St. Wilfrid, sent from York into the realms received(Whom the Northumbrian folk had of his see bereaved),And on the south of Thames a seat did him afford,By whom the people first received the saving word.Drayton,Polyolbion, xi. (1613).
St. Wilfrid, sent from York into the realms received(Whom the Northumbrian folk had of his see bereaved),And on the south of Thames a seat did him afford,By whom the people first received the saving word.Drayton,Polyolbion, xi. (1613).
St. Wilfrid, sent from York into the realms received(Whom the Northumbrian folk had of his see bereaved),And on the south of Thames a seat did him afford,By whom the people first received the saving word.Drayton,Polyolbion, xi. (1613).
St. Wilfrid, sent from York into the realms received
(Whom the Northumbrian folk had of his see bereaved),
And on the south of Thames a seat did him afford,
By whom the people first received the saving word.
Drayton,Polyolbion, xi. (1613).
Wilhelm Meister[Mice.ter], the hero and title of a philosophic novel by Goethe. This is considered to be the first true German novel. It consists of two parts published under two titles, viz.,The Apprenticeship of Wilhelm Meister(1794-96), andThe Travels of Wilhelm Meister(1821).
Wilkins(Peter), Robert Pultock, of Clement’s inn, author ofThe Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man(1750).
The tale is this: Peter Wilkins is a mariner, thrown on a desert shore. In time he furnishes himself from the wreck with many necessaries, and discovers that the country is frequented by a beautiful winged race called glumms and gawreys, whose wings when folded, serve them for dress, and when spread, are used for flight. Peter marries a gawrey, by name Youwarkee, and accompanies her to Nosmnbdsgrsutt, a land of semi-darkness, where he remains many years.
Peter Wilkinsis a work of uncommon beauty.--Coleridge,Table Talk(1835).
Wilkinson(James), servant to Mr. Fairford, the lawyer.--Sir W. Scott,Redgauntlet(time, George III.).
Will(Belted), William, Lord Howard, warden of the western marches (1563-1640).
His Bilboa blade, by Marchmen felt,Hung in a broad and studded belt;Hence, in rude phrase, the Borderers stillCalled noble Howard “Belted Will.”Sir W. Scott,Lay of the Last Minstrel(1805).
His Bilboa blade, by Marchmen felt,Hung in a broad and studded belt;Hence, in rude phrase, the Borderers stillCalled noble Howard “Belted Will.”Sir W. Scott,Lay of the Last Minstrel(1805).
His Bilboa blade, by Marchmen felt,Hung in a broad and studded belt;Hence, in rude phrase, the Borderers stillCalled noble Howard “Belted Will.”Sir W. Scott,Lay of the Last Minstrel(1805).
His Bilboa blade, by Marchmen felt,
Hung in a broad and studded belt;
Hence, in rude phrase, the Borderers still
Called noble Howard “Belted Will.”
Sir W. Scott,Lay of the Last Minstrel(1805).
Will Laud, a smuggler, with whom Margaret Catchpole (q.v.) falls in love. He persuades her to escape from Ipswich jail, and supplies her with a seaman’s dress. The two are overtaken, and Laud is shot in attempting to prevent the recapture of Margaret.--Rev. R. Cobbold,Margaret Catchpole.
Will and Jean, a poetic story by Hector Macneill (1789). Willie Gairlace was once the glory of the town, and he married Jeanie Miller. Just about this time Maggie Howe opened a spirit shop in the village, and Willie fell to drinking. Having reduced himself to beggary, he enlisted as a soldier, and Jeanie had “to beg her bread.” Willie, having lost his leg in battle, was put on the Chelsea “bounty list;” and Jeanie was placed, by the duchess of Buccleuch, in an alms-cottage. Willie contrived to reach the cottage and
Jean ance mair, in fond affection,Clasped her Willie to her breast.
Jean ance mair, in fond affection,Clasped her Willie to her breast.
Jean ance mair, in fond affection,Clasped her Willie to her breast.
Jean ance mair, in fond affection,
Clasped her Willie to her breast.
Willet(John), landlord of the Maypole inn. A burly man, large-headed, with a flat face, betokening profound obstinacy and slowness of apprehension, combined with a strong reliance on his own merits. John Willet was one of the most dogged and positive fellows in existence, always sure that he was right, and that every one who differed from him was wrong. He ultimately resigned the Maypole to his son, Joe, and retired to a cottage in Chigwell, with a small garden, in which Joe had a Maypole erected for the delectation of his aged father. Here at dayfall assembled his old chums, to smoke, and prose, and doze, and drink the evenings away; and here the old man played the landlord, scoring up huge debits in chalk to his heart’s delight. He lived in the cottage a sleepy life for seven years, and then slept the sleep which knows no waking.
Joe Willet, son of the landlord, a broad-shouldered, strapping young fellow of 20. Being bullied and brow-beaten by his father, he ran away and enlisted for a soldier, lost his right arm in America, and was dismissed the service. He returned to England, married Dolly Varden, and became landlord of the Maypole, where he prospered and had a large family.--C. Dickens,Barnaby Rudge(1841).
William, archbishop of Orange, an ecclesiastic who besought Pope Urban on his knees to permit him to join the crusaders, and, having obtained permission, led 400 men to the siege of Jerusalem.--Tasso,Jerusalem Delivered(1575).
William, youngest son of William Rufus. He was the leader of a large army of British bowmen and Irish volunteers in the crusading army.--Tasso,Jerusalem Delivered, iii. (1575).
⁂ William Rufus was never married.
