Chapter 21

Queen Anne only reigned while Queen Sarah governed.—Temple Bar, 208.

Queen Square Hermit, Jeremy Bentham, 1 Queen Square, London (1748-1832).

Queen of Hearts, Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I., the unfortunate queen of Bohemia (1596-1662).

Queen of Heaven, Ashtoreth (“the moon”). Horace calls the moon “the two-horned queen of the stars.”

Some speak of the Virgin Mary as “the queen of heaven.”

Queen of Queens.Cleopatra was so called by Mark Antony (B.C.69-30).

Queen of Song, Angelica Catala´ni; also called “the Italian Nightingale” (1782-1849).

Queen of Sorrow, the marble tomb at Delhi called the Taj-Mahul, built by Shah Jehan for his wife, Moomtaz-i-Mahul.

Queen of Tears, Mary of Mo´dena, second wife of James II. of England (1658-1718).

Her eyes became eternal fountains of sorrow for that crown her own ill policy contributed to lose.—Noble,Memoirs, etc.(1784).

Queen of the East, Zenobia, queen of Palmy´ra (*, 266-273).

Queen of the South, Maqueda, or Balkis, queen of Sheba, or Saba.

The queen of the south ... came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.—Matt.xii. 42; see also 1Kingsx. 1.

***According to tradition, the queen of the south had a son by Solomon, named Melech, who reigned in Ethiopia or Abyssinia, and added to his name the words Belul Gian (“precious stone”), alluding to a ring given to him by Solomon. Belul Gian translated into Latin, becamepretiosus Joannes, which got corrupted into Prester John (presbyter Johannes), and has given rise to the fables of this “mythical king of Ethiopia.”

Queen of the Swords.Minna Troil was so called, because the gentlemen, formed into two lines, held their swords so as to form an arch or roof under which Minna led the ladies of the party.—Sir W. Scott,The Pirate(time, William III.).

***In 1877, W. Q. Orchardson, R. A., exhibited a picture in illustration of this incident.

Queen(My).

But thou thyself shall not come downFrom that pure region far above,But keep thy throne and wear thy crown,Queen of my heart and queen of love!A monarch in thy realm complete,And I a monarch—at thy feet!William Winter,Wanderers(1889).

Queens(Four Daughters). Raymond Ber´enger, count of Provence, had four daughters, all of whom married kings; Margaret married Louis IX. of France; Eleanor married Henry III. of England; Sancha married Henry’s brother, Richard, king of the Romans; and Beatrice married Charles I. of Naples and Sicily.

Four daughters were there bornTo Raymond Ber´enger, and every oneBecame a queen.Dantê,Paradise, vi. (1311).

Quentin(Black), groom of Sir John Ramorny.—Sir W. Scott,Fair Maid of Perth(time, Henry IV.).

Quentin Durward, a novel by Sir W. Scott (1823). A story of French history. The delineations of Louis XI., and Charles the Bold, of Burgundy, will stand comparison with any in the whole range of fiction or history.

Quern-Biter, the sword of Haco I. of Norway.

Quern-biter of Hacon the GoodWherewith at a stroke he hewedThe millstone thro’ and thro’.Longfellow.

Querno(Camillo), of Apulia, was introduced to Pope Leo X., as a buffoon, but was promoted to the laurel. This laureate was called the “Antichrist of Wit.”

Rome in her capitol saw Querno sit,Throned on seven hills, the antichrist of wit.Pope,The Dunciad, ii. (1728).

Querpo(Shrill), in Garth’sDispensary, is meant for Dr. Howe.

To this design shrill Querpo did agree,A zealous member of the faculty,His sire’s pretended pious steps he treads,And where the doctor fails, the saint succeeds.Dispensary, iv. (1699).

Questing Beast(The), a monster called Glatisaunt, that made a noise called questing, “like thirty couple of hounds giving quest” or cry. King Pellinore (3syl.) followed the beast for twelve months (pt. i. 17), and after his death Sir Palomidês gave it chase.

The questing beast had in shape and head like a serpent’s head, and a body like a libard, buttocks like a lion, and footed like a hart; and in his body there was such a noise as it had been the noise of thirty couple of hounds questing, and such a noise that beast made wheresoever he went; and this beast evermore Sir Palomides followed.—Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthur, i. 17; ii. 53 (1470).

