all there " ; he is " a button 
 short." 
 
 Bash my buttons. Here, "buttons" 
 means lot or destiny, aud "dash" is a 
 euphemistic form of a more offensive 
 word. 
 
 The buttons eooic off" the foils. Figura- 
 tively, the courtesies of controversy are 
 neglected. 
 
 " Familiarity with controversy . . . will have 
 accustomed him to the misadventures which 
 arise when, as sometimes will happen in the heat 
 of fence, the buttons come off the toils."— Xnu- 
 tecnth Century (June, iwl, p. 'J-JoX
 
 Button-liole 
 
 193 
 
 Bygones 
 
 ^Tis in his buttons. He is destined to 
 obtain the prize ; he is the accepted 
 lover. It is stUl common to hear boys 
 count their buttons to know what trade 
 they are to follow, whether they are 
 to do a thing or not, and whether some 
 favourite favours them. ( See Bacheloe. ) 
 
 "'Tisiti his buttons: he 'will carry't."— .S7((i/ve- 
 spcare: Merry Wives of Windsor, iii. a. 
 
 'T/s not in his buttons. 'Tis not in his 
 power, 'tis not in his lot. 
 
 1^'j hare a soitl above buttons. To be 
 worthy of better things ; to have abili- 
 ties too good for one's present employ- 
 ment. This is explained by George 
 Colman in Sylrcstcr Dagger wood : "My 
 father was an eminent button-maker, . . 
 but I had a soul above buttons . . . and 
 panted for a liberal profession." 
 
 To put into buttons. To dress a boy as 
 a "page," with a jacket full in the j 
 front with little buttons, generally me- 
 tallic and very conspicuous. 
 
 To take by the button. To detain one 
 in conversation; to apprehend, as, "to 
 take fortune by the button." The allu- 
 sion is to a custom, now discontinued, 
 of holding a person by the button or 
 button-hole in conversation. 
 
 Button-hole. To button-hole a person. 
 To bore one with conversation. The 
 French have the same locution : Serrcr U 
 bouton [ii quel qu'un], 
 
 "He went about button-lioling and boring 
 everyone." — U. Kinysley : ilathilcie. 
 
 To take one down a button-hole. To 
 take one down a peg ; to lower one's 
 conceit. 
 
 " Better miuil yerselves, or I'll take ye down a 
 Imtton-liole iov:ev."—Mrs. B. Stoice: Uncle Tom's 
 Cabin, iv. 
 
 Button-hole (A). A flower inserted 
 in the button-hole of a coat. 
 
 " In fine weather he [the driver of a hansom] 
 will sport a button-hole— Generally a dahlia, or 
 some flower of that i\k."— Nineteenth Century 
 (March, 18'.«, p. 473). 
 
 Buy in (To). To collect stock by 
 purchase ; to withhold the sale of some- 
 thing offered at auction, because the 
 bidding has not reached the "reserve 
 price." 
 
 Buy Oflf (To). To give a person 
 money to drop a claim or put an end to 
 contention, or to throw up a partner- 
 ship. 
 
 Buy Out {To). To redeem or ransom. 
 
 " Xdt lieinL' able to buy out his life .... 
 Dies ere the weary sun set." 
 
 Shakespeare : Comedy of Errors, i. 2. 
 
 Buy Over (To). To induce one by a 
 bribe to renounce his claim ; to gain 
 over by bribery. 
 
 13 
 
 To bug over a person'' s head. To out- 
 bid another. 
 
 Buy Up {To). To purchase stock to 
 such an amount as to obtain a virtual 
 monopoly, and thus command the mar- 
 ket ; to make a comer, as "to buy up 
 com," etc. 
 
 Buying a Pig in a Poke. [See 
 
 Pig, etc.) 
 
 Buzfuz {Serjeant). A drivi:ig, chaff- 
 ing, masculine bar orator, who twists 
 " Chops and Tomato Sauce " into a de- 
 claration of love. {Dickens: Pickwick 
 Papers.) 
 
 Buzz. Empty the bottle. A corrup- 
 tion of bouse (to drink). 
 
 " In bousing a bout 'twas his gift to e.xcel. 
 And of all jolly topers he bore oS the hell." 
 
 {See Boozy.) 
 
 Buzz {A). A rumour, a whispered 
 report. 
 
 " Yes, that, on every dream, 
 Each buzz, each fancy . . . 
 He may enguard his dotage." 
 
 Shakispeare : King Lear, i. 4. 
 
 Buzzard {The) is meant for Dr. Bur- 
 nett, whose figure was lusty. 
 
 "The noljle Buzzard ever pleased me liest." 
 Drijden: Hind and Panther, part iii. lli'l. 
 
 Buzzard called hawk by courtesy. It 
 is a euphemism — a brevet rank — a com- 
 plimentary title. 
 
 " Of small renown, 'tis true; for, not to lie, 
 We call Qvour buzzard] " hawk" by courtesy." 
 JJryden : Hind and Panther, iii. ll-J-2-3. 
 
 Between hawk and buzzard. Xot quite 
 a lady or gentleman, nor quite a ser- 
 vant. Applied to tutors in private 
 houses, bear-leaders, and other grown- 
 up persons who are allowed to come 
 down to dessert, but not to be guests at 
 the dinner-table. 
 
 By. Meaning against. "I know 
 nothing by myself, yet am I not thereby 
 justified." (1 Cor. iv. 4.) 
 
 By-and-by now means a little time 
 hence, but when the Bible was trans- 
 lated it meant instantly. " When perse- 
 cution ariseth . . . by-and-by he is 
 offended" (Matt. xiii. 21); rendered in 
 Mark iv. 17 by the word '" immediately." 
 Our presently means in a Uttle time 
 hence, but in Fvench. prescntenieni means 
 now, directly. Thus in France we see, 
 These afxirtments to be let presently, mean- 
 ingwoK' — a phrase which would iuEnglish 
 signify by-and-by. 
 
 Bygones. Let bygones be bygones. 
 Let old grievances be forgotten and 
 never brought to mind.
 
 By-laws 
 
 m 
 
 Cabal 
 
 By-laws. Local laws. From bi/, a 
 borou^^h. Properly, laws by a Town 
 Council, and bearing only on tlie borough 
 or company over which it has jurisdic- 
 tion. 
 
 By-road {A). Not a main road; a 
 local road. 
 
 By-the-by. E>i passant, laterally 
 connected with the main subject. " By- 
 play " is side or secondary play; " By- 
 lanes and streets" are those which 
 branch out of the main thoroughfare. 
 The first " by " mea.ns pas.si >/(/ froiii one to 
 another, as in the phrase "Day by day." 
 Thus " By-thc-by " is passing from the 
 main subject to a hij or secondary one. 
 
 By-the-way is an incidental remark 
 tlirown in, and tending the same way as 
 the discourse itself. 
 
 Byron. 7V>e rolish Byron. Adam 
 Mickiewicz (1798-1855). 
 
 The Russian Byron. Alexander Ser- 
 gei vitch Puschkin (1799-1837). 
 
 Byrsa. {Sec page 191, col. 1 , Buesa. ) 
 Byzantine Art. That symbolical 
 system wliich was developed by the early 
 Greek or Byzantine artists out of the 
 Christian symbolism. Its chief features 
 are the circle, dome, and round arch ; 
 and its chief symbols the lily, cross, 
 vesica, and nimbus. St. So^ihia, at Con- 
 stantinople, and St. Mark, at Venice, are 
 excellent examples. 
 
 Byzantine Empire {The). The 
 Eastern or Greek Emjiire from 395 to 
 1453. 
 
 Byzantine Historians. Certain 
 Greek historians who lived under the 
 Eastern empire between the sixth and 
 fifteenth centuries. They "may be divided 
 into three groups: — (1) Those whose 
 ■works form a continuous history of the 
 Byzantine empire, from the fourth cen- 
 tury to the conquest of Constantinople 
 by the Turks ; (2) general chroniclers 
 who wrote histories of the world from 
 the oldest period ; and (3) writers on 
 Roman antiquities, statistics, and cus- 
 toms. 
 
 Byzan'tines (3 syl.). Cohis of the 
 Byzantine empire, generally called Be- 
 sants. 
 
 C. This letter is tlie outhne of the 
 hollow of the hand, and is called in He- 
 brew caph (the hollow of the hand). 
 
 C. The French c, when it is to be 
 sounded like s, htvs a mark under it (f) ; 
 
 this mark is called a cedilla. (A diminu- 
 tive of z ; called zcta in Greek, ceila in 
 Spanish.) 
 
 C. There is more than one jjoem 
 written of which every word begins with 
 C. For example : 
 
 (1) One composed by Huebald in 
 
 honour of Charles le Chauve. It is in 
 
 Latin liexameters and runs to somewhat 
 
 more than a hundred lines, the last two 
 
 of which are 
 
 "Coiivoiiiet Claras claustris componcrp rannns 
 t'lMiiiiletur clanis carmen cantal)ile (,'Ai.vis." 
 
 (2) One by Hamconius, called " CVr- 
 tamen catholtcnm earn Calriiiistis.'" 
 
 (3) One by Heney Hardee, of 100 
 lines in Latin, on "Cats," entitled: 
 " Canton cinn Cutis ecrtainen earniitie 
 compositum carrcnte calaino C. Catitlli 
 Caninii.^' The first line is — 
 
 " L'attoruiii caiiinius certamiiia clara camuihiiio." 
 Cats' canine caterwaulin-' ciiutests cliant. 
 See M and P for other examples. 
 
 Qa Ira {it uill go). Called empha- 
 tically Lr Carillon National oi theFreiich 
 Ilevolution (1790). It went to tlio tune 
 of the Carillon National, which Marie 
 Antoinette was for ever strumming ou 
 her harpsichord. 
 
 " frt Ira " was the rallying cry bor- 
 rowed by the Federalists from Dr. Frank- 
 lin of America, who used to say, in 
 reference to the American revolution, 
 '•'Ah! ah! ga ira, ga ira!" ('twill be 
 sure to do). The refrain of the carillon 
 is — 
 
 Ha! ha ! It will speed, it will speed, it will speed : 
 Uesistauce is vain, we are sure to succeed. 
 
 Caa'ba (3 syl.). The shrine of Mecca, 
 said by the Arabs to be built on the 
 exact spot of the tabernacle let down 
 from heaven at the prayer of repentant 
 Adam. Adam had been a wanderer for 
 200 years, and here received jjardou. 
 The shrine was built, according to Arab 
 tradition, by Ishmael, assisted by his 
 father Abraham, who inserted in the 
 walls a black stone "presented to him 
 by the angel Gabriel." 
 
 Cab. A contraction of cabriolet {a 
 little caperer), a small carriage that scam- 
 pers along like a kid. 
 
 Cabal'. A junto or council of in- 
 triguers. One of the Ministries of 
 Charles II. was called a cabal (1670), 
 because the initial letters of its members 
 formed this acrostic : Clifford, Ashley, 
 Buckingham, ArHngton, and Lauder- 
 dale. This accident may have popular- 
 ised the word, but, without doubt, we 
 borrowed it from the French cabale, " an
 
 Cabala 
 
 193 
 
 Cacliet 
 
 intriguing faction," and Hebrew cab'ala, 
 " secret knowledge." h. junto is merely 
 an assembly; Spanish, ;>«/^(7, a council. 
 (.S«' XoTAEicA ; Tammany Ring.) 
 
 " In (lark cabals and mighty juutos met." 
 
 Thomson. 
 " These ministei's were enipliatically called the 
 ralial, and they soon made the aiipellation so in- 
 faiiKuis that it has never since .... lieen used 
 except as a term of reproach." — ilacaulay : 
 EiKjlund, vol. i. chap. ii. p. 1(>5. 
 
 Cab'ala. The oral law of the Jews 
 delivered down from father to sou by 
 word of mouth. Some of the rabbins say 
 that the angel Raziel instructed Adam 
 in it, the angel Japhiel instructed Sliem, 
 and the angel Zedekiel iustructed Abra- 
 ham ; but the more usual belief is that 
 God instructed Moses, and Moses his 
 brother Aaron, and so on from age to 
 age^ 
 
 N.B. — The premises held out by the 
 cabala are : the abolition of sin and 
 sickness, abundant jirovision of all 
 tilings needful for our well-being during 
 life, familiar intercourse with deity and 
 angels, the gilt of languages and jjro- 
 phecy, the power of transmuting metals, 
 and also of working miracles. 
 
 Cab'alist. A Jewish doctor who 
 professed the study of the Cabala, a 
 mysterious science said to have been 
 delivered to the Jews bj^ revelation, 
 and transmitted by oral tradition. This 
 science consisted mainly in understand- 
 ing the combiuation of certain letters, 
 words, and numbers, said to be sig- 
 nificant. 
 
 Cabalistic. Mystic word- juggling. 
 {See Cabalist.) 
 
 Caballe'ro. A Spanish dance, grave 
 and stately ; so called from the ballad- 
 music to which it was danced. The 
 ballad begins — 
 
 " Ejta noche le mataron al caliallero." 
 
 Cabbage. It is said that no sort of 
 food causes so much thirst as cabbage, 
 especially that called colewort. Paus- 
 anias tells us it first sprang from the 
 sweat of Jupiter, some drops of which 
 fell on the earth. CcbHus, Ehodiginus, 
 Ovid, Suidas, and others repeat the 
 same fable. 
 
 '•Some drops of sweat happening to light on 
 the earth produced what mortals call caliijage." 
 —Rabelais : Pantaijritcl, book iv. iPrologiie). 
 
 Cabbage (?>;). To filch. Sometimes 
 a tailor is called "cabbage," from his 
 pilfering cloth given him to make up. 
 Thus in Motteux's Rabelais, iv. o2, we 
 read of "Poor Cabbage's hair." (Old 
 French, cabas, theft, verb cabasser; 
 
 Dutch, kabassen ; Swedish, grabba ; 
 Danish, griber, our grab.) 
 
 " Your tailor, instead of shreds, cabbages whole 
 yards of cloth."— Arbathnofs Juhii Bull. 
 
 Cabbage is also a common schoolboy 
 term for a literary crib, or other petty 
 theft. 
 
 Cabinet Ministers. The chief offi- 
 cers of state in whom the administrative 
 government is vested. It contains the 
 First Lord of the Treasury {t/<e Freniier), 
 the Lord High Chancellor, Lord Pre- 
 sident of the Council, Lord Privy Seal, 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, six Secre- 
 taries of State, the First Lord of the 
 Admiralty, Lord Lieutenant and Lord 
 Chancellor of Ireland, President of the 
 Board of Trade, Chancellor of the 
 Duchy of Lancaster, the President of 
 the Board of Agriculture. The five 
 Secretaries of State are those of the 
 Home Department, Foreign Aifairs, 
 Colonies, War, India, and Cliief-Secre- 
 tary to the Lord-Lieuteuaut of Ireland. 
 Sometimes other members of the 
 Government are included, and some- 
 times one or two of the above left out 
 of the Cabinet. These Ministers are 
 privileged to consult the Sovereign in the 
 private cabinet of the palace. 
 
 Cabi ri. Mj-stic divinities worshijiped 
 in ancieut Egypt, Phoenicia, Asia Miuor, 
 and Greece. They were inferior to 
 the supreme gods. (Phoenician, kabir, 
 powerful. ) 
 
 Cable's Length. 100 fathoms. 
 
 V Some think to avoid a difficulty by 
 reudering Matthew xix. 24 "It is easier 
 for a cable to go through the ej'e of a 
 needle . . . .", but the word is KdiirjXov, 
 and the whole force of the passage rests 
 on the "impossibility " of the thiug, as 
 it is distinctly stated in Mark x. 2 1, 
 " How hard is it for them that irast in 
 [their] riches, inl tocs xpw"o'"'. . •" It is 
 impossible by the virtue of money or 
 by bribes to enter the kingdom of 
 heaven. (.SVf i^age 205, col. 1, Camel.) 
 
 Cabochon {En). Uncut, but only 
 polished ; applied to emeralds, rubies, 
 and other precious stones. (French, 
 cabochon.) 
 
 Cachecope Bell. A bell rung at 
 funerals, when the pall was thrown over 
 the coffin. (French, cache corps, cover 
 over the body.) 
 
 Ca'chet (pron. cah'shag). Lettres dc 
 eaehet (letters sealed). Under the old 
 French regime, carte-blanche waiTauts, 
 sealed with the king's seal, might be 
 obtained for a consideration, and the
 
 Cacodsemon 
 
 196 
 
 Cadmean 
 
 person who held them might fill in anj' 
 name. Sometimes the warrant was to 
 set a prisoner at large, but it was more 
 frequently for detention in the Bastille. 
 During the administration of Cardinal 
 Fleury 80,OUO of these cachets were 
 issued, the larger number being against 
 the Jan'senists. In the reigns of Louis 
 XV. and XVI. fifty-nine were obtained 
 against the one family of Mirabeau. 
 This scandal was abolished January 
 loth, 1790. 
 
 Cac'odae'mon. An evil spii-it. As- 
 trologers give this name to the Twelfth 
 House of Heaven, from which only evil 
 prognostics proceed. (Greek, IcuIcod 
 daimon.) 
 
 " Hie thee to hell for shame, and leave the woilii, 
 Thou eacodemon." 
 
 t^hakespeare: Richard III., i. .•?. 
 
 Cacoe'thes (Greek). A " bad habit." 
 CacocUics loquouli. A passion for 
 making speeches or for talking. 
 
 C'ucoethcs scribeiidi. The love of rush- 
 ing into print ; a mania for authorship. 
 
 Ca'cus. A famous robber, repre- 
 sented as three-headed, and vomiting 
 flames. He lived in Italy, and was 
 strangled by Hercules. Saucho Tanza 
 says of the Lord Einaldo and his friends, 
 " They are greater thieves than Cacus." 
 {Don Quixote.) 
 
 Cad. A low, vulgar fellow ; an 
 omnibus conductor. Either from cadet, 
 or a contraction of cadr/cr (a i^ackman) . 
 The etymology of cad, (i cudoido, is only 
 a pun . N. B . —The Scotch cndie or ca icdic 
 (a little servant, or eiTand-boy, or carrier 
 of a sedan-chair), without the dimi- 
 nutive, offers a plausible suggestion. 
 
 "All Edinlmrgh men .and boys know that 
 when sedan-chairs were discontinued, the old 
 cadics sank into ruinous povert.v, and became 
 synonymous with roughs. Tlie word was brought 
 to London by James Hannay, who ^frenuently 
 used it."— J/. I'rinijle. 
 
 Caddice or Caddis. Worsted galloon, 
 crewel. (Welsh, rr/ (f as, brocade; cadach 
 is a kerchief; Irish, cadaii.) 
 
 '■ He hath ribands of all the colours i' the rain- 
 bow ; . . . caddisses, canihrics, hiwns."— .S'Ante- 
 spcare : ]y inter's Tale,i\.3. 
 
 Caddicc-garier. A servant, a man of 
 mean rank. When garters- were worn 
 in sight, the gentry used very expensive 
 ones, but the baser sort wore worsted 
 galloon ones. Prince Henry calls Poins 
 a " caddice -garter." (1 Henry IV., ii. 
 
 4.) 
 
 " Dost hear, 
 My honest caddis-garter ?" 
 Glapthorne ; Wit in a Constable, 1639. 
 
 Caddy. A ghost, a bugbear. A 
 caddis is a grub, a bait for anglers- 
 
 " Poor -Mislcr Leviathan Addy I 
 
 Lo ' his u'landcnr hu latcl\ a sun, 
 Is siiikim-' iSMd fall I I to a caddy." 
 Pctir I'imlar: Umit Cnj ami Little Muol, epistle I. 
 
 Cade. Jitck Cade Icfjishtt'ion. Pres- 
 sure from without. The allusion is to 
 the insurrection of Jack Cade, an Irish- 
 man, who headed about 20,000 armed 
 men, chiefly of Kent, "to in'ocure re- 
 dress of grievances " (1450). 
 " You that love the commons, follow me ; 
 Now show yourselves ii.cu ; 'tis for liberty. 
 We will not leave one lord, oiir> L-eiitienian : 
 Spare none hut such as gu in rliuiied shoon." 
 S)i„l;,si>t,iri-: !■ Ilriinj 17., iv. 1'. 
 
 Cader Idris or Art]iiir''n Sent. If 
 any man passes tlie night sitting on this 
 "chair," he will be either a poet or a 
 madman. 
 
 Cadcs'sia {Battle of) gave the Arabs 
 the monarchy of Persia, (a.d. G36.) 
 
 Cadet. Younger branches of noble 
 families are called cadets, because their 
 armorial shields are marked with a 
 difference called a cadency. 
 
 Cadet is a student at the Eoj'al Mili- 
 tary Academy at Woolwich, the Royal 
 Military College at Sandhurst, or in one 
 of her Majesty's training ships, the 
 E.reellent and the Britannia. From 
 these places they are sent (after passing 
 certuin examinations) into the army as 
 ensigns or second lieutenants, and into 
 the navy as midshipmen. (French, 
 cadet, junior member of a family.) 
 
 Cadger. One who carries butter, 
 eggs, and jioultry to market ; a packman 
 or huckster. f'rom cadi/c (to carry). 
 Hence the frame on which hawks were 
 carried was called "a cadge," and the 
 man who carried it, a " cadger." Amau 
 of low degree. 
 
 "Every cadger thinks himself as good as an 
 e:ir\:'—SlclJoiuild: Malcolm, iKivt ix. chap. xlv. p. 
 ls:i. 
 
 Ca'di, ajnong_ the Turks, Arabs, etc., 
 is a town magistrate or infeiior judge. 
 " Cadi Lesker " is a suijerior cadi. The 
 Spanish Alcaydii is the Moorish al cadi, 
 (Arabic, t/iejadi/c.) 
 
 Cadme'an Letters (T^ie). The sim- 
 ple Greek letters introduced by Cadmus 
 from Phoenicia. {Greek uii/th.) 
 
 Cadme'an Victory (Greek, Kadineia 
 nil.e ; Latin, Cadinra Victoria). A vic- 
 tory purchased with great loss. The 
 allusion is to the anned men who sprang 
 out of the ground from the teeth of the 
 dragon sown by Cadmus. These men 
 fell foul of eaclt other, and only five of 
 them escaped death.
 
 Cadmeans 
 
 197 
 
 Caftan 
 
 Cadmeans. The people of Carthage 
 are called the Gois Vadniea, and so are 
 tlie Thebaus. 
 
 Cadmus having slaiu the dragon 
 which guarded the fountain of Dirce, in 
 Boeotia, sowed the teeth of the monster, 
 when a number of armed men sprang up 
 and surrounded Cadmus with intent to 
 kill him. By the counsel of Minerva, he 
 tbrew a precious stone among the armed 
 men, who, striving for it, killed one 
 another. The foundation of the fable is 
 this : Cadmus having slain a famous free- 
 booter that infested Boeotia, his banditti 
 set upon him to revenge their captain's 
 death ; but Cadmus sent a bribe, for 
 which they quarrelled and slew each 
 other. 
 
 Cadog'an (Ca-dug'-an). A club of 
 hair worn by j'oung French ladies ; so 
 called from the joortrait of the first Earl 
 of Cadog'an, a piiut at one time very 
 popular in France. The fashion was 
 introduced at the court of Montbeliard 
 b}' tlie Duchesse de Bourbon. 
 
 Cadu'ceus (4 syl.). A white wand 
 carried by Roman officers when they 
 went to treat for peace. The Egyjjtians 
 adorned the rod with a male and female 
 serpent twisted about it, and kissing each 
 other. From this use of the rod, it be- 
 came the sj^mbol of eloquence and also 
 of office. In mytholog}', a caduceus 
 with wings is placed in the hands of 
 Mercury, the herald of the gods ; and the 
 poets feign that he could therewith give 
 sleep to whomsoever he chose ; where- 
 fore Milton styles it " his opiate rod " 
 in Paradise Loaf, xi. 133. 
 
 " Si) with bis clread c-;uluceus Hermes led 
 From tlie dark rogiciiis of tlie imin-isuued dead ; 
 Or drove in silent slioals the lingering train 
 To Night's lUiU shore and Pluto's dreary reign." 
 Diiiirin : /.ores of the Plants, ii. •.■»!. 
 
 Cadur'ci. The people of Aquita'nia. 
 Cahors is the modern capital. 
 
 Csedmon. Cowherd of "V\Tiitby, the 
 greatest poet of the Anglo-Saxons. In 
 his wonderful romance we find the bold 
 prototype of Milton's raradisc Lost. The 
 irortions relating to the fall of the angels 
 are most striking. The hero encounters, 
 defeats, and finally slays Grendel, an 
 evil being of supematurtil powers. 
 
 Caerite Franchise ( The) . The fran- 
 chise of a Roman subject in a prefecture. 
 These subjects had the right of self- 
 government, and were registered by the 
 Roman censor as tax-payers ; but they 
 enjoyed none of the ]Drivileges of a 
 Roman citizen. Caere was the first 
 
 community placed in this dependent posi- 
 tion, whence the term Cccritc franchise. 
 
 Ca'erleon, on the Usk, in Wales. 
 The habitual residence of King Arthur, 
 where he lived in splendid state, sur- 
 rounded by hundreds of knights, twelve 
 of whom he selected as Knights of the 
 Round Table. 
 
 Caesar was made by Hadrian a title, 
 conferred on the heir presumptive to the 
 throne (a.d. 13G). Diocletian conferred 
 the title on the two viceroys, calling the 
 two c\nY>evors Augustus (sacred majesty). 
 The German Emperor still assiunes the 
 title of kaiser (q.v.). 
 
 "Thou art an emperor, CiBsar, keisar, and Phee- 
 
 Z3.r :'— Shakesiicare : Merry Wives of \Vindsor,\.'6. 
 "Xo liendiug knees shall call tliee Caesar now." 
 SiHttespc.are : 3 Ilcnry VI., iii. 1. 
 
 Ca3sar, as a title, was pretty nearly 
 equivalent to our Friuce of JJ'alcs and 
 the French dauphin. 
 
 C(csar\s irifr must he ahorc suspicion. 
 The name of Pomiae'ia having been 
 mixed up with an accusation against P. 
 Clodius, Cffisar divorced her ; not be- 
 cause he believed her guilty, but because 
 the wife of Ca?sar must not even be sus- 
 pected of crime. {Suetonius : Julius 
 Ccesar, 74.) 
 
 C'ccsar. (Sec page 76, 2, Aut d;sAE.) 
 
 Julius C'ccsar^s sword. Crocea Mors 
 {i/elloiv death). [See page 76, 2, Swoed.) 
 
 Julius Ccesar won 320 triumphs. 
 
 Caesarian Operation or Cesa'rcan 
 Operation. The extraction of a child 
 from the womb by cutting the abdomen 
 (Latin, eceso^ cut from the womb). Jtilius 
 CiBsar is said to have been thus brought 
 into the world. 
 
 Cae'sarism. The absolute rule of 
 man over man, with the recognition of 
 no law divine or human beyond that of 
 the ruler's will. {Sec Chauvinism.) 
 
 Cseteris paribus (Latin). Other 
 things being equal ; presuming all other 
 conditions to be equal. 
 
 Caf (Mount). In Mohammedan my- 
 thology is that huge mountain in the 
 middle of which the earth is sunk, as a 
 night light is placed in a cup. Its found- 
 ation is the emerald Sakhrat, the refiec- 
 tion of which gives the azure hue to the 
 sky. 
 
 Caftan. A garment worn in Turkey 
 and other Eastern countries. It is a 
 sort of under-tunic or vest tied by a 
 girdle at the waist. 
 
 "Picturesque merchants and their customers, 
 no longer in the liig trousers of Egypt, hut [in] 
 the long caftans and abas of Syria."—!}. Taylor : 
 Lands of the Saracen, chap. ix. p. 132.
 
 Cag Mag 
 
 198 
 
 Calamity 
 
 Cag Mag. Offal, bad meat ; also a 
 tough old goose ; food which noue can 
 relish. (Gaelic aud Welsh, cag mngu.) 
 
 Cage. Tu U'/iittt!/' or suig in the cage. 
 The cage is a jail, aud to whistle in a 
 cage is to turn Queen's evidence, or 
 peach against a comrade. 
 
 Caglios'tro. Contc ilc CagVwstro, or 
 Giuseppe Balsamo of Palermo, a char- 
 latan who offered everlasting youth to 
 all who would jiay liim for his secret 
 (1743-1795). 
 
 Cagots. A sort of gipsy race in 
 Gas'couy and Bearue, supposed to be des- 
 cendants of the Visigoths, and shunned 
 as something loathsome. {See Caqueux, 
 
 COLIIBEETS.) 
 
 "Crisoti 11(111 fuenint iimnaclii, anarlmi-iur, aut 
 IC'pi'osi-, . . . sell i,'t'n\isqii'ii|il:iiii hoiiiiiiiiiii i-i'lfiis 
 oiliiisuiii. V;i.scoiiiliiis Vaunts, iKiiinullis (■nputi, 
 Burdet'alciitibas Gnlu.ti, Vascis et Xa\ariis Aiioti, 
 ilicuiitur.''— 7^a(t((we.' G lossariam Mauuale , vol. ii. 
 
 pp. ;;3, 24. 
 
 Cahors. Usuriers de Ca/iors. In the 
 thirteenth centviry there was a colony of 
 Jewish money-lenders settled at Cahors, 
 which was to France what Lombard 
 Street was to London. 
 
 Cai'aphas. The country-house of 
 Caiaphas, in which Judas concluded his 
 bargain to betray his Master, stood on 
 " The Hill of Evil Counsel." 
 
 Cain - coloured Beard. Yellow, 
 symbolic of treason. In the ancient 
 tapestries Cain and Judas are repre- 
 sented with yellow beards. (See Yel- 
 low.) 
 
 " He hath hut a little wee face, with a little 
 yellow heard, a Caiii-ciiloureil heard." — .S'AaVc- 
 speare: Merry Wires uf Windsor, i. 4. 
 
 Cain'ites (2 syl.). Disciples of Cain, 
 a pseudo- Gnostic sect of the second 
 century. They renounced - the New 
 Testament, and received instead Tlic 
 Gospel of JtidaH, which justified the false 
 disciple and the crucifixion of Jesus. 
 This sect maintained that heaven aud 
 earth were created by the evil principle, 
 and that Cain with his descendants were 
 the persecuted party. 
 
 Cairds or Joclicgx. Gipsy tribes. 
 Halliwell tells us " Caird " in North- 
 umberland = tinker, and gipsies are great 
 menders of pots and pans. (Irish, crard, 
 a tinker ; Welsh, cerdd, art or craft.) 
 " Donald Caird's come apain." ropular ffimg. 
 
 Caius (2>r.). A French physician in 
 
 Shakespeare's Merry Wires of Windsor. 
 
 " The clipped English ol Dr. Ca,ms,."—itacanlaii . 
 
 Cains College (Cambridge). Elevated 
 by Dr. John Key (^Cains'), of Norwich, 
 
 into a college, being previously only a 
 hall called Gouville. Called Keys. (1557.) 
 
 Cake. A fool, a poor thing. {Cf. 
 Half-Baked.) 
 
 Cake. To tal-e the cake. To carry off 
 the prize. The reference is to the prize- 
 cake to the person wlio succeeded best 
 in a given competition. In Kotcs and 
 Queries (Feb. '27th, 1892, p. 17G) a cor- 
 respondent of New York tells us of a 
 "cake walk " by the Southern negroes. 
 It consists of walking round the prize 
 cake in pairs, and umpires decide which 
 pair walk the most gi-acef ully. In ancient 
 Greece a cake was the award of the tof)er 
 who held out the longest. 
 
 In Ireland the best dancer in a danc- 
 ing comj)etition was rewarded, at one 
 time, by a cake. 
 
 " ,\ churn-dish stack into the earth siipporled 
 on its Mat end a cake, which was to liccoiiic the 
 prize of the hcst dancer. ... At leuftLi the ccnii- 
 jietitors yielded their claims toayonni-' man . . . 
 who, takiii« the cake, placed it (,'allanlly in the 
 lap of a pretty girl to whom . . . he was aliont to 
 he married."— Biirt eft und Coyne: ticeiifry and 
 Antiquities of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 64. 
 
 YoH cannot eat your cake and have it 
 too. You cannot spend your money 
 and yet keep it. You cannot serve God 
 and Mammon. 
 
 Your cake [or my cake] is dough. All 
 my swans are turned to geese. Oecisa 
 est res tua [or mca'\. Mon affaire est 
 manquee ; my project has failed. 
 
 Cake... Dough. I u-ish my cake u-ere 
 dough again. I Avish I had never 
 married. Bellenden Ker says the pro- 
 verb is a corruption of Ei ic''hissche my 
 keke xcas dlioiv en geen. Avhicli he says 
 is tantamount to " Something whispers 
 within me — repentance ; would that my 
 marriage were set aside." 
 
 Cakes. Land of Cakes. Scotland, 
 famous for its oatmeal cakes. 
 
 " Land o' cakes and hritlier Scots." Sunis. 
 
 Cal'abash. A drinking cup or water- 
 holder ; so called from the calabash nut 
 of which it is made. 
 
 Calamanco Cat (A). A tortoise- 
 shell cat. Calamanco is a glossy woollen 
 fabric, sometimes striped or variegated. 
 It is the Spanish wortl Calaindco. 
 
 Calam'ity. The beating down of 
 standing corn by wind or storm. The 
 word is derived from the Latin calamus 
 (a stalk of corn). Hence, Cicero calls a 
 storm Calamito'sa tcmpestas (a corn- 
 levelling temjiest). 
 
 "Another ill accident is drought, and the spoil- 
 ing of the corn ; inasmuch as the word 'calamity' 
 was first derived from calaimis (stalk), when the 
 curn C011I4 not get out of (he ei^r."- .Baco?},
 
 Calandrino 
 
 199 
 
 Calendar 
 
 Calandrino. A typical simpleton 
 freqiieutly introduced in Boccaccio's 
 JJcciuiH'rvi! ; expressly made to be be- 
 fooled and played upon. 
 
 Calatra'va (Sed Cross Knights of). 
 Instituted at Calatra'va, in Spain, by 
 Sancho III. of Castile in 1158; their 
 badge is a red cross cut out in the form 
 of lilies, on the left breast of a white 
 mantle. 
 
 Calauri'a. Pro Delo Galaurla (Ovid : 
 Mctainorp/ioscs, vii. 384). Calauria was 
 an island in the Sinus Sarouicus which 
 Latona gave to Neptune in exchange for 
 Delos. A quid pro quo. 
 
 Calceola'ria. Little-shoe flowers ; 
 so called from their resemblance to faiiy 
 slippers. (Latin, cal'ccoUis.) 
 
 Calceos mutavit. He has changed 
 his shoes, that is, has become a senator. 
 Roman senators were distinguished by 
 their shoes, which were sandalled across 
 the instep and up the ankles. 
 
 Calculate is from the Latin calculi 
 (pebbles), used by the Romans for coun- 
 ters. In the ab'acus, the round balls 
 were called cal'culi, and it was by this 
 instrument the Roman boys were taught 
 to count and calculate. The Greeks 
 voted by pebbles dropped into an urn — 
 a method adopted both in ancient Egypt 
 and Sj'ria ; counting these pebbles was 
 "calculating" the number of voters. 
 {Sir page 2, col. 1, Abacus.) 
 
 / calculate. A peculiarity of expres- 
 sion common in the western states of 
 North America. In the southern states 
 the phrase is " I reckon," in the middle 
 states "I expect," and in New England 
 ' ' I guess. ' ' All were imported from the 
 mother country by early settlers. 
 
 " Vdur auiit sets two tables, I calculate ; don't 
 she ? "—Susan Warner: Qiiccchy (vol. i. chap. xi.\.) 
 
 Calculators (I'hc). Alfragan, the 
 Arabian astronomer. Died 820. 
 
 Jedediah Buxton, of Elmeton, in 
 Derl)yshire. (1705-1775.) 
 
 George Bidder and Zerah Colburn (an 
 American), who exhibited pubhcly. 
 
 Inaudi exhibited " his astounding 
 powers of calculatin' " at Paris in 1880, 
 his additions and subtractions were from 
 left to right. 
 
 " Buxton, liein? asked ' How many cubical 
 eighths-of-an-inch there are in a Ixidy whose three 
 sides are 2.3,1-15, 78S yards, 5,642,73a yards, and 54,siii5 
 yards ?' replied correctly without setting down a 
 figure." 
 
 " Colburn, being asked the square root of 106,929 
 and the cube root 268,336,125, replied before the 
 audience had set the figures down."— Prici;; I'ar- 
 (lllel UistovT/, vol. ii. p. 570. 
 
 Cale. [See Kale.] 
 
 Caleb. The enchantress who carried 
 off St. George in infancy. 
 
 Caleb, in Dryden's satire of Absalom 
 and Achitophel, is meant for Lord Grey 
 of Wark ( North tmiberlaud), one of the 
 adherents of the Duke of Monmoutli. 
 "And, theref(jre, in the name <if dulness, lie 
 The well-hung Balaam [Karl .of Huntingdon] 
 and old Caleli free." Lilies 512-13. 
 
 Caleb Quo'tem. A parish clerk or 
 jack-of-all-trades, in Colman's play 
 called T/ie Review, or TFar/s of Jdndsor, 
 which first appeared in 1808. Colmau 
 borrowed the character from a farce by 
 Henry Lee (1798) entitled Throw Fhysio 
 to the Bogs. 
 
 " I resolved, like Caleb Quoteui, to have a placo 
 at the review." — Wasltingtuii, li oiiuj. 
 
 Caledon. Scotland. (Sec next article. ) 
 " N<it thus, in ancient days of Caledon, 
 Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd." 
 ■Sir IK. Scott. 
 
 Caledo'nia. Scotland. A corruption 
 of Celyddon, a Celtic word meaning "a 
 dweller in woods and forests." The 
 word Celt is itself a contraction of the 
 same word (Celyd), and means the same 
 thing. 
 
 " Sees Caledonia in romantic view." 
 
 Thomson. 
 " O Caledonia, stern and wild, 
 Meet nurse for a poetic child." 
 Sir W. Scott : Lay of the Last Minstrel. 
 
 Calembour (French). A pun, a jest. 
 From the "Jester of Kahlenberg," whose 
 name was Wigand von Thebeu ; a cha- 
 racter introduced in Tgll Eiileuspiegel, a 
 German tale. Eulenspiegel (a fool or 
 jester) means Owl's looking-glass, and 
 may probably have suggested the title 
 of the periodical called the Owl, the 
 witty but satirical "looking-glass" of 
 the passing follies of the day. The jester 
 of Calembourg visited Paris in the reign 
 of Louis XV., and soon became noted 
 for his blunders and puns. 
 
 Calendar. 
 
 TJie Julian Calendar, introduced B.C. 
 46. It fixed the ordinary year to 365 
 days, with an extra day every fourth 
 year (leap year). This is called " The 
 Old Style." 
 
 TJie Gregorian Year. A modification 
 of the Julian Calendar, introduced in 1582 
 by Pope Gregory XIII., and adopted in 
 Great Britain in 1752. This is called 
 " the New Style." 
 
 21ie Mohammedan Calendar, used in 
 Mohammedan countries, dates from July 
 16th, 622, the day of the Hegira. It 
 consists of 12 lunar mouths (29 days, 12 
 hours, 44 minutes). A cycle is 30 years. 
 
 J'he S,evohU\onary Calendar was the
 
 Calendar 
 
 200 
 
 Caligula 
 
 work of Fabre d'Eglantine and Mens. 
 Romme. 
 
 Calendar. A J\eu-gate Calendar or 
 "Malefactors' Bloody Register," con- 
 taiuiug the biography, coufessious, dyiug 
 speeches, etc., of notorious criminals. 
 Began in 1700. 
 
 Calendars {The Three) were three 
 royal ijrinces, disguised as begging 
 dervishes, the subjects of three tales in 
 the Arabian Nujhts. 
 
 Calends. The first of every month 
 was so called by the Romans. Varro 
 says the term originated in the practice 
 of calling together or assembling the 
 peojjle on the first day of the month, 
 when the pontifex informed them of the 
 time of the new moon, the day of the 
 nones, with the festivals and sacred 
 days to be observed. The custom con- 
 tinued till A.u.c. 450, when the fasti or 
 calendar was j)osted in public places. 
 (Jicc Greek Calends.) 
 
 Cal'epin {A). A dictionary. (Italian, 
 calepino.) Ambrosio Calepino, of Cale- 
 pio, in Italy, was the author of a dic- 
 tionary, so that " my Caleijin," hke my 
 Euclid, my Johnson, according to 
 Cocker, etc., have become common 
 nouns from proper names. Generally 
 called Cal'epin, but the subjoined quota- 
 tion throws the accent on the le. 
 " whom di) you prefer 
 Foi' tbe best liii.s'uist ? And I spelily 
 Said that I thunyht Calepine's Dictionary." 
 Dr. Donne: Fourth Hatirc, 
 
 Caleys (A Stock Exchange term). 
 Caledonian Railway Ordinary Stock. 
 A contraction of Cale-donians. {See 
 Stock Exchange Slang.) 
 
 Calf-love. Youthful fancy as opposed 
 to lasting attachment. 
 
 "1 thought it was a cliildisU ))esotment you 
 had for the man— a sort of calf-love. . . ."—Shoda 
 Bronyhton. 
 
 Calf-skin. Fools and jesters used 
 to wear a calf-skin coat buttoned down 
 the back. In allusion to this custom, 
 Faulconbridge says insolently to the 
 Archduke of Austria, who had acted 
 most basely to Richard Coeur-de-Lion — 
 " Thou wear a lion's hide ! Doff it, for shame, 
 And hang a calf skin on those recreant limbs." 
 tShakcspeare: King John, in. I, 
 
 Caliban. Rude, uncouth, unknowTi ; 
 as a Caliban style, a Caliban language. 
 The allusion is to Shakespeare's Caliban 
 {The 2'einpcst), in wliich character Lord 
 Falkland, etc., said that Shakespeare 
 had not only invented a new creation, 
 but also a neiv language. 
 
 "Satan had not the privilege, as Caliban, to use 
 new phrases, and diction unknown."— Z>r.Bent(eJ/. 
 
 Coleridge says, "In bini [Caliban', as in some 
 brute animals, this advance to the intellectual 
 faculties, without the moral sense, is marked hy 
 the appearance of \ice." 
 
 (Caliban is the "missing link" between brute 
 animals and nianj 
 
 Calibre [kal'i-her']. A mind of no 
 calibre : of no capacity. A mind of 
 great calibre : of large capacity. Calibre 
 is the bore of a gun, and, figuratively, 
 the bore or compass of one's intelligence. 
 
 " The enemy had generally new arms ... of 
 uniform caliber."— G/rtH(; Mcinoirs, vol. i. chap, 
 xx.vix. p. 07i. 
 
 " We measure men's calibre by the liroadest 
 circle of achievements." — Chapin: Lessons of 
 faith, p. 10. 
 
 Caliburn. Same as Excalibar, King 
 Arthur's well-known sword. {See 
 Swokd.) 
 
 "Onward Arthur paced, with hand 
 Ou Caliburn's resistless brand." 
 
 iicott: JSridat o/ Triermain. 
 
 Cal'ioo. So called from Cali'cut, in 
 Malabar, once the chief port and em- 
 porimn of Hindustan. 
 
 Cal'idore (3 syl.). Sir Calidore is 
 the type of courtesg, and hero of the 
 sixth book of Spenser's Faerie Qucene. 
 He is described as the most courteous of 
 all knights, and is entitled the " all- 
 beloved." The model of the poet was 
 Sir Philip Sidney. His adventure is 
 against the Blatant Beast, whom he 
 muzzles, chains, and drags to Faerie 
 Land. 
 
 "Sir Gawain was the Calidore of the Round 
 
 Table."— A'u«(/ifi/. 
 
 Calig'orant. An Egyptian giant and 
 cannibal who used to entrap strangers 
 with a hidden net. This net was made 
 by Vulcan to catch Mars and Venus ; 
 Mercury stole it for the purpose of 
 catching Chloris, and left it in the 
 temple of Auu'bis ; Calig'orant stole it 
 thence. At length Astoljiho blew hia 
 magic horn, and the giant ran affrighted 
 into his own net, which dragged him to 
 the ground. Whereupon Astolpho 
 made the giant his captive, and de- 
 spoiled him of his net. This is an 
 allegory. Caligorant was a great so- 
 phist and heretic in the daj's of Ariosto, 
 who used to entangle people with his 
 talk ; but being converted by Astolpho 
 to the true faith, was, as it were, caught 
 in his own net, and both his sophistry 
 and heresy were taken from him. 
 [Ariosto : Orlando Farioso.) 
 
 Calig'ula. A Roman emperor ; so 
 called because he wore a military sandal 
 called a callga, which had no upper 
 leather, and was used only by the com- 
 mon soldiers. (12, 37-41.) 
 
 "'The word calicias, however,' continued the 
 Baron . . . 'means, in its primitive sense,
 
 Caligula's Horse 
 
 201 
 
 Callabre 
 
 Baudals ; and Caius Ciesar . . . rrreivcd tlio cocr- 
 noiiieu of t'alisiila, a caliiji!^. .-"■, rnl'mis I, rm'- 
 ribi(!<, qidbns iidolcsceiitiur nan ftn nit m c.nrnni 
 (Icnnaii'ici p"trii< sui. And llii' rulina' Nviir aisn 
 proper to the monastic bodies -, for we read m t he 
 ancient C41ossariuni, upon tlie rule of St. Benedict 
 . . . tluit c«;(V/fE were tied with latchets.'— Scott ; 
 Waverlcy, xlviii. 
 
 Caligula's Horse. lucita'tus. It 
 •".vas made a priest and cousiil, had a 
 mauger of ivory, and draiik wiue from 
 a golden goblet. {See Hoese.) 
 
 Caliph or Calif. A title given to 
 the successors of Mahomet. Among the 
 Saracens a caliph is one vested with 
 supreme dignity. The caliphat of Bag- 
 dad reached its highest splendour under 
 Ilaroun al Raschid, in the ninth cen- 
 tury. For the last 200 years the n.p- 
 peliation has been swallowed up in the 
 titles of Shah, Saltan, Emir, and so on. 
 (Arabic, Khal'ifali, a successor; khalafa, 
 to succeed.) 
 
 Calis'ta. The heroine of Rowe's 
 
 Fair I'cnitent. 
 
 Calis'to and Areas. Calisto was 
 an Arcadian nymiA metamorphosed into 
 a she-bear by Jupiter. Her sou Areas 
 having met her in the chase, would have 
 killed her, but Jupiter converted him 
 into a he -bear, and placed them both in 
 the heavens, where they are recognised 
 as the Great and Little Bear. 
 
 Calix'tines (3 syl.). A religious sect 
 of Bohemians in the fifteenth centtiry ; 
 so called from Calix (the chalice), which 
 they insisted should be given to the laity 
 in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
 as well as the bread or wafer. 
 
 Call (^i). A "divine" summons or 
 invitation, as " a call to the miuistrj-." 
 
 A call before the curtain. An ajijilause 
 inviting a favourite actor to appear 
 before the curtain, and make his bow to 
 the audience. 
 
 A Gotfpcl call. The invitation of the 
 Gospel to men to believe in Jesus to the 
 saving of their soids. 
 
 A morning call. A short morning 
 visit. 
 
 A call on shareholders. A demand to 
 pay up a part of the money due for 
 shares allotted in a company. 
 
 I'dijahle at call. To be jiaid on de- 
 maud. 
 
 Call Bird {A). A bird trained as a 
 decoy. 
 
 Call-boy {Tlic). A boy employed in 
 theatres to "call" or stimmon actors, 
 when it is time for them to make their 
 appearance on the stage. 
 
 Call of Abraham. The invitation 
 
 or command of God to Abraham, to leave 
 his idolatrotis couutiy, under the j)roniise 
 of being made a great nation. 
 
 Call of God. An invitation, exhor- 
 tation, or warning, by the dispensations 
 of Providence (Isa. sxii. 12) ; divine 
 influence on the mind to do or avoid 
 something (Heb. iii. 1). 
 
 Call of the House. An imperative 
 summons sent to every Member of Par- 
 liament to attend. This is done when 
 the sense of the whole House is required. 
 At the muster the names of the members 
 are called orer, and defaidters reported. 
 
 Call to Arms (To). To summon to 
 prepare for battle. " Ad anna vocare.^' 
 
 Call to the Bar. The admission of 
 a law student to the privileges of a bar- 
 rister. The names of those qualified are 
 called over. (See page 94, col. 1, Bar.) 
 
 Call to the Pastorate. An invita- 
 tion to a minister by the members of a 
 Presbyterian or Nonconformist church 
 to preside over a certain congregation. 
 
 Call to the Unconverted. An in- 
 vitation accompanied with promises and 
 threats, to induce the unconverted to 
 receive the gospel. Richard Baxter 
 wrote a book so entitled. 
 
 Call {T(j). I call God to leitness. I 
 solemnly declare that what I state is true. 
 
 To call. To invito : as, the trumpet 
 calls. 
 
 " If honour calls, where'er she points the way, 
 
 The sous of honour fcdlow and obey." 
 
 Churchill: Tlw Fure.ircll,stAnzn,7. 
 
 To call [a man] out. To challenge him; 
 to a23peal to a man's honour to come 
 forth and fight a duel. 
 
 To call in qncsiion. To doubt the 
 truth of a statement ; to challenge the 
 truth of a statement. " In dabiam 
 rocare.^' 
 
 To call over the coals. (See Coals.) 
 
 To call to account. To demand an ex- 
 planation ; to rej)rove. 
 
 Called. He is called to his account. 
 He is removed by death. Called to the 
 judgment seat of God to give an account 
 of his deeds, whether they be good, or 
 whether they be evil. {Sec page 202, 
 col. I, Calling.) 
 
 Calla'bre or Calaber. A Cala'brian 
 fur. Ducauge says, " At Chichester the 
 ' priest vicars ' and at St. Paul's the 
 ' minor canons ' wore a calabre amyce ; " 
 and Bale, in his Image of Both 
 Churches, alludes to the "fair rochets 
 of Raines {Rennes), and costly grey 
 amices of calaber and cats' tails."
 
 Caller Herrings 
 
 202 
 
 Calumet 
 
 " The Lord Mayor and thoBeaWernien above tlie 
 chair oiiKlit to liavetlieir coats furred with t-'rey 
 amis, ami also with ihain-'ealde taffeta; and those 
 hehiw tlie chair witli calaliie and with green 
 taffeta."— y//i^/c«i .- ^Y( "' VUic of Loudon. 
 
 Caller Herrings. Fresh herrings. 
 Hence " caller air." (Anglo-Saxon, 
 calian, to cool.) 
 
 Calligraphy {The art of). "Writing 
 very minutely anil yet clearly. Peter 
 Bale, iu the sixteenth century, Avrote in 
 the coraijass of a silver penny the Lord's 
 Prayer, the Creed, the Ten Command- 
 ments, two Latin prayers, his own name, 
 the day of the month and date of the 
 year since the accession of Queen 
 Elizabeth, and a motto. With a glass 
 this writing could be read. By photo- 
 graphy a sheet of the Times newspaper 
 has been reduced to a smaller compass. 
 (Greek, calos-grapho, I write beauti- 
 fully.) 
 
 Callim'achos. The Italian Calli- 
 machos. Filippo Buonaccorsi (1437-1496). 
 
 Calling. A vocation, trade, or pro- 
 -fession. The allusion is to the calling of 
 •the apostles by Jesus Christ to follow 
 Him. In the legal profession i)ersons 
 must still be called to the bar before they 
 can practise. 
 
 Effectual cnlling. An invitation to 
 believe in Jesus, rendered effectual by 
 the immediate operation of the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 Calliope \Kul'-K-o-pc, 4 syl., Greek, 
 KoAb5, o\\i, beautiful voiei-\. The muse of 
 epic or heroic poetry. Her emblems 
 are a stylus and wax tablets. The 
 painting of this Muse by Ercolana 
 Ercolanetti (1615-1687) and her statue 
 by Clementi (who died in 1530) are very 
 celebrated. 
 
 *.* The Greek word is KaXAiom), in which 
 the i is short. Erroneously called 
 " Callope." 
 
 Callip'olis. A character in' the Battle 
 of Ah-dzar (1594) by George Peele. It 
 is referred to by Pistol in 2 Henry I J'., 
 act ii. 4 ; and Sir W. Scott uses the word 
 over and over again as the synonym of 
 lady-love, sweetheart, chaiTaer. Sir 
 Walter always spells the word Calli- 
 polis, but Peele calls it Calipolis. The 
 drunken Mike Lambourne says to Amy 
 Eobsart — 
 
 "Hark ye, most fair Caliipolis, or most h)vely 
 countess of clouts, and divine duchess uf dark 
 corners."— A'eni/»ort/i, chap, xxxiii. 
 
 And the modest Roland Greeme calls the 
 beautiful Catheiin^ his " most fair Cal- 
 lipOlis." {The Ahbot, chap, xi,) 
 
 Callippic Period. The correctiou 
 of the Meton'ic cycle by Callii^pos. In 
 four cj'cles, or seventy-six j'ears, the 
 Metonic calculation was seven ami a-half 
 in excess. Callippos proposed to quad- 
 ruple the period of Metou, and deduct a 
 day at the end of it : at the exjiiratiou 
 of wliich period Callippos imagined that 
 the new and full moons returned to the 
 same day of the solar year. 
 
 Callir'rhoe (4 syl.). The lady-love 
 of Clia'reas, in Char'iton's Greek ro- 
 mance, entitled the Lores of Ch<c' reus and 
 Cain rr hod', written iu the eighth century. 
 
 Cal'omeL Hooper says — 
 
 "This name, which means 'heautiful Mack,' 
 was orif-'inally given to the .Ethiop's mineral, ur 
 black sulphuret of mercury. It was afterwards 
 applied in joke by Sir Theodore Mayerne to the 
 chloride of mercury, in honour of a favourite 
 negro servant whom lie employed to prejiare it. 
 As calonjel is a it-liitc powder, the name is merely 
 a jocular misnonjer."- -1/<;((k«; JJictiomirij. 
 
 Greek, koAos, beautiful, ^cAas, black. 
 
 Calo'yers. Monks in the Greek 
 Church, who follow the rule of St. 
 Basil. They are divided into cen'ohites, 
 who recite the offices from midnight to 
 sunrise; an'chorites, who live in heiTnit- 
 ages ; and recluses, who shut themselves 
 up in caverns and live on alms. (Greek, 
 KoAo; and yipt»v, beautiful old man.) 
 
 Calpe (2 sj^l.). Calpe and Ah'i/la. 
 The two pillars of Hercules. According 
 to one account, these two were originally 
 only one mountain, which Hercules tore 
 asunder ; but some say he piled up each 
 mountain separately, and poured the sea 
 between them. 
 
 " Heaves up hutre Abyla on Afric's sand. 
 Crowns with high Calpe Europe's salient strand, 
 Crests with opposing towers the splendid scene, 
 And pours from nrns immense the seit liet ween. 
 Duriviii: Jicunomy uf Veyettitiuii. 
 
 Cal'umet [the peace-pipe']. "WTien 
 the North American Indians make peace 
 or form an alliance, the high contracting 
 parties smoke together to ratify the 
 aiTangement. 
 
 The peace-pipe is about two and a- 
 half feet long, the bowl is made of highly- 
 polished red marble, and the stena of a 
 reed, which is decorated with eagles' 
 quills, women's hair, and so on. 
 
 "The Great Spirit at an ancient 
 period called the Indian nations together, 
 and standing on the precipice of the red 
 pipe-stone rock, broke off a piece which 
 he moulded into the bowl of a pipe, and 
 fitting on it a long reed, filled the pipe 
 •with the bark of red willow, and smoked 
 over them, turning to the four winds. 
 He told them the red colour of the pipe 
 represented their flesh, and wbeu they
 
 Calvary 
 
 203 
 
 Camacho 
 
 smoked it they must bury theii- war- 
 clubs and scali)iug-knives. At the last 
 whiff the Great Spirit disappeared." 
 
 To preseut the calumet to a strauger 
 is a mark of hospitality and good-will ; 
 to refuse the otter is an act of hostile 
 defiance. 
 " W.isli the war-paint from your faces. 
 Wasli tliC wai-slaliiH from your Hnirers, 
 Bui'v your \v.ii-i;Uiii.- .iiid your weaiKjus; . . . 
 Smoke the i;iliiiiiei in-etlier, 
 And as brothers h\e heueeforwani." 
 
 LonyJ'ellutv : Iliitirnthn, i. 
 
 Cal'vary [hnre skull], Gol'gotha 
 [nki)//]. The place of our Lord's cruci- 
 fixion ; so ctilled from some fanciful 
 resemblance which it bore to a human 
 skull. The present church of " the 
 Holy Sepulchre" has no claim to be 
 considered the site thereof ; it is far 
 more likely that the " mosque of Omar," 
 or tJie do/lit' of the rock, occupies the real 
 site. 
 
 A Calvary. A representation of 'the 
 successive scenes of the Passion of Christ 
 in a series of pictures, etc., in a church. 
 The shrine containing the representations. 
 
 Calvary Clover said to have sprung 
 uj) in the track made by Pilate when he 
 went to the cro.ss to see his '' title 
 affixed " [Jesus of Xazareth, king of the 
 Jews]. It is a common trefoil, probably 
 a native of India or Turkey. Each of 
 the three round leaves has a little car- 
 mine spot in the centre. In the day- 
 time tlie three leaves of the trefoil form 
 a sort of cross ; and in the flowering 
 season the plant bears a little j^ellow 
 flower, liko a ''crown of thorns." Julian 
 tells us thai; each of the three leaves had 
 in his time a white cross in the centre, 
 and -that the centre cross lasts visible 
 longer than the crosses of the other 
 two leaves. {See Christian Teaditions.) 
 
 Calvary Cross {A). A Latin cro.ss 
 mounted on tlireo steps (or grises). 
 
 Calvert's Entire. The 14th Foot. 
 Called Calvert from their colonel. Sir 
 Harry Calvert (I8'i6-1826), and entire, 
 because three entire battalions were kept 
 up for the good of Sir Harry, when ad- 
 jutant-general. The term is, of course, 
 a play on Calvert's malt liquor. The 
 regiment is now called The Prince of 
 Wales's Own (West Yorks. Eegiment). 
 
 Calves. The inhabitants of the Isle 
 of lVi(/ht are so called from a legendary 
 joke which states that a calf once got 
 its head firmly wedged in a wooden pale, 
 and, instead of bi-eakiug up the pale, the 
 fann-man cut off the calf's head. 
 
 Calves gone to Grass {His). Said 
 of a spindle-legged map, Aud another 
 
 mocking taunt is, "Veal will be dear, 
 because there are no calves." 
 
 Calves' Head. There are nuouf trays 
 of (IreaKiiiy a ca/f\s head. Many ways 
 of saying or doing a foolish thing ; a 
 simpleton has many waj's of showing 
 his folly ; oi-, gene7-ally, if one way 
 won't do we must try another. The 
 allusion is to the great Calves' Head 
 Club banquet, when the board was 
 laden with calves' heads cooked in 
 sundry ways and divers fashions. 
 
 Calves' Head Club. Instituted in 
 ridicule of Charles I. The great annual 
 banquet was held on tlie 30th Januarj', 
 and consisted of a cod's head, to repre- 
 sent the i^erson of Charles Stuart, in- 
 dependent of his kingly office ; a pike 
 with little ones in its mouth, an emblem 
 of tyranny ; a boar's head witli an apple 
 in its mouth to rejjresent the king prey- 
 ing on his subjects ; and calves' heads 
 dressed in sundry waj's to represent 
 Charles in his regal capacity. After the 
 banquet, the king's book {Icon Basil'ih'e) 
 was burnt, and the parting cup was, 
 "To those worthy patriots who killed 
 the tyrant." 
 
 Calvinism. The five cliief points 
 of Calvinism are : 
 
 (1) Predestination, or particular elec- 
 tion. 
 
 (2) Irresistible grace. 
 
 (3) Original sin, or the total depravity 
 of the natural man, which renders it 
 morally impossible to lielieve aud turn 
 to God of his own free will. 
 
 (4) Particular redemption. 
 
 (.5) Final perseverance of the saints. 
 
 Cal'ydon. A forest supposetl, in the 
 romances relating to King Arthur, to 
 occujiy the northern jiortiou of England. 
 
 Calypso, in Funelon's Telvmariue, is 
 meant to represent Madame de Monte- 
 span. In fairy mythology, she was 
 queen of the island Ogyg'ia on which 
 Ulysses was wrecked, and where he was 
 detained for seven years. 
 
 Calypso's Isle. Gozo, near Malta. 
 Called in classic mythology Ogygia. 
 
 Cam and Isis. The universities of 
 Cambridge and Oxford ; so called from 
 the rivers on which they stand. 
 " May you, my Cam ami Isis, preacli it long, 
 'Tlie right divine of kings to govern wrong.'" 
 Pope: Bunciud, iv. 1S7. 
 
 Cama. The God of love and mar- 
 riage in Indian mythology. 
 
 Cama'cho, "richest of men," makes 
 grand preparations for his wedding witU
 
 Camaldolites 
 
 204 
 
 Cambyses 
 
 Quite'ria, "fairest of women"; but, as 
 the bridal party were on tlieir way, 
 Basil'ius cheats him of his bride by pre- 
 tending to kill himself. As he is sup- 
 posed to be dying, Quiteria is given to 
 him in marriage as a mere matter of 
 form ; but, as soon as this is done, up 
 jumps Basilius, and shows that his 
 wounds were a mere pretence. {Cer- 
 vantes: Bon Qi/i.vote, pt. ii. bk. 2, ch. 3, 4.) 
 
 Camaldolites (4 syl.). A religious 
 order of great rigidity of life, founded 
 in the vale of Camal'doli, in the Tuscan 
 Apennines, by St. Eomuald, a Bene- 
 dictine. (Eleventh century.) 
 
 CaHiaral'zaman (Trince) fell in love 
 with Baduu'ni, Princess of China, the 
 moment lie saw her. {Arabian Xtylils : 
 I'r'uice ( '((inaralza)uan.) 
 
 Camarilla (Spanish). A clique ; the 
 confidants or private advisers of the 
 sovereign. It literally means a small 
 private chamber, and is in Spain a})plied 
 to the room in which boys are flogged. 
 
 " Eucii'cled with a dansenms camarilla."— 77ie 
 Timcti. 
 
 Camari'na. Ke moveas Camarliiam 
 (Don't meddle with Camarina). Caraa- 
 rlna Avas a lake in Sicily, which, in time 
 of drought, yielded a pestilential stench. 
 The inhabitants consulted an oracle 
 about draining it, and AjioUo replied, 
 "Don't meddle with it." Nevertheless, 
 they drained it, and ere long an enemy 
 marched an armj' over the bed of the 
 lake and pkmdcred the city. The pro- 
 verb is ai)plied to tliose who remove one 
 evil, but thus give place to a greater. 
 The Channel may be an evil to those 
 who suffer sea-sickness, but it is a 
 million times better to endure this evil 
 than to make it a high road to invaders. 
 The application is very extensive, as : 
 Don't kill the small birds, or you will be 
 devoured by insects. One pest is a safe- 
 guard against a greater one. 
 
 V A similar Latin phrase is Anayyrin 
 ■move re. 
 
 " When tlje laird of Ellansowan drove tlie 
 wirsies from the neisbliourUood, though they 
 ijad been allowed to remain there undisturbed 
 hitherto, Dominie .Samiisou warned him of the 
 danv'er by yuotin?,' the proverb 'iVe moveas Cam- 
 aiiiTnm: "—fiir IV. Scoff ; Guy Manncriiw, chiip. vii. 
 
 Cam'balo's Ring. Given him by 
 his sister Can'ace. It had the virtue of 
 healing wounds. (-SW'Cambel.) {Spenxer : 
 Faerie Queene, bk. iv.) 
 " Well mote ye wonder how that noble knight, 
 After he had so often wounded lieen, 
 Could snind on font now to rt'iiew the florht . . . 
 All was tliVdiii-'h virtue of tin- rin'^' lie wore ; 
 
 The wliich, mil nnlv did imt from him let 
 One drop of blood to f-.'.U, but did restore 
 His weakened powers, and dulled spirits 
 whet." Spenser : Faerie Queene, iv. 3. 
 
 Cambcl. Called by Chaucer, Cam'- 
 balo ; brother of Can'ace, a female para- 
 gon. He challenged every suitor to his 
 sister's hand, ancl overthrew all except 
 Tri'amond, who married tlie lady. 
 {Spenser : Faerie Queene, book iv.) {Sec 
 Canack.) 
 
 Camber. Second son of King Brute, 
 to whom Wales was left, whence its 
 name of Cambria. (British fable.) 
 
 Cambria. The ancient name of 
 Wales, the laud of the Cimbri or Cj'mry. 
 
 "Cambria's fatal day." 
 
 Gray: r.ard. 
 
 Cam'brian. Pertaining to Wales ; 
 
 Welsh. {Sec above.) 
 
 '■ The Camlirian mountains, like far clouds, 
 That skirt the blue horizon, dusky rise." 
 Tlwmson: Spriiiij, 9(il— fli. 
 
 Cam'brian Series (in geology). The 
 earliest fossiliferous rocks in North 
 Wales. So named ])y Professor Sedg- 
 wick. 
 
 Cambric. A kind of very fine white 
 linen cloth, so named from Cambray or 
 Camerj'k, in Flanders, where it is still 
 the chief manufacture. 
 
 " He hath ribbons of all the colours of the rain- 
 bow ; inkles, caddises, <ambri<-ks, and lawns." — 
 .Shalu^ixan: Wiiittr's Tale, iv. 3. 
 
 Cam'buscan'. King of Sarra, in the 
 land of Tartary ; the model of all royal 
 virtues. His wife was El'feta ; his two 
 sons, Algarsife and Cambalo ; and his 
 daughter, Can'ace. On her birthday 
 (October loth) the King of Arabia and 
 India sent Cambuscan a "'steed of brass, 
 which, between sunrise and sunset, would 
 carry its rider to any spot on the earth." 
 All that was required was to whisper 
 the name of the place in the horse's ear, 
 mount upon his back, and turn a pin set 
 in his ear. When the rider had arrived 
 at the place required, he had to turn 
 another pin, and the horse instantly de- 
 scended, and, with another screw of the 
 pin, vanished till it was again required. 
 This story is told by Chaucer in the 
 Sr/irire\i Tale, but was never finished. 
 Milton (// Fcnseroso) accents the word 
 Cambus'-can. 
 
 " Him that loft half-told 
 The story of t'ambuscan bold." 
 
 (See Canace.) 
 
 Camby'ses (3 sjd.). A pompous, rant- 
 ing character in Preston's Inmentable 
 tragedy of that name. 
 
 " (4ive me a cup of sack, to make mine eyes look 
 red ; for I must speak in passion, and I will do it 
 in King Cambyses' \e\n."—Shake!'pcare : 1 Henry 
 IV., ii. 4.
 
 Oamden Society 
 
 20; 
 
 Catnlan 
 
 Camden Society, for the publication 
 of early historic and literary remains, is 
 named in honour of WilHam Camden, 
 the historian. 
 
 Camel. The name of Mahomet's 
 favomite camel was Al Kaswa. The 
 mosque at Koba covers the sjjot where 
 it knelt when Mahomet fled from Mecca. 
 Mahomet considered the kneeling of the 
 camel as a sign sent by God, and re- 
 mained at Koba in safety for four days. 
 The swiftest of his camels was Al Ad/ui. 
 
 CuiDcl. The prophet Mahomet's camel 
 performed the whole journey from Jeru- 
 salem to Mecca in four bounds, for which 
 service he had a place in heaven with Al- 
 borak (the prophet's "horse "), Balaam's 
 ass, Tobit's dog, and Ketmir (the dog of 
 the seven sleepers). (Citrzoii.) 
 
 Cinucl. "It is easier for a camel to 
 go through the eye of a needle, than for 
 a rich man to enter into the kingdom of 
 God" (Matt. xix. 24). In the Koran 
 we find a similar expression : " The im- 
 pious shall find the gates of heaven shut ; 
 nor shall he enter till a camel shall pass 
 through the eye of a needle." In the 
 Rabbinical writings we have a slight 
 variety which goes to prove that the 
 word "camel" should not be changed 
 into " cable," as Theophylact suggests : 
 "Perhaps thou art one of the Parape- 
 dith'iaus, who can make an elephant 
 pass through the eye of a needle." {Sec 
 Cable. ) 
 
 " It is as liani to come, as for a camel 
 To tLrcad tbe postern of a nceiUe's eye." 
 SItaUefpeare: Richard II. , v. 5. 
 
 Cam.el'lia. The technical name of a 
 genus, and the popular name of the 
 species of evergreen shrubs ; so named 
 in honour of G. J. Kamel (Latin Ccniicl- 
 liii.s), a Spanish Jesuit. Introduced into 
 England in 1739. 
 
 Camelot (Somersetshire), where 
 King Arthur held his coiu-t. {See WiN- 
 
 CHESTEE.) 
 
 Camelote (2 syl.). Fustian, rubbish, 
 trash. The cloth so called ought to be 
 made of goats' hair, but is a mixture of 
 wool and silk, wool and hair, or wool, 
 silk, and hair, etc. (French, camcloi ; 
 Ai-abic, caiiilat.) {See page 206, Camlet.) 
 
 Cameo. An anaglyph on a precious 
 stone. The ((iidgh/ph is when the figure 
 is raised in relief ; an intaglio is when 
 the figure is hollowed out. The word 
 cameo means an onyx, and the most 
 famous cameo in the world is the onyx 
 containing the apotlieosis of AiKjustiis. 
 These precious stones have two layers 
 
 of diiferent colours, one serving for the 
 figui-e, and the other for the ground. 
 
 Cameron Highlanders. Tlic T'Jth 
 Regiment of Infantry, raised by Allan 
 Cameron, of Errock, in 1793. Now 
 called "The Queen's Own Cameron 
 Highlanders." 
 
 Cameronian Kegiment. The 26th 
 Infantry, which had its origin in a body 
 of Cameronians {q.v.), in the Revolution 
 of 1688. Now the 1st Battalion of the 
 Scottish Rifles ; the 2nd Battalion is the 
 old No. 90. 
 
 Cameronians. The strictest sect of 
 Scotch Presbyterians, organised in 1680, 
 by Richai'd Cam'eron, who was slain in 
 battle at Aird's Moss in 1680. He ob- 
 jected to the alUance of Church and 
 State. In 1876 most of the Cameronians 
 were merged in the Free Church. In 
 history the Cameronians are generally 
 called the Covenanters. 
 
 Camilla. Virgin queen of the Yol- 
 scians. Virgil {^'Encid, vii. 809) says she 
 was so swift that she coidd run over a 
 field of corn without bending a single 
 blade, or make her way over the sea 
 without even wetting her feet. 
 "Not so wlieu swift Camilla scours the plain, 
 Flies o'er tlu: unljeudiug coru and skims along 
 the main.'' 
 
 Piipc: Essay on Criticism, 37i-3. 
 
 Camillus, five times Dictator of 
 Rome, was falsely accused of embezzle- 
 ment, and went into voluntary exile ; 
 but when the Gauls besieged Rome, he 
 returned and delivered his country. 
 
 Camisard. In French history, the 
 Camisards are the Protestant insurgents 
 of the Cevennes, who i-esisted the 
 violence of the dragonnades, after the 
 revocation of the edict of Nantes. Their 
 leader was Cavalier, afterwards Gov- 
 ernor of Jersey. 
 
 Cam'isarde or Camisa'clo. A night 
 attack ; so called because the attacking 
 party wore a camise or peasant's smock 
 over their armour, both to conceal it, 
 and that they might the better recognise 
 each other in the dark. 
 
 Camisole (3 syl.). A loose jacket 
 worn by women when dressed in negligee 
 (French). 
 
 Camisole de Force. A strait-waist- 
 coat. Frequently mentioned in accounts 
 of capital punishments in France. 
 
 Camlan {Baffle of, Cornwall), which 
 put an end to the Knights of the Roimd
 
 Camlet 
 
 206 
 
 Canada Balsam 
 
 Table. Here Arthur received his death 
 wound from the hand of his nephew 
 Modred. (a.d. 542.) 
 
 Camlet is not connected with the 
 word camel ; it is a fine cloth made of 
 (jmtfi hair, called Turkish yam, and is 
 from the Arabic word camhtt, which 
 Littre says is so called from seil el canui 
 (the Angora goat). 
 
 Carn'mock. As crooked as a cammock. 
 The cammock is a \t\ece of timber l)ent 
 for the knee of a ship ; a hockey-stick ; 
 a shinny-club. {^Liii//o-Sa.roii.) 
 
 '•TlinuKli tlio camiiKuk.t lie more it is bowed tlio 
 lioltei- it is ; yet tlie how, tlie more it is heut tlie 
 wtMker it \\:i\eth."—Lil!i. 
 
 Camorra. A secret society of Italy 
 organised early in the nineteenth century. 
 It claimed the right of settling disputes, 
 etc. 
 
 Cainorrist. One of Ihe desjjeradoes 
 belonging to the Camorra. " Camorr- 
 ism," the gospel of tlie league. 
 
 Camp Candlestick {A). A bottle, 
 or a soldier's bayonet. 
 
 Camp-followers. Non-combatants 
 (such as servants, carriers, hostlers, 
 suttlers, laundresses, and so on), who 
 follow an army. We are told that in 
 18.59 as many as 8o,000 camp-followers 
 were in attendance on 15,000 combatants 
 in a Bengal army. 
 
 Campaign Wig (-/), imported from 
 France. It was made very full, was 
 curled, and was eighteen inches in length 
 in the front, with drop locks. In some 
 cases the back part of the wig was put 
 in a black silk bag. Of course the 
 campaign referred to the victories of 
 Marlborough. (Social Life in the Beign 
 of Queen Anne, chap, xii.) " 
 
 V There were also campaign coats, 
 campaign lace, campaign shoes, cam- 
 paign shirts, campaign gowns, campaign 
 waistcoats, etc. 
 
 ' Campa'nia. Properly the Terra di 
 Lavo'ro of Italy, i.e. the plain country 
 about Capua. 
 
 " l)is(l;uiitul of Camiiani-a's gentle plains." 
 
 Thumson : Su m mer. 
 
 Campaspe (3 syl.). A beautiful 
 harlot, whom Alexander the Great 
 handed over to Ajjelles. Apelles drew 
 her in the nude. 
 
 " When Cupid and Campaspe played 
 At cards for kisses, Cupid paid." Lilii. 
 
 Campbells are Coming (T/ie). This 
 soul-stirriiig song \v:is composed in 1715, 
 when tilt' Earl of Mar raised the stan- 
 dard for the JStuarts against George I. 
 
 John Campbell was Commander-in- 
 Chief of his Majesty's forces, and the 
 rebellion was quashed. The main in- 
 terest now attached to the famous song 
 is connected with the siege of Luckuow 
 in the Indian rebellion, 1857. Nana 
 Sahib had massacred women and child- 
 ren mo.st foullj', and while the stn-vivors 
 were expecting instant death, a Scotch 
 woman lying ill on the ground heard 
 the pibroch, and exclaimed, "Dinnaye 
 hear it ? Diuua j-e hear it V The jjipes 
 o' Havelock sound." And soon after- 
 wards the rescue Avas accomphsheil. 
 The first verse runs thus : — 
 
 " Tlie Campliells are comins;, O-lio ! O-lio ! 
 Till- Caiiiiiliells an; fuminf,', O-lio I 
 Tlie Cainpliells are comiiii,' to Imnnif I.oi-li 
 Leven, 
 The Caiiipbells are coniin!.', O-lio ! 
 
 Campbellite (3 syl.). A follower of 
 Jolm McLcod Campbell, who taught the 
 universality of the atonement, for which, 
 in 1831, he was deposed. 
 
 Campceiling. A ceiling sloping on 
 one side from tlie vertical wall towards a 
 plane surface in the middle. A corruj)- 
 tiou of ei/in (twisted or bent) ceiling. 
 (Halliwell gives earn, " awry.") 
 
 Campeador Qran-pa'-dor). The Cid 
 {'I ■'■■)■ 
 
 Can'ace (3 syl.). A paragon of 
 women, the daughter of King Cambus- 
 can', to whom the King of Arabia and 
 India sent as a jiresent a miiTor and a 
 ring. The miiror would tell the lady if 
 any man on whom she set her heart 
 would prove true or false, and the ring 
 (which was to be worn on her thumb) 
 would enable her to understand the 
 language of birds and to converse with 
 them. It would also give the wearer 
 perfect knowledge of the medicinal pro- 
 perties of all roots. Chaucer never 
 finished the tale, but probably he meant 
 to marry Can'ace to some knight who 
 would be able to overthrow her two 
 brothers, Cam'balo and Algarsife, in the 
 tournament. {Sfpiire^s Tale.) [See hcloic.) 
 
 Can'ace was courted by a crowd of 
 suitors, but her brother, Cam'balo or 
 Cambel, gave out that anyone who pre- 
 tended to her hand must encounter /;//// 
 in single combat and overthrow him. 
 She ultimately married Tri'amond, sou 
 of the fairy A.g'a.^ii. {Spenser : Faerie 
 Q«ro/(', bk. iv. 3.) (iSV'(? Cambel. ) 
 
 Can'ache (3 syl. ) . One of Actaeon's 
 dogs, ((ireek, "the clang of metal 
 falling.") 
 
 Canada Balsam. Made from the 
 Tinas halsainca, a native of Canada,
 
 Canaille 
 
 207 
 
 Candle 
 
 Canaille (French, can-naif e). The 
 mob ; the raVjble (ItaUan, canaglia, a 
 pack of dogs, from Latin caiiis, a dog). 
 
 Canard. A hoax. Cornelissen, to 
 tr_y the gullibility of the public, reported 
 in" the papers that he had twenty ducks, 
 one of which he cut up and threw to the 
 nineteen, who devoured it greedily. He 
 then cut up another, then a third, and 
 so on till nineteen were cut up ; and as 
 the nineteenth was gobbled up by the 
 surviving duck, it followed that this one 
 duck actually ate nineteen ducks — a 
 wonderful proof of duck voracity. This 
 tale had the i-un of all the pajjers, and 
 gave a new word to the language. 
 (French, cane, a duck.) {Qiietelet.) 
 
 Canary {A). Slang for "a guinea" 
 or "sovereign." Gold coin is so called 
 because, like a canary, it is yellow. 
 
 Canary-bird {A). A jail-bird. At 
 one time certun desjjerate convicts were 
 dressed in yellow ; and jail was the caf/e 
 of these " canaries." 
 
 Cancan. To dance flie cancan. A 
 free-and-easy way of dancing quacUilles 
 invented by Eigolboche, and adopted in 
 the pubUc gardens, the opera comique, 
 and the casinos of Paris. {Cancan 
 familiarity, tittle-tattle.) 
 
 " They were going tlirough a quadrille with all 
 those suiii'lemcntary gestures introduced by the 
 great lligulnoche, a notorious danseuse, to whom 
 tlie notorious cancan owesitsorigin."— 4. Egmont 
 Uiiki : Paris Oriyinuh («ie CItiffunier). 
 
 Cancel, to blot out, is merely " to 
 make lattice-work." This is done by 
 making a cross over the part to be 
 omitted. (Latin, cancello, to make trellis.) 
 {See Cross it out.) 
 
 Cancer (the Crab) appears when the 
 sun has reached his highest northern 
 limit, and begins to go backward towards 
 the south ; but, Uke a crab, the return 
 is sideways (June '21st to July 23rd). 
 
 V According to fable, Cancer was the 
 animal which Juno sent against Her- 
 cules, when he combated the Hydra of 
 Lerne. Cancer bit the hero's foot, but 
 Hercules killed the creature, and Juno 
 took it up to heaven, and made it one of 
 the twelve signs of the zodiac. 
 
 Candau'les (3 syl.). King of Lydia, 
 who exposed the charms of his wife to 
 Gy'ge's ; whereupon the queen compelled 
 Gyges to assassinate her husband, after 
 which she married the murderer, who 
 became king, and reigned twenty- eight 
 years. (71(5-678.) 
 
 Can'didate (3 syl.) means " clothed 
 in white." Those who solicited the 
 office of consul, quaestor, pratoi", etc., 
 
 among the Romans, arrayed themselves 
 in a loose white robe. It was loose that 
 they might show the people their scars, 
 and wliite in sign of fidelity and humilitj\ 
 (Latin, candldus, whence candidati, 
 clothed in white, etc.) 
 
 Candide (2 syl.). The hero of Vol- 
 taire's novel so called. All sorts of mis- 
 fortunes are heaped upon him, and he 
 bears them all with cynical indifference. 
 
 Candle. 
 
 Bell, Book, and Candle. {See page 120, 
 col. 1, Bell, etc.) 
 
 Fine (or Oai/) as the Jdng\s candle. 
 " Bariole co/ninc la chandeJle des rois,'''' 
 in allusion to an ancient custom of pre- 
 senting, on January Gth, a candle of 
 various colours to the three kings of 
 Cologne. It is generally applied to a 
 woman overdressed, especially with gay 
 ribbons and flowers. " Fine as five- 
 pence." 
 
 The f/aine is not icorth the candle (Le 
 jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle). Not worth 
 even the cost of the caudle that lights 
 the players. 
 
 To hum the candle at both ends. In 
 French, " Bruler la chandelle jjar les 
 deux boats.'" To indulge in two or more 
 expensive luxuries or dissipated habits 
 at the same time ; to haste to rise up 
 early and late take rest, eating the bread 
 of carefulness. 
 
 To hold a candle to the devil. To aid or 
 countenance that which is wrong. The 
 allusion is to the practice of Roman 
 Catholics, who burn candles before the 
 image of a favourite saint, carry them in 
 funeral i^rocessious, and place them on 
 their altars. 
 
 V When Jessica (in the Merchant cf 
 Venice, ii. G) says to Lorenzo : "What, 
 must I hold a candle to my shame ? " she 
 means. Must I direct attention to this 
 disguise, and blazon my folly abroad '■^ 
 Why, " Cupid himself would blush to 
 see me thus transformed to a boy." She 
 does not mean, Must I glory in my 
 shame ? 
 
 To sell by the candle. A species of 
 sale by auction. A pin is thrust through 
 a caudle about an inch from the top, and 
 bidding goes on till the candle is burnt 
 down to the pin, when the pin drops 
 into the candlestick, and the last bidder 
 is declared the purchaser. This sort of 
 auction was employed in 1893, according 
 to the Beading Jfercarg (Dec. 16), at 
 Aldermaston, near Reading. 
 
 '■ The Council thinks it meet to pnniose the way 
 of selling by 'inch of candle,' as being the most 
 probable means to procure the true value of tUrt 
 goods."— if (»on ; Letters, etc.
 
 Candle-holder 
 
 208 
 
 Cannon 
 
 To smell of the lamp (or candle). To 
 betray laborious art, but the best lite- 
 rary work is the art of concealing art ; 
 to manifest great pains and long study 
 by night. 
 
 To voiv a vandle to the devil. To pro- 
 Initiate the devil by a bribe, as some 
 seek to propitiate the saints in glory by 
 a votive candle. 
 
 What is the Latin for candle ? — Tac'e. 
 Here is a play of vrords : ta'ce means 
 hold your tongue, don't bother me. (6Vy; 
 Goose.) 
 
 Candles used by Roman Catholics at 
 funerals are the relic of an ancient 
 Roman custom. 
 
 Candle-holder. An abettor. The re- 
 ference is to the practice of holding a 
 candle in the Catholic Church for the 
 reader, and in ordinary life to light a 
 workman when he requires more light. 
 
 " I'll lie candle-bolder and look on.''— .S//«Ao- 
 speare : Borneo and Juliet, i. 4. 
 
 Candles of the Night. The stars 
 are so called by Shakesj^eare, in the 
 Merchant of Venice, v. 1. Milton has 
 improved upon the idea : — 
 
 " Else, O tbievisU Nipbt, 
 TrVby sbonldst tbou, but for some felonious end, 
 In tliv dark lantern tbus close up tbe stars 
 Tbat Nature bung in heaven, and filled tbeir 
 
 lanii's 
 Witb everlasting oil. to give due light 
 To tbe misled and lonely traveller ? " 
 
 Camus, ;;00-20C. 
 
 Candlemas Day. Tlie feast of the 
 purification of the Virgin Mary, when 
 Christ was presented b}' her in the Tem- 
 ple. February '2nd, when, in the Roman 
 Catholic Church, there is a candle pro- 
 cession, to consecrate all the candles 
 which will be needed in the church 
 during the year. The caudles symbolise 
 Jesus Christ, called " the light of the 
 world," and " a light to lighten the 
 Gentiles." It was the old' Roman cus- 
 tom of burning candles to the goddess 
 Feb'rua, mother of Mars, to scare away 
 evil sijirits. 
 
 " On Candlemas Day 
 t'andles and candlesticks throw all away." 
 
 Candour (3frs.). A tj^pe of female 
 backbiters. In Sheridan's comedy of 
 The School for Scandal. 
 
 "The name of ' Mrs. Candour' lias become one 
 of those formidable by-words, which have had 
 more power in putting folly and ill-nature out of 
 counienance than whole volumes of remon- 
 strance." — T. Moore. 
 
 Canens. A nymph, wife of Picus. 
 King of the Laurentgs. When Circe had 
 changed Picus into a bird, Canens 
 lamented him so greatly that she pined 
 away, till she became a ro.v et preeterea 
 nihil. {Oeid:3Ietamo7phoses, 14 fab. 9.) 
 
 Caneph'orse (in architecture). Fig- 
 ures of j'oung persons of either sex 
 bearing a basket on their head. (Latin, 
 caiiephorce, plural ; singular, Greek, 
 /coi'T)(^dpos.) The English singular is 
 " caneiihor " (3 syl.). 
 
 Canicular Days. The dog-days, 
 corresjjonding with the overflow of the 
 Nile. From the middle of July to the 
 beginning of the second week in Sep- 
 tember. (Latin, eanicala, diminutive cif 
 canis, a dog.) 
 
 Canicular Period. A cycle of HGl 
 years or 14G0 Julian j'ears, called a 
 ' ' Sothic jjeriod. ' ' When it was supposed 
 that any given day had passed through 
 all the seasons of the year. 
 
 J Canicular Year. The ancient Egyjj- 
 tiau year, computed from one heliacal 
 rising of the Dog-star {Sirius) to the 
 next. 
 
 Canid'ia. A sorceress, who could 
 bring the moon from heaven. Alluded to 
 by Horace. {£podes, v.) 
 
 " Your ancient conjunn-s were wont 
 To make her [the moon] from her sphere dis- 
 mount. 
 And to their incantations stoop." 
 
 flulhr: llitdibros, part ii. ?,. 
 
 Canister. The head (pugilistic term) . 
 "To mill his canister" is to break his 
 head. A "canister cap" is a covering 
 for the head, whether hat or cap. A 
 " canister " is a small coffer or box, and 
 the head is the "canister" or coffer of 
 man's brains. 
 
 Canker. The briar or dog-rose. 
 
 " Put down Richard, tbat sweet lovely rose, 
 And plant this thorn, this canker, Bolingbroke." 
 l<l(ahcs^ieare : 1 Hairji /!'., i. 3. 
 
 Cannse. The place where Han'nibal 
 defeated the Romans under L. ^mil'ius 
 Paulus. Any fatal battle that is the 
 turning point of a great general's pros- 
 perity is called his Canna;. Thus, Ave 
 say, " Moscow was the Caunoe of Nai^o- 
 leon Bonaparte." 
 
 Cannel Coal. A corruption of can- 
 dle eoal, so called from the bright flame, 
 unmixed with smoke, which it j'ields in 
 combustion. 
 
 Cannibal. A word applied to those 
 who eat human flesh. The usual deriva- 
 tion is Caribbee, corrupted into Canibbee, 
 supposed to be man-eaters. Some of 
 the tribes of these islands have no r. 
 
 "The natives live in great fear of the canibnls 
 (i.f. Carilials, or people of Ca.n\y.\,):'—Coiainbiis. 
 
 Cannon (in billiards). A corruption 
 of carro)n, which is short for carainbole. 
 A cannon is when the player's ball strikes
 
 Canoe 
 
 209 
 
 Canossa 
 
 the adversary's ball in such a way as to 
 glance off and stiike a second ball. 
 
 Canoe' (2 syl.). A boat. (Spanish, 
 ranoa, a canoe ; Dutch, cano ; German, 
 /i-(//ui, a boat ; Old French, cane, a ship, 
 and canot, a boat ; Latin, canna, a hollow 
 stem or reed; our ccoie, carf=.& jug; 
 catnwii, canal, etc.) 
 
 Canon. The canons used to be those 
 persons who resided iu the buildings 
 contiguous to the cathedral, employed 
 either in the daily service, or iu the 
 education of the choristers. The word 
 is Greek, and means a measuring rod, 
 the beam of a balance ; then, a roll or 
 register containing the names of the 
 clergy who are licensed to officiate in a 
 cathedral church. 
 
 Canon. A divine or ecclesiastical law. 
 
 "Or tliat tbe Everlastinj; had iint fixed 
 His cauuu 'gainst self-slaufibtcr." 
 
 Shaha-pcure : Vumlet, i.'J. 
 
 Can'on La\7. A collection of eccle- 
 siastical laws which serve as the rule of 
 church government. QScc below.) 
 
 Canonical. Canon is a Greek word, 
 and means the iudex of a balance, hence 
 a rule or law. (See above.) 
 
 The sacred canon means the accepted 
 books of Holy Scripture, which contain 
 the insj)ired laws of salvation and mo- 
 ralitj' ; also called The Canonical Books. 
 
 Canonical Dress. The costume worn 
 by the clergy according to the direction 
 of the canon. Archdeacons, deans, and 
 bishops wear canonical hats. 
 
 Canonical Epistles. The seven 
 catholic epistles, i.e. one of James, two 
 of Peter, three of John, and one of Jude. 
 The epistles of Paul were addi'essed to 
 specific churches or to individuals. 
 
 "The second and third epistles of John a-e 
 certainly not catholic. One is to a specific lady 
 and hi'r children ; and thw other is to Gains. If 
 the word "canonical" in this phrase means 
 appointed to he read in church, then the epistles 
 of Paul are canonical. In fact there are only 
 five canonical epistles. 
 
 Canonical Hours. The times with- 
 in which the .'^acred offices may be per- 
 f omied. In the Roman Catholic Church 
 they are seven — viz.. matins, prime, 
 tierce, sext, nones, vespers, and compline. 
 Prime, tierce, sext, and nones are the 
 first, third, sixth, and ninth hours of the 
 day, counting froin six in the morning. 
 Compline is a corruption of compleio' r'linn 
 (that which completes the services of 
 the day). The reason why there are 
 seven canonical hours is that David says, 
 "Seven times a day do I praise thee " 
 (Psalm cxLx. 164). 
 
 14 
 
 V In England the phrase means the 
 time of the day within which persons 
 can be legally married, i.e. from eight 
 in the morning to three p.m. 
 
 Canonical Obedience. The obedi- 
 ence due bj^ the inferior clergy to the 
 superior clergy set over them. Even 
 bishops owe canonical obedience to the 
 archbishop of the same jirovince. 
 
 Canonical Punishments are thorc 
 
 punishments which the Church is author- 
 ised to inflict. 
 
 Canonicals. 
 
 The j>oi(rh on the gown of an M.D., 
 designed for carrying drugs. 
 
 The corfoi a serjeant-at-law, designed 
 for concealing the tonsure. 
 
 The lainb-slcin on a B.A. hood, in imi- 
 tation of the toga can'dida of the Romans. 
 
 The sirinf/s of an Oxford uudergi'adu- 
 ate, to show the wearer is still in leading 
 strings. At Cambridge, however, the 
 strings are the mark of a gi-aduate who 
 has won his ribbons. 
 
 The tippet on a barrister's gown, 
 meant for a wallet to carry briefs in. 
 
 The proctors' and pro-proctors' tippet, 
 for papers — a sort of sabretaclie. 
 
 Cano'pic Vases. Used by the Egj^j- 
 tian priests for the viscera of bodies 
 embalmed, four vases being provided for 
 each body. So called from Cano'pus, iu 
 Egypt, where they were first used. 
 
 Cano'pus. The Egyptian god of 
 Avater. Tlie Chaldeans w orshipped fire, 
 and sent all the other gods a challenge, 
 which was accepted by a priest of Cano'- 
 pus. The Chaldeans lighted a vast fire 
 round the god Canopus, when the Egyp- 
 tian deity spouted out torrents of water 
 and quenched the fire, thereby obtaining 
 the triumi^h of water over fire. 
 
 Can'opy properly means a gnat cur- 
 tain. Herod'otus tells us (ii. 95) that 
 the fishennen of the Nile used to lift 
 their nets on a pole, and fonn thereby 
 a rude sort of tent under which they 
 slept securely, as gnats will not pass 
 through the meshes of a net. Subse- 
 quently the tester of abed was so called, 
 and lastly the canopy borne over kings. 
 (Greek, Kuivia^, a gnat ; KiMrmnelov, a 
 gnat-curtain ; Latin, conopeiiiii, a gnat- 
 curtain.) 
 
 Canossa. Canossa, in the duchy of 
 Modena, is where (in the winter of 
 1076-7) Kaiser Heinrich IV. went to 
 humble himself before Pope Gregory 
 VII. (Hildebrand).
 
 Cant 
 
 210 
 
 Cap 
 
 Has the Czar gone to Canossa ? Is he 
 about to eat humble pie ? 
 
 Wben, in November, 1887, the Czar went to 
 Berlin to visit the Emperor of t^ennany, the 
 Standard asked in a leader, " Has the Czar gone 
 to Canossa ? " 
 
 Cant. A whining manner of sijeech ; 
 class phraseology, especially of a reli- 
 gious nature (Latin, canto, to sing, 
 whence chant) . It is often derived from 
 a proper name. We are told that 
 Alexander and Andrew Cant maintained 
 that all those who refused the '' Cove- 
 nant ' ' ought to be excommunicated, and 
 that those were cursed who made use of 
 the prayer-book. These same Cants, in 
 their grace before meat, used to "pray 
 for all those who suffered persecution for 
 their religious opinions." {Mcrcurius 
 Fiib/ici(s,No. ix.,l66l.) 
 
 " The proper name cannot have given 
 us the noun aud verb, as they were in 
 familiar use certainly in the time of Ben 
 Jonson, signifying "professional slang," 
 and "to use professional slang." 
 
 "The doctor here, 
 When he discourses of dissection, 
 Of vena cava and of vena porta .... 
 What does he do but cant ? Or if he run 
 To his judicial astrology, 
 And trowl out the trine, the quartile, and the 
 
 Kcrtile, 
 Does he not cant?" 
 Ben Jon6:on (1574— 1«)7) ; Andrew Cant died 10G4. 
 
 Cantabrian Surge. The Bay of 
 
 Biscay. So called from the Cantabri who 
 dwelt about the Biscayan shore. Sue- 
 tonius tells us that a thvmderbolt fell in 
 the Cantabrian Lake (Spain) " in which 
 twelve axes were found." {O'alba, viii.) 
 
 "She her thundering army leads 
 To Calpe [(Gibraltar] .... or the rough 
 Cantabrian Surge." 
 
 Akcnside: Hymn to the Xaiades. 
 
 Cantate Sunday. Fourth Sunday 
 after Easter. So called from the first 
 word of the introit of the mass : " Sing 
 to the Lord." Similarly " Lietare 
 Sunday" (the fourth after Lent) is so 
 called from the first word of the mass. 
 
 Canteen' means properly a wine- 
 cellar. Then a refreshment-house in a 
 barrack for the use of the soldiers. Then 
 a vessel, holding about tlu-ee pints, for 
 the use of soldiers on the march. (Italian, 
 caniiiia, a cellar.) 
 
 Canterbury. Can tcrhury is the h ighcr 
 rack, hitt H'iiic/icster the better maiu/er. 
 Canterbury is the higher see in rank, 
 but Winchester the one which produces 
 the most money, This was the reply of 
 William Edington, Bishop of Winchester, 
 when offered the archbishopric of Can- 
 terbury (1366). Now Canterbury is 
 £15,000 a year, and Winchester £6,500. 
 
 Canterbury Tales. Chaucer sup- 
 posed that he was in company with a 
 party of pilgrims going to Canterbury to 
 pay their devotions at the shrine of 
 Thomas a Becket. The party assembled 
 at an inn in Southwark, called the 
 Tabard, aud there agreed to tell one tale 
 each, both in going and returning. He 
 who told the best tale was to be treated 
 with a supper ou the homeward journey. 
 The work is incomplete, and we have 
 none of the tales told on the way home. 
 
 A Canterburij 'Tale. A cock-and-bull 
 story ; a romance. So called from Chau- 
 cer's Cantcrbary Tales. 
 
 Canting Crew(Thc). Beggars, gip- 
 sies, and thieves, who use what is called 
 the canting lingo. 
 
 Canucks. The Canadians. So called 
 in the United States of America. 
 
 Canvas means cloth made of hemp. 
 To canvas a subject is to strain it through 
 a hemp strainer, to sift it ; and to canvass 
 a borough is to sift the votes. (Latin, 
 can'nabls, hemp.) 
 
 Canvas City {A). A military en- 
 campment. 
 
 "Tbe(;r;in(l :\[Mster assented, and they pro- 
 ceeded a<-onrdini,'ly, .... avoiding the most 
 inhaliitiMlinutsof the canvas city ."—Sir ir. Hcott: 
 'file Talisman, chap. x. 
 
 "In 1S51, during the gold rush, a town of tents, 
 known as Canvas Town, rose into being on the 
 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne. Several thousand 
 inhabitants lived in this temporary settlement, 
 which was laid out in streets and lasted for 
 several months." — Cities of the World; Melbourne. 
 
 Ca'ora. A river, on the banks of 
 ^^•hich are a people whose heads grow 
 beneath their shoulders. Their eyes are 
 in their shoulders, and their mouths in 
 the middle of then- breasts. (Ilaldugt : 
 Voyages, 1598.) Raleigh, hihis Descrip- 
 tion of Guiana, gives a similar account 
 of a race of men. {See Blemmyes.) 
 
 " The Anthropophagi and men whose heads 
 Do grow beneath their shoulders." 
 
 Sliakcspcare : Othello, i. 3. 
 
 Cap. 
 
 Slack cap. (See jwge 140, Black Cap.) 
 
 Cater cap. A square cap or mortar- 
 board. (French, quart icr.) 
 
 College cap. A trencher like the caps 
 worn at the English Universities by 
 students and bachelors of art, doctors of 
 divinity, etc. 
 
 Tool's cap. A cylindrical cap with 
 feather and bells, such as Hcensed Fools 
 used to wear. 
 
 Forked cap. A bishop's mitre. For 
 the paper so called, see Foolscap.
 
 Cap 
 
 211 
 
 Cap 
 
 John Knox cap (A). A cap made of 
 black silk velvet. 
 
 "A cap of black silk velvet, after the Jcihu 
 Knox fasLion." — Edinburgh University Calendar. 
 
 Monmouth cap {A). {See Monmouth.) 
 
 Phn/giancap (A). Capof liberty (-7. r.). 
 
 Sroich cap. A cloth cap worn com- 
 monly iu Scotland. 
 
 Cap and bells. The insignia of a pro- 
 fessional fool or jester. 
 
 A feather in one''s cap. An achievement 
 to be proud of ; something creditable. 
 
 Sqaare cap. A trencher or "mortar- 
 board," like the University cap. 
 
 Htatute cap. A ■vvoolleu caj) ordered 
 by statute to be worn on holidaj's by all 
 citizens for the benefit of the woollen 
 trade. To a similar end, persons were 
 obliged to be buried at death in flannel. 
 
 " Well, better wits have worn plain statute 
 caps." — Shakespeare ; Lore's Labour Lost, v. :!. 
 
 Trencher cap, or mortar-board. A 
 cap with a sqiiare board, generally 
 covered with black cloth. 
 
 / maat put on nuj considering cap. I 
 must think about the matter before I 
 give a final answer. The allusion is to 
 a conjurer's cap. 
 
 If the cap Jits, wear it. If the remark 
 applies to you, apply it to yourself. 
 Hats and caps diiler very slightly in 
 size and appearance, but everyone knows 
 his own when he f)uts it on. 
 
 Setting her cap at him. Trying to 
 catch him for a sweetheart or a husband. 
 The lady j)uts on the most becoming of 
 her caps, to attract the attention and 
 admiration of the favoured gentleman. 
 
 To gain the cap. To obtain a bow 
 from another out of respect. 
 " Such gains the cap of him that makes them fine, 
 But keeps his book uncrossed." 
 
 Shakespeare : Cynibeline, in. 3. 
 
 To pull caps. To quarrel like two 
 women, who pull each other's caps. 
 
 Four cap is all on one side. The 
 French have the phrase Jlcffre son 
 bonnet de f ravers, meaning " to be iu an 
 ill-humour." M. Hilaire le Gai ex- 
 plains it thus : " Laplupart des tapa gears 
 d'' profession portent ordinairement le 
 chapi'aH sxr roreille.'" It is quite certain 
 that workmen, when they are bothered, 
 push their cap on one side of the head, 
 generally over the right ear, because the 
 1 ight hand is occupied. 
 
 Cap (the verb) . 
 
 / cap to that, i.e. assent to it. The 
 allusion is to a custom observed in France 
 amongst the judges in deUberation. 
 Those who assent to the opinion stated 
 by any of the bench signify it by lifting 
 their toque from their heads. 
 
 To cap. To excel. 
 
 "Well, that caps the globe."— C. Bronte: Jane 
 Eijre. 
 
 Cap Verses (To). Having the metre 
 fixed and the last letter of the previous 
 line given, to add a verse beginning with 
 the given letter (of the same metre or 
 not, according to prearraugenieut) thus : 
 
 English. 
 The way was long, the wind was cold (D). 
 Dogs with their tongue.-! their woundsdo heaUL). 
 Like words congealed in northern air (\i). 
 Retrions Cie-sar never knew tW). 
 With alia poet's ecstasy (Yi. 
 You may deride my awkward pace, etc. etc. 
 
 Latin. 
 Nil pictis timidus navita puppibus (SI. 
 Sunt quos currlculo pulverem Olyuipicum (M). 
 Myrtoum pavidns nauta secet mareiE'. 
 Est >iui nee veteri.s porula Massii-i iTJ 
 Ilium, si proprio condidit horreo (O). 
 O, et presidium .... {as long as yon plcase^. 
 
 V It would make a Christmas game 
 to cap proper names : as Plato, Otway, 
 Young, Goldsmith, etc. , or to cap pro- 
 verbs, as : " Eome was not built in a 
 day " ; " Ye are the salt of the earth " ; 
 " Hunger is the best sauce " ; " Example 
 is better than precept " ; " Time and tide 
 wait for no man" ; etc. 
 
 Cap and Bells. Wearing the cap 
 and bells. Said of a person who is the 
 butt of the company, or one who excites 
 laughter at his own expense. The re- 
 ference is to licensed jesters fonnerly 
 attached to noblemen's establishments. 
 Their headgear was a cap with bells. 
 
 " One is bound to spL^ik the truth .... whether 
 he mounts the cap and bells or a shovel hat [like 
 a \ns\n)\<1."— Thackeray. 
 
 Cap and Feather Days. The time 
 of childliood. 
 
 '• Here I was got into the scenes of my cap-aud- 
 feather days."— CoftteW. 
 
 Cap and Gown. The full academical 
 costume of a university student, tutor, 
 or master, worn at lectures, examina- 
 tions, and after " hall" (dinner). 
 
 " Is it a cap and gown affair ? ''—C. Bcde : Verdant 
 Greni. 
 
 Cap in Hand. Submissively. To 
 wait on a man cap in hand is to wait 
 on him like a servant, ready to do his 
 bidding. 
 
 Cap of Fools (The). The chief or 
 
 foremost fool ; one that exceeds all 
 
 others iu folly. 
 
 " Thou art the cap of all the fools alive." 
 
 Shakespeare: Timon of Athens, iv. 3. 
 
 Cap of Liberty. When a slave was 
 manumitted by tlie Romans, a small 
 red cloth cap, called pil'eus, was placed 
 on his head. As soon as this was done, 
 he was tenned liberti'nus (a freedman), 
 and his name was registered in the city
 
 Cap 
 
 212 
 
 Capite Censi 
 
 tribes. Wheu Saturni'nus, iu 263, pos- 
 sessed himself of the capitol, he hoisted 
 a cap on the top of his spear, to indicate 
 that all slaves who joined his standard 
 should be free. When Ma'rius incited 
 the slaves to take up anns against Sylla, 
 he employed the same symbol ; and 
 when Ctesar was murdered, the con- 
 spirators marched forth in a body, with 
 a caj) elevated on a. spear, in token of 
 liberty. {See Liberty.) 
 
 Cap of Maintenance. A cap of 
 
 dignity anciently belonging to the rank 
 of duke ; the fur cap of the Lord Mayor 
 of Loudon, worn on days of state ; a cap 
 carried before the British sovereigns at 
 their coronation. Maintenance here 
 means defence. 
 
 Cap of Time. T/ici/ nrar themselres 
 ill tlic cap of tune. Use more ceremony, 
 says Parolles, for these lords do "wear 
 themselves in the cap of time," i.e. these 
 lords are the favours and jewels worn 
 ill the cap of the time being, and have 
 the greatest influence. In the cap of 
 time being, they are the very jewels, 
 and most honoured. {Shakespedrc : AlPs 
 Well, etc., ii. 1.) 
 
 Cap-acquaintance {A), now called 
 a bowiug acquaintance. One just suf- 
 ficiently known to bow to. 
 
 Cap-money. Money collected in a 
 caj) or hat ; hence an improvised col- 
 lection. 
 
 Cap-a-pie. The general etymologj' 
 is the French cap a pied, but the French 
 phrase is de jjied en cap. 
 
 " Armed at all points exactly cap-a-pie." 
 
 Shakespeare : HamJet, i. 2. 
 " I am courtier, cap-a-ne." 
 
 Shakespeare : Winter's Tale, iv. 3. 
 
 ** We are told that cap d jne is Old 
 French, but it would be desirable to 
 give a quotation from some old French 
 author to verify this assertion. I have 
 hunted iu vain for the purpose. Again, 
 is pie Old French for pied ? This is not 
 a usual change. The usual change 
 would be pied into pie. The Latin 
 might be De capite ad pedem. 
 
 Capfull of Wind. Olaus Magnus 
 tells us that Eric, King of Sweden, was 
 so familiar with evil sjiirits that what 
 way soever he turned his cap the wind 
 would blow, and for this he was called 
 Wiiidi/ Cap. The Laplanders drove a 
 profitable trade in selling winds ; but, 
 even so late as 1814, Bessie Millie, of 
 Pomo'na (Orkney Islands), helped out 
 her living by selliag favourable winds to 
 
 mariners for the small sum of sixpence. 
 (iSW; Mont St. Michel.) 
 
 Cape. Spirit of the Cape. {See 
 page 14, col. 1, Adamastor.) 
 
 Cape of Storms. {See Storms. ) 
 
 Capel Court. A speculation in stocks 
 of such magnitude as to affect the money 
 market. Capel Court is the name of tho 
 l)lac6 in London where transactions iu 
 stocks are carried on. 
 
 Caper. The weather is so foul not 
 even a caper xeoald venture out. A Manx 
 proverb. A caper is a fishemian of Cape 
 Clear in Ireland, who will ventui'e out 
 iu almost any weather. 
 
 Caper Merchant. A dancing-master 
 who cuts "capers." {See Cut Capers.) 
 
 Capet {Cap-pa I/). Hugues, the founder 
 of the French monarchy, was surnamed 
 Cap'ctus (clothed with a capot or monk's 
 hood), because he always wore a clerical 
 costume as abbot of St. Martin de Tours. 
 This was considered the family name of 
 the kings of France ; hence, Louis XVI. 
 was arraigned before the National Con- 
 vention under the nam.e of Louis Capet. 
 
 Capital. Money or money's worth 
 available for production. 
 
 " His capital is continually going from bim [the 
 merchant] in some sbape, and returning to him 
 iu another."— -IridHi Smith : Wealth of Xations, 
 vol. i. book ii. chap. i. i). 276. 
 
 Active capital. Eeady money or pro- 
 perty readily convertible into it. 
 
 Circalatiiig capital. Wages, or raw 
 material. This sort of capital is not 
 available a second time for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 Fixed capital. Land, buildings, and 
 machinery, which are only gradually 
 consumed. 
 
 Political capital is something employed 
 to serve a political jjurpose. Thus, the 
 Whigs make political capital out of the 
 eiTors of the Tories, and vice versa. 
 
 " He tried to make capital out of bis rival's dis- 
 comtiture."— 77;e Times. 
 
 Capital Fellow {A). A stock- 
 jobber; in French called Un Capitaine, 
 par allusion aux capitaux sur lesqxels on 
 agiote hahitucllement. A good-tempered, 
 jovial, and generous person. 
 
 Capitals. To speah in capitals. To 
 emphasise certain words with great 
 stress. Certain nouns spelt with a 
 capital letter are meant to be emphatic 
 and distinctive. 
 
 Cap'ite Censi. The lowest rank of 
 Roman citizens ; so called because they
 
 Capittilars 
 
 213 
 
 Carabas 
 
 were counted simply by the poll, as tliey 
 had uo taxable property. 
 
 Capit'ulars. The laws of the first 
 two dynasties of France were so called, 
 because they were divided into chapters. 
 (French, cajjitHlairc:) 
 
 Capon. Called a fish out of the coop 
 by those friars who wished to evade the 
 Friday fast by eating chickens instead 
 of fish. {See Yaemouth. ) 
 
 Capon {A). A castrated cock. 
 A Crairs capon. A dried haddock. 
 A Secern capon. A sole. 
 A Yarinoaih capon. A red herring. 
 *,* We also sometimes hear of a Glas- 
 gow cajjon, a salt herring. 
 
 Capon (^i). A love-letter. In French, 
 poidet means not only a chicken but aUo 
 a love-letter, or a sheet of note-paper. 
 Thus Heui'i IV., consulting with Sully 
 about his marriage, says: "My niece 
 of Guise would please me best, though 
 report says maliciously that she loves 
 poulets iu paper better than in a frica- 
 see. " 
 
 "Bciyet . . break up this capon {i.e. open this 
 love-letter]."— )S7i(i/.'espe(tre; Luve's Labour's Lout, 
 iv. 1. 
 
 Cap'ricorn. Called by Thomson, in 
 his JFinter, " the centaur archer. " An- 
 ciently, the winter solstice occurred on 
 the entry of the sun into Capricorn ; 
 but the stars, having advanced a whole 
 sign to the east, the winter solstice now 
 falls at the sun's entrance into Sagit- 
 tarius (the centaur archer), so that the 
 poet is strictly right, though we vul- 
 garly retain the ancient classical manner 
 of speaking. Capricornus is the tentli, 
 or, strictly speaking, the eleventh sign 
 of the zodiac. (Dec. 21 -Jan. 20.) 
 
 V According to classic mythology, 
 Capricorn was Pan, who, from fear of 
 the great Typhon, changed himself into 
 a goat, and was made by Jupiter one of 
 the signs of the zodiac. 
 
 Captain. Capitano del Popolo, i.e. 
 Garibaldi (1807-1882). 
 
 The Great (Japta'in {el gran capita' no). 
 Gonzalvo di Cor'dova (1453-1515.) 
 
 Manuel Comue'nus of Treb'izond 
 (1120, 1143-1180). 
 
 Captain Cauf's Tail. The com- 
 mander-in-chief of the mummers of 
 Plough Monday. 
 
 Captain Copperthorne's Crew. All 
 
 masters and no men. 
 
 Captain Podd. A showman. So 
 called from " Captain " Podd, a famous 
 
 puppet-showman iu the time of Ben 
 Jonson. 
 
 Captain StiflF. To come Captain Stiff 
 ocer one. To treat one with cold form- 
 ality. 
 
 "1 shouldn't quite come Captain StiH over 
 bini."— ,s'. Warreti: Ten Thousand a icai: 
 
 Captious. Fallacious, deceitful ; now 
 it means ill-tempered, carping. (Latin, 
 
 capiio'sas.) 
 
 " I know I love in vtiiii, strive aL'aiiisl hnpo ; 
 Yet in this captious and intenihli/ sieve 
 I still pour in tlie wairrs of mv Icae." 
 {^hakf.-^iieure: All's Will that Ends Welt, i. 3. 
 
 Cap'ua. Capua corrupted Ilannihal. 
 Luxury and self-indulgence will ruin 
 anyone. Hannibal was everywhere vic- 
 torious over the Romans till he took up 
 his winter quarters at Capua, the most 
 luxurious city of Italy. When he left 
 Capua his star began to wane, and, ere 
 long, Carthage was in ruins and himself 
 an exile. 
 
 Capua was the Cannce of Ramiibnl. As 
 the battle of Cannce was most disastrous 
 to the Roman army, so was the luxury 
 of Capua to Hannibal's annj*. We have 
 a modern adaptation to this proverb : 
 "Moscow was the Austerlitz of Napo- 
 leon." 
 
 Capuchin. A friar of the order of 
 St. Francis, of the new rule of 1528 ; 
 so called from their " cap'uce " or 
 pointed cowl. 
 
 Cap'ulet. A noble house in Vero'na, 
 the rival of that of Mon'tague (3 syl.) ; 
 Juliet is of the former, and Romeo of 
 the latter. Lady Capulet is the beau- 
 ideal of a jiroud Italian matron of the 
 fifteenth century. The expression so 
 familiar, " the tomb of all the Capulets," 
 is from Burke. {Shakespeare : Romeo 
 and Juliet.) 
 
 Caput Mor'tuum. Latin for head 
 of the dead, used by the old chemists to 
 designate the residuum of chemicals, 
 when all their volatile matters had es- 
 caped. Anything from which all that 
 rendered it valuable has been taken 
 away. Thus, a learned scholar jiara- 
 lysed is a mere caput mortinim of his 
 fonuer self. The French Directory, 
 towards its close, was a mere caput 
 nwrtuHin of a governing body. 
 
 Caqueux. A sort of gipsy race in 
 Brittany, similar to the Cagots of Gas- 
 cony, and Colliberts of Poitou. 
 
 Car'abas. lie is a Marquis of Cara- 
 bas. A fossil nobleman, of unbounded 
 pretensions and vanity, who would fain 
 restore the slavish foolery of the reigu
 
 Caracalla 
 
 2U 
 
 Carcass 
 
 > of Louis XrV. ; one with Fortunatus's 
 purse, which was never empty. The 
 character is taken from Perrault's tale 
 of F/fss in Boots. 
 
 " Pretres iiue nous vengeons 
 Levez la dime et panageuns ; 
 Et toi, peuple animal, 
 Porte eneor le bat feodal. . . . 
 Cliapeau bas ! Cbapeau bas ! 
 Ghiire au marquis de Carabas ! " 
 
 Blranger, ISlfi. 
 
 Caracalla \long-mantIe]. Anre'lius 
 Autoni'nus was so called because he 
 adopted the Gaulish caracalla in prefer- 
 ence to the Roman toga. It was a large, 
 close-fitting, hooded mantle, reaching 
 to the heels, and slit uj) before and 
 behind to the waist. Aure'lius was 
 himself bom in Gaul, called Caracal in 
 Ossian. {Sec Cuetmantle.) 
 
 Carac'ci (pron. Kar - rah' - che). 
 Founder of the eclectic school in Italy. 
 Luis and his two cousins Augustin and 
 Annibale founded the school called In- 
 cammina't'i (progressive), which had for 
 its chief principle the strict observance 
 of natm-e. Luis (1554-1619), Augustin 
 (1558-1601), Annibale (1560-1609). 
 
 Tlie Caracci of France. Jean Jouvenet, 
 who was paralysed on the right side, and 
 painted with his left hand. (1647-1707.) 
 
 The Aiuitlmlc Caracci of the Hcleciic 
 School. Bernardi'uo Campi, the Italian, 
 is so called by Lauzi (1522-1590). 
 
 Carack or C'arrack. A ship of gi-eat 
 bulk, constructed to carry heavy freights. 
 (Spanish, caraca.) 
 
 '•The rich-Iailen carack bound to distant shores." 
 I'oUok : Course of Time, Ixiok vii. line 60. 
 
 Carad'oc. A Knight of the Round 
 Table, noted for being the husband of 
 the only lady in the queen's train who 
 could wear "the mantle of matrimonial 
 fidelity." Also in history, the British 
 chief whom the Romans called Carac- 
 tacus. 
 
 Caraites. A religious sect among 
 the Jews, who rigidly adhered to the 
 words and letters of Scripture, regard- 
 less of metaphor, etc. Of course, they 
 rejected the rabbinical interpretations 
 and the Cab'ala. The word is derived 
 from Cara'im, equivalent to scriptuntrii 
 (textualists). Pronounce Carry -ites. 
 
 Caran D'Ache. The pseudonym of 
 M. Emanuel Poirie, the French cari- 
 caturist. 
 
 Carat of Gold. So called from the 
 carat bean, or seed of the locust tree, 
 formerly employed in weighing gold and 
 silver. Hence the expressions " 22 
 carats finej' " 18 carats fine," etc., 
 
 meaning that out of 24 parts, 22 or 18 
 are gold, and the rest alloy. 
 
 " Here's llie note 
 How nnuli your chain weighs to the utmost 
 curat." 
 
 Shakespeare : Comedy of Errors, iv. 1. 
 
 Caraway. Latin, carxw, from Caria 
 in Asia Minor, whence the seeds were 
 imported. 
 
 "Xay, you shall see my onlKird, where in an 
 arbour we will eat a last year's pivpni nf luy own 
 gr:illin,tr, with a dish of carawavs."— Wi"/.(>;V((rf ; 
 !• IJtitrii IV., V. 3 (Justice Shallow tn Falstaff). 
 
 Carbineer' or Carabineer. Pi'operly 
 a skirmisher or light horseman, from the 
 Arabic carabine. A carbine is the light 
 musket used by cavalry soldiers. 
 
 " He . . . left tlie Rhinegrave, with his company 
 of mounted carliineers, to guard the passage."^ 
 Motley ; Dutch Republic (.vol. i. part i. chap. ii. 
 p. irsi). 
 
 Carbona'do. A chop ; nnnce meat. 
 Strictly si^eaking, a carbonado is a piece 
 of meat cut crosswise for the gi'idirou. 
 (Latin, carbo, a coal.) 
 
 " If he do come in my w.ay, so ; if he do not— if 
 I come in his willingly, let bim make a carbonado 
 of me."—Hhale>-pcare: 1 Henry lY., v. 3. 
 
 Carbona'ri means charcoal-burners, 
 a name assumed by a secret political 
 society in Italy (organised 1808-1814). 
 Their place of muster they called a 
 " hut ;" its inside, " the jDlace for selling 
 charcoal ;" and the outside, the " forest." 
 Their jjolitical opponents they called 
 " wolves." Their object was to convert 
 the kingdom of Naples into a republic. 
 In the singular number, Carbonaro. {See 
 Chaebonnerie . ) 
 
 Carbuncle of Ward Hill {The). 
 A mysterious carbuncle visible enough 
 to those who stand at the foot of the 
 hill in May, June or July ; but never 
 beheld by anyone who has succeeded in 
 reaching the hill top. 
 
 " I have distinguished, among the dark rocks, 
 that wonderful carljuucle,whicla gleams ruddy as 
 a furnace to them who view it from beneath, but 
 has ever become invisible to him whose daring 
 foot has scaled the precipice from which it darts 
 its splendour."— .S('r 11'. Scott : The Pirate, chap. 
 xix. 
 
 '.* Dr. Wallace thinks it is water 
 trickling from a rock, and reddened by 
 the sun. 
 
 Car'canet. A small chain of jewels 
 for the neck. (French, carcan, an iron 
 collar.) 
 
 " Like captain jewels in a carcanet." 
 
 Shakespeare : Souiictfi. 
 
 Car'cass. The shell of a house before 
 the floors are laid and walls plastered ; 
 the skeleton of a ship, a wreck, etc. 
 The body of a dead animal, so called 
 from the Latin caro-cassa (lifeless flesh). 
 (French, carcasse.) 
 " The Goodwins, I think they call the place ; a
 
 Carcasses 
 
 215 
 
 Cards 
 
 very dangerous flat and fatal, where the carcases 
 cif many a tall ship lie buried."— iSfca/rfsped re; 
 Merchant i<f Viiiice, iii. 1. 
 
 Car'casses. Shells with three fuze- 
 holes. They are projected from mortars 
 ((/.r.), howitzers ('/.'''•), and guns. They 
 will burn furiously for eight or ten 
 minutes, do not burst like shells, but the 
 flames, rushing from the three holes, set 
 on fire everything within their iuiiuence. 
 '■ Cbarlestown, . . . having been fired by a car- 
 cass from I'oi'p's Hill, sent up dense columns of 
 smoke."— icssi/iy ; Unitecl tstutes. 
 
 Card. 
 
 Thafs the card. The right thing ; the 
 ticket. The reference is to tickets of 
 admission, cards of the races, and f)ro- 
 grammes. 
 
 " los. is about the card."— il^oiy/ioc ; London 
 Labour, etc. 
 
 A queer card. An eccentric person, 
 "indilfereut honest." A difficult lead 
 in cards to play to. 
 
 A knowiiu/ card. A .sharp fellow, next 
 door to a sharper. The allusion is to 
 card-sharpers and their tricks. 
 
 " Whose great aim it was to be considered a 
 knowing c-avA."— Dickens : Slcetchcf!, etc. 
 
 A great card. A big wig ; the boss of 
 the season ; a person of note. A big 
 card. 
 
 A leadbig card. A star actor. A 
 person leads from his strongest suit. 
 
 A loose card. A worthless fellow who 
 lives on the loose. 
 
 "A loose card is a card of no value, and, con- 
 se(iuently, the properest to throw away."— i/oj/Ze : 
 Games, tic. 
 
 A sare card. A person one can fully 
 depend on ; a person sure to command 
 success. A project to be certainly de- 
 pended on. As a winning card in one's 
 hand. 
 
 He is the card of our house. The man 
 of mark, the most distingue. Osric tells 
 Hamlet that Laer'tes is "the card and 
 calendar of gentry " (v. 2). The card is 
 a card of a compass, containing all its 
 points. Laertes is the card of gentrj-, in 
 whom may be seen all its points. We 
 also say "a queer card," meaning an 
 odd fish. 
 
 That u-as nuj best tru»ip card. My 
 best chance. The allusion is to loo, 
 whist, and other games played with 
 cards. 
 
 To play one''s best card. To do that 
 which one hopes is most likely to secure 
 success. 
 
 To speak bg the card. To speak by the 
 book, be as precise as a map or book. 
 A merchant's expression. The card is 
 the document in writing containing the 
 agreements made between a merchant 
 and the captain of a vessel. Sometimes 
 
 the owner binds himself, ship, tackle, 
 and furniture for due perfonnance, and 
 the captain is bound to deliver the cargo 
 committed to him in good condition. To 
 speak by the card is to speak according 
 to the indentures or written instructions. 
 In some cases the reference is to the 
 card of a mariner's compass. 
 
 " Law ... is the card to guide the world by." — 
 Hooker : Ecc. Pol., part ii. sec. .5. 
 
 '■ We must speak by the card, or equivocation 
 will undo us."— Shakespeare : Uaiulet, v. 1. 
 
 Cards. 
 
 It is said that there never was a good 
 hand of cards containing four clubs. 
 Such a hand is called " The Devil's 
 Four-poster." 
 
 Lieuben, a German lunatic, bet that 
 he would succeed in turning uji a pack 
 of cards in a certain order stated in a 
 written agreement. He turned and 
 turned the cards ten hours a day for 
 twenty years ; and repeated the opera- 
 tion 4,246,028 times, when at last he 
 succeeded. 
 
 In Spain, spades used to he columbines ; 
 clubs, rabbits; diamonds, pinks; and 
 hearts, roses. The j)resent name for 
 spades is espados (swords) ; of clubs, 
 bastos (cudgels) ; of diamonds, dineros 
 (square pieces of money used for paying 
 wages) ; of hearts, copas (chalices). 
 
 The French for spades is pique (pike- 
 men or soldiers) ; for clubs, triple (clovei', 
 or husbandmen); of diamonds, carreaux 
 (building tiles, or artisans) ; of hearts, 
 chceur (choir-men, or ecclesiastics). 
 
 The English spades is the French form 
 of a pike, and the Spanish name ; the 
 clubs is the French trefoil, and the 
 Spanish name ; the hearts is a corruption 
 of ckocur into cceur. {See Vieege.) 
 
 Court cards. So called because of theu- 
 heraldic devices. The king of clubs 
 originally represented the arms of the 
 Pope ; of spades, the King of France ; 
 of diamonds, the King of Spain ; and of 
 hearts, the King of England. The 
 French kings in cards are called David 
 (spades), Alexander (clubs), Ctesar (dia- 
 monds), and Charles (hearts) — repre- 
 senting the Jewish, Greek, Roman, and 
 Frankish empires. The queens or dames 
 are Argine— (.^. Juno (hearts), Judith 
 (clubs), Rachel (diamonds), and Pallas 
 (spades) — representing royalty, forti- 
 tude, piet}', and wisdom. They were 
 likenesses of Marie d'Anjou, the queen 
 of Charles VII. ; Isabeau, the queen- 
 mother ; Agnes Sorel, the king's mis- 
 tress ; and Joan d'Arc, the dame of 
 spades, or war. 
 
 He felt that he held the cards in his own 
 hands. That he had the whip-end of
 
 Cardinal 
 
 216 
 
 Carlovingian 
 
 the stick ; that lie had tlie upiiei- haud, 
 and could do as he liked. The allusiou 
 is to games played with cards, such as 
 whist. 
 
 lie phnjcd lits curds iirll. He acted 
 judiciously and skilfully, like a whist- 
 player who plays his haud with judg- 
 ment. To jilay one's cards badhj is to 
 manage a project unskilfully. 
 
 The cardx arc iji iin/ /uiinh. I hold the 
 disposal of events which will secure suc- 
 cess. The allusion is ob\'ious. 
 
 "The Viti'lli busied ;it Arezzo ; the Orsiui ini- 
 t.auim the Fi-t'iith ; the war of Xaples iiimiiueiit ; 
 —the cards are in my hauds."— Ctesac Borgia, 
 xxix. 
 
 On the cards. Likely to happen, pro- 
 jected, and talked about as likely to 
 occur. On the programme or card of 
 the races ; on the " agenda." 
 
 To count c)i o>/c\'i cards. To anticiisate 
 success under the circumstances. The 
 allusion is to holding in one's hand cards 
 likely to win. 
 
 To f/o in irilh good cards. To have 
 good jjatronage ; to have excellent 
 grounds for expecting success. 
 
 'To throw up tlic cards. To give uji as 
 a bad job ; to acknowledge you have no 
 hope of success. In some games of 
 cards, as loo, a player has the liberty of 
 saying whether he will i^luy or not, and 
 if one's hand is hopelessly bad he throws 
 up his cards and sits out till the next 
 deal. 
 
 Cardinal Humcurs. Blood, phlegm, 
 yellow bile, and black bile. 
 
 Cardinal Numbers. Such numbers 
 as 1, 2, ;3, etc. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc., are 
 orduKd numbers. 
 
 Cardinal Points of the Compass. 
 
 Due north, west, east, and south. So 
 called because they are the points on 
 which the intermediate ones, such as 
 N.E., X.W., N.N.E., etc., hinge or 
 hang. (Latin, cardo^ a hinge.) 
 
 Cardinal Signs [of the Zodiac]. 
 The two equinoctial and the two sol- 
 sticial signs, Aries and Libra, Cancer 
 and Capricomus. 
 
 Cardinal Virtues. Justice, pru- 
 dence, tcm])erauce, and fortitude, on 
 which all other virtues hang or depend. 
 
 Cardinal Winds. Those that blow 
 due East, "West, North, and South. 
 
 Cardinals. Hinges. (Latin, cardo.) 
 The election of the Pope " hinges " on 
 the voice of the sacred college, and on 
 the Pope the doctrines of the Church 
 depend ; so that the cardinals are in 
 fact the hinges on which the Chiistian 
 
 Church turns. There may be six car- 
 dinal bishops, fifty cardinal priests, and 
 fourteen cardinal deacons, who consti- 
 tute the Pope's council, and who elect 
 the Pojie when a vacancy occurs. 
 
 Cardinal's Red Hat. Some assert 
 that Innocent IV. made the cardinals 
 wear a red hat "in token of their being 
 ready to lay down their life for the 
 gospel." 
 
 Car'duel or Kartcl. Carlisle. The 
 place where Merlin prepared the Round 
 Table. 
 
 Care-cloth {The). The fine linen 
 cloth laid over the newly-married in the 
 Catholic Church. (Anglo-Saxon, cecrr, 
 large, as ccar uund (a big wound), ccar 
 sorli (a great sorrow), etc.) 
 
 Care killed the Cat. It is said that 
 "a cat has nine lives," yet care would 
 wear them all out. 
 
 Care Sunday (the fifth Sunday in 
 Lent). Professor Skeat tells us {Xotes 
 a»d Queries, Oct. 28th, 1893), that 
 "care" means trouble, suffering; and 
 that Care-Simday means Passion-Sun- 
 day. In Old High German we have 
 Ivar-Hochc and Kur-filtag. 
 
 The Latin cnra sometimes meant "sorrow, 
 prief, lr()ul)le," as "Curam et angorem aiiiiiii 
 levare."— CTcero ; Att. i. 13. 
 
 Careme (2 syl.). Lent; a corruption 
 of rinadragesiiua. 
 
 Car-goose {A) or Gargoose. The 
 
 crested diver, belonging to the genus 
 Colymbus. (Anglo-Saxon, gar and gos.) 
 
 Caricatures mean "sketches over- 
 drawn." (Italian, caricatu'ra, from 
 carica'ri; to load or btu'den.) 
 
 Car'illons, in France, are chimes or 
 tunes played on bells ; but in England 
 the suites of bells that play the tunes. 
 Our word carol ajiproaclies the French 
 meaning nearer than our own. The 
 best chimes in the world are those in Les 
 Ilal/cs, at Bruges. 
 
 Cari'nas. Women hired by the Ro- 
 mans to weep at funerals ; so called from 
 Caria, wlience most of them came. 
 
 Carle or Curling Sunday [Pea Sun- 
 dag]. The octave preceding Palm Sim- 
 day ; so called because the sj)ecial food 
 of the day was curling — i.e. peas fried 
 in butter. The custom is a continuation 
 of tlio pagan bean-feast. The fifth 
 Sunday in Lent. 
 
 Carlovingian Dynasty. So called 
 from Carolus or Charles Martel.
 
 Carludovica 
 
 217 
 
 Carpet 
 
 Carludovi ca. A Pau'ama hat, made 
 of the ('((rliidorica pul'matu ; so called hi 
 coinpliiiieut to Carlos IV. of Spain, 
 whose second name was Ludovic. 
 
 Car'magnole (3 syl. ). A red Repuh- 
 licau song and dance in the first French 
 revolution ; so called from Carmag'nola, 
 in Piedmont, the gi'eat nest of the 
 Savoyards, noted for street music and 
 dancing. The refrain of '" Madame 
 Veto," the Carmagnole song, is " Diai- 
 noiin la CariiKK/iiole — rive Ic .1011 (lit 
 cinidii!'''' The word was subsequently 
 apjilied to other revolutionary soTigs, 
 such as Ca irti, the MarsctUaise, the 
 CItaut (In Ikpurt. Besides the songs, 
 the word is applied to the dress worn 
 by the Jacobins, consisting of a blouse, 
 red cap, and tri-coloured girdle ; to the 
 wearer of this dress or any violent re- 
 volutionist ; to the speeches in favour 
 of the execution of Louis XVI., called 
 by M. Barricre den C(iri)i(i(inolcs ; and, 
 lastly, to the dance fierfonned by the 
 mob round the guillotine, or down the 
 streets of Paris. 
 
 Carmelites (3 syl.). An order of 
 mendicant friars of Mount Carmel, the 
 monastery of which is named Eli'as, 
 from Elijah the pi-ophet, who on "Mount 
 Carmel told Ahab that rain was at hand. 
 Also called White Friars, from theii- 
 white cloaks. 
 
 Carmilhan. The phantom ship on 
 which the Kobold of the Baltic sits when 
 he ajipears to doomed vessels. 
 
 Carminative. A charm medicine. 
 Magic and charms were at one time the 
 chief " medicines," and the fact is per- 
 petuated by the word carminative, 
 among others. Carminatives are given 
 to relieve flatulence. (Latin, cariiuii, a 
 charm. ) 
 
 Carmine (2 syl). The dye made 
 from the carmcs or kermes insect, whence 
 also criinsoii, through the Italian cre- 
 inisuiu. 
 
 Carnation. "Flesh-colour." (Latin, 
 citro ; genitive, can/is, flesh.) 
 
 Carney. To wheedle, to keep car- 
 essing. 
 
 Carnival. The season immediately 
 preceding Lent ; shrove-tide. Ducange 
 gives the word canw-lcrulc. (Modern 
 Italian, cari/ovd/e ; Spanish and French, 
 ciirnaral.) 
 
 It:lli> 
 
 lt:ili 
 
 imr.d,-. i-anuiral, Qiiidnin 
 H'-v.'ilr" dictum imtant, 
 quMsi (■,(/H,; nili- ij-r(iiHl-l,.\i' inr:tt) ; sed id etjiiiDii 
 11.111 i.rolBit (Jctiiv. Fcnuiius. Cain-'iiis .... 
 aiuielhisse Kallns e.\istiiiiat, carn-a-val, iiiiod 
 souut caro aljscedit . . . [We arc referred to a 
 
 cliarter, dated llii5, in wliioli occurs the word 
 ciirne-lcnimeii, and a cjiiotalion is given in wbicli 
 occurs tlie phrase in curnis levamen^.—Diicaiwp, 
 vol. ii. p. 2j-.'. 
 
 Carot'id Artery. An artery on each 
 side of the neck, supposed by the ancients 
 to be the seat of drowsiness, brought on 
 by an increased flow of blood through it 
 to the head. (Greek, caroticos, inducing 
 sleej).) 
 
 Carouse (2 syl.). Mr. Gifford saj's 
 the Danes called their large drinking cup 
 a rouse, and to rouse is to drink from a 
 rouse ; carouse is gar-rouse, to drink all 
 up, or to drink all — i.e. in company. 
 
 "The kiiiy doth wake to-iiipht, and trikcs his 
 rouse." tShakespcare : Uamh't,\.A. 
 
 CayoKse the himtcr'' s hoop. Drinking 
 cups were anciently marked with hooxis, 
 by which every drinker knew his stint. 
 Shakesjjeare makes Jack Cade promise 
 his friends that " seven halfpenny loaves 
 shall be sold for a penny ; and the three- 
 hooped pot have ten hoops." Pegs or 
 pins {q.v.^ are other means of limiting 
 the draught of individuals who drank 
 out of the same tankard. 
 
 Carpathian Wizard. Proteus (2 
 syl.), who lived in the island of Car'- 
 pathos, between Rhodes and Crete. He 
 was a wizard and prophet, who could 
 transfonn himself into any shape he 
 pleaded. He is rej^resented as carrying 
 a sort of crook in his hand. Carpathos, 
 now called Scaiijanto. 
 
 " By tlie Carpathian wizard's liook." 
 
 Milton: Cumu.1, 893. 
 
 Carpc DieiUo Enjoy yourself while 
 you have the opportunity. Seize the 
 present day. {Horace : 1 Odes, xi. 8.) 
 
 ^^ Bum vivxmns, virdnuis.'''' 
 
 Carpenter is from the Low Latin 
 curpvuliiruis, a maker of cnrpeiilu (two- 
 wheeled carts and carriages). The ear- 
 penium was used for ladies ; the carpcntuiti 
 funebre or carpcntum pompaiwnn was ;i 
 hearse. There was also a carpnitxiio 
 (cart) for agricultural pui-poses. There 
 is no Latin word for our " carjjenter " ; 
 the ijhrase falwr lif/iKiriiis is used oy 
 Cicero. Our forefathers called a car- 
 penter a " smith " or a ''wood-smith.'' 
 (French, charpcntier.) 
 
 Carpet. 
 
 'I7/e niar/ie carpet of Tai>f/u. A carpel 
 to all appearances worthless, but if any- 
 one sat thereon, it would transport him 
 instantaneously to the place he wished 
 to go. So called because it came from 
 Tangu, in Persia. It is sometimes termed 
 Prince Hoiimin^s carjpet, because it came
 
 Carpet-bag 
 
 218 
 
 Carry the Day 
 
 into his hands, and he made use of it. 
 (Arabian Niglits : Prince Ahmed.) {tiee 
 below.) 
 
 Solomon's carpet. The Eastern writers 
 say that Solomou had a green silk carpet, 
 on wliidi his throne was placed when he 
 travelled. This carpet was large enough 
 for all his forces to stand upon ; the men 
 and women stood on his right hand, and 
 the spirits on his left. When all were 
 arranged in order, Solomon told the wind 
 where he wished to go, and the carpet, 
 with all its contents, rose in the air and 
 alighted at the jjlace indicated. In order 
 to screen the party from the sun, the 
 birds of the air with outspread wings 
 formed a canopy over the whole party. 
 {Sule : Koran.) {dee above.') 
 
 Such and snch a question is on the 
 carpet. The French sur le tapis (on the 
 table-cloth) — i.e. before the house, 
 uuder consideration. The question has 
 been laid on the table-cloth of the house, 
 and is now uuder debate. 
 
 Carpet-bag Adventurer {A). A 
 passing adventurer, who happens to be 
 on the road with his travelling or carpet- 
 bag. 
 
 Carpet - bag Government. The 
 
 government of mere adventurers. In 
 America, a state in the South reorganised 
 by " carjiet-baggers," i.e. Northern 
 political adventurers, who soiight a career 
 in the Southern States after the Civil 
 "War of 1865. [It may be noted that in 
 America members of Congress and the 
 State legislatures almost invariably reside 
 in the district which they rejDresent. ] 
 
 Carpet Knight. One dubbed at 
 Court by favour, not having won his 
 spurs by military service in the field. 
 Mayors, lawj'ers, and other civilians 
 knighted as they kneel on a carpet 
 before their sovereign. "Knights of 
 the Carpet," "Knights of the Green 
 Cloth," "Knights of Carjietry." 
 
 "The sulKinliiKite cuminauds fell to young 
 patricians, CHvpet-knifflits, who went on caiii- 
 paigiis with their families aud slaves."— froade; 
 Ccesar, chai). \\. i>. 91. 
 
 Carpocra'tians. Gnostics ; so called 
 from Carpo'crates, who flourished in the 
 middle of the second century. They 
 maintained that the world was made by 
 angels, — that only the soul of Christ 
 ascended into heaven, — and that the 
 body will have no resuiTection. 
 
 Carriage Company. Persons who 
 keep their jirivate carnage. 
 
 " Seeing a great deal of carriage company."— 
 Thackeray. 
 
 Carriages. Things carried, luggage. 
 
 " And after those days we took up our carriages, 
 and went up to Jerusalem."— Acts xxi. !.">. 
 
 Car'ronades (3 syl.). Short, light 
 iron guns. As they have no truimions 
 they difier in this respect from guns and 
 howitzers ('/.*'.). They were invented 
 in 1779 by Mr. Gascoigne, director of 
 the Carrou foundry, in Scotland, whence 
 the name. Carrouades are fastened to 
 their carriages by a loop underneath, 
 and are chiefly used in the arming of 
 ships, to enable them to throw heavy 
 shot at close quarters, without over- 
 loading the decks with heavy guns. On 
 shore they are tised as howitzers. 
 
 Carry Arms ! Hold your gun in the 
 right hand, the barrel nearly pen)en- 
 dicular, and resting against the hollow 
 of the shoulder, the thumb and fore- 
 finger embracing the guard. (A military 
 command.) {See Caeey Swords.) 
 
 Carry Coals. {See Coals.) 
 
 Carry Everything before One (2o). 
 
 To be beyond competition ; to carry off 
 all the prizes. A military jjhrase. 
 Similarly, a high wind carries every- 
 thing before it. 
 
 Carry Fire in one Hand and Water 
 
 in the other (I'o). To say one thing 
 and mean another ; to flatter, to deceive ; 
 to lull suspicion in order the better to 
 work mischief. 
 
 " Altera mami fert afiuam, altera ignom. 
 Altera nianu fert lapideui, altera panem os- 
 tentat." J'lautiia. 
 
 Carry One's Point (To). To suc- 
 ceed in one's aim. Candidates in Rome 
 were balloted for, and the votes were 
 marked ou a tablet by points. Hence, 
 omne punctum ferre meant "to be 
 carrietl nem. con.,^'' or to gain every 
 vote; aud "to carry one's point" is 
 to carry off the points at which one 
 aimed. 
 
 Carry Out {T<i) or Carry tlirviafh. 
 To continue a project to its comijletion. 
 
 Carry out one's Bat (To). A 
 
 cricketer is said to carry out his bat 
 when he is not "out" at the close of 
 the game. 
 
 Carry Swords! Hold the drawn 
 sword vertically, the blade against the 
 shoulder. (A military command.) {_Sce 
 ((bore, Carey Arms.) 
 
 Carry the Day {To). To win the 
 
 contest ; to carry oif the honours of the 
 day. In Latin, rictoriam reporidrc.
 
 Carry Weight 
 
 219 
 
 Case 
 
 Carry Weight {To), in races, etc., 
 lueaus to equalise the weight of two or 
 more riders by adding weights to the 
 lighter ones, till both (or all) the riders 
 are made of one uniform weight. 
 '■ Ho' curries weislit ! be rides a race ! 
 'Tis fur a tUousaud pounds." 
 
 Coii'per : John Gilpin. 
 
 To carry u-e\ght. To have influence. 
 
 Cart before the Horse. To put the 
 
 cart before tlic horse is to reverse the 
 right order or allocation of things. 
 
 French : " Mettre la cbarrette avaiit les Ijceufs." 
 
 Latin : "Currus bovem traliit 
 PrjBpostere." 
 
 Greek: " Hysteron proteron."i 
 
 German: "Die pferde hinter den wagen spaii- 
 neti." 
 
 Italian : " Metter il carro inanzi ai buoi." 
 
 Carte Blanche (French). A blank 
 cheque signed by tlie giver, but left to 
 be tilled in by the receiver, with a sum 
 of money drawn on the bank-account of 
 the giver. Power to act at discretion in 
 an affair placed under your charge. 
 
 Carte de Visite (French). A visiting 
 card ; a pliotograjihic likeness on a card 
 for the albums of friends, etc. This 
 custom originated, in 1857, with the 
 Duke of Parma. 
 
 Cartesian Philosophy. The philo- 
 sophical system of Bene Descartes (Latin, 
 Carte'sius), of La Haye, in Touraine. 
 The basis of his system is cog'ito ergo 
 siiiii. Thought must proceed from soul, 
 and tlierefore man is not wholly ma- 
 terial ; that soul must be from some 
 Being not material, and that Being is 
 God. As for physical phenomena, they 
 must be the result of motion excited by 
 God, and these motions he termed 
 rortices. (1596-1650.) 
 
 V Of course, he begs the whole ques- 
 tion in his first assertion. (Sec Cogito.) 
 
 Carthage of the North. Lubeck 
 was so called, when it was the head of 
 the Hanseatic League. 
 
 Carthage'na. Capital of New Gra- 
 na'da, in South America, unsuccessfully 
 attacked in 1747 by Admiral Vernon. 
 "Wasteful, forth 
 
 "Walks the dire power of pestilent disease . . . 
 . iSiich as, of late, at Carthagena tiuencbed 
 
 The British lire. You, gallant Vernon, saw 
 
 The miserable scene ; you, pitying, saw 
 
 To infant-weakness sunk the warrior's arnj." 
 Tlwmson : Summer, WM-iX 
 
 Carthag'inem esse Delendam 
 
 (ceiiseo) were the words with which 
 Cato the Elder concluded every speech 
 in the Roman senate. More usually 
 quoted "■ Detoida est Carthago.^' They 
 are now proverbial, and mean, "That 
 which stands in the way of our great- 
 ness must be removed at all hazards." 
 
 Carthaginian Faith. Treachery. 
 
 (.SVc PuNiCA Fides.) 
 
 Carthu'sians. Founded, in 1086, 
 by St. Bruno, of Cologne, who, with 
 six companions, retired to the solitude 
 of La Chartreuse, near Greuo'ble, in 
 Vieune. 
 
 Cartoons. Designs drawn on cartone 
 (pasteboard), like those of EafFaelle, for- 
 merly at Hamilton Court, but now at 
 Kensington Museum. They were bought 
 by Charles 1., and are seven in number : 
 "The Miraculous Draught of Fishes," 
 "Feed my Lambs," "The Beautiful 
 Gate of the Temple," "Death of An- 
 aui'as," " El'ymas the Sorcerer," "Paul 
 at Lystra," and "Paul on the Mars 
 Hill." 
 
 " They were designs for tapestries to be worked 
 in Flanders."— ./«i'((i B. De Purest : dhort History of 
 An, p. iMe. 
 
 Cart'ridge Paper was originally 
 manufactured for soldiers' cartridges. 
 The word is a corruption of cartouche^ 
 from carta (paj)er). 
 
 Carya'tes or Caryat'ids. Figures of 
 women in Greek costume, used in archi- 
 tecture to support entablatures. Ca'- 
 ryae, in Arca'dia, sided with the Persians 
 in the battle of Thermop'ylfE ; in conse- 
 quence of which the victorious Greeks 
 destroyed the city, slew the men, and 
 made the women slaves. Praxit'eles, to 
 perpetuate the disgrace, employed figures 
 of these women, instead of columns. 
 [Sec page 72, col. 2, Atlantes ; page 208, 
 
 col. 2, CANEPHOEiB.) 
 
 Caryat'ic Order or Caryatid'ic 
 
 Order. Architecture in which Cary- 
 at'ids are introduced to support the 
 entablature. 
 
 Casabian'ca was the name of the 
 captain of the French man-of-war, 
 V Orient. At the battle of Aboukir, 
 having first secured the safety of his 
 crew, he blew up his ship, to prevent it 
 falling into the hands of the English. 
 His little son, refusing to leave him, 
 perished with his father. Mrs. Hemans 
 has made a ballad, Casabiaiica, on this 
 subject, modifyiug the incident. The 
 French poets Lebrun and Chenier have 
 also celebrated the occurrence. 
 
 Cas'ca. A blunt-witted Roman, one 
 of the conspirators against Julius Caesar. 
 {Shakespeare : Julias C'tesar.) 
 
 Case (To). To skin an animal. lu 
 the Cookcrg by Mrs. Glasse is the direc- 
 tion, " Take your hare when it is cased, 
 . . . and make a pudding ..." The 
 witticism, " First catch your hare," may 
 Ijossibly have been suggested by this
 
 Case-hardened 
 
 220 
 
 Cast Accounts 
 
 dii'ection, but it is not in the Ai't of 
 C'ookeri/ made I'iain and Euinj. 
 
 Case-hardened. Impenetrable to all 
 sense of honour or sliame. The allusion 
 is to iron toughened by carbonisinpr the 
 surface in contact with charcoal in a 
 case or closed box. It is done by heat. 
 
 Cashier' (2 syl.). To dismiss an officer 
 from the army, to discard from society. 
 (French, ca.sscr, to break ; Italian, cas- 
 sa'r'e, to blot out ; Ger. kassircii.) 
 "The ruling rof-'iie, -wlio rlreads to be caphiered, 
 
 L'ciiitrives, as lie is liaied, to lio fi^ared." 
 
 tSirift : Eiiiatlc to Mr. (liiii, line 137. 
 
 Casi'no. Originally, a little casa or 
 room near a theatre, where persons 
 might retire, after the play was over, 
 for dancing or music. 
 
 Casket Homer. Alexander the 
 Great's edition, with Aristotle's correc- 
 tions. After the battle of Arbe'la a 
 golden casket, studded with jewels, was 
 found in the tent of Dari'us. Alexan- 
 der, being asked to what purjiose it 
 should be applied, made answer, "There 
 is but one production in the world 
 worthy of so costly a depository," and 
 placed therein his edition of Homer, 
 which received from this circumstance 
 the term of Casket Homer. 
 
 Caspar. A huntsman who sold him- 
 self to Za'miel, the Black Huntsman. 
 The night before tlie expiration of his 
 lease of life he bargained for tliree 
 years' resi^ite on condition of bringing 
 Max into the power of the evil one. 
 Zamiel replied, "To-morrow either he 
 or you." On the day appointed for the 
 trial- shot, Caspar places himself in a 
 tree. Max is told by the prince to aim 
 at a dove. The dove flies to the tree 
 where Caspar is concealed. Max shoots 
 at the dove, but kills Caspar, and Zamiel 
 comes to carry off his victim. ( JFtkr^ti 
 Opera ofDer Frclschiitz.) 
 
 Cassan'dra. Daughter of Priam, 
 gifted with the power of proijliecy ; 
 but Apollo, whom she had offended, 
 brought it to pass that no one believed 
 her predictions. {Shakespeare : Troi/as 
 and Crcssida.) 
 
 "Tlidse wlio foresee and predict the downfall, 
 meet with the fate of Cassandra."— T/(c Times. 
 
 Cassa'tion. T7te court of cassatiou, 
 in France, is the court which can ca.sser 
 (or quash) the judgment of other courts. 
 
 Cassi. Inhabitants of what is now 
 Cassio hundred, Hertfordshire, referred 
 to by Cajsar in his Commcutarics. 
 
 Cassib'elan. Great-uncle to Cym- 
 beline. He granted Caesar a yearly 
 
 tribute of £3,000. {Shakespeare : Vijm- 
 
 heliiie.) 
 
 Cassio (in Sliakespcare's Othello). 
 Michael Cassio was a Florentine, and 
 Othello's lieutenant. lago made him 
 drunk, and then set on Roderi'go to 
 quarrel with him. Cassio wounded 
 Roderigo, and a brawl ensued, which 
 oil'euded Othello. Othello suspended 
 Cassio, but lago induced Desdcmo'na to 
 plead for his restoration. This interest 
 in Cassio, being regarded by the Moor as 
 a confirmation of Dosdoniona's illicit 
 love, liiiited at broadly liy lago, ])ro- 
 voked the jealousy of Othello. After 
 the death of the Moor, Cassio was ap- 
 pointed governor of Cyprus. 
 
 Cassiope'ia \the ladtj in the ehuir]. 
 The chief stars of this constellation form 
 the outline of a chair. The lady referred 
 to is the wife of Ce'pheus (2 syl.), King 
 of Ethiopia. She boasted that tlie 
 beauty of her daugliter AndromSda sur- 
 passed that of tlie sea-nymphs. The 
 .sea-nym2)hs complained to the sea god 
 of this aifront, and Andromeda, to 
 appease their wrath, was chained to a 
 rock to be devoured by sea-monsters. 
 Perseus (2 syl.) delivered her, and made 
 her his wife. The vain mother was taken 
 to heaven out of the way, and i^laced 
 among the stars. 
 
 " That starred Ethioii uneen thai strove 
 To set her heanly's praise above 
 The sea-nyniphs and their iiowers offenm ... 
 Miltun : II I'oiseroso. 
 
 N.B. — " Her beauty's praise " means 
 that of her beautiful daughter. An- 
 dromeda was her mother's " beauty." 
 
 Cassiter'ides (.) syl.).T]ie tin islnnds, 
 generally sujiposed to be the Scilly Is- 
 lands anil Cornwall, but probably tlie 
 isles in Vigo Bay are meant. It is said 
 that the Veneti procured tin from Corn- 
 wall, and carried it to the Isles of Vigo 
 Bay, but kept as a profound secret tlie 
 place from which they obtained it. The 
 Phoenicians were the chief customers of 
 the Veneti. 
 
 Cast About {To). To deliberate, to 
 consider, as, "I am casting about me 
 how I am to meet the expenses." A 
 sporting phrase. Dogs, when they have 
 lost scent, "cast for it," i.e. spread 
 out and search in different directions to 
 recover it. 
 
 Cast Accounts {To). To balance or 
 keep accounts. To cast i(p a line of 
 ff/ures is to add them together and set 
 down the sum they produce. To cast 
 or throw the value of one figure into 
 another till the whole number is totalled.
 
 Cast Anchor 
 
 221 
 
 Castle 
 
 Cast Anchor {To). To throw out 
 the anchor in order to bring the vessel 
 to a standstill. (Latin, ainhomiiijacSre.) 
 
 Cast Aside (To). To reject as 
 worthless. 
 
 Cast Down. Dejected. (Latin, clc- 
 
 jcctns.) 
 
 Cast a Sheep's Eye at One {To). 
 To look askance or sideways at one ; to 
 look wantonly at one. 
 
 Cast beyond the Moon. To form 
 wild conjectures. One of Heywood's 
 proverbs. At one time the moon was 
 supposed to influence the weather, to 
 affect the ingathering of fruits, to rule 
 the time of sowing, reaping, and slay- 
 ing cattle, etc. 
 
 "I talke rif tiling's iiiiiio5sil>Ic, and cast lieyoiul 
 tbe iiiijin.'' IJcyicoud. 
 
 Cast in One's Lot {To). To share 
 the good or bad fortune of another. 
 
 Cast into One's Teeth (To). To 
 throw a reproof at one. The allusion 
 is to knocking one's teeth out by stones. 
 
 " All my faults ubserved, set in a note liook, 
 Learned and conned liy rote, to cast into my 
 teeth." Shakespeare : Julius Ccesur. 
 
 Cast of the Eye {A). A squint. 
 One meaning of the word cast is to 
 twist or warp. Thus, a fabric is said 
 to "cast" when it warjis ; and seamen 
 speak of " casting," or turning the head 
 of a ship on the tack it is to sail. We 
 also speak of a "casting" or turning 
 vote. 
 
 " My goode bovve clene cast [twisted] on one 
 %\ie."—Ascham : Toxophilus. 
 
 Cast Pearls before Swine (To). 
 If pearls are cast to swine, the swine 
 would only trample them under foot. 
 
 Casting Vote. The vote of the pre- 
 siding officer when the votes of the 
 assembly are equal. This final vote 
 casts, turns, or determines the question. 
 
 Castagnette {Captai»). A hero 
 noted for having his stomach replaced 
 by Desgenettes by a leather one. His 
 career is ended by a bomb, which blows 
 liim into fragments. An extravaganza 
 from the French of Manuel. 
 
 Cas'taly. A fountain of Parnassus 
 sacred to the Muses. Its waters had the 
 power of inspii'iug with the gift of poetry 
 those who drank of them. 
 
 "The drooping Jliises [Sir Industry] 
 
 Brought Co another Castalie, 
 "Where Isis many a famous nursling breeds, 
 Or where old Cam soft iiaces o'er tlie lea 
 In iiensive mood." 
 
 Thomsan : Castle of Indolence, ii. 21. 
 
 "Isis" means the University of Oxford, 
 
 and "Cam" the University of Cam- 
 bridge, so called from the respective 
 rivers on which they stand. 
 
 Caste (1 syl.), race. The Portuguese 
 casta. In Sanskrit the word used for 
 the same purpose is rarna (colour). The 
 four Hindu castes are Brahmins (the 
 sacred order), Shatri'ya (soldiers and 
 rulers), Vaixi/'a (husbandmen and mer- 
 chants), Sudra (agricultural labourers 
 and mechanics). The first issued from 
 the mouth of Brahma, tlie second from 
 his arms, the third from his thighs, and 
 the fourth from his feet. Below these 
 come thirty-six inferior classes, to whom 
 the Vedas are sealed, and who are held 
 cursed in this world and without hope iu 
 the next. The Jews seem to have enter- 
 tained the same notion respecting the 
 common jjeople, and hence the Sanhe- 
 drim say to the officers, " This people, 
 who know not the law, are cursed." 
 (John vii. 49.) 
 
 To lose caste. To lose positioix in 
 EOcietJ^ To get degraded from one 
 caste to an inferior one. 
 
 Castle Builder {A). One who en- 
 tertains sanguine hopes. One who 
 builds air-castles which have no exis- 
 tence except iu a dreamy imagination. 
 
 {See heJon-.) 
 
 Castle in the Air. A splendid 
 edifice, but one which has no existence. 
 In fairy tales we often have these castles 
 built at a word, and vanishing as soon, 
 like that built for Aladdin by the Genius 
 of the Lamp. These air-castles are 
 called by the French Chateaux cV Espayne, 
 because Spain has no chateaux. We also 
 find the expression Chcbtcaux- en Asie for 
 a similar reason. {See Chateaux.) 
 
 Castle of Bungay {My). 
 
 " Were I in my Castle of Bungay 
 Vpon tlie riuer of Waueuey, 
 I would ue care for the Kiug of Cockney." 
 
 Attributed to Lord Bigod of Bungay. 
 The lines are in Camden's Britannia 
 (edit. 1607). The events referred to in 
 the ballad belong to the reign of Stephen 
 or Henry II. {See Bak-sub-Aube, page 
 100, col. 1.) 
 
 Castle of Indolence. In the land 
 of Drowsiness, where every sense is 
 steeped in enervating delights. The 
 owner of the castle was an enchanter, 
 who deprived all who entered his domains 
 of their energy and free-will. {Thomson : 
 Castle of Indolence.) 
 
 Castle Terabil (or "Terrible") in 
 Arthurian legends stood in Laimceston. 
 It had a steep keep environed with a
 
 Castor 
 
 222 
 
 Cat 
 
 triple wall. Sometimes called Duu- 
 heved Castle. It was within ten miles 
 of Tiutagel. 
 
 Castor. A hat. Castor is the Latin 
 for a beaver, and beaver means a hat 
 made of the beaver's skiu. 
 
 " Tom Trot 
 Took bis new castor from bis bead." 
 
 Randall : Diary. 
 
 Castor and Pollux. What we call 
 coinazajiis. Electric flames sometimes 
 seen in stormy weatlier playing about 
 the masts of sliijis. If only one flame 
 showed itself, the Romans called it Helen, 
 and said that it j)orteuded that the worst 
 of the storm was yet to come ; but two 
 or more luminous flames they called 
 Cdxtor and PoIIkx, and said that they 
 boded tlie termination of the storm. 
 
 But when tbe sons of Leda shed 
 Tbeir star-lamps on our vessel's bead, 
 Tbe storm-winds cease, tbe troubled spray 
 Falls from tbe rocks, clouds tlee away, 
 And on the bosom of tho deep 
 Id peace the angry billows sleep. E. C. B. 
 Horace : t Odes xii., l'7-3l'. 
 
 Castor's Horse. Cyll'aros. Virgil 
 ascribes him to Pollux. (Geor., iii.) 
 (<S'«; Horse.) 
 
 Cas'uist (3 syl.). One who resolves 
 casHu cutiscicjiiuc (cases of conscience). 
 M. le Pevre calls casuistry " the art of 
 quibbhng with God." 
 
 Casus Belli (Latin). A ground for 
 war ; an occurrence warranting inter- 
 national hostilities. 
 
 Cat. Called a "familiar," from the 
 mediasval superstition that Satan's fa- 
 vourite form was a black cat. Hence 
 " witches " were said to have a cat as 
 their familiar. 
 
 Cat. A symbol of liberty. The Roman 
 goddess of Liberty was represented as 
 holding a cup in one hand, a broken 
 sceptre in the other, and with a cat 
 lying at her feet. No animal is so great 
 an enemy to all constraint as a cat. 
 
 Cat. Held in veneration by the Egyp- 
 tians under the name of ^lu'rus. This 
 deity is rej)resented with a human body 
 and a cat's head. Diodo'rus tells us that 
 whoever killed a cat, even by accident, 
 was by the Egyptians punished by death. 
 According to Egyptian tradition, Diana 
 assumed the form of a cat, and thus ex- 
 cited the fury of the giants. 
 
 The London Reriew says the Egyptians 
 worshipped the cat as a symbol of the 
 moon, not only because it is more active 
 after sunset, but from the dilation and 
 contraction of its pupil, symbolical of the 
 waxing and waning of the night-goddess. 
 {See Puss. ) 
 
 Hang me in a bottle like a cat. {Much 
 
 Ado about Xothlnr/, i. 1.) In olden 
 times a cat was for sjjort enclosed in a 
 bag or leather bottle, and hinig to the 
 branch of a tree, as a mark for ))owmeu 
 to shoot at. Steevens tells us of another 
 sport : "A cat was placed in a soot bag, 
 aud hung on a hue ; the players had to 
 beat out the bottom of the bag without 
 getting besmudged, and he wlio suc- 
 ceeded in so doing was allowed to hunt 
 the cat afterwards. 
 
 Some . . . are mad if they behold n cat. 
 {Merehant of Venice, \y. 1.) Henri III. 
 of France swooned if he caught sight of 
 a cat, and Napoleon I. showed a morbid 
 horror of the same ; so did one of the 
 Ferdinands, Emperor of Germany. (.SVf 
 Antipathy, page oo ; Pig.) 
 
 Cat-call. A kind of whistle used at 
 theatres by the audience to express dis- 
 pleasure or impatience. A hideous noise 
 like the call or wutd of a cat. 
 
 " I was very much surprised with tbe great 
 consort of cat-calls .... to see so many persons 
 of iniality of liotli sexes assembled togetlier at a 
 kind of caterwaulinf,'." — jl(Jrfi8u?i, .Spectator, 'Sit. 
 am. 
 
 Cat-eyed. Able to see in the dark. 
 ('a/\s ei/e is an opalescent mineral gem. 
 
 Cat Jumps (T/ie). See how the cat 
 jumps, " wliich way the wind blows"; 
 which of two alternatives is likely to be 
 the successful one before you give any 
 opinion of its merit or adhesion to it, 
 either moral or otherwise. The allusion 
 is to the game called tip-cat. Before 
 you strike, you must observe which way 
 the " cat " has jumped up. 
 
 *,* We are told that our forefathers 
 had a cruel sport, which consisted in 
 placing a cat in a tree as a mai k to shoot 
 at. A wily sportsman would, of course, 
 wait to see which way it jumped before 
 he shot at lier. This sort of sport was 
 very like that of hanging two cats by 
 their tails over a rope. {See page 224, 
 Kilkenny Cat.) 
 
 " He soon saw which way the cat ilid jump, 
 Aud bis conuiany he offered plump.'' 
 The Uoffs-ment Man (See Vnivcrsal Songster, 18'-'5.) 
 
 Cat Stane. Battle stone. A mono- 
 lith in Scotland (sometimes wrongly called 
 a Druidical .stone). The Norwegian 
 term, baiita stein, means the same thing. 
 (Celtic, cath, battle.) 
 
 Cat and Dog. To lire a cat and 
 dor/ life. To be always snarling and 
 quarrelling, as a cat aud dog, whose 
 aversion to each other is intense. 
 
 "There will be jealousies, aud a cat-and-dog 
 life over yonder worse than e\er."—Carl!jle: 
 Frederick the Great tvul. ii. book ix. p. 346.). 
 
 It is raining cats and dogs. Very 
 heavily. We sometimes say, "It is
 
 Cat 
 
 223 
 
 Cat Proverbs 
 
 raining pitchforks," wliich is the French 
 locution, " // toinbe des hallcbardcs." 
 
 Cat and Fiddle, a public-house sign, 
 is a corruption of Catou le fiddle, mean- 
 ing Caton, Governor of Calais. 
 
 Cat and Kittens. A public-house 
 sign, alluding to the pewter-pots so 
 called. Stealing these pots is termed 
 "Cat and kitten sneaking." We still 
 call a large kettle a kitchen, and .speak 
 of a soldier's kit. (Saxon, ('ytcl, a pot, 
 pan, or vessel generally.) 
 
 Cat and Tortoise, or Boar and Sow. 
 Names given to the testu'do. 
 
 Cat has nine Lives {A). {Sec under 
 Nine. ) 
 
 Cat i' the Adage {The). The adage 
 referred to is, the cat loves fish, but does 
 not like to wet her j)aws. 
 
 " Letting ' I dare not' wait upon ' I wouUl,' 
 Like tlie poor cat i' tlie aiiaae." 
 1 Slidkcspcdre : Macbeth, i. ". 
 
 Cat may look at a King {A). An 
 insolent remark of insubordination, 
 meaning,,"! am as good as you" ; or 
 ' ' Are you too mighty to be spoken to or 
 looked at ? " " You may wear stars and 
 ribbons, and I may be dressed in hodden 
 grey, but a man's a man for a' that." 
 
 Cat-o'-nine-tails. A whip, first with 
 three, then with six, and lastly with 
 nine lashes, used for punishing offenders, 
 and briefly called a cat. Lilburn was 
 scourged, in 1G37, with a whip having 
 only three lashes, but there were twenty 
 knots in each tail, and, as he received a 
 lash every three paces between the Fleet 
 and Old Palace Yard, Cook says that 
 60,000 strijDes were inflicted. Titus Gates 
 was scoui-ged, in the reign of James II., 
 with a cat having six lashes, and, between 
 Newgate and Tyburn, received as many 
 as 17,000 lashes. The cat-o'-nine-tails 
 once used in the British army and 
 navy is no longer employed there, but 
 garotters and some other offenders are 
 still scourged. Probably the punish- 
 ment was first used on board ship, wliere 
 ropes would be handy, and several ropes 
 are called cats, as " cat-harpings,'' for 
 bracing the shrouds ; " cat-falls," which 
 pass over the cat-head and communicate 
 with the cat-block, etc. The French 
 martinet {q.v.) had twelve leather 
 thongs. 
 
 Cat Proverbs. 
 
 A cat has nine lives. A cat is more 
 tenacious of life than other animals, 
 because it generally lights upon its feet 
 without injury, the foot and toes being | 
 
 padded so as to break the fall. 
 
 Nine.) 
 
 {See 
 
 " Tiib. WLiat wouldsf tliou liave with me ' 
 Mer. Good kins of cats, uotliina but one of your 
 nine lives." 
 
 Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, iii. 1. 
 
 All eats love fish. {See previous column, 
 Cat i' the Adage.) 
 
 Before the cat can lick her car — i.e. 
 before the Greek kalends. Never. No 
 cat can Lick her ear. {See Never.) 
 
 Care killed the cat. {See page 216, 2, 
 Care.) 
 
 In the dark all cats are f/rai/. All 
 persons are undistinguished till they 
 have made a name. 
 
 Not room to swing a cat. Swinging 
 cats as a mark for sportsmen was at one 
 time a favourite amusement. Timers 
 were several varieties of this diversion. 
 Sometimes two cats were swung by their 
 tails over a rope. Sometimes a cat was 
 swung to the bough of a tree in a bag 
 or sack. Sometimes it was enclosed in 
 a leather bottle. 
 
 Sick as a cat. Cats are very subject 
 to vomiting. Hence the vomit of a 
 drunkard is called " a cat," and the act 
 of discarding it is called " shooting the 
 cat." 
 
 let the cat out of the hag. To disclose 
 a secret. It was formerly a trick among 
 country folk to substitute a cat for a 
 sucking-i^ig, and bring it in a bag to 
 market. If any greenhorn chose to buy 
 a "pig in a poke " without examination, 
 all very well ; but if be opened the sack, 
 " he let the cat out of the bag," and the 
 trick was disclosed. 
 
 " She let the cat out of her bag of verse . . . 
 she almost proposed to her hero in rhyme."— 
 George ileiedith : The EgotiM, iii. 
 
 To bell the cat. {See page 119, Bell.) 
 To turn cat-in-pan. To turn traitor, 
 to be a turncoat. The phrase seems 
 to be the French tourner cote oi peine (to 
 tuni .sides in trouble). I do not think it 
 refers to turning pancakes. 
 
 " When Genrse in piuUlins-tinie came o'er 
 And moderate men looked liiff, sir. 
 I turned a cat-in-pan once more, 
 And so became a Whif;, sir." 
 
 Vicar of Braij. 
 ■.' Bacon says, " There is a cunning which we in 
 England call the turning of the cat in the pan; 
 which is. when that which a mau says to another, 
 he says it as if another had said it to him." 
 
 Touch not a cat bat a glove. Here 
 "but" is used in its original meaning 
 of " beout," i.e. without. (For another 
 example of " but " meaning without, see 
 Amos iii. 7.) The words are the motto 
 of Mackintosh, whose crest is " cat-a- 
 mountain salient guardant proper ' ' ; 
 supporters, two cats proper. The whole 
 is a pun on the word Catti, the Teutonic
 
 Cat Proverbs 
 
 22i 
 
 Catacomb 
 
 settlers of Caithness, i.r. Catti-ness, 
 aud meau, "Touch not the chiu Cattan 
 or Mountain Cat without a glaive." 
 The same words are the adopted motto 
 of Grant of Ballindalloch, aud are ex- 
 plained by the second motto, ciit<c ct 
 an'imo. 
 
 In French : On ne prend pas tol chat sans 
 nioufles. 
 
 What can you have of a cat but her 
 skill > The thing is useless for any pur- 
 pose but one. In former times the 
 cat's fur was used for trimming cloaks 
 aud coats, but the flesh is utterly use- 
 less. 
 
 Who ate the cat ? A gentleman who 
 had his larder frequently assailed by 
 bargees, had a cat cooked and placed 
 there as a decoy. It was taken like the 
 other foods, and became a standing jest 
 against these larder pilferers. 
 
 A Cheshire cat. He ffrlns like a 
 Chrsliire cat. Cheese was fonneriy sold 
 in Cheshire moulded like a cat. The 
 allusion is to the grinning cheese-cat, 
 but is applied to f)ersons who show their 
 teeth and gums when they laugh. (See 
 AJice in Wonderland.) 
 
 A Kitkcnni/ cat. The story is that, 
 during the rebellion of Ireland, Kil- 
 kenny was garrisoned by a troop of 
 Hessian soldiers, who amused them- 
 selves m barracks by tying two ca'.s 
 together by their tails aud throwing 
 them across a clothes-line to fight. The 
 officers, hearing of this, resolved to jnit 
 a stop to the practice. The look-out 
 man, enjoying the sport, did not observe 
 the officer on duty ajiproachiug the bar- 
 racks; but oue of the troopers, more 
 quick-sighted, seizing a sword, cut the 
 two tails, aud the cats made their 
 escape. When the officer inquired the 
 meaning of the two bleeding tails, he 
 was coolly told that two cats had been 
 fighting aud had devoured each other 
 all but the tails. 
 
 V Whatever the true story, it is 
 certain that the municiiialities of Kil- 
 keuuy aud Irishtown contended so 
 stoutly about their resjiective bound- 
 aries aud rights to the end of the 
 seventeenth century, that they mutually 
 imijoverished each other, leaving little 
 else than " two tails " behind. 
 
 Whittington''s cat. A cat is a ship 
 formed on the Norwegian model, having 
 a narrow stern, projecting quarters, and 
 deep waist. It is strongly built, aud 
 used in the coal trade. Harrison speaks 
 of it as a ' ' cat " or " catch . ' ' Accortling 
 to tradition, Sir Richard Whittington 
 made his money by trading in coals, 
 
 which he conveyed in his "cat" from 
 Newcastle to Loudon. The black faces 
 of his coal-heavers gave rise to the tale 
 about the Moors. In confirmation of 
 this suggestion, it may be added that 
 Whittington was Lord Mayor in 1397, 
 and coal was first made an article of 
 trade from Newcastle to Loudon in 
 1381. 
 
 Cat's Cradle. A child's play, with 
 a piece of twine. Corruj)t for cratch - 
 cradle or manger cradle, iu which the 
 infant Saviour was laid. Cratch is the 
 French creche (a rack or manger), aud 
 to the present liour the racks which 
 stand in fields for cattle to cat from are 
 called cratches. 
 
 Cat's Foot. To lire under the cat''s 
 foot. To be under petticoat government ; 
 to be henpecked. A mouse under the 
 paw of a cat lives but by sufferance and 
 at the cat's pleasure. 
 
 Cat's Melody {The). Squalling. 
 
 "The ( liililri'M were playinj,- tlio rat's nieh)dy to 
 keep I heir liidlier In CiHinleiiaiice."— U'. B. Yeatu -. 
 Fiiirn ■J'lilc-iofihe Iiit^li riitsdiitrii, p. L'.'iK. 
 
 Cat's Paw. To be made a cafs paw 
 of, i.e. the tool of another, the medium 
 of doing another's dirty work. The 
 allusion is to the fable of the monkey 
 who wanted to get from the fire some 
 roasted chestnuts, aud took the paw of 
 the cat to get them from the hot ashes. 
 
 " I hail nil intention iif beconiinK a cat's paw to 
 (li-aw EuiMpean rhestnuis out of the llie.'— Com. 
 Jlorhirrs. 
 
 At sea, light air during a cahn causing 
 a rij^ple on the water, and indicating a 
 storm, is called by sailors a cafs paw, 
 and seamen affirm that the frolics of a 
 cat indicate a gale. These are relics of 
 a superstition that cats are witches or 
 demons in disguise. 
 
 Cat's Sleep. A sham sleeji, like that 
 of a cat watching a mouse. 
 
 Cats. 
 
 Mistress Tofts, the singer, left legacies 
 at death to twenty cats. 
 " Xnt Niolie nionrnerl more for fourteen Iirats, 
 Isor Mistress Tofts, to leave her twenty cats." 
 I'etcr Pindar: VM Simon. 
 
 Catacomb. A subterranean place 
 for the burial of the dead. The Persians 
 have a city they call Comb or Cooiii, full 
 of mausoleums and the sepulchres of 
 the Persian saints. (Greek, kata-humbe, 
 a hollow place imderground. ) {See 
 
 KOOM.) 
 
 " The most awful idea connected with the cata- 
 combs is their interminable extent, and the 
 possibility of going astray in the labyrinth of 
 darkness."— ifaiftftorne : Marble Faun, iii.
 
 Catalan 225 
 
 Catai'an (3 syl.). A native of Cathay 
 or China ; outlandish, a foreigner gener- 
 ally, a liar. 
 
 " I will not believe such a Catalan, tbougb tlie 
 priest of the town coniuiended bim for a true 
 nmn."— Shakespeare : Merry ]\'ives, ii. 1. 
 
 Catalogue Raisonn^ (French). A 
 catalogue of hooks arranged under suh- 
 jects. 
 
 Catamaran. A scraggy old woman, 
 a vixen ; so called l)y a play on the first 
 syllable. It projjerly means a raft con- 
 sisting of three sticks, lashed together 
 with ropes ; used on the coasts of Coro- 
 mandel and Madras. 
 
 "No, you old catamaran, tliouglt you pretend 
 
 you ne\ er read novels "—Thackeray : Lovel 
 
 the Widower, cbap. i. 
 
 Cataphryg'ians. Christian heretics, 
 who arose in the second century ; so 
 called because the first lived in I'hryc/ia. 
 They followed the errors of Monta'nus. 
 
 Catarrh. A cold in the head. The 
 word means a down-running ; from the 
 Greek hainrrhco (to flow down). 
 
 Catastrophe (4 sji.). A turning 
 upside down. The tennination of a 
 drama is always a " turning upside 
 down " of the beginning of the plot. 
 (Greek, hatn-drepho. ) 
 
 Catch. 
 
 To lie upon the cciic/i. To lie in wait. 
 " Quid me captas?^^ 
 
 " Tbey sent certain of tbe Pharisees .... to 
 catch Him in His words."— 3frtrfc .\ii. Here the 
 Greek word is aypevot, to take by hunting. Tbey 
 were to lie upon tbe catch till tbey found occasion 
 against Him. 
 
 YouUl catch- it. You'll get severely 
 punished. Here "it" stands for the 
 indefinite punishment, such as a whijo- 
 ping, a scolding, or other unjileasant 
 consequence. 
 
 Catch a Crab (To). In rowing, is to 
 be struck with the handle of one's oar ; 
 to fall backwards. This occurs when 
 the rower leaves his oar too long in the 
 water before repeating the stroke. In 
 Italian grancMo is a crab, and pigliar il 
 (jranchio is to "catch a crab," or a 
 Tartar. 
 
 Catch a Tartar. The biter bit. 
 Grose says an Irish soldier in the Im- 
 perial service, in a battle against the 
 Turks, shouted to his comrade that he 
 had caught a Tartar. ' ' Bring him along, 
 then," said his mate. '"But he won't 
 come," cried Paddy. " Then come along 
 yourself," said his comrade. " Arrahl " 
 
 15 
 
 Catclipole 
 
 replied Paddy, "I wish I could, but he 
 won't let me." 
 
 "We are like tbe man who boasted of having 
 caught a Tartar, when the fact was that tbe 
 Tartar had cnugbt h\m."—Ciiiitions for the Times. 
 
 Catch as Catch can. Get by hook 
 or crook all you can. 
 
 "All must catch that catch can" — Johnson : 
 Rambler, No. VJi. 
 
 Catch Me at It! Most certainly I 
 shall never do what you say. 
 
 "'Catch uie going to Lond(ra!' exclaimed 
 Vi.xen."— .l/(ss Braddon : Vixen. 
 
 Catch the Speaker's Eye (To). To 
 find the eye of the Speaker fixed on you ; 
 to be observed by the Speaker. Iii the 
 House of Commons the member on 
 whom the eye of the Speaker is fixed 
 has the privilege of addi-essiug the 
 House. 
 
 " He succeeded in catching the Speaker's eye." 
 —A. Trollopc. 
 
 Catch Out (To). In cricket, is to 
 catch the ball of a bat.sman, whereby 
 the striker is ruled out, that is, must re- 
 linquish his bat. 
 
 Catch your Hare (First). It is 
 generally believed that "Mrs. Glasse," 
 in her Coo/ccri/ Boo/c, gave this direction ; 
 but the exact words are, "Take your 
 hare when it is cased, and make a pud- 
 ding, . . . etc." To "case" means to 
 take off the skin. Thus, in AlPs Well 
 that E)uts Well, iii. 6, we have these 
 words, "We'll make you some sport with 
 the fox ere we case him." Sea tch also 
 means to skin, and this word gave rise 
 to the misquoted catch. Though scatch 
 and case both mean to skin, yet the 
 word used in the book referred to is case, 
 not scatch. Mrs. Glasse was the pen- 
 name of Dr. John Hill (1716-1775), 
 author of 21>e Coolicry Booh. (iSee Case.) 
 
 Bracton, however (book iv. tit. i. 
 chap. xxi. sec. 4), has these words : 
 " Vulgariter dicititr, quod primo oportet 
 ccrviDii capere, et poatca (cum captiis 
 fiierit) illam ea-coriare.'" 
 
 *« The "Welsh word each = ordiu'e, 
 dung, and to each (cackii) would be to 
 clean and gut the hare. 
 
 Catch-Club. A member of the Catch- 
 cli(b. A bum-bailiff, a tij)staff, a con- 
 stable. The pun is obvious. 
 
 Catchpenny. A worthless article 
 puffed off to catch the pennies of those 
 who are foolish enough to buy them. 
 
 Catchpole. A constable ; a law 
 officer whose business it was to appre- 
 hend criminals. Pole or poll means 
 head, person ; and the word means one
 
 Catch "Weiglits 
 
 226 
 
 Catharine "Wheels 
 
 who catches persons by the poll or neck. 
 This was done by means of an instru- 
 ment something like a shepherd's crook. 
 
 "CaccUepnles, from cntch and pole, because 
 these ofticers lay linkl nf a mans neck.''— M'idt''; 
 New Ttstameitt (Acts xvi., Glossary^ 
 
 Catch Weights, in racing, means 
 without restrictions as to weight. 
 
 Catch-word. A popular cry, a word 
 or a i^hrase adopted by any party for 
 political or other purposes. "Three 
 acres and a cow," "A living wage," 
 are examples. 
 
 Catch-word. Tlie first word on any 
 page of a book or manuscript which is 
 printed or Avritten at the foot of the 
 preceding page. In the early days of 
 printing the catch-word was generally 
 used, but for the last two himdred years 
 the practice has been gradually dying 
 out. Its purpose was, among other 
 things, to enable the reader to avoid an 
 awkward pause when turning over a 
 leaf. The first book so printed was a 
 Tacitus, by John de Spii'a, 1-1G9. 
 
 Catch-word. In theatrical parlance, 
 is the last word or so of the previous 
 speaker, which is the cue of the per^n 
 who follows. 
 
 Catechu'men {^Icat'ij-kn'mcii']. One 
 taught by word of mouth (Greek, kate- 
 chou'inows). Those about to be bap- 
 tised in the early Church were first 
 taught by word of mouth, and then 
 catechised on their religious faith and 
 duties. 
 
 Cater-cousin. An intimate fiiend ; 
 a remote kinsman. (French, quaire- 
 coHsiu, a foiu'th cousin). 
 
 "His master and lie, saving your worsliip's 
 reverence, are scarce cater-cousins."— .^/inA-e- 
 speare : Merchant of Venice, ii. j'. 
 
 Caterpillars. Soldiers. In 1745 a 
 soldier, quartered at Derby, was desired 
 by the landlord to call on him whenever 
 he passed that way, for, added Boniface, 
 ' ' I consider soldiers the pillars of the 
 state." When the rebellion was jmt 
 down, it so happened that tlie same 
 regiment was quartered in Derby, and 
 the soldier called on his old host, but 
 was very coldly and somewhat im- 
 civilly received. The soldier reminded 
 Boniface of what he said at parting — " I 
 consider soldiers the pillars of the state." 
 "Did I say so?" said mine host, "Well, 
 I meant cater-piUars. " 
 
 Caterwauling. The wawl or wrawl 
 of cats ; the cr being either a plural, 
 
 similar to "childer" {cliildrcn), or a 
 corrupted genitive. 
 
 "What a caterwauline do vou keep here!" — 
 Sliake.'peare : Twelfth Xiiihf,i\.S. 
 
 Catgut. A contracted form of cat tie - 
 gut, especially sheep. Another form is 
 catliiif/-gui, i.e. cattle-iug gut. In Gen. 
 XXX. 40 we read that Jacol) did separate 
 " his own flocks by themselves, and put 
 them not unto Laban's cattle [i.e. 
 sheep]." Again, in xxxi. 9, Jacob said, 
 " God hath taken away the cattle [sheep 
 and lambs] of your father, and given 
 them to me ; " and verse 43 he saj-s, 
 " These cattle [sheep and lambs] are my 
 cattle." 
 
 *.' Musical strings never were made 
 from the gut of a cat. 
 
 Catgut Scraper (A). A fiddler. 
 
 Cath'ari. Novatian heretics. The 
 Waldenses were subsequently so called. 
 {DueaiKje : vol. ii. p. 288, col. 2.) 
 
 Cath'arine. To braid St. Catharine'' s 
 tresses. To Hve a virgin. 
 
 "Tliou art loo fair to be left to braid St. Catha- 
 rines tresses." Lougfelloio : Evuuijctine. 
 
 Catharine {Knights of St.), 1714. A 
 Russian military order founded by Peter 
 the Great after his naval victory of 
 Aland, and so named in compliment to 
 his wife Catharine. 
 
 Catharine of Kussia. A sutler. 
 When Czar Peter wished to marry her, 
 it was needful to make her of noble 
 birth ; so a private person was first con- 
 verted into her brother, and then into a 
 great lord by birth. Hence Catharine, 
 being the sister of a " great lord," was 
 made fit to be the wife of the Czar. 
 {I)e Casinc : Russia, chap, iv.) 
 
 Catharine Theot (172o-179o). A 
 visionary born at Avranches, who gave 
 herself out to be (like Joanna Southcott) 
 the mother of God, and changed her 
 name Theot into Theos (God). She 
 preached in Paris in 1794, at the very 
 time that the worshij) of the Supreme 
 Being was instituted, and declared that 
 Robespierre was the forerumier of tlie 
 WORD. The Comite de la Siirete 
 Generale had her arrested, and she was 
 guillotined. Catharine Theot was called 
 by Dom Gerle " la mere ilc dieu,^^ and 
 Catharine called Robespierre " her well- 
 beloved son and chief prophet." 
 
 Catharine Wheel {A). A sort of 
 firework. {See below.) 
 
 Catharine Wheels. To turn Cath- 
 arine Wheels. To turn head over heels
 
 Catharine-'wlieel 
 
 227 
 
 Catholic 
 
 on the hands. Boys in the streets, etc., 
 often do so to catch a penny or so from 
 trippers and others. 
 
 A Cathar'iHc-whcd irindoic. A wheel- 
 window, sometimes called a rose- win- 
 dow, with radiating divisions. St. 
 Catharine was a virgin of royal descent 
 in Alexandria, who publicly confessed 
 the Christian faith at a sacrificial feast 
 appointed by the Emperor Maximi'nus, 
 for wliich confession she was put to 
 death by torture by means of a wheel 
 like that of a chaff-cutter. 
 
 Catharine-wheel Politicians. 
 
 Lovers of political changes. 
 
 Catharine- wheel Republics. "Ee- 
 publics," says Mr. Lowell, '"always in 
 revolution wliile the powder lasts." 
 
 Cath'arists. A sect of the Mani- 
 cheans ; so called from their professed 
 purit]) of faith. (Greek, knth'aros, pure.) 
 They maintained that matter is the 
 source of all evil : that Christ had not a 
 real body ; that the human body is in- 
 capable of newness of Ufe ; and that the 
 sacraments do not convey grace, ijice 
 Diicange : vol. ii. p. 289, col. 1.) 
 
 Cathay'. China, or rather Tartary, 
 the capital of which was Albrac'ca, ac- 
 cording to Orlando Furioso. It was 
 called Khita'i by the Tartars, and China 
 was first entered by Europeans in the 
 Middle Ages from the side of Tartarj-. 
 
 '■Better fifty years of Eiimiie than a cycle of 
 Cathay." Ti/iinysuii : Locksley Hall. 
 
 Cathedrae Molles (Latin). Luxu- 
 rious women. Pro25erly, soft chairs. 
 The cathedra was a chair for women, 
 like our ottoman : and Juvenal applies 
 the soft chair used by women of dainty 
 habits to the women who use them. 
 
 Cathedrals of the Old Founda- 
 tion. Those which have never been 
 monastic, but which have ab initio been 
 governed by a dean and chapter, with 
 the statutable dignities of jjrecentor, 
 chancellor, and treasurer. 
 
 Catherans or Caterai/s. Highland 
 freebooters or marauders. (Lowland 
 Scotch, catherein, peasantry.) 
 
 Catherine. {Sec Cathaei>-e.) 
 
 Catholic {The). " Cafholicus," a 
 title inlierited by the King of Spain ; as 
 the monarch of England is entitled 
 "Fidei Defensor," and the Kiug of 
 France was styled " Christianissimus." 
 {Sec page 228, Catholic Majesty.) 
 
 Catholic Association {The), 1756. 
 The first Catholic Association was formed 
 
 for the purpose of obtaining relief from 
 disabilities. In 1760 the association was 
 re-established on a more representative 
 basis, but it became moribimd in 1763. 
 Another association was organised in 
 1773, which fell under the control of 
 Lord Kenmare : this society was broken 
 up 1783. In 1793 a new society was 
 formed on a still wider basis, and Wolfe 
 Tone was elected secretary. In 1 793 the 
 Catholic Relief Bill received the Eoyal 
 Assent. 
 
 In Ireland, 1823 ; suppressed 182o (6 
 Geo. iv. c. 4) ; dissolved itself February, 
 1829. The association was first suggested 
 by Daniel O'Connell at a dinner-party 
 given by Mr. O'Mara at Glaucullen, and 
 on Monday, May 12th, the first meeting 
 of the association was held in Dempsey's 
 Rooms, Sackville Street. It became one of 
 the most powerful ^jopular movements 
 ever organised. The objects were : (1) to 
 forward petitions to Parliament ; (2) to 
 afford relief to Catholics assailed by 
 Orange lodges ; (3) to support a Liberal 
 press both in Dublin and London ; (4) 
 to circulate cheap publications ; (.5) to 
 aid the Irish Catholics of America ; and 
 (6) to aid English Catholics. Indirectly 
 it undertook the repeal of the Union, 
 and the redress of Irish grievances 
 generally. Everj'one who paid Id. a 
 month was a member. {See Catholic 
 Emaxcipatiox.) 
 
 Catholic Church ( The) . The Church 
 considered as a whole, as distinguished 
 from parish churches. When the Wes- 
 tern Chiu-ch broke off from the Eastern, 
 the Eastern Church called itself the 
 Orthodox Church, and the Western 
 Church adopted the tenn Catholic. At 
 the Reformation the Western Churcli 
 was called by the Refonners the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and the British Estab- 
 lished Church was called the "Protes- 
 tant Church," the " Reformed National 
 Church," or the '' Anglo - Catholic 
 Church." It is foolish and misleadirig 
 to call the Anglican Church the Catholic 
 Church, as at most it is only a branch 
 thereof. No Protestant would think of 
 calling himself a Catholic. 
 
 Catholic Emancipation Act {TJu). 
 10 Geo. IV. c. 7, April i;;t)i, 18--'!i, 
 whereby Catholics were admitted to all 
 corporate offices, and to an equal enjoy- 
 ment of all municipal rights. The anny 
 and navy had been already opened to 
 them. They were, however, excluded 
 from the following offices: (1) Regent; 
 
 (2) Chancellor of England or Ireland ; 
 
 (3) Viceroy of Ireland ; (4) all ofBccs
 
 Catholic Epistles 
 
 228 
 
 Catted 
 
 connected with the Church, universities, 
 and public schools ; and (o) the disposal 
 of Church i^atrouage. 
 
 Catholic Epistles (The) of the New 
 Testament are those Epistles not ad- 
 dressed to any jiarticular church or 
 individual. Conventionally they are 
 seven— viz. 1 James, 2 Peter, 1 Judo, 
 and 3 John ; but 2 John is addressed to 
 a "lady," and 3 John to Gains, and, of 
 course, are not Catholic Epistles either 
 in matter or otherwise. 
 
 Catholic King (^Tltc) or His C'athuUc 
 Mdjoitij. A title given by the Pope to 
 Ferdinand, King of Aragou (l-l'Vi, 1474- 
 lolG), for exjiclling the Moors from 
 Spain. 'Ihis was about as unwise as 
 the revocation of the Edict of Nantes >)y 
 Louis XIV. 
 
 Catholic League {The), 1614. A 
 confederacy of Catholics to counter- 
 balance the Evangelic League {q.r.) of 
 Bohemia. The two Leagues kept Ger- 
 many iu perpetual disturbance, and 
 ultimately kd to the Tliirty Years' War 
 (1618-1648). 
 
 Catholic Majesty, 759. A title 
 given by Gregory III. to Alfonso I., 
 King of Asturias. 
 
 Catholic Relief. [Hve Catholic 
 Association.) 
 
 Catholic Rent (77^0, l^'^'^-'^- The 
 subscriiitiou of Id. jier month towards 
 the expenses of the Catholic Association 
 
 Catholic Roll {The). A document 
 which each Roman Catholic was obliged 
 to swear to on taking his seat as a 
 Member of Parliament. It was abolished, 
 and a single oatli prescribed to all 
 members by the 29, 30 Victoria, c. 19 
 (1866). 
 
 Catholi'con. A panace'a. (Greek, 
 katholkoii iaiiia, a universal remedy.) 
 
 "Meanvbile, permit me tn recommend, 
 As the matter admits of no delay, 
 ;M.v wonderful catLolicon." 
 
 LuwjfeUoii; : 'Die Golden Legend, i. 
 
 Catholicos. The head of the Assy- 
 rian Nestorians. Now called the 
 Patriarch of Armenia. 
 
 Catiline's Conspiracy. Lucius 
 Sergius Catiliua, B.C. 64, conspired with 
 a large nvimber of dissolute young nobles 
 to plunder the Eoman treasury, extir- 
 pate the senate, and fire the capitol. 
 Cicero, who was consul, got full infor- 
 mation of the plot, and delivered his 
 first Oration against Catiline November 
 
 8th, 63, whereupon Catiline quitted 
 Rome. Next day Cicero delivered his 
 second Oration, and several of the con- 
 spirators were arrested. On December 
 4th Cicero made his third Oration, 
 respecting what punishment shoidil be 
 accorded to the consi^irators. And on 
 December .'ith, after his fourth Oration, 
 sentence of death was jmssed. Catiline 
 tried to escape into Gaul, but, being 
 intercepted, he was slain fighting, B.C. 
 64. 
 
 Catilines and Cethe'gi {Tin). Sy- 
 nonyms for conspirators who liope to 
 mend their fortunes by rebellion. 
 
 "The !iitri,;,'iies of a few imp iverislicd Catilines 
 and CethL'b'i."— j;o»(')/; Dutch Itipiibliv. 
 
 Catius. In Pope's floral Essen/s 
 (Ejiist. i. ), inteuded for Charles Darti- 
 neuf, a kind of Lucullus, who preferred 
 "A rogue with venison to a rogue 
 without." 
 
 Catkins. The inflorescence of hazel, 
 birch, willow, and some other trees ; fo 
 called from their resemblance to a cat's 
 tail. 
 
 " See the yellow catkins cover 
 All the slender willows over." 
 Martj llowitt : Vvice ofSfirintj, stanza I'. 
 
 Cat-lap. Milk or weak tea, only fit 
 for the cat to lap. 
 
 " A more accomplished old wim an never drank 
 cat-lap."— .SVc \V.,-(utl: ncdijamitlet, chap. xii. 
 
 Cato. Jfc is a Cato. A man of 
 simple life, severe morals, self-denying 
 habits, strict justice, brusque manners, 
 blunt of speech, and of undoubted 
 patriotism, hke the Roman censor of 
 that name. 
 
 Cato-Street Conspiracy. A scheme 
 entertained by Arthur Thistlewood and 
 his fellow-conspirators to overthrow the 
 Government by assassinating the 
 Cabinet Ministers. So called from Cato 
 Street, where their meetings were held. 
 (1820.) 
 
 V The other names of these conspir- 
 ators are Brunt, Davidson, Harrison, 
 Ings, Monument, Tidd, and Wilson. 
 All eight were sent to the Tower, March 
 3rd, 1820, by warrant of the Secretary 
 of State. 
 
 Catsup or Ketchup. The Eastern 
 hitjap (soy sauce). 
 
 Catted. The anchor hung on the 
 cathead, a piece of timber outside the 
 ship to which the anchor is himg to keep 
 it clear of the ship. 
 
 "The decks were all life and commotion; the 
 sailors on the forecastle singing, ' Ho ! cheerly, 
 men !' as they catted the auchor."— if. Melville: 
 Owjoo, xxxvi. p. 191.
 
 Catual 
 
 229 
 
 Causa Causata 
 
 Cat'ual. Chief minister of the Zam'- 
 orin or ancient sovereign of India. 
 
 " Begirt with liiKli-iilmiied iicil]les, l)y the flood 
 Tbe tii'st great minister of India stood, 
 His name ' tlie L'atii:il' in India's tongue." 
 Caiiwcns: Limiad, liook vii. 
 
 Catum (AI) [the sfroiir/]. A bow 
 which fell into the hands of Mahomet 
 when the jiroperty of the Jews of Medi'na 
 was confiscated. In the first battle the 
 prophet drew it with such force that it 
 snapped in two. 
 
 Catwater. The estuary of the Plym 
 (Plymouth). A corruption of c/idtca/t 
 (chat-eau) ; as the castle at the mouth 
 of the Plym used to be called. 
 
 Caucasians, according to Blumen- 
 bach's ethnological system, represent 
 the European or highest type of the 
 human race ; so called from Cau'casus, 
 the mountainous range. Whilst the 
 professor was studying ethnology, he 
 was supplied with a skull from these 
 regions, which he considered the stand- 
 ard of the human type. 
 
 Caucus. A meeting of citizens in 
 America to agree upon what members 
 they intend to support, and to concert 
 measures for carrying out their political 
 wishes. The word arose from the 
 caulkers of Boston, who had a disjiute 
 with the British soldiers a little before 
 the Revolution. Several citizens were 
 killed, and meetings were held at the 
 caulkers' house or calk-liOKse, to conceit 
 measures for redress of grievances. 
 
 "Tlie wliole Fenian affair is merely a caucus in 
 disguise."— T/ic Timex. 
 
 "Tliis'dav tlje caucus club meets ... in tlie 
 garret of Tom Dawes, tlie adjutant of the Boston 
 regiment."— J"/iH Adams: Diary, vol. ii. p. 104, 
 l<'el)ru:u'y, 1763. 
 
 Caudine Forks. A narrow pass in 
 the mountains near Capua, now called 
 the Valley of Arpaia. It was here that 
 the Roman army, under the consuls T. 
 Veturius Calvi'nus and Sp. Postu'mius 
 fell into the hands of the Samnites, and 
 were made to pass under the yoke. 
 
 "Hard as it was to aliandon an enterprise so 
 very dear to him .... he did not hesitate to take 
 the more prudent course of iiassiiig under i.v/ci 
 the Caudine Forks of the ilcuiroe doi-irine, and 
 leave Maximilian ami the French Irmidholders to 
 their t:\ie "Stamlard, Xov. Kill, Isilii. 
 
 Caudle is any sloppy mess, especially 
 that sweet mixture given Tiy nurses to 
 gossips who call to see the baby during 
 the first mouth. The word simply 
 means something warm. (Latin, calidns; 
 French, chamlcau ; Italian, cahlo.) 
 
 Caudle {Mrs.). A curtain lecturer. 
 The term is derived from a series of 
 papers by Douglas Jerrold, which were 
 
 published in Fioich. These papers re- 
 present Job Caudle as a patient sufferer 
 of the curtain lectures of his nagging 
 wife. 
 
 Caught Napping {To be). To suffer 
 some disadvantage while oft" one's guard. 
 Pheasants, hares, and other animals are 
 sometimes surprised "napping." I 
 have myself caught a cock-plieasant 
 napping. 
 
 Caul. The membrane on the heads 
 of some new-born infants, supposed to 
 be a charm against death by drowning. 
 
 To be born with a caul was with the 
 Romans tantamount to our phrase, " To 
 be born with a silver spoon in one's 
 mouth," meaning " born to good luck." 
 M. Francisque-Michel, in his Philologie- 
 Coiiipiirce, p. 83, 4, says: '■^Calle, espece 
 de eoiffi(re, est nijnoHyine de eoijfe,^'' and 
 quotes the proverb, " Ste. M'u/orce ! nous 
 sonunes nees coiffies.^'' {La Conwdie des 
 Prorcrbes, act ii. 4.) 
 
 Cauld-lad {Tin) of Hilton Hall. A 
 house-.spirit, who moved about the fur- 
 niture during the night. Being resolved 
 to baui.sh him, the inmates left for him 
 a green cloak and hood, before the 
 kitchen-fire, which so delighted him 
 that he never troubled the house any 
 more ; but sometimes he might be heard 
 singing — 
 
 " Here's a cloak, and here's a hood, 
 The cauld-lad of Hilton will do no more good." 
 
 Cauline {Sir) (2syl. ). A knight who 
 lived in the palace of the King of Ire- 
 land, and "used to serve the wine." He 
 fell in love with Christabelle, the king's 
 daughter, who plighted her troth to him 
 secretly, for fear of the king. The king 
 discovered the lovers in a bower, and 
 banished Sir Cauline. After a time an 
 eldridge came, and demanded the lady 
 in marriage. Sir Cauline slew the 
 "Soldain," but died of the woimds 
 received in the combat ; and the fair 
 Clu-istabelle died of grief, having "burst 
 her gentle hearte in twayue." {Percifs 
 lie/iqites, iv.) 
 
 Cau'rus or Co'rus. The west-north- 
 west wind, which blew from Caurus 
 (Argestes) . 
 
 "The ground hv piercing Caurus scared." 
 
 Tlioiiisoit : Cii-Mcof Indolence, ii. 7fi. 
 
 Causa Causans. The initiating 
 cause ; the primary cause. 
 
 Causa Causata. The cause which 
 owes its existence to the " causa 
 causans" ; the secondary cause.
 
 Cause 
 
 230 
 
 Cave 
 
 V The vera causa is («) the immediate 
 predecessor of au effect ; {b) a cause veri- 
 tiable by iudepeudent evidence. {Mill.) 
 Ill tlieoliiRy Gild is the causa ciiitaans, ami ciea- 
 ticiii ilie ciKi.sii rnH^lJd. Tlie presence of the sun 
 iibiivc llie hnri/.ou is the vera CKUsa of daylight, 
 ;iihI his wuhdiawal l)eh)\v the horizou is tlie vera 
 i-aiiM of iiiu'lit. 
 
 Cause {The). A mission ; the object 
 or i)rojuct. 
 
 To make comnum cause. To abet the 
 same object. Here "cause" is the 
 legal term, meaning pro or co)i, as it 
 may be, the cause or side of the question 
 advocated. 
 
 Cause Celebre. Any famous law case. 
 
 Causes. Arlstutdian (•««*•<?« are these 
 four : 
 
 (1) The FJficlent Cause. That which 
 immediately produces the effect. 
 
 (2) The Materliil Cause. The matter 
 on which (1) works. 
 
 (15) The Formal Cause. The Essence or 
 "Form" (= group of attributes) intro- 
 duced into the matter by the efficient 
 
 CiillSG. 
 
 (4) The Final or Ultimate Cause. The 
 purpose or end for which the thing exists 
 or the can.sal change takes place. But 
 God is called the ultimate Final Cause, 
 since, according to Aristotle, all tilings 
 tend, so far as they can, to realise some 
 Divine attribute. 
 
 V God is also called The First Cause, or 
 the Cause Causeless, beyond which even 
 imagination cannot go. 
 
 Cau'telous. Cautious, cunning, 
 treacherous. (Latin, cautela ; French, 
 cauteleux ; Spanish, cautcloso.) 
 
 " Cauglit with cauteloiis halts." 
 
 Shakespeare : Coriolaniis, iv. 1. 
 "Swear priests and cowards and men cauteloiis." 
 Slialcespeare : Julius C(esar, ii. 1. 
 
 Cau'ther {AT). The lake of Paradise, 
 the waters of which are sweet as honey, 
 cold as snow, and clear as crystal. He 
 who once tastes thereof vrill never thirst 
 again. {The Koran.) 
 
 Caution Money. A sum deposited 
 before entering college, by way of se- 
 curity. 
 
 Caut ser. {See Cauther.) 
 
 Cava. Cava's traitor sire. Cava or 
 Florinda was the daughter of St. Julian. 
 It was the violation of Cava by Roderick 
 that brought about the war between the 
 Goths and the Moors. St. Julian, to 
 avenge his daughter, turned traitor to 
 Roderick, and induced the Moors to 
 invade Sjjain. King Roderick was slain 
 at Xeres on the third day. (a.d. 711.) 
 
 Cavalerie i Pied. The Zouavee 
 
 (pronounce zirar) and Zephyrs of the 
 French army are so called because of their 
 fleetness and swiftness of foot. 
 
 Cavalier (3 syl.). A horseman ; 
 whence a kniglit, a gentleman. (Latin, 
 caballus. a horse.) 
 
 'The Caralicr. 
 
 Eon de Beaumont, the French soldier ; 
 Cheralit-r (PKo)!. (172S-1810.) 
 
 Charles Breydel, the Flemish laud- 
 scape painter. (1077-1744.) 
 
 Francesco Cairo {Caraliere di'l Cairo), 
 historian. (1;)98-1674.) 
 
 Jean le Clerc, le chevalier. (1587-1633.) 
 
 J. Battista Marini, Italian jjoet ; // 
 cavalier (1 009-1656). 
 
 Andrew Michael Ramsay (1686-17-13). 
 
 Cavalier' or Chevalier de St. George. 
 James Francis Edward Stuart, called 
 "the Preteiuler," or "the Old Pre- 
 tender" (,1688-1765). 
 
 The Youiif/ (.'aralier or the Bonnie 
 Chevalier. Edward, the " Young Pre- 
 tender " (1720-1785). 
 
 Cavalier Servant, in Italian cicisbco, 
 and in Spanish cortejo. A gentleman 
 that chaperones married ladies. 
 "Coach, servants, {.'ondola, lie goes to call. 
 And carries fan and tipiiet, gloves ami shawl." 
 Hyron : lieppo, st . x 1. 
 
 Cavalie'rs. Adherents of Charles I. 
 Those of the opposing Parliament party 
 were called Roundheads {'/.v.). 
 
 Cavall'. ' ' King Arthur's hound of 
 deepest mouth." {Idylls of the King; 
 Enid.) 
 
 Cave-dwellers. (*<> page 157, col. 1, 
 Bohemian Beetheex.) 
 
 Cave In. Shut up I have done I Vll 
 cave in his lieml (break it). His foriui/e 
 has cared in (has failed). The bank has 
 caved in (come to a smash). The affair 
 caved in (fell through) . Common Ameri- 
 can expressions. 
 
 In the lead diggings, after a shaft has 
 been sunk, the earth round the sides falls 
 or eaves in, unless proiierly boarded ; and 
 if the mine does not answer, no care is 
 taken to prevent a caving in. 
 
 Cave ne literas Bellerophontis 
 adferras. Take care that the letter 
 you carry is not a warrant for your 
 death. {See page 121, col. 1, Bellee- 
 
 OPHON.) 
 
 Cave of Achadh Aldai. A cairn in 
 Ireland, so called from Aldai, the an- 
 cestor of the Tuatha de Danaan kings. 
 
 Cave of Adullam {The). {See page 
 17, col. 1, Adullamites.)
 
 Cave 
 
 231 
 
 Ceelict 
 
 Cave of Mammon. The abode of 
 the god of wealth in Spenser's Faerie 
 Qiiecne, ii. 7. 
 
 Cav'eat (3 syl.) . 
 
 To enter a careat. To give legal notice 
 that the opponent is not to proceed with 
 the suit in hand until the party giving 
 the notice has been heard ; to give a 
 warning or admonition. 
 
 Cav'eat Emptor. The buyer must be 
 responsible for liis own free act. Let 
 the buyer keeii his eyes open, for the 
 bargain he agrees to is bindiag. In 
 English law, Chief Justice Tindal modi- 
 fied this rule. lie said if the buyer 
 gives notice that he reUes on the vendor's 
 j udgment, and the vendor warrants the 
 article, then the vendor is bound to 
 furnish an article " reasonable and fit 
 for the pui-pose required." 
 
 Cavell or Cavel, A parcel or allot- 
 ment of land measured by a cord or 
 cable. (German, kabel, whence kavchi, 
 to assign by lot.) 
 
 Cavendish Tobacco. An American 
 brand of chewing or sinokiug tobacco, 
 prepared for use by softening, sweeten- 
 ing with molasses, and pressing into 
 plugs. Called "Cavendish" from the 
 original manufacturer. 
 
 Cav'iare (3 syl.). Caviare to the 
 geiivral. Above the taste or comprehen- 
 sion of ordinary people. Caviare is a 
 kind of pickle made from the roe of 
 sturgeons, much esteemed in Muscovy. 
 It is a dish for the great, but beyond the 
 reach of the general public. {Samlet, 
 ii. 2.) 
 
 " All impular talk abinit lacustrine villages and 
 fliut iiiiplemeuts . . . is cawore to the multitude." 
 — Pall Mall Oazette. 
 
 Cavo-rilie'vo. "Relief," cut below 
 the original surface, the highest parts of 
 the figiu-e being on a level with the sur- 
 face. Also called Intaglio-riUevato (pro- 
 nounce cah' -vo-rel-ije' -vo). 
 
 Caxon. A worn-out wig ; also a big 
 cauliflower wig, worn out or not. It has 
 been suggested that the word is from 
 the proper name, but nothing whatever 
 LS known about such a person. 
 " People scarce could decide on its pbiz. 
 Which looked wisest— the caxon or jowl. 
 
 Peter Pindar : The Purt/olio. 
 
 CD. i.e. CateradesHut (Lsitva). The 
 rest [of the MS.] is wanting. 
 
 Ce'an. The Cean poet. Simon'ides, 
 
 of Ce'os. 
 
 " The Cean and the Teian muse." 
 
 Byron : Von Juan (The Poet's Song). 
 
 Ceca to Mecca (From). From one 
 end of the world to the other ; from 
 pillar to post. It is a Spanish phrase 
 meaning to roam about purposelessly. 
 Ceca and Mecca are two places visited 
 by Mohammedan pilgrims. (Compare : 
 From Dan to Beersheba ; and From Land's 
 End to John o' GroaVs.) 
 
 ".' Let us return home,' sjvid Sancho, ' no longer 
 ramble about from Ceca to Meccji.' "— Ceruanfes ; 
 Don Quixote, I. iii. 4. 
 
 Ceciria {St.). A Roman lady wno 
 underwent martj'rdom in the third cen- 
 tury. She is the patron saint of the 
 blind, being herself bliud : she is also 
 patroness of musicians, and "inventor 
 of the organ." 
 
 " At lenKth divine Cecilia came, 
 liiveutress of the vocal frame." 
 
 Dryilen: Alexander's Feast. 
 
 According to tradition, an angel fell in 
 love with her for her musical skill, and 
 used nightly to visit her. Her husband 
 saw the heavenly visitant, who gave to 
 both a crown of martyrdom which he 
 brought from Paradise. Dr3-den and 
 Pope have written odes in her honour, 
 and both speak of her charming an angel 
 by her musical jDOwers : 
 " HeH^Timotheus) raised a mortal to the skies," 
 She [Cecilia] brought an angel down." 
 
 Dryden: Alexander's Feast. 
 
 Cecil's Fast. A dinner off fish. 
 W. CecO. (Lord Burleigh) introduced a 
 BUI to enjoin the eating of fish on cer- 
 tain days in order to restore the fish 
 trade. 
 
 Ced, Ked, or Ceridiren. The Arkite 
 goddess or Ceres of the Britons. 
 
 " I was first modelled into the form of a pure 
 man in the hall of Ceridwen, who subjected me to 
 penance."— Tuiiejiira (.Davies's Translation: 
 
 Cedar. Curzon says that Solomon 
 cut down a cedar, and buried it on the 
 spot where the pool of Bethes'da used to 
 stand. A few days before the crucifixion, 
 this cedar floated to the surface of the 
 pool, and was employed as the upright 
 of the Saviour's cross. {3Ionastcries of 
 the Levant.) (See Ceoss.) 
 
 Cedilla. The mark (_,)under a French 
 sibilant c. This marlc is the letter z, and 
 the word is from the Italian zediglia 
 ("zeticula," a little z. (Greek, zeta; 
 Spanish, ceda, with a diminutive. ) 
 
 Ceelict {St.) or St. Calixtus, whose 
 day is the 14th of October, the day of 
 the Battle of Hastings. 
 
 Brown Willis tells us there was a 
 tablet once in Battle parish church with 
 these words : 
 " This place of war is Battle called, because in 
 
 liattle here
 
 Ceintiire 
 
 232 
 
 Cento 
 
 Quite conquered and u'ertlirown the English 
 
 nation were. 
 This slaughter liappeued to them upon St. 
 
 Ceelict's day," etc. 
 
 Ceinture de la Reine. The octroi 
 levied at Paris, which at oue time was 
 the queen's pin-money or private purse. 
 
 Celadon. The lover of Amelia, a 
 "matchless beauty." Beiug overtaken 
 by a storm, Amelia became alarmed, but 
 Celadon, folding her in his arms, ex- 
 claimed, " 'Tis safety to be near thee, 
 sure, and thus to clasp i^erfection." As 
 he spoke, a flash of lightning struck 
 Amelia dead. {TIiodisoh : Tlie iSeaso)is ; 
 SuniDicr.) 
 
 Celandine, a shepherdess in love 
 with Marina. Finding his suit too easily 
 gi'anted, he waxed cold, and discarded 
 the " matchless beauty." ( W. Browne : 
 Britannia^ s Fastorals ; 1613.) 
 
 Celestial City {The). Heaven is so 
 called by John Bunyan in his Fihjrini's 
 Froyress, 
 
 Celestial Empire (TA^O- China; so 
 called because the first emperors were 
 all celestial deities. 
 
 Celes'tians. Followers of Celes'tius, 
 disciple of Pela'gius. St. Jerome calls 
 him "a blockhead swollen with Scotch 
 pottage" — Scotch being, in this case, 
 what we now call Irish. 
 
 Ce'lia [^/tearoiVuicss]. Mother of Faith, 
 Hope, and Charity. She lived in the 
 hospice called Holiness. {fSjjoiscr : Faerie 
 Queene, bk. i. 10.) 
 
 Celia or Ceclia. A common poetical 
 name for a lady or lady-love. Thus, 
 Swift had an ode in which Strephon 
 describes CseUa's di-essiug-roora. 
 
 " Five hours, and who t-au do it less in. 
 By haughty Ca;lia siieut in dressing." 
 
 Celt. A piece of stone, ground arti- 
 ficially into a wedge-like shape, with a 
 cutting edge. Used, before the employ- 
 ment of bronze and iron, for knives, 
 hatchets, and chisels. 
 
 Celts {The), or The luUf:. This family 
 of nations includes the Irish, Erse, Manx, 
 Welsh, Cornish, and Low Bretons. Ac- 
 cording to historic fable, Celtina was the 
 daughter of Britannus. She had a son by 
 Hercules, named Celtus, the progenitor 
 of the Celts. 
 
 Cem'etery properly means a sleeping- 
 place. The Jews used to speak of death 
 as slcej}. The Persians call their ceme- 
 teries "The Cities of the Silent." The 
 Greeks thought it unlucky to pronounce 
 the name of Death. (Greek, koimeterion.) 
 
 Cen'obites (3 syl.). Monks. So 
 called because they live in common. 
 Hermits and anchorites are not ceno- 
 bites, as they live alone. (Greek, l-o'uiS- 
 biotes.) 
 
 Cenoman'ni. The inhabitants of 
 Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge, re- 
 ferred to by Ctesar in his Comiiteiitarles. 
 
 Cenotaphs. The most noted in 
 ancient times — 
 
 ./5;XEAS to DeilihOhus (yEiieid, i. C ; v. .'iOr>;. 
 ANDR0.MACHKi4syl.)to Hector UEneid, i. 3 ; v. 302) 
 Argentier to Kallaischros (.Anthologia, l)k. iii. 
 
 Aristotle to Hernilas and Euhulos (Diogetiei 
 Laertiiis). 
 
 The Athexiass to the poet Eurii'Ides. 
 
 CAi.LurACiios to Sopolis, son of Dioclides (t';"'- 
 (iram of CoUimaclios, T2). 
 
 Catum.us to his brother (_Epi(jram of CatnUus, 
 103). 
 
 Dido to Sichaeus (Justin, xviii. 6'. 
 
 Bupons and Aristodrce to tlieir son Theotinios. 
 
 Germain he Biue to nerve, the Breton, in 1511'. 
 
 OXESTOS to TiMiOcles tAiithiiliir/ia, Hi. p. 3()6). 
 
 The Romans to Drusus in Genuany, and to Alex- 
 ander Ke\erus, the euip., in (ia.ul (Suetonius: 
 Life of VldiiiUits ; and the Antholoiim). 
 
 STATirs to his father (The Sylvce of Statius, v. 
 
 — Eliicediuin, :ii. 
 
 TiMARES to his son TeleutagSras. 
 
 Xexocrates to Lysidices(/l)it/io?yfl'ui). 
 ".■ A cenotaph (Greek, ksvo'; Ta(/)o;, an empty 
 
 tomb) is a monument or tablet to the memory of 
 
 a person.whose liody is luiried elsewhere. A mau- 
 
 s. ileum is an imposing monument enshrining the 
 
 dead body itself. 
 
 Censsrius et Sapiens. Cato Major 
 was so called, (b.c. 231-149.) 
 
 Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles. French 
 imitations of Graiiuc'ci, Malesjn'ni, and 
 Campeg'gi, Italian tale -writers of the 
 seventeenth century. 
 
 Cen'taur (2 syl.). A huntsman. The 
 ThessaUau centam's were half-horses, 
 half- men. They were invited to a mar- 
 riage feast, and, being intoxicated, be- 
 haved with great rudeness to tlie women. 
 The Lap'ithie took the women's part, 
 fell on the centaurs, and drove them out 
 of the country. 
 
 "Feasts that Thessalian cenlaurs never knew." 
 Tlioinson : Autumn. 
 
 Cent-cyne. Oue of the tipper ten ; 
 a person of high birth, a descendant of 
 the race of kings. (Anglo-Saxon ci/i/e, 
 royal ; ci/iie-doiii, a kingdom ; also noble, 
 renowned, chief.) 
 
 " His wife, by birth a Cent-cyne, went out as a 
 day-servant." — Galoriaii: I'roinise of Marriage, 
 chap. V. 
 
 Cento. Poetry made up of lines bor- 
 rowed from established authors. Auso'- 
 nius has a nuptial idyll composed from 
 verses selected from Virgil. (Lsitm, ce?ito, 
 patchwork.) 
 
 *,* The best known are the Homero- 
 ccntones (3 syl.), the Cento Virf/ilidiiiffihy 
 Proba Falconia (4th century), aud the 
 C'e7ito Nuptidlis of Ausonius. Metellus
 
 Central Sun 
 
 233 
 
 Cereraony 
 
 made hymns out of the Odes of Horace 
 by this sort of patchwork. Of modern 
 centos, tlie CouiSdie dcs Comedies, made 
 up of extracts from Balzac, is pretty well 
 known. 
 
 Central Sun. That body or point 
 about which our whole system revoh'es. 
 Miidler believed that point to be eta in 
 Taurus. 
 
 Centre. In the Legislative Assem- 
 bly The Cod re were the friends of order. 
 In the Fenian rebellion, 1866, the chief 
 movers were called Head Centres, and 
 their subordinates Centi'es. 
 
 Centre of Gravity. That point on 
 which a body acted on by gravity is 
 balanced in all positions. 
 
 Centum'viri. A court under whose 
 j urisdiction the Romans placed all mat- 
 ters pertaining to testaments and in- 
 lieritauces. 
 
 Centu'rion. A Roman officer who 
 had the command of 100 men. His 
 badge was a vine-rod. (Latin, eentum, 
 a hundred.) 
 
 Century White. John White, the 
 Nonconformist lawyer. So called from 
 liis chief publication. The First Centuri/ 
 of Sca»dalo/(s, Malignant Priests, made 
 and admitted into Benefices by the Fre- 
 lutes, etc. (1590-1645). 
 
 Ceph'alus and Procris. Made 
 familiar to us by an allusion to them 
 in the play of Fi/rai)uis and Thishe, 
 where they are miscalled Shafalus and 
 Procrus. Cephalus was the husband of 
 Procris, who, out of jealousy, deserted 
 him. Cephalus went in search of her, 
 and rested awhile under a tree. Procris, 
 knowing of his whereabouts, crept 
 through some bushes to ascertain if a 
 lival was with him. Cephalus heard the 
 noise, and thinking it to be made by some 
 wild beast, hurled his javelin into the 
 bushes and slew Procris. Wlien the un- 
 happy man discovered what he had done, 
 he slew himself in anguish of spirit with 
 the same javelin. 
 
 " Pyramus : Not Sbafalus to Procrus was so true. 
 Tliisbe: As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you." 
 Shakespeare : ilidaunimer Night's Dream, v. 1. 
 
 Ce'pheus (2 syl.). One of the north- 
 ern constellations, which takes its name 
 from Copheus, King of Ethiojiia, hus- 
 band of Cassiope'ia and father of An- 
 drom'eda. 
 
 Ce'pola. Bei'ices of Cepola. Quips 
 of law are so called from Bartholomew 
 Cepola whose law-quirks for prolonging 
 lawsuits have been frequently reprinted. 
 
 Ce'quiel (3 syl.) . A spirit who trans- 
 ported Torral'ba from Valladolid' to 
 Rome and back again in an hour and a 
 half. {Fclliccr.) 
 
 Cerau'nium. The opal. So called 
 by the ancients from a notion that it was 
 a thunder -stone. (Latin, ceraanium ; 
 Greek, kcran'nios.) 
 
 Cer'berus. A grim, watchfid keeper, 
 house-jjorter, guardian, etc. Cerberus, 
 according to Roman mytholog}% is the 
 three-headed dog that keeps the en- 
 trance of the infernal regions. Hercules 
 dragged the monster to earth, and then 
 let him go again. {See Sop. ) 
 
 *» Orpheus (2 syl.) lulled Cerberus to 
 sleep with liis lyre ; and the Sibyl who 
 conducted 53neas through the Inferno, 
 also threw the dog into a profound sleep 
 with a cake seasoned with poppies and 
 honey. 
 
 The origin of the fable of Cerberus is 
 from the custom of the ancient Egj'jjtians 
 of guarding graves ^vith dogs. 
 
 V The exquisite cameo by Dioscorides, 
 in tlie possession of the King of Prussia, 
 and the painting of Hercules and Cer- 
 beru?, in the Famese Gallery of Rome, 
 are of world-wide renown. 
 
 Cerdo'nians. A sect of herelics, 
 established by Cerdon of Sj'ria, who lived 
 in the time of Pope Hygi'nus, and main- 
 tained most of the eiTors of the Mani- 
 chees. 
 
 Ceremonious (The). Peter IV. of 
 Ai-agon. (1319, 1336-1387.) 
 
 Ceremony. When the Romans fled 
 before Brennus, one Albi'nus, who was 
 canying his wife and children in a cart 
 to a place of safety, overtook at Janic'u- 
 lum the Vestal virgins bending under 
 their load, took them up and conveyed 
 them to Coere, in Etrn'ria. Here they 
 remained, and continued to perform their 
 sacred rite.s, which were consequently 
 called " Ca?re-monia." {Lirtj, v.) 
 
 V Scaliger says the word comes from 
 ceriis = sanctas. Cerus via}Ufs=Cveatov; 
 and Cereo (according to Varro) is by 
 metathesis for creo. Ceres, according to 
 Scaliger, is also from creo. By this ety- 
 mology, " Ceremony " means sacred 
 rites, or solemn acts in honour of the 
 Creator. The great objection to this 
 etymology is that Cicero, Tacitus, and 
 other classic authors Sf)ell the word 
 Ceere-monia and not Cere-monia. 
 
 blaster of the Ceremonies. An officer, 
 first appointed by James I., to superin- 
 tend the rece^jtiou of ambassadors and
 
 Ceres 
 
 234 
 
 Chair 
 
 strangers of rank, and to prescribe the 
 formalities to be observed in levees and 
 other grand public functions. 
 
 Ce'res (2 syl.). Com. Ceres was 
 the Eoman name of Mother -Earth, the 
 protectress of agriculture and of all the 
 fruits of the earth. 
 
 " Dark frowning heaths grow bright with Ceres' 
 store." Thomson : Castle of Indolence, ii. 27. 
 
 Cerin'thians. Disciples of Cerin'- 
 
 thus, a horosiarch of tlie first century. 
 They denied the divinity of Christ, but 
 held that a certain virtue descended into 
 Him at baptism, which filled Him with 
 the Holj' Ghost. 
 
 Cerulean Brother of Jove {TIw). 
 Neptune. Here cerulean means green. 
 
 Cess. Measure, as ex-cess, excess-ive. 
 Out of all cess means excessively, i.e. ex 
 (out of all) cess. 
 
 "Poor jaile, is wrung in the withers out of 
 all ces=."—Sluikci'peare : 1 Ilennj IV., li. 1. 
 
 Cess. A tax, contracted from' assess- 
 ment ("sess"); as a "church-cess." 
 In Ireland the word is used sometimes 
 as a contraction of success, meaning luck, 
 as ' ' bad cess to you I ' ' 
 
 Cestui que Vie is the person for 
 whose life any lands or hereditaments 
 may be held. 
 
 Vcstai que use, the person entitled to a 
 use. Crstiil que trust, tlie person for 
 whose benefit a trust may be created. 
 
 Ces'tus, in Homer, is the girdle of 
 Venus, of magical power to mo%'e to 
 ardent love. In Jerusalem Delivered, 
 Ar'mida wore a similar cestus. 
 
 Cf. Latin, confer = compare. 
 
 Chabouk. {See CHiBOTJaTTE, p. 245.) 
 
 Chabouk or CJiahuk. A long whip, 
 or the a])ijlication of wliips and rods ; a 
 Persian and Chinese punishment. {Du- 
 bois.) 
 
 '• Drag torward that f:il<ir, and cut his robe into 
 tatters on his liack with your chabouks."— A'eoft ; 
 The Sure/eon's IJaugliter, c. xiv. 
 
 T/ie criticism of the chabuJc. The 
 application of whips or rods (Persian). 
 {Dubois.) 
 
 " If that monarch dirt not give the chabuk to 
 Peramorz, there would 1)0 an end to all legitimate 
 government in Bucharia." — T. Moore: Lalla 
 Uookh. 
 
 Chacun a son Gout. "Everyone 
 has («) his taste " ; or, "Everyone to {(i) 
 his taste." The former is French, the 
 latter is English-French. The phrase 
 is much more common with us than it is in 
 France, where we meet with the phrases 
 — Cliacun a sa chacuneric (everyone has 
 
 his idiosj'ncrasj') , and chacun a sa marotte 
 (everyone has his hobby). In Latin 
 sua cuique roluptas, "as the good-man 
 said when he kissed his cow." 
 
 Chad-pennies. "Whitsuntide offer- 
 ings at St. Chad's cathedral, Lichfield, 
 for keeping it in repair. 
 
 Chaff. An old bird is not to be caught 
 iriih chaff. An experienced man, or one 
 with his wits about him, is not to be 
 deluded by humbug. The reference is 
 to throwing chaff instead of bird-seed 
 to alhu'e birds. Hence— 
 
 You are chaffinr/ me. Making fun of 
 me. A singular custom used to exist 
 in Notts and Leicestershire some half a 
 century ago. When a husband ill-treated 
 his wife, the villagers emptied a sack of 
 chaff at his door, to intimate that 
 " thrasliing was done within," which 
 some think to be the origin of the word. 
 
 V "Jo chaff,'''' meaniug to banter, is a 
 variant of chafe, to iiTitate. 
 
 Chair {Th(). The oifice of chief 
 magistrate in a corporate town. 
 
 Below the chair. An alderman who 
 has not yet served the mayoralty. 
 
 Passed the chair. One who has served 
 the chief office of the corporation. 
 
 V The word is also applied to the 
 office of a jjrofessor, etc., as "The chair 
 of poetry, in Oxford, is now vacant." 
 The word is furthermore applied to the 
 president of a committee or public 
 meeting. Hence — 
 
 To take the cha'ir. To become the 
 chairman or president of a public meet- 
 ing. The chaimian is placed in a chair 
 at the head of the table, or in some con- 
 spicuous place like the Speaker of the 
 House of Commons, and his decision is 
 absolutely final in all fioints of doubt. 
 Usually the persons present nominate 
 and elect their own chairman ; but in 
 some cases there is an ex officio chairman. 
 
 Chair. When members of the House 
 of Commons and other debaters call out 
 "Chair," they mean that the chairman 
 is not properly sujaported, and his words 
 not obej-ed as they ought to be. Another 
 form of the same exjiression is, " Pray 
 support the chair." 
 
 Groaning chair. The chair in which 
 a woman is confined or sits afterwards 
 to receive congratulations. Similarly 
 " groaning cake " and "groaning cheese" 
 are the cake and cheese which used to 
 be provided in " Goose month." 
 
 " For a nurse, the child to dandle, 
 Sugar, soap, spiced pots, and candle, 
 A groaning chair, and eke a cradle." 
 
 Poor Robin's Almanack, 1676.
 
 Chair-days 
 
 235 
 
 Cham. 
 
 Chair-days. Old age. 
 
 " I bad loiii,' siivimsud that cliair-days, tbe beau- 
 tiful name for llinsf ilays of old age . . . was of 
 .Sliakespt'are's "Wii inveution . . . but this is a 
 mistake . . . the word is current iu Lancashire 
 still."— Teenc/i : English Past and Present, v. 
 " In tiiy reverence and thy chair-days, thus 
 To dif in ruftian liattle." 
 
 Slial.-t'siH'iirr : -2 Henry l'/.,act v. 2. 
 
 Chair of St. Peter {The). The office 
 of the Pope of Rome, said to be founded 
 by St. Peter, the apostle ; but St. 
 Feter's C'ltair meaus the Catholic festival 
 held iu commemoration of the two epis- 
 copates founded by the apostle, one at 
 Rome, and tlie other at Antioch (January 
 18th and February 'i-iud). 
 
 Chalcedony [kalccd'uui/']. A precious 
 stone, consisting of half - transparent 
 quartz : so called from Chalce'don, in 
 Asia Minor, where it was first found. 
 Its chief varieties are agate, caruelian, 
 cat's-eye, chrysoprase, llint, hornstone, 
 onyx, plasma, and sard. 
 
 '.* Albertus Magnus (book i. chap. 2) 
 says: " It dispels illusions and all vain 
 imaginations. If hung about the neck 
 as a charm, it is a defence against 
 enemies, and keeps the body healthful 
 and vigorous. 
 
 Chaldee's {Kal-deen). The Land of 
 the Chaldees. Babylo'nia. 
 
 Chalk. 
 
 17/ cltallc out your path for yon — i.e. 
 lay it down or plan it out as a carpenter 
 or ship -builder plans out his work with 
 a piece of chalk. 
 
 I caji ira/k a chalk as irell as you. I 
 am no more drunk than you are. The 
 allusion is to the ordeal on board ship of 
 trying men suspected of drunkenness. 
 They were required to walk along a line 
 chalked on the deck, without deviating 
 to the right or left. 
 
 The tapster is nndouc hy chalk, i.e. 
 credit. The allusion is to scoring up 
 credit on a tally with chalk. This was 
 common enough early in the uuieteenth 
 century, when milk scores, bread scores, 
 as well as beer scores were general. 
 
 Chalk it up. Put it to his credit. 
 
 ■,■ As good-huninured sarcasm, Chalk it up .' is 
 tantamount to saying, " What you have done so 
 astonishes me that I niiisr make some more or 
 less permanent record of it.'' 
 
 Chalk and Cheese. I know the 
 difference hcticecn chalk a)id cheese. Be- 
 tween what is worthless and what is 
 valuable, between a counterfeit and a 
 real article. Of course, the resemblance 
 of chalk to cheese has something to do 
 with the saying, and the alliteration 
 helps to popularise it. 
 
 "This Scotch scarecrow was no more to be com- 
 pared to him than chalk was to cheese "Sir TV. 
 Scott : Woodstock, xxiv. 
 
 I cannot make chalk of one and cheese 
 of the other. I must treat both alike ; I 
 must show no favouritism. 
 
 They are no more like titan chalk is like 
 cheese. There may be a slight apparent 
 resemblance, but there is no real likeness. 
 
 Chalks. 
 
 / beat him by lony chalks. Tlioi'oughly. 
 In allusion to the ancient custom of 
 making merit marks with chalk, before 
 lead pencils were so common. 
 
 Walk your chalks. Get you gone. 
 Lodgings wanted for the royal retinue 
 used to be taken arbitrarily by the 
 marshal and sergeant-chamberlain, the 
 inhabitants were sent to the right about, 
 and the houses selected were notified by 
 a chalk mark. When Mary de Medicis, 
 in 1638, came to England, Sieur de Labat 
 was employed to mark ' ' all sorts of 
 houses commodious for her retinue iu 
 Colchester." The same custom is re- 
 ferred to iu the Life and Acts of Sir 
 Ifllliani Wallace, iu Edinburgh. The 
 phrase is '' Walk, you're chalked," cor- 
 rupted into Walk your chalks. 
 
 " In Scotland, at one time, the land- 
 lord gave the tenant notice to quit by 
 chalking the door. 
 
 " The prisoner has cut his stick, and walked his 
 chalk, and is oft to London."— C Kingslcy. 
 
 Challenge to the Array {A). An 
 objection to the whole panel or body of 
 jurymen, based on some default of the 
 sheriff, or his officer who arrayed the 
 panel. 
 
 Challenge to the Polls {A). An 
 objection or protest to certain persons 
 selected for a jury. If a man is not 
 qualified to serve, or if he is sujjposed 
 to be biassed, he may be challenged. In 
 capital cases a prisoner may challenge 
 persons without assigning any reason, 
 and in cases of treason as many as 
 thu-ty-five. (22 Henry FLU. , c.14 ; 7, 8 
 Georye TV., c. 28, s. 3.) 
 
 Challenging a Jury. This may be 
 to object to all the jurors from some 
 informality in tlie way they have beeu 
 " arrayed" or empanelled, or to one or 
 more of the jurors, from some real or 
 supiDosed disqualification or bias of j udg- 
 ment. The word "challenge" is Nor- 
 man, and is exactly equivalent to "call 
 out ; " hence we say Captain A chal- 
 lenged or called out Captain B. 
 
 Cham {kain). The sovereign prince 
 of Tartary, now written "khan." 
 
 " Fetch you a hair ofli the great Cham's be.ai"d." 
 —Shakespeare : Much Ado About Nothing, ii. 1. 
 
 The great Cham of Literature. Dr. 
 Samuel Johnsou (170y-1784).
 
 Chambre Ardente 
 
 236 
 
 Chancellor 
 
 Chambre Ardente (French), "A 
 lighted chamber" (A darkened court). 
 Before the Ilevolutiou, certain offences 
 in Fi-auce were tried in a court from 
 which daylight was excluded, and the 
 only light admitted was by torches. 
 Tliese inquisitorial courts were devised 
 by Cardinal Lorraine. The first was held 
 in the reign of Franc^ois I., for trying 
 heretics. Brinvilliers and his associates 
 were tried in a darkened court in 1680. 
 Another was held in 1716, dm-iug the 
 regency. When judges were ashamed 
 to be seen, prisoners could not expect 
 much leniency. 
 
 Chameleon. Ton are a cltaineleon, 
 i.e. very changeable — shifting according 
 to the opinions of others, as the chame- 
 leon changes its hue to that of contiguous 
 objects. 
 
 " As tlie cbaiueloon, wlm is kuowu 
 To Ijivve no colours of its owu, 
 But borrows from bis neigUbour's hue, 
 llis white or black, his green or Ijlue." 
 
 I'rior. 
 
 V Pliny tells us that Democrltus wrote 
 a book on suiDerstitions connected with 
 the chameleon. 
 
 Cost nn camvJeon. One who shifts 
 his opinions according to circumstances ; 
 a vicar of Bray. 
 
 Tu chameleunlfie is to change one's 
 opinions as a chameleon changes its 
 colour. 
 
 Champ de Manoeuvre (Zr). The 
 soldiers' exercise ground. 
 
 Champs de Mai. The same as the 
 ChaiiqjH de Mars (y.r.), transferred after 
 T'J.J to the mouth of May. Napoleon I. 
 revived these meetings during the 
 " HmidredDaj^s " (June 1st, 1815). 
 
 Champs de Mars. The Mardi 
 meetings held by Clovis and his imme- 
 diate followers, sometimes as mere 
 pageants for the amusement of the 
 freedmen who came to offer homage to 
 their lord, and pay their annual gifts ; 
 sometimes for business purposes, espe- 
 cially when the king wished to consult 
 his warriors about some exjDedition. 
 
 Champak'. An Indian tree [Mk-hdla 
 Chaiiiptica). The wood is sacred to 
 Buddha, and the strongly-scented golden 
 flowers are worn in the black hair of 
 Indian women. 
 
 "The Cbainpak odours fail." 
 
 Shelley : Mnes to Indian Air. 
 
 Cham'perty (Latin, campi partitio, 
 division of the land) is a bargain with 
 some iDersou who imdertakes at his own 
 
 cost to recover property on condition of 
 receiving a share thereof if he succeeds. 
 
 "Cbaniperty is treated as a worse offence ; for 
 by this a stranger Bui)plie8 money to carry on a 
 suit, on condition of sharing in the land or oilier 
 property."— f arsons: Contracts (vol. ii. part ii. 
 chap. 3, page 264.) 
 
 Champion and Severall. A "cham- 
 pion " is a common, or land in allotments 
 without enclosures. A "severall" is a 
 private farm, or land enclosed for indi- 
 vidual use. A champion also means one 
 who holds a champion. 
 
 " The iliiniipinn differs from severall much 
 For want of p.irtitinn, closier, and such." 
 r««rr; F,rc IJiiiidnd I'uiiits, etc. (Intro.l. 
 
 Champion of England. A person 
 whose office it is to ride up Westminster 
 Hall on a Coronation Day, and challenge 
 any one who disputes the liglit of succes- 
 sion. The office was established by 
 William the Conqueror, and was given 
 to Marmiou and his male descendants, 
 with the manor of '• broad Scrivelsby." 
 De Ludlow received the office and manor 
 through the female line ; and in the 
 reign of Richard II. .Sir John Dymoke 
 succeeded through the female line also. 
 Since then the office has continued in 
 the Dymoke family. 
 " These 1, inn. In lands the Comiueror gave. 
 That Kn'-'lands ltIonc ihey might convey 
 To knigiit rcTKiwiii-d amongst the brave— 
 The baron bohl of Fouteney." 
 
 An Anfilv-Xuiniiin IhiUud modernised. 
 
 Chance. {See Main Chaxce.) 
 
 Chan'cel means a lattice-screen. In 
 the Komau law courts the lawj'crs were 
 cut off" from the public by such a screen. 
 (Latin, caueeUiis.) 
 
 Clianeel of a chureh. That part of a 
 church which contains the altar, and the 
 seats set apart for the choir. It is gene- 
 rally raised a stejj or more above the floor 
 of the nave. 
 
 Chancellor. A petty officer in the 
 Roman law courts stationed at the chan- 
 cel ('/.''.) as usher of the court. In the 
 Eastern Empire lie was a secretary or 
 notary, subsequently invested with judi- 
 cial functions. The office was introduced 
 into England by Edward the Confessor, 
 and under the Norman kings the chan- 
 cellor was made official secretary of all 
 important legal documents. In France, 
 tlie chancellor was the royal notary, pre- 
 sident of the councils, and keeper of the 
 Great Seal, 
 
 Chancellor of England (The). The 
 Lord Chancellor, or the Lord High 
 (JhanceUor. The highest judicial func- 
 tionary of the nation, who ranks above 
 all peers, except princes of the blood
 
 Chancellor , 
 
 237 
 
 Cliaos 
 
 and the Archbishop of Canterbury. He 
 is *' Keejier of the Great Seal," is called 
 " Keeper of His (or Her) Majesty's Cor- 
 scicuce," and presides on the Woolsack 
 in the House of Lords. 
 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer (7Vi<'). 
 The minister of finance in the Privy 
 Coimcil. 
 
 Chan'cery. The part of the Court 
 occupied by tlic lawyers. 
 
 To get a mail's head into chancerij is 
 to get it under your arm, where you cau 
 pummel it as long as you like, and he 
 cannot get it free without gi'cat difficulty. 
 The allusion is to the long and exhausting 
 nature of a Chancery suit. If a man 
 once gets his head there, the lawyers 
 punish him to their heart's content. 
 
 '• Wlieu 1 can iierfiinn my iiiilp ill oiKlit minutes 
 ova litth" less, I feel as if 1 liad old Time's bead 
 in cliancei-y."— 7/u/jHfs ; .4«(«c)'«f,cljaii. vii. p. lul. 
 
 Chaneph. The island of religious 
 hypocrites, inhabited by sham saints, 
 tellers of beads, mumblers of are marins, 
 and friars who lived by begging. (The 
 word meant hypocrite in Hebrew.) {iSee 
 liabeJais : Fantaf/rnel, iv. 63, 64.) 
 
 Change. Binfilng the changes. Ee- 
 peatiug the same thing in different ways. 
 The allusion is to bell-ringing. 
 
 V To know how many changes can be 
 rung on a peal of bells, multiply the 
 known preceding number by the next 
 subsequent one, thus : 1 bell no change ; 
 •2. bells, 1X2 = 2 changes ; 3 bells, 2 
 X 3 = 6 changes ; 4 beils, 6 X 4 = 24 
 changes ; o bells, 24 X 5 =^ 120 changes ; 
 6 bells, 720 changes, etc. 
 
 Talce gour ehnitgc out of that. Said to 
 a person who insults you when you give 
 him a quid pro quo, and tell him to take 
 out the change. It is an allusion to 
 shopping transactions, where you settle 
 the price of the article, and put the sur- 
 l^lus or change in your pocket. 
 
 Changeling (2 syl.). A peevish, 
 sicklj- child. The notion used to be that 
 the fairies took a healthy child, and left 
 in its place one of their starveling elves 
 which never did kindly. 
 
 " Oil, that it could be proved 
 That simie nigbt-triiiping fairy had exchanged 
 ]n cradle-clothes our children as they lay, 
 .And called mine Percy, his Plantageuet I 
 Then would 1 have his Harry, and be mine. " 
 Sliakespeare : 1 Hinry IV., i. 1. 
 
 Chant du Depart. After the JLar- 
 seillmsc, the most celebrated song of 
 the first French Revolution. It was 
 written by M. J. Chcuier for a public 
 festival, held June 11th, 1794, to com- 
 memorate the taking of the Bastille. 
 The music is by Mehul. A mother, an 
 
 old man, a child, a wife, a girl, and three 
 warriors sing a verse in tuni, and the 
 sentiment of each is, "We give \\\i our 
 claims on the men of France for the 
 good of the Republic." (JSee page 217, 
 col. 1, Carmagnole.) 
 
 " La republj.iue nous appelle, 
 
 Sachous vaincre ou sjichons perir ; 
 I'll Fran'.ais doit vivre pour elle, 
 I'our elle un Franeais doit niourir." 
 
 M. J. Vhciiier. 
 The Republic invites. 
 
 Let us comiuer or fall ; 
 For her Frenchmen \{\ 
 
 And die at her call. 
 
 E. C. n. 
 
 Chantage. A subsidy paid to a 
 journal. Certain journals will pro- 
 nounce a company to be a "bubble 
 one" unless the company advertises in 
 its columns ; and at gaming resorts will 
 publish all the scandals and mischances 
 connected with the place unless the pro- 
 jirietors subsidise them, or throw a sop 
 to Cerberus. This sub.sidy is technically 
 known as Chantage in France and Italy. 
 
 Chan'ticleer. The cock, in the tale 
 of Jicgnard the Fox, and in Chaucer's 
 Xoniie Prestes Tale. The word means 
 "shrill-singer." (French chanter-dair, 
 to sing clairment, i.e. distinctly.) 
 
 " ily lungs began to crow like chanticleer." 
 Shakespeare : As i'oii Like It, ii. 7. 
 
 Chaonian Bird (The). The dove. 
 
 So called because it delivered the oracles 
 
 of Chaonia {Dodoiia). 
 " But the mild swallow none with toils infest, 
 And none the soft Chaonian bird molest." 
 
 Ovifl : Art of Love, ii. 
 
 Chaonian Food. Acorns. So called 
 from the oak trees of Chaonia or Do- 
 dona. Some think beech -luast is m.eA.Tit, 
 and tell us that the bells of the oracle 
 were hung on beech-trees, not on oaks. 
 
 *,* The Greek word is ifirivo?; Latin, 
 fagas. Hence Strabo, AwSwi-rji', 4>r\y6v re 
 
 ll€Ka<TyuJi> iSpavov fjKev. (He to Doclona 
 
 came, and the hallowed oak or beech 
 [fagas'], the seat of the Pelasgi.) Now, 
 " fagus " means the food- tree, and both 
 acorns and mast are food, so nothing 
 determinate can be derived from going 
 to the root of the word, and, as it is 
 extremely doubtful where Dodona was, 
 we get no light by referring to the 
 locality. Our text says Chaonia (in 
 Epirus) , others place it in Thessaly. 
 
 Cha'os (/ca'os). Confusion ; that 
 confused mass of elemental substances 
 supposed to have existed before God 
 reduced creation uito order. The poet 
 Hesiod is the first extant writer that 
 speaks of it. 
 " Light, uncollected, through the chaos urged 
 Us infant way ; nor order yet had drawn 
 His lovely train from out the dubious gloom." 
 Thomson: Autumn, 73i'-l.
 
 Chap 
 
 238 
 
 Charge 
 
 Chap. A man, properly a merchant. 
 A chap-man is a merchantman or 
 tradesman. '' If you want to buy, I'm 
 your chap." A good chap-man or chap 
 became in time a good fellow. Hence, 
 A (jood sort of chap, A clever chop, etc. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, ceap-mmui.) 
 
 " An awkward customer is an analo- 
 gous phrase. 
 
 Chap-book (.1). A cheap little book 
 coutaiuiug tales, ballads, lives, etc. , sold 
 by chajiraeu. 
 
 Chapeau or Chapel de Roses. 
 
 Cost uu i^etit mariage, car quand on 
 demaude ce qu'un jj^re donne a une 
 fille, et qu'on veut rt'iDondre qu'il donne 
 peu, on dit qu'il lui donne un chajieau 
 de roses. Les roses sont consacrcs a 
 Venus, aux Graces, et a I'Amour. {Les 
 Origines de qttelqties Coutumes Aiicieinies, 
 1672.) 
 N. B .—" Chapel " we now call a chaplet. 
 
 Chapeau-bras. A soft hat which 
 can be folded and carried under the arm 
 (bras, French for arm). Strictly speak- 
 ing, it should be a three-cornered hat. 
 
 Chapel is the chest containing relics, 
 or the shrine thereof (Latin, capella : 
 French, chape, a cope). The kings of 
 France in war carried St. Martin's cope 
 into the field, and kept it in a tent as a 
 talisman. The place ui which the cope 
 was kept was called the chapcUe, and the 
 keeper thereof the chapelain. 
 
 Ch apel (A). Either a place subsidiary 
 to the parish church, or a place of wor- 
 ship not connected with the State, as a 
 Methodist Chapel, a Baptist Chapel, etc. 
 
 Chapel, ia jirinters' parlance, meant 
 his workshop. In the early days of 
 printing, presses were set up in the 
 chaf)els attached to abbeys, as those of 
 Caxton in Westminster Abbey. {See 
 Monk, Feiae, etc.) 
 
 Chapel. The "caucus" of journey- 
 men printers assembled to decide any 
 point of common interest. The chairman 
 is called the " father of the chapel." 
 
 To hold a chapel. To hold a printers' 
 caucus. 
 
 Chapel-of-Ease. A jAace of worship 
 for the use of jmrishioners residing at a 
 distance from the jiarish church. 
 
 Chap'eron. A lady's attendant and 
 protector in public. So called from the 
 Spanish hood worn by duennas. (English- 
 French.) {See Tapisseeie.) 
 
 To chaperone. To accompany a young 
 unmarried lady in loco parentis, when 
 she appears in public or in society. 
 
 Chapter. To the end of the chapter. 
 From the beginning to the end of a pro- 
 ceeding. The allusion is to the custom 
 of reading an entire chapter in the first 
 and second lesson of the Church service. 
 This is no longer a general rule in the 
 Church of England. 
 
 Chapter and Verse. To r/i ve chapter 
 and rerfc is to give the exact authority of 
 a statement, as the name of the author, 
 the title of the book, the date thereof, 
 the chapter referred to, and any other 
 particular which might render the refer- 
 ence easily discoverable. 
 
 Chapter of Accidents {A). Un- 
 foreseen events. To trust to the chapter 
 of accidents is to trust tiiat something 
 unforeseen may turn up in your favour. 
 The Roman laws were divided into 
 books, and each book into chapters. 
 The chapter of accidents is that under 
 the head of accidents, and metaphoric- 
 ally, the sequence of imforeseeu events. 
 
 Chapter of Possibilities (Z7/<'). A 
 
 may-bo in the course of events. 
 
 Character. In eliaracter. In har- 
 mony with a person's actions, etc. 
 
 Oat of eliaracter. Not in harmony 
 with a jjersou's actions, writings, pro- 
 fession, age, or status in society. 
 
 Character [A). An oddity. One 
 who has a distinctive iDcculiarity of 
 maimer : Sam Weller is a character, 
 so is Pickwick. And Sam Weller's con- 
 duct in the law-court was "in charac- 
 ter," but had he betrayed his master it 
 would have been "out of character." 
 
 Charbon'nerie Democrat'ique. A 
 
 new Carbona'i'i society, founded in Paris 
 on the princijjles of Babeuf. The object 
 of these Rejiublicans was to make Paris 
 the centre of all jjolitical movements. 
 {See jmge 214, col. 2, Carboxari.) 
 
 Charge. 
 
 Cnrate in charge. A curate placed by 
 a bishop in charge of a parish where 
 there is no incumbent, or where the in- 
 cumbent is suspended. 
 
 To charge oneself with. To take upon 
 oneself the onus of a given task. 
 
 Ih give charge over. To set one in 
 
 authority over. 
 
 " I gave my lirotber Hanani .... charge over 
 Jerusalem."— Nelieiiiiah vii. l'. 
 
 To give in charge. To hand over a 
 person to the charge of a policeman. 
 
 To have in charge. To have the care 
 of something. 
 
 To take in charge. To " take up" a 
 person given in charge ; to take upon 
 oneself the responsibility of something.
 
 Cha.rge 
 
 239 
 
 Charlemagne 
 
 Charge {To). To make an attack or 
 onset in battle. "To charge with 
 bayonets " is to rush on the enemy with 
 levelled bayonets. 
 
 To rctnrn to the charge. To renew 
 the attack. 
 
 Charge d' Affaires. The proxy of an 
 ambassador, or tlie diplomatic agent 
 where none higher has been appointed. 
 
 Charicle'ia. The lady-love of The- 
 ag'enes in the exquisite erotic Greek ro- 
 mance called The Loves of ThcMjenes 
 and Charicle'ia, by Heliodo'ros, Bishop 
 of Trikka, in the fourth centmy. 
 
 Charing Cross. Not from clicre 
 retiie, in honour of Eleanor, the dear 
 wife of Edward I., but la chere reine 
 (the Blessed Virgin). Hence, in the 
 Close Roll, Richard II., part 1 (1382), 
 we read that the custody of the falcons 
 at Charryng, near Westminster, was 
 granted to Simon Burley, who was to 
 receive r2d. a day from the Wardrobe. 
 
 V A corresijoudent in Notes and 
 Queries, Dec. 'i8th, 1889, p. 507, suggests 
 the Anglo-Saxon cerran (to turn), allud- 
 ing to the bend of the Thames. 
 
 " Queeu Eleanor died at Horiili.v, near Lincoln, 
 and was buried at Westminster. In every town 
 wliere the corpse rested tUe king caused a cross 
 'of cunning workmanship' to be erected in re- 
 membrance of her. Tliere were fourteen, 'iouie say 
 tlfteen, alto.b'ether. The three.wliicli remain are in 
 capitals: Lincoln, Newark, Gr.anthani, Leicester, 
 Stamford, UKDD1NL4T0N, NUHTHA.MPTON, 
 Stoiiv-Stratford, Wohurn, Dunstable, St. Albans, 
 WALTHAM, West-Cheap a'heapside>, Charing, 
 and Ujth Herdly?i." 
 
 •.• In front of the South Eastern Railway station 
 'Strand) is a model, in the original dimensions, of 
 the old cross, which was made of Caen stone, and 
 was demolished in Ui43. 
 
 Char'iot. According to Greek my- 
 thology, the chariot was invented by 
 Erichtho'nius to conceal his feet, which 
 were those of a dragon. 
 
 " Seated in car, by him constructed first 
 To hide his hideous feet." 
 
 Hose : Urkindo Furioso, xxxvii. 27. 
 
 Chariot of the Gods. So the 
 
 Greeks called Sierra Leo'ue, in Africa, a 
 ridge of mountains of great height. A 
 sierra means a saw, and is applied to a 
 ridge of peaked mountains. 
 
 " Her palmy forests, mingling with the skies, 
 Leoua's rugged steep behind us tiies." 
 
 Camueite : Liisiad, book 5. 
 
 Chariots or Cars. That of 
 
 Ai>M I'/rns was drawn by lions and wild boars. 
 
 Ualthus by panthers. 
 
 Ceres .li syl.i by winged dragons. 
 
 Cyb'ele (3 syl.) by lions. 
 
 DlAX.\. by stags. 
 
 Juso by peacocks. 
 
 Nbvtoxe by sea-horses. 
 
 Pluto by black horses. 
 
 The Sun by seven horses (the seven days of 
 
 the week). 
 Vbsus by doves. 
 
 Charioteers (in Rome) were classed 
 under four factions, distinguished by 
 their liveries: — white, red, sky-blue, 
 and green. Domitian added two more, 
 viz. the golden and the purple. 
 
 Charities. Masks. 
 
 " Our ladies laugh at bare-faced trulls when 
 they have those mutllers on, which they call 
 masks, and which were formerly much 'more 
 prtiperly called charity, because they cover a 
 multitude of s\\\s."—/iabeliiis : I'aiitaijruel, v. 27. 
 
 Charity. Charit;/ ber/ins at home. 
 ' ' Let them learn first to show piety at 
 home " (1 Tim. v. 4 and 8). 
 
 Cold as charitii. Than which what's 
 colder to him who gives and him who 
 takes y 
 
 Chariva'ri. The clatter made with 
 pots and pans, whistling, bawling, hiss- 
 ing, and so on. Our concert of "mar- 
 row-bones and cleavers" ; the German 
 Katzeninusik, got up to salute with 
 ridicule imequal marriages. Tutich is 
 our national Charivari, and clatters 
 weekly against political and social 
 wroug-sidedness. 
 
 Charlatan. The following etymology 
 is statable to a book of Phrase and Fable. 
 It is said that one Latan, a famous 
 quack, used to go about Paris in a 
 gorgeous car, in which he had a travel- 
 Uug dispensary. A man Avith a horn 
 announced the approach of this magnate, 
 and the delighted siglitseers used to cry 
 out, " Voila ! le char de Latan.''' When 
 I lived in Paris I often saw this gorgeous 
 car ; the horn-man had a drum also, and 
 M. Latan, dressed in a long showy robe, 
 wore sometimes a hat with feathers, 
 sometimes a brass helmet, and some- 
 times a showy cap. He was a tooth- 
 extracter as well as dispenser. 
 
 Probably " Latan " was an assumed name, for 
 charlatan is undoubtedly the Italian ciarkitauo, 
 a btibbler or quack. 
 
 Charlemagne. His nine wives were 
 Hamiltrude, a jjoor Prankish woman, 
 who bore him several children ; Desid- 
 erata, who was divorced ; Hildegarde, 
 Fastrade (daughter of Count Rodolph 
 the Saxon), and Luitgarde the German, 
 all three of whom died before him ; 
 Maltegarde ; Gersuinde the Saxon ; 
 Regi'na ; and Adalinda. 
 
 Charlemag)ie''s 2ieers. (See Paladins.) 
 
 Charleniar/ne's sword. La Joyeuse. 
 
 I'}iire Charleinar/nc. To carry off one's 
 wiimings without giving the adversaries 
 " their revenge." 
 
 " Faire Charlemagne c'est se retirer du jeu 
 avec tout son gain, ne point donner de revanche. 
 Charlemagne garda jusuu' a la tin toiites ses oon- 
 quetes et (i^uitta le jeu de la vie sans avidr rien 
 rendu du fruit de ses victoires. Le jouetu' qui se 
 retire les mains pleins, fait comme Charlemagne." 
 —Gf'inn ; liecreations, i. IStl.
 
 diaries 
 
 240 
 
 Chase' 
 
 Charles. An ill-omened name for 
 kings : 
 
 Enijhnid : Charles I. was beheaded by 
 his subjects. 
 
 Charles II. lived long in exile. 
 
 Charles Edward, the Young Pre- 
 tender, died in iroverty and disgrace in 
 France. 
 
 France : Charles I., the Bald, march- 
 ing to repel the invading Saracens, 
 was forsaken by his followers, and died 
 of poison at Erios. 
 
 Charles II., the Fat, reigned wretch- 
 edly, and died a beggarly dependent on 
 the stinting bounty of the Archbishop of 
 Metz. 
 
 Charles III., the Simple, died in the 
 dungeon of Chateau Thierry. 
 
 Charles IV., the Fair, reigned six 
 years, married thrice, but buried all his 
 children except one daughter, who was 
 forbidden by the Salic law to succeed to 
 the crown. 
 
 Charles VI. lived and died an idiot or 
 madman. 
 
 Charles VII. starved himself to death. 
 
 Charles VIII. smashed his head against 
 the lintel of a doorway in the Chateau 
 Aniboise, and died in agony. 
 
 Charles IX. died at the age of twenty- 
 four, harrowed in conscience for the 
 part he had taken in the ' ' Massacre of 
 St. Bartholomew." 
 
 Charles X. spent a quarter of a cen- 
 tury in exile, and when he succeeded to 
 the throne, tied for his life and died in 
 exile. 
 
 Charles le Temt'raire, of Burgundy, 
 lost his life at Nancy, where he was 
 utterly defeated by the Swiss. 
 
 Kaples : Charles I. saw the French 
 massacred iu the "Sicilian Vespers," 
 and experienced only disasters. 
 
 Charles II., the Lame, was in cap- 
 tivity at his father's death. 
 
 Charles III., his grandson, was assas- 
 sinated. (6VeJANE.) 
 
 Charles I. When Bernini's bust of 
 Charles I. was brought home, the King 
 was sitting in the garden of Chelsea 
 Palace. He ordered the bust to be un- 
 covered, and at the moment a hawk 
 with a bird in its beak flew by, and a 
 drop of the blood fell on the throat of 
 the bust. The bust was ultimately 
 destroyed when the palace was burnt 
 down. 
 
 Charles and the Oak. When 
 Charles II. fled from the Parliamentary 
 army, he took refuge in Boscobel House ; 
 but when he deemed it no longer safe to 
 remain there, he concealed himself in an 
 
 oak. Dr. Stukeley says that this tree 
 "stood just by a horse-track jiassiug 
 through the wood, and the king, with 
 Colonel Carlos, climbed into it by means 
 of the hen-roost ladder. The family 
 reached them victuals with a nut- 
 hook." {Itinerariiiin C'liriv'siiiii, iii. i). 
 TjI, 1724.) 
 
 Charles's Wain. The constellation 
 called the Great Bear, which forms the 
 outline of a wheelbarrow or rustic 
 wagon. "Charles" is a corruption of 
 the word churlcs. the farmer's wagon. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, ccorlcs tvccn.) 
 
 " Sometimes still further corrupted 
 into "King Charles's wain." 
 
 Charleys, or Charlies. The old night 
 watch, before the police force was organ- 
 ised iu 1829. So called from Charles I., 
 in whose reign the system was re-organ- 
 ised. (1640.) 
 
 Charlotte Elizabeth. Mrs. Tonna 
 (1792-1846). 
 
 Charm means a song. Incantation 
 is singing on or against some one. En- 
 chant is the same. (Latin, carnieii.) 
 
 Charon's Toll \j:arc'-u)!'\. A coin, 
 about equal to a penny, placed in the 
 mouth or hand of the dead to pay 
 Charon for ferrying the spirit across the 
 river Styx to the Elysian flelds. 
 
 Charter. {See People's Chaetee.) 
 
 Chartism. The political system of 
 the Chartists, who, in 1838, demanded 
 the People's Charter, consisting of five 
 principles : imiversal suffrage, annual 
 parliaments, stipendiary members, vote 
 by ballot, and electoral districts. 
 
 Charyb'dis \_ch=zk'\. A whirlpool 
 on the coast of Sicily. Scylla and Cha- 
 rybdis are employed to signify two equal 
 dangers. Thus Horace says an author 
 trying to avoid Scylla, drifts into Cha- 
 ry bdis, i.e. seeking to avoid one fault, 
 falls into another. The tale is that 
 Charybdis stole the oxen of Hercules, 
 was killed by lightning, and changed into 
 the gulf. 
 
 "Tlius when I sbun Scylla, youv fatlicr, I fall 
 into Charybdis, your iiiotlier." — Shakesficare : 
 ile)\-hant of Venice, iii. 5. 
 
 Chase {A). A small deer-forest held, 
 for the most part, by a private indivi- 
 dual, and protected only by common 
 law. Forests are roijal prerogatives, 
 protected by the " Forest Laws." 
 
 Chase {A). An iron frame used by 
 printers for holding sulficient type for
 
 Chasidim 
 
 241 
 
 Cheap 
 
 one side of a sheet. The type is first 
 set up letter by letter iii the " composiiig 
 stick," and is then transferred to tlie 
 '"galley," where it appears in columus. 
 It is next divided into pages, and then 
 transferred to the chase, where it is lield 
 tight by quoins, or small wedges of 
 wood. The word is French, cliasse (a 
 frame) ; our caxc-uunt. {Sec Stick.) 
 
 Chas'idim and Zad'ikim. After 
 tlie Eabj'lunish captivity the Jews were 
 divided into two groups — those who 
 accepted and those Avho rejected the 
 Persian innovation. The former were 
 called pietisin (chasidim), and the latter 
 uprir//iis (zadikiiu). 
 
 Chasseurs de Vincennes (French). 
 Tlie Duke of Orleans' ritle corps ; .so 
 called because they were garrisoned at 
 Vincennes. (1835.) 
 
 Chat. Kid d'inifl soiins chnis Vorcille 
 d'liii cliat. A mare's nest. This French 
 phrase is the tianslation of a line in 
 WjaikjTi de Worde's Aniudtig Qitestion.s, 
 printed in English in loll. " Demand : 
 What is that that never was and never 
 will be ':" Itesponsc : A mouse's nest in 
 a cat's ear." {>Scc Make's Nest.) 
 
 Chat de Beaugency (Xc). Keeping 
 the Avord of promise to the ear, but 
 breaking it to the sense. The legend is 
 this : An architect was emi^loyed to con- 
 struct a bridge over the Loii-e, opposite 
 Beaugency, bat not being able to ac- 
 complish it, made a league with tlie 
 devil to give his sable majesty the first 
 living being which ci'ossed the bridge. 
 The devil supposed it would be the 
 architect himself, but when the bridge 
 was finished the man threw a cat for- 
 wards, and it ran over the bridge like a 
 wild thing. The devil was furious, but 
 a bargain's a bargain, and the "cat of 
 Beaugency " became a proverb. 
 
 Chateaux en Espagne. \_Cmtles in 
 Spiiin.] _ A castle in the air; something 
 that exists only in the imagination. In 
 Spain there are no chateaux. {See 
 Castle.) 
 
 C7i iiteciu. Many wines are named after 
 the manor on which the grapes are 
 gro\vn: as Cluiteau Lajitte, Chateau, La 
 Tour, Clidlean Mnrr/aux, Chateau Rose 
 (and Bordeaux), Chateau Yqxein (a white 
 Bordeaux), etc. 
 
 Chat'telin's. A fashionable coffee- 
 house in the reign of Charles II. 
 
 " MtH tlieir servant cnming to bring nie to Cliat- 
 eliii's, till' French house, in Covent l-iarden, and 
 then- with music ami aootl coniiianv . . . niii-'litv 
 iu"ny till ten at niu'lit. The Duke of Monnirmtii 
 ami a great many blades were at Chatelin's, and I 
 left them there."— Pt;/!,^'; Diary, April s^nil, lUiB. 
 
 16 
 
 Chatterbox. A talkative person. 
 The Germans have Plandertatichc (chat- 
 ter bag). Shakespeare speaks of the 
 clack-dish. "His use was to ijut a 
 ducat in her clack-dish" {Measure for 
 Measure, iii. 2) — i.e. the box or dish used 
 by beggars for collecting alms, which 
 the holder clatters to attract attention. 
 We find also chatter-basket in old 
 writers, referring to the child's rattle. 
 
 Chatterhouse. To go through tlie 
 ehatterJioiise. Between the legs of one or 
 more boys, set apart like an inverted a, 
 who strike, witli their hands or caps, 
 the victim as he creeps through. Halli- 
 well {Archaic Diet.) gives chat, a small 
 twig, and chatter, to bruise ; also cJiat- 
 toeks, refuse wood left in making fag- 
 gots. Probablj', the boys used little 
 twigs or sticks instead of caps or hands. 
 And to go through chatterhouse means 
 to get a trouucmg or tunding. The pun 
 between chatterhouse and charterhouse 
 is obvious. 
 
 Chatterpie. Same as chatterbox. 
 The pie means the magpie, {^og, to 
 chatter.) (See llalliaell.) 
 
 Chaucer of Painting {The). Albert 
 Diirer of Xurnberg (1471-lo28;. "The 
 prince of artists." 
 
 Chauvin. A bHnd idolater of Xapo- 
 leon the Great. The name is taken 
 from Les Aides do Camp, by Bayard and 
 Dumanoir, but was popularised in 
 Charet's Conscrit Chauvin. 
 
 Chauvinism. A blind idolatry of 
 Napoleon the Great. Now it means 
 a blind and pugnacious patriotism : a 
 warlike spirit. 
 
 "Chauvin, patriote ardent, jusnu'a I'exagi-ra- 
 tion. Allusion au uoni d'un type de caricature 
 populaire, coiiinie le prouve cet exeiuple: isi'o, 
 epocjue ou un liberalism plus larue commenga a 
 se moquer de ces eloges donncs aux ciuiscrit 
 Chauvin, tit justice de ces niaiseriesde I'opinion." 
 —Lore'dan J.archey : Dictioimaire de VArpot Ja- 
 risicn, ISTL'. 
 
 Chawbacon {A). An uncouth rustic, 
 supposed to eat no meat but bacon. 
 
 1 myself knew a most respectable dav-laliourer. 
 who liad saved up enough money to keep liiniselt 
 in old age, who told me he never saw or touched 
 any meat m his cottage but bacon, except once a 
 year, and that was oh club-day iLsrui. He never 
 ate rabbit, game, chicken, or duck. 
 
 Chawed up. Done for, utterly dis- 
 comfited, demolished. [American.) 
 
 Che sa'ra, sa'ra. What shall be 
 will be. The motto of the Eussells 
 (Bedford). 
 
 " Wh.-it doctrine call ye tins, Che sara, sara ? "— 
 Faust (Aiister't: translation), i, 1. 
 
 Cheap as a Sardinian. A Eoman 
 phrase referring to the great crowds of
 
 Cheap Jack 
 
 242 
 
 Cheeseparer 
 
 Sardiiiiau prisouers brouglit to Rome by 
 Tiberius Gracchus, and offered for sale 
 at almost auy price. 
 Cheap Jack. Jack, the diap-man. 
 
 Not clicup, m(;aiiiiig low-priced, but 
 clica]) meauiiif^ merchant, as in "chap- 
 man," "Clie;ij)-side,"etc. Jack is a tenn 
 applied to inferior persons, etc. (Saxon, 
 cr/ju, a merchant ; ccupiaii, to buy ; ccajj- 
 iiKOui, a tradesman.) {'See Jack.) 
 
 Cheapside Bargain {A). A very 
 weak pun, meanin<r that the article was 
 bought cheap or under its market value. 
 
 Cheater (2 syl.) originally meant an 
 I'.ncltcuior or otticer of the king's ex- 
 chequer appointed to receive dues and 
 taxes. The present nse of tlie word 
 shows how these officers were wont to 
 fleece the jDeople. (<S'«' Catchpolk). 
 
 '.' Compare with escheator the New 
 Testament word " Publicans," or col- 
 lectors of the llonian tax in Juda;a, etc. 
 
 Chech. Called also stone-chest, kist- 
 vaen (a sepulcln-al monument or crom- 
 lecli). 
 
 " We llnd a rude cliecli or flat stnne nf an oval 
 f(irni,:iliinit three yards in leiiprtli, live feet over 
 where liroadest, ami ten or twelve inches tliick." 
 
 Checkmate, in the game of che.ss, 
 means placing your adversary's king in 
 such a position that he can neither cover 
 nor move out of check. Figuratively, 
 " to checkmate " means to foil or outwit 
 another ; elieekniatcd, outmanteuvred. 
 "Mate" (Arabic, iiiCit, dead; Spanish, 
 liiatar, to kill). The Gemian scltaeh 
 means both chess and check, and the 
 Italian seacco means the squares of the 
 chess-board ; but f^chach-nnttt and seneeo- 
 matto = check-mate. The French echcc 
 is a "stoppage," whence donner ov faire 
 ichec et mat, to make a stoppage (check) 
 and dead ; tlie Sj)anish, xaque dc mate 
 means the check of death (or final check). 
 
 V If we go to Arabic for "mate," why 
 not go there for "check" also'r' And 
 " sheik mat " =: the king dead, would be 
 consistent and exact. (<^Ve Chess.) 
 
 Cheek. I\onc of your chcel;. None 
 of j'our insolence. "None of j'our 
 jaw " means none of j'our nagging or 
 word irritation. 
 
 *,* We say a man is very cheeky, mean- 
 ing that he is saucy and presumptuous. 
 
 To yirc check. To be insolent. " Give 
 me none of your cheek." 
 
 To hare the check. To have tlie face 
 
 or assurance. "He hadn't the cheek to 
 
 ask for more." 
 
 "On acrount of his having so nuicU cheeUi"— 
 Dickais: Bleak House. 
 
 Cheek {T<>). To be saucy. "You 
 must cheek him well," i.e. confront him 
 with fearless iini)udence ; face him out. 
 
 Cheek by Jowl. In intimate con- 
 fabnlatidii; trtc-ci-tctc. Cheek is the 
 Anglo-Saxon ccca, cedc-hdn, clieek-bone ; 
 and jowl is the Anglo-Saxon ccolc (the 
 jaw) ; Irish, gxal. 
 
 "I'll tro with thee, cheek hy jowl."— iSVmte- 
 speare : Mkltmijimer A'tyht's lireiiiii, iii. 2. 
 
 Cheese. 
 
 Tus.scr saj's that a cheese, to be per- 
 fect, should not be like (1) Geha/.i, /.'-. 
 dead white, like a leper ; (2) not like 
 Lot's wife, all salt ; (15) not like Argus, 
 full of eyes ; (4) not like Tom Piper, 
 " lioven and puffed," like the cheeks of 
 a piper ; (.5) not like Cri-;pin, leatherj' ; 
 (()) not like Lazarus, poor ; (7) not like 
 Esau, hairy ; (8) not like Mary !M;igda- 
 lene, full of whey or maudlin ; (9) not 
 like tlie Gentiles, full of maggots or 
 gentils ; and (lU) not like a bishop, 
 made of l)urnt milk. {Fire Jliindred 
 I'oiiitx of Goiid JIi(s/jinidiy.) 
 
 V A cheese which has no resemblance 
 to these ten defects is "quite the cheese." 
 
 Bread and cheese. Food generallv, but 
 of a frugal nature. "Come and take 
 your bread and cheese with me this 
 evening." 
 
 A (jrecn cheenc. An unripe cheese. 
 
 The moon made of fp-eoi cheese. A 
 slight resemblance, but not in the least 
 likelj'. "You will persuade him to 
 believe that the moon is made of green 
 cheese." {Sec ahorc.) 
 
 ^Tis an old rat that )rou''t cat cheese. 
 It must be a woudrously toothless man 
 that is inaccessible to flatteiy ; he nuKst 
 bo very old indeed wlio can abandon his 
 favourite indulgence; only a very cun- 
 ning rat knows that cheese is a mere 
 bait. 
 
 Cheese. Something choice (Anglo- 
 Saxon, ceos-an, to choose ; (ieiniMn, 
 kiescn ; Fiench, choisir). Chaucer .says, 
 "To cheese whether she wold him niarry 
 or no." 
 
 "Now thou niiplit cheese 
 How thou couetist [covetest] to calnie, now thou 
 Knowist all mi names." 
 
 r. Ploiuihmati's Visimi. 
 
 It is not the cheese. Not the right 
 thing ; not what I should clioose. 
 
 He is (jHttc tlie cheese or J/isi the cheese 
 — i.e. quite the thing. By a double 
 refinement we get the slang varieties, 
 ThaVs prime Stilton, ov double Glo'ster — 
 i.e. slap bang up. 
 
 Cheeseparer {A). A skinflint; a 
 man of small savings ; economy carried
 
 Cheeseparing 
 
 243 
 
 Cherry 
 
 to excess — like one who pares or shaves 
 off very thinly the rind of his cheese 
 instead of cutting it off. The tale is 
 well known of the man who cliose his 
 wife out of three sisters hy the way they 
 ate theii' cheese. One pared it— she (he 
 said) was mean ; one cut it off exti-ava- 
 gaiitly thick — she was wasteful ; the 
 third sliced it off in a medium way, and 
 tliure liis choice fell. 
 
 Cheeseparing Economy. A useless 
 economy. The French say, " Z'ne econo- 
 mic dc hoiits (Ic chaudcUv." The allusion 
 is to the well-known tale of a man who 
 chose one of three sisters for wife by 
 the way they pared their cheese. {See 
 ahnrc.) 
 
 Cheese-Toaster (^J). A sword; also 
 called a "toasting-fork." "Come! out 
 with your toaster." In Latin rem 
 means a dart, a spit used in roasting, or 
 a toasting fork. Thus we have '•'• pny- 
 nimt miicrone rcruque SahcUo " {^l^it. vii. 
 663), and in JEii. i. '210, etc., we read 
 that the men prepared their sujjper, 
 after slaying the beasts, ' 'pars in friistra 
 secant, vcniliis/jiie trementia fguntV In 
 the former example rem is used for an 
 instrument of war, and in the latter for 
 a toasting-fork or spit. 
 
 Cheesewring (Lynton, Devon). A 
 mass of eight stones, towering to the 
 height of thirty-two feet ; .so called 
 because it looks like a gigantic cheesc- 
 pi'ess. This is probably a natural work, 
 the effect of some convulsion. The 
 Kilmarth Eocks, and part of Hugh 
 Lloyd's Pulpit, present somewhat sunOar 
 jiiles of stone. 
 
 Chef d'(Euvre. A masterpiece. 
 (French.) (Pronounce sha deuvr.) 
 
 Chemistry {Iccnvistry] is from the 
 Arabic kiniia, whence al-kiinia (the 
 occult art), from kamai (to conceal). 
 
 Inovf/anic c/iemistri/ is tliat branch of 
 chemistry which is limited to metallic 
 and non-metallic substances, which are 
 not organised bodies. 
 
 Orf/anic cJicmistri/ is devoted to or- 
 ganised bodies and their elements. 
 
 Che'mos or CJwmosh [Kce'mosh']. 
 War- god of the Moabites ; god of lust. 
 
 '■ Xext, Chemos, tbe obscene dre;ia of iloab's 
 sons, 
 Fniin Ar'oer to Nelio, and the wild 
 Of southniDSt Ab'arim." 
 
 Milton : Faradise Lost, hook i, 406-8. 
 
 Chennap'pa. The city of Chen- 
 itappa. So Madras is called by the 
 natives. 
 
 Chenu (French). Hoary, grey-headed. 
 This word is much used in Paris to sig- 
 nify good, delicate, exquisite in Jtaroi/r, 
 delicious, de hon gout. It was originally 
 applied to wine which is improved by 
 age. Thus we hear commonly in Paris 
 the expression, " Voild dii Tin qui est 
 hicn chenu'''' (mellow with age) . Some- 
 times gr'is (grey.with age) is substituted, 
 as, "xVoMS en boirons tant de ce bon rin 
 gris" {Le Tresor dcs Chansons Now. elles, 
 p. 78). The word, however, is by no 
 means limited to wine, but is appUeJ to 
 well-nigh everything worthy of com- 
 mendation. We even hear Chenu lleltiit, 
 good morning ; and Chenu sorgue, good 
 night. "Reluit," of course, means 
 "sunshine," and "sorgue" is an old 
 French word for evening or brown. 
 "Chenumeut" —a merveilh'. 
 
 Chequers. A pubUc-hou.se sign. In 
 England without doubt the arms of 
 Fitzwarren, the hf ad of which house, in 
 the days of the Henrys, was invested 
 with the power of Uceusing vintners and 
 publicans, may have helped to popu- 
 larise this sign, which indicated that the 
 house was duly licensed ; but the sign 
 has been found on houses in exhumed 
 Pompeii, and probably referred to some 
 game, like our draughts, which might 
 be indulged in on the premises. Pos- 
 sibly in some cases certain public-houses 
 were at one time used for the payment 
 of doles, etc., and a chequer-board was 
 provided for the ])urpose. In such cases 
 the sign indicated tlie house where the 
 parish authorities met for that and other 
 purx'oses. 
 
 Cherone'an [ch=k]. The Chcv(»)can 
 Sage. Plutarch, who was born at 
 Chajrons'a, in Bceotia (46-120). 
 
 "This vlirase, O C'lieronean sagp, is thine." 
 Beattie : Minstrel. 
 
 Cherry. The u-hole tree or tioi a 
 cherrg on it. " Aut Casar out nullus." 
 All in all or none at all. 
 
 "This Hospitaller seems to be one of tliose 
 pragmatical knaves who must have the whole 
 tree', or they'll not have a cherry on it." 
 
 To make ttco bites of a cherrg. To 
 divide something too small to be worth 
 dividing. 
 
 Cherry Fairs. Now called tea- 
 gardens. Nothing to do with cherries ; 
 it is cheeiy fairs — i.e. gay or recreation 
 fairs. A " cheering " is a merry- 
 making. Halliwell tells us that " Cheriy 
 (or rather chery) fairs are still held in 
 Worcestershire." Gower says of this
 
 Cherry 
 
 244 
 
 Chevy Chase 
 
 world, "Alle is but a cherye-fayre," a 
 phrase frequently met with. 
 
 "This life, mv son, is init a cliery-fayre."— J/.S". 
 BoiU. Tj\ tciinitcd by llalUtcell). 
 
 Cherry Trees and the Cuckoo. 
 
 The clierry tree is strangely mixed up 
 with the cuckoo in many cuckoo stories, 
 because of the tradition that the cuckoo 
 must eat three good meals of cherries 
 before he is allowed to cease singing. 
 
 " f'uckod, ciicknii, cliprry-tree, 
 Gooii liii-d, iiritbee, tell to me 
 How many years I am to see." 
 
 The answer is made by the cuckoo 
 repeating its cry the prophetic number 
 of times. 
 
 Cher'ubims. The 11th Hussars are 
 so called, by a bad pun, because their 
 trousers are of a chcrrij colour. 
 
 Chery and Fair-Star. Chery was 
 the sou of a king's brother and Bru- 
 netta ; Fair-star was the daughter of 
 the king and Blond'iua, the two fathers 
 being brotliers, and the two mothers 
 sisters. They were cast on the sea 
 adrift, but were found and brought up 
 by a corsair and his wife. Ultimately 
 they are told of their birth by a green 
 bird, and marry each other. This tale 
 is imitated from The Sisters who Enrivd 
 their Yoiniijer Sister, in Arabian Niglits. 
 
 N.B. — The name is from the French 
 cher (dear), and is about equal to 
 "deary" or "dear one." It is quite 
 wrong to spell it with a double r. 
 {Comtesse (rAidnoij : lairi/ Talcs.) 
 
 Cheshire is the Latin castra' -shire, 
 called by the Romans Deva'na castra 
 (the camp town of Deva, or Dee- 
 mouth). 
 
 Chess. Called by the Hindus chctur- 
 niuja (the four angas) — i.e. the four 
 members of the army — viz. elephants, 
 horses, chariots, and foot-soldiers; called 
 by the ancient Persians chetrang. The 
 Arabs, who have neither c nor g, called 
 it shctranj, which modern Persians cor- 
 rupted into sacehi, whence the Italian 
 scaechi, German schach, French echcc, 
 our chess. {See page 242, Checkmate.) 
 
 Chesterfield, lauded by Thomson in 
 his Wmter is the fourth earl, author of 
 ChesterJieltVs Letters to His Son (1694- 
 1773). 
 
 Chesterfield House (London) was built 
 by Isaac Ware for Philip, fourth earl of 
 Chesterfield. {See above.) 
 
 Chestnut. A stale joke. In The 
 Brolioi Sirord, an old melodrama by 
 William Dillon, Captain Xavier isfor ever 
 
 telling the same jokes with variations. 
 He was telling about one of his exploits 
 connected with a cork-tree, when Pablo 
 corrects him, " A chestnut-tree you 
 mean, captain." "Bah! (replied the 
 captain) I saj' a cork-tree." " A chest- 
 nut-tree," insists Pablo. " I must 
 know better than you (said the captain) ; 
 it was a cork-tree, I say." " A chest- 
 nut (persisted Pablo). I have heard 
 you tell the joke twenty-seven time.s 
 and I am sure it was a chestnut." 
 
 "Is not tliis an ilUistration of the enduiinK 
 vitality of the 'chestnut'? [joke]."— i\'o(es and 
 
 Chestnut Sunday. Rogation Sim- 
 day, or the Sunday before Ascension 
 Day. 
 
 Cheval (French, a cheval). Troops 
 are arranged a cheral wlien they com- 
 mand two roads, as Wellington's army 
 at Waterloo, which, being at tlie apex 
 of two roads, commanded that between 
 Charleroi and Brussels, as well as that 
 to Mons. 
 
 "The Western Powers will assuredly never 
 jiermit Russia to place herself again a cheval 
 between the Ottoman empire and Persia."-. r/ie 
 Times. 
 
 Cheval de Bataille (His). His 
 
 strong argument. (See Xotes and Queries, 
 May 22nd, 188G, p. 410.) 
 
 Chevalier d'Industrie. A man 
 
 who lives by his wits and calls himself a 
 gentleman. 
 
 " Denicheur de fauvettes, chevalier de I'ordre 
 de I'lnditstrie, qui va chercher iiueluuo hou nid, 
 (luelijue fenmie qui lui fasse sa fortune."— Gon- 
 gam, ou I'Hoinme Prodigieux (1713). 
 
 Chevalier du Brouillard (X^). The 
 
 French Jack Shcppard. A drama. 
 
 Chevaux de Frise (French). Horses 
 of Friesland. A beam filled with spikes 
 to keep ofl: horses ; so called from its use 
 in the siege of Gron'ingen, Friesland, in 
 1594. A somewhat similar engine had 
 been used before, but was not called by 
 the same name. In Genuan it is "a 
 Spanish horseman" {eiii Spaiiiseher 
 Hciter). 
 
 Cheveril. He lias a chereril con- 
 science. One that will easily stretch like 
 cheveril or kid leather. 
 
 "Oh, here's a wit of cheveril, that stretches 
 from an inch narrow to an ell broad!" — Shake- 
 speare : Itomeo and Juliet, li. i. 
 " Your soft cheveril conscience -wnnld receive, 
 If you might please to stretch it." 
 
 Shakespeare : Jlenry Vllf., ii. 3. 
 
 Chevy Chase. There had long been 
 a rivalry between the families of Percy 
 and Douglas, which showed itself by
 
 Chiabreresco 
 
 24o 
 
 Chicken 
 
 incessant raids into each other's terri- 
 tory. Percy of Northumberland one 
 day vowed he would hunt for three days 
 in the Scottish border, without conde- 
 scending to ask leave of Earl Douglas. 
 The Scotch warden said in his auger, 
 " Tell this vauuter he shall find one day 
 more than sufficieut." The ballad called 
 Clicvii C'/iasc mixes up this hunt with the 
 battle of Otterburn, which. Dr. Percy 
 justly observes, was "a very different 
 event." (Chaucer, c/ievachic, a military 
 expedition on horseback.) 
 
 " Til louiler straius lie raised his voice, to tell 
 What wnfiil wars in ' t'hevy Chase' liefell, 
 AVheu Percy drove the deer with hound and 
 
 horn, 
 ■Wars to be wept Ijy children yet unborn." 
 
 Gay : Pastoral VT, 
 
 Chiabreres'co (Italian). Poetry 
 formed on the Greek model ; so called 
 from Gabriel Chi;ibre'ra, surnamed the 
 "Pindar of Italy" (1552-1637). 
 
 Chiar-oscuro [pronounce ke-ar-roa- 
 Jcii'-ro]. A style of painting now called 
 " black and white." 
 
 "Chiar-oscuro .... is the art of representing 
 liKht in shadow and shadow in light, so that the 
 parts represented in shadow shall still have the 
 clearness and warmth of those in light: and 
 those in light, the depth and softness of those in 
 shadow."— C/iamtej'S .• Encyclopcedia, iii. p. 171. 
 
 Chib'ia'bos. The musician ; the har- 
 mony of nature jjersonified. He teaches 
 the birds to sing aud the brooks to war- 
 ble as they flow. " All the many sounds 
 of nature borrow sweetness from his 
 singing." 
 
 " Very dear to Hiawatha 
 ■Was the gentle Chiliiabos. 
 For his gentleness he loved him, 
 And the magic of his singing." 
 
 LoiiijfeUow : Iliaa-atha, vi. 
 
 Chibouque (A). A smoking-pipe with 
 a long tube, used in the East (Turkish). 
 
 Chic. Fashionable ; comme il faiit ; 
 the mode. This is an archaic French 
 word in vogue in the seventeenth cen- 
 tury. It really is the Spanish chico, 
 little, also a little boj', and ehica, a little 
 girl or darling. Similarly, icer in Scotch 
 is a loving term of admiration and pride. 
 (Chic is an abbreviation of the Gennan 
 f/eschickt, apt, clever.) 
 " J'use de mots de I'art, je met en marge lilc ; 
 
 J'espere avec le terns que j'entendrai le chic." 
 Les Satyres de Vii Lorcns, xii. p. 'J7. 
 
 Aroir le chic. To have the knack of 
 doing the thing smartly. 
 
 Chicard and c/iica>idard=: elegant, do 
 ffvand sti/le, are very common expressions 
 ■with artists. 
 
 Chich'ivache (3 syl.). French for 
 the ''sorry cow," a monster that lived 
 only on good women — all skin and bone, 
 
 because its food was so extremely scarce. 
 The old English romancers invented 
 another monster, which they called 
 Bicorn, as fat as the other was lean ; 
 but, luckily, he had for food " good and 
 enduring husbands," of which there is 
 no lack. {Sec Bicoen.) 
 
 " O noble wy ves, ful of heigh prudeu'ce. 
 Let noon humilitie your tonges nayle : 
 No lat no clerk have cause or diligen'ce 
 
 T(j write of you a story of such mervayle 
 As of Griseldes, pacient and kynde. 
 Lest Chichi-vache you swolweiu h jr entraile." 
 Chaucer : L' Envoy e de Cliaucer, v. 9064. 
 
 The French cJtic/ic -face means "thin- 
 face." Lydgate wrote a poem entitled 
 
 JBi/co me (Did Uh ii'/icvache. 
 
 Chick-a-biddy (A). A child's name 
 for a young cliicken, and a mother's 
 word of endearment to her young child. 
 "Biddy" is merely the call of a chUd, 
 bid-bid-bid- bid to a chicken. 
 
 " Do you, sweet Rob ? Do you truly, chicka- 
 biddy ? "— Dickens : Doinbey and Son. 
 
 Chicken, (plural ch ickens). It is quite 
 a mistake to suppose "chickens" to be 
 a double plural. The Anglo-Saxon 
 is cicen, plural ciccu-u. We have a few 
 pliu'al fonns in -en, as o.x-eu, brack-en, 
 children, brethren, hosen, aud eyeu ; 
 but of these children and brethren are 
 not the most ancient forms. "Chick" 
 is a mere contraction of cliicken. 
 
 The old plural forms of "child" are child-r-e, 
 dialectic child-cr; childnn is a later form. The 
 <dd plural formsof " liroth:'r" a.rehrnthru.hruthri', 
 hrelli re; later forms are bretli rcn aud hrotlires tnow 
 hrolliers). 
 
 Children and chicken inttst alicai/s be 
 pickin\ Are always hungry and ready 
 to eat food. 
 
 To count your chickens ere iheij are 
 hatched (Hudibras). To anticipate pro- 
 fits before they come. One of JEsop's 
 fables describes a market woman saying 
 she would get so much for her eggs, with 
 the money she would buy a goose ; the 
 goose in time would bring her so much, 
 "with which she would buy a cow, aud so 
 on ; but in her excitement she kicked 
 over her basket, and all her eggs were 
 broken. The Latins said, "Don't sing 
 your song of triumph before you have 
 won the victory " {ante victo'riain can' ere 
 triumphnut). "Don't crow till you are 
 out of the wood " has a similar meaning. 
 {See page 36, col. 2, Alnaschar's 
 Deeam.) 
 
 Curses like chickens come home to roost. 
 {Sec under Cueses.) 
 
 Mother Carey'' s chickens. {See Mothee 
 Caeey.) 
 
 Slices no chicken. Not young. The 
 young child as well as the young fowl is 
 called a chicken or chick.
 
 Chicken 
 
 216 
 
 Children 
 
 Chicken of St. Nicholas {The). So 
 the Piedmontese call the ladybird, or 
 little red beetle with spots of black, 
 called by the Russians " God's little 
 cow," aud by the Germans, " God's 
 little horse " sent as a messenger of love. 
 
 Chicken-hearted. Cowardly. Young 
 fowls are remarkably timid, and run to 
 the wing of the heu upon the slightest 
 cause of alarm. 
 
 Chien. Entre chien et hup. Dusk, 
 between daylight and lamp-Ught ; owl- 
 light. 
 
 "The best time to talk nf difficult things is 
 entre chien et loitp. ;is the Wuenisey folk say."— 
 Mm. Edwardes: A Uiiiuii (iiii, chap. xlvi. 
 
 Chien de Jean de Nivelle (Lc), 
 •which never came when it was called. 
 Jean de Nivelle was the eldest son of 
 Jean II. de Montmorency, born about 
 1423. He espoused the cause of the 
 Duke of Burgundy against the orders 
 of Louis XI. and the wish of his father, 
 who disinherited him. Bouillet says : 
 Jean de Nivelle etait devenu en France 
 a cause du refus qu'il fit de repondre a 
 I'appel de son roi uu objet de haiue et 
 de mepris ; et le peuple lui doima le 
 suruom injurieux de chien, de la le pro- 
 verbe. 
 
 " O'est le cliien do Jean de Nivelle 
 Qui s'eii fuit toujours quand on I'appelle. 
 
 The Italians call this Arlotto's dog. 
 
 Child, at one time, meant a female 
 infant, aud was the correlative of boy. 
 
 " JU'rcy on 's ! A liarue, a very pretty harne. 
 A boy or a child, 1 wonder ?"— Shakespeare: 
 Winter's Tale, iii. 3. 
 
 Child of God {A), in the Anglican 
 and Catholic Church, means one wlio 
 has been bajitised ; others .consider the 
 phrase to mean one converted by special 
 grace and adopted into the holy family 
 of God's Church. 
 
 " In my baptism, wherein I was made a nioraber 
 of Christ, the chihl of (iod, and an inheritor of 
 the Kinydoiii (jf llt':i\en."— Church Catechism. 
 
 Child of the Cord. So the de- 
 fendant was called by the judges of the 
 vehmgericht in Westphalia, because 
 everyone condemned by the tribunal 
 was hanged to the branch of a tree. 
 
 Childe, as C7iilde Harold, ChUdo of 
 JEUcchilde Waters, Childe Roland, Childe 
 Tristram, Childe Arthur, etc. In all 
 these cases the word "Childe" is a 
 title of honour, like the infante and 
 infanta of Spain. In the times of 
 chivalry, the noble youths who were 
 candidates for knighthood were, during 
 their time of probation, called iiifaus, 
 valets, d((iiioi/sels, and bachcUers, ChiWe 
 
 or infant was the term given only to the 
 most noble. (In Anglo-Saxon, the same 
 word {cuihf'\ means both a child aud a 
 knight.) 
 
 Childe Harold. A man sated of the 
 world, who roams from place to jjlace to 
 flee from himself. The " childe " is, iu 
 fact, Lord Byron himself, who was only 
 twenty-one when he began, and twenty- 
 eight when he finished the jjoem. In 
 canto i. (1809), he visited Portugal and 
 Spain ; iu canto ii. (1810), Turkey in 
 Europe ; in canto iii. (ISlC)), Belgium 
 and Switzerland ; aud in canto iv. (1817), 
 Venice, liome, aud Florence. 
 
 Children. Tlie children in the irood. 
 The master of Wayland Hall, Norfolk, 
 on his deathbed left a little son, 
 three years old, and a still younger 
 daughter, named Jane, to the care of 
 his wife's brother. The boy was to 
 have £300 a j^ear when he came of 
 age, and the girl £500 as a wedding 
 portion ; but, ii the children died pre- 
 viously, the luicle was to inherit. After 
 twelve mouths had elapsed, the uncle 
 hired two rtiffians to murder the two 
 babes. As they went along one of the 
 ruffians relented, and killed; his fellow ; 
 then, i^utting down the children iu 
 a wood, left them. The poor babes 
 gathered blackberries to allay their 
 hunger, but died during the night, and 
 "Robin Redbreast" covered them over 
 with strawberry leaves. All things went 
 ill with the cruel uncle ; his sons died, 
 his barns were fired, his cattle died, 
 and he himself perished in gaol. After 
 the lapse of seven years, the rufiian was 
 taken up for highway robbery, and con- 
 fessed the whole affair. {Fere// : Mc- 
 lie/Kcs, iii. ii. 18.) 
 
 " Then sad he sung ' The Children in tlie Wood.' 
 (Ah ! barbarous uncle, stained with infant 
 
 Idood !) 
 How Idackberries they plucked in deserts wild, 
 And fearless at the glittering falchion smiled j 
 Their little corpse the robin-redbreast found, 
 And strewed with pious bill the leaves arouiul." 
 Gay : Pastoral VI. 
 
 Children. Three hundred and sixty- 
 five at a birth. It is said that the 
 Countess of Henneberg accused a beggar 
 of adultery because she carried twins, 
 whereupon the beggar prayed that the 
 countess might carry as many children 
 as there are days in the year. Accord- 
 ing to the legend, this happened on 
 Good Friday, 1276. All the males were 
 named John, and all the females Eliza- 
 beth. The countess was forty-two at 
 the time. 
 
 Children as plural of "child." {See 
 under Chicken, j^iage 245, col. 2.)
 
 Chilenos 
 
 247 
 
 Chintz 
 
 Chile'nos. People of Chili. 
 
 Chilian. A native of Chili, pertain- 
 ing to Chili, etc. 
 
 Chil'iasts [///'/r/.v^v]. Another word 
 for Milli'H'ariaiis : those who believe 
 that Clnist will return to this earth and 
 reign a thousand years in the midst of His 
 saints. (Greek, chUias, a thousand.) 
 
 Chillingham Cattle. A breed of 
 cattle {hos i<(iin<s) in the park of the Earl 
 of Tankerville, supposed to be the last 
 remnant of the wild oxen of Britain. 
 
 Chillon'. Prisoner of ChiUon. Fran- 
 <;ois de Bonnivard, of Lunes. Lord 
 Byron makes him one of six brothers, 
 all of whom suffered as martyrs. The 
 father and two sons died on the battle- 
 field ; one was burnt at the stake ; three 
 were incarcerated in the dungeon of 
 Chillon, near the lake of Gene'va — of 
 these, two died, and Frant^ois was set 
 at liberty by "the Beamais. " Byron 
 says that Bonnivard has left traces of 
 his footsteps in the pavement of the 
 dungeon. He was put iu prison for 
 "republican principles" by the Duke- 
 Bishop of Savoj% (1496-1570.) 
 
 Chilminar' and Balbec. Two cities 
 built by the Genii, acting under the 
 orders of Jan ben Jan, who governed 
 the world long before the time of Adam. 
 Chilminar, or the "Forty Pillars," is 
 Persep'olis. These two cities were built 
 as lurking places for the Genii to hide in. 
 
 Chiltern Hundreds [The). There 
 are three, viz. Stoke, Desborough, and 
 Bonenham (or Buniham). At one time 
 the Chiltern Hills, between Bedford and 
 Hertford, etc., were covered with beech 
 trees which foiTued shelter for robbers ; 
 so a steward was appointed by the 
 Crown to put down these marauders 
 and protect the inhabitants of the 
 neighbourhood from depredations. The 
 necessity of such watch and ward has 
 long since ceased, but the office remains; 
 and, since 1750, when a Member of Par- 
 liament wishes to vacate his seat, one 
 way of doing so is by applying for the 
 stewardship of the three Chiltern Hun- 
 dreds. The application being granted, 
 the Member is advanced to an ojficc loidrr 
 the C'roirn, and his seat in the House 
 is ex officio vacated. Immediately the 
 Member has effected his object, he 
 resigns his office again. The gift is in 
 the hands of the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer. It was refused to a Member 
 for Reading in 1842. 
 
 ? The Stewardships used for a similar 
 purpose were Old Sarum (in Sussex), 
 
 East Hendred (in Berks), the Manor of 
 Poynings (in Sussex), Hempholwic (in 
 Yorkshu-e), all of which have dropped 
 out of use. The Stewardship of the 
 Manor of Northstead (in Yorks) survives 
 (1894), but the Escheatorships of Munster 
 and Ulster were abolished in 1838. 
 
 The London Gazette iif August 4, 18'.B, anuounced 
 th.-it tlie "Chancellor of the Excheijuer has aii- 
 pointed William Henry Grenfell to be steward 
 and hailiffi i>f the Chiltern Hundreds iu the rooni 
 cif J(diu Mcirrdgh, resijrne<l." 
 
 Chimaera [kime'ra]. An illusory 
 fancy, a wild, incongruous scheme, a 
 castle in the air. Homer describes the 
 chimaera as a monster with a goat's 
 body, a lion's head, and a dragon's tail. 
 It was born iu Lycia, and was slain by 
 Bellerophon. (Greek, chiiiiaira, a she- 
 goat.) 
 
 Chime in with {To). To be in har- 
 mony with, to accord with, to fall in 
 with. The allusion is to chiming bells. 
 
 "This chinieil in with Mr. Dmnliey's own hope 
 and belief."— K/cA'fHs: Vumbey aiid Son. 
 
 Chimney Money or Hearth 
 iiioiiei/. A Crown duty for every fire- 
 place in a house (14 Car. ii. c. 2). Re- 
 pealed by 1 Will. & Mary, i. c. 2. 
 
 Chimneypot Hat (A). The ordin- 
 ary cylindrical l)lack-silk hat, generally 
 worn as more dressy than the soft felt 
 hats or stiff billj'cocks. Called by the 
 French cheniiiiee. 
 
 Chinese Gordon. General Gordon 
 (afterwards killed at Khartoum), who 
 succeeded in putting down the Taeping 
 rebellion, which broke out in 1851 and 
 lasted fifteen years. The rebels had 
 ravaged sixteen of the eighteen pro- 
 vinces, and had destroyed six hundred 
 cities. In 1861 Ward raised an anny 
 called the "Ever Victorious," which 
 was placed under General Gordon, and 
 in 1864 the rebellion was stamped out. 
 
 Chingachgook. The Indian chief 
 in Fenimore Cooper's Laat of the 
 Mohicans, Fathfnder, Deer.slai/er, and 
 Pioneer. Called in French Lc Gros 
 Serpent. 
 
 Chink or Jink. Money ; so called 
 because it chinks or jingles iu the purse. 
 Thus, if a person is asked if he has 
 money, he rattles that which he has in 
 his purse or pocket. 
 
 " Have chinks in thy purse." Ttisscr. 
 
 Chintz means spotted. The cotton 
 goods originally manufactured in the 
 East. (Persian, chinz, spotted, stained ; 
 Hindu, eliint, plur. chints ; Sanscrit, 
 chitra, variegated.)
 
 CMOS 
 
 248 
 
 Chloe 
 
 Chios (Ki'os). The man of C'liios. 
 Homer, who lived at Chios, near the 
 ^Ege'au Sea. Seven cities claim to be 
 his place of birth — • 
 
 ' "Smyrna, Rliodos, CoIOplion, Salaiuis, Cliios, 
 Ai'gdS, Atbe'iue." — Vtirro. 
 
 Chip or Chips. 
 
 A (-(irpottcr ix Inwicn hij his chips. A 
 man is known to be a carpenter by the 
 cliips in his workshop, so the profession 
 or taste of other men may be known by 
 their manners or mode of speech. There 
 is a broadcloth slang as well as a cordu- 
 roy slang ; a military, naval, school, and 
 university slang. 
 
 ■ iSiich carpenters, such chips. As the 
 workman, so his work will be. 
 
 Jirotlicr Chip. Properly a brother 
 carpenter, but in its extended meaning 
 apiilied to anyone of the same vocation 
 as ourselves. {Es nostra fascioi ; Petro- 
 nius.) 
 
 •.• Tlie ship's rarjienter is, at sea, Cdiiiiiiniily 
 addressetl as " cliips." 
 
 Saratogct, chips. Potatoes sliced thin 
 wliile raw, and fried crisp. Sometimes 
 called chiijped potatoes. 
 
 Chip of the Old Block {A). A son 
 or child of the same stuif as his father. 
 The chif) is the same wood as the block. 
 Burke ai^plied the words to W. Pitt. 
 
 Chi'ron [/I'i'row]. The centaur who 
 taught Achilles music, medicine, and 
 hunting. Jujiiter placed him in heaven 
 among the stars, where he is called 
 Sagitta'rius {the ^ircher). 
 
 Chi'ron, according to Dante, has watch 
 over the lake of boiling blood, in the 
 seventh circle of liell. 
 
 Chirping Cup or Glass. A meny- 
 making glass or cup of liqupr. Wine 
 th.it miiketli glad the heart of man, or 
 makes him siug for joy. 
 
 " A cliirping cup is my matin song. 
 And my vesper bell is my bowl -, Ding dons ! " 
 A Friar of Orders Greij. 
 
 Chisel. / chiselled him means, I 
 cheated him, or cut him out of some- 
 thing. 
 
 Chitty-faced. Baby-faced, lean. A 
 chit is a child or sprout. Both chit and 
 chiitji-faccd are terms of contempt. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, citli, a twig, etc.) 
 
 Chivalry. 
 
 The paladins of Charlemagne were all 
 scattered by the battle of Roncesvalliis. 
 
 The champions of Did'erick were all 
 assassinated at the instigation of Chriem- 
 hil'da, the bride of Ezzel, King of the 
 Huns. 
 
 The Knights of the Round Table were 
 
 all extirpated by the fatal battle of 
 Camlan. 
 
 Chirrt/ri/. The six following clauses 
 may be considered almost as axioms of 
 the Arthu'rian romances : — 
 
 (1) There was no braver or more noble 
 king than Arthur. 
 
 (2) No fairer or more faithless wife 
 than Guiu'iver. 
 
 (3) No truer pair of lovers than Tristan 
 and Iseidt (or Tristram and Ysolde). 
 
 (4) No knight more faithful than Sir 
 Kaye. 
 
 (.")) None so brave and amorous as Sir 
 Laun'celot. 
 
 (6) None so virtuous as Sir Gal'ahad. 
 
 The ^//oieer of CJiivnlry. William. 
 Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale. (Four- 
 teenth century.) 
 
 Chivy. A chase in the school game 
 of "Prisoners' Base " or " Prison Bars." 
 Probably a gipsy word. One boy sets a 
 chivy, by leaving his bar, when one 
 of the oj)posite side chases him, and if 
 he succeeds in touching him before he 
 reaches " home," the boy touched be- 
 comes a prisoner. 
 
 Chivy or Chivvy. Slang for the face. 
 Much slang is due to rliymo, and when 
 the rhyme is a compound word the 
 rhyming part is sometimes drojiped and 
 the other jjart remains. Tlius Chivy 
 [Chevy]-chase rhymes with "face," by 
 dropping "chase" chiv)/ remains, and 
 becomes the accepted slang word. Simi- 
 larly, daisies = boots, thus: daisy-roots 
 will rhyme with " boots," and by drop- 
 ping " roots," the rhyme, daisy remains. 
 By the same process sky is the slang for 
 jiocket, the compound word which gave 
 birth to it being "sky-rocket." " Christ- 
 mas " the slang for a railway guard, as 
 " Ask the Christmas," is, of course, from 
 the rhyme " Christmas-card " ; and 
 "raspberry" the slang for heart, is 
 from the rhyme " raspberry-tart." 
 
 " Tben came a Icnoclv at the Rory i>' More [door], 
 Which made my rasplierry heat." 
 
 Other examples given under theif 
 proper heads. 
 
 Chlo'e (AVoVf). The shepherdess be- 
 loved by Daphnis in the pastoral romance 
 of Lougus, entitled Baphnts and Chloe. 
 St. Pierre's tale of Paul and Virginia is 
 founded on the exquisite romance of 
 Longus. 
 
 ',' Prior calls Mrs. CentHvre " Cloe." 
 
 Chloe, in Pope's 3foral Essays (epist. 
 ii.), Lady Suffolk, mistress of George II. 
 " Content to dwell in decencies for 
 ever."
 
 Choereas 
 
 249 
 
 Cliouaiis 
 
 Chce'reas [ICe'reas], The lover of 
 Callii'i'lioL', ill Cha'ritoii's Greek ro- 
 mance, called the Lores of Clicevcas and 
 CaUir'rhoe. (Eighth century.) 
 
 Choice Spirit {A) or "Choice Spirit 
 of the Age," a gallant of the clay, being 
 one who delights to exaggerate the 
 whims of fashion. 
 
 llohsoii's Choice. {See Hobson.) 
 
 Choke. May this piece of bread ehol;e 
 w/'', (/' wliat I saij is i/'d true. In ancient 
 times a jjerson accused of robbery had a 
 piece of barley bread, on which the mass 
 had been said, given him to swallow. He 
 jiut it in his mouth uttering the words 
 given above, and if he could swallow it 
 without being choked, he was pro- 
 nounced innocent. Tradition ascribes 
 tlie death of tlie Earl Godwin to choking 
 with a piece of bread, after this solemn 
 appeal. {See Coesned.) 
 
 Choke-pear. Au argument to whicli 
 there is no answer. Bobbers in Hol- 
 land at one time made use of a piece of 
 iron in the shape of a pear, which they 
 forced into the mouth of their victim. 
 On turning a key, a number of springs 
 thrust forth points of iron in all direc- 
 tions, so that the instrument of torture 
 could never be taken out except by 
 means of the key. 
 
 Choker {A). A neckcloth. A irhife 
 choker is a white neckclotli or neck- 
 tie, worn in full dress, and generally 
 by waiters and clergymen. Of course, 
 the verb to choke has supplied the word. 
 
 Chop and Chops. 
 
 C/iop and ehaiiijc {To). To barter by 
 the rule of thumb. Boys "chop" one 
 article for another (Anglo-Saxon, eip-an, 
 or cedp-ian, to sell or barter). 
 
 A mution chop is from the French 
 coiip-er, to cut off. A piece chopped off. 
 
 The wind chops about. Shifts from 
 point to point suddenly. This is eip-a», 
 to barter or change hands. {See abore To 
 Chop and Change.) 
 
 '• How the Hnuse of Lords and House of Coiii- 
 liioiis clioi'lied round."— T/(ncA('i-(U/ ; Tlic Four 
 Uuiirgcs Uieorge I.). 
 
 Chop-fallen. Crest-fallen: down in 
 the mouth. {See next eolamn, Chops.) 
 
 Chop-House {A). An eating-house 
 where chops and steaks are served. 
 
 " Joliu Bull . . . would set up a clioii-liouse at 
 tlie very gates of paradise."— irtis/jfwffton Irvimj: 
 vol. i. chap. \\. p. (il. j 
 
 *.* A Chinese custom-house is called a 
 Chop-house (Hindu, chap, a stamji). 
 
 Chop Logic {To). To bandy -words ; 
 to altercate. Lord Bacon says, "Let 
 
 not the council chop with the judge." 
 {See Chop and Change.) 
 
 " How now, how now, «hop lopric ! What is this ? 
 'Proud,' and '1 thank jou,' and 'I thank you 
 
 not,' 
 And yt't 'not proud.'" 
 
 I^lialccspeurc: Romeo and Juliet, iii. 5. 
 
 Chops. The face, is allied to the 
 
 Latin enpat, the head ; Greek Ke'^aA-o?, 
 AngloSaxon eeaj'el, the snout ; in the 
 plural, the cheeks. We talk of a " pig's 
 chap. ' ' 
 
 V The Latin cap-at gives us the word 
 chap, a fellow or man; and its alliance 
 with cliop gives us the term " chapped " 
 hands, etc. Everyone knows the answer 
 given to the girl who complained of 
 eliapped lips: "My dear, you should 
 not lot the chajjs come near j'our lips." 
 
 l)oien in the chops — i.e. down in the 
 mouth ; in a melancholy state ; with the 
 mouth drawn down. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 cea/f, the snout or jaw ; Icelandic, 
 kie/ptr.) 
 
 Chops of the Channel. The short 
 broken motion of the waves, experienced 
 in crossing the English Channel ; also 
 the place where such motion occurs. 
 
 Chop'ine (2 syl.), or Chopin. Aliigh- 
 heoled shoe. The Venetian ladies used 
 to wear " high-heeled shoes like stilts." 
 Hamlet says of the actress, " Your lady- 
 ship is nearer to heaven, than when I 
 saw you last, by the altitude of a 
 chopine " (act ii. s. 2). (Spanish^ cJiapln, 
 a high cork shoe.) 
 
 Choreu'tSB \_Koru'le(^. A sect of 
 heretics, who, among other errors, per- 
 sisted in keei^ing the Sunday a fast. 
 
 Choriambic Metre. Horace gives 
 us a great variety, but the main feature 
 in all is the prevalence of the choriam- 
 
 bus ( — v^v ). Specimen translations 
 
 of two of these metres are subjoined : 
 
 (1) Horace, 1 Udes, viii. 
 
 Lydia, why on Stanley, 
 By the great gods, tell nie, I pray, ruinous love 
 you rentre ? 
 Once he was strong and manly. 
 Now never seen, patient of toil, Mars' sunnv eanu> 
 to enter. E. C. B. 
 
 (2) The other specimen is I Odes, xii. 
 
 When you, with an appro\ing smile, 
 Praise those delicate anus, Lydy, of Telcphus, 
 
 Ah me ! how you stir lu) niy bile ! 
 Hoart-sick, that f(U- a ijoy you should forsake nie 
 thus. E.C.B. 
 
 Chouans (2 syl.). French insurgents 
 of the Eoyalist party during tlie Revo- 
 lution. Jean Cottereau was their leader,
 
 Choughs 
 
 250 
 
 Christian 
 
 nicknamed chouan (owl), because he 
 was accustomed to warn his companions 
 of danger by imitating the screech of 
 an owl. Cottereau was followed by- 
 George Cadoudal. 
 
 V It is an error to suppose Chouan to 
 be a pioper nanie. 
 
 Choughs Protected. {See page 137, 
 col. 1, BiiiDS, etc.) 
 
 Chouse (1 syL). To cheat out of 
 something. Giii'ord says the interpreter 
 of the Turkish embassy in England is 
 called c/iiaiis, and in 1609 this chiaus 
 contrived to defraud his government of 
 £4,000, an enormous sum at that i^eriod. 
 From the notoriety of the swindle the 
 word chiuHs or to chotific was adopted. 
 
 " He is no chiniis." 
 lien Jonquil : AlvlniiiiM, i. 1 lUUo). 
 
 Chriem-hil'da or Chriem-hild. A 
 
 woman of unrivalled beauty, sister of 
 Guuther, and beloved by Siegfried, the 
 two chief heroes of the Nibelungenlied. 
 Siegfried gives her a talisman taken 
 from Gunther's lady-love, and Guuther, 
 in a tit of jealousy, induces Hagen to 
 murder his brother-in-law. Chriemhild 
 in revenge marries Ezzel, King of the 
 Huns ; invites the Nibelungs to the 
 weddiug feast ; and there they are all 
 put to the sword, except Hagen and 
 Guuther, who are taken prisoners, and 
 put to death by the bride. {Sec Keiem- 
 
 HILD.) 
 
 Chriss-cross Row {row to rhyme 
 with loir). The alphabet in a horn- 
 book, which had a cross at the beginning 
 and end. 
 
 " Plnldsopliy is nil the go, 
 
 And science <iuite tlie fasbimi; 
 Onr grandanis leai-nt the Uliriss-cross Row, 
 L— d, how their daugliters dasli on." 
 
 Anon, in the Eaglet. 
 
 Chrisom or Chrism signifies pro- 
 perly "the white cloth set by the 
 minister at bai^tisra on the head of ihe 
 newly anointed with chrism" — i.e. a com- 
 position of oil and balm. In the Form 
 of Private Baptism is this direction : 
 " Then the minister shall jiut the white 
 vesture, commonly called the chrisome, 
 upon the child." The child thus bap- 
 tised is called a chrisom or chrisom 
 child. If it dies within the month, it is 
 slirouded in the vesture ; and hence, in 
 the bills of mortality, even to the year 
 1726, infants that died within the month 
 were termed chrisoms. (The cloth is so 
 called because it was anointed. Greek, 
 chrisma, verb elirio, to anoint.) 
 
 " A' made a finer end and went awav an it had 
 lieen any chrisom child."— i^'/ia/.tJ.smirc; Hairy r., 
 !!• 3, 
 
 Christabel [Kris'tabel]. The heroine 
 of Coleridge's fragmentary 2ioem of that 
 name. 
 
 Christabelle [A'ri.'t'tKhe/]. Daughter 
 of a " bonnie king" in Ireland. She 
 fell in love with Sir Cauline {q.i'.). 
 
 Christendom [Jiris'-rn-dxiii] gener- 
 ally means all Christian countries ; but 
 Shakespeare uses it for baptimii, or 
 " Christian citizenship." Thus, in Ki//(/ 
 John, the j'oung jirince saj's: — 
 
 " Uy my christi'iidoni ! 
 So I were oul. nf prison and kept slieop, 
 1 slmiiid he merry as tjio da\' is long." 
 
 Act iy. sr. 1. 
 
 Christian [ch = k]. The hero of 
 John Buuyan's allegory called T/ie I'il- 
 t/ruii''>> I'royrexs, He flees from the 
 "City of Destruction," and journeys to 
 the " Celestial City." He starts with a 
 heavy burden on his back, but it falls off 
 when he stands at the foot of the cross. 
 
 Chrisiidti. A follower of Christ. So 
 called first at Antioch (Acts xi. 26). 
 
 Most Christian Ihctor. John Charlier 
 deGersou (136)3- U29). 
 
 Most Christian Kiix/. The stylo of 
 the King of France. (1469.) 
 
 Pepin le Bref was so styled by Pope 
 Stephen III. (714-768). 
 
 Charles le Chauve was so styled by 
 the council of Savonnicres (823, 810-877). 
 
 Louis XI. was so styled by Pope Paul 
 II. (1423, 1461-1483). 
 
 Since which time (1469) it was univer- 
 sally adopted in the French monarchy. 
 " And thou, O Gaul, witli gaudy trojihies plumed, 
 ' ilost Christian king.' Alas! in vain assumed. 
 Camuens : L(is/rt((, book vii. 
 
 FoKiider of Christian Eloquenec. Louis 
 Bordaloue, the French preacher (1632- 
 1704). 
 
 Christian Traditions, connected 
 with natural objects. 
 
 1. Birds, Beasts, and Fishes. 
 
 The Ass : Cross on the back. {See 
 
 Ass.) 
 Biintinf/. {See Yellow-hammer.) 
 
 *.* The Crossbill has nothing to 
 do with the Christian cross ; 
 the bird is so called, because its 
 mandibles cross each other. 
 
 Haddock : The finger-marks on 
 the Haddock and John Dory. 
 {See Haddock, etc.) 
 
 lehtldis, a fish. {Sec ICHTHUS.) 
 
 Tike's Head {q.v.). 
 
 Fir/eons or iJores : The Bussians 
 are averse to pigeons as a food, 
 because the Holy Ghost assumed 
 the form of a dove at the 
 baptism of Jesus. {Sporting 
 Magazine, January, 182.'!, p. 307.)
 
 Christiana 
 
 251 
 
 Christoplaer 
 
 Robin Redbreast : The red breast. 
 
 {See EoBiN.) 
 Stork : The cry of the Stork. {See 
 
 Stork. ) 
 Swallow : The cry of the Swallow. 
 
 {See Swallow.) 
 Swine : The holes in the forefeet 
 
 of Swiue. (SceViQS.) 
 
 2. The Vefjetable World. 
 
 The Arum, Aspen, Calvary- clover, 
 Cedar {see also Cross), Dwarf- elder, 
 Judas - tree. Passion - tlower, Pui-ple 
 Orchis, Red Anemoue, Rood Selkeu, 
 Sfjotted Persicaria, Thistle. 
 
 {See these articles, and Flowers with 
 Traditions of Christ.) 
 
 3. The Number Thirteen. {See Thir- 
 teen.) 
 
 Christian'a [eh = k]. The wife 
 of Christian, who started with her chil- 
 dren and Mercy from the " City of 
 Destruction " long after her husband. 
 She was jjlaced under the guidance of 
 Mr. Great-Heart, and went, therefore, 
 in "silver slippers" along the thorny 
 road {BuiiyaH : The Pilgrim'' s Progress, 
 part ii.). 
 
 Christinas {Krist'mas). " Christ- 
 mas comes but once a year." (Thomas 
 Tusser.) 
 
 Christmas. Slang for a railway- 
 guard. Explained under Chivy {q.v.). 
 
 Christinas Box. A small gratuity 
 given to servants, etc., on Boxing Day 
 (the day after Christmas Day). In the 
 early days of Christianity boxes were 
 placed in churches for promiscuous cha- 
 rities, and opened on Christmas Day. 
 The contents were distributed next day 
 by the priests, and called the " dole of 
 the Christmas box," or the "box money." 
 It was customary for heads of houses to 
 give small sums of money to their sub- 
 ordinates " to put into the box " before 
 mass on Christmas Day. 
 
 Somewhat later, apprentices carried a 
 box round to their master's customers 
 for small gratuities. The custom since 
 1836 has been gradually dying out. 
 
 " (lladly tbe lioy, with Christmas-box in hand, 
 Throughout the town his devious route pursues, 
 And of his master's customers implores 
 The yearly mite." 
 
 Ch ristmas. 
 
 Christmas Carols are in connnemo- 
 ration of the song of the angels to the 
 shepherds at the nativity. Durand tells 
 us that the bishops with the clergy used 
 to sing carols and play games on Christ- 
 mas Day. (Welsh, carol, a love-song ; 
 Italian, carola, etc.) 
 
 Christmas Day. Transfeixed from 
 the 6th of January to the 2oth of De- 
 cember by Julius I. (337-3.52). 
 
 (Jld Christmas Dag. January 6th. 
 When Gregory XIII. reformed the 
 Calendar in 1852, he omitted ten days; 
 but when the New Style was adopted in 
 England, in 1582, it was necessary to 
 cut olf eleven days, which drove back 
 January 6th to December 25th of the 
 previous year. So what we now call 
 January 6th iu the Old Style would be 
 Christmas Day, or December 2oth. 
 
 Christmas Decorations. The great 
 feast of Saturn was held in December, 
 when the people decorated the temi^les 
 with such green things as they could 
 find. The Christian custom is the same 
 transferred to Him who was born in 
 Bethlehem on Christmas Daj'. The 
 holly or holy-tree is called Christ's- 
 thorn in Germany and Scandinavia, 
 from its use iu chiu'ch decorations and 
 its putting forth its berries about Christ- 
 mas time. The early Christians gave an 
 emblematic turn to the custom, referring 
 to the " righteous branch," and justify- 
 ing the custom from Isaiah Ix. 13 — 
 ' ' The glory of Lebanon shall come unto 
 thee ; tlie tir-tree, the puie-tree, and the 
 box together, to beautify the place of 
 my sanctuary." 
 
 Christmas Trees and Maypoles 
 
 are remnants of the Scandinavian Ash, 
 called YggdrasU', the Tree of Time, 
 whose roots penetrate to heaven, Nilf- 
 heiin and Ginnungagap (the gap of 
 gafis). In Ginnungagap the frost giants 
 dwell, in Niffheim is the great serpent 
 Nidhogg ; and under this root is Hel- 
 heim, the home of the dead. 
 
 " We are told that the ancient Egyp- 
 tians, at the Winter Solstice, used a 
 palm branch containing twelve leaves or 
 shoots to symbolise the " completion of 
 the year." The modern custom comes 
 from Germany. 
 
 Chris'tolytes \Kris'-to-lites\. A sect 
 of Christians that appeared in the sixth 
 century. They maintained that wheii 
 Christ descended into hell, He left His 
 soul and body there, and rose only with 
 His heavenly natiu'e. 
 
 Christopher (-SY.). The giant carried 
 a child over a brook, and said, " Chylde, 
 thou hast put me in grete peryll. I 
 might here no greater burden." To 
 which the child answered, " Marvel 
 thou nothing, for thou hast borne all the 
 world upon thee, and its sins likewise." 
 This is an allegory : Christopher means
 
 Chronicle 
 
 252 Church 
 
 Christ-bearer ; the child was Christ, and 
 the river was the river of death. 
 
 Chronicle Small Beer {To). To 
 note down events of no imiiortance 
 whatsoever. 
 
 " He w;is a witrlit, if e\ er svicli wisrlit were . . . 
 To suckle fiKils and clininicle siiiall liper." 
 
 Shal:,ai'caie : Ulliello, ii. 1. 
 
 Chron'icon ex Chron'icis is by 
 
 Florence, a monk of Worcester, the 
 earliest of our English chroniclers. It 
 begins from Creation, and goes down to 
 lll'J, in which j'ear the author died ; 
 but it was continued by another hand to 
 1141. Printed in 4to at London, 1;J92. 
 Its chief value consists in its serving as 
 a key to the Saxon chronicle. 
 
 Chronon-lioton-tliologos [ch = k]. 
 
 A burlesque pomposo in Henry Carey's 
 farce, so called. Anyone who delivers 
 an inflated address. 
 
 " AUlilioroiitepboscopliovnio, wliere loft ynu 
 Clirouonhutiiiulioiosos ?"—//. Curey. 
 
 Chrysalis [ch = k]. The form 
 which caterpillars assume before they 
 are converted into butterflies or moths. 
 The chrysalis is also called an aure'lia, 
 from the Latin anridii, gold. The 
 external covering of some species has a 
 metallic, golden hue, but others are 
 green, red, black, etc. (Greek, chrusos, 
 gold.) 
 
 *,* The plural is either chrijsaViscs or 
 c/ij-i/s'alich'n (4 sj'l.). 
 
 Chrysa'or [ch = k]. Sir Artegal's 
 sword, " that all other swords excelled." 
 {Spciiscr : Faerie Queciic.) (See Swoed.) 
 
 Chrysippus. Xisi Ch rifsippusfidssct, 
 PoriicHs noil esse/. Chrysippus of Soli 
 was a disciple of Zeno the Stoic, and 
 Cleanthes his successor. He -did for the 
 Stoics what St. Paul did for Christianity 
 — that is, he explained the system, 
 showed by plausible reasoning its truth, 
 and how it was based on a solid founda- 
 tion. Stoicism was founded bj^ Zeno, 
 it is true ; but if Chrysippus had not 
 advocated it, the system would never 
 have taken root. 
 
 Chubb (Thomas). A deistical wi-iter 
 who wrote ui^on miracles in the first half 
 of the eighteenth century. 
 
 '■ He lieanl uf Blmuit, of Mandeville.and Cliulib." 
 CrabOe: Boroutili. 
 
 Chuck Full. Probably a corruption 
 of clidch full or cJiokc J'ull — i.e. full 
 enough to choke one. 
 
 " AyrwashoUlins some .crand market ; streets 
 :mii1 inn hail heen cliokefull during the sunny 
 \-.'<\vc'?,."—Car\\ilc,inFroiide'sJant, ^Y. Carlyle, \o\. 
 I. letter I.Nxxvii. p. 275. 
 
 Chukwa. The tortoise at the South 
 Pole on which the earth is said to rest. 
 
 Chum. A crony, a familiar com- 
 panion, properly a bedfellow ; a corrup- 
 tion either of chamber-mate or comrade. 
 
 " To have a good cliuui is one of tlie pleasantest 
 p.irt.s of a voyage."— A'o/-(»(('#: Itcirhaiit Vessels, 
 iliap. xii. p. liy. 
 
 Chum in with {To). To bo on 
 friendly terms with. {See above.) 
 
 Church. The etymology of this word 
 is generally assumed to be from the 
 Greek, Kurion oikos (house of God) ; 
 but this is most improbable, as the word 
 existed in all the Celtic dialects long 
 before the introduction of Greek. No 
 doubt the. word means "a circle." The 
 places of worship among the German 
 and Celtic nations were always circular. 
 (Welsh, r//jr/( ; Yvesich, cirque ; Scotch, 
 kirk; Greek, kirk-os, etc.) Compare 
 Anglo-Saxon circe, a church, vrith circol, 
 a circle. 
 
 High, Zoic, and Broad Chxrch. Dr. 
 South says, " The High Cliurch are 
 those who think higldy of the Church 
 and lowly of themselves ; the Low 
 Church, those who tliink lowly of the 
 Church and highly of themselves " 
 (this may be epigrammatic, but the 
 latter half is not true). Broad Church 
 are those who think the Church is broad 
 enough for all religious jiarties, and 
 their own views of religion are chiefly 
 of a moral nature, their doctrinal views 
 being so rounded and elastic that they 
 can come into collision with no one. 
 
 *,* By the "High Church" now are 
 meant those who follow the "Oxford 
 Movement " ; the " Low Church " party 
 call themselves the "Evangelical" 
 Church party. 
 
 The Church of Latter-day Saints. The 
 Monnons. 
 
 The Anr/licnn Church. That branch 
 of the Protestant Church which, at the 
 Reformation, was adopted in England. 
 It disavowed the authority of the Pope, 
 and rejected certain dogmas and rules of 
 the Roman Church. 
 
 V Since 1532 generally called the 
 "Established Church," because estab- 
 lished by Act of Parliament. 
 
 The Catholic Church. The Western 
 Church called itself so when it separated 
 from the Eastern Chm'ch. It is also 
 called the Roman Catholic Church, to 
 distinguish it from the Anglican Church 
 or Anglican Catholic Cliurch, a branch 
 of the Westera Church. 
 
 The Established Church. The State 
 Church, which, in England, is Episco- 
 palian and in Scotland Presbyterian.
 
 Church-goer 
 
 253 
 
 Cicerone 
 
 Before the Refoi-mation it was, in both 
 countries, " Catholic : " before the intro- 
 duction of Christianity it was Pagan, 
 and before that Druidism. In Turkey 
 it is Mohammedanism ; in Eussia tlie 
 Greek Chui-ch ; in China, India, etc., 
 other systems of religion. 
 
 To (JO into the Church. To take holy 
 orders, or become an " ordained" clergy- 
 man. 
 
 Churcli-goer (-i). One who regularly 
 attends the parish church. 
 
 Church Invisible {Thi^. Those who 
 are known to God alone as His sons and 
 daughters by adoption and gi-ace. {Hee 
 Church Visible.) 
 
 '■ Oh, iii:iy I join the choir iuvisiliU'." 
 
 Church Militant. The Church on 
 earth means the whole body of believers, 
 who are said to be " waging the war of 
 faith" against "the world, the flesh, and 
 the devil." It is therefore militant, or 
 in warfare. {Sec Church Triumphant.) 
 
 Church Porch {TJu^ was used in 
 ancient times for settling money trans- 
 actions, pajdng dowries, rents, and pur- 
 chases of estates. Consequently, it was 
 furnished with benches on both sides. 
 Hence, Lord Stourton sent to invite the 
 Hartgills to meet him in the jjorch of 
 Kilmington church to receive the £2,000 
 awarded them by the Star Chamber. 
 (Lord de Sos : Totcer of London.) 
 
 Church Triumphant (The). Those 
 who are dead and gone to their rest. 
 Having fought the hglit and triumjihed, 
 they belong to the Church triumphant 
 in heaven. (See Church Militant.) 
 
 Church Visible (Thc^. All osten- 
 sible Claistians ; all who profess to be 
 Christians ; all who have been baptised 
 and admitted into Church Communion. 
 (.SVtf Church Invisible.) 
 
 Churched. Baptized. 
 
 To church a tcoinaii is to read the 
 appointed service when a woman comes 
 to church to return thanks to God for 
 her "safe deliverance" and restored 
 health. 
 
 Churchwarden (A). A long clay 
 pipe, such as chui'chwardens used to 
 smoke some half a century ago when 
 they met together in the parish tavern, 
 after they had made up their accounts 
 in the vestry, or been elected to office at 
 the Easter meeting. 
 
 "Thirty years have enaljled tliese [briar-root 
 pipes] to destroy short clays, ruin meerscbaunis, 
 and even do much mischief to the veneraMe 
 ' churchwarden.' "— jVotes and Queries, April L'jth, 
 1885, p. 323. 
 
 Churchyard Cough (A). A con- 
 sumijtive cougli indicating the near 
 ajiproach of death. 
 
 Chuz'zlewit (JLirfiu). The hero of 
 Dickens's novel so called. Jonas Chuz- 
 zlewit is a type of mean tj'ranny and 
 sordid greed. 
 
 Chyndo'nax. A chief Druid, whose 
 tomb, with a Greek inscription, was dis- 
 covered near Dijon in 1.598. 
 
 Ci-devant (French). Former, of 
 times gone by. As Ci-dcrcint yorernor—^ 
 i.e. once a governor, but no longer so. 
 Ci-devant philosophers means philoso- 
 phers of foiiner da3's. 
 
 " Tlie apiiellation of mistress put her in mindof 
 lier ci-devant ahitrailship. "— J<(h<? Purler: Tliad- 
 ik-iin nf Jl'iosdu', chap. xxi. 
 
 Cic'ero. So called from the Latin, 
 cicer (a wart or vetch). Plutarch says 
 " a flat excrescence on the tip of his nose 
 gave him this name." His real name 
 was (Tullius) Tully. 
 
 La Bouchc de Cieeron. Philipije Pot, 
 prime minister of Louis XI. (l-i28- 
 1494.) 
 
 Tlie Cicero of France. Jean Baptiste 
 Massillon (1G63-1742.) 
 
 The Cicero of Germany. Johann III., 
 elector of Brandenburg. (1455-1499.) 
 
 The Cicero of the British Senate. 
 George Canning (1770-1827.) 
 
 The British Cicero. WiUiam Pitt, Earl 
 of Chatham (1708-17/8.) 
 
 The Christian Cicero. Lucius Coelius 
 Lactantius, a Christian father, who died 
 33tj. 
 
 The German Cicero. Johann Sturm, 
 printer and scholar. (1507-1589.) 
 
 Cicerone (4 syl.). A guide to point 
 out objects of interest to strangers. So 
 called in the same way as Paul was 
 called by the men of Lystra "Mercu'- 
 rius, because he was the chief speaker" 
 (Acts xiv. 12). Cicero was the speaker 
 of speakers at Rome ; and certainly, in a 
 party of sight-seers, the guide is " the 
 chief speaker." It is no compliment to 
 the great orator to call the glib patterer 
 of a show-place a Cicero ; but we must 
 not throw stones at our Italian neigh- 
 bours, as we have conferred similar 
 honour on our great epic poet in chang- 
 ing "Grub Street" into "Milton Street." 
 
 V Pronounce chich-e-ro'ny. 
 
 " Every clib and lo<[uacious hirelin;? who shows 
 strangers about tlieir pleasure-galleries, palaces, 
 and ruins is called [in Italy] a cicerone or a 
 Cicero."— rre)ic7i ; On the Study of M'ords, lecture 
 iii. p. 88. 
 
 V In England, generally called "a 
 guide."
 
 Cicisbeo 
 
 254 
 
 Cintei* 
 
 Cicisbe'o [che-chiz-hee'-o]. Atlauffler 
 about women ; the professed gallant of 
 a married woman. Also the knot of 
 silk or ribbon which is attached to fans, 
 walking-sticks, umbrellas, etc. Cicis- 
 heisiii, the practice of dangling about 
 women. 
 
 Cicle'nius or C'ljUc'iiiHfi. Mercury. 
 So called from mount Cylle'ne, in Pelo- 
 ponne'sus, where he was boni. 
 
 Cicuta. In Latin clriita means the 
 length of a reed up to the knot, such as 
 the interuodes made into a Pan-pipe. 
 Hence Virgil {Eel. ii. 86) describes a 
 Pan-pipe as '■^ septem conipacta cicutis 
 Ji fit II hi.''' It is called Cow-bane, because 
 cows not imfrequently eat it, but are 
 killed by it. It is one of the most poi- 
 sonous of plants, and some think it made 
 the fatal draught given to Socrates. 
 
 "Sicut cicuta homiiii veneuum est, sic cicutae 
 \\n\im."—I'linii, xiv. 7. 
 
 " Qiue iiotenml iiuquaiu satis ex inirgare cicuta?." 
 lluruce : '1 Hpiat. ii.M. 
 
 Cid. Arabic for lord. Don Rodeii'go 
 LajTiez, Ruy Diaz (sou of Diaz), Count 
 of Bivar'. He was called " mio cirl el 
 campeador,'''' my lord the champion (1025- 
 1099). Corruption of Said. 
 
 The Clfl's horse. Babie'ca. (3 or 4 
 syl.). (iSVr House. ) 
 
 IVie Cid's -iicnrd. Cola'da. The sword 
 taken by the Cid Roderi'go from King 
 Bucarwas called Tizo'na. (See Swoed.) 
 
 The Portuf/iicse Cid. Nunez Alva'rez 
 Perei'ra, general diplomatist. (1360- 
 H31.) 
 
 Cid Hamet Benengeli. The sup- 
 posititious author of Don Quixote's Ad- 
 reiifiire.i. 
 
 Cigogne (Frenc)i). A stork. Co)ife 
 de let ei;/of/>ie. An old wife's tale ; silly 
 tittle-tattle. " On eonte dex ehoses iiier- 
 veiUciises de la cigogne " (wonderful 
 stories are told of the stork). This, no 
 doubt, refers to the numerous Swedish 
 legends of the stork, one of which is that 
 its very name is derived from a stork 
 flying round the cross of Christ, crying, 
 Styrka! Sti/rka ! (strengthen, strengthen, 
 or bear up), and as the stork has no 
 voice at all, the legend certainly is a 
 " Conte de la cigogne,'' or old wife's 
 fable. 
 
 " J'approliende (iu'dm ne croye que tout ce que 
 j'ai rapiiorte jusqu'a present ne passe pcuir des 
 contes de la cigogne, ou de ma mere I'oie."— i« 
 Roman Bourgeois, 1713. 
 
 Cil'laros. (See Hoese.) 
 
 Cimmerian Bos'phorus. The strait 
 of Kaffa. 
 
 Cimmerian Darkness. Homer 
 (possibly from some story as to the 
 Arctic inght) sujiposes tlie Cimmerianus 
 to dwell in a land " beyond the ocean- 
 stream," where the sun never shone. 
 (Odgs., xi. 14.) 
 
 " Tm dark Ciuinierian desert ever dwell." 
 
 union : VAIhgro. 
 
 Cincho'na or Quinine. So nan)ed 
 from the wife of the Conte del Chimhon, 
 viceroy of Peru, whence tlic bark was 
 first sent to Europe in 1640. Linnams 
 erroneously named it Cinchona for Chiu- 
 chona. (Sec Peruvl^n Baek.) 
 
 Cincinna'tus.the Roman, wn' ' ugh- 
 ing his field, when he was sai^.. „ as 
 Dictator. After ho had conquered the 
 Volsci and delivered his country from 
 danger, he laid down his office and re- 
 turned to his jjlough. 
 
 " .\nd Cincinnatus, awful fmni the plongli." 
 Thotnuon : Winter, r>V2. 
 
 The Cineinnatiis of the Americans. 
 George Washington (1732-1799). 
 
 Cinderella [little cinder girl]. Hero- 
 ine of a fairy tale. She is the drudge of 
 the house, dirt}' with housework, while 
 her elder sisters go to fine balls. At 
 length a fairy enables her to go to the 
 prince's ball ; the prince falls in love with 
 her, and .she is discovered by means of a 
 glass slipper which she drojjs, and which 
 will fit no foot but her own. 
 
 The glass slipper is a mistranslation of 
 pantoiij^e en lair (a fur slipper), not en 
 rerre. (H. C. Tcrraiill : Contes de lees.) 
 
 Cinque Cento. An ei)ithet applied 
 to art between 1500-1600; called in 
 France lienaissanee, and in England 
 Elizabethan. It was the i-evival of the 
 classical or antique, but is generally 
 luulerstood as a derogatory term, imjjly- 
 ing debased or inferior art. The great 
 schools of art closed with IJOO. Th** 
 "immortal five" gi'cat i^ainters wer- 
 all born in the previous century : viz. 
 Leonardo da Vinci, born 1452 ; Michel 
 AngSlo, 1474; Titian, 1477; RapT- 
 1480 ; and Correggio, 1494. ( 
 Cento is the Italian for 500, omitt' 
 thousand z=. mi I cinque cento. 
 
 Cinque Ports ( The). Origins ne 
 five seaports : Hastings, San. ..ch . 
 Dover, Romney, and Hythe. Subse 
 quently Winchelsea and Rye were addec' 
 
 Cinter (A). The framing erectet. 
 between ^Diers to hold up the stones of 
 an arch during the making thereof. 
 
 "Certain crude beliefs may lie needful in tbe 
 infancy of a nation, but ^vhen tlje arch is made, 
 when the intelligence is fully devehqied, the 
 cinter is thrown down and truth stands unsup- 
 ported."— £. D. Fawcctt.
 
 Cipher 
 
 255 
 
 City 
 
 Cipher. Dr. Whewell's riddle is — 
 
 " A headless man had a letter (o) to write, 
 He whii read it ^nnuiiht) had Inst his sight; 
 The (luiiili repeated it {.uauytit) word for word, 
 Aud deaf was the man who listeued aud beard 
 
 Cir'ce (2 syl.). A sorceress. She 
 lived ill the island of ^fea. When 
 Ulysses landed there, Circii turned his 
 companions into swine, but Ulysses 
 resisted this metamorphose by virtue of 
 a herb called iitoli/, given him by Mer- 
 cury. 
 
 " Who knows not ('irc<', 
 The daughter of the rtnn, whose charmed cup 
 V'--A;er tasted lost his upri-rht shape, 
 
 ^ . .wnward fell iut<i a gnjvelling swine ?" 
 Milton: Co)uas,M — 53. 
 
 Circle of Ulloa. A white rainbow 
 or luminous ring sometimes seen in 
 Alpine regious opposite the sun in foggy 
 weatlier. 
 
 Circuit. The journej'^ made through 
 tlie counties of Great Britain by the 
 judges twice a year. There are six cir- 
 cuits in England, two in Wales, and 
 three in Scotland. Those in England 
 are called the Home, Norfolk, Midland, 
 Oxford, Western, and Northern ; those 
 of Wales, the North and South circuits ; 
 and those of Scotland, the Southern, 
 Western, and Northern. 
 
 Circumbendibus {A). ITe took a 
 rirciDiibcndibufi, i.e. he went round about 
 and round about before coming to the 
 point. 
 
 " Partaking of what scholars call the periphras- 
 tic and amhagitory, and th.' vulgar the circuni- 
 bendihus."— ,S;r W. Scott: Warerley, chnxi. xxiv. 
 
 Circumcell ians. A sect of the 
 African Don'atists in the fourth centui-y ; 
 so called because they rambled from town 
 to town to redress grievances, forgive 
 debts, manumit slaves, and set them- 
 , selves up as the oracles of right and 
 . wrong. (Latin, circitin-cello, to beat 
 about.) 
 
 Circumcised Brethren (in iriidi- 
 
 'f •v). They were Prynne. Bertie or 
 
 '■•pu, and Bastwick, who lost their 
 
 'ind had their noses slit for 1am- 
 
 jg HenriettM Maria and the bishops. 
 
 rcumlocu'tion Office. A term 
 ap^ ited in ridicule to our public offices, 
 because each person tries to shuffle off 
 every act to some one else ; and before 
 anything is done it has to pass through 
 so many departments, that every fly is 
 crushed on a wheel. The term was 
 invented by Charles Dickens, and ap- 
 pears in Little I)orrit. 
 
 Ciric-Sceat or Church Scot. An 
 
 ecclesiastical due, paid chiefly in com, 
 
 in the reign of Canute, etc., on St. Mar- 
 tin's Day. 
 
 Cist (Greek kinte, Latin cixta). A 
 chest or box. Generally used as a 
 coffer for the remains of the dead. The 
 Greek and Roman cist was a decj) cylin- 
 drical basket made of wickerwork, like 
 a lady's work-basket. The basket into 
 which voters cast their tablets was called 
 a "cist; " but the mystic cist used in 
 tlie rites of Ceres was latterly made of 
 bronze. 
 
 Cist Urn (A). An urn for the ashes 
 of those buried in cists. 
 
 Cister'cians. A religious order, so 
 called from the monastery of Cister'cium, 
 near Dijon, in France. The abbey of 
 Cistercium or Citeaux was founded by 
 Robert, abbot of Moleme, in Burgundy, 
 at the close of the eleveutli century. 
 
 Citadel (A), in fortification, a small 
 strong fort, constructed either within 
 the place fortitied, or on the most, in- 
 accessible spot of its general outline ; to 
 give refuge for the garrison, that it may 
 prolong the defence after the place has 
 fallen, or to hold out for the best terms 
 of capitulation. Citadels generally com- 
 mand the interior of the place, and are 
 useful, therefore, for overawing a popu- 
 lation which might otherwise strive to 
 shorten a siege. (French, citadclle ; 
 Italian, citadella, a little city.) 
 
 Cities. 
 
 Citicfi of RrfiK/c. Moses, at the com- 
 mand of God, set apart three cities on 
 the east of Jordan, and Joshua added 
 three others on the west, whither any 
 person might flee for refuge who had 
 killed a human creature inadvertently. 
 The three on the cast of Jordan were 
 Bczer, Ramoth, and Golan ; the three on 
 the west were Hebron, Shcchem^ and 
 Kedesh. (Deut. iv. 43; Josh. xx. 1-8.) 
 The Cities of the Flaiii. Sodom and 
 Gomorrah. 
 
 " Ahram dwelled in the land of Canaan, ami T.ot 
 dwelled in tlie cities of tlie plain, and piiihed his 
 tent toward Sodom."— (ien. .\iii. 1-'. 
 
 The Seren Cities. Egypt, Jerusalem, 
 Babylon, Athens, Rome, Constantinople, 
 and either London for commerce, or 
 Paris for beauty. (See Pentapolis.) 
 
 Citizen King {The). Louis Phihppe 
 of France. So called because he was 
 elected king by the citizens of Paris. 
 (Born 1773, reigned 1830-18-48, died 
 1850.) 
 
 City {A), strictly speaking is a large 
 town with a corporation and cathedral ;
 
 City College 
 
 256 
 
 Civil Service 
 
 but any large town is so called in 
 ordinary speecli. In the Bible it means 
 a town having walls and gates. 
 
 " The eldest sou of the first man [Cain] Imilded 
 a city (Ueu. iv. 171— nut, of course, a Niueveb or a 
 Babylon, but still a city."—Ilaicltnson: Origin I'f 
 Nations, iKU't i. ('bail. i. p. 10. 
 
 City CoUege (TIw). Newgate. The 
 wit is now a thing of the past. 
 
 City of Bells {T/k^. Strasburg. 
 
 "lie was a StraslmrKher, and in tliat city of 
 liells had been a medical jiractitioner."— J/«i/«e 
 Reid : The Scalp Hunters, chap. xxv. 
 
 City of David {The). Jerusalem. 
 So called in compliment to King David. 
 (2 Sam. V. 7, 9.) 
 
 City of Destruction {Tht). This 
 world, or rather, the world of the uu- 
 couverted. Bunyan makes Christian 
 flee from the " City of Destruction " and 
 journey to the "Celestial City," by 
 which he allegorLses the "walk of a 
 Christian " from conversion to death. 
 
 City of God {The). The church or 
 whole body of believers; the kingdom 
 of Jesus Christ, in contradistinction to 
 the city of the World, called by John 
 Bunyan the City of Destruction. The 
 phrase is that of St. Augustine ; one of 
 his chief works bearing that title, or 
 rather JJe Civitatc Bel. 
 
 City of Lanterns [Tlte). A suppo- 
 sititious city in Lucian's Vera HisiorKC, 
 situate somewhere beyond the zodiac. 
 {See Lanterx-Laxd.) 
 
 City of Palaces {The). Agiippa, in 
 the reign of Augustus, converted Rome 
 from " a city of brick huts to one of 
 marble palaces." {Cf. Sxetonius.) 
 
 Calcutta is called "the " City of Pal- 
 aces." Modern Paris well deserves the 
 compliment of being so called. 
 
 City of Refuge {Thi). Medi'na, in 
 Arabia, wliere Mahomet took refuge 
 when driven by conspirators from Mecca. 
 He entered the city, not as a fugitive, 
 but in triumph, a.d. 622. {See under 
 Cities of Refuge, page 255.) 
 
 City of St. Michael {The). Dum- 
 fries, of whicli city St. Michael is the 
 patron saint. 
 
 City of Saints. Montreal, in Can- 
 ada, is so named because all the streets 
 are named after saints. 
 
 " Mr. Geo. Martin . . . said lie came from [Jlont- 
 real] a city of saints, where all the streets were 
 named after saints."— 5ecn(rtr Thought, Septeni);er 
 lOtll, 18'Jl. 
 
 City of the Great King {The)— i.e. 
 Jerusalem. (Psa. xlviii. 2 ; Matt. v. 35.) 
 
 City of the Seven Hills {The). 
 Rome, built on seven hills ( I'rhx stpta- 
 col/ix). The hills are the Aventine, 
 Cajlian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, 
 Quirinal, and Viminal. 
 
 The AVEXTIXK Hii.i. was f-'iven to the people. 
 It was deemed unlucky, because here Keniiis was 
 slain. It was also called "Col lis DianiB," from the 
 Temple of Diana which stood there. 
 
 TheCKi.i.w 111 I.I. was given lo C'a-li us Vi henna, 
 the Tiisi-ni, who came to the help of the Uoiuans 
 in the Sabine w.ir. 
 
 The t'.vpiToi.iNK HiLi. or "Mon.s Tarpeius," 
 also called "M(ms Satunii," on which stood the 
 great castle or capitol of Rome. It contained the 
 Temple of Jupiter t'apitolinus. 
 
 The Esquiline Hill w-as given by Augustus 
 to Mecaiias, who built thereon a niagnillcent. 
 mansion. 
 
 The r.\i..\TiXE HiLi, was the larp-est of the 
 seven. Here RomuUis held his court, whence the 
 word " palace" {jKildtiuni). 
 
 TheyriuiXAL Hii.l was where the Quires or 
 Cures settled. It was also called "Cabaliiius," 
 from two 11 arble statues of a horse, one of which 
 was the work of Phidias, the other of PraxitSles. 
 
 The ViMiNAi, Hii.i. was so called fn.ni the 
 uuinber of osiers ivimiries) whicli grewthere. It 
 contained the Temple of Jupiter Viniii.alis. 
 
 City of the Sun {The). A romance 
 by Camiiaiiella, similar to the liepiihitc 
 of Plato, VtiijjKi of Sir Thomas More, and 
 Atlantis of Lord Bacon (1.')6S-1G3'J).' 
 
 City of the Violet Crown. Athens 
 is so called by Aristophanes (iu(rT«<()ai'os 
 — see I.'qiiites, 1323 and 1329; and Aihtir- 
 nUius, G37). Macaulay refers to Athens 
 as the "violet-crowned city." Ion (a 
 violet) was a representative king of 
 Athens, whose four sons gave names to 
 the four Athenian classes ; and Greece, 
 in Asia Minor, was called Ionia. Alliens 
 was the city of " Ion crowned its king" 
 or "of the Violet crowned." Similarly 
 Paris is the "city of lilies " — i.e. lleurs- 
 de-hice or Louis-Howers. 
 
 V I do not think that Athens was 
 called iu(TTe(|)ai'os from "the purple luie 
 which Hymettus assumed in the evening 
 sky." 
 
 Civic Crown. {See under Ceowx.) 
 
 Civil List. Kow applied to expenses 
 voted annually by Parliament to jjay 
 the personal expenses of the Sovereign, 
 the household expenses, and the pensions 
 awarded by Roj'al bounty ; but before 
 the reign of "William III. it embraced 
 all the heads of public expenditme, ex- 
 cept those of the army and navy. 
 
 Civil Magistrate {A). A civic or 
 municipal magistrate, as distinguished 
 from ecclesiastical authority. 
 
 Civil Service Estimates (TIk), 
 C.S.E. The annual Parliamentary grant 
 to cover the expenses of tlie diplomatic 
 services, the post-office and telegrajjhs, 
 the grant for national education, the
 
 Civil War 
 
 257 
 
 Claque 
 
 collection of the revenue, and other ex- 
 penses neither pertaining to the Sove- 
 reign, the army, nor the navy. 
 
 Civil War. "War between citizens 
 (ciri/is). In English histoiy the term is 
 applied to the war between Charles I. 
 and his Parliament ; but the War of the 
 Red and White Roses was a civil war. 
 In America the War of Secession (1861- 
 I860) was a civil war. 
 
 Civis Romanus Sum. This single 
 plea sufficed to arrest arbitrary condem- 
 nation, bonds, and scoui-ging. Hence, 
 when the centurion commanded Paul ' ' to 
 be examined by scourging," he virtually 
 pleaded "Civis Romanus sum"; and 
 asked, " Is it lawful for you to scourge a 
 Roman citizen, and imcoiidfiinied ? " (1) 
 No Roman citizen could be condemned 
 unheard ; (2) by the Valerian Law he 
 could not be bound ; (3) by the Sempro- 
 nian Law it was forbidden to scoim/c him, 
 or to beat him with rods. {Sec also 
 Acts xvi. 37, etc.) 
 
 Civitas Solis. A political and philo- 
 sophical romance by Thomas Campanella 
 (b3GS-1639), born at Stillo, or Stilo, in 
 Italy. This romance is a kind of Utopia, 
 formed on the model of Plato's Itepublic. 
 His society is a sort of convent-life 
 established on the principles of a theo- 
 cratic communism. 
 
 Clabber Napper's Hole. Near 
 Gravesend ; said to be named after a free- 
 booter ; but moi"e likely the Celtic Cacr- 
 hcr Varhcr (water-town lower camp). 
 
 Clack Dish. A dish or basin with 
 a movable lid. Some two or three 
 centuries ago beggars used to proclaim 
 their want by clacking the lid of a 
 wooden dish. 
 
 "Canyon think I get my living by a bell and 
 clack-dish? 
 " . . . Hinv's that ? 
 " Why, begging, sir." Fumily of Love (.1G08). 
 
 Claft. An Egyptian head-dress with 
 long lappets pendent on the shoulders, 
 as in the statue of Am'euophis III. 
 
 Clak-ho-har'yah. At Fort Van- 
 couver the medium of intercourse is a 
 mixture of Canadian-French, English, 
 Indian, and Chinese. An Englishman 
 goes by the name of Kint-sliosh, a cor- 
 ruption of King George ; an American 
 is called Boston ; and the ordinary salu- 
 tation is dak-Jto-harijah. This is ex- 
 plained by the fact 'that the Indians, 
 frequently hearing a trader named 
 Clark addressed by his companions, 
 "Clark, how are you?" imagined this 
 
 17 
 
 to be the correct English form of saluta- 
 rion. {Taylor: Words and Places.) 
 
 Clam. {See Close as a Clam.) 
 
 Clan-na-Gael {The). An Irish Fenian 
 organisation founded in Pliiladelphia in 
 1870, and known in secret as the "United 
 Brotherhood " ; its avowed object being 
 to secure " the complete and absolute 
 independence of Ireland from Great 
 Britain, and the complete severance of 
 all pohtical connection between the two 
 countries, to be effected by unceasmg 
 preparation for armed insurrection in 
 Ireland." {See Dynamite Satuedat.) 
 
 •.• In 1883 Alexander Sullivan was elected one 
 of the three heads of this clul), to which is due 
 the dynamite outrages in London (Jannavy, I88.i), 
 and the design to murder the yiieeu's ministers. 
 
 Clap-trap. Something introduced to 
 win applause ; something really worth- 
 less, but sure to take with the ground- 
 lings. A tr((p to catch a2)plause. 
 
 Clapper. A plank bridge over a 
 stream ; a ferry-gate. A rooting-board 
 is called a clap-board. 
 
 " a little low and lonesome shed, 
 With a roof of clap-ljoards overhead." 
 
 Alice Cary : Settlers' Christmas Eve. 
 
 Probably a corruption of clath-board, 
 a covering board, from Anglo-Saxon, 
 clafh, a covering, whence our clothes. 
 
 " Boards for making casks are also 
 called "clap-boards." 
 
 Clapperclaw. To jangle and claw 
 each other about. (Dutch and German, 
 klappeii, to strike, clatter.) 
 
 "Xow they are claprer-clawing one another; 
 I'll go look on."— Shakespeare : Troilusjind Cres- 
 sida, V. 4. 
 
 V A clapper-claw is a back-scratcher. 
 
 Clapper - dudgeons. Abram-men 
 {'/.v.). The clapper is the tongue of a 
 bell, and in cant language the human 
 "tongue." Dudgeon is a slang word 
 for a beggar. 
 
 Clapping the Prayer Books, or 
 
 stamping the feet, in the Roman Cath- 
 oUc Chinch, on Good Friday, is designed 
 to signify the abandonment of our 
 Saviour by His disciples. This is done 
 when twelve of the thirteen burning 
 candles are put out. The noise comes 
 from within the choir. 
 
 Claque ; Claqueurs. ApiJlause by 
 clapping the hands ; persons paid for 
 doing so. M. Sauton, in 1820, estab- 
 lished in Paris an office to ensure the 
 success of dramatic pieces. He was the 
 first to organise the Parisian claque. The 
 manager sends an order to his office for 
 any number of claqueurs, sometimes for
 
 Claras 
 
 258 
 
 Clavie 
 
 500, or even more. The class is divided 
 into commissairs, those who commit the 
 pieces to memory and are noisy in 
 pointing out its merits ; rieurs, v.lio 
 laugh at the puns and jokes ; pleurcurs, 
 chiefly women, who are to hold their 
 pocket-handkerchiefs to theii- eyes at 
 the moving parts ; chatouiUcurs, who 
 are to keep the audience in good humour ; 
 and liisseiirs, who are to cry (bis) encore. 
 The Romans had theii' Laudicoeui {q.v.). 
 
 Claras (Stock Exchange term). The 
 Chatham, London, and Dover Railway 
 Ordinary Stock (C.L.R.S.). 
 
 Clare {St.). A religious order of 
 women, the second that St. Francis in- 
 stituted. It was founded in 1213, and 
 took its name from its first abbess. 
 
 Clarenceux King-of-Arms. One of 
 
 the two provincial lieralds, with juris- 
 diction over the southern j^rovinces. The 
 name was taken in honour of the Duke 
 of Clarence, third son of Edward III. 
 The herald of the northern provinces is 
 called Norroy King-of-Arms. 
 
 V Garter-Kiiig-of-Arms, also "Prin- 
 cipal King-of-Arms," has to attend on 
 Knights of the Garter, and arrange 
 whatever is required in connection with 
 these knights. There is a Bath King- 
 of-Arms, not a member of the college, 
 to attend on Knights of the Bath. 
 
 Clarendon. T/ie Constitutions of 
 Clarendon. Laws made by a general 
 coimcil of nobles and prelates, held at 
 Clarendon, in Wiltshire, in 1164, to 
 check the power of the Church, and 
 restrain the j)rerogatives of ecclesiastics. 
 These famous ordinances, sixteen in 
 number, define the limits of the patron- 
 age and jurisdiction of the Pope in these 
 realms. 
 
 Clarendon Type. The black letters 
 which head these articles are so called. 
 
 Claret. The wine so called does not 
 receive its name from its colour, but the 
 colour so called receives its name from 
 the Avine. The word means clarified 
 wine {I'immi clare'tiitn) . What we call 
 hippocras was called dare' turn, made of 
 wine and honey clarified. 
 
 Claret. Blood. To broach one^s claret. 
 To give one a bloody nose ; so called 
 from the claret colour. 
 
 Claret Cup. A di-ink made of claret, 
 brandy, lemon, borage, sugar, ice, and 
 carbonated water. 
 
 Claret Jug {One's). One's nose. 
 (&e above, Claeet.) 
 
 To tap one's claret jug. To give one a 
 
 bloody nose. "Taj)" is meant for a 
 j)un — to broach and to knock. 
 
 Classic 'Ra.ces{The). The five chief 
 horse-races in England, viz. the 2,000 
 and 1,000 guinea races for two-j'ear-olds, 
 run at Newmarket, the Derby for fillies 
 and colts, the Oaks for fillies only, and 
 the St. Leger. 
 
 Classics. The best authors. The 
 Romans were divided by Ser'vius into 
 six classes. Any citizen who belonged 
 to the highest class Avas called class'icus, 
 all the rest were said to be infra classem. 
 From this the best authors were termed 
 class'ici aucto'ri's (classic authors), i.e. 
 authors of the best or first class. The 
 high esteem in which Greek and Latin 
 were held at the revival of letters ob- 
 tained for these authors the name of 
 classic, emphatically ; and when other 
 first-rate works are intended some dis- 
 tinctive name is added, as the English, 
 French, Spanish, etc., classics. 
 
 Claude Lorraine {i.e. of Lorraine). 
 This incorrect form is generally used in 
 English for the name of Claude le 
 Lorrain, or Claude Gelee, the French 
 landscape painter, born at the Chateau- 
 de-Chamage, in Lorraine. (1600-1G82.) 
 
 The Scotch Claude. Thomas of Dud- 
 dingston (near Edinburgh) . 
 
 Claus {Santa). {See Santa Claus.) 
 
 Clause, letter-clause, a close letter, 
 sealed with the royal signet or privy- 
 seal ; in opposition to letters-patent, 
 which are left open, the seal being 
 attached simply as a legal form. 
 (" Clause," Latin clausus, shut, closed. 
 "Patent," Latin ^;rtto;s, open.) 
 
 Clause Rolls {Eotuli clausi). Close 
 Rolls. {See Close Rolls.) 
 
 " Clause Rolls contain all such matters of record 
 as were conmiitted to close writs. These Rolls are 
 jireserved in the Tower."— Jacob: Luir Dicthmarii. 
 
 Clavie. Bmiiing of the Clavie on New- 
 year's eve (old style) in the village of 
 Burghead, on the southern shore of the 
 Moray Frith. The clavie is a sort of 
 bonfire made of casks split up. One of 
 the casks is split into two parts of differ- 
 ent sizes, and an important item of the 
 ceremony is to join these parts together 
 with a huge nail made for the purpose. 
 Whence the name clavus (Latin), a nail. 
 Chambers, who in his Book of JJai/s (vol. 
 ii. p. 789) minutely describes the cere- 
 mony, suggests that it is a relic of Druid 
 worship, but it seems to me to be con- 
 nected with the Roman ceremony ob- 
 served on the 13th September, and called 
 the clavus annalis. The two divisions of 
 the cask, I think, symbolise the old and
 
 Clavileno 
 
 Cleai? 
 
 the new year, which are joined together 
 by a nail. The two parts are unequal, 
 because the part of the new year joined 
 on to the old is very small in comparison. 
 
 Clavile'no. The -wooden horse on 
 which Don Quixote got astride, in order 
 to disenchant the Infanta Antonoma'sia 
 and her husband, who were shut up in 
 the tomb of Queen Magun'cia, of Can- 
 day'a. It was the very liorse on which 
 Peter of Provence carried off the fair 
 Magalo'na ; it was constructed by Mer- 
 lin, and was governed by a wooden pin 
 in the forehead. (The word means 
 Wooden Fee/.) (Don Quixote, part ii. 
 book 3, chaps. 4, 3.) {See Cambuscan.) 
 
 Claw means the foot of an animal 
 armed with claws ; a hand. To elaw is 
 to lay one's hands vipon things. It also 
 means to tickle with the hand ; hence to 
 please or flatter, puff or praise. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, clawu, a claw, withthe verbf/rt^r- 
 iVn;, to claw.) 
 
 Claw me ami I tvUl claw ihee, means, 
 " praise me, and I will praise you," or, 
 scratch my back, and I will do the same 
 for you. 
 
 ~ "Laugli wlien I am merry, ami claw no man iu 
 Lis humciiu'."— ■S'/(rtA'es/ic«;-(' ; Much Ado, etc., .i. 3. 
 
 Claw -backs. Flatterers. Bishop 
 Jewel speaks of " the Pope's claw- 
 backs. ' ' {See above, and Clappeeclaws.) 
 
 Clay'more or Glai/more (2 syl.) is 
 the Celtic glaif (a bent sword), Gaelic 
 claidhcamh (a sword), and inor (great). 
 {See MoRGLAY.) 
 
 " I've told thee how the Soutlirous fell 
 Beneath the broad claymore." 
 Aijtoun : Execution of Montrose, stanza 2. 
 
 Clean. Free from blame or fault. 
 
 " Ye are clean, but not all."— John xiii. 10. 
 
 Bill. To show a clean hill of health. 
 {Sec page 135, col. 1, Bill of Health.) 
 
 Breast. To make a clean breast or 
 Make a clean breast of it. To make a 
 full and unreserved confession. 
 
 Hands. To hare clean hands. To be 
 quite clear of some stated evil. Hence 
 " clean-handed." 
 
 To keep the hands clean. Not to be 
 involved in wrong-doing. 
 
 Heart. 2h have a clean heart. A 
 
 righteous spirit. 
 
 "Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right 
 spirit within me."— Psalm li. 10. 
 
 Heels. To show a clean pair of heels. 
 To make one's escape, to run away. 
 Here ' ' clean ' ' means free from obstruc- 
 tion. 
 
 " The Maroons were runaway slaves who had 
 .... shown their tyrants a clean pair of heels " 
 
 Life. To live a clean life. Blameless 
 and imdefiled. 
 
 Tongue. A clean tongue. Not abusive, 
 not profane, not foul. 
 
 Clean (To). 
 
 Clean away I Scrub on, go on clean- 
 ing, etc. 
 
 To clean down. To sweep down, to 
 swill down. 
 
 To clean out. To purify, to make 
 tidy. Also, to win another's money till 
 his pocket is quite empty. 
 
 To clean up. To wash up, to put in 
 order. 
 
 V Clean, xised adverbially, means en- 
 tirely, wholly; as, "you have grown 
 clean out of knowledge," i.e. wholly be- 
 yond recognition. 
 
 Clean and Unclean Animals. 
 
 Pythagoras taught the doctrine of the 
 transmigration of the soul, but that it 
 aever entered into those animals which 
 it is lawful to eat. Hence those animals 
 which were lawful food for man were 
 those into which the human soul never 
 entered ; but those into which the 
 human soul entered were unclean or 
 Qot fit for human food. This notion 
 existed long before the time of Pytha- 
 goras, who learnt it in Egyjjt. 
 
 *»• In the Old Testament, those animals 
 which chew the cud and part the hoof 
 were clean, and might be eaten. Hares 
 and rabbits could not be eaten because 
 (although they chew the cud) tliey do not 
 part the hoof. Pigs and camels were un- 
 clean, because (although they part the 
 hoof) they do not chew the cud. Bii'ds of 
 prey were accounted unclean. Fish with 
 fins and scales were accounted fit food 
 for man. (Lev. xi.) 
 
 Cleaned Out. Impoverished of 
 everything. De Quincey says that 
 Richard Bentley, after liis lawsuit with 
 Dr. Colbatch, "must have been pretty 
 well cleaned out." 
 
 Clear (verb). 
 
 Clear awai/. Remove. 
 
 Clear off! Away with j'ou I Take 
 away. 
 
 Clear out. Empty out, make tidy. 
 {See below, Clear out for Guam.) 
 
 Clear up. Become fine after rain or 
 cloudiness ; to make manifest ; to eluci- 
 date what was obscure. 
 
 To clear an examination paper. To 
 floor it, or answer every question set. 
 
 To clear the air. To remove the 
 clouds, mists, and impurities. 
 
 To clear the dishes. To empty them 
 of their contents.
 
 Clear the Court 
 
 260 
 
 Clementina 
 
 To clear the room. To remove from it 
 every thing or iDerson not required. 
 
 lo char the table. To remove what 
 has been placed on it. 
 
 Clear the Court. Remove all 
 strangers, or persons not officially con- 
 cerned in the suit. 
 
 Clear the Decks. Prepare for action 
 by removing everj'thing not required. 
 
 *.* Clear used adverbially means 
 wholly, entirely; as, "He is gone clear 
 away," " Clear out of sight." 
 
 Clear (the adjective). 
 
 A clear head. A recejjtive imder- 
 standiug. 
 
 A clear stafciiiey.f. A straightforward 
 and uitelligible statement. 
 
 A clear atijle [of writing]. A lucid 
 method of expressing one's thoughts. 
 
 Clear as Crystal. Clear as Mud. 
 
 {Sec Similes.) 
 
 Clear-coat. A mixture of size, alum, 
 and whitening, for sizing walls. To 
 cover over whatever might show throvigh 
 the coat of colour or paper to be put on 
 it, also to make them stick or adhere 
 more firmlj-. 
 
 Clear Day {A). A bright day, au 
 entire day, as, " The bonds must be left 
 three clear days for examination," to 
 examine them before the interest is paid. 
 
 Clear Grit {The). The real thing, 
 as "champagne is ... if it be but the 
 clear grit " (Anglo-Saxon, (jri/t, bolted 
 flour). 
 
 V A man of grit, or clear gi-it, is one 
 of decision, from whom all doubt or 
 vacillation has been bolted out, as husks 
 from tine flom\ 
 
 Clear out for Guam {To). The 
 ship is bound for no specific place. In 
 the height of the gold fever, ships were 
 chartered to carrj^ passengers to Aus- 
 tralia without having return cargoes 
 secured for them. They were, there- 
 fore, obliged to leave Melbourne in 
 ballast, and to sail in search of home- 
 ward freights. The Custom House 
 regulations requii-ed, however, that, on 
 clearing outwards, some port should be 
 named ; and it became the habit of 
 captains to name "Guam" (a small 
 island of the Ladrone group) as tlie 
 hj'pothetical destination. Hence, " to 
 clear out for Guam" came to mean, 
 clear out for just anywhere — we are 
 bound for whatever 'coast we may 
 choose to venture upon. (See Notes and 
 Queries, Ajiril 18th, 1885, p. 314.) 
 
 Clear Voice {A). A voice of pure 
 intonation, neither husky, mouthy, nor 
 
 throaty. 
 
 Cleared out. I am cju'ile cleared ont. 
 I have sjient all my money ; I have not 
 a fartliing left. In French, Je sals 
 A)i(/lt'. {See Frexcii Leave.) Cleared 
 out means, mj' purse or pocket is cleared 
 out of money. 
 
 Clearing House. A building in 
 Lombard Street, set apart, since ITT-'), 
 for interchanging bankers' checpies and 
 bills. Each bank sends to it daily all 
 the bills and cheques not drawn on its 
 own firm ; these are sorted and dis- 
 tributed to their respective houses, and 
 the balance is settled by f ran.sfer tickets. 
 The origin of this establishment was a 
 post at the corner of Birchin Lane and 
 Lombard Street, where banking clerks 
 met and exchanged memoranda. 
 
 Eailway lines have also then- " Clear- 
 ing Houses" for settling the "tickets"' 
 of the different lines. 
 
 A " clearing banker " is a banker who 
 has the entree of the clearing house. 
 
 "London lias liecnnie the clearins-lumse if the 
 whole world, the place where inteniatinnal del)ts 
 are exchanged against each other. And some- 
 thing like otKio million jiounds'-wortb of checks 
 and hills pass that clearing yearly."—^. C. reiry : 
 Kleiuents of Political Economy, p. 303. 
 
 Cleave. Either to stick to or to part 
 froM. A man "shall cleave to his wife " 
 (Matt. xix. 5). As one that "cleavtth 
 wood" (Psalm cxli. 7). The former is 
 the Anglo-Saxon elif-aii, to stick to, 
 and the latter is cleoj'-an, to sjjlit. 
 
 Cle'lia. A vain, frivolous female 
 butterfly, with a smattering of every- 
 thing. In youth she coqtietted ; and, 
 when youth was passed, tried simclry 
 wnys of earning a living, but always 
 without success. It is a character in 
 Crabbe's Borough. 
 
 Cle'lie. A character in Madam Scu- 
 di'ri's romance so called. This novel 
 is a t}-pe of the buckram formaUty of 
 Louis XIY. It is full of liigh-flown 
 compliments, theatrical poses, and cut- 
 and-dry sentiments. 
 
 Clement {St.). Patron saint of tan- 
 ners, being himself a tanner. His sym- 
 bol is a pot, because November the 'Jord, 
 St. Clement's Day, is the day on which 
 the early Danes used to go about beg- 
 ging for ale. 
 
 Clementina [The Lady). In love 
 with Sir Charles Grandison, who man-ies 
 Harriet Biron. [Richardson: Sir Charles 
 Grandison.)
 
