Nor did we meet, with nimble feet,One little fearfullepus,That certain sign, as some divine,Of fortune bad to keep us.Ellison,Trip to Benwell, lx.
Nor did we meet, with nimble feet,One little fearfullepus,That certain sign, as some divine,Of fortune bad to keep us.Ellison,Trip to Benwell, lx.
Nor did we meet, with nimble feet,One little fearfullepus,That certain sign, as some divine,Of fortune bad to keep us.Ellison,Trip to Benwell, lx.
Nor did we meet, with nimble feet,
One little fearfullepus,
That certain sign, as some divine,
Of fortune bad to keep us.
Ellison,Trip to Benwell, lx.
Hoopoe(The). The country people of Sweden consider the appearance of the hoopoe as a presage of war.--Pennant,Zoölogy, i. 258.
Lizardswarn men of the approach of a serpent.
Looking-glasses.If a looking-glass is broken, it is a warning that some one in the house will ere long lose a friend. Grose says it “betokens a mortality in the family, commonly the master.”
To break a looking-glass is prophetic that the person will never get married; or, if married, will lose the person wedded.
Magpiesare prophetic birds. A common Lincolnshire proverb is, “One for sorrow, two for mirth, three for a wedding, four for death;” or thus: “One for sorrow, two for mirth, three a wedding, four a birth.”
Augurs and understood relations have,By magotpies and choughs and rooks, brought forthThe secret’st man of blood.Shakespeare,Macbeth(1606).
Augurs and understood relations have,By magotpies and choughs and rooks, brought forthThe secret’st man of blood.Shakespeare,Macbeth(1606).
Augurs and understood relations have,By magotpies and choughs and rooks, brought forthThe secret’st man of blood.Shakespeare,Macbeth(1606).
Augurs and understood relations have,
By magotpies and choughs and rooks, brought forth
The secret’st man of blood.
Shakespeare,Macbeth(1606).
Alexander Ross tells us that the battle between the British and French, in which the former were overthrown in the reign of Charles VIII., was foretold by a skirmish between magpies and jackdaws.--Arcana Microcosmi.
Mantle(The Test). A boy brought to King Arthur’s court a mantle which no one could wear who was unfaithful in love, false in domestic life, or traitorous to the king. If any such attempted toput it on, it puckered up, or hung slouchingly, or tumbled to pieces.--Percy,Reliques(“The Boy and the Mantle”).
Meteors.Falling stars, eclipses, comets, and other signs in the heavens, portend the death or fall of princes.
Meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven;The pale-faced moon looks bloody on the earth ...These signs forerun the death or fall of kings.Shakespeare,Richard II., act ii. sc. 4 (1597).
Meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven;The pale-faced moon looks bloody on the earth ...These signs forerun the death or fall of kings.Shakespeare,Richard II., act ii. sc. 4 (1597).
Meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven;The pale-faced moon looks bloody on the earth ...These signs forerun the death or fall of kings.Shakespeare,Richard II., act ii. sc. 4 (1597).
Meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven;
The pale-faced moon looks bloody on the earth ...
These signs forerun the death or fall of kings.
Shakespeare,Richard II., act ii. sc. 4 (1597).
ConsultMatt.xxiv. 29;Lukexxi. 25.
Mice and Rats.If a rat or mouse, during the night, gnaw our clothes, it is indicative of some impending evil, perhaps even death.
Nos autem ita leves, atque inconsiderati sumus, ut si mures corroserint aliquid quorum est opus hoc unum, monstrum putemus? Ante vero Marsicum bellum quod Clypeos Lanuvii--mures rosissent, maxumum id portentum haruspices esse dixerunt. Quasi vero quicquam intersit, mures diem noctem aliquid rodentes, scuta an cribra corroserint ... cum vestis a soricibus roditur, plus timere suspicionem futuri mali, quam præsens damnum dolere. Unde illud eleganter dictum est Catonis, qui cum esset consultus a quodam, qui sibi erosas esse Caligas diceret a soricibus, respondit; non esset illud monstrum; sed vere monstrum habendum fuisse, si sorices a Caligis roderentur.--Cicero,Divinatio, ii. 27.
Mole-spots.A mole-spot on thearmpitpromises wealth and honor; on theanklebespeaks modesty in men, courage in women; on the rightbreastis a sign of honesty, on the left forebodes poverty; on thechinpromises wealth; on the rightear, respect; on the left forebodes dishonor; on the centre of theforeheadbespeaks treachery, sullenness and untidiness; on the righttempleforeshows that you will enjoy the friendship of the great; on the lefttempleforebodes distress; on the rightfootbespeaks wisdom, on the left, rashness; on the right side of theheartdenotes virtue, on the left side, wickedness; on thekneeof a man denotes that he will have a rich wife, if on the left knee of a woman she may expect a large family; on thelipis a sign of gluttony and talkativeness; on theneckpromises wealth; on thenoseindicates that a man will be a great traveller; on thethighforebodes poverty and sorrow; on thethroat, wealth and health; on thewrist, ingenuity.
