I would have dealt the fellow that abused you such a recompense in the fifth button, that my friend Mendoza could not have placed it better.—R. Cumberland,Shiva, the Jew, iv. 2 (1776).
I would have dealt the fellow that abused you such a recompense in the fifth button, that my friend Mendoza could not have placed it better.—R. Cumberland,Shiva, the Jew, iv. 2 (1776).
There is a print often seen in old picture shops, of Humphreys and Mendoza sparring, and a queer angular exhibition it is. What that is to the modern art of boxing, Quick’s style of acting was to Dowton’s.—Records of a Stage Veteran.
There is a print often seen in old picture shops, of Humphreys and Mendoza sparring, and a queer angular exhibition it is. What that is to the modern art of boxing, Quick’s style of acting was to Dowton’s.—Records of a Stage Veteran.
Mendoza(Isaac), a rich Jew, who thinks himself monstrously wise, but is duped by every one. (See underIsaac.)—Sheridan,The Duenna(1775).
Menech´mians, persons exactly like each other, as the brothers Dromio. So called from the Mencœchmi of Plautus.
Menec´rates(4syl.), a physician of Syracuse, of unbounded vanity and arrogance. He assumed to himself the title of Jupiter, and in a letter to Philip, king of Macedon, began thus: “Menecratês Jupiter to King Philip, greeting.” Being asked by Philip to a banquet, the physician was served only with frankincense, like the gods; but Menecratês was greatly offended, and hurried home.
Mengs(John), the surly innkeeper at Kirchhoff village.—Sir W. Scott,Anne of Geierstein(time, Edward IV.).
Menippee(Satyre), a famous political satire, written during the time of what is called in French History the Holy League, the objects of which were to exterminate the Huguenots, to confine the king (Henri III.) in a monastery, and to crown the duc de Guise. The satire is partly in verse, and partly in prose, and its object is to expose the perfidious intentions of Philip of Spain and the culpable ambition of the Guises.
It is divided into two parts, the first of which is entitledCatholicon d’Espagne, by Pierre Leroy (1593), exposing those who had been corrupted by the gold of Spain; the second part is entitledAbrégé des Etats de la Ligue, by Gillot, Pithou, Rapin and Passerat, published 1594.
***Menippus was a cynic philosopher and poet of Gadara, in Phœnicia, who wrote twelve books of satires in prose and verse.
Varro wrote in Latin a work calledThe Satires of Menippus(Satyræ Menippeæ).
Mennibojou, a North American Indian deity.
Mentz(Baron von), a Heidelberg bully, whose humiliation at the hands of the fellow-student he has insulted is the theme of an exciting chapter in Theodore S. Fay’s novel,Norman Leslie(1835).
Menteith(the earl of), a kinsman of the earl of Montrose.—Sir W. Scott,Legend of Montrose(time, Charles I.).
Mentor, a wise and faithful adviser or guide. So called from Mentor, a friend of Ulyssês, whose form Minerva assumed when she accompanied Telemachus in his search for his father.—Fénelon,Télémaque(1700).
Mephistoph´eles(5syl.), the sneering, jeering, leering attendant demon of Faust in Goethe’s drama ofFaust, and Gounod’s opera of the same name. Marlowe calls the name “Mephostophilis” in his drama entitledDr. Faustus. Shakespeare, in hisMerry Wives of Windsorwrites the name “Mephostophilus;” and in the opera he is called “Mefistofele” (5syl.). In the old demonology, Mephistophelês was one of the seven chief devils, and second of the fallen archangels.
Mephostophilis, the attendant demon of Faustus, in Marlowe’s tragedy ofDr. Faustus(1589).
There is an awful melancholy about Marlowe’s “Mephostophilis,” perhaps more expressive than the malignant mirth of that fiend in the renowned work of Goethe.—Hallam.
There is an awful melancholy about Marlowe’s “Mephostophilis,” perhaps more expressive than the malignant mirth of that fiend in the renowned work of Goethe.—Hallam.
Mephostophilus, the spirit or familiar of Sir John Faustus or [Dr.] John Faust (Shakespeare,Merry Wives of Windsor, 1596). Subsequently it became a term of reproach, about equal to “imp of the devil.”
Mercedes, Spanish woman, who, to disarm suspicion, drinks the wine poisoned for the French soldiery who have invaded the town. She is forced to let her baby drink it, also, and gives no sign of perturbation until the invaders, twenty in number, have partaken of the wine, and the baby grows livid and expires before their eyes.—Thomas Bailey Aldrich,Mercedes(drama, 1883).
Mercer(Major), at the presidency of Madras.—Sir W. Scott,The Surgeon’s Daughter(time, George II.).
Merchant of Venice(The), Antonio, who borrowed 3000 ducats for three months of Shylock, a Jew. The money was borrowed to lend to a friend named Bassanio, and the Jew, “in merry sport,” instead of interest, agreed to lend the money on these conditions: If Antonio paid it within three months, he should pay only the principal; if he did not pay it back within that time, the merchant should forfeit a pound of his own flesh, from any part of his body the Jew might choose to cut it off. As Antonio’s ships were delayed by contrary winds, he could not pay the money, and the Jew demanded the forfeiture. On the trial which ensued, Portia, in the dress of a law doctor, conducted the case, and, when the Jew was going to take the forfeiture, stopped him by saying that the bond stated “a pound of flesh,” and that, therefore, he was to shed no drop of blood, and he must cut neither more nor less than an exact pound, on forfeit of his life. As these conditions were practically impossible, the Jew was nonsuited and fined for seeking the life of a citizen.—Shakespeare,Merchant of Venice(1598).
