I, King Saurid, built the pyramids ... and finished them in six years. He that comes after me ... let him destroy them in 600 if he can ... I also covered them ... with satin, and let him cover them with matting.—Greaves,Pyramidographia, (seventeenth century).
I, King Saurid, built the pyramids ... and finished them in six years. He that comes after me ... let him destroy them in 600 if he can ... I also covered them ... with satin, and let him cover them with matting.—Greaves,Pyramidographia, (seventeenth century).
Savage(Captain), a naval commander.—Captain Marryat,Peter Simple(1833).
Sav´il, steward to the elder Loveless.—Beaumont and Fletcher,The Scornful Lady(1616).
Sav´ille(2syl.), the friend of Doricourt. He saves Lady Frances Touchwood from Courtall, and frustrates his infamous designs on the lady’s honor.—Mrs. Cowley,The Belle’s Stratagem(1780).
Saville(Lord), a young nobleman with Chiffinch (emissary of Charles II.).—Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time Charles II.).
Saviour of Rome.C. Marĭus was so called after the overthrow of the Cimbri, July 30,B.C.101.
Saviour of the Nations.So the duke of Wellington was termed after the overthrow of Bonaparte (1769-1852).
Oh, Wellington ... called “Saviour of the Nations!”Byron,Don Juan, ix. 5 (1824).
Sawney, a corruption of Sandie, a contracted form of Alexander. Sawney means a Scotchman, as David a Welshman, John Bull an Englishman, Cousin Michael a German, Brother Jonathan a native of the United States, Macaire a Frenchman, Colin Tampon a Swiss, and so on.
Sawyer(Bob), a dissipated, struggling young medical practitioner, who tries to establish a practice at Bristol, but without success. Sam Weller calls him “Mr. Sawbones.”—C. Dickens,The Pickwick Papers(1836)
Saxon Duke(The), mentioned by Butler in hisHudibras, was John Frederick, duke of Saxony, of whom Charles V. said, “Never saw I such a swine before.”
Sboga(Jean), the hero of a romance by C. Nodier (1818), a leader of bandits, in the spirit of Lord Byron’sCorsairandLara.
Scadder(General), agent in the office of the “Eden Settlement.” His peculiarity consisted in the two distinct expressions of his profile, for “one side seemed to be listening to what the other side was doing.”—C. Dickens,Martin Chuzzlewit(1844).
Scalds, court poets and chroniclers of the ancient Scandinavians. They resided at court, were attached to the royal suite, and attended the king in all his wars. They also acted as ambassadors between hostile tribes, and their persons were held sacred. These bards celebrated in song the gods, the kings of Norway, and national heroes. Their lays orvyseswere compiled in the eleventh century by Sæmund Sigfusson, a priest and scald of Iceland, and the compilation is called theElderorRythmical Edda.
Scallop-Shell(The). Every one knows that St. James’s pilgrims are distinguished by scallop-shells, but it is a blunder to suppose that other pilgrims are privileged to wear them. Three of the popes have, by their bulls, distinctly confirmed this right to the Compostella pilgrim alone:viz., Pope Alexander III., Pope Gregory IX. and Pope Clement V.
Now, the escallop or scallop, is a shell-fish, like an oyster or large cockle; but Gwillim tells us what ignorant zoölogists have omitted to mention, that the bivalve is “engendered solely of dew and air. It has no blood at all; yet no food that man eats turns so soon into life-blood as the scallop.”—Display of Heraldy, 171.
Scallop-shells used by Pilgrims.The reason why the scallop-shell is used by pilgrims is not generally known. The legend is this: When the marble ship which bore the headless body of St. James approached Bouzas, in Portugal, it happened to be the wedding day of the chief magnate of the village; and while the bridal party was at sport, the horse of the bridegroom became unmanageable, and plunged into the sea. The ship passed over the horse and its rider, and pursued its onward course, when, to the amazement of all, the horse and its rider emerged from the water uninjured, and the cloak of the rider was thickly covered with scallop-shells. All were dumbfounded, and knew not what to make of these marvels, but a voice from heaven exclaimed, “It is the will of God that all who henceforth make their vows to St. James, and go on pilgrimage, shall take with them scallop-shells; and all who do so shall be remembered in the day of judgment.” On hearing this, the lord of the village, with the bride and bridegroom, were duly baptized, and Bouzas became a Christian Church.—Sanctoral Portugues(copied into theBreviariesofAlcobaça and St. Cucufate).
Cunctis mare cernentibus,Sed a profundo ducitur;Natus Regis submergitur,Totus plenus conchilibus.Hymn for St. James’s day.
In sight of all the prince went down,Into the deep sea dells;In sight of all the prince emerged,Covered with scallop-shells.
Scalping(Rules for). The Cheyennes, in scalping, remove from the part just over the left ear a piece of skin not larger than a silver dollar. The Arrapahoes take a similar piece from the region of the right ear. Others take the entire skin from the crown of the head, the forehead, or the nape of the neck. The Utes take the entire scalp from ear to ear, and from the forehead to the nape of the neck.
