Florizel(flor´i-zel).—A prince of Bohemia, in Shakespeare’sWinter’s Tale, in love with Perdita.
Fluellen(flö-el´en).—A Welsh captain, who is an amusing pedant, in Shakespeare’sHenry V.
Flying Dutchman.—A spectral ship, seen in stormy weather off the Cape of Good Hope, and considered ominous of ill-luck. Captain Marryat has taken this theme for his novelThe Phantom Ship.
Folk.—Fairies, also called “people,†“neighbors,†“wights.†The Germans have their kleine volk (little folk), the Swiss their hill people and earth people. SeeFairies.
Ford.—Mr. and Mrs. Ford are characters inThe Merry Wives of Windsor. Mrs. Ford pretends to accept Sir John Falstaff’s protestations of love, in order to punish him by her devices.
Fortinbras(fôr´tin-bras).—Prince of Norway, in Shakespeare’s tragedyHamlet.
Fortunatus(fôr-tū-na´tus).—The hero in one of Straparolla’s fairy tales. The nursery tale of Fortunatus records that he had an inexhaustible purse. It is from the Italian fairy tales.
Fortunio’s(fôr-tu´ni-o)Horse.—Comrade not only possessed incredible speed, but knew all things, and was gifted with human speech.
Francesco.—The Iago of Massinger’sDuke of Milan.
Francesca da Rimini(frȧn-ches´kȧ dȧ rē´mē-nē).—A dramatic poem by James Henry Leigh Hunt published in 1816. Francesca was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, Lord of Ravenna, in the latter part of the thirteenth century, and was married to Lanciotto, son of Malatesta da Rimini, who, discovering her criminal intercourse with his brother, revenged himself by putting them both to death. Her story forms an episode in Dante’sInferno.
Frankenstein(fräng´ken-stÄ«n) (or, theModern Prometheus).—A novel by Mrs. Shelley, published in 1818. It was commenced in the summer of 1816, when Byron and the Shelleys were residing on the banks of the Lake of Geneva, and when, “during a week of rain, having amused themselves with reading German ghost stories, they agreed at last to write something in imitation of them. ‘You and I,’ said Lord Byron to Mrs. Shelley, ‘will publish ours together.’ He then began his tale of theVampire;†but “the most memorable result,†writes Moore, “of their storytelling compact, was Mrs. Shelley’s wild and powerful romance ofFrankenstein, one of those original conceptions that take hold of the public mind at once and forever.â€
The hero of the book, a native of Geneva, and a student, constructs a monster of grewsome human remains and gives it life by galvanism. The monster feels that he is unlike all other human beings, and in revenge for the injury inflicted upon him by his creator, murders his friend, his brother, and his bride, and finally seeks out Frankenstein himself, with a view to wreaking a similar revenge on him. The hero, however, happily escapes his enemy, who retires to the utmost extremity of the globe, in order to put an end to his miserable life; and Frankenstein himself falls ill and dies on his way home after his last final flight from the monstrosity whom he has himself brought into the world.
Freeport, Sir Andrew.—The name of one of the members of the imaginary club under whose direction theSpectatorwas professedly published. He is represented as a London merchant of great eminence and experience, industrious, sensible and generous.
French Revolution, The.—A history, in three parts, by Thomas Carlyle, published in 1837, and described by Lowell as “a series of word-pictures, unmatched for vehement power, in which the figures of such sons of earth as Mirabeau and Danton loom gigantic and terrible as in the glare of an eruption; their shadows swaying far and wide, grotesquely awful. But all is painted by eruptive flashes in violent light and shade. There are no half tints, no gradations, and we find it impossible to account for the continuance in power of less Titanic actors in the tragedy, like Robespierre, on any theory, whether of human nature or of individual character, supplied by Mr. Carlyle.â€
Friar Lawrence.—The Franciscan monk who attempted to befriend the lovers inRomeo and Juliet.
Friar Tuck.—Chaplain and steward of Robin Hood. Introduced by Sir Walter Scott inIvanhoe. He is a self-indulgent, combative Falstaff, a jolly companion to the outlaws in Sherwood forest.
Friday.—Robinson Crusoe’s faithful man Friday pictured by Defoe.
Froissart(froi´särt).—The Cronicles of England, Fraunce, Spayne, Portyugale, Scotlande, Bretayne, Flanders, and other places adjoynynge, translated out of Frenche into our maternalle Englysche Tonge, by “John Bourchier, knight, Lord Berners.†Printed in 1523. The history extends from 1326 to 1400. Froissart resided in England as secretary to Queen Philippa from 1361 to 1366, and visited it again in 1395, when he paid a visit to Scotland.
Frollo, Archdeacon Claude.—A noted character in Victor Hugo’sNotre Dame de Paris, absorbed in a bewildering search for the philosopher’s stone.
Front de Bœuf.—Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott. A follower of Prince John of Anjou, and one of the knight’s challengers.
Froth, Master.—A foolish gentleman in Shakespeare’sMeasure for Measure. His name explains his character.
Fusbos(fus´bos).—Utopia, Sir Thomas More. Minister of state to Artaxaminous, king of Utopia.
Fyrapel, Sir.—The Leopard, the nearest kinsman of King Lion, in the beast epic ofReynard the Fox.
G
Gadshill.—A companion of Sir John Falstaff, in the first part of Shakespeare’sKing Henry IV.
Galahad(gal´a-had),Sir.—A celebrated knight of the Round Table who achieved the quest of the Holy Grail. Tennyson has made him the subject of one of his idylls. In Malory he is also represented as the perfect knight, clad in wonderful armor. He was the only knight who could sit in the “Siege Perilous†a seat reserved for the “knight without a flaw,†who achieved the quest of the “Holy Grail.â€
Galapas(gal´a-pas).—A giant of marvelous height in the army of Lucius, king of Rome. He was slain by King Arthur.
Galaphrone, orGalafron.—A king of Cathay and father of Angelica in Bojardo’sOrlando Innamoratoand Ariosto’sFurioso.
Gamp, Mrs.—A nurse who is a prominent character in Dickens’ novel ofMartin Chuzzlewit. She is celebrated for her constant reference to a certain Mrs. Harris, a purely imaginary person, for whose feigned opinions and utterances she professes the greatest respect, in order to give the more weight to her own.
Gan,Ganelone,Ganelon, orGano.—The character of Sir Ganelon was marked with spite, dissimulation, and intrigue, but he was patient, obstinate, and enduring. He loved solitude, disbelieved in the existence of moral good, and has become a byword for a false and faithless friend. Dante has placed him in hisInferno.
Gander-Cleugh.—“Folly-Cliff,†that mysterious place where a person make a goose of himself, inTales of My Landlord, Sir Walter Scott.
Garcia, Pedro.—A mythical personage, of whom mention is made in the preface to Gil Bias, in which is related how two scholars of Salamanca discovered a tombstone with the inscription “Here lies interred the soul of the Licentiate Pedro Garcia,†and how, on digging beneath the stone, was found a leathern purse containing a hundred ducats.
