“And oh! when they two, who have never joined hands on this earth, go to meet John and Alice,—whichGodgrant may be at one and the same time,—what weeping there will be amongGod’spoor!”—George W. Cable,Dr. Sevier(1883).
“And oh! when they two, who have never joined hands on this earth, go to meet John and Alice,—whichGodgrant may be at one and the same time,—what weeping there will be amongGod’spoor!”—George W. Cable,Dr. Sevier(1883).
Sewall(Judge) Colonial judge in Massachusetts. He has left in his diary a circumstantial account of his courtship of Madam Winthrop, also a curious “confession” made by him in church of the “Guilt contracted upon the opening of the late Commission of Oyer and Terminer, at Salem.”—Sewall Papers(1697).
Sewall(Rev. Mr.). Boston clergyman, liberal in opinion, and large of heart. He counsels the Lapham parents in their family perplexities, and becomes the not-too-willing sponsor of Lemuel Barker, a rustic aspirant after literary honors.—W. L. Howells,The Rise of Silas LaphamandThe Minister’s Charge.
Sex.Milton says that spirits can assume either sex at pleasure, and Michael Psellus asserts that demons can take what sex, shape, and color they please, and can also contract or dilate their forms at pleasure.
For spirits when they please,Can either sex assume, or both; so softAnd uncompounded is their essence pure;Not tied or manacled with joint and limb,Nor founded on the brittle strength of bones,Like cumbrous flesh.Paradise Lost, i. 423, etc. (1665).
Sex.Cæneus and Tire´sias were at one part of their lives of the male sex, and at another part of their lives of the female sex. (See these names.)
Iphis was first a woman, and then a man.—Ovid,Metamorphoses, ix. 12; xiv 699.
Sextus [Tarquinius].There are several points of resemblance in the story of Sextus and that of Paris, son of Priam. (1) Paris was the guest of Menelāos, when he eloped with his wife, Helen; and Sextus was the guest of Lucretia when he defiled her. (2) The elopement of Helen was the cause of a national war between the Greek cities and the allied cities of Troy; and the defilement of Lucretia was the cause of a national war between Rome and the allied cities under Por´sena. (3) The contest between Greece and Troy terminated in the victory of Greece, the injured party; and the contest between Rome and the supporters of Tarquin terminated in favor of Rome, the injured party. (4) In the Trojan war, Paris, the aggressor, showed himself before the Trojan ranks, and defied the bravest of the Greeks to single combat, but when Menelaos appeared, he took to flight; and so Sextus rode vauntingly against the Roman host, but when Herminius appeared, fled to the rear like a coward. (5) In the Trojan contest, Priam and his sons fell in battle; and in the battle of Lake Regillus, Tarquin and his sons were slain.
***Lord Macaulay has taken the “Battle of Lake Regillus” as the subject of one of hisLays of Ancient Rome. Another of his lays, called “Horatius,” is the attempt of Porsĕna to re-establish Tarquin on the throne.
Seyd, pacha of the Morea, assassinated by Gulnare (2syl.), his favorite concubine. Gulnare was rescued from the burning harem by Conrad, “the Corsair.” Conrad, in the disguise of a dervise, was detected and seized in the palace of Seyd, and Gulnare, to effect his liberation, murdered the pacha.—Byron,The Corsair(1814).
Seyton(Lord), a supporter of Queen Mary’s cause.
Catherine Seyton, daughter of Lord Seyton, a maid of honor in the Court of Queen Mary. She appears at Kinross village in disguise.
Henry Seyton, son of Lord Seyton.—Sir W. Scott,The Abbot(time, Elizabeth).
Sforza, of Lombardy. He with his two brothers (Achilles and Palamēdês) were in the squadron of adventurers in the allied Christian army.—Tasso,Jerusalem Delivered(1575).
***The word Sforza means “force,” and, according to tradition, was derived thus: Giacomuzzo Attendolo, the son of a day laborer, being desirous of going to the wars, consulted his hatchet, resolving toenlist if it stuck fast in the tree at which he flung it. He threw it with suchforcethat the whole blade was completely buried in the trunk (fifteenth century).
Sforza(Ludov´ico), duke of Milan, surnamed “the More,” frommora, “a mulberry” (because he had on his arm a birth-stain of a mulberry color). Ludovico was dotingly fond of his bride, Marcelia, and his love was amply returned; but during his absence in the camp, he left Francesco lord protector, and Francesco assailed the fidelity of the young duchess. Failing in his villainy, he accused her to the duke of playing the wanton with him, and the duke, in a fit of jealousy, slew her. Sforza was afterwards poisoned by Eugenia (sister of Francesco), whom he had seduced.
Nina Sforza, the duke’s daughter.—Massinger,The Duke of Milan(1622).
***This tragedy is obviously an imitation of Shakespeare’sOthello(1611).
Sganarelle, the “cocu imaginaire,” of Molière’s comedy (1660). The plot runs thus: Célie was betrothed to Lélie, but her father, Gorgĭbus, insisted on her marrying Valère, because he was the richer man. Célie fainted on hearing this, and dropped her lover’s miniature, which was picked up by Sganarelle’s wife. Sganarelle, thinking it to be the portrait of a gallant, took possession of it, and Lélie asked him how he came by it. Sganarelle said he took it from his wife, and Lélie supposed that Célie had become the wife of Sganarelle. A series of misapprehensions arose thence: Célie supposed that Lélie had deserted her for Madame Sganarelle; Sganarelle supposed that his wife was unfaithful to him; madame supposed that her husband was an adorer of Célie; and Lélie supposed that Célie was the wife of Sganarelle. In time they met together, when Lélie charged Célie with being married to Sganarelle; both stared, an explanation followed, when a messenger arrived to say that Valère was married.—Molière,Le Cocu Imaginaire.