Scambister(Eric), the old butler of Magnus Troil, the udaller of Zetland.—Sir W. Scott,The Pirate(time, William III.).
***A udaller is one who holds his lands by allodial tenure.
Scandal, a male character inLove for Love, by Congreve (1695).
Scandal(School for), a comedy by Sheridan (1777).
Scanderbeg.So George Castriota, an Albanian hero, was called. Amurath II. gave him the command of 5000 men, and such was his daring and success, that he was called Skander (Alexander). In the battle of Morava (1443) he deserted Amurath, and, joining the Albanians, won several battles over the Turks. At the instigation of Pius II. he headed a crusade against them, but died of a fever, before Mahomet II. arrived to oppose him (1404-1467). (Beg or Bey is the Turkish for “prince.”)
Scanderbeg’s sword needs Scanderbeg’s arm.Mahomet II. “the Great” requested to see the scimitar which George Castriota used so successfully against the Ottomans in 1461. Being shown it, and wholly unable to draw it, he pronounced the weapon to be a hoax, but received for answer, “Scanderbeg’s sword needs Scanderbeg’s arm to wield it.”
The Greeks had a similar saying, “None but Ulysses can draw Ulysses’s bow.”
Scapegoat(The), a farce by John Poole. Ignatius Polyglot, a learned pundit, master of seventeen languages, is the tutor of Charles Eustace, aged 24 years. Charles has been clandestinely married for four years, and has a little son named Frederick. Circumstances have occurred which render the concealment of this marriage no longer decorous or possible, so he breaks it to his tutor, and conceals his young wife for the nonce in Polyglot’s private room. Here she is detected by the housemaid, Molly Maggs, who tells her master, and old Eustace says, the only reparation a man can make in such circumstances is to marry the girl at once. “Just so,” says the tutor. “Your son is the husband, and he is willing at once to acknowledge his wife and infant son.”
Scapin, valet of Léandre, son of Seignior Géronte. (SeeFourberies.)—Molière,Les Fourberies de Scapin(1671).
(Otway has made an English version of this play, calledThe Cheats of Scapin, in which Léandre is Anglicized into “Leander,” Géronte is called “Gripe,” and his friend, Argante, father of Zerbinette, is called “Thrifty,” father of“Lucia.”
Scapi´no, the cunning, knavish servant of Gratiano, the loquacious and pedantic Bolognese doctor.—Italian Mask.
Scar(Little), son of Major and Madam Carroll, believed by his father to be legitimate, known by his mother to have been born during the lifetime of her first husband, although she had married the major, supposing herself a widow.—Constance Fenimore Woolson,For the Major.
Scar´amouch, a braggart and fool, most valiant in words, but constantly being drubbed by Harlequin. Scaramouch is a common character in Italian farce, originally meant in ridicule of the Spanish don, and therefore dressed in Spanish costume. Our clown is an imbecile old idiot, and wholly unlike the dashing poltroon of Italian pantomime. The best “Scaramouches” that ever lived were Tiberio Fiurelli, a Neapolitan (born 1608), and Gandini (eighteenth century).
Scar´borough Warning(A), a warning given too late to be taken advantage of. Fuller says the allusion is to an event which occurred in 1557, when Thomas Stafford seized upon Scarborough Castle, before the townsmen had any notice of his approach. Heywood says a “Scarborough warning” resembles what is now called Lynch law: punished first, and warned afterwards. Another solution is this: If ships passed the castle without saluting it by striking sail, it was customary to fire into them a shotted gun, by way of warning.
Be suërly seldom, and never for much ...Or Scarborow warning, as ill I believe,When (“Sir, I arrest ye”) gets hold of thy sleeve.T. Tusser,Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, x. 28 (1557).
Scarlet(Will),ScadlockorScathelocke, one of the companions of Robin Hood.
“Take thy good bowe in thy hande,” said Robyn.“Let Moche wend with theAnd so shall Wyllyam Scathelocke,And no man abyde with me.”Ritson,Robin Hood Ballads, i. 1 (1520).
The tinker looking him about,Robin his horn did blow;Then came unto him Little JohnAnd William Scadlock, too.Ditto, ii. 7 (1656).
And there of him they made aGood yeoman Robin Hood,Scarlet and Little John,And Little John, hey ho!Ditto, appendix 2 (1790).
In the two dramas calledThe First and Second Parts of Robin Hood, by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle, Scathlock or Scadlock, is called the brother of Will Scarlet.
... possible that Warman’s spite ... doth hunt the livesOf bonnie Scarlet and his brother, Scathlock.Pt. i. (1597).
Then “enter Warman, with Scarlet and Scathlock bounde,” but Warman is banished, and the brothers are liberated and pardoned.
Scarlet Woman(The), popery (Rev.xvii. 4).
And fulminatedAgainst the scarlet woman and her creed.Tennyson,Sea Dreams.
Scathelocke(2syl.) orScadlock, one of the companions of Robin Hood. Either the brother of Will Scarlet or another spelling of the name. (SeeScarlet.)