William, footman to Lovemore, sweet upon Muslin, the lady’s maid. He is fond of cards, and is a below-stairs imitation of the high-life vices of the latter half of theeighteenth century.--A. Murphy,The Way to Keep Him(1760).
William, a serving-lad at Arnheim Castle.--Sir W. Scott,Anne of Geierstein(time, Edward IV.).
William(Lord), master of Erlingford. His elder brother, at death, committed to his charge Edmund, the rightful heir, a mere child; but William cast the child into the Severn, and seized the inheritance. One anniversary, the Severn overflowed its banks, and the castle was surrounded; a boat came by, and Lord William entered. The boatman thought he heard the voice of a child--nay, he felt sure he saw a child in the water, and bade Lord William stretch out his hand to take it in. LordWilliamWilliamseized the child’s hand; it was lifeless and clammy, heavy and inert. It pulled the boat under water, and Lord William was drowned, but no one heard his piercing cry of agony.--R. Southey,Lord William(a ballad, 1804).
William and Margaret, a ballad by Mallet. William promised marriage to Margaret, deserted her, and she died “consumed in early prime.” Her ghost reproved the faithless swain, who “quaked in every limb,” and, raving,
He hy’d him to the fatal place,Where Margaret’s body lay;And stretch’d him on the grass-green turfThat wrapt her breathless clay.And thrice he call’d on Margaret’s name,And thrice he wept full sore;Then laid his cheek to her cold grave,And word spake never more.
He hy’d him to the fatal place,Where Margaret’s body lay;And stretch’d him on the grass-green turfThat wrapt her breathless clay.And thrice he call’d on Margaret’s name,And thrice he wept full sore;Then laid his cheek to her cold grave,And word spake never more.
He hy’d him to the fatal place,Where Margaret’s body lay;And stretch’d him on the grass-green turfThat wrapt her breathless clay.
He hy’d him to the fatal place,
Where Margaret’s body lay;
And stretch’d him on the grass-green turf
That wrapt her breathless clay.
And thrice he call’d on Margaret’s name,And thrice he wept full sore;Then laid his cheek to her cold grave,And word spake never more.
And thrice he call’d on Margaret’s name,
And thrice he wept full sore;
Then laid his cheek to her cold grave,
And word spake never more.
William, king of Scotland, introduced by Sir W. Scott inThe Talisman(1825).
William of Cloudesley(3syl.), a north country outlaw, associated with Adam Bell and Clym of the Clough (Clement of the Cliff). He lived in Englewood Forest, near Carlisle. Adam Bell and Clym of the Clough were single men, but William had a wife named Alyce, and “children three,” living at Carlisle. The three outlaws went to London to ask pardon of the king, and the king, at the queen’s intercession, granted it. He then took them to a field to see them shoot. William first cleft in two a hazel wand at a distance of 200 feet; after this he bound his eldest son to a stake, put an apple on his head, and, at a distance of “six score paces,” cleft the apple in two without touching the boy. The king was so delighted that he made William “a gentlemen of fe,” made his son a royal butler, the queen took Alyce for her “chief gentlewoman,” and the two companions were appointed yeoman of the bed-chamber.--Percy,Reliques(“Adam Bell,” etc.), I. ii. 1.
William of Goldsbrough, one of the companions of Robin Hood, mentioned in Grafton’sOlde and Auncient Pamphlet(sixteenth century).
William of Norwich(Saint), a child said to have been crucified by the Jews in 1137. (SeeHugh of LincolnandWerner.)
Two boys of tender age, those saints ensue,Of Norwich, William was, of Lincoln, Hugh.Whom th’ unbelieving Jews (rebellious that abide),In mockery of our Christ, at Easter crucified.Drayton,Polyolbion, xxiv. (1622).
Two boys of tender age, those saints ensue,Of Norwich, William was, of Lincoln, Hugh.Whom th’ unbelieving Jews (rebellious that abide),In mockery of our Christ, at Easter crucified.Drayton,Polyolbion, xxiv. (1622).
Two boys of tender age, those saints ensue,Of Norwich, William was, of Lincoln, Hugh.Whom th’ unbelieving Jews (rebellious that abide),In mockery of our Christ, at Easter crucified.Drayton,Polyolbion, xxiv. (1622).
Two boys of tender age, those saints ensue,
Of Norwich, William was, of Lincoln, Hugh.
Whom th’ unbelieving Jews (rebellious that abide),
In mockery of our Christ, at Easter crucified.
Drayton,Polyolbion, xxiv. (1622).
William-with-the-Long-Sword, the earl of Salisbury. He was the natural brother of Richard Cœur de Lion.--Sir W. Scott,The Talisman(time, Richard I.).
Williams(Caleb), a lad in the service of Falkland. Falkland, irritated by cruelty and insult, commits a murder, which is attributed to another. Williams, by accident, obtains a clue to the real facts; and Falkland, knowing it, extorts from him an oath of secrecy, and then tells him the whole story. The lad, finding life in Falkland’s house insupportable, from the ceaseless suspicion to which he is exposed, makes his escape, and is pursued by Falkland with relentless persecution. At last Williams is accused by Falkland of robbery, and, the facts of the case being disclosed, Falkland dies of shame and a broken spirit. (SeeWilford.)--W. Godwin,Caleb Williams(1794).
⁂ The novel was dramatized by G. Colman, under the title ofThe Iron Chest(1796). Caleb Williams is called “Wilford,” and Falkland is “Sir Edward Mortimer.”
Williams(Ned), the sweetheart of Cicely Jopson, farmer, near Clifton.
Farmer Williams, Ned’s father.--Sir W. Scott,Waverley(time, George II.).