Sganarelle, younger brother of Ariste (2syl.); a surly, domineering, conceited fellow, the dupe of the play. His brother says to him, “Cette farouche humeur à tous vos procédés inspire un air bizarre, et, jusques à l’habit, rend tout chez vous barbare.” The father of Isabelle and Léonor, on his death-bed, committed them to the charge of Sganarelle and Ariste, who were either to marry them or dispose of them in marriage. Sganarelle chose Isabelle, but insisted on her dressing in serge, going to bed early, keeping at home, looking after the house, mending the linen, knitting socks, and never flirting with any one. The consequence was, she duped her guardian, and cajoled him into giving his signature to her marriage with Valère.—Molière,L’Ecole des Maris.
Sganarelle(3syl.). At about 63 years of age, Sganarelle wished to marry Dorimène (3syl.), daughter of Alcantor, a girl fond of dances, parties of pleasure, and all the active enjoyments of young life. Feeling some doubts about the wisdom of this step, he first consults a friend, who dissuades him, but, seeing the advice is rejected, replies “Do as you like.” He next consults two philosophers, but they are so absorbed in their philosophy, that they pay no attention to him. He then asks the gypsies, who take his money and decamp with a dance. At length, he overhears Dorimène telling a young lover that she only marries the old dotard for his money, and that he cannot live above a few months; so he makes up his mind to decline the marriage. The father of thelady places the matter in his son’s hands, and the young fire-eater, armed with two swords, goes at once to the oldfiancé, and begs him to choose one. When Sganarelle declines to fight, the young man beats him soundly, and again bids him choose a sword. After two or three good beatings, Sganarelle consents to the marriage “forcé.”—Molière,Le Mariage Forcé(1664).
Molière wroteSganarelle ou Le Cocu Imaginaire(q.v.) as a supplement to this comedy.
***This joke about marrying is borrowed from Rabelais,Pantagruel, iii. 35, etc. Panurge asks Trouillogan whether he would advise him to marry. The sage says “No.” “But I wish to do so,” says the prince. “Then do so, by all means,” says the sage. “Which, then, would you advise?” asks Panurge. “Neither,” says Trouillogan. “But,” says Panurge, “that is not possible.” “Then both,” says the sage. After this, Panurge consults many others on the subject, and lastly the oracle of the Holy Bottle.
The plot of Molière’s comedy is founded on an adventure recorded of the count of Grammont (q.v.). The count had promised marriage to la belle Hamilton, but deserted her, and tried to get to France. Being overtaken by the two brothers of the lady, they clapped their hands on their swords, and demanded if the count had not forgotten something or left something behind. “True,” said the count; “I have forgotten to marry your sister;” and returned with the two brothers to repair this oversight.
Sganarelle, father of Lucinde. Anxious about his daughter because she has lost her vivacity and appetite, he sends for four physicians, who retire to consult upon the case, but talk only on indifferent topics. When Sganarelle asks the result of their deliberation, they all differ, both in regard to the disease, and the remedy to be applied. Lisette (the lady’s maid) sends for Clitandre, the lover, who comes disguised as a quack doctor, tells Sganarelle that the young lady’s disease must be acted on through the imagination, and prescribes a mock marriage. Sganarelle consents to the experiment, but Clitandre’s assistant being a notary, the mock marriage proves to be a real one.—Molière,L’Amour Médecin(1665).
Sganarelle, husband of Martine. He is a faggot-maker, and has a quarrel with his wife, who vows to be even with him for striking her. Valère and Lucas (two domestics of Géronte) ask her to direct them to the house of a noted doctor. She sends them to her husband, and tells them he is so eccentric that he will deny being a doctor, but they must beat him well. So they find the faggot-maker, whom they beat soundly, till he consents to follow them. He is introduced to Lucinde, who pretends to be dumb, but, being a shrewd man, he soon finds out that the dumbness is only a pretence, and takes with him Léandre as an apothecary. The two lovers understand each other, and Lucinde is rapidly cured with “pills matrimoniac.”—Molière,Le Médecin Malgré Lui(1666).
***Sganarelle being asked by the father what he thinks is the matter with Lucinde, replies, “Entendez-vous le Latin?” “En aucune façon,” says Géronte. “Vous n’entendez point le Latin?” “Non, monsieur.” “That is a sad pity,” says Sganarelle, “for the case may be briefly stated thus:
Cabricias arci thuram, catalamus, singulariter, nominativo, hæc musa,la muse, bonus, bona, bonum. Deus sanctus, estne oratio Latinas? etiam,oui, quare?pourquoi?quia substantivo etadjectivum concordat in generi, numerum, et casus.” “Wonderful man!” says the father.—Act iii.
Cabricias arci thuram, catalamus, singulariter, nominativo, hæc musa,la muse, bonus, bona, bonum. Deus sanctus, estne oratio Latinas? etiam,oui, quare?pourquoi?quia substantivo etadjectivum concordat in generi, numerum, et casus.” “Wonderful man!” says the father.—Act iii.