The story is in theGesta Romanorum, the tale of the bond being ch. xlviii., and that of the caskets ch. xcix.; but Shakespeare took his plot from a Florentine novelette calledIl Pecorone, written in the fourteenth century, but not published till the sixteenth.
There is a ballad on the subject, the date of which has not been determined. The bargain runs thus:
“No penny for the loan of it,For one year shall you pay—You may do me a good turnBefore my dying day;But we will have a merry jest,For to be talkêd long;You shall make me a bond,” quoth he,“That shall be large or strong.”
Merchant’s Tale(The), in Chaucer, is substantially the same as the first Latin metrical tale of Adolphus, and is not unlike a Latin prose tale given in the appendix of T. Wright’s edition of Æsop’s fables. The tale is this:
A girl named May married January, an old Lombard baron, 60 years of age, but entertained the love of Damyan, a young squire. She was detected in familiar intercourse with Damyan, but persuaded her husband that his eyes had deceived him, and he believed her.—Chaucer,Canterbury Tales(1388).
A girl named May married January, an old Lombard baron, 60 years of age, but entertained the love of Damyan, a young squire. She was detected in familiar intercourse with Damyan, but persuaded her husband that his eyes had deceived him, and he believed her.—Chaucer,Canterbury Tales(1388).
Mercian Laws.(SeeMartian.)
Mercilla, a “maiden queen of great power and majesty, famous through all the world, and honored far and nigh.” Her kingdom was disturbed by a soldan, her powerful neighbor, stirred up by his wife Adicĭa. The “maiden queen” is Elizabeth; the “soldan,” Philip of Spain, and “Adicia” is injustice, presumption, or the bigotry of popery.—Spenser,Faëry Queen, v. (1596).
Mercu´tio, kinsman of Prince Escalus, and Romeo’s friend. An airy, sprightly, elegant young nobleman, so full of wit and fancy that Dryden says Shakespeare was obliged to kill him in the third act, lest the poet himself should have been killed by Mercutio.—Shakespeare,Romeo and Juliet(1598).
Mercutio of Actors(The), William Lewis (1748-1811).
Mercy, a young pilgrim, who accompanied Christiana in her walk to Zion. When Mercy got to the Wicket Gate, she swooned from fear of being refused admittance. Mr. Brisk proposed to her, but being told that she was poor, left her, and she was afterwards married to Matthew, the eldest son of Christian.—Bunyan,Pilgrim’s Progress, ii. (1684).
Merdle(Mr.), banker, a skit on the directors of the Royal British bank, and on Mr. Hudson, “the railway king.” Mr. Merdle, of Harley Street, was called the “Master Mind of the Age.” He became insolvent, and committed suicide. Mr. Merdle was a heavily made man, with an obtuse head, and coarse, mean, common features. His chief butler said of him, “Mr. Merdle never was a gentleman, and no ungentlemanly act on Mr. Merdle’s part would surprise me.” The great banker was “the greatest forger and greatest thief that ever cheated the gallows.”
Lord Decimus [Barnacle] began waving Mr. Merdle about ... as Gigantic Enterprise. The wealth of England, Credit, Capital, Prosperity, and all manner of blessings.—Bk. ii. 24.
Lord Decimus [Barnacle] began waving Mr. Merdle about ... as Gigantic Enterprise. The wealth of England, Credit, Capital, Prosperity, and all manner of blessings.—Bk. ii. 24.
Mrs. Merdle, wife of the bank swindler. After the death of her husband, society decreed that Mrs. Merdle should still be admitted among the sacred few; so Mrs. Merdle was still received and patted on the back by the upper ten.—C. Dickens,Little Dorrit(1857).
Meredith(Mr.), one of the conspirators with Redgauntlet.—Sir W. Scott,Redgauntlet(time, George III.).
Meredith(Mr. Michael), “the man of mirth,” in the managing committee of theSpa hotel.—Sir. W. Scott,St. Ronan’s Well. (time, George III.).
Meredith(Sir), a Welsh knight.—Sir W. Scott,Castle Dangerous(time, Henry I.).
Meredith(Owen), pseudonym of the Hon. Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton (Lord Lytton), author ofThe Wanderer(1859), etc. This son of Lord Bulwer Lytton, poet and novelist, succeeded to the peerage in 1873.
Me´rida(Marchioness), betrothed to Count Valantia.—Mrs. Inchbald,Child of Nature.
Meridarpax, the pride of mice.
Now nobly towering o’er the rest, appearsA gallant prince that far transcends his years;Pride of his sire, and glory of his house,And more a Mars in combat than a mouse;His action bold, robust his ample frame,And Meridarpax his resounding name.Parnell,The Battle of the Frogs and Mice, iii. (about 1712).