Gareth.—InArthurian Romancea knight of the Round Table, who was first a scullion in King Arthur’s kitchen, but afterward became champion of the Lady Linet, or Lynette, whose sister Lionès, or Lyonors, he delivered from Castle Perilous.
Garganelle(gär-ga-nel´).—The mother of Gargantua in Rabelais’ celebrated romance of this name.
Gargantua(gär-gan´tū-ä).—Rabelais’ celebrated romance, the hero of which is a gigantic personage, about whom many wonderful stories are related. He lived for several centuries, and at last begot a son, Pantagruel, as wonderful as himself. ThePleasant Story of the Giant Gargantua and of his Son Pantagruel, so satirized the monastic orders of his time that it was denounced by the spiritual authorities. Francis I., however, protected the author, and allowed him to print the third part of it in 1545.
Gargery(gar´jer-i),Mrs. Joe.—Great Expectations, Dickens. Pip’s sister. A virago, who kept her husband and Pip in constant awe. Joe Gargery, a blacksmith, married to Pip’s sister. A noble-hearted, simple-minded young man, who loved Pip sincerely. Joe Gargery was one of nature’s gentlemen.
Gaspar, orCaspar.—(The white one), one of the three magi or kings of Cologne. His offering to the infant Jesus was frankincense, in token of divinity.
Gaunt, Griffith.—Hero of a novel by Charles Reade, of same title.
Gavotte.—Name given to a certain dance common among people in the upper Alps.
Gawain, orGawayne(gä´wÄn),Sir.—A nephew of King Arthur, and one of the most celebrated knights of the Round Table; noted for his sagacity and wonderful strength. He was surnamed “the courteous.†His brothers were Agravaine, Gaheris, and Gareth.
Gebir(gÄ´bÄ“r).—A legendary eastern prince, said to have invaded Africa and to have given his name to Gibraltar. He is the subject of a poem of the same name by Walter Savage Landor.
Gellatley(gel´at-li),Davie.—The name of a poor fool in Sir Walter Scott’s novel ofWaverley.
Geneviève(zhen-vyÄv´).—(1) The heroine of a ballad by Coleridge. (2) Under the formGenovefa, the name occurs in a German myth as that of the wife of the Count Palatine Siegfried, in the time of Charles Martel. Upon false accusations her husband gave orders to put her to death, but the servant intrusted with the commission suffered her to escape into the forests of Ardennes, where she lay concealed, until by accident his husband discovered her retreat, and recognized her innocence.
Genevra.—A lady in Aristo’sOrlandos’ Furioso. Her honor is impeached, and she is condemned to die unless a champion appears to do combat for her. Her lover, Ariodantes, answers the challenge, kills the false accuser, and weds the dame. Spenser has a similar story in theFaërie Queene, and Shakespeare availed himself of the main incident in his comedy ofMuch Ado About Nothing.
Geraint(ge-rÄnt),Sir.—One of the knights of the Round Table. His story is told in Tennyson’sIdylls of the KingunderGeraint and Enid.
Geraldine.—A name frequently found in romantic poetry, especially Scott’sLay of the Last Minstrel. The name is said to have been adopted from the heroine connected with Surrey, whose praises are celebrated in a famous sonnet.
Gertrude of Wyoming.—Heroine of a poem by Thomas Campbell.
Gesta Romanorum(jes´tä rÅ-ma-nÅ´rum).—A collection of old romances compiled by Pierre Bercheure, prior of the Benedictine convent of St. Eloi, Paris. Shakespeare, Spenser, Gower, and many later writers have gone to this source. It took its present form in England about the beginning of the fourteenth century, the foundation coming from Roman writers, to which were added religious and mystical tales.
Giaour(jour),The.—Byron’s tale calledThe Giaouris represented as told by a fisherman, a Turk, who had committed a crime which haunted him all his life. SeeHassan.
Gibbie, Goose.—A half-witted boy in Scott’sOld Mortality.
Gibbie, Sir.—A simple-hearted, fine character in George Macdonald’s novel by the same name.
Giant Despair.—Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan. A giant who is the owner of Doubting Castle, and who, finding Christian and Hopeful asleep upon his grounds, takes them prisoners, and thrusts them into a dungeon.
Giant Grim.—Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan. A giant who seeks to stop the march of the pilgrims to the Celestial City, but is slain in a duel by Mr. Great-heart, their guide.
Giant Slay-good.—Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan. A giant slain in a duel by Mr. Great-heart.
Gil Blas(zhēl bläs).—A romance by Le Sage. The hero is the son of Blas of Santillanê squire or “escudero†to a lady, and brought up by his uncle, Canon Gil Perês. Gil Blas went to Dr. Godinez’s school of Oviedo and obtained the reputation of being a great scholar. He had fair abilities, a kind heart, and good inclinations, but was easily led astray by his vanity. Full of wit and humor, he was lax in his morals. Duped by others at first, he afterward played the same devices on those less experienced. As he grew in years, however, his conduct improved, and when his fortune was made, he became an honest, steady man.
Glaucus(glâ´kus).—A fisherman of Bœotia who has become the fisherman’s patron deity.
Glaucus.—Son of Hippolytus. Being smothered in a tub of honey, he was restored to life by Æsculapius.
Gloriana.—In Spenser’sFaërie Queene, the “greatest glorious queen of Faëry land.â€
Glumdalca(glum-dal´kä).—Tom Thumb, Fielding. Queen of the giants, captive in the court of King Arthur.
Glumdalclitch(glum-dal´klich).—Gulliver’s Travels, Swift. A girl nine years old “and only forty feet high.†Being such a “little thing,†the charge of Gulliver was committed to her during his sojourn in Brobdingnag.
Glumms.—Peter Wilkins, Robert Pullock. The male population of the imaginary country Nosmubdsgrsutt, visited by Peter Wilkins. Both males and females had wings which served both for flying and for clothes.
Godiva(gÅ-dī´vä).—A poem by Alfred Tennyson. The story of the lady andPeeping Tom of Coventryis told in full by Dugdale. Godiva was the wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia, and undertook to ride naked through the town if he would remit a tax under which the people groaned. The earl consented and the lady kept her word.
Golden Ass, The.—A romance in Latin by Apuleius. It is the adventures of Lucian, a young man who had been transformed into an ass, but still retained his human consciousness. It tells us the miseries which he suffered at the hands of robbers, eunuchs, magistrates, and so on, till the time came for him to resume his proper form. It is full of wit, racy humor, and rich fancy, and contains the exquisite episode of Cupid and Psyche.
Golden Legend, The.—The title of an ecclesiastical work in one hundred and seventy-seven sections, dating from the thirteenth century, written by one James de Voragine, a Dominican monk, and descriptive of the various saints’ days in the Roman calendar. It is deserving of study as a literary monument of the period, and as illustrating the religious habits and views of the Christians of that time.