Scatterbury(Juliet). Ambitious New York woman, who lives in a flat and pretends to distant friends that she lives in a Fifth Avenue brown stone front; “an egregious follower of Ananias and Sapphira.”—William Henry Bishop,The Brown Stone Boy and Other Stories(1888).
Scavenger’s Daughter(The), an instrument of torture, invented by Sir William Skevington, lieutenant of the Tower in the reign of Henry VIII. “Scavenger” is a corruption of Skevington.
To kiss the scavenger’s daughter, to suffer punishment by this instrument of torture, to be beheaded by a guillotine or some similar instrument.
Sceaf[Sheef], one of the ancestors of Woden. So called because in infancy he was laid on a wheatsheaf, and cast adrift in a boat; the boat stranded on the shores of Sleswig, and the infant, being considered a gift from the gods, was brought up for a future king.—Beowulf(an Anglo-Saxon epic, sixth century).
Scepticism(Father of Modern), Pierre Bayle (1647-1706).
Schacabac, “the hare-lipped,” a man reduced to the point of starvation, invited to a feast by the rich Barmecide. Instead of victuals and drink, the rich man set before his guest empty dishes and empty glasses, pretending to enjoy the imaginary foods and drinks. Schacabac entered into the spirit of the joke, and did the same. He washed in imaginary water, ate of the imaginary delicacies, and praised the imaginary wine. Barmecide was so delighted with his guest, that he ordered in a substantial meal, of which he made Schacabac a most welcome partaker.—Arabian Nights(“The Barber’s Sixth Brother”). (SeeShaccabac.)
Schah´riah, sultan of Persia. His wife being unfaithful, and his brother’s wife too, Schahriah imagined that no woman was virtuous. He resolved, therefore, to marry a fresh wife every night, and to have her strangled at daybreak. Scheherazādê, the vizier’s daughter, married him notwithstanding, and contrived, an hour before daybreak, to begin a story to her sister,in the sultan’s hearing, always breaking off before the story was finished. The sultan got interested in these tales; and, after a thousand and one nights, revoked his decree, and found in Scheherazadê a faithful, intelligent, and loving wife.—Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.
Schah´zaman, sultan of the “Island of the children of Khal´edan,” situated in the open sea, some twenty day’s sail from the coast of Persia. The sultan had a son, an only child, named Camaral´zaman, the most beautiful of mortals. Camaralzaman married Badoura, the most beautiful of women, the only daughter of Gaiour (2syl.), emperor of China.—Arabian Nights(“Camaralzaman and Badoura”).
Schaibar(2syl.), brother of the fairy Pari-Banou. He was only eighteen inches in height, and had a huge hump both before and behind. His beard, though thirty feet long, never touched the ground, but projected forwards. His moustaches went back to his ears, and his little pig’s eyes were buried in his enormous head. He wore a conical hat, and carried for quarterstaff an iron bar of 500 lbs. weight at least.—Arabian Nights(“Ahmed and Pari-Banou”).
Schamir(The) that instrument or agent with which Solomon wrought the stones of the Temple, being forbidden to use any metal instrument for the purpose. Some say the Schamir´ was a worm; some that it was a stone; some that it was “a creature no bigger than a barleycorn, which nothing could resist.”
Scheherazade[Sha.ha´.ra.zah´.de], the hypothetical relater of the stories in theArabian Nights. She was the elder daughter of the vizier of Persia. The sultan, Schahriah, exasperated at the infidelity of his wife, came to the hasty conclusion that no woman could be faithful; so he determined to marry a new wife every night, and strangle her at daybreak. Scheherazādê, wishing to free Persia of this disgrace, requested to be made the sultan’s wife, and succeeded in her wish. She was young and beautiful, of great courage and ready wit, well read, and an excellent memory, knew history, philosophy, and medicine, was besides a good poet, musician, and dancer. Scheherazadê obtained permission of the sultan for her younger sister, Dinarzadê, to sleep in the same chamber, and instructed her to say, one hour before daybreak, “Sister, relate to me one of those delightful stories which you know, as this will be the last time.” Scheherazadê then told the sultan (under pretence of speaking to her sister) a story, but always contrived to break off before the story was finished. The sultan, in order to hear the end of the story, spared her life till the next night. This went on for a thousand and one nights, when the sultan’s resentment was worn out, and his admiration of his sultana was so great that he revoked his decree.—Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.(SeeMoradbak.)
Roused like the Sultana Scheherazadê, and forced into a story.—C. Dickens,David Copperfield(1849).
Roused like the Sultana Scheherazadê, and forced into a story.—C. Dickens,David Copperfield(1849).
