The men of mohair, as the citizens were called.—Asylum Christi, viii.
The men of mohair, as the citizens were called.—Asylum Christi, viii.
Moha´reb, one of the evil spirits of Dom-Daniel, a cave “under the roots of the ocean.” It was given out that these spirits would be extirpated by one of the family of Hodei´rah (3syl.), so they leagued against the whole race. First, Okba was sent against the obnoxious race, andsucceeededin killing eight of them, Thalaba alone having escaped alive. Next, Abaldar was sent against Thalaba, but was killed by a simoom. Then Loba´ba was sent to cut him off, but perished in a whirlwind. Lastly, Mohareb undertook to destroy him. He assumed the guise of a warrior, and succeeded in alluring the youth to the very “mouth of hell;” but Thalaba, being alive to the deceit, flung Mohareb into the abyss.—Southey,Thalaba, the Destroyer, v. (1797).
Mohicans(Last of the), Uncas, the Indian chief, son of Chingachook, and called “Deerfoot.”—J. F. Cooper,The Last of the Mohicans(a novel, 1826).
The word ought to be pronouncedMo.hek´.kanz, but is usually calledMo.hĕ.kanz.
Mohocks, a class of ruffians who at one time infested the streets of London. So called from the Indian Mohocks. At the Restoration, the street bullies were called Muns and Tityre Tus; they were next called Hectors and Scourers; laterstill, Nickers and Hawcabites; and lastly, Mohocks.
Now is the time that rakes their revels keep,Kindlers of riot, enemies of sleep;His scattered pence the flying Nicker flings,And with the copper shower the casement rings;Who has not heard the Scowerer’s midnight fame?Who has not trembled at the Mohock’s name?Gay,Trivia, iii. 321, etc. (1712).
Mohun(Lord), the person who joined Captain Hill in a dastardly attack on the actor, Mountford, on his way to Mrs. Bracegirdle’s house, in Howard Street. Captain Hill was jealous of Mountford, and induced Lord Mohun to join him in this “valiant exploit.” Mountford died next day, Captain Hill fled from the country, and Mohun was tried but acquitted.
The general features of this cowardly attack are very like that of the Count Koningsmark on Thomas Thynne of Lingleate Hill. Count Koningsmark was in love with Elizabeth Percy (widow of the earl of Ogle), who was contracted to Mr. Thynne; but before the wedding day arrived, the count, with some hired ruffians, assassinated his rival in his carriage as it was passing down Pall Mall.
***Elizabeth Percy, within three months of the murder, married the duke of Somerset.
Moidart(John of), captain of the clan Ronald, and a chief in the army of Montrose.—Sir W. Scott,Legend of Montrose, (time, Charles I.).
Moi´na(2syl.), daughter of Reutha´mir, the principal man of Balclu´tha, a town on the Clyde, belonging to the Britons. Moina married Clessammor (the maternal uncle of Fingal), and died in childbirth of her son Carthon, during the absence of her husband.—Ossian,Carthon.
Mokanna, the name given to Hakem ben Haschem, from a silver gauze veil worn by him “to dim the lustre of his face,” or rather to hide its extreme ugliness. The history of this impostor is given by D’Herbelot,Bibliothèque Orientale(1697).
***Mokanna forms the first story ofLalla Rookh(“The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan”), by Thomas Moore (1817).
Mokattam(Mount), near Cairo (Egypt), noted for the massacre of the Caliph Hakem B’amr-ellah, who was given out to be incarnate deity, and the last prophet who communicated between God and man (eleventh century). Here,also;fell in the same massacre his chief prophet, and many of his followers. In consequence of this persecution, Durzi, one of the “prophet’s” chief apostles, led the survivors into Syria, where they settled between the Libanus and Anti-Libanus, and took the name of Durzis, corrupted into Druses.
As the khalif vanished erst,In what seemed death to uninstructed eyes,On red Mokattam’s verge.Robert Browning,The Return of the Druses, i.
Molay(Jacques), grand-master of the Knights Templar, as he was led to the stake, summoned the pope (Clement V.), within forty days, and the king (Philippe IV.), within forty weeks, to appear before the throne of God to answer for his death. They both died within the stated periods. (SeeSummons to Death.)
Molière(The Italian), Charlo Goldoni (1707-1793).
Molière(The Spanish), Leandro Fernandez Moratin (1760-1828).
Moll Cutpurse, Mary Frith, who onceattacked General Fairfax on Hounslow Heath.
Moll Flanders, a woman of great beauty, born in the Old Bailey. She was twelve years a courtezan, five years a wife, twelve years a thief, eight years a convict in Virginia; but ultimately grew rich, and died a penitent in the reign of Charles II.
***Daniel Defoe wrote her life and adventures, which he calledThe Fortunes of Moll Flanders(1722).
Molly, Jaggers’s housekeeper. A mysterious, scared-looking woman, with a deep scar across one of her wrists. Her antecedents were full of mystery, and Pip suspected her of being Estella’s mother.—C. Dickens,Great Expectations(1860).