Moon(The). When the “mone lies sair on her back, or when her horns are pointed towards the zenith, be warned in time, for foul weather is nigh at hand.”--Dr. Jamieson.
Foul weather may also be expected “when the new moon appears with the old one in her arms.”
Late yestreen I saw the new mooneWi’ the auld moone in her arme,And I feir, I feir, my deir master,That we will come to harme.The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens.
Late yestreen I saw the new mooneWi’ the auld moone in her arme,And I feir, I feir, my deir master,That we will come to harme.The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens.
Late yestreen I saw the new mooneWi’ the auld moone in her arme,And I feir, I feir, my deir master,That we will come to harme.The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens.
Late yestreen I saw the new moone
Wi’ the auld moone in her arme,
And I feir, I feir, my deir master,
That we will come to harme.
The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens.
To see a new moon for the first time on the right hand, and direct before you, is lucky; but to see it on the left hand or to turn round and see it behind you, is the contrary.
If you first see a new moon through glass, your wish will come to pass.
Nails.A white spot on thethumbpromises a present; on theindex fingerdenotes a friend; on thelong finger, a foe; on thethird finger, a letter or sweetheart; on thelittle finger, a journey to go.
In America, white spots on the nails are considered lucky.
Nourgehan’s Braceletgave warning of poison by a tremulous motion of the stones, which increased as the poison approached nearer and nearer.--Comte de Caylus,Oriental Tales(“The Four Talismans”).
Opalturns pale at the approach of poison.
Owls.The screeching of an owl forebodes calamity, sickness, or death. Onone occasion an owl strayed into the Capitol, and the Romans, to avert the evil, underwent a formal lustration.
The Roman senate, when withinThe city walls an owl was seen,Did cause their clergy with lustrations ...The round-faced prodigy t’ avert.Butler,Hudibras, II. iii. 707 (1664).
The Roman senate, when withinThe city walls an owl was seen,Did cause their clergy with lustrations ...The round-faced prodigy t’ avert.Butler,Hudibras, II. iii. 707 (1664).
The Roman senate, when withinThe city walls an owl was seen,Did cause their clergy with lustrations ...The round-faced prodigy t’ avert.Butler,Hudibras, II. iii. 707 (1664).
The Roman senate, when within
The city walls an owl was seen,
Did cause their clergy with lustrations ...
The round-faced prodigy t’ avert.
Butler,Hudibras, II. iii. 707 (1664).
The death of Augustus was presaged by an owl singing [screeching] upon the top of the Curia.--Xiphilinus,Abridgment of Dion Cassius.
The death of Commŏdus Antonius, the emperor, was forboded by an owl sitting on the top of his chamber, at Lanuvium.--Julius Obsequens,Prodigies, 85.
The murder of Julius Cæsar was presaged by the screeching of owls.
The bird of night did sit,Even at noonday, upon the market-place,Hooting and shrieking.Shakespeare,Julius Cæsar, act i. sc. 3 (1607).
The bird of night did sit,Even at noonday, upon the market-place,Hooting and shrieking.Shakespeare,Julius Cæsar, act i. sc. 3 (1607).
The bird of night did sit,Even at noonday, upon the market-place,Hooting and shrieking.Shakespeare,Julius Cæsar, act i. sc. 3 (1607).
The bird of night did sit,
Even at noonday, upon the market-place,
Hooting and shrieking.
Shakespeare,Julius Cæsar, act i. sc. 3 (1607).
The death of Valentinian was presaged by an owl, which perched on the top of a house where he used to bathe.--Alexander Boss,Arcana Microcosmi.
Antony was warned of his defeat in the battle of Actium by an owl flying into the temple of Concord.--Xiphilinus,Abridgment of Dion Cassius.
The great plague of Würtzburg, in Franconia, in 1542, was foreboded by the screeching of an owl.
Alexander Ross says: “About twenty years ago I did observe that, in the house where I lodged, an owl groaning in the window presaged the death of two eminent persons, who died there shortly after.”--Arcana Microcosmi.
Peacocksgive warning of poison by ruffling their feathers.
Perviz’s String of Pearls(Prince). When Prince Perviz went on his exploit, he gave his sister, Parizādê, a string of pearls, saying, “So long as these pearls move readily on the string, you may feel assured that I am alive and well; but if they stick fast, they will indicate to you that I am dead.”--Arabian Nights(“The Two Sisters”).
Pigeons.It is considered by many a sure sign of death in a house if a white pigeon perches on the chimney.
Pigsrunning about with straws in their mouths give warning of approaching rain.
Ratsforsaking a ship forebode its wreck, and forsaking a house indicate that it is on the point of falling down. (See “Mice.”)
Ravens.The raven is said to be the most prophetic of “inspired birds.” It bodes both private and public calamities. “To have the foresight of a raven” is a proverbial expression.