Schemseddin Mohammed, elder son of the vizier of Egypt, and brother of Noureddin Ali. He quarrelled with his brother on the subject of their two children’s hypothetical marriage; but the brothers were not yet married, and children “were only in supposition.” Noureddin Ali quitted Cairo, and travelled to Basora, where he married the vizier’s daughter, and on the very same day Schemseddin married the daughter of one of the chiefgrandees of Cairo. On one and the same day a daughter was born to Schemseddin, and a son to his brother, Noureddin Ali. When Schemseddin’s daughter was 20 years old, the sultan asked her in marriage, but the vizier told him she was betrothed to his brother’s son, Bed´reddin Ali. At this reply, the sultan, in anger, swore she should be given in marriage to the “ugliest of his slaves;” and accordingly betrothed her to Hunchback, a groom, both ugly and deformed. By a fairy trick, Bedreddin Ali was substituted for the groom, but at daybreak was conveyed to Damascus. Here he turned pastry-cook, and was discovered by his mother by his cheese-cakes. Being restored to his country and his wife, he ended his life happily.—Arabian Nights(“Noureddin Ali,” etc.). (SeeCheese-Cakes.)
Schemsel´nihar, the favorite sultana of Haroun-al-Raschid, caliph of Bagdad. She fell in love with Aboulhassan Ali ebn Becar, prince of Persia. From the first moment of their meeting they began to pine for each other, and fell sick. Though miles apart, they died at the same hour, and were both buried in the same grave.—Arabian Nights(“Aboulhassen and Schemselnihar”).
Schlemihl(Peter), the hero of a popular German legend. Peter sells his shadow to an “old man in grey,” who meets him while fretting under a disappointment. The name is a household term for one who makes a desperate and silly bargain.—Chamisso,Peter Schlemihl(1813).
Schmidt(Mr.), a German of kindly spirit and refined tastes, “in his talk gently cynical.” “To know him a little was to dislike him, but to know him well was to love him.” At the feet of a pretty Quaker dame, he laid an homage, which he felt to be hopeless of result, while he was schooled by sorrowful fortunes to accept the position as one which he hardly ever wished to change.—Silas Weir Mitchell,Hephzibah Guinness(1880).
Scholastic(The), Epipha´nius, an Italian scholar (sixth century).
Scholastic Doctor(The), Anselm, of Laon (1050-1117).
Scholey(Lawrence), servant at Burgh-Westra. His master is Magnus Troil, the udaller of Zetland.—Sir W. Scott,The Pirate(time, William III.).
***Udaller, one who holds land by allodial tenure.
Schonfelt, lieutenant of Sir Archibald von Hagenbach, a German noble.—Sir W. Scott,Anne of Geierstein(time, Edward IV.).
School of Husbands, (L’école des Maris, “wives trained by men”), a comedy by Molière (1661). Ariste and Sganarelle, two brothers, bring up Léonor and Isabelle, two orphan sisters, according to their systems for making them in time their model wives. Sganarelle’s system was to make the women dress plainly, live retired, attend to domestic duties, and have few indulgences. Ariste’s system was to give the woman great liberty, and trust to her honor. Isabelle, brought up by Sganarelle, deceived him and married another; but Léonor, brought up by Ariste, made him a fond and faithful wife.
Sganarelle’s plan:
J’entend que la mienne vive à ma fantaisie—Que d’une serge honnête elle ait son vêtement,Et ne porte le noir, qu’ aux bons jours seulement;Qu’ enfermée au logis, en personne bien sage,Elle s’applique toute aux choses du ménage,A recoudre mon linge aux heures de loisir,Ou bien à tricoter quelques bas parplasir;Qu’ aux discours des muguets elle ferme l’oreille,Et ne sorte jamais sans avoir qui la veille.
Ariste’s plan:
Leur sexe aime à jouir d’un peu de liberté;On le retient fort mal par tant d’austérité;Et les soins défiants les verroux et les grilles,Ne font pas la vertu des femmes ni des filles;C’est l’honneur qui les doit tenir dans le devoir,Non la sévérité que nous leur faisons voir ...Je trouve que le cœur est ce qu’il faut gagner.Act i. 2.
School for Wives(L’école des Femmes, “training for wives”), a comedy by Molière (1662). Arnolphe has a crotchet about the proper training of girls to make good wives, and tries his scheme upon Agnes, whom he adopts from a peasant’s cottage, and designs in due time to make his wife. He sends her from early childhood to a convent, where difference of sex and the conventions of society are wholly ignored. When removed from the convent she treats men as if they were schoolgirls, kisses them, plays with them, and treats them with girlish familiarity. The consequence is, a young man named Horace falls in love with her and makes her his wife, but Arnolphe loses his pains.
Schoolmen.(For a list of the schoolmen of each of the three periods, seeDictionary of Phrase and Fable, 794.)
Schoolmistress(The), a poem in Spenserian metre, by Shenstone (1758). The “schoolmistress” was Sarah Lloyd, who taught the poet himself in infancy. She lived in a thatched cottage, before which grew a birch tree, to which allusion is made in the poem.
There dwells, in lowly shed and mean attire,A matron old, whom we schoolmistress name ...And all in sight doth rise a birchen tree.Stanzas 2, 3.
Schreckenwald(Ital.), steward of Count Albert.—Sir W. Scott,Anne of Geierstein(time, Edward IV.).