 Clench. 
 
 261 
 
 Clerk 
 
 Clench and Clinch. To clench is to 
 grasp firmly, as, "He clenched my aiTn 
 firmly," "He clenched his nerves bravely 
 to endure the pain." (Anglo-Saxon, 
 he-chncan, to hold fast.) 
 
 To clinch is to make fast, to turn the 
 point of a nail in order to make it fast. 
 Hence, to clinch an arj^ument. (Dutch, 
 kliiiken, to rivet. Whence "clinker- 
 built," said of a ship whose planks 
 overlap each other, and are riveted to- 
 gether.) 
 
 / f/are him a cJcnchcr (should be 
 ^'clincher "). I nailed him fast. 
 
 Cleom'brotos (4 syl.). A philoso- 
 pher who so admired Plato's Fhadon 
 that he jumped into the sea in order to 
 exchange this life for a better. He was 
 called Aiubraeio'ta {of Ainhra'cia), from 
 the place of his birth in Epirus. 
 '• He wbo to enJDy 
 Plato's elj-sium, leaped iutu the sea, 
 Cleouibrotus." 
 
 Milton: Parndise Lost, iii. -171-3. 
 
 Cleon. The personification of gloiy 
 in Spenser's Faerie Quccnc. 
 
 Cleopatra was introduced to Julius 
 Caesar by ApoUodorus in a bale of rich 
 Syrian rugs. When the bale was un- 
 bound, there was discovered the fairest 
 and wittiest girl of all the earth, and 
 Csesar became her captive slave. 
 
 Cleopa'tra and her PearL It is 
 said that Cleopatra made a banquet for 
 Antony, the costliness of which excited 
 his astonishment ; and, when Antony 
 expressed his sm-prise, Cleopatra took 
 a pearl ear-drop, which she dissolved in 
 a strong acid, and drank to the health 
 of the Roman triumvir, sajing, " My 
 draught to Antony shall far exceed it." 
 There are two difficulties in this anec- 
 dote — the first is, that vinegar would not 
 dissolve a pearl ; and the next is, that 
 any stronger acid would be wholly unfit 
 to drink. Probabl}' the solution is this : 
 the pearl was sold to some merchant, 
 whose name was synonymous with a 
 strong acid, and the money given to 
 Antony as a present by the fond queen. 
 The pearl melted, and Cleopatra drank 
 to the health of Antony as she handed 
 him the money. {See "Gresham" in 
 Reader'' s Handbook.) 
 
 Clergy. The men of God's lot or 
 inheritance. In St. Peter's first epistle 
 (ch. v. 3) the Church is called "God's 
 heritage " or lot. In the Old Testament 
 the tribe of Levi is called the "lot or 
 heritage of the Lord." (Greek, xA^pos; 
 Latin, clerics and clericiis, whence Nor- 
 man clerex and clerkus ; French, clerge.) 
 
 Benefit of clergy. (&e Benefit.) 
 
 Cler'gymen. The dishke of sailors 
 to clergjmen on board ship arises from 
 an association with the history of Jonah. 
 Sailors call them a kittle canjo, or kittlish 
 cargo, meaning dangerous. Probably 
 the disastrous voyage of St. Paul con- 
 finned the prejudice. 
 
 Clerical Titles. 
 
 (1) Cleek. As in ancient times the 
 clergyman was about the only person 
 who could write and read, the word 
 clerical, as "clerical error," came to 
 signify an error in spelling. As the 
 respondent in chm'ch was able to read, 
 he received the name of clerk, and the 
 assistants in writing, etc., are so termed 
 in business. (Latin, cler'ieus, a clergy- 
 man.) 
 
 (2) CuEATE. One who has the cure 
 of souls. As the cure of the parish used 
 to be virtually entrusted to the clerical 
 stipendiaiy, the word citraie was ai^pro- 
 priated to this assistant. 
 
 (.3) Rectoe. One who has the par- 
 sonage and great tithes. The man who 
 rules or guides the parish. (Latiia, "a 
 ruler.") 
 
 (4) ViCAE. One who does the " duty" 
 of a parish for the person who receives 
 the tithes. (Latin, ricariits, a deputj'.) 
 
 (5) IxcLTiBENT and Peepetual Cue- 
 ate are now tenned Vicars. {Sec Pae- 
 
 SONS.) 
 
 ■." The French cure equals our vicar, and tb.ir 
 vicaire our curate. 
 
 Clerical Vestments. 
 
 (1) jrhite. Emblem of purity, worn 
 on all feasts, saints' days, and sacra- 
 mental occasions. 
 
 (2) Med. The colour of blood and of 
 fire, worn on the days of martyrs, and 
 on Whit-Sunday, when the Holy Ghost 
 came down like tongues of fire. 
 
 (3) Green. Worn only on days which 
 are neither feasts nor fasts. 
 
 (4) Fitrple. The colom- of mourning, 
 worn on Advent Sundays, in Lent, and 
 on Ember days. 
 
 (•5) Flack. Worn on Good Friday, 
 and when masses are said for the dead. 
 
 Cler'imond. Niece of the Green 
 Knight {q.v.), bride of Valentine the 
 brave, and sister of Fer'ragus the giant. 
 {]'alentine and Orson.) 
 
 Clerk. A scholar. Hence, hcau-clerc. 
 {See above, Cleeical Titles.) 
 
 "All tlie clerks, 
 I mean the learned ones, in Christian kingdoms, 
 Have their free voices." 
 
 Shakespeare : Benry Ylll., ii, 2.
 
 Clerk-ale 
 
 262 
 
 Cliquot 
 
 St. JVicholfif^s ClerliS. Thieves. An 
 equivoque on the word Nick. 
 
 " I tbink tbere oame prancing down the hill a 
 couple of St.. Nicholas's clerks, —ifozcfe;/ .• McUcIl 
 at MidniaM, 1633. 
 
 Clerk-ale and Churcb-ale. Mr. 
 
 Doiice says the word "ale" is used iu 
 such composite words as bride-ale, clerk- 
 ale, church-ale, lamb-ale, Midsummer- 
 ale, Scot-ale, Whitsuu-ale, etc., for 
 revel or feast, ale being the chief liquor 
 given. 
 
 "The nuiltitiule call Chiu'ch-ale Sunda.\' their 
 revel.vii.cr (lay, which day is spent in hullieatinKS, 
 bearboatiiiLr. . . . dicyiiig, . . . and drunkenness." 
 — ir. Kithc (l.)70). 
 
 Clerkenwell (London) means the 
 Clerks' -well, where the parish clerks of 
 London used to assemble yearly to play 
 some sacred piece. 
 
 Clerkly. Cleverly ; like a scholar. 
 
 "I tlKiiik yiui, gentle servant: 'tis very clerkly 
 dune." 
 Shalai'pcare: Two Gentlemen of Verona, iii. 1. 
 
 Client. In Roman history meant a 
 plebeian under the patronage of a 
 patron. The client performed certain 
 services, and the jjatron protected the 
 life and interests of the client. The 
 word is now a legal one, meaning a 
 person who employs the services of a 
 legal adviser to jji-otect his interests. 
 
 Clifford (Paul). A highwayman, 
 refoi-med by the power of love, in Sir L. 
 Bulvvcr Lytton's novel so called. 
 
 Climacteric. It was once believed 
 that 7 and 9, with their multiples, were 
 critical points in life ; and 63, which is 
 produced by multiplying 7 and 9 to- 
 gether, was termed the Grand Climac- 
 teric, which few persons succeeded iu 
 outliving. 
 
 "There are two years, the seventh and the 
 ninth, that conininnly liriui; great cJianges in a 
 man's life, and great dangers : wlierefure K!, that 
 contains both these numbers multiplied togetlier, 
 conies not without heaps of dangers."— ieiviiHs 
 Lemviiis. 
 
 Climacteric Years are seventh and 
 ninth, with their multiples by the odd 
 numbers 3, 5, 7, 9 — viz. 7, 9, '21, 27, 35, 
 45, 49, 63, and 81, over which astrologers 
 sup}iosed Saturn, the malevolent planet, 
 presided. HippScrates recognises these 
 periods. {Sec Nine.) 
 
 Climax means a .stair (Greek), ap- 
 plied to the last of a gradation of argu- 
 ments, each of which is stronger than 
 the preceding. The last of a gradation 
 of words of a similar character is also 
 called a climax. The point of highest 
 development. 
 
 " In the \evy climax of bis career ... be was 
 stricken dmyn." — Chittenden ; Recollections of 
 Jjincoln, thap. xlv. p. 454, 
 
 Climb. On the cVniib. Under the 
 hope of promotion. Thomas Becket, 
 after he became Cardinal-archbishop of 
 Canterbury, was at the top of the tree, 
 and no further promotion was in the 
 power of the king to bestow. Being no 
 longer on the climb, he could set the 
 king at defiance, and did do so. 
 
 Clinch. To bend the point of a nail 
 after it is driven liome. The word is 
 sometimes written c/cncJi, from the 
 French elenche, the lift of a latch. 
 (German, Idinkc ; Dutch, l-rinhcn. to 
 rivet.) (&r page 261, col. 1, Clench.) 
 
 2'hat was a clinclier. That argument 
 was not to be gainsaid ; that remark 
 drove the matter home, and fixed it "as 
 a nail in a sure place." 
 
 A lie is called a clinclier from the tale 
 about two swaggerers, one of whom 
 said, " I drove a nail right through 
 the moon." '' Yes," said the other, " I 
 remember it well, for I went the other 
 side and clinched it." The French say, 
 Je ltd al lien rite son clou (I have 
 clinched his nail for him). 
 
 Clin'ker {Hiiniphrci/). Hero of Smol- 
 lett's novel so called. The general scheme 
 of Olircr Tirist resembles it. Hunii)hrcy 
 is a workhouse boy, put out apprentice ; 
 but being afterwarcls reduced to great 
 want, he attracts the notice of Mr. 
 Bramble, who takes him into his service. 
 He turns out to be Bramble's natural sou, 
 and falls in love with Winifred Jenkins, 
 Miss Bramble's maid. 
 
 Clio was one of the nine Muses, the 
 inventress of historical and heroic 
 poetry. 
 
 Clio. Addison is so called because his 
 papers in the Spectator are signed by 
 one of the four letters in this word, 
 probably the initial letters of Chelsea, 
 London, Islington, Office. {See Nota- 
 eica.) 
 
 V See Professor Morley's "Introduc- 
 tion to the Spectator,'" on the subject. 
 
 Clipper. A fast-sailing ship. 
 
 " We shall have to catch the Aurora, and she 
 has a name for being a clipper."— i. C. Doyle: 
 'J'lie Hidn of Four, chap. X. 
 
 Slices a clipper. Said of a stylish or 
 beautiful woman. A first-class craft. 
 
 Clipping Pace {A). Very fast. A 
 clii^per is a fast-sailing vessel. 
 
 " Leaving Bolus Head, we scudded on at a clip- 
 ping pace, and the skiff yielded so much to tlie 
 breeze that Burv said wemust reef the mainsail." 
 — II'. ,S'. Trench : Realities of Irish Life, chap. x. 
 
 Cli'quot (of ranch celebrity). A 
 nickname of Frederick William IV. of
 
 Oloacina 
 
 2fi3 
 
 Closli 
 
 Prussia ; so called from his fondness for 
 champagne (1795, 1840-1861). 
 
 Cloaci'na. Goddess of sewers. (Latin, 
 clou'ca, a sewer.) 
 
 " Then Cloaciua, goddess of the. tide, 
 Whose 8al)le streams Ijeneath the city Rlide, 
 Indulged the modish flame ; the town slie roved, 
 A mortal scavenger she saw, she loved." 
 
 Gay : Trivia., ii. 
 
 Cloak and Sword Plays. Modem 
 comed}^ played in the ordinary costume 
 of modem life. The phrase was adopted 
 by Cauderon, who lived in Spain while 
 gentlemen were accustomed to wear 
 cloaks and swords. For tragedy the 
 men actors wore either heraldic or dra- 
 matico-historic dresses. In England 
 actors in tragedy and old comedy wore 
 the costume of Charles II. 's period, till 
 quite recently. 
 
 Clock. So church bells were once 
 called. (Gennan, gloche ; French, 
 cloche ; Mediaeval Latin, cloca.) 
 
 " Wel sikerer [surer] was hiscrowyng in liislogge 
 Than is a clok [bell] or alibay orologge." 
 
 Chaucer : The Xonne Prestes Tale (1G39-40). 
 
 Clock. The tale about St. Paul's clock 
 striking thii'teen is given in Walcott's 
 Meittorio.h of IVestmhister, and refers to 
 John Hatfield, who died 1770, aged 102. 
 He was a soldier in the reign of Williani 
 III., and was brought before a court- 
 martial for falling asleep on duty upon 
 Windsor TeiTace. In jiroof of his 
 innocence he asserted that he heard St. 
 Paul's clock strike thirteen, which 
 statement was confirmed by several 
 witnesses. 
 
 Clodhopper. A fanner, who hops or 
 walks amongst the clods. The cavahy 
 call the infantiy clodhoi:)pers, because 
 they have to walk instead of riding 
 horseback. 
 
 Clog Almanac. A primitive alma- 
 nac or calendar, originally made of a 
 "clog," or log of wood, Avith four faces 
 or parallelograms ; the shai-p edge of 
 each face or side was divided by notches 
 into tlu'ee nronths,- every week being 
 marked by a big notch. The face left 
 of the notched edge contained the saints' 
 days, the festivals, the phases of the 
 moon, and so on in Eunic characters, 
 whence the "clog" was also called a 
 Runic staff. These curiosities are not 
 uncommon, and specimens may be seen 
 in the British Museum, the Bodleian 
 (Oxford), the Ashmolean Museum, St. 
 John's (Cambridge), the Cheetham 
 Library (Manchester), and other places 
 both at hon^e and abroad, 
 
 Cloister. He retired into a cloister, 
 a monastery. Almost all monasteries 
 have a cloister or covered walk, which 
 generally occupied three sides of a 
 quadrangle. 
 
 Clootie. Auld Clootie. Old Nick. 
 The Scotch call a cloven hoof a cloot, so 
 that Auld Clootie is Old Cloven-foot. 
 
 Clorida'no (in Orlando Fitrioso). A 
 humble Moorish youth, who joins Me- 
 do'ro in seeking the body of King 
 Dardinello to bury it. Medoro being 
 woimded, Cloridano rushed madly into 
 the ranks of the enemy and was slain. 
 
 Clorin'da (in Jerusalem Bclircred). 
 
 A female knight who came from Persia 
 to o]ipose the Crusaders, and was ap- 
 pointed by Al'adine leader of all the 
 Pagan forces. Tancred fell in love with 
 her ; but not knowing her in a night 
 attack, slew her after a most dreadful 
 combat. Before she died she received 
 Christian baptism at the hands of Tan- 
 cred, who mourned her death with great 
 sorrow of heart. (Book xii.) 
 
 Sena'pus of Ethiopia (a Christian) was 
 her father ; but her being born white 
 alarmed her mother, who changed her 
 babe for a black child. Arse'tus, the 
 eunuch, was entrusted with the infant 
 Cloriuda, and as he was going through 
 a forest he saw a tiger, cb'opped the 
 child, and sought safety in a tree. The 
 tiger took the babe and suckled it, after 
 which Ai'setus left Ethiopia Avith the 
 child for Egj-pt. 
 
 Close as a Clam. A clam is a 
 
 bivalve mollusca, which buiTows in sand 
 or mud. It is about the size of a 
 florin, and may be eaten raw or fried 
 like an oyster. Clams are gathered 
 only when the tide is out. When the 
 tide is in thej'- are safe from molesta- 
 tion, hence the saying "Happy as a 
 clam at high tide." (Anglo-Saxon, 
 clam, mud ; verb clcem-ian, to glue ; 
 German, Jdamm, close.) 
 
 Close Rolls are mandates, letters, 
 and writs of a private nature, addressed, 
 in the Sovereign's name, to individtials, 
 and folded or clowd and sealed on the 
 outside with the Great Seal. 
 
 V Patent Rolls are left open, with the- 
 seal hanging from the bottom. 
 
 Close-time lor Game. {See Spoet- 
 
 ING SeASOXS.) 
 
 Closh {Meinlierr). A Dutch Jack- 
 tar. Closh is corrupt fonn of Claus, a 
 contraction of Nicholas, a name as
 
 Cloten 
 
 2fi4 
 
 Clym of the Clough 
 
 commou with the Dutch as Jack is with 
 the English people, 
 
 Clo'ten. A vindictive lout who wore 
 his dagger in his mouth. He fell in 
 love with Im'ogen, but his love was not 
 reciprocated. {^Shakespeare : CymbcUne.) 
 
 Clofh [The). The clergy; the clerical 
 office ; thus we say ' ' having respect for 
 the cloth." Formerly the clergy used 
 to wear a distinguishing costume, made 
 of grey or black cloth. 
 
 Clotha'rius or Clothaire (in Jem- 
 salon Delivered). At the death of 
 Hugo he takes the lead of the Franks, but 
 is shot by Clorinda {q.v.) with an arrow 
 (book xi.). After his death, his troops 
 sneak away and leave the Christian 
 army (book xiii.) . 
 
 Clotho, in Classic mythology. One 
 of the Three Fates. She presided over 
 birth, and drew from her distaff the 
 thread of life ; Atropos presided over 
 death and cut the tlu-ead of life ; and 
 Lachesis spun the fate of life between 
 birth and death. (Greek, MCtlto, to 
 draw thread from a distaff.) 
 
 " A France sliisbed asunder with Clotho-scissors 
 unci civil.war."— 6Vn-/;//(;. iTliis is an erroneous 
 alkisiou. "it was Atroiios who cut the thread.) 
 
 Cloud, Clouds. 
 
 He is in tlie elouds. In dreamland ; 
 entertaining visionary notions ; having 
 no distinct idea about the matter in 
 question. 
 
 He is under a ehmd. Under suspicion, 
 in disrepute. 
 
 To blow a cloud is to smoke a cigar or 
 pipe. 
 
 Cloud. A dark spot on the forehead 
 of a horse between the eyes. A white 
 spot is called a star, and an elongated 
 star is a blaze. {See Blaze.) 
 
 " Arpippa. He [Antony] has a cloud on his face. 
 £)iobarbiis. He were the worse for that were lie 
 a horse." 
 iShakespeare : Antony and Cleopatra, iii. 2. 
 
 Cloud (St.). Patron saint of nail- 
 smitlis, by a play ujiou the French word 
 elo/i, a nail. 
 
 Clouded Cane (A). A malacca cane 
 clouded or mottled from age and use. 
 These canes were veiy fashionable in 
 the first quarter of the present century. 
 
 Cloven Foot. To sJioiv the cloven 
 foot, i.e. to show a knavish intention ; a 
 base motive. The allusion is to Satan, 
 represented with the legs and feet of a 
 goat ; and, however he might disguise 
 himself, he could never conceal his 
 cloven feet. [See Bag o' Nails, Goat.) 
 
 "Real grief little iuflueuced its composition 
 
 . . . and the cloven foot peeps out in some 
 letters written hy him at the period."— iS*../amcs'g 
 Magazine. 
 
 Clover. He''s in clover. In luck, in 
 prosperous circumstances, in a good 
 situation. The allusion is to cattle feed- 
 ing in clover fields. 
 
 Clowns. The three most celebrated 
 
 are Joseph Grimaldi (1770-1837), the 
 
 French Carlin (1713-1783), and Eichard 
 
 Tarlton, in the days of Queen Elizabeth, 
 
 who acted at the galleried inn called the 
 
 Helle Sauvage. 
 
 " To sit with Tarlton on an alehouse signe." 
 Bisliop llaU : Natires. 
 
 Club. A society of persons who club 
 together, or form themselves into a knot 
 or lunqi. 
 
 The word was originally applied to 
 persons bound together by a vow. 
 (German, gelitbde.) [Sec Caeds, 4 clubs.) 
 
 " [ll'.io] was the era of chivalry, .... for bodies 
 of men uniting themselves by a sacred vow, 
 f/(;«M(', which word and thing have passed over 
 tons in a singularly dwindled condition, ' clul) ' 
 we call it ; and the vow .... does not rank very 
 lii^'h." — CVir(i/(e; Frederick the Great, vol. i. p. 
 111. 
 
 Club-bearer {The). Periphe'tcs, the 
 robber of Ar'golis, is so called because he 
 murdered his victims with an iron club. 
 
 Club-land. That part of the West 
 End of London where the principal clubs 
 are situated ; the members of such clubs. 
 
 Club-law. The law of might or 
 compulsion through fear of chastisement. 
 Do it or get a hicling. 
 
 Clue. I have not yet got the chte : to 
 give a clue, i.e. a hint. A clue is a ball of 
 "thread (Ang.-Saxon, cleoicen). The only 
 mode of finding the way out of the 
 Cretan labyrinth was by a skein of 
 thread, which, being laid along the 
 proper route, indicated the right path. 
 
 Clumsy (Norwegian, kliiinp, a lump ; 
 Swedish, Iclummscn, benumbed ; Ice- 
 landic, kluinsa). Piers Plo^\^nan has 
 "thou klompsist for cold," and Wiclif 
 has "Our hondis ben aclumi^sid." 
 Halliwcll gives us cluiiijjish = awkward, 
 and clump = lazy. 
 
 Clu'ricaune (3 syl.). An elf of evil 
 disposition who usually appears as a 
 wrinkled old man, and has knowledge 
 of hid treasures. {Irish mythology.) 
 
 Clydesdale Horses. Scotch draught- 
 horses, not equal to Shire-horses in size, 
 but of great endurance. {See Shiee- 
 
 HOESES.) 
 
 Clym of the Clough, with Adam Bell 
 and William of Cloudesly, were noted 
 outlaws, whose skill in archery rendered
 
 Clytie 
 
 265 
 
 Coals of Fire 
 
 them as famous in the north of England 
 as Eobin Hood and Little John iu the 
 midland counties. Their place of resort 
 was iu Euglewood Forest, near Car- 
 lisle. N.B. — Euglewood means fire- 
 wood. Clym of the Clough means 
 Clement of the Cliff. 
 
 Clytie (3 syl.). A water-nymph, iu 
 love with Apollo. Meeting with no re- 
 turn, she was changed into a suufiower, 
 which, traditionally, still turns to the 
 sun, following him through his daily 
 course. 
 
 Cnepb. The name under wliicli the 
 Egyptians adore the Creator of the 
 world. 
 
 Cnidian Venus {The). The ex- 
 quisite statue of Venus or Aphrodite by 
 Praxiteles, placed in the temple of Venus, 
 at Cnidus. 
 
 Co. A conti-actiou of compainj ; as 
 Smith and Co. 
 
 Coach {A). A lu-ivate tutor. The 
 term is a pun on getting on fast. To get 
 on fast you take a coach ; j'ou cannot 
 get on fast without a private tutor — 
 ergo, a private tutor is the coach you 
 take iu order that you may get on 
 quickly. {Unirersify slang.) 
 
 " The l)()oks .... are expensive, anil often a 
 further expense is entailed by the necessity of 
 securing 'a coa.ch.' "—Stedman: Oxford, chap. x. 
 p. 188. 
 
 To dine in the coach. In the captain's 
 private room. The coach or couch of a 
 ship is a small apartment near the stern, 
 the floor being formed of the aftmost 
 part of the quarter-deck, and the roof 
 by the poop. 
 
 A slow coach. A dull, uuprogressive 
 person, somewhat fossilised. 
 
 " What a dull, old-fashioned chap thou be'st . . . 
 but thou wert always a slow-coach." — Mrs. 
 Guskell: Cihbie Marsh (Era 2). 
 
 Coach-and-four (or Coach-and-sLr). 
 It is said one may drive a coach-and- 
 four through an Act of Parliament, i.e. 
 lawyers can always find for their clients 
 some loophole of escape. 
 
 " It is easy to drive a coach-and-four through 
 wills, and settlements, and legal things."—//. R. 
 Jldfiga rd. 
 
 " [Rice] was often heard to say .... that lie 
 Would drive a coach and six horses through the 
 .\ct of Settlement."— H'efifood. 
 
 Coach -and -pair (A). A coach 
 drawn by a pair of horses. Coach-and- 
 four, coach-and-six, etc. 
 
 Coach Away. Get on a little faster. 
 Your coach drags ; drive on faster. 
 
 Coached Up. Taught by a private 
 tutor for examination. " Well coaclied 
 up, ■' well crammed or taught. 
 
 Coal. Hot as a coaJ. The expression 
 has au obvious allusion. 
 
 To post the coal or cole. To pay or 
 put down the cash. Coal = money has 
 been in use in the sporting world for 
 very many years. Buxton, in 1863, 
 used the phrase "post the coal," and 
 since then it has been in frequent use. 
 Probably rhyming slang: "Coal," an 
 imperfect rhyme of gool ^go\di. {See 
 page 248, Chivy, and page 2GG, Coaling.) 
 
 " It would not suit me to write. . . . even if they 
 offered, ... to post the co\q."— Hood. 
 
 Coal Brandy. Burnt brandJ^ The 
 ancient way to set brandy on fire was to 
 drop in it a live or red-hot coal. 
 
 Coals. 
 
 To blow the coals. To fan dissensions, 
 to excite smouldering animosity into 
 open hostiUty, as diUl coals are blown 
 into a blaze by a pair of bellows. 
 
 I'o carrg coals. To be put upon. 
 "Gregory, o' my word, we'll not carry 
 coals" — i.e. submit to be "put upon" 
 {Romeo and Juliet, i. 1). So iu Every 
 Man out of his Ilunwur, "Here comes 
 one that 'will carry coals, ergo, will hold 
 my dog." The allusion is to the dirty, 
 laborious occupation of coal-carriers. 
 Gifford, in his edition of Ben Jonson, 
 saj-s, " Of these {i.e. scullions, etc.), the 
 most forlorn wretches were selected to 
 carry coals to the kitchen, halls, etc." 
 (.SVtf page 141, col. 1, Blackguard.) 
 
 To carry coals to Kewcastle. To do 
 what is superfluous. As Newcastle is 
 the great coal-field, it would be quite 
 superfluous to carry coals thither. The 
 French say, '■'■Porter deVeau a la riviere" 
 (to carry water to the river). There are 
 nimierous Latin equivalents: as, "To 
 carry wood to the forests;" '■'■ Poma 
 Alcinoo dare" {See Alcinoo) ; " Xoctuas 
 Athenasferre" (<SVe Noctuas) ; "Crocum 
 in Ciliciainferre" {See CnocvM). 
 
 To haul over the coals. To bring to 
 task for shortcomings ; to scold. At 
 one time the Jews were "bled" when- 
 ever the kings or barons wanted money ; 
 and one very common torture, if they 
 resisted, was to haul them over the coals 
 of a slow fire, to give them a "roast- 
 ing." (See Ivanhoc, where Front-de- 
 Boeuf threatens to haul Isaac over the 
 coals. ) 
 
 Coals of Fire. To heap coals of fire 
 on the head of a foe. To melt down his 
 animosity by deeds of kindness. 
 
 " If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to 
 eat; and if he be tliirsty, give him water to drink ; 
 for thou Shalt heap coals of fire upon his head."— 
 Prov. XXV. 21, 22.
 
 Coaling 
 
 266 
 
 Cob 
 
 Coaling, in theatrical slang, means 
 telling phrases and speeches, as, "My 
 part is full of ' coaling lines.' " Coal 
 being money, means profit, whence coal- 
 ■1)1 J. (iSVr p. 265, To POST THE Coal . . .) 
 
 Coalition Government. A Govern- 
 ment formed by various parties by a 
 mutual surrender of i^rinciples. The 
 administration of Lord North and Charles 
 Fox, 1783, was a coalition, but it fell to 
 pieces in a few months. That of Lord 
 Salisburj' with the old "Whig party 
 headed by Lord Hartington was a coali- 
 tion (188(i-189'J). 
 
 Coast Clear. Is the coast clear ? 
 The coast is clear. There is no likeli- 
 hood of interference. None of the coast- 
 guards are about. 
 
 Coast Men of Attica. The mer- 
 chant class who lived along the coast- 
 lauds {I'ar'al/). 
 
 Coasting Lead (A). A sounding 
 lead used in shallow water. 
 
 Coasting Trade. Trade between 
 ports of the same country carried on by 
 coasting vessels. 
 
 Coasting Waiter. An officer of 
 Customs in the Port of London, whose 
 duty it was to visit and make a return 
 of coasting vessels trading from one part 
 of the kingdom to another, and which 
 (from the nature of their cargo) were 
 not required to report or make entry at 
 the Custom House. These vessels were 
 liable to the paj-ment of certain small 
 dues, which it was the duty of the 
 Coasting Waiter to exact. He was also 
 expected to search the cargo, that no 
 contraband goods were illicitly on board. 
 Like Tide Waiters, these Coasting Wait- 
 ers were abolished in the latter half of 
 the nineteenth century, and their duties 
 have since been perfomied by the Exam- 
 ining Officer. Theii- salary was about 
 £40 a year. 
 
 Coat. 
 
 Cat your coat aecordbtg to your cloth. 
 Curtail your expenses to the amount of 
 your income ; live within your means. 
 Si non possis quod relis, velis id quod 
 possis. 
 
 Near is my coat, but nearer is my skin. 
 '^Tunica pallia propior est.^' " £ffo 
 proximus mihi.'''' 
 
 To baste one''s coat. To dust his 
 jacket ; to beat him. 
 
 To wear the king''s coat. To be a 
 soldier. 
 
 Turning onc''s coat for lack. It was an 
 ancient superstition that this was g. 
 
 charm against evil spirits. {See Tuen- 
 
 COAT.) 
 
 " William found 
 A means for our deliverance : ' Turn your cloaks,' 
 yuutli bee, ' f<jr Pucke is liusy in these oakos.' " 
 Bishop Corbttt : Iter Bvreale. 
 
 Coat of Arms. A surcoat worn by 
 knights over their armour, decorated 
 with devices by which heralds described 
 the wearer. Hence the heraldic device 
 of a family. Coat-anuour was invented 
 in the Crusading expeditions, to distin- 
 guish the various noble warriors when 
 wrapped in complete steel, a7id it was 
 introduced into England by Eichard 
 Lion-heart. 
 
 Coat of many Colours (Gen. 
 xxxvii. 3). HaiTuer, in his Observations 
 (vol. ii. p. 386), infoiTus us that " many 
 colom-s " in this connection does not 
 mean striped, flowered, embroidered, or 
 "printed" with several colours, but 
 having ' ' divers jDieces of different colours 
 sewed together " in patchwork. The 
 Hebrew word is passeem. In 2 Sam. 
 xiii. 18 we are told that king's daughters 
 wore a garment of manj' colours or 
 divers puces. Dr. Adam Clarke says 
 that similar garments " are worn by 
 persons of distinction in Persia, India, 
 and some parts of China to the present 
 day." The great offence was this : Jacob 
 was a sheik, and by giving Joseph a 
 " prince's robe" he virtually announced 
 him his heir. {Sec Divers Colotjes.) 
 
 Coats, Hosen, and Hats (Dan. iii. 
 21). These were not articles of dress, 
 but badges of office. It vdW be recol- 
 lected that Shadrach and his two com- 
 panions had recentlj' been set over 
 provinces of Babylon : and Nebuchad- 
 nezzar degraded them by insisting on 
 their wearing their insignia of office. 
 The word cap would be better than 
 " hat," their caps of office ; and sandals 
 would be better than " hosen." Coats 
 or cloaks have always designated office. 
 " Hosen " means what the Romans 
 called calceus patrieins, which were san- 
 dalled up to the calf of the leg. Every 
 Latin scholar knows that calccos mntare 
 means to " become a senator." 
 
 Cob [A). Between a pony and a horse 
 in size, from thirteen to nearly fifteen 
 hands high. The word means big, stout. 
 The original meaning is a tuft or head, 
 hence eminent, large, powerful. The 
 "cob of the county" is the gi-eat boss 
 thereof. A rich cob is a plutocrat. 
 Hence also a male, as a cob-swan. 
 
 V Riding horses run between fifteen 
 and sijcteeu hands in height, and carriage
 
 Cobalt 
 
 267 Cock and Bull Story 
 
 horses, between sixteen and seventeen 
 hands. 
 
 Cobalt. From the German Kohold 
 (a gnome). The demon of mines. This 
 metal was so called by miners, because 
 it was long thought to be useless and 
 troublesome. It was consequently at- 
 tributed to the ill offices of the mine 
 demon. 
 
 Cobbler. A drink made of wine 
 (sheri-y), sugar, lemon, and ice. It is 
 sijjped up through a straw. {See Cob- 
 bler's Punch.) 
 
 " Tliis ■wonderful invention, sir, ... is called 
 colihler,^Slierry cobhler, when you name it long; 
 cobbler when you name it short."— X'icA'ens; Mar- 
 tiu Cliuzzleicit, xvii. 
 
 Cobbler. Let not the eohhier oreratcp 
 Jii.s last {Xe su'tor ultra crep'idam). Let 
 no one presume to interfere in matters 
 of which he is ignorant. The tale goes 
 that a cobbler detected a fault in the 
 shoe-latchet of one of Apelles' paintings, 
 and the artist rectified the fault. The 
 cobbler, thinking himself very wise, next 
 ventured to criticise the legs ; but 
 Apelles answered, " Keejj to your 
 trade ' ' — you understand about shoes, 
 but not about anatomy. 
 
 ^Cobbler Poet ( The) . Hans Sachs of 
 Nuremberg, prince of the mastersingers 
 of Germany (1494-1574). 
 
 Cobbler's Punch. Gin and water, 
 with a little treacle and vinegar. 
 
 Cobbler's Toast. School-boys' bread 
 and butter, toasted on the diy side and 
 eaten hot. 
 
 Cob'ham, referred to by Thomson in 
 his Aatx 1)1)1, was Sir Richard Temjile, 
 created Lord Cobham in 1714. 
 
 Cob-nut. A nut with a tuft. (Welsh, 
 cob or coj), a tuft ; German, liopf, the 
 head.) 
 
 Coburgs. A corded or ribbed cotton 
 cloth made in Coburg (Saxony), or in 
 imitation thereof. Chiefly used for 
 ladies' di'esses. 
 
 Cob 'web. Cob, Teutonic for " spi- 
 der." Dwich, f:piiinckop ; Saxou, atter- 
 cop (poisonous sj^ider) ; Chaldee, kopi 
 (spider's web). 
 
 Cock. Mahomet found in the first 
 heaven a cock of such enormous size 
 that its crest touched the second heaven. 
 The crowing of this celestial bird arouses 
 every living creature from sleep except 
 man. The Moslem doctors say that 
 Allah lends a willing ear to him who 
 reads the Koran, to him who prays for 
 
 pardon, and to the cock whose chant is 
 divine melody. When this cock ceases 
 to crow, the day of judgment will be at 
 hand. 
 
 Cock. Dedicated to Apollo, the sun- 
 god, because it gives notice of the rising 
 of the sun. It was dedicated to Mer- 
 cury, because it summons men to busi- 
 ness by its crowing. And to ^scu- 
 lapius, because " early to bed and early to 
 rise, makes a man healthy." 
 
 A cock on church spires is to remind 
 men not to deny their Lord as Peter 
 did, but when the cock crew he " went 
 out and wept bitterly." Peter Le Neve 
 affirms that a cock was the warlike 
 ensign of the Goths, and therefore used 
 in Gothic churches for ornament. 
 
 Every cock crous on its own duufihill, 
 or Ilka cock croivs on his own midden. 
 It is easy to brag of your deeds in your 
 own castle when safe from danger and 
 not likely to be put to the proof. 
 
 Latin : Gallus in suo sterquilinio 
 plurimum potest. 
 
 French : Chien sur son fumier est 
 hardi. 
 
 Spanish : Cada Galla canta en su 
 muladar. 
 
 Nourish a cock, but offer it not in sacri- 
 fice. This is the eighteenth Symbolic 
 Saying in the Protreptics of lamblichus. 
 The cock was sacred to Minerva, and 
 also to the Sun and Moon, and it would 
 be impious to offer a sacrilegious 
 oifering to the gods. What is already 
 consecrated to God cannot be employed 
 in sacrifice. 
 
 That cock iconH fi(jht. That dodge 
 woiddn't answer ; that tale won't wash. 
 Of course, the allusion is to fighting 
 cocks. A bet is made on a favourite 
 cock, but when pitted he refuses to 
 fight. 
 
 To cry cock. To claim the victoi-y ; 
 to assert oneself to be the superior. As 
 a cock of the walk is the chief or ruler 
 of the whole walk, so to cry cock is to 
 claim this cockship. 
 
 Cock and Bottle. A public-house 
 sign, meaning diuught and bottled ale 
 may be had on the premises. The 
 "cock" here means the tap. It does 
 not mean " The Cork and Bottle." 
 
 Cock and Bull Story. A corrup- 
 tion of a concocted and bully story. The 
 catch-i^ennies hawked about the streets 
 are still called cocks — i.e. concocted 
 things. Bully is the Danish bullcn (ex- 
 aggerated), our bull-rush (an exaggerated 
 rush), bull-frog, etc. 
 
 Another etymology may be suggested :
 
 Cock and Pie 
 
 2G8 
 
 Cock Lane Ghost 
 
 The idol Nergal was the most common 
 idol of the aucieut Phoeniciaus, Indiaus, 
 and Persians, and Nergal means a dioif/- 
 h'lll cock. The Egyptian bull is equally 
 uotorious under the name of Osi'ris. A 
 cock-aud-buU story may therefore mean 
 a itiijth , iu reference to the mythological 
 fables of Nergal and Osiris. 
 
 The French equivalents are fairc un 
 coq a Vane and un conie de ma mire Pole 
 (a mother goose tale). 
 
 Cock and Pie (-Cy). We meet Avith 
 
 cock'' ft Iwi/cs, cock's wounds, cock's mother, 
 cock's body, cock's passion, etc., where 
 we can have no doubt that the word is a 
 minced oath, and stands for the sacred 
 name which should never be taken in 
 vain. The I'ie is the table or rule in the 
 old Koraan offices, showing how to find 
 out the service for each day, called by 
 the Gveeka pi' nax (an index). The latter 
 part of the oath is equivalent to " the 
 Mass book." 
 
 " By cock and pie, sir, you sball not a\vay tu- 
 ■a\i;\\t."— Shakespeare : -^ Henry /r., act v. 1. 
 
 Cock and Fie (as a public-house sign) 
 is probably "The Cock and Magpie." 
 
 Cock of Hay {A) or a haycock. A 
 small heap of hay tkrown up tempo- 
 rarily. (German, kocke, a heap of hay ; 
 Norwegian, kok, a heap.) 
 
 Cock of the North. The Duke of 
 Gordon. So called on a monument 
 erected to his honour at Fochabers, in 
 Abordeensliire. (Died 1836.) 
 
 Cock of the Walk. The dominant 
 bully or master spirit. The place where 
 barn-door fowls are fed is called the 
 icalk, and if there is more than one cock 
 they Avill fight for the supremacy of this 
 domain. 
 
 Cock-a-hoop or Cock-a-houp. To sit 
 cock-u-houp. Boastful, defiant, like a 
 game-cock with his houpe or crest erect ; 
 eagerly expectant. (French, coq a 
 huppe.) 
 
 " And having routed a whole troop, 
 With victory was cock-a-lioop." 
 
 Butler : Nudibras, i. 3. 
 
 Cock apace. Set ofE as fast as you 
 can run. A cock is a taj) thi-ough which 
 liquor runs. "To cock" is to walk 
 lightly or nimbly. 
 
 "If stoi'uis be nigh then cock apace," says 
 TusserUl'-l). 
 
 Cockboat or Cockle Boat, A small 
 boat made of a wicker frame, and 
 covered with leather or oil-cloth. The 
 Welsh fishers used to cany them on 
 their backs. (Welsh, cicch, a boat ; 
 
 French, coche, a passage boat ; Irish, 
 coca ; Italian, cocc(( ; Norwegian, koy, a 
 cockboat.) 
 
 Cock-crow. The Hebrews divided 
 the night into four watches : 1, The 
 " beginning of the watches " or " even " 
 (Lam. ii. 19) ; 2, "The middle watch" 
 or "midnight" (Judg. vii. 19) ; 3, "The 
 cock - crowing ; " 4, "The morning 
 watch" or "dawning" (Exod. xiv. 
 24). 
 
 " Ye know not when the master of the hovise 
 conieth,at even, or at iiiiduiglit, or at the cock- 
 crowing, or in the morning."— Mark xiii. 35. 
 
 *»* The Eomans divided the night into 
 sixteen parts, each one hour and 
 a -half, beginning at midnight. The 
 third of these divisions (3 a.m.) they 
 ciiWcA yaUiciniu)u,i\iQ time when cocks 
 begin to crow; the next was conticinium, 
 when they ceased to crow ; and fifth was 
 diluculum, dawn. 
 
 Probably the Eomans sounded the 
 hour on a trumpet (bugle) three times, 
 and if so it would explain the diversity 
 of the Gospels : " Before the cock crow " 
 (John xiii. 38, Luke xxii. 34, and Matt. 
 xxvi. 34); but "Before the cock crow 
 tu-ice " (Mark xiv. 30) — that is, before 
 the " bugle " has finished sounding. 
 
 Apparitions vanish at cock crow. This 
 is a Christian superstition, the cock being 
 the watch -bird placed on church spires, 
 and therefore sacred. 
 
 " The morning cock crew loud, 
 And at the sound it [the Ghost] shrunk m haste 
 
 away, 
 And vanished from our sight." 
 
 Sliakespeure : llumU.t, i. '2. 
 
 Cock-eye. A squint. Cock-eyed, 
 having a squint ; cross-eyed. (Irish 
 and Gaelic, caoy, a squint ; " caogshuil," 
 squint-eyed.) 
 
 Cock-fighting was introduced into 
 Britain by the Eomans. It was a fa- 
 vourite sport both with the Greeks and 
 with the Eomans. 
 
 That beats cock-fyhting. That is 
 most imi^robable and extraordinary. 
 The allusion is to the extravagant tales 
 told of fighting-cocks. 
 
 " He can only relieve his feelings hy the . . . 
 frequent repetiticm, ' Well, that beats cock-fight- 
 ing ! ' "—WIrytc-Mclville. 
 
 To live like fightiny -cocks. To live 
 in luxury. Before game-cocks are pitted 
 they are fed plentifully on the very best 
 food. 
 
 Cock-horse. To ridc-a-cock-horsc. To 
 sit astride a person's foot or knee while 
 he dances or tosses it up and down. 
 
 Cock Lane Ghost. A tale of terror 
 without truth ; an imaginary tale of
 
 Cock-pit 
 
 2G9 
 
 Cockatrice 
 
 horrors. lu Cock Lane, Stockwell (1762), 
 certain kuockiugs were heard, which Mr. 
 Pai'sons, the owner, declared proceeded 
 from the ghost of Fanny Kent, who 
 died suddenly, and Parsons wished peo- 
 ple to suppose that she had been mur- 
 dered by her husband. All London was 
 agog with this story ; but it was found 
 out that the knockings were i^roduced 
 by Parsons' daughter (a girl twelve years 
 of age) rapping on a board wliich she 
 took into her bed. Parsons was con- 
 demned to stand in the pillorj'. {>Sce 
 Stockwell Ghost.) 
 
 Cock-pit. The judicial committee of 
 the privj^ council is so called, because 
 the council -room is built on the old 
 cock- pit of Whitehall i^alace. 
 
 " (Ti-eat cousultatiiiiis at tln^ rockpit aliont 
 liattles, duels, victories, and wliat not."— Poor 
 Iliibiu's Almanack, 1730. 
 
 Cock Sure is cocki/ sure — pertly con- 
 fident. We call a self-confident, over- 
 bearing prig a cocky fellow, from the 
 barnyard despot ; but Shakespeare em- 
 ploys the phrase in the sense of ' ' sure 
 as the cock of a firelock." 
 
 " We steal as in a castle, cock-sni'e."— .S/in/je- 
 speare : 1 Henry IV., ii. 1. 
 
 V The French phrase is a coup silr, 
 as: " jVons ri'iissiroiis a coup sih\^' we 
 are certain of success, " Ccla est aiiisi 
 (( coup sur,'" etc., and the phrase "Sure 
 as a gun," seem to favour the latter 
 derivation. 
 
 Cock the Ears {To). To prick up 
 the ears, or tuni tliem as a horse does 
 wlieu he listens to a strange sound. 
 Here " cock " means to turn, and seems 
 to be connected with the Greek ku'kAo?, 
 a circle, and the verb kvkXoih. 
 
 Cock the Nose or Cock up the nose. 
 To turn up tlie nose in contempt. {Sec 
 Cock youe Eye.) 
 
 Cock up your Head [foot, etc.]. 
 Lift up, turn up your head or foot. 
 The allusion is to cocking hay, i.e. lift- 
 ing it into small heajis or into the hay- 
 cart. {Sec Cock op Hay.) 
 
 Cock your Eye {To) is to shut one 
 eye and look -n-ith the other ; to glance 
 at. A ''cock-eye" is a squinting eye, 
 and "cock-eyed" is having squinting 
 eyes. In many phrases, cock means to 
 turn. {See above.) 
 
 Cock your Hat (To). To set youi- 
 hat more on one side of tlie head than 
 on the other ; to look knowing and pert. 
 Soldiers cock their caps over the left side 
 to " look smart." {See Cocked Hat.) 
 
 Cockade. The men-servants of the 
 military wear a small black cockade on 
 their hat, the Hanoverian badge. The 
 Stuart cockade was white. At the battle 
 of Sherra-Muir, in the reign of George I. , 
 the English soldiers wore a black rosette 
 in their hats. In the song of Shei-ra- 
 Muir the EngUsh soldiers are called 
 " the red-coat lads wi' black cockades." 
 (French, cocardf ; German, kokarde.) 
 
 In the British Army and Navy the 
 cockade, since the Hanoverian accession, 
 has been black. 
 
 AxjSTEiAN cockade is black and yellow. 
 All sentry boxes and boundary i^osts are 
 so painted. J^hi sc/iirarz-f/elbcr W':\s Uie 
 nickname of an Austrian Imperialist in 
 1848. 
 
 Bavaeia, light blue and white are the 
 royal colours. 
 
 Belgium, black, yellow, and red. 
 
 Feajstce {regal), the royal colour was 
 white. 
 
 Haxovee, the cockade was b^a- k. 
 Black enters into all the German cock- 
 ades. 
 
 Peussla., black and white are the royal 
 colours. 
 
 Russia, green and white are the royal 
 colours. 
 
 To mount the cockade. To become a 
 soldier. From time immemorial the 
 partisans of different leaders have adopted 
 some emblem to show their party ; in 
 1767 an authoritative regulation deter- 
 mined that every French soldier should 
 wear a white cockade, and in 1782 the 
 badge was restricted to the military. 
 The phrase given above is common both 
 to England and France. 
 
 Cockaigne {Land of). An imagine 
 ary land of idleness and luxury. The 
 subject of a burlesque, probably " the 
 earliest specimen of EngHsh poetry which 
 we possess." London is generally so 
 called, but Boileau applies the phrase 
 to Paris. {See page 270, col. 2, Cockney.) 
 
 Allied to the German, kuchen, a cake. 
 Scotland is called the " land of cakes " ; 
 there is the old French word eocaigne, 
 abundance. Compare Jjoiin coquo, to 
 cook, cocpnnaria, coeiuina, etc. 
 
 V Ellis, in his Specimens of Earlg 
 English Facts (i. 83-95), has printed at 
 length an old French poem called "The 
 Land of Cockaigu" (thirteenth century), 
 where " the houses were made of barley 
 sugar and cakes, the streets were paved 
 with pastry, and the shops suiJi^lied 
 goods for nothing." 
 
 Cock'atrice (3 syl.). A monster with 
 the wings of a fowl, tail of a dragon,
 
 Cocked Hat 
 
 270 
 
 Cockney 
 
 aud head of a cock. So called because 
 it was said to be produced fx-orn a cock's 
 egg hatched by a sei-jDeut. According to 
 legend, the very look of this monster 
 would cause instant death. In conse- 
 quence of the crest with which the head 
 is crowned, the creature is called a 
 basilisk, from the Greek, basiUfikos (a 
 little king). Isaiah says, "The weaned 
 child shall -put his hand on the cocka- 
 trice den" (xi. 8), to signify that the 
 most noxious animal should not hurt the 
 most feeble of God's creatures. 
 
 Figuratively, it means an insidious, 
 treacherous person bent on mischief. 
 
 " Tliey will kill one anotber by tbe look, like 
 cockatrices, "—,V/i(r/.-esj3Cttre ; Twelfth Kiylit, iii. i. 
 
 Cocked Hat (A). A hat with the 
 brim turned, like that of a bishop, dean, 
 etc. It is also applied to the chapcan 
 hraf!, aud the military full-dress hat, 
 pointed before and behind, and risiug 
 to a point at the crown, the chapeau a 
 coniK. " Cock " in this phrase means to 
 turn ; coi-hed^ turned up. 
 
 Knocked into a cocked hat. In tlie 
 game of nine-pins, three pins were set 
 up in the form of a triangle, and when 
 all the pins except these three were 
 knocked down, the set was technically 
 said to be " knocked into a cocked hat." 
 Hence, utterly out of all shape or 
 plumb. A somewhat similar i^hrase is 
 " Knocked into the middle of next 
 week." 
 
 Cocked-hat Club {Tin). A club of 
 the Society of Antiquaries. A cocked 
 hat was always placed before the presi- 
 dent when the club met. 
 
 There was another club so called in 
 which the members, during club sittings, 
 wore cocked hats. 
 
 Cocker. According to Cocker. All 
 rh/ht, according to Cocker. According 
 to established rules, according to what is 
 correct. Edward Cocker (1631-1G77) pub- 
 lished an arithmetic which ran through 
 sixty editions. The phrase, "According 
 to Cocker," was popularised by Murphy 
 in his farce called The Appretitice. 
 
 Cockle or Cocky. Bumptious, over- 
 bearing, conceited, and dogmatical ; like 
 a little bantam cock. 
 
 Cockle Hat. A ]iilgrim's hat. War- 
 burton says, as the chief places of devo- 
 tion were beyond sea, or on the coasts, 
 pilgrims used to put cockle-shells upon 
 their hats, to indicate that they were 
 pilgrims. Cockles are symbols of St. 
 
 James, patron saint of Spain. Cockle = 
 scallop, as in heraldry. 
 
 " And liow sball I your true love kuow 
 From many anotlier one ? 
 Oil, liy Lis cockle hat aud staff, 
 And by bis sandal sboon." 
 Beaumont and Fletcher : The Friar of Orders Grey. 
 
 Cockle Shells. Favourite tokens 
 worn by pilgrims in their hats. The 
 polished side of the shell was scratched 
 with some rude drawing of the " blessed 
 Virgin," the Crucifixion, or some other 
 suV)ject connected with the pilgrimage. 
 Being blessed by the priest, they were 
 considered amulets against spiritual 
 foes, and might be used as drinking 
 vessels. 
 
 Cockles. To cry cockles. To be 
 hanged ; from the gurgling noise made 
 in strangulation. 
 
 Cockles of the Heart. " To irarm 
 the cockles of one^s heart,^^ said of good 
 wine. (Latin, cochlece cordis, the ven- 
 tricles of the heart.) 
 
 " Fibrje (luidem rectis bisce exterioribus in 
 dextro ventriculo iiroxinie subjecta; oblinue dex- 
 trorsum ascendeiites in basini cordis terniinantur, 
 et ppirali suo anibitu belicein sive cochleam satis 
 aiite referunt."— ioicer; Tntctaius de Corde, y. 25. 
 (liiiiu.) 
 
 Cockledemoy {A). An amusing 
 rogue, a sort of Tyll Eulenspiegel. A 
 character in Marston's comedy of The 
 Dutch Courtesan. He cheats Mrs. Mulli- 
 grub, a vintner's wife, of a goblet aud 
 salmon. 
 
 Cockney. One born within sound of 
 Bow-bells, London ; one jDossessing 
 London peculiarities of s^Deech, etc. ; 
 one wliolly ignorant of country sports, 
 country life, farm animals, plants, and 
 so on. 
 
 Camden says the Thames was once 
 called " the Cockney." 
 
 The word has been spelt Cockeney, 
 Cockaneys, CockncU, etc. " Cocknell " 
 would be a little cock. " Taer in dcliciis 
 inatris nutritus,^' Anglice, a kokenay, a 
 pampered chUd. " Niais " means a 
 uestling, as faticon niais, and if this is the 
 last syllable of "Cockney," it confirms 
 the idea that the word means an enfant 
 gate. 
 
 Wedgwood suggests cocker (to fondle), 
 and says a cockemey or cockney is one 
 fiampered by city indulgence, in contra- 
 distinction to rustics hardened by out- 
 door work. (Dutch, kokeln, to pami^er ; 
 French, coqueliner, to dangle.) 
 
 Chambers in his Journal derives 
 the word from a French poem of the 
 thirteenth century, called The Laud of 
 Cocagne, where the houses were made 
 of barley-sugar and cakes, the streets
 
 Cockney School 
 
 271 
 
 Coffee 
 
 paved with pastiy, and the shops sup- 
 plied goods without requiring money in 
 payment. The French, at a very early 
 period, called the English cocagiie men, 
 i.e. honsvivants (beef and pudding men). 
 " Cry to it, nuncle, as the cockney did to the 
 eels, when she put them into the iiaste alive."— 
 Sliakcspeure : Lear, ii. 4. 
 
 The king of cockneys. A master of the 
 revels chosen by students of Lincoln's 
 Inn on Childermas Day (Dec. 28th). 
 
 Cockney School. Leigh Hunt, 
 Hazlitt, Shelley, and Keats ; so called 
 by Lockhart. (1817.) 
 
 " If I may lie iievmitted to have the honour of 
 christening it, it may be henceforth referred 
 to by the desitrnation of the ' Cockney School.' " 
 —Z., Blackwood's Matjiizhie, Oct., 1«17. 
 
 Cockpit of Europe. Belgium is so 
 called because it has been the site of 
 more European battles than any other 
 country ; for example, Oudenarde, 
 Ramillies, Fonteuoy, Fleurus, Jem- 
 mapes, Ligiiy, Quatre Bras, Waterloo. 
 
 Cockshy {A). A free fling or "shy " 
 at something. The allusion is to the 
 once popular Shrove-Tuesday sport of 
 shyiug or casting stones or sticks at 
 cocks. This sport is now sujierseded by 
 pigeon-shooting, which is thought to be 
 more aristocratic ! but can hardly be 
 deemed more humane. 
 
 Cockswain, or Coxswain [cox'/i]. 
 The swain or servant of the cock or boat, 
 together with its crew. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 sin/n or swcin, a youth or servant, and 
 cock, a boat.) {See Cockboat.) 
 
 Cocktail. The JVew York JFor/d, 1891, 
 tells us that this is an Aztec word, and 
 that "the liquor was discovered by a 
 Toltec noble, who sent it to the king by 
 the hand of his daughter Xochitl. The 
 king fell in love with the maiden, drank 
 the liquor, and called them xoc-tl, a 
 name perpetuated by the word cocktail. 
 V Cocktail is an iced drink made of 
 spirits mixed with bitters, sugar, and 
 some aromatic flavouring. Champagne 
 cocktail is champagne flavoured with 
 Angostura bitters ; soda cocktail is soda- 
 water, sugar, and bitters. 
 
 " Did ye iver try a brandy cocktail, Cornel ?"— 
 Thackcraii : The Ncwcovies, xiii. 
 
 Cocqcigrues. Ai the coming of (he 
 Cocqcigrues. That good time coming, 
 when every mystery shall be cleared up, 
 
 '"That is one of the seven thinss,' said the fairy 
 Bedouehyasyoudid, ' I am forbidden to tell till 
 the coming of the Cocijcigrues.' "- C. Kingslcy : 
 The Water Babies, chap. vi. 
 
 Cocy'tus [E'o-kg'tii.i\. One of the 
 five rivers of hell. The word means the 
 "river of lamentation." The unburied 
 
 were doomed to wander about its banks 
 for 100 years. (Greek, kdku'o, to weep.) 
 
 "Cocytus, named of lamentation loud 
 Heard on the rueful stream." 
 
 Milton : Paradise Lost, ii. 579. 
 
 Codds. Codgers. Thackeray says^ 
 "The Cistercian lads call the poor 
 brethren of the Charterhouse codds,^' 
 adding, " but I know not wherefore." 
 (Turkish, kodjah, an old man or woman.) 
 We say " Well, old boy," without re- 
 ferring to age. 
 
 " I say, do you know any of the old codds . . . ? 
 Colonel Newcome is going to be a a)AA."— Nine- 
 teenth Century, October, 1SU3, p. 589. 
 
 Codille (2 syl.). Triumph. A term 
 in the game of Ombre. When one of 
 the two opponents of Ombre has more 
 tricks tlian Ombre, he is said to have 
 won Codille, and takes all the stake that 
 Ombre played for. Thus Belinda is said, 
 in the Rape of the Lock, to have been 
 " between the jaws of ruin and Codille." 
 She wins with the " king of hearts," 
 and she wins codille. 
 
 Codlin's your Friend, not Short. 
 
 {Dickens : Old Ciiriositg Shop, chap, 
 xix.). Codlin had a shrewd suspicion 
 that httle Nell and her grandfather had 
 absconded, and that a reward would be 
 offered for their discovery. So he tried 
 to bespeak the goodwill of the little girl 
 in the hope of making something of it. 
 
 "None of the speakers has much to say in 
 actual hostility to Lord Salisbury's speech, but 
 they all harp upon the theory that Codlin is the 
 friend, not Short." — Newspaper paragraph, Oct. 
 nth, 1885. 
 
 Coehorns (2 syl.). Small howitzers 
 of about 4 1 inches calibre ; so called 
 from Baron van Coe'horn, of Holland. 
 
 Coe'nobites or Cenohites (3 syl.). 
 Monks who live in common, in contra- 
 distinction to the hennits or anchorites. 
 (Greek, koinnsbios.) 
 
 Cceur de Lion. 
 
 Richard I. of England ; so called from 
 the jjrodigies of personal valour per- 
 formed by him in the Holy Land. (1157, 
 1189-1199.) 
 
 Louis VIII. of France, more frequently 
 called Le Lion. (1187, 1'223-1226.) 
 
 Boleslas I. of Poland, also called "The 
 Intrepid." (960, 992-1025.) 
 
 Coffee. The Turkish word is Kauhi, 
 Kaiivch or Kauvcg. 
 
 Coffee. In Ardennes ten cups of coffee 
 are taken after dinner, and each cup has 
 its special name. (1) Cafe, (2) Gloria, 
 (3) Pousse Cafe, (-i) Goutte, (5) Re- 
 goutte, (6) Sur-goutte, (7) Rincette, (8) 
 Re-rincette, (9) Sur-rincette, and (10) 
 Coup de r^trier.
 
 Coffin 
 
 272 
 
 Coins 
 
 Gloria is coffee with a small glass of 
 brandy iu lieu of milk ; all the following 
 have more and more I'eau de vie ; and 
 the last is the " stiiTup-cup." 
 
 Coffin. A raised crust, like the lid 
 of a basket. Hence Shakespeare speaks 
 of a "custard coffin" {Taniing of the 
 Shrew, iv. 3). (Greek, koph'uios, a 
 basket.) {See Mahomet's Coffin.) 
 
 " Of rbe paste a coffiii will I rear. ' 
 
 Hhaliespeare : Titus Aiiciro)iicits, v. 2. 
 
 Cog'geshall. A Coc/geshalljob. The 
 saying is, that the Coggeshall folk 
 wanted to divert the current of a 
 stream, and fi.xed hurdles in the bed of 
 it for the purpose. Another tale is that 
 a mad dog bit a wheelbarrow, and the 
 people, fearing it would go mad, chained 
 it up in a shed. {See Gotham.) 
 
 Cogito, ergo sum. Descartes' axiom. 
 This is a petiliu priacijjii. '"I think" 
 can only j)rove this: that "I think." 
 And he might j ust as well infer from it 
 the existence of tlioiiffht as the existence 
 of /. He is asked to prove the latter, 
 and immediately assumes that it exists 
 and does something, and then infers that 
 it exists because it does something. Suji- 
 pose I were asked to prove the existence 
 of ice, and were to say, ice is cold, 
 therefoi'e there is such a thing as ice. 
 Mauifestly I first assume there is such a 
 thing as ice, then ascribe to it an attri- 
 bute, and then argue back that this 
 attribute is the outcome of ice. This is 
 not proof, but simjjly arguing in a cii'cle. 
 
 Cohens (Stock Exchange term). The 
 Turkish '69 loan, floated by the firm of 
 that name. 
 
 Coif (1 syl.). The coif of the old 
 serjeant-at-law was a " relic of his 
 ecclesiastical character. The original 
 serjcaiits-at-laio were clerical lawyers, 
 and the coif is the representatiou of the 
 tonsure. 
 
 Seijecaifs of the Coif. Serjeants-at- 
 law (now abolished). {See above.) 
 
 Coiffe. // est ne co'iffe. He is born 
 with a silver spoon in his mouth ; born 
 to fortune. {See page 229, col. 2, Caul.) 
 " Quelijues enfans vieunent au nioude avec uiie 
 liellicule . . . que Ton appelle du nom de ciii'ffe ; 
 ct que Ton ci'oit estre une marque de liouheur. 
 Ce qui a donne lieu au proverbe frangois. . . . II 
 est ne coeffe."—Traite des Superstition, 1G79. 
 
 Coiffer to Sainte Catherine. To 
 
 remain an old maid. " St. Catherine est 
 la patrouue des filles a marier et des 
 vieilles filles. Ce sout ces deruieres qui 
 restent ordinau-ement pour soiguer les 
 chapelles consacrees a la sainte, et qui 
 sent chargees de sa toilette." {Hetaire 
 
 le Gal : EncycJopedic des Proverbes Fran- 
 ^ais.) 
 
 " II crois peut-ctre que je le rosrette, que, de 
 dOsespuii- je vais coiffer St. CatUeriue. All ! all ! 
 luais non ! moi aussi je veu.x lue marier."— ia 
 Mascotte (an opera). 
 
 Coin. Paid in his oivn coin. Tit for 
 tat. ' ' Far pari refcrre. ' ' 
 
 Coin Money {Fv). To make mouej^ 
 with rapidity and ease. 
 
 "F<n-tVie last four years ... I literally coined 
 inouey."— J". Kemble : llesidence in Gcoryia. 
 
 Coins. 
 
 BiiiTiSH. Iron rings were used for 
 money by the ancient Britons, and 
 Segonax, a petty king under Cassivelan, 
 is the first whose head was im^jressed on 
 the coin. Gold, silver, and copper coins 
 were struck by Cuuobelin. 
 
 The Romans introduced their own 
 coins into the island. 
 
 The oldest Anglo-Saxon coin was the 
 sceatta (pi. sceattcr), sixth century. In 
 the reign of Ethelbert, King of Kent, 
 money accounts Avere kept in pounds, 
 mancHses, sJtillings, and pence. One of 
 the last being equal to about 3 pence 
 of our money. 5 pence rr one scilling, 30 
 scillings one manca or maucus, and 40 
 one pound. Mancuses were ui gold and 
 silver also. 
 
 The Normans introduced pence with 
 a cross so deeply impressed that the coin 
 could be broken either into two or four 
 imrts, hence the terms half-i3cnce and 
 fourthings. 
 
 The Anr/cl, a gold coin (7s. Cd.), was 
 introduced by Edward IV., and .had a 
 figure of Michael slaying the dragon. 
 
 The Bawbee first came into use in the 
 reign of James VI. of Scotland. (French, 
 bas-billon, base copper coin.) 
 
 The Carolas (20s.) was a gold coin of 
 the reign of Charles I. 
 
 The Crown (os.) was first issued in 
 15.53. Crowns and half-crowns are still 
 in common circulation. 
 
 English Follars (4s. Gd.) were intro- 
 duced in 1798. 
 
 Florins, a gold coin (6s.), were issued 
 by Edward III. ; but the silver florin 
 (2s.) in 1849. 
 
 The Guinea (a gold coin ::= 21s.) was 
 first issued in 1 717 ; but a gold coin 
 so-called, of the value of 30s., was 
 issued in 1673, reduced in 1696 to 22s.- 
 
 Our Sovereit/n was first issued iu 1816, 
 but there were coins so called in the 
 reigns of Henry I. (worth 22s.), Edward 
 VI. (from 24s. to 30s.). 
 
 ShiUlnc/s of the present value date 
 from 1503 ; pence made of bronze in
 
 Coke 
 
 273 
 
 Colin Tampon 
 
 1862, but copper pence were coined in 
 16'20, half -pence and farthings in 10(55. 
 
 Coke. To cry colcc. To cry pecca'vi ; 
 to ask for mercy. Ruddinian says 
 *' coke " is the sound ■which cocks utter 
 wlieu they are beaten. 
 
 Coke upon Littleton. Tent and 
 brandy. 
 
 "Aniitlior . . . sipping Coke upon Littletou, ?'.e. 
 t(^iit M ml liraudy." — Xicliols ; Illustrutious of Liter- 
 ature iiu:;). 
 
 Col'bronde or Colbrand. The Danish 
 giant slain by Sir Guy of Warwick. By 
 the death of this giant the land was 
 delivered from Danish tribute. 
 " I am not Sapison, nor Sir Guy, nor Colbrand, 
 To mow 'em <lown before me. 
 
 t^halicspcare : Henry VIII., v. 4. 
 
 Colcannon. Potatoes and cabbage 
 pounded together and then fried in 
 butter (Irish). "Col" is cole or cale, 
 i.e. cabbage. 
 
 " About 1774 Isaac Sparks, the Irish comedian, 
 founded iu Long Acre a Colcannon Club."— T/ic 
 Atlicncrum, January a)th, 1875. 
 
 Cold as Charity. (Sec Charity.) 
 
 Cold-Bath Fields. So called from 
 the cold baths established there by Mr. 
 Baius, in 1697, foi' the cure of rheu- 
 matism, convulsions, and other nervous 
 cUsorders. 
 
 Cold Blood. Do>/p in cold bhml. 
 (French, saiifj froid.) Not in the heat 
 of temper; deliberately, and witli pre- 
 meditation. ' The allusion is to tlie 
 ancient notion that the blood grew liot 
 and cold, and this difference of tempera- 
 ture ruled the temper. 
 
 Cold-blooded Animals. As a rule, 
 all invertebrate animals, and all fishes 
 and reptiles, are called cold-blooded, 
 because the temperature of their blood 
 is about equal to the medium iu which 
 they live. 
 
 Cold-blooded Persons. Those not 
 easilj' excited ; those whose passions are 
 not easily roused ; those whose circula- 
 tion is sluggish. 
 
 Cold-chisel {A). A chisel of tem- 
 pered steel for cutting cold metal. 
 
 Cold Drawn Oil. Castor oil, ob- 
 tained by pressure in the cold. 
 
 Cold Pigeon (A). A me.s.sage sent 
 in place of a love-letter. The love- 
 letter would have been a poulet {q.v.). 
 A pigeon pie is called a dove-tart, and 
 dove is sj^mbolical of love. Pyramus 
 says of Thisbe, " What dead, mj^ iove r " 
 A verbal message is "cold comfort" to 
 a lover looking out for a letter. 
 
 18 
 
 Cold Pudding settles Love by 
 
 giving the pains of indigestion, colic, 
 etc. 
 
 Cold Shoulder. To show or give one 
 the cold sl(0i<ldcr is to assume a distant 
 manner towards a person, to indicate 
 that you wish to cut his acquaintance. 
 The reference is to a cold shoulder of 
 mutton served to a stranger at dinner ; 
 there is not much of it, and even what 
 is left is but moderate fare. 
 
 Cold Steel. The persi/asioii of cold 
 sfccl is persuasion enforced at the point 
 of the sword or bayonet. 
 
 Cold Water Ordeal. An ancient 
 method of testing the guilt or innocence 
 of the common sort of jDcople. The 
 accused, being tied under the arms, was 
 thrown into a river. If he sank to the 
 bottom, he was held to be guiltless, and 
 drawn up by the cord ; but if he floated, 
 the water rejected him, because of his 
 guilt. 
 
 Cold Without. An elliptical expres- 
 sion, meaning spirits mixed with cold 
 water without sugar. 
 
 Coldbrand. {Sec Colbkonde.) 
 
 Coldstream Guards. One of tlie 
 three regiments of Foot Guards. It was 
 originally under the command of Colonel 
 Monk (16.50-1660), andiu January, 1660, 
 marclied under him from Coldstream iu 
 Berwicksliire with the object of bringing 
 back Charles II. to the throne. 
 
 Cole = money. {See Coal.) 
 
 Cole {King). A legendary British 
 king, described as "a merry old soul" 
 fond of his pipe, fond of his glass, and 
 fond of his "fiddlers three." (Kg. 
 Coil, i.) 
 
 Colemi'ra (3 syl.). A poetical name 
 for a cook ; being, of coiu-se, comiDounded 
 of coal and mire. 
 
 " ' Could I,' he cried, ' express how bright a prrace 
 Adorns thy morning hands and veil- washed 
 
 face. 
 Thou wouldst, Colemira, grant what I implore. 
 And yield me love, or wash thy face no more.' ' 
 Slieustone : Colemira, etn Eetogue. ' 
 
 Colin Clout. A name which Spenser 
 assumes in The Shepherd's Calendar, 
 and in the pastoral entitled Colin Clout's 
 Come Home Again, which represents his 
 return from a visit to Sir Walter Raleigh, 
 " the Shepherd of the Ocean." 
 
 Colin Tampon. The nickname of 
 a Swiss, as John Bull is of an English- 
 man, Brother Jonathan of a North 
 American, and Monsieur Crapaud of a 
 Frenchman.
 
 Collapse 
 
 274 
 
 College Colours 
 
 Collapse. The scheme collapsed. Came 
 to uothiug. An inflated balloon is said 
 to collapse when the gas has escaped 
 and the sides fall together, or pucker 
 into wrinkles. As a collapsed balloon 
 will not mount, a collapsed scheme will 
 not go off. (Latin, coUapsus, col/abor, 
 to fall or sink together.) 
 
 Collar. 
 
 Amtbist the collar. Somewhat fa- 
 tiguing. When a horse travels up-hill 
 the collar distresses his neck, so foot- 
 travellers often find the last mile or so 
 " against the collar," or distressing. 
 Authors of long books often find the 
 last few pages wearisome and against 
 the grain. 
 
 In collar. In harness. The allusion 
 is to a horse's collar, which is put on 
 when about to go to work. 
 
 Out of collar. Out of work, out of 
 place. {See above.) 
 
 To slip the collar. To escape from 
 restraint ; to draw back from a task 
 begun. 
 
 To icork np to the collar. To work 
 tooth and nail ; not to shirk the work 
 in hand. A horse that lets his collar 
 lie loose on his neck without bearing on it 
 does not draw the vehicle at all, but 
 leaves another to do the real work. 
 
 " \s reBarded himself, tlie i>atli toy iilain. He 
 must work up to the collar, hot and hard, leaving; 
 himself no time to feel the parts that were galled 
 and wrung."— J/rs. Eduardes: A Girtoii (inl, 
 chap. iv. 
 
 Collar (verb). To collar one. To 
 seize by the collar ; to prig ; to appro- 
 priate without leave. 
 
 'To collar the cole or coal. To prig the 
 money. {See Coal.) 
 
 Collar-day (A). In royal levees, 
 means that attendants are to wear all 
 their insignia and decorations, such as 
 medals, stars, ribbons, and orders. This 
 is done on grand occasions by order of 
 the Crown. The Queen's Collar-day is 
 when she wears the Order of the 
 Garter. 
 
 Collar of Arsinoe (4 syl. ) or Collar 
 of Alplicsihea, given by her to her hus- 
 band Akmeou, was a fatal gift ; so was 
 the collar and veil of Eriph'yle, wife of 
 Amphiaraos. {Sec Fatal Gifts.) 
 
 Collar of SS. A decoration re- 
 stricted to the Lord Chief Justices of 
 the Queen's Bench, the Lord Chief 
 Baron of the Exchequer, the Lord Mayor 
 of London, the Kings-of-Amis, the 
 Heralds, the Sergeant - at - Anns, and 
 the Sergeant Trumpeter. {Coiman's 
 Heraldry.) {See SS.) 
 
 Collectivists. Collectivism is the 
 opposite of Individualism. In the latter 
 system, everyone is to be his own 
 master, and everything is to be free 
 and in common. In the fonner system, 
 government is to be the sole employer, 
 the sole landlord, and the sole pay- 
 master. Private property is to be abol- 
 ished, competition to be stamped out ; 
 everyone must work for his living, and 
 the State must find the work. Bellamy's 
 novel of Lookhiij Bacliranl will give a 
 pretty fair notion of what is meant by 
 Collectivism. {Sec Individualists.) 
 
 College (Tf?r). Newgate prison. "To 
 take one's final degree at New College" 
 is to be hanged. "Iving's College" is 
 King's Bench Prison, now called Queen's 
 College. Prisoners are " collegiates." 
 College is the Latin collcfiium, and has 
 a very wide range, as, College of the 
 Apostles, College of Physicians, College 
 of Surgeons, Heralds' College, College 
 of Justice, etc. ; and on the Continent 
 we have College of Foreign Affairs, Col- 
 lege of Wai-, College of Cardinals, etc. 
 
 College Colours. 
 
 CambeidctE Boat Ceews, light blue. 
 
 Cuius, light Wueand hlack. 
 
 Viitlnrhies, blue and white. 
 
 Clirisl'.-:, ciimmcu hhie. 
 
 Clare, black and golden yellow. 
 
 ('(iri/iis, cherry-ccilour and white. 
 
 lloiriiiini, chocolate. 
 
 fJmiiimKiel, cherry-colour and dark blue 
 
 J< ,s-»s, red and black. 
 
 Jiilni'f, bright red and white. 
 
 /wHi/'s, violet. 
 
 Ma(j(hilen, indigo and lavender. 
 
 Pimhroke. claret and French grey. 
 
 Pttcrhouxe, dark blue and white. 
 
 Qtuin'f. green and white. 
 
 .Si/fOii '/,red and blue. 
 
 fnnifii, dark blue. 
 
 Tiitiiti/ Hall, black and white. 
 
 Oxford Boat Ceews, dark blue, 
 
 W yl/6o.»'s, blue with arrnw-head. 
 
 liaUiol, pink, white, Idue, white, pink. 
 
 B9-(.reHose, black, and gold edges 
 
 Christ Church, blue with red cardinal s hat 
 
 Corpus, red with blue stripe. 
 
 ,s7 Eilmond'f, red, and yellow edges 
 
 Krrirr, black, and red edges. 
 
 Jeans, szreen, ami white edges 
 
 .Jolni's vellow, black, red. 
 
 Line, .In. blue with mitre. 
 
 Minnlnlrn. black and white. 
 
 ,ST .1/.ni/-,s-, white, black, white. 
 
 Vrrtnn ' blue, with white edges an<I red cross. 
 
 .Y(H- Ciillerw, three pink and two white stripes. 
 
 Oriel, blue and white. 
 
 J'embrnl;e. pink, white, pink. 
 
 Queens, red, white, blue, white, Tdiie, whUe, 
 
 "^Tn'H/fi/, blue, with double dragon's head, yellow 
 and green, or blue, with white edges. 
 
 rnifersitii. blue, and yellow edges. 
 
 irdi'/zcm." light blue. 
 
 Worcester, blue, white, pink, white, blue. 
 
 College Colours (America) in foot- 
 ball matches, boating, etc. 
 Jdelhcrt. Bismarck brown and purple. 
 Alleghany, cadet blue and old gold.
 
 College Port 
 
 275 
 
 Colossus 
 
 Amherst, white and purple. 
 
 Bates, KariiPt. 
 
 Iliistoii Uiiii; r.^iti/, scarlet and white. 
 
 Ha 
 
 lilt 
 
 Brnii-ii. t.rnwii ;(nd white. 
 
 Biirlitil. imiiii-'i' and lilue. 
 
 Viilifnniiii. Iilueand pmld. 
 
 V.r:x.Y.. I.-ncii.lrr. 
 
 Colhii, >iiKci' L-n'.v. 
 
 Cohnnbki, lihic and white. 
 
 Cornell, cornelian and white. 
 
 Durtmouth, dark green. 
 
 Dickinson, red and white. 
 
 UamiWm, rose pink. 
 
 Harvard, crinisi>n. 
 
 Bobart, orange and purple. 
 
 Krni/o)i, niau\'e. 
 
 Lafaii'll''. "hiteand maroon. 
 
 Mailisnti, oiiiiiL'c and maroon. 
 
 jVifhi./ati. lilnr and maize. 
 
 A'rir ynrl.- r„,r, rsitii. \iolet. 
 
 Ohio r,iin_rsilii, lilue. 
 
 Priiirrltni. (iraiiL.'!' ana lilack. 
 
 Jioissria, r rnhilriiniir, cherry. 
 
 Jiorln^l.r. hlur and grey. 
 
 Tliit,i<rs. srarl.'t . 
 
 .Sirartliiii.n-,', u'arnet. 
 
 Siirai-ii^, . I'liir and pink. 
 
 frinilH. while and green. 
 
 Tafts, liliie and hrown. 
 
 Vnioii, garnet. 
 
 Univtraitii of Nitrllt Carolina, while and lilue. 
 
 ofSoiilli fVMiifiim, red and Idue. 
 
 ofPcniifVlriniia, liliu-aud red. 
 
 of the Small, ml and Idue. 
 
 ofVermunt, ohl gold and green. 
 
 of Virginia, cardinal and grey. 
 \^assar, pink and grey. 
 Wesleyan, cardinal and black. 
 Williams, royal purple. 
 Wooster, old gold. 
 Tale, hliie. 
 
 College Port. The worst species of 
 red wine that can be manufactured and 
 pabned oif upon j'oung men at college. 
 (See Widows' Port.) 
 
 ''We all know what college pcn-t is like."— 77(e 
 Times. 
 
 Col'liberts. A sort of gipsy race in 
 Poitou, Maine, and Anjou,'similar to the 
 Caijots of Gascony and the Caquetix of 
 Brittany. In feudal times a collibert 
 was a serf partly free, but bound to 
 certain services. (Latin, col-libertits, a 
 fellow freedman.) 
 
 CoUu'thians. A religious sect which 
 rose in the fourth century ; so called 
 from Collu'thos of Alexandria, their 
 founder. 
 
 Colly my Cow. A corruption of 
 Cala'uios, the most ancient of Spanish 
 ballads. Calainos the Moor asked a 
 damsel to wife, who said the price of 
 winning her should be the heads of the 
 three paladins of Charlemagne, named 
 Rinaldo, Roland, and Olivier. Calainos 
 went to Paris and challenged the pala- 
 dins. First Sir Baldwin, the youngest 
 knight, accepted the challenge and was 
 overthrown ; then his uncle Roland 
 went against the Moor and smote him. 
 
 CoUyrid'ians. A sect of Arabian 
 Christians, chiefly women, which first 
 appeared in 373. They worshipped the 
 
 Virgin Mary, and made offerings to her 
 in a twisted cake, called a coUijris. 
 (Greek, kolliira, a little cake.) 
 
 Collywobbles. The gripes, usually 
 accompanied with sundry noises in the 
 stomach. These noises are called the 
 " borbarigmus." (The wobbling caused 
 by a sUght colic.) 
 
 Cologne. The three l-'nigs of Cuhiffiie. 
 The three magi, called Gaspar, Melchior, 
 and Baltha'zar. They are called by 
 other naTnes, but those given are the 
 most generally accepted. 
 
 Colon. One of the rabble leaders in 
 Iliiiiiln-an was Noel Perryan, or Ned 
 Perry, an ostler, who loved bear-baiting, 
 but was a very straight-laced Puritan of 
 low morals. 
 
 Col'ophon. The end of a book. Col'- 
 ophon was a city of lo'nia, the in- 
 habitants of which were such excellent 
 horsemen that they would turn the scale 
 of battle to the side on which they 
 fought ; hence, the Greek phrase. To 
 add a colopho'nian, means "to put a 
 finishing stroke to any matter.' ' (Slrabo.) 
 In the early times of printing, the state- 
 ment containing the date, place, printer, 
 and edition was given at the end of the 
 book, and was called the colophon. 
 
 V Now called the "imprint." 
 "The volume was uninjured . . . from title- 
 page to colophon."— .Scoft .• The Antifiaarij- 
 
 Coloquin'tida or Colocynth. Bitter- 
 apple or colocj'nth. (Greek, liuhikniilhifi.) 
 
 "The food that to him now is luscious as 
 locusts, shall he to him shm-tly as hitter as colo- 
 i|uintida."— >S7iaA'c.«pcure; Othello, i.3. 
 
 Coloquin'tida (St.). Charles I. was 
 so called. He was bitter as gall to the 
 Levellers. 
 
 " The Levellers styled him [Charles I.] an Ahali, 
 and aColoquintida, a man of hlood.and the ever- 
 lasting obstacle to peace and liberty." — Hnivitt: 
 JJistori/ of Enqland i" Charles [.," chap. vi. p. l'S4l. 
 
 Colorado (U.S. America). A Spanish 
 word meaning red, referring to the red 
 hue of the water of the river. 
 
 Colossal. Gigantic. As a colossal 
 scheme. {See below.) 
 
 Colossus or Colossos (Latin, colos- 
 sus). A giant. The Rhodian Colossos 
 was a gigantic statue of brass, 12(3 feet 
 high, executed by Cliares. It is said 
 that ships could pass full sail under the 
 legs of this statue, but the notion of a 
 striding statue rose in tire sixteenth cen- 
 tury, and is due to Blaise de Vigenere, 
 who was the first to give the chef d'' ccuvre 
 of Chares this impossi])le position. The 
 Comte de Caylus has demonstrated that 
 the Apollo of Rhodes was never planted
 
 Colour 
 
 276 
 
 Colours 
 
 at tlic mouth of the Rhodian port, that 
 it was not a striding statue, and that 
 sliips never passed under it. Neither 
 Strabo nor Pliny makes mention of any 
 of these things, thougli both describe tlie 
 gigantic statue minutely. Philo (the 
 architect of Byzantium, third century) 
 has a treatise on the seveu wonders of 
 the world, and saj's that the Colo.'-.sos 
 stood on a block of white marble, and 
 Lucius AmiJellius, in a similar treatise, 
 says it stood in a car. Tickell out-herods 
 Herod in the follow"uig lines : 
 " So, uear proud Rhodes, across the raging flood, 
 Stupeudous form 1 the vast Colossus stood, 
 While at one foot the thronging ga'lleys ride, 
 A whole hour's sail scarce reached the farther 
 
 side ; 
 Betwixt his brazen thighs, in loose array, 
 Teu thousand streamers on the billows play." 
 On the Prospect of Peui-e. 
 ".He doth bestride the narrow woild 
 Like a Colossus." Khakespcarc : Julius Ctcsar, i. 2. 
 
 V The twill Colossi of Ameuoishis III., 
 on the banks of the Nile, near Thebes, 
 are seated. The statue of Libertj-, New 
 York, is colossal. 
 
 Colour. (See Eank.) 
 
 Colour, Colours. A man of colour. 
 A negro, oi', more strictly speaking, one 
 with negro blood. {>>ec Colours.) 
 
 "There are threegreat classes; (1) the pure 
 whites; c.'i the people of colour ; |i}) negroes and 
 iiiul;iltiics."— AV/ica/v/s; ,«. Doiniutjil, i. 
 
 Colours. 
 
 (1) Black: 
 
 III bhannrii. sable, signifying prudence, wisdom, 
 
 and constancy. 
 In art, siguif.\ inu' evil, falsehood, and error. 
 As a mo it ua I II lulmn-, signifying grief, despair, 
 
 death, ilu ilic c':illii)lic Church violet may I'C 
 
 suhstitutcd for bl:u-k). 
 In iiiiiiils It i> rtprcseuted by lead. 
 In prifi''ii.< .<h:iifs it is represented i)y the diamond. 
 Iiipliiinls II >i:iii(ls for Saturn. 
 Ill Iwruldnj il is engraved by perpendicular and 
 
 borizoulal lines crossing each other ;it right 
 
 angles. 
 
 (2) Blue: 
 
 In blazonrv, azure, signifying chastity, loyalty, 
 
 fidelity. 
 In art (as an angel's rol)e) it signifles fidelity and 
 
 faith. 
 In ai-t (as the robe of the "Virgin Mary) it signifles 
 
 modesty. 
 In art (in the Catholic Church) it signifles 
 
 humility and e.\pi:ition. 
 As a vinrfiKirii cnloiir it signifies eternity (applied 
 
 to Deity .iiumortality (.applied to m;in). 
 InmetiiU it is ninesentcd liy tin. 
 In prtrniiis si'^iir.t it is represented by sapphire. 
 In pliiii,'/s It stands for Jupiter. 
 In heruldnj it is engraved by horizontal lines. 
 
 (3) Green: 
 
 In Mn 2<w r II, yert, signifying love, joy, abundance. 
 In art, signifying hope, joy, youth, spring (among 
 
 tlie Greeks and Moors it signified victory). 
 In church ornaments, signifying God's bounty, 
 
 mirth, gladness, the resurrection. 
 In metals it is represented by copper. 
 In precious stones it is represented by the emerald. 
 In planets it stands for Venus. 
 As a railway siijnal it means caution, go slowly. 
 In heraldry it is engraved from left to right. 
 
 (4) Purijle: 
 
 In bUizonrji, purpure, signifying temperance. 
 In art, siL-nifying royalty. 
 In mi tills it is represented by quicksilver. 
 Ill prri-iniis stones it is represented by ametliyst. 
 /)/ jihiiiils it stands fur Mercury. 
 Ill hi riiiiiru it is engraved by lines slanting from 
 right to Ic-ft. 
 
 (5) Red: 
 
 In blazonry, g\\\es \ blood-red is called sanguine. 
 
 The former signifles magnanimity, and the 
 
 latter, fortitude. 
 /« ?Hc(f(/5 it is represented by iron (the ii;etal of 
 
 war). 
 In precious stones it is represented by the ruby.; 
 In planets it stands for Mars. 
 In licraldry it is engraved by perpendicular lines. 
 
 (6) White: 
 
 In blazonry, argent ; signifying purity, truth, 
 
 innocence. 
 /?» rtr^ priests, JIagi, and Druids are arrayed in 
 
 white, .Icsiis after the resurrection should be 
 
 draped in wliite." 
 As a niurliiiiry cnlniir it indicates hope. 
 Ill mitiils it is represented l)y sil\ er. 
 Ill pn ciiiiis stiiiirs it is rc'iireseiited liv the pearl. 
 In pi, mils it scimls for liian;i or t lie Moon. 
 In In raldrii it is ciignn ed l,y shields left white. 
 
 (7) Yellow: 
 
 In blazonry or signifying faith, constancy, wis- 
 dom, glory. 
 
 In modern art or signifying jealousy, incon- 
 stancy, incontinence. In France the doors of 
 traitors used to be daubed with yellow, and in 
 some countries Jews were obliged to dress in 
 yellow. In Spain the executioner is dressed 
 in rechdid ,\ellow. 
 
 Ill Chri-'liiiii .<// .liida- is :iri;i.\ed in yellow ; but 
 St. I'l-lel- lsalso:,i,:,xr,| m L'ojilcn yellow. 
 
 In iiiihils \t IS r,|iir-. Ill, ,1 l,y u-old. 
 
 Ill /)/■( CK.i/s .^/";(..^ II is I. pr( seiiteil by the topaz. 
 
 In pliinits it stands for Apoilo or the Sun. 
 
 In III riildrii it is engraved |py dots. 
 
 Colours for Church Decoration. 
 
 H7n7r, for festivals of our Lord, for Kaster. :ind 
 
 for all saints excejit martyrs. 
 Bed, for martyrs, for Ash Wednesday, the last 
 
 three days of Hidy Week, and Wliil Sunday. 
 Blue, for all week-days after Trinity Sunday. 
 Blue nr(j ncn, indifferently.for oi(lin:iry Sundays. 
 VinUt, Ilrvirn. or (rrcv, for .Vdvent and Lent, 
 iidic/,-, for Good Friday. 
 
 Colours of the University Boats, 
 etc. [Sec College Colours.) 
 
 Colours. 
 
 Accidental colours. Those colours seen 
 on a white ground after looking for 
 some time at a bright- coloured object, 
 like the sun. 
 
 Complementary colours. Colours which, 
 in combination, produce white light. 
 
 "The colour transmitted is always comple- 
 mentary to the one reflected."— £ccH\s(cr: Optics, 
 xii. 
 
 Fundamental colours. The seven 
 colours of the spectrum: violet, indigo, 
 blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. 
 Or red, yellow, blue, also ca.\\%(i primary 
 or simple colours. 
 
 Secondary colours. Those which 
 result from the mixture of two or more 
 primary or simple colours. 
 
 Colours. He teas tvith the colours. 
 In active miUtary service.
 
 Colours 
 
 277 
 
 Colt's-tooth 
 
 " Tlie iieriod . . . was raised fnnn seven to nine 
 years, five years lieing i>assed with the colours, 
 and four in the ren:r\e." — Edinbmyh Heview 
 (ISSG). 
 
 His coicard lips did from their colours 
 fly. He was uuable to speak. As 
 cowards run away from their regimeutal 
 colours, so [CfBsar's] li^js, when lie was 
 ill, ran away from their colour and turned 
 pale. 
 
 To come out in his true colours. To 
 reveal one's jiroper character, divested 
 of all that is meretricious. 
 
 To describe [a mattcr'\ in very black 
 colours. To see them with a jaundiced 
 eye, and describe them accordingly ; to 
 describe [the matter] under the bias of 
 strong prejudice. 
 
 To desert oue's colours. To become a 
 turncoat ; to turn taU. The allusion is 
 to the military flag. 
 
 Ih gire colour or To give some plausible 
 colour to the matter. To render the 
 matter more plausible ; to give it a more 
 specious apxjearance. 
 
 To paint in bright colours. To see 
 or describe things iu couleur de rose. Also 
 " to paint in lively colours." 
 
 To put a false colour on a matter. To 
 misinterpret it, or put a false construc- 
 tion on it. 
 
 To see things in their true colours. To 
 see them as they really are. 
 
 Vnder colour of. . . . Under pretence 
 of .... ; under the alleged authority 
 of ... . 
 
 IFettring his colours. Taking his part ; 
 being strongly attached to one. The 
 idea is from livery. 
 
 " Jim could always count on every man, woman, 
 and child, wherever he lived, wearing his colours, 
 and Iiacliing him . . . through thick and thin."— 
 JJoldrcicood : Robbery Under .Irrns, chap. xiv. 
 
 JTlthout colour. ^' In nucld veritate," 
 without disguise. 
 
 Colours. National colours — 
 
 Great Britain .. 
 
 Jled and blue. 
 
 America, U.S. • . 
 
 Stars on blue, u-hite with red 
 
 
 stripes. 
 
 Austria . . . . 
 
 Bed, white, and red. 
 
 Bavaria .. .. 
 
 Bed 
 
 Denmark . . . . 
 
 Bed, with white crnss. 
 
 France .. .. 
 
 Blue, white, and red. 
 
 Netherlands 
 
 Bed, u-hite, and blue. 
 
 Portugal . . . 
 
 Blue and white. 
 
 Prussia . . . . 
 
 White. 
 
 Russia 
 
 Whitr, irith hhirrross. 
 
 Spain 
 
 Bed, III llnii-, mill red. 
 
 Sweden . . . 
 
 Blur, inlli II, II,, 11- cross. 
 
 Switzerland 
 
 Red, icUk irliih rrnss. 
 
 Colours Nailed to the Mast ( Tilth 
 our), a out ranee. If the colours are 
 nailed to the mast, they cannot be lowered 
 to express submission. 
 
 " If tliey catch you at disadvantage, the mines 
 for your life is the word ; and so we fight them 
 with our colours nailed to the mast."— ,S'ir W. 
 Scott : Tlie Pirate, chap, xxi. 
 
 Colour-blindness. Incapacity of 
 discerning one colotu- from another. 
 The term was introduced by Sir- David 
 Brewster. It is of three sorts : (1) 
 inability to discern any colours, so that 
 everything is either black or white, 
 shade or light ; (2) inability to distin- 
 guish between primary colours, as red, 
 blue, and yellow ; or secondary colours, 
 as green, jjurple, and orange ; and (o) in- 
 ability to distiuguisli between such com- 
 posite colours as browns, greys, and 
 neutral tints. Except iu this one respect, 
 the colour-blind may have excellent 
 vision. 
 
 Colour Sergeant. A sergeant who 
 carries or has charge of the regimental 
 colours. 
 
 Colour (verb). To colour up, to turn 
 red in the face ; to blusli. 
 
 Coloured Frontispiece by Phiz 
 
 (A). A blush. 
 
 Colporteur'. A liawker or pedlar; 
 so called because he cames his basket or 
 pack round his neck. The term is more 
 especially applied to hawkers of religious 
 books. (Latin, colltim, the neck ; porto, 
 to carry.) 
 
 Colt (A). A piece of knotted rope 
 eighteen inches long for the special 
 benefit of ship boys ; a cat-o'-niue-tails. 
 " Look alive tliere, lads, or as sure as 7iiy name 
 is Sam Weston I'll give the colt to the last man 
 off the deck."— J. Grant : JJicIc Rodney, chap. vii. 
 
 Colt (A). A barrister who attejids a 
 sergeant-at-law at his induction. 
 
 " I acc(mipanied the ne«iy-made Chief Baron as 
 his colt."— Pollock. 
 
 "Then Mr. Bailey, his colt, delivered his ring to 
 the Lord Clii':)cellor."— ll'i/iMje. 
 
 Colt (7.--). To befool, to gull. (ItaUan, 
 colto, chf i,ted, befooled.) 
 
 Colt-plxy (A). A pixy, puck, or 
 fairy. To colt-pixy is to take what 
 belongs to the i^ixies, and is specially 
 applied to the gleaning of apples after 
 the crop has been gathered in ; these 
 apples wore the privilege of the jiixies, 
 and to colt-pixy is to deprive the pixies 
 of their jierquisites. 
 
 Colt's Revolver. A iire-arm which, 
 by means of revolving barrels, can be 
 fired several times without intermission. 
 This instrument was patented by Colonel 
 Samuel Colt, U.S., in 1835. 
 
 Colt's-tooth. The love of youthful 
 pleasure. Chaucer uses the word " colt- 
 ish " for skittish. Horses have at three 
 years old the colt's-tooth. The allusion 
 is to the colt's teeth of animals, a period
 
 Columbine 
 
 278 
 
 Comazants 
 
 of their life when their passions are 
 strongest. 
 
 " Her merry danciiifr-days are done ; 
 She has a colt's-tontU still, I warrant." 
 Kino •■ Orpheus and Eurydice. 
 " Well said. Lord Sands ; 
 Tour colt's-tiioth is not cast vet." 
 
 Sliah-esptare : Ileurij YIlI.,i.X 
 
 Col'umbine (3 syl.). The sweetheart 
 of Harlequin, and, like him, supposed 
 to be invisible to mortal eyes. CoJiim- 
 bi na in Italian is a pet-name for a lady- 
 love, and means a little dove, a young 
 coquette. 
 
 Columbus. His signature was — 
 S. i.e. Servidor 
 
 >S. A. S. Sus Altezas Sacras 
 
 X. M. Y. Jesus Maria Isabel 
 
 Xto. FERENS Christo-pher 
 
 El Almirante El Almirante. 
 In English, " Servant — of their Sacred 
 Highnesses — Jesus Mary and Isabella 
 — Christopher — the Admiral." 
 
 The second Cohimhus. Cyrus West 
 Field was so called by John Bright when 
 he completed the Atlantic Cable. Born 
 at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1819. 
 
 Columbus of the Skies {The). Sir 
 F. Wilhuin Herscliel, discoverer of 
 Georgium Sidus (Uranus), 1738-1822. 
 
 Column. 
 
 The Alexandrine Column. Made of 
 granite ; in memory of the Empei'or 
 Alexander. 
 
 The Column of Antoninus. At Rome ; 
 made of marble, 176 feet high ; in memory 
 of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Anto- 
 ninus. Like that of Trajan, this column 
 is covered externally with spiral bas- 
 reliefs representing the wars carried on 
 by the emperor. 
 
 Sixtus V. caused the original statue of this 
 column to lie supplanted by a llgur.e of St. Paul. 
 (See Trajan's Column.) 
 
 The Column of Arcadius. At Con- 
 stantinople ; made of marble. 
 
 Column at Boulogne. To com- 
 memorate the camp of Boulogne. This 
 formidable amiy was intended for the 
 invasion of England. England also 
 girded herself for battle, and here the 
 matter ended. The Column perpetuates 
 the memory of tliis threat. 
 
 The Duke of York''s Column, in London, 
 at the top of the steps leading into St. 
 James's Park. Erected in 1830-1833 in 
 memory of Frederick, Duke of York, 
 second son of George III. , who died in 
 1827. It is of the Tuscan order, was 
 designed by R. Wyatt, and is made of 
 Aberdeenslure granite. On the summit 
 is a statue of the duke by Sir R. West- 
 macott. 
 
 The Column of July. 1832, Paris ; 
 made of bronze, and erected on the spot 
 Avhere the Bastille stood, to commemo- 
 rate the revolution of July, 1830, when 
 Charles X. abdicated. It is surmounted 
 with a statue of Liberty standing on one 
 foot. 
 
 London's Column. (See Monument.) 
 
 AW.so«'s Column. In Trafalgar Square, 
 London ; was erected in 1843. The four 
 lions, by Landseer, wei-e added in 1867. 
 The order of the Column is Corinthian, 
 and the material Devonshire granite. 
 The reliefs are {iwrth side) the battle of 
 the Nile, where Nelson was wounded ; 
 {south side) Nelson's death at the battle 
 of Trafalgar ; {east side) the bombard- 
 ment of Copenhagen ; and {west side) 
 the battle of St. Vincent. The column 
 is sunnounted by a statue of Nelson by 
 E. H. Baily. 
 
 Co'nmn of the Place Venddme. Paris, 
 1806-1810 ; made of bronze, and erected 
 in honour of Napoleon I. The spiral 
 outside rejiresents in bas-relief the battles 
 of Napoleon I., ending with Austerlitz 
 in 180.3. It is a facsimile of Trajan's 
 Column. 
 
 In 1871 the statue of Napoleon, which 
 sunnounted this column, was hurled to 
 the ground by the Communi.sts, but in 
 1874 a statue of Liberty was substituted 
 for the original one. 
 
 Fompcifs Column. In Egypt ; made 
 of marble. 
 
 Trajaii's Column. At Rome; made of 
 marble, A. D. 114, by Apollodorus. It is 
 132 feet in height, and has inside a 
 spiral staircase of 185 steps, and 40 
 windows to let in light. It was sur- 
 mounted by a statue of the Emperor 
 Trajan, but Sixtus V. supplatited the 
 original statue by that of St. Peter. The 
 spiral outside represents in bas-reliefs 
 the battles of the emperor. 
 
 Columns of Hercules. Two large 
 pyramidal columns set up by the Phoe- 
 nicians as lighthouses and landmarks, 
 dedicated, one to Hercules (the sim), 
 and the other to Astnrte (the moon) . 
 
 By the Greeks and Romans the two 
 ]iyramidal mountains at the Straits of 
 Gibraltar (Calpo and Abyla), the former 
 in Europe and the latter in Africa, were 
 tenned the Tillars of Hercules. 
 
 Co'ma Bereni'ces (4 syl.). {See 
 Berenice.) 
 
 Com'azants. Called St. Elmo fii-es 
 by the French, Castor and Pollux by the 
 Romans. A celestial light seen occa- 
 sionally to play round mast-heads, etc.
 
 Comb 
 
 279 
 
 Come 
 
 (Latin, co'inn, hair.) Vii'gil makes good 
 use of this phenomenou while ^ueas is 
 hesitating whether to leave burning 
 Troy or not : 
 
 " Ecce levis sumnio de vertice visits luli 
 Fimdere lumen apex, tractuiiue iunoxia iiio,,i 
 Laiiilierefl:iiiiiiia riinias,etcircuiii temiioraiiasci 
 Nos, pavidi trepidai-e uietu, criueuKiue Hagran- 
 
 teiii 
 Excutere, et sanctos restlnguere foutilnis 
 ignes." 
 
 When old Anchises interferes, and a 
 falling star is interpreted to mean that 
 Jupiter will lead them forth securely. 
 {^1^/ieid, ii. 6S'2, etc.) 
 
 Coml). 
 
 A crabtrec comb. A cudgel applied to 
 the head. To smooth your hair with a 
 crahtree comb, is to give the head a 
 knock with a stick. 
 
 Bei/narcVs uomkrfitl comb. This comb 
 existed only in the Ijraiu of Master Fox. 
 He said it was made of the Pan'thera's 
 bone, the perfume of which was so 
 fragrant that no one could resist fol- 
 lowing it ; and the wearer of the comb 
 was alwaj's cheerful and merry. {Itiy- 
 nard the Fox, chajj. ii.) 
 
 To comb Clicks head. To humiliate a 
 person, or to give him a " set down." 
 
 " rU carry you witli me U) my country box, and 
 keep you out of harm's way, till 1 llnd you a wife 
 Wbi) will comb your bead for yoa."—Bulu:er- 
 Lytton : What will he do icitli it ? iv. 16. 
 
 To comb your noddle icith a three-legged 
 stool {Taming of the Shrew, i. 1) is to 
 beat you about the head with a stool. 
 Many stools, such as those used hj milk- 
 maids, are still made with three legs ; 
 and these haudy weapons seem to have 
 been used at one time pretty freely, 
 especially hj angry women. 
 
 To cut one's Comb. To take down a 
 person's conceit. In allusion to the x^rac- 
 tice of cutting the combs of capons. 
 
 To set up otie's comb is to be cockish 
 and vainglorious. 
 
 Comb the Cat (To). To run your 
 fingers through the lashes of a cat-o'- 
 nine-tails to disentangle them. 
 
 Come and take Them. The reply 
 of Leon'idas, King of Sparta, to the 
 messengers sent by Xerxes to Thermop'- 
 y\se. Xerxes said, "Go, and tell those 
 madmen to deliver up their anns." 
 Leonidas rejjlied, " Go, and tell Xerxes 
 to come and take them." 
 
 Come Ather (pron. ah-ther) means, 
 when addressed to horses, ' ' come hither ' ' 
 — i.e. to the left, the side on which the 
 teamsman walks. {See Woo'ish.) 
 
 Come Down a Peg. Humiliated; 
 lowered in dignity, tone, demands, etc. 
 
 " Well, be bas come down a peg or two, and he 
 don't like n."— Haggard. 
 
 A come doivn. Loss of prestige or 
 position. 
 
 " ' Now I'm your worship's washerwoman.' The 
 
 diernitary coloured, and said that ' this was rather 
 a come down,' "—Ihadc. 
 
 Come Down upon One {To). To 
 
 reproach, to punish severely, to make a 
 peremjDtory demand. 
 
 Come Home. Return to your house ; 
 to touch one's feelings or interest. 
 
 "No poetry was over more human than Chau- 
 cer's ; none ever came more generally . . . home 
 to its readers."— Greeii ; Shvrt History of the Eiig- 
 liah People, chap. v. 
 
 Come it. Ifas he come it ? Has he 
 lent the money 'r Has he hearkened to 
 your request 'r Has he come over to 
 your side 'r Also, " Out with it ! " 
 
 Come it Strong. Lay it on thick ; 
 to exaggerate or overdo. {See Drxw^ it 
 Mild.) 
 
 Come Lightly. Lightly come, lightly 
 go. There is a somewhat similar Latin 
 proverb, male pur ta, male ddabuntur. 
 
 Come Of. Whafs to come of it? 
 TJ'hat's to come of him? A contracted 
 fonn of become. To come of [a good 
 stock] is to be descended from [a good 
 family]. 
 
 Come Off {To). To occur, to take 
 place. (Anglo-Saxon, of-caman = Latin, 
 ■pro-ccdo, to proceed.) 
 
 To come off with honours is to proceed 
 to the end successfully. 
 
 Come On ! A challenge to fight with 
 fists. 
 
 Come Out. Said of a young lady 
 after she has been introduced at Court, 
 or has entered into society as a '' gi'own- 
 up" person. She "comes out into 
 
 society." 
 
 Come Over One {To). To wheedle 
 one to do or give something. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, ofer-cuman, to overcome.) To 
 come over one is in reality to conquer or 
 get your own way. 
 
 Come Round. {See ComxG, etc.). 
 
 Come Short {To). Not to be suffi- 
 cient. "To come short of" means to 
 miss or fail of attaining. 
 
 Come That, as, Can you come that ? 
 I can^t come that. Here, " come" means 
 to arrive at, to accompUsh. 
 
 Come the Religious Dodge {To) 
 means to ask or seek some favour under 
 pretence of a rehgious motive. Here 
 "come" means to come and introduce. 
 {See Dodge.)
 
 Come 
 
 280 
 
 Commenclain 
 
 Come to. Amount to, to obtain 
 possession. "It will not come to much." 
 
 Come to Grief {To). To fail, to 
 prove a failure, as, "the undertaking 
 (or comimny) came to grief," i.e. to a 
 grievous end. 
 
 Come to Hand {It hav). Been re- 
 ceived. "Come into my hand." In 
 Latin, ad iiiuhks {alicKJns) pcrriiiire. 
 
 " Yoiiv letter came tu baud jcstenlay."— .1. 
 Tfollopc. 
 
 Come to Pass {Tu). To hajipen, to 
 befall, to come about. 
 
 " Wliat tli'iu hast spoken is come tu pass."— 
 Jer. xxxii. :;4. 
 
 " It came to pass [eyeVero] iu those (l;iys that 
 theie weut out a decree."— Luke ii. 1. 
 
 Comie to an End. To terminate. 
 The allusion is to travelling, when the 
 traveller has come to the cud of his 
 journey. 
 
 Come to the Hammer. To be sold 
 by auction. 
 
 Come to the Heath. To tip. A pun 
 taken from the place called Tii^-tree 
 Heath, iu Essex. Our forefathers, and 
 the French too, delighted in these sort 
 tif puns. A great source of slang. {Sec 
 Chivy.) 
 
 Come to the Point. Speak out 
 plauily what you want ; do not beat 
 about the bush, but state at once wliat 
 you wish to say. The point is the gist 
 or grit of a thing. Circmnlocution is 
 wandering round the point witli words ; 
 to come to the point is to omit all need- 
 less speech, and bring all the straggling 
 rays to a focus or point. 
 
 Come to the Scratch. {See 
 Scratch. ) 
 
 Come to the Worst. If the irorst 
 come to the icorst ; even if the very worst 
 occurs. 
 
 Come Under {To). To fall under; 
 to be classed under. 
 
 Come Up. Mcirry, eoinc up ! {Sec 
 Marey.) "To come up to" means to 
 equal, to obtain the same number of 
 marks, to amount to the same quantity. 
 
 Come Upon the Parish [To). To 
 live in the workliouse ; to be supjiorted 
 by the j)arish. 
 
 Come Yorkshire over One {To). 
 To bamboozle one, to overreach one. 
 Yorkshire has always been proverbial for 
 shrewdness and sharp practice. " I's 
 Yorksliire too" means, I am 'cute as you 
 are, and am not to be taken in. 
 
 Comedy means a village-song (Greek, 
 ];oiiie-ode), referring to the village merry- 
 makings, in which comic songs still take 
 a conspicuous place. The Greeks had 
 certain festal processions of great licen- 
 tiousness, held iu honour of Diony'sos, 
 iu the suburbs of their cities, and termed 
 ho' mot or village-revels. On these occa- 
 sions an ode was generally sung, and 
 this ode was the foundation of Greek 
 comedy. {Sec Tragedy.) 
 
 The Father of coined ij. Aristoph'aues, 
 the Athenian (B.C. 444-380). 
 
 Comes (2 syl.). A Latin military 
 title, now called comit on the continent 
 of Europe, but earl in England from the 
 Saxon euddorman (alderman), Danish 
 eorle. Tlte wife of an earl is called 
 countess. 
 
 Comet Wine. A term of praise to 
 signify wine of superior quality. A 
 notion prevails that the grapes iu comet 
 years are better in flavour than in other 
 years, either because the weather is 
 warmer and rijiens them better, or 
 because the comets themselves exercise 
 some chemical influence on them. Thus, 
 wine of the years 1811, 1826, 1839, 1845, 
 1852, 1858, 1861, etc., have a repute. 
 
 " The oldi-'cnlleman yet nurses some few l)ottIes 
 (if tlic famous i-onift year (i.e. IsU), emphatically 
 calk'il comet wine."— T/ir? Times. 
 
 Coming Round. He is coming 
 round. Recovering from sickness ; re- 
 covering from a fit of the sulks ; re- 
 turning to friendshijj. Death is the 
 end of lite, and therefore recovering 
 from "sickness nigh unto death" is 
 coming back to health, or coming round 
 the corner. 
 
 Command Night. In theatrical i^ar- 
 lance, a night on which a certain play is 
 performed Ijy command of some person 
 of authority or influence. 
 
 Commandment. The eleventh com- 
 inandnient. Thou shalt not be found 
 out. 
 
 " After all, that Eleventh Couimandmeut is the 
 only one that is vitally important to keep In 
 these days."— £. H. Buxton : Jennie of the Prince's, 
 iii. 314. 
 
 TIic ten commandments. The ten 
 fingers or nails. {Shakespeare : 2 Henry 
 VI., i. 3.) 
 
 Comme il Faut (French, pronounce 
 cum eel fo), as it should be ; quite 
 proper ; quite according to etiquette or 
 rule. 
 
 Commen'dam. A living vi coni' 
 mcndam is a living held by a bi.shop till 
 an incumbent is aj^pointed. When a 
 clergyman accepts a bishopric he loses 
 all his previous preferment ; but in
 
 C ommendation 
 
 281 
 
 Compeenions 
 
 order that these livings may not be 
 uucared for, they are vommotdal by the 
 Crown to tlie care of the new bishop till 
 they can be properly transferred. Abol- 
 ished in 1836. 
 
 Commendation Ninepence. A 
 
 beut silver ninepence, supposed to be 
 lucky, and commonly used in the seven- 
 teenth century as a love-token, the giver 
 or sender using these words, " From my 
 love, to my love." Sometimes the coin 
 was broken, and each kept a part. 
 " Like cDmruendatiou niuoiieiice, rrimki'il, 
 With ' To aud from my Im o,' it, L.ukfd." 
 
 Butler : lliidihrat:, i. 1. 
 "^Filbert: As tbis divides, thus are we torn in 
 twain. 
 Kitty : Aud as this uieets, thus may we meet 
 .igain." 
 
 Gay: What d'ye Call It? 
 
 Commis-voyageur {A). A com- 
 mercial traveller. 
 
 Committee. A committee of the 
 tcJiole house, in Parliamentary language, 
 is when the Speaker leaves the chair and 
 all the members fonn a committee, 
 where anyone may speak once or more 
 than once. In such cases the chair is 
 occupied by the chairman of comm-l'ttees, 
 elected with each now Parliament. 
 
 A standing committee, in Parliamentary 
 language, is a committee which con- 
 tinues to the end of the current session. 
 To this committee are referred all ques- 
 tions which fall witliiu the scope of their 
 appointment. 
 
 Committing Falsehood. Swind- 
 ling. 
 
 The Earl of Rosebery pointed out 
 that the expression " committing false- 
 hood" in Scotch law was synonymous 
 with what in England was called swind- 
 ling (April 25tli, 1885). 
 
 Commodity of Brown Paper {A). 
 Rubbish served as make-weight ; worth- 
 less stock ; goods palmed off on the 
 inexijerienced. In most auctions the 
 buyer of a lot has a fair share of tlie 
 commodity of brown paper. Rubbish 
 given to supplement a loan. 
 
 " Here's young Master Rash'! lie's iu for a com- 
 modity of brown paiierandold ginger, nine-score 
 and seventeen pounds [i.e. £197, a part of the 
 advance being old ginger and brown paper]."— 
 ShaliCspcarc : Measure for Measure, iv. 3. 
 
 Commodore. A corruption of "com- 
 mander" (French, commaiideHr: Spanish, 
 coDuiidador). A naval officer in tem- 
 porary command of a squadron or divi- 
 sion of a fleet. He lias the pay of a 
 rear-admiral. 
 
 Common Pleas. Civil actions at 
 law brought by one subject against 
 another — not by the Crown against a 
 
 subject. The Court of Common Pleas is 
 for the trial of civil [not capital] 
 offences. In 1875 this court was abol- 
 ished, aud in 1880 it was represented by 
 the Common Pleas Division and merged 
 in the King's [or Queen's] Bench Divi' 
 sion. 
 
 Common Prayer. The Book of 
 Commoji I'rai/er. The book used by the 
 Established Church of England iu " di- 
 vine service." Common, in this case, 
 means united. 
 
 Common Sense does not mean that 
 good sense which is common, or com- 
 monly needed in the ordinary aft'airs of 
 life, but the sense which is coniniou to 
 all the five, or the point where the five 
 senses meet, suj^posed to be the seat of 
 the soul, where it judges what is pre- 
 sented by the senses, and decides the 
 mode of action, {JSec Seven Senses.) 
 
 Commoner. The Great Commoner. 
 
 1. Sir John Barnard, who, in 1737, 
 j)roposed to reduce the interest of the 
 national debt from 4 per cent, to 3 per 
 cent., any creditor being at liberty to 
 receive his principal in full if he pre- 
 ferredit. Mr. Gosclien (1889-90) reduced 
 the 3 per cents, to 2i. 
 
 2. William Pitt, the statesman (17u9- 
 1806). 
 
 Commons. To put one on short com- 
 mons. To stint him, to give him scanty 
 meals. In the University of Cambridge 
 the food provided for each student at 
 breakfast is called his commo)is ; hence 
 food in general or meals. 
 
 To come into commons. To enter a 
 society in which the members have a 
 common or general dinner table. 
 
 Commons in Gross — that is, at 
 large. These are commons granted to 
 individuals and their heirs by deed, or 
 claimed by prescription as by a parson 
 or corporation. 
 
 Common'wealths (Idral). "Utopia" 
 by Sir Thomas More, " The New Atlan- 
 tis " by Lord Bacon, "The City of the 
 Sun" by Campanella, etc. 
 
 Companion Ladder. The ladder 
 leading from the poop to the main deck. 
 The " companion way" is the staii'case 
 to the cabin. {Dana: Seaman'' s Manual.) 
 
 V The staircase from the deck to the 
 cabin. 
 
 Companions of Je hu. Tlie Chouans 
 were so called, from a fanciful analogy 
 between their self-imposed task and that 
 appointed to Jehu, on being set over the 
 kingdom of Israel. Jehu was to cut off
 
 Comparisons 
 
 282 
 
 Conciergerie 
 
 Ahab and Jez'ebel, with all theii' house, 
 and all the priests of Baal. The Chouans 
 were to cut off all who assassinated Louis 
 XVI., and see that his brother {Jehu) 
 was placed on the throne. 
 
 Comparisons are Odorous. So 
 
 says Dogberry. {Much Ado About 
 jS'othiiifi, iii. 5.) 
 
 " We own your verses are inelodions, 
 But theu comparisous are odious." 
 
 Sicift: Aimioer to Slicridaii's " Simile." 
 
 Complementary Colours. {See 
 
 COLOUES.) 
 
 Complexion literally means " what 
 embraces or contains," and the idea im- 
 plies that the colour of the skin corre- 
 sponds to the habit of body, and the 
 habit of body answers to the element 
 which predominates. If fire predomi- 
 nates, the person is bilious or full of 
 bile ; if air, he is saiKjuine or full of 
 blood ; if earth, the body is melancJtol'ic 
 or full of black bile ; if water, it is 
 phleg' mat'ic or full of ijhlegm. The first 
 is hot and dry, the second hot and 
 moist, the third cold and cby, and the 
 last moist and cold like water. 
 " 'Tis ill, tliii' different your coniple-Kions .ire [i.e. 
 dispositions]." Uryden. 
 
 "Cretans tlu'ougU mere comple.xion lie." 
 Pitt: Hymn ofCdllimachuf. 
 
 Com'pline (2 syl.). The last service 
 of tlie day iu the Roman CathoHc 
 Church. First appointed by the abbot 
 Benedict in the sixth centmy. The 
 word is a corruption of complvto'rium. 
 
 In ecclesiastical Latin vcsperiiius, from 
 vesper, means evening service, and com- 
 ph'tinus is fonncd on the same model. 
 
 Compostella. A corruption of Gia- 
 ciiDio-iJijstolo (James the Apostle). So 
 callt'd after his relics wer-e transferred 
 thither from Iria Flavia (El Padron) on 
 the borders of Galicia, in tlie ninth 
 century. Leo III. transferred the See 
 of Iria Flavia to Compostella. (Some- 
 where between 810 and 816.) 
 
 Compte rendu. The account already 
 sent; the account of particulars deli- 
 vered ; a report of proceedings. 
 
 Com'rade (2 syl.). The name of 
 Fortu'nio's fairy horse. It ate but once 
 a week ; knew the past, present, and 
 f utm-e ; and spake with the voice of a 
 man. {(rr'uuiu''s Goblins : Fortunio.) 
 (See Horse.) 
 
 Com'rades (2 syl.). Those who sleep 
 in the same bed-chamber. It is a Spanish 
 military term derived from the custom 
 of dividing soldiers into chambers. The 
 
 proper spelling is eamerades, men of the 
 same cam'cra (chamber). 
 
 Co'mus. God of i-eveby. Milton 
 represents him as a male Circe. (Greek, 
 komos, carousal. ) 
 
 " Tliis nyrapb fcirce], that gazed upon his [Bac- 
 olius's] clustering locks, .... 
 Had l>y him^ere he' parted thence, a son, 
 JIuch like his father, liiit his niotlier more, 
 Whom therefore she brouKht up, and t'onuis 
 named." Milton: Comus,M-i<x. 
 
 Com US. The elder brother in this 
 domestic drama is meant for Lord Vis- 
 count Brackley, eldest son of John, 
 Earl of Bridgewater, president of "Wales. 
 The younger brother is Mr. Thomas 
 Egerton. The lady is Lady Alice Eger- 
 ton. {Mil ton.) 
 
 Comus's Court. A social gathering 
 formerly held at tlie Half-Moon Tavern 
 iu Cheapside, London. 
 
 Con Amo're (Italian). With heart 
 and soul; as, "He did it eoii aiuo're" — 
 i.e. lovingly, with deliglit, and therefore 
 in good earnest. 
 
 Con Commodo (Italian). At a con- 
 venient rate. A musical term. 
 
 Con Spirito (Italian). With quick- 
 ness and vivacity. A musical term. 
 
 Co'nan. The Thersi'tes of " Fingal ; " 
 brave even to rashness. 
 
 £low for blow or elaw for claw, as 
 Coiiaii said. Conan made a vow never 
 to take a blow without returning it ; 
 when he descended into the infernal 
 regions, the arch-fiend gave liim a cuff, 
 which Conan iustantlj' retm'ned, saying 
 "Claw for claw." 
 
 '■ ' Blow for Mow,' as C'oiian said to the devil."— 
 Scott: ICflrfi/ci/, cliap. .xxii. 
 
 Concert Pitch. The degree of 
 sharpness or flatness adopted by a 
 number of musicians acting iu concert, 
 that all the instruments may be iu ac- 
 cord. Generally, a particular note is 
 selected for the standard, as A or C ; 
 this note is i>ut into the proper pitch, 
 and all other notes are regulated by it. 
 
 Concerto (Italian). A composition 
 
 intended to display the powers of some 
 
 particular iustrument, with orchestral 
 accomjianiments. 
 
 Con'cierge (3 syl.). Freiicli. Tlio 
 door - porter of a public oi' jirivate 
 "hotel," or house divided into flats, 
 or of a prison. 
 
 Conciergerie. (French.) Tlie office 
 or room of a concierge or porter's lodge ; 
 a sttxte prison. Diu'ing the Revohitiou 
 it was the prison wliere the chief victims 
 were confined prior to execution.
 
 Conclave 
 
 283 
 
 Congregationalists 
 
 Conclave (2 syl.). A set of rooms, 
 all of \vhicli are entered by one common 
 key (Latin, con da' vis). The word is 
 applied to the little deal cells erected in 
 some large apartment for the cardinals 
 wlio meet to choose a new Pope, because 
 the long gallery of the Vatican between 
 the cells and the windows of the palace 
 is common ground to all the conclavists. 
 The assembly itself is, by a figui'e of 
 si^eech, also called a conclave. 
 
 Conclama'tio, amongst the ancient 
 Romans, was similar to the Irish howl 
 over the dead ; and, as in Ireland, women 
 led the funeral cortege, weeping osten- 
 tatiously and gesticulating. "One not 
 howled over " (corpus i/ondiim conclaina'- 
 tum) meant one at the point of death ; 
 and " one howled for " was one given up 
 for dead or really deceased. Virgil tells 
 us that the ululation was a Phamician 
 custom ; and therefore he makes the 
 l^alace ring with howls when Dido burnt 
 herself to death. 
 
 " Lameiitis, gemitutiue, et fiemineo ululato, 
 Texta frenumt." ^Jiiicid, iv. Bti". 
 
 Conclamatum est. He is dead past 
 all hope. The sense of hearing is gener- 
 ally the last to fail in the hour of death, 
 hence the Romans were accustomed to 
 call on the deceased three times by 
 name, and if no indication of hearing 
 was shown death was considered certain. 
 Conclamatum est, he has been called and 
 shows no sign. 
 
 Concord is Strength. The wise 
 saw of Periander, "tyrant" of Corinth 
 (B.C. 660-080). 
 
 Concor'dat. An agi-eement made 
 between a ruler and the Pojie relative 
 to the collation of benefices. As the 
 Concordat of 1801 between Napoleon 
 Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII. ; the 
 Concordat of 1-516 between Francois I. 
 and Poj^e Leo X. to abolish the "prag- 
 matic sanction;" and the Germanic 
 Concordat of 1448 between Frederick 
 III. and Pope Nicholas V. 
 
 Condign'. Latin, cond/f/itns (well 
 worthy) ; as condign punishment — i.e. 
 puuishmeut well deserved. 
 
 " 111 tby con'dif-'n praise." 
 fHiakenpeare : Love's Labour's Lost, i. 3. 
 
 Condottie'ri. Leaders of militaiy 
 adventurers in the fifteenth century. 
 The most noted of these brigand leaders 
 in Italy were Guarnie'ri, Lando, Fran- 
 ces'co of Cai-mag'nola, and Francesco 
 Sforza. Giac'omo Sforza, the sou of 
 Francesco, maiTied the daughter of 
 the Didce of Milan, and succeeded his 
 
 father-in-law. The singular is Con- 
 dottiere (5 syl.). 
 
 Confed'erate States. The eleven 
 States which revolted from the L'nion in 
 the late American Civil War (1861-1866) 
 — viz. Georgia, North and South Caro- 
 li'ua, Virgiu'ia, Tennessee', Alabama, 
 Louisia'na, Arkansas, Mississip'pi, and 
 Flor'ida and Texas. 
 
 Confederation of the Rhine. Six- 
 teen Gennan provinces in 1806 dissolved 
 their connection with Germany, and 
 alUed themselves with France. At the 
 downfall of Napoleon in 1814 this con- 
 federation melted away of itself. 
 
 Confession. John of Nep'omuc, 
 canon of Prague, suffered death rather 
 than violate the seal of confession. The 
 Emiaeror Wenceslas ordered him to be 
 thrown oif a bridge iuto the Moldau, be- 
 cause he refused to reveal the confession 
 of the empress. He was canonised as 
 St. John Neijomu'cen. 
 
 Confls'cate (3 syl.). To forfeit to 
 the public treasury. (Latin, con Jiscits, 
 with the tribute money.) 
 " If thou dost shed one drop of Christian lilood, 
 Thy lands and goods are, by the laws of Venice, 
 Confiscate to the State of Venice." 
 
 Shakcsi care : Merchant of reiiii-e, i\ . 1. 
 
 Confusion Worse Confounded. 
 
 Disorder made worse than before. 
 " With ruin upon ruin, rout on rout, 
 Coufusif.n worse confounded." 
 
 Milton : Paradise Lost, ii. line 996. 
 
 Cong^. " To give a person his conge " 
 is to dismiss him from your service. 
 " To take one's conge " is to give notice 
 to friends of your departiu-e. This is 
 done by leaving a card at the friend's 
 house with the letters P.P.C. (pour 
 prendre conge) inscribed on the left-hand 
 comer. (French, donncr conge and don- 
 ner a son conge.) 
 
 Conge d'Elire (Norman - French, 
 tea re to elect). A roj'al warrant given 
 to the dean and chapter of a diocese to 
 elect the person nominated by the Crown 
 to their vacant see. 
 
 Congle'ton Bears. The men of 
 
 Congletou. It is said that the Congle- 
 tou parish clerk sold the church Bible to 
 buy a bear. 
 
 Congrega'tionalists. Tliose Pro- 
 testant Disseuters who maintain that 
 each congregatiou is an independent 
 communit}-, and has a right to make its 
 own laws and choose its own minister. 
 They rose in the time of Queen Eliza- 
 beth.
 
 Congreve 
 
 284 
 
 Conscience 
 
 Con'greve Rockets. (1808.) So 
 called from Sir William Cougreve, eldest 
 son of Lieut. -Colouel Sir William Cou- 
 greve (1772-1828). 
 
 Congreves. A predecessor of Lucifer 
 matches. The splints were first dipped 
 ill sulphur, and then tiiJ^jed with the 
 chlorate of potash jjaste, in which gum 
 was substituted for sugar, and there was 
 added a small quantity of suliJhide of 
 antimony. The match was ignited by 
 being drawn through a fold of sand- 
 paper with pressure. These matches, 
 being dangerous, were prohibited in 
 France and Germany. {See Peome- 
 
 TIIEANS ; LUCIFEES.) 
 
 Con'jugal. What pertains to con- 
 JKges (yoke-fellows). In ancient times 
 a yoke {jikjkiii) was \\\\i on a man and 
 woman by way of marriage ceremony, 
 and the two were said to be yoked 
 together by marriage. 
 
 Conjuring Cap. / nmst put on my 
 conjiifiiKj cap — i.e. your question re- 
 quires deliberate thought, and I must 
 reflect on it. Eric XIV., King of Sweden, 
 was a great admirer of magic, and had 
 an "enchanted cap" made, either to 
 keeji his head warm or for mystification. 
 He pretended to have power over the 
 elements ; and when a stonn arose, his 
 subjects used to say " The king has got 
 on his conjuring cap." 
 
 Connecticut, U.S. America, is the 
 Indian Qtiiu- nc/i - t/ik-q//f, meaning 
 " land of the long tidal river." 
 
 Connubialis de Mulcibre fecit 
 Apellem. Love turned a blacksmith 
 into a great artist. Said of Queutin 
 Matsys, the blacksmith of Antwerp, who 
 was ill love with an artist's daughter. 
 The father scorned the alliance, and said 
 he should not be accepted unless he 
 made himself a worthy artist. This did 
 Matsys and won his bride. The sen- 
 tence may be seen still on the monument 
 of Quentiu Matsys outside Antwerp 
 cathedral. 
 
 Conqueror. T/w Cojiqiicror. 
 
 Alexander the Great. The conqueror 
 of the ivorld. (b.c. 356, 336-323.) 
 
 Alfonso of Portugal. (1094, 1137- 
 1185.) 
 
 Auruugzebe the Great. Alenifflr. The 
 most powerful of the great Moguls. 
 (1618, 1659-1707.) 
 
 James I. of Aragon. (1206, 1213-1276.) 
 
 Othmaii or Osman I. Founder of tlie 
 Turkish power. (1259, 1299-1326.) 
 
 Francisco Pizarro. Conquistador. So 
 
 called because lie conquered Peru. (1175- 
 1541.) _ 
 
 William, Duke of Normandy. So 
 called because he obtained England liy 
 conquest. (1027, 1066-1087.) 
 
 Conqueror's Nose {A). A promin- 
 ent straight nose, rising at the bridge. 
 Charlemagne had such a nose, so had 
 Henry tiie Fowler (Heinrich I. of Ger- 
 many) ; Rudolf I. of Germany ; Fried- 
 rich I. of Hohenzolleru, famous for 
 reducing to order his unruly barons by 
 blowing up their castles (1382-1440) ; 
 our own "Iron Duke;" Bismarck, the 
 iron Chancellor of Prussia ; etc. 
 
 Conquest (The). The accession of 
 William I. to the crown of England. 
 So called because his right depended on 
 liis conquest of Harold, the reigning 
 king. (1006.) 
 
 Con'rad {Lord). Afterwards called 
 Lara, the corsair. A proud, ascetic, but 
 successful captain. Hearing that the 
 Sultan Seyd was about to attack the 
 pirates, Conrad assumed the disguise of 
 a dervish and entered the palace, while 
 his crew set fire to the sultan's fleet. 
 The trick being discovered, Conrad was 
 taken prisoner, but was released by Gul- 
 nare, the sultan's favourite concubine, 
 whom he had rescued from the flaming 
 palace. Gulnare escaped with the cor- 
 sair to the Pirates' Isle, and wlien Con- 
 rad found Medo'ra dead, he left the 
 island, and no one knew whither he 
 went. The rest of his adventures are 
 recorded under his new name of Lara. 
 [Ihjrou : 'The Corsair.) 
 
 Conscience. 
 
 Hare yon the conscience to [demand 
 such a price]. Can your conscience 
 allow you to [demand such a price]. 
 Conscience is the secret monitor within 
 man which accuses or excuses him, as 
 he does what he thinks to be wrong or 
 right. 
 
 Tn all conscience. As, "And enough 
 too, in all conscience." Meaning that 
 the demand made is as much as con- 
 science would tolerate without accusing 
 the person of actual dishonesty ; to the 
 verge of that fine line which separates 
 honesty from dishonesty. 
 
 3Iy conscience ! An oath. I swear by 
 my conscience. 
 
 Court of Conscience. Established for 
 the recovery of small debts in London 
 and other trading places. These courts 
 have been superseded by county courts. 
 
 " Wliy sliould nnt Conscience liave vacation. 
 As well as other courts o' tlie nation ?" 
 
 Butler: UudiOras,n.2,
 
 Conscience 
 
 285 
 
 Constable 
 
 Konconformist Conscience. (See Non- 
 conformist.) 
 
 Conscience Clause (A). A clause 
 iu iui Act of Parliainciit to relieve per- 
 sons with couscieiitions scruples from 
 certain requirements in it. 
 
 Conscience Money. Money paid 
 anonymously to Government T)y persons 
 who have defrauded the revenue. Tlieir 
 couscieuce being uneasy, they send the 
 deficit to the Treasury, and the sum is 
 advertised iu the Gazette. 
 
 Conscious Water. The conscions 
 urttrr t<(iir its God, and hhishecl {Nijmpha 
 pndica I)eum vidit, ct eruhuit). Crashaw's 
 epigram on the miracle of Caua in 
 Galileo. "The modest water" would 
 be a closer rendering. 
 
 Conscript Fathers. In Latin, Patres 
 Conscripti. The Roman senate. Romu- 
 lus instituted a senate consisting of a 
 hundred elders, called Pat res (Fathers). 
 After the Sabines joined the State, 
 another hundred were added. Tar- 
 cjuiuius Priscus, the fifth king, added a 
 third hundred, called Patres Minornni 
 GcntiiiiJi. When Tarquiuius Super^us, 
 the seventh and last king of Rome, was 
 banished, several of the senate followed 
 him, and the vacancies were filled ujj by 
 Junius Brutus, the first consul. The 
 new members were enrolled in the sena- 
 torial register, and called CoHscri2)ti; the 
 entire body was then addressed as Patres 
 [("/'] Conscripti or Patres, C'oiiscripii. 
 
 Consen'tes Dii. The twelve chief 
 Roman deities — 
 
 Jupiter, Apollo, Mars, Nei)tune, Mer- 
 cury, and Vulcan. 
 
 Juno, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, Diana, 
 and Venus. 
 
 Ennius puts them into two hexameter 
 verses : 
 
 " Juno, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, Diaua, Venus, 
 Mars, 
 Mercurius, Jovi', Neptunus, Vulcauus, Apollo." 
 
 *.* Called " consentes,^^ says Varro, 
 
 "Quia in consilium Jovis adUibeliautur."— Be 
 Lingua Lutina, vii. 28. 
 
 Consenting Stars. Stars forming 
 configurations for good or evil. In 
 Judges V. 20 we read that " the stars in 
 their courses fought against Sisera," i.e. 
 formed unlucky or malignant configura- 
 tions. 
 
 " . . . . Scourge the bad revolting stars 
 Tliat liave consented unto Henry's death." 
 Hliakef:)iernr : I Ilcnry 17., i. 1. 
 
 Conservative (4 syl.). A medium 
 Tory — one who wishes to preserve the 
 union of Church and State, and not 
 radically to alter the constitution, The 
 
 word was first used in this sense in 1830, 
 in the January number of the Quarterlij 
 Per lew — "We have always been con- 
 scientiously attached to what is called 
 the Tory, and which might with more 
 l^ropriety be called the Conservative 
 party" (p. 276). 
 
 '.* Canning, ten years previously, had 
 used tlte word in a speech delivered at 
 Liverpool in March, 1820. In Lord 
 Salisbury's Ministry those Whigs and 
 Radicals who joined the Conservatives 
 were called "Liberal Unionists " because 
 they objected to give Ireland a separate 
 parliament (188o). 
 
 Consistory (^4). An ecclesiastical 
 court. In Rome it consists of the car- 
 dinals, presided over by the Pope. In 
 England it is a diocesan court, presided 
 over by the chancellor of the diocese. 
 
 Consolidated Fund {The). In 1757 
 an Act was jiassed for consolidating the 
 nine loans bearing difl:'ereut interests, 
 into one common loan bearing an interest 
 of three per cent. In 1890 this interest 
 was reduced to two and three-quarter 
 percent. ; and in 1903 will be still further 
 reduced to two and a-half per cent. 
 This fund is pledged for the payment of 
 the interest of the national debt, the 
 civil list, the salaries of the judges, am- 
 bassadors, and other high officials, etc. 
 
 Consols. A contraction of Consoli- 
 dated Fund. {Sec above.) 
 
 Con'sort is, properly, one whose lot 
 is cast in tcith another. As the Queen 
 does not lose by marriage her separate 
 existence, like other women, her husband 
 is called a consort, because he consorts 
 with the Queen, but does not share her 
 sovereignty. 
 
 " wilt thou he our consort ? " 
 Shakespeare : Tiro Gentlemen of Verona, iv. 1. 
 
 Conspirators. Members of a com- 
 mercial ring or corner. {See Coener. 
 Trusts.) These merchants "conspire" 
 to fix the price of articles, and make the 
 public bleed ad lihitam. In criminal 
 law it means persons who league to- 
 gether to do something unlawful. 
 
 Con'stable (Latin, eomes-stab'itli) 
 means "Master of the Horse." The 
 constable of England and France was at 
 one time a military officer of state, next 
 in rank to the crown. 
 
 To overrnn or OKtrnn the constable. To 
 get into debt ; spend more than one's 
 income ; t.o talk about what you do not 
 Tmderstand. {See below.) 
 
 "Quoth Hudibras, Friend Ralph, lliou hast 
 Outrun the constable at last ;
 
 Constable 
 
 28d 
 
 Contenement 
 
 For thou hast fallen on a new 
 DisiHite, as senseless as untrue." 
 
 Butler : Hiidibras. i. 3. 
 
 Wf)o\s to pay the constable ? Who is 
 to pay the score ? 
 
 The constable arrests debtors, and, of 
 course, represents the creditor ; where- 
 fore, to overrun tlie constable is to 
 overrun your credit account. To pay 
 the constable is to give him the money 
 due, to prevent an arrest. 
 
 Constable de Bourbon. Charles, 
 Due de Bourbon, a powerful enemy of 
 Fran(;ois I. He was killed while heading 
 the assault on Konie. (15'27.) 
 
 Constantine Tolman (Cornwall). 
 A vast egg-liko stone, thirty-three feet 
 in lengtii. eighteen in widtli, and four- 
 teen in tliickuess, placed on the jioints 
 of two natural rocks, so that a man may 
 creep under it. The stone upheld weighs 
 750 tons. 
 
 Constantine's Cross. In Latin, 
 v'uHis ill hoc; in English, 7?// this coii- 
 qncr. It is said that Constantine, on his 
 
 — .. march to Eome, saw a luminous 
 Vj cross in the sky, in the shape and 
 O^ with the motto here given. In 
 *T^ the night before the battle of 
 \^ Saxa Rubra a vision appeared 
 * to him in his sleej), commanding 
 him to inscribe the cross and the motto 
 on the shields of his soldiers. He obeyed 
 the voice of the vision, and prevailed. 
 The monogram is XPio-To? (Christ). {Sec 
 Gibbon : Decline and Fall, chap. xix. n. ) 
 
 This may be called a standing miracle 
 in legendary history ; for, besides An- 
 drew's cross, and the Daunebrog or red 
 cross of Denmark (q.r.), we have the 
 cross which appeared to Don Alonzo 
 before the battle of Ourique in ll.^O, 
 when the Mooi's were totally routed with 
 incredible slaughter. As Alonzo was 
 drawing up his men, the figure of a cross 
 appeared in the eastern sky, and Christ, 
 suspended on the cross, promised the 
 Christian king a complete factory. This 
 legend is commemorated by the device 
 assumed by Alonzo, in a field ai-gent five 
 escutcheons azure, in the form of a cross, 
 each escutcheon being charged with five 
 bezants, in memory of the five wounds 
 of Christ. (<SW' Labaetjm.) 
 
 Constituent Assembly. The first 
 of the national assemblies of the French 
 Revolution ; so called because it took 
 an oath never to sej^arate till it had 
 given to France a constitution. (17S8- 
 1791.) 
 
 Const it 'uents. Those who constitute 
 or elect members of Parliament. (Latin, 
 constit'no, to place or elect, etc.) 
 
 Constitution. The fundamental laws 
 of a state. It may be either despotic, 
 aristocratic, democratic, or mixed. 
 
 To (live a nation a constitafioii is to 
 give it fixed laws even to the limitation 
 of the sovereign's rights, so that the 
 people are not under the arbitrary 
 caprice of a ruler, but inider a known 
 code of laws. A despotism or autoci'acy 
 is solely under the unrestricted will of 
 the desjiot or autocrat. 
 
 Constitutions of Clar'endon. {See 
 Clarendon. ) 
 
 uljwfifulic Coi/sfifi'tioiis. A "Catholic" 
 code of both doctrine and discipline 
 collected by Clemens Romauus. The 
 word " Apostolic," as in the " Apostles' 
 Creed," does not mean made by the 
 Apostles, but what the " Church" con- 
 sidered to be in accordance with apos- 
 tolic teaching. 
 
 Con'strue. To translate. To trans- 
 late into English means to set an English 
 word in the jilace of a foreign word, 
 and to put the vrhole sentence in good 
 grammatical order. (Latin, construo, to 
 construct.) 
 
 Consuelo (4 syl.). The impersona- 
 tion of moral puiity in the midst of 
 temptations. The heroine of George 
 Sand's {Marl. DadcvanVs) novel of the 
 same name. 
 
 Contango. The sum paid by a 
 sjicculatdr on a "bull account" {i.e. a 
 speculation on the rise in the price of 
 certain stock), to defer completing the 
 bargain till the next setthng day. {See 
 Backwaedation.) 
 
 Con'template (3sjd.). To inspect or 
 watch the temple. The augur among the 
 Romans, having taken his stand on the 
 Capit'oline Hill, marked out with his 
 wand the space in the heavens he in- 
 tended to consult. This space he called 
 the templam. Having divided his 
 tomplum into two parts from top to 
 bottom, he watched to see what would 
 occur ; the watching of the templum was 
 called conteiiiplatin;/. 
 
 Contempt' of Court. Refusing to 
 conform to the rules of the law courts. 
 ('o)iseqi(cntial contempt is that which 
 tends to obstruct the business or lower 
 the dignity of the court by indirection. 
 Direct contempt is an open insult or 
 resistance to the judge or others officially 
 employed in the court. 
 
 Contenement. A word used in 
 Magna Charta, meaning the lands and 
 chattels connected with a tenement ;
 
 Contentment 
 
 287 
 
 Cooking 
 
 also whatever befits the social position 
 of a person, as the arms of a gentle- 
 man, tlie merchandise of a trader, the 
 jiloughs and wagons of a peasant, etc. 
 
 "Ill evory casr (lu^ i-ontein'iucnt (a word cx- 
 I'vessive of cliMitcIs iiiNcssiry to each man's 
 stMfinii) WHS i\c'iii|ih'ii 111. Ill seizure."— //«(((«» ; 
 iliihlte Attca, pul ii. lii.ip. viii. \\ 34i. 
 
 Contentment is true Riches. The 
 
 wise saw of Democ'rito.s, the laughing 
 philosopher. (B.C. 509-400.) 
 
 " Cniilciit is wealtli, the riches of the iiiiiid ; 
 Ami liappv he who can sucli riches liiid." 
 
 Ji null II : ir//r nfUath-s Tale. 
 
 Contests ofWartburg {T/ic), some- 
 times called The Jiiililcs of the Jliimtif/s. 
 An annual contest held in Wartburg, in 
 Saxe Weimar, for a prize given by 
 Hermann, Margrave of Thuriugia, for 
 the best poem. About 1 ")0 siiecimeus of 
 these poems' are still extant, by f;ir the 
 best being those of Walter of Vogel- 
 weide, in Thuringia (1168-1230). 
 
 V The poem called The Contest of 
 JJ'i/rt/ii(ri/ is by Wolfram, a minnesinger. 
 It records the contest of the two great 
 German schools of poetry in the thir- 
 teenth century — the Thuringiau and the 
 Suabian. Henry of Vogel-weide and 
 Henry of Of terdingeu represent the two 
 .schools. 
 
 Continence of a Scip'io. It is said 
 that a l)eautiful princess fell into the 
 hands of Scipio Africa'nus, and he re- 
 fused to see her, "lest he shoidd be 
 tempted to forget his principles." The 
 same is said of Cyrus {see Panthea), of 
 Anson {see Theresa), and of Alexander. 
 
 Continental System. A name 
 given to Napoleon's plan for shutting 
 out Great Britain from all commerce 
 with the continent of Eurojje. Ho 
 forbade under pain of war any nation 
 of Europe to receive British exports, or 
 to send imports to any of the British 
 dominions. It began Nov. 21st, 1806. 
 
 Contin'gent {A). The quota of 
 troojis furnished by each of several con- 
 tracting powers, according to agreement. 
 The word properly means the nTimber 
 which falls to the lot of each ; hence we 
 call a fortuitous event a contingency. 
 
 Contra bonos Mores (Latin). Not 
 in accordance \^-ith good manners ; not 
 
 eomnic U faut {q.i'.). 
 
 Contretemps (French). A mis- 
 chance, something inopportune. Liter- 
 ally, "out of time." 
 
 Conventicle means a " little con- 
 vent," and was originally applied to a 
 cabal of monks against the election of 
 
 a proposed abbot. It now means a 
 religious meeting of dissenters. (Latin, 
 eomeiitiis, an assembly, with a dimin- 
 utive.) {See Chapel.) 
 
 Conversation Sharp. Richard 
 Sharp, F.R.S., the critic. (1759-1835.) 
 
 Convey. A jiolite term for steal. 
 Tliieves are, by a similar euphemism, 
 called ronrej/ers. (Latin, etiiz-rcho, to 
 carry away.) 
 
 "Convey, the wise it call. Steal ! foil ! a flco 
 for the iilirase." — iS7(«/ir.vj^<'or(! ; Mem/ )\'ivis uj 
 ]yiiiils,,i; i. -.i. 
 
 Conveyers. Thieves. {See above.) 
 
 " Bolhigbriike. 'Go, some of you, convey bim to 
 tlie Tower.' 
 Hk-h. II. ' O, good ! " Convey." Conveyers are 
 
 ye all, 
 That rise thus nimbly by a true king's fall.'" 
 Shakespeare : Richard II., iv. i. 
 
 Conway Cabal {Thc^, 1777. A 
 faction organised to place General Gates 
 at the head of the American army. He 
 conquered Burgoyne, October, 1777, at 
 Saratoga, and hoped to supplant Wash- 
 ington. The Conway referred to is the 
 town in New Brunswick, North America., 
 where the cabal was formed. 
 
 General Gates was comiuerod in 1780 by Lord 
 Coruwallig. 
 
 Con'yger or Con'igry. A warren 
 for conies, a con3--biirrow. 
 
 Cooing and Billing, like Philip and 
 Mary on a shilling. The reference is 
 to coins struck in the year 1555, in which 
 Mary and her consort are placed face 
 to face, and not cheek by jowl, the 
 iisual way. 
 
 " still atuorous, and fond, and billincr, 
 Lil<e Philip aud Mary on a shilliu!,'." 
 
 Iliidibras, part iii. 1. 
 
 Cook your Goose. {See Goose.) 
 
 Cooked. The boohs have been cooked. 
 The ledger and other trade books havt 
 been tampered with, in order to show a 
 balance in favour of the bankrupt. The 
 term was first used in reference to 
 George Hudson, the railway king, under 
 whose chairmanship theEasteru Counties 
 Railway accounts were falsified. The 
 allusion is to preparing meat for table. 
 
 Cooking. 
 
 Terms belonging to cuisine applied to 
 man under different circumstances : 
 
 Sometimes he is well basted ; he 
 bolts Avith rage, is baked with heat, 
 and burns with love or jealousy. Some- 
 times he is buttered and well but- 
 tered ; he is often cut vp, devoured 
 with a flame, and done brown. We 
 dress his jacket for him ; sometimes 
 he is eaten up with care ; sometimes he
 
 Cooks' 
 
 Cool Hundred 
 
 is fried. We cook his ffoose for him, and 
 sometimes he makes a goose of himself. 
 We make a /iaf</i of him, aud at times he 
 makes a hash of something else. He 
 gets into /lot tcafcr, and sometimes into 
 a mess. Is made into mineemeat, makes 
 mincemeat of his money, and is often in 
 ajnelde. We are often asked to toast 
 him, sometimes he gets well roasted, is 
 sometimes set onjirc, put into a steir, or 
 is in a stew no one-knows why. A "soft " 
 is haJf-balced, one severely handled is 
 well peppered, to falsify accounts is to 
 salt them, wit is Attic sa/t, and an ex- 
 aggerated statement must he taken emu 
 graiw salts. A pert young person is a 
 srrnee box, a shy lover is a spoon, a rich 
 father has to fork out, aud is sometimes 
 dished of his money. 
 
 ii. Couneeted with foods and drinks. 
 
 A conceited man does not thiuk small 
 beer (or small potatoes) of himself, aud 
 our moiith is called a potato-traii. A 
 simjileton is a eake, a gudgeon, and a 
 pigeon. Some are cool as rt cueaiiiber, 
 others hot as a quail. A chubby cliild is 
 a little diiiiipliiKj. A man or woman 
 may be a cheese or daek. A courtesan 
 is called a mutton, and a large coarse 
 hand is a mutton fist. A greeily person 
 is ii pie/, a fat one is a saasa(/e, and a shy 
 one, if not a sheep, is certainly sheep- 
 ish ; while a Lubiii casts sheep's ei/es at 
 liis lady-love. A coward is chieken- 
 hearted, a fat person is ennnini/, and a 
 cross one is eriisti/, while an aristocrat 
 belongs to the npprr eriist of society. A 
 yeoman of the guards is a beef-eater, a 
 soldier a reel herrine/, a policeman a 
 lobster, and a stingy, ill-tempered old 
 man is a crab. A walking advertiser 
 between two boards is a savdirich. An 
 alderman iu his chair is a tarkeij lianej 
 with saasagcs. Two persons resembling 
 each other are like as tico peas. A chit 
 is a mere sprat, a delicate maiden a 
 tit-hit, and a colourless countenance is 
 called a whey - frice. "How now? 
 . . . Where got ye that whey-face ? " 
 
 Cooks. AtheniE'us aifiiTns that cooks 
 were the first kings of the earth. 
 
 In the luxurious ages of ancient Greece 
 Sicilian cooks were most esteemed, and 
 received very high wages. Among them 
 Trimarcio was very celebrated. It is 
 said that he could cook the most couimou 
 fish, and give it the flavour and look of 
 the most highly esteemed. 
 
 In the palmy days of Eome a chief 
 cook had £800 a year. Autony gave 
 the cook who arranged his banquet for 
 Cleopatra the present of a city. 
 
 Modern Cooks. 
 
 Careme. Called the "Regenerator 
 of Cookery" (1784-1 8;«). 
 
 Francatelli {Charles Ehin), who 
 succeeded Ude at Crockford's. After- 
 wards he was ajipointed to the lioyal 
 household, and lastly to the Reform 
 Club (]8().')-187(J). 
 
 SoYER {J lexis), who died 1858. His 
 epitaph is Soijcr tranqaille. 
 
 Ude. The most learned of modem 
 cooks, author of Science dc G'uciile. It 
 was Ude wlio said, "A cook must be 
 born a cook, he cainiot be Tnade." 
 Another of his sayings is this : " Music, 
 dancing, fencing, painting, and me- 
 chanics possess professors under the age 
 of twenty years, but pre-eminence iu 
 cookery can never be attained luider 
 thirty years of age." Ude was r//^;/' to 
 Louis XIV., then to Lord Sefton, then 
 to the Duke of York, then to Crock- 
 ford's Club. He left Lord Sefton's 
 because on one occasion one of the 
 guests added pejiper to his soup. 
 
 Vatel. At a fete given l)y the great 
 Conde to Louis XIV. at Cautilly the rod 
 at Ihe tweuty-fifth table was wanting. 
 Vatel being told of it exclaimed that 
 he could not survive such a disp-ace. 
 Another messenger then announced that 
 the lobsters for the turbot-sauce had not 
 amved, whereupon Vatel retired to bis 
 room and, leaning his sword against the 
 wall, thrust himself through, and at the 
 third attempt succeeded in killing him- 
 self (1G71). 
 
 Weltje. Cook to George while 
 Prince Regent. 
 
 Cool Card. Yon arc a cool card (or 
 prettji cool card). A person who coolly 
 asks for something preposterous or out- 
 rageous. Card = character, hence a 
 queer card, a rum card, etc. And 
 "cool " in this connection means coolly 
 impudent. 
 
 y Giiford says the phrase means a 
 " cooling-card, or bolas^' ; but this is not 
 likel}', as a cool-card acts generally as 
 an irritant. A person's card of address 
 is given at the door, and represents the 
 pei'son himself, aud this without doubt 
 is the card referred to. 
 
 '• You're a shaky old card ; and you can't lie in 
 love with this 'Lizzie."— />(cAf»s; Our ihitual 
 Fill 11(1, l)Ook iii. chaji. i. ]'. liii'. 
 
 Cool as a Cucumber. Perfectly 
 composed ; neither angry nor agitated 
 in the least. 
 
 Cool Hundred (A) or Cool Thousand 
 (or any other sum) means entire, or the 
 whole of £100. Cool, in this case,
 
 Cool Tankard 
 
 289 
 
 Cophetua 
 
 means not influenced by hot-headed 
 enthusiasm or exaggeration. 
 " I lust a ciiol hiiudred myse\f."— Mackenzie. 
 Cool Tankard (A) or Cool dtp. A 
 drink made of wine and water, with 
 lemon, sugar, and borage; sometimes 
 also slices of cucumber. 
 
 Coon {A) means a racoon, a small 
 American animal valued for its fur. It 
 is about the size of a fox, and lodges in 
 hollow trees. 
 
 A (/one coon. A person in a terrible 
 fix ; one on the verge of ruin. The 
 coon being hunted for its fur is a " gone 
 coon" when it has no escape from its 
 pursuers. It is said that Colonel Crockett 
 was one day out racoon - shooting in 
 North Amei-ica, when he levelled his 
 gun at a tree where an *' old coon " was 
 concealed. Knowing the colonel's 
 prowess, it cried out, in the voice of a 
 man, "Hallo, there! au- you Colonel 
 Crockett? for if you aii', I'll jist come 
 down, or I know I am a gone 'coon." 
 
 V Martin Scott, lieutenant-general of 
 the United States, is said to have had a 
 prior claim to this saying. 
 
 Cooper. Half stout and half porter. 
 Tlie term arises from the practice at 
 breweries of allowing tlie coopers a daily 
 portion of stout and porter. As they do 
 not like to drink porter after stout, they 
 mix the two together. 
 
 Cooper. A coop for wine bottles. 
 The bottles lie in a slanting position in 
 the coop, and may be tninsported in 
 it from place to jjlace. We find allu- 
 sions to "six-bottle coopers" not un- 
 frequently, i.e. coops or cases containing 
 six bottles. Compare " hen-cooj)s," 
 " cooped up," etc. (Latin, ciq)((, a 
 cask; our " cup.") 
 
 ■' (Enter waiter with a cdni'^r of wine.) 
 M'liiter: Six bottles of wine for Corjioval 
 T. i(ld\ . " O'Ketffc : Rogues AU, iii. 4. 
 
 Cooper. Do yon icant a cooper ? 
 1 his question is asked of those who have 
 an order to visit the wine cellars of the 
 London Docks. The "cooper" bores 
 the casks and gives the visitor different 
 wines to taste. 
 
 Cooper's Hill. Xear Kunnymede 
 ami Egham. Both Denham and Poj)e 
 have written in praise of this hill. 
 
 " If I c-in lie to tbee 
 A poet, thou Parnassus art to rue." 
 
 Denliam. 
 
 Coot. A silly old coot. Stupid as a 
 coot. The coot is a small water-fowl. 
 
 Bald (IS a coot. The coot has a strong, 
 straight, and somewhat conical bill, the 
 
 19 
 
 base of which tends to push up the fore- 
 head, and there dilates, so as to form a 
 remarkable naked patch. 
 
 Cop {A). A poHceman. 
 
 Cop {A). A copperhead (5.?'.). 
 
 Cop. To throw, as cop it here. The 
 word iiroperly means to beat or strike, 
 as to cop a shuttlecock or ball with a 
 bat. (Greek, copto, to beat) ; but in 
 Norfolk it means to " hull " or throw. 
 
 Cop ,(^'o). To catch [a fever, etc.]. 
 To "get copped" is to get caught by 
 the police. (Latin, capcre, to take, etc.) 
 A similar change of a into is in cotched 
 (caught). 
 
 " Tlit-y thought I was sleopin', ye know, 
 And they sed as I'd coiiped it o' Jim ; 
 Well, it come like a bit of a blow, 
 For I watched by the deatlibed of him." 
 Sims: Dagonet Ballads (Hie Last Letter). 
 " ' I sliall cut' this to-morrow, . . . ." said the 
 youn^-er man. 'You'll be copped, then,' replied 
 the other.'— r. Terrell: Lady Llelmar. 
 
 Copenhagen. The Didie of Welling- 
 ton's horse, on which he rode in the 
 Battle of Waterloo, "from four in the 
 morning till twelve at night." It was a 
 rich chestnut, lo bands high. It was 
 aftei-wards a pensioner in the paddocks 
 of Sti-athfieldsaye. It died quite blind, 
 in 1835, at the age of twenty-seven, 
 and was buried with miUtary honoiu's. 
 {See HoESE.) 
 
 Copernicanism. The doctrine that 
 the earth moves round the stm, in op- 
 position to the doctrine that the sun 
 moves round the earth ; so called after 
 Nicolas Copernicus, the Prussian as- 
 tronomer. (1473-1543.) 
 
 " Even Bellarniine does not by any means hold 
 the consensus to be decisive against Coperni- 
 canism ; for, in his letter to P. Foscarini, he says 
 that though he does not believe that any proof of 
 the earth's motion can be adduced, yet, should 
 such proof occur, he is quite prepared to change 
 his views as to the meaning of the Scripture 
 text"— Nineteenth Century, May, 1886 (,Tlie Case of 
 Galileo). 
 
 " Whereas it has come to the knowledge of the 
 Holy Congregation that that false Pythagorean 
 doctrine altogether opposed to Holy Scripture, 
 on the mobility of the earth and the immobility 
 
 of the sun, taught by Nicholas Copernicus 
 
 This congregation has decreed that the said book 
 of Copernicus be suspended until it be corrected." 
 —Deeree of tUeH. Congregation of the Index, A.D. 
 1616. (Quoted in the Nineteenth Century, as above.) 
 
 Copes'mate (2 syl.). A companion. 
 " Copesmate of ugly night" {Rape of 
 Lncrcce), a mate who copes with j'ou. 
 
 Cophet'ua. An imaginary king of 
 Africa, of great wealth, who " disdained 
 all womankind." One day he saw a 
 beggar-girl from his window, and fell in 
 love with her. He asked her name ; it 
 was Penel'ophon, called by Shakes^Dcare 
 Xenel'ophon {Loce^s Labour'' s Lost, iv. 1).
 
 Copper 
 
 2W 
 
 Coq-a-rS,rie 
 
 They lived together long and happily, 
 
 and at death were universally lamented. 
 
 {Percifs Iteliqites, book ii. G.) 
 
 " King C'oplietua loved tlie beffKar-inaid." 
 
 Slial:e.'<pcarc : Itainco and Juliet, ii. 1. 
 
 Copper (yl). A policeman. Said to 
 he so called from the copper badge which 
 Fernando Wood, of New York, appointed 
 them to wear ; but more likely a variant 
 of "cop " {q.v.). 
 
 " There weie nies of ' Coppers, Coppers 1 ' in the 
 yard, and then a violent struggle Who- 
 ever it was that was wanted had heen evidently 
 secured and dragged off to gaol."— T. TerrtlU Lady 
 Delmitr, 1. 
 
 Copper was by the ancient alchemists 
 called Venus ; gold, symbol of Apollo 
 (the sun) ; silver, of Diana (the moon) ; 
 iron, of Mars ; quicksilver, of Mercury ; 
 tin, of Jupiter ; and lead, of Saturn. 
 
 Copper. Give its a copper, i.e. a piece 
 of copper money. / haie no coppers — 
 no ha'pence. 
 
 Copper Captain (.7). A Brummagem 
 captain ; a " (jencral von Poffenburgh." 
 Michael Perez is so called in lin/e a 
 Wife and have a Wife, by Beaumont and 
 Fletcher. 
 
 "Totliis copper-captain was confided the com- 
 mand of the troops."—)!'. Irvinfl. 
 
 Copper Nose. Oliver Cromwell ; 
 
 also called " Kiihy Nose," "Nosey," 
 and "Nose Almighty," no doubt from 
 some scorbutic tendency which showed 
 itself in a big red nose. 
 
 Copper-nosed Harry. Henry VIII. 
 When Henry VIII. had spent all the 
 money left him by his miserly father, he 
 minted an inferior silver coin, in which 
 the cojjper alloy soon showed itself on 
 the more prominent parts, especially the 
 nose of the face ; and hence the people 
 soon called the king " Old Copper-nose." 
 
 Copperheads. Secret foes. Copper- 
 heads are poisonous serpents of America 
 that give no warning, like rattlesnakes, 
 of their attack. In the great Civil War 
 of the United States the term was ap- 
 jjlied by the Federals to the peace party, 
 sujiposed to be the covert friends of the 
 Confederates. 
 
 Cop'ple. The hen killed by Eeynard, 
 in the tale of Jici/i/ard the Fox. 
 
 Copronymus. So Constantine V. 
 wassuruamed (718, 7-ll-77o). "Kopros" 
 is the Greek for dung, and Constantine 
 V. was called Copronymus: " Farce qii^il 
 salit les fonts baptismaitx lorsqiti'on le 
 baptisait.'''' 
 
 Copts. The Jacobite Christians of 
 Egypt, who have for eleven centuries 
 
 been in possession of the patriarchal 
 chair of Alexandria. The word is prob- 
 ably derived from Co])tos, the metro- 
 polis of the Theba'id. These Christians 
 conduct their worshii) in a dead language 
 called " Coptic " (language of the Copts). 
 '"The Copts [of Ei-'ypt] circumcise, confess to 
 their priests, and abstain from swine's Itesb. They 
 are Jacobites in their creed."— 6'. 0/i« ; Travels in 
 Haypt (vol. i. chap. viii. p. ion). 
 
 Co'pus. A drink made of beer, wine, 
 and spice heated together, and served in 
 a "loving-cup." Dog-Latin for f7//;t7/i'(;/ 
 Hippoe' rutis (a cup of hippocras). 
 
 Copy, That's a mere cop;/ of tjottr 
 countenance. Not your real wish or 
 meaning, but merely one you choose to 
 present to me. 
 
 Copji is a printer's term both for ori- 
 ginal MS. and printed matter that is to be 
 set u\) in tyjie. 
 
 Copyhold Estate. Land which a 
 tenant holds [or rather, held] without 
 any deed of transfer in his own posses- 
 sion. His only document is a co])y of 
 the roll made liy the steward of the 
 manor from the court-roll kept in the 
 manor-house. 
 
 " Tlie villein took aii'oath of fealty to his lord 
 fi>r the cottage and land which he enjoycil frmn 
 liis bounty. . . . These tenements were suffered 
 to descen<l to their children. . . aiul thus llic 
 tenure of coiiyhold was established."— ii/iyioii . 
 EiigliiufI tvol. li. chap. i. p. l'7, note). 
 
 Copyright. The law of copj'right 
 was made in 1814 (54 Geo. III. c. 156). 
 It enacted that an author should possess 
 a right in his work for life, or for twenty- 
 eight years. If he died before the 
 expiration of twenty-eight years, the 
 residue of the right jiassed to the heirs. 
 
 By Talfourd's or Lord Mahon's Act 
 (1842) the time was extended to forty- 
 two years, and at least seven years after 
 decease : for example, if the time unex- 
 pired exceeds seven years, the heirs 
 enjoy the residue ; if less, the heirs 
 claim seven years. 
 
 V In the tirst case eleven copies of the 
 work had to be given for public use ; by 
 Lord Mahon's Act the nimiber was 
 reduced to five: i.e. one to each of the 
 following institutions, viz. the British 
 Museum, the Bodleian (Oxford), the 
 University library (Cambridge), the Ad- 
 vocates' library (Edinburgh), and the 
 library of Trinity College (Dublin). 
 
 The six omitted are Siou College, the Scotch 
 "Universities of Glasgow, Alierdeeu, and 8t. 
 Andrews, and King's Inn (Dublin). 
 
 Coq-^-l'ane. A cock-and-bull story ; 
 idle nonsense, as " II fait tonjoiirs des 
 coq-d-rdiie^' — he is always doing silly 
 things, or talking rubbish.
 
 Corah 
 
 291 
 
 Cordeliers 
 
 Tl m''a rejjondu par itn coq-a-Vdne — 
 His reply was nothing to the purpose. 
 
 Co'rah, in Dryden's satire of Absalom 
 and Achitophcl, is meant for Dr. Titus 
 Gates (Numbers xvi.). North describes 
 him as a short man, extremely ugly : if 
 his mouth is taken for the centre, his 
 chhi, forehead, and cheek-bones would 
 fall in the circumference. 
 
 " Sunk were his eyes, his voice was harsh and 
 
 loud ; 
 Sure signs lie neither choleric was, nor proud ; 
 His long chin proved his wit ; his saint-like 
 
 grace 
 A church vermilion, and a Moses' face. 
 His memory, miraculously great, 
 Could plots, exceeding man's belief, repea 
 
 Dryden: Absalom and AchitopUcl,i. l>4()-51. 
 
 Coral Beads. The Romans used to 
 hang boads of red coral on the cradles 
 and round the neck of infants, to " pi-e- 
 serve and fasten their teeth," and save 
 them from " the falling sickness." It 
 was considered by soothsayers as a 
 charm against lightning, whirlwind, 
 shipwreck, and fire. Paracelsus says it 
 should be worn round the neck of chil- 
 dren as a preservative " against fits, 
 sorcery, charms, and poison." The coral 
 bells are a Roman Catholic addition, the 
 object being to frighten away evil spirits 
 by their jingle. 
 
 " Coral is good to lie hanged almut the neck of 
 children ... to preserve them fnim the fallini.' 
 sickness. It has also scmie special sympathy witli 
 nature, f(ir the best cural . . . will turn pale ami 
 wan if the party that weais it be sick, and it 
 conies to its former colour again as they recover." 
 —Phit : Jewel-Bouse of Art and Nature. 
 
 Cor'al Master. A juggler. So 
 called by the Spaniards. In ancient 
 times the juggler, when he threw off his 
 mantle, appeared in a tight scarlet or 
 coral dress. 
 
 Coram Judice (Latin). Under con- 
 sideration ; still before the judge. 
 
 Cor'anach, or Coeoxach. Lamenta- 
 tion for the dead, as anciently j^ractised 
 in Ireland and Celtic Scotland. (Gaelic, 
 comh rrt«ff;f A, crying together.) Pennant 
 says it was called by the Irish h ululoo. 
 
 Cor'bant. The rook, in the tale of 
 Reynard the Fox. (Latm, corvits; French, 
 corbeau.) Heinrich von Alkmar. 
 
 CorbeauK. Bearers, i.e. persons who 
 carry the dead to the grave ; mutes, etc. 
 So called from the corbiUards, or coches 
 d'eau, which went from Paris to Corbeil 
 with the dead bodies of those who died 
 in the 16th century of a fatal epidemic. 
 
 " J'ai lu quelque part que ce coche [the Corbil- 
 lard] servit, sous Henri iv., a transporter des 
 
 morts, victimes d'une epidemie de Paris a Corbeil. 
 Le nora de Corbillard resta, depuis aux voitures 
 funebres."— ^?/. Bonnardot. 
 
 Corceca [Blind-heart']. Superstition 
 is so named in Spenser's Faerie Queene. 
 Abessa tried to make her imderstand 
 that danger was at hand, but, being 
 blind, she was dull of comprehension. 
 At length she was induced to shut her 
 door, and when Una knocked would 
 give no answer. Then the lion broke 
 down the door, and both entered. The 
 meaning is that England, the lion, broke 
 down the door of Superstition at the 
 Reformation. Corceca means Romanism 
 in England. (Book i. 3.) 
 
 Corcyre'an Sedition {The), b.c. 479. 
 Corcyra was a colony of Corinth, but in 
 the year of the famous Battle of Platsea 
 revolted from the mother country and 
 foiTued an alliance with the Athenians. 
 The Corinthians made war on the colony 
 and took 1,000 prisoners ; of these 250 
 were men of position, who promised as 
 the price of liberty to bring back the 
 CorcjTeans to the mother country. This 
 was the cause of the sedition. The 
 250 returned captives represented the 
 oligarchical party ; their opponents re- 
 presented the democratic element. The 
 latter prevailed, but it would be diflficult 
 to parallel the treachery and brutality of 
 the whole affair. (Thueiididcs, hook. \y. 
 46, 48.) 
 
 Cordelia. The youngest of Lear's 
 three daughters, and the only one that 
 loved him. {Shakenpeare : Jiin// Lear.) 
 
 Cordelia's Gift. A " voice ever soft, 
 gentle, and low ; an excellent thing in 
 woman." {Shakespeare : King Lear, v. 3.) 
 
 "It is her voice that he hears prevailing over 
 the those [s(c] of the rest of the company, . . . 
 for she has not Cordelia's siil."—Miss Broughtun : 
 Dr. Cupid. 
 
 Cordeliers, i.e. "cord -wearers," 
 1215. A religious order of the Minor 
 Brothers of St. Francis Assisi. They 
 wore a large grey cloth vestment, girt 
 about the loins with a rope or corrl. It 
 was one of the mendicant orders, not 
 allowed to possess any property at all ; 
 even their daily food was a gift of 
 charity. The Cordeliers distinguished 
 themselves in j)hilosophy and theology. 
 Duns Scotus was one of their most dis- 
 tinguished members. 
 
 The tale is that in the reign of St. 
 Louis these Minorites repulsed an ai-my 
 of infidels, and the king asked who those 
 ffens de cordelies (corded people) were. 
 From this they received their appella- 
 tion.
 
 Cordeliers 
 
 202 
 
 Corinth 
 
 Cordeliers {The), 1790. A French 
 political club iu the Great Revolution. 
 It held its meetings in the " Convent 
 dcs Cordeliers," which was in the " Place 
 de I'Ecole de Me'decine." The Cordeliers 
 were the livals of the Jacobins, and 
 numbered among its members Pare (the 
 president), Danton, Marat, Camille 
 Desmoulins, Hebert, Chaumette, I)u- 
 fouruoy de Vilhers, Fabro d'Eglautiue 
 (a journalist), and others. The Chib of 
 the Cordeliers was far in advance of the 
 Jacobins, being the first to demand the 
 abolition of the monarchy and the estab- 
 lishment of a commonwealth instead. 
 Its leaders were put to death between 
 March 24 th and April oth, 1794. 
 
 Tliis rliil) was iiicknanietl " The Paiidcnin- 
 iiiiiiii," and Danton was called tlie " Arclillond." 
 When Hailly. f lio mayiir, locked tlieni out of their 
 hall in IT'.il, tlicy met in the Tennis Court (Paris), 
 ami ihaii'-rrd ilicir name into the "Society of the 
 HiL'lils nf Man"; hut they are hest known by 
 their original aiu'ellation. 
 
 Cordon {The), in fortification, is the 
 flat stone covering of the revetment (y. v.), 
 to protect the masonry from the rain. 
 
 Cordon {I'li f/raiid). A member of 
 the L('f/i(i// (V JlojiiK itr. The cross is 
 attached to a ijniiid (broad) ribbon. 
 
 Cordon Bleu {Un) (French). A 
 kniglit of the ancient order of the St. 
 I'sprit (Holy Ghost) ; so called because 
 the decoration is suspended on a blue 
 ribbon. It was at one time the highest 
 order in the kingdom. 
 
 Vii repas do cordon him. A well- 
 cooked and well-appointed dinner. The 
 commandeur de Souve, Comte d'Olonne, 
 and some others, who were-cordons bleus 
 (»'.<*. knights of St. Esprit), met togetlier 
 as a sort of club, and were noted for 
 their excellent diimers. Hence, when 
 anyone had dined well he said, ^'' Bicn, 
 c\-st nil. vvdi rc])a!< de cordon Jilcu.'''' 
 
 Une Cordon Bleu. A facetious compli- 
 ment to a good female cook. The play 
 is between cordon bleu, and the blue 
 ribbons or strings of some favourite cook. 
 
 Cordon Noir ( I'u) . A knight of the 
 Order of St. Michael, distinguished by a 
 black ribbon. 
 
 Cordon Rouge {Vn) (French). A 
 chevalier of the Order of St. Louis, the 
 decoration being suspended on a red 
 ribbon. 
 
 Corduroy'. A corded fabric, origi- 
 nally made of silk, and worn by the 
 kings of France in the chase. (French, 
 
 cord du roy.) 
 
 Corduroy Road. A term applied to 
 
 roads in the backwoods and swampy 
 districts of the United States of America, 
 formed of the halves of trees sawn in 
 two longitudinally, and laid transversely 
 across tlie track. A road thus made 
 presents a ribbed appearance, like the 
 cloth called corduroy. 
 
 " liook well to your seat, 'tis like taking an airing 
 On a corduroy road, and that out of repairint?. 
 Lovcll : Fable/or Critics, stanza i. 
 
 Cord'wainer. Not a twister of cord, 
 but a worker iu leather. Our word is 
 the French cordonannicr (a maker or 
 worker of cordouan) ; the former a cor- 
 ru2)tion of Cordova nicr (a worker in Cor'- 
 dovan leather). 
 
 Corea (T/ic). The dancing mania, 
 which iu 1800 appeared in Tennessee, 
 Kentucky, and Virginia. The usual 
 manifestations were laughing, shouting, 
 dancing, and convulsions. (Latin c/iorSn, 
 a dance where many dance simultane- 
 ously.) 
 
 Corflam'bo. The impersonation of 
 sensual passion iu Spenser's Faerie 
 Qtieoie. (Book iv. 8.) 
 
 Cori'neus (3 syl.). A mythical hero 
 in the suite of Brute, who conquered the 
 giant Gocni'agot, for which achievement 
 the whole western horn of England was 
 allotted him. He called it Coriu'ea, and 
 tlie people Corin'eans, from his own name. 
 
 " In meed of these gi'eat conciuests hy them Kot, 
 Corineiis had that lJro^ ince utmost west 
 To him assyncd for his worthy lot, 
 
 Which of his name and memorable gest, 
 He.alkd Cinnvall." 
 
 Si'ni^ry : Faerie Quernc, ii. 10. 
 
 Corinnus. A Greek poet before the 
 time of Homer. He wrote in heroic 
 verse the Siege of Troy, and it is said 
 that Homer is considerably indebted to 
 liim. (Suidas.) 
 
 Corinth. A'o« cniris hotnini continyit 
 adirc Corint/iniii (It falls not to every 
 man's lot to go to Corinth). GeUitis, in 
 his Xoctcs Atticec, i. 8, says that Horace 
 refers to Lais, a courtesan of Corinth, 
 who sold her favoui-s at so high a price 
 that not everyone coidd afford to pur- 
 chase them ; but this most certainly is 
 not the meaning that Horace intended. 
 He says, " To please princes is no little 
 praise, for it falls not to every man's 
 lot to go to Corinth." That is, it is as 
 hard to please princes as it is to enter 
 Corinth, situated between two seas, and 
 hence called BimSris Corinthus. (1 Odes, 
 vii. line 2.) 
 
 *,* Still, without doubt, the proverb 
 was applied as Aldus Gellius says : ' ' The 
 courtesans of Corinth are not every 
 man's money." Demosthenes telk us
 
 Corinth 
 
 293 
 
 Corneille d'Esope 
 
 that Lais sold her favours for 10,000 
 [Attic] drachmJE (about £;J00), and adds 
 taiiti lion ciiio 'paniterc. ^ ^{Horace : 
 1 Epistles, xvii. line 3G.) 
 
 Corinth. Thar is but one roinllhat leads 
 to ('ii)-iiith. Tliere is only one right way 
 of doing anything.' The Bible tells us 
 that the way of evil is broad, because of 
 its many tracks ; but the way of life is 
 narrow, because it has only one single 
 foot23ath. 
 
 " All iillier wavs :\ro wruHL'. all ntlier '--luilcs are 
 false. Urnif my ilitflcult.v :— the luiiiiber ami 
 \aiiet.v of rlit' ways. Furyini know. 'There is hut 
 line ri.ail tliat leads tii t'uriutb.' "— i'«ftc : Muiius 
 the A>(<-HjV(()i, fliai). I'-l. 
 
 Corinth's Pedagogue. Dionys'ios 
 the younger, on being banished a second 
 time from Syracuse, went to Corinth and 
 became schoolmaster. He is called Di- 
 on j-sios the tyrant. Hence Lord Bj'ron 
 says of Napoleon — 
 
 " Cnrintirs iieda'-'ogue liatlj miw 
 Transfeireil bis liy-win-d to thy liiow." 
 
 Ode to SKpoleiiu, stanza \iv. 
 
 Corin'thian {A). A licentious liber- 
 tine. The immorality of Corinth was 
 proverbial both in Greece and Rome. To 
 (.'oriii't/iiaiiise is to indulge in licentious 
 conduct. A gentleman sportsman who 
 rides his own horses on the turf, or sails 
 his own yacht. 
 
 A ('(ir'nithian. A member of the 
 pugilistic club. Bond Street, London. 
 
 Corinthian Brass. A mixed metal 
 made by a variety of metals melted at 
 the conflagration of Coriutli in B.C. 146, 
 when the city was burnt to the ground 
 by the consul Mummius. Vases and 
 other ornaments were made by tlie 
 Romans of this metal, of greater value 
 than if they had been made of silver or 
 gold. 
 
 The HnriL'-hee vases (U2r,) of China were iiiade 
 (if a simil.ir n^ixed metal when the Imiierial 
 Iialacc was hiirnt to the ground. These vessels 
 ai-e of priceless value. 
 
 " I think it may he of Corinthian brass, 
 Which was a mixture of all metals, hut 
 The brazen uppermost." 
 
 JJlirun : Dun Juan, vi. .50. 
 
 Corin'thian Order. The most richly 
 decorated of tlic five orders of Greek 
 architecture. The shaft is fluted, and 
 the cajiital adorned with acanthus leaves. 
 
 {■'^ee Acanthus.) 
 
 Corinthian Tom. The sporting rake 
 in Pierce Egan's Life in London. A 
 "Corinthian" was the "fast man" of 
 Shakespeare's period. 
 
 " I am no proud Jack, like Falstaff : lint a Co- 
 rinthian, a lad of mettle, a good hoy."— 67iaie- 
 speiire: \ Henry IV., \\. 4. 
 
 Corinthian War {The), b.c. 395-387. 
 A suicidal contention between the Co- 
 rinthians and the Lacedemonians. The 
 
 allies of Corinth were Athens, Thebes, 
 and Argos. The only battle of note 
 was that of Coronea won by the Lacede- 
 monians. Both the contending parties, 
 utterly exhausted, agreed to the arbi- 
 tration of Ai'taxerxes, and signed what 
 is called The Peace of Antalkidas. 
 
 Xiit Ic.iiL' after this destructive contest Epanr. 
 uondas and I'l-lopidas (Thehan generals) won the 
 battle of l.iucira (li.c. 371), fnnn which defeat 
 the Laceilenuinians never recovered. 
 
 Corked. This irine is corlce'.l — i.e. 
 tastes of tlie cork. 
 
 Corker or Calker. The nail in a 
 horse's shoe to prevent slipping in frosty 
 weather. (Latin, ealx.) 
 
 Corking-pins. Pius at one time used 
 bj- ladies to keej) curls on the forehead 
 fixed and in trim. 
 
 Cor'moran'. The Cornish giant who 
 fell into a i)it twenty feet deep, dug by 
 Jack the Giant-killer, and filmed over 
 with grass and gravel. The name means 
 cormorant or great eater. For this 
 doughty achievement Jack received a 
 belt from King Arthur, with this inscrip- 
 tion — 
 
 " This is the valiant Cornish man 
 That slew the giant Cormoran." 
 
 Jack the Giatd-UiUer. 
 
 Corn ... Horn. Vp corn, doivn horn. 
 When corn is high or dear, beef is down 
 or cheap, because persons have less 
 money to spend on meat. 
 
 Corn in Egypt (Therc\'<). Tltere is 
 abundance ; tliere is a plentiful supply. 
 Of course, the reference is to the Bible 
 story of Joseph in Egj-pt. 
 
 Corn - Law Rhymer. Ebenezer 
 Elliot, who wrote jihilijipics against the 
 com laws (1781-1849). 
 
 " Is not the corn-law rhymer alreadv a king?" 
 —Corlyle. 
 
 Cornstalks. In Australia and the 
 United States, youths of colonial birtli 
 are so called from being generally botli 
 taller and more slender than their 
 parents. 
 
 Corns. To tread on one's corns. To 
 irritate one's prejudices ; to annoy 
 another by disregard to his pet opinions 
 or habits. 
 
 Cor'nage (2 syl.), horn-service. A 
 kiud of tenure in grand serjeanty. The 
 service required was to blow a horn 
 when an j^ invasion of the Scots was per- 
 ceived. " Comagium " was money paid 
 instead of the old serAdce. 
 
 Corneille du Boulevard. Guilbert 
 de Pixerccourt (1773-1844). 
 
 Corneille d'Esope {La). Motley 
 work. " C^est la corneille d'Esojie,''^
 
 Cornel' 
 
 294 
 
 Coronation Chair 
 
 The allusion is to the fable of the Jack- 
 daw which decked itself with the jilu- 
 iiiage of the peacocks. The jackdaw 
 not only lost its borrowed plumes, but 
 got picked well-nigh to death by the 
 angiy peacocks. 
 
 Corner (A). The condition of the 
 market with resjiect to a commodity 
 which has been largely bought up, in 
 order to create a virtual monopoly and 
 enhance its market price ; as a salt- 
 corner, a corner in jjork, etc. The idea 
 is that the goods are piled and hidden in 
 a corner out of sight. 
 
 " Tlie in-icc (if lirciiil rose likea rocket, ami spec- 
 iilatdi-s wished ici i-nnit'r what little wheat there 
 was."— A"((C Yoiic Wi'iiclji Times (.Juni' I.S, Ix'M). 
 
 Corner. Drircn into a corner. Placed 
 ■wliero there is no escape ; dri\'en from 
 all subterfuges and excuses. 
 
 Corner {The). Tattersall's horse- 
 stores and betting-rooms, Knightsbridge 
 Green. They were once at tlie corner of 
 Hyde Park. 
 
 'To make a cor)ier. To combine in 
 order to control the price of a given 
 article, and thus secure enoiTnous profits. 
 
 {Sec COENEE.) 
 
 What hare I done to deserre a corner ? 
 To deserve punishment. The allusion is 
 to setting naughty children in a corner 
 by way of punisliment. 
 
 ''There's iiothiiis' I have dciiie jet, o' my eoii- 
 seience, 
 Deserves a ciirnei'." 
 
 ShnI.espearc : Hciiyii Vllf., iii. 1. 
 
 Corner-Stone (77; <). The cliief corner- 
 stone. A large stone laid at the base of 
 a building to strengthen -the two walls 
 forming a right angle. These stones in 
 some ancient buildings were as much as 
 twenty feet long and eight feet thick. 
 Christ is called (in Eph. ii. 20) the chief 
 corner-stone because He united the Jews 
 and Gentiles into one family. Daughters 
 are called corner-stones (Psalm cliv. 12) 
 because, as -wives and mothers, they 
 unite together two families. In argu- 
 ment, the minor premise is the chief 
 corner-stone. 
 
 Cornet. TIte terrible cornet of horse. 
 William Pitt, first Earl of Chatham 
 (1708-1778). His son William was "the 
 pilot that weathered the storm" (mean- 
 ing the French Revolution and Napo- 
 leon) . 
 
 Cornette. Porter la cornette. To be 
 domineered over by the woman of the 
 house ; to be a Jerry Sneak. The cor- 
 nette is the mob-cajj anciently worn by 
 the women of France. Porter les calottes 
 (to wear the breeches) is the same idea ; 
 
 only it shows who has the mastery, and 
 not who is mastered. In the latter case 
 it means the woman wears the dress of 
 the man, and assumes his position in t4ie 
 house. Probably our expression about 
 ''wearing the horns" may be referred 
 to the "cornette" rather than to the 
 stag or deer. 
 
 Corn 'grate (2 syl.). A term given 
 in Wiltshii'e to the soil in the north- 
 western border, consisting of an irregu- 
 lar mass of loose gravel, sand, and 
 limestone. 
 
 Cornish Hug. A hug to overflirow 
 j'ou. The Cornish men were famous 
 wrestlers, and tried to throttle their 
 tintagonist with a particular grip or em- 
 brace called the Cornish hug. 
 
 Cornish Language was virtually 
 extinct l.')0 years ago. Doll Pentreath, 
 the last person who could speak it, 
 died, at the age of ninety-one, in 1777. 
 {Xotes and Qaerics.) 
 
 Cornish Names. 
 
 Thus, Tre [a town] gives Trefry, Tre- 
 gengon, Tregony, Tregothuan, Trelawy, 
 Trenmyne, Trevannion, Treveddoe, Tre- 
 withen, etc. 
 
 I'ol [a head] gives Polkerris Point, 
 Polperro, Polwheel, etc. 
 
 J'en [a top] gives Penkevil, Peurice, 
 Penrose, Pentire, etc. 
 
 Cornish Wonder (The). John Oijie, 
 of Cornwall, the painter. (1761-1807.) 
 
 Cornubian Shore {The). Cornwall, 
 famous for its tin mines. 
 "... fiMiii the Meak Ciirnubian shore 
 
 Dispeiise the iiiiueral treasure, w hicb of old 
 
 Sidouian pilots sought." 
 
 Akenside: Eymn to the Naiads. 
 
 Cornu-co'pla. {See Amalth.s:a's 
 
 HOEN.) 
 
 Cornwall. {See Baeey, Coeineus.) 
 Cor'onach. {See Coeanach.) 
 
 Coronation Chair consists of a stone 
 so enclosed as to form a chair. 
 
 It was i^robably the stone on which 
 the kings of Ireland were inaugurated 
 on the hill of Tara. It was removed by 
 Fergus, son of Eric, to Argyleshire, and 
 thence by King Kenneth (in the ninth 
 century) to Scone, where it was enclosed 
 in a wooden chair. Edward I. trans- 
 ferred it to Westminster. 
 
 The monkish legend says that it was 
 the very stone which formed "Jacob's 
 pillow." 
 
 The tradition is, ' ' Wherever this stone
 
 Coroner 
 
 29.: 
 
 Cortina 
 
 is found, there will reign some of the 
 Scotch race of kings." {See Scone.) 
 
 Cor'oner means properly the crown- 
 officer. In Saxon times it was his duty 
 to collect the Crown revenues ; next, to 
 take charge of Crown ^jleas ; but at 
 present to uj)hold the ijaternal solicitude 
 of the Crown by searching into all cases 
 of sudden or suspicious death. (Vulgo, 
 croiciwr ; Latin, coro'na, the crown.) 
 
 " But is this law? 
 Ay, iii;irr.v, ist : orowner's iiuest law." 
 
 Slialcespeare : Hamlet, v. 1. 
 
 Cor'onet. A crown inferior to the 
 roj-al crowni. A duke's coronet is 
 adorned with strawberry leaves above 
 the band ; that of a marquis with straw- 
 berry leaves alternating with pearls ; 
 that of an earl has pearls elevated on 
 stalks, alternating with leaves above the 
 band; that of a viscount has a string of 
 pearls above the band, but no leaves ; 
 tliat of a haron has only six pearls. 
 
 Coro'nis. Daughter of a King of 
 Pho'cis, changed by Athe'na into a 
 crow. There was another Coro'nis, loved 
 bv AjjoUo, and IdUed by him for infi- 
 delity. 
 
 Corporal Violet. {See Violet.) 
 
 Corporation. A large paunch. 
 
 A municipal corporation is a body of 
 men elected for the local government of 
 a city or town. 
 
 Corps de Garde (French). The 
 company of men appointed to watch in 
 a guard-room ; the guard-room. 
 
 Corps Diplomatique (French). A 
 diplomatic body [of men]. 
 
 Corps Legislatif (French). The 
 lower house of the French legislature. 
 The first assemblj^ so called was when 
 Napoleon I. substituted a cori)s legislatif 
 and a tribunal for the two councils of 
 the Directory, Dec. 24, 1799. The next 
 was the corps kfiisladf and conseil cVetat 
 of 1807. The third was the corps legis- 
 latif oi 7.50 deputies of 1849. The legis- 
 lative power under Napoleon III. was 
 vested in the Emperor, the senate, and 
 the corps legislatif. (18-52.) 
 
 Corpse Candle. The ignis fatuits 
 is so called by the Welsh because it was 
 supposed to forbode death, and to show 
 the road that the corjjse would take. 
 Also a large candle used at lich wakes — 
 i.e. watching a corpse before interment. 
 (German Iciche, a corpse.) 
 
 Corpus Christi [I'odg of C/irisf]. A 
 festival of the Chui'ch, "kept on the 
 
 first Thursday after Trinity Sunday, in 
 honom- of the eucharist. There' are 
 colleges both at Cambridge and Oxford 
 so named. 
 
 Corpus Delicti (Latin). The funda- 
 mental fact that a crime has really been 
 committed; thus finding a murdered 
 body is "corpus delicti " that a murder 
 has been committed by someone. 
 
 Corpuscular Philosophy, promul- 
 gated by Robert Boyle. It accounts for 
 all natural phenomena by the position 
 and motion of corpuscles. {See Atomic 
 Philosophy. ) 
 
 Corrector. {See Alexander the 
 
 COERECTOE.) 
 
 Corre'ggio. T/ie Corre'ggio of sculp, 
 tors. Jean Goujon, who was slain in 
 the massacre of St. Bartholomew. (1.510- 
 1.572.) 
 
 Corrob'oree. An Australian war- 
 dance. 
 
 '■ He roared, stamiied, and danced c{)rri)I)nree, 
 like an.v black feliow ."—Khigsley : Watcr-Uubies, 
 cliap. viii. p. 3iifi. 
 
 Corrouge. The sword of Sir Ot'uel 
 in mediaeval romance. {See Sword.) 
 
 Corrugated Iron. Sheet iron coated 
 with zinc. It is called coiTugated or 
 wrinkled because the sheet is made wavy 
 by the rollers between wliich it is made 
 to pass. 
 
 Corruptic'olae. A sect of heretics 
 of the sixth century, who maintained 
 that Jesus Christ was corruptible. 
 
 Corruption of Blood. Loss of title 
 and entailed estates in consequence of 
 treason, by which a man's blood is 
 attainted and his issue suffers. 
 
 Corsair' 7neaus properly "one who 
 gives chase." AjJijlied to the pirates of 
 the northern coast of Africa. (Italian 
 corso, a chase ; French corsairc ; Latin 
 cnrsus.) 
 
 Cors'ned means the " cursed mouth- 
 ful." It was a piece of bread " conse- 
 crated for exorcism," and given to a 
 person to swallow as a test of his guilt. 
 The words of " consecration " were, 
 ' ' May this morsel cause convulsions and 
 find no passage if the accused is guilty, 
 but turn to wholesome nourishment if 
 he is innocent." (Saxon, corse, curse; 
 snad, mouthful.) {See Choke.) 
 
 Cor'tes (2 syl.). The Spanish or 
 Portuguese parliament. The word means 
 
 " court officers." 
 
 Corti'na. The skin of the serpent 
 Pytho, which covered the tripod of
 
 Corvinus 
 
 29r, 
 
 Coterie 
 
 the Pythoness when she delivered her 
 oracles. ' ' Tripodas cortiua tegit ' ' (Pr/i- 
 dcntius : Apopltthcf/ntata, o06) ; also the 
 tripod itself, or the place wliere the oracle 
 was delivered. ( Virgil : JEiiehl, vi. 34o.) 
 *' Ncque te Phoebi cortina fefellit." 
 
 Corvi'nus [(( raroi']. Ja'nos Him'j'ady, 
 Governor of Huugarj'', is so called from 
 the raven on his shield. 
 
 Therewere two Romans so called — viz. 
 Vale'rius Max'imus Cor\'i'nus Messa'la, 
 and Vale'rius Messa'la Corvi'nus. 
 
 Marcus Vale'rius was so called be- 
 cause, in a single combat'with a gigantic 
 Gaul during the Gallic war, a raven flew 
 into the Gaul's face and so harassed him 
 that he could neither defend himself nor 
 attack his adversarj-. 
 
 Corybantic Religion. An expres- 
 sion ajiplied liy Prof. Huxley to the 
 Salvation Army and its methods. The 
 rowdy processions of the Salvation Army 
 (especially at Eastbourne, 1891), re- 
 sembling the wild ravings of the ancient 
 Corybantes, or devotees of Bacchus, 
 more than sober, religious functions^ 
 have given colour to the new word. 
 
 Corycian Cave {Tlic), on Mount 
 Parnassus ; so called from the nj-mpli 
 Corycia. The Muses are sometimes called 
 Corycides (4 syl.). 
 
 " Tlie immortal Muse 
 To your calm liabitatinns, to the cave 
 Corycian . . . will guide his footsteps." 
 
 Aluiiiiidv : Hymn to the Xaiuds. 
 
 Corycian Nymphs (T/w). The 
 Muses. {Sec above.) 
 
 Cor'ydon. A swain ; ' a brainless, 
 love-sick spooney. It is one of the 
 shepherds in Virgil's eclogues. 
 
 Coryphse'us (T/w) or " Corypheus." 
 The leader and speaker of the chorus in 
 Greek dramas. In modern English it is 
 used to designate the chief sjDeaker and 
 most active member of a board, company, 
 or expedition. 
 
 Corypbseus of German Literature 
 
 {The). Goethe, "prince of German 
 poets" (1749-1812). 
 
 " The Polish poet called ui>on .... the great 
 CoryphKus of Genuan literature."— See iVofes and 
 Queries, 27th April, 1878. 
 
 Coryphaeus of Grammarians. 
 
 Aristarchos of Sam'othrace. A cory- 
 phaeus was the leader of the Greek 
 chorus ; hence tlie chief of a department 
 in any of the sciences or fine arts. Aris- 
 tarchos, in the second century B.C., was 
 the chief or prince of grammarians. 
 (Greek, koriqihaios, leader.) 
 
 Coryph6e. A ballet-dancer. {Sec 
 preccditKj column.) 
 
 Cosa (plu. Cosas). A theoretic specu- 
 lation ; a literary fancy ; a whim of the 
 brain {Ii/ditii/). 
 
 Cos'miel (3 syl.). The genius of the 
 world. He gave Theodidac'tus a boat 
 of asbestos, in which he .sailed to the 
 sun and ])lancts. {Kirchcr : lustat'tc 
 Jounuij III lliarcii.) 
 
 Cosmop olite (4 syl.). A citizen of 
 the world. One who has no partiality 
 to any one country as his abiding- 
 place ; one who looks on the whole world 
 with " an equal ej-e." (Greek, cosnion- 
 po/i'/cn.) 
 
 Cos'set. A house pet. Applied to a 
 pet lamb brought up in the house ; any 
 pet. (Anglo-Saxon, cot-scat, cottage- 
 dweller; German, kossat.) 
 
 Cos'tard. A clown in Zorr'.v Labour''s 
 Lost (Shakespeare), who apes the court 
 wit of Queen Elizabeth's time, but mis- 
 applies and miscalls like Mrs. Malaprop 
 or Master Dogberr}\ 
 
 Costard. A large apple, and, meta- 
 phoricallj^ a man's head. (Sec Costee- 
 
 MONOER.) 
 
 "T.ikc hiui over the costard with the hilts of 
 thy ■:'\\iivi.\."—Hhaliesi>eare: Richard III., i.4. 
 
 Cos'termonger. A seller of eatables 
 about the streets, projierly an ajjple- 
 seller (from costard, a sort of api)le, and 
 monger, "a trader;" finxon, iiiaiif/ian, 
 ' ' to trade " ) , a word still retained in iron- 
 monger, cheese-monger, fish-monger, 
 news-monger, fell-monger, etc. 
 
 " Her father was an Irish costarmonBor." 
 
 B.Jouson: The Alchemist, i\\ 1.' 
 
 Cote-hardi. A tight-fitting tunic 
 buttoned down the front. 
 
 " He was clothed in a cote-hanli upon the syse 
 of Aliiiayne [Germany]."— GVniT/oi ile la Tuitr : 
 Landry. 
 
 Cotcreaux (French). Cut-throats. 
 The King of England, irritated at the 
 rising in Brittany in the twelfth century, 
 sent the Brabaii9ons ('/.>'.) to ravage the 
 lands of Raoul de Fourgeres. "These 
 cut-throats carried knives {coiiteaux) 
 with them, Avhence their name. 
 
 Co'terie' (3 syl.). A French word, 
 originally tantamount to our "guild," 
 a society where each jjaid his quota — i.e. 
 his quote-part or gild {share). The 
 French word has dejiarted from its 
 original meaning, and is now applied to 
 an exclusive set, more especially of 
 ladies. 
 
 "All coteries ... it seems to me, have a ten- 
 dency to chans-'e truth into affectation."— E. C. 
 Gaskell: Charlotte Bruute (.vol. ii. chap. xi. p 47).
 
 Cotillon 
 
 297 
 
 Councils 
 
 Cotillon {co-til' -you) means properly 
 the •' under-petticoat." The word was 
 applied to a brisk dance by eight persons, 
 in which the ladies held up their gowns 
 and sliowed their under-jjetticoats. The 
 dance of the present day is an elaborate 
 one, with many added figures. 
 
 Cotset. The lowest of bondsmen. 
 So called ivomcot-sfat (a cottage-dweller). 
 These slaves were bound to work for 
 tlieir feudal lord. The word occurs fre- 
 quently in ItoiiicKdiiij Book. 
 
 Cotswold Barley. Yok are as long 
 a-roiii'uxj (IS (■<j(>iirol(l Ixtr/ci/. Cotswold, 
 in Gloucestershire, is a very cold, bleak 
 jjlace on the wolds, exposed to the 
 winds, and very backward in vegetation, 
 but yet it yields a good late suj^ply of 
 barley. 
 
 Cotswold Lion. A sheep for which 
 Cotswold hills are famous. Fierce as a 
 C'otstrold lion (ironical). 
 
 Cotta, in Pope's Moral Essai/s (Epistle 
 2). John Holies, fourth Earl of Clare, 
 who married Margaret, daughter of 
 Henry Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, 
 and was created Duke of Newcastle in 
 1694 and died 1711. 
 
 Cottage Countess {The). Sarah 
 Higgius, of Shropshire, daughter of a 
 small farmer, iu 1790 married Henry 
 Cecil, Marcjuis of Exeter and Lord of 
 Burleigh. The bridegroom was at the 
 time living under the name of John 
 Jones, separated from his wife, whose 
 maiden name was Emma Vernon. She 
 eloped with a clergyman, and subse- 
 quently to the second marriage "John 
 Jones," the lord of Burleigh, obtained a 
 divorce and an Act of Parliament to 
 legitimatise the children of his second 
 wife. Sarah Higgins was seventeen at 
 the time of her marriage, and "John 
 Jones " was thirty. They were married 
 by licence in the parish church of Bolas. 
 Tennyson has a poem on the subject 
 called I'/ie Lord of Burleigh, but his- 
 torically it is not to be trusted. 
 
 Cottage Orne {A) (French). A 
 cottage residence belonging to persons iu 
 good circumstances. 
 
 Cottys. One of the tliree Hundred- 
 lianded giants, son of Heaven and 
 Earth. His two brothers were Briareus 
 [Bri-a-riice'] and Gyges or Gycs. {tSee 
 HuNDEKD- Handed, Giants.) 
 
 Cotton. To cotton to a person. To 
 cling to one or take a fancy to a person. 
 To stick to a person as cotton sticks to 
 our clothes. 
 
 Cotton Lord. A great cotton lord. 
 A rich Manchester cotton manufacturer, 
 a real lord in wealth, style of living, 
 equipage, and tenantry. 
 
 Cotto'nian Library. In the British 
 Museum. Collected by Sir R. Cotton, 
 and added to by his son and grandson, 
 after which it was invested iu trustees 
 for the use of the public. 
 
 Cottonopolis. Mancliester, the great 
 centre of cotton manufactures. 
 
 " His fi'iends tlioufrlit lie wciiihl liave prefcrreil 
 tbe hiisy life nf Cottiiiiiiinilis lo the om-(it'-w:i.v 
 eomity of VnrnwM." — JSia'xiittper jHinKjraitl'i, 
 January, imsii. 
 
 Cotyt'to. The Thracian goddess of 
 immodesty, worship^jed at Athens with 
 nocturnal rites. 
 
 " Hail ! goddess of nocturnal sport, 
 Dark-veiled Cotylto." 
 
 Milton : Comiis, IL'W, 130. 
 
 Coucy. Enguerrand III., Sire de 
 Coucy, has won fame by his arrogant 
 motto : 
 
 " Roi je ne suis, 
 Ni Prince, ni corate. aussi, 
 Je suis Le Sire de Coucy." 
 
 Couleur de Rose (French). Highly 
 coloured ; too favourably considered ; 
 overdrawn with romantic embellish- 
 ments, like objects viewed through glass 
 tinted with rose pink. 
 
 Coulin. A British giant, pursued by 
 Debon (one of the companions of Brute") 
 till he came to a chasm 132 feet across, 
 which he leaped ; but slipping on the 
 02'posite side, he fell back into the 
 chasm and was killed. {Spenser : Faerie 
 Qacene.) {See Giants.) 
 
 Councils. CEcHinenical Councils. 
 There are twenty- one recognised, nine 
 Eastern and twelve Western. 
 
 The Nine Eastern: (1) Jerusalem ; 
 (2 and 8) Nice, 325, 787 ; (3, G, 7, 9) 
 Constantinople, 381, 553, 680, 869; (4) 
 Ephesus, 431 ; (5) Chalcedon, 451. 
 
 The Twelve Western: (10, 11, 12, 
 13, 19)Lat'eran, 1123, 1139, 1179, 1215, 
 1517; (14, 15) Synod of Lyon, 1245, 
 1274 ; (16) Synod of Vienne, in Dau- 
 phine, 1311; (17) Constance, 1414; (18) 
 Basil, 1431-1443 ; (20) Trent, 1545-1.563 ; 
 (21) Vatican, 1869. 
 
 ',* Of these, the Church of England 
 recognises only the first six, viz. : 
 
 3i5 of Nice, against tbe Arians. 
 3n1 of Cunstcmtinople, against " heretics. " 
 i'M of Epiiesus, against the Nestorians and Pela- 
 gians. 
 4.51 of Ch(ih-c'ihin,v,ben Atlianasius was restored, 
 .5.5.3 of Ciiii.ittintiuiiple, against Orlgen. 
 (ino of C'undaiUiiwple, against the Monotbelitea 
 (4 syl.J,
 
 Counsel 
 
 298 
 
 Coup d'Etat 
 
 Counsel. Keep your oirn counsel. 
 Don't talk about what you intend to do. 
 Keei) your jjlaus to yourself. 
 
 '■ Now, iniiul wliat I tell you, and keep your own 
 counsel." — ISoldretcood : Sobbery Under Ariii.<:, 
 cliap. vi. 
 
 Count Kin with One (7'o), is a 
 Scotch oxpressiou meauing to compare 
 cue's pedigree with that of another. 
 
 Count not your Chickens . . . 
 
 (A'cr Chickens.) 
 
 Count out the House (To). To 
 declare the House of Commons ad- 
 journed because tliere are not forty 
 niemVters present. The Speaker has his 
 attention called to the fact, and must 
 himself count the number present. If 
 lie finds there are not forty members 
 present, he declares the sitting over. 
 
 Count Upon (To). To rely with 
 confidence on some one or some thing ; 
 to reckon on. 
 
 Countenance (,To). To sanction ; to 
 sujjport. Approval or disapproval is 
 shown by the countenance. The Scrip- 
 ture speaks of " the light of God's 
 countenance," i.e. the smile of appro- 
 bation ; and to " hide His face " (or 
 countenance) is to manifest displeasure. 
 
 " General (Jrant, neither at this time nor at any 
 other, gave the least countenance to the efforts 
 . . • .' —A'icolay and Hay : Abraliam Lincoln (vol. 
 ix. chap. ii. p. 51). 
 
 To hcep in cottntenmice. To encourage, 
 or prevent one losing his countenance or 
 feeling dismayed. 
 
 To keep owc's countenance. To refrain 
 from smiling or expressing one's thoughts 
 by the face. 
 
 Out of coui/toi/riice. Ashamed, con- 
 founded. With the countenance fallen 
 or cast down. 
 
 To 2)ut one out of countenance is to 
 make one ashamed or disconcerted. To 
 "discountenance" is to set your face 
 against something done or propounded. 
 
 Counter-caster. One who keeps 
 accounts, or casts up accounts by count- 
 ers. Thus, in The Winter's Tale, the 
 Clown says, "Fifteen hundred shorn; 
 what comes the wool to ? I cannot do 't 
 without counters." (Act iv. s. 3.) 
 
 " And what was he ? 
 Forsooth, a preat arithmetician, . . . 
 And I . . . niust be belee'd and calmed 
 By debitor and creditor, this counter-caster." 
 Shakespeare: Otiiello, i.l. 
 
 Countercheck Quarrelsome (The). 
 Sir, how dare you utter such a falsehood? 
 Sir, you know that it is not true. This 
 is the third remove from the lie direct j 
 
 or rather, the lie direct in the third 
 degree. 
 
 The Reproof Valiant, the Countercheck Quar- 
 rrlsome, the Lie Circumstanti.-il, :im<1 the Lie 
 Direct, are not clearly di'lhiccl bv Tniichstone. 
 That is not inie ; bow (Inrr you mi icr sucli a false- 
 hiKMl; i/yoii s:iy so, you area liar; \ ou lie, or are 
 a liar, seem to 111 the four dcfc'rees. 
 
 Counterforts, in permanent fortiH- 
 cation. The sides of ditches strengthened 
 interiorly by buttresses sonic tifteen or 
 eigliteen feet apart. (■SVt Kkvetments.) 
 
 Counter-jumper. A draper's assis- 
 tant, who jumps over the counter to go 
 fmin one jiart of the shop to another. 
 
 Counterpane. A corrujitinn of 
 counterpoint, from the Latin eulcita (ii 
 wadded wrapper, a rpiilt). Wlien the 
 stitches were arranged in patterns it was 
 called cid'cita piincfa, which in French 
 became courte-pointe, corrujited into 
 eontre-pointe, counter-point, where point 
 is pronounced "poyn," corrupted into 
 " jiane." 
 
 Counterscarp, in fortification, the 
 side of a ditch next to the open country. 
 The side next to the jilace fortified is the 
 escarp. 
 
 Countess di Civillari {The). A 
 bog, sewer, cessjiool, into which falls the 
 filth of a city. Two wags ijromised 
 Simon da Villa an introduction to tlie 
 Countess di Civillari, and tossed him, in his 
 scarlet gown, into a ditch where farmers 
 "emptied the Countess of Civillari for 
 manuring their lands." Here the doctor 
 floundered about half the night, and, 
 having spoilt his robes, made the best of 
 his way home, to be rated soundly by 
 his wife. (Boccaccio: Bccaincron,'EA^t\\. 
 day, ix.) 
 
 Country. 
 
 To appcid to the counirij. To dissolve 
 Parliament in order to ascertain the 
 wish of the country by a new election of 
 rej)reseutatives. 
 
 Father of his country. (See Fathee.) 
 
 Country-dance. A corruption of the 
 French contre (hnise (a dance where the 
 partners face each other) . 
 
 Coup [foo]. He made a good coup. 
 A good hit or haul. (French.) 
 
 Coup d'Etat (French) means a state 
 stroke, and the term is ai^plied to one of 
 those bold measures taken by Govern- 
 ment to prevent a supposed or actual 
 danger ; as when a large body of men 
 are arrested suddenly for fear they 
 should overturn the Government. 
 
 The famous coup cVetat, by which Louis 
 Napoleon became possessed of absolute
 
 Coup de Grace 
 
 299 
 
 Court Circular 
 
 power, took place ou December 2ud, 
 1851. 
 
 Coup de Grace. The finishing 
 stroke. When criminals were tortured 
 by the wheel or otherwise, the execu- 
 tioner gave him a coup de f/rdc(\ or blow 
 on the head or breast, to jiut him out of 
 his misery. 
 
 " The Turks dealt tlie coiiii de grace to tlie Eiist- 
 eni einiiire."— Ti/Hfs. 
 
 V The following is taken from a note 
 (chap. XXX.) of Sir W. Scott's novel 27io 
 betrothed. 
 
 "This iinnisliment [lieiiiu- broken on the wheel] 
 ciiiisists in;tlie exeeiilioner, with a Imr of iron, 
 lircukiiii,' the shouhler-hoiies. arms, tliiwh-hoiies, 
 and le'-rs-takini.' allernate sides. The imnish- 
 iiieiil IS .■..loluded l.v a lilow across tlie l.reast, 
 en I led \Uv niii), </,■ ,//■.»,■,•, or Mow (d' niere\ , lieeause 
 il renio\es the siilterer from hisau-onv. Mandnn, 
 I he leleluated siiiui,'i,'k-r, « title in the act .d' I.einK 
 thus tortured, tells lis that the sensihility of 
 liain never eontinnes after the ner\uus system 
 has heen shattered hy the Hrst blow." 
 
 Coup de Main (French). A sudden 
 .stroke ; a stratagem whereby something 
 is effected suddenly. Sometimes called 
 a cou]} only, as "The coxp [the scheme] 
 did not answer." 
 
 " London is not to be taken by a coup de main.'' 
 —riiblic Opiiiiov. 
 
 Coup d'(Eil (French). A view ; 
 glance ; prospect ; effect of things in 
 the mass. 
 
 These principles are presented at a 
 single coxp (Vwil. 
 
 The coKj) d'ceil was grand in the ex- 
 treme. 
 
 Coup de Pied de I'Ane (kick from 
 the ass's foot). A blow given to a van- 
 quished or fallen man ; a cowardly blow ; 
 iin insult offered to one who has not the 
 power of returning or avenging it. The 
 allusion is to the fable of the sick lion 
 kicked by the ass. (French.) 
 
 Coup de Soleil (French). A sun- 
 stroke, any malady produced by ex- 
 Ijosure to the sun. 
 
 Coup de Theatre. Au unforeseen or 
 unexpected turn in a drama to produce 
 a sensational eft'ect. In ordinary life, 
 something planned for eft'ect. Burke 
 and his dagger was meant for a coiip de 
 i/ieiitre, but it was tm-ued into farce by 
 a little ready wit. {See Dagoee-scene.) 
 
 Coup Manqu6 (A). A false stroke. 
 " Shoot dead, or don't aim at all ; but never 
 make a. coup manqnS."—Otdda : Under Two Flags, 
 (hail. XX. 
 
 Coupon. A certificate of interest 
 which is to be cut off [French, couper] 
 from a bond and presented for payment. 
 It bears on its face the date and amount 
 of interest to be paid. If the coujious 
 
 are exhausted before the principal is 
 jiaid off, new ones are gratuitously 
 supi)lied to the holder of the bond. 
 
 Most foreign state-bonds expire in a stated 
 term of years, generally a portion being paid oft 
 anmially at par. Suppose there are 1,ik«i lionds, 
 and HI are paid off annually, then in Inn vears all 
 are paid off and the obligation is cancelled. 
 
 Courage of One's Opinion. To 
 
 have the courage of one's opinion means 
 to utter, maintain, and act according to 
 one's ojiinion, be the consequences what 
 they may. The French use the same 
 locution. Martyrs may be stiid to have 
 had the courage of their opinions. 
 
 Courland Weather. Very boister- 
 ous, uncongenitil weather, with high 
 winds, driving snow and rain, like the 
 weather of Courland, in Russia. 
 
 Course, jliiother course would hare 
 done it. A little more would have effected 
 our purpose. It is said that the peasants 
 of a Yorkshire village tried to wall in a 
 cuckoo in order to enjoy an eternal 
 spring. They built a wall round tlie 
 bird, and the cuckoo just skimmed over 
 it. "Ah!" said one of the peasants, 
 " another carse would a' done it." 
 
 " There is a school of moralists who, eiinnecting 
 sundry short-comings .... -with changes in 
 manners, endeavour to persuade us that only 
 ' another carse ' is wanted to wall in the cuckoo." 
 —Nineteenth Century, December, 1892, p. 9:i0. 
 
 Course. To keep on the course. To 
 go straight ; to do one's duty in that 
 course [path] of life in which we are 
 placed. The allusion is to racing horses. 
 
 " We are not the only horses that can't be kept 
 on the courses— with a good turn of speed, too." 
 —Boldrcicood : Hcibbery under Arms, ch:i\i. xv. 
 
 Court originally meant a coop or 
 sheepfold. It was on the Latium hills 
 that the ancient Latins raised their cors 
 or cohors, small enclosiu'es with hurdles 
 for sheep, etc. Subsequently, as man}' 
 men as could be cooped or folded to- 
 gether were called a corps or cohort. The 
 " cors " or cattle -yard being the nucleus 
 of the farm, became the centre of a lot 
 of farm cottages, then of a hamlet, town, 
 fortified place, and lastly of a royal resi- 
 dence. 
 
 Court. A short cut, alley, or paved 
 way between two main streets. (French, 
 court, " short," as prendre un chemin 
 court, "to take a short cut.") 
 
 Out of court. Not worth consider- 
 ation ; wholly to be discarded, as such 
 and such an hyj)othesis is wholly out of 
 coui't, and has been proved to be un- 
 tenable. " No true bill." 
 
 Court Circular. Brief paragraphs 
 supplied to certain daily papers by an 
 officer (the Court Newsman) specially
 
 Court-cupboard 
 
 300 
 
 CoUte que Coute 
 
 appointed for the puqjose. He au- 
 nouuces the movements of the sovereigu, 
 tlie Prince of Wales, and the court 
 generally ; gives reports of the levees, 
 drawing-rooms, state balls, royal con- 
 certs, meetings of the Cabinet ministers, 
 deputations to ministers, and so on. 
 George III., in 1803, introduced the 
 custom to prevent misstatements on 
 tliese subjects. 
 
 Court-cupboard. The buffet to hold 
 flagons, cans, cujis, and beakers. There 
 are two in Stationers' Hall. 
 
 " Away with tlie joint-stonls, remove (lie couit- 
 rinilioaril, look to the yiisite." — Shakcyiicdrc : 
 Jtiinicd (tiiil Juliet, 1. 5. 
 
 Court Fools. («SVy,' Fools.) 
 
 Court Holy Water. Fair sjjceches, 
 ■which look like promises of favour, but 
 end in nothing. 
 
 Court Plaster. The plaster of which 
 the court ladies made their patches. 
 These patches, worn on the face, were 
 cut into the shape of crescents, stars, 
 cu'cles, diamonds, hearts, crosses ; and 
 some even went so far as to patch their 
 face with a coach-and-four, a shij) in 
 full sail, a chateau, etc. This ridiculous 
 fashion was in vogue in the reign of 
 Cliarles I. ; and in the reign of Anne was 
 cniplo>'ed as the badge of political par- 
 tisanship. {>Sce Patches.) 
 
 '• Your Mack patclios you wear variously, 
 Some cut. like stars, some iu lialf-iiioons, some 
 lozcuL-es." 
 Uta (iiiioiit and FIttclicr: Eider Brother, iii. 2. 
 
 Court of Love. A judicial court for 
 deciding affairs of the heart, established 
 in Provence during the palmy days of 
 the Troubadours. The following is a 
 case submitted to their judgment : A 
 lady listened to one admirer, squeezed 
 the hand of another, and touched with 
 lier toe the foot of a third. Query, 
 Which of these three was the favoured 
 suitor ■' 
 
 Court of Pie-powder. (See Pie- 
 
 POUDEE.) 
 
 Court of the Gentiles (I'he). They 
 arc hut hi the Court of the Getitilcs. They 
 are not wholly God's people ; they are 
 not the elect, but have only a smatter- 
 ing of the truth. The " Com-t of the 
 Israelites " in the Jewish temple was for 
 Jewish men ; the " Court of the 
 Women " was for Jewish women ; the 
 " Court of the Gentiles " was for those 
 who were not Jews. 
 
 "Oil, CUultlie, tliey are but in the Court of the 
 Gentiles, ami will ne'er win farther ben, I doubt." 
 —Sir W. Scott: Old Moitalitij, chap. viii. 
 
 Courtesy. Civilit\', politeness. It 
 was at the courts of princes and great 
 feudatories that minstrels and pages 
 practised the refinements of the age in 
 which they lived. The word originallj' 
 meant the manners of the court. 
 
 Courtesy Titles. Titles assumed or 
 granted by social custom, but not of any 
 legal value. Tlie courtesy title of the 
 eldest son of a duke is iiiarqiih ; of a 
 marquis is varl ; of the eldest son of an 
 earl is risroioit. Younger sons of peers 
 are by courtesy called lord or lionour- 
 able, and the daughters are lady or 
 honourable. These titles do not give 
 the holders official rank to sit in the 
 House of Lords. Even the Manjuis of 
 Lome, the Queen'.s son-in-law, is only a 
 commoner (1894). 
 
 Cousin. Blackstone .says that Henry 
 IV., being related or allied to every 
 earl in the kingdom, artfully and con- 
 stantly acknowledged the connection 
 in all public acts. The usage has de- 
 scended to his successors, though the 
 reason has long ago failed. {(Jomme)i- 
 tartes, i. 398.) 
 
 Cousin. All peers above the I'auk of 
 baron are officially addi'essed by the 
 Crown as cousin. 
 
 A v'mcoHut or carl is " Our light 
 trusty and well-beloved coushi." 
 
 A marquis is "Our right trusty and 
 entirely -beloved cousin." 
 
 A duke is ' ' Our right trusty and 
 right-entirel3'-beloved cousin." 
 
 Cousin Betsy. A half-witted person, 
 a " Bess of Bedlam " {q.r.). 
 
 " [Xone] can say Foster's wronged liim of a 
 peuiiv. or gave short measure to a child or a 
 cousin Betsy."— J//-S. G((W.(-(/. 
 
 Cousin-german. The children of 
 brothers and sisters, first cousins ; kins- 
 folk. (Latin, (/crnta'nus, a brother, one 
 of the same stock.) 
 
 " There is three cozen-Kernians that has 
 cozeneil all the hosts of irejidiug, of Maiden- 
 he:Hl, of Colelirook, of horses aiid money."— 
 Slial,cs)ict(rc : Mirry Wicis of Windsor, iv. 5. 
 
 Cousin Jack. So Comishmen are 
 called iu the w'esteru comities. 
 
 Cousin Michael (or Mie/iel). The 
 Germans are so called. Jlie/iel, in Old 
 Gemian, means "gross," cousin Michel 
 is meant to indicate a slow, heavy, 
 simple, imretined, coarse -feeding people. 
 
 Coute que Coute (French). Cost 
 what it may, at any price, be the conse- 
 quences what they may. 
 
 " His object is to serve his party cotftc que 
 coiSte."— Standard. _ _
 
 Couvade 
 
 801 
 
 Cow-lick 
 
 Couvade (2 syl.). A man who takes 
 the place of his wife when she is in 
 child-bed. (See Rcadcr''s IJaudboolc, 
 p. 217, col. 2.) 
 
 Cove (1 syl.). An individual ; as a 
 JIksIi cove (a swell), a rum core (a man 
 whoso position and character is not 
 quite palijable), a gentri/ cove (a gentle- 
 man), a doiniy cove (a very knowing 
 individual), etc. (Gipsy, cava, a thing ; 
 covo, that man; covi, that woman.) 
 
 Cov'enanters. A tenn apjilied, dur- 
 ing the civil wars, to the Scotch Presby- 
 terians, who iiuited by ' ' solemn league 
 and covenant" to resist the encroach- 
 ments of Charles I. on religious liberty. 
 
 Covent Garden. A conniption of 
 Convent Garden : tlio garden and burial 
 ground attached to the convent of West- 
 minster, and turned into a fruit and 
 flower market in the reign of Charles II. 
 It now belongs to the Duke of Bedford. 
 
 Cov'entry. To send one to Corentri/. 
 To take no notice of him ; to let him live 
 and move and have his being with you, 
 but pay no more heed to him than to 
 the idle winds which you regard not. 
 According to Messrs. Chambers {Cijclo- 
 ptcdid), the citizens of Coventry had at 
 one time so great a dislike to soldiers that 
 a woman seen speaking to one was in- 
 stantly taljooed. No intercourse was 
 ever allowed between the garrison and 
 the town ; hence, when a soldier was sent 
 to Coventry, he was cut off from all 
 social intercourse. 
 
 Hutton, in his iristori/ of Biyniinghain, 
 gives a different version. He says that 
 Coventrj^ was a stronghold of the par- 
 liamentary party in the civil wars, and 
 that all troublesome and refractory 
 royalists were sent there for safe custody. 
 
 The former explanation meets the 
 general scope of the phrase the better. 
 {See Boycott.) 
 
 Coventry Mysteries. Miracle plays 
 acted at Coventry till 1591. They were 
 published in 1841 for the Shakespeare 
 Society. 
 
 I'arHaments held at Covenirij. Two 
 parliaments have been held in this city, 
 one in 140-1, styled I'arHcnnent/iin Indoc- 
 torum ; and the other in 1159, called 
 raylianicntum Diabolicitni. 
 
 Cover. To hrcalc cover. To start 
 from the covert or temporary lair. The 
 usual earth-holes of a fox being covered 
 \x^ the niglit before a liunt, the creature 
 makes some gorse-bush or other cover 
 its temporary resting-place, and as soon 
 tis it quits it the hunt begins. 
 
 Covers were laid for . . . Dinner 
 
 was provided for. ... A cover (ecu vert) 
 •Ki French means knife, fork, spoon, and 
 napkin. Hence, nicttrc Ic convert, to lay 
 the cloth ; and lever (or otcr) le convert, 
 to clear it away. 
 
 Covered Way, in fortification. {Sec 
 Glacis.) 
 
 Covering the Face. No malefactor 
 was allowed, in ancient Persia, to look 
 upon a king. So, in Esther vii. 5, when 
 Haman fell into disgrace, being seen on 
 the queen's divan, " they instantly cover 
 Haman' s face," that he might not look 
 on the face of Ahasuerus. 
 
 V In India a low caste man covers his 
 mouth when speaking to one of high 
 caste. 
 
 Cov'erley. Sir Bor/er dc Coverlei/. A 
 member of an liyi)othetical club in the 
 Spectator, " who lived in Soho Square 
 when he was in town." Sir Roger is 
 the type of an English squire in the 
 reign of Queen Anne. He figures in 
 thirty papers of the Spectator. 
 
 "Who can he inspiisilile to Ijis uupretemliug 
 virtues and :inii:ilili' weakuesses ; bis iiiodesly, 
 generosity, lin^|.ii:[iii> , aucl eccentric wliinis ; 
 the respect i'^ir lii> imi^'IiIkhus, and the affection 
 of Ills donicst ics :- -JliKlilt. 
 
 Covetous Man. A Tantalus (^/.r.). 
 
 " In the full fhiiid (Stands Tan'talus, his slviu 
 Waslied o'er in vain, for e>. er dry witliin. 
 He catclies at the stream with greedy lips— 
 Froni his parched month the wanton torrent 
 
 slips. . . . 
 Cliam-'e bnt the name, this fable is thy story : 
 Thou in a flood of useless wealth dost ghn-y, 
 Whh-h thou canst only touch, hut never taste." 
 Cnwlcij : ILjrace, satire i. 
 
 Cow. The cow that nourished Ymir 
 with four streams of milk was called 
 Audhumla. {Scandinavian inijtholof/i/.) 
 
 {Sec AUDHUJILA.) 
 
 Cnrst cows. {See under CuEST.) 
 
 The u-hiter the cow, the surer is it to r/o 
 
 to the altar. The richer the prey, the 
 
 more likely is it to be seized, 
 
 " The svsteni of inu>ropriations grew so rapidly 
 that, in the course of three centuries, more than 
 a third part of all the heneflces in Englaiul 
 became such, ;iiul those the richest, for the whiter 
 the cow, the surer was it to go to the altar."— 
 Blunt : Reformation in England, p. 63. 
 
 Cow's Tail. ' ' Always behind, like 
 a cow's tail." " Tanquam coda vituli." 
 {Petroiiius.) 
 
 The cow knoivs not the worth of her tail 
 till she loses it, and is troubled with flies, 
 which her tail brushed off. 
 " What we have we prize not to the worth 
 Whiles we enjoy it ; Out being lack'd and lost, 
 Why, then we rack the value.'' 
 
 Sliakcspeare: Much Ado about Notliino, iv. 1. 
 
 Cow-lick. A tuft of hair on the 
 human forehead, sometimes called a
 
 Coward 
 
 302 
 
 Crack 
 
 feather ; it cannot be made to lie in 
 the same direction as the rest of the hair 
 by brushing, or even by pomatum. 
 When cows lick their hides they make 
 the hair stand on end. 
 
 " This term must have been adopted from a 
 oiiiuparison with that part of a . . . cow's hide 
 where the Ijairs, having ditt'erent directions, meet 
 and form a projecting riiK'i-. siipiinsed to lie occa- 
 sioned by the animals lickin'-r tliemselves."— 
 Biocliett: Glossary of Xnrtli-Cvantrii ^Yords. 
 
 Coward (anciently written culvard) 
 is either from the French, couard, ori- 
 ginally wi'itten culrcrt, from culver (a 
 pigeon), iiigeon-livered being still a 
 common expression for a coward ; or 
 else from the Latin, chIhih rcr'for, to 
 turn tail (Sj)anish, cobarde ; Portuguese, 
 covarde ; Italian, codardo, "a coward; " 
 Latin, cauda, "ataU"). AheastcoKrirdcd, 
 in heraldry, is one drawn with its coue 
 or tail between its legs. The allusion is 
 to the practice of beasts, who sneak off 
 in this manner when they are cowed. 
 
 Cowper. Called " Author of 'J7ip 
 Task,'''' from his principal poem. (1731- 
 1800.) 
 
 Cowper Law, a corruption of Cupar, 
 etc., is trying a man after execution. 
 Similar ex2iressions are Jedwood, Jed- 
 dart, and Jedburgh justice. Cowper 
 justice had its lise from a baron- bail e 
 in Coupar-Angus, before heritable juris- 
 dictions were abolished. {See Lydford 
 Law.) 
 
 "Cowper Law, as we say in Scotland— hang a 
 man first, and then judge \i\n\."— Lord deBos: 
 Tower uf Loudon. 
 
 Coxcomb. An empty-headed, vain 
 person. The ancient Ucensed jesters 
 were so called because they wore a 
 cock's comb in theu' caps. 
 
 " t'oxcimilis. an ever enuity race, 
 Are trumpets of their own dissrace." 
 
 Gay : Fables, xix. 
 
 " Let me hire him too ; here's my coxcomb.'' 
 
 Shakespeare : Kino Lear, i. -1. 
 
 The Prince of Coxcombs. Charles 
 Joseph, Prince de Ligne. (1535-1614.) 
 
 Richard II. of England is sometimes 
 called the Coxcomb. (1366, 1377-HOO.) 
 
 Henri III. of Fx'auce was called ie 
 Jfir/iwii. which means pretty well the 
 same thing. (1551, 1574-1589.) 
 
 Coxeyites (3syl.). Followers of Mr. 
 ["General"] Coxey, of the United 
 States, who induced 50,000 labourers 
 from sundry states "to march" to 
 Washington to overawe the Government 
 into giving employment to the unem- 
 ployed. The word is now employed to 
 express labour processions and masses 
 organised to force concessions to work- 
 men. 
 
 Coxswain. Jtoff is Norwegian for 
 a cockboat ; Welsh, cur/i ; Italian, rocca, 
 etc. ; and siraiii, Anglo-Saxon for a 
 servant, superintendent, or baihff. {See 
 Cockboat.) 
 
 Coyne and Livery. Food and en- 
 tertainment for soldiers, and forage for 
 their horses, exacted by an anny from 
 the people whose lands they passed 
 through, or from towns where they 
 rested on their march. 
 
 Coys'tril, Coystrel, or Kestrel. A 
 degenerate hawk ; hence, a paltry fellow. 
 Holinshed says, " costerels or bearers of 
 the arms of barons or knights" (vol. i. 
 p. 16'2) ; and again, " women, lacke)''s, 
 and costerels arc considered as the un- 
 warlike attendants on an army" (vol. iii. 
 27'2). Each of tlic life-guards of Henry 
 VIII. had an attendant, called a coj'strel 
 or coystril. Some tliiiik the word is a 
 corruption of costercf, which they derive 
 from the Latin cotcrcl/iis (a peasant) ; but 
 if not a corruption of Icstrcl, I should 
 derive it from co-strcl (a small wooden 
 bottle used by labourers in harvest time). 
 ^'■Vasa qucedam qxcc costrell'i rocai/tnr.'^ 
 {Matthew Paris.) 
 
 " He's ft coward and a coystril that will not 
 drink to my niece."— Sluihxspcure : Twelfth Xiglit, 
 i..3. 
 
 Cozen. To cheat. (Armoric, co/k,-- 
 zi/eiu ; Russian, knsiiodci ; Arabic, gausa ; 
 Ethiopic, chasaica ; ovx chouse.') 
 " I think it no sin 
 To cozen him that would unjustly win." 
 Shakespeare: All's Well that Euds Welt, i\. -J. 
 
 Crab (A). An ill-temjjered fellow; 
 sour as a crab-apple. 
 
 'To catch a crab, in rowing. (See Catch 
 A Crab.) 
 
 Crab-cart. The carapace of a crab. 
 So called because it is used veiy com- 
 monly by children for a toy-cart. 
 
 Crack, as a crack man, a first-rate 
 fellow ; a crack hand at cards, a first- 
 rate player ; a crack article, an excellent 
 one, i.e. an article cracked up or boasted 
 about. This is the Latin crcpo, to crack 
 or boast about. Hence Lucretius ii. 1 1 68, 
 " crepas antiquum genus." 
 " Indeed, la .' 'tis a noble child; a crack, madam." 
 Shakespeare: Coriohums, i. 3. 
 
 A gtide crack. A good talker. 
 
 " To be a gude crack . . . was essential to the 
 trade of a ' puir body' of the more esteemed 
 class."— ,Si)- W. Scott: Tlie Antiquary (Introduc- 
 tion). 
 
 Tn a crack. Instantly. In a snap of 
 the fingers, crep'itu digito'rum (in a crack 
 of the fingers) . (French, craqucr.) 
 
 " Une allusion au bruit de I'ongle contre la dent 
 que les Orientaux du mo.\ea age touchaient du
 
 Crack-brained 
 
 303 
 
 Crank 
 
 doi?bt quand ils voulaient afflrmer solennelle- 
 meut une those." Hence— 
 
 " Sire, bien vous croi seur les Dieux ; 
 Mais assc'S vous nueiToie luieux 
 Si' vriiis I'linirle hurties an deut." 
 
 Tlieatre Fnaicuis de ilmjen Age, \\ Vu. 
 
 Crack-brained. Eccentric ; slightly 
 mad. Another form is "A crack-skull." 
 
 Crack a Bottle — i.e. drink one. 
 The allusion is to the mischievous pranks 
 of the cli-unken frolics of times gone 
 by, when the bottles and glasses were 
 broken during the bout. Miss Oldbuck 
 says, in reference to the same custom, 
 " We never were glass-breakers in this 
 house, Mr. Lovel " {Antiquanj): mean- 
 ing they were not bottle-crackers, or 
 given to cU-uuken orgies. {See Crush.) 
 " Dear Tom, this limwii jiii,' that now foams with 
 mild ale. 
 From which I now driuk to sweet Nau of the 
 
 ^'ale, 
 Was once Toby Filpot's, a thirsty old soul 
 As e'er cracked a bottle, or fathomed a liowl." 
 O'Keefe : Puor Soldier. 
 
 Crack a Crib ( To) . To break into a 
 house as a thief. (Sir Ceib.) 
 
 Crack Up a Person ( To) . To praise 
 him highly. (See Crack.) 
 
 Cracked. Made a bankrupt. A play 
 
 on " rupt," which is from the Latin 
 
 riniipo, to break. 
 Cracked Pipkins. Cracked pi p/iins 
 
 are (Uncovered hij t/icir Koiind. Ignorance 
 
 is betrayed by speech. 
 
 " They bid you talk— my honest sone: 
 Bids you for ever hold your tongue ; 
 Silence with some is wisdom most profound- 
 Cracked pipkins arc discovered by the sound." 
 I'eter I'hidar : Lord B. and his Mvtion.i. 
 
 Cracker. So called from the noise it 
 
 makes when it goes off. 
 
 Cracknells (from the French craqiie- 
 li>i). A hard, brittle cake. 
 
 Cradle-land. The same as " borough 
 EngUsh," tmder which lands descend to 
 the youngest son. By Gavelkind, land 
 passes to all sons in equal iiroportions. 
 
 If the father has no son, then (iu. 
 cradle-land teimres) the youngest daugh- 
 ter is sole heiress. If neither Avifc, son, 
 nor daughter, the yoimgest brother 
 inherits ; if no brother, the j-oungest 
 sister is heii- ; if neither brother nor yet 
 sister, then the youngest next of kin. 
 
 Craft {A). A trade (Anglo-Saxon, 
 creeft). A craftsman is a mechanic. A 
 handicraft is manual skill, i.e. mechanical 
 skill. And leecheraft is skill in medicine. 
 (Anglo-Saxon Icece-crceft ; lace, a doctor.) 
 
 Craft (A). A general term for a 
 vessel emjiloyed in loading and unloading 
 ships. 
 
 Small craft. Such vessels as schooners, 
 sloops, cutters, and so on. A ship- 
 builder was at one time the prince of 
 craftsmen , and his vessels were work of 
 craft emi^hatically. 
 
 Craft. Cunning, or skill in a bad 
 sense. Hence Witchcraft, the art or 
 cunning of a witch. 
 
 Craigmillar Castle. So called from 
 Henry de Craigmillar, who built the 
 castle in the twelfth century. 
 
 Cra'kys of War. Cannons were so 
 called in the reign of Edward III. 
 
 Cram. To tell what is not true. A 
 craiinncr, an untruth. The allusion is to 
 stuffing a jjerson with useless rubbish. 
 
 Crambe bis Cocta [" cabbage boiled 
 twice"]. A subject hacked out. Ju- 
 venal says, " Oecidit mit^eros crambe repc- 
 tita inayistros^^ (vii. 155), alluding to the 
 Greek j)roverb "i)i,s- krambc thanaios.'^ 
 
 "There was a disadvautai-'e in treadini: this 
 Border district, fur it h.ol l.t-cu already ransacked 
 liy the author himself, as well as by others; and, 
 unless presented under a new light, was likely to 
 afford ground to the objec-tion of Crambe his 
 cocta."— SirW. Scatt: The Munastery (Introduction). 
 
 Crambo. Eepetition. So called from 
 a game which consists in some one 
 setting a line which another is to 
 rhj^me to, but no one word of the first 
 line must occur in the second. 
 
 Jjnntb crambo. Pantomime of a word 
 in rhyme to a given word. Thus if 
 "cat" is the given word, the panto- 
 mimists would act Bat, Fat, Hat, Mat, 
 Pat, Rat, Sat, etc., till the word acted is 
 guessed. 
 
 Crampart (Kinr/). The king who 
 made a wooden horse which would 
 travel 100 miles an hour. (Allcmaar : 
 Hei/nard the Fox, 1498.) 
 
 Swifter than Cr<iinpart\'< horse. Quick 
 as lightning ; quick as thought. (See 
 above.) 
 
 Cramp-ring. To .scour the cramp- 
 riwj. To be put into fetters ; to be 
 imprisoned. The allusion is obvious. 
 
 "There's no nuickle hazard o' scouring the 
 cramp-rint'."— .S'()- ir. Scott: Ginj ihuiiitrimj. (;h;i\i. 
 xxiii. 
 
 Crane means long-shanks. (Welsh, 
 ffar, "the shanks," whence our gaiter 
 and garter.) Garan is the long-shanked 
 bird, contracted into (/ran, crane ; hero)i, 
 is another form of the same word. 
 
 Crank. An Abram man {q.v.). So 
 called from the Gennan krank (sickly), 
 whence cranky, "idiotic, foolish, full of 
 whims," and cranks (simulated sick- 
 ness). These beggars were called cranks
 
 Crannock 
 
 304 
 
 Credat Judaeus 
 
 because they pretended madness and 
 sickness to excite compassion. 
 
 Cran nock. An Irish measure which, 
 iu the days of Edward II., contained 
 eitlier eight or sixteen pecks. 
 
 "Crannocus fnntiiii'liit xvj pecks, ('r.-iimiiro 
 contiiienlc octo i<ccks."~£xcheqiu'i- 0/ Iictmul 
 
 («fC). 
 
 Cra'paud or Johnutj Grapcuid. A 
 Frenchman ; so called from the device of 
 the ancient kings of France, " three toads 
 erect, saltant." (Guillim's Displaij of 
 Jfcraldric, 1611.) Nostrada'mus, in the 
 sixteentli century, called the French 
 " crapauds." 
 
 Le.s cDiciens crapauds prcndcront Sara 
 (Nostrada'miis). Sara is the word Aras 
 reversed, and when the French under 
 Louis XIV. took Aras from tlie Span- 
 iards, this verse was quoted as a i>vo- 
 phecy. 
 
 Crape .... Lawn. A saint in crape 
 is twice a sai»t in lawn. {Pope : Ep. to 
 Cobltam, 136.) Crape (a sort of bom- 
 l)azinc, or alpaca) is the stuff of which 
 cheap clerical gowns used to be made, 
 and here means one of the lower clergy ; 
 " lawn " refers to the lawn sleeves of a 
 bishop, and here means a prelate. A 
 good curate is all very well, but the same 
 goodness iu a bishop is exalted as some- 
 thing noteworthy. 
 
 Cravat'. A corruption of Crabat or 
 Croat. It was introduced into France by 
 some French officers on their return from 
 Germany in 1636. The Croats, who 
 guarded the Turkish frontiers of Austria, 
 and acted as scouts on the flanks of the 
 army, wore linen round their necks, tied 
 in front, and the officers wore muslin or 
 silk. When France organised a regiment 
 on the model of the Croats, these linen 
 neckcloths were imitated, and the regi- 
 ment was called " The Royal Cravat." 
 
 ThcBonnii Cravat. A public-house sign 
 at Woodchm'ch, Kent ; a corruption of 
 La bonne corvette. Woodchm'ch was 
 noted for its smuggling proclivities, and 
 the "Bonnie Cravat " was a smuggler's 
 hostelry. 
 
 To wear a hempen cravat. To be hanged. 
 
 Cra'ven means " your mercy is 
 craved." It was usual in former times 
 to decide controversies by an appeal to 
 battle. The combatants fought with 
 batons, and if the accused could either 
 kill liis adversary or maintain the fight 
 till sundown, he was acquitted. If he 
 wished to call oft", he cried out' ' Craven ! ' ' 
 and was held infamous, while the defend- 
 ant wasadvanced to honour. [Blackstone. ) 
 
 Crawley. Croohed as Craivlcii (or) 
 ('rawlcji brool\ a river in Bedfordsliire. 
 That part called the brook, which runs 
 into the Ouse, is so crooked that a boat 
 woidd have to go eighty miles in order 
 to make a progress dii'ect of eiglitcen. 
 {F/il/cr: Wort hies.) 
 
 Cray'on {Oeofrcii). The nom de 
 phnne under which Washington Irving 
 published The Sketch-Book. (1820.) 
 
 Creaking Doors hang the Longest. 
 
 " r'« j)ot fell- dure plas rja'/u/ neiif.'''' 
 " Told se qui braille nc chet pas " (tum- 
 bles not) . Delicate persons often outlive 
 the more robust. Those who have some 
 personal affliction, like the gout, often 
 live longer than those who have no such 
 vent. 
 
 Create. Make. 
 
 (ioil cTualccI till- licavcnsundlliocarlli (llc'ii. i. 1.) 
 (Hebrew, ciirah ; Urcek, kti'^w.) 
 
 God made the llniiaiiR'nt. (Gen. i. 7.) 
 
 ((Jivek, troiiia). 
 
 Cod iimdo the sun ;niii iiii"in tGen.i.lfi.) 
 
 (Jdrl ,re.-itcil till" uTc:il llslic.^ (Gen. i •jl.) 
 
 (Hid Miridc llir leirestruil animals .. tGeil. i. 25.) 
 (4od crealiMl man ami minic liini "God- 
 like" (Gen. i. 27.') 
 
 God said " Let us malce man in our own image " 
 (\erse •_'(;), and so God creuted \\v.\i\ in His image 
 (verse 27). 
 
 Cliap. ii. .■(. He rested from all the works which 
 He had cniiteil and iiiiuli: 
 
 vh:\\\. ii. 1. He )niuh; the earth and the heavens ; 
 He also created them. 
 
 Chap. ii. I'L'. lie iiiiiile. woman, hut created man. 
 
 Most eeri.iinlj cidiff doesnotof necessity mean 
 to make ..111 of not hill'-', as fishes were "created" 
 Ir.im waier, and man was ciealed from " earth." 
 
 Creature (The). Whisky or other 
 spirits. A contracted form of " Creature- 
 comfort." 
 
 " When he chanced to have taken an overdose 
 of the creature."— .Sic W. Scvtt : Giiij Maiiiieiiiig, 
 chap. xliv. 
 
 A drop of the creature. A little 
 whisky. The Irish call it " a drop of the 
 crater." 
 
 Creature - comforts. Food and 
 other thhigs necessary for the comfort of 
 the body. Man being supposed to con- 
 sist of body and soul, the body is the 
 creature, but the soul is the " vital spark 
 of heavenly flame." 
 
 " Mr. Syueers had been seeking in creature- 
 comforts [brandy and water] temporary forget- 
 f Illness of his unpleasant situation."— iJicfcews ; 
 Nicholas Xicklehi/. 
 
 Credat Judseus or Credat Judseus 
 Apella. Tell that to the Marines. 
 That may do for Afiella, but I don't 
 believe a word of it. Who this Apella 
 was, nobody knows. {Horace: 1 Satires, 
 v; line 100.) 
 
 V Cicero mentions a person of this 
 name in Ad Atticum (12, ep. 19) ; but see 
 
 DUCANGE.
 
 Credence Table 
 
 So' 
 
 Cressida 
 
 Credence Table. The table near 
 the altar on which the bread and wine 
 are deposited before they are conse- 
 crated. In former times food was 
 placed on a credence-table to be tasted 
 previously to its being set before the 
 guests. This was done to assure the 
 guests that the meat was not poisoned. 
 The Italian crcdoiza're means to taste 
 meats placed on the crcdcn'za. (Italian, 
 Id crcdoiza, a shelf or buffet ; Greek, 
 krcds, food.) 
 
 Credit Foncier (French). A coni- 
 joany licensed to borrow money for city 
 and other imi^rovements connected with 
 estates. A board of guardians may 
 form such a company, and their security 
 would be the parish rates. The money 
 borrowed is repaid by instalments with 
 interest. The word funcler means 
 "landed," as impot fancier (land-tax), 
 hien fancier (landed propertj'), and so on. 
 
 Credit Mobilicr (French). A com- 
 paTiy licensed to take in hand all sorts 
 of trading entei^prises, such as railways, 
 and to carry on the business of stock- 
 jobbers. The word mobilier means 
 personal property, general stock, as bien 
 mobilicr (personal chattels), mobilier rif 
 ct mart (live and dead stock), 
 
 Cre'kenpit. A fictitious river near 
 Husterloe, according to the invention of 
 Master Reynard, who calls on the Hare 
 to attest the fact. {licijiiard the Fox.) 
 
 Cremo'na. An organ stop, a cor- 
 ruption of the Italian cormoriie, which is 
 the German krumnihorn, an organ stop 
 of eight feet pitch ; so called from a 
 ■wind-instrument made of wood, and 
 bent outwards in a circular arc {krttmm- 
 ]iorii, crooked horn) . 
 
 Cremo'nas. Violins of the gi-eatest 
 excellence ; so called from Cremo'na, 
 where for many years lived some makers 
 of them who have gained a world-wide 
 notoriety, such as An'drea Ama'ti and 
 Antonio his son, Anto'nius Stradiva'rius 
 his pupil, and Giuseppe Guame'rius the 
 pupil of Stradiva'rius. Cremona has 
 long since lost its reputation for this 
 manufactui'e. 
 
 " Iq silvis viva silui ; cano'ra jam mor'tua cano." 
 
 A motto on a Cremona. 
 Speechless, alive, i heard the featherea throns ; 
 >ow, bcMii,!,' dead, I emulate their son?. E. C. B. 
 
 Cre'ole (2 syl.). A descendant of 
 white peojile born in Mexico, South 
 America, and the West Indies. (Spanish 
 criado, a servant ; diminutive criaddln, 
 contracted into creollo, Creole.) {See 
 Mulatto.) 
 
 20 
 
 Creole dialects. The various jargons 
 spoken by the West India slaves. 
 
 Crep'idam. Supra crcp'idam. Talk- 
 ing about subjects above one's metier, 
 meddling and muddling matters of 
 which you know little or uotliing. {See 
 Cobbler.) 
 
 Cres'cent. Tradition says that 
 " Philiii, tlie father of Alexander, meet- 
 ing with great difficulties Lu the siege of 
 Byzantium, set the workmen to under- 
 mine the walls, but a crescent moon dis- 
 covered the design, which miscarried ; 
 consequently the Byzantines erected a 
 statue to Diana, and the crescent became 
 the symbol of the state." 
 
 Another legend is that Othman, the 
 Sultan, saw in a vision a crescent moon, 
 which kept increasing till its horns ex- 
 tended from east to west, and he adopted 
 the crescent of his dream for his stan- 
 dard, adding the motto, " Donee rep'leat 
 orbein.''^ 
 
 Crescent City {The). New Orleans, 
 in Louisiana, U.S. 
 
 Cres'cito Creseit sab pon'dere Virtus 
 (Virtue thrives best in adver.sity) . The 
 allusion is to the palm-tree, which grows 
 better when pressed by an incumbent 
 weight. 
 
 Many plants gi-ow the better for being 
 pressed, as gi-ass, which is wonderfully 
 improved by being rolled frequently 
 with a heavy roller, and by being trodden 
 down by sheep. 
 
 Cressell'c (2 syl.). A wooden rattle 
 used formerly in the Romish Church 
 during Passion week, instead of bells, to 
 give notice of Divine worship. Supposed 
 to represent the ruttling in the throat of 
 Christ while hanging on the cross. 
 
 Cres'set. A beacon-light ; properly 
 " a little cross." So called because ori- 
 ginally it was sunnounted by a little 
 cross. (French, croisette.) 
 
 Cress'ida, daughter of Calchas the 
 Grecian jiriest, was beloved by Trotlus, 
 one of the sons of Priam. They vowed 
 eternal fidelity to each other, and as 
 pledges of their vow Trod us gave the 
 maiden a sleeve, and Cressid gave the 
 Trojan prince a glove. Scarce had the 
 vow been made when an exchange of 
 prisoners was agreed to. Diomed gave 
 up three Trojan piinces, and was to 
 receive Cressid in lieu thereof. Cressid 
 vowed to remain constant, and Troilus 
 swore to rescue her. She was led off to 
 the Grecian's tent, and soon gave all her 
 affections to Diomed — nay, even bade
 
 Cressweil 
 
 806 
 
 Crillon 
 
 him wear the sleeve that Troihis had 
 given her iu token of his love. 
 
 "As false 
 As air, as water, wind, or sandy earth. 
 As fox to lam)>, as wolf to beifer's calf, 
 Pard to the hind, or step-dame to her son ; 
 ' Yea,' let them say, to stick the heart of false- 
 hood, 
 ' As false as Cressid.' " 
 
 t<liahe.'']>care: Troilus and Crcssida, iii. 2. 
 
 Cressweil {Madame). A woman of 
 infamous character wlio bequeathed £10 
 for a funeral sermon, in which nothing 
 ill sliould be said of her. The Duke of 
 Buckingham wrote the sennon, which 
 was as follows : " All I shall say of her 
 is this — she was born veil, she married 
 icell, lived tcell, and died irell ; for she 
 was born at Shad-well, married to Cress- 
 well, lived at Clerken-well, and died in 
 Bride-well." 
 
 Cressy {Battle of). Won by Edward 
 III. and the Black Prince over Philippe, 
 VI. of France, August 26, 1346. 
 
 " Cressy was lost by kickshaws and soup meagre." 
 Fcnton : Prol. to SoiitJicni'.i Spartan Dame. 
 
 Crestfallen. Disi^irited. The allu- 
 sion is to lighting cocks, whose crest 
 falls in defeat and rises rigid and of a 
 deep red colour in victory. 
 
 " Shall I seem crest-fallen in my father's sifrht ?" 
 Shakcsvcare : Jiivlinrd //., i. 1. 
 
 Crete. Hound of Crete. A blood- 
 hound. 
 
 " Coupe le gorge, that's the word. I thee defy 
 again, 
 O hound of Crete." 
 
 Shakespeare: Ilcnry V.,\\. 1. 
 
 The Infamy of Crete. The Minotaur. 
 
 " There lay stretched 
 The infamy of Crete, detested brood 
 Of the feigned heifer." 
 
 Dmite : Hell, xii. (Cary's translation). 
 
 Cre'ticus. Metellus, the Roman 
 general, was so called because he con- 
 qttered Crete (Candia). 
 
 Cre'tinism. Mental imbecility accom- 
 panied by goitre. So called from the 
 Cretins of the Alps. The word is a cor- 
 ruption of Christian {C/irrtiei/), because, 
 being baptised, and only idiots, they were 
 " washed from original sin," and incap- 
 able of actual sin. Similarly, idiots are 
 called ■i/tiiocenfs. (French ereiin, critin- 
 isme.) 
 
 Crex. White bullace. (Dutch, Jcrieclr, 
 cherry ; Latin, eer'asiim.) 
 
 Crib {A). Slang for a house or 
 dwelling, as a " Stocking Crib " {i.e. a 
 hosiery), a "Thimble Crib" (i.e. a 
 silversmith's) . Crib is an ox - stall. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, crib, a stall, a bed, etc.) 
 
 ." Where no oxen are, the crib is clean."— Prov. 
 XIV. 4. 
 
 A cMld^s erib is a child's bed. {See 
 preeedinrj column.) 
 
 Crib {A). A petty theft; a literal 
 translation of some foreign work, stealth- 
 ily employed to save trouble. 
 
 "We are prlad to turn from the choruses of 
 ^^ischylus, or the odes of Horace, coiifected in 
 English verse liy some petty schohir, to the 
 original text, and the lioujcly help of a school- 
 boy's i:r\hr~Balzae's Shorter Storh:< : I'rifatoni 
 Xotice, p. Hi. 
 
 Crib. To steal small articles. (Saxon, 
 eri/bb ; Iri.sh, ^rib ; our [/rub, grapple, 
 
 (jrip, (jripe, etc.) 
 
 Cricket. 
 
 The diminutive of the Anglo-Saxon 
 eric, a staff or crutch. In the Bodleian 
 library is a MS. (1344) picture of a monk 
 bowling a ball to another monk, who is 
 about to strike it with a ciic. In the 
 field are other monks. There are no 
 wickets, but the batsman stands before 
 a hole, and the art of the game was 
 either to get the ball into the hole, or 
 to catch it. 
 
 Perhaps the earliest mention of the 
 word " crickett " is ir)93. John Derrick, 
 gent., tells us when he tittended the 
 "free school of Guldeforde, he and his 
 fellowes did runne and ])lay there at 
 crickett and other plaies." It was a 
 Wvkehamist game in tlie days of Eliza- 
 beth. 
 
 A single stump was placed in the 
 seventeenth century at each hole to 
 point out the place to bowlers and 
 fielders. In 1700 two stumjis were used 
 24 inches ajiart and 12 inches high, with 
 long bails atop. 
 
 A middle stump was added by the 
 Hambledon Club in 1775, and the 
 height of the stumps was raised to 22 
 inches. 
 
 In 1814 they were made 26 inches, 
 and iu 1817 they were reduced to 22 
 inches- the present height. The length 
 of run is 22 yards. 
 
 The first cricket club was Hambledon, 
 which practically broke up in 1791, but 
 existed in name till 1825. 
 
 Cri'key. A profane oath ; a per- 
 verted form of the word Christ. 
 
 Cril'lon. Where wert thou, Crillon ? 
 Crillon, surnamed tlie Brave, in his old 
 age went to church, and listened in- 
 tently to the story of the Crucifixion. 
 In the middle of the narrative he grew 
 excited, and, unable to contain himself, 
 cried out, " 0« itais-tu, Crillon?''^ 
 (What were you about, Crillon, to allow 
 of such things as these ':'). 
 
 N.B. — Louis de Berton des Balbes de 
 Crillon was one of the greatest captain^
 
 Crimen 
 
 307 
 
 Critic 
 
 of the sixteenth century. Bom in Pro- 
 vence 1541, died 1615. 
 
 Henri IV., after the battle of Argives (1589), 
 wrote to Cnlliin the following letter : " Preiul-toi, 
 brave Crillon, nnus avons vaincit d Argues, et tu n'y 
 e'taispas." The first and last part of this letter 
 have tiecome iiroverbial. 
 
 Crimen Isesae Majestatis (Latin). 
 High treason. 
 
 Crimp. A decoy ; a man or woman 
 that is on the look-out to decoy the un- 
 wary. It is more properly applied to an 
 agent for supplj'ing sliips with sailors, but 
 these agents are generally in league with 
 pubUc-houses and private lodging-houses 
 of low character, into which they decoy 
 the sailors and relieve them of their 
 money under one pretence or another. 
 (Welsh, criuipiciw, to squeeze or piuch; 
 Norwegian, kri/iiipc, a sponge.) 
 
 Crimp of Death (A). A thief - 
 catcher. A crimj) is a decoy, especially 
 of soldiers and sailors. (See above.) 
 
 "Here lie three crimps of death, knocked down 
 by Fate, 
 Of justice the staunch blood-hounds, too, so 
 keen." 
 
 Peter Pindar : Epitaph on Toicnsend, 
 JUtcmanus, and Jealous. 
 
 Cringle (Tom). An excellent sailor 
 character in the naval story by Michael 
 Scott, called To/ii. Criiifflc's Log, first 
 imblished in BlackicoocVs Magazine. 
 
 Cripple. A battered or bent six- 
 pence ; so called because it is hard to 
 make it go. 
 
 Crip'plegate. St. Giles is the patron 
 saint of cripples and beggars, and was 
 himself a cripple. Chm'ches dedicated 
 to this saint are, therefore, in the suburbs 
 of large towns, as St. Giles of London, 
 Norwich, Cambridge, Salisbmy, etc. 
 Cripplegate, London, was so called 
 before the Conquest from the number 
 of cripples who resorted thither to beg. 
 {Stoa-e.) 
 
 Criss-cross Row {Clirist-cross roic). 
 Tlie ABC horn-book, containing the 
 alphabet and nine digits. The most 
 ancient of these infant-school books had 
 the letters arranged in the form of a 
 Latin cross, Avith A at the top and Z at 
 the bottom ; but afterwards the letters 
 were aiTanged in lines, and a -|- was 
 placed at the beginning to remind the 
 learner that "The fear of the Lord is 
 the beginning of wisdom." 
 
 " Mortals ne'er shall know 
 More than contained of old the Chris'-cross row." 
 Tickell : The Horn-Book. 
 
 CHsh'na. An incarnate deity of 
 perfect beauty. King Canza, being in- 
 foiTaed that a child of the family of 
 
 Devaci would overturn his throne, gave 
 orders to destroy all the male infants 
 that were born. "\Mien Crishna was 
 bom, his brother conveyed him secretly 
 to the house of a shepherd king ; but 
 Canza discovered his retreat, and sent 
 the monster Kakshas to poison him. The 
 tale says the infant child sucked the 
 monster to death, and so escaped. As 
 he grew up, his beauty was so divine 
 that all the ijrincesses of Hindustan fell 
 in love with him, and even to the present 
 hour he is the Apollo of India and the 
 "idol of women." His images are 
 always painted a deep azure colour. (6'/r 
 77'. Jones.) {See Kama.) 
 
 Cri'sis properly means the " ability 
 to judge." Hippoc'rates said that all 
 diseases had their periods, when the 
 humours of the body ebbed and flowed 
 like the tide of the sea. These tidal 
 days he called critical dags, and the tide 
 itself a o'isis, because it was on these 
 days the physician could determine 
 whether the disorder was taking a good 
 or a bad tm'n. The seventh and all its 
 multiples were critical days of a favour- 
 able character. (Greek, krino, to judge 
 or detennine.) 
 
 Crispin. A shoemaker. St. Crispin 
 was a shoemaker, and was therefore 
 chosen for the patron saint of the craft. 
 It is said that two brothers, Crispin and 
 Crispian, bom in Rome, went to Soissons, 
 in France (a.d. 303), to propagate the 
 Christian religion, and maintained them- 
 selves wholly by making and mending 
 shoes. Probably the tale is fabulous, 
 for crepis is Greek for a shoe, Latin 
 crepid-a, and St. Crepis or Crepid became 
 Crepin and Crespin. 
 
 St. Cfispin^s Bag. October 25th, the 
 day cf the battle of Agincourt. Shake- 
 speare makes Crispin Crispian one 
 person, and not two brothers. Hence 
 Henry V. says to his soldiers — 
 
 " And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by . . . 
 But we in it shall be remembered." 
 
 Shakespeare: Uenry V., iv. 3. 
 
 St. Crispin'' s holidag. Every Monday, 
 with those who begin the working week 
 on Tuesday ; a no-work day with shoe- 
 makers. {See Ceispin. ) 
 
 St. Crispbi's lance. A shoemaker's 
 
 awl. In French, '■^ Lance de St. Crepin.'''' 
 
 Crispin is the patron saint of shoemakers. 
 
 The French argot for a leather purse is une 
 cr^pine, 
 
 Crite'rion. A standard to judge by. 
 (Greek, krino, to judge.) 
 
 Critic. A judge; an arbiter. (Greek, 
 kri/io, to judge.)
 
 Croaker 
 
 308 
 
 Crone 
 
 Critic. A captious, malignant critic is 
 called a Zoilus {q.v.) 
 
 "'Aud what (if this new book tbe whole world 
 makes such a mut about ?' 'Oh, it is out of all 
 liluuib, my lord ; quite an irregular thiug ! not 
 one <if the aiiLrles at the four corners is a right 
 angle. I had my rule and conipasses in my 
 liocket.' ' Kxcellent critic ! ' 
 
 " 'And for the epic poem your lordship liade nie 
 look at, updii taking the length, breadtli, lieiglit, 
 and depth id it, and trying them at home up m an 
 exact scale of Bossu's [Bossut's], 'tis out, my lord, 
 In every one of its dimensions.' 'Adniiralfle con- 
 noisseur ! ' "Sterne : Tristram Slumdy, vol. iii. 
 chap. xii. 
 
 V The abbe Charles Bossiit (1730- 
 1814) was a noted mathematician and 
 geometer. 
 
 Frince of critics. Aristarchos, of By- 
 zantium, who compiled the rhapsodies of 
 Homer. (Second century B.C.) 
 
 Stop-watch critics. 
 
 '"And how dicKiarrick speak tlie siilil.j.iuy last 
 night?' '<;li, against all rule, my lorcl.iunst un- 
 grammatically, iictwixt the sul.staiitivc and the 
 adjective, which should agree tcjget her in nuniher, 
 
 case, and gender, he made a breach, thus stipp- 
 
 ping as if the point wanted settling; and betwixt 
 the nominative case, which, your lordship knows, 
 should govern the verb, he suspended his voice 
 in the epilogue a dozen times, three seconds and 
 three-lif ths by a stop-watch, my lord, each time.' 
 ' Admirable grammarian ! ' ' But in suspending 
 his voice was the sense suspended likewise ? Diil 
 no expre.ssion of attitude or ccuintenance till up 
 the chasm? Was the eye silent ? Bid you nar- 
 rowly look?' 'I looked only at the stop-watch, 
 my lord.' ' Excellent oliserver I ' "Sterne : Tris- 
 tram Sliand!/, vol. iii. chap. xii. 
 
 Croak'er (2 syl.). A raven, so called 
 from its croak; one who takes a de- 
 sponding view of things. Goldsmith, in 
 Ins Good-naticrccl ILui, has a character 
 so named. 
 
 Croakumshire. Northumberland is 
 so called from the peculiar croaking of 
 the natives in speaking. This is especi- 
 ally observable in Newcastle and Mor- 
 peth, where the people are said to be 
 born with a burr in their throats, which 
 prevents their giving effect to the 
 letter r. 
 
 Croc mitaine (A). A fire-eater; 
 one always ready to quarrel and fight. 
 
 {See CEOatTEMITAINE.) 
 
 Crocodile (3 syl.). A symbol of 
 deity among the Egj'ptiaus, because it 
 is the only aquatic animal, says Plu- 
 tarch, which has its eyes covered with a 
 thin transi^arent membrane, by reason 
 of which it sees and is not seen ; so God 
 sees all, Himself not being seen. To 
 this he subsequently adds another reason, 
 saying, "The Egyptians worship God 
 symbolically in the crocodile, that being 
 the only animal without a tongue, like 
 the Divine Logos, which standeth not in 
 need of speech." {De Iside et Osiride, 
 vol. ii. p. 381.) 
 
 V Achilles Tatius says, " The number 
 
 of its teeth equals the number of days in 
 a year." Auotlier tradition is, that 
 during the seven days held sacred to 
 Apis, the crocodile will harm no one. 
 
 Crocodile {Kimj). A king wlio de- 
 vours his peo2)le, or at least their sub- 
 stance. Browne, in his 'Travels, tells us 
 that there is a king crocodile, as there is a 
 queen bee. The king crocodile lias no tail. 
 
 Crocodile's Eye. Hieroglyiihic for 
 the morning. 
 
 Croc'odile's Tears. Hypocritical 
 tears. The tale is, tliat crocodiles moan 
 and sigh like a person in deep distress, 
 to alhirc travellers to the spot, and even 
 shed tears over their prey while iu the 
 act of devouring it. 
 
 " As the mournful crocodile 
 AVith sorrow snares relenting iiassengers." 
 Shakespeare: 2 llenri/ 17., iii. I. 
 
 Crocum in Ciliciam ferre. To 
 
 carr}' coals to Newcastle. As Cilicia 
 abounds with saflfron, to send it there 
 would be needless and extravagant 
 excess. For .similar iihrascs, sec Alcinoo 
 
 POMA DARE, NOCTUAS AtHENAS, COALS. 
 
 Croesus. Jiich as Cra-sns. Croesus, 
 King of Lydia, was so i-icli and powerful 
 that all the wise men of Greece were 
 drawn to his court, aud his name be- 
 came proverbial for wealth. (B.C. 500- 
 546.) {Sec Gyges.) 
 
 Crom'eruach'. Chief idol of the 
 Irish before the preaching of St. Patrick. 
 It was a gold or silver image surrounded 
 by twelve little brazen ones. 
 
 Cromlech. A large stone resting on 
 two or more others, like a table. (Welsh, 
 crom, bent ; t/ee/i, a fiat stone.) 
 
 Weyland Smith's cave (Berkshire), 
 Trevethy stone (Cornwall), I^t's Coty 
 House (Kent). Irby and Mangles saw 
 twenty-seven structm-es just like these 
 on the banks of the Jordan ; at Plas 
 Newydd (Anglesey) are two cromlechs ; 
 in Cornwall they are numerous ; so are 
 they in Wales ; some few are found in 
 Ireland, as the " killing-stone " iu Loutli. 
 In Brittany, Denmark, Germany, and 
 some other i^arts of Eui'ope, cromlechs 
 are to be found. 
 
 Cromwell in the part of "Tactus." 
 {Sec Tactus.) 
 
 Crone, properly speaking, means a 
 ewe whose teeth are worn out ; but 
 metaphorically it means any toothless 
 old beldam. (Irish, crioiia, old; allied 
 to the Greek t/erdii, an old man.) 
 
 "Take up the bastard ; take 't up, T say ; give 't 
 to thy cvoue." Shakespeare : Winter's Tale, ii. 3.
 
 Cronian Sea 
 
 309 
 
 Cross 
 
 Cro'nian Sea. The north polar sea. 
 
 Pliiiy says, " A Thule lotius diei ncivif/a- 
 tio'ne nmre concretmn,rt iwiiiutllis croninm 
 appcUa'tiiry {Xatiiral Ilistorij, iv. 16.) 
 
 " As when two polar winds lilowing adverse 
 Upon the Cronian sea." 
 
 Milton ; Paradise Lost, x. 290. 
 
 Cro'ny. A familiar friend, yln old 
 croni/ is an intimate of times gone by. 
 Probably crone with the diminutive ic 
 for endearment, and equivalent to " dear 
 old fellow," "dear old boy." {See 
 Ceone.) 
 
 Crook in the Lot, T/iere is a crook 
 ill the lot of ereri/oiie. There is vexa- 
 tion bound up in every person's lot of 
 life, a skeleton in the cupboard of every 
 house. A crook in a stick is a bend, a 
 part where the stick does not run 
 straight, hence a "shepherd's crook." 
 When lots were di-awn by bits of stick, 
 it was desirable to get sticks which were 
 smooth and straight ; but it is veiy hard 
 to find one without a crook, knot, or 
 some other defect. Boston has a book 
 entitled T/ie Crook in the Lot. 
 
 Crooked as Crawley. (SVr Craw- 
 ley.) 
 
 Crooked Sixpence (A). Said to 
 bring luck. {See Money.) 
 
 Crooked Stick (A). A self-willed 
 fellow who will neither lead nor drive, 
 neither be led nor driven. {See Ceook.) 
 
 Crop Up (or) Out. To rise out of, 
 to appear at the surface. A mining 
 term. Strata which rise to the surface 
 are said to crop out. We also saj% such 
 and such a subject crops up from time to 
 time — i.e. rises to the surface ; such and 
 such a thing crops out of what you were 
 saying — i.e. is apropos thereof. 
 
 Cropper. He came a cropper. He 
 fell head over heels. To pet a cropper. 
 To get a bad fall. "Neck and crop" 
 means altogether, and to ' ' come a 
 cropper" is to come to the ground neck 
 and crop. 
 
 Croquemitaine \cro(clc-niit-taiii'], the 
 bogie raised by fear. The romance so 
 ciilled, in three i^arts. The fu'st relates 
 the bloody tournament at Fransac, be- 
 tween the champions of the Moorish 
 King Marsillus and the paladins of 
 Charlemagne. The second is the Siege 
 of Saragossa by Charlemagne. The 
 third is the allegory of Fear-Fortress. 
 The epilogue is the disaster at Eonces- 
 valles. The author is M. I'Epine. There 
 is au English version by Tom Hood, 
 
 illustrated by Gustave Dore (1867). {See 
 Fear-Foeteess, Mitaine, etc.) 
 
 Croquet. A game played with a 
 sort of baudy stick. The crook was 
 superseded by a kind of mallet. Du 
 Cange gives '^Croque, eroqucbois, croquet, 
 baton arme d''un croc, on qui est recourbe " 
 (vol. vii. p. 115). The art of the game 
 is to strike your balls through very 
 small hoops arranged in a given order. 
 
 Crore {A), in the East Indies, means 
 a hundred lacs of rupees, equal nomi- 
 nally, in round numbers, to a million 
 sterling. (Pronounce cror, Hiudustanee 
 
 karor.) 
 
 Cross. The cross is said to have 
 been made of four sorts of wood (palm, 
 cedar, olive, and cypress), to signify the 
 four quarters of the globe. 
 
 " Ligua crucis palnia, cedrus, cupressus, oli'va." 
 
 We are accustomed to consider the 
 sign of the cross as wholly a Christian 
 symbol, originating with the crucifixion 
 of our Redeemer. This is quite errone- 
 ous. In ancient Carthage it was used 
 for ornamental purposes. Runic crosses 
 were set up by the Scandinavians as 
 boundary marks, and were erected over 
 the gi-aves of kings and heroes. Cicero 
 tells us {I)c Divinatione, ii. 27, and 80, 81) 
 that the augur's staff with which they 
 marked out the heaven was a cross. 
 The ancient Egyptians employed the 
 same as a sacred symbol, and we see on 
 Greek sculptures, etc., a cake with a 
 cross ; two such buns were discovered at 
 Hercula'neum. 
 
 It was a sacred symbol among the 
 Aztecs long before the landing of Cortes. 
 (Malinche.) In Cozumel it was an ob- 
 ject of worship ; in Tabasco it symbolised 
 the god of rain ; in Palinque (the Pal- 
 myra of America) it is sculptured on the 
 walls with a child held up adoring it. 
 
 "The cross is not onlyaCbristian symbol, it was 
 also a Mexican symbol. It was one of the em- 
 blems of Quetzalcoatl, as lord of the four cardinal 
 points, and the fom' winds that blow' therefrom." 
 —Fiske: Discovery of America, vol. ii. chap. viii. 
 p. 250.) 
 
 Cross {in hcraldnj) . There are twelve 
 crosses in heraldry, called (1) the ordi- 
 nary cross ; (2) the cross humette, or 
 couped ; (3) the cross urde, or i^ointed ; 
 (4) the cross i^otent ; (5) the cross cross- 
 let ; (6) the cross botonn€, or trefle ; (7) 
 the cross moline ; (8) the cross potence ; 
 (9) the cross fleiu-y ; (10) the cross pate ; 
 (11) the Maltese cross (or eight-pointed 
 cross) ; (12) the cross cleche and titche. 
 Some heraldic writers enumerate 285 
 different kinds of crosses.
 
 Cross 
 
 310 
 
 Cross and Pile 
 
 Cross (a mystic emblem) may be re- 
 duced to these four : 
 
 The Greek cross {-{■), found on Assy- 
 rian tablets, Egyptian and Persian monu- 
 ments, and on Etruscan pottery. 
 
 Tlie crux decusMta (X), generally 
 called St. Andrew's cross. Quite com- 
 mon in ancient sculpture. 
 
 The Latin cross ( + ), or "crux im- 
 missa." This symbol is also found on 
 coins, monuments, and medals, long be- 
 fore the Christian era. 
 
 'The tan cross (t), or " crux commissa." 
 Very ancient indeed, and supposed to be 
 a phallic emblem. 
 
 V The tau cross with a handle (f ) is 
 common to several EgyiJtian deities, as 
 Isis, Osiris, etc. ; and is the emblem of 
 immortality and life generally. 
 
 Everyo)ie must bear his oicn cross. 
 His own burden or troubles. The allu- 
 sion is to the law that the person con- 
 demned to be crucified was to cany his 
 cross to the jilace of execution. 
 
 Get on the cross. Get into bad ways ; 
 not go straight. 
 
 • " It's bard lines to tliink a fellow must grow up 
 and «r(!t on the cross iu spite of himself, and 
 come to the callow's foot at last, whetber he 
 likes it or not. "— iioWrejt'ood ; Robbery Under Arms, 
 chap. viii. 
 
 The judgment of the cross. An ordeal 
 instituted in the reign of Charlemagne. 
 The plaintiff and defendant were re- 
 quired to cross their arms upon their 
 breast, and he who could hold out the 
 longest gained the suit. 
 
 Oh the cross. Not " on the square," 
 not straightforward. To get anything 
 " on the cross "is to get it unfairly or 
 surreptitiously. 
 
 8ee KosiCEUCiANS. 
 
 Cross {To). 
 
 Cross it ojf or out. Cancel it by run- 
 ning your pen across it. To cancel {q.v.) 
 means to mark it with lattice lines. 
 
 Cross, ill-tempered, is the Anglo- 
 Saxon crous. 
 
 " Azeyu [against] hem was he kene and crous." 
 Cursor Mundi. 
 
 Cross Buns. {See Buxs.) 
 
 Cross - grained. Patchy, ill - tem- 
 pered, self-willed. Wood must be 
 worked with the grain ; when the grain 
 crosses we get a knot or curling, which 
 is hard to work uniform. 
 
 Cross-legged Knights indicate that 
 the person so represented died in the 
 Christian faith. As crusaders were 
 supposed so to do, they were generally 
 
 represented on their tombs with crossed 
 
 legs. 
 
 " Sometimes the figure on the tomh of a kniwht 
 has his leijs crossed at tlie ankles, this mean I that 
 tbe knipbt went ane crusaile. If the lef?s are 
 crossed at the knees, he went twice; if at the 
 thighs be went three times."— Ditchjield : Our Vil- 
 laues, IWJ. 
 
 Cross Man {A). Not straightfor- 
 ward ; luigain ; not honest. 
 
 "The storekeepers know who are their best 
 customers, tbe snuare jicople or the cross ones." 
 —ISoldnicuod : Ilobbcry Under Arms, cb;ii>. xvil. 
 
 Cross-patch. A disagreeable, ill- 
 tempered person, male or female. Patch 
 means a fool or gossip ; so called from 
 las parti-coloured or patched dress. A 
 cross-patch is an ill-tempered fool or 
 gossiji. Patch, meaning "fellow," is 
 common enough ; half a dozen examples 
 occur in Shakespeare, as a " scurvy 
 patch," a "soldier's patch," "What 
 patch is made our porter? " " a crew of 
 patches," etc. 
 
 " Cross-patch, draw tbe latch, 
 .Sit by the fire and spin ; 
 Take a cup, and <lrink it iii>. 
 Then call your ncii-'bl»mrs in. 
 
 old Xursenj Rhyme. 
 
 Cross-roads. All (except suicides) 
 who were excluded from holy rites were 
 piously buried at the foot of the cross 
 erected on the public road, as the place 
 next in sanctity to consecrated ground. 
 Suicides were ignominiously buried on 
 the highway, with a sttike driven througli 
 their body. 
 
 Cross and Ball, so imivcrsally 
 marked on Egyptian figures, is a circle 
 and the lettei^T. The circle signifies 
 the eternal preserver of the world, and 
 the T is the monogram of Tlioth, the 
 Egj'ptian Mercury, meaning wisdom. 
 
 The coronation orb is a sphere or ball 
 sumiounted by a cross, an emblem of 
 empire introduced in representations of 
 our Saviour. In this case the cross 
 stands ahuve the ball, to signify that the 
 spiritual jiower is above the tem^^oral. 
 
 Cross and Pile. Money ; pitch and 
 toss. Hilaire le Gai tells us that some 
 of the ancient French coins had a cross, 
 and others a column, on the reverse : the 
 column was called a pile, from which 
 comes our word " pillar," and the 
 phrase "pile-driving." Scaliger says 
 that some of the old French coins had a 
 ship on the reverse, the arms of Paris, 
 and that pile means "a ship," whence 
 our word "pilot." 
 
 " A man may now justifiably throw up cross 
 and pile for his opinions."— iocfce ; Human Undei- 
 standing. 
 
 Cross or jnle. Heads or tails. The 
 French say pile oufacc. The " face " or
 
 Cross as a Bear 
 
 811 
 
 Crown 
 
 cross was the obverse of the coiu, the 
 "pile" was the reverse; but at a later 
 period the cross was transferred to tlie 
 reverse, as in our florins, and the 
 obverse bore a "head" or "poll." 
 
 " Marriage is worse than cross I win, pile you 
 lose." Shadivell: Ep^um Wells. 
 
 Cross nor pile. I have neither cross 
 nor pile. Not a penny in the world. 
 The French jjhrase is, "■ X'aroir ni croix 
 ni 2}iJs " (to have neither one sort of 
 coin nor another) . 
 
 '■"Wbacmn had neither cross nor pile" 
 
 Butler : Hitdibras, pan ii. 3. 
 
 Cross as a Bear, or Cross as a bear 
 tcith a sore head. 
 
 Cross as the Tongs. The refer- 
 ence is to tongs which open like a pair 
 of scissors. 
 
 Cross as Two Sticks. The refer- 
 ence is to the cross (X). 
 
 Crossing the Hand. Fortune-tell- 
 ers of the gipsy race always bid their 
 dupe to " cross their hand with a bit of 
 silver." This, they say, is for luck. 
 Of course, the sign of the cross warded 
 off witches and all other evil sj^irits, and, 
 as fortune -telling belongs to the black 
 arts, the ijalm is signed with a cross to 
 keep off the wiles of the devil. "You 
 need fear no evil, though I am a fortune- 
 teller, if bj^ the sign of tlic cross you 
 exorcise the evil spirit." 
 
 Crossing the Line — i.e. the equator. 
 
 Crot'alum. A sort of Castanet, rattled 
 in dancing. Aristopha'nes calls a great 
 talker hrot'ulon (a clack). 
 
 Crotchet. A whim ; a fancy ; a 
 twist of the mind, like the crotch or 
 crome of a stick. {Jiee Crook.) 
 
 "The duke hath crotchets in him." 
 'Shalcespeare : Miusurefor Measure, iii. '.'. 
 
 Croto'na's Sage. Pytha'goras. So 
 called because at Crotona he established 
 his first and chief school of philosophy. 
 Such success followed his teaching that 
 the whole aspect of the town became 
 more moral and decorous in a marvel- 
 lously short time. About B.C. 540. 
 
 Crouchback. (See Eed Kose.) 
 
 Crouchmas, from the Invention of 
 the Cross to St. Helen's Day (May 3rd 
 to August 18th). Not Christ-mas, but 
 Cross-mas. Rogation Sunday is called 
 Crouchmas Sunday, and Rogation week 
 is called Crouchmas. 
 
 " From hull-cow fast, 
 Till Crouchmas he past " [i.e. August isth]. 
 Tusser : May Remembrances, 
 
 Crow. As the crow Jlies. The 
 shortest route between two given places. 
 The crow flies straight to its point of 
 destination. Called the bee-line in 
 America. 
 
 Crow. {See Raven.) 
 
 / must pluck a crow with you ; I have a 
 crow to pick with you. I am displeased 
 with you, and must call you to account. 
 I have a small complaint to make against 
 you. In Howell's proverbs (1659) we 
 find the following, "I have a goose to 
 pluck with you," used in the same sense ; 
 and Chaucer has the phi-ase "Pull a 
 Jinch,'^ but means thereby to cheat or 
 filch. Children of distinction among the 
 Greeks and Romans had birds for their 
 amusement, and in their boyish quar- 
 rels used to pluck or jjuU the feathers 
 out of each other's pets. Tyn'darus, 
 in his Captives, alludes to this, but 
 instances it with a lapwinf/. In hiero- 
 glyphics a crow symbolises contention, 
 discord, strife. 
 
 " If a crow help us in, sirrah, we'll pluck a crow 
 tofxcllicr."— Shakespeare : Comedy of £rrors,ui. 1. 
 " If not, resolve hefore we go. 
 That you and 1 must pull a crow." 
 
 Butler : Uudibras, part ii. -2. 
 
 Crow over One {To), is to exult over 
 a vanquished or abased person. The allu- 
 sion is to cocks, who always crow when 
 they have vanquished an adversary. 
 
 Crowbar. An iron with a crook, 
 used for leverage. (Anglo-Saxon, cruc.) 
 
 " Science is as far removed from brute fnrce as 
 this sword from a crowbar." — Bulaer-Lytton: 
 Leila, bocik ii. cluip. i. p. Xi. 
 
 Crowd or Crouth. A species of fiddle 
 with six or more strings. The last noted 
 player on this instrument was John 
 Morgan, who died 17-0. (Welsh, crwtli.) 
 
 " O sweet c(mscnt, between a crowd and a Jew's 
 harp : " Lylij. 
 
 Crowde'ro. One of the rabble leaders 
 encountered by Hudibras at a bear- 
 baiting. The original of tliis character 
 was one Jackson or Jeph.son, a milliner, 
 who lived in the New Exchange, Strand. 
 He lost a leg in the service of the Round- 
 heads, and was reduced to the necessity 
 of fiddling from alehouse to alehouse for 
 his daily bread. The word means fiddler. 
 {See above, Crowd.) 
 
 Crown. In heraldry nine crowns are 
 recognised : The oriental, the triumjihal 
 or imperial, the diadem, the obsidional 
 crown, the civic, the crown vallery, the 
 mm-al crown, the naval, and the crown 
 celestial. 
 
 The blockade crown {coro'na obsidio- 
 na'lis), presented by the Romans to the 
 general who liberated a beleaguered
 
 Crown Glass 
 
 312 
 
 Crucial 
 
 aiiny. This was made of grass and wild 
 flowers gathered from the sisot. 
 
 ^1 camp croirn was given by the 
 Romans to him who first forced his way 
 into the enemy's cam]). It was made of 
 gold, and decorated with palisades. 
 
 A civic croirn was jiresented to him 
 who preserved the life of a ciris or 
 liomau citizen in battle. This crown 
 was made of oak leaves, and bore the 
 inscrii^tion, H.O.C.S. — i.e. liostem occitlit, 
 ci'reiu scrva'vit {a foe he slew, n citizen 
 saved). 
 
 A mured croicn was given by the 
 Romans to that man who first scaled 
 the wall of a besieged town. It was 
 made of gold and decorated with battle- 
 ments. 
 
 A iiaral croirn was by the Romans 
 given to him who won a naval victory. 
 It was made of gold, and decorated with 
 the beaks of ships. 
 
 All olive croirn was by the Romans 
 given to those who distinguished them- 
 selves in battle in some way not specially 
 mentioned in other clauses. 
 
 An ova' f ion croirn {coro'na ora'lis) was 
 by the Romans given to the general who 
 vanquished pirates or any despised enemy. 
 It was made of myrtle. 
 
 A triiouphal croirn was by the Romans 
 given to the general who obtained a tri- 
 umph. It was made of laiu-el or bay 
 leaves. Sometimes a massive gold crown 
 was given to a victorious general. (<SVe 
 Laurel.) 
 
 " The iron croicn of Lombarchj is the 
 crown of the ancient Longobardic 
 kings. It is now at Monza, in Italy. 
 Henry of Luxembourg and succeeding 
 kings were crowned with it. Najjoleon I. 
 put it on his head with his own hands. 
 It is a thin fillet of iron, said to be ham- 
 mered from a nail of the true cross, 
 covered with a gold circle, enamelled 
 with jewels, etc. 
 
 Crown Glass is window glass blown 
 into a crown or hollow globe. It is 
 flattened before it is fit for use. 
 
 Crown Office {The). A department 
 belonging to the Court of Queen's Bench. 
 There are three Crown ofhcers aj^pointed 
 by the Lord Chief Justice — viz. (1) 
 Queen's Coroner and Attorney ; (2) the 
 Master ; and (.3) the Assistant Master. 
 The offices are held during good be- 
 haviour. 
 
 Crown of the East— ?.f. Antioch, 
 capital of Syria, which consisted of four 
 walled cities, encomi^assed by a common 
 rampart, that "enj'ounded them like a 
 
 coronet." It was also sumamed " the 
 beautiful." 
 
 Crowns (woni by heathen deities) : 
 
 Apoi.t.o wore a rrown of laurels. 
 
 Bacchus, of Krapes or ivy. 
 
 t'KiiEs, (if hlailos of wheat. 
 
 C'OMCS, of ruses. 
 
 CvKEi.E, of iiiiie leaves. 
 
 KLOiiA.of llinvors. 
 
 Foutunk, of lir-slips. 
 
 The Gracks, of olive-leaves. 
 
 Hercules, of jioiilar-leaves. 
 
 Hymen, of roses. 
 
 .luNO, of quince-leaves. 
 
 JOPITER, of oak-leaves. 
 
 The Lares, of roseiuary. 
 
 Mercury, of ivy, olive-leaves, or mulberries. 
 
 INIiXERVA. of olive-leaves. 
 
 The Muses, of ilowers. 
 
 I'AX, of inne-leaves. 
 
 Pi.UTO, of cypress. 
 
 I'OMOXA, of fruits. 
 
 Saturx, of vine-leaves. 
 
 Venus, of myrtle or roses. 
 
 Crowner. Coroner— i.r. an officer of 
 the Crown. 
 
 "The crowuer hath sat on her, .ind llnds It 
 Christian \<mi;i\."—Hhakfni>cu,re: JIamlct, v. 1. 
 
 Crow's-Nest (7%"), in aGrcenlander's 
 galley, is a small room constructed of 
 staves, sometliing like an emj)ty cask. 
 It is fitted uji with seats and other con- 
 veniences, and here the person on watch 
 continues for two hours looking out for 
 whales. The whale generally announces 
 his approach by a " blowing," which 
 may in favourable cii'cumstances be 
 heard several miles off. 
 
 Crowquill {Alfred). Alfred Henry 
 
 Forrester (180j-187'2). 
 
 Croysado. The Great Croysado. 
 General Lord Fairfax. (Riidibras.) 
 
 Cro'zier or Cro'sier. An archbi.shop's 
 staff tenninatesin a floriated cross, while 
 a bishop's crook has a curved, bracken- 
 like head. A bishop turns his crook 
 onfirards, to denote liis wider authority ; 
 an abbot (whose crook is the same as a 
 bishop's) carries it turned imrards, to 
 show that his jurisdiction is limited to 
 his own imnates. When walking with a 
 bishop an abbot covers his crook with a 
 veil hanging from the knob, to show that 
 his authority is veiled iu the presence of 
 his sui^erior. 
 
 Cru'cial. A crucial test. A very 
 severe and undeniable one. The allusion 
 is to a fancy of Lord Bacon's, who said 
 that two different diseases or sciences 
 might run parallel for a time, but would 
 idtimately cross each other : thus, the 
 plague might for a time resemble other 
 diseases, but when the bubo or boil ap- 
 peared, the plague would assume its 
 specific character. Hence the phrases in- 
 stan'tia crucis (a crucial or unmistakable
 
 Crude Forms 
 
 313 
 
 Crusted Port 
 
 symptom), a crucial experiment, a 
 crucial example, a crucial question, etc. 
 
 Crude Forms in grammar. The 
 roots or essential letters of words. The 
 words are crude or uufiuished. Thus am- 
 i's, the crude form of the verb amo ; hon- 
 of the adjective bonus; and domin- of 
 the noun domimts. 
 
 Cruel {TIu). Pedro, King of Castile 
 (i;531, 1350-1369). 
 
 Pedro I. of Portugal ; also called le 
 Jiusdcicr (1320, 13.-)7-13G7). 
 
 Cruel (now Crewel) Garters. Gar- 
 ters made of worsted or yam. 
 
 " Ha ! lia ! look, be wears cruel garters." 
 
 Shal;eii)ieure : Kimj Lear, ii. ). 
 
 " Wearing of silk, why art tlioii so cniel ? " 
 H'oHKiii's a W'eutliircock U'Jl-). 
 
 Crummy. ThaCs crumiinj, that'.s 
 jolly good. She''s a crumnvj woman, a 
 tine handsome woman. Crummy means 
 fat or fleshy. The crummy part of 
 bread is the fleshy or main part. The 
 opposite of "crusty" = ill-tempered. 
 
 Crump. " DonH you unali you may 
 grt if, Jlrs. Crump ! " Grose says Mrs. 
 Crump, a faiTuer's wife, was invited to 
 dine with Lady Coventry, who was very 
 deaf. Mrs. Crump wanted some beer, 
 but, awed by the pui-ple and plusli, said, 
 in a half-whisper, " I wish I had some 
 beer, now." Mr. Flunkey, conscious 
 that his mistress could not hear, replied 
 in the same aside, " Don't j^ou wish you 
 may get it ? " At this the farmer's wife 
 rose from table and helped herself. 
 Lady Coventry, of course, demanded the 
 reason, and tire anecdote soon became 
 a standing joke. 
 
 Crusades (2 syl.). Holy wars in 
 wliich the warriors wore a cross, and 
 fought, nominally at least, for the 
 honour of the cross. Each nation had 
 its special colour, which, says Matthew 
 Paris (i. 446), was red for France ; white 
 for England ; green for Flanders ; for 
 Italy it was blue or azure ; for Spain, 
 yules ; for Scotland, a St. Andrew's 
 cross ; for the Knights Temj)lars, red on 
 white. 
 
 2'hc seven Crusades. 
 
 (1) 1096-1100. Preached up by Peter 
 the Hermit. Led by Godfrey of Bouil- 
 lon, who took Jerusalem. As a result of 
 this crusade, Geoffrey of Bouillon be- 
 came the virtual king of Jerusalem. 
 
 (2) 1147-1149. At the instigation of 
 St. Bernard. Led by Louis VII. and the 
 Emperor Conrad. To secure the union 
 of Europe. 
 
 (3) 1189-1193. Led by Richard ZwM- 
 heart. For knightly distinction. This 
 was against Saladin or Salah-Eddin. 
 
 (4) 1202-1204. Led by Baldwin 'of 
 Flanders and the doge. To glorify the 
 Venetians. 
 
 (o) 1217. Led by John of Brienne, 
 titular King of Jerusalem. To suit his 
 own purpose. 
 
 (6) 1228-1229. Led by Frederick II. 
 As a result, Palestine was ceded to Fred- 
 erick (Kaiser of GeiTnariy), who was 
 crowned king of Jerusalem. 
 
 (7) 1^48-12.54 and (8) 1268-1270. To 
 satisfy the religious scrui)lcs of Louis IX. 
 
 Crush. To erush a bottle — i.e. drink 
 one. Cf. Milton's erush the sweet 
 poison. The idea is that of crushing 
 the grapes. Shakespeare has also burst 
 a bottle in the same sense (Induction 
 of Taming the Shrew). {See Ceack.) 
 
 " Come and crush a cup of wine." 
 
 Shakespeare : Romeo imd Juliet, i. 2. 
 
 To crush a fly on a wheel. To crack a 
 nut with a steam-hammer ; to employ 
 power far too valuable for tlie purpose 
 to be accomplished. The wheel referred 
 to is the rack. {See Break a Butter- 
 fly.) 
 
 Crush-room [The) of an opera or 
 theatre. A room provided for ladies 
 where they can wait till their carriages 
 are called. Called crush because the 
 room is not only crowded, but all crush 
 towards the door, hoping each call will 
 be that of their own carriage. "Mrs. 
 X.'s carnage stops the way," "Lord 
 X.'s caiTiage," etc. 
 
 Cru'soe (-4). A solitary man; the 
 onlj' iuhabitant of a place. The tale of 
 Defoe is well known, which describes 
 Robinson Crusoe as cast on a desert 
 island, where he employs the most ad- 
 mirable ingenuity in providing for his 
 daily wants. 
 
 " Whence creeping furth, to Duty's call he yields, 
 And strolls the Crusoe of the lonely fields." 
 
 Bluomfiild : Farmer's Boy. 
 
 Crust. The vpper crust (of society). 
 The aristocracy; the ujiper ten-thousand. 
 
 Crus'ted Port. When port is first 
 bottled its fermentation is not complete ; 
 in time it j^recipitates argol on the sides 
 of the bottle, where it forms a crust. 
 Crusted port, therefore, is port which 
 has completed its fermentation. 
 
 " The " cru.st" is composed of argol, 
 tartrate of lime, and colouring matter, 
 thus making the wine more etliereal iu 
 quality and lighter in colour.
 
 Crusty 
 
 314 
 
 Cucking-stool 
 
 Crus'ty. Ill-tempered, apt to take 
 oflfence. This is formed from the old 
 wpi'd crous, cross, peevish. 
 " Azcyn [awiinst] liem was lie kene anp crous, 
 Ami saiil, ' Cidtli out my Fader lious.' " 
 
 Cursor Mtmdi. 
 
 Crutched Friars is the Latin cni- 
 cia'tl (crossed) — i.e. having a cross em- 
 broidered on their dress. They were of 
 the Trinitarian order. 
 
 Crux {A). A knotty point, a diffi- 
 culty. Iiistcoitia cvHcis means a crucial 
 test, or the point vi'here two similar dis- 
 eases crossed and showed a special feature. 
 It does not refer to the cross, an instru- 
 ment of punishment ; but to the crossing 
 of two lines, called also a node or knot ; 
 hence a trouble or difficulty. Qnec to 
 mala crnx agitat ? (Plautus) ; What evil 
 cross distresses jon't — i.e. w^hat difficulty, 
 what trouble are you under ? 
 
 Crux Ansa'ta. The tau cross with 
 a loop or handle at the top. {See Ceoss.) 
 
 Crux Decussata. A St. Andrew's 
 cross , 
 
 "Crux (loi'usFata est iu qua duo lipna dirocta 
 et a'qualiilia iiilcr so ohliquaiittir, i-ujus foruiniu 
 lefert liloia X ijua-, ut ait, Isiilonis (Oii^'. 1, iii.) 
 'iu ttgiira cruceiu et iu iiuiiiero decern deiuou- 
 strat.' Ha?c viilgo Andreana vocatur, <4Uod vetus 
 traditio sit in liao S. Antreain fuisse necatum."— 
 Gretser : De Crnce, liook i. p. a. 
 
 Crux Pectoralis. The cross which 
 bishops of the Church of Eonie suspend 
 over their breast. 
 
 " Crucem cum pretioso ligno vel cum reliquis 
 Sanctorum ante pectus portare suspensum ad 
 coUum.boc est quod vocaut encolpiuni [or crux 
 Pectoralis]."— See Ducaiitje, vol. iii. p. 302, col. 2, 
 article Excolpium. 
 
 Cry. 
 
 Great cry and little tvool. This is 
 derived from the ancient mystery of 
 Darid and A biff ail, in which Nabal is 
 represented as shearing his sheep, and 
 the Devil, who is made to attend the 
 churl, imitates the act by "shearing a 
 hog." Originally, the proverb ran thus, 
 " Great cry and little wool, as the Devil 
 said when he sheared the hogs." N.B. 
 — Butler alters the proverb into " All 
 cry and no wool." 
 
 Cry of Animals {The). {See Ani- 
 mals.) 
 
 Cry {To). 
 
 To cry over spilt milk. To fret about 
 some loss which can never be repaired. 
 
 Cry Cave ( To) . To ask mercy ; to 
 throw up the sponge ; to confess oneself 
 beaten. (Latin, caveo.) {See Cave In.) 
 
 Cry Havock! No quarter. In a 
 tract entitled The Office of the Constable 
 and Marcschall in the Tymc of Werrc 
 
 (contained in the Black Book of the 
 Admiralty), one of the chapters is, "The 
 peyne of hym that crieth havock, and of 
 them that foUoweth him" — "//«/* si 
 quis inventus fiierit ejai clamorcni in- 
 ceperit qui vacatur harok.'" 
 
 " Cry Havock, and let slip the doprs of war." 
 Sliukcspaire : Julius Ccesar, iii. 1 
 
 Cry Quits. {Sec Quits.) 
 
 Cry Vinegar {Tu). In French, Crier 
 Vinaigre. The shout of sportsmen when 
 a hare is caught. He cries " Vinegar ! " 
 he has caught the hare ; metaphorically 
 it means, he has won success. " Cetoit, 
 dit le TJuchat, la coutume en Lanyucdoc, 
 entre les chasseurs, de s'ecrier Pun a V autre 
 ' Vinaiyre,^ des qtc^ils araieiit tire vn 
 licvre, parceque la rraie sauce de cet 
 animal est Ic tinaiyre.'" 
 
 Crier au Vinairire lias quite another meaninir. 
 It is the reproof to a landlord who serves his 
 customers with liad wine. Iu a figurative sensu 
 it iiicans Crier au Vuleur. 
 
 Cry Wolf. {Sec Wolf.) 
 
 Crystal Hills. On the coast of the 
 Caspian, near Badku, is a mountain 
 which sparkles like diamonds, from the 
 sea-glass and crystals with which it 
 abounds. 
 
 Crystalline (3 syl.). The Crystalline 
 sphere. According to Ptolemy, between 
 the "primum mobile" and the finna- 
 ment or sphere of the fixed stars comes 
 the crystal'line sphere, which oscillates 
 or has a shimmering motion that inter- 
 feres with the regular motion of the stars. 
 " Thev pass the planets seven, and pass the 
 'llxed' 
 And that crystal'line sphere, whose halance 
 
 weighs 
 The trepidation talked fof)." 
 
 Milton: Paradise Lost, iii. 
 
 Cub. An ill-mannered lout. The 
 cub of a bear is said to have no shape 
 until its dam has licked it into form. 
 
 " A bear's a savage beast, of all 
 Most ugly and unnatural ; 
 Whelped without form until the dam 
 Has licked it into shape and frame." 
 
 Butler : UmUhras,\. 3. 
 
 Cuba. The Roman deity who kept 
 guard over infants iu their cribs and 
 sent them to sleep. Verb cubo, to lie 
 down in bed. 
 
 Cube. A faultless cube. A truly 
 good man ; a regular brick. («SVy' Brick.) 
 
 avev \\/6yov. — Aristutle: NicuinachcanEtliies, i.ll, 
 sec. 11. 
 
 Cucking-stool (I7ic) or Chokiny-stool, 
 for ducking scolds, is not connected 
 with elioke (to stifle), but the French 
 choquer ; hence the archaic verb cuck 
 (to throw), and one still in use, chuck
 
 Cuckold 
 
 315 
 
 Cuirass 
 
 (chuck-farthing). The cucking-stool is 
 the stool which is chucked or thrown 
 into the water. 
 
 " Now, if one cucking-stool was for eacli scold, 
 Some towns, I fear, would not their numbers 
 hold." Poor Robin {17 Uij. 
 
 Cuckold. (St'e Action.) 
 
 Cuckold King (T/te). Mark of 
 Cornwall, whose wife Yseult intrigued 
 with Sir Tristram, one of the Knights of 
 the Bound Table. 
 
 Cuckold's Point. A spot on the 
 riverside near Deptford. So called from 
 a tradition that King John made there 
 successful love to a labourer's wife. 
 
 Cuckoo. A cuckold. The cuckoo 
 occupies the nest and eats the eggs of 
 other birds ; and Dr. Johnson says " it 
 was usual to alarm a husband at the 
 approach of an adulterer by calling out 
 ' Cuckoo,' which by mistake was applied 
 in time to the person warned. " Green 
 calls the cuckoo " the cuckold's quiris- 
 ter " {Quip for an Upstart Courtier, 
 1620). This is an instance of how words 
 get in time perverted from their ori- 
 ginal meaning. The Eomans used to 
 call an adulterer a ''cuckoo," as '■* 2e 
 cuculuni uxor ex histris rapit " {Flautus : 
 Asbtaria, v. 3), and the allusion was 
 simple and correct ; but Dr. Johnson's 
 explanation will hardly satisfy anyone 
 for the modern perversion of the word. 
 
 " The cuckoo, tlien, on every tree, 
 Mocks married men ; for thus siii.ifs he. 
 
 Cuckoo ! 
 Cuckoo ! cuckoo ! O word of fear, 
 Unjileasing to a married ear ! " 
 
 Shakespeare : Love's Labour's Lost, v. 2. 
 
 Cuckoo (A). A watch or clock. 
 The French have the same slang word 
 eoucou. for a watch or clock. Of course, 
 the word is derived from the GeiTuau 
 cuckoo-clocks, which, instead of striking 
 the horn-, cry cuckoo. 
 
 Cuckoo Oats and Woodcock Hay. 
 
 Cuchuo oats and woodcock hay make a 
 farmer run away. If the spring is so 
 backward that oats cannot be sown till 
 the cuckoo is heard {i.e. April), or if the 
 autumn is so wet that the aftermath of 
 hay cannot be got in till woodcock 
 shooting (middle of November), the 
 faiTQer must be a great sufferer. 
 
 Cuckoo - Spit, " Frog - Spit, " or 
 " Froth-Spit." The sjiume which forms 
 the nidus of an insect called the Cicada 
 Spuinaria, or, more strictly speaking, 
 the Gercopis Spuinaria (one of the three 
 divisions of the Cicadariae). This spume 
 is found on lavender-bushes, rosemary, 
 fly-catch, and some other plants. Like 
 
 the cochineal, the cicada spumaria exudes 
 a foam for its own warmth, and for pro- 
 tection during its transition state. The 
 word "cuckoo" in this case means 
 spring or cuckoo-time. 
 
 Cu'cumber Time. The dull season 
 in the tailoring trade. The Germans call 
 it Die saure Gurken Zeit (pickled gherkin 
 time). Hence the expression Tailors arc 
 vegetarians, because they live on " cu- 
 cumber" when without work, and on 
 " cabbage " when in full employ. {Notes 
 and Queries.) {Sec Ghekkin.) 
 
 Cuddy. An ass ; a dolt. A gipsy 
 term, from the Persian gudda and the 
 Hindustanee gliudda (an ass). 
 
 " Hast got tliy t)reakfast, brother ciuldy ?" 
 /). Wingate. 
 
 Cudgel One's Brains {To). To 
 make a painful effort to remember or 
 understand something. The idea is from 
 taking a stick to beat a dull boy under 
 the notion that dulness is the result of 
 temper or inattention. 
 
 " Cudscl thy brains no more about it ; for your 
 dull ass will not mend his pace with beating."— 
 Shakespeare: Uamlel, v. 1. 
 
 Cudgels. To take up the cudgels. To 
 maintain an argument or position. To 
 fight, as with a cudgel, for one's own 
 way. 
 
 " For some reason he did not feel as hot to take 
 up the cudgels for Almira with .his mother."—.!/. 
 E. WUkiiis: A Modern Dragon. 
 
 Cue (1 syl.). The tail of a sentence 
 (French, queue), the catch-word which 
 indicates when another actor is to speak ; 
 a hint ; the state of a person's temper, 
 as " So-and-so is in a good cue (or) bad 
 cue." 
 
 "When my cue comes, call me, and T will 
 answer." — Shakespeare : Midsummer Niglit's 
 Dream, Iv. 1. 
 
 To give the cue. To give the hint. 
 {See above.) 
 
 Cuffy. A negro ; both a generic word 
 and i^roper name. 
 
 " Samlio and Cuffey expand under every sky."— 
 Mrs.' lieeclter Stoa-e : Uncle Tom's Cabin. 
 
 Cui bono ? Who is benefited thereby ? 
 To wliom is it a gain ? The more usual 
 meaning attached to the words is. What 
 good will it do? For what good pur- 
 pose ? It was the question of Judge 
 Cassius. (See Cicero : Fro Milonc, VI. 
 sec. 32.) 
 
 " Cato, that great and grave philosopher, did 
 commonly demand, when any new project was 
 propounded unto him, c«i fcono, what good will 
 ensue in case the same is effected ? —J''i(;((;)- ; 
 Worthies (The Design, i.). 
 
 Cuirass. Sir Arthur's cuirass was 
 "carved of one emerald, centred in a
 
 Cuishes 
 
 316 
 
 Cunobelin's 
 
 sun of silver rays, that lightened as he 
 breathed." {Tennyson: Elaine.) 
 
 Cuish'es or Cuisses (2 syl.). Armour 
 for the thighs. (French, citis.sc, the 
 thigh.) 
 
 "Soon o'er his tliisbs be rlacod tlie ciiishes 
 bright." Jerusalem Dclii-i rfil, lii»ik xi. 
 
 " His cuisses ou his thiphs, palhuitly aniiPd.'' 
 Hhahesjicarc : I llinnj /l'., iv. 1. 
 
 Cul de Sac (Frencli). A blind alley, 
 or alley blocked up at one end like a 
 sack. Figm-atively, an argument, etc., 
 that leads to nothing. 
 
 Culdees. A religious order of Ireland 
 and Scotland, said to have been founded 
 in the sixth century by St. Columba. So 
 called from the Gaelic cijUe-dee (a house 
 of cells) or ccilcdc (servants of God, ceile, 
 a servant). Giraldus Cambrensis, going 
 to the Latin for its etj^mology. according 
 to a custom unhapjiily not yet extinct, 
 derives it from colo-dcus (to Avorship 
 God). 
 
 CuUis. A very fine and strong broth, 
 well strained, and much used for in- 
 valids. (French, cotilis, from coidcr, to 
 strain.) 
 
 Cully. A fop, a fool, a dupe. A con- 
 tracted fonn of cullion,a despicable crea- 
 ture (Italian, cof/liunc). Shakespeare uses 
 the word two or three times, as "Away, 
 base cullions!" (2 Henri/ VI., i. 3), 
 and again in Tanuwj of the S/nriv, iv. 2 
 — "And makes a god of such a cul- 
 lion." (Compare Gull.) 
 
 " You base cuUiDii. yon.'' 
 Ben .Tonsvii ; Ercrij Man in his Minnour, iii. 2. 
 
 Cul'minate (3 syl.). Come to a 
 crisis. The passage of a celestial body 
 over the meridian at the upper transit is 
 called its culmination. (Latin, culmcn, 
 the top.) 
 
 Culross Girdles. The thin plate of 
 iron used in Scotland for the manufac- 
 ture of oaten cakes is called a " girdle," 
 for which Culrcss was long celebrated. 
 
 " Locks and bars, iiloutrb-crraith and barrow- 
 tcetU ! and why not grates and flreprong.*, and 
 I'nhoss girdles ? "—6'co« ; Fair Maid of I'crth, 
 cbap. ii. 
 
 Cul'ver. Pigeon. (Old English, col- 
 rcr; Latin, eo/ninf>(( ; hence culver-house, 
 a dove-cote.) 
 
 " On liiinid wing, 
 The sonnding culver slioots." 
 
 Thomson: Sprinrj 452. 
 
 Cul'verin ]n-operly means a serjient 
 (Latin, coIi(hri'nits, the coluber), but 
 is applied to a long, slender piece of 
 artillerj' employed in the sixteenth cen- 
 tui-y to carry balls to a great distance. 
 Queen Elizabeth's "Pocket Pistol" in 
 Dover Castle is a culverin. 
 
 Cul'verkeys. The keys or flowers 
 of the culver or columba, i.e. colum- 
 bine. (Anglo-Saxon eiilfre, a dove.) 
 
 Cum Grano Sails. Witli its grain 
 of salt ; there is a grain of wheat in the 
 bushel of chaff, and wc must make the 
 proper abatement. 
 
 Cum Hoc, Propter Hoc. Because 
 two or more events occur- consecutively 
 or simultaneously, one is not necessarily 
 the outcome of the other. Sequence of 
 events is not always the result of cause 
 and effect. The swallows come to 
 England in the spring, but do not bring 
 the sirring. 
 
 "[Free trade and revival of trade] says Lord 
 Penzance, came simultaneously, but, he adds, 
 'There is no more dangerous form of reasoning 
 than tberinn hnc,propter hoc.'"— Nineteenth Ccn- 
 innj, April, Imm;.^ ^ 
 
 Cumberland Foet (T/te). ft'illiani 
 Wordsworth, born at Cockermouth. 
 (1770-1850.) 
 
 Cummer. A gammer, gudcwife, old 
 woman. A varietj' of gaiiinier which is 
 r/nindc-niere (our grandmother), as gaffer 
 is grand-pere or grandfather. It occurs 
 scores of times in Scott's novels. 
 
 Cuncta'tor {Uic dcfai/er']. Quintus 
 Fa'bius Max'imus, the Roman general 
 who baffled Hannibal by avoiding direct 
 engagements, and wearing him out by 
 marches, countermarches, and skirmishes 
 from a distance. This was the policy 
 by which Duguesclin forced the English 
 to abandon their possessions in France 
 in the reign of Charles V. (fe Sage). 
 {See Fabian.) 
 
 Cuneiform Letters. Letters like 
 wedges (Latm, e/('nc/(s, a wedge). Tliese 
 sort of letters occur in old Persian and 
 Babylonian inscriptions. They are some- 
 times called ArroiC'/iecided eharucters, 
 and those found at Babylon are called 
 nnU-hcaded. This species of writing is 
 the most ancient of which we have any 
 knowledge ; and was first really deci- 
 phered by Grotefeud in 1802. 
 
 Cunning Man or Woman. A for- 
 tune-teller, one who ijrofesses to dis- 
 cover stolen goods. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 cunnan, to know.) 
 
 Cu'no. The ranger, father of Agatha, 
 in Weber's opera of I)er Freischiit:. 
 
 Cunobelin's Gold Mines. Caverns 
 in the chalk beds of Little Thurrock, 
 Essex ; so called from the tradition that 
 King Cu'nobelin hid in them his gold. 
 They are sometimes called Dane-holes, 
 because they were used as liu-king-places 
 by the Norsemen.
 
 Cunstance 
 
 317 
 
 Cupboard Love 
 
 Cunstance. A model of Resigiia- 
 tiou, daughter of the Emjieror of Rome. 
 The Sultan of Sji-ia, in order to have 
 her for his wife, renounced his religion 
 and turned Christian ; but the Sultan's 
 mother miuxlered him, and turned 
 Cunstance adiift on a raft. After a 
 time tlie raft stranded on a rock near 
 Northumberland, and the constable 
 rescued Cunstance, and took her home, 
 where she converted his wife, Hemie- 
 gild. A young lord fell in love with 
 her ; but, his suit being rejected, he 
 murdered Hermegild, and laid the 
 charge of murder against Cunstance. 
 King Ella adjudged the cause, and 
 Cunstance being proved innocent, he 
 manied her. While Ella was in Scot- 
 land, Cimstance was confined with a 
 boy, named Maurice ; and Ella's mother, 
 angry with Cunstance for the introduc- 
 tion of the Christian religion, put her on 
 a raft adrift with her baby boy. They 
 were accidentally found by a senator, 
 and taken to Rome. Ella, having dis- 
 covered that his mother had turned his 
 wife and child adrift, put her to death, 
 and went to Rome in pilgrimage to atone 
 for his crime. Here he fell in with his 
 wife and son. Maurice succeeded his 
 grandfather as Emperor of Rome, and at 
 the death of Ella, Cunstance returned to 
 her native land. {Cliaticcr : The Man of 
 Z (I tecs Talc.) 
 
 Cuntur. A bird worshipped by the 
 ancient Peruvians. It is generally called 
 the " condor," and by the Arabians the 
 "roc." 
 
 Cup. 
 
 A dcadJij cup. Referring to the 
 ancient practice of putting persons to 
 death by poison, as Socrates was f)ut to 
 death by the Athenians. 
 
 " In tbe hand of tlie Lord there is a cup [a 
 deadly ciiii], tliedret's thereof all the wicked of the 
 earth shall wring them out and drink tlieni."— 
 Psalm IxxY. «. 
 
 Let this eiip pass from me. Let tliis 
 trouble or affliction be taken away, that 
 I may not be compelled to undergo it. 
 The allusion is to the Jewish practice of 
 assigning to guests a certain portion of 
 wine— as, indeed, was the custom in 
 England at the close of the eighteenth 
 century and the first quarter of the 
 nineteenth. This cup is ' ' full of the 
 wine of God's fury," let me not be com- 
 pelled to drink it. 
 
 3Iauij a slip ^twixt the cup and the lip. 
 {See AxcjEUS.) 
 
 My [or his'] cup runs over. My bless- 
 ings ovei-flow. Here cup signifies portion 
 or blessing. 
 
 " My cui) runneth over . . . goodness and mercy 
 follow me all the days of my life."— Psalm xxiii. 
 0, «. 
 
 We must drink the cup. We must 
 bear the burden awarded to us, the 
 sorrow which falls to oiu- lot. The 
 allusion is to the words of our Lord in 
 the garden of Gethsem'auii (Matt. xxvi. 
 39 ; also xx. 22). One way of putting 
 criminals to death in ancient times was 
 by poison ; Socrates had hemlock to 
 drink. In allusion to this it is said that 
 Jesus Christ tasted death for every man 
 (Heb. ii. 9). 
 
 Cup, in tlie university of Cambridge, 
 means a mixture of strong ale with 
 spice and a lemon, served up hot in a 
 silver cup. Sometimes a roasted orange 
 takes the place of a lemon. If wine is 
 added, the cup is called bishop ; if brandy 
 is added, the beverage is called cardinal. 
 {Sec Bishop.) 
 
 Cup Tosser. A juggler (French, 
 jouvur de gohelct). The old symbol for 
 a juggler was a goblet. The lArase and 
 symbol are derived from the practice of 
 jugglers who toss in the air, twist on a 
 stick, and play all sorts of tricks with 
 goblets or cui^s. 
 
 Cup ofVows (J7(^). It used to be 
 customary at feasts to drink from cups 
 of mead, and vow to perform some great 
 deed worthy of the song of a skald. 
 There were four cups : one to Odin, for 
 victory ; one to Frey, for a good year ; 
 one to Niord, for peace ; and one to 
 Bragi, for celebration of the deatl in 
 poetry. 
 
 Cups. He was in his cups. Intoxicated. 
 (Latin, inter pocida, inter vina.) [Horace : 
 3 Odes, vi. 20.) 
 
 Cu'par. He that will to Cupar maun 
 to Cupar. He that will have his own 
 way, must have it even to his injur}\ 
 The reference is to the Cistercian monas- 
 tery, founded here by Malcolm IV. 
 
 Cupar Justice. Same as ' ' Jedburgh 
 Justice," hang first and try afterwards. 
 Abingdon Law is another phrase. It is 
 said that Major -General Brown, of 
 Abingdon, in the Commonwealth, first 
 hanged his prisoners and then tried 
 them. 
 
 Cupboard Love. Love from in- 
 terested motives. The allusion is to the 
 love of children to some indulgent per- 
 son who gives them something nice from 
 her cupboard. 
 " Cupboard love is seldom iruC'—Poor .Rohin.
 
 Cupid 
 
 318 
 
 Curse of Scotland 
 
 Cupid. The god of love, and son of 
 Venus. According to fable he wets with 
 blood the grindstone on which he sharp- 
 ens his arrows. 
 
 " Ferus et Cupldo, 
 Semper ardcntes aciietis sagittas." 
 
 Horace: 2 Odes, viii. U,lj. 
 
 V The best statues of this little god 
 are "Cupid Sleeping," in Albano 
 (Rome) ; "CuiJid playing with a Swan," 
 in the Capitol; "Cupid mounted on a 
 Tiger," (Negroni) ; and " Cupid string- 
 ing his Bow," in the Louvre (Paris). 
 Kaphael's painting of Cupid is in the 
 Faruesina (Rome). 
 
 Cupid and Psyche. An exquisite 
 episode in the Golden Ass of Apule'ius. 
 It is an allegory representing the pro- 
 gress of the soul to perfection. Mrs. 
 Tighe has a poem on the same subject ; 
 and Moliere a drama entitled Fsi/clte. 
 {See Morris, Eaythlii Faradm- [May].) 
 
 Cupid's Golden Arrow. Virtuous 
 love. "Cupid's leaden arrow," sensual 
 passion. 
 
 " Di'iiiie sa'-,'illifpra proinsit duo tela pliaretra 
 Diveisiii-um openim ; lugat hoc, facit illiid 
 
 aiiiiireiii. 
 Quod facit. •inratum est, otcuspidef iilget acuta,— 
 yuod fuKat oMusum est, et habet sul) arundine 
 plumbum." 
 
 Ovhl : Tale of Apollo and Daphng. 
 " I swear to tlioe bv Cupid's sfr(lM^'est bow ; 
 By his licsl :irn>w willi tlio LrubhMi liead .... 
 By that which kuiticih s.mls and pr<isp;M-s love." 
 Shahfiiiiiare : Mid.idiniiur -Viy/iCs Dream. 
 
 Cupidon {Lc jcunc). Count d'Orsay 
 was so called by Lord Byron (1798-18.52). 
 The Count's father was styled Le beau 
 dWrsay. 
 
 Cur. A fawning, mean-spirited fel- 
 low ; a croji-tailed dog (Latin, ciirtiis, 
 crop-tailed; French, court; our curt). 
 According to forest laws, a man who 
 had no right to the privilege of the 
 chase was obliged to cut off the tail of 
 his dog. Hence, a degenerate dog or 
 man is called a cur. 
 
 " What would you have, you curs. 
 That like nor peace nor war ?" 
 
 Shakespeare: Coriotaiius,i. 1. 
 
 Curate. {See Clerical Titles.) 
 
 Cure de Meudon— i.«. Rabelais, 
 who was first a monk, then a leech, 
 then prebend of St. Maur, and lastly 
 cure of Meudon. (1483-1553.) 
 
 Cure'tes (3 syl.). A mythical people 
 of Crete, to whom the infant Zeus or 
 Jupiter was entrusted by his mother 
 Rhea. By clashing their shields they 
 drowned the cries of the infant, to 
 prevent its father (Cronos) from finding 
 the place where the babe was hid. 
 
 Curfew BelL The bell rung in the 
 reigns of WUHam I. and II. at sunset, 
 to give notice to their subjects that they 
 were to put out tlieii- fires and candles 
 (French, coiirre fcti, cover-fii-e). The 
 Klokans in Abo, even to the present 
 day, traverse the towns crj'ing the " go- 
 to- bed time." Those abroad are told 
 to " make haste home," and tlio.se at 
 home to " put out their fires." Abol- 
 ished, as a police regulation, by Henry I. 
 
 "The curfew tolls the kuell of jiarting day." 
 Graij: Klegy. 
 
 Curmudgeon (3 syl.). A grasping, 
 miserly churl. Dr. Johnson gives the 
 derivation of this word thus, " cociir me- 
 chaiit, unknown coiTesiJondent. " Dr. 
 Ash, in Iiis dictionary, says, " caiir, un- 
 known ; mechant, con-espondent," a 
 blunder only paralleled by the schoolboy 
 tran.slation of the Greek, me goioito, by 
 fii) (God) Yf'iotTo (forbid) (Luke xx. G). 
 
 Currant. A corruption of CoriiitJi, 
 hence called by Ju'venal Cor'uitlii'aca 
 
 Ul(C. 
 
 Current. The drift of the current 
 is the rate per hour at which the current 
 runs. 
 
 The setting of the current is that point 
 of the compass towards which the waters 
 of the current run. 
 
 Currente Calamo (Latin). Ofi'hand; 
 without premeditation ; written off at 
 once, without making a rough coiij- first. 
 
 Currer BelL The nom de jjluine of 
 Charlotte Bronte. 
 
 Curry Favour. The French court r, 
 to hunt after, to seek, as courir tine 
 charije, courir un benefice, to sue for a 
 living ; courir les tables, to go a spunging. 
 Similarly, courir les fiveurs, to sue for, 
 court, or seek favours. 
 
 Curse or Cuss. Not worth a curse. 
 I don't care a curse (or cuss). Here 
 ' ' cxurse " is a corruption of cerse or 
 kerse. Similarly, the Latin nihil [nihi- 
 luin] is nc hilum, not [worth] the black 
 eye of a bean. Other phrases are "not 
 a straw," "not a pin," "not a rap," 
 " not a dam," "not a bit," " not a jot," 
 "not a pin's point," "not a button." 
 (Anglo-Saxon, cerse, cress ; German, 
 kirsche, a cherry.) 
 
 " Wisdom and witt nowe is not worthe a kerse." 
 Robert Langeland: Piers Pluurjhman. 
 
 Curse of Scotland. The nine of 
 diamonds. The two most plausible 
 suggestions are these : ( 1 ) The nine of 
 diamonds in the game of Fope Joan is 
 called the Pope, the Antichrist of the
 
 Curses 
 
 $19 
 
 Curule Chair 
 
 Scotch refonners. (2) In the game of 
 coDiette, introduced by Queen Mary, it is 
 tlie great winning card, and the game 
 was the curse of fecotland because it was 
 the ruin of so many families. 
 
 Other suggestions are these. (3) The 
 word "curse" is a corruption of cross, 
 and the nine of diamonds is so aiTanged 
 as to form a St. Andrew's Cross ; but as 
 the nine of hearts would do as well, this 
 explanation must be abandoned. (4) 
 Some say it was the card on which the 
 " Butcher Duke " wrote his cruel order 
 after the Battle of Cullod'en ; but the 
 teiTU must have been in vogue at the 
 period, as the ladies nicknamed Justice - 
 Clerk Ormistone ' ' The Nine of Dia- 
 monds" (1715). (o) Similarly, we must 
 reject the suggestion that it refers to 
 tlie amis of DalrjTuple, Earl of Stair — 
 viz. or, on a saltire azure, nine lozenges 
 of tlie first. The earl was justly held in 
 abhorrence for the massacre of Glencoe ; 
 so also was Colonel Packer, who attended 
 Charles I. on the scaffold, and had for 
 his arms " gules a cross lozengy or." 
 
 Grose says of tbe nine of diamonds : " Diamonds 
 . . . inipl.v royalty .... and every ninth King of 
 Scotland has been observed for many ages to be a 
 tyrant ami a curse to tbe country."— Tour Thro' 
 .Scotland, 1789. 
 
 ■.■ It IS a pity that Cirose does not give tlie 
 names of tliese kings. Malcolm III. was assas- 
 sinated in liMG by Waclieth, William was taken 
 prisoner by Henry II. '^died I'.'14), James I. was 
 assassinated in 1437. 
 
 Curses. Curses, li/:c chickens, come 
 home to roost. Curses fall on the head 
 of the curser, as chickens which stray 
 during the day return to their roost at 
 
 night. 
 
 Cursing by Bell, Book, and Candle, 
 
 is reading the anathema in tlie church, 
 then closing the Bible, tolling the bell, 
 and extinguishing all the candles, sayiug 
 '■' Fiat, Jiut I JJo-to (close) the Book, 
 quench the candles, ring the bell. 
 Amen, amen." 
 
 Cursitor (Latin, clericus de cursu). 
 FoiTuerly a clerk of the course ; a chan- 
 cery clerk, who made out original writs 
 for the beat, course, or part of the county 
 allotted him. A Newgate solicitor was 
 called a cursitor in depreciation of his 
 office. 
 
 Curst. Curst cows have curt horns. 
 Angry men cannot do all the miscliief 
 they wish. Curst means "angry" or 
 "fierce," and curt is "short," as curt- 
 mantle, curt-hose. The Latin proverb 
 is, " Uat Bens immi'ti cor'nua curia 
 boii." 
 
 " You are called plain Kate, 
 And bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate tbe curst." 
 Shakespeare : Taming of the Shrew, ii. 1. 
 
 Curtail. To cut short. (French, 
 court taillcr, to short cut, whence the 
 old French courtault.) 
 
 Curtain (The). In fortification, the 
 line of rampart which joins together the 
 flanks of two " bastions" {q.v.)- 
 
 Curtain. To ring down the curtain. 
 To bring a matter to an end. A theatri- 
 cal tenn. Wlien the act or play is over, 
 the bell rings and the green curtain 
 comes down. 
 
 " A few more matters of routine will be accom- 
 plished, and then the curtiin will lie rung down 
 on tbe Session of \m\."—Xewspayer Paragraph, 
 July :;7tb, issil. 
 
 Curtain Lecture. The nagging of a 
 •wife after her husband is in bed. Tlie 
 lectures of Mrs. Caudle in I'uuch are 
 first-rate caricatures of these "small 
 cattle." 
 
 " Besides what endless brawls by wives are bred, 
 Tbe curtain lecture makes a mournful l>ed." 
 Dnjden. 
 
 Curtal Friar. A friar who served 
 as an attendant at the gate of a monas- 
 tery court. As a curtal dog was not 
 privileged to hunt or course, so a curtal 
 friar virtually meant a worldly-minded 
 one. 
 
 " Some do call me the curtal Friar of Fountain 
 Dale ; others again call me in jest the Abbot of 
 Fountain Abbey ; others still again call me 
 simply Friar Tuck."— //oicard Pyle: The Merry 
 Adventures of Rubin Hood, ii. p. 141. 
 
 Curta'na. The sword of Edward 
 the Confes.sor, which, having no point, 
 ■was the emblem of mercy. The royal 
 sword of England was so called to the 
 reign of Henry III. 
 
 " But when Curtana will not do the deed, 
 You lay the pointless clergy-weapon by. 
 Ami to the laws, your sword of justice" fly." 
 Urydcu : Uind and Panther, part ii. 41'J-i;l. 
 
 Curthose (2 syl.). Eobert II., Due 
 de Normandie (1087-1134). 
 
 Curtis'e (2 syl.). The little hound 
 in the tale of Itcxjnard the Fox, by 
 Heinrich von Alkman (1498). (High 
 German, hurz ; French, courte, short or 
 small.) 
 
 Curtmantle. The surname of Henry 
 II. He introduced the Anjou mantle, 
 which was shorter than the robe worn 
 by his predecessors. (1133, 1154-1189.) 
 (Hee Caeacalla.) 
 
 Curule Chair. Properly a chariot 
 chair, an ornamental camp-stool made 
 of ivory placed by the Romans in a 
 chariot for the chief magistrate when he 
 went to attend the council. As dicta- 
 tors, consuls, prators, censors, and the 
 chief ediles occupied such a chair, they 
 were termed curule magistrates or
 
 Curzon Street 
 
 320 
 
 Cut Blocks 
 
 curn'les. Horace calls the chair euride 
 ebur (1 Epist., vi. 53). 
 
 Curzon Street (Londou). Named 
 after tlie ground laudlord, George 
 August Curzon, third Viscount Howe. 
 
 Cussedness. Uugaiuliness ; perver- 
 sity ; an evil temper ; malice prepense. 
 Halliwell gives cnas = surly. 
 
 "Tlie turkey-cock is just as likely as not to 
 traiiiplfi on tlie young turkeys and smasli tlieni, 
 or to split tlieir skulls liy a savage dig of his 
 powerful beak. Whether this Is ' cussedness ' 
 liure and siniiile .... lias not been satisfactorily 
 determined."— /^ai/)/ Xews, December :;:;ud, l»is5. 
 
 Custard. A slap on the hand with 
 a ferula. The word should be citstUl, 
 unless a play is meant. (Latin, cust'ts, a 
 club or stick.) 
 
 Custard Coffin. ('SVc Coffin.) 
 
 Customer. A man or acquaintance. 
 A ri(i)i custumcr is one better left alone, 
 as he is likely to show fight if interfered 
 with. A shop term. (.SVr Card.) 
 
 " Here be many of her old customers." 
 .^Iiakiaiicare : Mrasare for Measure, iv. 3. 
 
 Custos Rotulo'rum (keeper of the 
 rolh). The chief civil ofhcer of a county, 
 to whose custody are committed the 
 records or rolls of the sessions. 
 
 Cut. To renounce acquaintance. There 
 are four sorts of cut — 
 
 (1) The cut direct is to stai^ an ac- 
 quaintance in the face and pretend not 
 to know him. 
 
 (2) The eut indirect, to look another 
 way, and pretend not to see him. 
 
 (3) The cut siihlinic, to admire the top 
 of some tall edifice or the clouds of 
 heaven till the person cut has jjassed by. 
 
 (4) The cut infernal, to stoop and 
 adjust yoiu- boots till the party has gone 
 past. 
 
 There is a very remarkable Scripture 
 illustration of the word ci(t, meaning to 
 renounce: "Jehovah took a staff and 
 cut it asunder, in token that He would 
 break His covenant with His people ; and 
 He cut another staff asunder, in token 
 that He would break the brotherhood 
 between Judah and Israel" (Zech. xi. 
 7-14). 
 
 Cut. 
 
 Cut and come again. Take a cut from 
 the joint, and come for another if you 
 like. 
 
 To cut the (/round from t/ndcr one (or 
 from under his feet). To leave an ad- 
 versary no ground to stand on, by 
 disproving all his arguments. 
 
 Ife has cut his eye-teeth. He is wide 
 awake, he is a knowing one. The eye- 
 teeth are the canine teeth, just under 
 
 the eyes, and the phrase means he can 
 bite as well as bark. Of course, the 
 play is on the word " ej'e," and those 
 who have cut their eye-teeth are wide 
 awake. 
 
 Cut your wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth 
 are those at the extreme end of the 
 jaws, which do not make their ajipear- 
 auce till persons have come to years of 
 discretion. Wlien persons say or do 
 silly things, the remark is made to them 
 that "they have not yet cut their 
 wisdom teeth," or reached the years of 
 discretion. 
 
 (Jut the knot. Break through an 
 obstacle. The reference is to the Gor- 
 dian knot {q.v.) shown to Alexander, 
 with the assurance that whoever loosed 
 it would be made ruler of all Asia; 
 whereupon the Macedonian cut it in two 
 with his sword, and claimed to have 
 fulfilled the prophecy. 
 
 / must eut my stick — i.e. leave. The 
 Irish usuallj' cut a shillelah before they 
 start on an expedition. I'nnch gives the 
 following witty derivation : — " Pilgrims 
 on leaving the Holy Land used to cut a 
 palm - stick, to jirove that they had 
 really been to the Holy Sepulchre. So 
 brother Francis would say to brother 
 Paul, ' Where is brother Beuedict ? ' 
 ' Oh (saj'S Paul), he has cut his stick ! ' 
 — i.e. he is on his way home." 
 
 /'// cut your c<imh fur you. Take 
 your conceit down. The allusion is to 
 the practice of cutting the combs of 
 capons. 
 
 He^ll cut up well. He is rich, and his 
 property will cut into good slices. 
 
 Cut Blocks with a Razor ( To) . To 
 
 do something astounding by insignificant 
 means ; to do something more eccentric 
 than inexpedient. According to Dean 
 Swift, to "make pincushions of sun- 
 beams." The tale is that Accius, or 
 Attus Navius, a Roman augur, opposed 
 the king Tarquin the Elder, who wished 
 to double the niunber of senators. Tar- 
 quin, to throw ridicule on the augur, 
 sneered at his pretensions of augury, and 
 asked him if he could do what was then 
 in his thoughts. "Undoubtedly," re- 
 plied Navius ; and Tarquin w^th a laugh, 
 said, " Why, I was thinking whether I 
 could cut through this whetstone with a 
 razor." "Gut boldly," cried Navius, 
 and the whetstone was cleft in two. 
 This story forms the subject of one of 
 Bon Gaultier's ballads, and Goldsmith 
 refers to it in his Retaliation : 
 
 "In short, 'twas his [Burke's] fate, unemi'loyed or 
 in place, sir. 
 To eat mutton cold, and cut blocks with a razor."
 
 Cut 
 
 321 
 
 Cutlibert 
 
 Cut neither Nails nor Hair at Sea. 
 
 Petrouius says, '■' Xon licere culquum 
 mortulium in nave neque ungues neque 
 capillus deponcrc, nisi cum pelugo venlus 
 irascitur.'" The cuttings of ithe nails 
 and hair were votive offerings to Pro- 
 serjjiue, and it would excite the jealousy 
 of Neptune to make offerings to another 
 in his own special kingdom. 
 
 Cut Off with a Shilling. Disin- 
 herited. Blackstone tells us that the 
 Romans set aside those testaments which 
 passed by the natural heirs unnoticed ; 
 but if any legacy was left, no matter 
 how small, it proved the testator's in- 
 tention. English law has no such 
 provision, but the notion at one time 
 prevailed that the name of the heir 
 should appear in the will ; and if lie was 
 bequeathed "a shilling," that the tes- 
 tator had not forgotten him, but disin- 
 herited liim intentionally. 
 
 Cut out. Left in the lurch ; super- 
 seded. In cards, when there are too 
 many for a game (say whist), it is cus- 
 tomary for the players to cut out after 
 a [rubber], in order that another player 
 may have a turn. This is done by the 
 players cutting the cards on the table, 
 and the lowest turn-up gives place to 
 the new hand, who "supersedes " him, 
 or takes his place. 
 
 V It does not refer to cutting out a 
 ship from an enemy's port. 
 
 Jfe is cut out for a sailor. His na- 
 tural propensities are suited for the 
 vocation. The allusion is to cutting out 
 cloth, etc., for specific purposes. 
 
 Cut your Coat according to your 
 Cloth. Stretch your ann no farther 
 than your sleeve will reach. 
 
 " Little barks must keep near shore, 
 Larger ones may venture more." 
 
 Frcuch : " Selon ta bourse noun-is ta 
 bouche." "Selon le pain il faut le 
 couteau." " Fou est, qui plus dispense 
 que sa rente ne vaut." 
 
 Italian: " Noi facciamo la spese se- 
 condo I'entrata." 
 
 Latin: "Ex quovis hgno non fit 
 Mercurius." " Parvura parva decent" 
 {Horace). " Messe tenus proj^ria vive " 
 {Fersius). " Cui multum est piperis, 
 etiam oleribus immiscet." " Sumptus 
 censum ne sujierat" {Plautus). "Si 
 non jjossis quod velis, velis id quod 
 2)ossis." " Ne te qutesiveris extra" 
 {Horace). 
 
 Cut a Dash. Make a show. Cut is 
 the French coujH-r, better seen in the 
 
 21 
 
 noun coiip, as a grand coup, a coup de 
 maitre (a masterly stroke), so "to cut " 
 means to make a masterly coup, to do 
 something to be looked at and talked 
 about. Dashing means striking — i.e. 
 showy, as a " dashing fellow," a " dash- 
 ing equipage." To cut a dash is to 
 get one's self looked at and talked about 
 for a showy or striking appearance. 
 
 Cut and Dry. Already prepared. 
 "He had a speech all cut and dry." 
 The allusion is to timber cut, dry, and 
 fit for use. 
 
 " Sets (if iibniees, cut and dry, 
 Evermore thy tongue supply." Sirift. 
 
 Cut and Run. Be off as quickly as 
 possible. A sea phrase, meaning cut 
 your cable and run before the wind. 
 
 Cut Away. Be off at once. This is 
 a French phrase, coupcr (cut away) — /.'■'. 
 to break through the enemy's ranks by 
 cutting them down with your swords. 
 
 Cut Capers {To). To act in an un- 
 usual manner. 
 
 "The quietest fellows are forced to flght for 
 their status quo, and sometimes to cut capers like 
 the rest."— ie Fanii: Tlie House in the CliurcU- 
 yard, p. 143. 
 
 To cut capers (in dancing) is to spring 
 upwards, and rapidly interlace one foot 
 with the other. 
 
 Cut j/our capers I Be off »with you ! 
 
 I^ll make him cut his capers, i.e. rue 
 his conduct. 
 
 Cut it Short. {See Attdley.) 
 
 Cut of his Jib. The contour or ex- 
 pression of his face. This is a .sailor's 
 phrase. The cut of a jib or foresail of 
 a ship indicates her character. Thus, a 
 sailor says of a suspicious ve.'5sel, he 
 " does not like the cut of her jib." 
 
 Cut Short is to shorten. "Cut .short 
 all intennission " {Macbeth, iv. 3). To 
 cut it short means to bring to an end 
 what you are doing or saying. 
 
 His life was cut short. He died pre- 
 maturely. The allusion is to At'ropos, 
 one of the three Parcae, cutting th& 
 thread of life .spun by her sister Clo'tho. 
 
 Cut up Rough {To). To be disagree- 
 able or quarrelsome about anything. 
 
 Cuthbert. St. Cuthherf s heads. Joints 
 of the articulated stems of encrinites, 
 used for z'osaries. St. Cuthbert was a 
 Scotch monk of the sixth centui-y, and 
 may be termed the St. Patrick of Great 
 Britain. He is said to sit at night on a 
 rock in Holy Island, and to ti.se the op- 
 posite rock as his anvil while he forges
 
 Cuthbert Bede 
 
 322 Cyclopean Masonry 
 
 the eii'trochites {en' -tro- kites). {See 
 Bead.) 
 
 " On a rock of Lindisfarn 
 St. Cutbliert sits, and toils to frame 
 The sea-boru beads that bear his name." 
 
 Scott: Mariiiion. 
 
 St. Cuthbert''s Stone. A granite rock 
 iu Cumberland. 
 
 St. Cuthherfs Well. A spring of water 
 close by St. Cuthbert's Stone. 
 
 Cuthbert Bede. A nom de phtine 
 of the Rev. Edward Bradley, author of 
 Verdant Green. (1827-1889.) 
 
 Cutler's Poetry. Mere jingles or 
 rliymes. Knives had, at one time, a 
 distich inscribed on the blade by means 
 of aqua fortis. 
 
 " Whose posy wa.s 
 For all the world like cutler's poetrj- 
 Upon a knife." 
 
 aiiakcspeare : Merchant of Venice, v. 1. 
 
 Cutpurse. Now called "pickpocket." 
 The two words are of historical value. 
 When purses were worn suspended from 
 a girdle, thieves cut the string by which 
 the purse was attached ; but when 
 pockets were adopted, and purses were 
 no longer hung on the girdle, the thief 
 was no longer a cutpurse, but became a 
 pickpocket. 
 
 " To have an open ear, a quick e.ve, and a nimble 
 hand, is necessary for a cutpurse."— Hhakcspeare : 
 )y inter' 8 Tale, iv. 3. 
 
 Cutter's Law. Not to see a fellow 
 want while we have cash in our purse. 
 Cutter's law means the law of purse- 
 cutters, robbers, brigands, and highway- 
 men. 
 
 "I must put you in cash wjth some of your 
 old uncle's broad-pieces. This is cutter's law; 
 we must not see a pretty fellow want, if we have 
 cash ourselves."— Sir IC. Hcott : Old Mortality, 
 chap. ix. 
 
 Cuttle. Captain Cuttle. An eccen- 
 tric, kind-liearted sailor, simple as a 
 child, credulous of every tale, and gen- 
 erous as the sun. He is immortalised by 
 the motto selected by Notes and Queries, 
 "When found make a note of." {Diek- 
 cns : Dombei/ and Son.) 
 
 " I'nfortunately, I neglected Captain Cuttle's 
 advice, and am now unable to find it."— ir. H. 
 Jluiik: Notes and Queries. 
 
 Cutty. Scotch for short, as a cutty 
 pipe, cutty sark. (A diminutive of eurt.) 
 
 Cutty Pipe. A short clay pipe. 
 Scotch, cutty (short), as cutty spoons, 
 cutty sark, a cutty (Uttle girl), etc., a 
 cutty gun (a pop-gun). 
 
 Cutty Stool. A small stool on which 
 oifenders were placed in the Scotch 
 church when they were about to receive 
 a public rebuke. 
 
 Cwt. is C wt. — i.e. C. centum, wt. 
 veil/lit, meaning hundred- weight. {See 
 
 DWT.) 
 
 Cyan'ean Rocks {T/ie). The Sj'm- 
 ple'gades at the entrance of the Euxiue 
 Sea. Said to close together when a ves- 
 sel attempted to sail between them, and 
 thus crush it to pieces. Cyanean means 
 dark, and SymjjlegadOi means das/iers 
 together. 
 
 " Here are those liard rocks of trap, of a green- 
 ish-blue, coloured w'ith copper, and ueuce called 
 the Cyaneau."— iif ler. 
 
 Cy'cle. A period or series of events 
 or numbers which recur everlastingly in 
 precisely the same order. 
 
 Ci/cle of the moon, called "Meton's 
 Cycle," from Meton, who discovered it, 
 is a period of nineteen years, at the 
 expiration of which time the phases of 
 the moon repeat themselves on the same 
 days as they did nineteen years pre- 
 viously. {See Callipic Period.) 
 
 Cijcle of the sun. A period of twenty- 
 eight years, at the expiration of which 
 time the Sunday letters recur and pro- 
 ceed in the same oider as they did 
 twenty-eight j'cars previously. In other 
 words, the days of the month fall again 
 on the same days of the week. 
 
 The Platonic cycle or yreat year is 
 that space of time wliich elapses before 
 all the stars and constellations return 
 to any given state. Tj-cho Brahe cal- 
 culated this period at 25,816 years, and 
 Eiccio'li at 25,920. 
 
 Cyc'lic Poets. Inferior epic poets. 
 On the death of Homer a host of min- 
 strels caught the contagion of his i^oems, 
 and wrote continuations, illustrations, 
 or additions thereto. These poets were 
 called cyclic because they confined them- 
 selves to the c^'cle of the Trojan war. 
 The chief were Ag'ias, Arcti'nos, Eu'ga- 
 mon, Les'ches, and Strasinos. 
 
 " Besides the Homeric poems, the Greeks of this 
 aife possessed those of the poets named Cyclic, as 
 they sang a traditional cycle of events . . . ."— 
 Keiyhtley : Oreece, part i. chap. 2iiv. p. 150. 
 
 Cyclopse'dia. The living cyclopcedia. 
 Longi'nus, so called for his extensive 
 information. (213-273.) 
 
 Cyclo'pean. Huge, massive, like the 
 Cycloids of classic mythology. 
 
 Cyclo'pean Masonry. The old Pe- 
 
 lasgic ruins of Greece, Asia Minor, and 
 Italy, such as the Gallery of Ti'rj-ns, the 
 Gate of Lyons, the Treasury of Athens, 
 and the Tombs of Phoro'ueus (3 syl.) and 
 Dan'aos. They are said to have been 
 the work of the C.yclops. They are huge
 
 Cyclops 
 
 blocks fitted together without mortar, 
 with marvellous nicety. 
 
 Cyclops. One of a group of giants 
 with only one eye, and that in the 
 centre of their forehead, whose business 
 it was to forge iron for Vulcan. They 
 were probably Pelasgiaiis, who worked 
 in quarries, and attached a lantern to 
 their forehead to give them light under- 
 gi'ound. The lantern was theii- one eye 
 as biff as the full moon. (Gi'eek, "circu- 
 lar-eye.") "(iSVf Abimaspiaks.) 
 
 " Roused with tUe smiiiil, tlif luiKlity f;imily 
 Of liiie-eyed ludtliers luisteii tu Uie sliore. 
 And gather rcmud the IreUuwini,' rolypheiiio." 
 Addison: ililtuu Imitated. 
 
 Cyll'aros, according to Virgil, was 
 the celebrated horse of Pollux {Geor., iii. 
 90), but, according to Ovid, it was Cas- 
 tor's steed {Met., xii. 408). 
 " He, O Castor, was a courser worthy thee . . . 
 I'oal-black his colour, hut like jet it shone ; 
 His legs and flowing tail were white alone." 
 Drydtn : Ovid's Metamorphose, xii. 
 
 Cymbeline. {See Imogen, Zineura.) 
 
 Cymoch'les. A man of prodigious 
 might, brother of Pj'roch'les, son of 
 Malice (Acra'tes) and Despite, and hus- 
 band of Acra'sia, the enchantress. He 
 sets out to encounter Sir Guyon, but is 
 ferried over the idle lake by Wanton- 
 ness (Phai'dria) , and forgets himself ; he 
 is slain by King Arthur (canto viii.). 
 The word means, "one who seeks glory 
 in troubles." {Spenser: Faerie Quccne, 
 ii. 5.) 
 
 Cymod'oce (4 syl.). A sea nymjih 
 and companion of Venus. {Yiryil : 
 Geornic, iv. 338 ; and again, uEneid, v. 
 826.) The word means "wave-receiv- 
 ing." 
 
 I'lie Garden of Cijniod'oce. Sark, one 
 of the Channel islands. It is the title of 
 a poem by Swinburne, 1880. 
 
 Cynaegiros. It is said that when the 
 Persians were pushing off from shore 
 after the battle of Marathon, Cj'ua^gl- 
 ros, the brother of ^Eschylos, the poet, 
 seized one of their ships with his right 
 hand, which was instantly lopped off ; 
 he then gi-asped it with his left, which 
 was cut oft' also ; lastly, he seized hold 
 of it with his teeth and lost his head. 
 {See Benbow.) 
 
 Cynic. A snarling, churlish person, 
 like a cynic. The Cynics were so called 
 because Antis'thenes held his school in 
 the gymnasium called Cynosar ges, set 
 apart for those who were not of ytnve 
 Athenian blood. Cynosarges means 
 tvliitc doff, and was so called because a 
 white dog once carried away part of a 
 
 323 Cjrpresg 
 
 victim which Diome'os was offering to 
 Hercules. The sect was often called the 
 Dog-sect ; and the effigy over Diogenes' 
 pillar was a dog, with this inscription : 
 
 "Say, dog, I pray, what guard you in that tonili?" 
 'A dog."— " His name ?"—" DiogeuSi."—" From 
 
 fai^?" 
 " Sino'ie.''— '■ What ! who made a tul) his home ?'" 
 " The same ; now dead, amongst the stars a 
 star." E. C. B. 
 
 Cynic Tub {The). The tub from 
 which Diogenes lectured. Similarly we 
 speak of the "Porch," that is, the 
 Porch Pcecile, meaning Stoic philosophy ; 
 the "Garden," meaning Epicurean phi- 
 losophy ; the " Academy," meaning Pla- 
 tonic philosophy: the "Colonnade," 
 meaning Aristotelian philosophy. 
 
 "[They]fetch their doctrines from theC'ynictub." 
 Milton : Coinus, line "iJS. 
 
 Cynics. The chief were Antis'thenes 
 of Athens (the founder), Diogenes, 
 Ouesic'iitos, Mon'imos, Crates and his 
 wife Hippai-'chia, Metroc'les, Menip'pos, 
 and Menede'mos the madman. 
 
 Cynosure (3 syl.). The polar star; 
 the observed of all observers. Greek 
 for doff^s tail, and applied to the con- 
 stellation called Ursa Minor. As seamen 
 guide their ships by the north star, and 
 observe it well, the word "cj^nosure" 
 is used for whatever attracts attention, 
 as " The cynosure of neighbouring 
 eyes" {Milton), especially for guidance 
 in some doubtful matter, as — 
 
 " Richmond was the cynosure on which all 
 Northern eyes were flxed [in the American war]." 
 
 — The Times. 
 
 Cyn'thia. The moon ; a surname of 
 Artemis or Diana. The Eoman Diana, 
 who rejiresented the moon, was called 
 Cj'nthia from Mount Cyuthus, where she 
 was born. 
 
 " And from embattled clouds emerging slow, 
 Cyuthia came riding on her silver car." 
 
 lieattie : Minstrel. 
 
 Cynthia. Pope, speaking of the in- 
 constant character of woman, ' ' matter 
 too soft a lasting mark to bear," says — 
 
 " Come, then, the cohuirs and the ground prei'are ! 
 Dip in the rainbow, trick her off in air : 
 Choose a firm cloud, before it fall, and in it 
 Catch, ere she change, the Cynthia of tlie 
 minute." Epistle ii. 17-Lii. 
 
 Cypress {The) is a funeral tree, and 
 was dedicated by the Romans to Pluto, 
 because when once cut it never grows 
 again. 
 
 " Cypresse garlands are of great account at 
 f uneralls amongst the gentiler sort, but rosemary 
 and bayes are used by the commons both at 
 funeralls and weddings. They are plants which 
 fade n<it a iriiud while after they are gathered 
 . . . . and intimate tint the remembrance of the 
 present scdenmity might not dye presently." — 
 Coles : Introduction to the Knowledge of Plants.
 
 C3rprian Brass 
 
 324 
 
 Daffodil 
 
 The iiiac/ic cij press branch. lu the 
 opera of Jioberlo il Diav'olo, after the 
 "(lauce of love," in which Helena 
 seduces the duke, he removes the cypress 
 branch, which has the power of impart- 
 ing to him whatever he wishes. With 
 this he enters the jialace of Isabella, 
 princess of Sicily, and translixes the 
 princess and her attendants in a magic 
 sleep, but afterwards relenting, he breaks 
 the branch, and is dragged away by the 
 guards. 
 
 Cyprian Brass, or ";es Cyprium," 
 copper, riiny (book xxxiv. c. ii.) says, 
 " ui Cypru citliii frriiiia ccris invcntio 
 
 Cypriote. A native of Cyprus ; the 
 dialect sitokcn on the island ; jjertaining 
 or special to Cyprus. 
 
 D. This letter is the outline of a rude 
 archway or door. It is called in Hebrew 
 (lahth (a door). In Egyjitian hiero- 
 glyphics it is a man's hand. 
 
 D or d, indicating a penny or pence, 
 is the initial letter of the 'Lvdmdciiii'riiis, 
 a silver coin equal to S|d. during the 
 commonwealth of Rome, but in the 
 Middle Ages about equivalent to ocu- 
 penny. The word was used by the 
 Komans for money in general. 
 
 D stands for oOO, which is half =& , a 
 form of 0) or M, which stands for mUlc. 
 
 D' stands for 5,000. 
 
 D.O.M. Deo Optimo Mdxlino. Ihilitr 
 (iiit'iiibiis inorl (It is allotted to all to 
 die). 
 
 D.T. A contraction of (('<7/;-(«;« tremens. 
 
 "They get a look, after a touch of D.T., whicli 
 ndthing else that I kuow of cau give them."— 
 Indian Tale. 
 
 Da Capo or D.C. From tlie begin- 
 ning — that is, finish with a repetition of 
 the first strain. A term in music. 
 {Italian.) 
 
 Dab. Clever, skilled ; as " a dab- 
 hand at it"; a corrujjt contraction of 
 the Latin adept as (an adept). " Dab- 
 ster " is another form. A2jt is a related 
 word. 
 
 "An Eton striiiling, training for tlie law, 
 Adimceat learning, but a dab at taw [marbles].'' 
 Anon. : Logic ; or, The Biter Bit. 
 
 Dab, Din, etc. 
 
 "Hah Daliand David Din 
 Uiug tlie deil o'er Dabsou's Linn." 
 
 " Hab Dab " means Halbert Dobson ; 
 " David Diu " means David Dun; and 
 " Dabson's Linn," or Dob's Linn, is a 
 waterfall near the head of Moffat Water, 
 
 Dnbsun and Dun wore two Cauicronians who 
 li\ od for seiuritv in a rave in tlic ravino. Here, 
 as Iliev said, llicv saw llic devil in the form of a 
 I)ark of ilriiMl liidrs.and after llgliliriL- the -foul 
 lii-iiil'' for souic time, thoy dinged luni into the 
 walorfall. 
 
 Daba'ira. An idol of the savages of 
 Panama', to whose honour slaves are 
 burut to death. (American inijtliulugy.) 
 
 Dab'bat [the Iicnsf\. The Beast of 
 the Apocalypse, Avhich the Mahometans 
 say will apjiear with Antichrist, called by 
 them dai/ijial. (Rev. xix. 19 ; xx. 10.) 
 
 Dabble. To dabble in the fitnds ; to 
 dabble in polities — i.e. to do something iu 
 them in a smtdl way. (Dutch, dableleii, 
 our dip anil tap.) 
 
 Dabchick. The lesser giebe. Dab 
 
 is a corrujition of dap, the old participle 
 of dip, aiul chick (any young or small 
 fowl), literally the ili2>ping or diving 
 chirk. 
 
 Dactyl (//'(//). The "smallest of 
 pedants." {Steele: The 'Tatler.) 
 
 Dactyls {The). Mythic beings to 
 whom is ascribed the discovery of iron. 
 Their number was originally three — the 
 Smelter, the Hammer, and the Anvil ; 
 but was afterwards increased to five 
 males anil five females, whence their 
 name Dactyls or Fingers. 
 
 Dad or Daddy. Father. The person 
 who acts as father at a wedding ; a 
 stage-manager. The superintendent of 
 a casual ward is termed by the inmates 
 "Old Daddy." {A M(/ht in a Worlc- 
 hoase, bi) an Amateur Casaal [./. Green- 
 icooil].) 
 
 In the Fortanes of Xiijel, by Sir W. 
 Scott, Steenie, Duke of Buckingham, 
 calls King James "My dear tlad and 
 gossip." (W^elsh, tad ; Irish, daid, 
 father; Sanskrit, tada ; Hindu, dada.) 
 
 Daddy Long-legs. A crane-fly ; 
 sometimes applied to the long-legged 
 si^iders called "harvestmen." 
 
 Dse'dalos. A Greek who formed the 
 Cretan labyrinth, and made for himself 
 wings, by means of Avhich he fiew from 
 Crete across the Archipel'ago. He is 
 said to have invented the saw, the axe, 
 the gimlet, etc. 
 
 Daffodil {The), or "Lent Lily," was 
 once white ; but Persephone, daughter 
 of Demeter (Ceres), delighted to wander
 
 Dag 
 
 325 
 
 Dahak 
 
 about the flowery meadows of Sicily. 
 Oue spring- tide she tripped over the 
 meadows, wreathed her liead with wild 
 lilies, and, throwing herself on the gi'ass, 
 fell asleep. The god of the Infernal 
 Regions, called by the Romans Pluto, 
 fell in love with the beautiful maid, and 
 carried her off for his bride. His touch 
 turned the white flowers to a golden 
 yellow, and some of them fell in Acheron, 
 where they grew luxuriantly ; and ever 
 since the flower has been planted on 
 graves. Theophilus and Pliny tell us 
 that the ghosts delight in the flower, 
 called by tliem the Asphodel. It was 
 once called the Affodil. (French, aspho- 
 dcli: ; Latin, asphodilKS ; Greek, asjjho- 
 dilos.) 
 
 " Flour of daffodil is a cure for madness."— 
 Med. MS. Lincoln Cathedral, f . "8-'. 
 
 Dag {darj). Son of Natt or night. 
 {8candinin-iuu mi/thohtjij.) 
 
 Dagger or Lou(j Cross (f), used for 
 reference to a note after the asterisk (*), 
 is a Roman Catholic character, originally 
 emploj^ed in church books, i^raj-ers of 
 exorcism, at benedictions, and so on, to 
 remind the priest where to make the 
 sign of the cross. This sign is sometimes 
 called an obelisk — that is, "a spit." 
 (Greek, uh'clos, a spit.) 
 
 Dagger, in the City anns of London, 
 commemorates Sir William Walworth's 
 dagger, with which he slew Wat Tyler 
 in 1381. Before this time the cogni- 
 sance of the City was the sword of St. 
 Paul. 
 
 " Brave Wahvortli, knigbt, lord mayor, that slew 
 Reliellious Tyler in liis alarines : 
 Tbe king, therefore, did give him in lieu 
 The dagger to the city amies." 
 
 Fourth year nf Richard II. (1331), 
 Fishmoiif/ers' Hall. 
 
 Dagger Ale is the ale of the 
 
 Dagger, a celebrated ordinary in 
 Holbom. 
 
 "My lawyer's clerk I lighted on last night 
 In Holborn, at the Danffcr." 
 
 Jlcn Jonson: The Alchcmi.<t, i. 1. 
 
 Dagger-scene in the House of 
 Commons. Edmund Burke, during 
 the French Revolution, tried a bit of 
 bunkum by throwing down a dagger on 
 the floor of the House, exclaiming as he 
 did so, "There's French fraternity for 
 you ! Such is the weapon which French 
 Jacobins would plunge into the heart of 
 our beloved king." Sheridan spoilt the 
 dramatic effect, and set the House in a 
 roar by his remark, "The gentleman, I 
 see, has brought his knife with him, but 
 where is his fork?" (Sec CouP DK 
 Theatee.) 
 
 Daggers. To speak daggers, To look 
 daggers. To speak or look so as to wound 
 the sensibilities. 
 
 "1 will siieak daggers to her; hut will use 
 m>nc."—Shakespeare : llamlot, iii. :;. 
 
 Daggers Drawn {At). At great 
 enmity, as if with daggers drawn and 
 ready to rush on each otlier. 
 
 Daggle - tail or Draggle-tail. A 
 
 slovenly woman, the bottom of whose 
 dress trails in the dirt. Dag (Saxon) 
 means loose ends, mire or dirt ; whence 
 dag-loelcs, the soiled locks of a sheep's 
 fleece, andt^rfy-woo/, refuse wool. (Com- 
 pare Tag.) 
 
 Dagobert. King Dagohcrt and St. 
 Eloi. There is a French song very 
 popular with this title. St. Eloi tells 
 the king his coat has a hole in it, and 
 the kuig replies, " C\'st vral, le tlen est 
 hon ; jrrcte-lc iiioi." Next the saint com- 
 plains of the king's stockings, and 
 Dagobert makes the same answer. Then 
 of his wig and cloak, to which the same 
 answer is returned. After seventeen 
 complaints St. Eloi said, ' ' My king, 
 death is at hand, and it is time to con- 
 fess," when the king replied, "Why 
 can't j'ou confess, and die instead of 
 me? " 
 
 Da'gon (Hebrew, dc/g On, the fish 
 On). The idol of the Philistines ; half 
 woman and half fish. {Bee Atekgata.) 
 " nagon his name ; sea-monster, upward man 
 Anil downward tish ; yet had liis temiih; high 
 Ueav'd in Azo'tus, dreaded through the coast 
 Of Palestine, in Gath and As'ealon, 
 And .\ccaron and (iaza's frontier bounds." 
 
 Milton: Paradise Lost, book i. 4fi2. 
 
 Dag'onet (Sir). In the romance Za 
 Mart d'' Art Jiiire he is called i\ie fool oi 
 King Arthur, and was knighted by the 
 king himself. 
 
 '• I remember at Mile-End Green, when I lay at 
 Clement's Inn, I was then Sir Dagonet in Arthur's 
 show."— 2 Heirnj /('., iii. •_'. (Justice Shallow). 
 
 V "Dagonet" is the pen-name oi 
 Mr. G. R. Sims. 
 
 Daguer'reotype (4 syl.). A photo- 
 graphic process. So named from M. 
 Daguerre, who greatly improved it in 
 1839. {See Talbotype.) 
 
 Da'gun. A god worshipped in Pegu. 
 When Iviak'iak des-troyed the world, 
 Dagiin reconstructed it. {Indian mgtJto- 
 
 Dahak. The Satan of Persia-. Ac- 
 cording to Persian mythology, the ages 
 of the world are divided into periods of 
 1,000 years. When the cycle of " chil- 
 ia.sms " (1,000-year periods) is complete, 
 the reign of Ormuzd will begin, and men
 
 Dahlia 
 
 326 
 
 Dalgetty 
 
 will be all good and all happy ; but this 
 eveut will be preceded by the loosing of 
 Dahak, who will break his chain and 
 fall upon the world, and bring on man 
 the most dreadful calamities. Two 
 prophets will appear to cheer the 
 oppressed, and announce the advent of 
 Ormuzd. 
 
 Dahlia. A flower. So called from 
 Amliew Dahl, the Swedish botanist. 
 
 Dahomey is not derived from Daho, 
 the founder of the palace so called, but 
 is a corruiitionof Dauh-homen, " Dauh's 
 Belly." The story is as follows : Ardrah 
 divided Ids kingdom at death between 
 his thi'ee sons, and Daho, one of the 
 sons, received the northern portion. 
 Being an enterprising and ambitious 
 man, he coveted the country of his 
 neighbour Danh, King of Gedavin, and 
 first apj)lied to him for a plot of land to 
 build "a huuse on. This being granted, 
 Daho made other requests in quick 
 succession, and Dauh's iiatience being 
 exhausted, he exclaimed, " Must I open 
 my bellj^ for you to build on?" On 
 hearing this, Daho declared himself in- 
 sulted, made war on Danh, and slew him. 
 He then built his palace where Danh 
 fell, and called it Danh-homen. {Xiiie- 
 tecnth Cciiitiri/, October, 1890, pp. 6O0-6.) 
 
 Da'i'both (3 syl.). A Japanese idol of 
 colossal size. Each of her hands is full 
 of hands. {Japanese mythology.) 
 
 Da'i'koku (4 syl.). The god invoked 
 specially by the 'artisans of Japan. He 
 sits on a ball of rice, holding a hammer 
 in his hand, ^^•ith which he beats a sack ; 
 and every time he does so the sack be- 
 comes full of silver, rice, cloth, and other 
 useful articles. {Japanese mythology.) 
 
 Da'i'ri (3 syl.). The royal residence 
 in Japan ; the court of the mikado, used 
 by metonomy for the sovereign or chief 
 pontiff himself. 
 
 Dairy. A corrupt form of ' ' dey-ery, ' ' 
 Middle English deicrie and deyycrye, 
 from deye, a dairjTnaid. 
 
 " The dey or farni-wonian entered with her 
 pitchers, tu deliver the milk for the family."— 
 Hcott: Fair Maid of Perth, chap, xxxii. 
 
 Da'is. The raised floor at the head 
 of a dining-room, designed for guests of 
 distinction (French, r/ffi«, a canopy). So 
 called because it used to be decorated 
 with a canopy. The proverb *' Sons le 
 dais " means "in the midst of gi-andeur." 
 
 Daisies. Slang for boots, Explained 
 nn^r Chivy. 
 
 Dai'sy. Ophelia gives the queen a 
 daisy to signify "that her light and 
 fickle love ought not to exjjcct constancy 
 in her husband." So the daisy is ex- 
 plained by Greene to mean a Quip for 
 an upstart courtier. (Anglo-Saxon dicgcs 
 cage, day's eye.) 
 
 The word is Day^s eye, and the flower 
 is so called because it closes its pinky 
 lashes and goes to sleep wlien the suu 
 sets, but in the morning it expands its 
 petals to the light. {See Violet.) 
 
 " Tliat well hy reason men c;ille it maie. 
 The daisic, or else the eie of the daie. 
 
 Chaucer. 
 
 Daisy {Solomon). Parish clerk of 
 Chigwell. He had little, round, black, 
 shiny eyes like beads ; wore rusty black 
 breeches, a rusty black coat, and a long- 
 fiajiped waistcoat with queer little 
 buttons. Solomon Daisy, with Phil 
 Parkes, the ranger of Epping Forest, 
 Tom Cobb, the chandler and post-office 
 keeper, and John Willet, mine host, 
 formed a quadrilateral or village club, 
 which used to meet night after night at 
 the Maypole, on the borders of the 
 forest. Daisy's famous talc was the 
 murder of Mr. Reuben Haredale, and the 
 conviction that the nun-derer would be 
 found out on the 19th of March, the 
 anniversary of the murder. {Dickens : 
 Jbarnaby liutlge, chap, i., etc.) 
 
 Daisy-cutter {A). In cricket, a ball 
 that is bowled all along the gi'ound. 
 
 Daisy-roots, like dwarf -elder berries, 
 are said to stunt the growth ; hence the 
 fairy Milkah fed her royal foster-child 
 on this food, that his standard might not 
 exceed that of a ijigmy. This super- 
 stition arose from the notion that every- 
 thing had the property of bestowing its 
 own speciality on others. {See Feen 
 Seed.) 
 
 " Slie robbed dwarf-elders of their fragrant fruit, 
 And fed him early with the daisy ro(jt. 
 Whence through his veins the powerful juices 
 
 ran, 
 And formed the beauteous miinatnre of man. 
 Tickell : Kensington Gardens. 
 
 Dala'i-Lama [grand lama']. Chief of 
 the two Tai'tar priests — a sort of incarnate 
 deity. The other lama is called the 
 " Tesho-lama." 
 
 Dal'dah. Mahomet's favourite white 
 mule. 
 
 Dalgar'no {Lord). A heartless profli- 
 gate in Scott's Fortunes of Nigel. 
 
 Dalget'ty {Dugald). Jeffrey calls 
 him " a compound of Captain Fluellen 
 and Bob'adil," but this is scarcely just. 
 Without doubt, he has all the pedantry
 
 Dalkey 
 
 327 Damon and Pythias 
 
 and conceit of the former, and all the 
 vulgar assurance of the latter ; but, 
 unlike Bobadil, he is a man of real 
 courage, and wholly trustworthy to those 
 who pay him for the service of his sword, 
 which, like a thrifty mercenary, he lets 
 out to the highest bidder. {Scott: Legend 
 of Montrose.) 
 
 "Neitlier Schiller, Strada, Thuamis, Monroe, 
 nor Diife'ald Dalgetty makes any mention of it."— 
 Carhjle. 
 
 Dalkey {King of). A kind of 
 "Mayor of Garrat" {q.v.) at Kings- 
 town, in Ireland. A full description is 
 given of this mock mayor, etc., in a 
 book entitled Ireland Ninety Years Ago. 
 
 Dalle (French), ecu de six francs (os.). 
 Money generally. 
 
 " (^)iiicon(iiie parleroit de paix .... payeroit a 
 la liourse <le rCnion certaine iiuantite de dales, 
 pour I'entretenenient des docteurs." — Satijre 
 Metiippee, 18i'4, p. 1«3. 
 
 Dalmat'ica or Dalm/fi'ic. A robe, 
 open in front, reaching to the knees ; 
 worn at one time by deacons over the 
 alb or stole, when the Euchari.st was ad- 
 ministered. It is in imitation of the 
 regal vest of Dalma'tia, and was im- 
 ported into Rome by the Emperor 
 Com'modus. A similar robe was worn 
 by kings, in the Middle Ages, at corona- 
 tions and other great solemnities, to 
 remind them of their duty of bountiful- 
 ness to the poor. The right sleeve was 
 plain and full, but the left was fringed 
 and tasselled. Deacons had broader 
 sleeves than sub-deacous, to indicate 
 their duty to larger generosity ; for a 
 similar reason the sleeves of a bishop 
 are larger than those of a priest. The 
 two stripes before and behind were to 
 show that the wearer should exercise his 
 charity to all. 
 
 Dam. An Indian copper coin, the 
 fortieth part of a rupee. Hence the ex- 
 pression " Not worth a dam " ; similarly 
 " not worth a farthing," "not worth a 
 rap" (q.v.) ; "not worth a sou," "not 
 worth a stiver," etc. 
 
 Dam'age. Whafs the damage ? What 
 have I to i^ay ? how much is the bill ? 
 The allusion is to the law assessing 
 damages in remuneration to the plaintiff. 
 
 Dam 'ask Linen. So called from 
 Damascus, where it was originally manu- 
 factured. 
 
 Damaskeening. Producing upon 
 steel a blue tinge and ornamental figures, 
 sometimes inlaid with gold and silver, 
 as ia Damascus blades ; so called from 
 
 Damascus, which was celebrated in the 
 Middle Ages for this class of ornamental 
 art. 
 
 Dambe'a or Bemlefa. A lake in 
 Go jam, Abyssinia, the source of the 
 Blae Nile. Captain Speke traced the 
 TF/iite Nile to Lake Victoria N'yanza, 
 which, no doubt, is fed by the Mountains 
 of the Moon. 
 
 " He [tlio Nile] tlirn' the lucid lake 
 Of fair Dambea rolls liis infant stream.'' 
 
 Thuynsoii : Summer, 807-8. 
 
 Dame du Lac. A fay, named 
 Vivienne, who plunged with the infant 
 Lancelot into a lake. This lake was a 
 kind of mirage, concealing the demesnes 
 of the lady " en la marche de la petite 
 Breiaigne.''^ {See Vivienne.) 
 
 "En ce lieu .... avoit la dame moult de belles 
 maisons et moult riches : et an plain dessouhs 
 elle avoit une gente p'^-tite riviere." 
 
 Damiens' Bed of Steel. R. F. 
 
 Damiens, in 1757, attempted the life of 
 Louis XV. He was taken to the Con- 
 ciergerie ; an iron bed, which likewise 
 served as a chair, was prepared for him, 
 and to tliis he was fastened with chains. 
 He was then tortured, and ultimately 
 torn to pieces by wild horses. {Smollet: 
 Histury of England, v. 12, p. 39.) 
 
 " The uplifted axe, the acronising wheel, 
 Luke's iron crown, and Damiens' hed of steel." 
 Huldsmith : The Traveller U7U8). 
 
 Damn with Faint Praise. To 
 
 praise with such a voice and in such 
 
 measured tenns as to show plainly secret 
 
 disapproval. 
 
 " Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer. 
 And, without sneeririL,', teach tlie rest to sneer." 
 I'uiie : Epiistle to Arbutlinot. 
 
 Dam'ocles' Sword. Evil foreboded 
 or dreaded. Dam'ocles, the sycophant 
 of Dionysius the elder, of Syracuse, was 
 invited by the tyrant to try the felicity 
 he so much envied. Accordingly he 
 was set down to a sumptuous banquet, 
 but overhead was a sword suspended by 
 a hair. Damocles was afraid to stir, 
 and the banquet was a tantalising tor- 
 ment to him. {Cicero.) 
 
 "These fears hang like Damocles' sword over 
 every feast, and make enjuynient impossible." 
 — Chambers's Cyclopcedia. 
 
 Da'mon and Musido'ra. Two lovers 
 in Thomson's Summer. One day Damon 
 caught Musidora bathing, and his deli- 
 cacy so won iipon her that she promised 
 to be his bride. 
 
 Da'mon and Pyth'ias. Inseparable 
 friends. They were two Syracu'sian 
 youths. Damon, being condemned to 
 death by Dionysius the tyrant, obtained 
 leave to go home to arrange his affairs
 
 Damper 
 
 328 
 
 Dance 
 
 if Pytliias became his security. Damon 
 Ijciiii^ delayed, Pythias was led to exe- 
 cution, l;)ut his frieud arrived in time to 
 save liim. Diouysius was so struck with 
 this honourable friendship that he par- 
 doned both of them. 
 
 Samper (A). A snap before dinner, 
 which damps or takes oif the edge of 
 a])pctite. "That's a damper" also 
 niCMus a wet-blanket influence, a rebuff 
 which damjis or cools one's courage. 
 
 Also a large thin cake of tlour and 
 water baked in hot ashes. The mute 
 of a stringed instrument to deaden the 
 sound is also called a " damper." 
 
 Damsel. {Sec Domisellus.) 
 
 Dam'son. A corruption of Damas- 
 cene, a fruit from Damascus. 
 
 Dam y an (3 syl . ) . A " silke squy er, " 
 whoso illicit love was accepted by May, 
 the youthful bride of January, a Lom- 
 bard knight, sixty years old. {Otaucer : 
 The Marchaitndcs Talc.) 
 
 Dan. A title of honoiir, common with 
 tbe old poets, as Dan Pha-bus, Dan 
 Cupid, Dan Neptune, Dan Chaucer, etc. 
 (SiJauish, do)).) 
 
 " D:in Cliaurei", well of Eimlisb iiiiilcflleil, 
 On Kanie's eternal lie.ulroll worthy to lie flled." 
 /^jiaincr : F(urie Qiuene, Ijook iv. canto ii. .'i.'. 
 
 F)-oi)i Ba)i to Bcer'sheha. From one 
 end of the kingdom to the other; all 
 over the world ; eveiywhere. The 
 jihrase is Scriptural, Dan being the most 
 northern and Becrsheba the most south- 
 ern city of the Holy Land. We have a 
 similar expression, "From John o' 
 Groats to the Land's End." 
 
 Dan Tucker. Out d' dc u-ay, old 
 Dim Tucker. The first Governor of Ber- 
 mu'da was Mr. Moore, who was suc- 
 ceeded by Captain Daniel Tucker. Tliese 
 islands were colonised from Virginia. 
 
 Dan'ace (3 syl.). A coin placed by 
 the Greeks in the mouth of the dead to 
 pay their passage across the ferry of the 
 Lower World. 
 
 Dan'ac. An Argive princess whom 
 Zeus (Jupiter) seduced inider the form 
 of a shower of gold, while she was con- 
 fined in an inaccessible tower. She thus 
 became the mother of Perseus (2 syl.). 
 
