BOOK OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (continued 5)

Hamerton, Philip I. 1834-1894 Intellectual Life An excellent critic of pictorial art and interpreter of French life and character for Englishmen.

Green, John Richard 1837-1883 History of the English People Industrious and conscientious, he viewed the “History of the English People” as something more than a record of war and politics. Clear and simple as a stylist.

Swineburne, Algernon Chas., 1837-1909 Poems A poet of remarkable musical power, a master of headlong but involved prose, a critic of enthusiasm and eloquence, caring little for principles or reasoned judgment.

Bryce, James 1838- American Commonwealth, Holy Roman Empire A writer on politics of great common sense and statesmanlike scope. A trustworthy authority.

Besant, Walter 1838-1901 East London, etc., Novels A voluminous writer of novels, his History of London is a real contribution of knowledge of the past.

Morley, John 1838- English Men of Letters A sound literary historian and critic and a thinker of force and scope.

Pater, Walter Horatio 1839-1891 Marius the Epicurean, etc. A wonderfully finished prose style which sometimes diverts attention from the justness and beauty of the thought.

Dobson, Henry Austin 1840- Vignettes in Rhyme, Proverbs in Porcelain The English Horace. An authority on eighteenth century social and literary life. Charming light verses.

Hardy, Thomas 1840- Tess of D’Urbeville, etc., Novels Novels depicting country life. A writer of broad humanity. His books possess at once wit, realism and an idyllic quality.

Black, William 1841-1898 In Silk Attire, etc., Novels His stories have considerable charm but not much force. They depict Gaelic Scotland pleasantly but unconvincingly.

Buchanan, Robert W. 1841-1901 Alone in London; Poems A minor poet and dramatist of considerable output. Known for his mistaken attack on Rossetti in “The Fleshly School of Poetry.”

Stevenson, Robert Louis 1850-1894 Essays, Novels; Child’s Garden of Verses, etc. Careful and finished as a stylist, an excellent story-teller: “Treasure Island” and his Scottish Tales are true classics.

Zangwill, Israel 1864- Novels, Dramas, Essays As Jew, an exponent of the Zionistic movement. Successful in the essay and especially in the novels depicting Jewish scenes and characters.

Kipling, Rudyard 1865- Stories, Novels, Poems A vigorous, audacious, efficient writer. The most original genius among English literary men of today.

Phillips, Stephen 1868- Ulysses, Paolo and Francesca A writer of lyric tragedies in blank verse, akin in spirit to to the French classic drama.

AMERICAN LITERATURE

The development of American literature may be treated under three distinctly marked periods: (1) a colonial or ante-revolutionary period (1620-1775), during which the literature of the colonies was closely assimilated in form and character to that of England; (2) a first American period (1775-1865), which witnessed the transition from a style for the most part imitative to one in some degree national; and (3) a second American period from 1865 to the present time, in which the literature of the country has assumed a more decided character of originality.

THE COLONIAL PERIOD, 1620-1775

The literary traditions of the United States were in large part inherited from England. Although from the time of the Stuart restoration in England, in 1660, there are indications of a divergence in social and political temper, which in the long run must find expression in a distinct American literature, yet the literary emancipation of America was much more gradual than the political.

The first literature in America was the product of men educated in other lands, who happened to be drawn to the New World, and who wrote about the new country.

The first work of broad interest concerning the colonies that subsequently became the United States was the famous Captain John Smith’s True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia. This is an interesting and romantic work; but Smith was in America for three years only of his adventurous life, and consequently his narrative is highly colored. The History of the Plymouth Plantation, by Governor Bradford, and the History of New England, by John Winthrop, are productions of a colder clime than Virginia and of a less glowing imagination than Captain John Smith’s.

Aside from such records, more interesting always from the standpoint of history than from that of literature, the sum of colonial production, north or south, is very small. In New England, where most books were written, if not always there published, we find chiefly theological polemics, often presented with attractive titles but rarely with any other power to carry them to posterity.

The Poems of Anne Bradstreet were very highly praised in their day, but almost the only book of lasting value and interest written in the century was Cotton Mather’s Magnalia Christi Americana (1702). Mather was one of a great clerical and literary family. He wrote many other books, but none retains the interest of posterity. The Magnalia, however, is still a noble monument of a wonderful generation.

Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac, begun in 1732 and carried on by him for twenty-five years, was a book of almost literary rank. “Poor Richard” was a fictitious character in whose mouth Franklin put a simple philosophy which became as widely popular in its sphere as the more scholarly utterances of the Spectator.

The two great literary figures of the eighteenth century may be properly considered together. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) may represent to us the passing domination of theology; Benjamin Franklin, the domination just beginning of politics and secular common sense. They are the first Americans to make a lasting reputation by letters, and, curiously enough, with each literature was but a means to an end.

The remarkable effect of the preaching and writing of Jonathan Edwards came largely from the direct simplicity and clearness which makes his style almost no style at all. As for Franklin, he learned to write systematically, as he did everything else, and regarded his power to express himself chiefly as one of the means whereby he accomplished his purposes for the good of society. Edward’s great works on the Freedom of the Will and other theological topics are probably read now by few, and the same may be said of much of Franklin’s writings. But Franklin’s Autobiography is still one of the most interesting things of its kind. Both men belonged to the time and place: America was expressing herself, whether in literary form or not.

In the years preceding the Revolution another real opportunity opened, and oratory became one of the genuine modes of national expression. Patrick Henry, James Otis, John Adams, Joseph Warren, Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams, spoke under the best conditions for literature, because they had something that had to be said. Yet their eloquence now is more a matter of fame than of fact. Of some, hardly more than a few slight reports remain to give us a notion of the powers that fired an earlier generation. This summary of colonial literature gives an idea of a very meagre literary production that was but natural. There was little written in America, and that little was compelled by the practical issues of the politics or theology of the time.

We shall readily understand that though such a review indicates slight literary appreciation as we understand the term, it does not imply a lack of intelligence. If the colonists had been less intelligent they might have produced more literature. Folk poetry and legend, with which true literature is apt to begin, is not the result of education.

The Americans were, comparatively speaking, a well-educated people. They very early provided for that literary scholarship training which comes from scholastic training. The colleges of the colonies, Harvard (1636), William and Mary (1693), Yale (1701), Princeton (chartered as the College of New Jersey, 1746), Columbia (originally King’s, 1754), Brown (College of Rhode Island, 1764), Rutgers (originally Queens, 1766), Dartmouth (1769), and the University of Pennsylvania (founded as an academy by Franklin, 1754; chartered 1779), show a great appreciation of learning on the part of the colonists.

A somewhat wider if less scholastic culture is evidenced by the foundation of libraries, the Library Company of Philadelphia (1731), the Redwood Library of Newport (1747), the Charleston Library (1748), and the New York Society Library (1754), being the earliest.

FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD, 1775-1865

The two decades that brought the eighteenth century to a close were full of exciting political events, but barren of literature. The fathers could make a nation by adopting a constitution and abiding by it, but the creation of a national literature was not so easy a matter. National poetry did not come with national life. The efforts of Trumbull (1750-1831), and Barlow (1754-1812), are as good as the ordinary poetical work of the time in England, but they are not the expression of the soul of the new nation.

The first real literature was in prose, arising from natural imitation of past models under conditions of culture which led to appreciation of such imitation.

Washington Irving, then twenty-four years old, living the pleasant life of a clever young fellow in a small provincial city, joined with his brother William and James Kirke Paulding in one of the periodicals modeled after the Spectator common in the eighteenth century. Their venture was called Salmagundi, and although not remarkable in itself, its success gave confidence, so that two years afterward, feeling his own power, Irving wrote Knickerbocker’s History of New York, one of the first pieces of American belles-lettres to become known in Europe as well as America. These productions came naturally from the conditions of Irving’s life; so did the Sketch Book, with which he became a professed man of letters, the representative, we may say, of the first period of our national literature.

Irving had pre-eminently the gift for literary expression; in his hands everything became literature—history, biography, descriptive as well as satire, story, essay. He showed the possibility of giving literary form to American material.

The same thing was done in a special department of literature by James Fenimore Cooper. Charles Brockden Brown had written novels, but they have not survived. Cooper, on the other hand, so far saw the essential quality of certain elements of American life, that the figures of Leatherstocking, the American pioneer, Harvey Birch, the patriot, and Long Tom Coffin, the sailor, are still living figures.

In fiction also two masters of equal power were shortly to develop a form of literature in which America has produced much of the first order. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe made of the short story a means of artistic presentation, which has been more highly appreciated in our day than it was in their own.

The first true poet was William Cullen Bryant. In the same year with Cooper’s first American novel (1821) appeared a volume of Bryant’s poems, of which one at least, Thanatopsis, had already excited admiring attention. Bryant’s long and honorable life was devoted to many interests beside poetry, but he maintained throughout the pure and idealistic touch, and the intimate appreciation of nature that characterized his first work.

The first quarter of the nineteenth century, then, saw a beginning, slight indeed, but such as to endure, of a true literature in the departments of poetry, fiction, belles-lettres. The fifty years following saw more substantial production in each direction.

The American poets of the middle of the century are not of the very first rank, but each is genuinely representative of some true poetic quality or way of looking at things.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow presents the beauty and charm of American life and history in melodious and figured verse; John Greenleaf Whittier expresses the soul of our life and history in lyrics of most sincere human quality; Edgar Allan Poe gives a few most intense emotions in singularly perfect and individual form, while Walt Whitman expresses a certain American ideality in a strange mode of utterance, which despite its faults is characteristically strong.

As a poet Lowell is at his best in satire, Holmes in wit, Emerson in sententious wisdom.

In the field of fiction there was not so much that was good. It was not till he had written short stories for twenty years that Hawthorne found time for the novel for which he had so long felt himself capable. He wrote four, of which three at least are masterpieces. As a novelist he had no rivals; but there were not a few who carried on the tradition of the short story, of whom the most noteworthy were Fitz James O’Brien (1828-1862), Harriet Prescott, 1835 (afterward Mrs. Spofford), and Edward Everett Hale. The Diamond Lens, The Amber Gods, and The Man Without a Country of the latter are very typical works.

In history also there was first-rate expression. George Bancroft, William H. Prescott, John Lothrop Motley, and Francis Parkman, were all original workers and all men of literary power. The first two were rather too much influenced by the literary ideals of the past, but Motley and Parkman attain a perfection of literary history which seems impossible in our day of development and division of labor.