Schwaker(Jonas), jester of Leopold, archduke of Austria.—Sir W. Scott,The Talisman(time, Richard I.).
Scian Muse(The), Simon´dês, born at Scia, or Cea, nowZia, one of the Cyclades.
The Scian and the Teian Muse [Anacreon] ...Have found the fame your shores refuse.Byron,Don Juan, iii. (“The Isles of Greece,” 1820).
Science(The prince of), Tehuhe, “The Aristotle of China” (diedA.D.1200).
Scio(now calledChios), one of the seven cities which claimed to be the birthplace of Homer. Hence he is sometimes called “Scio’s Blind Old Bard.” The seven cities referred to make an hexameter verse:
Smyrna, Chios, Colophôn, Salamis, Rhodos, Argos, Athenæ;orSmyrna, Chios, Colophôn, Ithacâ, Pylos, Argos, Athenæ.Antipater Sidonius,A Greek Epigram.
Sciol´to(3syl.), a proud Genoese nobleman, the father of Calista. Calista was the bride of Altamont, a young man proud and fond of her, but it was discovered on the wedding day that she had been seduced by Lothario. This led to a series of calamities: (1) Lothario was killed in a duel by Altamont; (2) a street riot was created, in which Sciolto received his death-wound; and (3) Calista stabbed herself.—N. Rowe,The Fair Penitent(1703).
(In Italian,Scioltoforms but two syllables, but Rowe has made it three in every case.)
Scipio“dismissed the Iberian maid” (Milton,Paradise Regained, ii.). The poet refers to the tale of Scipio’s restoring a captive princess to her lover, Allucius, and giving to her, as a wedding present, the money of her ransom. (SeeContinence.)
During his command in Spain a circumstance occurred which contributed more to his fame and glory than all his military exploits. At the taking of New Carthage, a lady of extraordinary beauty was brought to Scipio, who found himself greatly affected by her charms. Understanding, however, that she was betrothed to a Celtibērian prince named Allucius, he resolved to conquer his rising passion, and sent her to her lover without recompense. A silver shield, on which this interesting event is depicted, was found in the river Rhone by some fishermen in the seventeenth century.—Goldsmith,History of Rome, xiv. 3. (Whittaker’s improved edition contains a fac-simile of the shield on p. 215.)
During his command in Spain a circumstance occurred which contributed more to his fame and glory than all his military exploits. At the taking of New Carthage, a lady of extraordinary beauty was brought to Scipio, who found himself greatly affected by her charms. Understanding, however, that she was betrothed to a Celtibērian prince named Allucius, he resolved to conquer his rising passion, and sent her to her lover without recompense. A silver shield, on which this interesting event is depicted, was found in the river Rhone by some fishermen in the seventeenth century.—Goldsmith,History of Rome, xiv. 3. (Whittaker’s improved edition contains a fac-simile of the shield on p. 215.)
Scipio, son of the gypsy woman, Coscolīna, and the soldier, Torribio Scipio. Scipio becomes the secretary of Gil Blas, and settles down with him at “the castle of Lirias.” His character and adventures are very similar to those of Gil Blas himself, but he never rises to the same level. Scipio begins by being a rogue, who pilfered and plundered all who employed him, but in the service of Gil Blas he was a model of fidelity and integrity.—Lesage,Gil Blas(1715).
Sciro´nian Rocks, between Meg´ara and Corinth. So called because the bones of Sciron, the robber of Attica, were changed into these rocks when Theseus (2syl.) hurled him from a cliff into the sea. It was from these rocks that Ino cast herself into the Corinthian bay.—Greek Fable.
Scirum.The men of Scirum used to shoot against the stars.
Like ... men of wit bereaven,Which howle and shoote against the lights of heaven.Wm. Browne, Britannia’s Pastorals, iv. (1613).
Scogan(Henry), M.A., a poet, contemporary with Chaucer. He lived in the reigns of Richard II., Henry IV., and probably Henry V. Among the gentry who had letters of protection to attend Richard II. in his expedition into Ireland, in 1399, is “Henricus Scogan, Armiger.”—Tyrwhitt’sChaucer, v. 15 (1773).
Scogan? What was he?Oh, a fine gentleman and a master of artsOf Henry the Fourth’s time, that made disguisesFor the king’s sons, and writ in ballad royalDaintily well.Ben Jonson,The Fortunate Isles(1626).
Scogan(John), the favorite jester and buffoon of Edward IV. “Scogan’s jests” were published by Andrew Borde, a physician in the reign of Henry VIII.
The same Sir John [Falstaff], the very same. I saw him break Skogan’s head at the court-gate, when he was a crack not thus high.—Shakespeare, 2Henry IV.act iii. sc. 2.
The same Sir John [Falstaff], the very same. I saw him break Skogan’s head at the court-gate, when he was a crack not thus high.—Shakespeare, 2Henry IV.act iii. sc. 2.
***Shakespeare has confounded Henry Scogan, M.A., the poet, who lived in the reign of Henry IV., with John Scogan, the jester, who lived about a century later, in the reign of Edward IV.; and, of course, Sir John Falstaff, could not have known him when “he was a mere crack.”