Quiara and Mon´nema, man and wife, the only persons who escaped the ravages of the small-pox plague which carried off all the rest of the Guara´ni race, in Paraguay. They left the fatal spot, settled in the Mondai woods, had one son, Yerūti, and one daughter, Mooma; but Quiāra was killed by a jagŭar before the latter was born.—Southey,A Tale of Paraguay(1814). (SeeMonnemaandMooma.)

Quick(Abel), clerk to Surplus, the lawyer.—J. M. Morton,A Regular Fix.

Quick(John), called “The Retired Diocletian of Islington” (1748-1831).

Little Quick, the retired Diocletian of Islington, with his squeak like a Bart’lemew fiddle.—Charles Mathews.

Quickly(Mistress), servant-of-all-work, to Dr. Caius, a French physician. She says, “I wash, wring, brew, bake, scour, dress meat and drink, make the beds, and do all myself.” She is the go-between of three suitors for “sweet Anne Page,” and with perfect disinterestedness wishes all three to succeed, and does her best to forward the suit of all three, “but speciously of Master Fenton.”—Shakespeare,Merry Wives of Windsor(1601).

Quickly(Mistress Nell), a hostess of a tavern in East-cheap, frequented by Harry, prince of Wales, Sir John Falstaff, and all their disreputable crew. InHenry V.Mistress Quickly is represented as having married Pistol, the “lieutenant of Captain Sir John’s army.” All three die before the end of the play. Her description of Sir John Falstaff’s death (Henry V.act ii. sc. 3) is very graphic and true to nature. In 2Henry IV.Mistress Quickly arrests Sir John for debt, but immediately she hears of his commission is quite willing to dismiss the bailiffs, and trust “the honey sweet” old knight again to any amount.—Shakespeare, 1 and 2Henry IV.andHenry V.

Quid(Mr.), the tobacconist, a relative of Mrs. Margaret Bertram.—Sir W. Scott,Guy Mannering(time, George II.).

Quid Rides, the motto of Jacob Brandon, tobacco-broker, who lived at the close of the eighteenth century. It was suggested by Harry Calendon of Lloyd’s coffee-house.

***Quid Ridês(Latin) means “Why do you laugh?”Quid rides,i.e.“the tobacconist rides.”

Quidnunc(Abraham), of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, an upholsterer by trade, but bankrupt. His head “runs only on schemes for paying off the National Debt, the balance of power, the affairs of Europe, and the political news of the day.”

***The prototype of this town politician was the father of Dr. Arne (seeThe Tatler, No. 155).

Harriet Quidnunc, his daughter, rescued by Belmour from the flames of a burning house, and adored by him.

John Quidnunc, under the assumed name of Rovewell, having married a rich planter’s widow, returns to England, pays his father’s debts, and gives his sister to Mr. Belmour for wife.—Murphy,The Upholsterer(1758).

Quidnuncs, a name given to the ancient members of certain political clubs, who were constantly inquiring, “Quidnunc? What news?”

This the Great Mother dearer held than allThe clubs of Quidnuncs, or her own Guildhall.Pope,The Dunciad, i. 269 (1728).

Quidnunkis, a monkey which climbed higher than its neighbors, and fell into a river. For a few moments the monkey-race stood panic-struck, but the stream flowed on, and in a minute or two the monkeys continued their gambols as if nothing had happened.—Gay,The Quidnunkis(a fable, 1726).

Quildrive(2syl.), clerk to old Philpot “the citizen.”—Murphy,The Citizen(1761).

Quilp(Daniel), a hideous dwarf, cunning, malicious, and a perfect master in tormenting. Of hard, forbidding features, with head and face large enough for a giant. His black eyes were restless, sly, and cunning; his mouth and chin bristly with a coarse, hard beard; his face never clean, but always distorted with a ghastly grin, which showed the few discolored fangs that supplied the place of teeth. His dress consisted of a large high-crowned hat, a worn-out dark suit, a pair of most capacious shoes, and a huge crumpled dirty white neck-cloth. Such hair as he had was a grizzled black, cut short but hanging about his ears in fringes. His hands were coarse and dirty; his fingernails crooked, long, and yellow. He lived on Tower Hill, collected rents, advanced money to seamen, and kept a sort of wharf, containing rusty anchors, huge iron rings, piles of rotten wood, and sheets of old copper, calling himself a ship-breaker. He was on the point of being arrested for felony, when he drowned himself.

He ate hard eggs, shell and all, for his breakfast, devoured gigantic prawns with their heads and tails on, chewed tobacco and water-cresses at the same time, drank scalding hot tea without winking, bit his fork and spoon till they bent again, and performed so many horrifying acts, that one might doubt if he were indeed human.—Ch. v.