Merid´iesor “Noonday Sun,” one of the four brothers who kept the passages of Castle Perilous. So Tennyson has named him; but in theHistory of Prince Arthur, he is called “Sir Permōnês, the Red Knight.”—Tennyson,Idylls(“Gareth and Lynette”); Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthur, i. 129 (1470).
Merion(James), New York lawyer, who plays the lover to three women, honestly believing himself enamoured of each.—Ellen Olney Kirke,A Daughter of Eve(1889).
Merle(Madame), a plausible woman with an ambition to be thought the incarnation of propriety, who carries with her the knowledge that she is the mistress of a man who has a wife, and that Madame Merle’s illegitimate daughter is brought up by the step-mother, who knows nothing of the shameful story.—Henry James,The Portrait of a Lady(1881).
Merlin(Ambrose), prince of enchanters. His mother was Matilda, a nun, who was seduced by a “guileful sprite,” or incubus, “half angel and half man, dwelling in mid-air betwixt the earth and moon.” Some say his mother was the daughter of Pubidius, lord of Math-traval, in Wales; and others make her a princess, daughter of Demetius, king of Demet´ia. Blaise baptized the infant, and thus rescued it from the powers of darkness.
Merlin died spell-bound, but the author and manner of his death are given differently by different authorities. Thus, in theHistory of Prince Arthur(Sir T. Malory, 1470), we are told that the enchantress Nimue or Ninive inveigled the old man, and “covered him with a stone under a rock.” In theMorte d’Arthurit is said “he sleeps and sighs in an old tree, spell-bound by Vivien.” Tennyson, in hisIdylls(“Vivien”), says that Vivien induced Merlin to take shelter from a storm in a hollow oak tree, and left him spell-bound. Others say he was spell-bound in a hawthorn bush, but this is evidently a blunder. (SeeMerlin the Wild.)
***Merlin made “the fountain of love,” mentioned by Bojardo inOrlando Innamorato, l. 3.
Ariosto, inOrlando Furioso, says he made “one of the four fountains” (ch. xxvi).
He also made the Round Table at Carduel for 150 knights, which came into the possession of King Arthur on his marriage with Queen Guinever; and brought from Ireland the stones of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain.
Allusion is made to him in theFaëryQueen; in Ellis’sSpecimens of Early English Metrical Romances; in Drayton’sPolyolbion; inKenilworth, by Sir W. Scott, etc. T. Heywood has attempted to show the fulfilment of Merlin’s prophecies.
Of Merlin and his skill what region doth not hear?...Who of a British nymph was gotten, whilst she playedWith a seducing sprite ...But all Demetia thro’ there was not found her peer.Drayton,Polyolbion, v. (1612).
Merlin(The English), W. Lilly, the astrologer, who assumed thenom de plumeof “Mer´linus Anglĭcus” (1602-1681).
Merlin the Wild, a native of Caledonia, who lived in the sixteenth century, about a century after the great Ambrose Merlin, the sorcerer. Fordun, in hisScotichronicon, gives particulars about him. It was predicted that he would die by earth, wood, and water, which prediction was fulfilled thus: A mob of rustics hounded him, and he jumped from a rock into the Tweed, and was impaled on a stake fixed in the river bed. His grave is still shown beneath an aged hawthorn bush at Drummelzier, a village on the Tweed.
Merlin’s Cave, in Dynevor, near Carmarthen, noted for its ghastly noises of rattling iron chains, brazen caldrons, groans, strokes of hammers, and ringing of anvils. The cause is this: Merlin set his spirits to fabricate a brazen wall to encompass the city of Carmarthen, and as he had to call on the Lady of the Lake, bade them not to slacken their labor till he returned; but he never did return, for Vivien by craft got him under the enchanted stone, and kept him there. Tennyson says he was spell-bound by Vivien in a hollow oak tree, but theHistory of Prince Arthur(Sir T. Malory) gives the other version.—Spenser,Faëry Queen, iii. 3 (1590).
Merop’s Son, a nobody, aterræ filius, who thinks himself somebody. Thus Phaëton (Merop’s son), forgetting that his mother was an earthborn woman, thought he could drive the horses of the sun, but not being able to guide them, nearly set the earth on fire. Many presume like him, and think themselves capable or worthy of great things, forgetting all the while that they are only “Merop’s son.”
Why, Phaëton (for thou art Merop’s son),Wilt thou aspire to guide the heavenly car,And with thy daring folly burn the world?Shakespeare,Two Gentlemen of Verona, act iii. sc. 1 (1594).
Merrilees(Meg), a half-crazy woman, part sibyl and part gypsy. She is the ruler and terror of the gypsy race. Meg Merrilees was the nurse of Harry Bertram.—Sir W. Scott,Gay Mannering(time, George II.).
In the dramatized version of Scott’s novel, Miss Cushman [1845-9] made “Meg Merrilees” her own. She showed therein indisputably the attributes of genius. Such was her power over the intention and feeling of the part, that the mere words were quite a secondary matter. It was the figure, the gait, the look, the gesture, the tone, by which she put beauty and passion into language the most indifferent.—Henry Morley.