Willie, clerk to Andrew Skurliewhitter, the scrivener.--Sir W. Scott,Fortunes of Nigel(time, James I.).
Willieson(William), a brig-owner, one of the Jacobite conspirators under the laird of Ellieslaw.--Sir W. Scott,The Black Dwarf(time, Anne).
Williewald of Geierstein(Count), father of Count Arnold of Geierstein,aliasArnold Biederman (landamman of Unterwalden).--Sir W. Scott,Anne of Geierstein(time, Edward IV.).
Will-o’-the-Flat, one of the huntsmen near Charlie’s Hope farm.--Sir W. Scott,Guy Mannering(time, George II.).
Willoughby(Lord), of Queen Elizabeth’s court.--Sir W. Scott,Kenilworth(time, Elizabeth).
Willy, a shepherd to whom Thomalin tells the tale of his battle with Cupid (Ecl. iii). (SeeThomalin.) In Ecl. viii. he is introduced again, contending with Perigot for the prize of poetry, Cuddy being chosen umpire. Cuddy declares himself quite unable to decide the contest, for both deserve the prize.--Spenser,The Shepheardes Calendar(1579).
Wilmot.There are three of the name inFatal Curiosity(1736), by George Lillo, viz., old Wilmot, his wife, Agnes, and their son, young Wilmot, supposed to have perished at sea. The young man, however, is not drowned, but goes to India, makes his fortune, and returns, unknown to any one of his friends. He goes in disguise to his parents, and deposits with them a casket. Curiosity induces Agnes to open it, and when she sees that it contains jewels, she and her husband resolve to murder the owner and appropriate the contents of the casket. No sooner have they committed the fatal deed than they discover it is their own son whom they have killed; whereupon the old man stabs first his wife and then himself.
The harrowing details of this tragedy are powerfully depicted; and the agonies of old Wilmot constitute one of the most appalling and affecting incidents in the drama.--R. Chambers,English Literature, i. 592.
Old Wilmot’s character, as the needy man who had known better days, exhibits a mind naturally good, but prepared for acting evil.--Sir W. Scott,The Drama.
Wilmot(Miss Arabella), a clergyman’sdaughter, beloved by George Primrose, eldest son of the vicar of Wakefield, whom ultimately she marries.--Goldsmith,Vicar of Wakefield(1766).
Wilmot(Lord), earl of Rochester, of the court of Charles II.--Sir W. Scott,Woodstock(time, Commonwealth).
Wilsa, the mulatto girl of Dame Ursley Suddlechop, the barber’s wife.--Sir W. Scott,Fortunes of Nigel(time, James I.).
Wilson(Alison), the old housekeeper of Colonel Silas Morton of Milnwood.--Sir W. Scott,Old Mortality(time, Charles II.).
Wilson(Andrew), smuggler; the comrade of Geordie Robertson. He was hanged.--Sir W. Scott,Heart of Midlothian(time, George II.).
Wilson(Bob), groom of Sir William Ashton, the lord keeper of Scotland.--Sir W. Scott,Bride of Lammermoor(time, William III.).
Wilson(Christie), a character in the introduction of theBlack Dwarf, by Sir W. Scott.
Wilson(John), groom of Mr. Godfrey Bertram, laird of Ellangowan.--Sir W. Scott,Guy Mannering(time, George II.).
Wilton(Ralph de), the accepted suitor of Lady Clare, daughter of the earl of Gloucester. When Lord Marmion overcame Ralph de Wilton in the ordeal of battle, and left him for dead on the field, Lady Clare took refuge in Whitby Convent. By Marmion’s desire she was removed from the convent to Tantallon Hall, where she met Ralph, who had been cured of his wounds. Ralph, being knighted by Douglas, married the Lady Clare.--Sir W. Scott,Marmion(1808).
Wimble(Will), a character in Addison’sSpectator, simple, good-natured, and officious.
⁂ Will Wimble in the flesh was Thomas Morecroft, of Dublin (*-1741).
Wimbledon(The Philosopher of), John Horne Tooke, who lived at Wimbledon, near London (1736-1812).
Winchester(The bishop of), Lancelot Andrews. The name is not given in the novel, but the date of the novel is 1620, and Dr. Andrews was translated from Ely to Winchester in February, 1618-19; and died in 1626.--Sir W. Scott,Fortunes of Nigel(time, James I.).
Wind Sold.At one time the Finlanders and Laplanders drove a profitable trade by the sale of winds. After being paid they knitted three magical knots, and told the buyer that when he untied the first he would have a good gale; when the second, a strong wind; and when the third, a severe tempest.--Olaus Magnus,History of the Goths, etc., 47 (1658).
King Eric of Sweden was quite a potentate of these elements, and could change them at pleasure by merely shifting his cap.
Bessie Millie, of Pomo´na, in the Orkney Islands, helped to eke out her living (even so late as 1814) by selling favorable winds to mariners, for the small sum of sixpence per vessel.
Winds were also at one time sold at Mont St. Michel, in Normandy, by nine druidesses, who likewise sold arrows to charm away storms. These arrows wereto be shot off by a young man 25 years of age.
⁂ Witches generally were supposed to sell wind.
’Oons! I’ll marry a Lapland witch as soon, and live upon selling contrary winds and wrecked vessels.--W. Congreve,Love for Love, iii. (1695).
In Ireland and in Denmark both,Witches for gold will sell a man a wind,Which, in the corner of a napkin wrapped,Shall blow him safe unto what coast he will.Summer,Last Will and Test. (1600).
In Ireland and in Denmark both,Witches for gold will sell a man a wind,Which, in the corner of a napkin wrapped,Shall blow him safe unto what coast he will.Summer,Last Will and Test. (1600).