Molly Maggs, a pert young housemaid, in love with Robin. She hates Polyglot, the tutor of “Master Charles,” but is very fond of Charles. Molly tries to get “the tuterer Polypot” into a scrape, but finds, to her consternation, that Master Charles is in reality the party to be blamed.—J. Poole,The Scapegoat.
Molly Maguires, stout, active young men, dressed up in women’s clothes, with faces blackened, or otherwise disguised. This secret society was organized in 1843, to terrify the officials employed by Irish landlords to distrain for rent, either by grippers, (bumbailiffs), process-servers, keepers, or drivers (persons who impound cattle till the rent ispaid.—W. S. Trench,Realities of Irish Life, 82.
Molly Mog, an innkeeper’s daughter at Oakingham, Berks. Molly Mog was the toast of all the gay sparks in the former half of the eighteenth century; but died a spinster at the age of 67 (1699-1766).
***Gay has a ballad on thisFair Maid of the Inn. Mr. Standen, of Arborfield, the “enamoured swain,” died in 1730. Molly’s sister was quite as beautiful as “the fair maid” herself. A portrait of Gay still hangs in Oakingham Inn.
Molly Wilder, New England girl, who shelters and cares for a young French nobleman wrecked on the Cape Cod coast. A love affair and a clandestine marriage follow. The marriage is acknowledged when peace is established between the French and English.—Jane G. Austin,A Nameless Nobleman(1881).
Molmu´tius.(SeeMulmutius.)
Moloch(ch = k), the third in rank of the Satanic hierarchy, Satan being first, and Beëlzebub second. The word means “king.” The rabbins say the idol was of brass, with the head of a calf. Moloch was the god of the Am´monites (3syl.), and was worshipped in Rabba, their chief city.
First Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with bloodOf human sacrifice, and parents’ tears,Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud,Their children’s cries unheard, that passed thro’ fireTo his grim idol. Him the AmmoniteWorshipped in Rabba.Milton,Paradise Lost, i. 392, etc. (1665).
Mo´ly(Greek,môlu), mentioned in Homer’sOdyssey. An herb with a black root and white blossom, given by Hermês to Ulysses, to counteract the spells of Circê, (SeeHæmony.)
... that Mō´lyThat Hermês once to wise Ulysses gave.Milton,Comus(1634).
The root was black,Milk-white the blossom; Môly is its nameIn heaven.Homer,Odyssey, x. (Cowper’s trans.).
Momus’s Lattice.Momus, son of Nox, blamed Vulcan, because, in making the human form, he had not placed a window in the breast for the discerning of secret thoughts.
Were Momus’ lattice in our breasts,My soul might brook to open it more widelyThan theirs [i. e.the nobles].Byron,Werner, iii., 1 (1822).
MonorMona, Anglesia, the residence of the Druids. Suetonius Paulīnus, who had the command of Britain in the reign of Nero (fromA.D.59 to 62), attacked Mona, because it gave succor to the rebellious. The frantic inhabitants ran about with fire-brands, their long hair streaming to the wind, and the Druids invoked vengeance on the Roman army.—See Drayton,Polyolbion, viii. (1612).
Mon´aco(The king of), noted because whatever he did was never right in the opinion of his people, especially in that of Rabagas, the demagogue: If he went out, he was “given to pleasure;” if he stayed at home, he was “given to idleness;” if he declared war, he was “wasteful of the public money;” if he did not, he was “pusillanimous;” if he ate, he was “self-indulgent;” if he abstained, he was “priest-ridden.”—M. Sardou,Rabagas(1872).
Monaco.Proud as a Monegasque.A French phrase. The tradition is that Charles Quint ennobled every one of the inhabitants of Monaco.
Monaldini(Signor), rich,bourgeoiscitizen of Rome, who purchases, fits up and lets to desirable tenants an old palace.—Mary Agnes Tincker,Signor Monaldini’s Niece(1879).
Monarch of Mont Blanc, Albert Smith; so-called, because for many years he amused a large London audience, night after night, by relating “his ascent of Mont Blanc” (1816-1860).
Monarque(Le Grand), Louis XIV., of France (1638, 1643-1715).
Monastery(The), a novel by Sir W. Scott (1820).The Abbotappeared the same year. These two stories are tame and very defective in plot; but the character of Mary queen of Scots, inThe Abbot, is a correct and beautiful historical portrait. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth is inKenilworth.
Monçada(Matthias de), a merchant, stern and relentless. He arrests his daughter the day after her confinement of a natural son.
Zilia de Monçada, daughter of Matthias, and wife of General Witherington.—Sir W. Scott,The Surgeon’s Daughter, (time, George II.).
Monda´min, maize or Indian corn (mon-da-min, “the Spirit’s grain”).
Sing the mysteries of mondamin,Sing the blessing of the corn-fields.Longfellow,Hiawatha, xiii. (1855).
Mone´ses(3syl.), a Greek prince, betrothed to Arpasia, whom for the nonce he called his sister. Both were taken captive by Baj´azet. Bajazet fell in love with Arpasia, and gave Monēsês a command in his army. When Tamerlane overthrew Bajazet, Monēsês explained to the Tartar king how it was that he was found in arms against him, and said his best wish was to serve Tamerlane. Bajazet now hated theGreek, and, as Arpasia proved obdurate, thought to frighten her into compliance by having Monēsês bow-strung in her presence; but the sight was so terrible that it killed her.—N. Rowe,Tamerlane(1702).