More specifically American, though perhaps more temporary, is the oratory of the period. Political conditions were still such as to encourage eloquence. Three names stand together as representative of American public life: Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun. Their oratory has dignity, representative character and force. Three other orators should be mentioned: Edward Everett, Wendell Phillips, and Henry Ward Beecher, one eminent on great public occasions, one in public discussion and agitation, and the third in the pulpit. And we must add the name of a speaker whose simple sincerity gave him at times a greater power of speech than that of any other man of his day, Abraham Lincoln.

Several other elements of the literature of this time are important. The New England movement of idealistic thought, somewhat expressed by Transcendentalism, is represented by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a figure more thoroughly characteristic of American thinking than any other writer. Singularly individual and different from any other man of his time, he is yet typical of a combination of ideality and common sense thoroughly American.

James Russell Lowell is another important figure of the period: noteworthy as a poet, a critic, a scholar, an essayist, he is especially interesting as the successor of Irving as the representative man of his literary generation. He made literature an active factor in life and yet never allowed it to lose its literary quality.

Oliver Wendell Holmes is best known as a humorist, and perhaps the most American in that field in which America has a very special place. Humor is more than most branches of literature a matter of taste. It must be enough, therefore, to note, without attempting to discriminate or describe, the achievements of Artemus Ward (1834-1867), of Mark Twain and of Frank R. Stockton (1834-1902). In this second period of our literature occurred the Civil war. Such an event could not have been without its effect upon men of letters both South and North. In the North especially do we perceive the strongest influence: the anti-slavery element cannot be dissociated from the work of Lowell or Whittier. Yet in literature the war produced little of permanence. It is the backbone of Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s title to remembrance; but powerfully effective as was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, it is probable that there was more real genius in those presentations of that old New England life of which she was herself a product.

SECOND NATIONAL PERIOD, 1865- ——

In considering the period from the Civil war to the present, the most remarkable thing is the great increase of production and the slight accession to the rolls of genius. Such is especially the case with fiction; there have been very many good novels and short stories written, but there is no such commanding personality as Hawthorne.

The two chief figures of the seventies and eighties, at least, were Henry James and William Dean Howells. With great differences, they are yet both masters of the realistic school which was dominant in the second half of the century, in Europe as well as in America. Their superiority might remain unquestioned, were it not for the decline of interest in the kind of novel in which they excelled. In the early eighties a change in tone was perceptible.

The first noteworthy American representative of romantic or idealistic fiction which then began to appear was Marion Crawford, who has retained power and popularity for twenty-five years. He and a few other innovators were followed by a number of writers who found and presented the charm and romance of American history. These have now in their turn passed away except Winston Churchill who would seem really to have more enduring power than his companions. But the realistic movement was not without its results, for it directed American novelists, and especially story writers, into an appreciation of the specific qualities of different parts of their country.

The first writer to have this especial flavor was, it is true, the romanticist Bret Harte. His followers were more realistic: George Washington Cable gave a charming presentation of Creole life in New Orleans, and since the Grandissimes (1880) there have been a great number who have drawn pictures of the especial life of particular localities. Most noteworthy of these are Miss Mary N. Murfree (“Charles Egbert Craddock”), Miss Mary E. Wilkins (now Mrs. Freeman), James Lane Allen, Thomas Nelson Page, and Hamlin Garland.

If we are to mention any other novelist of the present day whose work seems likely to endure, it must be Mrs. Edith Wharton, who rather continues the traditions of Henry James.

In poetry no one has for forty years appeared who has been considered the equal of the earlier generation. Sidney Lanier and Edmund Clarence Stedman will probably be considered the chief figures of the seventies, while Richard Hovey (1864-1900) and James Whitcomb Riley are superior to their later contemporaries.

There has been much history in recent years, and if there are no historians of the rank of Motley and Parkman, the reason may lie in the difference that has come into the methods of historical study. John Fiske was a philosopher before he became a historian. Justin Winsor was a master of authorities, and his labors as an editor rendered possible one of the characteristic productions of the time, the Narrative and Critical History of America, written by a number of special scholars. Of other contemporary writers most noteworthy are probably Henry C. Lea, whose works deal with different phrases of the history of civilization, and Captain A. T. Mahan, whose studies of the influence of sea power on history have attracted the attention of the world.

Coincidently, a new school of humor has risen in the writing of F. P. Dunne, creator of the sagacious Mr. Dooley, and George Ade, author of Fables in Slang. Earlier humorists, aside from “Mark Twain” and Charles F. Browne (“Artemus Ward”), are Henry W. Shaw (“Josh Billings”) (1818-1885), Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908), the author of Uncle Remus’ Stories, amusing dialect fantasies. In the summary of American literature one can hardly omit the names of Sarah Margaret Fuller (“Ossoli”), R. H. Dana, author of Two Years Before the Mast, and Donald G. Mitchell, author of Reveries of a Bachelor and Dream Life.

Recent and contemporary historians and essayists deserving of mention are T. W. Higginson, C. E. Norton, and William James.

Another form of writing should be mentioned, though its results are perhaps too ephemeral to be called literature. The newspaper is, however, a very important part of everybody’s reading. It has been learning, however, to appeal more and more to an enormously wide audience, with the result that whatever literary character it may have had is now hard to find. In the middle of the century certain great editors had very definite literary standing, as Bryant of the New York Evening Post, Henry J. Raymond (1820-1869) of the Times, Horace Greeley (1811-1872) of the Tribune. Later figures must include Charles A. Dana (1819-1897), who gave a very distinctive character to the Sun; James Gordon Bennett (1841) of the Herald, and E. L. Godkin (1831-1902) of the New York Evening Post, and Henry Watterson of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

SUMMARY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE

Note.—Poetic and dramatic writings are indicated by italics.

Author and Dates Representative Works Literary Characteristics

John Smith Virginia—1580-1631 True Relation of Virginia A romantic recital of thrilling adventures.

William Bradford Plymouth Col.—1588-1657 History of Plymouth Plantation A full and clearly written account to 1649.

John Winthrop Massachusetts—1590-1649 History of New England—1630-1649 A simple, personal narrative, with occasional freshness of style.

Anne Bradstreet Massachusetts—1613-1672 Poems; The Tenth Muse An affected and cumbersome didactic poem.

Henry Norwood Virginia—1628-1670(?) A Voyage to Virginia Surprisingly well written in parts, and informative.

William Penn Pennsylvania—1644-1718 Brief Account of Pennsylvania Confidently religious and philanthropic in tone.

James Blair Virginia—1656-1742 Sermons, No Cross, No Crown Comparatively modern prose, written with pious zeal.

Cotton Mather Massachusetts—1663-1728 Elegy of Rev. Nathaniel Collins, Sermons, etc. Voluminous ecclesiastical writings of “pedantic and fantastic quaintness.”

William Byrd Virginia—1674-1744 The Dividing Line, and other tracts Full of fresh, humorous observations on life.

Robert Beverly Virginia—1675-1716 History of Virginia A straightforward narrative of slightly polemic purpose.

Jonathan Edwards Connecticut—1703-1758 Sermons, Surprising Conversions, etc. Strong and highly imaginative proclamations of Calvinism.

Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania—1706-1790 Poor Richard’s Almanac, Autobiography Wise and sagacious utterances of a fair, avowed utilitarian.

Thomas Jefferson Virginia—1743-1826 Notes on Virginia, Declaration of Independence Full of wise foresight and keen acumen.

John Marshall Virginia—1755-1835 Life of Washington, Decisions, etc. Profound and wise, but rather heavy.

Alexander Hamilton New York—1757-1804 Contributions to the Federalist Keen and ingenious, full of information.

Alexander Wilson Scotland—1766-1813 American Ornithology Pioneer investigations of a shrewd observer.

Charles Brockden Brown Pennsylvania—1771-1810 Wieland, Ormond, etc. Weird and sensational, of the Godwin type.

William Wirt Maryland—1772-1834 Life of Patrick Henry, Letters of a British Spy Interesting and informative, but also imaginative.

Robert Treat Paine Massachusetts—1773-1811 Adams and Liberty; Poems Superficial, but of noticeable metrical facility.

Henry Clay Kentucky—1777-1852 Speeches, Letters Attractive because of personality and power.

Washington Allston South Carolina—1779-1843 Art Lectures; Poems Highly artistic in intent and achievement.

James Kirk Paulding New York—1779-1860 Novels Romances of little present interest.

Francis Scott Key Maryland—1780-1843 Poems, Star Spangled Banner, etc. The chief poem is a national song of patriotic ardor.

William E. Channing Massachusetts—1780-1842 Addresses, Sermons, Essays Social papers, clear, tolerant, thoughtful.

John James Audubon Louisiana—1780-1851 Birds of America, Quadrupeds of America Marked by keen observation and wide interest.

John C. Calhoun South Carolina—1782-1850 Speeches, Papers, etc. Forceful in logical thinking and clear exposition.

Daniel Webster New Hampshire—1782-1852 Orations Elevated in thought and eloquent.

Thomas Hart Benton North Carolina—1782-1858 Thirty Years View Rich and racy observations of wide experience.

Washington Irving New York—1783-1859 Knickerbocker’s History of New York, Sketch Book, etc. Humorous, with delicate sentiment and grace.

Richard Henry Dana Massachusetts—1787-1879 Poems, The Buccaneer, etc. Overambitious and not wholly successful.

James Fenimore Cooper New Jersey—1789-1851 Leather Stocking Tales, The Spy, etc. Romantic and overfortunate in coincidence, but readable.

Jared Sparks Connecticut—1789-1866 American Biographies Commendable efforts of a pioneer biographer.

Fitz Greene Halleck Connecticut—1790-1867 Poems, Marco Bozzaris, etc. Frankly humorous and delightfully fresh.

George Ticknor 1791-1871 History of Spanish Literature Scholarly and authentic.

John Howard Payne New York—1792-1852 Home Sweet Home, Poems Universal in appeal and satisfying in form.

Samuel G. Goodrich Connecticut—1793-1860 Peter Parley Books Popular introductions with a flavor of fiction.

William Cullen Bryant Massachusetts—1794-1878 Addresses, Letters; Poems, Thanatopsis Dignified and poised, serious and helpful.

Joseph Rodman Drake New York—1795-1820 The Culprit Fay, Poems Cleverly executed, but ingeniously fanciful.

James G. Percival Connecticut—1795-1856 Poems; Prometheus, etc. Unsustained, though not without positive merits.

John Pendleton Kennedy Maryland—1795-1870 Swallow Barn, Horse Shoe Robinson, etc. Old-fashioned but interesting pictures of southern life.

WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT Massachusetts—1796-1859 Conquest of Peru, Ferdinand and Isabella, etc. Excellent history, very interestingly told.

Amos Bronson Alcott Massachusetts—1799-1888 Concord Days, Table Talks; Sonnets and Canzonets Suggestingly idealistic, but lacking in general interest.