Sganarelle(3syl.), valet to Don Juan. He remonstrates with his master on his evil ways, but is forbidden sternly to repeat his impertinent admonitions. His praise of tobacco, or rather snuff, is somewhat amusing:
Tabac est la passion des honnêtes gens; et qui vit sans tabac n’est pas digne de vivre. Non seulement il réjouit et purge les cerveaux humains, mais encore il instruit les ames à la vertu, et l’on apprend avec lui à devenir honnête homme ... il inspire des sentiments d’honneur à tous ceux qui en prennent.—Molière,Don Juan, i. 1 (1665).
Tabac est la passion des honnêtes gens; et qui vit sans tabac n’est pas digne de vivre. Non seulement il réjouit et purge les cerveaux humains, mais encore il instruit les ames à la vertu, et l’on apprend avec lui à devenir honnête homme ... il inspire des sentiments d’honneur à tous ceux qui en prennent.—Molière,Don Juan, i. 1 (1665).
Shaccabac, inBlue Beard. (SeeSchacabac.)
I have seen strange sights. I have seen Wilkinson play “Macbeth;” Matthews, “Othello;” Wrench, “George Barnwell;” Buckstone, “Iago;” Rayner, “Penruddock;” Keeley, “Shylock;” Liston, “Romeo” and “Octavian;” G. F. Cooke, “Mercutio;” John Kemble, “Archer;” Edmund Kean, clown in a pantomine; and C. Young, “Shaccabac.”—Record of a Stage Veteran.
I have seen strange sights. I have seen Wilkinson play “Macbeth;” Matthews, “Othello;” Wrench, “George Barnwell;” Buckstone, “Iago;” Rayner, “Penruddock;” Keeley, “Shylock;” Liston, “Romeo” and “Octavian;” G. F. Cooke, “Mercutio;” John Kemble, “Archer;” Edmund Kean, clown in a pantomine; and C. Young, “Shaccabac.”—Record of a Stage Veteran.
“Macbeth,” “Othello,” “Iago” (inOthello), “Shylock” (Merchant of Venice), “Romeo” and “Mercutio” (inRomeo and Juliet), all by Shakespeare: “George Barnwell” (Lillo’s tragedy so called); “Penruddock” (inThe Wheel of Fortune), byCumberland);“Octavian” (in Colman’s drama so called); “Archer” (inThe Beaux’ Stratagem, by Farquhar).
Shackfords(The).Lemuel Shackford, “a hard, avaricious, passionate man, holding his own way remorselessly.... A prominent character because of his wealth, endless lawsuits and eccentricity.”
Richard Shackford, nephew ofLemuel, a frank, whole-souled young fellow, intent upon his profession, but willing to make everybody else comfortable as he wins his way up. He is accused, upon circumstantial evidence, of the murder of his uncle, but is extricated by his own sagacity, which enables him to fix the crime upon the true assassin.—T. B. Aldrich,The Stillwater Tragedy(1880).
Shaddai(King), who made war upon Diabolus for the regaining of Mansoul.—John Bunyan,The Holy War(1682).
Shade(To fight in the). Dieneces [Di.en´.e.seez], the Spartan, being told that the army of the Persians was so numerous that their arrows would shut out the sun, replied, “Thank the gods! we shall then fight in the shade.”
Shadow(Simon), one of the recruits of the army of Sir John Falstaff. “A half-faced fellow,” so thin that Sir John said, “A foeman might as well level his gun at the edge of a penknife” as at such a starveling.—Shakespeare, 2Henry IV.act iii. sc. 2 (1598).
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednegowere cast, by the command of Nebuchadnezzar, into a fiery furnace, but received no injury, although the furnace was made so hot that the heat thereof “slew those men” that took them to the furnace.-Dan.iii. 22.
By Nimrod’s order, Abraham was bound and cast into a huge fire at Cûtha; but he was preserved from injury by the angel Gabriel, and only the cords which bound him were burnt. Yet so intense was the heat that above 2000 men were consumed thereby.—SeeGospel of Barnabas, xxviii.; and Morgan,Mahometanism Explained, V. i. 4.
Shadwell(Thomas), the poet-laureate,was a great drunkard, and was said to be “round as a butt, and liquored every chink” (1640-1692).
Besides, his [Shadwell’s] goodly fabric fills the eye,And seems designed for thoughtless majesty.Dryden,MacFlecknoe(1682).
***Shadwell took opium, and died from taking too large a dose. Hence Pope says:
Benlowes, propitious still to blockheads, bows;And Shadwell nods the poppy on his brows.The Dunciad, iii. 21, 22 (1728).
Benlowes was a great patron of bad poets, and many have dedicated to him their lucubrations. Sometimes the name is shifted into “Benevolus.”
Shaf´alus and Procrus.So Bottom, the weaver, calls Cephălus and Procris. (SeeCephalus.)
Pyramus.Not Shafalus to Procrus was so true.Thisbe.As Shafalus to Procrus; I to you.Shakespeare,Midsummer Night’s Dream(1592).
Shaftesbury(Anthony Ashley Cooper, earl of), introduced by Sir W. Scott inPeveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).
Shafton(Ned), one of the prisoners in Newgate with old Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone.—Sir W. Scott,Rob Roy(time, George I.).