Goneril(gon´er-il).—The oldest of the three daughters to King Lear, in Shakespeare’s tragedy. Having received her moiety of Lear’s kingdom, the unnatural daughter first abridged the old man’s retinue, then gave him to understand that his company was not wanted and sent him out a despairing old man to seek refuge where he could find it. Her name is proverbial for filial ingratitude.
Gonzalo(gon-zä´lÅ).—An honest old counselor in Shakespeare’sTempest, a true friend to Prospero.
Goody Blake.—A character in Wordsworth’s poem entitledGoody Blake and Harry Gill. A farmer forbids old Goody Blake to carry home a few sticks, which she had picked up from his land, and in revenge she invokes upon him the curse that he may “never more be warm;†and ever after “his teeth they chatter, chatter still.â€
Goody Two-Shoes.—The name of a well-known character in a nursery tale by Oliver Goldsmith. Goody Two-Shoes was a very poor child, whose delight at having a pair of shoes was unbounded. She called constant attention to her “two-shoes†which gave her the name.
Gradgrind(grad´grīnd).—A hardware merchant in Dickens’Hard Times. He is a man of hard facts and cultivates the practical. His constant demand in conversation is for “facts.†He allows nothing for the weakness of human nature, and deals with men and women as a mathematician with his figures.
Gradgrind, Mrs.—Wife of Thomas Gradgrind. A little, thin woman, always taking physic, without receiving from it any benefit.
Gradgrind, Tom.—Son of the above, a sullen young man, much loved by his sister.
Gradgrind, Louise.—A faithful daughter and sister.
Grandison, Sir Charles.—The hero of Richardson’s novelThe History of Sir Charles Grandison. Designed to represent his ideal of a perfect hero—a union of the good Christian and the perfect English gentleman.
Gratiano(grä-tē-ä´no).—(1) A friend to Antonio and Bassanio in Shakespeare’sMerchant of Venice. He “talks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in Venice.†(2) Brother to Brabantio, in Shakespeare’s tragedy ofOthello. (3) A character in the Italian popular theater calledCommedia dell’ Arte. He is represented as a Bolognese doctor, and has a mask with a black nose and forehead and red cheeks.
Great-Heart, Mr.—In Bunyan’sPilgrim’s Progress, the guide of Christian’s wife and children upon their journey to the Celestial City.
Gremio(grē´mi-Å).—In Shakespeare’sTaming of the Shrew, an old man who wishes to wed Bianca.
Griffin-feet.—Fairy Tales, Comtesse d’Aulnoy. The mark by which the Desert Fairy was known in all her metamorphoses.
Grimalkin.—A cat, the spirit of a witch. Any witch was permitted to assume the body of a cat nine times.
Grimwig.—Oliver Twist, Dickens. An irascible old gentleman, who hid a very kind heart under a rough exterior. He was always declaring himself ready to “eat his head†if he was mistaken on any point on which he passed an opinion.
Griselda(gri-zel´dä),The Patient.—A lady in Chaucer’sClerk of Oxenford’s Tales, immortalized by her virtue and her patience. The model of womanly and wifely obedience, she comes victoriously out of cruel and repeated ordeals. The story of Griselda is first told in the Decameron. Boccaccio derived the incidents from Petrarch, who seems to have communicated them also to Chaucer, as the latter refers to Petrarch as his authority.
Grub Street, London, is thus described in Dr. Johnson’s dictionary: “Originally the name of a street near Moorfields, in London, much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any production is called Grub street.†The name was freely used by Pope, Swift, and others.
Grundy.—“What will Mrs. Grundy say?†(What will our rivals or neighbors say?) The phrase is from Tom Morton’sSpeed the Plough, but “Mrs. Grundy†is not introduced into the comedy as one of thedramatis personæ. The solicitude of Dame Ashfield, in this play, as to “what will Mrs. Grundy say?†has given the latter great celebrity, the interrogatory having acquired a proverbial currency.
Gudrun(gö-drön´).—Edda, Sämund Sigfusson. A lady, married to Sigurd by the magical arts of her mother and on the death of Sigurd to Atli (Attila), whom she hated for his cruelty, and murdered. She then cast herself into the sea, and the waves bore her to the castle of King Jonakun, who became her third husband.
Gudrun.—North-Saxon poem. A model of heroic fortitude and pious resignation. She was the daughter of King Hettel (Attila), and the betrothed of Herwig, king of Heligoland.
Guendolen(gwen´dÅ-len).—A fairy whose mother was a human being.
Guildenstern.—The name of a courtier in Shakespeare’s tragedyHamlet.
Guinevere(gwin´e-ver), orGuenever.—A corrupt form ofGuanhumara, daughter of King Leodegrance of the land of Camelyard. She was the most beautiful of women, was the wife of King Arthur, but entertained aliaisonwith Sir Launcelot du Lac. Arthur, when informed of the conduct of Launcelot, went with an army to Brittany to punish him. Mordred, left as regent, usurped the crown, proclaimed that Arthur was dead, and tried to marry Guinevere; but she shut herself up in the Tower of London, resolved to die rather than marry the usurper. When she heard of the death of Arthur, she stole away to Almesbury, and became a nun.
Gulliver, Lemuel.—The imaginary hero of Swift’s celebrated satirical romance known asGulliver’s Travels. He is represented as being first a surgeon in London, and then a captain of several ships. After having followed the sea for some years he makes in succession four extraordinary voyages.
Gummidge(gum´ij),Mrs.—In Dickens’ novel ofDavid Copperfield, described herself as a “lone, lorn, creetur, and everythink that reminds me of creeturs that ain’t lone and lorn goes contrairy with me.â€
Gurton, Gammer.—The heroine of an old English comedy, long supposed to be the earliest in the language.
Guy Mannering.—The second of Scott’s historical novels, published in 1815, just seven months afterWaverley. The interest of the tale is well sustained; but the love scenes, female characters, and Guy Mannering himself are quite worthless. Not so the character of Dandy Dinmont, the shrewd and witty counselor Pleydell, the desperate, sea-beaten villainy of Hatteraick, the uncouth devotion of that gentlest of all pedants, poor Dominie Sampson, and the savage, crazed superstition of the gypsy-dweller in Derncleugh.
Guyon(gī´on).—The impersonation of Temperance or Self-government in Spenser’sFaërie Queene. He destroyed the witch Acrasia, and her bower, called the “Bower of Bliss.†His companion was Prudence. Sir Guyon represents the quality of temperance in the largest sense; meaning the virtuous self-government which holds in check not only the inferior sensual appetites but also the impulses of passion and revenge.
Guy, Sir, Earl of Warwick.—The hero of a famous English legend, which celebrates the wonderful achievements by which he obtained the hand of his ladylove, the fair Felice, as well as the adventures he subsequently met with in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He is reputed to have lived in the reign of the Saxon King Athelstan. The romance of Sir Guy, mentioned by Chaucer in theCanterbury Tales, cannot be traced further back than the earlier part of the fourteenth century. His existence at any period is very doubtful.
