LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. (continued 2)

Spruch-Sprecher (The) or “sayer of sayings” to the archduke of Austria.--Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).

Spuma´dor, Prince Arthur’s horse. So called from the foam of its mouth, which indicated its fiery temper.--Spenser, Faëry Queen, ii. (1590).

⁂ In the Mabinogion, his favorite mare is called Llamrei (“the curveter”).

Spurs (The Battle of), the battle of Guinnegate, in 1513, between Henry VIII. and the duc de Longueville. So called because the French used their spurs in flight more than their swords in fight. (See Spurs of Gold, etc.)

32Squab (The Poet). Dryden was so called by Lord Rochester.

Square (Mr.), a “philosopher,” in Fielding’s novel called The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749).

Squeers (Mr. Wackford), of Dotheboy’s Hall, Yorkshire, a vulgar, conceited, ignorant schoolmaster, overbearing, grasping, and mean. He steals the boys’ pocket money, clothes his son in their best suits, half starves them, and teaches them next to nothing. Ultimately, he is transported for purloining a deed.

Mrs. Squeers, wife of Mr. Wackford, a raw-boned, harsh, heartless virago, without one spark of womanly feeling for the boys put under her charge.

Miss Fanny Squeers, daughter of the schoolmaster, “not tall like her mother, but short like her father. From the former she inherited a voice of hoarse quality, and from the latter a remarkable expression of the right eye.” Miss Fanny falls in love with Nicholas Nickleby, but hates him and spites him because he is insensible of the soft impeachment.

Master Wackford Squeers, son of the schoolmaster, a spoilt boy, who was dressed in the best clothes of the scholars. He was over-bearing, self-willed, and passionate.--C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).

The person who suggested the character of Squeers was a Mr. Shaw, of Bowes. He married a Miss Laidman. The satire ruined the school, and was the death both of Mr. and Mrs. Shaw.--Notes and Queries, October 25, 1873.

Squeeze (Miss), a pawnbroker’s daughter. Her father had early taught her that money is the “one thing needful,” and at death left her a moderate competence. She was so fully convinced of the value of money that she would never part with a farthing without an equivalent, and refused several offers, because she felt persuaded her suitors sought her money and not herself. Now she is old and ill-natured, marked with the small-pox, and neglected by every one.--Goldsmith, A Citizen of the World, xxviii. (1759).

Squint (Lawyer), the great politician of society. He makes speeches for members of parliament, writes addresses, gives the history of every new play, and finds “seasonable thought” upon every possible subject.--Goldsmith, A Citizen of the World, xxix. (1759).

Squint-Eyed. [Guercīno] Gian-Francesco Barbieri, the painter (1590-1666).

Squintum (Dr.), George Whitefield is so called by Foote in his farce entitled The Minor (1614-1770).

Squintum (Dr.). The Rev. Edward Irving, who had an obliquity of the eyes, was so called by Theodore Hook (1792-1834).

Squire of Dames (The), a young knight, in love with Col´umbell, who appointed him a year’s service before she would consent to become his bride. The “squire” was to travel for twelve months, to rescue distressed ladies, and bring pledges of his exploits to Columbell. At the end of the year he placed 300 pledges in her hands, but instead of rewarding him by becoming his bride, she set him another task, viz., to travel about the world on foot, and not present himself again till he could bring her pledges from 300 damsels that they would live in chastitychastity all their life. The squire told Columbell that in three years he had found only three persons who 33would take the pledge, and only one of these, he said (a rustic cottager) took it from a “principle of virtue;” the other two (a nun and a courtezan) promised to do so, but did not voluntarily join the “virgin martyrs.” This “Squire of Dames” turned out to be Britomart.--Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. 7 (1590).

⁂ This story is imitated from “The Host’s Tale,” in Orlando Furioso, xxviii.

Squires (Milton), servant in the Fairchild family, boorish, vindictive hind who murders one brother and tries to fasten the deed upon another.--Harold Frederic, Seth’s Brother’s Wife (1886).

Squirt, the apothecary’s boy in Garth’s Dispensary; hence any apprentice lad or errand boy.

Here sauntering ’prentices o’er Otway weep.

O’er Congreve smile, or over D’Urfey sleep,

Pleased sempstresses the Lock’s famed Rape unfold,

And Squirts read Garth till Apozems grow cold.

J. Gay, Trivia (1712).

(Pope wrote The Rape of the Lock, 1712.)

Squod (Phil), a grotesque little fellow, faithfully attached to Mr. George, the son of Mrs. Rouncewell (housekeeper at Chesney Wold). George had rescued the little street arab from the gutter, and the boy lived at George’s “Shooting Gallery” in Leicester Square (London). Phil was remarkable for limping along sideways, as if “tacking.”--C. Dickens, Bleak House (1852).

Stael (Madame de), called by Heine [Hi.ne] “a whirlwind in petticoats,” and a “sultana of mind.”

Stagg (Benjamin), the proprietor of the cellar in the Barbican where the secret society of “Prentice Knights” used to convene. He was a blind man, who fawned on Mr. Sim Tappertit, “the ’prentices glory” and captain of the “’Prentice Knights.” But there was a disparity between his words and sentiments, if we may judge from this specimen: “Good-night, most noble captain! farewell, brave general! bye-bye illustrious commander! a conceited, bragging, empty-headed, duck-legged idiot!” Benjamin Stagg was shot by the soldiery in the Gordon riots.--C. Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (1841).

Staggchase (Mrs. Frederick), descendant of an old Boston family, and one of the cleverest women in her set.--Arlo Bates, The Philistines (1888).

Stagirite (3 syl.). Aristotle is called the Stagirite, because he was born at Stagīra, in Macedon. Almost all our English poets call the word Stagĭrite: as Pope, Thomson, Swift, Byron, Wordsworth, B. Browning, etc. The Greek would be Stag´īrite.

Thick like a glory round the Stagyrite,

Your rivals throng, the Sages.

R. Browning, Paracelsus, i.

All the wisdom of the Stagirite.

Wordsworth.

Plato, the Stagyrite, and Tully joined.

Thomson.

As if the Stagirite o’erlooked the line.

Pope.

Is rightly censured by the Stagirite,

Who says his numbers do not fadge aright.

Swift, To Dr. Sheridan (1718).

Stammerer (The). Louis II. of France, le Bégué (846, 877-879).(846, 877-879).

Michael II., Emperor of the East (*, 820-829).

Notker or Notger, of St. Gall (830-912).

34Stanchells, head jailer at the Glasgow tolbooth.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).

Standard. A substantial building for water supplies, as the Water Standard of Cornhill, the Standard in Cheap, opposite Honey Lane, “which John Wells, grocer, caused to be made [? rebuilt] in his mayoralty, 1430.”--Stow, Survey (“Cheapside”).

The Cheapside Standard. This Standard was in existence in the reign of Edward I. In the reign of Edward III. two fishmongers were beheaded at the Cheapside Standard, for aiding in a riot. Henry IV. caused “the blank charter of Richard II.” to be burnt at this place.

The Standard, Cornhill. This was a conduit with four spouts, made by Peter Morris, a German, in 1582, and supplied with Thames water, conveyed by leaden pipes over the steeple of St. Magnus’s Church. It stood at the east end of Cornhill, at its junction with Gracechurch Street, Bishopsgate Street, and Leadenhall Street. The water ceased to run between 1598 and 1603, but the Standard itself remained long after. Distances from London were measured from this spot.

In the year 1775, there stood upon the borders of Epping Forest, at a distance of about twelve miles from London, measuring from the Standard in Cornhill, or rather from the spot on which the Standard used to be, a house of public entertainment, called the Maypole.--Dickens, Barnaby Rudge, i. (1841).

Standard (The Battle of the), the battle of Luton Moor, near Northallerton, between the English and the Scotch, in 1138. So called from the “standard,” which was raised on a wagon, and placed in the centre of the English army. The pole displayed the standards of St. Cuthbert of Durham, St. Peter of York, St. John of Beverley, and St. Wilfred of Ripon, surmounted by a little silver casket, containing a consecrated wafer.--Hailes, Annals of Scotland, i. 85 (1779).

The Battle of the Standard, was so called from the banner of St. Cuthbert, which was thought always to secure success. It came forth at the battle of Nevil’s Cross, and was again victorious. It was preserved with great reverence till the Reformation, when, in 1549, Catharine Whittingham (a French lady), wife of the dean of Durham, burnt it out of zeal against popery.--Miss Yonge, Cameos of English History, 126-8 (1868).

Standing (To die). Vespasian said, “An emperor of Rome ought to die standing.” Louis XVIII. of France, said, “A king of France ought to die standing.” This notion is not confined to crowned heads.

Standish (Miles), the puritan captain, was short of stature, strongly built, broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, and with sinews like iron. His wife, Rose, was the first to die “of all who came in the Mayflower.” Being desirous to marry Priscilla, “the beautiful puritan,” he sent young Alden to plead his cause; but the maiden answered archly, “Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?” Soon after this, Standish was supposed to have been killed, and John Alden did speak for himself, and prevailed.--Longfellow, Courtship of Miles Standish (1858).

Standish (Mrs. Justice), a brother magistrate with Bailie Trumbull.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).

Stanley, in the earl of Sussex’s train.--Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Stanley (Captain Charles), introduced by his friend, Captain Stukely, to the family at Strawberry Hall. Here he meets Miss 35Kitty Sprightly, an heiress, who has a theatrical twist. The captain makes love to her under the mask of acting, induces her to run off with him and get married, then, returning to the hall, introduces her as his wife. All the family fancy he is only “acting,” but discover too late that their “play” is a life-long reality.--I. Jackman, All the World’s a Stage.

Stanley Crest (The). On a chapeau gu. an eagle feeding on an infant in its nest. The legend is that Sir Thomas de Lathom, having no male issue, was walking with his wife one day, and heard the cries of an infant in an eagle’s nest. They looked on the child as a gift from God, and adopted it, and it became the founder of the Stanley race (time, Edward III.).

Stannard (Major). Sturdy, blunt, unaffected soldier, a terror to evil-doers, and the strong-tower of persecuted innocence. His wife is a lovely woman, worthy of the gallant warrior.--Charles King, Marion’s Faith, and The Colonel’s Daughter (1886), (1888).

Stantons (The), John Stanton, intelligent young carpenter, engaged to Melissa Blake, once a teacher, now a copyist of legal papers.

Orin Stanton, half-brother to John. A sculptor; “one of the artists who would never be able to separate his idea of the nurse from that of the serving-maid. He viewed art from the strictly utilitarian standpoint which considers it a means toward the payment of butcher and baker and candlestick-maker.”--Arlo Bates, The Philistines (1888).

Staples (Lawrence), head jailer at Kenilworth Castle.--Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Starch (Dr.), the tutor of Blushington.--W. T. Moncrieff, The Bashful Man.

Starchat´erus, of Sweden, a giant in stature and strength, whose life was protracted to thrice the ordinary term. When he felt himself growing old, he hung a bag of gold round his neck, and told Olo he might take the bag of gold if he would cut off his head, and he did so. He hated luxury in every form, and said a man was a fool who went and dined out for the sake of better fare. One day, Helgo, king of Norway, asked him to be his champion in a contest which was to be decided by himself alone against nine adversaries. Starchaterus selected for the site of combat the top of a mountain covered with snow, and, throwing off his clothes, waited for the nine adversaries. When asked if he would fight with them one by one or all together, he replied, “When dogs bark at me, I drive them all off at once.”--Joannes Magnus, Gothorum Suevorumque Historia (1554).