Shafton(Sir Piercie), called “The knight of Wolverton,” a fashionable cavaliero, grandson of old Overstitch, the tailor, of Holderness. Sir Piercie talks in the pedantic style of the Elizabethan courtiers.—Sir W. Scott,The Monastery(time, Elizabeth).
Shah(The), a famous diamond, weighing 86 carats. It was given by Chosroës, of Persia, to the Czar of Russia. (SeeDiamonds.)
Shakebag(Dick), a highwayman with Captain Colepepper.—Sir W. Scott,Fortunes of Nigel(time, James I.).
Shakespeare, introduced by Sir W. Scott in the ante-rooms of Greenwich Palace.—Sir W. Scott,Kenilworth(time, Elizabeth).
***InWoodstockthere is a conversation about Shakespeare.
Shakespeare’s Home.He left London before 1613, and established himself at Stratford-on-Avon, in Warwickshire, where he was born (1564), and where he died (1616). In the diary of Mr. Ward, the vicar of Stratford, is this entry: “Shakspeare, Drayton and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting, and, it seems, drank too hard, for Shakspeare died of a fever then contracted.” (Drayton died 1631, and Ben Jonson, 1637.) Probably Shakespeare died on his birthday, April 23.
Shakespeare’s Monument, in Westminster Abbey, designed by Kent, and executed by Scheemakers, in 1742. The statue to Shakespeare in Drury Lane Theatre was by the same.
The statue of Shakespeare in the British Museum is by Roubiliac, and was bequeathed to the nation by Garrick. His best portrait is by Droeshout.
Shakespeare’s Plays, quarto editions:
Romeo and Juliet: 1597, John Danter; 1599, Thomas Creede for Cuthbert Burby; 1609, 1637. Supposed to have been written, 1595.
King Richard II.: 1597, Valentine Simmes for Andrew Wise; 1598, 1608 (with an additional scene); 1615, 1634.
King Richard III.: 1597, ditto; 1598, 1602, 1612, 1622.
Love’s Labor’s Lost; 1598, W. W. for Cuthbert Burby. Supposed to have been written, 1594.
King Henry IV.(pt. I): 1598, P. S. for Andrew Wise; 1599, 1604, 1608, 1613. Supposed to have been written, 1597.
King Henry IV.(pt. 2): 1600, V. S. for Andrew Wise and William Aspley; 1600. Supposed to have been written, 1598.
King Henry V.: 1600, Thomas Creede for Thomas Millington and John Busby; 1602, 1608. Supposed to have been written, 1599.
Midsummer Night’s Dream: 1600, Thomas Fisher; 1600, James Roberts. Mentioned by Meres, 1598. Supposed to have been written, 1592.
Merchant of Venice: 1600, I. R. for Thomas Heyes; 1600, James Roberts; 1637. Mentioned by Meres, 1598.
Much Ado about Nothing: 1600, V. S. for Andrew Wise and William Aspley.
Merry Wives of Windsor: 1602, T. C. for Arthur Johnson; 1619. Supposed to have been written, 1596.
Hamlet: 1603, I. R. for N. L.; 1605, 1611. Supposed to have been written, 1597.
King Lear: 1608, A. for Nathaniel Butter; 1608, B. for ditto. Acted at Whitehall, 1607. Supposed to have been written, 1605.
Troilus and Cressida: 1609, G. Eld for R. Bonian and H. Whalley (with a preface). Acted at court, 1609. Supposed to have been written, 1602.
Othello: 1622, N. O. for Thomas Walkely. Acted at Harefield, 1602.
The rest of the dramas are:
All’s Well that Ends Well, 1598. First title supposed to beLove’s Labor’s Won.Antony and Cleopatra, 1608. No early mention made of this play.As You Like It.Entered at Stationer’s Hall, 1600.
All’s Well that Ends Well, 1598. First title supposed to beLove’s Labor’s Won.
Antony and Cleopatra, 1608. No early mention made of this play.
As You Like It.Entered at Stationer’s Hall, 1600.
Comedy of Errors, 1593. Mentioned by Meres, 1598.Coriolanus, 1610. No early mention made of this play.Cymbeline, 1605. No early mention made of this play.1Henry VI.Alluded to by Nash inPierce Penniless, 1592.2Henry VI.Original title,First Part of the Contention, 1594.3Henry VI.Original title,True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York, 1595.Henry VIII., 1601. Acted at the Globe Theatre, 1613.John(King), 1596. Mentioned by Meres, 1598.Julius Cæsar, 1607. No early mention made of this play.Lear, 1605. Acted atWhitehall1607. Printed 1608.Macbeth, 1606. No early mention made of this play.Measure for Measure, 1603. Acted atWhitehall1604.Merry Wives of Windsor, 1596. Printed 1602.Pericles Prince of Tyre.Printed 1609.Taming of the Shrew.(?) Acted at Henslow’s Theatre, 1593. Entered at Stationer’s Hall, 1607.Tempest, 1609. Acted at Whitehall, 1611.Timon of Athens, 1609. No early mention made of this play.Titus Andronicus, 1593. Printed 1600.Twelfth Night.Acted in the Middle Temple Hall, 1602.Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1595. Mentioned byMeres1598.Winter’s Tale, 1604. Acted at Whitehall, 1611.