Money, a drama by Lord E. L. B. Lytton (1840). Alfred Evelyn, a poor scholar, was secretary and factotum of Sir John Vesey, but received no wages. He loved Clara Douglas, a poor dependent of Lady Franklin; proposed to her, but was not accepted, “because both were too poor to keep house.” A large fortune being left to the poor scholar, he proposed to Georgina, the daughter of Sir John Vesey; but Georgina loved Sir Frederick Blount, and married him. Evelyn, who loved Clara, pretended to have lost his fortune, and, being satisfied that she really loved him, proposed a second time, and was accepted.
Moneytrap, husband of Araminta, but with atendressefor Clarissa, the wife of his friend Gripe.—Sir John Vanbrugh,The Confederacy(1695).
Monflathers(Miss), mistress of a boarding and day establishment, to whom Mrs. Jarley sent little Nell, to ask her to patronize the wax-work collection. Miss Monflathers received the child with frigid virtue, and said to her, “Don’t you think you must be very wicked to be a wax-work child? Don’t you know it is very naughty to be a wax child when you might have the proud consciousness of assisting, to the extent of your infant powers, the noble manufacturers of your country?” One of the teachers here chimed in with “How doth the little—;” but Miss Monflathers remarked, with an indignant frown, that “the little busy bee” applied only to genteel children, and the “works of labor and of skill” to painting and embroidery, not to vulgar children and wax-workshows.”—Charles Dickens,The Old Curiosity Shop, xxxi. (1840).
Monford, the lover of Charlotte Whimsey. He plans various devices to hoodwink her old father, in order to elope with the daughter.—James Cobb,The First Floor(1756-1818).
Monime(2syl.), in Racine’s tragedy ofMithridate. This was one of Mdlle. Rachel’s great characters, firstpreformedby her in 1838.
Monim´ia, “the orphan,” sister of Chamont, and ward of Lord Acasto. Monimia was in love with Acasto’s son, Castalio, and privately married him. Polydore (the brother of Castalio) also loved her, but his love was dishonorable love. By treachery, Polydore obtained admission to Monimia’s chamber, and passed the bridal night with her, Monimia supposing him to be her husband; but when the next day she discovered the deceit, she poisoned herself; and Polydore, being apprised that Monimia was his brother’s wife, provoked a quarrel with him, ran on his brother’s sword, and died.—Otway,The Orphan(1680).
More tears have been shed for the sorrows of “Belvidēra” and “Monimia,” than for those of “Juliet” and “Desdemona.”—Sir W. Scott,The Drama.
More tears have been shed for the sorrows of “Belvidēra” and “Monimia,” than for those of “Juliet” and “Desdemona.”—Sir W. Scott,The Drama.
Monimia, in Smollett’s novel ofCount Fathom(1754).
Moniplies(Richie), the honest, self-willed Scotch servant of Lord Nigel Olifaunt, of Glenverloch.—Sir W. Scott,Fortunes of Nigel(time, James I.).
Monk(General), introduced by Sir Walter Scott inWoodstock(time,Commonwealth.
Monk(The Bird Singing to a). The monk is Felix, who listened to a bird for a hundred years, and thought the time only an hour.—Longfellow,The Golden Legend, ii. (1851).
Monk(The), a novel, by Sir Matthew G. Lewis (1794).
Monk Lewis.Matthew Gregory Lewis; so called from his novel (1773-1818).
Monk of Bury, John Lydgate, poet, who wrote theSiege of Troy, theStory of Thebes, and theFall of Princes(1375-1460).
Nothynge I am experte in poetry,As the monke of Bury, floure of eloquence.Stephen Hawes,ThePasse-Tymeof Plesure(1515).
Monk of Westminister, Richard, of Cirencester, the chronicler (fourteenth century).
This chronicle,On the Ancient State of Britain, was first brought to light in 1747, by Dr. Charles Julius Bertram, professor of English at Copenhagen; but the original being no better known than that of Thomas Rowley’s poems, published by Chatterton, grave suspicions exist that Dr. Bertram was himself the author of the chronicles.
Monks(The Father of), Ethelwold, of Winchester (*-984).
Monks,aliasEdward Leeford, a violent man, subject to fits. Edward Leeford, though half-brother to Oliver Twist, was in collusion with Bill Sykes, to ruin him. Failing in this, he retired to America, and died in jail.—C. Dickens,Oliver Twist(1837).
Monkbarns(Laird of), Mr Jonathan Oldbuck, the antiquary.—Sir W. Scott,The Antiquary(time, George III.).
Mon´ker and Nakir[Na.keer´], the two examiners of the dead, who put questions to departed spirits respecting their belief in God and Mahomet, and award their state in after-life according to their answers.—Al Korân.
“Do you not see those spectres that are stirring the burning coals? Are they Monker and Nakir come to throw us into them?”—W. Beckford,Vathek(1786).