Stareleigh (Justice), a stout, pudgy little judge, very deaf, and very irascible, who, in the absence of the chief justice, sat in judgment on the trial of “Bardell v. Pickwick.”--C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).

Starno, king of Lochlin. Having been conquered by Fingal and generously set at liberty, he promised Fingal his daughter, Agandecca, in marriage, but meant to deal treacherously by him and kill him. Fingal accepted the invitation of Starno, and spent three days in boar-hunts. He was then warned by Agandecca to beware of her father, who had set an ambuscade to waylay him. Fingal, being forewarned, fell on the ambush and slew every man. When Starno heard thereof, he slew his 36daughter, whereupon Fingal and his followers took to arms, and Starno either “fled or died.” Swaran succeeded his father, Starno.---Ossian, Fingal, iii.; see also Cath-Loda.

Starvation Dundas, Henry Dundas, the first Lord Melville. So called because he introduced the word starvation into the language (1775).

Starveling (Robin), the tailor. He was cast for the part of “Thisbe’s mother,” in the drama played before Duke Theseus (2 syl.) on “his wedding day at night.” Starveling has nothing to say in the drama.--Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream (1592).

Stati´ra, the heroine of La Calprenède’s romance of Cassandra. Statīra is the daughter of Darīus, and is represented as the “most perfect of the works of creation.” Oroondatês is in love with her, and ultimately marries her.

Statira, daughter of Dari´us, and wife of Alexander. Young, beautiful, womanly, of strong affection, noble bearing, mild yet haughty, yielding yet brave. Her love for Alexander was unbounded. When her royal husband took Roxāna into favor, the proud spirit of the princess was indignant, but Alexander, by his love, won her back again. Statira was murdered by Roxana, the Bactrian, called the “Rival Queen.”--N. Lee, Alexander The Great (1678).

Staunton (The Rev. Mr.), rector of Willingham, and father of George Staunton.

George Staunton, son of the Rev. Mr. Staunton. He appears first as “Geordie Robertson,” a felon; and in the Porteous mob he assumes the guise of “Madge Wildfire.” George Staunton is the seducer of Effie Deans. Ultimately he comes to the title of baronet, marries Effie, and is shot by a gypsy boy called “The Whistler,” who proves to be his own natural son.

Lady Staunton, Effie Deans, after her marriage with Sir George. On the death of her husband, she retires to a convent on the Continent.--Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).

Steadfast, a friend of the Duberly family.--Colman, The Heir-at-Law (1797).

Steel Castle, a strong ward, belonging to the Yellow Dwarf. Here he confined All-Fair when she refused to marry him according to her promise.--Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“The Yellow Dwarf,” 1682).

Steenson (Willie), or “Wandering Willie,” the blind fiddler.

Steenie Steenson, the piper, in Wandering Willie’s tale.

Maggie Steenson, or “Epps Anslie,” the wife of Wandering Willie.--Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).

Steerforth, the young man who led little Em’ly astray. When tired of his toy, he proposed to her to marry his valet. Steerforth, being shipwrecked off the coast of Yarmouth, Ham Peggotty tried to rescue him, but both were drowned.--C. Dickens, David Copperfield (1849).

Steinbach (Erwin von), designed Strasbourg Cathedral; begun 1015, and finished 1439.

A great master of his craft,

Erwin von Steinbach.

Longfellow, Golden Legend (1851).

Steinernherz von Blutsacker (Francis), 37the scharf-gerichter, or executioner.--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Steinfeldt (The old baroness of), introduced in Donnerhugel’s narrative.--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Steinfort (The baron), brother of the Countess Wintersen. He falls in love with Mrs. Haller, but, being informed of the relationship between Mrs. Haller and “the stranger,” exerts himself to bring about a reconciliation.--Benj. Thompson, The Stranger (1797).

Stella. The Lady Penelopê Devereux, the object of Sir Philip Sidney’s affection. She married Lord Rich, and was a widow in Sidney’s life-time. Spenser says, in his Astrophel, when Astrophel (Sir Philip) died, Stella died of grief, and the “two lovers” were converted into one flower, called “Starlight,” which is first red, and, as it fades, turns blue. Some call it penthea, but henceforth (he says) it shall be called “Astrophel.” It is a pure fiction that Stella died from grief at the death of Sidney, for she afterwards married Charles Blount, created by James I. earl of Devonshire. The poet himself must have forgotten his own lines:

No less praiseworthy Stella do I read,

Tho’ nought my praises of her needed are,

Whom verse of noblest shepherd lately dead [1586]

Hath praised and raised above each other star.

Spenser, Colin Clout’s Come Home Again (1591).

Stella. Miss Hester Johnson was so called by Swift, to whom she was privately married in 1706. Hester is first changed into the Greek aster, and “aster” in Latin, like stella, means “a star.” Stella lived with Mrs. Dingley, on Ormond Quay, Dublin.

Poor Stella must pack off to town ...

To Liffy’s stinking tide at Dublin ...

To be directed there by Dingley ...

And now arrives the dismal day,

She must return to Ormond Quay.

Swift, To Stella at Wood Park (1723).

Steno (Michel), one of the chiefs of the tribunal of Forty. Steno insults some of the ladies assembled at a civic banquet given by Marino Faliero, the doge of Venice, and is turned out of the house. In revenge, he fastens on the doge’s chair some scurrilous lines against the young dogaressa, whose extreme modesty and innocence ought to have protected her from such insolence. The doge refers the matter to “the Forty,” who sentence Steno to two month’s imprisonment. This punishment, in the opinion of the doge, is wholly inadequate to the offence, and Marino Faliero joins a conspiracy to abolish the council altogether.--Byron, Marino Faliero, the Doge of Venice (1819).

Stentor, a Grecian herald in the Trojan war. Homer says he was “great-hearted, brazen-voiced, and could shout as loud as fifty men.”

He began to roar for help with the lungs of a Stentor.--Smollett.

Steph´ano, earl of Carnūti, the leader of 400 men in the allied Christian army. He was noted for his military prowess and wise counsel.--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, i. (1575).

Stephano, a drunken butler.--Shakespeare, The Tempest (1609).

Stephano, servant to Portia.--Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice (1598).

38Stephen, one of the attendants of Sir Reginald Front de Bœuf (a follower of Prince John).--Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).

Stephen (Count), nephew of the count of Crèvecœur.--Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward (time, Edward IV.).

Stephen (Master), a conceited puppy, who thinks all inferiors are to be snubbed and bullied, and all those weaker and more cowardly than himself are to be kicked and beaten. He is especially struck with Captain Bobadil, and tries to imitate his “dainty oaths.” Master Stephen has no notion of honesty and high-mindedness; thus he steals Downright’s cloak, which had been accidently dropped, declares he bought it, and then that he found it. Being convicted of falsehood, he resigns all claim to it, saying, in a huff, “There, take your cloak; I’ll none on’t.” This small-minded youth is young Kno’well’s cousin.--Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humor (1598).

Stephen Steelheart, the nickname of Stephen Wetheral.--Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).

Stephen of Amboise, leader of 5000 foot soldiers from Blois and Tours in the allied Christian army of Godfrey of Bouillon. Impetuous in attack, but deficient in steady resistance. He was shot by Clorinda with an arrow (bk. xi.).--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).

Sterling (Mr.), a vulgar, rich City merchant, who wishes to see his two daughters married to titles. Lord Ogleby calls him “a very abstract of ’Change;” and he himself says, “What signifies birth, education, titles, and so forth? Money, I say--money’s the stuff that makes a man great in this country.”

Miss Sterling, whose Christian name is Elizabeth or Betty; a spiteful, jealous, purse-proud damsel, engaged to Sir John Melvil. Sir John, seeing small prospect of happiness with such a tartar, proposed marriage to the younger sister; and Miss Sterling being left out in the cold, exclaimed, “Oh, that some other person, an earl or duke for instance, would propose to me, that I might be revenged on the monsters!”

Miss Fanny Sterling, an amiable, sweet-smiling, soft-speaking beauty, clandestinely married to Lovewell.--Colman and Garrick, The Clandestine Marriage (1766).

Sterry, a fanatical preacher, admired by Hugh Peters.--S. Butler, Hudibras (1663-78).

Stevens, a messenger of the earl of Sussex at Say’s Court.--Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Stewart (Colonel), governor of the castle of Doune.--Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).

Stewart (Prince Charles Edward), surnamed “The Chevalier” by his friends, and “The Pretender” by his foes. Sir W. Scott introduces him in Waverley, and again in Redgauntlet, where he appears disguised as “Father Buonaventura.” (Now generally spelt Stuart.)

Stewart (Walking), John Stewart, the English traveller, who travelled on foot through Hindûstan, Persia, Nubia, Abyssinia, the Arabian Desert, Europe and the United States (died 1822).

A most interesting man,... eloquent in conversation, contemplative ... and crazy beyond 39all reach of helebore, ... yet sublime and divinely benignant in his visionariness. This man, as a pedestrian traveller, had seen more of the earth’s surface ... than any man before or since.--De Quincey.

⁂ Walking Stewart must not be confounded with John M’Douall Stuart, the Australian explorer (1818-1866).

Steyne (Marquis of), earl of Gaunt and of Gaunt Castle, a viscount, baron, knight of the Garter and of numerous other orders, colonel, trustee of the British Museum, elder brother of the Trinity House, governor of White Friars, etc., had honors and titles enough to make him a great man, but his life was not a highly moral one, and his conduct with Becky Sharp, when she was the wife of Colonel Rawdon Crawley, gave rise to a great scandal. His lordship floated through the ill report, but Mrs. Rawdon was obliged to live abroad.--W. M. Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848).

Stick to it, says Baigent. Baigent was the principal witness of the Claimant in the great Tichborne trial, and his advice to his protégé was, “Stick to it” (1872).

Stiggins, a hypocritical, drunken Methodist “shepherd” (minister), thought by Mrs. Weller to be a saint. His time was spent for the most part in drinking pineapple rum at the Marquis of Granby tavern.--C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).

Still (Cornelius, the), Cornelius Tacitus. (Latin, tacĭtus, “still.”)

Cornelius, the Stylle, in his firste book of his yerely exploictes, called in Latine, Annales.--Fardle of Facions, iii. 3 (1555).

Stimulants used by Public Characters.

Bonaparte, snuff.

Braham, bottled porter.

Bull (Rev. William), the nonconformist, was an inveterate smoker.

Byron, gin-and-water.

Catley (Miss), linseed tea and madeira.

Cooke (G. F.), everything drinkable.

Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), champagne jelly.

Emery, cold brandy-and-water.

Erskine (Lord), opium in large doses.

Gladstone (W. E.), an egg beaten up in sherry.

Henderson, gum arabic and sherry.

Hobbes, only cold water.

Incledon, madeira.

Jordan (Mrs.), calves’-foot jelly dissolved in warm sherry.

Kean (Edmund), beef-tea, cold brandy.

Kemble (John), opium.

Lewis, mulled wine and oysters.

Newton smoked incessantly.

Oxberry, strong tea.

Pope, strong coffee.

Schiller required to sit over a table deeply impregnated with the smell of apples. He stimulated his brain with coffee and champagne.

Siddons (Mrs.), porter, not “stout.”

Smith (William), drank strong coffee.

Wedderburne (the first Lord Ashburton) used to place a blister on his chest when he had to make a great speech.--Dr. Paris, Pharmacologia (1819).

Wood (Mrs.), drank draught porter.