H
Hadad.—One of the six wise men led by the guiding star to Jesus.
Hagen.—The murderer of Siegfried, in the German epic, theNibelungenlied. He is a pale-faced dwarf, who knows everything and whose sole desire is mischief. After the death of Siegfried he seized the “Nibelung hoard,†and buried it in the Rhine, intending to appropriate it. Kriemhild invited him to the court and had him slain.
Haidee(hÄ«-dē´).—A beautiful young Greek girl in Byron’s poem,Don Juan. She is called the “beauty of the Cyclades.â€
Hakim.—The Talisman, Scott. Saladin, in the disguise of a physician, visited Richard Cœur de Lion in sickness; gave him a medicine in which the “talisman†had been dipped, and the sick king recovered.
Hamlet.—A tragedy by Shakespeare. The chief character is Hamlet, prince of Denmark. The ghost of his father appears to him, and urges him to avenge his murder upon his uncle. But the prince feigns madness, and puts off his revenge from day to day by “thinking too precisely on the event.†Hamlet’s mother had married Claudius, king of Denmark, after the death of her former husband. Claudius prepared poisoned wine, which he intended for Hamlet; but the queen, not knowing it, drank it, was poisoned and died. Hamlet, seeing his mother fall dead, rushed on the king and killed him almost by accident, and is killed himself by a poisoned rapier in the hands of Laertes.
Hanswurst(häns´vÅrst).—A pantomimic character formerly introduced into German comedies. It corresponds to the ItalianMacaroni, the FrenchJean Potage, and the EnglishJack Pudding.
Hardcastle, Mr.—A character in Goldsmith’s comedy ofShe Stoops to Conquer, represented as prosy and hospitable.
Hardcastle, Mrs.—A very “genteel†lady indeed. Tony Lumpkin is her son by a former husband.
Hard Times.—A novel by Dickens. Bounderby, a street Arab, raised himself to banker and cotton prince. When past fifty years of age he married Louisa, daughter of Thomas Gradgrind. The bank was robbed, and Bounderby believed Stephen Blackpool to be the thief, because he had dismissed him from his employ. The culprit was Tom Gradgrind, the banker’s brother-in-law, who escaped out of the country. In the dramatized version, the bank was not robbed, but Tom removed the money to another drawer for safety.
Harlequin(här´le-kin, or-´kwin).—The name of a well-known character in the popular extemporized Italian comedy.
Harlowe, Clarissa.—The heroine of Richardson’s novel entitledThe History of Clarissa Harlowe. In order to avoid a marriage urged upon her by her parents, she casts herself on the protection of Lovelace, who grossly abuses the confidence thus reposed in him. He subsequently proposes to marry her, but Clarissa rejects the offer.
Haroun-al-Raschid(hä-rÅn´äl-rash´id).—Caliph of the Abbasside race, contemporary with Charlemagne, and, like him, a patron of literature and the arts. Many of the tales in theArabian Nightsare placed in the caliphate of Haroun-al-Raschid.
Harpagon(är-pä-gôn´).—The hero of Molière’s comedy ofL’Avare, represented as a wretched miser.
Harpier, orHarper.—Some mysterious personage referred to by the witches in Shakespeare’s tragedyMacbeth.
Hassan(häs´sän).—The Giaour, Byron. Caliph of the Ottoman empire, noted for his hospitality and splendor. In his seraglio was a beautiful young slave named Leila, who loved a Christian called the Giaour. Leila is put to death by an emir, and Hassan is slain by the Giaour. Caliph Hassan has become the subject of popular romance.
Hassan, Al.—The Arabian emir of Persia, father of Hinda, in Moore’sFire Worshipers.
Hatto(hät´tÅ).—In German legend, an archbishop of Mentz in the tenth century, who, for his hardheartedness to the poor in time of famine, was eaten by mice in the “Mouse Tower†on an island in the Rhine near Bingen. Robert Browning has made this legend the subject of a poem.
Havelock the Dane(hav´e-lok).—A fisherman, known as Grim, rescued an infant named Havelock, whom he adopted. This infant was the son of the king of Denmark, and when the boy was restored to his royal sire Grim was laden with gifts. He built the town which he called after his own name. This is the foundation of the mediæval tales aboutHavelock the Dane.
Hazlewood, Sir Robert.—The old baronet of Hazlewood.
Hazlewood, Charles.—Guy Mannering, Scott. Son of Sir Robert. In love with Lucy Bertram, whom he marries.
Heart of Midlothian, The.—A novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1818. It has for heroines Jeanie and Effie Deans. Among the other characters are Dumbiedykes and Madge Wildfire. It has often been dramatized. “The Heart of Midlothian†was the popular name for the tollbooth at Edinburgh, the capital of the county of Midlothian.
Heep, Uriah.—David Copperfield, Dickens. A detestable character, who, under the garb of the most abject humility, conceals a diabolic malignity. Mrs. Heep, Uriah’s mother, was a character equally to be despised for her hypocritical assumption of humility.
Helena.—(1) A lady in Shakespeare’sMidsummer Night’s Dream, in love with Demetrius. (2) The heroine of Shakespeare’sAll’s Well That Ends Well, in love with Bertram, who marries her against his will and leaves her, but is finally won by the strength of her affection. (3) A character in an old popular tale, reproduced in Germany by Tieck.
Hermann and Dorothea.—The hero and heroine of Goethe’s poem of the same name.
Hermengyld(her´men-gild).—Canterbury Tales, Chaucer. The wife of the lord-constable of Northumberland. She was converted by Constance, but was murdered by a knight. Hermengyld at the bidding of Constance restored sight to a blind Briton.
Hermia(her´mi-ä).—A lady in Shakespeare’sMidsummer Night’s Dream, in love with Lysander.
Hermione.—The heroine of the first three acts of Shakespeare’sWinter’s Tale.
Hernani, orErnani.—The hero of Victor Hugo’s tragedy of the same name, and of Verdi’s opera, founded on the play. He was a Spanish noble in revolt against the Emperor Charles V. and killed himself from a high sense of honor.
Hiawatha(hi-a-wâ´tä, orhī-a-wâ´thä),The Song of.—A poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in the following peculiar measure:
Should you ask me, “Whence these stories?â€. . . . .I should answer, I should tell you,. . . . .“I repeat them as I heard themFrom the lips of Nawadaha,The musician, the sweet singer.â€
Should you ask me, “Whence these stories?â€. . . . .I should answer, I should tell you,. . . . .“I repeat them as I heard themFrom the lips of Nawadaha,The musician, the sweet singer.â€
The poem is entirely devoted to a description of life among the aboriginal tribes of America. It was published in 1855. Hiawatha is a mythical person believed by some of the North American Indians to have been sent among them to clear their rivers, forests, and fishing-grounds, and to teach them the arts of peace. When the white man came, then Hiawatha knew that the time of his departure was at hand, when he must go
To the kingdom of Ponemah,The land of the Hereafter.