 Dana'ides (4 syl.). Daughters of 
 Dan'aos (King of Argos). They were 
 lifty in number, and married the fifty 
 sous of iEgyptos. They all Init one 
 raiu'dered their husbands on their wed- 
 ding-night, and were punished in the 
 infernal regions by having to di'aw 
 
 water everlastiuglj' in sieves from a deep 
 well. 
 
 This is an allegory. The followers of 
 Dan'aos taught the Argivcs to dig wells, 
 and inigate their fields in the Egj'ptian 
 manner. As the soil of Argos was very 
 drj' and porous, it was like a sieve. 
 
 The names of the fifty Danaides and 
 theii' respective husbands are as follows : 
 
 Aetiea .. .. wife of Per'iplias. 
 
 Adiauta.. .. „ Dalpli'roii. 
 
 Adyta .. .. „ Jlenal'ccj. 
 
 Afja've ■• .. „ Lycos. 
 
 Aniynion'c •■ „ Kncel'ados. 
 
 Anaxil/ia .. „ ArclieUi'os. 
 
 Aiitod'ica .. „ Clytos. 
 
 Aster'ia.. .. „ ClKptos. 
 
 Autlio'lea .. „ Cisseiis. 
 
 Autoni'ata ■• ,, Arcliile'los. 
 
 Auton'i.e •• „ Kiiryl'oclios. 
 
 Bry'cea.. •• „ Chlhon'ios. 
 
 Callid'ice •• ,, I'andi'oii. 
 
 t'ele'iio ... „ Hyxo'hios. 
 
 Cbrysiii'i'c ■• ,, ('lirysiii'iios. 
 
 Clirysotli'eiiii.s „ As'leris. 
 
 Cleodo'ra .. „ Mxos. 
 
 Cleoiial'ra .. ., A^e'nor. 
 
 Cli'o .. .. „ .AstiT'ias. 
 
 Critome'dia .. „ Aiiliiiapli'iiS. 
 
 Uanio'ne •• „ .Vniyii'lor. 
 
 Dioxip'iie .. „ .KKyptos. 
 
 Kloctra... .. „ reri.s'theiies. 
 
 Kr'ato .. .. „ Itici'niios. 
 
 Kuplie'iio .. „ IIyper'l)ios, 
 
 Kuryd'ice .. ,. Drya;?. 
 
 Evip'pC .. •■ „ lllllMdS. 
 
 (ilauca .. .. „ Alcis. 
 
 (ilancip'pa .. ,, i'ol'.inion. 
 
 tJorwa Hyppotli'cOi. 
 
 (iorK'oplion .. „ I'ro'tens. 
 
 )Iel'(it:i .. .. ,. Casso.s. 
 
 Hippodaiiii'a .- „ Isler. 
 
 llippod'ica _. . ,, Idra.s. 
 
 llippoTiiPdu'to „ Alcnic'non. 
 
 Hyperip'pa .. „ Ilippocoris'lSi. 
 
 Hypernines'tra „ Lyiirens.* 
 
 Ipliiiiiedu'.sa •• ,, Kiidio'uor. 
 
 Wiieslva .. „ Kni'us. 
 
 Ocyp'etc .. „ I,ampos. 
 
 Oi'iiie .. ■ „ Arbt^'los. 
 
 Pilaris .. .. „ Euryd'amas. 
 
 PilarVa .. .. „ Iiinion. 
 
 Pire'iie .. -. „ AL'aptole'nu^s. 
 
 Podar'ca •• „ (E'neus. 
 
 lUioda .. .- „ Hippol'ytos. 
 
 Ulio'dia.. •• „ (.'lialce'doii. 
 
 Stlicn'ola .. „ Stlieu'elos. 
 
 SiyKiia .. .■ „ Polyc'tor. 
 
 Tliea'no.. .. „ Pliantlic.5. 
 
 V Lyncetis (2 syl.), the one saved by 
 his wife, is marked with an asterisk (*). 
 
 Dan'aos. According to the Ito)»a» de 
 Rose, Denmark means the country of 
 Dan'aos, who settled here with a colony 
 after the siege of Troy, as Brutus is said 
 by the same sort of name-legend to 
 have settled in Britain. Sa.xo-Gernian'- 
 icus, with equal absurdity, makes Dan, 
 the son of Humble, the first king, to 
 account for the name of the country. 
 
 Danaw. The Danube (German). 
 
 "To pass 
 Klione or tlie Panaw." 
 
 Milton : Puradiac Lost, book i. XiX. 
 
 Dance. The Spanish danza was a 
 grave and stately court dance. Those 
 of the seventeenth century wei'e called
 
 Dance 
 
 329 
 
 Dancing-water 
 
 tlie Turdlon, Tahu'na, Madaiixc Or/</ni>', 
 I'icilcli/iha'o, El I'ci/ Doit A/oiizo, and isY 
 Vabiilic'ro. Most of the names are taken 
 from the hallad-music to whicli they 
 ■\7ere danced. 
 
 The light dances were called TxiyVo 
 ('/•'•■)• 
 
 Dance {Vijrrlnc). (.SVr Pyerhic). 
 
 <SV. J'ttiis's JJhihc. ('Vc'6' Vitus). 
 
 Dance of Death. A series of wood- 
 cuts, said to bo hy Hans Holbein (15^8), 
 re]irosentint,^ Death dancing after all 
 sorts of persons, beginning with Adam 
 and Eve. He is beside the judge on liis 
 bench, the priest in the pulpit, the nuu 
 in her cell, the doctor in his study, the 
 bride and the beggar, the king and tlie 
 infant ; but is " swallowed up at 
 last." 
 
 This is often called the Banco Maca'bre, 
 from a German who wrote verses on the 
 sul)ject. 
 
 On the north side of Old St. Paul's 
 was a cloister, on the walls of whicli was 
 painted, at the cost of John Carpenter, 
 town clerk of London (ITith century), a 
 "Dance of Death," or "Death leading 
 all the estate, with speeclies of Death, 
 and answers, by John Lydgate" {Sto/c). 
 The Death -Dance in the Dominican 
 Convent of Basle was retouched by 
 Holbein. 
 
 H PlIEASES. 
 
 I^ll lead i/on a prctfif d(t»ce, i.e. I'll 
 bother or put you to trouble. The 
 French say, Bonner Ic hal a qnelqn'iiii.. 
 Tlie reference is to the complicated 
 dances of former times, when all followed 
 the leader. 
 
 'To dance attendance. To wait obse- 
 quiously, to be at the beck and call of 
 another. The allusion is to the ancient 
 custom of weddings, where the bride on 
 the Avedding-night had to dance with 
 every guest, and play the amiable, 
 though greatly annoyed. 
 
 " Then must llie poore hr.vde kepe foote with a 
 dauncer, and refuse none, how scabbed, fcjiile, 
 dioncken, rude, and shameless soevei' ho lie."— 
 Christen: State of ilatriitiony, 1.543. 
 
 "T had thnncht 
 Tho.v had parted sn much honosiy anions' ilicm 
 (At. least, i-'ood manners'! as not thus to sullrr 
 A man of his place, and so near our f.-ivnur, 
 To dance attonilance on their lordships' plea- 
 sures." tilialcespcare : Ilcvnj VJ1[.,WJ. 
 
 To dance upon nothxncj. To be hanged. 
 Dances {Xational Bance.s) : 
 
 TS'ibcuiian : the redo'ira. 
 
 Kii'-'ljsh: llie /(0)»;)/;/c and lavccrx. 
 
 French : tlie ciiiificiliinse {country dance), colilJon, 
 
 anil qiiaitrillr. 
 fiermim : the f;o//<i;'firfe and waltz. 
 Irish : tlie jifl. 
 Neapolitan : the taran'tella. 
 Polish : the mazurka and krakovieck. 
 
 Russian : the cnssac. 
 
 Scotch : Ihe reel. 
 
 Spanish : i\\e bolc'ro-Awlfandavgo.^ 
 
 V When Handel was asked to point 
 out the peculiar taste of the different 
 nations of Europe in dancing, he ascribed 
 the niinnet to the French, the mr'aband 
 to the Sj)aniard, the arietta to the Italian, 
 and the hornpipe and the morris-dance 
 to the English. 
 
 Dances [Religious Banccs) : 
 
 Astrotinmical dmices, invented by the Egyptians, 
 dcsiu'ned (like our orreries) to represent the 
 movements of the heavenly bodies. 
 
 Tlie Ilacihie iliiiircs were of three sorts: jjravs 
 (like oui- minuet), jray (like luir ftavotte)', and 
 mixed (like our minuet and u-avotte combined). 
 
 Tlie il,nir, (7/<i.»yi<7/c, ill', culeil by Pan, iiuick and 
 Incly. The (lancers (in 1 he .i|eii airj wore 
 wrcaihs.irnakan.l ■-'aii:iniN of tluwcrs. 
 
 Cliihlri ii\-< (liiiiei!<.iti l.a< c.lcUKUiia, in honour of 
 Diaii:i. The chihlicii were nude; and their 
 luoMuiciii ^ wrvi- L-i:i\ e, modest, and fc'raceful. 
 
 Cnnihiiiitie ,l,n„;>-. in honour of Bacclius, 
 acc..iii|ciiiic(l with linibvcN, nfcs, ilnles. and a 
 :.1m. r^l hv th.- chl-hlll- of 
 
 Fill. 
 
 ■ils .-11 
 
 ,il ,1,1 
 
 ,1 SI. 
 
 Ill A I hcli>. .-Im» , si.hiiiii dances 
 ill which the priests look part. The pcrforniers 
 w.irc Ioiil; white robes, aud carried cypress 
 slips in their hands. 
 
 IIiini,iit-,il ihiiiris were lively and joyous. The 
 (l.-iiiici-s belli'-,' c'l-owiicil with llowers. 
 
 (*/ '/" r.iiiiitliiv, iiiM'iiicd \<\ I'irithbiis. These 
 were cxhibiicd aflcr some f:iniuiis vic-torv, and 
 were ilesiu'iieil to imitate the combats of the 
 Ceiiiiniis ;iiid l/iprilia'. These dances were 
 
 he] h illllieilli iillil (l;in;,'eroUS. 
 
 j;ei/-,/r/,( ,(e/e <s at Konie. At riaybrealc lads and 
 l.i^ses went out to L-:itlu'r "M;iv" and other 
 llowers for I lieiii-el\ e- .-nid their ehlers ; and 
 
 ll|e,|.-,y was spell I 111 il.'inee,;, 11(1 leslivilies. 
 
 llililiiru iliiiiees. ■llie(.h!esl efall diinees, exe- 
 cuted' with swords, laveliiis, and bucklers. 
 Siiid to be invented l.y Jliner\a to celebrate the 
 victory of the yodsover the Titans. 
 
 Kiijitial (tancef:. A Koman pantomimic perfor- 
 mance resembling the dances of our harleiiuin 
 and columbine. 
 
 Stiered dances (among the JeAvs). David danced 
 in certain religious prncessions oj Sam. vi. 14). 
 The people sang and danced bel'erc the golden 
 
 calf(E.xod. xxxii. ID). Andinthcl k of Psalms 
 
 (cl. 4) we read, "Let [the people] praise [the 
 Lord] with timbrel and dance. Miriam, the 
 sister of Jloses, after the passage of the lied 
 Sea, was followed by all the women with 
 timbrels and dances (Exod. xv. iO). 
 
 .S'(i//c dances, instituted by Numa Pompilius in 
 honour of Mars. They were executed liy twelve 
 priests selected from the highest of the 
 nobility, and the dances were performed in the 
 temple while sacrifices were being made and 
 hymns sung to the god. 
 
 *." The Dancing Dervishes celebrate 
 their religious rites with dances, which 
 consist chiefly of spinning round and 
 round a little allotted space, not in 
 couples, but each one alone. 
 
 In ancient times the Gauls, the 
 Germans, the Spaniards, and the English 
 too liad their sacred dances. In fact, 
 in all religious ceremonies the dtmce 
 was an essential part of divine worship. 
 In India dancing is a part of religious 
 worship in which the priests join. 
 
 See Danse. 
 
 Dancing-water {TIic), which beau- 
 tifies ladies, makes them young again,
 
 Dandelion 
 
 330 
 
 Dante 
 
 and enriches tlicra. It fell in a cascade 
 in the Burning Forest, and could only 
 be reached by an underground passage. 
 Prince Chery fetched a bottle of this 
 water for his beloved Fair-star, but was 
 aided by a dove. {Fairy I'ales, by the 
 Comtesse d'Aulnoy.) {See Yellow 
 Water.) 
 
 Dandeli'on. A flower. The word is 
 a corrui)tiou of tlie French dctit dc Vion 
 (lion's tooth). Also called Lcoii'todvn 
 (lion-tooth, Greek), from a supposed 
 resemblance between its leaves and the 
 teeth of lions. 
 
 Dander. Is your dander iip or riz ? 
 Is your angry iiassiou up ? This is 
 generally considered to be an American- 
 ism ; but Halliwcll gives, in his Archaic 
 Dictionary, both dander (anger) and 
 dandy (distracted), the former common 
 to several counties, and the latter pecu- 
 liar to Somersetshire. 
 
 Dandie Dinmont. A jovial, true- 
 hearted store-farmer, in Sir Walter 
 Scott's Gay Jlanneriny. Also a hardy 
 hairy short- legged ten-ier. 
 
 " Frcnii tills (log (Icsoemleil Davidson of Ilyml- 
 Iee"s hiTcd, llie oritrimil Daudie-Diumoiit."— 2'. 
 Urtiiiii : Oiii-JJoi/s, ji. 101. 
 
 Dandin (French). A ninny, a snob. 
 From Moliere's comedy of George JJan- 
 din. {Sec Gandin.) 
 
 Dandin (George). A French cit, who 
 marries a sprig of nobility, and lives 
 with his wife's parents. Madame ajjpeals 
 on all occasions to her father and mother, 
 who, of course, take her jjart against her 
 husband. Poor George is in a sad jilight, 
 and is for ever lamenting his fate with 
 the expression, Voas Varez rouhi, George 
 I)andin ('Tis j^our own fault, George 
 Dandin). Geoi'ge Dandin stands for 
 anyone who marries above his sphere, 
 and is pecked by his wife and mother- 
 in-law. The word means " a ninny." 
 {Molierc'' s comedy so called.) 
 
 Ferri)i Dandin. A sort of Lynch 
 judge in Rabelais, who seated himself 
 on the trimk of the first tree he came to, 
 and there decided the causes submitted 
 to him. 
 
 Dan'diprat or Dandcpraf, according 
 to Camden, is a small coin issued in the 
 reigu of Henry VII. Applied to a little 
 fellow, it is about equal to our modern 
 expression, alittle ' ' twopenny-ha'penny' ' 
 fellow. 
 
 Dando {A). One who frequents 
 liotels, eating-houses, and other such 
 
 places, satisfies his appetite, and decamps 
 without payment. 
 
 Dandy. A coxcomb ; a fop. The 
 feminine of "dandy " is either dandilly 
 or dandizett. Egau says the word was 
 first used hi LSi;j, but examples of the 
 word occur at least one hundred years 
 before that date. (French, dandin, a 
 ninny, a vain, conceited fellow.) 
 
 Dandy-horse. {Sec VELOcirEDE.) 
 
 Dandyism. The manners, etc., of a 
 dandy ; like a dandy. 
 
 Dane's Skin {A). A freckled skin. 
 Red hair and a freckled skin are the 
 traditional characteristics of Danish 
 blood. 
 
 Dangle. A theatrical amateur in 
 Sheridan's Critic. It was designed for 
 Thomas Vaughan, a playwright. 
 
 Daniel Lambert weighed 739 lbs. 
 In 1811 eleven young men stood within 
 liis waistcoat buttoned. (1770-1809.) 
 
 Danism. Lending money on usurj'. 
 (Greek, dancisma, a loan.) 
 
 Dan'nebrog or Danebrog. The old 
 
 flag of Denmark. 'I'lic tradition is that 
 Waldemar II. of Dcninaik saw in the 
 heavens a fiery cross which betokened 
 his victory over the Estho'nians (1219). 
 This story is very similar to that of 
 Constantine {(J.v.), and of St. Andrew's 
 Cross. {See Andeew. -SY.) 
 
 The order of Danebrog. The second of 
 the Danish orders. Brog means "cloth" 
 or banner. 
 
 Dan'nocks. Hedging - gloves. A 
 corruption of Touruay, where they were 
 originally manirfactured. 
 
 Danse. La dansc commence la-has, 
 fighting has broken out yonder. 
 
 " Mnn t'Hiionil, tlieve is great news : La diDinn 
 commence la-ban. '—Ouida : Under Two Fluas, cliaii. 
 xxv. 
 
 A la danse. On the march. 
 
 " Tlie regiment was ordorefl out A la dnvse 
 There was' fresh war in the interior."— OHi(;rt; 
 Under Tim Flaijs, chap. xxv. (.See Daxce.) 
 
 Dans'ker. A Dane. Denmark used 
 to be called Danske. Hence Polo'uius 
 says to Reynaldo, "Inquire me first 
 what Danskers are in Paris." {Hamlet, 
 ii. 1.) 
 
 Dante and Beatrice — i.e. Beati-ice 
 Portina'ri, who was only eight years old 
 when the poet first saw her. His abiding 
 love for her was chaste as snow and 
 laire as it Avas tender. Beatrice niarried
 
 Dantesque 
 
 331 
 
 Darius 
 
 a nobleman named Simo'ne de Bardi, 
 and died young, in 1290. Dante married 
 Gemma, of the powerful house of Do- 
 ua'ti. In the iJiri'ita Vommvdia the 
 l^oot is conducted first by Virgil (wlio 
 represents luinian reason) tlirougli hell 
 and jmrgatory ; then by the spirit of 
 Be'atri'ce (who represents the wisdom 
 of faith) ; and finally by St. Bernard 
 (who represents the wisdom from on 
 high). 
 
 Dantes'que (2 syl.). Daute-like — 
 that is, a nunute life-like representa- 
 tion of the infernal horrors, whether 
 by words, as in the poet, or in visible 
 fomi, as in Dore's illustrations of the 
 Inferno. 
 
 Daphna'ida. An elegy on Douglas 
 Howard, daughter and heiress of Lord 
 Howard. {'Spenser, 1591.) 
 
 Daphne. Daughter of a river-god, 
 loved by Apollo. She fled from the 
 amorous god, and escaped by being 
 changed into a laurel, thenceforth the 
 favourite tree of the suu-god. 
 
 "Nay, lady, sit. If 1 but wave this waiui, 
 Your nerves are all cUain'd up in alaliaster. 
 And you a statue, or, as Daiiliut" was, 
 Rciut-liuuiid, that tied Apollo." 
 
 Milton : Comns, 678-081. 
 
 Daph'nis. A Sicilian shepherd who 
 invented pastoral poetry. 
 
 Dapli'nis. The lover of Chloe in the 
 exquisite Greek pastoral romance of 
 Lougos, in the fourth century. Daphnis 
 was the model of Allan Ramsay's Gentle 
 Shepherd, and the tale is the basis of 
 St. Pierre's Paul and Virejinia. 
 
 Dapper. A little, nimble, spruce 
 young clerk in Ben Jonson's Alchemint. 
 
 Dap'ple. The name of Sancho Panza's 
 donkey in Cervantes' romance of Ihn 
 Quixote. Bailey derives dapple from 
 the Teutonic dapper (streaked or spotted 
 like a pippin). A dapple-grey horse 
 is one of a light grey shaded with a 
 deeper hue ; a elapple-hay is a light bay 
 spotted with bay of a deeper colour. 
 (Icelandic, depill, a spot.) 
 
 Dar'bies (2 syl.). Handcuffs. This 
 is derived from " Darby and Joan," be- 
 cause originally two prisoners were 
 linked together as Darby and Joan. 
 
 " Hark ye ! Jem Clink will fetch you the dar- 
 bies."— Sir W.^cott: I'evcrilof the Peak. 
 
 V Johnny Darbies, policemen, is a 
 perversion of the French gensdarmes, 
 in conjunction with the above. 
 
 Darby and Joan. A loving, old- 
 fashioned, virtuous couple. The names 
 belong to a ballad written by Henry 
 
 Woodfall, and the characters are those 
 of John Darby, of Bartholomew Close, 
 who died 1730, and his wife, "As chaste 
 as a picture cut in alabaster. You 
 might sooner move a Scythian rock 
 than shoot fire into her bosom." Wood- 
 fall served his apprenticeship to John 
 Darby. 
 
 " Perhaps some day or other we may be Darby 
 and Joan." — Lord Li/tton. 
 
 V The French equivalent is Cent St. 
 Jioch et t>o/i ehien. 
 
 Dar'byites (3 syl.). The Plymouth 
 Brethren are so called on the (Continent 
 from Mr. Darby, a barrister, who alian- 
 doned himself to the work, and was for 
 years the " organ " of the sect. 
 
 Darics (or) State'rcs Dari'ei. Cele- 
 brated Persian coins. So called from 
 Daii'us. They bear on one side the head 
 of the king, and on the other a chariot 
 drawn by mules. Their value is about 
 twenty-tivc shillings. 
 
 Dariolet, Dariolette (French). An 
 intriguant, a contidaut, a go-between, a 
 pander. Originally a dariole meant a 
 little sweetmeat or cake rayed with little 
 bands of paste. 
 
 "Dariolette, employe comme nn des nombreiix 
 synonyiiios lie »>»/;;■(»(', a en d'aliord la mission 
 particulirif de dcsiLTiicr les suivantes de mnian." 
 ~i;,ilun<l ill' Villiirrriui.r. 
 
 "Millie. Vitry, cniiiidcnte de Mdlle. de Guise, 
 etait la dariolette."— Trtf/cmnHt, vol. i. p. 1l'5. 
 
 Dari'us. A classic way of spelling 
 Darauesh (king), a Persian title of 
 royalty. Gushtasj) or Ivislitasp assumed 
 the title of darawesh on ascending the 
 throne, and is the person generally 
 called Darius the Great. 
 
 JJari/is. Seven princes of Persia 
 agreed that he should be king whose 
 horse neighed first ; as the horse of 
 Darius was the first to neigh, Darius 
 was proclaimed king. 
 
 Dari'us, conquered by Alexander, was 
 Dara, surnamcd kuehek (the younger). 
 When Alexander succeeded to the throne, 
 Dara sent to him for the tribute of golden 
 eggs, but the Macedonian rettimed for 
 answer, "The bird which laid them is 
 flown to the other world, where Dara 
 must seek them." The Persian king 
 then sent him a bat and ball, in ridicide 
 of his yotith ; but Alexander told the 
 messengers, with the bat he would beat 
 the ball of power from their master's 
 hand. Lastly, Dara sent him a bitter 
 melon, as emblem of the grief in store 
 for him ; but the Macedoniati declared 
 that he would make the Shah eat his 
 own fruit.
 
 Dark 
 
 332 
 
 Davenport 
 
 Dark. To keep dark. To lie perdu ; to 
 
 lurk in concealment. (Ang.-Sax. deorc.) 
 
 " We'll set away to smiie of tbe far-out stations 
 
 .... Avlieio we could keep in tbe ilaik."— i'ok/re- 
 
 u-ood: Uiibbcry Under Arms, x\i. 
 
 Keep it in the dark. Keep it a dead 
 secret ; don't enliglitcn anyone about 
 the matter. 
 
 Dark Ages. The era between the 
 di :it!i of Cliarlemague and the clo.se of 
 thi; ('arloviogiau dynasty. 
 
 Dark Continent {T/ie). Africa, the 
 land of the dark race or darkies. 
 
 Dark Horse (A). A racing tci-m for 
 a liurse of good jiretensious, but of which 
 nothing is jiositively knoAvu by the ge- 
 neral public. Its merits arc kei)t dark 
 from betters and book-makei's. 
 
 "At last a Lilieral candidate lias entered the 
 field at Croydon. Tlic Conservatives liave kept 
 tlieir candidate back, as a dark liorso.'— A'cics- 
 I'.ilHr pdrniiriiph, January, l.ssCi. 
 
 Darkest Hour is that before the 
 Dawn {TIk). When Fortuue's wheel 
 is lowest, it must turn up again. Wlicn 
 tilings liave come to their worst, they 
 must nu'ud. In Latin, I'vut nuhdu, 
 
 I'hwbus. 
 
 Darky. A n(>gro. 
 
 Darley Arabians. A breed of 
 English racers, from au Arab sttillion 
 introduced by Mr. Darley. This stallion 
 was the sire of the Filling CItilder.s, and 
 great-grandsire of Eciipsc. 
 
 Daron, Daronne (French). The 
 sobriquet given, at the present day, by 
 Avorkmen to shopkeepers and cobblers. 
 
 '■ 11 i'tdit niaitrede tout, jup.ju'a manicr Tarf-'cnt 
 dc la daroiiiic."— //isdifci; i(t Giiilhmme, cochcr. 
 
 Daronne. The confidant of Elisenne, 
 mother of Amadis, and wife of Perion 
 des Gaules. {Amadis de Gaulc.) 
 
 Dart. {I^ec Abaris.) 
 
 Darwinian Th eory. Charles 
 Darwin, grandson of the poet, published 
 in 1859 a work entitled Orujin of tSpccict^, 
 to prove that the numerous species now 
 existing on the earth sprang originally 
 from one or at most a few primal forms ; 
 and that the present diversity is due to 
 special develojjment and natural selec- 
 tion. Those plants and creatures which 
 are best suited to the conditions of their 
 existence survive and become fruitful ; 
 certain organs called into play by pe- 
 culiar conditions of life grow with their 
 growth, and strengthen with their 
 strength, till they become so much a part 
 and parcel of their frames as to be 
 transmitted to their offspring. The 
 conditions of life being very diverse, 
 
 cause a great diversity of organic de- 
 velopment, and, of course, every such 
 diversity which has become radical is 
 the parent of a new species. {See Evo- 
 lution.) 
 
 Dash, iu printer's cojiy. One dash 
 under a word in ^IS. mt tins tliat the part 
 so daslied must lie printed in ittilics; two 
 dashes metius small capitals ; three 
 diishes, large capitals. 
 
 (■Ill a dash. (See CuT.) 
 
 Dash my Wig. Dash my Buttons. 
 
 Dasli is a ciiphcinism for a coinmou 
 oath ; and wig, buttons, etc., are relics 
 of a common fashion at one time adopted 
 iu comedies and by "mashers" of 
 swearing without using iirofane lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Date. \ot quite up to date. Said of 
 books somewhat in arrears of the most 
 recent information. 
 
 Daughter. Greek, thnr/ater, con- 
 tracted into thiKj'ter ; Dutch, dotjter ; 
 (iermau, tochter ; Persian, doe)itar ; 
 .S.'inskrit, diihitcr ; Stixon, doliter ; etc. 
 
 Daughter of Pcneus ('/'/"). The 
 biiy-trce is so ctillod because it grows iu 
 greatest iicrfection on tlie banks of the 
 river Pcneus (3 syl.). 
 
 Daughter of the Horseleech. One 
 
 very exigetmt ; one for ever sponging ou 
 another. (Pi'ov. xxx. 15.) 
 
 "Such and many such like were the morning 
 attendants of the Duke of IJuckiiiffliani — ail 
 f-'cmiine descendants of tliedaufrhier of the liorse- 
 leecli, whose cry is '(4ive, give.' "— .Vir W.ticutt: 
 J'ciuril ii/the I'eak, chap, xxviii. 
 
 Dau'phin. The heir of the French 
 crown under the Valois and Bourbon 
 dynasties. Guy VIII. , Count of Vicnne, 
 was the first so styled, because lie wore 
 a dolph'm as his cognisance. The title 
 descended in the family till 1349, wlien 
 Humbert II., dc la tuiirdc I'ina, sold his 
 seigneurie, called the Dauj)hine, to King 
 Philippe VI. (de Valois), on condition 
 that the heir of France assumed the 
 title of Ic dauphin. The first French 
 prince so called was Jean, who suc- 
 ceeded Philii^pe ; and the hist was tlie 
 Due d'Angouleme, son of Charles IX., 
 who renounced the title in 1830. 
 
 Grand Dauphin. Louis, DucdeBour- 
 gogne, eldest .son of Louis XIV., for 
 whose use was published the Latin 
 classics entitled Ad Umiu Delphi' ni. 
 (1661-1711.) 
 
 Second ov Little Dauphin. Louis, son 
 of the Grand Dauphin. (1682-1712.) 
 
 Davenport. A kind of small writing- 
 desk with drawers each side, named 
 after the maker.
 
 [Davenport 
 
 333 
 
 Day- 
 
 Davenport {The Brothers), from 
 America. Two imjiostors, vvlio professed 
 that spirits would imtie them wlieu 
 bound with cords, and even that sj)irits 
 l)lu_ved all sorts of iiistrumeuts ill a 
 dark cabinet. The imposition was ex- 
 Xjosed in 186i5. 
 
 David, in Drydeu's satire called 
 Absdioin and Achitophel, represents 
 Charles II. ; Absalom, his beautiful but 
 rebellious son, represents the Duke of 
 Monmouth; Achitophel, the traitorous 
 counsellor, is the Earl of Shaftesbury ; 
 Barzillai, the faithful old man who pro- 
 vided the king sustenance, was the Duke 
 of Ormond ; Hushai, who defeated tlie 
 counsel of Achitophel, was Hyde, Duke 
 of Rochester ; Zadok the priest was 
 Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury ; 
 Shimei', who cursed the king in his 
 flight, was Bethel, the lord mayor ; etc. 
 etc. (2 Sam. xvii.-xix.) 
 
 " Once more tlie g"i'like David was restored, 
 Aud willing nations knew tbeii- lawful liu'ii." 
 Urijdai : Absalom and Achitophel, part i. 
 
 Darid (Sf.) or Dewid, was son of 
 Xantus, Prince of Cereticu, now called 
 Cardiganshire ; he was brouglit up a 
 priest, became an ascetic in the Isle of 
 Wight, preached to the Britons, con- 
 futed Pela'gius, and was preferred to the 
 see of Caerleon, since called St. David's, 
 He died 544. (See Taffy.) 
 
 -S7. Darid's (Wales) was originally 
 called Mene'via {i.e. main aw, narrow 
 water or frith). Here St. David received 
 his early education, and when Dyvrig, 
 Archbishop of Caerleon, resigned to him 
 his see, St. David removed the archi- 
 episcopal residence to Mene'via, which 
 was henceforth called by his name. • 
 
 David and Jonathan. Inseparable 
 friends. Similar examples of friendship 
 were Pyladesand Orestes {q.v.) ; Damon 
 aud Pythias (q.v.) ; etc. 
 
 " r am distressed for tliee, my brother .lonatlian. 
 Very pleasant bast thou been to me. Tliy love to 
 me was wonderful, passing the love of women." 
 —1' Sam. i, "JO. 
 
 Davide'is. An ei^ic i^oem in four 
 books, describing the troubles of King 
 David. {Abraham Cuiiieij [1618-1667].) 
 
 TliL-re is another sacred poem so called, by 
 Thomas Elwood (.171:;). 
 
 Da'vus. Darns stiw, von (Edipiis (I 
 am a plain, simple fellow, and no solver 
 of riddles, like (Edipus). The words are 
 from Terence's Au'dria, i. 2, 23. 
 
 Non te credas Darian ladere. Don't 
 imagine you are deluding Davus. " Do 
 you see any wliite in my eye ? " I am 
 not such a fool as you think me to be. 
 
 Davy. I HI take nnj davi/ of it. I'll 
 take my " affidavit " it is true. 
 
 T>avy {SnaJ'i/). David Wilson. {-See 
 Sir Walter Scott, ^'/ie Antiquarij, chap, 
 iii. and note.) 
 
 Davy Jones's Locker. He's gone to 
 I)anj Jones's locker, i.e. he is dead. 
 Jones is a corruption of Jonah, the pro- 
 l^het, who was thrown into the sea. 
 Locker, in seaman's phrase, means any 
 receptacle for private stores ; and diiffy 
 is a ghost or spirit among the West 
 Indian negroes. So the whole pfirase is, 
 ' ' He is gone to the place of safe keep- 
 ing, where dutfy Jonah was sent to." 
 
 "This same Davy Jones, according to the 
 mythology of sailors, is the fiend that presides 
 overall the evil spirits of the deep, and is seen 
 in vari<jus shapes .... warning the devoted 
 wretch of death aud woe."— .SnwKcM; Pcrefjtine 
 riclch; xiii. 
 
 Da'vy's Sow. Drunk as Davi/s sou\ 
 Grose says : One David Lloyd, a Welsh- 
 man, who kept an ale-house at Hereford, 
 had a sow with six legs, which was an 
 object of great curiosity. One day 
 David's wife, having indulged too freely, 
 lay down in the sty to sleep, and a com- 
 pany coming to see the sow, David led 
 them to the sty, saying, as usual, "There 
 is a sow for you ! Did you ever see the 
 like?" One of the visitors replied, 
 "Well, it is the drunkenest sow I ever 
 beheld." Whence the woman was ever 
 after called "Davy's sow." {Classical 
 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.) 
 
 Dawson {BaUy). A noted London 
 sharper, who swaggered and led a most 
 abandoned life about Blackfriars, in the 
 reign of Charles II. {ISee Jemmy Daw- 
 son.) 
 
 "Bully Dawson kicked by half the town, and 
 half the town kicked by Bully Dawson."- C7(in7<. s- 
 Lamb. 
 
 Day. When it begins. (1) With 
 sun -set: The Jews in their "sacred 
 year," and the Church — hence the eve 
 of feast-days ; the ancient Britons " non 
 die'rum nu'inerum, ut nos, sed noc'fium 
 coin'putanf,'^ says Tacitus — hence " so'ii- 
 night" and " fort' night;" the Athenians, 
 Chinese, Mahometans, etc., Italians, 
 Austrians, and Bohemians. (2) With 
 sun-rise : The Babylonians, Syrians, 
 Persians, aud modern Greeks, (o) With 
 tioon: The ancient Egyptians and modern 
 astronomers. (4) With midnight: The 
 English, French, Dutch, Germans, Spa- 
 nish, Portuguese, Americans, etc. 
 
 A dag after the fair. Too late ; the 
 fair you came to see is over. 
 
 Day in, day out. All day long. 
 "Sewing as she did, day in, day out."— 11'. E. 
 Wilkins ; The Uoncst Soul.
 
 Bay 
 
 334 
 
 i)e Eigueur 
 
 Every dug has its cluij. {Sec lotder 
 Dog.) 
 
 / have had mij da}j. My prime of life 
 is over ; I have been a man of light and 
 leading, but am now " out of the su'ini." 
 " Old Jdc, sir . . . was a liit of a favourite . . . 
 once; but lie has had his day."— Dickens. 
 
 I have lost a da;/ {Fer'didi diem) was 
 the exclamation of Titus, the Roman em- 
 jjeror, when on one occasion he could 
 call to mind nothing done during the 
 past day for the benefit of his subjects. 
 
 'To-daij a man, to-morrow a mouse. In 
 French, ^'AujourdWiui roi, deinuin rien.''^ 
 Fortune is so tickle that one day we 
 may be at the top of the wheel, and the 
 next day at the bottom. 
 
 Day of the Barricades. {See 
 Bakeicades.) 
 
 Day of the Dupes, in French his- 
 tory, was November II th, Hi'AO, when 
 Marie de Me'dicis and Gaston Due 
 d'Orleans extorted from Louis XIII. a 
 promise that he would dismiss his 
 Minister, the Cardinal Kichelieu. The 
 cardinal went in all sjjeed to Versailles, 
 the king repented, and Kichelieu became 
 more powerful than ever. Marie de 
 Me'dicis and Gaston were the dupes 
 who had to pay dearly for their short 
 triumph. 
 
 Day-dream. A dream of the imagi- 
 nation when the eyes are awake. 
 
 Daylight, in drinking bumpers, means 
 that the wine-glass is not full to the 
 In-im : between the wine and the rim of 
 the wiue-glass light may be seen. Toast- 
 masters used to cry out, "Gentlemen, 
 no daylights nor heeltaps " — the heel- 
 tap being a little wine left at the bottom 
 of the glass. The glass must be filled to 
 the brim, and every drop of it must be 
 drunk. 
 
 Daylights. The eyes, which let day- 
 liglit into tlie sensorium. 
 
 2o darhen one\s dai/lights. To give 
 one such a blow on the eyes with tlie 
 fist as to prevent seeing. (Pugilistic 
 slang.) 
 
 Days set apart as Sabbaths. 
 
 Sunday by Christians ; Monday bj' the 
 Greeks ; Tuesday by the Persians ; Wcd- 
 iicsday hy the Assyrians ; Thursday by 
 the Egyptians ; Friday by the Turks ; 
 Saturday by the Jews. 
 
 Christians worshi]) God on Sunday. 
 Gwrhin zi'alots haUow Monday, 
 Tuesday Persians spend in prayer, 
 Assyrians Wednesday revere, 
 Egyptians Tlncrsday, Friday Turks, 
 On Saturday no Hebrew works, i'. C. D. 
 
 Daysman. An umpire, ,iudge, or 
 intercessor. The word is dais-man (a 
 man who sits on the dais) ; a sort of lit 
 de justiee. Hence Piers Ploughman — 
 
 "And at the day of ihiiun 
 At the heib'ht Doy.s sit." 
 
 Dayspring. The dtiwn : the com- 
 mencement of the Messiah's reign. 
 
 "Tlic dayspring from on high hath visited us." 
 —Luke i. 78. 
 
 Daystar {The). The morning star. 
 Hence the emblem of hope or better 
 l^rospects. 
 
 " Awiin <i"er tlie vine-cnvered ret-'ions of France, 
 See the day-star of Lil>erty rise." 
 
 WUson : Xuctes (,Ian., ls;U, \ ol. iv. p. 1'30. 
 
 De Bonne Grace (French). Wil- 
 lingly ; with good grace. 
 
 De Die in Diem. From day to day 
 continuously, till the business is com- 
 pleted. 
 
 " The Ministry have elected to go on de die in 
 
 dicm."—Xewspapcr puragrui'h, December, 1S«5. 
 
 De Facto. Actually, in reality ; in 
 opposition to de jure, lawfully or riglit- 
 full}-. Thus John was defaeto kiug, but 
 Arthur was so de Jure. 
 
 De Haut en Bas. Superciliousl}\ 
 
 " She used to treat him a little de haul en bus." 
 —C. Ihadc. 
 
 V But I)u haut en bas. From toji to 
 bottom. 
 
 De Jure (Latin). By right, right- 
 fully, lawfully, accordiug to the law of 
 the land. Thus a legal axiom saj's : 
 '■'lie jure Judiees, de faeio Jura tores, re- 
 spondtnt " (Judges "look to the law, 
 juries to the facts). 
 
 De Lunatico Inquirendo (Latin). 
 A writ issued to inquire into the state of 
 a person's mind, whether it is sound or 
 not. If not of sound mind, the person is 
 called non eompos, and is committed to 
 proper guardians. 
 
 De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum. Of 
 
 the detid sjieak kindl}' or not at all. 
 
 De Nihilo Nihil Fit (Latin). You 
 cannot make anytliing out of nothing. 
 
 De Novo (Latin). Afresh ; over 
 again from the beginning. 
 
 De Profundis [Out of the depths]. 
 The 130th Psalm is so called from the 
 first two words in the Latin version. It 
 is sung by Roman Catholics when the 
 dead are committed to the gTave. 
 
 De Rigueur. Strictly speaking, 
 quite eomnw il faut, in the height of 
 fashion.
 
 De Trop 
 
 333 
 
 Bead Men 
 
 De Trop (French). Supererogatory, 
 more than enough. Rieii dc trop, let 
 nothing be in excess. Preserve in all 
 things the golden mean. Also '" one 
 too many," in the way ; when a person's 
 presence is not wished for, that person 
 is de trop. 
 
 Dead. Dead as a door-nail. The door- 
 nail is the plate or knob ou which the 
 knocker or hammer stiikes. As this nail 
 is knocked on the head several times a 
 day, it cannot be supposed to have much 
 life left in it. 
 
 " Come thou .ind thy Ave men, and if I dci not 
 li'ave yoii all as dead as a door-nail, I pray Wixl I 
 ii'ay never eat grass more." — Shakespeare : 'i 
 Jlcury YI., iv. 10. (Jack Cade.) 
 
 " FaWdff. What ! Is tlie old king dead ? 
 Pistol. As nail in door." 
 
 Shakespeare : 2 Uenry IV., v. 3. 
 
 Dead as a herring. (See BQeeeing.) 
 
 Dead. Ife is dead. " Gone to the 
 world of light. " " Joined the maj ority . ' ' 
 
 T/ie wind is dead against ns. Dii'ectly 
 opposed to our direction. Instead of 
 making the ship more lively, its tendency 
 is quite the contrary. It makes a " dead 
 set " at our progress. 
 
 Dead. Let the dead liirij the dead. 
 Let bygones be bygones. Don't rake up 
 old and dead grievances. 
 
 " Let nie entreat you to let the dead hury the 
 dead, to cast behind ymi every recollection of 
 bygone evils, and to clieiish. to love, to sustain 
 one another through all the vicissitudes of human 
 affairs in the times that are Xn am\e."— Gladstone : 
 Hume Rale Bill (February l:!th, ls'J3). 
 
 Dead Drunk. So iutoxicated as to 
 be wholly powerless. 
 
 " Pythagoras has finely oliserved that a man is 
 not to tie considered dead drunk till he lies on 
 the floor and stretches out his arms and legs to 
 prevent his going lower."—,?. Warren. 
 
 Dead-eye, in nautical phrase, is a 
 block of wood -with tliree holes through 
 it, for the lanyards of rigging to reeve 
 through, without sheaves, and with a 
 groove round it for an iron strap. (Dana : 
 Seaman's Manual, p. 92.) 
 
 *? The holes are eyes, but they are 
 dead eyes. 
 
 Dead-flat (A), in ship architecture, 
 one of the bends araidship. (Dana.) 
 
 Dead Freight. That part of a cargo 
 which does not belong to the freiglit. 
 Dead freight is not coimted in the 
 freight, and when the cargo is delivered 
 is not to be reckoned. 
 
 Dead Hand (^^). A first-rate. One 
 that would dead-beat. {See Mortmain.) 
 
 "First-rate work it was too; he was always a 
 dead hand at splitting."— iJoJdJCJCood ; Rubbery 
 Utider Arms, xv. 
 
 Dead-heads, in theatrical language, 
 means those admitted by orders without 
 payment. They count for notliing. In 
 the United States, persons who receive 
 something of value for which the tax- 
 payer has to pay. 
 
 V In nautical language, a log floating 
 so low in the water that only a small 
 part of it is visible. 
 
 Dead Heat. A race to be run again 
 between two horses that have "tied." 
 A heat is that part of a i-ace run without 
 stopping. One, two, or more heats make 
 a race. A dead heat is a heat which 
 goes for nothing. 
 
 Dead Horse. Flogging a dead horse.. 
 Attempting to revive a question already 
 settled. John Bright used the phrase in 
 the House of Commons. 
 
 IForling for a dead horse. Working 
 for wages already paid. 
 
 Dead Languages. Languages no 
 longer spoken. 
 
 Dead Letter. A wiitten document 
 of no value ; a law no longer acted upon. 
 Also a letter which lies buried in the 
 post-office because the address is in- 
 correct, or the person addi-esscd cannot 
 be fouud. 
 
 Dead-letter Office (The). A de- 
 partment in the i^ost-office where un- 
 claimed letters are kept. (See above.) 
 
 Dead Lift. / am at a dead lift. In 
 a strait or difficulty where I greatly 
 need help ; a hopeless exigency. A 
 dead lift is the lifting of a dead or in- 
 active body, which must be done by 
 sheer force. 
 
 Dead Lights. Strong wooden shut- 
 ters to close the cabin windows of a ship ; 
 they deaden or kill the daylight. 
 
 To ship the dead lights. To draw the 
 shutter over the cabin window ; to keej) 
 out the sea when a gale is expected. 
 
 Dead Lock. A lock which has no 
 spriug catch. Metapliorically, a state of 
 things so entangled that there seems to 
 be no practical solution. 
 
 '■ Things arc at a dead-lock."— TAe Times. 
 
 Dead Men. Empty bottles. Doun 
 among the dead men let me lie. Let me 
 get so intoxicated as to slip from my 
 chair, and lie under the table with the 
 empty bottles. The expression is a wit- 
 ticism on the word spirit. Spirit means 
 life, and also alcohol (the sjjirit of full 
 bottles) ; when the sjjirit is out the man 
 is dead, and when the bottle is emjity its 
 sijirit is dejiarted. Also, a loaf of bread 
 smuggled into the basket for the private
 
 Dead Men's Shoes 
 
 336 
 
 Deal 
 
 use of the person who carries the bread 
 out is called a " dead man." 
 
 Dead Men's Shoes. TTaitiiif/ for 
 dead iiiri/^s s/iocs. Looking out for lega- 
 cies ; looking to stand in the place of 
 some moneyed man when he is dead and 
 buried. 
 
 Dead Pan (T/ie). A poem founded 
 on the tradition that at the crucifixion a 
 cry swept across the ocean in the hearing 
 of many, " Great Pan is Dead," and that 
 at the same time the responses of the 
 oracles ceased for ever. Elizabeth 
 Ban-ett Browning has a poem so called 
 (1844). 
 
 Dead Reckoning. A calculation of 
 the ship's place without any observation 
 of the heavenly bodies. A guess made 
 by consulting the log, the time, the 
 direction, the wind, and so on. Such a 
 calculation may suffice for many prac- 
 tical purposes, but must not be fully 
 relied on. 
 
 Dead Ropes. Those which are fixed 
 or do not run on blocks ; so called 
 because tliey have no activity or life in 
 them. 
 
 Dead Sea. So the Romans called 
 
 the " Salt Sea." Jose'phus says that 
 the vale of Siddim was changed into the 
 Dead Sea at the destruction of Sodom 
 {A)itiq. i. 8, 3, etc.). The water is of a 
 dull green colour. Few fish are found 
 therein, but it is not true that birds 
 which venture near its vapours fall 
 down dead. The shores are almost 
 barren, but hyenas and other wild beasts 
 lurk there. Called the "Salt Sea" 
 because of its saltness. The percentage 
 of salt in the ocean generally is about 
 three or four, but of the Salt Sea it is 
 twenty-six or more. 
 
 Dead-Sea Fruit. Fair to the eye, 
 but nauseous to the taste ; full of pro- 
 mise, but without reality. {Sec Apples 
 
 OF SODOII.) 
 
 Dead Set. lie made a dead set at hrr. 
 A pointed or decided determination to 
 bring matters to a crisis. The allusion 
 is to a setter dog that has discovered 
 game, and makes a dead set at it. 
 
 To he at a dead set is to be set fast, so 
 as not to be able to move. The allusion 
 is to machinery. 
 
 To make a dead set upon someone is to 
 attack him resolutely, to set upon him ; 
 the allusion being to dogs, bulls, etc., 
 set on each other to fight. 
 
 Dead Shares. In theatrical sharing 
 companies tlu'ee or more supernumerary 
 
 shares are so called. The manager has 
 one or more of these shares for liis 
 expenses ; a star will have another ; and 
 sometimes a share, or part of a share, is 
 given to an actor who lias brought down 
 the house, or made a hit. 
 
 Dead Water. The eddy-water 
 closing in with the ship's stern, as she 
 passes through the water. It shifts its 
 place, but is Like taking money from one 
 pocket and i)utting it into another. 
 
 Dead Weight. The weight of some- 
 thing without life ; a burden that does 
 nothing towards easing its own weight ; 
 a person who encumbers us and renders 
 no assistance. {See Dead Lift.) 
 
 Dead Wind {A). A wind directly 
 opposed to a ship's course ; a wind dead 
 ahead. 
 
 Dead Wood, in shi^jbuilding. Blocks 
 of timber laid on the ship's keel. This 
 is no part of the ship, but it serves to 
 make the keel more rigid. 
 
 Dead Works, in theology. Such 
 works as do not earn salvation, or even 
 assist in obtaining it. For such a 
 I)uriJose their value is nil. (Heb. ix. 14.) 
 
 Deaf. 
 
 Deaf as an adder. {See heloic, Deap 
 Adder.) 
 
 Deaf as a post. Quite deaf; or so 
 inattentive as not to hear what is said. 
 One might as well sjicak to a gate-jjost 
 or log of wood. 
 
 Deaf as a white cat. It is said that 
 white cats are deaf and stupid. 
 
 None so deaf as those ivho won't hear. 
 The French have the same locution : 
 " II n'y a de pire sourd que celui qui ne 
 vent jms entendre." 
 
 Deaf Adder. "The deaf adder 
 stojipeth her ears, and will not hearken 
 to the voice of the charmer, charm he 
 never so wisely" (Psalm Iviii. 4, 5). 
 Captain Bruce says, " If a viper enters 
 the house, the charmer is sent for, who 
 entices the serjjcnt, and puts it into a 
 bag. I have seen jjoisonous vipers twist 
 round the bodies of these psylli in all 
 directions, without having their fangs 
 extracted." According to tradition, tlie 
 asp stops its ears when the charmer 
 utters his incantation, by applying one 
 ear to the ground and twisting its tail 
 into the other. In the United States the 
 cojjperhead is so called. 
 
 Deal. A ijortion. " A tenth deal of 
 flour." (Exodus xxix. 40.) (German,
 
 Deal-fish. 
 
 337 
 
 Death 
 
 thcil ; Anglo-Saxon, cl<el, verb, dcelan, 
 to share ; Irish, dail ; English, dole.) 
 
 Til deal the cards is to give each his 
 dole or portion. 
 
 Deal-fish. So called because of some 
 fancied resemblance to a deal-board, 
 from its length and thinness. 
 
 Dean {theTiaXin Dcca'nns). The chief 
 over ten prebends or canons. 
 
 The Dean (II Fiova'no). Arlotto, the 
 Italian Immorist. (1395-1483.) 
 
 Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick. 
 (16G7-1745.) 
 
 Deans (Fffie), in Scott's Henri of 
 Midlotliuoi, is Helen Walker. She is 
 abandoned by her lover, G-eordie Robert- 
 son [Staunton], and condemned for 
 child-mui'der. 
 
 JecDiie Beans. Half-sister of Effie 
 Deans, who walks all the way to London 
 to plead for her sister. She is a model 
 of good sense, strong affection, and dis- 
 interested heroism. {See Walkee. ) 
 
 " Wc fdlliiw Pilgrim tliroupb his progrrpss with 
 ail iiitfi'i'st not, inferior to that with which we 
 follow Elizatioth fru)u Siberia to Moscow, and 
 .leiniie Deans from Edinburgh to Loudon." — Lord 
 Macimlaii. 
 
 Dear. Oh, dear me ! Regarded, but 
 without evidence, as a corrujition of the 
 Italian I)io nt'to ! 
 
 Dear Bought and Far Brought or 
 
 Dear hoiajht and far felt. A gentle 
 reproof for some extravagant purchase 
 of luxury. 
 
 Dearest. Most hateful, as dearest 
 foe. The word dear, meaning " beloved," 
 is the Saxon deor (dear, rare) ; but dear, 
 "hateful," is the Anglo-Saxon derian 
 (to hurt), Scotch dere (to annoy). 
 
 " Would T had met m.v dearest foe in heaven, 
 Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio." 
 
 Shakespeare: Hamlet, i. '2. 
 
 Death, according to Milton, is twin- 
 keeper with Sin, of HeU-gate. 
 
 "The otlier shape 
 (If shape it might be called that shape had none 
 D stinguishable m member, joint, or limb ; 
 Or substance might he called that shadow 
 
 seemed ;).... 
 The likeness of a kingly crown had on." 
 
 MUtou : Paradise Lost, li. 666 — 673. 
 
 Death. {See Black Death.) 
 
 Death stands, like Mercuries, in every 
 
 wai/. {See Meecuey.) 
 
 Till death us do part. {See Depaet.) 
 Angel of Death. {See Abou-Jahia, 
 
 Azeael.) 
 
 At death's door. On the point of 
 
 death ; very dangerously ill. 
 In at the death. Present when the 
 
 fox was caught and killed. 
 22 
 
 Death and Doctor Hornbook. 
 
 Doctor Hornbook was John Wilson tlie 
 apothecary, whom tlie \WQt met at the 
 Torbolton Masonic Lodge. {Darns.) 
 
 Death from Strange Causes. 
 
 ^l-Js'chi/li(s was killed by the fall of a 
 tortoise on his bald head from the claws 
 of an eagle in the air. ( Valerias Ma.ri- 
 mas, ix. 12, and Plinji : Jlis/ori/, vii. 7.) 
 
 Af/ath'oclcs (4 syl.), tji-ant of Sicily, 
 was killed by a toothpick at the age "of 
 ninety-five. 
 
 Anac'reon was choked by a grapestone. 
 {TUnij : History, vii. 7.) 
 
 BassKS {Qitintt's Lacdnus) died from 
 the prick of a needle in his left thumb. 
 
 Chalchas, the soothsayer, died of 
 laughter at the thought of having out- 
 lived the predicted hour of his death. 
 
 CharJes VIII., of France, conducting 
 his queen into a tennis-court, struck 
 his head against the Hntel, and it caused 
 his death. 
 
 Fab' i as, ihe Roman prtetor, was choked 
 by a single goat-hair in the milk which 
 he was drinking. {Blini/: Disfor>/,\u. 7.) 
 
 Frederick Lcnis, Prince of Wales, 
 died from the blow of a cricket-ball. 
 
 Gall as {Cornelias), the jsrsetor, and 
 Titus Haterius, a knight, each died 
 while kissing the hand of his wife. 
 
 Gabrielle {La bcl/e), the mistress of 
 Henri IV., died from eating an orange. 
 
 liadach died of thirst in the harvest- 
 field because (in observance of the rule 
 of St. Patrick) he refused to drink a 
 drop of anj'thiug. 
 
 Lcp'idas {Qaintas ^^m'ilias), going 
 out of his house, struck his great toe 
 against the threshold and expired. 
 
 Zoais VI. met with his death from a 
 pig running under his horse and causing 
 it to stumble. 
 
 Marqatte died of laughter on seeing 
 a monkey trying to pull on a pair of 
 boots. 
 
 Oticay, the poet, in a starring con- 
 dition, had a guinea given him, on which 
 he bought a loaf of bread, and died 
 while swallowing the first moutlif ul. 
 
 Pamphilias {Cneuis Babias), a man of 
 prffitorian rank, died while asking a boy 
 what o'clock it was. 
 
 Philom'enes (4 syl.) died of laughter 
 at seeing an ass eating the figs provided 
 for his own dessert. ( J'alerias Jlaxiiaas.) 
 
 Blacat {Phillipot) di-opi^ed down dead 
 while in the act of paying a bill. {Baca- 
 bcrrij the Elder.) 
 
 Qaenelault, a Norman physician, of 
 Monti)eUier, died from a slight wound 
 made in his hand in extracting a splinter.
 
 Death in the Pot 
 
 333 
 
 December 
 
 Saufcitis (Appius) was choked to death 
 supping up the wliite of an under-boiled 
 egg. {I'lhn/ : llistov)/, vii. 33.) 
 
 Torqua'tus {Aldus Manlius), a gentle- 
 man of consular rank, died in the act of 
 taking a cheesecake at dinner. 
 
 Valid {Lucius Tuscius), the phj'sician, 
 died in the act of taking a draught of 
 medicine. 
 
 Jf'illiam III. died from his horse 
 stumbling over a mole-hill. 
 
 Zcuxis, the great painter, died of 
 laughter at sight of a hag which he had 
 just depicted. 
 
 V It will be observed that four of the 
 list died of laughter. No doubt the 
 reader vrill be able to add other ex- 
 amples. 
 
 Death in the Pot. During a dearth 
 in Gilgal, there was made for the sons 
 of the j)rophets a pottage of wild herbs, 
 some of which were poisonous. When 
 the sons of the jsrophets tasted the pot- 
 tage, they cried out, " There is death in 
 the pot." Then Elisha put into it some 
 meal, and its poisonous qualities were 
 counteracted. (2 Kings iv. 40.) 
 
 Death under Shield. Death in 
 
 battle. 
 
 " Her imagination hail lieen familiarised witli 
 ■wild and bloody events .... and had been 
 trained up to consider an honourable 'death 
 under shield' (as that in a field of battle was 
 termed) a desirable termination to the life of a 
 warrior."— ,s'/i- W. Scott : Tlic Betrothed, chai>. C. 
 
 Death-bell. A tinkling in the ears, 
 siqjposed by the Scotch peasantry to 
 announce the death of a friend. 
 
 " O lady, 'tis dark, an' I heard the death-bell, 
 Au' 1 dareua gae y(mder for gowd nor fee." 
 James Hogg : Mountain Bard. 
 
 Death-meal (yi). A funeral banquet. 
 
 " Deat h-mcals, as tliey were termed, were spread 
 in honnur of the deceased.''— .S'ic W. Scott: The 
 Betrothed, chap. 7. 
 
 Death-watch. Any species of Ano- 
 bium, a genus of wood-boring beetles 
 that make a clicking sound, once sup- 
 posed to ijresage death. 
 
 Death's Head. Bawds and pro- 
 curesses used to wear a ring bearing the 
 impression of a death's head in the time 
 of Queen Elizabeth. Allusions not un- 
 common in plays of the jDeriod. 
 
 " Sell some of my cloaths to buy thee a death's- 
 head, and put [il] upon thy middle finger. Your 
 least considering bawds do so much."— .l/cssf Hf/cr ; 
 Old Lilies, iv. 1. 
 
 Death's Head on a Mopstick. A 
 
 thin, sickly jjerson, a mere anatomy, is 
 so called. When practical jokes were 
 more common it was by no means un- 
 usual to moimt on a mopstick a turnip 
 
 ■with holes for eyes, and a cande inside, 
 to scare travellers at night time. 
 
 Deaths-man. An executioner ; a 
 person who kills another brutally but 
 lawfully. 
 
 " Cireat Hector's deaths-man." 
 
 Ueyicood: Iran Age. 
 
 Debateable Land. A tract of land 
 between the Esk and Sark, claimed by 
 both England and Scotlantl, and for a 
 long time the subject of dispute. This 
 tract of land was the hotbed of thieves 
 and vagabonds. 
 
 De'bon. One of the heroes who 
 accompanied Brute to Britain. Ac- 
 cording to British fable, Devonshire is 
 the county or share of Debon. (See 
 Devonshike. ) 
 
 Debonair' [Lc Debonnaire']. Louis I. 
 of France, sometimes called in English 
 T/ie Meek, sou and successor of Charle- 
 magne ; a man of courteous manners, 
 cheerful temper, but effeminate and de- 
 ficient in moral energy. (778, 814-840.) 
 
 Debris. The (lehris of an armi/. The 
 remnants of a routed army. Debris means 
 the fragments of a worn-down rock. It 
 is a geological term {dvbrisn\ to break 
 down). 
 
 Debt of Nature. To pay the debt of 
 Xafiirc. To die. Life is a loan, not a 
 gift, and the debt is paid off by death. 
 
 " The slender debt to Nature's quickly paid." 
 Qiiarles : Emblems. 
 
 Decam'eron. A volume of tales re- 
 lated in ten days (Greek, deka, hcm'era), 
 as the Decameron of Boccac'cio, which 
 contains one hundred tales related in 
 ten days. 
 
 Decamp'. ITc decamped hi the middle 
 of the night. Left without paying his 
 debts. A military term from the Latin 
 de-eampits (from the field) ; French, de- 
 campcr, to march away. 
 
 Decaniller. To be off, to decamp, 
 to escape. A cmious instance of argot. 
 Canille is old French for clienille, a pupa, 
 imago, or chrysalis. These afterwards 
 become winged insects and take their 
 flight. So a visitor says in France, " 11 
 faitt me saiiver," or " Ilfaitt decaiiiller.^^ 
 I must be off. 
 
 December. (Latin, the tenth month.) 
 So it was when the year began in March 
 with the vernal equinox ; but since 
 January and Februarj^ have been in- 
 serted before it, the term is quite in- 
 correct.
 
 Deception 
 
 339 
 
 Deer 
 
 Deception. 
 
 '• Dmilitless the pleasure is as great 
 Of liein,!,' clie;ited as to cheat ; 
 As lookers-un fee! most delii-'lit 
 TIJat least iierceive a iiiLri-'lers sleight, 
 And still the less tlu-.v undersfiind, 
 The more they admire his sleii^ht of hand." 
 Butter : IluiUbras, iiart ii. 3. 
 
 Deci'de (2 syl.) means "to knock 
 out." Several things being set before a 
 person, he eliminates all but one, which 
 he selects as his choice. A decided man 
 is one who quickly eliminates every idea 
 but the one he intends to adhere to. 
 
 Decimo. jL m<tn in decimo — i.e. a 
 hobby-de-hoy. Jonson uses the phrase 
 in decimo-sexto. 
 
 Deck. A pack of cards, or that part 
 of tlie pack which is left after the hands 
 have been dealt. 
 
 i" But whilst he thought to steal the single ' ten,' 
 The ' king' was slyly tlugered from the deck." 
 Shakespeare: 3 Henri/ VI., v. 1. 
 
 To sweep the deck. To clear off all the 
 stakes. {See above.) 
 
 To deck is to decorate or adorn. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, decan; Dutch, dekken, to 
 cover.) 
 
 " I thought thy bride-bed to have decked, sweet 
 maid. 
 And not have strewed thy grave." 
 
 Shakespeare : Hamlet, v. 1. 
 
 Ctear the decks — i.e. get out of the 
 way ; your room is better than your 
 company ; I am going to be busy. A sea 
 tenn. Decks are cleared before action. 
 
 Decking Churches. Isaiah (Ix. 13) 
 says: "The glory of Lebanon shall 
 come unto thee ; the fir-tree, the pine- 
 tree, and the box together, to beautify 
 the place of my sanctuary." The 
 " glory of Lebanon" is the cedar- tree. 
 These are not the evergreens mainly 
 used in church decorations. At Christ- 
 mas the holly is chiefly used, though those 
 mentioned by Isaiah abound. 
 
 D^coUet^ [da-cocd-tci]. Xothing even 
 decollete should be uttered before ladies — 
 i.e. bearing the least semblance to a double 
 entendre. Decollete is the French for a 
 " dress cut low about the bosom." 
 
 Decoration Day. May 30th ; set 
 apart in the United States for decorating 
 the graves of those who fell in the ' ' War 
 of the Union" (1861-5). 
 
 Decoy Duck. A bait or lure ; a 
 duck taught to allure others into a net, 
 and employed for this purpose. 
 
 Decrepit. Unable to make a noise. 
 It refers rather to the mute voice and 
 silent footstep of old age than to its 
 broken strength, (Latin, de-crepo.) 
 
 Dec'uman Gate. The gate where 
 the 10th cohorts of the legions wei'e 
 jjosted. It was opposite the Prajtorian, 
 gate, and farthest from the enemy. 
 (Latin, decent, ten.) 
 
 Deda'lian. Intricate ; variegated. 
 So called from JJcc'dalos, who made the 
 Cretan labj'rinth. 
 
 Dedlock [Sir Leicester). An honour- 
 able and truthful gentleman, but of such 
 fossilised ideas that no " tongue of man " 
 could shake his i^rejudices. {Charles 
 Dickens : Bleak House.) 
 
 Dee — i.e. D for a detective, look 
 sharp ! the dees are about. 
 
 Dee {I)r. John). A man of vast 
 knowledge, whose library, museum, and 
 mathematical instruments were valued 
 at £2,000. On one occasion the populace 
 broke into his house and destroyed the 
 greater part of his valuable collection, 
 under the notion that Dee held inter- 
 course with the devil. He ultimately 
 died a pauper, at the advanced age of 
 eighty-one, and was buried at Mortlake. 
 He professed to be able to raise the dead, 
 and had a magic niuTor, afterwards iu 
 Horace Walpole's collection at Straw- 
 berry Hill (1527-1608). 
 
 Dee's speculum or mirror, in which 
 persons were told they could see their 
 friends in distant lauds and how they 
 were occupied. It is a piece of solid 
 pink-tinted glass about the size of an 
 orange. It is now iu the British 
 Museum. 
 
 Dee Mills. If you had the rent of 
 Dee 2Itlls, you would spend it nil. Dee 
 MiUs, iu Cheshire, used to yield a very 
 large annual rent. {Cheshire itrorcrb.) 
 
 " There was a jolly miller 
 Lived on the nver Dee ; 
 He worked and sung from morn to night- 
 No lark so blithe as he ; 
 And this the burden of his sung 
 
 For ever used to be— 
 I care for noliody, no, not T, 
 If nobody cares for me.' " 
 
 Bickerstaff : Love in a Village (1762). 
 
 Deer. Supposed by poets to shed 
 tears. The drops, however, wliich fall 
 from their eyes are not tears, but an 
 oily secretion from the so-called tear-pits. 
 
 " A poor seciuestered stag .... 
 Did come to languish .... and the big round 
 
 tears 
 Coursed one another down his innocent nose 
 In piteous chase." 
 
 Shakespeare : As You Like It, ii. 2. 
 
 Small deer. Any small animal ; and 
 used metajDhorically for any collection 
 of trifles or trifling mutters. 
 " But mice and rats, and such small deer, 
 Have been Tom's food for seven long year." 
 Shakespeare: Lear, iii. -1.
 
 Deerslayer 
 
 340 
 
 Deities 
 
 Deerslayer. The hero of a novel so 
 called, by F. Cooper. He is the beau- 
 ideal of a mail without cultivation — 
 honourable in sentiment, truthful, and 
 brave as a lion ; jnire of heart, and with- 
 out reproach in conduct. The character 
 apjjears, under different names, ia five 
 novels — Tlifi liccrsiaiji )\ The I'athjinder, 
 The Tad of the 3Io'liie(i)is, The Pioneers, 
 aiid The Trairic. {See Natty Bumpo.) 
 
 Dees {The). {See above D-ee.) 
 
 Deev-Binder. Tamnuras, King of 
 Persia, who defeated the Deev king and 
 the fierce Demrusli, but was slain by 
 Houndkonz, another powerful Deev. 
 
 Default. Judgment by cle fault is 
 when the defendant does not appear in 
 court on the day apiiointed. The judge 
 gives sentence in favour of the plaintiff, 
 not because the jDlaintiff is right, but 
 from the default of the defendant. 
 
 Defeat. " What though the field be 
 lost':' all is not lost." {Milton: Paradise 
 lost, i. line 105-6.) 
 
 "All is lost but honour" {Tout est 
 perdu, niadame, J'ors Vhonneur) is what 
 rran(;ois I. is said to have written to 
 his mother, after the Battle of Pavia 
 in 15'2;3. 
 
 Defeat. Tliere is a somewhat strange 
 connection between de-feat and de- 
 feature. Defeat is the French de-fait, 
 un-made or un-done ; Latin, de-factus 
 {defect us, oui- " defect ") ; and feature is 
 the 'Sorm.aa. faiture, 'Lniva. factu'ra,th.e 
 make-up, frame, or form. Hence old 
 writers have used the word " defeat " to 
 mean disfigure or spoil the fonn. 
 
 "Defeat tliy favour [face] ■witli an usurped 
 ^^e■M\\"—Shnk(SfiC(l■re: Othello, i. 3. 
 
 Defender of the Faith. A title 
 given by Pojie Leo X. to Henry VIII. of 
 England, in 1521, for a Latin treatise 
 On the Seven Sacraments. Many pre- 
 vious kings, and even subjects, had 
 been termed " defenders of the Catholic 
 faith," "defenders of the Church," and 
 so on, but 110 one had borne it as a title. 
 The sovereign of Spain is entitled Catho- 
 lic, and of France 3Iost Christian. 
 
 "God bless the king! I mean the 'faith's de- 
 fender I ' 
 God bless— no liami in blessing tlie Pretender. 
 But who Pretender is, or who is king- 
 God bless us all ! that's auite another thing." 
 Jolcn Byron : Shnriliand Writer. 
 
 " Richard II., in a writ to the 
 sheriffs, uses these words : "Ucelesia rujus 
 nos defensor sumus,'^ and Henry VII., in 
 the Black Book, is called "Defender of 
 the Faith ; " but the pope gave the title 
 to Henry VIII., and from that time to 
 
 this it has been pei-petuated. ( See Grace- 
 less Floein.) 
 
 De'ficit {Madame). Marie Antoinette. 
 So called because she was always de- 
 manding money of her ministers, and 
 never had any. Accordiug to the Eevo- 
 lutionary song : 
 
 " La Boulangei'O a des ecus. 
 Qui ne lui content guorc.'* 
 
 {See Bakee.) 
 
 Degen'erate (4 syl.) is to be worse 
 than tlie jmrent stock. (Latin, der/enus.) 
 
 Dei Gratia. By God's grace. Intro- 
 duced into English charters in HOG; as 
 much as to say, " r/ei non hominum 
 yratia,'''' by divine right and not man's 
 appointment. The archbishops of Can- 
 terbury from 676 to 1170 assumed the 
 same style. 
 
 V From the time of Offa, King of 
 Mercia (a.d. 780), we find occasionally 
 the same or some similar assumption as, 
 Dei dono, Christo donante, etc. The 
 Archbishop of Canterbury is now divina 
 providentia. 
 
 I)ei Gratia omitted on a florin. {See 
 Geaceless Florin.) 
 
 Dei Judicium (Latin). The judg- 
 ment of God ; so the judgment by 
 ordeals was called, because it was sup- 
 posed that God would deal rightly with 
 the apijellants. 
 
 De'iani'ra. Wife of Hercules, and 
 the inadvertent cause of his death. 
 Nessos told her that anyone to whom 
 she gave a shu't steeped in his blood, 
 would love her with undying love ; she 
 gave it to her husband, and it caused 
 him such agony that he burnt himself 
 to death on a funeral pile. Deianira 
 killed herself for grief. 
 
 Deiph'ohus (4 syl.). One of the sons 
 of Priam, and, next to Hector, the 
 bravest and boldest of all the Trojans. 
 On the death of his brother Paiis, he 
 married Helen ; but Helen betrayed 
 him to her first husband, Menela'os, who 
 slew him. {Homefs Iliad and TirrjiVs 
 yEneid.) 
 
 Deities. 
 
 Air : Ariel, Elves Csingular, Elf). 
 
 Caves or Caverns: HilJ-jieoide (Hog-folk, hug r 
 height). 
 
 Cm-n : Ceres (i syl.) CGreek, Denieter). 
 
 Domestic Life : Vesta. 
 
 Eloquence: Mercury (Greek, Hennes). 
 
 Evenino : Vesper. 
 
 Fnfes (The') : Three in number (Greek, ParciC, 
 Moirap, ;; syl., Keres). 
 
 Fire: Vulcan (Greek, HephaistCs, 3 syl.), Vesta, 
 Jiulclber. 
 
 Fairies : (g.v.). 
 
 Furies: Three in number (Greek, Eumculdes, 
 4 syl., Erinn'yes).
 
 Dejeuner 
 
 Ml 
 
 Delia Cruscans 
 
 Gardens: Priainis, Vertumnus with his wife 
 Pomona. 
 
 Graces (.The): Three in miraher (Greek, Chai-l- 
 tes). 
 
 Hills: Trolls. There are also Wood Trolls and 
 Water,TroUs. OS'ee below Mountains.) 
 
 Home Sidrits (,q.v.) : Penates (S sji.), Lares (2 
 s.vl.). 
 
 Htmting : Diana (Greek, Artemis). 
 
 Infernal Regions: Pluto, with his wife Proser- 
 ping , 3 syl. (Greek, A'iiles and PersephOne). 
 
 Justice: Them'is, Astrtea, Nemesis. 
 
 Love: Cupid (Greek, Eros). 
 
 Marriage: Hymen. 
 
 Medicine: /Esculapius. 
 
 Mines : Trolls. 
 
 Morning : Aurora'(Greek, Eos'). 
 
 Mountains: Oreads or Oreades (4 syl.), from the 
 Greek, opos, a mountain; Trolls. 
 
 Ocean (The) : Ocean'ides. 
 
 Poetry and Music: Apollo, the nine Muses. 
 
 Rainboto (The) : Iris. 
 
 Riches : Plutiis. Shakespeare speaks of " Plutus' 
 mine," (Jtilius Ccesar, iv. 3). 
 
 Rivers and Streams: Fluviales, 4 syl. (Greek, 
 Potan.eiiles, 5 syl.). 
 
 SeatThe): Neptune (Greek, Poseidon,. 3 syl.), his 
 sou Triton, Necks, Mermaids, Nereids (3 syl.). 
 (See Sea.) 
 
 Shepherds and their Flocks: Pan, the Satyrs. 
 
 Springs, Lakes, Brooks, etc. : Nereides or Naiads 
 (:;syl.). 
 
 Time : Saturn (Greek, ChrOnos). 
 
 War: Mars (Greek, Ares), Bellona, Tlior. 
 
 Water-nymphs : Naiads (•-' syl.), Undine (2 syl.). 
 
 Winds (The): .E81us. 
 
 Wine: Bacchus (Greek, Diony'sfis). 
 
 ir/,s<(<.)H ; Minerva (Greek, Pailas, Athene, (>r 
 Pallas-Allieiie). 
 
 Wiiods: Dryads (A Hania-Dryad presides over 
 some particular tree), Wood-Trolls. 
 
 Youth : Helie. 
 
 V Of course this is not meant for a 
 complete list of heathen and pagan 
 deities. Such a list would require a 
 volume. 
 
 Dejeuner k la Fourcbette (French). 
 Brenkfiist with forks ; a cold collation ; 
 a breakfast in the middle of the day, 
 with meat and wiue ; a lunch. 
 
 Delaware, U.S. America, was granted 
 Ly charter in 1701 to Lord De la Ware, 
 who first explored the bay into which 
 the river empties itself. 
 
 Delectable Mountains (T/ic), in 
 Bunyan's Pil<j rim^ s Frogresx, are a range 
 of mountains from which the " Celestial 
 City" may be seen. They are in Im- 
 mauuel's land, and are covered with 
 sheep, for which Immanuel had died. 
 
 Delf, or more correctly BcJft. A 
 common sort of pottery made at Delft 
 in Holland, about 1310. 
 
 Delia, of Pope's line, "Slander or 
 poison dread from Delia's rage," was 
 Lady Deloraine, who manied W. "Win- 
 dam of Carsham, and died 1744. The 
 person said to have been poisoned was 
 Miss Mackenzie. (Satires and Epistles, 
 i. 81.) 
 
 Delia is not better known to our i/ard- 
 dof/ — i.e. the person is so intimate and 
 well known that the yard-dog will not 
 
 bark at his approach. It is from Virgil, 
 who makes his shepherd Menalcas boast 
 "That his sweetheart is as well known 
 to his dog as Delia the shepherdess." 
 {Eclogues, iii. 67.) 
 
 Delias. The sacred vessel made by 
 Theseus (2 syl.) and sent annually from 
 Athens to Delos. This annual festival 
 lasted 30 days, during which no Athenian 
 could be put to death, and as Socrates 
 was condemned during this period his 
 death was deferred till the return of the 
 sacred vessel. The ship had been so 
 often repaired that not a stick of the 
 original vessel remained at the time, yet 
 was it the identical ship. So the body 
 changes from infancy to old age, and 
 though no single particle remains con- 
 stant, yet the man G feet high is identical 
 with his infant body a span long. (Some- 
 times called Tlieoris.) 
 
 Delight is "to make light." Hence 
 Shakespeare speaks of the disembodied 
 soul as "the delighted spirit .... 
 blown with restless violence round about 
 the pendant world" {Measure for Mea- 
 sure, iii. 1). So again he says of gifts, 
 " the more delayed, delighted " {(Jijnihe- 
 line, y. 5), meaning the longer they are 
 delayed the "lighter" or less valuable 
 they are esteemed. Dehghted, in the 
 sense of " pleased," means light-hearted, 
 with buoyant spirits. 
 
 T/ic delight of mankind. So Titus, the 
 Eoman emperor, was entitled (40, 79-81). 
 
 Delirium. From the Latin lira (the 
 ridge left by the plough), hence the verb 
 de-tiru're, to make an irregular ridge or 
 balk in ploughing. DelHrus is one whose 
 mind is not properly tilled or cultivated, 
 a person of irregular intellect ; and de- 
 lirium is the state of a person whose 
 mental faculties are like a field full of 
 balks or ii-regularities. {See Peevaeica- 
 
 TION.) 
 
 Delia Crus'cans or Delia Crns'can 
 School. So called from Crusca, the 
 Florentine academy. The name is ap- 
 plied to a school of poetry started by 
 some young Englishmen at Florence in 
 the latter part of the eighteenth century. 
 These silly, sentimental affectations, 
 which appeared in the IForld and the 
 Oracle, created for a time quite a. furore. 
 The whole affair was mercilesslj^ gibbeted 
 in the Bariad and Mccviad of'Gifford. 
 (Academia della Crusca literally means, 
 the Academy of Chaff, and its object 
 was to sift the chaff from the Italian lan- 
 guage, or to purify it.)
 
 Belmonico 
 
 3i2 
 
 iDemocritos 
 
 Delmon'ico. The great American 
 cuisiuier, of Xew York. 
 
 "Tlje tabic? service is cif heavy silver, French 
 cut. glasses, and handsome china ; and the meals 
 are worthy o( Delmonico."— I'/je &racle, August 
 I'Hd, 1884, p. 495. 
 
 De'los. A floating island ultimately 
 made fast to the bottom of the sea by 
 Posei'don (Neptune). Apollo having 
 become possessor of it by exchange, 
 made it his favourite retreat. It is one 
 of tlie Cyclades. 
 
 Delphi or DcIpJios. A town of Pho'- 
 cis, famous for a temple of Apollo and 
 for an oracle celebrated in every age and 
 country. So called from its twin peaks, 
 which tb« Greeks called brothers («- 
 deljjhoi). 
 
 Delphin Classics. A set of Latin 
 classics edited in France by thirty-nine 
 scholars, under the superintendence of 
 Montausier, Bossuet, and Huet, for the 
 use of the son of Louis XIV., called the 
 Grand Dauphin. Their chief value 
 consists in their verbal indexes or con- 
 cordances. 
 
 Del'ta. The island formed at the 
 mouth of a river, which usually assumes 
 a triangular form, like the Greek letter 
 (A) called delta; as the delta of the 
 Nile, the delta of the Danube, Rhine, 
 Ganges, Indus, Niger, Mississippi, Po, 
 and so on. 
 
 Deluge. After mc the Deluge ['^Aprh 
 omi le Delue/c^''']. When I am dead the 
 deluge may come for aught I care. Gener- 
 ally ascribed to Prince Metternich, but 
 the Prince borrowed it from Mme. Pom- 
 padour, who laughed off all the remon- 
 strances of ministers at her extravagance 
 by saying, " Apres nous le deluge " 
 (Ruin, if you like, when we are dead and 
 gone) . 
 
 Del'uges (3 syl.). The chief, besides 
 that recorded in the Bible, are the follow- 
 ing : — The deluge of Fohi, the Chinese ; 
 the Satgarrn'ta, of the Indians ; the 
 Xisut/i'rus, of the Assyrians ; the Mexican 
 deluge ; and the Greek deluges of Deu- 
 ca'lioii and Og'yges. 
 
 V The most celebrated painting of 
 Noah's Flood is by Poussin, in Paris ; 
 and that by Raphael is in the Vatican 
 (Rome) . 
 
 Demerit has reversed its original 
 meaning (Latin, demereo, to merit, to 
 deserve). Hence Plautus, Demerltas 
 dare laudas (to accord due praise) ; 
 Ovid, Numlna culta demerume ; Livy, 
 demereri benejicic civitaiem. The de- is 
 
 intensive, as in " de-mand," "de- 
 scribe," "de-claim," etc.; not the pri- 
 vative deorsum, as in the word "de- 
 fame." 
 
 " My demerits [deserts] 
 May speak unlionncted." 
 
 ShaktitjK'uyc : OUtcllo, i. 2. 
 
 Demijohn {A). A glass vessel with 
 a large body and small nock, enclosed in 
 wickerwork like a Florence flask, and 
 containing more than a bottle. (French, 
 dame-jea)ine, " Madam Jane," a con'up- 
 tion of Damaghai), a town in Persia 
 famous for its glass works.) 
 
 Demi-monde. Lorettes, courtezans. 
 Le beau moude means " fashionable so- 
 ciety," and deini-inomle the, society only 
 half acknowledged. 
 
 " Demi-monde implies not only recognition and 
 a status, l)ut a certaiu social standing."— jSafiO'daj/ 
 Jievimv. 
 
 Demi-rep. A woman whose charac- 
 ter has been blown upon. Contraction 
 of de)ul-reputation. 
 
 Demiurge (3 syl.), in the language 
 of Platonists, means that mysterious 
 agent which made the world and all that 
 it contains. The Logos or Word spoken 
 of by St. John, in the first chapter of his 
 gospel, is the Demiurgus of Platonising 
 Christians. In the Gnostic systems, 
 Jeliovah (as an eon or emanation of the 
 Supreme Being) is the Demiurge. 
 
 "The power is not that of an absolute cause, 
 liut only a world-maker, a demiurge ; and this 
 (lues not answer to the human idea of deity." — 
 ^\'inclleU : Science and neUgion, chap. x. p. I'SJS. 
 
 Demobilisation of troops. The 
 disorganisation of them, the disarming 
 of them. This is a French military tenn. 
 To " mobilise" troops is to render them 
 liable to be moved on service out of their 
 quarters; to "demobilise" them is to 
 send them home, so that they cannot be 
 moved from their quarters against any- 
 one. To change from a war to a peace 
 footing. 
 
 Democ'racy. A Rei)ublican form of 
 government, a commonwealth. (Greek, 
 deiuos-kratia, the rule of the people.) 
 
 Democ'ritos. The laughing philo- 
 sopher of Abde'ra. He should rather be 
 termed the deriding philosopher, because 
 he derided or laughed at people's folly or 
 vanity. It is said that he put out his 
 eyes that he might think more deejily. 
 
 " Democritus, dear droll, revisit earth. 
 And with our follies glut thy heightened 
 mirth." Prior. 
 
 DemodritKS Junior. Robert Burton, 
 author of The Anatomy of Melancliohj 
 (1576-1640).
 
 Demodocos 
 
 343 
 
 Deo Gratiaa 
 
 Demod ocos. A miastrel who, ac- 
 cordmg to Homer, sang the amoxirs of 
 Mars and Venus in the court of Alcin'oos 
 while Ulysses was a guest there. 
 
 Demogorgon. A terrible deity, 
 whose very name was capable of pro- 
 ducing the most horrible effects. Hence 
 Milton speaks of " the dreaded name of 
 Demogorgon"' {Paradise Lost, ii. 9C.5). 
 This tyrant king of the elves and fays 
 lived on the Himalayas, and once in five 
 years summoned all his subjects before 
 him to give an account of their steward- 
 Bhiy). Spenser (book iv. 2) says, "He 
 dwells in the deep abyss where the three 
 fatal sisters dwell." (Greek daimoii, 
 demon ; gorgos, terrible.) 
 
 " Must I call your master to my aid. 
 At -wbose dread name tlietreiubliDg furies quake, 
 Hell stands aliashed. and earth's foundatiims 
 
 sbake?"' Boice : Liican's PharsaUa,\i. 
 
 " When the mom arises none are found, 
 
 For cruel Demogorgon walks his round, 
 
 And if be finds a fairy lag in light. 
 
 He drives the wretch \ieiore, and lashes into 
 night." 
 
 Dryden : Tti£ FI('ir(r and Ihe Leaf, 49i-5. 
 
 Demon of Matrimonial Unliappi- 
 
 ness. Asmode'us, who slew the se\en 
 husbamls of Sara. (Tobii.) (.SVrAsMO- 
 
 DiEXJS.) 
 
 Prince of Demons, Asmode'us. {Tal- 
 miid.) 
 
 Demos (57«/?). The electorate; the 
 proletariat. Not the mob. but those 
 who choose and elect our senators, and 
 are therefore the virtual rulers of the 
 nation. 
 
 Demosthenes' Lantern. A cho- 
 ra gic monument erected by Lysicrates 
 in Athens. originaDy surmounted by the 
 tripod won by Lysicrates. A " tripod " 
 was awarded to everyone in Athens who 
 produced the best drama or choral piece 
 of his tribe. The street in which De- 
 mosthenes' Lantern stood was fuU of 
 these tripods. 
 
 Demurrage. An allowance made to 
 the master or owners of a ship by the 
 freighters for detaining her in port longer 
 than the time agreed upon. (Latin, de- 
 morari, to delay.) 
 
 " The extra days beyond the lay days .... are 
 called days of deiiiurrage^" — Keitt : Commentaries, 
 vol. iii. iiart v. lecture slvii. p. l.w. 
 
 Demy'. A size of paper between royal 
 and crown. Its size is 20 in. by 15 in. 
 It is from the French word dcmi (half), 
 and means demi -royal (a small royal), 
 royal being 24 in. by 19 in. The old 
 watermark is ajleiir-de-lix. 
 
 A Ihnnj' of Magdalen College, Oxford, 
 is a "superior" sort of scholar, half a 
 Fellow. 
 
 Den. Evening. God xje good den ! — ■ 
 i.e. God (give) ye good evening. This ia 
 the final d of good joined to the " en," a 
 contraction of evening. 
 
 Denarius. A Roman silver coin, 
 equal in value to ten ases {dcm-ases). 
 The word was used in France and Eng- 
 land for the inferiof coins, whether 
 silver or copper, anci for ready money 
 generally. Now d {dvnarius) stands for 
 money less than a shilling, as £ s. d. 
 
 " The denarius .... shovm to our Lord .... 
 was the tribute-money layable by the Jews lo the 
 Kouian emperor.anduiust not l>e confounded with 
 the tril)Ule l>nid to the Temi'le."'— K U. Madden: 
 Jetcifh Coiuaje, cbai'. xi. ii. i:-S7. 
 
 Doiariiis Dei [God's jienny]. An 
 earnest of a bargain, which was given to 
 the church or poor. 
 
 Denarii Sf. Petri [Peter's pence]. One 
 penny from each family, given to the 
 Pope. 
 
 Denarius tertius eomita'ius. One-third 
 of the pence of the county, which was 
 paid to the earl. The other two-thii-ds 
 belonged to the Crown. {See J).) 
 
 Denizen. A made citizen — i.e. an 
 alien who has been naturalised by letters 
 patent. (Old French deinzein ; Latin 
 de-i»tus, fi-om within.) 
 
 " A denizen is a kind of middle state, between 
 an alien and a natural-bom sulpject, and jiartakcs 
 of liotb." — Blackstune: ComiiienUirie^, book i. 
 cUaii. X. l>. 374. 
 
 Dennis [John), called the " best 
 abused man in England." Swift and 
 Pope both satirised him. He is called 
 Zoilus. 
 
 Denouement (3 syl.). The untying 
 of a plot : the winding-up of a novel or 
 play. (French dinoiur, to untie.) 
 
 Denys {St.), according to tradition, 
 can-ied his head, after mailyrdom, for 
 six miles, and then deliberately laid it 
 down on the spot where stands the 
 present cathedral bearing his name. 
 This absurd tale took its rise from an 
 ancient painting, in which the artist, 
 to represent the martyrdom of the 
 bishop, drew a headless body ; but, in 
 order that the trunk might be recognised, 
 placed the head in front, between the 
 martyr's hands. 
 
 Sir Dengs Brand, in Crabbe's Borough, 
 is a countiy magnate who apes humility. 
 He rides on a sorry brown pony "not 
 worth £-5," but mounts his lackey on a 
 racehorse, "twice victor for a plate." 
 Sir Denys Brand is the type of a charac- 
 ter bv no means uncommon. 
 
 Deo Gratias (Latin). 
 God. 
 
 Thanks to
 
 Deo Juvante 
 
 3U 
 
 Derwentwater 
 
 Deo Juvante (Latin). Witli God's 
 
 Deo, non Fortuna (Latiu). From 
 God, uot from mere luck ; [I attribute 
 it] to God and not to blind chance. 
 
 Deo Volente, contracted into D. V. 
 (Latin). God being willing ; by God's 
 will. 
 
 De'odaxd means something " given 
 to God" {(Ico-dantUiiii). This was the 
 case when a man met with his death 
 through injuries inflicted by some chat- 
 tel, as by the fall of a ladder, the toss of 
 a bull, or the kick of a horse. In such 
 cases the cause of death was sold, and 
 the proceeds given to the Church. The 
 custom was based on the doctrine of 
 purgatory. As the person was sent to 
 his account without the sacrament of 
 extreme unction, the money thus raised 
 served to jiay for masses for his repose. 
 Deodands were abolished September 1st, 
 1846. 
 
 Depart. To part thoroughly ; to 
 separate effectually. The marriage ser- 
 vice in the ancient prayer-books had 
 " till death us depart," or " till alimony 
 or death us departs," a sentence which 
 has been corrupted into "till death us 
 do part." 
 
 " Befdve tbcy settle haiuls and liearts, 
 Till alimony or (loath deiarts." 
 
 Butler : Iludibrus. iii. 3. 
 
 Department. France is divided 
 into departments, as Great Britain and 
 Ireland are divided into counties or 
 shires. From 17(38 it was divided into 
 goccrnmcutf!, of which thirty-two were 
 grand and eight 2)ctit. In 1790, by a 
 decree of the Constituent Assembly, it 
 was mapped out de novo into eighty- 
 three departments. In 1804 the number 
 of departments was increased to 107, and 
 in 1812 to 130. In 1815 the territory 
 was reduced to eighty-six departments, 
 and coutinued so till 1860, when Savoy 
 and Nice were added. The present 
 number is eighty-seven. 
 
 Dependence. An existing quarrel. 
 (A term used among swordsmen.) 
 
 " Let lis pause . . . until I give you my opinion 
 on tliis ilepenilence . . . for if we coolly examine 
 tlie state of ouv dependence, we may the better 
 apprehend whether the sisters three have doomed 
 one of us to expiate the same with <mr hlood."— 
 Uly ir. Scott: Tlic Monastery, chap. xxi. 
 
 De'pinges (2 syl.) or Dcep'lngs. A 
 breadth of netting to b^e sewed on a 
 hdddij (net) to make it sufficiently large. 
 S'ometimes the breadth is called a depth, 
 and the act of sewing one de^jth on 
 another is called deepening the net. In 
 1574 the Dutch settlers at Yarmouth 
 
 were required " to provide themselves 
 with twine and depinges in foreign 
 places." 
 
 Deputa'tions. The year of depiila- 
 t'wns. The eighth of the Hedj'rah, 
 after Mahomet's victory over the Arabs 
 near Taif, when deputations from all 
 jjarts flocked to do him homage. 
 
 Depute (2 sjl.). To depute means 
 to prune or cut off a part ; deputation 
 is the part cut oft'. A deinitation is a 
 slip cut oft" to represent the whole. 
 
 (Latin, depit'to.) 
 
 Derbend \_iron']. A town on the 
 Caspian, commamling the coast road. 
 D'Herbelot says : " Les Turcs appellent 
 cette ville ' Demir Capi ' (porte de fer) ; 
 ce sont les Caspicc Foriec des anciens." 
 " Beyond the Caspian's iron Bales." 
 
 Muure: Fire Wor.fliippcrs. 
 
 Derby Stakes. Started by Edward 
 Snath Stanley, the twelfth Earl of Derby, 
 in 1780, the year after his establishment 
 of the Oaks stakes ('/.''•). 
 
 The Ik'rbg Dag is the day wiien the 
 Derby stakes are run for ; it is the second 
 Wednesday of the great Epsom Spring 
 Meeting, in May. 
 
 The JJerhg Dag. 
 
 V The Derby, the Oaks, and the St. 
 Leger are called "The Classic Races." 
 The Oaks is the classic race for fillies 
 only, three years' old (£1,000) ; the 
 Derby (Darby) for colts and tillies three 
 years' old ; the St. Leger for colts and 
 fillies, those which have run in the Oaks 
 or Derby being eligible. 
 
 Derive (2 syl.) means "back to its 
 channel or source " (Latin, de rlvo). 
 The Latiu ri vus (a river) does not mean 
 the stream or current, but the source 
 whence it flows, or the channel tluough 
 wliich it runs. As Ulpian says, '■'■Fons 
 sive lufits 2)er longitu'dlnem depres.sus, quo 
 (tqaa deetirrat.^' 
 
 Dernier Ressort (French). A last 
 resource. 
 
 Der'rick. A hangman ; a temporary 
 crane to remove goods from the hold of 
 a vessel. So called from Derrick, the 
 Tyburn hangman early in the seven- 
 teenth century, who for more than a 
 hundred years gave his name to gibbets. 
 {See Hangman.) 
 
 " He rides circuit with the devil, and Derrick 
 must he his host, and Tyhorne the inn at which 
 he will light." — BcUnum of Loudon, 1616. 
 
 DerWentwa'ter. Lord Dcricent- 
 tenter'' s tights. The Auro'ra borea'lis ; 
 so called from James, Earl of Derwent- 
 water, beheaded for rebellion February
 
 Desdemoua 
 
 3^- 
 
 Devil 
 
 24th, 1716. It is said that the northern 
 lights were unusually brilliant on that 
 night. 
 
 Desdemo'na (in Shakespeare's 
 Otht'll(j). Daughter of Brabantio. She 
 fell in love with Othello, and eloped 
 with him. lago, acting on the jealous 
 temper of the Moor, made him believe 
 that his wife had an intrigue with Cassio, 
 and in confirmation of this statement 
 told the Moor that she had given Cassio 
 a pocket-handkerchief, the fact being 
 that lago's wife, to gratify her husband, 
 had purloined it. Othello asked his 
 bride for it, but she was unable to find 
 it ; whereupon the Moor murdered her 
 and then stabbed himself. 
 
 " She . . . was ready to listen and weep, like 
 Desdemoua, at the stories of his dangers aud 
 campaigns."— TAacfce)-(( I/. 
 
 Desmas. {See Dysmas.) 
 
 Despair. The Giant Bespair, in 
 Bunyau's Fihjrini's Froyress, lived in 
 " Doubting Castle." 
 
 Dessert' means simply the cloth re- 
 moved (French, desserrir, to clear the 
 clotli) ; and dessert is that which comes 
 after the cloth is removed. 
 
 Destruction. Prince of Desfriwtion. 
 Tamerlane or Timour the Tartar (1335, 
 
 1360- UOo.) 
 
 Destructives (The), as a political 
 term, arose in 1832. 
 
 "The Times newspaper, hitherto the most effec- 
 tive advocate of the [Reform] l)ill, has been ob- 
 liKed to designate those whom it formerly glo- 
 rified as Radicals, by the more appropriate and 
 emphatic title of the Destructives."— Quarteilu 
 Itcview (Dec, 1832, p. 545.) 
 
 Des'ultory. Those who rode two or 
 more horses in the circus of Rome, and 
 used to leap from one to the other, were 
 called desulto res ; hence desultor came in 
 Latin to mean one inconstant, or who 
 went from one thing to another ; and 
 desultory means after the manner of a 
 desultor. 
 
 Detest' is simply to witness against. 
 (Latin, de-testor.) 
 
 Deucalion, after the Deluge, was 
 ordered to cast behind him the bonex of 
 /lis inolhcr {i.e. the stones of mother 
 earth) . Those thrown by Deucalion be- 
 came men, and those thrown by liis wife, 
 Pyrrha, became women. For the inter- 
 change between Aao? (people), and Aaas 
 (a stone), see Findar : Oli/inpic Games, 
 vs.. 66. 
 
 Deucalion^ s flood . According to Greek 
 mythology, Deucalion was a king of 
 Thessaly, in whose reign the whole 
 
 world was covered with a deluge in con- 
 sequence of the great impiety of man. 
 {Jiee Deluges.) 
 
 Deuce. The Kelts called wood-demons 
 diis. (Compare the Latin deus.') 
 
 "In the popular mythology both of the Kelts 
 and Teutons there were certain hairy wood- 
 demons, called by the former dus. and by the 
 latter scrat (? scratz). Our common names of 
 'Deuce' aud ' Old .Scratch' are pliiuly derived 
 from these."— £oi(!e(i ; Among mij Books (Witcli- 
 craft), p. 109. 
 
 It played the deuce ivith me. It made 
 me very ill ; it disagreed with nie ; it 
 almost ruined me. 
 
 Tlie deuce is in yon. You are a very 
 demon. 
 
 Fence take you. Get awaj' ! you 
 annoy me. 
 
 What the di'uce is the matter ? What 
 in the world is amiss ? 
 
 Deuce-ace. A throw of two dice, 
 one sliowuig one spot and the other 
 showing tiro spots. 
 
 Deuce of Cards {Tht). Tlio two 
 (French, deux). Tlie three is called 
 "Tray" (French, trois ; Latin, tres). 
 
 "A gentleman being puncheil by a butcher's 
 tray, exclaimed, 'Deuce take the tray.' ' Well,' 
 said the boy, ' I don't know how the deuce is to 
 take the tray.' " — Jest Book. 
 
 Deus (2 syl.). Feus e.v ma' china. The 
 intervention of a god, or some unlikely 
 event, in order to extricate from diili- 
 culties in which a clumsy author has 
 involved himself ; any forced incident, 
 such as the arrival of a rich uncle from 
 the Indie's to helj) a young couple in 
 their pecuniary embarrassments. Liter- 
 ally, it means "a god (let down upon 
 the stage or flying in the air) by ma- 
 chinery." 
 
 De'va's Vale. The valley of the 
 river Dee or Deva, in Cheshire, cele- 
 brated for its pastures and dairy pro- 
 duce. 
 
 " He chose a farm in Deva's vale, 
 "Where his long alleys peeped upon the main." 
 Thomson : Castle of Indolence, canto ii. 
 
 Development. {See Evolution.) 
 
 Devil. Eepreseuted with a cloven 
 foot, because by the Rabbinical writers 
 he is called seirissiin (a goat). As the 
 goat is a type of uucleanness, the iirince 
 of unclean spirits is aptly represented 
 under this emblem. 
 
 Devil among the Tailors (IVic). On 
 
 Dowton's benefit at the Haymarket, 
 some 7,000 journeymen tailors congre- 
 gated in and around the theatre to pre- 
 vent a burlesque called The Tailors : a 
 Trayedy for Warm Weather, which they
 
 Devil 
 
 346 
 
 Devil 
 
 considered insulting to the trade. Fair- 
 burn's edition of this play is headed 
 TJw Devil among the Tailors, and 
 contains an account of this fracas. (See 
 also B'lograplna Dramatiea, article Tai- 
 LOES.) There is a Scotch reel so called. 
 
 Devil and Bag o' Nails {Tlie). The 
 public-house by Buckingham Gate was 
 so called, but the sign was The Blacka- 
 moor'' s Head and tlie Woolpack. {Remark- 
 able Trials, ii. p. 14; 1765.) 
 
 Devil and Dr. Faustus ( The) . Faust 
 was the first printer of Bibles, and 
 issued a large number in imitation of 
 those sold as manuscripts. These he 
 passed off in Paris as genuine, and sold 
 for sixty crowns apiece, the usual price 
 being fifve hundred crowms. The uni- 
 formity of the books, their rapid supply, 
 and their unusual cheapness excited 
 astonishment. Information was laid 
 against him for magic, and, in searching 
 his lodgings, the brilliant red ink with 
 which his copies were adorned was de- 
 clared to be his blood. He was charged 
 with dealings with the Devil, and con- 
 demned to be biu^t alive. To save him- 
 self, he revealed his secret to the Paris 
 Parlcmeut, and his invention became the 
 admiration of the world. N.B. — Tliis 
 tradition is not to be accepted as history. 
 
 Devil and his Dam {The). Either 
 the Devil and his mother, or the Devil 
 and his tcife. Numerous quotations may 
 be adduced in support of either of these 
 interpretations. Shakespeare uses the 
 phrase six times, and in £^ing John (ii. 1) 
 dam evidently means mother ; thus Con- 
 stance says that her son Arthur is as like 
 his father as the Devil is like his dam 
 {mother) ; and in Titus Andronicus Ta- 
 mora is called the "dam" of a black 
 child. We also read of the Devil's 
 daughter and the Devil's son. 
 
 In many mythologies the Devil is sup- 
 posed to be an animal : Thus in Cazotte's 
 Uialde Amoiireiix he is sl caiiud ; the Irish 
 and others call him a black cat ; the Jews 
 speak of him as a dragon (which idea is 
 carried out in our George and the Dra- 
 gon) ; the Santous of Japan call him a 
 species of /o.r; others say he is a goat ; 
 and Dante associates him with dragons, 
 sirine, and dogs. In all which cases dam 
 for mother is not inappropriate. 
 
 On the other liand, dam for leman or 
 wife has good su2:)port. We are told that 
 Lilith was the wife of Adam, but was 
 such a vixeu that Adam could not live with 
 her, and she became the Devil's dam. 
 We also read that Belphegor " came to 
 earth to seek him out a dam." 
 
 V As women when they go wrong 
 are for the most part worse than the 
 other sex, the phi-ase at the head of this 
 article means the Devil and something 
 worse. 
 
 Devil and the Deep Sea {Between 
 the). Between Scylla and Charybdis ; 
 between two evils, each equally hazard- 
 ous. The allusion seems to be to the 
 herd of swine and the devils called 
 Legion. 
 
 " In the matter of rassing fi-nin ono part of the 
 vessel to another when she was rolling, we were 
 indeed between the devil and the deep sea."— 
 Kinitiriitli Ci'iitiinj, April, Is'.il, p. 064. 
 
 Devil and Tom Walker {The). An 
 
 American proverb, iised as a caution 
 to usurers. Tom Walker was a poor, 
 miserly man, born at Massachusetts in 
 1727, and it is said that he sold himself 
 to the Devil for wealth. Be this as it 
 may, Tom suddenly became very lich, 
 and opened a counting-house at Boston 
 during the money panic which pre- 
 vailed in the time of Governor Belcher. 
 By usury he grew richer and richer ; 
 but one day, as he was foreclosing a 
 mortgage with a poor land-jobber, a 
 black man on a black horse knocked at 
 the office door. Tom went to open it, 
 and was never seen again. Of course 
 the good people of Boston searched his 
 office, but all his coffers were found 
 empty ; and during the night his house 
 caught tire and was burnt to the ground. 
 {Washington Irving : Tales of a Travel- 
 ler.) 
 
 Devil catch the Hindmost {The). 
 In Scotland (? Salamanca) it is said when 
 a class of students have made a certain 
 progress in their mystic studies, they are 
 obliged to run through a subterranean 
 hall, aud the last man is seized by the 
 devil, and becomes his imp. 
 
 Devil in Dublin City {The). The 
 Scandinavian form of Dublin w'smDircl- 
 ?«[«], and the Latin Diiblinia. (See 
 Notes and Queries, April 9th, 1881. 
 p. 296, for another explanation.) 
 
 " Is just as true's the deil's in hell 
 Or Dublin city." 
 
 Burns: Death and Dr. Hornhoolc. 
 
 Devil looking Over Lincoln (The). 
 Sir W. Scott in his Keuihrorth has, 
 " Like the Devil looking over Lincoln." 
 A corresiioudent of Notes and Queries, 
 Sei^tember 10th, 1892, says — 
 
 "The famous devil that used to overlook 
 Lincoln College, in Oxford, was taken down 
 (Wednesday, September 15th, 17.31), having al)OUl; 
 two years since [previivusly] lost his head in a 
 sti)nh."—Gcntlcini(ii's Mayazine, ItiSl, p. 40J. 
 
 V We have other similar phrases, as 
 "The devil looking over Diubam."
 
 Devil 
 
 347 
 
 Devil 
 
 Devil loves Holy Water {As tlie). 
 That is, uot at all. The Roman Catholics 
 teacli that holy water drives away the 
 De\'il. The Latin proverb is, " Sicut sus 
 (imar'tci)utm amaV (as swine love mar- 
 joram). Lucretius, vi. 974, says " ainari- 
 cinum fiifjitat hhs." 
 
 Devil-may-care (A). A reckless 
 fellow. 
 
 Devil must be Striking (The) 
 (German). Said when it thunders. 
 The old Norse JJoiiar means Thor, equal 
 to Jupiter, the god of thunder, and 
 ihiiDur is the GeiTnan for thunder or 
 Devil, as may be seen in the expression, 
 ' ' The runaway goose is gone to the 
 Devil" {donncr). 
 
 Devil on the Neck {A) . An instru- 
 ment of torture used by persecuting 
 papists. It was an iron winch wliich 
 forced a man's neck and legs together. 
 
 Devil rides on a Fiddlestick (T/ie). 
 Much ado about nothing. Beaumont 
 and Fletcher, Shakespeare, and others, 
 use the phrase. " Fiddlesticks ! " as an 
 exclamation, means rubbish ! nonsense ! 
 When the piince and his merry com- 
 panions are at the Boar''s Head, first 
 Bardolph rushes in to warn them that 
 the sheriff's officers are at hand, and anon 
 enters the hostess to jmt her guests on 
 their guard. But the prince says, 
 " Here's a devil of a row to make about 
 a trifle " (or ' ' The devil rides on a fiddle- 
 stick") (1 Henry IV., ii. 2), and 
 hiding some of his companions, he 
 stoutly faces the sherili's ofiicers and 
 browbeats them. 
 
 Devil Sick would be a Monk {The). 
 
 " Vcemon languebut, monachus bnnus essevolebat; 
 Sed_cuM couvaluit, 7>iariet ut antefuit." 
 " When tlie Devil was sick, the devil a monk 
 would he ; 
 When the Devil got well, the devil a monk was 
 he." 
 
 Said of those persons who in times 
 of sickness or danger make pious resolu- 
 tions, but forget them when danger is 
 past and health recovered. 
 
 Devil to Pay and no Pitch Hot 
 
 (T/ic). The " devil " is a seam between 
 the garboard-strake and the keel, and 
 to "pay" is to cover with pitch. In 
 former times, when vessels were often 
 careened for repairs, it was difficult to 
 calk and pay this seam before the tide 
 tm'ued. Hence the locution, the shij) is 
 careened, the devU is exposed, but there 
 is no pitch hot ready, and the tide will 
 turn before the work can be done. 
 (French, payer, from paLv, po'ix, pitch.) 
 
 V The Devil to Pay is the name of a 
 farce by Jobson and Nelly. 
 
 Here^s the very devil to pay. Is used 
 in quite another sense, meaning : Here's 
 a pretty kettle of fish. I'm in a pretty 
 mess ; this is confusion worse confounded. 
 
 Proverbial Phrases. 
 
 Cheatiny the devil. Mincing an oath ; 
 doing evil for gain, and giving part of 
 the profits to the Church, etc. It is by 
 no means unusual in monkish traditions. 
 Thus the "Devil's Bridge" is a single 
 arch over a cataract. It is said that 
 his Satanic Majesty had knocked down 
 several bridges, but promised the abbot, 
 Giraldus of Einsiedel, to let this one 
 stand, provided the abbot would con- 
 sign to him the first living thing that 
 crossed it. When the bridge was finished, 
 the abbot threw across it a loaf of bread, 
 which a hungry dog ran after, and "the 
 rocks re-echoed with peals of laughter 
 to see the Devil thus defeated." {Imhj- 
 fellow : Golden Leyend, v.) 
 
 V The bridge referred to by Long- 
 fellow is that over the Fall of the Eeuss, 
 in the canton of the Uri, Switzerland. 
 
 Eabelais says that a farmer once bar- 
 gained with the Devil for each to have 
 on alternate years what grew under and 
 over the soil. The canny farmer sowed 
 carrots and turnips when it was his turn 
 to have the imder-soil share, and wheat 
 and barley the year following. {I'anta- 
 yruel, book iv. chap, xlvi.) 
 
 Give the devil his due. Give even a 
 bad man or one hated like the devil the 
 credit he deserves. 
 
 Gone to the devil. To ruin. The 
 Devil and St. Dimstan was the sign 
 of a public house. No. 2, Fleet Street, at 
 one time much frequented by lawj'ers. 
 
 "Into the Devil Tavern three booted trooncrs 
 strode." 
 
 Pull devil, pull baker. Lie, cheat, 
 and wrangle away, for one is as bad as 
 the other. (In this proverb baker is not 
 a proper name, but the trade.) 
 
 " Like Punch and the Deevil rugginfr ahout the 
 Baker at the fair."— ,S'Jr IK. Scutt : Old Mortality, 
 cliaji. xxxviii. 
 
 Talk of the devil and he's sure to eome. 
 Said of a person who has been the sub- 
 ject of conversation, and who unex- 
 pectedly makes his appearance. An 
 older proverb still is, "Talk of the Dole 
 and he'll put out his horns ; " but the 
 modern euphemism is, "Talk of an 
 angel and you'll see its wings." If 
 "from the fulness of the heart the 
 mouth speaketh," their hearts must be 
 full of the evil one who talk about him,
 
 Devil 
 
 348 
 
 Devil's 
 
 aud if the heart is full of the devil he 
 cannot be far off. 
 
 " Fiiitliwiib tlie devil did apiiftir, 
 For name him, and he's always near." 
 
 Prior : Hans Carvel. 
 
 To hold a candle to the devil is to 
 abet an evildoer out of fawning fear. 
 The allusion is to the story of an old 
 woman who set one wax taper before the 
 image of St. Michael, and another before 
 the Devil whom he was trampling under 
 foot. Being reproved for paying such 
 honour to Satan, she naively replied : 
 "Ye see, your honour, it is quite un- 
 certain which place I sliall go to at last, 
 and sure you will not blame a poor 
 woman for securing a friend in each." 
 
 To kindle a fire for the devil is to offer 
 sacrifice, to do what is really sinful, 
 under the delusion that you are doing 
 God service. 
 
 To plaij the very devil trith [the 
 inalte}-]. To so muddle and mar it as to 
 spoil it utterly. 
 
 irhru the devil is blind. Never. Re- 
 ferring to the utter absence of all dis- 
 loyalty aud evil. 
 
 "Ay, Till, that will I.e [i.f. all will l.o true and 
 loyal] when the de'il is lilind ; and his e'en's no 
 sair yet."'— We ir. Scutt: (luv Mavnering (Dandie 
 Dinniont to Tib Muniiis), chap. xxii. 
 
 Devil {A), in legal parlance, is a 
 leader's fag who gets up the facts of a 
 brief, with the laws bearing on it, and 
 ananges everything for the pleader in 
 methodical order. 
 
 These juniors liave surplus briefs 
 handed to them by their seniors. A 
 good fag is a good devil and is sui'e to 
 get on. 
 
 The Attorneii-GeneraVs devils are the 
 Counsel of the Treasury, who not un- 
 frequently get promoted to the bench. 
 
 A printer's devil. Formerly, the boy 
 who took the printed sheets from the 
 tympan of the press. Old Moxon says : 
 "They do commonly so black aud be- 
 daub themselves that the workmen do 
 jocosely call them devils." The errand- 
 boy is now so called. The black slave 
 emploj'ed by Aldo Manuzio, Venetian 
 printer, was thought to be an imp. Hence 
 the following proclamation : 
 
 " I, Aldo Maunzio, printer to the Do.ae^ have 
 this day made puldio exposure of the printer's 
 devil. All who think he is not flesh aud lilood 
 may come and pinch him.'— Pjoi-/(i»iot!'o)i of 
 Aldo ilauuzio, 149(1. 
 
 Hobert the Devil, of Noi-maudy. {See 
 Egbert Le Diable.) 
 
 The French Devil. Jean Bart, an in- 
 trepid French sailor, bom at Dunkirk. 
 (1650-1702.) 
 
 iSonof the Devil. Ezzeli'no, chief of the 
 Gibelins, and Governor of Viceuza, was 
 
 so called for his infamous cruelties. 
 (r21o-12o9.) 
 
 " Fierce Ezelin, that most inhuman lor<I, 
 Who shall he deemed by men the'child of hell." 
 Rose : Orlando Furioso, iii. 3.". 
 
 The WJiite Derilof Walla'chia. George 
 Castriota was so called by the Turks. 
 (1404-14G7.) 
 
 Devil's Advocate {The). In the 
 Catholic Church when a name is sug- 
 gested for canonisation, some person is 
 appointed to oppose the proposition, and 
 is expected to give reasons why it 
 .should not take jilace. This person is 
 technically called Advocdtns Diaholi. 
 Having said his saj', the conclave decides 
 the question. 
 
 Devil's Apple. The mandrake. 
 
 Devil's Arrows (Yorkshire). Three 
 remarkable " Druid " stones near 
 Borouglibridgo, like Harold's Stones, and 
 Ijrobably marking some boundary. 
 
 Devil's Bird {The). The j'ellow 
 bunting ; is so called from its note, deil. 
 
 Devil's Bones. Dice, which are 
 made of bones and lead to ruin. 
 
 Devil's Books. Playing cards. A 
 Presbyterian phrase, used in reproof of 
 the tenn King's Books, applied to a 
 pack of cards, from the French livre des 
 (juatrc rois (the book of the four kings). 
 Also called the Devil's Bible. 
 
 Devil's Cabinet ( The). Beljihego, the 
 Devil's ambassador in France ; Hutgin, 
 in Italy ; Belial, in Turkey ; Tharung, 
 in Spain ; aud Martinet, in Switzerland. 
 His grand abuoner is Dagon ; chief of 
 the eunuchs is Succor Benoth ; banker 
 is Asmodeus ; theatrical manager is 
 Kobal ; master of ceremonies, Verdelet ; 
 court fool is Nybbas. ( Victor Ila//o : 
 Toilers of the Sea.) 
 
 Devil's Candle. So the Aiabs call 
 the mandrake, from its shining appear- 
 ance at night. {liichardson.) 
 
 " Those hellish fires that light 
 The mandrake's charnel leaves at night." 
 
 T. Moore : Fire Worsk ippers. 
 
 Devil's Current {Thr). Part of the 
 ciurent of the Bosjihorus is so called, from 
 its great rapidity. 
 
 Devil's Daughter's Portion {The). 
 The saying is — ■ 
 
 " Deal, Dover, and Harwich, 
 The devil g.ive with his daughter in marriage," 
 
 because of the scandalous impositions 
 practised in these seaj)orts on sailors and 
 occasional visitors. {Grose: Classical 
 Dictionary, etc.)
 
 Devil's Den 
 
 349 
 
 Dew-beaters 
 
 Devil's Den. A cromlech iu a valley, 
 near Marlborough. It now consists of 
 two large uprights and an imjiost. The 
 tlurd upright has fallen. Some of the 
 farm lahourers, a few years ago, fastened 
 a team of horses to the impost, and tried, 
 but without effect, to drag it down. 
 
 Devil's Dust. Old rags torn up by 
 a machhie called the " devil," and made 
 into shoddy by gum and pressure. Mr. 
 Ferrand brought the subject before Par- 
 liament, March 4th, 1842. It is so called 
 from the dishonesty and falsehood which 
 it covers. {Latimer's iScniwtis.) 
 
 Devil's Dyke (27; <■). A ravine in the 
 South Downs, Brighton. The legend is, 
 that St. Cuthman, walking on the downs, 
 Illumed himself on having Christianised 
 the surrounding country, and having 
 built a nunnery where the dyke-house 
 now stands. Presently the Devil ajipears 
 and tells liim all his labour is vain, for 
 he would swamp the Vvhole country 
 before morning. St. Cuthman went 
 to the nunnery and told the abbess to 
 keep the sisters in prayer till after mid- 
 night, and then illuminate the windows. 
 The Devil came at sunset with mattock 
 and spade, and began cutting a dyke 
 into the sea, but was seized with rheu- 
 matic pains all over the body. He flung 
 down his mattock and spade, and the 
 cocks, mistaking the illuminated win- 
 dows for sunrise, began to crow ; where- 
 upon the Devil fled in alarm, leaving his 
 work not half done. 
 
 Devil's Four-Poster {The). A hand 
 at whist with foiu' clubs. It is said that 
 such a hand is never a winning one. 
 
 Devil's Frying-pan {The). A Corn- 
 ish tiu-miue worked by the Eomans. 
 
 Devil's Livery {The). Black and 
 yellow. Black for death, yellow for 
 quarantine. 
 
 Devil's Luck {The). Astounding 
 good luck. Persons alwaj's lucky were 
 thought at one time to have compounded 
 with the Devil. 
 
 " You won't have to ray his annuity very lonj-' ; 
 you have the Devil's luck in bargains, alv/ays."— 
 Dk-kcns. 
 
 Devil's Mass {The). Swearing at 
 everybody and everything. 
 
 " Whin a had egg is shut av the army, he says 
 the devil's mass .... an' manes svearin' at ivry- 
 thiug, from the commandher-in-chief down to the 
 room-corp'ril."— ■S'oW!C)-s Three, p. U5. 
 
 Devil's Nostrils {The). Two vast 
 caverns separated by a huge pillar of 
 natural rock in the mainland of the 
 Zetland Islands. (See The I'irate, chap, 
 xxii.) 
 
 Devil's O'wn. (Connaught Boys.) 
 The 88th Foot. So called by General 
 Picton from, their bravery in the Penin- 
 sular War, 1809-1814. 
 
 Applied also to the Inns of Court 
 Volunteers, the members of v.fhich are 
 lawyers. 
 
 Devil's Paternoster {To my the^. 
 To grumble ; to rail at iirovidence. 
 
 Devil's Snuff-box {The). A puff- 
 ball ; a fungus full of dust ; one of the 
 genus Lycoperdon. 
 
 Devil's Tattoo {TIic). Tapping on 
 the table with one's finger a wearisome 
 number of times ; tapping on the floor 
 with one's foot in a similar manner ; 
 repeating any sound with wearisome 
 pertinacity, giving those who hear the 
 "blue devils " or the " fidgets." 
 
 Devil's Throat {Thi). Cromer Bay. 
 So called from its danger to navigation. 
 
 Devils (in Dante's Divine Comedy) : 
 
 AUchimi. (The allurer.) 
 
 Borboriccid. (The malicious.) 
 
 Calcobrina, (The grace-scorner.) 
 
 C(iy'ii(iz::ii. (The suarler.) 
 
 Cirittto Sannuto. (The tusked hoar.) 
 
 Diainiiijtiazzo. (The fell dragon.) 
 
 FarfincUo. (The scandalmonger.) 
 
 Grafflcane. (The doggish.) 
 
 Libicucco. (The ill-temjiered.) 
 
 Bubictnite. (The red with rage.) 
 
 .'<ciirmi{ilione. (The baneful.) 
 
 The blue Devils. The fidgets or megrims. 
 
 Devonshire, according to English 
 mythology, is a coiTuption of Debon's- 
 share. This Debou was one of the 
 heroes who came with Brute from Troy. 
 One of the giants that he slew in the 
 south coasts of England was Coulin, 
 whom he chased to a vast pit eight 
 leagues across. The monster trying to 
 leap this i^it, fell backwards, and lost his 
 life in the chasm. When Brutus allotted 
 out the island, this j)ortion became 
 Debon's-share. 
 
 " And eke that ample )iit, yet far renowned 
 For the large leap which Debon did compell 
 
 Coulin to make, bemg eight lugs of grownd. 
 Into the which retouriiing back he fell . . . 
 
 In mede of these great conquests by them got 
 C'ori'neus had that iirovince utmost west . . . 
 
 And Debon's share was that is Devonshire." 
 
 Sjieiiser : Fverie Queeiic, book ii. canto x. 11, 12. 
 
 Devonshire Poet. O. Jones, a 
 journeyman wool-comber, who lived at 
 the close of the 18th century. Edward 
 Capern, called " The rural Postman of 
 Bideford" (bom 1819), and John Gay, 
 author of the Ber/(/ar''8 Opera., etc. (1688- 
 1732), of Barnstaple (Devonshire). 
 
 Dew-beaters. The feet ; shoes to 
 resist the wet. 
 
 " Hold out your dew-beaters till I take off the 
 darbies [iron shoes or fetters]."— PereriJ of the 
 Peak.
 
 De^?v-bit 
 
 350 
 
 Diamond Jousts 
 
 Dew-bit (A). A snack before break- 
 fast. 
 
 Dew-drink. A draught before break- 
 fast. In harvest the men are allowed, iu 
 some counties, a diink of beer before 
 they begin work. 
 
 Dexterity means r'lght-hnndcd skill 
 (Latin, dcxtvr, the right hand). " Awk- 
 ward " {n-v.') means Icftrhandcd ; gauche 
 is the French, and nii/isfrr the Latin for 
 the left hand. Certaiidy the German 
 left-handed marriages are sinister ones. 
 
 Dgellabae'an. The Persian era. 
 Dgclla Eddin, son of Togrul Beg, ap- 
 pointed eight astronomers to reform the 
 calendar. The era began a.d. 107o, and 
 is followed to this day. 
 
 Dhul'dul. {Si'e Hoese.) 
 
 Diable (Le). Olivier Ledain, the 
 tool of Louis XL, and once the king's 
 barber. So called because he was as 
 much feared as his Satanic Majesty, and 
 even more disliked. (Hanged 1484.) 
 
 Mobert le JJiahlc. Meyerbeer's grand 
 opera. {See Egbert.) 
 
 Di'adem meant, originally, a fillet 
 wound round the head. The diadem of 
 Bacchus was a broad band, which might 
 be unfolded so as to make a veil. Hier- 
 onJ^uus, king of Syracuse (b.c. 216-215), 
 wore a diadem. Constantine the Great 
 (306-337) was the fii'st of the Roman 
 emperors who wore a diadem. After 
 his time it was set with rows of pearls 
 and precious stones. (Greek, dtu-dco, 
 to bind entirely.) 
 
 Dialectics. Metaiihysics ; the art 
 of disputation ; that strictly logical dis- 
 cussion which leads to reliable results. 
 The product or result is ideas, which, 
 being classified, produce knowledge ; but 
 all knowledge being of the divine types, 
 must conduce more or less to practical 
 results and good morals. (Greek, dia- 
 lec/o, to speak thoroughly.) 
 
 " Kant iised the word to signify the 
 theory of fallacies, and Hegel for that 
 concept which of necessity develops its 
 ojiposite. 
 
 The following questions from John 
 of Salisbury are fail' specimens of the 
 Middle-age subjects of discussion : — 
 
 (1) TVben a person buys a whole cloak, does the 
 cowl belong to Lis inircbase ? 
 
 (2) Wlieii a hog is driven to market with a rope 
 round its neck, does_ the man or the roie take 
 him ;•■ 
 
 Di'amond. A corruption of ada- 
 munt. So called because the diamond, 
 
 which cuts other substances, can be cut 
 or polished with no substance but itself. 
 (Greek, a dainao, what cannot be sub- 
 dued. Latin, udatiian, gen. adamaiil-is; 
 French, dianuoit.) 
 
 Di'amond (3 syl.). Son of Ag'ape, a 
 fairy. He was very strong, and foiiglit 
 either on foot or horse witli a battle-axe. 
 He was slain iu single combat by Cani'- 
 balo. (»SV'f Teiamond.) (Spenser : Faerie 
 Qacene, book iv.) 
 
 A diamond of the firat xratcr. A man 
 of the highest merit. The colour or 
 lustre of a pearl or diamond is called its 
 "water." One of the "first water" is 
 one of the best colour and most brilliant 
 lustre. We say also, "A man of the 
 first water." 
 
 A rough diamond. An uncultivated 
 genius ; a jDerson of excellent parts, but 
 without society manners. 
 
 "As for Warrington, that rough diamond had 
 not had the jiolish ol a dancing-master, and ho 
 did not know how to waltz." — Thackeray. 
 
 Diamond cut diamond. Cunniikg out- 
 witting cunning ; a hard bargain over- 
 reached. A diamond is so hard that it 
 can only be ground by diamond dust, or 
 by rubbing one against another. 
 
 Diamond (Newton's favourite little 
 dog). One winter's morning, while at- 
 tending early service in Trinity College, 
 Newton inadvertently left Diamond shut 
 up in his room. On returning from 
 chapel he found that the little fellow 
 had upset a candle on his desk, by which 
 several papers containing minutes of 
 many years' exiieriments, were destroyed. 
 On perceiving this irreparable loss, he 
 exclaimed, "Oh, Diamond, Diamond, 
 thou little kuowest the mischief thou 
 hast done ! " {Diffusion of Useful Knoiv- 
 ledge : Life of Newton, p. 25, col. 2.) 
 
 •." HuygenSjlG'JJ, referring to this accident says: 
 "Newtouuni incidissein phrenitinabhincanno ac 
 sex mensibus. An ex nimia studii assiduitate, au 
 dolore infortunii, quod in incendio laboratoriuni 
 chemicuni ct scripta quivdani amiserat." 
 
 Diamond Hammer {A). A hammer 
 or pick for ' ' whetting ' ' millstones. The 
 diamond hammer is provided with 
 several sharp-pointed teeth to give a 
 uniform roughness to the surface of the 
 stone. Also to a steel pick with diamond- 
 shaped point at each extremity to rccut 
 grooves in stone. 
 
 Diamond Jousts {The). Joustsinsti- 
 tuted by King Arthur, "who by that 
 name had named them, since a diamond 
 was the i^rize." Ere he was khig, he 
 came by accident to a glen in Lyonnetsse, 
 where two brothers had met in combat. 
 Each was slain : but one had worn a
 
 Diamond Necklace 
 
 351 
 
 Diaper 
 
 erown of diamonds, which Arthur picked 
 up, aud when he became king ofYered 
 the nine diamonds as the pi-ize of nine 
 several jousts, " one every year, a joust 
 for one." Lancelot had won eight, aud 
 intended to present them all to the 
 queen " when all were won." When 
 the knight laid them before the queen, 
 Guinevere, in a fit of jealousy, tiuug 
 them out of the palace window into the 
 river which ran below. {Idylls of the 
 Khiff ; Elaine.) 
 
 Diamond Necklace {The) (1785). 
 A necklace presented, through Mme. 
 de Laraotte, by Cardinal de Rohan (as 
 he supposed) to Marie Antoinette. The 
 cardinal, a profligate churchman, enter- 
 tained a sort of love passion for the 
 queen ; and the Countess de Lamotte 
 induced him to purchase for the cj[ueen, 
 for £85,000, a diamond necklace, made 
 for Mme. Dubarry. The cardinal handed 
 the necklace to the countess, who sold it 
 to an English jeweller aud kejit the 
 money. When the time of payment ar- 
 rived Boehmer, the jeweller, sent his bill 
 in to the queen, who denied all know- 
 ledge of the matter. A trial ensued, 
 which lasted nine months, and created 
 immense scandal. 
 
 Diamond Sculls {The), or "The 
 Diamond Challenge Sculls" of the Hen- 
 ley Koyal Regatta, are a pair of crossed 
 silver sculls not quite a foot in length, 
 surmounted by an imitation wreath of 
 laurel, and having a pendant of diamonds. 
 They lie in a box lined with velvet, which 
 contains also the names of all the win- 
 ners. The prize is rowed for every year, 
 and the sculls pass from winner to win- 
 ner ; but each winner receives a silver 
 cup, which becomes his own absolute 
 property. Established 1814 by the Ro^-al 
 Regatta Committee. 
 
 I)iamoncls. {See Black Diamonds.) 
 
 Dian'a (3 syl.). The temple of Diana 
 at Eph'esus, built by DinocMres, was 
 set on fire by Heros'ti'atos, for the sake 
 of perpetuating his name. The lonians 
 decreed that any one who mentioned 
 his name should be put to death, but 
 this very decree gave it immortality. 
 The temple was discovered in 1872 by 
 Mr. Wood. 
 
 Diana of Ephesus. This statue, 
 we are told, fell from heaven. If so, it 
 was an aerolite ; but Minucius says he 
 sfiiv it, and that it was a wooden statue 
 (second century, A.D.). Pliny, a con- 
 temporary of Minucius, tells us it was 
 made of ebony. Probably the real 
 
 "image" was a meteorite, and in the 
 course of time a wooden or ebony image 
 was substituted. 
 
 V The palladium of Troy, the sacred 
 shield of the Romans, the shrine of our 
 Lady of Loretto, aud other similar 
 religious objects of veneration, were 
 said to have been sent from heaven. 
 The statue of CybSle (3 syl.) "fell 
 from heaven" ; and Elagabrdas, of Syro- 
 Phoeuicia, was a great conical stone 
 which fell from heaven. 
 
 Great is I)iinia of the Ephesians. Xo- 
 thing like leather ; self-interest blinds 
 the eyes. Deme'trios was a silversmith 
 of Eph'esus, who made gold and silver 
 shrines for the temple of Diana. When 
 Christianity was preached in the cit}^, 
 and there was danger of substituting the 
 simplicity of the Gospel for the gi-andeur 
 of idolatry, the silversmiths, headed by 
 Demetrios, stirred the jieople to a riot, 
 and they cried out with one voice for 
 the space of two hours, " Great is Diana 
 of the Ephesians ! " (Acts xix. 2-1-28.) 
 
 Dian's Worshippers. Midnight 
 revellers. So called because they return 
 home by moonlight. Dian means the 
 moon. 
 
 Diano'ra was the wife of Gilberto of 
 Friu'li, but was passionately beloved by 
 Ansaldo. In order to get rid of his 
 importunity, she told him she would 
 never grant his suit and prove untrue 
 till he made her garden at midwinter as 
 full of flowers and odom-s as if it were 
 midsmnmer. By the aid of a magician, 
 Ansaldo accomplished this, and claimed 
 his reward. Diano'ra went to meet him, 
 and told him she had obeyed the com- 
 mand of her husband in so doing. An- 
 saldo, not to be outdone in courtesy, 
 released her ; and Gilberto became the 
 firm friend of Ansaldo from that day to 
 the end of his Ufe. {Boeeaccio : Deca- 
 meron, day X. 5.) {See Doeigen.) 
 
 Diapason. Dryden saj's — 
 
 " From banncmy, from heavenly harmony 
 The universal frame Ijejj'an ; 
 From harmonv to harmony 
 
 Thro' all the compass of the notes it ran, 
 The diapason closing full in man." 
 
 Song for St. Cecilia's Day. 
 
 According to the Pythagore'an system, 
 the world is a piece of harmony, and 
 man the full chord, 
 
 Diaper. A sort of cloth, a corrup- 
 tion of D'Ypres, where it is largely 
 manufactured. Similarly we have calico 
 from Calicut ; nankeen fi-om Kankin ; 
 worsted from Worsted, in Norfolk ; and 
 half a score other similar words. The 
 Fi'ench diapre, variegated, seems far
 
 Diavolo 
 
 352 
 
 Dido 
 
 more likely to be the source of this word, 
 for diaper is cloth variegated with 
 flowers, etc., like damask. 
 
 Diav'olo (Fra). Michele Pozza, an 
 insurgent of Cala'bria (17(J0- 1806). 
 Scrihe wrote a libretto on this hero for 
 Aiiber. 
 
 Dibs or J)ibhs. Money. (Comimre 
 tipa, gifts to schoolboys ; and diobolns. 
 Compare also rfoi! with tot, jot, and yod.) 
 
 The huckle-bones of sheep used for 
 gambling purposes are called dibbs ; and 
 Locke speaks of stones used for the same 
 game, which he calls dibstones. 
 
 Dicers' Oaths. False as dicers'' oaths. 
 Worthless or untrustworthy, as when a 
 gambler swears never to touch dice 
 again. {Shakespeare: Ifainkf,m. 4.) 
 
 Dicil'la (in Orlando Fiirioso). One 
 of Logistilla's handmaids, famous for 
 her chastity. 
 
 Dick. That happened in the reign of 
 QiKiH hick — I.e. never ; there never was 
 a Queen Richard. 
 
 Dick's Hatband. (Richard Crom- 
 well, 1626-1712.) 
 
 (1) IMi's hatband, ivhich teas made of 
 sand. His regal honours were " a rope 
 of sand." 
 
 (2) As fine as Dick's hatband. The 
 cro\^^l of* England would be a very fine 
 thing for anyone to get. 
 
 (3) As queer as I)ick''s hatband. Few 
 things have been more ridiculous than 
 the exaltation and abdication of the 
 Protector's son. 
 
 (4) As tight as Dick's hatband. The 
 hatband of Richard Crgmwell was the 
 crown, which was too tight for him to 
 wear with safetj'. 
 
 Dick = Richard. The diminutive 
 
 " Dicky " is also common. 
 " Jockey of Norfolk [Lord Howard], lie not too 
 bold, ' 
 For Dicky [or Dickon], tby master, is Ijought 
 ;ind sold." 
 
 Shiikespeare : Skhard III., v. 3. 
 (Dicky or Dickon is Richard III.) 
 
 Dickens. {See Boz.) 
 
 Dickens is a perverted oath corrupted 
 from "Nick." Mrs. Page says — 
 
 " I cannot tell what the dickens his name is."— 
 Shakespeare : Merry Wives of Windsor, iii. :.'. 
 
 V The three poets who express a 
 conflagration are "Dickens! How-itt, 
 Burns ! " 
 
 Dickey or Dickg. A donkey ; an- 
 ciently called a Dick-ass, now termed 
 Jack-ass. It is a term of endearment, 
 as we call a pet bird a dickg-bird. The 
 ass is called Dick-y (little Richard), 
 
 Cuddy (Uttle Cuthbert), Neddy (little 
 Edward), Jack-ass, Moke or Mike, etc. 
 Dickeg. The rumble behind a carriage ; 
 also a leather apron, a child's bib, and 
 a false shirt or front. All these are 
 from the same root. (Dutch, dekken ; 
 German, decken ; Anglo-Saxon, thccan ; 
 Latin, tego, to cover.) 
 
 Dicky (vi), in George III.'s time, 
 meant a flannel petticoat. It was after- 
 wards applied to what were called false 
 shirts — i.e. a shirt front woni over a 
 dirty sliirt, or in lieu of a shirt. These 
 half- shirts were first called Tommies. 
 " A hundred instances I soon could i)ick ye— 
 Without a cap we view the fair, 
 The l)0siini heavini? alto bare, 
 The hips ashamed, forsooth, to wear a dicky." 
 Peter Pindar : Lord Aiifkland's Trimiijih. 
 
 So again : — 
 
 " And sister Peg, and sister Jcjan, 
 With scarce a ttannel dicky on . . . ." 
 Middlesex lilection, letter iv. 
 (Hair, whalebone, or metal vestments, called 
 drcss-inijirovers, arc hunt; on women's backs, as a 
 " dicky " is huug on a coach behind.) 
 
 Dicky Sam. A native-bora inhabi- 
 tant of Liverpool, as Tim Bobbin is a 
 native of Lancashire. 
 
 Dictator of Letters. Francois 
 Marie Arouct de Voltaire, called the 
 Great run. (1694-1778.) 
 
 Didactic Poetry is poetry that 
 teaches some moral lesson, as Pope's 
 Essag on Man. (Greek, didasko, I 
 teach.) 
 
 Diddle (To). To cheat in a small 
 way, as " I diddled him out of . . . ." 
 Edgar Allan Foe has an article on the 
 art of "Diddling." Ehj'ming slang is 
 very common. {See Chivy.) Fiddle and 
 diddle rhyme. "Fiddle" is slang for 
 a sharper, and " diddle " is the act of a 
 sharper. The suggestive rhj'me was 
 
 "Hi diddle diddle! 
 The cat and the liddle." 
 
 '■ A certain jiortit)n of the human race 
 Has certainly a taste for being diddled." 
 Hood : A Black Job, stanza 1. 
 
 Diddler {Jeremy). An artful swind- 
 ler ; a clever, seedy vagabond, borrow- 
 ing money or obtaining credit by his wit 
 and wits. From Kenny's farce called 
 liaising the Wtnd. 
 
 Did'erick. (See DiExracH.) 
 
 Dido. It Vv'as Person who said he 
 could rhj'me on any subiect ; and being 
 asked to rhyme upon the three Latin 
 gerunds, gave this couplet — 
 " When Dido found -Eneas would not come. 
 
 She mourned in silence, and was Di-do dum(b)." 
 
 ',* In the old Eton Latin gi'ammar 
 the three gerunds are called -di, -do,
 
 Die 
 
 353 
 
 Difference 
 
 -dion. In modern school primers they 
 arc -dttiii, -di, -do. 
 
 Wlieu Uido saw .-Eneas needs must po. 
 Slie wept in silence, and was dumd)) Di-rto. 
 a. C. B. 
 
 " Dido was queen of Carthage, who 
 fell in love with jEneas, ckiven by a 
 storm to licr sliores. After abiding a- 
 while at Carthage, he was compelled by 
 Mercury to leave the hospitable queen. 
 Dido, in grief, burnt herself to death on 
 a funeral pile. ( Virgil : from JEneid, i. 
 494 to iii. GoO.) 
 
 Die. TJie die is cast. The step is 
 tiiken, and I cannot draw back. So 
 said Julius Caesar when he crossed the 
 Rubicon. 
 
 _" I liave sot my life npon tlie cast. 
 
 And I will stand the hazard of tlio die." 
 ShalXKpeare : Richard ///., v. 4. 
 
 Die. 
 
 Whom the gods love die yotoig. This 
 is from Menander's fragments {Hon hoi 
 theoi philousin apothueskei ncos). De- 
 mosthenes has a similar apophthegm. 
 Plautushas the line, '' Quern I)i diligiitit 
 odolrscens moritnr.''^ (See Byron : Don 
 J>ian, canto iv. 12.) Those who die 
 young are ' ' taken out of the miseries of 
 this sinful life" into a happy immor- 
 tality. 
 
 Die-hards. The 57th Foot. Their 
 colonel (Inglis) in the battle of Albuera 
 (1811), addressing his men, said, "Die 
 hard, my lads; die hard I " And they 
 did die hard, for their banner was pierced 
 with thirty bullets. Only one officer out 
 of twentj'-four survived, and only 168 
 men out of 584. This fine regiment is 
 now called the West Middlesex ; the 
 EastMiddlesex (the Duke of Cambridge's 
 own) is the old 77th. 
 
 Diego {San). A coiTuption of Sant- 
 iago (St. James), champion of the red 
 cross, and patron saint of Spain. 
 
 Dies Alliensis. (See Axliexsis.) 
 
 Dies Irae. A famous mediaeval hymn 
 on the last judgment, probably the 
 composition of Thomas of Cela'no, a 
 native of Abruzzi, who died in 1200. 
 Sir Walter Scott has introduced the 
 former part of it into his Lag of (he Last 
 JlinstrcL 
 
 " Dies h-x, dies ilia, 
 Si)lvet sieclum in fa villa. 
 Teste David cum Sibylla." 
 On tbat day, that wi-athful day, 
 David and tlie Sibyl say, 
 Heaven and earth shall melt away. 
 
 E. C. B. 
 
 Dies Non. A non-business day. A 
 law i^hrase, meaning a day when the 
 
 23 
 
 courts do not sit, as on Sundays; the 
 Pmification, in Hilary term ; the Ascen- 
 sion, in Kaster term ; St. John the Bap- 
 tist, in Tiinity term ; and All Saints, with 
 All Souls, in Michaelmas term. A con- 
 tracted form of " Dies uon jnridicus," a 
 non- judicial day. 
 
 Dies Sanguinis. The 24th March, 
 called Bello'na's Day, when the lionian 
 votaries of the war-goddess cut them- 
 selves and drank the sacriiicial blood to 
 proijitiate the deity. 
 
 Dietrich (2 sj'l.), of Berne or Vero'na, 
 a name given by the German minne- 
 sjingers {minstreh) to Theod'oric the 
 Great, king of the Ostrogoths. One of 
 the liegemen of King Etzel. In the 
 terrible broil stirred up by Queen liriera- 
 hild in the banquet-hall of the Huimish 
 king, after the slaughter of Sir Rudiger, 
 his friend Dietrich interfered, and suc- 
 ceeded in taking prisoners the only two 
 surviving Burgundians, kings Gunther 
 and Hagan, whom he handed over to 
 Kriemhild, praying that she would set 
 them free, but the angry queen cut off 
 both their heads with her own hands. 
 {The Nibelungen-Licd.) 
 
 Dieu. Dieu ct won droit (God and 
 my right). The parole of Richard I. at 
 the battle of Gisors (1198), meaning 
 that he was no vassal of France, but 
 owed his royalty to God alone. As the 
 French were signally beaten, the battle - 
 word was adopted as the royal motto of 
 England. 
 
 Difference. Ophe'lia says to the 
 queen, " You may wear your rue with a 
 difference." In heraldry differences or 
 marks of cadency indicate the various 
 branches of a family. 
 
 (1) The eldest son, during the life- 
 time of his father, bears a hihel (or 
 lamhel), i.e. a piece of silk, stuflt, or 
 linen, with three pendants, broader at 
 the bottom than at the top. 
 
 (2) The second son bears a crescent. 
 
 (3) The third, a mullet (or star with 
 five points) . 
 
 (4) The fourth, a martlet. 
 
 (5) The fifth, an annulet. 
 
 (6) The sixth, vifeur-de-Us. 
 
 (7) The seventh, a rose. 
 
 (8) The eighth, a cross-moline. 
 
 (9) The ninth, a double quatrefoil. 
 Opheha saj-s both she and the Queen are 
 to wear rue : the one as the affianced of 
 Hamlet, eldest son of the late king ; the 
 other as the wife of Claudius his brother, 
 and the cadet branch. The latter was to
 
 Digest 
 
 354 
 
 Dinali 
 
 have a " difference," to sijjnify it was a 
 cadet branch. " I [says Ophelia] shall 
 wear the rue, hut you [tlie Queeu J must 
 now wear it with a ' difference.' " 
 
 Digest {TIw). The collection of all 
 the laws of Rome compiled hy Tribouiau 
 and sixteen assistants, hy order of 
 Justinian. It amounted to 2,000 
 volumes, and was finished in three years 
 (a.d. 533). (<SVt' Pandects.) 
 
 Diggings. Come to my dir/gings. To 
 my rooms, residence, office, sanctum. A 
 word imported from California and its 
 gold diggings. 
 
 "My friend liere wants to take diRgings ; and as 
 you were comi'lainiug that you would get some- 
 one to go halves with you, I thought I had better 
 liring you together."—-!. 0. Voyle : A Study in 
 Sciiiiet, chap. i. 
 
 Dig'gory. A bam labourer, taken 
 on grand occasions for butler and foot- 
 man to Mr. and Mrs. Hardcastle. He 
 laughs and talks while serving, and is 
 as gauche as possible. {Goldsmith : She 
 Stoo2)s to Conquer.) 
 
 Digit. The first nine numerals ; so 
 called from the habit of counting as far 
 as ten on the fingers. (Latin, digitus, 
 a finger.) 
 
 Dignitary {A). A clergyman who 
 holds preferment to which jurisdiction is 
 annexed, as bishops, deans, archdeacons, 
 canons, etc. 
 
 Dignus Vin'dice Nodus (Latin). 
 A knot or difficulty worthy of such 
 hands to untie. Literally, a knotty 
 point worthy to be made a civil action. 
 The person who brought a civil action 
 was called in Roman law a rindex, and 
 the action was called a vindicdtio. If 
 the rightful possessor was a matter of 
 dispute, the question became a lis vindi- 
 cidiiim, and was referred to the jwcetor 
 to determine. A knotty jioint referred 
 to the praetor was a " dignus vindice 
 nodus,'''' 
 
 Dii Penates (Latin). Household 
 gods ; now used for such articles of 
 furniture or decoration as the lady of 
 the house especially prizes. 
 
 Dilem'ma. The Itorns of a dilemma. 
 "Lemma" means a thing taken for 
 granted (Greek, lam'bano, to take). 
 " Dilemma " is a double lemma, a two- 
 edged sword which strikes both ways, or 
 a bull which will toss you whichever 
 horn you lay hold of. A young rhetori- 
 cian said to an old soplust, " Teach me 
 to plead, and I will pay you when I 
 gain a cause." The master sued for 
 payment, and the scholar pleaded, "If 
 
 I gain the cause I sliall not pay you, 
 because the judge will say I am not to 
 pay ; and if I lose my cause I shall not 
 be required to pay, according to the 
 terms of our agreement." To this the 
 master replied, "Not so; if you gain 
 yoiu' cause you must pay me according 
 to the terms of our agreement ; and if 
 you lose yoiu- cause the judge will 
 condemn you to pay nie." 
 
 Dilettan'te (Italian). An amateur 
 of the fine arts, in oi)i)osition to a pro- 
 fessor. Plural, dilettanti. 
 
 "These gentlemen are to he judged, not as 
 dilettanti, but as professors."— ^li/iend'ttWi. 
 
 Diligence is that energy and in- 
 dustry which wo show when we do what 
 we like (Latin, dil'igo, I like) ; but 
 indolence is that listless manner with 
 which we do what thoroughly vexes us. 
 (Latin, in, intensive ; doleo, to grieve.) 
 
 Diligence. A four-wheeled stage- 
 coach, drawn by four or more horses. 
 Common in France before the intro- 
 duction of railroads. The pun is well 
 known. 
 
 Ri vis plarere magietro, ut2rc diligentia (j.e. his 
 diligence). 
 
 Dilly (plural, Dillies). Stage-coaches. 
 They first began to run in 1779. An 
 abbreviation of the French word dili- 
 gence (q.r.). "Derby dilly." 
 
 Dim and Distant Future (The). 
 In November, 1885, Mr. W. E. Glad- 
 .stonc said that the disestablishment and 
 di.sendowment of the AngUcan Church 
 were questions in ' ' the dim and distant 
 future." 
 
 Diman'clie {Monsieur) . A dun. The 
 term is from Moliere's Bon Juan, and 
 would be, in English, Ilr. Sunday. The 
 word dimanche is a corruption and con- 
 traction of dies Bomin'ica (the Lord's 
 day). 
 
 Dimetse. The ancient Latin name 
 for the inhabitants of Carmarthenshire, 
 Pembrokeshire, and Cardiganshire. 
 
 Dim'issory. A letter dlmissory is a 
 letter from the bishop of one diocese to 
 some other bishop, giving leave for the 
 bearer to be ordained by him. (Latin, 
 di-mitto, to send away.) 
 
 Dim'ity. A cloth said to be so called 
 from Damietta, in Egypt, but really 
 from the Greek di-mitos (double-thread). 
 {See Samite.) 
 
 Di'nah {Aunt), in Sterne's Tristram 
 Shandy. She leaves Mr. Walter Shandy
 
 Dinde 
 
 335 
 
 Bione 
 
 £1,000, which he fancies will enable him 
 to carry out all the wild schemes that 
 enter into his head. 
 
 Dinde (1 syl.). The French for a 
 turkey is puidct cV Inde (an Indian fowl) . 
 This is an error, as the bird comes from 
 America ; unless, indeed, the whole 
 Western continent, with all its con- 
 tiguous islands, be called by the name 
 of West Indies. Our word " turkey " is 
 no better, if indeed it means a native of 
 Turkey. 
 
 Dine {To). 
 
 Qui dort dine. The seven sleepers 
 and others required no food till they 
 woke from their long sleep. The same 
 may be said of all hibernating animals. 
 
 To dine tcith Ikiiiociltvs. To be 
 cheated out of one's dinner. Democritos 
 was the derider, or philosopher who 
 laughed at men's folly. 
 
 'To dine with ISir Thomas Grcsham. 
 To go without one's diimer ; to be 
 dinnerless. Sir Thomas Gresham founded 
 the Royal Exchange, which was a fa- 
 vourite lounge for those who could not 
 afford to provide themselves with a 
 dinner. 
 
 To dine with Biihe Humphrey. [See 
 Humphrey.) 
 
 To dine with Mahomet. To die, and 
 dine in paradise. 
 
 To dine with the cross-legged knights. 
 {Sre next cohonn, Dinneeless.) 
 
 Dine Out {To). To be dinnerless ; to 
 go without a dinner. 
 
 Ding {A). A blow. To ding it in 
 one''s ears. To repeat a subject over and 
 over again ; to teach by repetition. 
 
 To ding. To strike. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 deneg\j:ui\, to knock, strike, beat.) Hence 
 "ding-dong," as "They were at it 
 ding-dong." 
 
 " The Initcber's axe, like great Aobilles' bat, 
 DiiiKs deadly downs teu-tbousand-tbonsaud 
 Hat." Taylor: TKorfcs (163(i). 
 
 Ding-dong. Theg went at it ding- 
 dong. Fighting in good earnest. To 
 ding is to beat or bruise (Saxon, dencgan) ; 
 doug is a responsive word. One gives a 
 ding and the other a dong. 
 
 V Din is the Anglo-Saxon dyn-ian, to 
 make a din ; diiuoig^ a dinning noise. 
 
 Dingley Dell. The home of Mr. 
 M^ardle and his family, and the scene of 
 Tupman's love adventure with Miss 
 Rachel. {Dickens : Pickwick Papers.) 
 
 Dinner {Waiting for). The "mauvais 
 quart d'heure.^^ 
 
 Dinnerless. Their hosts are the 
 cross-lcggrd knights. That is, the stone 
 effigies of the Round Church. In this 
 church at one time lawyers met their 
 clients, and here a host of vagabonds 
 used to loiter about all day, under the 
 hope of being hired as witnesses. Dining ' 
 with the cross-legged kniglits meant 
 much the same thing as dining with 
 duke Humphrey ('/./'.). 
 
 Di'nos. {See Horse.) 
 
 Dint. By dint of war ; by dint of 
 argument ; by dint of hard work. Dint 
 means a blow or striking (Anglo-Saxon, 
 dg)it) ; whence perseverance, power ex- 
 erted, force ; it also means the indenta- 
 tion made by a blow. 
 
 Diocle'tian. The Roman Emperor, 
 noted for his fierce persecution of the 
 Christians, 303. The Emperor Con- 
 stantine, on the other hand, was the 
 " nursing father" of the Church. 
 
 " T(i make the Gbuvch's glory sliine, 
 Sbould Diocletian reign, not Constantine." 
 Crubbe : BoroiKjli. 
 
 Diocle'tian was the king, and Eras- 
 tus the ijrince, his sou, in the Italian 
 version of the Seven Wise Masters {q.v.). 
 
 Diog'enes (4 syl., g^). The cynic 
 philosopher is said to have lived in a tub. 
 
 " Tbe wbole world was not balf so wide 
 To Alexander, wlien be cried 
 Because be bad but one to sub'due, 
 As was a paltry narrow tub to 
 Diogenes." Butler : Hudihras, j. 3. 
 
 Diog'enes. Romanus IV., emperor of 
 
 the East (1067-1071). 
 
 Di'omed's Horses. Diuos {dread- 
 ful) and Lamjjon {hriglit-eyed). {See 
 Horse.) 
 
 Diom'ede'an Swop. An exchange 
 in which all the benefit is on one side. 
 This proverbial expression is founded on 
 an incident related by Homer in the 
 Iliad. Glaucus recognises Diomed on 
 the battle-field, and the friends change 
 armour. 
 
 " For Diomed's brass arms, of mean device,' 
 Fi>r wliicb nine o.\en paid (a vulgar price), 
 lie [ulaururi] gave bis own, of gold divinely 
 
 wniuglir, 
 An bnndred beeves tbe sliining purcbase 
 bougbt." I'oiie: Jlnul, vi. 
 
 Diome'des or Diomed. King of 
 iEto'lia, iu Greece, brave and obedient 
 to authority. He survived the siege of 
 Troy ; but on his return home found liis 
 wife living in adultery, and saved his 
 life by living an exile in Italy. {Homer : 
 Iliad.) 
 
 Dio'ne (3 syl.). Venus, who sprang 
 from the froth of the sea, after the
 
 DionysiuS 
 
 356 
 
 Diptycli 
 
 mutilated body of U'ranus {the skij) had 
 been thrown there by Saturu. 
 
 " So viiiiii'-r Diiiiie, nursed )i('np:itli tlie w.ivos, 
 
 And rorkcil l.v \rrcids in thr r c-nnil cavrs 
 
 MsiH'il lii-i- sni-i't Innc^, :ind tried lier lender 
 smiles." Diinriii : Ennininij i,f Vojrt.ilioii, ii. 
 
 Dionys'ius {the yott»gcr), being 
 banished a second time from Syracuse, 
 retired to CoTiuth, where he turned 
 schoohuaster for a living. Posterity 
 called him a tijrant. Byron, iu his Ode 
 to Napoleon, alludes to these facts in the 
 following lines :— 
 
 " Ccirinth's pejlaKojinn Imtli now 
 Transferred liis lo'word to tliy lirow." 
 
 That is, NaiJoleou is now called tyrant, 
 like Dionysius. 
 
 Diony'sos. The Greek name of 
 Bacchus {q.v.). 
 
 FdtUrr: Zens i.Tniiiter). 
 
 Fed -its I 'f Biicelins in llonie, Bromaliii or Brnin- 
 alia, in JIareh ;i,nd Sciitemhor. 
 
 Mi'tlii r : SemLlC, ilauglitcr of Cadmus 
 
 Nnrsi-: )iris:i. 
 
 Oiiis were liis aversion. 
 
 I'liiiDii ra drew liis cliariot. 
 
 /,'.i</;.s were the most general sarridces offered 
 toliini. 
 
 ir//('.- Ariad'ne. 
 
 The most famous statue of this god 
 ■was by Praxiteles. 
 
 Attains gave above £18,000 sterling 
 for a. painting of the god by Aristides. 
 
 Diophan'tine Analysis. Finding 
 
 connncns urate values of squares, cubes, 
 triangles, etc. ; or the sum of a given 
 number of squares which is itself a 
 square ; or a certain number of squares, 
 etc. , which are in arithmetical progres- 
 sion. The following exami^les will give 
 some idea of tlie theory : 
 
 1. To find two whole numbers, the 
 sum of whose squares is a square ; 
 
 2. To find three square numbers which 
 are in arithmetical progression ; 
 
 3. To find a number from which two 
 given squares being severally subtracted, 
 each of the remainders is a square. 
 
 '.* Diophantus was an Alexandrian 
 Greek (oth cent. A.D.) 
 
 Dioscu'ri. Castor and Pollux. 
 (Greek, Diofi kmiros, young men of Zeus ; 
 (Uo>^ is gen. of Zeus.) 
 
 The horses of the Dioscuri. Cyl'laros 
 and Har'pagos. {See Horse.) 
 
 Diotrephes. One who loves to have 
 the 2)i"e-tminence among others. (3 
 John 9.) 
 
 " Ni'iMier a desperate Judas, like the prelate 
 Kliarpi- [nrehlrisliop of St. Andrew's, who was 
 murdered I, that's Kone to his ]dace ; nor a sanc- 
 tnar.v - l)reaking Holofernes, like the hloody- 
 niiiided Claverhouse ; nor an aml)itious Diotre- 
 Idies, like the lad [Lord] Evandale .... shall 
 resist the arrows that are whetted and the liow 
 that IS lieiit awiinst you."— Sir W.Scott: Old Mor- 
 tality, chap. xiv. 
 
 Dip {A). A tallow-chandler, one 
 who makes or sells candles or "dips." 
 These candles are made by dijijuug into 
 melted tallow the cotton which foims 
 the wick. (Anglo-Saxon r/iy)^."/;/, to dip.) 
 
 Diph'thera. The skin of the goat 
 Amalthea., on which Jove wrote the 
 destiny of man. Diphtheria is an infec- 
 tious disease of the throat ; so called from 
 its tendency to form a false membrane. 
 
 Diplo'ma literally means something 
 folded (Greek). Diplomas used to be 
 written on parchment, folded, and 
 sealed. The word is applied to licences 
 given to graduates to assume a degree, 
 to clergymen, to iihysicians, agents, and 
 so on. 
 
 Diplom'acy. The tact, negotiations, 
 privileges, etc., of a diplomatist, or one 
 who carries a. diploma to a foreign court 
 to authorise him to represent the Govern- 
 ment which sends him out. 
 
 Diplomatic Cold {A). An excuse 
 to get over a, disagreeable engagement. 
 Mr. Healy, M.P. (ISSo), said that Lord 
 Hartington and Mr. Gladstone had 
 '■ diplomatic colds," when they pleaded 
 indisposition as an excuse for not giving 
 addresses at public meetings in which 
 they were advertised to speak. The day 
 after the meetings both gentlemen wci e 
 " much better." 
 
 Diplomatics. The science of pahco- 
 grajihy — tliat is, deciphering old charters, 
 diplomas, titles ; investigating their 
 authenticity and genuineness, and so on. 
 Papebroch, the Bollaudist, originated 
 the study in 1G75 ; butMabillon, another 
 Bollandist, reduced it to a science in his 
 work entitled I)e re J)iploniatu'a, 1681. 
 Toustain and Tassin further developed 
 it in their treatise entitled Kouveaii 
 Traitc de Jjlplomatique, 1750-1700. 
 
 Diptycli {dip'tik'\. A register folded 
 into two leaves, ojiening like our books, 
 and not like the ancient scrolls. The 
 Romans kept in a book of this sort the 
 names of their magistrates, and the 
 Roman Catholics employed the word for 
 the registers in which were vrritten the 
 names of those bishops, saints, and 
 , martyrs who were to be specially com- 
 memorated when oblations were made 
 for the dead. (Greek, diptnrhos, folded 
 in two.) 
 
 "The Greeks executed small works of great 
 elegance, as may be seen in the diptyehs. or ivory 
 covers to consular records, or sacred volumes used 
 in the church service.''— 2". Flaxman : Lectures on 
 Sculi'iuic, in. p. as.
 
 Bircsean Swan 
 
 357 
 
 Discuss 
 
 Dircse'an Swan. Pindar ; so called 
 from Dirce, a fouiitaiu iu the neiglibour- 
 hood of Thebes, the poet's birthplace 
 (B.C. 018-442). 
 
 Direct Tax is one collected (Ih-eclhj 
 from the owner of proi^crty subject to 
 the tax, as when the tax-gatherer goes 
 direct to the owner of a house and de- 
 mands five, ten, or twenty ijounds, as it 
 may be, for Government uses. Indirect 
 taxfs are taxes upon marketable com- 
 modities, such as tea and sugar, the 
 tax on which is added to the article 
 taxed, and is paid by the piu-ehasers in- 
 directly. 
 
 Direc'tory. The French constitution 
 of 1795, when the executive was vested 
 in five persons called directors, one of 
 whom retired every year. After a sickly 
 existence of four years, it was quashed 
 by Napoleon Bonaparte. An alphabet- 
 ical list of the inhabitants, etc., of a given 
 locality, as a " London Directory." 
 
 Dirleto'n. Doubting icith Birletou, 
 and rcnulcing t}iosc donbts vith Stewart. 
 Doubting and answering those doubts, 
 but doubting still. It applies to law, 
 science, religion, morals, etc. Sir John 
 Nisbett of Dirleton's Doubts on points 
 of law, and Sir James Stewart's Doubts 
 Itesolred, are works of established rejiu- 
 tation iu Scotland, but the l)oubtii hold a 
 higher place than the Solutions. 
 
 Dir'los {Count). A Paladin, the beau- 
 ideal of valour, generosity, and truth. 
 The story saj's he was sent by Charle- 
 magne into the East, where he con- 
 quered Aliar'de, a great Moorish i^rince. 
 On his return he found his young wife, 
 who thought he was dead, betrothed to 
 Celi'nos, another of Charlemagne's peers. 
 The matter being set right, the king 
 gave a grand banquet. Dirlos is D' Yrlos. 
 
 Dirt is matter in the wrong place. 
 (Lord P(dmerston.) This is not true : a 
 diamond or sovereign lost on a road is 
 matter in a wrong place, but certainly is 
 not dirt. 
 
 Throw plenty of dirt and some will be 
 sure to stick. Scandal always leaves a 
 trail behind. 
 
 Dirt cheap. Very low-priced. Dirt is 
 so cheap that persons pay others to take 
 it away. 
 
 To eat dirt is to put up with insults 
 and mortification. An Eastern method 
 of punishment. 
 
 ■ "If dirt were tnmii'S wliiit a capital hand yuu 
 Wdiild li<dd ! "—Charles Lamb to ilnrtin Uiirxetj. 
 
 Dirty Half-Hundred. The 50th 
 Foot, so called from the men wiping 
 
 their faces with their black cuffs. Now 
 called " The Queen's Own." 
 
 Dirty Lane. Now called Abingdon 
 Street, Westminster. 
 
 Dirty Shirts {Thc^. The 101st Foot, 
 which fought at Delhi in their shirt- 
 sleeves (1S.')7). Now called " The Royal 
 Bengal Fusileers." 
 
 Dis. Pluto. 
 
 " Pmsor'ijiiie KatLeriiif,' liuwi-rs, 
 Herself a fairer Uuwer, liy gltxmiy Uis 
 Was jjatLered." 
 
 Milton: Paradise Lost, iv. "70. 
 
 Disas'ter is being under an evil star 
 (Greek, du.s-astcr, evil star). An astro- 
 logical word. 
 
 "The stars in tlieir courses fougbt. against 
 Sisera."— Judges v. lu. 
 
 Disas'trous Peace (La Taix Mal- 
 hcurcuac). It followed the battle of 
 Gravelines (2 syl.), and was signed at 
 Cateau - Cambre'sis. By this treaty 
 Henri II. renounced all claim to Geu'oa, 
 Naples, Mil'an, and Cor'sica (1559). 
 
 Disbar {To). To dei^rive a barrister 
 of his right to i)lead. The bar is the 
 part barred off in courts of law and 
 equity for ban-isters or pleaders. 
 
 Discard. To throw out of one's 
 hands such cards as are useless. 
 
 Discharge Bible {The), 1806. "I 
 discharge [charge] thee before God." 
 (i Tim. V. 21.) 
 
 Discipline (--/). A scourge used by 
 Roman CathoUcs for penitential pur- 
 poses. 
 
 " Before the cross and altar a lamp was stiU 
 burning, . . . and on tlu' llnor lay a small disci- 
 pline or penitential srourge of small cord and 
 wire, tlie laslies of wliicli were stained witli 
 recent blood."— .S'/r 11'. tifoit : The Talisman, 
 cliap. iv. 
 
 Dis'cord means severance of hearts 
 (Latin, discorda). It is the opposite of 
 concord, the coming together of hearts. 
 In music it means disagreement of 
 sounds, as when a note is followed by 
 another which is disagreeable to a 
 musical ear. {See Apple.) 
 
 Discount. At a discount. Not in 
 demand ; little valued ; less esteemed 
 than fonnerly ; less than their nominal 
 value. (Latin dis-coinputo, to depreciate.) 
 
 Discuss. To discuss a bottle. To 
 drink one with a friend. Same as 
 " crush " or '■'■crack a bottle." (Discuss 
 is the Latin dis-quatio ; French, casser. 
 The Latin quassa're rasa is to break a 
 drinking-vessel.) 
 
 '■We all .... drew round the table, an austere 
 silence prevailing, while we discussed our meal.'' 
 —E. Bronte: Wuthei-ing Heights, chap, li,
 
 Disease 
 
 358 
 
 Distraction 
 
 Disease, meaning discomfort, want 
 of ease, iiiul aise, as 
 
 " Tn tlie world ye shall have disease."— Trt/c;//; 
 John xvi. 33. 
 
 Dished (1 syl.). I teas dished out of 
 it. Clieated out of it ; or rathei', some 
 one else contrived to obtain it. A con- 
 traction of disherit. The heir is dish't 
 out of his inheritance when his fatlier 
 marries again and leaves his proj^erty to 
 the widow and widow's family. 
 
 " Where's Biiiiiiiiiel ? Dished ! " 
 
 Bi/ron: Don Juan. 
 
 Dish-washer (^i). A scullery-maid. 
 
 Dismal. Daniel Finch, second earl 
 of Nottingham. 
 
 " No sooner was Dismal among the Whi^s . . . 
 but Lady Char[lotJte is taken kuittint,' in St. 
 James's Cliaiiel [i.e. Lady Charlotte Finch, his 
 daughter J."— A'xttmifier, April L'i>'J-lth, 1713, No. -I-I. 
 
 Dismas {St.). The penitent thief. 
 
 [Dysmas.] 
 
 Disney Professor. The Professor 
 of Archa;ology in the University of Cam- 
 bridge. This chair was founded in 18.51 
 by John Disney, Esq., of the Hyde, 
 lugatestone. 
 
 Disor'der, says Franklin, "break- 
 fasts witli Plenty, dines with Poverty, 
 sups with Misery, and sleeps with 
 Death." 
 
 Dispensa'tion. The system which 
 God chooses to dispense or establish be- 
 tween Himself and man. The dispensa- 
 tion of Adam was that between Adara 
 and God ; the dispensation of Abrnhani, 
 and that of Moses, were those imparted 
 to these holy men ; the Gospel dispensa- 
 tion is that explained in the Gospels. 
 (Latin, dis-peiiso, to spread forth, unroll, 
 explain, reveal. ) 
 
 A dispensation from the Pope. Per- 
 mission to dispense with something en- 
 joined ; a licence to do what is forbidden, 
 or to omit what is commanded by the 
 law of the Church, as distinct from the 
 moral law. 
 
 " A dispensation was obtained to enable Dr. 
 Barrow to marry."— Tfnj'd. 
 
 Dispu'te (2 syl.) means, literally, to 
 "lop down" (Latin, dis-piito) ; debate 
 means to "knock down" (French, de- 
 battre) ; discuss means to " shake down " 
 (Latin, dis-qaatio) \ object' is to "cast 
 against" (Latin, ob-jacio) ; contend is to 
 " pull against" (Latin, contendo) ; quar- 
 rel is to throw darts at each other 
 (Welsh, eivarel, a dart) ; and wrangle is 
 to strain by twisting (Swedish, rrdnga; 
 Anglo-Saxon, urinyan). 
 
 Dis'solute is one that rims loose, not 
 restrained by laws or any other bonds. 
 (Latin, dissolvo, like horses unharnessed.) 
 
 Dis'taff. A woman. Properly the 
 staff from which the flax was drawn in 
 spinning. The allusion is to the ancient 
 custom of women, who spun from morn- 
 ing to night. {Sec Spinster.) 
 
 " The crown of France never falls to the distaff." 
 — Kernel/. 
 
 To hare tow on the distaff. To have 
 work in hand. Froissart says, ' '// aura 
 en bref temps autres estoiipes en sa que- 
 iiouille.^' 
 
 " He liaddi- more tow on his distaf 
 Thau (;er\ eys knew." 
 
 Cliattcer : Canterbary Tales, 3,77l'. 
 
 St. Distaff's Dai/. The 7th of January. 
 So called because the Christmas festival 
 temiinated on Twelfth Day, and on the 
 day following the women returned to 
 their distaffs or daily occupations. It is 
 also called lioek Dai/, a distaff being 
 called a rock. " In old times they used 
 to spui with rocks." {Anbreij : li'ilts.) 
 " (Jive St. Distaff all the right, 
 Tlien give Christmas sport good night, 
 And next morrow every one 
 To his own vocation." CI'«>7.) 
 
 " What ! sliall a woman with a rock drive thee 
 away ? 
 Fye (in thee, traitor !" 
 
 DUjby : Mysteries, p. 11. 
 
 Distafii'na. To whom Bombastes 
 Furio'so makes love. {Thomas ISarnes 
 Rhodes : Bombastes Fiirioso.) 
 
 Distem'per means an undue mixtm-e. 
 In medicine a distemper arises from the 
 redimdancy of certain secretions or mor- 
 bid humours. The distemper in dogs is 
 an undue quantity of secretions mani- 
 fested by a running from the eyes and 
 nose. (Latin, dis-temp'ero, to mix amiss.) 
 
 Applied to painting, the word is from 
 another source, the French detremper (to 
 soak in water), because the paints, in- 
 stead of being mixed with oil, are mixed 
 with a vehicle (as yolk of eggs or glue) 
 soluble in water. 
 
 Distinguished Member of the 
 Humane Society. The name of this 
 dog was Paul Pry. Landseer says, 
 "Mr. Newman Smith was rather dis- 
 appointed when his dog appeared in 
 character rather than ' the property of 
 Newman Smith, Esq., of Croydon 
 Lodge.' " {Notes and Queries, March 
 21st, 1885, p. 225.) 
 
 Distraction. An excellent example 
 of how greatly the meaning of words 
 may change. To " distract " means now, 
 to harass, to perplex ; and "distraction" 
 confusion of mind from a great multi- 
 plicity of duties ; but in French to
 
 Distrait 
 
 359 
 
 Divine Pagan 
 
 "distract" means to divert the mind, 
 and "distraction" means recreation or 
 amusement (Latin, dis - traho), {Sec 
 Slave.) 
 Distrait (Frencli). Absent-minded. 
 
 Dithyram'bic. The father of ditJiij- 
 raiiibic puetri/. Ari'on of Lesbos. 
 
 Dit'tany. When Godfrey was 
 ■wounded with an arrow, an "odorifer- 
 ous pau'acy " distilled from dittany was 
 applied to the wound; whereupon the 
 arrow-head fell out, and the woimd 
 healed immediately. {Tasso : Jerusalem 
 Delivered, book xi.) 
 
 Ditto. {Sec Do.) 
 
 Dittoes {A suit of). Coat, waistcoat, 
 and trousers all alike, or all ditto (the 
 same). 
 
 Divan' (Arabic and Persian, diwan) 
 means a register kept on a white table 
 exactly similar to our board. Among 
 the Orientals the word is ap^jlied to a 
 council-chamber or court of justice ; but 
 in England we mean a coffee-house 
 where smoking is the chief attraction. 
 
 Divers Colours [in ffarmaits]. We 
 are told, in 2 Sam. xiii. 18, that kings' 
 daughters were arrayed in a garment 
 of divers colours, and Dr. Shaw informs 
 us that only virgins wore drawers of 
 needle-work; so that when the mother 
 of Sisera (Judges v. 30) says, "Have 
 they not sped ? Have they not divided 
 the spoil? To Sisera a prey of divers 
 colom-s, of divers colours of needle- 
 work?" she means — is not the king's 
 daughter allotted to Sisera as a portion 
 of his spoil? {Sec Coat of Many 
 
 COLOUES.) 
 
 Divert. To turn aside. Business is 
 the regular walk or current of our life, 
 but pleasure is a diversion or turning 
 aside for a time from the straight line. 
 What we call diversion is called in 
 Tvendhdistractioii, di-awing aside. (Latin, 
 di-verto, to turn aside ; dis-traho, to draw 
 aside.) 
 
 Dives (1 syl.), Birs or Beers. Demons 
 of Persian mythology. According to 
 the Koran, they are ferocious and gigan- 
 tic spirits under the sovereignty of Eblis. 
 
 " At Lahoiv, intbe Mogul's p.ilace, are pictures 
 of Dews anil Dives wicli loug horns, staring eyes, 
 shaggy hair, great fangs, ugly paws, long tails, 
 and such horril)le deformity, that I wonder the 
 poor women are not frightened."— Tl'iiham Finch : 
 J'urcluis' Pllyrims, vol. i. 
 
 Bives (2 syl.). The name popularly 
 given to the rich man in our Lord's 
 parable of the Eich Man and Lazarus 
 
 (Luke xvi.). The Latin would be Bives 
 et Lazarus. 
 
 Divi'de (2 syl.). When the members 
 in the House of Commons interrupt a 
 speaker by crj-ing out divide, they mean, 
 biing the debate to an end and put the 
 motion to the vote— i.e. let the ayes 
 divide from the noes, one going into 
 one room or lobby, and the others iuto 
 another. 
 
 Divide and Govern. Divide a 
 nation iuto parties, or set yom- enemies 
 at loggerheads, and you can have your 
 own way. A maxim of Machiavelli, a 
 noted political writer of Florence (1469- 
 1527). 
 
 " Every city or honse divided against itself 
 shall not stand."— Matthew xii. 25. 
 
 Divination. There are numerous 
 species of divination referred to in the 
 Bible. The Hebrew word is added in 
 italics. 
 
 Judicial AsTKOT,of>Y (_MeonenX 
 
 Ahgu by {Mennchesch ). 
 
 Witchcraft (MecaschepIO. 
 
 ESCHANTJtEXT {Itlioberoii). 
 
 t'ASTiSG Lots {Indeoni). 
 
 By Tnterrogatisg Spirit.';.'' 
 
 Uy Necromancy (l Sam. xxviii. 12). 
 
 By Rhahdomakcy (Hosea iv. 12). 
 
 Bv Teraphim or household idols. 
 
 By Hepatoscopy or inspecting the liver of 
 animals. 
 
 Bv Dreams and their interpretations. 
 
 Divination by Are, air, and water ; thunder, 
 lichtning, and meteors ; etc. 
 
 The Urim and Thummin -was a prophetic 
 iTeastplate worn by the High Pi'iest. 
 
 (Consult: Gen. x.'fxvii. 5—11 ; xl. xU. ; 1 Sam. 
 xxviii. 12; 2 Chron. xxxiii.6; Prov.xvi.33; Ezek. 
 xxi. 21 ; Hosea iii. 4, 5, etc.) 
 
 Divine. The divine right of kings. 
 
 The notion that kings reign by divine 
 
 right, quite independent of the people's 
 
 will. This notion arose from the Old 
 
 Testament Scriptures, Avhere kings are 
 
 called "God's anointed," because they 
 
 were God's vicars on earth, when the 
 
 Jews changed their theocracy for a 
 
 monarchy. 
 
 " The right divine of kings to govern wrong." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 Divine {The). Ferdinand de Her- 
 re'ra, a Spanish poet (1516-1595). 
 
 Eaphael, the painter, il Bivi'no (1483- 
 15'20). 
 
 Luis Mora'les, Spanish painter, el 
 Bivi'no (1509-1586). 
 
 Divine Doctor. Jean de Euysbroek, 
 the mystic (1294-1381). 
 
 Divine Pagan {The). Hjim'tia, who 
 presided over the Neoplaton'ic School at 
 Alexandria. She was infamously torn 
 to iDieces (a.d. 415) by a Christian mob, 
 not without the concui-rence of the Ai'ch- 
 bishop Cyril.
 
 Divine Plant 
 
 360 
 
 Do 
 
 Divine Plant {The). Vervain, called 
 by tlie liomaus Herba Sacra (q.v.). 
 
 Divine Speaker (T/ir). So Aristotle 
 callucl Tyr'tamos, who therefore adopted 
 the name of Theophrastos (B.C. 370- 
 
 287). 
 
 Divi'ning Rod. A forked branch 
 of liazcl, suspended by the two jn'ongs 
 between tlio balls of tlie tliumbs. The 
 inclination of the rod indicates the pre- 
 sence of water-springs, precious metal, 
 and auytliiug else tliat simpletons will 
 pay for. (.Vcc Dousteiiswivel.) 
 
 Divinity in Odd Numbers. Fal- 
 
 staff tells us (in the Jlrrri/ Jflrrs of 
 Windaor, v. 1) that this divinity affects 
 " nativity, chance, and death." A 
 Trinity is by no means confined to the 
 Cliristian creed. The Brahmins repre- 
 sent their god with three heads ; the 
 Greeks and Komans had three Graces, 
 three Fates, tlu-ee Furies, and a three- 
 fold Hecate. Jupiter had his three 
 thunderbolts, Neptune his trident, and 
 Pluto his tlu-ee-headed dog. The Muses 
 were three times three. Pythagoras 
 says God is threefold — " the beginning, 
 middle, and cud of all things." Then, 
 again, tliere are five features, five parts 
 to the body, five vowels, five lines in 
 music, five acts to a play, etc. ; seven 
 strings to a harp, seven planets (an- 
 ciently, at any rate), seven musictd 
 notes, etc. 
 
 Chance. There's luck in odd numbers 
 ^^ Numero Dciis impdrc (jamlet'''' {Jlrf/il: 
 Eclof/KC viii. 75). The seventh son of a 
 seventh son was always held notable. 
 Baalam would have seven altars, and 
 sacrificed on them seven bullocks and 
 seven rams. Naaman was commanded 
 to dip seven times in Jordan, and Elijah 
 sent his servant seven times to look out 
 for rain. Climacteric years are seven 
 and nine with their multiples by odd 
 numbers. 
 
 Ihalh. The great climacteric year of 
 life is 63 {i.e. 7x9), and Satui-u pre- 
 sides over all climacteric yeai's. 
 
 Divi'no Lodovi'co. Ariosto, author 
 of Orhdnh Furioso, an ej^ic poem in 
 twenty-four books. (1474-1533.) 
 
 Division. The sign -f- for division 
 W' as invented by John Pell of Cambridge 
 in 1GG8. 
 
 Divorcement. A vritbig, or bill of 
 divorcement. "Whosoever shall jjut 
 away his wife, let him give her a writ- 
 ing of divorcement" (Matt. v. 31). 
 
 Adalet tells in the Nineteenth Century 
 (July, 1892, p. 137) : 
 
 "A woniiin [in TurkoyJ divorced from her 
 husband is not treated with contumely . . . .and 
 often marries avain. ... A man simpiv states to 
 hi.s wife that lie ha.f divureed her, dii whiidi slie 
 will gciaw.-ij- ; and I lie iiiaii, haviiiL,' rel>ealed the 
 same to the ladi.will reci'i\e an art id' divorce 
 writleli, wiiirh he will send lo her. If it is I hc^ 
 llrst (ir sei-(ind lime iliat I his has oeeiirreil, lie 
 nia.v take her har-k a--:iiii with. ml aii.v formalily 
 ensniiiLf, hiif, afler a third divnree, she will hi- 
 lust In hull fur ever. Seeing tli(^ ea.se with wliieli 
 this may h.' ,i..ne, it is not Bnrprisin!,' If nien 
 ahiise I ill- liiiiire, and Kometimus divorce tlieir 
 wives for |a very sm.all] fanlt ... as a badly- 
 eoiiked dinner, or a button unsewod, knowing 
 very well that if lie repents of it lie can have her 
 back before evening. I know a lady who has 
 lieen diviireed from live husbands, and is now 
 liviiiLT with a si.\tli." 
 
 Divus in Latin, attaclicd to a proper 
 name, does not mean divine, but simply 
 deceased or canonised ; excellentl}' trans- 
 lated in Notes and Queries (May 21st, 
 1892, i>. 421), "of blessed memory." 
 Thus, iJiviis Augustus means Augustus 
 of blessed memory, not divine Augustus. 
 Of course, the noun " divus" opposite to 
 a proper noun =r a god, as in Horace, 
 3 OdesY. 2, " Fr<cse)is divus hubebifur Au- 
 ffusfus.^^ While living, Augustus will 
 be accounted a god. Virgil {L'cl. i. G) 
 says, " I)eus nobis hccc otia fecit;'''' the 
 " deus " was Augustus. 
 
 Dix'ie Land. Nigger land. Mason 
 ami Di.xon drew a line which was to be 
 the northern limit of slavery. In the 
 third quarter of tlie 19th century the 
 southern part of this line was called 
 Dixie or nigger laud. 
 
 Dizzy. A nickname of Benjamin 
 Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield) (1805-1881). 
 
 Djin'nestan'. The realm of the djinns 
 or genii of Oriental mythology. 
 
 Do. A contraction of ditto, which is 
 the Italian ditto (said), Latin diet us. 
 
 Jloiv do you do .^ i.e. How do you 
 fare ? It should be. How do you du ? 
 (Anglo-Saxon, duy-un = vcdere) ; in 
 Latin, Quouwdv vides. 
 
 IJ'cIl to do. This, again, is not the 
 transitive verb (facere) but the intransi- 
 tive verb (vctlere), and means "well to 
 fare." (Anglo-Saxon, dug-an^valere.) 
 
 To do him, i.e. cheat or trick a person 
 out of something. 
 
 / have done the Jew, i.e. over-reached 
 him. The same as outdo = excel. 
 
 Do (to rhjone with go) . The first or 
 tonic note of the solfeggio system of 
 music. 
 
 Do, re, mi, ft, sol, la, Italian ; nt. re, 
 mi, fa, sol, la, French. The latter are bor- 
 rowed from a hymn by Paidus Piaconus, 
 addi-essed to St. Jolm, which Guido, in
 
 Do for 
 
 361 
 
 Dr. Diafoirus 
 
 the eleventh centuiy, used in teaching 
 singing : 
 
 " Ut imeant laxis, Ke-sonare flbris, 
 J/i-ia Kestoruni Fa-muli tuorum, 
 6'oi-ve poilutis La-hiis reatum." 
 
 Kancte Joannes. 
 
 Uf-tered be tby wcindroiis story. 
 
 J?c-i>rebensiM' tlHnii.'li I be. 
 J/eiiiake mindful nf tby i-'biry, 
 
 f((-mous son (if Z:i<-b;iri-e ; 
 ,Si)/-ace to my siiirit lirintr, 
 y>tt-bounng thy praise to sing. 
 
 E. C. B. 
 
 {Sec Weizius in HcortoJof/io, p. 263.) Le 
 Maire added si (seventeenth centuiy). 
 {Sec AiiETiNiA^" Syllables.) 
 
 Do for. /'// do fur him. Ruin him ; 
 literally, provide for him in a bad sense. 
 '■Taken in and done for," is taken in 
 and provided for ; but, jocosely, it 
 means " cheated and fleeced." 
 
 Do up {To). To set in order; to 
 make tidy. " Dup the door." {See 
 Dup.) 
 
 Doab (Indian). A tract of land be- 
 tween two rivers. (Pronounce du'-ab.) 
 
 Dobbin. A steady old horse, a 
 child's horse. Bohby, a silly old man. 
 Dobbies, house-elves similar to brownies. 
 All these are one and the same word. 
 Tlie dobbies lived in the house, were 
 very tliin and shaggy, very kind to ser- 
 vants and children, and did many a 
 little service when people had their hands 
 full. 
 
 "Sober Dobbin lilts Ills clumsy beel." 
 
 Bloomficld : Farmer's Boy. tWinter, stanza 9.) 
 
 Dobbins {Hiiniphren) . The valet-de- 
 cliambre and factotum of Sir Robert 
 liramble, of Blackbury Hall, in the 
 coimty of Kent. A blunt, i-ough-spoken 
 old retaiuer, full of the milk of human 
 kindness, and most devoted to his master. 
 {(J. Cohnan : The Poor Geiitlcmcoi.) 
 
 Dobby's Walk. The goblin's haunt 
 or beat. Dobby is an archaic word for 
 a goblin or brownie. ('SVy' Washington 
 Irviug's Bracebridyc 11 all, ii. 183-6.) 
 Dobby also means an imbecile old man. 
 
 "The Dobby's walk was within the inhabited 
 (iiniains of the Hall."— Sir W. Scott: Peveril of 
 llie I'cak, chap. x. 
 
 Doce'tes (3 syl.). An early heretical 
 sect, which maintained that Jesus Christ 
 was only God, and that His ^asible form 
 was merely a phantom ; that the cruci- 
 fixion and resurrection were illusions. 
 (The word is Greek, and means phan- 
 toiiiists.) 
 
 Dcck-Alfar. The dark Alfs -whose 
 abode is luulerground. They are in 
 appearance blacker than pitch. {Scan- 
 dinavian tn>/iholoffi/.) 
 
 Dock-side Lumper {A). One en- 
 gaged in deUveriug and loading ships' 
 cargoes. 
 
 "Judging of my histiionic powers by my nut- 
 ward man, he probably thought me more tit for a 
 (lock-side lumper than an actor."— C 'niomson: 
 AuUtliijrjraphii, p. I'Jl. 
 
 Dock Warrant {A). An order au- 
 thorising the removal of goods ware- 
 housed in the dock. 
 
 Doctor. A seventh sou used to be so 
 dubbed from the notion of his beiug 
 intuitively skilled in the ctire of agues, 
 the king's evil, and other diseases. 
 
 " Plusieurs croyent iiu"en France lea septicnnes 
 gar'jons, nez de legitimes mariages (sans iiue la 
 suitle des sept ait, este interrompue par la luiis- 
 saiice (Taucune tille) peuvcnt aussi guerir des 
 tlevres tierces, des llevres quartes, et mesme des 
 ocrouelles, apres avoir jeune trois ou uciil jours 
 avantiiuede toucher les malades."— ./ert» Finptiste 
 Thiers : TraiU desSuptrstitious, etc., i. p. 43(i. 
 
 Doctor {The). The cook on board 
 shij), who "doctors" the food. Any 
 adulterated or doctored beverage ; hence 
 the mixtirre of milk, water, nutmeg, and 
 a little rum, is called Doctor ; the two 
 fonner ingredients being "doctored" 
 by the two latter. 
 
 Doctor {The). Brown sherry, so 
 called because it is concocted from a 
 harsh, thin wine, by the addition of old 
 boiled mosto stock. Mosto is made by 
 heating uufei'mented juice in earthen 
 vessels, till it becomes as thick and 
 sweet as treacle. This syrup beiug 
 added to fresh " must " ferments, and 
 the luscious produce is used for doctor- 
 iug very inferior qualities of wine. 
 {Shaw : On Wine.) 
 
 To doctor the tvinc. To drug it, or 
 strengthen it with brandy. The fermen- 
 tation of cheap wines is increased by fer- 
 mentable sugar. As such wines fail in 
 aroma, connoissetu'S smell at their wine. 
 To doctor wine is to make weak wine 
 stronger, and " sick " 'wine more palat- 
 able. 
 
 Doctored Dice. Loaded dice. 
 
 To doctor the accounts. To falsify 
 them. They are ill (so far as you are 
 concerned) and you falsify them to make 
 them look better. The allusion is to 
 drugging wine, beer, etc., and to adulte- 
 ration generally. 
 
 Dr. Diafoirus ia Moliere's Mnlade 
 Imatjinaire. A man of fossilised ideas, 
 who, like the monk, refused to chauge 
 his time - honoured ntumpsimus (q.r.), 
 for the new-fangled sumpslmus. Dr. 
 Diafou-us used to say, what was good 
 enough for his forefathers was good 
 enough for their posterity, aud he had 
 no patience with the modern fads about
 
 Dr. Dove 
 
 362 
 
 Doctour 
 
 the rotundity of the Ccarth, its motion 
 round the sun, the circulation of the 
 blood, and all such stuff. 
 
 Dr. Dove. The hero of Southey's 
 Doctor, 
 
 Dr. Fell. I do not like thee, Dr. Fell. 
 A correspondent of Notes and (inerles 
 says the author was Tom Brown, who 
 wrote D'lnloejues of the Dead, and the 
 person referred to was Dr. Fell, Dean of 
 Christchurch (1625-1686), who expelled 
 him, but said he would remit the sen- 
 tence if he translated the thirty-third 
 Epigram of Martial : 
 
 " Ndii amo te, Zaliidi, iipc ikissudi dicere quare; 
 Hue tiiutiiiii iidssiiiu diiere, null amo te." 
 " I d(i not like Hire, llr. Fell, 
 Tlio rrasuii \\iiv 1 caiiniit tell; 
 But this 1 liiiiiw, 1 know full well, 
 1 do not like tlicf, Ur. Fell." T. liroicn. 
 
 Doctor Mirabilis. Roger Bacon 
 (1214-1292). 
 
 Doctor My-Book. Dr. John Aber- 
 ne'thy, so called because he used to say 
 to his patients, " Read nii/ book " — on 
 SKrylcal Observations. (1765-1830.) 
 
 Dr. Rez'io or Pedro Jiezio of Agae'ro. 
 The doctor of Barata'ria, who forbade 
 Sancho Panza to taste any of the meats 
 set before him. Roasted partridge was 
 forbidden by Hippoc'rates ; podri'da was 
 the most pernicious food in the world ; 
 rabbits are a sharp-haired diet ; veal is 
 prejudicial to health ; but the governor 
 might eat a "few wafers, and a thin 
 slice or two of quince." {Don Quixote, 
 part ii. book iii. chaii. 10.) 
 
 Dr. Sangra'do, of Vairadolid', a tall, 
 meagre, pale man, of very solemn 
 appearance, who weighed every word he 
 uttered, and gave an emphasis to his 
 sage dicta. "His reasoning was geo- 
 metrical, and his opinions angular." 
 He said to the licentiate Sedillo, who 
 was sick, ' ' If you had drunk nothing 
 else but pure water all your life, and 
 eaten only such simple food as boiled 
 apples, you would not now be tormented 
 with gout." He then took from him six 
 porringers of blood to begin with ; in 
 three hours he rejieated the operation ; 
 and again the next day, saying : " It is 
 a gross error to suppose that blood is 
 necessary for life." With this depletion, 
 the patient was to drink two or three 
 pints of hot water every two hours. 
 The result of this treatment was death 
 "from obstinacy." {Gil Bias, chap, ii.) 
 
 Doctor Slop. An enthusiast, who 
 thinks the world hinges on getting Uncle 
 
 Toby to understand the action of a new 
 medical instrument. {Sterne : Tristram 
 Shandij.) 
 
 A nickname given by William Hone 
 to Sir John Stoddart, editor of the New 
 Times. (1773-1850.) 
 
 Doctor Squintum. George White - 
 field, so called by Foote in his fai"ce 
 entitled The Minor. (1711-1770.) 
 
 Theodore Hook applied the same so- 
 briquet to the Rev. Edward Irving, who 
 had an obliquity of the eyes. (1792- 
 1834.) 
 
 Doctor Syntax. A simple-minded, 
 pious henjiecked clergymtiu, very simjile- 
 niiuded, but of excellent ttvste and 
 scholarship, who left home in search of 
 the picturesque. His adventures are 
 told in eight -syllable verse in 'The Tour 
 of JJr. tSi/ntax, by William Combe. {See 
 Duke Combe.) 
 
 Dr. Si/nta.v^s horse. Grizzle, all skiu 
 and bone. {See Hoese.) 
 
 Doctors. False dice, which are 
 doctored, or made to turn up winning 
 numbers. 
 
 "'Tlie whole antecliamber is full, my loid— 
 kniKlils and squires, doctors and dicers.' 
 
 '"Tlie dioers with theirdoctorsin their pockets, 
 I iiresume.' "Scvtt : Pevcril of the Peak, chap, 
 xxviii. 
 
 " Or chaired at White's, amidst the doctors sit." 
 DuvcUtd, book i. 203. 
 
 Doctors. The three best doctors are 
 Dr. Quiet, Dr. Diet, and Dr. Merrijman. 
 
 "Si tilii deflciant medici, medici tibi fiant 
 H;ec tria : Mens-hvta, llequies, Moderata-Dia'ta." 
 
 Doctors' Commons. A locality 
 near St. Paul's, wliere the ecclesiastical 
 courts -were formerly held, and wills 
 preserved. To "common" means to 
 dine together ; a tei-m still used at our 
 universities. Doctors' Commons was so 
 called because the doctors of civil law 
 had to dine together fom- days in each 
 term. This was called eating their terms. 
 
 Doctors Disagree. Who shall de- 
 cide when doctors disagree. Wheu 
 authorities differ, the question sub judice 
 must be left undecided. {Fo2)e : Moral 
 Essays, epistle iii. line 1.) 
 
 Doctor's Stuff. Medicine ; stuff sent 
 from the doctor. 
 Doctored Wine. {See To Doctor.) 
 
 Doctour of Phisikes Tale, in 
 
 Chaucer, is the Roman story of Virgi- 
 nius, given by Livy. There is a version 
 of this tale in the Roman, de la Hose, vol. 
 ii. p. 74 ; and another, by Gower, in his 
 Coiifessio Amantis, book vii.
 
 Doctrinists 
 
 363 
 
 Boeg 
 
 Doctrinists or Doctrinaires. A poli- 
 tical party which has existed in France 
 since 1815. They maintain that true 
 liberty is compatible with a monarchical 
 Government ; and are so called because 
 they advocate what is only a doctrine or 
 dream. M. Guizot was one of this party. 
 
 Dodge (1 syl.). An artful device to 
 evade, deceive, or bilk some one. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, (Icof/ian, to conceal or colour.) 
 
 The religious dodge. Seeking alms by 
 trading on religion. 
 
 Tlie tidg dodge. To dress up a family 
 clean and tidy so as to excite sympathy, 
 and make passers-by suppose you have 
 by misfortune fallen from a respectable 
 state in society. 
 
 Dodge About {To), in school phrase, 
 is to skip about and not go straight on 
 through a lesson. A boy learns a verb, 
 and the master does not hear him con- 
 iugate it straight thi-ough, but dodges 
 liim about. Also in class not to call 
 each in order, but to pick a boy here and 
 there. 
 
 Dodger. A " knowing fellow." One 
 who knows all the tricks and ways of 
 London life, and profits by such know- 
 ledge. 
 
 Dodger. The Artful Dodger. John 
 Dawkius, a young thief, up to every 
 artifice, and a perfect adept in villainy. 
 A sobriquet given by Dickens to such a 
 rascal, in his Oliver Twist, chap, vui, 
 
 Dodington, whom Thomson invokes 
 in his t'^iiiiiii/cr, was George Bubb Dod- 
 ington, Lord Melcomb-Ilegis, a British 
 statesman, who associated much with 
 the wits of the time. Churchill and Pope 
 ridiculed him, while Hogarth introduced 
 him. in his wig into his picture called 
 the Orders of Periwigs. 
 
 Dod'ipoll. As wise as Dr. DodipoU 
 (or) Doddipole — i.e. not wise at all ; a 
 dunce. {Doddy in dodi-poll and doddy- 
 pate is probably a variant of tottg, small, 
 puny. Doddy-poll, one of pimy in- 
 tellect.) 
 
 Dodman or Doddiman. A snail. A 
 word still common in Norfolk ; but 
 Fairfax, in his Bulk and Selredge (1674), 
 speaks of " a snayl or dodman." 
 
 " Doddiman, doddiman, put out your hoi-n, 
 Here comes a thief to steal your eoi-n." 
 
 Norfolk rhyme. 
 
 Dodo'na. A famous oracle in Epi'ros, 
 and the most ancient of Greece. It was 
 detlicated to Zeus (Jupiter), and situate 
 in the village of Dod5na. 
 
 V The tale is, that Jupiter presented 
 
 his daughter Thebe with two black 
 pigeons which had the gift of human 
 speech. Lemprifere tells us that the 
 Greek word peleiai (pigeons) means, in 
 the dialect of the Eplrots, old women; so 
 that the two black doves with human 
 voice were two black or African women. 
 One went to Libya, in Africa, and 
 founded the oracle of Jupiter Ammon ; 
 the other went to Epirus and founded 
 the oracle of Dodona. We are also told 
 that plates of brass were suspended on 
 the oak trees of Dodona, which being 
 struck by thongs when the wind blew, 
 gave various sounds from which the re- 
 sponses were concocted. It appears tliat 
 this suggested to the Greeks the phrase 
 Kalkos Dodones (brass of Dodona), mean- 
 ing a babbler, or one who talks an infi- 
 nite deal of nothing. 
 
 Dods {Meg). The old landlady in 
 Scott's novel called St. Ronan^s Well. 
 An excellent character, made up of con- 
 sistent inconsistencies ; a mosaic of 
 oddities, all fitting together, and form- 
 ing an admirable whole. She was so 
 good a housewife that a cookery book of 
 great repute bears her name. 
 
 Dodson and Fogg. The lawyers 
 employed by the plaintift" in the famous 
 case of " Bardell r. Pickwick," in the 
 Fiekwiek Papers, by Charles Dickens. 
 
 Doe (1 syl.). John Doe and Richard 
 Roe. Any plauitiff and defendant in an 
 action of ejectment. They were sham 
 names used at one time to save certain 
 " niceties of law ; " but the clumsy 
 device was abolished in 1852. Any 
 mere imaginary persons, or men of 
 straw. John Doe, Richard Roe, John o' 
 Noakes, and Tom Styles are the four 
 sons of "Mrs. Harris," all bound ap- 
 prentices to the legal profession. 
 
 Doeg (2 syl.), in the satire of Absalom 
 and Achitophel, by Dryden and Tate, is 
 meant for Elka'nah Settle, a poet who 
 wrote satires upon Dryden, but was no 
 match for his great rival. Doeg was 
 Saul's herdsman, who had charge of his 
 mules and asses. He told Saul that the 
 priests of Nob had provided David with 
 food ; whereupon Saul sent him to put 
 them to death, and eighty- five were 
 ruthlessly massacred. (1 Sam. xxi. 7 ; 
 xxii. 18.) 
 
 " Doeg, though without knowing how or why, 
 Made still a blundering kind of melody .... 
 Let him rail on ; let liis invective Muse 
 Have four-and-t weuty letters to aliuse. 
 Which if he jumldi's to one line of sense. 
 Indict him of a capital offence." 
 
 Absalum and Achitophel, part ii.
 
 Doff 
 
 364 
 
 Dog 
 
 Doff is do-off, as "Doff your hat." 
 So l>oii is do-on, as " Dou your clothes." 
 1)11}) is do-up, as " Dup the door " {q.v.). 
 
 ■' Doff I liy harness, yi)uth . . . 
 Ami teiiiiit iKit yet the brushes of the war." 
 .s/iii/.e.-jjeacc; Troilus and Cressida, v. 3. 
 
 Dog. This long article is subdivided 
 into eleven parts : 
 
 1 Dogs of note. 
 
 2. Dogs of noted persons. 
 
 3. Dogs models of their species. 
 
 4. Diii-'^i ill I'lintses. 
 
 5. Dn^-'s used iiMiiiphorically, etc. 
 
 6. Dm'-'s III SrniiLiire language. 
 
 7. Dn-s 111 ;ill. 
 
 8. ))(iL'-iii iiroMiiis anil failles 
 
 !J. DuL'S 111 Mll'l-rslitinll.S. 
 
 111. I)ml-, III.' iiiali- . if animals. 
 11. Do^rs inferior iil.-iuts. 
 
 (1) Dogs of Nolc: 
 
 Harry. The famous mastiff of Great 
 St. Bernard's, in the early part of the 
 present century instrumental in saving 
 forty human beings. His most memor- 
 able acliievemeut was rescidug a little 
 boy whose mother had been destro3-ed 
 by an avalanche. The dog carried the 
 boy on his back to the hospice. The 
 stiiffed skin of this noble animal is kcj^t 
 in the museum of Berne. 
 
 Gdvrt (q.r.). 
 
 Tuiito)). The dog wliich was enclosed 
 in an acorn. 
 
 Trftji — i.e. Trag =z runner, or else from 
 the Spanish truer, to fetch. 
 
 (2) Dogs of }toicd 2)('rso)>s : 
 ylcttcoii's jfifti/ dogs. Alee {strength), 
 
 Amaryn'thos {from Aiiuirg'thia, in Ei(- 
 bwa), As'bolos {soot -colour), Ban'os, 
 Bor'eas, Cau'ache {ringwood), Chedise'- 
 tros, Cisse'ta, Co'ran {cropped, crop-eared), 
 Cyllo {halt), Cyllop'otes {zig-zag rioiiier), 
 CyiVrios {the Cyprian), Draco {the dra- 
 gon), Drom'as {the courser), Dro'mios 
 {seize -''em), Ech'nobas, Eu'dromos {good- 
 ranner), Har'^mle {roracioas), Harpie'a 
 {tear-h-ni), Ichnob'ate {traek-foUower), 
 La'bros {furious), Lacaena {lioness), 
 Lach'ne {glossg-eoated), Lacon {Spartan), 
 Ladon {from Ladon, in Area'diei), Las- 
 laps {Iiarrieaiu'), Lampos {shining -one), 
 Leu'cos {grey), Lycis'ca, Lyuce'a, Ma- 
 ch'imos {boxer), Melampe {black), Melan- 
 che'te {blaek-eoat), Melan'ea {black), 
 Menele'a, Molossos {from 3Iolossos), 
 Na'pa {begotten by a icolf), Xebroijh'ouos 
 {fawn-killer), Oc'ydroma {su-ift-runner), 
 Or'esit'rophos {mountain-bred), Ori'basos 
 {mountain - ranger), Pachy'tos {thick- 
 skinned), Pam'phagos {ravenous), Poe'- 
 menis (/rw^/rr), Pter'elas {winged), Stricta 
 {"pof), Therid'amas {beast-tamer or sub- 
 ducr), The'ron {savage -fc(ced), Thoos 
 {swift), U'ranis {heavenly -one). 
 V Several modem names of dogs are 
 
 of Spanish origin, as Ponto (pointer), 
 Tray (fetch), etc. 
 
 King Arthur^s favourite Itound. Ca- 
 vall. 
 
 Aubry^s dog. Aubry of Montdidier 
 was murdered, in 1371, in the forest of 
 Bondy. His dog. Dragon, showed a 
 most iniusual hatred to a man named 
 Richard of Macaire, always snarling and 
 ready to fly at his throat whenever he 
 appeared. Susiiicion was excited, and 
 Kichard of Macaire was condemned to a 
 judicial combat with the dog. He was 
 killed, and in his dykig moments con- 
 fessed the crime. 
 
 Belgrade, the camp-sutler's dog: 
 Clumsy. 
 
 Browning's (Mrs.) little dog Flush, on 
 whicli site wrote a iioem. 
 
 Lord Byron^s favourite dog. Boat- 
 swain, bmied in the garden of Newstead 
 AbbeJ^ 
 
 Catherine de Medici's favourite lap- 
 dog was named Phoebe. 
 
 CathullLn's hound was named Luatli 
 {ei.r.). 
 
 Douglas's hound was named Luffra or 
 Lufra {ft -v.). 
 
 Elizabeth of Bohemia's dog was named 
 Apollon. 
 
 Fingal's dog was named Bran. 
 " ' Mar e Bran, is o a lirat hair ' ( 1 f it lie not Uran, 
 it is Bran's lirother) was the imiverliial reply of 
 Maccomliich."— HVii'i'c/c;/, chap. xlv. 
 
 Frederick of Wales had a dog given 
 liim by Alexander Pope, and on the 
 collar were these woi'ds — 
 
 •' I am his Highness' dng at Kow ; 
 Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you ? " 
 
 Ge'ryon''s dogs. Gargittios and Orthos. 
 The latter was the brother of Cer'beros, 
 but had one head less. Hercules killed 
 both these monsters. 
 
 lear'ios's dog. MiEra {the glistcner). 
 Icarios was slain by some drunken peas- 
 ants, who buried the body under a tree. 
 His daughter Erig'one, searching for her 
 father, was directed to the spot bj^ the 
 howling of Mtera, and when she dis- 
 covered the body she hung herself for 
 grief. Icarios became the constellation 
 Bootes, Erig'one the constellation Virgo, 
 and Msera the star Fro'cyon, which rises 
 in July, a little before the Dog-star. 
 (Greek, pro-knon.) 
 
 Kenneth's {Sir) famous hound was 
 called Eoswal. {Sir IF. Scott: The 
 Talisman.) 
 
 Lamb's {Charles) dog was named 
 Dash. 
 
 Lander's {Savage) dog was named 
 Giallo. 
 
 Landseer's greyhound was named 
 Brutus. " The Invader of the Larder."
 
 Bog 
 
 30,- 
 
 Dog 
 
 Llewellyn's gi-eyhound was named 
 Gelert' (ly.r.). 
 
 Luillam^s dog. {Src Lazy.) 
 
 Lurgan's (Lord) greyhound was named 
 Master M'Grath, from an oqthau boy 
 Vvho reared it. It won three Waterloo 
 Cuijs, and was j^rosented at Court liy the 
 express desire of Queen Victoria, the 
 very year it died (18(J6-1871). 
 
 Xcril/v's dog. It ran away whenever 
 it was called. In the corresponding 
 Italian proverb the dog is called that of 
 the Vicar Arlotto. (<SVe Chien.) 
 
 Mantlic dog. {See Mautiie.) 
 
 )Sir Isaac ^'civton^s, Diamond (q.v.). 
 
 Dog of Montargis. The same as 
 Aubry's dog. A picture of the combat 
 was for many years j)rcserved in the 
 castle of MontargLs. {See Aubry's Dog.) 
 
 Ori'on's dogs were Arctoph'onos {bcar- 
 Ji/ //('■)■), and Ptooph'agos (Ptoon-glutton.) 
 (I'toon is in Bceotia.) 
 
 Pope's dog was named Bounce. 
 
 Punch's dog is Toby. 
 
 Eichard II. 's greyhound was named 
 Mathe. It deserted the king and at- 
 tached itself to Bolingbroke. 
 
 Roderick the Goth's dog was named 
 Therou. 
 
 Rupert's {Prinee) dog, killed at Mar- 
 stou Moor, was named Boy. 
 
 Scott's (iS'ir Walter) dogs: his favourite 
 deerhound was named Maida ; his jet- 
 black greyhound was called Hamlet. 
 He also had two Dandy Dinmont 
 terriers. 
 
 Seven Sleepers {Dog of the). This 
 famous dog, admitted by Mahomet to 
 heaven, was named Katmir. The seven 
 noble yoviths that fell asleep for 309 
 years had a dog, which accompanied 
 them to the cavern in which they were 
 walled up. It remained standing for 
 the whole time, and neither moved from 
 the S230t, ate, drank, nor slept. {Sale's 
 Kora)i, xviii., notes.) 
 
 Tristran's dog was named Leon or 
 Lion. 
 
 Ulysses' dog, Argos, recognised him 
 after his return from Troy, and died of 
 
 joy- 
 
 (3) Dogs, models of their species : 
 Argoss (a Russian terrier) ; Baroness 
 ^Cardiff (a Newfoundland) ; Black 
 Prince (a mastiff) ; Bow-icoiv (a schip- 
 perke) ; C'tir^cy (a bull-terrier) ; Countess 
 of jrarwiek (a great Dane) ; Dan 0'' Con- 
 nor (an Irish water-spaniel) ; Dude (a 
 pug) ; Fascination (a black cocker - 
 .spaniel) ; Fritz (a French poodle) ; Judith 
 (a bloodhound) ; Kilcrce (a Scotch ter- 
 rier) ; King Lud (a bulldog) ; King of 
 the Heather (adandie-dinmont) ; Mikado 
 
 (a Japanese spaniel) ; Olga (a deerhound); 
 Romeo (a King Charles simniel) ; Pogal 
 Krueger (a beagle) ; Scottish Leader (a 
 smooth-coated St. Bernard) ; Sensation 
 (a pointer) ; Sir Bed ire re (a rough - 
 coated St. Bernard) ; Spinavag (a grey- 
 hound) ; Toledo Blade (an English set- 
 ter) ; IVoodinanstcrne Trefoil (a collie). 
 
 (4) Doa ill phrases : 
 
 A dog in a doublet. A bold, resolute 
 fellow. In Germany and Flanders the 
 boldest dogs were employed for hunting 
 the wild boar, and these dogs were 
 dressed in a kind of buff doublet but- 
 toned to their bodies. Rubens and 
 Sneyders have represented several in 
 their jjictures. A false friend is called a 
 dog in one's doublet. 
 
 Beturen dog and tcolf. The hour of 
 dusk. " Fntre chien ct loup.'''' 
 
 St. Roch and his dog. Two insepar- 
 ables. "Toby and his dog." One is 
 never seen without the other. 
 
 Tlieg lead a cat and dog life. Alwaj'.s 
 quarrelling. 
 
 'To lead the life of a dog. To live a 
 wretched life, or a life of debaucliery. 
 
 (•')) Dog, «<sff^ metaphoriccdlg or sijmbo- 
 licullg : 
 
 The (log. DiogSnes, the Cynic (b.c. 
 412-323). When Alexander went to see 
 him, the young King of Macedonia 
 introduced himself with these words : 
 '' I am Alexander, surnamedthe Great," 
 to which the iihilosopher replied : "And 
 I am Diogenes, surnamed the Dog." 
 The Athenians raised to his memory a 
 pillar of Parian marble, surniounted by 
 a dog. {See Cynic.) 
 
 Dog of God. So the Laplanders call 
 the bear. The Norwegians say it ' ' has 
 the strength of ten men and the wit of 
 twelve." They never presume to sjieak 
 of it by its proper appellation, gaoaztija, 
 lest it should revenge the insult on 
 their flocks and herds, but they call it 
 Moddaaigja (the old man with a fur 
 cloak). 
 
 A dead clog. Something utterly worth- 
 less. A phrase used two or three times 
 in the Bible. {Sec (6).) 
 
 A dirtg dog. In the East the dog is 
 still held in abhorrence, as the scavenger 
 of the streets. " Him that dieth in the 
 city shall the dogs eat" (1 Kings xiv. 
 11). The French say, Crotte coniuie un 
 barbet (muddy or dirty as a poodle), 
 whose hair, being very long, becomes 
 filthy with mud and dirt. Generally 
 speaking, "a dirty dog" is one morally 
 filthy, and is applied to those who talk 
 and "act nastily. Mere skin dirt is quite
 
 Bog 
 
 366 
 
 Dog 
 
 another matter, and those who are so 
 defiled we call dirty jj iff s, 
 
 A sioii/ (/off. A human being of a 
 surly temjier, like a surly dog. 
 
 Is thy serraiit a doff, that he should do 
 this thi))ff ? (2 Kings viii. 12, 13). 
 Hazael means, "Am I such a brute as to 
 set on fire the strongholds of Israel, slay 
 the young men with the sword, and 
 dash their children to the ground, as 
 thou, Elijah, sayest I shall do when I 
 am king? " 
 
 Sydney Smith being asked if it was 
 true that he was about to sit to Landseer, 
 the animal painter, for his porti-ait, 
 replied, in the words of Hazael, "What! 
 is thy servant a dog, that he should do 
 this thing?" 
 
 The Thracian dog. Zoilus. 
 
 " Like curs, our critics haunt the poet's feast, 
 And feed on scraps refused liy every Kuest ; 
 From the old Tbraciau dog they learned the 
 , way 
 
 To snarl in want, and grumble o'er their prey." 
 I'itt : To Mr. .Speiice. 
 
 Doffs of war. The horrors of war, 
 especially famine, sword, and fire. 
 
 " And CiBsar's spirit, ranging for revencre. 
 With Ate by bis siile, come hot from hell, 
 Shall in these confines, with a monarch's voice, 
 Cry ' Havoc' and let slip the dogs of war." 
 
 Shakespeare : Jitlins CcBsar, iii. 1. 
 
 (G) Dog(/« Scriptia-elaiiffifaffc), -whether 
 dead or living, is a most degrading ex- 
 pression : " After whom is the King of 
 Israel come out? After a dead dog?" 
 (1 Sam. xxiv. 14.) " Beware of dogs" 
 (Phil. iii. 2), i.e. sordid, noisy professors. 
 Again, " Without are dogs" (Rev. xxii. 
 1.5), i.e. false teachers and sinners, who 
 sin andj return to their sins (2 Peter 
 ii. 21). 
 
 There is no expression in the Bible 
 of the fidelity, love, and watchful care 
 of the dog, so highly honoured by our- 
 selves. 
 
 (7) Dog in art. 
 
 JJoff, in mediaeval art, symbolises 
 fidelity. 
 
 A dog is represented as lying at the 
 feet of St. Bernard, St. Benignus, and 
 St. Wendelin ; as licking the wounds of 
 St. Roch ; as carrying a lighted torch in 
 representations of St. Dominic. 
 
 Doffs i)t monunicnts. Thedoffh placed 
 at the feet of women in monuments to 
 symbolise aflfection and fidelity, as a 
 Iwn is placed at the feet of men to 
 signify courage and magnanimity. Many 
 of the Crusaders are rei^resented with 
 their feet on a dog, to show that they 
 followed the standard of the Lord as 
 faithfully as a dog follows the footsteps 
 of his master. 
 
 (8) Dog in proverbs, fables, and pro- 
 verbial phrases : 
 
 Barkinff dogs seldom bite. {Sec Bark- 
 ing.) 
 
 Doff donH eat dog. Ecclesia ecclesiam 
 non decimat ; government letters are 
 not taxed ; church lands pay no tithes 
 to the church. 
 
 A blaek doff has iralked over him. Said 
 of a sullen person. Horace tells us 
 that the sight of a black dog with its 
 pups was an unlucky omen. [See Black 
 Dog.) 
 
 A dog in the manger. A chiudish 
 fellow, who will not use what is wanted 
 by another, nor yet let the other have it 
 to use. The allusion is to the well-known 
 fable of a dog that fixed his place in a 
 manger, and would not allow an ox to 
 come near the hay. 
 
 Every dog has his day. In Latin, 
 " Jlodie mihi, eras tibi." " JVioie niihi, 
 nunc tibi, beniffna" [fortuna]. In Ger- 
 man, " Hentc mir, morffen dir." You 
 may crow over me to-day, but my turn 
 will come by-and-by. The Latin jDro- 
 verb, ^^ Jlodie mihi,'''' etc., means, "I 
 died to-day, your turn will come in 
 time." The other Latin proverb means, 
 fortune visits every man once. She 
 favours me now, but she will favour 
 you in your turn. 
 
 " Thus every dog at last will have his day- 
 He wlio this morniug smiled, at night may 
 
 sorrow ; 
 The grub to-day's a butterfly to-morrow." 
 
 Peter Pindar : Odes of Condolence. 
 
 Give a doff a bad name and hang him. 
 If you want to do anyone a wrong, 
 throw dirt on him or rail against him. 
 
 Gone to the dogs. Gone to utter ruin ; 
 impoverished. 
 
 lie has not a dog to liek a dish. He 
 has quite cleared out. He has taken 
 away everything. 
 
 lie who has a mind to beat his dog will 
 easily find a stick. In Latin, '''Qui vuH 
 eccdcre canem facile inrenit fustcm.'''' If 
 you want to abuse a person, you will 
 easily find something to blame. Dean 
 Swift says, " If you want to throw a 
 stone, every lane will furnish one." 
 
 " To him who wills, ways will not be 
 wanting." " Where there's a will there's 
 a way. ' ' 
 
 Hungry dogs tvill eat dirty pudding. 
 Those really hungry are not particular 
 about what they eat, and are by no 
 means dainty. When Darius in his 
 flight from Greece drank from a ditch 
 defiled with dead carcases, he declared 
 he had never drunk so pleasantly before. 
 
 It teas the story of the dog and the 
 shadow— i.e. of one who throws good
 
 Dog 
 
 money after bad ; of one who gives 
 ccrta pro incertis. The allusion is to 
 the well-known fable. 
 
 " IlUulit siierii's, ac den'tilnis aera niordit." 
 (Down sank tbe meat in the stream for the 
 fishes to hoard it.) 
 
 Love me love my dorj. " Qui m^aimc 
 a'lme mon chioi," or '" Qtii aimc Bertrand 
 ainie son chieii." 
 
 Old dogs will not learn new tricls. 
 People in old tige do not readily conf onn 
 to new waj's. 
 
 To eall off the doc/s. To break up 
 a disagreeable conversation. In the 
 chase, if the dogs are on the wi-ong 
 track, the huntsman calls them off. 
 (French, ronipre les ehiens.) 
 
 Throiv it to the dogs. Throw it away, 
 it is useless and worthless. 
 
 What! keep a dog and harJc myself! 
 Must I keep servants and myself do their 
 work? 
 
 YoH are like Xerille''s dog, irhieh runs 
 aivay when it is called. (See Chien.) 
 
 (9) Dog, Dogs, in iSuperstitions : 
 Bogs howl at death. A wide-spread 
 
 superstition. 
 
 " In the rabbinical book it saith 
 The dogs howl when, with icy breath, 
 Great Sanimael, the angel of death, 
 Takes thro' the town his flight." 
 
 Lonrifellow : Golde>i Leyend, iii. 
 
 The hair of the dog that bit you. When 
 a man has had a debauch, he is advised 
 to take next morning " a hair of the 
 same dog," in allusion to an ancient 
 notion that the bunat hair of a dog is an 
 antidote to its bite. 
 
 (10) Dog, to express the male of animals, 
 as dog-ape, dog-fox, dog- otter. 
 
 (11) Dog, applied to inferior plants : 
 dog-brier, dog-beiTj', dog-cabbage, dog- 
 daisy, dog-fennel, dog-leek, dog-lichen, 
 dog-mercury, dog-parsley, dog-violets 
 (which have no perfume), dog- wheat. 
 {See below, Dog-geass, Dog-eose. 
 
 Dog and Duck. A public-house sign, 
 to announce that ducks were hunted by 
 dogs within. The sport was to see the 
 duck dive, and the dog after it. At 
 Lambeth there was a famous pleasure- 
 resort so called, on the spot where Beth- 
 lehem Hospital now stands. 
 
 Dcg-cheap. A perversion of the 
 old Unglish god-chepe (a good bargain) . 
 French, bon marche (good-cheap or bar- 
 gain). 
 
 "The sack .... would have bought me lights 
 as gond-cheap at the dearest chandler's in Euroi)e. " 
 ~Shakespeare: 1 Henry IV., iii. 3. 
 
 Dog-days. Days of great heat. The 
 Homans called the six or eight hottest 
 weeks of the summer canicula'res dies. 
 
 367 Dog-'whipper 
 
 According to their theoiy, the dog- star or 
 Sirius, rising -with the sun, added to its 
 heat, and the dog-days bore the com- 
 bined heat of the dog- star and the sun. 
 (July 3rd to August 11th.) 
 
 Dog-fall (in -wrestling), when both 
 wrestlers fall together. 
 
 Dog-grass (trifieuin repens). Grass 
 eaten by dogs when they have lost their 
 appetite ; it acts as an emetic and pur- 
 gative. 
 
 Dog -head (in machinerj-). That 
 which bites or holds the gun-flint. 
 
 Dog-headed Tribes of India. Men- 
 tioned iu tlie Italian romance of Gueri'uo 
 
 21(!<c!ii' no. 
 
 Dog-Latin. Pretended or mongi-el 
 Latin. An excellent example is Stevens' 
 definition of a kitchen : 
 
 As the law classically pxuresses it, a kitchen is 
 
 " camera necessaria in-n >i- i- I.,irr ; cum same- 
 
 paunis, stewpannis, - ■ --ero, coalhol,., 
 
 stovis,smoak-jackn ; i' - : i , iim, lioJlamliiiM, 
 
 fr.vanduni, et i)luni-iip!i|:iij-;i>i .Milium. . . "— V 
 Lair Jicport (Daniel v. Dishcluut t. 
 
 Dog-leeoli (A). A dog - doctor. 
 Formerly applied to a medical practi- 
 tioner ; it expresses great coutemijt. 
 
 Dog-rose. Botanical name, Cynor- 
 rhodos — I.e. Greek kuiio-rodon, dog-rose ; 
 so called because it was suj^posed to cure 
 the bite of a mad dog {liosa Canina, 
 wild brier) . 
 
 " A morsu vero [i.e. of a mad dog] uuicum re- 
 medium oraculo uuodani nuper refnTtum. radi.x 
 sylvestris rosa;, quae cynorrhodos aiipeUatur."— 
 ITiiuj : Natural History, viii. 63 ; x.w. H. 
 
 Dog-sick. Sick as a dog. We also 
 say "Sick as a cat." The Bible speaks 
 of dogs " retui-ning to their vomit 
 again" (Prov. xxvi. 11 ; 2 Pet. ii. 2'2). 
 
 Dog-sleep (A). A pretended sleep. 
 Dogs seem to sleep with " one eye open." 
 
 Dog-star. The brightest star in the 
 fii-mament. (.S«? Dog-dats.) 
 
 Dog-vane (A). A cockade. 
 
 " Dog-vane is a term familiarly applied to a 
 cockade."— .S'mj/Hf : .'■bailors' Word-hnnk-. 
 
 Dog-'watch. A corruption of dodge- 
 watch : two short watches, one from four 
 to six, and tlie other from six to eight iu 
 the evening, introduced to dodge the 
 routine, or prevent the same men alwa3's 
 keei^ing watch at the same time. (See 
 Watch.) 
 
 Dog-whipper (A). A beadle who 
 whips all dogs from the precincts of a 
 church. At one time there was a church 
 officer so called. Even so recently as 
 1856 Mr. John Pickard was appointed
 
 Dog-whipping 
 
 3G8 
 
 Dogmatic Facts 
 
 " dog-whipper " in Exeter Cathedral, 
 " in the room of Mr. Charles Reynolds, 
 deceased." {Exeter Gazette.) 
 
 Dog-whipping Day. October 18th 
 (St. Luke's Day). It is said that a dog 
 once swallowed the consecrated wafer 
 in York IMinster on this day. 
 
 Dogs (a military term). The 17th 
 Lancers or Duke of Cambridge's Own 
 Lancers. The crest of this famous 
 cavahy regiment is a Death's Head and 
 Cross-bones, OR GLORY, whence the 
 acrostic Death Or Glory (D.O.Cx.). 
 
 The Spartan injunction, when tlieytiiui!,' solilior 
 \v;is presentefl with his shield, was, " With tliis, 
 III- On this," which meant the same thini,'. 
 
 Dogs, in Stock-Exchange phraseology, 
 means Newfoundland Telegraph shares 
 ^that is, Newfoundland dogs. {^ee 
 Stock-Exchange Slang.) 
 
 Dogs. Itilc of Doffs. WTien Green- 
 wich was a place of royal residence, the 
 kennel for the monarch's hounds was on 
 the opposite side of the river, hence 
 called the " Isle of Dogs." 
 
 Dogs (Greei/). Extinct like the Dodo. 
 Rrederode said to Count Louis, *' I 
 wotdd the whole race of bisliojis and 
 cai'dinals were extinct, like that of 
 green dogs." {Motleij : J>i(tch ItepuhUr, 
 part ii. 5.) 
 
 Dogs'-ears. Tlic corners of leaves 
 crumpled and folded down. 
 
 Boas' -eared. Leaves so crumpled and 
 ttinied up. The eai-s of many dogs turn 
 down and seem quite limp. 
 
 Dogs'-meat. Food unfit for con- 
 sumption by human beings. 
 
 Ikir/s'-meat and cats' -meat. Food cheap 
 and nasty. 
 
 Dog's-nose. Gin and beer. 
 
 •" Ddgs-nnse, which is, I helieve, a mixture of 
 gin and heer.' 
 " " So it is,' said an nUl lady."— P/c/iificfc Papers. 
 
 Dogged. He dor/f/ed me, ?'.c. followed 
 me about like a dog ; shadowed me. 
 
 Dogged {2 syl.). 
 like a dog. 
 
 Sullen, snappish, 
 
 Do'gares'sa (f/=j). The wife of a 
 doge. 
 
 Dogberry. An ignorant, self-satis- 
 fied, overbearing, but good - natured 
 night-constable in Shakesjjeare's Maeh 
 Ado about Nothhif/. 
 
 Doge (1 syl., f/=zj). The chief magis- 
 trate in Venice while it Avas a Republic. 
 The first duke or doge wa3 Anafesto 
 Paoluc'cio, created 697. The chief 
 magistrate of Gen'oa was called a doge 
 
 dovm to 1797, when the Republican 
 form of Government was aboli.slied by 
 the French. (Latin, da.r, a "duke" or 
 '' leader." 
 
 " For six hundred years .... her [Venice's] 
 povernment was an elective monarchy, her .... 
 (Ir)Ke possessing, in early times at le.ast, as much 
 independent authority as any other Kumpean 
 sovereign."— if«^/ri«; Stones of Vetiice, vol. i. chap. 
 i. p. 3. , 
 
 Doge. The ceremony of wedding the 
 Adriatic was instituted in 1 171 by Pope 
 Alexander III., who gave the doge a gold 
 ring from off liis own finger in token of t 
 the victory acliieved by the Venetian 
 fieet at Istria over Frederick Barbarossa, 
 in defence of the Pope's quarrel. When 
 his Holiness gave tlie ring he desired the 
 doge to throw a similar one into the sea 
 every year on Ascension Day, in com- 
 memoration of the event. [}ice Bucen- 
 
 TAUE.) 
 
 JJirtij doq. (Sec finder Doo, No. 5.) 
 This alludes more to the animal called 
 a dog, but implies tlic idea of badi/cs.s. 
 
 Dogget. J>of/i/et\s coat and hndejc. 
 The first prize in the Thames rowing- 
 match, given on tlie 1st of August every 
 year. So called from Thomas Dogget, 
 an actor of Drury Lane, wlio signalised 
 the accession of George I. to the throne 
 by giving a watei-man's coat and badge 
 to the winner of the race. Tlie Fish- 
 mongers' Company add a guinea to the 
 jirize. The race is from the "Swan " 
 at London Bridge to the "Swan" at 
 Chelsea. 
 
 Doggerel. Inferior sort of verse in 
 rhymes. 
 
 Dogma (Greek). A religious doc- 
 trine formally stated. It now means a 
 statement resting on the ipse dixit of 
 the speaker. Dogmatic teaching used to 
 mean tlie teaching of religious doctrines, 
 but now dogmatic means overbearing' 
 and dictatorial. (Greek dofjma, gen. 
 (h(/ni(ttos, a matter of opinion ; verb 
 dokco, to think, whence doyinatizo.) 
 
 Dogmatic Facts. 
 
 (1) Tlie supreme authority of the Pope 
 of Rome over all churches. 
 
 ("2) His right to decide arbitrarily all 
 controversies. 
 
 (3) His right to convoke councils at 
 will. 
 
 (4) His right to revise, repeal, or con- 
 firm decrees. 
 
 (5) His right to issue decrees bearing 
 on discipline, morals and doctrine. 
 
 (6) The Pope is the centre of com- 
 munion, and separation fi'om him is_ 
 excommunication .
 
 Dogmatic School 
 
 3(19 
 
 Dolorous 
 
 (7) He has ultimate authority to ap- 
 point all bishops. 
 
 (8) He has power to depose any eccle- 
 siastic. 
 
 (9) He has power to judge every 
 question of doctrine, and pronounce in- 
 fallibly what the Church shall or shall 
 not accept. 
 
 Dogmatic School of Medicine- 
 FoMuded Ijy Hippocrates, and so called 
 because it set out certain dogmas or 
 theoretical principles which it made the 
 basis of practice. 
 
 Dogmatic Theology is that which 
 treats of the doij'inata (doctrines) of 
 religion. 
 
 Doiley. {Sec Doyley.) 
 
 Doit (1 syl.). Not a doit. The doit 
 was a Scotch silver coin =: one- third of 
 a farthing. In England the doit was a 
 base coin of small value prohibited by 
 3 Henry V. c. 1. 
 
 "AVlieii they will not pivc a doit to relieve a 
 lame lie,t,';,'ar, tliey will lay out ten to see a deail 
 IhiMaw." —Sliukcspeare : The Tempest, ii. 2. 
 
 Dola'bra. A Roman axe. 
 
 Dulahra fossUria. The pickaxe used 
 by miners and excavators. 
 
 JJuIubra poiitiJicdHs. The priest's 
 hatchet for slaughtering animals. 
 
 Dolce far Niente (Italian). De- 
 liglitful idleness. Pliuy has "Ji<ci(/u/iiin 
 tdiiH'/t lii/iil ((f/i-re'^ (Eyi. viii. 9). 
 
 Doldrums (The). The name given 
 to that region of the ocean near tlie equa- 
 tor noted for calms, squalls, and baffling 
 winds, between the n.e. and s.E. trade- 
 winds. 
 •" But from the liluff-liead, wliero I watched to-day, 
 
 1 sjiw her in the doldrums." 
 
 Byvon: T/ie /staiirf, canto ii. stanza il. 
 
 1)1 the doldrnms. In the dumps. 
 
 Dole, lamentation, from the Latin 
 doho, to grieve. 
 
 " lie [the dwarf] found the dead bodies, where- 
 fore he made great dole."— i'. Lanier : Kinij Arthur, 
 book i. chap. xiv. 
 
 Dole, a portion allotted, is the Anglo- 
 Saxon ddl, a iJortion. 
 
 •' Heaven has in store a precious dole." 
 KeUle: Christian Year (4tU .Sunday afier Trinity). 
 
 Happy man he his dole. May his share 
 or lot be that of a hapi^y or fortunate man. 
 
 " Wlif-rein, haiMiy man lie his dole, I trust tliat I 
 
 Shall not si^eed worst, and that very iiuickly." 
 
 Damon and J'l/thias, i. 177. 
 
 Dole-fish. The share of fish allotted 
 to each one of a company of fishermen 
 in a catch. Dole = the iiart dealt to 
 anyone. (Anglo-Saxon, ddl or decl, from 
 the verb dal-an, to di\'ide into parts.) 
 
 24 
 
 Doll Money. A lady of Duxfortf 
 left a sum of money to be given away 
 annually in the parish, and to be called 
 I>oU Moncij. Doll is a corruption of 
 dole, Saxon ddl (a share distributed). 
 
 Dollar. Marked thus $, either scutum 
 or 8, a dollar being a "piece of eight" 
 [reals]. The two lines indicate a con- 
 traction, as in lb. 
 
 The word is a variant of thaler 
 (Low German, daliler ; Danish, daler), 
 and means "a valley," our dale. The 
 coimts of Schlick, at the close of the 
 fifteenth centurj^ extracted from the 
 mines at Jonchini\s thai (Joachim'svalley) 
 silver which they coined into ounce- 
 pieces. These pieces, called Joachini' s- 
 thalcrs, gained such high repute that 
 they became a standard coin. Other 
 coins being made like them were called 
 thalcrs only. The American dollar equals 
 100 cents, in English money a little more 
 than four' shilhngs. 
 
 Dolly Murrey. A character in 
 Crabbe's Uurouijlt, who died inlaying 
 cards. 
 
 " ' A vole ! a vole ! ' she cried, ' 'tis fairly won.' . . 
 This said she, gently, with a single sigh, 
 Died as one taught and practised how to die." 
 Crubbe : liorouyk. 
 
 Dolly Shop. A shop where rags and 
 refuse are bought and sold. So called 
 from the black doll suspended over it as 
 a sign. Dolly shojjs are, in reality, no 
 better than unlicensed pawnshops. A 
 black doll used to be the sign hung out 
 to denote the sale of silks and musUns 
 which were fabricated by Indians. 
 
 Dolmen. A name given in France 
 to what we term " cromlechs. " These 
 ancient remains are often called by the 
 rural population devils' tables, fairies' 
 tables, and so on. (Celtic, stone tables.) 
 It consists of a slab resting on unhewn 
 upright stones. Plural dolmens [dot, a 
 table ; men, a stone). 
 
 "The Indian dolmens . . . may he said to he 
 identical with thoseof Western Eurore."— ,/. Lub- 
 buck: I'rehiatoric Times, chap. v. p. I'jy. 
 
 Dolopa'tos. A French metrical ver- 
 sion of San'dabar's I'arahles, written by 
 Hebers or Herbers or Prince PhiliiDpe, 
 afterwards called Philippe le Hardi. 
 Dolopa'tos is the Sicilian king, and 
 Virgil the tutor of his sou Lucinien. 
 {See Seven Wise Masters.) 
 
 Dolorous Dettie {TIii^. John Skel- 
 tou wrote an elegy on Henry Percy, 
 fourth Earl of Northumberland, who 
 fell a victim to the avarice of Henry 
 VII. (U89). This elegy he entitled 
 thus: "Upon the Dolorous Dettie and
 
 Dolpliiil 
 
 S7d 
 
 l)oinimcan3 
 
 Much Lamentable Chaunce of the Most 
 Honorable Earl of Northumberland." 
 
 Dolphin. Called a sea-goose (oie de 
 mcr) from the fonu of its snout, termed 
 in French bcc d'oic (a goose's beak). The 
 dolphm is noted for its changes of colour 
 when taken out of the water. 
 
 " Partiupr day 
 Dies like the dolphin, whom each pang iralnies 
 With a new colour as it gasps away, 
 The last still loveliest." 
 
 Byron : Childe Harold, canto iv. stanza 29. 
 
 Dolphin {The), in mediaeval art, 
 S3'mboliscs social love. 
 
 Dom. A title applied in the Middle 
 Ages to the Pope, and at a somewhat 
 later period to other Church dignitaries. 
 It is now restricted to priests and choir 
 monks among the Benedictines, and some 
 few other monastic orders, as Dom Ma- 
 billon, Dom Calmet. Tlie Spanisli don, 
 Portuguese dom,Germai\ row, and French 
 dr, are pretty well etiuivaleut to it. 
 (Latin, doiii'iniis.) 
 
 Dombey {Florence). A motherle.ss 
 child, iLungeriug and thirsting to be 
 loved, but regarded with frigid indiffer- 
 ence by her father, who thinks that 
 sous alone are worthy of his regard. 
 (Dickens : Ihmhei/ and Son.) 
 
 Mr. Bonihctj. A self-sufficient, purse- 
 proud, frigid merchant, who feels satis- 
 fied there is but one Dombey in the 
 world, and that is himself. {Dickens: 
 Dombey and Son.) 
 
 Dom-Daniel. The abode of evil 
 spirits, gnomes, and enchanters, some- 
 where '-under the roots of the ocean," 
 but not far from Babylon, (Continuation 
 of the Arabian Tides.) 
 
 " In the Dnmrtaniel caverns 
 Under the roots of the ocean." Southey. 
 
 Domesday Book consists of two 
 volumes, one a large folio, and the other 
 a quarto, the material of each being 
 vellum. It was formerly kept in the 
 Exchequer, under three different locks 
 and keys, but is now kept in the Record 
 Office. The date of the survey is I0S6. 
 
 Northumberland. Cumberland, West- 
 moreland, and Durham are not included 
 in the survey, though parts of Westmore- 
 land and Cumberland are taken. 
 
 The value of all estates is given, 
 firstly, as in the time of the Confessor ; 
 secondly, when bestowed by the Con- 
 queror ; and, thirdly, at the time of the 
 survey. It is also called The King''s 
 Book, and The JFinchester Roll because 
 it was kept there. Printed in facsimile 
 in 1783 and 1816. 
 
 Stow says the book was so called 
 
 because it was deposited in a part of 
 Winchester Cathedral called Dutniis-dei, 
 and that the word is a contraction of 
 Domus-dei book ; more Hkely it is con- 
 nected with the previous surveys made 
 by the Saxon kings, and called dvm-hocs 
 (libri jutlicia'les), because every case of 
 disjiute was decided by an ajipeal to 
 these registers. 
 
 " Then seyde Gamolyn to the .lustice . . 
 Tliou hast wiVL-n domes that bin evil di^lit, 
 1 will sitteu iu thy sole, and dresseu hira 
 
 aright." 
 Chaucer : Canterbury Tales (.The Cookes Tale). 
 
 Domestic. England'' s domesiic poet. 
 William Cowper, author of The Tmk. 
 
 (1731-1800.) 
 
 Domestic Poultry, in Dryden's Hind 
 (Did I'authcr, means the Roman Catholic 
 clergy. So called from an establishment 
 of priests in the private chapel at White- 
 hall. The nuns are tenned "sister 
 partlet with her hooded head." 
 
 Domiciliary Visit (.i). An official 
 visit to search the liouse. 
 
 Dominic (.SY.). (1170-1221.) A Span- 
 ish jniest who founded the Incpii.sition, 
 and tlie order called the Dominicans or 
 Preaching Friars. He was called by the 
 Poj^e " Inquisitor - General," and was 
 canonised by Gregory IX. 
 
 V Some say the Inquisition existed in 
 1184, when Donunic was under fouiieen 
 years of age. 
 
 He is represented with a sparrow at his 
 side, and a dog carrying in its mouth a 
 burning torch. The devil, it is said, ap- 
 peared to the saint in the form of a 
 spaiTow, and the dog refers to a dream 
 which his mother had during pregnancy. 
 She dreamt that she had given birth to 
 a dog, spotted with black and white 
 spots, which lighted the world witli a 
 burning torch. 
 
 He is also represented sometimes with a city in 
 his hand and a star either on his forehead or on 
 his hreast ; sometimes also with a sword in his 
 hand and a pile of hooks hurning beside him, to 
 denote his severity with heretics. 
 
 Dominical Letters. The letters 
 which denote the Sundaj's or dies do- 
 niin'iea. The first seven letters of the 
 alphabet are employed ; so that if A 
 stands for the first Sunday in the year, 
 the other six letters will stand for the 
 other days of the week, and the octave 
 Sunday will come round to A again. In 
 this case A will be the Sunday or Do- 
 minical Letter for the whole year. 
 
 Domin'icans. Preaching friars 
 founded by Dominic de Guzman, at 
 Toulouse, in 1215. Fonnerly called iu
 
 Dorpijiie 
 
 371 
 
 Bondasch. 
 
 Englaud Black Friars, from their black 
 dress, and in France Jac'ob'uis, because 
 their mother-establishment in Paris was 
 in the Eue St. Jacques. 
 
 Dom'inie Sampson. A village 
 schoolmaster and scholar, poor as a 
 chiu'ch mouse, and modest as a gii'l. 
 He cites Latin like a porcus Utcra'ritm, 
 and exclaims "Prodigious!" {Scott: 
 Gicj Manncrinf/.) {See Stilling.) 
 
 Dominions. One of the orders of 
 angels, symbolised in Christian art by an 
 ensign. 
 
 Domino {A). A hood worn by 
 canons ; a mask. 
 
 "Ce num, qu'on donnait autrefois, par allusion 
 a queliiue passage de la liturgie, au caHio/; dont 
 les pretres ge couvreut la tete et les epaules pen- 
 dant I'biver, ne designe auJDurd'hui iiu'un liabit 
 de deguisement pour les ha.\%xa^innb&. —BuuiUet : 
 Dictiounaire des Sciences, etc. 
 
 Dom'inoes (3 syl.). The teeth ; also 
 called ivories. Dominoes are made of 
 ivory. 
 
 Domisel'lus. The son of a king, 
 prince, knight, or lord before he has 
 entered on the order of knighthood. 
 Also an attendant on some abbot or 
 nobleman. The person domiciled in your 
 house. Hence the king's body-guards 
 were called his damoiseaux or dani.sels. 
 
 Froissart styles Richard II. le jeune 
 damoisel Ilichart. Similarly Louis VII. 
 {Le Jcunc) was called the roijcd datnsel. 
 
 " Damoisel ou Danioiseau designait autrefois 
 les flls de cliovaliers, de barons, et toutes les 
 jeunes gentilshommes qui n'etaient pas encore 
 cbevalievs. On le donnait aussi aux flls des rois 
 qui n'etaient pas encore en etat de porter les 
 amies."— Byu(7;t< ; Did. Universel. 
 
 Domisellus and domisella are diminu- 
 tives of dombuts, a lord. In old French 
 we find danioiseau and dainoiselle. The 
 word Ma-demoiselle is ma domisella or 
 damoiselle. 
 
 Don is do-on, as " Don your bonnet," 
 {Sec Doff, Dup.) 
 
 " Tlien up bo rose, and donned his clothes, 
 And dupp"d the cbainl)er door." 
 
 Slialcespeare : Hamlet, ir. 5. 
 Don. A man of mark, an aristocrat. 
 At the universities the masters, fellows, 
 and noblemen are termed do)is. (Spanish.) 
 
 Don Giovan'ni. Mozart's best opera. 
 {See Don Juan.) 
 
 Don Ju'an. A native of SeVille, son 
 of Don Jose and Donna Inez, a blue- 
 stocking. When Juan was sixteen years 
 old he got into trouble with Donna Juha, 
 and was sent by his mother, then a widow, 
 on his travels. His adventures form the 
 story of the poem, which is incomplete. 
 {Byron : Bon Juan.) 
 
 A Bon Juan. A libertine of the aris- 
 tocratic class. The original of this cha- 
 racter was Don Juan Teno'rio of Seville, 
 who lived in the fourteenth century. 
 The traditions concerning him have 
 been di-amatised by Tirso de Mo'lina; 
 thence passed into Italy and France. 
 Gliick has a musical ballet of Bon Juan, 
 and Mozart has immortaUsed the cha- 
 racter in his opera of Bo)i Giovanni{l'tS7). 
 
 Don Quixote (2 syl.). A gaunt 
 country gentleman of La Mancha, gentle 
 and dignified, affectionate and simple- 
 minded, but so crazed by reading books 
 of knight-errantry that he beheves him- 
 self called upon to redress the wrongs of 
 the whole world, and actually goes forth 
 to avenge the oppressed and run a tilt 
 with their oppressors. The word Quixote 
 means The cuish-arnied. (.SVr Quixotic.) 
 
 A Bon Quixote. A dreamy, unprac- 
 tical man, with a " bee in his bonnet." 
 
 Donation of Pepin {The). When 
 Pepin conquered Ataulf the ex-archate 
 of Ravenna fell into his hands. Pepin 
 gave both the ex-archate and the Re- 
 public of Rome to the Pope, and this 
 munificent gift is the famous "Dona- 
 tion " ou which rested the whole fabric 
 of the temporal power of the Popes of 
 Rome (a.d. 755). 
 
 Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy, dis- 
 possessed the Pope of his temporal 
 dominions, and added the Papal States 
 to the united kingdom of Italy (1870). 
 
 Don'atists. Followers of Dona'tus, 
 a Numidian bishoii who opposed Ceci- 
 lia'nus. Their chief dogma is that the 
 outward church is nothing, "for the 
 letter killeth, it is the spirit that giveth 
 Hfe." (Founded 314.) 
 
 Doncaster. Sigebert, monk of Gem- 
 blours, in 1100, derived this word from 
 Thong- ceaster, the " Castle of the 
 thong," and says that Hengist and 
 Horsa purchased of the British king as 
 much land as he could encomijass with a 
 leather thong. The thong was cut into 
 strips, and encompassed the land occu- 
 pied by the city of Doncaster. 
 
 This is the old tale of Dido and the 
 hide, and so is the Russian Yakutsks. 
 {See Bursa.) 
 
 V Of course it means the " City ou the 
 river Don." (Celtic, Bon, that which 
 sj^reads.) 
 
 Dondasch'. An Oriental giant con- 
 temporary with Seth, to whose service 
 he was attached. He needed no weapons, 
 as he could destroy anything by the mere 
 force of his arms.
 
 Done Brown 
 
 372 
 
 Doomsday 
 
 Done Brown. He was done Iroioi. 
 Comijlctely bamboozled or made a fool 
 of. This is a variety of the mauy ex- 
 Ijressious of a similar meaning con- 
 nected with cooking, such as " I gave 
 him a roasting," "I cooked liis goose," 
 " I cut him into mince-meat," "I put 
 him into a pretty stew," " I settled his 
 hasli," " Ho was dished up," " He was 
 well dressed " [di'ubbed] , ' ' He was 
 served out," etc, (6Ve Cooking.) 
 
 Eonc For or Regularly done for. 
 Utterly ridned. This "for" is the 
 adverb =z thoroughly, very common as a 
 prefix. 
 
 Done Up. Thoroughly tii-ed and 
 wearied out. Up means ended, com- 
 plettd, as the "game is uj) " (over, 
 finished), and adverbially it means 
 " comijletely," hence to be "done up" 
 is to be exhausted completely. 
 
 Don'egild (3 syl.). The wicked 
 mother of Alia, King of Northumber- 
 land. Hating Cunstance because she 
 was a Christian, she put her on a raft 
 with her infant son, and turned her 
 adrift. When Alia returned from Scot- 
 land and discovered tliis cruelty of his 
 mother, he put her to death. {Uhanccr : 
 Man of Lawcs Talc.) 
 
 V The tradition of St. Mungo re- 
 sembles the Man of Lanes Tale in many 
 resj)ects. 
 
 Donkey. An ass. It was made to 
 rhj-me with " monkej'," but is never now 
 so pronounced. The word means a little 
 tawnjr or dun-coloured animal. 
 
 Donlccij. The cross of the donkey's 
 back is popularly attributed to the 
 honour conferred on the beast by our 
 Lord, who rode on an ass in " His tri- 
 umjihant entry " into Jerusalem on Palm 
 Sunday. {See Christian Traditions.) 
 
 The donkey means one tinny and the 
 driver another. Different i^eople see from 
 different standpoints, their own interest 
 in every case directing their judgment. 
 The allusion is to a fable in Phfcdrus, 
 where a donkey-driver exhorts his don- 
 key to flee, as the enemy is at hand. The 
 donkey asks if the enemy will load him 
 with double pack-saddles. "No," says 
 the man. "Then," replies the donkey, 
 " what care I whether you are my mas- 
 ter or someone else ? " 
 
 To ride the black donkey. To be pig- 
 headed, obstinate Uke a donkey. Black 
 is added, not so much to designate the 
 colour, as to express what is bad. 
 
 Two more, and up goes the donkey — 
 \.e. two pennies more, and the donkey 
 
 shall be balanced on the top of the pole 
 or ladder. It is said to a braggart, and 
 means — what j^ou have said is wonderful, 
 but if we admit it without gainsaying 
 we shall soon be treated with something 
 still more astounding. 
 
 Wlio ate tlie donlccy ? When the French 
 were in their flight Irom Spain, after the 
 battle of Vittoria, some stragglers entered 
 a village and demanded rations. The 
 villagers killed a donkey, and served it 
 to their hated foes. Next day they con- 
 tinued their flight, and were waylaid by 
 the villagers, who assaulted them most 
 murderously, jeering them as they did 
 so with the shout, "Who ate the don- 
 key h" 
 
 Who stole the donkey ? This was for 
 many years a jeer against policemen. 
 When the force was first established a 
 donkey was stolen, but the police failed 
 to discover the thief, and this failure 
 gave rise to the laugh against them. 
 
 Who stole the donkey ( Answer: "Tlie 
 man with the white hat." It was said, 
 in the middle of the nineteenth century, 
 that white hats were made of the skins 
 of donkeys, and that many donkeys 
 were stolen and sold to hatters. 
 
 Donkey Engine (^i). A small engine 
 of from two to four horse-jiower. 
 
 Do'ny. Florimel's dwarf. (Sjjcnser : 
 Faerie Qucene, book iii. canto o.) 
 
 Don'zel (Italian). A squii-e or young 
 
 man of good bii'th. 
 
 " He is fs.jiiiie to a kniglit-enant, duu/tel to the 
 damsels."— i/Ht/cj- ; Cliunutcrs. 
 
 Doolin of Mayence. The hero of a 
 French romance of chivalry, and the 
 father of Ogier the Dane. 
 
 Doolin's Sword. Merveilleuse (won- 
 derful). {See Sword.) 
 
 Doom. The crack of doom. The signal 
 for the final judgment. 
 
 Doom Book {doin-boc) is the book_ of 
 dooms or judgments compiled by King 
 Alfred. (.Vrc Domesday Book.) 
 
 Doom-rings, or Circles of Judyment. 
 An Icelandic tenn for cu'cles of stones 
 resembling Stouehenge and Avebury. 
 
 Dooms'day Sedgwick. William Sedg- 
 wick, a fanatical prophet and preacher 
 during the Commonwealth. He pre- 
 tended to have had it revealed to him iu 
 a vision that doomsday was at hand; 
 and, going to the house of Sir Francis 
 Russell, in Cambridgeshire, he called 
 upon a party of gentlemen playing at 
 bowls to leave off and prepare for the 
 approaching dissolution.
 
 Doomstead 
 
 Dorigen 
 
 Doomstead. The horse of the Scan- 
 diuaviau Norues or Fates. {See Hoese.) 
 
 Door. (Greek, thura; Anglo-Saxon, 
 
 dor a.) 
 
 The door must he either shut or open. 
 It must 1)0 one way or the other. This 
 is from a French comedy called Lc Gron- 
 deur, where the master scolds his servant 
 for lea\nng the door open. The servant 
 says that he was scolded the last time 
 for shutting it, and adds: "Do you 
 wish it shut ? " — "No." — " Do you wish 
 it open?" — "No." — "Why," says the 
 man, "it must be either shut or open." 
 
 J[e laid the charge at luy door. He 
 accused me of doing it. 
 
 Next door to it. As, if not so, it was 
 next door to it, i.e. very Kke it, next- 
 door neighbour to it. 
 
 Sin lieth at the door (Gen. iv. 7). The 
 blame of sin lies at the door of the 
 wrong-doer, and he must take the con- 
 sequences. 
 
 Door Nail. (Sec Dead.) Scrooge's 
 jiartner is "dead as a door-nail." {Dick- 
 c)/s : Christmas Carol, chap, i.) 
 
 Door-opener {The). So Crates, the 
 Theban, was called, because every morn- 
 ing he used to go round Athens and 
 rebuke the ijeople for their late rising. 
 
 Door-tree {A). The wooden bar of 
 a door to secure it at night from in- 
 truders. Also a door-post. 
 
 Doors \Jtoiise']. As, come indoors, 
 go indoors. So Vii'gil : " Tion foribns 
 cUvce . . [^Dido'] . . resedit.^' (Then Dido 
 seated herself in the house or temple 
 of the goddess.) {JEncid, i. 505.) 
 
 Out of doors. Outside the house ; in 
 the open air. 
 
 Doorm. An earl called "the Bull," 
 ■who tried to make Enid his handmaid ; 
 but, when she would neither eat, drink, 
 nor array herself in bravery at his bid- 
 ding, "he smote her on the cheek;" 
 whereupon her lord and husband. Count 
 Geraint, starting up, slew the "russet- 
 bearded earl " in his own hall. [Toniij- 
 son : Id>jUs of the K'lmj ; Enid.) 
 
 Do'ra. The first wife of David Cop- 
 pertield ; she was a child-wife, but no 
 help-meet. She could do nothing of 
 practical use, but looked on her husband 
 with idolatrous love. Tennyson has a 
 poem entitled Bora. 
 
 Dorado {El). {Sec El Dorado.) 
 
 Do'rax. A Portuguese renegade, in 
 Dryden's Don Sebastian — by far the best 
 of all his characters. 
 
 Dor'cas Society. A society for sup- 
 plying the poor with clothing. So called 
 from Dorcas, mentioned iu Acts ix. 39. 
 
 Dorchester. As big as a Dorchester 
 butt. Very coriJulent, like the butts of 
 Dorchester. Of Toby Fil^jot it is said : 
 " His lireath-doovs of life on a sudden were sljut, 
 
 And Le died full as Ijig as a Dorchester buti." 
 O'Keefe : Poor Soldier. 
 
 Do'ric. The oldest, strongest, and 
 simplest of the Grecian orders of archi- 
 tecture. So called from Doris, iu Greece, 
 or the Dorians who emj)loyed it. The 
 Greek Doric is simpler than the Roman 
 imitation. The former stands on the 
 pavement without fillet or other orna- 
 ment, and the tiutes are not scalloped. 
 The Eoman column is placed on a pliuth, 
 has fillets, and the fiutings, both toj) and 
 bottom, are scalloi^ed. 
 
 Doric Dialect. The dialect spoken 
 by the natives of Doris, iu Greece, It was 
 broad and hard. Hence, any broad dia- 
 lect. 
 
 Doric Land. Greece, Doris being a 
 part of Greece. 
 
 " Tlirougli all tlie bounds 
 Of Doric laud." 
 
 Milton : Paradise Lost, book i. 519. 
 
 Do'ric Reed. Pastoral poetry. Eveiy- 
 thing Doric was very jilain, but cheerful, 
 chaste, and solid. The Dorians were the 
 pastoral people of Greece, and their dia- 
 lect was that of the country rustics. 
 Our own Bloomfield and Eobert Bums 
 are examples of British Doric. 
 
 '• The Doric reed once more 
 
 Dor'icourt. A sort of Tremaine of 
 the eighteenth century, who, having 
 over-refined his taste by the " grand 
 tour," considers English beauties in- 
 sipid. He falls in love with Letitia 
 Hardy at a masquerade, after feeling 
 aversion to her iu her assumed character 
 of a hoyden. {Mrs. Cotvley : The BclWs 
 Stratagem.) 
 
 Dor'igen. A lady of high family, 
 who maiTied Ai'vir'agus out of pity for 
 his love and meekness. She was greatly 
 beloved by Aurelius, to whom she had 
 been long known. Aurelius, during the 
 absence of Arviragus, tried to win the 
 heart of the young wife ; but Doiigen 
 made answer that she would never Usten 
 to him till the rocks that beset the coast 
 of Britain are removed "and there n'is 
 no stone yseen." Am-elius, by the aid 
 of a young magician of Orleans, caused 
 all the rocks to disappear, and claimed 
 his reward, Dorigen was very sad, but
 
 Dorimant 
 
 374 
 
 Douay Bible 
 
 her husband insisted that she should keep 
 her word, and she went to meet Aure- 
 lius. When AureHus saw how sad slie 
 was, and heard wliat Ai-viragus had 
 counselled, he said he would rather die 
 than iujiu'e so true a wife and noble a 
 gentleniuu. So she returned to her 
 husband happy and luitainted. {iScc 
 DiANOKA.) {Chancer: FrroikHncs TaJc.) 
 
 : Dor'imant. Drawn from the Earl 
 of Rochester ; a witty, aristocratic liber- 
 tine, in Etlierege's Ilioi of Mode. 
 
 Dorinda, in the verses of the Earl of 
 Dorset, is Catherine Sedley, Countess of 
 Dorchester, mistress of James II. 
 
 Dormer Window. The window of 
 an attic standing out from the slope of 
 the roof. (O. French, ffor;«for= a sleep- 
 ing room formerly fitted with windows 
 of this kind.) 
 
 " That died were tlie rnof s, with dormer -windn-ws." 
 Longfellow : Evangeline, lurt i. stauza 1. 
 
 Dornock. Stout figured linen for 
 tablcclotlis ; so called from a town in 
 Scotland, where it was originally made. 
 
 Dorothea ('S'^.), represented with a 
 rose-branch in her hand, a wreath of 
 roses on her head, and roses with fruit 
 by her side ; sometimes with an angel 
 carrj-ing a basket with three apjDles and 
 three roses. The legend is that Theo- 
 philus, the judge's secretary, scoffingly 
 ■said to her, as she was going to execu- 
 tion, " Send me some fruit and roses, 
 Dorothea, when you get to Paradise." 
 Immediately after her execution, while 
 Theophilus was at dinner with a party 
 of companions, a young angel brought 
 to him a basket of apples and roses, 
 sayiag, " From Dorothea, in Paradise," 
 and vanished. Theophilus, of course, 
 was a convert from that moment. 
 
 Dorset. Once the seatof aBritish tribe, 
 calling themselves Dwr-tru/s (water- 
 dwellers). The Romans colonised the 
 settlement, and 'LaXim&ediDwr- trigs into 
 Duro-triijh. Lastly came the Saxons, 
 and translated the original words into 
 their own tongue, dor-scetta (water- 
 dwellers). 
 
 Dorse'tian Downs. The Downs of 
 
 Dorsetshire. 
 
 " Spread the pure Dorsetian downs 
 In boundless prospect." 
 
 Thomson: Autumn. 
 
 Dosith'eans. A religious sect which 
 sprang up in the first century ; so called 
 because they believed that Dosith'eus 
 had a divine mission superior to that of 
 prophets aud apostles, 
 
 Do'son. A promise-maker and a 
 promise -breaker. Antig'onos, grandson 
 of Demetrios t/ic besieger, was so called. 
 
 Doss. A hassock stuffed with straw ; 
 a bed — jiroperly, a straw bed ; whence 
 the cant word for a lodging-house is 
 a dossingken. Dossel is an old word for 
 a bundle of liay or straw, and dosser for a 
 straw basket. These words were common 
 in Elizabeth's reign. The French dossier 
 means a " bundle." 
 
 Doss-house {A). A cheap lodging- 
 house where the poorer classes sleep on 
 bundles of straw. {See above.) 
 
 In tlic A'eio Itevlew (Aug., ]8fl4') there is an article 
 entitled "In a Woman's Dos.-s-liouse," -wliic^li 
 tliruws uiuoU light on the condition of the poor 
 in London. 
 
 Dosser. One who sleeps in a low or 
 cheap liii'ed dormitory. The verb doss 
 = to sleep. 
 
 Do-the-Boys' Hall. A school where 
 boys were taken in and done for by a 
 Mr. Sipieers, a puffing, ignorant, over- 
 bearing brute, who starved them and 
 taught them nothing. {iJickens: Nicholas 
 Niekiebg.) 
 
 V It is said that Mr. Squeers is a 
 caricature of Mr. Shaw, a Yorkshire 
 schooln>aster ; but Mr. Shaw was a kind- 
 hearted man, and his bo}'s were well fed, 
 happy, and not ill-taught. Like Squeers 
 he had only one eye, and Uke Squeers 
 he had a daughter. It is said that his 
 school was ruined by Dickens's carica- 
 ture. 
 
 Dot and go One {A). An infant 
 just beginning to toddle ; one who 
 limps in walking ; a person who has one 
 leg longer than tlie other. 
 
 Dot'terel or Dottrel. A doting old 
 fool ; an old man easily cajoled. The 
 bird thus called, a species of plover, is 
 said to be so fond of imitation that any 
 one who excites its curiosity by strange 
 antics may catch it. 
 
 'To dor the dotterel. Dor is an archaic 
 word meaning to trick or cheat. Whence 
 the phrase to " dor the dotterel " means 
 to cheat the simpleton, 
 
 Dou'ay Bible. The English trans- 
 lation of the Bible sanctioned by the 
 Roman Cathohc Church. The Old Tes- 
 tament was pubhshed by the English 
 college at Douay, in France, in 1 (309 ; 
 but the New Testament was published 
 at Rheims in 1582. The English college 
 at Douay was founded by William 
 Allen (afterwards cardinal) in 1568. The 
 Douay Bible translates such words as 
 repoitancc by the yfoxA. jjcnaiice, etc., and
 
 Double 
 
 Douglas 
 
 the whole contains notes by Roman 
 Catholic divines. 
 
 Double {To). To pass or sail round, 
 as "to double the cape." The cape (or 
 point) is twice between the ship and the 
 land. (French, doubler ; Latin, dno- 
 plico.) 
 
 " WLiat capes lie douWed, and what continent, 
 The gulfs aud straits tliat strangely lie bail past." 
 Dryden : Ideas, stanza 1. 
 
 Double Dealing. Professing one 
 thing and doing another iuconsistent 
 with that promise. 
 
 " [Slie] was 'iiiite alioveall double-dealing. Sbe 
 had nu mental reservation." — Maria Edgewuith. 
 
 Double Dutcb. Gibberish, jargon, 
 or a foreign tongue not understood by 
 the hearer. Dutch is a sjTionym for 
 foreign ; and double is simply excessive, 
 in a twofold degree. 
 
 Double-edged Sword. Literally, 
 a sword wliich cuts either way ; meta- 
 phoiically, an argument which makes 
 both for and against the person employ- 
 ing it, or which has a double meanmg. 
 " ' Your Delphic sword,' the panther then rephed, 
 
 ' Is double-edged, and cuts on either side.' " 
 Dnjden: Hind and I'anther, part iii. lul— 2. 
 
 Double Entendre (English-French 
 for I'll mot a double oitoitc, or a deux 
 ententes). Words which secretly express 
 a rude or coarse covert meaning, gener- 
 ally of a licentious character. ' ' En- 
 tendre " is the infinitive mood of a verb, 
 and is never used as a noun. 
 
 Double First {A). In the first class 
 both of the classical and mathematical 
 final examination ia the Oxford Univer- 
 sity ; or of the classical aud mathematical 
 triposes of the L^uiversity of Cambridge. 
 
 Double-headed Eagle {The). The 
 Gennan eagle has its head turned to our 
 left hand, and the Roman eagle to our 
 right hand. When Charlemagne was 
 made "Kaiser of the Holy Roman Em- 
 pire," he joined the two heads together, 
 one looking east and the other west. 
 
 Double-tongued. One who makes 
 contrary declarations on the same sub- 
 ject at different times ; deceitful. 
 "Be grave, not douljle-tongued."— 1 Tim. iii. 8. 
 
 Double up {To). To fold together. 
 "To double up the fist" is to fold the 
 fingers together so as to make the hand 
 into a fist. 
 
 I doubled him up. I struck him in the 
 wind, so as to make him double up with 
 pain, or .so as to leave him "all of a 
 heap." 
 
 Poubl0 X. {Sec XX.) 
 
 Double or Quits. The winner stakes 
 his stake, and the loser promises to pay 
 twice the stake if he loses again ; but if 
 he wins the second throw he pays no- 
 thing, and neither player loses or wius 
 anything. This is often done when the 
 stake is 3d., and the parties have no 
 copper : if the loser loses agaru, he pays 
 6d. ; if not, the winner does not claim 
 his 3d. 
 
 Doubles or Doubls-walkers. Those 
 aerial duplicates of men or women who 
 represent them so minutely as to deceive 
 those who know them. \Ve apply the 
 word to such persons as the Dromio 
 brothers, the Corsicau brothers, aud the 
 brothers Antiph'olus. The ' ' head centre 
 Stephens " is said to have had a double, 
 who was perpetually leading astray those 
 set to hunt him down. 
 
 Doubting Castle. The castle of the 
 giant Despair, in which Christian and 
 Hopeful were incarcerated, but from 
 which they escaped by means of the ke}^ 
 called " Promise." {Buntjan : Filyrini's 
 Frogress.) 
 
 Douceur'. (French.) A gratuity for 
 service rendered or promised. 
 
 Douglas. The tutelary saint of the 
 house of Douglas is St. Bridget. Ac- 
 cording to tradition, a Scottish king in 
 770, whose ranks had been broken by 
 the fierce onset of the Lord of the Isles, 
 saw the tide of battle turned in his 
 favour by an unknown chief. After the 
 battle the king asked who was the . 
 "Du-glass" chief tain, his deliverer, and 
 received for answer HhoUa Dd-f/Ias.t 
 (Behold the dark-grey man you inquired 
 for). The king then rewarded him with 
 the Clydesdale valley for his services. 
 
 "'Let him not cross or th%vart nie,' s.-iid the 
 page; 'for I will not yield bim an inch of way, 
 had be in his body the soul of every Douu-las that 
 has lived since the time of the Dark Gray Man.'"— 
 Scott : The Abbot, chap, xxviii. 
 
 Blaek Douglaa, introduced by Sir 
 Walter Scott in Cartle iJcmgeroiis, is 
 James, eighth Lord Douglas, who twice 
 took Douglas Castle from the English by 
 stratagem. The first time he partly 
 bui-nt it, and the second time he utterly 
 razed it to the ground. The castle, says 
 Godscroft, was nicknamed the hazardous 
 or dangerous, because every one who 
 attempted to keep it from the " gud 
 schyr James " was in constant jeopardy 
 by his wiles. 
 
 " The Good Sir James, the dreadful blacke 
 Douglas', 
 That in his dayes so wise and worthie was, 
 Wha here and on the infidels of Spain, 
 Such honour, praise, and triumphs did obtain." 
 Cordon,
 
 Douglas 
 
 376 
 
 Dovetail 
 
 V The person generally called " Black 
 Douglas" is William Douglas, lord of 
 Nithsdale, who died iu 1390. It was of 
 this Douglas that Sir W. Scott said — 
 
 " The name of this indefatigable chief has be- 
 come so formidable, that women used, in tlie 
 nonliern counties, to still their frowavd children 
 by threatening them with the Black Douglas."— 
 Ilisturi) of Scotland, chap. xi. 
 
 Douglas Tragedy (The). A hallad 
 in Scott's Border Minstrelsy. Lord 
 William steals away Lady Margaret 
 Douglas, but is pursued by lier father 
 and two brothers. Being overtaken, a 
 fight ensues, in which the father and his 
 two sons are sore wounded. Lord Wil- 
 liam, wounded, creeps to his mother's 
 house, and there dies ; the lady before 
 siini-ise next morning dies also. 
 
 Douse tlie Glim. Put out the 
 
 light ; also knock out a mati's ej^e. To 
 douse is to lower in haste, as " Douse 
 the top-sail " Glim, gleam, glimmer, are 
 variants of the same word. 
 
 " 'And so you would turn honest, f.-iiilainCofre, 
 a.crrazinf.', would ye,' said an old weal her-lie.-ilfn 
 pirate who had Imt one eye; 'what tlio\i^'h he 
 .... uade my eye dowse the ijrlini .... he is an 
 honest u:an ' . . . ."—Tlic Piriifc, Ldiap. x.wiii. 
 
 Dousterswivel. A Gei-man swind- 
 ler, wlio obtains money imder the promise 
 of finding buried wealth by a divining- 
 rod. {'Scott : Aiitiqnary.) 
 
 Dout. A contraction of do-out, as 
 don is of do-on, doff of do-off, and duji of 
 do- up. 
 
 In Devonshire and other southern 
 counties they still say I>out the candle 
 and Bout the fire. In some counties ex- 
 tinguishers are called doutcrs. 
 
 "The dram of-b.ase 
 Doth all the noble substance dout." 
 
 KUakcspciire : Hamlet, i. 4. 
 
 Dove — i.e. the diver-bird ; perhaps so 
 called from its habit of ducking the 
 head. So also eoluuiha (the Latin for 
 dove) is the Greek Icolundiis (a diver). 
 
 Dove (The). Tlie dove, in Christian 
 art, symbolises the Holy Ghost. In 
 church windows the seven rays proceed- 
 ing from tlie dove signify the seven gifts 
 of tlie Holy Ghost. It also symbolises 
 the human soul, and as such is repre- 
 sented coming out of the mouth of saints i 
 at death. 
 
 A dove ynth six wings is emblematic 
 of the Church of Christ. 
 
 The seven pifts of the Holy f4host are : 0) 
 counsel, (2) the fear of the Lord, (.3) fortitude, (4) 
 piet}-, (5) understanding, (6) wisdom, and (~) 
 knowledge. 
 
 Dores or pigeons not eaten as food in 
 Russia. {See Christian Traditions.) 
 
 Doves or pif/eons. The clergy of the 
 Chmch of England are allegorised 
 
 under this term in Dryden's Sind and 
 Panther, part iii. 947, 998-1002. 
 
 " A sort of doves were housed too near the 
 hall . . . [i.e. the private chaiiel at Whitehall] 
 Our jiampered pigecms, with malignant eyes. 
 Beheld these inmates [the Roman t'itholic 
 
 clergy]. 
 Tho' hard their fare, at evening and at morn, 
 A cruse of water and an ear of corn, 
 Yet still they grudged that modicum." 
 
 Soiled dcrcs. Women of ihc demi- 
 monde. 
 
 Doves' Dung. In 2 Kings vi. 25, 
 during the siege of Samaria, "there was 
 a great famine .... and .... an 
 ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces 
 of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of 
 dove's dung \Juiriyonim] for five pieces 
 of silver. ' ' This ' ' hariyonim ' ' was a 
 plant called chickpea, a common article 
 of food still sold to jiilgrims on their 
 way to Mecca. 
 
 " In D.amascus there arc many tradcRmcn wliose 
 sole occupation is pn'ii.-irinir [liariyonimj for sale. 
 They have always been I'slccnied as ii-o\ision 
 meet for a lengthy journey, and arc a in-ccssarv 
 part of the outllt of all who travel in t he remote 
 jiarts of Syria and Asia Minor."— JSifc/e Flowers, 
 p. 71. 
 
 Dover (A). A n'chauffo or cooked 
 food done over agaiti. In the profes- 
 sional slang of English cooks a resurrec- 
 tion dish is still called a dorcr (do over 
 again). 
 
 Dover. JThen Dover and Calais meet 
 — i.e. never. 
 
 A jack of Dover. A "jack" is a 
 small drinking vessel made of waxed 
 leather, and a "Jack of Dover" is a 
 bottle of wine made up of fragments of 
 opened bottles. It is customary to pour 
 the refuse into a bottle, cork it ui^, and 
 sell it as a fresh bottle. This is called 
 dovering, a coiTuption of do-over, be- 
 cause the cork is done over with wax or 
 resin . 
 
 " Many a jack of Dover hast thou sold." 
 
 Cliaiiccr: Coke's Prulogve. 
 
 Dovers (Stock Exchange term). The 
 South-Eastem railway shares. The 
 line runs to Dover. {See Claras ; 
 Stock Exchange Slang. ) 
 
 Dovercot or Dorercourt. A con- 
 fused gabble ; a Babel. According to 
 legend, Dover Court church, in Essex, 
 once possessed a cross that sjioke ; and 
 Foxe says the crowd to the church was 
 so great "that no man could shut the 
 door." The confusion of this daily 
 throng gave rise to the term. 
 
 " And now the rood of Dovercot did speak, 
 t'onhrniing his opinions to be true" 
 
 Collier pf Croi/do)!. 
 
 Dovetail. Metaphorically, to fit on 
 or fit in nicely ; to correspond. It is a
 
 Dowgate "Ward 
 
 377 
 
 Doyleys 
 
 word in carpentry, and means the fitting 
 one board into another by a tenon in 
 the shape of a dove's tail, or wedge re- 
 versed. 
 
 Dowgate Ward (London). _ Some 
 derive it from Dour (water), it being 
 next to the Thames, at the foot of the 
 hill; others say it is "Down-gate," 
 the gate of the down, dune, or hill, as 
 Brighton Downs (hills), South-downs, 
 etc. 
 
 Dowlas (Mr.). A generic name for 
 a linendraper, who sells dowlas, a coarse 
 linen cloth, so called from Doulens in 
 Picardy, where it is manufactured. 
 
 Dowling {Captain). A character in 
 Crabbe's Borough; a great drunkard, 
 who died in his cups. 
 
 " ' Come, fill my glass.' He took it and lie went " 
 (i.e. died). . Letter xvi. 
 
 Down. Ifc is quite down in the mouth. 
 Out of .'spirits ; disheartened. When 
 pei'sons are very sad and low-siiirited, 
 the corners of the mouth are drawn 
 down. "Down in the jib" is a nau- 
 tical phrase of the same meaning. 
 
 Down in the Dumps. Low-spirited. 
 
 Down on Him (To In). 1 teas doun 
 on Iiiin i)i a minute. I pounced on him 
 directly ; I detected his trick imme- 
 diately. Also to treat harshlj'. The 
 allusion is to birds of prey. 
 
 Down on his Luck. In ill-luck. 
 
 " ' I guess, stranger, you'll find me an ox-presi- 
 dont down on his luck.' "—.1. Eymont Hake: J'uris 
 Uriginala (Professors of Languages). 
 
 Down to the Ground. That suits 
 me down to the ground. Entirely. 
 
 Down - hearted. Without sjiii-it ; 
 the heart prostrated. 
 
 Down Town. / am going down town, 
 i.e. to the business part of the to\vu. 
 
 Down the countrg properly means 
 down the slope of the land, or as the 
 rivers run. 
 
 V We say " I am going up to town " 
 when we mean out of the country into 
 the chief city. 
 
 Down-trod. Despised, as one trod- 
 den under foot. 
 
 "I will lift 
 Tbe down-trod Mortimer as high i' the a;r 
 As this ungrateful king." 
 
 Shakespeare : 1 Henry IV., i. 3. 
 
 Downfall (A). A heavy shower of 
 rain ; a loss of social position. 
 
 Downing Professor. The Pro- 
 fessor of the Laws of England in the 
 University of Cambridge. This chair 
 
 was founded in 1800 by Sir George 
 Downing, Bart. 
 
 Downing Street (Loudon). Named 
 after Sir George Downing, who died 
 lG8i. He was elected M.P. for Morpeth 
 in 16G1. 
 
 Downpour (,i). A very heavy 
 shower of rain. "A regular down- 
 pour." 
 
 Downright. Thoroughly, as ' ' down- 
 right honest," " downright mad " ; out- 
 spoken ; utter, as a " downright shame." 
 The word means from top to bottom, 
 throughout. 
 
 Downright Dunstahle. Very blunt, 
 lilain speaking. The present town of 
 Dunstable is at the foot of the Chiltern 
 Hills, in Bedfordshire. There was some- 
 where about the same site a Roman 
 station called Magiouium or Magiutum, 
 utterly destroyed by tlie Danes, anil 
 afterwards overgrown by trees. Heury I. 
 founded the present town, and built 
 there a palace and priory. 
 
 "If this is not iilain siieaking, there is no such 
 I'lace as downright Dunstable."— ,Vir W. Scott: 
 liidfjiiwitht, chap. xvii. 
 
 Downstairs. Stairs leading from a 
 higher to a lower floor ; on the lowest 
 floor, as "I am downstairs." 
 
 Downy (The). Bed. Gone to the 
 downg, gone to bed. Bed being stuli'ed 
 with down. 
 
 Downy Cove (A). A knowing fel- 
 low, up to every dodge. On the " tueus 
 anon lucendo" principle, contraries are 
 often substituted in shmg and facetious 
 phrases. (>bV'f Lucus A non Lucendo.) 
 
 Dow'sabell. Daughter of Cassamen, 
 a knight of Arden, who fell in love with 
 a shepherd. The two make love with 
 Arcadian simplicity, and vow eternal 
 fldelity. 
 
 " With that she bent her snow-white knee, 
 Down by the shepherd kneeled she, 
 
 And him she sweetly kist. 
 W^ith that the shepherd whooped for joy. 
 Quoth he, 'There's never shepherd boy 
 That ever was so blist.' " 
 
 Uraiiton : J)uicsal>cV (a ballad). 
 
 Dowse on the Chops (A). A ding 
 or blow on the face. "A dowse on the 
 blubber-chops of my friend the baronet " 
 means a setting down, a snubbing. 
 
 Doxy. A baby ; a pilaything ; a 
 jiaramour. In the West of England 
 babies are called do.vics. 
 
 Doyleys. Now means a small cloth 
 
 used to cover dessert plates ; but origin- 
 ally it had a much wider meaning. Thus 
 Dryden speaks of " doyley petticoats; "
 
 Dozen 
 
 378 
 
 Dragon 
 
 and Steele, in No. 102 of the Tatlcr, 
 speaks of his " doiley suit." The 
 Doj'leys were linen-drapers, No. 346, 
 east coi-uer of Upper Wellington Street, 
 Strand, from tlie time of Queen Anne 
 to the year 1850. 
 
 Dozen. {Sec Baker's Dozen.) 
 
 D. P. or Dom. Proc. The House of 
 Lords. (Latin, Jjoiuus Procerum.) 
 
 Drac. A sort of fairy in human 
 form, whose abode is the caverns of 
 rivers. Sometimes these dracs will float 
 like golden cups along a stream to entice 
 women and children bathing, and when 
 they attempt to catch tlie prize drag 
 them under water. {South of Francv 
 mijthohgii.) 
 
 'Fare le drac, same as " Faire le 
 diable." Irish, "Play the Puck;" 
 Enghsh, " Play the deuce." 
 
 " BeloTiien qu' yeu faru le Drac 
 Se jamay trelii dins iiu sac 
 Cine 5 sies milante iiistolus 
 Espessos como <le vciIdIos." 
 
 Goudelin: Castle en I'Ayre. 
 
 Dra'chenfels (Dragon-rocks). So 
 called from the legendary dragon killed 
 there by Siegfried, the hero of the Nibe- 
 luugen-Lied. 
 
 " Tlic castled rrncr of Draclienfels 
 
 Kniwii.-: (p'ei- tlic wide and winding Rhine, 
 WlKiSe hreast uf waters hruadly swells 
 Between the banks wliieh hear the vine." 
 liynm : Cliilde llaroUl, iii. 55. 
 
 Draco'nian Code. One very severe. 
 Draco was an Athenian law-maker. As 
 every violation of a law was made in 
 this code a capital offence, Dema'des the 
 orator said " that Draco's code was 
 written iu human blood." 
 
 Draft. The Druids borrowed money 
 on promises of repayment after detith 
 {Fntriciiif). Purchas tells us of some 
 priests of Pekin, who barter with the 
 people in bills of exchange, to be paid 
 in heaven a hundredfold. 
 
 Draft on Aldgate {A), or A draft o>i 
 Aldf/atc ■pump. A worthless note of 
 hand ; a fraudulent draft or money 
 order. The pun is between draft or 
 draught of drink, and draft a money 
 order on a bank. 
 
 Drag in, Neck and Crop, or To drarj 
 ii/, head and shoulders. To introduce a 
 subject or remark abruptlj\ {Hee A 
 Peopos de Bottes.) 
 
 Draggle-tail. A slut ; a woman 
 who allows her i^etticoats to trail in the 
 dirt. The word should be " daggle - 
 tail" ('?.«'.), from the Scotch daei (dew on 
 the grass), daggle (wet with the grass- 
 dew), like the Latin collu'tulo irro'ro. 
 
 Drag'oman (plural, Bragomans). A 
 cicerone ; a guide or inierju'eter to 
 foreigners. (Arabic targuuiaii, an inter- 
 preter ; whence targuni!) 
 
 " My dratroman had mo cnmpletelv in his power, 
 and I resolved to hecoine independent of all in- 
 terpreters."— /Jd/cer .• Albert Jfyauza, chap. i. p. .3. 
 
 Dragon. The Greek word drakon 
 comes from a verb meaning " to see," to 
 "look at," and more remotely "to 
 watch" and "to flash." 
 
 The animal called a dragon is a winged 
 crocodile with a serpent's tail ; whence 
 the words serpent and dragon are some- 
 times interchangeable. 
 
 From the meaning a watcher we get 
 the notion of one that watches ; and 
 from the meaning " to flash," we connect 
 the word with meteors. 
 
 I " Swift, swift, ye dragons of the night :— that 
 dawning 
 May Jiare the raven's eye." 
 
 Shakespeare: Cymbeline, ii. 2. 
 
 BragoiK This word is used by eccle- 
 siastics of the Middle Ages as the symbol 
 of sin in general and paganism in par- 
 ticular. The metaphor is derived from 
 Rev. xii. 9, where Satan is termed " the 
 great dragon." In Ps. xci. 13 it is said 
 that the saints " shall trample the dragon 
 under their feet." In tlie storj- of the 
 Fall, Satan appeared to Eve in the 
 semblance of a serpent, and the promise 
 was made that in the fulness of time 
 the seed of the woman should bruise the 
 serpent's head. 
 
 Another som'ce of dragon legends is 
 the Celtic use of the word for " a chief." 
 Hence pen-dragcm (summus rex), a sort 
 of dictator, created in times of danger. 
 Those knights who slew a chief in battle 
 slew a dragon, and the military title 
 soon got confounded with the fabulous 
 monster. Dragon, meaning "quick- 
 sighted," is a very suitable word for a 
 general. 
 
 Some great inundations have also been 
 tenned serpents or dragons. Hence 
 Apollo (the sun) is said to have des- 
 troj'cd the seri^ent Python {i.e. dried up 
 the overflow). Similarly, St. Roma'nus 
 delivered the city of Rouen from a 
 dragon, named GargouUle (waterspout), 
 which lived in the river Seine. 
 
 From the-idea of ^catching, we have a 
 dragon placed in the garden of the 
 Hesperides ; and a duenna is poetically 
 called a dragon : 
 
 ".In England the garden of heanty is kept 
 By a dragon of prudery placed within call ; 
 Bnt so oft the unamiable dragon hath slept, 
 That the garden's but carelessly watched 
 after all." 
 T. Mnore : Irish Melodies, No. 2 (" yVe may roaifl 
 thnmgli this world," etc.),
 
 Dragon 
 
 379 
 
 Dragon's Teetli 
 
 ** A spiteful, violent, tyrannical 
 woman is called a dragouess. 
 
 17ic blind dragon^ the third party who 
 plays propriety in flirtations. 
 
 "Tljis state of affairs was liailed with undis- 
 giiisrd tbaukfulness hy llie roctur, whose feeling 
 for harmony had been rndely jarred by the 
 necessity of his acting the Idind dias-'im."— J. 0. 
 Ilobbcs ; Sume Emotions and a Moral, chap. iv. 
 
 Dragon in Christian art symbolises 
 Satan or sin. In the pictures of St. 
 Michael and St. Margaret it tjiiifies 
 their conquest over sin. Siinilarlj', 
 when represented at the feet of Christ 
 and the Virgin Mary. The conquest of 
 St. George and St. Silvester over a 
 dragon means their triumph over jiagan- 
 ism. In the pictures of St. Martha it 
 means the inundation of the Rhone, 
 spreading j^estilence and death ; simi- 
 larly, St. Romanus delivered Eouen 
 from the inundation of the Seine, and 
 Apollo's conquest of the python means 
 the same thing. St. John the Evangelist 
 is sometimes represented holding a 
 chalice, from which a winged dragon is 
 issuing. 
 
 Ladies guarded by dragons. The walls 
 of feudal castles ran winding round the 
 huildiug, and the ladies were kept in the 
 securest part. As adventurers had to 
 scale the walls to gain access to the 
 ladies, the authors of romance said they 
 overcame the serpent-like defence, or 
 the dragon that guarded them. Some- 
 times there were two walls, and then 
 the bold invader overcame two dragons 
 in his attem2:)t to liberate the cajjtive 
 damsel. (.SVf Enchanted Castles.) 
 
 A flying dragon. A meteor. 
 
 The Chinese dragon. In China, the 
 drawing of a five -clawed dragon is not 
 only introduced into pictures, but is also 
 embroidered on state dresses and royal 
 robes. This representation is regarded 
 as an amulet. 
 
 The Green Dragon. A public-house 
 sign in compliment to St. George. 
 
 The lied Dragon. A public-house 
 sign in compliment to Henry VII., who 
 adopted this device for his standard at 
 Bosworth Field. It was the ensign of 
 Cadwallader, the last of the British 
 kings, from whom the Tudors descended. 
 
 Dragon Slayers. 
 
 (1) St. Philip the Apostle is said to 
 have destroyed a huge dragon at Hiera- 
 polis, in Phrygia. 
 
 (2) St. Martha killed the terrible 
 dragon called Tarasque at Aix (la 
 Chapelle). 
 
 (3) St. Florent killed a dragon which 
 haunted the Loire. 
 
 (4) St. Cado, St. Maudet, and St. 
 Paul did similar feats in Brittany. 
 
 (o) St. Keyne of Cornwall" slew a 
 dragon. 
 
 (6) St. Michael, St. George, St. Mar- 
 garet, Pope Sylvester, St. Samson (Arch- 
 bishop of Dol), Don'atus (fourth cen- 
 tury), St. Clement of Metz, and many 
 others, killed dragons. 
 
 (7) St. Eomain of Eouen destroyed the 
 huge dragon called La Gargouille, which 
 ravaged the Seine. 
 
 Dragon of Wantley {i.e. Warncliff, 
 in Yorkshire). A monster slain by 
 More, of More Hall, who procured a suit 
 of armour studded with spikes ; and, pro- 
 ceeding to the well where the di-agon had 
 his lair, kicked it in the mouth, where 
 alone it was vulnerable. Dr. Percy says 
 this dragon was an overgrown, rascally 
 attorney, who cheated some chiklren of 
 their estate, but was made to disgorge 
 by a gentleman named More, who went 
 against him, "armed with the spikes 
 of the law," after which the dragon 
 attorney died of vexation. {Reliqnes.) 
 
 Dragon's Hill (Berkshire) is where 
 the legend saj's St. George killed the 
 dragon. A bare place is shoAvn on the 
 hill, where nothing will giow, and there 
 the blood of the dragon ran out. 
 
 In Saxon annals we are told that 
 Cedric, founder of the West Saxon 
 kingdom, slew there Naud, the pen- 
 dragon, with 5,000 men. This Naud is 
 called Natan-leod, a corruption of Xaad- 
 an ludh (Naud, the peojjle's refuge). 
 
 Dragon's Teeth. Subjects of civil 
 strife ; whatever rouses citizens to rise 
 in arms. The allusion is to the dragon 
 that guarded the well of A'res. Cadmus 
 slew it, and sowed some of the teeth, 
 from which sprang uji the men called 
 Spartans, who all killed each other 
 except five, who were the ancestors of 
 the Thebans. Those teeth which Cadmus 
 did not sow came to the jDOssession of 
 ..Sle'tes, King of Colchis ; and one of the 
 tasks he enjoined Jason was to sow these 
 teeth and slay the armed warriors that 
 rose therefrom. 
 
 "Citizens rising from the soil, richly sown with 
 dr.agon's teeth, for the rights of their several 
 states."— TAe Times. 
 
 To sow dragons^ teeth. To foment 
 contentions ; to stir up strife or war. 
 The reference is to the classical story of 
 Jason or that of Cadmus, both of whom 
 sowed the teeth of a dragon which he 
 had slain, and from these teeth sprang 
 up armies of fighting men, who attacked 
 each other in fierce fight. Of coiu'se,
 
 Dragonades 
 
 380 
 
 Dra-wback 
 
 the figure means that quarrels often 
 arise out of a contention su])posed to 
 have been allayed (or slain). The 
 Philistines sowed dragons' teeth when 
 they took Samson, bound him, and put 
 out his eyes. The ancient Britons sowed 
 dragons' teeth when they massacred the 
 Danes on St. Bryce's Day. 
 
 Drag'onades (3 syl.). A series of 
 religious persecutions by Louis XIV., 
 which drove many thousand Protestants 
 out of France. Their object was to 
 root out " heresy ; " and a bishop, with 
 certain ecclesiastics, was sent to see if 
 the heretics would recant ; if not, they 
 were left to the tender mercies of the 
 dragoons who followed these ' ' ministers 
 of i^eace and goodwill to man." 
 
 " France was drifting toward the fatal atrocities 
 of tlie dragonadc."— i^. Parkman : The Old Regime, 
 cbap. ix. 1). 167. 
 
 Dragoons. So called because they 
 used to be armed with dragons, i.e. short 
 muskets, which spouted out fire like the 
 fabulous beast so named. The head of 
 a dragon was wrought on the muzzle of 
 these muskets. 
 
 Drake means the " duck-king." The 
 old English word cud means a duck, and 
 cnd-ric becomes 'dric, drake. Similarly 
 the German (cnibcr-rich is a male dove, 
 and (/anse-rich, a male goose, or gander. 
 
 Drama. Father of tlie French drama. 
 Etienne Jodelle (1532-1573). 
 
 Father of the Greek drama. Thespis 
 (sixth century B.C.). 
 
 Father of the Spaiihh drama. Lope 
 de Ye'ga (1562-1635). 
 
 Drama of Exile {A). A poem by 
 Elizabeth Barret Browning (1844). The 
 exile is Eve, driven out of Paradise into 
 the wilderness. Lucifer, Gabriel, and 
 Christ are introduced into the poem, as 
 well as Adam and Eve. 
 
 Dramatic Unities {The three). One 
 catastrophe, one locality, one day. These 
 are Aristotle's rules for tragedy, and the 
 French plays strictly follow them. 
 
 The Frencli liave added a fmirtli. one style. 
 Honce comedy must not be mixed witli iraLri-dy. 
 Addison's f'nio is a good example. Unity of style 
 is called the Unity of Uniformity. SUakespearo 
 disregards all these canons. 
 
 Dram'atis Perso'nse. The charac- 
 ters of a drama, novel, or actual trans- 
 action. 
 
 "The dramatis persona; were nobles, country 
 gentlemen, justices of the quornni, and eusto'des 
 fotulo'rum [keepers of the rolls]."— 'iVie Times. 
 
 Drap. One of Queen Mab's maids of 
 honour. (Drai/toii.) 
 
 Dra'pier's Letters. A series of 
 
 letters written by Dean Swift to the peo- 
 ple of Ireland, advising them not to take 
 the copper money coined by William 
 Wood, by patent granted by George I. 
 These letters crushed the infamous job, 
 and the patent was cancelled. 
 
 Dean Swift signed himself M. B. Dra- 
 pier in these letters. 
 
 Drat 'em ! A variant of Od rot V;« .' 
 
 The first word is a minced form of the 
 word God, as in " Od's blood!" "Od 
 zounds ! "::= God's wounds, " Od's bodi- 
 kins," etc. (-SVr Od's.) A correspondent 
 in JVotes and Queries suggests ''[May] 
 God out-root them ! " but we have the 
 words draft /c and throttle (to choke) 
 which would better account for the a and 
 the 0, and which are also imprecations. 
 
 Draught of Tlior (The). The ebb 
 of tlie sea. When Asa Thor visited 
 Jotunheim he was set to dram a bowl of. 
 liquor. He took three draiights, but 
 only succeeded in slightly reducing the 
 quantity. On leaving Jotunheim, the 
 king, Giant Skrymir, told him he need not 
 be ashamed of himself, and showed him 
 the sea at low ebb, saying that he had 
 drunk all the rest in his three draughts. 
 We are told it was a quarter of a mile 
 of sea-water that he drank. 
 
 Draupnir. Odin's magic riug, from 
 which every ninth night dropijed eight 
 rings equal in size and betiuty to itself. 
 
 Draw. 
 
 To draiv amiss. To follow scent in 
 the wrong direction. Fox-hunting term, 
 where to draw means to follow scent. 
 
 To draw a furrow. To plough or draw 
 a plough through a field so as to make 
 a furrow. 
 
 To draw a person out. To entice a 
 person to speak on any subject, often 
 with the intention of ridiculing his utter- 
 ances. 
 
 Draw it Mild (To). We talk of 
 remarks being highly flavoured, of strong 
 language, of piquant remarks, of spicy 
 words ; so that to " draw it mild " refers 
 to liquor; let it be mild, not too highly- 
 flavoured, not too spicy and strong. 
 
 Draw the Long Bow {To). To 
 exaggerate. Some wonderful tales are 
 told of Robin Hood and other foresters 
 practised in the long bow. {See Bow.) 
 
 Drawhack. Something to set against 
 the profits or advantages of a concern. 
 In commerce, it is duty charged on goods
 
 Bra-wcansir 
 
 381 
 
 Drinke and Welcome 
 
 paid back again when the goods are 
 exported. 
 
 " It is only on goods into wliicli (Uiti;ilile com- 
 modities liavu entered in lurj-'e in'oi'ortion and 
 obvious ways tliat drawl)uc-ks arc allowed."— 7/. 
 (Jeorge: Protcctiun w Free 'trade ■ cliap i.\. p. sii 
 
 Draw'cansir. A burlesque tyrant 
 in Tlw lt('//<<(r.s((/, by G. Villiers, Duke 
 of Buckingham (1G7'2). He kills every 
 one, " sparing neither frieud nor foe." 
 Thg uame stands for a blustering brag- 
 gart, and tlie farce is said to have been 
 a satire on Drydeu's inflated tragedies. 
 (6te Bayes, Bobadil.) 
 
 "[He] frights Lis mistress, snubs tip kings, 
 battles armies, and does wliat be will, wilbont 
 regard to numbers, good sense, or justice."— 
 liihies: Thf luluarsal. 
 
 Drawing-room. A room to Avhich 
 ladies u-itJulvinv or retire after dinner. 
 Also a levee where ladies are presented 
 to the sovereign. 
 
 Drawing the Cork. Giving one a 
 
 bloody nose. {8ic Claeet.) 
 
 Drawing the King's (or Queen's) 
 Picture. Coining false money. 
 
 Drawing the Nail, i.e. absolving 
 oneself of a vow. In Cheshire, two or 
 more persons would agree to do some- 
 thing, or to abstain from something, say 
 drinking beer ; and they would go into 
 a wood, and register their vow by driving 
 a nail into a tree, swearing to keep their 
 vow as long as that nail remained in the 
 tree. If tliey repented of their vow, 
 some or all of the party went and drew 
 out tlie nail, whereupon the vow was 
 cancelled. 
 
 Drawlatches. Thieves, robbers, 
 wasters, and roberdsmen (5 Edward III. 
 c. 14). About equal to door-openers 
 and shop-lifters. 
 
 Drawn. Iluiigcd, drawn, and qiiar- 
 ievcd, or l)rawn, lianycd, and quartered. 
 The question turns on the meaning of 
 drawn. The evidence seems to be that 
 traitors were drawn to the place of 
 execution, then hanged, then "drawn" 
 or disembowelled, and then quartered. 
 Thus the sentence on Sir William Wal- 
 lace was that he should be drawn {detra- 
 haiar) from the Palace of Westminster 
 to the Tower, etc., then hanged {sitxpen- 
 da(iir), then disembowelled or drawn 
 {decahlttr), then beheaded and quar- 
 tered {dceoUetur et decaplteiiir). (See 
 Notes and Queries, August 15th, 1891.) 
 
 V If by " drawn " is meant convej'ed 
 to the place of execution, the phrase 
 shoiild be " Drawn, hanged, and quar- 
 tered;" but if the word is used as a 
 synonym of disembowelled, the phrase 
 
 should be "Hanged, drawn, and quar- 
 tered." 
 
 " Lord Ellcnborough used to say to those con- 
 denjned, ' You are drawn on hurdles to the i)Ia<-e 
 of execution, where you are to be hanged, but mit, 
 till you are dead ; for, while still living, your 
 body is to be taken down, your liowels torn out 
 and burnt befi^re your lace; your lie.id is then 
 cut off, and your bodv di\ iilcd into fminiuarters." 
 —aaitlciiiaii.^ MiiijdzniL, l;-i«, part i. iii. 177, •-'75. 
 
 Drawn Battle. A battle in which 
 the troops on both sides are drawn off, 
 neither combatants claiming the victory. 
 
 Dreadnought. The Seaman's Hos- 
 pital Society ; a floating hospital. 
 
 Dream Authorship. It is said that 
 Coleridge wrote his Kubla Khan, a poem, 
 in a dream. 
 
 Coleridge may have dreamt these lines, 
 but without doubt Purchas's I'dijrhnage 
 haunted his dreams, for the resemblance 
 is indubitable. 
 
 Dream'er. The Immurial Dreamer. 
 John Buuyau (1628- 1CS8). 
 
 Dreng. A servant boj', similar to 
 the French gar<;on and Latin puer. A 
 Danish word, which occurs in Domes- 
 day Book. 
 
 Dress your Jacket (or hide). I'' II 
 dress your jewket for you. I'll give you 
 a beating. IHl yive you a dressing, or a 
 good dressing. To dress a horse^ is to 
 curry it, rub it, and comb it. To dress 
 ore is to break it up, cru.sh it, and pow- 
 der it in the stamping mill. The original 
 idea of dressing is preserved, but the 
 method cmploj'ed in dressing horses, ore, 
 etc. , is the prevailing idea in the phrases 
 referred to. 
 
 Dresser. A Iritehen dresser, the 
 French dressoir, a sideboard, verb dres- 
 ser, to raise, set up. 
 
 " The pcwlcr plates on the dresser." 
 
 Lonyfellow : Evangelivc, i. 2. 
 
 Drink. Auacharsis said : ' ' The first 
 cup for thirst, the second for pleasure, 
 the third for intemperance, and the rest 
 for madness." 
 
 Drink Deep. Drink a deep draught. 
 The allusion is to the peg tankards. 
 Those who drank deep, drauk to the 
 lower pegs. {Sec Teg.) 
 
 •• We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart." 
 —SJiulca^Iicarc : HamJet, i. -'. 
 
 Drinke and Welcome. One of the 
 
 numerous publications of John Taylor, 
 the Water Poet (10;i7). The subject is 
 thus set forth : " The famous Historic of 
 the most jaarts of Drinks in use now in 
 the Kingdomes of G. Britaine and Ire- 
 land ; with an especiall declaration of
 
 iDrink 
 
 382 
 
 Drivelling 
 
 the potency, vertue, and operation of 
 our English Ale. With a description of 
 all sorts of Waters, from the Oceau-sea 
 to the Teares of a Woman. As also the 
 causes of all sorts of weather, faire or 
 foule, sleet, raine, haile, frost, snow, 
 fogges, mists, vapours, clouds, stormes, 
 wiudes, thunder, and lightning. Com- 
 piled iirst in High Dutch Tongue Ly the 
 painef uU and industrious Huldiicke van 
 Speagle, a grammatical brewer of 
 Lubeck ; and now most learnedly en- 
 larged, amplified, and translated into 
 English verse and prose, by John Taylor, 
 the Water Poet." 
 
 Drink like a Fish (To). To drink 
 abundantly. Many fish swim with their 
 mouths open. 
 
 Drinking Healths was a Eoman 
 custom. Thus, in Plautus, we read of a 
 man drinking to his mistress with these 
 words : '■'■Bene vos, bene nos, how ir, bene 
 inc, hcHC nviiirnni ctlam IStephuniiiiu " 
 (Here's to you, here's to us all, here's 
 to thee, here's to me, here's to our dear 
 
 ). {Stkh. V. 4.) Persius (v. 1, 20) 
 
 has a similar verse: ^'' Bene niihi, bene 
 robis, bene ami'ccc iiostrce" (Here's to 
 myself, here's to you, and here's to I 
 shan't say who). Martial, Ovid, Horace, 
 etc. , refer to the same custom. 
 
 The ancient Greeks drank healths. 
 Thus, when Theramenes was condemned 
 by the Thirty Tyrants to di'ink hemlock, 
 he said: ^' Ilocp/dcro Critim'' — the man 
 who condemned him to death. 
 
 The ancient Saxons followed the same 
 habit, and Geoffrey of Monmouth says 
 that Hengist invited King Vortigein to 
 a banquet to see his new levies. After 
 the meats were removed, Kowe'na, the 
 beautiful daughter of Hengist, entered 
 with a golden cup full of wine, and, 
 making obeisance, said, "■Laiierd kinine/, 
 vaclit heW'' (Lord King, your health). 
 The king then drank and replied, '■'■ llrinc 
 ]ieiV (Here's to you). {Ocdjf'roj of 
 Monmouth, book vi. 12.) Eobert de 
 Brunne refers to this custom : 
 
 " Tbis is tlier custom and bev gest 
 When they are at the ale or test : 
 ]lk man that levis gware him drink 
 Salle say ' Wosseiile' to him drink ; 
 He that biddis sail say ' Wassaile,' 
 The tother salle say again ' Drinkaille.' 
 That says ' WoisseiUe' drinks of the cup, 
 Kiss and his felaw he gives it up." 
 
 liobert de Brunne. 
 
 V In drinking healths we hold our 
 hands up towards the person toasted 
 and say, "Your health ..." The 
 Greeks handed the cup to the person 
 toasted and said, "This to thee," " Gncci 
 tn ejj^tHiti poculum alicui tradiiiiri, cum 
 
 nominare solent." Our holding out the 
 wine-glass is a rehc of this Greek 
 custom. 
 
 Drinking Song. The oldest in the 
 language is in the second act of Gaiuiiier 
 Gurion's Needle, by John Stdl, called 
 Tlie Jolly Bishop. It begins : 
 
 " I cannot eat but little meat, 
 Jly stomach is not good." 
 
 Drinking at Freeman's Quay, 
 
 that is, drinking gratis. At one time, all 
 jiorters and carmen calling at Freeman's 
 Quay, near London Bridge, had a pot of 
 beer given them gratis. 
 
 Drive. (Anglo-Saxon drif-an.) 
 
 'To drive a good bargain. To exact more 
 
 than is quite equable. 
 
 "Heaven would no bargain for its blessings 
 drive." Brydeii: Astrcea Ileduj:,\YA':. 
 
 To drive a roaring trade. To be doing 
 a brisk business. The allusion is to 
 a coachman who drives so fast that his 
 horses pant and roar for breath. 
 
 To drive tlie swine ihroiiyh the hanki 
 of yarn. To sjjoil what has been pain- 
 fully done ; to squander thrift. In 
 Scotland, the yarn wrought in the winter 
 (called the gude-wife's thrift) is laid 
 down by the burn-side to bleach, and 
 is pecuhai'ly exjjosed to damage from 
 passing animals. Sometimes a herd of 
 jjigs driven along the road will run over 
 the hanks, and sometimes they will stray 
 over them from some neighbouring farm- 
 yard and do a vast amount of harm. 
 
 Drive at {To). What arc yon dririny 
 at i What do you want to prove? What 
 do you want me to infer ? We say the 
 " wind drove against the sails," i.e. 
 rushed or moved violently against them. 
 Falstaff tells us of " four rogues in 
 buckram [who] let drive at him," where 
 at means against or towards. "What 
 are you driving at ? " is, against or to- 
 wards what object are you driving or 
 moving ? 
 
 Drive Off. To defer, to procrasti- 
 nate. The idea is, running away or 
 ch'awing off from something that ought 
 to be done, with the promise of commg 
 to it at a future time. 
 
 Driveller. An idiot, an imbecile, 
 whose saliva drivels out of his mouth. 
 
 " And .Swift expires a drivellerand a show." 
 Drivelling Dotage. In weak old 
 age saliva drops unconsciously from the 
 mouth. 
 
 "This exhiljition of drivelling dotage was at- 
 tended with many other incoherent expressii>ns." 
 — >/. P. Kennedy : The Sa-alluw liani, chap, xlvil. 
 p. 463.
 
 Briver of Europe 
 
 §83 
 
 iDrcwned 
 
 Driver of Europe {Le Cocher cle 
 VEiirnpc). So the Empress of Russia 
 used to call the Due de Choiseul, minis- 
 ter of Louis XV., because he had spies 
 all over Europe, aud thus ruled its 
 political cabals. 
 
 Drivers, in the Irish uprising about 
 18-13, were persons engaged by laud- 
 lords to drive all the live stock of de- 
 faulting tenants and lodge them in a 
 l)ouud [like that at Carrickmacross] . 
 They were resisted by the Molly Ma- 
 guires. 
 
 Drives fat Oxen {Who). Brook, in 
 his Gimturiis Yasa, says: ''Who rules 
 o'er freemen should himself be free," 
 which Dr. Johnson parodied thus: "Who 
 diives fat oxen should himself be fat." 
 {BosiccWs Life, year 1784.) 
 
 Driving for Rent, iu Ireland, was a 
 summary way of recovering rent by 
 driving cattle to a pound, aud keeping 
 them till the rent was paid, or selling 
 them by auction. 
 
 "It was detennineJ tbat I and the baililfs 
 sliDulil gi) out in a Ixiily and ' drive for reut.'"— 
 Trench : .Realities of Irish Life, chap. v. 
 
 Driving Pigs. ITe is drivbig pigs, 
 or driving pigs to market — i.e. snoring 
 like pigs, whose grunt resembles the 
 snore of a sleeper. 
 
 Droit d'Aubaine. In France the 
 king was entitled, at the death of 
 foreign residents (excejit Swiss and 
 Scots), to all their movable estates; the 
 law was only abolished in 1819. Au- 
 bain means " alien," and droit d''aubuinc 
 the "right over an alien's property." 
 
 "Had I died that night of an indigestion, the 
 whole wnrUl couUl not bavesnspended tlieeffiects 
 of tlie ilruits d'diibaine : my shirts and blacli pair 
 of hreeclics, pnrtinauteau and all, mnst have gone 
 to the king.of France."— Sferjie ; SentimentalJoiir- 
 ney (Introduction). 
 
 Drole. " C'est nn drole,'" or " C'est 
 nn drole d'homme''^ (he is a rum cus- 
 tomer). " Un jogeux drole'''' means a 
 boon companion. " JJne drole de ehose " 
 means a queer thing ; something one 
 can make neither head nor tail of. 
 
 Dro'mio. The brothers Dromio. Two 
 brothers exactly alike, who serve two 
 brothers exactly alike, and the mistakes 
 of masters and men form the fun of 
 Shakespeare's Comedg of Errors, based 
 on the Jlencech'jiii of Plautus. 
 
 Drone (1 syl.). The largest tube of 
 a bagpipe ; so called because it sounds 
 only one continuous note, ((xermau, 
 drohne, verb, drohnen, to groan or drone.) 
 
 A drone. An idle person who lives on 
 the means of another, as drones on the 
 
 honey collected by bees ; a sluggard. 
 (Anglo-Saxon drcen, a male bee.) 
 
 Drop. To take a drop. A euphemism 
 for taking what the drinker chooses to 
 call by that term. It may be auytliing 
 from a si^j to a Dutchman's draught. 
 
 A drop of the cratiir. In Ireland 
 means a drink of whisky, or "creature- 
 comfort." 
 
 2h take a drop too iiineh. To be in- 
 toxicated. If it is the "last feather which 
 breaks the camel's back," it is the drop 
 too much which produces intoxication. 
 
 lo take one^s drops. To diink spirits 
 in private. 
 
 Drop {To). To drop an acquaintance 
 is quietly to cease visiting and inviting 
 an acquaintance. The opposite of pick- 
 ing up or taking up an acquaintance. 
 
 Drop in {To). To make a casual 
 call, not invited ; to pay an informal 
 visit. The allusion is to fruit and other 
 things falling down suddenly, unex- 
 pectedly, or accidentally. It is the )«- 
 transitive verh, not the transitive, which 
 means to " let fall." 
 
 Drop off {To). "Friends drop off," 
 fall away gradually. "To drop off to 
 sleep," to fall asleep (especially in 
 weariness or sickness) . 
 
 Drop Serene {gnfta serena). An 
 old name for amauro'sis. It was at one 
 time thought that a transparent, watery 
 humour, distUling on the optic nerve, 
 would produce blindness wilhout chang- 
 ing the appearance of the eye. 
 "So thick a 'drop serene' hath (luenched these 
 or))S.'' Milton : I'aradise Lout, iii. 25. 
 
 Drown the Miller {To). To put 
 too much water into grog or tea. The 
 idea is that the supply of water is so 
 great that even the miller, who uses a 
 water wheel, is drowned with it. 
 
 Drowned Rat. As wet as a drowned 
 rat — i.e. soaking wet. Drowned rats 
 certainly look deplorably wet, but so 
 also do drowned mice, drowned cats, and 
 drowned dogs, etc. 
 
 Drowned in a Butt of Malmsey. 
 
 George, Duke of Clarence, being allowed 
 to choose by what death he would die, 
 chose drowning in malmsey ^vine (1477). 
 See the continuation of 3to)tstrelet, 196 ; 
 Falgosus, ix. 12 ; Martin du Bellais's 
 Memoirs (year 1514). 
 
 Admitting this legend to be an his- 
 toric fact, it is not unique : Michael 
 Harslob, of Berlin, wished to meet 
 death in a similar way in 1571, if we
 
 Drowning Men 
 
 38i 
 
 Drunkenness 
 
 may credit the iuscriptiou on his 
 tomb : — 
 
 "J 11 cyallio villi pleno cum iimscn jierii-et, 
 Bio, ait Oeiieus, spinite porire veliiii." 
 
 " When in a cup of wino a tly was drowncil, 
 So, said Viuarius, may my days be crowned." 
 
 Drowning Men. Droicnuit/ men 
 catch at siratcn. Persons in desjierate 
 circumstances cling in hope to trifles 
 •wholly inadequate to rescue or even help 
 them. 
 
 Drows or Trows. A sort of fairy 
 race, residing in hills a7id caverns. They 
 are curious artificers in iron and precious 
 metals. {Zetland superstition.) 
 
 "I bun^ about tliy neck tliat gifted chain, 
 whicli all in our isles know was wrouflit by no 
 earthly artist, but liy tlie Drows in the secret 
 recesses of their caverns.''— .s'coH; The I'irutc, 
 chap. X. 
 
 Drub, Drubbing. To flog, a flog- 
 ging. Compare Greek tribo, to rub, 
 bruise ; Anglo-Saxon, clrcpan, to beat. 
 
 Drug. It is a mere drug in the mar- 
 lict. Something not called for, which 
 no one will buy. French drogue = rub- 
 bish, as Cc n''est que dc la drogue ; hence 
 droguet (drugget), inferior carpet-cloth 
 made of rubbisli or inferior wool, etc. 
 
 Druid. A chief priest (Celtic, der, 
 superior; «7/f7r/, priest or instructor) . In 
 Taliesiu we read, Bum gwpdd yugwarth 
 an (at length I became a priest or u-gdd). 
 It was after this period that the wydds 
 were divided into two classes, the i)er- 
 wydds and the Go-wydds (D'ruids and 
 Ovidds). Every chief had his druid, and 
 every chief di'uid was allowed a guard of 
 thirty men [Htraho). The order was very 
 wealthy. (Not derived from the Greek 
 drus, an oak.) 
 
 V Patricius tells us that the Druids 
 were wont to borrow money to be re- 
 paid in the life to come. His words are, 
 "DruidfB jjecuniam mutuo accipiebaut 
 in posteriore vita reddituri." 
 
 ' Like money by the Druids borrowed, 
 In fother world to be restored." 
 
 Sutler: Iliuliliras, part iii. canto i. 
 
 Drum. A crowded evening party, 
 a contraction of " di'a wing - room " 
 (dr'-'oom). Cominges, the French am- 
 bassador, writing to Louis XIV., calls 
 these assemblies drerums and driwronies. 
 {Hee EouT, Hurricane.) 
 
 "Tlie Conite de Broslie . . . coes sniiietimes to 
 the drernins, and sometimes to the driwrome of 
 tlie Piincess of Wales."— Niiiitientli Ceiditry : 
 Coiiite de Cumiime.~t ; 8ept., IS'.ii, p. 4<jl. 
 
 " It isimpossilile to live in a drum."— iadj/ J/. 
 W. Montagu. 
 
 John T)ruin^s cntcrt(unment. Turning 
 an unwelcome guest out of doors. The 
 
 allusion is to drumming a soldier out of 
 a regiment. 
 
 Drum Ecclesiastic. The puljiit 
 cushion, often vigorously thumped by 
 whixt are termed " rousing preachers." 
 
 " Wlien Gospel fruiiipeter, surroundeil 
 With loiiK-<'ared rout, to liattle siiiinded ; 
 And pulpit, drum ecdi'siastic, 
 Was beat wiih llsi iiisii^ad of a stick." 
 
 lialhr : JJiidiljrds, part i. c.iuto 1. 
 
 Drum-head Court-martial. One 
 
 held in haste ; like a coiut-iuartitil sum- 
 moned on the field round the big drum 
 to deal summarily with an oft'ender. 
 
 Drummers. So commercial travel- 
 lers are called in America, because their 
 vocation is to drum wp recruits or c\is- 
 tomers. 
 
 Drum'mond Light. The limelight. 
 So named fronr Captain Thomas Druni- 
 moud, E..E. 
 
 " Wisdom thinks, and makes a solar Dnimmmid 
 Lifflitatu point of dull lime."— Gei/iie; Entering 
 on Life tlleadinfe', p..'Jll). 
 
 Drumsticks. Legs. The leg of a 
 cooked fowl is called a drumstick. 
 
 Drunk. (Anglo-Saxon drinc-an.) 
 
 ])runk as a fiddler. The reference is to 
 the fiddler at wakes, fairs, and on board 
 ship, who used to be jjaid in liquor for 
 jilaying to rustic dancers. 
 
 ])runk us a lord. Before the great 
 temperance movement set in, in the 
 latter half of the nineteenth century, 
 those who could aiford to drink thought 
 it quite eonniic ilfu.utio driuk two, three, 
 or even more bottles of port wine for 
 dinner, and few dinners ended witli- 
 out placing the guests under the tal)le 
 in a liopeless state of intoxication. The 
 temperate habits of the last quarter 
 of tlie nineteenth century render's this 
 phrase now almost unintelligible. 
 
 l)runk as blazes. " Blazes " of course 
 means the devil. 
 
 Drunk as C/iloe. Chloe, or rather 
 Cloe (2 syl.), is the cobbler's wife of 
 Linden Grove, to whom Prior, the poet, 
 was attached. She was notorious for 
 her drinking habits. 
 
 Drunk as David's sou; {See Davy's 
 Sow.) 
 
 Drunkard's Cloak (A). A tub 
 with holes for the arms to pass through. 
 At one time used for drunkards and 
 scolds by way of imnishment. 
 
 Drunken Deddington. One dead 
 drunk. The propter name is a play on 
 the word dead. 
 
 Drunkenness. The seven der/rees : 
 (1) Ape drunk; (2) Lion drunk; (3)
 
 Drunkenness 
 
 385 
 
 Dualism 
 
 Swine drunk ; (4) Sheep drunk ; (5) 
 Martin drunk ; (6) Goat drunk ; (7) Fox 
 drunk. (X(ii>/i.) 
 
 Drunkenness. It is said that if 
 childi-en eat owl's eggs they will never 
 be addicted to strong drinks. 
 
 "Tons les oiseaux lui [i.e. to Baccluis] etaient 
 aareable, excepte la cbouett.e iloiit les (inifs 
 avaient la vertu de renilre les eufans iiui les 
 mangeaieat ennemisldu \in."— Noel : Diction luilrc 
 de la Fable, vol. i. p. ai6. 
 
 Drupner [the dripper']. A gold ring 
 given to Odin ; every ninth night other 
 rings dropped from it of e(iual value to 
 itself. {The Edda.) 
 
 Drury Lane (London) takes its name 
 from the habitation of the great Drury 
 . family. Sir "William Drury, K.G., was 
 a most able commander in the Irish 
 wars. Drury House stood on the site of 
 the present Olympic theatre. 
 
 Dru'ses (2 syl.). A people of Syria 
 governed by emirs. Their faith is a 
 mixture of the Pentateuch, the Gospel, 
 the Koran, and Sutism. They offer up 
 their devotions both in mosques and 
 churches, worship the images of saints, 
 and yet observe the fast of Ram'adan. 
 Their language is pure Arabic. (Hakera, 
 the incarnate spirit, was assisted by 
 DarSsi in propounding his rehgiou to 
 these Syrians ; and the word JJvhsc is 
 said to be derived from Darasi, shortened 
 into D'rasi.) 
 
 Dry. Thirsty. Hence to drink is to 
 " wet your whistle " {i.e. thi'oat) ; and 
 malt liquor is called "heavy wet." 
 (Anglo-Saxon dnjff, dry.) 
 
 Dry Blow {A). A blow which does 
 not bring blood. 
 
 Dry Goods (in merchandise), such as 
 cloths, stuff's, silks, laces, and drapery 
 in genera], as opposed to groceries. 
 
 Dry Lodgings. Sleeping accommo- 
 dation without board. Gentlemen who 
 take their meals at clubs live in dry 
 lodgings. 
 
 " Drv Loilginge of seven weeks, £0 4s. Id."— .S'/r 
 W. Scott: Old Mortality (Intr. Rob. Patterson 
 deb. to Margaret Chrystale). 
 
 Dry-nurse. When a superior officer 
 does not know his duty, and is in- 
 structed in it by an inferior officer, he is 
 said to be diy-nursed. The inferior 
 nurses the superior, as a dry-nurse rears 
 an infant. 
 
 Dry Rot. The spontaneous rot of 
 timber or wall-paper, not unfrequently 
 produced by certain fungi nttachiug 
 themselves tliereto. It is called dry rot 
 because the wood is not puiposely 
 
 25 
 
 exposed to wet, although, without doubt, 
 damj) from defective ventilation is 
 largely present, and the greenness of 
 wood employed contributes gi-eatly to 
 the decay. 
 
 Dry Sea (A). A sandy desert. The 
 camel is the ship of the desert. We read 
 of the Persian sea of sand. 
 
 " The see that men slepeii the grave1,v see, that, 
 is alle gravelle and sond with oulen oiiy droiie of 
 \>a,lTe."—iIam{evilte : Travels. 
 
 Dry Shave (A). A shave without 
 soaping the face ; to scrape the face with 
 a piece of iron hoop ; to scratch the face ; 
 to box it and bruise it. Sometimes it 
 means to beat and bruise generally ; ill 
 usage. 
 
 " The fellow will get a dry shave." 
 Peter Pindar: Great Cry and Little Wool, Ep. 1. 
 " I'll shave her, like a ininished soldier, dry." 
 J'ttcr Pindar : Tlie Lousiad, canto ii. 
 
 Dry Style (of writing). Without 
 pathos, without light and shade ; dull 
 level, and unamusing. 
 
 Dry Wine. Opposed to sweet or 
 fruity wine. In sweet wine some of the 
 sugar is not yet decomposed ; in dri/ 
 wine all the sugar has been converted 
 into alcohol. The doctoring of wiue to 
 improve its quaUty is called dosage. 
 
 " rpon the nature and amount of the dosage, 
 the character of the wiue (whether it he dry or 
 sweet, light or strcjug) very much depends." — 
 Yizetelly : Facts about Champagne, chai). v. p. 59. 
 
 Dry'ads. Nymphs of the trees. 
 (Greek, drus, any forest tree.) They 
 were supposed to live in the trees and 
 die when the trees died. Eurydlce, the 
 wife of Orpheus (2 syl.) the poet, was a 
 dryad. 
 
 Dryasdust {Rer. Dr.). A heavy', 
 plodding author, very prosy, very dull, 
 and very learned ; an antic^uary. Sir 
 Walter Scott employs the name to bring 
 out the prefatory matter of some of his 
 novels. 
 
 "The Prussian Doasdust . . . excels all other 
 'Dryasdusts' yet V.nown."—Carlyle. 
 
 Du'alism. A system of philosophy 
 which refers all things that exist to two 
 ultimate principles. It is eminently a 
 Persian doctrine. The Oi-phic poets 
 made the ultimate principles of all 
 things to be Water and Night, or Time 
 and Necessity. In theology the Mani- 
 che'an doctrine is dualistic. In modern 
 philosophy it is opposed to monism (q.r.), 
 and insists that the creator and creation, 
 mind and body, are distinct entities. 
 That creation is not deity, and that 
 mind is not an offspring of matter. {See 
 Monism.)
 
 Dub 
 
 386 
 
 Dudgeon 
 
 Dub. To make a knight by giving 
 him a hloic. Dr. Tusler says, "The an- 
 cient method of knighting was by a box 
 on the ear, implying that it woukl bo 
 the hist he woukl receive, as he woukl 
 henceforth be free to maintain liis own 
 honour." The jiresent ceremony is to 
 tai) the shoulder with a sword. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, duhhan, to strike with a blow.) 
 
 Dub Up ! Pay down the money. A 
 dub is an Anglo -Indian coin, hence 
 " down with your dubs," money down. 
 A '■ doubloon" is a double pistole. 
 
 Dublin (the Irish duhh-l'mn, the 
 "black pool "). The chief part of the 
 city stands on land reclaimed from the 
 river Liffey or the sea. 
 
 True CIS the Dc'il is in JDiihUn cifij. 
 {Burns : Death and Dr. Hornbodk.) 
 Probably Burns refers to the Scandi- 
 navian name Dirc/in, which suggested 
 fii-st Divel and then Devil or Deil, 
 
 Dubs in " marbles " is a contraction 
 of double or doublets. Thus, if a player 
 knocks two marbles out of the ring, he 
 cries dubs, before the atlversary cries 
 "no dubs," and claims them both. 
 
 Duc'at. A piece of money ; so called 
 from the legend on the early Sicilian 
 pieces: Sit tibi, C/irifte, daius, quein In 
 regis, istc ducdtus (May this duchy 
 \(lucut-us'\ which you rule be devoted to 
 you, O Christ). 
 
 Duchesne (2 syl.). Le plre Bnelusne. 
 Jacques Ei'ne Hebert, cliief of the Cor- 
 delier Club in the French Revolution, 
 the members of which were called 
 Hebertists. He was called " Fathe'r 
 Duchesne," from the name of ids vile 
 journal. (1755-1794.) 
 
 Ducbess. The wife or widow of a 
 duke ; but an old woman is often jocosely 
 termed an old duchess or a regular old 
 duchess. The longevity of the peers and 
 peeresses is certainly very striking. 
 
 Duck. A lame duch. A stock-jobber 
 who will not, or cannot, pay his losses. 
 He has to " waddle out of the alley like 
 a lame duck." 
 
 Like a dying duck in a thunderstorm. 
 Quite chop-fallen. 
 
 Ih get a duck. A contraction of duck's 
 egg or 0, in cricket. A player who gets 
 no run off his bat is marked down 0. 
 
 Duck Lane. A row for old and 
 
 second-hand books which stood formerly 
 near Smithfiekl, but has given way to 
 city improvements. It might be called 
 
 the Holywell Street of Queen Anne's 
 
 reign. 
 
 " Scotists and Tliomists now in jieace remain 
 Amidst tbeir kindred col)\vehs in Diu-k Lane." 
 Pope: Essay on Criticism. 
 
 Duck's Egg. Broke his duck^s egg. 
 Took his first school prize. In cricket 
 a " duck's egg " or in a score is broken 
 by a run. 
 
 " W^liat a proud and happy day it. was to Lucy 
 wlien little Herbert, in pulilic-sclmcil parlance, 
 •broke Liis duck's egif— otherwise, took his first 
 priiie."— -1 FlUvw ufTi-iHitu, chap. i. 
 
 Duck's-foot Lane [City.] A cor- 
 ruption of Duke's Foot Lane ; so called 
 from the Dukes of Suffolk, whose manor- 
 house was there. 
 
 Ducks and Drakes. The ricochet- 
 ing or rebounding of a stone thrown 
 from the hand to skim along the surface 
 of a pond or river. 
 
 To inake ducks and drakes of o«r's 
 inniicg. To throw it away as stones with 
 which "ducks and drakes" are made 
 on water. The allusion is to the sport 
 of throwing stones to skim over water 
 for the sake of seeing them ricocheting 
 or rebounding. 
 
 " What llfiured slates arc licst to niako 
 Ou watery surface duck and drake." 
 
 Butler : UudibruK, ii. .3. 
 "Mr. Locke Harper found out, a month after 
 liis niarriaf-'e, that somebody had made ducks and 
 drakes of his wife's money."— /J/mi/i M. Crailc: 
 Aijotlia's IIii!<band, chap, xxiii. 
 
 Duckie. Diminutive of "duck," a 
 term of endeanneiit = darling or beloved 
 one. (Norwegian and Danish, dukke, a 
 doll, a baby.) 
 
 Ducking (A). A drenching. (Ger- 
 man, diirkc/i, to dive imder water.) 
 
 Duckweed. A weed which floats on 
 the surface of stagnant water and forms 
 a harbour for insects which ducks feed 
 on. Its Latin name is " Lemna ; " Greek, 
 linme (a stagnant i)ool). 
 
 Dude. A masher. One who renders 
 himself conspicuous liy aft'ectatiou of 
 dress, manners, and speech. The word 
 was first familiarised in London in 1881, 
 and is a revival of the old word dudes 
 (clothes). We have several derivations, as 
 dudder, one who sells dress-pieces ; dud- 
 derg, a rag-.shop ; duddle, to wrap ui> 
 warmly {Haiti well), etc. It is not of 
 American origin. 
 
 " I should just as soon expect to see Mercntio 
 smoke a cigarette, as to find him ambling almut 
 the stage with the mincing manners of a dude."— 
 Jefferson: Century Magazine, January, Isuo, p. SJS. 
 
 Dudeism (3 syl.). The tomfoolery 
 of a dude ('2 syl.). 
 
 Dudgeon {The). The handle of a 
 dagger, at one time made of box- wood
 
 Dudman 
 
 387 
 
 Duke 
 
 root, called " dudgeon- wood ; " a dagger 
 with such a haudle. Shakespeare does uot 
 say, " aud on the blade o' the dudgeon 
 gouts of blood," but "on the blade and 
 dudgeon . . ," both blade and handle. 
 
 Dud'man and Ramhead. iritcn 
 JJudiiian (Old liamhcad meet. Never. 
 Dudman aud Ramhead (now spelt Rame- 
 head) are two forelands on the Cornish 
 coast, about twenty miles asunder, {!See 
 Nevee.) 
 
 " JIake yourself scarce ! depart ! vanisli ! or 
 we'U have you suuimoued before the mayor of 
 Hal'gaver, and tliat before Dudman aud llamhead 
 meet."— .S'fott ; Kenilworth, iv. 
 
 Duds. Old clothes, tattered gar- 
 ments (Gaelic, diid, a rag; Dutch, tud ; 
 Italian, tvzzi). A dudder or dudsman is 
 a scarecrow, or man of straw dressed in 
 cast off garments to fray birds ; also a 
 pedlar who sells duds or gown-pieces. 
 (Compare the Greek duo, to put on 
 [clothes] ; Latin, in.duo, to clothe.) 
 
 Dudu. A pensive maiden of seven- 
 teen, " who never thought about herself 
 at all." {Byron : Don Juan, vi. vii.) 
 
 Ducn'de (3 syl.). A Sjmnish goblin 
 or house-spirit. Cal'deron has a comedy 
 called La JJania Ducnda. ijicc Faiey.) 
 
 Duen'na \Lndtj'\. The female of 
 don. Tlie Sjianish don is derived from 
 the Latin doininusz=ia, lord, a master. 
 A duenna is the chief lady-in-waiting 
 on the Queen of Spain ; but in common 
 parlance it moans a lady who is half 
 companion and half governess, in charge 
 of the younger female members of a 
 nobleman's or gentleman's family in 
 Portugal or Sjiain. 
 
 " Tbere is uo duenua so rigidly prudent and in- 
 exorably decorous as a superannuated coquette." 
 — W. IrviU'j : Sketch-Buolc (Spectre LiUlcijrvum). 
 
 Duer'gar (2 syl.). Dwarfs who dwell 
 in rocks and hills ; noted for t?ieir 
 strength, subtilty, magical powers, and 
 skill in metallurgy. They are the jjer- 
 sonificatiou of the subterranean powers 
 of natui-e. According to the Gotho- 
 Germau myth, the duergar were first 
 maggots in Ymii-'s flesh, but afterwards 
 assumed the likeness of men. The first 
 duergar was Modsogn'er, the next Dyrin. 
 N.B. — The Giant Ymir is Chaos. (<S'ce 
 Heldenbuch.) 
 
 Dues'sa {Double-inbid or False-faith). 
 Daughter of Falsehood and Shame, who 
 assumes divers disguises to beguile the 
 Red Cross Knight. At one time she 
 takes the name of Fidessa, and entices 
 the knight into the Palace of Pride 
 {Lueife'r<i). The knight having left the 
 palace, is overtaken by Duessa, and 
 
 drinks of an enchanted fountain, which 
 paralyses him, in which state he is taken 
 captive by the giant Orgoglio. Prince 
 Arthur slays the giant and rescues the 
 knight ; Duessa, being stripped of her 
 gorgeous disguise, is found to be a 
 hideous hag, and flees into the wilder- 
 ness for concealment. She appears again 
 in book ii. {Spenser: Faerie Qnecne, 
 book i. 2-7 ; v. y.) 
 
 Dufarge. Jacques and Madame Du- 
 farge are the presiding genii of the 
 Faubourg St. Antoine, and chief insti- 
 gators of many of the crimes committed 
 by the Red Republicans in Dickens's 
 2ah' of Two Cities. 
 
 Duffer {A) now means a person easily 
 bamboozled, one of slow wit ; but 
 originally it meant one who cheated or 
 bamboozled. To duff' =:to cheat. Per- 
 sons who sell inferior goods as "great 
 bargains," under the pretence of their 
 being smuggled, are duft'ers ; so are 
 hawkers generally. At the close of the 
 eighteenth century j)assers of bad money 
 were so called. Now the word is api)lied 
 to persons taken in, and by artists to 
 inferior pictures. 
 
 " Itobinson a tliorou'-rli duftcr is." 
 
 AU:atiLi-Ur Smltk : .Skihiih r Iili/U. 
 
 Duglas, the scene of four Artliuriau 
 battles. It is a river which falls into 
 the Ribble. Mr. Whittaker says, "six 
 cwt. of horse-shoes were taken up from 
 a space of ground near the spot duriug 
 the formation of a canal." 
 
 Duke. T/ie Great Buhe. The Duke 
 of Wellington, called " the Iron Duke." 
 (17(i9-lSo2.) 
 
 Duke Coombe. William Coombe, 
 author of iJr. iSi/iitax, 'The Becd upon 
 Two Sticks, etc., who in the days of his 
 prosperity was noted for the splendour 
 of his dress, the profusion of his table, 
 aud the magnificence of his deportment. 
 Having spent all his money he turned 
 author, but passed the last fifteen years 
 of liis life in the King's Bench. (1743- 
 1823.) 
 Duke Ernest. {See Ernest.) 
 Duke Humphrey. ('SVcHumpheey.) 
 
 Duke Street (Strand), so named 
 from George Yilliers, Duke of Bucking- 
 ham. 
 
 Duke and Duchess in Bon Quixote, 
 who play so many tricks on the Knight 
 of the Woeful Countenance, were Don 
 Carlos do Borja, Count of Ficallo, who 
 married Donna Maria of Ar'agou, 
 Duchess of Villaher'mora, in whose right
 
 Duke 
 
 388 
 
 Dulia 
 
 the count had extensive estates on the 
 banks of the Ebro ; among others he had 
 a country seat called Kuena'via, which 
 was the place Cervantes referred to. 
 
 Duke of Exeter's Daughter ( The). 
 
 A rack iu tlie Tower of London, so 
 called from a minister of Henry VI., 
 who sought to introduce it into England. 
 
 Duke or Darling. Heads or tails ; 
 pitch and toss. When the scandals 
 about the Duke of York and Mrs. 
 Clarke were the common talk of the 
 town, the street boys, instead of crying 
 Heads or tails, used to say l)uke or l)ar- 
 liiiff. {Lord Colchester : Diary, 1861.) 
 
 Duke's. A fashionable theatre iu 
 the reign of Charles II. It was situate 
 in Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. 
 It was named from its great patron, 
 James, Duke of York, afterwards James 
 II. The modern Duke's theatre. 
 
 Duke's Walk. 'To meet one in the 
 ])uke^s Walk. An invitation to fight a 
 duel. In the vicinity of Holyrood 
 House is a place called the Duke's Walk, 
 from being the favourite promenade of 
 the Duke of York, afterwards James II., 
 during his residence in Scotland. This 
 walk was the common rendezvous for 
 settling affairs of honour, as the site of 
 the British Museum was in England. 
 
 '• If a gentleman sliallask nie tlicsanioiniestiim, 
 I shall regard the incivility as euuivali'iit to an 
 invitation to meet him in the Duke's Walk. '— 
 Scott: Bride of Lamiiurmuor, chap, xxxiv. 
 
 Dukeries. A district in Xottiiigham- 
 shire, so called from the nuinbirdf ducal 
 residences in the vicinity, imludiiig Wel- 
 beck Abbey, Thoresby, Clumber, Work- 
 sop, Kiveton Hall, etc. 
 
 Dulcar'non. The horns of a dilemma, 
 (or iSi/llvffisiiiKiii conni'lmii) ; at my wits' 
 end ; a puzzling question. Dulcar'nein 
 is the Arabic dhn^lkarneii) (double- 
 horned, having two horns). Hence the 
 47th proposition of the First Book? of 
 Euclid is called the Dulcarnon, as the 
 5th is the jjoiis ashioriim. Alexander the 
 Great is called Iscander Dulcarnein, and 
 the Macedonian aera tlie (era of Dnlcar- 
 iiein. Chaucer uses the word in Troylas 
 and Crj/seijde, book iii. 12(5, 127. 
 
 V The horns of the 47th proposition 
 are the two squares which contain the 
 right angle. 
 
 To be in D/ilearnon. To be in a quan- 
 dary, or on the horns of a dilemma. 
 
 To send one to l)ulearnon. To daze 
 with puzzles. 
 
 Dulce Domum. The holiday song 
 of Winchester school. Mr*. Brandon 
 
 says it was composed by a boy of St. 
 Mary's College, Winchester, who was 
 confined for misconduct during the 
 Whitsun holidaj's, "as report says, tied 
 to a pillar." On the evening preceding 
 the Whitsun holidays, " the master, 
 scholars, and choristers of the above 
 college walk in procession round the 
 ' jiillar,' chanting the six stanzas of the 
 song." In the March number of the 
 (ie)illeman''s Magazine, 1790, a transla- 
 tion, signed "J. R.," was given of the 
 song ; and Dr. Milner thinks the original 
 is not more than a century old. It is 
 rather remarkable that the author has 
 made " domiun " a neuter noun. {See 
 Adeste Fideles.) 
 
 CIIOUI'S: 
 " Domum, domum, dulce domum ! 
 Domum, domuiu, dulce domum ; 
 Dulce, dulce, dulce domum I 
 Dulce donuim, re.sone'nuis." 
 Home, home, joyous home ! 
 Home, home, joyous home ! 
 Joyous, joyous, joyous home ! 
 Hnrnih tor joyous hinno ! E. C. B, 
 
 Dulce est Desipere in Loco. It 
 
 is dclightfid ti) play the fool occa- 
 sionally ; it is nice to throw aside one's 
 dignity and relax at the proiier time. 
 (Horace: 4 Ode^, xii. 28.) 
 
 Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria 
 Mori (Latin). It is sweet and liecomiiig 
 to die on otn covmtry's behalf, or to die 
 for one's country. 
 
 Dul'cimer (Italian doleiniello), ac- 
 cording to Bisliop {Musical JJictiouari/, 
 p. 4.3), is "a triangular chest strung with 
 wires, which are struck with a little rod 
 held in each hand;" but the word 
 "symphouia," translated dulcimer in 
 Daniel iii. 5, was a species of bagpipe. 
 Fiirst deduces it from the Hebrew 
 smpn (a pipe). 
 
 "The sound of cornet, flute, harji, sackhut, 
 ]isaliery, [symphony] or dulcimer, audall kind.s ot 
 music."— Dan. iii. 5. 
 
 Dulcin'ea. A lady - love. Taken 
 from Don Quixote's amie di< cwnr. Her 
 real name was Aldonza Lorenzo, but the 
 knight dubbed her Dulcin'ea del Tobo'so. 
 " I must ever have some Dulciuea in my head- 
 it harmonises tlie soul.''— Sfei'Hc. 
 
 Dul'cinists. Heretics who followed 
 the teaching of Dulcin, who lived in the 
 fourteenth century. He said that God 
 reigned from the beginning to the com- 
 ing of Messiah ; and that Christ reigned 
 from His ascension to the fourteenth 
 century, when He gave up His dominion 
 to the Holy Ghost. Dulcin was burnt by 
 order of Poi^e Clement IV. 
 
 Duli'a. An inferior degree of wor- 
 ship or veneration, such as that paid by
 
 DtiII 
 
 389 
 
 Dummies 
 
 Roman Catholics to saints and angels ; 
 Hyper-duli'a is a superior sort of vene- 
 ration reserved for the Virgin ; but that 
 worship which is paid to God alone is 
 called latri'a. "Dulia " means that sort 
 of veneration which slaves pay to their 
 lords (Greek, dviilos,si slave) ; "Latria" 
 means that sort of veneration which 
 mortals pay to the gods (Greek, latrcu'o, 
 to worshiij the gods). 
 
 Dull as a Fro. A frow or fro is a 
 kind of wedge for splitting wood. It is 
 not a sharp-edged instrument like a 
 chisel, but a blunt or dull one. 
 
 Dull as Ditch-water. Uninterest- 
 ing ; ditch-water is stagnant and has no 
 go in it. 
 
 Dulness. King of ihihirss. Colley 
 Cibber, jjoet laureate after Eusdeu. 
 
 "'(tihI save kins C'ililiei'!' iiHuints in every 
 
 note .... 
 So when Jiive's liliick descended from on 
 
 liigh .... 
 Lonil tliunder to the hottom shook the hoR, 
 And the hoarse n.ation croaked, 'God save king 
 
 Log !'" Pupe: Dunriad, lH)ok i. 
 
 Dum Sola (Latin). While single or 
 unmarried. 
 
 Dum Spiro, Spero. While I live, I 
 hope ; or, While there's life, there's 
 hope. 
 
 Hope while you live, for wlio wonld care to 
 
 cope 
 With life's three foes, unpanoplled with hope ? 
 Hope against hope, while fed with vital hreatli, 
 Hope be your anchor in the hour of death. 
 
 A'. C. B. 
 
 Dum Vivimus, Vivamus (Latin). 
 While we live, let us enjoy life. The 
 motto of Dr. Doddridge's coat of anns, 
 which he converted into the subjoined 
 epigram — 
 
 " ' Live, while you live,' the epicure would say, 
 ' And seize the pleasures of the pre.sent ibiy.' 
 ' Live, while you live,' the sacred preacher cries, 
 ' And give to God each moment as it Hies.' 
 Lonl, in mil views U't each united he ; 
 1 live in pleasure, when I live to thee.'' 
 
 Du'maclius. The impenitent thief, 
 called Dysnius in the apocryphal Gospel 
 of Nicodemus. In Longfellow's (Joldvn 
 Legend Dumachus and Titus were two 
 of a band of robbers who attacked Joseph 
 in his flight into Egyjit. Titus said, ' ' Let 
 these good people go iu jieace," but 
 Dumachus replied, " First let them pay 
 for their release." Upon this Titus gave 
 his fellow-robber forty groats, and the 
 infiint Jesus said — • 
 
 " When thirty years shall have gone by, 
 I at Jerusalem shall die .... 
 
 On the accurseil tree. 
 Then on my litrlit and mv left side, 
 These thieves shall both be crncitled ; 
 And Titus tlienceforth shall abide 
 In Paradise with me." 
 
 'the Miracle Play, iii. 
 
 Dumb-barge (A). A barge without 
 sails, used for a pier, and not for convey- 
 ing merchandise up and down a river. 
 
 Dumb-bell Nebula {T/w). A still 
 condensing mass ; so called from being 
 of the shape of a dumb-bell. 
 
 Dumb-bells. A con-uption of Dum- 
 pels or Dumpies, the same word as Dum- 
 plings, and meaning heavy (weights). 
 (German and Danish, d/inuii, heavy, 
 dull, insipid ; d/iiupHi/g, a heavy, insipid 
 pudding ; dumps, heavy, stupid morose- 
 ness.) {See Dltmp.) 
 
 Dumb-bells. In New College, Ox- 
 ford, there still is an apparatus for 
 developing the muscles similar to that 
 which sets church-bells in motion. It 
 consists of a fly-wheel with a weight 
 attached, and the gymnast is carried by 
 it vi\) and down to bring his muscles into 
 play. The present apparatus was sub- 
 stituted for it, and answers a similar 
 purpose, though the name is greatly 
 obscured. 
 
 Dumb-bidding. A sale by auction 
 effected thus : Tlie owner fixes an upset- 
 price on an article, writes it on a slip of 
 paper, and covers the slip up. The 
 article is then offered to the bidders, and 
 withdrawn unless some bid reaches the 
 upset price. 
 
 Dumb-co'W {To). To brow-beat ; to 
 cow. (Anglo-Indian.) 
 
 Dumb Crambo. (&eCEAMBO.) 
 
 Dumb Dog {A). One who remains 
 
 silent when he ought to sjieak. 
 
 Dumb Ox of Cologne ( The) . Thomas 
 Aquinas (l'2'24-ri74), known afterwards 
 as '' the Angelic Doctor " or " Angel of 
 the Schools." Albertus Magnus, the 
 tutor of the "dumb o.k," said of him : 
 ' ' The dumb ox will one day fill the 
 world with his lowing." He was born 
 at Naples, but was a student in the 
 monastery of Cologne. 
 
 Dumb-'waiter. A piece of dining- 
 room furniture, fitted with shelves, to 
 hold glasses, dishes, and plate. So 
 called because it answers all the pur- 
 poses of a waiter, and is not possessed 
 of an insolent tongue ; a lift for carry- 
 ing food from a kitchen to the dining- 
 room, etc. 
 
 Dum'my. In three-handed whist the 
 exposed hand is called dummy. 
 
 Dum'mies (2 syl.). Empty bottles 
 or drawers iu a tlruggist'sshop ; wooden 
 heads in a hairdresser's shop ; lay figures
 
 Dump 
 
 390 
 
 Dunciad 
 
 iu a tailor's shop ; persons on the stage 
 who appear before the hghts, but have 
 nothing to say. These all are dumb, 
 actually or figuratively. 
 
 Dump. A Brazilian copper coin, 
 worth about 2hd. ; also a round flat 
 lump of lead used on board ship for 
 playing quoits and chuck-penny. Hence 
 flunipy or ihnnptij (squat or small). An 
 egg is called a hnniptii-dumptij in the 
 nursery verses beginning with " Humjjty 
 Dumpty sat on a wall," etc. 
 
 " Deatli saw two players iilayins cards, 
 - Hut. tlie game was not worth a diinip." 
 
 lUmd : Death's Humble, stanza II. 
 
 Dumps. To be in, the dumps. Out 
 of spirits ; iu the " sullens." According 
 to etymological fable, it is derived from 
 Dumops, King of Egypt, who built a 
 l)yramid and died of melauclioly. Gay's 
 Third Pastoral is Ifcdiusdai/, or the 
 Jj/niips. (German, diitnm, stupid, dull.) 
 
 "Wliy, how now, daughter Katharine? in your 
 dumps ? "—Shakespeare : Turning of the Shrew, 
 ii. 1. 
 
 Dun. One who importunes for paj'- 
 ment of a bill (Anglo-Saxon, ditixoi, to 
 din or clamour). The ti'adition is tliat 
 it refers to Joe Dun, a famous bailiff of 
 Lincoln in the reign of Henry VII. The 
 British Apollo says he Avas so active 
 and dexterous in collecting bad debts 
 that when anyone became " slow to 
 pay " the neighbours used to say to the 
 creditoi-s, "Duu him" (send Dun after 
 him). 
 
 "An rniversiiie dunne .... is an inferior 
 crrditor of some Ic-u shilliugs or downewards, 
 contracted for liorsc-hiro, or perchance drinke, 
 too wcaki- to lie put in suite."— iii>7ioi> Karle : 
 Jll irrucoKmiiijnifih ill (liiol-lii'X)). 
 
 Sr/iiire Dm/. The hangmair between 
 Richard Brandin and Jack Ketch. 
 
 " And presently a lialliT u-ot, 
 JIadc of til,' liesi sirouL' hempen leer; 
 And, ere a rat could lick his ear, 
 Had tii'd hini up with as much art 
 As Dun himself could do for 's heart." 
 Cutloii : Virfjil Travestied, hook iv. 
 
 Dun Cow. The dun cow of Duns- 
 more heath was a savage beast slain by 
 Sir Guy, Earl of Warwick. A huge 
 tusk, probably that of an elephant, is 
 still shown at Harwich Castle as one of 
 the horns of the dun-cow. (Sec Gtjy.) 
 
 The fable is that this cow belonged to 
 a giant, and was kept on Mitchell Fold 
 (middle fold), Shropshire. Its milk was 
 inexhaustible ; but one day an old woman 
 who had filled her pail, wanted to fiU 
 her sieve also. This so enraged the cow, 
 that she broke loose from the fold and 
 wandered to Dunsmore heath, where she 
 was slain by Guy of Warwick. 
 
 *.* Isaac Taylor, in his Words and 
 
 Fhtces (p. 269), says the dun cow is a 
 coiTuptiou of the Jhna Gan or Danish 
 settlement in the neighbourhood of 
 Warwick. Gau, iu Genntm, means 
 region, country. If this explanation ia 
 correct, the great achievement of Guy 
 was a victory over the Danes, and 
 taking from them their settlement near 
 Warwick. 
 
 Dun in the Mire. To draw T>iin out 
 of the iii'ire. To lend a lielping hand 
 to one in distress. The allusion is to 
 an English game, explained by Mr. 
 Gifi'ord m his edition of Jloi Joiisoii, 
 vii. '2S;3. A log of wood is brought into 
 a room. The log, called Dun, is sup- 
 posed to have fallen into the mire, and 
 the players are to judl liim out. Every 
 player does all he can to obstruct the 
 others, and its often as possible the log 
 is made to ftill on someone's toes. Con- 
 stant allusion is made to this game. 
 
 ".sires, what ? Dun is in the niirc."— C/zniirer ; 
 rrnldiiite tn Mainiciplci Tale. 
 
 " if thouart dun. wi''ll draw thee from the mire." 
 Shal.ispeKrc: Hnmin anil .liiliet, i. 4. 
 " Well done, my masters, lend s your h.ands ; 
 Draw Dun out <'f the ditch. 
 Dr.iw, pull, lieljie .-ill. So, so ; well done." 
 Diichessc ofSiiffulht (1(C1). 
 
 Dunce. A dolt ; a stupid person. 
 The word is taken from Ditns Scotus, 
 the letirned schoolman and great sup- 
 porter of the immaculate conception. 
 His followers were called Dunsers. Tyn- 
 dal s.-iys, when they saw that their hair- 
 fsplitling divinity was giving way to 
 modern theology, " the old barking curs 
 raged iu every pulpit " against the 
 classics and new notions, so that the 
 name indicated an opponent to progress, 
 to learning, and hence a dunce. 
 
 " He knew whal's what, and that's as high 
 As metaphysic wit cm fly .... 
 A second Thomas, or at inici^ 
 To name them all, another Dunse." 
 
 ISutler: Hitdihras, i. 1. 
 
 Dnnee. {See Abdeeitan, Akcadian, 
 
 BCEOTIAN.) 
 
 Dun'ciad. The dunce-epic, a satire 
 by Alexander Pope. Eusden, the ^toet 
 laureate, being dead, the goddess of 
 Dulness elects Colley Cibber to be his 
 successor. The installation is celebrated 
 by games, the most important being the 
 proposal to read, without sleeping, two 
 voluminous works — one in verse and the 
 other in j^rose ; as everyone falls asleep, 
 the games come to an end. King Cibber 
 is now taken to the temple of Dulness, 
 and is lulled to sleep on the lap of the 
 goddess ; and, during his slumber, sees in 
 a vision the past, present, and future 
 triumphs of the empire. Finally, the
 
 Dunderhead 
 
 391 
 
 Dunstan 
 
 goddess, having destroyed order and 
 science, establishes her kingdom ou a 
 firm basis ; and, having given directions 
 to her several agents to prevent thought 
 and keep people to foolish and trifling 
 pursuits, Night and Chaos are restored, 
 and the poem ends. {See Dennis.) 
 
 Dun'dertaead. A blockhead, or, 
 rather, a muddle-headed person. Duu- 
 der is the lees or dregs of wine, etc. ; 
 more correctly, the overflow of fer- 
 mented liquors (yeast). (Spanish, re- 
 diiiular, to overflow or froth over.) 
 
 " The use of Diiiuler in the making of mm 
 answers tlie iiurpose of yeast in the fermentation 
 of Hour."— £'(/(iY()'<(s ; West Indies. 
 
 Dundrea'ry (Lord) (3 syl.). Tlie 
 impersonation of a good-natured, indo- 
 lent, blundering, emj)ty-headcd swell. 
 The chief character in Tom Taylor's 
 dramatic piece called 0/ir Aiiurican 
 Conxhi. Mr. Sothern created the cha- 
 racter of Lord Dundreary by the power 
 of his conception and the genius of his 
 acting. {.See Beother Sam.) 
 
 Dungaree. A coarse blue cloth worn 
 by sailors ; coarse and vulgar. Dun- 
 garee is the Wapi^ing of Bombay. 
 
 Dunghill! Coward! Villain! This 
 is a cockpit phrase ; all cocks, except 
 gamecocks, being called dunghills. 
 "Out, dunghill ! dar'st thou Ijrave a uolilenian ?" 
 Slidkespcare : Kiiiy John, iv. :i. 
 
 That is, Dare you, a dunghill cock, brave 
 a thoroughbred gamecock i' 
 
 Dunghill. TItnu hast if, ad diuujhUl, 
 at tin/ Jiiujcrs' ends. To this Holofernes 
 replies : " Oh, I smell false Latin ; 
 ' dunghill ' for ' mif/iieiii.^ " {Shake- 
 fip:'arc : Lovers Lahoitr''s Lost, v. 1.) 
 
 Dunkers. {See Tunkers.) 
 
 Dunmow. 2'o eat Duniiiow bacon. 
 To live in conjugal amity, without even 
 wishing the marriage knot to be less 
 firmly tied. The allusion is to the in- 
 stitution of Robert Fitzwaltor. Be- 
 tween 1244 and 1772 eight claimants 
 have been admitted to eat the flitch. 
 Their names merit immortality : 
 
 1445. Richard Wright, labourer, Bau- 
 burgh, near Norwich. 
 
 14(57. Steven Samuel, of Little Ays- 
 ton, Essex. 
 
 1.510. Thomas Ley, fuller, Coggeshall, 
 Essex. 
 
 1701. William and Jane Parsley, 
 butcher, Much-Easton, Essex. Same 
 year, John and Ann Reynolds, Hatfield 
 Regis. 
 
 17-51. Thomas Shakeshaft, wool- 
 comber, Weathersfield, Esses. 
 
 1763. Karnes unknown ! ! 
 1772. John and Susan Gilder, Tar- 
 ling, Essex. 
 
 The attemjit to revive this " iiremium 
 for humbug" is a mere "get-up" for 
 the benefit of the town. 
 
 " Ah, madam ! cease to he mistaken ; ; 
 
 Few married fowl peck Dunmow haoon." 
 Prior : Turtle and Uparrow, i'33. 
 
 Dunmow Flitch. The oath adminis- 
 tered was in the doggerel subjoined : 
 
 " Yon shall swear, by Ihecusldiiint our cunfessioii. 
 That you never niuile any luiiiiial tiansyressiou 
 Since you were maiiicd man and wife, 
 By household hrawls or contentious strife ; 
 Or, since the parish clerk said ^ Anicn,' 
 Wished yourseh es uiiniarried again ; 
 Or, in a twclvenioiit h and a day, 
 Repented nut in tlmim-ht auv way. 
 If to thise terms, wit hunt all fear. 
 Of your I'wii ac.or.l yon will freely swear, 
 A ganinioii of liacon > on shtill receive, 
 And hear it hence with (nir good leave. 
 For tills is our custom at Dunmow well known— 
 The sport is ours, hut the hacou your own." 
 
 Duns Scotus. A schoolman, called 
 Duns from Dunce in Berwickshire. 
 (1205—1308.) Not John Scotus, Erigena, 
 the schoolman, who died a.d. 875. 
 
 Dun'stable. Bailey, as if he actu- 
 ally believed it, gives the etymology of 
 this word JJmts'' stable ; adding Duns or 
 "Dunns was a robber in the reign of 
 Henry I., who made it dangerous for 
 travellers to pass that way." {Danes or 
 dans tavell, our table— i.e. the table-land 
 or flat of the hills.) 
 
 Downright Danstable. {Sec Down- 
 right.) 
 
 I'laiii as tlie road to Dunstable ; or, as 
 ShakesjDeare says, "Plain as way to 
 parish church." The road leading to 
 Dunstable is the confluence of many 
 leading to London, but the play is ou 
 the word dunce. 
 
 Dunstan [St.). Patron saint of gold- 
 smiths, being himself a noted worker in 
 gold. He is represented generally in 
 pontifical robes, but carrying a pair of 
 pincers in his right hand. The pon- 
 tificals refer to his office as Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, and the pincers to the 
 legend of his holding the Devil by the 
 nose till he promised never to tempt 
 him again. 
 
 St. Dunstan and the deril. Dunstan 
 was a painter, jeweller, and blacksmith. 
 Being expelled from court, he built a 
 cell near Glastonbury church, and there 
 he worked at his handicrafts. It was in 
 this cell that tradition says the Devil 
 had a gossi^j with the saint through the 
 lattice window. Dunstan went on talk- 
 ing till his tongs were red hot, when he 
 tm-ned round suddenly and caught his 
 Satanic Majesty by the nose. One can
 
 Duodecimo 
 
 392 
 
 Bust 
 
 trace in this legend the notion that all 
 knowledge belonged to the Black Art ; 
 that the " saints " are always more than 
 conquerors over the spiiits of evil ; and 
 the singular cunning which oui' fore- 
 fathers so deUghted to honour. 
 
 Duodec'imo. A book whose sheets 
 are folded into twelve leaves each. This 
 word, which differs from both the Italian 
 and French, is from the Latin diiodccim 
 (twelve). It is now called twelvemo, 
 from the contraction 12mo. The teiTu 
 is still ajjiilied to books that are the same 
 size as the old duodecimo, irrespective of 
 the number of leaves into which the 
 sheet is folded. 
 
 vl )i(((u in diwdcc'iiiio is a dwarf. {Sic 
 Decimo. ) 
 
 Duomo (T/w). The cathedral. 
 
 " Tho siiiii'f'iiie executive (if Florence suspeniled 
 Sav(iii;inil;i ficini i>reacLiirig in the •Uuuiiio." — 
 /■fymoiids : liouiissimce in Italy. 
 
 Dup is do tip. Thus Ophelia says, in 
 one of her snatches, he " dupt the 
 chamber door," i.e. did up or pushed 
 up the latch, in order to open the door, 
 that he might " let in the maid " {llam- 
 let, iv. 1). A portcullis and some other 
 doors were lifted up or dupped. 
 
 " Iclie weene the imrteis are drunk. Will they 
 not ilup tbe gate to-day."'— £difU)d».- Damon and 
 ntltias (.loll). 
 
 Dupes. {Sec Day of the Dupes.) 
 
 Duranda'na or Durin'dana. Or- 
 lando's sword, given him by his cousin 
 Malagi'gi. It once belonged to Hector, 
 and was made by the fairies. It could 
 cleave the Pyrenees at a blow. N.B. — 
 In French romance Orlando is called 
 Moknid, Malagigi Mawjis, and the sword 
 durandal or dunitdal. (iSce Swoed.) 
 
 " Nor iilaited sLield, nor tempered casque defends, 
 Where Duriuilana's trenchant edge descends." 
 Boole: Orlando Furioso, book v. 
 
 Du'randar'te. A knight who fell at 
 Eoncesvalles, cousin to Moutesi'nos. The 
 tale says he loved Belerma, whom he 
 served seven years, at the expiration of 
 which time he was slain. In his last 
 breath he told Montesi'nos to take his 
 heart and give it to Belerma, He is 
 described by Lewis as 
 
 " Sweet in manners, fair in favour, 
 Mild in temper, fierce in fight." 
 
 Durante. 
 
 Di(raittv bow phjcito (Latin). During 
 pleasure. 
 
 Durante minorc mtatc (Latin). During 
 minority. 
 
 pnrante viduitate (Latin). Duiing 
 widowhood. 
 
 Durante vita (Latin). For life. 
 
 Durbar (Indian word). A levee. 
 " Durhars wliich might rival in splendour of 
 colour and jewelled bravery the glories of the 
 court of Byzantium."— ^cCart/ij/; England under 
 Gladstone, chap. iv. p. Mi. 
 
 Dur'den {Dame). A notiible house- 
 wife. Dame Durden, of the famous 
 English song, kept five serving gu-ls to 
 carry the milking pails, and also kept 
 five ser\dng men to use the spade and 
 flail. The five men loved the five maids. 
 
 " 'Twas Moll and Bet, and Doll and Kale, and 
 Dorothy Dragglelail : 
 Anil .John and Dick, and .Toe and Jack, and 
 Humphrey with his flail." Anon. 
 
 Diirer {Albert), of Niirnberg, called 
 by his countrymen ' ' the prince of 
 artists," and by many the "Chaucer of 
 painting." (1471-1.528.) 
 
 V Diirer's portraits of Charlemagne 
 and other emperors are unrivalled ; but 
 Lucas Kranach's (147'2-1.5r)3) portraits 
 of Luther and otlier reformers are said 
 to run them very close in merit. 
 
 Duresley. You are a man of Dures- 
 Ii //, i.e. a great liar and cheat. Dures- 
 ley is a market-town in Gloucestershire, 
 famous for its broadcloth manufactory. 
 Now called Dursley. (See fuller : 
 If'orthirs.) The word "cabbage," con- 
 nected with tailors, seems to coufinn 
 the notion that our forefathers had no 
 very high opinion of their lionesty. 
 
 Dur'ham Book. By Eadf rid, Bishop 
 of Lindisfarne, who died in 7'21, one of 
 the most splendid examples of illumina- 
 tion in the world. 
 
 Durbam Mustard. So called from 
 the residence of Mrs. Clements, who first 
 conceived the idea of grinding mustard 
 in a mill, instead of pounding it in a 
 mortar. George I. stamped it with his 
 approval, hence the pots labelled " Dur- 
 ham mustard " bear the ro3'al initials 
 in a medallion. 
 
 Dus or Deuce. The chief god of the 
 Brigau'tes, one of whose altars, bearing 
 an inscription, was discovered at Gret- 
 land. {Camden : Britannia.) 
 
 Du'siens. The name given by the 
 Gauls to those demons that produce 
 nightmares. 
 
 '•Da?mones quos 'duscios' Galli nuncupant."— 
 St. Aiuiustinc : De Civitute Dei, chap, xxiii. 
 
 Dust. Money ; so called because it 
 is made of gold-dust. It is said that Dean 
 Swift took for the text of a charity ser- 
 mon, "He who giveth to the poor, lend- 
 eth to the Lord." Having thrice repeated 
 his text, he added, ' ' Now, brethren, if 
 you like the security, down with your 
 dust." That ended his sennon.
 
 Dustman 
 
 393 
 
 Dutch School 
 
 Dunt. The wild Irish peasantry believe 
 tliat dust is raised on roads by fairies on 
 a journey, and raise their hats to it, 
 saying, "God speed you, gentlemen." 
 Tlie Ai'abs think the whirlwind and 
 waterspout are caused Ijy evil jinns. 
 
 Pll dust your jacket for you. Give you 
 a good beating. The allusion is to 
 dusting carpets, etc., by beating tliem 
 with a stick. 
 
 'To ruixe a dust, To kick up a dust. To 
 make a commotion or disturbance. 
 
 To throw dust in one^s eyes. To mislead. 
 The allusion is to a Mahometan practice 
 of casting dust into the air for the sake 
 of "confounding" the enemies of the 
 faith. Tliis was done by Mahomet on 
 two or three occasions, as in the battle 
 of Honein ; and the Koran refers to it 
 when it says, " Neither didst thou, O 
 Mahomet, cast dust into their eyes ; but 
 it was God who confounded them." But 
 the following incident will suffice : One 
 day the Koreishites surrounded the house 
 of Mahomet, resolved to murder him. 
 They peejied through the crevice of his 
 chamber-door, and saw him lying asleep. 
 Just at this moment his son-in-law Ali 
 opened the door silently and threw into 
 the air a handful of dust. Immediately 
 the conspirators were confounded. They 
 mistook Ali for Maliomet, and Mahomet 
 for Ali ; allowed the prophet to walk 
 through their midst uninjured, and laid 
 hands on Ali. No sooner was Mahomet 
 safe, than their eyes were opened, and 
 they saw their mistake. 
 
 " When tlie Eiii-'lisli king pursued the Iniaiim 
 whci had stolen tlie daii^'hterof Allali, Allah threw 
 dust ill his eyes tn check his \mvs\m."—l.igind at 
 Gori (resiiectiii!,' tlie lieauty.uf the Genrj-'iaiis). 
 
 Dustman has arrived {The), or 
 "The sandman is about." It is bed- 
 time, for the children rub their eyes, as 
 if dust or sand was in them. 
 
 Dusty, irell, it is none so dusty, or 
 Xot so dusty. I don't call it bad ; rather 
 smart. Here d»sty is the opposite of 
 tieat, and neat = spruce. " None so 
 dusty " or " Not so dusty " means 
 therefore, Kot so nnspriice, or rather 
 smart. 
 
 Dusty-foot. (.SVrPlE POL'DEE.) 
 
 Dutch. 'The Butch have taken Hol- 
 land. A quiz when anyone tells what 
 is well known as a piece of wonderful 
 news. Similar to Queen Bess (or Queen 
 Anne) is dead ; the Ark rested on Mount 
 Ararat ; etc. 
 
 Dutch Auction. An "auction" in 
 which the bidders decrease their bids till 
 they come to the minimum price. Dutch 
 
 gold is no gold at all ; Dutch courage is 
 no real courage ; Dutch concert is no 
 music at all, but mere hubbub; and 
 Dutch auction is no auction, or increase 
 of bets, but quite the contrary. 
 
 Dutch Clocks, i.e. German clocks, 
 chiefly made in the Black Forest. As 
 many as 180,000 are exported annually 
 from Fribui-g. (Gennan, Detitsch, Ger- 
 man.) 
 
 " A woman, that is like a Gennan clock. 
 Still a-reiiairing, ever out of frame, 
 And never going aright." 
 
 lihakespeure : Love's Labour's Lost, iii. 1. 
 
 Dutch Comfort. 'Tis a comfort it 
 was no Avorse. The comfort derivable 
 from the consideration that how bad 
 soever the evil which has befallen you, 
 a worse e\il is at least conceivable. 
 
 Dutch Concert. A great noise and 
 uproar, like that made by a party of 
 Dutchmen in sundry stages of into.xica- 
 tion, some singing, others quarrelling, 
 siJeechifying, wrangling, and so on. 
 
 Dutch Courage. The courage ex- 
 cited by drink ; jjot valour. 
 
 '• In the Dutch wars (in the time of Charles II.\ 
 .... the (-ii)tain of the HoUamUr man-of-war, 
 when ahiiut to engai-'e with our ships, usiiallv set. 
 .... a lioi-'shrad of l.raiidv al. roach l.ef.,re the 
 mast, and I. id tlie men drink .... andourmeu 
 felt the force of the hraiidy to their cost."— Au<e« 
 and (jiuriLS (Oct. l.'., l.-iyi', ii. SiM). 
 
 Dutch Gleek. Tippling. Gleek is 
 a game, and the phrase means the game 
 loved by Dutchmen is drinking. 
 
 "Xor could he partaker of any of tiic good 
 clieer exceiit it were the linuid part of it, which 
 they call 'Dutch Gleek.' "—Gai/ton. 
 
 Dutch Gold. Deutsche or Gennan 
 gold. An alloy of copper and zinc, in- 
 vented by Prijice Rupert of Bavaria. 
 
 Dutch Nightingales. Frogs. Simi- 
 larly, Camtjridge.shire nightingales ; 
 Liege nightingales, etc. 
 
 Dutch School of painting is a sort 
 of " pre-Raphaelite " exactness of detail 
 without selection. It is, in fact, photo- 
 gi-ai)liing exactly what appears before 
 the artist, as faithfully as his art will 
 allow. The subjects are generally the 
 lower classes of soci.al life, as pothouse 
 scenes, drunken orgies, street groups, 
 Dutch boors, etc., with landscapes and 
 still-life. The greatest of the Dutch 
 masters are : for portraits, Rembrandt, 
 Bol, Flinck, Hals, and Vanderhelst ; for 
 Conversation pieces, Gerhard Douw, Ter- 
 burg, Metzu, Mieris, and Netscher ; for 
 loiv life, Ostade, Brower, and Jan Steen ; 
 for landscapes, Ruysdael, Hobbema, 
 Cuyp, Vandemeer, Berchem, and A. 
 Both ; for battle scenes, Wouvermans
 
 Dutch. Toys 
 
 394 
 
 Dwarfs 
 
 and Huclitcubin-ff ; for inari/ic pieces, 
 Vandevelde and Bakhuizeu ; for 6Y(7/- 
 life and fotcerft, Kalf, A. Van Utrecht, 
 Van Iluysuni, and De Heem. 
 
 Dutch Toys, chiefly made in Mein- 
 inj^en, part of the duchy of Coburg- 
 Gotlia. (Dutch, i.e. DenLseli, German.) 
 
 Dutch Uncle. / nill talk to you like 
 a liideJi uncle. Will rejorove you 
 smartly. Uncle is the Latin notion of 
 pttt'ruHs, " an uncle," " severe guar- 
 dian," or "stern castigator." Hence 
 Horace, 3 Oil. xii. 3, ^'- Metnentes pat nice 
 rerbera lii/f/ate" (di-eading the castigations 
 of an micie's tongue) ; and 2 >Sat. iii. 88, 
 "A> sis patriuis iiii/n " (Don't come the 
 uncle over me). 
 
 Dutchman. /';» a Dalehinan if I 
 do. A strong refusal. During the rivalry 
 between England and Holland, the word 
 Dutch was synonymous with all that 
 was false and hateful, and when a man 
 said, "I would rather be a Dutchman 
 than do what you ask mo," he used the 
 strongest tern'i of refusal that words 
 could express. 
 
 If nut, I'm a Dutchman, means, I will 
 do it or I will call myself a Dutclunan. 
 
 Well, I'm a Dutelnnan ! An exclama- 
 tion of strong incredulity. 
 
 Duty means what is due or owing, a 
 debt which should be paid. Thus obe- 
 dience is the debt of citizens to rulers 
 for protection, and service is the debt of 
 persons employed for wages received. 
 
 " Sliictly considered, all duty isowed oiiKinally 
 to (iod Diiiv ; but . . . duties lo (Jod may i^e dis- 
 ti'ilniled . ". . into duties towards self, towards 
 uianliood, and to\vards(iod."— 6')rj/0)i/ ; Cliristian 
 Jilliics, pari ii. division i. p. 172. 
 
 Duum'virs (3 syl.) or D/nnnilrl. 
 Certain liomau officers who were ap- 
 pointed in iiairs, like our London shcriifs. 
 The chief were the two officers who had 
 charge of the Sibjdline books, the two 
 who had the supervision of the muni- 
 cipal cities, and the two who were 
 charged with naval matters. 
 
 Dwarf (T/ic). Richard Gibson, 
 painter (lGlo-16'JO), a page of the back- 
 stairs in the court of Charles I. He 
 married Anne Shepherd, a dwarf also, 
 and the King honourecl the wedding 
 with his ]n-esence. Each measured 
 three feet ten inches. 
 
 " Desiffu or chance makes others wive. 
 But Nature did this match contrive." 
 
 Waller. 
 
 The Slack Dicarf. A fairy of the 
 most malignant character ; a genuine 
 northern Duergar, and once held by the 
 dalesmen of the border as the author of 
 
 all the mischief that befell their flocks 
 and herds. Sir Walter Scott has a novel 
 so called, in which the "black dwarf" 
 is introttuced under the aliases of Sir 
 Edwai'd Mauley ; Elshauder, the re- 
 cluse ; Cannie Elshie ; and the Wi.se 
 Weight of Mucklestane Moor. 
 
 Dwarf Alberich (in the Nthehonjcn 
 Lied) is the guardian of the famous 
 "hoard" won by Siegfried from the 
 Nibelungs. The dwarf is twice van- 
 quished by the hero, who gets possession 
 of his Tarn-kappc (cloak of invisibility). 
 {See ElbeRICII.) 
 
 Dwarf Peter {das Peter Manche/i). 
 An allegorical romance by Ludwig'J'ieck. 
 The dwarf is a castle spectre that ad- 
 vises and aids the family ; but all his 
 advice turns out evil, and all his aid 
 productive of trouble. The dwarf re- 
 presents that corrupt part of hinnau 
 nature called by St. Paul the "law in 
 our members which wars against the law 
 of our minds, and brings us into cap- 
 tivitj' to the law of sin." 
 
 Dwarfs (under three feet in height). 
 
 Anouo.m'kii.v, -J ft. 1 in. One of Jiili.-i's free 
 maids. (.See 0<:lii(r, CoxorAs.) 
 
 Aius'TiiATos, tlie poet, was so small that 
 AtheniEos s;iys, " no one could see liini." 
 
 liKiin, or Nicholas Kerry, "J ft. « in. A native of 
 Krance (1714-1737). He had a brother and sister, 
 both dwarfs. 
 
 lloni ur.ASKi (Coioif .7b«fp7i),2ft. -1 in. at the age 
 of twenty. (17.39-l.s37.) 
 
 BfcKiNiiKR (M<atheiv),a, German, born lfi74. He 
 was born without hands, less, or feet. Kac- 
 siniiles of his writing are amongst the Harleian 
 MSS. 
 
 C'liK-MAH (a Chinese), 2 ft. 1 in., weight 52 lbs. 
 Exhibited in London in Iwso. 
 
 Coi.o'bui (I'rince) of Sleswig, 2 ft. 1 in., weight 
 2". lbs. at the ase of 25 (ls.51). 
 
 CoNoi'As, 2 ft. 4 in. One of the dwarfs of Julia, 
 niece of AUL'ustus. (Scr (ihmv, Axdiiomkda.) 
 
 CuPl'KitNlx, the dwarf of the Princess of Wales, 
 mother of George III. The last court dwarf in 
 England. 
 
 CliADii'AMl' (Carornic). Born at ralernio; 1 ft. 
 s in. iit death. (lsl4-24.) Exhibited in Bond 
 Street, London, 1824. 
 
 l)i;ckKR or DucKKli (,fo;«t),2 ft.G in. An English- 
 man (ir.lo). 
 
 EAiiiY QUKEN KThe), 1 ft. 4 in., weight 4 lbs. Ex- 
 hibited in Uegenl Street, Loudon, 1S5U. Her 
 feet were less than two inches. 
 
 GutsoN (Ricliiird), a good portrait painter. His 
 wife's maiden name was Anne Shepherd. Each 
 measured :i ft. lu in. Waller sang their praises. 
 (In the reign of fliarles I.) 
 
 Huiisox (.Sir .hffriy). Burn at Oakham, Rutland- 
 shire; 1 ft. in. at the age of thirty (IU1'J-7.h). 
 
 Jauvis UoInO, 2 ft. Page of honour to (^ueen 
 Mary (l.iOS-.'-.ti). 
 
 LoLKBS ( M'jjbrandX 2 ft. 3 in., weight 5, lbs. Ex- 
 hibited at Astley's in 17U0. 
 
 Lu'cius, 2 ft., weight 17 lbs. The dwarf of the 
 Emperor Augustus. 
 
 Marixe (Lizzie), 2 ft. 9 in., weight 4.5 lbs. 
 
 JItDftETS, The. Lucia Zarate, the eldest sister, 
 1 ft. 8 in., weight 43 lbs. at the age of eighteen. 
 Her sister was a little taller. E.xhibited in 
 London, 1881. 
 
 Wii-LKii (.Miss), of Virginia, 2 ft. 2 in. 
 
 MiTK (Cleneral), 1 ft. 9 in. (weight y lbs.) at the age 
 of seventeen. Exhibited in London, 1881. 
 
 Paap (.S7?)io)0. a Dutch dwarf, 2 ft. 4 in., weight 
 27 lbs.
 