Stinkomalee. So Theodore Hook called the London University. The word was suggested by “Trincomalee” (in Ceylon), a name before the public at the time. Hook hated the “University,” because it admitted students of all denominations.

Only look at Stinkomalee and King’s College. Activity, union, craft, indomitable perseverance on the one side; indolence, indecision, internal 40distrust, and jealousies, calf-like simplicity, and cowardice intolerable on the other.--Wilson, Noctes Ambrosianæ (1822-36).

Stitch (Tom), a young tailor, a great favorite with the ladies.--The Merry History of Tom Stitch (seventeenth century).

Stockwell (Mr.), a City merchant, who promised to give his daughter, Nancy, in marriage, to the son of Sir Harry Harlowe of Dorsetshire.

Mrs. Stockwell, the merchant’s wife, who always veers round to the last speaker, and can be persuaded to anything for the time being.

Nancy Stockwell, daughter of the merchant, in love with Belford, but promised in marriage to Sir Harry Harlowe’s son. It so happens that Sir Harry’s son has privately married another lady, and Nancy falls to the man of her choice.--Garrick, Neck or Nothing (1766).

Stolen Kisses, a drama by Paul Meritt, in three acts (1877). Felix Freemantle, under the pseudonym of Mr. Joy, falls in love with Cherry, daughter of Tom Spirit, once valet to Mr. Freemantle (who had come to the title of Viscount Trangmar). When Tom Spirit ascertained that “Felix Joy” was the son of the viscount, he forbade all further intercourse, unless Felix produced his father’s consent to the marriage. The next part of the plot pertains to the brother of Tom Spirit, who had assumed the name of Walter Temple, and, as a stock-broker, had become very wealthy. In his prosperity, Walter scornfully ignored his brother, Tom, and his ambition was to marry his daughter, Jenny, to the son of Viscount Trangmar, who owed him money. Thus, the two cousins, Cherry and Jenny, came into collision; but at the end Jenny married Fred Gay, a medical student, Cherry married Felix, the two brothers were reconciled, and Tom released his old master, Viscount Trangmar, by destroying the bond which Walter held and gave him.

Stonehenge. Aurelius Ambrosius asked Merlin what memento he could raise to commemorate his victory over Vortigern; and Merlin advised him to remove “The Giant’s Dance” from Mount Killaraus, in Ireland, to Salisbury Plain. So Aurelius placed a fleet and 15,000 men under the charge of Uther, the pendragon, and Merlin, for the purpose. Gilloman, king of Ireland, who opposed the invaders, was routed, and then Merlin, “by his art,” shipped the stones, and set them up on the plain “in the same manner as they stood on Killaraus.”--Geoffrey, British History, viii. 11-12 (1142).

How Merlin, by his skill and magic’s wondrous might,

From Ireland hither brought the Sonendge in a night.

Drayton, Polyolbion, iv. (1612).

Stonehenge, once thought a temple, you have found

A throne, where kings, our earthly gods, were crowned.

Dryden, Epistles, ii.

Stonehenge a Trophy. It is said, in the Welsh triads, that this circle of stones was erected by the Britons to commemorate the “treachery of the Long Knives,” i.e., a conference to which the chief of the British warriors were invited by Hengist, at Ambresbury. Beside each chief a Saxon was seated, armed with a long knife, and at a given signal each Saxon slew his Briton. As many as 460 British nobles thus fell, but Eidiol, earl of Gloucester, after slaying seventy Saxons (some say 660), made his escape.--Welsh Triads.

Stonehenge was erected by Merlin, at the command of Ambrosius, in memory of the plot of the “Long-Knives,” when 300 British chiefs 41were treacherously massacred by Vortigern. He built it on the site of a former circle. It deviates from older bardic circles, as may be seen by comparing it with Avebury, Stanton-Drew, Keswick, etc. It is called “The Work of Ambrosius.”Ambrosius.”--Cambrian Biography, art. “Merddin.”

⁂ Mont Dieu, a solitary mound close to Dumfermline, owes its origin, according to story, to some unfortunate monks, who, by way of penance, carried the sand in baskets, from the sea-shore at Inverness.

At Linton is a fine conical hill, attributed to two sisters (nuns), who were compelled to pass the whole of the sand through a sieve, by way of penance, to obtain pardon for some crime committed by their brother.

The Gog Magog Hills, near Cambridge, are ascribed to his Satanic majesty.

Stonewall Jackson, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, general in the Southern army, in the great civil war of the United States. General Bee suggested the name in the battle of Bull Run (1861). “There is Jackson,” said he to his men, “standing like a stone wall” (1824-1863).

Storm-and-Stress Period. The last quarter of the eighteenth century was called in Germany the Sturm-und-Drang Zeit, because every one seemed in a fever to shake off the shackles of government, custom, prestige, and religion. The poets raved in volcanic rant or moonshine sentimentality; marriage was disregarded; law, both civil and divine, was pooh-poohed. Goethe’s Man with the Iron Hand and Sorrows of Werther, Schiller’s Robbers, Klinger’s tragedies, Lessing’s criticisms, the mania for Shakespeare and Ossian, revolutionized the literature; and the cry went forth for untrammelled freedom, which was nicknamed “Nature.” As well go unclad, and call it nature.

Storms (Cape of). The Cape of Good Hope was called by Bartholomew Diaz Cabo Tormentoso in 1486; but King John II. of Portugal gave it its present more auspicious name.

S.T.P., the initials of Sanctæ Theologiæ Professor: Professor of Sacred Theology. The same as D.D., Divinitatis Doctor: Doctor of Divinity.

Stradiva´rius (Antonius), born at Cremo´na, in Italy (1670-1728). He was a pupil of Andreas Amāti. The Amati family, with Stradivarius and his pupil, Guarnerius (all of Cremona), were the most noted violin-makers that ever lived, insomuch that the word “Cremona” is synonymous for a first-rate violin.

The instrument on which he played

Was in Cremona’s workshop made ...

The maker from whose hands it came

Had written his unrivalled name--

“Antonius Stradivarius.”

Longfellow, The Wayside Inn (prelude, 1863).

Strafford, an historical tragedy by R. Browning (1836). This drama contains portraits of Charles I., the earl of Strafford, Hampden, John Pym, Sir Harry Vane, etc., both truthful and graphic. The subject of the drama is the attainder and execution of Thomas Wentworth, earl of Strafford.

Straitlace (Dame Philippa), the maiden aunt of Blushington. She is very much surprised to find her nephew entertaining dinner company, and still more so that he is about to take a young wife to keep house for him instead of herself.--W. T. Moncrieff, The Bashful Man.

Stral´enheim (Count of), a kinsman 42of Werner, who hunted him from place to place, with a view of cutting him off, because he stood between him and the inheritance of Siegendorf. This mean, plausible, overreaching nobleman was by accident lodged under the same roof with Werner, while on his was to Siegendorf. Here Werner robbed him of a rouleau of gold, and next night Ulric (Werner’s son) murdered him.

Ida Stralenheim, one of the characters in Byron’s drama, Werner (1822). She was the daughter of Count Stralenheim, and was betrothed to Ulric, for whom she had a deep affection, but when she learned from the lips of Ulric himself that he was the murderer of her father she fell senseless at his feet, and revived only to learn that he had fled the country, and that she had lost him forever.

Stranger (The), the Count Waldbourg. He married Adelaide at the age of 16; she had two children by him, and then eloped. The count, deserted by his young wife, lived a roving life, known only as “The Stranger;” and his wife, repenting of her folly, under the assumed name of Mrs. Haller, entered the service of the Countess Wintersen, whose affection she secured. In three years’ time, “the stranger” came by accident into the same neighborhood, and a reconciliation took place.

Kotzebue’s Menschenhasz und Rene (1787). English adaptation: The Stranger (1808).

Strangford (Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, viscount), in 1803, published a translation of the poems of Camoens, the great Portuguese poet.

Hibernian Strangford ...

Thinkst thou to gain thy verse a higher place.

By dressing Camoens in a suit of lace?...

Cease to deceive; thy pilfered harp restore,

Nor teach the Lusian bard to copy Moore.

Byron, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809).

Strap (Hugh), a simple, generous, and disinterested adherent of Roderick Random. His generosity and fidelity, however, meet with but a base return from the heartless libertine.--T. Smollett, Roderick Random (1748).

We believe there are few readers who are not disgusted with the miserable reward assigned to Strap in the closing chapter of the novel. Five hundred pounds (scarce the value of the goods he had presented to his master) and the hand of a reclaimed street-walker, even when added to a Highland farm, seem but a poor recompense for his faithful and disinterested attachment.--Sir W. Scott.

Strasbourg Cathedral, designed by Erwin von Steinbach (1015-1439).

Strauchan (Old), the squire of Sir Kenneth.--Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).

Straw. A little straw shows which way the wind blows.

You know or don’t know, that great Bacon saith,

Fling up a straw, ’twill show the way the wind blows.

Byron, Don Juan, xiv. 8 (1824).

Streets of London (The), a drama by Dion Boucicault (1862), adapted from the French play Les Pauvres des Paris.

Stre´mon, a soldier, famous for his singing.--Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (1617).

Strephon, the shepherd in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, who makes love to the beautiful Uranĭa (1580). It is a stock name for a lover, Chloê being usually the corresponding lady.

43Captain O’Flarty was one of my dying Strephons at Scarborough. I have a very grate regard for him, and must make him a little miserable with my happiness.--Garrick, The Irish Widow, i. 3 (1757).

The servant of your Strephon ... is my lord and master.--Garrick, Miss in Her Teens (1753).

Stretton (Hesba), the pseudonym of Miss Smith, daughter of a bookseller and printer in Wellington, Salop, authoress of several well-known religious novels.

Strickalthrow (Merciful), in Cromwell’s troop.--Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).

Strictland (Mr.), the “suspicious husband,” who suspects Clarinda, a young lady visitor, of corrupting his wife; suspects Jacintha, his ward, of lightness; and suspects his wife of infidelity; but all his suspicions being proved groundless, he promises reform.

Mrs. Strictland, wife of Mr. Strictland, a model of discretion and good nature. She not only gives no cause of jealousy to her husband, but never even resents his suspicions or returns ill temper in the same coin.--Dr. Hoadly, The Suspicious Husband (1747).

Strike, Dakyns! the Devil’s in the Hempe, the motto of the Dakynses. The reference is to an enemy of the king, who had taken refuge in a pile of hemp. Dakyns, having nosed the traitor, was exhorted to strike him with his battle-axe, and kill him, which he did. Hence the crest of the family--a dexter arm ... holding a battle-axe.

Strong (Dr.), a benevolent old schoolmaster, to whom David Copperfield was sent whilst living with Mr. Wickfield. The old doctor doted on his young wife, Annie, and supported her scapegrace cousin, Jack Maldon.--C. Dickens, David Copperfield (1849).

Strong Men and Women.

Antæos, Atlas, Dorsănês, the Indian Herculês, Guy, earl of Warwick, Herculês, Macĕris, son of Amon, Rustam, the Persian Herculês, Samson, Starchatĕrus, the Swede (first Christian century).

Brown (Miss Phœbe), about five feet, six inches in height, well proportioned, round-faced and ruddy. She could carry fourteen score, and could lift a hundredweight with each hand at the same time. She was fond of poetry and music, and her chief food was milk.--W. Hutton.

Milo, of Crotōna, could carry on his shoulders a four-year-old bullock, and kill it with a single blow of his fist. On one occasion, the pillar which supported the roof of a house gave way, and Milo held up the whole weight of the building with his hands.