Comedy of Errors, 1593. Mentioned by Meres, 1598.
Coriolanus, 1610. No early mention made of this play.
Cymbeline, 1605. No early mention made of this play.
1Henry VI.Alluded to by Nash inPierce Penniless, 1592.
2Henry VI.Original title,First Part of the Contention, 1594.
3Henry VI.Original title,True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York, 1595.
Henry VIII., 1601. Acted at the Globe Theatre, 1613.
John(King), 1596. Mentioned by Meres, 1598.
Julius Cæsar, 1607. No early mention made of this play.
Lear, 1605. Acted atWhitehall1607. Printed 1608.
Macbeth, 1606. No early mention made of this play.
Measure for Measure, 1603. Acted atWhitehall1604.
Merry Wives of Windsor, 1596. Printed 1602.
Pericles Prince of Tyre.Printed 1609.
Taming of the Shrew.(?) Acted at Henslow’s Theatre, 1593. Entered at Stationer’s Hall, 1607.
Tempest, 1609. Acted at Whitehall, 1611.
Timon of Athens, 1609. No early mention made of this play.
Titus Andronicus, 1593. Printed 1600.
Twelfth Night.Acted in the Middle Temple Hall, 1602.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1595. Mentioned byMeres1598.
Winter’s Tale, 1604. Acted at Whitehall, 1611.
First complete collection in folio; 1623, Isaac Jaggard and Ed. Blount; 1632, 1664, 1685. The second folio is of very little value.
Shakespeare’s Parents.His father was John Shakespeare, a glover, who married Mary Arden, daughter of Robert Arden, Esq., of Bomich, a good country gentleman.
Shakespeare’s Wife, Anne Hathaway, of Shottery, some eight years older than himself; daughter of a substantial yeoman.
Shakespeare’s Children.One son, Hamnet, who died in his twelfth year (1585-1596). Two daughters, who survived him,Susanna and Judith, twin-born with Hamnet. Both his daughters married and had children, but the lines died out.
Voltaire says of Shakespeare: “Rimer had very good reason to say that Shakespearen’etaitq’un vilain singe.” Voltaire, in 1765, said, “Shakespeare is a savage with some imagination, whose plays can please only in London and Canada.” In 1735 he wrote to M. de Cideville, “Shakespeare is the Corneille of London, but everywhere else he is a great fool (grand fou d’ailleur).”
Shakespeare of Divines(The), Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667).
Taylor, the Shakespeare of divines.—Emerson.
Taylor, the Shakespeare of divines.—Emerson.
Shakespeare of Eloquence(The). The comte de Mirabeau was so called by Barnave (1749-1791).
Shakespeare of Germany(The), Augustus Frederick Ferdinand von Kotzebue (1761-1819).
Shakespeare of Prose Fiction(The). Richardson, the novelist, is so called by D’Israeli (1689-1761).
Shallow, a weak-minded country justice, cousin to Slender. He is a great braggart, and especially fond of boasting of the mad pranks of his younger days. It is said that Justice Shallow is a satirical portrait of Sir Thomas Lucy of Charlecote, who prosecuted Shakespeare for deer-stealing.—Shakespeare,The Merry Wives of Windsor(1596); and 2Henry IV.(1598).
As wise as a justice of the quorum and custalorum in Shallow’s time.—Macaulay.
As wise as a justice of the quorum and custalorum in Shallow’s time.—Macaulay.
Shallum, lord of a manor consisting of a long chain of rocks and mountains called Tirzah. Shallum was “of gentle disposition, and beloved both by God and man.” He was the lover of Hilpa, a Chinese antediluvian princess, one of the 150 daughters of Zilpah, of the race of Cohu or Cain.—Addison,Spectator, viii. 584-5 (1712).
Shalott(The lady of), a poem by Tennyson, in four parts. Pt. i. tells us that the lady passed her life in the island of Shalott in great seclusion, and was known only by the peasantry. Pt. ii. tells us that she was weaving a magic web, and that a curse would fall on her if she looked down the river. Pt. iii. describes how Sir Lancelot rode to Camelot in all his bravery; and the lady gazed at him as he rode along. Pt. iv. tells us that the lady floated down the river in a boat calledThe Lady of Shalott, and died heart-broken on the way. Sir Lancelot came to gaze on the dead body, and exclaimed, “She has a lovely face, God in his mercy grant her grace!” This ballad was afterwards expanded into theIdyllcalled “Elaine, the Lily Maid of Astolat” (q.v.), the beautiful incident of Elaine and the barge being taken from theHistory of Prince Arthur, by Sir T. Malory.
“While my body is whole, let this letter be put into my right hand, and my hand bound fast with the letter until I be cold, and let me be put in a fair bed with all the richest clothes that I have about me, and so let my bed and all my rich clothes be laid with me in a chariot to the next place whereas the Thames is, and there let me be put in a barge, and but one man with me such as ye trust to steer me thither, and that my barge be covered with black samite over and over.” ... So when she was dead, the corpse and the bed and all was led the next way unto to the Thames, and there a man and the corpse and all were put in a barge on the Thames, and so the man steered the barge to Westminster, and there he rowed a great while to and fro, or any man espied.—Pt. iii. 123.