 Dwile 
 
 395 
 
 Dying Sayings 
 
 Phii.e'tas, a poet, coiitpnipDravy witli Hipi'o- 
 
 craces. So thin " that he \v(]r(; leadeu shoes lest 
 
 the wind should lilow him away." iDied u.c. 
 
 •-•NO.) 
 Sawyer (4.i."),;ft. r,'. in., weight 30 11 is. Editor 
 
 in lx!<i, etc., of the- hi iimcriit, a paper of con- 
 
 sideral)le repute in Flnvida. 
 Stotseuix (C. J/.), of Nureuilierg, 2 ft. 11 in. at the 
 
 ape of twenty. 
 Stookkr (Nannette), 2 ft. 9 in. Exhibited in 
 
 Lmulon in 181.5. 
 Strassr Davit Family. Man, 1 ft. .'< in.; woman, 
 
 1 rt. li in.; child, at a^-e of Sf\ enteen, only •■ in. 
 
 Embalmed in the chemical lilmiry nf Itiistadt. 
 Teresia iMiidnitie). A Corsican, 2 ft. lo in., 
 
 weight 27 llis. Exhiliitcdin London 1773. 
 Tom TlItiMB ('''i'fnin. wlmsc name was Chaflcs 
 
 S. Stratton, iKirn at l!rid,i.'e|ini i in Connecticut, 
 
 U.S., 2 ft. 1 in., wci.-ht 2.-, 10s. at the a«e of 
 
 twent.v-Hve. (I.s.3,s-s3.) Exhibited Ihst in London 
 
 in \M4. In 1»(J3 he married Betsy Bnmp(Lavina 
 
 Warren). 
 Tom Tiii'.Mn, a Dutch dwarf, 2 ft. -1 in. at the age 
 
 of eii-'liteen. 
 Wanmkr (Lucy\ 2 ft. 6 in., weight 4.". lbs. E.^- 
 
 hihited in London, l.sOl, at the age of forty-tive. 
 ■\VAiiiiKN' (L((riiut>, married to General Tom 
 
 Tlimnli in ]si\:;, w;is ;Uso a dwarf, and in 1.-*s.t she 
 larrieil aunt her dwiirf, Count I'rimo JIagri, 
 
 w. 
 
 I ft. 
 
 i )n. 
 
 "WoRMf.KKo (./nil II), 2 ft. 7 in. at the age of thirty- 
 
 ei.-dit ( ll:iiii.\cnan period). 
 XtT w:is tlu' dwai t nl: IClw.-ird VT. 
 ZAitArn ( l.iiriii). I ft. 3 in.. An excellent linguist 
 
 of SlM'-',il,rii (ls:ir:l (/.. 1^-d). 
 
 •.• Nh'.- li,,ni- calisiiis tells us of an Egyptian 
 dwarf not Ihu ■ t i liaii a iiartrid'-'e. 
 
 The names of seveinl infants ;iie known whose 
 heads have not exceeded in size .-in ordiii:iry 
 billiard ball. The son of D. C. Miller, of Cande- 
 laria, born October 27tb, ls,s2, weighed only .sj oz. 
 A silver tlollar would entirely liide its face, and 
 its mouth was too small to admit an ordinary 
 lead pencil. 
 
 The head of the son of Mrs. Charles Tracy, of 
 Kin.gsbridge, X.Y., was not bi.gger than a horse- 
 chestnut, find tlie month W(Uild hardly grasp a 
 goose-iiuiU. The mother's wedding ring would 
 slip easily up its leu's and thighs. 
 
 The he:iil of .Air. Mariiui Pi>e's child was not so 
 big as a hilliard ball and the mother's riiig would 
 slip up the arm as high as the shoulder. Mr. I'oe 
 stands over six feet in height. 
 
 1 have a list of several other babies of similar 
 dimensions. 
 
 Dwile, or D'wryel. A house-flaimel 
 for ileauiiig floors, comniou iu Norfolk, 
 and oalleil in the piece " dwyeling." 
 (Dutch, duril, a clout or swab.) 
 
 Dwt. is D-wt., i.e. dciHiyii(s-iC(ig]it 
 (peiiiiy-weioht). {Sec CwT.) 
 
 Dyed Beards. The clycinjT of Iteanls 
 is meutioned by Strabo, and IJottoin the 
 Weaver satirises tlie custom when lie 
 undertakes to play Pyrtimiis, and asks, 
 " what beard were I best to i>lay it in ? " 
 
 "I will disiiiarre it in either your sir:iw- 
 C(dour beard, your cjrangc-tawnv beard, \onr 
 puriile-in-gr:i.in be,-ird, or ycuir Frcm-li-crown- 
 ccdour beard fyour perfect yellow).'— .S/k/Ac- 
 speare: Midsummer Xiyht's Dream, i. 2. 
 
 ■.•The French couronne= twenty-five francs, 
 was a gold piece, and therefore the French-crown 
 cidcmr was a golden yellow; but the word French- 
 crown also means baldness brought on by licen- 
 tiousness. Hence tlie retort "some of vonr 
 ' Freuch-crowns ' have no hair at all." 
 
 Dyeing Scarlet. Drinking deep. 
 Drinking dyes the face scarlet. 
 
 "They call drinking deep, dyeing scarlet."— 
 Shakespeare : 1 Uairy r\'. ii. i. 
 
 Dying Sayings (real or traditional) : 
 
 .\DAMs (Preitiilriit)': " Independence for ever." 
 AoA.Ms Willi Q.) : " 11 is the htst of earth. 1 am 
 
 content." 
 Aiioisox: " See how a Christian dies," or " See in 
 
 wh:it peace a Christian can die." (.Sec Beriiy.) 
 Ai.iiKRT (^Prince C'onswO : "1 have such sweet 
 
 thoughts." 
 At.e.xa.npkr 1. Cof Russia) : "Que vonsdevezgtre 
 
 fatignee" (to his wife Elizabeth). 
 At.E.xAXDER 11. (of Russia): "I am sweeping 
 
 through the gates, washed in the blood of the 
 
 Lamb." 
 Alexander III. (of Russia): "This box was 
 
 inesented to me by the Emperor Isic] of Prus- 
 sia." 
 Ai.FtEiti: "Clasp my hand, dear friend, I am 
 
 d.\ing." 
 -Axaxai/oras (the philosopher, who maintained 
 
 himself by keeping a scIuhiI. being asked if he 
 
 wisheil for anything, replied) : "Hive the bovs 
 
 a holiday." 
 Axi;ki,o (.Michael): "My soul I resign to God, 
 
 my body to the eaith, my worldly goods to my 
 
 next akin." 
 AxXE BoLEVN' (on the scaffold): "It [my neck] 
 
 is very small, very small." 
 AXTOIXETTE. (Sic hiliiir, MaRIK.) 
 
 AXToxv (of Padua) : " I see my God. He calls 
 
 me to Him." 
 Ai!( II i.Mi-.'oKs (being ordered by a Ronan soldier 
 
 to follow him, replied): "Wait till I have lin- 
 
 ished my problem." (.See Lavoisier.) 
 Arria : " ily I'a'tus, it is not painful." 
 AuousTi's (h:i\ ing ;isked how lie had played hi.^ 
 
 jiart, and bcim.', of course, commended, said): 
 
 " Vos phimirte." 
 Bacox CFraiuia) -. "My name and memory I leave 
 
 to men's ch;iri table speeches, to foreign nations 
 
 and to the next ;ige."" 
 BAit.i.EV ; " Yes 1 it is very cold." (This lie said 
 
 (Ui his way to the guillotine, when one said to 
 
 him, "Why, how ,\cut sli,-ike.") 
 Beaii-ort (Ciinlliuil llcnrin: "I pray you all 
 
 jiray for me." 
 Beai 3IOXT (Cartliiial): "What! is there no es- 
 
 c;iping de;Lth /"' 
 Bel-kkt (Tlionitif! (i) : "I confide niv S(ml and the 
 
 cause of the Church to t4od, to the Virgin M:iiy, 
 
 to the patron Siiints of the Church, and lo St. 
 
 Dennis." (This was said as he went to the 
 
 altar in Canterbury Cathedral, where he was 
 
 ;iss;issiiiatcd.) 
 Behe i'l'lie Vnicrabh') : "Glory be to the Father, 
 
 and to the Son. and to the Holy Ghost." 
 Beethovex (who was deaf): "1 shall hear in 
 
 heaven." 
 BERitY (Madame de) : "Is not this dying with 
 
 courage and true greatness ? " (See Addi.sox.) 
 Bo ILEA u : " It is a great ccmsolation to a poet on 
 
 the iioint of death that he has never written a 
 
 line injurious to good morals." 
 BitoxTii (father of the authoresses) : " While 
 
 tlicre is lite there is will." (Like Louis XVI II., 
 
 Vespasian, Siward, and others, he died stand- 
 ing.) 
 BisoufiHTON (.Binhop): "Let the earth he filled 
 
 with His glory." 
 Bi Rxs : " Don't let the awkward squad fire over 
 
 my grave." 
 Bvnox : " 1 must sleep now." 
 CESAR (Julius) : "Et tu. Brute?" (This he said 
 
 to Brutus, liis most intimate friend, when lie 
 
 stalilied him.) 
 CAMEitox (Ciihmel James): "Scots, follow me!" 
 
 (He was killed at Bull-Run, 21st .July, Isfil.) 
 Casti.eheai:!! : " Bankhead, let me fall into your 
 
 arms. It is all over." (Said to Dr. B;ink- 
 
 head.) 
 Catesry' ((me of tlie c<uispirators in the Gun- 
 powder Plot) : " Stand by me, Tom, ;uid we will 
 
 die together." 
 Chari.ejiagxe : "Lord, into Thy hand I com- 
 
 mend.niy spirit." (.See Coi.ujibi's and Ta.sso.) 
 Charles I. (of England, just before he laid his 
 
 head on the block, said to Juxou, Archbishop of 
 
 Canterbury) : " Remember." 
 Charles II. (of ;Englaud) : "Don't forget poor 
 
 Nell," or " Dcm't let p.oor Nell starve " (mean- 
 ing Nell Gwynne). 
 Ch.a,rles v.: "Ah! Jesus." . " ''
 
 Dying Sayings 
 
 396 
 
 Dying Sayings 
 
 Charles viti. (of France): "I bore never again 
 
 to commit a mortal sin nor even a venial one, 
 
 if I can liclii it." (With tliese wonls in liis 
 
 mouth, says ('c>niin,t,'es, he f.'ave up tlie Lrlinst.) 
 
 Charles IX. (of France, in whose reit.'n occnrreil 
 
 tlie Bartliiilomew slalI^'llter) : "Nurse, nurse, 
 
 what ninnier : what Jihiod! Oil! 1 have done 
 
 wnmg: (Jip(l iiarclon me." 
 
 Chaulottk (T/ie Princc-iS) -. "You make rnetlrunk. 
 
 Pray leave me (luiet. 1 feel it affects my head." 
 
 Chesteufielu iLmd): " Give Dayrolles a chair." 
 
 CHUisT (.Jesus) : " It is finished !" (John xi.x. 3o.) 
 
 CiiKVsosToM: "Glory to God for all Ihiufe's. 
 
 Amen." 
 Cici-'.Ko (to his assassins) : "Strike!" 
 Coi.Losy: "Honour these grey hairs, young 
 man." (Said to the German who assassinated 
 
 Coi.r.MKUS: "Lord, into Thy hands I commend 
 my spirit." (.See Chaulemagse and Tasso.) 
 
 CiiMiE (Due d'KnghieH): "I die for my king and 
 fur Krance." (Shot by order of Napoleon 1. in 
 
 1.S04.) 
 
 Coi'Kii'N'lct's: "Now, O Lord, set thy servant 
 
 free." (.SVc Luke ii, !■«.) 
 CouDAY iClKirldtti): "One man have I slain to 
 
 save a hunflred tlmusand." 
 CkaNMER (Aichbi.'hfii ill' I'lniterhnni'): "Tliat iin- 
 
 wortliy h.-iiKl! Tliat uii\viirl]i.\ h.ind!" (This 
 
 he said, ariiirdinu' to .a in.inil.u- tiadit icui. as he 
 
 held ill the tiames his right hand which had 
 
 sigiieil his apostasy.) 
 Ciio.MiiE uliilin): "0 Hohhema, Hobbema, liipw I 
 
 do l.i\e thee!" 
 CuojiwEi.L: "My design is to make what haste 
 
 1 can to be gone." 
 CuviER (to the nurse who was applying leeches) : 
 
 "Nurse, it was I who discovered that leeches 
 
 have red blood." 
 Daxton (to the executioner): "Be sure you show 
 
 the mob my head. It will be a long time ere 
 
 they see its like." 
 De.mo'nax ( thephilosoidier) : "You may go home, 
 
 the shuw IS over" iLiiciidi). (.See Uahei.ais.) 
 DKiiitv (/;■(((■/ of) : " Douglas, 1 would give all my 
 
 lands to save thee." 
 Dickens (Siiid in reply to nis sister-in-law, who 
 
 urged him to lie down) : " Yes, on the ground." 
 DiDEROT: " The first Step towards philosophy is 
 
 incredulity." 
 DiooENEs (re(iuested that his body should lie 
 
 buried, and when his friends said that his body 
 
 would be Icirn to pieces he replied) : "yuidmihi 
 
 nucel)Uiit ferarum denies nihil sentient!." 
 DoroLAs (/-.'((jO : "Fight on, my merry men." 
 Kowards (.limuthaii) : "Trust in God, and you 
 
 need not fear." 
 Ei.box (Lord) -. " It matters not-where I am going 
 
 whetlier the weather be cold or hot." 
 Elizabeth (giieen): "All my possessions for a 
 
 moment of time." 
 Elizabeth (sister of Louis XVI., on her wav to 
 
 the guillotine, when her kerchief fell from'her 
 
 neck) : " 1 pray you, gentlemen, in the name of 
 
 modesty, suffer iiie to comm' mv bosom." 
 Elpheoe (Airlihislinit of Caiiti rhiir>i) : " You urge 
 
 me in \ iiiii. I am iim the man to i>rn\ ide Cliris- 
 
 tian flesh for Pagan teeth, liy robbing my flock 
 
 to enrich their enemy." 
 Epamixoxuas (wounded ; on being told that the 
 
 Thebans were victorious) : " Then I die happy." 
 
 (See Wolfe.) 
 Etty : " Wonderful ! Wonderful this death ! " 
 EtJLER : " I am dying." 
 Earr (M.D.) : " Lord, receive my spirit." 
 Fklton (.John) : " I am the man " (/'.c. who shot 
 
 the Duke of Buckingham). 
 Fontenelle : " I suffer nothing, but I feel a sort 
 
 of difficulty of li\ ing longer." 
 Franklin : " A dying man can do nothing easily." 
 Fretierick V. (of Denmark): "There is not a 
 
 drop of lilood on my hands." (See Pericles.) 
 Gainsborough: "We are all going to heaven, 
 
 and Vandyke is of the company." (.See Crome.) 
 Garrick : " Oh, dear ! " 
 Gastox de Foix (called "Phoebus" for his 
 
 beauty) : " I aiu a dead man ! Lord, have 
 
 mercy upon me ! " 
 George IV. : " Watty, what is this ? It is death, 
 
 my boy. They have deceived me." (Said to his 
 
 page, Sir Wathen Waller.) 
 GiBBos : " Mon Dieu ! Mun Dieu 1 " -' 
 
 GcETHE : " More light." 
 
 GoLD-SMiTH : "No, it is not." (.-^aid in reply to 
 
 Dr. Turton, who asked him if his mind was at 
 
 ea e.) 
 Grant [General): "I want nobody distressed on 
 
 my acccHiut." 
 (iitEooRv VII.: "I have loved justiie and hated 
 
 iniciuitv. therefore 1 die in e.\ile.' (He had 
 
 embidiled himself with Heinrich IV., the 
 
 Kaiser, and bad retired to Salerno.) 
 Grev (LoiIii Jime): "Lord, into Thy liauds I 
 
 commend my spirit." (See Charlkmagne.) 
 Grotii'.s : " Be seri<uis." 
 Guktavus AlJOLlMir.s: "My God!" 
 Haller: "My friend, the pulse has ceased to 
 
 beat." (This was said to bis mediail attendant.) 
 Hannibal: "Let us now ielie\ c the Keiimns of 
 
 tbe.r fe;irs by the death of a feeble. dd maiL" 
 Harrison (11'.//.): "1 wish you to understand 
 
 tlie true principles of go\ eniiueut. 1 wish 
 
 them c;irried out. :ind :isk nothing more." 
 Haydn died singim-'-Miod preserve the emperor !" 
 Hazlitt : " 1 have led ;i b:ippv life." 
 Henry 11. (of Kngland): " Now let the world go 
 
 as it will ; I c;ue for nothing more." (This he 
 
 s;iid when he was fold that his favouriie son 
 
 John was one of those who were conspiring 
 
 :igainst him. (Shakespe;ire makes Macbeth say : 
 " 1 giu to be aweary of the sun. 
 
 And wish th' estate o" the world were now un- 
 done.") 
 Henry hi.: "I am Harry of Winchester." 
 
 (These can hardly be called his dying words, 
 
 but luily the last recorded. They were spoken 
 
 (Ui the Held of battle wlien a man was about 
 
 toshiy him. The bat tie i>f Evesham was f<uiglit 
 
 August Jtli, U'U;), but Henry 111. died November 
 
 ir.th, liTJ.i 
 Henry VII. : " We heartily desire our executors 
 
 to consider how beboofful it is to be prayed for." 
 Henry VUI.: "All is lost! Monks, monks, 
 
 monks ! " 
 Henry (Prince): "Tie a rope nuind my body, 
 
 pull mc out of bed, and lay me in aslieSj that I 
 
 may die with repentant prayers to an otfeuded 
 
 God." 
 Herbert (George): "Now, Lord, receive my 
 
 soul." 
 Hobbe,«: "Now I am about to take my last 
 
 voyage— a great leaiiin the dark." 
 HuEER (Andreas): "1 will not kneel. Fire!" 
 
 (Spoken to the soldiers commissioned to shoot 
 
 him.) 
 Hoot): " Dying, dying." 
 Hooi'Eii : " Lord, receive my spirit." 
 Hi'JiBoi.DT : " How grand these lays ! They seem 
 
 to beckon e;irth to lieaveiL" 
 HlNTER (Dr. Williinii): "If I had strength to 
 
 h(dd a pen, I would write down how easy and 
 
 lileasant a thing it is to die." 
 Irving (Edward) : " If I die, 1 die unto the Lord. 
 
 Amen." 
 Jackson (surnamed "Stonewall"): "Send Hill 
 
 to the front." 
 Ja.mes V. (of Scotland) : " It flbe crown of Scot- 
 Land] came with ;i lass and will go with a l:iss." 
 
 (Tliis he said when told that tile i|iieen had 
 
 given liirth to a daugliter— the future Mary 
 
 (,)iieeii of Scots.) 
 Jefkkrson (of America) : " I resign my spirit to 
 
 (iod, my daughter to my country." 
 Jero.me (of Prague) : "Thouknowest, Lord, that 
 
 I have loved the truth." 
 jEsrs (.See Christ). 
 Joan of Arc: "Jesus ! Jesus ! Jesus ! Blessed 
 
 be God." 
 Johnson (Dr.): "God bless you, niy dear" (to 
 
 Jliss Morris). 
 Josephine (the divorced wife of Napoleon I.): 
 
 " L'ile d'Ellie ! Napoleon!" 
 Julian (called the "Apostate"): "Vicisti, O 
 
 Galilee." 
 Keats : " I feel the flowers growing over me." 
 Ken (Bislinp) : " God's will be done." 
 Knox : " Now it is come." 
 Lamb (Charles) : " My bed-fellows are cramp and 
 
 cough— we three all in one bed." 
 Lambert (the M.artyr) : "None but Christ ! None 
 
 but Christ ! ' (This be said as he was pitched 
 
 into the ffames.) 
 Lavoisier, being condemned to die, asked for a 
 
 respite oi two weeks that be might complete
 
 Dying Sayings 
 
 397 
 
 Dying Sayings 
 
 some experiments in wliich he was engaged. He 
 
 was told that the Reiniblic was in no need iif 
 
 experiments. iSee above, Akchimk'des.) 
 L.iwHEXCK C6Y.). Said to have been broiled alive 
 
 on a gridiron, A. I). L'oS. 
 " This side enough is toasted, so turn me, tyrant, 
 eat. 
 
 And see whether raw or roasted I make the 
 better meat." Fuxe : Book of Martyrs. 
 
 Lawhescb (Com. Jamen]-. "Don't give up the 
 
 ship." (Mortally wounded on the Chesapeake.) 
 Leicbstkr (.Earl a/) : " By the arm of St. James, 
 
 it is time to die." 
 Leopold I. (the Kaiser): "Let me die to the 
 
 sound of sweet music." (See MtiiAiiEAU.) 
 Lisle (.Sir Ocorge) : "Ay! but I have been 
 
 nearer to you, my friends, many a time, and you 
 
 have missed me." 
 Locke (John) : " Oh ! the depth of the riches of 
 
 the goodness and knowlcdi-'e of (iod. Cease 
 
 now." QThis was said to I.ady Masliam, who 
 
 was reading to him some of the I'salnis.) 
 Louis I. : " Huz ! huz!" (Bou.iuet says, "He 
 
 turned his face to the wall, twice cried huz! 
 
 huz! [out ; out '.) and then <lied.) 
 Louis IX. : "1 will enter now into the house of 
 
 the Lord." 
 Louis XI.: "Notre dame d'Embrun, ma bonne 
 
 maitresse, aidez nioi. " 
 Louis XIV. : " why weep you ? Did you think I 
 
 should live for ever? 1 thought dying had 
 
 beeu harder." 
 Louis XVI. (on the scaffold): "Frenchmen, I 
 
 die guiltless of the crimes imputed to me. 
 
 Pray God my blood fall not on France I " 
 Louis XVIII.: "A king should die standing." 
 
 (Nee Vespasian and Siwaro.) 
 Mapisox (James) : " I always talk better lyiug 
 
 down." 
 Mahomet or MoiiAMMEi): "O Allah! ))e it sol 
 
 Henceforth among the glorious host of Para- 
 dise." 
 Malkshekres (to the priest): "Hold your 
 
 tongue ! your wretched chatter disgusts me." 
 Mar.vt (stablied in his bath by Charlotte t'oid;iy): 
 
 " Help ! help me, my dear ! " (To his hou^e- 
 
 keeiier.) 
 Mabgabet (of Scotland, wife of Louis XI. of 
 
 France; : " Fi de la vie: iiu'ou ne m'en parle 
 
 plus." 
 Marie Astoixette: " Farewell, my children, 
 
 for ever. I am going to your father." 
 Martin (St.) -. " Wliat dost thou here, thou cruel 
 
 beast?" (S;uil to the devil). (St. Sulpicius: 
 
 Epistle to B((.'<siila.) 
 Martinuzzi (Cardinal), the Wolsey of Hungary. 
 
 He was assassinated uttering the words, " Jesu, 
 
 Maria ! " 
 Mary ((Jnenn of England) -. " You will find the 
 
 word Calais written on my heart." 
 Masaniello :" Ungrateful traitors!" (To his 
 
 assassins.)' 
 Mathews (Charles') : " I am ready." 
 Maximilian (Kmperor of Mexico): "Poor Car- 
 
 lotta ! " (Referring to his wife.) 
 MEL.iNCTHON (in reply to the iiuestion, " Do you 
 
 want anything ? ") : " Xothiiig but heaven." 
 MiRAiiEAU : " Let 1116 f:UI asleep to the sound of 
 
 delicious music." (See Leopold.) 
 MoNic.v (,S't.) : "In peace I will sleep with Him 
 
 and take my rest." (St. Awjustin ; Confessions.) 
 MoouY (the actor) : 
 
 " Reason thus with life : 
 If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing 
 That none but fools would keep." 
 
 (The same is said of Paterson, an actor iu the 
 
 Norwich Comiany.) 
 Moore (Hannah) : " Patty, Joy." 
 MooRE (Sir Jolm): " I hope my country will do 
 
 me justice." 
 More (Sir Tho7nas) : " For my coming down, 
 
 let me shift for myself." 
 Mozart : " You spoke of a refreshment, Emilie ; 
 
 take my last notes, and let me hear once more 
 
 my solace and delight." 
 MuRAT (King of Naples): "Soldiers, save my 
 
 face ; aim at my heart. Farewell." (Said to 
 
 the men appointed to shoot him.) 
 Napoleon I. : " Mon Dieu ! La nation Franqaise. 
 
 Tete d'armee ! " 
 Napoleon III. :"" Were you at Sedan ? " (To Dr. 
 
 Couneau.) 
 
 NELSON: "I thank (Jod 1 have done my duty. 
 
 Kiss me, Hardy." 
 Nero : " (jualis artifex perio." 
 Palmer (the actor): "There is another and a 
 
 better world." (This he said on tlie stage. It 
 
 is a line iu the i)art he was performing— V'/ie 
 
 Stranger.) 
 Pascal : " My God, forsake me not." 
 Per'icles (of Athens) : " I have never caused 
 
 any citizen to put ou mourning on my account." 
 
 (See FliKUERlCK V.) 
 
 Pitt ( WHiiani) : " Alas, my country !" 
 
 PiZAituo ; ■• .Jesu ! " 
 
 Pom PA Dor u (Mdme. de) : "Stay a little longer, M. 
 le I'liir, and we will go together." 
 
 PoMAToHsKi (after the bridge over the Pliesse 
 was liliiwii up) : " Gentlemen, it behoves us now 
 to die with honour." 
 
 POPE: " Friendship itself is Put a part of virtue." 
 
 R.iBEL.ils : " Let down the curtaiu, the farce is 
 over." (See Demo'nax.) 
 
 Raleich : " It matters little how the head lies." 
 (Said <m the scaffold where he was beheaded.) 
 
 Renan : " We perish, we disappear, but the march 
 of lime goes on for ever." 
 
 RUHAUD I. (of En;,-I:in(l) : "Youth, I foru'ivo 
 thee !'■ (This w:is s:iid to Bfni:iii(l deGuiinluii, 
 who shot biiu with :ui :irro\v at (■li:iiii>.) Tlieu 
 to his atlenchnits ho luldccl," T:il. e i.ff liis chains, 
 give him Pki sliilliiit.'.-. :uid It-t liiiii go." 
 
 Richard III. (of Eir--l:iiMl| : -Tn'.ison ! treason !" 
 (At Boswortli. where his best lueii deserted him 
 and joined the ariiiv of Richmond, afterwarus 
 Henry VII.) 
 
 RouEsPiERRE (taunted with the death of Dan- 
 ton) : "Cowards! Why did you not defend 
 him?" (This must have been before his jaw 
 was broken by the slhrt of the geudarme the 
 day liefore he w;is i,'ui]lotined.) 
 
 RocHE.IAQUELKiN (the Veiulean hero): "We go 
 to meet the foe. If I advance, follow n.e ; if I 
 retre:it, slay me ; if I f;ill. avenge me." 
 
 Roland (Madnnie): "(J liberty! What crimes 
 are committeil In thy ii:ime !" 
 
 S.\LAPIN : ■' When I am buried, carry my winding- 
 sheet on the point of a spear, and say these 
 words: Behold the spoils which Sal;idin carries 
 with him! Of all his victories, realms, and 
 riches, nothing remains to him but this." (See 
 Severus.) 
 
 Sand {(leorge): " Laissez la verdure." (That is, 
 leave the plot green, and do not cover the grave 
 with liricks or stone.) 
 
 SCAUuoN : " Ah, my children, you cannot cry for 
 me so much as I have made you laugh." 
 
 Schiller: "Many things are growing plain and 
 clear to my understanding." 
 
 Scott i.svr Waiter): "(^od bless you all. I feel 
 myself again." (To his familv.) 
 
 Sebve'tus (at the stake): "Christ, Son of the 
 eternal God, have mercy upon me." (Calvin in- 
 sisted on his saying-, " the eternal Son of God," 
 but he would not, and was burnt to death.) 
 
 Seve'rus: "I have been everytliin'-'. :ithI ever.v- 
 thliig is nothing. A little urn will contain all 
 that remains of one for whom the whole world 
 was too little." (See Saladin.) 
 
 Seymour (Jane) : " No, my head never committed 
 any treason ; but, if you want it, you cau take 
 it." (.\s Jane Seymour died within a fortnight 
 of the birth of her son Edward— the cause of 
 unbounded delight to the king— I cannot belic\ e 
 that this traditionary speech is correct.) 
 
 Sharpe (Archbishop): " I shall be happy." 
 
 Shekiihn : " I am absolutely undone." 
 
 Sidney (4?(7''™oM): "I know that my Redeemer 
 liveth. I die for the good old cause." (He was 
 condemned to death by Judge Jeffries as au 
 accomplice in the Rye House plot.) 
 
 Sidney (Sir Philip) : " I would not change my 
 joy for the empire of the world." 
 
 SiwARD (the Dane) : " Lift me up that I may die 
 standing, not lying down like a cow." (See 
 Louis XVIII. and Vespasian.) 
 
 Socrates : "Crito, weowea cock to^sculapios." 
 
 Stael (Madame de): "I have loved God, my 
 father, and liberty." 
 
 Stephen (the first Christian martyr): "Lord, 
 Into thy hands I commend my sjiirit." 
 
 SwEDENiioRG: "What o'clock is it?" (After 
 being told, he added) "Thank you, aud God 
 bless you."
 
 Dyraphna 
 
 39S 
 
 Eagle 
 
 Talma : " The worst is, I cannot see." (But bis 
 
 last word was) " Voltaire." 
 Tasso : " Lord, into Tby bands I commend my 
 
 spirit." (.See C/'HAHLKMAGXB, and t'OLUMBU.s.) 
 Tayi.ob (General Zachary): "I have tried to do 
 
 my duty, and am nut afraid to die. I am ready." 
 TkxtkiuiKX (lord Ch if/ Justice): "Gentlemen of 
 
 the jury, ymi may retire." 
 TiiEitAME.NKS (tlie Athenian, condemned by Cri- 
 
 tias to drink licmlm-k, said as he drank the 
 
 poison) : "This to the fair Critias." 
 TiiiKK (Tlie J'ciiitciit): "Lord, remember me 
 
 wlieu Thou romest into Thy Kingdom." 
 Thiri.ow (Loi-d): " I'll ))e shot it 1 don't believe 
 
 I'm dyini.'." 
 Tvi.Eit (ll'dO: "Because they are all under my 
 
 command, they are sworu to do what I bid 
 
 them." 
 Vaxe (.Sir Ilarrii): "It is a bad cause which 
 
 cannot licar tlie woi'ds of a d\ inw man." 
 'N'^Ksi'AsiAN : " A km:,- sbiiubl (lie standing' " (Sir 
 
 Lot' IS .Will, and Slwahu); hut bis last words 
 
 were, " I't piilo, dciis do' (rcfcniug In I be fact 
 
 that lie w.as the llrst of the Roman emperors 
 
 who died a natural death, if, indeed, Augustus 
 
 was poisoueil, as many sujipose). 
 ■Vicars (nedtnj) -. "Cover my face." 
 A'oLTAiUE : " Do let me die in peace." 
 "VVashisgtos : "It is well. I die hard, but am 
 
 not afraid to go." 
 Wesley : " The best of all is, God is with us." 
 ■WiLnBllFOltCE (His father said to him, "So He 
 
 fc'iveth His beloved sleep" ; to which Willier- 
 
 force rejilied) : " Ves, and sweet indeed is the 
 
 rest which Christ giveth." (.Saying this, he 
 
 never spoke aKain.) 
 ■WiLLiA.M I.: "To my Lady, the Holy Mary, I 
 
 commend myself ; that she, by her prayers, 
 
 may reconcile her beloved Son to me." 
 ■William II.: "Shoot, Walter, in the devil's 
 
 name ! " (Walter Tyrrell did shoot, but killed 
 
 the king.) 
 WtLLlA.ii III.: "Can this last Ioiil,-?" (To bis 
 
 jihysician. He suffered from a broken coli;ir- 
 
 bone.) 
 William (of Nassau) : " () (iod, have mercy upon 
 
 me, and upon this I'oor nation." (This was 
 
 just before he was shot liy lialtha.sar Gerard.) 
 AVii.soN (the oniitholoLTisi): "Bury me where 
 
 the birds will sing over my grave." 
 \A'n[,i-E ((hiuriil): " Wh:it I do they run alre:idy ? 
 
 Then 1 die happy." (Nrc Ki'AMIXoxhas.) 
 AVoLSEY ((^n■dilltll) : " Had 1 but served my God 
 
 with half the zi':il th:it 1 have served my' king. 
 
 He would ncd- have left me ill my grey hairs." ^ 
 WoniiswonTll : "God bless you ! Is' that you, 
 
 Dora?" 
 Wyatt (T/ioiHo.*) : "What I then said [about the 
 
 treason of Princess Elizabeth] I unsay now ; 
 
 and what I now say is the truth." (This was 
 
 said to the pl'iest who waited ou liini ou the 
 
 scaffold.) 
 Ziska CJohn) : " Make my skin into drum-heads 
 
 for the Bohemian cause." 
 
 Many of these sajniigs, like all other 
 history, belong to the region of Phrase 
 and Fable, but the collection is inter- 
 esting and fairly exhaustive. 
 
 Dymph'na. The tutelar saint of 
 those stricken in spirit. She was a 
 native of Britain, and a woman of high 
 rank. It is said that she was murdered, 
 at Geel, in Belgium, by her own father, 
 because she resisted his incestuous pas- 
 sion. Geel, or Gheel, has long been a 
 famous colony for the insane, who are 
 sent thither from all parts of Europe, 
 and are boarded with the peasantry. 
 
 Dynamite (3 syl.). An explosive 
 compound consisting of some absorbent 
 (as infusorial earth) saturated with nitro- 
 glycerine. (Greek, diutCtmis, power.) 
 
 Dynamite Saturday. January 24th, 
 1S8.-3, when great dtimage was done to the 
 Houses of Parliament and the Tower of 
 London by explosions'of dynamite. The 
 Law-Courts and some other public build- 
 ings were to have been attacked by 
 the dynamiters, Ttut happily were well 
 guarded. {!S('c Clan-na-Gael.) 
 
 Dyot Street, Bloomsbury Square, 
 London ; now called George Street, St. 
 Giles. Made familiar by a well-known 
 song in Bumbastcs Fitrioso : 
 
 " My lodging is in heal her lane, 
 
 A parlour that's ne.xt to the sky . . ." 
 
 niiodes. 
 
 Dyser. The deities who conduct the 
 souls of the deceased to the palace of 
 Odin. {Scaiidiiiavic(?i mijtholo(jy.) 
 
 Dy'vour. The debtor's badge in 
 Scotland (French, (kroir, to own). 
 Bankriqits were comiielled to wear an 
 upper garment, half yellow and half 
 brown, with a jiarti - coloured cap. 
 This law was abolished in the reign of 
 William IV. 
 
 Dyz'emas Day. Tithe day. (Por- 
 tuguese, (iiz"tiii((s, tithes ; Law Latin, 
 dec' uH(C.) 
 
 E. 
 
 E. This letter represents a window ; 
 in Hebrew it is called }ic (;i window). 
 
 E.G. or e.g. (Latin iov exempli gra' lia). 
 By way of example ; for instance. 
 
 E Pluribus Unum (Ltitin). One 
 unity conipcsed of nnuiy jiarts. The 
 motto of the United States of Americti. 
 
 Eager or cagrc. Sharp, keen, acid ; 
 the French eiigrc. (Latin, crude form, 
 eccr- "acer," sharp.) 
 
 " It doth posset 
 And curd, like eager droppings into milk." 
 Slmkesiwore: Hamlet, i. 5. 
 " Ve.x him with eager words." 
 
 tilialcet^peare : Henry YI., ii. i. 
 
 Eagle (in royal banners). It was the 
 ensign of the ancient kings of Babylon 
 and Persia, of the Ptolemies and Se- 
 leu'cides. The Eomans adopted it in con- 
 junction with other devices, but Ma'rius 
 made it the ensign of the legion, and 
 contined the other devices to the cohorts. 
 The French under the Empire assumed 
 the same device. 
 
 Eagle (in Christian art) is emblematic 
 of St. John the EvaugeUst, because, hke 
 the eagle, he looked on "the sun of 
 glory" ; the eagle was one of the four 
 figures which made up the cherub (Ezek. 
 i. 10).
 
 Eagle 
 
 399 
 
 Ear 
 
 Eagle (in fuuerals). The Eomaus 
 used to let au eagle fly from the funeral 
 pile of a deceased emperor. Dryden. 
 alludes to this custom in his stanzas on 
 Oliver Cromwell after his funeral, vrhen 
 he says, " Oificious haste did let too soon 
 th sacred eagle fly." 
 
 ISagle (in heraldry) signifies forti- 
 tude. 
 
 Eagle (for lecterns in churches). The 
 eagle is the natural enemy of the serpent. 
 The two Testaments are the two out- 
 spread wings of the eagle. 
 
 V Pliny in his Xatunil History (book 
 X. chap. 3) enumerates six kinds of 
 eagles: (1) Mela;nactos, ('2) P^'gargus, 
 (3) Morjihuos, which Homer {Iliad, 
 xxiv. 31(J) calls perknos, (4) Percnop- 
 terus, (o) Gnesios, the royal eagle, and 
 (6) Haliasetos, the osprey. 
 
 Eagle (in phrases). 
 
 Tluj youth is rciieiced like the caylc's 
 (Ps. ciii. 5). This refers to the suiJer- 
 stitiou feigned by poets that every ten 
 years the eagle soars into the "fiery 
 region," and jjUmges tlienec into the 
 sea, where, moulting its featlicrs, it 
 acquires new life. 
 
 " Slie saw wliere lie iipstai'ted brave 
 Our i.f ilii- well. . . . 
 A'* e:i'--lr fresli out (if the ocean wa\e, 
 AViiHif hi' halh lefte liis iiluines all lioi-.v sray. 
 Ami lU'cks UinisclE witli felUers ymulily Kay." 
 ,S;)CH6cr; Faerie Qiteenc, i. U, 31. 
 
 Eagle, a public-house sign, is iu 
 liouour of Queen Mary, whose badge it 
 was. She j)ut it on the dexter side of 
 the shield, and the sun on the sinister — 
 a couj ugal compliment which gave great 
 ott'ence to her subjects. 
 
 The Golden £iiyk' audttie Spread E<t{/le 
 are commemorative of the crusades ; 
 they were the devices of the emperors of 
 the East. 
 
 Eagle. The spread eayle. A device 
 of the old Roman or Eastern Emjnre, 
 brought over by the crusaders. 
 
 Eayle of the doctors of France. Pierre 
 d'Ailly, a French cardiual and great 
 astrologer, who calculated the horoscope 
 of our Lord, and maintained that the 
 stars foretold the great deluge. (1350- 
 14L'5.) 
 
 Eaylc of Brittany. BertrandDugues- 
 clin, Constable of France. (1320-1380.) 
 
 Eagle of Meaiu: [/«c>J. Jacques Bc- 
 uigne Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux, the 
 grandest and most sublime of the pulpit 
 orators of France. (1627-1701.) 
 
 Eagle. The tu-o-hcadcd eagle. Austria, 
 Prussia (representing Germany), and 
 Russia have two-headed eagles, one 
 
 facing to the right and the other to the 
 left. The one facing to the west indi- 
 cates direct succession from Charle- 
 magne, crowned the sixty-ninth em- 
 peror of the Romans from Augustus. 
 In Russia it was Ivan Basilovitz who 
 first assumed the two-headed eagle, 
 when, in 1472, he married Sophia, 
 daughter of Tliomas Palasologus, and 
 niece of Constantine XIV., the last 
 Emperor of Byzantium. The two heads 
 symbolise the Eastern or Byzantine 
 Emjjii'e and the Western or Roman 
 Empire. 
 
 Eagle-stones or Aetltes (ienVr)!). 
 Yellow clay ironstones supposed to have 
 sanative and magical vii-tues. They are 
 so called because they are found iu 
 eagles' nests. EiMphanius says, " In the 
 interior of Scythia there is a vallej' inac- 
 cessible to man, down which slaughtered 
 lambs are thrown. The small stones at 
 the bottom of the valley adhere to these 
 pieces of flesh, and eagles, when they 
 cany away the flesh to their nests, carry 
 the stones with it. ' ' The story of Sindbad 
 ia the Valley of Diamonds will occur to 
 tlie readers of this article {Epiphanins : 
 De diiodeeini geinniis, etc., p. 30; 1743). 
 
 It is said that without these stones 
 eagles cannot hatch their eggs. 
 
 Ear. (Anglo-Saxon, care.) 
 A deaf ear. One that refuses to listen ; 
 as if it heard not. 
 
 How dotcji Thine ear. Condescend to 
 hear or listen. (Ps. xxxi. 2.) 
 
 By ear. To sing or play by ear means 
 to sing or play withoat knowledge of mu- 
 sical notes, depending on the ear only. 
 
 Give ear to . . . Listen to; give at- 
 tention to. 
 
 / am (ill ear. All attention. 
 
 " I was all oar, 
 And took in strains tliat migbt create a soul 
 Under the ribs of death." 
 
 Milton : Comus, 57J. 
 
 ril send yon off with a flea in your car. 
 With a cuff or box of the ear. The allu- 
 sion is to domestic animals, who are 
 sometimes greatly annoyed with these 
 " tiny tonneuts." There seems also to 
 be a jouu implied— ;;?(?« and^c;'. 
 
 V The French equivalent is " Mcttre 
 la puce a Vorcille,'''' to give one a good 
 jobation. 
 
 In at one car, and out at the other. 
 Forgotten as soon as heard. 
 
 No ear. A bad ear for musical in- 
 tonations ; " ear-blind " or " sound- 
 bhnd." 
 
 JJionysius's Ear. A bell-shaped cham- 
 ber connected by au undergroimd passage 
 with the king's palace. Its object was
 
 Ear 
 
 400 
 
 Earth 
 
 that the tyrant of Syracuse might over- 
 hear whutcvei- was passiug iu the ijrisou. 
 
 Ear-finger. The little finger, which 
 is thrust into the ear if anything tickles it. 
 
 Ear-marked. Marked so as to be 
 recognised. The allusion is to marking 
 cattle and sheep on the ear, by which 
 they may be readily recognised. 
 
 "The incrrasc [iif tln'scwilil cattle] were duly 
 liraiuled and ear-marked each year."— iVmrtcoif/i 
 Cmtunj (May, l,s;«), p. Tsit. 
 
 "TLe late president flialmaceda] took on board 
 a large guaiitity of silver, which had been ear- 
 marked for a partirular i>»\\<osc."—Xcirspai)cr 
 pard'jruph, Sept. 4, l.syl. 
 
 Ear-shot. Within enr-shot. Within 
 hearing. The allusion is jmliJable. 
 
 Ears. 
 
 About one's cars. Causing trouble. 
 The allusion is to a house falling on one, 
 or a hornet's nest buzzing about one's 
 head. 
 
 Bring the house about your cars. Set 
 the whole family against you. 
 
 H If your ears burn, people say some 
 one is iaikinc/ of i/uu. This is very old, for 
 Pliny says, ' ' When our ears do glow 
 and tingle, some do talk of us in our 
 absence." Shakespeare, in Much Ado 
 Abo/it Nothing (iii. 1), makes Beatrice 
 say, when Ur'sula and Hero had been 
 talking of her, ' ' What lire is in mine 
 ears ? ' ' Sir Thomas Browne ascribes this 
 conceit to the sui)erstitiou of guardian 
 angels, who touch the right ear if the 
 talk is favourable, and the left if other- 
 wise. This is done to cheer or warn. 
 " One ear tingles ; some there be 
 That are snarling now at me." 
 
 Merrick': llesperides. 
 
 little pitchers have large ears. (See 
 Pitchers.) 
 
 Mi/ie ears hast thou bored. Thou hast 
 accepted me as thy bond-slave for life. 
 If a Hebrew servant declined to go free 
 after six years' service, the master was 
 to bring liini to the doorpost, and bore 
 his ear through with an awl, in token 
 of his voluntary servitude. (Exod. xxi. 
 6.) 
 
 Over head and ears (in love, in debt, 
 etc.). Wholly, desperately. 
 
 "He is over head and ears in love with the 
 maid. He loves her lietter than his own life."— 
 Terence in Eiiglinli. 
 
 To givers one''s ears [to obtain an 
 object]. To make a considerable sacri- 
 fice for the purpose. The allusion is to 
 the ancient practice of cutting off the 
 ears of those who loved their own of- 
 fensive opinions better than their ears. 
 
 To have itching ears. Loving to hear 
 news or current gossip, (2 Tim. iv. 3.) 
 
 To prick up one''s cars. To listen 
 attentively to something not expected, 
 as horses prick up their ears at a sudden 
 sound. 
 
 "At which, like unbacked colts, they pricked 
 their ears." 
 
 Shakespeare : Tlte Tempest, iv. 1. 
 
 To set people together bg the ears. To 
 create ill-will among them ; to set them 
 quarrelling and pulling each other's 
 ears. 
 
 "When civil dudgeon first grew high, 
 Ami men fell ont, they knew not why ; 
 When hard wui-ds. jealousies, and fears, 
 Set folks together hv the ears." 
 
 llnthr : Jiadiliras (The opening). 
 
 To tickle the cars. To gratify the ear 
 either by pleasing sounds or Mattering 
 words. 
 
 jralk have ears. Things uttered in 
 secret get rumoured abroad. Chaucer 
 says, '* That field hath eyen, and the 
 wood hath ears." {Cantcrburg Talcs, 
 V. 1,524.) 
 
 Ears to ear Bible (The). (1810.) 
 " Who hath ears to ear, let him hear." 
 (Matt. xiii. 43.) {See Bible.) 
 
 Earing. Ploughing. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 erian, to plough ; Latin, aro.) 
 
 "Atid yet there are five years, in the wliidi 
 there shall neither be earing uor harvest."— 
 (jenesis xlv. 6. 
 
 "In earing time and in harvest thou shalt 
 rest."— ExodCts xxxiv. ^1. 
 
 Earl (Anglo-Saxon, eorl, a man of 
 position, in opposition to ccorl, a churl, 
 or freeman of the lowest rank ; Danish, 
 jar I). William the Conqueror tried to 
 introduce the word Count, but did not 
 succeed, although the wife of an earl is 
 still called a countess. 
 
 "The sheriff is called in Latin vice-comes, as 
 being the depitty of the earl or comes, to whom 
 the custody of the shire is said to have been c<im- 
 mitted." — UlackntiDic: Comvitvtaries, book i. 
 chap. ix. p. 33SI. 
 
 Earl of Mar's Grey Breeks. The 
 
 21st Foot are so called because they 
 wore greg breeches when the Earl of Mar 
 was their colonel. (1678-1686.) 
 
 The 21st Foot is now called the 
 "Eoyal Scots Fusiliers." 
 
 Early to Bed. " Early to bed and 
 early to rise, makes a man healthy, 
 wealthy, and wise." 
 
 " Lever a cinq, diner a neuf, 
 Souper a cinn, coucher a nenf. 
 Font vivre d'ans nonante neuf." 
 (The older of the two.) 
 " Lever a six, diner a dix. 
 Super a six. coucher a dix. 
 Fait vivre Ihounue dix fois dix." 
 
 Earth. To gather strength from the 
 earth. The reference is to Antseos, son 
 of Posei'don and Ge, a giant and 
 wrestler of Lib'ya (Africa). So long as 
 he touched the earth his strength was
 
 Earthmen 
 
 401 
 
 Easter Eggs 
 
 iiTesistible. Hercules, knowiug this, 
 lifted him into the aii' and crushed him 
 to death. Near the town of Tingis, in 
 Maurita'uia, is a hill in the shape of a 
 man, and called The hill of Anfrcos. 
 Tradition says it is the wrestler's tomb. 
 (.y;x' Malegea.) 
 
 Earthmen (The). Gnomes and fairies 
 of tlie mines: a solemn race, wlio never- 
 theless can laugh most heartily and 
 dance most merrily. 
 
 " We [earthmen] work at tlie mines fur men ; 
 we imt tlie ore in readiness for the niiuers."— 
 llctaut and like : Titaiiia's Fureirell. 
 
 Earthquakes. According to Indian 
 mythology, the world rests on the head 
 of a great elephant, and when, for the 
 sake of rest, the huge monster refreshes 
 itself by moving its head, an earthquake 
 is produced. The elephant is called 
 " Muha-pudma." 
 
 " Havin,!,' iienetrated to the snutli, they saw tlie 
 great elephant ' Mnlia-iuidnia,' eijiial to a hu^'e 
 mountain, snstainin!.' the eartii with its head."— 
 The Ramiiyaua (section xxxiii.). 
 
 *,* The Lamas say that the earth is 
 placed on the back of a gigantic frog, 
 and when the frog stretches its limbs or 
 moves its head, it shakes the earth. 
 Other Eastern mythologists place the 
 earth on the back of a tortoise. 
 
 Greek and Roman mythologists ascribe 
 earthquakes to the restlessness of the 
 giants which Jupiter buried under high 
 mountains. Thus Virgil (^Ei/eid, iii. 578) 
 ascribes the eruption of Etna to the giant 
 Enceiadus. 
 
 Earwig. A corruption of the Saxon 
 ear-u'ic<ju (ear-insect) ; so called because 
 the hind wings resemble in shape the 
 human ear. The word has engendered 
 the notion that these insects are apt to 
 get into our ears. 
 
 An cartciff, metaphorically, is one who 
 whispers into our ears all the news and 
 scandal going, in order to curry favour ; 
 a flatterer. 
 
 "Court earwigs hanish from voiir ears." 
 
 Political UiilluiU. 
 
 Ease. (Anglo-Saxon, eath ; Latin, 
 oti-um.) 
 
 At eas^. Without pain or anxiety. 
 
 Ill at ease. L^neasy, not comfortable, 
 anxious. 
 
 Sta)i(l at ease ! A command given to 
 soldiers to rest for a time. The " gentle- 
 men stood at ease" means in an in- 
 fonnal manner. 
 
 To ease one of his money or purse. To 
 steal it. {See Little Ease.) 
 
 Ease {Chapel of). {See Chapel.) 
 
 Ease Her ! A command given on a 
 steamer to reduce speed. The. next 
 
 26 
 
 order is generally " Stop her ! " — i.e. the 
 steamboat. 
 
 East. The custom of inrnin/f to the 
 east when the creed is repeated is to ex- 
 press the belief that Christ is the Day- 
 spring and Sun of Righteousness. The 
 altar is placed at the east end of the 
 church to remind us of Christ, the "Day- 
 spring" and "Resurrection" ; and per- 
 sons are buried with their feet to the east 
 to signify that they died iu the hope of 
 the Resurrection. 
 
 The ancient Greeks always buried their 
 dead with the face iipirards, looking to- 
 wards heaven ; and the feet turned to the 
 east or the rising sun, to indicate that 
 the deceased was on his way to Elj'sium, 
 and not to the region of night or the 
 inferno. {Bioijeius Laertius : Life of 
 Solon, in Greek.) 
 
 East Indies. 
 
 (1) Jle came nafefrom the East Indir-f, 
 and u-as drowned in the Thames. He 
 encountered many dangers of great 
 magnitude, but was at last killed where 
 he thought himself secure. 
 
 (2) 'To send to tlie East Indies for 
 Kentish pippins. To go round about 
 to accomplish a very simple thing. To 
 crush a fly on a wheel. To send to the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer for a penny 
 postage-stamp. 
 
 Easter. April was called Ostermo- 
 nath — the month of the Ost-end wind 
 (wind from the east). Easter is there- 
 fore the April feast, which lasted eight 
 days. Our Easter Sunday must be be- 
 tween March 21st and April 2.jth. It is 
 regulated by the jjaschal moon, or flrst 
 full moon between the vernal equinox 
 and fourteen days afterwards. (Teu- 
 tonic, d.yA7r« ; Anglo-Saxon, eastre.) 
 
 Easter. The Saxon goddess of the 
 east, whose festival was held iu the 
 spring. 
 
 Easter-day Sun. It was formerly a 
 common belief that the suti danced on 
 Easter Day. Sir Thomas Browaie com- 
 bats the notion in his I'ulijar Errors. 
 
 " Bnt oh, she dances such a way, 
 No sun niion an Easti'r dav 
 Is half so Hue a sight." 
 
 .Sic John Stickling. 
 
 Easter Eggs, ov Faseh ee/gs, are sym- 
 bolical of creation, or the re-creation of 
 spring. The practice of presenting eggs 
 to our friends at Easter is Magian or 
 Persian, and bears allusion to the mun- 
 dane egg, for which Ormuzd and Ahri- 
 man were to contend till the consumma- 
 tion of all things. It prevailed not only
 
 Eat 
 
 402 
 
 EbioniteS 
 
 with the Persians, but also among the 
 Jews, Egyptians, and Hindus. Cliris- 
 tians adopted the custom to symbolise 
 the resurrection, and they colour the 
 eggs red in allusion to the blood of their 
 redemption. There is a tradition, also, 
 that the world was " hatched" or created 
 at Easter-tide. 
 
 " Bless, liOid, wchrsrccli tlioo, tliisTli.v creatiiro 
 ui et;g!i,t\t.il it iii;iy licioinc a «li(ik'?(iine siistc- 
 iiaiice toTliy fait li fill sfr\:iiits. eatiiiu' it in tluiiik- 
 liilness ti> Tlicc,(jii incdiint cif the lesiiiTection uf 
 ouv Lttvd."—l'ui/c I'aal W: llitital. 
 
 Eat. Ih cat humble pic. (.SV<- Humble 
 Pie.) 
 
 To cat one out of house and home. To 
 eat so much that one will have to part 
 with house and home in order to pay 
 for it. 
 
 To cat o)ie's words. To refract in a 
 humiliating manner ; to unsay what you 
 liave said ; to eat your own lick. 
 
 To cat the mud cow. A French 
 phrase, implj'ing that a person is re- 
 duced to the very last extremity, and is 
 willing to eat even a cow tliat has died 
 of madness ; glad to eat cat's meat. 
 
 '■ II m.-insea do cette clinso incxiiriiiialilc (in'im 
 niiliclle lie la vache euitigoe."— ricfo)' IJiiyu: J.es 
 MiKciKOIes. 
 
 To cat the led: (See Leek.") 
 To eat nell. To have a good apj)etite. 
 But " It cats well" means tliat what is 
 eaten is agreeable or flavorous. To 
 " eat badly " is to Ciit without appetite 
 or too little ; not pleasant to the taste. 
 
 Eat not the Brain. Tliis is the 
 31st Syniljol in the Protreiitics of lam- 
 blichus ; and the ])rohibition is very 
 similar to that of Moses forbidding the 
 Jews to eat the blood, because the blood 
 is the life. The brain is the seat of reason 
 and the ruler of the body. It was also 
 esteemed the Divine part— at least, of 
 man. 
 
 Eat not the Heart. This is the 
 30tli Symbol in tlie Protreptics of lam- 
 blichus. Pythagoras forbade judges 
 and priests to eat animal food at all, 
 because it was taking away life. Other 
 persons he did not wholly forbid this 
 food, but he restricted them from eating 
 the brabi (the seat of wisdom) and the 
 heart (the seat of life). 
 
 Eat One's Heart Out (To). To fret 
 or worry unreasonably ; to allow one 
 grief or one vexation to predominate 
 over the mind, tincture all one's ideas, 
 and absorb all other emotions. 
 
 Eats his Head Off {The horse). 
 Eats more than he is worth, or the work 
 done does not pay for the cost of keeping. 
 
 A horse which stands in the stable nn- 
 emjiloj-ed eats liis head off. 
 
 Eating One's Terms. To be study- 
 ing for the bar. Students are required 
 to dine in the Hall of the Inns of Couit 
 at least three times m each of the twelve 
 terms before they are "called" [to the 
 bar]. (.SVf Doctors' Commons.) 
 
 Eating Together. To eat together 
 in the East was at one time a sure pkdge 
 of jirotection. A I'ersian nobleman was 
 once sitting in his garden, when a man 
 prostrated himself licfon^ him, and inj- 
 plored protection from the rabble. Tlie 
 nobleman gave him the remainder of a 
 peach which he was eating, anil when 
 the incensed multitude arrived, and de- 
 clared that the man had slain the only 
 son of the nobleman, the heart-broken 
 father rejdied, '" We have eaten together; 
 go in poace," and would not allow the 
 murderer to be i)unished. 
 
 Eau de Cologne. A perfumed sjiirit, 
 prcjcired at Cologne. Tlie most famous 
 maker was Jean Maria Fari'na. 
 
 Eau de Vie. Thandy. A French 
 translation of tlic Latin a(iua ritcc (water 
 of lil'('). 'i'liis is a curious perversion of 
 the Spanish ae/jua di rite (water or juice 
 of the vine), rendered by the monks 
 into atjua ritw instead of U'lua ritis, and 
 confounding the juice of the grai)e with 
 the alchemists' eli.\ir of life. The same 
 error is periietuated in the Italian aei/iia 
 rite ; the Scotch leht.shji, which is the 
 Celtic iiisc-fi/f; and the Irish nsqiie- 
 hau(jh, which is the Gaelic and Irish 
 uixllic-lratha. (Sic AqI'A Yitje.) 
 
 Eaves-dropper. One who listens 
 stealthilj' to conversation. The deriva- 
 tion of the term is not usually imder- 
 stood. The owners of private estates in 
 Saxon times were not allowed to culti- 
 vate to the extremity of their jjossessions, 
 but were obliged to leave a space for 
 eaves. This space was called the >/fes- 
 drijpe (eaves- drip). An eaves-dropper 
 is one who places himself in the eaves- 
 drip to overhear what is said in the 
 adjacent house or field. 
 " I'liilei' oiir tents I'll play tlie caves-driipiicf, 
 To bear if anv mean to sUvink from me." 
 
 Sliaket'peure : Richard III., \. X 
 
 Eb'ionism. The doctrine that the 
 poor only shall be saved. Ebion, plural 
 cbionim (poor). 
 
 " At tbe end of the second century the Eliionites 
 were treated as heretics, and a pretended leader 
 (Ehion)was invented by Tertullian to explain the 
 name."— iJtiidu : Life of Jesus, chap. xi. 
 
 Eb'ionites (4 syl.). A religious sect 
 of the fii'st and second centuries, who
 
 Eblis 
 
 403 
 
 Echo 
 
 maiutaiued that Jesus Christ was merely 
 au inspired messeuger, the greatest of all 
 prophets, but yet a mau and a man only, 
 without any existence before His birth 
 in Bethlehem. (<SVe above.) 
 
 Eblis or Ibleis. A jinu, and the 
 ruler of the evil genii, or fallen angels. 
 Before his fall he was called Azaz'el or 
 Hha'ris. When Adam was created, God 
 commanded all the angels to worship him ; 
 but EbUs replied, " Me thou hast created 
 of smokeless fire, and shall I reverence 
 a creature made of dust?" God was 
 very angry at this insolent answer, and 
 turned the disobedient fay into a Shey- 
 tan (devil), and he became the father of 
 devils. 
 
 "His majesty was n liundn'cl feet in Iii'l'-'lit ; 
 liis sl<iu, stripid willi icd, was iii\t-rcd witli 
 small scales, wliic'U made it Klisicii like anunm- ; 
 Uis hair was sn l.ni!,' and cnrl.v a snaki' niiwlit 
 liave lost its way in it ; liis Hat nnscwas laiMi-oJ 
 with a ring uf ad'niiralilc wcn'kniansliiii ; his snjall 
 eyes assumed all tlic iinsmal ic- culnms ; his ears, 
 which resemhled thdM' nt an clrphaiit, llaiM't'd cm 
 his shouldei'S ; and Ins iail,siM\ fret Innu-.tiT- 
 minatert in a hooked ( iaw. ' ( 'n'(in, uiiiuiin', li. m. 
 
 "When he said nnio llie an^'els, ■W.jishiii 
 Adam,' all worshiiaied him excei't Kl)lis. — ,11 
 KiTuii, ii. 
 
 Eb'ony. GotVf; 'image ihmc in clmnij. 
 Negroes. Thomas Fuller gave birth ito 
 tliis expression. 
 
 Ebu'dae. The Heb'rides. {Ariosfo : 
 Oiiaiido lu/rioso.) 
 
 Ecce Homo. A painting by Cor- 
 regg'io of our Lord crowned with thorns 
 and bound with rojies, as He was sliovvu 
 to the peojile by Pilate, who stiid to 
 them, "iVct' /io»w .' " (Behold the man I) 
 (John xix. 0.) 
 
 Other conceptions of this subject, 
 either painted or engraved, are by Al- 
 bert Durer (1471-1;328), Tititm (U77- 
 1570), Cigoli (l,359-lGi;i), Gaido (1074- 
 1642), Albani (1078-1600), Vaudyck 
 (1599-1641), Rembrandt (1608-1669), 
 Poussin (1613-1675), and some others. 
 
 Ecce Signum. See it, iu proof; 
 Behold the proof ! 
 
 " I am eight times thrust through the doublet, 
 four through the hose; my buckler cut through 
 and through ; njy sword hacked like a handsaw— 
 ecce signum ! ■'—,b7inA,e6i)c«ce; 1 lltiiry IV., li. 4. 
 
 Eccen'tric means deviating from the 
 centre ; hence irregular, not according 
 to rule. Originally applied to those 
 planets which wander round the earth, 
 like comets, the earth not being in the 
 centre of their orbit. (Latin, ex centrum.) 
 
 Eccentric Sensation. The sensa- 
 tions of the brain transferred to objects 
 without. For example : we see a tree ; 
 this tree is a reflection of the tree ou the 
 
 retina transferred to the brain ; but the 
 tree seen is the tree without, not the tree 
 iu the brtiiii. This transferred jJercep- 
 tiou is called au " Eccentric Sensation." 
 
 Eccentric Theory {Tlie) in astro- 
 nomy. A theory which uses au eccen- 
 tric instead of an epicycle iu accounting 
 for the sun's motion. 
 
 Ecclesias'tes (5 syl.). One of the 
 books in the Old Testament, arranged 
 next to Proverbs, generally ascribed to 
 Solomon, because it says (verse 1), " The 
 words of the Preacher, the son of David, 
 king in Jerusalem." This seems, so far, 
 to confirm the authorship to Solomon ; 
 but verse 12 says, " I, the Preacher, ivas 
 king over Israel, in Jerusalem," which 
 seems to intimate that he was once a 
 king, but was so no longer. If so, it 
 could not be Solomon, who died king of 
 the twelve tribes. "Sou of David" 
 often means a descendant of David, 
 Christ himself being so called. 
 
 Ecclesias'tical. The father of eccle- 
 siastical historg. Euse'bius of Ctcsare'a 
 (264-340). 
 
 Ecclesias'ticus is so called, not 
 because the writer was a priest, but 
 because the book (in the opinion of the 
 fathers) was the chief of the apocryjihal 
 books, designated by them ]url< skis' ticl 
 Lihri (books to be read iu chiu'ches), to 
 distinguish them from the canonical 
 Scriptures. 
 
 Echidna {E-kid'-na). Half-woman, 
 half-serpent. She was mother of the 
 Chima'ra, the many-headed dog Orthos, 
 the hundred - heacled dragon of the 
 Hesperides, the Col'chian dragon, the 
 Sphinx, Cer'beros, Scylla, the Gorgons, 
 the LernaBan hydra, the vulture that 
 gnawed away the liver of Promc'theus, 
 and the Nem'ean lion. {Hesiod.) 
 " [She] seemed a woman to the waist, and fair 
 
 But ended foul in many a scaly fold, 
 
 Voluminous and vast." 
 
 Milton: Paradise Lost, book ii. C50— 2. 
 
 Echo. The Romans say that Echo 
 was a nymph iu love with Narcissus, but 
 her love not being returned, she pined 
 away till only her voice i-emaincd. We 
 use the word to injply similarity of 
 sentiment: as I'oii echo mg ideas; That 
 is an echo to my opinion. 
 " Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv'st itnseen 
 Within thy airy shell, 
 
 By slow Meiinder's margent green. . . . 
 
 Canst thou not tell me of a gentle pair 
 
 That likest thy Narcissus are ?" 
 
 Milton : Comus, L'30, etc. 
 
 Echo. (Gr., eJco ; verb, elceo, to sound.) 
 
 To applaud to the echo. To applaud 
 
 so loudly as to produce au echo.
 
 Eckhardt 
 
 40i 
 
 Economy 
 
 Eck'hardt. A faithful Eclchardt, 
 ii]ii) iciinuih cvcri/oiit' (Gennau). Eck- 
 lianlt, in (ieniuui Icgeuds, appears on 
 tlie eveuiiig of Mauudy Thursday to 
 warn all persous to go home, that they 
 may uot be injured by the headless 
 bodies and two-legged horses which 
 traverse the streets on that uight. 
 
 Eclcc'tics. Ancient philosophers, who 
 selcrtctl wliat they thought best iu all 
 other systems, and made a patchwork 
 therefrom. There is the eclectic school 
 of painters, of which Paul Delaroche 
 was tlic founder and best exponent ; the 
 eclectic school of modern philosophy, 
 founded by Victor Cousin ; the eclectic 
 school of ai'chitecture ; and so on. 
 (Greek, rk-lcffo, to pick out.) 
 
 Eclectics or Modern I'latonists. A 
 Christian sect which arose iu the second 
 century. They professed to make truth 
 their sole object of inquiiy, and adopted 
 from existing sj-stems whatever, iu their 
 opinion, was true. They were called 
 Piatouists because they adopted Plato's 
 notions about God and the human soul. 
 
 Eclipses Avcre considered by the 
 ancient (i reeks and Romans as bad 
 omens. Niclas, the Athenian general, 
 was so terrified by an eclipse of the 
 moon, that lie durst uot defend himself 
 from the Syraeusans ; in consequence of 
 which his whole army was cut to pieces, 
 and he himself was put to death. 
 
 The liomans would never hold a public 
 assembly during an eclipse. Some of 
 their poets feign that an eclipse of the 
 moon is because she is gone on a visit to 
 Endymion. 
 
 A very general notion was and still is 
 among barbarians that the sun or moon 
 has been devoured by some monster, and 
 hence the custom of beating drums and 
 brass kettles to scare away the monster. 
 
 The Chinese, Laps, Persians, and some 
 others call the evil beast a dragon. The 
 East Indians say it is a black griffin. 
 
 The notion of the ancient Mexicans 
 was that eclipses were caused by sun 
 and moon quarrels, in which one of the 
 litigants is beaten black and blue. 
 
 Eclip'tic. The path apparently de- 
 scribed by the sun in his annual course 
 through the heavens. Eclipses happen 
 only when the moon is in or near the 
 same jilane. 
 
 Eclogue (2 syl.). Pastoral poetry 
 not expressed in rustic speech, but in 
 the most refined and elegant of which the 
 language is capable. (Greek, meaning 
 " elegant extracts," " select poetry.") 
 
 Ecnc'phia. A sort of hurricane, 
 
 similar to the Typhon. 
 
 " Till- ciriliiiK Tyiiliiiii, wliiiloil fruiii iMiiiit to 
 l"iilU, . . . 
 And (lire ICciK'l'lii.-i ri'i'-'ii.'' 
 
 Thtimsiin : Summer. 
 
 Ecole des Femmes. Moliere bor- 
 rowed the i)lot of this comedy from the 
 novelletti of Ser Gioraitiri, comi)Osed in 
 the fourteenth century. 
 
 Econ'omy means the rules or plans 
 adu2)ted in managing one's own liouse. 
 As we generally prevent extravagant 
 waste, and make the most of our means 
 in our own homos, so the careful expen- 
 diture of money in general is termed 
 house-management. The word is ap- 
 I)lied to time and several other things, 
 as well as money. (Greek, oi/iOn uunios, 
 liouse-law.) 
 
 Aiiiiuul ecouotiii/. The system, laws, 
 and management whereby the greatest 
 amount of good accrues to the animal 
 kingdom. 
 
 •' .\iiini;il . . . ccdHiiiiiy, accdiiliiiK to wliicli 
 ;iiiini;il .-iir.-iirs arc ici»iilateU iiiui Uisiiosi'il."— 
 .SAnyVrsf/zi;;/ ; Cluiiactiri.ytics. 
 
 I'oliticul ccuHuiii!/. The princij^les 
 whereby the revenues and resources of 
 a nation are made the most of. Thus: 
 Is Free Trade good or bad economy i* 
 Ai'ticlcs are cheaper, and therefore the 
 buying value of money is increased ; 
 but, on the otlier hand, competition is in- 
 creased, and therefore wages are lowered. 
 
 ]'e<ietul>le ecuiKJiinj. The system, laws, 
 and management, whereby the greatest 
 amount of good is to be derived by the 
 vegetable kingdom. 
 
 The Christ iuii Juoiionii/. Tlie religious 
 system based on the New Testament. 
 Tliat is, what is the best economy of 
 man, taking into account the life that 
 now is, and that which is to come 'r' The 
 answer is thus summed up by Christ : 
 ''What is a man profited though he gain 
 the whole world and lose his own soul ? 
 For what should a man give in exchange 
 for his soul!'" 
 
 7'he 3Iosaie ecouonuj. The religious 
 system taught by God : tliat is, the sj-s- 
 tcni whereby man obtains the greatest 
 amount of value for his conduct, whether 
 by serving God or living for this life 
 only. Also called "The Jewish Eco- 
 nomy." 
 
 Economy is a great income. " No 
 alchemy like frugality." "Ever save, 
 ever have." The following also are to 
 a similar effect : " A pin a daj^ is a groat 
 a year." " Take care of the pence, and 
 the i^ounds will take care of themselves." 
 " Many a little makes a mickle." "Frae 
 saving, comes having." "A penny
 
 Economy of Nature 
 
 40c 
 
 Ed^e 
 
 saved is a penny gained." " Little and 
 often fills the purse." 
 
 Latin : " Nou intelUgunt homines 
 quam magnum vectlgal sit parsimonia ' ' 
 (Cicero). "Sera in fundo est parsi- 
 monia" (Sf)iec(i). 
 
 French : "PlusieursPeu font un Beau- 
 coup." " Deuier sur denier bitit la 
 maison." 
 
 . German : "Die sparsamkeit ist ein 
 grosser zyll" (Parsimony is a great 
 income). 
 
 Economy of Nature (T/<e). The 
 laws of nature, whereby the greatest 
 amount of good is obtained ; or the laws 
 by which the affairs of nature are regu- 
 lated and disposed. 
 
 Ecorcheurs. Freebooters of the 
 twelfth century, in France ; so called 
 because they stripped their victims of 
 everything, even their clothes. (French, 
 ecorchcr, to flay.) 
 
 Ec'stasy (Greek tK-<TTain^, from 
 ef-iartj/ii, to stand out of [the body or 
 mind]). To stand out of one's mind is 
 to lose one's wits, to be beside oneself. 
 To stand out of one's body is to be dis- 
 embodied. St. Paul refers to this when 
 he says he was caught up to the third 
 heaven and heard unutterable words, 
 "whether in the body, or out of the 
 body, I cannot tell" (2 Cor. xii. 2-4). 
 St. John also saj's he was "in the 
 spiiit " — i.e. in an ecstasy — when he saw 
 the apocalyptic vision (i. 10). The 
 belief that the soul left the body at 
 times was voi-y general in former ages, 
 and is still the belief of many. (<SVc 
 Ecstatic!.) 
 
 Ecstatic Doctor [The). Jean de 
 Kuysbrock, the mystic (1294-1381). 
 
 Ecstatic! {TJie). A class of diviners 
 among the ancient Greeks, who used to 
 lie in trances, and when they came to 
 themselves gave strange accounts of 
 what they had seen while they were " out 
 of the body." (Greek, ex-istvmi.) 
 
 Ector ('S'()-)- The foster-father of 
 King Ai'thur. 
 
 Edda. There are two religious codes, 
 so called, containing the ancient Scandi- 
 navian mythology. One is in verse, com- 
 posed in Iceland in the eleventh cen- 
 tury by Sasmimd Sigfusson, the Sage ; 
 and the other in prose, compiled a cen- 
 tury later by Snorri Sturleson, who 
 WTote a commentary on the first edda. 
 The poetical edda contains an account 
 of creation, the history of Odin, Thor, 
 Freijr, Jialder, etc., etc. The prose one 
 
 contains the exploits of such conquerors 
 as Vcelsune/, Sigurd, Attle, etc., and is 
 divided into several parts. The first 
 part contains historical and mj-thological 
 traditions ; the second a long poetical 
 vocabulary ; and the third Scaudina\nan 
 prosody, or the modes of composition 
 adopted by the ancient Skalds. The 
 poetical compilation is generally called 
 S(C?n/n/d\i Edda, and the prose one 
 Snorri's Edda. 
 
 Eden. Paradise, tlie country and 
 garden in which Adam and Eve were 
 placed by God (Gen. ii. 15). The word 
 means delight, pleasure. 
 
 Eden HaU. The luck of Eden Hall. 
 An old painted drinkiug-glass, supposed 
 to be sacred. The tale is that the butler 
 once went to draw water from St. Cuth- 
 bert's Well, in Eden Hall garden, Cum- 
 berland, when the fairies left their di-iuk- 
 ing-glass on the well to enjoy a little fun. 
 The butler seized the glass, and ran off 
 with it. The goblet is preserved in the 
 family of Sir Christopher Musgrave. 
 Longfellow wrote a poem on the subject. 
 The superstition is — 
 
 " If tliat i-'lass eitlier break or fall. 
 Farewell the luck of Eden Hall."' 
 
 '.* Readers of the Golden Butterjlg, by 
 Besant and Rice, will remember how the 
 luck of Gilead P. Beck, was associated 
 with a golden butterfly. 
 
 Edenburgh, i.e. Edwin's burgh. The 
 fort built by Edwin, king of Northura- 
 bi-ia (616-033). Dun Eden or Dunedin, 
 is a Saxon form ; Edina a poetical one. 
 
 Edgar or Edgar' do. Master of 
 Ravcuswood, in love with Lucy Ashton 
 {Lucia di Lauuturinoor). Wliile absent 
 in France on an important embassy, the 
 lady is led to believe that her lover has 
 proved faithless to her, and in the tor- 
 rent of her indignation consents to many 
 the laird of Eucklaw, but stabs him on 
 the wedding-night, goes mad, and dies. 
 In the opera Edgardo stabs himself 
 also ; but in the novel he is lost in the 
 quiclcsands at Kelpies-Flow, in accord- 
 ance with an ancient pro^jhecy. {Doni- 
 zett^s opera of " Lucia di Lammer- 
 moor " ; Sir iValter Scott's " Bride of 
 Laniiiicr?noor.'" 
 
 Edge. (Anglo-Saxon, ecg.) 
 J^'ot to put too file cm edge upon it. Not 
 to mince the matter ; to speak plainly. 
 
 To be on edge. To be very eager or 
 impatient. 
 
 To set one's teeth on edge. To give ona
 
 Edge Away 
 
 406 
 
 Edyrn 
 
 the horrors ; to induce a tingling or grat- 
 ing sensation in cue's teeth, as from acids 
 or harsh noises. 
 
 " I had ratliev lipara brazen canstick turned, 
 Or a dry wlieol Knilo (in ; lie axlc-Irce ; 
 And that wijiild set my teeth ll(lthlIl^' (in odgo, 
 JJdthiiig so nmch .-is niiiieinu' imelry." 
 
 SlKilccujicarc : 1 IIiioi/ IV., iii. 1. 
 
 Edge Away (To). To move away- 
 very gradually, as a ship moves from the 
 edge of the shore. Often called er/ff. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, ccff, an edge ; ccg-dij\ is 
 a sea cliff.) 
 
 Edge-bone, {^rc Aitch-bone.) 
 
 Edge on. (-SVv Eoa on.) 
 
 Edge of the Sword. 
 
 To full hij the ('(hjc of the sword. By 
 a cut from tlic sword ; in battle. 
 
 Edgewise. One cainiot gel in a tcord 
 edgcuisf. The [conversation is so en- 
 grossed by others] that tlierc is no getting 
 in a word. 
 
 Edged Tools. It ix daiir/eroiis fo 
 plan H'itli edijcd tools. It is dangerous to 
 tamjjer with mischief or anjthing that 
 may bring you into trouble. 
 
 Edhilin'gi. The aristocratic class 
 among the Anglo-Saxons ; the second 
 rank were tenned the J-'rifiiigi ; and the 
 third the Lazzi. (Anglo-Saxon, cedele 
 or edele, noble ; frec-lhig, free-born. 
 Eicardo says of the tlurd class, tliey 
 were the " unwilling to work, the dull " 
 ■ — quos hodie lazic di'cimus.) 
 
 Edict of Mil'an. Proclaimed by 
 Constantine, after the conquest of Italy 
 (313), to secure to Christians the resti- 
 tution of their civil and religious rights. 
 
 Edict of Nantes. An edict pub- 
 lished by Henri IV. of France, granting 
 toleration to liis Protestant subjects. It 
 was published from Nantes in 1598, 
 but I'cpealed in 1 685 by Louis XIV. 
 
 - Edie Ochiltree. In Scott's Anti- 
 quary. 
 
 "Charles II. would lie as sceptical as Edie 
 Ochiltree about the existence of circles and 
 avenues, altar-stones and cromlechs." — A'ni(/ft<; 
 Old England. 
 
 Ed'ify is to build a house (Latin, 
 (edes-faeio) ; morally, to build instruction 
 in the mind methoctically, like an archi- 
 tect; The Scripture word edification 
 means the building-up of "believers" 
 in grace and holiness. St. Paul says, 
 "Ye are God's building," and elsewhere 
 he carries out the figure more fully, 
 saying— 
 
 "All the building [or body of Christians], fitly 
 framed together, groweth unto a holy temiile in 
 the Lord. — Eph. il. 21, 
 
 E'diles (2 syl.). Roman officers who 
 had charge of the streets, bridges, aque- 
 ducts, temples, and city buildings gene- 
 rally. We call our surveyors citij edilcs 
 sometimes. (Latin, cedes, a liousc.) 
 
 E'dith, called the Maid of Lorn 
 (Argyleshire), was about to be married 
 to Lord Ronald, when Robert, Edward, 
 and Isabel Bruce, tempest-tossed, sought 
 shelter at the castle. Editli's brotlier 
 recognised the Bruce, and being in the 
 English interest, a quarrel ensued, in 
 the course of which the abbot arrived, 
 but refused to marry the bridal pair 
 amidst such discoi'd. Edith fled, and, 
 assuming the character of a i)ago, passed 
 through divers adventures. At length 
 Robert Bruce won the battle of Ban- 
 nockburu, and when "jieaco was restored 
 Ronald married the "Maid of Lorn." 
 {Seott : Lord of the LsJes.) 
 
 Ednam, in Roxburghshire, near the 
 Tweed, where Thomson, tlie author of 
 The Seasons, was born, 
 
 " The Tweed, pure nnrent-slrenm. 
 Whose pasldi-aj baiikh (list heard my Doric teed." 
 Autumn ^H>^!^-'^). 
 
 Edo'be (2 syl.). Edobe cottages are 
 those made of sun-dried bricks, like 
 the buildings of ancient Egypt. (//'. 
 Jlcptcorih J)iron : New America, i. 10.) 
 
 V The present and proper fomi of 
 this word is Adobe (Si)anish, adobar, 
 plaster). 
 
 "They make adolies, or sun-dried liricks, by 
 mix ills,' ashes and earth with water, which is I hen 
 moulded into larse blocks and dr ed in the suu." 
 —Ikincroft : Xutirc Jiaccs, vol. i. p. a.'ij. 
 
 Edward. I'd ward the Confessor'' s 
 sword. Curta'na {the cutter), a blunt 
 sword of state, emblematical of mercy. 
 
 The Cheralier Prince Charles L^dirard. 
 The Young Pretender. Introduced by 
 Sir Walter Scott in licdgauntlet, first as 
 ' ' Father Buonaveutura, ' ' and afterwards 
 as Pretender to the Crown, Again in 
 Warerleg. 
 
 Ed'widge. Wife of William Teli, 
 (JtossinCs opera of Guglichno Tell.) 
 
 Edwin. The hero of Beattie's Min- 
 strel. 
 
 " And yet poor Edwin was no vulgar boy ; 
 Deep thought oft seemed to fix his infant eye, 
 Dainties he heeded not, nor gaud, nor toy. 
 Save one short pipe of rudest minstrelsy ; 
 Silent when glad ; affect iouate. tlmugli shy. 
 And now his look was most demurely sad ; 
 And now he laughed aloud, yet none knew 
 
 why. 
 The neitrhbours Stared and sighed, yet blessed 
 the lad : 
 Some deemed him wondrous wise, and some 
 believed him mad." Canto i. Hi. 
 
 Ed'yrn. Son of Nudd ; called the 
 " Sparrowhawk." He ousted the Earl
 
 Bel 
 
 407 
 
 Egg 
 
 of Yn'iol from his earldom, and tried to 
 win E'nid, the eai'l's daughter, but fail- 
 ing in this, became the evil genius of 
 the gentle earl. Being overtlirown in 
 a tournament by Prince Geraiut', he 
 was sent to the court of King Arthur, 
 ■where his whole nature was completely 
 changed, and " subdued to that gentle- 
 ness Avhich, when it weds with manliood, 
 makes a man." {Idjlh of the King ; 
 Enid.) 
 
 Eel. A nickname for a New Eng- 
 landcr. 
 
 "Tlie eels of New Eii'-rlMnd and tlie cDin- 
 crackers of Virginiii."— //(i/iiHrto/i; Clud^nuikcr. 
 
 Eel. A salt eel. A rope's end. used 
 for scourging. At one time eelskins 
 were used for whips. 
 
 " Witli my s:ilt eolo, \voiit ilowii in tlie vaii'T, 
 and there pot my buy and did beat him."— i'lj/j/s' 
 Diary (Aiuil -4tli). 
 
 EeL (Anglo-Saxon, wl.) 
 
 Holding the ccl of science by the tail. 
 That is, to have an ephemeral smattering 
 of a subject, which sli])s from the memory 
 as an eel would wriggle out of one's 
 fingers if held by the tail. 
 
 "Cauda tenes anifnillani, in ens apte diretnr, 
 quilms res est mm lioniinilmg hibrica tide, fer- 
 11idis<iue, aut i|vii rem fu^'itivam atqiie incertam 
 aliiinam lialient, iinam tueri din nou possiut."— 
 Erasmus: AchtUl<l,\^.',i-^. (.Iti-U) 
 
 To get used to it, as a skinned eel, i.e. 
 as an eel is used to being skinned. It 
 may be unpleasant at lirst, but habit 
 will get the bettor of such annoj-ance. 
 
 " It ain't always ideasant to turn (int for mnrn- 
 intr chain'l, is it, (iiu'-lami.K? Butit'sjust like the 
 eels with ihcir st;iiniin>; : it K'les a'-,'aiiist ili-; 
 {.'fain at Ih'sl. hnt vnn sunn Ki't nsrd lo ii.' — 
 Vuihbcrt Unit: [llrudhi/] : Vtrilaiil Grccii, chap. vii. 
 
 To skin an ccl hg the tail is to do things 
 the wrong w:iy. 
 
 Eelkhance Tables. The celebrated 
 calculation of Ntizir' u Dieu, the Persian 
 astronomer, grandson of Zeugliis Khan, 
 brought out in the middle of the thir- 
 teenth century. 
 
 Effen'di. A Turkish title, about equal 
 to oiu- "squire," given to emirs, men of 
 learning, and the high priests of mosques. 
 The title is added after the name, as Ali 
 effcndi (Ali Esquire). 
 
 Effigy. To bum or hang one in effigy. 
 To burn or hang the representation of a 
 person, instead of the person himself, 
 in order to show joopultxr hatred, dislike, 
 or contempt. The custom comes from 
 France, whore the public executioner 
 used to hang the effigy of the criminal 
 when the crinrinal himself could not be 
 found, 
 
 Effrontery. Out-facing, rude per- 
 sistence, and overbearing impudence. 
 (Latin, cf-frons, i.e. cx-frons, out-face.) 
 
 Egalite. Philippe, Due d'Ork'ans, 
 ftither of Louis-Philippe, King of the 
 French, was so called because he sided 
 with the revolutionary party, whose 
 motto was " Liberty, frtiteruity, and 
 equality." Philippe Egalite was guillo- 
 tined in 1793. 
 
 Ege'ria. The nymph who instructed 
 Numa in his wise legislation. Niima 
 used to meet her in a grove near Ai'ic'ia. 
 
 Egg. Eggs. (Anglo-Saxon, erg.) 
 A bad egg. A bad speculation ; a man 
 
 who promises, but whose promises are 
 
 pie-crust. 
 
 uL dtick^s egg, in cricket. {Sec Duck.) 
 Golden eggs. Great profits. {!Sce 
 
 Goose.) 
 
 " I doitl)t the bird is flown that laid the giihlen 
 e'j'4S."— Scott : The Antiqiuiry. 
 
 The mundane egg. The Phoenicians, 
 and from them the Egyjitiaus, Hindus, 
 Japanese, and many other ancient 
 ntitions, maintained that the world was 
 hatched from an egg made by the 
 Creator. Orpheus speaks of this t^^g. 
 Eggs of Nuremberg . {fice Nurembeeg.) 
 Fasch eggs. {Sec Easier Etios.) 
 The scrpenfs egg of the I)ruids. This 
 wonderful egg was hatched by the joint 
 labour of several serpents, and was 
 buoyed into the air by their hissing. 
 The person who caught it had to ride off 
 at full speed, to avoid being stung to 
 death ; but the possessor was sure to 
 prevail in every contest or combat, and 
 to be courted by those in power. Pliny 
 says he had seen one of these eggs, and 
 that it was about as large as a moderate- 
 sized ajiple. 
 
 Pheases and Peoterbs : 
 
 Iknit put all your eggs in one basket. 
 Don't venture all youhaveinoue sjiecu- 
 lation ; don't i^ut all your proijerty in 
 one bank. The allusion is obvious. 
 
 From the egg to the apples. (Latin, 
 " ab oro nsqtie ad mcda.'''') From first to 
 last. The Romans began their "dinner " 
 with eggs, and ended with fruits called 
 " mala." 
 
 I hare eggs on the spit. I am very 
 busy, and cannot attend to anything 
 else. The reference is to roasting eggs 
 on a spit. Tliey were first boiled, tlien 
 the J^olk was taken out, braided up with 
 spices, and put back again ; the eggs 
 were then drawn on a "sjiit," and 
 roasted. As this required both despatch 
 and constant attention, the person jn
 
 "Egg 
 
 408 
 
 Ego 
 
 charge could not leave them. It must 
 be rem embered that the word ' ' spit " had 
 at one time a much wider meauiug than 
 it has now. Thus toasting-forks and 
 the hooks of a Dutch oven were termed 
 spits. 
 
 " I fnrgDt to tell you, I write short journals 
 liow ; I liave eggs ou tLe siiit."— Swift. 
 
 I got eggs for nig moncg means I gave 
 valuable money, and received instead 
 such worthless things as eggs. When 
 Wolsey accused the Earl of Kildare for 
 not taking Desmond ijrisouer, the Earl 
 replied, "Ho is no more to blame than 
 his brother Ossory, who (notwith- 
 standing his high promises) is glad to 
 take eggs for his money," i.e. is willing 
 to be imposed on. {Campion : Ilistorg 
 of Ireland, 1633.) 
 
 JAke as two eggs. Exactly alike. 
 
 "Tliey say we are aluiost as like as eggs."— 
 Shukeiijicare : ^yintcr's Talc, i. -'. 
 
 Sure (IS eggs is eggs. Professor de Mor- 
 gan suggests that this is a coiTuptiou of 
 the logician's formula, "a-is.c." (Notes 
 and Queries.) 
 
 Teach your grandmother to suck eggs. 
 Attempting to teach your elders and 
 superiors. The French say, "The gos- 
 lings want to drive the geese to pasture " 
 (^Les Olsons reulcnt mener tcs ois paitre). 
 
 There is reason in roasting eggs. Even 
 the most trivial thing has a reason for 
 being done in one way rather than in 
 some other. "When wood fires were 
 usual, it was more common to roast eggs 
 than to boil them, and some care was 
 required to j^revent their being " ill- 
 roasted, all on one side," as Touchstone 
 says (As You Like It, iii. 2); 
 
 " One likes tlie jilieasaut's wing, and one tlie leg ; 
 The vulgar boil, the learned roast an egg." 
 
 Pope: Epistles,]]. 
 
 To tread upon eggs. To walk gingerly, 
 as if walking over eggs, which are easily 
 broken. 
 
 Jf'itl you. take eggs for your money ? 
 " Will you allow yourself to be imposed 
 upon ■? Will you take kicks for half- 
 pence ? " This saying was in vogue 
 when eggs were plentiful as black- 
 berries. 
 
 "My lionost friend, will you fake eggs for 
 money ?"—tlliali'espcurc: Winter's Tale, i. :;. 
 
 Egg Feast. In Oxford the Saturday 
 preceding Shrove Tuesday is so called ; 
 it is also called Egg -Saturday, because 
 pasch eggs are provided for the students 
 on that day. 
 
 Egg-flip, Egg-hot, Egg-nog. Drinks 
 
 composed of warm spiced ale, witli sugar, 
 spirit and eggs ; or eggs beaten up with 
 wine, sweetened and flavoured, etc, 
 
 Egg-on or Edge-on. A corruption 
 of the Saxon eggian (to incite). The 
 Anglo-Saxon ecg, and Scandinavian eg, 
 means a " sharp point " — hence edge-hog 
 (hedgehog), a hog with sharp points, 
 called in Danish pin-suin (thorny 
 swine), and in French pore-epic, where 
 epic is the Latin spic'ula (spikes). 
 
 Egg Saturday {See above. Egg- 
 feast.) 
 
 Egg-trot. A cautions, jog-trot pace, 
 like that of a good housewife riding to 
 market with eggs in her panniers. 
 
 Egil. Brother of Weland, the Vulcan 
 of Northern mythology. Egil was a 
 great archer, and a tale is told of him 
 the exact counterpart of the famous 
 story about William Tell : One day 
 King Nidung commanded Egil to shoot 
 an apple off the head of his son. Egil 
 took two well-selected arrows from his 
 quiver, and when asked by the king 
 why he took two, replied (as the Swiss 
 peasant to Gessler), " To shoot thee, 
 tyrant, with the second, if I fail." 
 
 Egis. {See ^GIS.) 
 
 Eglantine (3 syl.). Daughter of 
 King I'epin, and bride of her cousin 
 Valentino, the brother of Orson. She 
 soon died. ( Valentine and Orson.) 
 
 Madaine Ef/laiitinc. The prioress in 
 Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Good- 
 natured, wholly ignorant of the world, 
 vain of her courtly manners, and noted 
 for her partiality to lap-dogs, her deli- 
 cate oath, "by seint Eloy," her entun- 
 ing the service swetely in her nose," and 
 her speaking French " after the scole of 
 Stratford atte Bo we." 
 
 Ego and Non-Ego. "Ego" means 
 I myself ; " Non-ego" means the objec- 
 tive world. They are terms used by 
 Fichte (1762-1814) to explain his Ideal- 
 ism. According to this philosopher, the 
 Ego posits or embraces the Non-ego. 
 Take an example: A tree is an object 
 out of my personality, and therefore a 
 part of the Non-ego. I see a tree ; the 
 tree of my brain is a subjective tree, the 
 tree itself is an objective tree. Before 
 I can see it, the objective tree and the 
 subjective tree must be like the two 
 clocks of a telegraphic apparatus ; the 
 sender and reader must be in connection, 
 the reader must " posit," or take in the 
 message sent. The message, or non- 
 ego, must be engrafted into the ego. 
 Applying this rule generally, all objects 
 known, seen, heard, etc., by me become 
 part of me, or the ego jjosits the non-ego 
 by subjective objectivity.
 
 Egoism 
 
 409 
 
 Elagabalus 
 
 Egoism. The theory in Ethics which 
 places man's stonmiim bomim in seli. The 
 correlative of altruism, or the theory 
 which places our own greatest happiness 
 in malang others hapjjy. Egoism is 
 selfishness pure, altruism is selfish bene- 
 volence. ' ' Egoist,' ' a disciple of egoism. 
 
 "Tci say tliat eacli indiviilual sball reap tlie 
 li^iieHts lirouglit to him by bis own po-wers .... 
 is to eiuinciate es'oism as an iiltiiiiate iniiiciiile of 
 C{):i(iuct."— Spencer : Data of Ethics, i>. Itiu. 
 
 Eg'otism. Tlie too frequent use of 
 th^ word I ; the habit of talking about 
 oneself, or of paia Hug one's own doings. 
 " Egotist," one addicted to egotism. 
 
 E'gypt, in Dryden's satire of Absalom 
 mid Achitophel, means France. 
 
 " Egypt and Tynis [Holland] intercept your trade. 
 And Jeliusites [Papists] your saored rites in- 
 vade.'" Part i. 70.J-6. 
 
 Egyptian Crown {The). That of 
 Upper Egypt was a high conical white 
 cap, terminating in a knob. That of 
 Lower Eg}'pt was reel. If a king gov- 
 erned both countries he wore both 
 crowns (that of Lower Egypt outside the 
 other). This double crown was called a 
 pschent. 
 
 Egyptian Days. The last Monday in 
 April, the second Monday of August, and 
 the third Monday of December. So 
 called because Egyptian astrologers 
 marked them out. 
 
 " Three days thereare in the year whieli we call 
 Egyptian Daj s."— .S.i.r.iit .V,S. (Bi-itish Museum). 
 
 Egyptian Festivals ( The) . The six 
 great festivals of the ancient Egyptians 
 were — 
 
 1. That of Bubastis (= Diana, or the 
 moon) ; 
 
 2. That of Busiris, in honour of Isis ; 
 
 3. That of Sais (:=: Minerva, Hermes, 
 or Wisdom) ; 
 
 4. That of Helior)5lis, in honour of the 
 sun ; 
 
 o. That of Butis, or Buto, the goddess 
 of night ; and 
 
 6. That of Papremis (= Mars or Ares, 
 the god of War). 
 
 Eider - down. The down of the 
 eider duck. This duck is common in 
 Greenlano, Iceland, and the Islands 
 north and west of Scotland. It is 
 about the size of a goose, and receives 
 its distinctive name from the river Eider, 
 in Denmark. 
 
 Eikon Basil'ike [Portrait nre of tie 
 Ki)i(/]. A book attributed to Charles I., 
 but claimed bj' John Gauden, Bishop of 
 Exeter. " The Eikwi' is wholly and only 
 my invention." {Gauden : Letter to 
 the Lord ChanecUor.) 
 
 Eisell. Wormwood wine. Hamlet 
 
 says to Laertes, Woul't drink up eisell — 
 i.e. drink wormwood wine to show your 
 love to the dead Ophelia 'i In the Troi/ 
 Book of Ludgate we have the line " Of 
 bitter eysell and of eager [sour] wine." 
 And in Shakespeare's sonnets : 
 
 " I will drink 
 Potions of eysell, 'gainst my stnmg infection ; 
 No bitterness that I will hitter think, 
 Nor double peuauce to correct correction." 
 
 Sonnet c.\i. 
 
 Eisteddfod. The meetings of the 
 Welsh bards and others, now held an- 
 nually, for tlie encouragement of Welsh 
 literature and music. (Welsh, "a ses- 
 sions," from eistedd, to sit.) 
 
 Either. (Greek, hekatef ; Irish, ecaeh- 
 tar ; Saxon, ayther. Ccaeh\ our "each," 
 and eegther, our " either.") 
 
 Ejus'dem Farinas (Latin). Of the 
 same kidney ; of tlie same sort. 
 
 " Lord Hartington, Lord Derby, Mr. fhilders, 
 and other.s ejusdem fariucB." — yewspttpcr para- 
 ynipli, X(jvemlier, 18«5. 
 
 El Dora'do. Golden illusion ; a 
 land or means of unbounded wealth. 
 Orella'na, lieutenant of Pizarro, pre- 
 tended he had discovered a land of gold 
 {el dorado) between the rivers Orino'co 
 and Am'azon. in South America. Sir 
 Walter Ealeigh twice visited Guia'na 
 as the spot indicated, and published a 
 highly-coloured account of its enormous 
 wealth. Figuratively, a source of wit, 
 wealth, or abundance of any kind. 
 
 The real "land of gold" is California, 
 and not Guiana. {See Balnibaebi.) 
 
 "The whole C(miedy is a sort of El Dorado of 
 wit."— 7'. Moore. 
 
 V El Dorado (masculine), " the gilt 
 one," can hardly refer to a country ; 
 it seems more likely to refer to some 
 prince ; and we are told of a prince in 
 South America who was every day 
 powdered with gold-dust blown through 
 a reed. If this is admitted, no wonder 
 those who sought a golden country were 
 disappointed. 
 
 El Infante dc Anteque'ra is tlu; 
 Regent Fernando, who took tlie city of 
 Anteque'ra from the Moors in 1419. 
 
 El Islam. The religion of the Mos- 
 lems. The words mean "the resigning 
 onc's-self to God." 
 
 El Khi'dr. One of the good angels, 
 according to the Koran. 
 
 Elagab'alus. A Syro-Phcenician sun- 
 god, represented under the form of a 
 huge conical stone. The Roman emperor, 
 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was so called 
 because in childhood he was priest of the
 
 Elaine 
 
 410 
 
 Elector 
 
 Sun-god. Of all the Eoman emperors 
 none exceeded him in debauchery and 
 sin. He reigned about four years (B.C. 
 218-222), and died at the age of eighteen. 
 This madman invited the principal men 
 of Rome to a banquet, and smothered 
 them in a shower of roses. 
 
 Ela'ine (2 syl.). The "lily maid of 
 Astolat" {Guildford, in Sin-ivi/), who 
 loved Sir Lancelot " with tliat love 
 which was her doom." Sir Lancelot, 
 being sworn to celibacy, could not have 
 married lier, even if he had been willing ; 
 and, unhapjiily, what little love he had 
 was bestowed on the queen. Elaine felt 
 that her love was a vain thing, and died. 
 According to her last request, the bed on 
 which slie died w'as placed on a barge, 
 and on it was laid her dead body, ar- 
 raj'ed in wliite, a lily in her right hand, 
 and a letter avowing her love in the left. 
 An old dumb servitor steered and rowed 
 the barge up the river, and when it 
 stopped at the jialace staith, King 
 Arthur ordered the body to be brought 
 in. The letter being read, Arthur di- 
 rected that the maiden should be buried 
 like a queen, with her sad story blazoned 
 on her tomb. Tlie tale is taken from 
 Sir T. Malory's Ilislonj of Friiicc Arthur, 
 part iii. Tennyson turned it into blank 
 verse. {Idylls of (he King ; Elaine.) 
 
 das'motlie'riuin (Greek, the inclal- 
 plate beast). An extinct animal, between 
 the horse and the rhinoceros. 
 
 Elberich. The most famous dwarf 
 of Gennan romance. He aided the 
 Emperor Otnit (who ruled over Lom- 
 bardy) to gain for wife the Soldan's 
 daughter. {'The Heldoibueh.) 
 
 Elbow. (Anglo-Saxon, el-bog a ; el=: 
 an ell, buga^ia, bow.) 
 
 A knight of the elbow. A gambler. 
 
 At one'' s elbow. Close at hand. 
 
 To elbow one's wag in. To push one's 
 way through a crowd ; to get a place by 
 hook or crook. 
 
 To elbow out; to be rlbourd out. To 
 supersede ; to be ousted bj^ a rival. 
 
 Up to one's elbotr [in work]. Very 
 busy, or full of work. Work piled up to 
 one's elbows. 
 
 Elbow Grease. Perspiration ex- 
 cited by hard manual labour. They say 
 '* £lbow grease is the best furniture oil." 
 
 Elbow Room. Sufficient space for 
 the work in hand. 
 
 Elbows. Out at elbows. Shabbily 
 dressed (applied to men only) ; meta- 
 phorically, short of money ; hackneyed ; 
 
 stale ; thus, we say of a play which has 
 been acted too often that it is worn out 
 at elbows. It is like a coat which is 
 no longer presentable, being out at the 
 elbows. 
 
 Elden Hole. Eldcn Hole needs filing, 
 A reproof given to great braggarts. 
 Elden Hole is a deep pit in Derbj-shire 
 Peak, said to be fathomless. (See Sir 
 ir. 'Scott : I'cvrril of the Teak, ch. iii.) 
 
 Elder Brethren. {Sec Teinity 
 House.) 
 
 Elder-tree. Sir John Maundc\'ille, 
 speaking of the Pool of Sil'oe, s-aj's, 
 " Fast by is the elder-tree on which 
 Judas hanged himself . . . . when he sold 
 and betrayed our Lord." Shakespeare, 
 in Love's Labour's Lost, v. 2, saj's, 
 " Judas was hanged on an elder." {Sec 
 
 ElG-TEEE.) 
 
 " .Iiiilas lio jni»'(l 
 
 Witli .Ifwish siller, 
 
 Ami siiilit'ii (ill an elder tree 
 
 ll.-lllgcd liilli-ci." 
 
 I'iirs Pluirman ; Visimi. 
 
 Eleanor Crosses. (Sec Cuaeino 
 
 Ceos.s.) 
 
 Eleatic Philosophy. Founded by 
 Xenoph'anes of El'ea about B.C. ij'W. 
 The Ionic school believed there was but 
 one element; the Eleatics said there 
 were four or six, as heat and cold, 
 moisture .and drj'ness, odd and even, 
 from the antagonisms of Avliich visible 
 objects sprang : Thus, Tire is heat act- 
 ing on drj'ness ; Air is heat acting 
 on moisture; V'ater is cold acting on 
 moisture ; and Earth is cold acting on 
 diTness. {See belotc.) 
 
 The Xew Eleatic School was founded 
 bj' Leucippos of El'ea, a disciple of Zcuo. 
 He wholly discarded the phantasmagoric 
 theory, and confined his attention to 
 the physical properties of the visible 
 world. He was the father of the Atomic 
 Sgsttnt, in which the agency of cheuicc 
 was ag:iin revived. 
 
 Elecampane and Amrida. Sweet- 
 meats which confer immortality (Latin, 
 helcnium campana or inula campdna). 
 Pliny tells us the plant so called sjjrang 
 from Helen's tears. The sweetmeat so 
 called is a coarse sugar-candy. There 
 was also an electuary so called, said to 
 cure wounds given in fight. 
 
 " Here, take this essence of elecampane ; 
 Rise up, Sir Geur!,'e, and li.u'ht anain." 
 
 Miracle Play oj tit. Geor;ie. 
 
 Elector. A prince who had a vote 
 in the election of the Emperor of Ger- 
 many. Kapoleon broke up the old Ger- 
 man empire, and the college of electors 
 fell asunder.
 
 Electricity 
 
 411 
 
 Elephant 
 
 The Great Elector. Frederick William 
 of Brandenburg (1620-1688). 
 
 Electricity (from the Greek clch- 
 iron, amber). Thales (B.C. 600) ob- 
 served that amber when rubbed attracted 
 light substances, and this observation 
 followed out has led to the present 
 science of electricity. 
 
 " Bright amber shines on liisolectrin tlirone." 
 Darwin : Economy of X at lire, i. -'. 
 
 Negative and positive electricity. Two 
 opposite conditions of the electric state 
 of bodies. At one time electricity was 
 considered a fluid, as heat was thought 
 to be caloric. Eveiybody was thought 
 to have a certain quantity. If a body 
 contained more than its normal quan- 
 tity it was said to be positive ; if less, it 
 was said to be mijallrc in this respect. 
 Another theory was tliat there were two 
 different electric fluids, wliich neutralised 
 each other when they came in contact. 
 Electricity is now sujjposed to be a mere 
 condition, like heat and motion ; but its 
 energy is set in action by some molecular 
 disturbance, such as friction, rupture, 
 and chemical action. Tlie old terms are 
 still retained. 
 
 Electro-Biology. The science of 
 electricity as it is connected with the 
 phenomena of living beiugs. Also the 
 effect of " animal magnetism " ou living 
 creatures, said to produce sleep, stupor, 
 anesthesia, etc. 
 
 Electro-chemistry. That branch 
 of chemistry wliich treats of electricity 
 as an energy aft'ecting chemical changes. 
 
 Elec'tuary. Something to be licked 
 up ; a medicine made '' thick and slab," 
 which cannot be imbibed like a liquid 
 nor bolted like a pill, but which must be 
 licked up like honey. (Greek, ck-lcicho.) 
 
 Eleemos'yii^™* Eteemos'ijnam se- 
 pidcri palris tui (Alms on your father's 
 grave). (.S'(y; Meat.) 
 
 Elegant Extracts. The 85th Foot, 
 remodelled in 1813, after the numerous 
 court - martials which then occurred. 
 The officers of the regiment were re- 
 moved, and officers drafted from other 
 regiments were substituted in their 
 places. The 8-5th is now called the 
 "Second Battalion of the Shropshire 
 Light Infantry." The first battalion is 
 the old 23rd. 
 
 H At the University of Cambridge, in 
 the good old times, some few men were 
 too good to be plucked and not good 
 enough for the poll : a line was drawn 
 below the poll-list, and these lucky 
 
 unfortunates, allowed to pass, were nick- 
 named the Elegant Extracts. There was 
 a similar limbo in the honour-list, called 
 the Gulf, in allusion to a Scripture pas- 
 sage well known and thus iiarodied, 
 "Between them [in tlie poll] and us [in 
 the honoiir-lista] there is a great gulf 
 fixed," etc. 
 
 Elegiacs. (See Hexametees and 
 Pentameters.) 
 
 El'ements, according to Aristotle. 
 Aristotle maintained that there are four 
 elements — fire, air, water, and earth ; 
 and this assertion has been the subject 
 of very unwise ridicule. Modern chemists 
 maintain the same fact, but have selected 
 four new words for the four old ones, 
 and instead of the term "element," use 
 " material forms." We say that matter 
 exists under four forms : the imponder- 
 able (caloric), the gaseous (air), the liquid 
 (water), and the solid (earth), and this 
 is all the ancient philosoijhers meant by 
 their four elements or elemental fomis. 
 It was Emped'ocles of Sicily who first 
 maintained that fire, air, earth, and 
 water are the four elements ; but he 
 called them Zeus, Hera, Goea, and Po- 
 sei'don. (Latin, eleo for oleo. Vossius 
 says : ab ant. eleo pro oleo, i.e. cresco, 
 quod omnia crescant ac nascantur." 
 Latin, clemcnttim. to grow out of.) 
 
 " Let us the great philosoiiher [Aristotle] at- 
 tend .... 
 TTis elements, 'Earth, Water, Air, and Fire" ; . . . 
 Tell why these simple elements are fmir ; 
 AVhy just so many ; why not less or more ?" 
 Bluckmore : Creation, v. 
 
 *.* The first of these forms — viz. 
 "Caloric," or the imponderable matter 
 of heat, is now attributed to a mere con- 
 dition of matter, like motion. 
 
 Elephant. The elephant which sup- 
 ports the world is called "Muha-pudma," 
 and the the tortoise which supports the 
 elephant is called " Chukwa." In some 
 of the Eastern mythologies we are told 
 that the world stands on the backs of 
 eight elephants, called ' ' Achtequed- 
 jams." 
 
 Elephant {The). Symbol of temper- 
 ance, eternity, and sovereignty. {See 
 White Elephant.) 
 
 „" L'eternite est desisnee sur una medaille de 
 I'enu'ereur Philippe, pai'un elephant surleijuel est 
 monte un petit garcou avme de Heches."— A'oei : 
 Victionnaire de la Fable, vol. i. p. 506. 
 
 Elephant. {Sec White Elephant.) 
 
 Onlg an elephant can bear an elephant'' s 
 had. An Indian proverb : Only a great 
 man can do the work of a great man ; 
 also, the burden is more than I can bear ; 
 it is a load fit for an elephant.
 
 Elephant Paper 
 
 412 
 
 Elf- arrows 
 
 Elephant Paper. A large - sized 
 drawiiig-iiajier, measuriug 20 inches by 
 23. There is also a ' ' double elephant 
 paper," measuring 40 inches by 2(j|. 
 
 Elephant and Castle. A public- 
 house sign at Newingtoi), said to derive 
 its name from the skeleton of an ele- 
 phant dug up near Battle Bridge in 
 1714. A fiiut-headed spear lay by the 
 remains, whence it is conjectured tliat 
 the creature was killed by the British in 
 a fight with the Romans. {TIic Times.) 
 
 There is another public-house with 
 the same sign in St. Paucras, probably 
 intended to represent an elephant with a 
 howdah. 
 
 Elephan'ta, in Bombay, is so called 
 from a stone elephant, which carried a 
 tiger on its back, and formerly stood 
 near the landing-place on the south side 
 of the island. It has now nearly dis- 
 apiieared. The natives call it Gahra- 
 pooree (cave town), from its cave, 130 
 feet long. {C/ioic-c/ioic.) 
 
 Elephantine (4 syl.). Heavy and 
 ungainly, like an elephant. In Rome, 
 the registers of the senate, magistrates, 
 generals, and emperors were called ele- 
 phantine books, because they were made 
 of ivory. In geology, tlie elephantine 
 period was that noted for its numerous 
 large thick-skinned animals. The dis- 
 ease called clephanti'asis is when the 
 limbs swell and look like those of an 
 elephant more than those of a human 
 being. 
 
 Eleusin'ian Mysteries. The re- 
 ligious rites in honour of Deme'ter or 
 Ceres, perfonned at Eleu'sis, in Aftica. 
 
 Elevation of the Host ( The) . The 
 celebrant lifting up the " consecrated 
 wafers " above his head, that the people 
 may see the paten and adore "the Host" 
 while his back is turned to the congre- 
 gation. 
 
 Eleven (Anglo - Saxon, andhfene, 
 aend = nin, lefene = lef, left). One left 
 or one more after counting ten (the 
 fingers of the two hands). Twelve is 
 Twa lef (two left) ; all the other teens 
 up to 20 represent 3, 4, 5, etc. -f- ten. 
 It would seem that at one time persons 
 did not count higher than twelve, but 
 in a more advanced state they required 
 higher numbers, and introduced the 
 " teen " series, omitting eleven and 
 twelve, which would be enicen and tica- 
 teeii. 
 
 Eleven Thousand Virgins. Ur'sula 
 being asked ixi niarriage by a pagan 
 
 prince, fled towards Rome with her 
 eleven thousand virgins. At Cologne 
 they were all massacred by a party of 
 Huns, and even to the present hour 
 " their bones " are exhibited to visitors 
 through windows in the wall. Maury 
 says that Ursula's hnndmaid was named 
 Undcciiiiella, and that the legend of her 
 eleven thousand virgins rose out of this 
 name. {Liycitdcs TicKses.) 
 
 Eleventh Hour {At tlie). Just in 
 time (Matt. xx. 1). 
 
 Blf{ plural, Elves, Anglo-Saxon, wlf). 
 Proi)erly, a mountain fay, but more 
 loosely applied to those airy creatures 
 that dance on the grass or sit in the 
 leaves of trees and delight in the full 
 moon. They have fair golden hair, 
 sweet musical voices, and magic harjis. 
 They have a king and queen, marry and 
 are given in marriage. They imper- 
 sonate the shimmering of the air, the 
 felt but indefinable melody of Nature, 
 and all the little prettinesses which a 
 lover of the country sees, or thinks he 
 sees, in hill and dale, copse and meadow, 
 grass and tree, river and moonlight. 
 Spenser says that Prome'theus called the 
 man he made " Elfe," who found a maid 
 in the garden of Ado'uis, whom he called 
 " Fay," of " whom all Fayres spring." 
 
 " Of tliesea iiiiglity peoiile shortly crrcw, 
 And puissaut kiugs, wliicli all tlie wurld war- 
 
 rayd, 
 And to llieniselves all nations did sulidne." 
 
 Fuerie Queaie, ii. u, stanza 7n. etc. 
 
 JE/f a)id Goliliii, as derived from Guelf 
 and Ghibelline, is mentioned in Johnson 
 (article Goblin), though the words 
 existed long before those factions arose. 
 Heylin (in his Cosiiwr/rap/n/, p. 130) tells 
 us that some supported that ojiinion in 
 ] 670. Skinner gives the same etymology. 
 
 lied EJf. In Iceland, a person gaily 
 dressed is called a red elf {raiid d(fr), in 
 allusion to a superstition that dwai-fs 
 wear scarlet or red clothes. (XioPs 
 Sat/as.) Black elves are evil sjiirits ; 
 white elves, good ones. 
 
 Elf-arrows. Arrow-heads of the 
 neolithic period. The shafts of these 
 arrows were reeds, and the heads were 
 pieces of flint, carefully sliarpened, and 
 so adjusted as to detach thenjselves from 
 the shaft and remain in the wounded 
 body. At one time they were supposed 
 to be shot by elves at people and cattle 
 out of malice or revenge. 
 " Tliere every herd by sad exiierience knows 
 
 How, winged with fate, llieir elf-shot arrows 
 
 fly, 
 
 When the sick ewe her snnmier fond forprnes, 
 Or stretched on earth the heart-smjl heifers 
 lie." Collins : I'vjiuhir Siiiierstitiong.
 
 Elf-fire 
 
 413 
 
 Elissa 
 
 Elf-fire. The ignis - fatuus. The 
 name of this elf is Will o' the Wisp, 
 Jack o' lauthom, Peg-a-lauteru, or Kit 
 o' the caustick (candlestick). 
 
 Elf-land. The realm ruled over by 
 Oberon, King of Fai-ry. King James 
 says : " I think it is liker Vir'gilis Caiiipi 
 Elysii nor anything that ought to be be- 
 lieved by Christians."(Z'(««o«o%y,iii.5.) 
 
 Elf-locks. Tangled hair. It is said 
 that one of the favourite amusements of 
 Queen Mab is to tie people's haii- in 
 knots. When Edgar impersonates a 
 madman, " he elfs all his hair in knots." 
 
 {Lear, ii. 3.) 
 
 " This is that very Mab 
 Tliat plats the manes of horses in the ui«lit, 
 And hakes [? cakes] the elf-locks in foul sluttish 
 hairs." 
 
 Slialicspeare : Romeo and Juliet, \. 4. 
 
 Elf-marked. Tliose born vrith a 
 natural defect, according to the ancient 
 Scottish superstition, are marked by the 
 elves for mischief. Queen Margaret 
 called Richard III. — 
 
 " Thou elUsh-niarked, abortive, rooting hos ! "— 
 fihakcspeare : Richard III., i. 3. 
 
 Elf-shot. Afflicted with sojne un- 
 kuowu disease, and supposed to have 
 been wounded by an elfin arrow. Tlie 
 rinderpest would, in tlie INIiddle Ages, 
 have been ascribed to elf-shots. ('SVc 
 Elf-aeeows.) 
 
 Elfin. The first fairy king. He ruled 
 over India and America. {Middle Aye 
 llomancc.) 
 
 El'gin Marbles. A collection of 
 ancient bas-reliefs and statues made by 
 Lord Elgin, and sent to England in 1812. 
 They are chiefly fragments of the Par'- 
 thenon at Athens, and were purchased 
 by the British Government for £35,000, 
 to be placed in the British Museum (1816). 
 (Elgin pronounced ' gin,' as in bcyiji.) 
 
 E'lia. A fioni de jjlitme adopted by 
 Charles Lamb. {Essays of £lia.) 
 
 "The adoption of this signature was purely 
 accidental. LanilTs llrst contriliution to the 
 London Maaazine w.as a description of the ohl 
 S"Ulli-Sea House, where he had passed a few 
 iMouth.s' novitiate as a clerk, . . . and reineniher- 
 iiiL; the iiaiiie of a gay light-hearted foreigner, 
 who lliutered there at the time, substituted his 
 name for his o\yn."—TaI/ourd. 
 
 Eli'ab, in the satire of Absalom and 
 Arhitoplicl, by Dryden and Tate, is 
 meant for Henry Bennet, Earl of Ar- 
 lington. Eliab was one of the chiefs of 
 the Gadites who joined David at Ziklag. 
 (1 Chron. xii. 9.) 
 
 " Hard the task to do Eliab right; 
 Long with the royal wanderer [Charles 11.] he 
 
 roved, 
 And firm in all the tiu'ns of f<n-tune proved." 
 , AOiulvm and Acliitophel, part ii. y»6-8. 
 
 Eli'akim. Jehoiakim, King of Judah. 
 
 (B.C. 63.5, 610-O98.) 
 
 El'idure (3 syl.). A legendary king 
 of Britain, advanced to the throne in 
 place of his elder brother, Arthgallo, 
 supposed by him to be dead. Arthgallo, 
 after a long exile, returned to his 
 country, and Elidure resigned to him 
 the throne. Wordsworth has a poem on 
 the subject. 
 
 Eligibles and Detrimentals. Sons 
 which are socially good and bad j^arties, 
 to be introduced to daughters with a 
 view of matrimony. 
 
 "The County Families of the United Kingdom 
 is useful to all who are concerned with ciuestions 
 of precedence, and especially useful to mothers 
 who desire to distinguish between ' eligibles' and 
 ' detrimentals.' "—Notes and Queries, February 1st, 
 1»»0, p. 119. 
 
 Elijah's Melons. Certain stones on 
 Mount Carmel are so called. {See Stan- 
 ley, Sinai and I'alestine.) 
 
 V Similar formations are those called 
 " The Virgin Mary's Peas" {q.r.). Com- 
 pare also the Bible story of Lot's wife. 
 
 The story is that the owner of the land refused 
 to supply "the wants of the jiropher, and conse- 
 iiuciiily ii's melons were transformed into stones. 
 
 Eliminate (4 syl.). To turn out of 
 doors ; to turn out of an equation every- 
 thing not essential to its conditions. 
 (Latin, e limine, out of doors.) 
 
 Eliot {Georye). A nom de plume of 
 Marian Evans (Mrs. Cross), author of 
 Adam Bede, etc. (1820-1880). 
 
 Eliott's Tailors. The 15th Hussars, 
 now the l.'ith [King's] Hu.'^sirs, previously 
 called the loth, or king's own royal light 
 dragoon guards. In 1759 Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Eliott enlisted a large number of 
 tailors on strike into a cavalry regiment 
 modelled after the Prussian hussars. 
 This regiment so highly distinguished 
 themselves, that George III. granted 
 them the honour of being called " the 
 king's royal." 
 
 Elissa. Dido, Queen of Carthage. A 
 Phoenician name signifying heroic, brave. 
 '■ Nee me meminisse pigebit Elissa?." 
 
 Virgil : JEneid, iv. ."ai. 
 
 V Dido was the niece of the Bible 
 Jezebel. Ithobal I., king of TjTe (1 
 Kings xvi. 13), had for children Bel us, 
 MargSuus, and Jezebel. Of these Belus 
 was the father of Pygmalion and Dido. 
 Hence Jezebel was Dido's aunt. 
 
 Elis'sa [deficiency or parsimony; 
 Greek, ellipsis). Step-sister of Medi'na 
 and Peris'sa, but they could never agree 
 upon any subject. {Spenser : Faerie 
 Qiicene, book ii.)
 
 Elivager 
 
 414 
 
 Elohistic 
 
 Eliva'ger (4 syl.). A cold venomous 
 stream whicli issued from Niflheim, and 
 iu tlie abyss called the Giununga Gap, 
 hardeuiug into layer upon layer of ice. 
 
 {'Sc(iii(/in(iriaii mijtholuyi/.) 
 
 Elixir of Life. A ruby, supposed by 
 the alcliemists to prolong life indefinitely. 
 The tincture for transmuting metals was 
 also called an elixir. (Arabic, cl or al 
 iksir, the iksir (? coction).) {See Am- 
 
 EITA.) 
 " He that has once tlie Flower of the Sun, 
 The iierfect ruhy wliich we call Elixir. . . . 
 Can confer honour, love, respect, long life, 
 Give safety, valour, yea, and \ ictory, 
 To whom he will. In eiKht-aiid-twciity days 
 I'll make au old man of fouiscore a linld. 
 
 ISoi Jonson: Tlic Aliimnint, ii. 1. 
 
 Elizabeth had pet names for all her 
 
 favourite courtiers ; q.e. : 
 
 Tlie mother of Sii' John Norris she 
 called " My own Grow." 
 Burghley was her " Spirit." 
 Mount joy she termed her "Kitchen- 
 maid in Ireland." 
 
 Elizabeth has given more variants 
 than any other Cliristian name : Eliza, 
 Isa, Isabel, Lizz}% Elizabeth, Elisabetta, 
 Betty, Bettina, Bess, Bessy, etc. 
 
 Elizabeth of Hungary (W.). Patron 
 saint of queens, being lierself a queen. 
 (1207-rJ:Jl.) 
 
 Elizabe'than. After the style of 
 things in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 
 Elizabethan architecture is a mixture of 
 Gothic and Italian, prevalent in the 
 reigns of Elizabeth and James I. 
 
 Ell (Anglo-Saxon cf/i, au ell). It is 
 said that the English ell was the length 
 of Henry I.'s arm, but the ordinary 
 length of a man's arm is about a j^ard. 
 
 (j'irc hail ail bich, and he^ll take an ell. 
 Give him a little licence, and he will take 
 great liberties, or make great encroach- 
 ments. The ell was no definite length. 
 The English ell was 45 inches, the Scotch 
 ell only 37 inches, while the Elemish ell 
 wasthree-quartersof ayard and aFreuch 
 ell a yard and a half. This indefinite 
 measure expresses the uncertainty of the 
 length to which persons will go to whom 
 you give the inch of liberty. Some will 
 go the French ell ; while others of n.ore 
 modesty or more limited desires will be 
 satisfied with the shorter measures. 
 
 Ell-wand {The Kiiufs). The group 
 of stars called " Orion's Belt." 
 
 " The King's Ellwand, now foolishly termed the 
 ' Uolt of Orion.' "—Uugij : Tules, etc. 
 
 Ella, or Alia. King of Northumber- 
 land, who married Cunstauce. {Cliaucer: 
 Ma» of Laives Tale.) {Sec Cunstange.) 
 
 Elliot. In the Black Dwarf, by Sir 
 Walter Scott, are seven of that name, 
 viz. Halbort or Hobbie Elliot, of the 
 Heugh-foot (a farmer) ; Mrs. Elliot, his 
 grandmother ; John and Harry, liis 
 brothers ; and LiHas, Jean, and Aj-not, 
 his sisters. 
 
 EUyl'lon. The souls of the ancient 
 Druids, which, being too good for hell, 
 and not good enough for heaven, are 
 permitted to wander upon earth till the 
 judgment day, when they will be ad- 
 mitted to a higher state of being. ( IVehh 
 mi/(hoI(ifnj.) 
 
 Elmo's Fire (St.). Comazants, or elec- 
 tric lights occasionally seen on the masts 
 of ships before and after a storm ; so 
 called by the Spaniards because St. Elmo 
 is with them the patron saint of sailors. 
 {Sec Castor and Pollux.) 
 
 " Sudden, breaking on their raptured sight, 
 Api'cared the splendour of St. Elmo's liglit." 
 Uuole : Oflaiulo Furioso, book ix. 
 
 Elohim. The genus of which ghosts, 
 Chemosh, Dagon, Baal, Jahveh, etc., 
 were species. The ghost or si)ectre 
 which appeared to Saul (1 S.am. xxviii. 
 14-20) is called Elohim. " I sec Elohim 
 coming up out of the earth," said the 
 witch ; and Saul asked, " What is HE 
 like?" {ITaxhi/ : K'uieteeuth Coititry, 
 March, 1880.) 
 
 "The W(ud Elohim is often applied in the Bible 
 to the gods of the Gentiles."— itHorwitij/f; Seyhi- 
 iiiiK/s 0} Iliatunj, chap. vii. 
 
 ^ In theology, Elohim (the plural of 
 Eloali) means the " Lord of Hosts," or 
 Lord of all power and might. Jehovah 
 signifies rather the God of mercy and 
 forgiveness. Hence, Elohim is used to 
 express the God of creation, but Je- 
 hovah the God of the covenant of 
 mercy. 
 
 "Elnhim designates the fulness of Divine 
 power." — lieliiiiuus EiiriiclupceiUii. 
 
 Elohistic and Jehovis'tic Scrip- 
 tures. The Pentateuch is sujiijosed by 
 Bishop Colenso and many others to have 
 been written at two widely different 
 periods, because God is invariably called 
 Elo'him in some paragraphs, while in 
 others He is no less invariably called 
 Jehovah. The Elohistic paragraphs, 
 being more simple, more i^rimitive, more 
 narrative, and more pastoral, are said to 
 be the older ; while the Jeho^astic para- 
 graphs indicate a knowledge of geo- 
 graphy and history, seem to exalt the 
 priestly office, and are altogether of a 
 more elaborate character. Those who 
 maintain this theory thiuk that some 
 late transcriber has compiled the two 
 Scriptures and combined them into one,
 
 Eloi 
 
 411: 
 
 Elysium 
 
 much, the same as if the four Gospels 
 were collated and welded together iuto 
 a single one. To give one or two ex- 
 amples : — Gen. i. 27, it is said, "So 
 God {Elohiin) created man in His own 
 image, (both) male and female"; 
 whereas, in the next chapter (21-24), it 
 is said that God {Jehovah) caused a deep 
 sleep to fall on Adam, and that He then 
 took from the sleeping man a rib and 
 made it a woman ; and therefore (says 
 the writer) a man shall cleave imto his 
 wife, and the two be considered one 
 flesh. Again (Gen. vi. 19) Eloliim tells 
 Noah, "Two of every sort shalt thou 
 bring into the ark, a male and a 
 female"; and (vii. 9) "There went in 
 two and two unto Noah into tlie ark, 
 the male and the female, as God [Eloliim) 
 commanded Noah." In Gen. vii. 2 
 Jehovah tells Noah he is to make a 
 distinction between clean and unclean 
 beasts, and that he is to admit the 
 former by sevens and the latter hy twos. 
 lu the first example, the priestly cha- 
 racter is indicated by the nioral, and in 
 the latter by the distinction made 
 between clean and unclean animals. We 
 pass no opinion on this theory, but state 
 it as fairly as we can in a few lines. 
 
 Eloi {St.). Patron saint of artists 
 and smiths. He was a famous worker in 
 gold and silver, and was made Bishop 
 of Noyon in the reign of Dag'obert. 
 Probably the St. Eloi of Cliaucer's Prior- 
 ess was St. Louis (St. 'Ley). 
 
 " Tlii'i- was .ilsd !i ihiiiiip, -A iiriiire.-iso, 
 
 Tli:il cil' liii !■ siii\ l\ 11'.; WIS fill SMJiple and coy ! 
 
 Hii-o -ivii.'- ih w:i,^ luit l.y Seyiil Lnv." 
 
 Chmn, r : Cantrrbiinj Tilled, I'nil. lS-3). 
 
 V We find reference to " Scyut Loy " 
 again in verse 71-13. 
 
 Eloquent. The old man eloquent. 
 Isoc'rate-5, the Greek orator. When he 
 heard that Grecian liberty was extin- 
 guished by the battle of Chserone'a, he 
 died of grief. 
 
 " TUat dishonest victory 
 At Cliwriinea, fatal to liberty, 
 Killed witli report tliatold man eloiiiient." 
 Miltun: iionnets {To Lady Manjarct Leii). 
 
 The eloquent doctor. Peter Aure'olus, 
 Arclibibhop of Aix, a schoolman. 
 
 Elshender or Caiuiie Elshie. The 
 Black Dwarf, alias Sir Edward Mauley, 
 aluts the Recluse, alias the Wise Wiglit 
 of Mucklestane Moor. [Sir VaUcr Scott: 
 The Black Luarf.) 
 
 Elsie. The daughter of Gottlieb, a 
 farm tenant of Prince Henry of Hohe- 
 ueck. The prince was suffering severely 
 from some malady, and was told tliat he 
 
 would be cured if any maiden would 
 give her life as a substitute. Elsie 
 vowed to do so, aud accompanied the 
 prince from Gennany to Salerno. Here 
 Elsie surrendered herself to Lucifer, 
 but was rescued by the prince, who 
 married her. His health was perfectly 
 re-established by the pilgrimagp. ( T.nng- 
 fellow : The Golden Legend.) 
 
 Elves. {See under Elf.) 
 
 Elvidna. The hall of the goddess 
 Hel {q.r.). 
 
 Elvi'no. A rich farmer, in love with 
 Ami'na, the somnambulist. The fact of 
 Ami'na being found in the bed of Count 
 Eodolpho the day before the wedding, 
 induces El vino to reject her hand and 
 promise marriage to Liza ; but he is 
 soon undeceived — Ami'na is foimd to be 
 innocent, and Liza to have been the 
 paramour of anotlier ; so Ami'na and 
 Elvi'no are wedded under the happiest 
 auspices. {lielli'ni's opera, La Sonnain- 
 lala.) {See Liza.) 
 
 Elvi'ra {Donna). A lady deceived 
 b}^ Don Giovanni, who deluded her into 
 a liaison with his valet, Leporello. 
 {Mozarfs opera, l)on Giovanni.) 
 
 EAvira. A lady who loved Enia'ni, 
 the robber- captain, and head of a league 
 against Don Carlos, afterwards Charles 
 V. of Spain. She was betrothed to Don 
 Ruy Gomez de Silva, an old Spanish 
 grandee, whom she detested, and Ernani 
 resolved to rescue her ; but it so hap- 
 jjened that the king himself fell in love 
 with her, and tried to win her. When 
 Silva learned this, he joined the league ; 
 but the king, overhearing the plot in 
 concealment, arrested the conspirators. 
 Elvira interceded for them, and the king 
 granted them a free jiardon. When 
 Ernani was on the point of wedding 
 Elvira, Ernani, being summoned to 
 death by Silva, stabbed himself. ( Verdi's 
 opera of Ernani.) 
 
 El'vish or Elfish. Irritable, peevish, 
 spiteful ; full of little mischievous ways, 
 like the elves. Our superstitious fore- 
 fathers thought such jiersons were actu- 
 ally "jjossessed" by elves; and elvish- 
 marked is marked by elves or fairies. 
 
 " Tliou elvisli-iiiarked, abortive, rootin,!,' hog." 
 l<liuhispeare : Ilicliard III., i. 3. 
 
 Ely'sium. Elpsian Fields. The Para- 
 dise or Hajipy Laud of the Greek poets. 
 Elysian (the adjective) means hajipy, 
 delightful. 
 
 "O'er which were shadowy cast Elysian gleams." 
 Thdwsoii : Cattle of Indolence, i. 44. 
 " Wouhi take the prisoned sonl, 
 And lap it iu Elysium." 
 
 Milton : Covnts, 201-2..
 
 Elzevir 
 
 416 
 
 Emergency 
 
 El'zevir. An edition of a classic 
 author, published and printed by the 
 family of Elzevir, and said to be im- 
 maculate. Virgil, one of the master- 
 pieces, is certainly incorrect in some 
 places. (1592-1(326.) 
 
 Em. The unit of measure in printing. 
 The standard is a pica M ; and the width 
 of a line is measured by the number of 
 such M's that would stand side by side 
 in the "stick." This dictionary is in 
 double columns ; each column equals 11 
 pica M's in width, and one M is allowed 
 for the space between. Some work is 
 made up to lOJ, 20^, etc., ems; and for 
 the lialf-em printers employ the letter N, 
 which is in width half a letter M. As 
 no letter is wider than the M, and all 
 narrower letters are fractions of it, this 
 letter forms a very convenient standard 
 for i^riuting pui-poses. 
 
 Embargo. 7b lay an cniharf/o on him 
 or it is to impose certain conditions 
 before you give j-our consent. It is a 
 Portuguese and Spanish word, meaning 
 an order issued by autliority to prevent 
 ships leaving port for a fixed period. 
 
 Embarras de Richesse. More 
 matter tlian can be used ; overcrowded 
 with facts or material. A publisher or 
 editor who is overwhelmed with MSS., 
 or contributions ; an author who has 
 more incidents or illustrations in support 
 of liis theory tliau he can produce, etc., 
 liave an cnibarras dc richcsne. 
 
 Ember Days are the Wednesday, 
 Fridaj^, and Saturday of Ember Weeks 
 
 {q.V.). 
 
 Ember Weeks. A corruption of 
 quat'uor ton' jxirn, through the Dutch 
 qnatcniprr and Geniian quatcmhcr. The 
 four times are after Quadragesima 
 Sunday, Whit Sunday, Holyrood Day 
 (September), and St. Lucia's Day (Decem- 
 ber). The supposition that persons sat 
 in embers (or ashes) on these days is 
 without foundation. 
 
 Emblem is a picture with a hidden 
 meaning; the meaning is "cast into" 
 or "inserted in" the visible device. 
 Thus, a balance is an emblem of justice, 
 ivhite of purity, a sceptre of sovereignty. 
 (Greek, en-hallo, which giv9s the Greek 
 emllenia.) {See Apostles, Patkon 
 Saints.) 
 
 Some of the most common and simple 
 emblems of the Christian Church are — 
 
 A chalice. The eucharist. 
 
 The circle inscribed in an equilateral 
 triangle. To denote the co-equality and 
 CO -eternity of the Trinity. 
 
 A cross. The Christian's life and con- 
 flict ; the death of Christ for man's re- 
 demption. 
 
 A crown. The reward of the perse- 
 verance of the saints. 
 
 A dove. The Holy Ghost. 
 
 A hand from the clouds. To denote 
 God the Father. 
 
 A lamb, Jisli, pelican, etc., etc. The 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 A phirnix. The resurrection. 
 
 Emblems of the Jewish Temple. 
 
 {See Exod. xxv. 30-32 ; Rev. i. 12-20.) 
 
 Gulden candleftick. Tliel'liiii-cli. Itsseveii lights, 
 tlie seven siiirits of (Joil. (Kev. iv. li.) 
 
 The shi'irbiiiid. 'I'lic twelve loaves the twelve 
 trihes of Israel, Iteiiresciited in the (j<isiel 
 liy the twelve ajiostles. 
 
 The //in »«!• of sweet sjiiees. Pra.ver, wliieh rises 
 to heaven as incense. (Rev. viii. 3, 4.) 
 
 The llidij uf Jinhrs. The nation of the .lews as 
 Gods I eriiliar iieojile. Wlieji the veil whieli 
 separated it fidin the teinide was " rent in 
 twain," it signitled that thenceforth Jewsand 
 (Jentiles all formed one iieople of (Jod. 
 
 Em'bryo means that which swells 
 inside something (Greek, en-bra'o, which 
 gives the Greek embruon) ; hence the 
 child in the womb ; the rudiment in a 
 plant before it shows itself in a bud ; 
 an idea not develojjcd, etc. 
 
 Em'elye. The sister-in-law of " Duke 
 Theseus," Ijeloved by the two knights, 
 Pal'amon and Ar'cyte, the former of 
 whom had her to wife. It is of this lady 
 the poet says, "Up roos the sun, and 
 uj) roos Emelye " (v. 2275). 
 
 '• This jiassetli .veer h.v jeer, and day and day, 
 Till it fol ooMos in a nionic of .May, 
 Tliat Knii'lie, that f.airer was to scene 
 Than is the lihe on hire stalkes tjrem-, 
 And fresstdier than the May with flonrlM 
 
 iiewo .... 
 Er it was day, as sche was wont to do, 
 Sche was arisen." 
 
 Cliuiirtr: Cdiilrrbiir]/ Tales (Tlie h'nighte's Tale). 
 
 Em'erald Isle. Ireland. This term 
 was first used by Dr. Drennaa (1754- 
 1820), in the poem called £rin. Of 
 course, it refers to the bright green ver- 
 dure of the island. 
 
 "An emerald set in the rin? of tlic sea," 
 
 OKuhtauiachree. 
 " Nor one feeling of vengeance presume to deHle 
 The cause or the men of the Emerald Isle." 
 
 K. J. Drciuian : Erin. 
 
 Em'eralds. Accoi'ding to tradition, 
 if a serpent fixes its eyes upon an emerald 
 it becomes blind. {Ahmed ben Abdalaziz : 
 Treatise on Jewels.) 
 
 Emer'gency. A sudden emerf/enci/ 
 is something which starts suddenly into 
 view, or which rises suddenly out of the 
 current of events. (Latin, e-mergo, to 
 rise out of "the water.") 
 
 Emergency Man (An). One engaged 
 for some special service, as in Irish evic- 
 tion^
 
 Emetite 
 
 4i; 
 
 Empty 
 
 Emeute (Trench). A setlitious rising 
 or small riot. Literall}', a moviug-out. 
 (Latin, c-moc'eo.) 
 
 Emile ('2 syl.). The French form of 
 Emil'ius. The hero of Jean Jacques 
 Rousseau's novel of the same name, and 
 liis ideal of a perfectly educated young 
 man. 
 
 Emilia (in Shakespeare's Othello). 
 Wife of lago. She is induced by her 
 husband to purloin Desdemona's hand- 
 kerchief, which lago convej's to Cassio's 
 chamber, and tells the Moor that Desde- 
 mo'nahad given it to the Lieutenant as a 
 love-token. At the death of Desdemona, 
 Emilia (who, till then, never suspected 
 the real state of the case) reveals the 
 fact, and lago kills her. 
 
 Until' id. The sweetheart of Peregrine 
 Pickle, in Smollett's novel. 
 
 Emilie {T/ic f?(r/«c),towhomVoltau'e 
 wrote verses, was Madame Chu.telet,with 
 whom he lived at Circy for ten years. 
 
 Emmet contracted into Ant : thus, 
 IJiH'l, cut, (uit (Anglo-Saxon, cemetd). 
 
 " A liracclct made of emmets' eyes." 
 
 Drayton : C'uurt of fairies. 
 
 Emne. Your em lie Christen {Bos- 
 irorth), i.e. your even or fellow Christian. 
 Shakespeare (ILimht, v. 1) has "your 
 even Christian." (Anglo-Saxon, Emnc- 
 cristcii, fellow- Christian.) 
 
 Emolument. Literally, that which 
 comes out of the mill. (Latin, e-mola.) 
 It originally meant toll on what was 
 ground. {See Geist.) 
 
 Emotion. Literally, the movement 
 of the mind brought out by something 
 which affects it. The idea is this : The 
 mind, like electricity, is passive till some- 
 thing occurs to aifect it, when it becomes 
 loused ; the active state thus produced is 
 its emotion, and the result thereof is pas- 
 sion or affection. (Latin, c-moveo.) 
 
 Empan'el or Impanel is to write the 
 names of a jury on a panel, or piece of 
 parchment. (French, panneau, i.e. pan 
 lie peait, piece of skin.) 
 
 Empannel, To put the pack-saddle 
 on a beast of burden. 
 
 "Saddle Rozinante, ami omiiauuel tbiue ass."— 
 Don Quixote, ii. 3j0. 
 
 Emped'ocles (1 syl.) of Sieili/. A 
 disciple of Pythag'oras. According to 
 Lu'cian, he threw himself into the crater 
 of Etna, that jiersons might suppose he 
 was returned to the gods ; but Etna 
 threw out his sandal, and destroyed the 
 
 27 
 
 illusion. (Horace : Ars Poetica, 404.) 
 (.bVe Cleombeotos.) 
 
 " He who, to l;e deemed 
 A «od, leai ed fondly iuto .Etna flames, 
 Eiiipedocles." 
 
 Milton : Paradise Lost, iii. 471. 
 
 Emperor. Emperor, not for mi/self, 
 hnt for mil people. The maxim of Ha'- 
 di'ian, the Roman emperor (117-138). 
 
 Emperor of Believers. Omar I., 
 father-in-law of Mahomet, and second 
 caliph of the Mussulmans (.381-644). 
 
 Emperor of the Mountains, Jcing of 
 the woods, and lord of the hit/htcai/sfrom 
 Florence to ^S'aples. A title assumed by 
 Peter the Calabriau, a famous bandit- 
 chief (1812). 
 
 Empire City (The). New York, the 
 great commercial city of the L^'nited 
 
 States. 
 
 Empire of Reason ; the Empire of 
 
 Truth, etc., i.e. reason or truth as the 
 governing i)rinciple. Emjaire is the Latin 
 imper'ium, a jurisdiction, nwdanenijieror 
 is one who holds command. 
 
 Em'pirics. Quacks. A school of 
 medicine founded by Serap'ion of Alex- 
 andria, who contended that it is net 
 necessary to obtain a knowledge of the 
 nature and functions of the body in 
 order to treat diseases, but that expe- 
 rience is the surest and best guide. 
 They were opposed to the Dogmatics 
 (e/.v.). (Greek, peirao, to try, which 
 gives the Greek empeiria, experience.) 
 
 " We must not 
 So stain our jud^fnient, or corrupt our hope, 
 To prostitute our past-cure malady 
 To empirics." 
 SItalcespeare : All's Well Tliat Ends Well, ii. 1. 
 
 Employe. (French). One in our em- 
 
 jiloy : such as clerks, shopmen, servants, 
 etc. Employee, a female emjiloyed by 
 a master. Employee, either sex. 
 
 " In Italy, all railroad employes are sulijected to 
 rigorous examiuation."— i/n/-(«n: Eyesight, v. W. 
 
 " All these etnployees should be women of cha- 
 racter." — Macmillan's Magazine (July, 18Ui', p. L'.57). 
 
 Empson. The favourite flageolet - 
 player of Charles II., introduced into 
 Scott's Fereril of the Peak. 
 
 "Julian could only bow obedience, and follow 
 Empson, who was the same person that played 
 so rarely on the Hageolet.'"— Chap. xx.\. 
 
 Empty as Air. (Ang.-Sax., wmtig.) 
 
 " Doad iuen"s cries to fill the empty air." 
 
 Sliakespeure : -1 Iliiiry 1/., v. 2. 
 
 Empty Champagne Bottles. Fel- 
 low-commoners at Cambridge used to 
 be so called, their academical dress 
 being a gaudy purjile and silver gown, 
 resembling the silver foil roimd the neck
 
 Empty Chance 
 
 418 
 
 End 
 
 of a champagne bottle. Very few of 
 these wealthy magnates took honours. 
 Tbo iiolileniau's gown was silk. 
 Empty Chance. A chauce not 
 worth calculating on. The ace of dice 
 was, by the Greeks and Romans, left 
 cDipti/, because tlie number of dice was 
 equal to the number of aces thrown. As 
 ace is the lowest chance, the empty 
 chance was the least Ukely to win. 
 
 Empyre'an. According to Ptolemy, 
 there are live lioaveus, the last of which 
 is pure elemental fire and the seat of 
 deity ; this fifth heaven is called the 
 empyrean (from the Greek cn-2)ur, in 
 fire). {See Heavex.) 
 
 " Now liail tlip AlniiRlity Fatlier from aliove, 
 From tlie pure emuyrean wliere He sits 
 Hife'li tliniucd above all lieifbt, bent down liis 
 eye." Milton : Paradise Lost, iii. St>-.jS. 
 
 And again, book vi. 833 : 
 
 '• The steadfast ciiipyre.in shook wilhout." 
 
 En Evidence (French). To the 
 fore. 
 
 "Mr. has IjOch much en cridcncc of 
 
 late in the loMiy ; but, as he has no seat, his 
 chance of heing in the ministry is very proble- 
 inatical."—-Vc- u'spn/ier paragraph, Feljruary, Itfsii. 
 
 En Gar9on. As a bachelor. "To 
 take mo en gar(;on," without ceremony, 
 as a bachelor fares in ordinary life. 
 
 En Masse. The wliolc lot just as it 
 stands ; the whole. 
 
 En Rapport. In harmony with ; in 
 sympatlietic lines with. 
 
 En Route. On the way ; on the road 
 or journey 
 
 Enal'io-saurians (Gr«ek, sra-Z/^r/jv/* ). 
 A group of fossil sauriaus, including the 
 Ich'thyosaur, Ple'siosaur, Sauropter'ygy, 
 etc., etc. 
 
 Encel'ados. The most powerful of 
 the giants that conspired against Zeus 
 (Jupiter). The king of gods and men 
 cast hint down, and threw Mount Etna 
 over him. The poets say that the flames 
 of this volcano arise from the breath of 
 this giant. The battle-field of his con- 
 test was Phlcg'ra, in Macedonia. 
 
 " So fierce Euceladus in Phlegra stood." 
 
 Hoole : Jerusalem Delivered. 
 " I tell yon, younglings, not Encelados, 
 With all his threafning band of Typhon's 
 
 brood . . . 
 Shall seize this prey out of his father's hands.'' 
 Shakespeare: Titus AndroaiciLs, iv. 1'. 
 
 Enchanted Castles. De Saint Foix 
 says that women and girls were subject 
 to violence whenever tliey piassed by an 
 abbey quite as much as when they ap- 
 proached a feudal castle. When these 
 ■victims were sought for and demanded 
 
 back, the monks would sustain a siege 
 rather than relinquish them ; and, if 
 close pressed, would bring to the walls 
 some sacred relic, which so awed the 
 assailants that they would desist rather 
 than incur the risk of violating such holy 
 articles. This, he says, is the origin of en- 
 chanters, enchantments, and enchanted 
 castles. (Historical Ussai/.s.) 
 
 Enchanter is one who sings incanta- 
 tions. (Latin, in -ran to, to sing over or 
 against some one.) 
 
 Encomium. The Greek /.fmios is a 
 revel in honour of [Bacchus], in which 
 the procession marches from koinl to 
 ki'Diie : i .e. village to village. IJ/-/,r>ii/ioi/ 
 is the hynm sung in these processions 
 in honour of Bacchus ; hence, praise, 
 eidogy. 
 
 Encore (French). Our use of this 
 word is unknown to the French, who 
 iise the word lis (twice) if they wish a 
 thing to be repeated. The French, how- 
 ever, say encore nn tasse (another cup), 
 encore itnc fois (still once more). It is 
 strange how we have perverted almost 
 every French word that we have natu- 
 ralised. {Sec English Feench.) 
 
 Encrat'ites (4 syl.). A sect of the 
 second century, who condemned mar- 
 riage, forbade eating flesh or drinking 
 wine, and rejected all the luxuries and 
 comforts of life as " things sinful." 
 The sect was founded by Ta'tiauj a 
 heretic of the third century, who com- 
 l^ilcd from four other books what he 
 called a Diatessaron — an heretical gosisel. 
 (See li/isebius, book iv. chap, xxix.) 
 (Greek, cr/crates, self-mastery.) 
 
 *.* This heretic must not be confounded 
 with Tatian the philosopher, a discijjle 
 of Justin Martyr, who lived in the 
 second century. 
 
 Encroach means literally to i)ut on 
 a hook, or to hook on. Those who hook 
 on a little here and a little there. 
 (French, eji croc, on a hook.) 
 
 End. (Ang.-Sax. endc, verb enditm.) 
 
 At my icits'' end. At a standstill how 
 to proceed farther ; at a uon-i^lus. 
 
 l£e is no end of a frlloic. A ca^ntal 
 chap ; a most agreeable companion ; an 
 A 1 [A one] {q.r.). He is an " all round " 
 man, and therefore has no end. 
 
 To he [o«<''«] end. The cause or agent 
 of [his] death. 
 
 "This apoplexie will 1 e his end." 
 
 tiliahcspeare : :.' Henry IV., iv. 4. 
 
 To l/(f/in at the wrong end. To attempt 
 to do something unmethodically. This
 
 End-irons 
 
 419 
 
 England 
 
 is often done in education, ■where chil- 
 dren are taught grammar before they are 
 taught words. No one on earth would 
 teach his child to talk in such a manner. 
 First talk anyhow, and when words are 
 familiar, teach the grammar of sentences. 
 The allusion may be to thread wound 
 on a card or bobbin ; if auj'one attemjits 
 to unwind it at the wrong end, he will 
 entangle the thread and be unable to 
 unwind it. 
 
 To come to the end of o!ic''s tether. To 
 do all that one has ability or liberty to 
 do. The allusion is to an animal tied 
 to a rope ; he can graze only so far as 
 his tether can be carried o\it. 
 
 To have it at my finger'' s end. To be 
 perfectly an fait ; to remember perfect! j', 
 and with ease; tanqnam tuigitis scire. 
 The allusion is to work done with the 
 fingers (such as knitting), which needs 
 no thought after it has become familiar. 
 
 To have it on [or af] the tip of my 
 tongue. {See Tip of my Toxgue.) 
 
 A rope' Si end. A short length of rope 
 bound at the end with thread, and used 
 for punishing the refractor}'. 
 
 A shoemaker'' s end. A length of thread 
 pointed with a bristle, and used by shoe- 
 makers. 
 
 My latter end. At the close of life. 
 " At the latter end," towards the close. 
 
 •' At tlje latter eiul of a dinnpr." 
 
 Khakcfpidve : AtVa Well, ctf./n.^. 
 
 On end. Erect. 
 
 To jjut an end to. To terminate or 
 cause to terminate. 
 
 West end. East end, etc. The quarter 
 or part of a town east or west of the 
 central or middle part. 
 
 End-irons. Two moval^le iron cheeks 
 or jilates, still used in cooking-stoves to 
 enlarge or contract the grate at plea- 
 sure. The temi explains itself, but must 
 not be mistaken for andirons or " dogs." 
 
 End Paper. The blank fly-leaves of 
 a book. 
 
 End of the World ( Th e) . According 
 to rabbinical mythology, the world is to 
 last six thousand years. The reasons 
 assigned are (1) because the name Jehova 
 contains six letters ; (2) because the 
 Hebrew letter in occurs .six times in the 
 book of Genesis ; (3) because the patri- 
 arch Enoch, who was taken to heaven 
 without d3-ing, was the sixth generation 
 from Adam (Seth, Enos, Cainaii, Mahala- 
 leel, Jared, Enoch); (4) because God 
 created the world in six days : (5) because 
 six contains three binaries — the first 2000 
 years "were for the law of nature, the 
 
 next 2000 years the written law, and the 
 last 2000 the law of gi-ace. 
 
 Scveu wnulil suit tliis fancy quiteaswell: tbere 
 are seven days in a week ; Jehovah contains seven 
 letters ; and Enoch was the seventh generation of 
 the race of man ; and the Urst two hinaries wore 
 not enual periods. 
 
 Ends. 
 
 To Intrn the candle at both ends. To be 
 like a man on double business boiuid, 
 who both neglects. Of course, no candle 
 could burn at both ends, unless held hori- 
 zontally, as the lower end would be ex- 
 tinguished by the melted wax or tallow. 
 
 To mal;e tiro or botJt ends meet. To 
 make one's income cover expenses ; to 
 keep out of debt. The allusion is to a 
 belt somewhat too tight. The French 
 say joiudre les deii.v boats. 
 
 Endemic. Pertaining to a locality. 
 An endemic disease is one common to a 
 particular district, from which it shows 
 no tendency to spread. Thus intermit- 
 tent fevers are endemic in marshy places. 
 
 Endorse. I endorse that statement. 
 I accept it ; I fully accord with it. The 
 allusion is to the commercial practice of 
 writing your name on tlie back of a bill 
 of exchange or i^romissory note if you 
 choose to make yourself responsible for 
 it. (Latin, in-dorsiim, on the back.) 
 
 Endym'ion, in Greek mythology, 
 is the setting sun with which the moon is 
 in love. Endym'ion was condemned to 
 endless sleep and everlasting youth, and 
 Sele'ne kisses him every night on the 
 Latmian hills. 
 
 " The n-.onn sleeps with Endymion, 
 And would not he awaked." 
 
 SJidlcespeiire : ihrchant of Vevice, v. 1. 
 
 Enemy. How goes the enemy ? or 
 JJ'hat says the enemy? What o'clock 
 is it':' Time is the euemj' of man, espe- 
 cially of those who are behind time. 
 
 Enfant Terrible (An) [lit., a terrible 
 child] . A moral or social nuisance. 
 
 Enfield Rifle. So called from the 
 factory at Enfield where it is made. 
 
 Enfilade (French) means literallj' to 
 spin out ; to put thread in [a needle] , 
 as enfiler nne a'lginUc ; to string beads 
 by putting them on a thread, as enfiler 
 des perlcs. Soldiers being compared to 
 thread, we get the following metaphors : 
 to go through a place as thread tlirough 
 a needle— to string artillery by i^laciug 
 it in a line and directing it against an 
 enemy ; hence, to scour or rake with 
 shot. 
 
 England. Verstegan quaintly says 
 that Egbert was "chiefly moved" to 
 call his kingdom England "in respect of
 
 England Expects 
 
 420 
 
 Ensign 
 
 Pope Gregory's changing the name of 
 EiKjcIiscc into AiKjdlyke.^^ And tliis 
 " may have moved our kings upon tlicir 
 best gold coins to set the image of an 
 angel." {Restitntiun of Decayed Inlelli- 
 (jcnce in Antiquities concerning . . . the 
 EnyVii^h Nation, p. 147.) 
 
 V The Angles migrated from the east 
 of the Elbe to Sclileswig (between the 
 Jutes and the Saxons). They passed over 
 in great numbers to Britain during the 
 r)th century, and in time established the 
 kingdoms of the heptarchy. 
 
 England Expects that Every Man 
 will do his Duty. The parole signalli-d 
 by Horatio Nelson to his tieet before the 
 battle of Trafalgar. 
 
 England's Darling. Hereward the 
 Wake, in the time of William the Con- 
 queror. The " Camp of Refuge " was 
 established in the Isle of Ely, and the 
 Earl of Morcar joined it in 1071. It was 
 blockaded for three months by William, 
 and Hereward (3 syl.) with some of his 
 followers escaped. 
 
 Englentyne (3 syl.). The Xonne or 
 Prioress of Chaucer's pilgrims. An ad- 
 mirable character sketch. {Canttrlnn-f/ 
 'Tales; I'rulof/ae, 118-1G4.) (.S'«' Eloi.) 
 
 English French. A kind of per- 
 versity seems to pervade many of the 
 words which we have borrowed from the 
 French. Thus curate (French vicaire) ; 
 Vicar (French cure). 
 
 Encore (French bin). 
 
 Epergnc (French nuriout ) ; Surtout 
 (French pari/essus). 
 
 Screw (French vis), whereas the French 
 ecrou we call a nut ; and our vice is eiau 
 in French. 
 
 Some still say a I'outrance (French a 
 outranee). 
 
 We say double entendre, the French 
 a (hii.r ententes. 
 
 V The reader will easily call to mind 
 other examples. 
 
 Englishman. The national nick- 
 name of an Englishman is "a John 
 Bull." The nation, taken in the aggre- 
 gate, is nicknamed "John Bull." The 
 French nickname for an Englishman is 
 ' ' Godam' . ' ' {See Bxtll. ) 
 
 Englishman's Castle. His house 
 is so called, because so long as a man 
 shuts himself up in his own house, no 
 bailiff can break through the door to 
 arrest him or seize his goods. It is not 
 so in Scotland. 
 
 E'nid. Tlie daughter and only child 
 of Yn'iol, and wife of Prince Geraiut', 
 
 one of the Knights of the Round Table. 
 Ladies called her "Enid the Fair," but 
 the people named her " Enid the Good." 
 {Idi/lls (if the Kimj : Gerauit and J£nid.) 
 
 Enlightened Doctor {The). Ray- 
 mond Lully, of Pahiia, one of the most 
 distinguished men of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury. (1234-1315.) 
 
 Enniskillens. The Gtli Dragoons ; 
 instituted 1689, on account of their 
 brave defence of the town of Ennis- 
 killen, in favour of William III. 
 
 *.* This cavalry regiment must not be 
 confounded with the Iiiniskilliugs or 
 Old 27th Foot, now called the " 1st 
 battalion of the Royal Inniskilliug Fusi- 
 liers," which is a foot regiment. 
 
 En'nius. The Chaucer or father of 
 Roman poets, (b.c. 239-1(39.) 
 
 'The Lngitsh Tnnius. Layamon, who 
 wrote a translation in Saxon of Wace's 
 Itrute. 
 
 'The French Ennius. Guillaume di 
 Lorris (123;5-G.)), author of the Ji'ununce 
 of (he Jiose, called the Itia(/ of France. 
 Somethnes Jehan de Meung (1260-1320), 
 who wrote the continuation of the same 
 romance, is so called. 
 
 2'he Sjxtnish Ennius. Juan de Mena, 
 born at Cor'dova. (1412-56.) 
 
 Enough. (Anglo-Saxon, gcnoh or 
 genog.) Enough ! Stop now, you have 
 said all that is needful. 
 
 Enough is as good as a feast. 
 
 Latin: " Illud satius est, quod satis 
 est. ' ' 
 
 French: "On est assez riche, quand 
 on a le uecessaire." 
 
 V At one time Enow was used for 
 numbers reckoned by tale, as : There are 
 chairs enow, nails enow, men enow, etc. ; 
 but now enough does duty for both 
 words, and enow is archaic. 
 
 Enscon'ce (2 syl.). To hide ; to put 
 under cover. Literally, to cover with a 
 sconce, or fort. (German, schanze, a fort ; 
 Danish, sclians ; Swedish, skans ; Latin, 
 abscondo, to hide.) 
 
 Ensemble. The tout ensemble. The 
 general effect ; the effect when the 
 whole is regarded. (French.) 
 
 Ensign. (French, enseigner.) 
 
 Of ancient Athens. An owl. 
 
 America. The Stars and Stripes. 
 
 The British Kavg. The Union Jack 
 {q.r.). The icJiitc ensign (Royal Navy) 
 is the banner of St. George with the Jack 
 cantoned in the first quarter. The red 
 ensign is that of the merchant service.
 
 Ensilage 
 
 421 
 
 Epact 
 
 The line eusigu is that of the navy 
 reserve. 
 
 China. A dragon. 
 
 Ancient Corinth. A flying horse — i.e. 
 Peg'asos. 
 
 Ancient Banes. A raven. 
 
 Ancient Ecjupt. A bull, a crocodile, a 
 vulture. 
 
 England (iu the Tudor era). St, 
 George's cross. 
 
 Ancient France. The capo of St. 
 Martin ; thou the oriflaninie. 
 
 2'he Franks (Iliiiua'riau). A sword 
 with the j)oiut ujnvards. 
 
 The Frcuiks (Salian). A bull's head. 
 
 llie Gauls. A wolf, bear, bull, cock. 
 
 The ancient Lacedemonians. The Greek 
 capital letter L {lambda A). 
 
 The ancient Jlesse'nians. The Greek 
 letter mu (m). 
 
 77ic ancient Persians. A golden eagle 
 with outstretched wings on a white field ; 
 a dove ; the sun. 
 
 The Puisdad'ian dynasty of Persia. A 
 blacksmith's apron. {See Standaed.) 
 
 The ancient Romans. An eagle for the 
 legion ; a wolf, a horse, a boar, etc. 
 
 liom'ulns. A handful of hay or fern 
 (manip'ulus). 
 
 The ancient Saxons. A trotting horse. 
 
 The ancient Thebans. A sphinx. 
 
 The Tnrks. Horses' tails. 
 
 The ancient Welsh. A dragon. 
 
 Ensilage. A method of preserving 
 green fodder by storing it in mass under 
 pressure in deep trenches cut in a dry soil. 
 
 Entail'. An entail is an estate cut 
 from the power of a testator. The tes- 
 tator cannot bequeath it ; it must go to 
 the legal heirs. (French, en-tailler.) 
 
 Entangle. The Anglo-Saxon tan 
 means a twig, and twigs smeared with 
 birdlime were used for catching small 
 birds, who were " en-tangled " or 
 twigged. 
 
 Ente'le'chy. The kingdom of Queen 
 Quintessence in the famous satirical 
 romance of Rabelais called the Historij 
 of Gargan'tua and F'antagrnel'. Panta- 
 gruel and his companions went thither 
 in search of the Holy Bottle. It may 
 be called the city of speculative science. 
 
 V The word is used to express the 
 realisation of a bean ideal. Lovers have 
 preconceived notions of human perfec- 
 tions, and imagine that they see the 
 realities in the person beloved, who is 
 the entelechy of their bean idccd. 
 
 " O luniiere I enrichie 
 D'uii feu divin, iiui iii'avd si vivement, 
 Pour uie donuer I'etre et le iiioveiuenr, 
 Etes-Yous j'as nia seul eutelechie." 
 
 Jloiii-ard: sonnet Cs (1524-85). 
 
 Enter a House right Foot fore- 
 most {Petronuis). It was thought 
 unlucky to enter a house or to leave 
 one's chamber left foot foremost. Au- 
 gustus was very superstitious on this 
 Xwint. Pythagoras taught that it is 
 necessary to put the shoe on the right 
 foot first. ' ' When stretching forth 
 your feet to have your sandals put on, 
 first extend your right foot" {Prot rep- 
 ties of lamblichas, symbol xii.). lam- 
 blichus tells us this symbolised that 
 man's first duty is reverence to the gods. 
 
 Entering Short. When bills are 
 paid into a banker's hands to receive the 
 amount when due, it is called " entering 
 them short." In this case, if the banker 
 fails, the assignees must give them up. 
 Bills in the hands of factors may be so 
 entered. 
 
 Enthu'siast is one who believes that 
 he himself is in God, or that God is in 
 him (Greek, en thcos). Our word in- 
 spired is very similar, being the Latin 
 in spiritu (in the spirit). 
 
 Entire. Ale, in contradistinction to 
 "cooper," which is half ale and half 
 porter. As Calvert's entire, etc. 
 
 Entre Nous (French). Between you 
 and me ; in confidence. 
 
 N.B. — One of the most common vul- 
 garisms of the better class is "Between 
 you and I." 
 
 Entree {To hare the). To be eligible 
 for invitations to State balls and concerts. 
 
 Entremets [arn-tre-mag]. Sweet 
 foods or kickshaws served at table 
 between the main dishes, courses, or 
 removes; literally, entre-niets (French), 
 things put between. We now use two 
 words, entrees and entrenn'ts, the former 
 being subordinate animal foods handed 
 round between the main dishes, and the 
 latter being sweet made dishes. 
 
 Eo'lian. An Folian harp. A box 
 fitted with strings, like a fiddle. The 
 strings, however, are not sounded by a 
 bow, but by a current of air or wind 
 passing over them. 
 
 " Awake, Eolian liarp, awake, 
 And five to rapture all tliy tremliliriK strings."' 
 Gray: Proijicss of Poetry, lines 1, 2. 
 
 Eolus. God of the winds. {Roman 
 mgtliologg.) 
 
 Epact. The excess of the solar over 
 the lunar j'ear, the former consisting of 
 36o days, and the latter of 354, or eleven 
 days fewer. The epact of any year is 
 the number of days from the last new 
 moon of the old year to the 1st of ths
 
 Epergne 
 
 422 
 
 Episemon 
 
 following January. (Greek, cjMicios, 
 feniiiiine cpacte, adscititious.) 
 
 Epcr'gne (2 syl.). A large orna- 
 meutal staud placed iu the middle of a 
 diuiug-tablc. It is generally said to be 
 a French word, but the French call such 
 an ornameutal staud a sitrtoiit, strangely 
 adopted by us to signify a frock-coat, 
 which the French call a jjardc.fsus. The 
 nearest French word is cparffiic, saving, 
 as criisse crcparf/iie, a savings bank; verb 
 ('parr/i/cr, to spare or save. (<b'(r Eng- 
 lish Fkench.) 
 
 £Sphe'bi. Youths between the age 
 of eighteen aud twenty were so called at 
 Athens. (Greek, arrived at pubcrtij.) 
 
 Sphe'sian. A jovial conii^auiou ; a 
 
 thief ; a roysterer. A pun on the verb 
 
 to iiheese— A-pheeze-iau. Pheeze is to 
 
 flatter. 
 
 " ]t i> thine liost, tliine Eiilicsian, rall.s." 
 ,si,:il,-i:^lictirc: ilanj Wii'LSnf Windsor, n.:,. 
 
 Ephesian Letters. Magic charac- 
 ters. The Ephesiaus were greatly ad- 
 dicted to magic. Magic characters were 
 marked on the crown, cincture, and feet 
 of Diana ; and, at the i^reachiug of Paul, 
 many which used curious [magical] 
 books burnt them. (Acts xix. I'J.) 
 
 'J7ir Ej)lHxia)i poet. Hippo'na.x, born 
 at Ephcsus in the sixth century B.C. 
 
 Eph'ial'tes (4 syl.). A giant who 
 was deprived of his left eye by Apollo, 
 aud of his right eye by Hercules. 
 
 Ephialtes (4 syl.). The nightmare. 
 (Greek, ephialtcs, an incubus; from tjn- 
 halloinai, to leap upon.) 
 
 " Fcvorisb symptoms all, with which those wlin 
 are haunted hy the nit-'lit-liMu', wluim the learned 
 eall Ephiallei. are but too well aeqiiaiuted."— 
 ,S'(/- IK. lifiitt : Tlic Antiqitai y, cliaii. x. 
 
 Epl'i'ori or EpJiors. Spartan magis- 
 trates, five in number, annually elected 
 from the ruling caste. They exercised 
 control even over the kings and senate. 
 
 Epic. ' Father of epic poctr II. Homer 
 (about 950 B.C.), author of the Iliad aud 
 Ud[/ssc)j. 
 
 ■.■ Celebrated epics are the Iliad. OJysscii, .Encid, 
 rarudise Lost. 
 
 Tlic great Taritan epic. Milton's 
 Turadise Lost. 
 
 " Speaking of M. Dore's perfornianros as an 
 illustrator of the great Puritau epic." — T/ic 
 Times. 
 
 Ep'icure (3 syl.). A sensualist; one 
 addicted to good eating aud drinking. 
 So called fronr Epicu'ros {q.r.). 
 
 Sir Epicure. A worldlj' sensualist in 
 T/ie Alchcmi-'it, by Ben Jonson. His 
 surname is " Mammon." 
 
 Epicure'an. Carnal ; sensual ; per- 
 taining to good eating aud drinking. 
 {Sec EncuEOS.) 
 
 T. Moore has a prose romance entitled 
 IVie Epicareaii. 
 
 " Epicurean cooks 
 Sharjien wilh eloyless sauce his appetite." 
 Shakcfjiearc: Antony (ind Cleopatra, ii. 1. 
 
 Epicu'ros. (Latin form, Epioiri/s.) 
 The Greek j^hilosojiher who fouuded the 
 Epicure'an school. His axiom was that 
 " happiness or enjoyment is the saiiiiiiaiit 
 boiiuin of life." His disciples corrujited 
 his doctrine into " Gootl living is the 
 object we should all seek," or, according 
 to "the driuking song, ' ' Who leads a good 
 life is sure to live well." 
 " Ble.st lie the day I 'scaped the wrangling crew, 
 Eroin Pyrrho's [</ v.] maze aiul Epicurus' sty.'' 
 Beattie : Minstrel. 
 
 llic Epicurus of China. Tao-tse, who 
 commenced the search for the " elixir of 
 life." Several of the Chinese emperors 
 lost their lives by drinking his "jjotiou 
 of immortality " (b.c. 540). 
 
 Epi-dcm'ic is from the two Greek 
 wortls rpi-de'iiios (upon the i^eople), a 
 disease that attacks a number of ppn])lo 
 at once, either from bad air, bad drain- 
 age, or other similar cause. 
 
 Epigram. A short pointed or auti- 
 theticttl poem ; or any sliort composition 
 ha2ipilj' or antithetically expressed. 
 
 Ep'ilepsy was called by the Komaus 
 the (Aiiiiitial or Congress sickness (mor- 
 bus comitia'lis), because the polling for 
 the comitia centuria'ta was null aud voitl 
 if any voter was seized with epilepsy 
 while the votes were being taken. 
 
 Epimen'ides (5 syl.). A philosopher 
 of Crete, who fell asleep in a cave when 
 a boy, aud did not wake agttiu for fifty- 
 seven years, when he found himself 
 endowed with miraculous wisdom. 
 (Fliny : Kataral llistorij.) [Sec EiP 
 Vaj!J Winkle.) 
 
 "Like Epiiuenides, I have been sleepjim- in a 
 cave; aud, waking, seethose whom I leftchihlreu 
 are bearded n\e]\."—Buliccr Lyttoit {I.ord Lytton). 
 
 Epiphany. The time of appearance, 
 meauiug the jjeriod when the star aj)- 
 peared to the wise men of the East. The 
 (3th January is the Feast of the Ei^iphany. 
 V The word is not special to Chris- 
 tiauit}'. One of the names of Zeus was 
 Epiphanes (the manifest one), aud fes- 
 tivals in his honour were called " E23ii>h- 
 anies." (Greek, cpi-phaino, to shine 
 upon, to be manifest [in creation].) 
 
 Epise'mon, in Greek numerals, is a 
 sign standing for a numeral. Thus, 
 kiiLayfixov /3aS, generally called J-'aii,
 
 Episode 
 
 423 
 
 Era 
 
 Episemon, stands for 6, and iota-ep'tsemon 
 for 16. There are two other symbols — 
 ■viz. koppa for 90, and sampi [san-pi] 
 for 900. The reason is this : The 
 Greek letters were used for numerals, 
 and were ranged iu three columns of 
 nine figures each ; but 24 letters will not 
 divide by 9, so the 3 symbols, episemon, 
 koppa, and sampi were added to make 
 up 3x9. Col. 1, from 1 to 20 : col. 2, 
 from 20 to 100 ; col. 3, from 100 to 1,000. 
 
 Ban and Fan areidentiral, the B or F )>ein« tbe 
 (lijamnia. Thus olvo<; (wino) was proiiuuucecl 
 fo(«o.<, called in Latin Vih»hi, and woi' (an egg) 
 was prononnced 0/oJi, in Latin Ovum. 
 
 A dash iDider a letter multiplied it a 
 liundredfold. Thus, a = 1, but ct = 1000. 
 For intermediate figures between full 
 tens a mark was made a/jore the unit. 
 Thus <■ {iot(i) = 10; but i<£ = 10 + 1 = 11, 
 '4 = 10 4- 2 ^ 12 ; ly = 10 + 3 = 13, and 
 so on. 
 
 Episode (3 syl.) is the Greek cpi- 
 eis-odos (coming in besides — i.e. adven- 
 titious), meaning an adventitious talc 
 introduced into the main story. 
 
 In music, an intermediate passage in 
 a fugue, wlioreby the subject is for a 
 time suspended. 
 
 "In (irdinary fnu-nos ... it is n.^siial to tillowa 
 oevlain minilicT .if liais tn intervene fnnn time tu 
 time, after whirli the suLjeet is resumed. The 
 interM'uinu' bars . . . •■uc railed Episodes. "—Ohsc- 
 Icft : CiiiiKli'iixiial, xxii. U\:>. 
 
 Epis'tle is something sent to another. 
 A letter sent by messenger or post. 
 (Greek, (pi-stcUo.) 
 
 Epi-zoot'ic is rpi-zooi/ (upon the herds 
 and ilocks). Zoology is used to signify 
 a treatise on animals, but we generally 
 exccjrt man ; so epi-zootic is used, demos 
 (man) not being included. 
 
 E'poch means that which bounds in 
 or holds in hand. The starting-jioint of 
 a sequence of events harnessed together 
 like a team of horses ; also the whole 
 period of time from one eijoch to 
 another. Our jjreseut epoch is the Birth 
 of Christ ; ^jrevious to this epoch it was 
 the Creation of the World. In this 
 latter sense the word is synonymous 
 with era. (Greek, epi-eeho.) 
 
 " The incarnation of Christ is tlie greatest moral 
 cpoeli in tlie universe of God."— .SV'cfc^s : Parables 
 Viifuldcd C The Lost Sheep," p. Iu4i. 
 
 Epode (2 syl.). In the Greek epode 
 the chorus returned to their places and 
 remained stationary. It followed the 
 strophe (2 syl. ). 
 
 Father of ehoral epode. Stesichoros of 
 Sicily (B.C. 632-552). 
 
 Ep'som Races. Horse races held in 
 May, and lasting four days. They are 
 
 held on Epsom Doivns. and were insti- 
 tuted by Charles I. The second day 
 (Wednesday) is the great Derby day, so 
 called from Lord Derby, who instituted 
 the stakes in 1780. The fourth day 
 (Friday) is called the Oaks, so called 
 from "Lambert's Oaks." The "Oaks 
 Estate" passed into the Derby family, 
 and the twelfth Earl of Derby estab- 
 lished the stakes. 
 
 V The Derby, the Oaks, and the St. 
 Leger (held at Doncaster) are called the 
 Three Classic Races. N.B. — There are 
 other races held at Epsom besides the 
 gi-eat four- day races mentioned above — 
 for instance, the City Suburban and 
 the Great Metropolitan (both handicap 
 races). 
 
 Epsom Salts. A salt formerly ob- 
 tained by boiling down the mineral water 
 in the vicinity of Ei^som, but now chemi- 
 cally prepared. It is tlic sulphate of 
 magnesia. 
 
 Equal -to, in mathematics. Tlie 
 symbol ( = ), two little parallel lines, was 
 invented by Robert Recorde, who died 
 1558. 
 
 " As lie said, nothing is more ciiual than parallel 
 line-i." 
 
 Equation of Time. The difference 
 between mean and ajiparcnt time — i.e. 
 the difference between the time as shown 
 by a good clock and that indicated by 
 a sundial. The greatest difference is in 
 November, at the beginning of which 
 mouth the sun is somewhat more than 
 sixteen minutes too slow. There are 
 days in December, April, June, and 
 September w'heu the sun and the clocks 
 agree. 
 
 Eques Aura'tus. A knight bachelor, 
 called aura'tus because he was allowecl 
 to gild his armour— a privilege confined 
 to knights. 
 
 Eq'uipage (3 syl.). Tea equipage. 
 A complete tea-service. To equip means 
 to arm or furnish, and equij)age is the 
 furniture of a military man or body of 
 troops. Hence camp ecjidpaf/c (till things 
 necessary for an encampment) ; Ji<-/d 
 cquipar/c (all things necessary for the 
 field of battle) ; a prince's equipage, and 
 so on. 
 
 Equity. {See AsTEiEA.) 
 
 Era. A series of years beginning 
 from some epoch or starting-j)oint, as : 
 
 B.C. 
 
 The Era of the Greek Olympiads . . 77t"> 
 
 „ the Foundation of Rome 7.5.'5 
 
 ,, Nabonassar 747 
 
 „ Alexander the Great .. .3i'4 
 
 „ the Seleucldx 313 
 
 ,, Julian Era 45
 
 Eraclius 
 
 424 
 
 Ermine Street 
 
 H The Mundane Era, or the number 
 of years between the Creation and the 
 Nativity : 
 
 According to tlic modern Greek Calciular 7,388 
 
 „ .losepLiMS 7,"-'8j' 
 
 „ Scalif-'cr 5,SM 
 
 „ Ibe ancient Greek I'hurr-li r.,508 
 
 . „ I'rofessor Hales 5,411 
 
 „ li'art de Verifier les Date.-i -i.'MX 
 
 „ ArclihisUoi) L'sslier .. .. -i.iwi 
 
 „ Calniot 4.1100 
 
 „ the Jews 3,7ou 
 
 U Other Eras: 
 
 The Era of Aliraliam starts from Oct. 1, B.C. -jnie. 
 „ Actium starts from Jau. 1, ii.r. 3o. 
 
 ., Alexander, or of tlie Lagldie, starts 
 
 from Nov. 13, R.c. 3:;4. 
 „ American ludeiiondeuce, July 4, a.d. 
 
 1778. 
 „ Augustus, B.C. 27. 
 
 „ Diocletian, Aug. 29. A.D. 284. 
 
 „ Tyre, Oct. 19, B.C. 123. 
 
 „ the Chinese, B.C. 2697. 
 
 „ the French Republic, Sept. 22, .v.n. 
 
 1792. 
 „ the HcLr'ira. .Tuly IB, A.D. 622. 
 
 (The flight of Jlahofuet from Mecca.) 
 „ the JIaicaliees, n.c. 166. 
 
 „ the Martyrs, Feb. 2.1, A.D. 31.3. 
 
 H The Christian Era begins from the 
 birth of Christ. 
 
 Erac'lius, the emperor, coudemnecl a 
 knight to death because the companion 
 who went out with him returned not. 
 "Thou hast .slain thy fellow," said the 
 emperor, "and must die. Go," con- 
 tinued he, to another knight, " and lead 
 him to death." On their way they met 
 the knight supj)0sed to be dead, and 
 returned to Eraclius, who, instead of 
 revoking his sentence, ordered all three 
 to be put to death — the first because he 
 had already condemned him to death ; 
 the second because he had disobeyed his 
 orders ; and the third because he was 
 the real cause of the death of the other 
 two. Chaucer tells this anecdote in his 
 iSoii/piionrcs Talc. It is told of Cornelius 
 Piso by Sene'ca in his Dc Ira, lib. i. 16 ; 
 but in the Gesla Jxoiiicnio'riiin it is ascribed 
 to Eraclius. 
 
 Eras'tians. The followers of Thomas 
 Lieber, Latinised into Erastus, a Ger- 
 man "heretic" of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury. (1.524-1583.) 
 
 Eras'tianism. State supremacy or 
 interference in ecclesiastical affairs. 
 Thus the Church of England is some- 
 times called " Erastian," because the 
 two Houses of Parliament can interfere 
 in its ritual and temporalities, and the 
 sovereign, as the " head " of it, appoints 
 bishops and other dignitaries thereof. 
 
 E'rebus. Darkness. The gloomy 
 cavern underground through which the 
 Shades had to walk in their passage to 
 
 Hades. " A valley of the shadow of 
 death." 
 
 " Not Erebus itself were diin enough 
 To hide thee from prevention.'' 
 
 miakc^pecire : Juliite Cwsar, ii.'X 
 
 Eret'rian. T/ie Eirtrimi bull. Meue- 
 de'mos of Eret'ria, in Euboea ; a Greek 
 ishilosopher of the fourth century B.C., 
 and founder of the Eretri;m school, 
 which was a branch of the Socrat'ic. 
 He was called a "bull" from the bull- 
 like gravity of his face. 
 
 Eri'gena. John Scotus, called " Sco- 
 tus the Wi.se," who died 88(). He must 
 not be confounded with Dims Scott us 
 the schoolman, who lived some four 
 centuries after him (1205-1308). 
 
 Erin. Ireland (q.r.). 
 
 Erin'nys or Hrlu'i/s. The goddess of 
 vengeance, one of the Furies. {Greek 
 
 nnjtholvgii.) 
 
 Eriph'ila. The personification of 
 avarice, who guards the path that leads 
 to pleasure, in Orlando Itirioso, vi. CI. 
 
 Erix, son of Goliah (.s(>) and grand- 
 son of Atlas. He invented legerdemain. 
 {Buchat : (Euvres de liahclain ; 1711.) 
 
 Erl-king. King of the elves, who 
 prepares mischief for children, and even 
 deceives men with his seductions. He is 
 said to haunt the Black Forest. 
 
 Er'meline {Dame). Eeynard's wife, 
 in the tale of licijnard the I'ox. 
 
 Ermie'nes (4 syl.). A renegade 
 Christian, whose name was Clement. 
 He was entrusted with the command of 
 the caliph's "regal host," and was slain 
 by Godfrey. {Tasso : Jcrasakiii De- 
 livered.) 
 
 Er'mine or Hermine. Littrc de- 
 rives the word from Armenia, and saj's 
 it is the "Pontic rat" mentioned by 
 Pliny ; if so, the better spelling would 
 be " Arniine." Prof. Skeat derives the 
 word from the French /t ermine, through 
 /larino, the ermine, stoat, or weazel. The 
 ennine is technically called the Mufitvla 
 erminca. 
 
 Er'mine Street. One of the four 
 great public ways made in England by 
 the Romans. The other three are li'at- 
 liiHf tStrert, Ikciiild Street, and the Fosse. 
 Gerraan'icus derives Ermin from Hermes, 
 ■whence Trmii/s/dl (a column of Mercury), 
 because Mercury presided over public 
 roads. This is not correct ; Irminsul, or 
 rather EiTiiensal, is the Scandinnvian 
 Odin, not a "Column of Mercury" at
 
 Erminia 
 
 425 
 
 Escapade 
 
 all ; and Erming Street really means 
 Odin's Street. 
 
 " Fair weyes many on tbei- ben in EnRlond, 
 But foul' most of all lien zuuderstonil , . . 
 Fram tlie south into the north taliit Ermino- 
 
 Mretc ; 
 Fram the east into the west proeth Iknield-strele ; 
 Fram south-est [east] to North-west (that is 
 
 sum del grete) 
 Fram Dorer [Dover] into Chestre go'th Watliiiri- 
 
 aireU ; 
 The forth is most of all that tills from Totc- 
 
 neys— 
 Fram the one end of Cornwall auon to Catouays 
 
 [Caithness]— 
 Fram the soutli to North-ost into Englondes end 
 Fusne men callith thisk voix." 
 
 Robert of Gloucester. 
 
 Ermin'ia. The heroine of Jerusalem 
 I)eHrered. When her father, the King 
 of Antioch, was slain at the siege of 
 Autioch, and Erminia fell captive into 
 tlie crusader's hands, Tancred gave her 
 her libertj% and restored to her all her 
 father's treasures. This generous con- 
 duct quite captivated her heart, and she 
 fell in love with the Christian prince. 
 Al'adine, King of Jerusalem, took charge 
 of her. When the Christian anny be- 
 sieged Jerusalem, she dressed herself in 
 Clorinda's annour to go to Tancred, but, 
 being discovered, fled, and lived awhile 
 with some shepherds on the banks of the 
 Jordan. Meeting with Vafri'uo, sent as 
 a secret spy by the crusaders, she re- 
 vealed to him the design against the life 
 of Godfrey, and, returning with him 
 to the Christian camp, found Tancred 
 wounded. She cured his wounds, so 
 tliat he was able to take jiart in the last 
 great day of the siege. We are not told 
 the ultimate fate of this fair Syrian. 
 
 Erna'ni. The bandit-captain, Duke 
 of Segor'bia and Cardo'ua, Lord of Ar'a- 
 gon, and Count of Ernani, in love with 
 Elvi'ra, who is betrothed to Don Euy 
 Gomez de Silva, an old Spanish grandee, 
 whom she detests, Charles V. of Spain 
 also loves her, and tries to win her. 
 Silva, finding that the king has been 
 tampering with his betrothed, joins the 
 league of Ernani against the king. The 
 king in concealment overhears the plot- 
 ters, and, at a given signal, they are 
 arrested by his guards, but, at the inter- 
 cession of Elvira, are pardoned and set 
 free. Erna'ni is on the point of marrj^- 
 ing Elvira, when a horn is heard. This 
 horn Ernani had given to Silva when he 
 joined the league, saying, " Sound but 
 this horn, and at that moment Ernani 
 will pease to live." Silva insists on the 
 fultilment of the compact, and Ernani 
 stabs himself. {Verdi's opera of Ernani.) 
 
 Ernest (Duke). A poetical romance 
 by Henry of Veldig (Waldeck), con- 
 temporary with Frederick Barbarossa. 
 
 Duke Ernest is son-in-law of Kaiser 
 Kourad II. Having murdered his feudal 
 lord, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy 
 Land to expiate his crime, and the poem 
 describes his adventures on the way. It 
 is a mi.xture of Homeric and Oriental 
 myths, and the tales of crusaders. Duke 
 Ernest fulfilled his i^ilgrimage, returned 
 to Germany, and received absolution. 
 
 Eros, the Greek equivalent to Cupid. 
 
 Eros'tratus. The man who set fire 
 to the temple of Diana in Ephesus, on 
 the day Alexander the Great was born. 
 This he did to make his name immort;il. 
 In order to defeat his vainglory, the 
 Ephesians forbade his name to be men- 
 tioned, but such a i)rohibition would be 
 sure to defeat its object. 
 
 Erra-Pater. An almanack. William 
 Lilly, the almanack-maker and astro- 
 loger, is so called by Butler. It is said 
 to have been the " name " of an eminent 
 Jewish astrologer. {Hallkvell : Arcliaic 
 Dietionarii.) 
 
 " In mathematics he was greater 
 Than Tycho Brahe or Erra Pater.'' 
 
 Butler: Hudihrus, i. 1. 
 
 Erse (1 syl.). The native language of 
 the West Highlanders of Scotland, who 
 are of Irish origin. It is a variant of 
 Irish. Apx^lied by the Scotch Low- 
 landers to the Highland dialect of 
 Gaelic. In the eighteenth century Scotch 
 was often called Erse, without distinc- 
 tion of Highland and Lowland ; and 
 Irish was spoken of as Irish Gaelic. The 
 practice now is to limit the word L'rsc to 
 Iri.sh, and Gaelic to Scotch Highlanders. 
 
 Er'udite. Most erudite of the Romans. 
 Marcus Terentius Varro, a man of vast 
 and varied erudition in almost every de- 
 partment of literature, (b.c. 116-27.) 
 
 Erythre'os. (*eHoESE.) 
 
 Erythynus. Hare no doinf/s vith (he 
 Eri/t/ii/nns. This is the thirty-third 
 Symbol of the Protreptics of lamblichus. 
 The Erythyntis is a fish called by Pliny 
 (ix. 77) eri/thrxuns, a red fish with a. 
 white belly. Pythagoras used this fish 
 as a symbol of a braggadocio, which has 
 a lily liver. Have no doings with those 
 who are tongue-doughty, but have white 
 stomachs (where stomach means true 
 courage). 
 
 Escapa'de (3 syl.). French. Means 
 literally an escape [from restraint] ; 
 hence a spree, lark, or prank. (Sjjaiiish, 
 escapar, cscetpada.) 
 
 " His second escapade was made for tlio purpose 
 of visiting the field of RuUion Green. "—Scott; 
 Guy Maniierivfi, xx.'cvi,
 
 Esclandre 
 
 426 
 
 Essex Stile 
 
 Esclandre. An event which gives 
 rise to scandal. "By the famous Bou- 
 logne esclandre." 
 
 " since tUe last ' esclriiidre ' lie had held little m' 
 no coniimiuication witli hcv." — Lddij Ucibcit: 
 Edith, IS. 
 
 Escu'age (3 syl.) mccans " shield 
 service," and is applied to that obliga- 
 tion which bound a vassal to follow his 
 lord to war at his own private charge. 
 (French, cscii, ecu, a shield.) 
 
 Escula'pios (Latin, Escitlapu(k). A 
 disciple of Escul((piHs means a medical 
 student. Escida'pian, medical. Escu- 
 la'pios, in Homer, is a "blameless phy- 
 sician," whose sous were the medical 
 attendants of the Greek army. Subse- 
 quentlj% he was held to be the " god of 
 the medical art." 
 
 Escu'rial. The palace of the Si^anish 
 sovereigns, about fifteen miles north- 
 west of Madrid. It is one of the most 
 sui)erb structures in Europe, but is built 
 among rocks, as the nauie signifies. 
 
 Escutcheon of Pretence {A)i). 
 That of a wife, either heiress or co- 
 heiress, jilaced in the ceutre of her hus- 
 band's shield. 
 
 Esin'gse. A iitle given to the kings 
 of Kent, from Ese, their first king, 
 sometimes called Ochta. 
 
 Esmc-nd (JTci/ri/). A chivalrous 
 cavalier in the reign of Queen Anne. 
 The hero of Thackeray's novel entitled 
 Emuoiid. 
 
 Esoteric (Greek, those tcilhiii). 
 Exoteric, those without. The term ori- 
 ginated with Pythag'oras, who stood 
 behind a curtaiu when he gave his lec- 
 tures. Those who were allowed to 
 attend the lectures, but not to see his 
 face, he called his exoteric disciples ; bat 
 those who were allowed to enter the veil, 
 his esoteric. 
 
 Aristotle adopted the same terms, 
 though he did not lecture behind a cur- 
 tain. He called those who attended his 
 evening lectures, which were of a popu- 
 lar character, his e.roterics ; and those 
 who attended Iiis more abstruse morning 
 lectures, his esoterics. 
 
 Espiet (Es-pe-fi) . Nephew of Oriande 
 la Fee. A dwarf, not more than three 
 feet high, with yellow hair as fine as 
 gold, aud though above a hundred years 
 old, a seeming child of seven. He was 
 one of the falsest knaves in the world, 
 aud knew every kind of enchantment. 
 {Itontaiiee of Maiir/is d'Aijgremoiit et de 
 Viviason frere.) 
 
 Esplan'dian. Son of Am'adis and 
 Oria'ua. He is the hero of Montalvo's 
 continuation oiAiiiadis, called Tlie Fifth 
 Book. 
 
 Esprit de Corps. Fellow-feelmg 
 for the society with which you are asso- 
 ciated. A military term — every soldier 
 will stand up for his own corps. 
 
 Esprit Follet. A bogle wliich de- 
 lights in misleading and tormenting 
 mortals. 
 
 Esquire. One wlio carried the escit, 
 or shield of a knight. (Latin, scut'iger, 
 a shield-bearer.) 
 
 Copij of a letter from C. H. Athill, Esq., 
 " liichiiiond J[erahV\- — 
 
 '• Herald's College, E.C., January i'Gtli, 1893. 
 " Tlie f oUinving i>erdons are legally ' Esquires ':— 
 "Tlic sons (if peers, the sons of baronets, the 
 sons of knights, the eldest sons of llie younger 
 sons i.f peers, and their eldest sons in periietuitv, 
 fheehlest sou of the elilest son of a knight, and 
 his eldest son in perpetuity, the kings of arms, 
 the heralds of arms, officers of the Army or Navy 
 of the rank of captain and upwards, sheriffs of 
 counties for life, .I.r.'s of counties whilst in coni- 
 inission, serjeants-at-law, Queen's counsel, ser- 
 jeants-at-arms, ('ouu>auions of the Orders of 
 Knighthood, certain principal otfli-ers in the 
 Oueen's houseliold, deiuity lietitenants, commis- 
 sioners of the Court of Bankruptcy, masters of 
 the Supreme Court, those whom the (^Uu'en, in any 
 conunission or warrant, styles rsiiiiui', and any 
 person who, in virtue of his oMice, takes preced- 
 ence of e-squires." 
 
 V Add to these, graduates of the uni- 
 versities not in holy orders. 
 
 Es'says. Lord Bacon's essays were 
 the first in English that boi'e the name. 
 
 "To write just treatises reciuireth leisure in the 
 writer and leisure in the reader . . . which is the 
 cause which hath made me choose to write certain 
 brief notes . . . which I have called essays."— 
 Dedication to Prince Jlenrij. 
 
 Esse'nes (2 syl.). A sect among the 
 Jews in the time of our Savioiu'. They 
 were communists who alijured every sort 
 of fleshly indulgence. They ate no ani- 
 mal food, and drank only water. Their 
 sacrifices to God were oidy fruits of tlie 
 earth. They kept the Sabbath so strictly 
 that they would not even wash a plate or 
 liuse a cup on that da}'. They always 
 dressed in white, took no part in public 
 matters, but devoted themselves to con- 
 templative studies. They held the Jew- 
 ish Scriptures in great reverence, but 
 interpreted them allegorically. 
 
 Essex. East seaxe (the territory of 
 the East Saxons). 
 
 Essex Lions. Calves, for which the 
 county is famous, 
 
 Valiant as an Essex lion (ironical). 
 
 Essex Stile. A ditch. As Essex is 
 very marshy, it abounds in ditches, and 
 has very few stiles.
 
 Est-il-possible 
 
 427 
 
 Ethnic Plot 
 
 Est-il-possible. A nickname of 
 Prince George of Denmark, given him 
 by James II. The story goes that 
 James, speaking of those wlio had de- 
 serted his standard, conchided the cata- 
 logue with tliese words, "And who do 
 you think besides '■: Wlij'. little Est-il- 
 possible, my worthy son-in-law. " James 
 applied this cognomen to the prince 
 because, wlien George was told of his 
 father-in-law's abdication, all he did 
 was to exclaim, '' Est-il-possible r " and 
 when told, further, of the several noble- 
 men who had fallen away from him, 
 " Est-il-possible 'r " exhausted his in- 
 dignation. 
 
 Kstafette (French ; Spanish, c»ta- 
 fi'tii). Military couriers sent express. 
 Their duty is to deliver the dispatches 
 consigned to them to the postillions ap- 
 jjointed to receive them. 
 
 Estates. Estates of the realm. The 
 piowers that have the administration of 
 affairs in their hands. The three estates 
 of our own realm are the Lords Spiritual, 
 the Lords Temporal, and the Commons ; 
 popularly speaking, the j)ublic press is 
 tenned the fourth estate. It is a great 
 mistake to call the tliree estates of Eng- 
 land the Sovereign, the Lords, and the 
 Commons, as many do. The word means 
 that on which the realm stands. (Latin, 
 uto, to stand.) {>iee Fourth Estate.) 
 
 " Henul . . . made a supiier to lii? . . . chief 
 estates."— Mark vi. il. 
 
 "The kins: and the three estates of the realm 
 assembled in iiarliameut."— CWfecf /ur JVot. 5. 
 
 Este. The house of Este had for their 
 armorial bearing a white eagle on an 
 azure shield. Rinaldo, in Jcnisalcin Dc- 
 tircred, adoj)ted this device ; andAriosto, 
 in his Orlando Furioso, gives it both to 
 Mandricardo and Eoge'ro, adding that it 
 was borne by Trojan Hector. As the 
 Didoes of Brunswick are a branch of the 
 house of Este, our Queen is a descend- 
 ant of the same noble family. 
 
 D'Este was the surname adopted by 
 the children of the Duke of Sussex and 
 Lady Augusta Murray. 
 
 Estot'iland. An imaginary tract of 
 land near the Ai-ctic Circle in North 
 America, said to have been discovered 
 by John Scalve, a Pole. 
 
 " The snow 
 From cold Estotihind." 
 
 Milton: Paradise Lout, x. 085. 
 
 Estraina9on (French). A blow or 
 cut with a sword, hence also " estra- 
 mac^ouuer," to play at backsword. Sir 
 Walter Scott uses the word in the sense 
 
 of a feint or pretended cut. Hence Six" 
 Jeffrey Hudson, the dwarf, says:^ 
 
 '• I tripi'eda hasty morris . . . uiion the dininc- 
 talde, now offering my sword [to the Dtikc of 
 UuckiiiKham], and now recovering' ii, I made . . 
 a sort of estran)a<;on at his nose, tlie dexterity of 
 which consists in coming' mightily near to the 
 ohject without touching \t"—Feveiil uf the Peak, 
 chaii. XXX iv. 
 
 Estrich Wool is the soft down of 
 the estrich, called in French, diirct d' 
 aatrieJie. It lies immediately under the 
 feathers of the ostrich. 
 
 Estrildis or Estrild. Daughter of a 
 German king, and handmaid to the 
 mythical King Humber. When Humber 
 was drowned in the river that bears his 
 name. King Locrin fell in love with 
 Estrildis, and would have manied her, 
 had he not been betrothed already to 
 Guendoloe'na ; however, he kept Es- 
 trildis for seven j^ears in a palace imiler- 
 groimd, and had by her a daugliter 
 named Sabri'na. After the death of 
 Locrin, Guendaloe'na threw both Es- 
 trildis and Sabri'na into the Severn. 
 {Geoffrey : British Histonj, ii. ch. ii. -v. ) 
 
 Estuary. Literally, the boiling 
 place ; the mouth of a river is so called 
 because the water there seems to seethe 
 and boil. (Latin, ustno, to boil.) 
 
 Eternal City (The). Rome. Virgil 
 makes Jupiter tell Venus he would give 
 to the Homans iiiipe'riaiii siiiij Jiite (an 
 eternal empire). {.-Ei/eid, i. 79.) 
 
 Eternal Fitness of Things. The 
 
 congi-uity between an action and the 
 agent. 
 
 "Can any man have a hiffher notion of lliernle 
 of rii-'ht. and tlie eternal fitness of thin^js ?"— 
 I'ieldiiiij : Tom Junes, hook iv. chap. iv. 
 
 Eternal Tables. A white pearl, 
 extending from east to west, and from 
 heaven to earth, on which, according to 
 Mahomet, God has recorded every event, 
 past, present, and to come. 
 
 Etesian Wind (A/i). " Etesia/lahra 
 Aqiiiloriai))" says Lucretius (v. 741). A 
 wind which rises annually abotit the 
 dog-da3's, and blows forty daj's together 
 in the same direction. It is a gentle and 
 mild wind. (Greek, trijo-io;, annual.) 
 
 " Deem not, good Porteus, that in this my sou^' 
 I mean to barrow nv thy humble mind, 
 And stay that voice in London known so limjj ; 
 For balm and softness, an Etesian wind." 
 
 Peter Pindar: Nil Admiraro. 
 
 Eth'nic Plot. The Popish plot. In 
 
 Drydeu's satire oi Absalom and Aehifo- 
 phel, Charles II. is called David, the 
 royalists are called the Jews, and the 
 Papists Gentiles or Ethuoi, whence
 
 Ethnophrones 
 
 428 
 
 Eulen- Spiegel 
 
 "Ethnic plot" means the Gentile or 
 Popish plot. 
 
 " Saw with disdain an Ethnic jilnt liesun . . . 
 'Gainst form and order tliey their power enijdoy, 
 Nothing lo Iniild, and all thinws to destroy." 
 
 Part i. 51S, ja:;-3. 
 Ethnoph 'rones (4 syl.). A sect of 
 heretics of tlie seventeenth century, who 
 practised the observances of the ancient 
 Pagans. (Greek, ethuos-phreii, heathen- 
 minded.) 
 
 E'thon. Tlie eagle or vulture that 
 gnawed the liver of Prome'theus. 
 
 Etiquette (3 syl.). The usages of 
 l^olito society. The word means a ticket 
 or card, and refers to the ancient custom 
 of delivering a card of directions and 
 regulations to be observed by all those 
 who attended court. The original use 
 was a soldier's billet. (French, etiquette ; 
 Spanish, etiqueta, a book of court cere- 
 monies. ) 
 
 "EtiiiHi'tte . . . had its original application to 
 those ceremonial and formal oliservances prac- 
 tised at Court. . . . The term came afterwards 
 ... to signify certain formal methods used in the 
 transactions between Sovereign States."— idrAc ; 
 ^Yvrks, vol. viii. p. 3i'l». 
 
 Etna. Virgil ascribes its erudition to 
 the restlessness of Enceiadus, a hundred- 
 headed giant, who lies buried under the 
 mountain. (^^.V. iii. 578, etc.) In Etna 
 the Greek and Latin poets place the 
 forges of Vulcau and the smithy of the 
 Cyclops. 
 
 Etrenn'es (2 syl.). Xew-year's gifts 
 are so called in France. Stren'ia, the 
 Roman goddess, had the superintendence 
 of new-year's gifts, which the Romans 
 called stiriuc. Ta'tius entered Rome on 
 New-year's Day, and received from 
 some augurs imlms cut from the sacred 
 grove, dedicated to the goddess Strenia. 
 Having succeeded, he ordained that tlie 
 1st of January should be celebrated by 
 gifts to be called strciur, consisting of 
 ngs, dates, and honey ; and that no word 
 of ill omen should be uttered on that 
 day. 
 
 Ettrick Shepherd. James Hogg, 
 the Scotch poet, who was born in the 
 forest of Ettrick, Selkirkshire. (1772- 
 1835.) 
 
 '• Tlie Ettrick Shepherd was mv u-iiide." 
 
 ]Ynnl)<irorlh. 
 
 Etzel — i.e. ^itiJa. King of the Huns, 
 a monarch ruling over three kingdoms 
 and more than thirty principalities ; 
 being a widower, he married Kriemhild, 
 the widow of Siegfried. In the Nibeliin- 
 gen-Lied, where he is introduced (part 
 ii.), he is made very insignificant, and 
 gees his liegemen, and even his son and 
 
 heir, struck down without any effort to 
 save them, or avenge their destruction. 
 He is as unlike the Attila of history as 
 possible. 
 
 Eu'charis, iu Ft'nelon's Telemeique, 
 is meant to represent Mdlle. de Fon- 
 tanges. 
 
 Eucharist literally means a thank- 
 offering. Our Lord said, '■ Do this in 
 remembrance of me" — I.e. out of gra- 
 titude to me. The elements of bread 
 and wine iu the Lord's sujiper. (Greek, 
 e^i-charint'ia.') 
 
 Eu'clio. A penurious old liunks in 
 one of the comedies of Plautus {Aidii- 
 lu'rlii). 
 
 Eucrates (3 syl.). More .^^h 'if t.f than 
 liii'cratex. Eucrate«, the miller, was one 
 of the archons of Athens, noted for his 
 shifts and excuses for neglecthig the 
 duties of tlie oilice. 
 
 Eudoxians. Heretics, whose founder 
 was Eudox'ius, patriarch of Antioch in 
 the fourth century. They maintained 
 that the Son had a will independent of 
 the Father, and that sometimes their 
 wills were at variance. 
 
 Euge'nius. This was John Hall 
 Stejihenson, author of Craz)/ Titles, a 
 relative of Sterne. In Sterne's Tristram 
 Sliaiidi/, Eugenius is made the friend 
 and wise counsellor of Yorick. 
 
 Eugubine Tables. Seven bronze 
 tables found near Eiigu'bium {Githhio) 
 in Italy, in 1441. Of the inscriptions, five 
 are Umbrian and Etruscan, and two are 
 Latin. 
 
 "The rinlirian, the ton'-'iie of nortli-eastern 
 Italy, is yet more fully represented to us liy the 
 KuL'iihine tablets . . . supposed to be as old as the 
 third and fourth centuries before our era."— ir. 
 I). Whitney : Study of Languages, lecture vi. p. T.O. 
 
 Eu'lalie (St.). Eu'lalon is one of <he 
 names of Apollo ; but in the calendar 
 there is a virgin martj'r called Eu'lalie, 
 born at Mer'ida, in Estramadu'ra. When 
 she was only twelve j-ears old, the great 
 persecution of Diocle'tiau was set on 
 foot, whereupon the young girl left her 
 maternal home, and, in the presence of 
 the Roman judge, cast down the idols 
 he had set up. She was martyretl by 
 torture, February Tith, 308. 
 
 Longfellow calls Evangeline the " Sun- 
 shine of St. Euiaiie." 
 
 Eulen-spie'gel (77////) or Ti/H Oivl- 
 f/lass. The hero of a German tale, which 
 relates the pranks and drolleries, the 
 ups and downs, the freaks and fun of a 
 wandering cottager of Brunswick. The
 
 Eumaeog 
 
 429 
 
 EustatMans 
 
 autlior is said to have beeu Dr. Thomas 
 Murncr (1475-1530). 
 
 Eumae'os or EumcrKs. A swineherd. 
 So called from the slave aud swineherd 
 of Ulysses. 
 
 "Til's second Eiiin-.vus strode liastily ilowii tlie 
 forest, i-'hule, driviiif.' hefore liiiii . . . the whole 
 lierd of his inlmriiiouioiis charge." — Sir Walter 
 Scott. 
 
 Eumen'ides [f/ic good-tempered god- 
 desses] . A uame giveu by the Greeks to 
 the Furies, as it would have been omi- 
 nous and bad policy to call them by their 
 right uame, Eyiii'iii/es. 
 
 Eumnes'tes \_Mcniorii'], who, being 
 
 very old, keeps a little boy named 
 
 Auamnestes [^Itesearch] to fetch books 
 
 I from the shelves. {Spenser : Faerie 
 
 Qiieene, book ii. 9.) 
 
 Euno'mians. Heretics, the disci- 
 ples of Euno'mius, Bishop of Cyz'icum 
 iu the fourth century. They maintained 
 that the Father was of a different nature 
 to the Sou, and that the Sou did not iu 
 reality unite Himself to luimau nature. 
 
 Eupat'ridse. The oligarchy of Attica. 
 These lords of creation were subse- 
 quently set aside, and a democratic form 
 of government established. 
 
 Eu'phemisms. Words or phrases 
 substituted, to soften down offensive 
 expressions. 
 
 I'/aec never viei/fioiied to ears polite. 
 In the reign of Charles II., a worthy 
 divine of Whitehall thus concluded his 
 sermon: "If you don't live up to the 
 precepts of the Gospel . . . you must 
 expect to receive your reward iu a cer- 
 tain place which 'tis not good manners 
 to mention here " (Lcieoities). Pope tells 
 us this worthy diviue was a dean ; — 
 
 '• To rest the ciisliion and soft dean invite, 
 
 Who never nieutioned hell to ears polite." 
 I Moral Essiiys, epist. iv. 4'J, 50. 
 
 "His Satanic majesty;" "light-fiu- 
 gered gentry;" "a geutleman on his 
 travels" {one trniisported) ; "she has 
 met with an accident " {/las had a ehild 
 before marriage) ; " help " or " employe " 
 {a servanf); " not quite correct " (a false- 
 hood) \ "an obliquity of vision" (« 
 squint); "an innocent" {a fool), "bel- 
 dam" {an ugly tvoman), aud hundreds 
 of others. 
 
 Eure'ka, or rather Heiire'lai (I have 
 found it out). The exclamation of 
 Arclnmedes, the Syracusan philosopher, 
 when he discovered how to test the 
 purity of Hi'ero's crown. The tale is, 
 that Hiero delivered a certain weight of 
 gold to a workman, to be made into a 
 
 votive crown, but suspecting that the 
 workman had alloyed the gold with an 
 inferior metal, asked Archimedes to test 
 the crown. The philosopher went to 
 bathe, and, iu stepping into the bath, 
 which was quite full, observed that some 
 of the water ran over. It innnediately 
 struck him that a body must remove its 
 own bulk of water when it is immersed, 
 and putting his idea to tlie test, found 
 his surmise to be correct. Now then, for 
 the crown. Silver is lighter than gold, 
 therefore a pound-weight of silver will 
 be more bulky than a ijouud-weight of 
 gold, and being of greater bulk will 
 remove more water. Vitru'vius says : 
 ' ' When the idea flashed across his mind, 
 the philosopher jumped out of the bath 
 exclaiming, ' Heure'ka ! heure'ka ! ' aud, 
 without waiting to dress hiniself, ran 
 home to try the experiment." Drydeu 
 has mistaken the quantity in the lines — 
 
 " The deist thinks he stands on tlrnier pround, 
 Cries ' Eu'roka : ' the mighty secret's found." 
 ileliylo Laid, 4a, J.'i. 
 
 But Byron has preserved the right quan- 
 tity— 
 
 " Now we clap 
 Our hands and cry ' Kureka ! ' " 
 
 CliildcUaruId/ix. St.. si. 
 
 V The omission of the initial // finds 
 a ])arallel in our word udometer for 
 " hudometer," emerods for " hemor- 
 rhoids," erpetologg iov " herpetology " ; 
 on the other hand, we write humble-pio 
 for "umble-pie," 
 
 Eu'rus (2 syl.). The east wind. So 
 called, says Buttmann, from eijs, the 
 east. Probably it is eos eru'o, drawn 
 from the east. Ovid confirms this ety- 
 mology : " Vires eapit Earns ab ortii." 
 Breman says it is a corruption of eiopos. 
 
 " While southern Rales or western oceans ndl. 
 And Euriis steals his ice-winds from the pole." 
 Darwin : Economy of Vegetation, canto vi. 
 
 Euryd'ice (4 syl.) . Wife of Orpheus, 
 killed by a serpent on her wedding night. 
 Orpheus went down to the infernal 
 regions to seek her, and was promised 
 she should return on condition that he 
 looked not back till .she had reached the 
 ui^per world. When the poet got to the 
 confines of his journey, he turned his 
 head to see if Eurydice were following, 
 and she was instantly caught back again 
 into Hades. 
 
 " Restore, restore Eurydice to life ; 
 Oh, take the luisliand (U' return the wife." 
 
 Poiif : Ode oi> St. Cecilia:-: Day. 
 
 Eusta'thians. A denomination so 
 called from Eusta'thius, a monk of the 
 fourth centurj^ excommunicated by the 
 council of Gangra.
 
 Eutychians 
 
 430 
 
 Every Man 
 
 Eutych'ians. Heretics of the fifth 
 ceutuiy, violently opposed to the Xes- 
 toriiins. They maintained that Jesus 
 Christ was entirely God previous to the 
 incarnation, and entirely man during His 
 sojourn on earth. The founder was 
 Eu tj-ches, an abbot of Constantinople, 
 excommunicated in 448. 
 
 Euxine Sea {The) — i.e. the hospit- 
 able sea. It was formerly called A riiic 
 (inhospitable). So the ''Cape of Good 
 Hope " was called the Cape of llcspair. 
 "Beneventum" was originally called 
 jtfahrciitHiii, and " Dyrrachium " was 
 called IJ^ji(hniu/ns, which the Eomans 
 thought was too much like daiininiii to 
 be lucky. 
 
 Evangelic Doctor {Tin). John 
 Wvclifj'e, " the morning star of the 
 Reformation." (1324-1384.) 
 
 Evan'geline. (4 syl.). The heroine 
 of Lougtellow"s poem so called. The 
 subject of the tale is the expulsion of 
 the inhabitants of Aca'dia {yuvn Scotia) 
 from their homes by order of George II. 
 
 Evan'gelist, in Bunj-au's ri/;/rim\s 
 J'/w/)vv?.y, represents the effectual preacher 
 of the Gospel, who opens the gate of life 
 to Christian. (See Wyoming. ) 
 
 Evangelists. Sjnnbols of the 
 four: — 
 
 ]\[iitthcir. A man with a pen in his 
 hand, and a scroll before him, looking 
 over his left shoulder at an angel. This 
 Gospel was the fir.st, and the angel 
 represents the Being who dictated it. 
 
 Matthew a man, because he begins his 
 gospel with the descent of Jesus from 
 the man David. 
 
 Mark. A man seated writing, and by 
 his side a couchant winged lion. Mark 
 begins liis gospel with the sojourn of 
 Jesus in the wilderness, amidst wild 
 beasts, and the temptation of Satan, 
 " the roaring lion." {Sir Lion.) 
 
 Lille. A man with a pen, looking in 
 deep thought over a scroll, and near him 
 a cow or ox chewing the cud. The latter 
 part refers to the eclectic character of 
 St. Luke's Gospel. 
 
 John. A young man of great delicacy, 
 with an eagle in the background to 
 denote sublimity. 
 
 The more ancient spnbols were — for 
 Matthew, a man's face ; for Mark, a 
 lion ; for Luke, an ox ; and for John, a 
 filing eagle; in allusion to the four 
 living creatures before the throne of 
 God, described in the Book of Eevela- 
 tion : " The first .... was like a lion, 
 and the second .... like a calf, and 
 
 the third .... had a face as a man, 
 and the fourth .... was like a flying 
 eagle " (iv. 7). Irenaj'us saj-s : " The 
 lion signifies the royalty of Christ ; the 
 calf His sacerdotal office ; the man's face 
 His incarnation ; and the eagle the grace 
 of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Evans (.SV;- Hugli). A pedantic Welsh 
 parson and schoolmaster of wondrous 
 simplicitj' and shrewdness. {Shakespeare: 
 Merrg ll'ires of Jl'inihor.) 
 
 Evans {IViUiam). The giant porter 
 of Charles I., who earned about in his 
 pocket Sn- Geoft'rey Hudson, the king'.s 
 dwarf. He was nearly eight feet high. 
 (Died 1032.) Fuller s])caks of him in 
 his ll'orthies, and Sii' Walter Scott in- 
 troduces him in I'ereril of (he Peak. 
 
 " As tnll n man .is is in Titindon, nlways rxcovt- 
 ini; tlie kinL-'s porter, Master Kvans, tliat carried 
 yiiii alioiit ill liis r"'l<ef.Sir Gedffic.v, as all the 
 world lias heard tell."— C'liai>. xxxiii. 
 
 Evaporate (4 syl.). Be off ; vanish 
 into thin aii'. 
 
 " Bdli and .lonatlian, witli similar nicckiioss, 
 tnnk their leave and evarorated."— Xiic/.c)/« ; Our 
 iidliKil Fiiiinl, part i.e. 
 
 Events. At all eren/s. In any case; 
 be the issue what it may ; " iiteinnqiie 
 eeeiderit.^'' 
 
 In the event, as "In the event of his 
 being elected," means in ease, or j'rovided 
 he is elected ; if the result is that he is 
 elected. 
 
 Ever and Anon. From time to 
 time. {See A^ION.) 
 
 Ever-sworded {The). The 2f;th 
 Regiment of Foot, now called the 
 " Worcester.shire Regiment." In 1746 
 a part of this regiment, then at St. 
 John's Island, was surprised by the 
 French and massacred, when a command 
 was issued that henceforth every officer, 
 even at meals, should wear his sword. 
 In 1 842-1859 the regiment was in the East 
 Indies, and the order was relaxed, re- 
 quiring onl}' the captain and subaltern 
 of the day to dine with their swords on. 
 
 Ever - Victorious Army {The). 
 Ward's army, raised in 18G1, and placed 
 under the charge of General Gordon. 
 By 18(34 it had stamped out the Taeping 
 rebeUion, which broke out in 18ol. {See 
 Chinese Gordon.) 
 
 Everlasting Staircase {The). The 
 treadmill. 
 
 Every Man Jack of Them. Everj-- 
 one. The older form of everjonc was 
 ereriehon, often divided into ererg ehone, 
 con-upted first into every-john, then
 
 Evidence 
 
 431 
 
 Evolution 
 
 into eveiy Jack, theu perverted into 
 every mau Jack of 'em. 
 
 " I sball them soon vainiuii-h every clione." 
 aiteplierd's Kalendcr. 
 "To bare liadde tlieym .... slayne everje 
 clioiie." — Mure: Oiitlie Punnwn. Weeks. 
 
 Evidence (/«)• Before the eyes of 
 the peojjle ; to the front ; actually 
 present (Latin). Evidence, meaning 
 testimony in proof of something, lias a 
 large niunber of varieties, as — 
 
 Cimim»tiivti(il Evidence. That based oa cor- 
 rolKii-ntivc iiiriili'iit-i. 
 
 JJeiii'itmli-dlirr iridrtirr. That which can l^e 
 IHMVimI witli^'iu li:i\ iiiv' a (hiulit. 
 
 Dirt il null ,11 r. Thai nf all cyo-witnoss. 
 
 Ej.-tirntil ictdtnce. That tlerivod frciiu history 
 or tradition. 
 
 ftitennil evidence. Tliat derived from cun- 
 fiirniity with wliat is known. 
 
 Midciidl erldeiice. That wliieh is essential in 
 ordci- to cari-y jiroof. 
 
 .Mi<i<it crideiice. That which accords with gen- 
 (lul experience. 
 
 J'resumptive ei-idence. Tliat which is hiyhly 
 probable. 
 
 Prima facie evidenre. That which seems likely, 
 nnless it can be explained away. 
 
 Queen's or King's evidence. That of an accessory 
 against his accomplices, under the promise of 
 pardon. 
 
 Seciindanj ci-idencc. Such as is produced when 
 primary evidence is not to be obtained. 
 
 Self evidence. That derived from the senses ; 
 manifest and indubitable. 
 
 Evil Communications, etc. He 
 ■who touches pitch mu<t expect to be 
 defiled. A rotten apj^le will injure its 
 companions. One scabby sheep will 
 infect a whole flock. 
 
 French : II ne faut qu'une brebis 
 galeuse pour gater tout un troupeati. 
 
 Latin : Mala vicini pecoris contagia 
 laedent {J'tn/il). Tunc tua res agitur, 
 paries cum i^roximus ardet. Mala con- 
 sortio boiios mores inquinat. Malorum 
 commercio reddimnr deteriores. Hie 
 niger est, hunc tu, Eomane, caveto 
 {Horace). Uva consj)ecta livorem ducit 
 ab uva. 
 
 To the s,ame efEect is the locution, " C'est une 
 brebis galeuse," and the idea implied is, he must 
 be sepai-ated from the Hock, or else he will con- 
 taminate others. 
 
 Evil Eye. It was anciently believed 
 
 that the eyes of some persons darted 
 
 noxious rays on objects which they glared 
 
 uj)on. The first morning glance of such 
 
 eyes was certain destruction to man ov 
 
 beast, but the destruction was not un- 
 
 frequeutly the result of emaciation. 
 
 Virgil speaks of an evil eye making 
 
 cattle lean. {Sec Mascotte, Jettatoe.) 
 
 "Nes'cio quis ten'eros oc'ulus mihi fas'cinat 
 agnos." Eel. iii. Iu3. 
 
 Evil May Day (1517). So called 
 because of the riots made on that day 
 hy the London apjirentices, who fell on 
 the French residents. The ringleaders, 
 with fifteen others, were hanged ; and 
 
 four hundred more of the rioters were 
 carried to Westminster with halters 
 round their necks, but were pardoned 
 by "Blutf Harry the King." The 
 Constable of the Tower discharged his 
 cannon on the mob assembled in tmnult 
 ui Cheapside Way. 
 
 Evil Principle. {See Aiieihax, 
 
 AEIifANES, ASALOE.) 
 
 Evils. " Of two evils, I have chosen 
 the least" {Trior). 
 
 Evolution {Darniniaii). Darwin's 
 theory is tliat ditferent forms of animal 
 and vegetable life are due to small vari- 
 ations, and that natural selection is a main 
 agent in bringing them about. If favoiu'- 
 able, these variations are perpetuated, if 
 not they die off. 
 
 Silencer's theorj' is that the present 
 multitude of objects have all sprung from 
 sejiarate atoms oiiginally homogeneous. 
 '•Evolution Is the integration of matter and 
 concomitant dissipation of motion, during which 
 the matter passes from an indcllnile, incidierenl 
 liomiigeneity to a dell 111 tecolicreiit heterogeneity ; 
 and (luiiiig wliirh tlje letained motion undergoes 
 a pMiallcl riniistiiiiiiatiiiii.'— ,S//cjicer; First Vrin- 
 eii'l' ?, part ii. diap. xvii. p. 3%. 
 
 Evolution, its. process, according to 
 biologists. 
 
 Part i. 
 
 Assuming the existence of some cleineiir. call 
 itprotyle(::syl.),in time weget7n((/(rt-,aiid nmtiou. 
 
 From matter and motion proceed cuhe.iion and 
 repulsion, and from cohesion and repulsion we 
 
 get crystals. 
 
 Next Cfinies chemical action into play, from 
 which springs prininrdial prut.tjilusiii, or the 
 jirofop/d.-iii/c cliit of purely clieiiiiinl oriLfin. 
 
 By funlier development tlie liilnnipliiill cell is 
 fi/iined, with its power to assimilate, and this 
 will acciium for air, water, and miiieniis. 
 
 By laiasliism next conies the proto-bacillus or 
 fuii','iis, li\ ing on the green cells. 
 
 And then will follow the prutuzoim, the first 
 example of animal life. 
 
 Part ii. 
 
 (1) The Amoeba is the lowest of known animals, 
 a mollusc, Willi the S(de power of locomotion. 
 
 (-■) The Sy-ii-amcelia is multicellular, with an 
 organism adapted for seii.sation. digestion, and 
 the power of reproduction. 
 
 (.'!) Then will come the Gnstrnla, an organised 
 being, with an external mouth. 
 
 (4) Next the Hydra r.r J'uli/p, which has local- 
 ised sense-organs and instincts. 
 
 (a) Then the Medusa, with nerves, muscles, and 
 nerve functions. 
 
 (fi) Ne.\i come worms, which have special sense- 
 organs ; and 
 
 (7) Then the J7nHnf?!7rt,or.Saf7..-iforjii, which has 
 a rudimentary spinal cord. 
 
 Part iii. From the SacJc-worin to Man. 
 
 (1) The larv.c of .Ascidians. 
 
 (:;) Lowly-organised flsli, like the Lancclet. 
 
 (.1) The Lepidosiren, and other Bsh. 
 
 (4) The Ampkihiavs. 
 (.i) Jlirds and lieptiles. 
 
 (fi) Monoiremata, which connect reptiles with 
 ni:immal3. 
 (7) Marsupials. 
 
 (5) Placental ^[ammals. 
 
 (9) The Lemurid(e. 
 
 (10) The Simiadce. 
 
 ao The Monkey tribe, coiisistins of the New
 
 Ewe -lamb 
 
 432 
 
 Excelsior 
 
 World monkey (called Pluti/rhines), aud the Old 
 World iiionkeys (called Catarluneii, S syl.)- 
 
 (l:;) The Jlissing Link between the catarhine 
 monkey and man. Tlie Mali is tlioULrht liv some 
 to supi'ly this link. It is one of the nionki-y trilic 
 which aiJin-oaches nearer to the human species 
 tlian any other yet discovered. 
 
 V Thi.s is no jilace to ciiticise the 
 theory of evohition, but merely to state 
 it as briefly and plainly as possible. 
 
 Ewe-lamb (^L). A single jjossession 
 greatly prized. (2 Sam. xii. 1-14.) 
 
 Ex Cathe'dra (Latin). With au- 
 thority. The Pope, speaking r.r cathedra, 
 is said to sjieak with an infallible voice 
 — to speak as the successor and rejire- 
 seutative of St. Peter, aud in his ponti- 
 fical character. Tlie words are Latin, 
 and mean "from the chair" — i.e. the 
 throne of tlie i^ontiff. The i>hrase is 
 aj)plied to all dicta uttered Ijy tiuthority, 
 and ironically to self-suflicient, dog- 
 matical assertions. 
 
 Ex Hypoth'esi, according to wliat is 
 sujjposed or assumed. 
 
 " The justification of the charge [i.e. tlio tax for 
 hetternient] lies i:r injriotUesl inan enhanced value 
 of the iM-ui'erly in the Betterment area."— /'/(c 
 I'rciii rtii Priiti cticii obiectiim iigainat Hi'fthm Til iif 
 thv luiti rill, lit i-linisc iifthe Tuwer Bridge Southern 
 Al>pn;u:l, IJUnis'.H). 
 
 Ex Luce Lucellum. To make a 
 gain out of light ; to make a cheese- 
 paring from lucifer-matches. When 
 Kobert Lowe jHoposed to tax lucifer- 
 matches, lie suggested that the boxes 
 should be labelled £.r Iiiee iHceUiiin. {I'ar- 
 Hamcntanj llejjorts, 1871.) 
 
 " Lucifer agsrediens e.x luce haurn-e lucellum 
 Incldit in tenebras ; lex nova funius eiat." 
 
 Ex Officio (Latin, hij rlrtiic of /lia 
 oj/ict). As, the Lord Mayor for the time 
 being shall be e.r officio one of the trus- 
 tees. 
 
 Ex Parte (Latin, procccdii/r/ onhjfrom 
 one of the partien). Au ex-parte state- 
 ment is a one-sided statement, a partial 
 statement, a statement made by one of 
 the litigants without being modified by 
 the counter- statement. 
 
 Ex Ped'e Her'culem. From this 
 sample you can judge of the whole. 
 Plutarch says thtit Pythag'oras ingeni- 
 ously calculated the height of Hercules 
 by comparing the length of various 
 stadia in Greece. A stadium was 600 
 feet in length, but Hercules' stadium at 
 Olympia was much longer. Now, says 
 the philosopher, as the stadium of Olym- 
 pia is longer than an ordinary stadium, 
 so the foot of Hercules was longer than 
 an ordinary foot ; aud as the foot bears 
 a certain ratio to the height, so the 
 
 height of Hercules can be easily ascer- 
 tained. {Varia iSeripia.) 
 
 Ex Post Facto (Latin). An e.r post 
 far til law. A law made to meet aud 
 l^uiii.sh a crime after the offence has been 
 
 committed. 
 
 Ex Professo (Latin). Avowedly ; 
 expressly. 
 
 " I have never written er professo on the sub- 
 ject."— Gtai/sdiHe: Xint'tecntit Century, Vov., l.iKi. 
 
 Ex Uno Omnes means from tlie one 
 instance deduced you may infer the 
 nature of the rest. A general infer- 
 ence from a particular example. If 
 one oak-tree bears acorns, all other oak- 
 trees will grow similar fruit. 
 
 Exaltation. In old astrology, a 
 planet was said to be in its " exaltation " 
 when it was in that sign of the zodiac 
 in which it was supi^osed to exercise its 
 strongest influence. Thus the exaltation 
 of Venus is in Pisces, and her " dejec- 
 tion " in Virgo. 
 " Anil thus, God wot, Iferc'ry' is des(date' 
 In risces, wher Venus' is exaltate'." 
 
 Vluutcer: Canterbury Tales, <i;i»'^. 
 
 In chemistry, the refining or subtilising 
 of bodies, or of their qualities, virtues, 
 or strength. 
 
 Exaltation of the Cross. A feast 
 held in the Roman Catholic Church, on 
 Seiitember Ittli, to commemorate the 
 restoration of the cross to Calvary in 
 628. It had been carried away by 
 Khosroes tiie Per.sian. 
 
 Examination. Exam en is Latin for 
 the needle indicator of a balance. To 
 examine is to watch the indicator, so as 
 to adjust the bahince. 
 
 Examiners {I'tihlic). .The examiners 
 at the universities, and at the examina- 
 tions for the military, naval, and civil 
 services, etc. 
 
 Excal'ibur {Ex cat [«■] llticr [atiis]). 
 Liberated from tlie stone. The sword 
 which Arthur drew out of the stone, 
 whereby he proved himself to be the 
 king. {See Swoed.) 
 
 " Ko sw(U'd on earth, were it the Excaliliur of 
 Kin!,' Arthur, can cut that which opjioses no 
 steady resist.-ince to the blow."— .Sir ir«/(er .SVeif. 
 
 Ex'cellency {Hh). A title given to 
 colonial and provincial governors, am- 
 bassadors, and the Lord-Lieutenant of 
 Ireland. (Compare Luke i. 3.) 
 
 Excel'sior. Aim at higher tilings 
 still. It is the motto of the Linited 
 States, and has been made jiopular by 
 Longfellow's poem so named. Used also 
 as the synonym of super-excellent.
 
 Exception 
 
 433 
 
 Exeter 
 
 Exception. To take exception. To 
 feel offended ; to fiud fault witli. 
 
 " Her iiianner was so . . . respectful, tliat I 
 cmild not take exception to this reproof."— 
 Farjfon. 
 
 Kxcep'tions prove the Rule. They 
 prove tliere is a rule, or there could be 
 no excejitioDs ; the very fact of excep- 
 tions proves there must be a rule. 
 
 " Exceptio probat rc^'ulaiii."— C'u/«m('Ho. 
 
 Excheq'uer. Cimrt of Exeheqiier. In 
 the subdivision of the court in the reigu 
 of Edward I., the Exchequer acquired a 
 separate and independent position. Its 
 special duty was to order the revenues 
 of the Crown and recover the king's 
 debts. It was denominated Scacca'y'unn, 
 from scaccHiH (a chess-board), and was 
 so called because a chequered cloth was 
 laid ou the table of the court. {Madox : 
 H'lstorji of the Exvlicqiicy.) 
 
 '.' Foss, in his Lircs of the Judges, 
 gives a slightly different explanation. 
 He says: "All round the table was 
 a standing ledge four fingers broad, 
 covered with a cloth bought in the 
 Easter Term, and this cloth was ' black 
 rowed with strekes about a span, like a 
 chess-board. On the spaces of this cloth 
 counters were arranged, marked for 
 chocking computations.' " 
 
 Exci'se (2 syl.) means literally, a 
 coupon, or piece cut off (Latin, cxcl'do). 
 It is a toll or duty levied on articles of 
 home consumption — a slice cut off from 
 these things for the national purse. 
 
 "Taxes on commodities are citlier on jirorlnc- 
 tion witliin the country, or on importation into it, 
 or on conveyance or sale within it ; andare classed 
 respectively as excise, customs, or tolls."— iUiii ; 
 rulitical Ecuiwmy, book v. chap. iii. p. 562. 
 
 Exclu'sion. 7?/// of Exclusion. A 
 bill to exclude the Duke of York from 
 the throne, on account of his being a 
 Papist. Passed by the Commons, but 
 rejected by the Lords, in 1G79 ; revived 
 in 1681. 
 
 ' Excommunica'tion. (\)The greater 
 
 is exclusion of an individual from the 
 seven sacraments, from every legiti- 
 mate act, and from all intercourse with 
 the faithful. ('2) The lesser excommu- 
 nication is sequestration from the ser- 
 vices of the Church only. The first 
 Napoleon was excommunicated by Pope 
 Pius VII. ; and the kings of Italy were 
 placed under an anathema by Pius IX. 
 for adding the Papal dominions to the 
 United Kingdom of Italy. 
 
 " The person excommunicated: Oi-, nrarr, i-nic, 
 commtiiiiii. )»( HN.;, iiei/(ttnr (The I'Crson excom- 
 municated is to i,e b.iycotted by the faithful in 
 06 (convers.itii.n i. .cor (pra.\er), commiinio (com- 
 munion), HI. ii.--'' ( I'^'uvWr- Professor T. P. Gary : 
 Eomish Monil Tli,,,!,,,,;/ (.3rd ed., 186.'). 
 
 28 
 
 Excommunication by Bell, Book, and 
 Candle. (&eCuKSiN(j, etc.) 
 
 Exeomw/inicatioH by the ancient Jews. 
 This was of three sorts— (1) Nid'iii 
 (separation), called in the New Testa- 
 ment "casting out of the synagogue" 
 (John ix. 22) ; (2) Cherem, called by St. 
 Paul "delivering over to Satan" (1 Cor. 
 V. 5) ; (3) Anathema Marana'tha (1 Cor. 
 xvi. 22), delivered over to the Lord, icho 
 is at hand, to take vengeance. TheSad- 
 ducees had an interdict called Tetra- 
 gram'metoii, which was cm-sing the of- 
 fender by jeho'vah, by the Decalogue, 
 by the inferior courts, and with all the 
 curses of the sujierior courts. 
 
 Excru'ciate (4 syl.). To give one 
 as much pain as crucifying him woidd 
 do. (Latin, ex crux, where ex is iu- 
 tensitive.) 
 
 Excuse. " Qui s'excuse, s'aceuse,^' 
 or " 2el s'excuse qui s'aeeu.\e.'' 
 
 Ex'eat (Latin, he mag go out). Per- 
 mission granted by a bishoi> to a priest 
 to leave his diocese. In the universities, 
 it is permission to a student to leave 
 college before end of term. Sometimes 
 Ijermission is granted to leave college 
 after the gates are closed. 
 
 Ex'ecrate (3 syl.). To many Eomau 
 laws this tag was appended, "If any 
 one breaks this law, saeer esto,''^ i.e. let 
 his body, his family, and his goods be 
 consecrated to the gods. When a man 
 was declared sacer, auj'one might kill 
 him with impunity. Anyone who hurt 
 a, tribune was held a sacer to the goddess 
 Ceres. Ex in this word is intensitive. 
 
 "If anyone hurt a tribune in word or deed, ho 
 was held accursed fsncf r], and his Koods were con- 
 fiscated."— iu'i/, iii. 55 ; see also Dioriysius, vi.SJ, 
 and viii. 17. 
 
 Exequatur. An official recognition 
 of a person in the character of consul or 
 commercial agent, authorising hini to 
 exercise his power. The word is Latin, 
 and means, ' ' he may exercise ' ' [the 
 function to which he lias been ap- 
 IDointed] . 
 
 "The Northern ratriotic Leasue (Oporto) h:,^ 
 decided to jietition the (Tovernment to withdraw 
 the Exeiiuattir from the British Consul here." — 
 Eeuter's Tclcyrina, Tuesday, Fel). Uth, ISOO. 
 
 Exercises. Week-day sermons were 
 so called by the Puritans. Hence the 
 title of Morning Exercises, vpeek-day ser- 
 mons preached in the morning. 
 
 Ex'eter. The Euke of Exeter'' s daugh- 
 ter was a sort of rack invented by the
 
 Exeter Controversy 434 
 
 Expose 
 
 Duke of Exeter during the reign of 
 Henry VI. ( Blackstone.) 
 
 " I was the lad that wnuld nut confess one word 
 .... tbouj-'b they threatened to make me Uii!,' 
 the Duke of E.\eter's daughter."— ,S'cwH ; Furluncs 
 0/ yiijcl, .\xv. 
 
 Ex'eter Controversy. A contro- 
 versy raised upon a tract entitled I'ldhi 
 Truth, by the Rev. John Agate, of 
 Exeter, an Episcopalian ; rejjlied to by 
 several dissenting ministers, as Withers, 
 Trosse, Pierce, etc. (1707- 171o.) 
 
 Ex'eter Domesday. A record con- 
 taining a description of Wilts, Dorset, 
 Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall ; pub- 
 lished by Sir Henry Ellis (iu 1816) as a 
 Supplement to the Great Doraesday- 
 Book {q.v.). Called " Exon," either 
 because it was at one time kejjt among 
 the muniments of the Dean and Chapter 
 of Exeter, or because the Bishop of 
 Exeter was commissioned to make the 
 survey. 
 
 Exhibition. Mij son fia.': r/ot an r.r- 
 hibitioii at Oxford. An allowance of 
 meat and drink ; a benefaction for main- 
 tenance. (Latin, cxhihitio, an allow- 
 ance of food and other necessaries, 
 " aUiiwiiiis cxhiberc aliqiicm.'''') 
 
 "Tliey have founded six exhiliitions of fl.i 
 each iier annum, to continue for two years and a 
 half ."— ru.H/cir .- Ilistonj of the Universily of 1) ablin, 
 chap. V. p. 1118. 
 
 " I crave fit disposition for my wife, 
 Due reference of place, and exhibition." 
 
 /iltiUccspeare : Othello, i. ". 
 
 Exhibition (The Great) was held iu 
 Hyde Park, London, and lasted from 
 May 1 to October 15, 1851. 
 
 Exies or Axes. ' Hysterics ; ague 
 fits ; any paroxj-sm. 
 
 " Jenny Kitherout has taeii the exies, and done 
 naethins hut laugh and greet . . . for twa days 
 successively."— i'i'r W. Scott : The Aiitiquanj, chap. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Exile. The XeapoUtan Exile. Baron 
 Poe'rio. One of the kings of Naples 
 promised the people a constitution, but 
 broke his word ; whereupon a revolu- 
 tion broke out, and the baron, with 
 many others, was imprisoned for many 
 years in a dreadful dungeon near Naples. 
 He was at length liberated and exiled to 
 America, but compelled the captain to 
 steer for Ireland, and landed at Cork, 
 where he was well received. 
 
 Exit (Latin, he goes out). A theatri- 
 cal term placed at the point when an 
 actor is to leave the stage. We also say 
 of an actor, Exit So-and-so — that is. So- 
 and-so leaves the stage at this point of 
 the drama. 
 
 He made his cvit. He left, or died: 
 as, "He made his exit of this life in 
 peace with all the world." Except iu 
 the drama, we say, "made or makes his 
 exit." {See above.) 
 
 ". All the world's a stage, 
 And all the men and women merely players ; 
 They have their exits and their entrances." 
 iShalcuspcure : As You Like It, ii. 7. 
 
 Ex'odus. The Exodus of Israel. The 
 departure of the Israelites from Egypt 
 under the guidance of Moses. We now 
 speak of the Exodus of Ireland— i.e. the 
 departure of the Iri.sh in large numbers 
 for America ; the Exodus of the Aea'- 
 dians — i.e. the expulsion of" these colo- 
 nists from Nova Scotia iu the reign of 
 George II. ; etc. (Greek, ex cdos, a 
 journej' out.) 
 
 Ex' on, Exon of the Gnards. Any one 
 of the three certain officers of the day 
 in command of the yeomen of the royal 
 guard ; the acting officer who resides at 
 the court ; an exempt. Capitaines e.r- 
 i/npts des ffardes dn corps. (French, 
 cxoine, ex soin, exempt from duty or 
 care.) 
 
 Exor'bitant means literally out of 
 the rut (Liitin, ex or'bita, out of the 
 wheel-rut) ; out of the track; extrava- 
 gant {extra-ragant). 
 
 Exoteric. {See Esoteeic.) 
 
 Expectation Week. Between the 
 Ascension and Whit Sunday, when the 
 apostles continued praj'ing"in earnest 
 expectation of the Comforter." 
 
 Experimental Philosophy. Science 
 founded on exjierimeuts or data, in 
 contradistinction to moral and mathe- 
 matical sciences. Experimental pliilo- 
 sophj'' is also called natural p}nlosuphij, 
 and by the French phi/sies. 
 
 Experimen turn Cru'cis (Latin) . A 
 decisive experiment. {See Ceucial.) 
 
 Expcrto Crede. Believe one who 
 has had exjierience iu the matter. 
 
 Explo'sion means literallj', driven 
 out by clapping the hands (latin, e.v- 
 plo'do — i.e. ex-plaudo) ; hence the noise 
 made by clapping the hands, a rejjort 
 made by iguited gunpowder, etc. 
 
 Exponent. One who exj^lains or 
 sets forth the views of another. Thus, 
 a clergyman should be the exponent 
 of the Bible and Thirty-nine Ai'ticles. 
 (Latin, ex pono, to exjiose or set forth.) 
 
 Expose (French). An exposing of 
 something Avhich should have been kept 
 out of sight. Thus we sav a man made
 
 Express Train 
 
 43S 
 
 Eye -sore 
 
 a dreadful expose — i.e. told or did some- 
 thing which should have been kept con- 
 cealed. 
 
 Express Train. A fast train between 
 two large towns, with few or no stoji- 
 pages at iutcnnediate stations. 
 
 Expressed Oils are those which 
 are obtained by pressiu-e. Unlike animal 
 and essential oils, they are pressed out 
 of the bodies which contain them. 
 
 Expression. A f/cographical exprcs- 
 sidii. A tenn applied to a tract of 
 country with no recognised nationality. 
 
 "Tbis teiTitory is to a very great extent dc- 
 ciipied by one race . . . and yet to the present 
 day (Tcrmany is little more than a geographical 
 expression."— Z)«(7y Telegraph tbeforc 1»71). 
 
 Ex'quisite (3 syl.). One sought out; 
 a coxcomb, a dandy, one who thinks 
 himself sui^erlatively well dressed, and 
 of most unexceptionable deportment. 
 
 ■' ExMuisitcs art" mit of place in the pulpit; 
 they shonUI be s;'t np in a tailor's window."— 
 Spurijiuii : Lectures tu my Students. (Lecture viii.) 
 
 Exten'sive (.3 syl.). Rather exten- 
 sive, that, itather fast. A slang syno- 
 nym for a swell. 
 
 Exter. ThaCs Exter, as the old ivoman 
 said H'lien she saw Kerton. This is a 
 Devonshire saying, meaning, I thought 
 my work was done, but I find much still 
 remains before it is completed. "Exter" 
 is the poj)ular pronunciation of Exeter, 
 and "Kerton" is Crediton. The tradi- 
 tion is that the woman in question was 
 going for the first time to Exeter, and 
 seeiug the grand old church of Kerton 
 (Crediton), sujiposed it to be Exeter Ca- 
 thedral. "That's Exter," she said, 
 "and my journey is over;" but alas! 
 she had still eight miles to walk before 
 she reached her destination. 
 
 Extinct Species [since the time of 
 man]. The dodo, great auk, quagga, 
 sea-cow, and white rhinoceros. 
 
 Getting very rare : the bison, the 
 Carolina paraket, the giraffe, and tlie 
 passenger j)!geon once common enough. 
 
 Extravagantes Constitutio'nes, or 
 
 Extrai'ae/aitts. The papal constitutions 
 of John XXII., antl some few of his 
 successors, supplemental to the ' ' Corpus 
 Juris Canou'ici." So called because they 
 were not ranged in order with the other 
 papal constitutions, but were left " out- 
 wanderers " from the geueral code. 
 
 Extreme Unction. One of the seven 
 sacraments of tlie Catholic Church, 
 founded on St. James v. 14, "Is any 
 sick among youi' let him call for the 
 
 elders of the Church ; and let them pray 
 over him. anointing him with oil in the 
 name of the Lord." 
 
 Extremes Meet. In French : ' ' Lcs 
 
 extremes se toachciit.''' 
 
 Eictricate. Latin, ex, out of, and 
 
 tricee, fetters. "TricEe" are the haii-s, 
 etc., tied round the feet of birds to 
 prevent their wandering. To extricate 
 is to " get out of these tricce or meshes." 
 
 Exult' (Latin). To leap out. Thus 
 we say, "I am ready to leap out of my 
 skin ; " to jump for joy. 
 
 Eye. Latin, oe'«/«s; Italian, occhio ; 
 Spanish, ojo : Eussian, oico ; Dutch, oof/ ; 
 Saxon, ed(je (where y is pronoimced like 
 y) ; French, ceil. 
 
 In mil mnurs eye. In my perceptive 
 thought. The eye sees in two ways: 
 (1) from without; and (2) from within. 
 When we look at anything without, the 
 object is reflected on the retina as on a 
 mirror ; but in deej) contemplation tlie 
 inward thought "informs the eye." It 
 was thus Macbeth saw the dagger ; and 
 Hamlet tells Horatio that he saw his 
 deceased father " in liis mind's eye." 
 
 In the wiiuVs eye. Directly opposed 
 to the wind. 
 
 In the twin/cliny of an eye. Immedi- 
 ately, very soon. ^'Au moindre elin 
 d'ail.'^ Similar phrases are: "In a 
 brace of shakes," " In the twinkling of 
 a bed-i)ost." (<S'w Bed-post.) 
 
 My eye I or Oh, my eye '. an exclama- 
 tion of astonishment. [See All my Eye.) 
 
 On- mi(jht see that with half an eye. 
 Easily ; at a mere glance. 
 
 2'he kiinfs eyes. His chief officers. 
 An Eastern expression. 
 " One of the seven 
 Who in God"s presence, nearest to the throne 
 Stand ready at command, and are his eyes 
 That run thro" all the heavens, or down to earth 
 Bear his swift errands." 
 
 Milton : Paradise Lost, iii. 6.5-'. 
 
 To have an eye on. To keep strict 
 watch on the person or thing referred to. 
 
 To have an eye to the main chance. To 
 keep constantly in view the profit to 
 arise ; to act from motives of policj-. 
 {See Main Chance.) 
 
 To see eye to eye. To be of precisely 
 the same opinion ; to think both alike. 
 
 Eye - service. Superficial service. 
 ^•Service qu'on rend sous les yeux dn 
 maitre." 
 
 "Servants, be obedient to them that are your 
 masters . . . . ; not with eye-service, as men 
 pleasers ; but as tlie servants of Christ."— Eph. 
 vi. 5, 6. 
 
 Eye-sore. Something that is offen- 
 sive to the sight. Sore is the Anglo-Saxon
 
 Eye-teeth 
 
 436 
 
 ff 
 
 mr (painful) oi" siC(cr (grievous). It is 
 
 jjaiiif ul or grievous to the eye. 
 
 " Jlordeciii was an eye-sore to Hainan."— iJ'A'.s- 
 traiiijc. 
 
 Eye-teeth. The cauine teeth are so 
 called because their fangs extend up- 
 wards nearly to the orbits of the eyes. 
 
 To draw c/«('s eye- teeth. To take the 
 conceit out of a person ; to fleece one 
 without mercy ; to make one suffer loss 
 without seeing the manoeuvre by which 
 it was effected. 
 
 " I guess these Yanks will get tlicir eye-teeth 
 drawn if they don't look sharii."— IK. Bepicorth 
 Dixon: New America, vol. i. 
 
 Eye of a Needle. Lady Duff Gor- 
 don, writing from Cairo, says: "Yes- 
 terday I saw a camel go through the 
 eye of a needle — i.e. a low arched door 
 of an enclosure. He must kneel and 
 bow his head to go through, and thus 
 the rich man must humble himself" 
 {Wood: Bible Animals, p. 243). Lord 
 Nugent, in his I'ravels, informs us that 
 when at Hebron he was directed to go 
 out by the Needle's Eye, or small gate 
 of the city. 
 
 Eye of Greece {The). Athens. 
 
 " Athens, the eye of (ircei'o, niutlicr of arts." 
 .Hilton: Pa nulls, Iliu'diud, Ijook iv. :;lo. 
 
 Eye of the Baltic (The). Gottlaud, 
 in the Baltic. 
 
 Eye of the Storm. An opening 
 between the storm clouds. {iSce Bull's 
 Eye.) 
 
 Eyes. 
 
 2'he Almond Eyes. The Chinese. 
 
 " He will not receive a very warm welcome 
 from the Almond Kyes."— f. ililidi- : Uii the Central 
 .Saints' nest (l8'.il). 
 
 Eyes to the blind. A staff. So called 
 in allusion to the staff' given to Tire'sias 
 by Athe'ua, to servo liim for the eyes 
 of which she had deprived him. (Sec 
 
 TiEESIAS.) 
 
 To east sheep^s eyes at one. To look 
 askant with shjiiess or diffidence. 
 
 To make eyes at one. To look wan- 
 tonly at a person ; to look lovingly at 
 another. 
 
 2o rent the eyes with paint {5 &x.\\. 30). 
 The ladies of the East tinge the edge of 
 their eyelids with the powder of lead- 
 ore. They dip into the powder a small 
 wooden bodkin, which they draw' 7/iro«y/i 
 the eyelids over the ball of the eye." 
 Jezebel is said "to have adjusted her 
 eyes with kohol" (a powder of lead- 
 ore), '2 Kings ix. 30. N.B.— The word 
 " face " in our translation should in both 
 these cases be rendered " eyes." {Shaw : 
 Travch.) 
 
 Your eyes are biyyer than your stomaeh. 
 You fancied you could eat more, but 
 found your appetite satisfied with less 
 than you expected. "Oculi plus devora- 
 bant quam capit venter." 
 
 Eyed. 
 
 One-eyed people. {See Arimasi'IAN.s, 
 Cyclops.) 
 
 Eyre. Justiees in Eyre. A corrup- 
 tion of "Justices in itin'ere." At fiist 
 they made the circiut of the kingdom 
 every seven years, but Magna Charta 
 provided that it should be done annu- 
 ally. 
 
 Eyre {Jane). The heroine of Char- 
 lotte Bronte's novel so called. Jane 
 Eyre is a governess, who stoutly copes 
 with adverse circumstances, and ulti- 
 mately wins the love of a man of for- 
 tune. ('Eyre' iirouounce air.) 
 
 Ezour Ve'da or Yaji'ir Veda. Tlie 
 second of the sacred books of the Hindds. 
 The four are : — 
 
 (1) The Eig Veda (prayers and hymns 
 in verse) ; 
 
 (2) The Ezour Veda (prayers in 
 prose) ; 
 
 (3) The <S'ff;Hri'^(prayerstobo clianted) ; 
 and 
 
 (4) The Atharran Veda (formulas of 
 consecration, imprecation, expiation, 
 etc.). 
 
 Ezzelin (3 syl.). Sir Ezzelin recog- 
 nised count Lara at the table of Lord 
 Otho, and charged him with being Con- 
 rad the corsair. A duel was arranged, 
 and EzzeUii was never heard of more. 
 A serf used to tell how one evening he 
 saw a horseman cast a dead body into 
 the river which divided tlie lands of 
 Otho and Lara, and that there was a 
 star of knighthood on the breast of the 
 dead bodj'. {Byron : Lara.) {See 
 
 CONEAD.) 
 
 F. F is written on h is face. " Rogue " 
 is wi-itten on his face. The letter F used 
 to be branded near the nose, ou the left 
 cheek of felons, on their being admitted 
 to "benefit of clergy." The same was 
 used for brawling in church. The custom 
 was not abolished by law till 1822. 
 
 F Sharp. A flea. The inui is F, 
 the initial letter, and sharp because tlie 
 bite is acute. (<SVt' B Flats.) 
 
 S. A corrupt way of making a capital 
 ff in Old English, and used as low down
 
 F.E.E.T. 
 
 437 
 
 Fabricius 
 
 as 1750 ; as fFrance for France, ffan-ing- 
 tou for Farriugtou, etc. 
 
 F. E. B. T. Tlie letters of the Sar- 
 dinian motto. 
 
 Either Fortltu'do Iljiis Rhochou Toi'idt, 
 in allusion to the succour rendered to 
 Rhodes by the house of Savoy, 1310 ; 
 
 Or, FceiKre et lleVif/ione Ihiemur, on 
 the gold doubloon of Victor Amadeus I. ; 
 
 Or, Furtitu'do Ejus Jtempublicam Tenet. 
 
 F. O. B. Free on board ; meaning 
 tliat the shiijper, from the time of ship- 
 ment, is free from all risk. 
 
 F's. The three fs. Fixed tenure. Fair 
 rent, Free sale. The platform of the 
 Irish League in 1880. 
 
 Fa' (Scotch). To get ; to get a share 
 of ; to lay a claim to. 
 
 " Wlii'i-c is till' l;iii'(l or lielted knight 
 Tliiit l.i'st lU'serves to fa' tbat ?" 
 Jliiniti : ]Vliiim Will Yc Send, stanza i. 
 
 Fabian Society. An association of 
 socialists. 
 
 " The Fabian Society aims at tho n'nra:anis:itlon 
 of society liy the eni'ancipiuinn of lainL ami iii- 
 diistdal capital from individual and class owiier- 
 sliip : and the vestinir of them in the coimnunity 
 for the general l)eneflt."— //. G. Wilshire : Fabian 
 £ssays on Socialism, June, 1891, p. 91. 
 
 V The name of the society is derived 
 from Quintus Fabius, the Roman general, 
 ■who won his way against Hannibal by 
 wariness, not by violence, by caution, 
 not by defiance. 
 
 "Fal)ian tactics lie in stealing inches, not in 
 grasping leagues." — Liberty Review, May I'Jth, 
 lsy4, p. 395, col. 1. 
 
 Fabian Soldiers. A complimentary 
 phrase for Roman soldiers, the bravest 
 of the brave. 
 
 " (Juem [liand of trained soldiers] quideni sic 
 onini disciplina militari [IphicrStes] erudivit, ut 
 quemadniiS lum tjuondani ' Fabiani milltes' Ro- 
 man! appellali sunt, sic ' Iphicratenses" apnd 
 Griecos in suninia laude f ufirint."— A'e^jos ; Jplii- 
 crates, ii. 
 
 Fa'bian Tactics or Folici/ — i.e. de- 
 lay. " Win like Fabius, by delay." 
 The Roman general Fabius wearied out 
 Hannibal by marches, counter-marches, 
 ambuscades, and skirmishes, without ever 
 coming to an open engagement. Fabius 
 died B.C. 203. 
 
 " Met liy the Fabian tactics, which proved fatal 
 tolls predecessor."— T/ic 'J'itius. 
 
 Fabianism. The system called Col- 
 lectivism. (See COLLECTIVISTS.) 
 
 "It must be evident that the Faliiau Society 
 has a really gigantic task l.eforeit, the diflicul ties 
 of which will not be lightened when the working 
 classes come to understand that small ownership 
 .... and small savings .... are just as strongly 
 condemned l)y Collectivists as large estates and 
 colossal turtunei."—Xinetcentli Century (Xoveui- 
 ber, 1.S91', p. (i>^6). 
 
 Fab'ila's sad Fate. The king Don 
 Fab'ila was a man of very obstinate 
 
 purpose and fond of the chase. One day 
 he encounteretl a boar, and commanded 
 those who rode witli him to remain quiet 
 and not interfere ; but the boar overthrew 
 him and killed him. {Chromea Antiqua 
 de Espanci, p. 121.) 
 
 Fa'bius. The American Fabius. 
 Wasliington (1732-1799), whose military 
 policy was similar to that of Fabius. 
 He wearied out the English troops by 
 harassing them, without coming to a 
 pitched battle. Duguesclin pursued the 
 same policy in France, by the advice of 
 Charles V. , whereby all the conquests of 
 Edward and the Black Prince were re- 
 trieved. 
 
 Fa'dins of the French. Anne, Due de 
 Montmorency, grand constableof France ; 
 so called from his success in almost an- 
 nihilating the imperial anny which had 
 invaded Provence, by laying the country 
 waste and prolonging the campaign. 
 (U93-1567.) 
 
 Fables. The most famous writers of 
 fables are — 
 
 Pilpay, among the Ilindiis. 
 
 Lokmau, among the ^'/;v<fc. 
 
 iEsop and Babrios, among the Greeks. 
 
 Phajclius and Ai'ia'nus, among the 
 lioiiiai/s. 
 
 Faerne, Abste'mius, and Casti, among 
 the Italians. The last wrote The Talk- 
 ing Animals. 
 
 La Fontaine and Florian, among the 
 Froich. 
 
 John Gay and Edward Moore, among 
 our owTi countrymen. The former is 
 sometimes called " The English iEsop." 
 
 Lessing and Pfeffel, among the Ger- 
 mans. 
 
 Krilof , among the liiissians. 
 
 {See iEsop.) 
 
 Fabliaux. The metrical fables of 
 the Trouveres, or early poets north of 
 the Loire, in the twelfth and thirteenth 
 centuries. The word fable, in this case, 
 is used very widely, for it includes not 
 only such tales as liei/nard the Fox, but 
 all sorts of familiar incidents of knavery 
 and intrigue, all sorts of legends and 
 family traditions. The fabliau of Ah- 
 eassin and Xicolcttc is full of interesting 
 incidents, and contains much true pathos 
 and beautiful poetry. 
 
 Fabricius. A Roman hero, repre- 
 sentative of inflexible purity and 
 honesty. The ancient writers love to 
 tell of the frugal way in which he lived 
 on his hereditary fann ; how he refused 
 the rich presents offered him by the 
 Samnite ambassadors ; and how at death
 
 Fabulinus 
 
 43S 
 
 Paction 
 
 lie left no portion for his daughters, 
 Avliom tlie senate provided for. 
 
 " Falirifiiis, pcornfr of all-ci>ni|iieriii,!,' ^'olil." 
 'J'liiiiitsoii : Sfusons (Wilder). 
 
 Fabuli'nus. The god vrlio taught 
 Roman eliiklren to utter their first word. 
 It was the god Vagitan-us ('/.r.) wlio 
 tauglit them to utter their first cry. 
 From^(/)v', to sj^eak (Varro). 
 
 Fabulous Isles. (&r??«r?<')- Islands.) 
 
 Face. (Latin, f tides. ) 
 
 yl brazen face. A bold, defiant look. 
 A /irazeii -faced pcr,so!i means one witli 
 an impudent, audacious look, especially 
 in a bad cause. Brass metaphorically is 
 generally used in a bad or deprecatory 
 sense, as "You have plenty of brass" 
 [impudence], "I admire your brass." 
 
 A rebec face (French, visage de rebec). 
 An ugly, grotesque face, like that which 
 used to be cut on the upper part of a 
 rebec or three-sti'inged fiddle. 
 
 " Dead is tbe nol)Ie Badebec, 
 Who liart a face like a rebec." 
 
 JliiOelais : Puntaijrucl, book ii. ■). 
 
 V Badehec was the mother of Gar- 
 gantua, and died in childbirth. 
 
 A trri/faee. The features drawn awrj-, 
 expressive of distaste. 
 
 To draw a lone/ face. To look dis- 
 satisfied or sorrowful, in which case the 
 mouth is di'awn down at the corners, 
 the ej-es are dejected, and the face elon- 
 gated. 
 
 " Of course, it is all right ; if you had not drawn 
 such a long face I should never have doubted."— 
 l>r. Cupid. 
 
 To fiij ill f lie face of To oppose 
 
 violently and unreasonably: to set at 
 defiance rashly. 
 
 To put a good face on the matter. To 
 make the best of a bad matter; to 
 bear up under something disagreeable ; 
 " raltn malam dis.iiiiia/drc ; ^' ^' in ad- 
 fcrsis ralfuin secundcv fortunfc gerere.^' 
 
 To set one'' s face against [something]. 
 To oppose it; to resist its being done. 
 The expression of the face shows the 
 state of the inclination of a person's 
 mind. 
 
 Face to Face. In the immediate 
 presence of each other ; two or more 
 persons facing each other. To accuse 
 another " face to face " means not 
 "behind his back" or in his absence, 
 but while i^resent. 
 
 Faces. 
 
 To keep tu-o faces under one hood. To 
 be double-faced ; to pretend to be 
 very religious, and yet live an evil life. 
 
 "Whenever iri.nlileil llie Cbnrch . . . We knew 
 we were doinLr wbar \vi' ouu'lit not to do, and 
 sconieil to look iiimis, and keep two faces under 
 one \\<mi\."—Buldnii-iHiii: Huhbcry Vndcr Arms, 
 chap. ii. 
 
 To wake faces. To make grimaces 
 with the face. 
 
 Face. To face it out. To persist in 
 an assertion which is not true. To main- 
 tain without changing colour or liangiug 
 down the head. 
 
 To face doirn. To withstand with 
 boldness and effronterj'. 
 
 Faced. With a facing, lining of the 
 cuifs, etc. ; also the preterite of the verb 
 " to face." 
 
 Faced. 
 
 Bare-faced. Impudence unconcealed. 
 A " bare-faced lie " is a lie told shame- 
 lessly and without prevarication. 
 
 <57/ ame -faced. Having shame expressed 
 in the face. 
 
 Faced u-ith [sil/:, etc.]. An inferior 
 article bearing the surface of a superior 
 one, as when cotton-velvet has a silk 
 surface; the "facings" (as the lining 
 of coat-cuff.s, etc.) made of silk, etc. 
 
 Face-card or Faced-card. A coiu't 
 card, a card with a face on it. 
 
 Facile Princeps. 
 
 admittedly first. 
 
 "But the farilij princeps of all pvpsolou'ists is 
 PiMffssor i'.ut, of Halle."— Wi(i;«(/('r»'« Cyclo- 
 pwdid. 
 
 Facings. To pat one ihroagh his 
 facings. To examine ; to ascertain if 
 wdiat appears on the siu-face is sujDerficial 
 only. 
 
 "The Greek books were apaiii had out, and 
 Grace .... was init through her facings. '— .4. 
 
 Trollope. 
 
 Fagon de Parler. Idiomatic or 
 usual form of speech, not meant to be 
 offensive. I once told a waiter in 
 Norway that the meat he brought me 
 for breakfast was not sufticicntly cooked, 
 and he bluntly told me it was not true 
 {(let er ikke sandt), but he did not intend 
 to be rude. It was the Norwegian 
 ^'■fai^oii de parler.''^ 
 
 Fac'tion. The Romans divided the 
 combatants in the circus into classes, 
 called factions, each class being distin- 
 guished by its special colour, like the 
 crews of a boat-race. The four original 
 factions were the leek-green (pras'tna), 
 the sea-blue (ren'eta), the white (alba), 
 and the rose-red (ros'ea). Two other 
 factions were added by Domitian, the 
 colours being golden-yellow (aara'ta) and 
 purple. As these combatants strove 
 against each other, and entertained a 
 
 By far the best ;
 
 Factor 
 
 439 
 
 Fag 
 
 strong esprit de corps, the word, was 
 easily aiiplied to political partisans. 
 
 V lu the faction riots of Constanti- 
 nople, A.D. 532, above 30,000 persons 
 were killed. (Latin, _/ffC^/o. ) 
 
 Fac'tor. An agent ; a substitute in 
 mercantile affairs ; a commission mer- 
 chant. {La.tin,fiicio, to do, whence the 
 French factciir, one who does something 
 for an employer.) 
 
 " Asleep and niikeil as an Inilian lay, 
 An liiinest f:iitur j;tiilea :.-eni a\va>." 
 
 J\>lie : Mdiiil lis.tii !;.■<, Kp. iii.3GI. 
 
 Thomas Pitt, ancestor of the Earl of 
 Chatham, was appointed by Queen Anne 
 Governor of P^ort St. George, in the 
 East Indies, and in 1702 purchased there, 
 for £20,400, a diamond weigliing 127 
 carats, which he sold to the King of 
 France. This gem is still called the 
 Pitt diamond. Pope insinuates that 
 Pitt stole the diamond. This is not 
 exactly true. He obtained it for a price 
 much below its value, and threatened 
 the thief with exposui'e if he made a 
 fuss about the matter. 
 
 Factotum. One who does for his 
 emploj'er all sorts of services. iSome- 
 times called a Juluin'ncs luictu'dou. Our 
 " Jack-of-all-trades " does not mean a 
 factotum, but one who does odd jobs 
 for anyone who will pay him. (Latin, 
 faccrc tcitinii, to do everything required.) 
 
 Fad (A). A hobby, a temporary 
 fanc}', a whim. A contraction of faddle 
 in " tiddle -faddle." 
 
 " Among the fads that Charley had taken up for 
 a time . . . was that of eollecting old priuts."— 
 i:!Jl/le--<tou : Faith Voctur, chap. iii. 
 
 Fada. A fee or kobold of the south 
 of France, sometimes called "Hada." 
 These house-spirits, of which, strictly 
 speaking, there are but three, bring 
 good luck in their riglit hand and ill 
 lack in their left. 
 
 Faddn,. Mahomet's white mide. 
 
 Fadge (1 syl.). To suit or fit to- 
 gether, as. It wojiH fachjc ; xve cannot 
 Jwlyc together ; he dues not fdd'jc with 
 me. (Anglo-Saxon, fiegcn, to lit to- 
 gether ; \Velsh,_/^(7(/, what tends to unite.) 
 
 '■ llijw will this fadge?" 
 
 Shakespeare : Ta-elflh Mijht, ii. 'J. 
 
 Fadge. A farthing. A coiTupt con- 
 traction of fardingal, i.e. farthingale. 
 {See Chivy.) 
 
 Fa'dha (-Al). Mahomet's silver cui- 
 rass, confiscated from the Jews on their 
 expulsion from Medi'na. 
 
 Fadladeen'. The great Nazir', or 
 chamberlain of Aurungze'be's harem, 
 
 in Lalla Iloohh. The criticism of this 
 self -conceited courtier upon the several 
 tales which make up the romance are 
 very racy and full of humour ; and his 
 crest-fallen conceit when he finds out 
 that the jjoet was the Prince in disguise 
 is well conceived. 
 
 " He wasa jmlge of everything— from the iien- 
 cilling of a Circassian's eyelids to the deepest 
 iliiesticms of science and litemture ; from the 
 mixture of a conserve of rose-leaves to the coni- 
 pusiiion of an epic poem ... all the cooks and 
 IKiets of Delhi stood in awe of him."— '7'. Moure. 
 
 Faerie or Feerie. The land of the 
 fays or faeries. The cliief fay realms 
 are Av'alon, an island sojnewliere in the 
 ocean; O'beron's dominions, situate "in 
 wilderness among the holtis hairy ; " 
 and a realm somewhere in the middle 
 of the earth, where was Pari Banou's 
 palace. 
 
 ■'For learned CoVn [Spenser] lays his pipes to gage, 
 And is to Faery gone a pilgrimage." 
 
 iiriiytun : liclooue, iu. 
 
 Faerie Queene. A metrical romance 
 in six books, by Edmund Spenser (in- 
 complete). It tletails the adventures of 
 various knights, who impersonate dif- 
 ferent virtues, and belong to the court 
 of Gloria'ua, Queen of faerie land. 
 
 The first book contains the legend of 
 the Eed Cross Knight (the .spirit of 
 Cliristi(tnitij), and is by far the best. 
 The chief subject is the victory of Holi- 
 ness over Error. It contains twelve 
 cantos. 
 
 The second book is the legend of Sir 
 Guyou {the (/olden mean), in twelve 
 cantos. 
 
 The third book is the legend of 
 Britomartis {lore leithout tust), in twelve 
 cantos. Britomartis is Diana, or Queen 
 Elizabeth the Britoness. 
 
 The fourth book is the legend of 
 Cambel and Tri'amond {Jidetiti/), in 
 twelve cantos. 
 
 The fifth book is the legend of Ar'te- 
 gal {Justice), in twelve cantos. 
 
 The sixth book is the legend of Sir 
 Cal'idore {courtesij), in twelve cantos. 
 
 There are parts of a seventh book — ; 
 viz. cantos G and 7, and two stanzas oi 
 canto three. The subject is MutabiUtfi . 
 
 The plan of the Faerie Qwenc is bor- 
 rowed from the Orlando Fnrioso, but 
 the creative power of Spenser is more 
 original, and his imagery more striking, 
 than Ai'iosto's. Thomson says of him — 
 
 " [He] like a copious river, poured his song 
 O er all the mazes of enchanted ground." 
 
 The Seasons (Summer), 1S74-3. 
 
 Fag. One who does, and perseveres 
 in doing. In public schools, it means 
 a little boy who waits upon a bigger
 
 Fag-end 
 
 440 
 
 Pair Maid 
 
 one. Probably a coutracted form of 
 factor, /((ctottim ; 'L,a.im,fac-e)e, to do. 
 
 Far/. Servant of Captain Absolute, who 
 apes ins master in all things. {'Sheridan : 
 The Rivals.) 
 
 "Even tlie mendacimis Mr. Fhl,' iissures us, 
 tlimitrli lie never sctuiiIps to tell a lie at liis 
 master's command, .vet it Imrts liis conscience 
 to lie found out."— ,S/y Walter Scott. 
 
 Fag-end (A). The selvedge or coarse 
 end of a piece of cloth. This also is 
 from facia, faclaiii, meaning the part 
 added after the i^iece is finished. The 
 fag-end of a session means the last few 
 da^'s before dissolution. 
 
 Fagged Out. Wearied with hard 
 Work. Fatigued contracted into fa' fed. 
 
 Fa'gin. An infamous Jew, who 
 teaches boys and girls to rob with dex- 
 terity. {iJickcH.s : Oliver I'lcisf.) 
 
 Fagot. A badge worn in median-al 
 times by those wlio had recanted their 
 "heretical" opinions. It was designed 
 to sliow what they merited, but had 
 narrowly escaped. {Sec rAGOTS.) 
 
 // 1/ a f(((/ot.s ct fagots. There are 
 divers sorts of fagots ; every alike is 
 not the same. Ihe expression is in 
 Moliere's Le Mcdecin mal<jre l/ii, where 
 Sganarelle wants to show that his fagots 
 are better than those of other persons ; 
 "Ay, but those fagots are not so good 
 as my fagots." (Welsh, J/'ar/, that 
 which unites ; Anglo-Saxon, fayau, to 
 unite.) 
 
 Hcntirc Us fagots. To be heretical ; to 
 smack of the fagots. In allusion to the 
 custom of burning heretics by surround- 
 ing them with blazing fagpts. 
 
 Fagot Votes. Totes obtained by the 
 nominal transfer of property to a person 
 whose income was not otherwise suffi- 
 cient to qualify him for being a voter. 
 
 The " fagot " was a bundle of property 
 divided into small lots for the purpose 
 stated above. Abolished. 
 
 " The object was to prevent the creation of 
 fa.L'ot votes."— r/ie Timea. 
 
 Fagots. Cakes made of the "intides" 
 of pigs, with thjTne, scraps of pork, 
 sage, ouions, and other herbs, fried 
 together in grease, and eaten with pota- 
 toes. (Greek, phacjo, to eat.) 
 
 Fah'fah. One of the rivers of Para- 
 dise in Mahometan mythology. 
 
 Fa'ids. The second class of Druids. 
 
 Fai'ence(2syl.). Majolica. So called 
 from Faen'za, where, in 1299, it was first 
 manufactured. It is termed majolica 
 because the first specimens the Italians 
 
 saw came from Majorca. In France it 
 now means a fine ware not ec^ual to 
 porcelain. 
 
 Fain'eant. Les liois Faineants (the 
 cipher or puppet kings). Clovis II. and 
 his ten successors were the pujipet kings 
 of the Palace Mayors. Louis V. (last of 
 the Carlovingian dynasty) received the 
 same designation. 
 
 "'My signet you shall couiuiand with all uiy 
 lieari, madam.' said Karl rhilip. ... '1 am, you 
 know, a coniiilete Jimi Fniiiniiit. and never once 
 interfered wtli luv ilnirr iln I'nliiis in her i ro- 
 ceedin,i,'s.'"— ,S(/- Halhr .•<i-oU : It aril nf the I'cal,-, 
 cliaii. .w. 
 
 Faint. Faint heart iu-\r won fair 
 ladij. 
 
 " The hold a way will find or make." 
 
 Ki\Hj : Orplieus and Earydice. 
 " I'aint liarts faire ladies neuer win." (l.V!!).) 
 riiUiioibiiuti Snciiliff Viiblirations (Im:;7, i<. SJ). 
 
 Faint Hearted. Easily discouraged ; 
 afraid to venture. 
 
 Fair ( The). 
 
 Charles IV., Khig of France, k Del 
 (1291, 1322-13'28). 
 
 Philippe IV. of France, le Del (12G8, 
 1285-1314). 
 
 Fair as Ladij Done. A great Chesliire 
 family that has long occujiied a mansion 
 at Utkinton. {Cheshire e.rpression.) 
 
 Fair Geraldinc. {See Gkealdine.) 
 
 Fair llosanwnd. {See Rosamond.) 
 
 To bid fair, as "he bids fair to be a 
 good ..." To give good jnomise of 
 being . . . ; to indicate future success 
 or excellence ; one dv qao bene .yjcrdre 
 licet. 
 
 Fair as a lihj. {See Similes.) 
 
 Fair. (Latin /rr(<<", holidays.) 
 A daij after the fair. Too late for the 
 fun. " Sero ccrpiiint Fhri/f/es." The 
 Phrygians were noted for their obsti- 
 nacy ; hence, Fliri/.v rerberat/is ■nielior. 
 They were thrice conquered : by Her- 
 cules, the Greeks, and the Latins, and 
 were wise " after the events." 
 
 Fair {Sloe). {See Sloe-faie.) 
 
 Fair {Sta(ate). {See Mop.) 
 
 Fair City. Perth ; zo called from 
 the beauty of its situation. 
 
 Fair Game. A worthy subject of 
 banter ; one who exposes himself to 
 ridicule. 
 
 " Bourrienne is fair pame ; but the whole of his 
 statements are not worthless."— TAe Spectator, 
 Feb. l,Hth, l.Stts. 
 
 Fair Maid {The). 
 
 Fair Maid <f Arijoa. Lady Edith 
 Plautagenet, who married David, Prince 
 Koyal of Scotland.
 
 Fair-star 
 
 441 
 
 Fairies 
 
 Fair Maid of Fehruar)/. The snow- 
 drop, which blossoms in Februaiy. 
 
 Fair Maid of Kent. Jean, Countess of 
 Salisbury, wife of the Black Prince, and 
 only daughter of Edniond Plantagenet, 
 Earl of Kent. She had been twice mar- 
 ried ere she gave Iier hand to the prince. 
 
 Fair Jflaid of Xorivaij. Margaret, 
 daughter of Eric II. of Norway, and 
 granddaughter of Alexander III. of 
 Scotland. Being recognised by the 
 states of Scotland as successor to the 
 throne, she set out for her new king- 
 dom, but died on her passage from sea- 
 sickness. (1290.) 
 
 Fair Maid of Perth. Katie Glover, 
 the most beautiful young woman of 
 Perth. Heroine of Scott's novel of the 
 same name. 
 
 Fair-star. The Priiicfss Fair-star, 
 in love with Prince Chery, whom she 
 sets to obtain for her " the dancing 
 water," "the singing apple," and ''the 
 green bird" {q.v.). This tale is bor- 
 rowed from the fairy tales of Straparo'la 
 the Milanese. (1550.) Cherij and F\(ir- 
 s!ar, Inj the Cuuidess d''Aa/no!/. 
 
 Fair Trade. Smuggling. 
 
 " Xeitlicr Dirl; Uiittorairk iiorHiiy (if lii-; sailors, 
 .ill well kiiuwii men in tlii' fail' trade, were au'aiii 
 seen iii"in tliat o-.isi." —Sir ^yalle|■ ,Scutt: Guy 
 Maiiiwriii!/, eliap. x. 
 
 •.• Latierly tlie phrase lias been iiitroduceil into 
 1) ilities til sisrnify reciimicity (if pmtection 
 or free-trade. That is, free-trade to those nations 
 that grant free-trade to us, and vice versa. 
 
 Fair Way. In a fair wai/. On the 
 right tack. The '' fair way " is the projier 
 track through a chaunol. 
 
 Fair and Square. Honestly, justly, 
 with straightforwardness. 
 
 Fair fall you. Good befall you. 
 
 Fair Play is a Jewel. As a jewel 
 is an oruam?ut of beauty and value, 
 so fair play is an honourablii thing and 
 a "jewel in the crowu" of the player. 
 
 Fairies, good and bad. 
 
 AFaF.F.T or Efrf.rt, one of the Jinn trihe, of 
 which there are live. (See Story of the Second 
 Calendiir.) 
 
 App.viUTtox. A cliost. 
 
 AllIEr.. (.Sec AlUEl,.) 
 
 Baxshek or BF.NSHER, an Irish fairy attached 
 to a house. (*c Banshee.) 
 
 Boor.AiiT. (Scotch.) A local holigolilin or 
 sprit. 
 
 Booie or Bofii.E, a liusbeir (Scotch form of 
 bull). (.See BotiiE.) 
 
 BitowxiK. a Sc(it(!h domestic fairy ; the ser- 
 vants' friend if well treated. (.See Browxie.) 
 
 BuPr or Bt^oiiEAR, any imaginary thing that 
 frightens a person. (Welsh, 6ico.) (.See Bun.) 
 
 f'AUi.i) Lad (T/if), the Brownie of Hilton Hall. 
 (.SceCAUi.i) Lad ) 
 
 D.nxx, Jix, or Ciixx (Arabian). (.See Jixx.) 
 
 Uuexde (S syl.), a Spanish house-spirit. (.See 
 
 DUEXDE.I 
 
 DWAUF, a diminutive being, human or super- 
 human. (Anglo-Saxon, dioeorg.) 
 
 D\VRur;ER, DwERoroit, or Dceroau, Gotho- 
 Gennan dwarfs, dwelling in rocks and hills. 
 (Ani,'lo-Saxon.((»-e..)-r/;i.) 
 
 Ei.K (pill. Ei.vKs), fairies of diminutive size, 
 supposed to lie f.iiid of practical jokes. (Anglo- 
 S:l\on, (£■//.) (.Str El.F.) 
 
 EI.I.E-.MA1D (jr Elle-womax, Elt-f.-folk, of 
 Scandinavia. 
 
 Esi'RiT Foi.l.F.T, the house-spirit of France. 
 
 Fairy or Faf.rie (plu. Fairies), a super- 
 natural being, fond of pranks, but generally 
 pleasing. Kicrnian and Freiicli, Ac.) 
 
 Familiar (,4), an evil sjiirit attend:int on 
 witelics, etc. (,S,c Familiar.) 
 
 FA-rA.an Italian fay, or white lady,' 
 
 Fates, the three spirits (t'lotho.LachSsis, and 
 Atrilpos) which preside over the destiny of every 
 individual. ( Latin, /«(((.) 
 
 Fay (phi. Fays), same as Fairy (q.v.). 
 
 Fear Dearo {Tlie), i.e. Red Man. A house- 
 sjiirit of Mnnster. 
 
 UEXii (plu.). The siiLg. genie and gevins. 
 Eistern spirits, whether good or bad, whopres'd • 
 overaman or nation. "He is my evil [or good] 
 genius." (Latin, (/eH/^^^■.) (.See GEXirs.) 
 
 Hhost, the immaterial body or iioumenon of 
 a liuuuin being. Supposed to be free to visit the 
 e.utli at niu'ht-tiuie, liut obliged to return to its 
 Ha('5.;at the llrst dawn. 
 
 (iiioci,, a demon that feeds on the dead. (Per- 
 sian.) 
 
 GxoMK (1 syl.), the guardian of mines, tjuarries 
 etc. (Greek, yvuifxy], a Cabalistic being.) (.See 
 
 GXOMKS.) 
 
 tioHt.ix or HontiOBi.tx, a pliant(mi spirit. 
 (French, goheiin ; German, kobold.) 
 
 (ii)oD Folk (Tiie). The Brownies or liouse- 
 spirils. 
 
 Gi-VRDtAX-AXGEt,, an angelic spirit which pre- 
 sides over the desiiny of each individual. 
 
 Haiuniiia, (|iieeii of the Wliire Ladies. 
 
 Hah (.4), a female fury. .Milton (Coinus U:,') 
 si.eak-iot "lilueiiie.ML-re liai-'S.'- 
 
 Hamadrvaip, a Wdo.i-nv niph. Each treehasits 
 own wood-nyiiipli, « lio ,l.e^ when the tree dies. 
 
 HoiiooiiT.iN. (.--'.. iil,.,i; , CuuLls.) Hob is Robin, 
 as Hodge is Roger. 
 
 HoRXs or HoRXiE, the Devil. (.See Horxie.) 
 
 I SIP, a puny demon or spirit of mischief. (Welsh, 
 
 !»//).) 
 
 .Iack-a-Laxtp.rx, a bog or marsh spirit who 
 deliL.'lils to mislead 
 
 ,liNX or (iiNX. (.SeeJixx.) TheseArabian spirits 
 were formed of "smokeless fire." 
 
 Kei.pie c; syl.). In Scotland, an imaginary 
 spirit of the waters in the form of a horsed (.See 
 Kei.pie.) 
 
 KonoLD, a German household goblin, also fre- 
 (lueuting mines. ((4erman, r.iihnld,) i.s,,- Kduoi.ii.) 
 
 Lam'ia (plu. Lam'i.k), a liai; or demon. Keais's 
 Lamia is a serpent which had assumed the form 
 of a beautiful woman, beloved by a young man, 
 and gets a soul. (Latin, Lniiiin.) ' (.See L.\MIA.) 
 
 Lamies, African spectre;, having the head (jf a 
 woman and tail of a serpent. (.See L.\mif,s.) 
 
 Lar (plu. Lares) (i syl.), Latin household 
 deities. (.See Lares.) 
 
 Leprechaux, a fairy shoemaker. 
 
 Mar, the fanes' midwife. Sometimes incor- 
 rectly called (lueen of the fairies. (Welsh, viab.) 
 
 (.S,e JIAB.) 
 
 -Mandrake. (.See Mandrake.) 
 
 :Mkr.maid, a sea-spirit, the upper part a W(jinan 
 and the lower half a fish. 
 
 .Merrows, lioth male and female, are spirits of 
 the sea, of liiiman sliape from the waist upwards, 
 but from Ilie waist (hiwnwardsaiv likea fish. The 
 females are attr.iiiive. but the males have green 
 teeth, green hair, pi'_''s eyes, and red noses. Fish- 
 eriiieii dread to meet them. 
 
 .MoNAciELLO or Little Moxk, a house-spirit 
 of Naples. 
 
 Xaiad (plu. Naiades [.•? syl.] or Naiads [2syl.]), 
 w.iier-nymphs. (Latin.) (.See Naiads.) 
 
 Xis or Xisse (■_' syl.), a Koliold or Brownie. A 
 Si amliuavian f.airy friendly to farmhouses. (Con- 
 traction of .\iC(di(its.) 
 
 Ni-x (female, Ni.\ie), a \vater-spirit. The n;"j; 
 has green teeth, and wears a green hat ; the ni:cie 
 is very beautiful. 
 
 Obebox, king of the fairies.
 
 Fairies 
 
 442 
 
 Fairy Kings 
 
 OfiRK [pronounce 07">"],an inlialiitant of fairy- 
 land said to fi-rd mi Infant rliiklren. (Frencli.) 
 
 Oresds, niounlain n.vnii>lis. ((Jrock, o?'tis.) 
 
 OUPHE (:; s.\ I.), a fairy or f-'olilin, 
 
 Peri, a Persian fairy. Kvil iieris are called 
 " Deevs." 
 
 Pkj WIDGEON, a fairy of very diminutive 
 size. 
 
 Pixy or Pixie (also jiisgy, pisgie), a Devon- 
 shire fairy, same as Puck. 
 
 PocKE (1 syl.), same as Puck. (.See Poukk.) 
 
 Puck, a merry littl(! fairy sinrit, full of funand 
 harmless mischief. (Icelandic and, S\v'edish,j(!i/i'e.) 
 (See PucK.l 
 
 RoKtx-fiooDFEi.i.ow, another name for Puck.) 
 {See ROBIX . . . .) 
 
 SAT.AMAXnKB, a Spirit which lives in tire. 
 (Latin and Greek, sulamanclra.) (See Sai.a- 
 
 WAXDRA.) 
 
 .Shades, ghosts. 
 
 Spectre, a ghost. ° 
 
 Spook (in Theojophy), an elemental. 
 
 Sprite, a spirit. 
 
 Stromkart., a Norwegian musical spirit, like 
 Neck. (.S'eeSTROMKARi..) 
 
 Syi.ph, a spirit of the air; so named l)y the 
 Rcjsicriuians and Cabalists. (Greek, silphe; 
 French, siil/ildde.) (See Syi.pHS.) 
 
 Triton, a sea deity, who dwells with Father 
 Neptune in a L'oldcn I'lalacr at the l)ott(mi of the 
 sea. 'J'lic clii.'f cnipliiyniciit nf tritons is to blow 
 a concli to siiini.ih 111'- se.a wliiMi it is rutlled. 
 
 Titcii.L. a liill-spir)t. Hence Trolls are called 
 Hill-p '^'I'li'iT llill-fidk.suppiised to lie immensely 
 rich, and especially dislike noise. (.SVc Tiioi.i.s.) 
 
 Un'dine (:; syl.;, a water-nymiih. (Latin, joida.) 
 (.See UXDIXE.) 
 
 Urchin properly means a hedgehog, and is 
 applied to niisriiicv.ms children and small folk 
 genei-allv. i ^f ^ luniiN.) 
 
 Vamcihf, (j ^il I, I Ih' spirit of a dead man that 
 haunts a limisc and sucks the blood of the living. 
 A Hungarian supeisiiti.in. (See Vampire.) 
 
 WERii-Woi-b' (An.i,'lii-.Saxiin, irer-icidf, man- 
 wolf), a human beinu', snniciiincs in one form and 
 sometimes in another. (See WERE-Woi,h'.) 
 
 White Ladie.s oi', Normandy. (See 'VViiite 
 Ladik.s.) 
 
 Whh'e Lady (The) of the royal family of 
 Prussia. A. "spirit" said to appear before the 
 death of one of the family. (See White Lady.) 
 
 White Lady ok Avenel (:! syl.), a tutelary 
 spirit. 
 
 White Lady of Ireland (The), the banshee or 
 domestic spirit of a family. 
 
 White Merle (The), of the old Basiiues. A 
 white fairy bird, which, !>y its singing, restored 
 sight to the blind. 
 
 Wight, any human creature, as a "Highland 
 wight." Dwarfs and all other fairy creatures. 
 
 Wii.L-o'-THE-Wisr, a spirit of the liogs, whose 
 delight is to mislead brlat.'d travi'llers. 
 
 Wraith (Si'i itch), the ghost i>f a person shortly 
 about to die nr just dead, which appears to sur- 
 vivors, siimetiines at a great distance off. (See 
 Wraith, Household Spirit.s.) 
 
 Fairies are the dispossessed spirits 
 which once inhabited human bodies, but 
 are not yet meet to dwell with the 
 ".saints in light." 
 
 " All those airy shapes you now behold 
 Were human bodies once, and clothed with 
 
 earthly mould ; 
 Our souls, not yet prepared for upper light. 
 Till doomsday wander in the shades of night." 
 Drydeii : The t'luicer and the Leaf. 
 
 Fairing (A). A present from a fair. 
 The i//c/ is a patrtmymic = a descendant 
 of, come from, belonging to. 
 
 " Fairings come thus plentifully in." 
 Shalcespeare : Love'a Labour's Lout, v. 2. 
 
 Fair'limb. The sister of Bitelas and 
 daughter of Rukenaw, the ape ; in the 
 tale of Meynard the Fox. 
 
 Fairservicc (A)uhrir). A shrewd 
 Scotch gardener at Osbaldis'tone Hall. 
 {Sir fValter Scott : Hob Roy.) 
 
 Fairy of nursery mythology is the 
 personification of Providence. The good 
 ones are called fairies, elves, elle-folks, 
 and fays ; the evil ones are urchin.«, 
 ouphes, ell-maids, and ell-women. 
 " Fairies, black, grey, green, and white. 
 Yon mocinshine re\ eilers.and shades of night, 
 Y<ni ouphen-beirs of llxed destiny, 
 Attend your otiice." 
 Shakefpeare : Merry 11'/ rc.« nf ^\'it^(lsor, v. 5. 
 
 TIic dress of the fairies. They wear a 
 red conical cap ; a mauf le of green 
 cloth, inlaid with wild flowers ; greeu 
 pantaloons, buttoned with bobs of silk ; 
 and silver shoon. They carry quivers 
 of adder-slough, and bows made of the 
 ribs of a man buried where '' three 
 lairds' lands meet ; " their arrows are 
 made of bog-reed, tipped with white 
 flints, and dipped in the dew of hemlock ; 
 they ride on steeds whose hoofs would 
 not "dash the dew from the cup of a 
 harebell." {Cronulc .) 
 
 " Fairies small, two font tall. 
 
 With caps red on their head." 
 Dod.ileu's Old Plays: Fidnuis 'J'roes, i. .'j. 
 
 Fairy Darts. nint arrow-heads, 
 supposed at one time to have been 
 thrown by fairies in their pranks. 
 
 Fairy Hillocks. Little knolls of 
 grass, like mole-liills. said in the " good 
 old times " to bo the homes of fairies. 
 
 Fairy Ladies or Mrn/e, such as 
 Urganda, the guardian of Amadi'gi ; the 
 fair Oria'iia ; Silva'na, the guardian of 
 Alido'i'O ; Luci'na, the i^rotectress of 
 Alido'ro and his lady-love, the maiden- 
 warrior, Mirinda ; Eufros'ina, the sister 
 of Luci'na ; Argea, the protecti-ess of 
 Floridante ; and Filide'a, sister of Ardea; 
 all in Tasso's Amadi'yi. 
 
 Fairy Land. The land where fairies 
 are supposed to dwell ; dreamland ; a 
 place of great delight and happiness. 
 
 "The fairest of fairy lands— the land of home." 
 Jean Iiir/eloic : The Letter, part i. stanza :-;i. 
 
 Fairy Loaves or Fairy Stones. 
 
 Fo.ssil sea-urchins [echi'iii), .said to be 
 mnde by the fairies. 
 
 Fairy Money. Found monej-. Said 
 to be placed by some good fairy at tlie 
 spot where it was picked up. "Fairy 
 money" is apt to be transformed into 
 leaves. 
 
 Fairy Rings. Circles of rank or 
 withered grass, often seen in lawns, 
 meadows, and grass-plots. Said to be 
 produced by the fairies dancing on the 
 si^ot. In sober truth, these rings are
 
 Fairy Sparks 
 
 443 
 
 Fall 
 
 simply an agt'aric or fungus below the 
 surface, which has seeded in a circular 
 range, as many plants do. Where the 
 ring is hroioi and almost hare, the 
 "spawn" is of a greyish-white colour. 
 The grass dies because the spawn en- 
 velops the roots so as to prevent their 
 absorbing moisture ; but where the grass 
 is rank the "spawn" is dead, and 
 serves as manure to the young grass. 
 
 " Vciu ilenii-inipiiots, tli;it 
 Bv iiionnsliiiie do tlic f-'i'een-soui' ringlets iiialu-, 
 Wliei-ei)f the ewe not liites." 
 
 Sliiikespeare : Tempest, v. 1. 
 
 Fairy Sparks. The phosphoric light 
 from decaying wood, fish, and other 
 substances. Thought at one time to be 
 lights prei^ared for the fairies at tlieir 
 revels. 
 
 Fairy of the Mine. A malevolent 
 being sujiposed to live in mines, busying 
 itself with cutting ore, turning the wind- 
 lass, etc., and yet effecting nothing. {See 
 Gnome.) 
 
 " No goblin, or sw.irt i-.uvy of tlie mine, 
 Hath hurtful power o'er true virginity." 
 Miltoii: Com »s, 4 17-S. 
 
 Fait Accompli (French). A scheme 
 which has been already carried out with 
 success. 
 
 " The subjection of the South is as much n,fiiit 
 nreniiiiili as the declaration of indepenilence 
 itself.''— T/((! Time!:. 
 
 Faith. Brfaidcr of the Faith. {See 
 Defender.) 
 
 Ill flood faith. " Boi/dfde ;^'' ^'deboniie 
 foi ; " with no ulterior motive. 
 
 Faithful, in Btmyan's Fih/rini's Pro- 
 f/ress, is seized at Vanity Fair, burnt to 
 death, and taken to heaven in a chariot 
 of fire. A Puritan used to be called 
 Brother Faithful. The abiding discijiles 
 of any cult are called thefaitlifiiL 
 
 Jacob Faithfal. The hero of Captain 
 Marry at' s novel so called. 
 I Father of the faithful. Abraham 
 (Eom. iv. ;"Gal. iii. 6-9). 
 
 Fakar {DhuT). The scimitar of 
 Mahomet, which fell to his share when 
 the S23oil was divided after the battle of 
 Bekr. This tenn means "The Tren- 
 chant." 
 
 Fake (1 syl.). Fake awai/. Cut 
 away, make off (Latin, fac, do, make). 
 It also means to do — i.e. to cheat or 
 swindle. 
 
 Fa/ce. A single fold of a coiled cable. 
 (Scotch, /ff(^-, a fold ; Swedish, I'ika, to 
 involve; Saxon, fccff an, to unite.) 
 
 Fakenham Ghost. A ballad by 
 Robert Bloomfield, author of 27ie Far- 
 mer's Boy. The ghost was a donkey. 
 
 Fakir' {Indian). A poor man, a 
 mendicant, a religious beggar. The 
 Fakirs are the lowest in the priesthood of 
 Yesidis. They wear coarse black or 
 brown dresses, and a black turban over 
 which a red handkerchief is tied. Fakirs 
 perform all menial oihces connected with 
 burials. They clean the sacred building, 
 trim and light the lamps, and so on. 
 
 Falcon and Falconet. Pieces of 
 light artillery, the names of which are 
 borrowed from hawks. {See Sakee.) 
 
 Falcon Gentle {A). A goshawk. 
 
 Falcon Peregrine or Pel'erin. La 
 
 seeonde lie/i/ie est fa/ico/is que horn apele 
 '■'■ pelerins,'''' par ce (jue nus iie troitre son 
 in ; ains est pris aiitresi coitie en pelerin- 
 af/e, et est mult legiers a vnrrir, et mull 
 cortis, ct vaillans, et de hone maniere. 
 {Tresor de Brunst Latin: Bes Faucons.) 
 
 " A faukoun vereu'rvn tlriii semed soho 
 Of frenide [forei^-n] land." 
 
 Chum-er : t\iiiterlmni r.ids (10,7410. 
 
 Fald-stool. A small desk at which 
 the Litany is sung or said. The place 
 at the south side of the altar at which 
 sovereigns kneel at their coronation. 
 (Barbarovis Latin, falda, a thing which 
 folds or shuts uj).) 
 
 Faldistory. The episcopal seat in a 
 chancel, which used to fold or lift up. 
 
 Falernian, the second best wine in 
 Ital}% was so called by the ancient 
 Romans because it was made of grapes 
 from Faleruus. There were three sorts 
 ^tho rough, the sweet, and the dry. 
 
 Falkland. In Godwin's novel called 
 Calel) 111 Ilia ins. He commits murder, 
 and keeps a narrative of the transaction 
 in an iron chest. Williams, a lad in his 
 employ, opens the chest, and is caught 
 in the act by Falkland. The lad runs 
 away, but is hunted down. This tale, 
 dramatised by Colnian, is entitled 17ie 
 Iron Chest. 
 
 FaMals. Nick-nacks ; ornaments of 
 small value. (Greek, phalara, metal 
 ornaments for horses, etc.) 
 
 " Our prod-child passed in review all her gowns, 
 flchus, tags, bobhijis, laces, silk stockings, and 
 fallals."— 2Viiif/.Tr((!/; Vanity Fair, chap. vl. p. 3,s. 
 
 Fall. In the fall. In the autumn, at 
 the fall of the leaf. {An Anwriean 
 rerival.) 
 " What crowds of patients the town doctor kills, 
 
 Or how, last fall, he raised the weekly bills." 
 Dryden : Juveiml. 
 
 To trij a fall. To wrestle, when each 
 tries to " fall " or throw the other. 
 
 " I am given, sir, .... to understand that your 
 younger brother, Orlando, hath a disposition to 
 come in disguised against me to try a fall."— .4s 
 You Like It, i. 1.
 
 Fall Away 
 
 Ui 
 
 False 
 
 Fall Away (Tu). To lose flesh; to 
 dcgpuerate ; to quit a pai-ty, as "his 
 adherents fell away gradually [one by 
 one], or rapidly." 
 
 Fall Flat {7o). To lie prostrate or 
 protumbeut ; to fail to interest, as "the 
 last act fell flat." 
 
 Fall Foul. 2'u fall foul of one is to 
 make an assault on someone. A sea 
 term. A rope is said to he foul when it 
 is entangled ; and one ship falls foul of 
 another when it runs against her and 
 jn-eveiits her free progress. Hence to 
 run ujj against, to assault. 
 
 Fall From (7>/). To violate, as " to 
 fall from his word ; " to tumble or slip 
 off, as "to fall from a horse;" to 
 abandon or go away from, as ' ' to fall 
 from grace." 
 
 Fall In {To). To take one's place 
 with others; to concur with, as "he 
 fell in with my views" — that is, his 
 views or ideas fell into the lot of my 
 views or ideas. i^Sce Fall Out.) 
 
 Fall Off (To). To detach themselves; 
 to be thrown off [a horse] ; to leave. 
 The Latin drcldo. 
 
 Fall Out {To). To quarrel; to hap- 
 pen. (Latin, acndo.) {See Fall In.) 
 " Three cliildren sliding on the ice 
 Upon a summer's dav : 
 As it fell out they all fell in, 
 The rest they i-an away." 
 
 Parson: Mother Gonne. 
 "See ye fall not out by the way."— Ciouesis .nIv. 
 
 Fall Sick {To). To be unwell. A 
 Latin phrase, "/« morbum incidere.''^ 
 
 Fall Through {To). - To tumble 
 through [an insecure place] ; to fail 
 of being carried out or accomplished. 
 
 Fall to (lu). To begin [eating, fight- 
 ing, etc.]. 
 
 "They s.it down .... and withinit waiting 
 .... fell to like commoners after grace."— 7v«//(;: 
 Arctic luxiibirations, vol. i. chap. x.x.K. p. 419.] 
 
 Fall Under ( To). To incur, as, " to 
 be under the i-eproach of carelessuess ; " 
 to be submitted to, as, " to fall under 
 consideration," a Latinism, " J« deliber- 
 atioucm cadere.^'' 
 
 Fall Upon {To). To attack, as "to 
 fall upon the rear," a Latin phrase, " ulti- 
 ■iiiis incidere ;^^ to throw oneself on, as, 
 "he fell on his sword," '^ maim sua 
 cadere;^^ to happen on, as, "On what 
 day will the games fall ';/ " 
 
 Fall in With {To). To meet acci- 
 dentally ; to come across. This is a 
 Latin phrase, in uliquam casn incidere.^^ 
 
 Fall into a Snare (7o), or " To fall 
 into an ambuscade." To stumble acci- 
 dentally into a snare. This is a Latin 
 phrase, '■' insidias iiiciderr.'''' Similarlj', 
 to fall into disgrace is the Latin ";;j 
 offenxioncm cadere.'" 
 
 Fall of Man ( Tlie). The degeneracy 
 of llie human race in consequence of 
 the "fall" [or disobedience] of Adam, 
 man's federal head. Adam fell, or 
 ceased to stand his ground, under temp- 
 tation. 
 
 Fall of the Drop {The), in thea- 
 trical parlance, means the fall of the 
 drop-curtain at the end of the act or 
 play. 
 
 Fall Out of (To). To tumble or slip 
 from, as, "The weapons fell out of my 
 hands." This is a Latin phrase, '■^ De 
 manibxs meis anna ceciderniif.'" 
 
 Fall Short of {To). To be deficient 
 of a supjjly. This is the Latin e.rcldo, 
 to fail. To fall sliort of the mark is a 
 figure taken from archery, quoits, etc., 
 where the missile falls to the ground 
 before reaching the mark. 
 
 Fall Together by the Ears {To). 
 To fight and scratch each other ; to con- 
 tend in strife. " To fall together by the 
 ears " is " intci- se eertdre ; " but " to set 
 together by the ears" is '■'■ discordiani 
 concitare.'''' 
 
 Fall Upon One's Feet {To). To 
 escape a threatened injury; to light 
 ujion one's feet. 
 
 Falling Bands. Neck-bands which 
 fall on the chest, common in the seven- 
 teenth century. 
 
 Falling Sickness. Epilepsy, in which 
 the patient falls suddenly to the ground. 
 
 " Brutus.— llQ [i.e. Ca'sar] hath the falling-sick- 
 ness. 
 
 CVt.isiits.-No, CiBsar hath it not : but you, and T, 
 And honest Casca.we have the/n/;/»t(7-sickne9s." 
 SliakeKpearc : juliun Cwsar, i. i'. 
 
 Falling Stars are said by Mahome- 
 tans to be firebi-ands flung by good angels 
 against evil spirits when they approach 
 too near the gates of heaven. 
 
 Fallow Land. Land ploughed, but 
 not sowii : so called from its brown or 
 tawny colour. {German, fa/t I, tawnj-; 
 Anglo-Sa.xon, fahi or fealo, pale-red ; 
 hence, fa Hot V deer, red deer.) 
 
 '■ Break up the fallow land."— Jer. iv. 3. 
 
 False {The Sale of). A method of 
 solving certain mathematical questions 
 generally done by equations. Suppose 
 the question is this : " What number is 
 that whose half exceeds its third by 12 ? "
 
 False Ceiling 
 
 44o 
 
 Fanfaronade 
 
 Assume any number you like as the 
 Bupirosed answer— say 96. Then, by the 
 question, 96 -^ 2 = 86 -^ 3 4- 12, or 
 45 = 32 + 12, i.e. 51, but 45 does not 
 equal 54, the latter is 16 too much. 
 
 Well, now state by rule of proportion 
 thus, 16 : 12 : : 96 to the answer, which 
 is 72, the number required. 
 
 False Ceiling. The space between 
 the f;arret-ceiling and the roof. 
 
 Fal'staff. A fat, sensual, boa.stful, 
 and mendacious knight ; full of wit and 
 humour ; he was the boon companion of 
 Henry, Prince of Wales. ( 1 and 2 Hciirij 
 J J'., and Mcrnj Wires of irijidaor.) 
 
 Falutin (Ifif//i). Oratorical bombast ; 
 affected pomposity ; "i'/rfes vein. " (.S'fe 
 
 HlFALUTEN.) 
 
 Xotie of your hiyh falutin airs icith me. 
 None of your swell ways with me. 
 (Dutch, rcrlooten.) 
 
 Famiriar. A cat, dog, raven, or other 
 dumb creature, petted by a "witch," 
 and supposed to be her demon in dis- 
 guise. {See below.) 
 
 Famil'iar Spirits. Spirit slaves. 
 From the hatiu, fdii' /tins (an attendant). 
 
 '■ Away witli liiiii I lie lias a familiar uiuler bis 
 tii]i-jae:'—s:ni!.-ifjic(iic: '2 Jlcin'U I'/., iv. 7. 
 
 Familiarity. Too much familiarity 
 breeds contempt. 
 
 Latin : Nimia familiaritas contempt- 
 um parit. 
 
 Freiicli : La familiarite cngendre le 
 mqiris. 
 
 Italian : La famigUarita fa disprcgi- 
 ameuto. 
 
 "E trilms iiiitiiiiis relms trespossinia' nrluntiir : 
 e vei'itate (uliuiii ; e fauiiliaritate cdiiteinptus ; 
 e felicitate iuviilia."— /'(udocVj (tniiislateil). 
 
 Fam'ilists. Members of the "Family 
 of Love," a fanatical sect founded by 
 David George, of Delft, in 1556. They 
 maintained that all men are of one 
 family, and should love each other as 
 brothers and sisters. Their system is 
 called Familism. 
 
 Family. A person of family. One 
 of aristuuratic birth. The Latin yens. 
 
 "Family ^^■ill take a iierson anywhere."— 
 ^Yal■llct■ : Little Joaiiicy in the li'oWd, chap. iv. 
 
 Fan. I could brain, him with his 
 lad if s fvi (1 Henry IV., ii. 3) — i.e. 
 knock iiis brains out with a fan handle. 
 The ancient fans had long handles, so 
 that ladies used their fans for walking- 
 sticks, and it was by no means unusual 
 for very testy dames to chastise unrulj' 
 
 children bybeatmg them with their fan- 
 sticks. 
 
 " Wer't not better 
 \'Uir heail were broken wiili t lie band |e of a f.m ■'" 
 Bciiiiiiwnt ami Flttcher : Wit lU Sennit U'tifywii.s v. 
 
 Fan-light (A), placed over a door, is 
 a semiciicular window with radiating 
 bars, hke the ribs of an open fan. 
 
 Fanat'ic. Those transported with 
 religious or temple madness. Among 
 the Romans there were certain persons 
 who attended the temples and fell into 
 strange fits, in which they pretended 
 to see sjiectres, and uttered what were 
 tenued predictioiio, (Latin, fu'nuin, a 
 temjile.) 
 
 "That wild energy wbieb leads 
 Tbe enthusiast to fanatic deeds."' 
 
 Uemaiis: Tule of the .Secret Tribunal. 
 
 Fancy. Love— (.e. the passion of 
 the fantasy or imagination. A fancy- 
 man is a man (not your husband) whom 
 you fancy or select for chaperon. 
 " Tell me wbere is fancy bred, 
 Or ill tbe beart or in tbe bead."' 
 aiiakc^peare : Merchant of Veiiiee, iii. 2. 
 
 The fancy. Pugilists. So called because 
 boxing is the chief of sports, and fancy 
 means sports, j)ets, or fancies. Hence 
 "dog-fanciers," "pigeon-fanciers," etc. 
 
 Fancy-free. Not in love. 
 
 " In maiden meditation fancy-free." 
 Shakespeare : Midsummer yiijht'a Dream, ii. 2. 
 
 Fancy Man (A). A cavalier servant 
 or cicisbeo ; one selected by a married 
 lady to escort her to theatres, etc., to 
 ride about with her, and to amuse her. 
 The man she " fancies " or likes. 
 
 Fancy-sick. Love-sick. 
 
 ■' -Ml faiie.v-sick sbe is, and pale of cln-er." 
 Shiil.tsj; «,v ; Miihuiiimer yiylifx Dream, iii. 2. 
 
 Fane'sii. A Scandinavian tribe far 
 nortli, whose ears were so long that they 
 would cover their whole body. (I'li/iy.) 
 
 Fanfar'on. A swaggering bully ; 
 a cowardly boaster who blows his own 
 trumpet. Su- Walter Scott uses the 
 word for finery, especially for the gold 
 chains worn bj' military men, common 
 in Spain amongst the conquerors of the 
 New World. (Spanish, fanfarr'on, a 
 bully ; French, fanfare, a flourish of 
 trumpets, or short piece of military 
 music performed by brass instriunents 
 and kettledi'mns.) 
 
 "' JIarry. bang tbee, witb tliy fanfarona about 
 thy neck: 'said tbe falcuuer."— i'coK ; The Abbot, 
 c.wii. 
 
 Fanfar'onade (4 syl.). Swaggering; 
 vain boasting ; ostentatious display. 
 
 {See above.) 
 
 " The bishop copied this proceeding from tbe 
 fanfaronade of M. Bouftlers."— ;S«"t/(.
 
 Fang 
 
 446 
 
 Farmer George 
 
 Fang. A sheriff's officer in Shake- 
 speare's 2 Jfciiri/ IJ\ 
 
 Fangs. I fiU i»to his fcatgs. luto 
 his power, his clutches. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 faiiij, a grasp.) 
 
 " To seize, 
 
 Traitors, that vico-like fang tbe hand ye lick." 
 
 liailey : Fcstus (A Yilhiije Feast), sec. 9. 
 
 Fangled. A new-fcuiriled notion is 
 one just started or eutertaiued. (Saxon, 
 fc)H/an, to begin.) 
 
 Fanny Fern. A nom de phone of 
 Mrs. Sarah Paj-son Parton, sister of Mr. 
 N. P. Willis, the American poet. (Born 
 1811, died 1872.) 
 
 Fanti'guc (2 syl.). A function; a 
 fussj' anxiety ; that restless, nervous 
 commotion which jiersons have who are 
 jihantom-struck. 
 
 Fantocci'ni [fanio-cJie'nt/]. A dra- 
 matic pei-fonnance by puppets. (Italian, 
 fantoccio, ai:)uppet.)' 
 
 Fantom-corn. The mere ghost of 
 corn, having been bewitched. (French, 
 faniumc, a ghost.) 
 
 Fantom-fellow. A person who is 
 light-headed, and luider the ban of some 
 hobgoblin. {See (tbuve.) 
 
 Fantom-flesh. Flesh that hangs 
 loose and flabby — supposed to be under 
 the evil influence of some spectre. {See 
 ahorc.) 
 
 Far and Away. " Xidltis proxiimis 
 ant svcnndus ; "as, " far and away the 
 best ; " some person or thing bej'ond all 
 comparison or rivalry. 
 
 Far Cry from. It is a far cry from 
 . . . to . . . ; as, it is a far cry from 
 
 Moses to Moses Moutefiore, and from 
 David to Disraeli, but they all were 
 Jews, and had certain features in 
 common. Sir Walter Scott several 
 times uses the phrase " It's a far cry to 
 Lochow [Lochawe]." It is a far cry 
 from O'Connell to Kossuth. 
 
 Far fetched. Not closely connected ; 
 a remote conceit; as, "a far-fetched 
 simile," a "far-fetched allusion." Also, 
 obtained from a foreign or distant 
 country, '• quod raritm est, ccinini e^t.'" 
 
 "The passion for lone, iuvulved sentences . . . 
 and far-fetched conceits . . . passed awa.v, and a 
 clearer and less ornate style became popular."— 
 Leckij : Etifilish in the Eighteenth Century, vol. i. 
 chap. i. p. ill. 
 
 Far Gone. Deeply affected : as, " far 
 gone in love." 
 
 Far Niente (3 syl.). Italian phrase. 
 The Latin otixni. Dolce far niente is the 
 sweet enjoyment of having nothing to 
 do, i.e. of a holiday. {See Dolce.) 
 
 Farce (1 syl.). Stuffing. Dramatic 
 pieces of no solid worth, but stuffed full 
 of ludicrous incidents and expressions. 
 They bear the same analogy to the regu- 
 lar drama as force-meat does to a solid 
 joint. (French, y«r(r; 'Lidm,farcio, to 
 stuff.) 
 
 Farceur {Tin). One wlio writes or 
 acts farces. 
 
 Farcy or Farcin (Latiu, farcinien, a 
 sausage, auy stuffed meat). A disease 
 in horses, which consists of a swelling of 
 the ganglions and lymphatic vessels. It 
 shows itself in little knots ; glanders. 
 
 Fare, meaning the expense of a 
 journey or passage across water, is the 
 Anglo-Saxon fa(re or fai;r, a journey ; 
 verb, faran, to travel. {Archaic, fariat/e, 
 the fare for crossing a ferry.) 
 
 Fare Well {To). Ton cannot fare 
 n-(/l bi(t ijoii must crij out roast meat. 
 Don't blazon your good fortune on the 
 house-top. " Sore.v siio pcrit indicio.''^ 
 Terence has the same idea: '■^ Egomet 
 meo indicio miser, qxasi sorcx, hodie 
 perii.'" {Eitniichus, v. 7, 23.) 
 
 Fari'na. Fjttsdfm fairincc. Other 
 rubbish of the same sort. Literally, 
 " Other loaves of the same batch." Our 
 more usual expressions are, " Others of 
 the same kidney," "others of the same 
 feather," " others tari'ed with the same 
 brush." 
 
 Far'ina'ta or Farinafa Legll TJherti. 
 A nobleman of Florence, chief of the 
 Ghibelline faction, placed by Dante, in 
 his In far no, in a red-hot coffin, the lid 
 of which is suspended over him till the 
 day of judgment. He is rej^reseuted as 
 faithless and an epicure. (Thirteenth 
 century.) 
 
 Farleu or Farley. A duty of Gd. 
 paid to the lord of the manor of West 
 Slapton, in Devonshire. {Baik;/.) Money 
 given by a tenant instead of his best 
 beast (heriot). 
 
 Farm means food ; so called because 
 anciently the tenant was required to jn^o- 
 vide the landlord with food by way of 
 rent. (Anglo-Saxon, faarme, food.) 
 
 Ih fairm taxes is the French aftermcr 
 (to let or lease), iromfrrme, a letting for 
 the supply of food. 
 
 Farmer George. George III. ; so 
 called from his farmer-like manners, 
 taste, dress, and amusements. (1738, 
 1760-1820.) 
 
 " A Ijcttcr farmer iic'^r Iritslicd dew from lawn." 
 By: ■ Vision of Juiiyment.
 
 Farmers 
 
 447 
 
 Fasting 
 
 Farmers. A fai-mer ought to make 
 four reuts iu order to live : one for reut, 
 one for labour, one for stock, and oue 
 for himself. 
 
 Farnese Bull [Far-iia'-zcl. A name 
 given to a colossal group attributed to 
 ApoUo'nius and Tauriscus of Trallcs, iu 
 Asia Minor. They belonged to the 
 Rhodian school, and lived about B.C. 
 300. The group represents Dirce bound 
 to the horns of a bull by Zethus and 
 Amphi'ou, for ill-using their mother. It 
 was restored by Bian'chi in 154(), and 
 placed iu the Farnese 2'alace, in Italy. 
 
 Farnese Hercules [Far-i/a'-zc Hcr- 
 CH-h'c.s] . A name given to Glykon's copy 
 of the famous statue of Lysippos, the 
 Greek sculptor in the time of Alexander 
 the Great. It represents the hero leaning 
 on his club, with one hand on his back, 
 as if he had just got possession of the 
 apple of the Hesijerides. Farne'se is 
 the name of a celebrated family in Italy, 
 which became extinct in 1731. 
 
 " It struck me tliat an ironclad is to a wooden 
 vessel wliat tbc Karnese Hercules is totUe Aiiollo 
 Bclvidere. The Hercules is not without a I'eauty 
 of its own."— T/ie Times (Paris correspondent). 
 
 Faroese (3 syl.). Belonging to the 
 Faroe Islands ; a native of the islands. 
 
 Farra'go. A farrar/o of hohsoisc. 
 A confused heap of nonsense. Farrago 
 is properly a mixture oi/ar (meal) with 
 other ingredients for the use of cattle. 
 
 " Amiuetil was derided . . , for having suffered 
 a, farrago of nonsense to be iialnied off upon Uini 
 liy his Parsi teachers as the works of the sage 
 Zoroaster."— ir/tit)ic(/; Oriental Studies (.A.vesta), 
 chap. vi. p. 184. 
 
 Farringdon Ward (London). The 
 aldeiTuanry, etc., granted by John le 
 Feure to William Farendon, citizen and 
 goldsmith of London, in consideration 
 of twenty marks given beforehand as a 
 gersum to the said John le Feure. 
 (1279.) 
 
 Far'thing. A fourth part. Penny 
 pieces used to be divided into four 
 parts, thus, ^ . One of these quarters 
 was a ft'or- thitnc/ or farthing, and 
 two a halfpenny. (Anglo-Saxon, /co?- 
 thiiny.) 
 
 I chiit care for it a brass farthing. 
 James II. debased all the coinage, and 
 issued, amongst other worthless coins, 
 brass i^ence, halfpence, and farthings. 
 
 '.* The fcortliuufj was the fourth part 
 of other coins. Thus, we read in the 
 Gratjfrlar''s Chronicle : — 
 
 "This yere the kynse made a newe .luyne, as 
 the uobylle, half-uobylle, and ferdyng-uoliylle.' 
 
 Far'thingalc (3 syl.). A sort of 
 crinoline petticoat. The word means a 
 
 " guard for modest j-." (French, vertu- 
 gardc, corrupted into verdingade, and 
 then into farthingale.) 
 
 Faryndon Inn. Serjeants' Inn, 
 Chancery Lane, tised to be so called. 
 
 Fascina'tion means " slain or over- 
 come by the eyes." The allusion is to 
 the ancient notion of bewitching by the 
 power of the eye. (Greek, hankaino, i.e. 
 jjhaSsi ka'iuo, to kill with the eyes. Sec 
 Valpy : Eti/mology of Greek Words, p. 23, 
 col. 1 ; Latin, /«AVi«o.) (6'eeEviL Eye.) 
 "Xone of the affections have been noted to 
 fascinate and bewitch, but love and envy." — 
 llacon. 
 
 Fashion {fash'-un.'] In a fashion or 
 after afublitoii. " In a sort of a way ; " 
 as, "he spoke French in a fashion " (i.e. 
 very badly). ("French of Stratford 
 atte Bowe.") 
 
 Fashion of Speech {A). " J>/fOM de 
 2>ar!er''' (q-v.) ; "^ liatio loejuoidi !^' 
 
 Fast Girl or Young Lady (A) is one 
 
 who talks slang, assiunes the airs of a 
 knowing one, and has no respect for 
 female delicacy and retirement. She is 
 the ajie of the fast j'oung man. 
 
 Fast Man (A) is one who lives a 
 continual round of "pleasure" so fast 
 that he wears himself out. 
 
 Fast and Loose {To play). To run 
 with the hare and hold with the hounds ; 
 to blow both hot and cold ; to say one 
 thing and do another. The allusion is 
 to a cheating game practised at fairs. 
 A belt is folded, and the jjlayer is asked 
 to i>rick it with a skewer, so as to pin it 
 fast to the table ; having so done, the 
 adversary takes the two ends, and tooscs 
 it or draws it away, showing that it has 
 not been jiierced at all. 
 
 " He forced his neck into a noose, 
 To show his play at fast and loose : 
 And when he chanced t'escape, mistook, 
 For art and sulitlety, his luck." 
 
 Butler: Uudibras, in. 2. 
 
 Fasti. "Working daj's ; when, in 
 Rome, the law-courts were open. Holy 
 daj's {dies non), when the law-courts 
 were not open, were, by the Romans, 
 called ne-fasti. 
 
 Fasting. The most ingenious method 
 of fasting I know of is that recorded in 
 the Mappemonde Fapistir^ue, p. 82. A 
 Venetian saint had certain boxes made 
 like mass-books, and these book-boxes 
 were fiUed, some with Malmsey wine, 
 and some with the fleshiest parts of 
 capons and partridges. These were 
 supposed to be books of devotion, and 
 the saint lived long and grew fat on 
 them.
 
 Fastrade 
 
 448 
 
 Father 
 
 Fastra'de (2 syl.). Daughter of the 
 Saxou count Rodolph and Luitgarde the 
 Genua u. One of the nine wives of 
 Charlemagne. 
 
 " Tliusf .-iiiiir soft bells at eventide 
 Itaii'-.' ill tiR' ears of Charleiiiagiie, 
 As, seal I'll hy Fastra'da's side 
 At Iim'flliciiii, iu all Ills pride, 
 He heard tUeir sound with secret pain. 
 Longfellow : Golden Legend^ vi. 
 
 Fat. All the fat is in the fire. The 
 alkision is to tlie process of frying. If 
 the grease is spilt into the fire, the coals 
 smoke and blaze so as- to spoil the food. 
 The proverb signifies that something has 
 been let out inadvertently which will 
 cause a "regular flare up." 
 
 The Fat .•— 
 
 Alfonzo II. of Portugal. (1212-1223.) 
 
 Charles II. of France, Ic Gros. (832, 
 881-888.) 
 
 Louis VI. of France, Ic Gros. (1078, 
 1108-1137.) 
 
 Fat Men. 
 
 Edward Bright, of Essex, weighed 
 44 stone, or (JIG pounds, at death. H 
 was o feet 9 inches high, .5 feet round 
 the chest, and 6 feet 1 1 inches round tlie 
 paunch. He died 17o0, aged thirty. 
 
 Daniel Lambert, born at St. Marga 
 ret's Leicester, weighed 739 pounds. 
 He was 3 yards 4 inches round the waist, 
 1 yard 1 inch round the leg. (1770-1809.) 
 
 Fat as a Porpoise. The skin of the 
 porpoise is nearly an inch thick, and 
 under it is a laj-er of fat somewhat 
 thicker, and yielding oil of the finest 
 qualitj'. 
 
 Fata. Women introduced in medi- 
 fEval romance not milike witches, and 
 inider the sway of Demogorgon. In 
 Orliindo Innanwra'to we meet with the 
 "Fata Morga'na ; " in Bojardo, with 
 the " Fata Silvanella." The" Fates Nera 
 and Bianca, the protectresses of Gui- 
 do'ne and Aquilante ; the "Fata della 
 Fonti," from whom Manricardo obtains 
 the arms of Hector; and "Alci'na," 
 sister of Morga'na, who can-ies off 
 Astolfo. In Tasso we have the three 
 daughters of Morga'na, whose names 
 are Morganetta, Nivetta, and CarviUa ; 
 we have also Dragouti'ua, Monta'na, 
 Argea (called the queen of the Fates), 
 jH-otectress of Floridante), Filidea (sister 
 of Argea), and several others. In the 
 Ado'ne of Mari'ni we have the Fata 
 named " Falsire'na." 
 
 Fa'ta Morga'na. A sort of mirage 
 oi'casioually seen iu the Straits of 
 Messi'na. ivy <(/ is Italian for a " faiiy," 
 and the fairy Morga'na was the sister of 
 Arthur and pupil of Merlin. She lived 
 
 at the bottom of a lake, and dispensed 
 her treasures to whom she liked. She is 
 first introduced in the Orhtndo Iii- 
 namora'to as "Lady Fortune," but sub- 
 sequently assumes her witch -like at- 
 tributes. In Tasso her three daughters 
 are introduced. 
 
 Fatal Gifts. Collar of Arsinoe, col- 
 lar and veil of Eriph'yle, gold of the 
 Nibelungen, gold of Tolosa, necklace of 
 Cadmos, Harmonia's necklace and robe, 
 opal of Alphonso XII., the Trojan horse, 
 the shirt of Nessus, etc. ('SVe these 
 siihjccts. ) 
 
 Fate = something destined or suitable, 
 is not the Latin fatiiiii, but the French 
 fait = share, one's own, that which suits 
 one; as ^^ voila mon fait,''^ that is the 
 man for me. 
 
 " Pinir nioi, ma sieur, a dlt la cadette, j'ainie le 
 solide, je veiix un lioninie rii-be, et le Kms don 
 Blanco sera nion fait."— Le fiuge: Diablclloiteux. 
 
 Fa'tes (1 syl.). The cruel fates. The 
 Greeks and Romans supposed there were 
 three Parcse or Fates, who arbitrarily 
 controlled the birth, events, and death 
 of every man. They are called cruel 
 because they pay no regard to the 
 wishes and requirements of anyone. 
 
 V Tlio three Fates were Clotho (who 
 held the distaff), Lachesis (who spun 
 the thread of life), and Atropos (who 
 cut it off when hfe was ended). 
 
 Fa'ther. A fi'iar in holy orders. (See 
 Brother.) 
 
 A father snclded bi/ his daughter. Eu- 
 phra'sia, the Grecian daughter, so i^re- 
 served the life of Evan'der, her aged 
 father. 
 
 Xantip'i^e so preserved the life of her 
 father Cimo'nos iu jjrison. The guard, 
 marvelling tlie old man held out so long, 
 set a watch and discovered the fact. 
 Byron alludes to these stories in his 
 Childe Harold, 
 
 " Tlicre is a dungeon, in whose dim, drear light 
 What do I gaze ou ? . . . 
 An old man, and a female young and fair, 
 
 Kresli as a nursing mother, iu whose vein 
 The blood is nectar. . . . 
 Here youth otters to old age the food, 
 
 The milk of his own gift :— it is her sire 
 To whom she renders hack thedeht of hlood.... 
 Drink, drink and live, old man ! heaven's realm 
 holds no siicU tide." 
 
 Byron : Childe Harold, iv. st. 1-18, 160. 
 
 Withoat father, tcithoat mother, with- 
 out descent, having neither beginning of 
 dags nor end of life — i.e. Melchisedec 
 (Heb. vii. 3). He was not the son of a 
 priest, either on his father's or mother's 
 side ; his pedigree could not be traced 
 in the priestly line, like that of the 
 ordinary high priests, which can be 
 traced to Aaron ; nor did he serve iu
 
 Father Mathew 
 
 449 
 
 Fatima 
 
 courses like the Levites, who begin aud 
 end their official duties at stated times. 
 
 *.' Jesus was a *' priest after the order 
 of Melchisedec." Neither His reputed 
 father, Joseph, nor His mother, Mary, 
 was of the priestly line. As priest, 
 therefore. He was " without father, 
 without mother," without genealogy. 
 And, like Melchisedec, He is a " piiest 
 for ever." 
 
 He fathers it on me. He imputes it to 
 me ; he says it is my bautliug. 
 
 Father Mathew. {See Mathew.) 
 
 Father Neptune. The ocean. 
 
 Father Norhert. Pierre Parisot, 
 the French missionarj' (1697-1709). 
 
 Father Paul. Pie'tro Sarj)!, father 
 of the order of Servites in Venice, who 
 clianged his Christian name when he 
 assumed the religious habit. (155'2-l(i23.) 
 
 Father Prout. Francis Mahoney, 
 a humorous writer in Fraser''s Maga- 
 zhic and the (ilobe newspaper. (1805- 
 ISOC.) 
 
 Father Thames, or Old Father 
 lliaines. The Thames, so far as it 
 belongs to London. 
 
 " Say, Father Tlianies, for tlnpu bast seen 
 Full iiiiiuy a spritrlitly rare 
 D'SiKirtini.' mi thv niar?,'eMt i-'reen, 
 Tlie iiatlis iif iileasure tracr. ' 
 Gray: Diatant Prospect i if Eton Cii^l'fjc. 
 
 The epithet is not uncommonly ap- 
 plied to other great rivers, especially 
 those on which cities are built. The 
 river is the father of the citj-, or the 
 reason why the site was selected by the 
 first settlers there. 
 
 " O Til)er, Fatbev Tiber, 
 To wiioiii tlie Romans pray." 
 
 ilacaalay : Lay of Iloratias. 
 
 Father Thoughtlul. Nicholas Cat'- 
 iuat, a marshal of France ; so called by 
 his soldiers for his c<nitious and thought- 
 ful policy. (16:37-1712.) 
 
 Father of Waters. The Irawaddj', 
 in Burmah, and the Mississippi, in North 
 America. The Nile is so called bj' Dr. 
 Johnson in his Hasselas. {See Father 
 Thames.) 
 
 Father of his Country. 
 
 Cicero was so entitled by the Roman 
 senate. They offered the same title to 
 Ma'rius, but he refused to accept it. 
 
 Several of the Ctesars were so called — 
 Julius, after quelling the insurrection of 
 Spain ; Augustus, etc. 
 
 Cosmo de' Med'ici (1389-1464). 
 
 G. Washington, the defender and pa- 
 ternal counseller of the American States. 
 (1732-1799.^ 
 
 29 
 
 Andi-ea Do'rea (1468-1560). Inscribed 
 on the base of his statue by his country- 
 men of Gen'oa. 
 
 Androui'cus PalEeol'ogus II. assumed 
 
 the title (1260-1332). 
 
 ('SVr ako 1 Chron. iv. 14.) 
 
 Father of the People. 
 
 Louis XII. of France (1462, 1498- 
 1515). Henri IV. was also termed " the 
 father aud friend of the people" (1553, 
 1589-1610). 
 
 Christian III. of Denmark (1502, 
 1534-1559). 
 
 (iabriel du Pineau, the French lawyer 
 (1573-1644). 
 
 Fathers of the Church. The early 
 advocates of Christianity, who may be 
 thus classified : — 
 
 (1) Five apostolic fathers, who were 
 contemporary with the apostles — viz. 
 Clement of Home, Bar'nabas, Hennas, 
 Igna'tius, and Pol'j'carp. 
 
 (2) The pruii Hire fathers. Those ad- 
 vocates of Christianitj'' who lived in the 
 first three centuries. They consisted of 
 the five apostolic fathers {q.r.), together 
 with the nine following : — Justin, Theo- 
 jjh'ilus of Antioch, Irense'us, Clement 
 of Alexandria, Cyp'rian of Carthage, 
 Or'igen, Gi'egory Thaumatur'gus, Dio- 
 nysius of Alexandria, and Tertullian. 
 
 (3) The fathers, or those of the fourth 
 and fifth century, who were of two 
 groups, those of the Greek and those of 
 the Latin Church. (See beloiv.) 
 
 Fathers of the Greek Church. 
 
 Euse'bius, Athaua'sius, Basil the Great, 
 Gregory Nazianze'nus, Gregory of Nys- 
 sa, Cyr'il of Jerusalem, Chrys'ostom, 
 Epipha'nius, Cyril of Alexandria, aud 
 Ephraim, deacon of Edessa. 
 
 Fathers of the Latin Church. 
 
 Lactantius, Hil'ary, Ambrose of Mil'an, 
 Jer'ome, Augustin of Hippo, and St. 
 Bernard. 
 
 2'he last of the fathers. St. Bernard 
 (1091-1153). The schoolmen who fol- 
 lowed treated their subjects systematic- 
 ally. 
 
 Founder of the fathers of Christian 
 doeirine. Ceesar de Bus (1544-1607). 
 
 Fath'om {Co/tut). A villain in Smol- 
 let's novel so called. After robbing his 
 benefactors, and fleecing all who trusted 
 him, he is at last forgiven. 
 
 Fat'ima. The last of Bluebeard's 
 wives, who was saved from death by 
 the tiraelj' arrival of her brother with a 
 party of friends. M.ahoraet's favourite 
 daughter was called Fatima.
 
 Fatted Calf 
 
 450 
 
 Fear Fortress 
 
 Fatted Calf. To kill the fatted calf. 
 To welcome with the best of everything. 
 The plirase is taken from the parable 
 in the third gospel of the prodigal son. 
 (Luke XV. 30.) 
 
 Fat'ua Mu'lier. A law tenn for a 
 courtesan. Fatuus with jurisconsults 
 means one not in a right mind, incor- 
 rigibly foolish. 
 
 Fault. At fault. Not on the right 
 track ; doubtful whether right or wrong. 
 Hounds are at fault when the scent is 
 broken because the fox has jumped upon 
 a wall, crossed a river, cut through a 
 flock of sheep, or doubled like a hare. 
 
 *.* In Geol<j(jy, the break or displace- 
 ment of a stratum of rock is called a 
 fault. 
 
 Fault. (French, fante, Latin, fallo, 
 to fail.) 
 
 For fault of a better {Shakespeare : 
 3Ierri/'JFii'cs, i. 4). Haviag no better. 
 
 " I iuii the youiifrfst of tbat name, for f;iiilt. of 
 a ^\•ovse."— Shakespeare ■• Romeo and Juliet, ii. 4. 
 
 In fault. To blame. 
 
 " Is Antony or we in fault fov tliis ?" 
 Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra, iii. 13. 
 
 7h a fault. In excess ; as, kind to a 
 fault. "Excess of* every good is more or 
 less evil. 
 
 To fiid fault. To blame ; to express 
 disap2)robatiou. 
 
 Faults. 
 
 Xo one is icithout his faults, i.e. is 
 faultless. " Vitiis nemo sine nascitur.^'' 
 
 Fau'na (2 syl.). The animals of a 
 country at any given geological period ; 
 so called from the mythblogical fauns, 
 who were the patrons of wild animals. 
 
 " Nor less tbc yilaoe of ciirions plant Ue knows— 
 He both his Flora and his Fauna shows." 
 
 Crabbe : Bcnnigli. 
 
 Faust (1 syl.). The grandest of all 
 Goethe's di-araas. Faust makes a com- 
 pact with Mephistoph'eles, who on one 
 occasion provides him with a cloak, by 
 means of which he is wafted through 
 the air whithersoever he chooses. "All 
 that is weird, mysterious, and magical 
 groups round this story." An English 
 dramatic version has been made by Bayle 
 Bernard. 
 
 Dr. Faustus, a tragedy by Marlow ; 
 Faust aud Marguerite^ by Boucicault; 
 Faust e Margherito, an opera by Gounod, 
 etc. 
 
 Faux-jour (French). A false or 
 contrary light ; meaning that a picture 
 is hung so that the light falls on it in 
 the opposite direction to what it ought. 
 The artist has made his light fall in one 
 
 direction, but it is so hung that the light 
 falls the other way. 
 
 Faux Pas. A " false step " ; a breach 
 of manners or moral conduct. (French.) 
 
 Favo'nius. The zephyr or west 
 wind. It means the 'vim.iS.faiourahlcio 
 vegetation. 
 
 Fa'vours. Ribbons made into a 
 bow ; so called from being the favours 
 bestowed by ladies on tlie successful 
 champions of tournaments. {See True- 
 LovK Knot ; Cueey Favour ) 
 
 " Here, Fluellen ; wear thou this favour for we, 
 ami slick it in thy cvi\\"— Shakespeare : Ilitinj V , 
 iv. 7. 
 
 Favourite. One to Avhom a lady 
 gives a "favour" or token. The horse 
 wliich betting men suppose is most 
 likely to come off the winner of a par- 
 ticular race. 
 
 Favourites. False ciu'ls on tlie 
 temples ; a curl of hair on the temples 
 plastered with some cosmetic ; wliiskers 
 made to meet the moutli. 
 " Yet tell nie, sire, don't you as nice apiiear 
 
 With your false calves, Ijardash, and fa\ 'rites 
 here?" Mrs. Centlirrc. 
 
 Fay. {Sec Fairy.) 
 
 Faye (1 syl.). The icag to Fai/e 
 (French, ^^ Faic-la-viiieuse"). A winding 
 or zigzag manner, like " Crooked Lane 
 at Eastcheap." A person who tries to 
 do something indirectly goes by the 
 pathway to Faye. Faye is a little 
 village in France, built on an eminence 
 so steep that there is no getting to it 
 except by a very zigzag path. 
 
 "They go in to Paradise ... as the way is to 
 Vnyc." — Rabelais : Gargantiia and Pantagriiel, 
 book i. 17. . 
 
 Faz'io. A native of Florence, who 
 first tried to make his fortune Ity al- 
 chemy ; but being present when Bartoldo, 
 an old miser, died, he buried the body 
 secretly, and stole his money - bags. 
 Being now rich, he became acquainted 
 with the Marchioness Aldabella, with 
 whom he passed his time in licentious 
 pleasure. His wife Bianca, out of 
 jealousy, accused him to the duke of 
 being privj' to the death of Bartoldo ; 
 and Fazio was condemned to death for 
 murder. Bianca now tried to mido the 
 mischief she had done, but it was too 
 late ; she went mad with grief, and 
 died of a broken heart. {Bean Milnuoi : 
 Fazio.) 
 
 Fear Fortress. An hypothetical 
 castle in a forest near Saragossa. It 
 represents that terrible obstacle which 
 fear conjures up, but which vani.shes 
 into thin air as it is approached by a
 
 Fearless 
 
 451 
 
 Feather 
 
 stout heart aud clear conscience. The 
 allegoiy forms the third part of the 
 legend of Croqucinitaine. 
 
 "If a child disappeareil, or any cattle were 
 carried off, tbe tremliliu!,' peasants said, 'The 
 lord of Fear-fortreBs has taken them.' If a tire 
 l)roke out anywhere, it was the lord of Fear- 
 fortress who must have lit it. The origin of all 
 accidents, mishaps, and di.sasters was traced to 
 the mysterious owner of this invisible castle."— 
 Croqucmitaine, ili. 1. 
 
 " It sunk before my earnest face, 
 It vanished quite away. 
 And left no shadow on the place. 
 
 Between me and the day. 
 Such castles rise to strike us dumb ; 
 
 But, weak in every part, 
 They melt before the stronj? man's eyes 
 And fly the true of heart." 
 C. Mackaij : The Giant {MV.hthj altercdX 
 
 Fearless [Sans iiCKrl. Jean, Duke of 
 Burgundy (1371-U19). (AVr Batakd.) 
 
 Feast of Reason. 
 
 "There St. John [Sin-ju] mingles with the 
 friendly bowl 
 The feast of reason and the flow of soul." 
 
 Pope : Imitations of Horace, ii. 1. 
 
 Feasts. Anniversary days of joy. 
 They are either immovable or movable. 
 T/ic chief immovabh' feasts are the four 
 rent-days — viz. the Annunciation or 
 Lady-Day (March 25th), the Nativity 
 of John the Baptist (June 24th), Mi- 
 chaelmas Day (September 29th), and 
 Christmas Day (December 25th). The 
 Circumcision (New Year's Day, January 
 1st), Epiphany (January Gth), All 
 Saints' (November 1st), All Souls' (No- 
 vember 2nd), and the several Apostles' 
 days. 
 
 The chief movable feasts depend upon 
 Easter Sunday. They are — 
 
 Palm Sunday. The Simday next before 
 Easter Simday. 
 
 Good Friday. The Friday next before 
 Easter Sunday. 
 
 Ash Wednesday. The first day of 
 Lent. 
 
 Sexagesima Sunday. Sixty days before 
 Easter Sunday. 
 
 Ascension Day or Holy Thursday. 
 Fortieth day after Easter Sunday. 
 
 Pentecost or Whit - Sunday. The 
 seventh Sunday after Easter Sunday. 
 
 Trinity Sunday. The Sunday next 
 after Pentecost, etc. etc. 
 
 Featber. Meaning species or kind. 
 From the proverb, " Birds of a feather " 
 — i.e. of the same plumage, aud therefore 
 of the same sort. 
 
 '■ I am not of that feather to shake off 
 My friend, when be must need me." 
 
 Shakespeare: Timon o/Athenf, \. 1. 
 
 Feather. A light, volatile person. 
 " A wifs a feather, and a chief a rod ; 
 An honest man's the noblest work of God. 
 Pope : Essay on Man, 'Jl'-''. 
 
 J. broken feather. {See Broken . . ) 
 
 An oiled feather. Kindness of manner 
 aud speech. An oiled feather will do 
 more to ease a stubborn lock than great 
 force. {Sro Power's Tract called The 
 Oiled Feather.) 
 Birds of a feather flock together. 
 Latin : Similes similibus gaudent. 
 Pares cum paribus facile congregantur. 
 Cicero says, "Deos novimus ornatu et 
 vestitu." 
 
 French : Qui se resserable, s'assemble. 
 In full feather. Flush of money. In 
 allusion to birds not on the moult. 
 
 In grand feather. Dressed to the 
 nines. 
 
 1)1 high feather. In exuberant spirits, 
 joyous. When birds are moulting they 
 mope about, but as soon as they regain 
 their feathers their spirits revive. 
 
 Tickled with a feather. Easily moved 
 to laughter. "Pleased with a feather, 
 tickled with a straw," is more usual ; 
 Hire de la moindrc bagatelle. 
 
 Also annoyed by trifles, worried by 
 little annoyances. 
 
 " From day to day some silly things 
 Upset you altogether ; 
 There's nought so soon convulsion brings 
 
 As tickling with a fc;if liei'. 
 'G;iiiist iiiiuur evils Id liiiii pray 
 
 Who Fnituiie s f.i voiir curries ; 
 For one that l>i'-,' niisfui-luni-s .slay. 
 
 Ten die of little worries." 
 Sims: Ballads of DabutonihXMc Worries). 
 
 Cut a feather. A ship going fast is 
 said to cut a feather, in allusion to the 
 ripple which she throws off from her 
 bows. Metaphorically, " to cut a dash." 
 "Jack could never cut a feather."— Str ir. Scott; 
 The Pirate, \\\\\'. 
 
 To show a white feather. {Sec 
 White . . . .) 
 
 Feather in Vour Cap. That's a 
 feather in i/oiir cap. An honoiu' to you. 
 "The allusion is to the very general 
 custom iu Asia aud among the American 
 Indians of adding a new feather to their 
 head-gear for every enemy slain. The 
 Caufirs of Cabul stick a feather in their 
 turban for every Mussulman slain by 
 them. The Incas and Caciques, the 
 Meunitarris and Mandaus (of America), 
 the Abyssuiiaas and Tiu-'comans, etc , 
 etc., follow the same custom. So did 
 the ancient Lycians, aud many others. 
 In Scotland and Wales it is still cus- 
 tomary for the sportsman who kills the 
 first woodcock to pluck out a feather 
 and stick it in his cap. In fact, the 
 custom, in one form or another, seems to 
 be almost universal. 
 
 *.* When "Chinese" Gordon quelled 
 the Taiping rebellion he was honoured 
 by the Chinese Government with the 
 " yellow jacket and peacock's feather."
 
 Feather 
 
 452 
 
 Feeble 
 
 In Hungary, at one time, none might 
 wear a feather but he who had slaiu a 
 Turk. {Ldiisdoin/c MS. 775, folio 149.) 
 
 Feather One's Nest. 
 
 Hi' has feathered /li.s nest well. He has 
 made lots of money ; has married a rich 
 Avoman. The allusion is to birds, which 
 line their nests with feathers to make 
 them soft and warm. 
 
 Feather One's Oar ( Tu). 
 
 To feather an oar is to turn the blade 
 parallel with the surface of the water 
 as the hands are moved forward for a 
 fresh stroke. (The Greek pteron means 
 both " an oar " and " a feather ; " and 
 the verb ptcroo, to "furnish with oars" 
 or "with feathers.") The oar throws 
 oif the water in a feathery spray. 
 "He featberod bis oars witli siicli skill and dcx- 
 tfiity.' JuHii \oHiiij Wutcrimtii. 
 
 Feather Stone. A federal stone or 
 stone table at which the ancient courts 
 baron were held in the open air, and at 
 which covenants were made. (Latin, 
 
 frrtas, a treaty.) 
 
 Feathers {The). A public-house sign 
 in coniplinient to Henry VI., whose cog- 
 nizance it was. 
 
 Fine feathers make fine h'lrds. (Latin, 
 " Ventis r'rrttm faeit,'''' dress makes the 
 man). The French proverb is " La 
 belle plume fait le bel oiseau." 
 
 'J'he I'r'ince of Wale.s^ feathers. The 
 tradition is, that the Black Prince, hav- 
 ing slain John of Luxemburg, King of 
 Bohemia, in the Battle of Cressy, as- 
 sumed his crest and motto. The crest 
 consisted of three ostrich feathers, and 
 the motto was "JfA dien''^ (I serve). 
 John of Ardeu discovei-ed a contempo- 
 rary MS., in which it is expressly said 
 that this was the case ; but much con- 
 troversy has arisen on the question. 
 Dr. Bell affirms that the crest is a rebus 
 of Queen Philijipa's hereditary title — 
 viz. Countess of Ostre-vant (ostrich- 
 feather). Randall Holmes claims an 
 old British origin ; and the Rev. H. 
 Longvieville asserts that the arms of 
 Roderick Mawe, prior to the division of 
 Wales into princijialities, was thus bla- 
 zoned : — "Argent, three lions jiassant 
 regardant, with their tails passing be- 
 tween their legs and curling over their 
 backs in nfeatherij form." 
 
 Feature means the "make." Spenser 
 speaks of God's "secret understanding 
 of our feature " — i.e. make or structure. 
 It now means that part which is most 
 conspicuous or important. Thus we 
 speak of the chief feature of a painting, 
 
 a garden, a book, etc., etc. (Norman, 
 faiture ; Latin, factnra.) 
 
 February. The month of purifi- 
 cation amongst the ancient Romans. 
 (Latin, /('i'r/^w, to purify bj' .sacrifice.) 
 
 'The 'hid q/'i'V/;'/7^rtr//(CandlemasDay). 
 It is said, if the Aveather is fine and 
 frosty at the close of January and be- 
 ginning of February, we may look for 
 more winter to come than we have seen 
 up to that time. 
 
 " si sol splendescat Mari'a Pnriflrante, 
 Major erit glacics jiust fcstiiiii qiiaiii fuit ante." 
 Sir T. Ilr, 111)1, ■ : Viiliiar ICrruis. 
 " Tf raiidlrnias Day he diy and fair, 
 The half d' wiiilcrs cunic and man- ; 
 ]f CandUMuas Day lie wet. aiid foul. 
 The half (j' winter was gane at Yiml." 
 
 Scotch Proverb. 
 "The hadger peeps out of his liole on Candle- 
 mas Day, and, if he finds snow, walks aliroad j hut 
 if lie sees the sun shining be draws back into bis 
 htAe.'— German Proverb. 
 
 Fe'cit (Latin, he did it). A word in- 
 scribed after the name of an artist, 
 sculptor, etc., as David fevit, Goujou 
 fecit ; i.e. David ixiinted it, Goujou 
 sculptured it, etc. 
 
 Fec'ula means sediment. St.-irch is 
 a fec'ula, being the sediment of flour 
 steei^cd in wtiter. (Latin, /fwr.v, dregs.) 
 
 Fed'eral States. In the late Ame- 
 rican war the Unionists were so called — 
 i.e. those northern states which combined 
 to resist the eleven southern or Con- 
 federate states {'/.v.). 
 
 Fee. Anglo-Saxon feoh, cattle, goods, 
 monej'. So in Latin, pcciinlrt, from peciis, 
 cattle. Capital is capita, heads [of 
 cattle] , and cluittels is a mere variant. 
 
 Fee-farm-rent is where an estate is 
 granted, subject to a rent in fee of at 
 least one-fourth its value. It is rent 
 paid on lauds let to farm, and not let in 
 recompense of service at a greatly re- 
 duced value. 
 
 Fee-penny. A fine for money over- 
 due. Sir Thomas Gresham often wrote 
 for money "in order to save the fee- 
 penny." 
 
 Fee Simple. An estate free from 
 condition or limitation. If restricted 
 by conditions, the inheritance is called a 
 'Conditional Fee.' 
 
 Fee-tail {A). An estate limited to a 
 person and his lawful heirs. 
 
 Feeble. Most forcible Feeble . A writer 
 whose language is very "loud," but 
 whose ideas are very jejime. Feeble is 
 a "woman's tailor," brought to Sir John 
 Falstaff as a recruit. He tells Sir John 
 " he will do his good will," and the
 
 Feed of Corn 
 
 453 
 
 Fenella 
 
 knight replies, "Well said, courageous 
 Feeble ! Thou wilt be as valiaut as 
 the wrathful dove, or most magnani- 
 mous mouse . . . most forcible Feeble." 
 (iiliakespcarc : 2 Hcmij IV., iii. 2.) 
 
 Feed of Com. A quartern of oats, 
 the quantity given a horse on a journey 
 when the ostler is told to give him a feed. 
 
 Feet. IIoiv arc your poor feet ? This 
 was the popular street mot in the year of 
 the Great Exlubition of London iu 18G2. 
 The immense labour of walking over 
 the exhibition broke down all but the 
 strongest athletes. 
 
 Fehm-gericht or Vehmr/eriehtC?, syl.). 
 The secret tribunals of Westpha'lia, for 
 the preservation of public peace, sup- 
 pression of crime, and maintenance of 
 the "Catholic" religion. The judges 
 were envelojied in profound mystery ; 
 they had their secret spies through all 
 Geiinany ; their judgments were cer- 
 tain, but no one could discover the 
 executioner. These tribunals rose in the 
 twelfth century, and disappeared in the 
 sixteenth. Sir Walter Scott, in Anne 
 of Gicrstein, has given an account of 
 the Westjihalian Fehmgericht. (Old 
 Germ&a, Jeh nun, to condemn; Gcrivht, 
 a tribunal.) 
 
 "This Vigilance Ccmimittee [of Denver city] is a 
 moilerii reprnductiou of the famous Vehniger- 
 icht."— T/ie Times. 
 
 Felician {Father). Tlie priest and 
 schoolmaster of Grand Pre, wlio accom- 
 panied Evangeline in her wanderings 
 to find Gabriel, her affianced husband. 
 (Lone/fellow : EvanyeHn.c.) 
 
 Felix, a monk who listens to the 
 singiiig of a milk-white bii'd for a 
 thousand j-ears, which seemed to him 
 " but a siugle hour," so enchanted was 
 he by the song. {Longfellow : The Golden 
 Legend.) 
 
 Fe'lixmar'te (4 syl.). Tlie hero of 
 a Spanish romance of chivalry by INIel- 
 chior de Or'teza, Cahalle'ro de I'beda 
 (156(3). The curate iu Bon Quixote con- 
 demned this woi'k to the flames. 
 
 Fell {Dr.). {See Doctoe Fell.) 
 
 Fellow Commoner. A wealthy or 
 married undergraduate of Cambridge, 
 who pays extra to " common " {i.e. dine) 
 at the fellows' table. In Oxford, these 
 demi-dons are termed Gentlemen Com- 
 moners. 
 
 Fellow commoner or gentleman com- 
 moner. An empty bottle ; so called 
 because these sort of students are, as 
 a class, empty-headed. 
 
 Felo de Se. The act of a suicide 
 when he commits self-murder. Murder 
 is felony, and a man who murders him- 
 self commits this felony— yi/o de se. 
 
 " A felo-de-se, therefore, is ho that delilierately 
 puts an end to his own existence."— WucfcstwMc; 
 Lommentarles, liook iv. chap. xiv. p. 1«». 
 
 Feme-covert. A married woman. 
 This docs not mean a woman corerte by 
 her husband, but a woman whose head 
 is covered, not usual witli maidens or 
 unmarried women. In Rome unmarried 
 women wore on their heads only a corolla 
 {i.e. a wreath of flowers). In Greece they 
 wore an anadema, or fillet. The Hun- 
 garian spinster is called hajadon (bare- 
 headed). Married women, as a general 
 rule, have alwaj's covered their head with 
 a cup, turban, or something of the same 
 sort, the head being covered as a badge of 
 subjection. Hence Eebekah (Gen. xxiv. 
 65), being told that the man she saw 
 was her espoused husband, took a veil 
 and covered her head. Servants Avear 
 caps, and private soldiers in theiiresence 
 of their officers cover their heads for the 
 same reason. {See Eph. v. 22, 23.) 
 
 V Won\eu do not, like men, uncover 
 their heads even in saluting, but bend 
 their knee, in token of subjection. (See 
 Salutations.) 
 
 Feme-sole. A single woman. Feme- 
 sole nwrchant. A woman who carries on 
 a trade on her own account. 
 
 Femme de Chambre. (French.) A 
 chambermaid. 
 
 Fem'ynye (3 syl.). A mediceval name 
 for the kingdom of the Am'azons. Govvcr 
 terms Penthesile'a " queen of Feminee." 
 
 "He [Tlicssus] conquered al tlie reene of Feni- 
 yiije." Cliauccr : Ctiiittrbnry Tiihs,»>}S. 
 
 Fen Nightingale. A frog, which 
 sings at niglit in tlio fens, as m'gbtiu- 
 gales sing in the groves. {See Akcadiax 
 Nightingale.) 
 
 Fence Month. The close time of 
 deer, from fifteen days before Midsum- 
 mer to fifteen daj-s after it. This being 
 fawning time, deer-hunting is forbidden. 
 
 Fenchurch Street (London). The 
 church in the fens or marshy ground by 
 the " Langbourne " side. 
 
 Fencible Regiments. A kind of 
 militia raised in 175'J, again in 1778-9, 
 and again in 1791, when a force of 
 15,000 was raised. The force was dis- 
 banded in 1802. 
 
 Fenel'la. A pretended deaf and dumb 
 sylph -like attendant on the Countess of 
 Derb}', in Scott's I'et'eril of the I'eah:
 
 Fenians 
 
 454 
 
 Fern 
 
 Fe'nians. An anti -British associa- 
 tion of disaffected Irislimen, called the 
 Feniau Brotherhood, after the ancient 
 Fenians of Ireland ; formed in NewYork, 
 in 18o7, to overthrow the domination 
 of England in Ireland, and make Ire- 
 land a republic. The word means a 
 JiHiitir — Gaelic, Jiauna, from fcadhdch 
 (iH'onounced fcc-af/h), a hnnt. Before 
 the Germanic invasion, a Celtic race 
 so called occupied not only jiarts of 
 Ireland and Scotland, but also the 
 north of Germany and the Scandi- 
 navian shores. Oisin (Ossian) refers to 
 them, and one jjassage is thus rendered 
 in The Autiq/iar// : "Do you compare 
 your ]isalnis to the tales of the bare- 
 armed Fenians '^ " Oisin was the grand- 
 son of Fionn, the " fair-haired righ 
 {chief) of the Fenians," and all the 
 high officers of this volunteer associa- 
 tion were men of rank. It apjjears that 
 the Fenians of Ireland (Eirii/). Scotland 
 {All)ii), England {S(jcriii</), and Scandi- 
 navia, had a great civil battle at Gabhra, 
 in Ireland, and extirpated each other. 
 Oisiu alone escaped, and he had slain 
 "twice fifty men Avith his own hand." 
 lu the great Fenian outbreak of Ireland 
 ill I860, etc., the leaders were termed 
 " head centres," and their subordinates 
 "centres." {hce Clan-na-Gael.) 
 
 FenneL Said to restore lost vision 
 and to give courage. 
 
 " Above llie Idwly iil:iiits it towers, 
 Tlie fennel witli iis yellow tluwei s, 
 Ami in iin earlier :i'_'e tli.-ui o\iis, 
 Was .u'ifted with the woiulrDiis iiowers 
 
 Lost vision to restore ; 
 It yave new siienLcth and fearless inood, 
 And u'ladiators tierce and rude 
 Jlinu'led it in tbeir daily f(]od ; 
 Ami lie who battled and subdued 
 The wreath of fi'nnel wore." 
 Liinifcllnw : The Goblet of Life, stanza fi. 
 
 Fenrir or Fenris. The wolf of sin 
 [(.r. of Loki^, meaning the goading of a 
 guilty conscience. The " wolf " was the 
 brother of Hel (q.r.). When lie gajies, 
 one jaw touches earth and the other 
 heaven. In the lidr/iiaro/c he swallows 
 the sun and conquers Odin ; but being 
 conqiiered by Vidar, he was cast into 
 Niflheim, where Loki was coniincd. 
 
 Fenton. One who seeks to mend his 
 fortune by marriage. He is the suitor of 
 Anne Page. Her father objects to him, 
 he says, because 
 
 " I am too Bfeat of birth ; 
 And tliat, my state beiiis; Kall'dwith my expense, 
 1 seek to heal it only by his wealth." 
 
 Slidkespeare : ilcrrij Wives of Windsor, iii. ■). 
 
 Ferae Naturae. Applied in law to 
 animals living in a wild state, as distin- 
 guished from animals wliich are domes- 
 ticated. 
 
 Fer'amorz. The young Cashmerian 
 poet, who relates poetical tales to Lalla 
 Rookh, in her journey from Delhi to 
 Lesser Buchar'ia. Lalla liookh is going 
 to be married to the young sultan, but 
 falls in love with the poet. ()n the wed- 
 ding morn she is led to her future hus- 
 band, and finds that the poet is the 
 sultan himself, who had gallantly taken 
 tliis course to win the heart of his bride 
 and beguile her journey. (71 Moore.) 
 
 Fer'dinand. Son of the King of 
 JVaples, and suitor of Miranda, daughter 
 of Pros'pero, the banished Duke of 
 Milan. {Shakespeare : I'eiiipesf.) 
 
 In Lore''s Za-bonr's Lout, the same 
 name is given to the King of Navarre. 
 
 Ferdinan'do. A brave soldier who 
 obtained a complete victory over the 
 King of Morocco and Grena'da, near 
 Tari'fa, in i;540. Being in love with 
 Leono'ra de Guzman, Alfonso XI., whose 
 life he had saved in the battle, created 
 him Count of Zamo'ra and Manjuis of 
 Montreal, and gave him the hand of 
 Leonora in marriage. No sooner was 
 this done, than Ferdinaudo discovered 
 that Leonora was the king's mistress ; 
 so he restored his ranks and honours to 
 the king, i-epudiatcd his bride, and i-e- 
 tired to the monastery of St. James of 
 Compostella. Leonora entered the fame 
 monastery as a novice, obtained the 
 forgiveness of Ferdinando, and died, 
 {Donizetti'' s opera of La Favori'ta.) 
 
 Ferdo'si. A Persian poet, famous 
 for the copious flow of his diction. He 
 wrote in ver.so the Sha/i-Xniiuh, or 
 history of the Persian kings, which took 
 thirty years, and contains 120,000 verses. 
 
 Ferguson. It's all rcrij fine, Fer- 
 f/asoii ; bill you (loriH lodge here. Capt. 
 Ferguson was the companion of the 
 Marquis of Waterford, when that young 
 nobleman made himself notorious for 
 his practical jokes in the middle of the 
 nineteenth century. In one of their 
 sprees the two companions got separated, 
 and the marquis found his way home to 
 the house of his uncle, the Archbi.sliop 
 of Armagh, Charles Street, St. James's 
 Square. The marquis had gone to bed, 
 when a thundering knock came at the 
 door. The marquis, susjjecting who it 
 was that knocked, threw up the window 
 and said, " It is all very fine, Ferguson, 
 but you don't lodge here;" and for 
 many years the saying was popular. (See 
 A'o^ips and Queries, Jan. 16, 1886, p. 46.) 
 
 Fern. {See Fanny Feen.)
 
 Fern Seed 
 
 45t 
 
 Fetcla 
 
 Fern Seed, ire hare the receipt of 
 fern seed, ire trdlk inrisible (1 Henrij 
 //'., act iv. 4). The seed of certain 
 species of fern is so small as to be in- 
 visible to the naked eye, and hence the 
 plant was believed to confer invisibility 
 on those who carried it about their 
 person. It was at one time believed 
 that plants have the power of imparting 
 their own speciality to their wearer. 
 Thus, the herb-dragon was said to cure 
 the poison of serpents ; the yellow celan- 
 dine the jaundice ; wood-sorrel, which 
 has a heart-sliaped leaf, to clieer the 
 heart ; liverwort to be good for the 
 liver, and so on. 
 
 " Wliy (lid yoii tliiiik tlnit jim liart G.VKi'S' ring, 
 Or the herb that, gives invisibility ?" 
 JBenmnont and Fletclicr: Fair Maid of the Tnn, i. 1. 
 " The seeds of fern, wliich, by prolific beat 
 Cheered and unfolded, form a plant so great, 
 Are less a thousand times than what the eye 
 Can unassisted by the tube descry." 
 
 BlacK-more : Creation. 
 
 Fernando Florestan. A state 
 prisoner of Seville, married to Leonoi-a, 
 who, in man's disguise, and under the 
 name of Fide'lio, became the servant of 
 Eocco, the jailor. Pizarro, governor of 
 the prison, conceived a hatred to Fer- 
 nando, and resolved to murder him. 
 Eocco and Leonora were sent to dig his 
 grave, and when Pizarro entered the 
 dungeon, Leonora intercepted his pur- 
 pose. At this juncture the minister of 
 State arrived, and ordered the prisoner's 
 rclea-e. (Beethoven: FicMio.) 
 
 Ferney. The patriareh of Ferncij. 
 Voltaire ; so called because he retired to 
 Ferney, a small sequestered village near 
 Geue'va, from which obscure retreat he 
 poured forth his invectives against the 
 French Government, the Church, nobles, 
 nuns, priests, and indeed all classes. 
 
 "There are in Paris five or six statues of the 
 patriarch of Ferney." — Tiie Times. 
 
 Fero'hers. Tlie guardian angels of 
 Persian mythology. They are countless 
 in number, and their chief tasks are for 
 the well-being of man. 
 
 Fer'racute Yttharp iron']. A giant in 
 Turpin's Vhroniele of Charlcmacjne. He 
 had the strength of forty men, and was 
 thirty-six feet high. Though no lance 
 could pierce his hide, Orlando slew him 
 by Divine interposition, {fiee Feeeau.) 
 
 Fer'ragus. The giant of Portugal, 
 who took Bellisaut under his care after 
 she had been divorced by Alexander, 
 Emperor of Constantinople. ( Valentine 
 and Orson.) 
 
 The great " Brazen Head," that told 
 those who consulted it whatever they 
 
 required to know, was kept in the castle 
 of this giant. {Valentine and Orson.) 
 {Sec Fekeau.) 
 
 Ferra'ra. An Andrew Ferrara. A 
 broadsword or claymore of the best 
 quality, bearing the name of Andrea 
 Ferra'ra, one of the Italian family whose 
 swords were famous in the sixteenth 
 and seventeenth centuries. Genuine 
 " Andrea Fe.raras " have a crown 
 marked on tVie blade. 
 
 V My father had an Andrea Ferrara, 
 which had been in the family about a 
 century. It had a basket-hilt, and the 
 name was distinctly stamped on the 
 blade. 
 
 " Wc'W put in bail, boy ; old Andrew Ferrara 
 shall lodge his security."— A'cott ; Waverleii, chap. 1. 
 
 Ferrau (in Orlando Farioso). Fer- 
 raute, Fer'racute, or Fer'ragus, a Sara- 
 cen, son of Lanfu'sa. He dropped his 
 helmet in the river, and vowed he would 
 never wear another till lie had won that 
 worn by Orlando. Orlando slew him 
 with a wound in the navel, his only 
 vulnerable part. 
 
 Ferrex and Porrex. Two sons 
 of Gorboduc, a mythical British king. 
 Porrex drove his brother from Britain, 
 and when Ferrex returned with an army 
 he was slain, but Porrex was shortly 
 after put to death by liis mother. One 
 of the first, if not the very first, historical 
 l^lay in the English language was Ferrex 
 and Forre.r, by Thomas Norton and 
 Thomas Sackville. 
 
 Ferumbras. {Sec Fieeabbas.) 
 
 Fes'cennine Verses. Lampoons ; 
 so called from Fescennia in Tuscany, 
 where performers at merry-makings 
 used to extemporise scurrilous jests of 
 a personal nature to amuse the audience. 
 
 Fess (L^im, fascia, a band or covering 
 for the thighs) . In heraldry, the fess is 
 a band drawn horizontally 
 across the shield, of which it 
 occupies one -third. It re- 
 presents the band which was 
 worn by knights low down 
 across the hips. 
 
 Fest. A pledge. Festing-man, a surety 
 to another. Festing-pointj, a penny 
 given in earnest to secure a bargain, 
 (Anglo-Saxon, festine/, an act of con- 
 fidence, an entrusting.) 
 
 Fetch. A wraith — the disembodied 
 ghost of a living person. {See Fetiche.) 
 "Fetches . . . uiost couiuionly appear to distant 
 friends and relations, at the very instant pre- 
 ceding the death of those they represent."— 
 Brand: Popular Antiquities (Death Omens).
 
 Fetches 
 
 456 
 
 Piacre 
 
 Fetches. Excuses, tricks, artifices. 
 (Saxon.) 
 
 " Deny to speak with me ? They are sick ? they 
 
 are weary ? 
 TUey have travellcil all the night ? Mere fetches." 
 Shakei^peare : King Lear, ii. 4. 
 
 Fet'iche or Fet'ish. The African idol, 
 the same as the American Man'itou. The 
 worship of this idol is called Fet'ichism 
 or Fet'ishism. (Portuguese, fctisso, ma- 
 gician, fairy, oracle.) 
 
 "." Almost any thing will serve for a fetiche : a fly, 
 a bird, a lion, a fish, a serpent, a stone, a tree 
 struck by lightning, a hit of metal, a shell; bi\t the 
 most potent of all fetiches is the rock Tabra. 
 
 The fetiche or fetish of the bottle. The 
 imp drunkenness, or drunkenness itself. 
 
 Fetter Lane is T^roba]:>\j fenteyer-lane. 
 A feuterer is a keeper of dogs, and the 
 lane has always been famous for dog- 
 fanciers. Howel, with less probabilitj', 
 says it is Fewtor Lane, i.e. the lane of 
 fcictors or worthless fellows who were 
 for ever loitering about the lane on 
 their way to the gardens. Faitour is an 
 archaic word for a worthless fellow, a 
 lazy vagabond, from the Nornian-Freuch. 
 
 Fettle, as a verb, means to repair ; 
 to fiuioothe ; as an adjective, it means 
 well-knit, all right and tight. It is 
 connected with our word ye«^, the French 
 faire, the 'iji\.\m. fueerc. 
 
 Fettled ale, in Lancashire, means ale 
 wai-med and spiced. 
 
 Feu de Joie (French). A running 
 fire of gims on an occasion of rejoicing. 
 
 Feud, meaning "hatred," is the Saxon 
 fcelitli. (hatred); but feud, a "fief," is 
 the Teutonic /(r-&(/A (trust-land). {See 
 beloiv.) 
 
 Feudal or Feorhil (2 syl.). In Gothic 
 odJi- means "pro2iorty," hence odh-all 
 (entire property) ; Flemish, tidal. By 
 transposition we get all-ohd, whence 
 our (dlodium (absolute property claimed 
 by the holders of fiefs) ; and by com- 
 bining the words _/rt- and odh we get/(r- 
 odh, feodh, or feod (jiroperty given by 
 way of fee for services conferred). 
 {Pontoppidan.) 
 
 Feudal System {Tlie). A system 
 founded on tlie tenure of feuds or fiefs, 
 given in compensation for military ser- 
 vice to the lord of the tenants. 
 
 Feuillants. A reformed Cistercian 
 order instituted by Jean de la Barriere 
 in 1-586. So called from the convent of 
 Feuillans, in Languedoc, where they 
 were established in 1577. 
 
 The club of the Feuillants, in the French 
 
 Eevolution, composed of moderate Jaco- 
 bins. So called because the convent of 
 the Feuillants, near the Tuileries, was 
 their original club-room (1791-2). 
 
 Feuilleton [fcu-ye-to)!']. A fly-sheet. 
 Applied to the bottom part of French 
 newspapers, generally devoted to a tale 
 or some other light literature. 
 
 " The daily [French] newspapers all had feuille- 
 toiis with ccmiiiuied stories in them."— i/die: 
 Teii-times One, chap. viii. p. I'.'o. 
 
 Fever-lurdan or Fever-lurgan. A 
 
 fit of idleness. Lurdea means a block- 
 head. (French, lourd, heavy, dull, thick- 
 headed ; lourdatid, a blockhead.) 
 
 Fever-lurk. A corruption of Ferer- 
 lar</, as "Fever-lurgan" is of Ferer- 
 lurdaii. The disease of laziness. 
 
 " Fever-lnrk, 
 Neither play nor work." 
 
 Fey. Predestined to early death. 
 When a person suddenly changes his 
 wonted manner of life, as when a miser 
 becomes liberal, or a churl good-hu- 
 moured, he is said in Scotch to hefei/, 
 and near the point of death. 
 
 "She must be fey (said Trlptolemu8>, and in 
 that case has not long to live."— 5ir IK. ,Scott : The 
 Pirate, chap. v. 
 
 Fe'zon. Daughter of Savary, Duke 
 of Aquitaine, demanded in marriage by 
 a pagan, called the Green Knii/ht ; but 
 Orson, having overthrown the pagan, 
 was accepted by the lady instead. 
 {Valentine and Orson.) 
 
 Fi or Fie ! An exclamation indicating 
 that what is reproved is dirty or indecent. 
 The dung of many animals, as the boar, 
 wolf, fox, marten, and badger, is called 
 faiits. and the " orificium ana'le" is 
 called tiji, a ivord still used in Lincoln- 
 shire. (Anglo-Norman, y^//, to clean out ; 
 Saxon, afiflan, to foul ; our d(Jile or fie, 
 to make foul ; fllh, etc.) 
 
 The old words, /I'V-ro/'M (dross corn), 
 f-lands (unenclosed lands), fi-niashin(/s 
 (the dung of any wild beast), etc., are 
 compounds of the same word. 
 
 "I had another process against the dung- 
 farmer, Master Fi&."—Iiabelais : Pantagruel, book 
 ii. 17. 
 
 Fi. Fa. A contraction of the two 
 Latin words, fi'eri facias (cause it to be 
 done). A judicial writ for one who has 
 recovered damages in the Queen's courts, 
 being a command to the sheriff to see 
 the judgment of the court duly can-ied 
 out. 
 
 Fiacre. A French cab or hackney 
 coach. So called from the Hotel de St. 
 Fiacre, Palis, where the first station of
 
 Plan 
 
 457 
 
 Fiddler's Money 
 
 these coaches was established by M. 
 Sauvage, about 1650. 
 
 '.* Accordiug to Alban Butler, Fiacre 
 ■was the son of au Irish kiug, bom iu 
 GOO, to whose tomb pilgrimages were 
 made in the mouth of August. His day 
 is August 30th. {Lircs of the SaintH, 
 vol. ii. \}. 379.) 
 
 Fian {John), a schoolmaster at Salt- 
 pans, near Ediubui'gh, tortured to death 
 and then burnt at the stake ou the Castle 
 Hill of Edinburgh, Saturday, January, 
 1591, because he refused to acknowledge 
 that he liad raised a stoiTn at sea, to 
 wreck James I. on his voyage to Den- 
 mark to visit his futui'e queen. First, 
 his head was crushed in upon his brain 
 by means of a rope twisted tighter and 
 tighter; then his two legs were jammed 
 to a jolly iu the wooden boots-; then his 
 nails were ^Dulled out and pins inserted 
 iu the raw hnger tips ; as he still re- 
 mained silent, he was strangled, and his 
 dead body burnt to ashes. 
 
 Fiars. StriJcing the fiars. Taking 
 the average pi'ice of com. Fiars is a 
 Gothic word, still current iu Ireland. 
 (Scotch law.) 
 
 Fias'co. A faihu-c, a mull. In Italy 
 they cry Ola, o/fi,Ji(isco ! to an unpopular 
 singer. This word, common in France 
 and Gemiany, is emploj-ed as the opposite 
 of furore. 
 
 V The history of the word is as fol- 
 lows : — Iu making Venetian glass, if the 
 slightest flaw is detected, the glass- 
 ])lower turns the article into a fiasco — 
 that is, a common flask. 
 
 A pentleiiian from North America (G. Fox, 
 '• the Modem BrttUyliis") furnishes me with the 
 followini^ anecdote: "Tliere was once a clever 
 hirleqiiin of Florence named Dominico Bianco- 
 lelli, noted for his comic harangues. He was 
 wont to imiirovise upon wliatever article he held 
 in his hand. One nislit he apjieared holdint; a 
 llask (flascn) ; but failing to extract an.v humour 
 whatsoever from his subject, he s.aiil, ' It is thy 
 fault, fiasco,' and dashed the Mask on the ground. 
 After that a failure was connnonly called in 
 Florence a ' fiasco.' " To me it appears incredible 
 that a clever improvisator could draw no matter 
 from an empty bottle, apparently a subject rife 
 with matter. 
 
 Fiat. I gire iiuj fiat to that proposal. 
 I consent to it. A fiat in law is an 
 order of the court directing that some- 
 thing stated be done. (Latin, fiat, let 
 it be done.) 
 
 Fib. Au attendant on Queen Mab in 
 Drayton's Xiimphidia. Fib, meaning a 
 falsehood, is the Zjntinfabala, a fable. 
 
 Fi'co. ('SW' Fig.) 
 
 '' Fico for the phra.se." 
 SIiake.ipeiii-e : Mrrrii Wires nf Windsor, i. X 
 "I see contempt marching forth, giving me 
 the flco with his thombe iu his nmuth."— Wit's 
 Miserie tl5M6;, 
 
 Fiddle (Latin, fidis or fides), lie was 
 first fiddle. Chief mau, the most dis- 
 tinguished of the company. 
 
 To plaij second fiddle. To take a sub- 
 ordinate part. The allusion is to the 
 leader of concerts, who leads with a 
 fiddle. 
 
 'The Scotch fiddle or Caledonian Cre- 
 mona. The itch. As fiddlers scratch 
 with a bow the strings of a fiddle, so 
 persons suffering from skin- irritation 
 keejj scratching the part irritated. 
 
 Fiddle About {To). To fiddle about 
 
 a thing means to "play " business. To 
 
 fiddle with one's fingers is to move them 
 
 about as a tiddler moves his fingers up 
 
 and down the fiddle-strings. 
 
 " Mere trifling, or unprofitable fiddling alumt 
 nothing.''— 2?<o/vj(r; Sirinons, vol. 1. sermon 7. 
 
 Fiddle -de - dee ! An exclamation 
 signifying what j'ou say is nonsense or 
 moonshine. Fiddle-de-dee is meant to 
 express the sound of a fiddle-string 
 vocalised. Hence "sound signifj-ing 
 notliing." 
 
 Fiddle-faddle. It is all fiddle-fuddle. 
 Rubbishy nonsense ; talk not worth 
 attention. A ricochet word, of which 
 we have a vast number, as '" flim-flam," 
 "helter-skelter," " wishy-washj'," etc. 
 To fiddle is to waste time in playing on 
 the fiddle, and hence fiddle means a 
 trifle, aud fiddle-faddle is silly trifle or 
 silly nonsense. 
 
 "Pitiful fool that I was to stand fiddle-faddling 
 in that way." 
 
 Clouyli : .itnours de Voxjage, canto iv. stanza 3. 
 