Polyd´amas, the athlete. He killed a lion with a blow of his fist, and could stop a chariot in full career with one hand.

Topham (Thomas) of London (1710-1749). He could lift three hogsheads, or 1836 lbs.; could heave a horse over a turnpike gate; and could lift two hundredweight with his little finger.

Strongback, one of the seven attendants of Fortunio. He could never be overweighted, and could fell a forest in a few hours without fatigue.--Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“Fortunio,” 1682).

The brothers Grimm have introduced the tale of “Fortunio” in their Goblins.

Strongbow, Gilbert de Clare, who succeeded to the title of his brother, the 44earl of Hertford, in 1138, and was created earl of Pembroke (died 1149).

Henry II. called him a “false” or “pseudo-earl.”

Strongbow (Richard of Strigal) was Richard de Clare, earl of Pembroke, son of Gilbert de Clare. He succeeded Dermot, king of Leinster, hiss father-in-law, in 1170, and died 1176.

The earl of Strigale then, our Strongbow, first that won

Wild Ireland with the sword.

Drayton, Polyolbion, xviii. (1613).

Struldbrugs, the inhabitants of Luggnagg, who never die.

He had reached that period of life ... which ... entitles a man to admission into the ancient order of Struldbrugs.--Swift, Gulliver’s Travels “Laputa,” (1726)(1726).

Strutt (Lord), the king of Spain; originally Charles II. (who died without issue), but also applied to his successor, Philippe, duc d’Anson, called “Philip, Lord Strutt.”

I need not tell you of the great quarrels that happened in our neighborhood since the death of the late Lord Strutt; how the parson [Cardinal Portocarero] ... got him to settle his estate upon his cousin, Philip Baboon [Bourbon], to the great disappointment of his cousin, Squire South [Charles of Austria].--Dr. Arbuthnot, History of John Bull, i (1712).

Stryver (Bully), of the King’s Bench Bar, counsel for the defence in Darnay’s trial.

He was stout, loud, red, bluff, and free from any drawback of delicacy; had a pushing way of shouldering himself (morally and physically) into companies and conversations, that argued well for his shouldering his way on in life.--C. Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, ii. 24 (1859).

Stuart Ill-Fated (The House of), as that of Œdĭpos.

James I. of Scotland, poet, murdered by conspirators at Perth, in the forty-fourth year of his age (1393, 1424-1437).

James II., his son, killed at the siege of Roxburgh, aged 30 (1430, 1437-1460).

James III., his son, was stabbed in his flight from Bannockburn by a pretended priest, aged 36 (1452, 1460-1488).

(His brother, the earl of Mar, was imprisoned in 1477, and died in durance, 1480.)

James IV., his son, the “Chivalrous Madman,” was defeated and slain at Flodden, aged 41 (1472, 1488-1513).

James V., his son, was defeated at Solway Moss, November 25, and died of grief, December 14, aged 30 (1512, 1513-1542).

Mary Queen of Scots, daughter of James V., was beheaded, aged 44 years, 63 days (1542, 1542-1587, Old Style).

(Her husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was murdered (1541-1566). Her niece, Arabella Stuart, died insane in the Tower, 1575-1615.)

Charles I., her grandson, was beheaded, aged 48 years, 69 days (1600, 1625-1649).

Charles II., his son, was in exile from 1645 to 1661, and in 1665 occurred the Great Fire of London, in 1666 the Great Plague; died aged 54 years, 253 days (1630, 1661-1685).

(His natural son, the Duke of Monmouth, defeated at Sedgemoor, July 5, 1685, was executed as a traitor, July 15, aged 36.)36.)

James II., brother of Charles, and son of Charles I., was obliged to abdicate to save his life, and died in exile (1633, reigned 1685-1688, died a pensioner of Louis XIV., 1701).

James Francis Edward “the Luckless,” his son, called the “Old Pretender,” was a mere cipher. His son, Charles, came to England to proclaim him king, but was defeated at Culloden, leaving 3000 dead on the field (1688-1765).

45Charles Edward, the “Young Pretender,” was son of the “Old Pretender.” After the defeat of his adherents at Culloden he fled to France, was banished from that kingdom, and died at Rome (1720-1788).

Henry Benedict, Cardinal York, the last of the race, was a pensioner of George III.

Stuart of Italy (The Mary), Jane I. of Naples (1327, 1343-1382).

Jane married her cousin, Andrè of Hungary, who was assassinated two years after his marriage, when the widow married the assassin. So Mary Stuart married her cousin, Lord Darnley, 1565, who was murdered, 1567, and the widow married Bothwell, the assassin.

Jane fled to Provence, 1347, and was strangled in 1382. So Mary Stuart fled to England in 1568, and was put to death, 1587 (Old Style).

Jane, like Mary, was remarkable for her great beauty, her brilliant court, her voluptuousness, and the men of genius she drew around her; and, like Mary, she was also noted for her deplorable administration.

⁂ La Harpe wrote a tragedy called Jeanne de Naples (1765). Schiller made an adaptation of it (1821).

Stuarts’ Fatal Number (The). This number is 88.

James III. was killed in flight near Bannockburn, 1488.

Mary Stuart was beheaded, 1588 (New Style).

James II. of England was dethroned, 1688.

Charles Edward died, 1788.

⁂ James Stuart, the “Old Pretender,” was born, 1688, the very year that his father abdicated.

James Stuart, the famous architect, died, 1788.

(Some affirm that Robert II., the first Stuart king, died 1388, the year of the great battle of Otterbum; but the death of this king is more usually fixed in the spring of 1390.)

Stuart (Jack), frank, brave, unintellectual lover of Constance Varley, and one of the travelling-party in the Holy Land. Through a fatal combination of misunderstandings, the man she has loved for years leaves her without uttering the words that burned upon his tongue, and the lonely-hearted girl turns for comfort to the assured, patient affection of the honest fellow who makes no secret of his devotion. Constance Varley marries Jack Stuart.--Julia Constance Fletcher, Mirage (1878).

Stubble (Reuben), bailiff to Farmer Cornflower, rough in manner, severe in discipline, a stickler for duty, “a plain, upright, and downright man,” true to his master and to himself.--C. Dibdin, The Farmer’s Wife (1780).

Stubbs, the beadle at Willingham. The Rev. Mr. Staunton was the rector.--Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).

Stubbs (Miss Sissly or Cecilia), daughter of Squire Stubbs, one of Waverley’s neighbors.--Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).

Stuffy (Matthew), an applicant to Velinspeck, a country manager, for a situation as prompter, for which he says he is peculiarly qualified by that affection of the eyes vulgarly called a squint, which enables him to keep one eye on the performance and the other on the book at the 46same time.--Charles Mathews, At Home (1818).

Stuffy is one of the richest bits of humor we ever witnessed. His endless eulogies upon the state of things in the immortal Garrick’s time are highly ludicrous.--Contemporary Paper.

Stuke´ly (2 syl.), a detestable man. “’Twould be as easy to make him honest as brave” (act i. 2). He pretends to be the friend of Beverley, but cheats him. He aspires to the hand of Miss Beverley, who is in love with Lewson.--Edward Moore, The Gamester (1753).

Stukeley (Will), the companion of Little John. In the morris-dance on May-day, Little John used to occupy the right hand side of Robin Hood, and Will Stukely the left. (See Stutly.)

Stukely (Captain Harry), nephew of Sir Gilbert Pumpkin of Strawberry Hall.--I. Jackman, All the World’s a Stage.

Stupid Boy (The), St. Thomas Aquinas; also called at school “The Dumb Ox” (1224-1274).

Sturgeon (Major), J.P., “the fishmonger from Brentford,” who turned volunteer. This bragging major makes love to Mrs. Jerry Sneak.--S. Foote, The Mayor of Garratt (1763).

We had some desperate duty, Sir Jacob ... such marchings and counter-marchings, from Brentford to Ealing, from Ealing to Acton, from Acton to Uxbridge. Why, there was our last expedition to Hounslow; that day’s work carried off Major Molossas.... But to proceed. On we marched, the men all in high spirits, to attack the gibbet where Gardel is hanging; but, turning down a narrow lane to the left, as it might be about there, in order to possess a pigstye, that we might take the gallows in flank and secure a retreat, who should come by but a drove of fat oxen for Smithfield. The drums beat in front, the dogs barked in the rear, the oxen set up a gallop; on they came, thundering upon us, broke through our ranks in an instant, and threw the whole corps into confusion.--Act i. 1.

Sturmthal (Melchoir), the banneret of Berne, one of the Swiss deputies.--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Stutly (Will), sometimes called Will Stukely, a companion of Little John. In the morris-dance on May-day, Little John occupied the right hand side of Robin Hood, and Will Stutly the left. His rescue from the sheriff of [Notts.] by Robin Hood forms the subject of one of the Robin Hood Ballads.

When Robin Hood in the greenwood lived,

Under the greenwood tree,

Tidings there came to him with speed,

Tidings for certaintie,

That Will Stutley surprisëd was,

And eke in prison lay;

Three varlets that the sheriff hired,

Did likely him betray.

Robin Hood’s Rescuing Will Stutly, iv. 15.

Stuyvesant (Peter).

“If, from all I have said, thou dost not gather, worthy reader, that Peter Stuyvesant was a tough, sturdy, valiant, weather-beaten, mettlesome, obstinate, leather-sided, lion-hearted, generous-spirited old governor, either I have written to but little purpose, or thou art very dull at drawing conclusions.”--Diedrich Knickerbocker (Washington Irving), A History of New York (1809).

Styles (Tom or John), or Tom o’ Styles, a phrase name at one time used by lawyers in actions of ejectment. Jack Noakes and Tom Styles used to act in law the part that N or M acts in the church. The legal fiction has been abolished.

I have no connection with the company further than giving them, for a certain fee and reward, 47my poor opinion as a medical man, precisely as I may give it to Jack Noakes or Tom Styles.--Dickens.

⁂ Tom Styles, Jack Noakes, John Doe, and Richard Roe, are all Mrs. Harrises of the legal profession, nomina et præterea nihil.

Subtle, the “alchemist,” an artful quack, who pretends to be on the eve of discovering the philosopher’s stone. Sir Epicure Mammon, a rich knight, is his principal dupe, but by no means his only one.--Ben Jonson, The Alchemist (1610).

Subtle, an Englishman settled in Paris. He earns a living by the follies of his countrymen who visit the gay capital.

Mrs. Subtle, wife of Mr. Subtle, and a help-meet for him.--Foote, The Englishman in Paris (1753).

Subtle Doctor (The), Duns Scotus, famous for his metaphysical speculations in theology (1265-1308).

Subvolvans, inhabitants of the moon, in everlasting strife with the Privolvans. The former live under ground in cavities, “eight miles deep and eighty round;” the latter on “the upper ground.” Every summer the under-ground lunatics come to the surface to attack the “grounders,” but at the approach of winter slink back again into their holes.--S. Butler, The Elephant in the Moon (1754).

Such Things Are, a comedy by Mrs. Inchbald (1786). The scene lies in India, and the object of the play is to represent the tyranny of the old régime, and the good influence of the British element, represented by Haswell, the royal physician. The main feature is an introduction to the dungeons, and the infamous neglect of the prisoners, amongst whom is Arabella, the sultan’s beloved English wife, whom he has been searching for unsuccessfully for fifteen years. Haswell receives the royal signet, and is entrusted with unlimited power by the sultan.

