A trick something like that played off on the Miller of Trompington.—Review of Kirkton, xix. 253.
A trick something like that played off on the Miller of Trompington.—Review of Kirkton, xix. 253.
Miller on the Dee.“There was a Jolly Miller once lived on the River Dee,” is a song by Isaac Bickerstaff, introduced inLove in a Village, i. 1 (1763).
Mills(Miss), the bosom friend of Dora. Supposed to have been blighted in early life in some love affair, and hence she looks on the happiness of others with a calm, supercilious benignity, and talks of herself as being “in the desert of Sahara.”—C. Dickens,David Copperfield(1849).
Millwood(Sarah), the courtezan who enticed George Barnwell to rob his master and murder his uncle. Sarah Millwood spent all the money that George Barnwell obtained by these crimes, then turned him out of doors, and informed against him. Both were hanged.—George Lillo,George Barnwell(1732).
Milly, the wife of William Swidger. She is the good angel of the tale.—C. Dickens,The Haunted Man(1848).
Milo, an athlete of Croto´na, noted for his amazing strength. He could carry on his shoulders a four-year-old heifer. When old, Milo attempted to tear in twain an oak tree, but the parts, closing on his hands, held him fast, till he was devoured by wolves.
Milo(The English), Thomas Topham, of London (1710-1752).
Milton, introduced by Sir Walter Scott inWoodstock(time, Commonwealth).
Milton of Germany, Frederick Gottlieb Klopstock, author ofThe Messiah, an epic poem (1724-1803).
A very German Milton indeed.Coleridge.
Milton’s Monument, in Westminster Abbey, was by Rysbrack.
Milvey(The Rev. Frank), a “young man expensively educated and wretchedly paid, with quite a young wife and half a dozen young children. He was under the necessity of teaching ... to eke out his scanty means, yet was generally expected to have more time to spare than the idlest person in the parish, and more money than the richest.”
Mrs. Milvey(Margaretta), a pretty, bright little woman, emphatic and impulsive, but “something worn by anxiety. She had repressed many pretty tastes and bright fancies, and substituted instead schools, soup, flannel, coals, and all the week-day cares and Sunday coughs of a large population, young and old.”—C. Dickens,Our Mutual Friend(1864).
Minagro´bis, admiral of the cats in the great sea-fight of the cats and rats. Minagrobis won the victory by devouring the admiral of the rats, who had made three voyages round the world in very excellent ships, in which he was neither one of the officers nor one of the crew, but a kind of interloper.—Comtesse D’Aulnoy,Fairy Tales(“The White Cat,” 1682).
Min´cing, lady’s-maid to Millamant. She saysmemfor ma’am,fitfor fought,la’shipfor ladyship, etc.—W. Congreve,The Way of the World(1700).
Minikin(Lord), married to a cousin of Sir John Trotley, but, according tobon ton, he flirts with Miss Tittup; and Miss Tittup, who is engaged to Colonel Tivy, flirts with a married man.
Lady Minikin, wife of Lord Minikin. According tobon ton, she hates her husband, and flirts with Colonel Tivy; and Colonel Tivy, who is engaged to Miss Tittup, flirts with a married woman. It isbon tonto do so.—Garrick,Bon Ton(1760).
Minjekah´wun, Hiawatha’s mittens, made of deer-skin. When Hiawatha had his mittens on, he could smite the hardest rocks asunder.
He [Hiawatha] had mittens, Minjekahwun,Magic mittens made of deer-skin;When upon his hands he wore them,He could smite the rocks asunder.Longfellow,Hiawatha, iv. (1855).
Minna and Brenda, two beautiful girls, the daughters of Magnus Troil, the old udaller of Zetland. Minna was stately in form, with dark eyes and raven locks; credulous and vain, but not giddy; enthusiastic, talented and warm-hearted. Sheloved Captain Clement Cleveland; but Cleveland was killed in an encounter on the Spanish main. Brenda had golden hair, a bloom on her cheeks, a fairy form, and a serene, cheerful disposition. She was less the heroine than her sister, but more the loving and confiding woman. She married Mordaunt Mertoun (ch. iii).—Sir W. Scott,The Pirate(time, William III.).
Minna von Barnhelm.A wealthy girl who is engaged to Major von Tellheim, a Prussian soldier. He loses his fortune, is wounded and suspected of dishonor, and from regard for Minna strives to break the engagement. Everything is righted, and they marry.—G. E. Lessing.
Minneha´ha(“the laughing water”), daughter of the arrow-maker of Daco´tah, and wife of Hiawatha. She was called Minnehaha from the waterfall of that name between St. Anthony and Fort Snelling.