Mrs. Quilp(Betsy), wife of the dwarf, a loving, young, timid, obedient, and pretty blue-eyed little woman, treated like a dog by her diabolical husband, whom she really loved but more greatly feared.—C. Dickens,The Old Curiosity Shop(1840).

Quinnailon(Father). Benevolent priest in Xerxes, a Western town. He succors the suffering of whatever creed and conditions, and shares his little all with the needy. When appointed bishop, he goes to Rome to beg for permission to decline the honor.

“I will fall at the feet of the Holy Father, and beseech him not to make a bishop out of a poor, simple old man who cannot bear so great a burden; but to let me come back and die among my dear people!”—Octave Thanet,Quilters in the Sun(1877).

Quinap´alus, the Mrs. Harris of “authorities in citations.” If any one quotes from an hypothetical author, he gives Quinapalus as his authority.

What says Quinapalus: “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.”—Shakespeare,Twelfth Night,act.i. sc. 5 (1614).

Quinbus Flestrin(the “man-mountain”). So the Lilliputians called Gulliver (ch. ii.).—Swift,Gulliver’s Travels(“Voyage to Lilliput,” 1726).

Quince(Peter), a carpenter, who undertakes the management of the play called “Pyramus and Thisbê,” inMidsummer Night’s Dream. He speaks of “laughable tragedy,” “lamentable comedy,” “tragical mirth,” and so on.—Shakespeare,Midsummer Night’s Dream(1592).

Quino´nes(Suero de), in the reign of Juan II. He, with nine other cavaliers, held the bridge of Orbigo against all comers for thirty-six days, and in that time they overthrew seventy-eight knights of Spain and France.

Quintano´na, the duenna of Queen Guinever or Ginebra.—Cervantes,Don Quixote, II. ii. 6 (1615).

Quintessence(Queen), sovereign of Entéléchie, the country of speculative science visited by Pantag´ruel and his companions in their search for “the oracle of the Holy Bottle.”—Rabelais,Pantagruel, v. 19 (1545).

Quin´tiquinies´tra(Queen), a much-dreaded, fighting giantess. It was one of the romances of Don Quixote’s library condemned by the priest and barber of the village to be burnt.—Cervantes,Don Quixote, I. (1605).

Quintus Fixlein[Fix.line], the title and chief character of a romance by Jean Paul Friedrich Richter (1796).

Francia, like Quintus Fixlein, had perennial fireproof joys, namely, employments.—Carlyle.

Quiri´nus, Mars.

Now, by our sire Quirīnus,It was a goodly sightTo see the thirty standardsSwept down the stream of flight.Lord Macaulay,Lays of Ancient Rome(“Battle of the Lake Regillus,”xxxvi., 1842).

Quitam(Mr.), the lawyer at the Black Bear inn at Darlington.—Sir W. Scott,Rob Roy(time, George I.).

***The first two words in an action on a penal statute areQui tam. Thus,Qui tam pro domina regina, quam pro seipso, sequitur.

Quixa´da(Gutierre), lord of Villagarcia. Don Quixote calls himself a descendant of this brave knight.—Cervantes,Don Quixote, I. (1605).

Quixote(Don), a gaunt country gentleman of La Mancha, about 50 years of age, gentle, and dignified, learned and high-minded; with strong imagination perverted by romance, and crazed with ideas of chivalry. He is the hero of a Spanish romance by Cervantes. Don Quixote feels himself called on to become a knight-errant to defend the oppressed, and succor the injured. He engages for his squire Sancho Panza, a middle-aged, ignorant rustic, selfish, but full of good sense, a gourmand, attached to his master, shrewd and credulous. The knight goesforth on his adventures, thinkswind-millsto be giants,flocks of sheepto be armies,innsto be castles, andgalley-slavesoppressed gentlemen; but the squire sees them in their true light. Ultimately, the knight is restored to his right mind, and dies like a peaceful Christian. The object of this romance was to laugh down the romances of chivalry of the Middle Ages.

(Quixote means “armor for the thighs,” but Quixada means “lantern jaws.” Don Quixote’s favorite author was Feliciano de Sylva; his model knight was Am´adis de Gaul. The romance is in two parts, of four books each. Pt. I. was published in 1605, and pt. II. in 1615.)

The prototype of the knight was the duke of Lerma.