Suckfist (Lord), defendant in the great Pantagruelian lawsuit, known as “Lord Busqueue v. Lord Suckfist,” in which the plaintiff and defendant pleaded in person. After hearing the case, the bench declared, “We have not understood one single circumstance of the matter on either side.” But Pantagruel gave judgment, and as both plaintiff and defendant left the court fully persuaded that the verdict was in his own favor, they were both highly satisfied, “a thing without parallel in the annals of the law.”--Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. 11-13 (1533).

Suddlechop (Benjamin), “the most renowned barber in all Fleet Street.” A thin, half-starved creature.

Dame Ursula Suddlechop, the barber’s wife. “She could contrive interviews for lovers, and relieve frail fair ones of the burden of a guilty passion.” She had been a pupil of Mrs. Turner, and learnt of her the secret of making yellow starch, and two or three other prescriptions more lucrative still. The dame was scarcely 40 years of age, of full form and comely features, with a joyous, good-humored expression.

Dame Ursula had acquaintances ... among the quality, and maintained her intercourse ... partly by driving a trade in perfumes, essences, pomades, head-gears from France, not to mention drugs of various descriptions, chiefly for the use of ladies, and partly by other services, more or less connected with the esoteric branches of her profession.--Sir W. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, viii. (time, James I.).

48Suds (Mrs.), any washerwoman or laundress.

Suicides from Books.

Cleom´brotos, the Academic philosopher, killed himself after reading Plato’s Phædon, that he might enjoy the happiness of the future life, so enchantingly described.

Fräulein von Lassberg drowned herself in spleen, after reading Goethe’s Sorrows of Werther.

Sulin-Sifad´da, one of the two steeds of Cuthullin, general of the Irish tribes. The name of the other was Dusronnal.

Before the right side of the car is seen the snorting horse; the high-maned, broad-breasted, proud, wide-leaping, strong steed of the hill. Loud and resounding is his hoof; the spreading of his mane above is like a stream of smoke on a ridge of rocks. Bright are the sides of his steed. His name is Sulin-Sifadda.--Ossian, Fingal, i.

Dusronnal snorted over the bodies of heroes.

Sifadda bathed his hoof in blood.--Ditto.

Sulky (Mr.), executor of Mr. Warren, and partner in Dornton’s bank. With a sulky, grumpy exterior, he has a kind heart, and is strictly honest. When Dornton is brought to the brink of ruin by his son’s extravagance, Sulky comes nobly forward to the rescue. (See Silky.)--T. Holcroft, The Road to Ruin (1792).

And oh! for monopoly. What a blest day,

When the lank and the silk shall, in fond combination

(Like Sulky and Silky, that pair in the play).

Cry out with one voice for “high rents” and “starvation!”

T. Moore, Ode to the Goddess Ceres (1806).

Sullen (Squire), son of Lady Bountiful by her first husband. He married the sister of Sir Charles Freeman, but after fourteen months, their tempers and dispositions were found so incompatible that they mutually agreed to a divorce.

He says little, thinks less, and does nothing at all. Faith! but he’s a man of great estate, and values nobody.--Act i. 1.

Parson Trulliber, Sir Wilful Witwould, Sir Francis Wronghead, Squire Western, Squire Sullen--such were the people who composed the main strength of the tory party for sixty years after the Revolution.--Lord Macaulay.

⁂ “Parson Trulliber,” in Joseph Andrews (by Fielding); “Sir Wilful Witwould,” in The Way of the World (Congreve); “Sir Francis Wronghead,” in The Provoked Husband (by Cibber); “Squire Western,” in Tom Jones (by Fielding).

Mrs. Sullen, sister of Sir Charles Freeman, and wife of Squire Sullen. They had been married fourteen months, when they agreed mutually to a separation, for in no one single point was there any compatibility between them. The squire was sullen, the lady sprightly; he could not drink tea with her, and she could not drink ale with him; he hated ombre and picquet, she hated cock-fighting and racing; he would not dance, and she would not hunt. Mrs. Sullen liked Archer, friend of Thomas Viscount Aimwell, both fortune-hunters; and Squire Sullen, when he separated from his wife, was obliged to resign the £20,000, which he received with her as a dowry.--George Farquhar, The Beaux’ Stratagem (1707).

Sul-Malla, daughter of Conmor, king of Inis-Huna and his wife, Clun-galo. Disguised as a warrior, Sul-Malla follows Cathmor to the war; but Cathmor, walking his round, discovers Sul-Malla asleep, falls in love with her, but exclaims, “This is no time for love.” He strikes his shield to rouse the host to battle, and is slain by 49Fingal. The sequel of Sul-Malla is not given.

Clun-galo came. She missed the maid. “Where art thou, beam of light? Hunters from the mossy rock, saw you the blue-eyed fair? Are her steps on grassy Lumon, near the bed of roses? Ah, me! I beheld her bow in the hall. Where art thou, beam of light?”--Ossian, Temora, vi. (Set to music by Sir H. Bishop.)

Summerson (Esther). (See Esther Hawdon.)

Summons to Death.

Jacques Molay, grand-master of the Knights Templars, 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 murder. They both died within the stated time.

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 him to follow within the month. Rienzi was within the month killed by the fickle mob.

Peter and John de Carvajal, being condemned to death on circumstantial evidence alone, appealed, but without success, to Ferdinand IV. of Spain. On their way to execution, they declared their innocence, and summoned the king to appear before God within thirty days. Ferdinand was quite well on the thirtieth day, but was found dead in his bed next morning.

George Wishart, a Scotch reformer, was condemned to the stake by Cardinal Beaton. While the fire was blazing about him, the martyr exclaimed in a loud voice, “He who from yon high place beholdeth me with such pride, shall be brought low, even to the ground, before the trees which have supplied these faggots have shed their leaves.” It was March when these words were uttered, and the cardinal died in June.

Sun (The). The device of Edward III., was the sun bursting through a cloud. Hence Edward III. is called “our half-faced sun.”--Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI. act iv. sc. 1 (1592).

Sun-Steeds. Brontê (“thunder”) and Amethēa (“no loiterer”), Æthon (“fiery red”) and Pyroïs (“fire”); Lampos (“shining like a lamp”), used only at noon; Philogēa (“effulgence”), used only in the westering course.

⁂ Phaĕton (“the shining one”) and Abraxas (the Greek numeral for 365) were the horses of Aurora, or the morning sun.

Sun´ith, one of the six Wise Men of the East led by the guiding star to Jesus. He had three holy daughters.--Klopstock, The Messiah, v. (1771).

Sunshine of St. Eulalie´ (3 syl.), Evangeline.

Sunshine of St. Eulălie was she called, for that was the sunshine

Which, as the farmers believed, would load their orchards with apples.

Longfellow, Evangeline, i. 1 (1849).

Super Grammat´icam, Sigismund, emperor of Germany (1366, 1411-1437).

At the council of Constance, held 1414, Sigismund used the word schisma as a noun of the feminine gender (illa nefanda schisma). A prig of a cardinal corrected him, saying “‘Schisma,’ your highness, is neuter gender;” when the kaiser turned on him with ineffable scorn, and said, “I am king of the Romans, and what is grammar to me?” [Ego sum rex Romanus et super grammaticam.]--Carlyle, Frederick the Great (1858).

50Superstitions about Animals.

Ant. When ants are unusually busy, foul weather is at hand.

Ants never sleep.--Emerson, Nature, iv.

Ants lay up food for winter use.--Prov. vi. 6-8; xxx. 25.

Ants’ eggs are an antidote to love.

Ass. The mark running down the back of an ass, and cut at right angles over the shoulders, is the cross of Christ impressed on the animal because Christ rode on an ass in His triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

Three hairs taken from the “cross” of an ass will cure the whooping-cough, but the ass from which the hairs are plucked will die.

The ass is deaf to music, and hence Apollo gave Midas the ears of an ass, because he preferred the piping of Pan to the music of Apollo’s lute.

Barnacle. A barnacle broken off a ship turns into a Solan goose.

Like your Scotch barnacle, now a block,

Instantly a worm, and presently a great goose.

Marston, The Malecontent (1604).

Basilisk. The basilisk can kill at a distance by the “poison” of its glance.

There’s not a glance of thine

But, like a basilisk, comes winged with death.

Lee, Alexander the Great, v. 1 (1678).

Bear. The cub of a bear is licked into shape and life by its dam.

So watchful Bruin forms with plastic care

Each growing lump and brings it to a bear.

Pope, The Dunciad, i. 101 (1728).

Beaver. When a beaver is hunted, it bites off the part which the hunters seek, and then, standing upright, shows the hunters it is useless to continue the pursuit. [Æsop tells a similar story of a civet-cat.]--Eugenius Philalethes, Brief Natural History, 89.

Bee. If bees swarm on a rotten tree, a death in the family will occur within the twelvemonth.

Swarmed on a rotten stick the bees I spied,

Which erst I saw when Goody Dobson dyed.

Gay, Pastoral, v. (1714).

Bees will never thrive if you quarrel with them or about them.

If a member of the family dies and the bees are not put into mourning, they will forsake their hive.

It is unlucky for a stray swarm of bees to alight on your premises.

Beetles. Beetles are both deaf and blind.

Cat. When cats wash their ears more than usual, rain is at hand.

When the cat washes her face over her ears, wee shall have great shore of raine.--Melton, Astrologastor, 45.

The sneezing of a cat indicates good luck to a bride.

Crastina nupturæ lux est prosperrima sponsæ:

Felix fele bonum sternuit omen amor.

Robert Keuchen, Crepundia, 413.

If a cat sneezes thrice, a cold will run through the family.

Satan’s favorite form is that of a black cat, and hence is it the familiar of witches.

A cat has nine lives.

Tybalt. What wouldst thou have with me?

Mer. Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives.--Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, act iii. sc. 1 (1595).

Chameleons live on air only.

I saw him eat the air for food.

Lloyd, The Chameleon.

Cow. If a milkmaid neglects to wash her hands after milking, her cows will go dry.

Curst cows have curt horns. Curst means “angry, fierce.”

God sends a curst cow short horns.--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, act ii. sc. 1 (1600).

51Cricket. Crickets bring good luck to a house. To kill crickets is unlucky. If crickets forsake a house, a death in the family will soon follow.

It is a signe of death to some in a house, if the crickets on a sudden forsake the chimney.--Melton, Astrologastor, 45.

Crocodiles moan and sigh, like persons in distress, to allure travellers and make them their prey.

As the mournful crocodile

With sorrow snares relentless passengers.

Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI. act iii. sc. 1 (1591).

Crocodiles weep over the prey which they devour.

The crocodile will weep over a man’s head when he [it] hath devoured the body, and then he will eat up the head too.--Bullokar, English Expositor (1616).

Paul Lucas tells us that the hummingbird and lapwing enter fearlessly the crocodile’s mouth, and the creature never injures them, because they pick its teeth.--Voyage fait en 1714.

Crow. If a crow croaks an odd number of times, look out for foul weather; if an even number, it will be fine.

[The superstitious] listen in the morning whether the crow crieth even or odd, and by that token presage the weather.--Dr. Hall, Characters of Vertues and Vices, 87.

If a crow flies over a house and croaks thrice, it is a bad omen.--Ramesey, Elminthologia, 271 (1668).

If a crow flutters about a window and caws, it forbodes a death.

Night crowes screech aloud,

Fluttering ’bout casements of departing soules.

Marston, Antonio and Mellida, ii. (1602).

Several crows fluttered about the head of Cicero on the day that he was murdered by Popilius Lænas ... one of them even made its way into his chamber, and pulled away the bedclothes.--Macaulay, History of St. Kilda, 176.