 Fiddleback. The name of Oliver 
 Goldsmith's poor unfortunate pony, on 
 which he made his country excursions. 
 
 Fiddler. Drunk as a fiddler. Fidd- 
 lers at wakes and fairs were allowed 
 meat aud drink to their heart's content, 
 and seldom left a merry-making sober. 
 
 Oliver's Fiddler. Sir Roger L'Es- 
 trange (161G-1704). So called because 
 he, at one time, was playing a fiddle or 
 viole with others in the house of John 
 Hingston when Cromwell was one of 
 the guests. 
 
 V Fiddler is a slang word for sixpence. 
 
 Fiddler's Fare or Fiddler's Pay. 
 
 Meat, drink, and money. 
 
 Fiddler's Green. The land of the 
 leal or " Dixie Land " of sailors ; 
 where there is perpetual mirth, a fiddle 
 that never ceases to untiring dancers, 
 plenty of grog, and unlimited tobacco. 
 
 Fiddler's Money. A silver penny. 
 The fee given to a fiddler at a wake by 
 each dancer.
 
 Fiddler's News 
 
 158 
 
 Field 
 
 Fiddler's News. Stale news carried 
 
 about by wanderiug fiddlers. 
 
 Fiddlestick. In the Great Gennau 
 epic called The N'diehiiujcn-L'ied, this 
 word is used six or eight times for a 
 broadsword. 
 
 " His fldiUestick lio graspetl, 'twas massy, bmad, 
 mill lont;, 
 As sliai'p as any ivvzor." Stanza 1 ,S41. 
 
 " Mv fldillestick's no foatlicr ; on whom I let it 
 " f:ill, 
 If lie lias friends tliat Invo liim, 'twill spt tliem 
 weeping all." Stanza 1,h.so. 
 
 " His Mddlestick, sliarii-cuttins, can hardest steel 
 divide, 
 And at a stroke can shiver the morion's benniy 
 pride." Stanza L',ii7s, 
 
 Fiddlesticks ! An exclamation sig- 
 nifying what you say is not worth atten- 
 tion. To fiddle about is to waste time, 
 fiddling. A fiddlestick is the instrument 
 used iu fiddling, hence the fiddlestick is 
 even less than the fiddle. 
 
 Fide'le (■'J sj'l.). The name assumed 
 by Imogen in Shakespeare's i'ljmlivVine. 
 Colhus has a beautiful elegy on Fidele. 
 
 Fide'lio. Beethoven's only oiicra. 
 (^Hee Leonora.) 
 
 Fides. The goddess of Faith, etc. 
 
 Fides (2 syl.). Mother of John of 
 Leyden. Not knowing that her son was 
 the " prophet " and ruler of Westphalia, 
 but thinking that tlie prophet had caused 
 his death, she went to Munster to curse 
 the new-crowned monarch. The moment 
 she saw him she recognised him, but 
 the "prophet-king," surrounded by his 
 courtiers, pretended not to know her. 
 Fides, to save her son annoyance, de- 
 clared she had made a mistake, and was 
 confined in the dungeon of the palace at 
 Munster, where John visited her and 
 was forgiven. When her son set fire 
 to his ijalace, Fides frushed into the 
 flames and perished with him. (Meyer- 
 hcer''s opera of Lc Frophetc.) 
 
 Fides Carbona'rii. Blind faith, 
 faith of a child. A carbona'ro being 
 asked what he believed, replied, "What 
 the Church believes; " and, being asked 
 again what the Church believes, made 
 answer, "What I believe." {See Car- 
 bonari.) {Roiix: Diedoiuutire Comique.) 
 
 Field. (Anglo - Saxon, /c W. ) 
 
 In agriciiltiiral parlance, a field is a 
 portion of land belonging to a farm. 
 
 In huntsman'' s language, it means all 
 the riders. 
 
 In heraldry^ it means the entire sui'face 
 of the shield. 
 
 In mlUtary language, it means a 
 battle; the place where a battfle is 
 
 fought, or is about to be fought ; a 
 campaign. 
 
 In spor/iiiiie)i\i language it means all 
 tlie horses of any one race. 
 
 Ayainst the JiehL In horse-racing, to 
 bet against the field means to back a 
 particular horse against all the rest 
 entered for the race. 
 
 1)1 the field. A competitor for a prize. 
 A term in horse-races, as, so-and-so was 
 in the field. Also in war, as, tlie Fi'cnch 
 were in the field already. 
 
 Master of the field. In military par- 
 lance, means the conqueror in a battle. 
 
 To keep hack the field, is to keep back 
 the riders. 
 
 To take the field. To move the army 
 preparatory to battle. 
 
 To icii) the field. To win the battle. 
 
 Field-day. Day of business. Thus, 
 a clergyman jocosely calls a "kept fes- 
 tival " his field-day. A military term, 
 meaning a day when a regiment is taken 
 to the fields for practice. 
 
 Field Marshal. A general officer of 
 the liighest rank, who commands an 
 amiy, or, at any rate, more than one 
 corps. 
 
 Field Officer. Any officer between 
 captain and a general officer. A major 
 or a lieutenant-colonel may be a field 
 officer, being qualified to command whole 
 battalions, or a " field." 
 
 Field Pieces. Small cannon carried 
 into the field with an army. 
 
 Field Works. Works thrown up by 
 an army in besieging or defending a 
 fortress, or iu strengthening its position. 
 
 "Earth-forts, and especially field works, will 
 hereafter play an important part in wars."— 11'. T. 
 Slicrman : Memoirs, vol. ii. chap. xxiv. p. 39«. 
 
 Field of Blood. Aceldama, the 
 piece of land bought by the chief 
 priests with the money which Judas 
 threw down in the temple ; so called 
 because it was bought with blood- 
 money. (Matt, xxvii. 5; Acts i. 19.) 
 
 V The battle-field of Cannae (b.c. 216) 
 is so called because it was es25ecially 
 sanguinarj% 
 
 Field of Ice. A large body of float- 
 ing ice. 
 
 Field of Vision or Field of View. 
 
 The space in a telescope, microscope, 
 stereoscope, etc., within which the ob- 
 ject is visible. If the object is not 
 distinctly visible, it must be broxyht into 
 the f eld by adjustment. 
 
 Field of the Cloth of Gold. The 
 
 plain, near Guisnes, where Henry VIII.
 
 Field 
 
 459 Fifth-Monarchy Men 
 
 had his interview with Francois I. in 
 1 ')20 ; so called from the splendour and 
 niaguihceuce displayed there on the 
 occasion. 
 
 Field of the Forty Footsteps. 
 
 At the back of tlic Britisli Museum, 
 once called Southampton Fields. Tlie 
 tradition is tliat two brothers, in tlie 
 Duke of Monnioutli's rebellion, took 
 different sides and engaged each other 
 in fight. Both were killed, and forty 
 impressions of their feet remained on 
 the field for many years, where no grass 
 would grow. The encounter took place 
 at the extreme north-east of Upper 
 Montague 'Street. The Misses Porter 
 wrote a novel on the subject, and the 
 Messrs. Mayhew a melodrama. 
 
 Fielding. T/te Fielding of the drama. 
 George Farquhar, author of the Beaux'' 
 Stratagem, etc. (1678-1707.) 
 
 ' Fierabras {Sir), of Alexandria, son 
 of Balan, Kiug of Spain. The greatest 
 giant that ever walked the earth. For 
 height of stature, breadth of shoulder, 
 and hardness of muscle he never had an 
 equal. He possessed all Babylon, even 
 to the Red Sea ; was seigneur of Russia, 
 Lord of Cologne, master of Jerusalem, 
 and even of the Holy Sepulchre. He 
 cariied away the crown of thorns, and 
 the balsam which embalmed the bod3' of 
 Our Lord, one drop of which would cure 
 any sickness, or heal any wound in a 
 moment. One of his chief exploits was 
 to slay the " fearful huge giant that 
 guarded the bridge Mantible," famous 
 for its thirty arches of black marble. 
 His pride was laid low by Olivier, one 
 of Charlemagne's paladins. The giant 
 then became a child of God, and ended 
 his days in the odour of sanctity, " meek 
 as a lamb and humble as a chidden 
 slave." Sir Fierabras, or Ferumbras, 
 figures iu several medieval romances, 
 and is an allegory of Sin overcome by 
 tlie Cross. {See Balan.) 
 
 Fifteen decisive Battles {TJte), ac- 
 cording to Sir E. S. Creasy, were : 
 
 1. The battle of Marathon (Sept., 
 400 B.C.), when Miltiades, with 10,000 
 Greeks, defeated 100,000 Persians under 
 Datis and Artaphernes. 
 
 2. The naval battle at Syeacuse (Sep., 
 413 B.C.), when the Athenians under 
 Nicias and Demosthenes were defeated 
 with a loss of 40,000 killed and wounded, 
 and their entire fleet. 
 
 3. The battle of Arbe'la (Oct., 
 331 B.C.), when Alexander the Great 
 
 overthrew Darius Codomanus for the 
 third time. 
 
 4. The battle of Metatjeus (207 B.C.), 
 when the consuls Livius and Nero cut to 
 pieces Hasdrubal's anny, sent to rein- 
 force Hannibal. 
 
 o. In A.D. 9 AiTninius and the Gauls 
 utterly overthrew the Romans under 
 Varus, and thus established the inde- 
 pendence of Gaul. 
 
 G. The battle of Chalons (a.d. 451), 
 when Aetius and Theodoric utterly de- 
 feated Attila, and saved EuroiJC from 
 devastation. 
 
 7. The battle of TouKS (Oct., 732 a.d.), 
 when Charles Martel overthrew the Sa- 
 racens under Abderahmen, and thus 
 broke the Moslem voke from Europe. 
 
 8. The battle of Hasti>'GS (Oct., 1066), 
 when William of Xonnandy slew Harold 
 II., and obtained the crown of England. 
 
 9. The battle of Oeleans in 1429, when 
 Joan of Arc secured the independence of 
 France. 
 
 10. The defeat of the Spanish Aemad.4. 
 in 1588, which destroyed the hopes of the 
 Pope respecting England. 
 
 11. The battle of Blenhetm: (13 Aug., 
 1704), when Marlborough and Prince 
 Eugene defeated Tallard, and thus pre- 
 vented Louis XIV. from carrying out 
 his schemes. 
 
 12. The battle of Pl'ltowa (July, 
 1709), when Czar Peter utterly defeated 
 Charles XII. of Sweden, and thus estab- 
 lislied the Muscovite power. 
 
 13. The battle of Saeatoga (Oct., 
 1777), when General Gates defeated the 
 British under General Burgoyne, and 
 thus secured for the United States the 
 alliance of France. 
 
 14. The battle of VALjnr (Sep., 1792), 
 when the French Marshal Kellerman de- 
 feated the Duke of Brunswick, and thus 
 established for a time the French republic. 
 
 15. The battle of Waterloo (18 June, 
 1815), when Napoleon the Great was 
 defeated by the Duke of Wellington, and 
 Europe was restored to its normal con- 
 dition. 
 
 The battle of GETTV.sBruo, in Pennsyhmiia 
 (.3 July, 18«!), when the Confeaerates, undor the 
 icininiand of fienei-al Lee, were defeated by the 
 Niirtliein anny, w.as ceit.ainly one of the most iin- 
 liMitant, if not the most imiiortant, of the Ameri- 
 can Civil War. 
 
 The battle of Sedan' (.Sep., 1870). when Naiiolenn 
 gave up his sword to William, King of Prussia, 
 which put au end to the empire of France. 
 
 Fifth-Monarchy Men. A sect of 
 Euglisli fanatics in the days of the Puri- 
 tans, who maintained that Jesus Christ 
 was about to come a second time to 
 the earth, and establish the fifth uni- 
 versal monarchy. The four preceding
 
 Fig 
 
 460 
 
 Fighting Prelate 
 
 monarchies were the Assjrian, the Per- 
 sian, the Macedonian, and the Roman. 
 In politics, the Fifth-Monarchy Men 
 were arrant Radicals and levellers. 
 
 Fig. Full fill. Full dress. A cor- 
 ruption of the Italian in fiuc'chi (in gala 
 costume). It was derived from the tas- 
 sels with which horses were ornamented 
 in state processions. Thus we read in 
 Miss Knight's Aiftohiof/rap/ii/, "The 
 Pope's throne was set out for mass, and 
 the whole building was in j)erfect fiocchi " 
 (in full fig). Another etymology has 
 been suggested by a correspondent in 
 Kates and Queries, that it is taken from 
 the word full fig. (figure) in fashion 
 books. 
 
 "The Speaker sits at oncond all in full flff.witli 
 a clerk at the tal)le below."— 'y')-o//oj)e ; Wesl 
 Indies, chap. i.\. p. lui. 
 
 Fig or Fiffo. I donU care a fig for 
 yon ; not worth a fi(j. Anything at all. 
 Here fig is fico— a fillip or snap of the 
 fingers. Thus we saj', "I don't care 
 that for you," snapping the fingers at 
 the same time. (Italian, far le fiehe, 
 to snap the fingers; French, faire la 
 figue ; German, diefeigen weixen ; Dutch, 
 de ryghe setten, etc.) {fiee Fico.) 
 
 "A flg for Peter." 
 
 Ultakenpeare. : 2 Jlenry VI., ii. 9. 
 "The flgo for th.v frieiulshii)." 
 
 Sliakespeare : lleniy l'., iii. 6. 
 
 Fig Sunday. Palm Sunday is so 
 called from the custom of eating figs on 
 that day. The practice arose from the 
 Bible story of Zaccheus, who climbed 
 up into a fig-tree to see Jesus. 
 
 '.' Many other festivals have their 
 special foods; as, Michaelmas goose, 
 Christmas, plum-pudding. Shrove Tues- 
 day, pancake day ; Ash Wednesday, salt 
 cod ; Good Friday, hot cross-buns ; 
 pasch-eggs, roast-chestnuts, etc., have 
 their special days. 
 
 Fig-tree. It is said that Judas 
 hanged liimself on a fig-tree. (<S'ee 
 Elder-tree.) 
 
 " Qnifret aliuiiisqii.'i ex ar'luire Jndassesnspen'- 
 derit ? Arbor Ileus fuisse di'citiir."— iJurrurfiuji. 
 
 Figs. I shan't hug mg Attic figs in 
 future, but grow them. Don't" count 
 your chickens before they are hatched. 
 It was Xerxes who boasted that he did 
 not intend any longer to buy his figs, 
 because he meant to conquer Att'ica and 
 add it to his own empire ; but Xerxes 
 met a signal defeat at Sal'amis, and 
 " never loosed his sandal till he reached 
 Abde'ra." 
 
 " In the name of the Prophet, Figs ! " 
 A burlesque of the solemn language 
 employed in eastern countries in the 
 
 common business of life. The lino 
 occurs in the imitation of Dr. Jolmson's 
 pompous style, in Jiejected Addresses, by 
 James iiiid Horace Smith. 
 
 Figged out. {See Fio, FiiU Fig.) 
 
 Figaro. A type of cunning dex- 
 terity, and intrigue. Tlie character is 
 in the JIarhier de tSerille and Mariagc de 
 Figaro, l)y Beaumarchais. In the former 
 he is a barber, and in the latter a valet ; 
 but in both he outwits every one. There 
 are several operas founded on these 
 dramas, as Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, 
 Paisiello's 11 liarbiere di Siriglia, and 
 Rossini's // liarbiere di iiiviglia. 
 
 Fight. (See Hiidibras, Pt. iii. c. 3.) 
 
 " He thai ll(,'hl>i and runs awav 
 May livr i.i ll>,'ht another day ; 
 liiit lie that is in battle slain 
 ran never rise to tight again." 
 Sir Juhn .Meiines : Miisiirum DHietce. (1(.5C.) 
 
 Demos'thenes, being reproached for 
 running away from Philij) of Macedon, 
 at Cluerone'a, replied, " A man that 
 runs away may figlit again ('Ai'ijp ^(vyuv 
 
 Ko.\ TraAii' (iaxTJo-erai)." (.See Aulus O'el- 
 
 lius, xvii. ■_'!.) 
 
 Fight Shy (To). To avoid. A ehv 
 person is unwilling to come forward, 
 and to fight Ls to resist, to struggle in a 
 contest. To "figlit shy," therefore, is 
 to resist being brought into contest or 
 conflict. 
 
 Fighting-cocks. To lire li/ce fighting- 
 cocks. To have a i)rofusion of the best 
 food. Fighting-cocks used to be high 
 fed in order to aggravate their pug- 
 nacity and increase their powers of en- 
 durance. 
 
 Fighting Fifth {The). The r>th 
 Foot. This sobriquet was given to tlie 
 regiment during the Peninsidar War. 
 
 The " Old and Bold Fifth," the Duke 
 of Wellington's Body-guard, is now 
 called the " Northumberland Fusiliers." 
 What a temble vexation must the 
 abolition of the time-honoured names of 
 our old regiments have been to our arm}' ! 
 
 Fighting Kings [f'hen-kuo]. Cer- 
 tain feudatories of China incessantly 
 contending for mastery over each other. 
 (B.C. 770-320.) 
 
 Fighting Prelate. Henry Spencer, 
 Bishop of Norwich, who greatly distin- 
 guished himself in the rebellion of W^at 
 Tyler. He met the rebels in the field, 
 with the temporal sword, then absolved 
 them, and sent them to the gibbet. 
 
 "The Bishop of Norwich, the famous ' flu'liting 
 jirelate," had led an army iuto Flanders, "—iofd 
 Campbell.
 
 Fighting the Tiger 
 
 461 
 
 Filomena 
 
 I Lave arrived 
 iiiir-,- is more fairly ciirrieil 
 :i^iinithan in any AiiK'ri- 
 Tliu Nineteenth C\iiluni, 
 
 Fighting the Tiger. Gaming is so 
 called iu the Uuited States of America. 
 
 "AftiM- Feeiiii.' ' iV-'litiiii,' tlie tiKcr,' as Kaniiiis 
 is styled ill tlic r ' ' " ' 
 
 tlie cinchijiiuii n 
 (in in the Munli' i 
 ran g:iniini,--liiin.' 
 Feb., l.H'Jd, i>. L'l'J. 
 
 Fighting with Gloves on. Sparring 
 without showing animosity ; hghtiug 
 with weapons or words with coloured 
 friendliness. Fighting, like boxers, with 
 boxing gloves. Tories and Whigs in the 
 two Houses of I'arliament fight with 
 gloves on, so long as they preserve all 
 the outward amenities of debate, and 
 conceal their liostility to each other by 
 seeming friendliness. 
 
 Figure. To cut ajiffiire. This phrase 
 seems applicable more esx)ecially to dress 
 and outward bearing. To make a figure 
 is rather to make a name or reputation, 
 but the distinction is not sharjily ob- 
 served. 
 
 2'o make a figure. To be a notability. 
 Faire quelque ji(jure dans Ic monde. " He 
 makes no figure at court ; " II ne fait 
 Httcitne fi<jare a la eour. 
 
 . Figure. IfliaVs the figure ? The 
 price ; what am I to pay ? what ' ' figure " 
 or sum docs my debt amount to ? 
 
 Figure-head. A figure on the head 
 or projecting cutwater of a ship. 
 
 Figure of Fun (A). A droll appear- 
 ance, whether from initidiness, quaint - 
 uess, or other iieculiarity. ' A precious 
 figure of fun,' is a i-ather stronger 
 expression. These are chiefly applied 
 to young childi'en. 
 
 Figures. A corruption oi fingers, that 
 is, "digits" (Latin, digiti, fingers). So 
 called from the primitive method of 
 marking the monades by the fingers. 
 Thus the first four were simply i, ii, iii, 
 iiii ; five was the outline of the hand 
 simplified into a v ; the next four figures 
 were the two combined, thus, vi, vii, 
 viii, viiii ; and ten was a double v, thus, 
 X. At a later period iiii and viiii were 
 expressed by one less than five (i-v) and 
 one less than ten (i-x). Nineteen was 
 ten-plus-nine (x + is), etc. — a most 
 clumsy and unphilosophical device. 
 
 Filch. To steal or purloin. A filch 
 is a staff with a hook at the end, for 
 plucking clothes from hedges and 
 abstracting articles from shoi> windows. 
 Probably it is a corruption of pilfer. 
 (Welsh, ijspeilio and gsjfeiliicr; Spanish, 
 
 peUizcar : French, piller and peler. Fileh 
 
 and pi/fer are variants of the same word. 
 
 " Willi cunning liast thou filched my daui,'htcr"s 
 
 heart." 
 
 Shakespeare : Midsummer Night's Dream, i. 3. 
 
 File. To cheat. The allusion is to 
 filing money for the sake of the dust 
 which can be used or sold. A fife is a 
 cheat. Hence " a jolly file," etc. 
 
 " Sorful Iiecom that fals file." 
 
 Cursor MmuU MS. 
 
 In single file. Single row ; one behind 
 another. (French, ^/c, a row.) 
 
 Rank and file. Common soldiers. 
 Thus we say, "Ten officers and three 
 hundred rank and file fell in the action." 
 Rank refers to men standing abreast, 
 file to men standing behind each other. 
 
 " It was only on the laith of some grand exjie- 
 dition that the credulous rank and tile of the 
 Brotherhood subscribed their dollars." — Tlic 
 Tnuci. 
 
 Fi'lia Doloro'sa. The Duchesse 
 d'Angouleme, daughter of Louis XVI., 
 also called the modem Antig' one. (1778- 
 1851.) 
 
 Filibuster. A piratical adventurer. 
 The most notorious was William Walker, 
 who was shot iu 1 8.55. {French,fiibHstier, 
 a corruption of our " freebooter ; " Ger- 
 man, freihenter ; Spanish, fi'lilni.stcro ; 
 Dutch, vrijbueter.) (See Buccaneer.) 
 
 Filioque Controversy (T/ie) long 
 disturbed the Eastern and Western 
 Churches. The jioint was this : Did the 
 Holy Ghost proceed from the Father 
 and the Son (Filio-qne), or from the 
 Father only? The Western Church 
 maintained the former, and the Eastern 
 Church the latter dogma. The filio-que 
 was added in the Council of Toledo 589. 
 Amongst others, Pope Leo III. was 
 averse to the change. (Xiccne Creed.) 
 
 The gist of the argument is this: If the Son is 
 one with the Father, whatever proceeds from the 
 Father must proceed from the Sou also. This is 
 technically called "The Prucession of the H(dy 
 Ghost." 
 
 Fill-dyke. The month of Februarj'^, 
 when the rain and melted snow fills the 
 ditches to ovei-flowing. 
 
 Fillet. A narrow band round the 
 head for binding the hair, or simply 
 for ornament. Aure'lian was the first 
 Roman emperor that wore a royal fillet 
 or diadem in public. In the time of 
 Constantino the fillet was adorned with 
 precious stones. 
 
 Filome'na. Longfellow calls Florence 
 Nightingale lit. Filomena, not only be- 
 cause Filomena resembles the Latin word 
 for a nightingale, but also because this
 
 Filter 
 
 462 
 
 Finger 
 
 saint, in Sabatelli's picture, is repre- 
 sented as hovering over a group of sick 
 and maimed, healed by her intercession. 
 
 (^Sec THAtTMATUEGUS.) 
 
 Filter. To run through felt, as jelly- 
 is strained through flannel. The Ro- 
 mans strained the juice of their grapes 
 through felt into the wine-vat, after 
 which it was jjut into the casks. (Latin, 
 feltrum, ielt,Ji/friiiu, a strainer.) 
 
 Fin. The hand. A contraction of 
 finger. Thus we say, " Give iis your 
 fin"— 7.f. shake hands. The derivation 
 fi'om a fish's fin is good only for a joke. 
 
 Finality John. Earl Russell, who 
 maintained that the Reform Bill of 1832 
 was a finalitti, yet in 18o4, 1860, and 
 1866 brought forth other Refonn Bills. ; 
 
 Finance (French). Revenue derived 
 from fines or subsidies. In feudal times 
 finance was money paid to a lord for a 
 privilege. In the plural we use the word 
 to signifj' available money resources. 
 Thus wo say, " Mj' finances are ex- 
 hausted," meaning I have no more funds 
 or available money. 
 
 Finch Lane (London). So called 
 fi-om a family of consideratiou by the 
 name of Finch or Fiuke. There was 
 once a church in the lane called St. 
 Benet Fiiike. There is an Irish saint 
 named Fine, in Latin Flncana, whose 
 day is October 13th. 
 
 Find. YoH knoir what ijou leave hcliinil, 
 but not icfiat i/on icill Jind. And this it 
 is that " makes us rather bear the ills we 
 have, than fly to others that Ave know 
 not of." 
 
 Fin'don Haddocks. Haddocks 
 smoked with green wood. (See .S'*)- W. 
 Scott : The ^Intifjxarij, xxvi.) Findou 
 or Finnon is a village some .six miles 
 south of Aberdeen, where haddocks are 
 cured. 
 
 Findy. Plump, full. (Saxon, //>;(%.) 
 " A cold May and a windy 
 Make barus fat and fiudv." 
 
 Old Proverb. 
 
 Fine Arts. Those arts which chiefly 
 depend on a delicate or fine imagina- 
 tion, as music, painting, poetry, and 
 sculpture. 
 
 Fine as Fivepence. The ancient 
 Saxon shilling was a coin worth .5d. " To 
 dress fine as fivepence " is to dress very 
 smartly. The Saxon shilling was a far 
 better coin than those made of tin, lead, 
 and other inferior metals. 
 
 Fine-ear. One of Fortu'nio's ser- 
 vants, who could hear the grass grow 
 
 and the mole work underground. 
 
 {Grimm's Goblins : Fortiinio.) 
 
 Fin'etor. A necromancer, father of 
 the Enchantress-Damsel, in Am'adis of 
 Gaul. 
 
 Fingal — i.e. Fin-mac-Coul. (See Sir 
 W. Scott : Tlie Antiquanj, chap, xxii.) 
 
 Fingal's Cave. The basaltic cavern 
 of Statt'a. So called from Fion na Gael 
 (Fingal), the great Gaelic hero, whose 
 achievements liave been made familiar 
 by the Fingal of Macpherson. 
 
 Finger. (Anglo-Saxon, j?«^r»'). 
 The car fnger, digitus auriculdris — i.e. 
 the little finger. The four fingers are 
 the index finger, the middle finger, the 
 ring finger, and the ear finger. In 
 French, le doigt aurieulairc. The little 
 finger is so called because it can, from 
 its diminutive size, be most easily intro- 
 duced into the conduit of the ear. 
 
 ".Lrdoiiil iiiiririiliiirr est. le petit diii«m,, ainsi 
 niiiiiiiu' parre nu'a cause de sa pelitesse, II pent, 
 facileiiienl. ctre iiitriidiiit djins le cuiidiiit aiidilif 
 extorne."'— iiiVf. rfc.s Sciences, etc. 
 
 Tjic i)ide.r finger. The first finger ; so 
 called "because it is used as a pointer. 
 
 'The medical finger. The ring finger 
 {q.r.). 
 
 " At last lie put cm licr nicilical lln),-cra pretty, 
 liandsdiiip f,'idd lint,', wlRTejiiIci was encbaped a 
 ineciiiiis toadstone iif IJeanssc."— 7i<(6e(((i»; Pmi,- 
 ttiijriiel, iii. 17. 
 
 'The rimj finger. The finger between 
 the long and little finger was used by 
 the Romans as a ring-finger, from the 
 belief that a nerve ran through it to the 
 heart. Hence the Greeks and Romans 
 used to call it the medical finger, and 
 used it for stirring mixtures, luider the 
 notion that nothing noxious could touch 
 it without its giving instant warning to 
 the heart. It is still a very general 
 notion in England that it is bad to rub 
 on salve or scratch the skin with any but 
 the ring finger. The fact that there was 
 no such intimacy between the finger and 
 the heart was not discovered till after 
 the notion was deeply rooted. Pliny 
 calls this digitus annularis. 
 
 With a wet finger. Easily. (.SVe Wet 
 Finger. ) 
 
 Mg httle fnger told me that. The 
 same as "A little bird told me that," 
 meaning, I know it, though you did not 
 expect it. The former expression is 
 from Moliere's Malade Imaginaire. {See 
 Bird.) 
 
 " By the prickinp of rny thumhs, 
 Sometliins wicked this way conies." 
 
 Shakespeare : Macbeth, iv. 1. 
 
 org, babg, erg ; put gour finger in gour 
 egc, etc. This nui^sery rhyme seems to
 
 Finger and Glove 
 
 463 
 
 Fire 
 
 be I'eferred to by Shakespeare in his 
 Coined If of Errors, ii. 2 :— 
 
 "No lonKerwill I lie fool, 
 To put the flnser in the e.ve aud wei'ii." 
 
 To hold up a finger (in an auction 
 room) by way of a bid, was a Roman 
 custom, "digitum tollgre " {Cicero: In 
 Verrem, Actio i. 54). Horace confirms 
 this. 
 
 To turn up the little finger. (Sec 
 
 TUKN.) 
 
 Finger and Glove. To be finger and 
 glove tvith a not her means to be most 
 intimate. 
 
 Finger in the Pie. To have a finger 
 in the pic. To assist or mix oneself 
 officiously in any matter. Ease rci par- 
 ticcps. In Fi-euch, Mettrc la main a la 
 pate. 
 
 Finger Benediction. In the C4reek 
 aud Roman Church the thumb and first 
 two fingers represent the Trinity. The 
 thumb, being strong, represents the 
 Father ; the long or second finger, Jci^us 
 Chrint ; and the first finger, the Ilolg 
 Ghost, which proceedeth from the Father 
 aud the Son. ((SW- Blessing.) 
 
 Some bishops of the Anglican Chvirch 
 use this gesture Avhile pronouncing the 
 benediction. 
 
 Finger-stall. A hutkin, a cover for 
 a sore finger. The Germans call a 
 thimble a finger-hut, where hut is evi- 
 dently the word hut or huth (a tending, 
 keeping, or guarding), from the verb 
 hutoi (to keep watch over). Oxiv hutkin 
 is simply a little cajt for guarding a sore 
 finger. ' Stall is the Saxon st(cl (a place), 
 whence our stall, a place for horses. 
 
 Fingers. The old names for the 
 fingers are : — 
 
 Thumb (Anglo-Saxon thuma). 
 
 Towcher (the finger that touches), fore- 
 man, or pointer. This was called by 
 the Anglo-Saxons the scite-finger, i.e. 
 the shooting finger. 
 
 Long-man or long finger. 
 
 Lech-man or ring-finger. The former 
 means " medical finger," and the latter 
 is a Roman expression, " digitus annu- 
 In'ris.''^ Called by the Anglo-Saxons 
 the gold-finger. 
 
 Little-man or little finger. Called by 
 the Anglo-Saxons the edr-fingcr. 
 
 Fingers. Ben Jonson says — 
 " The tbumb, in chiromancy, we fi\\e to Venus ; 
 Tl;e fore-flnser to Jo\ e ; tbe midst, to Satiu-n ; 
 Tlje rius to Sol ; the least to Mercury." 
 
 Alchemist, i. 2. 
 
 His fingers are all thumbs. Said of a 
 person awkward in the use of his hands. 
 Ce sont les deux doigts de la, main. 
 
 Fingers before Forks. 
 
 " This Vuli-nu was ;i smith, thev tell us, 
 That llrst invented touys and licHows ; 
 For breath and tinkers did Ihrir works 
 (.We'd angers long liefore we'll forks)." 
 
 Khi(j: Alt of Love. 
 
 Fingers' Ends. / have it at my 
 fingers'' ends. I am quite familiar with it 
 aud can do it readily. It is a Latin pro- 
 verb (Scire tanquam un'gues dig'ltosq.), 
 where the allusion is to the statuary, 
 who knows every item of his subject by 
 the touch. (6Ve Unguem.) 
 
 " Cnstrn-(t : Go to ; thini hast it ad dimghill, at 
 the llnjiers' ends, as they say. 
 
 lldluffnu's: I), I smell false Latin: dunghill 
 for unguem.''— ,S/(((/iV.-V'i'(fr(' ; Love's Labour's Lost, 
 V. 1. 
 
 Fingered. 
 
 The liglit-fuigered gcntrg. Priggers, 
 qui ungues haniatos ct uncos hahcnt. 
 
 Fingle-fangle {A"). A ricochet word 
 meaning a fanciful trifle. A "new 
 fangle " is a novel contrivance. "New 
 f angled," etc. 
 
 Finished to the Finger-nail, or 
 
 '■'■ad ungucin,^'' in allusion to statuaries 
 running their finger-tips over a statue 
 to detect if any roughness or imperfec- 
 tion of surface remains. 
 
 Finny Tribe. Fish ; so called be- 
 cause they are furnished with fins. 
 
 Finsbury (Loudon). A corruption 
 of Fens-bury, the town in the fens. 
 
 Fion, sou of Comnal, an enormous 
 giaut, who could place his feet ou two 
 mountains, and then stoop and drink 
 from a streani in the valley between. 
 (Gaelic legend.) 
 
 Fir-cone on the Thyrsus. The juice 
 of the fir-tree (turpentine) used to be 
 mixed by the Greeks with new wine 
 to make it keep ; hence it was adojited 
 as one of the sj-mbols of Bacchus. 
 
 Fir-tree (The). Atys was metamor- 
 phosed into a fir-tree by C3''bele, as he 
 was about to lay violent hands on him- 
 self. (Ovid: Metamorphoses, X. i'cihle 2.) 
 
 Fire. (Anglo-Saxon, /yr ,• Greek,jU«r.) 
 St. Antong's fire. Erysipelas. "Ze 
 feu St. Antoine.''^ (See Anthony.) 
 St. F[elen''sfire. "Ignis saneimlleKmc.'''' 
 "■Feu St. Hclme.'''' (See Castoe and 
 Pollux; and Elmo.) 
 
 Hernies^s fire. Same as St. Helen's 
 fire (q.v.). 
 
 I have mgsclf passed through the fire ; 
 I have smelt the smell of fire. I have had 
 experience in trouble. The allusion is 
 to Shadi'ach, Mcshach, aud Abeduego, 
 who were cast into the fiery furnace l>y 
 Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. iii.).
 
 Fire 
 
 464 
 
 First -class 
 
 If you will enjoy the fire yon must put 
 up tcith the smoke. (Latiu, " Commod'- 
 itas quavis sua fcrt tncommoda sccuiii.^^) 
 Every convenience has its incouveui- 
 ence. 
 
 More fire in the bed-straw. More mis- 
 chief brewing. Alluding to the times 
 when straw was used for carpets and 
 beds. 
 
 JVofire without smoke. (French, ^' X/d 
 feu sans fumee.'''') No good without its 
 mixture of evil. 
 
 No smoke ivithout fire. To every scan- 
 dal there is some foundation. 
 
 Where there is smoke there is fire. 
 Every effect is tlie result of some cause. 
 
 Fire. The Great Fire of London 
 (166()) broke out at Master Farryner's, 
 the king's baker, in Pudding Lane, and 
 after three nights and tliree days was 
 arrested at I'ie Corner. St. Paul's 
 Cathedral, eighty-nine other churches, 
 and KJ,'JOO houses were burnt down. 
 
 Fire Away ! Say on ; say what you 
 have to say. The allusion to firing a. 
 gun ; as. You are iirimed up to the 
 muzzle with something you want to say ; 
 fire away and discharge your thouglits. 
 
 "'Foster, I liave soiiiptljiii.L,' 1 want y<ni ami 
 Miss Caryll to iiiulei'staud.' "Kin- away!' o.x- 
 claimeil Foster."— H'cfwH.- The Web of a Spider, 
 ciiai). XV. 
 
 Fire away, Flan'agan. A taunt to a 
 boaster. A man threatening you, says 
 he will do this, that, and the other ; you 
 reply, "Fire away, Flanagan." Crom- 
 well marched against a castle defended 
 by Flanagan, who threatened to open 
 his cannon on the Parliamentarians unless 
 they witlidrew. Cromwell wrote on the 
 corner of the missive sent to him, " Fire 
 away, Flanagan," and the doughty cham- 
 pion took to his heels immediately. 
 
 Fire First. Non, Monsieur, nous ne 
 tirons jamais les premiers. According 
 to tradition, this was said by the Count 
 D'Auteroches to Lord Charles Hay at 
 the battle of Foutenoy, 30th April, 
 1745 (old style). 
 
 "On cetait de tradition dans rarmee : on 
 laissait toujours par courtoisie, l'a\antago du 
 premier feu a I'ennenii." (See Xotes and Queries, 
 fUth Octoher, 1892, p. 345.) 
 
 Fire-balloon. A balloon whose as- 
 censional power is derived from hot air 
 rising from a fire beneath its open mouth. 
 Montgolfier used such a balloon. 
 
 Fire-brand. An incendiary ; one 
 who incites to rebellion ; like a blazing 
 brand which sets on fire all it touches. 
 
 " Our fire-brand lirotber, Paris, burns us all." 
 Shakespeare : Troilus and Cressida, ii. 2. 
 
 Fire-drake or Fire-dragon. A fieiy 
 serpent, an ignis-fatuus of large propor- 
 tions, superstitiously believed to be a 
 flying dragon keeping guard over hid 
 treasures. 
 
 "Tbere is a fellow soniewiiat near tlio door, lie 
 should lie a brazirr by Lis face, for, o' my con- 
 science, twenty of tlie don-days now reifjn in 's 
 nose. . . . That lire-drake did I hit three times on 
 the head."-.S/o'/.-.,v;,r(irc; lliiinj VIII., v. 3. 
 
 Fire-eaters. Persons ready to quar- 
 rel for auytliing. The allusion is to the 
 jugglers who "eat" flaming tow, pour 
 melted lead down tlieir throats, and 
 hold red-hot metal between tlieir teeth. 
 Richardson, in the scvriitniith century 
 • — Signora JoseiJliine Girardelli (tlie ori- 
 ginal Salamander), in the earlj'^ part of 
 the nineteenth century — and Chaubcrt, 
 a Frenchman, of the present century, 
 were the most noted of these exhibitors. 
 
 " The sreat lire-eater lay uncons<-ious npou the 
 floor of the house."— .Viis/iviHc Baiiner. 
 
 Fire-new. Spick and span new (q.t\). 
 
 " Yon shoulil have accosted her ; and with gomo 
 excellent jests lire-new from the mint."— i'/idAe- 
 spriire : Tirelfth Xight, ill. 2. 
 
 Fire-ship. A ship filled with com- 
 bustibles to bo sent against adverse 
 vessels in ortler to set tliem on fire. 
 
 Fire Up (7o). To become indig- 
 nantly angry. Tlie Latin, " ird e.rardes- 
 f?)r," " Injlitnnm r de eolere." 
 
 Fire Worship was introduced into 
 Persia by Phce'dima, widow of Smerdis, 
 and wife of Gushtasp daraursh, usually 
 called Hystaspes (n.c. o'21-48o). It is 
 not the sun that is worshipped, but God, 
 who is supposed to reside in it ; at the 
 same time they reverence the sun, not as 
 a deity but as the throne of deity. {See 
 Paesees. ) 
 
 Fire and Sword. Letters off re and 
 sirord. If a criminal resisted the law 
 and refused to answer his citation, it 
 was accounted treason in the Scottish 
 courts ; and ' ' letters of fire and sword " 
 were sent to the sheriff, authorising him 
 to use either or both these instruments 
 to appi'ehend the contumacious party. 
 
 Fire and Watet. I will yo throuyh 
 fire and water to serve you. The refer- 
 ence is the ordeals of fire and water 
 which might be transferred to substi- 
 tutes. Paul seems to refer to substitu- 
 tional death in Rom. v. 7 : " Scarcely 
 for a righteous man will one die ; yet 
 for a good man some would even dare to 
 die." 
 
 Firm as a Rock. {See Similes.) 
 
 First-class Hard Labour. Under 
 
 this sentence, the prisoner sleeps on a
 
 Pirst-fruits 
 
 465 
 
 Fish 
 
 plank bed without a matti-ess, ami 
 speuds six or eight hours a day turning 
 a liard crank, or treading a wheel. (iS'cc 
 Second-class Hard Labour.) 
 
 First-fruits. The first profitable 
 results of labour. lu husbandry, the 
 first coru that is cut at harvest. We 
 also use the word in an evil sense ; as, 
 the first-fruits of sin, the first-fruits of 
 repentance. 
 
 First Water. A diamond of the first 
 icater. {Sec Diamond.) 
 
 First Gentleman of Europe. A 
 
 nickname given to George IV., who 
 certainly was first in rank, but it would 
 be sad indeed to think he was ever the 
 most gentlemanly man in feeling, man- 
 ners, and deportment. Louis d'Artois 
 was so called also. 
 
 First Grenadier of France. A 
 
 title given l)y Napoleon to Latour d'Au- 
 vergue (171:3-1800). 
 
 First Stroke is Half the Battle. 
 
 "Well begun is half done." " A good 
 lather is half the shave." 
 
 Latin: "Iiu'ipe: (limidiinu facti est coppisse." 
 
 (.lH.si)HI»S.) 
 
 "Dimiiliuin facti, qui co'iiit, lialiet." 
 (Wi<ra,v.) 
 French: " B:u)ic liieu saviiniiet' est a iiKiitic f.iite. 
 Uemtnix cDiiiiuencemeut est la luoitio 
 
 (le I'dHivi-e. 
 C ii'est que le premier pas (iiii cofite." 
 
 Fish. The French have a renuirkable 
 locution respecting fish as a food : 
 
 " Apres poisson, lait est poison ; 
 Apres poisson, le vin est lion ; 
 Apres poisson, noix est contre-poison."' 
 
 Fish. The reason why fish are em- 
 ployed as card-counters is from a mis- 
 apprehension of the French word fi'c/ic 
 (a five-sou piece). The two points 
 allowed for the "rub" are called in 
 French la fiche de conanlation. The 
 Spanish word pez has also a double 
 meaning — a "winning," or a " fish ; " 
 pez is the Welsh ^»/.«.y/, Latin /»/«■', Eng- 
 lish fish. 
 
 A loose fitih. One of loose or dissolute 
 habits. F'usli implying a human being 
 is derogatory, but bird is a loving term, 
 as my "bonny bird," etc. Beast is 
 most reproachful, as " You are a 
 beast." 
 
 A prett;/ kettle offish. {See Kittle.) 
 
 A queer fish. An eccentric person. 
 (See above, Loose Fish.) 
 
 All is fish that eomes to iiii/ )iet. ^'Anri 
 bonus est odor ex re qualibet.'''' I am 
 willing to deal in anything out of which 
 I can make a i^rofit. I turn everything 
 to some use. 
 
 " Al is fl^lie tliat Cometh to the uet."-C. Gus- 
 coigne : The Steele Glas (died 1577). 
 
 30 
 
 Jfe eats no fish ; he is not a papist ; he 
 is an honest man, and one to be trusted. 
 In the reign of Elizabeth papists were 
 opposed to the Government, and Pro- 
 testants, to show their loyalty, refused 
 to eat fish on Fridays to show they were 
 not papists. 
 
 "I do profess .... to serve him trul.v .... 
 and to eat no fish." — tihakespeare : King Lear, i. 4. 
 
 / have other fish to fry ; " J^ai Men 
 d^ottres affaires en tvte ;'''' '■' Aliud mihi 
 est a<ie)idiim ; " I am busy and cannot 
 attend to [that] now ; I have other 
 matters to attend to. 
 
 Mute as a fish. Fish have no language 
 like birds, beasts, and insects. Their 
 utmost power of sound is a feeble cry of 
 pain, the result of intestinal respiration. 
 The French also .say "mute conime un 
 poisson." 
 
 The best fish smell when theij are three 
 days old ; " rhote ct le poisson piient 
 passe trois jours.'''' "Withdraw thy 
 foot from thy neighbour's house, lest he 
 get weary of thee, and so hate thee" 
 (Prov. XXV. 17). "Don't outstay your 
 welcome." 
 
 The best fish swim near the bottom. 
 " Le vieilleur poisson nage pres dufond.''^ 
 What is most commercially valuable is 
 not to be found on the surface of the 
 earth, nor is anything else really valu- 
 able to be obtained without trouble. 
 "■ II faut easser le noyau pour en avoir 
 Vumande,^'' for " Hil sine mayno vita 
 labore dedit mortalibics.^' 
 
 Fish. It is neither fish, fiesli, nor fowl; 
 ov JS'either fish, fiesh, nor good red her- 
 ring. Not fish "(food for the monk), not 
 flesh (food for the people generally), 
 nor yet red herring (food for paupers) . 
 Suitable to no class of people ; fit for 
 neither one thing nor another. 
 
 V Fish conies first because in the 
 Middle Ages the clergy took precedence 
 of the laity. 
 
 "Slie would lie a hetwixt-aud-hetwcen .... 
 neitlit'i- llsh nor UK\."—Mys. Lynn Linton. 
 
 Fish-day {A) [jour maigre]. A day 
 in the lloman Catholic Church when 
 persons, without ecclesiastical permis- 
 sion, are forbidden to eat meat. 
 
 Fish-wife ( -/ ) . A woman who hawks 
 fish about the streets. 
 
 Fish and Flesh. You must not mnhc 
 jlsh (f one and fiesh of the othet . You 
 must treat both alike. Fish is an in- 
 ferior sort of animal food to flesh. The 
 alliteration has much to do with the 
 phrase. 
 
 Fish in Troubled Water ( To). In 
 French, " I'eehcr en eaa trouble.'^ To
 
 Fish it Out 
 
 466 
 
 Fixt 
 
 scrani'ble for personal advantage in 
 times of rebellion, revolution, or national 
 calamity. 
 
 Fish it Out {To). Tliis is the Latin 
 
 CXplscoV. 
 
 Fish out of Water. Out of place ; 
 ■without oue's usual occupation ; restless 
 from lack of employment. 
 
 Fisher of Souls {The great). The 
 devil. 
 
 " I trust, ymins man, that neitlier i<Ileness nor 
 lioentious pleasure .... the chief liaits with 
 whirh tlie t-'rt'.U Fislier of souls conreals his 
 li(Hiks,;ne tlic caiisi'sof yourdecliniiit; tlie c.-ireer 
 tn whicli I would iuoite you."— .S7c W. Scutt: The 
 Mii:iiisf( rij, chap. xi. 
 
 Fisherman. The fisherman who was 
 father of three Icing fs. Abu Shujah al 
 Bou3^ah was a Persian fisherman in the 
 province of Delem', whose three sons, 
 Imad, Ruken, and Moez, all rose to 
 sovereign power. 
 
 Fishing. Fishing for coinplinienls. 
 Laying a bait for praise. 
 
 Fisk (in IFudihras) was Nicholas 
 Fiek, a physician and astrologer, who 
 used to say that a ])liysician never de- 
 served his bread till he had no teeth to 
 eat it. In his old age he was almost a 
 beggar. 
 
 Fitz (Xorman). Son of : as Fitz- 
 Herbert, Fitz-William, Fitz-Peter, etc. 
 It is sometimes applied to illegitimate 
 cliildren, as Fitz-Clareiice, Fitz-ro}', 
 
 etc. 
 
 Fitz-Fulke {Hebe). " A gracious, 
 graceful, graceless grace;" "fat, fair, 
 and fortj'." {Bgron : Don Juan, canto 
 
 xvi.) 
 
 Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge 
 Uuiversitv). So called from Earl Fitz- 
 william, who left £100,000, with books, 
 paintings, etc., to form the nucleus of a 
 museum for the benefit of the university. 
 
 Five, or the pentad, the great mystic 
 number, being the sum of 2 + 3, the 
 first even and first odd compound. Lenity 
 is God alone, i.e. without creation. Two 
 is diversity, and three (being 1+2) is 
 the compound of unity and diversity, or 
 the two principles in operation since 
 creation, and rei)rescuting all the powers 
 of nature. 
 
 Five-minute Clause. A provision 
 sometimes inserted in deeds of separa- 
 tion, whereby it is stipulated that the 
 deed is null and void if the husband and 
 wife remain together five minutes after 
 the separation is enjoined. 
 
 Five Nations {The). Tlic five con- 
 federated Indian tribes, viz. the Mohawks, 
 Oneidas, Onondagas, CajTigas, and Se- 
 necas. Known as the Iroquois Confede- 
 racy. 
 
 Five Points {The). (See Calvixism.) 
 
 Five Wits. (1) Common sense, (2) 
 imagination, (3) fantasy, (4) estimation, 
 and (.5) memorj'. Common sense is the 
 outcome of the five senses ; imagination 
 is the "wit" of the mind; fantasy is 
 imagination united with judgment ; 
 estimation estimates the absolute, such 
 as time, space, lociility, and so on ; and 
 memory is the "wit" of recalling past 
 events, (fiee Seven Wits.) 
 
 " Four of liis five wits went h.aUiiig off." 
 
 Slittl,eKi>e<tic: Much Ada, etc., i. 1. 
 " Tlicse are tlie (Ive wilts reniovyii^- iiiwardly : 
 First, ' t'ouiiiioii wute,' and theu ' Yiiiagiu- 
 
 atinn,' 
 ' Faut.isy,' and 'Estimation' truely, 
 Anil ' .Memory.' " 
 Stei'liiii Iltiaes : The Pasne-ti/nic of rhsure (15\:>). 
 
 •.• Not« ithstandinK tliisquotation, probahly the 
 Five Wits mean the wits of the five senses. 
 
 Fiver {A). A five-pound note. A 
 "tenner " is a ten-i^ouud note. 
 
 Fives. A game .similar to court-ten- 
 nis ; the haiul, however, is used iii.ste.adof 
 a racket. Said to be so called because 
 the game is three fives (15). 
 
 "Ho forsot tliat cricket and fives are rapU:il 
 training for ti-nnis. "— 2'. lluylies: Turn liiinvn tit 
 Oxford, chap. ii. 
 
 A hunch of fees. The fist, in which 
 the five fingers are bound in a bunch. 
 
 Fix. I'm in a fi.r. A predicament. 
 The allusion is to machinery which will 
 not move. The Xorthuniberland was in 
 a terrible fix at the launch, when it 
 refused to leave tlie dock. (1866.) 
 
 Fixed Air. Carbonic dioxide gas. Dr. 
 Black gave it this name, because car- 
 bonate of magnesia evolved by heat 
 carbonic acid, that is, MgO, COj evolved 
 COi, thereby proving that CO^ (carbonic 
 acid) is a " fixed air." 
 
 Fixed Oils. Oils obtained by simple 
 pressure. The.se oils do not readily dry 
 or volatilise, but remain fixed in tlieir 
 oily character. 
 
 Fixed Stars. Stars whose relative 
 position to other stars is fixed or always 
 the same. Planets are always shifting 
 their relative positions. 
 
 Fixt {The). That is, the Firmament. 
 According to the Ptolemaic Sj-stem, tlie 
 earth is surrounded by nine spheres. 
 These spheres are surrounded by the 
 Frimum3Ioblle {ov'FhsiM.oy^Oi) ; and the
 
 Placcus 
 
 467 
 
 Flame 
 
 Premium Mobile is enveloped by tlie 
 
 empyrean, or abode of deity. 
 
 "Tlicy pass tlic planets seven, and pass tlie flxt, 
 Aiul tli:i.t crystalline sphere whose balance weighs 
 The trepidation talked, and that first moved." 
 Milton : Paradise Lost, iii. 481—3. 
 
 Flaccus. Horace, the Roman jjoet, 
 wliose full name was Quiutus Hora'tius 
 Flaccus. 
 
 Flag. (Danish, ^;7(/_i7.) 
 
 A black Jlay is the eml^lem of piracy or 
 of no quarter. (.SVr Black Flags.) 
 
 To unfurl the black Jlay. To declare 
 war. The curtain whicli used to hang 
 before the door of Ayeshah, Mahomet's 
 favourite wife, was taken for a national 
 flag, and is regarded by Mussulmans as 
 the most precious of relics. It is black, 
 and is never unfolded except as a declar- 
 ation of war. 
 
 A red flay. To display a red flag is to 
 defy or dare to battle. Red is the emblem 
 of blood. The Roman signal for battle. 
 
 A yellow flag signals contagious disease 
 on board ship. 
 
 To get one's flag. To become an 
 admiral. Formerly the captain of a flag- 
 ship was called a " flag-officer." 
 
 " I do not believe that the Imllet is cast that is 
 to deprive you of life. Jack ; yon'll get your flat', 
 as I hope to get m\\\e:'— Kingston : The Three Ad- 
 mirals, xiii. 
 
 To hang the flag half-mast high is in 
 token of mourning or distress. 
 
 To hang oat the a-Jntcflag. To sue for 
 quarter ; to give in. 
 
 To lower one'' s flag ; to eat humble pie ; 
 to eat the leek ; to confess oneself in the 
 wrong ; to eat one's own words. 
 
 "The . . . Association . . . after systematically 
 opposing the views of the . . . National Congress, 
 liad to lower the flag and pass a resolution in 
 favour of siniultaneous exainiiiatious." — A7«e- 
 P-enth Century (April, ISIM, page 070). 
 
 To strike the flag. To lower it or pull 
 it down upon the cap. in token of re- 
 spect or submission. In naval warfare 
 it means to surrender. 
 
 Flag, Flags. 
 
 Jtimners oj Saints. Flags smaller than stand- 
 ards, and not slit at the extremity. 
 
 Royal Banners contain the royal arms, 
 
 fitdndards.mMch largerand longer than banners, 
 and slit at the extremity. A standard has no 
 armorial bearings. 
 
 Bargee. A small flag with the loose end cleft 
 like a •«=. 
 
 Pennant. A small triangular flag. 
 
 Pennons, much smaller than standards ; rounded 
 at the extremity, and charged with arms. 
 
 Bannerols, banners of great width, representing 
 alli.ances and descents. 
 
 Pensils, small flags shaiied like the vanes on 
 liinnacles. 
 
 Flag Lieutenant (A). An admiral's 
 aide-de-camp. 
 
 Flag-officer. Either an admiral, 
 vice-admiral, rear-admiral, or commo- 
 dore. These officers alone are privileged 
 
 to carry a flag denoting rank. Admirals 
 carry their flag at the main, vice-admi- 
 rals at the fore, and rear-admirals at the 
 mizen. {See Admieai.) 
 
 Flag-ship. A ship carrying a flag 
 officer. {See Admiral.) 
 Flag Signals (on railroads). 
 
 " White is all right ; Red is all wrong ; 
 (ireeu is go cautiously bowling along." 
 
 Flag's Down {The). Indicative of 
 distress. When the face is pale the 
 "flag is down." Alluding to the an- 
 cient custom of taking down the flag of 
 theatres during Lent, when the theatres 
 were clo-sed. 
 
 " 'Tis Lent in your cheeks, the flag's down."— 
 Dndslni's Old Plays (vol. v. p. 314, article, ■' JIad 
 
 World.") 
 
 Flag of Distress. A card at one's 
 window announcing " lodgings " or 
 "board and lodgings." The allusion is 
 evident. A flag reversed, hoisted with 
 the union downwards. 
 
 Flagellants. A sect of enthusiasts 
 in the middle of the thirteenth century, 
 who went in procession about the streets 
 inflicting on themselves daily flagel- 
 lations, in order to merit thereby the 
 favour of God. They were put down 
 soon after their appearance, but revived 
 in the fourteenth century. Also called 
 " Brothers of the Cross." 
 
 Flam. Flattery for an object ; blar- 
 ney; humbug. (Irish, ^o«, Anglo-Saxon, 
 flcoii, flight.) 
 
 " They told me what a fine thing it was to he an 
 Englishman, and al.otit liberty and property . . . 
 ) tind it was a n-.im."— Godwin: Caleb Williams, 
 vol. ii. chap. V. p. D7. 
 
 Flamberge or Floberge. The .sword 
 which Maugis took from Anthenor, the 
 Saracen admii'al, when he came to attack 
 the castle of Oriande la Fee. It was 
 made by Weyland, the Vulcan of the 
 Northern Olympus. {Romance of Mau- 
 gis cV Aygremont et de Vivian son Frcrc.) 
 
 " Mais si une fois je Uty fais essayer ceste-cy 
 plus tranchante fjue ' JoyeusCj Durandel, Haute- 
 claire, ou Flamberge,' je le fendray juscjues a 
 restomach."— Pi'en-e de I'Arivey : Le Jaloiex, \. 0. 
 
 Flamboyant Architecture. A florid 
 style which prevailed in France in the 
 l.)th and IGth centuries. So called from 
 its flame-like tracery. 
 
 '•The great tower [of Antwerp cathedral] . . . 
 nujst florid and flamboyant ... is one of the few 
 rivals of the peerless steeple of Strasbourg."— 
 James : Sketches (Belgium), p. 394. 
 
 Flame. A sweetheart. "An old 
 flame," a quondam sweetheart. In 
 IjatiUjAa/nina is used for lore, and so is 
 feu in French. Ardeo, to bum like fire, 
 "is also applied to the passion of love ; 
 hence, Virgil {Eel. ii. 4), " Corgdon
 
 Flaming 
 
 468 
 
 Flay a Fox 
 
 ardchat Alexin ; " and Horace (Epoch 
 xiii. 9), ^'■Arsit Anacreon Bathyllo.^^ 
 
 Flaming. Superb, captivating, at- 
 tractive. The French flamhaxt. This 
 word was originally applied to those 
 persons who dressed themselves in rich 
 dresses "flaming" with gold and silver 
 thread. We now speak of a " flaming 
 advertisement," etc. 
 
 '■ Le velour, trop coniimin on Franco, 
 
 Sous tny repreufl sou vieil hoiuieiir, 
 Tenement aue ta roniontrance 
 Nous a fait voir la difference 
 
 Du valet et de son Seigneur, 
 Et du uiuguet charse de s 'je 
 
 Qui Ji tes princes s'esgaloit, 
 Et riclie en draps de soye, alloit 
 
 Faisaut Hamber toutr la vove." 
 
 Uunmrd: An Run Henri II. (l.i«.) 
 
 Fla'ming Swords. Swords with a 
 wavy ov Jiainhoyunt edge, generally used 
 for state purposes. The Dukes of Bur- 
 gundy carried swords of this sort, and 
 they were worn in our country till the 
 accession of William III. 
 
 Flamin'ian Way. The great north- 
 ern road of ancient Italj% constructed 
 by C. Flaniin'ius, and beginning at the 
 Flaminian gate of Rome, and leading to 
 Arimiuium (Rimini). 
 
 Flanders {Moll). The chief character 
 of De Foe's novel of the same name. 
 (She runs through the whole career of 
 female iirofligacy, then turns religious. 
 
 Flanders' Babies. The wooden 
 jointed dolls common in the early part 
 of the nineteenth century, and now 
 almost entirely superseded by "wax 
 dolls." 
 
 Flanders' Mare {The). So Henry 
 VIII. called Anne of Cloves. She died 
 at Chelsea in 1.3.57. 
 
 Flaneur (French). A lounger, gos- 
 siper. Yvo-mjliiiur, to saunter about. 
 
 Flap-dragons. Small combustible 
 bodies blazing at one end and floating 
 in a glass of liquor. The liquor was 
 stirred about with a candle-end to pro- 
 mote combustion. A skilful toper would 
 swallow them blazing, as we swallow 
 the blazing raisins of snap-dragons. 
 
 " He drinks off candles" ends for flap-dragons." 
 —Sliiii.tf'peai-e : i; Henry IV., ii. i. 
 
 Flare-up. A sudden outburst of 
 anger; a gas-jet or other ignitible body 
 flares up when Hghted with a sudden 
 blaze. 
 
 Flare-up {A). A rumpus or row. 
 Also a banquet or jovial treat. The 
 lirst meaning is simply the substantive 
 of tlie verb. The second meaning refers 
 to dazzle and " splendour- " displayed. 
 
 Flash. A nitre flush in the pan . All 
 sound and fury, signifying nothing : like 
 the attempt to discharge a gun that ends 
 with a flash in the lock-pan, the guu 
 itself " hanging fire." 
 
 Flash Men and Flash Notes. Be- 
 tween Buxton, Leek, and Macclesfield 
 is a wild country called the I''la.sh, from 
 a chapel of that name. Here used to 
 live a set of pedlars, who liawked about 
 buttons, ribbons, and other articles made 
 at Leek, together with handkerchiefs 
 and small wares from Manchester. They 
 were known on the road as Flash-men, 
 and frequented fairs and farmhouses. 
 They paid, at first, read3'-money ; but 
 when they had estabUshed a credit, paid 
 in i^romissory notes, which were rarely 
 honoured. They were ultimately put 
 down by the magistracy. 
 
 Flat. One who is not shaq) ; a suite 
 of rooms on one floor. 
 
 "Oh, Messrs. 
 Times. 
 
 wliat flats you are ! 
 
 " He said lie was going to liave a flat to let on' the 
 top floor." — Iloirells : Uazardx of Aew Furtuiirx. 
 vol. i. part i. p. 123. 
 
 Flat as a flounder. I knocked him 
 
 down flat as a flounder. A flounder is 
 
 one of the flat-fish. 
 
 lliit as a paiicahf. Quite flat. A pan- 
 cake is a tliin flat cake, fried in a jjan. 
 
 Flat-fish. He is a rer/alar flat-fish. 
 A dull, stupid fellow, not up to any- 
 thing. The play is upon flat (stupid), 
 and such fish as jjlaice, dabs, and soles. 
 
 Flat Milk. Skimmed milk, that is, 
 milk '• fletted " (Anglo-Saxon, flef, 
 cream; Latin, ^as lactis.) 
 
 Flat Race {A). A race on the flat 
 or level ground without obstacles. 
 
 Flat Simplicity. " Theflat shiiplieiti/ 
 of that rephi teas adtiiiyable.^' {('ollci/ 
 Cibber : The Crooked Hasband, i. 1.) 
 
 Flatterer. Yitellius, the Roman sy- 
 nonym of flatterer. (Tacitus, Ann. vi. 32.) 
 
 Flatterers. IVIun flatterers meet, the 
 devil i/oes to dinn'r. Flattery is so perni- 
 cious, so fills the heart with pride and 
 conceit, so perverts the judgment and 
 disturbs the balance of the mind, that 
 Satan himself could do no greater mis- 
 chief. He may go to dumer and leave 
 the leaven of wickedness to operate its 
 own mischief. 
 
 " rorteus, there is a proverb thou sliould.^t reail : 
 ' When llatterers meet, the devil irnes todinuei-.'" 
 J'etir Phidiir : Xil .idmirtiri. 
 
 Flay a Fox {To). To vomit. 
 
 " At the time of the paroxysm he used to flay a, 
 fox by way of antidote.''— TJrtbeJd/*; Puiitagriiel, 
 iv. ii.
 
 Flea 
 
 469 
 
 Flemish School 
 
 Flea. When the Princess Badoiira 
 was placed on Prince Camararzamau's 
 bed, iu order to compare theii- claims 
 to beauty, the fairy Maimouue changed 
 herself into a flea, and bit the jjrince ou 
 the neck in order to awake him. Next, 
 the genius Danhasch changed himself 
 into a flea and bit the iiriucess on the 
 lip, that she might oj)en her eyes and see 
 the piiuce. {^Iruhian Nighls ; C'auia- 
 ndzaiiiaii and Badoina.) 
 
 Flea as a parasite. 
 
 '• Hnlilies clearly iirovcs ilmt every creature 
 Lives ill :i stall' n£ war liy iiamre ; 
 Sn iialiiralists ol.servL- a ilea 
 Has smaller tleas that mi liini prey. 
 And these have smaller still to bite 'em, 
 And so iiruceed ad Uifinitum." 
 
 Sici/t : Poetry ; a Itliapsody. 
 
 Sent off with afea in his car. Peremp- 
 torily. A dog which has a flea in the 
 ear is very restless, and runs off in 
 terror and distress. In French : Jletire 
 a qiulqiCun puce a Vorcille. Probably 
 our chauge of Avord implies a pun. 
 
 Flea-bite. It is a mere Jlca-hitc. A 
 thing of no moment. Thus, a merchant 
 who has suffered loss by speculation or 
 failure might say that the loss is a mere 
 flea-bite to him. A soldier might call 
 a wound a mere flea-bite. A passing 
 inconvenience Avhich aimoys but leaves 
 no pemianent injury. Mr. DisraeU 
 spoke of the national debt as a mere 
 flea-bite. 
 
 Flea's Jump. Aristoph'aues, in the 
 Chads, says that Socrates and Cha;'- 
 rephon tried to measure how many times 
 its own length a flea jumped. They took 
 in wax the size of a nea's foot ; then, on 
 the principle of e.t pcde Kercalem, calcu- 
 lated the length of its body. Having 
 found this, and measured the distance of 
 the flea's jump from the hand of Socrates 
 to Cha;rephon, the knotty problem was 
 resolved by simple multiplication. 
 
 Fle'ance (2 syl.). Son of Banquo. 
 
 {Shakespeare : Macbeth.) 
 
 Fleche. Faire fleche de tout hois. To 
 turn every event into a cause of censiu'e. 
 Ts make whatever wood falls in j-our 
 path an arrow to discharge at yoiu- 
 adversary. 
 
 Flecknoe {Richard). An Irish priest, 
 who printed a host of poems, letters, and 
 travels. As a poet, his name, like the 
 names of Jla-rias and Bavins among the 
 Eomans, is proverbial for vileness. Dry- 
 den says he — 
 
 "Reigned without dispute 
 Through all the realms of nonsense alisolnte." 
 Prpden : Macflecknoe, 
 
 Fledgeby (2 syl.). An overreaching, 
 cowardly sneak, who conceals his dirty 
 bill-broking under the trade name of 
 Pubsey & Co. He is soundly thrashed 
 by Alfred Lammle, and quietly pockets 
 the aftVout. {lUvkins : Mataat Friend.) 
 
 Flee the Falcon {To). To let fly 
 the small cannon. 
 
 "' I'll llee tlie falcon' (so the small cannon was 
 called) ' ril tlee the falcon . . . my certie, she'll 
 ruHle their feathers for them'" [i.e. the insur- 
 gents].— *'(> W. Scutt : Old Mortality, chap. xxv. 
 
 Fleeced (1 syl.). Cheated of one's 
 money ; sheared like a sheep. 
 
 Fleet Book Evidence. No evidence 
 at all. The books of the Old Fleet 
 pi^isou are not admissible as evidence 
 to prove a marriage. {IJ'harto/i : Law 
 iJictionari/.) 
 
 Fleet Marriages. Clandestine mar- 
 riages, at one time performed without 
 banns or licence by needy chaj)lai7is, in 
 Fleet Prison, London. As many as thirty 
 marriages a day were sometimes cele- 
 brated in this disgraceful manner ; and 
 Malcolm tells us that 2,9o-l were regis- 
 tered in the four mouths ending with 
 February 12th, 1705. Suppressed by the 
 MaiTiage Act in 17;)4. (See Chaplain of 
 the Fleet, by Besaut and Rice. ) 
 
 Fleet Street (London). For 200 
 years after the Conquest London was 
 watered on the west by "the river of 
 Wells," afterwards called "Fleet dyke, 
 becau.se (Stowe says) it runneth jiast the 
 Fleete." In the middle of the city and 
 falling iuto the Thames was Wellbrooke ; 
 on the east side, Langboume ; and iu 
 the western suburbs, Oldbourne. Along 
 the Fleete and Oldbourne " ships " 
 used to ply with merchandise. These 
 four, together with the Roding, the 
 Lea, the Ravensbom'ne, and the Wandle, 
 now serve as sewers to the gi'eat me- 
 tropolis. 
 
 Fleet of the Desert. A caravan. 
 
 Flemish Account. A sum less than 
 that expected. In Antwerp accounts 
 were kept in lirrcs, sols, and pence; 
 but the Here or pound wns only r2s. 
 In Xotcs and Queries we have an example 
 of a Flemish account, where £373 Flem- 
 ish becomes £213 2s. lOd. Enghsh. 
 
 Flemish SchooL A school of paint- 
 ing established by the brothers Van 
 Eyck, in the fifteenth century. The 
 chief early masters were Memling, 
 Weyden, Matsys, Mabus, and Moro. Of 
 the second period, Rubens and Vandyck, 
 Snyders, Jordaens, Gaspar de Grayer, 
 and the youuger Teniers.
 
 Flesli and Blood 
 
 470 
 
 Flins 
 
 Flesh and Blood. Human nature ; 
 as "Flesh aud blood cannot stand it." 
 
 Flesh-pots. S'n/hingfor the Jlcsh- pots 
 of Egijpt. Hankering for good things 
 no longer at your command. The chil- 
 dren of Israel said they wished they had 
 died "when they .sat by the flesh-pots 
 of Egypt" (Exodus xvi. 3) — i.e. when 
 they sat watching the boilers which 
 contained the meat they were to have 
 for dinner. The expression also means 
 abundance of appetising food. 
 
 Fleshed. lie fcahed his sword. Used 
 it for the first time. ^Fen fleshed in 
 crue/ti/ — i.e. initiated or used to it. A 
 sportsman's expression. When a sports- 
 man wishes to encourage a young dog or 
 hawk, he will allow it to have the first 
 game it catches for its own eating. This 
 " flesh " is the first it has tasted, and 
 fleshing its tooth thus gives the creature 
 a craving for similar food. Hence, also, 
 to eat with avidity. 
 
 " Tlio wild dog 
 Shall flesli his tooth on every iuuooent." 
 ', Shakespeare : '1 Henry IV. ^ iv. 5. 
 
 Fleshly School {The). A class of 
 "realistic" British poets, such as Swin- 
 burne, Rossetti, Morris, etc. So called 
 by Thomas Maitland \ll. Buchanrnfl in 
 the Cojitcmporary Review. 
 
 Fle'ta. An excellent treatise on the 
 common law of England, written in 
 the fourteenth century by an unknown 
 "writer while a prisoner in the Elect. 
 
 Fleur-de-Luce. A cor- 
 ruption of Fleur-de-Lis. (-SVr 
 Flag.) In Italian the white 
 iris is called flordilisa. Made 
 thus, 
 
 " They may cive the dozen white luces in their 
 cos,X,."—Shakefpeuye: Merry ll'u'es, i. 1. 
 
 Fleurs-de-Lys. In the reign of Louis 
 VII. (1137-1180) the national standard 
 was thickly charged with flowers. In 
 136.5 the number was reduced by 
 Charles VI. to three (the mystical church 
 number). Guillim, in his iJisplay \of 
 Seraldrie, 1611, saj^s the device is 
 " Three toads erect, saltant ; " 
 in allusion to wliich Xostrada'- 
 mus, in the sixteenth century, 
 calls Frenchmen erapauds 
 (toads). Recently it has been 
 thought that the device is really a " bee 
 flying," because certain ornaments re- 
 sembling bees were found in the tomb 
 of Childeric, father of Clovis, when it 
 was opened in 1653. These bees are 
 now generally believed to be the fleurons 
 of horse-trappings, and quite independent 
 of the emblem. 
 
 The flciir-d/;-hjs or lily-flower was 
 chosen by Flavio Gio'ja to mark the 
 north point of the compass, out of com- 
 liliment to the King of Naples, who was 
 of French descent (1302). 
 
 Flibbertigibbet. One of the five 
 
 fiends that possessed "poor Tom." 
 Shakespeare got it from Bishop Harsnet's 
 account of the Spanish invasion, where 
 we are told of forty fiends which the 
 Jesuits cast out, and among the number 
 was Fliberdigibet. Shakes])eare saj's he 
 " is the fiend of mopping and mowing, 
 who possesses chambermaids and waiting 
 women" {King Lear, iv. 2). And, 
 again, that he " begins at curfew and 
 AvaUcs till the first cock," giving men 
 pins and needles, squint ej-es, hare-lips, 
 and so on. {Shakespeare : Lear, iii. 4.) 
 
 Flic (French). A policeman or ser- 
 geant de rille. " Une allusion a I'epee 
 des scrgents de rille, on pliitot ai/.rfl('ehes 
 d^s arehers primitifs" (Raillc). Hence 
 " flic-flacs," thumps and thwacks. 
 
 Flick. To strike with a quick jerk. 
 To " flick a whip in one's face " is to 
 strike the face "with the lash and draw 
 the tt'hip suddenly back again. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, j'/zVerrirtH ; Scotch, _/'(V/iY/-y 1)11- 
 msh,fli/ch-ercn, to twinkle, etc.) 
 
 Flies. {Sec Fly.) 
 
 Fling. 
 
 / must have a fling at . . . Throw a 
 stone at something. To attack with 
 words, especially sarcastically. ' To 
 make a haphazard venture. Allusion is 
 to hurling stones from slings. 
 
 To have his fling. To live on the loose 
 for a time. To fling about his time aud 
 money like " ducks and drakes." 
 
 "If he is youn^, he desires to have .... his 
 'flinff' Ijefore he is compelled to settle down."— 
 Nineteenth Century (February, ](«2, p. L'Os). 
 
 Fling Herself at my Head {To). 
 To make desjierate love to a man ; to 
 angle obviously to catch a certain indi- 
 vidual for a husband. 
 
 " ' Coxcomli ? ' said Lance ; ' why, 'twas lint last 
 nicht the whole family saw her .... flinw her- 
 self at my head.""— .Sir IK. Scott: Peveril of the 
 Peak, chap. vii. 
 
 Flins [a stone]. An idol of the an- 
 cient Vandals settled in Lusace. It wa-s 
 a huge stone, draped, wearing a lion's 
 skin over its shouldei"S, and designed to 
 represent death. Mr. Lower says that 
 the to'mi of Flint in North Wales is 
 named in honour of this stone deity, and 
 gives Al"svin Flint in Suffolk as another 
 example. {Fat. Brit.) 
 
 The Welsh call Flint Flint Teg-cwgl 
 (Flin's beautiful band or girdle).
 
 Flint 
 
 471 
 
 Flora's Dial 
 
 Flint. To skin a flint. To act 
 meauly, aud exact the uttennost farthing. 
 
 Flint Im'plements. Arrow-heads, 
 axe-heads, lauce-heads, and knives, made 
 of granite, jade, serpentine, jasper, ba- 
 salt, and otiier hard stones. The first 
 were discovered on the hanks of the 
 Somme, near Amiens and Abbeville, but 
 others have been discovered in Belgium, 
 Germany, Italy, etc. They were the 
 rude instruments of men before the use 
 of metal was known. 
 
 Flint Jack. Edward Simpson, an 
 occasional servant of Dr. Young, of 
 Whitby. So called because he used to 
 tramp the kingdom vending spurious 
 fossils, flint arrow-heads, stone celts, and 
 other imitation antiquities. Professor 
 Tennant charged him with forging these 
 wares, and in 1867 he was sent to prison 
 for theft. 
 
 Flipper. Tip ns ifoin- flijjpir. Give 
 me j-our hand. A flipper is the paddle 
 of a turtle. 
 
 Flirt. A coquette. The word is 
 from the verb flirt, as, " to flirt a 
 fan." The fan being used for coquet- 
 ting, those who coquetted were called 
 fan-flirts. Lady Frances Shirley, the 
 favourite of Lord Chesterfield, intro- 
 duced the word. Flirt is allied to 
 fliaU'r,flit,jrrl; etc. 
 
 Flittermouse. A bat. South calls 
 the bat a jH/idfr-nionsc. (German, Jledcr- 
 inans.) 
 
 Flo (Old French). A crowd. (Latin, 
 Jlitctns.) 
 
 " Puis lor tramist par liuiz om erz 
 Cirand flo d'Anplois de fer cmiverz " 
 
 GiiiHaume Guiait, verse 1092. 
 
 Floated (Stock Exchange term). 
 Brought out (said of a loan or company), 
 as the Turkish '69 Loan was floated by 
 the Cohens. The French 6 per cent, 
 was floated by the Morgans. 
 
 Floaters (Stock Exchange term). 
 Exchequer bills and other unfunded 
 stock. {'See Stock Exchaxge Slaxg.) 
 
 Floating Academy {T/ic). The 
 hulks. 
 
 Flogging the Dead Horse. Trjing 
 to revive an interest in a sidiject out 
 of date. Bright said that Earl Russell's 
 "Reform Bill" was a "dead horse," 
 and everj' attempt to create any enthu- 
 siasm in its favour was like "flogging 
 the dead horse." 
 
 Flogged by Deputy. When Henri 
 IV. of France abjured Protestantism and 
 
 was received into the Catholic Church, 
 in 1595, two ambassadors were sent to 
 Rome who knelt in the portico of St. 
 Peter, and sang the Miserere. At each 
 verse a blow with a switch was given on 
 their shoulders. 
 
 •." strange as this may seem, yet numerous ex- 
 amples occur in the Scriptures ; thus, for David's 
 sin thousands of his subjects were " Hotfaed to 
 death by deputy ;" and what else is meant by the 
 words " by his stripes we are healed" ? 
 
 Flood. The almost universal tradition 
 of the East respecting this catastrophe is 
 that the waters were boiling hot. i^Sce 
 the Talmud, the Tarr/ums, the Koran, 
 etc.) 
 
 Floor. I floored /li in. Knocked him 
 down on the floor ; hence, to overcome, 
 beat or surpass. Thus, we say at the 
 university, "I floored that i)a])er," i.e. 
 answered every question on it. "I 
 floored that problem " — did it perfectly, 
 or made myself master of it. 
 
 Floorer. T/iat icas a fl.oorcr. That 
 ])low knocked the man down on the 
 floor. In the university we say, "That 
 paper or question was a floorer ; " mean- 
 ing it was too hard to be mastered. {See 
 abore.) 
 
 Flora. Flowers ; all the vegetable 
 productions of a country or of a geo- 
 logical period, as the flora of England, 
 the flora of the coal period. Flora was 
 the Roman goddess of flowers. 
 
 " Another Flora there, of boUler hues, 
 An<l richer sweets bey(jnd our^'arden's pride." 
 'niomson: Samnicr. 
 
 The animals of a period or country 
 are called the Fauna ; hence, the phrase 
 the Flora and the Fauna of ... . 
 signifies all its vegetable and animal 
 productions. 
 
 Metropolis of Flora. Aranjucz, in 
 Spain, is so called, from its many beau- 
 tiful gardens. 
 
 Flora's Dial. A dial formed by 
 flowers which open or close at stated 
 hours. 
 
 I. Dial of flowers which open^ 
 (a) The first twelve hom's. 
 
 A.M. OPENS. 
 
 1. (Scandinavian Soicthistle clones.') 
 
 •J. Yellow Goat's-beard. 
 
 .3. Conimon Ox-tongue. 
 
 ■1. Hawkweeii : Late-flowcrinj; Dandelion ;aud 
 
 Wild Succory. 
 5. White Water-lily ; Naked-stalked Poppy ; 
 
 and Smooth Sovvthistli'. 
 fi. Shrubliy Hawkweed and Spotted Cat's-ears. 
 7. White Water-lily ; Garden Lettuce ; and 
 
 African Marigold. 
 ,«. Scarlet Pimpernel ; Mouse-ear Hawkweed ; 
 
 and Proliferous Pink. 
 (1. Field Marigold. 
 
 10. Red .Sandwort. 
 
 11. Star of Bethlehem. 
 ^'oou. Ice Plant,
 
 Florence 
 
 472 
 
 Florizel 
 
 (h) The second twelve hours. 
 
 r.M. OI'ESS. 
 
 I. t'lnumon Pui'slane. 
 
 (Purple Sandwort closes.') 
 ?,. (liandelion closes.') 
 
 4. ( White fipiderwurt closes.) 
 
 :,. .llllap. 
 
 fi. Dark Crane' s-hill. 
 
 7. (Niih(:d-.^tallcnd Poppi/ clo.ics.) 
 
 8. (.Uranrje Day-lily closes.) 
 H. f'iicius (jj'untia. 
 
 10. I'urple bindweed. 
 
 11. Nifrlit-Moiiniinn; Catcli-fl.v. 
 Midniflit- {Late-flower 'mg Dandelion closes.) 
 
 II. Dial of closing flowers^ 
 
 (a) The first twelve hours. 
 
 A.M. fl.oSKS. 
 
 1. Scandinavi.in Sowthistle. 
 
 •J. O'elloic (ionff-hiitnl njiens.) 
 
 3. (Coiinmoi (ht,ni<iur opens). 
 
 4. (Wild Siirmrii "j.riis.) 
 
 5. (S( rn-al Soirth /.-//- .s- oprn.) 
 
 6. (Spniteil Cat'.-<-far opens.) 
 
 7. Night-tidweiini; (atch-lly. 
 
 8. EvoniiiL' Priniripse. 
 !'. Piirple Bindweed. 
 
 10. Yellow Goat's-lieavd. 
 
 11. Betlilelieni Star (la dame d'on:c heiircs). 
 Kooii. Field Sowtliistle. 
 
 {/>) The second twelve hours. 
 
 r.M. d.O.'^FS. 
 
 1. Red (11- Proliferous Pink. 
 
 •J. PuriileSimdworr. 
 
 .■!. Dnnilelion or Field Marif-'nld. 
 
 4. While Sliadewort and Field Biudwurt. 
 
 5. Common Cat's-ears. 
 
 6. White Water-lil.v. 
 
 7. Naked-stalked Popr.v. 
 
 s. Orani-'e Day-lilv and Wild Snccoiy. 
 
 <i. Convid\ iilns I.inna'ns aiidChickweed. 
 
 10. Common Xii>i'lo-wort. 
 
 11. SnioDth Sowtliistle. 
 
 Midni'-rht. Creeping Mallow and Late Dandelion. 
 
 Florence {T/ie German). Dre.sden. 
 
 Florentine Diamond {The). The 
 fourth in size of cut diamonds. It weighs 
 1395 carats, belonged to Charles, Duke 
 of Burgundy ; was picked up by a 
 peasant and sold for half-a-crown. 
 
 Floren'tius. A knight who bound 
 himself to marry a " foul and ugly 
 witch," if she would teach him the solu- 
 tion of a riddle on which his life depended. 
 (O'oircr : Coiifissio uLmaniis.) 
 
 Flor'ian {St.). Patron saint of mer- 
 cers, being himself of the same craft. 
 
 Floria'ni. A sect of heretics of the 
 second century who maintained that 
 God is the author of evil, and taught 
 the Gnostic doctrine of two princij^les. 
 Floria'nus was their founder. 
 
 Florid Architecture. The latter 
 divi.sion of tlie perpendicular style, often 
 called the Tudor, remarkable for its 
 florid character or profusion of orna- 
 ment. 
 
 Florida (U. S. America). In 1712 
 Ponce de Leon sailed from France to the 
 West in search of " the Fountain of 
 Youth." He first saw land on Easter 
 
 Day, and on account of the richness and 
 quantity of flowers, called the new pos- 
 session " Florida." 
 
 Flor'imel [/ioi/ri/-flou-fr]. A damsel 
 of great beauty, but so timid that she 
 feared the " smallest monstrous mouse 
 that creeps on floor," and was abused by 
 everyone. Her fomi was simulated by 
 a witch out of wax, but the wax image 
 melted, leaving nothing beliind cxcejit 
 the girdle that was round the waist. 
 (Spi')iscr : Fairic Qiteoie, book iii. 4, 8; 
 iv. 11, 12.) 
 
 "Florimel loved Mar'incl, Imt Proteus cast Iier 
 into a dunireou, from which, lieini; released liy 
 the order of Neptune, she niarrieil the man of her 
 choice." — Spenser : Faerie (Jaeene, book iv. 
 
 "St. Amand had lone since in Mtterness re- 
 pented of a transient infatuation, had huiK sinco 
 distiiiL'uished the true Florimel from the false." 
 —Sir E. JJ. Lijtton : ni-jrivis of the Rhine, iii. 
 
 Florimel's Girdle gave to those who 
 could wear it " tlic virtue of chaste love 
 and wifehood true ; " but if any woman 
 not chaste and faithful put it on, it 
 " loosed or tore asunder." It was once 
 the cestus of Venus, made by her hus- 
 band Vulcan : but when she wantoned 
 with Mars it fell off, and was left on the 
 " Acida'lian mount." {Spenser: I'dtrlc 
 Qiievne, book iv. II, 12.) 
 
 Florin. An English coin representing 
 2s., or the tenth of a sovereign, issued 
 in 1840. Camden informs us that Ed- 
 ward III. issued gold florins wortli Gs. , 
 in 1337. The word is generally sup- 
 posed to be derived from Florence ; but 
 as it had a lily on one side, probably it 
 is connected with theLatiny/t/.v, a flower. 
 {Sec Geaceless Floein.) 
 
 Florisan'do. One of the knights in 
 the Sj'i^uish version of A in' ad is of Gaul, 
 whose exploits and adventures are re- 
 counted in the 6th and following books. 
 This part of the romance was added by 
 Pacz de Ribe'ra. 
 
 Flor'isel of Nice'a. A knight whose 
 exploits and adventures fonn a supi)le- 
 mental part of the Spanish version of 
 Ain'adis of Gaul. This part was added 
 by FeUcia'no de Silva. 
 
 Flor'ismart. One of Charlemagne's 
 paladins, and the bosom friend of Roland. 
 
 Flor'izel. Prince of Bohemia, in love 
 with Per'dita. {Shakespeare: Winter's 
 Tate.) 
 
 Florizel. George the Fourth, when 
 prince, corresponded under this name 
 with Mrs. Robinson, actress and poet, 
 generally known as Perdita, that being 
 the character in which she first attracted 
 the prince's attention,
 
 Flotsam and Jetson 
 
 473 
 
 Flowered Robes 
 
 Frince Florizel, in Lord Beaconsfield's 
 novel of Endymion (1880), is meant for 
 Napoleon III. 
 
 Flotsam and Jetson. Waifs found 
 in the sea or ou the shore. " Flotsam," 
 goods found jloatuKj on the sea after a 
 a wreck. "Jetson," or Jetsam, things 
 thrown out of a ship to lighten it. (An- 
 glo-Saxon, //o(fff«, to float ; French, yc^n', 
 to tluow out.) {8cc LiGAN.) 
 
 Flower Games. Fetes held at 
 Toulouse, Barcelona, Treviso, and other 
 places, where the prizes given consisted 
 of flowers. 
 
 FloAver Sermon. A sermon preached 
 on Whit Monday in St. Catherine Cree, 
 when all the congregation wear flowers. 
 
 Flower sermons are now (1894) 
 preached very generally once a year, 
 especially in country churches. Every 
 person is supposed to bring a bunch of 
 flowers to the altar, and the flowers next 
 day are sent to some hosjiital. 
 
 Flower of Chivalry. A name 
 
 given to several cavaliers : ej/. 
 
 William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale, 
 in the fourteenth century. 
 
 Sir Philip Sidney (15o4-1586). 
 
 Chevalier de Bayard (Ir chevalier sans 
 pciir et sans reproc/te) (l476-lo24). 
 
 Flower of Kings. Arthur is so 
 called by John of Exeter. (Sixth cen- 
 tury.) 
 
 Flower of Paradise. Tlie Ipomcea 
 or Camala'ta, called by Sir W. Jones 
 "Love's creeper." It symbolises tliat 
 mythological jjlant wliicli fulfils all 
 desire. 
 
 Flower of the Levant. Zante, 
 noted for its beauty and fertility. " Zau- 
 te ! Zante, flos di Levanti." 
 
 Flowers and Trees. 
 
 (1) Dedicated to heathen gods : 
 Tlie INiriiel clien-y-tree to Aiinlla 
 
 „ t'yiiress „ IMuto. 
 
 „ Dittany „ The Moiin. 
 
 „ Laurel „ Ajiollo. 
 
 „ Lily „ Juno. 
 
 „ Maitlen's-bair „ I'luto. 
 
 „ Myrtle „ Venus. 
 
 „ Narcissus ,, Ceres. 
 
 „ Oak „ Jupiter. 
 
 „ Olive „ Mnierva. 
 
 „ I'opliy „ Ceres. 
 
 „ Vine „ BaccLius. 
 
 (2) Dedicated to saints ; 
 
 Canterbury Bells to St.AuKustine of Eualand. 
 
 Crocus „ St. Valentine. 
 
 Crowu Imperial „ Edward the Confessor. 
 
 Daisy ,. St. Margaret. 
 
 Herb Christophe „ St. Christopher. 
 
 Lady's-smock „ The Virgin Marv. 
 
 Rose „ Mary Magdalene. 
 
 St. John's-wort „ St. John. 
 
 St. Baruaby's Thistle „ St. Barnabas, 
 
 (3) National emblems : 
 Leek emblem of Wales. 
 LUy (.Fleiir-de-lys) „ France. 
 
 „ {fiiiilio bianco) „ Florence. 
 
 „ white „ the Uhibellino badge. 
 
 ). red „ biulgeof theUuelphs. 
 
 Linden „ I'russia. 
 
 Mignonette „ Saxony. 
 
 Pomegranate „ Spain. 
 
 Rose „ England. 
 
 „ red, Lancastrians ; white. Yorkists. 
 Shamrock emblem of Ireland. 
 
 Thistle „ Scotland. 
 
 Violet „ Athens and Napoleo 
 
 Sugar JIaple „ Canada.. 
 
 (4) Symbols: 
 
 Box is a symbol of the resurrection. 
 
 Cedars „ the faithful. 
 
 Corn-ears „ the Holy Coiiununion. 
 
 Dates „ the fail h till. 
 
 Crrapes „ this is uiv blood. 
 
 Holly „ the n'siirri'i'Moii. 
 
 Ivy ,, the resurrectiou. 
 
 Lily „ purity 
 
 Olive „ peace. 
 
 Orange-blossom „ virginity. 
 
 Palm ,. victory. 
 
 Rose „ iii('oiriipti[)n. 
 
 Vine „ Christ our Life. 
 
 Yew „ death. 
 
 N.B.— The laurel, oak, olive, myrtle, roseui:iry, 
 cypress, and amaranth are all fiunTeal plaiils. 
 
 Flowers and Trees with Christian 
 Traditions. 
 
 The Aspen leaf is said to tremble 
 because the cross was made of Aspen - 
 wood. 
 Ah ! tremble, tremble, Aspcn-tree, 
 AVe need not ask thee «iiv thou shakcst, 
 For if, as holy IcLrmd s;iitli, 
 On thee the Sa\ iuiir l)led to death, 
 No wonder, Aspen, that thou ((iiakest ; 
 And, till in judgment all assemble. 
 Thy leaves accursed shall wail and tremble. 
 
 E. a IS. 
 
 The dwarf elder is called in Wales 
 " the plant of the Blood of Man." 
 
 The vaUfioicer is known in Palestine 
 as the " Blood-drops of Christ." 
 
 Tlie following are also said to owe 
 their stained blossoms to the blood which 
 trickled from the ci'oss : — 
 The red anemone ; the arum ; the purple 
 orchis ; the crimson- spotted leaves 
 of the roodsclken (a French tradi- 
 tion) ; the spotted pcrsiearia, snake- 
 weed. (See CiiEiSTiAX Traditions.) 
 
 Flowers at Funerals. The Greeks 
 crowned the dead body with flowers, and 
 placed flowers on the tomb also. The 
 Romans decked the funeral couch with 
 leaves and flowers, and sj^read flowers, 
 wreaths, and fillets on the tomb of 
 friends. When Sulla was buried as 
 many as 2,000 wreaths were sent in his 
 honour. Most of our funeral customs 
 are derived from the Romans ; as dressing 
 in black, walking in procession, carrying 
 insignia on the bier, raising a mound 
 over the grave, called titinii/us, v/hence 
 our tomb. 
 
 Flowered Robes. In ancient Greece 
 to say "a woman wore flowered robes "
 
 Flowing 
 
 474 
 
 Fly 
 
 was to imply that she was a,fiUc puhliquf. 
 Solon made it a law that vii'tuous womeu 
 should appear in simple and modest 
 apparel, but that harlots should always 
 dress in flashy or flowered robes. 
 
 " As fugitive slaves are known by tlieir stis- 
 mata, so Hciwercil ganiieiits indicate one of the 
 tlemi-niuude [tj.oix6.\i.ha\."— Clemens of Akxaii- 
 Uiia. 
 
 Flowing Philosophers. The fol- 
 lowers of Heraclltos, referred to by Plato 
 as Tous pe'oi'Tas (T/icd'tetiis, 181 A). Hera- 
 clitos denied the permanency of every- 
 thing in nature except change. Tenny- 
 son has a poem entitled 'Oi pcoi-Te?, 
 
 Fluellen. A Welsh captain and 
 great pedant, who, amongst other learned 
 quiddities, attempted to draw a parallel 
 between Henry V. and Alexander the 
 Great ; but when he had said that one 
 was boni at ]Moninouth and the other at 
 Macedon, both beginning with the same 
 letter, and that there was a river in both 
 cities, he had exhausted his best paral- 
 lelisms. {Henry V., iv. 7.) 
 
 " His parallel is, in all essential circnnisfances, 
 as Incorrect as that which Flncllen drew ]pet ween 
 JIacedon and Monmouth."— iurrf Mocaiilini. 
 
 Fluke. Hai3 -hazard. In billiards it 
 means plaj'ing for one thing and getting 
 another. Hence an advantage gained 
 by luck more than by skill or judgment. 
 (German, {/luck, chance, our Inck.) 
 
 " We seem to have discovered, as it were by a 
 fluke, a most excellent rule for all future Cabinet 
 arrangements."— Tftc Times. 
 
 Flummery. Flattering nonsense, 
 palaver. In Wales it is a food made of 
 oatmeal steei^ed in water and kejjt till it 
 has become sour. In Cheshire and 
 Lancashii-e it is the prepared skin of 
 oatmeal mixed with honey, ale, or 
 milk ; pap ; blanc - mange. (Welsh, 
 llymry, wash-brew, from llym, sour or 
 sharp.) 
 
 " You came . . . with your red coats andflasliintr 
 b\ittoiis . . . and her head wot turned with your 
 flummery."— A'iiiiHis ; The Partizans, chap. xxi.\-. 
 
 Flummux (To). To bamboozle; to 
 deceive ; to be in a quandary. " I am 
 regularly flummuxed" — i.e. perplexed. 
 The first syllable is probably a variant 
 of rtam, humbug, deception, and the 
 word seems to be compounded on the 
 model of the word " perplex." 
 
 " Kor the privates, the serneants, and "speetors, 
 She flunimnxed them all to a coon." 
 
 aims : Diigvnct Ballads (.Moll Jarvis). 
 
 Flummuxed. Tlie mark © set on a 
 street, gatepost, house, etc., as a warn- 
 ing to fellow-vagabonds not to go near, 
 for fear of being given in charge. 
 
 Flunkey. A Hvery servant. (Old 
 Tiench, fl(t>iq7(ie); a henchman.) 
 
 Flur. The bride of Cas'sivelaun, 
 
 " for whose love the Roman Caesar first 
 invaded Britain." (Teiuiyson : Enid.) 
 
 Flush {A), in cards, means a whole 
 hand of one suit, as a "flush of clubs," 
 a "flush of hearts," etc. {See below.) 
 
 Flush of Money. Full of money. 
 Similarly A liush of ivater means a 
 sudden and full flow of water. (Latin, 
 flnx-tis.) 
 
 " .strut was not verv flush in [the] ready."— ZJr. 
 Ai-huthnot. 
 
 Flute. The Jfayic Flute, an opera by 
 Mozart {Die Zaubcrflote). The "flute" 
 was bestowed by the powers of dark- 
 ness, and had the power of inspiring 
 love. Unless purified the love was only 
 lust, but, being purified by the Powers 
 of Light, it subserved the holiest pur- 
 poses. Tamiuo and Pamiua are guided 
 by it through all worldly dangers to tho 
 knowledge of Divine Truth. 
 
 Flutter. A very weak sf)ecinicu of a 
 fop, in the l]ello''s tHralayem, by Mrs. 
 Cowley. 
 
 Flutter the Dovecotes {To). To 
 disturb the equanimity of a society. The 
 phrase occurs in L'oriolanus. 
 
 " The inu>ortant movement in favour of a gene- 
 ral school of law tlutten'd the dovecotes of the 
 Inns' of Court."— *Viiif(ff»;/t Century (Nov., IHX', 
 p. 77;.>. 
 
 Fly (plural ./7ys). A hackney coach, 
 a cab. A contraction of Fly-by-niyht, 
 as sedan chairs on wheels used to be 
 called in the regency. These "Flj--by- 
 nights," patronised greatly by George, 
 Prince of Wales, and his boon com- 
 panions, during their wild night pranks 
 at Brighton, were invented 1809 by John 
 Butcher, a cai-peuter of Jew Street. 
 
 " In the morning we took a fl.v, an En.glish term 
 for an exceedinsly sluirgisli vehicle, and ilrove up 
 to the Minister's." — //((irtZiorHi: Uur Utd lluui^e 
 (Pilgrimage to Old Boston, p. 17i;. 
 
 Fly (plural ^iVs) . An insect. All flies 
 shall perish except one, and that is the 
 bee-fly. {Koran.) 
 
 A Fly has three eyes and two com- 
 pound eyes, each of which has 4,000 
 facets. 
 
 The yod of Jl'xes. In the temple of 
 Actium the Greeks used to sacrifice an- 
 nually an ox to the god of flies. Pliny 
 tells lis that at Rome sacrifice was oft'cred 
 to flies in the temple of Hercules Victor. 
 The Syrians undoubtedly offered sacri- 
 fice to the same tiny tormentors. It is 
 said that no fly was ever seen iu Solo- 
 mon's temple. 
 
 AcHOR. god of the Cyrenians, to whom,accordin5 
 to Plin.v, tliey offered sacriflce.
 
 Fly-boy 
 
 475 
 
 Fo-hi 
 
 AroMYios, a surname priveu 1iy the Cyrcnians to 
 Zeus, for deliverinf,' Hcrakles [Hercules] from 
 flies during' sacritice. Sacritlces were yearly 
 offered to Zeus Apumyios. (Greek, «/;o-)Hi/ia, 
 froui flies.; 
 
 BEi.zEiiUB, (jr Beelzebuth (Prince of Flies), was 
 one of the principal Syrian gods, to whom 
 sacriflco was offered on all ferialia. 
 
 BtCLOPUS, iu Roman mythology. (Rliod. xxii. .■).) 
 
 M yAGKOS (the fly-chaser), one of the deities of the 
 Arcadians and Eleaus. (Pliny, x.'M.) (Greek, 
 myia,atli\\agra, taken in hunting or chasing.) 
 
 Fties ill amber. (Sec under Ambee.) 
 
 2'o crush a flij on a wheel. Making a 
 mountain of a mole-hill. Taking a wheel 
 used for torturing criminals and heretics 
 for killing a fly, which one might destroy 
 with a flapper. 
 
 Fly on the conch-wheel (A). One who 
 fancies himself of mighty importance, 
 but who is in reality of none at all. The 
 allusion is to the fable of a fly sitting on 
 a chariot- wheel and saying, " See what 
 a dust we make ! " 
 
 Kot a flij with him. Domitian, the 
 Roman emperor, was fond of catching 
 flies, and one of his slaves, being asked 
 if the emperor was alone, wittily replied, 
 "Not a fly with him." 
 
 I To rise to thejlif. To be taken in by 
 a hoax, as a fish rises to a false fly and 
 is caught. 
 
 " He [the professor] rose to the fly with a charm- 
 ing simplicity."— (rront Allen: The MysU:rwiis Oc- 
 currence in Piccadilly, part ii. 
 
 Fly-boy. The boy iu a printing-office 
 who lifts the printed sheets off the press. 
 He is called the fly-boy because he 
 catches the .sheets as they fly from the 
 tym^mn (q.c) immediately the frisket 
 (q.r.) is opened. This is now generally 
 performed by the pressmen. 
 
 Fly a Kite (To). To send a begging 
 letter to persons of a charitable reputa- 
 tion, or m easy circimistances, to solicit 
 pecuniary aid, urging poverty, losses, or 
 sickness as au excuse. (Sec Kite-fly- 
 ing.) 
 
 Fly-by-night (A). One who defrauds 
 his creditors by decamj)iug at night- 
 time. (<Sce Fly.) 
 
 Fly in One's Face (To). To get 
 into a passion with a person ; to insult ; 
 as a hawk, when irritated, flies iu the 
 face of its master. 
 
 Fly in the Face of Danger (To). 
 
 To run iu a foolhardy manner into 
 danger, as a heu flies iu the face of a 
 dog or cat. 
 
 Fly in the Face of Providence 
 
 (To). To act rashly, and throw away 
 good opportunities ; to coiu't danger. 
 
 Fly Open (To). To open suddenly, 
 as, "the doors flew open," ^^ les portcs 
 
 s'ouvrirent" as they do sometimes by 
 the force of the wiucl. 
 
 Fly Out at (To). To burst or break 
 into a passion. The Latin, inrolo in . . . 
 
 "Poor choleric Sir Brian would fly out at his 
 coachman, his butler, or his gamekeeper, and use 
 language . . . which . . . from any other master, 
 would have brought about a prompt resignation. 
 —Hood ^Yords, 18a7. 
 
 Flying Colours (To come off with). 
 In triumph ; with the flags unfmled 
 and flying. 
 
 Flying Dutchman. A spectral ship, 
 seeu in stonny weather off the Cape of 
 Good Hope, and cousidered ominous of 
 ill-luck. Sir- Walter Scott says she was 
 originally a vessel laden with jirecious 
 metaL but a horrible miu'der having 
 been committed ou board, the plague 
 broke out among the crew, and no port 
 would allow the vessel to enter. The 
 ill-fated ship still wanders about like a 
 ghost, doomed to be sea-tossed, but 
 never more to enjoy rest. Captain 
 Marryat has a novel called The Thitnlom. 
 Ship. 
 
 Flying without Wings (Xo). No- 
 thing cau be done without the proper 
 means. 
 
 " Sine pennis vola're hand facile est."— riantiis. 
 
 Flyman's Plot {The). In theatrical 
 language, means a list of all the articles 
 required by the flymau iu the play pro- 
 duced. The flyman is the scene -shifter, 
 or the " man iu the flies." 
 
 Fog-eater. A white bow in the 
 clouds during foggy weather is so called. 
 Such a bow was seen in England dur- 
 ing January, 1888. A week preceding, 
 the weather had been clear, sunshiny, 
 and genial, theu followed several days 
 of thick fog, dui-ing which the white 
 bow appeared. The bow was followed 
 by several days of brilliant mild weather. 
 
 Fogie or Fogey. An old foycij. Pro- 
 perly an old military pensioner. This 
 term is derived from the old pensioners 
 of Edinburgh Castle, whose chief occu- 
 pation was to fii'e the guns, or as.sist iu 
 quelling street riots. (Allied to J'vijn ', 
 phogot, voget,foffcd,fo(/de, etc.) 
 
 "What has the world conic to [said Thackeray] 
 . . when two broken-nosed old fogies like you 
 and me sit talking aliout love to each other."— 
 Trullope : IK. M. Thuckeray, chap. i. p. 61. 
 
 Fo-hi or Foe. One of the chief deities 
 of the Chinese. His mother, Moyi-, was 
 walking one day along a river bank, 
 when she became suddenly encircled by 
 a rainbow, and at the end of twelve 
 years was the mother of a son. During
 
 Foil 
 
 476 
 
 Fond 
 
 gestation she dreamed that she was preg- 
 nant with a white elephant, and lieuce 
 the honours paid to this beast. {Anialic 
 Mesearckes.) 
 
 FoiL That which sets off something 
 to advantage. The allusion is to the 
 metallic leaf used by jewellers to set off 
 precious stones. (French, feu i//e ; Latin, 
 folium ; Greek, pliuUon, a leaf.) 
 
 " Hector, as a foil to set him off." Broome. 
 " I'll lie your foil, Laertes. In mine ign<ii'anoe 
 Your skill shall, like a star i' the darkest uifc'ht, 
 Stick Ilory off indeed." 
 
 Uliakespcare : Hamlet, v. 2. 
 
 Sc foiled me. He outwitted me. 
 
 "If I lie foiled, there is but one ashamed who 
 never was gracious."— ,S7iafce«j)c«rc; As Yvu Like 
 It, i. :;. 
 
 To run a foil. To puzzle ; to lead 
 astray. The track of game is called its 
 foil ; and an animal hunted will some- 
 times run back over the same foil iu 
 order to mislead its jjursuers. 
 
 Folio. A book of the largest size, 
 formed by folding the paper only once, 
 so that each sheet makes two leaves. It 
 is from the Itiilian, xn libro in for/lio, 
 through the French, in-folio. Fol. is 
 the contraction for folio. 
 
 Folio {so-and-so), in mercantile books, 
 means page so-and-iso, and sometimes 
 the two pages wliich lie exposed at the 
 same time, one containing the credit and 
 the other the debit of one and the same 
 account. So called because ledgers, etc., 
 are made in folio. The paging is called 
 the folio also. Printers call a page of 
 MS. or printed matter a folio regardless 
 of size. 
 
 Folio. In conveyances seventy-two 
 words, and in Parliamentary proceed- 
 ings ninety words, make a foUo. 
 
 Folk. Latin, rnlg'' (the common 
 people) ; Gennau, rolk ; Dutch, rolch ; 
 Saxon, folc ; Danish, folk. Folk and 
 vulgar are variants of the same word. 
 
 Folk. Fairies, also called "peojile," 
 "neighbours," "wights." The Germans 
 have their kleine volk (little folk), the 
 Swiss their hill people and earth people. 
 
 "The little folk, 
 So happy and so pay, amuse themselves 
 Sometimes with singing . . . 
 Sometimes with dancing, when they jump and 
 
 spring 
 Like the young skipping kids in the Alp-grass." 
 Wyss : Idyll of Gertrude and Ilosy. 
 " In the hinder end of harvest, at All-hallow e'en, 
 When our good neighbours ride, if I read 
 right. 
 Some buckled on beenwand.and some on a been." 
 Uontyomery : Flyting aiiuinst Polwart. 
 " I crouehc thee from the elves, and from wights." 
 Chaucer : The Milleres Tale. 
 
 Folk-lore. Whatever pertains to a 
 knowledge of the antiquities, super- 
 stitions, mythology, legends, customs, 
 traditions, and proverbs of a people. 
 A "folklorist" is one wlio is more or 
 less acquainted with these matters. 
 
 Folk-mote [a folk meet ing]. A word 
 used in England before the Conquest for 
 what we now call a county or even a 
 parish meeting. 
 
 Follets. Goblins of the north of 
 France, who live in the houses of .simjdo 
 rustics, and can be expelled neither by 
 water nor exorcism. They can l>e heard 
 but are never seen. In the singular 
 number, " esprit follet." 
 
 Follo'wr. Folloic i/o/tr nose, go straight 
 on. JIc followed /lis nose — he went on 
 and on witliout any discretion or thought 
 of consequences. 
 
 Jie nlio follows truth too closely will 
 hare dirt kicked in his face. Be not too 
 strict to pry into abuse, for '■^ odium 
 Veritas parit," " Summum jus suprema 
 est injuria.^' 
 
 Follower. A male .sweetheart who 
 follows tlie object of his affections. A 
 word very common among servants. 
 Mistresses say to female sei'vants, ' ' I 
 allow no followers " — i.e. I do not allow 
 meu to come into my house to sec you. 
 Also a disciple, a partisan. 
 
 "The iiretty neat servant-niaidshad their choice 
 of de.sir.ilile followers. "—A'. C. Oashclt: Cratifurd, 
 chap. iii. p. 53. 
 
 Folly. Father of Folhj {Aim Jahl), 
 an aged chief, who led a hundred horse 
 and seven hundred camels against Ma- 
 Jiomet and fell at the battle of Bedr. 
 His own people called him Father of 
 Wisdom {Aliu'Lhocin). 
 
 Follg. A fantastic or foolishly ex- 
 travagant country seat, built for amuse- 
 ment or vainglory. (French, folic.) 
 
 "We have m} this country a w<ird (namely. 
 Folly) which has a technical appropriation to the 
 case of fantastic buildings."— /^e Quinccy : JCusaya 
 mi the I'vtts (Keats, p. 90;. 
 
 Fisher\i Folly. A large and beautiful 
 house in Bishopsgate, with pleasure-gar- 
 dens, bowling-gi-een, and hot-houses, 
 built by Jasper Fisher, one of the six 
 clerks of Chancery and a Justice of the 
 Peace. Queen EUzabeth lodged there. 
 
 " Kirby's castle, and Fisher's folly, 
 Siiinola's pleasure, and Megse's glory." 
 
 Stowe: Suri'cy. 
 
 Fond. A foolish, fond parent. Here 
 fond does not mean affectionate, but 
 silly. Chaucer uses the word fonnc for 
 a simpleton, and the Scotch fou is to 
 play the fool. Shakespeare has "fond 
 desire," "fond loye," "fond shekels of
 
 Fong et Origo 
 
 477 
 
 Fools 
 
 gold," "fond wretch," "fond mad- 
 woman," etc. "Fondling" means an 
 idiot, or one fond. 
 
 " See liow siiiiiJle and how fond I am." 
 Shah-expeare : Midsumtiier Xighfs Dream, iii. 2. 
 " Funiler than ignorance." 
 Shakespeare : Troilus and Cressida, i. 1. 
 
 Fons et Origo (Latin). The prim- 
 ary cause. Fax et focus, the instigator, 
 as Juuo was the fax et focus of the 
 Trojan war. 
 
 Font, in printing, sometimes called 
 Foioit, a complete set of type of any 
 one size, with all the usual points and 
 accents ; a font consists of about 100,000 
 characters. Tlie word is 'FvQi\ch,fo)ite, 
 from fondre (to melt or cast). When a 
 letter" of a ditferent type to the rest gets 
 into a page it is called a " wrong font," 
 and is signified in the margin by the two 
 letters uf. {See Type.) 
 
 Taken to the font. Baptised. The 
 font is a vessel emploj'ed for baptism. 
 
 Fontara'bia. Now called Fueuter- 
 
 rabia (in Latin, Funs rap'ulus), near the 
 
 Gulf of Gas'cony. Here, according to 
 
 Maria'ua and other Spanish historians, 
 
 Charlemagne and all his chivalry fell 
 
 by the sword of the Spanish Saracens. 
 
 Mez'eray and the French -wi-iterfi say 
 
 that, the rear of the king's anny being 
 
 cut to pieces, Charlemagne returned and 
 
 revenged theii' death by a complete 
 
 victory. 
 
 " When Charlemagne with all bis peerage fell 
 By Kontaiabia.' 
 
 Milton : Paradise Lost, honk i. 5.s". 
 
 Food. Su' Walter Scott remai-ks that 
 live cattle go by Saxon names, and slain 
 meat by Nonuan-French, a .standing 
 evidence that the Normans were the 
 lords who ate the meat, and the Saxons 
 the serfs who tended the cattle. Exam- 
 ples: 
 
 Sheep Ox Calf Hog Pig (Saxon). 
 
 Mutton Beef Veal Bacon Voric (Xurman-Frencli). 
 
 Food of the gods. {See Ambrosia, 
 Nectar.) 
 
 Food for Powder. liaw recruits 
 levied in timts of war. 
 
 Foods and Wines. Ga.stronomic 
 curiosities. 
 
 Fonds. 
 
 Sterlels from the Volga. 
 
 Eels from the Tilier. 
 
 Grouse from Scotland. 
 
 Bustanls from Sweden. 
 
 Bears' feet from tlie Black Forest. 
 
 Bison hnnU'S frciu .\merica. 
 
 Fillet of liei'f <( la Cliateaabriand. 
 
 Ortolans d la Lucallus. 
 Wines. 
 Old Madeira with the soup. 
 Chateau-Filhot 'is with the side dishes. 
 Johanuisberger and Bichon-Longueville with the 
 
 Chateau- Lafltte '48 with the entrees. 
 Sparkling Moselle with the roast. 
 
 Fool. In chess, the French call the 
 " bishop ^^ fou, and used to represent the 
 piece in a fool's di'ess ; hence, Eegnier 
 says, " Les fous sont aux echecs les plus 
 proches des Rois" (14 Sat.). Fou is a 
 corruption of the Eastern word Fol (an 
 elephant), as Thomas Hyde remarks in 
 hia Liidis Orientalibus {\. 4), and on old 
 boards the places occupied by our 
 " bishops " were occupied by elephants. 
 
 A Tom Fool. A person who makes 
 himself ridiculous. {See Tom.) 
 
 '■The ancient and noble family of Tom Fool." 
 —Quarterly Iteviea-. 
 
 Fool [a food], as gooseberry fool, 
 raspberry fool, means gooseberries or 
 rasjiberries pres.sed. (French, fouler, to 
 press.) 
 
 Fool Thinks. As the fool thinlcs, so 
 the bell clinks (Latin, " Quod valde voV- 
 umus facile cre'dinius"). A foolish person 
 believes what he desires. 
 
 Fool in his Sleeve, Fieri/ man 
 hath a fool in his sleeve. No one is 
 always wise. The allusion i.s to the 
 tricks of jugglers. 
 
 The wisest fool in Christendom. James I, 
 was so called by Henri IV., but he 
 leai-nt the phrase of Sully. 
 
 Fool or Physician at Forty. Plu- 
 tarch tells us that Tiberius said • ' Every 
 man is a fool or his own phj'sician at 
 forty." {Treatise on the Preservation of 
 Health.') 
 
 Fools. (French, /o/, Latin, /oW/s.) 
 
 (1) The most celebrated court fools : 
 
 \a) Dag'onet, jester of King Arthur ; 
 Rayere, of Henry L ; Scogan, of Ed- 
 ward IV. ; Thomas Killigrew, called 
 "King Charles's jester" (1611-1682); 
 Archie Annstrong, jester in the court 
 of James I. (died 1672). 
 
 (/>) Thomas Derrie, jester in the court 
 of James I. 
 
 ((■) James Geddes, jester to Mary 
 Queen of Scots. His predecessor waa 
 Jenny Colquhoun, 
 
 (rf) Patch, the court fool of Elizabeth, 
 wife of Henry VII. 
 
 (f) Will Somers, Henry VIII.'s jester. 
 He died 1560. 
 
 (/) W. F. Wallet, jester in the court 
 of Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 {(f) Trib'oulet, jester of Louis XII. 
 and Fran9ois I. (14S7-1'536) ; Brusquet, 
 of whom Brantome says "he never had 
 his equal in repartee" (1512-1563); 
 Chicot, jester of Henri III. and IV. 
 (1553-1591) ; Longely, of Louis XIII. ; 
 and An'geli, of Louis XIV., last of the 
 titled fools of France.
 
 Fool's Bolt 
 
 478 
 
 Foot 
 
 (/V) Klaus Narr, jester of Frederick the 
 Wise, elector of Prussia. 
 
 (j) Yorick, ill the Court of Denmark, 
 referred to by Shakespeare iii Hamlet, 
 y. 1. 
 
 (2) Not attached to the court : 
 
 (a) Patrick Bonny, jester of the regent 
 Morton ; John Hey wood, in the reign 
 of Henry VII., dramatist, died 1505; 
 Dickie Pearce, fool of the Earl of Suf- 
 folk, whose epitaph Swift wrote. 
 
 {/>) Kuuz von der Rosen, firivate jester 
 to the Emperor Maximilian I. 
 
 ((■) Gounella the Italian (q.r.). 
 
 {d) Le Glorioux, the jester of Charles 
 le Hardi, of Burgundy. 
 
 (<) Patche, Cardinal Wolsey's jester, 
 whom he transferred to Henry VIII. as 
 a most acceptable gift. 
 
 (/') Patisou, licensed jester to Sir 
 Thomas More. Introduced by Hans 
 Holbein in his picture of the chancellor. 
 
 (3) 3Ie)i teorth;/ of the iiwt/ci/ : 
 
 {(i) Andrew Borde, physician to Henry 
 VIII., usually called Merri/ Andrew 
 (1500-1519). 
 
 {l>) Geu. Kj-aw, a Saxou officer, 
 famous for his blunt jests. 
 
 (c) Jacob Paul, Baron Gundling, wlio 
 was laden with titles in ridicule by 
 Frederick William I. of Prussia. 
 
 (d) Seigni Jean (Old John), so called 
 to distinguish him from Johau "fol de 
 Madame," of whom Marot speaks in 
 his epitaphs. Seigni Jean lived about a 
 century l3efore Caillette. , 
 
 ((') Ilichard Tarltou, a famous clown 
 in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He 
 died 1588. 
 
 Q/) Caillette " flomislied '' about 1494. 
 In the frontispiece of the ' ' Ship of 
 Fools," printed 1497, there is a picture 
 both of Seigni Jean and also of Caillette. 
 
 Feast of loots. A kind of Satuma'lia, 
 popular in the Middle Ages. Its chief 
 object was to honour the ass on which 
 our Lord made His triumphant entry 
 into Jerusalem. This ridiculous mum- 
 mery was held on the day of circum- 
 cision (January 1). The office of the 
 day was first chanted in travesty ; then, 
 a procession being formed, all sorts 
 of absurdities, both of di'ess, manner, 
 and instrumentation, were indulged in. 
 An ass formed an essential feature, and 
 from time to time the whole procession 
 imitated the bra3'ing of this animal, es- 
 pecially in the place of " Amen." 
 
 Fool's Bolt. A fooVs bolt is soon 
 shot {Henry J'., iii. 7). Simpletons 
 cannot wait for the fit and proper time, 
 but waste their resoui'ces in random 
 
 endeavours ; a fool and his money are 
 soon parted. The allusion is to the 
 British bowmeninbattle: the good soldier 
 shot with a purpose, but the foolish 
 soldier at random. {iSee Prov. xxix. 11.) 
 
 Fool's Paradise. Unlawful pleasure, 
 illicit love, vain hopes. Thus, in lionieo 
 and Jtdiet, the Nurse says to Romeo, 
 " If 3'e should lead her [Juliet] into a 
 fool's paradise, it were a gross .... 
 behaviour." The old schoolmen said 
 there were three places where persons 
 not good enough for paradise were ad- 
 mitted : (1) The /iiti/ms patruin, for 
 those good men who had died before the 
 death of the Redeemer ; (2) The liiiibiis 
 infantum or paradise of unbaptised 
 infants ; and (3) The limbiis fatno'riim 
 or paradise of idiots and others who were 
 nan compos mentis. {See Limbo.) 
 
 Foolscap. A con-uption of the 
 Italian fvijlio-capo (folio-sized sheet). 
 The error must have been very ancient, 
 as the water-mark of this sort of paper 
 from the thii-teenth to the seventeenth 
 ceutuiy was a fool's head, with cap and 
 bells. ^ 
 
 Foot. (Greek, pod' ; Latin, ped^ ; 
 French, pied; Dutch, roet ; Saxon, _/b<. 
 Foot and pedal are variants of the same 
 word.) 
 
 Best foot foremost. Use all possible 
 dispatch. To "set on foot" is to set 
 agoing. If you have various powers of 
 motion, set your best foremost. 
 
 " Xay, but make liaste ; tlie better foot before." 
 iSlKikespnire : Kinij John, i\ . •_'. 
 
 1 hare not yet got my foot in. I am 
 not 5^et familiar and easy with the 
 work. The allusion is to the prelimmary 
 exercises in the great Roman foot-race. 
 While the signal was waited for, the 
 candidates made essa3's of jumping, run- 
 ning, and posturing, to excite a suitable 
 warmth and make then- limbs supple. 
 This was "getting their foot in" for 
 the race. {Hec Hand.) 
 
 / hare the measure or length of his foot. 
 I know the exact calibre of his mind. 
 The allusion is to the Pythagore'an ad- 
 measurement of Hercules by the length 
 of his foot. {See Ex Pede.) 
 
 To light on one^s feet. To escape a 
 threatened danger. It is said that cats 
 thrown from a height always light on 
 their feet. 
 
 To put down your foot on [a matter']. 
 Peremptorily to forbid it. 
 
 To show the cloven foot. To betray an 
 evil intention. The devil is represented 
 with a cloven foot.
 
 Foot-breadth 
 
 479 
 
 Pordelis 
 
 Turn (nru]i thij font from tlic tiahhuth 
 (Isa. Iviii. i;i). Abstiiiu from working 
 aud doiug j'our own pleasure on that 
 day. The allusion is to the law which 
 prohibited a Jew from walking on a 
 Sabbath more than a mile. He was to 
 turn away his foot from the road aud 
 street. 
 
 Withdraw thi/ foot from thy ncbjh- 
 boi(r''s house, h'st he (jvt weary of thee, 
 and so hate thee. Never outstay j-our 
 welcome. 
 
 H'ith one foot in the grace. In a 
 dying state. 
 
 Yoit hare put your foot in it nicely. 
 You have got yourself into a i)retty 
 mess. (In French, coas accz mis le pied 
 (tc-tans.) When pomdge is burnt or 
 meat over-roasted, we say, " The bishop 
 liath put his foot in." (.bVf Bishop.) 
 
 Afoot. On the way, in progress. [Sce 
 Game's Afoot, Matter Afoot.) 
 
 " Mischief, tlioii art afoot, 
 T;\l;o Hum wliat rourse tliuii wilt." 
 
 tihakcspmye: Julius Cccnar, iii. 2. 
 
 Foot-breadth or Quern-biter. The 
 sword of Thoralf Skolinsou the Strong, 
 a companion of Hako I. of Norway. 
 
 {Sec SWOEDS.) 
 
 Foot-lights. To appear before the 
 foot-liylils. On the stage, where a row 
 of lights is placed in front along the 
 lloor to lighten it up. 
 
 Foot Monsters. In tlie Italian 
 romance of Uaert'iio Jfeschl'/w Indians 
 are sjjokeu of with feet so large that 
 they carry them over their heads Uke 
 iimbrellas. 
 
 Foot>notes. Notes placed at the 
 bottom of a "page. 
 
 " A triflinj? Slim of misery 
 Ni)\v added to tlie foot of tby account."' 
 
 JJiiidcn. 
 
 Foot-pound. The unit of result 
 in estimating work (tone by machinery. 
 Thus, if we take 1 lb. as the iniit of 
 weight aud 1 foot as the unit of dis- 
 tance, afoot-pound would be 1 lb. weight 
 raised 1 foot. 
 
 Foot of a Page. Tlie bottom of it, 
 meaning the notes at the bottom of a 
 page. 
 
 Footing. He is on good footing with 
 the vortd. He stands well with ,the 
 world. This is a French phrase, Eire 
 sur un grand pied da)i.sle mo)ide. ''Grand 
 pied " means " large foot," and the allu- 
 sion is to the time of Henry VIII., when 
 the rank of a man w^as designated by 
 the size of his shoe — the higher the rank 
 
 the larger the shoe. The proverb would 
 be more correctly I'endered, "He has a 
 large foot in society." 
 
 To pay your footing. To give money 
 for drink when you first enter on a 
 trade. Entry monej' for being allowed 
 to put your foot in the premises occu- 
 pied by fellow-craftsmen. This word 
 is called foot-ale by ancient writers. 
 {See Gaexish.) 
 
 Footman's Wand {A) . {See Running 
 Footmen.) 
 
 Footmen. {Sec Running Footmen.) 
 
 Fop's Alley. The passage between 
 the tiers of benches, right and left, in 
 the Opera-house, frequented by mashers 
 and other exquisites. 
 
 Foppington (Lord). An empty cox- 
 comb in Vanbrugh's Relapse, of which 
 Sheridan's 'Trip to Scarborough is a 
 modified version. 
 
 '■ Tlie slioeiiiaker in the Relapse tells Lord Foji- 
 inngtoii tUat his lordship isniistaken in suiiiiosiug 
 that his shoo pinches."— iocd MucaitUii/. 
 
 Forbears. Ancestors, jiredecessors— 
 i.e. those bom before the present genera 
 tion. (Anglo-Saxon, for-beran.) 
 
 " My name i.s Granne, so please you,— Roland 
 Gneme, whose forliears were designated of 
 Heathergill, in the Dehateable Land."— .Sir IK. 
 Si:ott : The Abbut, chap, xviii. 
 
 Forbes, referred to by Thomson in 
 his Seasons, was Duncan Forbes, of 
 CuUo'den, lord ^jresident of the Court 
 of Session. For many years he ruled the 
 destinies and greatly contributed to the 
 prosperity of Scotland. He was on 
 friendly terms with Pope, Swift, Ar- 
 buthnot, etc. The word is now gene- 
 rally pronounced as a monosyllable. 
 
 " Thee, Forbes, too, whom every worth attciuls.... 
 Thy country feels thro' her revi\ ini,' arts. 
 Planned by thy wisdom, bv thv soul nifoniied." 
 Thunifnii : Autumn. 
 
 Forbidden Fruit ( The), Mahometan 
 doctors aver, was tlie banana or Indian 
 fig, because fig-leaves were employed to 
 cover the disobedient pair when they 
 felt shame as the result of sin. Called 
 " Paradisaica." Metaiihoricallj', un- 
 lawful = forbidden indulgence. 
 
 Forcible Feeble SchooL {See 
 Feeble.) 
 
 Ford. Mr. and Mrs. Ford are cha- 
 racters in 77ic Merry Wives of Windsor. 
 Mrs. Ford pretends to accept Sir John 
 Falstaff's protestations of love, in order 
 to punish him by her devices. 
 
 For'delis (in Orlando Furioso). Wife 
 of Bran'dimart, Orlando's intimate 
 friend. When Brandimart was slain,
 
 !Pore 
 
 480 
 
 r^ortitei? in He 
 
 she dwelt for a time in his mausoleum 
 ill Sicily, and died broken-hearted. 
 (Book xii.) 
 
 Fore. To the fore. In the front 
 rank ; eminent. 
 
 To come to the fore. To stand out 
 prominently ; to distinguish oneself ; to 
 stand forth. 
 
 Fore-and-Aft. Lengthwise, in oppo- 
 sition to " ath wart-ships " (or across the 
 line of the keel). {Dana : Seaman's 3fan- 
 nal, p. 96.) 
 
 "A slight srar-deck f<iie-and-aft."— ,Si/- )!'. 
 Italeigh. 
 
 Forecastle. Ancient ships had a 
 castle, as may be seen in the tapestrj- of 
 the House of Lords, representing the 
 Spanish Arma'da. I'he terra forecastle 
 means before the castle. The Romans 
 called the castled ships naves tnrritcc. 
 
 "That part of tlie upper deck fi)r\vanl of tlie 
 foremast ... In iiiercliaut ships, tlic forward 
 part of tlio vessel, under the deck, wlii're the 
 sailors live."— i^iiHit ; Seaman's Manual, p. tHi. 
 
 Foreclose. To put an end to. A 
 
 legal term, meaning to close before tlie 
 
 time specified ; e.(j. suppose I held the 
 
 mortgage of a man called A, and A fails 
 
 to fulfil his part of the agreement, I can 
 
 insist upon the mortgage being cancelled, 
 
 foreclosing thus our agreement. 
 
 "The euiliart,'o with Spain foreclosed this 
 trade."— C'li rcic. 
 
 Fore-shortened. Not viewed late- 
 rally, but more or less obliquely. Thus, 
 a man's leg lying on the ground, with 
 the sole of the foot nearer the artist thtui 
 the rest of the body, would be perspec- 
 tively shortened. 
 
 " He fdrliids the fore-shortenings, hecause tbey 
 make ihe parts appear \\tl\ti."—Diyden. 
 
 Forfar. Do as the cow o' Forfar did, 
 tak' a staiiiiui'' drink. A cow, in passing 
 a door in Forfar, where a tub of ale had 
 been placed to cool, drank the whole of 
 it. The owner of the ale prosecuted tlie 
 owner of the cow, but a learned baillie, 
 in giving his decision, said, " As the ale 
 was drunk by the cow while standing at 
 the door, it must be considered deocli an 
 dor/iis (stirrup-cup), to make a charge 
 for wliich would be to outrage Scotch 
 hospitality." {Sir Jl'. Scott : li'arerlet/.) 
 
 Forget-me-nots of the Angels. 
 
 The stars are so called by Longfellow. 
 The similitude between a little light- 
 blue flower and the yellow stars is very 
 remote. Stars are more like buttercups 
 than forget-me-nots. 
 
 " Sileiitl.v, one by one, in the infinite meadows of 
 heaven, 
 Blos.soni the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of 
 the aufe'els." Evangeline, 
 
 Forgive, blest Shade. Tliis veiy 
 celebrated c])itaph is in Blading church- 
 yard. Isle of Wight, and is attributed to 
 Mrs. Anne Steele {2'heodosia), daughter 
 of a Baptist minister of Bristol, but was 
 touched up by the Rev. John Gill, curate 
 of Newchurch. Set to music iu three 
 parts by J. W. Callcott (1795). 
 
 Forgiveness. (Aug.-Sa.x., fort/ifencs.) 
 
 " Forgiveness to the injured doth lielong. 
 But they ne'er pardon who Imve done the 
 
 wrong." 
 D)Ti(len : CmiqiteH of Granada, part ii. act i. ". 
 "Pniprinni liunmni generis, odisse liueni lace- 
 r\s."— Tacitus. 
 
 Fork Out. Hand over ; pay dowii ; 
 stand treat. Fingers are called forks, 
 and this may suffice to explain the 
 phrase ; if not, we have the Anglo- 
 Saxon verb feccan (to draw out, to take), 
 and " fork out " woidd be " fee out." 
 
 Forks. The gallows. (Latin, /«»■«/.) 
 Cicero {de J)irinttdte, i. 26) says, " Ferciis 
 fnream ductus est,"" often quoted in proof 
 that criminals condemned to the cross 
 were obliged to carry their own cross to 
 the place of execution. But the ordinary 
 meaning of furca is a kind of yoke to 
 which the hands of criminals were 
 fastened. The punishment was of three 
 degrees of sevei'ity : (1) The furca 
 iffnoininiosa ; {'2) the furca pa)idlis ; 
 and {}^) the furca capildlis. The first 
 was for slight offences, and consisted in 
 carrying the furca on the shoulders, 
 more or less weighted. The second 
 consisted in carrying the/«;Yrt and being 
 scourged. The third was being scourged 
 to death. The word furcifer meant what 
 we call a gallows-bad or vile fellow. 
 
 Forked Cap {A). A bishop's mitre 
 is so called by John Skelton, It is cleft 
 or forked. 
 
 Forlorn Hope. Cromwell says, "Our 
 for/urn of horse marched within a mile 
 of the enemy," i.e. our horse picket sent 
 forward to reconnoitre approached within 
 a mile of the enemy's camp. (German, 
 rerloren.) 
 
 Forlot or Firlot. The fourth part of 
 a boll. From f oner (four), hlof (part). 
 
 Forma Pau'peris (Latin, Under plea 
 of porerti/). T<> sue in forma pauperis. 
 When a person has just cause of a suit, 
 but is so poor that he cannot raise £•'), 
 the judge will assign him lawyers and 
 counsel without the usual fees. 
 
 For'titer in Re (Latin). Firmness 
 in doing what is to be done ; an un- 
 flinching resolution to persevere to the
 
 Fortunate Islands 
 
 481 
 
 Foscari 
 
 end. Coupled with Siiavitcr in inodo 
 {q.r.). 
 
 Fortunate Islands. Now called the 
 Caua'iies. 
 
 Fortuna'tus. Yon have found For- 
 tniiatns^s purse. Are in luck's way. 
 The uurseiy tale of Furtuna'tus records 
 that he had an inexhaustible purse. It 
 is from the Italian fauy tales of Strapa- 
 ro'la, called jS't(//tts. Translated into 
 French in 1585. {See Wishing Cup.) 
 
 Fortune. Fortune favours the brave. 
 {'' Fortes fortu'na ad'juvat.^^) {Terence : 
 Fhor'inio, i. 4.) 
 
 Fortu'nio. The assumed name of a 
 damsel, youngest of three sisters, who 
 dressed herself as a cavalier to save her 
 aged father, who was summoned to the 
 army. Fortuuio on the way engaged 
 seven servants : Strong-back, who could 
 cany on his back enough liquor to fill a 
 river ; Lightfoot, who could traverse any 
 distance in no time ; Marksman, who 
 could hit an object at any distance ; Fine- 
 car, who could hear anything, no matter 
 where uttered ; Boisterer, who could do 
 any amount of cudgelling ; Gonrmand, 
 who could eat any amount of food ; ancl 
 Tippler, who could drink a liver dry and 
 thirst again. Fortuuio, having rendered 
 invaluable services to King Alfourite, by 
 the aid of her seven servants, at last 
 married him. {Grimni's Goblins : For- 
 tunio. Countess D'AuInoi/ : Fairy Tales.) 
 
 Forty. A superstitious number, 
 arising from the Scrijiture use. Thus 
 Moses was forty days in the mount; 
 Elijah was forty days fed by ravens ; 
 the rain of the flood fell forty days, and 
 another forty days expu'ed before Xoah 
 opened the window of the ark ; forty 
 days was the jieriod of embalming ; 
 Nineveh had forty days to repent ; oiu" 
 Lord fasted forty days ; He was seen 
 forty days after His resui'rection ; etc. 
 
 St. Swithin betokens forty days' rain 
 or dry weather ; a quai'antine extends to 
 forty days ; forty days, in the Old English 
 law, was the limit for the payment of 
 the fine for manslaughter ; the privilege 
 of sanctuary was for forty days ; the 
 widow was allowed to remain in her 
 husband's house for forty days after his 
 decease ; a kniglit enjoined forty days' 
 service of his tenant ; a stranger, at the 
 expiration of forty days was compelled 
 to be enrolled in some tithing ; members 
 of Parliament were protected from arrest 
 forty days after the prorogation of the 
 House, and forty days before the House 
 was convened ; a new-made burgess had 
 
 31 
 
 to forfeit forty pence unless he built a 
 house within forty days ; etc., etc. 
 
 Thf, ancient physicians ascribe many 
 strange changes to the period of fortj^"; 
 tlie alchemists looked on forty days as 
 the channed period when the philo- 
 sopher's stone and elixir of life were to 
 apjjear. 
 
 Fool or 2)hijsician at forty. {See under 
 Fool.) 
 
 Forty Stripes save One. The Jews 
 were forbidden by the Mosaic law to 
 iutlict more than forty stripes on an 
 offender, and for fear of breaking the 
 law they stopped short of the number. 
 If the scourge contained three lashes, 
 thirteen strokes would equal " forty save 
 one." 
 
 Forty stripes save one. The thiity- 
 nine articles of the Anglican Church. 
 
 Forty Thieves. In the tale of AH 
 Buba' . {Arabian Niyhts^ Fntertain- 
 
 nicnts.) 
 
 Forty Winks. A sliort nap. Forty 
 is an indefinite number, meaning a few. 
 Thus, we say, "A, B, C, and forty 
 more." Coriola'nus says, " I coidd beat 
 forty of them " (iii. I). {See Forty.) 
 
 "Tlie slave liad furty tboiisaiid lives." 
 
 Shakespeare : Vthello. iii. 1. 
 " I loved Ophelia ; forty tliousaiui hrotliers 
 Could not, with all their quantity of love, 
 Make up my sum." 
 
 Shakespeare : Hamlet, v. 1. 
 
 Forty-five. No. 45. The celebrated 
 nvimber of Wilkes's North Britain, in 
 which the Cabinet Ministers are accused 
 of putting a he into the king's mouth. 
 
 Forwards {Marshal). G. L. vonBlii- 
 cher was called Marschall Vorwarts, from 
 his constant exhortation to his huscsars in 
 tlie campaigns preceding the great battle 
 of AYateiioo. Vorwarts! always ]'or- 
 u-drls! (1742-1819.) 
 
 Fos'cari {Francis). Doge of Venice. 
 He occupied the office for thirty-five 
 years, added Brescia, Ber'gamo, Crema, 
 and Eavenna to the Eepublic, greatly 
 improved the city, and raised Venice to 
 the pinnacle of its glory. Of his four 
 sons only one, named Jac'opo, surv^ived ; 
 he was thrice tortured. Before his final 
 banishment, the old doge, then eighty- 
 four years of age, hobbled on crutches to 
 the gaol where his son was confined, but 
 would not mitigate the sentence of " The 
 Ten." His sou, being banished to Candia, 
 died, and Francis was deposed. As he 
 descended the Giant Staircase he heard 
 the bell toll for the election of his suc- 
 cessor, and dropped down dead. {Byron: 
 The Two Foscari.)
 
 Foss 
 
 482 
 
 Fourierism 
 
 Jacopo Foa'cari. Denounced by the 
 Council of Ten for taking bribes of 
 foreign powers. He was tried before his 
 own father, confessed his guilt, and was 
 banitflied. During his banishment a 
 Venetian senator was murdered, and 
 Jacopo, being suspected of complicity 
 in the crime, was again tortured and 
 banished. Ho returned to Venice, was 
 once more brought before the council, 
 subjected to torture, and banished to 
 Candia, where in a few days he died. 
 
 " Nothing cau symiwtliise with Foscari— 
 Not e'en a Foscari." 
 
 Byron : Tlie Ttco Foscari. 
 
 Foss {CurporaT). An attendant on 
 Lieutenant Worthington. A similar 
 character to Trim in Sterne's Tristram 
 iS/iaiidi/. {G. Culiiiun : The Poor Godlc- 
 man.) 
 
 Foss-way. One of the four princi- 
 pal highways made by the Romans ui 
 Eugland, leading from Cornwall to Lin- 
 coln. It had a foss or ditch on each 
 side of it. (<SV<' Ekmine Street.) 
 
 Fossa et Furca \plt and gaUoirs], 
 Au ancient i)rivilege granted by the 
 Crown to its vassals, to cast female 
 felons into a ditch, and hang male ones 
 on a gallows. 
 
 According to Wharton {Law Dicfioii- 
 (irif), this fnrca is not the Latin word, 
 but the Helirew farkah, to divide. 
 Hence also the servile tenui'e called 
 Tarvam vt FUigdlum. 
 
 Fossils. Things dug up, animal and 
 vegetable remains dug out of the earth. 
 (Latin, /y</io, to dig up.) 
 
 "Jinny other Iiodies, wliicli, because we di.;;- 
 c.iviM- llieni l.y (lit-'i,-ini-' into the liowels of the 
 cai-Ui, arr railed liy unc conunou name— /o.sN/k', 
 iindi r wliirli arc iniiii.reheuded metals and luiue- 
 rais.- [Not now.]— LufAv. 
 
 Foster Brother or Sister. One 
 brouglit uj) by the same nurse. 
 
 K fostcr-cliild is one brought up by 
 those who are not its real parents. (Saxon, 
 fostriaii, Jiiinhh fostrcr, to nurse.) 
 
 Fou Drunk. " Wilbraham has ./«;«- 
 drank'''' — i.e. is despicably drunk, dead 
 drunk. French, fou, "mad," .as foii- 
 cnracje ; or simply /«', i.e. "full," "in- 
 tensive," as in full-oft, '■'■ full-weU ye 
 reject the connnandment of God " (Mark 
 vii. 9). 
 
 Foul Proof. A proof is a rough 
 imi)ression of a manuscript set iip in 
 type, or of a drawing engraved, for the 
 author's correction. The proof with 
 many faults is a foal proof, but the 
 "pull," after the errors are corrected, is 
 termed a clean proof. These impressions 
 
 are called proofs because they must be 
 approved of by author and reader before 
 they are finally printed. 
 
 Foul -weather Jack. Commodore 
 Byron, said to be as notorious for foul 
 weather as Queen Victoria is for fine. 
 (1723-17SG.) 
 
 Admiral Sir John Norris, Avho died 
 1716. 
 
 Fountain of Death. In Jerusalem 
 Del ire red, tlie hermit tells Cliarles and 
 Ubald of a foimtain, the sight of wliicli 
 excites thirst, but those who taste its 
 water die with laughter. 
 
 I'ompo'nius Me'la speaks of a fountain 
 in the Fortimate Islands, " Qui potarere 
 risic sol run tar in mortem." Petrarch al- 
 ludes to the same. 
 
 These fountains symbolise the i)lca- 
 surcs of sin. 
 
 Fountain of Youth. A fountain 
 supposed to jjossess the power of restor- 
 ing youth. It was thought to be in one 
 of the Baha'ma Islands. 
 
 Four Kings. The Histori/ of the 
 Tour Jvinffs {lArre des Quatrc Mots). A 
 pack of cards. In a French pack the 
 four kings are Charlemagne, David, 
 Alexander, and Cresar, rei^resentatives 
 of the Franco-Gennan, Jewish or 
 Christian, Macedonian, and Roman 
 monarchies. 
 
 Four Letters, containing the name 
 of God, and called hy Rabbins "tetra- 
 grammaton." Thus, in Hebrew, JHVH 
 (JeHoVaH) ; in Greek, 0eos ; in Latin, 
 I)eus ; in French, lUeu ; in Assyrian, 
 Adat ; Dutch, Godt ; German, Gott ; 
 Danish, Godh ; Swedish, Goth; Persian, 
 Soru ; Arabic, Alia; Cabalistic, Agla ; 
 Egyptian, ©oue,- Sanskrit, J>«'«; Spanish, 
 T)ios ; Italian, Idio ; Scandinavian, Odin, 
 etc. 
 
 V This probably is a mere coincidence, 
 but it is worthy of note. 
 
 Four Masters. Michael and Cu- 
 coirighe O'Clerighe, Maiu'ice and Fear- 
 feafa Corny, authors of the Annals of 
 iJonigul. 
 
 Fou'rierism. A commimistic sj's- 
 tem, so called from Charles Fourier, of 
 Besan9on. According to Fourier, all the 
 world was to be cantoned into groups, 
 called lohalansteries, consisting each of 
 400 families or 1,800 individuals, who 
 were to live in a common edifice, fur- 
 nished with workshops, studios, and 
 all sources of amusement. The several 
 groups were at the same time to be 
 associated together under a unitary
 
 Pourierists 
 
 483 
 
 Fox-fire 
 
 governmeut, like the Cantons of Switzer- 
 land or the States of America. Only one 
 language was to be admitted ; all the 
 gains of each phalanstery were to belong 
 to the common purse ; and though talent 
 and industry were to be rewarded, no 
 one was to be suffered to remain indi- 
 gent, or without the cnjojonent of cer- 
 tain luxuries and public amusement 
 (1772-1837). 
 
 Fou'rierists. French communists, so 
 called from Charles Fourier. {Sec above.) 
 
 Fourteen, in its connection with 
 Henri IV. and Louis XIV. The follow- 
 ing are curious and strange coincidences : 
 
 Henri IV. 
 
 11 letters in the name Henri-de-Bniirhon. newas 
 tlie Htli kiiii,' of France and Navarre on the 
 extinctiiin of the faniil.v of Navarre. He was 
 liorn on Dee. 14, l.")5.3, the sum of which year 
 ;iinnunts to 11 : he was assassinated on May 14, 
 liUii ; anil lived 4 times 14 years, 14 weeks, and 
 4 tinirs 14 days. 
 
 14 ilny, l."iM, was bora JIarguerite de Valois, his 
 first wife. 
 
 14 Mav, 158«, the Parisians rose in revolt against 
 him, because he was a " heretic." 
 
 14 March, 151K), he won the great battle of Ivr.v. 
 
 14 May, 1.5H0, was organised a grand ecch'siastieal 
 and mill tarydemonstr:il ion ag:iiiisl him, which 
 drove him from the t:\ul)onrK.s (.f I'aris. 
 
 14 Nov., I.ilin, the Sixteen took an oath to die 
 rather than submit to a "heretic" king. 
 
 It was Grri.'iirv XIV. who issued a Bull excluding 
 Henri from the throne. 
 
 14 Nov., ]xn, the Paris parlement registered the 
 papal Bull. 
 
 14 Dec, l.isw, the Duke of Savoy was reconciled to 
 Henri IV. 
 
 14 Sept., 1«10, was b:i|'iisi'd ilii- d;uiphin (after- 
 wards Louis XI 1 1.1 —II ■ 1 Ib'iiri IV. 
 
 14 May, ICIO.Heury w;is :i--:i--,n:itc-d by Kavaillae. 
 For the dates see Jlntuut de France, by Bordier 
 
 and t'hnrton (1S.VJ). 
 
 Louis XIV. 
 
 14th of the name. He mminted llie throne KM.'!, 
 the sum of wliich lii-'iires ei|uals 14. He died 
 1715, the sum of whch tlu'un--i .also equals 14. 
 He reiirned 77 vcavs. 111.- sum of wlii<-h two 
 figures equals II. lb' «:i^ bnni li;:i-. ili,-ii 1715, 
 which added to_-iili-T .'.iiinls :;:;.-,:!, i Im' sum of 
 Whicli ligures cuiiirs i.. 11. Sucli :i >liaiige 
 conil)ination is iiiiiialdj withuul parallel. 
 
 Fourteen Hundred (A Stock Ex- 
 change warning). It is to give notice 
 that a stranger has entered 'Change. 
 The term was in use in Defoe's time. 
 
 Fourth Estate of the Realm ( 77/ r). 
 The daily press. The most powerful of 
 all. Burke, referring to the Reporters' 
 Gallery, said, "Yonder sits the Fourth 
 Estate, more important than them all." 
 
 Fourth of July (T/u-). The great 
 national holiday of the United States of 
 America. The Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence was July 4, 1776. 
 
 Fowler {Henry the Fowler). Hein- 
 rich I., King of Germany, was so called, 
 because when the deputies announced to 
 him his election to the throne, they 
 
 found him fowling with a hawk on his 
 fist (876, 919-936). 
 
 '.' This tradition is not mentioned by 
 any historian before the eleventh cen- 
 tury ; but since that jjeriod numerous 
 writers liave repeated the story. He 
 was called in Latin, Hcnricus Aiiceps. 
 
 Fox ( The old). Marshal Soult was so 
 nicknamed, from his strategic talents 
 and fertility of resources. (1769-1851.) 
 {Sec Reynaed.) 
 
 Fox. A?/tipat/ii/ fo foxes. Speaking 
 of natural antipathies, Shakespeare 
 makes Shylock say : 
 
 " Some men there be love not a .traping pig, 
 Some that are mad if they behold a ctit." 
 
 Tj'cho Brahe woidd faint at sight of a 
 fo.r, Marshal d'Albret at sight of a pig, 
 Henri III. at sight of a cat. {See 
 Antipathy.) 
 
 A wise fox irill never rob his neir/Ii- 
 boHr\s hen-roost, because it would soon 
 be found out. He goes farther from 
 home where he is not known. 
 
 I'h'crij fox must pay his skin to the 
 furrier. The crafty shall be taken in 
 their own wiliness. 
 
 To set a fox to keep the geese. (Latin, 
 " Occm Inpo committer e.'''') He entrusted 
 liis money to sharpers. 
 
 Fox {That). So our Lord called Herod 
 Antipas, whose crafty policy was tlius 
 pointed at, "Go ye, and tell that fox. 
 Behold, I cast out devils " (St. Luke xiii. 
 32). (B.C. 4— A.D. 39.) 
 
 *.* Herod Agrippa I. (a.d. 41-44.) 
 Herod Agrippa II. (a.d. 52-100.) 
 
 Fox. An Old English broadsword. 
 
 V A correspondent of Kotes ami Que- 
 ries (May 2nd, 1891, p. 356) says: "The 
 swords were manufactured by Julian 
 del Eei of Toledo, whoso trade-mark 
 was a little dog, mistaken for a fox." 
 The usual derivation is the Latin falx, 
 French faucJioii, our falchion. 
 
 " O signieur Dew, thou diest on point of fox. 
 Except, O signieur, thou do give to me 
 Egregious ransom. 
 
 Nhakeapcare : Henry V., iv. 4. 
 " I had a sword, ay, the flower of Smithfleld for 
 a sword, a right fox i' faith."— Tjto Angry Women 
 o/Abhigtun (159ti). 
 
 Fox {To). To steal or cheat ; to 
 fub; also "to shadow" a suspect; to 
 waich without seeming so to do. A dog, 
 a fox, and a weasel sleep, as they say, 
 "with one eye open." 
 
 Fox-fire — i.e. fause or "false fire," 
 the phosphoric light, without heat,, 
 which plays round decaying matter.
 
 Fox-tail 
 
 481 
 
 Frangipani 
 
 Fox-tail. I (/ore Jdni a flap irith a 
 fox-tail. I cujoled him ; made a fool of 
 him. The fox-tail was one of the badges 
 of the motley, and to fla|> with a fox-tail 
 is to treat oue like a fool. 
 
 Fox's Sleep (^i). A sleep with one 
 ej'e on the qui v'lvc. Assumed indiffer- 
 ence to what is going on. [See above.) 
 
 Foxed. A book stained with reddish- 
 brown marks is said to be foxed. Of 
 course, the stain is so called because it is 
 of the colour of a fox. 
 
 Foxglove, called by tlie Welsh 
 Tairi/^x (jlorc and by the Irish Fairy-beUs, 
 is eitlier a corruption of Folk's glove — 
 i.e. the glove of the good folks or fairies, 
 or else of the Saxou fo.r\_cii]f/lofa, red or 
 fox- coloured glove. (French, gants ilc 
 Noire Dame.) 
 
 Foxites (2 syl.). The Quakers. So 
 called from George Fox, wlio organised 
 the sect (1G24-1690). 
 
 " His muzzle, fdrnied of oiiiiositinn stuff, 
 
 Klnu as a Fiixito, ivoulil iicit liise its ruff." 
 Di: Wolcolt [Peter Pindar] -. The Kuznr Mia: 
 
 Foxy. Strong-smelling, or red-haired; 
 like a fox. 
 
 Fra Diav'olo (Michele Pozza). A 
 celebrated Inigand and renegade monk, 
 who evaded pursuit for many years 
 amid.st the mountains of Calabria. (1700- 
 1806.) Auber has made him the subject 
 of an opera. 
 
 Fracassus. Father of Ferragus, the 
 giant, and son of Morgaute. 
 
 " Primus erat i|"iila'ii Fracassus i>role pigantis, 
 C'ujiis stiriis iilim .M(ir«:iiU<i venit ab lUo, 
 Qui liaccliioiciuouL canii.air.i- ferre sololiat, 
 I'um (luii mille liuuiiuuiu culpos fracasset iu 
 uuo." 
 
 Merlin Cncains (i.e. Tlieophile Folenyo) : 
 Jlistoirc Mucaruniqiie (11)06). 
 
 Fradu'lbio [Bro//ier Douhf], says 
 Spenser, wooed and won Duessa {Fulle- 
 faitli) ; but one day, while she was 
 bathing, discovered her to be a "filthy 
 old hag," and resolved to leave her. 
 False - faith instantly metamorjihosed 
 him into a tree, and he will never be 
 relieved till "he can be bathed from 
 the well of living water." {Faerie 
 Queene, book i. 2.) 
 
 Frame of Mind. Dispo.sition. A 
 pr I liter's frame is a stand on wlucli the 
 type is disposed ; a founder'' s frame is a 
 mould into which molten metal is dis- 
 posed or poured ; a weaver^s frame is a 
 loom where the silk or thread is dis- 
 posed or stretched for quilting, etc. ; a 
 pieture frame is an ornamental edging 
 within which the picture is disposed ; a 
 Mental frame, therefore, is the boundary 
 
 within which the feelings of the mind 
 are disposed. (Anglo-Saxon, //«•/«/«-««.) 
 
 France. The heraldic device of the 
 city of Paris is a sliip. As Sauval says, 
 " i/'iVc de la eite est Jaite eoinme i/ii grand 
 narire oifonce dans la vase, ct ichoite an 
 fil de Veau vers le milicn de la Seine.^' 
 This foi-m of a sliip struck tlie heraldic 
 scribes, who in the latter part of the 
 Middle Ages emblazoned a ship on the 
 shield of Paris. 
 
 Frances'ca. A Venetian maiden, 
 daughter of Miuotti, governor of Corinth. 
 She loved Alp, and tried to restore liini 
 to his countrj- and faith ; but, as lie re- 
 fused to recant, gave him u}), and died 
 broken-hearted. {Bi/roti: fSteyc of Co- 
 rinth.) 
 
 Francesca da Rimini. Daugliter 
 of Guido da Polenta, Lord of Kavenna. 
 Her storj' is told iu Dante's Inferno 
 (canto v.). She was married to Lanciot to 
 Malatesta, Lord of liimini, but com- 
 mitted adultery with Paolo, her hus- 
 band's brotlier. Both were jiut to death 
 by him in loSi). Leigh Hunt has a 
 ])oem, and Silvio Pellico a tragcd}-, oil 
 the subject. 
 
 Francis's Distemper {St.). Impe- 
 cuniosity ; being moneyless. Those of 
 the Order of St. Francis were not allowed 
 to cany any money about them. 
 
 " I saw another case of gentlemen of St. Fran- 
 cis's <lislomiier."— 7i<(it>(ais ; Pantagriwl, v. I'l. 
 
 Franciscans, or Min'orites (3 syl.). 
 Founded in 1208 by St. Francis of Assisi, 
 who called poverty " his bride." Poverty 
 was tlie ruling principle of the order. 
 Duns Scotus, Roger Bacon, Cardinal 
 Ximenes, GanganelU, etc., were of this 
 order. 
 
 Called Frovciscans, from the nam.e of their 
 
 founder. 
 
 „ AfiiKtriten.from their professed liumilit.v. 
 
 „ Grey Friiirs. from the colour of their 
 
 outer warnjent. 
 
 Jl/cnilicxiits, lircause the.v were rme of 
 
 thi' H("..'L'iuL' or mendicant order. 
 Obseriuint.i. Iiecause the.v strictly ob- 
 served the rule of roverty. 
 
 V The Franciscan .S'i^iVr.swere known 
 as Clares, or Poor Clares, Minoresses, 
 Mendicants, and Urbanites. 
 
 Frangipa'nl. A powerful Roman 
 family. So called from their benevolent 
 distribution of bread during a famine. 
 
 Franr/ipani. A delicious perfume, 
 made of spices, orris-root, and musk, 
 in imitation of real Frangipani. Mutio 
 Frangipani, the famous Italian botanist, 
 visited the West Indies in 1193. The 
 sailors perceived a delicious fragrance 
 as they neared Autig'ua, and Mutio
 
 Frangipani 
 
 48c 
 
 Free Bench. 
 
 told them it proceeded from the Flu- 
 me' via Alba. The plant was re-named 
 Frangipani, and the distilled essence 
 received the same name. 
 
 Frangipani Pudding is pudding 
 made of broken bread. {Franycre, to 
 break ; jMiiiin, bread.) 
 
 Frank. A name given by the Turks, 
 Greeks, and Arabs to any of the inhabi- 
 tants of the w^estern parts of Europe, as 
 the English, Italians, Germans, Spani- 
 ards, French, etc. 
 
 Frank Pledge. Neighbours bound 
 for each other's good conduct. Hallam 
 says every ten men in a village were 
 answerable for each other, and if one of 
 them committed au offence the other 
 nine were bound to make reparation. 
 The word means the security given by 
 Franklins or free -men. 
 
 Frankeleynes Tale, in Chancer, 
 resembles one in Boccaccio {Dcranicro/i, 
 Day X. No. 5), and one in the fifth book 
 of his F/iilocope. (See Doeigen.) 
 
 Frank'enstein (3 syl.). A j'oung 
 student, who made a soulless monster 
 out of fragments of men picked up from 
 churchyards and dissecting-rooms, and 
 endued it with life by galvanism. The 
 tale, written by Mrs. Shelley, shows how 
 the creature longed for sympathy, but 
 was shunned by everyone. It was only 
 animal life, a parody on the creature 
 man, powerful for evil, and the instru- 
 ment of dreadful retribution on the 
 student, who usurped the prerogative of 
 the Creator. 
 
 "Tlio SnutliernrDiifederac.v will Imlhc soulless 
 monster of Frankenstein."— C/(ac((?s Sum}ier. 
 
 V Mrs. Shelley, unfortunately, has 
 given no name to her monster, and 
 therefore he is not uufrequently called 
 " Frankenstein " when alluded to. This, 
 of course, is an error, but Frankenstein's 
 monster is a clumsy substitute. 
 
 " I believe it would be impossible to control tlie 
 Frankenstein we sbonlri bave onrselves created." 
 — .s,)' Juliii Lubbick (a speecb, 188U). 
 
 Frankforters. People of Frankfort. 
 
 Franklin. The Polish Frcuiklui. 
 Thaddeus Czacki (1765-1813). 
 
 Frankum's Night. A night in June 
 destructive to apple- and pear-trees. 
 The tale is that one Frankum offered 
 sacrifice in his orchard for an extra fine 
 crop, but a blight ensued, and his trees 
 were unproductive. 
 
 Frantic. Brain-struck (Greek, ^;//r!?;;., 
 
 the heart as the seat of reason), madness 
 being a disorder of the understanding. 
 
 " Cebel's frantic rites have made them mad." 
 Spenser. 
 
 Fraserian. One of the eighty-one 
 celebrated literary characters of the 19th 
 century published in Fraser's Magazine 
 (1 830- 1838) . Amongst them are Harrison 
 Ainsworth, the countess of Blessiugton, 
 Brewster, Brougham, Bulwer, Campbell, 
 Carlyle, Cobbett, Coleridge, Cruiksha.nk, 
 Allan Cunningham, D'Israeli (both Isaac 
 and Benjamin), Faraday, Gleig, Mrs. 
 S. C. Hall, Hobhouse, Hogg (the Ettrick 
 sheijherd) , Theodore Hook, Leigh Hunt, 
 Washington Irving, Kuowles, Charles 
 Lamb, Miss Landon, Dr. Lardner, 
 Lockhart, Harriet Martineau, Dr. 
 Moir, Molesworth, Eobert Montgomery, 
 Thomas Moore, Jane Porter, Sir Walter 
 Scott, Sydney Smith, Talfourd, Talley- 
 rand, Alaric Watts, Wordsworth, and 
 others to the number of eighty-one. 
 
 Fraserian Group {The) consists of 
 twenty-seven persons: Maginn. On his 
 rif/ht /i(7;^f/, Washington Irving, Mahonj', 
 Gleig, Sir E. Brydges, Carlyle, and 
 Count d'Orsay. On his left hai/d, Barry 
 Cornwall, Southey, Perceval Banks, 
 Thackeray, Churchill, Serjeant Murjjhy, 
 Macnish, and Harrison Ainsworth. (Jp- 
 posite are Coleridge, Hogg, Gait, Dun- 
 lop, Jerdan, Fraser, Croker, Lockhart, 
 Theodore Hook, Brewster, and Moii\ 
 
 Frater. An Abram-mau {q.r.). 
 (Latin, fraici\ a brother, one of the 
 same community or society.) 
 
 Frat'eret'to. A fiend mentioned by 
 Edgar in the tragedy of KiiKj Lear. 
 
 "Frateretto calls me, and tells me Nern is an 
 anprler in the lake of darkness. Prav. innocent, 
 and lieware of the foul flend."— Act iii. 6. 
 
 Frat'ery. The refectory of a monas- 
 tery, or chief room of a frater-house. 
 A frater is a member of a fuiternity or 
 society of monks. (Latin, f ruler, a bro- 
 ther.) 
 
 Fraticel'lians [Liltle BreUiroi']. A 
 sect of the Middle Ages, who claimed to 
 be the only true Church, and threw off 
 all subjection to the Pope, whom they 
 denounced as an apostate. They wholly 
 disappeared in the fifteenth century. 
 
 Fre'a. The Anglo-Saxon form of 
 Frigga, wife of Odin. Our Friday is 
 F)ra's daeg. 
 
 Free. A free and easg. A social 
 gathering where persons meet together 
 without formality to chat and smoke. 
 
 Free Bench {franca /< hancus). The 
 widow's right to a copyhold. It is not
 
 Free Coup 
 
 486 
 
 Frencli Cream 
 
 a dower or gift, but a free right inde- 
 pendent of the will of the husband. 
 Called bench because, upon acceding to 
 the estate, she becomes a tenant of the 
 manor, and one of the benchers, i.e. 
 persons who sit on the bench occupied 
 by the pares citrice. 
 
 Free Coup (in Scotland) means a 
 piece of waste laud where rubbish may 
 be deposited free of charge. 
 
 Free Lances. Roving companies of 
 knights, etc., who wandered from place 
 to place, after the Crusades, selling their 
 services to anyone who would pay for 
 them. In Italy they were tenned Con- 
 dottie'ri. 
 
 Free Lances of Life {The). The 
 Aspasias of fashion. The fair frail 
 demi-monde. 
 
 Free Spirit. Brethren of the Free 
 Spirit. A fanatical sect, between the 
 thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, diffused 
 through Italy, France, and Germany. 
 They claimed "freedom of spirit," and 
 based their claims on Romans viii. 2-14, 
 ' ' The law of the Spirit hath made me 
 free from the law of sin and death." 
 
 Free Trade. The Apostle of Free 
 Trade. Richard Cobden (1804-6o). 
 
 Freebooter means a free rover. 
 (Dutch, bmten, to rove, whence rrij- 
 biiiter ; Germnn, frcibei(ter, etc.) 
 
 " His fiirces cunsistcd mostly of l^iisc peoiilo 
 anil fiteliocitei's."— Ckcou. 
 
 Freeholds. Estates which owe no 
 duty or service to any lord but the sove- 
 reign. {See COPYUOLD.) 
 
 Freeman {Mrs.). A name assumed 
 by the Duchess of Marlborough in her 
 correspondence with Queen Anne. The 
 queen called herself Mrs. Morley. 
 
 Freeman of Bucks. A cuckold. 
 Tlie allusion is to the buck's horn. {See 
 
 HOENS. ) 
 
 Freeman's Quay. I>ri)iliiuj at 
 Freema)i^s Quay. (AVd' Deinkino.) 
 
 Freemasons. In the Middle Ages 
 a guild of masons specially employed in 
 building churches. Called "free" be- 
 cause exempted by several papal bulls 
 from the laws which bore upon common 
 craftsmen, and exempt from the burdens 
 thrown on the working classes. 
 
 *.* St. Paul's, London, in 604, and St. 
 Peter's, Westminster, in 605, wore built 
 by Freemasons. Gnndulph (bishop of 
 Rochester), who built the White Tower, 
 was a "Grand Master;" so was Peter 
 
 of Colechurch, arcliitect of Old London 
 Bridge. Henry VII. 's chnpel, West- 
 minster, was the work of a Master 
 Mason ; so were Sir Thomas Gresham 
 (who planned the Roj'al Exchange), 
 Inigo Jones, and Sir Christopher Wren, 
 Covent Garden theatre was founded in 
 1808 by the Prince of Wales in his 
 capacity of " Grand Master." 
 
 "Bofore the lieKiniiiiiK of the 13th century the 
 coriioration of freeniasons was not sulllciently 
 organised to have had nnuh intluence on art."— 
 J. FcniHssun: Historic ArclKeoluijy, yoi.i. part.ii. 
 chap. viii. p. 5i7. 
 
 The ladij Freemason Avas the Hon. 
 Miss Elizabeth St. Leger, daughter of 
 Lord Doneraile, who (says the tale) hid 
 herself in an empty clock-case when the 
 lodge was held in her father's house, 
 and witnessed the proceedings. She was 
 discovered, and compelled to submit to 
 initiation as a member of the craft. 
 
 Freeport {Sir Andrew). A London 
 merchant, industrious, generous, and of 
 great good sense. He was one of the 
 members of the hypothetical club under 
 whose auspices the Spectator was pub- 
 lished. 
 
 Freestone is Portland stone, which 
 cwtsfreclij in any direction. 
 
 Freethinker. One who thinks 
 unbiassed by revelation or ecclesiastical 
 canons, as deists and atheists. 
 
 "Atlicist is an old-fashioned word. lama 
 frcetliinkcr."— J(/i//-oH. 
 
 Freezing - point. We generally 
 mean by this expression that degree of 
 Fahrenheit's thermometer which indi- 
 cates the temperature of frozen water — 
 viz. 32= above zero. If we mean any 
 other liquid we add the name, as the 
 freezing-point of milk, sidphuric ether, 
 quicksilver, and so on. In Centigrade 
 and Reaumiu''s instruments zero marks 
 the freezing-point. 
 
 Freischiitz (pronounce frij-shoots), 
 the free-shooter, a legendary Gennau 
 archer in league with the Devil, who 
 gave him seven balls, six of which were 
 to hit infallibly whatever the marksman 
 aimed at, and the seventh was to be 
 directed according to the will of his co- 
 partner. F. Kind made the libretto, 
 and Weber set to music, the opera basetl 
 on the legend, called I)er Freischiitz. 
 
 Freki and Geri. The two wolves of 
 Odin. 
 French Cream. Brandy. In Franco 
 
 it is extremely general to drink after 
 dinner a cup of cofi'ee with a glass of 
 brandy in it instead of cream. This 
 "patent digester " is called a Gloria,
 
 French Leave 
 
 487 
 
 Friar Dominic 
 
 French Leave. To UiJce French 
 leave. To take without asking leave or 
 giving any equivalent. The allusion is 
 to the French soldiers, who in their 
 invasions take what they require, and 
 never wait to ask permission of the 
 owners or jiay any price for what they 
 take. 
 
 The French retort this courtesy by 
 calling a creditor an Englishman {tin 
 Anglais), a term in vogue in the six- 
 teenth century, and used by Clement 
 Marot. Even to the present hour, when 
 a man excuses himself from entering a 
 cafe or theatre, because he is in debt, he 
 says : " Xon, ncn! je suis Angle " ("I am 
 cleared out"). 
 
 " Et aiijdurd'luiy je faictz snliciter 
 Tuus luc iinglu.vs.' 
 
 Gaillaiime Crclou (l.j:;ii). 
 
 Freneh leave. Leaving a party, house, 
 or neighbourhood without bidding good- 
 bye to anyone ; to slip away unnoticed. 
 
 French of Stratford atte Bowe. 
 
 English-French. 
 
 " Anil Freufh, she [the uun] spak fiil, fairo and 
 fetysly, 
 After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe, 
 For French of Parys was to hire uuknowe." 
 Cliaucer : Vanterburij Talcs (,Tlte_PruloijiU'X 
 
 Frenchman. Done like a Freneh man, 
 turn a ltd turn again (1 Ilcnrij YI., iii. 
 4). The French are usually satirised by 
 mediaeval English authors as a fickle, 
 wavering nation. Dr. Johnson says he 
 once read a treatise the object of which 
 was to show that a weathercock is a 
 satire on the word Gallnn (a Gaul or 
 cock) . 
 
 Frenchman. The nickname of a 
 Frenchman is " Crapaud " {q.v-), 
 "Johnny" or "Jean," " Mossoo," 
 "Robert Macaire" {q.v.) \ but of a 
 Parisian " Grenouille " (Frog). {See 
 Bbissotins. ) 
 Thov stand erect, they dance whene'er they 
 
 walk ; 
 Monkeys in action, iiarroquets in talk." 
 
 Gay : Epistle III. 
 
 French Canadian, " Jean Baptiste." 
 French Feasantrg, " Jacques Bon- 
 homme." 
 
 Freneh Reformers, "Brissotins" (^.r.). 
 
 Fres'co-painting means fresh-paint- 
 ing, or rather ixiiiit applied to walls 
 while the plaster is fresh and damp. 
 Only so much plaster must be spread as 
 the artist can finish painting before ho 
 retires for the day. There are three 
 chambers in the Pope's palace at Rome 
 done in fresco by Raphael Urbino and 
 Julio Roma'uo ; at Fontainebleau there 
 is a famous one, containing the travels 
 of Ulysses in sixty pieces, the work of 
 
 several artists, as BoUame'o, Martin 
 Rouse, and others. 
 
 " A fading frcscoe here demands a sigh." 
 
 I'ofe. 
 
 Freshman, at college, is a man not 
 salted. It was anciently a custom in the 
 different colleges to play practical jokes 
 on the new-comers. One of the most 
 common was to assemble them in a room 
 and make them deliver a sjjeech. Those 
 who acquitted themselves well had a 
 cu]) of caudle ; those who passed muster 
 had a caudle with salt water ; the rest 
 had the salt water oidy. Without scan- 
 ning so deej^ly, "fresh -man" niay 
 simply mean a fresh or new student. 
 {five Bejan.) 
 
 Freston. An enchanter introduced 
 into the romance of l)0)b Belia'nis of 
 Greece. 
 
 " Truly I can't tell whether it was Freston or 
 Friston ; but sure I am tliat his name ended in 
 ' ton.' "—1)011 Quixote. 
 
 Frey. Son of Niord, the Van. He 
 was the Scandinavian god of fertility 
 and peace, and the dispenser of rain. 
 Frey was the patron god of Sweden and 
 Iceland, he rode on the boar Gullin- 
 bursti, and his sword was self-acting. 
 [See Geeda.) 
 
 Niijrd was not of the ^sir. He, with his son 
 and daughter, presided over the sea, the clouds, 
 the air, and water generally. They belonged to 
 the Vanir. 
 
 Freyja. Daughter of Niord, goddess 
 of love. She was the wife of Odin, wlio 
 deserted her because she loved finery 
 better than she loved her husband. Her 
 chariot was drawn by two cats, and not 
 by doves like the car of Venus. {Scan- 
 dinavian tngthology.) 
 
 Friar. A curtal Friar. (Sec Cdr- 
 
 TAL.) 
 
 Friar, in printing. A part of the 
 sheet which has failed to receive the 
 ink, and is therefore left blank. As 
 Caxton set iip his printing-press in 
 Westminster Abbey, it is but natural to 
 sujipose that monks and friars should 
 give foundation to some of the printers' 
 slang. {See Monk.) 
 
 Friar Bungay is an historical clia- 
 racter overlaid with legends. It is said 
 that he ' ' raised mists and vapours which 
 befriended Edward IV. at the battle of 
 Barnet." 
 
 "[Friar Bungay is] the porsonillcation of the. 
 charlatan of science in the l.ith ci'Ulury." — Lord 
 Liitton [Bulwer Ljtton] : 'J'lie Last oftlic Barons. 
 
 Friar Dom'inic, in Dryden's Spanish 
 Friar, designed to ridicule the vices of 
 the pi'iesthood.
 
 Friar Gerund 
 
 488 
 
 Friar's Tale 
 
 Friar Ger'und. Designed to ridi- 
 cule tlie piilpit oratory of Spain in the 
 eighteenth century ; full of quips and 
 cranks, tricks and startling monstrosi- 
 ties. {Joseph Isla : Life of Friar Gerund, 
 1711-1783.) 
 
 Friar Jobn. A tall, lean, wide- 
 mouthed, long-nosed friar of Seville, 
 who dispatched his matins with wonder- 
 ful celerity, and ran through his vigils 
 quicker than anj' of his fratemitj'. He 
 swore lustily, and was a Trojan to fight. 
 When the army from Lerue jnllaged the 
 convent vine3'ard. Friar John seized the 
 staff of a cross and punnnelled the 
 rogues most lustily. He beat out the 
 brains of some, crushed the anns of 
 others, battered theii' legs, cracked their 
 ribs, gashed their faces, broke their 
 thighs, tore their jaws, dashed in their 
 teeth, dislocated their joints, that never 
 com was so mauled by the thresher's 
 flail as were these jullagers by the 
 " baton of the cross." {Rabelais : Gar- 
 gantua and Pantagritcl, book i. 27.) 
 
 " If a j.ike more than usually profane is to he 
 uttered, Kriar John is the spcikesnian. . . . .\ mass 
 of lewiluess, deliauchcry, iwofanity, and valour." 
 
 —Furciyu (JuaiUiiij Rtrieir. 
 
 Friar Laurence, in Shakespeare's 
 
 Jtunu'O and Juliet. 
 
 Friar Rush. A house-spii-it, sent 
 from the infernal regions in the seven- 
 teenth century to keej^ the monks and 
 friars in the same state o| wickedness 
 they were then in. The legends of this 
 roysterer are of German origin. {Bruder 
 Jiause/i, brother Tipple. ) 
 
 Friar Tuck. Chaplain and steward 
 of Eobin Hood. Introduced by Sir 
 Walter Scott in Ivanhoc. He is a 
 pudgy, paunchy, humorous, self-indul- 
 gent, and combative clerical Falstaff. 
 His costume consisted of a russet habit 
 of the Franciscan order, a red corded 
 girdle with gold tassel, red stockings, 
 and a wallet. A friar was nicknamed 
 tucl\ because his dress was tucked by a 
 girdle at the Avaist. Thus Chaucer 
 says, " Tucked he was, as is a frere 
 about." 
 
 " In this our spacious isle I think there isnot one 
 But he hath heard some talk of Hood and Little 
 
 John ; 
 Of Tuck, the merry friar, which many a sermon 
 
 made 
 In praise of Robin Hood, his outlaws, and their 
 trade." Uruyton: PulyoWion,s.-2r>. 
 
 _ Friar's Heel. The outstanuing up- 
 right stone at Stonehenge is so called. 
 Geoffrey of Monmouth says the devil 
 bought the stones of an old woman in 
 Ireland, wrapped them up in a wyth, and 
 
 brought them to Salisbury plain. Just 
 before he got to Mount Ambre the wyth 
 broke, and one of the stones fell into the 
 Avon, the rest were carried to the plain. 
 After the tiend had fixed them in the 
 ground, he cried out, " No man will ever 
 find out how these stones came here." A 
 friar re])lied, ''That's more than thee 
 canst tell," whereupon the foid fiend 
 threw one of the stones at him and 
 struck him on the heel. The stone stuck 
 in the ground, and remains so to the 
 present hour. 
 
 Friar's Lanthorn. Sir W. Scott calls 
 Jack o'Lantern Friar Rush. This is an 
 error, as Rush was a domestic spirit, and 
 not a field esprit fol/et. He got admit- 
 tance into monasteries, and played the 
 monks sad pranks, but is never called 
 ' ' Jack. ' ' Sir Walter Scott seems to have 
 considered Friar Rush the same as "Friar 
 with the Rush (light)," and, therefore, 
 Friar with the Lantern or Will o' the 
 Wisp. 
 
 " Better we hart through mire and husU 
 Been lanthorn-led by Friar Rush." 
 
 Nir Walter Scutt: iTarmion. 
 
 *.* Milton also (in his V Allegro) calls 
 Will o' the Wisp a friar, probably mean- 
 ing Friar Rush : 
 
 "She was pinchetl, and pulled, she said ; 
 And he by Friar's lantern led." 
 
 but "Rush" in this name has nothing 
 to do with the verb rush [about] or rush 
 [light] . It is the German Briider Bausch, 
 called by the Scandinavians Broder Bans. 
 (Scandinavian, riius, intoxication, in 
 German rausch, Avhich shows us at once 
 that Friar Rush was the spirit of ineb- 
 riety. {See Robin Goodfzllow.) 
 
 Friars [brothers']. Applied to the four 
 gi'eat religious orders — Dominicans, 
 Franciscans, Augustiuians, and Carme- 
 lites. Later, a fifth order was added — 
 that of the Trinitarians. The first two 
 were called Black and Greg friars, the 
 Cannelites were called White friars, and 
 the Trinitarians Crutched iiiais {q.v.). 
 
 Friars. {Sec Black.) 
 
 Friars Major {Fratres inajo'res). 
 The Dominicans. 
 
 Friars Minor {Fratres mino'res). 
 The Francis'caus. 
 
 Friar's Tale. A certain archdeacon 
 had a simipnour, who acted as his secret 
 spy, to bring before him all offenders. 
 One day as he was riding forth on his 
 business he met the devil disguised as a 
 yeoman, swore eternal friendship, and 
 pi-omised to "go snacks" with him. 
 They first met a carter whose cart stuck
 
 Fribble 
 
 489 
 
 Friend 
 
 in the road, and he cried in his anger, 
 "The devil take it, both horse and cart 
 and ha J' I " Soon the horse drew it out 
 of the slough, and the man cried, " God 
 bless you, my brave boy ! " " There," 
 said the de\'il, " is my own true brother, 
 the churl spake one thing but he thought 
 another." They next came to an old 
 screw, and the sumpnour declared he 
 would squeeze twelve pence out of her 
 for sin, ''though of her he knew no 
 wrong;" so he knocked at her door 
 and summoned her "for cui-sing " to 
 the archdeacon's court, but said he 
 would overlook the matter for twelve 
 pence, but she pleaded poverty and im- 
 plored mere}'. '' The foul fiend fetch me 
 if I excuse thee," said the sumpnour, 
 whereat the devil replied that he would 
 fetch him that very night, and, seizing 
 him round the body, made off with him. 
 {Chancer : Canterhur)j Talcs.) 
 
 Fribble. An effeminate coxcomb of 
 weak nerves, in Garrick's farce of Miss 
 
 in her Teens. 
 
 Friday is the Mahometan Sabbath. 
 It was the day on which Adam was 
 created and our Lord was crucified. 
 The Sabe'ans consecrate it to Venus or 
 Astarte. {See Feea.) 
 
 V Triday is Ft lr/-d(e{/ relics Venturis, 
 called in French Vendredi, which means 
 the same thing. It was regarded by the 
 Scandinavians as the luckiest day of the 
 week. {Sec below, Friday, Unlack)/.) 
 
 Fridaij. Fairies and all the tribes of 
 elves of every description, according to 
 mediaeval romance, are converted into 
 hideous animals on Friday, and remain 
 so till Monday. {Sec the romance of 
 Gucri'no Mesehi'no, and others.) 
 
 Black Fridaij. {See Black.) 
 
 Zonff Fridai'i, Good Friday, long being 
 a synonjon of gi-eat. Thus Mrs. Quickly 
 says, " 'Tis a long loan for a poor lone 
 woman to bear " (2 Hcnrij IV. ii. 1), and 
 the Scotch proverb, "Between you and 
 the long day"— /.«'. the e/reat or judg- 
 ment day. Good Friday in Danish is 
 Lanffjicdag, and in Swedish Liingfredag. 
 
 Friday. A man Fridnij. A faithful 
 and submissive attendant, ready to turn 
 his hand to anything. 
 
 J/// man Fnda;/. The yoimg savage 
 found by Eobinson Crusoe on a Friday, 
 and kept as his servant and companion 
 on the desert island. 
 
 Friday Street (London). The sh-eet 
 of fishmongers who served Friday mar- 
 kets, {Stoic.) 
 
 Friday and Columbus. 
 
 Fii<l:iy, August 3rd. \\K, ('(iluinliiis started on bis 
 viivase of discovfi'v. 
 
 Friday, October iJtli, llii'J, he first sighted land. 
 
 Friday,. January 4th, U'J3, he started on his return 
 journey. 
 
 Friday, March 12th, 149,% he safely arrived at Palos. 
 
 Friday, Novemlier 22nd, 149.3, he reached Hispa- 
 niola in his second expedition. 
 
 Friday, June istli, 14M, he discovered the conti- 
 nent of America. 
 
 Friday and the United States. 
 
 Fricl;iv..Tune 17th, 177."., was fought the Ijatllo of 
 liuuk.M-s Hill. 
 
 FriiUiy, ,Iuly 17th, 1776, the motion was made hy 
 John Adams that the United States are and 
 ought to he independent, 
 
 Friday, October 17tli, 1777, Saratoga surrendered. 
 
 Friday, SepteniliiT 22ud, 17sO, the treason of Ar- 
 nold was exii'iscd. 
 
 V To these Fridays should be added : 
 
 Friday, July 1.3th, isne, the Great Enstern sailed 
 from Valentia, and on Friday, July 27th, iMfifi, 
 landed safely with the cable at Heart's Ease, 
 Isewfoundlaud. 
 
 Friday a Lucky Day. Sir Wil- 
 liam Churchill says, " Friday is my lucky 
 day. I was bom, christened, married, 
 and knighted on that day ; and all my 
 best accidents have befallen me on a 
 Friday." 
 
 V In Scotland Friday is a choice day 
 for weddings. Not so in England. 
 
 Jle who laughs on Friday icill weep on 
 Sandag. Sorrow follows in the wake 
 of joy. The line is taken from Eacine's 
 comedy of Les Plaideurs. 
 
 Friday, an Unlucky Day. Because 
 it was the day of our Lord's crucifixion ; 
 it is accordingly a fast -day in the Roman 
 Catholic Church. Soames says, " Adam 
 and Eve ate the forbidden fruit on a 
 Friday, and died on a Friday." {Anglo- 
 Saxon Church, p. 255.) 
 
 ■■ But once on a Friday (tis ever they say), 
 A day when misfortune is ajitest to fall." 
 
 ^(uce : Good Dog of Ilrette, stanza .3. 
 
 V In Spain, Friday is held to be an 
 unlucky day. So is it esteemed by 
 Buddhists and Brahmins. The old Ro- 
 mans called it iiefastHs, from the utter 
 overthrow of their army at Gallia Nar- 
 bonensis. And in England the proverb is 
 that a Friday moon brings foul weather. 
 
 Friend {A). The second in a duel, 
 as "Name your friend," "Captain B. 
 acted as his friend." 
 
 "Mr. Baillie was to have acted as Disraeli's 
 friend, If there had been a duel between that 
 statesman and Daniel O'Conuiill." — Newspaper 
 paragraph (December, IsSo). 
 
 Better kinde frend than fremd kincle 
 (motto of the Waterton family) mean.s 
 "better kind friend {i.e. neighbour) than 
 a kinsman who dwells in foreign parts." 
 Probably it is Prov. xxvii. 10, "Better 
 is a neighbour that is near, than a
 
 Friend at Court 
 
 490 
 
 Frithiof 
 
 brother far off." In which case frrmd 
 would be = stranger. Better a kind 
 friend than a kinsman who is a stranger. 
 
 Friend at Court properly means a 
 friend in a court of law who watches the 
 trial, and tells the judge if he can nose 
 out an error; but the tenn is more 
 generally apjilied to a friend in the 
 royal court, who will whisper a good 
 word for you to the sovereign at the 
 proper place and season. {Sec Amicus 
 
 CUEI.E.) 
 
 Friend in Need {A). A friend in 
 need is a friend indeed. ^'■Amicus certiis 
 ill re iiurrta cernidir.'''' 
 
 Friend of Man. IManjuis de Mira- 
 beau. So called from one of his works, 
 L'Aini des Homines (5 vols.). This was 
 the father of the groat Mirabeau, called 
 by Barnave "the Shakespeare of elo- 
 quence." (1715-1789.) 
 
 Friends . . . Enemies. Our friends 
 the cneinij. When, on April 1, 1814, the 
 allied annies entered Paris, Sir George 
 Jackson tells us he heard a rira pass 
 along the streets, and the shout ' ' iios 
 amis, IIOS Clin finish 
 
 Friendly Suit {A). A suit brought 
 by a creditor against uu executor, to 
 compel all the creditors to accejit an 
 equal distribution of the assets. 
 
 Friendship {Exmnphs-ff) : 
 
 Achilles :uKl PatroolDS, Greeks. 
 
 Ainysana Aiiiylion (i/.c). l-'eutltil Tlintni!/. 
 
 Hiirciu (Fm Bartliiiloiiiew) and JIariotto, artists. 
 
 Basil aiiU (Tregory. 
 
 Bmkc and Dr.. Jolmsoii. 
 
 t'liiist and tbe "Beloved disciide," Xciv Testa- 
 
 iiunt. 
 Damon and Pv tlilas, Siiranixnns. 
 ])a\i(l and .lonathan, O'.'l T, stument. 
 Dion. (IdG- and Stln-n'dos, Hmhs. 
 Epaniinnnilas and l'elnii(das, (ireels. 
 Gocllieanil S.iiiller. iUce Carlylc: Schiller, v.ViS.') 
 Hadrian and AntinOus. 
 Haiinndlos and Aristot'Itrm. Oreel.s. 
 HercnU's [Hi-rakles] and Icdais, Greeks. 
 Idcnnenens (4 syl.) and .Merlon, Greeks. 
 Manriee (/•'. /).). ami ('. KinLrsley. 
 Montaigne and Etienne de la Boetie, French. 
 Nisiis and Enryilus, Trnjans. 
 Py lades and Orestes. Greeks. 
 Saebarissa and AniOret, Siiraciisans. 
 Septimros and Alcander, Greeks. 
 Theseus (3 syl.) and Pyritlidos, Greeks. 
 Williani of Orange and Bcntinok. (,fieeirticauhiu : 
 
 Ilistorn.i. 11.411.) 
 
 Friendships Broken (Eng. Hist.) . 
 
 Elizalietli ami the Earl of Essex. 
 Henry 1 1, and Tli..mas Rerket. 
 Henry \'l 1 1. and Cardinal Wolsev. 
 Newman (.1. H.) and Wliately. " 
 Wesley and Wliitelield. 
 
 V Other examples in other histories 
 might be added ; as 
 Brutus and (!a?sar. 
 Innocent HI. and Otho IV. (Sec MilmaH : Latin 
 
 Chnstianitii, vol. v. i<. -.^ai.) 
 
 Frigga, in the genealogy of JEhit, 
 is the supreme goddess, wife of Odin, 
 and daughter of the giant Fiorgwyu. 
 She ])resides over marriages, and may 
 be called the Juno of Asgard. {'Scaiidi- 
 tutrian ini/t/ioloi/i/.) 
 
 Frilingi. The second rank of people 
 
 among the ancient Saxons. {See Edhi- 
 
 LINGI.) 
 
 Fringe. The Jews wore fringes to 
 their garments. These fringes on the 
 garments of the priests were accounted 
 sacred, and were touched by the common 
 people as a charm. Hence the desire of 
 the woman who had the issue of blood 
 to touch the fringe of our Lord's gar- 
 ment. (Matt. ix. 20-22.) 
 
 Frippery. Rubl)ish of a tawdry cha- 
 racter ; worthless lincry ; foolish levity. 
 Afripcrcr or fripperer is one who deals 
 in fripjicry, either to sell or clean old 
 clothes. (French, fripcric, old clothes 
 and cast-off furniture.) 
 
 '• We know what belmics to a frippery.'' 
 
 Shakesiicnre : Tempest iv. 1. 
 " Old elothos, east dresses, tattered rass, 
 Whose works are e'en the frippery of wit." 
 Ben Jiinsitn, 
 
 Fripperi/ properly means rags and all 
 sorts of odds and ends. French, fripe 
 {siTiig), f riper ic (old clothes and furni- 
 ture), fripicr (a broker of old clothes, 
 etc.). Applied to pastry. Eugene 
 Grandet says, " £ii Aijjon la 'frippc ' 
 cxpriiiic Vaceoinpagnemcnt dit pain, depitis 
 le bcurrc plus distiiigitcc desfrippcs." 
 
 Frisket. The light frame of the 
 printing-press, which folds down upon 
 the tympan (q.r.) over the sheet of paper 
 to be printed. Its olqect is two-fold — 
 to hold the sheet in its place and to keep 
 the margins clean. It is called frisket 
 because it frisks or skips up and down 
 very rapidly — i.e. tlie pressman opens 
 it and shuts it over with great alacrity, 
 the movement being called "Hying the 
 frisket." 
 
 Frith. Bij frith and fell. By wold 
 and wild, wood and common. Frith is 
 the Welsh frith or friz, and means a 
 "woody place." Fell is the German 
 fels (rock), and means barren or stony 
 places, a common. 
 
 Frithiof (pron. Frit-i/nf) means 
 " peace-maker." In the Icelandic myths 
 he married Ingeborg {In-f/e-boi/'-e), the 
 daughter of a petty king of Norway, and 
 widow of Hriug, to whoso dominions he 
 succeeded. His adventures are recorded 
 in the Saga Avhich bears his name, and
 
 Frithiofs Sword 
 
 in 
 
 Frozen Words 
 
 which was written at the close of tlie 
 thirteenth ceutmy. 
 
 Frithiofs Sword. Angurva'del 
 (sticiin of ((wjidsli). {Sec SwoED.) 
 
 Fritz {Old Fritz). Frederick II. the 
 Great, King of Prussia (1712, 1740- 
 
 17S6). 
 
 Frog. A frog and mouse agreed to 
 settle by single combat their claims to a 
 marsh ; but, while they fought, a kite 
 carried them both off. (^'Esop : Fables, 
 clxviii.) 
 
 " Old ^Esnp's fable, wbere be tokl 
 What fate unto tUe mouse ami froy Ivefel." 
 Vary : Vunte, cxxiii. 
 
 Hie Frog Ls the Dutchman (not French- 
 man) in Arbuthnot's History of Joint 
 Bull. Frogs are called "Dutch night- 
 ingales." 
 
 Frog's March. Carrying an obstrep- 
 erous prisoner, face downwards, by his 
 four limbs. 
 
 Frogs. Frenchmen, properly Paris- 
 ians. So called from their ancient heraldic 
 device, which was three frogs or three 
 toads. " Qit'cii discnt les grenoaiUes ^ " 
 —What will the frogs (people of Paris) 
 say? — was in 1791 a common court 
 phrase at Versailles. There was a point 
 in the pleasantry when Paris was a 
 quagmire, called Late tin (mud-land) 
 because, like frogs or toads, they lived 
 in mud, but now it is quite an anomaly. 
 {See Ceapaud.) 
 
 Froffs. The Lyciau shepherds were 
 
 changed into frogs for mocking Lato'na. 
 
 {Ovid : Metamorphoses, vi. 4.) 
 
 " As wlien those hinds that were trausfonncd to 
 frogs 
 EailJd at Latona"s twin-born progeny." 
 
 Milton: Sonnet, vii. 
 
 It may be all fun to you, but it is death 
 to the frogs. The allusion is to the fable 
 of a boy stoning frogs for his amusement. 
 
 FroUo {Archdeacon Claude). A priest 
 who has a great reputation for sanctity, 
 but falls in love with a gipsy girl, a,nd 
 pursues her with relentless persecution 
 because she will not yield to him. ( Victor 
 Hugo : Xotrc Dame de Faris.) 
 
 Fronde (1 syl.). A political squabble 
 during the ministry of Cardinal Maz^- 
 arin, in the minority of Louis XIY. 
 (1648-1(353). The malcontents were 
 called Frondeurs, from a witty illustra- 
 tion of a councillor, who said that they 
 were "like schoolboys who sling stones 
 about the streets. When no eye is upon 
 them they are bold as bullies ; but 
 the moment a 'policeman' approaches, 
 away they scamper to the ditches for 
 
 concealment" {Montglat). The French 
 for a sling is fronde, and for sliugers, 
 frondeurs. 
 
 "It was already true that the French frnvern- 
 nient was a despotism . . . and as speeches and 
 lampoons were launched by persons who tried to 
 hide after they had shot their dart, some one 
 compared them to chililreu with a sling (fronde), 
 who let fly a stone and run away." — C. M. Yonge: 
 Uintuyii of France, chap. viii. p. 136. 
 
 Frondeur., A backbiter; one who 
 
 throws stones at another. 
 
 '"And what about Diebitsch?' began another 
 fiondeur.'—Vcra, p. -00. ; 
 
 Fronti'no. {See Hoese.) 
 
 Frost. Jac/h Frost. The personifica- 
 tion of frost. 
 
 " Jack Frost looked forth one still, cle.ar night, 
 And he said, ' Now I shall he out of sight ; 
 S<i over the valley and over the height 
 In silence I'll take my way.' " 
 
 MUs Gniihl 
 
 Frost Saints. {See Ice Saints.) 
 
 Froth {Master). "A foolish gentle- 
 man" in Measure for Measure. 
 
 Lord Froth. A pompous coxcomb in 
 The Double Dealer, by Congreve. 
 
 Froude's Cat. This cat wanted to 
 know what was good for life, and every- 
 one gave her queer answers. The owl 
 said, "Meditate, O cat;" and so she 
 tried to think which could have come 
 first, the fowl or the egg. {Short Studies 
 on Great Subjects.) 
 
 '■ If I were toaj^k, like Froude's cat,' What is my 
 duty?' \du would answer, I suppose, like the 
 sagiicioiis animal in the parable, • Get your own 
 dinner .... that is my duty, I suppose.' "—l-'tlna 
 Lijo.:! : Donovan, chap. i.\. 
 
 Frozen Music. Architecture. So 
 called by F. Schlegel. 
 
 Frozen Words appears to have been 
 a household joke with the ancient 
 Greeks, for Antiph'aues applies it to the 
 discourses of Plato: "As the cold of 
 certain cities is so intense that it freezes 
 the very words we utter, which remaiii 
 congealed till the heat of summer thaws 
 them, so the mind of youth is so 
 thoughtless that the wisdom of Plato 
 lies there frozen, as it were, till it is 
 thawed by the ripened judgment of 
 mature age." {L'lutarch's Morals.) 
 
 "The moment their backs were turned, little 
 Jacob thawed, and renewed his crying from the 
 point where Quilp had frozen him." — i»it7iT(is; 
 Old CnriosUiJ Shop. 
 
 " Truth in person doth appear 
 Like words congealed in northern air.'' 
 Butler : Hudihras, pt. i. I, lines 147-s. 
 
 Everyone knows the incident of the 
 "frozen honi " related by Munchausen. 
 
 " Pantagruel and his companions, on 
 the confines of the Frozen Sea, heard the 
 uproar of a battle, which had been frozen 
 the preceding winter, released by a thaw. 
 [Rabelais: Fantagruel, bookiv. chap. 56.)
 
 Frumentius 
 
 492 
 
 Fulsome 
 
 Frumen'tius ('SY.)- Apostle of Ethi- 
 opia and the Abyssinians in the fourth 
 century. 
 
 Fry. Cliildren (a word of contempt). 
 Get (livaii, iioH young fry . It means i)ro- 
 perly a crowd of young fishes, and its 
 application to children should be limited 
 to those that obstruct your path, crowd 
 about you, or stand in your way. 
 (French , fra i , spawn . ) 
 
 Xotliing to fri/ with (French). No- 
 thing to eat ; nothing to live on. {Sec 
 Wide-nostrils.) 
 
 Frying-pan. Out of the frying-pan 
 into the fire. In trj^ng to extricate 
 yourself from one evil, you fell into a 
 greater. The Greeks used to say, " Out 
 of the smoke into the flame ; " and the 
 French say, " Tomhrc de la poele dans la 
 iraisc." 
 
 Fub. To steal, to prig. (French, 
 fourbi, "a Jew who conceals a trap;" 
 foiirber, "to cheat;" four, "a false 
 pocket for concealing stolen goods.") 
 
 Fuchs [a fox]. A freshman of the 
 first year in the German University. In 
 the second year he is called a liursch . 
 
 Fudge. Not true, stuff, make-up. 
 (Gaelic, Jfay, deception ; Welsh, ffag, 
 pretence; whence ff'ugiwr, a pretender 
 or deceiver.) A word of contempt be- 
 stowed on one who says what is absurd 
 or untrue. A favourite expression of 
 Mr. Burchell in the Tiear of JJ'ahrJield. 
 
 Fudge Family. A series of metri- 
 cal epistles by Tliomas Moore, purjiort- 
 ing to be written by a family on a visit 
 to Paris. Sequel, The Fudge Family in 
 Fngland. 
 
 FueL Adding fuel to fire. Saying or 
 doing something to increase the anger 
 of a person already angry. The French 
 saj-, " pouring oil on fire." 
 
 Fuga ad Salices {A). An affecta- 
 tion or pretence of denial ; as, when 
 Ca?sar thrice refused the crown in the 
 Lu'percal. A "nolo episcopari." The 
 allusion is to — 
 
 " Mall) nie Galate.i petit, lasciva puella. 
 Et fugit ad sallces. et se cupit ante videri." 
 Virgil : EclSja, iii. 64, Hj. 
 "Crannier was not prepared for so great and 
 sudden an elevation. Under pretence that tlie 
 king's affairs still rciinired bis presence abroad, 
 lie tarried six months longer, in tlie hope that 
 Henry might consign the crosier to some other 
 band. There was no affectation in this— no /iw/n, 
 (Trf siilices. Ambition is made of sterner stuff 
 than the spirit of Cmnmev."— Blunt : He/m-matimi 
 in Knglartd, 123. 
 
 Fuggers. German merchants, pro- 
 verbial for their great wealth. "Rich 
 as a Fugger " is common in Old English 
 
 dramatists. Charles V. introduced some 
 of the family into Spain, where they 
 superintended the mines. 
 
 " 1 am neither an Indian merchant, nor yet a 
 Ku-'i-'tr, but a poor boy like yourself.'"— tfttsiiKoi 
 d'Alfaraclte. 
 
 Fugleman means properly wingman, 
 but is applied to a soldier who .stands in 
 front of men at drill to show them what 
 to do. Their proper and original post 
 was in front of the right wing. (German, 
 Fliigel, a wing.) 
 
 Fulhams, or FuUams. Loaded dice ; 
 so called from the Ru])urb where the 
 Bishop of London resides, wliich, in the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth, was the most 
 notorious place for blacklegs in all 
 England. Dice made with a cavity 
 were called " gourds." Those made to 
 throw the high numbers (from five to 
 twelve) were called "high fullams" 
 or "gourds," and those made to throw 
 the low numbers (from ace to four) were 
 tenned " low fullams " or " gourds." 
 
 " For gourd and fullam holds 
 And ' high ' and 'low' beguile the rich and pr)or." 
 Shukefpcare: Merry Wiveii of It i»d»or, i. 3. 
 
 Fulhams. Make-believes ; so called 
 from false or loaded dice. (See above.) 
 
 " Fulhams of poetic Action." 
 
 Butler : lludibriisi, pt. ii. 1. 
 " Have their fulhams at command, 
 Brouglit up to do their feats at hand." 
 
 Butler : Upou Gaming. 
 
 Full Cry- When all the hounds have 
 caught the scent, and give tongue in 
 chorus. 
 
 Full Dress. The dress worn on 
 occasions of ceremony. If a man has 
 no special costume, his "full dress" is 
 a suit of black, open waiscoat, swallow- 
 tailed coat, white neckcloth, and patent- 
 leather boots or half -boots. Academicals 
 are worn in the Universities and on offi- 
 cial occasions ; and full military dress is 
 worn when an officer is on duty, at 
 court, and at olRcial fetes, but other- 
 wise, " evening dress " suffices. 
 
 Full Fig {In). " En grande tenue!''' 
 Probably "fig" is the contraction of 
 figure in books and journals of fashion, 
 and full fig. would mean the height of 
 fashion. It is outrageous to refer the 
 phrase to the fig-leaves used by Adam 
 and Eve, by way of aprons. {Hce Fig.) 
 
 Full Swing (/«). Fully at work; 
 very busy ; in full operation. 
 
 Fulsome. " Ful " is the Anglo- 
 Saxon fiil (foulness), not ful (full) ; 
 " some " is the affix meaning united with, 
 the basis of somethipg ; as, glad.^ome-
 
 Ptam 
 
 493 
 
 Furbelow 
 
 mettlesome, gamesome, lightsome, 
 frolicsome, etc., etc. 
 
 "No adulatiun was too fulsome foi' her [Eliza- 
 betli], no tl:iltery of her l>eaiuy too (j-reat."— 
 Gieiii: Short History of Mnglaiul, chap. viii. sec. 3, 
 11. 37t). 
 
 Fiun, or Fioiff hicang. One of the 
 four symbolical animals supposed to 
 preside over the destmies of the Cliinese 
 Empire. It originated from the element 
 of tire, was boru in the Hill of the Smi's 
 Halo, and has its body inscribed with 
 the five cardinal virtues. It has the 
 forepart of a goose, the hind-quarters of 
 a stag, the neck of a snake, the tail of a 
 fish, the forehead of a fowl, the down of 
 a duck, the marks of a dragon, the back 
 of a tortoise, the face of a swallow, the 
 beak of a cock, is about six cubits high, 
 and perches only ou the woo-tung tree. 
 It is this curious creature that is em- 
 broidered on the dresses of certain man- 
 darins. 
 
 Fum the Fourth. George IV. 
 
 " And where is Finn the Fourth, i>ur royal liinl." 
 liyroH : Von Jiuin, xi. 7t(. 
 
 Fu'mage (2 sj-1.). A tax for ha^-ing 
 a fire, mentioned in Domesday Book, 
 and abolished by William III. (Latin, 
 fitmus, smoke.) 
 
 Fume. In a fume. In ill-temper, 
 especially from impatience. The French 
 say, ^^ i'nmer sans tabac ; Fuincr sans 
 pipe'''' (to put oneself into a rage). 
 Smoking with rage, or rather with the 
 ineffectual vapour of anger. 
 
 " A ! Riguot, il est courageulx 
 Pour un hoiiniie avautureulx 
 El terriljle <iuatit il se fume." 
 
 LAventartidx (a farce). 
 
 Fun. Tu make fun of. To make a 
 butt of ; to ridicule ; to play pranks on 
 one. (ComjMre Irish yo«;^, delight.) 
 
 Like fun. Thoroughly, energetically, 
 with delight. 
 
 "On'y look at thedimniercrats, see what they've 
 doue, 
 Jest simply by sticklii" together like fun." 
 Loiceil : Biylow l^apers (First series iv. stanza 5). 
 
 Fund. The sinkint/ fund is money 
 set aside by the Government for paying 
 off a part of the national debt. This 
 money is "sunk," or withdrawn from 
 circulation, for the bonds purchased by 
 it are destroyed. 
 
 Funds or FtiM'ic Funds. Money lent 
 at interest to Government on Govern- 
 ment security. It means the national 
 stock, which is the foundation of its 
 operations. 
 
 A fall in the funds is when the quo- 
 tation is lower than when it was last 
 quoted. 
 
 A. rise in the funds is when the quota- 
 tion is higher than it was before. 
 
 To be interested in the funds is to have 
 money in the pubUc funds. 
 
 'To be out of funds, out of money. 
 
 Funeral means a torchlight proces- 
 sion (from the Latin, funis, a torch), 
 because funerals among the Romans 
 took place at night by torchlight, that 
 magistrates and priests might not be 
 vioLated by seeing a corpse, and so be 
 prevented from performing their sacred 
 duties. 
 "Funus [a funeral], from fiincs or fimulia 
 
 [torches] originally made of ropes."— 
 
 Adams : Itumuii Antiquities (Funerals). 
 
 Funeral Banquet. The custom 
 of giving a feast at funerals came to 
 us from the Romans, who not only 
 feasted the friends of the deceased, but 
 also distributed meat to the persons em- 
 ployed. 
 " Thrift, thrift, Horatio I the funeral baked meats 
 
 Did coldly furuish forth the marriage tallies." 
 aiiakespeure : Ilamlet, i. 2. 
 
 Funeral Games. Public games were 
 held both in Greece and Rome in 
 honour of the honoured dead. Examples 
 of this custom are numerous : as at the 
 death of Azan (son of Areas, father of 
 the Arcadians) ; the games instituted by 
 Hercules at the death of Pelops ; those 
 held at the death of (Edipus ; the games 
 held by Achilles in honour of his friend 
 Patroclos {Homer : Iliad, book xxiii.) ; 
 those held by .3Cueas in honour of his 
 father Anchls'es {Jlrffil : ^Fneid, book 
 V.) ; the games held in honour of Mil- 
 tiades {Herodotos) • those in honour of 
 Brasldas (Th uct/dldes) ; and those in 
 honour of Timoleon mentioned by Flu- 
 tarch. The spectators at these games 
 generally dressed in white. 
 
 Fungo'so. A character in Ererij 
 Man in His Humour, by Ben Jonson. 
 
 " Unlucky as Fungoso In the play." 
 
 Pope: Essay on Criticism (3-'8). 
 
 Funk. To be in a funk may be the 
 Walloon "In de fonk ziln,'' literally to 
 "be in the smoke." Colloquially to 
 be in a state of trepidation from un- 
 certainty or apprehension of evil 
 
 Funny Bone. A pun on the word 
 hu'merus. It is the inner condyle of 
 the humerus ; or, to speak uutechnically, 
 the knob, or enlaryed end of the bone 
 terminating where the ulnar nerve is 
 exposed at the elbow ; the crazy bone. 
 A knock on this bone at the elbow pro- 
 duces a painful sensation. 
 
 Fur'below. A corruption of falbala,
 
 Furca 
 
 494 
 
 Gabel 
 
 a word in French, Italian, aud Spanish 
 to signify a sort of flounce. 
 
 " Flnunccd ami fiirljeluwed fi'oin head to foot." 
 —Addison. 
 
 Furca. (Sec Fossa and Fobks.) 
 
 Furcam et Flagcllum (gallows and 
 whip). The ineaut'st of all servile 
 tenures, the hondnian heing at the lord's 
 nierc}', both life aud limb. {Sfc Foeks.) 
 
 Furies {TItc Three) . Tisiphoue (6V/, 
 or Avenger of blood), Alecto (Im- 
 placable), aud Megajra (Disputatious). 
 The best paiutings of these divinities 
 are those by II Giottiuo (Thomas di 
 Stefauo) of Florence (1324-l;j.36), Giulio 
 Romano (149l.*-lo46), Pietro da Cortona 
 (1596-1669), and Titian (U77-lo76). 
 
 Furies of the Guillotine {The). 
 The tricoteuses — that is, Freuclnvomeu 
 who attended the Convention knitting, 
 and encouraged the Commune in all 
 their most bloodthirsty excesses. Never 
 in any age or any country did women so 
 disgrace their sex. 
 
 Furor. Sou of Occasion, an old hag, 
 who was quite bald behind. Sir Guyon 
 bound him " with a hundred iron chains 
 and a hundred knots." {iSjjeimer : lairie 
 Qiieeiie, bookii.) 
 
 Fusber'ta. Rinaldo's sword is so 
 called in Oriaiido F/irioso. (See SwoiiD.) 
 
 " This awful swonl was as dear to him as Dmiii- 
 da'iia or Fuslieita to their resi)ective masters." 
 -,S'/c W. Scutt. 
 
 Fusilier's. Foot-soldiers that used 
 to be rained with a fusil or light musket. 
 The word is now a misnomer, as the six 
 British and two Indian regiments so 
 called carry rifles like those of the rest 
 of the infantry. 
 
 Fuss. Mucli ado about nothing. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, /'« 5, eager.) 
 
 "rio full of fiirm-e, so full of fuss, 
 She seemed to he nothing luit hustle." 
 JJiiud: Miss Kilmansfgg, iiart iii. stanza 12. 
 
 Fus'tian. Stuff, bombast, preten- 
 tious words. Properly, a sort of cotton 
 velvet. (French, fiitai lie ; Spanish, />^a'- 
 tint, from Fudat in Egypt, where the 
 cloth was first made.) (_Sce Boiibast ; 
 Camelot.) 
 "Discourse fuslian with one's own shadow." — 
 
 SIhil.rspivrr : Otilrll.i, ii. 3. 
 
 "Sniiie srnrvy ipiaint collection of fustian 
 j'linis •-. aii.l uplauoisli words."— Hi'U"--uod : Faiiv 
 Miiiilc of the Hxcliaiiiic, ii. _'. 
 
 Fustian Words. Isaac Taylor 
 thinks this phrase means toper's words, 
 and derives fustian from f/'><te, Old 
 French for a cask, whence "fusty" 
 (tasting of the cask). It may be so, but 
 we have numerous phrases derived from 
 
 materials of dress applied to speech, as 
 velvet, satin, silken, etc. The mother 
 of Artaxerxes said, '• Those who address 
 kings must use silken words." lu 
 French, '■\fairc pntte de re loitr " menus 
 to fatten with velvet words in order to 
 seduce or win over. 
 
 Futile (2 syl.) is that which will not 
 hold together ; inconsistent. A futile 
 scheme is a design conceived in the mind 
 which will not hold good in practice. 
 (Latin, ftdio, to run off like water, 
 vilKiicefittVAn.) {See Scheme.) 
 
 G. 
 
 G. This letter is the outline of a 
 camel's head and neck. It is called in 
 Hebrew gimvl (a camel). 
 
 G.C.B. {See Bath.) 
 
 G.H.V.L. on the coin of William III. 
 of the Netherlands is Cr'rooi! 7/«76c/ Van 
 Lit.eciiihuri/ (grantl duke of Luxembourg). 
 
 G.O.M. The initial letters of Grand 
 Old Man ; so Mr. Gladstone was called 
 during his premiership 1881-1885. Lord 
 Eosebery first used the ex])ression 26th 
 April, 1882, and the Eight Hon. Sir 
 William Ilarcourt rei^eated it, 18th 
 October, the same year ; since then it 
 has become qiute a synonym for the 
 projier name. 
 
 Gab (// hard). The gift of the gab. 
 Fluency of speech ; or, rather, the gift of 
 boasting. (French, gaber, to gasconade ; 
 Danish and Scotch, gab, the mouth ; 
 Gaelic, gob : Irish, cab ; whence our gap 
 and gape, gabble and gobble. The gable 
 of a house is its beak.) 
 
 " There was a pood man named Joh 
 Wlui livedln llie laud of I'z, 
 He had a good gift of the goli, 
 The same thing happened us." 
 
 lio'oJc of Job, by Zacli. Boyd. 
 " Thou art one of the knights of France, who 
 hold it for glee and pastime to gah, as they term 
 it. oi'.'xplo ts that are lieyond hiimaa pcjwer."— 
 ,S';c h. Scutt: The Tulimium, cb-Al*. ii. 
 
 Gabardine' (3 syl.). A Jewish 
 coarse cloak. (Spanish, gavanluia, a 
 long coarse cloak.) 
 
 •■ You call me mislielievcr, cut-throat dog, 
 And spit ui>on my Jewish gahardine." 
 
 ,Shaki'.-<]ie((re : MercltUHt of Venice, i. ."?. 
 
 Gabel', Gabelle (// hard). A salt- 
 tax. A word applied in French history 
 to the monopoly of salt. All the salt 
 made in France had to be brought to the 
 royal warehouses, and was there sold at 
 a price fixed by tlie Government. The 
 iniquity was that some pro-s-inces had to
 
 Gaberlunzie 
 
 49S 
 
 Gadshill 
 
 j)ay twice as mtich as others. Edward 
 III. jokingly called this mouopoly "King 
 Pliilippe's Suite law." It was abolished 
 in 1789. (German, ()<ibe, a tax.) 
 
 Gaberlunzie, or A ffaherlnnzie man 
 (r/ hard). A mendicant ; or, more strictly 
 speaking, one of the king's bedesmen, 
 who were licensed beggars. Tlie word 
 fiabiin is French for " a cloak with tight 
 sleeves and a hood." linizii' is a diini- 
 iRitive of laiiic (wool) ; so that (/ahcr- 
 Jinizic means "coarse woollen gown." 
 These bedesmen were also called hhie- 
 yowus {q.v-), from the colour of their 
 cloaks. {See above, Gabardine.) 
 
 Ga'briel {g hard), in Jewisli mytho- 
 logy, is the angel of death to the favoured 
 people of God, the iirince of fire and 
 thunder, and the only angel that can 
 speak Syriac and Chaldee. The Maho- 
 metans call him the chief of the four 
 favoured angels, and the s\Av\t of truth. 
 In mediiBval romance he is the second of 
 the seven spirits that stand before the 
 throne of God, and, as God's messenger, 
 carries to heaven the prayers of men. 
 {Jerusalem Delivered, book i.) The 
 word means "power of God." Milton 
 makes him chief of the angelic guards 
 placed over Paradise. 
 
 " Betwixt these rocky pilliii-s Galjriel sat, 
 Chief uf the angelio guards." 
 
 Parudiife Lost, iv. ;Jl'J-5jn. 
 
 Longfellow, in his Go/den Legend, 
 makes him the angel of the moon, and 
 says he brings to man the gift of hope. 
 •' T am the aii^'ol of the moon . . . 
 Nearest the earth, it is my ray 
 That best illiiiiiines the midnight way. 
 I bring the gilt of hope" 
 
 The Miracle Play, iii. 
 
 V It was Gabriel who (we are told in 
 the Koran) took Mahomet to heaven on 
 Al-borak {q.v.), and revealed to him his 
 " prophetic lore." In tlie Old Testament 
 Gabriel is said to have explained to 
 Daniel certain visions ; and in the New 
 Testament it was Gabriel who announced 
 to Zacharias the future birtli of John 
 the Baptist, and that afterwards ap- 
 peared to Mary, the mother of Jesus. 
 (Luke i. 26, etc.) 
 
 GabricVs horse. Haizum. 
 
 GabriePs hounds, called also Galdilc 
 Untehct. Wild geese. The noise of the 
 bean-goose {auser segetuin) in flight is 
 like that of a pack of hounds in full cry. 
 The legend is that they are the souls of 
 imbaptised children wandering through 
 the air till the Day of Judgment. 
 
 Gab'riell'e (3 syl. ; g hard). La Belle 
 Gahrielle. Daughter of Antoine d'Es- 
 trees, grand-master of artillery, and 
 
 governor of the He de France. Henri 
 IV., towards the close of 1590, happened 
 to sojourn for a night at the Chateau 
 de Coeuvres, and fell in love with 
 Gabrielle, then nineteen years of age. 
 To throw a flimsy veil over his intrigue, 
 he married her to Damerval de Lian- 
 court, created her Duchess de Beaufort, 
 and took her to live with him at court. 
 
 " t'harmante Gabrielle, 
 Perc-ede mine (lards, 
 Ouaud l;i gloirc m'aiMielle 
 A la, suite de Mars." Ilairl IV. 
 
 Gabri'na, in Orlando Furioso, is a 
 sort of Potiphar's wife. {See under 
 Akgeo.) When Philander had un- 
 wittingly killed her husband, Gabriua 
 threatened to deliver him up to the law 
 unless he married her ; an alternative 
 that Philander accepted, but ere long 
 she tired of and poisoned him. The 
 whole affair being brought to light, 
 Gabrina was shut u]) in prison, but, 
 effecting her escape, wandered about 
 the coiuitry as an old hag. Knight after 
 knight had to defend her ; but at last 
 she was committed to the charge of 
 Odoiico, who, to get rid of her, hung 
 her on an old elm. {Sec Odoeico. ) 
 
 Ga'briolet'ta {f/ hard). Governess 
 of Brittany, rescued by Ani'adis of Gaul 
 from the hands of Balan, " the bravest 
 and strongest of all the giants." (Aiiia- 
 disof Gaul, bk. iv. ch. 129.) 
 
 Gad {g hard). G adding from place to 
 place. Wandering from pillar to post 
 without any profitable purpose. 
 
 "Hive water no passage, neither a wicked 
 woman lilierty to gad abroad."— A'cctei'dSf/cits 
 
 Gad-about (.i). A person who spends 
 day after day in frivolous visits, gadding 
 from liouse to house. 
 
 Gad-fly is not tlie roving but the 
 goading fly. (Anglo-Saxon, gad, a goad.) 
 
 Gad-steel. Flemish steel. So called 
 because it is wrought in gads, or small 
 bars. (Anglo-Saxon, gad, a small bar or 
 goad ; Icelandic, gaddr, a spike or goad. ) 
 
 " I will t,'o g.n a leaf of brass. 
 And with a i.'ad of steel will write tliesewords." 
 Khalccs/'Citrc : 'J'itus .iiidionicits, i\ . 1. 
 
 Gadshill, in Kent, near Rochester. 
 Famous for the attack of Sir John Fal- 
 staff and three of his kuavi.sh com- 
 panions on a party of four travellers, 
 whom they robbed of their iiurses. 
 While the robbers were dividing the 
 spoil, Pohis and the Prince of Wales 
 set upon them, and "outfaced them 
 from their prize ; " and as for the "Her- 
 cules of flesh," he ran and "roared for 
 mercy, and still ran and roared," says
 
 Gaels 
 
 496 
 
 Galore 
 
 the priuce, " as ever I heard a bull- 
 calf." Gadshill is also the name of oue 
 of the thievish compauions of Sir Johu, 
 {S/icikrspcare : 1 Hoirif 1 J'., ii. 4.) 
 V Charles Dickens lived at Gadshill. 
 
 Gaels. A coutraetion of Gaid-hcals 
 (liidden rovers). The inhabitants of Scot- 
 land who maintained their ground in the 
 Highlands against the Celts. 
 
 Gaff (.v hard). Cmolcd as a r/af. A 
 gaff is an iron hook at the end of a 
 short pole, used for landing salmon, etc. 
 The metal spurs of fighting-cocks. In 
 nautical language, a spar to which the 
 liead of a fore-and-aft sail is bent. 
 {Ddua : Seamiin's MaiuK/l, p. 97-) (Irish, 
 >/('/; Si^anish and Portuguese, 'jufci.) 
 
 Gaffer {f/ hard). A title of address, 
 as " Gaffer Grey," " Good -day, Gaffer." 
 About equal to "mate." (Anglo-Saxon, 
 f/cfera, a comrade.) Many think the 
 word is " grandf athei". " {'Sec Gammee.) 
 
 " If T liail but a tlioiisand a year, Gaffer Green, 
 If I had hut a tlKiiisanil a year." 
 
 Goffer (Ircrn tuut Rohin Rough. 
 
 Gags, in theatrical parlance, are in- 
 terpolations. When Hamlet directs the 
 players to say no more ' ' than is set 
 down," he cautions them against in- 
 dulgence in gags. {Hamlet, lii. 2.) 
 (Dutch, gaggeleii, to cackle. Compare 
 Anglo-Saxon, geayl, the jaw.) 
 
 Gala Day (g hard). A festive day; 
 a day when peojile put on their best 
 attire. (Spanish, gala, coiu't dress ; 
 Italian, gala, finery ; French, gala, 
 pomp. ) 
 
 Galactic Circle {Thi^ is to sidereal 
 astronomy what the ecliptic is to planet- 
 ary astronomy. The Galaxy being the 
 sidereal equator, the Galactic cii"cle is 
 inclined to it at an angle of 63% 
 
 Gal'ahad, or Sir Galaad {g hard). 
 Sou of Sir Launcelot and Elaine, one of 
 the Kniglits of the Round Table, so 
 pure in life that he was successful in his 
 search for the Sangrail. Tennyson has 
 a poem on the subject, called The Kohj 
 Grail. 
 
 " Tliore Galaad sat, with manly srare, 
 I Yet maiden meekness in liisface." 
 
 Sir ^Y. Scott : Bridal of Triermain, ii. 13. 
 
 Gal'aor [Boti). Brother of Am'adis 
 of Gaul, a gay libertine, whose adveu- 
 tin-es fonn a strong contrast to those of 
 the more serious hero. 
 
 Galate'a. A sea-nymph, beloved by 
 Polyphe'me, but herself in love with 
 Acis. Acis was crushed under a huge 
 
 rock by the jealous giant, and Galatea 
 threw herself into tlie sea, whore she 
 joined her sister nymphs. Carlo Mar- 
 atti (1G25-171'') depicted Galatea in 
 the sea and Polypheme sitting on a rock. 
 Handel has an opera entitled Acis and 
 Galatea. 
 
 Gal'athe (3 syl.). Hector's horse. 
 " There is a tlionsand Hecturs in the field ; 
 Now here lie lltrhts on Galathe his hi>rse, 
 And there lacks wnrk." 
 
 Sluikcsiifiire : Troilus (iiul Cresaida, v. S. 
 
 Galaxy {T/ie). The "Milky Way." 
 A long white luminous track of stars 
 which seems to encompass the heavens 
 like a girdle. According to classic fable, 
 it is the path to the palace of Zeus (1 syl.) 
 or Jupiter. (Greek, gala, milk, genitive, 
 galaktos.) 
 
 yL galaxg of bcautg. A cluster, as- 
 sembly, or coterie of handsome women. 
 
 Gale's Compound. Powdered glass 
 mixed with gunjjowder to render it iiou- 
 ex2)losive. Dr. Gale is the patentee. 
 
 Galen (// hard). Galen mga "Xr^//," 
 and HipjMc'rates " Yea.'''' The doctors 
 disagree, and who is to decide i' Galen 
 was a physician of Asia Minor in the 
 second Christian century. Hippoc'rates 
 — a native of Cos, born B.C. 460— was 
 the most celebrated jjhysiciau of an- 
 tiquitj'. 
 
 Gulcn. A generic name for an apothe- 
 cary. Galenists prefer drugs (called 
 Galenical inedicinen), Paracelsians use 
 mineral medicines. 
 
 Galeot'ti {Mariias). Louis XL's 
 Ittilian astrologer. Being asked by the 
 king if he knew the day of his own 
 death, he craftily replied tliat he could 
 not name the exact day, but he knew 
 this much : it would be twentj'-four 
 hours before the decease of his majestj'. 
 Thrasullus, the soothsayer of Tiberius, 
 Erajieror of Rome, made verbally the 
 same answer to the same question. 
 
 " ' Can thy pretended skill ascertain the hour of 
 thine own death ?' 
 
 " ' Only I'y referring to the fate of another,' said 
 Galeotti. 
 
 '■ • I understand not thine answer,' said Louis. 
 
 "' Know then, O kinf,',' said Martins, 'that this 
 only I can tell with certainty cnncerninfi mine 
 own death, that it shall take iilace exactly twenty- 
 four liours lief.ire your majesty's.' " 
 
 ,S(;- W. Scott: (Jiuntiii Viirward, chap. xxix. 
 
 Galera'na {g hard), according to 
 Ariosto, was wife of Charlemagne. 
 {Orlando Fttrioso, bk. xxi.) {Sec Chaele- 
 
 MAGNE.) 
 
 Galere (2 syl.). Que diahle allait-il 
 faire dans cette galere ? (What business 
 had he to be on that galley V) This is 
 from Moliere's comedy of Lcs Fotirberies
 
 Galesus 
 
 497 
 
 Gallicism 
 
 de Scapin. Scapin wants to bamboozle 
 Geroute out of his money, and tells him 
 that his master (G^route's son) is de- 
 tained prisoner on a Tui'kish galley, 
 where he went out of curiosity. He 
 adds, that unless the old man will 
 ransom him, he will be taken to Algiers 
 as a slave. Geroute rejilies to all that 
 Scapin urges, "What business had he to 
 go on board the galley r " The retort is 
 given to those who beg money to helj) 
 them out of difficulties which they have 
 brought on themselves. ' ' I grant you 
 are in trouble, but what right had you 
 to go on the galley 'i " 
 
 l'<i(ji(c la Galerc. (<SVc Vogue.) 
 
 Gale'sus (g hard). A river of Pug'lia, 
 not far from Tarentum. The sheep that 
 fed on the meadows of Gale'sus were 
 noted for their fine wool. {Horavc : 
 2 Car mi nil III Liber, vi. 10.) 
 
 Galian'a (f/ hard). A Moorish prin- 
 cess. Her father. King Gadalfe of 
 Tole'do, built for her a palace ou the 
 Tagus so splendid that the phrase "a 
 palace of Galiana " became proverbial 
 in Sixain. 
 
 Galimau'frey or Gallimau'frey (y 
 
 hard). A medley ; any confused jumble 
 of things ; but strictly .speaking, a hotch- 
 potch made up of all the scraps of the 
 larder. (French, galiitutfrce ; Spanish, 
 (/(lUofd, "broken meat," yallofcro, a 
 beggar.) 
 
 " He woris lintU liigb and low, l)otb rich and poor, 
 Bolli .voiinf? and old, one with another, Ford ; 
 He loves thy gaily-niawfry [all sorts]." 
 
 Shaktfjieure : Merry H'u'es, ii. 1. 
 
 Gall and Wormwood. Extremely 
 disagreeable and anuojing. 
 
 '"It was so much j-'all and wormwood to the 
 family."— .Vi>'. E. Lytin lAtiioii. 
 
 Gall of Bitterness {Th'). The 
 
 bitterest grief ; extreme .nfflictiou. The 
 ancients taught that grief and joy were 
 subject to the gall, aft'ection to the heart, 
 knowledge to the kidneys, auger to the 
 bile (one of the four humours of the 
 body), aud courage or timidity to the 
 liver. The gall of bitterness, like the 
 heart of hearts, means the bitter centre 
 of bitterness, as the heart of hearts 
 means the innermost recesses of the 
 heart or affections. In the Acts it is 
 used to signify "the sinfulness of sin," 
 which leads to the bitterest grief. 
 
 "'I perceive thon art in the pall of hitterness, 
 and in the bond of iuinnity."— -Acts viii. :.'3. 
 
 Gall of Pigeons. The slory goes 
 that pigeons have no gall, because the 
 dove sent from the ark ]jy Noah burst 
 
 32 
 
 its gall out of grief, rmd none of the 
 pigeon family have had a gall ever since. 
 
 " For sin' the Flood of Noah 
 The dow she had nae ga'."' 
 Javncson: Popular Ballads (Lord of Rorlin's 
 Vaiiijlitcr). 
 
 Gall's BeU (St.). A four-sided bell, 
 which was certainly in existence in the 
 seventh century, and is still shown in 
 the monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland. 
 
 Gallant' (,// hard). Brave, polite, 
 courteous, etc. (French, galant.) 
 
 Gallery. To plag with one cije on the 
 (jrdkvtj. To work for popularity. As 
 an actor who sacrifices his author for 
 popular applause, or a stump political 
 orator " orates " to catch votes. 
 
 " The instant we begin to think 'abont success 
 and the effect ipf our work— to play with one eye 
 on the gallery— we lose power, and touch, and 
 e\eryihfnL.' c]:-c."—]ludi/ard Klpl'uid: Tin- L'njlit 
 tliut tailuL 
 
 Galley {fi hard). A printer's frame 
 into which type from the .stick {q.v.) is 
 emptied. In the galley the type appears 
 only in columns ; it is subsequeutly di- 
 vided into pages, and transferred to the 
 "chase" (?.«'.). {Yvench, ffalie.) 
 
 Galley Pence. Genoese coin brought 
 over by merchants (" galleymen "), who 
 used the Galley Wharf, Thames Street. 
 These pence, or rather hall'i^ence, were 
 larger than our own. 
 
 Gallia {g hard). France. 
 
 '■ Impending hangs o'er Gallia's humbled coast." 
 Thomson: Summer. 
 
 Gall'ia Bracca'ta [troiiscrcrl Gaul]. 
 Gallia Narbonen'sis was so called from 
 the " bi'accas " or trousers which the 
 natives wore in common with the Scy- 
 thians and Persians. 
 
 Gall'ia Coma'ta. That part of Gaul 
 which belonged to the Roman emperor, 
 and was governed by leg'ates {Icga'ti), 
 was so called from the long hair (coma) 
 worn by the inhabitants flowing over 
 their shoulders. 
 
 Gallice'nse. The nine virgin iiriest- 
 esses of the Gallic oracle. By their 
 charms they could raise the wind and 
 waves, turn themselves into any animal 
 form they liked, cure wounds aud 
 diseases, and predict future events. 
 (Gallic iiujthologif.) 
 
 Gallicism (g hard). A phrase or 
 sentence constructed after the French 
 idiom; as, "when you shcdl have re- 
 tiinted home you will find a letter on 
 your table." Government documents 
 are especially guiltj' of this fault. In 
 St. Matt. XV. 32 is a Gallicism : "I have 
 comimssion on the multitude, because
 
 Gallicum 
 
 498 
 
 Garaaheu 
 
 thcji co»ti)iiic with me now tliree days, 
 and have nothing to eat." (Compare 
 St. Mark viii. 2. ) 
 
 Gallicum Merleburgse. French 
 of " Stratford atto Bowe." 
 
 " Tliere is a sprinn wlricli (sci tlicy s;iy), if any- 
 one tastes, lio nnn'dcrs liis ?"ronch ((Jalluc liailia- 
 flzat] ; SI) tliat wlirn anyone speaks Uiat lan.u'naf-'i- 
 ill.wi'sav lie siu'aks tlie French (if Mai'llioningli 
 [(ialliiuni Meilelmi-ga']."-ll'(t«cc Map. 
 
 Galligantus. A giant who lived 
 with Hocus-Pocus in an enchanted 
 castle. By his magic he changed men 
 and women into dumb animals, amongst 
 which was a duke's daughter, changed 
 into a roe. Jack the Giant Killer, ar- 
 rayed in his cap, which rendered him 
 invisible, went to the castle and read the 
 inscrijition : " Whoever can this trumpet 
 blow, will cause the giant's overthrow." 
 He seized the trumpet, blew a loud 
 blast, the castle fell down. Jack slew 
 the giant, and was maiTied soon after 
 to the duke's daughter, whom he had 
 rescued from the giant's castle. {Jack 
 the Glunt KUhr.) 
 
 Gallimaufry. (6Vc Galimaufeey. ) 
 
 Galli'pot (// hard) means a glazed 
 pot, as (/allclijli's (3 syl.) means glazed 
 tiles. (Dutch, (/Icipot, glazed pot.) In 
 farce and jest it forms a by-name for an 
 apothecary. 
 
 Gallo-Bel'gicus. An annual register 
 in Latin for Eurojiean circulation, first 
 published in 1598. 
 
 " It is believed. 
 And told for news with as mneli diligence 
 As if 'twere writ in Gallo-Belf-'icus." 
 
 TIidiiKis Hay : The Heir. (IGIS.) 
 
 Galloon. {See Caddice.) 
 
 Gall'oway (// hard). A horse less 
 than fifteen hands high, of the breed 
 which originally came from Galloway in 
 Scotland. 
 
 " Tlirnst him downstairs ! Know we not C4aIlo- 
 way naf.'s ?"- Shakespeare : 2 Ucnrii /I'., ii. 4. 
 
 " The kiiifflits and esquires are well mounted on 
 larj-'e liay horses, the common people on little 
 <Talhiways.'— ,S'. Lanier: Boys Froissaii, liook i. 
 chap. xix. p. •::,. 
 
 Gallowglass. An armed servitor (or 
 foot-soldier) of an ancient Irish chief. 
 
 Gal'lus Numidicus (.i). A turkey 
 cock. Our common turkey comes 
 neither from Turkey nor Numidia, but 
 from North America. 
 
 '■ And bederkeil in borrowed plumage, he struts 
 over his pages as solemnly as any old Gallus 
 Nuuiidicus over the farmyard."— Fra. Ollie (1885). 
 
 Galor'e (2 syl.,,/7 hard). A sailor's 
 tei-m, meaning " in abundance." (Irish, 
 ffo leor, in abundance.) 
 
 For bis Poll he had trinkets and pokl galore, 
 Besides of prize-money quite a store."' 
 
 Jack Robinson. 
 
 Galvanism (-/hard). So called from 
 Louis Galva'ni, of Bologna. Signora 
 Galvani in 171*0 had frog-souji pre- 
 scribed for her diet, and one day some 
 skinned frogs which ha]>pened to bo 
 placed near an electric maehuie in motion 
 exhibitetl signs of vitality. 'J'his strange 
 phenomenon excited the curiosity of 
 the experimenter, who subsequently 
 noticed that similar convulsive effects 
 were produced when the co]ipcr hooks 
 on which llie frogs were strung were 
 suspended on the iron hook of the 
 larder. Experiments being carefully 
 conducted, soon led to the discovery of 
 this important science. 
 
 Galway Jury. An enliohtcncd, 
 independent jury. The expression has 
 its birth in certain trials held in Ireland 
 in US'io upon the right of the king to 
 the counties of Ireland. Leitrim, Kos- 
 common, Shgo and Mayo, gave judg- 
 ment in favour of the Crown, but Galway 
 opposed it; whereupon the sheiifY was 
 fined .£1,000, and each of the jurors 
 £1,000. 
 
 Gam. {See Ganelon.) 
 
 Ga'ma {;/ hard). Yarco da Gama, 
 the Portuguese, was the fii'st European 
 navigator who doubled the Cape of Good 
 Hope. 
 
 " Willi sucb mad seas tbe daringfiama fought . . . 
 Incessant labouring round the storm.v Cape." 
 Thumfun : SiniiiiKr. 
 
 Tdiieo da Gama. The hero of 
 Camoens' Lusi'iud. He is represented as 
 sagacious, intrepid, tender-hearted, 
 
 Eious, fond of his country, and holding 
 is temper in full command. He is al.'-o 
 the hero of Meyerbeer's jiosthumous 
 opera, VAfriea'ine. 
 
 " (iaiua, captain of the venturous band, 
 (If liiilil einpri-:e. and licrin for high cmnmand. 
 Whiisc uiarlial llns. with prudeiice close allied. 
 Ensured the smiles of fortune on his side." 
 
 Camvens: Laaiad, bk. i. 
 
 Gamaheu, a natural cameo, or intag- 
 lio. These stones (chiefly agate) contain 
 natural representations of plants, laud- 
 scapes, or animals. Pliny tells us that 
 the "Agate of Pyrrhus " contained a 
 representation of the nine Muses, with 
 Apollo in the midst. Paracelsus calls 
 them natural talismans. Albertus Mag- 
 nus makes mention of them, and Gaft'a- 
 ret, in his Curiosiih inoincs, attributes to 
 them magical powers. (French, eaiiia'iea. 
 from the oriental ffaiiia/iina, caniefiiiia, or 
 camebouia.) 
 
 V When magic was ranked as a science, 
 certain conjunctions were called " Ga- 
 raahajan unions."
 
 Gamaliel 
 
 499 
 
 Gammut 
 
 Gamaliel. In the Talmud is rather 
 a good story about this puudit. Cajsar 
 asked Gamaliel how it was that God 
 robbed Adam in order to make Eve. 
 Gamaliel's daughter iustautly rephed, 
 the robbery was substituting a golden 
 vessel for an earthen one. 
 
 Gambo'ge (2 syl., first (7 hard, second 
 g soft). So called from Cambo'dia or 
 Camboja, whence it was first brought. 
 
 Game includes hares, jjlieasants, 
 partridges, gi'ouse, heath-game, or moor- 
 game, black-game, and bustards. (Game 
 Art, 1,2, Will. IV.) (&e Si'OKTixcx 
 Season.) 
 
 Game. 
 
 Tao can phvj at that game. If yon 
 claw me I can claw you ; if you throw 
 stones at me I can do the same to you. 
 The Duke of Buckingham led a mob to 
 break the windows of the Scotch 
 Puritans who came over with James I., 
 but the Puritans broke the windows of 
 the duke's house, and when he com- 
 j)laiiied to the king, the British Solomon 
 quoted to him the proverb, " Those who 
 live in glass houses shouldn't throw 
 stones." 
 
 You are making game of me. You are 
 chaffing me. (Anglo-Saxon, gameii, 
 jest, scoffiug.) 
 
 Game-leg. A bad or lame leg. 
 (Welsh, ca)ii ; Irish, gaiii, bad, crooked.) 
 
 Game for a Spree. Are gou game 
 for a xprec f Ai'e j-ovi inclined to join 
 in a bit of fun ? The allusion is to 
 game-cocks, which never show the white 
 feather, but are always ready for a fight. 
 
 Game is not worth the Candle 
 
 {Th-). The eft'ort is not worth making ; 
 
 the result will not pay for the trouble. 
 
 {Hce Candle.) 
 Game's Afoot {The). The hare has 
 
 started ; the enterprise has begun. 
 
 " I see you stand like t'l'eyhouiuls in the sliiis, 
 Strainin.L,' iti"in tlie start. The ■-tanie's afuot ! 
 FciHuw .viHii- spirit I And mon this ehar.i,'e 
 Cry ■ ti.id £"r Harry: England! andSt.Cieorge.' " 
 liliakcspeare: Henry V., iii.l. 
 
 Gam'elyn (3 sjd., g hard). The 
 youngest of the three sons of Sir Johan 
 de Boundys. On his death-bed the old 
 knight left "five plowes of land" to 
 each of his two ekler sons, and the rest 
 of his property to Gamely n. The eldest 
 took charge of the boy, but entreated 
 him shamefully; and when Gamelyn, in 
 his manhood, demanded of him his 
 heritage, the elder brother exclaimed, 
 " Stand still, gadelyng, and hold thy 
 peace I " "I am no gadelyng," retorted 
 the proud young spirit ; '' but the lawful 
 
 son of a lady and true knight." At this 
 the elder brother sent his servants to 
 chastise the youngling, but Gamelyn 
 drove them off with "apestel." At a 
 wrestling-match held in the neighbour- 
 hood, yotmg Gamelyn threw the cham- 
 pion, and caiTied ott' the i^rize ram ; but 
 on reaching home found the door shut 
 against him. He at once kicked down 
 the door, and threw the porter into a 
 well. Tlie elder brother, by a manoeuvre, 
 contrived to bind the young scapegrace 
 to a tree, and left him two days without 
 food; but Adam, the sjiencer, unloosed 
 him, and (Jamclyu fell upon a party of 
 ecclesiastics wlio liad come to dine with 
 his brother, "sprinkling holy water on 
 the guests with his stout oaken cudgel." 
 The sheriff now sent to take Gamelj'u 
 and Adam into custody ; but they fled 
 into the woods and came upon a party 
 of foresters sitting at meat. The captain 
 gave them welcome, and in time Game- 
 lyn rose to be " king of the outlaws." 
 His brother, being now sheriff, would 
 have put him to death, but Gamelyn 
 constituted himself a lynch judge, and 
 hanged his brother. After this the king 
 appointed liini chief ranger, and he 
 married. This tale is the foundation of 
 Lodge's novel, called Eu])hi(e''s Golden 
 Legacy, and the novel furnished Shake- 
 speare with the plot of As Yoh Like It. 
 
 Gammer {g hard). A corruption of 
 grandmotlier, with an intermediate form 
 " granmcr." (See Ilalliucll, sub voce.) 
 
 Gammer Gurton's Needle. The 
 
 earHest comedy but one in the English 
 language. It was "Made by Mr. S., 
 Master of Arts." The author is said to 
 have been Bishop Still of Bath and 
 Wells (1543-1607). 
 
 Gam'mon {g hard). A corruption 
 oi gamoie. Stuff to impose upon one's 
 credulity ; chaff. (Anglo-Saxon, gamen, 
 scoffing; ourc/rt;«e, as " You are making 
 game of me.") 
 
 Gammon {g hard) means the leg, not 
 the buttock). {French, jambon, the leg, 
 jambe ; Italian, gamba.) 
 
 Gam'mut, or Gamut {g hard). It is 
 gamma at, " ut " lieing the first word in 
 the Guido-von-Arrezzo scale of ut, re, 
 mi, fa, sot, la. In the eleventh century 
 the ancient scale was extended a note 
 below the Greek proslamban'omy note 
 (our A), the first space of the bass staff. 
 The new note was termed y (gamma), 
 and when " ut " was substituted by Ar- 
 rezzo the "supernumerary" note was 
 called gamma or ut, or shortly gamm^ ut
 
 Gamp 
 
 BOO 
 
 Gangway 
 
 .— /.f. "Gut." The gammut, therefore, 
 properly means the diatonic scale be- 
 giuuiug in the bass clef with " G." 
 
 Gamp (Mrfi.), or Sarah Gamp {(/ 
 hard). A monthly nurse, famous for her 
 bulky umbrella and perpetual refer- 
 ence to Mrs. Harris, a piurely imaginary 
 person, whose oiiiuions always confirmed 
 her own. {Dickens : 3fartin Chuzzle- 
 icit.) 
 
 " Mrs. Harris, I says tn her, if I could afford to 
 l.ay out all my fellow (TOPlurs for notliink, 1 would 
 b'ladly do it. Such is the love 1 hear cui." 
 
 Punch caricatures the Standard as 
 "Mrs. Sarah Gamp," a little woman 
 with an enormous bonnet and her cha- 
 racteristic mnbrella. 
 
 A Sarah Gaiiip, or Mrs. Gamp. A 
 big, pawky umbrella, so called from 
 Sarah Gamp. {See ahore.) 
 
 In France it is called iin Jiohinson, 
 from Robinson Crusoe's umbrella. {De- 
 foe.) 
 
 Gamps and Harrises. Workhouse 
 nurses, real or sujjposititious. {Svc 
 Gamp.) 
 
 " Mr. Gathorne Hardy 18 to look after the (Janips 
 and Harrises of Laniheth and the Str.iud."— i'/ir 
 Uaily Telegraph. 
 
 Gan'abim. The island of thieves and 
 plagiarists. So called from the Ilrbrew 
 ga)uib (a thief). {Uabchnx : I'anlHijrael, 
 iv. 66.) 
 
 Gander ((/hard). WhaCs aaucc for 
 the [loose is sauce for the (/anaer. Both 
 must 1)0 treated exactly alike. Apple- 
 sauce is just as good for one as the 
 other. (Anglo-Saxon //o'.v, related toffon-i 
 and ffaiis. The d and r of gan-a are 
 merely euphonic ; the a being the mas- 
 culine suffix. Thus hnn-a was the mas- 
 culine of hii). Latin, aiiscr.) 
 
 Gander-cleugh. Folly cliff ; that 
 mysterious land where anyone who 
 makes a *' goose of himself " takes up 
 his temporary residence. The hypo- 
 thetical Jedediah Cleishbotham, who 
 edited the Tales of Mij Landlord, lived 
 there, as Sir "Walter Scott assures us. 
 
 Gander-month. Those four weeks 
 when the '• monthly nurse " rules the 
 house with despotic sway, and the master 
 is made a goose of. 
 
 Gan'elon (fi hard). Count of May- 
 ence, one of Charlemagne's paladins, the 
 "Judas" of knights. His castle was 
 built on the Blocksberg, the loftiest 
 peak of the Hartz mountains. Jealousy 
 of Roland made hian a traitor ; and in 
 
 order to destroy his rival, he planned 
 with Marsillus, the Moorish king, the 
 attack of Roncesvalli-s. He was six and 
 a-half feet high, with glariug eyes and 
 fiery hair ; he loved solitude, was very 
 taciturn, disbelieved in the existence of 
 moral good, and never had a friend. His 
 name is a by-word for a traitor of the 
 basest sort. 
 
 " Have you not hold me at such a distance from 
 your (dunscls, as if I were the most faithless spy 
 since the days of Uanelon ?''— .Sir Walter Hcvlt : 
 The Abbot, chap. xxiv. 
 
 " You wouhl have thought him [tJanehin] one 
 of Attila's Huns, rather than one of the iQiladiim 
 of Charlemagne's t:»u\t."—Crvqmmiiaine, iii. 
 
 Ga'nem {g hard), having incuiTcd 
 the displeasure of Calij)!! Harouu-al- 
 Euschid, effected his escaj)C by taking 
 the place of a slave, who was carrying 
 on his head dishes from his own table. 
 {Arabian eights'' Entertainments.) 
 
 Gan'esa (// hard). Son of Siva and 
 Parbutta ; also called Gun]Hitty, the 
 elephiint god. The god of wisdom, fore- 
 thought, and prudence. The Mercuiy 
 of the Hindus. 
 
 '•('amdco liri^'ht and Gancs:i suhlime 
 Shall bless «ilh joy their own propitious clime." 
 Vamiibell: Plcasnren of JJuiie, i. 
 
 Gang a-gley {To). To go wrong- 
 (Scotch.) 
 
 ■ The hcsl-laid srhcmi 
 (i.iii-: aft as-'lcy.", 
 
 if mice and n:en 
 
 Jliinif 
 
 Gang-board, or Gang-way {g hard). 
 The boai'd or wtiy made for the rowers 
 lo pass from stem to stem, and where 
 the mast was lai<l when it was un.shippcd. 
 Now it means the board with cleats or 
 bars of wood by which passengers walk 
 into or out of a ship or steambotit. A 
 gang is an alley or avenue. 
 
 " As we were putting oft the lioat they laid hold 
 of the KanglJOarU and unhooked it off the hoal'g 
 stern."— C'oyt: Second Viiijage, bk. iii. chap. iv. 
 
 Gang-day {;i hard). The day in Ro- 
 gation week when boys with the clergj- 
 and wardens used to gang round the 
 parish to beat its bounds. 
 
 Gangway ig hard). Beloic the gang- 
 wag. In the House of Commons there 
 is a sort of bar extending across the 
 House, which separates the Ministry and 
 the Opposition from the rest of the mem- 
 bers. To sit "below the gangway " is 
 to sit amongst the general member.s, 
 neither amoiig the Ministers nor with 
 the Opposition. 
 
 Clear the gangirag. Make room for 
 the passengers from the boat, clear the 
 passage. {Sec Gakg-boabd.)
 
 Granges 
 
 501 
 
 Gardening 
 
 Ganges [TIu^ is so named from gang, 
 the earth. Often called Gunga or 
 Ganga. 
 
 "Those who, tlivough the curse, have fallen 
 from heaven, having' performed aliliition in this 
 St: oam, become free from pin ; cleansed from sin 
 hy this water, and restored to haiipiness, they 
 siiall enter heaven and return. a','aiu to the gods. 
 After having iierformcd alilutioii in this living 
 water, they lieconie free from all iuiauity."— 'J'/ie 
 Itamuijnna (section xxxv.). 
 
 Ganna. A Celtic prophetess, who 
 succeeded Velle'da. She went to Rome, 
 and was received by Domitian with great 
 honours. {Tacitus: Aiitia/.i, f)b.) 
 
 Ganor (g hard), Gineura (g soft), or 
 Guinever. Arthur's wife. 
 
 Gan'ymede (3 syl. ; g hard). Jove's 
 cui^-bearer ; the most beautiful boy ever 
 bom. He succeeded Hebe in office. 
 " When fianymede above 
 His service ministers to mighty Jove." 
 
 Uoole'a ArUistn. 
 
 Ga'ora. A tract of land inhabited 
 by a people without heads. Their eyes 
 are in their shoultlers, and their mouth 
 in their breast. {IlakhtgVs Voyages.) 
 (St-e Blemmyes.) 
 
 Gape (g hard). Looking for gape- 
 seed. Gaping about and doing nothing. 
 A corruption of " Looking a-gapesing ; " 
 gapcsing is staring about with one's 
 motith open. A-gapesiug and a-trapes- 
 ing are still used in Norfolk. 
 
 Seeking a gape'' s nest. (Devonshii'e.) A 
 gape''s nest is a sight which jjcople stare 
 at with wide-open mouth. The word 
 "nest " was used in a much wider sense 
 formerly than it is now. Thus we read 
 of a "nest of shelves," a " nest of 
 thieves," a " cosy nest." A gape's nest 
 is the nest or place where anything 
 stared at is to be found. {See Maee's 
 Nest.) 
 
 Gar'agan'tua {g hard). Tlie giant 
 tliat swallowed five pilgrims witli their 
 staves and all i^ a salad. From a book 
 entitled The Hist org of Garagantua, 
 1594. Laneham, however, mentions the 
 book of Garagantua in l.JTo. The giant 
 in Rabelais is called Gargautua {q.r.). 
 
 " You must borrow me Cargantua's mouth 
 first [l)efore I can utter so long a word]; 'tis a 
 Word too great for any nnuith of this age's size.' 
 —Shakespeare : As You Like It, iii. 3. 
 
 Garagantuan. Threatening, bully- 
 ing. {Sec preceding.) 
 
 Garble {</ hard) properly means to 
 sift out the refuse. Thus, by the statute 
 of 1 James I. 19, a penalty is imposed 
 on the sale of drugs not garbled. We 
 now use the word to express a mutilated 
 extract, in which the sense of the author 
 is perverted by what is omitted. (French, 
 
 garhcr, to make clean ; Spanish, garhil- 
 lar.) 
 
 " A garbled quotation may be the most effectual 
 l)erversion of an anther's meauing.'"— JtfcCos/t ; 
 Divine Government, \\. 14. 
 
 V One of the best garbled quotations 
 is this: David said (Psalm xiv. 1), 
 "There is no God" (omitting the jn-e- 
 cediug words, " The fool hath said in his 
 heart.") 
 
 Garci'as (g hard). The soul of Pedro 
 Garcias. Money. It is said that two 
 scholars of Salamanca discovered a 
 tomb.stone with this inscription : — ' ' Here 
 Hes the soul of the licentiate Pedro 
 Garci'as ; " and on searching for this 
 "soul" found a purse with a hundred 
 golden ducats. {Uil Bias, Frcfacc.) 
 
 Gar'darike (4 syl., g hard). So 
 Russia is called ni the Eddas. 
 
 Garden (// hard). The garden of 
 Joseph of Arimathe'a is said to be the 
 spot where the rotunda of the Holy 
 Sepulchre now stands. 
 
 The Garden or Garden Sect. The 
 disciples of Epicu'rus, who taught in his 
 own private garden. 
 
 " Epicurus in his garden was languid ; the birds 
 of the air have more enjoyment of their food." — 
 Ecce Homo. 
 
 Garden of England. Worcestershire 
 and Kent are both so called. 
 
 Garden of Europe. Italy. 
 
 Gardoi of France. Amboise, in the 
 dejiartment of Indre-et-Loire. 
 
 Garden of India. Oude. 
 
 Garden of Irehuid. Carlow. 
 
 Garden of Italg. Tlie island of Sicily. 
 
 Garden of Sun tit Walis. The southern 
 division of Glamorganshire. 
 
 Garden of Spain. Andalusia. 
 
 Garden of the San. The East Indian 
 (or Malayan) archipelago. 
 
 Garden of the If 'est. Illinois ; Kansas 
 is also so called. 
 
 Garden of tlie Jforld. The region of 
 the Mississippi. 
 
 Gardener {g hard). Get on, gar- 
 dener .' Get on, you slow and clumsy 
 coachman. The allusion is to a man who 
 is both gardener and coachman. 
 
 Gardener. Adam is so called by 
 Tennyson. 
 
 " From yim blue sky above us bent, 
 
 The grand (dd gardener and his wife [Ad:im 
 and' Eve] 
 Smile at the claims of long descent." 
 
 Lady Clara Vere dc Vere 
 "Thou, old Adam's likeness, 
 Get to dress this garden." 
 
 Sliakcsjieare : Richard IT., iii. 4. 
 
 Gardening {g hard). {See Adam's 
 Peofession.)
 
 Gargamelle 
 
 502 
 
 Gargantuan 
 
 Father of landscape (jarden'mg. Lenotre 
 (1613-1700). 
 
 Gargamelle (3 syl., fj hard) was the 
 wife (it ( haiigousier, and daughter of the 
 kiug of tlio I'arpaillons {batierjiiea). On 
 the day that she gave birth to Gargantua 
 she ate sixteen quarters, two bushels, 
 three pecks, and a xnpkin of dirt, the 
 mere remains left iu the tripe which 
 she had for supper ; for, as the proverb 
 says — 
 
 " Sera lie tripe as clean as e'er jou can, 
 A titlic of tilth will still rcinalu." 
 
 Gunjumvlle. Said to be meant for 
 Anne of Brittany. She was the mother 
 of Gargantua, in the satirical romance 
 of Gargantua and I'antaijrucl' , by Ra- 
 belais. Motteux, who makes "Panta- 
 gruel" to be Anthony de Bourbon, and 
 "Gargantua" to be Henri d'Albret, 
 says "Gargamelle" is designed for 
 Catherine de Foix, Queen of Navarre. 
 {Rabchiis, i. 4.) 
 
 Gargantua {g hard), according to 
 Rabelais, was son of Grangousier and 
 Gargamelle. Immediately he was bom 
 he cried out "Drink, drink ! " so lustily 
 that the words were heard iu Beauce 
 and Bibarois ; whereupon his roj'al 
 father exclaimed, " Q^c grand ///as!" 
 wliich, being the first words he uttered 
 after the birth of the cliild, were ac- 
 cepted as its name ; so it was called 
 " Gah-gran'-tu-as," corrupted into Gai-- 
 g'an-tu-a. It needed 17,913 cows to 
 supply the babe with milk. When he 
 went to Paris to finish his education he 
 rode on a mare as big as six elephants, 
 and took the bells of Notre Dame to 
 hang on his mare's neck as jingles. At 
 the prayer of the Parisians he restored 
 the bells, and they consented to feed his 
 mare for nothing. On his way home 
 he was fired at from the castle at Vede 
 Ford, and on reaching home combed 
 his hair with a comb 900 feet long, when 
 at every " rake " seven bullet-balls fell 
 from his hair. Being desirous of a salad 
 for dinner, he went to cut some lettuces 
 as big as Avalnut-trees, and ate up six 
 ])ilgrims from Sebastian, who had hidden 
 themselves among them out of fear. 
 Picrochole, having committed certain 
 offences, was attacked by Gargantua in 
 the rock Clermond, and utterly de- 
 feated ; and Gargantua, in remembrance 
 of this victory, founded and endowed 
 the abbey of Theleme [ Tc-lame]. {Rabe- 
 lais : Gargantua, i. 7.) 
 
 Gargantua is said to be a satire on 
 Frani^ois I., but this cannot be correct, 
 as he was born iu the kingdom of the 
 
 butterflies, was sent to Paris to tiuish 
 his educiition, and left it again to 
 succour his own country. Motteux, 
 perceiving these difficulties, thinks it is 
 meant for Henri d'Albret, King of 
 Navarre. 
 
 Gargantua'' s marc. Those who make 
 Gargantua to be Fran(;ois I. make his 
 " great mare " to be Mmc. d'Estampes. 
 Motteux, who looks u})on the romance 
 as a satire on the Reform partj% is at a 
 loss how to apply this word, antl merely 
 says, " It is some ladj'." Rabelais .says, 
 "She was as big as .six elephants, and 
 had her feet cloven into fingers. She 
 was of a bunit-sorrel hue, with a little 
 mixture of dapple-grey ; but, above all, 
 she had a terrible tail, for it was every 
 whit as great as the steeple pillar of 
 St. Mark." When the beast got to 
 Orleans, and the wasjis assaulted her, 
 she switched about her tail so furiously 
 that she knocked down all the trees that 
 grew in the vicinity, and Gargantua, 
 delighted, exclaimed, "Jc trout e beau 
 cc!^' wherefore the locality has been 
 called " Beauce " ever since. The satire 
 shows the wilfulness and extravagance 
 of court mistresses. {Rabelais : Gar- 
 gantua and Tanlaqruel, book i. IG.) 
 
 Gargantua\s shepherds, according to 
 Motteux, mean Lutheran preachers ; but 
 those who look njion the romance as a 
 political satire, think the Crown ministers 
 and advisers are intended. 
 
 Gargantua'' s thirst. Motteux sa3\s 
 the "great thirst" of Gargantua, and 
 ' ' mighty drought " at Pantagruel's birth, 
 refer to the withhokling the cup from 
 the laity, and the clamour- raised by the 
 Ref onn jiarty for the wine as Avell as the 
 bread iu the eucharist. 
 
 Gargan'tuan. Enormous, inordi- 
 nate, great beyond all limits. It needed 
 900 ells of Chatelleraut linen to make 
 the body of his shii't, and 200 more for 
 the gussets ; for his shoes 406 ells of blue 
 and crimson velvet were requii-ed, and 
 1,100 cow-hides for the soles. He could 
 play 207 different games, picked his teeth 
 with an elephant's tusk, and did everj'- 
 thiiig in the same " large way." 
 
 '• It sounded like a Gargantuan order fur a 
 dram."— T/fC Standard. 
 
 A Gargantuan course of studies. A 
 course including all languages, as well 
 ancient as modern, all the sciences, all 
 the -ologies and -onomies, together \vith 
 calisthenics and athletic sports. Gar- 
 gantua wrote to hissonPantagruel, com- 
 manding him to learn Greek, Latin, 
 Chaldaic^ Ai'abic ; all history, geometry,
 
 Gargittios 
 
 503 
 
 Garrote 
 
 arithmetic, aud music; astronomy aud 
 natural philosoi^hy, so that "there he 
 nut a river in all the world thou dost 
 not know the uanie of, and nature of all 
 its llshes ; all the fowls of the air : all the 
 several kinds of shrubs aud herbs ; all 
 the metals hid in the bov/els of the 
 earth ; with all gems and precious stones. 
 I would furthermore have thee study the 
 TalmuJists and Cabalists, and get a 
 perfect knowledge of man. In brief, I 
 would have thee a bottomless pit of all 
 knowledge." {Itabcluis : I'aiilayrticl, 
 book ii. S.) 
 
 Gargit'tios. One of the dogs that 
 guarded the herds and flocks of Ger'yon, 
 and which Hercules killed. The other 
 Avas the two-headed dog, named Orthos, 
 or Ortliros. 
 
 Gargouille, or Gargoil (// hard). A 
 water-spout in clnirch architecture. 
 ISometinies also sjielt Gitrijijijlc. They are 
 usually carved into some fantastic shape, 
 such as a dragon's head, through which 
 the water flows. Gargouille was the 
 great dragon that lived in the Seine, , 
 ravaged Rouen, and was slam by St. 
 Itomanus, Bishop of Rouen, in the 
 seventh century. {Sec Deagox.) 
 
 Gariljaldi's Red Shirt. The red 
 
 shirt is tlie liabitual ujjper garment of 
 Anrerican sailors. Any Liverpudlian will 
 tell you that some lifteen years ago a 
 Biitish tar might be discerned by his 
 blitu shirt, aud a Yankee "salt" by his 
 red. Garibaldi first adopted the Ameri- 
 can shirt, when he took the command of 
 tlic merchantman in Baltimore. 
 
 Garland {fi hard). 
 
 "A cbaplot sliDiilil ))? comiioscd i>f fmir rc)S-,cs 
 . . . :iTid a jjarhiiid slicmld lie funiiL'J iif Iruirel or 
 ii:tk le:lve^, interspeis'il with acdnis."— J. /.'. 
 Cassans: Ilandbouk of JleniUliij, clial). vii. p. I'l'.. 
 
 GarUind. A collection of ballads in 
 True Lovers' Garland, etc. 
 
 Nuptial (jarlands are as old as the 
 hills. The ancient Jews used them, 
 according to Selden {Uxor lleb., iii. 65;')) ; 
 the Greek and Roman brides did the 
 same (Vaughan, Golden Gron^) ; so did 
 the Anglo-Saxons aud Gauls. 
 
 "Tlire onianientys prynciiialy to a wyfe : A 
 rvii'-'con liir fyutrei-, a oi-ocli cm Ijir Irrest, and a 
 garloud on liir liede. TlieryULtf het.ikfni-i lit- true 
 l.)ve ; the bruch clennesse in hoitr and ciiastilye ; 
 tlie f-'arlond . . . gladness and the diynily of tlie 
 sacrenient of wedlock." — ie/cmii : Dims and 
 I'auper (14i)3). 
 
 Garliclc is said to destroy the mag- 
 netic power of the loadstone. This 
 notion, though proved to be eiToneous, 
 has the sanction of Pliny, Solinus, 
 Ptolemy, Plutarch, Albertus, Mathiolas, 
 
 Rueus, Rulandus, Renodaeus, Langius, 
 and others. Sir Thomas Browne places 
 it among Vulyar Errors (bookii, chap. 3.) 
 
 "Martin Rnlaudua saitli that Onions and Gar- 
 lic!c . . . hinder the attractive power [of the 
 magnet] and rob it of its virtue of drawiiij; iron, 
 to whicli Ueiioda'us agrees ; but this is all lies."— 
 If. Hiihidin : The Complete Jinglish J'liysician,etc., 
 ehap. x.w. p. is;;. 
 
 Garnish (.(/hard). Entrancc-mone}', 
 to be spent in drink, demandeil by jail- 
 birJs of new-comere. In jirisou slang 
 garnish means fetters, and garnish- 
 money is money given for the " honoiu" " 
 of wearing fetters. The custom became 
 obsolete with the reform of prisons. 
 {French, f/arnissae/e, trimming, xerh r/ar- 
 nir, to decorate or adorn.) {See Field- 
 ing's and Smollett's novels.) 
 
 Garratt {{/ hard). T/ie Jfai/or of 
 Garralt. Garratt is between Wands- 
 worth aud Tooting ; the first mayor of 
 tliis village was elected towards the close 
 of the eighteenth century ; and his elec- 
 tion came about thus : Garratt Common 
 had been often encroached on, and in 
 1780 the inhabitants associated litem - 
 selves together to defend their rights. 
 The chairman of this association was 
 entitled Mayor, and as it happened to be 
 the time of a general election, the society 
 made it a law that a new "mayor" 
 should be chosen at every general elec- 
 tion. The addresses of these mayors, 
 written by Foote, Garrick, Wilkes, and 
 others, are satires on the corruption of 
 electors and political squibs. The first 
 Mayor of Garratt was "Sir" John 
 Harijer, a retailer of brickdust in Lon- 
 don ; and the last was "Sir" Harry 
 Dimsdale, muffin-seller, in ITDG. Foote 
 has a farce entitled llie Mayor of Gar- 
 ratt. 
 
 Garraway's, i.e. Garraway's coffee- 
 house, in Exchange Alley. It existed 
 for 216 years, and here tea was sold, in 
 16.57, for 16s. up to 50s. a pound. The 
 house no longer exists. 
 
 Garrof e or Garotte (2 syl., g hard) 
 is the Spanish yarrote (a stick). The ori- 
 ginal way of garrotting in Sixain was to 
 place tlie victim on a chair with a cord 
 round his neck, then to twist the cord 
 with a stiek till strangidation en.sued. In 
 1851 General Lopez was garrotted by the 
 Spanish authorities for attempting to 
 gain possession of Cuba ; since which 
 time the thieves of London, etc., have 
 adopted tlie method of strangling their 
 victim by throwing their arms round 
 his throat, while an accomiilice rifles his 
 pockets.
 
 Garter 
 
 504 
 
 Gaunt 
 
 Garter (y hard). Knights of the 
 Garter. The jjopular legend is that 
 Joan, Countess of Salisbuiy, accidentally 
 slipjjed her garter at a court ball. It 
 was picked up by her royal partner, 
 Edward III., who gallantly diverted the 
 attention of the guests from the lady by 
 binding the blue band round his own 
 knee, saying as lie did so, " JIuni soit qui 
 iiial 1/ pcHsc" (1348). 
 - Wearing the garters of a pi'etty 
 maiden either on the hat or knee was a 
 common custom with our forefathers. 
 Brides usually wore on their legs a host 
 of gay ribbons, to be distiibuted after 
 the marriage ceremony amongst the 
 bi'idegroom's friends-; and the piper at 
 the wedding dance never failed to tie a 
 jnece of the bride's garter round his pipe. 
 If there is any trutli in the legend given 
 above, the impression on the guests 
 would be wholly different to what such 
 an accident would produce in our days ; 
 but ijerhajis the " Order of the Garter," 
 after all, may be about tantamount to 
 "The Order of the Ladies' Champions," 
 or " The Order of the Ladies' Favour- 
 ites." 
 
 Gar'vies (2 syl., c/ soft). Sprats. So 
 called from Inch Garvie, an isle in tlie 
 Frith of Forth, near which they are 
 caught. 
 
 Gascona'de (3 syl., g hard). Talk 
 like that of a Gascon— absurd boasting, 
 vainglorious braggadocio. It is said that 
 a Gascon being asked what he thought 
 of the Louvre in Paris, replied, "Pretty 
 well ; it reminds me of the back part of 
 my father's stables." The vainglory of 
 this answer is more paljoable when it is 
 borne in mind that the Gascons were 
 proverbially poor. The Dictionary of the 
 French Academy gives us the following 
 sjjecimeu: "A Gascon, in proof of his 
 ancient nobility, asserted that they used 
 in his father's house no other fuel than 
 the batons of the family marshals." 
 
 Gaston {ff hard). Lord of Claros, 
 cue of Charlemagne's paladins. 
 
 Gastrol'ators. People whose god 
 is their bell}'. {Rabelais : Tantagruvl, 
 iv. 58.) 
 
 Gat-tooth {g hard). Goat-tooth. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, ga-t.) Goat-toothed is 
 having a lickerish tooth. Chaucer makes 
 the wife of Bath say, ' ' Gat-toothed I 
 was, and that became me wele." 
 
 Gate Money. Money paid at the 
 gate for admission to the grounds where 
 some contest is to be seen. 
 
 Gate-posts. The post on which the 
 gate hangs and swings is called the 
 " hanging-jjost " ; tliat against which it 
 shuts is called the " banging i)ost." 
 
 Gate of Italy. That part of the 
 valley of the Adige which is in the 
 vicinity of Trent and Ilovere'dn. A 
 narrow gorge between two mountain 
 
 ridges. 
 
 Gate of Tears [Bahilnia)i(hh]. The 
 ])assage into the Red Sea. So called by 
 the Arabs from the number of shipwrecks 
 that took place there. 
 
 " Like some ill-destined bark that: steers 
 ]u silence ihnniL'h the (iate of Tears." 
 
 T. Moore: Fire Worxhipvcrs. 
 
 Gath {g hard), in Dryden's satire of 
 Ahsulum ((ltd Achituphvl, means Brus- 
 sels, where Charles II. long resided while 
 he was in exile. 
 
 " Had thus old David [Charles 11.] . . . 
 Not dared, when fortune called hin], to lie king, 
 At (iath an exile he iiiiylit still remain." 
 
 TvU it not in Gath. Don't let your 
 enemies hear it. Gath was famous as 
 being the bii'thijlace of the giant Goliath. 
 
 " Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets 
 of Askelon; lest the daughters of the I'hilistines 
 rejoice, lest the daiiL'hters of the uncircumcised 
 tnuniiih."— :; Sam. i. 'jo. 
 
 Gathered = (IcikL The Bible phrase, 
 "He was gathered to his fathers." 
 
 " He was (for he is L'alhereil) a little man with 
 a ciipiiery comidexion."— Z*c. Geist, i>. i'.'). 
 
 Gathers {g hard). Out of gathers. 
 In distress ; in a very impoverished con- 
 dition. The allusion is to a woman's 
 gown, which certainly looks very seedy 
 when "out of gathers" — i.e. when the 
 cotton that kept the "pleats" together 
 has given way. (Anglo-Saxon, gadcr-ian, 
 to gather, or pleat.) 
 
 Gauche (French, tJie hft hand). Awk- 
 ward. A tck, the left hand. (6V'6' Adroit.) 
 
 Gaucherie (3 syl., g hard). Things 
 
 not (■online ilfaut ; behaviour not accord- 
 ing to the "received forms of society ; 
 awkward and untoward ways. {-"See 
 above.) 
 
 Gau'difer {g hard). A champion, 
 celebrated in the romance of Ale.raiider. 
 Not unlike the Scotch Bruce. 
 
 Gaudy-day {A). A holiday, a feast- 
 day. (Latin (/««rfeo, to rejoice.) 
 
 Gaul {g hard). France. 
 
 " Insulting Gaul has roused the world to war." 
 Thomson: Autumn. 
 " Shall haughtj' Gaul invasion threat ? "—Burna. 
 
 Gaunt {g hard). John of Gaunt. 
 The third sou of Edward III. ; so called
 
 Gauntgrim 
 
 505 
 
 Gaze 
 
 from Ghent, in Flanders, the place of 
 his birth. 
 
 Gauntgrim (//hard). The wolf . 
 
 " ' Fcir my part (said he), I dcm't wonder at my 
 ccjiisin's ivfiisiiife' Bruin tlio tiear and C-iauntgrini 
 ilie wiilf. . . . Bruin is always in tlie sulks, and 
 (iaunt,i,'niii always in a i-iatJSion.' "— A'. B. Li/ttuu : 
 J'lU/riiii.i iiftUe Rhine, cbaii. xii. 
 
 Gauntlet {g hard). To ri<» the gant- 
 let. To be liouuded on all sides. Cor- 
 ruption oi (jatitlope, tlie passage between 
 two files of soldiers. (German, (jany- 
 laiifcn or (/(xssenlaitfoi.) The reference 
 is to a punishment common among 
 sailors. If a companion had disgraced 
 himself, the crew, provided with gaunt- 
 lets or ropes' ends, were drawn up in 
 two rows facing each other, and the 
 delinquent liad to run between them, 
 while every man dealt him, in passing, 
 as sevei'e a chastisement as he could. 
 
 V The custom exists among the North 
 American Indians. {See Ferumore Cooper 
 and Ma}Tie lleid.) 
 
 To tlirow dotoi the gaunth-t. To chal- 
 lenge. The custom in the Middle Ages, 
 when one knight challenged another, 
 was for the challenger to throw his 
 gauntlet on the ground, and if the chal- 
 lenge was accepted the person to whom 
 it was thrown picked it up. 
 
 " It is not for Spain, reduced as slie is to the 
 lowest deurree of social inanition, to throw the 
 gauntlet to the right and left."— IVic Times. 
 
 Gauta'ma (// hard). The chief deity 
 of Burinah, whose favourite ottering is a 
 paper umbrella. 
 
 The four subUmc verities of Gauta'ma 
 are as follows : 
 
 (1) Pain exists. 
 
 (2) The cause of pain is "birth sin." 
 The Buddhist supposes that man has 
 passed through many previous exist- 
 ences, and all the heaijed-up sins accu- 
 mulated in these previous states consti- 
 tute man's " birth sin." 
 
 (3) Pain is ended only by Nirva'na. 
 
 (4) The way that leads to Nirvana is 
 — right faith, right judgment, right 
 language, right jiurpose, right practice, 
 right obedience, right memory, and 
 right meditation (eight in all) . 
 
 Gau'tier and Garguille (French). 
 All the world and his wife. 
 
 8e mocqxcr dc Guiltier et de Gnrguille 
 (to make fun of everyone). Gautier- 
 Garguille was a clown of the seventeenth 
 century, who gave himself unbounded 
 licence, and provoked against himself a 
 storm of angry feeling. 
 
 Gau'vaine or Ga'wain = Gau-wain 
 (2 syl., g hard). Sir Gaitraine the 
 Courteous. One of Arthur's knights, 
 
 and his nephew. He challenged the 
 Green Knight, and struck off his head ; 
 but the headless knight picked up his 
 poll again and walked off, telling Sir 
 Gauvaine to meet hina twelve months 
 hence. Sir Gauvaine kept his appoint- 
 ment, and was hospitably entertained ; 
 but, taking possession of the girdle be- 
 longing to tlie lady of the house, was 
 chastised by the Green Knight, confessed 
 his fault, and was forgiven. 
 
 " The '-'enMe (iawain's courteous lore. 
 
 Hector de Mares and Pellinore, - 
 
 And Lancelot that evermore 
 
 Looked stol'uwise on the ((iieen." 
 Sir \V. Scott : Bridal of 'Triermain, ii. 13. 
 
 Gav'elkind (g hard). A tenure in 
 Wales, Kent, and Northumberland, 
 whereby land descended from the father 
 to all his sons in equal proportions. The 
 youngest had the homestead, and the 
 eldest the horse and arms. 
 
 ".■ Coke (1 Institiite.i, ',40 a1 says the word is (lif 
 eal eyn (give all the kin) ; but Lambarde suggests 
 the Anglo-Saxon (lafol or gavel, rent ; and says it 
 means "land which yields rent"! yavel ciiii,rrnt 
 for the family derived from land. There is a 
 similar Irish ^vord, yabliailcine, a family tenure. 
 
 Gawain (g hard). {See Gauvaine.) 
 
 Gawrey (g hard). One of the race of 
 flying women who appeared to Peter 
 Wilkins in his solitary cave. (Hubert 
 Tultoc/i : I'eter IFilkiiis.) 
 
 Gay {g hard). Gag as the ling''s 
 candle. A French plirase, alluding to an 
 ancient custom observed on the Gth of 
 January, called the " Eve or Vigil of the 
 Kings," when a candle of divers colours 
 was burnt. The expression is used to 
 denote a woman who is more showily 
 dressed than is consistent with good 
 taste. 
 
 Gay Deceiver {A). A Lothario 
 {q.v.) ; a Ubertine. 
 
 "I immediately riuitted the precincts of the 
 castle, and posted myself on the high road, where 
 the gay deceiver was sure to be uitircei'led on 
 his return."— ie .Saflc: Aih-oitarcs of Gil Bias 
 (.Smollett's translation). (174!i.) 
 
 Gay Girl. A woman of light or 
 extravagant habits. Lady Anne Berke- 
 ley, dissatisfied with the conduct of her 
 daughter-in-law (Lady Catherine How- 
 ard), exclaimed, " By the blessed sacra- 
 ment, this gay girl will beggar my son 
 Henry." {See above.) 
 
 " What evieth you ? Some pay gurl, Rod it wot, 
 Hath brought you thus upon the very trot" {i.e. 
 put you on your high horse, or into a pas- 
 sion). Chaucer: Canterbury Talea,^,';^':. 
 
 Gaze (1 syl., g hard). To stand at 
 gaze. To stand in doubt what to do. 
 A tenn in forestry. When a stag first 
 hears the hounds it stands dazed, look- 
 ing all round, and in doubt what to do.
 
 Gaze-hound 
 
 506 
 
 Geese 
 
 Heralds call a stag which is represented 
 full-faced, a " stag at gaze." 
 
 " Tlie American army in tlic central states re- 
 mained wholly at i-'aze."— iorti Muhun : History. 
 " As the poor fri^'litc'd deer, tliat stands at gaze, 
 
 Wildly determining wliicli wav to tly." 
 
 SUiilU'spiarc : lliipe e/ iiicnrf, 11 19-50. 
 
 Gazc-hound. {See Lyme - Hound. ) 
 
 Gazette ('2 sj'l., // hard). A iiews- 
 pajier. The lirst newspapers were issued 
 ill Venice by the Government, and came 
 out in manuscript once a month, during 
 the war of 1565 between the Venetians 
 and Turks. The intelligence was read 
 publicly in certain places, and tlie fee 
 for hetiring it read was one gazctta (a 
 Venetian coin, somewhat less than a 
 fartliing in value). 
 
 •.• The first offlcial En'-'lisli n.-wsraver, called 
 The Oifunl Ga-itir, was imblislieii in liilL', at Ox- 
 lenl, where tiie Court was 111 1.1. i>n the rennival 
 111' the Court to London, tlie name wa^ cliama'd to 
 The'Loiuldit Gazette. Thename wasre\ ived in iwci, 
 during the Great Fire. Now the (dlleial dazitt,-, 
 IHililished every Tuesday and Friday, contains an- 
 nouncements of pensions, pronniiions, hankrupt- 
 cies, dissolutions of partnerships, etc. (See Nkws- 
 
 PAPERS.) 
 
 Gazetted (y hard). Published in 
 the London Gazette, an oflicial news- 
 pajier. 
 
 Gaz nivides] (3 syl.). A dynasty of 
 Persia, whicli gave four kings and lasted 
 lifty years (999-1049), founded by Mah- 
 mouclGazni, whoreigned from the Ganges 
 to the Caspian Sea. 
 
 Gear {g hard) properlynieans" dress." 
 In machinery, the bands and wheels that 
 communicate motion to the working part 
 are called the gearuKj. (Saxon, (jcanra, 
 clothing.) 
 
 Jit good gear. To bo in good working 
 order. 
 
 Uitt of gear. Not in Avorking condi- 
 tion, when the "gearing" does not act 
 properly ; out of liealth. 
 
 Gee-up ! and Gee-woo ! addressed to 
 liorses both mean "Horse, get on." 
 Gee = horse. In Notts and many other 
 counties nurses say to young children, 
 "Come and see the gee-gees." There 
 is not the least likelihood that Gee-woo 
 is the Italian gio, because gio will not fit 
 ill with any of the other terms, and it is 
 absurd to suppose our peasants would go 
 to Italy for such a word. Woa ! or Woo ! 
 {q.v.), meaning stop, or halt, is quite 
 another word. We subjoin the follow- 
 ing quotation, although we differ from 
 it. {See Come Athek, Woo'sh.) 
 
 "Et cnm sic gloriaretnr, et cogiiares cnm 
 quanta gloria dncerctur ad ilium viruni super 
 eqnum. (licendo Gio J Gio! cepit pede peroutere 
 terrani quasi pvingeret equuni calcarihus."— iiin- 
 logus Creaturarum (14«0). 
 
 Geese {g hard). (See GandeRjGoose.) 
 Creese sace the eapitol. The tradition is 
 that when the Gauls invaded Rome a 
 detachment in single file clambered up 
 the hill of the eapitol so silently that the 
 foremost man reached the top without 
 being challenged ; but while he was 
 striding over the rampart, some sacred 
 geese, disturbed by the noise, begiin to 
 cackle, and awoke the garrison. Marcus 
 Man'lius rushed to the wall tiiid liurled 
 the fellow over the piecij)ice. To com- 
 memorate this event, the Komans carried 
 a golden goose in procession to the eapitol 
 every year (i^c. ;i90). 
 
 '• Those consecr;ited gccse in lU'di'rs, 
 That to the eapitol were warders. 
 And l.eiu',' tlien uiion patrol. 
 With noise alone heat off the CJanl.'" 
 
 lititUr: Uudibnix, \\.X 
 
 All his means are geese, or Ail his sirniis 
 are tiirued to geese. All his expectations 
 end in nothing ; all his boasting ends in 
 smoke. Like a person who ftincies he 
 sees it swan on a river, but finds it to be 
 only a goose. 
 
 Tlic phrase is sometimes reversed 
 thus, "All liis geese are swans." 
 Coinmonly applied to people who think 
 too much of tlie beauty and talent of 
 their children. 
 
 Eierg man thiiihs his oicn geese swans. 
 Everyone is i)rejudicetl by self-love. 
 Every crow tlunks its own nestling the 
 fairest. Every child is beautiful in its 
 mother's eyes. [See iEsop's fable, The 
 Eagle and the Owl.) 
 
 Latin : Suiim cuique pulchruin. Sua 
 cuique sponsa, mild meas. Sua cuique 
 res est carissinia. Asinus asiuo, sus suo 
 pulcher. 
 
 German : Eine glite mutter halt ihre 
 kinder vor die sclionsten. 
 
 Frtneh : A chaque oiseau ron iiid 
 para it beau. 
 
 Italian : A ogni grolla iiaion' belli i 
 suoi grollatini. Ad ogni uccello, suo 
 uido c bello. 
 
 2'Iie more geese the more lovers. The 
 French newspaper called L" Europe, De- 
 cember, 1865, rcjieats this proverb, and 
 says: — " It is customary in England for 
 every gentleman admitted into society 
 to send a fat goose at Christmas to the 
 lady of the house he is in the habit of 
 visiting. Beautiful women receive a 
 whole magazine .... and are tlius 
 enabled to tell the numlier of their lovers 
 by the number of fat geese sent to 
 them." {The Tf/wAt, December'27tli,186o.) 
 Truly tlie Frenchman knows much 
 more about us than we ever " dreamt of 
 in our philosophy." 
 
 Geese. {See Goose, Caq Mag.)
 
 Gehenna 
 
 507 
 
 Gender-words 
 
 Gehen'na (Heln-ew, r/ liard). The 
 place of eternal toniieut. Strictly speak- 
 ing, it means simply the Valley of Hiii- 
 nom {Ge-HiiDwiii), where sacrifices to 
 Moloch were offered and where refuse 
 of all sorts was subsequently cast, for 
 the consumption of which fires were kept 
 constantly burning. 
 
 " And made bis prove 
 The iilcasant vallev iif Hiiinoiii, Toplii't Ilieiu-e 
 And hlaik lifhcnna called, t.lie tjiie (if lieli." 
 Hilton : I'ai-Lidise Lo^t, Ijodk i. 403-5. 
 
 Gel'ert {(j hard). The name of 
 Llewellyn's dog. One day a wolf entered 
 the room where the infant son of the 
 Welsh ])rince was asleep ; Gelert flew at 
 it and killed it ; but when Llewellyn re- 
 turned home and saw his dog's mouth 
 bloody, he hastily concluded that it had 
 killed his child, and thrust it through 
 with his sword. The howl of the dog 
 awoke the child, and the prince saw too 
 late liis fatal rashness. Beth-gelert is 
 the name of the jilace where the dog was 
 buried. {!^ee Beth-Geleet, Dog.) 
 
 •.• A Biiiiilar story is tolil of Czar Piras of 
 Rusda. In tlie ftcsd; I!iiiimnuiiiin tlio story is 
 told of FoUiciilus, a kniKlit, hiu instead of a 
 serpent the doK is said .to liave killed a wcilf. 
 The storv occnrs apain in the Siren Wise Masters. 
 In till' Sanskrit version tlie dow is called an icli- 
 ni-nnion and the wolf a " hlack snake." In the 
 IlitapaxIcMi, (iv. .3) Ihe doy is an otter ; in the 
 Araliic a weasel ; in the Mongolian a pole-cat; iu 
 the Persian a cat, etc. 
 
 Gellatley {Dark^. The idiot ser- 
 vant of the Baron of Bradwardiue. 
 (Sir 1J^. Scot I : If^tirrlci/.) Also s^jclt 
 Gellatly. 
 
 Gema'ra Qi hard), which means 
 " complement," is applied to the second 
 part of the Talmud, which consists of 
 annotations, discussions, and amplifica- 
 tions of the Jewish 31i.s/ina. There is 
 the Babylonian Gema'ra and the Jeru- 
 salem Gema'ni. The former, which is 
 the more complete, is by the academies 
 of Babylon ; the latter by those of 
 Palestine. 
 
 "Scrihcs and Pharisees ... set little valne on 
 the stndy of the Law itself, Imt much on that of 
 the coniinentaries of the i-ahhis, now embodied 
 in the Mislum and (!einarii:'—Geiklc: Life of 
 fhiist. Vol. li. eh, xxxvi. 11.04. 
 
 Gcmmagog. Son of the giant Oro- 
 medon, and inventor of the Poulan 
 shoes— i.^. shoes with a spur behind, 
 and turued-up toes fastened to the 
 knees. These shoes were forbidden by 
 Charles V. of France in 1365, but the 
 fashion revived again. {Diic/iat : Ouvrcs 
 lie Rabelais.) 
 
 " According to the same authority, 
 giants were great inventors : Erix in- 
 vented legerdemain ; Gabbara, drinking 
 healths ; Gemmagog, Poulau shoes ; 
 
 Hapmouche, drying and smoking neats' 
 tongues ; etc. etc. 
 
 Gems. {See Jewels.) 
 
 Gendarmes. "Men at arms," the 
 armed police of France. The term was 
 first applied to those wlio marched in 
 the train of knights ; subsequently to 
 the cavalry ; in the time of Louis XIV. 
 to a body of horse charged with the 
 preservation of order ; after the revolu- 
 tion to a military jjolice chosen from old 
 soldiers of good character ; now it is 
 ajiplied to the ordinary police, whose 
 costume is half civil and half military. 
 
 Gender-words : Billy, nanny ; boar, 
 sow ; buck, doe ; bull, cow ; cock, hen ; 
 dog, bitch ; ewe, tup ; groojn = man ; 
 he, she ; Jack, Jenny ; male, female ; 
 man, maid ; man, woman ; master, mis- 
 tress ; Tom ; tup, dam ; and several 
 "Christian names; as in the following 
 examples : — 
 
 Ape : Dog ape, bitch ape. 
 
 Aas: Jack ass and Jenny ; be ass, she ass. 
 
 Hear : He bear, she bear. 
 
 Bird: Male bird, fennile bird; cock bird, hen 
 bird. 
 
 Blackcock (grouse) ; moorcock iuid hen (led 
 grouse). 
 
 Bridegroom, bride. II 
 
 C'«V; Bull calf, cow calf. 
 
 Cut: Tom cat, lady cat, he and she cat. ("iib 
 cat iq.v.). 
 
 t'harwoman. 
 
 Child: Male child, female child; man child, 
 woman child (Child is eiilier male or female, e.\- 
 cejit w hen >ex is refeiii'il to). 
 
 1)1 ril : lie and she devil (if sex is referred to). 
 
 JlonL; II : .Male and female donkey. (Hev Ass.) 
 
 Elephant: Bull and cow elephant; male and 
 female elephant. 
 
 Fox : Uog and bitch fox ; tbeliitch is also called 
 a vixen. 
 
 (Jame cock. 
 
 (Jentleman, gentlewoman or lady. 
 
 Gaal : Billy and Nanny go.at ; he and she goat ; 
 buck goat. 
 
 Hore : Buck and doe bare. 
 
 Heir : Heir male, heir female. 
 
 Kin.sman, kinswoman. 
 
 Lamb : ewe lamb, tup landi. 
 
 Mankind, womankind. 
 
 Merman, nierniaid. 
 
 Milkman, milkmaid or milk-woman. 
 
 Moorcork, moorhen. 
 
 attrr: Dounnil hitch otter. 
 
 J'artridiie : (.'oik and hen partridge. 
 
 Peacock, iieahen. 
 
 Bhcasaiil : I'lirk and hen pheasant. 
 
 I'iri : Bnar and sow pig. 
 
 Itahhit : Buck and doe rabbit. 
 
 liat : A Jack rat. 
 
 Schoolmaster, schoolmistress. 
 
 Seal: Bull and cow. The bull of fur seals 
 under six years of age is called a " Bachelor." 
 
 Servant: Male and female servant; man and 
 maid servant. 
 
 Singer, songstress ; man and woman singer. 
 
 Sir [John], Lady [Mary]. 
 
 Sparrow: t'ock and hen sparrow. 
 
 Swan: A cob or cock swan, pen-swan. 
 
 Turkey cock and hen. 
 
 Wash or washer-woman. 
 
 Whale : Bull or Unicorn, and cow. 
 
 Wren : Jenny ; cock llobin ; Tom tit ; etc. 
 
 Wolf: Dog wolf, bitch or she-wolf. 
 
 V Generally the name of the animal 
 stands last ; in the following instances,
 
 General Funk; 
 
 508 
 
 Geneva Print 
 
 however, it stands before the gender- 
 word : — 
 
 Blackcock ; liriilcproom ; cliarwoiiian ; panie- 
 cock ; f-'ciitli-nian and ^'(•nllcw<.ii]aii ; licir male 
 and female ; kliisiriaii and w.nian ; n aiikiml, 
 womankind ; nillUnian, milkmaid or -wunian ; 
 moorcock and hen : peacock and li<'n ; servant 
 man and maid ; tnrkey rock and liCU ; wash or 
 washer-woman. 
 
 * ■.' Tn a few instances the pender-word does 
 not exriress gender, as jackdaw, jack iiikc, r(je- 
 buck, etc. 
 
 (2) The following require uo gender- 
 word : — 
 
 Bachelor, siiinster or maid. 
 
 Beau, belle. 
 
 Boar, sow (liiij). 
 
 Boy, girl Onith child). 
 
 Brother, sister. 
 
 Buck, doe (stag or deer). 
 
 Bull, cow (Idack cattle). 
 
 Cock, lien (barndoor fowls). 
 
 Cockerel, imllel. 
 
 Colt, tlllv Owth foal). 
 
 Dad, father. 
 
 Dog, hitch Uioth dog, if sex is not referred to). 
 
 Drake, duck (,bvth duck, if se.\ is not referred 
 to). 
 
 Drone, bee. 
 
 Earl, countess. 
 
 Father, mother (both parents). 
 
 Friar, nun. 
 
 (-iatter, gammer. 
 
 Gander, goose (both geese, if sex is not referred 
 to). 
 
 Gentleman, lady (.both gentlefolk). 
 
 Hart, roe {hottt deer;. 
 
 Husband, wife. 
 
 Kiiiper, shedder or baggit (siient salmon). 
 
 King, queen ibuth monarch or sovereign). 
 
 Lad, lass. 
 
 MaUard, wild-duck (jbuth wild fowl). 
 
 Man, maid. 
 
 Man, woman. 
 
 Master, mistress. 
 
 Milter, spawner (fish). 
 
 Monk, nun. 
 
 Nephew, niece. 
 
 Papa, niamm.'i. 
 
 Ram, ewe (sheep). 
 
 Ruff, reeve. 
 
 Sir, ma'am. 
 
 Sir [John], Lady [Mary]. 
 
 Sire, dam. 
 
 Shiven, slut. 
 
 Son, daughter. 
 
 Stag, hind a>iM stag, if sex is not referred to). 
 
 Stallion, mare {buth horse). 
 
 Steer, heifer. 
 
 Tup, dam (sheep). 
 
 I'ncle, aunr. 
 
 Widow, widower. 
 
 Wizard, witch. 
 
 ■.• The females of other animals are made by 
 adding a suftix to the male (-ess, -ina, -ine,-ix, -a, 
 -ee, etc.) ; as, lion, lioness ; czar, czarina ; hero, 
 heroine ; testator, tt statrix, etc. 
 
 General Funk. A panic. 
 
 "The inlliience of 'General Funk' was. at one 
 time, far too prevalent among both the colonists 
 and the younger soldier.s." — jl/o)it<i(/»e; Cum- 
 pai'gning in South Africa, chap. vi. (1880). 
 
 General Issue is jaleadiug "Not 
 guilty "to a criminal charge; "Never 
 indebted " to a cliarge of debt; the issue 
 fornied by a general denial of the 
 plaintiff's charge. 
 
 Generalis'simo ((/ soft). Called 
 TaffUN among the aiicient Thessalians, 
 Brennus among the ancient Gaids, Pen- 
 dragon among the ancient Welsh or Celts. 
 
 Gen'erous {[/ soft). Generous as 
 llatini. An Arabian expression. Hatini 
 Wiis a Bedouin chief famous for his war- 
 like deeds and boundless genero.sitj'. 
 His sou was contemijorary witli Ma- 
 lioniet. 
 
 Gcneu'ra (// soft). Daugliter of the 
 King (if JScofland. Liircii'nio ctirried 
 her (itf captive, and contined lier in Ids 
 fatlicr's castle. Slip loved Ariodantes, 
 who being told tlint she was ftil.se, con- 
 demned her to die for incontinence, 
 unless .'■he fminil it cliiiiiipion to defend 
 her. Ariodantes liimself became her 
 chiimpion, and, having vindicated her 
 innucince, inttrried her. This is a satire 
 on Arthur, wliose wife intrigued with 
 Sir Launcelot. {(Jrlaiu/u I'/irioso, hk. 1.) 
 
 Gene'va (tf soft), contracted into 
 (I'in. Originally made from malt and 
 juniper-berries. (Fixiich, f/eintrre, a juni- 
 per berry.) 
 
 Gene'va Bible. The English ver- 
 siciii in use jirior tu the present one; so 
 called bcctiiise it was originally printed 
 at Oeneva (in 1-5G0). 
 
 Geneva Bible (7V/r). Tlie wine cup 
 or beer pot. The pun is on Geneva, 
 wliidi is the synonym of gin. (Latin, 
 bibo, I drink [gin].) 
 
 " Kh bien, (iudyil, lui dit le vieux major, quelle 
 ■liable <le discipline ? Vous avez deja In la Bible 
 de (JiMieve ce matin."— ifji J'luilains ((^crw.^c, 
 part iii. chap. H. 
 
 Gene'va Bull. Stephen Marshall, 
 a jireaclier who roared like a bull of 
 Uaslian. Called Geneva bectiiise he was 
 a disciple of Jolni Calvin. 
 
 Geneva Courage. Pot vabiur ; the 
 braggadocio wliich is the effect of having 
 drunk too much gin. Gin is a corrupt 
 contraction of Geneva, or, rather, of 
 f/enu'vre. The juniper-berry at one time 
 used to flavour the extract of malt in 
 the m.anufacture of gin. It may be used 
 still in some quaUties of gin. (6'<r Dutch 
 
 COTTEAGK.) 
 
 Gene'va Doctrines. Calvinism. 
 Calvin, in 1.541, was invited to take up 
 his residence in Geneva as the public 
 teacher of theology. From this i)eriod 
 Geneva was for man}' years the centre 
 of education for the Protestant youths 
 of Europe. 
 
 Geneva Print {BeaduKj). Drinking 
 gin or whisky. 
 
 "' Why, .Tohn,' said the veteran, 'what a disci- 
 pline is this you have been keeping? You have 
 been reading Geneva print this morning already.' 
 'I have been readinu- the Ijitany.' said John, 
 shaking his head, with a look of ilrunken grav- 
 ity."— «r W. Scott: Ohi Murtdlily, chap. xi.
 
 Genevieve 
 
 509 
 
 Gentle 
 
 Genevieve (St.). The sainted patron- 
 ess of the city of Paris. {i22-ol'2.) 
 
 Genii King. King Solomon is sup- 
 posed to preside over the whole race of 
 fi'eiiii. {1/ ILcrbcIot : Xvtcs to the Kontii, 
 c. -1.) 
 
 Gen'itive Case means the genus 
 rase, the case which shows the genus ; 
 thus, a bird of the air, of the sea, of the 
 iiiiirshen, etc. The part in italics shows 
 to what genus the bird belongs. Our 'a- 
 is the adjective sign, the same as the 
 Sanskrit sijd, as udaka (water), udaka- 
 !i>ja (of water, or aquatic). So in 
 Greek, demos (peoj)le), deiiio-sios (be- 
 longing to the peoijle) , or genitive deiiio- 
 sio, softened into i/enio-''io. In Chaucer, 
 etc., the genitive is written in full, as 
 Thr Clerl-es Tale, The Cokes Tale, The 
 Kii'ujlites Tale, The Mi I teres Tale, etc. 
 
 Ge'nius, Genii (Roman mythology) 
 were attendant spirits. Everyone had 
 two of these tutelaries from his cradle 
 to his grave. But the Eoman genii 
 differ in many respects from the Eastern. 
 The Persian and Indian genii had a cor- 
 ]ioroal fonn, which they could change at 
 jileasure. They were not guardian or 
 attendant spirits, but fallen angels, 
 dwelling in Ginuistau, under the do- 
 minion of Eblis. They were naturally 
 hostile to man, though compelled 
 sometimes to serve them as slaves. The 
 Eoman genii were tutelary spirits, very 
 similar to the guardian angels spoken of 
 in Scripture (St. Matt, xviii. 10). (The 
 word is the old Latin ffeiio, to bo born, 
 from the notion that birth and life were 
 due to these dii ge)iita'les.) 
 
 Genius (birth-wit) is innate talent; 
 hence propensity, nature, inner man. 
 '■'■ Cras yenium iiiero enra'lm'''' (to-mor- 
 row you shall indulge your inner man 
 with wine), Horaee, 3 Odes, xvii. 14. ' '/«- 
 datfcre yenio'''' (to give loose to one's 
 propensity), Tersius, v. 151. *' I>e- 
 frauda're (jcnium saitin^' (to stint cue's 
 "appetite, to deny one's self), Terence: 
 Fhoriiiio, i. 1. (See above.) 
 
 Genius. Tom Moore says that Common 
 Sense went out one moonlight night with 
 Genius on his rambles ; Common Sense 
 went ou many wise things saying, but 
 Genius went gazing at the stars, and fell 
 into a river. This is told of Thales by 
 Plato, and Chaucer has introduced it 
 into his Millors 'Tale. 
 
 " So fei'de another clerk with astronomye : 
 He walked in the feeWes for to pr.ve 
 Upon the sterres, what ther shuld liefall, 
 Till he was in a niarle pit i-fail." 
 
 CiiHtcrhury Tales, .S,!,")'. 
 
 il/y evil genius (my ill-luck). The 
 Romans maintained that two genii at- 
 tended every man from birth to death — 
 one good and the other evil. Good luck 
 was brought about by the agency of 
 '• his good genius," and ill luck by that 
 of his '' evil genius." 
 
 Genius Loci (Latin). The tutelary 
 deity of a place. 
 
 " 1 u the midst of this wreck of ancient books and 
 utensils, with a uv.w iiy ciiiinl to [that of] Mariiis 
 aiiiontr the niiiis nf (':(iih:i^i\ snt a lar^'e lilack 
 cal, whicii.lo :i mi |m i>i n imus eye, niii-'ht haye 
 prescnieil the iidiiu.- i,<,i. \\\r tulclar driiioii of 
 the ai':utliieiit."-.S()- II. Nl"» ; Tin- AntiqiKinj, 
 chap. iii. 
 
 Gen'oa, from the Latin, r/enu^ (the 
 knee) ; so called fr.'.rn the bend made 
 there by the Adriatic. The whole of 
 Italy is called a man's leg, and this is 
 his knee. 
 
 Genove'fa (g soft). Wife of Count 
 Palatine Siegfried, of Brabant, in the 
 time of Charles Mart el. Being su.spected 
 of infidelity, she was driven into the 
 forest of Ardennes, where she gave birth 
 to a son, who was nourished by a white 
 doe. In time, Siegfried discovered his 
 error, and restored his wife and child to 
 their proper home. 
 
 Genre Painter (genre 1 syl.). A 
 painter of domestic, rural, or village 
 scenes, such as A Village Wedding, 'J'hc 
 Young Iteerait, Blind Plan's Bajf, The 
 Village Folitician, etc. It is a French 
 term, and means, " Man : his customs, 
 habits, and ways of life." Wilkie, Ostade, 
 Gei-ardDow, etc., belonged to this class. 
 In the drama, Victor Hugo introduced 
 the genre system in lieu of the stilted, 
 unnatural style of Louis XIV. 's era. 
 
 '• We call thoFo ' penre' canvases, whereon are 
 laiiited idvls of the tireside, the roadside, and the 
 farm ; pictiins of rial life."— £.C..S((;((i)(aji: Poets 
 of Jiinrica, cliap. iv. p. iw. 
 
 Gens Braccata. Trousered peoiile. 
 The Romans wore no trousers like the 
 Gauls, Scythians, and Persians. The 
 Gauls wore "braccse" and were called 
 Gens hraecdta. 
 
 Gens Togata. The nation which 
 wore the toga. The Greeks wore the 
 ' ' pallium ' ' and were called Gens pal- 
 liata. 
 
 Gentle (g soft) means having the 
 manners of genteel persons— i.^*. iJersons 
 of family, called gens in Latin. 
 
 " We must be gentle, now we are gentlemen.'"— 
 Shakespeare : Winter's Tale, v. 1!. 
 
 The gentle craft. The gentleman's 
 trade, so called from the romance of 
 Prince Crispin, who is said to have made 
 shoes. It is rather remarkable that the
 
 Gentle Shepherd 
 
 510 
 
 George 
 
 "gentle craft" should be closely cou- 
 nected with our s)iob (q.r.). 
 "Here Hans Saclis, the cobbler poet, laureate 
 of tlie frentle craft, 
 Wisest of the Twelve Wise Masters, lu hut-'e 
 folios saiiK and lauf-'hed." 
 
 Lunyfellow : ^'ln■cmba■g. stanza 10. 
 
 T/ic gentle craft. Augliug. The puu 
 is ou (jcntle, a maggot or grub used for 
 buitiug the hook in angling. 
 
 Gentle Shepherd (7'Ar). (ieorgc 
 (ircnvillp, the statesman, a niekntime 
 derived from a line applied to him by 
 Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham. Greu- 
 ville, in the course of one of his speeches, 
 addressed the House interrogatively, 
 "Tell me where i" tell me where r" 
 Pitt hummed a line of a Foug then 
 very popular, "Gentle shepherd, tell me 
 where:"' and the House burst into 
 laughter (1712-17'20). 
 
 Gentleman {() soft). A translation 
 of the French ijciilillioiiuiie, one who 
 belongs to the f/ciis or stock. According 
 to the Roman law, gens-men, or gentle- 
 men, were those only who had a family 
 name, were bom of free iitireuts, had no 
 slave in their ancestral line, and had 
 never been degraded to a lower rank. 
 
 AijcntkiuHn ofihcfoio- oiita. A vulgar 
 upstart, with-oiit manners, wiih-oul wit, 
 vith-out money, and with-oHt credit. 
 
 Gentlemen of Paper and Wax. 
 
 The first of a new line ennobled with 
 knighthood or other dignity, to whom 
 are given titles and coat-annour. They 
 are made ' ' gentlemen ' ' by j)atent and a 
 seal. 
 
 Geoffrey Crayon. The hypothetical 
 author of tlie tSkctch Book. Washing- 
 ton Irving, of New York (1783-1859). 
 
 Geology (g soft). The father of 
 gcologij. William Smith (1769- 18-10). 
 
 Ge'omancy (r/ soft). Divining by the 
 earth. So tenned because these diviners 
 in the sixteenth centmy drew on the 
 earth their magic circles, figures, and 
 lines. (Greek, ge, the earth ; mantei'a, 
 prophecy.) 
 
 Geometry {g soft) means laud-mea- 
 suring. The first geometrician was a 
 ploughman pacing out his field. (Greek, 
 ge, the earth ; metrcn, a measm-e.) 
 
 George II. was nicknamed "Prince 
 
 Titi." (.SVtTiTi.) 
 
 George III. was nicknamed ' ' Farmer 
 George," or " The Farmer King." [See 
 Faemee.) 
 
 George IV. was nicknamed "The 
 First Gentleman of Europe," " Fum 
 the Fourth," "Prince Florizel," "The 
 
 Adonis of fifty," and " The Fat Adonis 
 of fift}'." {Hre eavit of these iiirlnidiius.) 
 
 George, Mark, John (^V.). Nos- 
 trtidamus wrote in I'lGG : 
 
 " (^iiaiicl (ieorges Dicii orucifeia, 
 (,)iie Marc le ressiicilcra, 
 Kt (|iu" St. Jean le portera, 
 La 111! ilii nionile arriveia. ' 
 
 In 1S8G St. Georges day fell on Good 
 Friday, St. Mark's day on Easter Sun- 
 day, and St. John's day ou Corpus 
 Christi— but "the end of the world" did 
 not then arrive. 
 
 George {St.) (</ soft). Gibbon, in his 
 ])<eliiii- iiitd Fall, ii. '.i'l'.i, tisserts that tlio 
 patron saint of Eugliind was (ieorge 
 of Ca])iiadoci;i, the turbulent Arian 
 Bishop of Alexiindria, torn to jiieccs by 
 the poiiuhice in 3(30, and revered ;is a 
 saint by the o]ipoucnts of Athanasins ; 
 but this a*;scrtion has been fully dis- 
 proved by the Jesuit Pai)ebroch, Milnei-, 
 and others. 
 
 Thiit St. George is a veritable charac- 
 ter is beyond all reasontible doubt, and 
 there seems no reason to deny that ho 
 Wixs bom in Armor'ica, and was be- 
 headed in Diocletian's persecution by 
 order of Datitinus, April 23rd, 303. St. 
 Jerome (331-420) mentions him in one 
 of his martyrologies ; in the ne.xt cen- 
 tury there were many churches to his 
 honour. St. (Jregory (510-GOl) lias in 
 his Saci'amentary a "Preface for St. 
 George's Daj' ; " and the Venerable Bcdo 
 (672-735), in his martyrology, says, " At 
 last St. George truly tinishcd his martyr- 
 dom by decapitation, although the gests 
 of his passion are numbered among the 
 apocryphal writings." 
 
 In regard to his connection with Eng- 
 land, Ashmole, in his llixtorg of the 
 Order of the Garter, says that King 
 Arthur, in the sixth centurj', placed the 
 picture of St. George on his banners ; 
 and Selden tells us he was patron saint 
 of England in the Saxon times. It is 
 quite certain that the Council of Oxford 
 in 1222 commanded his festival to be ob- 
 served in England as a holidaj- of lesser 
 rank ; and on the establishment of the 
 Order of the Garter by Edward III. St. 
 George was adopted as the patron saint. 
 The dragon slain by St. George is 
 simply a common allegory to express the 
 triumph of the Christian hero over evil, 
 which John " the Divine "' beheld under 
 the image of a dragon. Similarly, St. 
 Michael, St. Margaret, St. Silvester, and 
 St. Martha are all depicted as slaying 
 dragons ; the Saviour and the Virgin as 
 treading them under their feet ; and 
 St. John the Evangelist as charming a
 
 George , 
 
 511 
 
 George Sand 
 
 winged dragon from a poisoned chalice 
 given him to drink. Even John Bimyau 
 avails himself of the same figure, when 
 he makes Christian encounter Apollj'on 
 and prevail against him. 
 
 Gcorye (W.), the Red Cross Knight (in 
 Spenser's Facr'w Qiiccnc, bk. i.), repre- 
 sents "Piety." He starts with Una 
 (Truth) in his advcntui-cs, and is driven 
 into Wandering Wood, where he en- 
 counters Error, and pa.«ses the night 
 with Una in Hypocrisy's cell. Being 
 visited by a false vision, the knight 
 abandons Una, and goes with Dues^sa 
 (False-faith) to the palace of Pride. 
 He leaves this palace claudestinelj', but 
 being overtaken by Duessa is persuaded 
 to drhik of an enchanted fountain, when 
 he becomes j)aralysed, and is taken cap- 
 tive by Orgoglio. Una informs Arthur 
 of the sad event, and the prince goes to 
 the rescue. He slays Orgoglio, and the 
 Eed Cross Knight, being set free, is 
 taken by Una to the house of Holiness 
 to be healed. On leaving Holiness, both 
 Una and the knight journey towards 
 Eden. As they draw near, the dragon 
 porter flies at the knight, and tSt. George 
 has to do battle with it for three whole 
 days before ho succeeds in slaying it. 
 The dragon being slain, the two enter 
 Eden, and the Red Cross Knight is 
 united to Una in marriage. 
 
 iSV. Geoi-fje and the Brar/on. According 
 to the ballad given in Percy's Itdiqucs, 
 St. George was the son of Lord Albert 
 of Coventry. His mother died in gi\'ing 
 him birth, and the new-bom babe was 
 stolen away by the weird lady of the 
 woods, who brought him up to deeds of 
 anns. His body had three marks ; a 
 dragon on the breast, a garter round one 
 of the legs, and a blood-red cross on the 
 arm. When he grew to manhood he 
 first fought against the Saracens, and 
 then went to Syle'ne, a city of Libya, 
 where was a stagnant lake infestel by 
 a huge dragon, whose poisonous breath 
 ''had many a city slain," and whose 
 hide " no spear nor sword could pierce."' 
 Every day a virgin was sacrificed to it, 
 and at length it came to the lot of Sabra, 
 the king's daughter, to become its victim. 
 She was tied to the stake and left to be 
 devoured, when St. George came up, and 
 vowed to take her cause in hand. On 
 came the dragon, and St. George, thrust- 
 ing his lauce into its mouth, killed it on 
 the spot. The king of Morocco and the 
 king of Egypt, unwilling that Sabra 
 should marry a Christian, sent St. George 
 to Persia, and directed the "sophy" to 
 kill him. He was accordingly thrust 
 
 into a dungeon, but making good his 
 escape, carried off Sabra to England, 
 where she became his wife, and they 
 lived happily at Coventry together till 
 their death. 
 
 V A very similar tale is told of 
 Hesione, daughter of Laomcdou. ("See 
 Hesione, Sea Monstees.) 
 
 St. Gctiryr he iras for F.ii<il(!)>(l, St. 
 Deu'tn U'as for Frdiiee. This refers to 
 the war-cries of the two luitions — that 
 of England was " St. George ! " that of 
 France, " Montjoye St. Denis! " 
 " Our iuu'ient word uf ((lunigc. fair ' St. (icur.'rc,' 
 
 lusiiiic r.g with llie spleen uf llei'y drau'diis." 
 SlHilccspeare: Ilichard III., v. 3. 
 
 TFhen St. George <jocs on horsebaek <S?. 
 Yrcs (joes on foot. In times of war 
 lawyers have nothing to do. St. George 
 is the patron of soldiers, and St. Ives of 
 lawyers. 
 
 <SY. George' ti Arm. The Hellespont is 
 so called by the Catholic Church in 
 honour of St. George, the patron saint of 
 England. {Fapebroeh : Aetesdes Saints.) 
 
 St. George'''! Channel. An arm of the 
 Atlantic, separating Ireland from Great 
 Britain ; so called in honour of St. 
 George, referred to above. 
 
 St. George'' s Cross. Red on awhite field. 
 
 St. George's Day (April 2;ird). A day 
 of deception and oppression. It was 
 the day when new leases and contracts 
 used to be made. 
 
 George a' Green. As good as George 
 rt' Green. Resolute-minded; one who 
 will do his duty come what ma}'. George 
 a' Green was the famous piuder or 
 jjound-keeper of Wakefield, who re- 
 sisted Robin Hood, Will Scarlett, and 
 Little John single-handed when they 
 attempted to commit a trespass in Wake- 
 field. " 
 
 '• Wei-e ye bold as Georpe-a-Green, 
 I bliall make l)cild to tuni a^'ain." 
 
 Hainuel Dvtlcr : Hudibras. 
 
 George Eliot. The literary name 
 of Marian Evans [Lewes], authoress of 
 
 Adam Bcde, Mill vn the F/os-'^, Felix- 
 Holt, etc. 
 
 George Geith. Theliero cf a novel 
 by Mrs. Traiford [Riddell]. He is one 
 who will work as long as he has breath 
 to draw, and would die in harness. He 
 woukl fight against all opposing cir- 
 cumstances wliile he had a drop of blood 
 left in his veins, and may T^e called the 
 model of untiring industry and indomit- 
 able moral courage. 
 
 George Sand. The pen-name of 
 Mme. Dudevant, born at Paris 1804. 
 Her maiden name was Dupin.
 
 George Street 
 
 512 
 
 Gerst-Monat 
 
 George Street (Strand, London) 
 coninieuccs the precinct of an ancient 
 mansion which originally belonged to 
 the bishops of Norwich. After passing 
 successively into the possession of 
 Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, the 
 archbishops of York, and the Crown, 
 it came to George Villiers, Duke of 
 Buckingham. Tlie second Duke of 
 Buckiugliam pulled down the mansion 
 and built the streets and alley called re- 
 spectively " George" (street), "Villiers" 
 (street), " Duke " (street), " Of " (alley), 
 and "Buckingham" (street). 
 
 Geraint' (.'/ hard). Tributary Prince 
 of Devon, and one of the knights of tlie 
 Round Table. Overhearing part of 
 E'nid's words, he fancied she was faith- 
 less to him, and treated her for a time 
 very harshly ; but Enid nursed him so 
 carefully when he was wounded that 
 he saw his error, " nor did he doubt her 
 more, but rested in her fealty, till he 
 crowned a happy life with a fair death." 
 (Tcniii/son : Idi/lh of tlic King ; Enid.) 
 
 Geraldine (3 syl., p soft). The Fair 
 Gerald I )u\ Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald 
 is so called in the Earl of Surrey's poems. 
 
 Gera'nium {jj soft) . The Turks say 
 this was a common mallow changed by 
 the touch of Mahomet's garment. 
 
 The word is from the Greek geritiios 
 (a crane) ; and the i>lant is called 
 " Crane's Bill," from the resemblance 
 of the fruit to the bill of a crane. 
 
 Gerda (17 Tiard). Wife of Frey, and 
 daughter of the frost giant Gj'mer. She 
 is so beautiful that the brightness of her 
 naked arms illuminates both air and sea. 
 Frey (the genial spring) married Gerda 
 (the frozen earth), and Gerda became 
 the mother of children. {Scandinavian 
 in yth(ilo(i ij .) 
 
 German or Germaine (r/ soft) . Per- 
 taining to, related to, as cimnins-german 
 (first cousins), gcrman to the subject 
 (bearing on or jiertinent to the subject). 
 This word has no connection with 
 German (the nation), but comes from 
 the Latin gcrma'niis (of the same germ 
 or stock). First cousins have a grand- 
 father or grandmother in common. 
 
 "Those that are germaine to liim, though re- 
 moved ^f^y times, shall all come under the 
 hansmaii."— Sfta/icspcnre; IV'mtei-'s Tale,\\'.Z. 
 
 German. Jehan de Maire says, 
 "Germany is so called from Csesar's 
 sister Germana, wife of Salvius Brabon." 
 
 Geoffrey of Monmouth says that 
 Ebrancus, a mythological descendant 
 
 of Brute, King of Britain, had twenty 
 sons and thirty daughters. All the 
 sous, except the eldest, settled in Ger- 
 many, wliich was therefore, called the 
 land of the Germans or brothers. {See 
 above.) 
 
 '' lEbranU.'] An happy man in his fiisl days he was, 
 And liapiiy father of fair iinitreny ; 
 F(ir all so many weeks as the year has 
 So many i-hildren lie did muliiidy ! 
 Of which were twenty sons, wliicli did anjily 
 Their minds to praise ami riiivalroiis desire. 
 
 These L-ermans did snlidue all (jermany, 
 Of whom it hight. . . ." 
 
 Spenser : Faerie Qiierne, ii. in. 
 •.■ rrohalilv the nameis(ier-man. meanini; " war- 
 man." The'ciermans call themselves /iinlsrh-i'ii, 
 which is the same as Tent-on, witli tlie initial 
 letter Hal tened into I), ami " Tent " means a nml- 
 titiide. Theltoinans called the people (Jcrmana 
 at least -Jio years before the Christ Ian era, for III 
 l.")J7 a talilcY (dated n.c. L'L-J i was discoxered, re- 
 cordiiiL' tlie victories of tlie Consul Marcelhis 
 over Veridomar, "general of the Gauis and 
 tiermans." 
 
 Father of German literature. Gott- 
 hold Ei)hr;iim Les.snig. (1729-1781.) 
 
 German Comb. The four fingers 
 and thumb. " Sc pggiunt du }>ggnc 
 d'Almaing" {Rctbclais), Ho combed his 
 hair with his fingers. Oudin, in his J)ic- 
 iionnaire, explains pggne d'A/eman by 
 "fo« dedos ct la dita.'^ The Gennans 
 were the last to ado))t periwigs, and 
 while the French were never seen with- 
 out a comb in one hand, the Gennans 
 adjusted their hair by running their 
 fingers through it. 
 
 " He apiBirelled himself according to the season, 
 and afterwards combed his head with an AInian 
 i:inn\\" — Rabelais : Garyiuitaa and J'antayruel, 
 hook i. I'l. 
 
 German Silver is not silver at all, 
 but white copper, or copper, zinc, and 
 nickel mixed together. It was first made 
 in Europe at Hildberg-hausen, in Ger- 
 many, but had been used by the Chinese 
 time out of mind. 
 
 Gerryman'der {g hard). So to 
 divide a county or nation into repre- 
 sentative districts as to give one special 
 political party undue advantage over 
 others. The word is derived from 
 Elbridge Gerry, who adopted the scheme 
 in Massachusetts when he was governor. 
 Gilbert Stuart, the artist, looking at the 
 map of the new distribution, with a 
 little invention converted it into a sala- 
 mander. " No, no ! " said Bussell, when 
 shown it, "not a Sala-mander, Stuart; 
 call it a Gerry-mander." 
 
 V To gerrymander is so to hocus- 
 pocus figures, etc., as to affect the 
 balance. 
 
 Gerst-Monat. Barley-mouth. The 
 Anglo-Saxon name for September; so 
 allied because it w^as the time of barley- 
 beer making.
 
 Gertrude 
 
 51? 
 
 Gewgaw 
 
 Ger'trude (2 syl., g hard). Hamlet's 
 mother, wlio married Claudius, the 
 murdcier of her late husband. She in- 
 advertently poisoned herself by drink- 
 ing a ijotiou prepared for her son. 
 {iShaliCspcare : JIainlet.) 
 
 Gertrude {St.), in Christian art, is 
 sometimes represented as surrounded 
 with rats and mice ; and sometimes as 
 sijinning, the rats and mice running 
 about her distaff. 
 
 Gertrude of Wyo'ming. The name 
 of one of Caraiibell's poems. 
 
 Gervais {St.). The French St. 
 Svvithin, June 19th. {See Swithin.) 
 
 In 17'Jo, BuUiot, a Frenrli banker, made a bet 
 tliat,asit rained an St. eiervais's l)av, it would 
 rain more or less for forty d:iys afterwards. Tlie 
 bet was taken bv so many iieople tliat the entire 
 liroperty nf Hulliot was liledL-i-d. The liet was 
 lost, and tUc banker was utterly ruined. 
 
 Ger'yon {(/ hard). A human monster 
 with three bodies and three heads, 
 whose oxen ate human flesh, and were 
 guarded by a two-headed dog. Hercules 
 slew both Geryon and the dog. This 
 fable means simply that Geryon reigned 
 over three kingdoms, and was defended 
 by an ally, who was at the head of two 
 tribes. 
 
 Geryon'eo. A giant with three 
 bodies ; that is, Philip II. of Sj^ain, 
 master of three kingdoms. {Spenser : 
 Faerie Q/ieeiie,v. 11.) 
 
 Ges'mas {{/ hard). {See Desmas.) 
 
 Gess'ler (y hard). The Austrian 
 governor of the three Forest Cantons 
 of Switzerland. A man of most brutal 
 nature and t}a'annical disposition. He 
 attemjitcd to carry off the daughter of 
 Leuthold, a Swiss herdsman ; but Lcut- 
 hold slew the ruffian sent to seize her, 
 and fled. This act of injustice roused 
 the people to rebellion, and Ges.sler, 
 having put to death Melch'tal, the patri- 
 arch of the Forest Cantons, insulted the 
 people by commanding them to bow 
 down to his cap, hoisted on a high pole. 
 Tell refusing so to do, was arrested with 
 his son, and Gessler, in the refinement 
 of cruelty, imposed on him the task of 
 shooting with his bow and arrow au 
 apple from the head of his own son. 
 Tell succeeded in this dangerous skill- 
 trial, but in his agitation dropped an 
 aiTow from his robe. The governor 
 insolently demanded what the second 
 arrow was for, and Tell fearlessly re- 
 plied, " To shoot you with, had I failed 
 in the task imposed upon me." Gessler 
 now ordered him to be carried in chains 
 across the lake, and cast into Kusuacht 
 
 33 
 
 castle, a prey " to the reptiles that lodged 
 there." He was, however, rescued by 
 the peasantry, and, having shot Gessler, 
 freed his country from the Austrian 
 yoke. 
 
 Gesta Romano'rum {(/ soft), com- 
 piled by Pierre Berclieur, prior of the 
 Benedictine convent of St. Eloi, Paris, 
 published by the Roxburgh Society. 
 Edited by Sir F. Madden, and afterwards 
 by S. J. Herrtage. 
 
 Geste or Gest {(/ soft). A story, 
 romance, achievement. From the Latin 
 l/esta (exploits). 
 
 "The scene of tbeser/f.sto being laid in ordinary 
 life." — t'tjclDpcpdia Brihiii, (Itoiiiancc). 
 
 Get {To). To gain; to procure; to 
 obtain. 
 
 " Get wealth and place, if possible with prace ; 
 If not, b.v any means get wealth and place." 
 
 Horace {Satires) says : — " Rem facis, 
 recte si possis ; si non, rem facis." 
 
 Get, Got. (Anglo-Saxon, git-an.) 
 
 " I f-'ot on liorseliack within ten minutes after I 
 got your letter. When I got toC'anterliury 1 got 
 a chaise for town ; but I got wet through, and 
 have got such a cold that I shall not uet rid of in 
 a hurry. I got to the Treasury about noon, but 
 llrst of all got shaved and dressed. I soon got 
 into the secret of getting a memorial before the 
 Board, but I could not get an answer then ; how- 
 ever, I got intelligence from a messenger that I 
 should get one next morning. As soon as I got 
 back to my inn, I got my supper, and iIh'U got to 
 bed. When I got up next morning, 1 got my 
 breakfast, and, having got dressed, 1 got out in 
 time to get an answer to my memorial. As soon 
 as 1 got it, 1 got into a chaise, and got hack lo 
 Canterhnry by three, and got home for tea. I 
 have got nothing for you, and so adieu."— i)r. 
 Withiis. 
 
 Get by Heart ( To) . To commit to 
 memory. In Frenclt, '■^ Apprendre une 
 
 chose par ca'ur." 
 
 Get One's Back Up {To). To show 
 irrittition, as cats set up their backs 
 when angry. 
 
 Get-up {A). A style of dress, as 
 " His get-up was excellent," meaning his 
 style of dress exactly suited the part he 
 professed to enact. 
 
 Get up {To). 
 
 To rise from one's bed. 
 
 To learn, as "I must get up mv 
 Euclid." 
 
 To organise and arrange, as ' ' We 
 will get up a bazaar." 
 
 Gethsemane. The Ore// is ii/ae/ihifa, 
 supposed in legendary story to be spotted 
 by the blood of Christ. 
 
 Gew'gaw (,</ hard). A showy trifle. 
 
 (Saxon, ^t'-^(//, a trifle; Fvench,jo!ijon, 
 a toy.)
 
 Ghebers 
 
 514 
 
 Giants 
 
 fibebers or Gue'bres. The original 
 natives of Iran (Persia), who adliered to 
 tlie religion of Zoroaster, and (after the 
 conquest of their country by the Ai-abs) 
 became waifs and outlaws. The term is 
 now applied tofire-worshippersgenerally. 
 Hanway says that the ancient Cihebers 
 wore a cushee or belt, which tliey never 
 laid aside. 
 
 Ghibelline {g hard), or rather Waib- 
 lingen. The war-cry of Conrad's fol- 
 lowers in the battle of Weinsberg (11 40) . 
 Conrad, Duke of Suabia, was opposed 
 to Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, 
 whose slogan was Guelph or Welfe, his 
 family name. 
 
 Ghost. To gh-c up the ghost. To 
 die. The idea is that life is independent 
 of the body, and is due to the habitation 
 of tlie ghost or spirit in the material 
 body. At death the ghost or sjjirit 
 leaves tliis tabernacle of clay, and eitlier 
 returns to God or abides in the region of 
 spirits till the general resurrection. 
 Thus in Ecc. xii. 7 it is said, " Then 
 shall the dust return to the earth as it 
 was : and the spirit shall return unto 
 God who gave it." 
 
 " Man dietli.and wastetli away : ye.a,man Kivctb 
 up the fe'liust, ami wljere is lie ?"— Job xiv. in. 
 
 T/ie gliost of a chance. The least like- 
 lihood. " He has not the ghost of a 
 chance of being elected," not tlie shadow 
 of a probability. 
 
 Ghoul. {See Faiey.") 
 
 Giaffir {Dj/if-Jir). Dacha of Aby'dos, 
 and father of Zule'ika. He tells her he 
 intends to marry her to Kara Osmau 
 Ogloo, governor of Magne'sia ; but Zu- 
 leLka has betrothed herself to her cousin 
 Selim. The lovers flee, Giaftir shoots 
 SeUm, Zuleika dies of grief, and the 
 pacha lives on, a heart-broken old man, 
 ever calling to the winds, ' ' Where is 
 ray daughter ? " and echo answers, 
 "Where?" {Byron: Bride of Abydos.) 
 
 Giall. The infernal river of Scandi- 
 navian mythology. 
 
 Giallar Bridge. Tlie bridge of 
 death, over whicli all must pass to get to 
 Helheim. {Sca)iduHtrian mytholmjy.') 
 
 Giallar Horn {Thi). Hoimdall's 
 horn, wliich went out into all worlds 
 whenever he chose to blow it. {Scandi- 
 navian mythology.) 
 
 Gian ben Gian {g soft). King of 
 the G inns or Genii, and founder of the 
 Pyramids. He was overthrown by Aza'- 
 zil or Lucifer. [Arab superstitions.) 
 
 Giant of Literature {The). Dr. 
 Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1 783) . Also 
 called " tlie great moralist." 
 
 Giants {y soft). 
 
 (1) (Jf Greek iiiythotogy, sons of Tar'- 
 taros and Ge. "VVheu they attempted to 
 storm heaven, they were hurled to earth 
 by the aid of Hercules, and buried under 
 Mount Etna. 
 
 (2) Of Scandinavian niytholngy, were 
 evil genii, dwelling in Jotiinheim {giant- 
 land), who had the power of reducing or 
 extending their stature at will. 
 
 (3) Of nursery mytholoyy, are canni- 
 bals of vast stature and immense mus- 
 cular power, but as stupid as they are 
 violent and treacherous. The best 
 known are Blunderborc ((?.('.), Cormo- 
 ran' [q.v.), Galliantus ('y.c), Gombo 
 {i[.v.), Megadore and Bcllygan. 
 
 (1) In the romance of Ciargan'tita and 
 TantayrHcl' , by Eabelais, giants mean 
 princes. 
 
 (o) Giants of Mythology. 
 
 Ac'AMAS. Olio <if t lie C'ydoiis. (Greek fiihle.) 
 
 Adama.s'tor (ij.r.). 
 
 ,Ei;,i/os, till' liiinarcd-bandcd. One of tlie Tilaiis. 
 (aiech/nhlc.) 
 
 Af.'RHis, (»ne (if llip Titans. He was killed by 
 []n- I'ainr. (Oreek fable.) 
 
 Ai.cvoNK.rs [Al'-.H-o-UKce], of Ai.'nox. Jnpitcr 
 sent Hen-uir-^ against biiii fur si ea bus some of 
 tbo Sun's oxen, lint HcrciilG* i-oiild not do 
 an\ tbinc, for iiiinicdialcly I lie L-iaiit touebed 
 tbe earth be rcrpi\ed liesb stri'iiKtb. (.See 
 hiloic, ANT.Kos.) At len^'tb Pallas carried 
 liiiii licyiinil tlie moon. His seven daugbtcrs 
 were iiietamoriiliosed into halcyons. QAvgnn- 
 (inlic Exjieditinii, i. 6.) 
 
 Ai.'oKEiAii'. Tbe giant Ori'on is so called by tbe 
 Aral is. 
 
 Ai.ii'AN'KAUoy or At.iniAii'xoN (q.v.). 
 
 Ar.o'Kos. Son of I'oseiibm Caii'i. e. Kacb of bis 
 two sons xvas -j.: enbils iiiL.'li. (dntl: fdhi,:) 
 
 Aji'kiiant. a cruel ^iant shun by (Juyof War- 
 Avick. (.rcini: Jlciigiies.) 
 
 Axoofi.AFFRK Iq.v.). (See below, 21 feet.) 
 
 Ant.k'os (q.r. ; see above, Alcvoseus). (.See 
 III bin; 105 feet.) 
 
 AnfiKs(2syl.). One of tbe Cyclojis. (arcci; fiiblc.) 
 
 As'CAPART (q.V.). 
 
 ATLAS (q.V.). 
 
 BALAS (q.V.). 
 
 I5et.i,e (1 syl.) (q.V.). 
 
 Belt.e'iius (q.V.). 
 
 Bluxderhork (.3 syl.) (q.v.). 
 
 Briar'eos or Bri'areus (3 syl.) (q.v.). 
 
 BROIJDISCtSAG (q.v.). 
 
 Brontes (2 syl.) (q.v.). 
 
 BURI.OXD (q.v.). 
 
 Ca'cos or t'Acus (q.v.). 
 
 Caliu'okaxt (q.v.). 
 
 CAu'ActM.iAii'in). Tbe giant tbat Don Qnixote 
 
 intended sbonld kiieelat tbefeet of Diileia'ea. 
 
 (Cerraiite^ : Don Qiii.mtc.) 
 Carus. In tlie .fcven (7i(Oh;i/i»is. 
 t'liAi. BROTH. Tbe stem of all tbe giant race. 
 
 (Hiibclais : riititiiijrnel). 
 Ohrtstoph'erus. (!iee Christopher, St.) 
 CIA'T'IOS (q.v.). 
 CCEOS. Son of Heaven and Eartb. He married 
 
 I'birhe, and was tlie father of Laloiia. (Greelc 
 
 fable.) 
 ("OLRRAKn. (See Colbeoxue.) 
 
 t'ORI'-LAM'UO (q.v.). 
 CORMORAS (q.v.) 
 
 C'ORMOR.\>"T. A giant disconillted by Sir Brian. 
 (Siieiiser: Faerie Qtceene, \i. 4.)
 
 Giants 
 
 5l£ 
 
 Giants 
 
 COTT.VS (q.V."). 
 
 Vouhiy (tf.r.). 
 
 Cyclops (7Vi(?) (q.v.). 
 
 Despair (q.v.). 
 
 DOSDASCH (.g.v.). 
 
 ESCKL'ADOS Cq.V.). 
 
 EPHlAliTES (4 syl.) Cq.V.'). 
 
 Erix (<?.«.). 
 
 Eu'RYTOS. One of the giants lliat mado war wiHi 
 tlie gods. Bacclms killed liini with liis tli.vr- 
 sus. (Greek fable.) 
 
 Febbeghs, slaiu by Orgando, was 'J8 feet in 
 height. 
 
 Feb'bacute (3 syl.) (g.i). 
 
 Fer'raous (q.v.). 
 
 Kierauras lFe-a-ra-brali'\ (q-v.). 
 
 Fiox (q.i:). 
 
 FIOR'GUVX, the father of Frigga (.Scamlinaviati 
 mythology). 
 
 Fracas.sus (q.r.). 
 
 Gai.'ba'ra. Father of Goliah of Seoondillo 
 (3 syl.), and inventor of thi; custom nf drink- 
 ing healths. (.Viicluit: CEavres dc lliiln'lals. 
 1711.) 
 
 Gai.apas. The giant slain by King Arthur. (,Sir 
 T. Malori/ : lliatovu of I'riiicc Arthur.) 
 
 RALl.lOANTi-s (i/.r.^. 
 
 (iAUAIIAN'n \ (7 i\). 
 GAIIOANITA I'/.r. 1. 
 
 (JAIIIAN. In tlio .Seven Cliampions. 
 
 (iKMMACOO iq.V.). 
 
 GmtvoN'Ko (q.v.). 
 
 (iiitAi.iiA ((/.;'.). 
 
 (ioiiMF.it oi.r.1. 
 
 GoE.Mo 1' nr (jdi.nrAdoT (■(/.('.). 
 
 Go(i'.\[amm;. Kill,' ,,f the giant race of Alliion ; 
 
 slam l.,\ I'iiii'iirus. 
 GR.\xiiousiEu. The giant king of I'tniiii, f.ither 
 
 of Gargantua. (.llcibclais : Ganjantiu,) 
 Grastorto (q.v.). 
 Gam (q.v.). 
 Gru.muo (q.v.). 
 Guv OP WARWirK (q.v.). 
 Gyces (2 syl.). One of the Titans. Ho had fifty 
 
 heads and a hundred hands. (Greelc fable.) 
 IlAP'MOULHE (2 syl.) (q.v.). 
 HiPPor.'YTos. One of the giants who made war 
 
 with the gods. He was killed by Hermes. 
 
 (Greek/able.) 
 ^IRASVEI.G (q.v.). 
 HRIJITnURS.VR (q.v.). 
 HURTAt.l (q.v.). 
 INDRACIT'TII.VS (q.v.). 
 iRUS (q.v.). 
 JOTUN. The giant of Jiitunhcim or (iiaiil-land. 
 
 (Scandinavian imjthulo:/!/. ) 
 JUT.IASCE. A giant of Arthurian romance. 
 JUSXER (q.v.). 
 
 KlFRi. The giant of atheism and infidelity. 
 KOTTOS. One of the Titans. lie had a luuulred 
 
 hands. (.S'cc BiiiAitKos.) (Greek fitUlr.) 
 MAT,A>fnitU'N() (q.v.). 
 MAROUTTR (q.v.). 
 .Mai-oys (./.(■,) 
 JiAia. (q.v.). 
 JloXT-U(li;XOX (q.v.). 
 
 Mo[u;ante C.i syl.) (q.i:). 
 
 MufilLt.o. A giant famous for his niacc with six 
 
 balls. 
 Off'erus (q.v.), 
 OdIAS (q.v.). 
 Orooglio (q.i:). 
 
 .Ori'ox (q.v.). {Sec hcloiv, ffih feet.) 
 Otos (q.v.). 
 Pallas (q.v.). 
 Paxtag'ruel (q.v.. 
 Fhldox. In the Seven Champions. 
 Polybo'tes (4 syl.) (q.v.). 
 
 POL'YPHF.'JIUS or POLYPIIE.ME (3 Syl.) (q.V.). 
 
 PoRPHYR'ros (q.v.). 
 
 Pyrac'mox. One of the Cyclops. (Greek fahlc.) 
 
 Raphsarus. In the Seven Champions. 
 
 RiTHO (q.v.). 
 
 RiTHO. The giant who commanded King Arthur 
 to send hira his beard to comi'lete tlie lining 
 of a robe. In the Arthurian romance. 
 
 Skrymir. (See Draught op Thor, p. 3t<(i.) 
 
 Slay'-oood (q.v.). 
 
 Stbr'opes (3 syl.). One of the Cyclops. (Greek 
 fable.) 
 
 Tabtaeo. The Cyclops of Basque mythology. 
 
 TEUTOBOcn'us (King). (See beloiv, 3D feet.) 
 Thaox. One of the giants who made war with 
 
 the gods. He was killed by the Parcaj. (Greek 
 
 fable.) 
 Titaxs (Tlie) (q.v.). 
 TiT'Yos (q.v.). 
 
 TllKYP.AGLE (</.?'.). 
 
 Typhceus (q.v.). 
 Typuox (q.v.). 
 WlDP.XOSTRLLS (q.V.). 
 
 YoiiAK. The giant guardian of the caves of 
 Babylon. (Souihey : Thalaba, book y.) 
 
 Of these giants the following are note- 
 worthy : 
 
 ID feet in height : A skeleton discovered at Lu- 
 cerne in 157". Dr. Plater is our authority for 
 this measurement. 
 
 21 feet in height : AngoulafCre of the Broken 
 Teeth, was 12 cubits iu height. (A cubit was 
 •Jl inches.) 
 
 30 feet in lieis-'ht ; Teutobochns, wliose remains 
 were ilisniviTcil near ilie Hbimein ir,i:!. Thev 
 occupir.l a I, mil, :;ii frri biug. The lioues of 
 aniillic'V '_'i-::iiiMr skflrldM Were exposcnl liy 
 the aclinii ..1 ilir KIh.mc in M."ii;. It tlds wash, 
 human skrlri..ii, i li.- liright of the living man 
 must liav,' lii-i'ii :;ii fn-i. 
 
 SOJ feet ill lii-ii-'lii : (iriuiL, according to Pliny, was 
 46 cul)ils in height. 
 
 in,-) feet iu height : Anta^os is said by riufarch to 
 have been tiO cubits in height. He further- 
 more adds that the grave of the giant was 
 opened l,y Scvlmnios. 
 
 300 feet in lici'-'hi : The "monster Polypheme." 
 It is said that his skeleton was discovered at 
 Trapa'ni, in Sicily, in the fourteenth century. 
 It this skeleton was that of a man, he must 
 have been 3ti0 feet in height. 
 
 (6) Giants of Real Life. 
 
 AX.\K (of Bible history), father of theAnakim. 
 The Hebrew spies said they were mere grass- 
 hoppers in einnparison with these giants 
 (.loshua XV. 14 ; Judges i. •Jo ; and Numbers 
 xiii. 33.) 
 
 AXAK. (.SVe Brice.) 
 
 AXDBOXi'eiis II. was 10 feel in height. He was 
 grandson of Alexius I'lHiiiieuus. Nicetas 
 asserts that he had seen him. 
 
 Bamfouo (Edward) was 7 feet 4 inches. He died 
 in 17GS, and was buried iu St. Dunstan's 
 churchyard. 
 
 BATES (Captai)i) was 7 feet IU inches. He was a 
 native of Kentucky, and was exhibited in 
 London in 1.h71. His wife (Anna Swann) was 
 the same height. 
 
 Blacker (Henry) was 7 feet 4 inches, and most 
 symmetrical. He was born at Cuekfield, in 
 Sussex, iu 1724, and was called "The British 
 Giant." 
 
 Bit AOLEY (^yiltiam) was 7 feet n inches iu lieiu'ht. 
 He was horn in I7s7, and died Is-jii. His lurlh 
 is duly registered iu ihe i,ai-isli <-liurcli of 
 Market Weightim, in Vorkshire, and his right 
 hand is preserved in the mnseuui of the 
 College of Surgeons. 
 
 Brice ( M. J.) exhibited under the name of Anak, 
 was 7 feet ,s inches in height at the age of 20. 
 He was born in 1S40 at l!aiiioiicliami>, in the 
 Vosges, and visited Eni-'laiid lsii2-.">. His arms 
 had a stretch uf ii.'i.J inches, and wire there- 
 fcn-e SI incites too loni; for syinuieiry. 
 
 Brusted (Vun) was s feet in height. This Nor- 
 way giant was exhiiiitcd iu Lcndon in Issii. 
 
 Busby' (Jo/ill) was 7 feet !i iiirhrs in lii'it,-lit, and 
 his brother was about the same. They were 
 natives of Dartield, in Yorkshire. 
 
 CiiAXG, the Chinese i,-iant. w'as 8 feet 2 inches in 
 heicrht. The entire name of this Chinese giant 
 was Chang-Woii-Goo. He was exhibited in 
 Loudon in l.S65-18fii), and again iu 18S0. He was 
 a native of Fychon. 
 
 CiiARLEMAGXE was nearly 8 feet in height, and 
 was so strong he could siiueeze togeth,.n' three 
 horseshoes with bis hands. 
 
 Cotter (Pdiru-A) was s feet 7.J inches in height. 
 This Irish giant died at Clifton, Bristol, in 
 1803. A cast of his hand is preserved ia the 
 museum of the College of Surgeons.
 
 G-iants 
 
 518 
 
 Giant's Leap 
 
 DAyiBL, tlie rorter of Oliver Cromwell, was a 
 
 man of gigantic stature. 
 ELKA'ZEii was 7 ruliits (nearly 14 feet). Vitellins 
 
 sent tbis i,'iant to Rome ; and be is nientioneil 
 
 tiy Josepbus. N.B.— Tbe boigbt of Goliath was 
 
 ti culjits and a span. 
 Nothing can be a greater proof that the cubit 
 was not il inches, for no recorded height of any 
 giant known has reached ]o feet. The nearest 
 approach to it was (4aliara. tlie Ava)a:iii giiuit 
 (9 feet '.» inches) nientioneil hy Pliny, and .Midille- 
 tou of Lancashire (y feet :i inches) nieniioneil liy 
 Dr. Plott. Prolialily a ciitiil was al.oiit is in, -lies. 
 Eleizerue (Joacliiiii^. AV.-is 7 feet 10 inclios in 
 
 height. He was a Spani.ard, and e.xbihited in 
 
 tbe Oosmorama.Kegeui Sire 't, Loudon. 
 EvAXs (ir/»(((«i) was .M feri at death. He was a 
 
 porti'r of t'barles 1., .-ind died in 1G.T2. 
 FiiAXK («/;/). Was 7 feet .M inches in height. He 
 
 was an Irislinian whose name was Francis 
 
 Sberid;in,aiid(lir.l in ls7o. 
 Fkexz <_Liiais) was 7 tV''i 1 inches in height. He 
 
 was called " the Freiicb giant." 
 FuxxuM (court giant of Eugene II.) was 11 feet 
 
 C inches. 
 Gabab.v, tbe Arabian giant, was 9 feet !) inches. 
 
 This Arabian giant fs mentioned liy Pliny, who 
 
 says he was the tallest man seen in the days of 
 
 Claudius. 
 GiLLY was H feet. This Swedish giant was ex- 
 hibited iu the early part of the nineteenth 
 
 century. 
 GoLi'ATH was 6 cubits and a span (II feet 
 
 w inches, if the cubit = 21 inches, and the 
 
 span - ;i inches). 
 ,SVc iKJie to tlie giant Ei.eazeu. If llie cubit 
 was I.s inches, then (ioliatb was the same height 
 as the Arabian giant Gabara. 
 GoBDOX (,AUce) was 7 feet in height. She was a 
 
 native of Essex, and died in 1737, at the age 
 
 of 19. 
 
 HaIiE Uiohot) was 7 fe^'t r, inches in height. He 
 was lioi'ii at Soniertdn, in Norfolk, and was 
 called" the Ndvf.dk giant " (Isi'ii-isil-). 
 
 Har'ouada (//inu/r/) was nearly is feet in height 
 ("5 ells of Norway '), and was called "tbe 
 Norway giant." Siiorro Sturleson says he was 
 "about 8 feet in height." 
 
 Holmes iUcnjamin) was 7 feet 6 inches in height. 
 He was a Nori bumlierland man, and was made 
 sword-lii'arer of the Corporation of Worces- 
 ter. He liicdin ls'.i2. 
 
 JOTix FiiKiiKunK, Diikeof Brunswick, was 8 feet 
 I'l inches iu beiu'br. 
 
 KiXToi.oiiif.s iiv.K was 1.1 feet inches in 
 height (!), 5 fen thriuigh the chest to tbe 
 spine (:), and hi feet across tbe shoulders (0. 
 This, of course, is qtiite incredible. 
 
 La Pierre was 7 feet l inch in height. He was 
 born at Stratganl, in Denmark. 
 
 Louis was 7 feet 1 inrhr< ni lieiglit. Called "the 
 French giant, ' His l.li haml is preserved in 
 the musi'Uiii of llie CoHc^-c of Surgeons. 
 
 LoiisilKix was « feet .i inches in bei rht. This 
 Hussian giant was drum-major of tbe Im- 
 peiial (iuards. 
 
 JUlioXAi.i) (J(iriics') was 7 feet C inches in heiglit. 
 He was born iu Cork, Ireland, and died iu 
 17tiO. 
 
 McDonald (fiamiien was 6 feet 10 inches in 
 height. Tbis Scotchman was usuallv called 
 "Big Sam." He was tbe Prince of Wales's 
 footman, and dieil in bsoi'. 
 
 Marratii (Ccnii'liiis) was 7 feet in inches in 
 heiglit at the age of Hi. He was an orphan 
 reared by Bishop Berkeley, and died at the age 
 of twenty (1740—170(1). 
 
 MAXiMi'xus.was s feet 6 inches in height. The 
 Koniaii emperor, fr.iiii I'.Ti to i:w. 
 
 Mellox (Kilminnl) was 7 feet tj inches in heieht 
 at tlie age of nineteen. He was born at Port 
 Leicester, in Ireland (1740-1760). 
 
 MlDDLETOX (Jo7m) was 9 feet 3 inches in height. 
 "His hand was 17 inches long and 8J broad." 
 He was born at Hale, Lancashire, in the reign 
 of .lames I. (,sVc »fimr, Gauara.) {Dr. Plott: 
 Noturtil Histiini of Stiiihirtlsliirc, p. 29.-i.) 
 
 Miller (Mdj-imiiniii Cliristnpiirr) was n feet in 
 heiglit. His liaiiil measiiied 12 inches, and his 
 forefinger was 9 inclies long. This Saxon giant 
 died ia London at the age of sixty (1074-1734). 
 
 MfRPnY was 8 feet lO inches in height. This 
 Irish giant was contemiiorarv with (J'Brien 
 (,«,r bcliiir). and died at Mars -iiles. 
 
 O'BiiiKXj or ritARi.Ks HvitxK, was ,s feet 4 inches 
 ill lieii.-lit, Tbe skelel<iM of this Irish giant is 
 l.reserveil in the College of Surureolis. He 
 (lied in Cockspiir Sireet, I,ondon, and was 
 coiiteiiiporary with .Miiriiliy (I7(;i-17.h3). 
 
 O'Brikx (/'ii/)vc/,) wasMf<'et 7 iiielics in height. 
 He died AULTiist 3, l,so4, a.-ed lliiri \ -nine, 
 
 (Id, Km,!.' of liaslian. Accordim,' to Iradilion, he 
 lived :!,(;o(i years, and walked beside llie Ark 
 diiriir.' tlie Klood. due of bis bones formed a 
 brid'-'e over a i n ei-. His bed (Deuteronomy 
 iii. II I w.-is :) enliiis liy 4 cubits. 
 If the (111. 11 was really 21 inches, this would 
 
 make the bed 1,-4 feet by loi. The great bed of 
 
 Ware, Herts, is 12 feet Ijy 12. (,SVc obvir, E i.kazaii 
 
 —note,) 
 
 OsKX (.JTeinriclO was 7 feet fi inches in height at 
 tbe age of 27. and weighed aliove :i7 sKine. He 
 was born in Norway, (.^cc itlmir. IIaudraoa.) 
 
 PuUfs was ■',". cubits 111 height " (7 feet inches). 
 He was an Indian king who fought against 
 Alexander the Great near the river Hydas] es. 
 ((Jiiintiis Curtius: Ue rebua gcstis Alejcimdii 
 Miunii.) 
 Wliaiever tbe .Tewisli cubit was, the Roman 
 
 fubil was not more llian 18 Inches. 
 
 RiKcFtAitr (./. U.) was s feet 4 inches In height. 
 He was a native of Friedl.erg. and both his 
 fallier and iiioiher were of yigaiitic stature. 
 
 Sai.mk.ucix (Muiliit) was 7 I'eel 4 inches in height. 
 He was enlled "The .Me.\iean Glanl." 
 
 Sam ( /.■(<;). (Nee Mac DoXAi.b.) 
 
 SlIlCKlllA N. {S,,nlu>i;, KRAXK.) 
 
 SuANN (..\iiii,' Ihiinii) was 7 feet llj inches in 
 
 heii-'lii. Sllew.■l^a native of Nova Scotia. 
 Tdi.i.KK t.fdiiiis) WHS s feet at the age of 24. He 
 died 111 February, l.sp,p. 
 
 .loseplins speaks ot a Jew In f(;et 2 inches. 
 
 Beeaiiiis asserts that he had seen a man nearly 
 111 feel higb.aiiil a woman liilly 10 feet. 
 
 (Jasper liaubiu spenksof a Swiss 8 feet in height. 
 
 Del Itio lelis us be liiinsidf saw a Pledmonteso 
 in 1.".72 more than n fc-c-i in height. 
 
 C. F. S. Warren, .M..\. (In Notes cnitl Queries, 
 Au.irust 14tli, l,s7."il, tells us that his father knew a 
 lady 9 feet in height, and adds " her head touched 
 the' ceiling of a good-sized room." 
 
 Vaiiderbrook says he saw at Congo a black man 
 9 feel high. 
 
 Ill llic> museum of Trinity College, Dublin, is a 
 human skeleton s feet Inches In height. 
 
 Tiiomas Hall, of Willingham, was3feet 9iuches 
 at tlieai.'e of 3. 
 
 A Lriaiit was exhibitedat Rouen in Iheearly part 
 of the eiLThteeuth century 17 feet lo Inches (!) ia 
 heiu'bt. 
 
 Goiapus, the surgeon, tells ns of a Swedish 
 gianless, who, at the age of 9, was over lo feet In 
 height. 
 
 Turner, the naturalist, tells us he saw in Brazil 
 a u'iant 12 feet in lieiglu. 
 
 M. Thevet published, in 1.57.5, an account of a 
 South .\uierlcan giant, the skeleton of which he 
 measured. It was 11 feet 5 incht^s. 
 
 Giant's Causeway, in Iielaud. A 
 
 basaltic mole, .said to be the commence- 
 ment of a road to lie constructed by the 
 giants across the channel, reaching from 
 Ireland to Scotland. 
 
 Giants' Dance (T/ii). Stonehenge, 
 which Geoffrey of Monmouth says was 
 removed from Killaraus, a mountain in 
 Ireland, by the magical skill of Merlin. 
 
 "If von [Aurelius] are desirous to Imnour the 
 hurvlug-Place of these men [who routed llengist] 
 wltii an everlasting iiioiiuineiit, sc^iul for the 
 Giants' Dance, wbicli is iu Killaraus, a iiiountain 
 In Ireland."— fif'#iTi/ of Monmouth : British llis- 
 torii, book viii, chap,"lO. 
 
 Giant's Leap {The). Lam-Goemagog. 
 The legend is that Corineus (3 syl.), in
 
 Giants' War 
 
 517 
 
 Gift-horse 
 
 his encouuter with Goemagog, or Gog- 
 magog, sluug him ou his shoulders, car- 
 ried him to the top of a neighbouring 
 cliff, and heaved him into the sea. Ever 
 since then the cHff has been called Lam- 
 Goemagog. {'Thomas Borcniait : Gitjan- 
 tick Historij ; 1741.) 
 
 Giants' War with Jove {The). 
 The War of the Giants and the War of 
 the Titans should be kept distinct. The 
 latter was after Jove or Zeus was god 
 of heaven and earth, the former was 
 before that time. Kronos, a Titan, had 
 been exalted by his brothers to the su- 
 premac3% but Zeus made war ou Kronos 
 with the view of dethroning him. After 
 ten years' contest he .succeeded, and 
 hurled the Titans into hell. The other 
 war was a revolt by the giants against 
 Zeus, which was readily put down by 
 the heljj of the other gods and the aid 
 of Hercules. 
 
 Giaour {joic'-cr). An unbeliever, one 
 who disbelieves the Mahometan faith. 
 A corruption of the Arabic Kiafir. It 
 has now become so common that it 
 scarcely implies insult, but has about 
 the force of the word '' Gentile," mean- 
 ing " not a Jew." Byron has a poetical 
 tale so called, but he has not given the 
 giaour a name. 
 
 "Tlio cit.v won for Allali from tlic Giiinur, 
 Tbo Cii.uiur fioni Otbuians race afjaiu may 
 Wiest."' 
 htjrun : ChiliJe Uarukl, fauto ii. stanza 77. 
 
 Gib (^ soft). TIte cut of ]iis gib. {See 
 Jib.) 
 
 To hang cne^s gib. To be angry, to 
 ■ pout. The lower Hp of a horse is called 
 its gib, and so is the beak of a male 
 salmon. 
 
 Gib Cat. A tom-cat. The male 
 cat used to be called Gilbert. Narcs 
 says that Tibert or T3-balt is the French 
 form of Gilbert, and hence Chaucer in 
 his Itonnniec of the Hose, renders " Thi- 
 bert le Cas" by " Gibbe, our Cat" (v. 
 6204). Generally used for a castrated 
 cat. {See Tybalt.) 
 
 ."I am as melanclinly as a pili cat cir a lugged 
 bear."— .S/crAtspedie: 1 Henry IV., i. L'. 
 
 Gib'berish {g hard). Geber, the 
 Arabian, was by far the greatest alche- 
 mist of the eleventh century, and wrote 
 several treatises on " the art of making 
 gold " in the usual mystical jargon, be- 
 cause the ecclesiastics would have put to 
 death any one who had openly written 
 ou the subject. Friar Bacon, in 1282, 
 fiU'oislies a specimen of this gibberish. 
 
 He is giving the prescription for making 
 gunijowder, and says — 
 
 " Sed tamen salis-peti» 
 
 LURU MONK CAP L'EBB 
 
 Et suli)huris." 
 
 The second line is merely an anagram of 
 t'arbcnum piilrerc (pulverised charcoal). 
 V " Gibberish," compare jV(i/>(r, and 
 gabble. 
 
 Gibbet {g soft). A foot-pad, who 
 "piqued himself on being the best-be- 
 havtd man ou the road." {George I'ar- 
 c^ahar : lieanx' Stratagem.)' 
 
 To gibbet tlic bread (Lincolnshire). 
 When bread turns out ropy and is sup- 
 posed to be bewitched, the good dame 
 runs a slick through it and hangs it in 
 the cupboard. It is gibbeted tn terrorem 
 to other batches. 
 
 Gib'elins or GliiVeUines {g hard). 
 {See GuELPHS.) 
 
 Gib'ecnite (4 syl., g hard) . A slave's 
 slave, a workman's labourer, a farmer's 
 imderstrapper, or Jack-of -all- work. 
 The Gibeouites were made "hewers of 
 wood and drawers of water" to the 
 Israelites. (Josh. ix. 27.) 
 
 " And Giles must trudge, whcievcr gives com- 
 iiiand, 
 A Gilieuulte, tbat serves tlieui all by turn." 
 
 BuMimfieJd : Fidiiiei's Buy. 
 
 Giblets {The I)ukc of). A very fat 
 man. In Yorkshire a fat man is still 
 nicknamed " giblets." 
 
 Gibraltar {g soft). A contraction of 
 Gibel at I'ari (Gib' al Tar), "mountain 
 of Tari." This Tari ben Zeyad was an 
 Arabian general who, under the orders 
 of Mousa, landed at Calpe in 710, and 
 utterly defeated Roderick, the Gothic 
 King of Spain. Cape Tari'fa is named 
 from the same general. 
 
 Gibraltar of Greeec. A precipitous 
 rock 700 feet above the sea, in Nauplia 
 (Greece). 
 
 Gibraltar of the Neiv TTorlil. Cape 
 Diamond, iu the province of Quebec. 
 
 Gif Gaff. Give and take ; good tuni 
 for good turn. 
 
 " I bave pledged my word for your safety, and 
 you must give me yours to he private iu tbe 
 matter— gift gaff, you know."- Sir W.lscott: Red- 
 yainitlct, cbap. .\ii. 
 
 Gift-horse. BoiH look a gift-horse in 
 the mouth. When a present is made, do 
 not inquire too minutely into its in- 
 trinsic value. 
 
 Latin: "Noli equi denies inspicere 
 donati." " Si quis det mannos ne 
 quaere iu dentibus aunos" (Monkttih). 
 
 Italian : " A cavallao daio uon guar- 
 dar in bocca."
 
 Gig 
 
 )18 
 
 Giles Overreach. 
 
 French : "A cheval domie il ne faut 
 pas regarder aux dents." 
 
 SpfDiiKh ; " A cavall da to no le mirem 
 el dieiite." 
 
 Gig {g hard). A \vhi2)piiig to2>, made 
 like a V. 
 
 "Thou (lisinitest like an infant, (in, wliiji tliy 
 t-'i,i-'."— ,v;/((/if,<;<(((Ci' ; Lovc'a Lidivur'a Lo^t, v. 1. 
 
 Gig-lamps. Spectacles. Gig-lamps 
 arc the "spectacles" of a gig. (AVt- 
 Veedant Geeen.) 
 
 Gig - manity. Eespectability. A 
 word invented by Carlyle. A witness 
 in the trial of John Thurtell said, "I 
 always thought him [Thurtell] a re- 
 spectable man." And being asked by 
 the judge what he meant, reijlied, "He 
 [ThmtellJ kept a gig." 
 
 " A iirincess of Ibc hUiod, yet whose father hail 
 sold his inexpi-essililes . . . in a word, (ji.u'Uianiiy 
 (l\sgiggC(i." — Cur!!ile: Tlic Uiumoiul J\'eckluce, 
 cbaii. V. 
 
 Giggle (ff hard). Hare ^on found a 
 (jl'jylvii neat I A question asked in 
 isorfolk when anyone laughs immoder- 
 ately and senseles.sly. The meaning is, 
 "Have you found a nest of romping 
 girls that you laugh so r " Oii/kt is still 
 in common use in the West of England 
 for a giddy, romping, Tom-boy girl, and 
 in Salop a flighty person is called a 
 "giggle." (.^'ce Gape's-nest.) 
 
 Gil Bias (r/ soft). The hero of Le 
 Sage's novel of the same name. Timid, 
 but audacious ; well-disposed, but easily 
 led astray ; shrewd, but easily gulled by 
 jiractising on his vanity ; good-natured, 
 but without moral principle. The tale, 
 according to one account, is based on 
 Matteo Aleman's Spanish romance, called 
 the Life (f Guzman ; others maintain 
 that the original was the comic romance 
 entitled Belaciones de la Tida del £sci(- 
 dero Marcos de Ohregon. 
 
 _ Gil'bertines (3 syl., (^ hard). A re- 
 ligious order founded in the twelfth 
 century by St. Gilbert of Lincolnshire. 
 
 Gild the Pill {To). To do some- 
 tliing to make a disagreeable task less 
 offensive, as a pill is gilded to make it less 
 offensive to the sight and taste. Child- 
 ren's powders are hidden in jam, and 
 authors are "damned with faiiit praise." 
 
 Gilded Chamber ( Th c) . The House 
 of Lords. 
 
 "Mr. Rowland Winn is now Lord St. Oswald, 
 and after years spent in the Lower House he has 
 retired to the calm of the prilded chainljer."— 
 Aew.ipapcr paragraph, June I'Cth, 1885. 
 
 Gilderoy' (3 syl., cj hard). A famous 
 robber, who robbed 'Cardinal Bichelieu 
 
 and Oliver Cromwell. There was a 
 Sootch robber of the same name in the 
 reign of Queen Mary. Both were noted 
 for their handsome pei'sous, and both 
 were hanged. 
 
 Gilderoy's Kite. lUgher than Gil- 
 diroifn kite. To bo hung higher than 
 Gilderoy's kite is to be imnished more 
 severely than the very worst crimiiuil. 
 The greater the crime, the higher the 
 gallows, was at one time a practical 
 legal axiom. Haman, it will be remem- 
 bered, was hanged on a very highgallows. 
 The gallows of Montofose was 30 feet 
 high. The ballad saj's : — 
 
 " Of (iilderoy sac fraid they were 
 Thi'y hound him nacklc stroMK, 
 Till Edonlmrrow they led him tliair 
 
 And un a Lrallows JKini,' ; 
 Tliey lion:.' him liit,'h ahone the rest, 
 Jlf was so trim a hoy . . . ." 
 He was " honBabono llic rest "of the criminals 
 hecause his cr.mes were deemed to he more hein- 
 ous. .So hit'h ho Luuj,' he looked like "a kite" 
 in the clouds. 
 
 Gildip'pe (in Jerusalem Delivered). 
 Wife of Jiilward, an English baron. She 
 accomininied her husband to the Holy 
 War, and pcrfonned prodigies of valour 
 (book ix.). Botli she and her husband 
 Avere slain by Solyman (book xx.). 
 
 Giles (1 syl., g soft). The "fanner's 
 boy " in ]31oomfield's poem so called. 
 
 Giles {St.). Patron saint of cripples. 
 The tradition is that the king of France, 
 hunting in the desert, accidentally 
 wounded the hcnnit in the knee ; and 
 the hemiit, that he might the better 
 mortify the flesh, refusing to be cured, 
 remained a crii>i)le for life. 
 
 The sj-rabol of this saint is a hind, in 
 allusion to the "heaven-directed hind" 
 which went daily to his cave near the 
 mouth of the Bhone to give him milk. 
 He is sometimes rejiresented as an old 
 man with an arrow in his knee and a 
 hind by his side. 
 
 St. Giles'' s parish. Generally situated 
 in the outskirts of a city, and originally 
 without the walls, cripples and beggars 
 not being permitted to jmss the gates. 
 
 Hoppiuej or Hobbling Giles. A lame 
 person; so called from St. Giles, the 
 tutelar saint of cripples. {See Ceieple- 
 
 GATE.) 
 
 Lame as St. Gilcs\ Cripplegatc. {Sec 
 abore.) 
 
 Giles Overreach {Sir). A Keiv 
 Way to Fag Old JJebts, by Massinger. 
 The " Academy figure " of this charac- 
 ter was Sir Giles Mompesson, a notorious 
 usurer, banished the kingdom for liis 
 misdeeds.
 
 Giles 
 
 il9 
 
 Gingerbread 
 
 Giles of Antwerp {n soft). Giles 
 Coigiiet, the painter (1.530-1600). 
 
 Gill {(J soft) or JUL A geueric name 
 foi- a lass, a sweetheart. (A contraction 
 of Glllinn = Juliana, Julia.) 
 
 " JackandJill weut up tlicliill ...."' 
 
 Xurscry Itlii/mes. 
 "Every Jack lias got his Jill (i.e. Ilka laddie 
 lias his lassie;."— iJHi/is. 
 
 Gill {Ha )■)■>/). A farmer stinick with 
 the curse of ever shiveiing with cold, 
 because he would not allow old Goody 
 Blake to keep a few stray sticks which 
 she had picked up to wann herself by. 
 " Oh ! what's tlie matter ? what's tlie matter ? 
 What is't tliat ail.s vouii?; Harr.v (iill, 
 Tliat evermore his teetli thev chatter, 
 Cliatter, ciiatter, cliattcr, still ■:•.... 
 Xo Weird til any man lie utters, 
 A-lied or nil, to youiii,' or olil ; 
 But ever to liimself he mutters— 
 " Poor Harry Gill is very cold.'' 
 Wordsworth : Goody Blake and Harry Gill. 
 
 Gills (^ hard). Wipe your gills (yonr 
 mouth). The gills of fishes, like the 
 mouth of man, are the organs of respi- 
 ration. 
 
 Gillie (f/ hard). A servant or at- 
 tendant ; the man who leads a pony 
 about when a child is riding. A r/illic- 
 wst-foot is a barefooted Highland lad. 
 
 "Tliese gillie-wet-fiiots, as they were called, 
 were destined to heat the bushes."— .S'ir )r«/(ir 
 Scott: Uaarlcy, chap. xiii. 
 
 Gillies' Hill. In the battle of Ban- 
 nockbuni (1314) King Robert Bruce 
 ordered all the servants, drivers of carts, 
 and camp followers to go behind a height. 
 Wlien the battle seemed to favour the 
 Scotch, these servants, or gillies, desirous 
 of sharing in the plunder, rushed from 
 their concealment with such arms as 
 they could lay hands on ; and the Eng- 
 lish, thinking them to be a new armj-, 
 tied in panic. The height in honour 
 was ever after called The Gillies' Hill. 
 (Sir Walter Scott : Tales of a Grand- 
 father, X.) 
 
 Gillyflower (r/ soft) is not the Jahj- 
 flower, but the French ffiroflcc, from 
 giroflc (a clove), called by Chaucer " gi- 
 lofre." The common stock, the wall- 
 flower, the rocket, the clove i^ink, and 
 several other plants are so called. (Greek 
 karuoph alien ; Latin, canjoplnjllum, the 
 clove gillyflower.) 
 
 " Tlie fairest flowers o' the season 
 Are our carnations and streaked pillyflowers." 
 Shakespeare : Winter's Tale, iv. -J. 
 
 Gilpin {Joh)i), of Cowper's famous 
 ballad, is a caricature of Mr. Beyer, an 
 eminent linendraper at the end of Pater- 
 noster Row, where it joins Cheapside. 
 He died 1791, at the age of 98. It was 
 Lady Austin who told the adventure to 
 
 our domestic poet, to divert him from 
 his melancholy. The marriage adventure 
 of Commodore Trunnion in I'crcyrine 
 Fickle is very similar to the wedding- 
 day adventure of John Gilpin. 
 
 " John Gilpin was a citizen 
 ()t credit and renown ; 
 A rraiiiliand captain eke was he 
 Of famous Loudon town." 
 
 Cowper : John Gilpin. 
 
 " Some insist that the " trainband 
 captain" was one Jonathan Gilpin, 
 who died at Bath in 1770, lea'ving his 
 daughter a legacy of £20,000. 
 
 Gilt {g hard), lo take the gilt off the 
 giiiycrbrtad. To destroy the illusion. 
 The reference is to gingerbread watches, 
 men, and other gilded toys, sokl at fairs. 
 These eatables were common even in the 
 reign of Hcnrj' IV. , but were then made 
 of honey instead of treacle. 
 
 Gilt-edge Investments. A phrase 
 introduced in the last quarter of the 
 19th century (when so many investments 
 proved worthless), for investments in 
 which no risks are incurred, such as 
 debentures, preference shares, first mort- 
 gages, and shares in first-rate companies. 
 
 Giltspur Street (W^cst Smithfield). 
 Tlie route taken by the gilt-spurs, or 
 knights, on their way to Smithfield, 
 Avhere toimiaments were held. 
 
 Gimlet Eye {g hard). A squint- 
 eye ; strictly .speaking, " an eye that 
 wanders obliquel}%" jocosely called a 
 "piercer." (Welsh, ^iviiii, a movement 
 round ; (^icimlaiv, to twist or move in a 
 serpentine direction; Celtic, giiimble.) 
 
 Gimmer (g soft), ovJimincr, a jointed 
 hinge. In Somersetshire, gimmace. We 
 have also gcmcl. A gimmal is a double 
 ring ; hence gimmal-bit. {Shakespeare : 
 lleiirg J'., iv. 2.) 
 
 Gin Sling. A drink made of gin 
 and water, sweetened and flavoured. 
 "Sling"= Collins, the inventor, con- 
 tracted into cUiiis, and jierverted into 
 slings. 
 
 Gin'evra {g soft). The young Italian 
 bi-ide who liid in a trunk with a spring- 
 lock. The lid fell upon her, and she 
 was not discovered till the body had 
 become a skeleton. {liogers : Italy.) 
 
 " Be the cause what it might, from his offer she 
 shrunk. 
 And Ginevra-like, shut herself up in a trunk." J 
 Loirell. 
 
 Gingerbread. The best used to 
 be made at Grantham, and Grantham 
 gingerbread was as much a locution as 
 Everton toffy, or tuffy as we used to
 
 Gingerbread 
 
 520 
 
 Gipsy 
 
 call it in the first half of the nineteenth 
 century. 
 
 To (jet the gilt off the gingcrbredd. To 
 appropriate all the fun or i)rofit and 
 leave the capnt iiiortHxiii behind. In the 
 first half of the nineteenth century 
 gingerbread cakes were i)rofusely deco- 
 rated with gold-leaf or Dutch-leaf, 
 which looked like gold. 
 
 Gingerbread (;/ soft). Brummagem 
 wares, showy but worthless. The allu- 
 sion is to the gilt gingerbread toys sold 
 at fairs. 
 
 Gingerbread Husbands. Ginger- 
 bread cakes fasliioued like men and 
 gilt, commouly sold at fairs up to the 
 middle of the nineteenth centiuy. 
 
 Gingerly. Cautiously, with faltering 
 steps. The Scotch phrase, " gang tliat 
 gate," and the Anglo-Sa.xon gangcudc 
 (going), ajjplied to an army looking out 
 for ambuscades, would furnish tlie ad- 
 verb gamjoidclic ; Swedish, gingla, to 
 go gently. 
 
 "Gingerly, as if treading uimu eggs, Cuddio 
 began to ascend tlie woU-knowu pass." — iicott: 
 Uld Moi-taliti/, chilli, xxv. 
 
 Gingham. So called from Guingamp, 
 a town in Brittanj-, where it was origin- 
 ally manufactured (Littre) . A common 
 playful equivalent of umbrella. 
 
 Ginnunga Gap. The abyss between 
 Niflheim (the region of fog) and Mus- 
 pelheim (the region of heat). It existed 
 before either laud or sea, heaven or 
 earth. {Scandinavian mythology.) 
 
 Gi'ona {g soft). A leader of the Ana- 
 baptists, once a servant of Comte d'O'ber- 
 thal, but discharged from his service for 
 theft. In tlie rebellion headed by the 
 Anabaptists, Giona took the Coinit pri- 
 soner, but John of Leyden set him free 
 again. Giona, with the rest of the con- 
 spirators, betrayed their prophet king as 
 soon as the Emperor arrived with his 
 army. They entered the banquet room 
 to arrest him, but perished in the flaming 
 palace. {Meyerbeer: Lc Trophete, an 
 opera.) 
 
 Giotto. Round as Giotto's 0. An 
 Italian proverb applied to a dull, stupid 
 fellow. Tlie Pope, wishing to obtain 
 some art decorations, sent a messenger 
 to obtain specimens of the chief artists 
 of Italy. The messenger came to Giotto 
 and delivered his message, whereupon 
 the artist simply drew a circle with red 
 paint. The messenger, in amazement, 
 asked Giotto if that were all. Giotto 
 replied, " Send it, and we shall see if 
 his Holiness imdevstands the hint." A 
 
 specimen of genius about equal to a 
 brick as a specimen of an edifice. 
 
 Giovan'ni {Don). A Spanish liber- 
 tine. (-Sh' Juan.) His valet, Leporello, 
 says his master had " in Italy 700 mis- 
 tresses, in Germany 800, in Turkey and 
 France 91, in Spain 1,008." When "the 
 measure of his inicpiity was full," the 
 ghost of the command:int wliom he had 
 slain came with a legion of " foul 
 fiends," and carried him oft' to a "dread- 
 ful gulf that opened to devour him." 
 {Mozart: Don (/ioranni, Libretto by 
 Lorenzo da I'oiite.) 
 
 Gipsy {g soft). Said to be a corrup- 
 tion of F.yyptian, and so called because 
 in 1418 a band of them appeared in 
 Europe, commanded by a leader named 
 Uuk.' Mi. lianl of " Little Egypt." Other 
 appellations are : 
 
 (2) liohv'mians. So called by the 
 French, because the first that ever ar- 
 rived in their country came from Bo- 
 hemia in 1427, and presented themselves 
 before the gates of I'aris. They were 
 not allowed to enter the city, but were 
 lodged at La Chapelle, St. Denis. The 
 French nickname for gip'sies is cagou.v 
 (unsociables). 
 
 (3) Ciga'nos. So called by tlie Portu- 
 guese, a corrui^tion of Zinga'ne. {See 
 
 TCHINGA'NI.) 
 
 (4) Gita'nos. So called by the Span- 
 iards, a corruption of Zinga'ne. {See 
 Tchinoa'ni.) 
 
 (5) Ileidois (heathens). So called by 
 the Dutch, because they are heathens. 
 
 (6) Pharaoh -nepelc (Pharaoh's peojile). 
 So called in Hungary, from the notion 
 that they came from Egyjjt. 
 
 (7) Sii/te. So called by themselves, 
 because they assert that they came from 
 Sind, i.e. Ind (Hindustan). {See Tchin- 
 oa'ni.) 
 
 (8) Tatar. So called by the Danes 
 and Swedes, from the notion that they 
 came from Tartary. 
 
 (9) Tchinria'iii ov Tshiiifiani. So called 
 by the Turks, from a tribe still existing 
 at the mouth of the Indus {Tnhiu-cah, 
 black Indian). 
 
 (10) IJ'ala'chians. So called by the 
 Italians, from the notion that they came 
 from Walachia. 
 
 (11) Zigeu'ner (wanderers). So called 
 by the Germans. 
 
 (12) Zinra'li or Zinga'ni. Said to be 
 so called by the Turks, because in 1517 
 they were led by Zinga'neus to revolt 
 from Sultan Selim ; but more likely a 
 mere variety of Tchingani {q.v.). 
 
 V Their language, called "Romanj-,"
 
 Gipsy 
 
 521 
 
 Girl 
 
 contaius about 5,000 words, the chief of 
 which are con'upt Sanskrit. 
 
 V There is a legend that these people 
 are waifs and strays on the earth, because 
 they refused to shelter the Virgin and 
 her child in their flight to Egypt. {Avot- 
 linii.s, Aniidkn Bo'wrion, chaj). viii.) 
 
 Gipsy {The). Anthony de Sola'rio, 
 the painter and illummator, II Zingaro 
 (1382-1455). 
 