To the kingdom of Ponemah,The land of the Hereafter.
Highland Mary.—A song by Robert Burns, which Burns himself thought was in his happiest manner, and which refers, he says, to one of the most interesting passages of his youthful days. By this he means his attachment to Mary, a servant in the family of Mr. Hamilton, “who will be remembered,†says Alexander Smith, “with Dante’s Beatrice and Petrarch’s Laura.†It was arranged that the lovers should become man and wife, and that Mary should go to her friends to prepare for the wedding. But before her departure came the farewell scene so touchingly described in the poem:
Our parting was fu’ tender;And, pledging aft to meet again,We tore oursels asunder:But oh! fell death’s untimely frostThat nipt my flower sae early!Now green’s the sod, and cauld’s the clay,That wraps my Highland Mary!
Our parting was fu’ tender;And, pledging aft to meet again,We tore oursels asunder:But oh! fell death’s untimely frostThat nipt my flower sae early!Now green’s the sod, and cauld’s the clay,That wraps my Highland Mary!
Hilda.—A New England girl of the most sensitive delicacy and purity of mind, in Hawthorne’s romance,The Marble Faun. She is an artist, living in Rome, and typifies, perhaps, the conscience.
Hildebrand(hil´de-brand).—The Nestor of German romance, a magician and champion.
Hildesheim(hil´des-hīm).—In an old German legend, the monk of Hildesheim, doubting how a thousand years with God could be “only one day,†listened to the melody of a bird, as he supposed, for only three minutes, but found that he had been listening to it for a hundred years.
Hobbididance.—The name of one of the fiends mentioned by Shakespeare inLear, and taken from the history of the Jesuits’ impostures.
Hohenlinden(hÅ´en-lin´den).—A poem by Thomas Campbell, published in 1802, celebrating the battle of Hohenlinden, gained by Moreau and the French over the Austrians. The poet visited the battle field on December 3, 1800.
Holofernes(hol-Å-fer´nÄ“z).—(1) A pedant living in Paris, under whose care Gargantua is placed for instruction. (2) A pedantic schoolmaster in Shakespeare’sLove’s Labor’s Lost.
Holt, Felix.—The hero of George Eliot’s novel by the same name.
Home, Sweet Home.—A popular lyric contained in the drama ofClari, the Maid of Milan, by John Howard[800]Payne. The beautiful melody to which it has been wedded is said to be of Italian or Sicilian origin, though by some it is attributed to Sir Henry Rowley Bishop. Perhaps the latter merely arranged and harmonized it.
Homilies.—The latter entries in the PeterboroughChronicleand a few homilies are almost all that we have left of the literature of the twelfth century. Some of these homilies are copied or imitated from those of Ælfric.
Honeycomb(hun´i-kÅm),Will.—One of the members of the imaginary club by whom theSpectatorwas professedly edited. He is distinguished for his graceful affectation, courtly pretension, and knowledge of the gay world.
Honeyman, Charles.—A fashionable preacher in Thackeray’s novel,The Newcomes.
Hopeful.—A pilgrim in Bunyan’sPilgrim’s Progress, who accompanies Christian to the end of his journey.
Hop-o’-my-Thumb.—A character in the tales of the nursery. Tom Thumb and Hop-o’-my-Thumb are not the same, although they are often confounded. Tom Thumb was the son of peasants, knighted by King Arthur, and was killed by a spider. Hop-o’-my-Thumb was a nix, the same as the German “daumling,†the French “le petit pouce,†and the Scotch “Tom-a-lin†or “Tamlane.†He was not a human dwarf, but a fay.
Horatio(hÅ-rÄ´shi-Å).—Hamlet, Shakespeare. An intimate friend of Hamlet, a prince, a scholar, and a gentleman.
Horatius Cocles.—Captain of the bridge gate over the Tiber. He and two men to help him held the bridge against vast approaching armies. Subject and title of a poem by Lord Macauley.
Horner, Jack.—The name of a celebrated personage in the literature of the nursery. A Somersetshire tradition says that the plums which Jack Horner pulled out of the Christmas pie alluded to the title deeds of the abbey estates at Wells, which were sent to Henry VIII., in a pasty, and were abstracted on the way by the messenger, a certain Jack Horner.
Hortense(hôr-ten´s, oror-tons´).—Bleak House, Dickens. The vindictive French maid-servant of Lady Dedlock. In revenge for the partiality shown by Lady Dedlock to Rosa, Hortense murdered Mr. Tulkinghorn, and tried to throw the suspicion of the crime on Lady Dedlock.
House of the Seven Gables, The.—A romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1851. “InThe House of the Seven Gables,†says R. H. Hutton, “we have a picture studied to impress on us that both personal character and the malign influences of evil action are transmitted, sometimes with accumulating force, even through centuries, blighting every generation through which they pass. The subject would apparently involve a series of sketches, but only two are introduced from the past, and the family characteristics are so anxiously preserved as to make even these seem like slight modifications of some of the living group. The only incident in the tale is the light thrown upon a crime—which had been committed thirty years before the story opens—by the sudden death of the principal representative of a family from the same disease, in the same chair, and under the same circumstances, as those of the old ancestor and founder of the family, whose picture hangs above the chair.â€
Hubbard, Old Mother.—A well-known nursery rhyme.Mother Hubbard’s Tale, by Edmund Spenser, is a satirical fable in the style of Chaucer.
Hubert de Burgh(börg, orberg).—Justice of England, created Earl of Kent, introduced by Shakespeare intoKing John. He is the one to whom the young prince addresses his piteous plea for life. The lad was found dead soon afterward, either by accident or foul play.
Hubert, Saint.—The legend of Saint Hubert makes him a patron saint of huntsmen.
Hudibras(hū´di-bras).—The title and hero of a celebrated satirical poem by Samuel Butler. Hudibras is a Presbyterian justice of the time of the commonwealth.
Hugh of Lincoln.—A legendary personage who forms the subject of Chaucer’sPrioress’ Tale, and also of an ancient English ballad. Wordsworth has given a modernized version of this tale.
Hugo Hugonet.—Castle Dangerous, Scott. Minstrel of the earl of Douglas.
Humphrey.—The imaginary collector of the tales inMaster Humphrey’s Clock, by Charles Dickens.
Humpty Dumpty.—The hero of a well-known nursery rhyme. The name signifies humped and dumpy, and is the riddle for an egg.
Huon de Bordeaux(ü-ôn´de bor-dÅ´).—A hero of one of the romances of chivalry bearing this name.
Hural Oyun.—In the fairy tales found in the Koran, these are the black-eyed daughters of paradise. They are created from muck, and are free from all physical weakness and are always young. It is held out to every male believer that he will have seventy-two of these girls as his household companions in paradise.