If crows flock together early in the morning, and gape at the sun, the weather will be hot and dry; but if they stalk at nightfall into water, and croak, rain is at hand.--Willsford, Nature’s Secrets, 133.

When crows forsake a wood in a flock, it forebodes a famine.--Supplement to the Athenian Oracle, 476.

Death-watch. The clicking or tapping of the beetle called a death-watch is an omen of death to some one in the house.

Chamber-maids christen this worm a “Death-watch,”

Because, like a watch, it always cries “click;”

Then woe be to those in the house that are sick,

For sure as a gun they will give up the ghost ...

But a kettle of scalding hot water injected

Infallibly cures the timber infected;

The omen is broken, the danger is over,

The maggot will die, and the sick will recover.

Swift, Wood an Insect (1725).

Dog. If dogs howl by night near a house, it presages the death of a sick inmate.

If doggs howle in the night neer an house where somebody is sick, ’tis a signe of death.--Dr. N. Home, Dæmonologie, 60.

When dogs wallow in the dust, expect foul weather: “Canis in pulvere volutans....”

Præscia ventorum, se volvit odora canum vis;

Numina difflatur pulveris instar homo.

Robert Keuchen, Crepundia, 211.

Echinus. An echīnus, fastening itself on a ship’s keel, will arrest its motion like an anchor.--Pliny, Natural History, xxxii. 1.

Egg. The tenth egg is always the largest.

Decumana ova dicuntur, quia ovum decimum majus nascitur.--Festus.

Elephant. Elephants celebrate religious rites.--Pliny, Natural History, viii. 1.

Elephants have no knees.--Eugenius Philalethes, Brief Natural History, 89.

The elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy; his legs are for necessity, not for flexure.--Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, act iii. sc. 3 (1602).

52Fish. If you count the number of fish you have caught, you will catch no more that day.

Frog. To meet a frog is lucky, indicating that the person is about to receive money.

Some man hadde levyr to mete a frogge on the way than a knight ... for than they say and ’leve that they shal have golde.--Dives and Pauper (first precepte, xlvi. 1493).

When frogs croak more than usual, it is a sign of bad weather.

Guinea-pig. A guinea-pig has no ears.

Haddock. The black spot on each side of a haddock, near the gills, is the impression of St. Peter’s finger and thumb, when he took the tribute money from the fish’s mouth.

The haddock has spots on either side, which are the marks of St. Peter’s fingers when he catched that fish for the tribute.--Metellus, Dialogues, etc., 57 (1693).

Hair. If a dog bites you, any evil consequences may be prevented by applying three of the dog’s hairs to the wound.

Take the hair, it is well written,

Of the dog by which you’re bitten;

Work off one wine by his brother,

And one labor by another.

Athenæus (ascribed to Aristophanês).

Hare. It is unlucky if a hare runs across a road in front of a traveller. The Roman augurs considered this an ill omen.

If an hare cross their way, they suspect they shall be rob’d, or come to some mischance.--Ramesay, Elminthologia, 271 (1668).

It was believed at one time that hares changed their sex every year.

Hedgehog. Hedgehogs foresee a coming storm.--Bodenham, Garden of the Muses, 153 (1600).

Hedgehogs fasten on the dugs of cows, and drain off the milk.

Horse. If a person suffering from whooping-cough asks advice of a man riding on a piebald horse, the malady will be cured by doing what the man tells him to do.

Jackal. The jackal is the lion’s provider. It hunts with the lion, and provides it with food by starting prey, as dogs start game.

Lady-bug. It is unlucky to kill a lady-bug.

Lion. The lion will not injure a royal prince.

Fetch the Numidian lion I brought over;

If she be sprung from royal blood, the lion

Will do her reverence, else he will tear her.

Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (1617).

The lion will not touch the true prince.--Shakespeare, 1 Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4 (1598).

The lion hates the game-cock, and is jealous of it. Some say because the cock wears a crown (its crest), and others because it comes into the royal presence “booted and spurred.”

The fiercest lion trembles at the crowing of a cock.--Pliny, Natural History, viii. 19.

According to legend, the lion’s whelp is born dead, and remains so for three days, when the father breathes on it, and it receives life.

Lizard. The lizard is man’s special enemy, but warns him of the approach of a serpent.

Magpie. To see one magpie is unlucky; to see two denotes merriment, or a marriage; to see three, a successful journey; four, good news; five, company.--Grose.

Another superstition is: “One for sorrow; two for mirth; three, a wedding; four, a death.”

One’s sorrow, two’s mirth,mirth,

Three’s a wedding, four’s a birth,

Five’s a christening, six’s a dearth,

Seven’s heaven, eight is hell,

And nine’s the devil his ane sel.

Old Scotch Rhyme.

In Lancashire, two magpies flying together is thought unlucky.

53I have heard my gronny say, hoode os leef o seen two owd harries as two pynots [magpies].--Tim Bobbin, Lancashire Dialect, 31 (1775).

When the magpie chatters, it denotes that you will see strangers.

Man. A person weighs more fasting than after a good meal.

The Jews maintained that man has three natures--body, soul, and spirit. Diogĕnês Laertius calls the three natures body, phrên, and thumos; and the Romans called them manês, anĭma, and umbra.

There is a nation of pygmies.

The Patagonians are of gigantic stature.

There are men with tails, as the Ghilanes, a race of men “beyond the Sennaar;” the Niam-niams, of Africa, the Narea tribes, certain others south of Herrar, in Abyssinia, and the natives in the south of Formosa.

Martin. It is unlucky to kill a martin.

Mole. Moles are blind. Hence the common expression, “Blind as a mole.”

Pray you tread softly, that the blind mole may not

Hear a footfall.

Shakespeare, The Tempest, act. iv. sc. 1 (1609).

Moon-calf, the offspring of a woman, engendered solely by the power of the moon.--Pliny, Natural History, x. 64.

Mouse. To eat food which a mouse has nibbled, will give a sore throat.

It is a bad omen if a mouse gnaws the clothes which a person is wearing.--Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, 214 (1621).

A fried mouse is a specific for small-pox.

Ostrich. An ostrich can digest iron.

Stephen. I could eat the very hilts for anger.

Kno´well. A sign of your good digestion; you have an ostrich stomach.--B. Jonson, Every Man in His Humor, iii. 1 (1598).

I’ll make thee eat iron like an ostrich, and swallow my sword.--Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI. act iv. sc. 10 (1591).

Owl. If owls screech with a hoarse and dismal voice, it bodes impending calamity. (See Owl.)

The oulê that of deth the bodê bringeth.

Chaucer, Assembly of Foules (1358).

Pelican. A pelican feeds its young brood with its blood.

The pelican turneth her beak against her brest, and therewith pierceth it till the blood gush, wherewith she nourisheth her young.--Eugenius Philalethes, Brief Natural History, 93.

Then sayd the Pellycane,

“When my byrdts be slayne,

With my bloude I them reuyue [revive],”

Scrypture doth record,

The same dyd our Lord,

And rose from deth to lyue [life].

Skelton, Armoury of Byrdts (died 1529).

And, like the kind, life rendering pelican,

Repast them with my blood.

Shakespeare, Hamlet, act iv. sc. 5 (1596).

Phœnix. There is but one phœnix in the world, which, after many hundred years, burns itself, and from its ashes another phœnix rises up.

Now I will believe, ... that in Arabia

There is one tree, the phœnix’ throne; one phœnix

At this hour reigning there.

Shakespeare, The Tempest, act iii. sc. 3 (1609).

The phœnix is said to have fifty orifices in its bill, continued to its tail. After living its 1000 or 500 years, it builds itself a funeral pile, sings a melodious elegy, flaps its wings to fan the fire, and is burnt to ashes.

The enchanted pile of that lonely bird

Who sings at the last his own death-lay.

And in music and perfume dies away.

T. Moore, Lalla Rookh (“Paradise and the Peri,” 1817).

The phœnix has appeared five times in Egypt: (1) in the reign of Sesostris; (2) in the reign of Amăsis; (3) in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphos; (4) a little prior to the death of Tiberius; and (5) during 54the reign of Constantine. Tacitus mentions the first three (Annales, vi. 28).

Pig. In the fore feet of pigs is a very small hole, which may be seen when the pig is dead and the hair carefully removed. The legend is that the devils made their exit from the swine through the fore feet, and left these holes. There are also six very minute rings round each hole, and these are said to have been made by the devil’s claws.

When pigs carry straws in their mouth, rain is at hand.

When swine carry bottles of hay or straw to hide them, rain is at hand.--The Husbandman’s Practice, 137 (1664).

When young pigs are taken from the sow, they must be drawn away backwards, or the sow will be fallow.

The bacon of swine killed in a waning moon will waste much in the cooking.

When hogs run grunting home, a storm is impending.--The Cabinet of Nature, 262 (1637).

It is unlucky for a traveller if a sow crosses his path.

If, going on a journey on business, a sow cross the road, you will meet with a disappointment, if not an accident, before you return home.--Grose.

To meet a sow with a litter of pigs is very lucky.

If a sow is with her litter of pigs, it is lucky, and denotes a successful journey.--Grose.

Langley tells us this marvellous bit of etymology: “The bryde anoynteth the poostes of the doores with swynes grease, ... to dryve awaye misfortune, wherefore she had her name in Latin uxor, ´ab ungendo’ [to anoint].”--Translation of Polydore Vergil, 9.

Pigeon. If a white pigeon settles on a chimney, it bodes death to some one in the house.

No person can die on a bed or pillow containing pigeon’s feathers.

If anybody be sick and lye a-dying, if they [sic] lie upon pigeon’s feathers they will be languishing and never die, but be in pain and torment.--British Apollo, ii. No. 93 (1710).

The blue pigeon is held sacred in Mecca.--Pitt.

Porcupine. When porcupines are hunted or annoyed, they shoot out their quills in anger.

Rat. Rats forsake a ship before a wreck, or a house about to fall.

They prepared

A rotten carcass of a boat; the very rats

Instinctively had quit it.

Shakespeare, The Tempest, act i. sc. 2 (1609).

If rats gnaw the furniture of a room, there will be a death in the family ere long.--Grose.

⁂ The bucklers at Lanuvium being gnawed by rats, presaged ill fortune, and the battle of Marses, fought soon after, confirmed the superstition.

The Romans said that to see a white rat was a certain presage of good luck.--Pliny, Natural History, viii. 57.

Raven. Ravens are ill-omened birds.

The hoarse night raven, trompe of doleful dreere.

Spenser.

Ravens seen on the left hand side of a person bode impending evil.

Sæpe sinistra cava prædixit ab ilice cornix.

Virgil, Ecl., i.

Ravens call up rain.

Hark

How the curst raven, with her harmless voice,

Invokes the rain!

Smart, Hop Garden, ii. (died 1770).

When ravens forsake a wood, it prognosticates famine.

This is because ravens bear the character of Saturn, the author of such calamities.--Athenian Oracle (supplement, 476).

Ravens forebode pestilence and death.

55Like the sad-presaging raven, that tolls

The sick man’s passport in her hollow beak,

And, in the shadow of the silent night,

Doth shake contagion from her sable wing.

Marlowe, The Jew of Malta (1633).

Ravens foster forsaken children.

Some say that ravens foster forlorn children.

(?) Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, act ii. sc. 3 (1593).

It is said that King Arthur is not dead, but is only changed into a raven, and will in due time resume his proper form and rule over his people gloriously.

The raven was white till it turned tell-tale, and informed Apollo of the faithlessness of Corōnis. Apollo shot the nymph for her infidelity, but changed the plumage of the raven into inky blackness for his officious prating.--Ovid, Metamorphoses, ii.