George Bancroft Massachusetts—1800-1891 History of the United States Faithfully prepared and honestly presented.

Horace Bushnell Connecticut—1802-1876 Nature and the Supernatural, Work and Play Serious, didactic efforts with spiritual purpose.

George D. Prentice Connecticut—1802-1870 Essays; Poems Witty, sarcastic, daring and effective.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON Mass.—1803-1882 Conduct of Life, Representative Men, Essays; Poems The prophet of American culture. Coalesces oriental conceptions and occidental individualism.

Jacob Abbott Maine—1803-1879 Rollo Books Popular favorites of unsophisticated youth.

NATHAN’L HAWTHORNE Massachusetts—1804-1864 Twice Told Tales, Scarlet Letter, Marble Faun, etc. Marked by a subtle mastery and the touch of genius.

Charles E. A. Gayarré Louisiana—1805-1895 History of Louisiana, Fernando de Lemos, etc. Entertaining and scholarly bilingual productions.

Nathaniel P. Willis Maine—1806-1867 Poems; Sketches, Editorials, etc. Skillfully elaborated but diminishing in fame.

William Gilmore Simms South Carolina—1806-1870 Poems; Novels, Biography, etc. Versatile, original and artistic.

HENRY W. LONGFELLOW Maine—1807-1882 Outre Mer, Hyperion, Poems, Hiawatha, etc. Popular in appeal and simple in form.

John G. Whittier Massachusetts—1807-1892 Editorials; Household Poems With Burns’ love of nature and human nature.

EDGAR ALLAN POE Maryland—1809-1849 Tales; Poems, Raven, Annabel Lee, etc. Excellent in artistic “totality of effect.”

Albert Pike Massachusetts—1809-1891 Hymns to the Gods, Poems, etc. Of recognized interest and merit.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Massachusetts—1809-1894 Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, Novels; Poems Clever, witty, versatile, and skillful.

Margaret Fuller Ossoli Massachusetts—1810-1850 Summer on the Lakes, Papers on Literature and Art Notable in transcendental aim and in merit of achievement.

Harriet Beecher Stowe Connecticut—1811-1896 Uncle Tom’s Cabin, etc. Far-reaching in its influence.

JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY Massachusetts—1814-1877 Dutch Republic, United Netherlands A rapid, easy style in presenting results of research.

Rufus W. Griswold Vermont—1815-1857 Christian Ballads; Poets and Poetry of America, Famous Poets Valuable critical studies marred by partisanry.

John G. Saxe Vermont—1816-1887 The Money King, New Rape of the Lock, etc. Humorous and sprightly.

Samuel A. Allibone Pennsylvania—1816-1889 Literature and Authors, etc. Laborious and valuable.

Henry D. Thoreau Massachusetts—1817-1862 Walden, Excursions Redolent of nature love, and cultured scholarship.

J. G. Holland Massachusetts—1819-1881 Timothy Titcomb’s Letters, Katrina Enjoyed a large popularity.

Edwin P. Whipple Massachusetts—1819-1886 Essays and Reviews, American Literature Of very distinct cultural value.

James Russell Lowell Massachusetts—1819-1891 Among My Books, My Study Windows, Biglow Papers, Poems, Sir Launfal, etc. Keen, sparkling, scholarly, and artistic.

Walt Whitman New York—1819-1892 Poems, Leaves of Grass, My Captain, etc. Unique in claim and form.

Julia Ward Howe New York—1819-1910 Social and Philosophical Papers, Battle Hymn of the Republic Representative of the spirit of the times.

Margaret J. Preston Virginia—1820-1897 Beechen Brook, Cartoons, Colonial Ballads Cultured and of human interest.

Richard Grant White New York—1821-1885 Words and Their Uses; Everyday English Scholarly and suggestive.

Thomas Buchanan Read Pennsylvania—1822-1872 Poems; Drifting; Sheridan’s Ride, etc. Commendable, especially in form.

Edward Everett Hale Massachusetts—1822-1909 The Man Without a Country, His Level Best Vigorous and pointed, but provincial.

Donald G. Mitchell Connecticut—1822-1909 Dream Life, Reveries of a Bachelor Attractive in meditation and grace.

Francis Parkman Massachusetts—1823-1893 Oregon Trail, Montcalm and Wolfe, etc. Romantic, picturesque and of real interest.

George W. Curtis New York—1824-1892 Potiphar Papers, Prue and I, etc. Widely popular and effective.

Bayard Taylor Pennsylvania—1825-1878 Northern Travel, Greece and Russia; Poems of the Orient, Translation of Faust Too good at many things to be best at any.

Stephen Collins Foster Pennsylvania—1826-1864 Old Folks at Home, Old Uncle Ned, etc. Popular in vein and melody.

Lew Wallace Indiana—1827-1905 The Fair God, Prince of India, Ben Hur Uneven, but at times highly successful.

Chas. Dudley Warner Massachusetts—1829-1900 My Summer in a Garden, Little Journeys, etc. Catholic in interests and attainments.

John Esten Cooke Virginia—1830-1886 Novels, Survey of Eagle’s Nest, etc., Lives of Lee and Jackson Prime favorites with romantic youth.

Paul Hamilton Hayne South Carolina—1831-1886 Sonnets, Legends, Lyrics In sonnets excellent, in other poems too prolific.

Louisa May Alcott Massachusetts—1832-1888 Little Women, Little Men Influential in their popular appeal.

Edmund C. Stedman Connecticut—1833-1908 Victorian Poets, Poets of America, Alice of Monmouth Showing creative power and critical ability.

Chas. Farrar Browne (Artemus Ward), Maine—1834-1867 Artemus Ward, His Book, etc. Humorous in exaggeration and perversion.

Frank R. Stockton Pennsylvania—1834-1902 Rudder Grange, The Lady or the Tiger Ingenious in plot, straightforward in style.

Moses Coit Tyler Connecticut—1835-1900 History of American Literature Accurate and exhaustive.

Samuel L. Clemens Missouri—1835-1910 Innocents Abroad, Huckleberry Finn, etc. Thoroughly representative of American humor.

Thomas Bailey Aldrich New Hampshire—1836-1907 Novels, Marjorie Daw, etc. Cultivated and of literary talent.

William Dean Howells Ohio—1837- Venetian Life; Rise of Silas Lapham, etc. Realistic and entertainingly descriptive.

John Burroughs New York—1837- Wake Robin, Winter Sunshine Strongly uttering the charms of nature.

Mary Mapes Dodge New York—1838-1905 Hans Brinker In high favor with children.

Albion W. Tourgee Ohio—1838-1905 A Fool’s Errand, Bricks Without Straw Valuable for the point of view.

Thomas R. Lounsbury New York—1838-1915 Life of Cooper, Studies in Chaucer, etc. Of recognized scholarship and ability.

Francis Bret Hart New York—1839-1902 Luck of Roaring Camp, Gabriel Controy; Poems Of international fame. Faithful and skillfull character portrayal.

Joaquin Miller Indiana—1841- The Danites in the Sierras, Surge of the Sierras With the sweep and breadth of the prairies.

Sidney Lanier Georgia—1842-1881 The Boy’s Froissart; Tiger-Lilies, Poems Artistic to a high degree.

John Fiske Connecticut—1842-1901 Myths and Mythmakers, Histories Scholarly and fairminded.

Henry James New York—1843-1916 Daisy Miller, Portrait of a Lady, etc. Of characteristic conception and style.

George W. Cable Louisiana—1844- Old Creole Days, etc. Successful in achievement of purpose.

Elizabeth S. Phelps Ward Massachusetts—1844- Gates Ajar, etc. Widely read for religious sentiment.

Arthur S. Hardy 1847- Passe Rose, etc. Of trained literary ability.

James Lane Allen Kentucky—1849- Flute and Violin, The Choir Invisible, etc. Reaching a high standard of excellence.

Francis Marion Crawford New York—1854-1909 Novels, Travel, Descriptive Sketches Best known for his Saracinesca series, the scenes of which are laid in modern Rome.

James Whitcomb Riley Indiana—1852-1916 Poems, Rhymes of Childhood, The Book of Joyous Children, etc. His combination of humor, pathos, and sentiment appeals to high and low alike.

Mary N. Murfree (Charles Egbert Craddock), Tenn.—1850- Novels, In the Tennessee Mountains, etc. Absorbing studies in southern life and character.

Eugene Field Missouri—1850-1895 Poems, Little Boy Blue, A Dutch Lullaby, Love Song of Childhood, etc. Holds a special place in American literature as the poet of Christmas and childhood.

Amelie Rives Virginia—1863- Novels, Virginia of Virginia, The Quick or the Dead, etc. Poems Her later writings show more charity of thought and richness of expression than was characteristic of her earlier productions.

Thomas Nelson Page Virginia—1853- Novels, On Newfound River, Marse Chan, etc. An interpreter of local life and color of unusual insight.

Henry J. Van Dyke Pennsylvania—1852- Novels, The Other Wise Man, etc.; Poems Keen in observation, healthful in tone, delightful in style.

PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY OF LITERARY ALLUSIONS

Concise, explanatory paragraphs concerning Famous Books, Poems and Dramas; Literary Characters, Plots and Scenes; Pen Names of Famous Writers; Soubriquets and Nicknames; Literary Geography, Shrines and Haunts; and numerous other literary references.

KEY TO THE SOUNDS OF LETTERS

ä, as in farm, father; ȧ, as in ask, fast; a, as in at, fat; ā, as in day, fate; â, as in care, fare; a, as in final; e, as in met, set; ē, as in me, see; ẽ, as in her, ermine; i, as in pin, sin; ī, as in pine, line; o, as in not, got; ō, as in note, old; ô, as in for, fought; ö, as in sole, only; õ, as in fog, orange; ö, sound cannot be exactly represented in English. The English sound of u in burn is perhaps the nearest equivalent to ö; oo, as in cook, look; ōō, as in coon, moon; u, as in cup, duck; ū, as in use, amuse; û, as in fur, urge; ü sound cannot be exactly represented in English. The English sound of u in luke and duke resembles the original sound of ü. The letter N represents the nasal tone of the preceding vowel, as in encore (äN-kōr´).

A

Aaron (ā´ron or ar’on).—A character in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, a Moor of unnatural wickedness beloved by Tamora, queen of the Goths. The character shows originality of conception, but is otherwise repellant.

Abaddon (a-bad´on).—The Hebrew name of an evil spirit or destroying angel called Apollyon in Greek. In mediæval literature he is regarded as the chief of the demons of the seventh hierarchy and the one who causes wars and uproars. Klopstock introduced him in his Messiah under the name of Abbadona. He represents him as a fallen angel still bearing traces of his former dignity and repenting of his part in the rebellion against God. In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress he meets and fights with Pilgrim.