In Ireland and in Denmark both,Witches for gold will sell a man a wind,Which, in the corner of a napkin wrapped,Shall blow him safe unto what coast he will.Summer,Last Will and Test. (1600).
In Ireland and in Denmark both,
Witches for gold will sell a man a wind,
Which, in the corner of a napkin wrapped,
Shall blow him safe unto what coast he will.
Summer,Last Will and Test. (1600).
⁂ See note to thePirate: “Sale of Winds” (Waverley Novels, xxiv. 136).
When Ulysses left the island of Æolus, whom Jupiter had made keeper of the winds, Æolus bound the storm-winds in an ox’s bladder, and tied it in the ship that not even a little breath might escape. Then he sent the west wind to waft the ship onward. While Ulysses was asleep his companions, thinking a treasure was concealed in the bladder, loosed the skin, and all the winds rushed out. The ship was driven back to the island of Æolus, who refused to let them land, believing that they must be hated by the gods.
Winds(The), according to Hesiod, were the sons of Astræus and Aurora.
You nymphs, the winged offspring which of oldAurora to divine Astræus bore.Akenside,Hymn to the Naiads(1767).
You nymphs, the winged offspring which of oldAurora to divine Astræus bore.Akenside,Hymn to the Naiads(1767).
You nymphs, the winged offspring which of oldAurora to divine Astræus bore.Akenside,Hymn to the Naiads(1767).
You nymphs, the winged offspring which of old
Aurora to divine Astræus bore.
Akenside,Hymn to the Naiads(1767).
Winds and Tides.Nicholas of Lyn, an Oxford scholar and friar, was a great navigator. He “took the height of mountains with his astrolobe,” and taught that there were four whirlpools like the Maelström of Norway--one in each quarter of the globe, from which the four winds issue, and which are the cause of the tides.
One Nicholas of LynThe whirlpools of the seas did come to understand, ...For such immeasured pools, philosophers agree,I’ the four parts of the world undoubtedly there be,From which they have supposed nature the winds doth raise,And from them too proceed the flowing of the seas.Drayton,Polyolbion, xix. (1622).
One Nicholas of LynThe whirlpools of the seas did come to understand, ...For such immeasured pools, philosophers agree,I’ the four parts of the world undoubtedly there be,From which they have supposed nature the winds doth raise,And from them too proceed the flowing of the seas.Drayton,Polyolbion, xix. (1622).
One Nicholas of LynThe whirlpools of the seas did come to understand, ...For such immeasured pools, philosophers agree,I’ the four parts of the world undoubtedly there be,From which they have supposed nature the winds doth raise,And from them too proceed the flowing of the seas.Drayton,Polyolbion, xix. (1622).
One Nicholas of Lyn
The whirlpools of the seas did come to understand, ...
For such immeasured pools, philosophers agree,
I’ the four parts of the world undoubtedly there be,
From which they have supposed nature the winds doth raise,
And from them too proceed the flowing of the seas.
Drayton,Polyolbion, xix. (1622).
Windmill With a Weather-Cock Atop(The). Goodwyn, a puritan divine, of St. Margaret’s, London, was so called (1593-1651).
Windmills.Don Quixote, seeing some thirty or forty windmills, insisted that they were giants, and, running a tilt at one of them, thrust his spear into the sails; whereupon the sail raised both man and horse into the air, and shivered the knight’s lance into splinters. When Don Quixote was thrown to the ground, he persisted in saying that his enemy, Freston, had transformed the giants into windmills merely to rob him of his honor, but notwithstanding, the windmills were in reality giants in disguise. This is the first adventure of the knight.--Cervantes,Don Quixote, I. i. 8 (1605).
Windmills.The giant Widenostrils lived on windmills. (SeeWidenostrils.) Rabelais,Pantagruel, iv. 17 (1545).
Windsor(The Rev. Mr.), a friend of Master George Heriot, the king’s goldsmith.--Sir W. Scott,Fortunes of Nigel(time, James I.).
Windsor Beauties(The), Anne Hyde, duchess of York, and her twelve ladies in the court of Charles II., painted by Sir Peter Lely, at the request of Anne Hyde. Conspicuous in her train of Hebês wasFrances Jennings, eldest daughter of Richard Jennings of Standridge, near St. Alban’s.
Windsor Sentinel(The), who heard St. Paul’s clock strike thirteen, was John Hatfield, who died at his house in Glasshouse Yard, Aldersgate, June 18, 1770, aged 102.
Wingate(Master Jasper), the steward at Avenel Castle.--Sir W. Scott,The Abbot(time, Elizabeth).
Wingfield, a citizen of Perth, whose trade was feather-dressing.--Sir W. Scott,Fair Maid of Perth(time, Henry IV.).
Wingfield(Ambrose), employed at Osbaldistone Hall.
Lancie Wingfield, one of the men employed at Osbaldistone Hall.--Sir W. Scott,Rob Roy(time, George I.).
Wing-the-Wind(Michael), a servant at Holyrood Palace, and the friend of Adam Woodcock.--Sir W. Scott,The Abbot(time, Elizabeth).
Winifred, heroine ofThe Last Meeting, by Brander Matthews. In defiance of all innuendoes and arguments, she remains true to her lover throughout the period of his mysterious absence.
Winifrid(St.), patron saint of virgins; beheaded by Caradoc, for refusing to marry him. The tears she shed became the fountain called “St. Winifrid’s Well,” the waters of which not only cure all sorts of diseases, but are so buoyant that nothing sinks to the bottom. St. Winifrid’s blood stained the gravel in the neighborhood red, and her hair became moss. Drayton has given this legend in verse in hisPolyolbionx. (1612).