The great battle fought between Beneventum and Apicium, was portended by a skirmish between ravens and kites on the same spot.--Jovianus Pontanus.
An irruption of the Scythians into Thrace was presaged by a skirmish between crows and ravens.--Nicetas.
Cicero was warned of his approaching death by some ravens fluttering about him just before he was murdered by Popilius Cænas.--Macaulay,History of St. Kilda, 176.
Alexander Ross says: “Mr. Draper, a young gentleman, and my intimate friend, about four or five years ago had one or two ravens, which had been quarrelling on the chimney, fly into his chamber, and he died shortly after.”--Arcana Microcosmi.
Rhinoceros’s Horns.Cups made of this material will give warning of poison in a liquid by causing it to effervesce.
Saltspilt towards a person indicates contention, but the evil may be averted by throwing a part of the spilt salt over the left shoulder.
Prodige, subverso casu leviore salino,Si mal venturum conjicis omen; adest.R. Keuchen,Crepundia, 215 (1662).
Prodige, subverso casu leviore salino,Si mal venturum conjicis omen; adest.R. Keuchen,Crepundia, 215 (1662).
Prodige, subverso casu leviore salino,Si mal venturum conjicis omen; adest.R. Keuchen,Crepundia, 215 (1662).
Prodige, subverso casu leviore salino,
Si mal venturum conjicis omen; adest.
R. Keuchen,Crepundia, 215 (1662).
Shears and Sieve(The), ordeals by fire, water, etc., single combats, the corsned or cursed morsel, the Urim and Thummim, the casting of lots, were all employed as tests of innocence or guilt in olden times, under the notion that God would direct the lot aright. (SeeJonah, i. 7.)
Shoes. It was thought by the Romans a bad omen to put a shoe on the wrong foot.
Augustus, having b’ oversight,Put on his left shoe for his right,Had like to have been slain that dayBy soldiers mutin’ing for pay.Butler,Hudibras.
Augustus, having b’ oversight,Put on his left shoe for his right,Had like to have been slain that dayBy soldiers mutin’ing for pay.Butler,Hudibras.
Augustus, having b’ oversight,Put on his left shoe for his right,Had like to have been slain that dayBy soldiers mutin’ing for pay.Butler,Hudibras.
Augustus, having b’ oversight,
Put on his left shoe for his right,
Had like to have been slain that day
By soldiers mutin’ing for pay.
Butler,Hudibras.
Auguste ... restoit immobile et consterné lorsqu’il lui arrivoit par mégarde de mettre le soulier droit au pied gauche.--St. Foix,Essais sur Paris, v. 145.
Shooting Pains. All sudden pains are warnings of evil at hand.
Timeo quod rerum gesserim hic, ita dorsus totus prurit.--Plautus,Miles Gloriosus.
By the pricking of my thumbs,Something wicked this way comes.Shakespeare,Macbeth(1606).
By the pricking of my thumbs,Something wicked this way comes.Shakespeare,Macbeth(1606).
By the pricking of my thumbs,Something wicked this way comes.Shakespeare,Macbeth(1606).
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
Shakespeare,Macbeth(1606).
Sneezing. Once, a wish, twice, a kiss, thrice, a letter, and oftener than thrice, something better.
Sneezing before breakfastis a forecast that a stranger or a present is coming.
Sneezing at night-time. To sneeze twice for three successive nights denotes a death, a loss, or a great gain.
Si duæ sternutationes fiant omni nocte ab aliquo, et illud continuitur per tres noctes, signo est quod aliquis vel aliqua de domo morietur vel aliud damnum domui continget, vel maximum lucrum.--Hornmannus,De Miraculis Mortuorum, 163.
Eustathius says that sneezing to the left is unlucky, but to the right lucky. Hence, when Themistoclês was offering sacrifice before his engagement with Xerxes, and one of the soldiers on his right hand sneezed, Euphrantīdês, the soothsayer, declared the Greeks would surely gain the victory.--Plutarch,Lives(“Themistoclês”).
Soot on Bars.Flakes of sheeted soot hanging from the bars of a grate foretell the introduction of a stranger.
Nor less amused have I quiescent watchedThe sooty films that play upon the barsPendulous, and foreboding ... some stranger’s near approach.Cowper,Winter Evening.
Nor less amused have I quiescent watchedThe sooty films that play upon the barsPendulous, and foreboding ... some stranger’s near approach.Cowper,Winter Evening.
Nor less amused have I quiescent watchedThe sooty films that play upon the barsPendulous, and foreboding ... some stranger’s near approach.Cowper,Winter Evening.
Nor less amused have I quiescent watched
The sooty films that play upon the bars
Pendulous, and foreboding ... some stranger’s near approach.
Cowper,Winter Evening.
Sophia’s Picture, given to Mathias, turned yellow if the giver was in danger or in temptation; and black if she could not escape from the danger, or if she yielded to the temptation.--Massinger,The Picture(1629).
Spidersindicate to gold-searchers where it is to be found.