In the dramatized version of Scott’s novel, Miss Cushman [1845-9] made “Meg Merrilees” her own. She showed therein indisputably the attributes of genius. Such was her power over the intention and feeling of the part, that the mere words were quite a secondary matter. It was the figure, the gait, the look, the gesture, the tone, by which she put beauty and passion into language the most indifferent.—Henry Morley.
Merry Andrew, Andrew Borde, physician to Henry VIII. (1500-1549).
***Prior has a poem onMerry Andrew.
Merry Monarch(The), Charles II., of England (1630, 1660-1685).
Merry Mount.Name of the home of a certain Englishman, called in the chronicle “the pestilent Morton,” who set up a May-pole in colonial Massachusetts.
“That worthy gentleman, Mr. John Endicott, ... visiting those parts, caused that May-pole to be cut down, and rebuked them for their profaneness ... so they now (or others) changed the name of their place, ‘Merry Mount,’ again, and called it ‘Mount Dagon.’”—William Bradford,History of the Plymouth Plantation(1630-50).
“That worthy gentleman, Mr. John Endicott, ... visiting those parts, caused that May-pole to be cut down, and rebuked them for their profaneness ... so they now (or others) changed the name of their place, ‘Merry Mount,’ again, and called it ‘Mount Dagon.’”—William Bradford,History of the Plymouth Plantation(1630-50).
Mer´rylegs, a highly trained, performing dog, belonging to Signor Jupe, clown in Sleary’s circus. This dog leaves the circus when his master disappears, but several years afterwards finds its way back and dies.—C. Dickens,Hard Times(1854).
Merthyr Tydvil, a corruption ofMartyr St. Tidfil, a Welsh princess who suffered martyrdom.
Merton(Tommy), one of the chief characters inSanford and Merton, a tale for boys, by Thomas Day (1783-9).
Merton(Tristram). Thomas Babington Macaulay (Lord Macaulay), so signs the ballads and sketches which he inserted inKnight’s Quarterly Magazine.
Mertoun(Basil),aliasVaughan, formerly a pirate.
Mordaunt Mertoun, son of Basil Mertoun. He marries Brenda Troil.—Sir W. Scott,The Pirate(time, William III.).
Merveilleuse[Mair.vay.´uze], the sword of Doolin of Mayence. It was so sharp that, if placed edge downwards on a block of wood, it would cut through it of itself.
Mervett(Gustavus de), inCharles XII., an historical drama by J. R. Planché (1826).
Mervyn(Mr. Arthur), guardian of Julia Mannering.—Sir W. Scott,Guy Mannering(time, George II.).
Messali´na, wife of the Emperor Claudius of Rome. Her name is a by-word for incontinency (A.D.*-48).
Messalina(The Modern), Catherine II. of Russia (1729-1796).
Messalina of Germany, Barbary of Cilley, second wife of Kaiser Sigismund of Germany (fifteenth century).
Messala.Haughty young Roman who feigns friendship for Ben-Hur, and betrays his confidence. In after years the scheme of revenge nursed by the ruined youth is fulfilled in the famous chariot-race.—Lew Wallace,Ben Hur,A Tale of the Christ(1880).
Messiah(The), an epic poem in fifteen books, by F. G. Klopstock. The first three were published in 1748, and the last in 1773. The subject is the last days of Jesus, His crucifixion and resurrection. Bk. i. Jesus ascends the Mount of Olives, to spend the night in prayer. Bk. ii. John the Beloved, failing to exorcise a demoniac, Jesus goes to his assistance; and Satan, rebuked, returns to hell, where he tells the fallen angels his version of the birth and ministry of Christ, whose death he resolves on. Bk. iii. Messiah sleeps for the last time on the Mount of Olives; the tutelar angels of the twelve apostles, and a description of the apostles are given. Satan gives Judas a dream, and then enters the heart of Caiaphas. Bk. iv. The council in the palace of Caiaphas decree that Jesus must die; Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare the Passover, and eats His Last Supper with His apostles. Bk. v. The three hours of agony in thegarden. Bk. vi. Jesus, bound, is taken before Annas, and then before Caiaphas. Peter denies his Master. Bk. vii. Christ is brought before Pilate; Judas hangs himself; Pilate sends Jesus to Herod, but Herod sends Him again to Pilate, who delivers Him to the Jews. Bk. viii. Christ nailed to the cross. Bk. ix. Christ on the cross. Bk. x. The Death of Christ. Bk. xi. Thevailof the Temple rent, and the resurrection of many from their graves. Bk. xii. The burial of the body, and death of Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Bk. xiii. The resurrection and suicide of Philo. Bk. xiv. Jesus shows Himself to His disciples. Bk. xv. Many of those who had risen from their graves show themselves to others. Conclusion.
Messiah, an oratorio by Handel (1749). The liberetto was by Charles Jennens, nicknamed “Soliman the Magnificent.”
Metanoi´a, Repentance personified, by William Browne, inBritannia’s Pastorals, v. (Greek,mĕtanoia, “repentance”.)
Faire Metanoia is attendingTo croune thee with those joys that know no ending.Pastorals, v. 1 (1613).