From the waterfall, he named herMinnehaha, Laughing Water.Longfellow,Hiawatha, iv. (1855).
Minnesingers, the Troubadours of Germany during the Hohenstaufen period (1138-1294), minstrels who composed and sung short lyrical poems—usually in praise of women or in celebration of the beauties of nature—calledMinne, or love songs. The names of nearly three hundred of these poets have come down to us, including all classes of society, the most famous being Dietmar von Aist, Ulrich von Lichenstein, Heinrich von Frauenlob, and above all Walther von der Vogelweid (1168-1230). Wolfram von Eschenbach, Gottfried von Strasburg, and Hartmann von der Aue are also classed among the Minnesingers, but their principal fame was won in the field of metrical romance.
***The story runs that Vogelweid bequeathed his worldly all to a Wurtzburg monastery upon condition that they should feed the doves at noon every day upon his grave. The multiplying birds aroused the avaricious alarm of the abbot, who forbade the daily distribution.
“Time has long effaced the inscriptionsOn the cloister’s funeral stones,And tradition only tells usWhere repose the poet’s bones.But around the vast cathedralBy sweet echoesmutipliedStill the birds repeat the legendAnd the name of Vogelweid.”H. W. Longfellow,Walter von der Vogelweid186-.
Mino´na, “the soft blushing daughter of Torman,” a Gaelic bard in theSongs of Selma, one of the most famous portions of Macpherson’sOssian.
Minor(The), a comedy by Samuel Foote (1760). Sir George Wealthy, “the minor,” was the son of Sir William Wealthy, a retired merchant. He was educated at a public school, sent to college, and finished his training in Paris. His father, hearing of his extravagant habits, pretended to be dead, and, assuming the guise of a German baron, employed several persons to dodge the lad, some to be winners in his gambling, some to lend money, some to cater to other follies, till he was apparently on the brink of ruin. His uncle, Mr. Richard Wealthy, a City merchant, wanted his daughter, Lucy, to marry a wealthy trader, and as she refused to do so, he turned her out of doors. This young lady was brought to Sir George as afille de joie, but she touched his heart by her manifest innocence, and he not only relieved her present necessities, but removed her to an asylum where her “innocent beauty would be guarded from temptation, and her deluded innocence would be rescued from infamy.” The whole scheme now burst as a bubble. Sir George’s father, proud of his son, told him he was his father, and that his losses were only fictitious; and the uncle, melted into a better mood, gave his daughter to his nephew, and blessed the boy for rescuing his discarded child.
Minotti, governor of Corinth, then under the power of the doge. In 1715 the city was stormed by the Turks; and during the siege one of the magazines in the Turkish camp blew up, killing 600 men. Byron says it was Minotti himself who fired the train, and that he perished in the explosion.—Byron,Siege of Corinth(1816).
Minstrel(The), an unfinished poem, in Spenserian metre, by James Beattie. Its design was to trace the progress of a poetic genius, born in a rude age, from the first dawn of fancy to the fullness of poetic rapture. The first canto is descriptive of Edwin, the minstrel; canto ii. is dull philosophy, and there, happily, the poem ends. It is a pity it did not end with the first canto (1773-4).
And yet poor Edwin was no vulgar boy,Deep thought oft seemed to fix his infant eye.Dainties he heeded not, nor gaude, nor toy,Save one short pipe of rudest minstrelsy;Silent when sad, affectionate, tho’ shy;And now his look was most demurely sad;And now he laughed aloud, though none knew why.The neighbors stared and sighed, yet blessed the lad;Some deemed him wondrous wise, and some believed him mad.Canto i. 16.
Minstrel(Lay of the Last). Ladye Margaret, “the flower of Teviot,” was the daughter of Lord Walter Scott, of Branksome Hall. She loved Baron Henry, of Cranstown; but between the two families a deadly feud existed. One day the elfin page of Lord Cranstown inveigled the heir of Branksome Hall (then a lad) into the woods, where he fell into the hands of the English, who marched with 3000 men to Branksome Hall; but, being told that Douglas was coming to the rescue with 10,000 men, the two armies agreed to settle by single combat whether the lad should be given up to the mother or be made King Edward’s page. The two champions were Sir Richard Musgrave (English) and Sir William Deloraine (Scotch). The Scotch champion slew Sir Richard, and the boy was delivered to his mother. It now turned out that Sir William Deloraine was Lord Cranstown, who claimed and received the hand of Ladye Margaret as his reward.—Sir W. Scott (1805).
Minstrel of the Border, Sir W. Scott; also called “The Border Minstrel” (1771-1832).