 Giral'da (;/ soft). The giantess; a 
 statue of victory on the top of au old 
 Mooris^h tower in Seville. 
 
 Gird. To gird with the sirord. To 
 raise to a peerage. It was the Saxon 
 method of investitiu-e to an earldom, 
 continued after the Conquest. Thus, 
 Richard I. " gu'ded with the sword" 
 Hugh de Pudsey, the aged Bishop of 
 Diu'ham, making (as he said) " a young 
 earl of au old prelate." 
 
 Gird up the Loins {To). To pre- 
 pare for hard work or a journey. The 
 Jews wore a girdle only when at work 
 or on a jouniej". Even to the present day. 
 Eastern people, who wear loose diesses, 
 gird them about the loins. 
 
 "The loose tunic was an inconvenient walking 
 dress : tberefore, when iiersons went from home, 
 they tied a ginlle round it (i Kings i v. •> ; ix. 1 ; 
 Isaiah v. -ll ■ Jeremiah i. 17 ; John xxi. 7 ; Acts 
 xii. S)."~JaUii: Archeologia Diblica (section li'l). 
 
 Girder (A). A cooper. Hoops are 
 girders. John Girder = John, the coojjer, 
 a character in The Bride of Zaiiuiicniioor, 
 by Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 Girdle (g hard). A good name is 
 better than a golden girdle. A good name 
 is better than money. It used to be 
 customary to carry money in the girdle, 
 and a girdle of gold meant a "purse of 
 gold." The French proverb, '■'■Bonne 
 renommee rant mieiix que ceinture duree" 
 refers rather to the custom of wearing 
 girdles of gold tissue, forbidden, in 1420, 
 to women of bad character. 
 
 Children under the girdle. Not yet 
 bom. 
 
 "All children under the pii;<lle at the time of 
 marriage are held to be legiinniate."— .YoUji and 
 
 Queries. 
 
 If he be angrg, he knoics how to turn 
 his girdle {Much Ado about Nothing, 
 V. 1). If he is angry, let him prepare 
 himself to fight, if he likes. Before 
 wrestlers, in ancient times, engaged in 
 combat, they turned the buckle of their 
 girdle behind them. Thus, Sir Ealph 
 Wiuwood writes to Secretary Cecil : 
 
 "I said. 'What I spake was not to make him 
 angry.' He reidied, ' If I were ani-'rv, I might turn 
 the buckle of my girdle befiind pie.' "—Dec. 17, 
 J6Qi, ° 
 
 He has a large mouth but small girdle. 
 Great expenses but small means. The 
 girdle is the pui'se or purse-pocket. (6t'e 
 above.) 
 
 He has undone her girdle. Taken her 
 for his wedded wife. The Eoman bride 
 wore a chaplet of flowers on her head, 
 and a girdle of sheep's wool about her 
 waist. A part of the marriage ceremony 
 was for the bridegi-oom to loose this 
 girdle. {Vaughan : Golden Grove.) 
 
 The Persian regulation-girdle. In Per- 
 sia a new sort of "Procrustes Bed" is 
 adopted, according to Kemper. One of 
 the officers of the king is styled the 
 "chief holder of the girdle," and his 
 business is to measure the ladies of the 
 harem by a sort of regulation-girdle. 
 If any lady has outgrown the standard, 
 she is reduced, like a jockey, by s^jare 
 diet ; but, if she falls short thereof, she 
 is fatted up, like a Strasburg goose, to 
 regulation size. {See Peoceusies.) 
 
 2h put a girdle round the eartli. To 
 travel or go round it. Puck saj-s, "I'll 
 put a girdle round about the earth in 
 forty minutes." {Jlidsniniiier XighVs 
 Bream, ii. 2.) 
 
 Girdle {FlorimeVs). The prize of a 
 grand tournament in which Sir Satyrane 
 and several otliers took part. It was 
 dropi^ed by Florimel, picked uj) by Sir 
 Satyrane, and employed by him to bind 
 the monster sent iu her pursuit ; but it 
 came again into the hands of the knight, 
 who kept it iu a golden casket. It was 
 a " gorgeous girdle made by Vulcan for 
 Venus, embossed with pearls and precious 
 stones ; " but its chief virtue was 
 " It gave the virtue of chaste love. 
 
 And wifehood true to all that it did bear ; 
 
 But whosoever cimtrary doth prove 
 Might not the same about her middle wear, 
 
 But it would loose, or else asunder tear." 
 
 Hpcnser : Faerie Qttccne, book iii. canto vii. 31. 
 
 V King Arthur's Drinking Honi, and 
 the Court Mantel in Orlando I'urioso, 
 possessed similar vu'tucs. 
 
 Girdle (St. Col/iian's) would meet 
 only round the chaste. 
 
 '■ In Ireland it yet remains to lie iiroved wlietber 
 St. t'olman's girdle has not lost its virtue' [tho 
 reference is to Charles S. VM-ueW^.—Siiicteeittlt 
 Century, Feb., 1891, ii. -(J6. 
 
 Girdle of Venus. {See Cestus.) 
 
 Girl. This word has given rise to a 
 host of guesses : — 
 
 Bailey suggests riarrula, a chatterbox. 
 
 Jlinshew ventui-es the Italian girella, a weather- 
 cock. 
 
 Skinner goes in for the Anglo-Saxon ceorl, a 
 churl. 
 
 Why not girdle, as young women before mar- 
 riage wore a girdle [gir'le^ ; and iiart of a Komau 
 maiTiage ceremony was for the bridegrooa; to 
 loose tlie zone.
 
 Girondists 
 
 522 
 
 Glasgow Arms 
 
 As for guessinK, tlie word guU may put in a 
 claim (1 Ilewri/ iv. 1); so may the Greek koure, 
 a t'ii'l> ■*vitU a diminutive suffix kuurc-la, wheucu 
 go'urUi, goiirl, yurh girl. 
 
 (Tlie Latin 'icrtila means a maid that attends on 
 a cliilil. Cliauccr si'clls Ibe word gtirl.) 
 
 Tniliahlv tlie word is a variation of darVutg, 
 Ani.'lii-Saxi>n,(/eor;()i!/. 
 
 Giron'dists [r/ soft). French, Giroii- 
 fUi/s, moderate republicans in the lirst 
 French Revolution. So called from the 
 department of Girondc, -which chose for 
 the Legislative Assembly hve men who 
 greatly distinguished themselves for 
 their oratory, and formed a political 
 party. They were subsequently joined 
 by Brissot, Condorcet, and the adherents 
 of Roland. The party is called T/ie 
 Girondc. (1791-93.) 
 
 " The new assembly, called the Legislative As- 
 senit.lv, met October 1, 1791. Its more moderate 
 members formed the party called the Girondists." 
 — C. M. I'onge : France, chap. ix. p. V>8. 
 
 Gir'ouet'te (3 syl., ^ soft). A turn- 
 coat, a weathercock (French). The I>ic- 
 tioi/Jiairc dcs Giroucttcs contarus the 
 names of the most noted turncoats, with 
 their political veerings. 
 
 Gis {g soft) i.e. Jesus. A corruption 
 of Jesus or J. H. S. Ophelia says " By 
 Gis and by St. Charity." [Ramlct, iv. 5.) 
 
 Gita'nos. {Sec Gipsy.) 
 
 Give and Take (poUci/). One of 
 mutual forbearance and accommodation. 
 "[His] wife jospred along with him very com- 
 fortably with a give and take Jiolicy for many 
 years."— Hugh Conway. 
 
 Give it Him (7b). To scold or 
 thrash a person. As " I gave it him 
 right and left." " I'll give it you when 
 I catch you." An elliptical phrase, dare 
 pceiiani. " Give it him well." 
 
 Give the Boys a Holiday. Anaxag'- 
 onis, on his death-bed, being asked what 
 honour should be conferred upon liini, 
 replied, " Give the boj's a holiday." 
 
 Give the Devil his Due. Though 
 bad, I allow, yet not so bad as you make 
 him out. Do not lay more to the charge 
 of a person th^'in he deserves. The 
 French saj', ''// nc fnut pas f aire Ic diahlc 
 plus iioir qn'il n''est." The Italians have 
 the same proverb, '' Kon bisogna fare il 
 diahio pin nero chc non f." 
 
 Tlic dcril is not so hlacJc m he isjJai/itcd. 
 Every black has its white, as well as 
 every sweet its sour. 
 
 Gizzard. DonH fret your gizzard. 
 Don't be so anxious ; don't worry your-' 
 self. The Latin .stomach us means 
 temper, etc., as well as stomach or 
 " gizzard." (French, gesier.) 
 
 That stuck in his gizzard. Annoyed 
 him, was more than he could digest. 
 
 Gjallar. Ileimdall's horn, which he 
 blows to give the gods notice when any 
 one is ajiproaching the bridge Bifrost 
 {q.r.). {Scanduiavuoi iiigihologg.) 
 
 Glacis. The slopiiug mass on the 
 outer edge of the covered icag in fortifica- 
 tion. Immediately without the ' 'ditches" 
 of the place fortified, there is a road of 
 communication all round the fortress 
 (about thirty feet wide), having on its 
 exterior edge a coveretl mass of earth 
 eight feet high, slojiing off gently to- 
 wards the open countrj^. The road is 
 technically called the covered ivag, and 
 the sloping mass the glacis. 
 
 Gladsheim [IToinr ef jog]. The 
 largest ;ind most magnificent mansion of 
 the Scandinavian iEsir. It contains 
 twelve seats besides the throne of Al- 
 fader. The great hall of Gladshcun was 
 called "Valhalla." 
 
 Gladstone Bag {J) . A black letither 
 bag of various sizes, till convenient to be 
 hand-carried. These btigs have two 
 handles, and arc made so as not to touch 
 the gi-ouud, like the older carpet ])ags. 
 Called Gladstone in compliment to W. E. 
 Gladstone, many years leader of the 
 Liberal party, 
 
 Glamorgan. Geoffrey of Monmouth 
 says that Cuudah' and Morgan, the sous 
 of Gonorill and Regan, usurped the 
 crown at the death of Cordeilla. The 
 former resolved to reign alone, chased 
 Morgan into Wales, and slew him at the 
 foot of a hill, hence called Gla-Morgan 
 or Glyn-Morgan, valley of Morgan. 
 {See Spcnxcr : luieric Q/ieene, ii. 10.) 
 
 Glasgow Arms. An oak tree, a bell 
 hanging on one of the branches, a bird 
 at the top of the tree, and a salmon with 
 a ring in its mouth at the base. 
 
 St. Kentigeni, in the seventh century, 
 took up his abode on the banks of a little 
 stream which falls iuto the Clyde, the 
 site of the present city of Glasgow. 
 Upon an oak in the clearing he hung a 
 bell to summon the savages to worship, 
 hence the oak and the bell. Now for 
 the other two emblems : A queen having 
 formed an illicit attachment to a soldier, 
 gave him a precious ring which the king 
 had given her. The king, aware of the 
 fact, stole upon the soldier in sleep, 
 abstracted the ring, threw it into the 
 Clyde, and then asked the queen for it. 
 The queen, in alarm, applied to St. 
 Kentigern, who knew the whole affaii- ;
 
 Glasgow 
 
 523 
 
 Glasse 
 
 and the saiiit went to the Clyde, caught 
 a salmon with the ring in its mouth, 
 handed it to the queen, and was thus the 
 means of restoring i:>eace to the royal 
 couple, and of reforming the repentant 
 queen. 
 
 ? The queen's name wasLangoureth, 
 the king's name Rederech, and the Clyde 
 was then called the Clud. 
 
 " The tree (liMt never grew, 
 Tlie liinl that never tlcw, 
 Tlie (Ish tliiit never swam, 
 TLe hell that never ra,ug." 
 
 V A similar legend is told of Dame 
 Kehecca Berry, wife of Thomas Elton, 
 of Stratford Bow, and relict of Sir John 
 Berry (IGUG). Rebecca Berry is the 
 heroine of the ballad called llic C'nirl 
 Knight, and the story says that a knight 
 passing by a cottage, heard the cries 
 of a woman in labour, and knew by 
 his occult science that the child was 
 doomed to be his wife. He tried hard 
 to elude his fate, and when the child 
 was grown uj), took her one day to the 
 seaside, intending to drown her, but re- 
 lented. At the same time he threw a 
 ring into the sea, and commanded her 
 never a^ain to enter his presence till she 
 brought him that ring. Rebecca, dress- 
 ing a cod for dinner, found the ring in 
 the fish, presented it to Sir John, and 
 became his wife. The Berry arms show 
 a fish, and on the dexter chief point a 
 ring or annulet. 
 
 Glasgow Magistrate {A). A salt 
 herring. When George IV. visited Glas- 
 gow some wag placed a salt herring on 
 the iron guard of the carri;ige of a 
 well-known magistrate who formed one 
 of the dei^utatiou to receive him. I 
 remember a similar joke play fed on a 
 magistrate, because he said, during a 
 time of great scarcity, he wondered why 
 the poor did not eat salt herrings, which 
 he himself found very appetising. 
 
 Glass is from the Celtic r/lns (bluish- 
 green), the colour produced by the woad 
 employed by the ancient Britons in 
 dyeing their bodies. Pliny calls it glas- 
 trtim, and Cajsar viirinii. 
 
 Glass Breaker {J). A wine -bibber. 
 To crack a bottle is to drink up its con- 
 tents and throw away the empty bottle. 
 A glass breaker is one who drinks what 
 is in the glass, and flings the glass imder 
 the table. In the early part of the nine- 
 teenth century it was by no means un- 
 usual with topers to break off the stand 
 of their wineglass, so that they might 
 uot be able to set it down, but were 
 
 compelled to drink it clean off, without 
 heel-taps. 
 
 " Trcitli, ye're nae glass-hreaker; and neither am 
 I, unless It, he a screed wi' the neighlioiirs, or 
 when I'm ou a ramble."— fiir W.HcUt: Guy Miin- 
 licriiig, cbap. 45. 
 
 "We never were slass-lireakers in this bmise, 
 BIr. Lovel."— Sir W.Scott: The Antiquary, chAV. in. 
 
 Glass-eye. A blind eye, not an eye 
 made of glass, but the Danish ylas-oie 
 (wall-eye). 
 
 Glass Houses. TJiosc who live in 
 f/!iiss houses ahotdd not throw .stones. 
 When, on the union of the two crowns, 
 London was inundated with Scotchmen, 
 Buckingham was a chief instigator of 
 the movement against them, and parties 
 used nightly to go about breaking their 
 windows. In retaliation, a party of 
 Scotchmen smashed the windows of the 
 Duke's mansion, which stood in St. 
 Martin's Fields, and had so many win- 
 dows that it went by the name of the 
 " Glass-house." The court favourite 
 appealed to the king, and the British 
 Solomon replied, " Steenie, Steenie, those 
 wha live in glass housen should be care- 
 fu' how they fling stanes." 
 
 V This was not an original remark of 
 the English Solomon, but only the apjdi- 
 cation of an existing proverb : "El que 
 tiene tejados de vidro, no tire piedras al 
 de su vezino." {yi/nez cle G/izjiian : 
 Proverhios.) {See aha Chaucer's I'roijlus, 
 ii.) 
 
 "Qni a sa maison de verre, 
 iSur lo voisin nc jette piorre." 
 
 Proverbea en Runes (1064). 
 
 Glass Slipper (of Cinderella). A 
 curious blunder of the translator, who 
 has mistaken rair (sable) for rerre 
 (glass). Sable was worn only by kings 
 and princes, so the fairy gave roj-al 
 slippers to her favourite. Hamlet says 
 he shall discard his moumiug and re- 
 sume "his suit of sables" (iii. 2). 
 
 Glasse (Mrs. Hannah), a name im- 
 mortalised l)y the reputed saying in a 
 cookery book, " First catch your hare," 
 then cook it according to the directions 
 given. This, like many other .smart 
 sayings, evidently grew. The word in 
 the cookery-book is "cast" (J.c. flay). 
 " Take your hare, and when ft is cast " 
 (or eased), do so and so. {Sec Case, 
 Catch youe Haee.) 
 
 " We'll make you some sport with the fox ere 
 
 ■ne case \im\."—tihakespeare : All's Well, etc., iii. 0. 
 
 "Sinne of tbein knew me, 
 
 Else bad the.v cased me like a cony." 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher : Love's Pilijrimaoe, ii. 3. 
 
 " First seoteh your hare (though not 
 in Mrs. Glasse) is the East Anglian 
 word sea tc/i (flay), and might suggest the
 
 Glassite 
 
 524 
 
 Glencoe 
 
 play of words. Mrs. Glasse is the pseu- 
 donym which Dr. John Hill appended to 
 his CoolvS Oracle. 
 
 Glassite (^). A Sandemanian ; a 
 follower of John Glass (eighteenth cen- 
 tury). Members of this Scotch sect are 
 admitted by a " holy kiss," and abstain 
 from all animal food which has not been 
 well drained of blood. John Glass con- 
 demned all national establishments of 
 religion, and maintained the Congrega- 
 tional system. Robert Sandemau was 
 one of his disciples. 
 
 Glastonbury, in Arthurian legend, 
 was where king Arthur Avas buried. 
 Selden, in his llluntrutions of JJraijton, 
 says the tomb was ' ' betwixt two ijillars," 
 and he adds, " Henry II. gave command 
 to Henry de Blois, the abbot, to make 
 great search for the body, which was 
 found in a wooden coffin some sixteen 
 foote deepe ; and afterwards was found 
 a stone on whose lower side was fixt a 
 leaden cross with the name inscribed." 
 The authority of Selden no doubt is very 
 great, but it is too great a tax on our 
 credulity to credit tliis statement. 
 
 Glaswe'gian. Belonging to Glas- 
 gow. 
 
 Glauber Salts. So called from 
 Johann lludolph Glauber, a German al- 
 chemist, who discovered it in 16.58 in his 
 researches after the jjliilosopher's stone. 
 It is the sul2:)hate of soda. 
 
 Glaucus (of Bffiotia). A fishennan 
 who instructed Apollo in soothsaying. 
 He jumped into the sea, and became a 
 marine god. Milton alludes to him in 
 his CojHiis (Une 895) : 
 
 " [By] old s:iotbsaying Glaucus' spell." 
 
 Glaucus {Anotlicr). Iwljaim, GJaucus 
 alter. One who ruins himself by horses. 
 The tale is that Glaucus, son of Sisyphus, 
 would not allow his horses to breed, and 
 the goddess of Love so infuriated them 
 that they killed him. 
 
 Glaucus' Swop {A). A one-sided 
 bargain. Alluding to the exchange of 
 armour between Glaucos and Diome'des. 
 As the armour of the Lycian was of 
 gold, and that of the Greek of brass, it 
 was like bartering precious stones for 
 French paste. Moses, in Goldsmith's 
 Vicar of Jrakefcl/l, made " a Glaucus' 
 swop " with the spectacle-seller. 
 
 Glaymore or Claymore [2 sj\.). The 
 Scottish great sword. It used to be a 
 large two-handed sword, but was subse- 
 quently applied to the broadsword with 
 
 the basket-hilt. (Gaelic, elahlhamh, a 
 sword ; more, great.) 
 
 Glazier. /*■ your father a ejlazier ? 
 Does he make windows, for you stand in 
 my liglit and expect me to see through 
 
 you y 
 
 Gleek. A game at cards, sometimes 
 called cleek. Thus, in Epnom IVells, 
 Dorothy says to Mrs. Bisket, ^' IWl make 
 one at eleck, l/iafs better than ainj tiCQ- 
 /tniuled f/aiiie.''' Ben Jonson, in the Al- 
 chemiKt, speaks of gleek and prim'ero 
 as " the best games for the gallautest 
 company." 
 
 Gleek is j^layed by three persons. 
 Every deuce and trois is thrown out of 
 the pack. Twelve cards are then dealt 
 to each player, and eight are left for 
 stock, which is offered in rotation to the 
 ])layers for purchase. The trumps are 
 called Tiddy, Tumbler, Tib, Tom, and 
 Towser. Gleek is the German (jUich 
 (like), intimating the point on which 
 the game turns, gleek being three cards 
 all alike, as three aces, three kings, etc. 
 
 Gleichen [The Cotintde). A German 
 kniglit married to a lady of his own 
 country. He joined a crusade, and, 
 being Vounded, was attended so dili- 
 gently by a Saracen princess that he 
 married her also. 
 
 Gleipnir. The chain made by the 
 fairies, by which the wolf Fenrir or 
 Fenris was securely chained. It was 
 extremely light, and made of such things 
 as "the roots of stones, the noise made 
 by the footfalls of a cat, the beards of 
 women, the spittle of birds, and such 
 like articles." 
 
 Glenco'e ('2 sjd.). The massacre of 
 Glnieoe. The Edinburgh authorities ex- 
 horted the Jacobites to submit to Wil- 
 liam and Mary, and offered pardon to all 
 who submitted on or before the 31st of 
 December, 1691. Mac-Ian, chief of the 
 Macdonalds of Glencoe, Avas unable to 
 do so before the 6th of January, and his 
 excuse was sent to the Council at Edin- 
 burgh. The Master of Stair (Sir John 
 Dalrymple) resolved to make an example 
 of Mac-Ian, and obtained the king's 
 permission " to extirpate the set of 
 thieves." Accordingly, on the 1st of 
 February, 120 soldiers, led by a Captain 
 Campbell, marched to Glencoe, told the 
 clan they were come as friends, and lived 
 peaceably among them for twelve days ; 
 but on the morning of the 13th, the glen- 
 men, to the number of thirty-eight, 
 were scandalously murdered, their huts 
 set on fire, and their flocks and her(3s
 
 GlendOVeer 
 
 525 
 
 Glossiii 
 
 driven off as plunder. Campbell has 
 ■written a poem, and Talfourd a play on 
 the suhject. 
 
 Glendoveer', in Hindu mythology, 
 is a kind of sylph, the most lovely of the 
 good spirits. {See Southey's Curse of 
 Kehama.) 
 
 •' I am a lilessed Glendovepv, 
 
 "Tis mine to speak ami ynui's tn hear." 
 Rejected Addresses (Imitalii)iis of Soiitliey). 
 
 Glendower (Oireii). A Welsh cliief, 
 one of the most active and formidable 
 enemies of Henry IV. He was descended 
 from Llewellyn, the last of the Welsh 
 princes. Sir Edmund Mortimer married 
 one of his daughters, and the husband 
 of Mortimer's sister was Earl Percy, 
 generally called "Hotspur," who took 
 Douglas f)risoDer at Homildon Hill. 
 Glendower, Hotspur, Douglas, and others 
 conspired to dethrone Henry, but the 
 coalition was ruined in the fatal battle 
 of Shrewsbur}^ Shakespeare makes the 
 Welsh nobleman a wizard of great di- 
 versity of talent, but especially conceited 
 of the prodigies that " announced " his 
 bii'th. {Shakespeare: \ Ilciiri/ I]'.) 
 
 ' Glim. {See Douse the Glim.) 
 
 Globe of Glass {liei/narcrs). To con- 
 sult liei/zHiriPs (/lobe of r/Iass. To seek 
 into futurity by magical or other de- 
 vices. This globe of glass would reveal 
 what was being done, no matter how 
 far off, and would afford information on 
 any subject that the person consulting 
 it wished to know. The globe was set 
 in a wooden frame which no worm 
 would attack. Reynard said he had 
 sent this invaluable treasure to her 
 majesty tlie queen as a present ; but it 
 never came to hand, inasmuch as it had 
 no existence excejjt in the imagination 
 of the fox. {H. roil Alkmar : Meynarcl 
 the Fox.) 
 
 Your (lift was like the globe of glass of 
 blaster lihjnard. Vox et prteterea n ih > l. 
 A great promise, but no performance. 
 {See above.) 
 
 Worthy to be set in the frame of Heg- 
 narcVs globe of glass. Worthy of being 
 imperishable ; Avorthy of being preserved 
 for ever. 
 
 Gloria. A cup of coffee with brandy 
 in it instead of milk. Sweetened to 
 taste. 
 
 Gloria in Excelsis. The latter 
 portion of this doxology is ascribed to 
 Telesphorus, a.d. 139. {See Gloey.) 
 
 Gloria'na. (Queen Elizabeth con- 
 sidered as a sovereign.) Spenser says 
 in his Faerie Qucene that she kept an 
 
 annual feast for twelve days, during 
 which time adventurers appeared before 
 her to undertake whatever task she chose 
 to impose upon them. On one occasion 
 twelve knights presented themselves 
 before her, and their exploits form the 
 scheme of Spenser's allegory. The poet 
 intended to give a separate book to each 
 knight, but only si.x and a half books 
 remain. 
 
 Glorious John. John Dryden, the 
 
 poet (1031-1701). 
 
 Glorious First of June. June 1st, 
 179i, when Lord Howe, who commanded 
 the Channel fleet, gained a decisive vic- 
 tory over the Freucli. 
 
 Glorious Uncertainty of the Law 
 
 {The), 17.36. The toast of Mr. Wilbra- 
 ham at a dinner given to the judges and 
 counsel in Serjeant's Hall. This diimer 
 was given soon after Lord Mansfield had 
 overruled several ancient legal decisions 
 and had introduced many innovations in 
 the practice. 
 
 Glory. Meaning speech or the 
 tongue, so called by the Psalmist be- 
 cause speech is man's speciality. Other 
 animals see, hear, smell, and feel quite 
 as well and often better than man, but 
 rational speech is man's glory, or that 
 which distinguishes the race from other 
 animals. 
 
 "I will sing ami pive iiraise even with mj- 
 glory." — Psalm cviii. 1. 
 
 " That my glory may sing praise to Thee, and 
 not he silent. —Psalm xxx. 1l'. 
 
 "Awake np my glory, awake psaltery and harp.'' 
 —Psalm Ivii. 8. 
 
 Glory Demon ( 7V»') . War. 
 
 " FrPBh trniips liacl each year to l.e sent off to 
 glut the mawoftlie 'Glory Demon.' "—(,'. Thom- 
 son : Autobiograjili!), 3_'. 
 
 Glory Hand. In folk lore, a dead 
 man's hand, supposed to possess certain 
 magical projjerties. 
 
 "De hand of glory is hand rnt off from a dead 
 man as have been hanged for mnrther. and dried 
 very nice in de shmoke of juniper wood."— .S/r M'. 
 Scott: The Antiquanj lUoiistciswivcl). 
 
 Glory be to the Father, etc. The 
 first verse of this dfixology is said to be 
 by St. Basil. During the Arian con- 
 troversy it ran thus : " Glory be to the 
 Father^ by the Son, and in the Holy 
 Ghost." ' (.SVc Gloria. ) 
 
 Glossin {Lawyer) purchases Ellan- 
 gowan estate, and is found by Counsel- 
 lor Pleydell to be implicated in carrying 
 off Henry Bertrand, the heir of the 
 estate. Both Glossin and Dirk Hatter- 
 aick, his accomplice, are sent to prison, 
 and in the night tlie lawyer contrives to
 
 Gloucester 
 
 526 
 
 Gloves 
 
 enter the smuggler's cell, when a quarrel 
 ensues, in Avhich Hatteraick strangles 
 him, and then hangs himself." (-S'f'r //". 
 
 Hcott : Gil// Maiuicy'uig.) 
 
 Glouces'ter (2 syl.). The ancient 
 Britons called the town Cner Glou 
 (bright citj'). The Romans Latinised 
 Glou or Glove in Glev-uin, and added 
 colonia (the Roman colony of Glev-um). 
 The Saxons restored the old British ivord 
 Glou, and added caintcr, to signify it had 
 been a Roman camp. Hence the word 
 means "Glou, the camp city." Geoffrey 
 of Monmouth says, when Arvir'ngus 
 married Geuuissa, daughter of Claudius 
 Caesar, he induced the emperor to build 
 a city on the spot where the nuptials 
 were solemnised; this city was called 
 Cacr-ClaiC, a contraction of Caer-Claud, 
 conupted into Cacr glou, converted by 
 the Romans into Glou-caster, and b}^ tlie 
 Saxons into Glou-ceaster or Glou-cester. 
 "Some," continues the same "philolo- 
 gist," " derive the name from tlie Duke 
 Gloius, a sou of Claudius, boi-n in Britain 
 on the very spot." 
 
 Glove. In the days of chivalry it was 
 customary for knights to wear a lady's 
 glove in their helmets, and to defend it 
 Avith theii" life. 
 
 " One ware on his Iio.ailiiipce liis ladies sieve, 
 and anotlier bare on livs lielnie the plove of his 
 doarlyn.ije."— J7(('(; Cliruiiirle, Henry IV. 
 
 Glove. A bribe. ('S'w Gloat; Monet.) 
 Hdiid (1)1(1 glnrc. Sworii friends ; on 
 
 most intimate terms ; close comiianions, 
 
 like glove and hand. 
 
 " And prale and preach alinnl. what others prove, 
 As i£ the world and they were hand and wlove." 
 Ci)n-]iei\ 
 
 He hit his glare. He resolved on 
 mortal revenge. On the "Border," to 
 l)ite the glove was considered a pledge of 
 deadly vengeance. 
 
 " stern Rutherford riffht little said. 
 But liit his Klove and shook his head." 
 «(■)■ ir«((or Hcott : Luy of the Laxt Min.'^lrel. 
 
 Here I throw dou-n my glove. I chal- 
 lenge you. In allusion to an ancient 
 custom of a challenger throwing his 
 glove or gauntlet at the feet of tlie 
 jiersou challenged, and bidding him to 
 pick it up. If he did so the two fought, 
 and the vanquisher was considered to be 
 adjudged by God to be in the right. To 
 take up the glove means, therefore, to 
 accept the challenge. 
 
 " I will throw my .clove to Death itself, that 
 tliere s no niacnlation in thy \\ea.Yt:'— Shakespeare : 
 Iroilus and Cressida, iv. 4. 
 
 To tale up the glove. To accept the 
 challenge made by casting a glove or 
 gauntlet on the ground. 
 
 Jiight as my glare. The phrase, says 
 Sir Walter Scott, comes from the custom 
 of pledging a glove as the signal of irre- 
 fragable faith. {TItc Aiitujiiarg.) 
 
 Glove Money. A bribe, a perquisite; 
 so culled from the ancient custom of 
 preseuting a pair of gloves to a person 
 who undertook a cause for you. Mrs. 
 Croaker presented Sir Thomas More, 
 the Lord Chancellor, with a pair of gloves 
 lined with forty pounds in " angels," 
 as a "token." Sir Thomas kept the 
 gloves, but returned the lining. (See 
 above.) 
 
 Gloves ai'e not worn in tlie jireser.co 
 of royalty, because we are to stand un- 
 armed, with the helmet off the head and 
 gauntlets off tlie hands, to show wo liave 
 no liostile intention, {hcc Salxjtatioxs.) 
 
 GloviK used to lie worn by the clergy 
 to indicate tliat their hands are clean 
 and not open to bribes. They are no 
 longer officially worn by the parochial 
 cli'i'gy. 
 
 Glovis given to a judge in a maiden 
 asxize. In an assize without a criminal, 
 the sheriff presents the judge witli a pair 
 of white gloves. Chambers says, an- 
 ciently judges were not allowed to wear 
 gloves on the bench (Cyclopeedia). To 
 give a judge a i^air of gloves, therefore, 
 symbolised that lie need not come to tlie 
 bench, but might wear gloves. 
 
 You owe me a pair of gloves. A small 
 present. The gift of a pair of gloves 
 was at one time a perquisite of those 
 who perfomied small services, such as 
 pleading j'our cause, arbitrating jour 
 quarrel, or showing you some favour 
 which coidd not be charged for. As the 
 services became more important, the 
 glove was lined with monej', or made 
 to contain some coin called glove money 
 (q.r.). Relics of this ancient custom 
 were common till the last quarter of a 
 century in the presentation of gloves to 
 those who attended weddings and fune- 
 rals. There also existed at one time the 
 claim of a pair of gloves by a lady who 
 chose to salute a gentleman cauglit 
 napping in her company. In The Fair 
 Maid of Fcrth, by Sir Walter Scott, 
 Catherine steals from her chamber on 
 St. Valentine's morn, and, catching 
 Henry Smith asleep, gives him a kiss. 
 The glover says to him : 
 
 "('(Hiie into the hnoth with me, my son, and I 
 will furnish thee with a titting theme. Thou 
 knowest the maiden who ventures to kiss a sleep- 
 ing man wins of him a pair of gloves."— Chap. v. 
 
 In the next chapter Henry presents the 
 gloves, and Catherine accepts them.
 
 Glubdubdrib 
 
 527 
 
 Go it 
 
 A round with gloves. A friendly con- 
 test ; a fight ■with gloves. 
 
 "■Will yiiu point dut bow this is goiiiK to be a 
 genteel iMiiiul with gloves ?"—)rntsoji; The Web of 
 the Spider, chap. ix. 
 
 Glubdub'drib. The land of sorcerers 
 and magicians visited by Gulliver in his 
 
 Traveh. {'Swift.) 
 
 Gluckist and Picci'nists. A foolish 
 rivalry excited in Paris (177-1-1780) be- 
 tween the admirers of Gliick and those 
 of Picci'ni — the former a German musical 
 composer, and the latter an Italian. 
 Marie Antoinette was a Gllickist, and 
 consequently Young France favoured the 
 rival claimant. In the streets, coffee- 
 houses, private houses, and even schools, 
 the merits of Gliick and Piccinini were 
 canvassed ; and all Paris was ranged on 
 one side or the other. This was, in fact, 
 a contention between the relative merits 
 of the German and Italian school of 
 music. {See Bacbuc.) 
 
 Glum had a sword and cloak given 
 him by his grandfather, which brought 
 good luck to their possessors. After this 
 jjresent everything jjrosxDcred with him. 
 He gave the spear to Asgrim and cloak 
 to Gizur the White, after which every- 
 thing went wrong with him. Old and 
 blind, he retained his cunning; long after 
 he Viad lost his luck. {Tlie Xiah Sa/ja.) 
 
 To look (/hiiti. To look dull or moody. 
 (Scotch, (/loum, a frown; Dutch, loo^ii, 
 heavy, dull ; Anglo-Saxon, yloni, our 
 fflooiti. gloainUig, etc.) 
 
 Glumdal'clitch. A girl, nine years 
 old, and only forty feet high, who had 
 charge of Gulliver in Brobdinguag. 
 {'Sicijt'i : Gulliver''s Travels.) 
 " .Sonn as GUinKlilclitch missed her pleasing care, 
 She wept, she blubbered, and she tore her liair." 
 
 rope. 
 
 Glutton {The). Yitelius, the Eomaii 
 emperor (1 j-69), reigned from January 4 
 to December 22, A.d. 69. 
 
 Gluttony. {See Apicius, etc.) 
 
 Gna'tho. A vain, boastful parasite in 
 the Eituucli of Terence (Greek, guatliou, 
 jaw, meaning "tongue-doughty"). 
 
 Gnomes (1 syl.), according to the 
 Eosicru'cian system, are the elemental 
 spirits of earth, and the guardians of 
 mines and quarries. (Greek, gnoma, 
 knowledge, meaning the knowing ones, 
 the wise ones.) {Sec Faikt, Salamaij- 
 
 DERS.) 
 
 "The four elements are inhabited by spirits 
 called sylphs, gnomes, nymphs, and salamanders. 
 The gnomes, or demons of the earth, delight in 
 mischief -, but the sylphs, whose habitation is in 
 air, are the best ciJuditioned creatures imagin- 
 able."— Pope ; Pref. Letter to the Kajie of the Lock. 
 
 Gnostics. The hnoicers, opposed to 
 belierers, various sects in the first ages 
 of Christianity, who tried to accommo- 
 date Scripture to the speculations of 
 P}i:hag'oras, Plato, and other ancient 
 philosophers. They taught that know- 
 ledge, rather than mere faith, is the true 
 key of salvation. In the Gnostic creed 
 Christ is esteemed merely as an eon, or 
 divine attribute personified, hke Mind, 
 Trutli, Logos, Church, etc., the whole 
 of which eons made up this divine ple- 
 roma or fulness. Paul, in several of his 
 epistles, speaks of this " Fulness (ple- 
 roma) of God." (Greek, Gnos'ticos.) 
 {See Agnostics.) 
 
 Go. (Anglo-Saxon, gdii, ic gd, I go.) 
 
 Here's a go or Here's a pretti/ go. 
 Here's a mess or awkward state of 
 aifairs. 
 
 It is no go. It is not workable. " Ca 
 ira'' in the French Eevolutiou (it will 
 go), is a similar j^hrase. 
 
 {See Geeat Go, and Little Go.) 
 
 Go {The). All the go. Quite the 
 fashion ; very jiopular ; la rogue. 
 
 Go along with You. In French, 
 
 Tirez de lo»g, said to dogs, meaning 
 scamper oft", run away. An long et ait, 
 large, i.e. entirely, go off the whole 
 length and breadth of the way from me 
 to infinite space. 
 
 V " To go along with some one," ■with 
 the lower classes, means to take a ■walk 
 with someone of the opposite sex, with 
 a view of matrimony if both parties 
 think fit. 
 
 Go-between {A). An iuterposer ; 
 one who inter^ioses between two parties. 
 
 Go-by. To give one the go-hg. To 
 pass ■without notice, to leave in the 
 lurch. 
 
 Go it Blind. Don't stop to deliber- 
 ate. In the game called "Poker," if 
 a player chooses to "go it blind," he 
 doubles the ante before looking at his 
 cards. If the other players refuse to 
 see his blind, he wins the ante. 
 
 Go it, 'Warwick ! A street cry 
 during the Peninsular War, meaning, 
 " Go it, ye crii^ples ! " The W:ir wick- 
 shire militia, stationed at Hull, were 
 more than ordinarily licentious and 
 disorderly. 
 
 Go it, you Cripples! Figlit on, 
 you simpletons ; scold awny, j'ou silly 
 or quarrelsome ones. A cripijle is slang 
 for a dullard or awk'ward person.
 
 Go of Gin 
 
 528 
 
 God 
 
 Go of Gin. A quartern. In the 
 Queen's Head, Coveut Garden, spirits 
 used to be served in quarterns, neat — 
 water ad ItbitKJii. (Comijare Stieeup 
 Cup.) 
 
 Go on all Fours. Perfect in all 
 points. We say of a pun or riddle, " It 
 does not go on all fours," it will not 
 hold good in every way. Lord Macau- 
 lay says, "It is not easy to make a 
 simile go on all fours." Sir Edward 
 Coke says, " Kit//iuii siin'ile qxat'iior 
 ped'ib/is cKrrif.'" The metaphor is taken 
 from a horse, which is lame if only one 
 of its legs is injured. All four must be 
 souud in order that it may go. 
 
 Go Out (To). To rise in rebellion ; 
 the Irish say, "To be up." To go out 
 ■with the forces of Charles Edward. To 
 be out with Roger More and Sir Phelim 
 O'Neil, in 1641. 
 
 "I tliocht my liost chance for paj'mont was 
 e'en to gae out, uiist'lf."— .S'ic II'. ,S'cw«; M iirer/fj/, 
 
 Go through Fire and Water to 
 serve you. Do anything _even at per- 
 sonal cost and inconvenience. The re- 
 ference is to the ancient ordeals by fire 
 and water. Those condemned to these 
 ordeals might employ a substitute. 
 
 Go to! A curtailed oath. "Go to 
 the devil ! " or some such jihi-ase. 
 
 " Ciissiiis : I [am] aliler than youi'self 
 To make conilitions. 
 
 Jirutus : {in to ! You are not, Cassius." 
 
 Shakespeare : Julius C(esar, iv. 3. 
 Co TO Ban-ff, nndboltlc skatc\ 
 Go TO Batfi. and L'.t yipur licail shaved. 
 Go TO BrMiAV.aml u-rl your bicci-lR's mended. 
 Go TO CovENTUY. JNIa kc yourscl f Scan*. 
 Go TO Hf..\iiam. a kind of Alsatia ur sanctuary 
 
 in the reign of Henry VIII. 
 Go TO Jeruiio. Out of the way. (.^ce jEniCHO.) 
 And many other similar phrases. 
 
 Go to the Wall (To). To be pushed 
 on one side, laid on the shelf, passed by. 
 Bu.siness men, and those in a hurry, 
 leave the wall-side of a pavement to 
 women, children, and loungers. 
 
 Go without Saying {To). Cela va 
 ' scn/s dire. To be a self-evident fact; 
 well understood or iudisiiutable. 
 
 • _ Goat. Usually placed under seats 
 1 in church stalls, etc. , as a mark of dis- 
 honour and abhorrence, especially to 
 ecclesiastics who are bound by the law of 
 continence. 
 
 T/ie seven little goafs. So the Pleiades 
 are vulgarly called in Spain. 
 
 Goat and Compasses. A public - 
 house sign in the Commonwealth ; a cor- 
 ruption of " God en-compasses [us]." 
 
 *.* Some say it is the carpenters' arms 
 — three goats and a chevron. The 
 
 chevron being mistaken for a jiair of 
 compasses. 
 
 Goats. (Anglo-Saxon, rjdt.) 
 The three (joats. A public-house sign 
 at Lincoln, is a corruption of the Three 
 Uoiits, that is, drains or sluices, which 
 at one time conducted the waters of a 
 large lake into the river Witham. The 
 name of the inn is now the Black 
 Goats. 
 
 Gobbler {A). A turkey-cock is so 
 called from its cry. 
 
 Gob'bo {Lauuedot). A clown ia 
 Shakesjjcare's Merchant of Venice. 
 
 Gob'elin Tapestry. So called from 
 Giles (job'elin, a French dyer in the 
 reign of Fran(;ois I., who discovered the 
 Gobelin scarlet. His house in the 
 suburbs of St. Marcel, in Paris, is still 
 called the Gobelins. 
 
 Goblin. A familiar demon. Accord- 
 ing to popular belief goblins dwelt iu 
 private houses and chinks of trees. As a 
 specimen of forced etymology, it may be 
 mentioned that Elf and Goblin have 
 been derived from Guelph andGhibelline. 
 {Yreuch., gobelin, a lubber-heud; Armoric 
 (johiiUn ; German holold, the demon of 
 mines ; Greek, kohalos ; Russian, eolj)/ ; 
 Welsh cobhj)), a " knocker ; " whence the 
 woodjiecker is called in Welsh " coblijn 
 y coed.'') (-SVe Faiey.) 
 
 Goblin Cave. In Celtic called " Coir 
 nan I'riskin'''' (core of the satyrs), in 
 Bcnveuue, Scotland. 
 
 " After landing on the skirts of Benvenue, we 
 reach tlie cave or cove of the ffohlins by a steep 
 and narrow deHle of one hundred yards iu length. 
 It is a deep circular ampliiilioatri^ of at least six 
 hundred yards' extent in its uiiier diameter, gra- 
 dually narrowing towards tlic base, hemmed in 
 all round liy steep and towering rocks, and ren- 
 dered impenetrable to tbe rays of the sun by a 
 close co\ert of luxuriant trees. On the south 
 ami west it is bounded by the precipitous 
 shoulder of Benvenue, to the heii-'ht of at least 
 5(X) feet ; towards the east the rock appears at 
 some former period to have tun])>led down, strew- 
 ing the white course of its fall with immense 
 fragments, which now serve only to give shelter 
 to foxes, wild cats, and badgers.'— i^r. Gruliam. 
 
 Goblins. In Cardiganshire the miners 
 attribute those strange noises heard in 
 mines to sinrits called "Knockers" 
 (goblins). (^Sec above.) 
 
 God. Gothic, yofh (god) ; Geiinau, 
 (joft. {See Alla, Adonist, Elohistic, 
 etc.) 
 
 It was Hiero, Tyrant of Syracuse, who 
 asked Simonides the poet, "What ia 
 God ? " Simonides asked to have a day 
 to consider the question. Being asked 
 the same question the next day, he
 
 God 
 
 529 
 
 Gods 
 
 desired two more days for reflection. 
 Every time he appeared before Hiero he 
 doubled the leugth of time for the con- 
 sideration of his answer. Hiero, greatly 
 astonished, asked the philosopher why 
 he did so, and Simonides made answer, 
 " The longer I think on the subject, the 
 farther I seem from making it out." 
 
 It was Voltaire who said, " 'Si Dlen 
 n^existait pas, il faudrait rhireittcr." 
 
 God and the saints. ^' II raux mieux 
 s''adresscr (i iJleu qii'd ses saints.^' "II 
 rant inicxx sc tcnir an tronc qn^a/x 
 branches.'''' Better go to the master 
 than to his steward or foreman. 
 
 God bless the U/ikc of Argijk. It is 
 said that the Duke of Argyle erected a 
 row of posts to mark his property, and 
 these posts were used by the cattle to rub 
 against. {Rotten : tSiniii/ Uictionar;/.) 
 
 God helps those icho help themselves. In 
 French, '■'■ Aide-toi, le ciel faidera.'" "A 
 toile ourd'ie D'leu donne lefil'"' (You make 
 the warp and God will make the woof). 
 
 God made the country, and man made 
 the town. Cowper in The Task (The 
 Sofa). Varro says in his I)e lie llnstica, 
 *'' U'lVlna Xatttra aijros ded'it ; Ars hn- 
 mana (edijicavit urbes.^'' 
 
 '■'■God save the kinr/.'" It is said by 
 some that both the words and music of 
 this anthem were composed by Dr. John 
 Bull (1.563-1622), organist at Antwerp 
 cathedral, where the original MS. is still 
 preserved. Others attribute them to 
 Henry Carey, author of Sail;/ in our 
 Alleij. The words, " Send him vic- 
 torious," etc., look like a Jacobin song, 
 and Sir John Sinclair tells us he saw 
 that verse cut in an old glass tankard, 
 the property of P. Murray Threipland, 
 of Fingask Castle, whose predecessors 
 were staunch Jacobites. 
 
 No doubt the words of the anthem 
 have often been altered. The air and 
 words were jirobably first suggested to 
 John Bull by the Uoininc Salviim of the 
 Catholic Church. In 1605 the lines, 
 "Frustrate their knavish tricks," etc., 
 were added in reference to Gunpowder 
 Plot. In 1715 some Jacobin added the 
 words, "Scud him [the Pretender] vic- 
 torious," etc. And in 17iO Henry Carey 
 reset both words and music for the 
 Mercers' Company on the birthday of 
 George II. 
 
 God sides with the strongest. Julius 
 Civiles. Napoleon I. said, " Le bon Dieii 
 est toiijoars dn cote des gros bataillons.'''' 
 God helps those that help themselves. 
 The fable of Hercules and the Carter. 
 
 God tempers the tvind to the shorn 
 lamb. Sterne (Maria, in the Sentimental 
 
 31 
 
 Journeg). In French, "A breb'is tondu^ 
 I)ien lui mesure le rent ; " " Dieu mesiire 
 le froid a la brcbis to)idae." " iJica 
 donne le fro'id selon la rohbe.^^ Sheep 
 are shorn when the cold north-east 
 winds have given way to milder 
 weather. 
 
 I'ajl of the (/or?— inspired, ma?nadic. 
 (Latin, I)ei pleiius.) 
 
 Gods. 
 
 Britons. The gods of the ancient 
 Britons. Taramis (the father of the 
 gods and master of thunder), TeutatOs 
 (patron of commerce and inventor of 
 letters), Esus (god of war), Belinus 
 (= Apollo), Ardeua (goddess of forests), 
 Belisarna (the queen of heaven and the 
 moon). 
 
 CAETHAGixrAU GODS. Urania and 
 Moloch. The foimer was implored 
 when rain was required. 
 
 "M.'^ti ipsa \ ii-Ro [Unuiia] coelestis iiluvuniiu 
 pollicitatrix."— :(V)-(i(/ii(Mj. 
 
 V Moloch was the Latin Saturn, to 
 whom human sacrifices were offered. 
 Hence Saturn was said to devour his own 
 children. 
 
 Chaldeans. TIte seven gods of 
 the Chaldeans. The gods of the seven 
 planets called in the Latin language 
 Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Apollo [^i.e. the 
 Sun], Mercur}', Venus, and Diana [i.e. 
 the Moon]. 
 
 Egyptian gods. The two chief 
 deities were Osiris and Isis (supjjosed to 
 be sun and moon). Of inferior god.?, 
 storks, apes, cats, the hawk, and some 
 20,000 other things had their temples, 
 or at least received religious honours. 
 Thebes worshipped a ram, Memjjhis the 
 ox [Apis], Bubastis a cat, Momemphis 
 a cow, the Mendesians a he-goat, the 
 Hermopolitans a fish called "Latus," 
 the Paprimas the hippopotamus, the 
 Lycopolitans the wolf. The ibis was 
 deified because it fed on serpents, the 
 crocodile out of terror, the ichneiunou 
 because it fed on crocodiles' eggs. 
 
 Eteuscans. Their nine gods. 
 Juno, Minerva, and Tin'ia (the three 
 chief) ; to which add Vulcan, Mars, 
 Saturn, Hercules, Summa'nus, and Ve- 
 dius. (See Aesie.) 
 
 " Lars Porseiia of CUisiiini, 
 By tlie nine guds be swore 
 Tliat the great house of Taninin 
 Sliiiuld siiifor wrong no more. 
 By the nine gods bo swore it. 
 And named a trysting day." 
 
 Mdcuithiy : Horotiiis, stanza 1. 
 
 Gatjl. The gods of the Gauls were 
 Esus and Teutates (called in Latiu Mars 
 and Mercury). Lucan adds a third 
 named Taranes (Jupiter). Ctesar says
 
 Gods 
 
 530 
 
 Godfrey's Cordial 
 
 they worshipped Mercury, Apollo, INIars, 
 Jupiter, and Minerva. The last was the 
 iuventor of all the arts, and presided 
 over roads and commerce. 
 
 Geeek and Roman gods were di- 
 vided into Di'i JlcJOres and Dii Mitwre^. 
 Tlie Dii Ma j ores were twelve in number, 
 thus summed by Ennius — 
 Jiino, Vesta, llinciva, Ceie3, Diaup., Venus. JIais, 
 ilercuiius, Ji5vl, Neiitmuis, Vuloanus, Apnllo. 
 
 Tlieir lilood was ii-li'ir. tlioir food was umhrn.-tia, 
 tlu'ir drink nectar. They iiiai ricd and liad chil- 
 dren, liveil (111 Olymims in Tlie^saly, in liiMzen 
 liimses Iniill Ipy Vnliaii, and wore golden shoes 
 which enabled them to tread uii air or water. 
 
 T/ie twelve great deities, aecordiiifi to 
 Eitiiius leere {six male and si.cfciuale) : 
 
 L.\TIN. <4llKKK. 
 
 JiTPiTKii (Kin /) Zeis (l syl.). 
 
 Al'iillo ^tlie sun) ApollOn. 
 
 Marsdnir) Ave.?. 
 
 Jlercury ()»cs,-.c'if/fr) Heniie5. 
 
 Nciituiip loi-r<ni) I'oseidon (.T syl.). 
 
 A'ulean (sniilli) Hephaistos (.3 sy" 
 
 Jcso (Qiiccii) Heua. ; 
 
 Verei i.<ilU((ic) Dcnicier. 
 
 Diana Oi'ixm. Iiiinthiy') Artemis. 
 
 Minerva (H-i.s(/,i)/i). Athena. 
 
 A'eniis iiorc (iiitt liiMuhi) Aphrodite. 
 
 Vesta Oiomc-lifi) licsira. 
 
 V Juno was the wife of .lupiter, Hera of Zeus • 
 
 Venus was the wife of Vulcau, AphrodUe of 
 Hephaistos. 
 
 Tour other deities are often referred to : 
 
 Bacchus (wine) Dionysos. 
 
 Cupid (the lail I. ore) Kros. 
 
 Pluto (of the lii/cnw) riuto.i. 
 
 Saturn (time) Kroiios. 
 
 '"." Of these, Proserpine (Latin) and Persopbdie 
 (fireek) was the wife of Pluto, Cyliele was the 
 Wife of Saturn, and llhea of Kronos. 
 
 ? In Hesiod's time the number of 
 gods was thirty thousand, and that none 
 might be omitted the Greeks observed 
 a feast called StoffVia, or Feast of the 
 Unknown Gods. We have an All Saints' 
 day. 
 
 Tp'is yap fxvpioL eltrlv inC x^Of TrouXu^oTeiprj 
 ^ABauaTOt. Zrjrbs, <jjv\aK€^ /jLepoTTtoe ai'6pio77wv. 
 Ileslod, i. L'do. 
 
 " Some thirty tltousand prods on earth we tind 
 Sulijects of Zeus, and guardians of mankind." 
 
 Persian gods. The chief god was 
 Mithra. Inferior to him were the two 
 gods Oromasdes and Tremanius. The 
 former was supposed to be the author of 
 all the evils of the earth. 
 
 Saxon gods. Odin or Woden (the 
 father of the gods), to whom Wednes- 
 day is consecrated; Frea (the mother 
 of the gods), to whom Fri-day is con- 
 secrated ; Hertha (the earth) ; Tuesco, 
 to whom Tues-day is consecrated ; Thor, 
 to whom Thurs-day is consecrated. 
 
 Scandinavian gods. The supreme gods 
 of the Scandinavians were the Mj'steri- 
 ous Three, called Har (the mighty), the 
 Like Mighty, and the Third Person, 
 who sat on three thrones above the 
 Bainbow. Then came the ^sir, of 
 
 which Odin was the chief, who lived 
 in Asgard, on the heavenly hills, between 
 the Earth and the Rainbow. Next camo 
 the A^anir', or genii of wtiter, air, and 
 clouds, of which Niiird was chief. 
 
 Gods and goddesses. (See Deities, 
 Fairies.) 
 
 Gods. 
 
 million;/ the f/ods. In the uppermost 
 gallery of a theatre, which is near the 
 ceiling, generally iiainted to resemble 
 the sky. The Fi-ench call tliis celestial 
 region paradis. 
 
 Jhad (jods. The sepulchre of Jupiter 
 is in Candia. Esculapius was killed 
 with an arrow. The ashes of Yenu.s are 
 shown in Paphos. Hercules was burnt 
 to death. {Igiiatiits.) 
 
 Trijde gods. (See Trinity.) 
 
 God's Acre. A churchyard or ceme- 
 tery. 
 
 " 1 like that aur-ient Saxon plira'O. which calls 
 The hurial vr.iiind tiod's .Vcre."— y-<)i(r//(7/(«". 
 
 Gods' Secretaries (77(f). The three 
 Parctu. One dictates the decrees of the 
 gods ; another writes them dtiwn ; and 
 the third sees that thej' are carried out. 
 (Martiaiiiis Vapella. 5th century.) 
 
 God-child. One for whom a person 
 stuuds sponsor in baptism, A godson or 
 a goddaughter. 
 
 Goddess Mothers {The). "\Miat the 
 French call " /wiDies denies'''' or " /^ s 
 dames blaiir/ies,'" the prototj-pe of the 
 fays ; generally represented as nurs-ing 
 infants on their laps. Some of these 
 statues made by the Gauls or Gallo- 
 Romans are called " Black Virgins." 
 
 Godfather. To stand godfather. To 
 pay the reckoning, godfathers being 
 generally chosen for the sake of the 
 present they are expected to make the 
 child at the chiistening or in their wills. 
 
 Godfathers. Jiuymeu, who are the 
 sponsors of the criminal. 
 
 " In christening time thou Shalt bave two god- 
 fathers. Had I lieen judge, thou shouldst have 
 had ten more to bring thee to the gallows, not to 
 the iuut:'— Shakespeare : Merchant of Veniee, iv. 1. 
 
 God'frey. The Agamemnon of 
 Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, chosen by 
 God as chief of the Crusaders. He is 
 represented as calm, circumspect, and 
 prudent ; a despiser of "worldly empire, 
 wealth, and fame." 
 
 Godfrey's Cordial. A patent medi- 
 cine given to children troubled Avith 
 colic. Gray says it was used by the 
 lower orders to "prevent the crying of 
 children in pain " when in want of
 
 Godiva 
 
 531 
 
 Gojam. 
 
 proper nourishment. It consists of sas- 
 safras, opiixm in some form, brandy or 
 rectified spirit, caraway seed, and treacle. 
 There are seven or eight different pre- 
 parations. Named after Thomas Godfrey 
 of Hunsdon, in Hertfordshire, in the 
 first quarter of the eighteenth century. 
 
 Godi'va {LmhJ) . Patroness of Covoi- 
 try. In 1040, Leofric, Earl of Mercia 
 and Lord of Coventry, imposed certain 
 exactions on his tenants, which his lady 
 besought liim to remove. To escape 
 her imiDortuuity, he said he would do so 
 if she ■would ride naked through the 
 town. Lady Godiva took him at his 
 word, and the Earl faithfully kept his 
 promise. 
 
 The legend asserts that every inhabit- 
 ant of Coventry kept indoors at tlie 
 time, but a certain ttiilor peeped through 
 his window to see the lady imss. Some 
 say he was sti'uck blind, others that his 
 eyes were put out by the indignant 
 townsfolk, and some that he was ^jut to 
 death. Be this as it may, he has ever 
 since been called " Peeping Tom of 
 Coventry." Tennyson has a poem on 
 the subject. 
 
 V The privilege of cutting wood in 
 the Herduoles, by the parishioners of St. 
 Briavel's Castle, in Gloucestershii-e, is 
 said to have been gi'anted by the Earl of 
 Hereford (lord of Dean Forest) on pre- 
 cisely the same terms as those accepted 
 by Lady Godiva. 
 
 " Peeping Tom " is an interpolation 
 not anterior to the reign of Charles II., 
 if we may place any faith in the figure 
 in Smithfield Street, which represents 
 him in a flowing wig and Stuart cravat. 
 
 Godless Florin (The). Also called 
 "The Graceless Florin." In 1819 w-ere 
 issued florins in Great Britain, with no 
 legend except " Victoria Eegina." Both 
 F.D. (Defender of the Faith) and D.G. 
 (by God's Grace) were omitted for want 
 of room. From the omission of ' ■ Fidei 
 Defensor" they were called Godless 
 florins, and from the omission of ' ' Dei 
 Gratia" they were called Graceless 
 florins. 
 
 V These florins (2s.) were issued by 
 Shell, Master of the Mint, and as he was 
 a Catholic, so great an outcry was made 
 against them that they were called in 
 the same year. 
 
 Godliness. ClcnnUness next to god- 
 liness, "as Matthew Henry says." 
 Whether Matthew Henry used the pro- 
 verb as well known, or invented it, de- 
 ponent sayeth not. 
 
 Godmer. A British giant, son of 
 Albion, slain by Canu'rus, one of the 
 companions of Brute. 
 
 '• Those thrciMncinstroiis stnncs . . . 
 "Wliich lliat Imt-'f son c.f hiilci.iis AlbioTi. 
 V,rc:a (iciiliner, llirru' in flcrcf i-i.ni. m ...ii 
 j\t liulil Cauiitiis; 1ml ip£ liini w.is shun." 
 
 iSpenscr : Faerie (jtiecHC, ii. 1m. 
 
 Goel. The avenger of blood, so called 
 by the Jews. 
 
 Goe'mot or Goem agot. The giant 
 who dominated over the western horn 
 of England, slain by Coiiu'eus, one of 
 the companions of Brute. {Geoff'iY)/ : 
 Chnjiiichs,\. IG.) (.SV<; CoEiNEUS.) 
 
 Gog and Magog. The Emperor 
 Diocle'tian had thirty-three infamous 
 daughters, who murdered their husbands ; 
 and, being set adrift in a ship, reached 
 Albion, where they fell in w-ith a num- 
 ber of demons. The offspring of this 
 unnatural alliance was a race of giants, 
 afterwards extu-pated by Brute and his 
 comi^anions, refugees from Troy. Gog 
 and Magog, the last two of the giant 
 race, were brought in chains to London, 
 then called Troy-novant, and, being 
 chained to the palace of Brute, which 
 stood on the site of our Guildhall, did 
 duty as porters. We cannot pledge oiu'- 
 selves to the truth of old Caxton's narra- 
 tive ; but we are quite certain that Gog 
 and Magog had their effigies at Guild- 
 hall in the reign of Henry V. The old 
 giants were destroyed in the Great Fire, 
 and the present ones, fourteen feet 
 high, were carved in 1708 by Kichard 
 Saunders. 
 
 CLiildreu used to lie told (as a very mild iDkol 
 tliat wben these giants hear St. Paul'-s clock: 
 strike twelve, they descend from their pedestals 
 and go iuto the Hall for dinner. 
 
 Gog'gles. A con'uption of ogles, eye- 
 shades. (Danish, oog, an eye ; Spanish, 
 ojo ; or from the Welsh, f/ogelii, to 
 shelter.) 
 
 Gogmagog Hill {The). The higher 
 of two hills, some three miles south-cast 
 of Cambridge. The legend is that Gog- 
 magog was a huge giant wlio fell in love 
 with the njTnph Granta, but the saucy 
 lady would have nothing to say to the 
 big bulk, afterwards metamorphosed 
 into the hill which bears his name. 
 {Drcnjton : I'olyolbio)), xxi.) 
 
 Go'jam. A province of Aby.=?inia 
 (Africa). Cajitain Speke traced it to 
 Lake Victoria Nyanza, near the Moun- 
 tains of the Moon (1861). 
 
 " The swelling Nile. 
 From his two siirings in Gojam's sunny realm, ' 
 Pure-welliug out." Thomson: Sumtner.
 
 Golconda 
 
 532 
 
 Golden Ass 
 
 Golcon'da, in Hindustan, famous for 
 its diamond mines. 
 
 Gold. By the ancient alclicmists, 
 gold represented the sun, and silver the 
 moon. In heraldry, gold is expressed 
 by dots. 
 
 All he touches inrns to gold. It is said 
 
 of Midas that whatever he touched 
 
 turned to gold. {See Eainbow. ) 
 
 " In maiiu illiua iihuiibiuii aurum Hobat."— Peiro- 
 nhis. 
 
 Gold. All that glitters is not gold. 
 [Shakespeare : Merchant of Venice, ii. 7.) 
 
 " All tliiiiff which that schinetb as the gold 
 Is nought gold." 
 
 Chaucer: Canterhwy TaifS, 12,800. 
 " Non teiieas aurum totuni quod splendet ut 
 aurum 
 Kec i-iulchruiu immum quodlibet esse bonnm." 
 Ata'iius dt Jn'sulis : J'anib'ulw. 
 
 Ife has got the gold of Tolo'sa. His ill 
 gains will never prosj^er. Cfejjio, the 
 Roman consul, in his march to Gallia 
 Narbonensis, stole from Tolo'sa (Tou- 
 louse) the gold and silver consecrated 
 by the Cimbriau Druids to their gods. 
 When he encountered the Cimbrians 
 both he and Mallius, his brother-consul, 
 were defeated, and 112.000 of their 
 men were left upon the field (B.C. 106). 
 
 The gold of Xihelungcii. Brought ill- 
 luck to every one who jDossessed it. 
 {Icelandic Edda.) {See Fatal Gifts.) 
 
 Mamihehii gold. A sort of pinch- 
 beck, made of copper and zinc, invented 
 at Mannheim, in Germanj'. 
 
 3Iosa'ic gold is '■^ aiirum miisl'viiDi,"^ a 
 bi-sulphuret of tin used by the ancients 
 in tesselating. (French, nwsaique.) 
 
 Gold Purse of Spain. Andalusia 
 is so called because it is the city from 
 which Spain derives its chief wealth. 
 
 Golden. The Golden (" Aura'tus"). 
 So Jean Dorat, one of the Pleiad poets 
 of France, was called by a pun on his 
 name. This pun may perhaps pass 
 muster ; not so the preposterous title 
 given to him of "The French Pindar." 
 (1507-1588.) 
 
 Golden-tongued (Greek, Chrysologos). 
 So St. Peter, Bishop of Ravenna, was 
 called. (433-450.) 
 
 _ The golden section of a line. Its divi- 
 sion into two such parts that the rect- 
 angle contained by the smaller segment 
 and the whole line equals the square on 
 the larger segment. {Euclid, ii. 11.) 
 
 Golden Age. The best age ; as the 
 golden age of innocence, the golden age 
 of literature. Chronologers divide the 
 time between Creation and the birth of 
 Christ into ages ; Hesiod describes five. 
 
 and Lord Bj'ron adds a sixth, " The Age 
 of Bronze." {See Age, Augustan.) 
 i. 2'he Golden Age of Ancient Nations : 
 
 (1) New Assyrian Empire. From 
 the reign of Esar-haddon or Assur Adou 
 {Assgria''s prince), third son of Sennach'- 
 erib, to the end of Sarac's reign (b.c. 
 691-(J06). 
 
 (2) CiiALDiEO - Babylonian Empire. 
 From the reign of Nabopolassar orNebo- 
 pul-Asstir {Xcbo the great Assyrian) to 
 that of Belshazzar or Bel-shah-Assur 
 {Bel kinr/-ofAss)/ria) (B.C. GOG-538). 
 
 (3) China, the Tang dynasty (f)2G- 
 684), and especially the rcigu of Tae- 
 tsoug (618-626). 
 
 (4) Egypt. The reigns of Sethos I. 
 and Eam'eses II. (b.c. 1336-1224). 
 
 (5) Media. The reign of Cyax'arcs 
 orKai-ax-Ares(^//(!'-/ii^'y son-of" JIars") 
 (B.C. 634-594). 
 
 (6) Persia. The reigns of Khosru I., 
 and II. (531-628). 
 
 ii. The Golden Age of Modern Xations. 
 
 (1) England, the reign of Elizabeth 
 (1558-1603). 
 
 (2) France. Part of the reigns of 
 Louis XIV. and XV. (1640-1740). 
 
 (3) Germany. The reign of Charles 
 V. (1519-1558). 
 
 (4) Portugal. From John I. to the 
 close of Sebastian's reign (1383-1578). 
 In 1580 the crown was seized by Felipe 
 II. of Spain. 
 
 (5) Prussia. The reign of Frederick 
 the Great (1740-1786). 
 
 (6) Russia. The reign of Czar Peter 
 the Great (1672-1725). 
 
 (7) Spain. The reign of Ferdinand 
 and Isabella, when the crowns of Castile 
 and Aragon were united (1474-1516). 
 
 (8) Sweden. From Gustavus Vasa to 
 the close of the reign of Gustavus Adol- 
 phus (1523-1632). 
 
 Golden Apple. " What female heart 
 can gold despise.' " (Gray). In allusion to 
 the fable of Atalanta, the swiftest of all 
 mortals. She vowed to marry only that 
 man who could outstrii) her in a race. 
 Milan'ion threw down three golden 
 apples, and Atalanta, stopping to jiick 
 them uj), lost the race. 
 
 Golden Ass. The romance of Apu- 
 le'ius, written in the second century, 
 and called the golden because of its ex- 
 cellency. It contains the adventures of 
 Lucian, a young man who, being acci- 
 dentally metamorjihosed into an ass 
 while sojourning in Thessaly, fell into 
 the hands of robbers, eunuchs, magis- 
 trates, and so on, by whom he was ill- 
 treated ; but ultimately he recovered lAs,
 
 Golden Ball 
 
 533 
 
 Golden Housd 
 
 human form. Boccaccio has horrowed 
 largely from this admirable romance ; 
 and the incidents of tlie robbers' cave in 
 Gil Bias are taken from it. 
 
 Golden Ball (TV/r). Ball Hughes, 
 one of the dandies in the days of the 
 Regency. He paid some fabulous i^rices 
 for his dressing cases (flourished 1820- 
 1830). Ball married a Spanish dancer. 
 
 He shirked a duel, and t his pmlialily pnimlarised 
 the imii GuUleu Ball, Leaden Ball, Hughes Ball. 
 
 The three [/olden balls. {Sec Balls.) 
 
 Golden Bay. The Bay of Kiesclarke 
 is so called because the sands shine like 
 gold or tire. {Hans Striojs, 17th cent.) 
 
 Golden Bonds. Aureliau allowed 
 the captive queen Zeuobia to have a 
 slave to hold up her golden fetters. 
 
 Golden Bowl is Broken [The). 
 Death has supervened. 
 
 "Or ever the silver cnrd he loosed, or the 
 golden howl he hroken, or the i)itclier lie liroken 
 at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cis- 
 tern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as 
 it was: and the spirit shall return uutu Gud who 
 gave it."— Ecclesiastes xii. e, 7. 
 ^ " Reir.emher ; thy Creator " : 
 
 before the silver cord of health is loosed hy 
 
 sickness; 
 before the golden howl of manly strength has 
 
 lieen liroken up; 
 heforethe iiiteher or body, which contains the 
 
 spirit, has been broken up; 
 before the wheel of life has run its course, 
 and the spirit has returned toGod,whogaveit. 
 
 Golden Bull. An edict by the Em- 
 peror Charles IV., issued at the Diet of 
 Nuremberg in 1356, for the fiurpose of 
 fixing how the GeiTnan emperors were 
 to be elected. {Sec Bull.) 
 
 Golden Calf. We all tcorship the 
 golden calf. i.e. money. The reference 
 is to the golden calf made by Aaron 
 when Moses was absent on Mount Sinai. 
 (Exod. xxxii.) According to a common 
 local tradition, Aaron's golden calf is 
 buried in Rook's Hill, Lavant, near 
 Chichester. 
 
 Golden Cave. Contained a cistern 
 guarded by two giants and two centaurs ; 
 the waters of the cistern were good for 
 quenching the fire of the cave ; and when 
 this fire was quenched the inhabitants of 
 Scobellum would return to their native 
 forms. {The Seven Champions, iii. 10.) 
 
 Golden Chain. "Faith is the golden 
 chain to link the penitent sinner unto 
 God'' (Jeremy Taylor). The allusion is 
 to a passage in Homer's Iliad (i. 19-30), 
 where Zeus says, If a golden chain were 
 let down from heaven, and all the gods 
 and goddesses pulled at one end, they 
 would not be able to pull him down to 
 
 earth ; whereas he could lift with ease 
 all the deities and all created things 
 besides with his single might. 
 
 Golden Fleece. Ino persuaded her 
 husband, Ath'amas, that his sou Phryxos 
 was the cause of a famine which deso- 
 lated the land, and the old dotard 
 ordered him to be sacrificed to the angry 
 gods. Phryxos being apprised of this 
 ortler, made his escape over sea on a 
 ram lehich had a golden fleece. When he 
 arrived at Colchis, he sacrificed the ram 
 to Zeus, and gave the fleece to King 
 iEe'tes, who hung it on a sacred oak. 
 It was afterwards stolen by Jason in his 
 celebrated Argonautic exijedition. {See 
 Aego.) 
 
 " Tin's risinfj Greece with indignation viewed, 
 And youthful Jason an atteiujit conceived 
 Lofty and liold : along Pene'us' banks. 
 Around Olympus" brows, the Muses' haunts. 
 He roused the brave to re-deniand the fleece." 
 Dijcr : The FUcce, ii. 
 
 Golden fleece of the north. The fur 
 and peltry of Siberia is so called. 
 
 " Australia has been called "The 
 Land of the Golden Fleece," because of 
 the quantity of wool i^roduced there. 
 
 Golden Fleece. An order of knight- 
 hood by this title was instituted by 
 Philip III., Duke of Burgundy, in 1429. 
 The selection of the fleece as a badge is 
 perhaps best explained by the fact that 
 the manufacture of wool had long been 
 the staple industry of the Low Countries, 
 then a part of the Burgundian posses- 
 sions. 
 
 Golden Fountain. The property of 
 a wealthy Jew of Jerusalem. "In 
 twenty-four hours it would convert any 
 metal into refined gold ; stony flints into 
 pure silver ; and any kind of earth into 
 excellent metal." {The Seven CJiam- 
 ■pions of Christendom, ii. 4.) 
 
 Golden Girdle. Louis VIII. made 
 an edict that no courtesan should be 
 allowed to wear a golden girdle, under 
 very severe penalty. Hence the pro- 
 verb. Bonne renomme rault niiea.v que 
 ceintare doree. {See Giedle.) 
 
 Golden Horn. The inlet of the 
 Bosjihorus on which Constantinople is 
 situated. So called from its curved 
 shape and great beauty. 
 
 Golden House. This was a palace 
 erected by Nero in Eome. It was roofed 
 with golden tiles, and the inside walls, 
 which were profusely gilt, were em- 
 bellished with mother-of-pearl autl pre- 
 cious stones; the ceilings were inlaid 
 with ivory and gold. The banquet-hall 
 had a rotatory motion, and its vaulted
 
 Golden Legend 
 
 ■,u 
 
 Golden Town 
 
 ceiling showere(>l flowers and perfumes 
 on the guests. The Farne'se popes and 
 princes iised the materials of Nero's 
 house for their palaces and villas. 
 
 Golden Legend. A collection of 
 hagiology {/ires of saiitffc) made hy 
 Jaques de Voragiue in the thirteenth 
 century ; valuable for the picture it 
 gives of mediajval manners, customs, 
 and thought. Jortin says that the 
 young students of religious houses, for 
 the exercise of their talents, were set to 
 accommodate the narratives of heathen 
 wi'iters to Christiau saints. It was a 
 collection of these "lives" that Voragine 
 made, and thought deserving to be 
 called ' ' Legends worth their Weight in 
 Gold." Longfellow has a dramatic 
 poem entitled 27ic Golden Legend. 
 
 Golden Mean. Keep the golden 
 mean. The wise saw of Cleobu'los, King 
 of Ehodes (b.c. C30-559). 
 
 " Distant iVlike from eacb, to neitber lean, 
 But ever keep the happy (Gulden Mean." 
 
 Howe : The Golden Verses. 
 
 Golden-mouthed. Chrysostom; so 
 called for his great eloquence (a.d. 347- 
 407). 
 
 Golden Ointment. Eye salve. In 
 allusion to the ancient practice of rub- 
 bing "slynas of the eye" with a gold 
 ring to cure them. 
 
 " 1 liavc a .sty hero, Chilax, 
 
 1 have uo gold to cure it." 
 r,caumont and Fletcher: Mad Lovers. 
 
 Golden Opinions. " I have bought 
 ■golden opinions of all sorts of people." 
 {S/ieilcesjjeeire : Maebeth, i. 7.) 
 
 Golden Palace. {Sec Golden 
 House.) 
 
 Golden Rose. A cluster of roses 
 and rosebuds growing on one thoniy 
 stem, all of the purest gold, chisellecl 
 with exquisite workmanship. In its 
 cup, among its petals, the Pope, at every 
 benediction he pronounces upon it, 
 inserts a few particles of amber and 
 musk. It is blessed on the fourth Sim- 
 day in Lent, and bestowed dm-ing the 
 ecclesiastical year on the royal lady 
 whose zeal for the Church has most 
 ■shown itself by pious deeds or pious 
 intentions. The prince who has best 
 deserved of the Holy See has the blessed 
 sword and cap {lo stoceo e il herettd) sent 
 him. If uo one merits the gift it is laid 
 up in the Vatican. In the spring of 
 1868 the Pope gave the golden rose to 
 Isabella of Spaiu, in reward of "her 
 faith, justice, and charity," and to "fore- 
 token the protection of God to his 
 
 well - beloved daughter, whose high 
 virtues make her a shining hght amongst 
 woTuen." The Empress Eugenie of 
 France also received it. 
 
 Golden Rule. 
 
 In iiioraln—Do unto others as j'ou 
 would be done by. Or Matt. vii. V2. 
 In eiritlivietic — The Rule of Tliree. 
 
 Golden Shoe (.i). A jiot of money. 
 " Tlie want of a golden slioe " is the 
 want of ready cash. It seems to be a 
 superlative of a " silver slipper," or good 
 luck generally, as he "walks in silver 
 slippers." 
 
 Golden Shower or Shourr of yohl. 
 A bribe, money. The allusion is to tlie 
 classic tale of Jupiter and Dan'ae. Ac- 
 ris'ios, King of Ai'gos, beiug told that 
 his daughter's son would jiut him to 
 death, resolved that Dan'ae should never 
 marry, and accordingly locked her up in 
 a brazen tower. Jupiter, who was in 
 love with the princess, foiled the king 
 by changing himself into a shower of 
 gold, under which guise he readily found 
 access to the fair prisoner. 
 
 Golden Slipper {The), in Negro 
 melodies, like "golden streets," etc., 
 symboUses tlio joys of the land of the 
 leal ; and to wear the golden slijiper 
 means to enter into the joys of Paradise. 
 
 The golden shoes or slippers of Para- 
 dise, according to Scandinavian mytho- 
 logy, enable the wearer to walk on air or 
 water. 
 
 Golden State. California ; so called 
 from its gold "diggins." 
 
 Golden Stream. Joannes Damas- 
 ce'nus, author of l)ogmat'tc Theology 
 (died 73G). 
 
 Golden ' Thigh. Pythagoras is said 
 to have had a golden tliigh, which he 
 showed to Abaris, the Hyjjerborean 
 priest, and exhibited in the Olj'mpic 
 games. Pelops, we are told, had an 
 ivory shoulder. Nuad had a silver liand 
 {ace Silver Hand), but this was arti- 
 ficial. 
 
 Golden Tooth. A Silesiau child, in 
 1598, we are told, in his second set of 
 teetli, cut "one great tooth of pure 
 gold ; " but Libavius, chemist of Coburg, 
 recommended that the tooth should be 
 seen by a goldsmith ; and the goldsmith 
 pronounced it to be "an ordinary tooth 
 cleverly covered with gold leaf." 
 
 Golden Town {The). So Mainz or 
 Mayence was called ia Carloviugian 
 times.
 
 Golden Valley 
 
 >35 
 
 Gonfanon 
 
 Golden Valley {The). The eastern 
 portion of Limerick is so called, from 
 its great natural fertility. 
 
 Golden Verses. So called because 
 they are " good as gold." They are Ly 
 some attributed to Epicar'mos, and by 
 others to Emped'ocles, but always go 
 under the name of Pythag'oras, and seem 
 quite in accordance with the excellent 
 precepts of that philosoplier. They are 
 as follows : — • 
 
 Ne'er suffer sleep tliine eyes to close 
 
 Before thy mind liatli run 
 O'er ex ery :ict, and tlioiiijUt, aud Word, 
 
 From dawn to set nt sun ; 
 For wroiM.' take shame, Ijiu. crratctiil feel 
 
 If just tliy course hatli Ipeen; 
 Pm-li effort day by d;iy renewed 
 AVill ward thy soul from sin. E. C. B. 
 
 Goldy. The pet name given by Dr. 
 Johnson to Oliver Goldsmith. Garrick 
 said of him, "He wrote like an angel 
 and talked like poor Poll." (Bom Nov. 
 29, 17'28; died April 4, 177-1.) 
 
 Gol'gotha signifies a skull, and cor- 
 responds to the French word chaumoiit. 
 Probably it designated a bare hill or 
 rising ground, having some fanciful re- 
 semblance to the form of a bald skull. 
 
 " Golgotha seems not entirely unconnected witli 
 tlie hill of Gareb, and the locality of Goatli, men- 
 tioned in Jeremiah xxxi. 30, on the nortU-west of 
 the city. I am inclined to fix the place wliere 
 Jesus was crucilied . . . (m the mounds which 
 command tiie valley of Hinnom, above Birket- 
 Mamila."— JftJirtii ; L'ljc of Jesus, chap. xxv. i 
 
 Golgotha, at the University church, 
 Cambridge, was the gallery in whicli the 
 " heads of the houses " sat ; so called 
 because it was the place of skulls or 
 heads. It has been more Avittily than 
 truly said that Golgotha was the place 
 of empty skulls. 
 
 Goli'ath. Tlie Philistine giant, slain 
 by the stripliug David with a small stone 
 hurled from a sling. (1 Sam. xvii. 23- 
 54.) (*c Giants.) 
 
 Golosh'. It is said that Henry VI. 
 wore half -boots laced at the side, and 
 about tlie same time was introduced the 
 shoe or clog called the "galage" or 
 " gologe," meaning simply a covering; 
 to which is attributed the origin of our 
 word golosh. This cannot bo correct, 
 as Chaucer, who died twenty years be- 
 fore Henry VI. was bom, uses the word. 
 The word comes to us from the Spanish 
 galocha (wooden shoes) ; German, 
 galosche. 
 
 " Ne were worthy to unbocle his Kaloche." 
 , Chaucer: Squire's Tale. 
 
 Go'marists. Opponents of Ar- 
 min'ius. So called from Francis Gomar, 
 their leader (1563-1641). 
 
 Gombeen Man {The). Atallj-man; 
 a village usurer ; a money-lender. The 
 word is of Irish extraction. 
 
 "Tlicy supiiose that the tenants can have no 
 other supply (if capital than from the f-'ombcen 
 \wxu"—Eijmunt II a Ice : Iree Trade in Capital, p. 
 
 Gombo. Pigeon French, or French 
 as it is spoken by the coloured popula- 
 tion of Louisiana, the French West 
 Indies, Bourbon, and Mauritius. (Con- 
 nected with jiimbo.) 
 
 " Creole is almost jiure French, not much more 
 misprcniounced than in some parts of France; liut 
 Gombo is a mere plionetic burlesiiue of French, 
 interlarded with African words, and other words 
 whicli are neither African nor French, Imt prob- 
 ably belong to the aboriginal language of tlie 
 various countries to winch the slaves were 
 broUL-'lit from Africa."— 27(e NineteentU Cmtury, 
 Uctobcr, 18'JI, p. 576. 
 
 Gondola. A Venetian boat. 
 
 "Venice, in her purple prime .... when the 
 famous law was passed making all gondolas black, 
 that the nobles should not squander fortunes 
 ui'on them." — Curtis : I'utipliar I'apers, i. p. 31. 
 
 Gone 'Coon (A). {See 'Coon.) 
 
 Go'ne to the Devil. {See luulcr 
 Devil.) 
 
 Gone Up. Put out of the way, 
 hanged, or otherwise got rid of. In 
 Denver (America) unruly citizens are 
 summarily hung on a cotton tree, and 
 when any question is asked about them 
 the answer Ls briefly given, " Gone up " 
 — i.e. gone up the cotton tree, or sus- 
 pended from one of its branches. (See 
 Xcir America, by W. Ilepworth Dixon, 
 i. 11.) 
 
 Gon'eril. One of Lear's three daugh- 
 ters. Htiving received her moiety of 
 Lear's kingdom, the unnatural daughter 
 first abridged the old man's retinue, 
 then gave him to understand that his 
 company was troublesome. (Shake- 
 speare : King Lear.) 
 
 Gon'falon or Gonfanon. An ensign 
 or standard. A gonfalonier is a magis- 
 trate that has a gonfalon. (Italian, 
 goiifalo'nc ; French, gonfalon; Saxon, 
 giiih-fana, war-flag.) Chaucer uses the 
 word gonfanon ; Milton prefers gonfalon. 
 Thus he says : — 
 
 " Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanced, 
 Standards and g(Uifalons, 'twixt van and rear 
 Stream in the air, and for distinction serve 
 Of hierarchies [3 syl.], of orders, and degrees." 
 Paradise Lost, v. 589. 
 
 Gonfanon. The consecrated banner 
 of the Normans. When William in- 
 vaded England, his gonfanon was pre- 
 sented to him by the Pope. It was 
 made of purple silk, divided at the end 
 like the banner attached to the " Cross 
 of the Resui-rectiou." When Harold
 
 Gonin 
 
 S36 
 
 Good Samaritan 
 
 was wouuded in the eye, he was borne 
 to the foot of this sacred standard, and 
 the English rallied round him ; but liis 
 death gave victory to tlie invaders. The 
 lii;;li altar of Battle Abbey mnrked the 
 spot where the gonfauou stood, but the 
 only traces now left are a few stones, 
 recently uncovered, to show the site of 
 this memorable place. 
 
 Gonin. ("ost iiti Maltrc Gomn. He 
 is a sly dog. Maitre Gonin was a 
 famous clown in the sixteenth ceuturj-. 
 " Vn tour dc Mailre (jonin" means a 
 cunning or scurvy trick. {See Ali- 
 
 BORON.) 
 
 Gonnclla's Horse. Gonnella, the 
 domestic jester of the Duke of Ferra'ra, 
 rode on a horse all skin and bone. The 
 jests of Gonnella are in print. 
 
 " His linrse was ns lean as Gonnolla's, ■\vliiili fas 
 the nuke saiii) ' Ossn atiiiie iiellis totiis unit' 
 triaiitusj."— C'cJi'iOid's; Dvn Quixule. 
 
 Gonsal'ez [Gon-zaUei/']. Feruan 
 Gonsalez was a Spanish hero of, the 
 tenth century, whose life was twice 
 saved by his wife Sancha, daugliter of 
 Garcias, King of Navarre. The adven- 
 tures of Gonsal'ez have given birth to a 
 host of ballads. 
 
 Gonville College (Cambridge). The 
 same as Cains Collcyc, founded in 1348 
 by Edmond Gonville, son of Sir Nicholas 
 Gonville, rector of Terrington, Norfolk. 
 {Sec Caius College.) 
 
 Good. The Good. 
 
 Alfonso VIII. (or IX.) of Leon, " The 
 Noble and Good." (1158-1214.) 
 
 Douglas {The good Sir James), Bruco's 
 friend, died 1330. 
 
 Jean II. of France, U Bon. (1319, 
 13r30-13r)4.) 
 
 Jean III., Due de Bourgogne. (1286, 
 1312-1341.) 
 
 Jean of Brittany, " The Good and 
 Wise." (1287, 1389-1442.) 
 
 Philippe III., Due de Bourgogne. 
 (1396, 1419-1467.) 
 
 Rene, called Tltc Good K'lnq Bene, 
 titular King of Na'ples. (1439-1452.) 
 
 Richard II., Due de Normandie. (996- 
 1026.) 
 
 Richard de Beauchamp, twelfth Earl 
 of Warwick, Regent of France. (Died 
 1439.) 
 
 Good-bye. A contraction of God be 
 vith )jou. Similar to the French adieu, 
 which is a Dieit (I commend you to God). 
 
 " Some object to the substitution of 
 " God " in this phrase, reminding us of 
 our common phrases good daij, c/ood 
 night, good morning, good ei-cn'ing ; 
 
 "Good be with ye" would mean may 
 you fare well, or good abide [with 3'ou], 
 
 Good-Cheap. The French /;o« marche, 
 a good bargain. " Cheap " here means 
 market or bargain, (Anglo-Sa.xon, ceap.) 
 
 Good Duke Humphrey. Hum- 
 phrey I'lantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, 
 youngest son of Henry IV., said to liavo 
 been murdered by Suffolk and Cardinal 
 Beaufort. {ShaA-rspeare : 'I Jlej/n/ VI., 
 iii. 2.) 
 
 V Called " Good," not for his philan- 
 thropy, but from his devotion to the 
 Church. He was an out-and-out Catholic. 
 
 Good Folk (Scotch gidd folk) arc like 
 the Shetland laud-Trows, who inhabit 
 the interior of green liills. (Sec Teows.) 
 
 Good Form, Bad Fornoi. f'oinme il 
 faiit, bun ion ; iiiauvai.s /on, connne il nc 
 faiit pas. Form means fasluon, like the 
 Latin /or;«(r. 
 
 Good Friday. The anniversary of 
 the Crucifixion. " Good " means liolg. 
 Probably good = God, as in the 2^1'i'aso 
 " (lood-bye" {'j.r.). 
 
 Horn on Good Fridag. According to 
 ancient superstition, those born on 
 Christmas Day or Good Friday have the 
 jiowcr of seeing and commanding spirits. 
 
 Good Graces {To get into onc^s). To 
 lie in favour with. 
 
 " TIa\ in« continued to pret into tlie good graces 
 (if ilie huxoni wiU(jw. "—i»ic/,-oHs; Pickwick, cliap. 
 xiv. 
 
 Good Hater {A). I lore a good hater. 
 I like a man to be with me or against 
 me, either to be hot or cold. Dr. John- 
 son called Bathurst the pliysician a 
 "good hater," because he hated a fool, 
 and he hated a rogue, and he hated a 
 Whig; "he," said the Doctor, "was a 
 very good hater." 
 
 Good Lady {The). The mistress of 
 the house. "Your good lady," your 
 wife. {Sec Goodman.) 
 
 V "My good woman" is a depreca- 
 tory address to an inferior ; but " Is 
 your good woman at home !r " is quite 
 respectful, meaning your wife (of the 
 lower grade of society) . 
 
 Good Neighbours. So the Scotch 
 call the Norse drows. 
 
 Good Regent. James Stewart, Earl 
 of Murray, appointed Regent of Scot- 
 laud after the imprisonment of Queen 
 Mary, 
 
 Good Samaritan. One who suc- 
 cours the distressed. The character is
 
 Grood Time 
 
 from our Lord's Parable of the man 
 who fell aiiiong thieves (St. Luke x. 
 30-37). 
 
 Good Time. There is a gnod time 
 coming. This has beeu for a long, loug 
 time a familiar saying in Scotland, and 
 is introduced by Sir Walter Scott in his 
 Jtob Roy. Charles Mackay has written 
 a song so called, set to music by Henry 
 Russell. 
 
 Good Turn {To do a). To do a kind- 
 ness to any one. 
 
 _ Good and All (/"»;■). Not tenta- 
 tively, not in jneteuce, nor yet tem- 
 porally, but bona fide, really, and alto- 
 gether. {See All.) 
 
 "Tlie ,crood woman iipver die.l after this, till she 
 came tu die foi\if.iod and ■.M."—L' Estrange: FaUks. 
 
 Good as Gold. Thoroughly good. 
 
 Good for Anything. Ripe for any 
 sort of work. 
 
 " After a man has had a year or two at this sort 
 of Work, he is good .... foranytliing."— iJoJdce- 
 tvood: ICubbenj under Arms, chap. xi. 
 
 ^ot good for aiigt/i iiig. Utterly worth- 
 less ; used up or worn down. 
 
 Good Wine needs no Biisli. It was 
 
 customary to hang out ivy, boughs of 
 trees, flowers, etc., at public houses to 
 notify to travellers that "good cheer" 
 might be had within. 
 
 " Some ale-honses upon the road I saw, 
 And some with bushes showing they wine did 
 draw." 
 
 Poor Robin's Perambulations (lG7s). 
 
 Goods. I carry all mg goods ivith me 
 {Om»ia mea mecttm porta) . Said by Bias, 
 one of the seven sages, when Prie'ne was 
 besieged and the inhabitants were pre- 
 paring for flight. 
 
 Goodfellow {Robin). Sometimes 
 called Puck, sou of Oberou, a domestic 
 spirit, tlie constant attendant on the 
 English fairy-court ; full of tricks and 
 fond of practical jokes. 
 
 " Tliat shrewd and knavish sprite] 
 Called Ilul.ln Goodfellow." 
 Shakespeare : Midsuiuiiier Xiylit's Dream, ii. 1. 
 
 Goodluck's Close (Norfolk). A 
 corruption of Guthlac's Close, so called 
 from a chapel founded by Allen, son of 
 Godfrey de Swaffham, in the reign of 
 Henry II., and dedicated to St. Guthlac. 
 
 Goodman. A husband or master is 
 the Saxon gi/jiia ov gon/a (a man), which 
 in the inflected cases becomes guman or 
 goman. In St. Matt. xxiv. i'-i, ' ' If the 
 goodmau of the house had known in 
 what watch the thief would come, he 
 would have watched." Gommau and 
 
 o37 Goody 
 
 gommer, for the master and mistress of 
 a house, are by no means uncommon. 
 The phrase is also used of the devil. 
 
 " There's nae luck aliout'the house 
 
 When our gudeman's awa." Miel.Ie. 
 
 Goodman, or St. Gutman. Patron 
 saint of tailors, being himself of the 
 same craft. 
 
 Goodman of Bal'lengeich. The 
 
 assumed name of James V. of Scotland 
 when he made his disguised visits 
 through the couutry districts around 
 Edinburgh and Stirliug, after the fashion 
 of Haroun-al-Raschid, Louis XI., etc. 
 
 Goodman's Croft. A strip of ground 
 or corner of a field formerly left untilled, 
 in Scotland, in the belief that unless 
 some such jilace were left, the spirit of 
 evil would damage the crop. 
 
 " Scotchmen still living remember the corner of 
 a field being left for the goodmau's croft."— I'^/ioc; 
 Primitive Caltnre, ii. 370. 
 
 Goodman's Fields, Whitechapel. 
 Fields belonging to a farmer named 
 Goodman. 
 
 " At the which farm I myself in my youth have 
 fetched many a halfpenny-worth of milk, and 
 ne\erliadle.-s than tbrecale-pints fdv a halfpenny 
 in siuiiiiicr, nor less tli.-iu one ale-pint in wintei', 
 always liot from the kiln- . . . and si rained. One 
 Troll, p, and aflenvards tJo.idnian, were the farm- 
 ers there, and had thirty or forty kinc tu thep.iil." 
 — ,SYo(r. 
 
 Goodwin Sands consisted at one 
 time of about 4,000 acres of low land 
 fenced from the sea by a wall, belonging 
 to Earl Goodwin or Godwin. William 
 the Conqueror bestowed them on the 
 abbey of St. Augustine, at Canterbury, 
 and the abbot allowed the sea-wall to 
 fall into a dilapidated state, so that the 
 sea broke through in 1100 and inundated 
 the whole. {See Tenteeden Steeple.) 
 
 Goodwood Races. So called from 
 the ptirk in which they are held. Tliey 
 begin the last Tuesday of July, and last 
 four days ; but the principal one is 
 Thursday, called the " Cup Daj'." 
 These races, being held in a private 
 park, are very select, and admirably 
 coLducted. Goodwood Park, the i)ro- 
 perty of the Duke of Richmond, was 
 purchased by Charles, the first Duke, of 
 the Compton family, then resident in 
 East Lav'ant, a village two miles uorth 
 of Chichester. 
 
 Goody. A depreciative, meaning 
 weakly moral and religious. In French, 
 bon homitie is used in a similar waj'. 
 
 "Xo doubt, if a Ctesar or a Napoleon comes be- 
 fore some man of weak will . . . especially if he 
 be a goody man, [he] will litiail."— y. Cook: Con- 
 science, lecture iv. p. 4\).
 
 Goody 
 
 538 
 
 Goose 
 
 Goody is good-wife, Chaucer's good- 
 lefe ; as, Goody Dobsou. Good-wonian 
 means the mistress of the house, con- 
 tracted sometimes into gommer, as good- 
 man is into gomman. [SfC Goodmax.) 
 
 Goody Blake. A poor okl woman 
 who was detected by Harry Gill, the 
 farmer, picking up sticks for a wee-bit 
 fire to warm herself by. The farmer 
 compelled her to leave them on the field, 
 and Goody Blake invoked on him the 
 curse that he might never more be wami. 
 From that moment neither blazing fire 
 nor accumulated clothing ever made 
 Harry Gill warm again. Do what he 
 would, ' ' his teeth went chatter, chatter, 
 still." {]}'ordsiLorUt : Goody Blake (uid 
 JIarri/ Gill.) 
 
 Goody Two-Shoes. This talc first 
 appeared in 116'). It was written for 
 Newber}', as it is said, by Oliver Gold- 
 smith. 
 
 Goody-goody. Very religious or 
 mriral, Imt with no strength of mind or 
 independence of sjjuit. 
 
 Goose. A tailors smoothing-iron ; so 
 called because its handle resembles the 
 neck of a goose. 
 
 "Come in, tailor; Iktc yoii iiiiiy roast your 
 Boi)SQ."—Slialcesi>eare: JJacliclIi, ii. :!. 
 
 _ Fcrrara gccsc. Celebrated for the 
 size of their livers. The French pi'ite 
 de fine gras, for which Strasbom-g is 
 so noted, is not a French invention, but 
 a mere imitation of a well-known dish 
 of classic times. 
 
 " I wisli, poiitlciiicn, ir was one of tlio geese of 
 Feir.ira, so imu-li oeli'hratiMl among the ancients 
 f'.r the ii.aLriiitmie of llieii' livers, one of wliicli is 
 f-aiil t.i liave weii-'licd uimanls of two iiounds. 
 With this focid, e.MUiisilc as it was, did Heliog- 
 al/alus regale his lioimas."— ,S'))!o/(eH.- Peregrme 
 Pickle. 
 
 Wayz Goose. (See Wayz.) 
 
 nieooli your y oo.se for yon. I'll jiay 
 you out. Eric, King of Sweden, coming 
 to a certain town with very few soldiers, 
 the enemy, in mockery, hung out a goose 
 for him to shoot at. Finding, however, 
 that the king meant business, and that 
 it would be no laughing matter for them, 
 they sent heralds to ask him what he 
 wanted. " To cook your goose for you," 
 he facetiously replied. 
 
 Ho killed the goose to get the eqgs. He 
 grasped at what was more than his due, 
 and lost an excellent customer. The 
 Greek fable says a countryman had a 
 goose that laid golden eggs"^; thinking to 
 make himself rich, he killed the goose 
 to get the whole stock of eggs at once, 
 but lost everything. 
 
 He steak a goose, and gives the gihhts 
 in alms. He amasses wealth by over- 
 reaching, and salves his conscience by 
 giving small sums in charity. 
 
 The older the goose the harder to pliieJc. 
 Old men are unwilling to part with their 
 money. The reference is to the custom 
 of plucking live geese for tlio sake of 
 their quills. Steel pens have put an end 
 to this barbarous custom. 
 
 2'o get the goose. To get hissed on the 
 stage. (Theatrieal.) 
 
 JUiat a goose you are. In the Egyptian 
 hieroglyphics the emblem of a vain silly 
 fellow is a goose. 
 
 G^ose and Gridiron. A ])ublic- 
 liouse sign, jiroperly the coat of arms of 
 the Company of Musician.s — viz. a swan 
 with expanded wings, within a double 
 trissure [the gridiron], counter, florj', 
 argent. Pei-verted into a goose striking 
 the bars of a gridiron witli its foot, and 
 called "The Swan and Harji," or 
 " Goose and Gridiion." 
 
 This famous lodfre of the Freemasons, of which 
 Wren was .Master ^iu London Honse Vard;, was 
 doon^cd In 1)<94. 
 
 Goose at Michaelmas. One legend 
 sa3-s tliat St. Maitin was tormented by 
 a goose which he killed and ate. As he 
 died from the repast, good Christians 
 have ever since sacrificed the goose ou 
 the day of the saint. 
 
 The pojiular tradition is that Queen 
 Elizabeth, on her way to TiHnuy Fort 
 (September 29th, l')88), dined at the 
 ancient seat of Sir Neville Umfreyville, 
 where, among other tldngs, two fine 
 geese were provided for dinner. The 
 queen, having eaten heartily, called for 
 a bumper of Burgundy, and gave as a 
 toa.st, " Destruction to the Spanish 
 Armada ! " Scarcely had she spoken 
 when a messenger announced the de- 
 struction of the fleet by a storm. The 
 queen demanded a second bumjDcr, and 
 said, "Henceforth shall a goose com- 
 memorate this great victory. ' ' This tale 
 is marred by the awkward circumstance 
 that the thanksgiving sermon for the 
 victory was preached at St. Paul's on the 
 20th August, and the fleet was disiiersed 
 by the winds in July. Gascoigne, 
 who died 1577, refers to the custom 
 of goose-eating at Michaelmas as com- 
 mon. 
 
 " At Christmas a capon, at Michaelmas a goose, 
 And somewhat else at NewYere's tide, forfeare 
 the lease flies loose." 
 
 V At Michaelmas time stubble-geese 
 ai'e in perfection, and tenants formerly
 
 Gooseberry 
 
 539 
 
 Gorgibus 
 
 presented tlieir landlords with one to 
 keep in their good graces. 
 
 All 111. 11 '-'li L'rcsiMv.Ti- Sfi-ve.l at ttililciii Jliiliiicl- 
 liias tiiiN-, I'l-iMi'r I he .li-sinn-iion .,f t lii> Aniiiida, 
 
 still till-, .MiiiiMi' rati' ilial .■\ciit. So tlii-rc 
 
 Wi'VO ilualil!.--- |-alli;..i\\s l„-l-,,r,- liic i-'lduil, vi-t 
 (iod iiiailc 111.' laiiiliiiw Uiu liiktai (if His vi'i-iiiiise 
 nut to st'iul auiillifr Flood iipou the world. 
 
 Gooseberry. Fox Talbot snys this 
 is St. John's berry, being ripe about St. 
 John's Day. [This must be John tlie 
 Baptist, at the end of August, not John 
 tlie Evangelist, at the beginning of 
 May.] Hence, he says, it is called in 
 Holland Jdiialimrii. Jans'-beeren, he 
 continues, has been corruj)ted into Gans- 
 becreu, and Gaus is the German for 
 goose. This is very ingenious, but r/or.w 
 (furze) offers a simpler derivation. 
 Gorsc-bcrry (the prickly bei-ry) would 
 be like the Gemian stachd-bccre (the 
 "prickly berry"), and kruHS-beerc 
 (the rough gooseberry), from hrauen 
 (to scratch). Krausboere, Gorse-berry, 
 Gooseberry. In Scotland it is called 
 grosser. (6('e Beae's Gaelick.) 
 
 To plan [/oosebcrv)! i^ ^*^ 8'° with two 
 lovers for appearance' sake. The person 
 "who plays propriety" is expected to 
 hear, see, and say nothing. {^>Sce GooSE- 
 
 BEEEY PiCKEE.) 
 
 He platjcd up old gooseberry uith me. 
 He took great liberties with my property, 
 and greatly abused it ; in fact, he made 
 gooseberry fool of it. (6Ve below.) 
 
 Gooseberry Fool. A corruption of 
 goosel)erry J'"/il'', milled, mashed, 
 pressed. The French have fo/i/e do 
 pommes ; foule de raisins ; fouli de 
 groseilles, our "gooseberry fool." 
 
 V Gooseberry fool is a compound made 
 of gooseberries scalded and pounded 
 with cream. 
 
 Gooseberry Picker (./). One who 
 has all tlia toil and trouble of picking a 
 troublesome fruit for the delectation of 
 others. {See Tapisseeie.) 
 
 Goosebridge. Go to Gooscbruhje. 
 " Rule a wife and have a wife." Boc- 
 caccio (ix. 9) tells us that a man who 
 had married a shrew asked Solomon 
 what he should do to make her more 
 submissive ; and the wise king answered, 
 "Go to Goosebridge." Eetiu-niughonie, 
 deeply perplexed, he came to a bridge 
 where a muleteer was trying to induce 
 a mule to pass over it. The mule re- 
 sisted, but the stronger will of the mule- 
 teer at length prevailed. The man 
 asked the name of the bridge, and was 
 told it was "Goosebridge." Petruchio 
 
 tamed Katharine by the power of a 
 stronger will. 
 
 Goose Dubbs, of Glasgow. A sort 
 of Seven Dials, or Scottish Alsa'tia. 
 The Scotch use didi})s for a filthy puddle. 
 (Welsh, dab, mortar ; Irish, doib, plas- 
 ter.) 
 
 "The Riipe-ihilis o' (41a-;','o\v: O sirs, -niiat a 
 liiulilk" o' liiiiises, . . . till' j.'i-iTii iiiiddeus o' liaith 
 Ihliiid anil solid inaltfr, soomin" \vi' dead cats and 
 auld sliooii,"— A'ocd s Ainbiosidixp. 
 
 Goose Gibbie. A half-witted lad, 
 who first " kept the turkeys, and was 
 afterwards advanced to the more im- 
 portant office of minding the cows." 
 (,Sir Walter , Scott : Old Jlurtxlity.) 
 
 Gopher-wood (iej), of which the 
 ark was made. 
 
 It was iicricid, says tlie Religions Tract Society. 
 
 It was li/ixicdod, says tbe .-iraliian conniientators. 
 
 It was bulni^lics, daubed over with slime, says 
 Dawson. 
 
 It was cedar, says tbe Targnm of Onkelos. 
 
 It was cufress, says Puller, and Kvnap is not 
 unlike (joplicr. 
 
 It was eboiiy-wnod, says Bnckart. 
 
 It was ihal vr Ji r-iroo(l , sa.v some. 
 
 It •n-.i^jiiiiiiier-iiojd, says Caslellus. 
 
 It was pi7ie, say Aseuarius. Munster, Fersie, 
 Taylor, etc. 
 
 It was u-icker-icood, says Geddes. 
 
 Gordian Knot. A great difficulty. 
 Gordius, a peasant, being chosen king 
 of Phrygia, dedicated his waggon to 
 Jupiter, and fastened the yoke to a 
 beam with a rope of bark so ingeniously 
 that no one could untie it. Alexander 
 was told that " whoever undid the knot 
 would reign over the whole East." 
 "Well then," said the conqueror, "it 
 is thus I perfonn the task," and, so 
 saying, he cut the knot in twain with 
 his sword. 
 
 To cut the knot is to evade a difficulty, 
 or get out of it in a summary manner. 
 
 " Siudi praise tlie JIaoedonian pot 
 For having rudely cut tlu'lionliaii knot." 
 llVi //()•; T'ttlic King. 
 "Turn liim tnany cause of pilicy, 
 The (Jorilian knot of it lie will unloose, 
 Familiar as his garter.' 
 
 .•iliaUci-pcarc : llevry Y. i. 1. 
 
 Gordon Riots. Riots in 1780, 
 heailed by Lord George Gordon, to com- 
 pel tlie House of Commons to repeal the 
 bill passed in 1778 for the relief of 
 Roman Catholics. Gordon was undoubt- 
 edly of unsound mind, and he died in 
 1793, a proselyte to Judaism. Dickens 
 has given a very vivid description of the 
 Gordon riots in Barnaby Itudgc. 
 
 Gor'gibus. An honest, simple-minded 
 burgess, brought into all sorts of troubles 
 by the love of finery and the gingerbread 
 gentility of his niece and his daughter. 
 {Moliere : Les Frecieuses Jiidiciiles.)
 
 G-orgon 
 
 540 
 
 Goth 
 
 Gorgon. Anything unusually hide- 
 ous. There were three Gorgons, with 
 serpents on their heads instead of hair ; 
 Medu'sa was the chief of the three, and 
 the only one that was mortal ; but so 
 liideous was her face that whoever set 
 eyes on it was instantly turned into 
 stone. She was slain by Perseus, aud 
 her head placed on the shield of Minerva. 
 
 " Lest GorRon rising from tbc infernal lakes 
 Witb liurrors armed, and curls of hissinj-' snakes, 
 Slxmld lix me, stiffened at tlie monstrous sight, 
 A stony image in eternal niglit." 
 
 Oilyssei/, xi. 
 " What was that snaky-headed Gordon shield 
 That wise Minerva wore , unconcjuered virgin, 
 "Wherewith she freezed her foes to congealed 
 
 stone? 
 But rigid loo!;s of chaste austerity, 
 And uohle grace, that dasheil lirute violence 
 With sudden adoration and blank awe." 
 
 iliUun: t'o)HU«, 458— 463. 
 
 Gorham Controversy. This arose 
 out of the refusal of the bishop of Exe- 
 ter to institute the Kev. Cornelius Gor- 
 ham to the vicarage of Brampford Speke, 
 "because he held unsound views on the 
 doctrine of baptism." Mr. Gorham 
 maintained that " spiritual regeneration 
 is not conferred on children by baptism." 
 After two years' controversy, the Privy 
 Council decided in favour of Mr. Gor- 
 ham (18.')1). 
 
 Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, husband 
 of Igorna, who was the mother of King 
 Arthur by an adulterous connection with 
 Uther, pendragon of the Britons. 
 
 Gosling. A term applied to a silly 
 fellow, a simpleton. 
 
 " Surprised at all they meet, the gosling pair, 
 With awkward gait, stretched neck, and silly 
 
 stare, 
 Biscover hu.ae cathedrals." 
 
 L'utrpcr : Progress of Error, 379—81. 
 
 Goslings. The catkins of nut-trees, 
 pines, etc. Halliwell says they are so 
 called from their yellow colour and 
 fluffy textm-e. 
 
 Gospel. A panacea ; a scheme to 
 bring about some promised reform ; a 
 beau ideal. Of course the theological 
 word is the Anglo-Saxon gochpiU, i.e. 
 God and spd (a story), a translation of 
 the Greek cvaiigelion, the good story. 
 
 " Mr. Carnegie's gospel is the very thing for the 
 transition period from social heathendom t<i 
 social Christianity."— iViiictceHt/i Century (.March, 
 18yi, p. 3SU). 
 
 Gospel according to . . . The 
 
 chief teaching of [so-and-so]. "The 
 Gospel according to Mammon " is the 
 making and collecting of money. " The 
 Gospel according to Sir Pertinax Mac 
 Sycophant," is bowing and cringing to 
 those who are in a position to lend you 
 a helping hand. 
 
 Gospel of Nicodemus (7"/'^). Some- 
 times called "The Acts of Pilate " {Acta 
 I'lldti), was the main source of the 
 "Mysteries" and "Miracle Plays" of 
 the Middle Ages ; and although now 
 deemed apocryphal, seemsfor many ages 
 to have been accepted as genuine. 
 
 Gospel of Wealth {Tin). The hy- 
 pothesis that wealth is the great end and 
 aim of man, the one thing needful. 
 
 •' The (iospel of Wealth advocates leaving free 
 the opeiatiiin i^f laws of accumulation."— ('«)•- 
 ticiiii' : Adcantiiijes of Poverty. 
 
 Gospellers. Follower.s of Wycliffe, 
 called the " Gosjiel Doctor;" any one 
 who believes that the New Testament 
 has in part, at least, superseded the Old. 
 
 J[<it Gosjirllrrft. A nickname applied 
 to the Puritans after the Eestoration. 
 
 Gossamer. According to legend, 
 this delicate thread is the ravelling of the 
 Virgin Mary's winding-sheet, which fell 
 to earth on her ascension to heaven. It 
 is said to be Gud'n scam, i.e. God's 
 thread. Philologically it is the Latin 
 (jossipiii-Ks, cotton. 
 
 Gossip. A tattler ; a sponsor at bap- 
 tism, a corruption of (/os.sih, which is God- 
 sib, a kinsman in the Lord. ('SVZi, r/csib, 
 Anglo-Saxon, kinsman, whence sihiiuiii, 
 he iH our sib, still used.) 
 
 " "fis not a maid, for she hath had gossips[spon- 
 sors for her child]; yet 'tis a maid, for she is her 
 iijaster's servant, and serves for v;»ges."— Shuke- 
 sjieare; Two Gextlemeii of Yiroua, iii. 1. 
 
 Gossip. A father confessor, of a good, 
 easy, jovial frame. 
 
 ■'Here, Andrc'.v, carry this to my eossip. jolly 
 fathiT Boniface, the mniik of St. Martin's."— .Sic 
 W'ldttr t<Ci.tt : tjiuiitiii Diiruard. 
 
 Gossyp'ia. The cotton-plant per- 
 sonified. 
 
 " The nym] h Gossyjiia heads the velvet sod, 
 Aud warms with rosy smiles the watery god." 
 Ddrifhi : Loves of the J'l(uits, canto ii. 
 
 Got the Mitten. Jilted ; got lus 
 dismissal. The word is from the Latin 
 nittto, to dismiss. 
 
 " There is a young lady I have set my heart on ; 
 though whether she is agoiu' to give me hern, or 
 give hie the mitten, I ain't quite satistled."— Atim 
 Sllclc : Human Nature, p. 90. 
 
 Gotch. A large stone jug with a 
 handle (Norfolk). Fetch the f/otch, mor 
 — i.e. fetch the great water-jug, lassie. 
 
 "A gotch of milk I've been to fill." 
 
 Bloniiijield : Jiicliard and Kate. 
 
 Goth. Icelandic, got (a horseman) ; 
 whence JJ'oclcii — i.e. Gotlien. 
 
 '• The (ioths were divided hy the' Dnieper into 
 Kast Goths (Ostrogoths), and West Goths (Visi- 
 goths), and were the most cultureii of the Gern.an 
 l<eoiAes."—Barii>/j-GoaM: Story of Germany, p. 37.
 
 Gotham 
 
 541 
 
 Goutte de Sang 
 
 Last of the Goiiis. Roderick, the 
 thirty-fourth of the Visigothic Hue of 
 kings (414-711). (<Vce Eodeeick.) 
 
 Gotbam. Wise Men of Gotham. — 
 fools. Many tales of folly liave been 
 f fithered on the Gothamites, one of which 
 is their joining hands round a thorn- 
 bush to shut in a cuckoo. The " bush" 
 is still shown to visitors. 
 
 It is said that King John intended to 
 make a progress through this town with 
 the view of purchasing a castle and 
 grounds. Tlie townsmen had no desire 
 to be saddled with this exj^euse, and 
 therefore when the royal messengers 
 appeared, wherever they went they saw 
 the peoj)le occupied in some idiotic 
 pursuit. The king being told of it, 
 abandoned his intention, and the "wise 
 men " of the village cunningly remarked, 
 " We ween there are more fools pass 
 through Gotham than remain in it." 
 Andrew Boyde, a native of Gotham, 
 wrote The Merrio Tales of the Wise Men 
 of Gotham, founded on a commission 
 signed by Henry VIII. to tlie magistrates 
 of that town to prevent poaching. 
 
 N.B. All nations have fixed upon 
 some locality as their limbus of fools ; 
 thus we have Phrygia as the fools' home 
 of Asia Minor, Abde'ra of the Thracians, 
 BcEo'tia of the Greeks, Nazareth of the 
 ancient Jews, Swabia of the modern 
 Germans, and so on. {8ee Coggeshall.) 
 
 Gothamites (3 sjd.). American 
 cocknej-s. New York is called satirically 
 Gotham. 
 
 " Such things as would strike ... a stranger in 
 our beloved C4othani, and places to which our 
 regular Gothamites (American cockneys) are 
 wont to repair." — Frascr's Uitijazlne : Sketclies of 
 American Society. 
 
 Gothic Architecture has nothing 
 to do with the Goths, but is a term of 
 contempt bestowed by the architects of 
 the Renaissance period on mediaeval 
 architecture, which they tenned Gothic 
 or clumsy, fit for barbarians. 
 
 " St. Louis . . . built the Ste. Chapelle of Paris, 
 . . . the most precious piece of Gothic in North- 
 ern Europe."— iSHsfci)! ; Fors Clavigera, vol. i. 
 
 V Napoleon III. magniflcently restoredand laid 
 open this exquisite church. 
 
 Gouk or Gowk. In the Teutonic the 
 word gaueh means fool ; whence the 
 Anglo-Saxon geac, a cuckoo, and the 
 Scotch goke or c/onlc. 
 
 Hunting the gowk [fool], is making 
 one an April fool. ("SVe April.) 
 
 A gowk storm is a term applied to a 
 storm consisting of several days of 
 tempestuous weather, believed by the 
 
 peasantry to take place periodically about 
 the beginning of April, at the time that 
 the gowk or cuckoo visits this country. 
 
 " That beins done, he hoped that this was but a 
 gowk-storm.'"— .b'ir Li. Mackenzie: Memoirs, p. To. 
 
 Gourd. Used in the Middle Ages for 
 corks {Orlando Furioso, x. lOG) ; used also 
 for a cup or bottle. (French, gourde ; 
 Latin, eaeurhita.) 
 
 Jonah''s gourd \Jcikireii'], the Talma 
 Christi, called in Egypt klki. Niebuhr 
 sjieaks of a specimen which he himself 
 saw near a rivulet, which in October 
 "rose eight feet in five months' time." 
 And Volney says, "Wherever plants 
 have water the rapidity of their growth 
 is prodigious. In Cairo," he adds, "there 
 is a sjjecies of gourd which in twenty- 
 four hours will send out shoots four 
 inches long." {Travels, vol. i. p. 71.) 
 
 Gourds. Dice with a secret cavity. 
 Those loaded with lead were called 
 Fulhams [q.v.). 
 
 " Gourds and fullam holds. 
 And liitrli and low beguile the rich and poor." 
 aiuikctiiiaire : Merrjj Wins of ll'/Hrfsor, i. 3. 
 
 Gourmand and Gourmet (French). 
 The gourmand is one whose chief pleasure 
 is eating ; but a gourmet is a connoisseur 
 of footl and wines. In England the 
 difference is this : a gourntaiul regards 
 quantity more than quality, a gourmet 
 quahty more than quantity. (Welsh, 
 gor, excess; gorni, a fulness; gounnod, 
 too much ; gormant; etc.) {Hec Apicius.) 
 
 " In former times [in France] qonrmand meant a 
 judge of eating, and gourmet a judge of wiue . . . 
 Gourmet is now universally understood to refer 
 to catiug, and not to drinking." — Hamerton: 
 French and Emjlisli, part \. chap. iv. p. 249. 
 
 Gourmand's Prayer {The). "O 
 Philoxenos, Philoxeuos, why were j'ou 
 not Prometheus':'" Prometheus was 
 the mythological creator of man, and 
 Philoxenos was a great epicure, whose 
 great and constant wish was to have the 
 neck of a crane, that he might enjoy the 
 taste of his food longer before it was 
 swallowed into his stomach. {Aristotle : 
 Ethics, iii. 10.) 
 
 Gourre (1 syl.). A debauched wo- 
 man. Tlie citizens of Paris bestowed 
 the name on Isabella of Bavaria. 
 
 " We have here ... a man . . . who to his 
 second wife espoused La graudc Gourre."— /Jxte- 
 lais: ranttig'riicl, iii. 21. 
 
 Gout, from the French goutte, a drop, 
 because.it was once thought to proceed 
 from a " drop of acrid matter in the 
 joints." 
 
 Goutte de Sang. The Adonis flower 
 or pheasant's eye, said to be stained by
 
 Goven 
 
 542 
 
 Grace Darling 
 
 the blood of Adonis, wjio was gored by 
 a boar. 
 
 " O nciir, si clicrc ii CyUieri'O 
 'I'a cdvolle fur, en iiaissaiit, 
 [ ■ l)u saug d' Adonis colorce." 
 
 Goven. St. Govcit''s Bell. (.SVc Inch- 
 cape.) 
 Government Men. Convicts. 
 
 " [He] Lad always liofii a liard-nnrliiii!-' man . . . 
 Cdiid at iiii'st tbiiij-'S, and, liki' a l(d more uf I lie 
 Uovcnuuriit men, as llie conviets were called, 
 . . . li:id sa\ eil some \w\w): ." —Jioldrcwmd: Uubbivy 
 iiiidti- Anna, eliap. i. 
 
 Gowan. A daisy ; a perennial jilant 
 or flower. 
 
 The ewe-gowau is the common d.ii.sy, 
 apparently clenoniiuated from the ewe, 
 as being irequently in pastures fed on 
 by sheep. 
 
 "S<mie bit waefu' love story, cnonu-li 1o mak 
 tlie I'inks an' the cwe-gowans blush lu Ihe \ery 
 hi'."— Brvii-iiic of Budxlwcl;, i. •J15. 
 
 Gower, called by Chaucer " The moral 
 Gower." 
 
 " () mor;il (lower, this Imnk 1 direct 
 
 To Ihe.-, and lo Ihi' |.hih.soii|iical SIrood, 
 To \ oiiclisaiif Iheii' lU'ecl is I o correct 
 (If Miiir lienigiiilieo and zeales food." 
 
 Chdiiccr. 
 Gowk. {See GouK.) 
 
 Go^yk-th^apple {Jfnistrr). A puljut- 
 dnininiino- " cho.sen vessel" in Scott's 
 
 M'drcrlcii. 
 
 Gowlee (Iiirfirin). A "cow-herd." 
 One of the Hindu castes is so called. 
 
 Gown. Gown and toiin row. A 
 scrinnnage between the students of 
 different colleges, on one side, and the 
 townsmen, on the other. These feuds go 
 back to the reign of King John, when 
 8,000 students left Oxford for Reading, 
 owing to a quarrel with the men of the 
 town. What little now remains of this 
 " ancient tenure " is confiued, as far as 
 the town is concerned, to the bargees 
 and their " tails." 
 
 Gownsman. A student at one of 
 the universities ; so called because he 
 wears an academical gown. 
 
 Graal. {Sec Geail.) 
 
 Grab. To clutch or seize. / r/rahhed 
 it ; he grabbed him, i.e. the bailiff caught 
 him. (Swedish, ^rffWff, to grasp ; Danish, 
 griber ; our grip, gripe, grope, grapple.) 
 
 A land grabber. A very common ex- 
 pression in Ireland during the last two 
 decades of the nineteenth century, to 
 signify one who takes the farm or land 
 of an evicted tenant. 
 
 Grace. The sister Graces. The Eo- 
 maus said there were three sister Graces, 
 bosom friends of the Muses. They are 
 represented as embracing each other, 
 
 to show that where one is the other is 
 welcome. Their names arc Aglcea, 
 TlialKi, and Eujilirosyne. 
 
 Grace's Card or Grace-card. 'J'lie 
 six of hearts is so called in Kilkenny. 
 At the Revolution in 1()88, one of the 
 family of Grace, of Courtstown, in Ire- 
 land, eipiiiipcd at liis own oxjiensc a 
 regiment of foot ami troop of liorse, in 
 the service of King James. AVilliam of 
 Orange i)romised him high honours if he 
 wotd(( join the new pa.rty, but the in- 
 dignant liarou wrot(! on a card, " Tell 
 your master I ik'spise his oifer." Tlio 
 card was the six of liearts, and hence tlio 
 name. 
 
 V It was a common practice till quite 
 modern times to utilise playing-cards 
 for directions, orders, and addresses. 
 
 Grace Cup or I.oriug Cap. Tlio larger 
 tankard ii.issed round the talile after 
 grace. It is still seen at tlie Lord 
 Maj'or's feasts, at college, and occasion- 
 ally in private bantiuets. 
 
 V The ])roper way of drinking the 
 cup observed at the Lord Mayor's ban- 
 quet or City companies' is to have a 
 silver bowl witli two handles and a 
 napkin. Two persons stand up, one lo 
 drink and the other to defend the 
 drinker. Having taken his draught, he 
 wipes the cup with the napkin, and 
 passes it to his "defender," when the 
 next person rises to defend the new 
 drinker. And so on to the end. 
 
 Grace Darling, daughter of William 
 Darling, lighthouse-keeper on Longstono, 
 one of the Fame Islands. On the morn- 
 ing of the 7th September, 1838, Grace 
 au(t her father saved nine of the crew of 
 the Forfarshire steamer, wrecked among 
 the Fame Isles, opposite Bamborough 
 Castle (1815-1842). Wordsworth has a 
 poem on the subject. 
 
 'The Grace Darling of America. Ida 
 Lewis (afterwards Mrs. W. H. Wilson, 
 of Black Rock, Connecticut). Her 
 father kept the Limerock lighthouse iu 
 Newport harbour. At the age of 
 eighteen she saved four young men whose 
 boat had upset in the harbour. A little 
 later she saved the life of a drunken 
 sailor whose boat had sunk. In 1867 
 she rescued three men ; and in 1868 a 
 small boy who had clung to the mast of 
 a sailboat from midnight till morning. 
 In 1869 she and her brother Hosea 
 rescued two .«ailors whose boat had 
 capsized in a squall. Soon after this 
 she married, and her career at the light- 
 house ended. (Born 1841.)
 
 Grace Days 
 
 543 
 
 Grain 
 
 Grace Days or Days of Grace. The 
 three days over and above the time stated 
 iu a commercial bill. Thus, if a bill is 
 drawn ou the 20tli June, and is jtayablo 
 in one month, it ought to be due ou the 
 20th of July, but three days of grace are 
 to be added, briughig the date to the 
 23rd of July. 
 
 Gracechurch (London) is Graes- 
 churcli, or Clrass-church, the church 
 built ou the site of the old grass-market. 
 Grass at one time included all sorts of 
 herbs. 
 
 Graceless Florin. The first issue 
 of the English florins, so called because 
 the letters D.G. ("by God's grace") were 
 omitted for want of room. It happened 
 that Richard Lalor Shell, the master of 
 the Mint, was a Catholic, and a scandal 
 was raised that the omission was made 
 on religious grounds. The florins were 
 called in and re-cast. (&'i? Godless 
 Floein.) 
 
 V Mr. Shell was appointed by the Whig 
 ministry Master of the Mint iu 1846 ; he 
 issued the florin in 1849 ; was removed 
 in 18o0, and died at Florence in 1851, 
 aged nearly 57. 
 
 Gracio'sa. A princess beloved by 
 Perciuet, who thwarts the malicious 
 schemes of Grognon, her stepmother. 
 {Afmry tj,lr.) 
 
 Gracio'so. The interlocutor iu the 
 Spanish (Inline roiiuoitiqiie. He thrusts 
 himself forward ou all occasions, ever 
 and anon directing Iris gibes to the 
 audience. 
 
 Gradas'so. A bully ; so called from 
 Gradasso, King of Serica'na, called by 
 Ariosto " the "bravest of the Pagan 
 knights." He went against Charlemagne 
 with 100,000 vassals in his train, all 
 "discrowned kings," who never ad- 
 dressed him but on their knees. {Orlando 
 Farioso and Orlando Innamorato.) 
 
 Gradely. A north of England term 
 meaning thoroughly ; regularly ; as Be- 
 have yourself gradel II . A gradely fine day. 
 "Sammy '11 fettle him graidely."— ,Vi-s. //. Bur- 
 nctt: That Lass o'Loicrie's, chap. ii. 
 
 Grad'grind (Thomas). A man who 
 measures everj^tlring with rule and 
 compass, allows nothing for the weak- 
 ness of human nature, and deals with 
 men and women as a mathematician 
 with his figures. He shows that stimmiim 
 jus is suprema injuria. {Dickens : Hard 
 ' Tunes.) 
 
 " The gradgrinds undervalue and disparage it." 
 ^Church Review. 
 
 Graemes {Tlie). A class of free- 
 booters, who inhabited the debatable 
 land, and were transi)orted to Ireland 
 at the beginning of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury. 
 
 Graham. A charlatan who gave 
 indecent and blasphemous addresses in 
 the " Great Apollo Room," Adelphi. He 
 sometimes made mesmerism a medium 
 of pandering to the prurient taste of his 
 audience. 
 
 Grahame's Dyke. The Roman wall 
 between the fritlis of the Clyde and 
 Forth, so called from the first person 
 who leajjcd over it after the Romans 
 left Britain. 
 
 "Tills wall defended the Brituns ten- a time, but 
 the .Scuts and Picts ajiscmliled tlienitselvcs in 
 great numbers, and clinilK'd mer it ... . A man 
 named CIrahame is said tu liave been the flist 
 soldier who gut over, and tlie coninu)n pei>pl<3 
 still call the nniiains of the wall 'Urahanie's 
 Pike.'"— Sir Walter ticott : Tales of a Grund- 
 fatlier. 
 
 Grail {The Ilohj). In French, S'ln 
 Graal. This must not be confounded 
 with the san-yrcal or sany-rcal, for the 
 two are totally distinct. The "Grail" 
 is either the piateu or dish which held 
 the paschal lamb eaten by Christ and 
 His apostles at the last supper, or the 
 cup which He said contained the blood 
 of the New Testament. Joseph of 
 Arimathfea, according to legend, pre- 
 served this cu2^, and received into it 
 some of the blood of Jesus at the 
 crucifixion. He brought it to England, 
 but it disappeared. The quest of the 
 Holy Grail is the fertile som-ce of 
 the adventures of the Knights of the 
 Round Table. In some of tlie tales it is 
 evidently the cuji, in others it is the 
 paten or dish (French, f/rasal, the sacra- 
 mental cup). Sir Galahad discovered it 
 and died ; but each of the 1-50 knights 
 of King Arthur caught sight of it ; but, 
 unless pure of heart and holy in con- 
 duct, the grail, though seen, suddenly 
 disappeared. {See Geeal and Galahad.) 
 
 Grain. A kiiare in yrain. A knave, 
 though a rich man, or magnate. Grain 
 means scarlet (Latin, graiiuin, the coccus, 
 or scarlet dye). 
 " a military vest of purple flowed 
 
 Livelier than MeliOe'an [Thessalian], or the 
 grain 
 
 nt Sarra. [""yre] worn by kings and heroes old; 
 
 In lime of truce." 
 
 Paradise Lost, xi. 241-2-lJ. 
 
 Eogue in grain. A punning application 
 of the above phrase to millers. 
 
 lb go against the grain. Against one's 
 inclination. The allusion is to wood, 
 which cannot be easily planed the wrong 
 way of the grain..
 
 Gramercy 
 
 544 
 
 Grandison 
 
 With a grain of salt. Latin, " Cum 
 grnno sails," with great reservation. 
 The French phrase has another meaning 
 — thus, "J/ Icmaixjcrait arcc loi f/rain dc 
 scV means, lie could double up such a 
 little whipper-snapper as easilj- as one 
 could swallow a grain of salt. In the 
 Latin phrase cum does not mean " with " 
 or "together with," but it adverbialiscs 
 the noun, as cum fide, faithfully, cum 
 silcntio, silently, cum Urtitia, joyfully, 
 cion grauo, minutely (" cinn (jyaiio saliy," 
 in the minute manner that one takes 
 salt). 
 
 Gramercy. Thank you much (the 
 French grand mcrcl). Thus iShakespeare, 
 "Be it so, Titus, and gramercy too" 
 (Titns Aiidro»iciis, i. 2). Again, " Gra- 
 mercies, Tranio, well dost thou advise " 
 (Tainii/g of the tiltreic,^ i. 1). When 
 Gobbo says to Bassanio, " God bless 
 yoiu- worship ! " he rejilies, " Gramercy. 
 Wouldst thou aught with me 'i " {Mer- 
 chant of Venice, ii. 2.) 
 
 Grammar. Zenod'otos invented the 
 terms singular, jjlural, and dual. 
 
 The scholars of Alexandria and of the 
 rival academy of Per'gamos were the 
 first to distinguish language into i^arts 
 of speech, and to give technical tcniis to 
 the various functions of words. 
 
 The first Greek grammar was by 
 Dionysios Thras, and it is still extant. 
 He was a pupil of Aristarchos. 
 
 Julius CtEsar was the inventor of the 
 term ablative case. 
 
 English grammar is the most philo- 
 sophical ever devised ; and if the first 
 and third personal pronouns, the rela- 
 tive pronoun, the 3rd person singular of 
 the present indicative of verbs, and the 
 verb "to be" could be reformed, it 
 would be as near perfection as possible. 
 
 V It was Kaiser Sigismuud who 
 stumbled into a wrong gender, and when 
 told of it replied, " Ego s/nii I/nperafor 
 Romanoran), ct supra f/ra)uinaticai)i " 
 (1.520, 1548-1572). 
 
 Grammarians. Prince of Gram- 
 marians. ApoUo'uios of Alexandria, 
 called byPriscian Grammaiico' rum prin- 
 ceps (second century B.C.). 
 
 Grammont. TIic Count dc Gram- 
 monfs short inemorij. When the Count 
 left England he was followed by the 
 brothers of La Belle Hamilton, who, with 
 drawn swords, asked him if he had not 
 forgotten something. "True, true," 
 said the Count; "I promised to marry 
 your sister," and instantly went back to 
 
 repair the lapse by making the young 
 lady Countess of Grammont. 
 
 Granary of Europe. So Sicily used 
 to be called. 
 
 Granby. The Marquis of Graiihg. A 
 public-house sign in honour of John 
 Maimers, Marquis of Granbj', a po2uilar 
 English general (1721-1770). 
 
 The Times .says the old marquis owes 
 his sign-board notoriety " partly to his 
 personal bravery and partly to the 
 baldness of his head. He still presides 
 over eighteen public-houses in London 
 alone." 
 
 Old Weller, in ricJcirick, maiTicd the 
 hostess of the " Marquis of Granby" at 
 Dorking. 
 
 Grand (French). 
 
 Le Grand Corneille. Corneille, the 
 French dramatist (1G06-1G84). 
 
 le Grand Dauph'in. Louis, son of 
 Louis XIV. (1661-1711). 
 
 Jai Grande Mademoiselle. TheDuchesse 
 de Montpensier, daughter of Gaston, Due 
 d'Orleans, and cousin of Louis XIV. 
 
 Ja' Grand Monarijue. Louis XIV., 
 also called "The Baboon" (1638, 1643- 
 171.5). 
 
 Le Grand Tan. Voltaire (1696-1778). 
 
 Monsieur le Grand. The Grand 
 Equerry of France in the reign of Louis 
 XIV. , etc. 
 
 Grandee. In Spain, a nobleman of 
 the highest rank, who has the privilege of 
 I'cmaiuing covered in the king's presence. 
 
 Grand Alliance. Signed May 12th, 
 16S'J, between England, Germany, and 
 the States General, subsequently also by 
 Spain and Savoy, to prevent the union 
 of France and Spain. 
 
 Grand Lama. The object of wor- 
 ship in Thibet and Mongolia. The word 
 lama in the Tangutanese dialect means 
 "mother of souls." It is the repre- 
 sentative of the Shigemooni, the highest 
 god. 
 
 Grande Passion {The). Love. 
 
 "Tliisis sc:u-ccl\ Milli.iriit, .... to supjil.v tlie 
 element .... so iiiili>,i«Mis,ihle t(i tl)c existence 
 ul -A qrande iiassiuii."— ..Vii(c(rtii(/i Ctniarij tFel)- 
 i-iuii-y, is'J-', p. :;uo. 
 
 Grandison (Sir Charles). The union 
 of a Christian and a gentleman . Richard- 
 son's novel so called. Sir Walter Scott 
 calls Sir Charles " the faultless monster 
 that the world ne'er saw." Eobert 
 Nelson, reputed author of the ll'hole 
 Duty of Man, was the prototype. 
 
 Grandison Cromwell Lafayette. 
 
 Grandison Cromwell was the witty
 
 Grandmother 
 
 545 
 
 Grass 
 
 uickname given by Mirabeau to Lafay- 
 ette, meaniug thereby that he had all the 
 ambition of a Cromwell in his heart, but 
 wanted to appear before men as a Sii' 
 Charles Graudison. 
 
 Grandmother. J/// grfi)i(h)iothcy''s 
 review, tlie British licvicw. Lord Byron 
 said, iu a sort of jest, " I bribed mij 
 (jramhnother''s review.'''' The editor of 
 the British called him to account, and 
 this gave the poet a tine opportunity of 
 pointing the battery of his satire against 
 the periodical. {Bon Jnaii.) 
 
 Grane (1 syl.). To strangle, throttle 
 (Anglo-Saxon, ijri/i>). 
 
 Grange. Properly the (jrnniim (gra- 
 nary) or farm of a monastery, where 
 the com was kejit in store. In Lincoln- 
 shire and other northern counties any 
 lone farm is so called. 
 
 M(iri «))((, of the Moated Grange, is the 
 title of a poem by Tennyson, suggested 
 by the character of Mariana iu Shake- 
 sjieare's Measure for Measure. 
 
 '.' Houses attached to monasteries 
 where rent was jjaid iu grain were also 
 called granges. 
 
 " Till thou return, the Court I will exchancre 
 For some loor oortatre, or some country ^'rant'e." 
 IJiiiyton : Lady Geraldine to h'arl of Surrey. 
 
 Grangerise. Having obtained a copy 
 ofthcpoeVs ivorhs, he proeeeded at onee 
 to Grangerise them. Grangerisation is 
 the addition of all sorts of things directly 
 and indirectly bearing on the book iu 
 question, illustrating it, connected with 
 it or its author, or even the author's 
 family and correspondents. It includes 
 autograph letters, caricatures, prints, 
 broadsheets, biographical sketches, anec- 
 dotes, scandals, press notices, parallel 
 passages, and any other sort of matter 
 which can be got together as an olla 
 podrida for the matter in hand. The 
 word is from the Kev. J. Granger (1710- 
 1776). Pronounce Grain-jer-ise. {Sec 
 BowDLERiSE. ) There are also Granger- 
 ist, Grangerism, Grangerisation, etc. 
 
 Grangousier (4 syl.). King of Uto'- 
 pia, who married, in ''the vigom" of his 
 old age," Gargamelle, daughter of the 
 king of the Pai-paillons, and became tlie 
 father of Gargantua, the giant. He is 
 described as a man in his dotage, whose 
 delight was to draw scratches on the 
 hearth with a biu'nt stick while watch- 
 ing the broiling of his chestnuts. When 
 told of the invasion of Picrochole, King 
 of Lerne, he exclaimed, "Alas! alas! 
 do I dream? Can it be true?" and 
 began calling ou all the saints of the 
 
 35 
 
 calendar. He then sent to expostulate 
 with Picrochole, and, seeing this would 
 not do, tried what bribes by way of 
 reparation would effect. In the mean- 
 time he sent to Paris for his son, who 
 soon came to his rescue, utterly defeated 
 Picrochole, and put his army to full 
 rout. Some say he is meant i'or Louis 
 XII., but this is most improbable, not 
 only because there is very little re- 
 semblance between the two, "but because 
 he was king of Utopia, some consider- 
 able distance from Paris. Motteux 
 thinks the academy figure of this old 
 Priam was John d'Albret, King of Na- 
 varre. He certainly was no true Catho- 
 lic, for he says in chap. xlv. they called 
 him a heretic for declaiming against the 
 saints. {liahelais : Gargantua, i. 'i.) 
 
 Grani (2 syl.). Siegfried's horse, 
 whose swiftness exceeded that of the 
 winds. {See Hoese.) 
 
 Granite City {The). Aberdeen. 
 
 Granite Redoubt {Tht^. The gren- 
 adiers of the Consular Guard were so 
 called at the battle of Marengo in 1800, 
 because when the French had given way 
 they formed into a square, stood like 
 flints against the Austrians, and stopped 
 all further advance. 
 
 Granite State {The). New Hamp- 
 shire is so called, because the mountain 
 parts are chiefly granite. 
 
 Grantorto. A giant who withheld 
 the inheritance of Ire'ua {Ireland). He 
 is meant for the genius of the Irish re- 
 bellion of 1580, slain by Sir Art'egal. 
 {Spenser: Faerie Queene,Y.) (/S'ce Giants.) 
 
 Grapes. The grapes are sour. You 
 disparage it because it is beyond your 
 reach. The allusion is to the well-known 
 fable of the fox, which tried in vain to 
 get at some grapes, but when he found 
 they were beyond his reach went away 
 saying, " I see they are sour." 
 
 Wikl grapes. What has been trans- 
 lated " vrild grapes" (Isaiah v. 2-4) the 
 Arabs call " wolf-gi-apes." It is the 
 fruit of the deadly nightshnde, which is 
 black and shining. This plant is very 
 common in the vineyards of Palestine. 
 
 Grass. Gone to grass. Dead. The 
 allusion is to the grass which grows over 
 the dead. Also, " Gone to rusticate," 
 the allusion being to a horse which is 
 sent to grass when unfit for work. 
 
 Not to let the grass grow under one's 
 feet. To be very active and energetic. 
 
 "Captain Cuttle held on at a great pace, and 
 allowed no prass to grow under his feet."— 
 Dichens: Dovlley and Son,
 
 Grass "Widow 
 
 546 
 
 Grave 
 
 To f/ive grass. To confess yoiu'self 
 vanquished. 
 
 To be knocked down in a pugilistic 
 encounter is to " go to grass ; " to have 
 the sack is also to go to grass, as a cow 
 which is no longer fit for milking is scut 
 to pasture. 
 
 A grass-hand is a compositor who fills 
 a temporary vacancy. 
 
 Grass Widow was anciently an un- 
 married woman who has had a child, 
 but now the word is used for a wife 
 temporarily parted from her husband. 
 The word means a grace widow, a widow 
 by courtesy. (In French, rcitvc dc grace ; 
 in Latin, v'ldaca cle gratia ; a woman 
 divorced or separated from her husband 
 by a dispensation of the Pope, and not 
 by death ; hence, a woman temporally 
 separated from her husband.) 
 
 "Gnice-wiiiow ('grass-widow') is a ti'rni fur 
 one wbo beccimos a widow l>y f-'racc or ftivovir, 
 not of necessity, as liy doafli. The term oritrin- 
 ated in tlic earlier aires of lOurn] eaii eivilisalion, 
 ■when divorces M|.re ^-ranted [iMily] hy antliority 
 of tlie Cathulic Chureb."— i/d/Ki/iej'O/is iVcfc.-.- 
 (1876;. 
 
 " The subjoined explanation of the 
 tei'm may be added in a book of " Phrase 
 and Fable." 
 
 During the gold mania in California 
 a man would not unfrequently put his 
 wife and children to board with some 
 family while he went to the " diggins." 
 This he called "putting his wife to 
 grass," as we put a horse to grass when 
 not wanted or unfit for work. 
 
 Grasshopper, as the sign of a grocer, 
 is the crest of Sir Thomas Gresham, the 
 merchant grocer. The Royal Gresham 
 Exchange used to be profusely deco- 
 rated with grasshoppers, and the brass 
 one on the eastern part of the j)resent 
 edifice is the one which escaped the fires 
 of 1666 and 1838. 
 
 V There is a tale that Sir Thomas was 
 a foundling, and that a woman, attracted 
 by the chii-ping of a grasshopper, dis- 
 covered the outcast and brought him up. 
 Except as a tale, this solution of the 
 combination is worthless. Grcs = grass 
 (Anglo-Saxon, grcrs), and no doubt 
 grasshoi:)per is an heraldic rebus on the 
 name. Puns and rebuses were at one 
 time common enough in heraldi-}', and 
 often very far-fetched. 
 
 Grasshopper {The). A compound 
 of seven animals. (Anglo-Saxon, gras- 
 hoppa.) 
 
 " It has the head of a horse, the neck of an o\, 
 the wings of a dragon, the feet of a camel, the 
 tail of a serpent, the horns of a stag, and the body 
 of a scorpion."— Cht/Jhs; Oriental Talcs CVlie Fvvr 
 Talismans). 
 
 Grassmarket. At one time the 
 place of execution in Edinburgh. 
 
 "I like naue o' your scrnions that end in a 
 psalm at the Grassmarket."— tiir Walter Scutt : 
 Old Murtaliti/, chap. x.\xv. 
 
 Grassum or Gersome. A fine in 
 money i)aid by a lessee either ou taking 
 possession of his lease or ou renewing it. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, grcrsKiii, a treasure.) 
 
 Gratia'no. Brother of the Vene- 
 tian senator, Brabantio. {Shakes^jcarc : 
 Olhello.) 
 
 Also a character in The Mcrchaiii 
 of Venice, who "talks an infinite deal 
 of nothing, more than any man in all 
 Venice." He is one of Bassanio's friends, 
 and when the latter marries Portia, Gra- 
 tiano marries Nerissa, Poi'tia's maid. 
 
 Grave. To rarrg au-ag the weal from 
 the grave. The Greeks and Persians 
 used to mtike feasts at certain seasons 
 (when the dead were supposed to return 
 to their graves), and leave the fragments 
 of their banquets on the tombs {Elce- 
 mox'gnam Kcpid'cri pat'ris). 
 
 Ji'ith one foot in the grave. At the 
 very verge of death. The exjiression 
 was used by Jidian, who .said he would 
 " leai-n sometliing even if he had one 
 foot in the grave." The parallel (Jreek 
 phrase is, "With one foot in the ferry- 
 boat," meaning Charon's. 
 
 Grave. Solemn, sedate, and serious 
 in look and manner. This is the Latin 
 gravis, grave ; but " grave," n jAace of 
 interment, is tlie Anglo-Saxon grecf, a 
 pit ; verb, graf-an, to dig. 
 
 More grave than tcise. " Tcrtius c ccclo 
 cecldit Cato.^'' 
 
 Grave-diggers {Ilainlct). "If the 
 water come to the man ..." Tlie legal 
 case referred to by Shakespeare oc- 
 curred in the fifth year of Queen Eliza- 
 beth's reign, called Hales r. Petit, stated 
 at length in Xotcs a)>d Queries, vol. viii. 
 p. r23 (first series). 
 
 Grave Maurice. A public-house 
 sign. The head of the [Graf Moritz], 
 Prince of Orange, and Captain-General 
 of the United Provinces (1.567-162.3). 
 {Hotten : Booh of Signs.) 
 
 Grave Searchers. Monkir and 
 Nakir, so called by the Mahometans. 
 {Ucklrg, vol. ii.) {See Monkie.) 
 
 Grave as a Judge. Sedate and 
 serious in look and manner. 
 
 Grave as an Owl. Having an asjiect 
 of solemnity and wisdom.
 
 Gravelled 
 
 U7 
 
 Great Harry- 
 
 Gravelled. Z';« rcf/ularJij gravelled. 
 Non-plussed, like a ship ruu agrouud 
 aud uuable to move. 
 
 " When you were Rfavellotl fov lack of iiiiiltcr." 
 ^.Shakespeare: As You Like It, w. 1. 
 
 Gray. The authoress of Auhl Bohhi 
 Grai/ was Lady Auue Lindsay, after- 
 Wards Lady Barnard (1750- 182.)). 
 
 Gray Cloak. Au aldermau above 
 the chair ; so called because his proper 
 costume is a cloak furred with graj' amis. 
 (IIiiftoH : Kcw View of Lo)ido)i, intro.) 
 
 Gray Man's Path. A siugular 
 fissure in the greenstone prccijjice near 
 Ballycastle, in Ireland. 
 
 Gray's Inn (London) was the inn or 
 
 mansion of tlie Lords Gray. 
 
 Grayham's. {See Geahame's Dyke.) 
 
 Graysteel. The sword of Kol, fatal 
 to the owner. It passed to several hands, 
 but always brought ill-luck. (leelandic 
 Edda.) (.SVe Fatal Gifts ; Swords.) 
 
 Greal (Sen/). Proi^erly divided, it is 
 sniig-yeal, the real blood of Christ, or 
 the wiue used iu the last supper, which 
 Christ said was " His blood of the New 
 Testament, shed for the remission of 
 sin." According to tradition, a j)art of 
 this wine-blood was preserved by Joseph 
 of Arimatha;a, iu the cup called tlie Saint 
 Graal. When Merlin made the Round 
 Table, he left a ijlace for the Holy Graal. 
 (Latin, /S'ff«^[uis] lica!\is].) (.SV^Gbaal.) 
 
 Grease One's Fist or Palm {To). 
 To give a bribe. 
 
 " Grease my fist with a tester or two, ;iiiil ye 
 shall find it in your pennyworths."— yiuir/w ; The 
 Yinjiii Widow, iv. 1. p. 40. 
 
 " .v. You must oyl it first. 
 C. I understand you— 
 Greaze him i' the fist." 
 
 Cartwright : Ordinary (IiViI). 
 
 Greasy Sunday. Don/hnea carnelcvalc 
 ■ — i.e. Quinquagesima Sunday. {SceJiw 
 Cange, vol. iii. p. 196, col. 2.) 
 
 Great {The). 
 
 Abbas I., 8hah of Persia. (Lwr, 15S5-16i'S.) 
 
 Albeutus M.iG>'us, the schoolman. (1193- 
 1280.) 
 
 .\LFoyso Iir., King of Astunas and Leon. (84S, 
 S66-9U'.) 
 
 Alfred, of England. (849, 871-901.) 
 ; Alexander, of Macedon. (b.c. .s.i6, 340-3:'3.) 
 ! St. Basil, Bishop of Ca^sare'a. (.329-379.) 
 ^ C.\SUTE, of England and Denmark. (995, 1014- 
 1036.) 
 
 CASIMIR III., of Poland. (1309, 133.3-1370.) 
 
 Charles I., Emperor of Germany, called 
 Charlemagne. (742, 764-814.) 
 
 Charles III. (or II.), Uuke of Lorraine. (1513- 
 1608.) 
 
 CHARLES Emmasuel I,, Duke of Savoy. (1562- 
 1630.) 
 
 CoxsTAKTiXE I., Emperor of Rome. (272, 306- 
 337.) 
 
 CouPBRiN, (.Francis), the French musical com- 
 poser. (1668-1733.) 
 
 Douglas, (Archibald, the great Karl of Aligns, 
 alsn culled Bcll-the-Cat [9.1'.]). (Died 1514.) 
 Feudinasu I., of Castile and Leou. (Reisjued 
 
 llC4-llw;5.) 
 
 FuEOEiucK WiM.i \M. lOlcc-lor of Brandenburg,', 
 suru.-nued T/ic '.'iMi/ Kl.ilnr. (I(;i.'ii, 1i14ii-Ii;ns.1 
 
 FRKOKIUIK II., nl' I'llis-IM. (1712, 171II-17HIJ,) 
 
 Grei:oi!y I,, i'oiic. i,,n, ..■.iii-i;ii4.) 
 
 Henri IV., ol Frame. (\:<:>:;. l.-„s.i-ir,iii.) 
 
 Heri.id AiiRllTA 1., Telran-li of Al.ili-'lie, who 
 
 Iielieadcil .Tames (Acts xii.). ( Diril .\.ii. 44.) 
 I!i.\ii-\vr.N-'iKt:. ilic suNcrci^'ii uf ilii' Han dv- 
 
 n:isi\' ..f Cliiiri. H.' Ini'lirHlr tl].> ii-,' mI' -old and 
 
 SllMT Vo-^el- Ml lllr yAV.XVr. :ill,l ■AY\'U,\ IKllcd tile 
 limncv «-llirh lllrv fi'lclieil In 1 llr :r,-i<(l I'uor, (B.C. 
 2oiM79-)57.) 
 John- U., of Portugal. (145,5, 1481-1495.) 
 .TlsTIM.\X I. (48a, 527-5l>.5.) 
 Lewi.s I., of Hungary. (1326, 1342-1381.) 
 Lons II., Prince of Conde, Due d'Enghieu. 
 
 (11121-10,86.) 
 
 Loi I.S XIV., called Lc Grand ilonarquc. (16S8, 
 
 1643-1714.) 
 Mahojiet n„ Sultan of the Turks, (14,30, 145I- 
 
 1481.) 
 M,\xijiiMA>', Duke of Bavaria, victor of 
 
 Pr.mue. (157,3-1651.) 
 ('(Js.Mo or Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany. 
 
 (15l',i. 1537-1574.) 
 (ioNZALEs Pedro de JIkxdoza, qreat Cardinal 
 
 of Spain, statesman and sclinlar. {l.'io:M575.) 
 Nicholas 1., Pope 'vv.-is Top., fnim ,s5s-sii7). 
 Otho I., Empeviir of Gi'nii.aii.\ . ('.112, '.i:iii-973.) 
 Peter 1., of Russia. (1672, 16,^9-1725.) 
 Pierre 1 1 1., of Arason. (1239, 1276-12,s,5,) 
 Skorza (GidcoJHo), the Italian general. j (1369- 
 
 1424.) 
 Sapor or SH.vn-rouR. the ninth king of the 
 
 Sassan'ide.s (q.r.). (210, .3ii7-379.) 
 SKilsMUXD. Kiiigof Pidand. (1466,1506-1,548.) 
 Theo'doric, King of the Ostrogoths. (454,475- 
 
 526,) 
 Theodo'siits I., Emiieror. (.346. 378-395.) 
 M.VTTBo ViscoxTi, Lord of Milan. (1250, 1295- 
 
 1,322.) 
 Vladimir, Grand Duke of Russia. (97.3-1014.) 
 Waldemar 1., of Denmark, (1131, 1157-1181.) 
 
 Great Bullet-head. George Cadou- 
 dal, leader of the CIiohhhs, born at 
 Brech, in Mor'bihan. (1769-1801.) 
 
 Great Captain. {Sec Captain.) 
 
 Great Cham of Literature. So 
 
 Smollett calls Dr. Johnson. (1709-1784.) 
 
 Great Commoner {The). WilHam 
 Pitt (17.59-1806). 
 
 Great Cry and Little Wool. Much 
 ado about nothing. {'See Cry.) 
 
 Great Dauphin. {See Gbaa-d.) 
 
 Great Elector {The). Frederick 
 William, Elector of Brandenbui-g (1620, 
 1640-1688). 
 
 Great Go. A familiar term for a uni- 
 versity examiuatiou for degrees : the 
 "previous examination" being the 
 "Little Go." 
 
 "Great Go " is usually shortened into 
 "Greats." 
 
 " Since I have been readinc . . . for my greats, 
 I have had to t-'o into all sorts of rleep books."— 
 Grant Allen: 'The Backslider, part iii. 
 
 Great Harry {The). A man-of-war 
 built by Henry VII., the first of any 
 size constructed iu England. It was 
 burut in 1.553. {See Heney Grace de 
 
 DiEU.)
 
 Great Head 
 
 .-,4S 
 
 Grecian 
 
 Great Head. Malcolm III., of Scot- 
 laud ; also called C'aiiDiorr, which meaus 
 the same thiug. (Keigued 1057-1093.) 
 
 " M.-ilciilni TIL, ciilli'il Ciuiiniiro nr Great Head." 
 —.Si/- ir. Sviitl : Titles <if a Grautl/iiiher, i. 4. 
 
 Great Men (Social status of), 
 
 .I'lsor, :i iiiainiiiiitlc'il sl:ivo. 
 AiiKWiiiiiiri' {S,r lurhuril). a liarbor. 
 liKAcoNsKiKi.ii (Lnril). a siilicilcir's clerk. 
 Hi.(»iM|.||.;i.ii, a i'..lil,lcr. sun (if a lailiir. 
 Hi s-i \\. a liavclliirj linker. 
 nrKN>,a -niiLrcr, sun iif a iilnn.i-'liniaii. 
 
 (■ 1 1.M..X. :i cnwlu'l-ll. 
 
 I'Ma \ N I 1^. a i-cuniniin snlilicr. 
 
 Ci \ II I . :i I'liiiiL'Innan, snn of a farm lalionrcr. 
 
 Ci M nr l.< iKUAiNK, a paslr.vi-dnk. 
 
 Ci'i IM r.\ - S(jii (if a wcavt'r. 
 
 CiMiK II ',,i:hiiii), son (if a linsliamlnian. 
 
 (•i;(on\ Ki.i,, sun of a Iircnvor, 
 
 Ci NM.M.iiAM (Atlau), a stonemas(jn, son of a 
 ln'asanl. 
 
 Defok, a hosier, son of a liutc-ber. 
 
 Demostiiexe.s, son of a cntler. 
 
 Dickens, a^ uewspaiier roiiorter ; father the 
 same. 
 
 Ei.iiox (Zord), son of a coal-broker. 
 
 Faraday (Michiicl), a hookliinder. 
 
 Fekcu.son (./((Hies), the astronoinor, sou of a 
 day-lahoiirer, 
 
 FiiAXKi.i.v. a jonrne.vinan in-inler, son of a 
 talldW-cliaiKller. 
 
 Hai!oi!I;avi;s, the machinist, a iioor weaver. 
 
 Hooo, a shepherd, son of a Scotch iieasivnt. 
 
 UdMKit, a fanner s son (s;iid to have Logged his 
 hrea(U. 
 
 HiiiiAci':, snn of a manumitted slave. 
 
 HdvvAiiii {.loliiO, a grocer's iiiiprcntice, son <if 
 a Irailesiuan. 
 
 Kkan (I'aI III micix son of a stage-cariienter in a 
 liiiliiir theatre. 
 
 ,I<iNS(iN (,/;.//"), a 1 rickhi.ver. 
 
 Lati.\ii;u, ISisliop (if Wercester, son of a small 
 farmer. 
 
 LuciAX, a Eciiliitor. son of ii poor tradesman. 
 
 JIoxiv Cr'fiKcr.fO, a volnuteor. 
 
 Opie t./oftH). sou of a poor earionter iu Corn- 
 wall. 
 
 Pacxe (T7io?»o,i), a stas'-maker, son of a Quaker. 
 
 l'oi{,sox Uiicluinl), sou of a parish clerk in 
 ^(■rfolk. 
 
 RiciiAiiusox, a bookseller and printer, son of a 
 joiner. 
 
 SriAKEsrEAUE. son of a wool-stapler. 
 
 SrEfiiEXsox (.George), sou of a tlreman at a 
 colliery. 
 
 Viuoir,, son of a porter. 
 
 Watt CJavie.^), improver of the steam engine. 
 Son of a block-maker. 
 . WAsniX(;r(ix, a farmer. 
 
 Woi.sEV, Sen of a lilllcllT. 
 
 ■.■ And hundreds n:o;e. 
 
 Great Men {Jf'iirs of). (Sec under 
 Wives.) 
 
 Great Mogul. The title of the chief 
 of the Mofijul Emjiire, which came to an 
 eud in 18U6. 
 
 Great Mother. The earth. When 
 Junius Bnitus ,-ind the sons of Tarquin 
 asked the Delphic Oracle who was to 
 succeed Superbus on the throne of 
 Rome, they received for answer, "He 
 who shall first kiss his mother." While 
 the two princes hastened home to fulfil 
 what they thought was meant, Brutus 
 fell to the earth, and exclaimed, " Thus 
 kiss I thee, O earth, the gi-eat mother 
 of us all." 
 
 Great Perhaps (The). So Rabelais 
 (li8o-l;3');5) described a future state. 
 
 Great Scott or Scot ! A mitigated 
 form of oath. The initial letter of the 
 German Uott is changed into Sc. 
 
 "'(4reat Scott! . . . Beg pardon!' ejaculated 
 Silas,- astouiKled."— .1. C. Uaiiler: lianii Muiilez, 
 blink iv. chap. \ix. 
 
 Great Sea (TIi<). So the Mediter- 
 ranean Sea was called by the ancient 
 Greeks and Romans. 
 
 Great Unkno-wn (7'/^'). Sir Walter 
 Scotf, Avhii published the U'((rerlctj Nurds 
 auonynuiuslv. (1771-1832.) 
 
 Great Unwashed ( Thr). The artisnn 
 class. Ibirko first used tht; comi)ound, 
 but Sir Walter Scott popukirised it. 
 
 Great Wits Jump. Think alike ; 
 tally. Thus Shakespeare says, " It 
 jumps with my huinoui'." (1 Ilcniij IV., 
 iv. 2.) 
 
 Great Wits to Madness nearly 
 are Allied. (l'"l"'-) Seneca says, 
 " Xiilluni iinq/iiKiii iiiffci/i/nii absque iiiix- 
 iura deincnticc est." 
 
 Greatest. T/ic ffvratest happiness of 
 the greatest number. Jeremy Benthara's 
 political axiom. (Libert i/ of the I'eople. ) 
 (1821.) 
 
 Greatheart (Mr>). The guide of 
 Christiana and her family to the Celestial 
 City. {Ihnnjan : Fttijri)n''s Trogress, ii.) 
 
 Greaves (Sir Launeeht). A sort of 
 Don Qui.xote, who, in the reign of George 
 II., wandered over England to redress 
 wrongs, discourage moral evils not re- 
 cognisable by law, degrade immodesty, 
 punish ingratitude, and reform society. 
 His Sancho Panza was an old sea captain. 
 (Smollett : Adrentures of Sir Launeeht 
 Greaves.) 
 
 Grebenski Cossacks. So called 
 from the word ijrebcn (ii comli). This 
 title w;is conferred Tipon them by 
 Czar Ivan I., because, in his camfiaign 
 against the Tartars of the Caucasus, they 
 scaled a mountain fortified with sharp 
 spurs, sloping down from its summit, 
 and projecting horizontally, like a comb. 
 (iJuueau : liussia.) 
 
 Grecian Bend (The). An affecta- 
 tion in walking assumed by English 
 ladies in 1875. The silUness spread to 
 America and other countries which 
 affect passing oddities of fashion. 
 
 Grecian Coffee-house, in Devereux 
 Court, the oldest in London, was origin- 
 ally opened by Pasqua, a Greek slave, 
 brought to England in 1652 by Daniel
 
 Grecian 
 
 540 
 
 Greek 
 
 Edwards, a Turkey merchant. This 
 Greek was the first to teach the metliod 
 of roasting coffee, to introduce the drink 
 into tlie island, and to call himself a 
 
 " coffee-man." 
 
 Grecian Stairs. A corruption of 
 grci'xiiKj uta'tys. Greesings (steps) still 
 survives in the architectural word ffircit, 
 and in the compound word dc-gvccx. 
 There is still on the hill at Lincoln a 
 flight of stone steps called " Grecian 
 slairs.'" 
 
 "P.tiil stood on the Kveezcti [i.e. stairs]."— 
 ^yi(■liffe: Acts xxi.in. 
 
 Greedy (.Tiixticc). In A Xew Wcdj to 
 Fiuj Old l)chts, by Massinger. 
 
 Greegrees. Charms. (Africcoi sii- 
 pcrstitiun.) 
 
 A (jfcc-cjvcc man. Or.e who sells 
 charms. 
 
 Greek {Tliv). Manuel Alva'rez {d 
 Gricqo), the Spanish sculptor (1727- 
 1797). 
 
 AU Greek to me. Quito unintelligible ; 
 an unknown tongue or language. Casca 
 says, " For mine own part, it was all 
 Greek to me." {^Shakespeare: Julias 
 Ctesar, i. 2.) " Cest da^Grec pour moi.'" 
 
 Last of t/ie Greeks. Philopcri'men, of 
 Mcgalop'olis, whose great object wa,s to 
 infuse into the Achfcaiis a military spirit, 
 and estabHsh their indepeudence (b.c. 
 2;5'2-183). 
 
 To plat/ the Greek (Latin, //rrrrar/). To 
 indulge in one's cups. The Greeks have 
 always been considered a luxurious race, 
 fond of creature-comforts. Thus Cicero, 
 in his oration against " Verres," says: 
 ^^ Discum'bitur ; Jit sermo inter cos et 
 invita'tio, ut Grccco more bibere'tur : 
 hospes horta'tur, poscunt majo'ribus 
 poe'ulis ; cclebra'tur omnium scrmo'ne 
 Icctitiaque conviv'ium." The law in Gi-eek 
 banquets was E pithi e apithl (Quaff, 
 or be off I) (Cut in, or cut off!). In 
 2'roilas and Cressida Shakespeare makes 
 Pan'darus, bantering Helen for her 
 love to Tro'ilus, say, " I think Helen 
 loves him better than Paris ; " to which 
 Cressida, whose wit is to parry and per- 
 vert, replies, " Then she's a merry Greek 
 indeed," insinuating that she was a 
 "woman of pleasure." {Troilus and 
 Cressida, i. 2.) 
 
 Un Grec (French). A cheat. Towards 
 the Close of the reign of Louis XIV., a 
 knight of Greek origin, named Apoulos, 
 was caught in the very act of cheating at 
 play, even in the palace of the grand 
 monarque. He was sent to the galleys, 
 and the nation which gave him birth 
 
 became from that time a byword for 
 swindler and blackleg. 
 
 Un potaeje a la Greeque. Insipid soup ; 
 Spartan broth. 
 
 When Greek joins Greek, then is the tug 
 of icar. When two men or armies of 
 imdoubted courage fight, the contest will 
 be very severe. The line is from a verse 
 in the drama of Ale.rander the Great, 
 slightly altered, and the reference is to 
 the obstinate resistance of the Greek 
 cities to Pliilip and Alexander, the Mace- 
 donian kings. 
 
 " When Greeks joined (ireeks, then was the tug 
 of war." yalh II II ill Lee. 
 
 In French the word '' Grcc''^ some- 
 times means icisdom, as — 
 
 // est Grec en eela. He has great 
 talent that way. 
 
 // n''est pas grand Grec. He is no 
 great conjurer. 
 
 Greek Calends. Never. To defer 
 anything to the Greek Calends is to defer 
 it sine die. There were no calends in the 
 Greek months. The Romans used to pay 
 rents, taxes, bills, etc., on the calends, 
 and to defer paying them to the " Greek 
 Calends " was virtually to rejnidiate 
 them. (See Never.) 
 
 " will you SI eak of your i>;\Ury prose (hiintrs in 
 niv prcsiTicc, xvlji'Si' f.'i-e:ii historical jioeni, in 
 
 Iwcniy I ks, wiih noii's in iiroportion, lias hecu 
 
 josiponcil -loUira'cMs Kalcmlas' ?"— ,V/r W.Scott: 
 TliJ j:,'lrftli,'d (Intro, hiclioio. 
 
 Greek Church includes the church 
 within the Ottoman Empire subject to 
 the patriarch of Constantinople, the 
 church in the kingdom of Greece, and 
 the Eusso-Greek Chui'ch. The Roman 
 and Greek Churches formally separated 
 in 1054. The Greek Church dissents 
 from the doctrine that the Holy Ghost 
 proceeds from the Father and the Son 
 (Filioque), rejects the Papal claim to 
 supremacy, and administers the eucharist 
 in both kinds to the laity ; but the 
 two churches agree in their belief of 
 seven sacraments, trausubstantiation, 
 the adoration of the Host, confession, 
 absolution, penance, prayers for the 
 dead, etc. 
 
 Greek Commentator. Fernan Nu- 
 nen de Giiziiian, tlie great promoter of 
 Greek literature in Sjjain. (1470-1553.) 
 
 Greek Cross. Same shape as St. 
 George's cross (-f-). The Latin cross 
 has the upright one -third longer than 
 the cross-beam (t). 
 
 St. George's Cross is seen en our 
 banners, where the crosses of St. An- 
 drew and St. Patrick are combined with 
 it. {See Union Jack.)
 
 Greek Fire 
 
 550 
 
 Green Goose 
 
 Greek Fire. A composition of nitre, 
 suliAur, and naphtha. Tow steeped in 
 the mixture was liurled in a blazing 
 state through tubes, or tied to arrows. 
 The invention is ascribed to Calliui'cos, 
 of Heliop'olis, A.D. 6G8. 
 
 A very similar projectile was used by 
 the Federals in tlie great American con- 
 test, especially at the seige of Charleston. 
 
 Greek Gift {A). A treacherous gift. 
 The reference is to the Wooden Horse 
 said to be a gift or offering to the gods 
 for a safe return from Troy, but in 
 reality a ruse for the destruction of the 
 city. (.SV(? Fatal Gifts.) 
 
 "Timoo Danaiis el dona fcreiilcs." 
 
 Vii-yil: yKiieiii, \\.A9. 
 
 Greek Life. A sound mind in a sound 
 body. " 3Ieiis sai/a iit vorpore saiio." 
 
 "This healtliy life, wliiili was tlie (iiopk life, 
 canif from kiviiiii',' llif body in yood liinc."— 
 IhiiUi TiU'iiruph. 
 
 Greek Trust. No trust at all. 
 " Graca fides " was with the Eoraans no 
 faith at rill. A Greek, in English slang, 
 means a clicat or sharper, and Greek 
 bonds are sadly in character with Chaca 
 fides. 
 
 Greeks in the New Testament mean 
 Hellenists, or naturalised Jews in foreign 
 countries ; those not naturalised were 
 called Aramaean Jews in Syria, Meso- 
 potamia, and Palestine. 
 
 "I will in-aiso God tlial. otir family lias over 
 remained Aramaean ; not one anujiij,' us lias ever 
 b'one over lo the Hellenists."— £/r?(u< the I'iUiriin, 
 eliaii. ii. 
 
 Green. Yoimg, fre.sh, as (jreen cJifesr, 
 i.e. cream cheese, which is eaten fresh ; 
 (/reen r/oosc, a young or midsummer 
 goose. 
 
 " If you would fat preen Reese, shut them \u^ 
 when they are ahout a month old." — Mortimer: 
 Hashandry. 
 
 Immature in age or judgment, inex- 
 perienced, young. 
 
 " The text is idd, the orator too green." 
 
 I'iliukeapedre : Venus and Ailoiiis, mri. 
 
 Simple, raw, easily imposed upon ; a 
 
 greenhorn (q.v.). 
 
 " ' He is 80 jollygreen,' said Charley."— 2) if/if»s : 
 OUver Twist, chap. ix. 
 
 Green. The imperial green of France 
 was the old Merovin'gian colour re- 
 stored, and the golden bees are the 
 ornaments found on the tomb of Chil- 
 deric, the father of Clovis, in 1653. The 
 imperial colour of the Aztecs was green ; 
 the national banner of Ireland is green ; 
 the field of many American flags is 
 green, as their Union Jack, and the 
 flags of the admiral, vice-admiral, rear- 
 admiral, and commodore ; and that of 
 the Chinese militia is greeu. 
 
 Green is held unlucky to particular 
 clans and counties of Scotland. The 
 Caithness men look on it as fatal, 
 because their bands were clad in greeu 
 at the battle of Flodden. It is disliked 
 by all who bear the name of Ogilvy, and 
 is especially unlucky to the Grahame 
 clan. One day, an aged man of that 
 name was thrown from liis horse in a 
 fox chase, and lie accounted for the 
 accident from his having a green lash to 
 his riding whip. {See Kendal Green.) 
 
 V For its symbolism, etc., see under 
 Colour?. 
 
 N.B. There are lOG different shades 
 of green. {See Kendal Green.) 
 
 Green Bag. VhaCs in the ijreen 
 hatj ! What charge is tibout to be pre- 
 ferred tigainst me ? The allusion is to 
 the " Green Bag Inquiry " {q.v.). 
 
 Green Bird {The) told everything a 
 jierson wished to know, and talked like 
 an oracle. {Countess D'Aidnoij : Fair 
 Star and Frinee Chery.) 
 
 Green Cloth. The Board of Green 
 Cloth. A board connected with the 
 royal household, having power to cor- 
 rect offenders within the verge of the 
 palace and two hundred j^ards bej-ond 
 the gates. A warrtint from the board 
 must be obtained before a servant of tlie 
 I^alace can be arrested for debt. So 
 called " because the committee sit with 
 the steward of the household at a board 
 covered with a green cloth in the count- 
 ing-house, as recorders and witnesses to 
 the truth." It existed in the reign of 
 Henry I., and probably at a still earlier 
 period. 
 
 Green Dogs. Any extinct race, like 
 that of the Dodo. Brederode said to 
 Count Louis : " I would the whole race 
 of bishops and cardinals was extinct, 
 like that of green dogs." {Motloj : 
 iJuteh Fiepuhlic, part ii. 5.) 
 
 Green Dragoons {The). The 13th 
 Dragoons (wliose regimental facings were 
 green). Now called the 13th Hussars, 
 and the regimental facings have been 
 white since 1861. 
 
 Green Glasses. To hole through 
 green glasses. To feel jealous of one ; 
 to be envious of another's success. 
 
 " If we had an averaKe of theatrical talent, we 
 had also our quantum of stage jealousies ; for who 
 looks through his green glasses more peevishly 
 than an actor when his brother Thespian bringa 
 down the house with applause."— C. Thomsun: 
 Autobiography, p. 197. 
 
 Green Goose {A). A young goose 
 not fully grown.
 
 Green Govrd 
 
 551 
 
 Green-eyea 
 
 Green Gown (A). A tousel in the 
 new-mown hay. To "give one a green 
 go\vii " sometimes means to go beyond 
 the bounds of innocent phxyfulness. 
 
 " Had any ilaied to give ber [Xaiciss;i] a greeu 
 gown, 
 Tlie fair liad petrified lilni with a frown. . . . 
 Pure as the snow was she, and cold as ice."' 
 
 Pttcr Piiiclur: Old Simon. 
 
 Green Hands (a nautical phrase). 
 Inferior sailors, also called boj's. A crew 
 is divided into (1) Able seamen ; (2) 
 Ordinary seamen ; and (3) Green liands 
 or boj's. The tenn "boys" has no re- 
 ference to age, but merely skill and 
 knowledge in seamanship. Here '"green" 
 means not ripe, not mature. 
 
 Green Horse (TZ/c). The 5tli Dra- 
 goon Guards ; so called because they are 
 a /lorse regiment, and have f/ncu for 
 their regimental faciugs. Now called 
 ' ' The Princess Charlotte of Wales's Dra- 
 goon Guards." 
 
 T<i)icto>i\s f/rceii Jiorsc. That is, the 
 horse of General Tarleton covered vrith 
 greeu ribbons and housings, the elec- 
 tioneering colours of the member for 
 Liverpool, which he represented in 1790, 
 1796, 1802, 1807. His Christian name 
 was Banastre. 
 
 Green Howards {TIk^. The 19th 
 Foot, named from the Hon. Charles 
 Howard, colonel from 1738 to 1748. 
 Green was the colour of their regimental 
 facings, now white, and the regiment is 
 called "The Princess of Wales's Own." 
 
 Green Isle, or The Emcrahl Tale. 
 Ireland ; so called from the brilliant 
 green hue of its grass. 
 
 Green Knight {The). A Pagan, 
 who demanded Fezon in marriage ; but, 
 overcome by Orson, resigned his claim. 
 ( Vah'iittne (Did Orson.) 
 
 Green Labour. The lowest-paid 
 labour in the tailoring trade. 8uch 
 gannents are sold to African gold- 
 cliggers and agricultural labourers. Soap 
 anil shoddy do more for these garments 
 than cotton or cloth. {See Greenee.) 
 
 Green Linnets. Tlie 39th Foot, so 
 called from the colour of their facings. 
 Now the Dorsetshire, and the facings 
 are white. 
 
 Green Man. This public -house sign 
 represents the gamekeeper, who used at 
 one time to be dressed in green. 
 
 " But the ' Greeu JIau ' shall I pass hy unsung, 
 Which mine owu James upon his sign-post 
 
 hung? 
 His sign, his image— for he once was seen 
 A 8<iuire's attendant, clad in keeper's green." 
 Crabbe : JSorougli, 
 
 The men who let off fireworks were 
 called Giren-meii in the reign of James I. 
 
 " Have you any squiliS, any green-man in your 
 shows ? "—IV/e Siiru Cliampiuiis ofClirisltutlom. 
 
 Green Room {Thr). The common 
 waiting-room in a theatre for the per- 
 formers ; so called because at one time 
 the walls were coloured green to relieve 
 the eyes affected by the glare of the 
 stage "lights. 
 
 Green Sea. The Persian Gulf ; so 
 called from a remarkable strip of water 
 of a green colour along the Ai-abiaii 
 coast. 
 
 V Between 1G90 and 17-12 the 2nd 
 Life Guards were facetiously called 
 " The Green Sea " from their sea-green 
 facings, in compliment to Queen Catha- 
 rine, whose favourite colour it was. 
 The facings of this regiment arc now 
 blue. 
 
 Green Thursday. Maimdy Tliurs- 
 day, the great day of absolution in the 
 Lutheran Church. (German, Griiii-don- 
 nerstdf/ ; in Latin, dies viridiidn, Luke 
 xxiii. 31.) 
 
 Green Tree. If theij do these things 
 ill the ijiioi tree, what shall he done in the 
 dr// .^ (Luke xxiii. 31.) If the right- 
 eous can find no justice in man, what 
 must not the unrighteous expect ? If 
 innocent men are condemned to death, 
 what hope can the guilty have ? If 
 green wood burns so readily, dry wood 
 would burn more freely still. 
 
 Green Wax. Estreats delivered to 
 a sheriff out of the Exchequer, under 
 the seal of the court, which is impressed 
 upon green wax, to be le^^ed (7 Henry IV. 
 c. 3). {IFharton : Law Lexicon.) 
 
 Green as Grass. Applied to tliose 
 easily gulled, and quite unacquainted 
 with the ways of the world. " Verdant 
 Greens." 
 
 Green Bag Inquiry. Certain pajiers 
 of a seditious character packed in a 
 green bag during the Eegency. The 
 contents were laid before Parliament, 
 and the committee advised the suspen- 
 sion of the Habeas Coiiius Act (1817). 
 
 Green Baize Road {Gentlemen of 
 the). Whist players. "Gentlemen of 
 the Green Cloth Road," billiard players. 
 (See Bleak House, chap. xxvi. par. 1.) 
 Probably the idea of sharpers is in- 
 cluded, as " Gentlemen of the lioad " 
 means highwajnneu. 
 
 Green-Eyed Jealousy or Green> 
 eyed Monster. Expressions used by
 
 G-reen 
 
 552 
 
 Gregorian 
 
 Shakespeare {Merchant of Venice, iii. 2 ; 
 Othello, iii. 3). As cats, lious, tigers, 
 and all the green-eyed tribe "mock the 
 meat they feed on," so jealousy mocks 
 its -victim by loving and loathing it at 
 the same time. 
 
 Green in my Eye. Ih you see any 
 
 green in the ichite of my eye (or eyes) ? 
 T)o I look credulous and easy to be bam- 
 boozled ? Do I look like a greenhorn ? 
 Credulity and wonderment are most pro- 
 nounced in the eye. 
 
 Green Man and Still. This public - 
 house sign refers to the distillation of 
 spirits from green herbs, such as pepper- 
 mint cordial, and so on. The green man 
 is the herbalist, or the greengrocer of 
 herbs, and the still is the ap^jaratus for 
 distillation. 
 
 Green Ribbon Day in Ireland is 
 March 18th, St. Tatriek's Day, when 
 the shamrock and green ribbon are worn 
 as the national badge. 
 
 Green Sleeves and Pudding Pies. 
 
 This, like Maggie Lauder, is a scurrilous 
 song, in the time of the liefonnation, on 
 the doctrines of the Catholic Church and 
 the Catholic clergy. {Sec " John Ander- 
 son, my Jo.") 
 
 Greens of Constantinople {Thi). 
 A political party opposed to the Blues 
 in the reign of Justinian. 
 
 Greenbacks. Bank notes issued 
 by the Government of the United States 
 in 1862, during the Civil "War ; so called 
 becnuse the back is printed in green. 
 In March, 1878, the amount of green- 
 backs for permanent circulation was 
 fixed at 346,681,016 dollars; in rough 
 numbers, about 70 millions sterling. 
 
 Greener. A slang term for a foreigner 
 who begins to learn tailoring or shoe- 
 makiug on his arrival in England. 
 
 Greengage. Introduced into Eng- 
 land by the Rev. John Gage from the 
 Chartreuse Monastery, near Paris. Called 
 by the French " Reine Claude," out of 
 compliment to the daughter of Anne 
 de Bretagne and Louis XII., generally 
 called la bonne reine (1499-1 -524). 
 
 Greenhorn {A). A simpleton, a 
 youngster. French, Cornichon. (a cor- 
 nicle or little horn), also a simpleton, a 
 calf. 
 
 "Panurge ]o veau cocquart, corniclioii. egcorn6 
 . . . viens ici nous ayder, graud veau piourart," 
 etc. '—Babelais, book iv, cbap. xxi. 
 
 Greenlander. A native of Green- 
 land. Facetiously ajiplied to a green- 
 horn, that is, one from the verdant 
 country called the land of green ones. 
 
 Greenlandman's Galley. The 
 
 lowest type of profauit}^ and vulgarity. 
 
 "Ill my si':if:iriii,!-' days tlic CrrciilMiid sailnrs 
 weri' iKitcpriims fi>r dariiit.' and llicir ditii-cs|u'rt nf 
 speodi, iii-cfacini,' m- ciidiiiK fviTy prniciuv wiili 
 an natli, or snmc indcci'iir ('Xim'ss-iiiii. Evi'ii in 
 those days [iiic llrsi i|iiarlfi- of llic iiinclecntU 
 centuryj a ' ilri'i'iilandinan's (ialley ' was iirovoi'l)i- 
 ally tlic low, 'St in th.' scale of vulgarity."— C. 
 'J'homsuii : Antubiiit/rdjiln/, i<. IIM. 
 
 Too loir for cren a Greenfandinan^s 
 Galley. One whose ideas of decency 
 were degraded below even that of a 
 Greenland crew. 
 
 Greenwich is the Saxon Grene-wic 
 (green village) , formerly called Grenawic, 
 and in old Latin authors " Grenoriaiii 
 riridis.''' Some think it is a comjioimd 
 
 of yi-ian-iric (the sun cit)'). 
 
 Greenwich Barbers. Retailers of 
 sand ; so called because the inhabitants 
 of Greenwich "shave the pits" in the 
 neighbourhood to supply Loudon with 
 sand. 
 
 Greg'arines (3 syl.). In 1867 the 
 women of Eurojje and America, from the 
 thrones to the maid-servants, adopted 
 the fashion of wearing ti pad made of 
 false hair behind their head, utterlj' 
 destroying its natural projiortions. The 
 microscope showed that the hair em- 
 ployed for these " nglies " abounded in 
 a pedic'ulous insect called a grcg'arine 
 (or little herding animal), from the Latin 
 yrex (a herd). The nests on the fila- 
 ments of hair resemble those of spiders 
 and silkworms, and the "object" used 
 to form one of the exhibits in micro- 
 scopical soirees. 
 
 Gregorian Calendar. One which 
 shows the new and full moon, with the 
 time of Easter and the movable feasts 
 depending thereon. The reformed calen- 
 dar of the Church of Rome, introduced 
 by Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582, corrected 
 the error of the civil year, according to 
 the Julian calendar. 
 
 Gregorian Chant. So called be- 
 cause it was introduced into the church 
 service by Gregory the Great (600). 
 
 Gregorian Epoch. Tlie epoch or 
 day on which the Gregorian calendar 
 commenced — March, 1582. 
 
 Gregorian Telescope. The first 
 form of the reflecting telescope, invented
 
 Gregorian 
 
 553 
 
 Grbve 
 
 by James Gregory, professor of mathe- 
 matics iu the university of St. Andrews. 
 {1663.) 
 
 Grego'rian Tree. The gallows ; so 
 named from three successive hangmen — 
 Gregory, sen. , Gregory, jun. ,andGregory 
 Brandon. Sir William Segar, Garter 
 Knight of Arms, granted a coat of arms 
 to Gregory Brandon. {Sec Hangmen.) 
 
 ".This treiiililes under the black rod, and he 
 D.ith fear his fate fnmi the Gresrdrian tree." 
 JtJ lie lit ins Pniijmaticiis (lij-ll). 
 
 Gregorian Water or Gringorian 
 Water. Holy water ; so called because 
 (Gregory I. was a most strenuous recom- 
 mender of it. 
 
 "In cas3 they sliould happen to encounter with 
 devils, by virtue of the Gringoricne water, they 
 iiiife'ht make them disappear."— /Jtiteia is; Gargan- 
 tltii, liuiik i. 43. 
 
 Grego'rian Year. The civil year, 
 according to the correction introduced 
 by Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582. The 
 equinox wliich occurred on the 25th of 
 March, in the time of Julius Ca'sar, fell 
 on the 11th of March in the year 1582. 
 This was because the Julian calculation 
 of 'S6o^ days to a year was 11 min. 10 sec. 
 too much. Gregory suppressed ten daj's, 
 so as to make the equinox fall on the 
 21st of March, as it did at the Council 
 of Nice, and, by some simple aiTauge- 
 ments, prevented the recurrence in 
 future of a similar error. 
 
 Greg'ories (3 sj-1.). Ilangmea. {See 
 Geegoeian Tree.) 
 
 Gregory (^). A school -feast, so 
 called from being held on St. Gregory's 
 Day (March 12"!:^). On this day the 
 pupils at one time brought the master 
 all sorts of eatables, and of course it was 
 a cUes no>i, and the master shut his ej'es 
 to all sorts of licences. Gregories were 
 not limited to any one country, but were 
 common to all Europe. 
 
 Gregory {SL). The last Pope <Vho 
 has been canonised. Usually represented 
 with the tiara, pastoral staff, his book of 
 homilies, and a dove. The last is his 
 peculiar attribute. 
 
 Gregory Knights or (SY. Greyonfs 
 Knifilita. Harmles.s blusterers. In Hun- 
 gary the pupils at their Gregories 
 pkiyed at soldiers, marched through the 
 town with flying colours, some on pony 
 back and some on foot ; as they went 
 they clattered their toy swords, but of 
 course hurt no one. 
 
 Grenade (2 syl.). An explosive shell, 
 weighing from two to six pounds, to be 
 thrown by the hand. 
 
 Grenadier' (3 syl.). Originally a 
 soldier employed to throw hand-grenades. 
 
 Grenadier Guards. The first regi- 
 ment of Foot Guards. Noted for their 
 size and height. 
 
 Grendel. A superhuman monster 
 slain by Beowulf, in the Anglo-Saxon 
 romance of that title. (See Turner's 
 abridgetuent.) 
 
 Gresham College (London). 
 Founded by Sir Thomas Gresham in 
 1575. 
 
 Gresham and the Grasshopper. 
 
 {See Geasshoppee.) 
 
 Gresham and the Pearl. When 
 
 Queen Elizabeth visited the Exchange, 
 Sir Thomas Gresham, it is said, i)ledged 
 her health in a cup of wine containing a 
 jjrecious stone crushed to atoms, and 
 worth £15,000. If this tale is true, it 
 was an exceedingly foolish imitation of 
 Cleopatra {'/.>'.). 
 
 " Here Hfti'en thousaiul pounds at one clap goes 
 liisteail of sugar ; Gresham drinks the pearl 
 into his iiueeu and mistress. Pledge it, lords." 
 llcyicood : If You Know Not Me 3 ou Know Xoboilij. 
 
 To dine or sup with Sir Thomas 
 Gresham. {See under Dine.) 
 
 Greta Hall. The poet of Greta Hall. 
 Southej% who lived at Greta Hall, in 
 the Vale of Keswick. (1774-1843.) 
 
 Gretchen. A jiet German diminu- 
 tive of Margaret. 
 
 Greth'el {Gammer). The hypotheti- 
 cal narrator of the Nursery Tales edited 
 by the brothers Grimm. 
 
 Gretna Green Marriages. Run- 
 away matches. In Scotland, ail that is 
 required of contracting parties is a 
 mutual declaration before witnesses of 
 their willingness tomarrj-, so that elopers 
 reaching the parish of Graitney, or vil- 
 lage of SiJringfield, could get legally 
 married without either licence, banns, 
 or priest. The declaration was generally 
 made to a blacksmith. 
 
 Crabbe has a metrical tale called 
 Gretna Green, in which j'oung Belwood 
 elopes with Clara, the daughter of Dr. 
 Sidmere, and gets married ; but Belwood 
 was a " screw," and Clara a silly, extra- 
 vagant hussy, so they soon hated each 
 other and parted. {Tales of the Hall, 
 book XV.) 
 
 Greve (1 syl.). Flaeede Grere. The 
 Tyburn of ancient Paris. The present 
 Hotel de Ville occupies part of the site. 
 The word ffrere means the strand of a 
 river or the shore of the sea, and is so
 
 Grey 
 
 55-1 
 
 Grievance -monger 
 
 called from grarkr (gravel or sand). 
 The Place de Greve was on the bank of 
 the Seine. 
 
 " Wbi) has e'er been to Paris must needs know the 
 Greve, 
 The fatal retreat of th' unfortunate brave, 
 "Where honour and justice most oddly contri- 
 bute 
 To ease Hero's pains by a halter or gibbet." 
 
 I'rwr : Tlie Thief and the Cordelier. 
 
 Grey Friars. Franciscan friars, so 
 called from their grey liabit. Black 
 friars are Dominicans, and White friars 
 Carmelites. 
 
 Grey Hen (^i). A stone bottle for 
 holding liquor. Large and small pewter 
 ]ints mixed together are called " hen and 
 chickens." 
 
 "A dirty leather wallet lay near the sleeper, 
 . . . also a grey-hen which Had contained some 
 sort of strons,' liiiuor."— J/iss HoOinsoii : White- 
 ;>,,i;-.v, chill., viii. 
 
 Grey Mare. T/ie Grey Mare is the 
 hetUr horse. The woman is paramount. 
 It is said that a man wished to buy a 
 liorse, but his wife took a fancy to a grey 
 mare, and so iiertinaciously insisted that 
 the grey mare was the better horse, that 
 the man was obliged to yield the poiut. 
 
 V Macaiday .says: "I suspect [the 
 Ijroverb] originated in the preference 
 generally given to the grey mares of 
 Flanders over the finest coach-horses of 
 England." 
 
 I'he French say, when the woman is 
 paramount, Cest le mariaye (Pepenier 
 ('Tis a hawk's marriage), because the 
 female hawk is both larger and stronger 
 than the male bird. 
 
 "As Ions as we have eyes, or hands, or breath. 
 We'll look, or write, or talk you all to death. 
 Yield, (U' she-Pegasus will gain her course, 
 And the grey mare will prove the better horse." 
 Prior : Epilogue to Mrs. iJanlei/'s Lucius. 
 
 Grey Wethers. These are huge 
 boulders, either embedded or not, very 
 common in the " Valley of Stones " near 
 Avebury, Wilts. When split or broken 
 up they are called sarsens or sarsdens. 
 
 Grey-coat Parson (A). An impro- 
 jiriator ; a tenant who farms the titlies. 
 
 Grey from Grief. 
 
 Ludovico Sforza became grej' in a 
 single night. 
 
 Charles I. grew grey while he was on 
 his trial. 
 
 Marie Antoinette grew grey from grief 
 during her imprisonment. {See Geay.) 
 
 Grey Goose Wing (The). "The 
 grey goose wing was the death of him," 
 the arrow which is winged with grey 
 goose feathers. 
 
 Grey Mare's Tail. A cataract that 
 is made by the stream which is^es from 
 
 Lochskene, in Scotland, so called from 
 its appearance. 
 
 Grey Washer by the Ford (The). 
 An Irish wraith which seems to be wash- 
 ing clothes in a river, but when the 
 " doomed man " approaches she holds 
 up what she seemed to be washing, and 
 it is the lihantom of himself with his 
 death wounds from which he is about to 
 sutfer. {IIoii. Eiiiihj Lciiclett : Essex in 
 Jrei<(uif, p. 'ilo-ti.) 
 
 Greybeard (yl). An earthen pot 
 fur lioltliug spirits; a large stone jar. 
 Also an old man. (cf. Bellaemine.) 
 
 "We will give a cup of di.-^lilled waters . . . 
 unto ihe next pilgrim thai comes over; and je 
 ii:ay keep for the purpose the grunds of the last 
 grej Ijcard."— ,S/c H'. Scott: The Monaster!/, chap, 
 ix. 
 
 Greycoats. Eussian soldiers of the 
 line, who wear grey coats. 
 
 " Voii mighl think of him thus calm and col- 
 lecte<l charging his rifle for one more shot at thu 
 advancing greycoats." — iiesaxt and Jiice: liy 
 Celia's Arbour, chap. .\lv. 
 
 Greyhound. " A greyhounde shoulde 
 be heeled like a snake. And neked like a 
 Drake ; Foted like a Kat, Tayled like a 
 Bat ; Syded like a Teme, Chyned like a 
 Beme." {Dame Beriur.) 
 
 " Sycled like a teme," probably means bulh sides 
 alike; a plou.gh-teain being meant. 
 
 Greyhound. A public-house sign, 
 in honour of Henry VII., whose badge 
 it was. 
 
 Greys. The Scoteh Greys. The 2nd 
 (Royal North British) Dragoons, so 
 called because they are momited on grey 
 liorses. 
 
 Grid'iron. Emblematic of St. Lau- 
 rence, because in his martyrdom he was 
 broiled to death on a gridiron. In allu- 
 sion thereto the church of St. Laurence 
 Jewry, near Guildhall, has a gilt grid- 
 iron for a vane. The gridiron is also an 
 attribute of St. Faith, who was martyred 
 like St. Laurence ; and St. Vincent, who 
 was partially roasted on a gridiron 
 covered with spikes, A.D. 258. {See 
 ESCUEIAl. ) 
 
 It is said that .St. Laurence uttered the follow- 
 ing doggerel during his martyrdom : 
 "This side enough is roasted, turn me, tyrant, eat, 
 And see if raw or roasted I make the better 
 meat." 
 
 Grief. To come to grief. To be 
 ruined ; to fail in business. As lots of 
 money is the fulness of joj', so the want 
 of it is the grief of griefs. The Ameri- 
 cans call the dollar "almighty." 
 
 Grievance - monger. One who is 
 
 always raking ujd or talking about his 
 own or his party's grievances, public or 
 private.
 
 Griflen Horse 
 
 Grind 
 
 Griffen Horse (27«) belouged to 
 Atlautes, the magiciau, but was made 
 use of by Roge'ro, Astolpho, aud others. 
 It flew through tlie air at the bidding of 
 the rider, and landed him where he 
 listed. (Ariosto : OrhimJo Fnrloso.) 
 
 Griffin. A cadet newly arrived in 
 India, half English and half Indian. 
 
 O'rijfiiix, the residue of a contract 
 feast, taken away by the contractor, half 
 the buyer's and half the seller's. 
 
 Griffon, Griffen, or Griffin. Off- 
 spring of the lion and eagle. Its legs 
 and all from the shoulder to the head are 
 like au eagle, the rest of the body is that 
 of a lion. This creature was sacred to 
 the sun, and kept guard over hidden 
 treasures. Sir Thomas Browne says the 
 Griffon is emblematical of watchfulness, 
 courage, perseverance, and rapidity of 
 execution (Jli/i/ar Errors, iii. 2.) (.S'c<? 
 Arimaspians.) 
 
 Grig. j\[errij ax a grUj. A grig is the 
 sand-eel, and a cricket. There was also 
 a class of vagabond dancers and tumblers 
 who visited ale-houses so called. Hence 
 Levi Solomon, alias Cockleput, who lived 
 in Sweet Apple Court, being asked in 
 Iiis examination how he obtained his 
 living, replied that "he wenta-grigging." 
 Many think the expression should be 
 merry as a Grccl:, and have Shakespeare 
 to back them: "Then she's a merry 
 Greek ; " and again, " Cressid 'mongst 
 the merry Greeks " (Troi/as and Crcsslda, 
 i. 2 ; iv. 4). Patrick Gordon also says, 
 '"No people in the world are so jovial 
 and merry, so given to singing and 
 dancing, as the Greeks." 
 
 Grim {Giant), in Bmiyan's ri/;/r'u)>\s 
 I'roi/rcss, part ii. He was one who 
 tried to stop pilgrims on their way to the 
 Celestial City, but was slain by Mr. 
 Greatheart. (See Giants.) 
 
 Grima'ce (2 syl.). Cotgi-ave says 
 this word is from Grima'cier, who was a 
 celebrated carver of fantastic heads in 
 Gotliic architecture. This may be so, 'but 
 our word comes direct from the French 
 f/riniace ; (jri)nackr, one who makes wry 
 faces. 
 
 Grimal kin or Graymalkin (Frencli, 
 f/r'is malkin). Shakespeare makes the 
 Witch in Macbeth say, ' ' I come, Gray- 
 malkin," Malkin being the name of a 
 foul fiend. The cat, supposed to be a 
 witch and the companion of witches, is 
 called by the same name. 
 
 Grimes (Feter). This son of a steady 
 fisherman was a drunkard and a thief. 
 
 He had a boy whom he killed by ill- 
 visage. Two others he made away with, 
 but was not convicted for want of evi- 
 dence. As no one would live with him, 
 he dwelt alone, became mad, and was 
 lodged in the parish poor-house, confessed 
 his crime in his delirium, and died. 
 {(Jrabhc : Boroayh, letter xxii.) 
 
 Grimm's Law. A law discovered 
 by Jacob L. Grimm, the German philolo- 
 gist, to show how the mute consonants 
 interchange as corresponding words oc- 
 cur in different branches of the A'ryan 
 family of languages. Thus, what \&p in 
 Greek, Latin, or Sanskrit becomes /' in 
 Gothic, and h or/ in the Old High Cier- 
 man ; what is t in Greek, Latin, or San- 
 skrit becomes th iu Gothic, and d in Old 
 High German ; etc. Thus changing j) 
 into/', and t into th, " pater " becomes 
 "father." 
 
 Grimsby (Lincolnshire) . Grim was a 
 fisherman wlio rescued from a drifting 
 boat an infant named Habloc, whom he 
 adojited and brought up. This infant 
 turned out to be the son of the king of 
 Denmark, and when tlie boy was restored 
 to his royal sire Grim was laden with 
 gifts. He now returned to Lincolushii-e 
 and built the town which he called after 
 his own name. The ancient seal of the 
 town contains the names of Gryme and 
 Habloc. This is the foundation of the 
 mediaeval tales about Harelock the 
 Dane. 
 
 Grim's Dyke or DevlPs Dyke (Anglo- 
 Saxon, (jriina, a goblin or demon). 
 
 Grimwig. A choleric old gentleman 
 fond of contradiction, generally ending 
 with the words " or I'll eat my head." 
 He is the friend of Browulow. {Dickens : 
 Olirer Twist.) 
 
 Grin and Bear It (Yon mast), or 
 You must (jrln and bide it, for resist- 
 ance is hoijeless. You may make up 
 a face, if you like, but you cannot helx> 
 you.rself. 
 
 Grind. To work uiJ for an examina- 
 tion ; to grind up the suljjects set, and 
 to grind into the memory the necessary 
 cram. The allusion is to a mill, and the 
 analogy evident. 
 
 To grind one down. To reduce the 
 price asked ; to lower wages. A knife, 
 etc. , is gradually reduced by grinding. 
 
 To tiike a (/rind is to take a constitu- 
 tional walk ; to cram into the smallest 
 space the greatest amount of physical 
 exercise. This is the physical grind. 
 The literary grind is a turn at hard study.
 
 Grinders 
 
 556 
 
 Groat 
 
 To tale (I grinder is to insult another 
 by apjilyiug the left thumb to the nose 
 and revolving the right hand round it, 
 as if working a liand-organ or coffee- 
 mill. This insulting retort is given 
 when someone has tried to practise on 
 your credulity, or to impose upon your 
 good faith. 
 
 Grinders. The double teeth which 
 grind the food put into the mouth. The 
 Preacher speaks of old age as the time 
 when "the grinders cease because Ihey 
 are few" (Ecc. xii. 3). {tice Almond 
 Tkee.) 
 
 Grisaille. A style of painting in gray 
 tints, resembling solid bodies in relief, 
 such as ornaments of cornices, etc. 
 
 Grise. A step. {See Grecian States.) 
 
 " Whirli jis a gvise or step may help these lovers 
 Into vnur f.n our." 
 
 Shalcfixair : OtIu'Uo, i. .3. 
 
 Grisilda or Griselda. The model of 
 enduring patience and conjugal obe- 
 dience. She was the daughter of Janic'- 
 ola, a poor charcoal-btirner, but became 
 the wife of Walter, Marquis of Saluzzo. 
 The marquis put her humility and obe- 
 dience to three severe trials, but she 
 submitted to them all without a murmur : 
 (1) Her infant daughter was taken from 
 her, and secretly conve\'ed to the Queen 
 of Pa' via to bring up, wliile Grisilda was 
 made to believe that it had been mur- 
 dered. (2) Four years later she had a 
 son, who was also taken from her, and 
 sent to be brought up with her sister. 
 When the little girl was twelve j'ears old, 
 the marquis told Grisilda he intended to 
 divorce her and marry another ; so she 
 was stripped of all her fine clothes and 
 sent back to her father's cottage. On 
 the "wedding clay" the much-abused 
 Grisilda was sent for to receive " her 
 rival " and prepare her for the ceremony. 
 When her lord saw in her no spark of 
 jealousy, he told her the "bride" was 
 her own daughter. The moral of the 
 tale is this : If Grisilda submitted with- 
 out a murmur to these trials of her 
 husband, how much more ought we to 
 submit without repining to the trials 
 sent us by God. 
 
 This tale is the last of Boccaccio's De- 
 cam'crou ; it was rendered by Petrarch 
 into a Latin romance entitled iJe Ohe- 
 (lientia et Fide Vxo'ria Mytltolo'e/ia, and 
 forms Tlie C'ler/ci's Tale ' in Chaucer's 
 Caiiferlnrrt/ Tales. Miss Edgeworth has 
 a novel entitled The Modern Griselda. 
 
 Grist. All grist tJiat eomes to my 
 mill. All is appropriated that comes to 
 me ; all is made use of that comes in my 
 
 way. Giist is all that quantity of corn 
 which is to be ground or crushed at one 
 time. The phrase means, all that is 
 brought — good, bad, and indifferent 
 corn, with all refuse and waste — is put 
 into the mill and ground together. {See 
 Emolument.) 
 
 To bring yrist to the iitill. To supply 
 customers or furnish supplies. 
 
 Griz'el or Grissel. Gctavia, wife of 
 Marc Antony iuul sister of Augustus 
 Caesar, is called the "patient Grizel" of 
 Roman story. {See Grisilda.) 
 
 " For patienre she will i rove a second fjripsel.' 
 Uliakcspcarc : 'J'(niii}i<j v/tlic .Slina-, ii. 1. 
 
 Groaning Cake. A cake prepared 
 for tliosc who called at tlie house of a 
 woman in confinement "to see the 
 baby." 
 
 Groaning Chair. The chair used 
 liy women after confinement when they 
 received visitors. 
 
 Groaning Malt. A strong ale brewed 
 for the gossips who attend at the birth 
 of a child, and for those who come to 
 offer to a husband congratulations at 
 the auspicious event. A cheese, called 
 Ihe Ken-no, or "groaning cheese," was 
 also made for the occasion. [SeeKEN-NO.) 
 
 '• Jleit Jlerrilies deseemled to the kitohen lo 
 i-'ocure her share of the groaniiitf malt."— ,S')C I)'. 
 .'•cvit : (Imj Mcmucring, chap. iii. 
 
 Groat. From John o' G'roat\s house 
 to the LanrVs End. From Dan to Beer- 
 sheba, from one end of Great Britain to 
 the other. John o' Groat was a Dutch- 
 man, who settled in the most northerly 
 point of Scotland in the reign of James 
 IV., and immortalised himself by the 
 waj- he settled a dispute respecting 
 precedency. {See John o' Groat.) 
 
 Bloal icithoitt groats is nothing (north 
 of England), meaning "family without 
 fortune is worthless." The allusion is to 
 black-pudding, which consists chiefly of 
 blood and groats formed into a sausage. 
 
 Xot u-orili a groat. Of no value. A 
 groat is a silver fourpence. The Dutch 
 had a coin called a grote, a contraction of 
 g rote- sehw are (great schware), so called 
 because it was equal in value to five little 
 schware. So the coin of Edward III. was 
 the groat or gi-eat silver pennj', equal to 
 four penny pieces. The modern groat 
 was first issued in 1835, and were with- 
 drawn from circulation in 1 887. (French, 
 gros, great.) Groats are no longer in 
 circulation. 
 
 " He that spends a groat a day iiUy, epeuda 
 idly above six pounds a year,"— /VaJiA'/iu; iicce^- 
 miry Hints, p. 131.
 
 Grog 
 
 557 
 
 Ground Arms 
 
 Grog. Rum and -water, cold without. 
 Admiral Yeruoii was called Old Grog h\ 
 his sailors because he was accustomed 
 to walk the deck in rough weather in a 
 grogram cloak. As he was the first to 
 serve water in the rum on board ship, 
 the mixture went by the name of grog. 
 Six-u-(if:r grog is one part rum to six 
 parts of water. Grog, in common par- 
 lance, is any mixture of spirits and 
 water, either hot or cold. 
 
 Grog Blossoms. Blotches on the 
 face that are produced by over-indulg- 
 ence of grog. 
 
 Gro'gram. A coarse kind of taffety, 
 stiffened with gum. A corruption of the 
 French g ran -grain. 
 
 " t4ossips in firief and j-Togfams clad.'' 
 I'raed : The Troubadour, cauto i. stanza 5. 
 
 Groined Ceiling. One in which 
 the arches are divided or intersected. 
 (Swedish, grcna, to divide.) 
 
 Grommet, Gromet, Grumet, or 
 Grummet. A younker on board ship. 
 In Smith's Sea Grammar we are told that 
 ' ' younkers are the young men whose 
 duty it is to take in the topsails, or top 
 the j'ard for furling the sails or slinging 
 the j'ards. . . ." " <SV(7tij>," he says, 
 "are the elder men." Gromet is the 
 Flemish grom (a boy), with the dinu- 
 nutive. It appears iu hrulc-grooin, etc. 
 Also a ring of rope made by laying a 
 single strand. {La)ia : iSeamaii's Mannal, 
 p. 98.) Also a powder- wad. 
 
 Grongar Hill, iu South Wales, has 
 been rendered famous by Dyer's poem 
 called Groxgar Hilt. 
 
 Groom of the Stole. Keeper of the 
 stole or state-robe. His duty, origiualh', 
 was to iuvest the king iu his state-robe, 
 but he had also to hand him his shirt 
 when he dressed. The office, when a 
 queen reigns, is ternvid Mistress of the 
 Mobes, but Queen Auue had her " Groom 
 of the Stole." (Greek, stole, a garment.) 
 (.Sfc Bridegroom.) 
 
 Gross. {Sec Advowson.) 
 
 Grosted or Eobcrt Grossctcste, Bishop 
 of Lincoln, in the reign of Henry III., 
 the author of some two hundred works. 
 He was accused of dealings iu the black 
 arts, and the Pope ordered a letter to be 
 written to the King of England, enjoin- 
 ing him to disinter the bones of the too- 
 wise bishop and burn them to powder. 
 (Died 1253.) 
 
 " None a deeper knowledge bnnsted. 
 Since Hodg,-, Bacon, and Bob Grosted." 
 
 £t.tler : Hadibraf, ii. 3. 
 
 Grotes'que ('2 syl.) means in "Grotto 
 style." Classical ornaments so called 
 were found in the 13th century iu 
 grottoes, that is, excavations made in 
 the baths of Titus and iu other Roman 
 buildings. These ornaments abound iu 
 fanciful combinations, and hence any- 
 tliing OKtri is termed grotesque. 
 
 Grotta del Cane (Najjles). The 
 Dog's Cave, so called from the practice 
 of sending dogs into it to show visitors 
 how the carbonic acid gas near the tioor 
 of the cave kills them. 
 
 Grotto. Tray remember the grotto. 
 July 25 new stgle, and August 5 old style, 
 is the day dedicated to St. James the 
 Greater ; and the correct thing to do in 
 days of yore was to stick a shell in your 
 hat or coat, and pay a visit on that day 
 to the shrine of St. James of Compos- 
 tella. Shell grottoes with an image of 
 the saint were erected for the behoof 
 of those who could not afford such pil- 
 grimage, and the keeper of it reminded 
 the passer-by to remember it was St. 
 James's Day, and not to forget their 
 offering to the saint. 
 
 Grotto of Ephesus {Thi). The test 
 of chastity. E. Bulwer-Lyttou, iu his 
 Talcs ofJIileO/s (iii.), tells us that near 
 the statue of Diana is a grotto, and if, 
 when a woman enters it, she is not 
 chaste, discordant sounds are heard and 
 the woman is never seen more ; if, 
 however, musical sounds are heard, the 
 woman is a jiure virgin and comes forth 
 from the grotto unharmed. 
 
 Ground. (Anglo-Saxon, yruiid.) 
 
 It 'ivonld suit me down to the ground. 
 "Wholly and entirely. 
 
 To break ground. To be the first to 
 commence a in'oject, etc. ; to take the 
 first step iu an undertaking. 
 
 To gain ground. To make progress ; 
 to be improving one's position or pro- 
 spects of success. 
 
 To hold one''s ground. To maintain 
 one's authority; not to budge from 
 one's position ; to retain one's jiopu- 
 larity. 
 
 To lose ground. To become less popu- 
 lar or less successful ; to be drifting 
 away from the object aimed at. 
 
 To stand one's ground. Not to yield 
 or give way ; to stick to one's colours ; 
 to have the courage of one's opinion. 
 
 Ground Arms {To). To pile or stack 
 military arms, such as guns, on the 
 ground (in drill).
 
 Groundlings 
 
 558 
 
 Guards 
 
 Groundlings. Those who stood in 
 the pit, which was the ground in ancient 
 theatres. 
 
 " To split the cars nf tin- KronnrlliiiKS." 
 
 miakeupcure: JJainlct, iii. ■_'. 
 
 Grove. The "grove" for which the 
 Jewish women wove hangings, and 
 wliich the Jews were commanded to cut 
 down land burn, was the wooden Ash'- 
 era, a sort of idol symbolising the gener- 
 ative power of Nature. 
 
 Growlers and CrawkrK. The four- 
 wheel cabs; called "growlers" from 
 the surly and discontented manners of 
 their drivers, and "crawlers" from 
 their slow pace. 
 
 "Taken as a wliole, tlio avorase drivprs of 
 haiisoiu cabs . . . arc smart, intcUigciit men, sober, 
 lionest, and bardworkiuj?. . . . They liave little . . . 
 in connnon with the obtrusive, surly, liesolicd 
 dri \ ers of the ' growlers ' and ' crawlers.' "—Xiiic- 
 teciilh Ccutury, March, 181)3, ii. 473. 
 
 Grub Street, Since 1830 called 
 Milton Street, nenr Moorficlds, London, 
 once famous for literary hacks and in- 
 ferior literary productions. The word 
 is the Gothic ffndxni (to dig), wlience 
 Saxon ffrab (a grave) and ff)orp (a ditch). 
 (See Uii/iciad, i. 38, etc.) 
 
 Gruel. To r/ire hi in hh firiicL To 
 kill him. The allusion is to the very 
 common practice in France, in the six- 
 teenth centmy, of giving poisoned pos- 
 sets — an art brought to perfection by 
 Catherine de Medicis and her Italian 
 advisers. 
 
 Grumbo. A giant in the tale of Join 
 Thiimh. A raven jiicked up Tom, think- 
 ing him to be a grain of corn, and 
 dropped him on the flat roof of the 
 giant's castle. Old Grumbo came to 
 Avalk on the roof terrace, and Tom cre]3t 
 up his sleeve. The giant, annoyed, 
 shook his sleeve, and Tom fell into the 
 sea, where a fish swallowed him ; and 
 the fish, having been caught and brought 
 to Arthiu''s table, was the means of intro- 
 ducing Tom to the British king, by 
 whom he was knighted. (Xufscri/ Tide : 
 Tom 2'lnnnb.) 
 
 Grundy. WJwt will Jfrs. Gnntdy 
 say * What will our rivals or neigh- 
 bours say? The phrase is from Tom 
 Morton's Speed the FloKijh. In the first 
 scene Mrs. Ashfield shows herself very 
 jealous of neighboiu- Grundy, and fanner 
 Ashfield saj-s to her, " Be quiet, wullye? 
 Always ding, dinging Dame Grundy into 
 my ears. What will Mrs. Grundy zay ? 
 "What will Mrs. Grundy think ? . . ." 
 
 Grunth. The sacred book of the 
 Sikhs, 
 
 Gruy6re. A tovra in Switzerland 
 which gives its name to a kind of cheese 
 made there. 
 
 Gryll. Let Gnjll Iw Gnjll, and Iceep 
 his hdi/i/ish mind. Don't attempt to 
 wasli a blackamoor wliite ; the leopard 
 will never change his spots. Gryll is 
 from the Greek i/rH (the grtuiting of a 
 liog). When Sir Guj'on disenchanted 
 the forms in the Bower of Bliss some 
 were exceedingly angry, and one in par- 
 ticular, named (iryll, who had been 
 metamorphosed by Acra'sia into a hog, 
 abused him most roundly. " Come," 
 says the jialmer to Sir Guyou, 
 
 " Li'l- (iryll be (Jryll, and have his ho>,'sish mind, 
 ]iut let us hence depart while weather serves, 
 and wind." 
 
 Spenser : Faerie Qiirenc, hook ii. 12. 
 
 Gryphon (in Orhmdo Fiirioso), sou 
 of ( )live'ro and Sigismunda , brother of 
 Aquilant, in love with Origilla, who 
 plays him false. He was called While 
 from his armour, and his brother Black. 
 He overthi'cvv the eight diampions of 
 Damascus in the tournament given to 
 celebrate the king's wedding-day. Wliile 
 asleep Marta'no steals liis armour, and 
 goes to the King Norandi'no to receive 
 the meed of high deeds. In the mean- 
 time Gryphon awakes, finds his armour 
 gone, is obliged to i^ut on Marta'no's, 
 iind, being mistaken for the coward, 
 is hooted and hustled by the crowd. 
 He lays aT)otit him stoutly, and kills 
 many. The king comes up, finds out 
 the mistake, and offers his hand, which 
 Gryphon, like a true knight, receives. 
 He joined the army of Charlemagne. 
 
 Gryphons. {Sec Geiffon.) 
 
 Guadia'na. The squire of Duran- 
 darte. Mourning the fall of his master 
 at Eoncesvalles, he was turned into the 
 river which bears the same name. (Don 
 Quixote, ii. 23.) 
 
 GuafT. Victor Emmanuel was so 
 called from his nose. 
 
 Gua'no is the Peruvian word hiia'no 
 (dung), and consists of the di'oppiugs of 
 sea-fowls. 
 
 Guarantee. An engagement on the 
 part of a third per.son to see an agree- 
 ment fulfilled. 
 
 Guard. To he off one's gnard. To be 
 careless or heedless. 
 
 • A guardroom is the place where mili- 
 tary offenders are detained ; and a guard- 
 ship is a ship stationed in a iiort or 
 harbour for its defence. 
 
 Guards of the Pole. The two stars 
 /3 and V in the Great Bear. Shakespeare,
 
 Gruarinos 
 
 559 
 
 Guendolen 
 
 in Othello, ii. 1, refers to them where he 
 says, the surge seems ' ' to quench the 
 guards of the ever-fixed pole." 
 
 " How til knuwo the hnnn> uf the iiiybt by the 
 [rdlar] G;irds, I'.v knowing on what iioint of tlie 
 i-nnipa=s they Phiill heat midnight every flftecntli 
 (lay thioirjliout the whole year."— JVoj'HiflK ; So/c- 
 
 Guari'nos {AchmraT). One of Char- 
 leniague's jialadins, taken captive at the 
 battle of lloncesvalles. He fell to the 
 lot of Marlo'tes, a Moslem, who offei'ed 
 him his daughter in marriage if he would 
 become a disciple of Mahomet. Guari'- 
 nos refused, and was cast into a dungeon, 
 where he lay captive for seven years. 
 A joust was then held, and Admiral 
 Guari'nos was allowed to try his hand 
 at a target. He knelt before the 
 Moor, stabbed him to the heart, and then 
 vaulted on his grey horse Treb'ozoud', 
 and esca2)ed to France. 
 
 Gubbings. Anabaptists near Brent, 
 in Devonshire. They had no ecclesiasti- 
 cal order or authority, "but lived in 
 holes, like swine ; had all things in com- 
 mon ; and multiplied without marriage. 
 Their language was vulgar Devonian. . . 
 They lived by pilfering sheep ; were 
 fleet as horses ; held together like bees ; 
 and revenged every wrong. One of the 
 society was always elected chief, and 
 called Ki)i(/ of the GuhhiurjK.'" {Fuller.') 
 
 N.B. Their name is tvon\(julbi)iffs, the 
 offal of fish (Devonshire). 
 
 Gudgeon. Gaping for gudgeons. 
 Looking out for things extremely im- 
 luobable. As a gudgeon is a bait to 
 deceive fish, it means a lie, a deception. 
 
 To swallov: a gudgeon. To be bam- 
 boozled with a most palpable lie, as silly 
 fish are caught by gudgeons. (French, 
 goujon, whence the phiuse faire avaler 
 le goujon, to humbug.) 
 
 '• JIake fools believe in their foreseeing 
 I Of tilings before they are in being; 
 , To swallow gudgeons ere they've catched. 
 And count their chickens ere they're hatched. ' 
 Buthr : Uudibins, ii. 3. 
 
 \ Gudrun. A model of heroic forti- 
 \ tude and pious resignation. She was a 
 princess betrothed to Herwig, but the 
 King of Norway carried her off captive. 
 As she would not man-y him, he put her 
 to all sorts of menial work, such as 
 washing the dirty linen. One day her 
 brother and lover api^eared on the scene, 
 and at the end slie married Herwig, 
 pardoned the " naughty " king, and all 
 went merry as a marriage bell. {A 
 JVorfh-Sn.von jwem.) 
 
 ' Gudule (2 syl. ) or St. Gudu'la, patron 
 saint of Brussels, was daughter of Count 
 Witger, died 172. She is represented 
 
 with a lantern, from a tradition that 
 she was one day going to the church 
 of St. Morgellc with a lantern, which 
 went out, but the holy virgin lighted it 
 again with her prayers. 
 
 >St. Gudule in Christian art is repre- 
 sented carrying a lantern which a demon 
 tries to put out. The legend is a repeti- 
 tion of that of St. Genevieve, as Brussels 
 is Paris in miniature. 
 
 Gue'bres or Ghebcrs \Fire- Wor- 
 shippcrii]. Followers of the ancient 
 Persian religion, reformed by Zoroaster. 
 Called in Persian gabr, in the Talmud 
 Cheber, and by Origen Kahir, a corrup- 
 tion of the Arabic Knjir (a non-Ma- 
 hometan or infidel), a temi bestowed 
 upon them by their Arabian conquerors. 
 
 Guelder Rose is the Rose de Guel- 
 dre, i.e. of the ancient province of 
 Guelder or Guelderlaud, in Holland. 
 
 But Smith, in his English Flora, says 
 it is a corruption of Elder Rose, that is, 
 the Rose Elder, the tree being considered 
 a species of Elder, and hence called the 
 " Water Elder." 
 
 Guelpho (3 sjd.), son of Actius IV., 
 Marquis d'Este and of Cunigunda, a 
 Gemian, King of Carynth'ia. He led 
 an army of 5,000 men from Geimany, 
 but two -thirds were slain by the Persians. 
 He was noted for his broad shoulders 
 and ample chest. GueljAo was Riualdo's 
 uncle, and next in command to Godf rej'. 
 {Tasso : Jerusalem Bclivered, iii.) 
 
 Guelphs and Gbibellines. Two 
 
 great j^arties whose conflicts make up 
 the histoiy of Italy and Germany in the 
 twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth cen- 
 turies. Guelph is the Italian form of 
 Welfe, and Ghibelline of jraiblingen, 
 and the origin of these two words is this: 
 At the battle of Weiusburg, in Suabia 
 (1140), Conrad, Duke of Franconia, 
 rallied his followers with the war-cry 
 Hie Waiblingen (his family estate) , Avhile 
 Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, used 
 the cry of Hie IFclf'e (the family name). 
 The Ghibellines supported in Italy the 
 side of the German emperors ; the 
 Guelphs ojiposed it, and stijiported the 
 cause of the Pope. 
 
 Guen'dolen (3 syl.). A faiiy whose 
 mother was a human being. One day 
 King Arthur wandered into the valley 
 of St. John, when a fairy palace rose to 
 view, and a train of ladies conducted 
 him to their queen. King Arthur and 
 Guen'dolen fell in love with each other, 
 and the fruit of their illicit love was a 
 daughter named Gjnieth. After the
 
 GuendolcBna 
 
 560 
 
 Guides 
 
 lapse of three months Arthur left Guen'- 
 doleu, aud the deserted fair one oft'ei'ed 
 him a parting cnii. As Arthur raised 
 the cup a drop of the contents fell on 
 his horse, and so burnt it that the horse 
 leajDed twenty feet high, and then ran 
 in mad career up the liills till it was 
 exhausted. Arthur daslied the cuj) on 
 the ground, the contents burnt uj) every- 
 thing they touched, the fairy i^alace 
 vanished, and Guen'doleu was never 
 more seen. This tale is told by Sir 
 Walter Scott in The Bridal of Trier iiiniu. 
 It is called L)jiilph''s Talc, from canto i. 
 10 to canto ii. 28. (&e Gyneth.) 
 " Her iiuitber was of liuniau Iiirth, 
 Her sire a Genie nf tlie eartli, 
 111 days of old deemed to preside 
 O'er lover's wile^* and lieautv's pride.'' 
 
 lii-uha ijf Tikrniahi.W.X 
 
 Guendoloe'na, daughter of Coriu'eus 
 and wife of Locrin, son of Brute, the 
 legendary king of Britain. She was 
 divorced, and Locrin married Estrildis, 
 by -whom he already had a daughter 
 named Sabri'na. Guendoloe'na, greatly 
 indignant, got together a large army, 
 and near the river Stour a battle -was 
 fought, in which Locrin was slain. 
 Guendolos'na now assumed the govern- 
 ment, and one of her first acts was to 
 tlirow both Estrildis and Sabri'na into 
 the river Severn. {Ocoffrcy : Brit. Hint., 
 ii. chaps. 4, 5.) 
 
 Guenever. {Sec Guinevee.) 
 
 Gueril'la, improperly Guerilla irars, 
 means a petty war, a partisan conflict ; 
 and tlie parties are called Guerillas or 
 Guerilla chiefs. Spanish, gucr'ra, war. 
 The word is apijlied to the armed bauds 
 of peasants who carry on irregular war 
 on their own account, especially at such 
 time as their Government is contending 
 ■with invading armies. 
 
 "The town was wlicdly without defenders, and 
 tlie L;iierillas iniinleied people and destroyed 
 property without liiiidrauee."— it-sSfTly .- ^United 
 iStiitc)!, ehap. xviii. p. OTI^. 
 
 Gueri'no Meschi'no [^7;^ Wretchecl]. 
 An Itahan romance, half chivalric and 
 lialf si^iritual, first printed in Padua iu 
 1473. Guerin was the son of Millou, 
 King of Alba'nia. On the day, of his 
 birth his father was dethroned, and the 
 child was rescued by a Greek slave, aud 
 called Meschino. When he grew up he 
 fell in love with the Princess Elize'na, 
 sister of the Greek Emperor, at Con- 
 stantinople. 
 
 Guess (/). A peculiarity of the 
 natives of New England, U.S. America. 
 
 Guest. The. Unf/ratefiil Guest was 
 the brand fixed by P'hilip of Macedon on 
 
 a Macedonian soldier who had been 
 kindly entertained by a villager, and, 
 being asked by the king what he could 
 give him, requested the fannand cottage 
 of his entertainer. 
 
 Gueux. Les Gneux. The ragamuf- 
 fins. A nickname assumed by the first 
 revolutionists of Holland in 1 (56.5. It arose 
 thus : When the Duchess of Parma made 
 inquiry about them of Coimt Bcrlaymont, 
 he told her they were ' ' the scum and 
 offscouring of the peoj^le" {les r/ueiix). 
 This being made public, the party took 
 the name in defiance, and from tliiit 
 moment dressed like beggars, substi- 
 tuted a fox's tail iu lieu of a feather, 
 and a wooden platter instead of a brooch. 
 They met at a public-house 'which had 
 for its sign a coe/c crowing these words, 
 Vice les Gueux p<tr tout Ic moudc '. (See 
 Motle]! : Dutch Bepublic, ii. 6.) 
 
 V The word gneux was, of course, not 
 invented by Berlaymout, but only ap- 
 plied by him to tlie deputation referred 
 to. In Spain, long before, those who 
 opposed the Inquisition were so called. 
 
 N.B. The revolters of Guienue as- 
 sumed the name of Eaters; those of 
 Normandy Barefoot; those of Beausse 
 and Soulogne irooclen-pattois ; and iu 
 the French Revolution the most violent 
 were termed Saiiscalottes. 
 
 Gugner. A spear made by the dwarf 
 Eitri and given to Odin. It never failed 
 to hit and slay in battle. [The Edcla.) 
 
 Gui. Le Gui (French). The mistle- 
 toe or Druid's plant. 
 
 Guide'rius. The elder son of Cyni- 
 beline, a legendary king of Britain 
 during the reign of Augustus Ctesar. 
 Both Guiderius aud his bro titer Arvir'- 
 agus were stolen in infancy by Bela'rius, 
 a bauished nobleman, out of revenge, 
 and were brought up by him in a cave. 
 When grown to man's estate, the Romans 
 invaded Britain, and the two young men 
 so distinguished themselves that they 
 were introduced to the king, and Belarius 
 related their history. Geoffrey of Mon- 
 mouth says that Guiderius succeeded 
 his father, and was slain by Hamo. 
 {Shakespeare : Ci/mbeliue.) 
 
 Guides (pron. (/heed). Contraction of 
 guidons. A corps of French cavalry 
 which can'ies the guidon, a standard 
 borne by light horse-soldiers, broad at 
 one end and nearly pointed at the other. 
 The corps des Guides was organised in 
 1796 by Napoleon as a personal body- 
 guard ; in 1848 several squadi'ons were 
 created, but Napoleon III. made the
 
 Guido 
 
 561 
 
 G-uineapig 
 
 corps a part of the Imperial Guard. 
 Great care must be taken not to confound 
 the Guides with the Gardes, as they are 
 totally distinct terms. 
 
 Guido, suruamed the Savage (in Or- 
 lando I'/irioso), son of Constautia and 
 Amon, therefore younger brother of 
 Riualdo. He was also Astolpho's kins- 
 man. Being wrecked on the coast of the 
 Amazons, he was doomed to fight their 
 ten male champions. He slew them all, 
 and was then compelled to marry ten of 
 the Amazons. He made his escape with 
 Ale'ria, his favourite wife, and joined the 
 army of Charlemagne. 
 
 Guido Francischini. A reduced 
 nobleman, who tried to repair his for- 
 tune by marrying Pompilia, the putative 
 child of Pietro and Violante. When 
 the marriage was consummated and the 
 money secure, Guido ill-treated Pietro 
 and Violante ; whereupon Violante, at 
 confession, asserted that Pompilia was 
 not her cliild, but one she had brought 
 up, the offspring of a Roman wanton, 
 and she applied to the law-courts to 
 recover her money. When Guido heard 
 this he was furious, and so ill-treated 
 liis wife that she ran away under the 
 jirotection of a young canon. Guido 
 pursued the fugitives, overtook them, 
 and had them arrested ; whereupon the 
 canon was suspended for three years, 
 and Pompilia sent to a convent. Here 
 lier health gave way, and as the birth of 
 a child was expected, she was permitted 
 to leave the convent and live with lier 
 putative parents. Guido went to the 
 house, murdered all three, and was 
 executed. {Broici/iii// : 'The liing and 
 the Book.) 
 
 Guildhall. The hall of the city 
 guilds. Here are tlie Court of Common 
 Council, the Court of Aldermen, tlie 
 Cliamberlain's Court, the police court 
 presided over by an alderman, etc. The 
 ancient guilds were friendly trade socie- 
 ties, in which each member jiaid a certain 
 fee, called a guild, from the Saxon gUdan 
 (to pay). There was a separate guild 
 for each craft of importance. 
 
 "Rild [ifuikl] signified among the Saxons a 
 fraternity. Derived from the verb giitd-an (to 
 liay), l)ecause every man paid liis s\ia,Ye."—Blm-k- 
 stniie: Commentaries, liook i. chap, xviii. p. 474 
 (note). 
 
 Guillotine (3 syl.). So named from 
 Joseph Ignace Guillotin, a French phy- 
 sician, who proposed its adoption to pre- 
 vent uimecessary pain (1738-1814). 
 
 V It was facetiously called " Mdlle. 
 Guillotin" or " Guillotin's daughter." 
 It was introduced April 2oth, 1792, and 
 
 36 
 
 is still used in France. A previous in- 
 strument invented by Dr. Antoine Louis 
 was called a Louisette (3 syl.). 
 
 The Maiden i'/.r.), introduced into 
 Scotland (loGG) by the Regent Morton, 
 when the laird of Peuuicuick was to be 
 beheaded, was a similar instrument. 
 Discontinued in 1681. 
 
 " It was Imt tbis very day that the daughter of 
 M. de (4iiillotin was recognised by her father in 
 tlie National Assembly and it should properly be 
 called ' Mademoiselle (JuiUotin.' "—Dumas : The 
 Countess de Cliarny, chap. xvii. 
 
 Guinea. Sir Robert Holmes, in 1666, 
 captured in Schelling Bay 160 Dutch 
 sail, containing bullion and gold-dust 
 from Cape Coast Castle in Guinea. This 
 rich prize was coined into gold pieces, 
 stamped with an elephant, and called 
 Guineas to memorialise the valuable 
 capture. (See Dnjden : Annus Mira- 
 biUs.) 
 
 Gaxnea. The legend is M. B. F. et H. 
 Rex. F. D. B. L. D. S. R. I. A. T. et E. 
 — Magnee Britanniffi, Fraucise, et Hiber- 
 nite Rex ; Fidei Defensor ; Bruusvicensis, 
 Lunenburgensis Dux ; Sacri Romani Im- 
 perii Archi Thesaurarius et Elector. 
 
 •.■ (Tninea-pieci'S = L'ls woro first coined in Ifira, 
 and disciintinufd in 1>17. The sa t-reiu'ii cnined 
 by HeiUN VIl. in UMi wa^disphii-r.l l>y tlic u-uinea, 
 bnt recomed in \>\:t, soon after which it disi'iaced 
 the guinea. Of course, 2ns. is a better decimal 
 coin than l.'ls. 
 
 Guinea-dropper. A cheat. The 
 term is about equal to thimble-rig, and 
 alludes to an ancient cheating dodge of 
 dropping counterfeit guineas. 
 
 Guinea Fowl. So called because it 
 was brought to us from the coast of 
 Guinea, where it is very common. 
 
 "Notwithstanding their harsh cry ... I like 
 the tininea-fowl. They are excellent layers, and 
 encirinons devoiircrs of insects.'"— Z). G. Mitchell: 
 My Farm of £dgeicoud, chap. iii. p. 192. 
 
 Guinea-ben. A courtesan who is 
 ■won by money. 
 
 "Ere .... I wonld drown niysOf for the love 
 of a (Jninea-hen, 1 wonld change my humanity 
 with a ]}a,\ioon."—Shakcspeare : Othello, i. 3. 
 
 Guineapig (Stock Exchange term). 
 A gentleman of sufticient name to form 
 a bait who allows liimself to be put on 
 a directors' list for the guinea a)ul luneh 
 provided for the board. {See Floatees.) 
 
 Guineapig {A). A midshipman. A 
 guineapig is neither a pig nor a native 
 of Guinea ; so a middy is neither a sailor 
 nor an officer. 
 
 " He had a letter from the captain of the 
 Titdiamun, offering yon a berth on board as 
 gniiieajiig, or midshipman."— Copfaiu Marryat: 
 I'oor Jack, chap. xsxi. 
 
 V A special juryman who is paid a 
 guinea a case; also a military officer
 
 Guineapig 
 
 562 
 
 Gulf Stream 
 
 assigned to some special duty, for which 
 he receives a guinea a day, are sometimes 
 so called. 
 
 Guineapig (A), in the Anglican 
 Church, is a clergyman without cure, 
 who takes occasional duty for a guinea 
 a sermon, besides his travelling expenses 
 (second class) and his board, if reqiured. 
 
 Guin'ever, or rather Gnanhnma'ra 
 (4 syl.). Daughter of Leodograunce of 
 Cam'elyard, the most beautiful of women, 
 and wife of King Arthur. She enter- 
 tained a guilty passion for Sir Launcelot 
 of the Lake, one of the knights of the 
 Eoiiud Table, but during the absence of 
 King Arthur in his expedition against 
 Leo, King of the Romans, she ' ' married ' ' 
 Modred, her husband's nephew, whom 
 he had left in charge of tlie kingdom. 
 Soon as Arthur heard thereof, he has- 
 tened back, Guinever fled from York and 
 took the veil in the nimnery of Julius 
 the Martyr, and Modred set his forces in 
 array at Cam'bula, in Cornwall. Here a 
 desperate battle was fought, in which 
 Modred was slain and Arthur mortally 
 wounded. Guinever is generally called 
 the "grey-eyed;" she was buried at 
 Meigle, in Stratlimore, and her name 
 has become the synonym of a wanton 
 or adulteress. {Geoffrey: Brit. Hist., 
 X. 13.) 
 
 " Tliat. was a woman vlion Qiioi^n flniiievcr of 
 Britain was a liitlc wi'ucb." — Sliulitupeare: Love's 
 Labour's Lost, iv. 1. 
 
 Guin'evere (3 syl.). Tennyson's 
 Jt/i/H rejiresents her as loving Sir Lance- 
 lot ; but one day, when they were 
 bidding farewell, Modred tracked them, 
 " and brought his creatures to the base- 
 ment of the tower for testimony." Sir 
 Lancelot hurled the fellow to the ground 
 and got to horse, and the queen fled to 
 a nunnery at Almesbury. {See Guin- 
 
 EVEE.) 
 
 Guingelot. The boat of Wato or 
 W((de, the father of Weland, and son of 
 Vilkinr, in which he crossed over the 
 nine-ell deep, called Grceuasuud, with 
 his sou upon his shoulders. {Scaiidi- 
 iiavian mytJioIogi/.) 
 
 Guisan'do. The Bulls of G/iis/Dido. 
 Five monster statues of antiquity, to 
 mark the scene of Crosar's victory over 
 the younger Pompey. 
 
 Guise's Motto: ^' A elinnui aoii to/ir,^' 
 on the standards of the Due de Guise, 
 who put himself at the head of the Ca- 
 tholic League in the sixteenth century, 
 meant, " My turn will come." 
 
 Guitar (Greek, kithara ; Latin, ci- 
 thara ; Italian, ehitarra ; French, gui- 
 tare. The Greek kithar is the Hindu 
 eha-titr (six-strings). 
 
 Guitar. Tlie best players on tliis 
 instrument have been Guilia'ni, Sor, 
 Zoechi, StoU, and Horetzsky. 
 
 Gules [red] . An heraldic term. Tlie 
 most honourable heraldic colour, sig- 
 nifying valour, justice, and veneration. 
 Hence it was given to kings and princes. 
 The royal livery of England is gules or 
 scarlet. In heraldry expressed by j^er- 
 pendicular parallel lines. (Persian, tjhul, 
 rose ; French, gueiilcs, the mouth and 
 throat, or the red colour tliereof ; Latin, 
 giihi, the throat.) 
 
 "Witli man's ))looil paint the grouml, Rnlc-i, 
 
 ynlos." 
 
 Shakespeare : Timim of Ailim^, iv. 3. 
 "And lliivw warm irulos on Madeline's fail 
 
 lireast." Kftits: Eve nf til. Aijues. 
 
 Gules of August ( TIk) . The 1st of 
 August (from Latin, (iiil((, the throat), 
 the entrance into, or flrst day of that 
 month. ( irharto/i : Law Le.cicuii, p. 332.) 
 
 V August 1 is Lammas Day, a quarter- 
 day in Scotland, and lialf-quarter-day 
 in England. 
 
 "'Gula Angusti' initium nicnsis Ancrnsti. le 
 Gnle d'Angust, in staliui Edw. III.,a.ai c. 1-f, av- 
 craijiinii a'stivalc fieri dibet inter Hol^edai et (iiilam 
 A i((iiiMi."—lJucange : Cllvssuriuin Manuale, vol. iii. 
 p. tsC«. 
 
 ('• Ilokedny est dies Martis, qui quindenam 
 Pascbre expletani pruxinje exiliiit."— Vol. iv. Ii. to 
 col. 1.] 
 
 Gulf. A man that goes in for lionour 
 at Cambridge — i.e. a mathematical de- 
 gree — is sometimes too bad to be classed 
 with the lowest of the three classes, and 
 yet has shown sufficient merit to pass. 
 When the list is made out a line is drawn 
 after the classes, and one or two names 
 are appended. These names are in the 
 gulf, and those so honoxired are gulfed. 
 In the good old times the.se men were 
 not qualified to stand for the classical 
 trijjos. 
 
 "The ranks of onr cnratehond are snpplied by 
 viiiiibs A\lMini,at tbe very liest, niercifnl exanii- 
 iu'is li;nr rai^rd from the very gates of 'pluck' 
 to liic iionjarative paradise of tbe 'Uulf.'"— 
 
 .Sutiinlay Jtci-icw. 
 
 A great gulf fixed. An impassable 
 separation or divergence. From the 
 parable of Dives and Lazarus, in the 
 third Gospel. (Luke xvi. 26.) 
 
 Gulf Stream. The stream wliicli 
 issues from the Gulf of Mexico, and 
 extends over a range of 3,000 miles, 
 raising the temperature of the water 
 through which it passes, and of the lands 
 against which it flows. It washes the
 
 Gulistan 
 
 563 
 
 Gun Room 
 
 shores of the British Isles, and runs up 
 the coast of Norway. 
 
 " It is £ouml tliat the amount nf heat transferred 
 by tlie (iiilf Stream from equatorial regions into 
 the N.irlh AthuUic . . . amounts to no less tlian 
 one-tlfth ]K\n of the entire heat iiossesseil by the 
 Korili Athiutio."— r. Crutl: Climate and Time, 
 c\mv. i. 1>. 15. 
 
 Gulistan {garden of roses]. The 
 famous recueil of moral sentences by 
 Saadi, the poet of Sliiraz, who died 1291. 
 (Persian, yhiil, a rose, and tan, a region.) 
 
 Gull (rhj-mes with dull). A dupe, 
 one easily cheated. {See Bejan.) 
 
 " The must notorious geek and gull 
 That e'er invention played on." 
 
 Shal:esi>e(ire: Twelfth Kiyld, \. 1. 
 
 Gulliver {Lemuel). The hero of 
 the famous Trarels into Several Jiemotc 
 Nations of the World, Inj Lemuel Gulliver, 
 first a Sun/eon, and. then a (ktptuln of 
 several Ships, i.e. to Lilliput, Brobding- 
 nag, Lajiu'ta, and the Houj'linhnms 
 {Jf7(in-nims), written by Dr. Swift, 
 Dean of St. Patrick's, Ireland. 
 
 Gulna're (2 syl.), afterwards called 
 Kaled, queen of the harem, and fairest 
 of all the slaves of Seyd [Seed]. She 
 was rescued from the flaming jjalaco by 
 Lord Conrad, the corsair, and when the 
 corsair was imjirisoned released him 
 and murdered the Sultan. Tlic two 
 escaped to the Pirate's Isle ; but when 
 Conrad found that Medo'ra, his be- 
 trothed, was dead, he and Gulnare left 
 the island secretly, and none of the 
 pirates ever knew where they went to. 
 The rest of the tale of Gulnare is under 
 the new name, Kaled {q.v.). {Byron: 
 The Corsair.) 
 
 Gummed (1 syl.). He frets like 
 gummed velvet or gummed taffety. Velvet 
 and taffeta were sometimes stiffened 
 with gum to make them "sit better," 
 but, being very stiff, they fretted out 
 quickly. 
 
 Gumption. Wit to turn things to 
 account, capacity. In Yorkshu'e we 
 hear the phrase, "I canua gaum it" 
 (uudorstand it, make it out), and gaum- 
 tion is tlie capacity of understanding, 
 etc. (Irish, gomsh, sense, cuteness.) 
 
 " Though his eyes -were dazzled with the splen- 
 dour of the jilace, faith be had oumtth enough not 
 to let go his hold." — Dublin and London Mmjazinc, 
 iSio (Loughleagh). 
 
 Gumption. A nostrum much in request 
 by painters in search of the supposed 
 " lost medium" of the old masters, and 
 to which their unapproachable excellence 
 is ascribed. The medium is made of 
 gum mastic and linseed-oil. 
 
 Gun. (Welsh givn, a gun.) 
 
 Cannons and Eifles. 
 
 Armstrong gun. A -WTOUght-iron can- 
 non, usually breech-loadiug, having an 
 iron-hooped steel inner tube. Designed 
 by Sir William Armstrong in 1804, and 
 officially tested in 18G1. 
 
 Eiifeld rifes. Invented by Pritchett 
 at the Enfiekl factory, adopted in the 
 English anny 18.52, and converted into 
 Snider breech-loaders in 1866. 
 
 Gatling gun. A machine gun with 
 parallel barrels about a central axis, each 
 having its own lock. Capable of being 
 loaded and of discharging 1,000 shots a 
 minute by turning a crank. Named from 
 the inventor. Dr. R. J. Gatling. 
 
 Lvrupp gun. A cannon of ingot steel, 
 made at Krujip's works, at Essen, in 
 Prussia. 
 
 Laneaster gun. A cannon having a 
 slightly ellii^tical twisted bore, and a 
 conoid (2 syl.) projectile. Named from 
 the inventor. 
 
 Minii rifle. Invented in 1849, and 
 adoijted in the English army in 1851. 
 Named after Claude Miuie', a French 
 officer. (1810-1879.) 
 
 Snider rifle. Invented by Jacob 
 Snider. A breech-loader adopted by the 
 British Government in 1866. 
 
 Vhitivorth gun. An English rifled 
 flrearm of 'hexagonal bore, and very 
 rapid twist. Constructed in 18o7. Its 
 competitive trial Avith the Armstrong 
 guu in 1861. Named after Sir Joseph 
 Whitworth, the inventor (1803-1887)._ 
 
 Woolwieh infant {The). A British 
 3o-ton rifled muzzle-loading cannon, 
 having a steel tube hooped with wrought- 
 iron coils. Constructed in 1870. {See 
 Beown Bess, Miteailleusb, etc.) 
 
 Gun. A hrceeh -loading gun. A guu 
 loaded at the breech, which is then 
 clo.sed by a screw or wedge-block. 
 
 Evening or sunset gun. A guu fired 
 at sunset, or about 9 o'clock p.m. 
 
 Gun Cotton. A highly explosive 
 compound, prepared by saturating cotton 
 Avith nitric and sulphuric acids. 
 
 Gun Money. Money issued in Ire- 
 land by James II., made of old brass 
 cannons. 
 
 Gun Room. A room in the after- 
 part of a lower gun-deck for the accom- 
 modation of junior officers. 
 
 Gun Phrases. 
 
 7/c's a great gun. A man of note. 
 
 So-n of a gun. A jovial fellow. 
 
 Sure as a guu. Quite certain. It is 
 as certain to happen as a gun to go off' if 
 the trigger is pulled.
 
 Guns 
 
 564 
 
 Gutter Lane 
 
 Guns. To hhw great gii))s. To be 
 very boisterous aud wiudy. Noisy aud 
 boisterous as the reports of great guns. 
 
 To run, au-ay from their oiru i/niis. To 
 cat their own words ; desert what is 
 laid down as a principle. The allusion 
 is obvious. 
 
 " The Govei'iiment could not, of course, run 
 .away from tboir i;uiis."— Nineteenth Century, Feb., 
 1S1I3, I). l'J3. 
 
 Gunga [pronounce Gioi-jah']. The 
 goddess of the Ganges. Bishoi^ Heber 
 calls the river by this name. 
 
 Gunner. Kissing the gunner'' s daugh- 
 ter. Being flogged on board ship. At 
 one time boys in the Eoyal Navy who 
 were to be flogged were first tied to the 
 breech of a cannon. 
 
 Gunpowder Plot. The project of a 
 few Roman Catholics to destroy James 
 I. with the Lords and Commons as- 
 sembled in the Houses of Parliament, on 
 tlie 5th of November, 1605. It was to 
 be done by means of gimpowder when 
 the king went in person to open Parlia- 
 ment. Robert Catesby originated the 
 plot, and Guy Fawkes imdertook to fire 
 the gimpowder, {See Dynamite Satue- 
 
 DAY.) 
 
 Gunter's Chain, for laud surveying, 
 is so named from Edmund Gunter, its 
 inventor (1581-1626). It is sixty-six 
 feet long, and divided into oneTiundred 
 links. As ten square chains make an 
 acre, it follows that an acre contains 
 100,000 square links. 
 
 Aeeording to Gunter. According to 
 measurement by Gunter's .chain. 
 
 Giinther. King of Burgundy and 
 brother of Kriem'hild. He resolved to 
 wed Brunhild, the martial queen of Iss- 
 laud, who had made a vow that none 
 should win her who coiild not surpass 
 her in three trials of skill aud strength. 
 The first was hurling a sjicar, the second 
 throwing a stone, and the third was 
 jumping. The sjDcar could scarcely be 
 lifted by three men. The queen hurled 
 it towards Giinther, when Siegfried, in 
 Ids invisible cloak, reversed it, hurled it 
 back again, and the queen was knocked 
 do^vn. The stone took twelve brawny 
 champions to carry, but Brunhild lifted 
 it on high, flung it twelve fathoms, and 
 jumped beyond it. Again the unseen 
 Hiegfried came to his friend's rescue, 
 flung the stone still farther, and, as he 
 leaped, bore Giinther with him. The 
 queen, overmastered, exclaimed to her 
 subjects, "I am no more your mis- 
 ti-ess; you are Giiuther's liegemen 
 
 now" (i(V'(7, vii.). After the marriage 
 the masculine maid behaved so obstre- 
 perously that Giinther had again to avail 
 himself of his friend's aid. Siegfried 
 entered the chamber in his cloud-cloak, 
 and wrestled with the bride till all her 
 strength was gone ; then he drew a ring 
 from her finger, and took away lier 
 girdle. After which he left her, aud she 
 became a submissive wife. Giinther, 
 with impardonable iugi-atitudc, was 
 privy to the murder of his friend and 
 brother-in-law, and was himself slain 
 in the dungeon of Etzel's palace by his 
 sister Kriemhild. In history this Bur- 
 gundian king is called Giin'tacher. {The 
 Kibelu)igc)i - L ied. ) 
 
 Gurgoils. (Sec Gaugouille.) 
 
 Gurme (2 syl.). The Celtic Cer'be- 
 rus. While the Avorld lasts it is fastened 
 at the mouth of a vast cave ; but at the 
 end of the world it will be let loose, 
 when it will attack Tj-r, the war-god, 
 aud kill him. 
 
 Gurney Light. (.SccBude.) 
 
 Guth'lac {St.), of Crowland, Lincoln- 
 shire, is represented in Christian art as a 
 hermit punishing demons with a scourge, 
 or consoled by angels while demons 
 torment liim, 
 
 Guthrum. Silver of Gu thrum, or 
 sihcr of Gut]irum\s Lane. Fine silver 
 was at one time so called, because the 
 chief gold and silver smiths of London 
 resided there in the thirteenth and 
 fourteenth centuries. The hall of the 
 Goldsmiths' Company is still in the same 
 localitj'. {liileg : JIunimoita Gtldhallcc.) 
 
 Guttapercha. The juice of the 
 percha-tree {Isonandra pereha) of the 
 family called Sapotaecc. The pereha 
 trees grow to a great height, and abound 
 in all the Malacca Islands. The juice is 
 obtained by cutting the bark. Gutta- 
 percha was brought over by Dr. William 
 Montgomerie in 1843, but articles made 
 of this resin were known in Europe some 
 time before. (Latin, gutta, a drop.) 
 
 Gutter. Out of the gutter. Of low 
 bii'th ; of the street -Arab class one of 
 the submerged. 
 
 Gutter Children. Street Arabs. 
 
 Gutter Lane (London). A corrup- 
 tion of Guthurun Lane, from a Mr. 
 Gutluirun, Goderoune, or Guthrum, 
 who, as Stow informs us, "possessed 
 the chief property therein." {See 
 GuTimuM.) 
 
 All goes down Gutter Lane, He spends
 
 Guy 
 
 565 
 
 Gyneth 
 
 evei-j'tliing on his stomach. The play is 
 between Gutter Lane, Loudon, and 
 (juttur (the throat), preserved in our 
 word (jntiural (a throat letter). 
 
 Guy. The Guiscr or Guinard was the 
 ancient Scotch mummer, who played 
 before Yule ; hence our words guise, 
 disfjiii.se, ff>i>/, etc. 
 
 ' Guy {Thomas). Miser and philan- 
 thropist. He amassed an immense for- 
 tune in 1720 by speculations in the 
 South Sea Stock, and gave £238,292 to 
 found and endow Guy's Hospital. 
 
 Guy Fawkes, or Guido Fawkes, went 
 under the name of John Johnstone, the 
 servant of Mr. Percj'. 
 
 Guy, Earl of Warwick. An Anglo- 
 Danish hero of wonderful puissance. 
 He was in love with fair Phelis or Felice, 
 who refused to listen to his suit till he 
 had distinguished himself by knightly 
 deeds. First, he rescued the daughter 
 of the Emperor of Germany ' ' from 
 many a valiant knight ; " then he went 
 to Greece to fight agamst the Saracens, 
 and slew the doughty Coldran, Elmaye 
 King of Tyre, and the soldau himself. 
 Then retiuued he to England and 
 wedded Phelis ; but in forty days he 
 returned to the Holy Land, where he 
 redeemed Earl Jonas out of prison, slew 
 the giant Am'arant, and many others. 
 He again returned to England, and 
 slew at Winchester, in single combat, 
 Colbronde or Colbrand, the Danish 
 giant, and thus redeemed England from 
 Danish tribute. At Windsor he slew a 
 boar of "passing might and strength." 
 On Dunsmore Heath he slew the " Dun- 
 cow of Dunsmore, a monstrous wyld 
 and cruell beast." In Northumberland 
 he slew a dragon " black as any cole," 
 with lion's jjaws, wings, and a hide 
 which no sword could pierce. Having 
 acliieved all this, he became a hermit in 
 Warwick, and hewed himself a cave a 
 mile from the town. Daily he went to 
 his own castle, where he was not known, 
 and begged bread of his own wife 
 Phelis. On his death-bed he sent Phelis 
 a ring, by which she recognised her 
 lord, and went to close his dying eyes. 
 (890-958.) His combat \vith Colbrand 
 is very elaborately told by Draj-ton 
 (1563-1631) in his I'oli/olbion. 
 
 " I am not Snmpson, nor Sir Guy, nor Colln-and, 
 to mow them down before me,' — Shakespeare: 
 Ileiaij VIH., \. 3. 
 
 Guy-ropes. Guide, or giiiding-ropes, 
 to steady lieavy goods while a-hoistiug. 
 (Spanish and Portuguese gida, from 
 f/Hiar, to guide.) 
 
 Guyon {Sir). The impersonation of 
 Temperance or Self-government. He 
 destroyed the witch Acra'sia, and her 
 bower, aiUed the "Bower of Bliss." 
 His companion was Prudence. {Spenser : 
 Faerie Qxeeue, book ii.) 
 
 The word Guyon is the Spanish guiar 
 (to guide), and the word temperance is 
 the Latin tem'pcro (to guide). 
 
 Gwynn {XelT). An actress, and one 
 of the courtesans of Charles II, of Eng- 
 land (died 1687). Sir Walter Scott 
 speaks of her twice in I'ereril of the 
 Peak ; in chap. xi. he speaks of ' ' the 
 smart humour of Mrs. Nelly ; " and in 
 chap. xl. Lord Chaffinch says of " Mrs. 
 Nelly, wit she has ; let her keep herself 
 warm with it in worse companj% for the 
 cant of strollers is not language for a 
 prince's chamber." 
 
 Gyges' Ring rendered the wearer 
 invisible. Gyges, the Lydian, is the 
 person to whom Candau'les showed bis 
 wife naked. According to Plato, Gyges 
 descended into a chasm of the earth, 
 where he found a brazen horse ; opening 
 the sides of the animal, he found the 
 carcase of a man, from whose finger he 
 drew off a brazen ring which rendered 
 him invisible, and by means of this ring 
 he entered into the king's chamber and 
 murdered liim. 
 
 " Why, did you think that ,vou had Gyees rinpr, 
 Or the herl) that gives invisibility [feru-seed] ?" 
 Beaumont and t'lctchcr : Fair Maid of the hm, 1. 1. 
 
 T/ie u-ealth of Gyges. Gyges was a 
 Lydian king, who married Nyssia, the 
 young vridow of Candaules, and reigned 
 thirty-eight years. He amassed such 
 wealth that his name became proverbial. 
 (Reigned B.C. 716-678.) 
 
 Gymnas'tics. Athletic games. The 
 word is from ggmna' sium, a public jslace 
 set apart in Greece for athletic sports, 
 the actors in which were naked. (Greek, 
 gumnos, naked.) 
 
 Gjnnnos'ophists. A sect of Indian 
 philosophers wlio went about with naked 
 feet and almost without clothing. They 
 lived in woods, subsisted on roots, and 
 never married. They believed in the 
 transmigration of souls. Strabo divides 
 them into Brahmins and Samans. (Greek, 
 gaiinios, naked; sophisies, sages.) 
 
 Gy'neth. Natural daughter of Guen'- 
 dolen and King Arthur. Arthur swore 
 to Guendolen that if she brought forth a 
 boy, he should be his heir, and if a girl, 
 he would give her in marriage to the 
 brayest knight of his kingdom. On^
 
 Gyp 
 
 566 
 
 Habeas Corpus 
 
 Pentecost a beautiful damsel presented 
 herself to Kiug Ai-thm-, and claimed the 
 promise made to Gueudolen. Accord- 
 ingly, a tournament was jjroclaimed, and 
 the warder given to Gyueth. The king 
 iwayed her to drojj the warder before the 
 combat turned to earnest warfare, but 
 Gyueth hauglitily refused, and twenty 
 kniglits of the Kound Table fell in the 
 tournament, amongst whom was young 
 Vauoc, son of Merlin. Immediately Vanoc 
 fell, the form of Merlin rose, put a stop 
 to the fight, and caused Gynetli to fall 
 into a trance in the Valley of St. John, 
 from which she was never to awake till 
 some knight came forward for her hand 
 as brave as those wliich were slain in 
 the touruay. Five hundred years ^lassed 
 away before the spell was broken, and 
 then De Vaux imdertook the adven- 
 ture of breaking it. He overcame four 
 temptations — fear, avarice, pleasure, and 
 ambition — when Gyueth awoke, the en- 
 chantment was dissolved, and G3'ueth 
 became the bride of the bold warrior. 
 (Sir li'altcv IScott : lirldal of Tricrinutn, 
 chap, ii.) 
 
 Gyp. A college servant, whose oflRco 
 is that of a gentleman's valet, waiting 
 on two or more collegians in the Univer- 
 sity of Cambridge. He differs from a 
 bed-maker, inasmuch as he does not 
 make beds : but he runs on errands, 
 waits at table, wakes men for morning 
 chaj)el, brushes their clothes, and so on. 
 His perquisites are innumerable, and he 
 is called a gyp {vulture, Greek) because 
 he preys upon his employer like a vul- 
 ture. At Oxford they are called scouts. 
 
 Gypsy. {Svc Gipsy.) 
 
 Gyrfalcon, Gerfalcon, or Jcrfalcou. 
 A native of Iceland and Norway, highest 
 in the list of hawks for falcomy. " Gyr," 
 or " Ger," is, I think, the Dutch gier, a 
 vulture. It is called the " vulture- 
 falcon " because, like the vulture, its 
 beak is not toothed. The common ety- 
 mology from Iticros, sacred, ''because 
 the Egyptians held the hawk to be 
 sacred," is utterly wortldess. Besides 
 Ger-falcons, we have Gier- eagles, Lam- 
 mer-geiers, etc. (See Ha'we;.) 
 
 Gyromancy. A kind of divination 
 performed by walkuig round in a cii'cle 
 or ring. 
 
 Gytrash. A north-of -England spirit, 
 "which, in the form of horse, mule, or 
 large dog, haunts solitary ways, and 
 sometunes comes upon belated travellers. 
 
 " I remeral)ere(l certain of Bessie's tales, wherein 
 fifrured a . . . spirit called a Gytrash,"— C/tartotie 
 Bronti : Jane Eyre, xil. 
 
 H. 
 
 H. Tliis letter represents a style or 
 hetlge. It is called in Hebrew l(eth or 
 cheth (a hedge). 
 
 H.B. (Mr. Doyle, father of Mr. 
 Eicliard Doyle, connected with I'uncli). 
 Tills political caricaturist died 18G8. 
 
 H.M.S. His or Her Majesty's service 
 or shiji, as H.M.S. U'el/iuijtoit. 
 
 H. U. Hard up. 
 
 Halicas Corpus. Tlie " Habeas 
 Corpus Act" was 23assed in the reign of 
 Charles II., and defined a provision of 
 similar character in Magna Cliarta, to 
 which also it added certain details. The 
 Act provides (1) That any man taken 
 to prison can insist that the person who 
 charges him with crime shall bring him 
 bodily befoi'c a judge, and state the why 
 and wherefore of his detention. As soon 
 as this is done, the judge is to decide 
 whether or not the accused is to be ad- 
 mitted to bail. [No one, therefore, can 
 be imprisoned on mere susjiiciou, and 
 no one can bo left in prison any inde- 
 finite time at the caprice of the jiowcrs 
 that be. Imprisonment, in fact, must be 
 cither for punishment after conviction, 
 or for safe custody till the time of trial.] 
 
 (2) It provides that every f)ersou ac- 
 cused of crime shall liave the question 
 of his guilt decided by a jury of twelve 
 men, and not by a GoA'emment agent or 
 nominee. 
 
 (3) No prisoner can be tried a second 
 time on the same charge. 
 
 (4) Every prisoner maj- insist on being 
 examined within twenty days of his 
 arrest, and tried by jury the next ses- 
 sion. 
 
 (o) No defendant is to be sent to prison 
 beyond the seas, either within or without 
 tlie British dominions. 
 
 The exact meaning of the words Ifa- 
 bcas Corpus is this : " You are to pro- 
 duce the body." That is. You, the 
 accuser, are to bring before the judge 
 the body of the accused, that he may be 
 tried and receive the award of the court, 
 and you (the accused) are to abide by 
 the award of the judge. 
 
 SiispeusioH of llaheas Corpus. When 
 the Habeas Corjius Act is susi^ended, the 
 Crown can imprison persons on suspieioii, 
 without giving any reason for so doing ; 
 the person so arrested cannot insist on 
 being brought before a judge to decide 
 whether or not he can be admitted to 
 bail ; it is not needful to try the prisoner
 
 Haberdaslier 
 
 567 
 
 Hadj 
 
 at the followiug assize ; and the prisoner 
 may be confined in any prison the Crown 
 chooses to select for the purpose. 
 
 Haberdasher, from liapcrtciK, a cloth 
 the width of which was settled by Maj^ua 
 Charta. A " hapertas-er " is the seller 
 of hapertas-erie. 
 
 " To matcU tbis saint tbcre was anotlior, 
 As busy and perverse a brolber, 
 An baborilaslior nf small wares 
 In politics and state affairs." 
 
 Butler : Jludibra.", iii. 2. 
 
 Habit is Second Nature. The wise 
 saw of Diogfines, the cynic, (b.c. 412- 
 323.) 
 
 Shakespeare : " Use almost can change 
 the stamp of nature " {Hamlet, iii. 4). 
 
 French : " L'habitude est uue seconde 
 nature." 
 
 Latin : " Usus est optimus magister " 
 {(Jolainella). 
 
 Italian : " L'tibito c una seconda 
 natura." 
 
 Habsburg is a contraction of 
 f[abiclits- hani (Hawk's Tower); so 
 called from the castle on the right bank 
 of the Aar, built iu the eleventh century 
 b}^ Werner, Bishojj of Strasburg, whose 
 nephew (Werner II.) was the first to 
 assume the title of "Count of Habs- 
 burg." His great -gi'andsou, Albrecht 
 II., assumed tlie title of " Landgraf of 
 Sundgau." His grandson, Albrecht IV. , 
 in the thirteenth century, laid the 
 foundation of the greatness of the House 
 of Habsburg, of wliich the imperial 
 family of Austria are the representatives. 
 
 Hackell's Coit. A vast stone near 
 Stantin Drew, in Somersetshire ; so 
 called from a tradition that it was a coit 
 thrown b}^ Sir John Hautville. In 
 Wiltshire three huge stones near Kennet 
 are called the Devil's coifs. 
 
 Hackney Horses. Not thorough- 
 bred, but nearly so. They make the 
 best roadsters, hunters, and carnage 
 horses ; their action is showj% and theu- 
 pace good. A first-class roadster will 
 trot a mile in 2i minutes. Some Ameri- 
 can trotters will even exceed this record. 
 The best hackneys are produced from 
 thorough-bred sires mated with half- 
 bred mares. (French, luKiuenec ; the 
 Eomance word ha(iue=^Q Latin er[uas ; 
 Spanish , h acau ea. ) 
 
 . *.* In ordinary parlance, a hackney, 
 hackney-horse, or hack, means a horse 
 "hacked out" for hire. These horses 
 are sometimes vicious private horses sold 
 for "hacks," or worn-out coach-horses, 
 
 and cheap animals with broken wind, 
 broken knees, or some other defect. 
 
 "Tbo knigbts are well liorsed, anil tbe common 
 people and otbers on litell halccneys and 
 geldyuges."— Froissrtri. 
 
 Hackum (Captain). A thick-headed 
 
 bull}' of Alsa'tia, impudent but cowardly. 
 He was once a sergeant in Flanders, but 
 ran from his coloiu's, and took refuge in 
 Alsa'tia, where he was dubbed captain. 
 {ShaiheeU : Squire of Ahutia.) 
 
 Haco I. His sword was called Quern- 
 Biter [fuot-brcadih]. {See Swoed.) 
 
 Haddock. According to tradition, it 
 was a haddock in whose mouth St. Peter 
 found the slater (or piece of money), 
 and the two marks on the fish's neck are 
 said to bo the impressions of the apostle's 
 finger and thumb. It is a pity that the 
 person who invented this pretty story 
 forgot that salt-water haddocks cannot 
 live in the fresh water of the Lake Gen- 
 nesaret. (See John Doey and Ciikistian 
 Teaditioxs.) 
 
 "O superstitious dainty, Peter's flsb. 
 How com"st tbou bere to make so goodly dish ? " 
 McldUis : Uialoyiics (16U3). 
 
 Hades (2 sj-l.). The places of the 
 departed spirit till the resiuTection. It 
 may be either Paradise or " Tartarus." 
 
 V It is a great jjity that it has been 
 translated "hell" nine or ten times in 
 the common version of the New Testa- 
 ment, as "hell" in theologj' means the 
 inferno. The Hebrew sheol is about 
 equal to the Greek haides, that is, a, 
 piivative, and idcin, to see. 
 
 Ha'dith [a ler/end]. The traditions 
 abotit the prophet Mahomet's sayings 
 and doings. This compilation forms a 
 supplement to the Koran, as the Talmud 
 to the Jewish Scriptures. Like the 
 Jewish Gema'ra, the Ha'dith was not 
 allowed originally to be committed to 
 writing, but the danger of the traditions 
 being perverted or forgotten led to their 
 being placed on record. 
 
 Hadj. The jiilgrimage to Kaa'ba 
 (temjile of Mecca), which every Ma- 
 hometan feels bound to make once at 
 least before death. Those who neglect 
 to do so " might as well die Jews or 
 Christians." Those pilgrimages are made 
 by caravans well supplied with water, 
 and escorted by 1,400 armed men for 
 defence against brigands. (Hebrew, hag, 
 the festival of Jewish pUgrimages to 
 Jerusalem.) 
 
 "Tbe green tiu'han of tbe Mussulman distin- 
 guisbes tbe devout badji wbo bas been to Mecca." 
 —Stephens : Egypt, vol. i. cbap. xvii. p. 2-10.
 
 Haciji 
 
 568 
 
 Hagring 
 
 Hadji. A pilgrim, a Mahometan who 
 has made the lixdj or pilgrimage to the 
 Prophet's tomb at Mecca. Every Hadji 
 is entitled to wear a green turban. 
 
 Hsemony. Milton, in his Comus, says 
 hsemony is of "sovereign nse 'gainst all 
 enchantments, mildew, blast, or damp." 
 Coleridge says the word is /urnin-oiiios 
 (blood-wine), and refers to the blood of 
 Jesus Christ, which destroys all evil. 
 The leaf, says Milton, ' ' had prickles on 
 it," but " it bore a bright golden 
 flower." The prickhs are the crown of 
 thorns, the Jlotirr the fruits of salvation. 
 
 This interpretation is so in accordance 
 with the spirit of Milton, that it is far 
 preferable to the suggestions that the 
 plant ag'rimony or alyssum was intended, 
 for why should Milton have changed the 
 name? (Greek, ha'una, blood.) (See 
 Comiis, 648-668.) 
 
 Dioscor'ides ascribes similar powers to 
 the herb alyssum, which, as he says, 
 " keei^eth man and beast from enchant- 
 ments and witching." 
 
 Hsemos. A range of mountains 
 separating Thrace and Moe'sia, called by 
 the classic writers Cold Hccinos. (Greek, 
 cheimon, winter ; Latin, hiciiis ; Sanskrit, 
 hima.) 
 
 "O'er hii-'li T'ior'i:! Ihonre her course she bore, 
 (J'l.T fair lOiuntli'ia's ever-pleasing shore ; 
 fl'er H;einus' liills with snows eternal crown'd, 
 Nor oiice her fl.viuL' fmit approached the 
 ground " Pope : Homer's Iliad, xiv. 
 
 Hafed. A Gheber or Fire-worshipper, 
 in love with Hinda, the Arabian emir's 
 daughter, whom he first saw when he 
 entered the jjalace under the hope of 
 being able to slay her father, the tyrant 
 usiu'fier of Persia. He was the leader of 
 a baud sworn to free their country or die, 
 and his name was a terror to the Arab, 
 who looked upon him as superhuman. 
 His rendezvous was betrayed by a traitor 
 comrade, but when the Moslem army 
 came to take him he threw himself into 
 the sacred fire, and was burnt to death. 
 {2'Jwtnas Moore,) 
 
 Hafiz. The great Persian lyrist, 
 called the ''Persian Anacreon" (four- 
 teenth century). His odes are called 
 (/hazels, and are both sweet and graceful. 
 The word lutfiz (retainer) is a degree 
 given to those who know by heart the 
 Koran and Hadith (traditions) . 
 
 Hag. A witch or sorceress. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, haejtcsse, a witch or hag.) 
 
 "How now, you secret, Idack, and niidu'plit 
 hags ? " tSlialcesiicare ; Macbeth, iv. 1. 
 
 Hagan of Trony or Haeo of Norieay, 
 son of Aldrian, liegeman of Giiuther, 
 
 King of Burgundy. Giinther invited 
 Siegfried to a hunt of wild beasts, but 
 while the king of Netherland stooped 
 to drink from a brook, Hagan stabbed 
 him between the shoulders, the only 
 vulnerable point in his wliole bodj'. He 
 then deposited the dead body at the 
 door of Kriemhild's chamber, that she 
 might stumble on it when she went to 
 matins, and suppose that he had been 
 murdered by assassins. When Kriem- 
 hild sent to Wonns for the "Nibelung 
 Hoard," Hagan seized it, and buried it 
 secretly somewhere beneath the lihiue, 
 intending himself to enjoy it. Kriem- 
 hild, with a view of vengeance, married 
 Etzel, King of the Huns, and after the 
 lapse of seven years, invited the king of 
 Burgimdy, with Hagan and many 
 others, to the court of her husband, but 
 the invitation was a mere snare. A 
 ten-ible broil was stiired up in the 
 banquet hall, wliich ended in the 
 slaughter of all the Burgundians but 
 two (Giinther and Hagan), who were 
 taken prisoners and given to Kriemhild, 
 who cut off both their heads. Hagan 
 lost an eye when he fell upon Walter of 
 Spain. He was dining on tlie chine of 
 a wild boar when Walter pelted him with 
 the bones, one of which struck liini in 
 the eye. Hagan's person is thus described 
 in the great German epic : — 
 
 " AVell-grown and ■vvell-comiiacted w.as that ro- 
 douMed guest ; 
 Long were his h'gs and sinewy, and deep and 
 
 liroad his chest ; 
 His hair, that once was salile, with grey was 
 
 daslied of late ; 
 Most terrible liis vis.ige, and lordly was liis 
 gait." 
 
 Tlie yibeliivgen-Lkd, stanza 1789. 
 
 Hagarenes (3 syl.). The Moors are 
 so called, being the supposed descend- 
 ants of Hagar, Abraham's bondwoman. 
 
 "San Diego .... bath often been seen con- 
 quering .... the Hagarene squadrons."— t'cr- 
 vantcs : Don Quixote, part ii. book iv. G. 
 
 Hagga'dah (plur. Juie/f/a'dolJi). The 
 free rabbinical interj^retatiou of Scrip- 
 ture. (Hebrew, /lar/f/ed, to relate.) (See 
 Far )■(()• : Life of i'hrint, vol. ii. chap. 
 Iviii. p. 333.) 
 
 Hagi. {See Hadj.) 
 
 Hag-knots. Tangles in the manes 
 of wild ponies, supposed to be used by 
 witches for stiiTups. The term is com- 
 mon in the New Forest. Seamen use the 
 word hacj a-teeth to express those parts of 
 a matting, etc., which spoil its general 
 uniformity. 
 
 Hagring. The Fata Morgana, 
 {Scandinavian.)
 
 Ha-ha 
 
 569 
 
 Hair 
 
 Ha-ha (A). A ditch serving the 
 purpose of a hedge ■without breaking 
 the prospect. (Auglo-Saxou, hw/i, a 
 hole.) 
 
 Hahnemann (Sainin'I). A German 
 physician, who set forth in liis Oir/ai/on 
 of 2Icdlcinc the system which he called 
 " lioracpopathy " the i^rinciples of which 
 are these : (1) that diseases are cured by 
 those medicines which would produce 
 the disease in healthy bodies ; (2) that 
 medicines are to be simple and not com- 
 pounded ; (;3) that doses arc to be ex- 
 ceedingly minute. (17o5- 18-13.) 
 
 Haidce (2 syl.). A beautiful Greek 
 girl, who found Don Juan when he was 
 cast ashore, and restored him to anima- 
 tion. " Her hair was auburn, and lier 
 eyes were black as death. " Her mother, 
 a Moorish woman from Fez, was dead, 
 and her father, Lambro, a rich Greek 
 pii-ate, was living on one of the CyC- 
 lades. She and Juan fell in love with 
 each other during the absence of Lam- 
 bro from the island. On his return Juan 
 was arrested, placed in a galliot, and 
 sent from the island. Haidee went 
 mad and, after a lingering illness, died. 
 {Byron : Don Jiian, cantos ii. iii. iv.) 
 
 Hail. Health, an exclamation of 
 welcome, like the Latin iSalrc (Anglo- 
 Saxon, hi'l, health ; but hail = frozen 
 rain is the Anglo-Saxon hcegl.) 
 
 "All liail, JIaclietb ! Hail to tliee, tbanc of 
 Gla'iius." t<hakefjieare : Macbcil(,\.3. 
 
 Hail. To call to. 
 
 To /lail a ship OT an oiiiniliHS. To call 
 to those on board. 
 
 Hail-fellow-well-met (A). One on 
 easy, familiar terms. (6<'e Jockey.) 
 
 " Hail fellow well met, all dirty and wet; 
 Fiud out, if you can, wbo's master, who's man." 
 ISa'ift: Ml/ Lddy's Lamentation. 
 
 Hair. One single tuft is left on the 
 shaven crown of a Mussulman, for Ma- 
 homet to grasp hold of when drawing 
 the deceased to Paradise. 
 
 "And each scalp had a single long tuft of hair." 
 Byron : Sieye of Corbith. 
 
 The scalp -lock of the North American 
 Indians, left on the otherwise bald head, 
 is for a conquering enemy to seize when 
 he tears olf the scalp. 
 
 Hair (AbsaIoin\s) (2 Sam. xiv. 25), 
 Absalom used to cut his hair once a year, 
 and the clippings "weighed 200 shekels 
 after the king's weight," i.e. 100 oz. 
 avoirdupois. It would be a fine head 
 of hair which weighed five ounces, but 
 the mere clippings of Absalom's hair 
 ■weighed 43,800 grains (more than 100 
 
 oz.). Paul says (1 Cor. xi. 14), "Doth 
 not even nature itself teach you, that if 
 a man have long hair, it is a shame unto 
 him ': ' ' 
 
 Mrs. Astley, the actress, could stand 
 upright and cover her feet with her 
 flaxen hair. 
 
 Hair, Hairs. (Anglo-Saxon, hccr.) 
 
 'The i/rcatrst ccrnts arc often drawn hij 
 hairs. Events of great pith and moment 
 are often brought about by causes of 
 apparently no importance. 
 
 Sir John Hawkins's History of Music, a work of 
 sixteen years' labour, 'was plunged into long ohli- 
 vion by a pun. 
 
 Till' iiiii'-'iiillrent discovery of gravitation by 
 NewiMii I,, :i>. riiii'd to the fall of an apple from 
 a lice iindri- wliirh he was musing. 
 
 The di.u' Diamond, II) -:cttin^' a lamp, destroyed 
 the papers of Sir l,-.i ,ir Ni",\ tun, whicli had been 
 the toil of liis life, o , , \Ki--ir ■.•,M.) 
 
 A spark from a ivindli' iiilliii'-; on a cnttage floor 
 was the cause uf tin' (ireat I'ue of Londun. 
 
 A ballad chanted by a fillr-ilr-iii,nnbrc under- 
 mined the cnl.issal jMnvcr of Alhcroiii. 
 
 A jest of the French kin^' was the death of 
 "William the (.'onqueror. 
 
 The destruction of Athens was brought about 
 by a jest on Sulla. Some witty Athenian, struck 
 with bis iJimply face, called him a "mulberry 
 puddins." 
 
 Kome" was saved from capture by the Gauls 
 by the cackling of some sacred geese. 
 
 Benson, in his Skcrclies of Coificn, says that 
 Xapolcon's love for war was jilaiited in bis boy- 
 hood by the present of a small lirass cannon. 
 
 The life of Nai>oleon was saved from tlie" In- 
 fernal Macliine" liec.ause <;encnil Kapji detained 
 Joseplune a niinnir ortwo I o arr.'inge her shawl 
 after tlie manner of K-rypti.-in w onion. 
 
 The famous "llye-house riot" miscarried from 
 the merest accident. The house in which 
 Charles II. was staying happened to catch fire, 
 and the king was oldiged to leave for New- 
 market a little sooner than he had intended. 
 
 Lafltte, the great banker, was a pauper, nml he 
 always ascribed his rise in life to his picking up 
 a piu in the streets of Paris. 
 
 A single line of Frederick II., reflecting, not on 
 piditics but on the poetry of a French minister, 
 plunged France into the Seven ■years' War. 
 
 The invention of glass is ascribed to some 
 Phoenician merchants lighting a lire on the .sands 
 of the seashore. 
 
 The three hairs. When Eeynard 
 wanted to get talked about, he told Miss 
 Magpie, under the promise of secrecy, 
 that " the lion king had given him three 
 hairs from the fifth leg of the a'moron- 
 thol'ogos'phorus, ... a beast that lives 
 on the other side of the river Cylinx ; it 
 has five legs, and on the fifth leg there 
 are three hairs, and whoever has these 
 three hairs will be young and beautiful 
 for ever." They had effect only on the 
 fan- sex, and could be given only to the 
 lady whom the donor married. {Sir E. 
 B. Lytton : Tihjrims of the Rhine, xii.) 
 
 To a hair or To the turn of a hair. 
 To a nicety. A hairbreadth is the forty - 
 eighth part of an inch. 
 
 To comb one''s hair the wrong way. To 
 cross or vex one by running counter to 
 one's prejudices, opinions, or habits.
 
 Hair-brained 
 
 570 
 
 Halberjects 
 
 WithoHt iurmng a hair. Without in- 
 dicating any sign of fatigue or distress. 
 A horse will run a certain distance at a 
 given rate without turning a hair. 
 
 Agoi)ist the liair. Against the grain, 
 contraiy to its nature. 
 
 " If you sliDuliJ flglit, you go against the hair of 
 your profossions.'"— ,S/«t/ies;)(;orc; Merry ICii'es of 
 Windsor, ii. 3. 
 
 Hair-brained. (Sec Aie-beained.) 
 
 Hair-breadth 'Scape. A very nar- 
 row escape from some evil. In measure- 
 ment the forty-eighth j^art of au inch is 
 called a " hair-breadth." 
 
 " Wlicreiii 1 S]iaki> of mosr cUsMStroiis rlianccs, 
 Of iiio\ iiiK arcidciits by flood and Hold, 
 Of l]:iir-lire;idtU 'scaj'cs i' th" iimiiincnt deadly 
 I ircacli." Shiikcspcare : Otiiellu, i. 3. ' 
 
 Hair Eels. These filifoi-m worms 
 belong to the species Gordius aquaticKs, 
 found in stagnant jjools. Their resem- 
 blance to wriggling hairs has given rise 
 to the not uncommon belief that a hair, 
 if left in water for nine days, will turn 
 into an eel. 
 
 Hair - Splitting. Cavilling about 
 very minute differences. {>Sce Hair- 
 bee adtii.) 
 
 "N(dbinK is iiioro fatal to ehKiuence tlinii 
 atleiUioii lo Hue hair-siilitling distincticjiis."— 
 Muthcn-i; : Uratury and Orators, chap, ii , i). Sd. 
 
 Hair Stanc {Celtic) means boun- 
 dary stone ; a monolith sometimes, but 
 erroneously, termed a Druidical stone. 
 {Scotland.) 
 
 Hair by Hair, irair hij hair you 
 u-ill pidl out the hortic's tail. Plutarch 
 says that Serto'rius, in order to teach 
 his soldiers that perseverance and wit 
 are better than brute force, had two 
 horses brought before them, and set two 
 men to pull out their tails. One of the 
 men was a burly Hercules, who tugged 
 and tugged, but all to no purpose ; the 
 other was a sharp, weasen-faced tailor, 
 who plucked one hair at a time, amidst 
 roars of laughter, and soon left the tail 
 (juite bare. 
 
 Hair devoted to Proserpine. Till 
 a lock of hair is devoted to Proserpine, 
 she refuses to release the soul from the 
 dying body. When Dido mounted the 
 funeral pile, she lingered in suifering till 
 Juno sent Iris to cut off a lock of her 
 hair. Thanatos did the same for Alcestis, 
 when she gave her life for her husband. 
 And in all sacrifices a forelock was first 
 cut off from the head of the victim as an 
 offering to the black queen. 
 
 "'Hunc ego Diti 
 Sacrum jussa foro, teciue isto corpore solvo.' 
 bic ait, et dextra crinem secat . . . 
 ... at(j.ue in voutos vitarecessit." 
 
 Virgil: .dineid, iy. 702-5. 
 
 Hair of a Dissembling Colour. 
 
 Red hair is so-called, from the notion 
 that Judas had red hair. 
 
 " ItiK^iilliid. His very hair is of the dissembling 
 colour [rrd]. 
 
 I'fliii. Some\vhat browner than Judas's." — 
 Shalu'spcare : As You Like It, iii. 4. 
 
 Hair of the Dog that Bit You 
 
 {^L). Siiiiitla tii/jtilll)ns eiiranfiir. In 
 Scotland it is a popular belief that a few 
 hairs of the dog that bit you applied to 
 the Avound will prevent evil conse- 
 quences. Applied to drinks, it means, 
 if overnight you have indvdged too freely, 
 take a glass of the same wine next 
 moniing to soothe the nerves. " If this 
 dog do you bite, soon as out of your bed, 
 take a hair of the tail in the morning." 
 
 "Take the hair, it's well written. 
 Of the do,^' hy whicli you're binen; 
 Work tilf one wine by his brother. 
 And one labour with aiidlher. , . . 
 Cook Mitli ( ook. and strife witli strife; 
 Business with lin>lni'ss, wifi^ with wifc\" 
 
 Athi,nrii:<{,isnih,il I'l A rislopluincs). 
 "There w.-iSM nmn.and he was wise, 
 Wh.ifell into a branible-bnsh 
 And seratehed out bolli bis eyes; 
 And wlieu his eyes were out, he then 
 .lumped inio llie lir;iiiible-bnsli| 
 Aud>er:ilelied I beni in ;i,L.';iin."' 
 
 Hair stand on End. Indicative 
 of intense mental distress a'ld astonish- 
 ment. Dr. Andrews, of Berrsford 
 chapel, Walworth, who attended Pro- 
 bert under sentence of death, says : 
 " When the executioner put the cords 
 on his wrists, his hair, though long and 
 lanky, of a weak iron-grey, rose gradu- 
 ally and stood perfectly ujiright, and so 
 remained for some time, and then fell 
 gradually down again." 
 
 " Kear eaiiic upon me and trembling,. . . [and] 
 the b;iir of my llesh stood up."— Job iv. 11, 15. 
 
 Hake. Tf'e lose in hake, but cjain in, 
 herring. Lose one way, but gain in 
 another. Herrings are persecuted by the 
 hakes, whicli are therefore driven away 
 from a herring fishery. 
 
 Hal. A familiar contraction of Harry 
 (for Henry). Similarly, iJol is a con- 
 traction of Dorothy ; Mol, of Mary, etc. 
 
 V The substitution of F for M as the 
 initial letter of jsroiJer names is seen in 
 such examples as ]'(dl)/ for Mollj^, Tatty 
 for I\Iartha, Tcggy for Margy {i.e. Mar- 
 garet), etc. (<S<Y' Elizabeth.) 
 
 Halacha [r«^']. The Jewish oral 
 law. {Sec Gema'ea, Mishna.) 
 
 "Thehalacbab , . . bad even greater auth<n'ity 
 than the Scriptures of the Old Testament, since 
 it explained and applied \\w\\\." ~ Edmihrim: 
 Lifii .1/ Jesus the Messiah, vol. i. iiocjk i. chap. i. 
 
 Halberjects or Haubergets. A 
 
 coarse thick cloth used for the habits of 
 monks. Thomson says it is the German
 
 Halcyon Days 
 
 571 
 
 Halifax 
 
 al-bergen (cover-all) ov IIals-ber(/cn{neck- 
 cover). {Essay on Mayna Charta.) 
 
 Halcyon Days. A time of hai^pi- 
 ness and prosj^erity. Halcj-on is the 
 Greek for a kiugfisher, comijouucled of 
 h(ds (the sea) aud kuo (to brood on). 
 The ancient Sicilians believed that the 
 kiugfislier laid its eggs and incubated 
 for fourteen days, before the winter 
 solstice, on the surface of the sea, diu'ing 
 which time the waves of the sea Avere 
 always unruffled. 
 
 " Amidst our arms as rmiet you shall be 
 As halcyon brooding on a winter's sea." 
 
 Vrtiden. 
 " The peaceful kingfishers are met together 
 About the deck, aud iirophesie calm weather." 
 ^Yild : Iter Borcale. 
 
 Half. Half is more than the whole. 
 (riAeoi/ TJiuiffu 7rai'T05). This is what Hesiod 
 said to his brother Perseus, when he 
 wished him to settle a dispute without 
 going to law. He meant "half of the 
 estate without the expense of law will 
 be better than the whole after the 
 lawyers have had their jjickings." The 
 remark, however, has a very wide signi- 
 fication. Thus an cinharras de richcsse is 
 far less profitable than a sufficiency. A 
 large estate to one who cannot manage 
 it is impoverishing. A man of small 
 income will be poorer with a large house 
 aud garden to keep up than if he lived 
 in a smaller tenement. Increase of 
 wealth, if expeuditiiro is more in pro- 
 portion, tendeth to poverty. 
 
 '■ Uuhappy they to whom God has not revealed, 
 By a strong light which must their sense control. 
 That half a great estate's more than the Avhole.'" 
 Cowley : Essays iti Verse and Prose, No. iv. 
 
 Half. Jfi/ better half. (Sec Bettee.) 
 
 Half-baked. ITe is only half-baked. 
 He is a soft, a noodle. The allusion is to 
 bread, piecrust, etc., only half-cooked. 
 
 Half-deck. The sanctum of the second 
 mate, carpenters, coopers, boatswain, 
 and all secondary officers. Quarter-deck, 
 the sanctum of the captain and superior 
 officers. In a guu- decked ship, it is the 
 deck below the spar-deck, extending 
 from the mainmast to the cabin bulk- 
 heads. 
 
 Half-done. Half-done, as Elgin was 
 bar/if. In the wars between James II. 
 of Scotland aud the Douglases in 1452, 
 the Earl of Huntly burnt one-half of the 
 toAvn of Elgin, being the side which 
 belonged to the Douglases, but left the 
 other side standing because it belonged 
 to his own family. {Sir Walter Scott : 
 Tales of a Grandfather, xxi.) 
 
 Half-faced Groat ( Yon) . You worth- 
 less fellow. The debased groats issued 
 
 in the reign of Henry VIII. had the 
 king's head in profile, but those iu the 
 reign of Henry VII. had the king's head 
 with the fidl face. (See King John, i. 
 1 ; and 2 Henry I]'., ui. 1.) 
 
 " Thou half-faced groat ! You thick-checked 
 chitty-face ! " 
 Mimday: The Doiniful of Robert, Earle of 
 Uimtinndun (liiOl). 
 
 Half-seas Over. Almost up with 
 one. Xow applied to a pei-sou almost 
 dead, drunk. The jshrase seems to be a 
 coiTuption of the Dutch op-zee zobcr, 
 " over- sea beer," a strong, heady bever- 
 age introduced into Holland from Eng- 
 land {Gifford). "Up-zee Freese " is 
 Friezeland beer. The Dutch, half 
 seeansVs over, more than half-sick. (C. 
 K. Steer man.) 
 
 " I am half-seas o'er to death." 
 
 Bryden. 
 " I do not like the dulness of your eye, 
 It hath a heavy cast, 'tis upsee Dutch." 
 
 Ben Jonson : Alchemist, iv. 2. 
 
 Halfpenny. I am come back again, 
 like a bad ha'penny. A facetious way of 
 sa\ing "More free than welcome. " As a 
 bad ha'i^euny is returned to its owner, 
 so liave I returned to you, and you 
 cannot get rid of me. 
 
 Halgaver. Sammoned before the 
 ■mayor of llalgarer. The mayor of Hal- 
 gaver is an imaginary person, and the 
 threat is given to those who have com- 
 mitted no offence against the laws, but 
 are siiuply rmtidy and slovenly. Hal- 
 gaver is a moor in Cornwall, near Bod- 
 min, famous for an annual carnival held 
 there iu the middle of July. Charles II. 
 was so pleased with the diversions when 
 he passed through the pilace on Ids way 
 to SciUy that he became a member of 
 the "self -constituted" corporation. The 
 mayor of Garratt {q.v.) is a similar 
 "magnate." 
 
 Halifax. That is, hallg fax or holy 
 hair. Its jire^dous name was Horton. 
 The story is that a certain clerk of 
 Horton, being jilted, murdered his quon- 
 dam sweetheart by cutting off her head, 
 which he hung in a yew-tree. The head 
 was looked on with reverence, and came 
 to be regarded as a holy relic. In time 
 it rotted away, leaving little filaments or 
 veins si}readiug otit between the bark 
 and body of tlie tree like fine threads. 
 These filaments were regarded as the 
 fax or hair of the murdered maiden. 
 {See Hull, Three H's.) 
 
 Halifax (in Nova Scotia). So called 
 by the Hon. Edward Cornwallis, the 
 governor, in compliment to his patron, 
 the Earl of Halifax (1749).
 
 Halifax Law 
 
 572 
 
 Hallel 
 
 Halifax Law. By this law, whoever 
 commits theft iu the liberty of Halifax 
 is to be executed on the Halifax gibbet, 
 a kind of guillotine. 
 
 " At Hallifax tLe law so shar])e doth deale. 
 Tbat whoso more thau thineeu iiL-nce doth 
 
 stcale, 
 Thoy have a jyn that wondrous quick and well 
 Sends thieves all headless into heaven or hell." 
 Taylur (the M'aUr Poet) : H'oc/.-p, ii. (l«3o;. 
 
 Hall Mark. The mark on gold or 
 silver articles after they have been as- 
 sayed. Every article iu gold is compared 
 with a given standard of pure gold. This 
 standard is supposed to be divided into 
 twentj'-four jjarts called carats ; gold 
 equal to the standard is said to be 
 twenty-four carats fine. Manufactured 
 articles are never made of pure gold, 
 but the quantity of alloy used is re- 
 stricted. Thus sovereigns and weddiug- 
 riugs contain two parts of alloy to every 
 twenty-two of gold, and are said to be 
 twenty-two carats fine. The best gold 
 watch-cases coutaiu six parts of silver or 
 copper to eighteen of gold, and are 
 therefore eighteen carats line. Other 
 gold watch cases and gold articles niaj' 
 contain nine, twelve, or fifteen parts of 
 alloy, and only fifteen, twelve, or nine 
 of gold. The Mint price of standard 
 gold is £3 17s. lO^d. per ounce, or 
 £46 14s. Gd. perpounci. 
 
 Standard silver consists of thirty-seven 
 parts of pure silver and three of copper. 
 The Mint price is 5s. Cd. an ounce, but 
 silver to be melted or manufactured into 
 "plate" varies in value according to 
 the silver market. To-day (Oct. 2'Jth, 
 1894) it is 29id. per ounce. 
 
 Suppose the article to be marked is 
 taken to the assay office for the hall 
 mark. It will receive a koparcVs head 
 for London ; an anchor for Birmingham ; 
 three wheat sheaves or a dafjger for Ches- 
 ter ; a castle with tiro u-inr/s for Exeter; 
 five lions and a cross for York ; a croirn 
 for Sheffield ; three castles for Newcastle- 
 on-Tj'ne ; a thistle or castle and lion for 
 Edinburgh ; a tree and a salmon with a 
 rinr/ in its month for Glasgow; a harp 
 or Hthernia for Dublin, etc. The sjiecific 
 mark shows at once where the article 
 was assayed. 
 
 Besides the hall mark, there is also 
 the standard mark, which for England 
 is a lion ])assant ; for Edinburgh a thistle; 
 for Glasgow a lion, rampant ; and for 
 Ireland a crowned harji. If the article 
 .stamped contains less pure metal than 
 the standard coin of the realm, the 
 number of carats is marked on it, as 
 eighteen,fifteen,twelve,or nine carats tine. 
 
 Besides the hall mark, the standard 
 
 mark, and the figure, there is a letter 
 called the date mark. Only twenty 
 letters are used, beginning with A, omit- 
 ting J, and ending with V; one year 
 they are in Roman characters, another 
 year in Italian, another in Gothic, an- 
 other in Old English ; sometimes they 
 are all capitals, sometimes all small 
 letters ; so, by seeing the letter and 
 referring to a table, the exact year of 
 the mark can be discovered. 
 
 Lastly, the head of the reigning 
 sovereign comj^letes the marks. 
 
 Hair Sunday. The Sunda}' i)re- 
 cediug Shrove Tuesday ; the next day 
 is called Hall' Monday, and Shrove 
 Tuesday eve is called Hall' Xight. The 
 Tuesday is also called Pancake Day, and 
 the day ijreceding Calloi> Monday, from 
 the sjjecial foods popularly prej^ared for 
 those days. All three were days of 
 merrymaking. Hall' or Halle is a con- 
 traction of Hallow or llaloglie, meaning 
 holy or festival. 
 
 Hall of Odin. The rocks, such as 
 Halleberg and Hunneberg, from which 
 the Hyperboreans, when tired of life, 
 used to cast themselves into the sea ; so 
 called because they were the vestibule 
 of the Scandinavian Elysium. 
 
 Hallam's Greek. Byron, iu his 
 
 Enf/lish JS<(rds, etc., speaks of " classic 
 Hallam, much renowned for Greek," 
 referring to ' ' Hallam's severe critique 
 on Payne Knight's Taste^ in which were 
 some Greek verses most mercilessly 
 lashed. The verses, however, turned 
 out to be a quotation from Pindar." 
 
 It appears that Dr. Allen, not Hallam, 
 was the luckless critic. (See Crabb 
 Robinson : JJiari/, i. 277.) 
 
 Hallel. There were two series of 
 psalms so called. Jahn tells us iu the 
 Feast of Tabernacles the series consisted 
 of Psalms cxiii. to cxviii. both included 
 {Archccolugica Biblica, p. 416). Psalm 
 cxxxvi. was called the Great Hallel. 
 And sometimes the songs of degrees 
 sung standing on the fifteen steps of the ' 
 inner court seem to be so called (?'.<?. 
 cxx. to cxxxvii. both included). 
 
 "Alon,!,' this [path] Jesus advanced, preceded 
 and followed by multitudes with loud cries of 
 rejoicing, as at the Feast of Tabernacles, when 
 the Great Hallel was daily sung in their jiro- 
 cessions."'— (/'eiA'/e; Lifeof CUrist,\o\. ii. chap. 55, 
 p. 3U7. 
 
 In the following quotation the Songs 
 of Degrees are called the Great Hallel. 
 
 " Eldad w(mld gladly have joined in praying the 
 Great Hallel, as they call the series of Psalms 
 from the c.xx. to the cxxxvii., after which it was 
 customary to send round the [paschal] cnpa fifth 
 time, but midnight was already too near."— £((to(J 
 the rUrjrim^ chap. i.\,
 
 Hallelujah 
 
 573 
 
 Hammer 
 
 Hallelujah is the Hebrew ItuhUt-Juli, 
 "Praise ye Jehovah." 
 
 Hallelujah Lass {A). A young 
 ■woman wlio wanders about with what is 
 called " The Salvation Army." 
 
 Hallelujah Victory. A victory 
 gained by some newly-baptised Bretons, 
 led by (jemia'nus, JBishop of Auxerre 
 (a.d. 429). The conquerors commenced 
 the battle with loud shouts of "Halle- 
 lujah ! " 
 
 Halloo when out of the Wood, 
 
 or Xci'cr haUuo till [ion are out of the 
 u-ood. Never think you are safe from 
 the attacks of robbers till you are out of 
 the forest. " Call no man happy till he 
 is dead." "Many a slip 'twixt the cup 
 and the lip." 
 
 Hallowe'en (October 31st), according 
 to Scotch superstition, is the time when 
 witches, , devils, fairies, and other imps 
 of earth and air hold annual holiday. 
 (See HaUoice'cn, a poem by Robert 
 Burns.) 
 
 Halter. A Bridport dagger {q.r.). 
 St. Johnstone's tippet. 
 
 Halter, or rather Halster. A rope 
 for the neck or halse, as a horse's halter. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, hah, the neck ; but there 
 is also the word half ley, a halter.) 
 "A tliievislier knave is not on live, more flicliiug, 
 no more false; 
 Many a trner man tban be lias liangediiii b.v tbe 
 liaise [neck]." Gammer Gurton. 
 
 Haltios. In Laplnndic mythology, 
 the guardian spirits of Mount Nie'mi. 
 
 " From tliis lieiirlit [Nie'nil, in Laiiland] we had 
 (ipiMirtnnitv several times to see tliose vaiiours 
 rise from the lake, which the people of the c(nin- 
 trycall Haltins, and which they deem to lie tbe 
 sruardian spirits of the mountain."— Jsf. cle iluii- 
 i'crtitis. 
 
 Ham and Heyd. Storm demons or 
 weather-sprites. {Scandinavian mijiho- 
 
 " Tlioncrb valour never should he scorned, 
 Yet'now tbe storm rules wide ; 
 Bv now again to live returned 
 I'll wager Ham and Heyd." 
 :• Frith'wf }iai)a,\A's xi. 
 
 Ham'adryads. Nymphs of trees 
 supposed to live in forest-trees, and die 
 when the tree dies. (Greek, hania, 
 together with (l)iif!, a forest-tree.) 
 
 V The nymphs of frvit-trees were 
 called "Mciides" or " Hamamelids." 
 
 Hameh. In Arabian mythologj', a 
 bird formed from the blood near the 
 brains of a murdered man. This bird 
 cries " /A7,'oo'«rf .' " (Give me drink!), 
 meaning drink of the murderer's blood ; 
 
 and this it cries incessantly till the death 
 is avenged, when it flies away. 
 
 Hamet. The Cid Ilamct Bcnenge'li. 
 The hypothetical Moorish chronicler 
 from whom Cervantes professes to derive 
 his adventures of Don Quixote. 
 
 "Of the two had cassocks I am worth ... 1 
 would have given tbe latter of tbem as freely as 
 even Cid Hamet offered bis ... to have stood 
 by."— jStcr«e. 
 
 Hamilton. The reck of Mr. Fafrick 
 Hamilton has infected as nianij as it did 
 blow upon, I.e. Patrick Hamilton was 
 burnt to death by Cardinal Beaton, and 
 the horror of the deed contributed not a 
 little to the Reformation. As the blood 
 of the martj'rs is the seed of the Church, 
 so the smoke or reek of Hamilton's fire 
 diffused the principles for which he 
 suffered (1504-1528). 
 
 •.■ Latimer, at tbe stake, said: "We sball this 
 day light up siicb a candle in England as sball 
 never be put out." 
 
 Hamilto'nian System. A method 
 of teaching foreign languages by inter- 
 linear translations, suggested by James 
 Hamilton, a merchant (1769-1831). 
 
 Hamlet. A daft person (Icelandic, 
 aiiilod'), one who is irresolute, and can 
 do nothing fully. Shakespeare's play is 
 based on the Danish story of Amleth' 
 recorded in Saxo-Grammat'icus. 
 
 Hammel (Scotch). A cattle-shed, a 
 liovel. (Hame = home, with a diminu- 
 tive affix. Anglo-Saxon, Itdni, home. 
 Compare hamlet.) 
 
 Hammer. (Anglo-Saxon, hainer.) 
 
 (1) Pierre d'Ailly, Ze Marteau des 
 llcrciiques, president of the council that 
 condemnetl John Huss. (1350-1425.) 
 
 (2) Judas Asmonneus, surnamed 3fac- 
 cahecns, "the hammer." (b.c. 166-136.) 
 
 (3) St. Augustine is called by Hake- 
 well "That renowned pillar of truth 
 and hammer of heresies." (b.c. 395-430.) 
 
 (4) John Faber, surnamed Malleas 
 Ileretico'ridn, from the title of one of his 
 works. (1470-1541.) 
 
 (5) St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, 
 Malleus Ariano'vani. (350-307.) 
 
 (6) Charles Martel. (689-741.) 
 
 "On pretend qu'on lui donna le 'surnom de 
 Martel. parceiiu'il avait ecrase comme a\ec tin 
 n arteau les Sarrasins, qui, sous la conduite d'Ali- 
 (hranie, a\aieiit envahi la Vva.iici.'."—JivitiHet : 
 VktUnnuun Viiiversel,tjtc. 
 
 Hammer. 
 
 Phrases and Proverbs. 
 
 Gone to the hammer. Applied to goods 
 sent to a sale by auction ; the auctioneer 
 giving a rap with a small hammer wheu
 
 Hammer 1 
 
 574 
 
 Hand 
 
 a lot is sold, to intimate that there is an 
 end to the bidding. 
 
 They live hammer (uid iimejs. Are 
 always quarrelling. They beat each 
 otlier like hammers, and are as " cross 
 as the tongs." 
 
 ■' Botb pfirties went at it liaiiniier nnd foiii.'s ; 
 ami hit one aiKitlicr aii.vwlieic ami with aiiy- 
 WiUVi"— James Fayn. 
 
 To sell under the hammer. To sell by 
 auction. {^See etbove.) 
 
 Hammer of the Scotch. Edward I. 
 On his tomb in "VVcstniiustcr Abbey is 
 the uiscription '^ Indira rdiis lomjas Seo- 
 tanun Malleus hie est " (Here is long 
 Edward, the hammer of the Scots). 
 
 Ham'mercloth. The cloth that 
 covers the coach-box, in which hammer, 
 nails, bolts, etc., used to be carried in 
 case of accident. Another etymolog}- is 
 from the Icelandic liaDir (a skin), skin 
 being used for the purijose. A third 
 suggestion is that the word hatumer 
 is a corruijtion of "hammock," the 
 seat which the cloth covers being formed 
 of straps or webbing stretched between 
 two crutches like a sailor's hammock. 
 Still another conjecture is that the word 
 is a corruption of "hamper cloth," the 
 hamper being used for sundry articles 
 required, and forming tlie coachman's 
 box. The word box seems to favoiu" 
 this suggestion. 
 
 Hampton Court Conference. A 
 
 conference held at Hamj^ton Court in 
 January, 1G04, to settle the disputes 
 between tlie Church party and the Puri- 
 tans. It lasted three days, and its result 
 was a few slight alterations in the Book 
 of Common Prayer. 
 
 Hamshackle. To hamshackle a horse 
 is to tie his head to one of his fore-legs. 
 
 Hamstring. To disable by severing 
 the tendons of the ham. 
 
 Han. A'c/«s of Han. The Chinese 
 are so called from Han the foimder of 
 the twenty-sixth dynasty, with which 
 modern history commences. (206-220.) 
 
 Hanap. A costly goblet used at one 
 time on state occasions. Sometimes the 
 cup used by our Lord at Ihe Last Supper 
 is so called. (Old High German, hnapp, 
 a cup.) 
 
 "He liad, indeed, four silver lianai s of liis own, 
 wliicli had been left hiin by his grandmother." 
 —Sir W. Scott: Qutiitin Duruard, chap. iv. p. 71. 
 
 Han'aper. Exchequer. " Hanaper 
 oihce," an office where all writs relating 
 to the public were formerly kept in a 
 
 hamjier {in hanaper'xo'). 
 a cover for a hanap. 
 
 Hanaper is 
 
 Hand. A measure of length = four 
 inches. Horses are measured up the fore 
 leg to the shoulder, and are called 14, 15, 
 16 (as it may be), hands high. 
 
 i. Hand (-/). A spnbol of fortitude 
 in Egyi^t, of fidelity in Rome. Two 
 hands symbolise concord ; and a hand laid 
 on the head of a i^erson indicates the 
 right of property. Thus if a person laid 
 claim to a slave, he laid his hand upon 
 him in the presence of the praetor. {A ulus 
 Gellius, XX. 19.) By a closed hand Zeno 
 represented dialectics, and by an open 
 hand eloquence. 
 
 V Previous to the twelfth century 
 tlie Sujjreme Being was represented 
 by a hand extended from the clouds ; 
 sometimes the hand is 02ien, with raj-s 
 issuing from the fingers, but generally 
 it is in the act of benediction, i.e. with 
 two fingers raised, 
 
 ii. Hand. (The final word. ) 
 
 Bkae a Haxd. Come and helj). Bend 
 to your work immediately. 
 
 Cap IN Hand. Suppliantly, humbly; 
 as, " To come cap in hand." 
 
 Dead Man's ILvnd. It is said that 
 carrying a dead man's hand will iiroduce 
 a dead sleeii. Another superstition is 
 that a lighted candle placed in the hand 
 of a dead man gives no light to anyone 
 but him who carries the hand. Hence 
 burglars, even to the jjresent day in some 
 jiarts of Ireland, employ this method of 
 concealment. 
 
 Empty Hand. An emptij hand is no 
 lure fur a hiauk. You must not expect 
 to receive anj'tliing without giving a 
 retirni. The Germans say, Wcrsehmiert 
 der fdhrt. The Latin proverb is Da, si 
 ris aceipere, or Pro nilnlo, nihil ft. 
 
 Heavt Hand, as "To rule with a 
 heavy hand," severely, with oppression. 
 
 Old Hand {An). One experienced. 
 
 Poor Hand {A). An unskilful one. 
 " He is hut a poor hand at it," i.e. he 
 is not skilful at the work. 
 
 Red Hand, or hhodij hand, in coat 
 amiour is generally connected with some 
 ti'aditional tale of blood, and the liadge 
 was never to be expunged till the bearer 
 had passed, by way of penance, seven 
 yeai's in a cave, without companion, 
 without shaving, and without uttering 
 a single word. 
 
 In Aston church, near Birmingham, 
 is a coat-armorial of the Holts, the 
 "bloody hand" of which is thus ac- 
 counted for : — It is said that Sir Thomas
 
 Hand 
 
 57- 
 
 Hands 
 
 Holt, some tvro hundred years ago, 
 murdered his cook iu a cellar with a 
 spit, and, when pardoned for the offence, 
 the king enjoined him, Ly way of pen- 
 alty, to wear ever after a " bloody 
 hand ' ' iu his family coat. 
 
 In the church of Stoke d'Abemon, 
 SuiTey, there is a red hand upon a 
 monument, the legend of which is, that 
 a gentleman shooting with a friend was 
 so mortified at meeting with no game 
 that he swore he would shoot the first 
 live thing he met. A miller was the 
 victim of this rash vow, and the " bloody 
 hand " was placed iu his family coat to 
 keep up a perpetual memorial of the 
 crime. 
 
 Similar legends are told of the red 
 liand in Wateringbury church, Kent ; 
 of the red hand on a table in the hall of 
 Church. Gresly, in Derbyshire ; and of 
 many others. 
 
 The open red hand, foiTaingpart of the 
 amis of the province of Ulster, com- 
 memorates the daring of O'Neile, a bold 
 adventurer, who vowed to be first to 
 touch the shore of Ireland. Finding the 
 1)oat in which he was rowed outstripped 
 Ijy others, he cut off his hand and flung 
 it to the shore, to touch it before those 
 in advance could land. 
 
 The open red hand in the armorial 
 coat of baronets arose thus:— James I. 
 in 1611 created two hundred baronets on 
 the payment of ±;1,000 each, ostensibly 
 "for the amelioration of Ulster," and 
 from this connection with Ulster they 
 were allowed to place on their coat 
 armour the " open red hand," up to that 
 time bonie by the O'Neiles. The O'Xeile 
 whose estates were made forfeit by King 
 James was sumamed Lamh-deruj Jiirin 
 (red-hand of Erin). 
 
 Right Hand, lie is nuj right hand. 
 In France, Cent nion bras droit, my best 
 man. 
 
 Secoxd-iiaxd. {See Second.) 
 
 Upper Hand. To (jet the upper hand. 
 To obtain the mastery. 
 
 YoTJNG Hand {A). A young and in- 
 exjieiienced workman. 
 
 iii. Hand. (Phrases beginning with 
 "To.") 
 
 CoiTE TO Hand. To amve ; to have 
 Ijeen delivered. 
 
 To eome to one's hand. It is easy to do. 
 
 Get one's H^ind in. To become fa- 
 miliar with the work in hand. 
 
 Have a Hand in the Matter. To 
 have a finger in the pie. In French, 
 "■ Mettre la main d (ptelqae ehose^ 
 
 Kiss the Hand (Job xx.xi. 27). To 
 
 worship false gods. Cicero (/« J'errein, 
 lib. iv. 43) speaks of a statue of 
 Hercules, the chin and lips of which 
 were considerably worn by the kisses of 
 his worshippers. Hosea (xiii. 2) says, 
 ' ' Let the men that sacrifice kiss the 
 calves." ('SVe Adobe.) 
 
 " I linve loft me seven thnviPaTid in Israel . . . 
 wUieli have not limved imto I5a;il,aiKl . . . wliicli 
 [have] not kissed [their hand to] him.''— 1 Kin.^-'S 
 xix. 1,H. 
 
 Lend a Hand. To help. In French, 
 
 " I'retez iitoi la main." 
 
 Lite from Hand to Mouth. To live 
 without any provision for the monow. 
 
 Take in Hand. To undertake to do 
 something ; to take the charge of. 
 
 iv. Hand (preceded by a preposition). 
 
 At Hand. Conveniently near. "Near 
 at hand," quite close by. In French, 
 " A la main.''' 
 
 BefoPvEHAND. Sooner, before it hap- 
 pened. 
 
 Behindhand. Not in time, not up to 
 date. 
 
 By the Hand of God. " Aeeldit 
 dirinitas." 
 
 Frost Hand to Hand. From one 
 person to another. 
 
 In Hand. L'^nder control, in posses- 
 sion; under progr-ess, as '^ Aiuir la 
 main a Vwuvre." 
 
 " Keep him well in hand." 
 
 '• 1 have some in hand.and more in exiiertalion." 
 
 " I have a new book or picture in hand." 
 
 A lird in the hand. {See Bird.) 
 
 Off Hand. At once ; ■without stop- 
 ping. 
 
 Off one''s hands. No longer under 
 one's responsibilities ; able to maintain 
 oneself. 
 
 Out of Hand. At once, over. 
 
 " We will proclaim yon ont of hand." 
 
 Sliukespeare : 3 Henry VI., iv. 7. 
 " And, were these inward wars onre out of hand, 
 ■We would, dear lords, unto the Holy Land." 
 .S/i(i/i'es2)t'rtie: 2 Ilfnnj IV., ill. 1. 
 
 With a High Hand. Imperiously, 
 ari'Ogantly. In French, ^'Faire qaelqae 
 ehose haat la main." 
 
 V. Hand. (Miscellaneous articles.) 
 Laying on of Hands. The lapug on 
 
 of a bishop's hands in confirmation or 
 
 ordination. 
 Putting the H^\Js'd l'tjdee the 
 
 Thigh. An ancient ceremony used in 
 
 swearing. 
 
 " And Aliraham saiil >nito lii^ i'^:. -i - , :iiit . . . 
 Put, I prny tliee. tliy hand unil 1 ( ! :ind t 
 
 will make tiire swear . . . tlun in i -nili not 
 take a wife unto my son of thr.li, _::i r- . f the 
 Canaanites."— Genesis .\xiv. 2, .3. 
 
 Hands. Persons employed in a fnc- 
 tory. We say so many head of cattle :
 
 Hands 
 
 576 
 
 Hand over Hand 
 
 horse-dealers count noses. Eaces are 
 won by the nose, and factory work by 
 tlie hand, but cattle have the place of 
 honour. 
 
 Hands. 
 
 All. It is believed on all /i raids. It 
 is generally (or universally) believed. 
 
 Change. 'J'o c/uvir/e liatids. To pass 
 from a possessor to someone else. 
 
 Clean. He has elean hands. In 
 French, "J/ a les mains nettes." That 
 is, he is incorruptible, or he has never 
 taken a bribe. 
 
 Full. Mi/ hands are fall. I am fully 
 occupied ; I have as much work to do as I 
 can manage. A "handful" has the 
 plural " handfuls," as " two handfuls," 
 same as "two barrow- loads," "two 
 cart-loads," etc. 
 
 Good. I have it from verijf/ood hands. 
 I have received my information on good 
 authority. 
 
 Lay. To luij hands on. To appre- 
 hend ; to lay hold of. (6V.r No. v.) 
 " Lay bands on the villiiin." 
 HhuUcspeare : Tumijuj oftlir Shreii\ v. L 
 
 Long. Kings hare long hands. In 
 French, "Les roisoiit les mains longiies." 
 That is, it is hard to escape from the 
 vengeance of a king, for his hands or 
 agents extend over the whole of his 
 kingdom. 
 
 Shake. To shake hands. To salute 
 by giving a hand received into your own 
 a shake. 
 
 I'o strike hands (Prov. xvii. 18). To 
 make a contract, to become surety for 
 another. {See also Prov. vii. 1 and xxii. 
 26.) The English custom of shaking hands 
 in confinnation of a bargain has been 
 ciimuKui ti) all nations and all ages. In 
 feudal times the vassal put his hands in 
 the hands of his overlord on taking the 
 oath of fidelity and homage. 
 
 Shop " 7/ff«f/.v," etc. Men and women 
 employed in a shop. 
 
 Take off. 'To take off one^s hands. 
 To relieve one of something troublesome, 
 as " Will no one take this [task] ofi my 
 hands';' " 
 
 Wash. To wash one^s hands of a thing. 
 In French, " (Se lever les mains d^nnc 
 ehose^^ or '^ Je m^cn tare les mai)is.'' I 
 will have nothing to do with it ; I will 
 abandon it entirely. The allusion is 
 to Pilate's washing his hands at the 
 trial of Jesus. 
 
 " Wlion Pil;ili's;nvtli:il lie could prevail notliinpr, 
 I'lit iliat ratlicr n tiinuilt was inadc, lii' took water, 
 and washed ids liaiuls liefore Hie iiuiUitude, say- 
 iML,'. I am iiiiHieeiii, of the Idoort of this just 
 jHTSoii : see ye to it,"— Matt, xxvii. IM. 
 
 ^ Hand - book. Spelmau says that 
 Xing Alfred used to carry in Ids bosom 
 
 memorandum leaves, in which he made 
 observations, and took so much pleasure 
 therein that he called it his hand-book, 
 because it was always in his hand. 
 
 Hand-gallop. A slow and easy gallop, 
 in which the horse is kept well in hand. 
 
 Hand Paper. A particular sort of 
 ggjx. » isaper well known in the Record 
 ^^ Office, and so called from its 
 water-mark, which goes back to the fif- 
 teenth centmy. 
 
 Hand-post (A). A direction-post to 
 direct travellers the way to different 
 places. 
 
 Hand Round (To). To pass from one 
 lierson to another in a regular series. 
 
 Hand and Glove ( The// arc). In- 
 separable companions, of like tastes and 
 like affections. They fit each other like 
 hand and glove. 
 
 Hand and Seal. When writing was 
 limited to a few clerks, documents were 
 authenticated by the impression of the 
 hand dipped in ink, and then the seal 
 was duly appended. As dipping the 
 hand in ink was dirty, the imj)ression of 
 the thumb was substituted. We are 
 informed that " scores of old English 
 and French deeds still exist in which 
 such 'signatures' appear." Subsequently 
 the name was written, and this writing 
 was called " the hand." 
 
 " Uiihcft : Here is your hand and seal for wliat I 
 did. 
 K'niij Jnhii : Oh, when the last account "twixt 
 
 lii-iveuand earth 
 Is to he made, then shall this hand and seal 
 Witness agaiust us to damnation." 
 
 lihakcsiieure,: K buj Juhn , \\- . i. , 
 
 Hand -in -Hand. In a famihar or 
 kindly manner, as when persons go 
 hand-in-hand. 
 
 " Now wc maun totter down. John, 
 But hand in hand we'll go." 
 
 John Anderson, my .To. 
 
 Hand of Cards. The whole deal of 
 cards given to a single player. The 
 cards which he holds in his hand. 
 
 "A saint in heaven would grieve to s;?e such 
 ' hand ' 
 Cut up hy one who will not understand." 
 
 Crabbe: Iluroiiyli. 
 
 Hand of Justice. The allusion is 
 to the sceptre or baton anciently used 
 by kings, which had an ivory hand at 
 the tof» of it. 
 
 Hand over Hand. To go or to come 
 up baud over liand, is to travel with 
 great rapidit}', as climbing a rope or a 
 ladder, or as one vessel overtakes another. 
 Sailors in hauhng a rope put one hand
 
 Saiid the 
 
 577 
 
 Hang Out 
 
 over the other alternately as fast as they 
 can. In French, ^^ Main siir main y 
 
 "Cmnmaudnient fait aux matelots qui halent 
 siir une manoeuvre pour qu'ils passent alteriia- 
 tivement uue main sur I'autre 9;ius iuterruption, 
 et pour qae le travail sefassephis prumptemeut." 
 —Royal Dictioiinaire. 
 
 Hand the Sail, i.e. furl it. 
 
 Hand Down to Posterity {To). To 
 leave for future generations. 
 
 Handfasting. A sort of marriage. 
 A fair was at one time held in Dum- 
 friesshire, at which a young man was 
 allowed to pick out a female companion 
 to live with him. They lived together 
 for twelve mouths, and if they both 
 liked the arrangement were man and 
 wife. This was called hnnd-J'asti)i(/ or 
 hand-fastening. 
 
 This sort of contract was common 
 among the Eonians and Jews, and is not 
 unusual in the East even new. 
 
 " ' Knowest thou not that rite, holy man ?' said 
 Aveuel . . . . ; 'then I will tell tliee. We border- 
 men .... take our wives fur a year and a day ; 
 that space i-rnue by. each may choose another 
 mate, nr, at their pleasure, [tliey] may call the 
 priest to marry them for life, and this we call 
 handfasting.' " — •^''C H'. Scutt : 'lite Munaattry, 
 chap. XXV. 
 
 Handicap. A game at cards not 
 unlike loo, but with this tlifference — the 
 winner of one tiick has to put iu a double 
 stake, the winner of two tricks a triple 
 stake, and so on. Thus : Lf six persons 
 are playing, and the general stake is Is., 
 and A gains three tricks, he gains 6s., 
 and has to "hand i' the cap" or pool 
 3s. for the next deal. Suppose A gains 
 two tricks and B one, then A gains 4s. 
 and B 2s., and A has to stake '6s. and B 
 2s. for the next deal. 
 
 "To the 'Mitre Tavern" in Wood Street, a hou.se 
 of the greate.^t note in London. Here some of us 
 fell to handicap, a sport I never knew before, 
 which was very eimd."—Pepys : His Uiarii, Se\it. 
 18th, 1G80. 
 
 Handicap, in racing, is the adjudging 
 of various weights to horses differing iu 
 age, power, or speed, in order to place 
 them all, as far as possible, on an 
 equality. If two unequal players chal- 
 lenge each other at chess, the superior 
 gives up a piece, and this is his handi- 
 cap. So called from the ancient game 
 referred to by Pepys. {Sec Sweep- 
 stakes, Plate-eace, etc.) 
 
 The Winner's Handicap. The winning 
 horses of previous races being pitted 
 together in a race roj^al are first handi- 
 capped according to their respective 
 merits : the horse that has won three 
 races has to carry a greater weight than 
 the horse that has won only two, and 
 
 37 
 
 this latter more than its competitor who 
 is winner of a single race only. 
 
 Handkerchief. " The committee teas 
 at a loss to know tchom next to throw the 
 handkerchief to'' {The Times). The 
 meaning is that the committee did not 
 know whom they were to ask next to 
 make a speech for them : and the allu- 
 sion is to the game called in Norfolk 
 " Stir up the dumplings," and by girls 
 " Kiss in the ring." 
 
 Handkerchief and Sword. With 
 
 ha>nlktrchief in one hand and sword 
 in the otlier. Pretending to be sorry 
 at a calamity, but prej)ared to make 
 capital out of it. 
 
 "Abbe George .... mentions in [a letter], that 
 ' Maria Theresa stands with the handkerchief in 
 one hand, weepini; for the woes of Poland, but 
 with the sword iu the other hand, ready to cut 
 P(jland in sections, and take her share." "'— 
 Carlyle: The Diamond Necklace, chap. iv. 
 
 Handle. He has a handle to his name. 
 Some title, as "lord," "sir," "doctor." 
 The French say Monsieur sans queue, a 
 man without a tail (handle to his name). 
 To (/ire a handle to ... . To give 
 grounds for suspicion ; as, "He certainly 
 gave a handle to the rumour." 
 
 " He crave a handle to his enemies, and threw 
 9tiinililin!,'-l)locks in the way of his friends."'— 
 llazlitt: Spirit nf the Aye (James Macintosh;, p. l:;ii. 
 
 Handsome = liberal. To do the thing 
 that is handaome ; to act handsomely ; to 
 do handsome towards one. 
 
 Handwriting en the WaU {The). 
 An aunouncenient of some coming 
 calamity. The allusion is to the hand- 
 writing on Belshazzar's palace-wall 
 announcing the loss of his kingdom. 
 (Dan. V. 5-31.) 
 
 Handycufis. Cuffs or blows given 
 by the hand. "Fisticuffs" is now more 
 common. 
 
 Hang Back [To). To hesitate to 
 proceed. 
 
 Hang Fire {To). To fail iu an ex- 
 pected result. The allusion is to a gun 
 or pistol which fails to go off. 
 
 Hang On {To). To cling to; to 
 persevere ; to be dependent on. 
 
 Hang Out. Where do you hang out ? 
 Where are you living, or lodging ? Tho 
 allusion is to the custom, now restricted 
 to public-houses, but once very general, 
 of hanging before one's shop a sign 
 indicating the nature of the business 
 earned on within. Druggists often still 
 place coloured bottles in their windows, 
 and some tobacconists place near their
 
 Hangdog 
 
 578 
 
 Hangmen 
 
 shop door the statue of a Scotclimau. 
 (See D.ckcns : I'lckiiuk Papers, cliaji. 
 
 XXX.) 
 
 Hangdog Lock {A). A guilty, 
 shainelaced look. 
 
 " Look n liltic l)ri.skcr,iiian,rind not so hansdog- 
 like."— y-iic/.t-iis. 
 
 Hang by a Thread {Tu). To be in 
 
 a very ])recarious position. The allusion 
 is to the sword of DamScles. {!Sce 
 D.ua:ocLEs' Sword.) 
 
 Hang in the Bell Ropes {To). To 
 he asked at cliurch, and then defer the 
 marriage so that the bells hang tire. 
 
 Hanged or Strangled. Examples 
 from the ancient classic writers : — 
 
 (1) Ac'hius, Kin? of L.vdia, endeavoured to 
 niise a new tribiile from his siilpjects, and was 
 hanged hy the eura.Lred i"iiiulace. who threw the 
 dead liody into the river Pacto'liis. 
 
 (•1) Ama'ta, wife of KiuK Lati'iius, promised 
 her daughter Lavin'ia to King Turuus ; wlien, 
 liowever, she was given in marriage to -Ene'iis, 
 Ania'ta hanged herself that she might not see the 
 hated stranger. (Virgil: yE/ieirf, vii.) 
 
 (3) Abach'xk, the most skilful of needle- 
 women, hanged herself because she was outdone 
 in a trial of skill by Minerva. (Or/d; ilelamor- 
 phoses, vi. fab. 1.) 
 
 (4) AnTOi.'vcA, mother of Ulysses, hanged her- 
 self in despair on receiving false news of her 
 son's death. 
 
 (5) Boso'sus, a Spaniard hy birth, was strangled 
 l>y the Emperor I'rolius for assuming the imperial 
 purple in Haul. (a.d. asii.) 
 
 (ly JPHis.a beautiful youth of Salamis, of mean 
 birth, hanged himself liecanse h's addresses were 
 rejected by Anaxar'eie, a girl of Salamis of simi- 
 lar rank in life. ^OviU : Metamorphoses, xiv. 70», 
 etc.) 
 
 (7) Lati'xus, wife of. C'^ee Amata. above.) 
 
 (8) Lycam'bes, father of Neobi/la, who be- 
 trothed her to Archil'ochos, the poet. He broke 
 liis promise, and gave her in marriage to a 
 wealthier man. Archil'ochos so scourged them 
 by his satires that both father and daughter 
 hanged themselves. 
 
 (9) NEOIiU'I>A. (See above.) • 
 
 (10) Phyllis, Queen of Thrace, the accepted of 
 Demoph'oiin, who stopped on her coasts on his 
 return from Troy. Demophodn was called away 
 to Athens, and promised to return ; but, failing so 
 to do, Phyllis hanged herself. 
 
 Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered. 
 
 {See Dkawn.) 
 
 Hanger {A). Properly the fringed 
 loop or strap hung to the girdle by wliich 
 the dagger was suspended, but applied 
 by a common figure of speech to the 
 sword or dagger itself. 
 
 " Men's swords in hangers hang fast by their 
 Bide."—/. Taylor (lOi). 
 
 Hanging. Hanging and vtvhig go 
 hg desting. " If a man is doomed to be 
 hanged, he will never be drowned." And 
 "marriages are made in heaven," we 
 are told. 
 
 " If matrimony and hanging go 
 By dest'ny, why not whipping too ? 
 ■What med cine else can cure the fits 
 Of lovers when they lose their wits ? 
 Love is a boy, by poets styled. 
 Then spare the rod and spoil the child." 
 Bailer : Jlmlibras, part ii. canto i. S3a-844. 
 
 Hanging Gale (J'/u). The custom 
 of takiug six mouths' grace in the 
 payment of rent wluch prevailed in 
 Ireland. 
 
 " We went to collect the rents due the ;5th 
 March, but which, owing to the custom which 
 prevails in Ireland known as 'the hanging gale,' 
 are never demanded till the -'«th September."— 
 'I'lic Times, November, lh85. 
 
 Hanging Gardens of Babylon. 
 
 Four acres of garden raiseil on a base 
 supported by pillars, and towering in 
 terraces one above another 300 feet in 
 height. At a distance they looked like a 
 vast pyramid covered with trees. This 
 mound was constructed by Nebuchad- 
 nezzar to gratify his wife Am'ytis, who 
 felt weary of the flat plains of Babylon, 
 and longed for something to remind Iter 
 of her native Me'dian hills. One of the 
 " seven wonders of the world." 
 
 Hangman's Acre, Gains, and 
 Gain's Alley (London), in tlie liberty 
 of St. Catherine. Strj'pe says it is a 
 corruption of " Hammes and Guynes," 
 so called becatise refugees from those 
 places were allowed to lodge there in 
 the reign of Queen Mary after the loss 
 of Calais. (See also Stoic : Jlintori/, 
 vol. ii. ; list of streets.) 
 
 Hangman's Wages. 13^d. The 
 ft e given to the executioner at Tyburn, 
 with Hd. for the rojie. This was the 
 value of a Scotch merk, and therefore 
 points to the reign of James, who decreed 
 that "the coin of silver called the mark- 
 piece shall be current within the king- 
 dom at the value of 13id." Noblemen 
 who were to be beheaded were expected 
 to give the executioner from £7 to £10 
 for cutting off their head. 
 
 " For half of thirteen-pence ha'jenny wages 
 I would have cleared all the town <'agcs, 
 And you shoiUd have been rid of all the stages 
 I and my gallows groan." 
 The Ifaveman's Last Will and Testammt. 
 
 Ulfii'l' Suiige.) ' 
 
 V The present price (1894) is about 
 £40. Calcraft's charge was £33 14s., 
 plus assistant £5 5s., other fees £1 Is., 
 to which he added " expenses for erect- 
 ing the scaffold." 
 
 Hangmen and Executioners. 
 
 (1) Bull is the earliest hangman whose name 
 survives (about 1593). 
 (•J) Jock Suthkulaxd. 
 
 (3) DBiinicK, who cut off the head of Essex in 
 IGol. 
 
 (4) GnBHOKT. Father and son, mentioned by 
 Sir Walter Scott (1W7). 
 
 (5) (TitKGORY BllAXDOX (abOUt 1M8). 
 
 (Ill Richard Buasdox, his son, who executed 
 Charles I. 
 
 (7) syuiUB Dux, mentioned hy Hudibras (part 
 iii.c. y. 
 
 (8) JACK Krtch (1678) executed Lord Russell 
 and the Duke of Monmouth.
 
 Hankey Pankey 
 
 579 
 
 Happy Valley 
 
 (9) Rose, the butcher (1GS6) : but Jack Ketch 
 was restDred to offlce the s:ime year. 
 
 (in) Edwaud Df.ssis (1780), introduced as a 
 character in Dickens's Barnaby Rudge. 
 
 (11) Thomas Cheshiue, nicknamed " Old 
 Cheese." 
 
 (!•-') .lOHX CALCBAPT ; MARWOOD ; BKURT ; 
 
 etc. 
 
 (13) Of foreir^n execntiimers, the most cele- 
 brated are Little John : Caiieluiiic. headnman of 
 P.ivis durinij the terrible da.vs of the Annnfe'iiacs 
 and Biu7,'undians ; and the two brothers Sanson, 
 who were executioners durins the llrst French 
 Revolution. 
 
 V Hudibras, under the name of Dun, 
 " personates " Sir Arthur Hazeh-ig, '' the 
 activest " of the five members impeached 
 by King Charles I. The other f om- were 
 Monk, Walton, Morley, and Alured. 
 
 Eanksy Pankey. Jugglery ; fraud. 
 
 Hanoverian Shield. This escut- 
 cheon used to be added to the aiTus of 
 England ; it was placed in the centre of 
 the shield to show that the House of 
 Hanover came to the crown by election, 
 and not by conquest. Conquerors strike 
 out arms of a conquered country, and 
 l)lace their own in lieu. 
 
 Hans von Rippach [yip-palc]. Jack 
 of liipjaach, a Monsieur Nong-tong-pas 
 — i.e. someone asked for who does not 
 exist. A gay German spark calls at a 
 house and asks for Herr Haus von liip- 
 pach. Rippach is a village near Leipsic. 
 
 Hansards. The printed records of 
 Bills before Parliament, the reports of 
 committees, parliamentary debates, and 
 some of the national accounts. Till the 
 business was made into a company the 
 reports commanded a good respect, but 
 in 1892 the company was wound up. 
 Luke Hansard, the founder of the busi- 
 ness came from Norwich, and was born 
 in 17o2. 
 
 V Other parliamentary business was 
 printed by other firms. 
 
 HansQ Towns. The maritime cities 
 of Germany, which belonged to the Hau- 
 seatic League {q.v.). 
 
 "The Hanse towns of Liibeck, Bremen, and 
 llimbnr.ij are eomniimwealtbs even now (ls77).'' 
 —Freeman: General Sketch, chap. x. p. 174. 
 
 Hanseat'ic League. The first trade 
 union ; it was established in the twelfth 
 century by certain cities of Northern 
 Genuany for their mutual prosperity 
 and protection. The diet which used to 
 be held every three years was called 
 the Ilansa, and the members of it Han- 
 sards. The league in its prosperity 
 comprised eighty-five towns; it declined 
 rapidly in the Thirty Years' War; in 
 1669 only six cities were represented ; 
 and the last three members of the league 
 
 (Hamburg, Liibeck, and Bremen) joined 
 the German Customs Unions' in 1889. 
 (German, am-see, on the sea ; and the 
 league was originally called the Ain-see- 
 staaten, free cities on the sea.) 
 
 Hansel. A gift or bribe, the first 
 money received in a day. Hence Hansel 
 Monday, the first Monday of the year. 
 To " hansel our swords " is to use them 
 for the first time. In Norfolk we hear of 
 hanselling a coat — i.e. wearing it for 
 the first time. Lemon tells us that 
 superstitious people will spit on the first 
 money taken at market for luck, aud 
 Misson says, '■'■lis le haisent en le rece- 
 vant, craschcnt dcssus, et le mcttent dans 
 tine pnche apart. ''^ (^Travels in Englujid, 
 p. 192.) 
 
 Hansel Monday. The Monday after 
 New- Year's Day, when " hansels," or 
 free gifts, were given in Scotland to serv- 
 ants and children. Our boxing-day is the 
 first weekday after Christmas Day. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, handselcn ; hand and sel- 
 lan, to give.) 
 
 Hansom (A). A light two-wheeled 
 cab, in which the driver sits behind the 
 vehicle, and communicates with the 
 passenger through a trap-door in the 
 roof. Invented by Aloysius Hansom of 
 York (1803-1882). Hansom was by 
 trade an architect at Binningham and 
 at Hinckley in Leicestershire. 
 
 Hapznouche (2 syl.). The giant fly- 
 catcher. He invented the art of drying 
 and smoking neats' tongues. {Diicltat : 
 (Ell V res de liabelais.) 
 
 Happy Arabia. A mistranslation 
 of the Latin Arabia fcUx, which means 
 simply on the right hand — i.e. to the 
 right hand of Al-Shan (Syria). It was 
 Ptolemy who was the author of the 
 threefold division Arabia I'etrcra, mis- 
 called "Stony Arabia," but really so 
 called from its chief cityPetra; Arabia 
 Felix (or Yemoi), the south-west coast; 
 and as for Arabia descrta (meaning the 
 interior) probably he referred to Xedjaz. 
 
 Happy Expression (,/). A well- 
 turned phrase ; a word or phrase pecu- 
 liarly apt. The French also say " Vnc 
 heiireuse expression,'''' and '^ S'exprimer 
 heiireiiseinent.'" 
 
 Happy-go-lucky (A). One indif- 
 ferent to his interests ; one who looks 
 to good luck to befriend him. 
 
 Happy Valley, in Dr. Johnson's 
 tale of Rassclas, is placed in the king- 
 dom of Amhara, aud was inaccessible
 
 Happy 
 
 58d 
 
 Sard 
 
 excejjt in one spot through a cave in a 
 rock. It was a Garden of Paradise 
 where resided tlie princes of Abj-ssiiiia. 
 
 Happy as a Clam at High Tide. 
 
 The clam is a bivalve mollusc, dug from 
 its bed of sand only at low tide ; at high 
 tide it is quite safe from molestation. 
 {See Close as a Clam. ) 
 
 Happy as a King. This idea of 
 happiness is wealth, position, freedom, 
 and luxurious living ; but Richard II. 
 says a king is " Woe's slave " (iii. 2). 
 
 V Ou the happiness of kings, sea 
 Shakespeare: Henry V., iv. 1. 
 
 Happy the People whose Annals 
 are Tiresome. (Jfm/tcsij/iini.) Of 
 
 course, wars, rebellions, troubles, make 
 up the most exciting parts of history. 
 
 Hapsburg. {Sec Habsbueg.) 
 
 Har. The first person of the Scandi- 
 navian Trinity, which consists of Har 
 (the Mighty), the Like Mighty, and 
 the Third Person. This Trinity is called 
 "The Mysterious Three," and they sit 
 on three thrones above the Rainbow. 
 The next in order are the iEsir (<?.r.), of 
 which Odin, the chief, lives in Asgard, 
 on the heavenly hills between Earth and 
 the Rainbow. The third order is the 
 Vanir (see Van) — the gods of the ocean, 
 air, and clouds — of which Van Niiird is 
 the chief. Har has already passed his 
 ninth incarnation ; in his tenth he will 
 take the forms first of a peacock, and 
 then of a horse, when all the followers 
 of Mahomet will be destroyed. 
 
 Har, in Indian mythology, is the 
 second person of the Trinity. 
 
 Ha'ram or Ha'rem, means in Arabic 
 forbiddeji, or not to be riolitted ; a name 
 given by Mahometans to those apart- 
 ments which are appropriated exclu- 
 sively to the female members of a family. 
 
 Har'apha. A descendant of Og and 
 Anak, a giant of Gath, who went to 
 mock Samson in prison, but durst not 
 venture within his reach. The word 
 means the giant. {Milton : Samson 
 Agonistes.) 
 
 Har'binger. One who looks out for 
 lodgings, etc. ; a courier ; hence, a fore- 
 runner, a messenger. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 here, an army ; hergan, to lodge.) 
 
 " T'll lip myself tlie liaiiiincer, and make jovful 
 ^ TLie heariiit' of my wife with yciiii- api>ro;icli." 
 . Sh'iket^iiecire : Macbeth, i. i. 
 
 Harcourt's Round Table. A pri- 
 vate conference in the house of Sir Wil- 
 liam Harcourt, January 14, 1S87, with 
 
 the view of reuniting, if possible, the 
 Liberal party, broken up by Mr. Glad- 
 stone's Irish policy. 
 
 Tlie iiliiase " liciund TaMe " is American, mean- 
 ing what tlie Kieiieh rail are?r(e, or clubliieetiub'S 
 held at each cither's hiiuses. 
 
 Hard, meaning difficult, is like the 
 French diir ; as, "hard of hearing," 
 " qi(i a Vorcille dure ; " "a hard word," 
 " ?«« terme diir;^^ "'tis a hard case," 
 '^ c''est line chose bien dure;'''' "hard 
 times," " /('« temps sont diirs;^^ so also 
 "hardly earned," '■^ (jii'^on gagne bien 
 diirenient ; " " hard - featured," " dont 
 les traits sont d/irs;'' "hard-hearted," 
 "(7?« a le coeur diir,''^ and many other 
 lihrases. 
 
 Hard By. Near. Hard means close, 
 pressed close together ; hence iirm or 
 solid, in close proximity to. 
 
 " Hard by a shelterin,;; wniid." 
 
 IliUid Mullet : Edwin mid Emma. 
 
 Hard Lines. Hard terms ;" rather 
 rough treatment ;" exacting. Lines mean 
 lot or allotment (measured out by a line 
 measure), as, "The lines have fallen to 
 me in ])lcasant places ; yea, I liave a 
 goodly heritage, " i.e. my allotment is 
 excellent. Hard lines = an unfavour- 
 able allotment (or task). 
 
 "That was hard lines iipun me, after I had b'iven 
 uji everything."— R. Eliat. 
 
 Hard Up. Short of monej'. " S'aroir 
 pas de fjiiibifs.'" " Up " often = out, as, 
 "used u])," "worn out," "done up," 
 etc. "Hard up" = nearly out [of 
 cafeh]. In these, and all similar ex- 
 amples, "Up" is the Old English rfer, 
 over; Latin, s-uper ; Greek, uTrep. 
 
 Hard as Nails. Stern, hard-hearted, 
 unsympathetic ; able to stand hard blows 
 like nails. Religious bigotrj', strait- 
 lacedness, rigid puritanical phari^aism, 
 make men and women " hard as nails." 
 
 "I know I'm as hard as nails already ; I don't 
 want to fret mure so."— Edna Lyall : bonotmi, 
 chaii. xxiii. 
 
 Hard as a Stone, "hard as iron," 
 "hard as brawn," "hard as ice," "hard 
 as adamant," etc. {See Similes.) 
 
 Hard as the Nether Millstone. 
 
 Unfeelhig, obdurate. The lower or 
 " nether " of the two millstones is 
 firmly fixed and very hard ; the upper 
 stone revolves round it on a shaft, and 
 the corn, running down a tube inserted 
 in the upper stone, is ground by the 
 motion of the upper stone round the 
 lower one. Of course, the upper wheel 
 is made to revolve by some power acting 
 on it, as wind, water, or some other 
 mechanical force.
 
 Hardouin 
 
 581 
 
 Hare 
 
 Hardouin (2 syl.). £^en Hardoxin 
 would tiijt vbject. Said in apology of an 
 historical or chronological incident in- 
 troduced into a treatise against which 
 some captious persons take exception. 
 Jean Hardouin, the learned Jesuit, was 
 librarian to Louis le Grand. He was so 
 fastidious that lie doubted the truth of 
 all received history, denied the authen- 
 ticity of the JE)U'id of Virgil, the Odes 
 of Horace, etc. ; placed no faith in 
 medals and coins, regarded all councils 
 before that of Trent as chimerical, 
 and looked on Descartes, Malebranche, 
 Pascal, and all Jausenists as infidels. 
 (1646-1729.) 
 
 "Even Pere Hardouin would not enter liis pro- 
 test against such a collection."— L>r. A. Clarke: 
 lissay. 
 
 Hardy {Letitia). Heroine of the 
 Belle's IStratagcnt, by Mrs. Cowley. She 
 is a young lady of fortune destined to 
 marry Doricourt. She lirst assumes 
 the air of a raw country hoyden and 
 disgusts the fastidious man of fashion ; 
 then she appears at a masquerade and 
 wins him. The marriage is performed 
 at midnight, and Doricourt does not 
 know that the masquerader and hoyden 
 are the same Miss Hardy till after the 
 ceremony is over. 
 
 Hardy(7%c), !.^. brave or daring, hence 
 the phrase, " hardi comme uii lion.'''' 
 
 (1) William Douglas, defender of Ber- 
 wick (died 1302). 
 
 (2) Philippe III. of France, le Hardi 
 (124,% 1270-128.5). 
 
 (o) Philippe II., Due de Bourgogne, 
 le Hardi (1342, 1363-1382). 
 
 Hare. It is unlucky for a hare to 
 cross your path, because witches were 
 said to transform themselves into hares. 
 
 " Nor did we meet, witli nimble feet, 
 One little fiMrfiil iepus ; 
 Tliat certain siu'ii, as some divine. 
 Of foraiiie iiad to keep us." 
 
 ElUson : Trip to Ecnvelt, Ix. 
 
 V In the Flamborour/h Vrllar/e and 
 Headland, we are told, " if a fishennan 
 on his way to the boats happens to meet 
 a woman, par.son, or hare, he will turn 
 back, being convinced that he will have 
 ni> luck that day." 
 
 Aiitipiitliii to hares. Tycho Brahe 
 (2 syl.) would faint at the sight of a 
 hare ; the Due d'Epernon at the sight 
 of a leveret ; Marshal de Breze at sight 
 of a rabbit ; and Henri III. , the Duke of 
 Schomberg, and the chamberlain of the 
 emperor Ferdinand, at the sight of a cat. 
 {^See Antipathy.) 
 
 First cateh your hare. {See Catch.) 
 
 Hold icit/t the hare and run nith the 
 fiqunds, To play a double and deceitful 
 
 game, to be a traitor in the camp. To 
 run with the hounds as if intent to catch 
 the hare, but all the while being the 
 secret friend of poor Wat. In the 
 American war these double-dealers were 
 called Copperheads ((?.«'.). 
 
 Mad as a Mareh hare. Hares are un- 
 usually shy and wild in March, which is 
 their rutting season. 
 
 V Erasmus says " Mad as a marsh 
 hare," and adds, "hares are wilder in 
 marshes from the absence of hedges and 
 cover." (Aphorisms,-^. '1QQ\ 1542.) 
 
 Melaneltoly as a hare (Shakespeare : 
 1 Henry IV., \. 2). According to me- 
 dieval quackery, the Hesh of hare was 
 supposed to generate melancholy ; and 
 all foods imparted their own speciality. 
 
 The quakiny hare, in Drydeu's Rind 
 and Panther, means the Quakers. 
 "Among the timorous kind, the quaking hare 
 
 Professed neutrality, but would not swear." 
 Part i. 37, 38. 
 
 Hare-brained, or Hair - brained. 
 
 Mad as a March hare, giddy, foolhardy. 
 
 "Let's leave this town ; for they [the English] 
 are hair-brained slaves. 
 And hunirer will enforce them to be more 
 eager.'" Shakestiettre ; 1 Henry 1'/., i. 2. 
 
 Harefoot. Swift of foot as a hare. 
 The surname given to Harold I., 
 youngest son of Canute (1035-1010). 
 
 I'o kiss the hare's Joot. To be too late 
 for anything, to be a day after the fair. 
 The hare has gone by, and left its foot- 
 print for you to salute. A similar 
 phrase is To kiss the post. 
 
 Hare-lip. A cleft lip ; so called from 
 its resemblance to the upper lip of a hare. 
 It was said to be the mischievous act of 
 an elf or malicious fairy. 
 
 "This is the foul fiend Flibbertigib1)et. He 
 liegins at curfew, and walks till the first cock. 
 He . . . . squints the eye and makes thehare-lip." 
 —Shakespeare : King Lear, iii. 4. 
 
 Hare-stone = Hour-stone. Bound- 
 ary stone in the parish of Sancred (Corn- 
 wall), with a heap of stones round it. It 
 is thought that these stones were set up 
 for a similar purpose as the column set up 
 by Laban (Genesis sxxi. HI, 52). " Be- 
 hold this heap, and behold this pillar," 
 said Laban to Jacob, " which I luive cast 
 betwixt me and thee. This heap be 
 witness, and this pillar be witness, that 
 I will not pass over this heap to thee, 
 and that thou shalt not pass over this 
 heap unto me, for harm." (Anglo- 
 Saxon, hora, or hone stan.) {See 
 Harold's Stones.) 
 
 Hare and the Tortoise {The). 
 Everyone knows the fable of the race 
 between the hare and the tortoise, won 
 by the latter ; and the moral, " Slow au4
 
 Hares 
 
 582 
 
 Harness 
 
 steady wins the race." The French 
 eqnivalent is " Tas a pas le ha-uf prend 
 Ic licvre.'" 
 Hares shift their Sex. It was 
 
 once thought that hares are sexless, or 
 that they change their sex every year. 
 
 "Leiiores oiiincs utrumquo seium li!il>cnt." 
 Miin-'lenis. 
 " Snakes tbnt cast tbeir coats fur ir'W, 
 Caiiielediis that alter hue 
 Hari'S that .vcarl.v sexes cliango." 
 
 Fi(itch(?r : Faithful tiliephci-d, iii. 1. 
 
 Har'icot Mutton. A ragoilt made 
 witli hashed mutton and turnips. In oUl 
 French harigot, harllgot, and hulif/oic are 
 found meaning a " morsel," a "piece." 
 
 " Et li chevalier tuit iiionte, 
 Dctaillie et ilehaliprote." 
 
 t'liaiircnci : Les 7'uurnois, \\ ViS. 
 
 Harikiri. [ILippi/ despatch.'] A 
 method of enforcing suicide by disem- 
 bowelling among Japanese officials when 
 government considered them worthy of 
 death. 
 
 Hark Back {To). To return to the 
 subject. ^^ Itvreiions a iins iiioHtoiis^' 
 (7.!.). A call to the dogs in fox-hunt- 
 ing, when they have overrun the scent, 
 " Hark [dogs] come back " ; so " Hark 
 for'ards ! " " Hark away ! " etc. 
 
 Harlequin means a species of drama 
 in two parts, the introduction and the 
 harlequinade, acted in dumb show. The 
 prototype is the Eoman atcUducv, but our 
 Christmas pantomime or harlequinade is 
 essentially a British entertainment, first 
 introduced by Mr. Weaver, a dancing- 
 master of Slirewsbury, in 1702. {^ee 
 below.) 
 
 ■' Wliat Mnnms was of old to ,Tove, 
 
 The same a liarleniiin is now. 
 
 The fiirnier was buffoon above. 
 
 The latter is a Puurb below." 
 
 S:nft : The Piiipct Show. 
 
 V The Roman mime did not at all 
 correspond with our harlequinade. The 
 Roman mimus is described as having 
 a shorn head, a sooty face, flat unshotl 
 feet, and a patched parti-coloured cloak. 
 
 Harlequin, in the British pantomime, 
 is a sprite supposed to be invisible to all 
 eyes but those of liis faithful Columbine. 
 His office is to dance through the world 
 and frustrate all the knavish tricks of 
 the Clown, who is supposed to be in love 
 with Columbine. In Armoric, ILarlequin 
 means "a juggler," and Harlequin 
 metamorphoses everything he touches 
 with his magic wand. 
 
 V The prince of Harlequins was John 
 Rich (16S1-17G1). 
 
 Harlequin. So Charles Quint was 
 called by Francjois I. of France. 
 
 Harlot is said to be derived from 
 Harlotta, the mother of William the 
 
 Conqueror, but it is more likely to be a 
 corruption of horlct (a little hireling), 
 " hore " being the past participle of 
 hyran (to hire). It was once apitlied to 
 males as well as females. Hence Chaucer 
 sjDeaks of " a sturdy harlot .... that 
 was her hostes man." The word far let 
 is another form of it. 
 
 '■ Ho was gentil Iiarlnt, and a kindc ; 
 A bettre felaw sbulcle man no wlicr flnile." 
 Chuuccr : CanWrhKru Tiilcn, jirol. iMii. 
 " The harlot king is quite beyond mine arm." 
 aiiul'e^licare : AVintcr's Talc, ii. 3. 
 
 V Proverbial names for a harlot are 
 Aholibah and Aholah (Ezck. xxiii. 4), 
 probably symljolic characters : Petrowna 
 (of Russia), and Messaliua (of Rome). 
 
 Harlowc (Clarissa). The heroine of 
 Richardson's novel of that name. In 
 order to avoid a marriage urged upon 
 her by her parents, she casts herself on 
 the protection of a lover, who grossly 
 abuses the contidence thus reposed in 
 him. He subsequently iivmj)o.s(s tomany 
 her, but Clarissa rejocts tin,' oH'er, and 
 retires from the world to cover her shame 
 and die. 
 
 Harm. Harm set, harm get. Those 
 who lay tra]>s for others get caught 
 themselves. Haman was hanged on his 
 own gallows. Our Lord says, " They 
 that take the sword shall perish with the 
 sword" (Matt. xxvi. 52). 
 
 Harmless as a Dove. (Matt. x. 16.) 
 
 Harmo'nia's Necklace. An unlucky 
 possession, something that brings evil to 
 all who possess it. Harmonia was the 
 daughter of Mars and Venus. On the 
 da J' of her marriage with King Cadmos, 
 she received a necklace which proved 
 fatal to all who possessed it. 
 
 V The collar given bj' AlphesibSa (or 
 Arsiuoe) to her husband Alcmieon was a 
 like fatal gift. So were the collar and 
 veil of Eriphyl5,wifeof ArapliiavS,os, and 
 the Trojan horse. {See Fatal Gifts.) 
 
 Harmo'nia's Robe. On the mar- 
 riage of Harmonia, Yidcan, to avenge 
 the infidelity of her mother, made the 
 bride a present of a robe dyed in all sorts 
 of crimes, which infused wickedness and 
 imi^iety into all her offsiiring. Both 
 Harmonia and Cadmos, after having 
 suffered many misfoi times, and seen 
 their children a sorrow to them, were 
 changed into serpents. {I'aiisaiiias, [), 
 10.) (.SVy'Nessus.) 
 
 V Medea, in a fit of jealousy, sent 
 Creiisa a wedding robe, which burnt her 
 to death. {Euripides : Medea.) 
 
 Harness. To die in liarness. To 
 continue in one's work or occupation till
 
 Harness Cask 
 
 >83 
 
 Harpocrates 
 
 death. The allusion is to soldiers iu 
 
 armour or harnsss. 
 
 "At least we'll d;o with barnoss on our back." 
 ShaJcfspeare : MarbetU, v. 5. 
 
 Harness Cask. A large cask or tub 
 with a rim cover, containing a supply of 
 salt meat for immediate use. Nautical 
 term. 
 
 Harness Prize (University of Cam- 
 liridge), founded by the Rev. William 
 Harness for the best essay connected 
 with Shakespearian literature. Awarded 
 every third year. 
 
 Haro. To cnj out haro to atnjour. 
 To denoimce his misdeeds, to follow liim 
 with hue and cry. " Ha rou " was tlie 
 ancient Norman hue-and-cry, and the 
 exclamation made by those who wanted 
 assistance, theii' person or property 
 being iu danger. It is similar to our cry 
 of "Police! " Probably our halloo is 
 the same word. 
 
 V In the Channel Isles, Ila ! ho ! a 
 Paidc, moil prince ! is a protest still in 
 vogue when one's pi'opertyis endangered, 
 or at least was so when I lived in Jersej^. 
 It is supi>osed to be an appeal to Rollo, 
 king of Normandy, to come to the aid 
 of him suffering wrongfully. 
 
 Harold the Dauntless. Sou of 
 
 Witikiud, tlie Dane. "He was rocked 
 on a buckler, and fed from a blade." 
 He became a Christian, like his father, 
 and married Eivir, a Danish maid, who 
 had been his page. {Sir If. Scott : 
 Ilarohi the Dauntless.) 
 
 Harold's Stones at Trelech (Mon- 
 mouthshire). Three stones, one of which 
 is fourteen feet above the ground, evi- 
 dently no part of a circle. Probably 
 boundary stones. {See Haee-stone.) 
 
 Haroot and Maroot. Two angels 
 who, in consequence of their want of 
 compassion to man, are susceptible of 
 human passions, and are sent upon earth 
 to be tempted. They were at one time 
 kings of Babel, and are still the teachers 
 of magic and the black arts. 
 
 Haronn al Raschid. Calif of the 
 East, of the Abbasside race. (765-809.) 
 His adventures form a part of the 
 Arabian Nights^ Entertainments. 
 
 ' Harp. The arms of Ireland. Ac- 
 cording to tradition, one of tlie early 
 kings of Ireland was named David, and 
 this king took for arms the harp of 
 Israel's sweet Psalmist. Probably the 
 harp is altogether a blunder, arising 
 from the triangle invented in the reign 
 of .John to distinguish his Irish coins 
 trouj the Eughsh. The reason why a 
 
 triangle was chosen may have been iu 
 allusion to St. Patrick's explanation of 
 the Trinity, or more likely to siguify that 
 he was king of England, Ireland, and 
 France. Henry VIII. was tlie first to 
 assume the harp positive as the Irish 
 device, and James I. to place it in the 
 third quarter of the royal achievement 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 To harp for ever on the same string. 
 To be for ever teasing one about the 
 same subject. There is a Latin proverb, 
 liandeni cantilenam recinSre. I once 
 heard a man with a clarionet play the 
 first half of "In my cottage near a 
 wood" for more than an hour, without 
 cessation or change. It was in a crowded 
 market-place, and the annoyance became 
 at last so unbearable that he collected a 
 rich harvest to move on. 
 
 "Still liarpiug on my &.iU!ihtcr."—Shakcspearc : 
 Hamlet, ii. I. 
 
 Har'pagon (A). A miser. Harpa- 
 gon is the name of the miser in Molicre's 
 comedy called UAvare. 
 
 Harpal'ice (1 syl.). A Thracian 
 virago, who liberated licr i'atlier Har- 
 pal'icos when he was taken prisoner by 
 the Getaj. 
 
 "With such array Ilarpalice bestrode 
 Her Thraciau courser." Drydeii. 
 
 Harps (2 syl.). The cutlass with 
 which Mercury killed Argus ; and with 
 which Perseus subsequently cut off the 
 head of Medusa. 
 
 Harpies (2 syl.). Vultures with the 
 head and breasts of a woman, very fierce 
 and loathsome, living in an atmosphere 
 of filth and stench, and contaminatuig 
 everything which they came near. Homer 
 mentions but one harpy. He'siod gives 
 two, and later writers three. The names 
 indicate that these monsters were per- 
 sonifications of whirlwinds and storms. 
 Their names were Ocyp'eta {reipid), 
 Cele'no {blackness), and AeH'o {storm). 
 (Greek harpinai, verb harpdzo, to seize; 
 Latin harpgia. See Virgil : ^lineid, iii. 
 219, etc.). 
 
 He is a regular harpn. One who wants 
 to appropriate everything ; one who 
 sponges on another without mercy. 
 
 " I will .... do you any embassage . . . 
 rathc^r tliaii hold three words coiiferenee with 
 this harpy." — Shiikcspeare : Much .ido About 
 Xutliivfi, ii. 1. 
 
 Harpoc'rates (4 syl). The Greek 
 form of the Egyptian god Har-pi-kruti 
 {Horns the Child), made by the Greeks 
 and Romans the god of silence. This 
 arose from a pure misapprehension. It 
 is an Egyptian god, and was represented 
 with its "finger on its mouth," to
 
 Harridan 
 
 584 
 
 Harvest Goose 
 
 indicate youth, but the Greeks thought 
 it was a symbol of siknce. 
 
 " I assured niv mistress she might make herself 
 iwrfectly easy on that score [his mentioning a 
 certain ii'atter to anyone], for I was tlie Harpo- 
 crates of trusty valets."— Gii Bias, iv. 3 (171J). 
 
 Har'ridan. A haggard old beldame. 
 
 So called from tlie French haridellfi, a 
 worn-out jade of a horse. 
 
 Har'rier (3 syl.). A dog for hare- 
 liunting, whence the name. 
 
 Harrington. A farthiug. So called 
 f rum Lord Harrington, to whom James I. 
 granted a i^atent for making them of 
 brass. Drunken Barnaby says — 
 " Thence to Harrington bo it spoken, 
 For name-sake I gave a token 
 To a beggar tliat did crave it." 
 
 Drunken Barnaby's Journal. 
 " I will not l)ate a Harrington of the sum." 
 Ulii Jvntfou: The Devil is an Ass, ii. 1. 
 
 Harris. 3li-s. Harris. An hypo- 
 thetical lady, to whom Sarah Gamp 
 referred for the corroboration of all her 
 statements, and the bank on which she 
 might draw to any extent for self-praise. 
 (Dickens : Martin Cliuzzlewit.) {See 
 Beooks of Sheffield.) 
 
 "Not Mrs. Harris in the immortal narrative was 
 more (pioted and more mythical."— iord Lytton. 
 
 Harry ( To) = to harass. Facetiously 
 said to be derived from Harry VIII. of 
 England, who no doubt played up old 
 Harry with church property. Of course, 
 the real derivation is the Anglo-Saxon 
 Jicriaii, to plunder, from hcvre (2 syl.), 
 an army. 
 
 Harry. Old Harry. Old Scratch. 
 To harry (Saxon) is to, tear in pieces, 
 whence our harrow. There is an ancient 
 pamphlet entitled The Harrowing of 
 Hell. I do not think it is a corruption 
 of "Old Hairy," although the Hebrew 
 Sciri/ii (liairy ones) is translated devils 
 in Lev. xvii. 7, and no doubt alludes to 
 the he-goat, an object of worship with 
 the Egyptians. Moses says the children 
 of Israel are no longer to sacrifice to 
 devils {s/'iriiii), as they did in Egypt. 
 There is a Scandinavian Hari = Baal or 
 Bel. 
 
 Harry Soph. A student at Cam- 
 bridge wlio lias '' declared " for Law or 
 Physic, and wears a full-sleeve gown. 
 The word is a corruption of the Greek 
 Hcri-sophos (more than a Sojjh or com- 
 mon second-year student). {Cambridge 
 Calendar. ) 
 
 The tale goes that at the destruction 
 of the monasteries, in the reign of Henry 
 VIII., certain students waited to see 
 how matters would turn out befoi-e they 
 committed themselves by taking a clerical 
 
 degree, and that these men were thence 
 called Sophistcc Henriciani, or "Henry 
 Sophisters." 
 
 Hart. In Christian art, the emblem 
 of solitude and jnirity of life. It was the 
 attribute of St. Hubert, St. Julian, and 
 St. Eustace. It was also the type of piety 
 and religious aspiration. (Psalm xlii. 1.) 
 [See Hind.) 
 
 The irhite Hart, or hind, with a golden 
 chain, in public-house signs, is the badge 
 of liichard II., which was worn by all his 
 courtiers and adherents. It was adopted 
 from his mother, whose cognisance was 
 a white hind. 
 
 Hart Royal. A male red deer, when 
 the crown of the antler has made its 
 appearance, and the creature has been 
 hunted by a king. 
 
 Hart of Grease (A). A hunter's 
 phrase for a fat venison ; a stag full of 
 the pasture, called by Jaques " a fat 
 and greasy citizen." {As Fon Like It, 
 i. 1.) {See Heaet of Geace.) 
 
 " It is a hart of grease, too, in full season, with 
 three inches of fat on the brisket.'— i'ir ir. ticott: 
 'Ihc. Monastery, chap. xvii. 
 
 Harts. There are four liarts in the 
 tree Yggdrasil', an eagle and a squirrel ; 
 and a serpent gnaws its root. 
 
 Hartnet. The daughter of Kukenaw 
 (the ape's wife) in the tale of Rei/nard the 
 Fox. The word in old Geraian means 
 hard or strong strife. 
 
 Harum Scarum. A hare-brained 
 person who scares quiet folk. Some 
 derive it from the French clamcar de 
 Haro (hue and cry), as if the madcap 
 was one against whom the hue-and-cry 
 is raised ; but jjrobably it is simply a 
 jingle word having allusion to the 
 "madness of a March hare,^^ and the 
 "scaring" of honest folks from their 
 proprieties. 
 
 " Willi's there ? I spose young harum-scarum." 
 Ctunbridyc Fucetite : CuUcjiun iind Dorter. 
 
 Haruspex (pi. harus'pices). Persons 
 who interpreted the will of the gods by 
 inspecting the entrails of animals offered 
 in sacrifice (old Latin, haru'r/a, a victim ; 
 specio, I inspect). Cato said, " I wonder 
 how one harusjiex can keep from laugh- 
 ing when he sees another." 
 
 Harvard College, in the United 
 States, endowed by the Rev. John 
 Harvard in 1639. Foimded 1636. 
 
 Harvest Goose. A corruption of 
 Arvyst Gos (a stubble goose). {Sec 
 
 WaYZ- GOOSE.) 
 
 " A young wife and an arvyst gos, 
 Moche gagil [clatter] with both." 
 
 Kelivuice AntiqucB, ii. U3.
 
 Harvest Moon 
 
 Hat 
 
 Harvest Moon. The full moou 
 nearest the aiitiuniial equinox. The 
 peculiarity of this moon is that it rises 
 for several days nearly at sunset, and 
 about the same time. 
 
 Hasli (A). A. mess, a muddle: as, 
 "a pretty hash he made of it." A hash 
 is a mess, and a mess is a muddle. 
 
 I'/l soon settle /lis hash for him. I 
 will soon smash him up ; ruin his 
 schemes ; " give him his gruel " ; '• cook 
 his goose " ; •' put my finger in his pie " ; 
 "make mince - meat of him." (Sec 
 Cooking.) 
 
 Hassan. Calii)h of the Ottoman 
 eni})ire ; noted for liis hosijitality and 
 splendour. His palace was daily thronged 
 with guests, and in his seraglio was a 
 beautiful young slava jiamed Leila (2 
 syl.), who had formed an unfortunate 
 attachment to a Christian called the 
 Giao'ur. Leila is put to death by an 
 emir, and Hassan is slain by the Giaour 
 near Mount Parnassus. {Bi/ron : The 
 Giaour.) 
 
 Al Hassan. The Arabian emir' of 
 Persia, father of Hinda, in Moore's Fire- 
 TCorshippcrs. He was victorious at the 
 battle of Cadessia, and thus became 
 master of Persia. 
 
 Hassan-Ben-Sabah. The Old Man 
 
 of the Mountain, founder of the sect of 
 the Assassins. lu Ryiner's Fcedera are 
 two letters by this sheik. 
 
 Hassock. A doss or footstool made 
 of hcsi/ (sedge or rushes). 
 
 "Hassocks shoiilil lie gotten in tlio fens, ami 
 laid at tbo foot of tliosaid liank .... wboro need 
 Te(iu\m\."—I)H(jdale: ImOaiilcitKj, p. aT2. 
 "The knees and liassoclcs are well-niKh divorced." 
 Coirpcr. 
 
 Hat. How Lord Kingsalo acquired 
 the riglit of wearing his hat in the royal 
 presence is this : King John and Philippe 
 II. of France agreed to settle a dispute 
 respecting the duchy of Normandy by 
 single combat. John de Courcy, Earl of 
 Ulster,' was the English champion, and 
 no sooner put in his appearance than the 
 French champion put spurs to his horse 
 and fled. The king asked the earl what 
 reward should be given him, and he 
 replied, " Titles and lands I want not, of 
 these I have enough ; but in remembrance 
 of this day I beg the boon, for myself and 
 successors, to remain covered in the 
 presence of your highness and all future 
 sovereigns of the realm." 
 
 Lord Forester, it is said, possessed the 
 same right, which was confirmed by 
 Henry VIII. 
 
 V The Somerset Herald wholly denies 
 the right in regard to Lord Kingsale ; 
 and probably that of Lord Forester 
 is without foundation. (See Notes and 
 Qwries, Dec. I9th, 1885, p. 504.) 
 
 On the other hand, the privilege seems 
 at one lime to have been not unusual, 
 for Motley informs us that "all the 
 Spanish grandees had the privilege of 
 being covered in the presence of the 
 reigning monarch. Hence, when the 
 Duke of Alva presented himself before 
 Margaret, Duchess of Parma, she bade 
 him to be covered." {Duteh liepiiblic.) 
 
 A cockle hat. A pilgrim's hat. So 
 called from the custom of putting cockle- 
 shells upon tlieir hats, to indicate their 
 intention or performance of a pilgrimage. 
 
 " IIow should T your true love know 
 Froiri another one? 
 B.v his cockle-hat and staff, 
 And bis sandal shoon." 
 
 Shdkespcare : Hamlet, 'w. 5. 
 
 A Beown Hat. Xevcr iccar a brown 
 hat in Friesland. When at Eome do as 
 Rome does. If people have a very 
 strong prejudice, do not run counter 
 to it. Friesland is a province of the 
 Netherlands, where the inhabitants cut 
 their hair short, and cover the head 
 first with a knitted cap, then a high silk 
 skull-cap, then a metal turban, and 
 lastly a huge flaunting bonnet. Four 
 or five dresses always constitute the 
 ordinary head gear. A. traveller once 
 passed through the province with a 
 common brown chimney-hat or wide-' 
 awake, but was hustled by the work- 
 men, jeered at by the women, pelted by 
 the boys, and sneered at by the magnates 
 as a regular guy. If you woidd pass 
 quietly through this "enlightened" 
 province never wear there a brown hat. 
 
 A Steeple-ceowned Hat. Yon are 
 onhj Jit to wear a steepte-croirned hat. 
 To be biu'nt as a. heretic. The victims 
 of the Autos-da-Fe of the " Holy " In- 
 quisition were always decorated with 
 such a head-gear. 
 
 A ichite hat. A white hat used to be 
 emblematical of radical proclivities, be- ' 
 cause Orator Hunt, the great dema- 
 gogue, used to wear one during the 
 Wellington and Peel administration. 
 
 H The street arabs of Nottingham- . 
 shire used to accost a person wearing a 
 white hat with the question, " Who stole 
 the donkey? " and a companion used to 
 answer, " Him wi' the white hat on." 
 
 Fass round the hat. Gather subscrip- 
 tions into a hat. 
 
 To cat one\s hat. " Hattes are made 
 of eggs, veal, dates, saffron, salt, and so 
 forth." {liobijia Napier : Hoke of Cookri/,^
 
 Hat Money 
 
 586 
 
 Hatto 
 
 V The Scotch have the ■word hattit- 
 lit or hattcd-kit, a dish made chiefly of 
 sour cream, new milk, or butter-milk. 
 
 To hang up one's hat in a hoiofe. To 
 make oneself at home ; to become 
 master of a house. Visitors, making a 
 cull, carry their hats iu their hands. 
 
 Hat Money. A small gratuity given 
 to the master of a ship, by passengers, for 
 liis care and trouble, originally collected 
 iu a hat at the end of a good voyage. 
 
 Hats and. Caps. Two political fac- 
 tions of Sweden in the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, the former favourable to France, 
 and the latter to Russia. Carlyle says 
 the latter were called caps, meaning 
 night -caps, because they were averse to 
 action and war ; but the fact is that the 
 French partisans wore a French chapeau 
 as their badge, and the Russian partisans 
 wore a Russian cap. 
 
 Hatches. Tut on the hatches. 
 Figuratively, shut the door. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, h(rc, a gate. Compare haca, a 
 bar or bolt. ) 
 
 Under hatches. Dead and buried. 
 The hatches of a ship are the coverings 
 over tlie hatchways (or openings iu the 
 deck of a vessel) to allow of cargo, etc. , 
 being easily discharged. 
 
 '"Ami tlioiicrli liis siiul lias prone aloft, 
 His body's under hatches." 
 
 Hatchet. [Greek a. vine, Latin aseia, 
 Italian acectta, French hachette, our 
 hatchet and axe.) 
 
 To bury the hatchet. {See Bttry.) 
 To throw the hatchet. To tell false- 
 hoods. In allusion to an ancient game 
 where hatchets were thrown at a mark, 
 like quoits. It means the same as draw- 
 ing the long-bow {q.r.). 
 
 Hatchway {Lieutenant Jack). A re- 
 tired naval officer, Ihe companion of 
 Commodore Trunnion, iu Smollett's 
 Feregrine Fickle. 
 
 Hatef [the cleadli/]. One of Ma- 
 homet's swords, confiscated from the 
 Jews when they were exiled from 
 
 Medi'ua. {See Swoeds.) 
 
 Hat'temists. An ecclesiastical sect 
 in Holland ; so called from Pontin von 
 Hattem. of Zealand (seventeenth cen- 
 tury). They denied the expiatory sac- 
 rifice of Christ, and the corrujition of 
 human nature. 
 
 Hatteraick (Dirk). Also called "Jans 
 Jjiiison.'' A Dutch smuggler imprisoned 
 with lawyer Glossin for kidnapping 
 Henry Bertrand. During the night 
 
 Glossin contrived to enter the smuggler's 
 cell, when a quarrel ensued. Hat- 
 teraick strangled Glossin, and then 
 hanged himself. {Sir Walter Scott : 
 Gtnj Mannering.) 
 
 Hatto. Archbishop of Mainz, ac- 
 cording to tradition, was devoured by 
 mice. The story says that in 970 there 
 was a great famine in Gennany, and 
 Hatto, that there might be better store 
 for the rich, assembled the poor in a 
 bam, and burnt them to death, saying, 
 "They are like mice, only good to 
 devour the com." By and by an army 
 of mice came against the archbishop, and 
 the abbot, to escape the plague, removed 
 to a tower on the Rhine, but hither 
 came the mouse-army bj' hundreds and 
 thousands, and ate the bishop up. The 
 tower is still called Mouse - tower. 
 Southey has a ballad on the subject, but 
 makes the invaders an army of rats. 
 {See Mouse Tower ; Pied Pipee.) 
 
 "And in at the windnns. and in at the door, 
 And through the walls liy thous;inds they loiir, 
 And down through the ceiling, and up through 
 
 the floor, 
 From tlie right and the left, from behind and 
 
 t^efore. 
 From within and without, from above and 
 
 helow. 
 And all at once to the hishop they go. 
 They have wetted their teeth against the 
 
 stones. 
 And now they are picking the hishop'g hones ; 
 Tl ey gnawed the flesh from eicry limb. 
 Ft;r they were sent to do judgment on him." 
 Southey : ISifliup llotto. 
 
 A very similar legend is told of Count 
 Graaf, a wicked and powerful chief, who 
 raised a tower in the midst of the Rhine 
 for the purpose of exacting tolls. If 
 any boat or barge attempted to evade 
 the exaction, the warders of the tower 
 shot the crew with cross-bows. Amongst 
 other ways of making himself rich was 
 buying up com. One year a sad famine 
 prevailed, and the count made a harvest 
 of the distress ; but an army of rats, 
 pressed by hunger, invaded his tower, 
 and falling on the old baron, worried 
 him to death, and then devoured him. 
 {Legends of the LiJiinc.) 
 
 Wideroif, bishop of Strasburg (in 997), 
 was devoured by mice in the seventeenth 
 year of his episcopate, because he sup- 
 pressed the convent of Seltzen, en the 
 Rhine. 
 
 Bishop Adolf of Cologne was devoured 
 by mice or rats in 1112. 
 
 Frei herr von Giittengen collected the 
 poor in a great bam, and burnt them to 
 death ; and being invaded by rats and 
 mice, ran to his castle of Giittingen. 
 The vermin, however, pursued him and 
 ate him clean to the bones, after A\hich
 
 Hatton 
 
 587 
 
 Haversack 
 
 his castle sank to the bottom of the lake, 
 " where it may still be seen." 
 
 A similar tale is recorded in the 
 chronicles of William of Mulsburg, 
 book ii. p. 313 (Bone's edition). 
 
 *.* Mice or rats. Giraldus Cambrensis 
 says : The larger sort of mice are called 
 rati. {Ilincranj, book xi. 2.) On the 
 other hand, many rats are called mice, 
 as inustela Alplna, the mus IiuIicuk, the 
 mils (iqiicttlciis, the mus I'harao/iis, etc. 
 