Winkle(Nathaniel), M.P.C., a young cockney sportsman, considered by his companions to be a dead shot, a hunter, skater, etc. All these acquirements are, however, wholly imaginary. He marries Arabella Allen.--C. Dickens,The Pickwick Papers(1836).
Winkle(Rip Van), a Dutch colonist of New York, who met a strange man in a ravine of the Catskill Mountains. Rip helped the stranger to carry a keg to a wild retreat among rocks, where he saw a host of strange personages playing skittles in mysterious silence. Rip took the first opportunity of tasting the keg, fell into a stupor, and slept for twenty years. On waking, he found that his wife was dead and buried, his daughter married, his village remodelled, and America had become independent.--Washington Irving,Sketch-Book(1820).
The tales of Epimenidês, of Peter Klaus, of the Sleeping Beauty, the Seven Sleepers, etc., are somewhat similar. (SeeSleeper.)
WinklebredorWinklebrand(Louis), lieutenant of Sir Maurice de Bracy, a follower of Prince John.--Sir W. Scott,Ivanhoe(time, Richard I.).
Winnie, (Annie), an old sibyl, who makes her appearance at the death of Alice Gray.--Sir W. Scott,Bride of Lammermoor(time, William III.).
Winter, the head servant of General Witherington,aliasRichard Tresham.--Sir W. Scott,The Surgeon’s Daughter(time, George II.).
Winter.(SeeSeasons.)
Winterbourne, travelling American who makes a “study” of Daisy Miller.--Henry James, Jr.,Daisy Miller(1878).
Winter King(The), Frederick V., the rival of Ferdinand II. of Germany. He married Elizabeth, daughter of James I. of England, and was king of Bohemia for just one winter, the end of 1619 and the beginning of 1620 (1596-1632). (SeeSnow King.)
Winter Queen(The), Elizabeth, daughter of James I. of England, and wife of Frederick V. “The Winter King.” (SeeSnow Queen.)
Winter’s Tale(The), by Shakespeare (1604). Leontês, king of Sicily, invites his friend Polixenês to visit him. During this visit the king becomes jealous of him, and commands Camillo to poison him; but Camillo only warns Polixenês of the danger, and flees with him to Bohemia. When Leontês hears thereof, his rage is unbounded; and he casts his queen, Hermi´onê, into prison, where she gives birth to a daughter, which Leontês gives direction shall be placed on a desert shore to perish. In the mean time, he is told that Hermionê, the queen, is dead. The vessel containing the infant daughter being storm-driven to Bohemia, the child is left there, and is brought up by a shepherd, who calls it Perdĭta. One day, in a hunt, Prince Florizel sees Perdita and falls in love with her; but Polixenês, his father, tells her that she and the shepherd shall be put to death if she encourages the foolish suit. Florizel and Perdita now flee to Sicily, and being introduced to Leontês, it is soon discovered that Perdita is his lost daughter. Polixenês tracks his son to Sicily, and being told of the discovery, gladly consents to the union he had before forbidden. Pauli´na now invites the royal party to inspect a statue of Hermionê in her house, and the statue turns out to be the living queen.
The plot of this drama is borrowed from the tale ofPandosto, orThe Triumph of Time, by Robert Greene (1583).
We should have him backWho told theWinter’s Taleto do it for us.Tennyson, Prologue ofThe Princess.
We should have him backWho told theWinter’s Taleto do it for us.Tennyson, Prologue ofThe Princess.
We should have him backWho told theWinter’s Taleto do it for us.Tennyson, Prologue ofThe Princess.
We should have him back
Who told theWinter’s Taleto do it for us.
Tennyson, Prologue ofThe Princess.
Winterblossom(Mr. Philip), “the man of taste,” on the managing committee at the Spa.--Sir W. Scott,St. Ronan’s Well(time, George III.).
Wintersen(The count), brother of Baron Steinfort, lord of the place, and greatly beloved.
The Countess Wintersen, wife of the above. She is a kind friend to Mrs. Haller, and confidante of her brother, the Baron Steinfort.--Benjamin Thompson,The Stranger(1797).
Winterton(Adam), the garrulous old steward of Sir Edward Mortimer, in whose service he had been for forty-nine years. He was fond of his little jokes, and not less so of his little nips, but he loved his master and almost idolized him.--G. Colman,The Iron Chest(1796).
Win-the-Fight(Joachin), the attorney employed by Major Bridgenorth, the roundhead.--Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).
Winthrop(Madam). One of the oddest chapters in a bona fide courtship is found in the diary of Judge Samuel Sewall, wherein he sets down in order the severalstages of his wooing of Madame Winthrop. One extract must suffice.
“I think I repeated again that I would go home and bewail my rashness in making more haste than good speed. I would endeavor to contain myself and not go on to solicit her to do that which she could not consent to. Took leave of her. As came down the steps, she bid me have a care. Treated me courteously. Told her she had entered the fourth year of her widowhood. I had given her the newsletter before. I did not bid her draw off her glove as sometime I had done. Her dress was not so clean as sometime it had been. Jehovah jireh!”--Sewall Papers(173——).
Wisdom(Honor paid to).
Anacharsiswent from Scythia to Athens to see Solon.--Ælian,De Varia Historia, v.
Apollonios Tyanæus(Cappadocia) travelled through Scythia and into India as far as the river Phison to see Hierarchus.--Philostrătos,Life of Apollonios.
Ben Jonson, in 1619, travelled on foot from London to Scotland merely to see W. Drummond, the Scotch poet, whose genius he admired.