He [Apollo] blackened the raven o’er,

And bid him prate in his white plumes no more.

Addison’s Translation of Ovid, ii.

If ravens gape against the sun, heat will follow; but if they busy themselves in preening or washing, there will be rain.

Rem´ora. A fish called the remora can arrest a ship in full sail.

A little fish that men call remora,

Which stopped her course ...

That wind nor tide could move her.

Spenser, Sonnets (1591).

Robin. The red of a robin’s breast is produced by the blood of Jesus. While the “Man of Sorrows” was on His way to Calvary, a robin plucked a thorn from His temples, and a drop of blood, falling on the bird, turned its bosom red.

Another legend is that the robin used to carry dew to refresh sinners parched in hell, and the scorching heat of the flames turned its feathers red.

He brings cool dew in his little bill,

And lets it fall on the souls of sin;

You can see the mark on his red breast still,

Of fires that scorch as he drops it in.

J. G. Whittier, The Robin.

If a robin finds a dead body unburied, it will cover the face at least, if not the whole body.--Grey, On Shakespeare, ii. 226.

The robins so red, now these babies are dead,

Ripe strawberry leaves doth over them spread.

Babes in the Wood.

It is unlucky either to keep or to kill a robin. J. H. Pott says, if any one attempts to detain a robin which has sought hospitality, let him “fear some new calamity.”--Poems (1780).

Salamander. The salamander lives in the fire.

Should a glass-house fire be kept up without extinction for more than seven years, there is no doubt but that a salamander will be generated in the cinders.--J. P. Andrews, Anecdotes, etc., 359.

The salamander seeks the hottest fire to breed in, but soon quenches it by the extreme coldness of its body.--Pliny, Natural History, x. 67; xxix. 4.

Food touched by a salamander is poisonous.--Ditto, xxix. 23.

Saliva. The human saliva is a cure for blindness.--Ditto, xxviii. 7.

If a man spits on a serpent, it will die. Ditto, vii. 2.

The human saliva is a charm against fascination and witchcraft.

Thrice on my breast I spit, to guard me safe

From fascinating charms.

Theocritos.

To unbewitch the bewitched, you must spit into the shoe of your right foot.--Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584).

Spitting for luck is a most common superstition.

Fishwomen generally spit upon their hansel.--Grose.

A blacksmith who has to shoe a stubborn horse, spits in his hand to drive off the “evil spirit.”

56The swarty smith spits in his buckthorne fist.

Browne, Britannia’s Pastorals, i.

If a pugilist spits in his hand, his blows will be more telling.--Pliny, Natural History, xxviii. 7.

Scorpion. Scorpions sting themselves.

Scorpions have an oil which is a remedy for their stings.

’Tis true the scorpion’s oil is said

To cure the wound the venom made.

S. Butler, Hudibras, iii. 2 (1678).

Spider. It is unlucky to kill a moneyspinner.

Small spiders, called “money-spinners,” prognosticate good luck, if they are not destroyed or removed from the person on whom they attach themselves.--Park.

The bite of a spider is venomous.

No spider will spin its web on an Irish oak.

Spiders will never set their webs on a cedar roof.--Caughey, Letters (1845).

Spiders indicate where gold is to be found. (See Spiders Indicators of Gold.)

There are no spiders in Ireland, because St. Patrick cleared the island of all vermin.

Spiders envenom whatever they touch.

There may be in the cup

A spider steeped, and one may drink, depart,

And yet partake no evil.

Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale, act iii. sc. 1 (1604).

A spider enclosed in a quilt and hung round the neck will cure the ague.--Mrs. Delany, A Letter dated March 1, 1743.

I ... hung three spiders about my neck, and they drove my ague away.--Elias Ashmole, Diary (April 11, 1681).

A spider worn in a nutshell round the neck is a cure for fever.

Cured by the wearing a spider around one’s neck in a nutshell.

Longfellow, Evangeline, ii. (1849).

Spiders spin only on dark days.

The subtle spider never spins

But on dark days his slimy gins.

S. Butler, On a Nonconformist, iv.

Spiders have a natural antipathy to toads.

Stag. Stags draw, by their breath, serpents from their holes, and then trample them to death. (Hence the stag has been used to symbolize Christ.)--Pliny, Natural History, viii. 50.

Stork. It is unlucky to kill a stork.

According to Swedish legend, a stork fluttered round the cross of the crucified Redeemer, crying, Styrkê! styrkê! (“Strengthen ye! strengthen ye!”), and was hence called the styrk or stork, but ever after lost its voice.

Swallow. According to Scandinavian legend, the bird hovered over the cross of Christ, crying, Svalê! svalê! (“Cheer up! cheer up!”), and hence it received the name of svalê or swallow, “the bird of consolation.”

If a swallow builds on a house, it brings good luck.

The swallow is said to bring home from the seashore a stone which gives sight to her fledglings.

Seeking with eager eyes that wondrous stone which the swallow

Brings from the shore of the sea, to restore the sight of its fledglings.

Longfellow, Evangeline, i. 1 (1849).

To kill a swallow is unlucky.

When swallows fly high, the weather will be fine.

When swallows fleet soar high and sport in air,

He told us that the welkin would be clear.

Gay, Pastoral, i. (1714).

Swan. The swan retires from observation when about to die, and sings most melodiously.

Swans a little before their death sing most sweetly.--Pliny, Natural History, x. 23.

The swanne cannot hatch without a cracke of 57thunder.--Lord Northampton, Defensive, etc. (1583).

Tarantula. The tarantula is poisonous.

The music of a tarantula will cure its venomous bite.

Toad. Toads spit poison, but they carry in their head an antidote thereto.

... the toad ugly and venomous,

Wears yet a precious jewel in its head.

Shakespeare, As You Like It, act ii. sc. 1 (1600).

In the dog days, toads never open their mouths.

Toads are never found in Ireland, because St. Patrick cleared the island of all vermin.

Unicorn. Unicorns can be caught only by placing a virgin in their haunts.

The horn of a unicorn dipped into a liquor will show if it contains poison.

Viper. Young vipers destroy their mothers when they come to birth.

Weasel. To meet a weasel is unlucky.--Congreve, Love for Love.

You never catch a weasel asleep.

Wolf. If a wolf sees a man before the man sees the wolf, he will be struck dumb.

Men are sometimes changed into wolves.--Pliny, Natural History.

Wren. If any one kills a wren, he will break a bone before the year is out.

Miscellaneous. No animal dies near the sea, except at the ebbing of the tide.--Aristotle.

’A parted even just between twelve and one, e’en at the turning o’ the tide.--Shakespeare, Henry V. act. ii. sc. 3 (Falstaff’s death, 1599).

Superstitions about Precious Stones.

R. B. means Rabbi Benoni (fourteenth century); S. means Streeter, Precious Stones (1877).

Agate quenches thirst, and if held in the mouth, allays fever.--R. B.

It is supposed, at least, in fable, to render the wearer invisible, and also to turn the sword of foes against themselves.

The agate is an emblem of health and long life, and is dedicated to June. In the Zodiac it stands for Scorpio.

Amber is a cure for sore throats and all glandular swellings.--R. B.

It is said to be a concretion of birds’ tears.--Chambers.

Around thee shall glisten the lovliest amber

That ever the sorrowing sea-bird hath wept.

T. Moore, Lalla Rookh (“Fire-Worshippers,” 1817).

The birds which wept amber were the sisters of Meleager, called Meleagrĭdês, who never ceased weeping for their brother’s death.--Pliny, Natural History, xxxvii. 2, 11.

Amethyst banishes the desire for drink, and promotes chastity.--R. B.

The Greeks thought that it counteracted the effects of wine.

The amethyst is an emblem of humility and sobriety. It is dedicated to February and Venus. In the Zodiac it stands for Sagittarius, in metallurgy for copper, in Christian art it is given to St. Matthew, and in the Roman Catholic Church it is set in the pastoral ring of bishops, whence it is called the “prelate’s gem,” or pierre d’évêque.

Cat’s-eye, considered by the Cingalese as a charm against witchcraft, and to be the abode of some genii.--S., 168.

Coral, a talisman against enchantments, witchcrafts, thunder, and other perils of flood and field. It was consecrated to Jupiter and Phœbus.--S., 233.

Red coral worn about the person is a certain cure for indigestion.--R. B.

Crystal induces visions, promotes sleep, and ensures good dreams.--R. B.

It is dedicated to the moon, and in metallurgy stands for silver.

58Diamond produces somnambulism, and promotes spiritual ecstasy.--R. B.

The diamond is an emblem of innocence, and is dedicated to April and the sun. In the Zodiac it stands for Virgo, in metallurgy for gold, in Christian art invulnerable faith.

Emerald promotes friendship and constancy of mind.--R. B.

If a serpent fixes its eyes on an emerald, it becomes blind.--Ahmed ben Abdalaziz, Treatise on Jewels.

The emerald is an emblem of success in love, and is dedicated to May. In the Zodiac, it signifies Cancer. It is dedicated to Mars, in metallurgy it means iron, and in Christian art, is given to St. John.

Garnet preserves health and joy.--R. B.

The garnet is an emblem of constancy, and, like the jacinth, is dedicated to January.

This was the carbuncle of the ancients, which they said gave out light in the dark.

Loadstone produces somnambulism.--R. B.

It is dedicated to Mercury, and in metallurgy means quicksilver.

Moonstone has the virtue of making trees fruitful, and of curing epilepsy.--Dioscorĭdês.

It contains in it an image of the moon, representing its increase and decrease every month.--Andreas Baccius.

Onyx contains in it an imprisoned devil, which wakes at sunset, and causes terror to the wearer, disturbing sleep with ugly dreams.--R. B.

Cupid, with the sharp point of his arrows, cut the nails of Venus during sleep, and the parings, falling into the Indus, sank to the bottom, and turned into onyxes.--S., 212.

In the Zodiac it stands for Aquarius; some say it is the emblem of August and conjugal love; in Christian art it symbolizes sincerity.

Opal is fatal to love, and sows discord between the giver and receiver.--R. B.

Given as an engagement token, it is sure to bring ill luck.

The opal is an emblem of hope, and is dedicated to October.

Ruby. The Burmese believe that rubies ripen like fruit. They say a ruby in its crude state is colorless, and, as it matures, changes first to yellow, then to green, then to blue, and lastly to a brilliant red, its highest state of perfection and ripeness.--S., 142.

The ruby signifies Aries in the Zodiacal signs; but some give it to December, and make it the emblem of brilliant success.

Sapphire produces somnambulism, and impels the wearer to all good works.--R. B.

In the Zodiac it signifies Leo, and in Christian art is dedicated to St. Andrew, emblematic of his heavenly faith and good hope. Some give this gem to April.

Topaz is favorable to hemorrhages, imparts strength, and promotes digestion.--R. B.

Les anciens regardaient la topaze comme utile contre l’épilepsie et la mélancolie.--Bouillet, Dict. Univ. des Sciences, etc. (1855).

The topaz is an emblem of fidelity, and is dedicated to November. In the Zodiac it signifies Taurus, and in Christian art is given to St. James the Less.

Turquoise, given by loving hands, carries with it happiness and good fortune. Its color always pales when the well-being of the giver is in peril.--S., 170.

The turquoise is an emblem of prosperity, and is dedicated to December. It is dedicated to Saturn, and stands for lead in metallurgy.

A bouquet composed of diamonds, loadstones and sapphires combined, renders a 59person almost invincible, and wholly irresistible.--R. B.