“Do you not see those spectres that are stirring the burning coals? Are they Monker and Nakir come to throw us into them?”—W. Beckford,Vathek(1786).
Monmouth, the surname of Henry V. of England, who was born in that town (1388, 1413-1422).
***Mon-mouth is themouth of the Monnow.
Monmouth(The duke of), commander-in-chief of the royal army.—Sir W. Scott,Old Mortality(time, Charles II.).
***The duke of Monmouth was nicknamed “The Little Duke,” because he was diminutive in size. Having no name of his own, he took that of his wife, “Scott,” countess of Buccleuch. Pepys says: “It is reported that the king will be tempted to set the crown on the Little Duke” (Diary, seventeenth century).
Mon´ema, wife of Quia´ra, the only persons of the whole of the Guārani race who escaped the small-pox plague which ravaged that part of Paraguay. They left the fatal spot, and settled in the Modai woods. Here they had one son, Yerūti, and one daughter, Mooma, but Quiāra waskilled by a jagŭar before the latter was born. Monĕma left the Mondai woods, and went to live at St. Joăchin, in Paraguay, but soon died from the effects of a house and city life.—Southey,A Tale of Paraguay(1814).
Mononia, when nature embellished the tintOf thy fields and thy mountains so fair,Did she ever intend that a tyrant should printThe footstep of slavery there?T. Moore,Irish Melodies, i. (“War Song,” 1814).
Monsieur, Philippe, Duc d’Orléans, brother of Louis XIV. (1674-1723).
***Other gentlemen were Mons. A or Mons. B, but the regent was Mons. without any adjunct.
Similarly, the daughter of the duc de Chartres (the regent’s grandson) was Mademoiselle.
Monsieur le Coadjuteur, Paul de Gondi, afterwards Cardinal de Retz (1614-1679).
Monsieur le duc, Louis Henri de Bourbon, eldest son of the prince de Condé (1692-1740).
Monsieur Thomas, a drama by Beaumont and Fletcher (1619).
Monsieur Tonson, a farce by Moncrieff. Jack Ardourly fails in love with Adolphine de Courcy in the street, and gets Tom King to assist in ferreting her out. Tom King discovers that his sweeting lives in the house of a French refugee, a barber, named Mons. Morbleu; but not knowing the name of the young lady, he inquires for Mr. Thompson, hoping to pick up information. Mons. Morbleu says no Mons. Tonson lives in the house, but only Mde. Bellegarde and Mdlle. Adolphine de Courcy. The old Frenchman is driven almost crazy by different persons inquiring for Mons. Tonson; but ultimately Jack Ardourly marries Adolphine, whose mother is Mrs. Thompson after all.
Taylor wrote a drama of the same title in 1767.
Monster(The), Renwick Williams, a wretch who used to prowl about London by night, armed with a double-edged knife, with which he mutilated women. He was condemned July 8, 1790.
Mont Rognon(Baron of), a giant of enormous strength and insatiable appetite. He was bandy-legged, had an elastic stomach, and four rows of teeth. He was a paladin of Charlemagne, and one of the four sent in search of Croquemitaine and Fear Fortress.—Croquemitaine.
Mont St. Michel, in Normandy. Here nine druidesses used to sell arrows to sailors to charm away storms. The arrows had to be discharged by a young man 25 years of age.
The Laplanders drove a profitable trade by selling winds to sailors. Even so late as 1814, Bessie Millie, of Pomōna (Orkney Islands), helped to eke out a livelihood by selling winds for sixpence.
Eric, king of Sweden, could make the winds blow from any quarter he liked by a turn of his cap. Hence, he was nicknamed “Windy Cap.”
Mont Trésor, in France; so called by Gontran “the Good,” king of Burgundy (sixteenth century). One day, weary with the chase, Gontran laid himself down near a small river, and fell asleep. The squire who watched his master, saw a little animal come from the king’s mouth, and walk to the stream, over which the squire laidhis sword, and the animal running across, entered a hole in the mountain. When Gontran was told of this incident, he said he had dreamt that he crossed a bridge of steel, and, having entered a cave at the foot of a mountain, entered a palace of gold. Gontran employed men to undermine the hill, and found there vast treasures, which he employed in works of charity and religion. In order to commemorate this event he called the hill Mont Trésor.—Claud Paradin,Symbola Heroica.
***This story has been ascribed to numerous persons.
Mon´tague(3syl.), head of a noble house in Verona, at feudal enmity with the house of Capŭlet. Romeo belonged to the former, and Juliet to the latter house.
Lady Montague, wife of Lord Montague, and mother of Romeo.—Shakespeare,Romeo and Juliet(1598).
Montalban.
Don Kyrie Elyson de Montalban, a hero of romance, in theHistory of Tirante the White.
Thomas de Montalban, brother of Don Kyrie Elyson, in the same romance of chivalry.
Rinaldo de Montalban, a hero of romance, in theMirror of Knighthood, from which work both Bojardo and Ariosto have largely borrowed.
Montalban, now called Montauban (a contraction ofMons Alba´nus), in France, in the department of Tarn-et-Garonne.