Abdalla (ab-dal´ä).—(1) The Mufti, a character in Dryden’s tragedy Don Sebastian. (2) One of Sir Brian de Bois Guilbert’s slaves, in Scott’s Ivanhoe. (3) Brother and predecessor of Giaffer, pasha of Abydos, by whom he was murdered, in Byron’s Bride of Abydos.

Abdiel (ab´di-el).—A seraph in Milton’s Paradise Lost, the only seraph who remained loyal when Satan stirred up the angels to revolt.

Abonde (a-bön-de´).—A character in French literature that corresponds to our Santa Claus, the good fairy who comes at night, especially New Year’s night, to bring toys to children while they sleep.

Abu-Hassan (ā-bö-has´an).—As related in the Arabian Nights, Abou Hassan is a merchant of Bagdad who is carried in his sleep to the bed of the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid and on awaking is made to believe himself the caliph. Twice in this way he was made to believe himself caliph and afterward became in reality the caliph’s favorite and companion.

Absalom and Achitophel (ab´sa-lom and a-kit´ō-fel).—A poetical satire by John Dryden, directed against the political faction led by the Earl of Shaftesbury. The names in the title are given to the duke of Monmouth and the earl of Shaftesbury. Like Absalom, the son of David, Monmouth was remarkable for his personal beauty, his popularity, and his undutifulness to his father.

Absolute, Captain.—A character in Sheridan’s comedy, The Rivals. He is distinguished for his gallant, determined spirit, his quickness of speech, and dry humor.

Absolute, Sir Anthony.—An amusing character in Sheridan’s Rivals. He is represented as testy, positive, impatient, and overbearing, but yet of a warm and generous disposition.

Acadia (a-kā´di-ä), Acadie (ä-kä´-dē´).—The original, and now the poetic, name of Nova Scotia. In 1755, the French inhabitants were seized, forcibly removed and dispersed among the English colonists on the Atlantic coast. Longfellow has made this event the subject of his poem Evangeline.

Acrasia (a-krā´zi-ä).—In Spencer’s Faërie Queene, a witch represented as a lovely and charming woman, whose dwelling is the Bower of Bliss, which is situated on an island floating in a lake or gulf, and is adorned with everything in nature that can delight the senses. The word signifies intemperance. She is the personification of sensuous indulgence and intoxication. Sir Guyon, who illustrates the opposite virtue, is commissioned by the fairy queen to bring her into subjection, and to destroy her residence.

Acres, Bob.—A character in Sheridan’s The Rivals, celebrated for his cowardice and his peculiar method of allegorical swearing.

Adam.—(1) Adam is a character frequently alluded to in the Talmud. Many strange legends are related of him. He was buried, so Arabian tradition says, on Aboncais, a mountain of Arabia. (2) In As You Like It, Shakespeare, he is an aged servant to Orlando and offers to accompany Orlando in his flight and to share with him his carefully-hoarded savings of five hundred pounds. (3) In Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, Adam is an officer known by his dress, a skin-coat.

Adamastor (ad-am-ȧs´tor).—The phantom of the Cape of Good Hope in the Lusiad: a terrible spirit described by Camoens as appearing to Vasco da Gama and prophesying the misfortunes which should fall upon other expeditions to India.

Adam Bede (bēd).—A novel by George Eliot, the chief character of which is a young carpenter, a keen and clever workman, somewhat sharp-tempered and with a knowledge of some good books. He has an alert conscience, good common sense and “well-balanced shares of susceptibility and self-control.” He loves Hetty Sorrel, but finally marries Dinah Morris.

Adams, Parson.—A character in Fielding’s story of Joseph Andrews, distinguished for his goodness of heart, poverty, learning, and ignorance of the world, combined with courage, modesty, and a thousand oddities.

Adonais (ad-ō-nā´is).—An elegiac poem by Shelley, commemorating the death of Keats. The name was coined by Shelley probably to hint an analogy between Keats’ fate and that of Adonis.

Advancement of Learning, The.—A prose treatise by Francis, Lord Bacon, which contains not only the germ of his Latin work, De Augmentis Scientiarum, but really the pith and marrow of the Baconian philosophy, if taken in connection with the second book of the Novum Scientiarum Organum. An analysis of the work may be read in Hazlitt’s Lectures on the Literature of the Age of Elizabeth.

Æneid (ē-nē´id), or Æneis (-is).—An epic poem, in twelve books, by Vergil, recounting the adventures of Æneas after the fall of Troy, founded on the Roman tradition that Æneas settled in Latium and became the ancestral hero of the Roman people. The hero, driven by a storm on the coast of Africa, is hospitably received by Dido, queen of Carthage, to whom he relates the fall of Troy and his wanderings. An attachment between them is broken by the departure of Æneas, in obedience to the will of the gods, and the suicide of Dido follows. After a visit to Sicily, Æneas lands at Cumæ in Italy. In a descent to the infernal regions he sees his father, Anchises, and has a prophetic vision of the glorious destiny of his race as well as of the future heroes of Rome. He marries Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, king of the Latini, and a contest with Turnus, king of the Rutuli, the rejected suitor follows, in which Turnus is slain. The poem is a glorification of Rome and of the Emperor Augustus, who, as a member of the Julian gens, traced his descent from Julus (sometimes identified with Ascanius), the grandson of Æneas.

Agamemnon (ag-ȧ-mem´non).—The greatest of the tragedies of Æschylus. The scene is laid in Argos, in the palace of Agamemnon, at the time of the king’s return from the capture of Troy; the catastrophe is the murder (behind the scenes) of Agamemnon and Cassandra (whom he has brought captive with him) by the queen Clytemnestra, urged on by her paramour Ægisthus.

Agnes.—(1) A young girl in Molière’s L’Ecole des Femmes, who affects to be remarkably simple and ingenuous. The name has passed into popular use, and is applied to any young woman unsophisticated in affairs. (2) A strong womanly character in David Copperfield who proves a true friend to David’s “child-wife,” Dora, and to David himself. Later Dora dies and David marries Agnes.

Agnes, The Eve of St.—(1) A poem by John Keats. It is characterized by Leigh Hunt as “the most delightful and complete specimen of his genius; ... exquisitely loving; ... young but full-grown poetry of the rarest description; graceful as the beardless Apollo; glowing and gorgeous with the colors of romance.” St. Agnes was a Roman virgin who suffered martyrdom in the reign of Diocletian. (2) A poem by Tennyson, published in 1842.

Agapida (ä-gä-pē´thä), Fray Antonio.—The fictitious writer to whom Washington Irving originally attributed the authorship of the Conquest of Granada.

Agib (ā´gib).—(1) The third Calendar in the story of “The Three Calendars” in the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. (2) In the story of Noureddin Ali and Bedredden Hassan in The Arabian Nights, a son of Bedredden Hassan and the Queen of Beauty.

Agramant (ä´grä-mänt).—In Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato and Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, the young king of Africa.

Ague-Cheek (ā´gū-chēk), Sir Andrew. A character in Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, a timid, silly but amusing country squire, to whom life consists only of eating and drinking. He is stupid even to silliness, but so devoid of self-love or self-conceit that he is delightful in his simplicity.

Ahasuerus (a-haz-ū-ē´rus).—Chief character in Sue’s A Wandering Jew, the cobbler who pushed away Jesus when, on the way to execution, He rested a moment or two at his door. “Get off! Away with you!” cried the cobbler. “Truly, I go away,” returned Jesus, “and that quickly; but tarry thou till I come.” And from that time Ahasuerus became the “wandering Jew,” who still roams the earth, and will continue so to do till the “second coming of the Lord.”

Ahmed (äh´med), or Achmet (äch´met).—In the Arabian Nights, noted for a magic tent he possessed which would cover a whole army but might be carried in the pocket. He also possessed a magic apple which would cure all diseases.

Aladdin (a-lad´in).—In the story of “Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp,” in the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, the son of a poor widow in China, who becomes possessed of a magic lamp and ring which command the services of two terrific jinns. Learning the magic power of the lamp, by accidentally rubbing it, Aladdin becomes rich and marries the Princess of Cathay through the agency of the “slave of the lamp” who also builds in a night a palace for her reception. One window of this palace was left unfinished, and no one could complete it to match the others. Aladdin therefore directs the jinns to finish it, which is done in the twinkling of an eye (hence the phrase “to finish Aladdin’s window”; that is, to attempt to finish something begun by a greater man). After many years the original owner of the lamp, a magician, in order to recover it, goes through the city offering new lamps for old. The wife of Aladdin, tempted by this idea, exchanges the old rusty magic lamp for a brand new useless one (hence the phrase “to exchange old lamps for new”), and the magician transports both palace and princess to Africa, but the ring helps Aladdin to find them. He kills the magician, and, possessing himself of the lamp, transports the palace to Cathay, and at the sultan’s death succeeds to the throne.

Al Araf (äl ä rȧf).—The Mohammedan limbo, between paradise and jehennam, for those who die without sufficient merit to deserve the former, and without sufficient demerit to deserve the latter. Here lunatics, idiots, and infants go at death, according to the Koran. The subject of an uncompleted poem by Edgar A. Poe.

Alasnam (a-las´nam).—The hero of a story in the Arabian Nights entitled “The History of Prince Zeyn Alasnam and the Sultan of the Genii,” Alasnam has eight diamond statues, but had to go in quest of a ninth more precious still, to fill the vacant pedestal. The prize was found in the lady who became his wife, at once the most beautiful and the most perfect of her race.

Albracca (äl-bräk´kä).—In Bojardo’s Orlando Innamorato, a castle of Cathay to which Angelica retires in grief at being scorned and shunned by Rinaldo, with whom she is deeply in love. Here she is besieged by Agricane, King of Tartary, who resolves to win her, notwithstanding her indifference to his suit.

Alceste (äl-sest´).—The principal character in Molière’s comedy The Misanthrope: a disagreeable but upright man who scorns the civilities of life and the shams of society.

Alcina (äl-che´na).—A fairy, the embodiment of carnal delights, in Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato and Ariosoto’s Orlando Furioso the sister of Logistalla (reason) and Morgana (lasciviousness). When tired of her lovers she changed them into trees, beasts, etc., and was finally, by means of a magic ring, displayed in her real senility and ugliness. Compare Acrasia, Armida, and Circe.

Aldine (al´din) Press.—The press established at Venice by Aldus Manutius. See Manutius.

Aldingar (al´ding-gär), Sir.—A character in Percy’s Reliques. This ballad relates how the honor of Queen Elianor, wife of Henry Plantagenet, impeached by Sir Aldingar, her steward, was submitted to the chance of a duel, and how an angel, in the form of a little child, appeared as her champion, and established her innocence.