 Hatton. The dancing chancellor. Sir 
 Christopher Hatton was brought up to 
 the law, but became a courtier, and at- 
 tracted the attention of Queen Elizabeth 
 by his very graceful dancing at a 
 masque. The queen took him into 
 favour, and soon made him both chan- 
 cellor and knight of the garter. (He 
 died in lo'Jl.) 
 
 " His hiishy licard, ami shoeslriii.^s ereon, 
 His liis'li-cnnvned bat and satin iloulik't, 
 Moved tlie stout heart "f Englanu's queen, 
 Tlidui-'U Puie and Spauiai'ii cuuld uot ti-oulilc 
 it.^' Gmij. 
 
 Hatton Garden (London). The 
 residence of Sir Christopher Hatton, the 
 dancing chancellor. {tScc above.) 
 
 Haul over the Coals. Take to task. 
 Jamieson thinks it refers to the ordeal 
 by lire, a suggestion which is favoured 
 by the French corresponding phrase, 
 mettrc snr la scllctte (to put on the 
 culprit's stool). 
 
 Hauss'manniza'tion. The pulling 
 down and building up anew of streets 
 and cities, as Baron Haussmaun re- 
 modelled Paris. In 1868 he had saddled 
 Paris with a debt of about twenty-eight 
 jiiillions. 
 
 Hautboy (pron. Ho' -boy). A straw- 
 berry ; so called either from the haiit 
 l)ois (high woods) of Bohemia whence it 
 was imported, or from its haiit-bois 
 (long-stalk). The latter is the more 
 probable, and furnislies the etymology 
 of the musical instrument also, which 
 has a long moiitli-rccd. 
 
 Haute Claire. The sword of Oliver 
 the Dane. (.Sir Swoed.) 
 
 Hautville Coit, at Stanton Drew, in 
 the manor of Keynsham. The tradition 
 is that this coit was thrown there bj' the 
 champion giant, Sir John Hautville, 
 from Mary's Knolle Hill, about a mile 
 off, the jilace of liis abode. The stone 
 on the top of the hill, once thirty tons' 
 weight, is said to have been the clearing 
 of the giant's spade. 
 
 V The same is said of the Gog'magog 
 of Cambridge. ■ 
 
 Have a Care! ^^ Freucs garde !^^ 
 Shakespeare has the expression "Have 
 mind upon your health ! " {Julius 
 C'cesar, iv. 3.) 
 
 Have a Mind for it ( To). To desire 
 to possess it ; to wish for it. Mind = 
 desire, intention, is by no means un- 
 common : "I mind to tell him plainly 
 what I think." (2 llcnrg VI., act iv. 
 1.) " I shortly mind to leave you." 
 (2 Henry VI., act iv. 1.) 
 
 Have at You. To be about to aim 
 a blow at anothei' ; to attack another. 
 " Have at tlioe with a duwnriglit Mow." 
 
 Have it Out {To). To settle the 
 disjjute by blows or arguments. 
 
 Hav'elok (3 syl.), the orphan son of 
 Biikabegn, King of Denmark, was ex- 
 posed at sea through the treachery of 
 his guardians, and the raft drifted to the 
 coast of Lincolnshire. Here a fisherman 
 named Grim found the young Prince, 
 and brought him up as his own son. In 
 time it so happened that an English 
 princess stood in the way of certain am- 
 bitious nobles, who resolved to degrade 
 her by uniting her to a peasant, and 
 selected the young foundling for the 
 purpose ; but Havelok, having learnt 
 the story of his birth, obtained the aid 
 of the king his father to recover his 
 wife's possessions, and became in due 
 time King of Denmark and part of 
 England. {^'Hanioc the JJanc,^'' by tite 
 TroHvciirs.) 
 
 Haver-Cakes. Oaten cakes (Scan- 
 dinavian, hdfrc ; German, hafcr ; Latin, 
 ave/ia, oats). 
 
 Haveril (3 syl.). A simpleton, April- 
 fool. {YTench,poissond'Arril; Icelandic,- 
 gifr, foohsh talk ; Scotch, haver, to talk 
 nonsense.) 
 
 Ha\'ering (Essex). The legend says 
 that while Edward the Confessor was 
 dwelling in this locality, an old pilgrim 
 asked alms, and the king replied, "I 
 have no money, but I hare a ru/g,'" and, 
 drawing it from his fore-finger, gave it 
 to the beggar. Some time after, certaui 
 English pilgrims in Jewry met the same 
 man, who drew the ring from liis fiuger 
 and said, " Give this to your king, and 
 say within six mouths he shall die." 
 The request was complied with, and 
 the prediction fulfilled. The shrine of 
 Edward tlie Confessor in Westminster 
 Abbey gives colour to this legend. 
 
 Haversack. Strictly speaking is a bag 
 to carry oats in. (-SVe Hayjsk-Cakes.)
 
 Havock 
 
 588 
 
 IIa"wkubites 
 
 It now means a soldier's ration-bag 
 slung from the shoulder ; a gunner's 
 leather-case for carrying charges. 
 
 Havock. A military cry to general 
 massacre without quarter. Tliis cry was 
 forbidden in the ninth year of Richard II. 
 on pain of death. Probably it was ori- 
 ginally used in huntuig wild beasts, such 
 as wolves, lions, etc., that fell on sheep- 
 folds, and Shakespeare favours this sug- 
 gestion in his JhUks Ccrsfir, where he 
 says Ate shall " cry havock ! and let slip 
 the dogs of war." (Welsh, Iiafof/, de- 
 vastation ; Irish, urvach ; compare 
 Anglo-Saxon havoc, a hawk.) 
 
 Havre (France). A contraction of 
 
 Le havrc de noire dame dc grace. 
 
 Hawk. 
 
 (1) Ditfereut parts of a hawk : 
 
 Arms. The h'^'s frmn tlic MiiKli t<i tlie fcxit. 
 
 lieiik. The ui'i.er and cro.iked part nf the hill. 
 
 heams. The hiiii,' leathers uf the wiugB. 
 
 Cliip. The nether i«it (jf the bill. 
 
 Faither.i Hummed. i'eatUers full grown and ediii- 
 
 I lete. 
 Feathers iinsummed. Feathei'S not yet full grown. 
 J-lid./K. The next to the longest feathers or prin- 
 
 ciiials. 
 aiiit. The slimy substance In the i)a,nnel. 
 (ivnje. Tlie crow or crop. 
 Jlityliirs. Tlie spots on the feathers. 
 Mdils. The breast feathers. 
 A'urrs. The two little holes on the top of the 
 
 heak. 
 ruinicl. The pipe next to tlie fundament. 
 I'l'tKhiit fiiilliers. Those behind the toes. 
 I'cttu siinjlrK. The toes. 
 J'liioH'is. The claws. 
 Irincii'dl /(iilliers. The two longest. 
 ,S'((i7.s. The wings. 
 
 Si'(ir or .•.(')•(■. The yellow part under the eyes. 
 Train. The tail. 
 
 (2) Diiferent sorts of liawk : 
 
 an- falcon. A Terccll of a (ierfalcon is for a king. 
 
 Falrnii miifl,' ami a 7V iv.7 m iitle. For a prince. 
 
 Falrnii ,,/tlir rork. For a, duke. 
 
 F4ilcnn I'liiiiriiii:. For an earl. 
 
 J!(isti(i-(t liairl:. For a baron. 
 
 Sdcri' .aiMl a S((crit. For a knight. 
 
 I.(i:iair ■M]i\ I.aiirfll. For a Sipiire. 
 
 Miiliiii. For a lady. 
 
 Iliibii. For a young man. 
 
 (layiiaick. For a, .^ eiHiian. 
 
 'J'trri'l. For a iMKir man. 
 
 Simreliaick. F or a priest. 
 
 Miirkiitc. For a holy-water clerk. 
 
 Ki.^tml. For a knave or servant. 
 
 Daine Juliana B((r)trs. 
 
 The "Sore-hawk" is a hawk of the first year ; 
 so called from the French, sur or saitre, brownish- 
 yellow. 
 
 The "Spar" or "Sparrow" hawk is a small, 
 ignulile hawk (Saxon, .'p'lnvi ,• (Jotli, siiartca ; our 
 .111111 r, siHir. .■ijiar, sii('tir..'<iiiie, .ipi(rin(;, sparse, etc.; 
 Latin, f llamas; all referring to minuteness). 
 
 (3) The dress of a hawk : 
 
 Dtirits. The leathers with bells, buttoned to a 
 hawk's legs. The bell itself is called a hawk- 
 bell. 
 
 Creanse. A packthread or thin twine fastened to 
 the leash in disciplining a hawk. 
 
 lluod. A cover for the leid, to keep the hawk in 
 the dark. A rafter hood is a wide one, open 
 behind. To hood is to put on the hood. To 
 nnhood is to take it off. To iiiixtriki- the hnod 
 is to draw the strings so that the hood may be 
 i>i vetnliucss to be pulled off. 
 
 Jesses. The little straps l)y which the leash la 
 fastened to the legs. There is the singular 
 jess. 
 
 Leash. The leather thong for holdinir t he hawk. 
 
 (1) Tcnns used iu falconry : 
 
 Castiiw- Something given to a hawk to deanco 
 
 her gorge. 
 Cairkiiiij. Treading. 
 CoiferiiKi. Wlieii young hawks, in ol)edienco to 
 
 I heir ehleis, (jniver and shake their wings. 
 Craliliiiiii. Fighling with e.ich other when they 
 
 stand too ni'ar. 
 Jlnek. The place where a hawk's n-eat is laid. 
 Iiiiphiq. j'lacing a fe.il her in a hawk's wing. 
 Jake or lak. The breast and neck of a bird that a 
 
 hawk preys nn. 
 hihrmeifniij. The lime of eli.-mging the coat. 
 Lare. A llgnre of a fo.\l made (jf leather aiul 
 
 feathers. 
 Make. An ohl stauucli hawk that sets an example 
 
 to young ones. 
 Mantlhui. Stretching first one win.g and then 
 
 Iheothrr over the legs. 
 Meie. The iilaee where hawks Bit when moulting. 
 Mutir.g. The diing of hawks. 
 J'el/itr pill. What a hawk leaves of her prey. 
 Flit. The dead body of a fowl killed by a hawk. 
 J'creh. The resting-place of a hawk when cH the 
 
 falconer's wrist. 
 Flniiiaife. Small feathers given to a hawk to 
 
 make her nist. ' 
 Quarry. The fowl or game that a hawk flies at. 
 Jtaiii/le. (bavel given to a hawk to bring down 
 
 her stomach. 
 Sharp scl. Hungry. 
 Tiniii). Giving a hawk a leg (jr wing of a fowl to 
 
 pull at. 
 
 V The peregrine when full grown is 
 called a bliie-hawl: 
 
 The hawk was the av'atar of Ka or 
 Horus, the sini-god of the Egj'ptians. 
 
 lice Birds (protected by su2Jerstitions.) 
 
 Hawk and Handsaw. / Joww a 
 haick from u haiidmw. Handsaw is a 
 corruption of hcriishaw (a herou). I 
 know a hawk from a heron, the bird of 
 prey from the game flown at. The 
 proverb means, I know one thing from 
 another. (See Hamlet, ii. 2.) 
 
 Hawk nor Buzzard {Neither). Of 
 doubtful social jiosition— too good for 
 the kitchen, and not good enough for 
 the family. Private governesses and 
 pauperisetl gentlefolk often hold this 
 unhappy position. They are not hawk^ 
 to be fondled and petted — the " tasselled 
 gentlemen" of the days of falconry — 
 nor yet buzzards—a dull kind of falcon 
 synonymous with dunce or plebeian. 
 In French, " I\"'iHrc ni chair ni poissoh," 
 "Neither flesh, fowl, nor good red 
 herring. ' ' 
 
 Hawker's News or "Piper's News." 
 News known to all the world. " Ze 
 secret de jxt/ichiiicl/e.''^ (German liolcer, 
 a Ziiggler or hawker.) 
 
 Hawkubites (3 syl.). Street bullies 
 in the reign of Queen Anne. It was 
 their delight to molest and ill-treat the 
 old watchmen, women, children, and 
 feeble old men who chanced to be in 
 the streets after sunset, The succesgioft
 
 HaWse-hole 
 
 589 
 
 fiead 
 
 of these Londou pests after the Restora- 
 tion was iu the following order : The 
 Muns, the Tityre Tus, the Hectors, the 
 Scourers, the Nickers, then the Hawku- 
 bites (1711-1714), and then the Mohocks 
 ^most dreaded of all. (Hawkubite is 
 the name of an Indian tribe of savages.) 
 
 " Frnm Mcilidck aiui from Hawkubite, 
 
 (iiiDil Lipi'il cU-livi-r me 
 Willi w:iiiilrr tlirnii^'h the streets at nigh 
 
 ('iiiiiinittiiii-' rniclty. 
 Tlii-v shLsh nui-siiiiN witli Miiody knives, 
 
 And nil mil- il.'iiiLrlit.TS full ; 
 Anil, if ilii'v niunlrr imt uiir wives. 
 
 We huve j^'.iud luck witli;il." 
 
 Hawse-hole. He has crept through 
 the hawse-hole, or He has come in at the 
 hawse-hole. That is, he entered the 
 service in the lowest grade ; he rose 
 from the ranks. A naval phrase. The 
 hawse-hole of a ship is that through 
 which the cable of the anchor runs. 
 
 Hawthorn, iu florology, means "Good 
 Hope," l)ecause it shows the winter is 
 over and spring is at hand. The Athe- 
 nian girls used to crown themselves 
 with hawthorn Hovvers at weddings, and 
 the marriage-torch was made of haw- 
 thorn. The Romans considered it a 
 charm against sorcery, and placed leaves 
 of it on the cradles of new-born infants. 
 
 V The hawthorn was chosen by 
 Henry VII. for his device, because the 
 crown of Richard HE. was discovered in 
 a hawthorn bush at Bosworth. 
 
 Hay, Hagh, or Haugh. A royal 
 park iu " which no man commons" ; rich 
 pasture-land ; asBilhagh (Billa-haitf/h), 
 Beskwood- or Bestwood-hay, Lindeby- 
 hay, Welley-hay or Wel-hay. These 
 five hayswere "special reserves" of game 
 for royalty alone. 
 
 A bottle of haij. {See Bottle.) 
 
 Between haij and grass. Too late for 
 oiie and too soon for the other. 
 
 Neither Itaij )tor grass. Tliat hobby- 
 de-hoy state when a youth is neither boy 
 nor man. 
 
 Make hag while the sun shines. 
 
 Strike while the iron is hot. 
 
 Take time by the forelock. 
 
 One to-day is worth two to-morrows. 
 {Franklin.) 
 
 Hayston (Frank). The laird of 
 Bucklaw, afterwards laird of Girning- 
 ton. (Sir JTalter Scott : Bride of Lain- 
 mcrinoor.) 
 
 Hayward. A keeper of the cattle 
 or common herd of a village or parish. 
 The word hag means " hedge," and this 
 herdsman was so called because he had 
 " ward " of the " hedges " also. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, Leg, hay ; hege, a hedge.) 
 
 Hazazel. The Scape-goat (q.r.). 
 
 Hazel. (See Divining Rod.) 
 
 Hazel-nut. (Anglo - Saxon, hcesel- 
 hnat. from h(cscl, a hat or cap, the cap- 
 nut or the nut enclosed in a cap.) 
 
 Head. (Latin, capat ; Saxon, hedfod ; 
 Scotch, hafet ; contracted into head.) 
 
 Better be the head of an ass than the tail 
 of a horse. Better be foremost amongst 
 commoners than the lowest of the aris- 
 tocracy ; better be the head of the yeo- 
 manry than the tail of the gentry. Tlie 
 Italians say, '■' E meglio esscr testa di 
 luccio che coda di stnrione.^' 
 
 He has a head on his shoulders. He is 
 up to snuff (q.r.) ; he is a clever fellow, 
 with brains in his head. 
 
 He has quite lost his head. He is ia a 
 quandary or quite confused. 
 
 I can make neither head nor tail of it. 
 I cannot understand it at all. A gambling 
 phrase. 
 
 Men with heads beneath the shoulders. 
 (Sec Caoea.) 
 
 Mm without heads. (See Blemjiyes.) 
 
 Of onei' s head. Deranged; delirious; 
 extremely excited. Here " head " 
 means intelligence, understanding, etc. 
 His intelligence or understanding has 
 gone away. 
 
 To bundle one out head and heels. 
 " Sans cerimonie,'''' altogether. The 
 allusion is to a custom at one time far 
 too frequent in cottages, for a whole 
 family to sleep together in one bed head 
 to heels or pcdnain'oie. as it was termed 
 in Cornwall ; to bundle the whole lot 
 out of bed was to turn them out head 
 and heels. 
 
 To head off. To intercept. 
 
 To hit the nail on the head. You have 
 guessed aright ; you have done the right 
 thing. The allusion is obvious. The 
 French say, " Vous avez frappc au but " 
 (You have hit the mark) ; the Italians 
 have the phrase, " Ilavete dato in 
 brocca'''' (You have hit the pitcher), al- 
 luding to a game where a pitcher stood 
 in the place of Aunt Sally (q.r.). The 
 Latin, " Jieni acu tetigisti" (You have 
 touched the thing with a needle), refers 
 to the custom of probing sores. 
 
 To keep one's head abore water. To 
 avoid bankruptcy. The allusion is to a 
 person immersed in water ; so long as 
 his head is above water his life remains, 
 but bad swimmers find it hard to keep 
 their heads above water. 
 
 To lose oJie's head. To be confused and 
 mnddle-minded. 
 
 2'o make head. To get on.
 
 Head 
 
 500 
 
 Heart 
 
 Head Shaved {Get your). You are 
 
 a dotai'd. Go and get your head shaved 
 like other lunatics. {Hee Bath.) 
 
 " Tlinu tbiiikst that monarch^ novor can act ill, 
 Get tliy liL-ad sbaveil, poor foul, or think so 
 still." J'eter rindar : Ude Upon Ode. 
 
 Head and Ears. Oirr head and ears 
 [in debt, iu love, etc.], completely ; en- 
 tirely. The allusion is to a person 
 immersed in water. The French phrase 
 is " Aroir des dettes pardessus la tite.^'' 
 
 Head and Shoulders. A phrase of 
 Ruiidiy shades of meaning. Thus " head 
 and shoulders taller" means consider- 
 ably tall ; to turn one out head and 
 shoulders means to drive one out forcibly 
 anil without ceremony. 
 
 Head of Cattle. Cattle are counted 
 by the hiad ; manufacturing labourers 
 by hands, as "How many hands do you 
 employ ? " horses by the iwne {Sec 
 Nose) ; guests at dinner by the cover, 
 as "Covers for ten," etc. {See Num- 
 bers, Hand.) 
 
 V In contracting for meals the con- 
 tractor takes the job at so much " a 
 head " — i.e. for each person. 
 
 Head over Heels {To ixrn). To 
 place the hands ujron the ground and 
 throw the legs upwaids so as to de- 
 scribe half a circle. 
 
 Heads or Tails. Guess whether the 
 coin tossed up will come down with head- 
 side uppermost or not. The side not 
 bearing the head has various devices, 
 sometimes Britaimia, sometimes George 
 and the Dragon, sometimes a harp, some- 
 times the royal arms, sometunes an in- 
 scription, etc. These devices are all in- 
 cluded in the word tail, meaning opposite 
 to the head. The ancient Romans used 
 to play this game, but said, "Heads or 
 ships." 
 
 "Cum pueri denarios in sublime jactantos, 
 ' capita aut navia,' lusu teste vetustatis excla- 
 inaut." — Macrubius Saturnalia, i. 7. 
 
 Neither head nor tail. Nothing con- 
 sistent. " I can make neither head nor 
 tail of what you say," i.e. I cannot bolt 
 the matter to the bran. 
 
 Heads I Win, Tails you Lose. In 
 
 tossing up a coin, with such an arrange- 
 ment, the person who makes the bargain 
 must of necessity win, and the person 
 who accepts it must inevitably lose. 
 
 Heady, wilful ; affecting the head, as 
 " The wine or beer is heady." (German, 
 hej'tiy, ardent, strong, self-willed.) 
 
 Healing Gold. Gold given to a king 
 for " heahng " the king's evil, which 
 was done by a touch. 
 
 Health. Your health. The story is 
 that Vortigern was invitetl to dine at 
 the house of Hengist, wlien Rowe'na, 
 the host's daughter, brought a cup of 
 wine which she presented to their royal 
 guest, saying, " Was ha-' I, hlaford cyn- 
 ing " (Your health, lord king). {See 
 Wassail.) 
 
 William of Malme.sbury says the cus- 
 tom took its rise from the death of young 
 King Edward the Martyr, who was 
 traitorously stabbed in the back while 
 drinking a cup of wine presented to him 
 by his motlier Elfrida. 
 
 Ihinhing healths. The Romans adopted 
 a curious fa.shion of drinking the health 
 of their lady-loves, and that was to drink 
 a bumper to each letter of her name. 
 Hudibras satirises this custom, which he 
 calls " spelling names with becr-glasres " 
 (part ii. chap. 1). 
 
 '■>':i?via sex c.vatliis, s-^ptcm Justina Mbatur 
 OuimUR' Lycas, Lydo quatuc.r, Ida trilms. 
 
 ilaitial. i. 72. 
 Tlircc cupB to Amy, four to Kate be given. 
 To .Susan Ave, six Itachcl, Eridget seven. 
 
 E. C. B. 
 
 Heap. Strach all of a heap. To be 
 struck with astonishment. '■'■ Utre ahuri." 
 The idea is that of confusion, having 
 the wits bundled together in a heap. 
 
 Hear. To hear as ahoy in harvest. In 
 at one ear and ovit at the other ; hear 
 without paying attention. Giles Firmin 
 says, "If you call hogi out of the har- 
 vest .stubble, they will just lift up their 
 heads to listen, and fall to their shack 
 again." {Real Christian, 1670.) 
 
 Hearse ( 1 syl. ) means simply a harrow. 
 Those harrows used in Roman Catholic 
 churches (or frames with spikes) for 
 holding candles are called in France 
 herses. These frames at a later period 
 were covered with a canopy, and lastly 
 were mounted on wheels. 
 
 Heart. A variety of the word core. 
 (Latin, cord', the heart ; Greek, kard' ; 
 Sanskrit, herd' ; Anglo-Saxon, hcorte.) 
 
 Heart (iu Christian art) , the attribute 
 of St. There'sa. 
 
 The flaminy heart (in Christian art), 
 the syinbol of charity. An attribute of 
 St. A'ugustine, denoting the fervency of 
 liis devotion. The heart of the Saviour 
 is frequently so represented. 
 
 Heart. 
 
 Phrases, Proverbs, etc. 
 
 A bloody heart. Smce the time of Good 
 Lord James the Douglases have carried 
 upon their shields a bloody heart with a 
 crown upon it, in memory of the expedi- 
 tion of Lord James to Spain with the
 
 Heart 
 
 591 
 
 Heart of 
 
 heart of King Robert Bruce. King 
 Robert commissioned his friend to carry 
 his heart to the Holy Land, and Lord 
 James had it enclosed in a silver casket, 
 which he wore round his neck. On his 
 way to the Holy Land, he stopped to 
 aid Alphonso of Castile against Osmyn 
 the Moor, and was slain. Sir Simon 
 Lockhard of Lee was commissioned to 
 carry the heart back to Scotland. {Tales 
 of a'draudfathcr, xi.) 
 
 After nil/ ""'" heart. Just what I 
 like ; in accordance with my liking or 
 wish ; the heart being the sujiposed 
 seat of the affections. 
 
 Be of (/ood heart. Cheer up. In Latin, 
 " Fae, bono an'tino sin ; " the heart being 
 the seat of moral courage. 
 
 Oat of heart. Despondent ; without 
 sanguine hope. In Latin, '■'■ Aiiimiiui 
 (lespo)i(lere.'''' In French, " I'erdre 
 courage.'''' 
 
 Set i/our heart at rest. Be quite easy 
 about the mattei'. In French, '■'■ Mettez 
 voire cwtir a Vaise.'''' The heart is the 
 supposed organ of the sensibilities (in- 
 cluding the affections, etc.). 
 
 To break one's heart. To waste away 
 or die of disappointment. "Broken- 
 hearted," hopelessly distressed. In 
 French, " Cehc Die fend le caiir.^^ The 
 heart is the organ of life. 
 
 7'o learn l>i/ heart. To learn memo- 
 riter ; to commit to memory. In French, 
 " Tar c(eiir " or " Appremlre par cwar.''^ 
 (See Leabn.) 
 
 To set oiie''s heart upon. Earnestly to 
 desire it. ^' Je ratine de tout mon ewur ; " 
 the heart being the supposed seat of the 
 affections. 
 
 Take heart. Be of good courage. 
 Moral courage at one time was supposed 
 to reside in the heart, physical courage 
 in the stomach, wisdom in the head, 
 affection in the reins or kidneys, melan- 
 choly in the bile, spirit in the blood, etc. 
 In French, ^'■prendre courage.'''' 
 
 To take to heart. To feel deeply 
 pained [at something which has oc- 
 curred]. In Latin, " Percuss'it iiiihi 
 animuin;^' " iniquo ai/iiiio ferre.^' In 
 French, " Freudre une affaire a coeur ; " 
 the heart being the supposed seat of the 
 affections. 
 
 To tcear one^s heart upon oiie\<! sUeve. 
 To expose one's secret intentions to 
 general notice ; the reference being to 
 the custom of tying your lady's favour 
 to your sleeve, and thus exposing the 
 secret of the heart. la go says, "Wlien 
 my outward action shows my secret 
 heart, I will wear my heart upon my 
 sleevCj as one does a lady's favour, for 
 
 daws [? dows, pigeons] to peck at." 
 Dows = fools, or simpletons to laugh at 
 or quiz. {Othello, i. 1.) 
 
 With all mil heart. " F>e tout mon 
 ea'ur;^' most willing. The heart, as 
 the seat of the affections and sensibilities, 
 is also the scat of the will. 
 
 Eeart-breaker {A). A flirt. A'so 
 a particular kind of curl. Called in 
 French Aceroche-cwur. At one time 
 loose ringlets worn over the shoulders 
 were called heart- breakers. At another 
 time a curl worn over the temples was 
 called an Accroehe-coeur, creve cwur. 
 
 Heart-rending. Very pathetic. "Qtii 
 di'chire le cwur;" the heart as the seat 
 of the affections. 
 
 Heart-whole. Not in love ; the 
 affections not given to another. 
 
 " I in Iiivp ? . . . I Rive you my wnnl T ;nii Iieart- 
 ■wluile."— Sirir. Scott : Itedgauntlet (letter 13). 
 
 Heart and Soul. With viij whole 
 heart and sou/. With all the energy and 
 enthusiasm of which I am cajiable. In 
 French, " S''// porter de tout son rwur.^'' 
 Mark xii. 33 says, "Love [God] with 
 all thy heart [affection], all thy soul [or 
 glow of spiritual life], all thy strength 
 [or physical powers], and all thy under- 
 standing [that is, let Ihy love be also a 
 reasonable service, an.l not mere enthu- 
 siasm]." 
 
 Heart in his Boots. JFs heart fell 
 into his hose or sank into his boots. In 
 Latin, " Cor illi in genua dectdit.^' In 
 French, '^ Avoir la pcur anirntre.^' The 
 two last phrases are very expressive : 
 Fear makes the knees .shake, and it 
 gives one a stomach-ache ; but the 
 English phrase, if it means anything, 
 must mean that it induces the person to 
 run away. 
 
 Heart in his Mouth. JFis heart 
 iras in his mouth. That choky feeling 
 in the throat which arises from fear, 
 conscious guilt, shyness, etc. 
 
 "Tlip yminK lover tried to look at liis eas", . . . 
 1 lit his lieart was in his mouth."— ifissr/KM'/.'croj/.; 
 Mm. DiniwHii, p. 15(). 
 
 Heart of Grace {To take). To pluck 
 up courage ; not to be disheartened or 
 down-heartod. This expression is based 
 on the jiromise, " My grace is suflficient 
 for thee " (2 Cor. xii. 9) ; by this grace 
 St. Paul says, " When I am -weak then 
 am I strong." Take grace into your 
 heart, rely on God's grace for strength, 
 with grace in your heart your feeble 
 knees will be strengthened. {See Hakt 
 OF Gehase.)
 
 Seart of 
 
 Bd2 
 
 Heaven 
 
 Heart of Hearts {In onc\s). In 
 one's inmost conviction. The heart is 
 often refeiTcd to as a second self. 
 Shakespeare speaks of the ' ' neck of the 
 heart " {Merchant of Venice, ii. 2) ; " the 
 middle of the heart " {Cymhelitte, i. 7). 
 The heart of the heart is to the same 
 effect. 
 
 Heart of Midlothian. The old 
 
 jail, the Tolbooth of Ediuhurgh, taken 
 "down in 181 7. Sir Walter Scott has a 
 novel so called. 
 
 Heart's Ease. The viola tricolnr. 
 It has a host of fancy names ; as, the 
 '' Butterfly flower," "Kiss me quick," 
 a "Kiss behind the garden gate," 
 "Love in idleness," "Pansy," "Three 
 faces under one hood," the "Variegated 
 violet," " Herba Trinitatis. " The quo- 
 tation annexed will explain the pojjular 
 tradition of the flower : — 
 
 " Yet niiirked I ■vvliorp the lioH nf Cupid fell : 
 It fell iiiinn a little western flower, 
 Befiire milk-white, now purple with love's 
 
 wounil. 
 Anil ni;iiilens call it Inve-in-iflleness. . . . 
 The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid 
 Will make a man or woman madly doat 
 Upon the next live creature that it sees." 
 Shakespeare : Midsummer Night's Dream, ii. 1. 
 
 Hearth Money. {See Chimney 
 Money. ) 
 
 Heat. One course in a race ; activity, 
 action. 
 
 " Feigned Zeal, you saw, set out with speedier 
 jiace. 
 But the last heat Plain Dealins won the race." 
 Dryden. 
 
 Heathen. A dweller on a heath or 
 common. Christian doctrines would not 
 reach these remote peojde till long after 
 they had been accepted in towns, and 
 even villages. (Anglo-Saxon, hathen, 
 hath. {See Pagan.) 
 
 Heaven. (Anglo-Saxon, heofon, from 
 heofen, elevated, vaulted.) 
 
 The Three Heavens. (According to 
 the Jewish system.) The word heaven 
 in the Bible denotes (1) the air, thus 
 we read of " the fowls of heaven," " the 
 dew of heaven," and "the clouds of 
 heaven " ; (2) the starry firmament, as, 
 " Let there be lights in the firmament 
 of heaven" (Gen. i. 14) ; (3) the palace 
 of Jehovah ; thus we read that " heaven 
 is My throne " (Isa. Ixvi. 1, and Matt. 
 V. 34). 
 
 V Loosely, the word is used in Scrip- 
 ture sometimes simply to express a great 
 height. "The cities are walled up to 
 heaven " (Deut. i. 28). So the builders 
 on Shinar designed to raise a tower 
 whose top should " reach unto heaven " 
 (Gen. xi. 4). 
 
 The Five Heavens. (According to 
 the Ptolemaic system.) (1) The planet- 
 ary heaven ; (2) the sphere of the fixed 
 stars ; (3) the crystalline, which vibrates ; 
 (4) the primum mo'bile, which communi- 
 cates motion to the lower spheres ; (o) 
 the empjTe'an or seat of deity and 
 angels. {Sec above.) 
 
 " Sometimes she deemed that Mars had from 
 above 
 Left Ills fifth heaven, the powers of men to 
 prove." 
 
 Boole: Orlando Furioso, book xiii. 
 
 The Seven Heavens. (According to 
 the Mahometan system.) 
 
 The first heaven, says ^Lahomet, is of 
 pure silver, and here the stars are hung 
 out like lamps on golden chains. Each 
 star has an angel for warder. In this 
 heaven " the prophet " found Adam and 
 Eve. 
 
 J7ie second hearen, says Mahomet, is 
 of polished steel and dazzling splendour. 
 Here " the proi)het" found Noah. 
 
 The third hearen, says Mahomet, is 
 studded with precious stones too bril- 
 liant for the eye of man. Here Az'rael, 
 the angel of death, is stationed, and is 
 for ever writing in a large book or 
 blotting words out. The former are the 
 names of persons born, the latter those 
 of the newly dead. (See below, Hearen 
 of heavens.) 
 
 The fourth heaven, he says, is of the 
 finest silver. Here dwells the Angel of 
 Tears, whose height is " 500 days' jour- 
 ney," and he sheds ceaseless tears for 
 the sins of man. 
 
 The fifth heaven is of purest gold, and 
 here dwells the Avenging Angel, who 
 presides over elemental fire. Here " the 
 prophet" met Aaron. {See heloic.) 
 
 The sixth heaven is composed of Has'- 
 ala, a sort of carbuncle. Here dwells 
 the Guardian Angel of heaven and 
 earth, half-snow and half-fire. It was 
 here that Mahomet saw Moses, who 
 wept with envy. 
 
 The seventh hearen, says the same 
 veritable authority, is formed of divine 
 light beyond the power of tongue to 
 describe. Each inhabitant is bigger 
 than the whole earth, and has 70,000 
 heads, each head 70,000 mouths, each 
 mouth 70.000 tongues, and each tongue 
 speaks 70,000 languages, all for ever 
 employed in chanting the praises of the 
 Most High. Here he met Abraham. 
 {See below). 
 
 To he in the serenih hearen. Su- 
 premely happJ^ The Cabbalists main- 
 tained that there are seven heavens, each 
 rising in happiness above the other, the
 
 Heavies 
 
 593 
 
 Hecatomb 
 
 seventh being the ahode of God aud the 
 highest chiss of angels. {Sec above.) 
 
 The Nine Heavens. The term 
 heaven was used anciently to denote the 
 or)) or sphere in wliich a celestial body 
 was supposed to move, hence the number 
 of heavens varied. According to one 
 system, the first heaven was that of the 
 Moon, the second that of Venus, the 
 third that of Mercury, the fourth that 
 of the Sun, the fifth that of Mars, the 
 sixth that of Jupiter, the seventh that 
 or Saturn, the eighth that of the '' fixt " 
 or firmament, and the ninth that of the 
 VriifitaUine. {Sec Nine Spheres.) 
 
 ilEAVEN (in modern phrascolngy) 
 m°ans : (1) a great hut indefinite licij^^lit, 
 
 (2) the sky or the vault of the clouds, 
 
 (3) the special abode of God, (1) the 
 place of supreme felicity, (5) supposed 
 resi<leuce of the celestial gods, etc. 
 
 The hcaren of hcarcns. A Hebrewism 
 to express the highest of the heavens, 
 the special residence of Jehovah. Simi- 
 lar superlatives are " the Lord of lords," 
 "the God of gods," "the Song of 
 songs." {Compare our Very very much, 
 etc.) 
 
 " Be'uild.tbo lieiven aixl tbe hcavon of heavens 
 i3 the Liird's.""— Deut. x. U. 
 
 Animals arlmittcd into heaven. {See 
 under Paeadise.) 
 
 Heavies {The), means the heavy cav- 
 alry, which consists of men of greater 
 build and height than Lancers aud 
 Hussars. {See Light Teoops.) 
 
 Heavy Man {The), in theatrical par- 
 lance, means an actor who plays foil to 
 the hpro, such as the king in Hamlet, the 
 mere foil to the prince ; la go is another 
 '• heavy man's " part as foil to Othello ; 
 the " tiger" in the Tieket of Leave Man 
 is another part for the "ifieavy man." 
 Such jjarts preserve a degree of im- 
 portance, but never rise into passion. 
 
 Heavy-armed Artillery (T//c)- The 
 garrison artillery. The " light -anned 
 artillery " are Royal Horse Ai-tillery. 
 
 He'be (2 syl.). Goddess of youth, 
 and cup-bearer to the celestial gods. 
 She had the power of restoring the aged 
 to youth and beauty. {Greek nujtholo(/ij.) 
 " Wreathed smiles 
 Such as hang on Hebe's cheek, 
 And love to live in dimple sleek." 
 
 Milton: L'Atlejro. 
 
 Hebe rases. Small vases like a coty- 
 liscos. So termed because Hebe is re- 
 presented as bearing one containing 
 nectar for the gods. 
 
 Hebertists (3 syl.). The partisans 
 of the vile demagogue, Jacques Kene 
 
 H^ert, chief of the Cordeliers, a revo- 
 lutionary club which boasted of such 
 names as Anacharsis Clootz, Ronsin, 
 Vincent, and Momoro, in the great 
 French Revolution. 
 
 Heb'ron, in the satire of Absalom 
 and Aehi/ophel, in the first jiart stands 
 for Holland, but in the second jmrt for 
 Scotland. Heb'ronite (3 syl.), a native 
 of Holland or Scotland. 
 
 Hec'ate (3 syl. in Greek, 2 in Eng.). 
 A triple deity, called Phcebe or the Moon 
 in heaven, Diana on the earth, and He- 
 cate or Proserpine in hell. She is de- 
 scribed as having three heads— one of a 
 horse, one of a dog, aud one of a lion. 
 Her offerings consisted of dogs, honey, 
 and black lambs. She was sometimes 
 called " Tri'via," because offerings were 
 presented to her at cross-roads. Shake- 
 speare refers to the triple character of 
 this goddess : 
 
 'And we fairies that do run 
 By the triple Hecate s team.'' 
 
 iJidsammcr Xi(jht'n Bream, v. 2. 
 
 lleeate, daughter of Perses the Titan, 
 is a very different person to the " Triple 
 Hecate," who, according to Hesiod, was 
 daughter of Zeus and a benevolent 
 goddess. Hecate, daughter of Perses, 
 was a magician, poisoned her father, 
 raised a temple to Diana in which she 
 immolated strangers, and was mother 
 of Mede'a and Circe. She presided over 
 magic and enchantments, taught sorcery 
 and witchcraft. She is represented 
 with a lighted torch aud a sword, and 
 is attended by two black dogs. 
 
 V Shakespeare, in his Mnebeth, alludes 
 to both these Hecates. Thus in act ii. 
 1 he speaks of '■'pale Hecate," i.e. the 
 mother of Medea and Circe, goddess of 
 magicians, whom they invoked, and to 
 whom they made offerings. 
 
 " Now . . . [at nif-'ht] witchcraft celebrates 
 Palo Hecate's offerings." 
 
 But in act iii. 2 he speaks of '■'■black 
 Hecate," meaning night, and says be- 
 fore the night is over and day dawns, 
 there 
 
 " shall he done 
 A deed of dreadful note;" i.e. the murder of 
 Duncan. 
 
 N.B. Without doubt, sometimes these 
 two Hecates are confounded. 
 
 Hecatamb. It is said that Pytha- 
 goras offered up 100 oxen to the gods 
 when he discovered that the square of 
 the hypothenuse of a right-angled- 
 triangle equals both the squares of the 
 other two sides. This is the 47th of 
 book i. of "Euclid," called the dul- 
 carnein {q.v.). But Pythagoras never
 
 Hector 
 
 sacrificed animals, and would not suffer 
 his disciples to do so. 
 
 "He saciiflced to the pnds millet and boney- 
 coiiili, but imt aninials. [AsainJ He forbade his 
 ilisriplcs to sacrifice (>xcn."—lamOlichus: Life of 
 r.,tliti(jnriif, x\ iii. \'\<. los-u. 
 
 Hector. Eldest son of Priam, the 
 
 noblest and most magnanimous of all 
 the chieftains in Homer's I/iail (a Greek 
 epic). After holding out for ten years, 
 he was slain by Achilles, who lashed 
 him to his chariot, and dragged tlie 
 dead body in triumpli thrice round the 
 walls of Ti-oy. The I/iad concludes 
 with the funeral obsequies of Hector 
 and Patroc'los. 
 
 T/ir Hector of Germain/. Joachim II., 
 Elector of Brandenburg (lol4-la71). 
 
 Yon near IIcctor''s cloak. You are 
 paid off for trying to deceive another. 
 You are paid in your own coin. Wlien 
 Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, 
 iu l/JBO, was routed, he hid himself in 
 the House of Hector Annstrong, of Har- 
 law. This villain betrayed liirn for the 
 reward offered, but never after did any- 
 thiug go well with him ; he went down, 
 doAvn, down, till at last he died a beggar 
 in rags on the roadside. 
 
 Hector {A). A leader ; so called 
 from the son of Priam and generalis- 
 simo of the Trojans. 
 
 Hector ( To) . To swagger, or play the 
 bully. It is hard to conceive how the 
 brave, modest, noble-minded patriot 
 came to be made the sjTionym of a 
 braggart and blusterer like Ajax. 
 
 Hectors. Street bullies and brawlers 
 who delighted in being as rude as pos- 
 sible, especially to women. Kobberj- 
 was not their object, but simply to get 
 talked about. {Sec Haavkubites.) 
 
 Heculia. Second wife of Priam, and 
 mother of nineteen children. When Troy 
 was taken by the Greeks she fell to the 
 lot of Ulysses. She was afterwards 
 metamorjjhosed into a dog, and threw 
 herself into the sea. The place where 
 she perished was afterwards called the 
 I>n(]\t - grave (cjnios-se'ma). {Homer: 
 Iliad, etc.) 
 
 On to Hecuha. To the point or main 
 incident. The story of Hecuba has 
 furnished a host of Greek tragedies. 
 
 Hedge (1 syl.). To hedr/e, in betting, 
 is to defend oneself from loss by cross - 
 bets. As a hedge is a defence, so cross - 
 betting is hedging. {E. Hunt : The 
 Toirn, ix.) 
 
 "He [Godolpliin] began to tlilnk . . . that lie 
 had betted too deep . . . and that it w:)s time to 
 hedge."— Ji/nc«u;((!/ ; Englmid, vol. iv. chap. xvii. 
 P- 46, 
 
 594 Hegemony 
 
 Hedge Lane (London) includes that 
 whole line of streets (Dorset, Whitcomb, 
 Prince's, and Wardour) stretching from 
 Pall Mall East to Oxford Street. 
 
 Hedge Priest. A poor or vagabond 
 parson. The use of hedge for vagabond, 
 or very inferior, is common ; as hedge - 
 mustard, hedge-writer (a Gnibb Street 
 author), hedge -mamage (a clandestine 
 one), etc. Shakespeare uses the phrase, 
 ''hedge-bom swain " as tlie very opjio- 
 site of " gentle blood." (1 Henry /'/., 
 iv. 1.) 
 
 Hedge School {A). A school kept 
 in the open air, near a hedge. At one 
 time common in Ireland. 
 
 "These irregular or 'hedge schools' arc tole- 
 rated only in \illages where no regular school 
 exists within a convenient dislance."— /joDmrrf ; 
 ^oiirniil i<f Kdiicalion. December, 1801', p. S74. 
 
 Hedonism. The doctrine of Aristip- 
 pus, that pleasure or happiness is the 
 chief good and chief end of man (Greek, 
 /leduiie, pleasure). 
 
 Heel, Heels. (Anglo-Saxon hel.) 
 AcJiilles^ heel. {Sec tiiider Achilles.) 
 I shoucd him a fair pair of heels. I 
 ran away and outran them. 
 
 "Two of them saAv me when I went out of 
 doors, and chased me. but 1 showed them a fair 
 pair of heels."— ,S/r ^Y. Scott : Pcreiil of the real;, 
 chap. xxiv. 
 
 Out at heels. In a sad plight, in de- 
 cayed circumstances, like a beggar whoso 
 stockiugs are worn out at the heels. 
 
 "A good man's fortune may grow out at heels." 
 Shali'csiicitrc : Kivj Lear. ii. 3. 
 
 To ,'^hoiv a light pair of heels. To 
 abscond. 
 
 To take to o)ic\<i heels. To run off. 
 "Ill pedes iios conjieSrc.''^ 
 
 Heel-tap. Hampers all round, and 
 no he. /-laps — i.e. the bumpers are to be 
 drained to the bottom of the glass. Also, 
 one of the thicknesses of the heel of a 
 shoe. 
 
 Heenan. In Heenan stijle. " By 
 apostolic blows and knocks." Heenan, 
 the Benicia boj' of North America, dis- 
 puted for the champion's belt against 
 Sayers, the British champion. His build 
 and muscle were the admiration of the 
 ring. 
 
 Heep {Uri'ah). An abject toady, 
 malignant as he is base : always boasting 
 of his 'umblehn-th, '«;»/V<^' position, ''innble 
 abode, and \imble calling. (Dickens : 
 David Coppcrfcld.) 
 
 Hegem'ony {g hard). The hegemony 
 of nations. The leadership. (Greek, hcgc, 
 mon'ia. from ago, to lead.)
 
 Hegira 
 
 595 
 
 Helicon 
 
 Heg'ira. The epoch of the flight of 
 Mahomet from Mecca, wheu he was 
 expelled by the magistrates, July 16th, 
 622. Mahometans date from this event. 
 (Arabic, hejira, departure.) 
 
 Heimdall (2 syl.). In Scandinavian 
 mythology, son of the nine virgins, all 
 sisters. He is called the c/od icith the 
 (johlcn tooth or with golden teeth. Heim- 
 dall was not an Asa (q.r.), but a Van 
 (q. v.), who lived in the celestial fort Him- 
 insbiorg under the farther extremity 
 of the bridge Bifrost (q.r.), and kept 
 the keys of heaven. He is the watch- 
 man or sentinel of Asgard {q.>'.), sleeps 
 less than a bird, sees even in sleep, can 
 hear the gi-ass grow, and even the wool 
 on a lamb's back. Heimdall, at the end 
 of the world, will wake the gods with 
 his trumpet, when the sous of Muspell 
 will go against them, with Loki, the wolf 
 Fenrir,and the great serpent Jormungand. 
 
 Heimdall's Horn. The sound of 
 this horn went through all tho world, 
 
 Heimdaller. The learned humbugs 
 in the court of King Dinu'be of Hisis- 
 burg. {Grhnn)^s Goblins.) 
 
 Heims-kringla (The). A prose 
 legend found in the Snorra Edda. 
 
 Heir - apparent. The person who 
 will succeed as heir if he survives. At 
 the death of his predecessor the heir- 
 apparent becomes heir-at-law. 
 
 Heir-presumptive. One who will 
 be licLi- if no one is bora having a prior 
 claim. Thus the Princess Royal was 
 heir-presumptive till the Prince of 
 Wales was born; and if the Prince of 
 Wales had been king before any family 
 had been born to him, his brother, 
 Prince Alfred, would have been heii-- 
 presumptive. 
 
 Hel or Hela (in Scandinavian myth- 
 ology), queen of the dead, is goddess of 
 the ninth earth or nether world. She 
 dwelt beneath the roots of the sacred 
 ash (ijggdrasil), and was the daughter of 
 Loki. The All-father sent her into 
 Helheim, where she was given dominion 
 over nine worlds, and to one or other of 
 these nine worlds she sends all who die 
 of sickness or old age. Her dwelling is 
 Elvid'nir {dark cloi(d.s), her dish Hungr 
 {hunger), her knife Sullt {starvation), 
 her servants Gangla'ti {tardg-feet), her 
 bed Kor {siekness), and her bed-curtains 
 Blikian'dabol {uplendid miserg). Half 
 ber body was blue. 
 
 " Down the yawning steep he rorie 
 That led to Helas rtrear abode." 
 
 Grey : Descent of Odin. 
 
 Hel Keplein. A mantle of invisi- 
 bility belonging to thedwarf-king Laurin. 
 (German, hehlen, to conceal.) {27ie 
 Hcldenbiich.) 
 
 Heldenbuch (Book of Heroes). A 
 German compilation of all the romances 
 pertaining to Diderick and his cham- 
 pions, by Wolfram von Eschenbach. 
 
 Helen. The tyjje of female beauty, 
 more especially in those who have reached 
 womanhood. Daughterof Zeus andLeda, 
 and wife of Menela'os, King of Sparta. 
 
 " She moves a goddess and slie louks a queen." 
 J'ope: Homer's Iliad, iii. 
 
 The Helen of Spain. Cava or Florinda, 
 daughter of Count Julian. {See Cava.) 
 
 St. Helen's Jire (feu d'Helene) ; also 
 called Fea St. Helme (St. Helme's or St. 
 Elmo's fire) ; and by the Itali-ins "the 
 fires of St. Peter and St. Nicholas." 
 Meteoric fires seen occasionally on the 
 masts of ships, etc. If the flame is 
 single, foul weather is said to be at hand ; 
 but if two or mcrj flames appear, the 
 weather will improve. {See Castoe.) 
 
 Helen of One's Troy {Tin). The 
 ambition of one's life ; the subject for 
 which we would live and die. The 
 allusion, of course, is to that Helen wlio 
 eloped with Paris, and thus brought 
 about the siege and destruction of Troy. 
 
 " p'or whirh men all the life tho.v here enjoy 
 Still fl'-'lit. as for tlic Hclt-iis of their Trny." 
 Lord Brooke : Treatie of Humane Leanung. 
 
 Helena. The type of a lovely 
 woman, patient and hopeful, strong in 
 feebng, and sustained through trials by 
 her enduring and heroic faith. {Shake- 
 speare : All's Well that Ends Well.) 
 
 Hel'ena ( St. ). Mother of Con stantine 
 the Great. She is represented in royal 
 robes, wearing an imperial crown, because 
 she was empress. Sometimes she carries in 
 her hand a model of the Holy Sepulchre, 
 an edifice raised by her in the East; 
 sometimes she bears a large cross, 
 tj-pical of her alleged discovery of that 
 upon which the Saviour was crucified ; 
 sometimes she also bears the three nails 
 by which He was affixed to the cross. 
 
 Hel'enos. The prophet, the only 
 son of Priam that survived the fall of 
 Troy. He fell to the share of Pyrrhos 
 when the captives were awarded ; and 
 because he saved the life of the young 
 Grecian was allowed to marry Androm'- 
 ache, his brother Hector's widow. ( Vir- 
 gil : ^Encid.) 
 
 Helicon. The Muses' Mount. It is 
 part of the Parnassos, a mountain range 
 in Greece,
 
 Heligh-monat 
 
 596 
 
 Hell Broth 
 
 Helicon'' s harmonious stream is the 
 stream which flowed from Helicon to the 
 fountains of tlie Muses, called Agauii)pe 
 and Hip'pocreue (3 syl.). 
 
 Heligh-monat (Holy-month). The 
 name given l)y the Auglo-Saxous to 
 Decsinber, in allusion to Christmas Day. 
 
 Heliop'olis, the City of the Sun, a 
 Greek form of (1) Baalbek, in Syria ; 
 and (2) of On, in ancicntEgypt, noted for 
 its temple of Actis, called Beth Shcmesh 
 or Temijle of the Sun, in Jer. xliii. 13. 
 
 Helios. The Greek Sun-god, who 
 rode to his palace in Colchis every night 
 in a golden boat fundshed with wings. 
 
 Heliostat. An instrument by which 
 the raj's of the sun can be flashed to great 
 distances. Used in signalling. 
 
 Heliotrope (4 syl.). Apollo loved 
 Clj't'ie, but forsook her for her sister 
 Leucoth'oe. On discoveiing this, Clytie 
 pined away ; and Apollo changed her at 
 death to a flower, which, always turning 
 towards the sun, is called heliotrope. 
 (Greek, " turn-to-sun.") 
 
 V According to the poets, heliotrope 
 renders the bearer invisible. Boccaccio 
 calls it a stone, but Solinus says it is the 
 herb. " Ut herha eJKsdrin noniinis mixta 
 ct pracantationibus leyitimis consrcrata, 
 oitn, <( (iiwciiiiqiie {/estubitiir, siibtraliat 
 rixib/ia obviontm.'''' {Georgic, xi.) 
 
 " N(i lioiic had they of crcvic'i' uhciv to liido, 
 Or hcUotruiiu to chanu t hi'iii uur of view.' 
 Ihitit, : IiiUrnu, xxiv. 
 "Tho other stone is lieliotroi e, vhich ivmicrs 
 thosi! who have it iiivisllile." — iJoccHfCio; 'lliv 
 Decameron, Novel iii., Eighth day. 
 
 Hell. According to Mohammedan 
 faith, there are seven hells — • 
 
 (1) J;ihaiinaiii, for wicked MohaiTiniedans, all 
 of whom will bu sooner or later taken to para- 
 dise ; 
 
 C2) The Flamer (Lntlia^, for Christians ; 
 
 (S) Tlie Smasher (IIiifaiiKiin, for .lews j 
 
 C-l) The Blazer (Sair). for Sahians ; 
 
 (.=)) The Si-on-hcr 'Snl.-an. for Jlat'ians ; 
 
 (•■■) Tlie Burner (Jiihlin). tor iilolarers ; and 
 
 (7) The Abyss t^IIaiciyah), for hypocrites. 
 
 Hell or Arka of the Jewish Cabal- 
 ists. divided into seven lodges, one under 
 another (Joseph ben Abraham Gika- 
 tilla)— 
 
 In the Buddhist system there are 
 13() places of punishment after death, 
 where the dead are sent according to their 
 degree of demerit. {Sec Eui'hemisms.) 
 
 Hell. This word occurs eighteen 
 times in the New Testament. In nine 
 instances the Greek word is Hades ; in 
 eight instances it is Gelienna ; and in 
 one it is Tartarus. 
 
 Hades : Matt. xi. 23, xvi. 18 ; Luke 
 xvi. 23 ; Acts ii. 31 ; 1 Cor. xv. 55 ; Rev. 
 i. 18, vi. 8, XX. 13, U. (See Hades.) 
 
 Gehenna : Matt. v. 22, 29, x. 28, xiii. 
 15, xviii. 9, xxiii. 15, 33; James iii. 6. 
 (See Gehenna.) 
 
 Tartarus : 2 Peter ii. 4. (See Tae- 
 taeos.) 
 
 Descended into hell (Creed) means the 
 place of the dead. (Anglo-Saxon, helan, 
 to cover or conceal, like the Greek 
 " Ha'des," the abode of the dead, from 
 the verb a-eido, not to see. In- 
 both cases it means " the unseen 
 world" or "the world concealed from 
 sight." The god of this nether world 
 was called " Hades," by the Greeks, and 
 "Hel" or "Hela" by the Scnndin- 
 avians. In some counties of England 
 to cover in with a roof is "to hell the 
 building," and thatchers or tilers are 
 termed "helliers. " 
 
 Ze((d apes in hell. {See APE.) 
 
 Hell (Rivers of). Classic authors tell 
 us that the Inferno is encompassed by 
 Ave rivers : Acheron, Cocytus, Styx, 
 Phlcggthon, and Lethe. Acheron from 
 the Greek aehos-reo, grief -flowing ; Co- 
 cytus, from the Greek kokao, to weep, 
 sujjposed to be a flood of tears ; Styx, 
 from the Greek stiig^o, to loathe ; Phlege- 
 thon, from the Greek phlfgo, to bum ; 
 and Lethe, from the Greek /c^/e, ob- 
 livion. 
 
 Five hatefnl rivers round Inferno run, 
 Grief comes the first, and then the Flood of tears. 
 Next loathsome Styx, then li'inid Flame appears, 
 Lethe C(jmes last, or blank oblivion. E. C. i>'. 
 
 Hell Broth. A magical mixture pi"e- 
 pared for evil purposes. The witches in 
 Macbeth made it. (See act iv. 1.) 
 
 Presiding Annel.' 
 The heat 60 times that of nre. (Here Absalom and Israelites Kushiel 
 it " sn(iws fire ") who break the Law 
 
 fin times hotter than No. 1 Doef,' Lahatirl 
 
 60 times hotter than No. 2 Korah Shaftiel 
 
 60 times hotter than No. 3 Jeroboam Maccathiel 
 
 60 times hotter than No. 4 Ahab Chntriel 
 
 60 times hotter than No. .5 Micah Pasiel 
 
 60timeshotterth.anNo.fi, Elisha, son of Abuya. Dalkiel 
 or 410 times hotter than lire Sabbath- breakers, 
 idolators, and un- 
 circumcised 
 * All these jiresidents are under Duma,-the Angel of Silence, who keeps the three keys of the 
 - tliree gates of hell. 
 
 (1) Gehennom 
 
 (2) The Gates of Death 
 
 (3) The Shadow of Death 
 
 (4) The Pit of Corruption 
 
 (5) The Mire of Clay 
 (fi) A bad do u 
 (7) Sheol
 
 Heil Gate 
 
 fe97 
 
 Helmets 
 
 Hell Gate. A dangerous passage 
 between Great Barn Island and Long 
 Island, North America. The Dutch 
 settlers of New York called it Hoell- 
 gat (whirling-gut) corrupted into Hell- 
 gate. Flood Rock, its most dangerous 
 reef, has been blown up by U.S. en- 
 gineers. 
 
 Hell Gates, according to Milton, are 
 nine-fold— three of brass, three of iron, 
 and three of adamant ; the keepers are 
 Sin and Death. This allegory is one of 
 the most celebrated passages of Faradise 
 Lost. (See book ii. 643-676.) 
 
 Hell Kettles. Cavities three miles 
 long, at Oxeu-le-Field, Durham. A, B, 
 C communicate with each other, dia- 
 meter, about 38 yards. The diameter 
 of D, a separate cave, is about 28 yards. 
 
 A is 19 feet 6 inches in depth. 
 
 B is 14 feet in depth. 
 
 C is 17 feet in depth. 
 
 D is 5 feet 6 inches in depth. 
 (See Xo/cs and Queries, August 21, 1875.) 
 
 Hell Shoon. Tn Icelandic mythology, 
 indispensable for the journey to Valhalla 
 as the obolus for crossing the Styx. 
 
 Hell or Connaugbt (To). This 
 phrase, usually attributed to Cromwell, 
 and common to the whole of Ireland, 
 rose thus : When the settlers designed 
 for Ireland asked the officers of James 
 I. where they were to go, they were 
 answered "to Hell or Connaught," go 
 where you like or where you may, but 
 don't bother me about the matter. 
 
 Hellanod'icse. Umpires of the public 
 games in (ireece. They might chastise 
 •with a stick anyone who created a dis- 
 turbance. Lichas, a Spartan nobleman, 
 was so punished by them. 
 
 Helle'nes (3 syl.). "This word had 
 in Palestine three several meanings : 
 Sometimes it designated the pagans ; 
 sometimes the'Jews, speaking Greek, and 
 dwelling among the pagans ; and some- 
 times proselytes of the gate, that is, men 
 of pagan origin converted to Judaism, but 
 not circumcised " (John vii. 35, xii. 20; 
 Acts xiv. 1, xvii. 4, xviii. 4, xxi. 28). 
 (Renan : Zifc of Jcsiis, xiv.) 
 
 N.B. The present Greeks call them- 
 selves "Helle'nes," and the king is 
 termed " King of the Helle'nes." The 
 ancient Greeks called their country 
 "Hellas;" it was the Romans who 
 misnamed it " Grsecia." 
 
 "The first and truest Hellas, the mother-land of 
 all Hellenes, was the land which we call Greece, 
 with the islands round about it. There alone the 
 whole land was C-;reek,and none but Hellenes lived 
 iu it," —Freeman: Genei-al Sketch, chap. ii. p. 21. 
 
 Helle'nic. The common dialect of 
 the Greek writers after the age of Alex- 
 ander. It was based on the Attic. 
 
 Hellenis'tic. The dialect of the 
 Greek language used by the Jews. It was 
 full of Oriental idioms and metaphors. 
 
 Hell'enists. Those Jews who used 
 the Greek or Helle'nic language. (All 
 these four words are derived from Hellas, 
 in Thessaly, the cradle of the race.) 
 
 Hellespont (3 syl.), now called the 
 Dardanelles, means the "sea of Helle," 
 and was so called because Helle, the 
 sister of Phryxos, was drowned there. 
 She was fleeing with her brother through 
 the air to Colchis on the golden ram to 
 escape from Ino, her mother-in-law, who 
 most cruelly oppressed her, but turning 
 giddy, she fell into the sea. 
 
 Helmet, in heraldry, resting on the 
 chief of the shield, and bearing the crest, 
 indicates rank. 
 
 Gohl, with six bars, or with the visor raised (in full 
 
 face) for royalty ! 
 Steel, vith doUl /<i(j-.<f,varying in number (in profllc) 
 
 foranohli'Mian ; 
 Steel, witliniit /i(i;-.s, (ind loith visor open (in i rofllo) 
 
 for a kiiiKhl or baronet ; 
 Steel, with visor closed (in profile), for a squire or 
 
 gentleman. 
 •.• "The pointed helmet in the bas-reliefs from 
 the earliest palace of Nimroud appears to have 
 lieen the nmst ancient ,Sev<^ral were dis- 
 covered in tlic^ niiiis. They were iron, and the 
 rin'-'S vvliirh ornamented the lower part . . . were 
 inlaid wilh copper." — i(ii/rtr<(; Nivevch and its 
 Iteiniuns, vol. ii. part ii. chap. iv. P.2B2. 
 
 Helmets. Those of Saragossa were 
 most in repute in the days of chivalry. 
 
 dose helmet. The complete Iiead-piece, 
 haraig in front two movable parts, 
 which could be lifted up or let down at 
 pleasure. 
 
 Visor. One of the movable j)ai'ts ; it 
 was to look through. 
 
 Jieeer, or drinkixfi-pieee. One of the 
 movable parts, which was lifted up when 
 the wearer ate or drank. It comes from 
 the Italian verb hcrcre (to drink). 
 
 Mo'rioii. A low iron cap, worn only 
 by infantry. 
 
 iLahomeVs helmet. Mahomet wore a 
 double helmet ; the exterior one was 
 called al maicashah (the wreathed gar- 
 land). 
 
 2'he helmet of Perseus (2 syl.) rendered 
 the wearer invisible. This was the 
 " helmet of Ha'des," which, with the 
 winged sandals and magic wallet, ho 
 took from certain nymphs who held 
 them in possession ; but after he had 
 slain Medusa he restored them again, 
 and presented the Gorgon's head to 
 Athe'na [Minerva], who placed it in the 
 middle of her regis.
 
 jEelon 
 
 59S 
 
 Henricans 
 
 He'lon, in the satire of Absalom and 
 Achitoplicl, by Dryden and Tate, is 
 meant for the Earl of Feversham. 
 
 Helot.' A slave in ancient Siiarta. 
 Hence, a slave or serf. 
 
 Help. (American.) A hired servant. 
 
 Helter-skelter. Higgledy-xiiggledy ; 
 in hurry and confusion. Tlie Latin 
 hilariter-ccleriter comes tolerably near 
 the meaning of post-haste, as Shake- 
 speare uses the expression (2 Henry 
 /;-., v. 3):— 
 
 " Sir Jobn, I am thy Pi.stol and tliy friend, 
 And I'elter-skeltcrliave 1 rode to tbeo, 
 I And tidings do I bring." 
 
 Helve. To tJirotv the helve after the 
 ]i((tclu't. To be reckless, to throw away 
 what remains because your losses have 
 been so great. The alhision is to the 
 fable of the wood-cutter who lost the 
 head of his axe in a river and threw tlie 
 handle in after it. 
 
 Helve'tia. Switzerland. So called 
 from tlie Helvc'tii, a powerfu'l Celtic 
 people who dwelt thereabouts. 
 
 " See from tlip asties of Hflvotia's i>no 
 The whitened skull of old Serve'tiis smile. " 
 Holims. 
 
 Hemp. To have some hemp in your 
 poch't. To have luclc on your side in 
 the most adverse circumstances. The 
 phrase is French {Avoir tie la eorde-de- 
 ■penciu dans sa poche), referring to the 
 popular notion that hemp brings good 
 luck. 
 
 Hempc (1 syl.). IFhoi hempe is spun 
 Enghoid is done. Lord Bacon says lie 
 heard the prophecy when he was a child, 
 and lie interpreted it thus : Hempe is 
 composed of the initial letters of J/enry, 
 i'dward, iJ/ary, Philip, and islizabeth. 
 At the close of the last reign " England 
 was done," for the sovereign no longei" 
 styled himself "King of England," but 
 "King of Great Britain and Ireland." 
 
 (iS'(<? NOTARICA.) 
 
 Hempen Caudle. A hangman's 
 rope. 
 
 " Ye shall have a hempen eaudlo then, ami the 
 hell) ot a hatchet."— .«/!rttes/)e«re ; 2 Ilcn. 17., iv. 7. 
 
 Hempen Collar {A). The hang- 
 man's rope. In French : "i« cravate de 
 
 chai/vre.'" 
 
 Hempen Fever. Death on the 
 gallows, the rope being made of hemp. 
 
 Hempen Widow. The widow of a 
 man who has been hanged. (See above.) 
 " Of ahemren widow the kid forlorn." 
 
 Ainsirorth : Jack Slifjipard. 
 
 He'mus or Haemus. A chain of 
 mountains in Thrace. According to 
 
 mythology, HiBmos, son of Bo'reas, was 
 clianged into a mouutain for aspiring to 
 divine honours. 
 
 Hen-pecked. A man who submits 
 to be snubbed by his wife. 
 
 Hen and Chickens (in Chri.stiau 
 art), embleiuatical of God's providence. 
 {See St. Matthew xxiii. 37.) 
 
 A whistling maid and erowing hen is 
 neither Jit for God nor men. A whistling 
 maid means a witch, who whistles like 
 the Lapland witches to call up Ihe winds ; 
 they were supposed to be in league with 
 the devil. The crowing of a hen was 
 supposed to forbode a death. The usual 
 interpretation is that masculine qualities 
 in females are undesirable. 
 
 Hen with one Chick. As fassy as 
 a hen icith one ehick. Over-anxious 
 about small matters ; over-particular 
 and fussy. A hen with one cliick is for 
 ever clucking it, and never leaves it in 
 iudopendence a single moment. 
 
 Henchman. Henchhoy. Tlie Anglo- 
 Saxon hi>ic is a servant or page ; or 
 perhaps henges-man, a horse-man ; hengci 
 or hengst, a horse. 
 
 " I do Imt hen a little ehangeling hoy 
 To lie my henchman." 
 Shnkesiciiie: Midiiuminer Night's Dream, ii. 1. 
 
 Hengist and Horsa. German, hengst 
 (a stallion) , and Horsa is connected with 
 our Anglo-Saxon word hors (horse). If 
 the names of two brothers, probably 
 they were given them from the devices 
 borne on their arms. 
 
 According to tradition, they landed in 
 Pegwell Bay, Kent. 
 
 Henna. The Persian ladies tinge the 
 tips of their fingers with henna to make 
 them a reddi.sh-3-ellow. 
 
 " The leaf of the henn.a-iilnnt resembles that of 
 tlie myrtle. The blossom has a rowtrful frag- 
 rance ; it grows like a feather about ih inclies 
 long, forming a cluster of small yellow Howers." 
 — ISaker: Nile Tribe-'', AOyssinia, chap. i. i>. 3. 
 
 Henneherg ( Coiodess) .One day a beg- 
 gar woman asked alms of the Countess; 
 who twitted the beggar for carrying 
 twins. The woman, furious with pas- 
 sion, cursed the Countess with the assur- 
 ance that she should become the mother 
 of 3G.5 children. The tradition is that 
 the Countess had this nimiber all at one 
 parturition. All the boys were named 
 John and all the girls Elizabeth. The 
 story says they all died on the day of 
 their birth, and were buried at Hague. 
 
 Hen'ricans or Henricians. A reli- 
 gious sect ; so called from Henri'cus, its 
 founder, an Italian monk, who, in the 
 twelfth century, undertook to reform
 
 Henriette 
 
 59t) 
 
 Herba Sacra 
 
 the vices of the clergy. He rejected 
 iufaut baptism, festivals, and ceremonies. 
 Henriciis was imprisoned by Pope Eu- 
 ge'uius III. in 1118. 
 
 Henriette (3 syl.), in tlie French lan- 
 guage, means "a perfect woman. " The 
 character is from Moliere's Fcniiiics i>a- 
 r antes. 
 
 Henry (Poor), a touching tale in 
 poetry by Hartmann von der Anr [ Oiirl , 
 one of the minnesingers (12th century). 
 Henry, prince of Hoheneck, in Bavaria, 
 being struck with leprosy, was told that 
 he never would be healed till a spotless 
 maiden volunteered to die on his behalf. 
 Prince Henry, never expecting to meet 
 with such a victim, sold most of his 
 possessions, and went to live in the cot- 
 tnge of a small tenant farmer. Here 
 Elsie, the farmer's daughter, waited on 
 him ; and, hearing the condition of his 
 ciu'e, offered herself, and went to Salerno 
 to complete the sacrifice. Prince Henry 
 accompanied her, was cured, and married 
 Elsie, who thus became Lady Alicia, 
 wife of Prince Henry of Hoheneck. 
 
 Henry Grace de Dieu. The largest 
 ship built by Henry VIII. It carried 72 
 guns, TOO men, and was 1,000 tons bur- 
 then. (.SVv Great Hakry.) 
 
 Hephass'tos. The Greek Vulcan. 
 
 Heptarchy (Greek for seirn govern- 
 ivriits). The Saxon llcpidrchu is the 
 division of England into seven parts, 
 each of wliich had a separate ruler : 
 as Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, East 
 Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria. 
 
 He'ra. The Greek Juno, the wife of 
 Zeus. (The word means "chosen one," 
 halrco.) 
 
 Heraclei'dfG (4 syl.). The descend- 
 ants of Her'acle.5 (Latin, Hercules). 
 
 Heralds. (Anglo - Saxon here (2 
 F.yl.), an army, and ealdor, a governor or 
 official. 
 
 The coat of arms represents the knight 
 liimself from whom the bearer is de- 
 scended. 
 
 The sh ielcl represents his body, and the 
 helmet his head. 
 
 'Y\\Q flourish is his mantle. 
 
 The motto is the gi-ouud or moral pre- 
 tension on which he stands. 
 
 The supporters are the pages, desig- 
 nated bj'^ the emblems of bears, lions, 
 and so on. 
 
 Herald's College consists of three 
 kiugs-of-arms, six heralds, and four 
 pursuivants. The head of the college 
 is called the Earl Marshal of England. 
 
 The three Icings-of-arms are Garter 
 {blue), Clarencieux and Norroy {purpk). 
 
 The six heralds are styled Somerset, 
 Richmond, Lancaster, Windsor, Cliester, 
 and York. 
 
 The four purnvirants areRouge Dragon, 
 Blue Mantle, Portcullis, and Rouge Croix. 
 
 Garter King-of-arms is so called 
 from his special duty to attend at the 
 solemnities of election, investiture, and 
 installation of Knights of the Garter. 
 
 Clarencieux King - of - arms. So 
 called from the Duke of Clarence, 
 brother of Edward IV. His duty is to 
 marshal and dispose the funerals of 
 knights on the south side of tlie Trent. 
 
 Norroy King-of-arms has similar 
 jurisdiction to Clarencieux, only on the 
 north side of the Trent. 
 
 " Tliere is a supplementary lieralil, called ' Kith 
 KiiiK of Arms,' wlin lias no seat in tlie college. 
 His duty is to attend at the election of a knib'lit 
 of the Bath." 
 
 H In Scotland the heraldic college con- 
 sists of Lyon King-of-arms, six heralds, 
 and five pursuivants. 
 
 ^f In Ireland it consists of Ulster 
 King-of-arms, two heralds, and two 
 Xnirsuivants. 
 
 Heraldic Colours. {See Jewels.) 
 
 Herb. Many herbs are used for cura- 
 tive pui-poses simply because of their 
 form or marks : thus, wood-sorrel, being 
 shajjed like a heart, is used as a cordial ; 
 liver- wort for the lirer ; the celandine, 
 which has yellow juice, for the Jaundice ; 
 herb-dragon, which is speckled like a 
 dragon, to counteract the poison of 
 serpents, etc. 
 
 Herb of Grace. Rue is so called 
 because of its use in exorcism, and 
 hence the Roman Catholics sprinkle 
 holy water v/ith a bunch of rue. It 
 was for centuries supposed to prevent 
 contagion. Rue is the Gennan raute • 
 Greek, rule : Latin, rufa, meaning the 
 "preserver," being a preservative of 
 health (Greek, ruo, to preserve) . Ophelia 
 calls it the " Herb of Grace o' Sundays." 
 
 Herb Trinity. The botanical name 
 is Viola tricolor. The word tricolor 
 explains why it is called the Herb 
 Trinity. It also explains the pet name 
 of " Three-faces-under-a-hood ; " but 
 the very markings of the jiansy resemble 
 the name. {See Heart's Ease and 
 Pansy.) 
 
 Herba Sacra. The " divine weed," 
 vervain, said by the old Romans to cure 
 the bites of all rabid animals, to arrest
 
 Hercules 
 
 600 
 
 Hercules SecunduS 
 
 the progress of venom, to cure the plague, 
 to avert sorcery aud witchcraft, to re- 
 concile enemies, etc. So highly esteemed 
 was it that feasts called Vcrbotalia were 
 annually held in its honour. Heralds 
 wore a wreath of vervain when they 
 declared war ; and the Druids held ver- 
 vain in similar veneration. 
 
 " Lift your lionplis of vervain Ijlue, 
 Dipt in cdld Septenilier dew ; 
 ; Anil (liis-li tlie moisture, chaste anil dear, 
 
 O'er the gruund, and through the air. 
 '^- Now the place is purged and pure." 
 
 Mason. 
 
 Hercules (3 syL), in .astronomy, a 
 large northern constellation. 
 
 " Those stars in the neii-'lilioiirlioad of Hercules 
 are mostly fmind to )>r apiiniiKiiini.' tlic cnrtli, 
 and those which lie in Ihr niii.dsiti- dirccticin to 
 be receding from \l."—Xiirc(iiiib : I'opaiar At,tiu- 
 tiumt/, larl iv. chap. i. p. -JoS. 
 
 Her'cules (3 syl.). A Grecian hero, 
 possessed of the utmost amount of 
 physical strength and vigour that the 
 human frame is capable of. He is re- 
 presented as brawny, muscular, short- 
 necked, and of huge proportions. The 
 P^'thian told him if he would servo 
 Eurys'theus for twelve years he should 
 become immortal ; accordingly he bound 
 himself to the Aj-give king, who imposed 
 upon him twelve tasks of great difficulty 
 and danger : 
 
 (1) To slay the Nem'ean Hon. 
 
 (2) To kill the Ler'ueau hycba. 
 
 (3) To catch and retain the Arca'dian 
 stag. 
 
 (4) To destroythe ErjTnan'thian bnar. 
 (o) To cleanse the stables of King 
 
 Au'geas. 
 
 (6) To destroy the cannibal birds of 
 the Lake Stympha'lis. 
 • (7) To take captive the Cretan bull. 
 _ (8) To catch the horses of the Thra- 
 cian Diome'des. 
 
 (9) To get possession of the girdle of 
 Hippol'yte, Queen of the Amazons. 
 
 (10) To take captive the oxen of the 
 monster Ger'yon. 
 
 (11) To get possession of the apples of 
 the Hesper'ides. 
 
 (12) To bring up from the infernal 
 regions the three-lieaded dog Cerberos. 
 
 The Nem'ean Hon first he killed, then Lernes 
 
 hydra slew ; 
 Th' Arca'dian staa and monster boar before 
 
 Eurys'theus drew ; 
 Cleansed Au'geas' stallK. and made the birds 
 
 fnnn Lake Stympha'lis flee ; 
 The Cretan bull, and Thracian mores, first seized 
 
 and then set free ; 
 Took prize the Amazo'nian belt, brought Gcr'- 
 
 yon's kine from Ciades ; 
 Fetched applet: from the Hesperii'.es and Cer'- 
 
 beros from Hades. . E.C.li. 
 
 The Attic Hercules. Theseus (2 syl.), 
 ■who went about like Hercules, his great 
 
 contemporary, destroying robbers and 
 achieving wondrous exploits. 
 
 'The Ti.<j\ipt%an Jlerciiles. Sesostris. 
 (Flourished B.C. loOO.) 
 
 'The Farnc'ne Ifcrriiles. A celebrated 
 work of art, copied by Glykon from an 
 original by Lysippos. It exhibits the 
 hero, exhausted by toil, leaning upon his 
 club ; his left hand rests upon his back, 
 and grasps one of the a])ples of the Hes- 
 pei'i'des. A copy of tliis famous statue 
 stands in the gardens of the Tuileries, 
 Paris ; but Glykon's statue is in the 
 Farnese Palace at Eome. A beautiful 
 description of this statue is given by 
 Thomson {Lihriii/, iv.). 
 
 The Jncish Hercules. Samson. (Died 
 B.C. 1113.) 
 
 Hercules' Choice. Immortality the 
 reward of toil in jireference to pleasure. 
 Xenophon tells us when Hercules was a 
 youth he was accosted by two womcTi — 
 — Virtue and Pleasure — and asked to 
 choose between them. Pleasure pro- 
 mised him all carnal delights, but Virtue 
 promised immortality. Hercules gave 
 his hand to the latter, and, after a life 
 of toil, was received amongst the gods. 
 
 Hercules' Club. A stick of unusual 
 size and formidable appearance. 
 
 Hercules' Horse. Ari'on, given him 
 \)y Adras'tos. It had the power of speech, 
 and its feet on the right side were those 
 of a man. {Sec Hoese.) 
 
 Hercules' Labour or The hdxmr of 
 ail Hercules. Very great toil. Hercules 
 was appointed by Eury.stheus (3 .syl.) 
 to perform twelve labours requiring 
 enormous strength or dexterity. 
 
 "It was more than the labour of an Hercules 
 could effect to make any tiderable way through 
 your tuwn."— Cumberland: The Most Indian. 
 
 Hercules' Pillars. Calpe and Ab'yla, 
 one at Gibraltar and one at Ceuta, torn 
 asunder by Hercules that the waters of 
 the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea 
 might communicate with each other. 
 Macro'bius ascribes these pillars to Ses- 
 ostris (the Egyjitiau Hercules), and 
 Lucan follows the same tradition. 
 
 / iciU follow you even to the pUhirs of 
 Hercules. To the end of the workf. 
 The ancients supposed that these rocks 
 marked the utmost limits of the habit- 
 able globe. {See above, Hercules' 
 Pillars.) 
 
 Hercules Secundus. Com'modus, 
 the Roman Emperor, gave himself this 
 title. He was a gigantic idiot, of whom 
 it is said that he killed lUO lions in the 
 amphitheatre, and gave none of them
 
 Hercules 
 
 601 
 
 Hermaplirodite 
 
 more than one blow. He also overthrew 
 1,000 gladiators. (161, ISO-ID'i.) 
 
 Hercules of Music {2'he). Chris- 
 topher Gliick (1714-17S7). 
 
 Herculean Knot. A snaky com- 
 plication on tlie rod or cadu'ceus of Mer- 
 cury, adopted by tlie Grecian brides as 
 the fastening of their woollen girdles, 
 which only the bridegroom was allowed 
 to untie when tbe bride retired for the 
 night. As he did so he invoked Juno 
 to render his marriage as fecund as that 
 of Hercules, whose numerous wives all 
 had families, amongst them being the 
 fifty daughters of Thestius, each of whom 
 conceived in one night. {Sec Knot.) 
 
 Hereford (3 syl.). (Anglo-Saxon, 
 lierc-ford, army ford.) 
 
 Herefordshire Kindness. A good 
 turn rendered for a good turn received. 
 Latin proverbs, '■'■ Fricantcni rcfrica ,• " 
 " JfiiUH.s inaintm lavat.'^ Fuller says the 
 people of Herefordshire ' ' drink back to 
 him who drinks to them." 
 
 Heretic means "one who chooses," 
 and Jicrrsy means simply " a choice." A 
 heretic is one who chooses his own creed, 
 and does not adopt the creed authorised 
 by the national church. (Greek, hairesis, 
 choice.) 
 
 Heretics of the First Cfntury were 
 the Siino'iiiaiix (so called from Simon 
 Magus), fVT(«7/;/i7«\ (Cerintlius), Eb'ion- 
 itt's (Eb'ion), and Xicola'itans (Nicholas, 
 deacon of Antioch). 
 
 Second Century : The BasUid'ians 
 (Basil'ides), Carpui'rd'tiinis (Carpoc' ra- 
 tes), Vdltntii/'uiHs (Valenti'uus), (iiiostics 
 (Knowing Ones), Kazarc'ncs, Millrnn'- 
 riaiis, Cavi'ites (Cain), Sr(/i'iaiis (Seth), 
 Qiui)iod(T>iiini/s (wlio kept Easter on the 
 fourteenth day of the first month) , Cn'- 
 do' i/i Kiis{Gerflon) , )[(( r' cioii i t('s(M.av' cion), 
 Moi/fd'i/ist.s (Montii'nus), Tti'tiaiiistf:{Ta'- 
 tian) , A lofi'unis (who denied the ' 'Word' ' ), 
 Artvtji' rites (q.i:), and Anyel'ks (who 
 worshipped angels). 
 
 *.' Tatianists belong to the third or 
 fourth century. The Tatian of the 
 second century was a Platonic philo- 
 sopher who wrote Discourses in good 
 Greek ; Tatian the heretic lived in 
 the third or fourth century, and wrote 
 very bad Greek. The two men were 
 •widely different in every respect, and 
 the authority of the heretic for "four 
 gospels " is of no worth. 
 
 Third Century: The rnVri-passicois, 
 Arah'aci, Aqiin'rians, Xoni'tiaiis, ()r'i(/eu- 
 ists (followers of Origen), j][elc/iisedech'- 
 'ians (who believed Melchis'edec was the 
 
 Messiah), SahcUians (from Sabel'lius), 
 and M(i)iiche''j)is (followers of Mani). 
 
 Fourth Century : The A'rians (from 
 Arius), CollHth'iiDis (Collu'thus), Macc- 
 dn'uiaiis, Aipic'tw, ApoUina'riaus (Apol- 
 lina'ris), Timo'thcfots (Timothy, the 
 apostle), CMIijrid'KOis (who ottered cakes 
 to the Virgin Mary), Mrn'cians (Seleu'- 
 cius), I'riscilliaiis (Priscillian),^-/«//(j'o/JO- 
 viorphites (wlio ascribed to God a human 
 form), Jovin'iduists (Jovin'ian), Messa'- 
 lians, and Bo)iosiin>s (Bono'sus). 
 
 Fifth Century : The Prht'nians (Pe- 
 la'gius), Xesto'rians (Nesto'rius), Eiitych'- 
 iiius (Eu'tychus), Thco-paschites (who 
 said all the three persons of the Trinity 
 suffered on the cross). 
 
 Sixth Century : The Frcdcstina'rians, 
 Iiicorrifp'iihilists (who maintained that 
 the body of Christ was incorruptible), 
 the new Aeinoe' tee (who maintained that 
 Christ did not know when the day of 
 judgment would take place), and the 
 Monoth'cJites (who maintained that 
 Christ had but one will). 
 
 Her'iot. A right of the lord of a 
 manor to the best jewel, beast, or chattel 
 of a deceased copyhold tenant. The word 
 is compounded of the Saxon here (army), 
 ffcatii (gi'ant), because originally it was 
 military furniture, such as ai'Uiour, arms, 
 and liorses paid to the lord of the fee. 
 [Canute, c. 09.) 
 
 Hermse. Busts of the god Hermes 
 affixed to a quadrangular stone pillar, 
 diminishing towards the ba'^e, and be- 
 tween five and six feet in height. They 
 were set up to mark the boundaries of 
 lands, at the junction of roads, at the 
 corners of streets, and so on. The Romans 
 used them also for garden decorations. 
 In later times the block was more or 
 less chiselled into legs and arms. 
 
 Hermaph'rodite (4 syl.). A human 
 body having both sexes : a vehicle com- 
 bining the structure of a wagon and 
 cart ; a flower containing both the male 
 and female organs of reproduction. The 
 word is derived from tlie fable of Her- 
 mapli'rodi'tus, son of HerTues and Aph'- 
 rodito. The nymph Sal'macis became 
 enamoured of him, and prayed that she 
 might be so closely united that " the 
 twain might become one flesh." Her 
 prayer being hoard, the nymph and boy 
 became one body. {Ovid: Me'.amor- 
 phoses. iv. 847.) 
 
 " The Romans believed that there 
 were human beiugs combining in one 
 body both sexes. The Jewish Talmud 
 contains several references to them. An 
 old French law allowed them great
 
 Hermegyld 
 
 602 
 
 Hero 
 
 Jatitude. The English law recognises 
 them. The aucient Athenians com- 
 manded that they should be put to 
 death. The Hiudfts and Chinese enact 
 that every hermaphrodite should choose 
 one Fcx and keep to it. According to 
 fable, all persons who bathed in the 
 fountain Salmacis, in Caria, became 
 hermaphrodites. 
 
 Rome think by cninimvinffRpn. i. L'7 with fleii. ii. 
 2n-:;l that Adam at t1r.-it couiljincJ in himself Imth 
 
 . Hermegyld or Hermyngyld. The 
 
 ."wife of the constable of Northumberland, 
 who was converted to Christianity by 
 Cunstance, by whose bidding she restored 
 sight to a blind Briton, {Chaucer ; Man 
 of Laurs Tale.) 
 
 Her'mensul or Ermensul. A Saxon 
 deity, worshi])ped in Westpha'lia. Char- 
 lemagne broke the idol, and converted 
 its temple into a Christian church. The 
 statue stood on a column, holding a 
 standard in one hand, and a balance in 
 the other. On its breast was the figure 
 of a bear, and on its shield a lion. Prob- 
 ably it was a war-god. 
 
 Her'mes (2 syl.). The Greek Mer- 
 cury ; cither the god or the metal. 
 
 " So wlieii we see tlie liquid metal fall 
 "Whieb chemists liy the name of Hevmei; call." 
 Iloole : Ariosto, lio..k viii. 
 
 Milton (Paradise Lost, iii. G03) calls 
 quicksilver " Volatil Hermes." 
 
 Hermetic Art. The art or science 
 of alchemy ; so called from the Chaldean 
 philosopher, Hennes Trismegis'tus, its 
 hyiJothetical founder. , 
 
 Hermet'ic Books. Egyptian books 
 ■written inider the dictation of Thoth 
 (the Eg^-ptian Hermes), the scribe of the 
 gods. lamblichus gives their number 
 as 20,000, but Man'etho raises it to 
 36,525. These books state that the 
 world was made out of fluid ; that the 
 soul is the union of light and life ; that 
 nothing is destructible ; that the soul 
 transmigrates ; and that suffering is the 
 result of motion. 
 
 Hermet'ic Philosophy. A system 
 which acknowledges only three chemical 
 principles — viz. salt, sulphur, and mer- 
 cury -from which it explains every 
 phenomenon of nature. (dV-t; Hermes.) 
 
 Hermetic Powder. The sympa- 
 thetic jiowder, su]iposed to possess a 
 healing influence from a distance. The 
 medieval philosophers were very fond of 
 calling books, drugs, etc., connected 
 with alchemy and astrology by the term 
 hermetic, out of compliment to Hermes 
 
 Trismegis'tus. (Sir Keuclin Diphi/ : Dis- 
 course Concerning the Cure of Wounds by 
 >Si/iiipath;/.) 
 
 " For by his side a pouch he wore 
 Replete with stranije liernietic pow Icr, 
 That wouiuls nine miles ii.)int-M-uik would 
 Holder." UatUr: JludiOriiti. i. -J. 
 
 Hermetically Sealed. Closed 
 securely. Thus we say, "My lips are 
 hermetically sealed," meaning so as not 
 to utter a word of what has been im- 
 parted. The French say closc-fittinff 
 doors and windows "shut hemietically. " 
 When chemists want to preserve any- 
 thing from the air, they heat the neck 
 of the vessel till it is soft, aiul then 
 twist it till the aperture is closed up. 
 This is called sealing the vessel her- 
 metically, or like a chemist. (From 
 Hermes, called Trismegistus, or Ihrice- 
 great, the sujiposed inventor of che- 
 mistrj'.) 
 
 Her'mla. Daughter of Egeus, who 
 betrothed lier to Deme'trius ; but she 
 refused to many him, as she was in love 
 with Lysander. {Shakespeare : Mid- 
 summer Xif/hfs Dream.) 
 
 Hermi'onc (1 syl.). Wife of Leontes, 
 King of Silicia. Being sus^pected of 
 infidelity, she was thrown into jail, 
 swooned, and was reported to be dead. 
 She was kept concealed till her infant 
 Per'dita was of marriageable age, when 
 Leontes discovered his mistake, and was 
 reconciled to his wife. (Shakespeare : 
 Jf'i)iter^s Tale.) 
 
 Hermit ( The English) . Roger Crab, 
 He subsisted at the expense of three 
 farthings a week, or 3s. 3d. per annum. 
 His food consisted of bran, herbs, roots, 
 dock-leaves, mallows, and grass. Crab 
 died in 1680. 
 
 Hermit. Peter the TTcrmit. Preacher 
 of the first crusade. (1050-1115.) 
 
 Hermite (2 syl.). Tristrem VHermife 
 or -SV;- Tristan VErmite. Provost- 
 marshal of Louis XI. He was the main 
 instrument iu carrying into effect the 
 nefarious schemes of his wily master, 
 who used to call him his gossip. (1405- 
 1193.) Sir Walter Scott introduces hina 
 in A>uie of Gierstein, and again in 
 Qucntin Durward. 
 
 Hermoth or Hermod (2 syl.). The 
 deity, who, with Bragi, receives and 
 welcomes to Valhalla all heroes who fall 
 in battle. (Scandinavian mythology.) 
 
 He'ro. Daughter of Leona'to, gov- 
 ernor of Messi'na. Her attachment to
 
 Hero 
 
 003 
 
 Herring-pond 
 
 Beatrice is very beautiful, and she serves 
 as a foil to show off the more brilliant 
 qualities of her cousin. {Shakespeare : 
 Afnsh Ado about Nothing.) 
 
 He'ro and Lean'der. The tale is 
 tluit Hero, a priestess of Venus, fell in 
 love with Leauder, who swam across the 
 Hellespont every night to visit }iei\ One 
 night he was drowned, and heart-broken 
 Hero drowned herself in the same sea. 
 
 Hero Children. Children of whom 
 legend relates, that being deserted by 
 their parents,' they were suckled by wild 
 beasts, brought up by herdsmen, and 
 became national heroes. 
 
 ' Heroes scratclied oS Churcli- 
 doors. Militia officers were so called 
 by Sheridan. The Militia Act enjoined 
 that a list of all persons between eighteen 
 and fortj'-tive years of age must be 
 affixed to the church door of the parish 
 in which they reside three days before 
 the day of appeal, Sunday being one. 
 Commission officers who had served four 
 years in the militia being exempt, their 
 names " were scratched off." 
 
 Hero'ic Age. That age of a nation 
 which comes between the purely mythical 
 period and the historic. This is the age 
 when the sous of the gods take unto 
 themselves the daughters of men, and 
 the offsiH-iug partake of the twofold 
 character. 
 
 Heroic Medicines. Those which 
 either kill or cure. 
 
 Heroic Size in sculpture denotes a 
 stature superior to ordinary life, but not 
 colossal. 
 
 Heroic Verse. That verse in which 
 epic poetry is generally written. In 
 Greek and Latin it is hexameter verse, in 
 English it is ten- syllable iambic verse, 
 either in rhymes or not ; in Italian it is 
 the otlava riina. So called because it is 
 employed to celebrate heroic exploits. 
 
 Her'od. A child-killer ; from Herod 
 the Great, who ordered the massacre of 
 the babes in Bethleliem. (Matt. ii. 16.) 
 
 7b oitt-herod Herod. To out-do iu 
 wickedness, violence, or rant, the worst 
 of tyrants. Herod, who destroyed the 
 babes of Bethlehem, was made (in the 
 ancient mysteries) a ranting, iijaring 
 tyrant ; the extravagance of his rant 
 being the measure of his bloody-minded- 
 ness. {See Pilate. ) 
 
 '• Oh, it offends me to the soul to hear a ro- 
 Inistious, periwig-iiated fellow tear a passion to 
 tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the 
 groundlings .... it out-herods Herod."— Mafce- 
 speare: HamlH, iii. 2 
 
 Herod's Death (Acts xii. 23). The 
 following died of a similar disease 
 Qththiriasis] : L. Sylla ; Pherecydes the 
 Syrian (the preceptor of Pytha^uras) ; 
 tlie Greek poet Alcmseou, and Philii) II. 
 of Spaiu. 
 
 Piitliiri'asis is an affection of the skin 
 in which parasites are engendered so 
 numerouslj- as to cover the whole surface 
 of the body. The vermin lay their eggs 
 in the skin and multiply most rapidly. 
 
 Herodotus of Old London {The). 
 John Stow, author of the Sarieij of 
 London (1525-1G05). 
 
 Her'on-crests. The TTzbeg Tartars 
 wear a plume of white heron feathers in 
 their turliaus. 
 
 Heros'tratos or Erostratos. An 
 Ejihesian who set fire to the temple of 
 Ephesus in order that his name might 
 be perpetuated. The Ephesiaus made 
 it penal to mention the name, but this 
 law defeated its object (b.c. 3')tj). 
 
 Herring. Lead as a shottcn herring. 
 The shotten herring is one that has shot 
 off or ejected its spawn. This fish dies 
 the very moment it quits the water, 
 from want of air. Indeed, all the 
 hemng tribe die very soon after they 
 are taken from their native element. 
 {See Battle.) 
 
 -By gir do hcrrins: is no dead so as I vill kill 
 h\\]t:'— Shakespeare : Merry Wives nf Wimlaor, ii. '2. 
 
 Neither barrel the better herri)ig. Much 
 of a muchness ; not a pin to choose 
 between you ; six of one and half a 
 dozen of the other. The hen-ings of 
 both barrels are so much alike that there 
 is no choice whatever. In Spanish ; 
 " Qnal mas qiial menos, ioda la lana cs 
 jielos.'''' 
 
 "Two feloes being like flagicious, and neither 
 baroll better herring, accused either other, the 
 kyng Philippus .... sitting in iud^'Cnieiit vpou 
 them .... condemned both the one and the 
 other with banishmente." — £ro»Hii(s; Ajiop^- 
 thcjmes. 
 
 Herring-bone (in building). Courses 
 of stone laid angularly, thus : ^ ' ( ( - { . 
 Also applied to strutting placed between 
 thin joists to increase their strength. 
 
 Also a peculiar stitch in needlewoi-k, 
 chiefly used in working flannel. 
 
 Herring-pond {The). The British 
 Channel ; the Atlantic, which separates 
 America from the Briti.sh Isles ; the sea 
 between Australasia and the United 
 Kingdom, are all so called. 
 
 "He'll plague you now he's come over the 
 herring-p(md.'' — iS'jr IK. Scott: Guy Mannering, 
 chap, xxxiv.
 
 Hertford 
 
 604 
 
 Hexameter 
 
 Hertford. (Anglo-Saxon, hcovf-furd, 
 the hart's ford). The arms of the city 
 are " a hart couohaut in water." 
 
 Herlfurd, invoked by Thomson in his 
 Spiiiii], was Francos 'I'hyune, who mar- 
 ried Algernon Seymour, Earl of Hert- 
 ford, afterwards Duke of Somerset. 
 
 Eertha. Mother earth. Worshii)ped 
 by all the Scandinavian tribes with 
 orgies and mysterious rites, celebrated 
 in the dark. Her veiled statue was 
 transported from district to distinct by 
 cows which no hand but the priest's was 
 allowed to touch. Tacitus calls this 
 goddess Cyb'ele. 
 
 Hesione (4 syl.). Daughter of 
 Laom'edon, King of Troy, exposed to a 
 sea-monster, but rescued by Hercules. 
 (<SW' Andeomeda.) 
 
 Hesper'ia. Italy was so called by 
 the Greeks, because it was to them the 
 "Western Land;" and afterwards the 
 Eomaus, for a similar reason, transferred 
 the name to Sjiain. 
 
 Hesper'ides (4 syl.). Three sisters 
 who guarded the golden apples which 
 He'ra [Jniw) received .as a marriage 
 gift. They wore assisted by the dragon 
 La'dou. Many English poets call the 
 place where these golden apples grew 
 the " garden of the Hesi)erides." 
 Shakespeai-e {Love's Labonfs J.onf, iv. 
 3) speaks of climbing trees in tlie 
 Hesperides." (See C'omiis, lines 402-40(j.) 
 
 " Show tliee the tree, leafed witli refliii'd unld. 
 Whereon the fearful (IniLr.m licld his seal. 
 That watched the L-ardeii ealicd JlesiM-n.;0;." 
 Jiubiit <hr)ir: Friiir I:.,,'.,,, „iid 
 Friar llnnijaii. (Ijiis.; 
 
 Hes'perus. The evening star. 
 " Ere twiee in nuirk and oceidental damp, 
 Moist Hesperus hath quenched his sleepy 
 lamp." 
 Shakespeare: All's Well that Ends M'ell, ii. 1. 
 
 Ha'sychasts (pron. JTc'-sc-kasis). 
 The "Quietists" of the East in the 
 fourteenth century. They ijlaced per- 
 fection in contemplation. (Greek, 
 hesu'chia, quiet.) {See Gibbon, Itonan 
 Empire, Ixiii.) Milton well expresses 
 their belief in his Com lis : — 
 "Till oft converse with heavenly habitants 
 Begin to cast a beam on the outward shape. 
 And turns it by degrees to the snil's essence, 
 Till all be made immortal." (470-474.) 
 
 Hetserism (3 syl.). Prostitution. 
 
 The Greek hetaira (a concubine). Ac- 
 cording to Plato, " Meretrix, specioso 
 nomine rem odiosam denotcuite.'^ {Pint, 
 et At/ieii.) 
 
 Hetman. The chief of the Cossacks 
 of the Don used to be so called. He was 
 elected by the people, and the mode of 
 
 choice was thus : The voters threw their 
 fur caps at the candidate they voted for, 
 and he who had the largest number of 
 caps at his feet was the successful can- 
 didate. The last Hetman was Count 
 PlatotY (1S1-2-1S11). 
 
 A geneial or commander-in-chief. 
 (German, haiiptmann, chief man.) 
 
 "After the peace, all Europe hailed llieir hct- 
 Iiiaii, Thiloir. as I lie licro ,.f (lie w:ir."— J. S. 
 MuMiij : War ntmiiiisciiici.-', chap. xi. p. 1 ID. 
 
 Heu-monat' or Heg-monath. Hay- 
 month, the Anglo-Saxon name for July. 
 
 Hewson. Old Iliuson the cohhier. 
 Colonel John Hewson, who (as Hume 
 says) " rose from the profession of a 
 cobbler to a high rank in Cromwell's 
 ai'my." 
 
 Hexameron {The). The six days of 
 creation ; any six dtiys taken as one 
 continuous j)eriod. 
 
 "'Every winged fowl' was produced on the 
 fourth (biy of the Hexameron."— 11'. E. <lUtd.-toiie : 
 Ainctiaith Century, January, l.siiO. 
 
 Hexameter and Pentameter. An 
 
 alteinate metre ; often called (4egiai; 
 verse. Hexameter as (lescribed below. 
 Pentameter verse is divided into two 
 jKirts, each of which ends with an extra 
 long syllable. The former half consists 
 of two metres, dactyls or spondees; the 
 latter htilf must be two dactyls. The 
 following is a rhyming siiecimen in 
 Englisli : 
 
 Would you be happy an hour, dine well ; for a 
 day, tend a wedding ; 
 If for a week, buy a house ; if for a month, 
 wed a sponsi' ; 
 Would you he liaiipy six months, buy a horse; 
 if f.ir lwel\o, starta carriage ; 
 Happiiii'ss long as you live, oiily contentment 
 can give. M.C.Ji. 
 
 This metre might be introduced, and 
 would suit eiiigrams and short iioems. 
 
 Hexameter Verse. A Ihie of poetry 
 consisting of six measures, the fifth 
 being a dactyl and the sixth either a 
 spondee or a trochee. The other four 
 may be either dactj'ls or sjjondees. 
 Homer's two epic poems and Virgil's 
 u-Eiieid are written in hexameters. The 
 latter begins thus : 
 
 Arms and the | man I | sing, who | driven from | 
 
 Troy by ill- | fortune 
 First into j Italy | came, as | f.ir as the | sliorcs 
 
 of L.a- I Vina. 
 Much was he harassed by land, much tossed on 
 
 the pitiless ocean. 
 All by the force of the gods, and relentless 
 
 anger of Juno. E.C.B. 
 
 Or rhyming with the Latin, 
 
 " Arma virumciue cano Troja* qui primus ab oris.' 
 Anus ami the man I slug who Hist from the 
 Phrygian shore is. 
 " Italiam Fato profugus, Lavinaciue venit . . ." 
 To.-sed to the land of La\iiia, although J(.ve'8 
 queen didn't u.eau it. E. C. B.
 
 Hexapla 
 
 605 
 
 High-born 
 
 " Longfellow's Ecauijd'inc is iu Eng- 
 lish hexameters. 
 
 Hex'apla. A hook containing the 
 text of tlie Bilile in Hebrew and Greek, 
 with four translations, viz. the Sep'tua- 
 gint, vi itli those of Aquila, Theodo'tion, 
 and Symmachus. The whole is priuted 
 ill six columns on the page. This was 
 Vie work of Origeu, who also added 
 marginal notes. 
 
 Hext. When hale is Jir.rt, boot is next 
 When things come to the worst they 
 must soon mend. lia/e means misery, 
 luirt, misfortune ; /text is highest, as 
 next is nighest ; boot means help, profit. 
 
 Heyday of Youth. The prime of 
 youth. (Anglo-Saxon, heh-decg, high- 
 day or mid- day of youth.) 
 
 Hiawath'a. Sou of Mudjekee'wis 
 (the west wind) and Weno'nah. His 
 mother died in his infancy, and Hia- 
 watha was brought up by his grand- 
 mother, Noko'mis, daughter of the Moon. 
 He represents the progress of civilisation 
 among the American Indians. He first 
 wrestled with Monda'min (Indian maize), 
 whom he subdued, and gave to man 
 bread-corn. Hh then taught man navi- 
 gation ; then he subdued the Mishe- 
 Nahma or sturgeon, and told the people 
 to " bring all their pots and kettles and 
 make oil for winter." His next ad- 
 venture was against Megissog'won, the 
 magician, " who sent the fiery fever 
 on man ; sent the white fog from the 
 fen-lands ; sent disease and death among 
 us ; " he slew the terrible monster, and 
 taught man the science of medicine, He 
 next married "Laughing Water," setting 
 the people an example to follow. Lastly, 
 he taught the people picture-writing. 
 When the white man landed and taught 
 the Indians the faith of Jesus, Hia- 
 watha exhorted them to receive the 
 words of wisdom, to reverence the mis- 
 sionaries who had come so far to see 
 them, and departed "to the kingdom of 
 Pone'mah, the land of the Hereafter." 
 
 Longfellow's song of Hiawatha may 
 be termed the " Edda " of the North 
 American Indians. 
 
 HiawatheC s mittens. " Magic mittens 
 made of deer-skin ; when upon his hands 
 he wore them, he could smite the rocks 
 asunder." {Longfelloic : Hiawatha, ix.) 
 
 Hiaicatha's nwe'casiiis. Enchanted 
 shoes made of deer-skin. "When he 
 bound them round his ankles, at each 
 stride a mile he measiu'ed." {Long- 
 fellow : Hiawatha, iy.) 
 
 Hiber'nia. A variety of lerne {Irc- 
 hiiiit). riiny saj's the Irish motliers 
 feed their babes with swords instead of 
 spoons. 
 
 '■ Wlrl" in Hilieriiia's fl'Mcls the lalioiiviiii.' swain, 
 Shall iiass the iiloub'li oer skulls of warriors 
 slain, 
 And turn up bones and broken srcars. 
 Aniazeil, lie'll show his fellows of the plain 
 
 Tlic relics of victorious years, 
 Aiul tell how swift thy arms that kingdom did 
 re rain." llaijhes: Uouse of Nassau. 
 
 Hie Ja'cets. Tombstones, so called 
 from the first two words of their inscrip- 
 tions; " Here lies ..." 
 
 " By the cold Uic .hicets of the dead." 
 
 Tvinii/son : Iclijlls vftlie Kimj ( Vivlenl. 
 
 Hick'athrift {Tom or Jaelc). A poor 
 labourer in the time of the Conquest, of 
 such enonnous strength that, armed with 
 an axletree and cartwheel only, he killed 
 a giant who dwelt in a marsh at Tilney, 
 Norfolk. He was knighted and made 
 governor of Thanet. He is sometimes 
 called Rickufnc. 
 
 Hickory. Old lliekory. General 
 Andrew Jackson. Parton says he was 
 first called " Tough," from his pedestrian 
 powers ; then " Tough as liickory ; " and 
 lastly, "Old Hickory." 
 
 Hidal'go. The title in Spain of the 
 lower nobilit}-. (According to Bishop St. 
 Vincent, the word is compounded of 
 hijo del Goto, son of a Goth ; but more 
 probably it is Jiijo and dalgo. Jlija = 
 child or son, and dalgo = respect, as in 
 the phrase, '■'■Facer niucho dah/o,'''' to re- 
 ceive with great respect. In Portuguese 
 it is FidaUjo. 
 
 Hide of Land {A). No fixed number 
 of "acres," but such a quantity as was 
 valued at a stated geld or tax. A hide 
 of good arable land was smaller than a 
 hide of inferior quality. 
 
 Hieroclean Legacy. The legacy 
 of jokes. Higrocles, in the fifth Christian 
 century, was the first person who hunted 
 uj) and compiled jokes. After a life-long 
 labour he mustered together as many as 
 twenty-eight, which he has left to the 
 world as his legacy. 
 
 Higgledy-piggledy. In great con- 
 fusion ; at sixes and sevens. A higgler 
 is a pedlar whose stores are all huddled 
 together. Higgledy means after the 
 fashion of a higgler's basket ; and pig- 
 glrdg is a ricochet word suggested by 
 litter ; as, a pig's litter. 
 
 High-born. Of aristocratic birth ; 
 
 " Inline haatc naissancc ; " " Siimmo loco 
 natus.^''
 
 High Church 
 
 60(5 
 
 Highland Mary 
 
 High Cliurch. Those who helieve 
 the Cliurch [of England] the only true 
 Chiirth ; that its haptisni is regeneration : 
 and that its priests have the delegated 
 power of absolution (on confession and 
 promise of reiJentance). 
 
 High Days = festivals. On h'ujh 
 days unci huHdaijs. Here "high" = 
 grand or great ; as, " xn grand joury 
 
 High Falu'tin or Hifalu'ten. Tall 
 
 talk. (Dutch, vcrhjotcn, liigh - flown, 
 stilted.) 
 
 "The genius of hifalnten, as tlio Americans call 
 it . . . lias received maiiv ninrtal woiiiuls latelv 
 
 fiMiii the haiiiU of satirists A (juizzicai 
 
 Jenkins lately ilesci-il)eil the dress of a New Yoric 
 helle by statirii; that 'she wore an exquisite hy- 
 lihaluten on her head, wliile her train was coni- 
 ) ose.l of transparent fol-de-rnl, and her jietticoat 
 of craniliamlmli Honnced with Brussels three-ply 
 of A No. \.'"—IImg^ton: Introduction to Josh 
 UiUinijs. 
 
 High Hand. JFi/h a hifjh hand. 
 Arrogantly. To cany things with a high 
 hand in French would be: '■^I'airc nnc 
 chose haiit la ma'tn,^^ 
 
 High Heels and Low Heels. The 
 
 High and Low Church party. I'ho 
 names of two factions in Swift's talc of 
 Lilliput. {(ii(Uivcy''s Travels.) 
 
 High Horse. To be on the high horse 
 or To ride the high horse. To be over- 
 bearing and arrogant. (For explanation 
 see HoESE, " 'To get upon your high 
 horse.' ^) 
 
 High Jinks. He is' at high jinJcs. 
 The i)resent use of the phrase exjiresses 
 the idea of uproarious fun and jollitj'. 
 
 "The frolicsome company had hegun to iirac- 
 tise the ancient and now forgotten" rast nio of 
 inyh Jinks. The game was played in several 
 different ways. Most frequently the dice were 
 thrown hy the company, and those uiion whom 
 tlie lot f''ll were ohiigeil to assume an<l main- 
 tajn for n lime a certain llciitious character, or 
 to'' reic.ii a r.Mi.uu number of fescenniiui verses 
 in a i':uii.iil:ir ni-.ier. If they departed from tho 
 charactiTrt ;is -iiriicd . . . they incurred forfeits, 
 which Were <;oii,iiiiunded for by swallowing an 
 additional bumper."— ,S'ir ]Y. Scott: Guy Maniier- 
 iiifj, xxivi. 
 
 High Life. People of high life. The 
 upper ten, the "haul monde." 
 
 High Places, in Scripture language, 
 means elevated spots where sacrifices 
 were offered. Idolatrous worshijJ was 
 much carried on in high places. Some 
 were evidently artificial mounds, for the 
 faithful are frequeittly ordered to re- 
 move or destroy them. Hezekiah re- 
 moved the high places (2 Kings xviii. 4), 
 so did Asa (2 Chronicles xiv. 3), Je- 
 hoshaphat (2 Chronicles xvii. 6), Josiah, 
 and others. On the other hand, Jeho- 
 ram and Ahaz made high places for 
 idolatrous worsliip. 
 
 High Ropes. To he on the high 
 ropes. To be very grand and mighty in 
 demeanour. 
 
 Eigh Seas. All the sea which is not 
 
 the proi)erty of a particular country. 
 The sea three miles out belongs to tho 
 adjacent coast, and is called mare vlaa- 
 snm. High-seas, like high-way.s, means 
 for the public use. In both cases tho 
 word hiejli means "' chief," " principal." 
 (Latin, allani, "the main sea;" altit!\ 
 "high.") 
 
 High Tea {A). The meal called 
 tea served willi cold meats, vegetable.';, 
 and j>astry, in substitution of dinner. 
 
 '■A well-understood 'high te.i ' should have 
 <-old roast beef at the top of the table, a c id 
 YirkHhin- p:e at ibe biitl'im,a might v ham in the 
 midilh'. Tbe sid.' dishes will comi ri.-ic sm sed 
 niaikerel, pickleil salu.on (in iluc sea-ou), saus- 
 ages aiul potatoes, etc., etc. Kivers (< lea.i'offe ■, 
 ami ale, with dry and buttered toast, s:illy-lunns, 
 scones, mufflns, and crumpets, jams aiul marma- 
 lade, '—r/ic iKiilii Telejrniili, May i/tli, Isw. 
 
 High Words. Angry words. 
 
 Highgate has its name from a gate 
 set up there about 4(10 years ago, to 
 receive tolls for the bishop of London, 
 when the old miry road from Gra3-'s Inn 
 Lane to Baniet was turned through tho 
 bLshojj's park. The village being in a 
 high or elevated situation exjilaius Iho 
 first part of the name. 
 
 iSicorn at Highgate. A custom an- 
 ciently prevailed at the ])ublic-houses iii 
 Highgate to administd a ludicrous oath 
 to all travellers who stuj^^ped there. The 
 ])arty was sworn on a jiair of honis 
 fastened to a stick — 
 
 (1) Never to kiss the maid Avlicn ho 
 can kiss the mistress. 
 
 (2) Never to eat brown bread when ho 
 can get white. 
 
 (3) Never to drink small beer when he 
 can get strong — unless he prefers it. 
 
 Highland Bail. Fist.s and cuffs ; to 
 escape the constable by knocking him 
 down with the aid of a companion. 
 
 "The mute eloquence of the miller and smith, 
 which was vested in their clenched Hsts, was 
 prepared to give highland bail for tlio^r arbiter 
 [Edie Ochiltree]."— Sir )!'. Scutt: The AntiqKury, 
 elrap. x.xix. 
 
 Highland Mary. A name immor- 
 talised by Bin-ns, generally thought to 
 be Mary Camijbell, but more probably 
 Mary Morison. In 1792 we have three 
 songs to Mary: "Will ye go to the 
 Indies, my Mary ? " " Highland Mary " 
 (" Ye banks and braes of bonnie Doon "), 
 and "To Mary in Heaven" ("Thou 
 lingering star," etc.). These were all 
 written some time after the consumma- 
 tion of his marriage with Jean Armour
 
 Highlands 
 
 607 
 
 Himiltrude 
 
 (1788), from the recollection of " one of 
 the most interesting passages of his 
 youthful da3's." Four mouths after he 
 had sent to Mr. Thomson the song called 
 " Highland Mary " he sent that entitled 
 "Mary Morisou," which he calls " one 
 of his juvenile works." Thus all the 
 four songs refer to some youthful pas- 
 sion, aud three of them at least were 
 sent in letters addressed to Mr. Thom- 
 son, so that little douht can exist that 
 the Mary of all the four is one and the 
 same person, called by the author Mary 
 Morison. 
 
 " Hi>-,v blytlii'ly wail I liide tlie stoiuv, 
 A weriry slave frae sun tii sun. 
 Could I tlio violi reward scciire- 
 Tlie Invely Mary Morison." 
 
 Highlands of Scotland {The) in- 
 clude all the country on the northern 
 sido of a line drawn from the Moray 
 Frith to the river Clyde, or (which is 
 about the same thing) from Nairn to 
 Glasgow. 
 
 Highlanders of Af tioa. Tlie 
 operative class, who had their dwellings 
 on the hills (JJiacrii). 
 
 High'ness. The Khedive of Egypt is 
 styled " Your Highness," or "His High- 
 ness ; " 
 
 The children of kings and queens, 
 " Your Royal Highness," or "His Ro^-al 
 Highness ; " 
 
 The children of emperors, " Your 
 Imperial Highness," or "His Imperial 
 Highness." 
 
 Till the reign of Henry VIII. the kings 
 of England were styled "Your High- 
 ness," "Your Grace," " Your Excellent 
 Grace," etc., or "His . . . . " etc. 
 
 Highwaymen. The four most cele- 
 brated are : — 
 
 Claude Dura], who died 1070. 
 
 James iriiitnci/, who died 1G91, at the 
 age of 34. 
 
 Jonathan Wild, of Wolverhampton 
 (168-2-17'25). 
 
 Jack Sheppard, of Spitalfields (1701- 
 17-24). 
 
 Hil'ary Term, in the Law Courts, 
 besins on Plough Monday (q.r.) and 
 ends the Wednesday before Easter. It 
 is so called in honour of St. Hilary, 
 whose day is January 14. 
 
 Hil'debrand {Mehtcr). The Nestor 
 of German romance. Like Maugis among 
 the heroes of Charlemagne, he was a 
 magician as well as champion. 
 
 Hilddirand. Pope Gregory VII. (1013, 
 1073-1085). 
 
 A llildehrand. One resembling Pope 
 Gregory VII., noted for subjugating the 
 
 power of the German emperors ; and 
 specially detested by the early re- 
 fonners for his ultra-iwntifical views. 
 
 Hil'debrod {Thihi^. President of the 
 Alsa'tian club. {Hlr W. ticott : FurUmcs 
 of y'H/el.) 
 
 Hildesheim. A monk of Hildes- 
 heim doubtiug how with God a thou- 
 sand j'ears could be as one day, listened 
 to tlie singing of a bird in a wood, as he 
 thought for three minutes, but found 
 the time had been three hundred years. 
 Longfellow has borrowed this tale and 
 introduced it in his Golden Le(jend. {See 
 Felix.) 
 
 HiU {Sir John), M.D., botanist (1710- 
 177-3). He wrote some farces, which 
 called forth from Garrick the following 
 couplet : 
 
 " Knr physic and farces Iiis ennal tliere scarce ii, 
 His farces ai'e pliysic, his physic a farce is." 
 
 Hill-folk. The Camerouian Scotch 
 Covenanters, who met clandestinely 
 among the hills. Sometimes the Cove- 
 nanters generally ai-e so called. Sir W. 
 Scott used the words as a synonym of 
 Cameronians. 
 
 Hill-people or Hill-folk. A class 
 of beings in Scandinavian tradition 
 between the elves and the human race. 
 They are supposed to dwell in caves and 
 small hills, and are bent on receiving 
 the beuefits of man's redemjition. 
 
 Hill Tribes. The barbarous tribes 
 dwelling in remote parts of the Deccan 
 or plateau of Central India. 
 
 Hills. Prayers were offered on the 
 tops of high hills, and temples built on 
 " high i^laces," from the notion that the 
 gods could better hear prayers on such 
 places, as they were nearer heaven. 
 
 As Lucian says, on jiof evxmKeuw ayvoOev 
 
 ewaiovT!.!/ oi deol. And Tacitus says, 
 "maxime ccelo approir.nquare, iirccesqne 
 mortalium a Deo nusquam projuus 
 audlre." It will be remembered that 
 Balak (Numbers xxiii. xxiv. ) took Bala'im 
 to the top of Peor and other high places 
 when Balaam wished to consult God. 
 We often read of "idols on every high 
 hill." (Ezek. vi. 13.) 
 
 V The Greek gods dwelt on Mount 
 Ol3'mi5us. 
 
 Himiltrude (3 syl.). Wife of Charle- 
 magne, Avho surpassed all other women 
 in nobleness of mien. 
 
 " Her neck was tinfjed with a delicate rose, like 
 that of a Roman matron in former ase«. Her 
 locks were bound about her tenuiles with i,'old 
 and piinde bands. Her dress was looped up with 
 rulpy clasps. Her coronet and lier purple robes 
 gave her an air of surpassins majesty."— Cr92«6- 
 mitainei iii.
 
 Hinc 
 
 608 
 
 Hippocampus 
 
 Hinc illse Lacrymae. This was the 
 real ofl'eiice ; this was the true secret of 
 the niinoyauce ; this, cntre nous, was the 
 real source of the vexation. 
 
 " Pei-cliance 'tis JIara's sonp that gives offonce— 
 nine illiF locri/inn^—l fear 
 Tlie sonu' tliat once could charm thernyal st'nse, 
 DeliahtP, alas ! no more the royal ear." 
 
 ]'dcr Pindar : Ode vpon Ode. 
 
 Kind. Emblematic of St. Giles, 
 hecause "a heaven-directed hind went 
 daily to give him milk in the desert, 
 near the mouth of the Rhone." {See 
 Hart.) 
 
 The hriid of Sprtorius. Serto'rius was 
 invited by the Lusita'nians to defend 
 them a.sainst the Romans. He had a 
 tame white hind, Avhich he taught to 
 follow him, and from which he pre- 
 tended to receive the instructions of 
 Dian'a. By this artifice, says Plutjirch, 
 he imposed on the superstition of the 
 jjcople. 
 " He feigned a demon (in a hind concealed) 
 To him tbo counsels of the t-'ods revealed." 
 Camoaia : Lu.'<iud, i. 
 
 The milk-vhife hind, in Dryden's 
 poem. The llhid ami the Tiniiher^ moans 
 the Roman Catholic Church, milk-white 
 because " infallible." The panther, 
 full of the spots of error, is the Church 
 of England. 
 
 " without unspotted. Innocent within. 
 She feared no danger, for slie knew no sin." 
 Part i. lines 3, 4. 
 
 Hln'da. Daughter of Al Hassan, the 
 Arabian ameer of Per.sia. Her lover, 
 Hafed, was a Gheber or Fire- worshipper, 
 the sworn enemy of Al Hassan and all 
 his race. Al Hassan sent her away for 
 sr.fety, but she was taken captive by 
 Hafed's party, and when her lover 
 (betrayed to Al Hassan) burnt himself 
 to death in the sacred fire, Hinda cast 
 herself headlong into the sea. ( T. Moore : 
 The Fire- Worshippers.) 
 
 Hin'der is to hold one behind ; 
 whereas prc-vent is to go before (Anglo- 
 Saxon hinder, behind, verb hindrian). 
 
 Hindustan. The country of the 
 Hindits. {Hind [Persic] and Sind [San- 
 skrit] means "black," and tan = terri- 
 tory is very common, as Afghanistan, 
 Beloochistan, FarsLstan, Frangistan, 
 Koordislan [the country of the Koords], 
 Kohistan [the high -country], Kafiristan 
 [the infidel country], etc.) 
 
 Hindustan Regiment. The 76th ; 
 so called because it first distinguished 
 itself in Hindustan. It is also called the 
 Seven and Sixpennies, from its number. 
 Now the '2nd battalion of the West 
 Riding, the 1st being the old No. 33. 
 
 Hinzelmann. The most famous 
 house-spirit or kobold of Gemian legend. 
 He lived four years in the old castle of 
 Hudemiihlen, wliere he had a room set 
 apart for him. At the end of the fourth 
 year (1588) he went away of his own 
 accord, and never again returned. 
 
 Hip {To). A hip means a hyp-ochon- 
 driac. To hip means to make melan- 
 choly ; to fret ; to make one dismal or 
 gloomy with forebodings. Hijipcd means 
 melancholy, in low spirits. 
 
 " Fit one sliort moiiirnt Irt us cease 
 To mourn llie loss of many slii|is— 
 Fort-'c't how tax and rales imrease. 
 And all that now the nalion liips." 
 f^.wx : The Jiayoiiel nallud.'< (A Sel-ofT). 
 
 Hip and Tbigta. 'To .iinite hip and 
 
 thii/h. To slay with great carnage. A 
 Hebrew phrase. (Geiinan, Arm nnd 
 bein.) 
 
 V Perhaps there may be some refer- 
 ence to the superstition about the 03 
 sacrum ('/.«'.). 
 
 " And he smote them liip and thigh with great 
 slaughter."— Judges xv.H. 
 
 Hip! Hip! Hurrah! Hij> is said to 
 Ik; a notarica, comjioscd of the initial 
 letters of Jlierosoh/ma Est Perdita. 
 Henri van Laun saj-s, in Notes and 
 Queries, that Avhenever the Gennan 
 knights headed a Jew -hunt in the 
 Middle Ages, they ran shouting "Hip! 
 Hip ! " as much as to say " Jerusalem 
 is destroyed." {See Notaeica.) 
 
 Timbs derives Hurrah from the Scla- 
 vonic hii-r<ij (to Paradise), so that Hip .' 
 hip! hurrah ! would mean "Jerusalem 
 is lost to the infidel, and we are on the 
 road to Paradise." These etymons may 
 be taken for what they are worth. The 
 word hurrah ! is a German exclama- 
 tion also. 
 
 ^^ Now, infde!, I have thee on the hip" 
 {Merchant of Venice) ; and again, " FJl 
 hare our Michael Cassia on the hip" 
 {Of hello), to have the whip hand of one. 
 The term is derived from wrestlers, who 
 seize the adversary by the hip and throw 
 him. 
 
 " In fine he doth apply one speciall drift, 
 Wliich was to tret the pasran on the hip. 
 
 And haviuLT caie-'ht him rii.'lit, tie doth him lift 
 Bv nimlile slci'-rlit, and in such wise doth trip. 
 
 That down he threw him.' •'^ir J. llannyton. 
 
 Hipper - switches. Coarse willow 
 withes. A A ;;;;;rr is a coarse osier used 
 in basket-making, and an osier field is 
 a hipper-holm. 
 
 Hippo. Bishop of Hippo. A title by 
 which St. Augustine is sometimes desig- 
 atcd. (354-130.) 
 
 Hip'pocampus (4 syl.). A seahorse, 
 having the head and fore-quarters of a
 
 Hippocras 
 
 609 
 
 Hit 
 
 horse, with the tail and hind-quarters 
 of a tisli or dolphin. (Greek, htpjjos, a 
 liorse ; kanipos, a sea monster.) 
 
 Hippocras. A cordial made of Lis- 
 hon and Canary wines, bruised spices, 
 and sugar ; so called from the strainer 
 through which it is passed, called by 
 apothecaries Hi pp(jc' rales'' akevc. Hippo- 
 crates in the Middle Ages was called 
 " Yypocras " or " Hippocras." Thus : 
 " Well knew be the old Esculapius, 
 And Deisccirides, and eek Kufus 
 Old Yypocras, Haly, and Galieu. 
 Chaucer : Ccmterbury Tales (i'ro;og!te,4.')l). 
 
 Hippocrat'ean School. A school 
 of medicine, so called from Hippoc'rates. 
 {iSee Dogmatic.) 
 
 Hippoc'rates' Sleeve. A woollen 
 bag of a square piece of ilanuel, having 
 the opi)Osite corners joined, so as to 
 make it triangular. Used by chemists 
 for straining syrups, decoctions, etc, 
 
 Hip'pocrene (3 syl.). The fountain 
 of the Muses, produced by a stroke of 
 the hoof of Peg'asos (Greek, hippos, 
 horse ; kreiie, fouutam). 
 
 Hip'pogrifi*. The winged horse, whose 
 father was a griffin and mother a filly 
 (Greek, /lippos, a horse, and r/ri/p/ion, a 
 griffin). A .symbol of love. {Ariosio .- 
 Orlando Furioso, iv. 18, 19.) 
 
 " So saying, be caught bim np, and without wing 
 Of bippiigiif, bore through the air sublime, 
 Over the wilderuess and o'er the plain." 
 
 Milton: Paradise Bcgainecl, iv. 541-3. 
 
 (See SiMURGH.) 
 
 Hippol'yta. Queen of the Am'azons, 
 and daughter of Mars. Shakespeare has 
 introduced the character in his 311(1- 
 sxmmcr Kighfs Dream, where he Tae- 
 troths her "to Theseus. Duke of Athens. 
 In classic fable it is her sister An'tiope 
 who married Theseus, although some 
 writers justify Shakespeare's account. 
 Hippolyta was famous for a girdle given 
 her by her father, and it was one of the 
 twelve labours of Hercules to possess 
 himself of this prize. 
 
 Hippol'ytos. Son of Theseus (2 syl. ), 
 King of Athens. He was dragged to 
 death by wild horses, and restored to 
 life by Escula'pios. 
 
 Hippol'ytus, the cardinal to whom 
 Ai'iosto dedicated his Orlando Furioso, 
 
 Hippom'enes (4 syl.). A Grecian 
 prince, who ran a race with Atalanta 
 for her hand in man-iage. He had three 
 golden apples, which he dropped one by 
 one, and which the lady stopped to pick 
 up. By this delay she lost the race. 
 
 39 
 
 Hippothadee. The theologian con- 
 sulted by Panurge ('2 syl.) on the all- 
 important question, ' ' IS'il doi t .sc iiiaricr P* 
 {Ituhclais : I'antaf/rui'l, book iii.) 
 
 Hired Grief. Mutes and other under- 
 takers' emploiiccs at funerals. The Under- 
 sheriif Layton, in his will, desired that 
 he might be "buried without hired 
 grief " (1885). 
 
 Hiren. A strumpet. From Peele's 
 play, The Turkish Mahomet and Hyren 
 the Fair Greek. {See 2 Henrij I V. , ii. 4.) 
 
 Hispa'nia. Spain. So called from 
 the Punic word Span (a rabbit), on 
 account of the vast number of rabbits 
 which the Carthaginians found in the 
 peninsula. Others derive it from the 
 Basque Expana (a border). 
 
 Historicus. The noni de plume in 
 the 'Times of Sir W. Vernon Harcourt, 
 now (1895) Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 History. Our oldest historian is the 
 Venerable Bede, who wrote in Latin an 
 Eeclcsiastical History of very great merit 
 (672-735). Of secidar historians, Wil- 
 liam of Poitiers, who wrote in Latin The 
 (rests or Heeds of William, Huke of Nor- 
 mandy and King of the English (1020- 
 1088). His contemporary was Ingulphus, 
 who wrote a history of Croylaud Abbey 
 (1030-1109). The oldest prose work in 
 Early English is Sir John Mandeville's 
 account of his Eastern travels in 1356. 
 
 The Father of History. Herod'otos, 
 the Greek historian (b.c. 484-408). So 
 called by Cicero. 
 
 The Father of Ecelesiasfical History. 
 Eusebins of Csesarea (264-340). 
 
 Father of French History. Andre 
 Duchesne (1584-1640). 
 
 Father of Historic rainting. Polygno'- 
 tos of Thaos (flourished b.c. 463-435). 
 
 History of Croyland Abbey, by 
 
 Ingulphus, and its continuation to 1118 
 by Peter of Blois, were proved to be 
 literary impositions by Sir- F. Palgrave in 
 the Quarterly Revieic, vol. xxxiv.. No. 67. 
 
 Histrionic is from the Etruscan 
 word hister (a dancer), histrio'nes (ballet- 
 dancers). Hence, histrio in Latin means 
 a stage-jSayer, and our word histrionic, 
 pertaining to the drama. History is 
 quite another word, being the Greek 
 historia, histor, a judge, allied to his- 
 tamai, to know. 
 
 Hit. A great hit. A piece of good 
 luck. From the game hit and miss, or 
 the game of backgammon, where "two 
 hits equal a gammon."
 
 Hit 
 
 610 
 
 Hobgoblin 
 
 Hit it Off {To). To describe a thiiijr 
 tersely and epigramraatically ; to make 
 a sketch truthfully and quickly. The 
 French say, " Ce pcintre rous saisit (a 
 resemhhoice en iin din d'a'il.^^ 
 
 To hit it off together. To agree to- 
 gether, or suit each other. 
 
 Hit the Nail on the Head {To). 
 {See Head.) 
 
 Hitch. Tltere is some hiteh. Some 
 impediment. A horse is said to have 
 a hitch in his gait when lie is lame. 
 (Welsh, hecian, to halt or limp.) 
 
 To hitch. To get on smoothly; to fit 
 inconsistently: as, "You and I hitch 
 on well together;" "These two ac- 
 counts do not hitch in with each other." 
 A lame horse goes about j umping, and 
 to j ump together is to be in accord. So 
 the two meanings apparently contra- 
 dictory hitch together. Compare pre- 
 vent, meaning to aid and to resist. 
 
 Hivites (2 syl.). The students of St. 
 Bee's College, Cumberland. (Bee-hives.) 
 
 Hoang. The ancient title of the 
 Chinese kings, meaning " sovereign 
 lord." {See Kinq.) 
 
 Hoare (37, Fleet Street, London). 
 The golden bottle over the fanlight is 
 said to contain the half-crown with 
 which James Hoare started in business. 
 
 Hoarstone. A landmark. A stone 
 marking out the boundary of an estate. 
 
 Hoax. {See Canaed.) 
 
 Hob of a grate. From the Anglo- 
 Saxon verb habhan (to hold). The 
 chimney-corner, where at one time a 
 settle stood on each side, was also called 
 "the hob." 
 
 Hob and Nob together. To drink as 
 cronies, to clink glasses, to drink tete-a- 
 tete. In the old English houses there 
 was a hob at each corner of the hearth 
 for heating the beer, or holdmg what 
 one wished to keep hot. This was from 
 the verb hahban (to hold). The little 
 round table set at the elbow was called 
 a noh ; hence to hob-nob was to drink 
 snugly and cosily in the chimney-corner, 
 with the beer bobbed, and a little nob- 
 table set in the snuggery. {See Hob 
 Nob.) 
 
 Hob'bema. 
 
 The English Hobbema. John Crome, 
 the elder (of Norwich), whose last words 
 were, "O Hobbema, Hobbema, how I 
 do love thee ! " 
 
 The Scotch Hobbema. P. Nasmyth, a 
 Scotch landscape jiainter (born LS31). 
 
 Hob'bididance (4 syl.). The princo 
 of duml)ness, and one of the five fiends 
 that possessed "poor Tom." {Shake- 
 speare : King Lear, iv. 1 . ) 
 
 Hob'binol. The shepherd (Gabriel 
 Harvey, the poet, 1545-1()3()) who re- 
 lates a song in praise of Eliza, queen of 
 shei)hcrds (Queen Elizabeth). {Spenser : 
 ShepIienVs Calendar.) 
 
 Hob'bism. The principles of Thomas 
 Hobbes, author of Leviathan (1.588- 
 1G70). He taught that religion is a 
 mere engine of state, and that man acts 
 wholly on a consideration of self ; even 
 his benevolent acts spring from the 
 pleasure he experiences in doing acts of 
 kindness. A follower of Hobbes is 
 called a Hcbbist. 
 
 Hobbler or Clopinel. Jean de Meung, 
 the poet, who wrote the sequel to the 
 Jiomanee of the Hose {VlGO-V.i'lO). 
 
 Tyrta^us, the Greek elegiac poet, was 
 called Hobbler because he introduced the 
 alternate pentameter verse, which is one 
 foot short of the old heroic metre. 
 
 Hobby. A favourite pursuit. The 
 hobbg is a falcon trained to fly at pigeons 
 and partridges. As hawks were uni- 
 versal pets in the days of falconry, and 
 hawking the favourite pursuit, it is 
 quite evident how the word hobby got 
 its present meaning. Hobby-horse is a 
 corruption of Hobbg-hanse (hawk-toss- 
 ing), or throvring off the hawk from the 
 wrist. Hobby is applied to a little pet 
 riding-horse by the same natural trans- 
 position as a mews for hawks is now a 
 place for horses. (French, hobcreait, a 
 hawk, a hobby.) 
 
 Hobby-horse. A child's plaything, 
 so called from the hobby-horse of the 
 ancient morris-dance ; a light frame of 
 wicker-work, appropriately draped, in 
 which someone was placed, who jier- 
 formed ridiculous gambols. 
 
 " The hobby -borse doth liitlier prance. 
 Maid Maiiiau aud the Mollis dauce." 
 
 Hob'edy-hoig, sometimes written 
 llob'bledehog and hobidg-hog, between a 
 man and a boy ; neither hay nor grass. 
 Tusser saj^s the third age of seven years 
 (15 to 21) is to be kept "under Sir 
 Hobbard de Hoy." 
 
 Hobgoblin. Puck or Robin Good- 
 fellow. Keightley thinks it a corrup- 
 tion of Rob-Goblin — i.e. the goblin 
 Robin, just as Hodge is the nickname of
 
 Hobinol 
 
 611 
 
 Hocking 
 
 Eoger, which seems to agree with the 
 subjoined quotation : 
 
 " Tliose tbat Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck, 
 you do tlieir work, and they shall have good 
 
 luck." 
 Shdkcfpcare: Midsummer Nitjht's Dream, li. 1. 
 
 V Hob is certainly sometimes used 
 for a sprite or fairy, as a hoh-hnitern — 
 i.e. au ignis fatuus or fairy-lantern, but 
 this may mean a "Puck-lantern" or 
 " Robiu Goodfellow-lauteru." 
 
 Hob'inol. {See Hobbinol.) 
 
 Eob'lers or Eovellers. Men who 
 
 keep a light nag that they may give in- 
 stant information of threatened invasion, 
 or ugly customers at sea. (Old Fieucli, 
 hober, to move up and down ; our hohbij, 
 q.r.) lu media; val times hoblers were 
 like the German it /i lands. Their duties 
 were to reconnoitre, to carry intelligence, 
 to harass stragglers, to act as spies, to 
 ihtercept convoys, and to pursue fugi- 
 tives. Spelman derives the word from 
 hobbij. 
 
 '• Hobblors were another description of cavalry 
 more lightly armed, and taken from the class of 
 men rated at 15 pounds and upwards."— iijiycu-d; 
 Historii of England, vol. iv. chap. ii. p. I Hi. 
 
 "Sentinels who kept watch at lie.icons in the 
 Isle of Wi.irht, and i-an !•) tlie gii\ernor when 
 they had aiiy intellii-'ence to couimujiicate, were 
 called hoble.s."— J/.S. Lunsd. (loxi). 
 
 Hobnail. WTien the London sheriff 
 is sworn iu, the tenants of a manor in 
 Shropshire are directed to come forth 
 and do service, whereupon the senior 
 alderman below the chair steps forward 
 and chops a stick, in token that the 
 tenants of this county supplied their 
 feudal lord with fuel. 
 
 The owners of a. forge in St. Clements 
 are then called forth to do suit and 
 service, when an officer of the court 
 produces six horse-shoes and sixty-one 
 hobnails, which he used to count before 
 the cursitor baron till that office was 
 abolished in 1857. 
 
 Hob Nob. A corruijtion of /lah ixih, 
 meaning "have or not have," hence hit or 
 miss, at random ; and, secondariIj% give 
 or take, whence also an open detiance. 
 A similar construction to willy nilly- 
 (Anglo-Saxon, habban, to have ; nabbuH, 
 not to have.) 
 
 " The citizens in their ratre shot habbe or nabbe 
 [hit or miss] at ra.n<imn.''—Uolinshed: Uiatory of 
 Jretand. 
 
 " He writes of the weather hab nab [at random], 
 and as the toy [fancy] takes him, chociuers the 
 ye.ar with foul and t-An."—(Jiiack Astroloyer (U".::)). 
 
 "He is a devil in private lirawis .... hobnob 
 is his word, give 't or take 't."—Shake>!peare : 
 Twelfth Night, lii. 4. 
 " Not of Jack Straw, with his rebellious crew. 
 
 That set king, realm, and laws at hab or nab 
 [defiance]." SirJ.Harington: Fpigram, i\'. 
 
 Hob's Pound. To he in Hob's pound 
 is to be under difficulties, in great em- 
 baiTassment. Hob is a clownish rustic, 
 and hoberd is a fool or ne'er-do-well. 
 To be in Hob's pound is to be in the 
 pound of a hob or hoberd — i.e. paying 
 for one's ioWy. 
 
 Hobson's Choice. Tliis or none. 
 Tobi'as Hobson was a carrier and inn- 
 keeper at Cambridge, who erected the 
 handsome conduit there, and settled 
 " seven lays " of pasture ground towards 
 its maintenance. " He kejjt a stable of 
 forty good cattle, always ready and tit 
 for travelling ; but when a man came 
 for a horse Ijc was led into the stable, 
 where there was great choice, but was 
 obliged to take the horse which stood 
 nearest to the stable -door ; so that 
 every customer was alike well served, 
 according to his chance, and every horse 
 ridden with the same justice." {Spec- 
 tator. No. 509.) 
 
 Milton wrote two quibbling epitaphs 
 
 upon this eccentric character. 
 
 " Why is the preatesr. of frei i-onimnnities re- 
 duced to Hobson's choice ? " — Tlie Times. 
 
 Hock. So called from Hockheim, on 
 the Maine, where the best is supposed 
 to be made. It used to be called hocka- 
 more (3 syl.). 
 
 ".\s unflt to bottle as old hockamore."— Afor- 
 
 timer. 
 
 Hock Cart. The high cart, the last 
 cart-load of harvest. 
 " The harvest swains and wenches bound 
 For joy, to see the hock-cart crowne<l." 
 
 Ucrrick: llesiierides, p. Hi. 
 
 Hock-day or Hock Tuesday. The 
 
 day when the English suqirised and 
 slew the Danes, who had annoyed them 
 for 255 years. This Tuesday was long 
 held as a festival in England, and land- 
 lords received an annual tribute called 
 Jlock-monei/, for allowing their tenants 
 and serfs to commemorate Hock- day, 
 which was the second Tuesday after 
 Easter-day. (See Kcnilirorth, chaj). 
 xxxix.) 
 
 •-• Hock-tide was the time of paying church 
 dues. 
 
 "Hoke Monday was for the men, and Hock 
 Tuesday for the women. On both days the men 
 and wouien alternately, with great meri.vineiit 
 obstructed the public road with ropes, and pulled 
 passengers to them, from whcmi they exacted 
 money to lie laid out in pious uses." — Brand: 
 Antiquities iHoke day;, vol. i. p. 1»7. 
 
 Hock'ey. A game in which each 
 player has a hooked stick or bandy with 
 which to strike the ball. Hockey is 
 simply the diminutive of koo/:. Called 
 Shinty in Scotland. 
 
 Hocking. Stopping the highways 
 with ropes, and demanding a gratuity
 
 Hocliley 
 
 612 
 
 Hogmanay 
 
 from passengers before they were al- 
 lowed to pass. (See quotation from 
 Brand midir Hock-day.) 
 
 Hockley-i'-the-Hole. Public gar- 
 dens near Clerkenwell Green, famous 
 for bear- and bull-baiting, dog- and 
 cock-fights, etc. The earliest record of 
 this garden is a little subsequent to the 
 Restoration. 
 
 Hocus Po'cus. The words uttered 
 by a conjuror wlien he performs a trick, 
 to cheat or take surreptitiously. Tlie 
 "Welsh, /locea puca (a goblin's trick, our 
 hoax) is a probable etymology. But 
 generally supposed to be Hoc est corpus. 
 
 " Ochus Bochus was the name of a 
 famous magician of the North invoked 
 by jugglers. He is mentioned in the 
 French Royal Lictiiinary. 
 
 Ho'cussed. Hoaxed, cheated, tam- 
 pered with ; as,"Tliis wine is hocussed." 
 
 " Was ever man so hocussed ?" 
 
 Art of Wheedllnj, p. 3L'2. 
 
 Eod'eken (3 syl.) means Littlc-hat, 
 a German goblin or domestic fairy; so 
 called because he always wore a little 
 felt hat over his face. Our hudkin. 
 
 Hodge. A generic name for a farm- 
 labourer or peasant. (Said to be an 
 abbreviated foim of Roger, as Hob is of 
 Rob or Robin. ) 
 
 " Proiiise^ Leld out in order to pain the roteo 
 of the agricultural lahourers : promises given 
 simply to obtain the vote of • Hodge" who will 
 sociM Hiiil out that his vote was all that was 
 wauted.'— *Veu)S//n;)er paragraph, Dec, 18«5. 
 
 Hodge-podge (2 syl.) . " A medley. 
 A corruption of hotch-pot, i.e. various 
 fragments mixed together in the "pot- 
 au-feu." (.bVe- Hotch-pot.) 
 
 Ho'dur. Balder's twin brother ; the 
 God of Darkness ; the blind god -who 
 killed Balder, at the instigation of Loki, 
 wdth an arrow made of mistletoe. Hodur 
 typifies night, as Balder typifies day. 
 {^Scandinavian mythologn.') 
 
 " And Balder's pile of the glowing sun 
 
 A syniliol true hiazed forth ; 
 But soon its splendour sinketh down 
 
 When Hiider rules the earth."" 
 / t'rilhiiff-Sarja: lialdtr's Bale- Fire. 
 
 Hog, meaning a piece of money, is 
 any silver coin — sixpence, shilling, or 
 five-shilling. It is probably derived 
 from the largess given on New Year's 
 Eve called hog-manay, pronounced hog- 
 inoney. 
 
 V In the Bermudas the early coins 
 bore the image of a hog. 
 
 Hog seems to refer to age more than 
 to any specific animal. Thus, boars of 
 the second year, sheeji between the time 
 
 of their being weaned and shorn, colts, 
 and bullocks a year old, are all called 
 hogs or hoggets. A boar three years old 
 is a " hog-steer." 
 
 V Some say a hogget is a sheep after 
 its first shearing, but a " hogget-fleece " 
 is the first shearing. 
 
 'To go the nholc hog. An American 
 expression meaning unmixed dcmocrati- 
 cal principles. It is used in England to 
 signify a " thorough goer" of any kind. 
 In Virginia the dealer asks tlie retail 
 butcher if "he means to go the whole 
 hog, or to take only certain joints, and 
 he regulates his price accordingly." 
 (^Men and Manners of America.) 
 
 V Mahomet forbade his followers to 
 eat one part of the pig, but did not par- 
 ticularise what part he intended. Hence, 
 strict Mahometans abstain from pork 
 altogether, but those less scrupulous eat 
 any part they fancy. Cowper refers to 
 this in the lines : 
 
 " with sophistry their sauce they sweeten, 
 Till (luite from tail to snout 'tis eaten." 
 
 Love of tlie World lie iiiored. 
 
 Another explanation is this : A hog in 
 Ireland is slang for " a shilling," and to 
 go the whole hog means to spend the 
 whole shilling. {See Hoo.) 
 
 You liare brought your hogs to a fne 
 market. You have made a pretty kettle 
 of fish. 
 
 "You have hrought your hogs to a fine market." 
 —Ilou-etl ilSSa). 
 
 Hogs-Norton. A village in Oxford- 
 shire, now called Hook Norton. I think 
 yon were born at Hogs-Xorton. A re- 
 proof to an ill-mannered person. 
 
 "I think thou wast born at Hoggs-Norton, 
 where pings play upon the organs."— ifou-eK ; 
 llnglish Proveils, p. 16. 
 
 Hog in Armour. A person of 
 awkward manners dressed so fine that 
 he cannot move easily. A corruption of 
 " Hodge in ai"mour.' 
 
 Hogg. (See under the ivord Beewee.) 
 
 Hogarth {irHliam), called the "Ju- 
 venal of Bainters" (1695-1761). The 
 Scottiah Hogarth, David Allan (1744- 
 1796). 
 
 Ho' gen Mo'gen. Holland or the 
 Netherlands ; so called from Hooge en 
 Mogendi- (high and mighty), the Dutch 
 style of addi-essing the States-General. 
 
 " But I have sent him for a token 
 To your Low-country Hogen-Mocren." 
 
 Butler: Hudibrns. 
 
 Hogmanay', Hogmena', or Hag< 
 men' a. Holy month. 
 
 New Year's Eve is called hogmanay', 
 night or hogg-night, and it is still the
 
 H^ogshead 
 
 613 
 
 Hold In 
 
 custom in parts of Scotland for persons 
 to go from door to door on that night 
 asking in rude rhymes for cakes or 
 money. {See HoG.) 
 
 In Galloway the chief features are 
 " taking the cream off the watir," won- 
 derful luck being attached to a draught 
 thereof; and "the first foot," or giving 
 something to drink to the first person 
 who enters the house. A grand bonfire 
 and a procession, in which all persons 
 are masked and in bizarre costume. 
 
 King Ilaco, of Norway, fixed the feast 
 of Yole on Christmas Day, the eve of 
 wh'ch used to be called hogg-night, 
 which in the old style is New Year's 
 Eve. 
 
 Hogshead, a large cask = i-pipo 
 or butt, is a curious instance of the 
 misuse of h. The word is from the 
 Danish Oxe-hud (ox-hide), the larger 
 skins in contradistinction to the smaller 
 goat skins. An oxe-hud contained 240 
 Danish quarts. 
 
 Hoi PoUoi {The). The poll -men in 
 our Universities, that is, those who take 
 their degrees without "honours." The 
 proletariat. (Greek, meaning " the 
 many," " the general.") 
 
 Hoist. Ilo'xfit with his own petard. 
 Beaten with his own weapons, caught 
 in his own trap. The petard was 
 a thick iron engine, filled with gun- 
 powder, and fastened to gates, barri- 
 cades, and so on, to blow them up. 
 The danger was lest the engineer who 
 fired the petard should be blown up in 
 the explosion. 
 
 "Let it work ; 
 For 'tis tlie sport to have the en{<ineer 
 Hoist with his own iietard ; and it shall go hard 
 But I will delve one yard below their mines. 
 And blow them at the moon." 
 
 Shakespeare: Hamlet, iii. 4. 
 
 Hoity-toity. 
 
 (1) Hoity-toity spirits means high 
 Bpirits, extremely elated and flighty. 
 Selden, in his I'able Tal/c, says: "In 
 Queen Elizabeth's time gravity and state 
 were kept up . . . but in King Charles's 
 time there was nothing but Frenchmore 
 [French manners] . . . tolly-polly, and 
 /loit-coinme-toit,^' where hoit commc toit 
 means flightiness. 
 
 (2) As an exclamation of reproof it 
 means, Your imagination or spirits are 
 running out of all bounds ; hoit-a-toit ! 
 hity-tity! "Hoity-toity! What have 
 I to do with dreams?" {Coiu/rere.) 
 
 We have the verb " to hoit" = to 
 assume ; to be elated in spirits, and 
 perhaps hoity-toity is only one of those 
 words with which our language abounds ; 
 
 as, harum-scarum, titty-totty, namby- 
 pamby, hugger-mugger, fiddle-faddle, 
 and scores of others. 
 
 Hoky or Hockey Cake. Harvest 
 cake. The cake given out to the har- 
 vesters when the hock cart reached 
 home. {See Hock Caet.) 
 
 Holborn is not a corruption of Old 
 Bourne, as Stowe asserts, but of Hole- 
 burne, the biiriie or stream in the ho/e or 
 hollow. It is spelt Holebume in Jhmes- 
 dai/ Hook, i. r27a ; and in docimients 
 connected with the nunnery of St. 
 Mary, Clerkenwell (during the reign of 
 Richard II.), it is eight times spelt in 
 the same way. {'J'he 'Times; J. G. 
 Waller.) 
 
 lie rode baekicards up HoUwrii Hill. 
 He went to be hanged. The way to 
 Tyburn from Newgate was up Holborn 
 Hill, and criminals in ancient times sat 
 with their backs to the horse, when 
 drawn to the place of execution. 
 
 Hold of a ship is between the lowest 
 deck and the keel. In merchant vessels 
 it holds the main part of the cargo. In 
 men of war it holds the provisions, water 
 for drinking, etc., stores, and berths. 
 The after hold is aft the main-mast; the 
 main hold is before the same ; and the 
 fore hold is about the fore hatches. 
 
 Hold. (Anglo-Saxon, heald-an,. to 
 hold.) 
 
 He is not ft to hold the candle to him. 
 He is very inferior. The allusion is to 
 link-boys who held candles in theatres 
 and other places of night amusement. 
 
 " Others say that Mr. Hand"! 
 To Boiiocini can't hold a candle." Swift. 
 
 To cry hold. Stop. The allusion is 
 to the old military tournaments ; when 
 the umpires wished to stop the contest 
 they cried out " Hold ! " 
 
 " Lay on Macduff, 
 And damn'd he him that first cries, ' Hold, 
 enough ! ' " Shakespeare : Macbeth, v.' 8. 
 
 Hold Forth {To). To speak in public ; 
 to harangue ; to declaim. An author 
 holds forth certain opinions or ideas in 
 his book, i.e. exhibits them or holds them 
 out to view. A speaker does the same in 
 an oratorical display. 
 
 Hold Hard. Keep a' firm hold, seat, 
 or footing, as there is danger else of 
 being overthrown. A caution given 
 when a sudden change of vis inertia is 
 about to occur. 
 
 Hold In (To). To restrain. The allu- 
 sion is to horses reined up tightly when 
 running too fast .
 
 Hold Off 
 
 GU 
 
 Holy City- 
 
 Hold Off! Keep at a distance. In 
 
 French, " 'Totez-vous a distance ! " 
 
 Hold On. Cling fast ; to persist. The 
 
 idea is clinging firmly to something to 
 
 prevent falling or being overset. 
 
 Holdout. Not to succumb to. "T(«ir 
 
 ferine ; " " Cette place ne naurmt tenlr.''^ 
 
 Hold Water (To). To bear close 
 inspection ; to endure a trial. A vessel 
 that will hold water is safe and sound. 
 
 Hold One Guilty (To). To adjudge 
 or regard as guilty. The French tenir. 
 
 Hold One in Hand (To). To amuse 
 in order to get some advantage. The 
 allusion is to horses held in hand or 
 under command of the driver. 
 
 Hold One's Own {To). To main- 
 tain one's own ojjinion, position, way, 
 etc. Maintain means to hold with the 
 hand. (Latin, manns teneo.) 
 
 Hold the Fort. Immortalised as 
 a phrase from its use by General Sher- 
 man, who signalled it to General Corse 
 from the top of Kenesaw in 1864, 
 
 Holdfast. Brag is a good dog, hut 
 Holdfast is a better. Promises are all 
 very good, but acts are far better. 
 
 "Holdfast is tbc only dog, my duck." 
 
 Shakespeare : IJenry I'., ii. 3. 
 
 Holdfast. A means by which some- 
 thing is clamped to another ; a support. 
 
 Hole, rick a hole in. his coat. To 
 find out some cause of blame. The allu- 
 sion is to the Roman custom of dressing 
 criminals in i"ags {Livg, ii. 01). Hence, 
 a holey coat is a synonym for guilt. 
 " Hear, Land o' cakes and brither Soot3 
 i'rae Maidenkiik to Jolinny (Croat's 
 If there's a bole in a" your coats 
 
 I reiieyou tent it ; 
 A cliield'8 amans,' you taking notes, 
 And, faith, he'll preiit it." 
 Burns : On the late Capt. Grose, stanza 1. 
 
 Hole and Corner (business). Under- 
 hand and secret. 
 
 Holiday Speeches or Words. Fine 
 or well-turned speeches or phrases ; com- 
 plimentary speeches. We have also 
 "holiday manners," "holiday clothes," 
 meaning the best we have. 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir. I know your worship loves no 
 holiday speeches."— Sir W. Scott: Itedyauntlet, 
 chai). iii. 
 
 " With many holiday and lady terms 
 He <iuestioned me." 
 Shakcspeure : 1 Henry /r.,i. 3 (Hotspur's defence). 
 
 Holipher'nes (4 syl.), called English 
 Henry (in Jcrusa/ciii. Delirercd). One 
 of the Christian knights in the first 
 crusade, slaiu by Dragu'tes (book ix.). 
 
 Holland. The country of paradoxes. 
 The "houses are built on the sand;" 
 the sea is higher than the shore ; the 
 keels of the ships are above the chira- 
 ney-tops of the houses; and the cow's 
 tail does not "grow downward," but is 
 tied up to a ring iu the roof of the stable. 
 Butler calls it : 
 
 " A land that rides at anchor and is moored. 
 la which they do not live, but ko aboard.' 
 Description of Holland. 
 
 (See also Don .Juan, canto x. G3.) 
 
 HoUand. A particular kind of cloth ; 
 so called because it used to be sent to 
 Holland to be bleached. Lawn is cloth 
 bleached on a lawn; and grass-lairn is 
 lawn bleached on a grass-plat. 
 
 Bleaching is now performed by arti- 
 ficial processes. 
 
 Hollow. / beat him hvlloir. A cor- 
 ruiition of "I beat him wholly." 
 
 Holly used to be emjjloj'cd by the 
 early Christians at Rome to decojate 
 churches and dwellings at Christmas ; it 
 had been previously used in the great 
 festival of the Saturnalia, which occurred 
 at the same season of the year. The 
 pagan Romans used to send to their 
 friends holly-sprigs, during the Satur- 
 nalia, with wishes for their health and 
 well-being. 
 
 Hollyhock is the Anglo-Saxon, holi- 
 hOc, the marsh-mallow. It is a mistake 
 to derive it from Holy-oak. 
 
 Holman {Lieutenant James). The 
 blmd traveller (1787-18o7). 
 
 Holopher'nes (4 syl.). JFaster Tubal 
 Llolophernes. The great sophister-doctor, 
 who, in the course of five years and three 
 months, taught Gargantua to say his 
 ABC backward. {Rabelais : Gargantua, 
 book i. 14.) 
 
 Lloloferncs, in Lovers Labo>rr\'i Lost. 
 Shakespeare satirises in this character 
 the literary afltectations of the Lyly 
 school. An anagram of Joh'nes Florio. 
 
 Holy Alliance. A league formed 
 by Russia, Austria, and Prussia to regui- 
 late the affairs of Europe " by the prin- 
 ciples of Christian charity," — meaning 
 that each of the contracting parties was 
 to keep all that the league assigned 
 them (1810). 
 
 Holy City. That city which the 
 religious consider most especially con- 
 nected with their religious faith, thus : 
 
 All'ahabad' is the Holy City of the 
 Indian Mahometans. 
 
 Bena'res (3 syl. ) of the Hindus. 
 
 Cuzco of the ancient Incas.
 
 Holy Coat 
 
 615, 
 
 Holy Writ 
 
 Fez of the Western Arabs. 
 
 Jerusalem of the Jews and Christians. 
 
 Kairwau, near Tunis. It contains the 
 Okbar Mosque, in which is the tomb of 
 the propliet's barber. 
 
 Kief, the Jerusalem of Russia, the 
 cradle of Christianity in that country. 
 
 Mecca and Medina of the Mahometans. 
 
 Moscow and Kief of the Russians. 
 
 Solovetsk, in the Frozen Sea, is a holy 
 Island much visited by pilgrims. 
 
 Holy Coat of Treves, said to be the 
 seamless coat of our Saviour. Deposited 
 at Treves by the Empress Hele'na, who 
 discovered it in the fourth centurj'. 
 
 Holy Communion {The). The fel- 
 lowship of Christians manifested by 
 their mutual partaking of the eucharist. 
 The eucharist itself is, by a figure of 
 speccli, so called. 
 
 Holy Family. The infant Saviour 
 and his attendants, as Josejjh, Miiry, 
 Elizabeth, Anna, and John the Baptist. 
 All the five figures are not always 
 introduced in pictures of the " Holy 
 Family." 
 
 Holy Isle. Lindisfame, in the Ger- 
 man Ocean, about eight miles from Ber- 
 wick-upon-Tweed. It was once the see 
 of the famous St. Cuthbert, but now the 
 bishopric is that of Dm'ham. Tlie ruuis 
 of the old cathedral are still visible. 
 
 Ireland used to be called the Holy 
 Island on account of its numerous 
 "saints." 
 
 Guernsey was so called in the tenth 
 century in consequence of the great 
 number of monks residing there. 
 
 Rugen was so called by the Slavonic 
 Varini. 
 
 Scattery, to which St. Senanus re- 
 tired, and swore that no female should 
 set foot there, is the one referred to by 
 Thomas Moore in his Irish Melodies, 
 No. ii. 2. 
 
 " oil ! baste and leave tUis sacred isle 
 L ... For on tliy deck though dark it be, 
 i A female form I see. 
 
 Holy Land {TJu). 
 
 (1) Christians call Palestrae the Holy 
 Land, because it was the site of Christ's 
 biith, ministry, and death. 
 
 (2) Mahometans call Mecca the Holy 
 Land, because Mahomet was bom there. 
 
 (3) The Chinese Buddhists call India 
 the Holy Land, because it was the 
 native land of Sakj-a-muni, the Buddha 
 
 {q.V.). 
 
 (4) The Greek considered Elis as Holy 
 Land, from the temple of Olympian Zeus 
 
 and the sacred festival held there every 
 four years. 
 
 (o) In America each of the strange 
 politico-religious sects calls its own settle- 
 ment pretty much the same thing. [See 
 Holy City.) 
 
 Holy League {'The). A combination 
 formed by Pope Julius II. with Louis 
 XII. of France, Maximilian of Germany, 
 Ferdinand III. of Spain, and various 
 Italian princes, against the republic of 
 Venice in 1508. 
 
 There was another league so called in 
 the reign of Henri III. of France, in 
 1576, under the auspices of Henri de 
 Guise, "for the defence of the Holy 
 Catholic Church against the encroach- 
 ments of the reformers." The Pope gave 
 it his sanction, but its true strength lay 
 in Felipe II. of Spain. 
 
 Holy Orders, in the English Church, 
 are those of priest and deacon. In the 
 Roman Church the term includes the 
 sub-diaconate. {!See Minor Oedees.) 
 
 Holy Places. Places in which the 
 chief events of oiu- Saviour's life oc- 
 curred, such as the Sepidchre, Geth- 
 semane, the Supper-room, the Church of 
 the Ascension, the tomb of the Virgin, 
 and so on. 
 
 Holy Thursday. The day of our 
 
 Lord's ascension. 
 
 Holy Saturday. The Saturday before 
 Easter Sunday. 
 
 Holy Wars arc to extiri5ate"heresj'," 
 or to extend what the state supposes to 
 be the one true religion. The Crusades, 
 the Thu'ty- Years' War, the wars against 
 the Albigenses, etc., were so called. 
 
 Holy Water. Water blessed by a 
 priest or bishop for holy uses. 
 
 As the devil lores holy irater ; i.e. not 
 at all. This proverb arose from the em- 
 ployment of holy water in exorcisms in 
 the Holy Chui'ch. 
 
 " I love Uim as tbe devil loves holy water." 
 
 Holy Week. The last seven days of 
 Passion Week or the Great Week. It 
 begins on Palm Sunday, and ends with 
 Holy Saturday {q.r.). The fourth day is 
 called "Spy Wednesday ; " the fifth is 
 "Maundy Thursday;" the sixth is 
 "Good Friday;" and the last "Holy 
 Saturday " or the " Great Sabbath." 
 
 Holy Week has been called Ilebdomada Muta 
 (Silent Week) ; Hebdomad'i Pussimiis ; Hebdomiula 
 Jiufflciosa (Vacant Week) ; Ilebdomada Peniten- 
 tiatis ; Hehdomada Indulgentice : Hebdomada Lue- 
 fud.ta; lltbdomada, Nigra; and Hebdomada L'l- 
 tima. 
 
 Holy Writ. The Bible.'
 
 Soly Maid 
 
 6l(? 
 
 Homer's Critica 
 
 Holy Maid of Kent (The). Eliza- 
 beth Barton, who iucited the Komau 
 Cathohcs to resist the progress of the 
 Reformation, and pretended to act under 
 direct inspiration. She was hanged at 
 Tyburn in lo34. 
 
 Holy of Holies {The). The inner- 
 most apartment of tlie Jewisli temple, 
 in which the ark of the covenant was 
 kept, and into which only the High 
 Priest was allowed to enter, and that 
 but once a j'ear — the d;iy of atonement. 
 
 Holy Water Sprinkler. A military 
 club set with spikes. So called facetiously 
 because it makes the blood to flow as 
 water sprinkled by an aspergillum. 
 
 Holywell Street (London). Fitz- 
 stephens, in his description of London 
 in the reign of Henry II., speaks of 
 " the excellent springs at a small dis- 
 tance from the city," whose waters are 
 most sweet, salubrious, and clear, and 
 whose runnels mumiur over the shining 
 stones. "Among these are Holywell, 
 Clerkenwell, and St. Clement's well." 
 
 Holystone. A soft sandstone used 
 for scrubbing the decks of vessels. 
 
 Home (1 syl.). (Anglo-Sa.xon, ham.) 
 
 Our long home, the grave. 
 
 Wlio goes home ? When the House 
 of Commons breaks up at night the 
 door-keeper asks this (juestion of the 
 members. In bygone days all members 
 going in the direction of the Speaker's 
 residence went in a body to see him safe 
 home. The tpiestion is still asked, but 
 is a mere relic of antiquity. 
 
 Home, Sweet Home. Words by 
 John Howard Payne (an American), in- 
 troduced in the melodrama called The 
 Maid of ililau. 
 
 Homer. 
 
 Called Melesigenes [q.r.) ; the Man of 
 Chios {see Chios) ; the Blind Old Man ; 
 Maeon'ides {q.v.), or Mfeouius, either 
 from his father Mteon, or because he 
 was a native of Masonia (Lydia). He is 
 spoken of as 3l<eonii(s senex, and his 
 poems as Mcconice chartce or Mcconia 
 cavDilna. 
 
 The Casket Homer. An edition cor- 
 rected by Aristotle, which Alexander 
 the Great nlways carried about with 
 him, and laid under his pillow at night 
 with his sword. After the battle of 
 Arbe'la, a golden casket richly studded 
 with gems was found in the tent of 
 Darius ; and Alexander being asked to 
 what purpose it should be assigned, re- 
 plied, "There is but one thing in the 
 world worthy of so costly a depository," 
 
 saying which he placed therein his 
 edition of Homer. 
 
 The British Homer. Milton (1608-74). 
 
 The Celtic Hnmer. Ossian, son of 
 Fingal, King of Morven. 
 
 The Homer of dramatie poets. Shake- 
 speare is so called by Dryden. (1564- 
 1616.) 
 
 " Sliiikrspeiire w.is tlic Hmiier of our ilratimtio 
 jioets ; Jonsoii w;is tlie Viri-'il. I iuliuire rare Ueii, 
 liiit 1 love Shakcsiiorire."— i)rj/</oi. 
 
 Jfomer of Ferra'ra. Ariosto is so 
 called by Tasso (1174-1533). 
 
 Homer of tlie Franks. Charlemagne 
 called Angilbert his Homer (died 814). 
 
 'The Oriental Homer. Firdusi, the 
 Persian poet, who wrote the Chdk 
 Kdmeh (or history of the Persian kings). 
 It contains 120,000 verses, and was the 
 work of thirty years (940-1020). 
 
 The Homer of philosophers. Plato 
 (B.C. 429-347). 
 
 The prose Homer of human nature. 
 Henry Fielding; so called by Byron. 
 (1707-1768.) 
 
 The Scottish Homer. William Wilkie, 
 author of The Jipigoniad (1721-1772). 
 
 Homer a Cure for the Ague. It 
 
 was an old superstition that if the fourth 
 book of the J Had was laid under the 
 head of a patient suffering from quartan 
 ague it would cure him at once. 
 Serenus Sammonlcus, preceptor of Gor- 
 dian and a noted physician, vouches for 
 this remedy. 
 
 " Ma'oniic Ili:uli>s iinarluiii supiione tinienti." 
 — Priecerta cle McdiriiiK, SO. 
 
 V The subject of this book is as 
 follows: While Agamemnon adjudges 
 that Menelaos is the winner, and that 
 the Trojans were bound to yield, ac- 
 cording to their compact, Pandaros 
 draws his bow, wounds Menelaos, and 
 the battle becomes general. The reason 
 why this book was selected is because 
 it contains the cure of Menelaos by 
 Machaou, "a son of JEsculapius. " 
 
 Homer in a Nutshell. Cicero says 
 that he himself saw Homer's Iltad 
 enclosed in a nutshell. 
 
 Homer Sometimes Nods. 
 
 "guando'iiiic l.oinis (loniii'tat Home'riis." 
 Horace : Ars I'ociica (.'iSii) 
 
 Homer's Critics. 
 
 Dorotheus spent his whole life ti7ing 
 to elucidate one single word of Homer. 
 
 Zoilos (3 syl.), the grammarian, was 
 called " Homer's Scourge " {Homero- 
 mastix), because he assailed the Iliad 
 and Odysseg with merciless severity. 
 
 As some deny that Shakespeare is the 
 author of the plays which are generally
 
 Homeric 
 
 61?, 
 
 Honeymoon 
 
 ascribed to him, so Wolf, a German 
 critic (17o9-18'24), iu his I'rolegonicna ad 
 Homentm, denies that Homer was the 
 author of tlie Iliad and Odysseij. 
 
 Homer'ic Verse. Hexameter verse ; 
 so called because Homer adopted it iu 
 his two great epics. {See Hexameter 
 Veese. ) 
 
 Homoeop'athy (osyl.). The plan of 
 curing a disease by very minute doses 
 of a medicine which would iu healthy 
 persons produce the very same disease. 
 The principle of vaccination is a sort of 
 homceopathy, only it is producing in 
 a healthy person a mitigated form of 
 the disease guarded against. You im- 
 part a mild fonn of small-pox to prevent 
 the patient from taking the virulent 
 disease. (Greek, ftomoios pathos, like 
 disease.) {See Hahnemann.) 
 
 '"Tut, man ! one fire burns out anotliei-'s burn- 
 ing ! 
 One pain is lessened by another's anguish .... 
 Talie thou some new infection to the eye, 
 And the rank poison of tlie old will die." 
 
 Shakespeare : Jiomeo and Juliet, 1. 2. 
 
 Hon'est (A silent). Ho)iest Jack Ban- 
 nister. An actor iu London for thirty- 
 six years. (1760-1836.) 
 
 " After his retirement he was once accosted by 
 Sir Geiirge Rcise, when Honest Jacls, being on the 
 other side uf the street, rried out, 'Stoijaiiiouient, 
 Sir tieiirure, ami 1 will cume over to you.' ' No, no,' 
 replied liis fnciid, ' 1 never yet made you cruKS, 
 and will uui Ipcgiu iiii\v."—<li-insted : liilics uf 
 Oenius. 
 
 Honest George. General Monk 
 
 (1608-1670). 
 
 Honest Lawyer (Ah). The oldest 
 allusion to this strange expression is the 
 epigram on St. Ives (12)l-i;303), of 
 whom Dom Lobineau says : " II distri- 
 buait avec une sainte profusion aux 
 pauvres les revenus de son benefice et ccux 
 de son patrimonie, qui etaieni de t60 de 
 rente, alors une somme tres notable, par- 
 ticulierement en Basse Brefaffne." (lives 
 of the Saints of Great Britain.) 
 " Sanctus Yvo erat Brito, 
 
 Advdcatus, et non Jatro, 
 
 Res miranda iiopulo." 
 
 St. Ives was of the land of beef. 
 
 An advocate, and not a thief ; 
 
 A stretch on popular belief. E. C. B. 
 
 The phrase was facetiously applied by 
 some wag to Sir John Strange, Master 
 of the Rolls, who died, at the age of 
 fifty-eight, iu 1754. 
 "Here lies an himest lawyer, that is Strange." 
 V Of course this line fonns no part of 
 the inscription in Leyton churchyard, 
 Essex, where Sir John was bm'ied. 
 
 Honey Madness. There is a rho- 
 dodendron about Trebizond, the flowers 
 of which the bees are fond of, but if 
 
 anyone eats the honey he becomes mad, 
 {Tourneford.) 
 
 Honey Soap contains no portion of 
 honey. Some is made from the finest 
 yellow soap ; and some is a mixture of 
 pabn-oil soap, oUve-soap, and curd- 
 soap. It is scented with oil of verbena, 
 rose-geranium, ginger-grass, bergamot, 
 etc. 
 
 Honey better than Vinegar. " On 
 
 preiid plus de inouches iirec du miel, 
 qu\irec du rinait/re.'" '■'■Plus fait douceur 
 que violence.''^ '■'■ 11 faut avoir maueaisc 
 bete par douceur.'''' 
 
 It is better to be preserved in vinegar 
 than to rot in honey. It is better to 
 suffer affliction if thereby the heart is 
 brought to God, than to lose body and 
 soul by worldly indulgences. 
 
 Honeycomb. The hexagonal shape 
 of the bees' cells is generally ascribed to 
 the instinctive skill of the bee, but is 
 simply the ordinary result of mechanical 
 laws. Solitary bees always make circular 
 cells ; and without doubt those of hive 
 bees are made cylindrical, but acquire 
 their hexagonal form by mechanical 
 pressure. Dr. Wollaston says all cylin- 
 ders made of soft pliable materials 
 become hexagonal under such circum- 
 stances. The cells of trees are circular 
 towards the extremity, but liexagonal iu 
 the centre of the substance ; and the 
 cellular membranes of all vegetables are 
 hexagonal also. (See AyiT.) 
 
 If'tll Ilonciicomb. A fine gentleman. 
 One of the members of the imaginary 
 club from which the Spectator issued. 
 
 Honeyde'w. A sweet substance 
 found on lime-trees and some other 
 plants. Bees antl ants are fontl of it. 
 It is a curious misnomer, as it is the 
 excretion of the aphis or vine-fretter. 
 The way it is excreted is this : the ant 
 beats with its anteimse the abdomeu of 
 the aphis, which lifts up the part beaten, 
 and excretes a limpid drop of sweet 
 juice called honeydew. 
 
 Honeymoon. The month aftei* 
 marriage, or so much of it as is spent 
 away from home ; so called from tlie 
 practice of the ancient Teutons of drink- 
 ing honey-wine (hydromd) for thirty 
 days after marriage. Attila, the Hun, 
 indulged so freely in hydromel at his 
 wedding-feast that he died. 
 
 " It was the custom of the higher order of the 
 Teutons ... to drink mead or nietheglin {a 
 beverage u^de from honey) for thirty days after 
 every wedding. From this conies the e.xpression 
 'to spend the honeymoon.'"— ir. lulleyn: ety- 
 mological Compendium, S 9, p. 142.
 
 Honeywood 
 
 61i 
 
 Honeywood. A yea-nay type, illus- 
 trative of what Dr. Youu}? says : 
 " What is mere good nature but a fool':'" 
 
 (Gohi.smifh : The (Jood-)iatiirfd Man.) 
 
 Hong Merchants. Those merchants 
 •who were alone permitted by the govern- 
 ment of China to trade with China, till 
 the restriction was abolished in 1812. 
 The Chinese applied the word hong to 
 the foreign factories situated at Canton. 
 
 Hon'i. lloni soil qxi inal ij pensc (Evil 
 be [to him] who thinks evil of this). 
 The tradition is that Edward III. gave 
 a grand court ball, and one of the ladies 
 present was the beautiful Couutess of 
 Salisbury, whose garter of blue ribbon 
 accidentally fell off. The kmg saw a 
 significant smile among the guests, and 
 gallantly came to the rescue, '■'■lloni 
 m'lt qui inal y pcnse'''' (Shame to him 
 who thinks shame of this accident) , cried 
 the monarch. Then, binding the ribbon 
 round liis own knee, he added, "I will 
 bring it about that the proudest noble 
 in the realm shall think it an honour to 
 wear this bund." The incident deter- 
 mined him to abandon his plan of 
 forming an order of the Hound Table, 
 and he formed instead the order of the 
 "Garter." {T'njhc and Davis: Annals 
 of IJ'indsor.) 
 
 Honour (/< silent). A superior 
 seigniory, on which other lordships or 
 manors depend by the perfonuauce of 
 customary services. 
 
 An affair of lionour. A dispute to Le 
 settled by a duel. Duels were generally 
 provoked by .offences against the arbi- 
 trary rules of etiquette, courtesj', or 
 feeling, called the "laws of honour; " 
 and, as these offences were not recog- 
 nisable in the law courts, they were 
 settled by private combat. 
 
 Debts of honour. Debts contracted by 
 betting, gambling, or verbal promise. 
 As these debts caimot be enforced by 
 law, but depend solely on good faith, 
 they are called debts of honour. 
 
 Laws of Jionoar. Certain arbitrary 
 rules which the fashionable world tacitly 
 admits ; they wholly regard deport- 
 ment, and have nothing to do with 
 moral offences. Breaches of this code 
 are punished by duels, expulsion from 
 society, or suspension called "sending 
 to Coventry" {q.v.). 
 
 Point of honour. An obligation which 
 is binding because its violation would 
 offend some conscientious scruple or 
 notion of self-respect. 
 
 Word of honour. A gage which 
 cannot be "violated without placing the 
 
 Honours 
 
 breaker of it beyond the pale of respect- 
 ability and good society. 
 
 Honour and Glory GrifSths. Capt. 
 Griffiths (in the reign of William IV.) 
 was so callefl, because all his despatches 
 were addressed " To tlieir Honours and 
 Glories at the Admiralty." 
 
 Honour paid to Learning. Diony- 
 sius, King of Syracuse, wishnig to see 
 I'lato, sent the finest galley in his king- 
 dom royally equipped, ami stored with 
 every conceivable luxury to fetch him ; 
 and, on landing, the philosopher found 
 the royal state carriage waiting to 
 convey him to the palace. 
 
 Ben Jonson, in 1619, made a journey 
 from London to Scotland expressly to 
 see William Drummond, the Scotch poet. 
 
 Honours (// silent). Crushed hy his 
 honours. The allusion is to the Iloman 
 damsel who agreed to open the gates of 
 Home to King Ta'tius, provided his sol- 
 diers would give her the ornaments 
 which they wore on their arms. As they 
 entered they threw their shields on her 
 iind crushed her, saying as they did so, 
 "These are the ornaments worn by 
 Sabiues on their arms." Roman story 
 says the maid was named Tarpe'ia, and 
 tliat she was the daughter of Tarjjeius, 
 the governor of the citadel. 
 
 Draco, the Athenian legislator, was 
 crushed to death in the theatre of 
 iEgi'na, by the number of caps and 
 cloaks showered on him by the audience, 
 as a mark of their high ajipreciation of 
 his merits. 
 
 Elagab'alus, the Roman Emperor, in- 
 vited the leading men of Rome to a 
 banquet, and, under the pretence of 
 showing them honour, rained roses upon 
 them. But the shower continued till 
 they were all buried and smothered by 
 the flowers. 
 
 Two or four ly honours. A term in 
 whist. If two "partners" hold three 
 court cards, they score two points ; if 
 they hold four court cards, they score 
 four points. These are honour points, 
 or points not won by the merit of play, 
 but by courtesy and laws of honour. 
 The phrases mean, " I score or claim two 
 points by right of honours," and "I 
 score or claim four points by right of 
 four court or honour cards." 
 
 Honours of War. The privilege 
 allowed to an honoured enemy, on 
 capitulation, of being permitted to 
 retain their offensive aiins. This is the 
 highest honour a victor can pay a 
 vanquished foe. Sometimes the soldiers
 
 Hood 
 
 619 
 
 Hooped Pots 
 
 so honoui'ed are required to pile arms ; 
 in other cases they are allowed to march 
 with all tlieir arms, drums beating, and 
 colours flyiug. 
 
 Hood. ' JV.s not the hood that makes 
 the monk {Ciicid'Ins non facit mon'eichiiui). 
 We must not be deceived by appearances, 
 or take for granted that things and per- 
 sons are what they seem to be. 
 
 " They sIkiuIJ 1)6 good men ; their affuii's are 
 ripliteous ; 
 But all Uood3 mako not monks." 
 
 tihakespeure : Henry VI TT., Hi. 1. 
 
 Hood {Rohni). Introduced by Sir 
 Vv'alter Scott in Ivanhoe. {See Robin.) 
 
 Hoods (Anglo-Saxon hud). 
 
 Black silk icithoiitluixng: — M.A. Cam- 
 bridge, non Regius (abolished 1858) ; 
 B.D. Cambridge, Oxford, Dublin. 
 
 Elack stuff, with broad white fur 
 trimming: — B.A. or LL.B. Cam- 
 bridge. 
 
 Elack corded silk, with narrow white 
 fur trimming: — B.A. Oxford. 
 
 Black silk hood, icith lining: — With 
 white silk lining, M.A. Cambridge ; 
 with dark red silk lining, M.A. 
 Oxford ; with dark blue silk lining, 
 Dublin ; with russet-browu lining, 
 M.A. London. 
 
 Blue silk hood, with wliite fur trim- 
 ming, B.C.L. Oxford. 
 
 Beown (silk or stuff) hood, edged with 
 russet-browu, B.A. London. 
 
 SCAELET cloth hood :■ — Lined with crim- 
 son silk, D.C.L. Oxford ; lined with 
 pink silk, D.C.L. Dublin ; lined 
 with pink silk, D.D. Cambridge ; 
 lined with black silk. D.D. Oxford ; 
 lined with light cherry - coloured 
 silk, LL.D. Cambridge. 
 
 Scarlet cashmercYiooA. : — Lined with silk, 
 D.D. Dublin : — Lined with Avhitc 
 silk, D.C.L. Durham. 
 
 Violet hoods are St. Andrew's. 
 
 V The longer the hood the higher the 
 
 degree ; thus, a bachelor's hood only 
 
 reaches to the thighs, but a doctor's 
 
 hood reaches to the heels. 
 
 Hoodlum (American slang). A 
 Califoruiau rough. 
 
 Hoodman Blind. Now called 
 "BUudman'sBuif." 
 
 " What devil was't 
 That tbu3 hath cozened you at hoodman lil'nd ?" 
 lihdke.ipeare : Hamlet, iii. 4. 
 
 Hook, Hooks. He is off the hooks. 
 Done for, laid on the shelf, superseded, 
 dead. The bent pieces of iron on which 
 the hinges of a gate rest and turn are 
 called hooks ; if a gate is off the hooks it 
 is in a bad way, and cannot readily be 
 opened and shut. 
 
 On one^s own hook. On one's own 
 responsibility or account. An angler's 
 Ijhrase. 
 
 To fish tcith a golden hook. To give 
 bribes. " Ptcher avec nn hame^on d''or.'" 
 Risk a sprat to catch a mackerel. To buy 
 fish, and i^retend to have caught it. 
 
 inth a hook at the end. My assent 
 is given with a hook at the end means 
 not intended to be kept. In some parts 
 of GeiTuany, even to the present day, 
 when a witness swears falsely, he erooks 
 one finger into a sort of hook, and this 
 is supposed sufficient to avert the sin of 
 perjury. It is a crooked oath, or an 
 oath "with a hook at the end." [See 
 OvEE Ti{E Left.) 
 
 N.B. Ringing the bells backwards, 
 and repeating the Lord's Prayer back- 
 wards belong to the same class of super- 
 stitious. 
 
 Hook it ! 2\(ke i/oi>r hook ; Slitig yotir 
 hook. Be off ! Be off about your 
 business ! This expression amongst 
 woodmen, reapers, etc., is equivalent 
 to the military one, ' ' Pack wp your 
 tatters and follow the drum." 
 
 Hook or Crook {By). Either right- 
 fully or wrongfully ; in one way or 
 another. Formerly the poor of a manor 
 Avere allowed to go into the forests with 
 a hook and crook to get wood. What 
 they could not reach they might pull 
 down with their crook. The French 
 equivalent is "^1 droit on a tort,'''' or "/^e 
 brie et de broe.'''' Either with the thief's 
 hook or the bishop's crook. Mrs. S. C. 
 Hall, in her Ireland (vol. ii. p. 149 «.), 
 states, as the origin of this phrase, that 
 when the ships of Strongbow were en- 
 tering Waterford harbour he noticed a 
 tower on one side and a church on the 
 other. Inquiring their names, he was 
 told it was the "Tower of Hook" and 
 the "Church of Crook." Then said he, 
 " Wo must take the town by Hook and 
 by Crook." There is no such person as 
 St. Crook mentioned by the Bollandists. 
 
 " Dynnnire Wood was ever open and common to 
 the . . . inhabitants of Bodmin . . . tobearaway 
 upon their hacks a burden of lop, crop, hook, 
 crook, aud bag wood.''— iJydm/ji lieyistei' (13i'5). 
 "The which his sire had scrapt by hooke or 
 crooke." 
 Spinser : Faerie Queene, book v. ii. line 29. 
 
 Hookey 'Walker. {See Waikee.) 
 
 Hooped Pots. Drinking pots at one 
 time were made with hoops, that when 
 two or more drank from the same 
 tankard no one of them should take 
 more than his share. Jack Cade pro- 
 mises his followers that " seven half- 
 penny loaves shall be sold for a penny ;
 
 Hoopoe 
 
 620 
 
 Horace 
 
 the three-hooped pot shall have ten 
 hoops ; and I will make it felony to 
 drink small beer." {Shakespeare : 2 Henry 
 r/.,iv. 2.) 
 
 Hoopoe {Upiipn Upops). A small 
 crested bird revered by all the ancient 
 Egyptians, and placed on the sceptre 
 of Horus, to symbolise joy and filial 
 affection. (Latin npiipa, the hoopoe.) 
 
 Hop. The plant, called by Tiissor 
 "Robin Hop." (Danish //o/;.) To hop 
 on one leg is the Anglo-Saxon hopetau 
 or hoppian. 
 
 *' Get iiitd tliy hop.varil, f(ir now it is time 
 To te:icli Ilutiiii Hop on his pole liow to climli." 
 five Hundred I'uitits uf Goud llasbandnj, xli. 17. 
 
 Thick as hops. Very numerous ; very 
 compact. 
 
 "And thousand other thinpsas thickeashops."' 
 Taylor the Water J'oet (Piao). 
 
 Hop-o'-my-Thumb. A nix, the same 
 as the German daiatding, the French le 
 petit pouec, and the Scotcli Tom-a-Iin 
 (or Tamlane). Tom Thumb in the well- 
 known nursery tale is quite another 
 character. He was the son of peasants, 
 knighted by King Ai'thur, and killed by 
 a spider. 
 
 V Several dwarfs have assumed the 
 name of Tom Thumb. [See Dwarfs.) 
 
 "You Stuiiip-o'-tUe-G utter, yuu Hoii-o'-iny- 
 Thunili, 
 Your husband must from Lilliput con:e." 
 
 A'oHc O'Hara : Midan. 
 "Plaine friend. Hop-o'-niy-Thuinli, know you 
 ■who we are? '—Tamhitjof the Shrew {\a'M). 
 
 To hop the ticic/. To run away from 
 one's creditors, as a bird eludes a fowler, 
 "hopping from spray to spray." 
 
 V Also to die. The same idea as that 
 above. There are numerous phrases to 
 express the cessation of life ; for ex- 
 ample, "To kick the bucket " ((^.r.) ; 
 "To lay down one's knife and fork ; " 
 " Pegging out " (from the game of 
 cribbage) ; "To be snuffed out " (like a 
 candle) ; " He has given in ; " "To 
 throw up the sponge" {q.v.) ; "To fall 
 asleep;" "To enter Charon's boat" 
 (See Charon) ; " To join the majority ; " 
 "To cave in;" a common Scripture 
 phrase is "To give up the ghost." 
 
 Hope. Before Alexander set out for 
 Asia he divided his kingdom among his 
 friends. "My lord," said Perdiccas, 
 "what have you left for yourself y " 
 " Hope," replied Alexander. Whereupon 
 Perdiccas rejoined, " If hope is enough 
 for Alexander, it is enough for Perdic- 
 cas," and declined to accept any bounty 
 from the king. 
 
 The Bard of Hope. Thomas Camp- 
 beU (1777-1844), the author of The 
 
 rieasitres of Hope. The entire profits on 
 this poem were £900. 
 
 The Cape of Good Hope. {See Storms.) 
 
 Hopeful. The companion of Cliiis- 
 tian after the death of Faithful. {liiai- 
 yan : I'ilyrini's I'royress.) 
 
 Hope-on-High Bomby. A puri- 
 tanical character drawn by Beaumont 
 and Fletcher. 
 
 '" Wi'll,' Kviii WJIdrake, 'I think I can make a 
 " Hiipf-iin-Hi>,'li ISoiiihy " as well as thou canst.'" 
 —No- Walter .Srvtt: Wmdstuck.v. \ ii. 
 
 Hopkins {Matthcic), of Manningtree, 
 Essex, the witch-finder of the associated 
 counties of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and 
 Huntingdonshire. In one year he hanged 
 sixty reputed witches in Essex alone. 
 Dr. Z. Grey says that between three 
 and four thousand persons suffered death 
 for witchcraft between 1G43 and 1G61. 
 
 Nicholas Hopkins. A Carthusian friar, 
 cftnfessor of the Duke of Buckingham, 
 who projjhesied " that neither the king 
 (Henry VIII.) nor his heirs should 
 prosper, Imt that the Duke of Bucking- 
 ham should govern England. 
 
 " I Gent. Tliat devil-nionk 
 
 Hopkins that made this uiisclilef. 
 2 Gent. That was lie 
 
 That fed him with his prophecies." 
 
 Shakespeare : Henry VIII., ii. I. 
 
 Hopkins'ians. Those who adopt 
 the theological opinions of Dr. Samuel 
 Hopkins, of Connecticut. These sec- 
 tarians hold most of the Calvinistic doc- 
 trines, but entirely reject the doctrines 
 of imputed sin and imputed righteous- 
 ness. The speciality of the system is 
 that true holiness consists in disinter- 
 ested benevolence, and that all sin is 
 selfishness. 
 
 Hopping Giles. A lame person ; so 
 called from St. Giles, the tutelar saint of 
 cripples, who was himself lame. 
 
 Hopton. Wheti in doid)t, kill Hopion. 
 Sir Ralph Hopton was a Royalist general. 
 During the Civil Wars we read that 
 Hopton was killed over and over again ; 
 thus, in iJinrnal Occurrences, Dec. 5th, 
 1642, we read, "It was likewise this day 
 reported that Sir Ralph Hopton is either 
 dead or dangerously sicke." Five 
 months later we read in Special Passages, 
 May 6th, 1643, of Hopton's death after 
 a fight on Roborough Down, in Devon- 
 shire. And again, May 15th, 164 3, we 
 read of his death in A True Jielation of 
 the Proceedings of the Cornish Forces. 
 
 Hor'ace. The Roman lyric poet. 
 
 Horaces of England. George, Duke 
 of Buckingham, preposterously declared 
 Cowley to be the Pindar, Horace, and
 
 Horatian 
 
 621 
 
 Horn-bodlj: 
 
 Virgil of England (1618-1667). Ben 
 Jonson is invariably called Horace by 
 Dekker. 
 
 Horaces of France. Jean Macrinus or 
 Salmon (1490-1557) ; Pierre Jean de 
 Berauger, the French Hums (1780- 
 1857). 
 
 Horaces of Spain. The brothers Ar- 
 geii'sola, whose Christian names were 
 Lupercio and Bartolme. 
 
 Horatian Metro (An). Book i. 
 Ode iv. In alternate lines, one of 
 seventeen syllables and the other of 
 eleven, thus : 
 
 Below is a translation of the first four 
 lines in this Horatian metre (rhyming) : 
 Now that the winter is past, blitlip spring to 
 the lialniy fleUis inviteth, 
 Anil 1(. ! fnini the dry sands men their koels 
 are hauling ; 
 Cattle rjo longer their stalls affect, nor the hind 
 his hearth delighteth, 
 Nor ileadly Frost spreads over mends her 
 lallmg. H.C.B. 
 
 V See Alcaic, Asclepiadic, Chori- 
 AMBic, Sapphic, etc. {See also Hexa- 
 METEES, and Hexameters and J'enta- 
 
 METERS. ) 
 
 Hora'tio. Hamlet's intimate friend. 
 
 {Shakespeare : Hamlet.) 
 
 Horn. Logistilla gave Astolpho at 
 parting a horn that had the virtue to 
 appal and put to flight tlie boldest 
 knight or most savage beast. {Ariosto : 
 Orlando Fiirioso, book viii.) 
 
 Astolpho^s horn. (See above.) 
 
 Cape Horn. So named by Schouten, 
 a Dutch mariner, who first doubled it. 
 He was a native of Hoorn, in north 
 Holland, and named the cape after his 
 native jjlace. 
 
 Dri»ki»ff horn. Drinking cups used 
 to be made of the rhinoceros's horn, from 
 an Oriental belief that " it sweats at the 
 approach of poison. " (Calmet : Biblical 
 Dictionary.) 
 
 King Horn. The hero of a French 
 metrical romance, and the original of 
 our Home Childe, generally called 
 The Geste of Kyiig Horn. The nominal 
 author of the French romance is Mestre 
 Thomas. Dr. Percy ascribes the 
 English romance of King Home to the 
 twelfth century, but this is probably a 
 century too early. . (See liitson's 
 Ancient liomaitces.) 
 
 Horn, Horns. 
 
 Phrases. 
 
 My horn hath He exalted (1 Sam. ii. 10 ; 
 Ps. Ixxxix. 24, etc.). Mr. Buckingham 
 says of a Tyrian lady, " She wore on her 
 
 head a hollow silver horn, rearing itself 
 upwards obliquely from the forehead. 
 It was some four inches in diameter at 
 the root, and pointed at its extremity. 
 This peculiarity reminded me forcibly 
 of the expression of the Psalmist, ' Lift 
 not up your horn on high : speak not 
 with a stiff neck. All the horns of the 
 wicked also will I cut off ; but the horns 
 of the righteous shall be exalted ' (Ps. 
 Ixxv. 5, 10)." Bruce found in Abys- 
 sinia the silver horns of warriors and 
 distinguished men. In the i-eign of 
 Henry V. the "honied head-gear" was 
 introduced into England, and from the 
 effigy of Beatrice, Countess of Arundel, 
 at Arundel church, who is represented 
 with two horns outsjjread to a great 
 extent, we may infer that the length of 
 the head-horn, like the length of the 
 shoe-point in the reign of Henry VI., 
 etc., marked the degree of rank. "To 
 cut off" such horns would be to de- 
 grade; and to exalt or extend such 
 horus would be to add honour and dig- 
 nity to the wearer. 
 
 To draw in one''s horns. To retract, 
 or mitigate, a pronounced opinion ; to 
 restrain pride. In French, " Jienirer les 
 comes.'''' The allusion is to the snail. 
 
 To put to the horn. To denounce as 
 a rebel, or pronounce a person an out- 
 law, for not answering to a summons. 
 In Scotland the messenger-at-arms goes 
 to the Cross of Edinburgh and gives 
 three blasts with a horn before he 
 heralds the judgment of outlawry. 
 
 "A king's messenger must give three Masts 
 with his horn, l\v which the jierson is understood 
 to lie proclaimed rebel to the king for contempt 
 of his authority."— iVii/.'iiie; Institutes, hook ii. 5. 
 
 To wear the horns. To be a cuckold- 
 In the rutting season, the stags associate 
 with the fawns : one stag selects several 
 females, who constitute his harem, till 
 another stag comes who contests the 
 prize with him. If beaten in the 
 combat, he yields up his harem to the 
 victor, and is without associates till he 
 finds a stag feebler than himself, who is 
 made to submit to similar terms. As 
 stags are horned, and made cuckolds of 
 by their fellows, the appUcatiou is 
 palpable. {See Cornette.) 
 
 Horn-book. The alphabet - book, 
 which was a thin board of oak about nine 
 inches long and five or six wide, on which 
 was printed the alphabet, the nine 
 digits, and sometimes the Lord's Prayer. 
 It had a handle, and was covered in 
 front with a sheet of thin horn to 
 prevent its being soiled ; the back- 
 board was ornamented with a rude
 
 Horn-gate 
 
 622, 
 
 Horns 
 
 sketch of St. George and the Dragon. 
 The board and its horn cover were held 
 together by a narrow frame or border of 
 brass, {(ice Ceissceoss Eow. ) 
 
 " Tliee will I sing, in comely wain8cn.%t bound, 
 And golden verge inclosing thee around ; 
 Tlie faithful hofu before, from age to age 
 rrescrving thy invulneralile page ; 
 Beliinil, thy patron saint in armour shines, 
 "With sword and lance to guard the sacred 
 
 lines . . . 
 Th' instructive handle's at the liottoin fixed. 
 Lest wrangliug criticsshould pervert I lir text." 
 Tid.ill : Tin: Hum l!:;,l:. 
 "Their books of stature small they took in hand 
 Which with pellucid horn secured are, 
 To save from finger wet the letters fair." 
 
 Sheiistoiie : .Schoolmistress. 
 
 Horn-gate. One of the two gates 
 of "Dreams;" the other is of ivorj-. 
 Visions which issue from the former 
 come true. This whim depends upon 
 two Greek puns ; the Greek for horn is 
 trras, and the verb kraiio or hanuioo 
 means "to bring to an issue," "to 
 fulfil ; so again ckphas is ivory, and the 
 verb elcphairo means " to cheat," "to 
 deceive." The verb hra'mo, however, 
 is derived from km, " the head," and 
 means " to bring to a head ; " and the 
 verb clephairo^is akin to cldc/itis, 
 "small." 
 
 Anchi'ses dismisses iEne'as through 
 the ivory gate, on quitting the infernal 
 regions, to indicate the unreality of his 
 vision. 
 
 "Sunt peniina; soinui porta*, quarnni altera 
 fertur 
 Cornea, qua veris faeilis datur exTtus Umbris ; 
 Altera candenti perfecta nitens eiephanto : 
 ' Sed falsa ad ccelum mittunt insomnia Manes." 
 Virijit : JSneid, vi. »U4, etc. 
 
 Horn of Fidelity. Morgan la Faye 
 sent a horn to King Ai-thur, which had 
 the following " virtue " : — No lady could 
 drink out of it who was not " to her hus- 
 band true ; " all others who attempted to 
 drink were sure to spill what it contained. 
 This horn was carried to King Marke, 
 and ' ' his queene with a hundred ladies 
 more" tried the experiment, but only 
 four managed to " drinke cleaue." Ari- 
 osto's enchanted cup possessed a similar 
 spell. {See Chastity.) 
 
 Horn of Plenty \_Conu(-eu2)ia'\. 
 Emblem of plenty. 
 
 Ce'res is drawn with a ram's horn in 
 her left arm, tilled with fruits and flowers. 
 Sometimes they are being poured on the 
 earth from " the full horn," and some- 
 times they are held in it as in a basket. 
 Diodo'rus (iii. 68) says the horn is one 
 from the head of the goat by which 
 Jupiter was suckled. He explains the 
 fable thus : "In Libya," he says, ' ' there 
 is a strip of land shaped like a horn, 
 
 bestowed by King Ammon on his bride 
 Amalthiea, who nursed Jupiter with 
 goat's milk. 
 
 "When Amalthe'a's horn 
 O'er hill and dale therosc-crowned Flora jMiurg, 
 And scatters corn and wine, and fruits and 
 llowers." CanwruK: Ltt»i(Ul, hook ii. 
 
 Horn of Power. When Tam'ugin 
 assumed the title of Ghengis Khan, lie 
 commanded that a white horn should 
 bo thenceforward the standard of his 
 troops. So the great Mogul " lifted up 
 his honi on liigh," and was exalted to , 
 great power. , 
 
 Horn of the Son of Oil ( The) (Isa. 
 
 V. 1). The son of oil means Syri:i, 
 famous for its olives and its olive oil, 
 and the horn of Syria means the strip of 
 land called Syria, which lias the sea 
 bounding it on the west and the desert 
 on the east. 
 
 Horn with Horn or Horn under 
 
 Horn. The promiscuous feeding of 
 bulls and cows, or, in fact, all homed 
 beasts that are allowed to run together 
 on the same common. 
 
 Horns of a Dilemma. A difficulty 
 of such a nature that whatever way 
 you attack it you encounter an equal 
 amount of disagreeables. Macbeth, 
 after the murder of Duncan, was in a 
 strait between two evils. If he allowed 
 Bauquo to live, he liad reason to believe 
 that Banquo would supplant him ; if, 
 on the other hand, he resolved to keep 
 the crown for which " he had 'filed his 
 hands," he must " step further iu 
 blood," and cut Banquo off. 
 
 Lemma, is something that has been 
 proved, and being so is assumed as an 
 axiom. It is from the Greek word 
 htni'hano (I assume or take for granted). 
 JJi-leiiniia is a double lemma, or two- 
 edged sword which strikes eitlier way. 
 The hor7is of a dilemma is a figure of 
 speech taken from a bull, which tosses 
 with either of his horns. 
 
 " Teach me to plead," said a young 
 rhetorician to a sophist, "and I will pay 
 you when I gain a cause." The master 
 sued for payment at once, and the scholar 
 pleaded, " If I t/aiii my cause j'ou must 
 Ijay me, and if I lose it I am not bound 
 to pay J'OU by the tei-ms of our contract." 
 The master pleaded, "If j'ou f/ain you 
 must pay me by the terms of the agree- 
 ment, and if you lose the court will com- 
 jjel you to pay me." 
 
 Horns of Moses' Face. This is a 
 mere blunder. The Hebrew haran 
 maav.G "to shoot out beams of light," 
 but has by mistake been translated iu
 
 Horns 
 
 623 
 
 Horse 
 
 some versions " to wear horus." Thus 
 Moses is con ventioually represented with 
 horns. " Moses wist not that the skin 
 of his face shone" (Exod. xxxiv. 29) ; 
 compare 2 Co'r. iii. 7-13 : " The children 
 of Israel could not stedfastly behold 
 the face of Moses for the glory of his 
 countenance." 
 
 Horns of the Altar ( To the). Vsqne 
 ad aras amicus. Your friend even to the 
 horns of the altar — i.e. through thick 
 and thin. In swearing, the ancient 
 Roxians held the honis of the altar, and 
 one who did so in testimony of friend- 
 ship could not break his oath without 
 calling on himself tlie vengeance of the 
 angry gods. 
 
 Home. I'll cJiaiicc if, as old Rome 
 did his i/cck. The reference is to Home, 
 a clergyman of Notts, who committed 
 murder, but contrived to escape to the 
 Continent. After several years of ab- 
 sence, he returned to England, and when 
 told of the risk he ran, he replied, " I'll 
 chance it." He did chance it ; but being 
 apprehended, he was tried, condemned, 
 and executed. {I'/ie Keivgatc Calendar.) 
 
 Horner. One who blows the hunting- 
 horn ; a huntsman or master of the 
 hounds. Little Jack Homer was master 
 of the Abbot of Glastonbury's hounds. 
 
 Hornets (Josh. xxiv. 12). "And I 
 sent the hornet before you, which drave 
 them out from before j-ou, even the two 
 kings of the Amorites." The Egyptian 
 standard was a hornet, and in this 
 passage, " I sent the hornet before you," 
 the word hornet must be taken to mean 
 the EgyjDtian army. 
 
 Hornet's Nest. To poke your head 
 into a hcruefs lies'. To briiir/ a hornet's 
 nest about your cars. To get into trouble 
 by meddling and making. The bear is 
 very fond of honey, and often gets stung 
 by poking its snout by mistake into a 
 hornet's nest in search of its favourite 
 dainty. 
 
 Hor'nie (2 syl.). Auld Hurnie. The 
 devil, so called in Scotland. The allu- 
 sion is to the horns with which Satan is 
 generally represented. [See Faiey.) 
 
 Horn 'pipe (2 syl.). The dance is so 
 called because it used to be danced in the 
 west of England to the pib-corn or horn- 
 pipe, an instrument consisting of a pij)e 
 each end of which was made of horn. 
 
 Horology. The art of measuring 
 time ; or constructing iustruments to 
 indicate time, i.e. clocks and watches. 
 
 Hor'oscope (3 syl.). The scheme of 
 the twelve houses by which astrologers 
 tell your fortune. The word means the 
 "hour-scrutinised," because it is the 
 hour of birth only which is examined in 
 these star-maps. {Uora-skopco, Greek.) 
 
 Horrors (The). Delirium tremens. 
 Hors de Combat (Freucli). Out of 
 battle. Incapable of taking any further 
 part in the fight. 
 f Horse. Notabilia. 
 Thejifteen points of a good horse : 
 " A K'ood horse sbulde liave tliroe imipyrtees 
 of a man, three nf a woman, three of a foxe, three 
 of a haare.aml three of an asse. 
 "O/aman. Bohh'. vrowde, and hardye. 
 " (j/ a troman. Fayre-lireasted, faire of hecre, 
 and easy to move. 
 
 " Of a foxe. A fair taylle, short eers, with a 
 good trotte. 
 
 " Of a haare. A grate eye, a dry head, and well 
 rennynt'e. 
 
 " of (III nsse. A hygge chynn, a flat legge, and a 
 good hoof."— F)/H/.2//i"d« Wnrde (14lW). 
 
 Horse. Creator of the horse. Accord- 
 ing to classical mythology, Poseidon 
 [Neptune] created the horse. When the 
 goddess of Wisdom disputed with the 
 Sea-god which of them should give 
 name to Athens, the gods decided that 
 it should be called by the name of that 
 deity which bestowed on man the most 
 useful boon. Athene (the goddess of 
 W^isdom) created the olive tree, but 
 Poseidon or Neptune created the horse. 
 The vote was given in favour of the 
 olive-tree, and the city called Athens. 
 
 V It was a remarkable judgment, but 
 it must be remembered that an olive 
 branch was tlie sj'mbol of peace, and was 
 also the highest prize of the victor in 
 the Olympic games. The horse, on the 
 other hand, was the sj'mbol of u-ar, and 
 peace is certainly to be preferred to war. 
 
 Horses (four-in-liand). The first 
 person that drove a four-in-hand was 
 Erichthon'ius, according to Virgil : 
 " Priinns Erichthouius curnis ct quaturir aiisns 
 
 Jungere equos." Gennj. iii. 113. 
 
 (Eriohthon was the first who dared command 
 
 A chanot yoked with horses four in hand.) 
 
 A horse wins a kingdom. On the 
 death of Smerdis, the several competi- 
 tors for the throne of Persia agi-eed that 
 he should be king whose horse neighed 
 first when they met on the day follow- 
 ing. The groom of Darius showed his 
 horse a mare on the place appointed, 
 and immediately it arrived at the spot 
 on the following day the horse began to 
 neigh, and won the crown for its master. 
 
 H Horse (in the Catacombs). Emblem 
 of the swiftness of life. Sometimes a 
 palm-wreath is placed above its head to 
 denote that ' ' the race is not to the 
 swift."
 
 Horse 
 
 624 
 
 Horse 
 
 Horse (in Cliristian art). Emblem of 
 courage and generosity. The attribute 
 of St. Martin, St. Maurice, St. George, 
 and St. Victor, all of whom are repre- 
 sented on horseback. St. Le'on is repre- 
 sented on horseback, in pontifical robes, 
 blessing the people. 
 
 Jlrazcii horse. {Sec Cambuscan ; sec also 
 Barbed Steed, Dobbin.) 
 
 § Flesh-eatbig horses. The horses of 
 Diomed, Tyrant of Thrace (not Diomede, 
 son of Tydeus) ; he fed his horses on the 
 strangers who visited his kingdom. Her- 
 cules vanquished the tyrant, and gave 
 the carcase to the horses to eat. 
 
 Like to the Tliracinii tyrnnt who, tliey pay. 
 Until liis liurscs k.-ivi- liis ^-iirsls fur meat, 
 
 Till lie liiriisrlf w;iB made t heir mecily prey. 
 Anil turn to inerrs by Ak-iiles ureat." 
 Spenser : Faerie Qiieeiie, book v., canto 8. 
 
 Wooden horse. (See Wooden.) 
 
 U Horse, in the British Army : 
 
 Elliott's Light Horse. The 1.5th Hus- 
 sars of the British Amiy ; so called from 
 Colonel Elliott. They are now called 
 the " King's Hussars." 
 
 FageVs Irregular Horse. The 4th 
 Hussars ; so called from their loose drill, 
 after their return from India iu 183'J. 
 Now called " The Queen's Hussars." 
 
 The Black Horse. The 7th Dragoon 
 Guards, or Princess Royal's Dragoon 
 Guards; called "black" from its facings. 
 
 The Blue Horse. The 4th Dragoon 
 Guards; called "blue" from their 
 facings. 
 
 The Grcni Horse or " The Green Dra- 
 goon Guards." The otli Dragoon G uards ; 
 called " green" from their facings. "The 
 Princess Charlotte of Wales's Dragoon 
 Guards." 
 
 The Royal Horse Guards (called, in 
 1690, Oxford Blurs from tlieir blue 
 facings) are the three heavy cavalry 
 regiments of the Household Brigade, 
 first raised in 1661. 
 
 The White Horse. The old 8th Foot ; 
 now called "The King's" (Liverpool 
 Regiment); called the "White Horse" 
 from one of the badges— a white horse 
 witliin the garter. 
 
 Horse. The public-house sign. 
 
 (1) The White Horse. The standard 
 of the Saxons, and therefore impressed 
 on hop pockets and bags as the ensign 
 of Kent. On Ufhngton Hill, Berks, 
 there is formed iu the chalk an enor- 
 mous white horse, supposed to have been 
 cut there after the battle in which Ethel- 
 red and Alfred defeated the Danes (871). 
 This rude ensign is about 374 feet long, 
 and 1,000 feet above the sea-level. It 
 may be seen twelve miles off. 
 
 (2) The galloping vhite horse is the 
 device of the house of Hanover, 
 
 (8) The rampant trhite horse. The 
 device of the house of Savoy, descended 
 from the Saxons. 
 
 HoESES Famous in History and 
 Fable : 
 
 Abakur (Celtic). One of the horses 
 of Sunna. The word means the "hot 
 one." {Scandinavian mgthology.) 
 
 Abas' ter (Greek). One of the horses 
 of riuto. The word means " away from 
 the stars" or "deprived of the hght of 
 day." 
 
 Ab'atos (Greek). One of the horses of 
 Pluto. The word means " inaccessible," 
 and refers to the infernal realm. 
 
 Abraxas (Greek). One of the horses 
 of Auro'ra. The letters of this word iu 
 Greek make up 365, the number of days 
 in the year, 
 
 Actce'on (Greek, "effulgence"). One 
 of the horses of the Sun. 
 
 Jlithon (Greek, "fiery red"). One 
 of the horses of the Sun. 
 
 A'eton. One of the horses of Pluto. 
 Greek, " swift as an eagle." 
 
 Agnes. (See below. Black Agnes.) 
 
 Alborak. (See Borak.) 
 
 Alfa'na. Gradasso's horse. The word 
 means "a mare." {Orlando Furioso.) 
 
 Alige'ro Clarile'no. The "wooden-pin 
 wing-horse" which Don Quixote and 
 his squire mounted to achieve the de- 
 liverance of Dolori'da and her com- 
 panions. 
 
 Alsii'dur. One of the horses of Sunna. 
 The word means " all scorching." {Scati- 
 dinarian mythology.) 
 
 Amethe'a (Greek). One of the horses 
 of the Sun, The word means "no 
 loiterer." 
 
 Aq'uiline (3 syl.). Raymond's steed, 
 bred on the banks of the Tagus. The 
 word means "like an eagle," {Tasso : 
 Jerusalem IkTivered .) 
 
 Ari'on (Greek). Hercules' horse, given 
 to Adras'tos. The horse of Neptune, 
 brought out of the earth by striking it 
 with his trident ; its right feet were 
 those of a human creature, it spoke with 
 a human voice, and ran with incredible 
 swiftness. The word means " martial," 
 i.e. " war-horse." 
 
 Ar'undcl. The horse of Bevis of 
 Southampton. The word means "swift 
 as a swallow," (French, hirondelle, ^' a 
 swallow.") 
 
 Arva'kur. One of the horses of Sunna. 
 The word means " splendid." {Scandi- 
 navian mythology.) 
 
 Aslo. One of the horses of Sunnia, 
 {Scandinavian mythology.)
 
 Horse 
 
 62.') 
 
 Horse 
 
 Bahlc'ca (Sjianish, "a simpleton"). 
 The Cid's horse. He survived liis master 
 two years and a half, during which time 
 no one was allowed to mount him ; and 
 when he died he was buried before the 
 gate of the monastery at Valencia, and 
 two elms were planted to mark the site. 
 The horse was so called because, when 
 Eodrigo in his youth was given the 
 choice of a horse, he passed by the most 
 esteemed ones and selected a rough colt ; 
 whereupon las godfather called the lad 
 huhliea (a dolt), and Rodrigo transferred 
 the appellation to his horse. 
 
 lUijay'do. liinaldo's horse, of a bright 
 bay colour, once the property of Am'adis 
 of Gaul. It was found by Malagi'gi, the 
 wizard, in a cave guarded by a dragon, 
 which the wizard slew. According to 
 tradition, it is still alive, but floes at the 
 approach of man, so that no one can ever 
 hope to catch him. The word means of 
 a " bay colour." {Orlando I'lirio.w.) 
 
 Bar'ton (Greek, " swift"). One of the 
 horses given by Neptune to Peleus. It 
 afterwards belonged to Achilles. Like 
 Xanthos, its sire was the West-wind, 
 and its dam Swift-foot the harpy. 
 
 Bayard. The horse of the four sons 
 of Aymon, which grew larger or smaller 
 as one or more of the four sous mounted 
 it. According to tradition, one of the 
 foot-prints may still be seen in the forest 
 of Soignes, and another on a rock near 
 Dinant. The word means " bright bay 
 colour." 
 
 Also the horse of FitzJames. 
 
 " stand, I3:i,vanl, st.-uul ! Tlie steod "ticycil 
 With arcliing neck, aiul licnded head. 
 And (rlariu),' eye, and ijuiverinu' ear, 
 As if lie h)ved his lord to he.ar." 
 
 Sir W. Scott: J.ady of the Lake, xviii. 
 
 Barhary. (SeS Bonn Bnrhary.) 
 
 Be'ris. The horse of Lord Mar'mion. 
 The word is Norse, and means " swift." 
 {Sir ir. Scott.) 
 
 Black Ayiics. The palfrey of Mary 
 Queen of Scots, given her by her brother 
 Moray, and named after Agnes of Dun- 
 bar, a countess in her own right. 
 
 Black Bess. The famous mare ridden 
 by the highwaym.an DickTurpin, which, 
 tradition says, carried him from Loudon 
 to York. 
 
 Black Sahidin. Warwick's famous 
 horse, which was coal-black. Its sire 
 was Malech, and, according to tradition, 
 when the race of Malech failed, the 
 race of Warwick would fail also. And 
 it was so. 
 
 Borak (AI). The " horse " which con- 
 veyed Mahomet from earth to the seventh 
 heaven. It was milk-white, had the 
 wings of an eagle, and a human face, 
 
 40 
 
 with horse's cheeks. Every pace she 
 took was equal to the farthest range of 
 human sight. The word is Arabic for 
 "the lightning." 
 
 Br'xy'adore (3 syl.) or Briyliadore 
 [Bril-j-ar-dore]. Sir Guyon's horse, 
 which had a distinguishing black spot 
 in its mouth, like a horse-shoe in shajie. 
 {Spenser : Faerie Quccne, v. 2.) 
 
 Brigliadiyro [Bril-ya-do'ro]. Orlan- 
 do's famous charger, second only to 
 Bayardo in swiftness and wonderful 
 powers. The word means "golden- 
 bridle." {Orlando F/irioso, etc.) 
 
 Bronte ("2 syl.). One of the horses of 
 the Sun. The word means " thunder." 
 
 Bronzomartc (3 syl.). The horse of Sir 
 Launcelot Greaves. The word means 
 " a mettlesome sorrel." 
 
 J!roa-n Hal. A model pacing stallion. 
 
 Biiccph'alofi (Greek). The celebrated 
 charger of Alexander the Great. Alex- 
 ander was the only person who could 
 mount him, and he always knelt down 
 to take up his master. He was thirty 
 years old at death, and Alexander built 
 a city for his mausoleum, which he 
 called Buceph'ala. The word means 
 " ox-head." 
 
 Capilet (Grey). The horse of Six* 
 Andrew Aguecheek. {Shakespeare : 
 Tu-elfth Night, iii. 4.) A capilet or 
 capulet is a small wen on the horse's 
 hock. 
 
 Carman. The Chevalier Bayard's 
 horse, given him by the Duke of Lor- 
 rain. It was a Persian horse from 
 Korman or Carmen (Laristan). 
 
 Ce'ler. The horse of the Romnn 
 Emperor Ve'rus. It was fed on almonds 
 and raisins, covered with royal inirple, 
 and stalled in the imperial palace. 
 (Latin for "swift.") 
 
 Cerus. The horse of Adrastos, swifter 
 than the wind {I'ausanias). The word 
 means " fit." 
 
 Cesar. A model Percheron stallion. 
 
 Clarileno. (See Aliycro.) 
 
 Comrade (2 syl.). Fortunio's fairy 
 horse. 
 
 Copcnha'ycn. Wellington's charger 
 at Waterloo. It died in 183.5 at the age 
 of twenty-seven. Napoleon's horse was 
 Marengo. 
 
 Curial (Bay). The horse of Lord La- 
 feu. {Shakespeare : AlVs Well that 
 Ends Well, ii. 3.) The word means 
 "cropped." 
 
 Cut. The carrier's horse. {Shake- 
 speare: 1 Henry IV., act ii. 1.) A 
 familiar name of a horse. The word 
 may be taken to mean either ' ' cas- 
 trated " or " cropped."
 
 Horse 
 
 626 
 
 Horse 
 
 Cyl'laros (Greek). Named from Cylla, 
 in Troas, a celebrated horse of Castor 
 or of Pollux. 
 
 Dapple. Sanclio Panza's ass (in the 
 History of Don Quixote dc la Maricha, 
 by Cervantes). So called from its coloiu". 
 
 Di'nos (Greek). Diomed's horse. 
 The word means " the marvel." 
 
 Dhuldul. The famous horse of Ali, 
 son-in-law of Mahomet. 
 
 Doomstead. The horse of tlie Konis 
 or Fates. {Seandinaviaii mythology.) 
 
 Eoos (Greek, " dawn "). One of the 
 horses of Aurora. 
 
 Eryth'reos (Greek, "red-producer"). 
 One of the horses of the Sun. 
 
 Ethon (Greek, "fiery"). One of the 
 horses of Hector. 
 
 Fadda. Mahomet's white mule. 
 
 Ferrant d'Fspnyue. The horse of 
 Oliver. The word means ' ' the Spanish 
 traveller." 
 
 Fiddle-back. Oliver Goldsmith's un- 
 fortunate pony. 
 
 Fnntaletto. Sacripant's charger. The 
 word means "little head." {Ariosto : 
 Orlando Furioso.) 
 
 Fronti'no or Frontin. Once called 
 " Balisarda." Roge'ro's or Rugie'ro's 
 horse. The word means " little head." 
 (^Ariosto : Orlando Furioso, etc.) 
 
 Gul'atlte (3 syl.). One of Hector's 
 horses. The word means " cream- 
 coloured." 
 
 Gihlas. A model German coach stallion. 
 
 Grane ('2 syl.). Siegfried's horse, of 
 marvellous swiftness. The word means 
 "grey-coloured." 
 
 Grey Capilct. (See CapiJet.) 
 
 Grizzle. Dr. Syntax's horse, all skin 
 and bone. The word means " grey- 
 coloured." 
 
 Halz'um. The horse of the archangel 
 Gabriel. {Koran.) 
 
 lla/pago/s (Greek, " one that carries 
 off rapidly.") One of the horses of 
 Castor and Pollux. 
 
 Htp'pocam'pes (4 syl.). One of Nep- 
 tune's horses. It had only two legs, 
 the hinder quarter being that of a 
 dragon's t;iil or fish. 
 
 Honest Tom. A model shire stallion, 
 1105. 
 
 Hrimfaxi. The horse of Night, from 
 whose bit fall the "rime-drops " which 
 every night bedew tlie earth {i.e. frost- 
 mane]. (Scandinavian mytholoyy.) 
 
 Ildtrim. A model Aralaiau stallion. 
 
 India' t us. The horse of the Roman 
 Emperor Calig'ula, made priest and con- 
 sul. It had an ivory manger, and drank 
 wine out of a golden pail. The word 
 means " spurred-on." 
 
 Jenny Geddes (1 sjd.). Robert Burns's 
 mare. 
 
 Kan'taka. The white horse of Prince 
 Gautama of India (Budda). 
 
 Kelpy or Kelpie. The water-horse of 
 fairy mythology. Tlie word means " of 
 tlie colour of kelp or sea-weed." 
 
 Kerrela. A model French coach stal- 
 lion, 134 2. 
 
 Lampon (Greek, "the bright one"). 
 One of the horses of Diomed. 
 
 Lampos (Greek, " shining like a 
 lamp"). One of the steeds of the Sun 
 at noon. 
 
 Lamri. King Arthur's mare. The 
 word means " the curveter. " 
 
 Leiston. A model Suffolk stallion, 
 141.5. 
 
 Lconatus. A model thorough-bred 
 stallion. 
 
 Maren'yo. The white stallion which 
 Napoleon rode at Waterloo. Its remains 
 are now in the Mu.seum of the United 
 Services, London. It is represented in 
 Vernet's jjicture of Napoleon Crossiny 
 the Alps. Wellington's horse was 
 called Copenhagen. 
 
 Matchless of Londcshorough. A model 
 hacknej' stallion. 
 
 Malech. (See Blaclc Saladiu.) 
 
 Maroceo. Banks's famous horse. Its 
 shoes were of silver, and one of its 
 exploits was to mount the steeple of St. 
 Paul's. 
 
 Molly. Sir Charles Napier's mare. 
 It died at the age of 35. 
 
 Nohbs. The steed of Dr. Dove of 
 Doncaster. {Soutltcy.) 
 
 Konios. One of the horses of Pluto. 
 
 Ore' Ha. The charger of Roderick, last 
 of the Goths, noted for its speed and 
 symmetry. (Sou they.) 
 
 I'ale Horse (The) on which Death rides. 
 (Rev. vi. 8.) 
 
 Falo Alto. A model trotting stallion. 
 
 Fiisse Brewcll. Sir Tristram's charger. 
 {Hist, of Frince Arthur, ii. 68.) 
 
 I'eg'asos. The winged horse of Apollo 
 and the Muses. (Greek, "bom near 
 the pege or source of the ocean.") Per- 
 seus rode him when he rescued An- 
 dromeda. 
 
 FhactoH (Greek, " the shining one "). 
 One of the steeds of Auro'ra. 
 
 I'hallas. The horse of Herac'lios. 
 The word means " stallion." 
 
 Fhleg'on (Greek, "the burning or 
 blazing one "). One of the horses of 
 the Noon-day Sun. 
 
 Fhre'nicos. The horse of Hiero, of 
 Syracuse, that won the Olympic prize 
 for single horses in the seventy-third 
 Olympiad. It means " intelligent."
 
 Horse 
 
 627 
 
 Horse 
 
 Podar'ge (3 syl.). One of the horses 
 of Hector. The word means "swift- 
 foot." 
 
 FriiiceRoi/al. A model Belgian stallion. 
 
 Pn'roeis [pu'-r6-ice]. One of the 
 horses of the Noou-day Sun. (Greek, 
 "fiery hot.") 
 
 Huoica'no or Eab'ican. Argali'a's horse 
 in Orlando Innamorato, and Astolpho's 
 horse in Orlando Furioso. Its dam was 
 Fire, its sire Wind ; it fed on unearthly 
 food. The word means a horse with a 
 " dark tail but with some white hairs." 
 
 "Kal>icano (adj.), que se applica al'caliallo que 
 tieiie algunas cerdas blaacas in la cohi."— SaiPit ; 
 Spanish Dictionary. 
 
 Iteksh. Rustem's horse. 
 Jlimfaxi. (See Hrimfaxi.) 
 lioan Barbary. The favourite horse 
 of King Richard II. 
 " When Boliiigbroke rode on Roan Barharj- 
 That horse ihat thou 8o often hast bestnd." 
 Shakespeare: Michard lI.,\.o. 
 
 Ronald. Lord Cardigan's thorough- 
 bred chestnut, with white stockings on 
 the near hind and fore feet. It carried 
 him through the Balaclava Charge. 
 
 Ros'abdh (3 syl.). The favourite 
 palfrey of Mary Queen of Scots. 
 
 Rosinan'te (4 syl.). Don Quixote's 
 horse, all skin and bone. The word 
 means "formerly a hack." 
 
 Ros'signol. The palfrey of Madame 
 Chutelet of Cirey, the lady with whom 
 Voltaire resided for ten years. 
 
 Royalty. A model Cleveland bay 
 stallion. 
 
 Saladin. (See Black Saladin.) 
 
 Savoy. The favourite black horse of 
 Charles VIII. of France ; so called from 
 the Duke of Savoy who gave it liim. It 
 had but one eye, and "was mean in 
 stature." 
 
 Shib'diz. The Persian Buceph'alos, 
 fleeter than the wind. It was the 
 charger of Chosroes II. of Persia. 
 
 iSkinfaxi. The steed which draws the 
 car of day. The word means "shin- 
 ing mane." (Scandinavian mythology.) 
 
 Sleipnir (Slipe'neer). Odin's grey horse, 
 which had eight legs and could traverse 
 either land or sea. The horse typifies 
 the wind which blows over land and 
 water from eight principal points. 
 
 Sorrel. The horse of William III., 
 which stumbled by catching his foot in 
 a mole-heap. This accident ultimately 
 caused the king's death. Sorrel, like 
 Savoy, was blind of one eye, and 
 "mean of stature." 
 
 Spumador. King Arthur's horse. The 
 word means ' ' the foaming one. ' ' 
 
 Strymon. The horse immolated by 
 Xerxes before he invaded Greece. 
 
 Named from the river Strj-mon, in 
 Thrace, from which vicinity it came. 
 
 Suleiman. The favom-ite charger of 
 the Earl of Essex. 
 
 Tachebrune {q.r.). The horse of Ogier 
 the Dane. 
 
 Tre'bizond. The grey horse of Ad- 
 miral Guari'nos, one of tlie French 
 knights taken at RoncesvallGs. 
 
 ]'eglia)iti'no [Vail-yan-te'-no]. The 
 famous steed of Orlando, called in French 
 romance Veillantif, Orlando being called 
 Roland. The word means " the little 
 vigilant one." 
 
 White Surrey. The favoxirite horse of 
 
 King Richard III. 
 
 " Saddle White Sun-ey for the field to-morrow." 
 Shakespeare : Richard III., v. 3. 
 
 Wzmahh. A model OrlofF stallion. 
 Wooden Horse. {See Woodkn.) 
 Xanthos. One of the horses of Achilles, 
 who announced to the hero his approach- 
 ing death when imjustly chidden by him. 
 Its sire was Zephyros, and dam Fodarge 
 (q.v.). The word means "chestnut- 
 coloured." 
 {See Hunters and Runnees.) 
 " 0''Fonohue''s white horse. Those 
 waves which come on a windy day, 
 crested with foam. The spirit of the 
 hero reappears every May-day, and is seen 
 gliding, to sweet but unearthly music, 
 over the lakes of Killiruey, on his 
 favourite white horse. It is preceded 
 by groups of young men and maidens, 
 who fling spring-flowers in "his path. 
 {Derrick'' s Letters.) 
 
 T. Moore has a poem on the subject 
 in his Irish Melodies, No. vi. ; it is 
 entitled 0' Bonohue'' s 3fi stress, and 
 refers to a tradition that a young and 
 beautiful girl became enamoured of the 
 visionary chieftain, and threw herself 
 into the lake that he might carry her off 
 for his bride. 
 
 H Horse. 
 
 In Phrase and Proverb. 
 
 A dark horse. A horse whose merits 
 as a racer are not known to the general 
 public. 
 
 Flogging the dead horse. {Sec Flog- 
 ging.) 
 
 Riding the wooden horse. A military 
 punishment now discontinued. It was 
 a flogging-stool. 
 
 I will win the horse or lose the saddle. 
 Neck or nothing ; double or quits. Milton 
 makes Satan say, "Better to reign in 
 hell than serve in heaven." 
 
 latin : " Aut ter sex, aut tres tes- 
 serae." {SceTER S3X.) 
 " Au Caesar, aut nuUus."
 
 Horse 
 
 628 
 
 Horse- slioes 
 
 French : " Tout on rien." 
 
 " Je veux risquer Ic tout pour 
 le tout." 
 
 T/w)/ cannot draw (or set) Iiorscs to- 
 gether. They cannot agree together. 
 The French say, " lios chiens ne chassent 
 pas enficmhlc.'''' 
 
 II "T'ts a Trojan horse (Latin proverb). 
 A deception, a concealed danger. Thus 
 Cicero says, '■'■ Jnfus, intns, inqiinm, est 
 equus Truja'niis" {I'ro Mureiia, 78). It 
 was Epeos who made the Trojan horse. 
 
 H ' jfV« a good horse that never stmnhles. 
 Everyone has liis faults. Every black 
 has its white, and every sweet its sour. 
 
 Latin: " Qiianddque liniuis dorniUat Homcriis." 
 Horace: Am Poetica,X)i). 
 
 " Humanum est, enare." 
 French: " II ii'y a lion chcval iiui ne hronclie," or 
 
 "II n'est si Ijim cheval qui ue lirouche." 
 
 To get ifpoH one''s high horse. To give 
 oneself aii's. (Sec High Hoese.) 
 
 To set the cart before the horse. (See 
 Caet.) 
 
 When the horse (or steed) is stolen, 
 lock the stable door. The French say : 
 *^ Apres la mort, le medicine.'''' Some- 
 what similar is : " After beef, mustard." 
 
 TForking on the dead horse. {See 
 
 WOEKINO. ) 
 
 Horse. Coarse, acrid or pungent, in- 
 ferior of. its kind, rough. " Hoarse " is 
 the Anglo -Saxou Jias. 
 
 Horse-bean. The bean usually given 
 to horses for food. 
 
 Horse-chestnut. If a slip is cut off 
 obli(juely close to a joint, it will present 
 a perfect miniature of a horse's hock 
 and foot, shoe and nails. I have cut off 
 numerous specimens. Probably this has 
 given the name Jiorse to the tree. {See 
 
 HOESE-VETCH.) 
 
 Horse-faced. Having a long, coarse 
 face. 
 
 Horse Latitudes. A region of calms 
 between 30= and 35^ North ; so called 
 because ships laden with horses bound 
 to America or the West Indies were 
 often obliged to lighten tlieii- freight by 
 casting the horses overboard when calm- 
 bound in these latitudes. 
 
 " Notliing could have been more delightful 
 than our run Into the horse latitudes. Gales 
 and dead calms, terrible thunderstorms and 
 breezes, fair one hour and foul the next, are the 
 characteristics of these parallels. Numbers of 
 horses were exported from the mother country, 
 and it was reckoned that iiKU-e of the animals 
 died in these . . . latitudes than in all the vest of 
 the passage."— CZai-fc Eussdl: Ladii Muud, vol. i. 
 chap. vii. p. 18«. 
 
 Horse-laugh. A coarse, vulgar laugh. 
 
 "He plays rough pranks , . . and has a big 
 horse-laugh in him when there is a fop to be 
 roasted. —Carlisle: Frederick the Great, vol. i. 
 DOOk IV. chap. 11. p. 305, 
 
 Horse Marines {The). There is no 
 such force. The Royal Marines are 
 either artillery or infantry ; there are no 
 cavalry marines. To belong to the 
 "Horse Marines" is a joke, meaning 
 an awkward lubberly recruit. 
 
 Horse-milliner. Properly, one who 
 makes up and supplies decorations for 
 horses. 
 
 A horse-soldier more fit for the toilet 
 than the battle-field. The expression 
 was first used by Rowley in his JJat/ads of 
 Charitic, but Sir Walter Scott revived it. 
 
 " One comes in foreign trashery 
 Of tinkling chain and spur, 
 A walking liahei-ilashiTv 
 
 or r.'ailurs, laic, and fiir ; 
 In Kiiu Irv's iiiiti'|ii:ili-il ijhrase. 
 llnr.se miliiiuT of modi-ru days." 
 
 liiidal iif Tiiinituiii, ii. 3. 
 
 Horse-mint. The pungent mint. 
 
 Horse-play. Rougli play. 
 
 Similarly hoarse, liaving a rough voice 
 from iiiflanimation of the throat ; gorse, 
 a rough, prickly plant ; guosc-berrg, a 
 rough berry ; goose-grass, the grass whose 
 leaves are rough with haii', etc. 
 
 Horse-power. A measure of force. 
 Watt estimated the " force " of a London 
 dray-horse, working eight hours a day, 
 at 33,000 foot-poimds {q.r.) per minute. 
 In calculating the horse-iiower of a 
 steam-engine the following is the for- 
 mula : — 
 
 iliiA2LJL2i^ deduct J- for friction, 
 st.txio 1" 
 
 P, pressure (in lbs.) per sq. inch on the piston. 
 A, area (in inches) of the piston. 
 L, length (in feet) of the stroke. 
 N, number of strokes per minute. 
 
 Horse Protestant. As good a Pro' 
 testant as Oliver Croinu-elP s Jiorse. This 
 expression arises in a comparison made 
 by Cromwell respecting some person 
 who had less discernment than his horse 
 in the moot points of the Protestant 
 controversy. 
 
 Horse-radish. The pungent root. 
 
 Horse-shoes were at one time nailed 
 up over doors as a protection against 
 witches. Aubrey sa3's, "Most houses 
 at the west-end of London have a horse- 
 shoe on the threshold." In Monmouth 
 Street there were seventeen in 1813, and 
 seven so late as 1855. 
 " straws laid across my path retard ; 
 The horse-shoes nailed, each threshold's 
 guard." Gay : FiMe yixiW. part 1. 
 
 It is lachg to pick tip a horse-shoe. 
 This is from the notion that a horse-shoe 
 was a protection against witches. For 
 the same reason our superstitious fore- 
 fathers loved to nail a horse -shoe oa
 
 Horse-vetch 
 
 629 
 
 Host 
 
 their house-door. Lord Nelson had one 
 nailed to the mast of the ship Victory. 
 
 V There is a legend that the devil 
 one day asked St. Duustau, who was 
 noted for his skill in shoeing horses, to 
 shoe his " single hoof." Dunstan, 
 knowing who his customer was, tied him 
 tightly to the wall and proceeded with 
 his job, but iDurposely put the devil to 
 so much pain that he roared for mercy. 
 Duustau at last consented to release 
 his captive on condition that lie would 
 never enter a place where he saw a 
 horse-shoe displayed. 
 
 Horse-vetch. The vetch which has 
 pods shaped like a horse-shoe ; some- 
 times called the " horse-shoe vetch." 
 {Sec HoESE Chestnut.') 
 
 Horse and his Rider. One of 
 
 iEsop's fables, to show that nations 
 crave the assistance of others when they 
 are aggrieved, but become the tools or 
 slaves of those who rendered them assist- 
 ance. Thus the Celtic Britons asked aid 
 of the Saxons, and the Danish Duchies 
 of the Germans, but in both cases the 
 rider made the horse a mere tool. 
 
 Horse-shoes and Nails (for rent) . In 
 1 2.3 1 Walter le Brun, farrier, in the Strand, 
 London, was to have a ijiece of land in 
 the parish of St. Clements, to place there 
 a forge, for which he was to pay the 
 parish six horse-shoes, which rent was 
 paid to the Exchequer every year, and 
 is still rendered to the Exchequer by the 
 Lord Mayor and citizens of London, to 
 whom subsequently the piece of ground 
 was granted. 
 
 " Tn the reisn of King Edward I. Walter Mares- 
 cullus paid at the criteem lapidcam six horse-slioes 
 with nails, for a certain building which he held 
 of the king m capite opiiosite the stone cross."— 
 Blount : Ancient Tenures. 
 
 Horsemen. 
 
 L'uilit liorse»ic)>. Tliose who live by 
 phnideriiig ships. 
 
 Iharij horscnicn. Those who go aboard 
 to clear ships. 
 
 Horsey Man {A). One who affects 
 the manners aud style of a jockey or 
 horse-dealer. 
 
 Hortus Siccus. (Latin, "a dry 
 garden.") A collection of plauts dried 
 and arranged in a book. 
 
 Ho'rus. The Egyptian day - god, 
 represented in hieroglyphics by a 
 spaiTow-hawk, which bird was sacred to 
 him. He was son of Osi'ris aud Isis, 
 but his birth being premature he was 
 weak in the lower limbs. As a child he 
 i? seen carried in his mother's arms, 
 
 wearing the pschent or atf, and seated 
 on a lotus-flower with his linger on his 
 lips. As an adult he is represented 
 hawk-headed. (Egyptian, har or hor, 
 " the day " or " sun's path.") Strictly 
 speaking, Horus is the rising sun, Ra 
 the noonday sun, and Osiris the setting 
 sun. (Whence Greek and Latin liora, 
 and our hour.) 
 
 Hose. Stockings, or stockings and 
 breeches both in one. French, chausses. 
 There were the hant dc chausses and the 
 has de chausses. 
 
 "Their points Vicing broken, down fell their 
 hnsc."— Shakespeare : 1 Henry IV., ii. 4. 
 
 Hos'pital. From the Latin hospcs (a 
 guest), being originally an inn or house 
 of entertainment for pilgrims ; hence our 
 words host (one who entertains), hospi- 
 tality (the entertainment given), and 
 hospitalhr (the keeper of the house). In 
 process of time these receptacles were 
 resorted to by the sick and iufirm only, 
 and the house of entertainment became 
 an asylum for the .sick aud wounded. 
 In 11399 Katherine de la Court held a 
 "hospital" at the bottom of the court 
 called Eobert de Paris ; after the lapse 
 of four years her landlord died, and the 
 tavern or hospital fell to his heirs Jehan 
 de Chevreuse aud WUham Cholet. 
 
 Hospital (The), in Post-office phrase- 
 ology, is the department where loose 
 packages are set to rights. 
 
 Hos'pitallers. First applied to those 
 whose duty it was to provide Itospitlum 
 (lodging aud entertainment) forpilgrims. 
 The most noted institution of the kind 
 was at Jerusalem, which gave its name 
 to an order called the Knights Hospital- 
 lers. This order was first called that of 
 the Knights of St. John at Jerusalem, 
 which still exists ; afterwards they were 
 styled the Knights of Ehodes, and then 
 Knights of Malta, because Ehodes and 
 Malta were conferred on them by differ- 
 ent monarchs. 
 
 "The first crusade . . . led to the establishment 
 of the Christian kinsiloiu i.f .lerusaleni, in liM). 
 The chief strength of the kingdom lay in the two 
 orders of military Uiiinks— the Templars and the 
 Hospitallers or Knights of .St. John."— f rctwaJJ : 
 General Sketch, chap. xi. 
 
 Host. A victim. The consecrated 
 bread of the Eucharist is so called in the 
 Latin Church because it is believed to be 
 a real victim cousistiug of flesh, blood, 
 and spii'it, offered up in sacrifice. (Latin, 
 hostia.) At the service known as the 
 Benediction it is set ujj for adoration, 
 and with it the blessiug is given in a 
 transparent vessel called a "monstrance," 
 (Latin, monstrdrc, to show.)
 
 Hostage 
 
 630 
 
 Hound 
 
 Host. An army. At the breaking up 
 of the Roman Empire the first duty of 
 every subject was to follow his lord into 
 the field, and the proclamation was 
 banni'-re in /wstcin (to order out against 
 the foe), which soon came to signify " to 
 order out for military service," and 
 hostemfacere came to mean "to perform 
 military service." Hostis (military 
 service) next came to mean the arniij 
 that went against the foe, whence our 
 word host. 
 
 " Like tbe leave.3 of the forest, when summer is 
 green, 
 That host with their hanners at sunset was 
 
 seen ; 
 Like the leaves of the forest, when autumn has 
 
 blown. 
 That host on the morrow lay withered and 
 strown." 
 Byron: Destruction of Sennacherib, stanza 2. 
 
 To reckon Kithout yoiirJiost. To reckon 
 from your own standpoint onlj'. Guests 
 who calculate what their expenses at an 
 hotel will come to always leave out cer- 
 tain items which the landlord adds in. 
 
 " Found in few minutes, to his cost. 
 He did hut count without his host." 
 Buthr : JIudibras, pt. i. canto iii. lines i2-3. 
 
 Hos'tage (2 syl.) is connected with 
 the Latin o/>scs, through the Mid. Latin 
 .hostac/ium, French 6tage or outage, Itahan 
 
 OSt(U/[/io. 
 
 Hos'tler is properly the keeper of 
 an hostelry or inn. 
 
 Hot. rU onake the place too hot to 
 hold him. {See Tajjus.) 
 
 I^ll give it him hot and strong. I'll 
 rate him most soundly and severely. 
 Liquor very hot and strong takes one's 
 breath away, and is apt to choke one. 
 
 Hot Cockles. A Christmas game. 
 One blindfolded knelt down, and being 
 struck had to guess who gave the blow. 
 
 " Thus poets passing time awav. 
 Lilve children at hot-cockles "play." (IC53.) 
 
 Hot Cross Buns. Fosbroke says 
 these buns were made of the dough 
 kneaded for the host, and were marked 
 with the cross accordingly. As the 
 Good Friday buns are said "to keep for 
 twelve months without turning raouldj', 
 some persons still hang up one or more 
 in their house as a " charm against evil." 
 (6Vd; Cross.) 
 
 ? The round bun represents the full 
 moon, and the cross represents the four 
 quarters of the moon. They were made 
 in honour of Diana by the ancient 
 Roman priests, somewhere about the 
 vernal equinox. Phoenicians, Carthag- 
 inians, Egyptians, as well as the Greeks 
 and Romans, worshipped the moon. 
 
 Hot-foot. With speed ; fast. 
 
 " And the IJlackfoot who courted each foeiEan's 
 apiuciach. 
 Faith, 'tis hotfoot he'dliy from tlio stout Father 
 Koach." LoriT. 
 
 N.B. The Blackfoot was an Irish 
 faction, similar to the Terry Alts in the 
 early jjart of the nineteenth century. 
 
 Hot Water (/«)• I'l a state of 
 trouble, or of tiuxiety. The reference is 
 to the ordeal l)y hot water {'j.t'.). 
 
 Hotch-pot. Blackstone says liotch- 
 pot is a pudding made of several things 
 mixed together. Lands given in frank- 
 maiTiage or descending in fee-simple 
 are to be mixed, like the ingredients 
 of a pudding, and then cut up in equal 
 slices among all the daughters. (Book 
 ii. 11'.) 
 
 As to personality : Hotch-pot may be 
 explained thus : Suppose a father has 
 advanced mone}' to one child, at the de- 
 cease of the father this child receives 
 a sum in addition enough to make his 
 share equal to the rest of the familj'. 
 If not content, he must bring into 
 hotch-pot the money that was advanced, 
 and the whole is then divided amongst 
 all the children according to the terms 
 of the will. 
 
 French, hochepot, from hocher, to shake 
 or jumble together ; or from the German 
 hoch-pot, the huge pot or family caldron. 
 Wharton says it is hache en poche. 
 
 Hotch-potch. A confused mixture 
 or jumble ; a thick broth containing 
 meat and vegetables. 
 
 " A sort of soup, or broth, or Itcw, 
 
 Or hotchpotch of all sorts of fishes." 
 Thackeray : Ballad of Duuillabaisse, stanza 2. 
 
 Hot'spur. A fiery person who has 
 no control over his temper. Harry Percy 
 was so called. Lord Derby was some- 
 times called the '^ Hotspur of delnite.'" 
 Lytton, in Xew Timon, calls him, "frank 
 haughtj', bold, the Rupert of debate." 
 (See Shakespeare : 1 Henri/ I J'.) 
 
 Hottentot. Rude, uncultured, a boor. 
 As "You are a jjcrfect Hottentot." 
 
 Hou'goumont is said to be a cor- 
 ruption of Chateau Gounwnt ; but Victor 
 Hugo says it is Hiigo-mons, and thai the 
 house was built by Hugo, Sire de Som- 
 meril, the same person that endowed the 
 sixth chapelry of the abbey of Villers. 
 
 Hound. To hound a person is to 
 persecute him, or rather to set on per- 
 sons to annoy him, as hounds are let 
 from the slips at a hare or stag. 
 
 "As he who only lets loose a greyhound out of 
 the slip is said to hound him at the hare."— 
 Bramhall,
 
 Houqua 
 
 631 
 
 House 
 
 Hoa'qna. A superior quality of tea ; 
 so called from Hoque, the celebrated 
 IIong-Kong tea merchant ; died 184G. 
 
 Hour. (Greek and Latin, hora.) 
 At the eleventh hour. Just in time 
 not to be too late ; only just in time to 
 obtain some benefit. The allusion is to 
 the parable of labourers hii'ed for the 
 vinej'ard (Matt. xx.). 
 
 Mt/ hour is not yet crime. The time of 
 my death is not yet fully come. The 
 allusion is to the belief that the hour of 
 our birth and death is appointed and 
 fixed. 
 
 " When .lesus knew that His hour was come ..." 
 — John liii. 1. 
 
 In an evil hour. Acting under an 
 unfortunate impulse. In astrology we 
 have oiu' lucky aud unlucky hoius. 
 
 In the small hours of the morning. 
 One, two, and three, after midnight. 
 
 To keep good hours. To return home 
 early every night ; to go to bed betimes. 
 ^^ Se retirer lajiuit devonns hcure.''^ In 
 Latin, " Tempestivc sc domiim recipere.'" 
 
 Hou'ri (pi. Ilouri.s). The large black- 
 ej-ed damsels of Paradise, possessed of 
 perpetual j'outh and beauty, whose vir- 
 ginity is renewable at pleasure. Every 
 believer will have seventy-two of these 
 houris in Paradise, and his intercourse 
 with them will bo fruitful or otherwise, 
 according to his wish. If an offspring is 
 desired, it will grow to full estate in an 
 horn'. (Persian, huri; Arabic, huriya, 
 nj'mphs of paradise. Compare aliivar, 
 black-eyed.) [The Koran.) 
 
 House (1 syl.). In astrology the 
 whole heaven is divided into twelve 
 portions, called " houses," through 
 which the heavenly bodies pass every 
 twenty-four hours. In casting a man's 
 fortune by the stars, the whole host is 
 divided iiito two parts (beginning from 
 the east), six above and six below the 
 horizon. The eastern ones are called 
 the aseendanf, because they are about to 
 rise ; the other six are the dcseendunt, 
 because they have already passed the 
 zenith. The twelve houses are thus 
 awarded : — 
 
 (1) House of life ; (2) House of fortune 
 and riches ; (3) House of brethi-en ; (4) 
 House of relatives ; (-'i) House of chil- 
 dren ; (6) House of health. 
 
 (7) House of marriage ; (8) House of 
 death (the upper portal) ; (9) House of 
 religion; (10) House of dignities; (11) 
 House of friends and benefactors ; (12) 
 House of enemies. 
 
 IT Hor.se. A dwelling. 
 
 lAhe a house afire. Very rapidly. 
 "He is getting on like a house afire" 
 means he is getting on excellently. 
 
 To bring down the house (in a theatre, 
 etc.) is to receive unusual and rapturous 
 ajjplause. 
 
 To keep house. To maintain a separate 
 establishinent. "To go into house- 
 keeping " is to start a private establish- 
 ment. 
 
 To keep a good house. To supply a 
 bountiful table. 
 
 To keep open house. To give free 
 entertainment to all who choose to 
 come. " Umnes benigne mensd oceip^rc.'" 
 In French, " Tenir table ourerte." 
 
 To throw the house out of the windows. 
 To throw all things into confusion from 
 exuberance of spirit {a des esees dejoie). 
 " Ceclum tcrrcv, terrain calo mi see re ; " or 
 '■^Omnia eonfundire.''^ InFrench, '■'■Jeter 
 le maison par le fenvtrcs.'''' 
 
 H House. Race or lineage ; as, " the 
 House of Hanover," "the House of 
 Austria." 
 
 House-bote. A sufficient allowance 
 of wood to repair the dwelling aud to 
 supply fuel. 
 
 House-flag (v/). The distinguishing 
 flag of a company of shipowners or of a 
 single ship-owner, as, for instance, that 
 of the Cunard Company. 
 
 House-leek [./ore's beard]. Grovra 
 on house-roofs, from the notion that it 
 warded off lightning. Charlemagne 
 made an edict that every one of his 
 subjects should have house-leek on his 
 house-roof. The words are, '■^ Et habet 
 quisque supra domuni suum Joris bar- 
 bam." It was thought to ward off all 
 e\'il spirits. Fevers as well as lightning 
 were at one time supposed to be due to 
 evil spirits. 
 
 " If the herb house-leek or syncreen do grow 
 on the house-top, the same house i.s never stricken 
 with lightning or thunder."— :/7io»i(tJi Uiil ; 
 Xiitural and Art/. Conclusion. 
 
 House Spirits. 
 
 Of Drnmark, Nis or Nisse (2 syl.). 
 Of Kni;i..\xii, Piicli nr Roliiii (ioodfellow. 
 Of Fauok I.si.ands, Xiayruisar. 
 Of Finland Para. 
 Of France, Esprit FoUet. 
 of Hkiocany, Kohold. 
 of MiNSTKR, Fear Dearg or Red Man. 
 Of Naples. Monaciello or Little Monll. 
 f)f Norway, same as Denmarli. 
 Of Scotland, Brownie. 
 Of Spain, Duende (a syl.). 
 Of Switzerland, Jacli of the Bowl. 
 Of Vaudois. Servant. 
 '.• Other.<3 o: xiarticular houses.
 
 Souse -top 
 
 632 
 
 Howard 
 
 House-top. To cri/ from the house- 
 top. To proclaim [(<] from the hoiisc-top. 
 To amiouuce somethiug in the most 
 public manner jjossible. Jewish houses 
 had flat roofs, which were paved. Here 
 the ancient Jews used to assemble for 
 gossip ; here, too, not uufrequently, 
 they slept ; and here some of their fes- 
 tivals were held. From the house-tops 
 the rising of the sun was proclaimed, 
 and other public announcements were 
 made. 
 
 " TliMt which ye have spoken [whispeivrt] in the 
 ear . . . shall lie iiruclaiiiied upou the huuseioiw." 
 —Luke xii. .'i. 
 
 House and Home. Jle hnth eaten 
 me out of hoKsr dial home {Shakespeare : 
 2 Hem-i'i /J'., ii. 1). It is the complaint 
 of hostess Quickly to the Lord Cliief 
 Justice when ho asks for " what sum " 
 she had aiTested Sir John Falstatt". She 
 explains the jihrase by "he hath put all 
 my substance into that fat belly of his ; " 
 " I ato undone by his going." 
 
 House of Correction. A gaol 
 governed by a keeper. Originally it 
 was a place where vagrants were made 
 to work, and small offenders were kept 
 in ward for the correction of their 
 offences. 
 
 House of God {The). Not solely a 
 church, or a temple made with hands, 
 but any place sanctified by God's pre- 
 sence. Thus, Jacob in the wilderness, 
 where he saw the ladder set up leading 
 from earth to heaven, said, " This is none 
 other but the house of God, and this is 
 the gate of heaven (Gen. xxviii. 17). 
 
 House that Jack Built ( The) . There 
 are numerous similar gli imerations. For 
 example the Hebrew parable of Tlte Two 
 Zuzim. The summation runs thus: — 
 
 in. This is Yavah wIki vanciuishea 
 !i. Death uiiirli kilh'.! 
 f<. Tlie liiitrlirr whirh slew 
 7. The ox NNliii-li cliiuik 
 6. The wal'T whicli .luenched 
 5. The hre whirl] l.unil 
 4. The stick whi.-h heat 
 3. The lidS wliich worned 
 2. Thecal which killed 
 
 1. Tlie kid which my falhef bought for two 
 ziizini. 
 
 (A zuzim was about = a farthing.) 
 
 Household Gods. Domestic pets, 
 and all those things which helj) to endear 
 home. The Romans had household gods 
 called pc-na'-tes, who were supposed to 
 preside over their firivate dwellings. Of 
 these pe-na'-tes some were called la' res, 
 the special f/oiii or (fucpis of the family. 
 One was Vest'a, whose office was to pre- 
 serve domestic unity. Jupiter and Juno 
 were also among the pe-na'-tes, The 
 
 modom use of the tenn is a playful 
 adtiptation. 
 
 '■ IJcarin,' a nation witli all its household pods 
 iiit(] exile."' Liiniifdlow : Evangeline. 
 
 Household Troops. Those troops 
 whose special duty it is to attend the 
 sovereign and gutinl the nietropoUs. 
 They consist of the 1st and 2nd Life- 
 guards, the Royal Horseguards, and 
 the three regiments of Footguards 
 called the Grenadier, Coldstream, and 
 Scots Fusilier Guards. 
 
 Housel. To give or receive the Eu- 
 charist. (Anglo-Saxon, husliaii, to give 
 the hii'scl or host.) 
 
 "Children were christened, and men honseled 
 and assoyled thronph all the land, except such 
 a.s were in the hill of excommunicatiou by uame 
 expressed." — JJoUnshed : Chronicle. 
 
 Houssain {Pr'n/ce). Brother of Prince 
 Ahmed. He jiosscssed a ]iifce of carpet 
 or tajjcstry of such wouderfid power 
 that anyone had only to sit upon it, and 
 it would transport him in a moment to 
 any place to which he desired to go. 
 
 " If Prince Honssain's flying tajiestry or.Astol- 
 jilio's hiiipoK'ritf had been shown, he wonid have 
 jud^'cil thciu bv the ordinary niles.and preferred 
 a wcll-hiuii,' chariot. "-,s'(i- WiilUr Scott. 
 
 Houyhnhnms {irhiii'him.s). A race 
 of horses endowed with reason, who bear 
 rule over a race of men. Gulliver, in 
 his Trarets, tells us what he "saw" 
 among them. {Swift.) 
 " >fiy. would kind .love my organ so dispose 
 To hymn harmonious Houyhuhums through the 
 
 nose, 
 I'd call thee Houlin'.mm, that high-sounding 
 
 name ; 
 Thy children's nose.; all should twang the same.'' 
 
 I'ujie. 
 How Do You Do ? (See Do.) 
 
 How'ard. A philanthropist. John 
 Howard is immortalised by his efforts to 
 improve the condition of prisoners. " He 
 visited all Euroi^e," says Burke, " not to 
 survey the sumijtuousuess of palaces or 
 the stateliness of temples ; not to make 
 accurate measurements of the remains of 
 ancient grandeur, nor to form a scale of 
 the curiosity of modera art ; not to col- 
 lect manuscrii^ts — but to dive into tlie 
 depths of dungeons ; to plunge into the 
 iufection of hosj)itals ; to survey the 
 mansions of sorrow and pain ; to take 
 the dimensions of misery, depression, 
 and contempt ; to remember the for- 
 gotten ; to attend to the neglected ; to 
 visit the for.saken, and to compare the 
 distress of all men in all countries. His 
 plan is original, and it is as full of genius 
 as it is of humanity. It was a voyage 
 of discovery ; a circumnavigation of 
 charity." (John Howard, 1726-1790.) 
 "The radiant path that Howard trod to Heaven.'' 
 Bloomfield : Fiirmcfs So}lt
 
 Ho"wdah. 
 
 633 
 
 Hudson 
 
 The fcmaU Howard. Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Fry (1780-1844). 
 
 All the blood of all the Howards. All 
 the uobility of o'lu- best aristocracy. The 
 ducal house of Norfolk stauds at the 
 head of the English peerage, aud is 
 interwoveu in all our history. 
 
 " Wliat criiild ennoble sots, or shivcs. or cowards? 
 Alas : not all the hliKui of all tlie Howards." 
 I'ope: Essay on Mun, Ep. iv. line 216. 
 
 V What will " all the blood of all the 
 Howards" say to Mr. Walter Eye who, 
 iu his Historij of Norfolk (1885), tells us 
 that "Howard" is from hog-ward," aud 
 that the origiual Howards were so called 
 from theii- avocation, which was to teud 
 tlie pigs. 
 
 Howard. Mr. Bug, late of Epsom 
 (Surrey), then of Wakefield (Yorksliire), 
 landlord of the Swan Tavern, changed 
 his name (June, 1862) to Norfolk Howard. 
 
 Howdah. A canopy, or seat fixed on 
 the back of an elephant. 
 
 " Leailin;; the array, three stately eleijhants 
 niarrhed, beariii'-,' the Woons iu gilded howdahs 
 ujider f-'old umbrellas."—./. II'. I'almer : Lp and 
 JJuini the liriia-fid'li, ehai). .XX. p. lOD. 
 
 How' die (2 sj'l.). A midwife. 
 
 Howitzers are guns used to fire build- 
 ings, to reach troops behind hills or 
 parapets, to bound their shells along 
 lines and against cavalry, to l)reach mud 
 walls by exploding their shells in them, 
 etc. Thej' project common shells, com- 
 mon and spherical case-shot, carcasses, 
 and, if necessary, roimd shot. In a mor- 
 tar the trunnions are at the end ; iu how- 
 itzers they are in the middle. 
 
 "The howitzer was taken to pieees, and carried 
 liv the men to its destination. "— 6'rartt ; Personal 
 ihinoiis, .■liap, xi. p. !.-.,■<. 
 
 Howleglass (2 syl.). A clever rascal, 
 the hero of an old German romance 
 by Tliomas Mumer, popular in the 
 eiglitoentli century. 
 
 Hrimfaxi. (See Hoese.) 
 
 Hub. The nave of a wheel ; a boss ; 
 also a skid. (Welsh, hod, a swelling, a 
 i)rotubei'ance ; compare also a hwb.) 
 The Americans c^ill Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, " Tlie hub [/;o,ss] of the solar 
 system." 
 
 " Boston State-house is the liuh of the snl.ar 
 svsteui." — //«?»!««.• Autocrat of the Ureakjast 
 Table, chap. vi. p. 143. 
 
 " Calcutta swashers as if it were the hub of 
 the \m\\e\-e:'— Daily Sews, 18s(i. 
 
 Hu'bal. An Arab idol brought from 
 Bulka, in SjTia. by Amir Ibu-Lohei, 
 who asserted that it would procure rain 
 when wanted. It was the statue of a 
 man in red agate ; one hand being lost, 
 (1 golden one was suppUed. He held in 
 
 his hand seven arrows without wings or 
 feathers, such as the Arabians use iu 
 divination. This idol was destroyed in 
 the eighth year of " the flight." 
 
 Hub'bard ( Old Mother) . The famous 
 dame of nursery mythology, who went 
 to the cupboard to fetch her poor dog a 
 bone ; but when she got there the cup- 
 board was bare, so the poor dog had 
 none. 
 
 Hubert {h silent), in Shakespeare's 
 Kiiifi John, is Hubert de Burgli, Justice 
 of England, created Earl of Kent. He 
 died 124.3. 
 
 >SY. Hubert. Patron saint of hunts- 
 men. He was son of Bcrtrand, Duo 
 d'Acquitaine, and cousm of Kiug Pepin. 
 Hubert was so fond of the chase that he 
 neglected his religious duties for his 
 favourite amusement, till one day a stag 
 bearing a crucifix menaced him with 
 eternal perdition unless he reforn^ed. 
 Upon this the merry huntsman entered 
 a cloister, became iu time Bishop of 
 Liege, and the ajjostle of Ardennes and 
 Brabant. Those who were descended of 
 his race were supiJosetl to possess the 
 power of curing the bite of mad dogs. 
 
 lit. Hubert in Christian art is repre- 
 sented sometimes as a bishop with a 
 miniature stag resting on the book in his 
 hand, and sometimes as .i. noble luuitsmau 
 kneeling to the miraculous crucifix borne 
 by the stag. 
 
 Hu'dibras. Said to be a caricature 
 of Sir Samuel Luke, a patron of Samuel 
 Butler. The Grub Street Journal (1731) 
 maintains it was Colonel Rolle, of 
 Devonshire, with whom the poet lodged 
 for some time, aud adds tliat the name 
 is derived from Hugh de Bras, the 
 patron saint of the county. He repre- 
 sents the Presbj-terian party, aud his 
 squire the Indeijendents. 
 
 " 'Tis suns there is a valiant Mameluke . 
 In forefgn laud ycleped [Sir Samiol Luke)." 
 Butler: HuUibras, i. 1. 
 
 Sir Hudibras. The cavalier of Elissa 
 of Parsimony. {Spenser : Faerie Queciic, 
 book, ii.) 
 
 Hudibrastic Verse. A doggerel 
 eiglit-syllable rliyming verse, after the 
 style of Butler's Hudibras. 
 
 Hudson {Sir JeffreiJ). The famous 
 dwarf, at one time page to Queen Henri- 
 etta Maria. Sir Walter Scott has intro- 
 duced him in his Pereril of the PcaJc, 
 chiip. xxxiv. Vandyke has immortalised 
 him by his brush : and his clothes ai-e 
 said to be preserved in Sir Hans Sloajie'g 
 museum. (1619-1678.)
 
 Hue and Cry 
 
 634 
 
 HuU 
 
 V The person slain in a duel by this 
 dwarf was the Hon. Mr. Crofts. 
 
 "We fouffbt ou borseback— breaking pround 
 and advancfng liy Bijinal ; and, as I never miss 
 aim, I bad tbe niisfortime to kill [my advcrs-iry] 
 at tbe fli-st shot.:'— Sir W. Scott: Peveril of the 
 Peal:, chap, xxxiv. 
 
 Hue and Cry. A phrase used in 
 English law to describe a body of 
 persons joining in pursuit of a felon 
 or suspected tliief . (French, hiiee, verb 
 fiuer, to hoot or shout after ; Anglo- 
 Saxon, hui, ho I) 
 
 Hug the Shore (To). In the case of 
 a ship, to keep as clo.se to the shore as 
 is compatible with the vessel's safety, 
 when at sea. " Server la tcrrc.'^ 
 
 Hug the Wind (To). To keep a 
 ship close hauled. " Scrrcr le vent.'''' 
 
 Hugger - mugger. The primary 
 meaning is clandestinely. The secondary 
 meaning is disorderly, in a slovenly 
 manner. To hwigcr is to lie in ambush, 
 from tlie Danish hu(j, hmjcr^ hvgr/r'Dig, 
 to squat on the ground ; mugger is the 
 Danish siii't;;, clandestinely, whence our 
 word smuggle. • 
 
 The king in Hamlet says of Polo'- 
 nius : " We have done but greenly in 
 hugger-mugger to inter him " — i.r. to 
 smuggle him into the grave clandestinely 
 and without ceremony. 
 
 Sir T. North, in his riiitarch, saj's : 
 " Autonius thought that his body should 
 be honourably buried, and not in hugger- 
 mugger " (clandestinely). 
 
 tialph says : — 
 
 " While I, in liugser-n ugger hii!, 
 ' Have noted all they said and did." 
 
 Butler : lliidibras, iii. .■). 
 
 Under the secondary idea we have the 
 following expressions : — Ife /ires in a 
 /iiiffr/er-iiiiii/(/er sort of nay ; the roo)ns 
 ivcrc all hutj(jcr-nui(j(nr (disorderlj-) . 
 
 Huggins and Muggins. Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Vulgarity, of Pretension Hall. 
 
 Hugh Lloyd's Pulpit (Merionetlt- 
 shire). A natural production of stone. 
 One pile resembles the Kilmarth Rocks. 
 There is a platfonn stone with a back in 
 stone. (Hugh prou. You.) 
 
 Hugh Perry. An English perver- 
 sion of "Euper'ion," a predecessor of 
 lucifer matches invented by Heurtner, 
 who opened a shop in the Strand, and 
 advertised his invention thus — 
 
 " To nave your knuckles time and trouble 
 Use Heurter's Euper'ion." 
 
 ("Sfee Prometheans, Vesitvians.) 
 
 Hugh of Lincoln. It is said that 
 the Jews in 12.55 stole tj. boy named 
 
 Hugh, whom they tortured for ten days 
 and then crucified. Eighteen of the 
 richest Jews of Lincoln were hanged for 
 taking part in this affair, and the boy 
 was buried in state. This is the subject 
 of The I'rioress's Talc of Chaucer, 
 which Wordsworth has modernised. In 
 Rymer's Fo'dcra arc several documents 
 rekiting to this event. 
 
 Hugin and Mun'in [in'iii-I and 
 ineiiiori/] . The two ravens that sit on the 
 shoulders of Odin or Alfader. 
 
 " Perhaps the nursery saying, ' A little bird told 
 me that,' is a corruption of Hugo and Muniii, and 
 Bo we have tbe old Northern giiperslition linger- 
 ing among us without our being aware of it." — 
 Jiilin Goddard: Joyce Dormer's Story, ii. 11. (.See 
 UlIiD.) 
 
 Hu'go, in Jerusalem Delivered, Count 
 of Verm;uulois, brother of Philippe I. of 
 France, leader of the Franks. He died 
 before Godfrey was appointed leader of 
 the united armies (book i.), but his 
 spirit was seen by Godfrey amongst the 
 angels who came to aid in taking Jeru- 
 salem (book xviii.). 
 
 Itiif/o, natural son of Azo, Marquis 
 of Este, who fell in love with Parisi'na. 
 his father's young wife. Azo discovered 
 the intrigue, and condemned Hugo to be 
 beheaded. {Byron : I'arisina.) 
 
 Hu'gon {King). The gi'cat hobgoblin 
 of France. 
 
 Huguenot {U-g^ie-no). Fir.st applied 
 to the Ktformed Church party in the 
 Amboise Plot (I06O). From the Germau 
 eidgenosscH (confederates) . 
 
 Huguenot I'ope {La pape des Hugue- 
 nots). Philippe de Mornay, the great 
 supporter of the French Protestants. 
 (1549-1623.) 
 
 Hul'da [the Beniguant'\. Goddess of 
 marriage and fecundity, who sent bride- 
 grooms to maidens and children to the 
 married. (German.) {See Berciita.) 
 
 Hulda is making Iicr bed. It snows. 
 {See ahore.) 
 
 Hulk. An old ship unfit for service. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, hute, from Mid. Latin 
 hulca, connected with Greek oAKa; = a 
 ship wliich is towed, a merchant sliiji.) 
 
 Hulking. A great hulking fellow. 
 A great overgrown one. A hulk is a 
 big, lubberly fellow, applied to Falstaff 
 by Shakespeare. It means the body of 
 an old ship. {See above.) 
 
 HuU. 
 
 '■ rrom Hull, Hell, and Halifax 
 Good Lord, deliver us." 
 
 This occurs in Taylor, the water poet. 
 Hull is not the town so called, but a
 
 Hull Clieese 
 
 C35 
 
 Hume 
 
 furious river in Kingston, very dan- 
 gerous. In regard to Halifax, the 
 allusion is to the law that the theft of 
 goods to the value of 13d. shall subject 
 the thief to execution " by a jyn." 
 
 Hull Cheese. Strong ale, or rather 
 intoxicating cake, like "tipsy cake," 
 thus described by Taylor, the water- 
 poet : " It is much like a loafe out of a 
 brewer's basket ; it is composed of two 
 simples — mault and water, . . . and 
 is cousin-germane to the mightiest ale 
 in England. (<SVe vol. ii. of Taylor''s 
 Works.) 
 
 HuU'abaloo. Uproar. Irish pidla- 
 lite, a coronach or crying together at 
 funerals. {tiee Huely-buely.) 
 
 " All this tlie poor (iiiUl crcathure sot up such a 
 .imllaliie, that slie hi'ouyht the seven i arislies 
 al)i)Ut her."— Dublin ami Lomio)tMii<jo2ine(hw\i;h' 
 leagli), Itsi'3. 
 
 Hul'sean Lectures. Instituted by 
 the Eev. John Hulse, of Cheshire, in 
 1777. Every year some four or six ser- 
 mons are preached at Great St. Mary's, 
 Cambridge, by Avhat is now called the 
 Hulsean Lecturer, who, till 18G0, was 
 entitled the Chrintinii Advucatr. Ori- 
 ginally twenty sermons a year were 
 preached and afterwards prhited under 
 this benefaction. 
 
 Hum and Haw {To). To hesitate to 
 give a positive plain answer ; to hesitate 
 in making a speech. To introduce liinii 
 and Jiaw between words which ought to 
 follow each other freely. 
 
 Hum'a {The). A fabulous Oriental 
 bird which never alights, but is always 
 on the wing. It is said that every head 
 which it overshadows will wear a crown 
 (lltchurdsoti). The splendid little bird 
 suspended over the throne of Tippoo 
 Saib at Serin gapatam represented this 
 poetical fancy. 
 
 In tlie first chapter of lYte Autocrat of the Break- 
 fast Table a rertaiu popular lei'tnror is made to 
 (Icscrihe himself, in allusion to his many wandv;-- 
 ings, to this hint : " Yes, I am like the Huma, the 
 ))iril that never lights ; heini,' always in the cars, 
 as the Huma is always on the wing." 
 
 Hu'man Race (A soft). Father of 
 the huiiKin race. Adam. 
 
 Human Sacrifice. A custona still 
 subsisting seems to jirove that the Egyp- 
 tians formerly sacriticed a young virgin 
 to the god of the Nile, for they now make 
 a statue of clay in sliape of a girl, which 
 they call the " betrothed bride," and 
 throw it into the river. (Sarari/.) 
 
 Humanita'rians. Those who be- 
 lieve that Jesus Christ was only man. 
 The disciples of St. Simon are so called 
 
 also, because they maintain the perfec- 
 tibility of human natm'e without the 
 aid of grace. 
 
 Humanities or Humanity Studies. 
 
 Grammar, rhetoric, and 2:)oetry, with 
 Greek and Latin {/itcrcc hniiiaiiiorcn) ; in 
 contradistiuction to divinity (jitene 
 dirina:). 
 
 "The humanities . . . is used to designate those 
 Btudeswhich are considered the most specially 
 adapted for trainini; . . . true humanity in every 
 man."— 'JVt /it/i ; Uii the Study of Words, Lecture 
 iii. p. CO. 
 
 Humbcr. Chief of the Huns, de- 
 feated by Locrin, King of England, and 
 drowned in the river Abus, ever since 
 called the Humber. {Geoffrey of Jlon- 
 
 moath : Chronicles.) 
 
 '• Their chieftain Hnmlier named was aright 
 Unto the mighty streame him to helake, 
 Where Uo an cud o( hat tall and of life did make." 
 Spensc)' : Fiifiic (Juetiie, ii. lo. 
 
 Humble Bee. A corruption of the 
 German Ininuiicl lm\ the buzzing bee. 
 Sometimes called the Dumble-dor. Also 
 Bumble-bee, from its booming di'one. 
 
 Humble Cow {A). A cow without 
 horns. 
 
 "'That,' said .lohu with a broad grin, was 
 Grizzel clfasiiig the humble cow out of the close." 
 —air W. tScott: Guy iJanneriug, chap. ix. 
 
 Humble Pie. To eat hiuiibk pic. To 
 come down from a position you have 
 assumed, to be obliged to take " a lower 
 room." " Umbles " are the heart, liver, 
 and entrails of the deer, the huntsuum's 
 perquisites. When the lord and his 
 household dined the venison pasty was 
 served on the dais, but the umbles were 
 made into a jjie for the huntsman and 
 his fellows. 
 
 N.B. Pie and patty are both diminu- 
 tives of pasty. Pasty and patty are 
 limited to venison, veal, and some few 
 other meats ; pie is of far wider signiti- 
 catiou, including fruit, mince, etc. 
 
 Hum 'bug. A correspondent in Notes 
 and Queries (March 5th, 1892) suggests 
 as the fotis et orhjo of this word the 
 Italian Uomo hue/iardo, a lying man. 
 
 *.* To liam used to signify "to ap- 
 plaud," " to pretend admiration," hence 
 "to flatter," "to cajole for an end," 
 " to deceive." 
 
 " He tbreatened, Init behold ! 'twas all a hum." 
 Peter Piiidar, i. 436. 
 - "'Gentlemen, this humming [expression of 
 applause] is not at all becoming the gravity of 
 this court-"— State Trials (16ai). 
 
 Hume {David), the historian, takes 
 the lead among modern philosophical 
 sceptics. His great argument is this : 
 It is more likely that testimony should
 
 Humming Ale 
 
 636 
 
 Hundred-handed 
 
 be false than that miracles should be 
 true. (1711-1776.) 
 
 Humming Ale. Strong liquor that 
 froths well, and causes a humming in 
 the head of tlie drinker. 
 
 Hummums (in Covent Garden). So 
 called from the Persian humoun (a 
 sweating or Turkish bath). 
 
 Hu'mour. As ffood luniiour, ill or had 
 /niinoKr, etc. According to an ancient 
 theory, there are four principul humours 
 in the body : phlegm, blood, choler, and 
 black bile. As any one of these pre- 
 dominates it determines the temper of 
 the mind and body ; hence the exjiressions 
 sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and mel- 
 ancholic humours. A j ust balance made a 
 good compound called '' good humour ; " 
 a prejjonderance of any one of the fom* 
 made a bad compound called an ill or 
 evil humour. (See £01 Jonson : Evcri/ 
 Mail Out of His Humour (Prologue). 
 
 Humpback {The). 
 Gero'nimo Amelunglii, // Goho di Tisa 
 (sixteenth century). 
 Andre'a Sola'ri, the Italian painter, 
 
 Del Oohbo (1470-1527). 
 
 Humphrey {Master). The imaginary 
 collector of the tales in Master lluin- 
 phrci/s Clork, by Charles Dickens. 
 
 Tlie (jood Uiike Humphrey, {ib'ee Good 
 Duke Humphrey.) 
 
 I'o dine with Dulce Humphrey. To 
 
 have no dinner to go to. Humphrej', 
 
 Duke of Gloucester, son of Henry IV. , 
 
 was renowned for his hospitality. At 
 
 death it was reported that a monument 
 
 would be erected to him in St. Paul's, 
 
 but his body was interred at St. Albans. 
 
 When the jiromenaders left for dinner, 
 
 the poor stay-behinds who had no dinner 
 
 used to say to the gay sparks who asked 
 
 if they wore going, that they would 
 
 stay a little longer and look for the 
 
 monument of the " good duke." 
 
 To dine with Duke Humiibrey in Fowl's Walk. 
 
 V A similar locution is To sup with 
 
 Sir Thomas Grcsham. The Exchange built 
 
 by Sir Thomas being a common lounge. 
 
 " Tlimii,'li little coin tliy imrseloss i>ofket line, 
 
 Yet with '-'i-eat e(iiiiiinii.v tlioii ai't taken uii; 
 
 For often wit li Duke Huiiiplirey tliou dost dine, 
 
 And often wit li Sir Tliumas Gresham sup." 
 JIaymaii : (JnodlibU iKpigram on a Loafer), 1628. 
 
 Humpty Dumpty. An egg, a little 
 deformed dwarf. Dumpty is a con-up- 
 tion of dumpy (short and thick). A 
 dump is a piece of lead used in chuck- 
 farthing. Humpty is having a hmnp or 
 hunch. The two mean short, thick, and 
 round-sl)ouldere(i. 
 
 Hunchback. Styled My Lord. 
 Grose says this was done in the reign of 
 Richard III., when many defomied men 
 were made peers ; but probably the word 
 is the Greek lordos (crooked) . 
 
 Hundred. Hero of the hundred fights 
 or liattles. 
 
 Lord Nelson (1758-1805). 
 
 Conn, a celebrated Irish hero, is so 
 called by O'Gnive, the bard of O'Niel : 
 " Conn, of the hundred fights, sleejjs iu 
 thy grass-grown tomb." 
 
 Hundred. A county division men- 
 tioned iu Domesdaj^ Book, and supposed 
 to embrace ten tithings for military and 
 constabulary purposes. If a crime was 
 committed (such as robbery, maiming 
 cattle, stack-burning, etc.), these sure- 
 ties were bound to make it good, or bring 
 the offender to justice. 
 
 Northumberland, Cumberland, West- 
 moreland, and Durham are divided into 
 "wards" {q.r.). 
 
 Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Notts, 
 into " wajicntakes " {q.r.). Yorkshire 
 has also a special division, called 
 " ridings " {q.r.). 
 
 Kent is divided into five lathes, with 
 subordinate hundreds. {See Lathes.) 
 
 Sussex is divided into six rapes (1 syl.), 
 with subordinate hundreds. {See Eapes.) 
 
 Hundred Days. The days between 
 March 20, 1815, when Napoleon reached 
 the Tuileries, after his escape from Elba, 
 and June 28, the date of the second re- 
 storation of Louis XVIII. These hun- 
 dred days were noted for five things : 
 
 The additional Act to the constitutions of the 
 
 empire, April 22; 
 The Coalition ; 
 Tlie Champ de Mai, June 1 ; 
 The battle of Waterloo, June 18 ; 
 The second abdication of Napoleon in favour of 
 
 bis son, June 22. 
 
 He left Elba February 26 ; landed at 
 Cannes March 1, and at the Tuileries 
 March 20. He signed his abdication 
 June 22, and abdicated June 28. 
 
 The address of the Count de Chanibord, the 
 jirefect, begins thus: "A hundred days, sire, 
 have elapsed since the fatal moment when your 
 Majesty was forced to quit your cajiital in the 
 niidst of te;irs." This is the origin of the phrase. 
 
 Hundred-eyed {The). Argus, in 
 Greek and Latin fable. Juno api^ointed 
 him guardian of lo [the cow], but 
 Jupiter caused hini to be put to death ; 
 whereupon Juno transplanted his eyes 
 into the tail of her peacock. 
 
 Hundred-handed {TJie). Three of 
 the sons of UrSuus were so called, viz. 
 ^gseonor Briareus[i?)'i'-fl'->V(re],Kottos, 
 and Gyges or Gyes. Called ju Greek
 
 Hundred MileS 
 
 637 
 
 Huntei? 
 
 Hekatogcheiros [liek'- ha - ton - ki'ros'] . 
 After the war between Zeus and the 
 Titans, when the latter were overcome 
 and hurled into Tartarus, the Hundred- 
 handed ones were set to keep watch and 
 wai'd over them. {See Giants.) 
 
 V Sometimes the three-headed Cer- 
 berus is so called, because the necks were 
 covered with snakes instead of hair. 
 
 Hundred Miles (A). Not a hioidrcd 
 miles iiff. An indirect way of saying in 
 this very neighbourhood, or very si5ot. 
 The phrase is employed when it would 
 be indiscreet or dangerous to refer more 
 directly to the person or place hinted at ; 
 as, "Xot a hundred miles off, there 
 is . . ." 
 
 Hundred Years' War {The). The 
 struggle between France and England, 
 beginning in tlie reign of Edward III., 
 lijyy, and ending in that of Henry VI., 
 1453. 
 
 " Sons lea regnes de Philippe VI. (de Valois), de 
 Jean TI., de Charles v., VI.,et VII., en France.'— 
 Boailitt: llictiuiiiKtire d'Histuire, p. .3i7, col. '2. 
 
 Hungarian. One half-starved ; in- 
 tended as a jjun on the word luDujer (a 
 diunerless fop) . 
 
 Hun'gary Water. Made of rose- 
 mary, sage, and spices ; so called because 
 the receipt was given by a hermit to the 
 Queen of Hungary-. 
 
 Hunger seasons Food. 
 
 Unglixh : — 
 
 " Hunger is the best sauce." 
 " Hunger is good kitchen meat." 
 Frciieh : — 
 
 " II n'y a sauce que d'appetit." 
 "L'appetit assaisonne tout." 
 Latin : — 
 
 " Optimum condimentum fames." 
 
 {Soereites.) 
 " Optimum tibi condimentum est 
 
 fames, potionis sitis." {Cieero.) 
 " Manet hodieque vulgo tritum pro- 
 verbium : Famem efficere ut crudaj 
 etiam fabas saccharium sapiaut." 
 {Emsmus.) 
 Italian : — 
 
 •'La farne e il miglior intingolo." 
 " Appetite non vuol salsa." 
 The eoutrary : — 
 "The full soul loatheth a honey- 
 comb." (Prov. xxvii. 7.) 
 " It must be a delicate dish to tempt 
 the o'ergorged apjjetite." 
 
 (Southey.') 
 " He who is not hungry is a fastidious 
 
 eater." {Spanish.) 
 " Plenty makes dainty. " 
 
 Hungr {Ji anger). The dish out of 
 which the goddess Hel {q.v.) was wont 
 to feed. 
 
 Hungry. 
 
 Hungry as a dog. In Latin, " Rahidus 
 fame, ceu canis.'^ 
 
 Jlitngry as a hank. 
 
 Hungry as a hunter. 
 
 Hungry as a kite. In Latin, Milvinam 
 appententiam halerc.^^ (I'lantus.) 
 
 Hungry as a wolf. In French, "Aroir 
 line faim de Imp.'''' Another French 
 plu-ase is '■^ Avoir u)t faim de diable.'" 
 
 Hungry Dogs. Hungry doys nill 
 cat dirty puddings. 
 
 "To the liuugry soul every bitter 
 thing is sweet." (Prov. xxvii. 7.) 
 
 " When bread is wanting oaten cakes 
 are excellent." 
 Latin : — • 
 
 " Jejunus raro stomachus vulgaria 
 temnit." (Horaee.) 
 French : — 
 
 "A la faim il n'y a point de mauvais 
 pain." 
 
 " A ventre affame tout est bon." 
 
 " Ventre affame n'a point d'oreilles." 
 Italian : — 
 
 " L'asino clu a fame mangia d'ogni 
 strame." 
 German : — ■ 
 
 " Wem kase und brod uicht schraeckt, 
 der ist nicht hungrig." 
 
 Hunia'des. Hunniades, or Huny- 
 
 ady (4 syl.). One of the greatest captains 
 of the fourteenth century. The Turks 
 so much feared him that they used his 
 name for scaring children. (1400-1456.) 
 {See Bogie.) 
 
 "The Turks employed this name to friirbte'i 
 tlieir pervevse cliildren. Hi' wa.s corni|itl.v de- 
 nominated 'Jancns Lain.'"— ff/Wwu; DccUni and 
 taU of the Roman Empire, xii. 106. 
 
 Hunks. An old. hunks. A screw, a 
 hard, selfish, mean fellow. (Icelandic, 
 hunskur, sordid.) 
 
 Hunt. Like Hunfs dog, he ironld 
 neither go to chnreh nor stay at home. 
 One Hunt, a labouring man in Shrop- 
 sliii-e, kept a mastiff, which, on being 
 shut up while his master went to church, 
 howled and barked so terribly as to 
 disturb the whole congregation ; where- 
 upon Hunt thought he would take his 
 Lycisca with him the next Sunday, but 
 on reaching the churchyard the dog 
 positively refused to enter. The proverb 
 is applied to a tricky, self-willed person, 
 who will neither be led or driven. 
 
 Hunter. 3[r. and Mrs. leo Hunter. 
 Two lion hunters, or persons who hunt
 
 Hunter's Moon 
 
 638 
 
 Hurlo-Thrurabo 
 
 up all the celebrities of London to p-ace 
 their parties. {Dickens : Fichuick 
 Tapers. ) 
 
 The miglity hunter. Nimrod is so called 
 (Gen. X. 9). The meaning seems to be 
 a conqueror. Jeremiah says, " I [the 
 Lord] will send for many hunters [war- 
 riorsT, and they shall hunt [chase] them 
 [the Jews] from every mountain . . . and 
 out of the holes of the rocks " (xvi. IG). 
 •• Proiul Nimrod first the Moody cliasc? IjCK^n— 
 A niiijbty liiinter, aud his \\wy was man." 
 
 Popo: Windsor. 
 
 Hunter's Moon (The). The month 
 or moon following the "harvest moon" 
 {(/.v.). Hunting does not begin until 
 after harvest. 
 
 Hunters and Runners of classic 
 
 renown : 
 
 AcAsTos, wlio took iiartin the famous Calydonian 
 hunt (a wild hoar). 
 
 A(T.f:c)S, thi> fainous liuntsman who was trans- 
 fonnod liy Dianaintoa stag, hecause.he chanced 
 to seo her l>athiiiB. 
 
 Adonis, heloved liy Venus, slain hy a wild boar 
 while huiitiiiif. 
 
 ADitASTOs, who was saved at the sie»e of Thehes 
 tiy the speed of his horse Arion, jjiveu him by 
 Hercules. 
 
 Atai.anta, who promised to marry the man wlio 
 could outstrip her In ruMning. 
 
 CAMti.r.A, the swiftest-footed of all the compa- 
 nions of Diana. 
 
 Ladas, tlie swiftest-footed of all the runners of 
 Alexander the Great, 
 
 JlKLEA'ciKit, who took part in the great Calydo- 
 nian boar-hunt. 
 
 Oiu'ox, the (fieat and famous lunter, chansred 
 into the Constellation, so conspicuous in No- 
 vember. 
 
 PiiEiDii'PiDEs, who ran 1.T) miles in two day*. 
 
 Hunting of the Hare. A comic 
 romance, jniblished in Weber's collection. 
 A yeoman informs the inhabitants of a 
 village that he has seen a hare, and invites 
 them to join him in hunting it. They 
 attend with their curs and mastiffs, pugs 
 and house-dogs, and the fun turns on the 
 truly unsportsmanlike manner of giving 
 puss the chase. 
 
 Hunting the Gowk. {See April 
 Fool.) 
 
 Hunting the Snark. A child's tale 
 by "Lewis Carroll," a pseudonjTn 
 adopted by C. Lutwidge Dodgson, 
 author of AUce''s Adventures in Wonder- 
 land, with its continuation. Through the 
 Looking-glass, etc. {See Snaek.) 
 
 Hunting two Hares. He irho hunts 
 two hares leaves one and loses the other. 
 No one can do well or properly two 
 things at once. "No man can serve 
 two masters," 
 French : — 
 
 " Poursuis deux lievres, et les man- 
 ques " {La Fontaine). 
 
 " On ne peut tirer a deux cibles."" 
 
 Latin : — 
 
 " Duos qui sequitur lepores, neutrum 
 
 capit." 
 " Simul sorbere ac flare non possum." 
 
 '■ Like a man to double business bound, 
 I stand in pause where I sliall flrst br^'in, 
 And hoth uotflect." 
 
 Sliukespenre : Hamlet, iii..1. 
 
 Huntingdon (called bj- the Saxons 
 
 Iluiitantnn, and in Doomsday Hunter's 
 dune) api)eurs to have derived its name 
 from its situation in a tract of country 
 which was anciently an extensive forest 
 abounding with deer, and well suited for 
 the ])urposcs of the chase. 
 
 Huntingdon Sturgeon {A). An 
 ass's foal. I'cpys, in his IHari/, tells us 
 that during a high flood between the 
 meadows of Huntingdon and Godman- 
 chester something was seen floating on 
 the water, which the Huntingdonians 
 insisted was a sturgeon, but, being res- 
 cued, it jiroved to be a young donkey. 
 
 Huon de Bordeaux encounters in 
 Syria an old follower of the family named 
 Gerasmcs (2 syl.), whom he asks the way 
 to Babylon. Gerasmes told him the 
 shortest and best way was through a 
 wood sixteen leagues long, and full of 
 fairies ; that few could go that way 
 because King O'beron was sure to en- 
 coimtcr them, and whoever spoke to this 
 fay was lost for ever. If a traveller, on 
 the other hand, refused to answer him, 
 he raised a most horrible storm of wind 
 and rain, and made the forest seem one 
 great river. " But, " says the vassal, ' ' the 
 river is a mere delusion, through which 
 anyone can wade without wetting the 
 soles of his shoes." Huon for a time 
 followed the advice of Gerasmes, but 
 afterwards addressed Oberou, who told 
 him the history of his birth. They became 
 gi-eat friends, and when Oberou went to 
 Paradise he left Huon his successor as 
 lord and king of Mommur. He married 
 Esclairmond, and was crowned "King 
 of all Faerie." {Huon de Bordeaux, a 
 romance). 
 
 Hurdle Race {A). A race in which 
 the runners have to leap over three or 
 more hurdles, fixed in the ground at 
 unequal distances. 
 
 Hurdy-gurdy. A stringed instru- 
 ment of music, like a rude violin ; the 
 notes of which are produced by the fric- 
 tion of a wheel. 
 
 Hurlo-Thrumbo. A ridiculous bur- 
 lesque, which in 1730 had an extra- 
 ordinary run at the Haymarket theatre. 
 So great was its popularity that a club
 
 Hurly-burly 
 
 639 
 
 Hussites 
 
 called "The Hurlo-Thrumbo Society" 
 was formed. The author was Samuel 
 Johnson, a half-mad dancing master, 
 who put this motto on the title-page 
 when the burlesque was printed : — 
 
 '• Ye sons of Are, read my Ilurlo-Thrumbo, 
 Turn it i)etwiit your Ilnwer and your tliumho, 
 And Iieins quite undone, be quitu struct 
 duintx)." 
 
 Hurly-burly. Uproar, tumult, es- 
 pecially of T)attle. A reduplication of 
 liuvhf. ]{iirli(-berln is the French equi- 
 valent, evidently connected with hinier, 
 to howl or yell. {Sec Hullabaloo.) 
 
 V In the Garden of Eloquence (1577) 
 the word is given as a specimen of 
 onom'atopoe'ia. 
 
 " When tlio liurly-lmrly's dono, 
 When the liattle's lost and won." 
 
 The Witclius, in J/<ifi/rf/i i.l. 
 
 Hurrah', the Hebrew y>-\ri- Our 
 "Old Hundredth Psalm" begins with 
 " Shout joyfully [huiTah] to Jehovah ! " 
 The word is also of not uncommon 
 occurrence iri other psalms. See Notes 
 and Queries, October 16th, 1880. (Nor- 
 wegian and Danish, hurra !) [See 
 Huzza. ) 
 
 V The Norman battle-cry was "Ha 
 Eollol " or "Ha Eou !" (French, hitzzer, 
 to shout aloud ; Kussian, hoera and 
 hoezce.) 
 
 "The Saxon cry of 'Out! Out, Holy Crosse I' 
 rose liii'h iihove the Xornian sound of 'Ha Uou ! 
 Ha Kou, Notre D3,\\,e'."—Lord Lijtton: Harold, 
 Ijook xii. chap. 8. 
 
 V Wace {Chronicle) tells us that Tiir 
 aie (Thor aid) was the battle cry of the 
 Northmen. 
 
 Hurricane (3 syl.). A large private 
 party or rout ; so called from its hurry, 
 bustle and noise. (6'feDEUM.) 
 
 Hurry. The Mahouts cheer on their 
 elephants by repeating ur-re, the Arabs 
 their camels by shouting ar- re, the French 
 their hounds by shouts of hare, the Ger- 
 mans their horses by the word hurs, the 
 herdsmen of Ireland their cattle by shout- 
 ing hurrish. (Welsh, f/yru, to drive ; 
 Armenian, haura, to hasten ; Latin, 
 curro, to run ; etc.) 
 
 BonH hurry, Hopkins. A satirical re- 
 proof to those who are not prompt in 
 their payment.s. It is said that one 
 Hopkins, of Kentucky, gave his creditor 
 a promissory note on which was this 
 memorandum, " The said Hopkhis is not 
 to be hurried in paying the above." 
 
 Hurry - skurry. Another ricochet 
 word with which our language abounds. 
 It means a confused haste, or rather, 
 haste without waiting for the due 
 ordei-iiig of things ; pell-mell. 
 
 Hus'band is the house farmer. Bondc 
 is Norwegian for a "farmer," hence 
 bond'c-liy (a village where farmej's dwell) ; 
 andA«smeans ''house." Hus-band-man 
 is the man-of-the-house farmer. The 
 husband, therefore, is the master farmer, 
 and the husband-man the servant or 
 labourer. "Husbandry" is the occu- 
 pation of a farmer or husband ; and a 
 bondman or bondslave has no connection 
 with boinl = fetters, or the verb to bind. 
 It means simply a cultivator of the soil. 
 {See ViLLEix.) Old Tusser was in error 
 when he derived the word from ' ' house- 
 band," as in the following distich : — 
 
 " The name of the husband, what is it to say ? 
 Of Wife and of Aoiisp-hold the bund and the 
 stay." 
 
 Fire Hundred Points of Good Uimbandry. 
 
 Husband's Boat {The). The boat 
 which leaves London on Saturday, and 
 takes to Margate tliose fathers of fami- 
 lies who live in that ueighboiu'hood 
 during the summer months. 
 
 "I shall never forget tho evenint? wlien we 
 went down to tlie jetty to seethe Husbands' boat, 
 c hie in."~T)ie Mistletoe Boiijli. 
 
 Husband's Tea. Very weak tea. 
 
 Hush-money. Money given to a 
 person who knows a secret to keep him 
 from mentioning it. A bribe for silence 
 or ' ' hu.shing " a matter up. 
 
 Hush'ai (2 syl.), in Dry den's satire 
 of Absalom and Aehitophel, is Hyde, 
 Earl of Kochester. Hushai was David's 
 friend, who counteracted the counsels of 
 Achitojjhel, and caused the plot of Absa- 
 lom to miscarrj' ; so Rochester defeated 
 the schemes of Shaftesbury, and brought 
 to nought the rebellion of the Duke of 
 Monmouth. 
 
 N.B. This was not John Wilmot, 
 Earl of Rochester, the wit. 
 
 Hussars. Matthias Corvinus com- 
 pelled every twenty families to provide 
 him with one horse-soldier free of all 
 charge. ThLs was in 14.)8, and in con- 
 firmation of this story we are told that 
 huss is an Hungarian word meaning 
 " twenty," and that ar means "pay." 
 
 V When Matthias Corvinus succeeded 
 to the crown of Hungary (1458), Mo- 
 hammed III. and Frederick III. con- 
 spired to dethrone "the boy king"; 
 but Matthias enrolled an army of Hus- 
 sars, and was able to defy his enemies. 
 
 "Item si contigerit ut aliqui ijredones aut 
 huzarii Hungari aliiiuam rapinam .... intule- 
 rint . . . ."—A clause in a truce betu:i:en the Turks 
 and George Brankovich, May -Ast, 14-19. 
 
 Hus'sites (2 syl.). Followers of John 
 Huss, the Bohemian refoi-mer, in the
 
 Hussy 
 
 C40 
 
 HyksoS 
 
 fourteenth century. {See Betiilem- 
 
 ENITES.) 
 
 Hussy. A little IniK.ii/. A word of 
 slight contempt, though in some counties 
 it seems to mean simply f/ir/, as " Come 
 hither, hussy." Of course, the word is 
 a corruption of hoiiscicifc or /tKssif. In 
 Swedish hustrit means woman in general. 
 It is rather remarkable that mother in 
 Norfolk has given rise to a similar sort 
 of word, morther, as " Come hither, 
 morther" — i.e. girl. Neither hussy nor 
 morther is applied to married women. 
 In Norfolk they also .^ay mor for a 
 femalr, and bor for the other sex. Muer 
 is Dutcli for woman in general, and boer 
 for peasant, whence our boor. 
 
 Hus'terloe. A wood in Flanders, 
 where Ileynard declared his vast trea- 
 sures were concealed. {Jtei/iiard tlie 
 Fo.r.) 
 
 Hustings. House - things or city 
 courts. Loudon has still its eoiirt of 
 Jliistnn/s in Guildhall, in which are 
 elected the lord mayor, the aldermen, 
 and city members. The hustings of 
 elections are so called because, like the 
 court of Hustings, they are the places 
 of elective assemblies. (Anglo-Saxon, 
 hustuig, a place of council.) 
 
 Hutchinso'nians. Followers of 
 Anne Hutchinson, who retired to Rhode 
 Island. Anne and fifteen of lier chil- 
 dren were subsequently murdered by 
 the Indians (died 1G43). 
 
 Hu'tin. Louis le Ifiitiii. Louis X. 
 Mazerai saj's he received the name 
 because he was tongue-doughty. The 
 hiitiiiet was a mallet used by coopers 
 which made great noise, but did not 
 give severe blow? ; as we should say, 
 the barker or barking dog. It is my 
 belief that he was so named because 
 he was sent by his father against the 
 " Hutins," a seditious people of Navarre 
 and Lyons. (1289, 1314-1316.) i 
 
 Hutkin. A cover for a sore finger, 
 made by cutting off the finger of an old 
 glove. The word hut in this instance is 
 from the Gennan huten (to guard or pro- 
 tect). It is employed in the German 
 i\o\in fill f/er-h lit (a thimble to protect the 
 finger), and in the word hitth or Iiiit. 
 
 {See HODEKEN.) 
 
 Huzza! (Old French, hiizzer, "to 
 shout aloud;" German, hussah / {See 
 
 HUERAH.) 
 
 Huzzy. {Src Hussy.) 
 Hvergelmcr. A boilding cauldron 
 in Niflhoim, vJie'iiiie issues twelve 
 
 poisonous springs, which generate ice, 
 snow, wind, and rain. {Seaudiiiavian 
 
 mijthulurjij.) 
 
 Hyacinth, according to Grecian 
 fable, was the son of Ajnyclas, a Spartan 
 king. The lad was beloved by Apollo 
 and Zephyr, and as he preferred tho 
 sun-god. Zephyr drove Apollo's quoit at 
 his head, and killed him. The blood 
 became a flower, and the petals are 
 inscribed with the boy"s name. ( Jlrr/il : 
 Eelogiie.s, iii. 106.) 
 
 ■' TliP liysK-intli Ijewiiiys tlie (lolrfiil ' A 1,' 
 And <'iills llip trihiite nf Aiiollo's si^'li. 
 Still nil its bloom tlic inouriifiil flower retains 
 The lovely bliio tliat dyed tlie striplins's veins.' 
 CuiiKieux : Liisiiul, ix. 
 
 Hy'ades (3 syl.). Seven nymplii 
 placed among the stars, in the constella- 
 tion Taurus, which threaten rain when 
 they rise with the sun. The fable is 
 that they wept the death of their brother 
 Hyas so bitterly, that Zeus (1 syl.), out 
 of compassion, took them to heaven, 
 and placed them in tlie constellation 
 Taurus. (Greek, h/ieiii, to rain.) 
 
 Hybla. A mountain in Sicilj', famous 
 for its honey. {See Hymettus.) 
 
 Hy'dra. A monster of the Ler'nean 
 
 marshes, in Ar'golis. It had nine heads, 
 and Hercules was sent to kill it. As soon 
 as he struck off one of its heads, two shot 
 up in its place. 
 
 Hydra-headed. Having as many heads 
 as the hydra {q.T.) ; a difficulty which 
 goes on increasing as it is combated. 
 
 Ili/dra-headed multitude. The rabble, 
 which not only is many-headed numeri- 
 cally, but seems to grow more numerous 
 the more it is attacked and resisted. 
 
 Hyenas were worshipped by the an- 
 cient Egyptians. Pliny says that a certain 
 stone, called the "hysenia," found in the 
 eye of the creature, being placed under 
 the tongue, imparts the gift of prophecy 
 (xxxvii. 60). 
 
 Hygei'a (3 syl.). Goddess of health 
 and the daughter of .SE^culapios. Her 
 sj'mbol was a serpent diinking fi'om a 
 euj) in her hand. 
 
 Hyksos. A tribe of Cuthites (2 syl.), 
 driven out of Assyria by Ara'lius and the 
 Shemites. They founded in Egypt a 
 dj-nasty called Hyksos (shepherd kings), 
 a title assumed by all the Cuthite chiefs. 
 This dynasty, which gave Egypt six or 
 eight kings, lasted 251) years, when the 
 whole horde was driven from Egypt, 
 and retired to Palestine. It is from 
 these refugees that the lords of the 
 Philistines arose. The word is com- 
 pounded of hyk (king) and sCs (shepherd).
 
 Hylas 
 
 641, 
 
 Hypocrites' Isle 
 
 Hyl'as. A boy beloved by Hercules, 
 carried oft' by the nymphs wliile drawing 
 water from a foimtaiu iu Mj's'ia. 
 
 Hylech (in Astrology). That planet, 
 or point of the sky, which dominates at 
 man's birth, and influences his whole 
 life. 
 
 Hymen. God of marriage, a'sort of 
 overgrown Cupid. His symbols are a 
 bridal- torch and veil in his hand. 
 
 Hy'mer. The giant in Celtic mytho- 
 logy who took Tlior in his boat when 
 that god went to kill the serpent ; for 
 which service he was flung by the ears 
 into the sea. {See Giants.) 
 
 Hymettus. A moimtain iu Attica, 
 famous for its honey. [Sve Hybla.) 
 
 Hymn Tunes. 
 
 "The Heavens are Telling." (From 
 Ilfiildi i''s C) ca tioii.) 
 
 "Marching to Glory." The tune of 
 March'iiHj to Georgia. 
 
 "Onward, Christian Soldiers." One 
 of IIai/dii\s Si/inphonies. 
 
 " Lo 1 He comes with clouds descend- 
 ing." The tune of a hornpipe danced 
 at Saddler's Wells in the eighteenth 
 century. {Ilclmslen.) 
 
 " There is aHapj)y Land." An Indian 
 air. 
 
 " The Land of the Leal." Scots tvha 
 hae xri'' Wallace bled. 
 
 " Brightest and best of the Sons of the 
 Morning." 3Iendelssokn''s Lieder No. 9. 
 
 "Sweet the Moments." The Jirst 
 sixteen bars of II eet haven's Fiano Sonata, 
 Op. 26. 
 
 Hymnus Eucharis'ticus. Sung as 
 the 'clock strikes o a.m. by Magdalen 
 choir on the summit of Wolsey's Tower 
 (Oxford) on May morning to greet the 
 rising sun. Some say the custom dates 
 from the reign of Henry VIII. ; if this 
 overshoots the mark, no one knows for 
 certainty a more exact period. 
 
 " Te Deum Patrem collimis, 
 Te laiKlihns proseiiuimur ; 
 Qui corpus cilioriticis, 
 Coelesti mentem gratia." 
 
 Uymnus Euchnristicus. 
 
 Hyperbo'reans (5 syl.). The most 
 northern people, who dwell bei/ond Bo'reas 
 (the seat of the north wind), j^laced by 
 Virgil under the North Pole. They are 
 said to be the oldest of the human race, 
 the most \'irtuous, and the most happy ; 
 to dwell for some thousand years under 
 a cloudless sky, in fields jaelding double 
 harvests, and in the enjoyment of per- 
 petual sprmg. When sated of life they 
 crown their heads with flowers, and 
 
 l^lunge headlong from the mountain 
 Huuueberg or Halleberg into the sea, 
 and enter at once the paradise of Odin. 
 {Scandinavian mijthuloyij.) 
 
 The Hyperbo'reans, it is said, have not 
 an atmo.sphere like our own, but one 
 consisting wholly of feathers. Both 
 Herod'otos and Pliny mention this fic- 
 tion, which they say was suggested by 
 the quantity of snow observed to fall in 
 those regions. {Ileroelotos, iv. 31.) 
 
 Hyper'ion. Properly, the father of 
 the Sim and Moon, but by jioets made a 
 surname of the Sun. Shakespeare makes 
 it a synonjTii of Apollo. The proper 
 pronunciation is Hyperi'on. Thus 
 Ovid— 
 
 " Pkicat eqiio Persis radiis HyiieriOiie cinctiim." 
 . />(.<(/, i. 385. , 
 
 "So excollent a kins, tliat was lo lliis 
 H.vper'ion to a satyr." 
 
 tihukcspeare : Ilumlet, i. 9. 
 
 Hypermnestra'. Wife of Lynceus 
 (2 syl.), and the only one of the fifty 
 daughters of Daua,os who did not murder 
 her husband on their bridal night. 
 
 Hypnotism. The art of producing 
 trance-sleep, or hypno'sis ; or the state 
 of being hj'pnotised. (Greek, hiqmos, 
 sleep.) 
 
 "The mi^tbod, discovered by Mr. Braid, of pro- 
 duciii!,' this state . . . approjiriately deslgnatt^d 
 . . . liypiiotism, consists in the maintenance of a 
 fixed gaze for several minutes . . . on a bright 
 object placed somewhat above [the line of sight], 
 at so short a distance [as to produce pain]." — 
 Carpenter: Principles of Mental Physiology, book 
 ii. cuap. i. p. ijo. 
 
 Hypochon'dria (Greek, ht/po chon- 
 dros, under the cartilage) — i.e. the spaces 
 on each side of the epigastric region, 
 supposed to be the seat of melancholy as 
 a disease. 
 
 Hypoc'risy. Vhypocrisxe est nn 
 hommaye que le vice rend a la vertu. 
 {liochefoncauld.) 
 
 Hyp'ocrite (3 syl.). Prince of hypo- 
 crites. Tibe'i'ius Caesar was so called, 
 because he affected a great regard for 
 decency, but indulged in the most detest- 
 able lust and cruelty (b.c. 42, 14 to a.d. 
 37). 
 
 Abdallah Ibn Obba and his partisans 
 were called The Hypocriteshy Mahomet, 
 because they feigned to be friends, but 
 were in reality disguised foes. 
 
 Hyp'ccrites' Isle, called by Eabe- 
 lais C'haneph, which is the Hebrew for 
 ' ' hypocrisy. ' ' Rabelais says it is wholly 
 inhabited by sham saints, spiritual come- 
 dians, bead-tumblers, mumblers of ave- 
 mari'as, and such like sorry rogues, who 
 Uved on the alms of passengers, like the
 
 Hypostatic 
 
 G42 
 
 lapetos 
 
 hermit of Loiinont. [Tantagruel, iv. 
 63.) 
 
 Hyposta'tic Union. The union of 
 two or more persons into one undivided 
 unity, as, for example, the three persons 
 of the eternal Godhead. The Greek 
 hijpos'tasis corresponds to the Latin prr- 
 co'na. The time persons of the God and 
 thne hypos' tases of the Godhead mea.ii one 
 and the same thing. 
 
 "Wo do not find, indeed, that tbe bjiKistatic 
 1 re-exisieiice of Clirist was an article of their 
 creed [i.e. of the Nazarenes]."— /■'is/io' ; Super- 
 vutural Urigiii 0/ Christianiti/, essay v. p. 319. 
 
 Hypped [hipt]. Melancholy, low- 
 sitirited. Hyp. is a coiitractiou of hi/po- 
 choiidria. 
 
 Hy'son. One of the varieties of green 
 tea. '■'■ Ainsi noiuiiie d'itii mot ehiuois 
 qui rent dire printemps, parce que c'cst 
 UH eommeiicement de eette saisoii qiCon le 
 ciuilley {M. X. Bouillet.) 
 
 Hyssop. David says (Ps. li. 7) : 
 "Purge nie with hyssop, and I shall be 
 clean." The reference is to the custom 
 of someone who was ceremoniously 
 "clean" sprinkling the unclean (when 
 they came to present themselves in the 
 Temple) with a bunch of hyssop dijjped 
 in water, iu which had been mixed the 
 ashes of a red heifer. This was done 
 as they left the Court of the Gentiles 
 to enter the Court of the women 
 (Numbers xix. 17). 
 
 Hys'teron Prot'eron (Greek). The 
 cart before the horse. 
 
 I. This letter represents a finger, and 
 is called in Hebrew yod ovjod (a hand). 
 
 I per se [I by itself], i.e. without com- 
 peer, pre-eminently so. 
 
 " If then your I [yes] ai^-recnient want. 
 I to your 1 [yes] must answer, 'No.' 
 Therefore leave off your spelling plea, 
 An<l let your I [yes] ho I per se. 
 i.e. let your yes be yes decidedly. 
 
 Wits Interpreter, p. 11(5. 
 
 V Many other letters are similarly 
 used; as, A perse. {See A-pee-se.) 
 Thus in llestitutn Eliza is called "The 
 E p r se of all that ere hath been." So 
 again, " O," signifies a crier, from " O 
 yes ! O j-es ! " We have " Villanies des- 
 covered by . . . the help of a new crier, 
 called O per se \i.e. sujierior to his pre- 
 decessors]." 1666. 
 
 Shakesjieare, in Troihts and Crcssida, 
 i. 2, even uses the phrase "a very man 
 per se" = A 1. 
 
 I.H.S. — i.e. the Greek IH2, meaning 
 
 IHSoC; (Jesus), the long e (H) being 
 mistaken for a capital H, and the dash 
 perverted into a cross. The letters 
 being thus obtained, St. Bernardine of 
 Siena, in 1347, hit upon the Latin ana- 
 gram, Jesus Hont'i}tum Salvator. In 
 Greek, Iijo-ow 'H/ieTcpos Suirr/p. In Ger- 
 man, Jesus HeilcDul Seliymaeher. Iu 
 English, Jesus IleavcuUj Saviour. 
 
 I. U.S. A notarica of Japheth, Ham, 
 Seth, the three sons of Noah, by whom 
 the world was peoi)led after the Flood. 
 + 
 
 I.H.S. '^ In hac salus ''—i.e. " JJac 
 eruee.'' 
 
 I.O.U. The memorandum of a debt 
 given by the borrower to the lender. It 
 must not contain a promise to pay. The 
 letters mean, ■' I owe You." 
 
 An I.O.U. requires no stamp, unless it 
 specifies a day of i)ayment, when it 
 becomes a bilt, and must have a stam.p. 
 
 I.R.B. Irish Republican Brotherhood, 
 meaning the Fenian conspiracy. 
 
 lach'imo [Ya/c-e-mo]. An Italian 
 libertine in Shakespeare's Cymbeliite. 
 
 lago {Ya'yo or E-n'-yo']. Othello's 
 ensign or ancient. He hated the Moor 
 both because Cassio, a Florentine, was 
 preferred to the lieutenancy instead of 
 himself, and also from a suspicion that 
 the Moor had tampered with his wife ; 
 but he concealed his hatred so well that 
 Othello wholly trusted him. lago jjer- 
 suaded Othello that Dcsdemo'na intrigued 
 with Cassio, and urged him on till he 
 murdered his bride. His chief argument 
 was that Desdemoua had given Cassio a 
 pocket-handkerchief, the fact being that 
 lago had set on his wife to purloin it. 
 After the death of Desdemona, Emilia 
 (lago's wife) revealed the fact, and lago 
 was arrested. 
 
 Shakespeare generally makes three 
 syllables of the name, as — 
 
 " Let it not pall your laticnce, pood I-a-.go. \ 
 Left iu the conduct of the i>ol(l l-a-Ko. J-ii.l. 
 ' Tis one 1-a-s'o, ancient to the yeucral."' > 
 
 lam'bic. Futher of luinhic verse. 
 Archil'ochos of Paros (B.C. 7H-676). 
 
 lan'the (3 syl.), to whom Lord Byron 
 dedicated his (liihie Harolde, was Lady 
 Charlotte Harley, born 1S09, and only 
 eleven j-ears old at the time. 
 
 lap'etos. The father of Atlas and 
 ancestor of the human race, called yeniis 
 Idp'efi, the progeny of lapetus (Greek 
 and Latin mythology). By many con- 
 sidered the same as Japheth, one of the 
 sons of Noah.
 
 Iberia 
 
 643 
 
 Ich Dien 
 
 Ibe'ria. Spain ; the country of the 
 Ibe'ius or Ebro. (See liouc : On the 
 Laic Glorious Siicceases.) 
 
 Ibe'ria's Pilot. Clnistopher Colum- 
 bus. Spaiu is called "Iberia," aud the 
 Spaniards the "Iberi." The river Ebro 
 is a corrupt fonn of the Latin lients. 
 
 " LnunclieJ with Iberia's jilot from tbe steep, 
 To woilJs uiil;iir)\vii,:iiiu isles lieyoiid Hie d^-ep.'' 
 Camiibelt : The I'icitsuref: of Uujic, ii. 
 
 Ibid. A contraction of ibidem (Lat.), 
 in the same place. 
 
 Ibis or Nik-bird. The Egyptians 
 call the sacred Ibis Fatlicr John. It is 
 the avatar' of the god Thoth, wlio in the 
 guise of an Ibis escaped the pursuit of 
 Typhon. The Egyptians say its white 
 plumage symbolises the light of the sun, 
 and its black neck the shadow of the 
 moon, its body a heart, and its legs a 
 triangle. It was said to drink only the 
 purest of water, and its feathers to scare 
 or even kill the crocodile. It is also said 
 that the bird is so fond of Egypt that 
 it would piue to death if trausj)orted else- 
 where. It appears at the rise of the 
 Nile, but disappears at its inimdatiou. 
 If, indeed, it devours crocodiles' eggs, 
 scares away the crocodiles themselves, 
 devours serpents and all sorts of noxious 
 reptiles and insects, no wonder it should 
 bo held in veneration, and that it is 
 made a crime to kill it. {See Bieds. ) 
 
 IbiK. The Nile-bird, says Sollnus, 
 ' ' rummages in the mud of the Nile for 
 serpents' eggs, her most favourite food." 
 
 Iblia or Eblis. The Lucifer of Mozlem 
 theology. Once called Azazel (prince of 
 the apostate angels), {■'ice Eblis.) He 
 has hve sous : — 
 
 (1) ^V/-, author of fatal accidents ; (2) 
 Aivar, the demon of lubricity ; (ii) 
 iJdniii, author of discord ; (4) Siit, 
 father of lies ; and (5) Zidambur, author 
 of mercantile dishonesty. 
 
 Ib'raham. The Abraham of the 
 Koran. 
 
 Icar'ian. Soaring, adventurous. {See 
 ICAEOS. ) Also a follower of Cabet, the 
 Communist, a native of Icaria (last half 
 of the nineteenth century). 
 
 Icarcs. Son of Da'dalos, wlio flew 
 with his father from Crete ; but the sun 
 melted the wax with which his wings 
 were fastened on, and he fell into the 
 sea, hence called the Ica'rian. (See 
 Shakespeare: '6 Henry VI., v. 6.) 
 
 Ice (1 syl.). To break the ice. To 
 broach a disagreeable subject; to open 
 the way. In allusion to breaking ice for 
 bathers. (Latin, scin'dcrc^ (jlacicin ; 
 
 Italian, roiiijjcr il r/iacrio.) (Anglo- 
 Saxon, Is.) 
 
 " [We] An' if you In'oak the ice, and do this 
 feat .... 
 Will uot S') Ki'aceless be, to be ingrate." 
 
 .Sft(iAe.-7«'((re; Tamintj uf the !Shrew, i. 2. 
 
 Ice-blink {The). An indication of 
 pack-ice or of a frozen surface by its re- 
 flection on the clouds. If the sky is dark 
 or brown, the navigator may be sure 
 that there is water ; if it is white, rosy, 
 or orange-coloured, he may be certain 
 there is ice, for these tints ar.^ reflected 
 from the sun's raj's, or of light. The 
 former is called a " water sky," the 
 latter an " ice sky." 
 
 Ice-brook. A su-ord of ice-brook 
 ten/per. Uf the very best quality. The 
 Sjjaniards used to plunge their swords 
 and other weapons, while hot from the 
 forge, into the brook Sato [Xalon], near 
 Bilbilis, in Celtiberia, to harden them. 
 The Avater of this brook is very cold. 
 
 " It is a sword of Spain, tbe ic vbiook teniper.'' 
 !^hiikctp.:arc: Uthcllu, v. 2. 
 ■' S;p\d Bilbilin np'iiniani li.erallii 
 Kt feno Plareani siio sonanteai 
 (,iii:ini (liietii teniil seil iiic|nic'io 
 Anoo'nim 8alo teinperu'ior aniliit." 
 
 M'irtial. 
 
 Ice Saints or Frosf Srdnfs. Those 
 saints whose days fall in what is called 
 " the black-thorn winter " — that is, the 
 second week in May (between 1 1 and 
 14). Some give only three days, but 
 whether 11, I'i, 13 or l'-', 1:3, 14 is not 
 agreed. May 11th is the day of St. 
 Mamertus, May 12th of St. Paucratius, 
 May !;jth of St. Servatius, and May 14th 
 of St. Boniface. 
 
 " fes saincts jas^s-.^nt iionr sainct^ uresleiirs, 
 geleiiis, et i/ateurs dn boiii-j,' -on."— iJ ,b luis. 
 
 Iceberg. A hill of ice, either floating 
 in the ocean, or aground. The magni- 
 tude of some icebergs is very great. One 
 seen otf the Cape of Good Hope was two 
 miles in circumference, and a hundred 
 and fifty feet high. For every cubic 
 foot above water there must be at least 
 eight feet below. 
 
 Iceland Dogs. Shaggy white dogs, 
 once great favourites witli ladies. Shake- 
 sjoeare mentions them {Henri/ V., ii. 1). 
 
 " l'j=e and custonie bath iutatained . . . Iceland 
 dog','es culled and roiiLrli all over, wbicli, liy 
 reason i>f tbe len-rtb of tbeirbeire make sliowe 
 neither of face nor of \)oiiy." — t'loaliij : Of 
 L'u'jUfli Vuijiia (lirt'O. 
 
 Icb Dien. According to a Welsh tra- 
 dition, Edward I. promised to provide 
 Wales with a prince "who could speak 
 no word of English," and when his sou 
 Edward of Carnarvon was born he pre- 
 sented him to the assembly, saying in 
 Welsh £ich dyn (behold the man).
 
 Ichneumon 
 
 614 
 
 Idle Wheel 
 
 The more general belief is that it was 
 the motto under the plume of John, King 
 of Bohemia, slain by the Black Prince at 
 Cressy m 1346, and that the Black Prince 
 who slew the Bohemian assumed it out 
 of modesty, to indicate that "he served 
 imder the king his father." 
 
 Ichneu'mon. An animal resembling 
 a weasel, and well worthy of being de- 
 fended by priest aud prince in Egyjjt, as 
 it feeds on serpents, mice, and otlier 
 vermin, and is especially fond of croco- 
 diles' eggs, which it scratches out of the 
 sand. According to legend, it steals 
 into the mouths of crocodiles when they 
 gape, aud cats out their bowels. The 
 ichneumon is called " Pharaoh's rat." 
 
 Ichor {I'-lcor). The colourless blood 
 of tlie heathen deities. (Greek, ichor, 
 jiuce.) 
 
 IcMhus for ie'sous, CZ/ristos, TJIeou 
 I'ios, .Voter. This notarica is found on 
 many seals, rings, urns, aud tombstones, 
 belonging to the early times of Chris- 
 tianity, and was supposed to be a 
 "charm " of mystical efficacy. 
 
 Icon Basil'ike (4 syl.). Portraitui-e 
 of King Charles I. 
 
 "The eiKuji', (ir Piirtraiture of liys Majesty in 
 liys siiliuidrs :iii(l siifferiims . . . was wljcilly and 
 uiily njy inw'iiUou.'—tkiiulcii : Letter tu Clnreudnii. 
 
 Icon'oclasts (Greek, " image break- 
 ers"), lieformers who rose in the 
 eighth century, especially averse to the 
 employment of pictures, statues, em- 
 blems, and all visible representations of 
 sacred objects. The crut-ade against 
 these things began in 71^6 with the 
 Emperor Leo III., aud continued for 
 one hundred and twenty years. (Greek, 
 ikon, an image ; klao, 1 break.) 
 
 " The ei^'hth century, the age (if the Iconnclasts, 
 had uot been favouraiile to literatnre."— /soac 
 'laylor: The Alphabet, vol. ii. chap. viii. i). loU. 
 
 Idse'an Mother. Cyb'ele, who had 
 a temple on Mount Ida, in Asia Minor. 
 
 Idealism. The doctrines taught by 
 Idealists. 
 
 Siihjectire idealisii), taught by Fechte 
 (2 syl.), supposes the object (say a tree) 
 and the image of it on the mind is all 
 one. Or rather, that there is no object 
 outside the mental idea. 
 
 Objective idealism, taught by Schelling, 
 supposes that the tree and the image 
 thereof on the mind are distinct from 
 each other. 
 
 Absolnte idealism, taught by Hegel, 
 supposes there is no such thing as phe- 
 nomena ; that mind, through the senses, 
 
 creates its own world. In fact, that 
 there is no real, but all is mere ideal. 
 
 These are three German philosophers : 
 He«el (17:o-l.<il). 
 S.-helliliL,- (I770-I>.ij). 
 Fechte ii;tiL'-j»ll). 
 
 Idealists. Those who believe in 
 idealism. They may be divided into 
 two distinct sections — 
 
 (1) Those who follow Plato, who 
 taught that before creation tliere existed 
 certain types or ideal models, of which 
 ideas created objects are the visible 
 images. Malebranche, Kant, Schelling, 
 Hegel, etc., were of this school. 
 
 (2) Those who maintain tliat all phe- 
 nomena are only subjective — that is, 
 mental cogni-sances only within our- 
 selves, and what we see and what we 
 liear are only brain impressions. Of this 
 school were Berkeley, Hume, Pichte, 
 aud many others. 
 
 I'des (1 syl.). In the Roman calendar 
 the loth of March, May, July, and 
 October, and the 13th of all the other 
 mouths. (Latiu and Etruscan, idadre, 
 to divide. Tlie middle of the month. 
 Always eight days after the Nones.) 
 
 " Remember March ; the iiles of March remem- 
 ber." ,'-7i(i/a'.'-/iC(irf: Julius C'<e. iir, iv.3. 
 
 Id'ioin. A mode of expression peculiar 
 to a language, as a Latin idiom, a 
 French idiom. (Greek, id'ios, peculiar 
 to oneself.) 
 
 Idiosyncrasy. A crotchet or pe- 
 culiar one-sided view of a subject, a 
 monomania. Properly a peculiar eifect 
 produced by medicines or foods ; as 
 when coffee acts as an aperient ; the 
 electrical current as an emetic, as it does 
 upon me. (Greek, idios san krasis, some- 
 thiug pecuhar to a person's tempera- 
 ment.) 
 
 Id'iot meant originally a private per- 
 son, one uot engaged in any pubHc office. 
 Hence Jeremy Taylor says, " Humility 
 is a duty in great ones, as well as in 
 idiots" (private persons). The Greeks 
 have the expressions, " a priest or an 
 icbot" (layman), "a poet or an idiot" 
 (prose- writer). As idiots were not em- 
 ployed in public offices, the term became 
 synonymous with incompetency to fulfil 
 the duties thereof . {Gieck, id to' tes.) {See 
 Baron.) 
 
 I'dle Lake. The lake on which 
 Phredria or Wantonness cruised in her 
 gondola. It led to Wandering Island. 
 {Speiixer : Faerie Queeuc, book ii.) 
 
 Idle Wheel. The middle of three 
 wheels, which simply conveys the motiou
 
 Idle Worms 
 
 645 
 
 Ignis PatUTiS 
 
 of one outside wheel to the other out- 
 side wheel. 
 
 Suiniose A, B, C to be tbree wheels, B beins tbe 
 idle (II- gv.'ar wheel. B simjily conveys tbe motion 
 of A to C, or of C to A. 
 
 I'dle Worms. It was once supposed 
 that little worms were bred in tlif tiii^rrs 
 of idle servants. To this Shakespeare 
 alludes — 
 
 "A round I'ttle worm 
 Pi-ic'.;cd from tie lazy ttiiuer of m maid." 
 
 Shalcesi tare : Rmteo and Juliet, i. 4. 
 
 Idleness. The Lake of Idleness. 
 Spenser says whoever drank of this lake 
 grew " instantly faint and weary." The 
 Red Cross Knight drank of it, and was 
 made captive by Orgoglio. {Spenser : 
 Faerie Queeiie, hook \.) 
 
 Idol Shepherd (The), Zech. ii. 17. 
 " Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth 
 bis flock." Idol shepherd means self- 
 seeking, countei'feit, ijseudo ; the shep- 
 herd that sets up himself to be worshipped 
 by his people instead of God. 
 
 Idom'eneus (4 syl.). King of Crete, 
 and ally of the Greeks in the siege of 
 Troy. After the city was burut he made 
 a vow to sacrifice whatever he first en- 
 countered, if the gods granted him a 
 safe return to his kingdom. It was 
 his own son that he first met, and when 
 he offered him up to fulfil his vow he 
 was banished from Crete as a murderer. 
 {Humcr : I/iad.) 
 
 Compare the story of Jephthah in 
 Judges xi. 
 
 Idun'a or Idun'. Daughter of the 
 dwarf Svald, and wife of Bragi. She 
 kept in a box the golden apples which 
 the gods tasted as often as they wished 
 to renew their youth. Loki on one 
 occasion stole the box and hid it in a 
 wood ; but the gods compelled him to 
 restore it. (Seandinaviaii mi/t/iolor/i/.) 
 
 V Iduna seems to personify the year 
 between March and September, when 
 the sun is north of the equator. Her 
 apples indicate fruits generally. Loki 
 carries her off to Giant-Land, when the 
 Sun descends below the equator, and he 
 steals her apples. In time, Iduna makes 
 her escajje, in the form of a sparrow, 
 when the Sun again, in March, rises 
 above the equator ; and both gods and 
 men rejoice in her return. 
 
 Ifa'kins. A corruption of I// pood 
 faith. V fa' kin, where kin is equivalent 
 to dear or r/ood. 
 
 Ifreet or Afreet or Afrif. A powerful 
 evil jiu or spirit of Arabian mythology. 
 {.See Afeiet.) 
 
 If urin. The Hades of the ancient 
 Gauls. A dark region infested by ser- 
 pents and savage beasts. Here the 
 wicked are chained in loathsome 
 caverns, plunged into the lairs of dra- 
 gons, or subjected to a ceaseless distilla- 
 tion of poison. {Celtic inytholoyij.) 
 
 Iger'na, Igerne, or Igrayne. Wife 
 of Gorlois, Duke of Tintag'el, in Corn- 
 wall, and mother of King Arthur. His 
 father was Uther, peudragon of the 
 Britons, who married Igerna thirteen 
 days after her husband was slain. 
 
 Igna'ro. Foster-fatlier of Orgoglio. 
 Whatever question Arthur asked, the 
 old dotard answered, " He could not 
 tell." Spenser says this old man walks 
 one way and looks another, because 
 ignorance is always " wrong-headed." 
 {Spenser: Faerie Qneene, booki.) 
 
 *,* {See NoN mi Recoedo.) 
 
 Ignatius {St.) is represented in 
 Christian art accompanied by lions, or 
 chained and exposed to them, in allusion 
 to his martyrdoin. The legend is that 
 he was brought before the Emperor 
 Trajan, who condemued him to be made 
 the food of lions and other wild beasts 
 for the delectation of the people. Ac- 
 cording to tradition, St. Ignatius was the 
 little child whom our Saviour set in the 
 midst of His disciples for theii' example. 
 (About 29-115.) 
 
 Brother Ignatius. The Ivev. James 
 Leycester Lyne, for some time head of 
 the English Benedictines at the Norwich 
 Protestant monastery. Now at Llan- 
 thony. 
 
 Father Ignatius. The Hon. and Rev. 
 Geo. Spencer, formerly a clergyman 
 of the Church of England, who joined 
 the Roman communion, and became 
 Superior of the order of Passionists. 
 (1799-1864.) 
 
 Ignatius Loy'cla, founder of the 
 order of Jesuits, is depicted in art some- 
 times with the sacred monogram I. U.S. 
 on his breast, and sometimes as contem- 
 plating it, surrounded by glory in the 
 skies, in allusion to his boast that he 
 had a miraculous knowledge of the 
 mystery of the Trinity vouchsafed to 
 him. He is so represented in Rubens' 
 famous picture in Warwick Castle. 
 
 Igneous Hocks. Those which have 
 been produced by the agency of fire, as 
 the granitic, the trappean, and the vol- 
 canic. (Latin, iynis, fire.) 
 
 Ignis Fat'uus means strictly a 
 fatuous fire ; it is also called " Jack o'
 
 Ignoramus 
 
 OK) 
 
 Iliad 
 
 Lnntt'Di,'''' '■^ Spinilif," " fValking Firr,''^ 
 ^^ Tnil r/ f/if //'/.vy;," and ^' Fair Maul 
 of IrehnaJ y Milton calls it /';•(>?>•'« Jau}- 
 tliern, and Sir Walter Scott Friar Itiinh 
 irith a lantern. Morally speaking, a 
 Uto'pian scheme, no more rediutible to 
 practice than the meteor so called can be 
 turned to any useful end. (Plural, 
 Ir/msfat&i.) (See Fkiak's Lanthoen.) 
 " When tluni ranni'st up (iiulsliill in tlio Ili^•llt to 
 cati-li inv liiii-SP, if 1 diil m.l mink ilimi li:i<lsl been 
 nil igniH fatuus nr a hull "f « ililllre, tlierc's no 
 jmnliase iu uumey."—Slial:t.ipeitrv: 1 Ilinry IW. 
 i.i. 3. 
 
 V According to a Russian superstition, 
 these wandering fires are the spirits of 
 stillborn children which flit between 
 heaven and tlie Inferno. 
 
 Ignora'mus. One who ignores the 
 knowledge of something ; one really un- 
 acquainted with it. It is an ancient law 
 tenn. Ihe grand jury used to write 
 Ignoramus on the back of indictments 
 ''not found" or not to be sent into court. 
 Hence ic/non\ The present custom is to 
 write " Xo true bill." 
 
 Ignoramus Jury (J w). Tlie Grand | 
 
 Jul y. {■''<''(' a/x-'ir.) 
 
 Ignoran tines (4 syl.). A religious 
 association founded by the Abbe de la 
 Salle iu 1724, for educating gratuitously 
 the children of the poor. 
 
 Igrayne. {Sec Igeena.) 
 
 Ihram. The white cotton dress 
 worn by Mohammedan jnlgrims to 
 Mecca, For jnrn, two scarfs, without 
 seams or ornament of any kind, of any 
 material except silk ; one scarf is folded 
 round the loins, and the other is thrown 
 over the neck and shoulders, leaving the 
 right arm free ; the head is micovered. 
 For ironirn, an ample cloak, enveloping 
 the whole person. 
 
 II Paster Fi'do [tlu- FailJiful Strain']. 
 This standard of elegant pastoral compo- 
 sition is by Giovanni Battista Guari'ni, 
 of Ferrara (1.537-161'2). 
 
 Il'iad (3 syl.). The tale of the siege 
 of Troy, an epic poem by Homer, in 
 twenty-four books. Men'ela'os, King 
 of Sparta, received as his guest Paris, 
 a son of Priam (King of Troy), Avho 
 ran away with Helen, liis hostess. 
 Men'ela'os induced the Greeks to lay 
 siege to Troy to avenge the perfidy, 
 and the siege lasted ten years. The 
 poem begins in the tenth year witli a 
 cjuarrel between Agamemnon, com- 
 mander-in-chief of the allied Greeks, 
 and Achilles, the hero who retired from 
 the army in ill-temper. The Trojans 
 
 now prevail, and Achilles sends his 
 friend Patroc'los to ojipose them, hut 
 Patroclos is slain. Achilles, in a des- 
 perate rage, rushes into the battle, and 
 slays Hector, the commander of the 
 Trojan army. The poem ends with tlie 
 funeral rites of Hector. (Greek, IiVis, 
 genitive, I/u((l[os], th'? land of Ilium. 
 It is an adjective, and the word mcaiis, 
 " a poem about the land of Ilium.") 
 
 V Probably " iEncid " is Ihe genitive 
 of .32neas, ^■F/iPado.s, and moans a poem 
 about yFnens. {See iENEiD for another 
 derivation.) 
 
 "Wolf, Hcini>, anil our own (".rote, l.clievi'd tlie 
 Tli<t(l to lie the work of several poets. U. W. 
 Browne says -.— 
 
 " No (loiilil was evercnterlaineil by the ancients 
 rcspecffiiif; the personality <if lion er. Pindar, 
 riato Aristotle.and others, all assumed this fact; 
 nor did they even doubt l hat the Hind and f></(/.swi/ 
 were the work of one minti."~llistofiail i Uisficul 
 J.itcrotKre, book i. chap. iv. p. 3!t. 
 
 77i(' " Iliad^'' ill n niitHhell. Pliny ( vii. 
 21) tells us that the 7/(Vw/ was copied in 
 so small a hand that the whole work 
 could lie in a walnut-shell. Plinj-'s 
 authority is Cicero {Jpad (leUiani, ix. 
 421). Huet, Bishop of Avranches, 
 demonstrated the i)ossibility of this 
 achievement by writing eighty verses of 
 the Iliad on a single line of a pape 
 similar to this " iJictionarj'. " This 
 would be 19,000 verses to the page, or 
 2,000 more than the Iliad contains. 
 
 V In the Harieian MS.S. {'M) we have 
 an account of Peter Bales, an English- 
 man, clerk of the Couit of Chancery iu 
 the reign of Queen Elizabeth, under 
 date of 1.390, who wrote out the whole 
 Bible so small that he inclosed it in a 
 walnut shell of English growth. {See 
 Nutshell.) 
 
 " Whilst they (as Homer's Iliad in a nut) 
 A world of wonders in one closet shut." 
 Un the Minnmintal stone of the Tiddcacants 
 in Liinihcth Vliiircliynrd. 
 
 The Freiieh Iliad. The Ilomanec of 
 the Rose, begun by Guillaume di Lorris 
 in the latter half of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury, and continued by Jean de Meung 
 in the early jjart of the fourteenth. The 
 jjoem is supposed to be a dream. The 
 poet in his tlream is accosted by Dame 
 Idleness, who conducts him to the Palace 
 of Pleasure, whore he meets Love, accom- 
 panied by Sweet- looks, Kiches, Jollity, 
 Courtesy, Liberality, and Youth, who 
 spend their time in dancing, singing, 
 and other amusements. By this retinue 
 the poet is conducted to a bed of rosea, 
 where he singles out one and attempts 
 to pluck it, when an arrow from Cupid's 
 bow stretches him fainting on the ground, 
 and he is carried far away from the fiower 
 of his choice. As soon as he recovers,
 
 Iliad 
 
 647 
 
 Illinois 
 
 he finds himself alone, and resolves to 
 return to his rose. Welcome goes with 
 him ; but Danger, Shame-face, Fear, 
 and Slander obstruct him at every turn. 
 Eeason advises him to abandon the pur- 
 suit, but this he will not do ; whereupon 
 Pity and Liberality aid him in reaching 
 the rose of his choice, and Venus permits 
 him to touch it with his lips. Meanwhile, 
 Slander rouses up Jealousj*, who seizes 
 Welcome, whom he casts into a strong 
 castle, and gives the key of the castle 
 door to an old hag. Here the poet is 
 left to mouiii over his fate, and the ori- 
 ginal posm ends. Meung added 18, COO 
 lines as a sequel. 
 
 The German Il'iail. The Nibelmiffoi- 
 lied, put into its present form in 1210 
 by a wandering minstrel of Austria. It 
 consists of twenty parts. {See Xibe- 
 
 LITXG.) 
 
 27;t' PortugHese Iliad. The Ziisiad 
 (y.r.), by Camoens. 
 
 The Scutch Iliad. The Epiqo' niad, 
 by William Wilkie, called The Scottish 
 Homer (1721-177^). Tlie Epiyo'iriad is 
 the tale of the Epig'oni, or seven Grecian 
 heroes who laid siege to Thebes. When 
 CE'dipos abdicated, his two sons agreed 
 to reign alternate j'ears ; but at the ex- 
 piration of the first year, the elder son, 
 named Ete'ocles, refused to give up 
 tlie throne, whereupon Polynlkes, the 
 younger brother, induced six chiefs to 
 espouse his cause. The allied army laid 
 siege to Thebes, but without success. 
 Subsequently, seven sons of the chiefs 
 resolved to avenge their fathers' deaths, 
 marclied against the city, took it, and 
 placed Terpander, one of their number, 
 on the throne. The Greek tragic poets 
 JE'schylus and Eurip'ides have drama- 
 tised this subject. 
 
 niad of Ills {All). Il'ias mahfram 
 {Cicero: Ad Atttviim, viii. 11). A number 
 of evils falling simultaneously; there is 
 scarce a calamity in the whole catalogue 
 of human ills that finds not mention in 
 the Hind, hence the Homeric poem was 
 the fountain of classic tragedj*. 
 
 Ilk. The surname of the person 
 spoken of is the same as the name of 
 his estate. It is quite a mistake to use 
 the phrase "All that ilk" to signify all 
 of that name or sort. Bcthinie of that ilk 
 means "Bethunoof Bethune.'' (Gaelic, 
 ilk, clan ; Anglo-Saxon, He, the same.) 
 
 Ill-got, Ill-spent. Treasures of 
 wickedness jjrofit nothing. (Prov. x. 2.) 
 
 Ill May-day. The 1st of May, 1517, 
 when the London apprentices rose up 
 
 against the resident foreigners, and did 
 great mischief. More commonly known 
 as Evil May-day {q.r.). 
 
 Ill Omens averted. 
 
 Leotych'ides II., of Sprrta, was told 
 by his augurs that his projected expedi- 
 tion would fail, because a viper had got 
 entangled in the handle of the city key. 
 " Xot so," he replied. "The key 
 caught the viper." 
 
 When Julius Ca?sar landed at Adrume'- 
 tum, in Africa, he happened to trip and 
 fall on his face. This would have been 
 considered a fatal omen by his arm}' ; 
 but, with admirable presence of mind, 
 he exclaimed, "Thus I take possession 
 of thee, O Africa I" Told of Scipio 
 also. 
 
 When William the Conqueror leaped 
 upon the shore at Bulverhj-the he fell 
 on his face, and a gi-eat cry went forth 
 that it was an ill-omen ; but the duke 
 exclaimed, " I have taken seisin of this 
 land with both my hands." 
 
 When the Duke was arming for the 
 battle, his squire by accident handed 
 him the back piece before the breast- 
 plate, an evil omen, siguifj'ing flight. 
 But the Duke, with ready wit, said, 
 "Yes, the last shall be first" — i.e. the 
 duke shall be king. 
 
 Napoleon III. did a graceful thing to 
 avert an ill omen. Captain Jean Ccaur- 
 jireux, in a ball given at the Tuileries, 
 trijiped and fell ; but Napoleon held 
 out his hand to helj^ him up, saying 
 as he did so, "Monsieur le Command- 
 ant, this is the second time I have seen 
 you fall. The fiist time was by my side 
 in the field of Magenta." Then, turn- 
 ing to the lady, he added, " Henceforth 
 Captain Cceurpreux is commandant of 
 my Guides." 
 
 Ill-starred. Unlucky; fated to be 
 unfortunate. Othello says of Desde- 
 mona, "O ill-stan-ed wench!" Of 
 course, the allusion is to the astrological 
 dogma that the stars influence the for- 
 tunes of mankind. 
 
 " Wliei-L-'tr tlmt ill-starred limiie may lie." 
 
 Moove: Fire Worishijiiiern. 
 
 Ill Wind. ' Tis an ill u-ind that hloirs 
 nohodij an'i good. Someone profits by 
 every loss ; someone is benefited by 
 every misfortune. 
 
 " Except winil stands as never it stntid, 
 It i.-i an ill-wind turns mine to gond." 
 Tusscr : t'.ve llumi-.ed Puhit.^ of Good 
 
 Iliisbiindnj. xiii. 
 
 Illinois, U.S. America. The Dela- 
 ware Indian word Hlini (real men) with 
 the French termination -ois.
 
 liluminated 
 
 643 
 
 immolate 
 
 Illumina'ted Doctor. Kaymond 
 
 Lully (123.5-1310). 
 
 Joliu Tauler, the Gemian mystic 
 (1294-1361). 
 
 lUumlna'tl. The baptised were at 
 one time so called, because a lighted 
 caudle was giveu them to hold as a 
 symbol that they were illuminated by 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Four rcIiffioKS societies have been so 
 called, viz. : 
 
 (1) The Hesychasts in the fourteenth 
 century. 
 
 (2) The Alombra'dos of Sjjain in the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
 (3) The Gueriuets of France in tlie 
 seventeenth centur}-. 
 
 (4) The Mystics of Belgium in the 
 eighteenth century. 
 
 Add to these the Rosicrucians {qj'-). 
 
 The Order of the Jlbiminati. A re- 
 publican society, foimded at Ingold- 
 stadt in Bavaria, 177(3; having for its 
 object the establishment of a religion 
 consistent with '' sound reason." 
 
 Illuminations. Characteristics of 
 Anglo-Saxon illuminations from the 
 eightli to the eleventh century. Ex- 
 treme intricacy of pattern. 
 
 Interlaeiugs of knots in a diagonal or 
 square form, sometimes interwoven witli 
 animals and terminating with lieads of 
 serpents or birds. {Sir F. Madden.) 
 
 The Durham Book, the work of 
 Eadfrid, Bishoi) of Lindisfarne, who 
 died 721, is a most splendid specimen 
 of illumination. 
 
 The Benedictioual of St. Ethehcold, 
 an illuminated MS. by Godemann, in 
 the Duke of Devonshire's library, is 
 worthy of Rapliael or Michael Angelo. 
 It was executed between 9G3 and 984, 
 and is full of miniatures and designs in 
 the highest style of art. Beautiful en- 
 gravings of it may be seen in the 
 yirchaologia. 
 
 Illuminator. Gregory, the apostle 
 of Christianity among the Amieuians 
 (257-331). 
 
 Illustrious {The). 
 
 Albert V., Duke and second Emperor 
 of Austria (1398-1439). 
 Nicome'des II. Epiph'anes (149-191). 
 Ptolemy V. Epiph'a)tis (210, 205- 
 
 181 B.C.). 
 
 Jam-sheid (Jam the lUustrious), 
 nephevv of Tab Omurs, fifth king of 
 the Paisdadian dynasty of Persia (B.C. 
 840-800). 
 
 Kien-lung, fourth of the Manchoo 
 dynasty of Chma (1736-1796). 
 
 Image of God. IVear not the imaffe 
 
 of God in a ring. This is the twenty- 
 fourth sjTnbolic saying in the Protreptics 
 of lamblichus, and is tantamount to the 
 commandment "Thou shalt not take 
 the name of God in vain." Pythagoras 
 meant to teach his discijiles by this 
 restriction that God was far too holy a 
 being to be used as a mere ornamental 
 device, and engraved on a ring worn on 
 a man's linger, which might be used for 
 any ordinary jturpose. 
 
 " In aniiulci Dei IlL'ur.-iiii lie ,cosl:it.i." 
 
 Images which fell from Heaven. 
 
 Diana of Ephcsus (Acts xix. 3.3). The 
 same is said of the image of Cybele 
 (3 syl.), set up in the temple of Victory, 
 at liome. 
 
 Im'aum (2 syl.) or Imam. One of 
 
 the Ule'ma or priestly body of the Ma- 
 hometans. He recites the jirayers and 
 leads the devotions of tlie congregation. 
 Im'aums wear a high turban. The 
 sultan as " head of the Moslems'" is au 
 Imaum. The word means teacher or 
 guide. 
 
 Ima'us (3 syl.). The Ilim'alny'a. 
 The word means ,v«om' hills (/i/w/ff, snow). 
 " The luipe iiicuniliraiice of lioniflr wnods 
 From Asian Taurus, frmii liiiaiis si rctcluMl 
 Atlnvart the roviug Tartar's sullen ImiuihIs." 
 Thoniavii : Aidiiiiiii, 
 
 Im'becile (3 syl.). One mentally 
 weak. Literally, one who leans "on a 
 stick." (Latin, iniheeillis, from in- 
 bacillum.) 
 
 Imbroca'do (Spanish). Cloth of gold 
 or silver. 
 
 Imbroca'ta, in fencing, is a thrust 
 over the arm. (Italian.) 
 
 "If vciur enoiiiie hee eiiiiiiini; and sfcilfull, 
 never stand almnt fiivins any foine or inihro- 
 cata, l>nt this thrust w stiiccata ahme, neither it 
 also [never attemiitj uulesse .vou he sure to hit 
 him."— .S'((i'io/u ; I'ritctise of tlie Duello (Ijyj). 
 
 Imbro'glio (Italian). A complicated 
 plot ; a misunderstanding between na- 
 tions and persons of a complicated 
 nature. 
 
 Immac'ulate Conception. Tlie 
 dogma that ttie Virgin Mary was con- 
 ceived without Original sin. This 
 dogma was first broached by St. Bern- 
 ard, and was stoutly maintained by 
 Duns Scotus and his disciples, but was 
 not received by the Romaii Catholic 
 Church as an article of faith till 1854. 
 
 Im'molate (3 syl.). To sacrifice; 
 literally, "jmt meal on one." The re- 
 ference is to the ancient custom of 
 sprinkling meal and salt on the head of
 
 Imraortal 
 
 649 
 
 Irnpoiider able S 
 
 a -victim to be offered in saciifice. 
 (Latiu, in-inolo.) 
 
 " \n the iiictiire of the inimolation of Isaac, or 
 Ahraham sacritlciii!,' liis sun, Isaac is descriheJ 
 as a little ]my."—Iiroum. 
 
 Immor'tal {Tlie). Yong-Tching, 
 third of the Manchoo dj-nasty of China, 
 assumed the title. (1723-173(3.) 
 
 Immortal Four of Italy {The). 
 Daute (126.5-1321). 
 Petrarch (1301-1374). 
 Ariosto (1474-1533), and 
 Tasso (1544-1595). 
 
 " The poets read he o'er and o'er, 
 And must of all the immortal four 
 Of Italy." Longfellow: The Wai/side Inn. 
 
 Immortal Three {The). Homer, 
 
 Dante, and Milton. 
 "Three poets, in three distant ages born, 
 Greece, Italy, and England did adorn ; 
 The first iu loftiness liftlioiiijlit surpassed, 
 The next in majesty ; in hoih the last : 
 The force of nature could no farther gn. 
 To make a third, she joined the other two." 
 
 Dryden : A Tablet to the Memory of John Milton 
 (St. M,u-y-le-Bow, Cheaiisidc). 
 
 •.• It was originally in the church of All Hal- 
 lows, Bread .Street. 
 
 Immortal Tinker {The). John 
 Bunyau, a tinker by trade. (1628-1088.) 
 
 Immortals. A regiment of 10,000 
 choice foot-soldiers, which constituted 
 the body-guard of the Persian kings. 
 There was also an army so n.amed at 
 Constantinople, according to Ducange, 
 first embodied by Major Ducas. 
 
 V The 7Gth Foot were called "The 
 Immortals," because so many were 
 wounded, taut not killed, in Hindi'istan 
 (1788-1806). This regiment, with the 
 old 33rd, now form the two battalions 
 of the West Eiduig. 
 
 Imimortality. Poseidon (Xeptune) 
 bestowed immortality on Taphian, and 
 confined the gift in a golden lock of 
 hair. His daughter cut off the lock, 
 and the gift was lost. This seems vei-y 
 like the Bible tale of Samson and 
 Delilah. {See Elecampane.) 
 
 Immu'ring (Latin). Burj-ing in a 
 wall. The Vestal virgins among the 
 Romans, and the nuns among the 
 Roman Catholics, who broke their 
 vows of chastity, were buried in a 
 niche sufficiently large to contain their 
 body with a small pittance of bread and 
 water. The sentence of immuring was 
 Yade in paee, or more correctlj', Vudc in 
 pacem (Go into peace — i.e. eternal rest). 
 Home j-ears ago a skeleton, believed to 
 be the remains of an immured nun, 
 was discovered in the walls of Colding- 
 ham Abbey. 
 
 The immuring of Constance, a nxm 
 who had broken her vows, forms a 
 leading incident in Scott's poem of 
 Mann ion. 
 
 Im'ogen. Daughter of Cymbeline, 
 the " most tender and artless of all 
 Shakespeare's characters." (Vi/nibeline.) 
 
 Imoglne. The lady who broke her 
 vow and was carried off by the ghost 
 of her former lover, in the ballad of 
 Alonzo the Brave, by Matthew Gregory 
 Lewis, generally called Monk Lewis. 
 
 " Alonzo the lirave was the name of the knight. 
 And the maiden's the fair Imogine." 
 
 Imp (Anglo-Saxon). A graft ; whence 
 also a child ; as, "You little imp."_ In 
 hawking, "to imp a feather" is to 
 engraft or add a new feather for a 
 broken one. The needles employed for 
 the purpose were called "imping 
 needles." Lord Cromwell, writing to 
 Henry VIII., speaks of " that noble 
 imp your son." 
 
 " Let us I ray for . . . the king's most excellent 
 majesty and "for . . . his heloved son Edward, 
 our iMince, that most angelic \m\>."—i'athwuy to 
 Prayer. 
 
 Imp of Darkness {An). Milton 
 calls the seriient " tittest imp of fraud." 
 [I'avadise Lost, ix. 89.) 
 
 Impana'tion. The dogma of Luther 
 that the body and soul of Christ are 
 infused into the eucharistic elements 
 after consecration : and that the bread 
 and wine are united with the body and 
 soul of Christ in much the same way as 
 the body and soul of man are united. 
 The word meoMS putting into the bread. 
 
 Impanna'ta. The Madonna del 
 Iinpannata, by Raphael, takes its dis- 
 tinctive name from the oiled paper 
 window in the background. (Italian, 
 impannata, oiled paper.) 
 
 Impar Congressus Achilli. No 
 
 match for Achilles ; the combatants 
 were not equally matched. Said of 
 Troilus. {Virgil : jEneid, i. 475.) 
 
 Imperial {A)t). A tuft of hair on 
 the chin, all the rest of the beard and 
 all the whiskers being -shaved off. So 
 called from the Emperor Napoleon III., 
 who set the fashion. 
 
 Imperium in Imperio. A govern- 
 ment independent of the general author- 
 ised government. 
 
 Impertinence (4 syl.). A legal term 
 meaning matter introduced into an affi- 
 davit, etc., not pertinent to the case. 
 
 Impon'derables (Latin, things with- 
 out Height). Heat, Mght, electricity,
 
 Imposition 
 
 KO 
 
 In for It 
 
 aucl magnetism were, it was at one 
 time supposed, the phenomena of im- 
 ponderable substances ; that of heat 
 was called cnloric. This theory is now 
 exploded, but the hj-pothetical etlier is 
 without appreciable weight. 
 
 Imposition. A task given as a 
 punishment. Of course the word is 
 taken from the verb inipasc, as the task 
 is imposed. The term is common in 
 schools, colleges, and universities. In 
 the sense of a decepitoH it means to 
 "put a trick on a person," hence, the 
 expressions " to put on one," " to lay it 
 on thick," etc. 
 
 Imposition of Hands. The bi^liop, 
 laying his hand on persons confirmed or 
 or lained. (Acts vi., viii., xix.) 
 
 Impossibilities. Latin phrases: 
 
 .lOtJi K'ln dc-.ill a V. 
 Ale las H'5:i\ 
 J^atfirem la\ are. 
 Puinl -e aniliiis. 
 In asiiio lanani. 
 
 English phrases : 
 
 Gatberins !,Tai>es fnnii thistles. 
 Fi'ti'liiii^' water in a sieve 
 Wasliirr,-a lilar-kaiii..<.r white. 
 ('atcliiMu,' wind ill cahLage nets. 
 Flavinu' crls l.v tlie tnil. 
 .^Ial<in-,' tlii-esenf clialk. 
 S.(iianiij,' ilie circle. 
 Tiirnin-,' l)ase metal into fc'Dlil. 
 Tlie elixir iif life. 
 
 JIakin'-,' a silk piirse of a sow's ear. 
 (And liiindrccH more.) 
 
 Impropriation. Profit.s of eccle- 
 siastical property in the hands f)f a lay- 
 man. Appropriation is when the profits 
 of a benefice are in the hands of a college. 
 
 Impro'priator. A layman who has 
 churclj lands (jr ecclesiastical preferment. 
 (Latin, iu-proprius, belonging to.) 
 
 Improve the Occasion (71^). Todraw 
 a moral lesson from some event which 
 lias occurred. In French, " Pro fi tons de 
 
 I'oa'asioiK^' 
 
 Improvisators. Persons who utter 
 verses impromptu. The art was in- 
 troduced by Petrarch, and is still a 
 favourite amusement of the Italians. 
 The most celebrated arc : 
 
 Ac(:o\.7\ ( Bernardo), of Arezzo, ctilled the" Unico 
 
 Areti'no" (Uia-ljas). 
 AXTONiANO (Silvln). Eii-'hteenth centiirv. 
 AQin.AXO (Semfi'tin), of Acjuila (Utifi-1500). 
 BvNDRTTiyt. (See IMPROVISATIIIX.) 
 
 Beuoxicius (P../.}. who could convert exteni- 
 liore, into Greek or Latin verse, a Dutch 
 newspaper or anything else (died lG7fii. 
 
 CHiiisTOFoito, surnained Altissimo, an Italian 
 (UU). 
 
 ronil.LA. (f!ee IMPUOVISATRIX.) 
 
 GlAXXi (Friti)cis). An Italian, made imi>erial poet 
 by Napoleon, whose victories he celebrated in 
 vi-rse ti;.vj-l.s'j4). 
 
 .lEHAX (.V;/)). (.See iMPnOVISATRTX.) 
 
 KARsrnix CAiina Louisa'). (.Sf« Improvisatuix.) 
 JiAKOXE (Andreas). An Italian (Ur4-15'.'7). 
 
 .MKTAKTASio IP. A. n. B.), of Assisi, who de- 
 veloped, at the nue of ten. a ;,'reat talent for 
 exteiiiporisinN' in \ erse (HHw-ITnl"). 
 rKRKKTTi (Heriitii-(liiiii). iif .Sienna, whu received 
 a laiirid crown in the capital, aw honour con- 
 ferred only iin I'etnirch and Tasso ( liwi-i:47i. 
 QlKRNo [(',imilli<). An Italian fUro-Iji'H). 
 Itossi. Ii.bc:ided at Naples in Ki*. 
 SKRAKINo. (Sre abiirr, AqI ll.AXO.) 
 SKsrixi (ISartiiUimen). An Italian Oiled 1823). 
 Soiiicct Cl'">>im(iaii\ of Tuscany (ITiW-ls-TJ . His 
 Jiatth (>/ Chniles I., rtealh of Ma ii Qiieni <>] 
 Scr'.s, aiid Fall of Miesolonyhi, are very cele- 
 brated. 
 TaDIIKI (ItOSa). (.Sff I.MPUOVISATRIX.') 
 Zicco (Marco Antonio , of Veroim (died 17C|1. 
 
 •.• To these add Ciccioni, liindoci-i. the bruilicrs 
 ricrc of Hcdiand, Wolf of AllO.ia. Lansren- 
 schwarz of (Jennnny, Eur-'i^ne d'- rnidel of 
 Frame, and our own Thomas Hood (17iK-l)jL-i'. 
 
 Improvis'atrix or Improvisatrico. 
 
 The most ftimoiis improvi.-^atrices or 
 female improvisators are : 
 
 Maria Machai.f.'xa Mouf.i.i.i Fkrxaxdkz. snr- 
 nanied the Olympic Corilla. crowned at IJon.e 
 for imi>rovisalion (I74o-lwio). 
 
 Tkuk'.sa Bandktti'xi (17«:»-*). 
 
 IlOSA Tadiiki (IsOI-'). 
 
 SKiXORA Mazzki. the most talented of all. 
 
 Nun JRIIAX, of Ben»Hl (d. liii.i). She was the 
 inventor of the Otto of Roses. 
 
 AXXA I.oii.sA Karciiix, a German (17i.'-I7iil.) 
 
 In Csena Dom'ini. A pnpal bull, 
 containing a collection of extracts from 
 diflFerent constitutions of the popes, with 
 anathema.s against those who violate 
 them ; so called from the word.s with 
 which it commences. 
 
 In Commen'dam (Latin). Tlie hold- 
 ing of church jirefcnnent for .i time, on 
 the recommendation of the ("rown, till 
 a suitable per.son can be provided. Tlius 
 a clergyman wlio lias been elevated to 
 the bench retains for a time his "living" 
 ill coiiiiiii'iiddiii. 
 
 In Esse (Latin). In actual exist- 
 ence. Thus a child liriiiy is " in e.s.se," 
 but before birth is only " in posse." 
 
 In Exten'so (Latin). At full length, 
 word for word, without abridgment. 
 
 In Extremis. At the very point of 
 death. " In nrtivv.lo nwrti.s." 
 
 In Fi'erL In the course of accom- 
 plishment ; on the way. 
 
 In Flagrante Delicto. Eed-handed ; 
 in the very fact. " // a ete pris en 
 Jteujrant dHit,"^ i.r. " Siir tcfait.'" 
 
 In for a Penny in for a Pound. 
 
 I may as well " be htnig for a sheep as a 
 lamb." If the puni-shment is the same, 
 then it is worth the risk to commit the 
 offence which brings the greatest profit. 
 
 In for It. About " to catch it ; " on 
 the point of being in trouble. 
 
 '• you are in for it, T can toll you. I would not 
 stand in your sho-.-s for something."
 
 In Forma 
 
 fiol 
 
 Inch 
 
 In Forma Pau'peris. A person 
 AvJio will swear he is not worth £5 has 
 writs, etc., fjiatis, and is supplied gra- 
 tuitously with attorney and counsel 
 (Henry' VII., c. 12). 
 
 In Gremio Legis. Under the pro- 
 tection of the law. 
 
 In Limine (Latin) At the outset, 
 at the throsliold. 
 
 In Loco Parentis. One who stands 
 in a parent's place. 
 
 In Medias Res. lu the middle of 
 the subject. In novels and ejiic poetry, 
 the autlior generally begins with some 
 catastrophe, which is explained as the 
 tale unfolds. In historj', on the other 
 hand, the author begins ub oro. 
 
 In Memoriam. In memory of. 
 
 In Nubibus. In the clouds ; not in 
 actual existence ; in contemplation. 
 
 In Partibus \L>fi(Mini)i]. In a 
 
 noil -Christian countiy. A " bishoi) in 
 p(irti/ji{s " means a bishop in any 
 country. Christian or otlierwise, wliose 
 title is from some old see which has 
 fallen away from the Catliolic faith. 
 Ihus, in England, the Bishop of Cisa- 
 mus, the Bishop of Emmaus, the Bishop 
 of Amycla, are bishops in pariibus. Dr. 
 Wiseman was Bishoj) of Melipotamus 
 before he was Archbishop of West- 
 minster. A bishop ill piirtibiis does not 
 "lueau a bishop in a land of infidels ; he 
 Miay be so, but this Avould not make him 
 a bishop in partibus. 
 
 In Perpet'uam (Latin). In per- 
 petuity, for ever. 
 
 In Petto (Italian). Held in reserve, 
 kept back, something done privately, 
 and not announced to the general public. 
 {Ill pec' tore [Latin], in the breast.) 
 
 Ctirdiiials in petto. Cardinals about 
 to be elected, but not yet publicly an- 
 nounced. Their names are in pcciorc 
 (of the Pope). 
 
 In Posse (Latin). What may be 
 considered probable, but has not j'et any 
 real existence. 
 
 In Propria Persona (Latin). Per- 
 sonally, and Lot by deputy or agents. 
 
 In Prospcct'u (Latin). What is 
 intended or in contemplation to be done 
 at some future time. 
 
 In Re (Latin). In the matter of ; on 
 the subject of; as//; ;r Jones v. Robin- 
 son. But (■;* rem, against the property 
 or thing referred to. 
 
 In Si'tu (Latin). In its original 
 place. 
 
 In Stat'u Quo or In stat'n quo ante 
 (Latin). In the condition things were 
 before the change took place. Tims, 
 two nations arming for war may agree 
 to lay down^anns on condition that all 
 things be restored to the same state as 
 tliey were before they took up arms. 
 
 In Terro'rem (Latin). As a warn- 
 ing, to deter others by terrifying them. 
 
 In To'to (Latin). Entirely, alto- 
 gether. 
 
 In Vac'uo (Latin). In a vacuum — 
 i.e. in a space from which, nominally 
 altogether, and really almost, all the 
 air has been taken away. 
 
 In-and-In. A game with four dice, 
 once extremely common, and frequently 
 alluded to. " In " is a throw of doubles, 
 "in-and-in " a throw of double doubles, 
 which sweeps the board. 
 
 " I li;ive seon three iiersons sit down .it twolve- 
 ixwuiv iii-(iti(l-iii, ami (Mi.-h ilniw 4os. a-ini'rc.' — 
 Sicbr A,c/.r-/. 
 
 Ins and Outs of the Matter (T/ir). 
 All the details, both direct and indirect. 
 
 "If vnu want to know the ins and nuts of tho 
 Yankees .... I know all their roiiits, shaie, 
 make, and bveeil."—llnliburtuu. 
 
 V Sometimes the " Ins " means those 
 in office, and the "Outs" those out of 
 office, or in Opposition. 
 
 Inau'gurate (4 syl.) means to be led 
 in l)y augurs. The Eonian augurs met 
 at their college doors the high officials 
 about to be invested, and led them up to 
 the altar ; hence to install. 
 
 Inca. A king or royal prince of the 
 ancient Peruvians. The empire of the 
 Incas was founded by Manco Capac. 
 
 "The Inra was a war-cliief, eleeted li.v the 
 Conncil to c-arrv (uU its decisinn.'— /innicm ; The 
 .Amii-iciii Hiii-v i.'o.Uh .iiiHiii-ini Tiibi.^), part i. 
 chap. ii. I'. -11. 
 
 Incanta'tion. A sinr/inr/ ar/ainsf, 
 that is, singing a set fonn of Avords in 
 order to bring Divine wrath upon persons 
 or nations. 
 
 Incarnadine (7'o). To make red. 
 (Latin, iiicarndtiis color, carnation). 
 
 " No, this my hand will rather 
 The multitudinous sea incarnadine, 
 Makiub' the ^-reen— one red." 
 
 Shakespeare : Macbeth, ii. i'. 
 
 Inch of Candle (Sold hj). A sale by 
 auction. Instead of the hammer of the 
 auctioneer conchiding the bids, the 
 purchaser was the last bidder before the 
 candle went out. Another plan is to
 
 Inch Cape 
 
 652 
 
 Indian 
 
 stick a pin in a candle, and when the 
 pin drops down, the sale of the article 
 is concluded. 
 " Down wvT^ tumbled miracle and martyr, 
 rut up lU lots, auil sold liy incb of caudle." 
 I'cter J'indar : Lyric Odes, xiii. 
 
 Inchcape Rock. Twelve miles 
 from laud, iu the German Sea. It is 
 dangerous for navigators, and therefore 
 the abbot of Aberbrothok fixed a bell on 
 a Hoat, which gave notice to sailors of 
 its whereabouts. Ralph the Rover, a sea 
 pirate, cut the bell from the float, and 
 was wrecked on his return home on the 
 very rock. Southey has a ballad on the 
 subject. 
 
 Precisely the same tale is told of St. 
 Goven's bell, in Pembrokeshire. In the 
 chapel was a silver bell, which was stolen 
 one summer evening by pirates, but no 
 sooner had the boat put to sea than all 
 the crew was wrecked. The silver bell 
 was earned by sea-nymphs to the brink 
 of a well, and whenever the stone of 
 that well is struck the bell is heard to 
 moan. 
 
 N.B. Inch or lunLs means inland. 
 
 Incog. — ?.^. Incog'nito (Italian). 
 Under an assumed name or title. When 
 a royal person travels, and does not wish 
 to be treated with royal ceremony, he 
 assumes some inferior title for the nonce, 
 and travels incog. 
 
 Incorruptible (77(f). Robespierre 
 (17ot-1794). Robert Walpole says that 
 William Shijipen was the only man he 
 knew who was proof against a bribe. 
 
 "Even tbe 'Incorruptible' hirtiself fell from bis 
 oritjinal ideal."— A'hieteenfft Century, August, 18a3, 
 p. •27-2. 
 
 In'cubus. A nightmare, anything 
 that weighs heavily on the mind. At 
 one time supposed to consort with women 
 in their sleep. (Latin, in cubo, to lie on.) 
 
 " Merlin was the son of no mortal father, but of 
 an Inculjus .one of a class of lieiuKs not absolutely 
 wicked, but far from good, who inhabit the 
 regions of tlie vl\v:' —But finch: Age of Chivalry, 
 part i. chap. iii. p, 50. 
 
 Indenture. A written contract ; so 
 called because the skui on which it was 
 written in duplicate was divided with 
 an indented edge, to fit into each other. 
 
 Indepen'dence. The Declaration of 
 Ii/dejM/ideiicc. A declaration made July 
 4th, 1776, by the American States, de- 
 claring the colonies free and indepen- 
 dent, absolved from all allegiance to 
 Great Britain. 
 
 Independence Day (July 4th). So 
 called in the United States of America. 
 (6Ve above.) 
 
 Indepen'dents. Certain Dissenters 
 are so called, whose fundamental prin- 
 ciple is that every congregation is an 
 independent church, and has a right to 
 choose its own minister and make its 
 own laws. 
 
 Index (T/ic). The " Roman Index " 
 contains both the Judex Libiorinn I'lO- 
 hibitorxm and the Index ExpurgalOiiiin. 
 The former contains a list of such books 
 as are absolutely forbidden to be read 
 by faithful Catholics. The latter con- 
 tains such books as are forbidden till 
 certain parts are omitted or amended. 
 The lists are made out by a board of 
 cardinals called the "Congregation of 
 the Index." Of course, it is wholly 
 impossible to keep pace with the present 
 issue of books ; but, besides the Pro- 
 testant Bibles, and the works of such 
 lieretics as Arius and Calvin, we find iu 
 the lists the following well-knowu 
 names : — 
 
 Of English authors : Addison, Bacon, 
 Gibbon, Goldsmith, Hallam, Locke, J. 
 S. Mill, Milton, Robertson, Archbishop 
 Whately, etc., and even some children's 
 tales. 
 
 Of French authors : Amauld, Calvin, 
 Descartes, Fenelon, I'Abbc Fleury, Ma't- 
 branche, Voltaire, etc. 
 
 Of Italian authors : Dante, Guicciar- 
 dini, Sismondi, etc. 
 
 Of German authors : Kant, Luther, 
 etc. 
 
 "Under the auspices of Cardinal Caraflfa f i art 
 iv.), the Inciuinition was introdiued into Italy 
 (liHS). and exerted the utmost vigilance aiul se- 
 verity in crushing out the new faith, and the 
 index of prohibited books was establislied."— 
 Fisher : I'nirer^al History, part iii. period ii. chap, 
 iv. p. 41J. 
 
 India Ink or Chinese ink. So called 
 because it was first brought from China. 
 It is now made at home of lampblack 
 and glue. 
 
 India Paper. A printing - impcr 
 made in China and Japan from veget- 
 able fibre, and used for taking ofE the 
 finest proofs of engraved plates. Pro- 
 nounce Indl' paper. 
 
 India Proof. The proof of an en- 
 graving on India paper, before lettering. 
 
 Indian Arrowroot. The root which 
 the Indians apply to aiTOW-wounds to 
 neutralise the venom of the arrow. 
 They mash the meal, and apply it as a 
 poultice. {Miller.) 
 
 Indian Drug (r/(r). Tobacco. 
 
 "Hisbr'-ath compcninded nf strouir English beere, 
 And th' Indian drug, would siilfer none come 
 neere." 
 
 Taylor, the Water Poet (103O).
 
 Indian 
 
 653 
 
 Infant 
 
 Indian File (/«). One by one. The 
 Americau Indians, when they go on an 
 expedition, march one by one. The one 
 behind carefully steps in the footimnts 
 of the one before, and the last man of 
 the file obliterates the footprints. Thus, 
 neither the track nor the number of in- 
 vaders can be traced. 
 
 "Each man followed his leader in Indian file." 
 — Ciiptain Bariiaby : On Horseback through Aula 
 Minor. 
 
 Indian Red. Eed haematite (per- 
 oxide of iron), found abundantly in the 
 Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. It is 
 of a deep, lakey hue, used for flesh 
 tints. 
 
 The Persian Red, which is of a darker 
 hue with a sparkling lustre, is imported 
 from the island of Ormuz in the Persian 
 Gulf. 
 
 The Romans obtained this pigment 
 from the island of Elba. '■'■ Insulam 
 e.rhanstis chalyhniii gcncrosa mctallis.^'' 
 (Ovid.) 
 
 Indian Summer (T/ic). The au- 
 tumnal summer ; generally the finest 
 and mildest part of the whole year, 
 especially in North America. 
 
 "Tlie (jililing of the Indian summer mellowed 
 the iiastiues far and wide. The russet woods 
 stood ripe to he stript, Ijut were yet full of leaf. 
 The purple of heath-bloom, faded hut not 
 withered, tinged the hills. . . Fieldhead gardens 
 liore the seal of gentle decay ; . . . its time of 
 flowers and even of fruit was over."— C Bronte: 
 tthirhy, chap, xxvii. 
 
 Indians. Americcm Indians. When 
 Columbus landed at Cat Island, he 
 thought that he had landed on one of 
 the Indian islands, and iu this belief 
 gave the natives the name of Indians. 
 
 India proper is so named from Indus 
 (the river), in Sanskrit Sind/tii, in Persic 
 Jfind, whence the Greek Hindus. Hin- 
 dustan is the ta)i or "country" of the 
 river Hindus. 
 
 Indiarubber. A substance made 
 from the sap of various troijical plants, 
 and used for erasing pencil marks, and 
 many other purposes. Pronouuce Indi' - 
 rubber. 
 
 " He was a man with an indiarubber coat on, 
 indiarubber shoes, an indiarubber cap, and in 
 bis pocket an indiaruliher purse, and not a cent 
 in h."—C!/c!op,-E<iia nf American Biography (_C'harlcs 
 Goodyciir), vol. ii. p. (i84. 
 
 Individualists. Individualists hold 
 that as little as possible should be done 
 for its subjects by the State, as much as 
 possible being left to free individual 
 initiative. 
 
 Socialism tends to treat the individual 
 as merely a part of the State, holding 
 his possessions (if any) simply by its 
 permission, while Individualism regards 
 
 the state as a collection of separate 
 units, with rights of life and property 
 independently, which the State does not 
 confer but merely guarantees. 
 
 Extreme individualists hold that all 
 government is an evil, though it may be 
 a necessary evil, and the "anarchists" 
 profess the extremest form of the 
 creed. 
 
 " Individualism rests on the principle that a 
 man shall bo his own nnislvr.'— Draper : Conflict 
 between Religion and Science, chap. xi. p. "'J5. 
 
 Indoors. In the house. Virgil makes 
 Dido sit " in forbiis divcc.''^ {^Eneid, i. 
 505.) 
 
 Induc'tion (Latin, //te act of leading 
 in). When a clergyman is inducted to 
 a living he is led to the church door, 
 and the ring which forms the handle is 
 jjlaced in his hand. The door being 
 opened, he is next led into the church, 
 and the fact is announced to the parish 
 by tolling the bell. 
 
 Indul'gence (3 syl.), in the Eoman 
 Catliolic Church, is the entire or partial 
 remission of jjunishment due to sin 
 either in this world or in purgatory. 
 It is supposed that the Church is the 
 bank of the infinite merits of Christ, and 
 can give such indulgences like cheques 
 on a bank. (Latin, indidgentta.) 
 
 Inertia. That want of power in 
 matter to change its state either from 
 rest to motion, or from motion to rest. 
 Kepler calls it Vis inertiec. {Ars in 
 Latin is the Greek ar'cte, power or in- 
 herent force ; In -ars is the absence of 
 this power.) 
 
 Inexorable Logic of Facts {T/ie). 
 This was Mazziui's happy expression : 
 " JVe/la genesi dvi fatti la logica e in- 
 esarabilc." 
 
 Infallibility (of the Church of Rome) 
 is the doctrine that the Church of Rome 
 cannot at any time cease to be orthodox 
 in her doctrine, and that what she de- 
 clares ex cathedra is substantially true. 
 The doctrine is based on the Divine pro- 
 mise to the discij)les, " Howbeit when 
 the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide 
 you into all truth " (John xvi. 13). 
 
 V The dogma of the "Infallibility of 
 the Pope " was decreed by the Vatican 
 Council in 1870. 
 
 In'famous means not allowed to 
 
 speak or give witness in a court of 
 
 justice. (Latin, in, negative fari, to 
 speak ; Greek, pitemi or phami.) 
 
 Infant. Used as a synonym of 
 "childe," meaning a knight or squire;
 
 Infant 
 
 654 
 
 Ink-pot 
 
 as, " Childe Harold." Kiug Arthur is 
 so called. (See also Spotfter : Faerie 
 Qncoie, book ii. cauto viii. 56.) 
 