Don Quixote is a tall, meagre, lantern-jawed, hawk-nosed, long-limbed, grizzle-haired man, with a pair of large black whiskers, and he styles himself “The Knight of the Woeful Countenance.”—Cervantes,Don Quixote, II. i. 14 (1615).

Don Quixote’s Horse, Rosinantê (4syl.), all skin and bone.

Quixote(The Female), orAdventures of Arabella, a novel by Mrs. Lennox (1752).

Quixote of the North(The), Charles XII. of Sweden; sometimes called “The Madman” (1682, 1697-1718).

Quodling(The Rev. Mr.), chaplain to the duke of Buckingham.—Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).

Quos Ego—, a threat intended but withheld; a sentence broken off. Eŏlus, angry with the winds and storms which had thrown the sea into commotion without his sanction, was going to say he would punish them severely for this act of insubordination; but having uttered the first two words, “Whom I——,” he says no more, but proceeds to the business in hand.—Virgil,Æneid, i.

“Next Monday,” said he, “you will be a ‘substance,’ and then——;” with whichquos egohe went to the next boy.—Dasent,Half a Life(1850).

Quo´tem(Caleb), a parish clerk or Jack-of-all-trades.—G. Colman,The Review, or The Ways of Windsor.

I resolved like Caleb Quotem, to have a place at the review.—Washington Irving.

RNeitherDemosthĕnês nor Aristotle could pronounce the letterr.

R(rogue), vagabonds, etc., who were branded on the left shoulder with this letter.

They ... may be burned with a hot burning iron, of the breadth of a shilling, with a great Roman R on the left shoulder, which letter shall remain as a mark of a rogue.—Pyrnne,Histriomastix, orThe Player’s Scourge.

If I escape the halter with the letter RPrinted upon it.Massinger,A New Way to Pay Old Debts, iv. 2 (1629).

Rab´agas, an advocate and editor of a journal called theCarmagnole. At the same office was published another radical paper, called theCrapaud Volant. Rabagas lived in the kingdom of Monaco, and was a demagogue leader of the deepest red; but was won over to the king’s party by the tact of an American lady, who got him an invitation to dine at the palace, and made him chief minister of state. From this moment he became the most strenuous opponent of the “liberal” party.—M. Sardou,Rabagas(1872).

Rabbi Jehosha, wise teacher, whose good words are recorded in James Russell Lowell’s poem “What Rabbi Jehosha Said.”

Rabbi Abron of Trent, a fictitious sage, and most wonderful linguist. “He knew the nature of all manner of herbs, beasts and minerals.”—Reynard the Fox, xii. (1498).

Rabelais(The English). Dean Swift was so called by Voltaire (1667-1745).

Sterne (1713-1768) and Thomas Amory (1699-1788) have also been so called.

Rabelais(The Modern), William Maginn (1794-1842).

Rabelais of Germany, J. Fischart, called “Mentzer” (1550-1614).

Rabelais’s Poison.Rabelais, being at a great distance from Paris, and without money to pay his hotel bill or his fare, made up three small packets of brick-dust. One he labelled “Poison for the king,” another, “Poison for monsieur,” and the third, “Poison for the dauphin.” The landlord instantly informed against this “poisoner,” and the secretary of state removed him at once to Paris. When, however, the joke was found out, it ended only in a laugh.—Spectator(“Art of Growing Rich”).

Rab´icanorRabica´no, the horse of Astolpho. Its sire was Wind and its dam Fire. It fed on human food. The word means “short tail.”—Ariosto,Orlando Furioso(1516).

***Argalia’s horse is called by the same name inOrlando Innamorato(1495).

Rabisson, a vagabond tinker and knife-grinder. He was the only person who knew about “the gold-mine” left to the “miller of Grenoble.” Rabisson was murdered for his secret by Eusebe Noel, the schoolmaster of Bout des Monde.—E. Stirling,The Gold Mine, orMiller of Grenoble(1854).

Rab´sheka(in the BibleRabshakeh), in the satire ofAbsalom and Achitophel, by Dryden and Tate, is meant for Sir Thomas Player (2Kingsxviii.).

Next him let railing Rabsheka have place—So full of zeal, he has no need of grace.Pt. ii. (1682).