Alhambra (al-ham´brä).—A volume of legends and descriptive sketches by Washington Irving. “The account of my midnight rambles about the old place,” says the author, “literally true, yet gives but a feeble idea of my feelings and impressions, and of the singular haunts I was exploring. Everything in the work relating to myself and to the actual inhabitants of the Alhambra is unexaggerated fact; it was only in the legends that I indulged in romancing, and these were founded on material picked up about the place.”

Ali Baba (ä´lē bä´bä).—A character in The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, in the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” a poor wood-cutter who, concealed in a tree, sees a band of robbers enter a secret cavern, and overhears the magic words “open sesame” which opens its door. After their departure he repeats the spell and the door opens, disclosing a room full of treasures with which he loads his asses and returns home. His brother Cassim, who discovers his secret, enters the cave alone, forgets the word “sesame,” and is found and cut to pieces by the robbers. The thieves, discovering that Ali Baba knows their secret, resolve to kill him, but are outwitted by Morgiana, a slave.

Alice in Wonderland.—A little girl through whose dream pass the scenes of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Behind the Looking-glass, two popular stories for children by Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson). They have been translated into several European languages.

Alice Brand.—In Scott’s Lady of the Lake, Alice signed Urgan the dwarf thrice with the sign of the cross, and he became “the fairest knight in all Scotland”; when Alice recognized in him her own brother.

Allan-a-Dale.—A friend of Robin Hood’s in the ballad. He is introduced into Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe as Robin Hood’s minstrel.

All’s Well That Ends Well.—A comedy by Shakespeare. The hero and heroine are Bertram, Count of Roussillon, and Helena, a physician’s daughter, who are married by the command of the king of France, but part because Bertram thought the lady not sufficiently well-born for him. Bertram flees to Florence, but, ultimately, Helena wins his love and all ends well.

Allworthy, Mr.—In Fielding’s novel of Tom Jones, a man of amiable and benevolent character; intended for Mr. Ralph Allen, who was also celebrated by Pope.

Almighty Dollar.—A personification of American worship. Washington Irving originated the phrase in The Creole Village.

Alp.—Siege of Corinth, Byron. The hero of this poem.

Amadis de Gaul.—The hero of an ancient and celebrated Portuguese romance.

Amanda (a-man´dä).—A young woman who impersonates Spring in Thomson’s Seasons.

Amaryllis, Amarillis (am-a-ril´is).—In Spenser’s pastoral Colin Clout’s Come Home Again, is the countess of Derby. Her name was Alice, and she was the youngest of the six daughters of Sir John Spenser, of Althorpe, ancestor of the noble houses of Spenser and Marlborough. After the death of the earl, the widow married Sir Thomas Egerton, keeper of the great seal (afterward baron of Ellesmere and viscount Brackley). It was for this very lady, during her widowhood, that Milton wrote his Arcades.

Ambrose.—A sharper in Lesage’s Gil Blas, who assumed in the presence of Gil Blas the character of a devotee. He was in league with a fellow who assumed the name of Don Raphael, and a young woman who called herself Camilla, cousin of Donna Mencia. These three sharpers allure Gil Blas to a house which Camilla says is hers, fleece him of his ring, his portmanteau, and his money, decamp, and leave him to find out that the house is only a hired lodging.

Amelia (a-mē´liä).—The title of one of Fielding’s novels, and the name of its heroine, who is distinguished for her tenderness and affection. The character of Amelia is said to have been drawn from Fielding’s wife.

Amine (ä-mēn´).—In Arabian Nights a female character who leads her three sisters by her side as a leash of hounds.

Aminte (ä-mant´).—Les Précieuses Ridicules, Molière. A contradictory character in this comedy. She dismisses her admirers for proposing to marry her, scolds her uncle for not carrying himself as a gentleman, and marries a valet whom she believes to be a nobleman.

Amlet (am´let).—The name of a gamester in Vanbrugh’s Confederacy.

Amoret (am´ō-ret).—(1) The name of a lady married to Sir Scudamore, in Spenser’s Faërie Queene. She is the type of a devoted, loving wife. (2) The heroine of Fletcher’s pastoral drama, The Faithful Shepherdess.

Amys and Amylion.—Two faithful friends. The Pylades and Orestes of the feudal ages. Their adventures are the subjects of ancient romances.

Ancient Man.—In Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, means Merlin, the old magician, King Arthur’s protector and teacher.

Ancient Mariner, The.—A poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The hero, an ancient mariner “with a long gray beard and glittering eye,” suffers terrible evils, and likewise inflicts them on his companions, from having shot an albatross, a bird of good omen. All his comrades perish of hunger, but, as he repents, he is permitted to regain the land. At intervals his agony returns, and he is driven from place to place to ease his soul by confessing his crime and sufferings to his fellows, and enforcing upon them a lesson of love for “all things, both great and small.”

“The Ancient Mariner,” says Swinburne, “is perhaps the most wonderful of all poems. In reading it we seem rapt into that paradise revealed by Swedenborg, where music and color and perfume were one, where you could see the hues and hear the harmonies of heaven. For absolute melody and splendor it were hardly rash to call it the first poem in the language.”

Andrews, Joseph.—The hero in Fielding’s novel by the same name, written to ridicule Richardson’s Pamela. Fielding presents Joseph Andrews as a brother to the modest and prudish Pamela, and pictures him as a model young man.

Angelica (an-jel´i-kä).—(1) In Bojardo’s Orlando Innamorato, is daughter of Galaphron, king of Cathay. She goes to Paris, and Orlando falls in love with her, forgetful of wife, sovereign, country and glory. Angelica, on the other hand, disregards Orlando, but passionately loves Rinaldo, who positively dislikes her. Angelica and Rinaldo drink of certain fountains, when opposite effects are produced in their hearts, for then Rinaldo loves Angelica, while Angelica loses all love for Rinaldo. (2) The heroine of Congreve’s comedy of Love for Love; in love with Valentine, but the ward of Sir Sampson Legend, who seeks to marry her. She jilts the old man, however, and marries the younger lover. Angelica is supposed to represent Mrs. Bracegirdle; Valentine the author himself who was enamoured of the actress, and was the rival of the dramatist, Rowe, in her affections. (3) The heroine of Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso. She was beloved by Orlando, but married Medoro. Also the name of the heroine of Farquhar’s plays of the Constant Couple, and Sir Harry Wildair.

Angelic Doctor.—A name bestowed upon Thomas Aquinas, because he discussed the knotty point of “how many angels can dance on the point of a needle.”

Angelo (an´je-lō).—A character in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure; also the name of a goldsmith in the Comedy of Errors.

Angiolina.—The wife of the doge of Venice, in Byron’s Marino Faliero.

Anna Karénina (än´nä kä-rā´nē-nä).—A novel of Tolstoy, perhaps the most representative of his works. It first appeared serially, but with long intervals, in a Moscow review, and was published in 1877.

Annabel Lee.—The title and subject of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, which begins—

Anne.—Perrault’s La Barbe Bleue, the sister of Fatima, the seventh and last wife of Bluebeard. Fatima, having disobeyed her lord by looking into the locked chamber, is allowed a short respite before execution. Sister Anne ascends the high tower of the castle, with the hope of seeing her brothers, who were expected to arrive every moment. Fatima, in her agony, keeps asking “sister Anne” if she can see them, and Bluebeard keeps crying out for Fatima to use greater dispatch. As the patience of both is exhausted the brothers arrive, and Fatima is rescued from death.

Annie Laurie, eldest of the three daughters of Sir Robert Laurie, of Maxwelton. In 1709 she married James Fergusson, of Craigdarroch, and was the mother of Alexander Fergusson, the hero of Burns’ song The Whistle. The song of Annie Laurie was written by William Douglas, of Fingland, in the stewardy of Kirkcudbright, hero of the song Willie Was a Wanton Wag.

Antipholus of Ephesus (an-tif´ō-lus ov ef´e-sus), and Antipholus of Syracuse (sir´a-kūs).—Twin brothers, sons to Ægeon and Æmilia, in Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors.

Antonio (än-tō´nē-ō).—(1) The merchant of Venice in Shakespeare’s play of that name, the friend of Bassanio, and the object of Shylock’s hatred. (2) The usurping Duke of Milan, and brother to Prospero, in Shakespeare’s Tempest. (3) The father of Proteus, in Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona. (4) A minor character in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. (5) A sea captain, friend to Sebastian, in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Antony and Cleopatra.—Historical tragedy by Shakespeare which may be considered as a continuation of Julius Cæsar. In the opening scene of Julius Cæsar absolute power is lodged in one man. In the conclusion of Antony and Cleopatra a second Cæsar is again in possession of absolute power, and the entire Roman world is limited under one imperial ruler. There are four prominent characters in this play: Cleopatra, voluptuous, fascinating, gross in her faults, but great in the power of her affections; Octavius Cæsar, cool, prudent, calculating, avaricious; Antony, quick, brave, reckless, prodigal; Enobarbus, a friend of Antony, at first jocular and blunt, but transformed by penitence into a grief-stricken man who dies in the bitterness of despair.

Apocalypse.—The Greek name of the last book of the Testament, termed in English Revelation. It has been generally attributed to the Apostle St. John, but some wholly reject it as spurious. In the first centuries many churches disowned it, and in the fourth century it was excluded from the sacred canon by the council of Laodicea, but was again received by other councils, and confirmed by that of Trent, held in the year 1545. Most commentators suppose it to have been written after the destruction of Jerusalem, about A. D. 96; while others assign it an earlier date. Its figures and symbols are impressive.

Apocrypha (a-pok´ri-fä).—The word originally meant secret or hidden, and it is said that books of the Apocrypha are not found in either the Chaldean or the Hebrew language. These books were not in the Jewish canon, but they were received as canonical by the Catholic church, by the council of Trent. The apocryphal writings are ten in number: Baruch, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom of Solomon, Tobit, Judith, two books of the Maccabees, Song of the Three Children, Susannah, and Bell and the Dragon. Their style proves that they were a part of the Jewish-Greek literature of Alexandria, within three hundred years before Christ; and as the Septuagint Greek version of the Hebrew Bible came from the same quarter, it was often accompanied by these Greek writings, and they gained a general circulation. No trace of them is found in the Talmud; they are mostly of legendary character, but some of them are of value for their historical information, their moral and maxims, and for the illustrations they give of ancient life.

Apologia pro Vita Sua: “Being a History of His Religious Opinions,” published by John Henry Newman. The Apologia will probably never be equaled as a specimen of acute self-analysis. The only subsequent work of a similar nature with which it can be compared or associated is Mr. Gladstone’s Chapter of Autobiography, which was designed to defend the consistency of his action in reference to the Irish church.