Scogan’s Jest.Scogan and some companions, being in lack of money, agreed to the following trick: A peasant, driving sheep, was accosted by one of the accomplices, who laid a wager that his sheep were hogs, and agreed to abide by the decision of the first person they met. This, of course, was Scogan, who instantly gave judgment against the herdsman.
A similar joke is related in theHitopadesa, an abridged version of Pilpay’sFables. In this case, the “peasant” is represented by a Brahmin carrying a goat, and the joke was to persuade the Brahmin that he was carrying a dog. “How is this,friend,” says one, “that you, a Brahmin, carry on your back such an unclean animal as a dog?” “It is not a dog,” says the Brahmin, “but a goat;” and trudged on. Presently another made the same remark, and the Brahmin, beginning to doubt, took down the goat to look at it. Convinced that the creature was really a goat, he went on, when presently a third made the same remark. The Brahmin, now fully persuaded that his eyes were befooling him, threw down the goat and went away without it; whereupon the three companions took possession of it and cooked it.
InTyll Eulenspiegelwe have a similar hoax. Eulenspiegel sees a man with a piece of green cloth, which he resolves to obtain. He employs two confederates, both priests. Says Eulenspiegel to the man, “What a famous piece of blue cloth! Where did you get it?” “Blue, you fool! why, it is green.” After a short contention, a bet is made, and the question in dispute is referred to the first comer. This was a confederate, and he at once decided that the cloth was blue. “You are both in the same boat,” says the man, “which I will prove by the priest yonder.” The question being put to the priest, is decided against the man, and the three rogues divide the cloth amongst them.
Another version is in novel 8 of Fortini. The joke was that certain kids he had for sale were capons.—See Dunlop,History of Fiction, viii. art. “Ser Giovanni.”
Scone[Skoon], a palladium stone. It was erected in Icolmkil for the coronation of Fergus Eric, and was called theLia-Failof Ireland. Fergus, the son of Fergus Eric, who led the Dalriads to Argyllshire, removed it to Scone; and Edward I. took it to London. It still remains in Westminster Abbey, where it forms the support of Edward the Confessor’s chair, which forms the coronation chair of the British monarchs.
Ni fallat fatum, Scoti, quocunque locatumInvenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem.Lardner,History of Scotland, i. 67 (1832).
Where’er this stone is placed, the fates decree,The Scottish race shall there the sovereigns be.
***Of course, the “Scottish race” is the dynasty of the Stuarts and their successors.
Scotch Guards, in the service of the French kings, were called hisgarde du corps. The origin of the guard was this: When St. Louis entered upon his first crusade, he was twice saved from death by the valor of a small band of Scotch auxiliaries under the commands of the earls of March and Dunbar, Walter Stuart, and Sir David Lindsay. In gratitude thereof, it was resolved that “a standing guard of Scotchmen, recommended by the king of Scotland, should ever more form the body-guard of the king of France.” This decree remained in force for five centuries.—Grant,The Scottish Cavalier, xx.
Scotland.So called, according to legend, from Scota, daughter of Pharaoh. What gives this legend especial interest is, that when Edward I. laid claim to the country as a fief of England, he pleaded that Brute, the British king, in the days of Eli and Samuel, had conquered it. The Scotch, in their defence, pleaded their independence in virtue of descent from Scota, daughter of Pharaoh. This is not fable, but sober history.—Rymer,Fœdera, I. ii. (1703).
Scotland a Fief of England.When Edward I. laid claim to Scotland as a fiefof the English crown, his great plea was that it was awarded to Adelstan, by direct miracle, and, therefore, could never be alienated. His advocates seriously read fromThe Life and Miracles of St. John of Beverley, this extract: Adelstan went to drive back the Scotch, who had crossed the border, and, on reaching the Tyne, St. John of Beverley appeared to him, and bade him cross the river at daybreak. Adelstan obeyed, and reduced the whole kingdom to submission. On reaching Dunbar, in the return march, Adelstan prayed that some sign might be given, to testify to all ages that God had delivered the kingdom into his hands. Whereupon he was commanded to strike the basaltic rock with his sword. This did he, and the blade sank into the rock “as if it had been butter,” cleaving it asunder for “an ell or more.” As the cleft remains to the present hour, in testimony of this miracle, why, of course,cela va sans dire.—Rymer,Fœdera, I. ii. 771 (1703).
Scotland’s Scourge, Edward I. His son, Edward II., buried him in Westminster Abbey, where his tomb is still to be seen, with the following inscription:—
Edwardus Longus, Scotorum Malleus, hic est.(Our Longshanks, “Scotland’s Scourge,” lies here).Drayton,Polyolbion, xvii. (1613).
So Longshanks, Scotland’s Scourge, the land laid waste.Ditto, xxix. (1622).
Scots(scuite, “a wanderer, a rover”), the inhabitants of the western coast of Scotland. As this part is very hilly and barren, it is unfit for tillage; and the inhabitants used to live a roving life on the produce of the chase, their chief employment being the rearing of cattle.