Raby(Aurora), a rich young English orphan, Catholic in religion, of virgin modesty, “a rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded.” She was staying in the house of Lord and Lady Amundeville during the parliamentary vacation. Here Don Juan, “as Russian envoy,” was also a guest, with several others. Aurora Raby is introduced in canto xv., and crops up here and there in the two remaining cantos; but, as the tale was never finished, it is not possible to divine what part the beautiful and innocent girl was designed by the poet to play. Probably Don Juan, having sowed his “wild oats,” might become a not unfit match for the beautiful orphan.—Byron,Don Juan(1824).

Raby(The Rose of), the mother of Richard III. She was Cecily, daughter of Ralph Nevyll de Raby, first earl of Westmoreland. Her husband was Richard, duke of York, who was slain at the battle of Wakefield in 1460. She died 1495.

Rachael, a servant-girl at Lady Peveril’s of the Peak.—Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).

Rachael(2syl.), one of the “hands” in Bounderby’s mill at Coketown. She loved Stephen Blackpool, and was greatly beloved by him in return; but Stephen was married to a worthless drunkard. After the death of Stephen, Rachael watched over the good-for-nothing young widow, and befriended her.—C. Dickens,Hard Times(1854).

Rachel Ffrench, beautiful daughter of Haworth’s unworthy partner in the iron business. Haworth loves her, as does Murdoch, a young inventor who rises fast in Haworth’s employ. She seems to vacillate between the two men, but really loves Murdoch, although pride will not let her avow it. When he is on the point of embarking to America, with an assured future, she confesses all, only to learn from him that “it is all over.” Yet, in looking back at her “dark young face turned seaward” as his ship moves away, he mutters, “When I return it will be to you.”—Frances Hodgson Burnett,Haworth’s(1879).

Racine of Italy(The), Metastasio (1698-1782).

Racine of Music(The), Antonio Gaspare Sacchini, of Naples (1735-1786).

Racket(Sir Charles), a young man of fashion, who married the daughter of a wealthy London merchant. In the third week of the honeymoon Sir Charles paid his father-in-law a visit, and quarrelled with his bride about a game of whist. The lady affirmed that Sir Charles ought to have played a diamond instead of a club. Sir Charles grew furious, and resolved upon a divorce; but the quarrel was adjusted, and Sir Charles ended by saying, “You may be as wrong as you please, but I’ll be cursed if I ever endeavor to set you right again.”

Lady Racket, wife of Sir Charles, and elder daughter of Mr. Drugget.—Murphy,Three Weeks after Marriage(1776).

Racket(Widow), a sprightly, good-natured widow and woman of fashion.

A coquette, a wit, and a fine lady.—Mrs. Cowley,The Belle’s Stratagem, ii. 1 (1780).

The “Widow Racket” was one of Mrs. Pope’s best parts. Her usual manner of expressing piquant carelessness consisted in tossing her head from right to left, and striking the palm of one hand with the back of the other [1740-1797].—James Smith.

Rackrent(Sir Condy), in Miss Edgeworth’s novel ofCastle Rackrent(1802).

Raddle(Mrs.), keeper of the lodgings occupied by Bob Sawyer. The young medical practitioner invited Mr. Pickwick and his three friends to a convivial meeting; but the termagant Mrs. Raddle brought the meeting to an untimely end.—C. Dickens,The Pickwick Papers(1836).

Rad´egonde(St.) orSt. Radegund, queen of France (born 519, died 587). She was the daughter of Bertaire, king of Thuringia, and brought up a pagan. King Clotaire I. taught her the Christian religion, and married her in 538; but six years later she entered a nunnery, and lived in the greatest austerity.

There thou must walk in greatest gravity,And seem as saintlike as St. Radegund.Spenser,Mother Hubbard’s Tale(1591).

RadigundorRadegone, the proud queen of the Amăzons. Being rejected by Bellodant “the Bold,” she revenged herself by degrading all the men who fell into her power by dressing them like women, giving them woman’s work to do,such as spinning, carding, sewing, etc., and feeding them on bread and water to effeminate them (canto 4). When she overthrew Sir Artegal in single combat, she imposed on him the condition of dressing in “woman’s weeds,” with a white apron, and to spend his time in spinning flax, instead of in deeds of arms. Radigund fell in love with the captive knight, and sent Clarinda as a go-between; but Clarinda tried to win him for herself, and told the queen he was inexorable (canto 5). At length Britomart arrived, cut off Radigund’s head, and liberated the captive (canto 7).—Spenser,Faëry Queen, v. 4-7 (1596).

Rag and Famish(The), the Army and Navy Club; so christened byPunch. Theragrefers to the flag, and thefamishto the bad cuisine.