Arabian Nights Entertainments, consisting of one thousand and one stories, told by the sultana of the Indies to divert the sultan from the execution of a bloody vow he made to marry a lady every day and have her head cut off next morning, to avenge himself for the disloyalty of the first sultana. The story on which all the others hang is familiar. Scheherezade, the generous, beautiful young daughter of the vizier, like another Esther, resolves to risk her life in order to save the poor maidens of her city, whom the sultan is marrying and beheading at the rate of one a day. She plans to tell an interesting story each night to the sultan, breaking off in a very exciting place in order that the sultan may be tempted to spare her life so that he may hear the sequel.

Aram (ā´ram), Eugene.—A romance by Lord Lytton, founded on the story of the Knaresborough schoolmaster who committed a murder under peculiar circumstances.

Archimage (är´ki-māj), or Archimago (är-ki-mā´gō).—A character in Spenser’s Faërie Queene, a hypocrite or deceiver. He is opposed to holiness embodied in the Red Cross Knight, wins the confidence of the knight in the disguise of a reverend hermit, and by the help of Duessa, or Deceit, separates him from Una, or Truth.

B

Barons’ Wars, The.—An historical poem, in six books, by Michael Drayton. “In some historic sketches,” says Campbell, “he reaches a manner beyond himself. The pictures of Mortimer and the queen, and of Edward’s entrance into the castle, are splendid and spirited.”

Bartholomew (bär-thol´ō-mū) Fair.—A comedy by Ben Jonson, valuable for its lively pictures of the manners of the times. It is chiefly remarkable for the exhibition of odd humors and tumblers’ tricks.

Basilisco (bas-i-lis´kō).—Soliman and Perseda, old play. A boasting knight who became so popular with his foolish bragging that his name grew into a proverb.

Bassanio (ba-sä´ni-ō).—Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare. The lover of Portia who won her when he chose a leaden casket in which her portrait was hidden.

Bath, Major.—Amelia, Henry Fielding. A noble-minded gentleman, pompous in spite of poverty, and striving to live according to the “dignity and honor of man.” He tries to hide his poverty under bold speech even when found doing menial service.

Battle, Sarah.—Essays of Elia, Lamb. Sarah considered whist the business of life and literature one of the relaxations. When a young gentleman, of a literary turn, said to her he had no objection to unbend his mind for a little time by taking a hand with her, Sarah declared, “Whist was her life business; her duty; the thing she came into the world to do. She unbent her mind afterward over a book.”

Beatrice (bē´a-tris, or -trēs).—Divine Comedy, Dante. Daughter of an illustrious family of Florence for whom Dante had a great love. In his poem she is represented as being his guide through paradise. Beatrice is also the name of the heroine of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Beauty and the Beast.—Fairy tale by Mme. Villeneuve. Oft repeated in stories for children, Beauty and the Beast are known in many forms. In the original tale young and lovely Beauty saved the life of her father by putting herself in the power of a frightful but kind-hearted monster, whose respectful affection and deep melancholy finally overcame her aversion to his hideousness, and induced her to consent to marry him. By her love Beast was set free from enchantment and allowed to assume his own form, a handsome and graceful young prince.

Bede, Adam.—Adam Bede, George Eliot. An ideal workman, hero of the novel.

Bedivere (bed´i-vēr).—Tales of the Round Table. Bedivere was the last knight of King Arthur’s Round Table.

Beggar’s Opera, The, by John Gay, first acted at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, in 1727, is the first, and perhaps the best, specimen of English ballad opera. It was acted in London amid unprecedented applause, and obtained scarcely less popularity through the provinces. It was said that it made Rich, the manager, gay; and Gay, the poet, rich. Hazlitt says of the Opera, that “it is indeed a masterpiece of wit and genius, not to say of morality.”

Belarius (be-lā´ri-us).—A nobleman and soldier in the army of Cymbeline, king of Britain.

Belch (belch), Sir Toby.—Twelfth Night, Shakespeare. Uncle to Olivia, a jolly, carefree fellow, type of the roysterers of Queen Elizabeth’s days.

Belinda (be-lin´dä).—Rape of the Lock, Pope. Poetical name of the heroine, whose real name was said to be Arabella Fermor. In a frolic Lord Petre cut a lock from the lady’s hair. This was so much resented that it broke the great friendship between the two families. The poem, Rape of the Lock, was written to bring the people into a better temper and lead to reconciliation. Belinda is also the name of the heroine in a novel written by Maria Edgeworth.

Bell, Adam.—Old Ballad. A famous wild outlaw belonging to the north country and celebrated for his skill as an archer.

Bell, Laura.—Pendennis, Thackeray. One of the sweetest heroines in English literature.

Bellman.—L’Allegro, Milton. The watchman who patrolled the streets and called out the hour of night. Sometimes he repeated scraps of pious poetry in order to charm away danger.

Bell-the-Cat.—Name given to a nobleman at Lauder, Scotland, early in the sixteenth century. King James II. called an assembly of Scottish barons to resist a threatened invasion of his realm by Edward IV. of England. After long discussion one of the barons related the nursery tale of a convention of mice in which it was proposed to hang a bell on the cat’s neck, to give warning of her presence. No one would serve on the mouse committee. To the story Archibald Douglas responded by saying, “I will bell the cat,” and was afterward known by the name, Bell-the-Cat.

Belphœbe (bel-fē´bē).—Faërie Queene, Spenser. A delicate and graceful flattery offered to Queen Elizabeth through the huntress, Belphœbe, intended as a likeness of the queen. The name taken from belle, meaning beautiful, and Phœbe, a name sometimes bestowed on Diana.

Belvawney, Miss.—Nicholas Nickleby, Dickens. She belonged to the wonderful Portsmouth theater, always took the part of a page and gloried in silk stockings.

Belvidera (bel-vē-dā´rä).—Venice Preserved, Otway. The beautiful heroine of the almost forgotten tragedy. Sir Walter Scott said “more tears have been shed, probably, for the sorrows of Belvidera and Monimia than for those of Juliet and Desdemona.”

Benedick (ben´ē-dik).—Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare. A young lord of Padua who is gentleman, wit, and soldier. He was a pronounced bachelor, but after a courtship full of witty sayings and coquetry he marries the lovely Beatrice. From this gentleman comes the name Benedick or Benedict, applied to married men who were not going to marry.

Benengeli (ben-en-gē´lē), Cid Hamet.—Don Quixote, Cervantes. Supposed to be a writer of chronicles among the Moors and claimed as authority for the tales of adventure recorded by Cervantes. The name, Cid Hamet, has been often quoted by writers.

Ben Hur.—A novel by General Lew Wallace. Messala, the Roman playmate and young friend of Ben Hur, afterward became his remorseless enemy. Ambitious, hard, and cruel, when he came into power he made Ben Hur a galley slave, confiscated his property and imprisoned the mother and sister. Ben Hur escaped, returned later as a wealthy Roman, and entered in the famous chariot race against Messala, who had put up enormous sums in wagers. Messala recognized Ben Hur, and hoped to win the race and bring him to final ruin; but Messala himself was thrown and seriously injured. His cruelties were made known, and he was at last slain by his wife, Isas, the daughter of Balthasar.

Bennet, Mrs.—Amelie, Fielding. An improper character.

Benvolio (ben-vō´li-ō).—Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare. One of Romeo’s friends who would “quarrel with a man that had a hair more or a hair less in his beard than he had.” Mercutio says to him, “Thou hast quarreled with a man for coughing in the street.”

Beowulf (bā´ō-wulf).—The name of an Anglo-Saxon epic poem of the sixth century. It received its name from Beowulf, who delivered Hrothgar, King of Denmark, from the monster Grendel. This Grendel was half monster and half man, and night after night stole into the king’s palace, called Heorot, and slew sometimes as many as thirty of the sleepers at a time. Beowulf put himself at the head of a mixed band of warriors, went against the monster and slew it. This epic is very Ossianic in style, full of beauties, and most interesting.

Bertram (ber´tram).—Guy Mannering, Scott. The character was suggested by James Annesley, Esq., rightful heir of the earldom of Anglesey, of which he was dispossessed by his uncle Richard. He died in 1743. Bertram was also the name of the haughty and dissolute count, husband of Helena in Shakespeare’s comedy All’s Well That Ends Well.

Bianca (bi-an´kä).—(1) The youngest daughter of Baptista of Padua, as gentle and meek as her sister Katherine was violent and irritable. (2) The sweetheart, “almost” wife of Cassio, in Shakespeare’s Othello.

Biglow Papers, The.—A series of satirical poems, in the quaint Yankee dialect, ascribed to a certain Hosea Biglow, but really written by the American poet, James Russell Lowell.

Birch, Harvey.—The Spy, Cooper. The chief character of the novel.

Biron (bē-rôn´).—Love’s Labor’s Lost, Shakespeare. A merry madcap young lord, in attendance on Ferdinand, king of Navarre.

Black-Eyed Susan.—Ballad, John Gay. The heroine of the popular sea song.

Black Knight of the Black Lands.—Sir Peread. Called by Tennyson Night or Nox. He was one of the four brothers who kept the passages of Castle Dangerous, and was overthrown by Sir Gareth. Idylls (Gareth and Lynette).

Blatant Beast.—Faërie Queene, Spenser. A bellowing monster typical of slander; or, an impersonation of what we now call Vox Populi, or the Voice of the People.

Bleak House.—A novel by Charles Dickens, the title of which was suggested, it is said, by the situation of a certain tall brick house at Broadstairs, which stands high above and far away from the remainder of the town, and in which the author resided for several seasons.

Blimber (blim´er), Miss Cornelia.—Dombey and Son, Dickens. The daughter of Dr. Blimber, the head of a first-class educational establishment conducted on the forcing, or cramming, principle. She is a very learned, grave, and precise young lady, “no light nonsense about her,” who has become “dry and sandy with working in the graves of deceased languages.”

Blithedale (blīth´dāl) Romance, The.—A story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, founded on the author’s experience as a member of the Brook Farm community. “Its predominant idea,” says R. H. Hutton, “is to delineate the deranging effect of an absorbing philanthropic idea on a powerful mind; the unscrupulous sacrifices of personal claims which it induces, and the misery in which it ends. There is scarcely one incident in the tale properly so called except the catastrophe.”

Blowzelinda (blou-ze-lin´dä), or Blowsalinda (blou-za-lin´dä).—Shepherd’s Week, John Gay. The country girl, heroine of this pastoral poem, written more than one hundred and fifty years ago, but quoted as a picture of the poverty and rudeness of rural life at that time.