My steps the Border Minstrel led.Wordsworth,Yarrow Revisited.
Great Minstrel of the Border.Wordsworth.
Minstrel of the English Stage(The Last), James Shirley, last of the Shakespeare school (1594-1666).
***Then followed the licentious French school, headed by John Dryden.
Minstrels(Royal Domestic).
Of William I., Berdie, calledRegis Jocula´tor.
Of Henry I., Galfrid and Royer, or Raher.
Of Richard I., Blondel.
Mint Julep, a Virginian beverage, celebrated in song by Charles Fenno Hoffman (185-). A favorite variety of this drink is compounded of brandy, water, sugar, mint-leaves and pounded ice, and is called a “hail-storm.”
“The draught was delicious, and loud the acclaim,’Though something seemed wanting for all to bewail;ButJulepsthe drink of immortals becameWhen Jove himself added a handful of hail.”Charles Fenno Hoffman,Poems(1846).
Mintz,aliasAraminta Sophronia—the best cook and housemaid in town—rules the Stackpole family with a rod of red-hot steel until the son of the house defies her by marrying the head scholar in the Boston Cooking School.—Augusta Larned,Village Photographs(1887).
Miol´ner(3syl.), Thor’s hammer.
This is my hammer, Miölner the mighty;Giants and sorcerers cannot withstand it.Sæmund Sigfusson,Edda(1130).
Miquelets(Les), soldiers of the Pyrenees, sent to co-operate with the dragoons of theGrand Monarqueagainst the Camisards of the Cevennes.
Mir´abel, the “wild goose,” a travelled Monsieur, who loves women in a loose way, but abhors matrimony, and especially dislikes Oria´na; but Oriana “chases” the “wild goose” with her woman’s wiles, and catches him.—Beaumont and Fletcher,The Wild-goose Chase(1652).
Mirabel(Old). He adores his son, and wishes him to marry Oria´na. As the young man shilly-shallies, the father enters into several schemes to entrap him into a declaration of love; but all his schemes are abortive.
Young Mirabel, the son, called “the inconstant.” A handsome, dashing young rake, who loves Oriana, but does not wish to marry. Whenever Oriana seems lost to him the ardor of his love revives; but immediately his path is made plain, he holds off. However, he ultimately marries her.—G. Farquhar,The Inconstant(1702).
Mirabell(Edward), in love with Millamant. He liked her, “with all her faults; nay, liked her for her faults, ... which were so natural that (in his opinion) they became her.”—W. Congreve,The Way of the World(1700).
Not all that Drury Lane affordsCan paint the rakish “Charles” so well,Or give such life to “Mirabell”[As Montague Talbot, 1778-1831].Crofton Croker.
Mirabella, “a maiden fair, clad in mourning weeds, upon a mangy jade unmeetly set, with a lewd fool called Disdain” (canto 6). Timias and Serena, after quitting the hermit’s cell, meet her. Though so sorely clad and mounted, the maiden was “a lady of great dignity and honor, but scornful and proud.” Many a wretch did languish for her through a long life. Being summoned to Cupid’s judgment hall, the sentence passed on her was that she should “ride on a mangy jade, accompanied by a fool, till she had saved as many lovers as she had slain” (canto 7). Mirabella was also doomed to carry a leaky bottle, which she was to fill with tears, and a torn wallet, which she was to fill with repentance: but her tears and her repentance dropped out as fast as they were put in, and were trampled under foot by Scorn (canto 8).—Spenser,Faëry Queen, vi. 6-8 (1596).
***“Mirabella” is supposed to be meant for Rosalind, who jilted Spenser, and whois called by the poet “a widow’s daughter of the glen, and poor.”
Mir´amont, brother of Justice Brisac, and uncle of the two brothers, Charles (the scholar) and Eustace (the courtier). Miramont is an ignorant, testy old man, but a great admirer of learning and scholars.—Beaumont and Fletcher,The Elder Brother(1637).
Miran´da, daughter of Prospero, the exiled duke of Milan, and niece of Antonio, the usurping duke. She is brought up on a desert island, with Ariel, the fairy spirit, and Cal´iban, the monster, as her only companions. Ferdinand, son of the king of Naples, being shipwrecked on the island, falls in love with her, and marries her.—Shakespeare,The Tempest(1609).
Identifying herself with the simple yet noble-minded Miranda in the isle of wonder and enchantment.—Sir W. Scott.
Identifying herself with the simple yet noble-minded Miranda in the isle of wonder and enchantment.—Sir W. Scott.