Scots(The Royal). The hundred cuirassiers, calledhommes des armes, which formed the body-guard of the French king, were sent to Scotland in 1633, by Louis XIII., to attend the coronation of Charles I., at Edinburgh. On the outbreak of the civil war, eight years afterwards, these cuirassiers loyally adhered to the crown, and received the title of “The Royal Scots.” At the downfall of the king, thehommes des armesreturned to France.
Scott(The Southern). Ariosto is so called by Lord Byron.
First roseThe Tuscan father’s “comedy divine” [Dantê];Then, not unequal to the Florentine,The southern Scott, the minstrel who called forthA new creation with his magic line,And, like the Ariosto of the north [Sir W. Scott],Sang ladye-love and war, romance and knightly worth.Byron,Childe Harold, iv. 40 (1817).
***Dante was born at Florence.
Scott of Belgium(The Walter), Hendrick Conscience (1812- ).
Scottish Anacreon(The), Alexander Scot is so called by Pinkerton.
Scottish Boanerges(The), Robert and James Haldane (nineteenth century). Robert died 1842, aged 79, and James 1851.
Scottish Hogarth(The), David Allan (1744-1796).
Scottish Homer(The), William Wilkie, author of an epic poem in rhyme, entitledThe Epigoniad(1753).
Scottish Solomon(The), James VI. of Scotland, subsequently called James I. of England (1566, 1603-1625).
***The French king called him far more aptly, “The Wisest Fool in Christendom.”
Scottish Terriers(The), Sir David Wilkie (1785-1841).
Scottish Theoc´ritos(The), Allan Ramsay (1685-1758).
Scotus.There were two schoolmen of this name: (1) John ScotusErigena, a native of Ireland, who died 886, in the reign of King Alfred; (2) John Duns Scotus, a Scotchman, who died 1308. Longfellow confounds these two in hisGolden Legendwhen he attributes the Latin version ofSt. Dionysius,the Areopagite, to the latter schoolman.
And done into Latin by that Scottish beast,Erigena Johannes.Longfellow,The Golden Legend(1851).
Scourers, a class of dissolute young men, often of the better class, who infested the streets of London, in the seventeenth century, and thought it capital fun to break windows, upset sedan-chairs, beat quiet citizens, and molest young women. These young blades called themselves at different times, Muns, Hectors, Scourers, Nickers, Hawcabites, and Mohawks or Mohocks.
Scourge of Christians(The), Noureddin-Mahmûd, of Damascus (1116-1174).
Scourge of God(The), Attila, king of the Huns, calledFlagellum Dei(diedA.D.453). Gensĕric, king of the Vandals, calledVirga Dei(*, reigned 429-477).
Scourge of Princes(The), Pietro Aretino, of Arezzo, a merciless satirist of kings and princes, but very obscene and licentious. He called himself “Aretino the Divine” (1492-1557).
Thus Aretin of late got reputationBy scourging kings, as Lucian did of oldBy scorning gods.Lord Brooke,Inquisition Upon Fame(1554-1628).
Suidas called Lucian “The Blasphemer;” and he added that he was torn to pieces by dogs for his impiety. Some of his works attack the heathen philosophy and religion. HisJupiter Convictedshows Jupiter to be powerless, andJupiter, the Tragedian, shows Jupiter and the other gods to be myths (120-200).
Scourge of Scotland, Edward I.,Scotōrum Malleus(1239, 1272-1307).
Scrape-All, a soapy, psalm-singing hypocrite, who combines with Cheatly to supply young heirs with cash at most exorbitant usury. (SeeCheatly.)—Shadwell,Squire of Alsatia(1688).
Scrape on, Gentlemen.Hadrian went once to the public baths, and, seeing an old soldier scraping himself with a potsherd, for want of a flesh-brush, sent him a sum of money. Next day the bath was crowded with potsherd scrapers; but the emperor said when he saw them, “Scrape on, gentlemen, but you will not scrape an acquaintance with me.”
Scribble, an attorney’s clerk, who tries to get married to Polly Honeycombe, a silly, novel-struck girl, but well off. He is happily foiled in his scheme, and Polly is saved from the consequences of a most unsuitable match.—G. Colman, the elder,Polly Honeycombe(1760).
Scrible´rus(Cornelius), father of Martinus. He was noted for his pedantry, and his odd whims about the education of his son.
Martīnus Scriblērus, a man of capacity,who had read everything; but his judgment was worthless, and his taste perverted.—(?) Arbuthnot,Memoirs of the Extraordinary Life, Works, and Discoveries of Martin Scriblerus.
***These “memoirs” were intended to be the firstinstalmentof a general satire on the false taste in literature prevalent in the time of Pope. The only parts of any moment that were written of this intended series, were Pope’sTreatise of the Bathos, or Art of Sinking in Poetry, and hisMemoirs of P. P., Clerk of this Parish(1727), in ridicule of Dr. Burnett’sHistory of His Own Time. TheDunciadis, however, preceded by aProlegomena, ascribed to Martinus Scriblerus, and contains his notes and illustrations on the poem, thus connecting this merciless satire with the original design.