“While my body is whole, let this letter be put into my right hand, and my hand bound fast with the letter until I be cold, and let me be put in a fair bed with all the richest clothes that I have about me, and so let my bed and all my rich clothes be laid with me in a chariot to the next place whereas the Thames is, and there let me be put in a barge, and but one man with me such as ye trust to steer me thither, and that my barge be covered with black samite over and over.” ... So when she was dead, the corpse and the bed and all was led the next way unto to the Thames, and there a man and the corpse and all were put in a barge on the Thames, and so the man steered the barge to Westminster, and there he rowed a great while to and fro, or any man espied.—Pt. iii. 123.
King Arthur saw the body and had itburied, and Sir Lancelot made an offering, etc. (ch. 124); much the same as Tennyson has reproduced it in verse.
Shalott(The lady of). “It is not generally known that the lady of Shalott lived, last summer, in an attic at the east end of South Street.” Thus begins a story of an incurable invalid, whose only amusement is watching street scenes reflected in a small mirror hung opposite the one window of her garret-room. A stone flung by a boy shatters the mirror, and the fragile creature never recovers from the shock.—Elizabeth Stuart Phelps,The Lady of Shalott.
Shamho´zai(3syl.), the angel who debauched himself with women, repented, and hung himself up between earth and heaven.—Bereshit rabbi (inGen.vi. 2).
***Harût and Marût were two angels sent to be judges on earth. They judged righteously until Zohara appeared before them, when they fell in love with her, and were imprisoned in a cave near Babylon, where they are to abide till the day of judgment.
Shandy(Tristram), the nominal hero of Sterne’s novel calledThe Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman(1759). He is the son of Walter and Elizabeth Shandy.
Captain Shandy, better known as “Uncle Toby,” the real hero of Sterne’s novel. Captain Shandy was wounded at Namur, and retired on half-pay. He was benevolent and generous, brave as a lion but simple as a child, most gallant and most modest. Hazlitt says that “the character of Uncle Toby is the finest compliment ever paid to human nature.” His modest love-passages with Widow Wadman, his kindly sympathy for Lieutenant Lefevre, and his military discussions, are wholly unrivalled.
Aunt Dinah[Shandy], Walter Shandy’s aunt. She bequeathed to him £1000, which Walter fancied would enable him to carry out all the wild schemes with which his head was crammed.
Mrs. Elizabeth Shandy, mother of Tristram Shandy. The ideal of nonentity, individual from its very absence of individuality.
Walter Shandy, Tristram’s father, a metaphysical Don Quixote, who believes in long noses and propitious names; but his son’s nose was crushed, and his name, which should have been Trismegistus (“the most propitious”), was changed in christening to Tristram (“the most unlucky”). If much learning can make man mad, Walter Shandy was certainly mad in all the affairs of ordinary life. His wife was a blank sheet, and he himself a sheet so written on and crossed and rewritten that no one could decipher the manuscript.—L. Sterne,The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy(1759).
Sharp, the ordinary of Major Touchwood, who aids him in his transformation, but is himself puzzled to know which is the real and which the false colonel.—T. Dibdin,What Next?
Sharp(Rebecca), the orphan daughter of an artist. “She was small and slight in person, pale, sandy-haired, and with green eyes, habitually cast down, but very large, odd, and attractive when they looked up.” Becky had the “dismal precocity of poverty,” and, being engaged as governess in the family of Sir Pitt Crawley, bart., contrived to marry, clandestinely, his son, Captain Rawdon Crawley, and taught him how to live in splendor “upon nothing a year.” Becky was an excellent singer and dancer,a capital talker and wheedler, and a most attractive, but unprincipled, selfish, and unscrupulous woman. Lord Steyne introduced her to court; but her conduct with this peer gave rise to a terrible scandal, which caused a separation between her and Rawdon, and made England too hot to hold her. She retired to the Continent, was reduced to a Bohemian life, but ultimately attached herself to Joseph Sedley, whom she contrived to strip of all his money, and who lived in dire terror of her, dying in six months under very suspicious circumstances.—Thackeray,Vanity Fair(1848).
Sharp(Timothy), the “lying valet” of Charles Gayless. His object is to make his master, who has not a sixpence in the world, pass for a man of wealth in the eyes of Melissa, to whom he is engaged.—Garrick,The Lying Valet(1741).
Sharp-Beak, the crow’s wife, in the beast-epic calledReynard the Fox(1498).
Sharpe(The Right Rev. James), archbishop of St. Andrew’s, murdered by John Balfour (a leader in the covenanters’ army) and his party.—Sir W. Scott,Old Mortality(time, Charles II.).
Sharper(Master), the cutler in the Strand.—Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).
Sharpitlaw(Gideon), a police officer.—Sir W. Scott,Heart of Midlothian(time, George II.).
Shawonda´see, son of Mudjekeewis, and king of the south wind. Fat and lazy, listless and easy. Shawondasee loved a prairie maiden (the Dandelion), but was too indolent to woo her.—Longfellow,Hiawatha(1855).
She Stoops to Conquer, a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith (1773). Miss Hardcastle, knowing how bashful young Marlow is before ladies,stoopsto the manners and condition of a barmaid, with whom he feels quite at his ease, and by this artifice wins the man of her choice.