Ragged Regiment(The), the wan figures in Westminster Abbey, in a gallery over Islip’s Chapel.

Railway King(The), George Hudson, of Yorkshire, chairman of the North Midland Company. In one day he cleared by speculation £100,000. It was the Rev. Sydney Smith who gave Hudson the title of “Railway king” (1800-1871).

Raine(Old Roger), the tapster, near the abode of Sir Geoffrey Peveril.

Dame Raine, old Roger’s widow; afterwards Dame Chamberlain.—Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).

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

Rajah of Mattan(Borneo), has a diamond which weighs 367 carats. The largest cut diamond in the world. It is considered to be a palladium. (SeeDiamonds.)

Rake(Lord), a nobleman of the old school, fond of debauch, street rows, knocking down Charlies, and seeing his guests drunk. His chief boon companions are Sir John Brute and Colonel Bully.—Vanbrugh,The Provoked Wife(1697).

Rakeland(Lord), a libertine, who makes love to married women, but takes care to keep himself free from the bonds of matrimony.—Mrs. Inchbald,The Wedding Day(1790).

Rak´she(2syl.), a monster, which lived on serpents and dragons.

Raleigh(Sir Walter), introduced by Sir W. Scott inKenilworth. The tradition of Sir Walter laying down his cloak on a miry spot for the queen to step on, and the queen commanding him to wear the “muddy cloak till her pleasure should be further known,” is mentioned in ch. xv. (1821).

Raleigh(Sir Walter). Jealous of the earl of Essex, he plots with Lord Burleigh to compass his death.—Henry Jones,The Earl of Essex(1745).

Ralph, abbot of St. Augustine’s, expended £43,000 on the repast given at his installation.

It was no unusual thing for powerful barons to provide 30,000 dishes at a wedding breakfast. The coronation dinner of Edward III., cost £40,000, equal to half a million of money now. The duke of Clarence, at his marriage, entertained 1000 guests, and furnished his table with 36 courses. Archbishop Neville had 1000egrettes served at one banquet, and the whole species seems to have been extirpated.

After this it will be by no means difficult to understand why Apicius despaired of being able to make two ends meet, when he had reduced his enormous fortune to £80,000, and therefore hanged himself.

***After the winter of 1327 was over, the elder Spenser had left of the stores laid in by him the preceding November and salted down, “80 salted beeves, 500 bacons, and 600 muttons.”

Ralph, son of Fairfield, the miller. An outlandish, ignorant booby, jealous of his sister, Patty, because she “could paint picturs and strum on the harpsicols.” He was in love with Fanny, the gypsy, for which “feyther” was angry with him; but, “what argufies feyther’s anger?” However, he treated Fanny like a brute, and she said of him, “He has a heart as hard as a parish officer. I don’t doubt but he would stand by and see me whipped.” When his sister married Lord Aimworth, Ralph said:

Captain Ralph my lord will dub me,Soon I’ll mount a huge cockade;Mounseer shall powder, queue, and club me,—’Gad! I’ll be a roaring blade.If Fan should offer then to snub me,When in scarlet I’m arrayed;Or my feyther ’temp to drub me—Let him frown, but who’s afraid?Bickerstaff,The Maid of the Mill(1647).

RalphorRalpho, the squire of Hudibras. Fully described in bk. i. 457-644.—S. Butler,Hudibras(1663-78).

The prototype of “Ralph” was Isaac Robinson, a zealous butcher, in Morefields. Ralph represents the independent party, and Hudibras the Presbyterian.

***In regard to the pronunciation of this name, which, in 1878, was the subject of a long controversy inNotes and Queries, Butler says:

A squire he had whose name was Ralph,That in th’ adventure went his half: ...And when we can, with metre safe,We’ll call him Ralpho, or plain Ra’ph.Bk. l. 456.

Ralph(Rough), the helper of Lance Outram, park-keeper at Sir Geoffrey Peveril’s of the Peak.—Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).

Ralph(James), an American, who came to London and published a poem entitledNight(1725).

Silence, ye wolves! while Ralph to Cynthia howls,Making night hideous; answer him ye owls.Pope,The Dunciad, iii. 165 (1728).

Ralph[de Lascours], captain of theUran´ia, husband of Louise de Lascours. Ralph is the father of Diana and Martha,aliasOrgari´ta. His crew having rebelled, Ralph, his wife, infant [Martha], and servant, Bar´abas, were put into a boat, and turned adrift. The boat ran on a huge iceberg, which Ralph supposed to be a small island. In time, the iceberg broke, when Ralph and his wife were drowned, but Martha and Barabas escaped. Martha was taken by an Indian tribe, who brought her up, and named her Orgarita (“withered corn”), because her skin was so white and fair.—E. Stirling,Orphan of the Frozen Sea(1856).