Miranda, an heiress, the ward of Sir Francis Gripe. As she must obtain his consent to her marriage before she could obtain possession of her fortune, she pretended to love him, although he was 64 years old; and the old fool believed it. When, therefore, Miranda asked his consent to marry, he readily gave it, thinking himself to be the man of her choice; but the sly little hussy laughed at her old guardian, and plighted her troth to Sir George Airy, a man of 24.—Mrs. Centlivre,The Busy Body(1709).
Mir´ja, one of the six Wise Men of the East, led by the guiding star to Jesus. Mirja had five sons, who followed his holy life.—Klopstock,The Messiah, v. (1771).
Mirror(Alasnam’s), a mirror which showed Alasnam if “a beautiful girl was also chaste and virtuous.” The mirror was called “the touchstone of virtue.”—Arabian Nights(“Prince Zeyn Alasnam”).
Mirror(Cambuscan’s), a mirror sent to Cambuscan´, king of Tartary, by the king of Araby and Ind. It showed those who consulted it if any adversity were about to befall them; if any one they loved were friend or foe.—Chaucer,Canterbury Tales(“The Squire’s Tale,” unfinished.)
“Or call up him who left half-told,The story of Cambuscan bold.* * * * *That owned the virtuous ring and glass.”Milton,Il Penseroso.
Mirror(Kelly’s), Dr. Dee’s speculum. Kelly was the doctor’s speculator or seer. The speculum resembled a “piece of polished cannel coal.”
Kelly did all his feats uponThe devil’s looking-glass, a stone.S. Butler,Hudibras(1663-78).
Mirror(Lao’s), a looking-glass which reflected the mind as well as the outward form.—Goldsmith,Citizen of the World, xlv. (1759).
Mirror(Merlin’s Magic) or Venus’s looking-glass, fabricated in South Wales, in the days of King Ryence. It would show to those that looked therein anything which pertained to them, anything that a friend or foe was doing. It was round like a sphere, and was given by Merlin to King Ryence.
That never foe his kingdom might invadeBut he it knew at home before he heardTidings thereof.
Britomart, who was King Ryence’s daughter and heiress, saw in the mirror her future husband and also his name, which was Sir Artegal.—Spenser,Faëry Queen, iii. 2 (1590).
Mirror(Prester John’s), a mirror which possessed similar virtues to that made by Merlin. Prester John could see therein whatever was taking place in any part of his dominions.
***Dr. Dee’s speculum was also spherical, and possessed a similar reputed virtue.
Mirror(Reynard’s Wonderful). This mirror existed only in the brain of Master Fox. He told the queen lion that whoever looked therein could see what was being done a mile off. The wood of the frame was part of the same block out of which Crampart’s magic horse was made.—Reynard the Fox, xii. (1498).
Mirror(Venus’s), generally called “Venus’s looking-glass,” the same asMerlin’s magic mirror(q.v.).
Mirror(Vulcan’s). Vulcan made a mirror which showed those who looked into it the past, present, and future. Sir John Davies says that Cupid handed this mirror to Antin´ous, when he was in the court of Ulysses, and Antinous gave it to Penel´opê, who beheld therein the court of Queen Elizabeth and all its grandeur.
Vulcan, the king of fire, that mirror wrought ...As there did represent in lively showOur glorious English court’s divine imageAs it should be in this our golden age.Sir John Davies,Orchestra(1615).
Mirror of King Ryence, a mirror made by Merlin. It showed those who looked into it whatever they wished to see.—Spenser,Faëry Queen, iii. (1590).
Mirror of Knighthood, a romance of chivalry. It was one of the books in Don Quixote’s library, and the curé said to the barber:
“In this sameMirror of Knighthoodwe meet with Rinaldo de Montalban and his companions, with the twelve peers of France, and Turpin, the historian. These gentlemen we will condemn only to perpetual exile, as they contain something of the famous Bojardo’s invention, whence the Christian poet Ariosto borrowed the groundwork of his ingenious compositions; to whom I should pay little regard if he had not written in his own language [Italian].”—Cervantes,Don Quixote, I. i. 6 (1605).
“In this sameMirror of Knighthoodwe meet with Rinaldo de Montalban and his companions, with the twelve peers of France, and Turpin, the historian. These gentlemen we will condemn only to perpetual exile, as they contain something of the famous Bojardo’s invention, whence the Christian poet Ariosto borrowed the groundwork of his ingenious compositions; to whom I should pay little regard if he had not written in his own language [Italian].”—Cervantes,Don Quixote, I. i. 6 (1605).
Mirror of all Martial Men, Thomas, earl of Salisbury (died 1428).