***It is said that when Goldsmith was about 16 years old, he set out for Edgworthstown, and finding night coming on when at Ardagh, asked a man “which was the best house in town”—meaning the best inn. The man, who was Cornelius O’Kelly, the great fencing-master, pointed to that of Mr. Ralph Fetherstone, as being the best house in the vicinity. Oliver entered the parlor, found the master of the mansion sitting over a good fire, and said he intended to pass the night there, and should like to have supper. Mr. Fetherstone happened to know Goldsmith’s father, and, to humor the joke, pretended to be the landlord of “the public,” nor did he reveal himself till next morning at breakfast, when Oliver called for his bill. It was not Sir Ralph Fetherstone, as is generally said, but Mr. Ralph Fetherstone, whose grandson was Sir Thomas.
Sheba.The queen of Sheba, or Saba (i.e.the Sabeans) came to visit Solomon, and tested his wisdom by sundry questions, but affirmed that his wisdom and wealth exceeded even her expectations.—1Kingsx.; 2Chron.ix.
No, not to answer, madam, all those hard thingsThat Sheba came to ask of Solomon.Tennyson,The Princess, ii.
***The Arabs call her name Balkis, or Belkis; the Abyssinians, Macqueda; and others, Aazis.
Sheba(The queen of), a name given to Mde. Montreville (the Begum MooteeMahul).—Sir W. Scott,The Surgeon’s Daughter(time, George II.).
Shebdiz, the Persian Bucephalos, the favorite charger of Chosroës II., or Khosrou Parvis, of Persia (590-628).
Shedad, king of Ad, who built a most magnificent palace, and laid out a garden called “The Garden of Irem,” like “the bowers of Eden.” All men admired this palace and garden, except the prophet Houd, who told the king that the foundation of his palace was not secure. And so it was, that God, to punish his pride, first sent a drought of three years’ duration, and then the Sarsar, or icy wind, for seven days, in which the garden was destroyed, the palace ruined, and Shedad, with all his subjects, died.
It is said that the palace of Shedad, or Shuddaud, took 500 years in building, and when it was finished the angel of death would not allow him even to enter his garden, but struck him dead, and the rose garden of Irem was ever after invisible to the eye of man.—Southey,Thalaba, the Destroyer, 1. (1797).
Sheep-Dog(A), a lady-companion, who occupies the back seat of the barouche, carries wraps, etc., goes to church with thelady,and“guards her from the wolves,” as much as the lady wishes to be guarded, but no more.
“Rawdon,” said Becky, ... “I must have a sheep-dog ... I mean amoralshepherd’s dog ... to keep the wolves off me.” ... “A sheep-dog, a companion! Becky Sharp with a sheep-dog! Isn’t that good fun!”—Thackeray,Vanity Fair, xxxvii. (1848).
“Rawdon,” said Becky, ... “I must have a sheep-dog ... I mean amoralshepherd’s dog ... to keep the wolves off me.” ... “A sheep-dog, a companion! Becky Sharp with a sheep-dog! Isn’t that good fun!”—Thackeray,Vanity Fair, xxxvii. (1848).
Sheep of the Prisons, a cant term in the French Revolution for a spy under the jailers.—C. Dickens,A Tale of Two Cities, iii. 7 (1859).
Sheep Tilted at.Don Quixote saw the dust of two flocks of sheep coming in opposite directions, and told Sancho they were two armies—one commanded by the Emperor Alifanfaron, sovereign of the island of Trap´oban, and the other by the king of the Garaman´teans, called “Pentap´olin with the Naked Arm.” He said that Alifanfaron was in love with Pentapolin’s daughter, but Pentapolin refused to sanction the alliance, because Alifanfaron was a Mohammedan. The mad knight rushed on the flock “led by Alifanfaron,” and killed seven of the sheep, but was stunned by stones thrown at him by the shepherds. When Sancho told his master that the two armies were only two flocks of sheep, the knight replied that the enchanter Freston had “metamorphosed the two grand armies” in order to show his malice.—Cervantes,Don Quixote, I. iii. 4 (1605).
***After the death of Achillês, Ajax and Ulysses both claimed the armor of Hector. The dispute was settled by the sons of Atreus (2syl.), who awarded the prize to Ulysses. This so enraged Ajax that it drove him mad, and he fell upon a flock of sheep driven at night into the camp, supposing it to be an army led by Ulysses and the sons of Atreus. When he found out his mistake, he stabbed himself. This is the subject of a tragedy by Soph´oclês calledAjax Mad.
***Orlando in his madness also fell foul of a flock of sheep.—Ariosto,Orlando Furioso(1516).
Sheffield(The Bard of), James Montgomery, author ofThe Wanderer of Switzerland, etc. (1771-1854).
With broken lyre and cheek serenely pale,Lo! Sad Alcæns wanders down the vale ...O’er his lost works let classic Sheffield weep;May no rude hand disturb their early sleep!Byron,English Bards and Scotch Reviewers(1809).
Sheila, pretty, simple-hearted girl, whose father is a magnate among his neighbors in the Orkney Islands. Sheila is won by a Londoner—Lavender by name—who visits her island home. He transplants the Northern wild flower into a London home, where she pines for a while, homesick and heart-sick. In time, her sound sense enables her to adjust herself to altered conditions, and her stronger nature raises and ennobles her husband’s.—William Black,A Princess of Thulè.
Shelby(Mr.), Uncle Tom’s first master. Being in commercial difficulties, he was obliged to sell his faithful slave. His son afterwards endeavored to buy Uncle Tom back again, but found that he had been whipped to death by the villain Legree.—Harriet Beecher Stowe,Uncle Tom’s Cabin(1852).