Jousted in Aspramont or Montalban.Milton,Paradise Lost, i. 583 (1665).
Montalban(The Count), in love with Volantê (3syl.), daughter of Balthazar. In order to sound her, the count disguised himself as a father confessor; but Volantê detected the trick instantly, and said to him, “Come, come, count, pull off your lion’s hide, and confess yourself an ass.” However, as Volantê really loved him, all came right at last.—J. Tobin,The Honeymoon(1804).
Montanto(Signor), a master of fence and a great braggart.—Ben Jonson,Every Man in His Humour(1598).
Montargis(The Dog of), named Dragon. It belonged to Captain Aubri de Montdidier, and is especially noted for his fight with the Chevalier Richard Macaire. The dog was called Montargis, because the encounter was depicted over the chimney of the great hall in the castle of Montargis. It was in the forest of Bondi, close by this castle, that Aubri was assassinated.
Monte Christo(Count), convict who escapes from prison, and finds immense treasure, with which he does incredible things.
Assuming the title of “count,” he adds the name of the island on which his treasure is buried, and plays the grande seignior in society, punishing his former persecutors and false friends, and rewarding his old allies. Finally he is brought to confess that man cannot play providence, and to recall the words “Vengeance is mine!”—Alexander Dumas,Count of Monte Christo.
Montenay(Sir Philip de), an old English knight.—Sir W. Scott,Castle Dangerous(time, Henry I.).
Montesi´nos, a legendary hero, who received some affront at the French court, and retired to La Mancha, in Spain. Here he lived in a cavern, some sixty feet deep,called “The Cavern of Montesinos.” Don Quixote descended part of the way down this cavern, and fell into a trance, in which he saw Montesinos himself, Durandartê and Belerma under the spell of Merlin, Dulcin´ea del Toboso enchanted into a country wench, and other visions, which he more than half believed to be realities.—Cervantes,Don Quixote, II. ii. 5, 6 (1615).
***This Durandartê was the cousin of Montesinos, and Belerma the lady he served for seven years. When he fell at Roncesvallês, he prayed his cousin to carry his heart to Belerma.
Montespan(The marquis de), a conceited court fop, silly and heartless. When Louis XIV. took Mde. de Montespan for his concubine, he banished the marquis, saying:
Your strange and countless follies—The scenes you make—your loud domestic broils—Bring scandal on our court. Decorum needsYour banishment.... Go!And for your separate household, which entailsA double cost, our treasure shall accord youA hundred thousand crowns.Act iv. 1.
The foolish old marquis says, in his self-conceit:
A hundred thousand crowns for being civilTo one another! Well now, that’s a thingThat happens but to marquises. It showsMy value in the state. The king esteemsMy comfort of such consequence to France,He pays me down a hundred thousand crowns,Rather than let my wife disturb my temper!Act v. 2.
Madame de Montespan, wife of the marquis. She supplanted La Vallière in the base love of Louis XIV. La Vallière loved theman, Montespan theking. She had wit to warm but not to burn, energy which passed for feeling, a head to check her heart, and not too much principle for a French court. Mde. de Montespan was theprotégéeof the Duke de Lauzun, who used her as a stepping-stone to wealth; but when in favor, she kicked down the ladder by which she had climbed to power. However, Lauzun had his revenge; and when La Vallière took the veil, Mde. de Montespan was banished from the court.—Lord E. L. B. Lytton,The Duchess de la Vallière(1836).
Montfauçon(The Lady Calista of), attendant of Queen Berengaria.—Sir. W. Scott,The Talisman(time, Richard I.).
Mont-Fitchet(Sir Conrade), a preceptor of the Knights Templar.—Sir W. Scott,Ivanhoe(time, Richard I.).
Montfort(De), the hero and title of a tragedy, intended to depict the passion of hate, by Joanna Baillie (1798). The object of De Montfort’s hatred is Rezenvelt, and his passion drives him on to murder.
***De Montfort was probably the suggestive inspiration of Byron’sManfred(1817).
Montgomery(Mr.), Lord Godolphin, lord high treasurer of England in the reign of Queen Anne. The queen called herself “Mrs. Morley,” and Sarah Jennings, duchess of Marlborough, was “Mrs. Freeman.”
Monthermer(Guy), a nobleman, and the pursuivant of King Henry II.—Sir W. Scott,The Betrothed(time, Henry II.).
Montjoie, chief herald of France.—Sir W. Scott,Quentin Durward(time, Edward IV.).
Montorio, the hero of a novel, who persuaded his “brother’s sons” to murdertheir father by working on their fears, and urging on them the doctrine of fatalism. When the deed was committed, Montorio discovered that the young murderers were not his nephews, but his own sons.—Rev. C. R. Maturin,Fatal Revenge(1807).
Montreal d’Albano, called “Fra Moriale,” knight of St. John of Jerusalem, and captain of the Grand Company in the fourteenth century, when sentenced to death by Rienzi, summoned his judge to follow him within the month. Rienzi was killed by the fickle mob within the stated period. (SeeSummons To Death.)
Montreville(Mde. Adela), or the Begum Mootee Mahul, called “the queen of Sheba.”—Sir W. Scott,The Surgeon’s Daughter(time, George II.).