Stag’s Hornis considered in Spain to give warning of an evil eye, and to be a safeguard against its malignant influences.
Stone.To find a perforated stone is a presage of good luck.
Swallowsforecast bad weather by flying low, and the fine weather by flying high.
Teeth Wide Apartwarn a person to seek his fortune away from his native place.
Thunder.Thunder on Sunday portends the death of some learned man, judge, or author; on Monday, the death of women; on Tuesday, plenty of grain; on Wednesday, the death of harlots, or bloodshed; on Thursday, plenty of sheep, cattle, and corn; on Friday, the death of some great man, murder, or battle; on Saturday it forebodes pestilence or sickness.--Leonard Digges,A Prognostication Everlasting of Ryght Good Effecte(1556).
Tolling Bell.You will be sure of tooth-ache if you eat while a funeral bell is tolling. Be warned in time by this American superstition, or take the consequences.
Veipsey, a spring in Yorkshire, called “prophetic,” gives due warning of a dearth by rising to an unusual height.
Venetian Glass.If poison is put into liquor contained in a vessel made of Venetian glass, the vessel will crack and fall to pieces.
Warning Stones.Bakers in Wiltshire and in some other counties used to put a certain kind of pebble in their ovens, to give notice when the oven was hot enough for baking. When the stone turned white, the oven was fit for use.
Water of Jealousy(The). This was a beverage which the Jews used to assert no adulteress could drink without bursting.--Five Philosophical Questions Answered(1653).
White Rose(The). A white rose gave assurance to a twin-brother of the safety or danger of his brother during his absence. So long as it flourished and remained in its pride of beauty, it indicated that all went well, but as it drooped, faded, or died, it was a warning of danger, sickness, or death.--The Twin-Brothers.
Witch Hazel.A forked twig of witch hazel, made into a divining-rod, was supposed, in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, to give warning of witches, and to be efficacious in discovering them.
Worms.If, on your way to a sick person, you pick up a stone and find no living thing under it, it tells you that the sick person will die, but if you find there an ant or worm, it presages the patient’s recovery.
Si visitans ægrum, lapidem inventum per viam attollat, et sub lapide inveniatur vermis se movens, aut formica vivens, faustum omen est, et indicium fore ut æger convalescat, si nihil invenitur res est conclamata et certa mors.--Buchardus,Drecretorum, lib.xix.
Warren(Widow), “twice married and twice a widow.” A coquette of 40, aping the airs of a girl; vain, weak, and detestable. Harry Dornton, the banker’s son, is in love with her daughter, Sophia Freelove; but the widow tries to win the young man for herself, by advancing money to pay off his friend’s debts. When the father hears of this he comes to the rescue, returns the money advanced, and enables the son to follow his natural inclinations by marrying the daughter instead of the designing mother.
A girlish, old coquette, who would rob her daughter, and leave her husband’s son to rot in a dungeon, that she might marry the first fool she could find.--Holcroft,The Road to Ruin, v. 2, (1792).
Wart(Thomas), a poor, feeble, ragged creature, one of the recruits in the army of Sir John Falstaff.--Shakespeare,2 Henry IV., act iii. sc. 2 (1598).
Warwick(The earl of), a tragedy by Dr. T. Franklin. The theme is the last days and death of the “king maker” (1767).
Washington of Africa(The). William Wilberforce is so called by Lord Byron. As Washington was the chief instrument in liberating America, so Wilberforce was the chief instigator of slave emancipation.
Thou moral Washington of Africa.Don Juan, xiv. 82 (1824).
Thou moral Washington of Africa.Don Juan, xiv. 82 (1824).
Thou moral Washington of Africa.Don Juan, xiv. 82 (1824).
Thou moral Washington of Africa.
Don Juan, xiv. 82 (1824).
Washington of Colombia, Simon Bolivar (1785-1831).
Wasky, Sir Iring’s sword.
Right through the head-piece straightThe knight Sir Hagan paid,With his resistless Wasky,That sharp and peerless blade.Nibelungen Lied, 35 (1210).
Right through the head-piece straightThe knight Sir Hagan paid,With his resistless Wasky,That sharp and peerless blade.Nibelungen Lied, 35 (1210).
Right through the head-piece straightThe knight Sir Hagan paid,With his resistless Wasky,That sharp and peerless blade.Nibelungen Lied, 35 (1210).
Right through the head-piece straight
The knight Sir Hagan paid,
With his resistless Wasky,
That sharp and peerless blade.
Nibelungen Lied, 35 (1210).
Wasp, in the drama calledBartholomew Fair, by Ben Jonson (1574-1637).
Benjamin Johnson, an actor [1665-1742], commonly called Ben Johnson, ... seemed to be proud to wear the poet’s name, being particularly great in all that author’s plays that were usually performed, viz., “Wasp,” “Corbaccio,” “Morose,” and “Ananias.”--Chetwood,History of the Stage.
⁂ “Corbaccio,” inThe Fox; “Morose,” inThe Silent Woman; and “Ananias,” inThe Alchemist.