Ralph Roister Doister, by Nicholas Udall, the first English comedy, about 1534. It contains nine male and four female characters. Ralph is a vain, thoughtless, blustering fellow, who is in pursuit of a rich widow named Custance, but he is baffled in his intention.

Ramble(Sir Robert), a man of gallantry,treats his wife with such supreme indifference that she returns to her guardian, Lord Norland, and resumes her maiden name of Marie Wooburn. Subsequently, however, she returns to her husband.

Mrs. Ramble, wife of Sir Robert, and ward of Lord Norland.—Inchbald,Every One Has His Fault(1794).

Ram´iel(3syl.), one of the “atheist crew” overthrown by Ab´diel. (The word means, according to Hume, “one who exalts himself against God.”)—Milton,Paradise Lost, vi. 371 (1665).

Raminago´bris.Lafontaine, in his fables, gives this name to a cat. Rabelais, in hisPantag´ruel, iii. 21, satirizes under the same name Guillaume Crétin, a poet.

Rami´rez, a Spanish monk, and father confessor to Don Juan, duke of Braganza. He promised Velasquez, when he absolved the duke at bed-time, to give him a poisoned wafer prepared by the Carmelite Castruccio. This he was about to do, when he was interrupted, and the breaking out of the rebellion saved the duke from any similar attempt.—Robert Jephson,Braganza(1775).

Rami´ro(King) married Aldonza, who, being faithless, eloped with Alboa´zar, the Moorish king of Gaya. Ramiro came disguised as a traveller to Alboazar’s castle, and asked a damsel for a draught of water, and when he lifted the pitcher to his mouth, he dropped in it his betrothal ring, which Aldonza saw and recognized. She told the damsel to bring the stranger to her apartment. Scarce had he arrived there when the Moorish king entered, and Ramiro hid himself in an alcove. “What would you do to Ramiro,” asked Aldonza, “if you had him in your power?” “I would hew him limb from limb,” said the Moor. “Then lo! Alboazar, he is now skulking in that alcove.” With this, Ramiro was dragged forth, and the Moor said, “And how would you act if our lots were reversed?” Ramiro replied, “I would feast you well, send for my chief princes and counsellors, and set you before them and bid you blow your horn till you died.” “Then be it so,” said the Moor. But when Ramiro blew his horn, his “merry men” rushed into the castle, and the Moorish king, with Aldonza and all their children, princes, and counsellors, were put to the sword.—Southey,Ramiro(a ballad from the Portuguese, 1804).

Ramona, young Indian woman, who, in defiance of her duenna’s fierce opposition, goes out into the wide world with gallant Alessandro. The struggles and disappointments of the wedded pair, and their oppression by Indian agents are told in Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel,Ramona, (1884).

Ramorny(Sir John), a voluptuary, master of the horse to Prince Robert of Scotland.—Sir W. Scott,Fair Maid of Perth(time, Henry IV.).

Ramsay(David), the old watch-maker, near Temple Bar.

Margaret Ramsay, David’s daughter. She marries Lord Nigel.—Sir W. Scott,Fortunes of Nigel(time, James I.).

Ramsbottom(Mrs.), a vile speller of the language. Theodore Hook’s pseudonym in theJohn Bullnewspaper, 1829.

***Winifred Jenkins, the maid of Miss Tabitha Bramble (in Smollett’sHumphrey Clinker, 1770), rivals Mrs. Ramsbottom in bad spelling.

Randal, the boatman at Lochleven Castle.—Sir W. Scott,The Abbot(time, Elizabeth).

Randolph(Lord), a Scotch nobleman, whose life was saved by young Norval. For this service, his lordship gave the youth a commission; but Glenalvon, the heir presumptive, hated the new favorite, and persuaded Lord Randolph that Norval was too familiar with his lady. Accordingly, Glenalvon and Lord Randolph waylaid the lad, who being attacked, slew Glenalvon in self-defence, but was himself slain by Lord Randolph. When the lad was killed, Lord Randolph learned that “Norval” was the son of Lady Randolph by Lord Douglas, her former husband. He was greatly vexed, and went to the war then raging between Scotland and Denmark, to drown his sorrow by activity and danger.