Scriever(Jock), the apprentice of Duncan Macwheeble (bailie at Tully Veolan to Mr. Cosmo Comyne Bradwardine, baron of Bradwardine and Tully Veolan).—Sir W. Scott,Waverley(time George II.).
Scriptores Decem, a collection of ten ancient chronicles on English history, in one vol., folio, London, 1652, edited by Roger Twysden and John Selden. The volume contains: (1) Simeon Dunelmensis [Simeon of Durham],Historia; (2) Johannes Hagustaldensis [John of Hexham],Historia Continuata; (3) Richardus Hagustaldensis [Richard of Hexham],De Gestis Regis Stephani; (4) Ailredus Rievallensis [Ailred of Rieval],Historia(genealogy of the kings); (5) Radulphus de Diceto [Ralph of Diceto],Abbreviationes ChronicorumandYmagines Historiarum; (6) Johannes Brompton,Chronicon; (7) Gervasius Dorobornensis [Gervais of Dover],Chronica, etc.(burning and repair of Dover Church; contentions between the monks of Canterbury and Archbishop Baldwin; and lives of the archbishops of Canterbury); (8) Thomas Stubbs (a Dominican),Chronica Pontificum ecc. Eboraci[i.e.York]; (9) Guilielmus Thorn Cantuariensis [of Canterbury],Chronica; and (10) Henricus Knighton Leicestrensis [of Leicester],Chronica. (The last three are chronicles of “pontiffs” or archbishops.)
Scriptores Quinque, better known asScriptores Post Bedam, published at Frankfürt, 1601, in one vol., folio, and containing: (1) Willielm Malmesburiensis,De Gestis Regum Anglorum,Historiæ Novellæ, andDe Gestis Pontificum Anglorum; (2) Henry Huntindoniensis,Historia; (3) Roger Hovedeni [Hoveden],Annales; (4) Ethelwerd,Chronica; and (5) Ingulphus Croylandensis [of Croyland],Historia.
Scriptores Tres, three “hypothetical” writers on ancient history, which Dr. Bertram professed to have discovered between the years 1747 and 1757. They are called Richardus Corinensis [of Cirencester],De Situ Britanniæ; Gildas Badonĭcus; and Nennius Banchorensis [of Bangor].—J. E. Mayor, in his preface toRicardi de Cirencestria Speculum Historiale, has laid bare this literary forgery.
Scripture.Parson Adams’s wife said to her husband that in her opinion “it was blasphemous to talk of Scriptures out of church.”—Fielding,Joseph Andrews.
A great impression in my youthWas made by Mrs. Adams, where she cries,“That Scriptures out of church are blasphemous.”Byron,Don Juan, xiii. 96 (1824).
Scroggen, a poor hack author, celebrated by Goldsmith in hisDescription of an Author’s Bedchamber.
Scroggens, (Giles), a peasant, who courted Molly Bawn, but died just before the wedding day. Molly cried and cried for him, till she cried herself fast asleep. Fancying that she saw Giles Scroggens’s ghost standing at her bedside, she exclaimed in terror, “What do you want?” “You for to come for to go along with me,” replied the ghost. “I ben’t dead, you fool!” said Molly; but the ghost rejoined, “Why, that’s no rule.” Then, clasping her round the waist, he exclaimed, “Come, come with me, ere morning beam.” “I won’t!” shrieked Molly, and woke to find “‘twas nothing but a dream.”—A Comic Ballad.
Scroggs(Sir William), one of the judges.—Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).
Scrooge(Ebenezer), partner, executor, and heir of old Jacob Marley, stock-broker. When first introduced, he is “a squeezing, grasping, covetous old hunks, sharp and hard as a flint;” without one particle of sympathy, loving no one, and by none beloved. One Christmas Day Ebenezer Scrooge sees three ghosts; The Ghost of Christmas Past; Ghost of Christmas Present; and the Ghost of Christmas To-come. The first takes him back to his young life, shows him what Christmas was to him when a schoolboy, and when he was an apprentice; reminds him of his courting a young girl, whom he forsook as he grew rich; and shows him that sweetheart of his young days married to another, and the mother of a happy family. The second ghost shows him the joyous home of his clerk, Bob Cratchit, who has nine people to keep on 15s.a week, and yet could find wherewithal to make merry on this day; it also shows him the family of his nephew, and of others. The third ghost shows him what would be his lot if he died as he then was, the prey of harpies, the jest of his friends on ‘Change, the world’s uncared-for waif. These visions wholly changed his nature, and he becomes benevolent, charitable, and cheerful, loving all, and by all beloved.—C. Dickens,A Christmas Carol(in five staves, 1843).
Scrow, the clerk of Lawyer Glossin.—Sir W. Scott,Guy Mannering(time George II.).
Scrub, a man-of-all-work to Lady Bountiful. He describes his duties thus;