Hylas(hī´las).—A beautiful boy, beloved by Hercules, who was drawn into a spring by the enamored nymphs. The story has been treated by Bayard Taylor, and by William Morris in hisLife and Death of Jason.
Hypatia(hÄ«-Ä´shiä).—A novel by the Rev. Charles Kingsley, the scene of which is laid in Alexandria, at a time when Christianity was gaining ground against Paganism and the neo-Platonism of the schools. Hypatia herself was born about the year 370, and, after attracting to her lectures on philosophy a large and brilliant auditory, was torn to pieces by the rabble of her native city in 415.Hypatiaappeared in 1853.
Hyperion(hī-pē´ri-on, orhī-per-ī´on).—A romance in four books, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This work, which was the result of an extensive tour in Germany, was published in 1839, and with much that is purely fanciful and imaginative, contains much that came within the actual experience of the author who is represented, idealized, in the character of Paul Flemming. The episode with Mary Ashburton is supposed to have reference to a real occurrence. The book is full of description and of eloquent discussion, besides being interspersed with snatches of legend and of song.
Hypocrites’ Isle.—An island described by Rabelais in one of his satires. He pictures this island ofHypocritesas wholly inhabited by people of low and defiled natures, as, by sham saints, spiritual comedians, seducers, and “such-like sorry rogues who live on the alms of passengers like the hermit of Lamont.â€
I
Iago(Ä“-ä´gÅ).—Othello, Shakespeare. Othello’s ensign and the villain of the play. Iago is said to be a character next to a devil, yet not quite a devil, which Shakespeare alone could execute without scandal.
Idleness, The Lake of.—Faërie Queene, Spenser. Whoever drank thereof grew instantly “faint and weary.†The Red Cross Knight drank of it, and was readily made captive by Orgoglio.
Idylls of the King.—A series of poems by Tennyson. Taken together they form a parable of the life of man. Each idyll taken as a separate picture represents the war between sense and soul. InLancelot and Guineverethe lower nature leads them astray and there is intense struggle before the higher nature prevails. InVivien,Tristram, andModred, the base and sensual triumph. InArthur,Sir GalahadandPercivale, it is the victory of the spiritual.
Ignaro.—Faërie Queene, Spenser. Fosterfather of Orgoglio. Spenser says this old man walks one way and looks another, because ignorance is always “wrong-headed.â€
Iliad(il´ē-ad).—A famous Greek epic poem by Homer. It is the tale of the siege of Troy, in twenty-four books. It is written in Greek hexameters, and commemorates the deeds of Achilles and other Greek heroes at the siege of Troy. Books one, two and three are introductory to the war. Paris proposes to decide the contest by a single combat, and Menelaus accepts the challenge. Paris, being overthrown, is carried off by Venus, and Agamemnon demands that the Trojans shall give up Troy in fulfillment of the compact, and the siege follows. The gods take part, and frightful slaughter ensues. At length Achilles slays Hector, and the battle is at an end. Old Priam, going to the tent of Achilles, craves the body of his son Hector; Achilles gives it up, and the poem concludes with the funeral rites of the Trojan hero. Vergil continues the tale from this point, shows how the city was taken and burnt, and then continues with the adventures of Æneas, who escapes from the burning city, and makes his way to Italy.
Imogen(im´Å-jen).—The wife of Posthumus, and the daughter of Cymbeline in the play of Shakespeare’s under titleCymbeline. “Of all Shakespeare’s women,†says Hazlitt, “she is, perhaps, the most tender and the most artless.â€
Incantation.—Is derived from a Latin root meaning simply “to sing.†It is the term in use to denote one of the most powerful and awe-inspiring modes of magic, resting on a belief in the mysterious power of words solemnly conceived and passionately uttered.
Inchcape Rock.—It is dangerous for navigators, and therefore the abbot of Aberbrothock fixed a bell on a float, which gave notice to sailors. Southey says that Ralph the Rover, in a mischievous joke, cut the bell from the buoy, and it fell into the sea; but on his[801]return voyage his boat ran on the rock, and Ralph was drowned. Precisely the same tale is told of St. Goven’s bell.
Inferno, The.—Divine Comedy, Dante. Epic poem in thirty-four cantos. Inferno is the place of the souls who are wholly given up to sin. The ascent is through Purgatory to Paradise.
Ingoldsby Legends(ing´gÅldz-bi lej´endz, orlē´jendz).—A collection of legends in prose and verse, supposed to have been found in the family chest of the Ingoldsby family, and related by Thomas Ingoldsby. Of the poetical pieces it is not too much to say that, for originality of design and diction, for quaint illustration and musical verse, they are not surpassed in the English language. From the days of Hudibras to our time, the drollery invested in rhyme has never been so amply or so felicitously exemplified; and if derision has been unsparingly applied, it has been to lash knavery and imposture.
In Memoriam.—A poem by Alfred Tennyson, published in 1850, and consisting of one hundred and thirty “short swallow flights of song,†in a measure which Tennyson has made his own. It is well known that these “brief lays, of sorrow born,†were written in memory of the author’s friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, who died in 1833. They are characterized by George MacDonald as forming “the poem of the hoping doubters, the poem of our age—the grand minor organ fugue ofIn Memoriam. It is the cry of the bereaved Psyche into the dark infinite after the vanished love. His friend is nowhere in his sight, and God is silent. Death, God’s final compulsion to prayer, in its dread, its gloom, its utter stillness, its apparent nothingness, urges the cry. Moanings over the dead are mingled with the profoundest questionings of philosophy, the signs of nature, and the story of Jesus, while now and then the star of the morning, bright Phosphor, flashes a few rays through the shifting cloudy dark. And if the sun has not arisen on the close of the book, yet the aurora of the coming dawn gives light enough to make the onward journey possible and hopeful.â€
Innocents Abroad.—By Mark Twain. Travelers seeing Europe without any illusions. The fun consists in an irreverent application of modern common sense to historic associations, ridiculing sentimental humbug. An air of innocence and surprise adds to the drolleries of their adventures.
Instauratio Magna(in-stâ-rÄ´shi-Å mag´nä).—The title (The Great Restoration) which Bacon gave to hisMagnum Opus, the design of which was for six divisions:—(1)The Advancement of Learning; (2) theNovum Organum; (3) theExperimental History of Nature; (4) theScala Intellectus, which leads from experience to science; (5) theBodronic, or anticipations of the second philosophy; and (6)Active Science, or experiment. Of these, only the first two, and a portion of the third (Sylva Sylvarum), were published. The idea that was to run through theInstauratiowas that invention must be based upon experience, and experience upon experiment.
Interludes, The.—Springing from the moralities and bearing some resemblance to them, though nearer the regular drama, are the interludes, a class of compositions in dialogue, much shorter and more merry and farcical. They were generally played in the intervals of a festival.
Invocation.—An address at the commencement of a poem, in which the author calls for the aid of some divinity, particularly of his muse.