Metasta´sio.The real name of this Italian poet was Trapassi (death). He was brought up by Gravina, who Grecized the name (1698-1782).
***So “Melancthon” is the Greek form ofSchwarzerdê(“black earth”); “Œcolampadius” is the Greek form of the German nameHausschein; “Desiderius Erasmus” isGheraerd Gheraerd(the first “Gheraerd” is Latinized intoDesiderius, and the latter is Grecized intoErasmus).
Meth´os, drunkenness personified. He is twin-brother of Gluttony, their mother being Caro (fleshly lust). In the battle of Mansoul, Methos is slain by Agnei´a (wifely chastity) spouse of Eucra´tês (temperance), and sister of Parthen´ia (maiden chastity). (Greek,methêormethŭsis “drunkenness.”)—Phineas Fletcher,The Purple Island, vii., xi. (1633).
Met´ophis, the corrupt chief minister of Sesostris.
Il avait l’ame aussi corrumpue et aussi artificieuse que Sesostris était sincère et généreux.—Fénelon,Télémaque(1700).
Il avait l’ame aussi corrumpue et aussi artificieuse que Sesostris était sincère et généreux.—Fénelon,Télémaque(1700).
Mexit´li, chief god and idol of the Az´tecas. He leaped full-grown into life, and with a spear slew those who mocked his mother, Coatlan´tona (4syl.).
Already at [his mother’s breast] the blow was aimed,When forth Mexitli leapt, and in his handThe angry spear.Southey,Madoc, ii. 21 (1805).
***Of course, it will be remembered that Minerva, like Mexitli, was born full-grown and fully armed.
Mezen´tius, king of the Tyrrhenians, who put criminals to death by tying them face to face with dead bodies.—Virgil,Æneid, viii. 485.
Mezzora´mia, an earthly paradise in Africa, accessible by only one road. Gaudentio di Lucca discovered the road, and lived at Mezzoramia for twenty-five years.—Simon Berington,Gaudentio di Lucca.
M. F. H., Master [of the] Fox-hounds.
Micaw´ber(Mr. Wilkins), a most unpractical, half-clever man, a great speechifier, letter writer, projector of bubble schemes, and, though confident of success, never succeeding. Having failed in everything in the old country, he migrated toAustralia, and became a magistrate at Middlebay.—C. Dickens,David Copperfield(1849).
***This truly amiable, erratic genius is a portrait of Dickens’s own father, “David Copperfield” being Dickens, and “Mrs. Nickleby” (one can hardly believe it) is said to be Dickens’s mother.
Mi´chael(2syl.), the special protector and guardian of the Jews. This archangel is messenger of peace and plenty.—Sale’sKorân, ii. notes.
***That Michael was really the protector and guardian angel of the Jews we know fromDan.x. 13, 21; xii. 1.
Milton makes Michael the leader of the heavenly host in the war in heaven. The word means “God’s power.” Gabriel was next in command to the archangel Michael.
Go, Michael, of celestial armies princeParadise Lost, vi. 44 (1665).
***Longfellow, in hisGolden Legend, says that Michael is the presiding spirit of the planet Mercury, and brings to man the gift of prudence (“The Miracle-Play,” iii., 1851).
Michael, the “trencher favorite” of Arden of Feversham, in love with Maria, sister of Mosby. A weak man, who both loves and honors Arden, but is inveigled by Mosby to admit ruffians into Arden’s house to murder him.—Geo. Lillo,Arden of Feversham(1592).
Michael, God of Wind(St.). At the promontory of Malea is a chapel built to St. Michael, and the sailors say when the wind blows from that quarter it is occasioned by the violent motion of St. Michael’s wings. Whenever they sail by that promontory, they pray St. Michael to keep his wings still.
St. Michael’s Chair.It is said that any woman who has sat on Michael’s chair (on St. Michael’s Mount, in Cornwall), will rule her husband ever after.
Michael Angelo of Battle-Scenes(The), Michael Angelo Cerquozzi, of Rome (1600-1660).
Michael Angelo of France(The), Jean Cousin (1500-1590).
Michael Angelo des Kermesses, Peter van Laar, calledLe Bamboche, born at Laaren (1613-1673).
OrMichel-Ange des Bamboches.
Michael Angelo of Music(The), Johann Christoph von Glück (1714-1787).
Michael Angelo of Sculptors(The), Pierre Puget (1623-1694).
Réné Michael Slodtz is also called the same (1705-1764).
Michael Angelo Titmarsh, one of the pseudonyms under which Thackeray contributed toFrazer’s Magazine(1811-1863).
Michael Armstrong, “the factory boy.” The hero and title of a novel by Mrs. Trollope (1839). The object of this novel is to expose what the authoress considered to be the evils of the factory system.
Michael Perez, the copper captain. (SeePerez.)
Michael, the Stammerer, born at Armorium, in Phrygia, mounted the throne as emperor of Greece inA.D.820. He used all his efforts to introduce the Jewish Sabbath and sacrifice.
I think I have proved ...The error of all those doctrines so vicious ...That are making such terrible work in the ChurchesBy Michael the Stammerer.Longfellow,The Golden Legend(1851).