Mirrour for Magistraytes, begun by Thomas Sackville, and intended to be a poetical biography of remarkable Englishmen. Sackville wrote the “Induction,” and furnished one of the sketches, that of Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham (the tool of Richard III.). Baldwynne, Ferrers, Churchyard, Phair, etc., added others. Subsequently, John Higgins, Richard Nichols, Thomas Blenerhasset, etc., supplied additional characters; but Sackville alone stands out pre-eminent in merit. In the “Induction,” Sackville tells us he was conducted by Sorrowe into the infernal regions. At the porch sat Remorse and Dread, and within the porch were Revenge, Miserie, Care, and Slepe. Passing on, he beheld Old Age, Maladie, Famine, and Warre. Sorrowe then took him to Achĕron, and ordered Charon to ferry them across. They passed the three-headed Cerbĕrus and came to Pluto, where the poet saw several ghosts, the last of all being the duke of Buckingham, whose “complaynt” finishes the part written by Thomas Sackville (1557). (SeeBuckingham.)
***Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, must not be mistaken for George Villiers, duke of Buckingham 150 years later.
Mirza(The Vision of). Mirza, being at Grand Cairo on the fifth day of themoon, which he always kept holy, ascended a high hill, and, falling into a trance, beheld a vision of human life. First he saw a prodigious tide of water rolling through a valley with a thick mist at each end—this was the river of time. Over the river was a bridge of a thousand arches, but only three score and ten were unbroken. By these, men were crossing, the arches representing the number of years the traveller lived before he tumbled into the river. Lastly, he saw the happy valley, but when he asked to see the secrets hidden under the dark clouds on the other side, the vision was ended, and he only beheld the valley of Bagdad, with its oxen, sheep, and camels grazing on its sides.—Addison,Vision of Mirza(Spectator, 159).
Misbegot(Malcolm), natural son of Sybil Knockwinnock, and an ancestor of Sir Arthur Wardour.—Sir W. Scott,The Antiquary(time, George III.).
Miser(The), a comedy by H. Fielding, aréchaufféof Molière’s comedyL’Avare. Lovegold is “Harpagon,” Frederick is “Cléante,” Mariana is “Mariane,” and Ramilie is “La Fléche.” Lovegold, a man of 60, and his son Frederick, both wish to marry Mariana, and, in order to divert the old miser from his foolish passion, Mariana pretends to be most extravagant. She orders a necklace and ear-rings of the value of £3000, a petticoat and gown from a fabric which is £12 a yard, and besets the house with duns. Lovegold gives £2000 to break off the bargain, and Frederick becomes the bridegroom of Mariana.
Misers.—SeeDictionary of Phrase and Fable.
Misere´re(The), sung on Good Fridays in Catholic churches, is the composition of Gregorio Allegri, who died in 1640.
Mishe-Mok´wa, the great bear slain by Mudjekeewis.—Longfellow,Hiawatha, ii. (1855).
Mishe-Nah´ma, the great sturgeon, “king of fishes,” subdued by Hiawatha. With this labor, the “great teacher” taught the Indians how to make oil for winter. When Hiawatha threw his line for the sturgeon, that king of fishes first persuaded a pike to swallow the bait and try to break the line, but Hiawatha threw it back into the water. Next, a sun-fish was persuaded to try the bait, with the same result. Then the sturgeon, in anger, swallowed Hiawatha and canoe also; but Hiawatha smote the heart of the sturgeon with his fist, and the king of fishes swam to the shore and died. Then the sea-gulls opened a rift in the dead body, out of which Hiawatha made his escape.
“I have slain the Mishê-Nahma,Slain the king of fishes” said he.Longfellow,Hiawatha, vii. (1855).
Misnar, sultan of India, transformed by Ulin into a toad.“Hewas disenchanted by the dervise Shemshel´nar, the most “pious worshipper of Alla amongst all the sons of Asia.” By prudence and piety, Misnar and his vizier, Horam, destroyed all the enchanters who filled India with rebellion, and, having secured peace, married Hem´junah, daughter of Zebenezer, sultan of Cassimir, to whom he had been betrothed when he was known only as the prince of Georgia.—James Ridley,Tales of the Genii, vi., vii. (1751).
Misog´onus, by Thomas Rychardes, thethird English comedy (1560). It is written in rhyming quatrains, and not in couplets likeRalph Roister DoisterandGammer Gurton’s Needle.
Miss in Her Teens, a farce by David Garrick (1753). Miss Biddy Bellair is in love with Captain Loveit, who is known to her only by the name of Rhodophil; but she coquets with Captain Flash and Mr. Fribble, while her aunt wants her to marry an elderly man by the name of Stephen Loveit, whom she detests. When the Captain returns from the wars, she sets Captain Flash and Mr. Fribble together by the ears; and while they stand fronting each other, but afraid to fight, Captain Loveit enters, recognizes Flash as a deserter, takes away his sword, and dismisses Fribble as beneath contempt.