 Infant of Lubeck. Christian Henry 
 Heiueekeu (172 1 -1725). At one year 
 old ho know the chief events of the 
 Pentateuch ; at thii'teeu mouths he knew 
 the history of the Old Testament ; at 
 fourteen months he knew the history of 
 the New Testament ; at two and a half 
 years he could answer any ordinary ques- 
 tion of history or geography ; at three 
 years he knew well both French and 
 Latin. At leasts so says Schoneich, his 
 preceptor. 
 
 " Another of tliejo pitiable prodigies was .lolin 
 PbiliiU) Baratier, of Scliwahack, near N(^l•nlle^^', 
 iHirn Ibe same year as tlie Luheck prodi^'y (17l'1- 
 1740 . At the a(,'e of live he knew Greek. Latin, 
 aud French, besides his n;Uiv;- (German, At nine 
 he knew Hebrew aud ('halilee, ainl oouhl eonveit 
 (iernian into L.-itin. At liiirtern lie .-uulci trans- 
 late Helirew inti> Krencli nr Krciuii iiiiu HeNrew. 
 His life was wriilni by l-'nnnry, ami Ins name 
 appears in most lungrapliieaUlictiouai ie.-." 
 
 Infanta. Any princess of the blood 
 royal, exrept an heiress of the crown, is 
 so called in Siiaiu and Portugal. 
 
 Infante (3 syl.). All the sons of the 
 sovereigns of Spain and Portugal bear 
 this title, except the crown prince, who 
 is called in Sjiain the Piiuce of Astu'rias. 
 In the Middle Ages the word " childe " 
 was used as a title of honour in England, 
 France, ami Geitnany ; hence Childe 
 Harold, Childe- ric, Chiklo-bert, etc. 
 
 Infantry. Foot soldiers. Said to be 
 lirst ajnilied to a bodj' of, men collected 
 by the Lifaiiic or heir-apimrent of Spain 
 for the purpose of rescuing his father 
 from the Moors. The success of the 
 attempt rendered the corps popular. 
 (Spanish, i»f<nitrrta ; Italian, Juiitcria ; 
 funic means a servant.) 
 
 Infernal Column. So the corps 
 of Latour d'Auvergne was called, from 
 its terrible charges with the bayonet. 
 
 (1743-1800.) 
 
 Infer'no. We have Dante's notion 
 of the iuferual regions in his Inferno ; 
 Homer's in the Oih/sscji, book xi. ; Vir- 
 gil's in the ^-Ei/rid, book vi. ; Spenser's 
 in the Faerie Qiieene, book ii. canto 7 ; 
 Ariosto's in the Orlando Furio'so, book 
 xvii. ; Tasso's in Jerusalem Behvercd, 
 book iv. ; Milton's in Faradise Lost ; 
 Fenelon's in Teleniaqu-e, book xvjii. ; and 
 Beckford's in his romance of Vathek. 
 
 Infra Dig., i.e. Dignita'tem. Not 
 
 in accordance with one's position aud 
 character. (Latin.) 
 
 Infralapsa'rians. Those who be- 
 lieve that election and predestination 
 are subsequent to the Fall. The " Supra- 
 lapsarian ' ' believes that election and 
 jiredestination were in the eternal 
 counsels of God even before the creation 
 of Adam. {Infra, after ; lapsus, tlio 
 fall ; supra, before ; lapsus, the fall.) 
 
 Ingle {TIte). The recess with benches 
 in old-fashioned fireplaces, the fire. 
 
 " Sit Ihee by the ingle when 
 
 The .sear fayyot lilazes liri.trht." 
 
 Kiuts : t'linctj, stanza 1. 
 
 Ingoldsby. The Kev. Richard Harris 
 Barham, author of Imjoldshij Leyends. 
 (1788-1S15.) 
 
 Ingrain Colours. Colours dyed in 
 the wool or raw material before manu- 
 facture. In French, trndre en lauie. 
 Such colours arc the most dui-able. We 
 speak of "a rogue ingrain," meaning 
 one hopelessly bad. (In the grain, thtit 
 is, in the texture.) 
 
 "'Tis incrain, sir; 'twill endure wind and 
 weather."— .S/i<(A(ti;.fii)r; Tirclflh .\i<iht, \. :,. 
 
 Ingulph's "Croyland Chronicle." 
 
 Proved to be a forgerj' by II. J. liiley in 
 the Are/ucoloffieal Journal, 18()2. He 
 dates the forgery between 1393 aud 
 1415, and attributes it to Prior Richard 
 of Croyland and Sergeant William 
 Ludyugton. 
 
 Injunction. A writ forbidding a 
 person to encroach on another's privi- 
 leges ; as, to sell a book which is only 
 a colourable coj)y of another author's 
 book ; or to violate a jiatent ; or to 
 lierform a play based on a novel with- 
 out permission of the novelist ; or to 
 publish a book the rights of which are 
 reserved. luj unctions are of two sorts — 
 temporary and perpetual. The lirst is 
 limited "till the coining on of the de- 
 fendant's answer"; the latter is based 
 on the merits of the case, and is of per- 
 jjetual force. 
 
 Ink. Pancirollus says the emperors 
 used a fluid for writing called cneans- 
 tuni. (Italian, inehwsiru ; French, mere ; 
 Dutch, inkt.) 
 
 Inliliorn Terms. This jihraae, once 
 common, might be revivetl to signify 
 pedantic exjiressions which smell of the 
 lamp. 
 
 V Shakespeare uses the phrase, an 
 "Inkhoru mate " (1 Henry ]'!., iii. 1). 
 
 Ink-pot. Sons and dauc/htcrs of (he 
 ink-pot. Those who maintain them- 
 selves by writing for the press. {The 
 Silver JJoinino.)
 
 Inkle 
 
 6. JO 
 
 Instinct 
 
 Inkle and Yar'ico. The hero rnd 
 heroiue of a drama so called by George 
 C'olmau. The story is from the 8pec- 
 trtoi\ Xo. 11. lukle is a young English- 
 maii who is lost iu the Spanish main ; 
 l;e falls in love with Yarico, an Indian 
 maiden, whom h3 lives with as his wife ; 
 but no sooner does he hnd a vessel to 
 take him to Barbadoes than he sells her 
 for a slave. 
 
 Inland Navigation. Francis Eger- 
 ton, Duke of Bridgewater, is called 
 the Father of British Inland Xaviqation. 
 (17'29-180;3.) A title certainly due to 
 James Brindley (171G-1772). 
 
 Inn (Anglo-Saxon). Chamber ; ori- 
 ginally applied to a mansion, like the 
 French hotel. Hence Clifford's Inn, once 
 the mansion of Da Clifford ; Lincoln's 
 Inn, the mansion of the Earls of Lin- 
 coln ; Gray's Inn, that of the Lords 
 Gray, etc. 
 
 " Now, wlipnas Phoebus, with his fiery waine, 
 Uuto his iunc liewm to draw ai>ace." 
 
 iSpcnser : Faerie Qneene, vi. 3. 
 
 Inns of Court. The four voluntary 
 societies which have the exclusive right 
 of calling to the bar. They are the 
 Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, 
 Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. Each 
 ii governed by a board of benchers. 
 
 Innings, in cricket, is the tuni of the 
 team to be bowled to by their oppo- 
 nents. The persons who "bat" are 
 having tlieir •• innings given them " ; 
 and the innings of an individual is the 
 time he holds the bat. 
 
 A good iniiiiu/s. One in which the 
 batsman has made several runs. Figura- 
 tivelj', a run of luck or business. 
 
 He lias had a long innings. A good 
 long run of luck. A term in cricket 
 for the time that the eleven are in, or 
 not out as scouts. 
 
 Innis FodMa [Island of Jjestingi, an 
 old name of Ireland. 
 
 '■ Loir^ liefiii-o the wcsteru districts of Iititix 
 Fudlila hadauy s 'ttled niMie ... a i>owei'ful kiii^ 
 ri'i -lied u^ er this pavt of the sacre.l island. [Tlie 
 kill',- rofeiied to wa- ('onuud.bi. who u-ave liis 
 ninie to tlie iiro\ incoof t'oiinaclit],"— if. U. I'atti: 
 i\iiri/ Talcs and Fulk-Lorc. pp. 3i»i, 31S. 
 
 Innocent (An). An idiot or bom 
 fool. (.See Bexet.) 
 
 '■ An idiot, or line otherwise deficient iu intelleL-t. 
 i? raliel an innocent. "— r/-<=Hf;i ; On the Stud// of 
 II oi-di. lecture iii. p. yr. 
 
 Innocents. I'jast of the Holy luuo- 
 ernls. The ■2Sth Decembor. to commemo- 
 rate Herod's butchery of th? children of 
 Bethlehem under two years eld, -with 
 the design of cuttins off "the infant Jesus 
 (Matt. ii. 16.) 
 
 Innnen'do. An implied or covert 
 hint of blame. It is a law term, meaning 
 the person_ nodded to or indirectly re- 
 ferred to (Latin, i/i-niio). 
 
 " Implying or sufrgestinK, instead of statin? 
 plainly, often increases the effect of what is in- 
 tended to Kive pain or pleasure. This is 'innu- 
 endo.' "—Bain : Composition, etc. (Innaitido). part i. 
 p. 'M. 
 
 Inoc'ulate (4 syl.) is to jjut in an 
 eye (Latin, in ocnliis). The allusion is 
 to a plan adopted by gardeners who 
 insert the " ej-e " or small bud of a supe- 
 rior plant into the stock of an inferior 
 one, in order to produce flowers or fruits 
 of better quality. 
 
 In'ogene or Ig'noge (3 syl.). Wife 
 of Brute, the mythological king of 
 Britain. 
 
 '• Thus Brute this realnie unto his rule sulidew 1, 
 .\nd raiifiicil loni.' in croat felicity. 
 Loved of his friends, ai'id of his foes eschowd. 
 He left three sons, his famous projjeny, 
 linrn of fayre Inogene of Italy." 
 
 Spenser: Fueri^: Queen e, ii 10. 
 
 Inquisition. A court instituted to 
 inquire into offences against the Roman 
 Catholic religion. Fully established by 
 Pope Gregory IX. in 1235. It was most 
 active in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. 
 Those found guilty were handed over to 
 the secular arm to be dealt with accord- 
 ing to the secular laws of the land. 
 Suppressed in France in 1772, and not 
 finally in Spain till 1834. (Latin, iu- 
 qaixitio, a searching into.) 
 
 Insane Root (The). Hendock. It 
 is said that those who eat hemlock can 
 see subjective things as objects. Tlius, 
 when Banquo had encountered the 
 witches, who vanished as mysteriously 
 as they appeared, he said to Macbeth, 
 " Were such things [jT«////] h??e, .... 
 or have we eaten the insane root, that 
 takes the reason prisoner," so that our 
 eyes see things that are not. (Macbeth, 
 i.3.) 
 
 ? Other plants '"take the reason 
 prisoner," as the Prnna insainr, the 
 '' ludian nut," " Hoary nightshade.'' 
 
 Inscription of a Coin. (See 
 Lege.\d.) 
 
 Insolence. (Latin, in-soleo.) Un- 
 usual conduct, that is, not according to 
 the common courtesies of social Ufe. 
 
 Inspired Idiot (77te). Oliver Gold- 
 smith was so called by NValpole. 
 
 Instinct. Something pricked or 
 punctured into one. Dt.-idngni.Ji is of 
 the same root, and means to prick or 
 ^juncture separately, li.rtingiiish means 
 to prick or puncture out. Iu all cases
 
 Institutes 
 
 656 
 
 Interdict 
 
 the allusion is to marking by a puncture. 
 At collejje the " markers " at the chajsel 
 doors still hold a pin in one hand, and 
 prick with it the name of each " man " 
 who enters. The word is used to ex- 
 press a natural iinpulse to do something ; 
 an inherent habit. 
 
 •'AltliouKli reason may ... lie blended with 
 iiistiiiiT, tlic disiiiu-tidii between the two is suffl- 
 cientlv prt-cise. Uimsoii oiilv acts iiiion a delliiite 
 •and ohi'ii liiliorjously iii-(4uired knowled','e of the 
 relation lielween means and ends."— liomiDies: 
 Enriiiin^iudta Ilriltiitnicu, vol. xiii. p. 157 (ninth 
 editiim). 
 
 In'stitutes (3syl.). Elementary law 
 treatises, as the Iiistittttci of Gains 
 and those of Florentius, Callistriitus, 
 Paulus, Ulpian, and Marcian. The 
 Institutes of Justinian were com- 
 piled by Antoninus Pius, and for the 
 most part are mere rechaujfecs of the 
 jDreceding ones, giving the words and 
 opinions of the respective authors. 
 
 Instructions to the Conunittee. 
 
 A Parlitiineiitary dodge for empowering 
 a Committee of' the House to do what a 
 Committee would not otherwise be em- 
 powered to do. 
 
 An '"Instruction" must be supple- 
 mentary and auxiliary to the Bill under 
 consideration. 
 
 It must fall within the general scope 
 and framework of the Bill in question. 
 
 It must not form the substance of a 
 distinct measure. 
 
 Insu'bri. The district of Lombardy 
 which contained Milan, Como, Pa'via, 
 Lodi, Xova'ra, and Vercelli. 
 
 Insult. To leap on the prostrate 
 body of a foe. To treat with contumely. 
 
 Insulter. One who leaps upon you 
 or against j'ou. Thus Terence .says, 
 '^Insulta' re fores cal'c'ibus''\£unticfius, ii. 
 2, 54). It will be remembered that the 
 priests of Baal, to show their indigna- 
 tion against their gods, "leaped upon 
 the altar which they had made " (1 
 Kings xviii. 26). Zephaniah (L 9) says 
 that God will punish all those that leap 
 on the threshold." (See Desultory.) 
 
 Intag'lio (Italian) . A design cut in 
 a gem, like a crest or initials in a stamp. 
 The design does not stand out in relief, 
 as in cain'eos, but is hollowed iu. 
 
 Intellect. The power of reading 
 meutallj- ; hence the power of under- 
 standing and quickly grasping what re- 
 quires intelligence and thought. (Latin, 
 intus lego, I read within me.) 
 
 Intendance Militaire. Corps 
 charge de tout ee ejui concernc l\idmi>iis- 
 tration ct la comj)atibilite de la guerre. 
 
 The Intendants Militaire control the 
 accounts, payments, food, dress, en- 
 campments, transport, liospitals, mar- 
 ches, etc., of the army. 
 
 Intentions. Ilell is pared uith good 
 intentions. In Spanish : ^^ Jil inferno es 
 bleno de buenas tnteneiones.'" Good in- 
 tentions without corresponding deeds 
 are self-accusers. 
 
 Inter Alia (Latin). Among other 
 thiugs or matters. 
 
 Inter Csesa et Por recta. Out of 
 
 hand. Many things maj' occur between 
 the cup and lip. (iit'eCieero: Ad Attleum, 
 V. IS.) Literallj-, between the slaughter 
 (ea-sa) of the sacrificial victim and its 
 being laid (porrecta) on the altar. It was 
 not permitted to speak while the pincst 
 struck the animal, nor yet while the 
 sacrifice was being consumed by fire ; 
 but between these intervals j)ersons were 
 allowed to talk. 
 
 Inter Canem et Lupum. Between 
 
 two difficulties or dangers equally for- 
 midable. Between Scylla and Cha- 
 ry b'dis. Literally, "between dog and 
 wolf." 
 
 Inter Nos, or in French Entre nous. 
 Confidentially, between ourselves. 
 
 Inter Poc'ula. During a drinking 
 bout. 
 
 Inter Rex (Latin). A person ap- 
 pointed to liold the office of king during 
 a temporary vacancy. 
 
 Intercal'ary (Latin). Inserted be- 
 tween or amongst others. Thus, an 
 intercalary day is a day foisted in be- 
 tween two others, as the 29th February 
 iu leap-year. (&e Calends.) 
 
 " It was the custom with Greeks to add, or, as 
 it was tenneil, intercalate, a mouth every oiuer 
 year."— Pries^ifi/ ; On History, xiv. 
 
 Interdict and Exeonununieate. The 
 Pope or some ecclesiastic interdicts 
 a kingdom, province, county, or town, 
 but excommunicates an individual. This 
 sentence excludes the place or individual 
 from partaking ia certain sacraments, 
 public worship, and the burial service. 
 The most remarkable instances are : — 
 
 580. The Bishop of Bayeux laid an 
 interdict on all the churches of Rouen, 
 in consequence of the murder of the 
 Bishop Prtjtextat. 
 
 1081. Poland was laid under an inter- 
 dict by Pope Gregory VII., because 
 Boleslas II. had murdered Stanislaus at 
 the altar. 
 
 11 80. Scotland was put under a similar 
 ban by Pope Alexander III.
 
 Interest) 
 
 657. 
 
 Inventors 
 
 1200. France was interdicted by In- 
 nocent III., because Philippe Auguste 
 refused to marry Ingelbui-ge, who had 
 been betrothed to him. 
 
 1209. England was laid under similar 
 sentence by Innocent III., in the reign 
 of King John, and the interdict lasted 
 for six years. 
 
 In France, Robert the Fious, Philippe 
 I., Louis VII., VhiMYiT^e.Augttste, Philippe 
 IV., and Napoleon I., have all been 
 subjected to the Papal thunder. In 
 England, Henry II. and John. Victor 
 Emmanuel of Italy was excommunicated 
 by Pius IX. for despoiling the Papacy of 
 a large portion of its temporal dominions. 
 
 In'teiest (Latin). Something that 
 is between the parties concerned. The 
 interest of money is the sum which the 
 borrower agrees to pay the lender for its 
 use. To take an interest in anything is 
 to feel there is something between it and 
 you which may affect your pleasure. 
 
 Interest for money. In the Tudor 
 dynasty it was 10 per cent. (37 Heniy 
 VIII. chap. 9). In the reign of James 
 it was reduced to 8 per cent. ; in Queen 
 Anne's reign to o per cent. ; in the last 
 quarter of the nineteenth century it was 
 reduced to '1\ per cent. 
 
 Interim of Augsburg {The). A 
 Concordat drawn up by Charles Quint in 
 1.518 to allay the leligious turmoil of 
 Germany. It was a provisional arrange- 
 ment to be in force till some definite 
 decision could be pronounced by the 
 General Council to be held at Trent. 
 The authors of this instrument were 
 .T. Pflug (Bishop of Xauniburg), Michael 
 Ilekliiig (titular Bishop of Sidon), and 
 John Agricola (a priest of Brandenburg). 
 
 Interlard (French). To put lard 
 or fat between layers of meat. Meta- 
 phorically, to mix what is the solid part 
 of a discourse with fulsome and in-elevant 
 matter. Thus we say, "To interlard 
 with oaths," to "interlard with com- 
 pliments," etc. 
 
 " Tliey intei I;inl tlie'r native drm«s with choice 
 Of stniiiu'est Id-aud..." Philips : Cider, ii. 
 
 Interlo'per. One who runs between 
 traders. One who sets up business, and 
 by so doing interferes with the actual 
 or supposed rights of others. (Dutch, 
 ioopcn, to run, to leap.) 
 
 Inter'polate (4 syl.). For two or 
 more persons to polish up something 
 between them. Metaphorically, to in- 
 sert spurious matter in a book or docu- 
 ment ; to gag. (Latin, intvr fiolio, to 
 polish.) 
 
 42 
 
 Inter'preter (Jfr.). The Holy Spirit 
 personified, in Bunyan's Filgrui(''s Pro- 
 f/res.s. He is lord of a house a little way 
 beyond the Wicket Gate. Here Christian 
 was kindly entertained and shown many 
 wonderful sights of an allegorical cha- 
 racter. Christiana and her party stopped 
 here, and were similarly entertained. 
 
 Into'nc (2 syl.). To thunder out; 
 intonation, the thundering of the voice. 
 (Latin, tono, to thunder.) The Romans 
 said that Cicero and Demosthenes 
 "thundered out then- orations." To 
 recite in a musical monotone. 
 
 Intoirication. Pliny (xvi. 20) tells us 
 this word is derived from tii.ra, a sjiecies 
 of bay-tree used for jjoisoning arrows. 
 Hence the Greek to.ron (a bow and 
 arrows), and toxicon (rank poison). 
 
 Intrigue (2 syl.), comes from the 
 Greek thn.c, hair, whence the Latin 
 triece, trifles or hairs, and the verb intilro, 
 to entangle ; the Germans ha\'e the verb 
 Ov^yf/;, to deceive. 
 
 Inure (2 syl.) to habituate or harden 
 by use. Ure is an archaic word meaning 
 use. (Latin o/)«.'?, work. French a«irt'; 
 old French, eurv.) 
 
 Invalidc (French). A four-sou pjiece, 
 so called because it was debased to the 
 value of three sous and a-half. 
 " Tien, 1 rens cet invalide, a na santu va linire." 
 lleux .irleqainjs (\<VA). 
 
 Invei'gle (3 syl.). To lead blind- 
 fold ; to entice by misrepresentation. 
 (Xonnan French, enreoykr ; French, 
 aveiigler ; Italian, incogliare.') 
 
 Invention of the Cross [rliseoreri/ 
 of the eros.s] . A festival held on May 3i-d, 
 in commemoration of the " discoveiy of 
 the cross " by the agents of St. Hel'ena, 
 mother of Constantine the Em.peror 
 (316). (Latin, inren'lo, to discover.) 
 
 Inventors Punisied by their own 
 inventions. 
 
 Bastille. Husues Aunriot, Provost 
 of Paris, who built the Bastile, was the 
 first person confined therein. The charge 
 against him was heresy. 
 
 Brazen Bull. Perillo'. who invented 
 the Brazen Bull for Pliairiris, Tyrant of 
 Agrigentum, was tlie first person baked 
 to death in the horrible monster. 
 
 Captain. Cowper Coles, inventor of 
 the turret- ship, jierished in the Cuptain 
 off Fiuisterre September 7th, 1870. 
 
 Catheeine Wheel. The inventor of 
 St. Catherine's Wheel, a diabolical ma- 
 chine consisting of four wheels turning 
 different ways, and each wheel aimed
 
 Inventors 
 
 658 
 
 Invisibility 
 
 ■with saws, knives, and teeth, was killed 
 by his own machine ; for when St. 
 Catherine was bound on the wheel, she 
 fell off, and the niacliine Hew to pieces. 
 Oue of the pieces stnuk the inventor, 
 and other pieces struck several of the 
 men emploj-ed to Avork it, all of whom 
 ■were killed. {Mrtap/irfistis.) 
 
 GuiLLOTiXE. J. B. V. Guillotin, 
 M.D., of Lyons, was guillotined, but it 
 is an error to credit him with the inven- 
 tion of the instrument. The inventor 
 was Dr. Joseph Agnace Guillotin. 
 
 Haman, son of Hammeda'tha, the 
 Amalekite, of the race of Agag, devised 
 a gallows fifty cubits high on which to 
 hang Mordecai, by way of commencing 
 the extirpation of the Jews ; but the fa- 
 vourite of Ahasiie'rus was liimself hanged 
 on his gigantic gallows. In modern his- 
 tory we have a repetition of this incident 
 in tho case of Eiiguerrand de Marigni, 
 Minister of Finance to Pliilipx)e the Fair, 
 ■who was hung on the gibbet which he 
 liad caused to be erected at Montfaucon 
 for the execution of certain felons ; and 
 four of his successors in office underwent 
 the same fate. 
 
 Hopkins (Jfa/tJifir), the witcli-fmder, 
 ■was himself tried liy his own tests, and 
 put to death as a wizard. 
 
 IiiON Cagi^. The Bishop of Verdun, 
 who invented the Iron Cages, too small 
 to allow tlie person confined in them to 
 stand u]iright or lie at full length, was 
 the first to be shut up in one ; and Car- 
 dinal La Balue, who recommended them 
 to Louis XL, was himself confined in 
 one for ten years. 
 
 Iron Shroud. Lud ovi'co Sforza, who 
 invented the Iron Shroud, was the first 
 to suffer death by this horrible torture. 
 
 Maiden. The Regent Morton of Scot- 
 land, who invented the Maiden, a sort 
 of guillotine, was the first to he beheaded 
 thereby. This was in the reign of 
 Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 Ostracism. Clisthenes introduced llio 
 custom of Ostracism, and was the first 
 to be banished therebj'. 
 
 The Perrieke was an instrument for 
 throwing stones of 3.000 lbs. in weight ; 
 and the inventor fell a victim to his own 
 invention b}' the accidental discharge of 
 a peiTiere against a wall. 
 
 Porta a Faenza. Filippo Strozzi 
 counselled the Duke Alessandro de' 
 Medici to construct the Porta a Faenza 
 to intimidate the Florentines, and here 
 he was himself murdered. 
 
 SALiSBrEY {the Earl of) was the first 
 to use cannon, and was the first English- 
 Diau killed by a cannon ball. 
 
 TJteop'ius induced the Emperor Ar- 
 cadlus to abolish the benefit of sanc- 
 tuary; but a few days afterwards he com- 
 mitted some offence and tied for safety 
 to the nearest cliurch. St. Chrysostom 
 told him lie had fallen into his own net, 
 and he was jiut to death. (Lifr of St. 
 
 C/uf/SOStOi)!.) 
 
 WiNSTANLEY (^^r.) erected the first 
 Eddystone lighthouse. It was a wooden 
 polygon, 100 feet high, on a stone base; 
 but it was washed away by a storm in 
 1703, and the architect himself perished' 
 in his own edifice. 
 
 Inventors Punished. A curious 
 
 instance of the ni// of invention is men- 
 tioned in the Bridi/e of Allan Ilcportcr, 
 February, 1803:— 
 
 " It is told (if Mr. Fercrnsnn's smmlfntlier, fliat 
 lie iincMli'il ;i jnir of f:umiT:i fur cli'aiiMiji (.'r;iin. 
 and fur Iliis jinxif of siiierior iiiLioiuiily lie w«s 
 stiiMiiKiiicd hcf.nc tlie Kirk Srssiini.iiiid reiinivcl 
 for iryini.' tci jilaoe the liandiwork of man above 
 tlio tinic-lioiioured praoiiceof cleaning tlic khiIii 
 on w nily ilays, wlion thp cnrrent was IdoH lug 
 Iriskly tliroiigli the open doors of llie liarii." 
 
 Inves'titurc. (Latin, cloth'ntg in or 
 putting on canonicals.) The admission 
 to office is generally made by investi- 
 tme ; thus, a pair of gloves is given to a 
 Freemason in France ; a cap is given 1o 
 a graduate ; a crown, etc., to a .sove- 
 reign, etc. A crosier and ring used to 
 bo given to a cliurch dignitarj- ; but 
 are now simply placed in his hands 
 on his induction into office. In the 
 eleventh and twelfth centuries the kings 
 of Europe aiid the pope ■were perpetually 
 at variance about the right of investi- 
 ture ; the question Avas, .should the 
 sovereigns or should the pope invest 
 clergymen or apjioint them to their 
 livings and dignities 'r (Latin, rrstis, 
 a gannent ; u/rtstio. (.S'rf Induction.) 
 
 Invin'cible Doctor. William of 
 Occam or Ockham (a ■village in Surrey), 
 also called Doctor Singula' r'ts. (1270- 
 1317.) 
 
 Invisibility, according to fable, may 
 be olitained in a multitude of ways. 
 For example : — 
 
 Alhr'tc".'^ cloal:, called Tarnkappe (3 
 syl.), which Siegfried got possession of, 
 rendered him invisible. {Xtbelungeii 
 Lied.) 
 
 A chnmelon carried in the breast will 
 render a person invisible. 
 
 A capo)i stone, called " Alectoria,'' 
 will render any person invisible who 
 carries it about his jierson. (Sec Mieeoe 
 OF Stones.) 
 
 A (lead hand. It is believed that a 
 candle placed in a dead man's hand
 
 Invisibles 
 
 6:)9 
 
 Iphicles' Oxen 
 
 gives no light to any but those who 
 use it. {'StT Hand.) 
 
 Fern-seed, mentioned by Shakespeare, 
 and by Beaumont and Fletcher, pos- 
 sesses the same charm. 
 
 Gi/f/es' rill//, taken from tlie flanks of 
 a brazen horse, made tlie wearer in- 
 visible, provided he turned the ring 
 inwards. 
 
 Hcl'iotrope, mentioned by Boccaccio 
 in his Decameron (Day viii. 3), is a green 
 stone, which renders a person invisible. 
 So does the herb called heliotrope, ac- 
 cording to Sollnus, who says, '■^ Ilerha 
 cliam ejiisdem nontlnis . . . cum, a quo- 
 cnmqne f/estithltHr, snhtralilt vmbnts ob- 
 itdritmV {Gcorgic, xl.) 
 
 The helmet of Perseus (2 sjd.) and 
 the helmet of Pluto (called Orci Galen), 
 both rendered the wearer invisible. 
 {('lassie storij.) 
 
 The helmet tchich Thito gave io the 
 Ci/elops made them invisible whenever it 
 -was worn. 
 
 Jael; the Giant-ldller had a cloak of 
 invisibility as well as a c;ip of know- 
 ledge. 
 
 Keplelns iiiaiitle. The mantle of 
 Hel Keplein, which belonged to the 
 dwarf-king Laurin, rendered the wearer 
 invisible. {The Heldoihiieh ; thirteenth 
 century.) 
 
 The Moras Jifasphoron was a girdle of 
 invisibility. {Mrs. Centlirrc : A Bold 
 Stroke fur a Wife.) 
 
 OlniVs ring. The ring of Otnit, King 
 of Lombardy, according to the lleldot- 
 liach, jjossessed a similar charm. 
 
 Jtegiiard's icouderfat ring had three 
 colours, one of which (the green) caused 
 the wearer to become invisible. {Jici/- 
 iiard the Fo.r, 1498.) 
 
 Invis'lbles. (1) The Eosicrucians 
 were so called, because they never dared 
 to appear in public. 
 
 (2) The disciijles of Osiander, Flaccius, 
 Illiricus, etc., who denied the perpetual 
 visibility of the Church. (Sixteenth 
 century.) 
 
 Invulnerability. 
 
 Stones taken from tlie cassan plant, 
 whicli grows in Panter, renders the 
 possessor invulnerable. (Odoriciis in 
 Haklitgt.) 
 
 A dip in the river Styx rendered 
 Achilles invulnerable. {Greek fable.) 
 
 Medt§a rendered Jason, with whom 
 she had fallen in love, ])roof against 
 wounds and fire by anointing him with 
 the Promethe'an unguent. {Greek fable.) 
 
 Siegfried (2 syl.) was rendered in- 
 vulnerable by anointing his body with 
 dragon's blood. {Xibehoigen Lied.) 
 
 lol (pron. Yol). The Danish word for 
 Chiistmas ; the same as Yale. 
 
 " TIiP savase Dane 
 At lol more deep Ibe mead did drain." 
 
 .S/r IK. Scutt : Marmion. 
 
 lo'nian Mode. A species of church 
 music in the key of C major, in imitation 
 of the ancient Greek mode so called. 
 
 Ionic Accomplishments. Gesture 
 and dress. 
 
 lon'ic Architecture. So called from 
 lo'nia, where it took its rise. The 
 capitals are decorated with volutes, and 
 the cornice witVi dentils. The shaft is 
 fluted ; the entablature either plain or 
 embellished. 
 
 "The reoide of Ionia foitned their order of 
 arcliiterture on the model of a young woman 
 dressed in lier liair, and of an easv, elegant sliape; 
 whereas the Doric liad heen fornicd on the model 
 of a robust, strong m-Mi."~\ itruvias. 
 
 Ionic School or Ionic Philoso- 
 phers. Thales, Anaximander, Anaxi- 
 me'nes, Heracli'tos, and Anaxag'oras 
 were all natives of Ionia, and were the 
 earliest of the Greek philosophers. They 
 tried to prove that all created things 
 spring from one princijile ; Thales said 
 it was water, Anaximenes thought it 
 was air or gas, Aiiaxagoras that it was 
 atoms, Heraclitos maintained that it 
 was fire or caloric, while Anaximander 
 insisted that the elements of all things 
 are eternal, for ex nihilo nihil Jit. 
 
 lormungan'dur. The serpent that 
 eucomijasses the whole earth, according 
 to Scandinavian mj'thology. 
 
 lo'ta or .Tot. A very little, the least 
 quantity possible. The iota [i] is the 
 smallest letter of the Greek aljjhabet, 
 called the Lacedemonian letter. (He- 
 brew, Yod [-], the sm.allest Hebrew 
 letter.) 
 
 " This bond doth give then here no jot of Wood." 
 HhuliC^pcitre : Merchant nf Venice, iv. 1. 
 
 Iphicles' Oxen. Quid hoc ad IphicU 
 bores > What has that to do with the 
 subject in hand 'i So in V Aroeat the 
 judge had to pull up the shepherd every 
 minute with the question, '■'Mais, mon 
 a»ii, rcvenon a nos moatons.'''' Iplilclos 
 or Iphicles was the possessor of large 
 herds of oxen, and Neleus (2 syl.) pro- 
 mised to give his daughter in marriage 
 to Bias if he would bring him the oxen 
 of Iphicles, which were guarded by a 
 very fierce dog. Melampos contrived to 
 obtain the oxen for his brother, but 
 being caught in the act, he was cast
 
 Iphicratensians 
 
 660 
 
 irena 
 
 into prison. Melampos afterwards told 
 Astyocha, wife of Iphicles, how to be- 
 come the mother of children, whereuj)on 
 Iphicles gave him the coveted herd, 
 and his brother married the daughter of 
 Neleus. The secret told by Melampos 
 to Astyocha was " to steep the rust of 
 iron in wine for ten days, and drink it." 
 This she did, and became the mother 
 of eight sons. {Odyssey, xi. ; Iliad, 
 xiii. 23 ; Apollodoros, i. 9 ; Fausanias, 
 iv. 36.) 
 
 *.* When Tressilian wanted Dominie 
 Holiday to tell liim of a smith who 
 could shoe his horse, the pedngogue 
 kept starting from the point, and Tres- 
 silian says to him : — ■ 
 
 " Pennit mo to ask, in your own learned plirasn, 
 Quid t:;ic ad Iphjieli biiveii, what lias t\\Al lo (it) 
 with my poor WAi;/"— Sir W. Scott : Kenilwortli, 
 fbap. ix. 
 
 V Another similar phrase is " Quid ad 
 Mcrciiriian / " Ti Trpos rov 'Epurjv : 
 
 Another is " Jo Hecuba^'" "Wliat has 
 that to do with Hecuba Y 
 
 Iphicraten'sians. The best trained 
 and bravest of the Greek soldiers wei'e 
 so called from Iiihicnltes, an Athenian 
 general. {'Vce Fabian Soldiers.) 
 
 Iphigeni'a. Daughter of Agamem- 
 non and Clytemne.stra. Her fatlier hav- 
 ing offended Ar'temis {Diana) by killing 
 her favourite stag, vowed to sacrifice to 
 the augi-y ''goddess the most beautiful 
 thing that came into his possession in the 
 next twelve months ; this was an infant 
 daughter. The father deferred the 
 sacrifice till the fleet of" the combined 
 Greeks reached Aulis and Iphigenia 
 had gi'own to womanhood. Then 
 Calchas told him that the fleet would 
 be wind-bound till he had fulfilled his 
 vow ; accordingly the king prepared to 
 sacrifice his daughter, but Artemis at 
 the last moment snatched her from the 
 altar and caiTied her to heaven, substi- 
 tuting a hind in her place. 
 
 The similarity of this legend to the 
 Scripture stories of Jephthah's vow, and 
 Abiaham's offering of his son Isaac, is 
 noticeable. (.S'cf Idomeneus.) 
 
 Ipse Dixit (Latin). A mere assertion, 
 wholly unsupported. We say it is 
 "your ipse dixit,^' "his ipse dixit," 
 " their ipse dixit," and so on. 
 
 Ipso Facto. Irrespective of all ex- 
 ternal considerations of right or wrong ; 
 absolutely ; by the very deed itself. It 
 sometimes means the act itself carries 
 the consequences (as excommunication 
 
 without sentence of excommunication 
 being directly pronounced). 
 
 " Wli:itever tlie captain does is riprlit ipso facto 
 [i.r. because it is (hmc by tlje oaptainj, and any 
 oplKisitiim to it is wroiig, <>u board sliip.''— fl. //. 
 Daua. 
 
 By Inirning tlie Piipc's bull, Lutlier ipso facto 
 [by tlie very deed itself] denied tlie Poi e'g supreiii- 
 acy. Heresy carries excummuuicatidn ipso facto. 
 
 Ipswich. AcoiTuption of Gypes-xvick, 
 the town on the river "Gyppen," now 
 called the Orwell. 
 
 Iram'. The pilgrim's garb is so called 
 by the Arabs. 
 
 I'ran. The empire of Persia. 
 
 " Avouffe the shame 
 His race hath brought on Iran's name." 
 
 Thomas Moore : Fire Worshii^ers. 
 
 Ireland or I^riii is Celtic ; from I^ri 
 or 7fn( western). lAoyd (State Worthies, 
 article " Grandison "), with a gravity 
 which cannot but excite laughter, says 
 the island is called the laud of Ire 
 because of the broils there, which have 
 extended over four hundred years. 
 Worniius derives the word from the 
 Euuic Yr, a bow. {See below.) 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 Called by the natives "Erin," i.e. 
 Eri-in)>is, or lar-imris (west island). 
 
 By the Welsh "Yver-den" (west 
 valley). 
 
 By Apule'ius, "Hiber'nia," which is 
 Icriiia, a corruption of lar-inni-a. 
 
 By Juvenal (ii. 260) "Juverna" or 
 " Jubcrna," the same as Icrna or lernia. 
 
 By Claudian " Ouernia," the same. 
 
 By moderns " Ireland," which is lar- 
 cn-land (land of the west). 
 
 U The three great .laiiits of Ireland 
 are St. Patrick, St. Columba, and St. 
 Bridget. 
 
 2'hefair maid of Ireland. Ignis fatuus 
 {q.r.). 
 
 " He had read in former times of a Going Fire, 
 called ' Isrnis B^atuus,' the lire of destiny; by some, 
 'Will with the Wisp,' or 'Jack with the Lan- 
 tern;' and likewise, by some siuu'le country 
 people. 'The Fair JIaid of Ireland,' wliich used 
 to lead wanderiuf,' travellers out of their way." — 
 CT/it' St mi. CliainpioHS of CUristetidom, i. 7. 
 
 Tlie three tragic stories of the Irish. 
 
 (1) The death of the children of Touran ; 
 
 (2) the death of the children of Lir; 
 
 (3) the death of the children of Usnach. 
 {(J^ Flanagan : Transactions of the Gaelic 
 Society of Fublin, vol. i.) 
 
 Fea)t Ireland^s scholarships. Four 
 scholarships of £30 a year in the Uni- 
 versity of Oxford, founded by Dr. John 
 Ireland, Dean of Westminster, in 182.5, 
 for Latin and Greek. They are tenable 
 for foiu' years. 
 
 •.' The same perstm founded an "Exegetical 
 Professorship" of £800 a year. 
 
 Ire'na. The impersonation of Ireland
 
 Iris 
 
 661 
 
 Iron Mask 
 
 whose inheritance was withheld by the 
 tyrant Grautorto. Sir Artegal {Justice) 
 is sent hy the Fai-rie Quceue to succour 
 the distressed lady. Grantorto, or the 
 rebellion of 1580, being slain, she is 
 restored to her throne and reigns in 
 peace. (Spaincr : Faerie Quccnc, v.) 
 
 I'ris. Goddess of the rainbow, or the 
 rainbow itself. In classic mythology 
 she is called the messenger of the gods 
 when they intended discord, and the 
 rainbow is the bridge or road let down 
 from heaven for her accommodation. 
 When the gods meant peace they sent 
 Mercury. (Greek and Latin, iris.) 
 
 " rU have an Tris that shall fliid thee out." 
 I hHiakcupeare : i: Henry VT., iii. 2. 
 
 Irish Agita'tor. Daniel O'Conuell 
 (1775-1847). 
 
 Irish Apricots. Potatoes. 
 
 Irish Stew, A dish of food made 
 by stevving together meat, onions, and 
 potatoes. Called "Irish" from the 
 predominance of potatoes. 
 
 Irish Wedding. When a person has 
 a black ej'e we sometimes say to him, 
 " You have been to an Irish wedding, I 
 see," because the Irish are more famous 
 for giving their guests on these occasions 
 black eyes than u'hite favours. 
 
 Iron. The hieroglyphic for iron is 
 S, which denotes " gold at the bottom" 
 (O), only its upper part is too sharp, 
 volatile, and half corrosive C); this 
 being taken away, iron would become 
 gold. Iron is called Mars. 
 
 iStrikc irliile the iron is hot. " Saitrc 
 le fer pciidioit cuCil est chaiul.'''' Make 
 hay while the sun shines. 
 
 To have manij irons in the fire. To 
 have many affairs in hand. 
 
 If you have too many irons in the fire, 
 some irill burn. If you have more ali'airs 
 in hand than you can properly attend to, 
 some of them will be neglected and turn 
 out badly. Both these locutions refer 
 to the "heaters" or irons employed in 
 laundries. If the " heater" is too hot, 
 it will scorch the linen. 
 
 To ride with a rod of iron. To rule 
 tyrannically. " Gouverner avec line verge 
 defer.'' 
 
 Iron. {See Pig Ieon.) 
 
 Iron Age. The era between the 
 death of Charlemagne and the close of 
 the Carlovingian dynasty is so called 
 from its almost ceaseless wars. It is 
 sometimes called the leaden age for its 
 worthlessness, and the dark age for its 
 jbarrenness of learned men. 
 
 Tron Age. The age of cruelty and 
 hard-heartedness. When Hubert tells 
 Prince Arthur he must burn his eyes 
 out, the young prince replies, "Ah, 
 none but iu tliis iron age would do it. 
 {Shakespeare : King John, iv. 1.) 
 
 Iron-arm. Francis de Lauoue, the 
 
 Huguenot soldier, Bras de Fer (1531- 
 
 1591. (6'rt' FlEEABEAS.) 
 
 _ Iron Duke ( The). The Duke of Wel- 
 lington was so called from his iron will. 
 (1769-1852.) 
 
 Iron-hand or the Iron-hander. 
 
 Goetz von Berlichingen {Godfrey of 
 Berlichingen), who lost his right hand 
 at the siege of Landshut, and had one 
 made of ii'on to supply its place. (1480- 
 1562.) {See Silvee-hand.) 
 
 Iron Horse {The). The railway 
 locomotive. 
 
 " We can now drive the iron horse from India 
 down the valley (if the Irniwaddy, and (.via Mnul- 
 niein) to the very gates of China, without any 
 1 olitical uiii edimeut."— J/r. llallet, Dec, 1SS5. 
 
 Iron Mask. The man in the iron 
 mask (called Lestang) was Count Er'- 
 colo Auto'nio Matthio'li, a senator of 
 Mantua, and private agent of Ferdinand 
 Charles, Duke of Mantua. He suffered 
 imprisonment of tweuty-four years for 
 having deceived Louis XIV. in a secret 
 treaty for the purchase of the fortress of 
 Casale, the key of Italy. The agents of 
 Spain and Austria bribed him by out- 
 bidding the Grande Monarque. The 
 secrecy observed by all j)arties was in- 
 violate, because the infamy of the 
 transaction would not bear daylight. 
 (//. G. A. Ellis : True History of the 
 Iron 3Iask.) 
 
 *' M. Loiseleur utterly denies that 
 Matthioli (sometimes called Giacomo) 
 was the real hoinnie dn masque de fer 
 (See Temple Bar, May, 1872, pp. 182- 
 184) ; but Marius Topin, in llie Man in 
 the Iron Mask, maintains it as an in- 
 dubitable fact. There is an English 
 translation of Topin's book by Vizetelli, 
 published by Smith and Elder. 
 
 There are several others " identified" 
 as the veritable Iron Mask, e.g. — ■ 
 
 (1) Louis, Due de Vemiandois, natural 
 son of Louis XIV. by De la Valli^re, 
 who was imprisoned for life because he 
 gave the Dauphin a box on the ears. 
 {Mi'iiioires Secrets pour servir dV Histoire 
 de Ferse.) This cannot be, as the duke 
 died in camp, 1683. 
 
 (2) A young foreign nobleman, cham- 
 berlain of Queen Anno, and real father 
 of Louis XIV. {A Dutch story.) 
 
 (3) Duo de Beaufort, King of the
 
 Iron Tooth 
 
 G62 
 
 Iroquois 
 
 Markets. {Lcfivangc-Chanccl : V Annie 
 Litterairc, 17-59.) This suppositiou is 
 worthless, as the duke was slain by the 
 Turks at the siege of Candia (1669). 
 
 (4) An elder brother of Louis XIV., 
 some say by the Duke of Buckingham, 
 others by Cardinal Mazarin. (See 7 'ol- 
 tairc: JJtctionnaircl'hilosophique [Anna], 
 and Lbu/uct : Bantih' l)evoUcc.) 
 
 (5) Abbe Soulavie asserts it was a 
 twin brother of Louis XIV., Marivhal 
 Ji'ichcVu'u. This tale forms the basis of 
 Zschokke's Gennan tragedj', and Pour- 
 nier's drama. 
 
 (6) Some maintain that it was Fouquet, 
 the disgraced Minister of Finance to 
 Louis XIV. 
 
 (7) Some that it was the Armiuian 
 Patriarch, Avedik. 
 
 (8) Some that it was the Duke of 
 Monmoutli ; but he was executed on 
 Tower Hill in 168.5. 
 
 (9) In the Wcsstern Morn'inq Xcks 
 
 (Plymouth, October 21st, 189;i)"we are 
 
 told that Le Commandant Bazerics has 
 
 deciphered a letter in cipher written by 
 
 Louvois, Minister of War, to Catinat 
 
 (Lieutenant-General in command of the 
 
 army at Piedmont), desiring liim to 
 
 arrest M. de Bulonde for raising the 
 
 siege of Conti ; and to send liini to the 
 
 citadel of Pignerol. 
 
 " He was to be allowed to walk on llio raiiiiiarts 
 wearing a mask." 
 
 Whatever the real name of this myste- 
 rious prisoner, he was interred in 1703 
 under the name of Marchiali, aged about 
 forty-five. And the name is so registered 
 in St. Paul's register, Paris ; witnessed 
 by M. de llosarge (mayor of the Bastile) 
 and M. Eeilh (surgeon) . 
 
 "Tlie mask was made of black velvet on steel 
 s)iriiig.s.'' 
 
 Iron-tootli \Dcnt de Fei'\. Frederick 
 
 II., Elector of Brandenburg. (1657, 1688- 
 
 1713.) 
 
 Iron Crown of Lombardy is so 
 
 called from a narrow band of iron within 
 it, said to be beaten out of one of the 
 nails used at the Crucifixion. This baud 
 is about three-eighths of an inch broad, 
 and one-tenth of an inch in thickness. 
 According to tradition, the nail was first 
 given to Constantiue by his mother, who 
 discovered the cross. The outer circlet 
 of the crown is of beaten gold, and set 
 with precious stones. The crown is pre- 
 served with great care at Monza, near 
 Milan ; and Napoleon, like his predeces- 
 sor Ch.arlemagne, was crowned with it. 
 
 After the war between Austria and 
 Italy, the Iron Crown was delivered by 
 the former power to Victor Innnauuel, 
 
 Iron entered into bis Soul {The). 
 The anguish or annoj'ance is felt most 
 keenly. The allusion is to the ancient 
 custom of torturing the flesh with in- 
 struments of ii-on. 
 
 " I saw the iron enter into Iiis sonl. and felt 
 what sort of lain it was that ariseth from lioie 
 deferred." — iS'itnie ; Sevtiiiicutul Journey. 
 
 Iron Maiden of Nuremberg [The). 
 An instrument of torture for " heretics," 
 traitors, parricides, etc. It was a box 
 big enough to admit a man, with folding- 
 doors, the Avhole studded with sharp 
 iron spikes. When tlie doors were 
 pressed-to these spikes were forced into 
 the body of the victim, who was left 
 there to die in horrible torture. (Gennan, 
 EiKcrnc Jumifrau.) 
 
 V One of these diabolical mn chines 
 was exhibited in 1892 in the Free Trade 
 Hall, Manchester, and in London. 
 
 Irons (7«). In fetters. "■ Mc(ti-e hs 
 fers uttx picds « [qiic/qu''i{n].'''' 
 
 Ironclad (An). A ship having Ike 
 hull sheatlied wholly or in part with 
 plates of iron, to resist projectiles. 
 
 Ironclad Oath (T/ie), 1866. An 
 Act passed in North America excluding 
 voters in the States lately in rebellion 
 from the franchise; practically disfran- 
 chising all Southerners over twenty five 
 years of age. 
 
 Ironside. Edmund II., King of the 
 Anglo-Saxons, was so called, from hb 
 iron armour. (989, 1016-1017.) 
 
 Xestor Irunside. Sir Richard Steele, 
 who assumed the name in The O'liardian. 
 (1671-1729.) 
 
 Ironsides. The soldiers that served 
 under Cromwell were so called, especially 
 after the battle of Marston Moor, where 
 they disjilayed an iron resolution. 
 
 Irony. A dissembling. (Greek, ciron, 
 
 a dissembler, eironcia.) 
 
 "So praveabody upon so solemn an occasion 
 should not deal in irony, or explain theirmeauing 
 by contraries."— .S'«'i/t. 
 
 Irony of Fate (The). A strange 
 fatality which has brought about some- 
 thing quite the reverse of what might 
 have been expected. 
 
 "By the irony of fate the Ten Hours' Bill was 
 carried in the very session when Lord Ashley, 
 having changed his views on the Corn Laws, felt 
 it his duty to resipu his seat iu Parlian.eut."— 
 The Leisure Hour, 188". 
 
 Iroquois (An). Anyone of the five 
 (now six) confederate tribes, viz. the 
 Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayu- 
 gas, Senecas, and sixth the Tuscaroras, 
 added in 1712, now forming "The Sis 
 No-tious of the Iroquois Confederacy."
 
 Irrefragable 
 
 663 
 
 Isabelle 
 
 Irrefragable Doctor. Alexander 
 Hales, an Enfilish friar, founder of the 
 scholastic tlieology (thirteenth century). 
 
 Irrel'evant is not to relieve, not to 
 lighten. Irrelevant matter is that which 
 does not help to bear the burden or 
 make it lighter ; something not perti- 
 nent or not material to the point in 
 question. (Latin l-vis, light.) 
 
 Irresis'tible. Alexander the Great 
 •went to consult thoDeljihic oracle before 
 he started on his expedition against 
 Persia. He chanced, however, to arrive 
 on a day when no responses were made. 
 Nothing daunted, he went in search of 
 the Pytliia, and when she refused to 
 attend, took her to tlie temple by force. 
 "Son," said the priestess, "thou art 
 mvsistible." "Enough," cried Alex- 
 ander; "I accept your words as my 
 response." 
 
 Irritable Genus (T/ir) or the "Gouts 
 xyyita'jile " {Ifonire : F.plsfh's, ii. 2, 102). 
 Poets, and authors generally. 
 
 " Tt [pulilisliers] is a wrathful trade, and the 
 irritable genus cimirrehend-t the boDlisellins? as 
 well as the liiiok-writiii!; species."— A'l'r ir. Scutt: 
 The Munnrtirij (Int.). 
 
 Irspilles Felles. Skins having 
 bristly hair like that of goats. {Ifirci- 
 p'diix — i.e. "goat's hair." {Fcstiis:.) A 
 fell 15 Anglo-Saxon for "skin," like the 
 Latin p^'ll-is, English p''el. Thus we 
 say still a " wool-fell." Shakespeare 
 speaks of "a fell of hair" (Macbeth, v. 
 5). l-\llinoii(i<r, a dealer in skins. 
 
 Irtish Ferry. To cross (he Ii-lhh 
 ferrij is to be laid on the shelf. The 
 ferry of the Irtish is crossed by those 
 who are exiled to Siberia. It is regarded 
 in Russia as the ferry of political death. 
 
 Irus. The beggar of gigantic stature, 
 who kept watch over the suitors of 
 Peuel'ope. His real name was Ar'neos, 
 but the suitors nicknamed him Iros 
 because he carried their messages for 
 them. L'lysses, on his return, felled 
 him to the ground with a single blow, 
 and flung him out of doors. 
 
 Toorcr than Inis. A Greek proverb, 
 adopted by the Romans (see Or id), and 
 existing in the French language ("iY/fy 
 pniivre qii'Iras "), alluding to the beggar 
 referred to above. 
 
 Ir'vingites (3 syl.). The self-styled 
 Catholic A/jostolic Church, founded by 
 the Eev. Edward Irving in 1829; they 
 believed in the gift of tongues. 
 
 Isaac. A hedge-sparrow, a cor- 
 ruption of Chaucer's Avord, hcisua^ge. 
 
 (Anglo-Saxon, hcag, hedge ; sngga, the 
 sugga bird.) 
 
 Isaac of York. The Jew in Iranhoe, 
 and father of Rebecca. (JSir Walter 
 
 Scott.) 
 
 Isabel, called Shc-icolf of Fraiice. 
 The adulterous queen of Edward II., 
 daughter of Philippe IV. {le Bel) of 
 France. According to tradition, she 
 murdered her royal husband by thrust- 
 ing a hot iron into his bowels. 
 
 " Mark the .veiir and mark the niirht 
 
 When Severn shall re-echo with affrijrht 
 The shrieks of death through Berkley's roofs that; 
 
 ring. 
 Sl-rieks of an agonising king. 
 She-wolf of France, with unrelenting fang.s, 
 That tear'st the bowels of thy mangled mate 1 " 
 Gniy : The Hard. 
 
 Ls'abel. The Spanish form of Eliza- 
 beth. The French form is Isabelle. 
 
 Isabella, Princess of Sicily, in lovs 
 with Robert le Diable, but promised in 
 marriage to the prince of Grana'da, who 
 challenged Robert to mortal combat. 
 Robert was allured from the combat by 
 his fiend -father, but when Alice tolil 
 him that Isabella " the princess is wait- 
 ing for him at the altar," a struggle 
 took place between Bertram and Alice, 
 the one trying to drag the duke to the 
 infernal regions, and the other trying to 
 win him to the ways of virtue. Alice 
 prevailed, but the audience is not in- 
 formed whether Robert married Isabella 
 or not. {Mci/erOcer's ojicra, Robert il 
 Diavolo.) 
 
 Isabella, daughter of Hercules, Duke of 
 Ferra'rt', sister of Alfonso and Ippol'ito, 
 and wife of Francisco Gouza'go, lord of 
 Mantua. 
 
 Isabella. {See Pot of Basil.) 
 
 Isabelle or Isabella (in Orlando 
 Farioso). Daughter of the king of Gali- 
 cia, in love with Zerbi'no ; but, being a 
 pagan, Zerbino could not many her. 
 Zerbino induces her to quit her native 
 land, and gives Odori'co charge of her. 
 She is wrecked, and Odorico escapes with 
 her to Rochelle. Here Odorico assails 
 her virtue, but is alarmed by a vessel 
 which he sees approaching, and flees. 
 She is kept captive by the crew for nine 
 months, but Orlando slays or hangs all 
 the crew, and Isabella being free, ac- 
 companies her rescuer. Her lament at 
 the death cf Zerbino is one of the best 
 parts of the poem (book xii.). She 
 retires to a chapel to bury Zerbino, and 
 is there slain by Rod'omont. 
 
 Isabelle. The colour so called is the 
 yellowof soiled calico. Ayellow-duu horse
 
 Isaf 
 
 664 
 
 Isinglass 
 
 is called in France un cheval isabcUe. The 
 tale is attaclied to Isabel of Austria 
 and Isabel of Castile. It is said that 
 Isabel of Austria, daughter of Philip II., 
 at the siege of Osteud vowed not to 
 change her linen till the place was taken. 
 As the siege lasted three years, we may 
 well suppose that it was somewhat 
 soiled by three years' wear. 
 
 "His colour was isabel, a name f-'iven in allu- 
 sion to tin; wliiuisiciil vow of IsabeUa Clara 
 Euifonia, Governess of the Netlierlamls, at ilie 
 iniMuoralilp sie^re of Ostenrt, which lastcil from 
 lOOl till Vmr—DiUon : Traviils in Spain (1781 1. 
 
 Isabel of Castile, we are told, made a 
 vow to the Virgin not to change her 
 linen till Graua'da fell into her hands ; 
 but this siege lasted longer than ladies 
 are wont to wear their body-linen. 
 
 " Brifrht-Sun was mounted on a black Iiorsp, 
 that of Kelix was a sroy, Chery's was white as 
 milk, anil the princess's an isabelle."— Coiottess 
 d'Ahiois: Fair-sUir and Prince Cliery. 
 
 Isaf. An Arabian idol in the form of 
 a man, brought from Sj'ria, and placed 
 in Es-Safa, near the temple of Mecca. 
 Some say Isaf was a man converted into 
 stone for impiety, and that Mahomet 
 suffered this one " idol " to remain as a 
 warning to his disciples. 
 
 Issnbras or Sir Isumbras. A hero 
 of nicdiivval romance, first ])roud and 
 presumptuous, when he was visited by all 
 sorts of punishments ; afterwards peni- 
 tent and htunble, when his afflictions 
 were turned into blessings. It was in 
 this latter stage that he one day carried 
 on his horse two children of a poor 
 woodman across a ford. {'Sec Ysam- 
 
 BRAS.) 
 
 " I warne von Hrst at the be=rynnin?;e 
 That I will make no vain carpiujje [talk] 
 Of (leeils of arniys ne of amours, 
 As (his mynsrrelli'S and jestours. 
 That makys carinii^'e in many a place 
 Of Octoriane ami Ise nl.rase," 
 
 ]yi!liiini n/ Xassiitgtnn. 
 
 I'sengrin or Sir Isgrim, the wolf, 
 afterwards created Earl of Pitwood, in 
 tlie beast- e])ic of Itrijuard the Fu.r. 
 Iscngrin typifies the barons, and Rejmard 
 the church ; and the gist of the tale is to 
 show how Reynard bamboozles his uncle 
 Wolf. (German, Isegrimm, a wolf, a 
 surly fellow.) 
 
 Isoult. {Sec YSONDE.) 
 
 Ishban, in the satire of Absalom and 
 AcliitopJiel, by Dryden and Tate, is Sir 
 Robert Clayton, who'd " e'en turn loyal 
 to be made a peer " (part ii.). 
 
 Isli'boshetb, in Dryden's satire of 
 Absalom and Achitophcl, is meant for 
 Richard Cromwell. His father, Oliver, 
 is called Saul. At the death of Saul, 
 
 Ishbosheth was acknowledged king by a 
 party, and reigned two years, when he 
 was assassinated. (Part i. .57, 08.) 
 
 " Tlipy who, when Sail was dead, without a blow, 
 M:ule f.i.ilish lshbo:<heth the crowu forj^jo." 
 
 Isb'monie'. The petrified city in 
 Upper Egypt, full of men and womeu 
 turned to stone. {Perri/ : View of ths 
 Zrra/it.) 
 
 Marryat has borrowed the idea in his 
 Pae/ia of Ma 11 ij Tales. 
 
 I'siac Tablet. A spurious Egyptian 
 monument sold liy a soldier to Cardinal 
 Bembo in 1527, and preserved at Turin. 
 It is of cojiper, and on it are represented 
 most of the Egj'ptian deities in tho 
 mysteries of Isis. It was said to have 
 been found at the siege of Rome in lo'l't. 
 The word Isiac is an adjective formed 
 from Isis. 
 
 Isido'rian Decre'tals. Also called 
 J'seadd or Fahr- Jlecntals. A spurious 
 compilation of lifty-niue decretals by 
 Mentz, who lived in the ninth century, 
 and fraudulently ascribed them to I'sidore 
 of Seville, who died in the sixth century. 
 Prior to tlie ninth century tho only 
 authentic collection of decretals or letters 
 of the popes in rejdy to questions pro- 
 posed to them by bishops, ecclesiastical 
 judges, and otliers, was tliat of Dionysius 
 the Little [Exig'iius], a Roman monk, 
 who lived in the middle of the sixth 
 century. He commences with Pope 
 Siricius (fourth century). The Lsidorian 
 decretals contain fifty-nine letters as- 
 cribed to persons living between Cle- 
 ment and Siricius, and forty others not 
 contained in the Dionysian collection. 
 The object of these forged letters is 
 either to exalt the Papacy or enforce 
 some law assuming the existence of such 
 exaltation. Amongst these spurious 
 letters are the decretal of St. Anacle'tus, 
 the decretal of St. Alexander, the letter 
 of Julius to the Easterns, the synodical 
 letter of St. Athana'sius, the decretal of 
 St. Fabian instituting the rite of the 
 chrism, and so on. 
 
 " I^a reforme iiseudo-Isidorienne, adojiteo par 
 f?. Niclinliis, en sim, par le biiiiieme concile cecu- 
 meiii<iue en .s7o, contlrnie par le concile de Trent 
 en l."ii;4, die est depuis neiif siecles le droit com- 
 miiu dans re^'lise c.itboliciue . . . . ee iju'il est 
 impossible de Justifler et meme d'excnser, c'est 
 le moyen employe par le pseudo-Isidore pour 
 arriver a se3 &a%."— Etudes I{eUijieuses,'No. 47, p. 
 3>JL'. 
 
 I'singlass. A corruption of the 
 Dutch liHiizcubla't (an air-bladder), being 
 prepared from the bladders and sounds 
 of sturgeon. (German, hiii/en^ a stw 
 geon.)
 
 Isis 
 
 663 
 
 Ismaelians 
 
 I'sls. Sister- wife of Osi'ris. The 
 cow was sacred to her ; and she is re- 
 presented with two long horns from one 
 stem at the top of her head. She is 
 said to have invented spinning and 
 weaving. {Egyptian nujtliolog >j .) 
 
 " Inventrt'ss of the wnnf, fair Lina [flax] flincra 
 The Hj ill!,' sliiittle tlini' the liaiiciiiK string's. . . 
 TauKht liy ht'i- lalioiirs, from the fertile soil 
 Iniuiortal ]sis clothed the banks of Nile." 
 
 Vurwin: Luves ufthe Plants, c. ii. 
 
 Milton, in Paradise Lost, names Osiris, 
 Isis, and Orus amongst the fallen angels 
 (book i. 478). 
 
 Isis, Herodotos thinks, is Deme'ter 
 (Ce'res). 
 
 Diodo'ros confounds her with the 
 Moon, Demeter, and Juno. 
 
 Plutarch confounds her witli Athe'na 
 (Minerva), Perseph'one (Prosei-pine) , the 
 Moon, and Te'thys. 
 
 Apule'ius calls her the mother of the 
 gods Minerva, Venus, Diana, Proser- 
 pine, Ceres, Juno, Bello'na, Hecate, and 
 Ehamnu'sia [Nem'esis]. 
 
 Lockj'er says, " Isis represents the 
 idea of rising or becoming visible, Osiris 
 of disappearing." Thus the rising moon, 
 a rising planet, the coming dawn, etc., 
 is Isis ; but the setting sun, the waning 
 moon, a setting planet, evening, etc., is 
 Osiris. 
 
 •■Now the hrisht iiioonlieams kissed the water, 
 .... and now the mountain and valle.v, river 
 and plain, were flooded with white li^-'ht, for 
 mother Isis was arisen." — Bidcr Haggard: Cleo- 
 patra, cliai). iii. 
 
 *,' Isis was the mother of Horus (the 
 rising sun) , and is represented as nursing 
 Mm. 
 
 Isis. Some maintain that Isis was at 
 cue time the protectress of Paris, and 
 that the word Paris is a contraction of 
 the Gi'eek lara Isidos (near the temple 
 of Isis), the temple referred to being the 
 Pantheon or church of St. Genevieve. 
 We are told, moreover, that a statue of 
 Isis was for a long time preserved in the 
 chtirch of St. Gennain des Pres, but was 
 broken to jneces by Cardinal Bri^onnet 
 because he saw certain women offering 
 candles to it as to the Virgin. 
 
 The Young Isis. Cleopatra (69-30 B.C.). 
 
 Islam or Islamism. The true faith, 
 according to the Mahometan notion. 
 The Moslems say every child is bom in 
 Islam, and would continue in the true 
 faith if not led astray into Magism, 
 Judaism, or Christianity. The word 
 means resignation or submission to the 
 tcill of God. 
 
 Islam consists of five duties t— 
 
 (1) Bearing' witness that there is but one God. 
 
 (2) Recitin.L^ daily prayers. 
 
 (3J (Jivinf.' the appointed and legal alms. 
 (4) Ohserving the Rauiazaa (a jjionth's fast). 
 
 (.5) Making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least ouce 
 in a lifetime. 
 
 '." Moslem and Musulman are from the same 
 root. 
 
 Islamite (3 sjd.). A follower of 
 Mahomet or believer in Lslam. 
 
 Island of Saints. So Ireland was 
 called in the Middle Ages. 
 
 Island of St. Brandan. The flying 
 
 island, the supposed retreat of King 
 Rodii'go. So called from St. Brandan, 
 who went in search of the Islands of 
 Paradise in the sixth century. 
 
 Island of the Seven Cities. A 
 
 kind of Dixie land, where seven bishops, 
 who quitted Spain during the dominion 
 of the Moors, founded seven cities. The 
 legend says that mauj' have visited the 
 island, but no oue has ever quitted it. 
 
 Islands of the Blessed, called by 
 the Greeks " Happj' Islands," and by 
 the Eonians "Fortunate Islands." 
 Imaginary i-slands somewhere in the 
 west, where the favourites of the gods 
 are convej-ed at death, and dwell in 
 everlasting joy. 
 
 " Tlieir place of hirth alone is mute 
 To Sounds that echo farther west 
 Than your sire's Islands of the Blest." 
 
 Byrmi. 
 
 Isle of Dogs. So called from being 
 the receptacle of the greyhounds of 
 Edward III. Some say it is a corrup- 
 tion of the IsJe of Lucks, and that it is 
 so called in ancient records from the 
 number of wild fowl inhabiting the 
 marshes. 
 
 Isle of Lanterns {The), or lan- 
 terii-Iaud. Aa imaginary country in- 
 habited by pretenders to knowledge. 
 In French, Lanternois. (Rabelais : Tan- 
 tagruel, v. 32, 33.) 
 
 V Lucian has a similar conceit, called 
 the Citij of Lanterns ; and Dean Swift, 
 in his GuUirer'' s Travels, makes his hero 
 visit Laputa, the empire of quacks, false 
 l^rojectors, and pretenders to science. 
 
 Isle of Mist {The). The Isle of Skye, 
 whose high hills are almost always 
 shrouded in mist. 
 
 " Nor sleep tliy hand by thy side, chief of the Isle 
 of Mist.'' Vsslan: Fiiigal,\. 
 
 Islington (771^ 3Iarquis of). One of 
 the skilful comiianions of Barlo'w, the 
 famous archer, was so christened by 
 Henry VIII. {See Shoeeditch, The 
 Dulce of.) 
 
 Ismael'ians {i sj-1.). A Mahometan 
 sect, which maintained that Isma'el, and 
 not Moussa, ought to be Imaum'. In 
 the tenth century they fonned a secret 
 society, frorri w}iich sprang the ^rSsassius,
 
 Ismene 
 
 GGO 
 
 Italic 
 
 Isme'ne (3 syl.) Daughter of (E'di- 
 pus and Jocasta. Antig'oue was buried 
 alive by the ordei- of King Creon, for 
 burying her brother Polyui'ces, skiin in 
 conibat by his brother Ete'ocles. Is- 
 me'ne dechired that she had aided her 
 sister, and requested to be allowed to 
 sliare the same punishment. 
 
 Ismc'iie. The lady-love of Ismc'nias, 
 iii the erotic romance of Eustathius or 
 Eumathius entitled Isineiic and Ixiiinnris 
 (twelftli century). Translated by God- 
 frey of Vitcrbo. Especially noteworthy 
 from its being reproduced in the Coii- 
 fessio Aiiifditin of Gower, and forming 
 the plot of Sliakespeare's I'cncles. 
 
 Ismc'nias. A Thcban musician of 
 whom Atli'c:is, King of the Scyth'ians, 
 declared, "I liked tlie music of Ismenias 
 better than the braying of an ass." 
 {flKlatrh.) 
 
 Ismc'no (in Jerusalem T)clirnvd). A 
 magician wlio could "call spirits from 
 llie vasty deep." Ife was once a Chris- 
 tian, but became Mahometan. Ismeno 
 was killed by a stone hurled at liim by 
 an engine (book xviii.). 
 
 Isobars. Liues on a map connecthig 
 1 laces w Inch liave the same mean baro- 
 metric pris>ure. The closer the isobars 
 are tlio stronger tlie wind, the farther 
 the lighter. (Greek, haruf, weight.) 
 
 ISDCratcs. The French I.-verafef. 
 Fk'cliicr. Bishop of Xismcs (1C32-1710). 
 
 Is'oldc (2 syl.). Wife of King Mark, 
 of Cornwall, who had au illicit affection 
 for Sir Tristram, Mark's nephew. Isolde 
 the White, Sir Tristram's Wife. 
 
 I'sother'mal Lines. Lines laid down 
 in maps to show the places which have 
 the same mean temperature. (Greek, 
 isos thermos, equal lieat.) 
 
 Israel, in Dryden's satire of Ahsalvm 
 and Aehttopltcl, stands for England. 
 
 Israfil'. The angel of music, who 
 possessed the most melodious voice of all 
 God's creatures. This is the angel who 
 is to sound the llesurrectiou Trumi), and 
 will ravish the ears of the saints in para- 
 dise. Israfil, Gabriel, and Michael were 
 the three angels tliat warned Abraham 
 of Sodom's destruction. {Sale : Koran.) 
 "A wiTiLTc'd hand, cniiiniandod liy Israfil, tlie 
 aii^'i-l cif I lie rcsiin-cotiuii, came to mei/t Uolaiid." 
 — Cvixjiteiaitdim, il. li. 
 
 Issa. Jesus. 
 
 Is'sachar, in Dryden's satire of Ab- 
 sah)in (I lid AeliUopliel, means Thomas 
 Thynne, of Longlcate Hall, a friend of 
 the Duke of Monmouth. Thyune was 
 
 assassinated in his carriage, iu Pall Mall, 
 by ruffians hired by Count Kouiugsmark. 
 Ihe cause of the murder was jealousy, 
 lioth Mr. Thynne and the count were 
 in love with Lady Elizal)eth Percy, the 
 widow of the Earl of Ogle. Her friends 
 contracted her to the rich commoner, 
 but before the match was consummated 
 Mr. Thynne was murdered. Within 
 three months the lady married the Duke 
 of Somerset. [See MoiiUN.) 
 
 Issaehar\s ears. Ass's cars. The allu- 
 sion is to Gen. xlix. 14 : " Issachar is a 
 strong ass crouching down between two 
 burdens." 
 
 " Is't iinssililr lliat Mill, whnsc ears 
 Are of llie irihe nf Issarliar's . . . 
 Should \el he deaf ai-'aiiisl a nose 
 .So nianiit: as the inihlic vo:e<' ? " 
 
 ,S. Hdllci-: JliKhbrtis lu Siihitin.ci. 
 
 Issland. The kingdom of Brunhild 
 is identified by Yon der Hagen with Ice- 
 land, l)ut Wackernagel says it means 
 Amazonian laTid, and derives it from 
 the Old German itis (a woman). {'I'na 
 Sibelniiaen Lied.) 
 
 Issue. The point of law in debate or 
 in question. "At issue," under dispute. 
 
 'lo join i.ssne. To take opposite views 
 of a question, or opposite sides iu a suit. 
 
 To Join issues. To leave a t-uit to the 
 decision of the court because the parties 
 interested cannot agree. 
 
 Isthmian Games. FpFom races 
 were styled "Our Jsthmian (James"' 
 by Lord Palmerston, iu allusion to the 
 famous games consisting of chariot 
 races, running, wrestling, boxing, etc., 
 held by the Greeks in the Isthmus of 
 Corinth every alternate spring, the fiict 
 and third of each Olympiad. 
 
 Isthmus of Suez. The covered 
 
 bridge of St. John's College, Cambridge, 
 is so cnlled, because it coimects the col- 
 lege with the grounds on the other side 
 of the river. Suez here is a pun on the 
 word siis (a liog), the Johnians being 
 nicknamed hoffs in University slang. 
 
 Italian Architecture. Tlie Roman 
 architect me revived in the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, and in vogue during that and the 
 two succeeding ones. It is divided into 
 three schools — the Florentine, Roman, 
 and Venetian. 
 
 Italian of Asia (The). Persian is so 
 called. Noted for its hnruiony, and its 
 adaptation to verse and the lighter class 
 of music. 
 
 Italic School of Philosophy. The 
 
 Pythagore'an, so called because Pythag'- 
 oras taught iu Italy.
 
 Italic 
 
 667 
 
 Ivan 
 
 Italic Version. A version of the 
 Bible from the Septuagiiit, which pre- 
 ceded the Vulgate, or the version by St. 
 Jerome. 
 
 Italics. The t}'pe first used by Aide 
 Mauuzio in priutiiig the Aldine class-ics. 
 It was called by him "Cursive" letters 
 (a running hand ; from Latin, ctirro, 
 to run). Virgil was the first author 
 printed in this type (1501). Francesco 
 of Bologna cast it. 
 
 'The icords italicised in the Bible have 
 no corresponding words in the original. 
 The translators sui)plied these words to 
 render the sense of the passage more 
 full and clear. 
 
 Italy. The champion of Italy was 
 St. Anthony. {Sccoi Cliampioiis of 
 Christendom, part i. 6.) 
 
 Itch. Mij fingers itch to lie at him. 
 This is a French locution, " Les poiiKjs 
 me demangeiit de le hattreJ''' 
 
 All itch for gold. A longing desire. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, giecaii, to itch.) 
 
 Itching Ears {To hare). To have a 
 longing desire to hear news, or some 
 novelty. 
 
 " The time will conic when tlipy will notendure 
 tliesoiinil doctrine ; Iiut. liavint; itching ears, will 
 licap to tbeniselves teacbers after their own lusts 
 [nr hmgings].'— :; Timothy iv. 3 (R.\'.). 
 
 Itching Palm (An). A love of 
 money. If the palm of your right hand 
 itches, it betokens that you are going to 
 receive money. So Melton tells us in 
 his Astrologaster, p. 23. 
 
 '■ Let me tell you, C'assius, you yourself 
 Are much condeuined to have an ilchint; jialm." 
 ^luikc.'^liciiie : Jitlit(.i Vic.'tar, iv. 4. 
 
 Itching of the Eye. If the right 
 eye itches it betokens laughter at hand ; 
 if the left eye, it betokens grief ; but 
 Shakespeare does not observe this dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 " 3Iy right eye itches now, so I shall see 
 My love." 1 lieocrituit, i. 37. 
 
 "Mine eyes do itch ; 
 Doth that foreliode weeping ? '" 
 
 Uliakestw'i'^ ■' Othello, iv. 3. 
 
 Itching of the Lips indicates you 
 are about to receive a kiss, or else kiss 
 somebody. 
 
 " If your lips itch, you shall kisse somebody." 
 —Mtltvn: Aetroluyiiftcr, p. 32. 
 
 Itching of the Nose indicates that 
 you are going to see a stranger. 
 
 " We sliall ha' guests to-day 
 
 . . . My nose itcbetb so." 
 
 llckker: Uuncst Wlinre. 
 
 Itching of the Thumb, according to 
 Shakespeare, betokens the approach of 
 evil. 
 
 " By the pricking of my thumbs, 
 Souiethiu^' evil this way comes." 
 
 iliicMh, iv. i. 
 
 Ithacen'sian Suitors (77(r). The 
 suitors of Penelope (4 syl.), wife of 
 Ulysses, King of Ithaca. While Ulysses 
 was absent, many suitors presented 
 themselves to Penelope, affirming that 
 Ulysses was certainly dead. PenelQpe 
 put them off, saying she would give a 
 definite answer when she had finished 
 the robe she was weaving for Laertes ; 
 but at night she unravelled all she had 
 woven during the day. At last Ulysses 
 returned and slew the suitors. 
 
 " All the ladies, each and each. 
 Like the Ithacensian suitors in old time. 
 Stared with great eyes, and laughed with alien 
 
 lips." Teunywn: The I'riiicisK.'w. 
 
 Ithu'riel. One of the angels com- 
 missioned by Gabriel to search for Satan, 
 who had effected his entrance into Para- 
 dise. 1 he other angel who accompanied 
 him was Zephou. (Ithuriel means " the 
 discovery of God.") 
 " Ithuriel and Zephon, with winged speed 
 Search through this garden; leave uusoarchcd 
 
 no nook; 
 But chiefly where those two fair creatures 
 
 hidge, 
 Now laid lerhaps asleep, secure of harm." 
 
 Milton : I'dnidint Lo t, boi.k iv. 7K8-:fll. 
 
 Ithu'riel's Spear. The spear of the 
 the angel Ithuriel, the slightest touch of 
 which exposed deceit. Hence, when 
 Satan squatted like a toad " close to the 
 ear of Eve," Ithuriel only touched the 
 creature with his spear, and it resumed 
 the form of Satan. 
 
 " Hira [i.e. Satan], thus intent Ithuriel with bi.i 
 spear 
 Touched lightly ; for no falsehood can endure 
 Touch of celestial temici-, but returns 
 Of force to its own likeness." 
 
 Milton : r<ir<iiliite Lost, iv. MO-si.X 
 
 Itin'erary {An). The notification 
 of the route followed by a traveller. 
 The Itinerary of Antoninus marks out 
 all the main roads of the Roman Empire, 
 and the stations of the Roman army. 
 The Itinerary of Peutinger {Tahala 
 Fentingeridiia) is also an invaluable 
 document of ancient geography, exe- 
 cuted A.D. 393, in the reign of Theodosius 
 the Great, and hence called sometimes 
 the Theodosian Table. 
 
 Its did not come into use till the 
 seventeenth century. Dean Trench 
 points out that Chatterton betrayed his 
 forgeries by the line " Life and its goods 
 I scorn," but the word its was not in 
 use till several centuries after the death 
 of the monk to whom the words are 
 ascribed. In 1548 it was used for its. 
 
 " The loue and deuotion towardes (xod also hath 
 it infancie, and hath it coiuniy ug fo.ward m 
 growth of age." (154s.) 
 
 I'van. The Russian foi-m of John, 
 called Jnan in Sjiain, (iiuraitni in 
 Italian,
 
 Ivanhoe 
 
 608 
 
 J.J. 
 
 Iran the Terrible. Ivan IV. of Russia, 
 infamous for his cruelties, but a man of 
 great energy. He first adopted the title 
 of czar. (1529, 1533-1581.) 
 
 I'vanhoe (3 syl.). Sir Wilfred, kuight 
 of Ivanhoe, is the disinherited son of 
 Cedric of llotherwood. He is tirst intro- 
 duced as a pilgrim, in which guise he 
 enters his father's hall, where he meets 
 Ilowe'na. He next appears as Des- 
 dichado, the " Disinherited Knight," 
 in the grand tournament where he van- 
 qiushes all opponents. At tlie inter- 
 cession of King Richard he is reconciled 
 to his father, and ultimately marries 
 Rowena, his father's ward. Rebecca, 
 the Jew's daughter, to whom he had 
 shown many acts of kindness, was in 
 love witli him. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott took the name from 
 the village of Ivanhoe, or Iviughoe, in 
 Bucks, a line in a old rhymed jjroverb 
 ■ — " Tring, King, and Ivanhoe" — having 
 attracted his attention. 
 
 Ivanovitch. A lazy, good-natured 
 per:-ou, the national impersonation of 
 the Russians as a people, as Julai Bull is 
 of the English, Brotlier Jonathan of the 
 Americans, Jean Crapaud of the Frencli, 
 and Vouain Michael of the Germans. 
 
 Ivories. Teeth ; dice. 
 
 To ahoic one'' is icories. To disjilay one's 
 teeth. 
 
 To wash one^s ivories, lo rinse the 
 mouth ; to diink. 
 
 Ivory Gate of Dreams (The). 
 Dreams which delude jiass through this 
 pate, those which come true pass through 
 the Gate of Horn. This faucy depends 
 upon two puns : ivory in Greek is eK- 
 phiis, and the verb efephairo means "to 
 cheat with empty hopes ; " the Greek 
 for horn is keras, and the verb Jcarai/oo 
 means " to accomplish." 
 
 " Sunt geniina; somni jicirtas : qnaruni altera fertiir 
 I'ornea, niia vens fai-ilis datiir exitus uinhris ; 
 Altera candenti perfccta lutiMis eli'i'liaiito ; 
 Sed falsa ad coelum iiiittunt iiisiiniDi.i inaufs." 
 Viryil: .Eficid, vi, vj4-si»7. 
 
 Ivory Palaces are not unfrequently 
 mentioned in the Old Testament. Thus 
 (Psalm xlv. 8), "All thy gamients 
 smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, out of 
 the ivory palaces ; " in 1 Kings xxii. 39 
 we read that Ahab built ' ' an ivory 
 house;" and in Amos iii. 15 we read, 
 " I will smite the winter-house with the 
 summer-house, and the houses of ivory." 
 Lady Mary Wortley Montague, in her 
 letters, sj^eaks of the ivory fittings of 
 the harem of the Kahya's palace at 
 Adrianople, She says, "Its winter 
 
 apartments are wainscotted with inlaid 
 work of mother-of-pearl and ivory of 
 different colours " (vol. ii. p. lGl-162). 
 
 "Tbe ceilings of tUo Eastern lien ses are (if 
 mosaic work, and for the most part of ivory, 
 like tliose superl) Talaar of Persia."— «. Joliit 
 Chardin. 
 
 Ivory Shoulder. Demeter ate the 
 shoulder of Pelops, served up by Tan- 
 taios ; f o when the gods restored the 
 body to life, Demeter supplied the 
 lacking shoulder with one of ivory. 
 
 '■Not I'c'lops' sliMiildcr whiter than her liamls." 
 ir. llruiine: nritaiiiiiiCs Pii^tiirah, ii.3. 
 
 Ivy (Old English, ijit/). Dedicated to 
 Bacchus from the notion that it is a 
 preventive of drtmkenness. But whether 
 the Dionysian ivy is the same plant as 
 that which we call in/ is doubtful, as it 
 was famous for its golden berries, and 
 was termed chri/so-carpos. 
 
 Ivy (in Christian art). Symbol of 
 everlasting life, from its remaining con- 
 tinually green. An ivy wreath was the 
 prize of the Isth'raian games, till it was 
 superseded by a pine garland. The 
 plant was sacred to Bacchus and Osi'ris. 
 
 Ivy Bush. Like an owl in an ivy- 
 bush. Having a sapient, vacant look, as 
 some persons have when in their cups ; 
 having a stupid vacant stare. Owls are 
 proverbial for their judge-like solemnity, 
 and ivy is the f avoui-ite plant of Bacchus. 
 Gray, in his Elecjy, refers to the Owl 
 and the Ivy. 
 
 "From yonder ivy-mantled tower 
 The mopine owl doth to the moon complain 
 Of such as, wandering near her secret bower, 
 Molest her aucieut solitary reign." 
 
 Stanzas. 
 
 Ivy Lane (London). So called from 
 the houses of the prebendaries of St. 
 Paul, overgrown with ivy, which once 
 stood there. 
 
 Ixi'on. A king of the LapitliEE, 
 liound to a revolving wheel of fire in 
 the Infernal regions, for his impious 
 presumption in trying to imitate the 
 thunder of heaven. {Greek mi/thoIofi>/.) 
 
 V The treadmill is sometimes called 
 "Ixion's Wheel." 
 
 J. (In Punch). The signature of 
 Douglas Jerrold, who first contributed 
 to No. 9 of the series. 
 
 J. J. (In Hogarth's Gin Lane, writ- 
 ten on a gibbet), is intended for Sir 
 Joseph Jekyll, obnoxious for his bill fof 
 increasing the dutj^ on giu,
 
 Jaafer 
 
 ^69 
 
 Jack 
 
 Jaafer. At the battle of Muta, Jaafer 
 carried the sacred banner of "the Pro- 
 phet." One hand being lopped off, he 
 held it with the other ; the other being 
 struck off. he embraced it with his two 
 stumps ; his head being cleft in twain, 
 he flung himself on the banner staff, and 
 the banner was detained thus till Ab- 
 dallah seized it and handed it to Khaled. 
 A similar tale is told of Cyuaeglros {q.v.). 
 
 Ja'chin. The parish clerk in Crabbe's 
 Boroiii/h. He appropriated the sacra- 
 mental money, and died disgi'aced. 
 
 Jachin. {_Sce BoAZ.) 
 
 Jack. 
 
 I. Applied to men, but always de- 
 preciatingly. (.SVcToM.) 
 
 (1) Jack Adams. A fool. 
 
 (2) Jack-a-datuhj {q.v.). 
 
 (3) Jack-a-drcaiHS. A man of inaction, 
 a mere dreamer. 
 
 (4) Jack-a-dro(/ncs. A good-natured, 
 lazy fool. (Dutch, druilcn, to be listless ; 
 our drawl.) 
 
 (5) Jack-a-Lent. A half -starved, sheep- 
 ish booby. Shakespeare says : ' ' You 
 little Jack-a-lent, have you been true to 
 us?" {Merry Wives of IVlndsor, ni. 'i.) 
 
 A kind of Aunt Sally which was 
 thrown at in Lent. (See Cleveland's 
 Fuems [1660], p. 64.) 
 
 (6) Jack-a-napes (q.v.). 
 
 (7) Jack-at-a-phu'/i. One who lends 
 a hand in an emergency ; an itinerant 
 clergyman who has no cure, but ottici- 
 ates for a fee in any church where his 
 assistance is required. 
 
 (8) Jack Brag. (See Beao.) 
 
 (9) Jack Fool. More generally, Tom 
 "Fool {q.v.). 
 
 (10) Jack Ketch {q.v.). 
 
 (11) Jack-pudding {q.v.). 
 
 (12) Jack-sancc. An insolent sauce- 
 box, "the worst Jack of the pack." 
 Fluellen says one who challenges another 
 and refuses to fight is a "Jack-sauce." 
 {Hoiry v., iv. 7.) 
 
 (13) Jack -snip. A botching tailor. 
 
 (14) Jack-slave. "Every Jack-slave 
 hath his belly full of fighting." {Shake- 
 speare : Cymbeltne, ii. 1.) 
 
 (15) Jack-sprat {q.v.). 
 
 (16) Jack-straw. A peasant rebel. 
 
 (17) Jack-tar {q.v.). 
 
 (18) Jack-in-office. A conceited official, 
 or upstart, who presumes on his official 
 appointment to give himself airs. 
 
 (19) Jack-in-tlie-greei). A chimney- 
 sweep boy in the midst of boughs, on 
 May Day. 
 
 (20) Jack-in-thc-xvaler. An attendant 
 at the waterman's stairs, etc., willing to 
 
 wet his feet, if needs be, for a " few 
 coppers." 
 
 (21) Jack-of -all-trades. One who can 
 turn his hand to anything, but excels in 
 nothing. 
 
 (22) Jack-of-both-sides. One who tries 
 to favour two antagonistic parties, either 
 from fear or for profit. 
 
 (23) Jack-oHt-of-ojfice. " But long I 
 will not be Jack-out-of-office." {Shake- 
 speare : 1 Henry VI., i. 1.) 
 
 (24) Cheap Jack. {See Cheap.) 
 
 (25) Jack tcill never be a gentleman, 
 A mere parvenu will never be hke a 
 well-bred gentleman. 
 
 (26) Every man-Jack of them. All 
 without exception, even the most in- 
 significant. 
 
 (27) licmemhcr poor Jack. Throw a 
 copper to the boys paddling about the 
 jetty or pier, or perfonning tricks under 
 the hope of getting a small bounty. 
 
 II. Applied to boys who act the 
 
 PAET OF MEN. 
 
 (1) Jack Frost. Frost personified as 
 a mischievous boy. 
 
 (2) Jack Sprat. Who bears the same 
 relation to a man as a sprat does to a 
 mackerel or herring. 
 
 (3) Jack and Jill (nursery rhyme). 
 Jill or Gill is a contraction of Julienne 
 or Gillian, a common Norman name. 
 (Sec Jack, VII.) 
 
 (4) Jack and the Bean -stalk {q.v.). 
 
 (5) Jack and the Fiddler {q.v.). 
 
 (6) Jack of cards. The Knave or boy 
 of the king and queen of the same suit. 
 
 (7) Jack the Gia)>t-k>llcr {q.v.). 
 
 (8) Glymjack. A link boy who carries 
 aglym. {Gevman, gli)i/mcn.) {Sec Gi.i'K.) 
 
 (9) Little Jack Horner. {See Jace 
 
 HOEXEE.) 
 
 (10) The house that Jack built (nui'sery 
 tale). 
 
 III. Applied to the males oe ix- 
 FEEiOE animals : as — 
 
 Jack-ass, Jack-baker (a kind of owl\ 
 Jack or dog fox, Jack-hare, Jack-hern, 
 Jack-rat, Jack-shark, Jack-snipe ; a 
 young pike is called a Jack, so also wera 
 the male biixls used in falconry. 
 
 IV. Applied to insteuments which 
 supply the place of or represent inferior 
 men or boys : — 
 
 (1) A jack. Used instead of a turn- 
 spit boy, generally called Jack. 
 
 (2) A jack. Used for lifting heavy 
 weights. 
 
 (3) Jack. The figure outside old 
 public clocks made to strike the bell. 
 
 " strike like Jack o' tbe clock-liouse, never but 
 in seasun."— S()C<d« ; Floatimj Island,
 
 Jack 
 
 670 
 
 Jack 
 
 (4) Jack-roJI. The C3'lincler round 
 ■which the rope of a well coils. 
 
 (5) Jiuk-in-the-baskct. The cap or 
 basket on the top of a pole to indicate 
 the place of a sandbank at sea, etc. 
 
 (G) J«ck-iiif/u'-l)o.r. A toy consistinfr 
 of a box out of which, when the lid is 
 raised, a figure springs. 
 
 (7) B(jot-jack. An instrument for 
 drawing off boots, which used to be 
 done by inferior servants. 
 
 (8) Bottlc-JM-k. A machine for turn- 
 ing the roast instead of a turnspit. 
 
 (9) Lifiinff-jack. A machine for lift- 
 ing the axle-tree of a carriage when the 
 wheels are cleaned. 
 
 (10) lloasiinii-jnck. {See Boilh'-Jatk,8.) 
 
 (11) Smoke-jack. An apparatus in a 
 ehiiiine)'-iiue for turning a spit. It is 
 made to revolve by the upward current 
 of smoke and air. 
 
 (12) Jack-chain. A small chain for 
 turning the sjiit of a smoke-jack. 
 
 y. Applied to inteeige APvTicLrs 
 ■wliich bear the same relation to the 
 thing imitated as Jack does to a geutle- 
 :nan. 
 
 (I) Jack. A rough stool or wooden 
 horse for sawing tindier on. 
 
 {'!) Jack. A small drinking vessel 
 made of waxed leather. 
 
 "Bixly of inc. I iim ilry still ; Rive me the jack, 
 hf)y."—Ileauniont and t'lHcUvr: Bloudy liiutlier, ji.v. 
 
 (3) Jack. Inferior kind of armour. 
 {See Jack, No. VIII.) 
 
 (4) A Jack and a half-jack. Counters 
 resembling a sovereign and a half- 
 sovereign. Used at gaming-tables to 
 make up a show of wealth. 
 
 (o) Jack-block. A block attached to 
 the topgallant-tie of a ship. 
 
 (C) Jack-lioofs. Cumbrous boots of 
 tough, thick leather worn by fishermen. 
 Jacks or armour for the legs. 
 
 (7) Jack-pan. A vessel used bj' bar- 
 bers for heating water for their cus- 
 tomers. 
 
 (8) Jack-plane. A menial plane to do 
 the rough work for finer instruments. 
 
 (9) Jack-rafter. A rafter in a hipped 
 roof, shorter than a full-sized one. 
 
 (10) Jack-rib. An inferior rib in an 
 arch, being shorter than the rest. 
 
 (II) Jack-screa-. A large screw rotat- 
 ing in a threaded socket, used for lifting 
 heavy weights. 
 
 (12) Jack-tinihers. Timbers in a build- 
 ing shorter than the rest. 
 
 (13) Jack-toirel. A coarse, long towel 
 hung on a roller, for the servants' use. 
 
 (14) Jack of Dover {q.r.). 
 (lo) Jacket {qv.). 
 
 (16) Blackjack. A huge driiiking 
 vessel. A Frenchman speaking of it 
 says, "The English drink cut of their 
 boots." {Ilci/nooil.) 
 
 VI. A TERM OF CONTEMPT. 
 
 (1) Jack-a-lantern or Jack-o^Jantcrn, 
 the fool tire {ignis fataas). 
 
 (2) Jack-ass. An unmitigated fool. 
 
 (3) Jack-ttt-hoivls. Ihe butt of all 
 the players. 
 
 {\) Jack-daw. A prating nuisance. 
 (•i) Jack Drnni's entcrtatnniott ('/.>'.). 
 (()) Jackei/. A monkey. 
 
 (7) Skip-jack. A toy. an ujistai t. 
 
 (8) The blackjack, the tuniip-llv. 
 
 (9) The i/ellou- jack. The yellt.w fi'vcr. 
 
 VII. Used in peovkebial piieases. 
 
 U A good Jack makes a good Jill. A 
 good husband makes a good wife, a good 
 master makes a good servant. Jack, a 
 generic name for man, liu.sband, or 
 master ; and Gill or Jill, liis wife or 
 female servant. 
 
 Ererij Jack shall hare his Jill. Every 
 man may find a wife if he likes ; or 
 rather, every countrj' rustic shall find a 
 lass to be his mate. 
 
 " .lark sliall have hU .lill, 
 NoiiKht shall t'" ill ; 
 Tlip man shall have his male atfaiii, and all ^hall 
 If well." 
 t'lKii.iKiieiire : Mklsiiinn:er Xiiilit's L'retnu, iii. "J. 
 
 To play the Jack. To jilaj' the rogue 
 or knave ; to deceive or lead astraj' likt i 
 Jack-o'-lantern, or ignis J'atans. 
 
 " your fairy, which yon say is a harmh-ss 
 
 fairy, has dune liitle better than jdayed the Jack 
 Mitli US."— .S7/(i/.('.sj.«i)e; Teiiii>e>it,\\.\. 
 
 To be upon their jacks. To have tlie 
 advantage over one. The reference is 
 to the coat of mail quilted with stout 
 leather, more recently called a jerkin. 
 
 VIII. Jack. Armour consisting of a 
 leather siircoat worn over the hauberk, 
 from the fourteenth to the seventeenth 
 century, both inclusive. It was formetl 
 by overlapping pieces of steel fastened 
 by one edge upon canvas, coated over 
 with cloth or velvet. In short, it was 
 a surcoat padded with metal to make it 
 sword-proof. These jazerines were 
 worn by the peasantry of the Engli-sh 
 borders wiien they journeyed from 
 place to place, and in their skirmi.shes 
 with moss-troopers. 
 
 " .lackes quilted and covered over with leathtr, 
 fustian, or can\as, over tliicke ].|ates of iron that 
 are so>ved to the same."— ii/y .- EiipUiies. 
 
 % Colonel Jack. The hero of Defoe's 
 novel so called. He is a thief who goes 
 to Virginia, and becomes the owner of 
 vast plantations and a family of slaves.
 
 Jack-a-iDandy 
 
 G71 
 
 Jack o' the Bowl 
 
 Jack-a-Dandy. A term of endear- 
 meut for a smart, bright little fellow ; a 
 Jenuny Jessamy. 
 
 " Smart slie is, and liaiidv. O 1 
 Sweet as sutfai-caiidy, () ! . . . 
 Aud I'm ber Jack-a-da!idy, () ! " 
 
 Jack - CI - (hnuhj. Slang for brandy. 
 
 Dandy rhymes with brandy. {See CiHTY. ) 
 
 V In Ireland " dandy " means 
 
 whisky ; but whisky = eau de vie ; and 
 
 eau de vie is brandy. 
 
 " Dimidium cyatlii vero ainid Mctlirnp >l'ta los 
 Ht-riieniicns dicitur D.iiidy. "— /J/'H^icoot/s il,uja- 
 ziiie, Jl.iy, l!<i(« (Father Turn and the I'oiie). 
 
 Jack-a-Lantern (A). A Will-o'- 
 the-wis]!, au ujiiis fatiiiis. 
 
 Jack-a-napes or Jackanapes = 
 
 Jack of apo.s. An impertinent, vulgar 
 prig. (.Vr jEiNNOT.) 
 
 More likely, it is Jdl: and npr, 
 formed on the model of Jack-ass, a 
 stupid fool. 
 
 •• 1 will to>r'.i a s.-iirvy jackanape priest tn 
 liio Idle iir iiiaki'."— .S/Ki/.fx/xiire.- ilrrnj Wives nf 
 Wiiiii^.u-. i. \. 
 
 Jack-Amend-All. One of tlie nick- 
 names given to Jack Cade the rebel, 
 who promised to remedy all abuses. 
 
 Jack Brag. (.SV,' Brag.) 
 
 Jack Drum's Entertainment. A 
 
 bt>ating. (■V'l John Drum's, etc) 
 
 Jack Horner. For solution see 
 Nittes and Qiiertcx, xvi. loG; xvii. 8J. 
 In Latin alcaics, thus : 
 
 " Si'den-i J.dianiK's parvus In ancriilo 
 H.irnariis edit cnistula Christniica ; 
 Et dixit, lit pviui.i I'MiMliciKit 
 Follice, •y\iani sinri <>.'.i sin vis in fans !'" 
 The Uneulii IlcraUi, Jan. 13, lfi3i. 
 
 Jack Ketsh. Although this looks 
 very much like a sobriquet, there seems 
 no sufficient evidence to believe it to be 
 otherwise than a real proper name. We 
 are told that the name Jack was applied 
 to hangmen from Kichard Jaqiiett, to 
 ■whom the manor of T3buru once be- 
 longed. {See HAXOilEX.) 
 
 Jack Padding. A buffoon who per- 
 forms pudding tricks, such as swallow- 
 ing a certain number of yards of black- 
 pud ling. S. Bishop observes that each 
 country names its stage buffoon fi-om its 
 favourite viands : The Dutchman calls 
 him I'lck -l-Iicn-Difje ; the Germans, ILans 
 ll'/ii-.st (John Sausage) ; the Freuchman, 
 Jea.-/ I'otaf/e : the Italian, Macaru'nl ; 
 and the English, Jcwk riiddinrj. 
 
 Jack Robinson. Before you can say 
 Jack lioh'ut.son. Immediately. Grose 
 says that the saying had its birth from 
 a veiy volatile gentleman of that name, 
 
 ■who used to pay flying visits to his 
 neighbours, and was no sooner an- 
 nounced than he was off again ; but the 
 following couplet does not confirm this 
 derivation : — 
 
 " A warke it ys as easie tn lie dnno 
 As tvs to save Jachr : rubi/s iiii." 
 Ah old Plan, '■iteU by Uulliietll : Arch. Dirt. 
 
 Jack Sprat. A dwarf ; as if spiuts 
 were dwarf mackerels. Children, by a 
 similar metaphor, are called t-mall frj'. 
 
 Jack Tar. A common sailor, whose 
 hands and clothes are tarred by the ship 
 tackling. 
 
 Jack and the Bean Stalk. A 
 
 nursery tale of Gennau invention. The 
 giant is All-Father, whoso three 
 treasures are (1) a liarp — i.e. the wind; 
 (2) bags full of treasures — i.e. the rain ; 
 and Qi) the red hen which laid golden 
 eggs — tliat is, the genial sun. Man 
 avails himself of these treasures and 
 becomes rich. 
 
 Jack of all Trades is Master of 
 None. In Freucli, '• 1'ottt utiiotr est )te 
 rien saroir.'' 
 
 Jack o' both Sides. A supernu- 
 merary who plays on both sides to make 
 up a pai'ty ; one wlio for j^rofit or policy 
 is quite colourless. 
 
 Jack o' the Clock. Tlie figure 
 which conies out to strike the liours on 
 the bell of a clock. A contraction of 
 Jaquemart {q.i'.). 
 
 " Kiiiii Richard. ■Well, liut wlial's o'clock ? 
 
 IliicLiiiyham. Upon the stroke of ten. 
 K. R. Well, let it strike. 
 
 /(. Wliy let it strike ? 
 K. R. Because that, like a jack, tbou kcep'st the 
 
 stroke 
 Betwixt thv liecrsins: and niv meditation." 
 Shatfsjnare: Richard lU., iv. L'. 
 
 Jack of Dover. A stockfish, " hake 
 salted and dried." The L.atin for a 
 hake is incrliicitts^ and lucius is a jack or 
 pike. Mer, of course, means the sea, 
 and Dove;-, tlie chief Cinque Port, is 
 used as a sj-nonym. Also refuse wine 
 collected into a bottle and sold for fresh 
 wine. " To rfo-orc)' again." (.S't'^Do^VEE.) 
 
 " Many a Jack of Dover hnstow sold 
 Tiiat hath been twvcs hot and Iwves cold." 
 Chancer: Vantcrbarii Talef. 
 
 Jack of Newbury. Jolm Winch- 
 comb, the greatest clothier of the world, 
 in the reign of Henry VIII. He kept 
 100 looms in his own house at Xewbury, 
 and equipped at his own expense 100 of 
 his men to aid the king against the 
 Scotch in Flodden Field. 
 
 Jack o' the Bo-wL Tlie most fa- 
 mous brownie or house-spirit of Switzer- 
 land ; so called from the custom of placing
 
 ^'ack Out of Office 
 
 6-/2 
 
 Jacobinfi 
 
 for him every night on the roof of the 
 cow-house a bowl of fresh sweet cream. 
 The contents of this bowl are sure to 
 disiii)i)car before nioruiug. 
 
 Jack Out of Office. One no longer 
 in office. 
 " I am left out : for nie notbins remain!". 
 Bui liifii.' 1 will iii>t 1.1" J«rk-iiiit-(>f-.)m<'i-." 
 
 .Sliiihei<iieiire : 1 llciinj I'/., i. I. 
 
 Jack the Giant-killer owed much 
 of liis suclcss to his four marvellous 
 possessions — an invisible coat, a cap of 
 wisdom, shoes of swiftness, and a resist- 
 less sword. Wlion he jiut on his coat no 
 eye could see him ; wlien he had his 
 shoes on no one could overtake him ; his 
 sword would cut through everything; 
 and when iiis cap was on he knew every- 
 thing ho re(iiiired to know. Yonge &iys 
 the story is bused on tlie Scandinavian 
 tale of Thor and Loki, while Masson 
 maintains it to be a nursery version of 
 the feats of Coriii'eus in Geoffrev' of 
 Monmoutlis marvellous history. I ap- 
 prehend that neither of these sugges- 
 tions will find many supporters. 
 
 V Military success dej)ends (1) on an 
 invisible coat, or secrecy, not letting the 
 foe know your ])lans ; (2) a mp of 
 wisdom, or wise counsel ; (15) shms of 
 swiftness, or attacking the foe before he 
 is })re[)ared ; and (4) a resistUss stcorcf, 
 or dauntless courage. 
 
 Jack the Ripper. An unknown 
 person wiio so called himself, and com- 
 mitted a senes of murdei-s in the East 
 End of London on common prostitutes. 
 
 The (Irst wni Ai'ril L'ml, Imxw : llii- n^xt was 
 Aii-'ust Till; llic third was Aii'-'usi .'ilsi : the 
 fiiiirtli was S.-i>lciiilier Mil ; tlie llflll wasScpiiMii- 
 bci- :tiitli. wIkmi iwi) wiimeii were immli'n'il ; ilie 
 Bixlli «as Xiiveilil.iM' !>tli ; the sovciitli was l)e- 
 ceiMlMT •-11, li, ill a liiiilili'i-'s janl ; tlie eit'lith was 
 .iLily 17tli, iHS'i. at WljitecMiai'el ; the iiiiilh Was 
 SepH'iiihtM- irth. 
 
 Jack and James. Jewish, Jacob; 
 Frencli, Jacijins, our " Jack," and 
 Jacqiiviiirs, our ''James." Jacques used 
 to be the commonest name of France, 
 hcncG the insurrection of the conunon 
 people was termed the insurrection of 
 the Jacques, or the Jucqucrie ; and a 
 rustic used to be called a Jacques Ion 
 hommc. The Scotch call Jack Juck. 
 
 Jackal. A toadv*. One who does 
 the dirty work of another. It was once 
 thought tliat the jackals hunted in 
 troops to provide the lion with pre}', 
 hence they were called the " lion's pro- 
 viders." Xo doubt the lion ■will at times 
 avail himself of the jackal's assistance 
 by appropriating prey started by these 
 "himters," but it would be folly to 
 
 suppose that the jackal acted on the 
 principle of los non vobis. {JSce Honey- 
 comb.) 
 
 Jacket. Tlie French jaqucttc, " little 
 jack," a translation of the German 
 Maiisehiie, a sloj) cut short. 
 
 Jacket. The skin of a potato. Pota- 
 toes brouglit to tiible unpeeled arc said 
 to he " with their jackets on." 
 
 'To dust o)ic^s jacket. {See DuST.) 
 
 Jackson. {See Stonkwali..) 
 
 Jacksonian Professor. The jiro- 
 fcssor of natural and experimental jihi- 
 Idsopliy in the I'nivcisity of Cambridge. 
 This ])i()f('ss(>ishi]» « as foiinded in ITS-l 
 by the Kcv. Hirhaid JarkMin. 
 
 Jacob the Scourge of Grammar. 
 
 Giles Jacob, master of iJomsey, in 
 Hampshire, brought up for an attorney. 
 A poetaster in the time of I^ojie. (See 
 Duiiciad, iii.) 
 
 Jacob's Ladder. A ladder seen by 
 the patriarch .lacub in a vision. It was 
 set on the earth, and reached to heaven, 
 and angels seemed to be ascending and 
 descending on it (Gen. .xxviii. VI). 
 Jacob is, on this account, a cant name 
 for a lailder. There is a pretty blue 
 flower so called. 
 
 Jacob's Staff. An instrument for 
 taking laights and distances. 
 " K«irli llii-ii asdaiiiii.' ijiiill, that I may write 
 As with a Jai-iih's Hlaft In take her heii-'lil." 
 C/<t¥/oiirf ; The llicutim.b In /.i/< Mifli;«ii. 
 
 Tlie Apostle James is usually repre- 
 sented with a staff. 
 
 "A? lie had iravidled many a Riininirr"s day 
 Thnmu'li boihiii.- winds of Anihie ami VliU ; 
 And in liis haiiil a .lai'nli'K staff tu suiy 
 
 ili-i we;iiv liini>s ii|Hin. " 
 S/K IIS, r : Fiieni (jiimir. honk i. canto vi. 3:;-3j. 
 
 Jacob's Stone. The stone inclosed 
 in the cfironation chair of Great Britain, 
 brought from Scone by Eilward I., and 
 said to be the stone on which the i)atri- 
 arch Jacob laid his head when he dreamt 
 about the ladder referred to above. 
 
 Tliis stone was originally used in 
 Ireland as a coronation stone. It was 
 called "Innisfail," or Stone of Destiny. 
 (6'ee CoEOXATiON Cuaih.) 
 
 Jacobins. The Dominicans were so 
 called in France from the " Kue St. 
 Jacques," Paris, where they fiist esta- 
 blished themselves in 1219. 
 
 Jacobins. A political club, originally 
 called the Club Breton, formed at Ver- 
 sailles in 17f<9. On their removal to 
 Paris, they met in the hall of an ex- 
 convent of Jacobms {see above), in the 
 Eue St. Honor^.
 
 Jacobites 
 
 673 
 
 Jamainbuxes 
 
 Jacobites (3 syl.). The partisans of 
 James II. (wheu William III. supei'seded 
 hiin), his sou, and gi'andson. 
 
 Jacobites, ni<'kiianied IJ'arinbig-panx. 
 It is said that Mary d'Este, the wife of 
 James II., never had a living child, but 
 that on one occasion a child, introduced 
 to her bedroom in a warming-pan, was 
 substituted for her dead infant. This 
 "warming-pan cliild" was the Pre- 
 tender. Such is the tale, the truth is 
 quite another matter. 
 
 Jiic'iJiitefi. An Oi-icntal sect of 
 Monoph'j-sites, so called from Jaco'bus 
 Baradams (Jacoub Al-Baradei), Bishop 
 of Edes.sa, in Syria, in the sixth century. 
 
 Jaco'bus. A gold coin of the value 
 of 'I'm., struck in the reign of James I. 
 
 Jacquard Loom. So called from 
 Jos. Marie Jac(iuard, of Lyons, who in- 
 vented tliis ingenious device for weaving 
 figures upon silks and muslins. (17o2- 
 1S31.) 
 
 JacQUCline (of Paris). A bell 
 weighing l.'),OuO lbs., cast iu 1 100. 
 
 Jacquerie {L(i). An insurrection 
 of tlie peasantry of France in l.'JoS, ex- 
 cited by the oppressions of tlie privileged 
 classes and Charles the Bad of Navari-e, 
 while King Jean was a prisoner iu Eng- 
 land. When the peasants complained, 
 and asked who was to redress their 
 grievances, they were told in scoru 
 jitc'incs Bo)iliiii)iine (Johnny Goodman), 
 i.e. no one. At length a leader appeared, 
 called himself Jacques Bonhomnie, and 
 declared war to the death against every 
 gentleman iu France. In six weeks 
 some 12,000 of these insurgents were 
 cut down, and amongst their number 
 was the leader himself. (!Sce Jack, 
 
 jACQXn'-.S.) 
 
 Jacques. A generic name for the 
 poor artisan class in France. Jaques is 
 a sort of cotton waistcoat without sleeves. 
 " Janiiies, il me fant trouliler ton somnie ; 
 Dans le villaire, nn (.'I'os liuissier 
 UOUe et cduit, suivi dn messier : 
 C'est iiiiur l'iiiii>rit. las! nmn iiau\ re homnic. 
 -l,eve-ti>i, .Jaouies, leve-tiii, 
 Vuici veuir I'iiuiss^er du vcii." 
 
 lie'ranyer (1831). 
 
 Pamre Jacques. Said to a maiden 
 when she is lackadaisical (French). 
 Marie Antoinette had at the Little 
 Trianon an artificial Swiss village, which 
 she called her '■^ I'etUe Suisse,'''' and 
 actually sent to Switzerland for a 
 peasant girl to assist in milking the 
 cows. The Swiss maiden was one day 
 overheard sighing for '■'■ I'durre Jacques,'^ 
 and the queen sent for the distant 
 swain, and had the lovers married. To 
 
 43 
 
 finish this absurd romance, the Mar- 
 chioness de Travanet WTote an ode on 
 the event, which was for a time wonder- 
 fully popular. 
 
 " Panvre Jacques, qiiand j'etais pres de toi, 
 Je ne sentais i>as ma misere : 
 JIais a present que til vis loin de mni, 
 Je manriue de tout sur la terre." 
 
 Marquise tie Travaitet. 
 
 Jacques Bonhomme. A sort of 
 fairy gooil-liiek, who is to redress all 
 wrongs, anil make all the poor wealthy. 
 The French peasants are so called some- 
 times, and then the phrase is like our 
 term of sneering jiity, " my good fellow," 
 or "'my line fellow." (.SVr JACQUES.) 
 
 Jactitation of Marriage. A fal.so 
 assertion l)y a ])erson of being married 
 to another. This is actionable. 
 
 Jade or T/ie iJiviiie Stm/e. Worn by 
 the Indians as an amulet to jjreserve 
 them from the bite of venomous animals, 
 and to cure the gravel, cpileijsv, etc. 
 (7/,//.) ' 1 1 J. 
 
 '•The conversation was intersi'ersed by con- 
 tinual cups of tea, drunk out of tlie nu)st iVnuii- 
 fiil Cliinese-ware, while the Amiiar's cup was of 
 a frncu yAile."—Iluiw,il(jt: Across Thibet, chuii. \. 
 p. ■S.-J. 
 
 Jade. A worthless horse. An old 
 woman (u.sed iu contempt). A young 
 woman (not necessarily contemptuous). 
 
 Jaf fier (3 syl.), in Venice Treserved, 
 a tragedy by Otway. He joins the con- 
 spiracy of Pierre against the Venetian 
 state, but communicates the secret to 
 his wife Bclvide'ra. Belvide'ra, being 
 the daughter of a senator, is naturally 
 anxious to save the life of Priu'li, her 
 father, and accordingly induces her hus- 
 band to disclose the plot, imder iiromise 
 of pardon to all the conspirators. The 
 plot being revealed, the senate con- 
 demned the conspirators to death ; 
 whereupon Jaffier stabbed Pierie to 
 prevent his being broken on the wheel, 
 and then stabbed himself. 
 
 Jagger. A gentleman; a sportsman. 
 (German, yff^«-, a sportsman.) 
 
 Jail-bird {A). One who has been in 
 jail as a pi'isoner. 
 
 "At this late period of Christianity we are 
 hrouBht up to abhor jail-liirds as we do toads." — 
 Beechrr : The Plyniouth Palpi.t, August 30tb. 1S7-J, 
 vol. ii. 557. 
 
 Jamambuxes [Soldiers of the round 
 valleij.'i']. Certain fanatics of Japan, who 
 roam about and pretend to hold converse 
 with the Devil. The}' scourge them- 
 selves severely, and sometimes refrain 
 from sleeping for several days, in order 
 to obtam the odour of sanctity. They 
 are employed by the people for the dis- 
 covery of articles stolen or lost.
 
 Jambon 
 
 C74 
 
 Jane 
 
 Jambon. A pun, so called from its 
 fancif 111 rcscmbl.iiice to a " bettcrave " 
 or jambon. The botanical uanic of the 
 root is nidoch'ut. 
 
 " Wliat Wdiild you do toinc.hri.'niTKl ? . . . Give 
 me fif ly Mows of ;i iiialiM<|iu\ sis your onicer ^iive 
 you l:isl week for xUMlin;.' Ii:s jiiisiliou ? "— Oiiic/rt ; 
 L'liiler Two J-lityg, eliai). \\i. 
 
 Jambusclia [Jaiii-fins-ni/i]. Adam's 
 piULt'iitor, atcoiding to the pre-Adani- 
 itos. Sometimes called Boan, and some- 
 time Zagtith. 
 
 James. A sovereign ; a jacobus. A 
 gold coin circulated in the reigu of 
 Jaines I. Worth about 'ios. 
 
 James {St.). Patron saint of Spain. 
 At I'adron, near Comiiostella, they used 
 to show a huge stone as the veritable 
 boat in which the apostle sailed from 
 Palestine. His body was discovered in 
 840 by divine revelation to liishnji Tlieo- 
 domi'rus, and King Alfonso built a 
 church at Compostella for its shrine. 
 According to another legend, it was the 
 rr/icn of yt. James that were miraculously 
 conveyed to Spain in a ship of marble 
 from Jerusalem, where he was bishop. 
 A kniglit saw the ship sailing into port, 
 liis horse took friglit, and plunged with 
 its lidcr into the sea. The knight 
 saved himself by "boarding the marble 
 vessel," but his clothes were found to be 
 entirely covered with scallop shells. 
 
 V In tlio AclitSaintoriiiii (xi. ."7, etc.) 
 wc are told, that in C'lavigium scarcely 
 a stoiu> is fi)uiul which dois nut bear the 
 form of a shell ; and if these stducs are 
 broken up, the broken bits have also the 
 forms of shells. 
 
 In Christian art this f^aiut lias some- 
 times the sword by which he was bc- 
 hciidcd, and sometimes he is attired as 
 a pilgrim, with liis cloak covered with 
 shells. (.SVr a/iorc.) 
 
 St. Jiiiiics {the Zr.«.v). His attribute is 
 a fuller's club, in allusion to the instru- 
 ment by which he was put to death, 
 after having been precipitated from the 
 summit of the temple. 
 
 St. Jaiiitx^s College. So called from 
 James I., who granted a charter to a 
 college founded at Chelsea by Dr. Sut- 
 clilfe. Dean of Exeter, to maintain 
 priests to answer all adversaries of re- 
 ligion. Laud nicknamed it " Contro- 
 versy College." The college was a 
 failure, and Charles II. gave the site to 
 the Eoyal Societj', who sold it for the 
 purpose of erecting the Eoyal Hospital 
 for Old Soldiers, which now exists. 
 
 St. Janus' s Bay. July 2.7th, the day 
 cf his martyrdom. 
 
 The Court of St. Jaiiien or St. Jmiiex'g. 
 Tlie British court. Queen Victoiia liolds 
 her drawing-rooms and levees in St, 
 James's Palace, Pull Mall ; but Queen 
 Ainie, the four Georges, and William IV. 
 resided in this palace. 
 
 Jamio or Jcmmio Duffs. Weepers. 
 So eallfd frum a noted Scotchman of 
 the l.Stli century, who lived at Edin- 
 burgh. His great passion, like that 
 of "Old Q.," was to follow funerals 
 in mourning costume, with oifliodox 
 weepers. I myself know a gentleman 
 of a similar morbid )iassion. (Juiif : 
 Or'ujuial I'ortvatts, i. 7, and ii. 0, 17, Do.) 
 
 Jamshid'. King of the Genii, famous 
 for a golden cup full of the elixir of life. 
 This cui), hidden by the genii, was dis- 
 covered while digging the foundations 
 of Persej/olis. 
 
 '■ I know too where tlie ceiiii liid 
 Tlie jewelled cuii of ilieir kinu* Jninsliid, 
 With life's elixir cinivkliiiu' hi»fli." 
 
 'J'linmiis .MiKiir : I'linnliKe <tii(l the Ptri. 
 
 Jane. A Genoese lialfpeun)', a cor- 
 ruijtiou of JanucnsLs or Geuoensis. 
 
 " JVcnnse I roiild Mot pivo her mnny n jnne." 
 Upoixer : Faeiic (Jiuciie, hook iii. canto \ ji. 5S. ' 
 
 Jfoic. A most ill-starred name for 
 rulers. To give a few examples : /.ad;/ 
 Jane Grei/, beheaded by Mary for 
 treason ; Jane Seiimoiir ; Jane or Joan 
 Beaufort, wife of James I. of Scotland, 
 who was infamously and savagely mur- 
 dered ; Jane of IiHr<ju)idii, wife of 
 I'liilijipe Ic J.onrj^ who imjirisoncd her 
 for .adidtery in 1314 ; Jane of Flanders, 
 who was in ceaseless war with Jane of 
 I'eiithierre after the captivity of their 
 husbands. This contest is known in 
 history as " the wars of the two 
 Janes" (fourteenth century). Jane of 
 France (de Valois), wife of Louis XII., 
 who repudiated her for being ugly ; Jane 
 d'Albret, mother of Henri IV. of France. 
 Being invited to Paris to attend the 
 espousals of her son with Margaret de 
 Valo'is, .she was poisoned by Catharine 
 de' Medicis (lo7"2); Jane, Conntess of 
 Jfai/Kialt, daughter of Baldwin, and 
 wife of Fernand of Portugal, who was 
 made prisoner at the battle of Bouviues 
 in rJ14. She refused to ransom him, 
 and is thought to have poisoned her 
 father; Jane Ilenriqacz, wife of John II. 
 of Navarre, stiiTcd up war between her 
 husband and his son Carlos by a former 
 marriage, and ultimately made away 
 with the youug prince, a proceeding 
 which caused a revolt of the Cata- 
 loniaus (14G2) ; Jane the Imbecile of 
 Castile, who lost her reason from grief 
 at the neglect of her liusband, Philip the
 
 Jane Eyre 
 
 67; 
 
 Jarnac 
 
 Handsome, Archduke of Austria ; Juttc I. 
 of Xap'es married Audrew of Hungary, 
 ■whom she caused to be murdered, and 
 then married the assassin. Her reign 
 was most disastrous. La Harjie has a 
 tragedy entitled Jeanne dc Kap/es ; 
 Jane II. of Nap'ea, a woman of most 
 scandalous character, guilty of every 
 sort of wantonness. She married James, 
 Count of March, who put to death her 
 lovers and imprisoned Jane for two years. 
 At her release James tied to France, 
 when Jane had a ituison with Caraccioli, 
 whom she murdered. Joan, the pope, 
 if indeed such a person ever existed. 
 Jeanne la TiiceUc [Joan of Arc] cannot 
 he called a ruler, hut her lot was not 
 more happy ; etc. etc. {See John Two.) 
 
 Jane Eyre. The heroine in a novel 
 of the same name, by Currer Bell {'j.r.). 
 
 Janissaries or Janizaries, a cele- 
 brated militia of tlie Ottoman Eni])ire, 
 raised by Orchau in 1326, and called the 
 lV«/7i-<,sr//f;7 (new corps). It was blessed 
 by Hadji Bektash, a saint, who cut oft 
 a sleeve of his fur mantle and gave it to 
 the captain. The ca})tain put the sleeve 
 on his head, and from this circumstance 
 arose the fur cap worn by these foot- 
 gu:irds. In 182(i, having become too for- 
 midable to the state, they were abolished. 
 '•TlitML' were Uvi) classes of .lanizarics, one le- 
 sulavl.v of^'aiiised . . . ami tlie ullier coiniKising 
 an ineiiular militia."— CViiimi/t/s ; Jiiicyclot'cudiu, 
 
 Mil. Vi. p. -J'ii. 
 
 Jan'ncs and Jam'brcs. The two 
 
 magirians of Pharaoh, who imitated 
 some of the mii'acles of Moses. The 
 Janncs and Jambres who " withstood 
 Moses," mentioned by St. Paul (2 Tim. 
 iii. 8, 9), are supposed to be the same. 
 The paraphrast Jonathan says they were 
 the sons of Balaam. 
 
 Jan'scnists. A sect of Christians, 
 who held the doctrines of Cornelius 
 Jansen, Bishop of Yprcs, in France. 
 Jansen professed to have formulated the 
 teaching of Augustine, a.d. 1640, which 
 resembled Calvinism in many respects. 
 He taught the doctrines of ''irresistible 
 grace," "original sin," and the "utter 
 helplessness of the natural man to turn 
 to God." Louis XIV. took part against 
 them, and they were put down by Pope 
 Clement XL, in 170o, in the famous bull 
 called L'nigen'itus ('y.r.). 
 
 Janua'rius {Sf^. A martyr in 30o. 
 Two vials of his 1)!ood are preserved in 
 the cathedral at Xaples, and every year 
 on September 19 (the day of liis martyr- 
 dom) the blood liquefies. 
 
 Order oj' St, Januarius (patron saiut 
 
 of Naples), instituted in 1738 by Infantii 
 don Carlos. 
 
 Jan uary. The mouth dedicated by 
 the Komans to Janus (q.i.). Janus had 
 two faces, and January could look back 
 to the 3-ear past, and forwards to the 
 current year. 
 
 Ja'nus. The temple of peace, in 
 Kome. The doors were thrown open in 
 times of war and closed in times of 
 peace. Some think the two faces of this 
 mythical deity allegorise Xoah and his 
 sons, who look back on the world before 
 tlic Flood, and forwards on the world 
 after the deluge had abated. This idea 
 will do very well in poetry. 
 
 "Slavery was tlie liiiiire «n wliicli tlie (rates of 
 tlie temple nf .lauus tiirued" (in tbc Aiuericau 
 wai ).— Tlie Time*. 
 
 Japanese (3 syl.). The language of 
 Japan, a native of Japan, anything per- 
 taining thereto. 
 
 Japheth's Stone. According to tra- 
 dition, Xoah gave Japheth a stone 
 which the Turks call yiiid'itaseh and 
 nenkjede. Whoever possesses tliis stone 
 has the power of bringing rain from 
 heaven at will. It was for a long tune 
 ineserved by the Moguls. 
 
 Japhet'idie. The supposed posterity 
 of Japheth, son of Noah. The Aryan 
 family is said to belong to this race. 
 
 "Tlie Iiidii-Eiiroi.ean family of laiih'iiases as 
 kiiiiwii by variiiiis (Icsit.'iialiiiiis. Siiii.e style it 
 jKrlittic.ns'if it ai'i ci'iaiiied tu the (lesceiidant.s 
 of the patrian-li .laplietli ; as tlie Si'iuitir toii^'iics 
 [tilipi-riaiii] to the iicsceiidaiits of Shcm.'"— It'/iit- 
 iitii : Liiuijmi'jis^Ltc, leotuic v. p. pji'. 
 
 Jaquemart. The automaton of a 
 clock, consisting of a man and woman 
 who strike the hours on a bell. So called 
 from Jean Jaqucmart of Dijon, a clock- 
 maker, who devised this piece of me- 
 chanism. 
 
 Jaques (1 syl.). A morose cynical 
 moraliser in Shakespeare's As You Like 
 It. It is much tlisputed whether the 
 word is a monosyllable or not. Charles 
 Lamb makes it a dissyllable — "Where 
 JaquOs fed in solitary vein;" but Sir 
 "Walter Scott uses it as a monosyllable — 
 " Whom humorous Jaques with envy 
 vicAved." 
 
 Jailonan. An Abram-man {<].r.). 
 Jark means a seal, whence also a safe- 
 conduct. Abram-men were licensed 
 beggars, who had the "seal" or licence 
 of the Bethlehem Hospital to beg. 
 
 Jarnac. Conp de Jarnae. A peculiar 
 stroke of the sword by which the oppo- 
 nent is ham- strung. The allusion is to
 
 Jarndyce 
 
 C7(1 
 
 Jeameg 
 
 the duel iDetweeii Jarnac and La Chk- 
 teigueraie, on July lOth, 1547, in the 
 presence of Henri II., wlieu Jarnuc dealt 
 his adversary such a blow, from which 
 he died. 
 
 Jarndyce r. Jarndyce. An in- 
 
 fermiuable Chanceiy suit in Dickens's 
 Jllrak Ildiise. The character of Jarn- 
 dj'ce is that of a kind-hearted, easy 
 fellow, wlio is half ashamed that his left 
 hand should know what his right hand 
 gives. 
 
 Jarvey. A hackney-coach driver. 
 Said to be a contraction of Geoffrey ; 
 and the reason wliy tliis name was 
 selected was because coachmen saj- to 
 their horses gce-o, and Ge-o' is a con- 
 traction of Geoffrey. Ballantiue fays, 
 that one Jarvis, a noted hackney -coach- 
 man who was hanged, was the original 
 Jarvey. 
 
 A J(/rrci/''s henjambu A coachman's 
 great-coat. (Sw Benjamin.) 
 
 Jarvie {BaiUie Kicol). A Glasgow 
 magistrate in Scott's Hub liuij. He is 
 petulant, conceited, purse-j roud, with- 
 out tact, and intensely prejudiced, but 
 sincere and kind-hearted. 
 
 Jaun'dice (2 syl.) A jaundiced etjc. 
 A prejudiced eye which sees "faults that 
 are not." It was a popular belief among 
 the Eomans that to the eye of a person 
 who had the jaundice everj'thing looked 
 of a yellow tinge. (French, jaiine, j-el- 
 low.) 
 
 " All Sfems infected tliat th' infected sry, 
 As all seems jellfW to the janndiccrt eye." 
 Pope: Eat'Oii on Criticism. 
 
 Javan [clai/']. Son of Japheth. In 
 most Eastern languages it is the collec- 
 tive name of the Greeks, aiid is to be so 
 understood in Isa. Ixvi. 19, and Ezek. 
 xxvii. 13. 
 
 In the Wo7-Id Before the Flood, by 
 James Montgomery, Javan is the hero. 
 On the day of his birth his father died, 
 and Javan remained in the ''patriarch's 
 glen" under his mother's care, till she 
 also died. Tlien lie resolved to see the 
 world, and sojourned for ten years 
 with the race of Cain, where he became 
 the disciple of Jubal, noted for his 
 musical talents. At the expiration of 
 that time he returned, penitent, to the 
 patriarcli's glen, where Zillah. daughter 
 of Enoch, "won the heart to Heaven 
 denied." The giants invaded the glen, 
 and carried off the little band captives. 
 Enoch reproved the giants, who would 
 have slain him in their fury, but they 
 could not find him, "for he walked with 
 
 God." As he ascended through the air 
 his mantle fell on Javan, who, " smiting 
 with it as he moved along," brought the 
 captives safely back to the glen again. 
 A temi^est broke forth of so fearful a 
 nature that the giant army fled in a 
 panic, and their king was slaiu by some 
 treacherous blow given by some un- 
 known hand. 
 
 Jav'anese (3 syl.). A native of Java, 
 anything pertaining to Java. 
 
 Javert. An officer of police, the 
 impersonation of inexorable law in Lcs 
 Jlliscrab/i's, by Victor Hugo. 
 
 Jaw. Words of complaint : wrang- 
 ling, abuse, jabber. ''To jaw," to 
 annoy with words, to jabber, wrangle, 
 or abuse. The French (juitdv and (juitiU-r 
 are used in the same niaunei-. 
 
 Hold your jaic. Hold your tongue or 
 jabber. 
 
 If'/uft are you jauing about? What 
 are you jabbering or wrangling about ? 
 
 A hnah-jaw nurd. A very long word, 
 or one liard to pronounce. 
 
 Ja-wab. The rcfu.«al of an offer of 
 marriage. Tlius when one lady saj's 
 to another that " Mr. A. B. has got Ids 
 jawab," she means that he made her 
 an offer of marriage, but was refused. 
 {Cakutta .s/aiir/.) 
 
 Jawbone (2 syl.). Credit, promises. 
 {Jaw, words or talk ; l/oii, good.) 
 
 Jay (A). A w antou . 
 
 "Tlii? jav (.f Italy .... liatli betrayed him.'"— 
 filiahi-fiWin-e: Vlhcllo, v. i. 
 
 Jay. A plunger ; one who spends his 
 money recklessly ; a simpleton. This is 
 simply the letter J, the initial letter of 
 Juggins, who, in 1887, made a fool of 
 himself by losses on the turf. 
 
 Ja'zey. A wig ; a coiTuption of Jer- 
 sey, and so called liecause tliey are made 
 of Jersey flax and fine wool. 
 
 Je Maintiendrai (/ viH maintain). 
 The motto of the House of Nassau. When 
 William III. came to England he re- 
 tained the motto, but added to it, "I 
 will maintain tlie lilicrtiea of llnyhtnd and 
 the Brott's/ant re//r/ioi/.'" 
 
 Je ne Sais Q,uoi. An indescribable 
 something; as "There was a Je ne snis 
 rjuoi about him which made us dislike 
 him at first sight." 
 
 Jeames (1 syl.). Any flunkey. Some- 
 times the Morniny Post is so called. 
 
 Thackeray wroite Jeames' s Jjiary (pub- 
 lished in B/'ine/i), of which Jeames de la 
 Pluche w-as the hero-
 
 Jean Crapaud 
 
 f,77 
 
 Jemmie Duffs 
 
 Jean Crapaud. A Frenchman. A 
 Frenchman is called both a toad and a 
 frog. (.SVe Ceapaud.) 
 
 Jean Farine [^.Tack Floxr]. A sort 
 of Scaramouch, generally very tall, and 
 representing a loutish boy dressed all in 
 white, the hair, face, and hands being 
 covered with flour. 
 
 "Jean Farine s'en fervient (dn manteaii irun 
 gentilljoniiii" (iascnn) iin bonnet ; et a le voir 
 lilancliastre. ii scMulile (lu'il soil desja eufarine." 
 —Lis JeiiX de I'liirunna [ u;45). 
 
 Jean de Lettre (^^l^. Jenkins). 
 " Qui pour rovduunre, dit Tullemnnt, 
 est un (inuual mal ido'uie a tuiitc autre 
 chose.'''' {Jft)ir. Jk'thoiilleres : Histori- 
 cttes, ix. '20<J, X. 82.) 
 
 Jean de la Suie (French). A 
 Savoj-ard. 
 
 Jean de la Vigne (French). A 
 
 crucifix. {See next artiele.) 
 
 Jean des Vignes (French). So 
 the jonglers call the poujiee to which 
 they address themselves. The French 
 Protestants in the sixteenth century 
 called "the host" Jeau, and the word 
 is pretty well synonymous with buffoon. 
 Jean des Yignes was a drunken mari- 
 onette performer of considerable ability ; 
 '•Jean" was liis name, " des Vignes " 
 his sobriquet. Hence when a person 
 does a bad action, the French sa}^ "// 
 fait comiite Jean des T'i(/ne.s;" an illicit 
 marriage is called " le marie/e/e de Jeau 
 des J'iffi/es,'" and a bad fellow is " «« 
 Jean des Vignes." Hence Assoucy says, 
 " JZb/, paitvre sot, plus sot que Jean des 
 Tif/nes ! " 
 
 " Jean ! que dire sur .lean ? c'est iin terril>le nnni, 
 Qui jamais n'acconiiiajrneunei'pitliptelionnete 
 
 Jean des Vignes, Jran ligne. Oii vais-je ? 
 Trouves liou 
 
 Qu'eu si lieau clieniin je ni'anvtc." 
 
 Viryile Travvsti, vii. (Jaiin to yEiic/is'). 
 
 Jeannot (French). One who is mi- 
 
 iiutelv great : one wlio exercises his 
 talents and ingenuity on tritles ; one 
 who after gi-eat preparation at table to 
 produce some mighty effect, brings forth 
 onl}^ a ridiculous mouse. 
 
 Jeb'usites (3 syl.), in Dryden's satire 
 
 of AbsalnDt and AcJiitophel, stands for 
 the Roman Catholics ; so called because 
 England was Roman Catholic before 
 the Reformation, and Jerusalem was 
 called Jebus before the time of David. 
 
 V In this poem, the Jebusites are the 
 Catholics, and the Levites the dissenting 
 clergy. 
 
 •• Siictwlini.- times did equal folly rail, 
 Believiii-,' iioi liiir-'. or believing.' all. 
 The h;.L'\ pr-aii rites tli'- J.-br,sitcs embraced, 
 AVheii gods were reioinm 'Uiled liy their taste." 
 [Transubstantiation.l 
 Vryden: Absalom and Achitophel, Fart i. X17-1J3. 
 
 Jedwood Justice. Putting an ob- 
 noxious person to death first, and trying 
 him afterwards. This sort of j ustice was 
 dealt to moss-troopers. Same as Jed- 
 burgh Justice, Jeddart justice. We have 
 also "Cupar justice" and "Abingdon 
 law." Of the last we are told that 
 Major-Gencral Brown, in the Common- 
 wealth, hanged a man first and tried 
 liim afterwards. 
 
 "Jeilwood justice— bans in haste and try at 
 leisure."— .SVi/H ; Fair Maid uf Peitli, chap. x.\.\ii. 
 
 Jehen'nam. The Gehenna or Inferno 
 of the Aiabs. It consists of seven stages, 
 one below the other. The fii'st is allotted 
 to atheists ; the second to Manicheans 
 (</.'•.) ; the third to the Brahmins of 
 India ; the fourth to the Jews ; the fifth 
 to Christians ; the sixth to the Magians 
 or Ghebers of Persia : and the seventh 
 to hypocrites. (The Koran.) 
 
 Jehovis'tic. {See Elohistic.) 
 
 Jehu. A coachman, especially one 
 who drives at a rattling pace. 
 
 "The watchman told.sayinj;. .... The driving 
 is li'<e the lirivinf,' of Jehu the son of Nimshi ; 
 fjr he driveth furiously."— 2 Kings ix. 20. 
 
 Jejune (2 syl.). A jejime narrative. 
 A diy, tedious one. (Latin, jeju'nus, 
 dry, spiritless.) 
 
 '■ Till farce itself, most mournfully jejune, 
 (.'allii for the kind assstance of a tune." 
 
 Soirper : lietiremeitt, 711. 
 
 Jekyll. Dr. Jeki/ll and Mr. ID/de. 
 The two phases of one man, " the law 
 of his members warring against the law 
 of his mind." Jekyll is the " would do 
 good," Hyde is "the evil thatispresent." 
 {.Stcrcnson : Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.) 
 
 Jelly Pardons. When Thomas 
 Cromwell was a clerk in the EnglLsh 
 factoiy at Antwerp, two of his fellow- 
 countrymen from Boston (Lincolnshire) 
 consulted with him as to the best means 
 of getting the pardons renewed for the 
 repair of Boston harbour. Cromwell, 
 knowing that Pope Julius was very fond 
 of dainties, provided for him some ex- 
 quisite jelly, and told his Holiness that 
 only royalty ever ate it in England. The 
 Pope was so pleased with the delicacy 
 that he signed the pardons, on condition 
 of having the recipe of the jelly. 
 
 Jel'lyby {Mrs.). A philanthropist 
 who would spend and be spent to help 
 the poor fan-makers and flower-girls of 
 Borrioboolah Gha, but would bundle into 
 the street a poor beggar djdng of star- 
 vtition on her own doorstep. {Dickens : 
 lileak House.) 
 
 Jenunie Duffs. {See Jamie Dutfs.)
 
 Jemmy 
 
 G78 
 
 Jericho 
 
 Jemmy, a name foimd in engravings 
 of the eighteenth century, was James 
 Worsdale, tlie painter and dramatic 
 ■writer (died 1767). 
 
 A housebreaker's crowbar. A variant 
 of Jimm}', Jenny, Jinnie, and a diminu- 
 tive of en-gme. Similarly a " spinning- 
 jiunie " is a small engine for spinning. 
 Tlicse crowbars generally take to pieces 
 that they may be slijiiaed into the pocket. 
 
 Jemmy. The head of a slaughtered 
 sheep. There are " boiled jemmies," 
 "baked jemmies," and "sanguinary 
 jemmies" (raw sheep's heads). The 
 tradition is that James IV. of Scotland 
 breakfasted on a sheep's head just before 
 the battle of Flodden Field (Sep. 9, 1513). 
 " Mr. Sikes made many I'Icasant witticisms on 
 jemmies, a cant name for slieeji's heads, and also 
 for an ingenious implemenr niiicli used iu his pro- 
 fe.)S;on."— i'icto/s ; UUvli- Tu-ist. 
 
 Jemmy. A great- coat. So called 
 from the Scotch cloth called jemmy. 
 
 Jemmy. Spruce, fine. A diminutive 
 of !/'iii, spruce or smart (Anglo-Saxon 
 (/■■■met). Gimcrack means an ornamental 
 toy, a prettj^ ornament of no solidity. 
 (■SV(' bclvir, Jemmy Jessamy.) 
 
 Jemmy Dawson was one of the 
 
 Manchester rebels, who Avas hanged, 
 drawn, and quartered on Kennington 
 Common, Surrej', July SOth, 174(i. A 
 lady of gentle blood was in love with tlie 
 gallant young rebel, and died of a broken 
 heart on the day of his execution, 
 {Pfrcifs Reliqucs, series 2, book iii. 20.) 
 Shenstoue has a ballad on it, beginning, 
 '"Come, listen to my mournful tale." 
 
 Jemmy Jessamy {A). A Jack-a- 
 dandy ; a lady's fondling, ,'* sweet as 
 sugar-candy." 
 
 Jenkinson {Ephrahii). A swindling 
 rascal, who makes a tool of Dr. Prim- 
 rose. {Goldsmith : Vicar of IVakcJicld.) 
 
 Jennet. A small Spanish horse. 
 
 Jenny. The spinning jenny means 
 the little spinning engine. The word is 
 a corrnjit diminutive, 'ginie. It is an 
 eiTor to derive the word from the in- 
 ventor's wife or daughter, seeing his 
 wife's name was Elizabeth, and he had 
 no daughter. 
 
 Jenny I'Ouvriere. A generic name 
 for a hard-working, poor, but contented 
 needlewoman. The name was devised 
 by Emile Barateau, and rendered popu- 
 lar by his song so called. 
 
 " Enteiidez-voHs un oiseau familli'r? 
 C'est le chantinir de Jeiin.v I'Ouvriere. 
 
 Au cceur content, content de pen 
 Elle pourrait etre riche. et prefere 
 
 Ce qui vieut du Diea." tl817.) 
 
 Jenny Wren, the sweetheart of Robin 
 Redbreast. 
 
 " Koliin iiromised .lenny, if she wonhl he bin 
 wife, she should 'feed on cherry-pie and driulc 
 currant-wine' ; and he says:— 
 
 ' I'll dre.iB you like a s-'ohinnch, 
 
 Or any iieacoc!; Kay : 
 So. deanst Jen, if you'll he mine, 
 Let us appoint the d.iy.' 
 Jenny replirn :— 
 
 ' Cherry-pie is very nice. 
 
 And so is currant wine : 
 Bu? I mu?t \v«ir ncy plain hrown g nvn. 
 And never N-o too flue.'" 
 
 Jeofail, i.r. J'ai failli {Lnpsussiim ; 
 I luive failed), an omission or oversight 
 in a law ])roceeding. There are several 
 statutes of Jeofail for the reiiiedj* of slips 
 or mistakes. 
 
 Jeop'ardy (3 syl.). Hazard, danger. 
 Tyrwhitt says it is tlie French jni parti, 
 and Froissart uses the jihrase, " .S't )ioiis 
 If's roi/oiix a JcK parii " (vol. i. c. 23-1). 
 Jeu i)arti is a game wliere the chances 
 are exactly balanced, hence a critical 
 state. 
 
 Jerced. A javelin with wliich the 
 Easterns exercise. (Tin'kij-li and Arabic.) 
 
 Jeremiad (4 syl.). A pitiful ta!c, 
 a tale of wiie to juoduce compassion ; so 
 called from the " Lamentations" of tlie 
 l)roi)het Ji'remiah. 
 
 Jeremiah, derived from ''Cuctim- 
 bcr." The joke is this : King Jeremiuli 
 = Jcre' -king ^ rontracted in Jcr^-kiii\ or 
 gher-ki)>, and gherkin ia a young 
 cucumber. 
 
 The British Jeremiah. Gibboir so 
 calls Gildas, author of lAimeniati(»n 
 over the l)cstri(ciion of Britain (-MG- 
 570). 
 
 Jeremy Diddler. An adept at rais- 
 ing money on fabe pretences. Fronx 
 Kenny's farce called ltaisi)>/j the Wind. 
 
 Jeremy Twitcher. A cunning, 
 treacherous highwayman, in Gay's 
 Be(j(irir''s Opera. Lord Sandwich, a 
 member of the New Ivit Kat Club, was 
 so called iu 17G3. 
 
 Jericho. Gone to .Jericho. No one 
 knows where. The manor of Black- 
 more, near Chelm.sford, was called 
 Jericho, ai.d was one of the liouses of 
 pleasure of Henry VIII. When tliis 
 lascivious prince had a mind to be lost 
 in the embraces of his courtesans, 1lie 
 cant phrase among his courtiers wa^ 
 " He is gone to Jericho." Hence, a 
 place of concealment. 
 
 Go to Jericho with yon. I %eish he 
 had been at Jericho. A euphemistic turn 
 of phrase for "Go and hang yourself." 
 or something more offensive still. This
 
 Jerked 
 
 679 
 
 Jerusalem Pony 
 
 saying is derived from 2 Sam. x. 5 and 
 1 Chron. xix. 5. 
 
 '• And tlie k'lis Slid, Tarry at Jericlio until your 
 beards lie trniwn. ' 
 
 / ivi.sJi you icere nt Jericho. .Anywhere 
 out of niy way. {See above.) 
 
 Jerlied [beef], a coiTuption of the 
 Peruvian word rharqiil, meat cut info 
 pfrips and dried in tlie sun to fireservc it. 
 (See Miii/iui Jifid's novels.) 
 
 Jerkin. A short coat or jacket ; a 
 close Tvaistcoat. 
 
 " Mi'tT'^s - line, is not tliis my jerkin ? Now i-s t'le 
 jerkin under the \'n\ti."—S'iatiesi)eare : TJie Ttmpest, 
 
 IV. 1. 
 
 Jeroboam of Rum or Claret {A). 
 Eight bottles ; but of whisky tliree pints. 
 Probably a perversion of " .I'oram." 
 {See Tappit-hen andREnoBO.ui.) 
 
 "Some 'Jeroboams' of very old rum went at 
 65s. each : several ' tappit-hens, of rum fetched 
 ri4s. : and some 'maijnums,' 17s. each.''— IVkW/, 
 3Ist March, Isxr. 
 
 A ma<Tninii=i2 quart bottles ; a tap- 
 pithon = 2 mapruuius ; a Jeroboam =i 2 
 tappitdiens; and a rehoboam =r 2 jcro- 
 lioanis or IG quart bottles. 
 
 Jerome {St.). Generally represented 
 as an ai^c^d Jiiau in a cardinal's dress, 
 writiufr or studying, with a lion seated 
 beside him. The best painting of this 
 saint is The Comninnioii of St. Jerome, 
 by Domenichi'no, in the Vatican. It 
 is placed opposite Raphael's Trans- 
 Jif/nrutioii. 
 
 Jcron'imo. The chief character in 
 the SpKuish Trar/cdif by Thomas Kyd. 
 On finding his application to the 
 king ill-timed, he says to him«elf, "Go 
 l)y, .Tcronimo," which tickled the fancy 
 of the audience so that it became for a 
 time the cuiTont street jest. 
 
 Jcrry-builb, unsubstantial. A" jcrvy- 
 builder " is a speculative builder who 
 runs up cheap, inisubstantial houses, 
 using materials of the commonest kind. 
 (See Jury Mast.) 
 
 Jerry-shop, or a Tom and Jerry 
 Shop. Alow-class beer-house. Probably 
 tlie 'IVdh and Jerni was a public-house 
 sign when Pierce Egau's Life in Loudon 
 was popular. 
 
 Jerry Sneak. A henpecked hus- 
 band, from a celebrated character in 
 Foote's farce of the Mayor of Garratt. 
 
 Jerrymander. (.SVrGEEETiTANDER.) 
 
 Jersey is Cfesar's-ey — i.e. Caesar's 
 island, so called in honour of Julius 
 Caesar. 
 
 Jeru'salem, in Drydeu's satire of 
 Absalom (Did Achilophel, means Loudon. 
 ^Part i. verse 8G, etc.) 
 
 Jerusalem Artichoke. A corrup- 
 tion of GirasoliJ artieioeeo. Girasole is 
 the sunflower, which this vegetable re- 
 sembles both in leaf and stem. 
 
 Jerusalem Chamber. The Chap- 
 ter-l!ouse of Westminster Abbey. Henry 
 IV. died there, March 20, 1413. 
 
 " It hath lieen prophos-ed to me many years, 
 1 sliould not die hut in .Terusalem." 
 
 iS'/i :h-e.--pe(trc: •! Jlrvri/ H'., iv. 5. 
 
 f Pope Silvester II. was told the 
 same thing, and he died as he was saying 
 mass in a church so called. {Bacon : 
 THfeidiim.) 
 
 The Lower House of Convocation 
 now meets in the Jerusalem Chamber. 
 The Upper House meets at Mr. Hodg- 
 son's, in Dean's Yard, "Westminster. 
 
 Jerusalem Delivered. An epic in 
 
 twenty books, byTorquato Tasso (1544- 
 laOo)." 
 
 The crusaders, encamped on the plains 
 of Torto'sa. chose Godfrey for their 
 chief, and Alandine, King of Jerusalem, 
 made preparations of defence. The 
 overtures of Argantes to Godfrey being 
 declined, he declared w.ar in the liame of 
 the king of Egvpt. The Christian armv 
 having reached Jerusalem, the king of 
 Damascus sent Arini'da to beguile the 
 Christians ; she told an artful talc by 
 wliich she drew o(t several of the most 
 puissant. It was f'lund that Jerusalem 
 could never be taken without the .aid of 
 Rinaldo ; but Rinaklo had withdrawn 
 from the army, because Godfrey had 
 cited him to answer for the death of 
 Giniando, slain in a duel. Godfrey, 
 being infonned that the hero was dally- 
 ing with Anni'da in the enchanted is- 
 land, sent to invite him back to the 
 army ; he returned, and Jerusalem was 
 taken in a night attack. As for Ar- 
 mi'da, after setting fire to her palace, 
 she fled into Egypt, and offered to 
 marry any knight who slew Rinald ; 
 but when she found the Christian army 
 was successfid she fled from the field. 
 The love of Rinaldo returned : he pur- 
 sued her and she relented. The poem 
 concludes with the triumvhant entrv of 
 the Christian army into the Holy City, 
 and their devotions at the tomb of the 
 Redeemer. The two chief episodes are 
 the loves of Olindo ('/./'.) and Sophro'nia, 
 and of Taucred {q.v.) and Corinda. 
 
 Jerusalem Pony. A needy clergy- 
 man or minister, who renders temporary 
 aid to his brother ministers for hu-e ; 
 .«o called in humorsome discourtesy. 
 The J erusalem pony is a large species of 
 donkey.
 
 Jess 
 
 680 
 
 Jew 
 
 Jess (pi. Jesses). A short strap of 
 leather tied about the legs of a hawk to 
 hold it on the tist. I-Ienco a bond of 
 affection, etc. 
 
 " If T iirovp lior liaercrard, 
 Thoiifrli tliat her JLSses were luy dear lieart- 
 
 strinas, 
 l"d wliistle her off." 
 
 Shakcsprare. : OtlieUo,ni. 3. 
 
 Jessamy Bride is Mary Horneck, 
 with whom Oliver Goldsmith fell in love 
 in 1769. 
 
 Jesse Tree. In Christian art, a vine 
 tracing the genealogy of Christ, called 
 a " rod out of the stem of Jesse " (Isa. 
 xi. 1). Jesse is generally represented in 
 a recumbent position, and the vine is 
 made to rise out of his loins. 
 
 Jesse Window (A). A stained -glass 
 window representing Jesse recumbent, 
 and a tree shooting from him containing 
 the i^edigree of Jesus. 
 
 Jes'sica. The Jew's daughter in the 
 McrcJtant of Venice, by Shakesjieare. 
 
 Jesters. ('S'<'^ Fools.) 
 
 Jes'uit (3 syl.). "When Ignatius de 
 Loyola was asked what name he would 
 give his order, he replied, " We are a 
 little battalion of Jesus ; " so it was 
 called the "Society of Jesus," vulgar- 
 ised into Jesuits. The society was 
 noted for its learning, political influence, 
 and "jiious frauds." The order was 
 driven from France in 1594, from 
 England in 1604, from Venice in 1606, 
 from Spain in 1767, from Naples in 
 1768 ; and in 1773 was suppressed by 
 Pope Clement XIV. ; but it revived 
 again, and still exists. The word is 
 used by controversialists to express one 
 who "lies like truth," or palters with 
 us in a double sense, that ' ' keeps the 
 word of promise to om' ear,, and breaks 
 it to our hope." 
 
 Jesus Paper. Paper of very large 
 size, chiefly used for engravings. Ori- 
 ginally it was stamped with the initials 
 I.H.S. {q.r.). 
 
 Jet. So called from the River Gages, 
 in Asia Minor, on the banks of which it 
 was collected by the ancients. It was 
 originally called {/arjatcs, corruj)ted into 
 </((;li(t,jet. 
 
 Jet d'Eau (French). A spout or jet 
 of water thrown up into the air, gener- 
 ally from an artificial fountain. The 
 great jet at Versailles rises to a height 
 of ion feet: that at Chatsworth, the 
 highest in existence, to 267 feet. (French, 
 from the Latin jactus, thrown ; jacio, to 
 throw.) 
 
 Jetsam or Jetson. Goods cast into 
 the sea to hghten a ship. (French, /eto-, 
 to cast out.) {iSec Flotsam and Lioan.) 
 
 Jettator. One with an evil eye, who 
 always brings ill-luck. The opposite 
 of the Mascotte (q.r.), who with a " good 
 eye" always brings good fortune. 
 
 The opera called La Mascotte. (1893, 
 by Duree and Cliivot.) 
 
 Jettatura. The evil-eye. 
 
 "Tlieir f-'Iancr. if vdu meet it, is the I'ettatura, 
 or evil-eye."— .1/;s. Ciankelt: An AccKrscd Hfice. 
 
 Jeu d'Esprit (French). A witti- 
 cism. 
 
 Jeu de Mot. A pun ; a play on 
 some word or phrase. (French.) 
 
 Jeunesse Dorde. The " gilded 
 youth " of a nation ; that is, the rich 
 and fashionable j'oung unmarried men. 
 
 " Tliere -were three <if the jeiinesne rfnrfe. and, as 
 siii-h, were jiretty well known to the ladies who 
 l)ronieMa(le the grand circle.' —7". Tcirel: Lady 
 Oclmur, ix. 
 
 Jew. T/ie Wandering Jew. 
 
 (1) Said to be Khartaph'ilos, Pilate's 
 porter. When the officers were dragging 
 Jesus out of the hall, Kartaph'ilos struck 
 Him with his fist in the back, saying, 
 "Go quicker, Man ; go quicker ! " 
 Whereupon Jesus replied, " I indeed go 
 quickly ; but thou shalt tarry till I 
 come again." This man afterwards 
 became a Christian, and was baptised 
 under the name of Joseph. Every 100 
 j'ears he falls into an ecstasy, out of 
 which he rises again at the age of 
 tliirty. 
 
 Tlie earliest acronnt of the " Wanderincr .lew" 
 is in the nnnk of the Cliii<iiirl,K nfthe An},, ,i of St. 
 AHiiiiis. This tradition was coiiiinnf. I hv Maltliew 
 raris In 15'j,s. In IL'ti' riiilii. Monskrs. afterwards 
 Bishop of Tonruay, wrote the Rhijmal • liruiiicle. 
 
 (2) Ahasuerus, acobbler, who dragged 
 Jestis before Pilate. As the Man of 
 Sorrows was going to Calvary, weighed 
 down with His cross. He stayed to rest 
 on a stone near the man's door, when 
 Ahasuerus pushed Him away, saying, 
 "Away with you; here you .shall not 
 rest." The gentle Jesus reiilicd, " I 
 truly go away, and go to rest ; but thou 
 shalt walk, and never rest till I come." 
 
 This is the lepend Riven bv Panl von Eitzen, 
 Rishop of Schleswie (ir,47). (See Greve: Meiiwus 
 of Panl von Eilzeii (17J4). 
 
 (3) In German legend, the " Wander- 
 ing Jew" is associated with John 
 BuTTAD^KUS, seen at Antwerp in the 
 thirteenth century ; again, in the fif- 
 teenth ; and again, in the sixteenth 
 century. His last appearance was in 
 1774, at Brussels. 
 
 Leonard Duldius. of Niiruhers, in his Praxis 
 AlchinnKP fi«(M). says that Ahasuerus is Bonie- 
 times called ButtadiE\j3.
 
 Jew's Eye 
 
 C81 
 
 Jib 
 
 (4) The French call " The Wauderiiig 
 Jew" Isaac Lake'diox or LAauEDEji. 
 {Mifteniaclit : iJisscrtatio in Johaioum, 
 xxi. 19.) 
 
 (5) Br. Crohj, in his novel, calls 
 the ''Wandering Jew" Salathiel bex 
 Sadi, who (he says) appeared towards 
 the close of the sixteenth centuiy at 
 Venice. 
 
 V The legend of the Wild Hunts- 
 man, called by Sliakespeare " Heme, 
 the Hunter," and by Father Mathieu 
 " St. Hubert," is said to be a Jew who 
 would not suffer Jesus to drink from a 
 horse-trough, but pointed out to Hitn 
 some water in a hoof-print, and bade 
 Him go there and di'iuk. (Kuhn von 
 Sc/iwarz : Mordd. Sagcn, 499.) 
 
 Jew's-eye. Worth a JeH''s-e)je. Ac- 
 cording to faVjle, this expression arose 
 from the custom of torturing Jews to 
 extort money from them. The ex- 
 pedient of King John is well known : 
 He demanded 10,000 m^irks of a rich 
 Jew of Bristol; the Hebrew resisted 
 the ati-ocious exaction, but the tyrant 
 ordered him to be brought before him, 
 and that one of his teeth should be 
 tugged out every day till the money 
 was forthcoming. This went on for 
 seven days, when the sufferer gave in, 
 and John jestingly observed, " A Jew's 
 eye may be a quick I'ansom, but Jew's 
 teeth give the richer harvest." 
 
 Launcelot, in the Mi rchatit of Venice, 
 ii. o, puns upon this phrase when he says 
 to Jessica : — 
 
 '■ Tliere will oome a Cliristian by 
 AVill lje worth a Jewess' eye." 
 
 Jew's-harp, called by Bacon jcu- 
 irijinjjc, by Beaumont and Fletcher, 
 jca-lriirap, by Hakluyt,7>'»\v-/;«;-/). 
 
 The best players on this instrument 
 have been Koch, a Prussian soldier under 
 Frederick the Great ; Kuuert, Amstein, 
 and some others. 
 
 Jew's Myrtle. So called from the 
 jjiipul.ir iiotidii that it formed the crown 
 <if thorns placed by the Jews on the 
 Saviour's head. 
 
 Jews, in Drj-den's satire of Absalom 
 cud Achitophel, those English who were 
 loyal to Charles II., called David. 
 
 " The Jews, a lioadstron^, moody, murmuring 
 i"ace, 
 CJod's iKimiiercd reople, wUoni, do;)aucIied with 
 
 ease, 
 >"o kiuK could :jro\erii, nornoTod r.nilil please." 
 
 r.irt i. verses iit-ix. 
 Jrivs born irilh taila. {Sc Raboin.) 
 
 Jews' Sabbath. In tlie M<i>iastiron 
 de Mclsa, ii. pp. i;U, loT, we read that a 
 Jew at Tewkesbury fell iuto a. cesspoql. 
 
 and Richard, Earl of Gloucester, passing 
 by, offered to pull him out, but the Jew 
 refused, saying — 
 
 " S:il>batn nnsrra colo ; 
 De stercore surfere uolo." 
 
 Next day, as the Earl was passing again, 
 the Jew cried to him for he\\), when 
 (Gloucester replied — 
 
 '■ .Sal>hata nostra iiuidem, 
 S(jlomon, cirleliraljls inidem." 
 
 The Rolls Series. 
 
 Jewels in heraldiy. 
 
 The topaz represents "or" (jold), or 
 the planet Sol. 
 
 The pearl or crystal represents "ar- 
 gent " {silver), or the planet Luna. 
 
 The ruby represents " gules" {red), or 
 the planet Mars. 
 
 The sapphire represents " azure " 
 {blue), or the planet Jupiter. 
 
 The diamond represents " sable " 
 {hh(ch), or the planet Saturn. 
 
 The emerald represents " vert " 
 {f/recii) , or the planet Venus. 
 
 The amethyst represents " purpure " 
 [purple), or the planet Mercury. 
 
 Jewels for the months. Each month 
 is supposed to be under the influence 
 of some precious stone — 
 
 January : Garnet. Constancy. 
 
 February: Amethyst. Sincerity. 
 
 March: Bloodstone. Courage. 
 
 April : Diamond. Innocence. 
 
 May: Emerald. Success in love. 
 
 June : Agate. Health and long life . 
 
 July: Cornelian. Content. 
 
 August: Sardonyx. Conjugal fidelity. 
 
 September: Chrysolite. Antidote to 
 madness. 
 
 October : Opal. Hope. 
 
 November : Topaz. Fidelity. 
 
 December : Turquoise. Frospcrity. 
 
 Jewels for signs of the zodiac— 
 Aries : Ruby. 
 Taurus : Topaz. 
 Gemini : Carbuncle. 
 Cancer : Emerald. 
 Leo : Sappliiro. 
 Virgo : Diamond. 
 Libi'a : Jacinth . 
 Scorpio : Agate. 
 Sagittarius : Amethyst. 
 Capriconius : Berjd. 
 Aquarius : Onyx. 
 Pisces : Jasper. 
 
 Jez'ebel. A painted Jezebel. A 
 flaunting woman of bold spirit, but loose 
 morals ; so called from Queen Jezebel, 
 the \vife of Ahab. 
 
 Jib. A triangular sail borne in front 
 of the foremast. It has the bowsprit for 
 a bcise in sma,ll vessels, and the jib-boooj
 
 Jib 
 
 C82 
 
 Joachioi 
 
 in larger ones, and exerts an important 
 effect, when the wind is abeam, in throw- 
 ing the ship's head to leeward. 
 
 Jib. The under-lij). A sailor's ex- 
 pression ; the under-lip indicating the 
 temper, as the jib indicates the character 
 of a ship. 
 
 The cut of his jih. A sailor's phrase, 
 meaning the expression of a person's 
 face. Sailors recognise vessels at sea by 
 the cut of the jibs. 
 
 To hang the jib. The jib means the 
 lower lip. To hang the lower lip is to 
 look ill-temi)ered, or annoyed. 
 
 Jib {To). To start aside ; a " jibbing 
 horse " is one that is easily startled. It 
 is a sea term, to jib being to shift the 
 boomsail from one side of the mast to 
 the other. 
 
 Jib-boom. An extension of the 
 bowsprit by the addition of a spar pro- 
 jecting beyond it. Sometimes the boom 
 is further extended by another spar 
 called thQfl'jinr/ jib-boom. 
 
 Jib-doar. A door flush with the 
 oufsiile w;ill, and intended to bo con- 
 c.^;d;'d ; forming thu-s part of the jib or 
 face of the house. (6'.'C a'jove, line 8.) 
 
 Jib-stay {A). The stay ou which a 
 jib is set. 
 
 Jib Topsail (.-IV A light sail flying 
 from the extreme forward end of the 
 flying-jib boom, and set about half-way 
 between the mast and the boom. 
 
 Jiffy. Iiiajiff'ij. In a minute ; in a 
 braes of shakes ; before you can say 
 " Jack Eabiuson." (French, vif, rife.) 
 
 Jig, from f/if/iir. A short piece of 
 music much iu vogue in olden times, of 
 a very lively character, either six- eight 
 or twelve -eight time, and used for dance- 
 tunes. It consists of two parts, each of 
 eight bars. Also a comic song. 
 
 "You jiy;, you amblo, and you lisp."— .S.'iK.Ve- 
 spcire : l/amkt, iii. 1. 
 
 Jilt (To). (S.'e nnier Ba3KST.) To 
 tjlce th'2 basket. 
 
 Jim Cro"i^. Brought out at the 
 Adelphi in ISo'j. The cliaracter of Jim 
 Crow iiiayed by T. D. Rice, as the ori- 
 ginal of the ''nigger minstrels" since 
 so popular. A renegade or ttn-ncoat is 
 called a Jim Crow, from the burden of 
 the song, If'hcel about an I tarn about. 
 
 Jingo. Bi/ Jinrfo or 7?// the Living 
 ■Ting). Basque " Jainko," the Supreme 
 Being. In corroboration of this deriva- 
 tion it may be stated that Eilward I. 
 had Basijuo mountaineers conveyed to 
 
 England to take part in the conquest of 
 Wales, and the Plantagonets held the 
 Basque provinces iu possession. Tlie 
 word was certainly used as a juron long 
 before the Crimean War. 
 
 " Hpy, .lini-'o : Wliat tlio do'il's tlieiiirittoi- ? 
 
 Do iiicniiiiiils swim in Dartfonl \v;'.tfi- •.■ " 
 Sinft : Arffon lor'/'/i/' Unjiiuit llnni Fah-) 
 
 •.- Dr. Morris, in his lli^t'n-ir Oiiilnus ( p. :;lo ««(,.), 
 says it is St. Gini.'iilpli.;inil l'r..tV-^. iSkoat iXntts 
 and Queries, Auviist LT.ili, isn, r ii^i) is of the 
 B-ime opinion. Acciniiiii,' ui 'I'li, 7'( ./(.<. June 3."ith, 
 1.S77, p. li, col. 1), it is ihr rcrsiaii ;<f)i'/ = xv;ir, anil 
 the juron "By St. Jiu,!;o''is aLcnit fquil to "By 
 Mars." But the wonl hail orit-'inally no ciiuneo- 
 tion witli OUT jin'inism. It was njiiiniou enoui-'U 
 in the e.-irly part of thr ninoteenlh t-entiiry. (Juery. 
 A corruption of Jesus, S(jn of God, thus, je-'n-go'. 
 
 Jingoes {The). The war party in 
 1877. They were Russophobists, who 
 felt convinced that the Czar intended to 
 take possession of Constantinople, which 
 would give him command of the Black 
 Sea, and might endanger our Indian 
 possessions. This has nothing to do 
 with the word "jingo" used by Dean 
 Swift; but was wholly connected with 
 the luusic-hall song mentioned iu the 
 next article. 
 
 Jingoism. The British war brag- 
 
 gadoci" ; called Chaunnisin in Frcncli : 
 Sprea-l-eag/rin/n in the United Slates of 
 North America. During the Russo- 
 Tui'kish War in 1877-187S Eugland was 
 on the point of interfering, and at the 
 music-halls a song became popular con- 
 taining the followiug refrain : — 
 
 " We d(urt \v:un to flL-lit : hut, liy Jingo, if we d >, 
 We've u'ot the ships, we'\ e yot tliemcn.and t'ot 
 the money too." 
 
 Jinn. A sort of fairies in Arabian 
 mythology, the offspring of fire. They 
 propagate their species like human 
 beings, and are governed by a race of 
 kings named SuleJ^nan, one of whom 
 ' ' built the pj'ramids. ' ' Their chief 
 abode is the mountain Kaf, and they 
 appear to men under the forms of ser- 
 pents, dogs, cats, monsters, or even 
 human beings, and become invisible at 
 pleasure. The evil jinn are hideously 
 ugh', but the good are exquisitely beau- 
 tifid. According to fable, they were 
 created from tire two thousand yeirs 
 before Adam was made of earth. The 
 singular of jinn is jinnee. {■'See Fairy.) 
 
 Jin'nistan. The country of the 
 Jinn, or Fairy Land, the chief province 
 of which is The Conntrg of Dvhght, and 
 the capital TJie Citg of Jea-els. 
 
 Jo'achim (.S7.). The father of the 
 Virgin Mary. Generally represented as 
 an old man carrying in a basket two 
 turtle-doves, in allusion to the oft'tu-ing 
 made for the purification of his daughter. 
 His wife was St. Anne, or St. Anna.,
 
 Joan 
 
 C83 
 
 Job 
 
 Joan {Pope). A supposed female 
 "pope" between Leo IV. and Benedict 
 III. She is said to have been born in 
 England and educated at Cologne, pass- 
 ing under the name of Joannes Au'glicus 
 {John of F.nrjlaud). Bloudel, a Calvinist, 
 wrote a book in 1640 to prove that no 
 such person ever occupied the papal 
 chair ; but at least a hundred and titty 
 authors between the tliirteenth and 
 seventeentli centui'ies repeat the tale as 
 an historic fact. The last jierson ■who 
 critically examined the question was 
 Dollinger, in 1808. (See historic Note 
 Book, 701-2, for authorities ^^ro and con.) 
 
 Joan Cromwell. Joan CromiccWs 
 lii/rlirn-sti"^' f/i'). A tub of kitchen per- 
 quisites. The filehings of servants sold 
 for " market pennies." The Royalists 
 used to call the Protector's wife, whose 
 name was Elizabeth, Jocvi Cronnrc//, and 
 declared that she exchanged thekitchen- 
 stulV of tlic jialace for tallow caudles. 
 
 Joan of Arc or Jeanne la Pucelle. 
 
 M. Oet;i.ve Delepierre has publislied a 
 pamphlet, called Doute Jlistoriqxc, to 
 deny the tradition that Joan of Arc was 
 burnt at IJotien for sorcery. He cites a 
 document discovered by Father Viguier 
 in the seventeenth century, in the 
 archives of Metz, to prove that she 
 became the wife of Sieur des Armoiso, 
 with wliOTU she resided at Metz, and 
 became the mother of a family. Vignier 
 subsequently found in the family muni- 
 nient-cliest the contract of marriage be- 
 tween "Robert des Armoise, knight, and 
 Jeanne D'Arcy, surnamed the Maid of 
 Orleans.'' In 1710 there were found iu 
 the archives of the Maison de Villo 
 (Orleans) records of several payments 
 to certain messengers from Joan to her 
 brother John, bearing the dates 143.3, 
 1436. There is also the entry of a pre- 
 sentation from the council of the city to 
 the Maid, for her services at the siege 
 (dated 1439). M. Delepierre has brought 
 forwai-d a host of other documents to 
 corroborate the same fact, and show that 
 the tale of her martyrdom was invented 
 to throw odium on the English. A 
 sermon is preached annually in France 
 towards the beatification of the Maid, 
 who will eventually become the patron 
 s lint of that nation, and Shakespeare will 
 prove a true prophet in the words — 
 
 Joannes Hagustaldensis is John, 
 Prior of Hexham, author of an old Eng- 
 lish Chronicle, and Jivrs of the Bishops 
 of IJcxham, iu two books. 
 
 Job (o long). The personification of 
 poverty and patience. '■^ I'aticnt as Job,'''' 
 in allusion to the patriarch whose his- 
 tory is given in the Bible. 
 
 I'oor as Job. Referring to the patriarch 
 when he was by Satan deprived of all 
 his worldly possessions. 
 
 "I mil as pour ;is Jiili, my lord, Imt not so 
 piitieiH."— ,SA((/.\sj<t'i(/-<;; :; Ilenri/ /I'., i. •_'. 
 
 Job's Comforter. One who pre- 
 tends to sjnnpathise in your grief, but 
 says that j'ou brought it on yourself ; 
 thus in reality adding weight to your 
 sorrow. {Sec above.) 
 
 Job^s wife. Some call her Rahmat, 
 daughter of Ephraim, son of Joseph ; 
 and others call her Makliir, daughter of 
 Manasses. {Sa/c : Iiordn xxL, note.) 
 
 Slie is also called by some Sitis ; and 
 a tradition exists that Job, at the com- 
 mand of God, struck the earth with his 
 foot from the dunghill where lie lay, 
 and instantly there welled up a sjjring 
 of water with which his wife washed 
 his sores, and they were miraculously 
 healed. {Kuran, xxxvL 41.) 
 
 Job's Pound. Bridewell ; prison. 
 
 Job {o short) A job is a i)iece of 
 chance work ; a iiublic work or office 
 not for the public benefit, but for the 
 profit of the person employed ; a sudden 
 blow or " dig " into one. 
 
 A bail job. An unsuccessfid work ; 
 one that brings loss instead of profit ; a 
 bad speculation. 
 
 To do the Job for one. To kill him. 
 
 Job {o short). A minititcrial job. 
 Sheridan says: — "Whenever any emolu- 
 ment, jH'ofit, salary, or honour is con- 
 ferred on any person not deserving it — 
 that is a job ; if from private friendshi]), 
 personal attachment, or any view excejit 
 the interest of the public, anyone ii 
 appointed to any public office . . . that 
 is a job." 
 
 "'No oliePic is kninvn to liliisli, or liPart to tlivob, 
 Save when they hise a i|uestion or n job.' 
 
 Pope: Jifsay on Criticism, i. Ut4. 
 
 Job Lot {^i). A lot of miscellaneous 
 goods to be sold a bargain. 
 
 Jobs. A printer's phrase to designate 
 all kinds of work not included in the term 
 "book-work." The French call such 
 work onrrar/e dc rille. 
 
 " Allied to the Latin, 0/1 [».s] ; Sjianish, 
 ob[ra'] ; French, oitr[r'ir/c] ; the r occurs 
 in the genitive case, oper[is~\. 
 
 Job {To). To strike. To give one a 
 " job in the ej'f " is to give one a blow 
 in the eye; and to "job one in the 
 j-ibs" is to strike one in the xibs, to stab
 
 Jobation 
 
 684 
 
 John 
 
 ono in tlio rihs. Job iiiid i)rr;})e soem to 
 ]><' very lu-iitly allied. Plallivvoll f^ivos 
 till- vvonl "stop," to i)okc or thrust, 
 wliii:li is ulliod to stab. 
 
 Joba'tlon. A snolding ; so called 
 from till' jmtriarcli Job. 
 
 '■ .r.ihiiiioii .... iiir'iiiH n liiiiK, (Irparv lininilv, 
 mill li;i-< rifiTciicc Id llic led oils i-clmkc^ iiitlirteil 
 
 III! I hi' inlriiucli .IdIi hy his I lilii^iiiK friend.*." 
 
 — (I. A. Siila: ( /','i7/(«!«;, .-iept. «, Immi. 
 
 Jobber. Om- wlio doc.q small jolm ; 
 fini' wliM buys lidm iiirrcbaiif.s to sell to 
 ri'f:iilrr-i ; u, midilli'-maii. A " stock - 
 joblM'r'' i.s Olio who buys and soils 
 i)ul)lio fulld^, but is not a sworu stock- 
 i.n.krr. 
 
 Jobbing Carpontor. Ono who in 
 
 ro.idy to do odil jol)s (pioco-wurk) in bis 
 own lino. (-Vr .foil.) 
 
 Jocolin de Brakolonda, dr Rrlms 
 i/s/i.s ,Siiiii.\)i//i>-, etc. )iiil)lisli<'d by tlio 
 Camili'n Society. 'I'liis r{M'ord of tlio 
 ads of Alibot Sa.ni.son of Mdmondsbury 
 coirtains much contomiiorary history, 
 and ji'ivi's a f^ood account of Knijli.sh lifo 
 and society betwoon 11715 and V202. 
 
 Jookoy is a little Jack (boy). So in 
 Scotch, " Ilka Joanio has her Jockie." 
 (.Vy Jack.) 
 
 All filloics, Jiirhri/ and the ht'iril (man 
 an 1 master). {>!(vlc/i prorcrh.) 
 
 Jockey ( 7'/). To docoivo in tnide ; 
 to clie:it ; to indulge in sharp practice. 
 
 Jockey of No- folk. Sir John TIow- 
 mil, .-I tinu MilhcTeut of Kirli.inl III. < tn 
 the ni,L;lit before the iKitlle of IJoswortli 
 lie found in his tent the warniiii^ 
 couphil : 
 
 •■ .Inckev (.r Vu; r..lk, In' III. I 1,111 liolll. 
 
 h'er Dii'kun, lli.v iii:e.|ri, is liem-'lil iiiul suld." 
 
 Joe or a Joe Miller. A .stale joke ; 
 so called from the conijiili^tion of "jokes 
 uud(>r tha.t inini dc idnnif. (<SV'<Mil"lkii.) 
 
 Joey. A ^roat ; so called from Josej)!! 
 Hume, 1\I.I'., who stronjrly recom- 
 mended the coinafjo for the sake of 
 )iayinj; short eah-fares, etc. (Ilairhhis : 
 Jltxtunj of the Silrer ( 'oukhjc of J-jigland.) 
 
 Jog. ./('// (iicdji : jnij off'; joij oil. Get 
 a way ; be off ; keep moving. Shakespeare 
 uses the word sIhkj in the same sense — 
 as, "Will you siiog otfr" (ll'iir// }'., 
 ii. 1) ; and again in the same i>lay, 
 "SliiiU we shogr" (ii. o). Beamuoiit 
 and Fletcher use the same expix'ssiou in 
 '/'//(■ ('o.rciiiii/j -"Come, prithee, let lis 
 shog olT :• " and again, in /'iisi/nill and 
 h'ii//iiiriiic — "Thus it shogges" [goes]. 
 Ill the Jfortr d'Art/iKi- wo have another 
 Yurietj-— "He shokkcs iu sharpely " 
 
 [rushes ill]. The words seem to be con- 
 nocted with tlit; Dutch ycliohl.cii. to jolt, 
 and the Aii<;lo-Saxou svacmi, to denart! 
 toHee. ^ ' 
 
 " .liiir on n littli- f.-istcr. iiri'ilifp, 
 
 I'll titkc 11 ii:i|>;i>id I lien he wi' I lipt- " 
 
 It. Lliiinl: The IliiiiamUhe Torlohe. 
 
 Tujof/ fun iiiriiiori/, or Girf his memori/ 
 njoff. To remind one of sometliing aji"- 
 jiarently forgotten. Jog i.s to sli.-ike or 
 stir uj). (Welsh, f/of/i, to shako ; French, 
 choiiiur ; our a7/w/,-, shalw, etc.) 
 
 Jog-trot. A slow lint regular jiacc. 
 
 Joggis oi Jogges. The pillory. Jamie- 
 son .says, "They juinish deliiMiueuts, 
 making them stimd in 'jogges,' as 
 they call tlieir pillorio-s." (The word 
 is r<//.v.- Latin, jW/w;« ,• Yrcuch, jomj ; 
 Anglo-Saxon, (/roc ; our jiii/, a jail.) 
 
 -Ill,-,, ; Jlisti,r!/o/II„wb,ii-tu,i. J J bb' • 
 
 John. A contraction of Johannes 
 (Joli'u). The French contract it differ- 
 ently, Jean— i.e. Jehau or Jeliaiin ; in 
 Italian, Oionniiii. 
 
 7'oprs. 
 
 .IiillN I. dii'il wirti-licdiy in j:iil. 
 
 .loliv 1 1, luid III. wi'ir iiiincnIilicH. 
 
 .loliN IV. w,is:i reused ,,{ heiesv. 
 
 .Inn \ v.. \'|.. VI I., were ninieiitilie;!. 
 
 .liuiN VIII. w;is iniprisiiiied l>y Lainliei-I, Dnke 
 of Senle'lii ; at asulisciiiieni reriiid lie Has dressed 
 in leiiialeatlire out ot iiiockei-y, uiid was at last 
 
 Jioi.solU'il. 
 
 .leilN IX. liad SKitoit's in. fiii-a rival Pope. 
 
 .loilN X. was iiveiilirowii liy Gui, Duke of Tiis- 
 oany, and ded in prison. 
 
 .loiiN XI. was iinpiisoned witU his nintber liv 
 .Ml.rrie.and died llieie. •" 
 
 .liMiN Ml. was deposed for sacrilew, and w.is 
 al hisl ass.is-iiialed. 
 
 .liiMN XIII. was imprisoned by Ids noliles anl 
 
 deposed. 
 
 .liinN XIV. was deposed, and died inipiisoned in 
 Iheraslleof SI. Ani-'elu. 
 
 •luiiN XV. was a iioiientily. 
 
 .liiiiN XVI. was driven from Itome Ijy C'res- 
 cenliiis. 
 
 .loiiN XVIT. OiiilipopiO was expelled Iiy Ottu 
 1 1 1., and liarh.aroiisly lie.aied liv (;re'-ri.i\ . 
 
 ,li)iiN XVIII.ahdiealeil. 
 
 .liiiiv .\IX. w.as deposed and I'xpelled Pv 
 Koiiiad. 
 
 .loll N XX. w.'is a iioneiilil \'. 
 
 .IniiN XXI. w.Msenislieil lodealli liv I lie falliiii,' 
 ill i.r Ins p.'ilaeeal Vilerlio. 
 
 .loiiN XXII.w.is eharu'ed wilh heresy. 
 
 .loiiN X.XIIi. lied in dis:;iiise, was arrested, and 
 cast into prison for Iliree years. 
 
 Certaiulj' a disastrous list of Popes. 
 
 John. A proverbially nnhaiijiy name 
 with royalty, insomuch tliat when John 
 Stuart ascended the throne of Scotland 
 he changed Iiis name to Koliert ; but 
 misfortune never deserted him, and 
 after an evil reign he died overwhelmed 
 witli calamities and intirmity. Jolin 
 l?aliol was the mere tool of Edward I. ; 
 Joliii of England, a most disastrous 
 reign. ,/«//// /. uf Fniiiee reigned only a 
 few days ; Joliu II., having lost the 
 battle of Poitiers, died in captivity jjj
 
 John 
 
 (58" 
 
 Joh.n-Ei-2sioke3 
 
 London : to France his reign was a 
 tissue of evils. J(j)ni of lioln'inia was 
 slain at Cressy. Jolin I. of Araf/on was 
 at ceaseless war with his subjects, by 
 whom he was execrated : John II. was 
 at ceaseless war with his son, Don Carlos. 
 John I. of Co»sta)iti)ioph; was poisoned 
 by Basil, his eunuch : John IV. had his 
 eyes put out ; John V. was emperor in 
 name onlj', and was most unhappy ; 
 John VI., harassed with troubles, ab- 
 dicated, and died in a monastery. 
 
 V Jolm I. of Hicedcn was unhappy 
 in his expeditions, and died child- 
 less ; John II. had his wife diiven out 
 of the kingdom by his angry subjects. 
 J ran sans J 'cur of Burgundy engaged 
 in the most horrible massacres and was 
 munlered. John of Snabia, called the 
 I'arricide, because he murdered his 
 father Albert, after which he was a 
 fugitive and a vagabond on the face of 
 the earth, etc., etc. 
 
 X.B. John of Portugal was a signal 
 exception. 
 
 Ira)i IV. of Russia, svimamed the 
 "Ten-ible" (1.529-1.381). He murdered 
 with his own hand his eldest son ; 
 Ivan V. (1606- 16D6) was dumb and 
 nearly blind; Ivan VI. (17'57-176"i) was 
 dethroned, imprisoned, and put to death. 
 (■S'-y Jane.) 
 
 Kiiiy John and the Abbot of Cantcr- 
 bufij. John, being jealous of the state 
 kept by the abbot, declared he should 
 bo put to death unless he answered three 
 questions. The first question was, how 
 much the king was worth ; the second, 
 how long it would take to ride round 
 the world : and the third, what the king 
 was thiukiug of. The king gave the 
 abbot three weeks' grace for his answers. 
 A shepherd imdertook to answer the 
 three questions, so with crozier, mitre, 
 rochet, and cope, he presented himself 
 before the king. " What am I worth "r" 
 asked John. " Well," was the replj-, 
 " the Saviour was sold for thirty pence, 
 and your majesty is a penny worse than 
 He." The king laughed, and demanded 
 what he had to say to the next question, 
 and the man replied, " If you rise with 
 the sun and ride with the sun, you will 
 get round the world in a day." Again 
 the king was satisfied, and demanded 
 that the respondent should tell him his 
 thoughts. "You think I am the alibot 
 of Canterbury, but I am only a poor 
 shepherd who am come to ask your 
 majesty's pardon for him and me." 
 The king was so pleased with the jest, 
 that he would have made the shepherd 
 abbot of Canterbury ; but the man 
 
 pleaded that he could neither wiite nor 
 read, whereupon the king dismissed him, 
 and gave him a jiensiou of four nobles 
 a week, (i'e/ry .• Iteliques, series 2, bk. 
 iii. 6.) 
 
 Mess-John or Mass-John. A priest. 
 Frcster John. The supposed Christian 
 king and priest of a mediaeval kingdom 
 in the interior of Asia. This Prester 
 John was the Khan Uug who was de- 
 feated and slain by Genghis Khan in 
 12i)2, said to have been converted by 
 the Xestorian Cliristians. He figures in 
 Ariosto, and has furnished materials for 
 a host of mediaeval legends. 
 
 " I will fetcli you a lootli-iiickei" now from I he 
 f.'irtliesr, iiicli of .\.sia ; lirini,' you tlie leiij-'tli of 
 Pivster Jolin's foot: ft'tcli you a hair off the 
 fe'reat Chain's beard . . . . " 
 
 HhakCKpeare : Much Ado about Nothing, ii. 1. 
 
 77te three Johns — an alehouse picture 
 in Little Park Street, Westminster, and 
 in White Lion Street, Pentonville— is 
 John Wilkes between the Rev. John 
 Home Tooko and Sir John Glynn (ser- 
 jeant-at-law). (Ilottoi : Ilistori/ of 
 Signboards). 
 
 St. John the Eranf/elist is represented 
 writing his gospel ; or bearing a chalice, 
 from which a serpent issues, in allasiou 
 to his driving the poison from a cup 
 presented to him to drink. He is some- 
 times represented in a cauldron of boil- 
 ing oil, in allusion to the tradition of 
 his being plunged into such a cauldron 
 before his banishment to the isle of 
 Patmos. 
 
 St. John. The usual war-cry of the 
 English of the North in their encounters 
 with the Scotch. The jierson refeiTed 
 to is St. John of Beverley, in Yorkshire, 
 who died 721. 
 
 John-a-Dreams. A stupid, dreamy 
 fellow, always in a brown studj'and half 
 asleep. 
 " Yet I, 
 
 A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, realc, 
 
 Like John-a-dreams, unpreguant of my cause, 
 
 And cau say nothiui-'." 
 
 Shakespeare : ITnmlct, ii. 2. 
 
 John-a-Droynes. A foolish cha- 
 racter in Whetstone's I'romos and 
 Cassandra (l.")78). Being seized by in- 
 formers, he stands dazed, and suffers 
 himself to be quietly cheated out of his 
 money. 
 
 John-a-Kokes [or Noakes (1 syl.)]. 
 A simpleton. 
 
 " John-a-Xokes was drivincr a carl toward Croy- 
 don, aud hy the way fell asleepe therein. Meane 
 tiiT e a good fellow came hyaml stole away his two 
 horses. [J hni awMkeniiig and missing them, 
 said, ' Either I am.Iohn-a-Xokesor I am not.lohn- 
 a-Nokes. If I am .lohu-a-Xokes, then I have lost 
 two horses : and if 1 am not John-a-Xokes, then 
 I have found a cart.' "— CV;i(ej/ ; yViU, Fita, and 
 Fancies (lay.
 
 i
 
 I
 
 Jolly 
 
 688 
 
 Jormtingandai' 
 
 Jolly. A sailor's nickname for a 
 xnariiie, who, iu his opinion, bears the 
 Fame relation to a " rej^ular " as a jolly- 
 boat or yawl does to a ship. (Danish, 
 jvll(\ a yawl.) 
 
 Jolly Dog (-7). A hon livanf. Here 
 " j<'l'y " iiRuus jovial. 
 
 Jolly God {Th(). Bacchus. The 
 Bible speaks of wine wliich " raaketh 
 glad the heart of man," Here " jolly " 
 means jovial. 
 
 Jolly Good Fellow ( . /). A ver\' social 
 and pdpnlnr pi'i'.sciti. (French, _/>>/(.) 
 
 " AM wiis jolly t|irct ;ii lOpliesiis liefuro St. I'niil 
 came thither."— ./"/m Tidi'l': Cmnmeutuni (Huii'i). 
 " For hp's a jolly '-'oiicl follow [tlirce tiiiU'Sl. 
 AiiM sn s:i\ all of us, 
 AVith :i hip, hip, hip, lioiira! " 
 
 Jolly Green. Very simple ; easily 
 imposed upon, from being without 
 Worldly wisdom. 
 
 Jolly Roger {The). {Sec Roger.) 
 
 Jollyboat. A small boat usually 
 lioistfd at tlie stem of a ship. (Danish, 
 jollr ; Diiti'li, yy/; Swedish, y /<//(", a yawl. 
 
 Jonah and the Whale. Air. 
 
 Colbert, Professor of Astronomy in 
 Chicatjo, in a cliai)ter on " Star (Jrouj)- 
 ing." tells us that the ir/ui/c referred to 
 is the star-group " Cetus," and that 
 Jonah is tlic "Moon passing through it 
 in three da3's and nights." 
 
 Jo'nas, in Dryden's satire of Ahxnlom 
 nnd Arh'itophcU is meant ffir Sir William 
 .Tones, Attoriiey-r!eni'r;d, who conducted 
 the prosecution of the Po])is;h Plot (June 
 2oth, lG7-n ; not the great Oriental 
 scholar, who lived 1710-1794. The 
 attorney-general was called iu the satire 
 Jonas by a palpable pun. 
 " Not bull-fared .lonas. who onuhl stitutos draw 
 To mean rehellion ami make treason law." 
 Ihyrlen : Absalom and Achituphcl, part i. .i;o,.')21. 
 
 Jonathan. Brothrrjonnthan. In the 
 revolutionary war, Washington, being 
 in great want of sujtplies for the army, 
 and having unhounded confidence in 
 his friend, Jonathan Trumbull, governor 
 of Connecticut, said, " We must consult 
 brother Jonathan." Brother Jonathan 
 was consulted on all occasions by the 
 American liberator, and the phrase be- 
 coming pojjular was accepted as the na- 
 tional name of the Americans as a people. 
 
 Jonathan and David. In 1 Sam. 
 xviii. 4 we read that .Jonathan (the 
 king's son^ " stripped himself of his robe 
 and gave it to David, with his sword, 
 bow, and girdle." This was a mark of 
 honour, as princes and sovereigns now- 
 adays strip themselves of a chain or 
 
 a ring, which they give to one they 
 delight to honour. In 1')1<J the Sultan 
 Selim, desirous of showing lionour to 
 an imaum of Constautiuoplc, threw liis 
 roytil robe over liim. 
 
 Jonathan's. A noted coffee-house in 
 Change Alley, described in the Tiitkr as 
 the general mart of stock- jobbers. 
 
 V What is now called the Stock Ex- 
 change was called Jonathan's. 
 
 " Vfsterilny tliehroKi'rsanirofhevs . . . rnme tn 
 a l-es.lution that (the ii^'W I. nililhcl instead of 
 hein;.' railed 'New .loiiathan's.' should he called 
 'The Stork Exrhanire.' .... The 1 idkera then 
 rollected sixi eiire each. and rlil-isteiied the house 
 wilh piuirli.'- .N,«spa|ii- par.-iKiaph (,lulv 1.1, 
 I7::ii. 
 
 Jonathan's Arrows. They were 
 shot to give warning, and not to hurt. 
 (1 Sam. XX. 3G.) 
 
 "If the hiishand would leprove his wife, it 
 should he ill such a uio.xl as if he did riride him- 
 self : and his wnnls. like .huiathan's arrows, 
 shi iild l.e shot, not to hurl, hut only to (,'ive 
 waniiiii.'. '■—/,(■ Faint: The lltinsi: in the Church- 
 yard, rhaji. xrix. 
 
 Jonc (Frendi). A wedding-ring; so 
 called bcc.'niso those who were mtirried 
 by comjiidsion atSte. Marine wore rings 
 of jonc or straw. 
 
 "('est dans 1 Tu'lise de Sfp. Marine que Ton 
 niarli- reiix f|iie Ton rnndamne A s'ei'om'er. An- 
 rieniiemi'nt on les mnriait aver tin anneau de 
 paille : etait-re pour iuarc|iier an mari i|ne la 
 verm de relle (lu'il i'lionsalt clait hicn fragile?" 
 — Dnlaiire. 
 
 Jones. I'^tre siir h joiics (to be on 
 the straw) — i.e. in prison. 
 
 " riaiitez atix Imrines vns pirons 
 I)a iiaoiir les hisans si tres-durs 
 Kt aiissi d'estre siir les jonrz, 
 Emuiani hcz cii rnlTrc et L'ros murs." 
 Villni : Jar,i„ii ,t J„l„li>i, ballade 1. 
 
 Jordan Passed. Death over. 
 Jordan is the Styx of Christian myth- 
 ology, because it was tlie river which 
 separated the VN-ilderness [of this world] 
 from the promised land. 
 
 '• If 1 still hold rloselv to Tlim, 
 What hath Heat last ? 
 SorrcjW vaminisheil, labour ended, 
 .Ionian jmssed." 
 John Jla^onNeale, D.P. (Stiidiiu the Saba ite). 
 
 Jordeloo (3 syl.). Notice given to 
 passeiiffcrs when dirty water was thrown 
 from chamber windows into the street. 
 Either ^'Gnrr dc Venn,'''' or el.'se " Jor'hi' 
 In!" the mutiila being usually called 
 the "Jordan." 
 
 "At ten o'clock at ni»;lit the whole rarcro is 
 filing' out of a bark window tliat looks into some 
 str(>pt or lane, and the maid calls '(iardy loo" to 
 tlie passem-'crs." -Smu'htt : llinnpln-iy iliiii.er. 
 
 "The lass bad made the (lardy loo out of the 
 wrrmcr window.''— .Sir If. Scott : Heart of Mid- 
 lothian. 
 
 Jor'mungan'dar or Midtinrrl.iormen 
 (i.e. earth's minister). The great serpent, 
 brother of Hela and Fenrir iq.r.), 
 and sou of Loki, the spii'it of evil. It
 
 Josaphat 
 
 689 
 
 Jouvence 
 
 used to lie at the root of the celestial 
 ash till All-Fader cast it iuto the ocean ; 
 it then grew so large that in time it en- 
 compassed the whole world, and was for 
 ever biting its own tail. 
 
 Jos'aphat. An Indian prince con- 
 verted by the hennit Bar'laam, in the 
 Greek religious pastoral entitled Josa- 
 phat and Barlaaii), generally ascribed to 
 St. John of Damascus (eighth century). 
 
 Josepb {A). One not to be seduced 
 from his continency by the severest 
 temptation. The reference is to Joseph 
 in Potiphar's house. (Gen. xxxix.) (^See 
 Bellerophon.) 
 
 A josn'pli. A great coat, so called 
 after Joseph, who wore a garment or 
 coat of many colours. 
 
 "At lent,'tli, Mrs. Ruby herself made lier appear- 
 ance : lier venerable person, endued with what 
 was then called a josepli, an anude Barnient, 
 which had iince been green, but now, betwixt 
 stains and mfches, had becimie like the vcslnre 
 iif llie pairiarch whose nan>r it bore— a garment 
 of divers colours."— .Sir ir. Hadt : The finite, 
 cha;i. xi. 
 
 Joseph (.SV.). Patron saint of car- 
 penters, because he was of the same craft. 
 This is Joseph, husband of Mary, and 
 the reputed father of Jesus. 
 
 In Christian art Josejih is represented 
 as an aged man with a budding statf in 
 his hand. 
 
 Joseph Andrews. The hero of a 
 novel written by Fielding to ridicule 
 Richardson's I'ain'ria, whose brother 
 Joseph is supposed to be. 
 
 Joseph of A'rimathe'a brought 
 to Listenise the sanctsrn.Tl and also the 
 spear with which Longi'nus wounded 
 the crucitied Saviour. When Sir Balin 
 entered this chamber, which was in the 
 palace of King Pellam, he found it 
 "marvellously well dight and richly; 
 the bed was arrayed with cloth of gold, 
 the richest that might be thought, and 
 therebv stood a table of clean gold, with 
 four pillars of silver, and upon the table 
 stood the spear strangely wrought." 
 {The History of Frbice Arthur, part i. 
 chap. 40.) 
 
 Joseph's Coat. [See under Coat.) 
 
 Joss. The house-god of the Chinese ; 
 every family has its joss. A temple is 
 called a joss-house. 
 
 Josse. ' Vous etcs orfevrr. Monsieur 
 Joss-e (You are a jeweller, Mr. Josse). 
 Nothing like leather ; great is Diana of 
 the Ephcsians ; your advice is not dis- 
 interested. In Moliere's comedy of 
 L^ Amour Medecin, a silversmith, by the 
 name of Josse, being asked the best way 
 
 of curing a lady pining from love, 
 recommends a handsome present of 
 jewellery. The father replies, " You 
 advise me like a jeweller, Mr. Josse." 
 
 Jot. Kotajot. " Jot " is a contrac- 
 tion of iota, called the Lncedemoninn 
 letter, and the smallest in the al^jliabet ; 
 or the Hebrew ijod. 
 
 Jo'tham, in Dryden's satire of Ab- 
 salom (Old Achitophel, means Saville, 
 Marquis of Halifax. Jotham was the 
 person who uttered the parable of The 
 Trees Choosinff a Kiiifi when the men 
 of Shechem made Abimelech kuig. 
 (Judges ix.) 
 
 Jotunheim (pron. Vtun-hime). Giant 
 land. The home or region of the Scan- 
 dinavian giants or joten. 
 
 Jour Maigre (French). A day of 
 abstinence, when meat is forbidden to 
 be eaten. {Sec Banian Days.) 
 
 Jourdain {Monsieur), in Moliere's 
 comedy of Le Bourejeois (lentilhomme. 
 He represents a bourgeois placed by 
 wealth in the ranks of gentlemen, and 
 making himself extremely ridiculous by 
 his endeavours to acquire their accom- 
 l)lishments. 
 
 Journal. (Latin, diurnum, a daily 
 thing ; Wekh, diwrnod : Italian, (jiorno ; 
 Trench, Journa/, jouma], jour, a day.) 
 
 Applied to newspapers, the word 
 strictly means a daily paper ; but the 
 extension of the term to weekly papers 
 is sanctioned by custom. 
 
 Journey. A Sabbath -dai/\s Journei/. 
 The distance between the farthest tents 
 in the wilderness and the tabernacle of 
 Moses, a radius of about a mile ; this 
 would make the entire encampment to 
 cover a circumference of six miles. 
 
 Journey-weight. The weight of 
 certain parcels of gold in the mint. A 
 Journei/ of r/otd is fifteen pounds Troy, 
 which is coined into 701 sovereigns, or 
 double that number of half-sovereigns. 
 A Journei/ of silrer is sixty pounds Troy, 
 which is coined into 3,960 shillings, or 
 double that number of sixpences, half 
 that number of florins, etc. So called 
 because this weight of coin was at one 
 time esteemed a day's mintage. (French, 
 Journee.) 
 
 Jouvence (2 syl.). You have been to 
 the fountain of Jonrence—i.e. You have 
 grown young again. This is a French 
 phrase. Jouvence is a town of France 
 in the department of Saone-et-Loire, 
 and has a fountain called lafontalne de
 
 Jove 
 
 O'.tO 
 
 Judas Kiss 
 
 Jourciice ; Lut Jouvence means also 
 j/oiith, and InfoiitairiC dejoiivciirr may be 
 rendered " the fountain of youth." The 
 jilay on the word gave rise to the tradition 
 tliat whoever drank of tliis fountain 
 woxdd become young again. 
 
 Jove (1 syl.). {Sec Jupitee.) The 
 Titans made war against Jove, and tried 
 to dethrone him. 
 
 " Xot, Htroni-'cr were of olil (lie j-'iant crew. 
 WUii soiw.'lil l,i-> imll liiKli .love from vpLral state." 
 Tlivmson : Cantlc uf luiiohiice, canto I. 
 
 Milton, in Faradisc Lost, makes Jove 
 one of the fallen angels (i. 512). 
 
 Jo'via]. Merry and sociable, like 
 those born under the planet Jupiter, 
 which astrologers considered the hajipiest 
 of the natal stars. 
 
 "Our jiivial star reigned at Iiis birth." 
 
 ShiiUespcare : Ci/iiibcliiie, v. •). 
 
 Joy. 77/(^ srrr)> joi/x of the Virr/itt : 
 (1) The anniniciation ; (2) the visitation ; 
 (3) the nativity ; (4) the adoration of tlio 
 three kings ; (.')) the presentation in the 
 temple ; (6) the discovery of her youthful 
 Son in the temple in the midst of the 
 doctors : (7) her assumption and corona- 
 tion. {See Sorrow.) 
 
 Joycuse (2 syl.). Charlemagne's 
 sword, wliich bore the inscription Drcein 
 prtrcrptd'rKiii ctmlos Ccir'uhfs ; the sword 
 of Guillaume au Court-Neji : anyone's 
 sword. It was buried with Charlc- 
 maguc. {'Sec Swords.) 
 
 Joyeuse Garde or Gayde-Jnifcxse. 
 The estate given bv King Arthur to 
 Sir Launcelot of the Lake for defending 
 the Queen's honour against Sir Mador. 
 
 Juan Fernandez. A rocky island 
 in the Pacitic Ocean, oflf the coast of 
 Chili. Here Alexander Selkirk, a buc- 
 caneer, re.sidcd in solitude for four years, 
 and his history is commonly supposed 
 to be the basis of Defoe's Itubinson 
 Crusoe. 
 
 Sailors commonly believe that this 
 island is the scene of Crusoe's adventures ; 
 but Defoe distinctly indicates an island 
 on the east coast of South America, some- 
 where near Dutch Guiana. 
 
 Jubal [ff trumpet']. The son of 
 Lamech and Adah. He is called the 
 inventor of the lyre and flute (Gen. iv. 
 19-21). 
 
 " Then when he [Jiiran] heard the voice of JuhaVs 
 lyre. 
 Instinctive frenius cauprht tlie ethereal Are." 
 Montyomcryj : The World Before the Flodd. c. 1. 
 
 Ju'bilee (Jewish) . The year of jubilee. 
 Every fiftieth year, when land that had 
 passed out of the possession of those to 
 
 whom it originally belonged was restored 
 to them ; all who had been reduced to 
 jioverty, and were obliged to let them- 
 selves out for hire, were released from 
 bondage ; and all debts were cancelled. 
 The word is ivom jobil (a ram's horn), so 
 called because it was luoclaimed with 
 trmnpets of rams' horns. {See Leviticus 
 XXV. 11-34, P.9-54 ; and xxvii. 16-24.) 
 
 .Jubilee (in the Catholic Church). Every 
 twenty-fifth year, for the jiurjiose of 
 granting indulgences. Boniface VIII. 
 instituted it in 1300, and ordered it to bo 
 observed every hundred yetirs. Clement 
 VI. reduced the interval to fifty years, 
 Urban IV. to thirty, and Sixtus IV. to 
 twenty-five. 
 
 I'rvtestant Jnbihe^ celebrated in Ger- 
 many in 1(J17, the centenary of the 
 Eeformation. 
 
 Shnhespeare .Tidiilee, held at Stratford- 
 on-Avcu. Se]>tember fith, 1760. 
 
 J/ibilerin commemorate the commence- 
 ment of the fiftieth year of the reign cf 
 George III., October 2r)th, 1809. 
 
 .Jubilee to celebrate the close of the 
 Revolutionary War, August l^^t, 1814. 
 
 1887. The Jubilee to commemorate 
 the fiftieth year of the reign of Queen 
 Victoria. 
 
 Jn'daise (3 syl). To convert rr 
 conform to the doctrines, rites, or mtiii- 
 ners of the Jews. A .Judaisiiif/ spirit is 
 a desire to convert others to the Jewi.-h 
 religion. 
 
 Ju'dnicm (3 syl.). The religion of 
 the Jews, or anything else which is sjjc- 
 cial to that peoj)le. 
 
 Ju'das, in the satire of Absnlrjm and 
 Aehitophel, by Dryden and Tate, was 
 meant for Mr. Furgueson, a Noncon- 
 fonnist. He was ejected in 1662 from 
 his living of Godmersham, in Kent, and 
 afterwards distinguished himself by 
 his political intrigues. He joined the 
 Duke of Monmouth, whom he after- 
 wards betrayed. 
 
 Le poi»t de Judas (French). The 
 number thirteen. The Messiah and His 
 twelve disciples made thirteen. And as 
 Judas was the first to die, he was the 
 thirteenth. At the death of the Saviour, 
 the number being reduced to eleven, a 
 twelfth (Matthias) was elected by lot 
 to fill the place of the traitor. 
 
 Judas Kiss {A^. A deceitful act of 
 courtesy. Judas betrayed his Master 
 with a kiss. 
 
 '■ Sci .Tildas kissed his Master, 
 And cried. '.Ml hail!" wlieiias he meant all 
 luirm.' Shiihcsfetirc : 3 Jlchnj Vl., v. ",
 
 Judas Slits 
 
 GOl 
 
 Juggernaut 
 
 Judas Slits or Judas Holes. The 
 
 peep-holes in a prisou-door, through 
 which the guard looks into Ihe cell to 
 see if all is right ; when not in use, the 
 holes are covered up. 
 
 " It was tlie faint click iiiaile liy the cover of tlie 
 ' Jiiilas' as it falls back into tlie place over tlie 
 slit wiicie till' c\ PS bave \ieen."— The Cfiitury : 
 liitSi-idit Political Prisons. Fcliriiary, l.s.sM, ji. 5i'l. 
 
 Judas Tree. A translation of the 
 Latin (trbor Judtc. The name has given 
 rise to a Greek tradition that it was upon 
 one of these trees that Judas Iscariot 
 hanged himself. 
 
 Judas-coloured Hair. Fiery-red. 
 Cain is represented with red hair. 
 
 '■His vpi-y liajr is nf tlie (lisseiiililiiiLr colour, 
 sonietliiii^' hrowiier than Judas s."— ,S/i«A'c.-;)C((i'i;: 
 As You l.ilce It, iii. 4. 
 
 Jude C'SV.), in Christian art, is repre- 
 sented with a club or staff, and a car- 
 jteuter's square, in allusion to his trade. 
 
 Judee. L(i petite Jitdce (French). 
 The in'efecfure of police : so called 
 because the bureau is in the Rue de Jeru- 
 salem, and tliose taken there for oil'ences 
 look on the police as their betraj'crs. 
 
 Judge's Black Cap. The judge puf s 
 on his black cap (now a three-cornered 
 piece of black silk) when he condemns 
 to death, in sign of mourning. This 
 sign is very ancient. "Haman hasted 
 to his house mourning, having his head 
 covered" (Esther vi. 12). David wept 
 " and had his head covered " ('2 Samuel 
 XV. 30). Demosthenes went home with 
 his head covered when insulted by the 
 populace. Darius covered his head on 
 learuing the death of his queen. Malcolm 
 says to Macduff in his deep sorrow, 
 " What, man ! ne'er jnill your hat upon 
 j'our brows" {Macbeth, iv. 3). And the 
 yncient English, says Fosbroke, " drew 
 their hoods forward over their heads at 
 funerals." 
 
 Judges' Rcbcs. In the criminal 
 courts, where the judges represent the 
 sovereign, they appear in full court 
 dress, and wear a scarlet robe ; but in 
 Nisi Prius Courts Ihe judge sits merely 
 to balance the law between civilians, 
 and tlierefore appears in his judicial 
 imdrcES, or violet gown. 
 
 Ju'dica (Latin). The fifth Sunday 
 after Lent ; so called from the first word 
 of the service for the daj-, Jitdica me, 
 Ilcm'iue (Judge me, O Lord). (Psalm 
 xliii.) 
 
 Judicium Crucis was stretching out 
 the arms before a cross, till one of the 
 part}- could hold cut no longer, and lost 
 his cause. The bishop of Paris and 
 
 abbot of St. Denis appealed to this 
 judgment in a dispute they had about 
 the patronage of a monastery ; each of 
 the disputants selected a man to repre- 
 sent his cause, and the man selected by 
 the bishop gave in, so that the award 
 was given in favour of the abbot. 
 
 Judicium Dei (Latin). The trial 
 of guilt by direct appeal to God, under 
 the notion that He would defend the 
 right even liy miracle. There were nu- 
 merous methods of appeal, as by single 
 combat, ordeal by water or fire, eating 
 a crust of bread, standing with arms ex- 
 tended, consulting the Bible, etc., etc. 
 
 Ju'dith. The Jewish heroine of 
 Bethu'lia, who perilled her life in the 
 tent of Holof ernes, the general of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, in order to save her native 
 town. The bold adventurer cut off the 
 head of the Assj'riau, and her townsmen, 
 rushing on the invaders, defeated them 
 with great slaughter. {TIte Booh of 
 Jitdith.) 
 
 Jug (-/) or a Sto))e JiKj. A prison. 
 {See JoGGis.) 
 
 Juge de Paix (French). A cudgel. 
 
 "Albeit M.uc.'ii, contlainiir a iiiiirt le 7 tlorfiil 
 an. ii. axaiit ilit .iiic les jaculiiiis (■taicnt tnu ilc! 
 scclC'iats ct (Ks roiiuiiis, c: moiiir.iiit un ,i;nis 
 Iwtini iin'il lenait A la, main: Voila wn Miitri- ik^ 
 l'ai,\ ' (|ui me seiviia a li'iir cas^scr la bane dii 
 con."— t. /'. Pi-ddliuiiime : Diet, clcs ImUi-idus Con- 
 
 dannie 
 
 etc. 
 
 Jugged Hare. The hare being cut 
 up is put into a jug or pipkin, and the 
 pipkin is set in a pan of water. This 
 bain marie prevents the contents of the 
 pipkin from being burnt. 
 
 Juggernaut or Jaggernaut. A 
 Hindu god. The word is a corruption 
 of the Sanscrit jariannntha (lord of the 
 world). The temple of this god is in a 
 town of the same name in Orissa. King 
 Ayeen Akbery pent a learned Brahman 
 to look out a site for a temple. The 
 Brahman wandered about for many 
 days, and then saw a crow dive into the 
 water, and having washed, made obeis- 
 ance 10 the element. This was selected 
 as the site of the temple. While the 
 temple was a-buildiug the rajah had a 
 prophetic dream, telling him that the 
 true form of Vishnu should be revealed 
 to him in the morning. Whea the rajah 
 went to see the temple he bclield a log 
 of wood in the water, and this log he 
 accepted as the realisation of his dream, 
 enshrined it in the temple, and called it 
 Jagannath. 
 
 " Tbe idol Jag.cernat is in shape like a serpen', 
 with seven heads ; and on each cheek it hath 
 the fiirm of a wing, and the wiuirs open, and shut, 
 and flap as it is carried in a stately chariot."— 
 BriUon: CliuichiWs Collection.
 
 Juggler 
 
 G92 
 
 Jumper 
 
 Tlie car of Jiiqgcrnaut. Au enormous 
 wooden machine adorned vvitli all sorts 
 of figures, and mouuted on sixteen 
 ■vvhcel.s. Fifty men drag it annually to 
 the temple, and it is said to contain a 
 hride for tlie god. Formerly many were 
 cruslied to death l)y the car ; some being 
 inished down by the enoimous crowd; 
 some throwing themselves under the 
 Avheels, as persons in England under a 
 railway train ; some perhaps as devotees. 
 By IJiitish police arrangements, such 
 immolation is practically abolished. 
 
 Juggler means a player. (Latin, 
 jociiltitor.) These jugglers accompanied 
 the miustrels and troubadours, to assist 
 them, and added to their musical talents 
 sleight-of-hand, antics, and feats of 
 l^rowess, to amuse the company assem- 
 bled. In time the music was dropped as 
 the least attractive, and tricks became 
 the staple of these wandering perfonners. 
 {Latin, JorK,'uloi\ JocH.i, a joke or trick.) 
 
 Juggs or Jougs. The name given in 
 Scotland to a .sort of i)illory, consisting 
 of an iron I'ing or collar fastened by a 
 short chain to a wall, as the "juggs " of 
 Uuddingston, Edinburgh. (.SVr Joaais.) 
 
 Julian, th(^ Roman emperor, boasted 
 that he would rebuild Jerusalem, but 
 was mortally wounded by au arrow 
 before the foundation was laid. Much 
 has been made of this by early Christian 
 writers, who dwell on the prohibition 
 and curse pronounced against those who 
 should attempt to rebuild the city, and 
 the fate of Jidian is pointed out as an 
 example of Divine wrath against the 
 impious disregarder of the threat. 
 
 " Well pleasnd tlioy look fiirSiou's coniiiifr state, 
 Nor tliiuk of Julian's Ijoast anc! .liiliatis fate." 
 Vrabbe : BoroiKjh. 
 
 St. Jidian. Patron saint of travellers 
 and of hospitality. Represented as ac- 
 companied by a stag in allusion to his 
 early career as a hunter ; and either re- 
 ceiving the poor and afflicted, or ferrying 
 travellers across a river. 
 " An lioiiselialdere, and that a gret, was he ! 
 Seynt Julian lie was in his countre, 
 His breed, his ale, was alway after con [one 
 
 pattern] ; 
 A bettre envyned man was nowhere noon.'' 
 Chaucer: The Frankelei/n, liitroditctionto 
 Canterbury Tales. 
 
 St. Julian teas he deemed. A great 
 epicure. St. Julian was the epicurean 
 
 of saints. {See above.) 
 
 Julian Epoch or Era. That of the 
 reformed calendar by Julius Caesar, 
 which began forty-six years before 
 Christ. 
 
 Julian Period is produced by mul- 
 tiplying together the lunar cycle, the 
 
 solar cycle, and the Roman iudiction. 
 The first year of the Christian era cor- 
 responded to the j-ear4713of the Julian, 
 and therefore to reduce our B.C. dates to 
 the Julian, we must subtract them from 
 471-i, but our a.d. dates we nmst add to 
 that number. So named from Julius 
 Scaligcr, the deviser of it. 
 
 Jnlian period. Multiply -H by 1!) anJ by 15, 
 which will Kivo 7.n«i, I ho time when the solarand 
 lunar perioils apree. 
 
 Julian Year. The year regulated 
 by Julius Ca!far, which continued to be 
 observed till it was corrected by Pope 
 Gregory XIII. in 1582. 
 
 Julienne Soup. Clear meat soup, 
 containing chopped vegetables, especially 
 carrots ; so called after Julieu, a French 
 cook, of Boston. 
 
 Juliet. Daughter of Lady Capulet, 
 and "sweet sweeting" of Romeo, in 
 Shakesiieare's tragedy of Roiiieo and 
 Juliet. She has become a household 
 word for a lady-love. 
 
 Ju'lium Si'dus. The comet which 
 ajijH'ared at the death of Julius Ca-sar, 
 and wliich in court flattery was called 
 the apotheo sis of the murdered man. 
 
 July'. The seventh month, named 
 by Mark Antony, in honour of Julius 
 C;esar, who was born in it. 
 
 Ju'mala. The supreme idol of the 
 ancient Finns and La]i])s. The word is 
 sometinies used by the Scandinavian 
 poets for the Almighty. 
 
 "On a lonely cliff 
 An ancient shrine ho found, of Jumala the seat. 
 For many a year pone by closed uii and desolate." 
 Frithiof-fiaja : The Rec(incili((tion. 
 
 Jump. To jump or to fit or unite with 
 like a graft ; as, both oar inventions meet 
 and Jump in one. Hence the adverb 
 exactly, precisely. 
 
 "ttood advice is easily followed when it jumps 
 with our own . . . inclinations."— iocAftai-it; Sir 
 Walter Scott, chap. s. p. 341. 
 
 V The Scotch use Jimp, as, " When 
 she had been married jimp four months." 
 {The Antiquary.) 
 
 Jump at an Offer {To). To accept 
 eagerly. 
 
 Jump Over tlie Broomstick {To). 
 
 To marry in an informal way. A 
 ' ' broiu ' ' is the bit of a bridle ; to 
 "jump the brom " is to skip over the 
 marriage restraint, and "broomstick" 
 is a mere corruption. 
 
 "A Romish weddiiii; is surely better than 
 iumpiiife' over a broomsrick." — (I. A. Sala. 
 
 Jumper. The longest jumper on 
 record was Phayllos, who is accredited
 
 Jund 
 
 693 
 
 Jurassic EocliS 
 
 ■with jumping 55 feet. Half that length 
 would be an enormous jump. 
 
 A cvutiter jumper. A draper's appren- 
 tice or einjiloj'e, who is accustomed to 
 jump over the shop counter to save the 
 trouble and time of going round. 
 
 June (I s}-!.). The sixth month. Ovid 
 says, '■'Jionxs a juveiiidn voniinc dictii-s.'" 
 (Fasti, V. 78.) 
 
 June Marriages Lucky. "Good 
 to the man and happy to the maid." 
 This is an old Roman superstition. The 
 festival of Juno moneta was held on the 
 calends of June, aiid Juno was the great 
 guardian of the female sex from birth 
 to death. 
 
 Ju'nior Op'time. A Cambridge 
 University tenn, meaning a third-class 
 " honour" man — i.e. in the mathemati- 
 cal " honour" examination. 
 
 Ju'nior Soph. A man of the second 
 year's standing is so called in the Uni- 
 versity of Cambridge. (See Soph.) 
 
 Ju'nlus. Letters ofjioiiiix. In 1871 
 was published a book entitled T/ie Haud- 
 writiiie/ of Jioiiiix I'rofessioitaUi/ Investi- 
 gated bt/ Mr. Charles Chabot, expert. 
 The object of this book is to prove that 
 Sir Phih'p Francis was the author of 
 the.'.e letters. On the 2-2nd May, 1871, 
 appeared an article in the 'Times to show 
 that the case is "not proven" by Mr. 
 Chabot. Mr. Pitt told Lord Aberdeen 
 that he knew who wrote the Junius 
 Letters, and that it was not Francis. 
 Lady Grenville sent a letter to the 
 editor of J)iaries of a Lady of Quality to 
 the same effect. 
 
 Junk, Latin, jiairiis, from jinign, to 
 join ; used for binding, making baskets, 
 mats. 'Yh.&jnitcus maritliinis is useful in 
 binding together the loose sands of the 
 sea-shore, and obstructing the iucur- 
 sions of the sea. The jioieus eunglomer- 
 dtiis is used in Holland for giving 
 stability to river-banks and canals. (See 
 KuSH.) 
 
 Junk. Salt meat supplied to vessels 
 for long voyages ; so called because it is 
 hard and tough as old rope-ends so called. 
 Ropes are called junks because they were 
 once made of bulrushes. Junk is often 
 called salt horse. {See Haeness Cask.) 
 
 Jun'ket. Curded cream with spice, 
 etc. ; any dainty. The word is the 
 Italian fi in neat a (curd or cream cheese), 
 so called because carried on junk or bul- 
 rushes (giiiiiec). 
 
 "You know there wants no junkets at the feast." 
 Hhakespearc : Taming of the tihrew, iii. i'. 
 
 Junner. A giant in Scandinavian 
 mythology, said in the Edda to represent 
 the " eternal princii:)le. " Its skull forms 
 the heavens ; its eyes the sun and moon ; 
 its shoulders the mountains ; its bones 
 the rocks, etc. ; hence the poets call 
 heaven " Junner's skull;" the sun, 
 "Junner's right eye;" the moon, "Jun- 
 ner's left eye;" the rivers, "the ichor 
 of old Junner." (iVt' GiAXTS.) 
 
 Ju'no. The "venerable ox-eyed" 
 wife of Jupiter, and queen of heaven. 
 (Roman mythology .) 
 
 '.' The famous marble statue of the 
 Campana Juno is in the Vatican. 
 
 Juno'nian Bird. The peacock, dedi- 
 cated to the goddess-queen. 
 
 Junto. Afaction consisting of Russell, 
 Lord-Keeper Somers, Charles Montague, 
 and several other men of mark, who 
 ruled the Whigs in the reign of Wil- 
 liam III. for nearly twenty j-ears, and 
 exercised a very great influence over the 
 nation. The word is a corruption of 
 the Spanish junta (an admiiiisti-ativo 
 assembly), but is in English a term of 
 censure. 
 
 Jupiter is the Latin form of Zev? 
 TraT^p. Verospi's statue of Jupiter is in 
 the Vatican ; but one of the seven won- 
 ders of the world was the statue of 
 Olympian Jove, by Phidias, destroyed 
 by fire in Constantinoj^le a.d. 475. 
 
 This gigantic statue was nearly sixty feet 
 high, though seated on a throne. The statue was 
 made of ivory ; the throne of cedar-wood, adorned 
 with ivory, ebony, ijold, and precious stones. The 
 god holds in his right hand a golden statue of 
 Victory,and his left hand rested on a long sceptre 
 surmounted with an eagle. Themijeof the god 
 was of gold, and so was the footstoul supported 
 by golden lions. This wonderful wurk of art was 
 removed to Constantinople liy Theodosius I. 
 
 Jupiter. With the ancient alchemists 
 designated tin. 
 
 Jupiter Scapin. A nickname of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, given him by the 
 Abbe de Pradt. Scapin is a valet famous 
 for his knavish tricks, in Molicre's comedy 
 of Les Fourberies dc Scapin. 
 
 Jupiter's Beard. House-leek. Sup- 
 posed to be a charm against evil spirits 
 and lightning. Hence grown at one 
 time very generally on the thatch of 
 houses. 
 
 "Et liabet quisune supra domum suum Jovis 
 barljaui."—t7i II )•;<■»!(((;»(;'«■ Edict. 
 
 Jurassic Rocks. Limestone rocks ; 
 so called from the Jura ; the Jurassic 
 period is the geological period when 
 these rocks were formed. Our oolitic 
 series pretty nearly corresponds with 
 the Jurassic.
 
 Jurisprudence 
 
 G04 
 
 Kabibonokka 
 
 Jurisprudence. Tlic Father ofjtiris- 
 prKili'iicf. Glaiiville, who wrote Trac- 
 ta'tns de Leq'ihus et ConsuctHdbnhHs 
 Aiifillcp in 1181 (died 1190). 
 
 Jury Leg (^4). A wooden leg, or 
 leg for the nonce. {See Jury Mast.) 
 
 ■' I took llic lec off with iiiy saw . . . seared the 
 stunjp . . . and made a jury lej,' that he sliaiiihles 
 ahoiit with as well as ever he did."— .Sir If. Scott : 
 The Pirate, chaii. xxxiv. 
 
 Jury Mast. A corruption of joury 
 mast — i.e. a mast for the day, a tem- 
 jjorary mast, being a spar used for the 
 iiouce when the mast has been carried 
 iiwaj'. (French, 70«r, a day.) 
 
 Jus Civi le. Civil law. 
 
 Jus Divi'num. Divine law. 
 
 Jus Gen'tium (Latin). International 
 law. 
 
 Jus Mari'ti (Latin). The right of 
 the husband to the \vife'.s iirojierty. 
 
 Jus de Rcglisse (liquorice). French 
 ■slang for a negro. 
 
 Jus et Norma Loquendi. The right 
 method of speakiug and pronouncing 
 established by tlie custom of each par- 
 ticular nation. The whole phrase is 
 '■• Coiisuetudo, Jks ct norma loqiieiidi,'" 
 {Horace.) 
 
 Just {The). 
 
 Aristi'dGs, the Athenian (died B.C. 
 468). 
 
 Ba'haram, styled Shah Endch (the Just 
 King), fifth of the Sassan'idns ('/•''.) 
 (276-296). 
 
 Casimir II., King of Poland (1117, 
 1177-1194). 
 
 Ferdinand I., King of Aragou (1373, 
 U12-1416). 
 
 Haroun al Easchid (The Just). The 
 most renowned of the Abbasside califs, 
 and the hero of several of the Arabian 
 Xifihts stories (76), 786-808). 
 
 James II., King of Aragon (1261-1327). 
 
 Khosru or Chosroes, called by the 
 Arabs Molk al Adel (the Just King). 
 
 Moran the Just, councillor of Fere- 
 dacli, King of Ireland. 
 
 Tedio I. of Portugal (1320, 1357, 1367). 
 
 Juste Milieu (French). The golden 
 mean. 
 
 Justices in Eyre (pron. ii-e). A 
 contraction and corruption of Itin'cre — 
 i.e. on circuit. 
 
 Justing of Watson and Barbour. 
 
 A description of a ludicrous tilt between 
 Watson and Barbour, in Scotch verse, by 
 Sir David Lindsav. 
 
 Justinian. The Eiiqlish Jitstiinan. 
 Edward 1. (1239, 1272-1307). 
 
 Ju' venal (Latin, from jiireiiis). A 
 j-outh ; common in Shakespeare, thus — 
 
 ■'Tlir' Juvenal, the prince your master, whose 
 chiu is not yet Uedged."—:; Henry /!',, i. i. 
 
 Juvenal. 
 
 T/ie Juu/lish Jareiial. John Oldham 
 (16.53-1683). 
 
 I'he Jiiieiial of Painters. William 
 Hogarth (1697-1764). 
 
 Juveniles (3 syl.), in theatrical par- 
 lance, means those actors who play 
 young men's parts, whefher in tragedy, 
 melodrama, or light comedy, T.'ius a 
 manager scoring a plaj' would write 
 against Hamlet, not the name of tlie 
 actor, but "the leading Juvenile." 
 
 K 
 
 K. To be branded with a K {l:ahtmnia). 
 So, according to the J.ex Mriiiinia, fal.se 
 accusers were branded in the forehead. 
 
 K. The three had K\<t. The Greeks 
 so called the Ka'rians, Kre'tans, and 
 Kilik'ians. The IJomans retained Ihe 
 .same expression, though they spelt the 
 three nations with C instead of K. 
 
 K.C.B. Knight Commander of the 
 Bath. 
 
 K.G. Knight of the Garter. 
 
 K.K. is the German Iiaiserliehe 
 KiinicjJivhe. The Emperor of Austria 
 is styled K.K. Majestiit (His Imperial 
 Eoyal Majesty). 
 
 K.O.B. {^t.e. the King's Own Bor- 
 derers). The 2.5th Foot, so called in 
 1805. 
 
 Ka Me, Ka Thee. One good turn 
 deserves another ; do me a service, and 
 I will give you a helping hand when you 
 require one. (Latin, Fricanteni frica, or 
 3Ii(Ii mutao scahant.) 
 
 "Ka me, ka thee, is a proverb all over tLe 
 world."— .S'/i- ir. Scott: Ketiilirorth, ehap. v. 
 
 Ka'aba (Arabic, ka'hali, a square 
 house). A .shriue of Mecca, said to liavo 
 been built by Abraham on the spot wliere 
 Adam first worshipped after liis expul- 
 sion from Paradise. In tlie north-east 
 corner is a stone seven inches long, said 
 to be a ruby seut down from heaven. It 
 is now black, from being kissed so often 
 by sinful man. {Sec Adam's Pkak.) 
 
 Kab'ibonok'ka (Xorth - American 
 lu'rian). Son of Mudjekee'wis, anil the
 
 Kadris 
 
 G9J 
 
 Kami 
 
 Indian Boreas, who dwelt in Wabasso 
 (the North). He paints the autumn leaves 
 scarlet and yellow, sends the snow, binds 
 th'^ rivers in ice, and drives away the 
 s'la-gull, cormorant, and heron. [8cc 
 
 SriIXC7'E3I3. ) 
 
 Kadris. Mohammedan dervishes who 
 lacerate themselves with scourges. 
 
 Kaffir (Arabic, Kafir^ an infidel). 
 A name given to the Hottentots, who 
 reject the Moslem faith. Kafiflstan, in 
 Central Asia, means ' ' the country of the 
 infidels." 
 
 '■ Tlie :iffliiit.v of the Kaflr tribes! . . . inpluilinflr 
 till' Kallrs proiiiT ;uiil the i eoiileof Ci)iigi>, isliased 
 nil 111 ilir vriiiniw idiiiiiis s|iiiki'ii l).v tlieni, the di- 
 vert rc'ipri'-iciitatn I's cif .'i (■(iiiiinon, Imt now ex- 
 iini-:.iiiothiT 1 1 nil.' 111'. This;i!,'i,'regateoE laiigiiaws 
 is now com I'liii'iitly known as ... . the Bantu 
 liu'jnistic system."— A'. Johnston: Africa, p. 447. 
 
 Kai-Omurs (f/ie mif/hti/ Omurs), sur- 
 nat7ied (ihll-shah (earth's king). Son of 
 Du'lav^'d, founder of the city Balk, and 
 first of the Kai-Omurs or Paishdad'ian 
 dynasty of Persia (b.c. 940-920). (*e 
 Paisdadiax.) 
 
 Kai-an'ians. The sixth Persian 
 dynasty. The semi-historic period (b.c. 
 G60-3:?l). So called because they took 
 for their affix the term hai (tnighty), 
 called by the Greeks Ku (Kuros), and 
 by the Romans Cy (Cyrus). 
 
 Kail'yal (2 syl.). The heroine of 
 Southey's Curse of KcJtdma. 
 
 Kain Hens. Hens that a tenant 
 piys to his landlord, as a sort of rent in 
 kiud (ill-fed hens). (Gitij Jfainicruif/, v.) 
 
 Kaiser. The German Emperor. 
 He receives the title from Dalmatia, 
 Croatia, and the line of the Danube, 
 which, by the arrangement of Diocletian, 
 was governed by a prince entitled Coesar 
 of the Holy Roman Empire, as successor 
 of the emperor of the old Roman empire. 
 It was Albert II., Duke of Austria, who 
 added the Holy Roman Empire to the 
 imperial throne in 1438 ; and William I., 
 king of Prussia, on being crowned Ger- 
 man emperor in 1871, took the title. 
 
 Kajak. An Esquimaux boat, used by 
 the men only. Eishteen feet long, 
 eighteen inches broad in the middle, the 
 ends tapering, and one foot deep. 
 
 Ka'led is Gulnare (2 .syl.) in the dis- 
 guise of a page in the service of Lai'a. 
 After Lara was shot, she haunted thespot 
 of his death as a crazy woman, and died 
 of a broken heart. (Bi/roii : Lara.) 
 
 Kaleda {Sclavonic mythohqij). The 
 god of petice, somewhat similar to the 
 
 Latin Jtmus. His feast was celebrated 
 on the 24th of December. 
 
 Kali. A Hindu goddess after whom 
 Calcutta receives its name, Kali-Kutta 
 
 {Kul'Cs village). 
 
 Kaliyu'ga. The last of the four 
 Hindu jjeriods contained in the great 
 Yuga, equal to the Iron Age of classic 
 mythology. It consisted of 432,000 
 solar-sidereal years, and began 3,102 
 years before the Christian era. The 
 bull, representing truth and right, has 
 but one foot in this period, because all 
 the world delights in wickedness. {Sej 
 Keita.) 
 
 Kalmar'. TJie U/iio/i of Kalmar. A 
 treaty made on July 12th, 1397, to settle 
 the succession of Norway, Sweden, and 
 Denmark on Queen Margaret and her 
 heirs for ever. This treaty lasted only 
 till the death of Margaret. 
 
 Kalmucks — i.e. Khahmdkii (apos- 
 tates) from Buddhism. A race of west- 
 ern Monguls, extending from western 
 China to the valley of the Volg.i river. 
 
 Kalpa. A day and night of Brahnul, 
 a period of 4,320,000,000 solar-.sidereal 
 years. Some say there are an infinity 
 of Kalpas, others limit the number to 
 thirty. A Great Kalpa is a life of 
 Brahma ; the whole duration of time 
 from the creation to the destruction of 
 the world. 
 
 Kalpa-Tarou. A tree in Indian 
 mythology from which might be gathered 
 whatever a person desired. This tree is 
 " the tree of the imagination." 
 
 Kalyb. The "Lady of the Woods," 
 who stole St. George from his nurse, 
 brought him up as her own child, and 
 endowed him with gifts. St. (ieorge 
 enclosed her in a rock, where she was 
 torn to pieces by spirits. (Seven Cham- 
 pii.iia (jf Chrialcnclom, part i.) 
 
 Kam. Crooked. (Er.se kaaui, squint- 
 eved. ) Clean Kam, perverted into Kim 
 Kam, means wholly awrj', clean from the 
 purjjose. 
 
 "This is clean kam— merely awfy." 
 
 Sliah-espeare : Coriol iniiK/u'i. 1. 
 
 Kama. The Hindu god of love. His 
 wife is Rati (volaptnoaniies.'i), and he is 
 represented as riding on a sjiarrow, 
 holding in his hand a bow of flowers and 
 five aiTows {i.e. the five senses). 
 
 Ka'mi. The celestial gods of the 
 first mythical dynasty of Japan, the 
 demi-gods of the second dynasty, the 
 spiritual princes, anyone sainted or
 
 Kamsin 
 
 696 
 
 Kay 
 
 deified ; and now about equal to our 
 lord, a title of respect paid to princes, 
 nobles, miuisters, and governors. 
 
 Kamsin. A simoom or samiel, a hot, 
 dry, southerly wind, which prevails in 
 Egypt and the deserts of Africa. 
 
 Kansas, U.S. America. So named 
 from the Konsos, an Indian tribe of the 
 localit}\ 
 
 Kansas. BlecdUig lunisas. So called 
 because it was the place where that 
 sanguinary strife commenced which 
 was the prelude of the Civil War of 
 America. According to the Missouri 
 Compromise made in 1820, slavery was 
 never to be introduced into any western 
 region lying beyond 36° 30' north lati- 
 tude. In 1851, the slave-holders of 
 Missouri, by a local act, pushed their 
 west frontier to tlie river-bank, and 
 slave lords, with their slaves, took 
 possession of the Kansas hunting 
 grounds, declaring that they would 
 "lynch, hang, tar and feather any wliite- 
 livered abolitionist who presumed to 
 pollute the soil." In 1854, thirty New 
 England free-soilers crossed the river 
 in open boats; they were soon joined 
 by otliers, and dared the slavers to carry 
 out their threats. Many a tierce battle 
 was fought, but in 18(31 Bleeding 
 Kansas was admitted into the Union 
 as a free state. ( Jl^. llepiroith JJixon : 
 New America, vol. i. chap. 2.) 
 
 Karaites {Scriptitrlsts]. A Jewish 
 sect that adhered to the letter of the 
 Scriptures, rejecting all oral traditions. 
 They abhorred the Talmud, and observed 
 the Sabbath with more rigour than even 
 the rabbinists. 
 
 Karma. The Buddhist's judgment, 
 which determines at denth the future 
 state of the deceased. It is also their 
 fiat on actions, pronouncing them to be 
 meritorious or otherwise. 
 
 V In Theosophy, it means the un- 
 broken sequence of cause and effect ; 
 each effect being, in its tuni, the cause 
 of a subsequent effect. It is a Sanscrit 
 word, meaning " action " or "se- 
 quence." 
 
 "The I,-nvs whicli rleteniiine tlie vlivsir.-U attri- 
 Imtiiin. ronditiiiii cif life, intellectnni cajKirit cs, 
 ami S(i f.irtli, .if the new l)oily. to wliieli tin- Kl.'o 
 is ilivuvn liy affluities . . . are ... in Bmldliisni 
 rcalii'il] K-AVnvAr—yineteenth Centmij, June, 18y3, 
 p. mi',-,. 
 
 Karma'thians. A Mohammedan sect 
 which rose in Irak in the ninth 
 Christian century. Its founder was 
 Ahmad, a poor labourer who assumed 
 the name of Karmat, and professed to 
 be a prophet. 
 
 Karoon or Korah. The riches of 
 K(iroo)i (Arabic proverb). Korah, ac- 
 cording to the connnontators of the 
 Koran, was the most wealtliy and most 
 beautiful of all tlie Israelites. It is said 
 that he built a large palace, wliich he 
 overlaid with gold, and that the doors 
 of his jialace were solid gold {Sule : 
 Kor<ui). He was the Crnssus of flio 
 Malionietans, and guartled liis wealth in 
 a lal)yriiith. 
 
 Karrows. A set of gamblers in 
 Ireland, who played away even the 
 clothes on their backs. 
 
 "Tlic karrows iilaie awaie mantle and all to the 
 bare skin, and then tnisse Ihenisrhes in straw 
 or leaves. The.v wait fur iiasseiii;ci-y in the hi^'li- 
 waie, invite them tn wai e v\»i\\ tlie irreene and 
 aske no more luit e.mii.anioMS t ) make tlieni 
 sport. For default of other stnffe thev lawne 
 their Klilis, the nailes of their Hn^'crs and toes, 
 the:r (limiss.u-ies which thev leefe or n'deeine at 
 the conrtc'sy of tlie winner.'-.Sfdni/i/irst. 
 
 Kaswa {Al). Mahomet's favourite 
 camel, which fell on its knees in adora- 
 tion when "the prophet" delivered the 
 last clause of the Koran to the as- 
 sembled nudtitude at Mecca. This is 
 one of the dumb creatures admitted into 
 the Moslem paradise. {See Pakadise.) 
 
 Katcrfelto. A generic name for a 
 quack or charlatan. Katerfelto v.-as a 
 celebrated quack or infiucnza doctor. 
 He was a tall man, who dressed iu a 
 long black gown and square cap. In 
 1782 he exhibited in Loudon his solar 
 microscope, and created immense ex- 
 citement by showing the infusoria of 
 [muddj'J water. The doctor used to aver 
 that he was the greatest pliilosoi^her 
 since the time of Sir Isaac Newton. 
 " And Katerfelto with his hair on end, 
 At his own wonders wondrrinLf for his l.read."' 
 
 Cvirpcr : The Til til: ; The ]yii(tcr Kiciiiiiu {l"!'2i. 
 
 Katharine or Kathari'na. Daughter 
 of Baptista, a rich gentleman of Padua. 
 She was very beautiful, but a shrew. 
 Petruchio of Yero'na married her, and 
 so subdued her imperious temjier by liis 
 indomitable will, that she became the 
 model of a "submissive wife," and 
 gave Bianca, her sister, most excellent 
 ad\'ice respecting the duty of submission. 
 {Shali'sprare ; Taming of the Shren:) 
 
 The Katherine de' Medici of China. 
 Voochee, widow of King Tae-tsOng. 
 
 Kathay'. China. 
 
 Katmir. ( Sec Ketmie. ) 
 
 Kay or Sir Key. Son of Sir Ector, 
 and foster-brother of King Arthur. In 
 Arthurian romance, this seneschal of 
 England is represented as a rude and 
 boastfid knight, the first to attempt any 
 achievement, but very rarely successful.
 
 Kay-wal^d 
 
 CD? 
 
 iteep Company 
 
 Kayward. The hare, in the fale of 
 Mrilitard the Fox. (The word meaus 
 " Couutry-guardian.") 
 
 Kebcr'. A Persian sect (generally 
 ricli merchants), distinguished hy their 
 beards and dress. When one of them 
 dies, a cock is driven out of the poultry 
 yard ; if a fox seizes it, it is a proof that 
 the soul of the deceased is saved. If 
 this experiment does not answer, they 
 prop the dead body against a wall, and 
 if the birds peck out the right ej-e firsf, 
 the Keber is gone to heaven ; if the left 
 eye, the carcase is flung into the ditch, 
 for the Keber was a reprobate. 
 
 Kebla. The point of adoration ; i.e. 
 the quarter or point of the compass to- 
 wards which persons turn when they 
 worship. The Persian fire -worshippers 
 turn to the east, the place of tlie rising 
 sun : the Jews to Jerusalem, the city of 
 the King of kings ; the Mahometans to 
 Mecca ; the early Christians turned to 
 the " east," and the " communion table" 
 even of the "Reformed Church" is 
 placed at the east end of the building, 
 whenever this arrangement is practic- 
 able. Any object of passionate desire. 
 
 Kebla-Nonia. The pocket compass 
 carried by Mussulmans to direct them 
 which way to turn when they pray, {^ee 
 above.) 
 
 Kedar's Tents. This world. Kedar 
 was Arabia Deserta, and the phrase 
 Kedar's tents means houses in the wilder- 
 ness of this Avorld. 
 
 " All n!p ! all nip ! tliat 1 
 
 In Kedar's tents liere stay ; 
 No place like tliat on bigli ; 
 Lord, thitlier guide my way." 
 
 Crosfvran. 
 
 Ke'derli. The St. George of Ma- 
 hometan mythology. He slew a mon- 
 strous dragou to save a damsel exposed 
 to its fury, and, having drunk of the 
 '.vater of life, rode about the world to 
 aid those warriors Avho invoked him. 
 This tradition is exactly parallel to that 
 of St. George, and explains the reason 
 why the one is the field-word with the 
 Turks, and the latter with the ancient 
 English. 
 
 Ked'jeree'. A stew of rice, vege- 
 tables, eggs, butter, etc. A corruption 
 of the Indian word Khichri (a medley or 
 hotch-potch). The word has been con- 
 founded with a place so called, forty 
 miles south-west of Calcutta, on the 
 Hooghly river. 
 
 Keel-hauling or -haling. A long, 
 troublesome, and vexatious examination 
 or repetition of annoyances from a 
 
 landlord or government official. In the 
 Dutch and many other navies, delin- 
 quents were, at one time, tied to a 
 yard-arm with weights on their feet, 
 and dragged by a rope under the keel 
 of a ship, in at one side and out at 
 the other. The result was often ftital. 
 
 Keelman {A). A bargeman. (See 
 Old Mortaliiy [Introduction], the bill 
 of Margaret Chrystale : " To three 
 chappins of yell with Sandy the keel- 
 man, 9d.") 
 
 Keelson or Kelson. A beam running 
 lengthwise above the keel of a ship, and 
 bolted to the middle of the floor-frames, 
 in order to stiffen the vessel. The word 
 son is the Swedish svln, and Norwegian 
 svUl, a sill.) 
 
 Keening. A weird lamentation for 
 the dead, common in Galway. The 
 coffin is carried to the burying place, 
 and while it is carried three times round, 
 the mourners go to the graves of their 
 nearest kinsfolk and begin keening, 
 after which they smoke. 
 
 Keep Down {To). To prevent an- 
 other from rising to an independent 
 position ; to keep in subjection. 
 
 Keep House {To). To maintain a 
 separate establishment ; to act as house- 
 keeper. 
 
 To keep open house. To admit all 
 comers to hospitable entertainment. 
 
 Keep Touch. To keep faith ; the 
 exact performance of an agreement, as, 
 " To kee]i touch with my promise " 
 {More). The idea seems to be embodied 
 in the proverb, " Seeing is believing, but 
 feeling is naked truth." 
 
 " And trust me on my trutli. 
 11 tliou keep touch witli me, 
 My dearest friend, as my own heart. 
 Thou slialt right welcome he." 
 
 .S'07/ys oj the Lomloii 'J rciitices, y. 37. 
 
 Keep Up {To). To continue, as, 
 "to keep up a discussion;" to main- 
 tain, as, " to keep up one's courage ; " 
 to continue pari jjassii, as " Keej) up 
 with the rest." 
 
 Keep at Arm's Length {To). To 
 prevent another from being too familiar. 
 
 Keep Ecdy and Scul Tcgether 
 
 (2b). To struggle to maintain life ; to 
 continue life. Thus we say, "It is as 
 much as I can do to keep body and soul 
 together;" and "To keep body and 
 soul together " we did so and so. 
 
 Keep Company with (7'o). To as- 
 sociate with someone of another sex 
 with a view of marriage. The phrase
 
 Keep Good Hours 
 
 CDS 
 
 Kennel 
 
 is almost confined to household servants 
 and persons of a similar status. 
 
 Keep Good Hours (Tv). To retire 
 to bed somewhat early. Tj kn'p had 
 hours is to sit uj) late at night. 
 
 Keop it Dark. Keep it as a secret ; 
 hide it from juiblic sight or know- 
 ledge ; do not talk about it. 
 
 Keep One's Countenancs {To). To 
 refrain f roixi laughing ; to preserve one's 
 gravity. 
 
 Keep One's Own Counsel ( To). To 
 be reticent of one's own atfairs or }>lan3. 
 
 Keep your Breath to Cool your 
 Porridge. Look after your own affairs, 
 and do not ]uit your spoke in another 
 person's wheel. Husband j-our strength 
 to keej) your own state safe and well, 
 and do not waste it on matters in which 
 you have really no concern. Don't scold 
 or rail at me, but look at home. 
 
 Keep your Powder Dry. Keep 
 jirepared for action ; kecji your courage 
 up. 
 ■• (lO fortli anil cniiqurr, Rtrpplicm mine, 
 This kiss iiiHiti your lii'S retiiiuiiif,' ; 
 A I'rcceiit tlnu is also tliiiie 
 I'^orlvils llip teanlrop liot and strainin;-'. 
 Wi'ie Mars and Veima, you aiwt I, 
 And liotli must ' keep our powder drv.' " 
 films: Diujmut Balhuls (In Love and ll'»i-). 
 
 Keepers. A staff of men emploj'ed 
 by Irish landlords in 1813, etc., to watch 
 the crops and prevent their being smug- 
 gled off during the night. They were 
 resisted by the Moll}' Maguires. 
 
 Keba'ma. A Hindu rajah who ob- 
 tains and sports with - supernatural 
 jiowers. {^Soitthey : Curse of luh a inn.) 
 
 Kelpie or Kelpy. A spirit of the 
 waters in the form of a horse, in Scot- 
 tish mythology. Not unlike the Irish 
 Phooka. ( See Fairy. ) 
 
 '■Every lake las its Kelvie or Water-hor.^e, 
 often se 'n by llie slieplierd sittini?ni>on the lirow 
 of a rook, diisliinf,' aloiiu tlie siirfare of tliedeeii. 
 ir lirowsiiii,' iipon llie jiasture on iis verj,'c."— 
 (Iriiluim : Skitclus of Ptrthsliire. 
 
 Kelso Convoy (J). A step and a 
 half over the door-stone or threshold. 
 
 "It's no expected your honour suld leave the 
 land ; if s just a Kelso convov, a step and a half 
 oH-er the door s;ano."— ,S(;- 11'. Scott: The Anti- 
 Qiuirii, chap. x.nx. 
 
 Ke'ma. Tlie books containing the 
 secrets of the genii, who, infatuated 
 with love, revealed the marvels of 
 nature to men, and Avere banished out 
 of heaven. According to some etymolo- 
 gists,, the word chemistry is derived from 
 this word. {Zoziine ranopoVtte.) 
 
 Kemp'fer-Hau'sen. The nom dc 
 
 plume of Robert Pearce Gillie.s, one of 
 the speakers in the Xoctes Aihbrosia'jKP. 
 ( /!/(tc/iHood\i JLiffaziiie.) 
 
 Kcmpis. The authorship of the work 
 entitled J)e Imitatio'tie Chrtsti, has af- 
 forded as much controversy as the author 
 of Letters of Junius. In 1604, a Spanish 
 Jesuit discovered a manuscri])t copy by 
 the Abbot John Gersen or Gesen ; and 
 since then three comj)etitors have had 
 angry and word}- defenders, viz. Thomas 
 a Kempis, J. Charlier de Gersou, Chan- 
 callor of the University of Paris, and 
 the Abbot Gersen. M. Malou gives his 
 verdict in favour of tlie first. 
 
 Ken or Kiun. An Egyptian goddess 
 similar to the Roman Venus. She i.s 
 represented as standing on a lion, and 
 holding two serpents in one hand and a 
 flower in the other. {'See Amos v. 20.) 
 
 Kendal Green. Green cloth for 
 foresters ; so called from Kendal, West- 
 moreland, famous at one time for this 
 manufacture. Kendal green Avas the 
 livery of Robin Hood and liis followers. 
 In Rymer's Fudera (ii. 83) is a letter of 
 protection, dated 1331, and granted by 
 Edward III. to John Kempe of Flanders, 
 who established cloth-weaving in the 
 borough. Lincoln was also famous at 
 one time for dyeing green. 
 
 '■ How couUlst thou know these men in Kendil 
 green, when it was so dark thou couldst not see 
 thy hand ? "—Shakespeare : 1 Henry 1\'., ii. i. 
 
 Kenelm ('S7.) was murdered at 
 Clente-in-Cowbage, near Wiuclielcumb, 
 in Gloucestershire. The murder, says 
 Roger of Wendover, was miraculously 
 notified at Rome by a white dove, 
 which alighted on the altar of St. 
 Peter's, bearing in its b^ak a scroll 
 with these words : 
 
 •■ in rient cow pastnr^'. under a thorn, 
 Of head hereft, lies Kenehn k;ii','-ljo;n.'' 
 
 Henna. {See Kexsingtox.) 
 
 Kenna Quliair \^I Liiow not where']. 
 Scotch for terra iiieoy'nita. 
 
 Kennc. A stone said to be formed 
 in the eye of a stag, and used as au 
 antidote to poison. 
 
 Kennedy. A poker, or to kill with 
 a poker : so called from a man of that 
 name who was killed by a looker. {Dic- 
 tionary of Modern Shiny.) 
 
 Kennel. A dog's house ; from the 
 Latin cauis (a dog), liaWnn canile ; but 
 kennel (a gutter), from the Latin ca)ina 
 (a cane, whence cauTdis), our canal, 
 channel, etc.
 
 Kenno 
 
 600 
 
 Kepler's Fairy 
 
 Ken'no. This was a laxga rich clieese, 
 made by the women of the family 
 with a great affectation of secrecy, and 
 was intended for tlie refreshment of 
 the gossips wlio were in th'=' house at 
 the '• canny minute " of the birth of a 
 chikl. Called Ken-no because no one 
 was supposed to know of its existenca — 
 certainly no male being, not excepting 
 the master of the house. After all had 
 eaten their fill on tlie auspicious occa- 
 sion, the rest was divided among the 
 gossips and taken home. The Kenno is 
 supposed to be a relic of the secret rites 
 of the llona Deo. 
 
 Ken'singtcn. O'beron, king of the 
 fairies, held his royal seat in these 
 gardens, wliich were fenced round with 
 spells "interdicted to himian touch;" 
 but not imfrequently his thievish elves 
 would rob the human mother of her babe, 
 and leave in its stead a sickly changeling 
 of the elfin race. Once on a time it so 
 fell out that one of the infants fostered 
 in these gardens was Albion, the son of 
 "Albion's royal blood:" it was stolen 
 by a fairy named Milkah. When the 
 boy was nineteen, he fell in love with 
 Kenna, daughter of King Oberon, and 
 Kejina vowed that none but Albion 
 should ever be her chosen husband. 
 Oberon heard her when she made this 
 vow, and instantly drove the prince out 
 of the garden, and married the fairy 
 maid to Azu'riel, a fairy of great ])eauty 
 and large possessions, to whom Holland 
 I'ark belonged. In the meantime, Albion 
 prayed to Xeptune for revenge, and the 
 sea-god commanded the fairy Oriel, 
 Avhose dominion lay along the banks of 
 the Thames, to espouse the cause of his 
 lineal offspring. Albion was slain in the 
 battle by Azuriel, and Xeptune in re- 
 venge crushed the whole empire of 
 Oberon. Being immortal, the fairies 
 could not be destroyed, but they fled 
 from the angry sea-god, some to the 
 hills and some to the dales, some to the 
 caves and others to river- banks. Kenna 
 alone remained, and tried to revive her 
 lover by means of the herb moly. No 
 sooner did the juice of this wondrous 
 herb touch the body than it turned into 
 a snow-drop. When Wise laid out the 
 grounds for the Prince of Orange, Kenna 
 planned it "in a morning dream," and 
 gave her name to the town and garden. 
 {Tickcll : Kenmujton Gardens.) 
 
 Kent (Latin, Cc/n'thnii), the territory 
 of the Kantii or Cantii ; Old British, 
 Jun/t, a comer or headland). In the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth Kent was so 
 
 notorious for highway robbery, that the 
 word signified a " nest of thieves." 
 
 " Some liookes are airogant anil imimd"nt : 
 So are most thieves in ClirlsteTuVun'" ami Kent." 
 Tuylor, the Water Poet (IC::i)). 
 
 A man of Kent. One bom east of the 
 Medway. Thes3 men went out with 
 gi'een boughs to meet the Cojiqueror, 
 and obtained in consequence a con- 
 finnation of their ancient privileges 
 from the new king. They call them- 
 selves the inricti. The hops of East 
 Kent are liked be^t. 
 
 A Kentish man. A resident of West 
 Kent. 
 
 Ilohi j\[ai(l (if Kent. Elizabeth Barton, 
 who pretended to the gift of piophecy 
 and power of miracle.s. Having de- 
 nounced the doom and speedy death of 
 Henri' VIII. for his marriage with 
 Anne Bolevn, slie was executed. Sir 
 Walter Scott {Ahhot, xiii.) c.ills her 
 " The Xun of Kent." [Sec F.ur [Maid 
 of Kent]). 
 
 Kent's Hole. A large cave in the 
 limestone rock near Torquay, Devon. 
 
 Kent Street Ejectment. Taking 
 away the street-door ; a method devised 
 by the landlords of Kent Street, South - 
 wark, when their tenants were more 
 than a fortnight in aiTears. 
 
 Kentish Fire. Rapturous applause, 
 or three times three and one more. The 
 expression originated with Lord Win- 
 chelsea, who proposed the health of the 
 Earl of Roden, on August I'jth, 18'^4, 
 and added, " Let it be given with the 
 ' Kentish Fire.' " In proposing another 
 toast he asked permission to bring his 
 "Kentish Artillery" again into action. 
 Chambers, in his Fjic>icloxi<r(ha, fays it 
 arose from the protracted cheers given 
 in Kent to the Xo-Popery orators in 
 18'28-1829. 
 
 Kentish Moll. Mary Carlton, nick- 
 named Tlie German Prineesx. She was 
 transported to Jamaica in 1671 : but. 
 returning without leave, she was hanged 
 at Tybuni, January '22nd, 1G73. 
 
 Kentishmen's Tails. {See Tails.) 
 
 Kentucky (U.S. America), so called 
 in 1782, from its principal river. It was 
 admitted into the union in 1702. The 
 nickname of the inhabitants is Corn- 
 craekers. Indian Shawnoese Kentaclcee 
 = " head or long river." 
 
 Kepler's Fairy. The fairy which 
 guides the planets. Kepler said that 
 each planet was guided in its elliptical 
 orbit by a resident angel.
 
 Kepler's Laws 
 
 roo 
 
 Ke« 
 
 Kepler's Laws (Johann Kepler, 1571- 
 1630) : 
 
 (1) That the planets describe ellipses, 
 and that the centre of the sun is in one 
 of the foci. 
 
 (2) That every planet so n:o7es that 
 the line drawn frorti it to the sun de- 
 scribes equal areas in equal times. 
 
 (3) That the squares of the times of 
 the planetary revolutions are as the 
 cubes of their meau distances from the 
 sun. 
 
 Kerchief of Plesaunce. An em- 
 broidered cloth presented by a lady to 
 her knight to wear for her pake. The 
 knight was bound to place it in his helmet. 
 
 Kerna. A kind of trumpet used by 
 Tamerlane, the blast of which might be 
 heard for miles. 
 
 Kernel (Anglo-Saxon, ci/nirl, a dimi- 
 nutive of corn ; seed in general), whence 
 acorn (the ac or 0'</i corn). 
 
 Kersey. A coarse cloth, usually 
 ribbed, and woven from long wool ; said 
 to be so named from Kersey, in Suffolk, 
 where it was originallj' made. 
 
 Kerseymere. A corruption of Casi- 
 mir. a man's name. A twilled woollen 
 cloth made in Abbeville, Amiens, Elbouf, 
 Louviers, Rheims, Sedan, and the West 
 of England. (French cashiih; Spanish 
 casiiiiiro or casiiiiiras.) 
 
 Ker'zereh or Kerzrah. A flower 
 ■whicli grows in Persia. It is said, if 
 anyone in June or July inhales the hot 
 south wind which has blown over this 
 flower he will die. 
 
 Keso'ra. The female idol adored in 
 the temple of Juggernaut. Its head 
 and body are of sandal-wood ; its eyes 
 two diamonds, and a third diamond is 
 suspended round its neck ; its hands are 
 made entirely of small pearls, called 
 peril's (i Voncc : its bracelets are of pearls 
 and rubies, and its robe is cloth of gold. 
 
 Kestrel. A hawk of a base breed, 
 hence a worthless fellow. Also used as 
 an adjective. 
 
 " Xn tlmiii-'lit (if linnnur ever did assay 
 His liaser liresr ; but in his keifrell kynd 
 A pleasant veine of srlory lie did find ..." 
 Spenser : Fiii'rie Quecne, tiuok ii. canto iii. 3. 
 
 Ketcb. {See Jack Ketch.) 
 
 Ketch. A kind of two-masted vessel. 
 Bomb-ketches were much used in the 
 last century wars. 
 
 Ketchup. A corruption of the Ja- 
 panese Kitjnp, a condiment sometimes 
 sold as soy, but not equal to it. 
 
 Ketmir or Katmlr. The dog of the 
 
 Seven Sleepers. Sometimes called Al 
 Rakim. {Sale's Koran, xviii. «.) 
 
 Kettle (.1), a watch. A tin kittle is 
 a silver watch. A red kittle is a gold 
 watch. "Kettle," or rather I:iitlr, in 
 slang language is a corrupt rendering of 
 the words to-ticJc read backwards. (Com- 
 pare Anglo-Saxon cctcl, a kettle, with 
 citcl-ian, to tickle.) 
 
 Thor's great kettle. The god Thor 
 wanted to brew some beer, but not 
 having a vessel suited for the purpose in 
 Valhalla, stole the kettle of the giant 
 Hymer. {Seanclinavian mytholor/i/.) 
 
 Kettle of Fish. A fite-ehampctre 
 in which salmon is the chief dish pro- 
 vided. In these pic-nics, a large cald- 
 ron being provided, the party select a 
 place near a salmon river. Having 
 thickened some water with salt to the 
 consistency of brine, the salmon is put 
 therein and boiled ; and when fit for 
 eating, the company partake thereof in 
 gipsy fashion. Some think the dis- 
 comfort of this sort of pic-nic gave rise 
 to the phrase "A pretty kettle of fish." 
 (See Kittle of Fish.) 
 
 "Tbe wlinle comiianv pro to tlie watorside to- 
 day to oaf a kettle of llsli."— i'lr WaUer Scott : St. 
 llonan's WtH, xii. 
 
 Kettledrum. A large social party, 
 originally applied to a military party in 
 India, where drum -heads served for 
 tables. On Tweedside it signifies a 
 "social part}'," met together to take tea 
 from tlie same tea-kettle. {See Deum, 
 
 HUEEICAXE.) 
 
 Kettledrum, a drum in the shape of a 
 kiddle or fi.sh- basket. 
 
 Kettledrummie (Gabriel.) A Cove- 
 nanter preacher in Sir Walter Scott'a 
 Old Mortaliti/. 
 
 Kev'in (.S7.). like St. Sena'nus (q.r.), 
 retired to an island where he vowed no 
 woman should ever land. Kathleen 
 loved the saint, and tracked him to his 
 retirement, but the saint hurled her 
 from a rock. Kathleen died, but her 
 ghost rose smiling from the tide, and 
 never left the place while the saint lived. 
 A bed in the rock at Glendalough 
 (W'icklow) is shown as the bed of St. 
 Kev'in. Thomas Moore has a poem on 
 this tradition. {Irish Melodies, iv.) 
 
 Kex, hemlock. Tennyson says in T/ie 
 Princess, " Though the rough kex break 
 the starred mosaic," though weeds break 
 the pavement. Nothing breaks a pave- 
 ment like the growth of grass or lichen
 
 Key 
 
 701 
 
 Keys 
 
 throucjh it. (Welsh, ccci/s, hemlock ; 
 French, eigne ; Latin, clcitta.) 
 
 Key. {See Kay.) 
 
 Key-cold. Deadly colrl, lifeless. A 
 key, oil account of its coldness, is still 
 sometimes employed to stoj) bleeding at 
 the nose. 
 
 "Poor key-cnlil fl.^urp of a holy kinj; ! 
 Palenslies of thp house of Lancaster I 
 Thou bloudlesj remnant of tUat royal blnod ! " 
 Slialcexpeiire : Iticluird I If., i. 2. 
 
 Key-stone. The Kei/stone State. 
 Peunsj'lva'uia ; so called from its posi- 
 tion and importance. 
 
 Key and the BiMe (A). Employed 
 t-1 discover whether plaintiff or defend- 
 ant is guilty. The Bible is opened either 
 at Ruth, chap, i., or at the ."ilst Psalm ; 
 and a door-key is so placed inside the 
 Bible, that the handle projects beyond 
 the book. The Bible, beinjr lied with a 
 jiiece of string, is then held by the fourth 
 fingers of the accuser and defendant, 
 who must repeat the words touched by 
 the wards of the key. It is said, as the 
 ■words are repeated, that the key will 
 turn towards the guilty person, and the 
 Bible fall to the ground. 
 
 Key of a Cii>lier or of a romance. 
 That which explains the secret or lays it 
 open {''La clef (run chiffre'''' or " Zrt 
 clef (Vun romance "). 
 
 Key of the Mediterranean. The 
 
 fortress of Gibraltar ; so called because 
 it commands the entrance thereof. 
 
 Key of Russia. Smolensk, on the 
 Dnieper. 
 
 Key of Spain. Ciudad Eodrigo, 
 taken by the Duke of Wellington, who 
 defeated the French there in 1812. 
 
 Keys. {See St. Sitha. ) 
 
 Keys of stables and cowhouses have 
 not unfrequently, even at the present 
 day. a stone with a hole through it and 
 a piece of horn attached to the handle. 
 This is a relic of an ancient superstition. 
 The hag, halig, or holy st"oue was looked 
 upon as a talisman which kept off the 
 fiendish Mara or night-mare ; and the 
 horn was supposed to ensure the pro- 
 tection of the god of cattle, called by the 
 Romans Pan. 
 
 Key as an emblem. (Anglo-Saxon, coeg.') 
 
 St. Peter is always represented in 
 Christian art with two keys in his hand ; 
 they are consequently the insignia of the 
 Papacy, and are liorne saltire-wise, one 
 of gold and the other of silver. 
 
 They are the emblems also of St. Ser- 
 va-'tius, St. Hippol'ytus, St. Genevieve, 
 
 St. Petronilla, St. Osyth, St. Martha, 
 and St. Germa'nus of Paris. 
 
 The Bishop of Winchester bears two 
 keys and sword in saltire. 
 
 The bishops of St. Asaph, Gloucester, 
 Exeter, and Peterborough bear two keys 
 in saltire. 
 
 'The Cross Kegs. A public-house sign; 
 the arms of the Archbishop of York. 
 
 The keg shall he upon his shoulder. He 
 shall have the dominion. The ancient 
 kej's were instruments about a yard 
 long, made of wood or metal. On public 
 occasions the steward slung his key over 
 his shoulder, as our mace-bearers carry 
 their mace. Hence, to have the key 
 upon one's shoulder means to be in 
 authority, to have the keeping of some- 
 thing. It is said of Eliakim, that God 
 would lay upon his shoulder the key 
 of the house of David (Isa. xxii. 22') ; 
 and of our Lord that " the government 
 should be upon His shoulder " (Isa. ix.G). 
 The chamberlain of the court used to 
 bear a kej' as his insignia. 
 
 The power of the Icegs — i.e. the supreme 
 authority vested in the pope as successor 
 of St. Peter. The phrase is derived 
 from St. Matt. xvi. 19. (Latin, Potcstas 
 clavlum.) 
 
 To throw the Icegs into the pit. To 
 disclaim a debt ; to refuse to pay the 
 debts of a deceased husband. This 
 refers to an ancient French custom. If 
 a deceased husband did not leave his 
 widow enough for her aliment and the 
 paj'ment of his debts, the widow was to 
 throw the bunch of house-keys which 
 she carried at her girdle into the grave, 
 and this answered the purpose of a 
 public renunciation of nil further ties. 
 No one after this could come on her 
 for any of her late husband's debts. 
 
 Keys {The House of). One of the 
 three estates of the Isle of Man. The 
 Crown in council, the governor and his 
 council, and the House of Keys, consti- 
 tute what is termed " the court of Tyn- 
 wald." The House of Keys consists of 
 twenty-four representatives selected by 
 their own body, vacancies are filled up 
 by the House presenting to the governor 
 " two of the eldest and worthiest men of 
 the isle," one of which the governor 
 nominates. To them an appeal may be 
 made against the verdicts of juries, and 
 from their decision there is no appeal, 
 except to the Crown in council. (Manx, 
 kiare-as-feed, four-and-twenty.) 
 
 •.■ Tbe governor and liis connril consists of the 
 Bovernor, the bislioii, tlie attornev-'-reneral, two 
 deemsters for jiidKes), the clerk of the rolls, the 
 ^vater bailiff, the archdeacon, aud the yicar- 
 gcueral.
 
 Keyne 
 
 702 
 
 Kick Up a Ro"w 
 
 The House of Kri/s. The board of 
 landed proprietors referred to above, 
 or the house in which they hold their 
 sessions. 
 
 Keyne (S!.). The well of St. Keyne, 
 Cornwall, h.is a, strange superstition 
 attached to it. which is this: "If the 
 bridegroom drinks therefrom before the 
 bride, lie will be master of his house ; 
 but if the bride gets the first draught, 
 the grey mare will be the better horse." 
 Southey has a ballad on this tradition, 
 and saj's the man left his wife at the 
 church jiorch, and ran to the well to get 
 the first draught ; but when he returned 
 his wife told him liis labour had been 
 iri vain, for she had taken with her a 
 '• bottle of the water to church." 
 
 Khedive d'Egypte. An old regal 
 title revived by the sultan in 1867, who 
 granted it to Ismael I., who succeeded 
 as Pasha of Egypt in 1863. The title is 
 higher than viceroy, but not so high as 
 sultan. (Turkish, khidir : Persian, kh'i- 
 rfi'ir.king; and /■/;(V7e«/, viceroy.) Pro- 
 nounce kc-dlve, in 2 syl. 
 
 Khorassan {Region of the Sim]. A 
 province of Persia, anciently called 
 Aria'na. 
 
 The Veileil Prophrt of Khornssn». Mo- 
 kanna, a prophet chief, who, being ter- 
 ribly deformed, wore a veil under pre- 
 tence of shading the dazzling light of his 
 countenance. 
 
 "TeiTiir seized lier lest the lovc-li,trlit which 
 encircled liiiii should fade away, an<l I'ave bim 
 like the veiled prophet of Khorassan, a siii- 
 stained thing of cki.v."— ioi/i/ Uardy : A Casual 
 AC'jaainta}ice. 
 
 Ki. A Chinese word, signifying age 
 or period, generally apj)lied to the ten 
 periods preceding the first Imperial 
 dynasty, founded B.C. 220-5. It extended 
 over some 300,000 j-ears. The first was 
 founded by Puon-ku (highest eternity), 
 and the last by Fo-hi, sumamed 2'ien- 
 Tse (son of heaven). 
 
 Kiak-Kiak {r/od of r/ods) . An idol 
 worshi)))ied in Pegu. This god is to 
 sleep 6,000 years, and when he wakes 
 the end of the world will come. 
 
 Kick (.1). Sixpence. ''Two-aud-a- 
 kick " — two shillings and sixpence. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, cice/, a bit. In Jamaica 
 a ''bit" = sixpence, and generally it 
 means the smallest silver coin in circu- 
 lation ; thus, in America, a "bit" is 
 f ourpence. We speak of a " threepenny 
 bit.") 
 
 ^' It is hard for thee to kick ar/ninst the 
 /))7cA:5 " (Acts ix. 5 ; and xxvi. 14.) The 
 proverb occurs in Pindar (2 Fijthinn 
 
 Victories, v. 173), in iEschylos (Affani- 
 eiii)io>i, 1,624), in Eurip'ides (Bacchfr, 
 791), in Terence {Fhoruiio, i. ii. 27), 
 in Ovid {Tristia, book ii. 15), etc.; 
 but whether the reference is to an ox 
 kicking when goaded, or a horse when 
 pricked with the rowels of a spur, is not 
 certain. The plural keiitra seems to refer 
 to more than one, and pros keiitra can- 
 not refer to a repetition of goad thrusts. 
 Altogether, the rowels of a sjiur suit the 
 phrase better than the single jioiut of 
 an ox-goad. 
 
 N.B. The Greek pros with an accus- 
 ative is not = the Latin adrerstix, such a 
 meaning would require a genitive case ; 
 it moans in answer to, i.e. to kick when 
 sinirred or goaded. 
 
 J\[(ire kicks than hu' petne. More abu'^c 
 than jirofit. Called "monkey's allow- 
 ance " in allusion to monkeys led ab^ut 
 to collect ha'pence by exhibiting 'their 
 parts." The poor brutes get the kicks if 
 they do their jiarts in an unsatisfaclory 
 majmer, but the master gets the ha'pence 
 collected. 
 
 (inite the kick. Quito a dandy. T' > 
 Italians call a dandy a chic. The French 
 chic means knack, as avoir Ic chic, to 
 have the knack of doing a thing smartly. 
 
 " I cocked my hat and twirled my st'c'c. 
 Ami the .girls they called me iinitc Ihe kick." 
 f/rj/yc Ciihiiitu the yo(ni,'ci: 
 
 Kick Over the Traces (To). Not to 
 follow the dicta of a party leader, but to 
 act independentlj' ; as a horse refusing 
 to run in harness kicks over the traces. 
 
 "If the new memher shows anj- inclination t» 
 kick over the traces, he will not lie their mcniher 
 long."— Newspaper laragraph, Feb., isw. 
 
 Kick the Beam (To). To be of 
 light weight ; to bo of inferior conse- 
 quence. When one jian of a pair of 
 scales is lighter than the other, it liies 
 upwards and is said to "kick the beam" 
 [of the scales]. 
 
 "The evil has eclipseil the Rood, and the? ale. 
 which before resteil solidly on the (jround, now 
 kicks the h!.^xni."—Glii(lstonc. 
 
 Kick tho Bucket (71/). A bucket 
 is a pulley, and in Norfolk a beam. 
 When pigs are killed, they are hung I'V 
 their hind-legs on a bucket or beam, with 
 their heads downwards, and oxen are 
 hauled up by a pidley. To kick the 
 bucket is to be himg on the balk or bucket 
 by the heels. 
 
 Kick Up a Row (To). To create a 
 disturbance. "A pretty kick up" is a 
 great disturbance. The phr.ase " To 
 kick up the dust " explains the other 
 phrases.
 
 Kickshaws 
 
 703 
 
 Killed by Inches 
 
 Kickshaws. Made dishes, odds and 
 ends, formerly written " kickshose." 
 (French, quclque chose.) 
 
 Kicksy-wicksy. A liorse that kicks 
 and winces in impatience ; figuratively, 
 a wife ((/ret/ marc). Taylor, the water 
 poet, calls iit kicksic-wiii.sic, but Shake- 
 speare spells it kickij-tvicln/. 
 
 '■ He wears liis lionour in a lii>>: luisccii 
 That liiiu'S liis kic-kv-wii-kv Imm-c at li.iire, 
 S'i"n4 ir-' Ills iiia'ilv \i;ariiAv in liei- anus. 
 Wliirh shiiuld sustain llio Ixiiiiid ami liigb 
 
 r'lrvet. 
 Of Mars'i fi -rv steeil." 
 
 All's Well tliiit Endu Wdl. ii. :! (Gln!ip cA^. 
 
 Kid (./). A faggot or bundle of fire- 
 •wood. To I:i(l is to bind up faggots. In 
 the parish register of Kneelsal church 
 there is <he following item: "Leading 
 kids to church, 2s. Gd.," that is, cart- 
 ing faggots to church. (Welsh, cUli/s, 
 faggots.) 
 
 Kid {A). A young child. A face- 
 tious formation from t\\e Anglo-Saxon 
 r/[/] /, a child. The / is often silent, as 
 in calm, haJf, golf, etc. At one time 
 faidt was prononnced /"rt/r /. 
 
 ' "'Aro tlieso yiiir own kids?' I inriuirel jire- 
 R^ntlv. ' Vps, tw 1 of tlieni: T have six. you 
 kniw.' "—?/■. .1. L'ccrs : Century Maguziiie, June, 
 l.-ts.-), 1-. ;si\ 
 
 K-ldderminstsr Poetry. Coarse dog- 
 gerel verse. like the coarse woollen manu- 
 facture of Kidderminster. The term was 
 first used by Shcustone, who ajiplied it 
 to a Mr. C, of Kidderminster. 
 " Tlvv verses friend. a''e K-dderniinster stnff t 
 Anil I must own .vou've measured out cnou;;h." 
 
 Kidnapper (A). One wdio nabs or 
 steals " kids " or young children. 
 
 "Swnni's of kidnaii- ers were liiisy in everv 
 iiortliern town,"—''. Tl. Mi-Mastcr: People of the 
 Vx'.ti- 1 States, vol. ii. cliap. x. p. ,T>7. 
 
 Kidney. Men of another Mdnei/ or of 
 the same kirhirti. The reins or kidnct/s 
 were even by tlie Jews supposed to be 
 the seat of the affections. 
 
 Kilda {St.). The farthest of the 
 western isles of Scotland. 
 
 Kilda'rc (2 svl.) is the Irish Kill 
 (lara, church of the oaks. 
 
 Kildare's Holy Fane. Famous for 
 the " Fire fif St. Bridget," which was 
 in'^xtingui.shable, because the nuns never 
 allowed it to go out. Every twentieth 
 night St. Bridget returned to tend the 
 fire. Part of the chapel of St. Bridget 
 still remains, and is called "The Fire- 
 house." 
 
 " Apud Kildariam occurrit iprnis Binctw Briirida; 
 que:ii inexMncruebilem vocaut."— Gi'raMus Cii»t- 
 brcnsis : Hlbcrnia, ii. %i. 
 
 Kilken'ny is the Gaelic Kill Kcnnij, 
 church of St. Kenny or Cau'ice, 
 
 Kilkenny Cats. {See Cat.) 
 
 Kill (-/). The slaying of some ani- 
 mal, generally a bullock, tied up by 
 hunters in a jungle, to allure to the sjiot 
 and attract the attention of some wild 
 beast (such as a lion, ti.ger, or panther) 
 preparatory to a hunting party being 
 arranged. As a tiger-kill, a jjanther- 
 kill. 
 
 "A sliikarie liroutjlit us tlio welcome tidiiitrs of 
 a tiK"r-kill only a niile and a balf fnnii tlie caiii|i. 
 Tbe next ilay there was no hunt, as llie ground 
 round tlie ivantlier-kill was too uiifavonraiile to 
 permit of any hunting."— Xmefecdf'i Cenlari/, 
 August, 18SG. 
 
 Kill Two Birds with One Stone 
 
 (To). To effect some subsidiary work 
 at the same time as the main object is 
 being effected. 
 
 Killed by Inches. In allusion to 
 divers ways of prolonging cajjital jjunish- 
 ments in olden times ; e.a. : (1) The 
 "iron coffin of Lissa." The prisoner 
 was laid in the coffin, and saw the iron 
 lid creep slowly down with almost im- 
 perceptible movement — slowly, silently, 
 but surely ; on, on it came with relent- 
 less march, till, after lingering days and 
 nights in suspense, the prisoner was at 
 last as slowly crushed by the iron lid 
 pressing on him. (2) The " baiser de la 
 Vierge " of Baden-Baden. The pri- 
 soner, blindfolded and fastened to a 
 chain, was lowered by a wnndlass down 
 a deep shaft from the top of the castl"? 
 into the verv heart of the rock on which 
 it stands. Here he remained till he vi"as 
 conducted to the torture-chamber, and 
 commanded " to kiss" the brazen statue 
 of the " Virgin " which stood at the end 
 of a passage ; but immediately he raised 
 his lips to give the kiss, down he feU 
 through a trap-door on a wheel with 
 s])ikes, which was set in motion by tin 
 fall. (3) The " iron cage-; of Louis XT." 
 were so contrived that the victims might 
 linger out for years ; but whether they 
 sat, stood, or lay down, the position was 
 equally uncomfortable. (4) The "cham- 
 bre a crucer " was a heavy chest, short, 
 shallow, and lined with sharp stones, in 
 which the sufferer was packed and buried 
 alive, (o) The " bernicles " consisted 
 of a mattress on which the victim was 
 fastened by the neck, while his legs 
 were crushed between two logs of wood, 
 on the uppermost of which the torturer 
 took his seat. This process continued 
 for several days, till the sufferer died 
 with the lingering torment. Many other 
 modes of stretching out the torment of 
 death might easily be added. {Sec Ieon 
 Maiden.)
 
 Kjlled by Kindness 704 
 
 King Estmere 
 
 Killed by Kindness. It is said that 
 Draco, the Athenian legislator, met with 
 his death from his popularit}', being 
 smothered in the tlieatre of ^gi'na by 
 the number of caps and cloaks showered 
 on him by the spectators (b.c. 590). 
 
 Killing. Irresistible, overi)owering, 
 fascinating, or bewitching; so as to 
 compel admiration and notice. 
 
 " Those e.ves were niarle so killing."' 
 
 Pope : Rape of the Loch; v. &4. 
 
 A kiUbig pace. Too hot or strong to 
 last ; exceptionally great ; exhausting. 
 
 Killing-stone, in Loufh. A stone 
 probably used for human sacrifice. 
 
 Killing no Murder. A tract writ- 
 ten hy 8c'xby, who was living in Hol- 
 land at the time of its publication. 
 Probably Sexby was paid for fathering it, 
 and the real author was William Allan. 
 
 Kilmansagg (Miss). An heiress of 
 great expec+utions with an artificial leg 
 of solid gold. {TJwmas Hood : A Golden 
 Legend.) 
 
 Kilmarnock Cowls. Xightcaps. The 
 Kilmarnock nightcaps were once cele- 
 brated all over Scotland. 
 
 Kilmarth Rocks (Scotland). A pile 
 of stones towering 28 feet in height, 
 and overhanging more than 12 feet, like 
 the tower of Pisa (Italy). [See Cheese- 
 
 WEIXG.) 
 
 Kilwinning, in the county of Ajt, 
 Scotland, the scene of the renowned 
 tournament held in 1839 by the Earl of 
 Eglinton. It was also the cradle of 
 Freemasonry in Scotland. 
 
 Kin, Kind. 
 
 '■ Khic). Bnt now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son— 
 llam. A little more tlian kin. and less tlian' kind." 
 Shakespeare : Hamlet, i. 2. 
 
 Kilt or kinsman is a relative by mar- 
 riage or blood more distant than 'father 
 and son. 
 
 Kind means of the same sort of genus, 
 as man -kind or man -genus. 
 
 Hamlet says he is more than /.-in to 
 Claudius (as he was step-son), but still 
 he is not of the same kind, the same 
 class. He is not a bird of the same 
 feather as the king. 
 
 Kindbart. A jocular name for a 
 tooth-drawer ; so called from a dentist 
 of the nnme in the reign of Queen Eliza- 
 beth. Kindhart, the dentist, is men- 
 tioned by Rowland in his Letting of 
 Jfiniwitrs - Blood in the Head-mine. 
 (1600) ; and in Rowley's Kew Wonder, 
 
 "Mistake mo not, Kindliarr, . . 
 Bo calls you tootli-aiawer." 
 
 Act i.I. 
 
 King. The Anglo-Saxon cyng, egn- 
 ing, from egii a nation or people, and 
 the termination — ing, meaning '"of," as 
 '•son of," "chief of," etc. In Anglo- 
 Saxon times the king was elected on 
 the "VVi'tena-gemut, and was therefore 
 the choice of the nation. 
 
 V The factorg king. Richard Oastler, 
 of Bradford, the successful advocate of 
 the '' Ten Hours' Bill " (1789-1861). 
 
 Be Galantuiinw (the gallant king), Vic- 
 tor Emmanuel of Italy (1820-1878). 
 
 King. 
 
 A king should die standing. So said 
 Louis XVIII. of France, in imitation of 
 Vespasian, Emperor of Rome. {See 
 Dtino Sayings : L^oids X Till.) 
 
 Like a king. When Porus, the Indian 
 prince, was taken prisoner, Alexander 
 asked him how he expected to be treated. 
 "Like a king," he replied; and Alex- 
 ander made him his friend. 
 
 Piag aid of the king. W^hen some- 
 one, under the belief that he has a right 
 to the land, claims rent of the king's 
 tenants, they appeal to the sovereign, or 
 " praj- aid of the king." 
 
 King Ban. Father of Sir Launcelot 
 du Lao. He died of grief when his 
 castle was taken and burnt through the 
 treachery of his seneschal. {Launcelot 
 dn Lae, 1494.) 
 
 King Cash, what the Americans call 
 the '• Almightj- Dollar." 
 
 " Xuw hirtli and rank and hreedinpr, 
 
 Hardly saved fn'ni utter smash. 
 
 Have heiMi ousted, rather ruuprhlv, 
 
 By the unslaiiL'ht of Kins Cash." 
 
 Truth (.Chiistmas Xumber, \8M, p. 19.) 
 
 King Cole. {See Cole.) 
 
 King Cotton. Cotton, the staple of 
 the Southern States of America, and the 
 chief ai'ticle of manufacture in England. 
 The expression was first used by James 
 H. Hammond in the Senate of the 
 L'nited States, in 1858. The great cot- 
 ton manufacturers are called " cotton 
 lords." 
 
 King Estmere (2 syl.) of England 
 was induced by his brother Adler to go 
 to King Adland, and request permission 
 to pay suit to his daughter. King Ad- 
 land replied that Bremor, King of Spain, 
 had already proposed to her and been 
 rejected ; but when the lady was intro- 
 duced to the English king she accepted 
 him. King Estmere and his brother re- 
 turned home to prepare for the wedding, 
 but had not proceeded a mile when the 
 king of Spain returned to press his suit, 
 and threatened vengeance if it were not
 
 King Franconi 
 
 705 
 
 King of Misrule 
 
 accepted. A page was instantly de- 
 spatched to inform King Estmere, and 
 request him to return. The two brothers 
 in the guise of harpers rode into the hall 
 of King Adland, when Bremor rebuked 
 them, and bade them leave their steeds 
 in the stable. A quarrel ensued, in 
 Avhich Adler slew " the sowdan," and 
 the two brothers put the retainers to 
 flight, {rcrcifs Ecliques, etc., series i. 
 bk. i. 6.) 
 
 King Franco'ni. Joachim Mui-at; 
 so called because ho was o7ice a mounte- 
 bank like Franconi. (1707-1815.) 
 
 King Horn or Chihle Horn. The 
 hero of a metrical romance by Mestre 
 Tlidinas. 
 
 King Log. A roi faineant, a king 
 that ruks in peace and quietness, but 
 never makes his power felt. The allu- 
 sion is to the fable of Tlie Frogs desiring 
 a Kinrj. (Sec Loo.) 
 
 King-maker. Hichard Neville, Earl 
 of Warwick ; so called because, when he 
 sided with Henry VI., Henry was 
 king ; but when he sided with Edward 
 IV., Henry was de250sed and Edward 
 was king. He was killed at the battle 
 ofBaruet. (1420-1171.) 
 
 King Mob. The " i'jiiobile rn/i/ns.''^ 
 
 King Petaud. T/ie court of Khifj 
 Tl-'aud. A kind of Alsatia, where all 
 are talkers with no hearers, all are 
 kings with no subjects, all are masters 
 and none servants. There was once a 
 soc'iety of beggars in France, the chief 
 of whom called liimself King Petaud. 
 (Latin, peto, to beg.) 
 
 King Ryence, of North Wales, sent 
 a dwarf to King Arthur to say "he had 
 ov(>rccme eleven kings, all of which paid 
 him homage in this sort — viz. they gave 
 liim tlieir beards to purfcll his mantle. 
 He now required King Ai'thur to do 
 likewise." King Ai-thur returaed an- 
 swer, " My beard is full young yet for 
 a purfell, but before it is long enough 
 for such a purpose, King Eyence shall 
 do me homage on both his knees." (See 
 Perctfs Reliques, etc., series iii. book 1.) 
 
 Spenser says that Lady Bria'na loved 
 a knight named Crudor, who refused to 
 marry her till she sent him a mantle 
 lined with the beards of knights and 
 locks of ladies. To accomi^lish this, she 
 appointed Mal'effort, her seneschal, to 
 divest every lady that drew near the 
 castle of her locks, and every knight of 
 his beard. {Faerie Qtteene, book vi. 
 canto 1.) 
 
 45 
 
 King Stork. A tyrant that devours 
 his subjects, and makes them submissive 
 with fear and trembling. The allusion 
 is to the fable of The Frogs desiring 
 a King. (See Log.) 
 
 King-of-Arnis. An officer whose 
 duty it is to direct the heralds, preside 
 at chapters, and have the jmisdiction of 
 armoury. There are three kings-of- 
 arms in England — viz. Garter, CUiren- 
 cieux. and Norroy ; one in Scotland — 
 viz. Lyon; and one in Ireland, called 
 Ulster. 
 
 Bath King-of-Ar>ns is no member of 
 the college, but takes preccdeiice next 
 after Garter. The office was created in 
 1725 for the service of the Order of the 
 Bath. (See Heealds.) 
 
 King of Bark. Christo2Jher III. of 
 Scandinavia, who, in a time of great 
 scarcity, had the bark of birchwood 
 mixed with meal for food. (Fifteenth 
 century.) 
 
 King of Bath. Richard Nash, gene- 
 rally called Beau Nash, who was leader 
 of fashion and master of the ceremonies 
 at that city for some fifty-six years. He 
 was ultimately ruined by gambling. 
 (1674-1761.) 
 
 King of Beasts. The lion. 
 
 King of Dalkey. A burlesque 
 officer, like the Mayor of Garratt, the 
 Mayor of the Pig Market, and the 
 Mayor of the Bull-ring (q.r.). 
 
 V Dalkey is a email island in St. 
 George's Channel, near the coast of 
 Ireland, a little to the south of Dublin 
 Bay. 
 
 King of Khorassan. So Anva'ri, 
 the Persian poet of tlie twelfth century, 
 is called. 
 
 King of Metals. Gold, which is not 
 only the must valuable of metals, but 
 also is without its peer in freedom from 
 alloy. It is got without smelting ; 
 wherever it exists it is visible to the eye ; 
 and it consorts with little else than pure 
 silver. Even with tliis precious alloy, 
 the pure metal ranges from sixty to 
 ninety-nine per cent. 
 
 King of Misrule. Sometimes called 
 LoED, and sometimes Abbot, etc. At 
 Oxford and Cambridge one of the 
 IMasters of Arts superintended both the 
 Christmas and Candlemas sports, for 
 which he was allowed a fee of 40s. 
 These diversions continued till the 
 Refoi-mation. Polydore Vergil says of 
 the feast of Misrule that it was " derived 
 from the Roman Satm'ualia," held in
 
 King of Painters 
 
 ro6 
 
 King's Cave 
 
 December for five days (17th to 22nd). 
 The Feast of Misrule lasted twelve days. 
 
 • •' If we omii>.ire our B;iccban;ilian ChristniasfS 
 and Now Year-tide.-; with tlicse Saturnalia and 
 Feast.-' of .hums, we sliall fliide sucli ucaratliiiitve 
 between tlieiu Imth m rcu-ard of time . . . aii<l in 
 their luaiiiieri'f soleiiiiiisiiig . . . that woe must 
 needs couiiude the one tu bo the very ape or 
 issue of the other." —i'n/n»c; IJtstno-.Mostix. 
 
 King of Painters. A title assumed 
 by Parrhas'ios, the painter, a contem- 
 porary of Zeuxis. riutarch says lie 
 ■wore a ]uirple rolie aud a golden crown. 
 (Flourished 400 B.C.) 
 
 King of Preachers. Louis Bour- 
 
 daloiio, a rreuch clergyman (1032-170-1). 
 
 King of Rome. A title conferred by 
 Xaimleon I. on his son on the day of his 
 birtli. More oenoridlv called tlio Duke 
 of Keichstadt 0811-1S:;2\ 
 
 King of Shreds and Patches. In 
 
 the old mysteries Vice used to be dressed 
 as a miuii'c king in a parti-coloured suit. 
 {Sha/:i\^pairf : Hdinlct, iii. 4 ) Tlie 
 plirase is metapliorically applied to cer- 
 tain literary ox)oratiYe3 who compile 
 books for publishers, but supply no 
 originality of tliought or matter. 
 
 King of Spain's Trumpeter ( The). 
 A donkey. A pu'.i ou the word don, a 
 ISpanisli nuiguate. 
 
 King of Terrors. Death. 
 
 King of Waters. The river Am'- 
 
 azon, iu Smitli America. 
 
 King of Yvetot (pron. F.r-to). A 
 man of mighty pretensions but small 
 merits. Yvetot is near Kouen, and was 
 once a seigneurie, the possessors of wliidi 
 ■were entitled kings— a title given them 
 in ')34 by Clotaire I., and "continued far 
 into the fourteenth century. 
 
 " II etait un roi d'Yvotot, 
 
 Peu ooiiuu daus I'histoire-; 
 Se levant tanl, se couoliant tot. 
 
 Oorniant fort l'i"ii sans f,'h)ire ; 
 Kt oouroniio parJoannoton 
 D'un simple lionuet de ootton. 
 
 Hit on : 
 Oh : oh ! oh I oh ! Ah '. ah : ah : ah • 
 Vnol lion iiolite roi c'etait ; la : la : la : " 
 
 \ kinp there was, ' roi d"Yvctot ' clopt, 
 
 Knt little known in Btor.v, 
 "Went Boon to hed, till da.vlipht slept, 
 
 And sounilly without glory ; 
 His royal brow in cotton cap 
 Would .Tanet. when lie took liis nap, 
 
 Enwrap. 
 Oh : oh : oh : nh ; .\li ! ah : ah ! ah ! 
 .\ famous kin? he! La ! la ! la ! E. C. Ji. 
 
 King of the Bean {roi dc In fcr(). 
 The Twelfth-night king ; so called be- 
 cause lie wa.s cliosen by distributing 
 slices of Twelftli-cako to tlie chiklren 
 present, and the child wlio liad the slice 
 with the bean in it was king of the 
 company for the night. Tliis sport was 
 
 indulged in till the Reformation, even 
 at the two universities. 
 
 King of the Beggars or Oipaies. 
 Bamfvlde Moore Carew, a noted En- 
 glish vagabond (1093-1770). 
 
 King of the Forest. Tlie oak, 
 which not only braves tlie storm, but 
 fosters the growth of tender parasites 
 under its arms. 
 
 King of the Herrings (7//^). The 
 
 Chiiiiura, or sea-ape, a cartilaginous fith 
 which accompanies a !-lu>al of herrings 
 in tlu'ir miorations. 
 
 King of the Jungle ( Tin) . A tiger. 
 
 King of the Peak ( The). Sir George 
 Vernon. 
 
 King of the Sea {Tht). Thelierring. 
 
 "Tho boail of an avorai-'O-sizod whale is from 
 lirtoi'U to siNtoon foot [about oni'-lhird the 
 lenirtbl, and the lips open smuo si.\ oroi,i,-lit feet ; 
 yet 111 sui-b a mouth Ihoro is soarooly any throat, 
 not sullK-ioiitlv lartre to allow. a liorrin:,' to pass 
 down it. This little soaly follow [the horringj, 
 some fourteen inolios in len;.-th, would dioke ii 
 monster whale, and is henro oallod ' the kiiij,- of 
 the sea."^'— f. Tliomncn : Aiit.'tHi\ laiihii, p. i:i2. 
 
 King of tho Teign. Daldrick of 
 South Devon, son of Eri, who long de- 
 fended his teiTitory against Algtir, a 
 lawless chief. 
 
 King of the World {Shah-Jchnn). 
 The title a'isiuiud by Khortiim Slitih, 
 third son of Selini .Tihan-Ghir, and fifth 
 of the Mogul emperors of Dellii. 
 
 King of the World. So the Cale- 
 donians, in Gssian's time, called tho 
 Roman emperor. 
 
 King Chosen by tho Neighing of 
 a Horse (./). Darius. {Sic IIuksk : 
 ^/ linnic tiin.^ (I /iiiii/ddiii.) 
 
 King Over the Water {Thr). The 
 
 Young Pretender, or Chevalier Charles 
 Edward. 
 
 ".My father so far oonipromisod his loyalty iis 
 to announoe merely 'The kiuLr.'as his flrsi loast 
 after dinuor, instoail of the emphnlio ' Kintr 
 (Jeor^ie.' . . . Our iruost made a motion with his 
 class, so as to pass it over tho w.-iier-deoanler 
 whioli stood beside liini, and added, 'Over the 
 water.' "—!<ir W. Scott : licilganiittct, letter v. 
 
 King's [or Qiicni'x] Bench. This 
 was originally the A"//' Iifi/in, which 
 followed the king in all liis travels, and 
 in which lie occupied the /it dr justice. 
 In the absence of the so^v-ereign the 
 judges were supreme. Of course there 
 is no lit dc justice or bench for the 
 sovereign in any of our law courts now. 
 
 King's Cave. Opposite to Camp- 
 belton ; so called because it was here 
 that King Robert Bruce and his retinue
 
 King's Chair 
 
 707 
 
 Kings 
 
 lodpjecl when they landed on the main- 
 land from the Islo of Arran. {Statistical 
 AcroKiit of i>col/aii(f, v. p. 1G7, article 
 "Airaa.") 
 
 King'3 Cbair. A seat made hy two 
 bearers with their liauds. On Candle- 
 mas Day the children of Scotland used 
 to bring their schoolmaster a ])resfnt 
 in mouc>j-, and tlie boy who brouj^lit the 
 larj^cst s\im was king for the nonce. 
 When schof)l was dismissed, the " king" 
 was carried on a seat of hands in pro- 
 cession, and the seat was called the 
 " king's cliair." 
 
 King's Crag. Fife, in Scotland. 
 Called "king" becau.se Alexander III. 
 of Scotland was killed there. 
 
 "As he was ridiiii,' in tlie dns'; nf I'lo evi'icii!,' 
 al(>n« the sisj-coast of Kife, hetwixt Biiriit-i.<l:iiiil 
 anil Kinit-lKini, he :iiu>r.>achfJ tuo near tlie Inink 
 of the iiiecipici-, and his linrse. slartini; or stnin- 
 lilini,', he was thrown over tlie imk ami killed 
 
 on the spot. . . The i \>],- of the coinui-y still 
 
 point out the very ejiot where it happoiied, and 
 which is called 'The Kind's I'rai,'.' "— ■S'i)' ll«/(cr 
 Scutt ; Talen of a (I laud/ather, vi. 
 
 King's Cross. Up to the accession 
 of George IV. this locality in London 
 was called " Battle Bridge," and had an 
 infamous notoriety. In 1S2I some specu- 
 lators built there a number of houses, 
 and, at tlie suggestion of Mr. Bra}-, 
 changed the name. 
 
 King'3 Evil. Scrofula : so called 
 from a noti m which ])revailed from the 
 reign of El ward the Confessor to that 
 of Queen Anne that it could be cured l)y 
 the roval touch. The Jacobites con- 
 sidered that the power did not descend 
 to William III. and Anno because the 
 " divinj " hereditary right was not fully 
 pos.sessed bv them, Imt the oflice re- 
 mained in our Piayer-Book till 1719. 
 Prince Charles Edward, when he claimed 
 to be Prince of Wales, touched a female 
 child for the disease in 174.5: but the 
 last person touched in England was Dr. 
 Johnson, in 1712, whenonly thirtymonths 
 old, bj- Queen Anne. The French kings 
 laid claim to the same divine power even 
 from the time of Aijne of Clovis, a.d. 4S1 , 
 and on Easter Sunday, 1686. Louis XIV. 
 touched 1 ,600 persons, using these words : 
 ' ' Le roij te louche, I)icit te //iicrissc. ' ' The 
 practice was introduced bj' Henri- VII. 
 of presenting the person "touched" with 
 a small gold or silver coin, called a touch- 
 piece. The one presented to Dr. Johnson 
 has St. George and the Dragon on one 
 side and a ship on the other ; the legend 
 of the former is Soli deo qloria, and of 
 the latter Anna D.G.M.BE.F.ET.H. 
 KEG. (Anne, bv t^- Grace of God, of 
 
 Great Britain, France, and Ireland 
 Queen.) 
 
 We are tidd that Charles II. tnuched O-'.Ior per- 
 sons. The smallest nnniher in one year was I'.B.O, 
 in ItiCfl; and I he laipi'St ninnl.er was in ir.Ml,wlien 
 many were trampled to death. (.sVv; .Maranlay's 
 llislorii uf EwjUind, chap, xiv.) John lirown, a 
 royal snru-eon. had to suiicriutcnd the cereinonj-. 
 (See ilticbeth, iv.3.) 
 
 King's Keys. The crow-bars, hatchets, 
 and hammers used by sheriffs' officers to 
 force doors and locks. {Law phrase.) 
 
 "The door, framed to withstand attacks from 
 exciseman, constables, and other persoiiagi's con- 
 sidered to iisf the kinK's keys . . . set his efforts 
 at deflinre.' - .>-'ir 11'. Scutt : Itrdyuimtlct, chap. xix. 
 
 King's Men. The 78th Foot ; so 
 called from tlieir motto, " Ciddich^r 
 J{hi " (Help the king). 
 
 It was njisi'd hy Kenneth Mackenzio, Ear] of 
 Seafortb, in 1777, and called the Seaforth High- 
 landers. In 17h;i it hecame the 72nd Koot. From 
 ls.to to iHMl it wa-i called the " Duke of Alhany's 
 HiKhlanders" ; and in issl it was madi- the t'nil 
 Uattalimi of the 'Soaforth HiKhlanders (Uo.ss- 
 Bhirc lUiir.-i, Ihe IHike of Albany s." 
 
 King's Mess ( The). An extra mess of 
 rice boiled with milk — or of almonds, 
 peas, or other pulse — given to the monks 
 of Melrose Abbey by Kobeit [Bruce], 
 the feast to be held on January 10th, 
 and £100 being set aside for the imrjiose ; 
 but the monks were bound to feed on 
 the same day fifteen poor men, and give 
 to each four ells of broad cloth or six 
 ells of narrow cloth, with a pair of shoes 
 or sandals. 
 
 King's Oak {The). The oak under 
 which lleiny VIII. sat, in Ejijiing Forest, 
 while Anne (Boleyn) was being exe- 
 cuted. 
 
 King's Picture. Money ; so called 
 becaus'i coin is stamped with "the 
 image " of the reigning sovereign. 
 
 King's Quhair. King's book (James 
 I.). " Cahier " is a copybook. 
 
 King's Cheese goes half in Paring. 
 
 A king's iiicriino is li;ilf consumed by the 
 numerous calls on liis jmrse. 
 
 King's Hanoverian White Horse 
 
 {The). Tlic.SthFoot; called the ••King's 
 Hanoverian" for their service against 
 the Pretender in 1715, and called the 
 " Wliite Horse " from their b.adge ; now 
 called the " Liverpool Regiment." 
 
 King's Own Scottish Borderers 
 
 {TIte). Eaised by L'-veu when Claver- 
 house rode out of Edinburgh. 
 
 Kings. Of the 2, .5.50 sovereigns who 
 have hitherto reigned, 
 
 300 have been overthrown. 
 
 1.34 have been assassinated. 
 
 123 have been taken captive in war. 
 
 108 have been executed.
 
 Kings 708 
 
 IPO have been slain in battle. 
 64 have been forced to abdicate. 
 ' 28 have committed suicide. 
 25 have been tortured to death. 
 23 liave become mad or imbecile. 
 
 Kings, etc., of England. Much 
 foolish suijerslition has of late been cir- 
 culated resjiecting certain days supposed 
 to be "fatal" to the crowned heads of 
 Great Britain. The following list may 
 help to discriminate truth from fiction : 
 
 [From iiipaiis the ro^rn.al year coramcuced from : 
 Til is the day of death.] 
 
 William I., from Monday, December 
 25th, 1060, to Thiirsdai/, September 9th, 
 1():S7 ; William II., from hu»drni, Sep- 
 lenber 2(Jth, 1087, to Thursday, August 
 2ik1, 1100; Henry I., from Sunday, 
 August 5th, 1100, to Sunday, December 
 1st, 11.'35; Stephen, from Thursday, 
 December 26th, 1135, to Monday, Octo- 
 ber 25th, 1154. 
 
 Henry II., from Sundai/, December 
 19th, 1154, to Thursday, July 6th, 1189; 
 EiCHARD I., from Sundai/, September 
 3rd, 1189, to Tuesday, Apiil 6th, 1199; 
 John, from Thursday, May 27th, 1 199, to 
 irtdncsday, October 19th, 1216; Henry 
 III., from iSaturday, October 28th, 1216, 
 to Wednesday, November 16th, 1272 ; 
 Edward I., from Sundaii, November 
 20th, 1272, to Friday, July 7th, i;307 ; 
 Edward II., from Saturday, July 8th, 
 1307, to Tuesday, January '20th, 1327; 
 Edward III., from Sunday, January 
 25th, 1327 (n.s.). to Sa)uh(y, June 21st, 
 1377; Richard II., from Mojidai/, June 
 22nd, 1377, to Mondai/, September 29th, 
 1399; Henry IV., from Tuesdaii, Sep- 
 tember 30th, 1399, to Mondai/^ March 
 2.)th, 1413; Henry V., irom Tuesday, 
 March 21st, 1413, to Monday, August 
 31st, 1422; Henry VI., froni Tuesday, 
 September 1st, 1422, to Jf'ednesday, 
 March 4tli, 1461 ; Edward IV., from 
 ll'ednesdai/, March 4th, 1461, to Wednes- 
 dai/, April 9th, 1483 ; Edward V., from 
 irediiesdiiy, April 9th, 1483, to Sunday, 
 June 22nd, 1483; Richard III., from 
 Thursdu!/. June 26, 1483, to Monday, 
 August 22nd, 1485. 
 
 Henry VII., from Monday, August 
 22nd, 1485, to Saturday, April 21st, 1509; 
 Henry VIII., from Sunday, April 22nd, 
 1509, to Friday, January 28th, 1547; 
 Edward VI., fromi^rirfffy, January 28th, 
 1547, to Thursday, July 6th, 1553; 
 Mary, from Thursday, July 6th, 1553, to 
 Thursday, November 17th, 1553 ; Eliza- 
 UKTH, from Thursday, November 17th, 
 1558, to Thursdat/, March 24tli, 1603. 
 
 James I., from" Thursday, March 24th, 
 
 Kings 
 
 1603, to Sunday, March 27, 1625; 
 Charles I., from Sundai/, March 27th, 
 1625, to 'Tuesday, January 30th, 1649; 
 [Commonwealth— Cromwell, died T^ri- 
 <;?«-//, September 3-13, 1658;] Charles II., 
 restored Tuesday, May 29th, 1660, died 
 Friday, February 6th, 1685; James II., 
 from Tuesday, February 0th, 1685, to 
 Saturday, December 11th, 1688; Wil- 
 liam ill., from H'edncsday, February 
 13th, 1689, to Monday, March 8th, 1702; 
 Anne, from Monday, March 8tli, 1702, 
 to Sunday, August 1st, 1714. (Both O.S.) 
 
 George I., from Sunday, August 
 1st, 1714, to Saturday, June 11th, 
 1727 O.S., 1721 N.S. ; George II., from 
 Saturday, June 11th, 1727, to Saturday, 
 October" 25th, 1760, N.S. ; George III, 
 from Saturday, October 25th, 1760, to 
 Saturday, January 29th, 1820; George 
 IV., fro"m Saturday, January 29th, 1820, ' 
 to Saturday, June 26th, 1830; William 
 IV., from Saturday, June 26tli, 1830, to 
 Tuesday, June 2dth, 1837; Victoria, 
 from Tuesday, June 20th, 1837 * * 
 {See Two.) 
 
 Jleneefivc have terminated their reign 
 on a Sunday, six on a Monday, four on a 
 Tuesday, four on a IJ'ediiesday, six on a 
 Thursday, four on a Friday, and six on a 
 Saturday. Nine have beyun and ended 
 their reiyn on the same day ; Ilejiry I. 
 and Fduard HI. on a Sunday ; liiehard 
 IJ. on a Monday; Eduard IV., Anne, 
 and Georye I. on a Wednesday : Mary on 
 a Thursday ; Georye III. and Georye 
 IJ". on a Saturday. 
 
 Kinys, ete., of Fnyland. 
 
 Wiliiam I. styled himself Kiny of (he 
 English, Xorinans, and Ciiujinantians ; 
 Henry I., Kiny of the English and Iluke 
 of the JS'ormans ; Steiihen, Kiny of the 
 Enylish ; Henry II., King of England, 
 Duke of Korntandy and Aqnitaniu, and 
 Count of Anjou; John, Kiny of Enyland, 
 lord of Ireland, Luke of Normandy 
 and Acjuitania, and Count of Anjon ; 
 Henry III., in 1259, dropped the titles 
 of "Duke of Normandy " and " Count 
 of Anjou; " Edward I., King of Enyland, 
 lord of Ireland, and Luke ej/'Aejuiteneia ; 
 Edward II. made his sou "Duke of 
 Aquitania" in the nineteenth year of 
 his reign, and styled himself King of 
 England and Lord of Ireland ; Edward 
 III., from 1337, adopted the style of 
 King of France and England, and Lord 
 of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitania; 
 Richard II., King of England and 
 France, and Lord of Lrelanet ; Edward 
 VI., Of England, FYanee, and Ireland, 
 King, Defender of the Faith — this last 
 title was given to Henry VIII. in the
 
 Kings 
 
 709 
 
 Kingly Titles 
 
 thirty-fifth year of his reign ; Mary, Of 
 I^iifjlaiid, t'nnice, and Ireland, Queen, 
 Defender of the Faith, and Supreme Head 
 of the Ani/lican and Hibernian Church; 
 Charles L, Of Great Britain, France, 
 and Ireland, King, Defender of the 
 Faith, etc. ; Commonwealth, The Keepers 
 of the Liberties of England, by the 
 authoritg of Parliament, and Cromwell 
 was styled His Highness ; Charles II. 
 and James II. as Charles I. ; William 
 and Mary, Of England, Seotland, France, 
 and Ireland, King and Queen, Defeii'lers 
 of the Faith, etc. ; Anne, Of Great 
 Britain, France, and Ireland, Queen, De- 
 fender of the Faith, etc. ; George III., in 
 1801, abandoned the words "King of 
 France," which had been retained for 432 
 years, and his style was " George III., bg 
 the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, King, De- 
 fenier of the Faith.'" 
 
 Kings have Long Hands. Do not 
 
 quarrel with a king, as his power and 
 authority reach to the end of his do- 
 minions. The Latin proverb is,.' ^ An 
 veseis longas ree/ibus esse manus ; '" and 
 the German, '' Mit gross?n hcrrcn cs ist 
 nicht gut kirschen zn essen." ("It is not 
 good to eat cherries with great men, as 
 they throw the stones in your eyes "). 
 
 " There's such divinity rli>th hed^e a \iina, 
 Tliat tre.isnii can bur peep to what it would." 
 tihake^lieare : King in J/amlet, iv. 5. 
 
 The books of the four kings. A pack 
 of cards. 
 
 " After Slipper \verelirou','lit in tlie hooks of the 
 four kint^i."— Rabelais : Gtirgantiul and Puntur- 
 (jritel, i. i'J. 
 
 The three Icinr/s of Cologne. The repre- 
 sentatives of the three magi who came 
 from the East to offer gifts to the infant 
 Jesus. Tradition makes them three 
 Eastern kings, and at Cologne the names 
 ascribed to them are Kaspar, Melchior, 
 and Balthazar. 
 
 Kings may overrids Grammar. 
 
 {See Gii.vMM.VR.) 
 
 Kingly Titles. 
 
 Abgarus (The Grand). So the kings 
 of E'iessa were style 1. 
 
 Ahim'clech (my father the kingl. Tho 
 chief ruler of the ancient Pliilistines. 
 
 Agng (lord). The chief ruler of tlie 
 Amal'ekites (4 syl.). 
 
 Akbar Khan (very-great chieftain). 
 Hindustan. 
 
 Anar. The chief ruler of the ancient 
 Greek kingdoms. AnaxandriJn was the 
 over-king. 
 
 Archon (The). The chief of the nine 
 magistrates of Athens. The next in rank 
 was called Basileus (3 syl.) ; and the 
 
 third ToUmarch (3 syl.), or Field- 
 Marshal. 
 
 Asser or Assgr (blessed one). The- 
 chief ruler of ancient Assyria. 
 
 Attabcg {father i)viu.ce). Persia, 1118. 
 
 Augustus. The title of the reigning 
 Emperor of Rome, when the heir pre- 
 sumptive was styled " Coesar." (See 
 Augustus. ) 
 
 Autocrat (self-potentate). One whose 
 power is absolute ; Eussia. 
 
 Bcglerbeg. (See Beg.) 
 
 Ben-IIadad (son of thesuu or Ha lad). 
 The chief ruler of ancient Damascus. 
 
 Beg of Tunis. In Turkey, a bey is 
 the governor of a banner, and the chief 
 over the seven banners is the bcghtr-beg. 
 
 Brenn or Brenhin (war-chief) of the 
 ancient Gauls. A dictator appointed by 
 the Druids in times of danger. 
 
 Bretu-alda (wielder of Britain). Chief 
 king of the heptarchy. 
 
 Ceesar. Proper name adojited by tlie 
 Roman emperors. (S>'e Kaiser.) 
 
 Calif (successor) . Successors of M^iho- 
 met ; now the Grand Signior of Tiu-kej-, 
 and Soplii of Persia. 
 
 Canda'ce. Proper name adopted by 
 the queens of Ethiopia. 
 
 Cazique (Ca-zeek'). American In- 
 dians ; native princes of the ancient 
 Peruvians, Cubans, Mexicans, etc. 
 
 Chagan. The chief of the Avars. 
 
 Cham. (See Khan.) 
 
 Cral. Tlie despot of ancient Scrvia. 
 
 Cgrus (mighty). Ancient Persia. {See 
 Cyrus.) 
 
 Czar (Cffisar). Russia. Assumed by 
 Ivan III., who married a princess of the 
 Byzantine line, in 147'2. He also intro- 
 duced the double-headed black eagle of 
 Byzantium as the national symbol. 
 
 Dari'Hs, Latin form of Darawesh 
 (king). Ancient Persia. 
 
 Deg. In Algiers, before it was an- 
 nexed to France in 1830. (Turkish, ddi, 
 uncle.) 
 
 Dictator. A military autocrat, ap- 
 pointed by the Romans in times of 
 danger. 
 
 Domnu (lord). Roumania. 
 
 Emperor. {See Impebator ) 
 
 Empress. A female emperor, or the 
 wife of an emperor. 
 
 Esin'qce {q.v.). Kings of Kent. 
 
 Hos'podar. Moldavia and Wallachia ; 
 now borne by the Emperor of Russia. 
 
 Impera'tor (ruler or commander). The 
 Latin form of emperor. 
 
 Inca. Ancient Peru. 
 
 Judge. Ancient Jews {Shophet). 
 
 Kaiser (same as Caesar, q.v.). The 
 German Emperor.
 
 Kingdom Come 
 
 710 
 
 Kirke-grlm 
 
 Khmi (chieftaiu) or Ghcngis-KJian. 
 Tartaiy. lu Persia, the governor of a 
 province is called a Khan. 
 
 Khedive (q.v.). Modern Egypt. 
 
 Kii/ff or Qnecn. Great Britain, etc. 
 (Anglo-Saxon ci/ii, the people or nation, 
 and -infi (a patronymic) = the man of, 
 the choice of, etc.) 
 
 Lama or I)alai Lama (great mother- 
 of -souls). Thibet. 
 
 J/<'to-A (king). Ancient Jews. 
 
 Morjiil' or Great Mogul' . Mongolia. 
 
 NejH)i or Xejnshee (lord protector). 
 Abyssinia. 
 
 Nizam' (ruler). Hyderabad. 
 
 Fadishah (fatherly king). The Sul- 
 tan's title. 
 
 Pendray'oH (chief of the dragons, or 
 '■ suminiis »r.r"). A dictator, created 
 by the ancient Celts in times of danger. 
 
 rha'raoh (light of the world). An- 
 cient Egypt. 
 
 Freside/it. Kepublics of America, 
 France, etc. 
 
 J'tol'emi/ (proper name adopted). 
 Egypt after the death of Alexander. 
 
 Qaeeii. (Anglo-Saxon, cueii ; Greek, 
 f/aiie, a woman.) 
 
 Ltaj'ah or Maha-rajah (great king). 
 Hindustan. 
 
 Ltex (ruler). A Latin word equivalent 
 to our king. 
 
 Scherif (lord) . Mecca and Medina. 
 
 Hliah (protector). Persia. 
 
 Sheik (patriarcli). Arabia. 
 
 Shop'hetim. So the Jewish " judges " 
 were styled. 
 
 So'phi (holy). A title of the Shah of 
 Persia. 
 
 •Sfa/f holder (city-holder). Formerly 
 chief magistrate of Holland; 
 
 Sxjf'etes (dictators). Ancient Carthage. 
 
 Sultan or Snlclan (ruler). Turkey. 
 
 J'ai/iode or jrai/wodc (2 syl.) of 
 Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia. 
 
 Vludika (ruler). Montenegro. 
 
 Also, Aga, ameer or emir, archdiike, 
 count, doge, dnke, effendi, elector, exarcli, 
 hcrzog (= duke), imaum, infanta, land- 
 (imman, landgrave, mandarin, margrave, 
 or margravine, nabob, pacha or bashaw, 
 prince, sachem, satrap, seigneur ov grand- 
 seigneur, sirdar, siibahdar, suzerain, tet- 
 rarch, viceroy, etc., in some cases are chief 
 independent rulers, in some cases depen- 
 dent rulers or governors subject to an 
 over-lord, and in others simply titles of 
 honour without separate dominion. 
 
 Kingdom Come. Death, the grave, 
 execution. 
 
 " And forty pounds be theirs, a pretty sum, 
 For seading such a ruguo to kingdom come." 
 FeUr Pindar : Subjects /or Painters. 
 
 Kingsale. Wearing a hat in the pre- 
 sence of RoyaUy. 
 
 Kingsley's Stand, the 20th Foot. 
 Called " Kingsley'.s " from their colonel 
 (1756-1709); and called " Stand " from 
 their "stand " at Minden in 17-')9. Now 
 called the " Lancashire Fusiliers." 
 
 Kingston Bridge. A card bent, so 
 that when the pack is cut, it is cut at 
 this card. " Faire le Font " is thus de- 
 scribed in Fleming and Tibbins's Grand 
 Llictionnaire : '' Action de eourber epiel- 
 ques-uncs dcs cartes, ct de les arranger de 
 telle sortc que cehii qui doit couper ne 
 puisse guere couper qiCa Vcndroit qu''on 
 rent.'''' 
 
 Kingston - on - Thames. Named 
 King's-stone from a large, square block of 
 stone near the town hall, on which the 
 earl}' Anglo-Saxon monarchs knelt when 
 they were anointed to the kingly office : 
 Edward the Elder, Athelstan. Edmund, 
 Etlielred, Edred, Edwy, and Edward 
 the Martyr received on this stone the 
 roj-al unction. The stone is now enclosed 
 with railings. 
 
 Kingstown (Ireland), formerly called 
 Dunleary. The name was changed in 
 1S21 out of compliment to George IV., 
 who visited Ireland that year, and left 
 Dunleary harbour for his return home 
 on September oth. 
 
 Kingswoad Lions. Donkeys; Kings- 
 wood being at one time famous for the 
 number of asses kept by the colliers who 
 lived thereabout. 
 
 Kinless Loons. The judges whom 
 Cromwell sent into Scotland were so 
 termed, because they condemned and 
 ac(iuitted those brought before thera 
 wholly irrespective of party, and solely 
 on the merits of the charge with which 
 they were accused. 
 
 Kiosk'. A Turkish summor-lionse 
 or alcove supported by jiillars. (Turkish, 
 kushk ; Persian, kushk, a palace ; French, 
 kiosqne. ) The name is also given to news- 
 paper stands in France and Belgium. 
 
 Kirli of Skulls. Gamrie church in 
 Banffshire ; so called because the skulls 
 and other bones of the Norsemen who 
 fell in the neighbouring field, called the 
 Bloody Pots, were built into its walls. 
 
 Kirke-grim. The nix who looks to 
 order in churches, punishes those who 
 misbehave themselves there, and the per- 
 sons employed to keep it tidy if they 
 fail in their duty. {Scandinavian myth- 
 ology.)
 
 Kirke's Lambs 
 
 711 
 
 Kiss 
 
 Kirke's Lambs. The Queen's Eoyal 
 West Suirej'. Called "Kiike" from 
 Piercy Kirke, their colonel, 1682-1691 ; 
 and "Lambs" from their badge, the 
 l\(tichal Liiiiib. the crest of the house of 
 Braganza, in complimentto Queen Catha- 
 rine, to whom they were a guard of 
 honour in her progi-ess to London. 
 
 Kirkrap'ine (3 syl.). While Una 
 was in the hut of Corcoca, Kirkrapine 
 forced his way in ; but the lion, spring- 
 ing on him, tore him to pieces. The 
 meaning is that Romanism was increased 
 Ijy rapine, but the English liin at the 
 Reformation put an end to the rapacity 
 of monks. {Spenser : Fai'ric Quce)i,\)k. i.) 
 
 Kismet. The fulfilment of destiny. 
 (Turkish, g'lsmct, a lot.) 
 
 '■The wnr.l Iciamct, which he srarcel.v oimi]ire- 
 hemleil before, seems now to he fraught willi . . . 
 [ineuiiii!.']. This is kismet ; tliis is the fulfil- 
 ment of destiny ; this is to lo\e."—A'ineteeiith 
 CeiitKfii, February, 18U2, p. 209. 
 
 Kiss, as a mode of salutation, comes 
 from its use to exjiress reverence or 
 worship. Thus to adore idols and to 
 kiss idols mean the same thing. Lideed, 
 the word fidore signifies simjjly to cany 
 the hand to the wouth, that is, to kiss it 
 to the idol. We still kiss the hand in 
 salutation. Various parts of the body 
 are kissed to distinguish the character of 
 the adoration paid. Thus, to kiss the 
 lips is to adore the living breath of the 
 licrsou saluted ; to kiss the feet or ground 
 is to humble oneself in adoration ; to 
 kiss the garments is to express venera- 
 tion to whatever belongs to or touches 
 the person who wears them. " Kiss the 
 Son, lest Hebe angry" (Ps. ii. 12), means 
 Worship the Son of God. Pharaoh tells 
 Joseph, "Thou shalt be over my house, 
 and upon tliy mouth shall all ray people 
 kiss," meaning they shall reverence the 
 commands of Joseph by kissing the roll 
 on which his commands would be written. 
 '• Samuel poured oil on Saul, and kissed 
 him," to acknowledge subjection to 
 God's anointed (1 Sam. x. 1). In the 
 Hebrew state, this mode of expressing 
 reverence arose from the form of govern- 
 ment established, whether under the 
 patriarchal or matrimonial figure. 
 
 A Judas kiss. An act of treacheiy. 
 The allusion is to the apostle Judas, who 
 betrayed his Master with a kiss. 
 
 Kiss Hands (To). To kiss the hand 
 of the sovereign either on accepting or 
 retiring from a high government office. 
 {See Kiss.) 
 
 " Ki3.?in.'r the hand to the statue of a god was a 
 Roman form of adoration."— ,Spe»ifer: I'rinciples 
 o/Suciologi/, vol. ii. part iv. chap. 6, p. 123, 
 
 Kiss the Book. After taking a legal 
 oath, we are commanded to kiss the 
 book, which in our English courts is the 
 New Testament, except when Jews " are 
 sworn in." This is the kiss of con- 
 firmation or promise to act in accord- 
 ance with the words of the oath (Mora- 
 vians and Quakers are not requii-ed to 
 take legal oaths). The kiss, in this case, 
 is a public acknowledgment that you 
 adore the deity whose book you kiss, as 
 a worshipper. 
 
 U is now permitted to aflirm, if persons like to 
 do so. Jlr. Bradlaugh refused to take an oath, 
 and afti-r some years of contention the law was 
 altered. 
 
 Kiss the Dust. To die, or to be 
 slain. In Psalm Ixxii. 9 it is said, "his 
 enemies shall lick the dust." 
 
 Kiss the Hare's Foot {7v). To be 
 late or too late for dinner. The hare 
 "has run away, and you are only in time 
 to " kiss " the print of his foot. A com- 
 mon proverb. 
 
 "You must kiss tlie hare's foot; post festuin 
 vaiisti." —Cole : Victiumiri/. 
 
 Kiss the Mistress (?o). To make 
 a good hit, to shoot right into the eye of 
 the target. In bowls, what we now call 
 the Jack iised to be called the "mis- 
 tress," and when one ball just touches 
 another it is said " to kiss it." To kiss 
 the Mistress or Jack is to graze another 
 bowl with your own. 
 
 " Rub on. and kiss the m\itrcss.''—SIiaI,-espeare : 
 Troiliis and Cret^aida, iii. 2. 
 
 Kiss the Red {To). To submit to 
 punishment or misfortune meekly and 
 without murmuring. 
 
 Kiss behind the Garden Gate (./). 
 
 A pans}^ A practical way of saying 
 " I'ci/srz dc Dwi,''^ the flower-language of 
 the pans}'. 
 
 Kiss given to a Poet. IMargaret, 
 daughter of James I. of Scotland and 
 wife of Louis XI. (when only dati])hin), 
 ki.ssed the mouth of Alain Chartier "for 
 littering so many fine things. ' ' Chartier, 
 however, was a decidedly ugly man, 
 and, of course, was asleep at the time. 
 
 The tale is sonietime.3 erroneously told of 
 Ronsard tbe poet. 
 
 Kiss the Gunner's Daughter {To). 
 To be flogged on board shij), being tied 
 to the breech of a cannon. 
 
 " I was made to kiss the wench that never 
 speaks but when she scolds, and that's the gun- 
 ner's daughter, . . . Yes, the minister's son . . . 
 has the cat's scratch ou his back."— Sir W. Scott : 
 liedguunttet, chap. xiv. 
 
 Kiss the Place to make it Well. 
 
 A relic of a very common custom all
 
 Kissing 
 
 71^ 
 
 Kit-cat Club 
 
 over the world of sucking poison from 
 wounds. St. Martin of Tours, when 
 he was at Paris, observed at the city 
 gates a leper full of sores ; and, going 
 up to him, he kissed the sores, where- 
 upon the leper was instantly made whole 
 {■Sidpicius Serenis : Dialogues). Again, 
 when St. Mayeul had committed some 
 grave offence, he was sent, by way of 
 penance, to kiss a leper who was begging 
 alms at the monastery. St. Mayeul 
 went up to the man, kissed his wounds, 
 and the leprosy left him. Half a score 
 similar examples may be found in the 
 Bollandistes, without much searcliing. 
 •' will) ran to lielp me wlion I fell, 
 Aud kissed the place to make it well ?" 
 
 Kissing-comfit. The candied root of 
 the Seii-rri/nf/ii(iii marituiiitm prepared 
 as a lozenge, to ^lerf ume the breath. 
 
 Kissing-crust. The crust where 
 the lower lump of bread kisses the 
 iijiper. In French, haUure dc paw. 
 
 Kissing the Hand. Either kissing 
 the sovereign's hand at a public intro- 
 duction, or kissing one's own hand to 
 bid farewell to a friend, and kissing the 
 tips of our fingers aud then moving the 
 hand in a sort of salutation to imply 
 great satisfaction at some bea,utiful ob- 
 ject, thouglit, or other charm, are rem- 
 nants of pagan worship. If the idol 
 was conveniently low enough, the de- 
 votee kissed its hand ; if not, the devotees 
 kissed their own hands and waved them 
 to the image. God said He had in Israel 
 seven thousand persons who had not 
 bowed unto Baal, ' ' every mouth which 
 hatli not kissed him." (A'ce-Kiss.) 
 
 ." JIany . . . whom the fame of this excellent 
 visum liarl gathered thither, confounded liv that 
 niatchless lieauty, could but kiss the Hneer-tips 
 <it tlieir riKlit hands at sight of her, as iu adora- 
 tion to the goddess Veuua herself ." — Pa^cr • 
 ilaniia tlie -Epicurean, chap. v. 
 
 Kissing the Pope's Toe. Matthew 
 of Westminster says, it was customary 
 formerly to kiss the hand of his Holiness; 
 but tha.t a certain woman, in the eightli 
 century, not only kissed the Pope's 
 hand, but "squeezed it." The Church 
 magnate, seeing the danger to which 
 he was exposed, cut off his hand, aud 
 was compelled in future to offer his 
 foot, a custom which has continued to 
 the present hour. 
 
 Kissing under the Mistletoe. 
 
 Balder, tlie Apollo of Scandinavian my- 
 thology, was killed by a. mistletoe arrow 
 given to the blind Hijder, by Loki, the 
 god of misclaicf and potentate of our 
 earth. Balder was restored to life, but 
 
 the mistletoe was placed in future under 
 the care of Fi'iga, and was never again 
 to be an instrument of evil till it touched 
 the earth, the empire of Loki. It is 
 always suspended from ceilings, and 
 when persons of opposite sexes pass 
 imder it, they give each other the kiss 
 of peace and love in the full assurance 
 that the epiphyte is no longer an in- 
 strument of mischief. 
 
 A correspondent in Kofts and Queries 
 suggests that the Romans dedicated the 
 holly to Saturn, whose festival was in 
 December, and that the early Christians 
 decked their houses with the Saturnian 
 emblems to deceive the Romans and 
 escape persecution. 
 
 Kist-vaen (T/ie). A rude stone 
 sepulchre or mausoleum, like a chest 
 with a flat stone for a cover. 
 
 "At length they reached a grassy mound, on the 
 top of which was placed one of those receptacles 
 for the dead of the ancient British chiefs of dis- 
 tinction, called Kist-vaen, which are composed of 
 upriL'ht fiairnients of granite, so placeil as to 
 form a stone coffin. . . ."—Sir Walter Scult: The 
 Bdnitlied, chap. xxix. 
 
 Kist of Whistles (A). A church- 
 organ (Scotch). Cisf, a box or chest. 
 
 Kist'nerap'pan. The Indian water- 
 god. Persons at the point of death are 
 sometimes carried into the Ganges, and 
 sometimes to its banks, that Kistnerap- 
 pan may purify them from all defilement 
 before they die. Others have a little 
 water poured into the palms of their 
 hands with the same object. 
 
 Kit. (Anglo-Saxon, JiCtie, a cist or 
 box [of tools].) Hence that which con- 
 tains the necessaries, tools, etc., of a 
 workman. 
 
 A xoMicr^s Jiit. His outfit. 
 
 Tlic whole kit of them. The whole lot. 
 {Sec above.) Used contemptuously. 
 
 Kit. A three-stringed fiddle. (Anglo- 
 Saxon, cytcrc ; Latin, ciiliara.) 
 
 Kit-cat Club. A club formed in 
 1688 by the leading Whigs of the day, 
 and held in Shire Lane (now Lower 
 Serle's Place) in the house of Cliristo- 
 pher Cat, a jjastry-cook, who supplied 
 the mutton pies, and after whom the club 
 was named. Sir Godfrey Kneller painted 
 forty-two portraits of the club members 
 for Jacob Tonson, the secretary, whose 
 villa was at Barn Elms, and where 
 latterly the club was held. In order 
 to accommodate the paintings to the 
 height of the club-room, he was obliged 
 to make them three-quarter lengths ; 
 hence a three-quarter portrait is still 
 called a kit-cat.
 
 Kit Cats 
 
 713 
 
 Kneph. 
 
 Strictly speaking, a kit-cat canvas is 
 twenty-eight inches by thirty-six. 
 
 "Steele, Addison, Congreve, Garth, Vanhrugb, 
 Mail waring'. Stepney, Walpole, and Pultenev 
 were of it • so was Lord Dorset and the present 
 Duke. Manwariug . . . was the ml inj? man in all 
 conversation. . . ."Lord .Stanhopeand the Earl of 
 Essex were also meiuliers. . . . Each member gave 
 his [picture]." — I'opc to Si'cnce. 
 
 V Cowley the poet lived at Barn Elms 
 Villas. 
 
 Kit Cats. Mutton pies ; so called 
 from Christopher Cat, the pastrycook, 
 who excelled in these pasties. {See 
 above.) 
 
 Kit's Coty House, on the road be- 
 tween Rochester and Maidstone, a well- 
 known cromlech, is Katigeru's or Kiti- 
 f/eni''s cot// hoiixe — that is, the house or 
 tomb of kitigem, made of co'itsi or huge 
 llat stones. {Hce Hackell's Coit and 
 Devil's Coit.) 
 
 Katigem was the brother of Vortimer, 
 and leader of the Britons, who was slain 
 in the battle of Aylesford or Epsford, 
 fighting against Heugist and Horsa. 
 Lambarde calls it Citucotvhouse (l.")70). 
 The structure consists of two upright 
 side-stones, one standing in the middle 
 as a support or tenon, and a fourth im- 
 posed as a roof. Numberless siones lie 
 scattered in the vicinity. Often spelt 
 " Kitt's Cotty House." 
 
 Kitchen. Any relish eaten with dry 
 bread, as cheese, bacon, dried fish, etc. 
 
 " A hunsry heart wad scarce seek better kitchen 
 tf) a barley scone."— .Sir H'. Hcott : The Pirate, 
 chap. xi. 
 
 Kitchenmaid {Mrs.). So Queen 
 Elizabeth called Lord Mountjoy, her 
 lord-deputy in Ireland. In one of her 
 letters to Lord Mountjoy she writes : — 
 
 " With your fryincr-pan and other kitchen-stuff 
 you havelirouglit to their last home mure rebels 
 than those that proiiiiseJ more and did less." 
 
 Kite {A), in legal phraseology, is a 
 junior counsel who is allotted at an 
 assize court to advocate the cause of a 
 prisoner who is without other defence. 
 For this service he receives a guinea 
 as his honiirarium. A kite on Stock 
 Exchange means a worthless bill. An 
 honorarium given to a baiTister is in 
 reality a mere kite. {See below, Kite- 
 flying.) 
 
 Kite-flying. To flij the late is to 
 " raise the wind," or obtain money on 
 bills, whether good or bad. It is a 
 Stock Exchange phrase, and means, as 
 a kite flutters in the air by reason of its 
 lightness, and is a mere toy, so these 
 bills fly about, but are light and worth- 
 less. {Jiee Stock Exchange Slang.) 
 
 Kitely (2 syl.). A jealous city mer- 
 chant in Ben Jonson's Every Man hi 
 his Hionour. 
 
 Kittle of Fish. A prettij kittle of 
 Jish. A pretty muddle, a bad job. Cor- 
 ruption of " kiddle of flsh." A kiddle 
 is a basket set in the opening of a weir 
 for catching fish. Perhaps the Welsh 
 hi(U or hidijl, a strainer. [Jiec Kettle.) 
 
 Klaus {Peter). The prototj'pe of Rip 
 Van Winkle, whose sleep lasted twenty 
 years. Pronounce Kloivs. {See Santa 
 Klaus.) 
 
 Klephts {The) etymologically means 
 robber", but came to be a title of dis- 
 tinction in modern Greece. Those 
 Greeks who rejected all overtures of 
 their Turkish conquerors, betook them- 
 selves to the mountains, where they kept 
 up for several years a desultory warfare, 
 supporting themselves by raids on 
 Turkish settlers. Aristoteles Valaoritis 
 (born 1824) is the great "poet of the 
 Klephts." (See Nineteenth Ventitn/, 
 July, 1891, p. 130.) 
 
 Knack. Skill in handiwork. The de- 
 rivation of this word is a great puzzle. 
 Minshew suggests that it is a mere vari- 
 ant of knock. Cotgrave thinks it a 
 variant of snap. Others give the German 
 hnacken (to sound). 
 
 Knave. A lad, a gar<,-on, a servant. 
 (Anglo-Saxon, enafa ; Gennan, hnabe.) 
 The knave of clubs, etc., is the son or 
 servant of the king and queen thereof. 
 In an old version of the Bible we read : 
 "Paul, a knave of Jesus Christ, called 
 to be an apostle," etc. (Rom. i. 1). 
 
 This version, we are told, is in the Harleian 
 Library, but is generally supposed to be a forgery. 
 But, without doubt, Wycliff (Rev. xii. 5, 13) used 
 the compound "Knave-child," and Chaucer uses 
 the same in the Man of Lane's 'I'ale, line 5130. 
 
 Knave of Hearts {A). A flirt. 
 
 Knave of Sologne {A). More knave 
 than fool. The French say " lit niai.s tie 
 Sologne.''' Sologne is a part of the de- 
 partments of Loiret et Loire-et-Cher. 
 
 Knee. Greek, gonn ; Latin, genu ; 
 French, genou ; Sanskrit, janii ; Saxon, 
 cneow ; German, knie ; English, A««'. 
 
 Knee Tribute. Adoration or reve- 
 rence, by prostration or bending the knee. 
 
 " I'oming to receive fnmi us 
 Knee-tribute yet unpaid, pmstration vile." 
 Miltua : 1-aradUe Lust, v. 782. 
 
 Kneph. The ram-headed god of 
 ancient Egypt, called also Ameu-ra, and 
 by the Greeks, Amraon.
 
 Knickerbocker 
 
 7U 
 
 I^ights Baronets 
 
 Knickerbocker {Dicdrich). The 
 imaginary author of a facetious History 
 of Neir York, }>y Washington Irving. 
 
 Knickerbockers. Loose knee- 
 hreeches, worn by boys, cyclists, sports- 
 men, tourists, etc. So named from 
 George Cruikshank's iUustrations of 
 Wasliington Irvlng's book referred to 
 above. In these illustrations the Dutch 
 Avorthies are drawn with A^'ry loose 
 knee-breeches. 
 
 Knife is the emblem borne by St. 
 Ag'atha, St. Albert, and St. Christi'na. 
 
 The flailing knife is the emblem of 
 St. Bartholomew, because he was flayed. 
 
 A sacr'ifchig knife is borne in Christian 
 art by St. Zadkiel, the angel. 
 
 T/ie knife of academic knots. Chrysip'- 
 pos, so called because he was the keenest 
 disputant of his age (b.c. 280-207). 
 
 War to the knife. Deadly strife. 
 
 Knife = sword or dagger. 
 
 ■' Till my keen knife see not tbe wound it makes." 
 fihal:espeare : Macbeth, i.5. 
 
 Knife and Fork. Jfe is a capital 
 knife-arid-jurk, a good trencherman. 
 
 •■ Ho (iiii Jiie limiour to tlio repast ; lie ate and 
 drank, and proved a caiiital knife-and-fork even 
 at tlie risk of dying tlie same niglit of an m- 
 digostion.'— G'citon'dK ; Fromhe of Marriuye, vi. 
 
 Knifeboard. One of the seats for 
 passengers running along the roof of an 
 onniilius. Xow almost obsolete. 
 
 Knight means simply a botj. (Saxon, 
 cni/it.) As boys (like the Latin piier 
 and French garcon) were used as ser- 
 vants, so cniht came to mean a servant. 
 Ihose who served the feudal kings bore 
 arms, and persons admitted to this privi- 
 lege were the king's knights ; as this 
 distinction was limited to men of family, 
 the word became a title of honour next 
 to the nobility. In modern Latin, a 
 knight is termed a>ira'tiis (golden), from 
 the gilt spurs which ho used to wear. 
 
 Last of the kniqhts. Maximilian I. of 
 Germany (14.;9, 140:3-1.119). 
 
 Knight Rider Street (London). So 
 named from the processions of knights 
 from the Tower to Smithfield, where 
 tournaments were held. Leigh Hunt 
 says the name originated in a sig-n or 
 some reference to the Heralds' College 
 in the vicinity. 
 
 Knight of La Mancha. Don Quixote 
 de la Mancha, the hero of Cervantes' 
 novel, called l)on Quixote. 
 
 Knight of the Bleeding Heart. 
 
 The Bleeding Heart was one of the 
 many semi-religious orders instituted 
 
 in the Middle Ages in honour of the 
 Virgin Maiy, whose " heart was pierced 
 with many sorrows." 
 
 "Wlien lie was at Hnlyrood who would have 
 said that the young, sprightly George Douglas 
 would have been content to jday the locksman 
 here in Lochleven, with no wayer ainuscmenl 
 than that of turning the key on two or throe help- 
 less wiimen ? A strange office for a Knight of the 
 Bleeding Heart."— .Sir If. Scott: The -ifi^of, xxiii. 
 
 Knight of the Cloak (The). Sir 
 Walter Raleigh. So called from his 
 throwing his cloak into a ]*«ddle for 
 Queen Elizabeth to step on as she was 
 about to enter her barge. (See Kenil- 
 irorth, chap, xv.) 
 
 "Your lordship menneth that Raleigh, the 
 Devonshire youth,' said Varney, ' the Knight of 
 the Cloak, as they call him at Cuurt."— Ditto, 
 chap. xvi. 
 
 Elizabeth, in the same novel, addresses 
 him as Sir Squire of the Soiled Cassock. 
 
 Knight of the Couching Leopard 
 
 {Till). Sir Kenneth, or rather the Earl 
 of Huntingdon, Prince Royal of Scot- 
 land, who followed, incognito, Richard I. 
 to the Crusade, .and is the chief char- 
 acter of the Talisman, a novel by Sir 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 Knight of the Order of John- 
 William (A). In French : " Cheralier 
 dc I'ordrc dc .Iran GniUaumc,'''' a man 
 hanged. {See Jonx- William.) 
 
 Knight of the Post. A man in the 
 
 pillory, or that has been tied to a whip- 
 ])ing-post, is jestingly so called. 
 
 Knight of the Rueful Counte- 
 nance. Don Quixote. 
 
 Knight's Fee. A portion of land 
 held by custom, sufficient to maintain a 
 knight to do service as such for the 
 king. William the Conqueror created 
 ()0,000 such fees when he came to Eng- 
 land. All who had £20 a year in lands 
 or income were compelled to be knights. 
 
 Knight's Ward (lite). A superior 
 compartment in Newgate for those wh® 
 jiaid three jiieces by way of '" garnish." 
 No longer in existence. 
 
 Knights. {Sec Ceoss-Legged . . .) 
 
 Knights Bachelors. Persons who 
 are simply knights, but belong to no 
 order. (French, has-clievaliers.) 
 
 Knights Bannerets. Knights cre- 
 ated on the field of battle. The king or 
 general cut off the point of their flag, 
 and made it square, so as to resemble a 
 banner. Hence knights bannerets are 
 called Knights of the Square Flag. 
 
 Knights Baronets. Inferior barons, 
 an order of hereditarj- rank, created by
 
 Knights Errant 
 
 715 
 
 Knights of 
 
 James I. in 1611. The title was sold for 
 money, and the funds went nominally 
 towards the plantation of Ulster. These 
 kniglits bear the arms of Ulster, viz. a 
 field argent, a sinister hand couped at 
 the wrist giihs. {See Hand.) 
 
 Knights Errant. In Frftuce, from 
 768 to 987, the land was encumbered 
 with fortified castles ; in England this 
 was not the case till the reign of Stephen. 
 The lords of these castles uised to carry 
 off females and commit rapine, so that a 
 class of men sprang up, at least in the 
 pages of romance, who roamed about in 
 full armour to protect the defenceless 
 and aid the oppressed. 
 
 '•' Prux' ni.i qunu'iP metit glad'io'ia tUe perfect 
 accninit iif :i ku g!]t errant."— ili-i/t'eu ; Vedicatiun 
 vf the .-Em' If. 
 
 Knights of Carpetry or Carpet 
 Kiiif/Jits, are not military but civil 
 knights, such as mayors, lawyers, and 
 so on : so called because they receive 
 their knighthood kneeling o)i a earpet, 
 and not on the battle-field. 
 
 Knights of Industry. Sharpers. 
 
 Knights of Labour. Members of a 
 trades union organised in 18;i4, in the 
 United States of America, to regulate 
 the amount of wages to be demanded 
 by workmen, the degree of skill to be 
 exacted from them, and the length of a 
 day's work. This league enjoins when 
 a strike is to be made, and when work- 
 men of the union may resume work. 
 
 Knights of Malta or ITospifaUers of 
 AY. Jo/ui of Jenis'iilri)!. Some time after 
 the first crusade (1042), some Neapolitan 
 merchants built at Jerusalem a hospital 
 for sick pilgrims and a church which 
 they dedicated to St. John ; these they 
 committed to the charge of certain 
 knights, called HospitallerH of St. John. 
 In 1310 these Hospitallers took Rhode 
 Island, and changed their title into 
 Kiiu/hts of It hod es. In 1.V23 they were 
 exjielled from Rhodes by the Turks, 
 and took up their residence in the Isle 
 of Malta. 
 
 Knights of St. Crispin. Shoe- 
 makers. Crispin Crispian was a shoe 
 maker. {Hee IIe)irij f.,iv. 3.) 
 
 Knights of St. Patrick. Instituted 
 in 1783, in honour of the i)atron saint of 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 Knights of the Bag. Bagmen who 
 travel for mercantile orders. 
 
 Knights of the Bath. {See Bath.) 
 
 Knights of the Blade. Bullies who 
 
 were for ever appealing to their swords 
 to browbeat the timid. 
 
 Knights of the Chamber or Cham- 
 ber KinghtH, are knights bachelors made 
 in times of peace in the pre.'<e)iee ehamher, 
 and not in the camp. Being military 
 men, they differ from '' carpet knights," 
 who are always civilians. 
 
 Knights of the Cleaver. Butchers. 
 
 Knights of the Garter. {Sec 
 Gaetee.) 
 
 Knights of the Green Cloth. 
 Same as Caepet Knioiits (//.'■.). 
 
 Knights of the Handcuffs. Con- 
 stables, policemen, etc., who carry 
 handcuffs for refractory or suspicious 
 prisoners taken up by them. 
 
 Knights of the Hare. An oi der of 
 twelve knights created by Edward III. 
 in France, upon the following occasion: — 
 A great shouting was raised by the. 
 French army, and Edward thought the 
 shout was the onset of battle ; but found 
 afterwards it was occasioned bj' a hare 
 running between the two armies. 
 
 Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. 
 
 An Order of military knights founded by 
 Godfrey of Bouillon, in 1099, to guard 
 the "Holy Sepulchre." 
 
 Knights of the Order of the Golden 
 Fleece. Lawyers. 
 
 Knights of the Pencil. The betters 
 in races ; so called because they always 
 keep a pencil in hand to mark down 
 their bets. 
 
 Knights of the Pestle or Knights 
 of the Pestle and Mortar. Apotlie- 
 caries or druggists, wliose chief instru- 
 ment is the pestle and mortar, used in 
 compounding medicines. 
 
 Knights o' the Post. Persons who 
 haunted the purlieus of the courts, ready 
 to be hired for a bribe to swear anything ; 
 so called from their being always found 
 waiting at the posts which the sheriffs 
 set up outside theii- doors for posting 
 proclamations on. 
 
 "There are knii-'bts of tlie post and liooby 
 clieats enough to swear the truth of the broadest 
 contradicticms."— .SoMf/i. 
 
 " ' A knight of the nost,' quoth he, ' for so T am 
 termed; a follow that will sweare you an> thing 
 for twelvo pence.' "— .Yhs/i ; rierce Peniksse (159i'.) 
 
 Knights of the Rainbow. Flun- 
 keys ; so called from their gorgeous 
 liveries. 
 
 "The servants who attended them contradicted 
 the inferences to be drawn from the garb of tlie:r 
 master.^ ; and, according to the custom of the 
 knights of the rainbow, gave many hints that 
 tbev were not peoide to serve any but men of 
 first-rate consequeuce."— ^'ir TV'. Scott: Eedyaunt- 
 let, cliap. 20
 
 Knights of 
 Knights of the Koad. Footpads. 
 
 (.SVr KXIGHTS OF THE POST.) 
 
 Knights of the Round Table. 
 
 King Arthur's knights, so called from 
 the lar^e circular table round which they 
 sat. The table was circular to iDreveut 
 any heart-sore about precedency. The 
 number of these knights is variously 
 given. The popular notion is that they 
 were twelve ; several authorities say 
 there were forty; but the Jfistori/ of' 
 Friitcc ArtJiur states that the table 
 was made to accommodate 150. King 
 Leodegrauuce, who gave Arthur the 
 table on his wedding-day, sent him also 
 100 knights, Merlin furnished twenty- 
 eight, Arthur himself added two, and 
 twenty "sieges" were left to reward 
 merit (chaps, xlv., xlvi.). These knights 
 went forth into all countries in quest of 
 adventures. The most noted are — 
 
 <SV)- Acolon, IhtUamorc, licau'maris, 
 Belcohus, Beivoior, IScrs/ii/t, ]>ors, Ik-tor, 
 Eric, Eivai)), FloU, Ga'lieris, Gal'ahad, 
 Qal'ohuU, Gcireth, Gan'riel, Gawam or 
 Twain, Grislct, Junj, Lameroch, Launce- 
 lot (In Lac, LioncU, Marltaus, Palamide, 
 Pa'quinet, Fcl'lcan, Fcr'cdur or Fer'ccval, 
 Sac/ris, Siiperab'i/is, Tor, Tristain or 
 Tristan de Lc'onnais, Turcpiine, Wig'alois, 
 Wig'amar, etc., etc. 
 
 ■.• A list of tlie kniKhts and a description nf 
 their armour is given in the Theatre of Hniimir liy 
 Andrew Kairne OO-"-'). According to this list, tlie 
 number was 151 ; but in Lancelut of tlic Lake (\ ol. 
 ii. 11. xl), tliey are said.to have amounted to "joO. 
 
 Knights of the Shears. Tailors. 
 The word shear is a play ou the word 
 s/iirc or county. 
 
 Knights of the Shell. The Argo- 
 nauts of St. Xicholas, a military order, 
 instituted in the 14 th century by 
 Carlo III., King of Naples. Their 
 insignia was a " collar of shells." 
 
 Knights of the Shire. Now called 
 County Members ; that is, members of 
 Parliament elected by counties, in con- 
 tradistinction to Borough members. 
 
 Knights of the Spigot. Landlords 
 of hotels, etc. ; mine host is a "knight 
 of the sjjigot." 
 
 " Wlien an old son:? comes across lis inerrv old 
 knis-'lits of the si^igot it runs away with" our 
 discretion."-,'.';)- W. Scott : Kcnilirorth, chap. \ iii. 
 
 Knights of the Swan. An order 
 of the House of Cleve. 
 
 ^ Knights Of the Stick. Compositors. 
 Tlie stick is the printer's "composing 
 stick," whicli he holds in his left hand 
 while witli his right hand he fills it with 
 letters from his "case." It holds just 
 enough type not to fatigue the hand of 
 
 716 
 
 Knot 
 
 the compositor, and when full, the type 
 is transferred to the " galley." 
 
 Knights of the Thistle. Raid to 
 have been established in cS09 by Achaicus, 
 King of the Scots, and revived in ir)40 
 by James V. of Scotland. Queen Anne 
 placed the order on a permanent footing. 
 These knights are sometimes called 
 Knifjhts of 1st. Andrew. 
 
 Knights of the Whip. Coachmen. 
 
 Knighten Guild, now called Port- 
 sokc/i Ward. King Edgar gave it to 
 thirteen knights ' on the following con- 
 ditions : — (1) Each knight was 1o ba 
 victorious in three combats — one above- 
 ground, one uudergvoimd, and one in 
 the water ; and ('2) each knight was, on a 
 given day, to run with s]iears against iill 
 comers in East Sniithtield. William the 
 Conqueror confirmed the same unto the 
 heirs of these knights. Henry I. gave 
 it to the canons of Holy Trinity, and 
 acquitted it " of all service." 
 
 Knipperdollings. A set of German 
 heretics about the time of the Reforma- 
 tion, disciples of a man named Bernard 
 KnipperdoUing. {Blount : Glosnoijra- 
 phia, 1C81.) 
 
 Knock Under {To). Johnson says 
 this expresf^ion arose from a custom once 
 common of knocking under the table 
 when any guest wished to acknowledge 
 himself beaten in argument. Another 
 derivation is hiiuckle vnder — i.e. to 
 knuckle or bend the knuckle or knee in 
 proof of submission. Bellenden Kerr 
 says it is Te no'ck under, which he iu- 
 teqirets " I am forced to yield." 
 
 Knocked into a Cocked Hat. 
 
 Thoroughly beaten ; altered beyond re- 
 cognition ; hors de combat. A cocked- 
 hat, folded into a chapcau bras, is 
 crushed out of all shape. 
 
 Knockers. Goblins who dwell in 
 mines, and jjoint out rich veins of lead 
 and silver. In Cardiganshire the 
 miners attribute the strange noises so 
 frequently heard in mines to these 
 spirits, which are sometimes called 
 coblyns (German, kobolds). 
 
 Knot. (Latin nodns, French vwud, 
 Danish knndc, Dutch knot, Anglo-Saxon 
 cnotta, allied to knit.) 
 
 He has tied a knot u-ith his tongue he 
 cannot untie with his teeth. He has got 
 married. He has tied the marriage knot 
 by saying, " I take thee for my wedded 
 wife," etc., but the knot is not to be 
 untied so easily.
 
 Knot and Bridle 
 
 717 
 
 Kochlani 
 
 The Gordian knot. {See Gokdian.) 
 The marriage knot. {See Marriage.) 
 2'he ship urnt six or seven knots an 
 hoar. Miles. The log-line is divided 
 iuto lengths by knots, each length is the 
 same proportion of a nautical mile as 
 half a minute is of an hour. The log- 
 line being east over, note is taken of the 
 number of knots run out in half a 
 minute, and this number shows the rate 
 per hour. 
 
 ■." The len.5tl] of a knot is 47'3T feet wlien iiwerl 
 with n, :!H-sec()ii(l t'lass, l>ut 50'75 feet wheu the 
 b'lass vans 30 seconds. 
 
 Trne lorcrs' knot. Sir Thomas Browne 
 thinks the knot owes its origin to the 
 nod as Hcrealn'nas, a snaky complication 
 in the cadu'ceus or rod of Mercurj', in 
 which form the woollen girdle of the 
 Greek brides was fastened. 
 
 To seek for a knot in a rush. Seeking 
 for something that does not exist. Not 
 a very wise phrase, seeing tliere are 
 Jointed rushes, probably not known wheu 
 the proverb was first current. The 
 Janeas aeati floras, the Janeas lampo- 
 earpas, the Janeas ohtasijlorus, and the 
 Janeas potf/eephalas, are all jointed 
 rushes. 
 
 Knot and Bridle (A). A mob-cap. 
 
 " I'pim her ho.id :i sni;ill mob-cap she placed. 
 OE lawn so stiff, with large flowered ribliou 
 
 f-TMced, 
 Ycl 'jit a knot and liridle.'in a bow, 
 Of scarlet llamiUL.'. her hniK cliin l«dow.-' 
 
 Pitrr I'imtar: I'mtfoUo {Dinah). 
 
 Knots of May. The cliildren's gaTue. 
 "Here we go gathering nuts of May " 
 is a perversion of " Here we go gather- 
 ing knots of May," referring to the old 
 otistom of gathering knots of flowers on 
 ]\Iay-day, or, to use the ordinary phrase, 
 "to go a-Maying." Of course, there 
 arc no nuts to be gathered in May. 
 
 Knotted Stick is Planed {The). 
 The house of Orleans is worsted by that 
 of Burgundy. The house of Orleans 
 bore for its badge a baton noaea.r, the 
 house of Burgundy a plane; hence the 
 French saying, " Zc baton noaeux est 
 plane.''' 
 
 Knotgrass. Supposed, if taken in 
 an infusion, to stop growth. 
 
 " Get you gone, you dwarf ; 
 You niiiiinuis, of hiiideiiiig knotgrass made." 
 Shulcespeare : MUlsummer yigJit's Dieani, iii. 2. 
 
 Knout (1 syl.) is a knotted bunch of 
 chongs made of hide. It is a Tartar 
 invention, but was introduced into 
 Eussia. {Knout, Tartar for knot.) 
 
 Know Thyself. The wise saw of 
 Solon, the Athenian lawgiver (b.c. G38- 
 5.38). 
 
 Know the Fitting Moment. The 
 
 favourite maxim of Pittacos, one of the 
 " seven wise men." 
 
 Know Your Own Mind. By 
 
 Murphy ; borrowed from Destouches, 
 the French dramatist. 
 
 Know-Nothings. A secret political 
 party of the United States, which arose 
 in 1853, who replied to every question 
 asked about their society, "I know 
 nothing about it." Their object was to 
 accomplish the repeal of the naturalisa- 
 tion laws, and of the law which excluded 
 all but natives from holding office. The 
 party split ou the slavery question and 
 died out. 
 
 Tlie chief "principle nf the party was tltat nr> 
 one who liad not been 21 yetirs in tlie Un ted States 
 should be permitted to have any part in the 
 government. 
 
 Knows which Side his Bread is 
 Buttered {He). He is alive to his own 
 interest. In Latin, ^'' Scit atiforo.'''' 
 
 Knowledge-box {Yoar). Your head, 
 the brain being the seat of all humau 
 knowledge. 
 
 Knox's Croft, in Giflford Gate, Had- 
 dington ; so called because it was the 
 birthjilace of John Knox. 
 
 Knuckle-duster. A metal instru- 
 ment which is fitted to a man's fist, and 
 may be readily used in self-defence by 
 striking a blow. Sometimes these in- 
 struments are armed with sj^ikes. It 
 was an American invention, and was 
 used in England in defence against the 
 infamous attacks of Spring-heel Jack. 
 We have the i)hrase "To du.st your 
 jacket for you," meaning to "beat 
 you," as men dust carpets by beating 
 them. 
 
 Knuckle Under {To). To kneel for 
 pardon. Knuckle here means the knee, 
 and we still say a "knuckle of veal or 
 mutton," meaning the thin end of the 
 leg near the joint. Dr. Ogilvie tells us 
 there was an old custom of striking the 
 under side of a table with the knuckles 
 when defeated in an argument ; and 
 Dr. Johnson, following Bailey, says the 
 same thing. 
 
 Kobold. A house-spirit in German 
 superstition ; the same as our Eobin 
 Goodfellow, and the Scotch brouiiie 
 {q.r.). {See Fairy Hinzelmaxn.) 
 
 Kochla'ni. Arabian horses of royal 
 stock, of which genealogies have been 
 preserved for more than 2,000 year.s. It 
 is said that they are the offspring of 
 Solomon's stud. {Nie/Jithr.)
 
 Koli-i-Nur 
 
 718 
 
 Kremlin 
 
 Koh-i-Nur [Mountain of lighf]. A 
 large diamond iu the possession of the 
 Queen of England. It was found on the 
 banks of the Godavery (Deccan), 15.30, 
 and belonged to Shah Jelian and Aurung- 
 zebc the Great (Mogul kings). In 1739 it 
 passed into the hands of Nadir Shah, who 
 called it the Koh-i-niir. It next went to 
 the monarchs of Afghanistan, and when 
 Shah Sujah was depossessed he gave it 
 to Eunjeet Singh, of the Puujaub, as 
 the price of his assistance towards the 
 recovery of the throne of Cabul'. It 
 next went to Dhuleep Singh, but when 
 the Punjaub was annexed to the British 
 crown in 1849, tliis noble diamond was 
 surrendered to Great Britain. It is 
 valued at £120,664, some say £140,000. 
 Its i>res;^nt weiKlit is loji',, carats. 
 
 Kohol oi- Kohl. Eussell saj-s, "The 
 Persian women blacken the inside of 
 their eyelids with a powder made of 
 black Koho!." 
 
 " And ntliers mix the Knliol's jetty dye 
 Tci yive tliat Inn?, dark laii^uisli to tlu' eye.'' 
 Thomas Moore : Lalla Jioohh, pari i. 
 
 Koli or the Kolis. The 51st Foot, so 
 called in 1821 from the initial letters of 
 the regimental title, King's Own Light 
 Infantr}'. Subseqiiently called the 
 " Second Yorksliire ( West Biding)," 
 and now called the " 1st Battalion of 
 the South Yorkshire Regiment." 
 
 Konx Ompax. The words of dis- 
 missal in tlie Elcusinian Mj'steries. A 
 correspondent in ^otcs and Queries says 
 "konx" or "kogx" is the Sanscrit 
 Cansclia (the object of your desire) ; 
 "ompax" is om (amen), pacsha (all is 
 over). If this is correct, the words would 
 mean, God blfiss i/ou, Aineu, The cere- 
 monies arc concluded. When a judge 
 gave sentence by dropping his pebble 
 into the nrn of mercy or death, he said 
 " Fncsha " (I have done it). The noise 
 made by the stone in falling was called 
 p'icsha (fate), and so was the dripping 
 noise of the clepsydra, which limited the 
 jileader's quota of time. 
 
 Koppa. A Greek numeral = 90. (See 
 Episemox.) 
 
 Koran, or. with the article, Al-Kordn 
 [the Beading]. The religious, social, 
 civil, commercial, militarj', and legal 
 code of Islam. It is rather remarkable 
 that we call our Bible the irritii/// (Scrip- 
 ture), but the Arabs call their Bible the 
 vadinfi (Konin). We are told to believe 
 that portions of this book were com- 
 m'liiirated to the prophet at Mecca and 
 Mt^di'na by the angel Gabriel, with the 
 £ou:U of bells. 
 
 Kor'rigans or Corriffan. Nine fays 
 of Brittany, of wonderful powers. They 
 can predict future events, assume any 
 shape they like, move quick as thought 
 from place to place, and cure di.'eases or 
 wounds. They are not more than two 
 feet high, have long flowing hair, which 
 they are fond of combing, dress only 
 with a white veil, are excellent singers, 
 and their favourite haunt is beside some 
 fountain. They flee at the sound of a 
 bell or benediction. Their breath is 
 most deadly. {Breton mythology.) 
 
 Koumiss or Kumiss. Fermented 
 mare's milk used as a beverage by the 
 Tartar tribes of Central Asia. A slightly 
 alcoholic drink of a similar kind is made 
 with great ceremony in Siberia. It 
 consists of slightlj^ sour cow's milk, 
 sugar, and yeast. (Eussian, kumitisu.) 
 
 "Kumiss is still iiri'pari>ii from mare's milk liy 
 the I'aliiuic'ks and Nocais. who. diirin;,' the im'o- 
 c"ss of niakinR it, keel: the milk in constant 
 ai-'itatioii."— ifiiH7(H»(»i ; Ihrodutuf. vol. iii. hook 
 iv. i>. f. 
 
 V The ceremony of making it is de- 
 scribed at full length by Noel, in the 
 Zlictionnaire de la Fable, vol. i. 833-834. 
 
 KraaL A South African vilhige, 
 being a collection of huts in a circular 
 form. (From corral.) 
 
 Kraken. A. supposed sea-monster of 
 vast size, said to have been seen off the 
 coast of Norway and on the North 
 American coasts. It was first desci ibed 
 (1750) by Pontoppidan. Pliny speaks of 
 a seaniouster in the Straits of Gibraltar, 
 which blocked the entrance of ships. 
 
 Kratim. The dog of the Seven 
 Sleepers. More correctly called Katmir 
 or Ketmir {q.v.). 
 
 Kremlin (The). A gigantic pile of 
 buildings in Moscow of every style of 
 architecture : Arabesque palaces, Gothic 
 forts, Greek temples, Italian steeples, 
 Chinese pavilions, and Cyclopean walls. 
 It contains palaces and cathedrals, mu- 
 seums and barracks, arcades and shops, 
 the Eussian treasury, government offices, 
 the ancient palace of the patriarch, a 
 throne-room, churches, convents, etc. 
 Built by two Italians, Marco and Pietro 
 Antonio, for Ivan III. in 1485. There 
 had been previously a wooden fortress 
 on the spot. (Eussian hrem, a fortress.) 
 
 " Towers nf every form, round, scinare. and witii 
 pointed roofs, belfries, donjons, tniTets, spires, 
 sentrv-boxes tlxed on minarets, steeples of every 
 heinlit, style, and colour: palaces, domes, watch- 
 towers, walls embattlemented and pierced with 
 loop-holes, ramparts, fortifications of every de- 
 smption. chio^ks by the side of cathedrals ; 
 monuments of pride and caprice, voluptuousness, 
 glorv, and piety."— X)e Custine : Hussia, chap. xxii.
 
 Krems White 
 
 719 
 
 Kyle 
 
 ? Every city in Russia has its krem- 
 
 lin (citadel) ; but that of Moscow is the 
 most important. 
 
 Krcms Wliito takes its name from 
 Krem-i in Austria, the city where it is 
 manufactured. 
 
 Kreuzer (pron. kroit-zcr). A small 
 copjier coin in Southern Germany, once 
 mai'ked with across. (German, hrcuz, a 
 cross ; Latin, crux.) 
 
 Kriem'hild (2 syl.). A beaiitiful 
 Burguudiau lady, daug-hter of Dancrat 
 and Uta, and sister of Gunther, Gemot, 
 and Gis'elher. She first married Sieg- 
 fried, King of the Netherlanders, and 
 next Etzel, King of the Huns. Hagan, 
 the Dane, slew her first husband, and 
 seized all her treasures ; and to revenge 
 these wrongs she invited her brothers 
 and Hagan to visit her in Hungarj'. In 
 the first part of the jSihclnnf/rnUed, 
 Kriemhild brings ruin on herself by a 
 tattling tongue: — (1) She tells Brune- 
 hild. Queen of Burgundy, that it is 
 Siegfried who has taken her ring and 
 girdle, which so incenses the queen that 
 she prevails on Hagan to murder the 
 Netherlander ; (2) she tells Hagan that 
 the only vulnerable part in Siegfried is 
 between his shoulders, a hint Hagan 
 acts on. In the second part of the 
 great epic she is represented as bent 
 on vengeance, and in executing her 
 pui-pose, after a most terrible slaughter 
 both of friends and foes, she is killed by 
 Hildebraud. {See Beunehild, Hagax.) 
 
 Krish'na {the black one). The eighth 
 avatara or incarnation of Vishnu. Kansa, 
 demon-king of Mathura', having com- 
 mitted great ravages. Brahman com- 
 plained to Vishnu, aud prayed him to 
 relieve the world of its distress : where- 
 upon Vishnu plucked off two hairs, one 
 white and the other black, and promised 
 they should revenge the wrongs of the 
 demon-king. The black hair became 
 Krishna. {Hindu in>jtholo(/)j.) 
 
 Kriss Kringle. A sort of St. Nic- 
 holas iq.>\). On Christmas Eve Kriss 
 Kringle, arraj-ed in a fur caj) and strange 
 apparel, goes to the bedroom of all good 
 children, where he finds a stocking or 
 sock hung up in expectation of his visit, 
 in which depository he leaves a inesent 
 for the young wearer. The word means 
 ahr'ist-ch'iTd., and the eve is called 
 " Kriss - Kringle Eve." {See Santa 
 Claus.) 
 
 Kri'ta. The first of the four Hindu 
 periods contained in <-he great Yuga, 
 
 when the genius of Truth and Eight, in 
 the form of a bull, stood firm on his 
 four feet, and man gained nothing by 
 iniquity. {See Kaliyuga. ) 
 
 Krupp Gun. {See Gun.) 
 
 Krupp Steel. Steel from the works 
 of Herr Krupp, of Essen, in Prussia. 
 
 Ku-Klux-Klan {Tin). (ISfit-lSTG.) 
 A secret society in the Southern Stat> s 
 of America against the negro class, to 
 intimidate, flog, mutilate, or murder 
 tliose who opposed the laws of the 
 society. In Tennessee one murder a day 
 wds committed, aud if anyone attempted 
 to bring the murderers to justice he 
 was a marked man, and sure to be 
 mutilated or killed. In fact, the Ku- 
 Klux-Klan was formed on the model of 
 the "Molly Maguires" and "Moon- 
 lighters " of Ireland. Between Novem- 
 ber, 1864, and March, 1.S65, the number 
 of cases of personal violence was 400. 
 (Greek, kuldoa, a circle.) 
 
 Ku'dos. Praise, glory. {Greclc.) 
 
 Ku'fic. Ancient Arabic letters ; so 
 called from Kufa, a town in the pashalic 
 of Bagdad, noted for expert copj-ists of 
 the ancient Arabic MSS. 
 
 Kufic Coins. Mahometan coins with 
 Kufic or aucient Arabic characters. The 
 first were struck in the eighteenth year 
 of the Heg'ira (a.d. 638). 
 
 Kumara \>jo\ithful'\. The Hindu 
 war-god, the same as Karttikeya {q.v.). 
 One of the most celebrated Hindu poem.s 
 is the legendary history of this god. 
 R. T. H. Griffith has translated seven 
 cantos of it into English verse. 
 
 Kurd. A native of Kurdistan. 
 
 Kursaal. Public room at German 
 watering-place for use of visitors. 
 
 Kuru. A noted legendary hero of 
 India, the contests of whose descendants 
 form the subject of two Indian ejiics. 
 
 Ky'anise (3 syl.). To apply corrosive 
 sublimate to timber in order to prevent 
 the dry-rot ; so called from Dr. Kyan, 
 who invented the process in 1832. {See 
 Paynising.) 
 
 Kyle, Carrie?:, and Cuuninr/ham. 
 Ayrshire is divided into three parts: 
 Kyle, a strong corn-growing soil ; Car- 
 rick, a wild hilly portion, only fit for 
 feeding cattle ; and Cunningham, a rich 
 dairy land. Hence the saying— 
 
 ",Kyle fiir a man, Carvick for a con (cow], 
 CunninKliam for butter, Galloway for woo' 
 [wool]."
 
 Kyrie Eleison 
 
 720 
 
 Labourer 
 
 Kyrie Elei'son [Ki-ri-e E-Ii-s'n], 
 "Lord, have mercy." The first move - 
 meut of the Catholic mass. Both the 
 music aud the words are so called. In 
 the Anglican Church, after each com- 
 mandment, the response is, " Lord, have 
 mercy upon us, and incline our hearts 
 to keep this law." 
 
 Kyrie Society {T/u^. Founded 1878, 
 for decorating the walls of hospitals, 
 school-rooms, mission-rooms, cottages, 
 etc. ; for the cultivation of small open 
 spaces, window-gardening, the love of 
 flowers, etc. ; and improving the artistic 
 taste of the poorer classes. 
 
 L. This letter represents an ox-goad, 
 and is called in Hebrew lamed (an ox- 
 goad). 
 
 L for fifty is half G {centum, a 
 hundred). 
 
 L, for a pound sterling, is the Latin 
 libra, a pound. With a line drawn 
 above the letter, it stands for 50,000. 
 
 Ii. E. L. Letitia Elizabeth Laudon 
 (afterwards Mrs. Maclean), a poetess of 
 the "Lara" and " Corsaii- " school 
 
 (1802-1839). 
 
 LL.D. Doctor of Laws — i.e. both 
 civil and canon. The double L is the 
 plural ; thus MSS. is the plural of MS. 
 (manuscript); pp., pages. 
 
 L. L. Whisky. Lord-Lieutenant 
 whisky. Mr. Kinahan being requested 
 to preserve a certain cask of wliisky 
 highly approved of by his Excellency the 
 Duke of Richmond, marked it with the 
 initials L.L., and ever after called this 
 particular quality L.L. whisky. The 
 Duke of Richmond was Lord-Lieutenant 
 from 1807 to 1813. 
 
 L.S. Locus siffilli, that is, the place 
 for the seal. 
 
 L. S. D. Latin, libiri (a pound) ; 
 so/Ul/is (a shilliufT) ; and deiianiis (a 
 penny) ; through the Italian lire (2 syl.), 
 soldi, denari. If farthings are expressed 
 the letter q {qnadrans) is employed. In- 
 troduced by the Lombard merchants, 
 from whom also we have Cr. (creditor), 
 Dr. {debtor), bankrupt, do or ditto, etc. 
 
 La-dc-da. A yea-nay sort of a fel- 
 low, with no backbone. '■'■ I)a,^'' in 
 French, means both oui aud nenni, as 
 
 Old- da (ay marry), Nenni-da (no for- 
 sooth) . 
 
 " I wish tliat French brother of his, the P.irisian 
 1.1-de-rta, was more like him. inorenf an Ameri- 
 can."— .1. (;. (lantrr : Bamn J/odfc:, hocik jij. 8. 
 
 La Garde Meurt ne se Rend pas. 
 
 The words falsely asciibed to General 
 Cambronne, at the battle of Waterloo ; 
 inscribed on his monument at Nantes. 
 
 La Joyeuse. The sword of Charle- 
 magne. (.Vcf SWOED.) 
 
 La Muette de Portici. Auber's 
 best ojiera. Also known as MamJiicllo, 
 
 La Roche (1 syl.). A Protestant 
 clergyman, whose story is told in The 
 Jlirror, by Henry Mackenzie. 
 
 Lab'adists. A religious sect of the 
 seventeenth centurj\ so called from Jean 
 Labadie, of Bourg in Guyenne. They 
 were Protestant ascetics, who sought 
 reform of morals more than refonn of 
 doctrine. They rejected the observance 
 of all holy days, and held certain mystic 
 notions. The sect fell to pieces early in 
 the eighteenth century. 
 
 Lab'arum. The standard borne be- 
 fore the Roman emperors. It consisted 
 of a gilded .spear, with an eagle on the top, 
 while from a cross-staff hung a splendid 
 purple streamer, with a gold fringe, 
 adorned with precious stones. Constan- 
 tine substituted n crown for the eagle, 
 and inscribed in the midst the mysterious 
 monogram. (AW- Coxstantine's Cross.) 
 Rich {Antu/uities, p. 301) says " pro- 
 b;ibly from the Gaulish htb, to raise ; for 
 Constantiue was educated in Gaul." 
 The Greek laha is a staff. (See Gibbon : 
 iJcclinv and Fall, etc. chap, xx.) 
 
 La'be {Queen). The Circe of the 
 Arabians, who, by her enchantments, 
 transformed men into horses and other 
 brute beasts. She is introduced into 
 the Arabian Xifjhts^ Entertainments, 
 where Beder, Prince of Persia, marries 
 her, defeats her plots against him, and 
 turns her into a mare. Being restored 
 to her proper shape by her mother, she 
 turns Beder into an owl ; but the prince 
 ultimately regains his own proper form. 
 
 Labour of Love (A). Work under- 
 taken for the love of the thing, without 
 regard to pay. 
 
 Labourer is Worthy of his Hire. 
 
 In Latin : "■' l)i(/na canis pabulo.^' '"The 
 dog must be bad indeed that is not worth 
 a bone." Hence the Mosaic law, " Thou 
 shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out 
 the corn."
 
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