Michal, in the satire ofAbsalom and Achitophel, by Dryden and Tate, is meant for Catharine, the wife of Charles II.—Pt. ii. (1682).
Michelot, an unprincipled, cowardly, greedy man, who tries to discover the secret of “the gold-mine.” Being procurator of the president of Lyons, his office was “to capture and arrest” those charged with civil or criminal offences.—E. Stirling,The Gold-Mine, or Miller of Grenoble(1854).
Micomico´na, the pretended queen of Micomicon. Don Quixote’s adventure to Micomiconnia came to nothing, for he was taken home in a cage, almost as soon as he was told of the wonderful enchantments.—Cervantes,Don Quixote, I. iv. 2 (1605.)
Mi´das(Justice), appointed to adjudge a musical contest between Pol and Pan. He decides in favor of Pan, whereupon Pol throws off his disguise, appears as the god Apollo, and, being indignant at the decision, gives Midas “the ears of an ass.”—Kane O’Hara,Midas(1764).
Edward Shuter (1728-1776) was pronounced by Garrick “the greatest comic actor;” and C. Dibdin says: “Nothing on earth could have been superior to his ‘Midas.’”
Midas’s Ears.The servant who used to cut the king’s hair, discovering the deformity, was afraid to whisper the secret to any one, but, being unable to contain himself, he dug a hole in the earth, and, putting his mouth into it, cried out, “King Midas has ass’s ears!” He then filled up the hole and felt relieved.
Tennyson makes the barber a woman:
No livelier than the dameThat whispered “Asses’ ears” among the sedge.Tennyson,The Princess.
Middleburgh(Mr. James), an Edinburgh magistrate.—Sir W. Scott,Heart of Midlothian(time, George II.).
Middlemas(Mr. Matthew), a name assumed by General Witherington.
Mrs. Middlemas, wife of the general (born Zelia de Monçada).
Richard Middlemas, aliasRichard Tresham, a foundling, apprenticed to Dr Gray. He discovers that he is the son of General Witherington, and goes to India, where he assumes the character of Sadoc, a black slave in the service of Mde. Montreville. He delivers Menie Gray by treachery to Tippoo Saib, and Hyder Ali gives him up to be crushed to death by an elephant.—Sir W. Scott,The Surgeon’s Daughter(time, George II.).
Middlewick(Mr. Perkyn), a retired butterman, the neighbor of Sir Geoffrey Champneys, and the father of Charles. The butterman is innately vulgar, drops hish’sand inserts them out of place, makes the greatest geographical and historical blunders, has a tyrannical temper, but a tender heart. He turns his son adrift for marrying Violet Melrose, an heiress, who snubbed the plebeian father. When reduced to great distress, the old butterman goes to his son’s squalid lodgings and relents. So all ends happily.
Charles Middlewick, son of the retired butterman, well educated, and a gentleman. His father wanted him to marry MaryMelrose, a girl without a penny, but he preferred Violet, an heiress.—H. J. Byron,Our Boys(1875).
Midge, the miller’s son, one of the companions of Robin Hood. (SeeMuch.)
Midge(The), a well-born but friendless waif, thrown at the age of thirteen upon the charity of Dr. Peters, an eccentric bachelor. She cares for his house and for him in quaint, womanly fashion, very bewitching, until she is grown. The suit of another and a younger man, makes the doctor know, to his cost, how well he loves her. He holds his peace, and marries Midge to her lover.
“Then he went into the big pantry. In the corner on the shelf, still lay the crock in which the Midge had hidden her head, heavy with childish grief, years before. The old stool stood before it. He sat down on it and rested his hot forehead on the cool rim of the jar.“And that’s the end of the story.”—H. C. Bunner,The Midge(1886).
“Then he went into the big pantry. In the corner on the shelf, still lay the crock in which the Midge had hidden her head, heavy with childish grief, years before. The old stool stood before it. He sat down on it and rested his hot forehead on the cool rim of the jar.
“And that’s the end of the story.”—H. C. Bunner,The Midge(1886).
Midian Mara, the Celtic mermaid.
Midlo´thian(The Heart of), a tale of the Porteous riot, in which the incidents of Effie and Jeanie Deans are of absorbing interest. Effie was seduced by Geordie Robertson (aliasGeorge Staunton), while in the service of Mrs. Saddletree. She murdered her infant, and was condemned to death; but her half-sister, Jeanie, went to London, pleaded her cause before the queen, and obtained her pardon. Jeanie, on her return to Scotland, married Reuben Butler; and Geordie Robertson (then Sir George Staunton) married Effie. Sir George being shot by a gypsy boy, Effie (i.e.Lady Staunton), retired to a convent on the Continent.—Sir W. Scott,Heart of Midlothian(time, George II.).
Midshipman Easy.(SeeEasy.)
Midsummer Night’s Dream.Shakespeare says there was a law in Athens, that if a daughter refused to marry the husband selected for her by her father, she might be put to death. Egēus (3syl.), an Athenian, promised to give his daughter, Hermia, in marriage to Demētrius; but, as the lady loved Lysander, she refused to marry the man selected by her father, and fled from Athens with her lover. Demetrius went in pursuit of her, followed by Helĕna, who doted on him. All four came to a forest, and fell asleep. In their dreams a vision of fairies passed before them, and on awaking, Demetrius resolved to forego Hermia, who disliked him, and to take to wife Helena, who sincerely loved him. When Egeus was informed thereof, he readily agreed to give his daughter to Lysander, and the force of the law was not called into action (1592).