Mississippi Bubble, the “South Sea scheme” of France, projected by John Law, a Scotchman. So called because the projector was to have the exclusive trade of Louisiana, on the banks of the Mississippi, on condition of his taking on himself the National Debt (incorporated 1717, failed 1720).
The debt was 208 millions sterling. Law made himself sole creditor of this debt, and was allowed to issue ten times the amount in paper money, and to open “the Royal Bank of France,” empowered to issue this paper currency. So long as a 20-franc note was worth 20 francs, the scheme was a prodigious success, but immediately the paper money was at a discount, a run on the bank set in, and the whole scheme burst.
Miss Ludington.A beautiful girl changed by illness into “a sad and faded woman.” She had a portrait painted from an ivory miniature of herself, taken before the change, and conceives the idea thatwhat she was oncemust still exist somewhere. The phantasy is played upon by impostors, who undertake to materialize the fancied creature and introduce her as the soul-sister of the credulous spinster. The instrument of the audacious fraud becomes conscience stricken and reveals it.—Edward Bellamy,Miss Ludington’s Sister(1884).
Mistletoe Bough(The). The song so called is by Thomas Haynes Bayley, who died 1839. The tale is this: Lord Lovel married a young lady, a baron’s daughter, and on the wedding night the bride proposed that the guest should play “hide-and-seek.” The bride hid in an old oak chest, and the lid, falling down, shut her in, for it went with a spring-lock. Lord Lovel sought her that night and sought next day, and so on for a week, but nowhere could he find her. Some years later, the old chest was sold, and, on being opened, was found to contain the skeleton of the bride.
Rogers, in hisItaly, gives the same story, and calls the lady “Ginevra” of Modĕna.
Collet, in hisRelics of Literature, has a similar story.
Another is inserted in theCauses Célèbres.
Marwell Old Hall (near Winchester), once the residence of the Seymours, and afterwards of the Dacre family, has a similar tradition attached to it, and “the very chest is said to be now the property of the Rev. J. Haygarth, rector of Upham.”
Bramshall, Hampshire, has a similar tale and chest.
The great house at Malsanger, near Basingstoke, also in Hampshire, has a similar tradition connected with it.
Mi´ta, sister of Aude. She married SirMiton de Rennes, and became the mother of Mitaine. (Seenext art.)—Croquemitaine, xv.
Mitaine, daughter of Mita and Miton, and godchild of Charlemagne. She went in search of Fear Fortress, and found that it existed only in the imagination, for as she boldly advanced towards it, the castle gradually faded into thin air. Charlemagne made Mitaine, for this achievement, Roland’s squire, and she fell with him in the memorable attack at Roncesvallês. (Seeprevious art.)—Croquemitaine, iii.
Mite(Sir Matthew), a returned East Indian merchant, dissolute, dogmatical, ashamed of his former acquaintances, hating the aristocracy, yet longing to be acknowledged by them. He squanders his wealth on toadies, dresses his livery servants most gorgeously, and gives his chairmen the most costly exotics to wear in their coats. Sir Matthew is forever astonishing weak minds with his talk about rupees, lacs, jaghires, and so on.—S. Foote,The Nabob.
MithraorMithras, a supreme divinity of the ancient Persians, confounded by the Greeks and Romans with thesun. He is the personification of Ormuzd, representing fecundity and perpetual renovation. Mithra is represented as a young man with a Phrygian cap, a tunic, a mantle on his left shoulder, and plunging a sword into the neck of a bull. Scaliger says the word means “greatest” or “supreme.” Mithra is the middle of the triplasian deity: the Mediator, Eternal Intellect, and Architect of the world.
Her towers, where Mithra once had burned,To Moslem shrines—oh shame!—were turned;Where slaves, converted by the sword,Their mean apostate worship poured,And cursed the faith their sires adored.Moore,Lalla Rookh(“The Fire-Worshippers,” 1817).
Mithridate(3syl.), a medicinal confection, invented by Damoc´ratês, physician to Mithrida´tês, king of Pontus, and supposed to be an antidote to all poisons and contagion. It contained seventy-two ingredients. Any panacea is called a “mithridate.”
Their kinsman garlic bring, the poor man’s mithridate.Drayton,Polyolbion, xx. (1622).
Mithridate(3syl.), a tragedy by Racine, (1673). “Monime” (2syl.), in this drama, was one of Mdlle. Rachel’s great characters.