Waste Time Utilized.
Baxterwrote hisSaints’ Everlasting Reston a bed of sickness (1615-1691).
BloomfieldcomposedThe Farmer’s Boyin the intervals of shoemaking (1766-1823).
Bramah(Joseph), a peasant’s son, occupied his spare time when a mere boy in making musical instruments, aided by the village blacksmith. At the age of 16 he hurt his ankle while ploughing, and employed his time while confined to the house in carving and making woodwares. In another forced leisure from a severe fall, he employed his time in contriving and making useful inventions, which ultimately led him to fame and fortune (1749-1814).
Bunyanwrote hisPilgrim’s Progresswhile confined in Bedford jail (1628-1688).
Burritt(Elihu) made himself acquainted with ten languages while plying his trade as a village blacksmith (Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Spanish, Bohemian, Polish, Danish, Persian, Turkish, and Ethiopic). His father was a village cobbler, and Elihu had only six months’ education, and that at the school of his brother (1811-1879).
Carey, the missionary and Oriental translator, learnt the rudiments of Eastern languages while employed in making and mending shoes (1761-1834).
Clement(Joseph), son of a poor weaver, was brought up as a thatcher, but, by utilizing his waste moments in self-education and works of skill, raised himself to a position of great note, giving employment to thirty workmen (1779-1844).
Cobbettlearnt grammar in the waste time of his service as a common soldier (1762-1835).
D’Aguesseau, the great French chancellor, observing that Mde. D’Aguesseau always delayed ten or twelve minutes before she came down to dinner, began and completed a learned book of three volumes (large quarto), solely during these “waste minutes.” This work went through several editions (1668-1751).
Ettyutilized indefatigably every spare moment he could pick up when a journeyman printer (1787-1849).
Fergusontaught himself astronomy while tending sheep in the service of a Scotch farmer (1710-1776).
Franklin, while working as a journeyman printer, produced hisDissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain(1706-1790).
Miller(Hugh) taught himself geology while working as a mason (1802-1856).
Paulworked as a tentmaker in intervals of travel and preaching.
⁂ This brief list must be considered only as a hint and heading for enlargement. Henry Cort, William Fairbairn, Fox of Derby, H. Maudslay, David Mushet, Murray of Leeds, J. Nasmyth, J. B. Neilson, Roberts of Manchester, Whitworth, and scores of others will occur to every reader. Indeed, genius for the most part owes its success to the utilization of waste time.
Wastle(William), pseudonym of JohnGibson Lockhart, inBlackwood’s Magazine(1794-1854).
Wat Dreary,aliasBrown Will, a highwayman, in Captain Macheath’s gang. Peachum says, “he has an underhand way of disposing of the goods he stole,” and therefore he should allow him to remain a little longer “upon his good behavior.”--Gay,The Beggar’s Opera, i. (1727).
Water-Poet(The), John Taylor, a Thames waterman (1580-1654).
Water-Wraith, the evil spirit of the waters.
By this the storm grew loud apace,The water-wraith was shrieking.Campbell,Lord Ullin’s Daughter.
By this the storm grew loud apace,The water-wraith was shrieking.Campbell,Lord Ullin’s Daughter.
By this the storm grew loud apace,The water-wraith was shrieking.Campbell,Lord Ullin’s Daughter.
By this the storm grew loud apace,
The water-wraith was shrieking.
Campbell,Lord Ullin’s Daughter.
Waterman(The), Tom Tug. It is the title of a ballad opera by Charles Dibdin (1774). (For the plot, seeWilelmina Bundle.)
Watkins(William), the English attendant on the prince of Scotland.--Sir W. Scott,Fair Maid of Perth(time, Henry IV.).
Watts(Dr. Isaac). It is said that Isaac Watts, being beaten by his father for wasting his time in writing verses, exclaimed:
O, father, pity on me take,And I will no more verses make.
O, father, pity on me take,And I will no more verses make.
O, father, pity on me take,And I will no more verses make.
O, father, pity on me take,
And I will no more verses make.
A similar anecdote is told of Ovid, the Latin poet:
Parce, precor, genitor, posthac non versificabo.
Parce, precor, genitor, posthac non versificabo.
Parce, precor, genitor, posthac non versificabo.
Parce, precor, genitor, posthac non versificabo.
Wauch(Mansie), fictitious name of D. M. Moir, author ofThe Life of Mansie Wauch, Tailor in Dalkeith, written by himself(1828).
Waverley, the first of Scott’s historical novels, published in 1814. The materials are Highland feudalism, military bravery, and description of natural scenery. There is a fine vein of humor, and a union of fiction with history. The chief characters are Charles Edward, the Chevalier, the noble old baron of Bradwardine, the simple, faithful clansman, Evan Dhu, and the poor fool, Davie Gellatley, with his fragments of song and scattered gleams of fancy.