Montrose(The duke of), commander-in-chief of the king’s army.—Sir W. Scott,Rob Roy, xxxii. (time, George I.).
Montrose(The Marquis of).—Sir W. Scott,Woodstock(time, Commonwealth).
Montrose(James Grahame, earl of), the king’s lieutenant in Scotland. He appears first disguised as Anderson, servant of the earl of Menteith.—Sir W. Scott,Legend of Montrose(time, Charles I.).
Monuments(The), Poor family in London.
Father, a convict who gets out of prison on a ticket-of-leave.
Mother, Hester, an honest washerwoman, afterwards in almshouse, and blind.
Claude.Bright young fellow, educated by Lady Mildred Eldredge.
Melenda, a work-girl, fierce and virtuous, starving, yet independent.
Joe, plumber and house-decorator, typical British workman.
Polly, adopted by Lady Mildred, called “Violet,” and brought up with her own daughter.
Sam, a red-hot socialist, ready with impracticable plans of leagues and reformation.—Walter Besant,Children of Gibeon(1890).
Montserrat(Conrade, marquis of), a crusader.—Sir W. Scott,The Talisman(time, Richard I.).
Moody(John), the guardian of Peggy Thrift, an heiress, whom he brings up in the country, wholly without society. John Moody is morose, suspicious, and unsocial. When 50 years of age, and Peggy 19, he wants to marry her, but is out-witted by “the country girl,” who prefers Belville, a young man of more suitable age.
Alithea Moody, sister of John. She jilts Sparkish, a conceited fop, and marries Harcourt.—The Country Girl(time, Garrick, altered from Wycherly).
Mooma, youngest sister of Yerūti. Their father and mother were the only persons of the whole Guarāni race who escaped a small-pox plague which ravished that part of Paraguay. They left the fatal spot and lived in the Mondai woods, where both their children were born. Before the birth of Mooma, her father was eaten by a jagŭar, and the three survivors lived in the woods alone. When grown to a youthful age, a Jesuit priest persuaded them to come and live at St. Joăchin (3syl.); so they left the wild woods for a city life. Here the mother soon flagged and died. Mooma lost her spirits, was haunted with thick-coming fancies of good and badangels, and died. Yerūti begged to be baptized, received the rite, cried, “Ye are come for me! I am ready;” and died also.—Southey,A Tale of Paraguay(1814).
Moon(Man in the), said to be Cain, with a bundle of thorns.
Now doth Cain with fork of thorns confineOn either hemisphere, touching the waveBeneath the towers of Seville. YesternightThe moon was round.Dantê,Hell, xx. (1300).
Moon(Minions of the), thieves or highwaymen. (SeeMoon’s Men.)
Moon and Mahomet.Mahomet made the moon perform seven circuits round Caaba or the holy shrine of Mecca, then enter the right sleeve of his mantle and go out at the left. At its exit, it split into two pieces, which re-united in the centre of the firmament. This miracle was performed for the conversion of Hahab, the Wise.
Moon-Calf, an inanimate, shapeless human mass, said by Pliny to be engendered of woman only.—Nat. Hist., x. 64.
Moon’s Men, thieves or highwaymen, who ply their vocation by night.
The fortune of us that are but moon’s men doth ebb and flow like the sea.—Shakespeare, 1Henry IV.act i. sc. 2 (1597).
The fortune of us that are but moon’s men doth ebb and flow like the sea.—Shakespeare, 1Henry IV.act i. sc. 2 (1597).
Moonshine(Saunders), a smuggler.—Sir W. Scott,Bride of Lammermoor(time, William III.).
Moore(Mr. John), of the Pestle and Mortar, Abchurch Lane, immortalized by his “worm-powder,” and called the “Worm Doctor.”
Moors.The Moors of Aragon are called Tangarins; those of Granāda are Mudajares; and those of Fez are called Elches. They are the best soldiers of the Spanish dominions. In the Middle Ages, all Mohammedans were calledMoors; and hence Camoens, in theLusiad, viii., called the Indians so.
Mopes(Mr.), the hermit, who lived on Tom Tiddler’s Ground. He was dirty, vain, and nasty, “like all hermits,” but had landed property, and was said to be rich and learned. He dressed in a blanket and skewer, and, by steeping himself in soot and grease, soon acquired immense fame. Rumor said he murdered his beautiful young wife, and abandoned the world. Be this as it may, he certainly lived a nasty life. Mr. Traveller tried to bring him back into society, but a tinker said to him “Take my word for it, when iron is thoroughly rotten, you can never botch it, do what you may.”—C. Dickens,A Christmas Number(1861).
Mopsus, a shepherd, who, with Menalcas, celebrates the funeral eulogy of Daphnis.—Virgil,Eclogue, v.
Mora, the betrothed of Oscar, who mysteriously disappears on his bridal eve, and is mourned for as dead. His younger brother, Allan, hoping to secure the lands and fortune of Mora, proposes marriage, and is accepted. At the wedding banquet, a stranger demands “a pledge to the lost Oscar,” and all accept it except Allan, who is there and then denounced as the murderer of his brother. Oscar then vanishes, and Allan dies.—Byron,Oscar of Alva.