Iphigenia(if´i-jē-nī´ä).—The heroine of Euripides’ tragedyIphigenia in Aulis, and of Goethe’s tragedyIphigenia auf Tauris. She was placed on the altar in a rash vow by her father. Artemis at the last moment snatched her from the altar and carried her to heaven, substituting a hind in her place. The similarity of this legend to the scripture stories of Jephthah’s vow and Abraham’s offering of his son Isaac is noticeable.
Iras.—A strongly delineated character inBen Hur, a Tale of The Christ, by Lew Wallace.
Iras.—A female attendant on Cleopatra in Shakespeare’s play,Antony and Cleopatra.
Isaac of York.—A wealthy Jew, the father of Rebecca, in Sir Walter Scott’s novel,Ivanhoe.
Isabella.—The heroine in Shakespeare’s comedy,Measure for Measure.
Island of Lanterns.—In the celebrated satire of Rabelais, an imaginary country inhabited by false pretenders to knowledge. The name was probably suggested by theCity of Lanterns, in the Greek romance of Lucian. Swift has copied this same idea in hisIsland of Laputa.
Island of St. Brandan.—A marvelous flying island, the subject of an old and widely spread legend of the middle ages. Though the island of St. Brandan has been a disappointment to voyagers, it has been a favorite theme with poets.
Island of the Blest.—Imaginary island in the west. Hither the favorites of the gods were conveyed without dying, and dwelt in never-ending joy. The name first occurs in Hesiod’sWorks and Days. This phrase is often used in modern literature.
Ithuriel(i-thö´ri-el).—In Milton’sParadise Lost, an angel commissioned by Gabriel to search through paradise, in company with Zephon, to find Satan, who had eluded the vigilance of the angelic guard, and effected an entrance into the garden. It is related that Ithuriel found Satan “squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve,†and transformed him by a touch of his spear into his proper shape.
Ivanhoe.—A novel by Sir Walter Scott. The hero, also Ivanhoe, figures as Cedric of Rotherwood’s disinherited son, the favorite of King Richard I., and the lover of the Lady Rowena, whom, in the end, he marries. The scene is laid in England in the reign of Richard I., and we are introduced to Robin Hood in Sherwood forest, banquets in Saxon halls, tournaments, and all the pomp of ancient chivalry. Rowena, the heroine, is quite thrown into the shade by the gentle, meek, yet high-souled Rebecca.
Ivory Gate of Dreams.—Dreams which delude pass through the ivory gate, but those which come true through the horn gate.
J
Jack and the Bean-Stalk.—A nursery legend said to be an allegory of the TeutonicAl-fader, the “red hen†representing the all-producing sun, the “money-bags†the fertilizing rain, and the “harp†the winds.
Jack-in-the-Green.—A prominent character in Maypole dances.
Jack Robinson.—A famous comic song by Hudson.
Jack Sprat.—The hero of a nursery rhyme. Jack and his wife form a fine combination in domestic economy.
Jack the Giant-killer.—The name of a famous hero in the literature of the nursery, the subject of one of the Teutonic or Indo-European legends, which have become nationalized in England and America.
Jaquenetta(jak-e-net´ä).—Love’s Labor’s Lost, Shakespeare. A country wench courted by Don Adriano de Armado.
Jaques(zhä´kes).—A lord attending upon the exiled duke, in Shakespeare’sAs You Like It. A contemplative character who thinks and does—nothing. He is called the “melancholy Jaques,†and affects a cynical philosophy. He could “suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel sucks eggs.â€
Jarley, Mrs.—The proprietor of a waxwork show in Dickens’Old Curiosity Shop. She has lent her name to a popular game of parlor tableaux.
Jarndyce(järn´dis),John.—A prominent figure in Dickens’Bleak House, distinguished for his philanthropy, easy good-nature and good sense, and for always saying, “The wind is in the east,†when anything went wrong with him. The famous suit of Jarndycevs.Jarndyce, in this novel, is a satire upon the court of chancery.
Jarvie, Nicol.—A prominent character in Sir Walter Scott’s novelRob Roy. He is a bailie of Glasgow.
Javert(zhä-var´).—An officer of the police force inLes Misérables, by Victor Hugo. He is the incarnation of inexorable law.
Jarvis.—A faithful old servant, in Moore’sThe Gamester, who tries to save his master, Beverley, from his fatal passion of gambling.
Jaup.—An old woman at Middlemas village, in Scott’sThe Surgeon’s Daughter.
Jekyll, Doctor, and Mr. Hyde.—A singular romance by Robert Louis Stevenson. The hero is a duplex character—Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Doctor Jekyll is a benevolent and upright physician, who by means of a potion is able to transform himself for a time into a second personality, Mr. Hyde, of a brutal and animal nature.
Jellyby(jel´i-bi),Mrs.—A character in Dickens’ novel, Bleak House, a type of sham philanthropy. She spends her time and energy on foreign missions to the neglect of her family. Mrs. Jellyby is quite overwhelmed with business correspondence relative to the affairs of Borrioboola Gha.
Jenkins, Winifred.—The name of Miss Tabitha Bramble’s maid in Smollett’sExpedition of Humphrey Clinker. She makes ridiculous blunders in speaking and writing.
Jenkinson, Ephraim.—A green old swindler, whom Dr. Primrose met in a public tavern. Dr. Primrose sold the swindler his horse, Old Blackberry, for a draft upon Farmer Flamborough.
Jeroboam(jer-Å-bÅ´am)Sermon.—One of Dr. Emmons’ sermons, which made a great noise at the time. It was known as his Jeroboam Sermon. It was written on the occasion of Jefferson’s inauguration as president, and, although Jefferson is not named, the delineation of the character of Jeroboam is such that no one can doubt the personal application intended.
Jerusalem Delivered.—An epic in twenty books, by Torquato Tasso. The crusaders, encamped on the plains of Tortosa, chose Godfrey for their chief, and Alandine, king of Jerusalem, made preparations for defense. The Christian army having reached Jerusalem, the king of Damascus sent Armida to beguile the Christians. It was found that Jerusalem could never be taken without the aid of Rinaldo. Godfrey, being informed that the hero was dallying with Armida in the enchanted island, sent to invite him back to the army; he returned, and Jerusalem was taken. Armida fled into Egypt, and offered to marry any knight who slew Rinaldo. The love of Rinaldo returned, he pursued her and she relented. The poem concludes with the triumphant entry of the Christian army into the Holy City, and their devotions at the tomb of the Redeemer. The two chief episodes are the loves of Olindo and Sofronia, and of Tancred and Clorinda.
Jessica(jes´i-kä).—The beautiful daughter of Shylock, in Shakespeare’sMerchant of Venice.
Jones, Tom.—The hero of Fielding’s novel entitledThe History of a Foundling, represented as a model of generosity, openness, and manly spirit, though thoughtless and dissipated.
Joyeuse(zhwä-yez´).—The sword of Charlemagne as mentioned in romances of chivalry.