Bobadil (bob´a-dil), Captain.—Every Man in His Humor, Jonson. A boasting coward, who passes himself off with young and simple people for a Hector.

Bœuf, Front de (beuf, fron du).—Ivanhoe, Scott. One of King John’s followers. A ferocious scoundrel.

Bois-Guilbert (bwa´gel-bär´), Brian de.—Ivanhoe, Scott. A brave but cruel, crafty, and dissolute commander of the Knights Templar.

Boniface (bon´i-fās).—The Beaux’s Stratagem, Farquhar. A fine representation of an English landlord. Hence applied to landlords generally.

Bontemps (bôn-ton´), Roger.—Song, Beranger. Known in France as the personification of care-free leisure. The equivalent, among the French peasantry, for the English proverb, “There’s a good time coming,” is Roger Bontemps. This one of Beranger’s most celebrated songs was written in 1814.

Bottom, Nick.—A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare. A man who fancies he can do everything, and do it better than anyone else. Shakespeare has drawn him as profoundly ignorant and with an overflow of self-conceit. Oberon, the fairy king, desiring to punish Titania, his queen, commissioned Puck to watch her till she fell asleep, and then to anoint her eyelids with the juice of a plant called “love-in-idleness,” the effect of which, when she awoke, was to make her dote upon Bottom, upon whom Puck had fixed an ass’s head.

Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Le (bōōr-zhwä´ zhon-tē-yōm´ lû).—A comedy by Molière, with music by Lulli, produced in 1670. The hero is a tradesman, M. Jourdain, who is ambitious to marry his daughter to a titled husband.

Bowling, Tom.—Roderick Random, Smollett. A name made almost famous as hero of the novel. Critics have said, “The character of Tom Bowling, in Roderick Random will be regarded in all ages as a happy exhibition of those naval heroes to whom Britain is indebted for so much of her happiness and glory.” The Tom Bowling referred to in Dibdin’s famous sea song was Captain Thomas Dibdin, brother of Charles Dibdin, who wrote the song.

Boz (boz), Sketches by.—By Charles Dickens. They were the first of their class. Dickens was the first to unite the delicately playful thread of Charles Lamb’s street musings—half experiences, half bookish fantasies—with the vigorous wit and humor and observation of Goldsmith’s Citizen of the World, his Indigent Philosopher, and Man in Black, and twine them together in the golden cord of essay, which combines literature with philosophy, humor with morality, amusement with instruction. The most powerful and popular of the sketches are probably those entitled, A Visit to Newgate, The Drunkard’s Death, Election for Beadle, Greenwich Fair, and Miss Evans at the Eagle.

Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists.—Miscellaneous sketches, in fiction and essay, by Washington Irving, published in 1822.

Brag, Jack.—Jack Brag, Theodore Hook. Hero of the novel and a spirited embodiment of the arts employed by a vulgar pretender to creep into aristocratic society, and of his ultimate discomfiture. General Burgoyne figures in an old ballad known as Sir Jack Brag.

Bramble, Matthew.—Humphrey Clinker, Smollett. Noted character in the novel described as “an odd kind of humorist,” afflicted with the gout, and “always on the fret,” but full of generosity and benevolence.

Brass, Sally, and Sampson.—Old Curiosity Shop, Dickens. Brother and sister, well mated, he a shystering lawyer and she getting ahead of him in villainy. Sampson was dishonest, sentimental, and affected in manner, and both are interesting characters to read about.

Brentford (brent´fōrd), The Two Kings of.—The Rehearsal, Villiers. Much question has been raised as to who was to be ridiculed under these characters. The royal brothers, Charles II. and James II., have been suggested; others say the fighting kings of Granada. In the farce the two kings are represented as walking hand in hand, as dancing together and singing in concert.

Briana (brī-ā´nä).—Spenser’s Faërie Queene. The lady of a castle who demanded for toll the locks of every lady and the beard of every knight that passed. This toll was established because Sir Crudor, with whom she was in love, refused to marry her till she had provided him with human hair sufficient to purfle a mantle with. Sir Crudor, having been overthrown in knightly combat by Sir Calidore, who refused to give the passage pay, is made to release Briana from the condition imposed on her, and Briana swears to discontinue the discourteous toll.

Brick, Jefferson.—In Dickens’ Martin Chuzzlewit. A very weak, pale young man, the war correspondent of the New York Rowdy Journal, of which Colonel Diver was editor.

Bride of Abydos, The.—A Turkish tale, told in octosyllabic verse by Lord Byron, and published in 1813. It is in two cantos, and opens with the well-known song imitated from Goethe, beginning: “Know ye the land where the cypress and myrtle.” The name of the “bride” is Zuleika, and that of her lover, Selim.

Bride of Lammermoor, The.—A romance of Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819, and characterized as a tragedy of the highest order, uniting excellence of plot with Scott’s usual merits of character and description.

Brook Farm.—The full name was “Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education,” a stock company of nearly seventy members, located on a farm of two hundred acres at West Roxbury, Mass. Among the members were George Ripley, Charles A. Dana, George William Curtis, Margaret Fuller and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Among their frequent visitors were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Theodore Parker, Bronson Alcott. This idyllic life lasted about five years, from 1841 to 1846. Brook Farm was a financial failure but it was important in intellectual results. Hawthorne has written the story of the experiment in Blithedale Romance.

Brown, Tom.—Tom Brown’s School Days and Tom Brown at Oxford, Thomas Hughes. The hero of these stories of school days, a typical English schoolboy and undergraduate.

Brunhild (brön´hild).—Nibelungenlied. The story of Brunhild holds large place in ancient German romance. She was, herself, a warrior, proud and skillful, and she promised to be the bride of the man who could conquer her in three trials, in hurling the lance, in throwing the stone, and in leaping after the stone when thrown. By the arts and bravery of Siegfried, she was deluded into marrying Gunther, king of Burgundy; but, discovering the trick, she planned and accomplished the destruction of Siegfried, and the humiliation of Chriemhild, his wife.

Bumble, Mr.—Oliver Twist, Dickens. A pompous, disagreeable beadle, who figures largely in the beginning of the story. The name Bumble has since attached itself to the office.

Bunsby (bunz´bi), Jack.—Dombey and Son, Dickens. A commander of a ship looked up to as an oracle by his friend Captain Cuttle. He is described as wearing a “rapt and imperturbable manner,” and seeming to be “always on the lookout for something in the extremest distance.”

Bunthorne (bun´thôrn).—Patience, Sullivan. A gloomy poet showing most distinctly in his gloom surrounded by the characters of a comic opera. He was inserted as a satire on the æsthetic craze, turning into ridicule the imitators of Rossetti.

Burchell (ber´chel), Mr.—Vicar of Wakefield, Goldsmith. A prominent character who passes himself off as a poor man, but is really a baronet in disguise. He is noted for his habit of crying out “Fudge!” by way of expressing his strong contempt for the opinions of others.

Burd Helen.—Scotch Ballad. A traditional name standing for constancy. She was carried to England by fairies and imprisoned in a castle. The youngest brother of the fair Burd Helen was guided by the enchanter Merlin and accomplished the perilous task of rescuing his sister. This is recited in the line “Childe Rowland to the dark tower came,” quoted by Shakespeare. Only a fragment of the old ballad has been preserved.

Buskin.—Tragedy. The Greek tragic actors used to wear a sandal some two or three inches thick, to elevate their stature. To this sole was attached a very elegant buskin.

Buzfuz, (buz´fuz) Serjeant.—Pickwick Papers, Dickens. A pompous, chaffing lawyer, who bullies Mr. Pickwick and the witnesses in the famous breach of promise suit, Bardell vs. Pickwick.

Byfield.—A New England parish, the scene of an historical novel by John Lewis Ewell. Here lived the ancestor of Longfellow to whom the poet dedicated The Village Blacksmith, himself a blacksmith, keeping his accounts in peculiar orthography. According to the deed of sale in 1681, the Byfield Indians got a larger price from the first English settlers than was paid for Manhattan Island.

C

Caius (kā´yus), Doctor.—Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare. A physician in the comedy who adds a touch of humor. He is most conspicuous as the lover of Anne Page.

Calandrino (kä-län-drē´nō).—A simpleton frequently introduced in Boccaccio’s Decameron; expressly made to be befooled and played upon. His mishaps, as Macaulay states, “have made all Europe merry for more than four centuries.”

Caleb.—(1) The enchantress who carried off St. George in infancy. (2) A character in Dryden’s satire of Absalom and Achitophel, meant for Lord Grey, one of the adherents of the Duke of Monmouth.

Caleb Quotem.—A parish clerk or jack-of-all-trades, in Coleman’s play The Review, or Ways of Windsor. Coleman borrowed the character from Throw Physic to the Dogs, an old farce.

Caliban (kal´i-ban).—A savage and deformed slave of Prospero in Shakespeare’s Tempest. He is represented as being the “freckled whelp” of Sycorax, a foul hag, who was banished from Argier (or Algiers) to the desert island afterward inhabited by Prospero. From his rude, uncouth language we get the phrase “Caliban style,” “Caliban speech,” meaning the coarsest possible use of words.

Calidore (kal´i-dōr).—A knight in Spenser’s Faërie Queene, typical of courtesy, and said to be intended for a portrait of Sir Philip Sidney.

Calista.—The name of a celebrated character in Rowe’s Fair Penitent.

Callipolis (ka-lip´o-lis).—Battle of Alcazar, George Peele. A character in the Battle of Alcazar, used by Sir Walter Scott and others as a synonym for lady-love, sweetheart, charmer. Sir Walter always spells the word Callipolis, but Peele calls it Calipolis.

Calydon (kal´i-don).—A forest celebrated in the romances relating to King Arthur and Merlin.

Camaralzaman, Prince.—Arabian Nights.—One of the stories of the Arabian Nights and the name of a prince who fell in love with Badoura, princess of China, the moment he saw her.

Camancho (kä-mä´chō).—Don Quixote, Cervantes. A character in an episode in Don Quixote, who gets cheated out of his bride after having made great preparations for their wedding.

Camballo (kam-bal´o), or Cambel.—Faërie Queene, Spenser. A brother of Candace. He challenged every suitor to his sister’s hand, and overthrew all except Triamond, who married the lady.

Cambalu.—In the Voyages of Marco Polo the chief city of the province of Cathay.

Cambuscan (kam-bus-kan´, or kam-bus´kan).—A Tartar king identical with Genghis Khan. The king of the Far East sent Cambuscan a “steed of brass, which, between sunrise and sunset, would carry its rider to any spot on the earth.” All that was required was to whisper the name of the place in the horse’s ear, mount upon his back, and turn a pin set in his ear. When the rider had arrived at the place required, he had to turn another pin, and the horse instantly descended, and, with another screw of the pin, vanished till it was again required. This story is begun by Chaucer in the Squire’s Tale, but was never finished.