Livywent from the confines of Spain to Rome to hold converse with the learned men of that city.--Pliny the Younger,Epistle, iii 2.
Platotravelled from Athens to Egypt to see the wise men or magi, and to visit Archytas of Tarentum, inventor of several automatons, as the flying pigeon, and of numerous mechanical instruments, as the screw and crane.
Pythagoraswent from Italy to Egypt to visit the vaticinators of Memphis.--Porphyry,Life of Pythagoras.
Sheba(The queen of) went from “the uttermost parts of the earth” to hear and see Solomon, whose wisdom and greatness had reached her ear.
Wisdom Persecuted.
Anaxagorasof Clazomēnæ held opinions in natural science so far in advance of his age that he was accused of impiety, cast into prison, and condemned to death. It was with great difficulty that Perĭclês got the sentence commuted to fine and banishment.
Averrois, the Arabian philosopher, was denounced as a heretic, and degraded, in the twelfth Christian century (died 1226).
Bacon(Friar) was excommunicated and imprisoned for diabolical knowledge, chiefly on account of his chemical researches (1214-1294).
Bruno(Giordano) was burnt alive for maintaining that matter is the mother of all things (1550-1600).
Crosse(Andrew), electrician, was shunned as a profane man, because he asserted that certain minute animals of the genusAcarushad been developed by him out of inorganic elements (1784-1855).
Dee(Dr. John) had his house broken into by a mob, and all his valuable library, museum, and mathematical instruments destroyed, because he was so wise that “he must have been allied with the devil” (1527-1608).
Feargil. (See “Virgilius.”)
Galileowas imprisoned by the Inquisition for daring to believe that the earth moved round the sun and not the sun round the earth. In order to get his liberty, he was obliged to “abjure the heresy;” but as the door closed he muttered,E pur si muove(“But it does move, though”),(1564-1642)(1564-1642).
Gerbert, who introduced algebra into Christendom, was accused of dealing in the black arts, and was shunned as a “son of Belial.”
GrostedorGrosseteste, bishop of Lincoln, author of some two hundred works, was accused of dealing in the black arts, and the pope wrote a letter to HenryIII., enjoining him to disinter the bones of the too-wise bishop, as they polluted the very dust of God’s acre (died 1253).
Faust(Dr.), the German philosopher, was accused of diabolism for his wisdom so far in advance of the age.
Peyrerewas imprisoned in Brussels for attempting to prove that man existed before Adam (seventeenth century).
Protagoras, the philosopher, was banished from Athens, for his bookOn the Gods.
Socratéswas condemned to death as an atheist, because his wisdom was not in accordance with that of the age.
Virgilius, bishop of Saltzburg, was compelled by Pope Zachary to retract his assertion that there are other “worlds” besides our earth, and other suns and moons besides those which belong to our system (died 784).
Geologists had the same battle to fight, and so had Colenso, bishop of Natal.
Wise(The).
Albert II., duke of Austria, “The Lame and Wise” (1289, 1330-1358).
Alfonso X. of Leon and Castile (1203, 1252-1284).
Charles V. of France,Le Sage(1337, 1364-1380).
Che-Tsou of China (*, 1278-1295).
Comte de las Casas,Le Sage(1766-1842).
Frederick, elector of Saxony (1463, 1544-1554).
James I., the “Solomon” of England (1566, 1603-1625).
John V., duke of Brittany, “The Good and Wise” (1389, 1399-1442).
Wise Men(The Seven): (1) Solon of Athens, (2) Chilo of Sparta, (3) Thalês of Milētos, (4) Bias of Priēnê, (5) Cleobūlos of Lindos, (6) Pittăcos of Mitylēnê, (7) Periander of Corinth, or, according to Plato, Myson of Chenæ. All flourished in the sixth centuryB.C.
FirstSolon, who made the Athenian laws;WhileChilo, in Sparta, was famed for his saws;In Milētos didThalesastronomy teach;Biasused in Priēnê his morals to preach;Cleobulos, of Lindos, was handsome and wise;Mitylenê ’gainst thraldom sawPittacosrise;Perianderis said to have gained, thro’ his court,The title thatMyson, the Chenian, ought.
FirstSolon, who made the Athenian laws;WhileChilo, in Sparta, was famed for his saws;In Milētos didThalesastronomy teach;Biasused in Priēnê his morals to preach;Cleobulos, of Lindos, was handsome and wise;Mitylenê ’gainst thraldom sawPittacosrise;Perianderis said to have gained, thro’ his court,The title thatMyson, the Chenian, ought.
FirstSolon, who made the Athenian laws;WhileChilo, in Sparta, was famed for his saws;In Milētos didThalesastronomy teach;Biasused in Priēnê his morals to preach;Cleobulos, of Lindos, was handsome and wise;Mitylenê ’gainst thraldom sawPittacosrise;Perianderis said to have gained, thro’ his court,The title thatMyson, the Chenian, ought.
FirstSolon, who made the Athenian laws;
WhileChilo, in Sparta, was famed for his saws;
In Milētos didThalesastronomy teach;
Biasused in Priēnê his morals to preach;
Cleobulos, of Lindos, was handsome and wise;
Mitylenê ’gainst thraldom sawPittacosrise;
Perianderis said to have gained, thro’ his court,
The title thatMyson, the Chenian, ought.
One of the chapters in Plutarch’sMoraliais entitled, “The Banquet of the Seven Wise Men,” in which Periander is made to give an account of a contest at Chalcis between Homer and Hesiod. The latter won the prize, and caused this inscription to be engraved on the tripod presented to him:
This Hesiod vows to the Heliconian nine,In Chalcis won from Homer the divine.