Scott did not prefix his name toWaverley, being afraid that it might compromise his poetical reputation.--Chambers,English Literature, ii. 586.
Waverley(Captain Edward), of Waverley Honor, and hero of the novel called by his name. Being gored by a stag, he resigned his commission, and proposed marriage to Flora M’Ivor, but was not accepted. Fergus M’Ivor (Flora’s brother) introduced him to Prince Charles Edward. He entered the service of the Young Chevalier, and in the battle of Preston Pans saved the life of Colonel Talbot. The colonel, out of gratitude, obtained the pardon of young Waverley, who then married Rose Bradwardine, and settled down quietly in Waverley Honor.
Mr. Richard Waverley, the captain’s father, of Waverley Honor.
Sir Everard Waverley, the captain’s uncle.
Mistress Rachel Waverley, sister of Sir Everard.--Sir W. Scott,Waverley(time, George II.).
Wax(A lad o’), a spruce young man, like a model in wax. Lucretius speaks ofpersona cerea, and Horace of the waxen arms of Telĕphus, meaning beautiful in shape and color.
A man, young lady! Lady, such a manAs all the world----Why, he’s a man o’ wax!Shakespeare,Romeo and Juliet(1595).
A man, young lady! Lady, such a manAs all the world----Why, he’s a man o’ wax!Shakespeare,Romeo and Juliet(1595).
A man, young lady! Lady, such a manAs all the world----Why, he’s a man o’ wax!Shakespeare,Romeo and Juliet(1595).
A man, young lady! Lady, such a man
As all the world----Why, he’s a man o’ wax!
Shakespeare,Romeo and Juliet(1595).
Way of the World(The), a comedy by W. Congreve (1700). The “way of the world” is to tie up settlements to wives, to prevent their husbands squandering their wives’ fortunes. Thus, Fainall wanted to get into his power the fortune of his wife, whom he hated, but found it was “in trust to Edward Mirabell,” and consequently could not be tampered with.
Way to Keep Him(The), a comedy by A. Murphy (1760). The object of this drama is to show that women, after marriage, should not wholly neglect their husbands, but should try to please them, and make home agreeable and attractive. The chief persons are Mr. and Mrs. Lovemore. Mr. Lovemore has a virtuous and excellent wife, whom he esteems and loves; but, finding his home insufferably dull, he seeks amusement abroad; and those passions which have no play at home lead him to intrigue and card-playing, routes and dubious society. The under-plot is this: Sir Bashful Constant is a mere imitator of Mr. Lovemore, and Lady Constant suffers neglect from her husband and insult from his friends, because he foolishly thinks it is notcomme il fautto love after he has married the woman of his choice.
Ways and Means, a comedy by Colman, the younger (1788). Random and Scruple meet at Calais two young ladies, Harriet and Kitty, daughters of Sir David Dunder, and fall in love with them. They come to Dover, and accidentally meet Sir David, who invites them over to Dunder Hall, where they are introduced to the two young ladies. Harriet is to be married next day, against her will, to Lord Snolts, a stumpy, “gummy” nobleman of five and forty; and, to avoid this hateful match, she and her sister agree to elope at night with the two young guests. It so happens that a series of blunders in the dark occur, and Sir David himself becomes privy to the whole plot, but, to prevent scandal, he agrees to the two marriages, and discovers that the young men, both in family and fortune, are quite suitable to be his sons-in-law.
Wayland(Launcelot), orWayland Smith, farrier in the vale of Whitehorse. Afterwards disguised as a pedlar at Cumnor Place.--Sir W. Scott,Kenilworth(time, Elizabeth).
Wealtheow(2syl.), wife of Hrothgar, king of Denmark.
Wealtheow went forth; mindful of their races, she ... greeted the men in the hall. The freeborn lady first handed the cup to the prince of the East Danes.... The lady of the Helmings then went about every part ... she gave treasure-vessels, until the opportunity occurred that she (a queen hung round with rings) ... bore forth the mead-cup to Beowolf ... and thanked God that her will was accomplished, that an earl of Denmark was a guarantee against crime.--Beowulf(Anglo-Saxon epic, sixth century).
Wealthy Hoogs.Yankee housewife, “hungry for books, full of keen thought, energetic to preëminence even among Yankee notables”--“she lived here, simply where she had been put, made and packed her butter, wove her homespun, and loved faithfully--and forbearingly, for the most part--(were it praise worth a woman’s having to say more?) the man whose name and home she shared.”--A. D. T. Whitney,The Gayworthys(1865).
Wealthy(Sir William), a retired Citymerchant, with one son of prodigal propensities. In order to save the young man from ruin, the father pretends to be dead, disguises himself as a German baron, and, with the aid of coadjutors, becomes the chief creditor of the young scapegrace.
Sir George Wealthy, the son of Sir William. After having run out his money, Lucy is brought to him as a courtezan; but the young man is so moved with her manifest innocence and tale of sorrow that he places her in an asylum where here distresses would be sacred, “and her indigent beauty would be guarded from temptation.” Afterwards she becomes his wife.