Shell(A). Amongst the ancient Gaels a shell was emblematic of peace. Hence when Bosmi´na, Fingal’s daughter, was sent to propitiate King Erragon, who had invaded Morven, she carried with her a “sparkling shell as a symbol of peace, and a golden arrow as a symbol of war.”—Ossian,The Battle of Lora.
Shells,i.e., hospitality. “Semo, king of shells” (“hospitality”). When Cuthullin invites Swaran to a banquet, his messenger says, “Cuthullin gives the joy of shells; come and partake the feast of Erin’s blue-eyed chief.” The ancient Gaels drank from shells; and hence such phrases as “chief of shells,” “hall of shells,” “king of shells,” etc. (king of hospitality). “To rejoice in the shell” is to feast sumptuously and drink freely.
Shemus-an-Snachad, or “James of the Needle,” M’Ivor’s tailor at Edinburgh.—Sir W. Scott,Waverley(time, George II.)
Shepheardes Calendar(The), twelve eclogues in various metres, by Spenser, one for each month.January: Colin Clout (Spenser) bewails that Rosalind does not return his love, and compares his forlorn condition to the season itself.February: Cuddy, a lad, complains of the cold, and Thenot laments the degeneracy of pastoral life.March: Willie and Thomalin discourse of love (described as a person just aroused from sleep).April: Hobbinol sings a song on Eliza, queen of shepherds.May: Palinode (3syl.) exhorts Piers to join the festivities of May, but Piers replies that good shepherds who seek their own indulgence expose their flocks to the wolves. He then relates the fable of the kid and her dam.June: Hobbinol exhorts Colin to greater cheerfulness, but Colin replies there is no cheer for him while Rosalind remains unkind and loves Menalcas better than himself.July: Morrel, a goat-herd, invites Thomalin to come with him to the uplands, but Thomalin replies that humility better becomes a shepherd (i.e., a pastor or clergyman).August: Perigot and Willie contend in song, and Cuddy is appointed arbiter.September: Diggon Davie complains to Hobbinol of clerical abuses.October: On poetry, which Cuddy says has no encouragement, and laments that Colin neglects it, being crossed in love.November;Colin, being asked by Thenot to sing, excuses himself because of his grief for Dido, but finally he sings her elegy.December: Colin again complains that his heart is desolate because Rosalind loves him not (1579).
Shepheards Hunting(The), four “eglogues” by George Wither, while confinedin the Marshalsea (1615). The shepherd, Roget, is the poet himself, and his “hunting” is a satire calledAbuses Stript and Whipt, for which he was imprisoned. The first three eglogues are upon the subject of Roget’s imprisonment, and the fourth is on his love of poetry. “Willy” is the poet’s friend, William Browne, of the Inner Temple, author ofBritannia’s Pastorals. He was two years the junior of Wither.
Shepherd(The), Moses, who for forty years fed the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law.
Sing, heavenly Muse, that on the secret topOf Oreb or of Sinai, didst inspireThat shepherd who first taught the chosen seed,“In the beginning,” how the heaven and earthRose out of chaos.Milton,Paradise Lost, i. (1665).
Shepherd(The Gentle), George Grenville, the statesman. One day, in addressing the House, George Grenville said, “Tell me where! tell me where!...” Pitt hummed the line of a song then very popular, beginning, “Gentle shepherd, tell me where!” and the whole House was convulsed with laughter (1712-1770).
***Allan Ramsay has a beautiful Scotch pastoral calledThe Gentle Shepherd(1725).
Shepherd(John Claridge), the signature adopted by the author ofThe Shepherd of Banbury’s Rules to Judge of the Changes of Weather, etc.(1744). Supposed to be Dr. John Campbell, author ofA Political Survey of Britain.
Shepherd-Kings(The), orHyksos. These Hyksos were a tribe of Cuthites driven from Assyria by Aralius and the Shemites. Their names were: (1)Saītêsor Salātês, called by the Arabs El-Weleed, and said to be a descendant of Esau (B.C.1870-1851); (2)Beon, called by the Arabs Er-Reiyan, son of El-Weleed (B.C.1851-1811); (3)Apachnas(B.C.1811-1750); (4)Apōphis, called by the Arabs Er-Reiyan II., in whose reign Joseph was sold into Egypt and was made viceroy (B.C.1750-1700); (5)Janias(B.C.1700-1651); (6)Asseth(1651-1610).The Hyksos were driven out of Egypt by Amŏsis or Thetmosis, the founder of the eighteenth dynasty, and retired to Palestine, where they formed the chiefs or lords of the Philistines. (Hyksos is compounded ofhyk, “king,” andsos, “shepherd.”)
***Apophis or Aphophis was not a shepherd-king, but a pharaoh or native ruler, who made Apachnas tributary, and succeeded him, but on the death of Aphophis the hyksos were restored.
Shepherd Lord(The), Lord Henry de Clifford, brought up by his mother as a shepherd to save him from the vengeance of the Yorkists. Henry VII. restored him to his birthright and estates (1455-1543).
The gracious fairy,Who loved the shepherd lord to meetIn his wanderings solitary.Wordsworth,The White Doe of Rylstone(1815).
Shepherd of Banbury.(SeeShepherd, John Claridge.)
Shepherd of Filida.