Lady Randolph, daughter of Sir Malcolm, was privately married to Lord Douglas, and when her first boy was born, she hid him in a basket, because there was a family feud between Malcolm and Douglas. Soon after this, Douglas was slain in battle, and the widow married Lord Randolph. The babe was found by old Norval, a shepherd, who brought it up as his own son. When 18 years old, the lad saved the life of Lord Randolph, and was given a commission in the army. Lady Randolph, hearing of the incident, discovered that young Norval was her own son, Douglas. Glenalvon, who hated the new favorite, persuaded Lord Randolph that the young man was too familiar with Lady Randolph, and being waylaid, a fight ensued, in which Norval slew Glenalvon, but was himself slain by Lord Randolph. Lord Randolph being informed that the young man was Lady Randolph’s son, went to the wars to “drive away care;” and Lady Randolph, in her distraction, cast herself headlong from a steep precipice.—J. Home,Douglas(1757).

The voice of Mrs. Crawford [1734-1801], when thrown out by the vehemence of strong feeling, seemed to wither up the hearer; it was a flaming arrow, a lighting of passion. Such was the effect of her almost shriek to old Norval, “Was he alive?” It was like an electric shock, which drove the blood back to the heart, and produced a shudder of terror through the crowded theatre.—Boaden,Life of Kemble.

Random, a man of fortune with a scapegrace son. He is pale and puffy, with gout and a tearing cough. Random goes to France to recruit his health, and on his return to England, gets arrested for debt by mistake for his son. He raves and rages, threatens and vows vengeance, but finds his son on the point of marrying a daughter of Sir David Dunder of Dunder Hall, and forgets his evils in contemplation of this most desirable alliance.—G. Colman,Ways and Means(1788).

Random(Roderick), a young Scotch scapegrace, in quest of fortune. At one time he revels in prosperity, at another he is in utter destitution. Roderick is led into different countries (whose peculiarities are described), and falls into the society of wits, sharpers, courtiers, and harlots. Occasionally lavish, he is essentially mean; with a dash of humor, he is contemptibly revengeful; and, though generous minded when the whim jumps with his wishes, he is thoroughly selfish. His treatment of Strap is revolting to a generous mind. Strap lends him money in his necessity, but the heartless Roderick wastes the loan, treats Strap as a mere servant, fleeces him at dice, and cuffs him when the game is adverse.—T. Smollett,Roderick Random(1748).

Ranger, the madcap cousin of Clarinda,and the leading character in Hoadly’sSuspicious Husband(1747).

Ran´tipole(3syl.), a madcap. One of the nicknames given to Napoleon III. (SeeNapoleon III.)

Dick, be a littlerantipolish,Colman,Heir-at-Law, i. 2 (1797).

Raoul[Rawl], the old huntsman of Sir Raymond Berenger.—Sir W. Scott,The Betrothed(time, Henry II.).

Raoul di Nangis(Sir), the Huguenot in love with Valentina (daughter of the Comte de St. Bris, governor of the Louvre). Sir Raoul is offered the hand of Valentina in marriage, but rejects it because he fancies she is betrothed to the comte de Nevers. Nevers being slain in the Bartholomew Massacre, Raoul marries Valentina, but scarcely is the ceremony over when both are shot by the musketeers under the command of St. Bris.—Meyerbeer,Les Huguenots(opera, 1836).

Raphael(2 or 3syl.), called by Milton, “The Sociable Spirit,” and “The Affable Archangel.” In the book ofTobitit was Raphael who travelled with Tobias into Media and back again; and it is the same angel that holds discourse with Adam through two books ofParadise Lost, v. and vi. (1665).

Raphael, the guardian angel of John the Beloved.

***Longfellow calls Raphael “The Angel of the Sun,” and says that he brings to man “the gift of faith.”—Golden Legend(“Miracle-Play,” iii., 1851).

Raphael(The Flemish), Frans Floris. His chief works are “St. Luke at His Easel,” and the “Descent of the Fallen Angels,” both in Antwerp Cathedral (1520-1570).

Raphael(The French), Eustace Lesueur (1617-1655).

Raphael of Cats(The), Godefroi Mind, a Swiss painter, famous for his cats (1768-1814).

Raphael of Holland(The), Martin van Hemskerck (1498-1574).

Raphael’s Enchanter, La Fornarina, a baker’s daughter. Her likeness appears in several of his paintings. (SeeFornarina.)

Rapier(The) was introduced by Rowland York in 1587.

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