Mr. Richard Wealthy, merchant, the brother of Sir William; choleric, straightforward, and tyrannical. He thinks obedience is both law and gospel.
Lucy Wealthy, daughter of Richard. Her father wants her to marry a rich tradesman, and, as she refuses to do so turns her out of doors. She is brought to Sir George Wealthy as afille de joie; but the young man, discerning her innocence and modesty, places her in safe-keeping. He ultimately finds out that she is his cousin, and the two parents rejoice in consummating a union so entirely in accordance with both their wishes.--Foote,The Minor(1760).
Weary-all Hill, above Glastonbury, to the left of Tor Hill. This spot is the traditional landing-place of Joseph of Arimathea; and here is the site (marked by a stone bearing the letters A. I.A.D.xxxi.) of the holy thorn.
When the saint arrived at Glastonbury,wearywith his long journey, he struck his staff into the ground, and the staff became the famous thorn, the site being called “Weary-all Hill.”
Weatherport(Captain), a naval officer.--Sir W. Scott,The Pirate(time, William III.).
Weaver-Poet of Inverary(The), William Thom (1799-1850).
Wea´zel(Timothy), attorney-at-law at Lestwithiel, employed as the agent of Penruddock.--Cumberland,The Wheel of Fortune(1778).
Wedding Day(The), a comedy by Mrs. Inchbald (1790). The plot is this: Sir Adam Contest lost his first wife by shipwreck, and “twelve or fourteen years” afterwards he led to the altar a young girl of 18, to whom he was always singing the praises of his first wife--a phœnix, a paragon, thene plus ultraof wives and women. She did everything to make him happy. She loved him, obeyed him; ah! “he would never look upon her like again.” On the wedding day this pink of wives and women made her appearance, and told how she had been rescued, and Sir Adam was dumfounded. “He was happy to bewail her loss,” but to rejoice in her restoration was quite another matter.
Weeping Philosopher(The), Heraclītos, who looked at the folly of man with grief (fl.B.C.500). (SeeJeddler).
Wegg(Silas), wooden-legged ballad-monger and humbug, who “reads” for the confiding Boffins, and does his best to ruin them.--Charles Dickens,Our Mutual Friend.
Weir(Major), the favorite baboon of Sir Robert Redgauntlet. In the tale of “Wandering Willie,” Sir Robert’s piper went to the infernal regions to obtain theknight’s receipt of rent, which had been paid; but no receipt could be found, because the monkey had carried it to the castle turret.--Sir W. Scott,Redgauntlet(time, George III.).
Weird Sisters.The three witches in Shakespeare’s playMacbeth.
Weissnichtwo[Vice-neckt-vo], nowhere. The word is German for “I know not where,” and was coined by Carlyle (Sartor Resartus, 1833). Sir W. Scott has a similar Scotch compound, “Kennaquhair” (“I know not where”). Cervantes has the “island of Trapoban” (i.e., of “dish-clouts,” fromtrapos, the Spanish for “a dish-clout”). Sir Thomas More has “Utopia” (Greek,ou topos, “no place”). We might add the “island of Medăma” (Greek, “nowhere”), “the peninsular of Udamogês” (Greek, “nowhere on earth”), the country of “Kennahtwhar,” etc., and place them in the great “Nullibian” ocean (“nowhere”), in any degree beyond 180º long. and 90º lat.
Wel´ford, one of the suitors of “the Scornful Lady” (no name is given to the lady).--Beaumont and Fletcher,The Scornful Lady(1616).
Well.Three of the most prominent Bible characters met their wives for the first time by wells of water, viz., Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.
Eliezer met Rebekah by a well, and arranged with Bethuel for her to become Isaac’s wife.--Gen.xxiv.
Jacob met Rachel by the well of Haran.--Gen.xxix.
When Moses fled from Egypt into the land of Midian, he “sat down by a well,” and the seven daughters of Jethro came there to draw water, one of whom, named Zipporah, became his wife.--Exod.ii. 15-21.
The Princess Nausicăa, daughter of Alcinŏos, king of the Phæacians, was with her maidens washing the household linen on the seashore when she first encountered Ulysses.--Homer,Odyssey, vi.
Well of English Undefiled.So Spenser calls Chaucer.
Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled,On Fame’s eternal bead-roll worthy to be filed.Spenser,Faëry Queen, iv. 2 (1596).
Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled,On Fame’s eternal bead-roll worthy to be filed.Spenser,Faëry Queen, iv. 2 (1596).
Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled,On Fame’s eternal bead-roll worthy to be filed.Spenser,Faëry Queen, iv. 2 (1596).
Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled,
On Fame’s eternal bead-roll worthy to be filed.
Spenser,Faëry Queen, iv. 2 (1596).
Well-Beloved(The), Charles IV. of France, Le Bien-Aimé (1368, 1380-1422).
Louis XV. of France,Le Bien-Aimé(1710, 1715-1774).