Mithrida´tes(4syl.), surnamed “the Great.” Being conquered by the Romans, he tried to poison himself, but poison had no effect on him, and he was slain by a Gaul. Mithridatês was active, intrepid, indefatigable, and fruitful in resources; but he had to oppose such generals as Sulla, Lucullus, and Pompey. His ferocity was unbounded, his perfidy was even grand.
***Racine has written a French tragedy on the subject, calledMithridate(1673); and N. Lee brought out hisMithridatêsin English about the same time.
Mixit(Dr.), the apothecary at the Black Bear inn at Darlington.—Sir W. Scott,Rob Roy(time, George I.).
M’liss, brave, arch, and loving girl of the Wild West; the heroine of one of Bret Harte’s most popular sketches.
M. M. Sketch(An), a memorandum sketch.
Mne´me(2syl.), a well-spring of Bœo´tia, which quickens the memory. The other well-spring in the same vicinity, calledLê´thê, has the opposite effect, causing blank forgetfulness.—Pliny.
Dantê calls this river Eu´noê. It had the power of calling to the memory all the good acts done, all the graces bestowed, all the mercies received, but no evil.—Dantê,Purgatory, xxxiii. (1308).
Mo´ath, a well-to-do Bedouin, father of Onei´za (3syl.), the beloved of Thalaba. Oneiza, having married Thalaba, died on the bridal night, and Moath arrived just in time to witness the mad grief of his son-in-law.—Southey,Thalaba, the Destroyer, ii., viii. (1798).
Mocca´sins, an Indian buskin.
He laced his moccasins [sic] in act to go.Campbell,Gertrude of Wyoming, i. 24 (1809).
He laced his moccasins [sic] in act to go.
Campbell,Gertrude of Wyoming, i. 24 (1809).
Mochingo, an ignorant servant of the Princess Ero´ta.—Beaumont and Fletcher,The Laws of Candy(1647).
Mock Doctor(The), a farce by H. Fielding (1733), epitomized fromLe Médecin Malgré Lui, of Molière (1666). Sir Jasper wants to make his daughter marry a Mr. Dapper; but she is in love with Leander and pretends to be dumb. Sir Jasper hears of a dumb doctor, and sends his two flunkies to fetch him. They ask one Dorcas to direct them to him, and she points them to her husband, Gregory, a faggot-maker; but tells them he is very eccentric, and must be well beaten, or he will deny being a physician. The faggot-maker is accordingly beaten into compliance, and taken to the patient. He soon learns the facts of the case, and employs Leander as apothecary. Leander makes the lady speak, and completes his cure with “pills matrimoniac.” Sir Jasper takes the joke in good part, and becomes reconciled to the alliance.
Mocking-Bird.“During the space of a minute, I have heard it imitate the woodlark, chaffinch, blackbird, thrush, and sparrow.... Their few natural notes resemble those of the nightingale, but their song is of greater compass and more varied.”—Ashe,Travels in America, ii. 73.
Moclas, a famous Arabian robber, whose name is synonymous with “thief.” (SeeAlmanzor, the caliph.)
Mode(Sir William), in Mrs. Centlivre’s drama,The Beaux’ Duel(1703).
Mode´love(Sir Philip), one of the four guardians of Anne Lovely, the heiress. Sir Philip is an “old beau, that has May in his fancy and dress, but December in his face and his heels. He admires all new fashions ... loves operas, balls, and masquerades” (act i. 1). Colonel Freeman personates a French fop, and obtains his consent to marry his ward, the heiress.—Mrs. Centlivre,A Bold Stroke for a Wife(1717).
Modely, a man of the world, gay, fashionable, and a libertine. He had scores of “lovers,” but never loved till he saw the little rustic lass named Aura Freehold, a farmer’s daughter, to whom he proposed matrimony.—John Philip Kemble,The Farm-house.
Modish(Lady Betty), really in love with Lord Morelove, but treats him with assumed scorn or indifference, because her pride prefers “power to ease.” Hence she coquets with Lord Foppington (a married man), to mortify Morelove and arouse hisjealousy. By the advice of Sir Charles Easy, Lord Morelove pays her out in her own coin, by flirting with Lady Graveairs, and assuming an air of indifference. Ultimately, Lady Betty is reduced to common sense, and gives her heart and hand to Lord Morelove.—Colley Cibber,The Careless Husband(1704).
Modo, the fiend that urges to murder, and one of the five that possessed “poor Tom.”—Shakespeare,King Lear, act iv. sc. 1 (1605).