This Hesiod vows to the Heliconian nine,In Chalcis won from Homer the divine.
This Hesiod vows to the Heliconian nine,In Chalcis won from Homer the divine.
This Hesiod vows to the Heliconian nine,
In Chalcis won from Homer the divine.
Wise Men of the East.Klopstock, inThe Messiah, v., says there were six “Wise Men of the East,” who, guided by the star, brought their gifts to Jesus, “the heavenly babe,” viz., Ha´dad, Selima, Zimri, Mirja, Be´led and Sun´ith. (SeeCologne, Three Kings of.)
Wisest Man.So the Delphic oracle pronounced Soc´ratês to be. Socratês modestly made answer, ’Twas because he alone had learnt this first element of truth, that he knew nothing.
Not those seven sages might him parallel;For he whom Pythian maid did whilome tellTo be the wisest man that then on earth did dwell.Phin. Fletcher,The Purple Island, vi. (1633).
Not those seven sages might him parallel;For he whom Pythian maid did whilome tellTo be the wisest man that then on earth did dwell.Phin. Fletcher,The Purple Island, vi. (1633).
Not those seven sages might him parallel;For he whom Pythian maid did whilome tellTo be the wisest man that then on earth did dwell.Phin. Fletcher,The Purple Island, vi. (1633).
Not those seven sages might him parallel;
For he whom Pythian maid did whilome tell
To be the wisest man that then on earth did dwell.
Phin. Fletcher,The Purple Island, vi. (1633).
Wisheart(The Rev. Dr.), chaplain to the earl of Montrose.--Sir W. Scott,Legend of Montrose(time, Charles I.).
Wishfort(Lady), widow of Sir Jonathan Wishfort; an irritable, impatient, decayed beauty, who painted and enamelled her face to make herself look blooming, and was afraid to frown lest the enamel might crack. She pretended to be coy, and assumed, at the age of 60, the airs of a girl of 16. A trick was played upon her by Edward Mirabell, who induced his lackey, Waitwell, to personate Sir Rowland, and make love to her; but the deceit was discovered before much mischief was done. Her pet expression was, “As I’m a person.”--W. Congreve,The Way of the World(1700).
Wishing-Cap(The), a cap given to Fortunatus. He had only to put the cap on and wish, and whatever he wished he instantly obtained.--Straparola,Fortunatus.
Wishing-Rod(The), a rod of pure gold, belonging to the Nibelungs. Whoever possessed it could have anything he desired to have, and hold the whole world in subjection.--The Nibelungen Lied, 1160 (1210).
Wishing-Sack(The), a sack given by our Lord to a man named “Fourteen,” because he was as strong as fourteen men. Whatever he wished to have he had only to say, “Come into my sack,” and it came in.
⁂ This is a Basque legend. In Gascoigne it is calledLe Sac de la Ramée(“Ramée’s Sack”).
Wit--Simplicity.It was said of John Gay that he was
In wit a man, simplicity a child.
In wit a man, simplicity a child.
In wit a man, simplicity a child.
In wit a man, simplicity a child.
⁂ The line is often flung at Oliver Goldsmith, to whom, indeed, it equally applies.
Witch.The last person prosecuted before the lords or justiciary (in Scotland) for witchcraft was Elspeth Rule. She was tried May 3, 1709, before Lord Anstruther, and condemned to be burned on the cheek, and banished from Scotland for life.--Arnot,History of Edinburgh, 366, 367.
Witch-Finder, Matthew Hopkins (seventeenth century). In 1645 he hanged sixty witches in his own county (Essex) alone, and received 20s. a head for every witch he could discover.
Has not the present parliamentMat Hopkins to the devil sent,Fully empowered to treat about,Finding revolted witches out?And has not he within a yearHanged three score of them in one shire?S. Butler,Hudibras, ii. 3 (1664).
Has not the present parliamentMat Hopkins to the devil sent,Fully empowered to treat about,Finding revolted witches out?And has not he within a yearHanged three score of them in one shire?S. Butler,Hudibras, ii. 3 (1664).
Has not the present parliamentMat Hopkins to the devil sent,Fully empowered to treat about,Finding revolted witches out?And has not he within a yearHanged three score of them in one shire?S. Butler,Hudibras, ii. 3 (1664).
Has not the present parliament
Mat Hopkins to the devil sent,
Fully empowered to treat about,
Finding revolted witches out?
And has not he within a year
Hanged three score of them in one shire?
S. Butler,Hudibras, ii. 3 (1664).
Witch of Atlas, the title and heroine of one of Shelley’s poems.
Witch of Balwer´y, Margaret Aikens, a Scotchwoman (sixteenth century).
Witch of Edmonton(The), called “Mother Sawyer.” This is the true traditional witch; no mystic hag, no weird sister, but only a poor, deformed old woman, the terror of villagers, and amenable to justice.
Why should the envious worldThrow all their scandalous malice upon me?Because I’m poor, deformed, and ignorant,And, like a bow, buckled and bent togetherBy some more strong in mischiefs than myself.The Witch of Edmonton, (by Rowley, Dekker and Ford, 1658).
Why should the envious worldThrow all their scandalous malice upon me?Because I’m poor, deformed, and ignorant,And, like a bow, buckled and bent togetherBy some more strong in mischiefs than myself.The Witch of Edmonton, (by Rowley, Dekker and Ford, 1658).
Why should the envious worldThrow all their scandalous malice upon me?Because I’m poor, deformed, and ignorant,And, like a bow, buckled and bent togetherBy some more strong in mischiefs than myself.The Witch of Edmonton, (by Rowley, Dekker and Ford, 1658).