Moradbak, daughter of Fitead, a widower. Hudjadge, king of Persia, could not sleep, and commanded Fitead, his porterand jailer, under pain of death, to find some one to tell him tales. Fitead’s daughter, who was only 11, undertook to amuse the king with tales, and was assisted in private by the sage Abou´melek. After a perfect success, Hudjadge married Moradbak, and at her recommendation, Aboumelek was appointed overseer of the whole empire.—Comte de Caylus,Oriental Tales(1743).
Morakan´abad, grand vizier of the Caliph Vathek.—Beckford,Vathek(1784).
Moral Philosophy(The Father of), Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274).
Moran, Son of Fithil, one of the scouts in the army of Swaran, king of Lochlin (Denmark).—Ossian,Fingal.
Moran’s Collar, a collar for magistrates, which had the supernatural power of pressing the neck of the wearer if his judgments deviated from strict justice, and even of causing strangulation if he persevered in wrong doing. Moran, surnamed “the Just,” was the wise counsellor of Feredach, an early king of Ireland.
Morat, inAurungzebe, a drama by Dryden (1675).
Edward Kynaston [1619-1687] shone with uncommon lustre in “Morat” and “Muley Moloch.” In both these parts he had a fierce, lion-like majesty in his port and utterance, that gave the spectators a kind of trembling admiration.—Colley Cibber.
Edward Kynaston [1619-1687] shone with uncommon lustre in “Morat” and “Muley Moloch.” In both these parts he had a fierce, lion-like majesty in his port and utterance, that gave the spectators a kind of trembling admiration.—Colley Cibber.
Morbleu!This French oath is a corrupt contraction of Mau´graby; thus,maugre bleu,mau’bleu. Maugraby was the great Arabian enchanter, and the word means “barbarous,” hence a barbarous man or barbarian. The oath is common in Provence, Languedoc, and Gascoigne. I have often heard it used by the medical students at Paris.
Probably it is a punning corruption ofMort de Dieu.
Mordaunt, the secretary, at Aix, of Queen Margaret, the widow of Henry VI. of England.—Sir W. Scott,Anne of Geierstein(time, Edward IV.).
Mor´decai(Beau), a rich Italian Jew, one of the suitors of Charlotte Goodchild, but, supposing the report to be true that she has lost her fortune, he calls off and retires.—C. Macklin,Loveà-la-Mode-(1759).
Mordecai.Earnest young Jew, supporting himself by repairing watches, jewelry, etc. He is devoted to his race, proud of his lineage, and versed in all pertaining to Hebrew history. He dies of consumption.—George Eliot,Daniel Deronda.
Mordent, father of Joanna, by a former wife. In order to marry Lady Anne, he deserts Joanna and leaves her to be brought up by strangers. Joanna is placed under Mrs. Enfield, a crimp, and Mordent consents to a proposal of Lennox to run off with her. Mordent is a spirit embittered with the world—a bad man, with a goading conscience. He sins and suffers the anguish of remorse; does wrong, and blames Providence because when he “sows the wind he reaps the whirlwind.”
Lady Anne, the wife of Mordent, daughter of the earl of Oldcrest, sister of a viscount, niece of Lady Mary, and one of her uncles is a bishop. She is wholly neglected by her husband, but, like Griselda (q.v.), bears it without complaint.—Holcroft,The Deserted Daughter(1784, altered intoThe Steward).
Mordred(Sir), son of Margawse (sister of King Arthur), and Arthur, her brother, while she was the wife of Lot, king of Orkney (pt. i. 2, 35, 36). The sons of Lot himself and his wife were Gaw´ain, Agravain, Ga´heris, and Gareth, all knights of the Round Table. Out of hatred to Sir Launcelot, Mordred and Agravain accuse him to the king of too great familiarity with Queen Guenever, and induce the king to spend a day in hunting. During his absence, the queen sends for Sir Launcelot to her private chamber, and Mordred and Agravain, with twelve other knights, putting the worst construction on the interview, clamorously assail the chamber, and call on Sir Launcelot to come out. This he does, and kills Agravain with the twelve knights, but Mordred makes his escape and tells the king, who orders the queen to be burnt alive. She is brought to the stake, but is rescued by Sir Launcelot, who carries her off to Joyous Guard, near Carlisle, which the king besieges. While lying before the castle, King Arthur receives a bull from the pope, commanding him to take back his queen. This he does, but as he refuses to be reconciled to Sir Launcelot, the knight betakes himself to Benwick, in Brittany. The king lays siege to Benwick, and during his absence leaves Mordred regent. Mordred usurps the crown, and tries, but in vain, to induce the queen to marry him. When the king hears thereof, he raises the siege of Benwick, and returns to England. He defeats Mordred at Dover, and at Barondown, but at Salisbury (Camlan) Mordred is slain fighting with the king, and Arthur receives his death-wound. The queen then retires to a convent at Almesbury, is visited by Sir Launcelot, declines to marry him, and dies.—Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthuriii. 143-174 (1470).