Modred, son of Lot, king of Norway, and Anne, own sister of King Arthur (pt. viii. 21; ix. 9). He is always called “the traitor.” While King Arthur was absent, warring with the Romans, Modred was left regent, but usurped the crown, and married his aunt, the queen (pt. x. 13). When Arthur heard thereof, he returned, and attacked the usurper, who fled to Winchester (pt. xi. 1). The king followed him, and Modred drew up his army at Cambula, in Cornwall, where another battle was fought. In this engagement Modred was slain, and Arthur also received his death-wound (pt. xi. 2). The queen, called Guanhuma´ra (but better known as Guen´evere), retired to a convent in the City of Legions, and entered the order of Julius the Martyr (pt. xi. 1).—Geoffrey,British History(1142).
***This is so very different from the accounts given in Arthurian romance of Mordred, that it is better to give the two names as if they were different individuals.
Modred(Sir), nephew of King Arthur. He hated Sir Lancelot, and sowed discord among the knights of the Round Table. Tennyson says that Modred “tampered with the lords of the White Horse,” the brood that Hengist left. Geoffrey of Monmouth says, he made a league with Cheldric, the Saxon leader in Germany, and promised to give him all that part of England which lies between the Humber and Scotland, together with all that Hengist and Horsa held in Kent, if he would aid him against King Arthur. Accordingly, Cheldric came over with 800 ships, filled “with pagan soldiers” (British History, xi. 1).
When the king was in Brittany, whither he had gone to chastise Sir Lancelot for adultery with the queen, he left Sir Modred regent, and Sir Modred raised a revolt. The king returned, drew up his army against the traitor, and in this “great battle of the West” Modred was slain and Arthur received his death-wound.—Tennyson,Idylls of the King(“Guinevere,” 1858).
***This version is in accordance neither with Geoffrey of Monmouth (seeprevious art.), nor with Arthurian romance (seeMordred), and is, therefore, given separately.
Modu, the prince of all devils that take possession of a human being.
Madowas the chief devil that had possession of Sarah Williams; but ... Richard Mainy was molested by a still more considerable fiend calledModu, ... the prince of all other devils.—Harsnett;Declaration of Popish Impostures, 268.
Madowas the chief devil that had possession of Sarah Williams; but ... Richard Mainy was molested by a still more considerable fiend calledModu, ... the prince of all other devils.—Harsnett;Declaration of Popish Impostures, 268.
Modus, cousin of Helen; a “musty library, who loved Greek and Latin;” but cousin Helen loved the bookworm, and taught him how to love far better than Ovid could with hisArt of Love. Having so good a teacher, Modus became an apt scholar, and eloped with Cousin Helen.—S. Knowles,The Hunchback(1831).
Mœ´chus, adultery personified; one of four sons of Caro (fleshly lust). Hisbrothers were Pornei´us (fornication), Acath´arus and Asel´gês (lasciviousness). In the battle of Mansoul, Mœchus is slain by Agnei´a (wifely chastity), the spouse of Encra´tês (temperance) and sister of Parthen´ia (maidenly chastity). (Greek,moichos“an adulterer.”)—Phineas Fletcher,The Purple Island, xi. (1633).
Mœli´ades(4syl.). Under this name William Drummond signalized Henry, prince of Wales, eldest son of James I., in the monody entitledTears on the Death of Mœliadës. The word is an anagram ofMilês a Deo. The prince, in his masquerades and martial sports, used to call himself “Mœliadês of the Isles.”
Mœliadês, bright day-star of the West.W. Drummond,Tears on the Death of Mœliades(1612).
The burden of the monody is:
Mœliadês sweet courtly nymphs deplore,From Thulê to Hydaspês’ pearly shore.
Moffat(Mabel), domestic of Edward Redgauntlet.—Sir W. Scott,Redgauntlet(time, George III.).
Mogg Megone.Indian sachem who, at the behest of a white girl, kills her betrayer, and brings his scalp to her. In the storm of anguished remorse awakened by the sight of the bloody trophy, the woman murders Megone in his sleep, and is henceforth banned by the church, driven by conscience, a miserable wanderer upon the earth.—John Greenleaf Whittier,Mogg Megone.
Moha´di(Mahommed), the twelfth imaum, whom the Orientals believe is not dead, but is destined to return and combat Antichrist before the consummation of all things.
***Prince Arthur, Merlin, Charlemagne, Barbarossa, Dom Sebastian, Charles V., Elijah Mansur, Desmond of Kilmallock, etc., are traditionally not dead, but only sleeping till the fullness of time, when each will awake and effect most wondrous restorations.
Mohair(The Men of), the citizens of France.