Why should the envious world
Throw all their scandalous malice upon me?
Because I’m poor, deformed, and ignorant,
And, like a bow, buckled and bent together
By some more strong in mischiefs than myself.
The Witch of Edmonton, (by Rowley, Dekker and Ford, 1658).
Witch’s Blood.Whoever was successful in drawing blood from a witch,was free from her malignant power. Hence Talbot, when he sees La Pucelle, exclaims, “Blood will I draw from thee; thou art a witch!”--Shakespeare,1 Henry VI.act i. sc. 5 (1592).
Witherington(General),aliasRichard Tresham, who first appears as Mr. Matthew Middlemas.
Mrs. Witherington, wife of the general, alias Mrs. Middlemas (born Zelia de Monçada). She appears first as Mrs. Middlemas.--Sir W. Scott,The Surgeon’s Daughter(time, George II.).
Wititterly(Mr. Henry), an important gentleman, 38 years of age; of rather plebeian countenance, and with very light hair. He boasts everlastingly of his grand friends. To shake hands with a lord was a thing to talk of, but to entertain one was to be in the seventh heaven.
Mrs. Wititterly[Julia], wife of Mr. Wititterly, of Cadŏgan Place, Sloane Street, London; a faded lady living in a faded house. She calls her page Alphonse (2syl.), “although he has the face and figure of Bill.” Mrs. Wititterly toadies the aristocracy, and, like her husband, boasts of her grand connections and friends.--C. Dickens,Nicholas Nickleby(1838). (SeeTibbs).
Witling of Terror, Bertrand Barère; also called “The Anacreon of the Guillotine” (1755-1841).
Wittenbold, a Dutch commandant in the service of Charles II.--Sir W. Scott,Old Mortality(time, Charles II.).
Witterington(Roger). (SeeWiddrington.)
Wittol(Sir Joseph), an ignorant, foolish simpleton, who says that Bully Buff “is as brave a fellow as Cannibal.”--Congreve,The Old Bachelor(1693).
Witwould(Sir Wilful), of Shropshire, half-brother of Anthony Witwould, and nephew of Lady Wishfort. A mixture of bashfulness and obstinacy, but when in his cups as loving as the monster in theTempest. He is “a superannuated old bachelor,” who is willing to marry Millamant; but as the young lady prefers Edward Mirabell, he is equally willing to resign her to him. His favorite phrase is, “Wilful will do it.”
Anthony Witwould, half-brother to Sir Wilful. “He has good nature and does not want wit.” Having a good memory, he has a store of other folks’ wit, which he brings out in conversation with good effect.--W. Congreve,The Way of the World(1700).
Wives as they Were and Maids as they Are, a comedy by Mrs. Inchbald (1797). Lady Priory is the type of the former, and Miss Dorrillon of the latter. Lady Priory is discreet, domestic, and submissive to her husband; but Miss Dorrillon is gay, flighty, and fond of pleasure. Lady Priory, under false pretences, is allured from home by a Mr. Bronzely, a man of no principle and a rake; but her quiet, innocent conduct quite disarms him, and he takes her back to her husband, ashamed of himself, and resolves to amend. Miss Dorrillon is so involved in debt that she is arrested, but her father from the Indies pays her debts. She also repents, and becomes the wife of Sir George Evelyn.
Wives of Literary Men.According to popular rumor the following wereunhappyin their wives:--Addison, Byron, Dickens, Dryden, Albert Dürer, Hooker, Ben Jonson, W. Lilly, Milton (first wife), Molière, More, Saadi, Scaliger, Shakespeare, Shelley, Socratês, Wycherly, etc. The following werehappyin their choice:--Thomas Moore, Sir W. Scott, Wordsworth, William Howitt, Robert Browning, S. C. Hall, Disraeli, Gladstone, etc., in England, and in America a great majority of literary men:--Longfellow, Lowell, Emerson, Hawthorne, to name only a few.
Wizard of the North, Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832).
Wobbler(Mr.), of the Circumlocution Office. When Mr. Clennam, by the direction of Mr. Barnacle, in another department of the office, called on this gentleman, he was telling a brother clerk about a rat-hunt, and kept Clennam waiting a considerable time. When at length Mr. Wobbler chose to attend, he politely said, “Hallo, there! What’s the matter?” Mr. Clennam briefly stated his question; and Mr. Wobbler replied, “Can’t inform you. Never heard of it. Nothing at all to do with it. Try Mr. Clive.” When Clennam left, Mr. Wobbler called out, “Mister! Hallo, there! Shut the door after you. There’s a devil of a draught!”--Charles Dickens,Little Dorrit, x. (1857).
Woeful Countenance(Knight of the). Don Quixote was so called by Sancho Panza, but after his adventure with the lions he called himself “The Knight of the Lions.”--Cervantes,Don Quixote, I. iii. 5; II. i. 17 (1605-15).
Wolf.TheNeuri, according to Herodŏtus, had the power of assuming the shape of wolves once a year.
One of the family ofAntæus, according to Pliny, was chosen annually, by lot, to be transformed into a wolf, in which shape he continued for nine years.
Lyca´on, king of Arcādia, was turned into a wolf because he attempted to test the divinity of Jupiter by serving up to him “human flesh at table.”--Ovid.
Veret´icus, king of Wales, was turned by St. Patrick into a wolf.
Wolf.When Dantê, in the first Canto of theDivina Commedia, describes the ascent of the hill (of fame?) he is met, first by a panther (pleasure?) then by a lion (ambition?) then by a she-wolf (avarice?)