Well-Founded Doctor(The), Ægidius de Colonna; also called “The Most Profound Doctor” (DoctorFundatissimus et Theologorum Princeps); sometimes surnamed “Romānus,” because he was born in the Campagna di Roma, but more generally “Colonna,” from a town in the Campagna (1247-1316).
Wellborn(Francis, usually calledFrank), nephew of Sir Giles Overreach, and son of Sir John Wellborn, who “bore the whole sway” of Northamptonshire, kept a large estate, and was highly honored. Frank squandered away the property, and got greatly into debt, but induced Lady Allworth to give him her countenance out of gratitude and respect to his father. Sir Giles fancies that the rich dowager is about to marry his nephew, and, in order to bring about this desirable consummation, not only pays all his debts, but supplies him liberally with ready money. Being thus freed from debt, and having sown his wild oats, young Wellborn reforms, andLord Lovell gives him a “company.”--Massinger,A New Way to Pay Old Debts(1625).
Weller(Samuel), boots at the White Hart, and afterwards servant to Mr. Pickwick, to whom he becomes devotedly attached. Rather than leave his master when he is sent to the Fleet, Sam Weller gets his father to arrest him for debt. His fun, his shrewdness, his comparisons, his archness, and his cunning on behalf of his master are unparalleled.
Tony Weller, father of Sam; a coachman of the old school, who drives a coach between London and Dorking. Naturally portly in size, he becomes far more so in his great-coat of many capes. Tony wears top-boots, and his hat has a low crown and broad brim. On the stage-box he is a king, elsewhere he is a mere greenhorn. He marries a widow, landlady of the “Marquis of Granby inn,” and his constant advice to his son is, “Sam, beware of the vidders.”--C. Dickens,The Pickwick Papers(1836).
Wellington of Gamblers(The). Lord Rivers was called in ParisLe Wellington des Joueurs.
Wellington’s Horse, Copenhagen. It died at the age of 27.
Wellon(Mr.), rector of English church at Conception Bay, and Mrs. Barre’s (Debrée’s) firm friend. He performs the service over her husband’s grave.--Robert Lowell,The New Priest of Conception Bay(1858).
Wemmick, clerk of Mr. Jaggers, the lawyer. He lived at Walworth. Wemmick was a dry man, rather short in stature, with square, wooden face. “There were some marks in the face which might have been dimples if the material had been softer.” His linen was frayed; he wore four mourning rings, and a brooch representing a lady, a weeping willow and a cinerary urn. His eyes were small and glittering; his lips small, thin and mottled; his age was between 40 and 50 years. Mr. Wemmick wore his hat on the back of his head, and looked straight before him, as if nothing was worth looking at. Mr. Wemmick at home and Mr. Wemmick in his office were two distinct beings. At home he was his “own engineer, his own carpenter, his own plumber, his own gardener, his own Jack-of-all-trades,” and had fortified his little wooden house like Commodore Trunnion (q.v.) His father lived with him, and he called him “The Aged.” The old man was very deaf, but heated the poker with delight to fire off the nine o’clock signal, and chuckled with joy because he could hear the bang. The house had a “real flag-staff,” and a plank which crossed the ditch some four feet wide and two feet deep was the drawbridge. At nine o’clockP.M., Greenwich time, the gun (called “The Stinger”) was fired.
The piece of ordnance was mounted in a separate fortress, constructed of lattice-work. It was protected from the weather by an ingenious little tarpaulin contrivance in the nature of an umbrella.--C. Dickens,Great Expectations, xxv. (1860).
Wenlock(Wild Wenlock), kinsman of Sir Hugo de Lacy, constable of Chester. His head is cut off by the insurgents.--Sir W. Scott,The Betrothed(time Henry II).
Weno´nah, mother of Hiawatha and daughter of Noko´mis. Nokomis was swinging in the moon, when some of her companions, out of jealousy, cut the ropes,and she fell to the earth “like a falling star.” That night was born her first child, a daughter, whom she named Wenonah. In due time, this lovely daughter was wooed and won by Mudjekee´wis (the west wind), and became the mother of Hiawatha. The false West Wind deserted her, and the young mother died.
Fair Nokomis bore a daughter,And she called her name Wenonah.Longfellow,Hiawatha, iii. (1855).
Fair Nokomis bore a daughter,And she called her name Wenonah.Longfellow,Hiawatha, iii. (1855).
Fair Nokomis bore a daughter,And she called her name Wenonah.Longfellow,Hiawatha, iii. (1855).
Fair Nokomis bore a daughter,
And she called her name Wenonah.
Longfellow,Hiawatha, iii. (1855).
Wentworth(Eva), the beau-ideal of female purity. She was educated in strict seclusion. De Courcy fell in love with her, but deceived her; whereupon she died calmly and tranquilly, elevated by religious hope. (SeeZaira).--Rev. C. R. Maturin,Women(a romance, 1822).
Werburg(St.), born a princess. By her prayer, she drove the wild geese from Weedon.