***The wife of Lot is called “Anne” by Geoffrey, of Monmouth (British History, viii. 20, 21); and “Bellicent” by Tennyson, inGareth and Lynette.
This tale is so very different from those of Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Tennyson, that all three are given. (SeeModred.)
Mor´dure(2syl.), son of the emperor of Germany. He was guilty of illicit love with the mother of Sir Bevis, of Southampton, who murdered her husband and then married Sir Mordure. Sir Bevis, when a mere lad, reproved his mother for the murder of his father, and she employed Saber to kill him; but the murder was not committed, and young Bevis was brought up as a shepherd. One day, entering the hall where Mordure sat with his bride, Bevis struck at him with his axe. Mordure slipped aside, and the chair was “split to shivers.” Bevis was then sold to an Armenian, and was presented to the king, who knighted him and gave him his daughter Josian in marriage.—M. Drayton,Polyolbion, ii. (1612).
Mordure(2syl.), Arthur’s sword, made by Merlin. No enchantment had power over it, no stone or steel was proof against it, and it would neither break nor bend. (The word means “hard biter.”)—Spenser,Faëry Queen, ii. 8 (1590).
More(Margareta), the heroine and feigned authoress ofHousehold of Sir Thomas More, by Miss Manning (1851).
More of More Hall, a legendary hero, who armed himself with armor full of spikes, and, concealing himself in the cave where the dragon of Wantley dwelt,slew the monster by kicking it in the mouth, where alone it was mortal.
***In the burlesque of H. Carey, entitledThe Dragon of Wantley, the hero is called “Moore of Moore Hall,” and he is made to be in love with Gubbins’s daughter, Margery, of Roth’ram Green (1696-1743).
Morecraft, at first a miser, but after losing most of his money he became a spendthrift.—Beaumont and Fletcher,The Scornful Lady(1616).
***“Luke,” in Massinger’sCity Madam, is the exact opposite. He was at first a poor spendthrift, but coming into a fortune he turned miser.
Morell(Sir Charles), the pseudonym of the Rev. James Ridley, affixed to some of the early editions ofThe Tales of the Genii, from 1764.
More´love(Lord), in love with Lady Betty Modish, who torments him almost to madness by an assumed indifference, and rouses his jealousy by coquetting with Lord Foppington. By the advice of Sir Charles Easy, Lord Morelove pays the lady in her own coin, assumes an indifference to her, and flirts with Lady Grave´airs. This brings Lady Betty to her senses, and all ends happily.—Colley Cibber,The Careless Husband(1704).
Morë´no(Don Antonio), a gentleman of Barcelona, who entertained Don Quixote with mock-heroic hospitality.—Cervantes,Don Quixote, II. iv. 10 (1615).
Morfin(Mr.), a cheerful bachelor, in the office of Mr. Dombey, merchant. He calls himself “a creature of habit,” has a great respect for the head of the house, and befriends John Carker when he falls into disgrace by robbing his employer. Mr. Morfin is a musical amateur, and finds in his violoncello a solace for all cares and worries. He marries Harriet Carker, the sister of John and James.—C. Dickens,Dombey and Son(1846).
Morgan(le Fay), one of the sisters of King Arthur (pt. i. 18); the others were Margawse, Elain, and Anne (Bellicent was his half-sister). Morgan calls herself “queen of the land of Gore” (pt. i. 103). She was the wife of King Vrience (pt. i. 63), the mother of Sir Ew´ain (pt. i. 73), and lived in the castle of La Belle Regard (pt. ii. 122).
On one occasion, Morgan le Fay stole her brother’s sword, “Excalibur,” with its scabbard, and sent them to Sir Accolon, of Gaul, her paramour, that he might kill her brother Arthur in mortal combat. If this villany had succeeded, Morgan intended to murder her husband, marry Sir Accolon, and “devise to make him king of Britain;” but Sir Accolon, during the combat, dropped the sword, and Arthur, snatching it up, would have slain him had he not craved mercy and confessed the treasonable design (pt. i. 70). After this, Morgan stole the scabbard and threw it into the lake (pt. i. 73). Lastly, she tried to murder her brother by means of a poisoned robe; but Arthur told the messenger to try it on, that he might see it, and when he did so he dropped down dead, “being burnt to a coal” (pt. i. 75).—Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthur(1470).
W. Morris, in hisEarthly Paradise(“August”), makes Morgan la Fée the bride of Ogier, the Dane, after his earthly career was ended.
Morgan, a feigned name adopted by Belarius, a banished lord.—Shakespeare,Cymbeline(1605).
Morgan, one of the soldiers of Prince Gwenwyn of Powys-land.—Sir W. Scott,The Betrothed(time, Henry II.).
Morgane(2syl.), a fay, to whose charge Zephyr committed young Passelyon and his cousin, Bennucq. Passelyon fell in love with the fay’s daughter, and the adventures of these young lovers are related in the romance ofPerceforest, iii.
Morgante(3syl.), a ferocious giant, converted to Christianity by Orlando. After performing the most wonderful feats, he died at last from the bite of a crab.—Pulci,Morgante Maggiore(1488).