Joyeuse Garde(zhwä-yez´gärd).—The residence of the famous Lancelot du Lac.
Judith.—The heroine in the book by the same name in the Apocrypha. She was a beautiful Jewess of Bethulia, who, when her town was besieged by Holofernes, the general of Nebuchadnezzar, attended him in his tent, and, when he was drunk, killed him, whereupon her townsmen fell upon the Assyrians and defeated them with great slaughter. The tale is not mentioned by Josephus, and has, from an early period, been held to be an allegory. It has frequently furnished poets and painters with subjects.
Julius Cæsar.—An historical tragedy by William Shakespeare. The poet was in this, as in other plays, materially assisted by North’s translation of Plutarch. “Shakespeare’sJulius Cæsar,†says Hazlitt, “is not equal, as a whole, to either of his other plays taken from the Roman history. It is inferior in interest toCoriolanus, and both in interest and power toAntony and Cleopatra. It, however, abounds in admirable and affecting passages, and is remarkable for the profound knowledge of character, in which Shakespeare could hardly fail.â€
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Kadir, Al.—The night on which theKoranwas sent down to Mohammed. Al Kadir is supposed to be the seventh of the last ten nights of Ramadan, or the night between the twenty-third and twenty-fourth days of the month.
Kay.—A foster brother of King Arthur, and a rude and boastful knight of the Round Table. He was the butt of King Arthur’s court. Called also Sir Queux. He appears in theBoy and the Mantle, in Percy’sReliques. Sir Kay is represented as the type of rude boastfulness, Sir Gawain of courtesy, Sir Launcelot of chivalry, Sir Mordred of treachery, Sir Galahad of chastity, Sir Mark of cowardice.
Kehama(kē-hä´mä).—A Hindu rajah who obtains and sports with supernatural power. His adventures are related in Southey’s poem entitledThe Curse of Kehama.
Kenilworth.—A novel by Sir Walter Scott. This is very superior toThe AbbotandThe Monastery. For interest it comes next toIvanhoe, and the portrait of Queen Elizabeth is lifelike and correct. That of Queen Mary is given inThe Abbot. Full of courtly gayeties and splendor, the novel contains the unhappy tale of the beautiful Amy Robsart, which cannot fail to excite our sympathy and pity.
Kent, Earl of.—A rough, plain-spoken, but faithful nobleman in Shakespeare’sKing Lear, who follows the fallen fortunes of the king, disguised as a servant, under the assumed name of Caius.
Kenwigs(ken´wigz).—A family in Dickens’ novelNicholas Nickleby, including a number of little girls who differed from one another only in the length of their frilled pantalets and of their flaxen pigtails tied with bows of blue ribbon.
Kilkenny Cats.—Two cats, in an Irish story, which fought till nothing was left but their tails. It is probably a parable of a local contest between Kilkenny and Irishtown, which impoverished both boroughs.
Kilmansegg, Miss.—An heiress with great expectations and an artificial leg of solid gold, in Hood’s poem,A Golden Legend.
King Horn.—A metrical romance which was very popular in the thirteenth century. King Horn is a beautiful young prince who is carried away by pirates; but his life is spared, and after many wonderful adventures he weds a princess, and regains his father’s kingdom.
King Lear.—A tragedy by Shakespeare whose hero is a fabulous or legendary king of Britain. He had three daughters, and when four score years old, wishing to retire from the active duties of sovereignty, resolved to divide his kingdom between them, but was persuaded to disinherit Cordelia. The beauty of the play is the exquisite character of Cordelia, who is a “perfect woman.â€
King Log and King Stork.—Characters in a celebrated fable of Æsop, which relates that the frogs, grown weary of living without a government, petitioned Jupiter for a king. Jupiter accordingly threw down a log among them, which made a satisfactory ruler till the frogs recovered from their fright and discovered his real nature. They, therefore, entreated Jupiter for another king, whereupon he sent them a stork, who immediately began to devour them.
Klaus, Peter.—The hero of an old popular tradition of Germany—the prototype of Rip Van Winkle—represented as a goatherd.
Knickerbocker, Diedrich.—The imaginary author of a humorous fictitiousHistory of New York, written by Washington Irving.
Knight of the Swan.—Lohengrin, son of Parsival, because his boat was drawn by a swan.
Knights of the Round Table.—King Arthur’s knights were so called because they sat with him at a round table made by Merlin for King Leodogran. This king gave it to Arthur on his marriage with Guinevere, his daughter.
Koppenberg.—The mountain of Westphalia to which the pied piper (Bunting) led the children, when the people of Hamelin refused to pay him for killing their rats. Browning’s poem,The Pied Piper, tells the tale.
L
Lady of Lyons, The.—A drama, by Lord Lytton, in which Pauline Deschappelles, daughter of a Lyonese merchant, rejects the suits of Beauseant, Glavis, and Claude Melnotte, who therefore combined. Claude, who was a gardener’s son, aided by the other two, passed himself off as Prince Como, married Pauline, and brought her home to his mother’s cottage. The proud beauty was very indignant, and Claude left her to join the French army. He became a colonel, and returned to Lyons. He found his father-in-law on the eve of bankruptcy, and that Beauseant had promised to satisfy the creditors if Pauline would consent to marry him. Pauline was heartbroken; Claude revealed himself, paid the money required, and carried home the bride.
Lady of Shalott, The.—A poem by Alfred Tennyson, founded on an incident inKing Arthur. It is descriptive of “a being whose existence passes without emotion, without changes, without intelligible motive for living on, without hope or fear, here or hereafter.â€
Lady of the Lake, The.—A poem in six cantos by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1810. “Measured even by the standard of theMinstrelandMarmion, theLady of the Lakepossessed,†says Palgrave, “merits of its own, which raised his reputation still higher. Jeffrey’s prediction has been perfectly fulfilled, that theLady of the Lakewould be ‘oftener read than either of the former,’ and it is generally acknowledged to be, in Lockhart’s words, ‘the most interesting, romantic, picturesque, and graceful of his great poems.’†The descriptions of scenery, which form one of the chief charms of the poem, render it, even now, one of the most minute and faithful handbooks to the region in which the drama of Ellen and the Knight of Snowdon is laid.
Lake Poets, The.—Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge, who lived about the lakes of Cumberland.
Lalla Rookh(lal´ä rök).—An oriental romance by Thomas Moore, consisting of four tales in verse, entitledThe Veiled Prophet of Khorassan,Paradise and the Peri,The Fire-Worshipers, andThe Light of the Harem, and connected by a short prose narrative, in which it is described how Lalla Rookh, daughter of the Emperor Aurungzebe, journeys toward Bucharia to[803]meet her engaged husband, and how the prince gains her love on the way, in the guise of a Cashmerian minstrel.Lalla Rookhwas published in 1817.
L’Allegro(läl-lÄ´grÅ).—A descriptive poem by John Milton, probably written during his college life.