***Several of the incidents of this comedy are borrowed from theDianaof Montemayor, a Spaniard (sixteenth century).
Midwinter(Ozias), thealiasof another Allan Armadale. His father has murdered the father of the real Allan, and the son of the homicide resolves to keep his own identity a secret, while trying to atone to Allan for the wrong done him. He loves and marries the perfidious governess of Allan’s betrothed.—Wilkie Collins,Armadale.
Miggs(Miss), the handmaiden and “comforter” of Mrs. Varden. A tall, gaunt young woman, addicted to pattens; slender and shrewish, of a sharp and acid visage. She held the male sex in utter contempt, but had a secret exception in favor of Sim Tappertit, who irreverently called her “scraggy.” Miss Miggs alwayssided with madam against master, and made out that she was a suffering martyr, and he an inhuman Nero. She called ma’am “mim;” said her sister lived at “twenty-sivin;” Simon she called “Simmun.” She said Mrs. Varden was “the mildest, amiablest, forgivingest-sperited, longest-sufferingest female in existence.” Baffled in all her matrimonial hopes, she was at last appointed female turnkey to a county Bridewell, which office she held for thirty years, when she died.
Miss Miggs, baffled in all her schemes ... and cast upon a thankless, undeserving world, turned very sharp and sour ... but the justices of the peace for Middlesex ... selected her from 124 competitors to the office of turnkey for a county Bridewell, which she held till her decease, more than thirty years afterwards, remaining single all that time.—C. Dickens,Barnaby Rudge(1841).
Miss Miggs, baffled in all her schemes ... and cast upon a thankless, undeserving world, turned very sharp and sour ... but the justices of the peace for Middlesex ... selected her from 124 competitors to the office of turnkey for a county Bridewell, which she held till her decease, more than thirty years afterwards, remaining single all that time.—C. Dickens,Barnaby Rudge(1841).
Mign´on, a beautiful, dwarfish, fairy-like Italian girl, in love with Wilhelm, her protector. She glides before us in the mazy dance, or whirls her tambourine like an Ariel. Full of fervor, full of love, full of rapture, she is overwhelmed with the torrent of despair at finding her love is not returned, becomes insane, and dies.—Goethe,Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship(1794-6).
Sir W. Scott drew his “Fenella,” inPeveril of the Peak, from this character; and Victor Hugo has reproduced her in hisNotre Dame, under the name of “Esmeralda.”
Mignonette:
“A pitcher of mignonetteIn a tenement’s highest casementQueer sort of flower-pot—yetThat pitcher of mignonetteIs a garden in heaven setTo the little sick child in the basement,The pitcher of mignonette.In the tenement’s highest casement.”Henry Cuyler Bunner,Airs from Arcady and Elsewhere(1884).
Migonnet, a fairy king, who wished to marry the princess brought up by Violenta, the fairy mother.
Of all dwarfs he was the smallest. His feet were like an eagle’s, and close to the knees, for legs he had none. His royal robes were not above half a yard long, and trailed one-third part upon the ground. His head was as big as a peck, and his nose long enough for twelve birds to perch on. His beard was bushy enough for a canary’s nest, and his ears reached a foot above his head.—Comtesse D’Aulnoy,Fairy Tales(“The White Cat,” 1682).
Of all dwarfs he was the smallest. His feet were like an eagle’s, and close to the knees, for legs he had none. His royal robes were not above half a yard long, and trailed one-third part upon the ground. His head was as big as a peck, and his nose long enough for twelve birds to perch on. His beard was bushy enough for a canary’s nest, and his ears reached a foot above his head.—Comtesse D’Aulnoy,Fairy Tales(“The White Cat,” 1682).
Mikado(of Japan), the hero of Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera “The Mikado.” The plot turns upon the complications broughtabout theMikado’s severe laws against flirting:
“So he decreed in words succint,That all who flirted, leered or winked,Unless connubially linked,Should forthwith be beheaded.”
Mi´lan(The duke of), an Italian prince, an ally of the Lancastrians.—Sir W. Scott,Anne of Geierstein(time, Edward IV.).
Milan Decree, a decree of Napoleon Bonaparte, dated Milan, December 27, 1807, declaring “the whole British empire to be in a state of blockade, and prohibiting all countries from trading with Great Britain, or using any article made therein.”
***As Britain was the best customer of the very nations forbidden to deal with her, this very absurd decree was a two-edged sword, cutting both ways.
Mildred, the bride, “fresh and fair as May,” whom Philip, the pastor, installs asMistress of the Manse, in Josiah Gilbert Holland’s poem of that name (1874).
Mildmay(Frank), hero of sea-story bearing his name.—Frederick Marryatt.