All precious stones are purified by honey.

All kinds of precious stones dipped into honey become more brilliant thereby, each according to its color, and all persons become more acceptable when they join devotion to their graces. Household cares are sweetened thereby, love is more loving, and business becomes more pleasant.--S. Francis de Salis, The Devout Life, iii. 13 (1708).

Supporters in Heraldry represent the pages who supported the banner. These pages, before the Tudor period, were dressed in imitation of the beasts, etc., which typified the bearings or cognizances of their masters.

Surface (Sir Oliver), the rich uncle of Joseph and Charles Surface. He appears under the assumed name of Premium Stanley.

Charles Surface, a reformed scapegrace, and the accepted lover of Maria, the rich ward of Sir Peter Teazle. In Charles, the evil of his character was all on the surface.

Joseph Surface, elder brother of Charles, an artful, malicious, but sentimental knave; so plausible in speech and manner as to pass for a “youthful miracle of prudence, good sense, and benevolence.” Unlike Charles, his good was all on the surface.--Sheridan, School for Scandal (1777).

Surgeon’s Daughter (The), a novel by Sir Walter Scott, laid in the time of George II. and III., and published in 1827. The heroine is Menie Gray, daughter of Dr. Gideon Gray, of Middlemas. Adam Hartley, the doctor’s apprentice, loves her, but Menie herself has given her heart to Richard Middlemas. It so falls out that Richard Middlemas goes to India. Adam Hartley also goes to India, and, as Dr. Hartley, rises high in his profession. One day, being sent for to visit a sick fakir´, he sees Menie Gray under the wing of Mde. Montreville. Her father had died, and she had come to India, under madame’s escort, to marry Richard; but Richard had entrapped the girl for a concubine in the harem of Tippoo Saib. When Dr. Hartley heard of this scandalous treachery, he told it to Hyder Ali, and the father of Tippoo Saib, who were so disgusted at the villainy that they condemned Richard Middlemas to be trampled to death by a trained elephant, and liberated Menie, who returned to her native country under the escort of Dr. Hartley.

Surgery (Father of French), Ambrose Paré (1517-1590).

Surly, a gamester and friend of Sir Epicure Mammon, but a disbeliever in alchemy in general, and in “doctor” Subtle in particular.--Ben Jonson, The Alchemist (1610).

Surplus (Mr.), a lawyer, Mrs. Surplus, and Charles Surplus, the nephew.--J. M. Morton, A Regular Fix.

Surrey (White), name of the horse used by Richard III. in the battle of Bosworth Field.

Saddle White Surrey for the field to-morrow.

Shakespeare, King Richard III. act v. sc. 3 (1597).

Surtur, a formidable giant, who is to set fire to the universe at Ragnarök, with flames collected from Muspelheim.--Scandinavian Mythology.

Sur´ya (2 syl.), the sun-god, whose car 60is drawn by seven green horses, the charioteer being Dawn.--Sir W. Jones, From the Veda.

Susanna, the wife of Joacim. She was accused of adultery by the Jewish elders, and condemned to death; but Daniel proved her innocence, and turned the criminal charge on the elders themselves.--History of Susanna.

Susannah, in Sterne’s novel entitled The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759).

Suspicions Husband (The), a comedy by Dr. Hoadly (1747). Mr. Strictland is suspicious of his wife, his ward, Jacintha, and Clarinda, a young lady visitor. With two attractive young ladies in the house, there is no lack of intrigue, and Strictland fancies that his wife is the object thereof; but when he discovers his mistake, he promises reform.

Sussex (The earl of), a rival of the earl of Leicester, in the court of Queen Elizabeth; introduced by Sir W. Scott in Kenilworth.

Sut´leme´me (4 syl.), a young lady attached to the suite of Nouron´ihar, the emir’s daughter. She greatly excelled in dressing a salad.

Sutor. Ne sutor supra Crepĭdam. A cobbler, having detected an error in the shoe-latchet of a statue made by Apellês, became so puffed up with conceit that he proceeded to criticize the legs also; but Apellês said to him, “Stick to the last, friend.” The cobbler is qualified to pass an opinion on shoes, but anatomy is quite another thing.

Boswell, one night sitting in the pit of Covent Garden Theatre, with his friend, Dr. Blair, gave an imitation of a cow lowing, which the house greatly applauded. He then ventured another imitation, but failed; whereupon the doctor turned to him and whispered in his ear, “Stick to the cow.”

A wigmaker sent a copy of verses to Voltaire, asking for his candid opinion on some poetry he had perpetrated. The witty patriarch of Ferney wrote on the MS., “Make wigs,” and returned it to the barber-poet.

Sutton (Sir William), uncle of Hero Sutton, the City maiden.--S. Knowles, Woman’s Wit, etc. (1838).

Suwarrow (Alexander), a Russian general, noted for his slaughter of the Poles in the suburbs of Warsaw, in 1794, and the still more shameful butchery of them on the bridge of Prague. After having massacred 30,000 in cold blood, Suwarrow went to return thanks to God “for giving him the victory.” Campbell, in his Pleasures of Hope, i., refers to this butchery; and Lord Byron, in Don Juan, vii., 8, 55, to the Turkish expedition (1786-1792).

A town which did a famous siege endure ...

By Suvaroff or Anglicè Suwarrow.

Byron, Don Juan, vii. 8 (1824).

Suzanne, the wife of Chalomel, the chemist and druggist.--J. R. Ware, Piperman’s Predicament.

Swallow’s Nest, the highest of the four castles of the German family called Landschaden, built on a pointed rock almost inaccessible. The founder was a noted robber-knight. (See “Swallow.”)

Swan. Fionnuāla, daughter of Lir, was transformed into a swan, and condemned 61to wander for many hundred years over the lakes and rivers of Ireland, till the introduction of Christianity into that island.

T. Moore has a poem on this subject in his Irish Melodies, entitled “The Song of Fionnuala” (1814).

Swan (The), called the bird of Apollo or of Orpheus (2 syl.). (See “Swan.”)

Swan (The knight of the), Helias, king of Lyleforte, son of King Oriant and Beatrice. This Beatrice had eight children at a birth, one of which was a daughter. The mother-in-law (Matabrune) stole these children, and changed all of them, except Helias, into swans. Helias spent all his life in quest of his sister and brothers, that he might disenchant them and restore them to their human forms.--Thoms, Early English Prose Romances, iii. (1858).

Eustachius vanit ad Buillon ad domum ducissæ quæ uxor erat militis qui vocabatur “Miles Cygni.”--Reiffenberg, Le Chevalier au Cygne.

Swan (The Mantuan), Virgil, born at Mantua (B.C. 70-19).

Swan (The Order of the). This order was instituted by Frederick II. of Brandenburg, in commemoration of the mythical “Knight of the Swan” (1443).

Swan-Tower, of Cleves. So called because the house of Cleves professed to be descended from the “Knight of the Swan” (q.v.)

Swan of Avon (The Sweet). Shakespeare was so called by Ben Jonson (1564-1616).

Swan of Cambray, Fénelon, archbishop of Cambray (1651-1715).

Swan of Lichfield, Miss Anna Seward, poetess (1747-1809).

Swan of Padua, Count Francesco Algarotti (1712-1764).

Swan of the Meander, Homer, a native of Asia Minor, where the Meander flows (fl. B.C. 950).

Swan of the Thames, John Taylor, “water-poet” (1580-1654).

Taylor, their better Charon, lends an oar,

Once Swan of Thames, tho’ now he sings no more.

Pope, The Duncaid, iii. 19 (1728).

Swane (1 syl.) or Swegen, surnamed “Fork-Beard,” king of the Danes, joined Alaff or Olaf [Tryggvesson] in an invasion: of England, was acknowledged king, and kept his court at Gainsbury. He commanded the monks of St. Edmund’s Bury, to furnish him a large sum of money, and as it was not forthcoming, went on horseback at the head of his host to destroy the minster, when he was stabbed to death by an unknown hand. The legend is that the murdered St. Edmund rose from his grave and smote him.

The Danes landed here again ...

With those disordered troops by Alaff hither led,

In seconding their Swane ... but an English yet there was ...

Who washed his secret knife in Swane’s relentless gore.

Drayton, Polyolbion, xii. (1613).

Swanston, a smuggler.--Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).

Swaran, king of Lochlin (Denmark), son and successor of Starno. He invaded Ireland in the reign of Cormac II. (a minor), and defeated Cuthullin, general of the Irish forces. When Fingal arrived 62the tide of battle was reversed, and Swaran surrendered. Fingal, out of love to Agandecca (Swaran’s sister), who once saved his life, dismissed the vanquished king with honor, after having invited him to a feast. Swaran is represented as fierce, proud and high-spirited; but Fingal as calm, moderate and generous.--Ossian, Fingal.

Swash-Buckler (A), a riotous, quarrelsome person. Nash says to Gabriel Harvey: “Turpe senex miles, ’tis time for such an olde fool to leave playing the swash-buckler” (1598).

Swedenborgians (called by themselves “The New Jerusalem Church”). They are believers in the doctrines taught by Dr. Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). Their views respecting salvation, the inspiration of the Bible, future life and the Trinity, differ widely from those of other Christians. In regard to the Trinity, they believe it to be centered in the person of Jesus Christ.

Swedish Nightingale (The), Jenny Lind, the public singer. She married Mr. Goldschmidt, and retired (1821-1887).

Swee´dlepipe (Paul), known as “Poll,” barber and bird-fancier; Mrs. Gamp’s landlord. He is a little man, with a shrill voice but a kind heart, in appearance “not unlike the birds he was so fond of.” Mr. Sweedlepipe entertains a profound admiration of Bailey, senior, whom he considers to be a cyclopædia “of all the stable-knowledge of the time.”--C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).

Sweepclean (Saunders), a king’s messenger at Knockwinnock Castle.--Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary (time, George III.).

Sweet Singer of Israel (The), King David.

Sweet Singer of the Temple, George Herbert, author of a poem called The Temple (1593-1633).

Sweno, son of the king of Denmark. While bringing succors to Godfrey, he was attacked in the night by Solyman, at the head of an army of Arabs, and himself and all his followers were left dead on the field. Sweno was buried in a marble sepulchre, which appeared miraculously on the field of battle, expressly for his interment (bk. viii.).--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).

This is a very parallel case to that of Rhesus. This Thracian prince was on his march to Troy, bringing succors to Priam, but Ulysses and Diomed attacked him at night, slew Rhesus and his army, and carried off all the horses.--Homer, Iliad, x.

Swertha, housekeeper of the elder Mertoun (formerly a pirate).--Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).

Swidger (William), custodian of a college. His wife was Milly, and his father, Philip. Mr. Swidger was a great talker, and generally began with, “That’s what I say,” à propos of nothing.--C. Dickens, The Haunted Man (1848).

Swimmers. Leander used to swim across the Hellespont every night to visit Hero.--Musæus, De Amore Herois et Leandri.

Lord Byron and Lieutenant Ekenhead accomplished the same feat in 1 hr., 10 min., the distance (allowing for drifting) being four miles.

A young native of St. Croix, in 1817, swam over the Sound “from Cronenburgh 63[? Cronberg] to Graves” in 2 hrs., 40 min., the distance being six English miles.

Captain Boynton, in May, 1875, swam or floated across the channel from Grisnez to Fan Bay (Kent) in 23 hrs.

Captain Webb, August 24, 1875, swam from Dover to Calais, a distance of about thirty miles including drift, in 22 hrs., 40 min.