Mile´sian Fables(Milesiæ Fabulæ), very wanton and ludicrous tales. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton (Lord Lytton) published six of theLost Tales of Milētusin rhymeless verse. He pretends he borrowed them from the scattered remnants preserved by Apollodo´rus and Conon, contained in the pages of Pausa´nias and Athenæus, or dispersed throughout the Scholiasts. The Milesian tales were, for the most part, in prose; but Ovid tells us that Aristi´dês rendered some of them into verse, and Sisenna into Latin.
Junxit Aristides Milesia carmina secumPulsus Aristides nec tamen urba sua est.
The original tales by Antonius Diog´enês are described by Photius. It appears that they were great favorites with the luxurious Sybarites. A compilation was made by Aristīdês, by whom (according to Ovid) some were versified also. The Latin translation by Sisenna was made about the time of the civil wars of Ma´rius and Sylla. Parthen´ius Nice´nus, who taught Virgil Greek, borrowed thirty-six of the tales, which he dedicated to Cornelius Gallus, and entitledErôtikôn Pathêmatôn(“love stories”).
Milesia Crimina, amatory offences. Venus was worshipped at Milētus, and hence the loose amatory tales of Antonius Diogenês were entitledMilesiæ Fabulæ.
Mile´sians, the “ancient” Irish. The legend is that Ireland was once peopled by the Fir-bolg or Belgæ from Britain, who were subdued by Milesians from Asia Minor, called the Gaels of Ireland.
Miles(Throckmorton), harum-scarum, brave, indiscreet, over-generous hero of Constance Cary Harrison’s story,Flower de Hundred(1890).
Milford(Colonel), a friend of Sir Geoffrey Peveril.—Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).
Milford(Jack), a natural son of Widow Warren’s late husband. He was the crony of Harry Dornton, with whom he ran “the road to ruin.” Jack had a fortune left him, but he soon scattered it by his extravagant living, and was imprisoned for debt. Harry then promised to marry Widow Warren if she would advance him £6,000 to pay off his friend’s debts with. When Harry’s father heard of this bargain, he was so moved that he advanced the money himself; and Harry, being set free from his bargain, married the widow’s daughter instead of the widow. Thus all were rescued from “the road to ruin.”—Holcroft,The Road to Ruin(1792).
Milinowski, a portly, imposing American widow, who, after twenty years spent under the marital rule of a Prussian army officer, “takes kindly to the prose of life.” She is the exemplary and not unkindly chaperone ofMiss Caroline Lester, heroine of Charlotte Dunning’s bookUpon a Cast(1885).
Milk-Pail(The), which was to gain a fortune, (SeePerrette.)
Millamant, theprétendueof Edward Mirabell. She is a most brilliant girl, who says she “loves to give pain, because cruelty is a proof of power; and when one parts with one’s cruelty, one parts with one’s power.” Millamant is far gone in poetry, and her heart is not in her own keeping. Sir Wilful Witwould makes love to her, but she detests “the superannuated lubber.”—W. Congreve,The Way of the World(1700).
Miller(James), the “tiger” of the Hon. Mr. Flammer. James was brought up in the stable, educated on the turf andpavé, polished and completed in the fives-court.He was engaged to Mary Chintz, the maid of Miss Bloomfield.—C. Selby,The Unfinished Gentleman.
Miller, (Joe), James Ballantyne, author ofOld Joe Miller, by the Editor of New J. M., three vols. (1801).
***Mottley compiled a jest-book in the reign of James II., entitledJoe Miller’s Jests. The phrase, “That’s a Joe Miller,” means “that’s a jest from Mottley’s book.”
Miller(Maximilian Christopher), the Saxon giant; height eight feet. His hand measured a foot; his second finger was nine inches long; his head unusually large. He wore a rich Hungarian jacket and a huge plumed cap. This giant was exhibited in London in the year 1733. He died aged 60; was born at Leipsic (1674-1734).
Miller(Draxy), bonny daughter of a thriftless, honest man, whose energy in the effort to recover some hundreds of acres of woodland deeded to her in jest, and supposed to be unprofitable, leads to comfort for her father, and a happy marriage for herself.—Saxe Holm Stories(1886).
Miller of Mansfield(The), John Cockle, a miller and keeper of Sherwood Forest. Hearing the report of a gun, John Cockle went into the forest at night to find poachers, and came upon the king (Henry VIII.), who had been hunting, and had got separated from his courtiers. The miller collared him; but, being told he was a wayfarer, who had lost himself in the forest, he took him home with him for the night. Next day, the courtiers were brought to the same house, having been seized as poachers by the under-keepers. It was then discovered that the miller’s guest was the king, who knighted the miller, and settled on him 1000 marks a year.—R. Dodsley,The King and the Miller of Mansfield(1737).
Miller of Trompington(The), Simon Simkin, an arrant thief. Two scholars undertook to see that a sack of corn was ground for “Solar Hill College,” without being tampered with; so one stood at the hopper, and the other at the trough below. In the mean time, Simon Simkin let loose the scholars’ horse; and while they went to catch it, he purloined half a bushel of the flour, which was made into cakes, and substituted meal in its stead. But the young men had their revenge; they not only made off with the flour, meal, and cakes without payment, but left the miller well trounced also.—Chaucer,Canterbury Tales(“The Reeve’s Tale,” 1388).