Camelot (kam´e-lot).—A parish in Somersetshire, England (now called Queen’s Camel), where King Arthur is said to have held his court. In this place there are still to be seen vast intrenchments of an ancient town or station—called by the inhabitants “King Arthur’s Palace.”

Camilla (ka-mil´ä).—(1) The virgin queen of the Volscians, famous for her fleetness of foot. She aided Turnus against Æneas. (2) Wife of Anselmo of Florence in Don Quixote. Anselmo, in order to rejoice in her incorruptible fidelity, induced his friend Lothario to try to corrupt her. This he did, and Camilla was not trial-proof, but fell. Anselmo for a time was kept in the dark, but at the end Camilla eloped with Lothario. Anselmo died of grief, Lothario was slain in battle, and Camilla died in a convent.

Camille (kä-mēl´).—(1) In Corneille’s tragedy of Les Horaces. When her brother meets her and bids her congratulate him for his victory over the three curiatii, she gives utterance to her grief for the death of her lover. Horace says, “What! can you prefer a man to the interests of Rome?” Whereupon Camille denounces Rome, and concludes with these words: “Oh, that it were my lot!” (2) Whitehead dramatized the subject and called it The Roman Father.

Canace (kan´a-se).—Faërie Queene, Spenser. A paragon among women, the daughter of King Cambuscan, to whom the king of the East sent as a present a mirror and a ring. The mirror would tell the lady if any man on whom she set her heart would prove true or false, and the ring (which was to be worn on her thumb) would enable her to understand the language of birds and to converse with them. Canace was courted by a crowd of suitors, but her brother gave out that anyone who pretended to her hand must encounter him in single combat and overthrow him. She ultimately married Triamond, son of the fairy, Agapë.

Candide (käN-dēd´), ou l’Optimisme (ōō lop-tē-mēzm´).—A philosophical novel by Voltaire, published in 1759. It is named from its hero, who bears all the worst ills of life with a cool, philosophical indifference, laughing at its miseries. Written ostensibly to ridicule philosophical optimism, and on the spur given to pessimist theories by the Lisbon earthquake, Candide is really as comprehensive as it is desultory. Religion, political government, national peculiarities, human weakness, ambition, love, loyalty—all come in for the unfailing sneer. The moral, wherever there is a moral, is, “Be tolerant, and cultivez vôtre jardin”; that is to say, Do whatsoever work you have to do diligently.

Candor, Mrs.—A most energetic slanderer in Sheridan’s School for Scandal.

Canterbury Tales, The, by Geoffrey Chaucer, consist of a Prologue and twenty-four narratives of which only two, Chaucer’s Tales of Melibœus and The Parson’s Tale, are in prose, the remainder being written in couplets of ten syllables, which have laid the foundation for the most popular form of English verse.

The plan of the poem is as follows: The author supposes that, on the evening before he starts on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas-à-Becket, at Canterbury, he stops at the Tabard Inn, in Southwark, where he finds himself in the midst of a company of twenty-one, of all ranks and ages and both sexes, who are also bound for the same destination. After supper, the host of Tabard, Harry Baillie by name, proposes that, to beguile the journey there and back, the pilgrims shall each of them tell two tales as they come and go; and that he who by the general voice shall have told his story best, shall, on their return to the hostelry, be treated to a supper at the common cost. This is agreed to with acclamation; and, accordingly, the pilgrims start next morning on their way, listening, as they ride, to the heroic tale of the brave and gentle knight who has been chosen to narrate the first tale.

It will be understood that Chaucer does not profess to give to the world all the stories told. As a matter of fact, he gives only twenty-four, of which two have been already named, the remainder being those told by the Knight, the Miller, the Reeve, the Cook, the Man of Law, the Wife of Bath, the Friar, the Sompnour, the Clerk, the Squire, the Franklin, the Doctor, the Pardoner, the Shipman, the Prioress, the Monk, the Nun’s Priest, the second Nun, the Canon’s Yeoman, the Manciple, and Chaucer himself (Sir Topas). Unfinished, as it is, however, the poem was immensely popular, even in the author’s time; and it was one of the first books that was issued from the press of Caxton, probably in 1475.

Caora (kä´ō-rä).—Description of Guiana, Raleigh. A river on the banks of which are a people whose heads grow beneath their shoulders. Their eyes are in their shoulders, and mouths in the middle of their breasts. The original picture is found in Hakluyt’s Voyages, 1598.

Capulet (kap´ū-let).—The head of a noble Veronese house in Shakespeare’s tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, hostile to the house of Montague. He is at times self-willed and tyrannical, but a jovial and testy old man.

Capulet, Lady.—The proud and stately wife of Capulet, and mother of Juliet.

Caradoc (kar´a-dok).—A knight of the Round Table. Also, in history, the British chief whom the Romans called Caractacus. Caradoc is the hero of an old ballad entitled The Boy and the Mantle.

Carker (kär´ker).—A scoundrelly clerk in Dickens’ Dombey and Son.

Carton, Sidney.—A hero transformed by unselfish love in Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities. He voluntarily goes to the guillotine to save his successful rival in love.

Casca (kas´kä).—Julius Cæsar, Shakespeare. A blunt-witted Roman, one of the conspirators against Julius Cæsar.

Cassandra (ka-san´drä).—A daughter of Priam, king of Troy, gifted with the power of prophecy; but Apollo, whom she had offended, brought it to pass that no one believed her predictions. Shakespeare makes use of this character in Troilus and Cressida.

Cassibelan.—Great uncle to Cymbeline, in Shakespeare’s play by that name.

Cassio (kash´iō).—A Florentine, and lieutenant of Othello, and a tool of Iago, in Shakespeare’s tragedy of Othello. Iago made Cassio drunk, and then set on Roderigo to quarrel with him. Cassio wounded Roderigo. Othello suspended Cassio, but Iago induced Desdemona to plead for his restoration. This interest in Cassio confirmed the jealous rage of Othello to murder Desdemona and kill himself. After the death of Othello, Cassio was appointed governor of Cyprus.

Castle Dangerous.—A keep belonging to the Douglas family, which gives its name to one of Sir Walter Scott’s Tales of My Landlord. It was so called by the English because it was always retaken from them by the Douglas.

Castle of Indolence.—The title of a poem by Thomson, and the name of a castle, described in it as situated in a pleasing land of drowsiness, where every sense was steeped in the most luxurious and enervating delights.

Castlewood, Beatrix.—The heroine of Thackeray’s novel Henry Esmond, a picture of splendid, lustrous, physical beauty.

Caudle, Mrs. Margaret.—The feigned author of a series of curtain lectures by Douglas Jerrold, published in Punch, purporting to be the lectures delivered by Mrs. Margaret Caudle to her patient husband, Job Caudle, between the hours of ten at night and seven in the morning.

Cauline, Sir.—A knight in Percy’s Reliques, who served the wine to the king of Ireland. He fell in love with Christabelle, the king’s daughter, and she became his troth-plight wife, without her father’s knowledge. When the king knew of it, he banished Sir Cauline. After a time the soldain asked the lady in marriage, but Sir Cauline challenged his rival and slew him. He himself, however, died of the wounds he had received, and the Lady Christabelle, out of grief, “burst her gentle hearte in twayne.”

Cecilia, St.—A patron saint of the blind, also patroness of musicians, and “inventor of the organ.” According to tradition, an angel fell in love with her for her musical skill, and used nightly to visit her.

Celadon (sel´a-don) and Amelia.—Lovers of matchless beauty and most devoted to each other. Being overtaken by a thunderstorm, Amelia became alarmed, but Celadon, folding his arm about her, said, “’Tis safety to be near thee, sure”; but while he spoke Amelia was struck by lightning and fell dead in his arms.

Celia.—Faërie Queene, Spenser. (1) Mother of Faith, Hope and Charity. She was herself known as Heavenliness and lived in the hospices Holiness. (2) Celia, cousin to Rosalind in Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It. Celia is a common poetical name for a lady or a lady-love.

Chadband (chad´band), The Rev.—A clerical character in Dickens’ Bleak House. He will always stand as a type of hypocritical piety.

Chanticleer (chan´ti-klēr).—The cock in the tale of Reynard the Fox, and in Chaucer’s Nonne Prestes Tale.

Charlemagne (chär´le-män).—The romance of Charlemagne and his paladins is of French origin, as the romances of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is of Celtic or Welsh origin. According to one tradition Charlemagne is not dead, but waits, crowned and armed, in Odenberg, near Saltzburg, till the time of the antichrist, when he will wake up and deliver Christendom. According to another tradition, Charlemagne appears in seasons of plenty. He crosses the Rhine on a golden bridge, and blesses both cornfields and vineyards.

Charmian (chär´mi-an).—A kind-hearted but simple-minded female attendant on Cleopatra in Shakespeare’s play of Antony and Cleopatra.

Cheeryble (chēr´i-bl) Brothers, The.—A firm of benevolent London merchants in Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby.

Chery and Fair-Star.—Countess d’Aulnoy’s Fairy Tales. Two children of royal birth, whom their father’s brothers and their mother’s sisters cast out to sea; they are found and brought up by a corsair and his wife. Ultimately they are told of their birth by a green bird and marry each other. A similar tale is found in The Arabian Nights.

Chibiabos.—The musician in Longfellow’s Hiawatha, personifying harmony in nature.

Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.—A poem, in the Spenserian stanza, by Lord Byron. It consists of four cantos, of which the first and second were published in 1812, the third in 1816, and the fourth in 1818; and the preface to the first two cantos contained the following explanation of the origin and purpose of the poem.

“It was written,” says Lord Byron, “for the most part, amid the scenes which it attempts to describe. It was begun in Albania; and the parts relative to Spain and Portugal were composed from the author’s observations in those countries.... the scenes attempted to be sketched are in Spain, Portugal, Epirus, Acarnania, and Greece (the third canto describes scenes in Belgium, Switzerland, and the Valley of the Rhine; and canto four is chiefly occupied with Rome).... A fictitious character is introduced for the sake of giving some connection to the piece, which, however, makes no pretensions to regularity. It has been suggested to me by friends, on whose opinion I set a high value, that in this fictitious character, Childe Harold, I may incur the suspicion of having intended some real personage; this I beg leave, once for all, to disclaim. Harold is the creation of imagination, for the purpose I have stated. In some trivial particulars, and those merely local, there might be grounds for such a notion; but in the main points, I should hope, none whatever. It is almost superfluous to mention that the appellation ‘Childe’ is used as more consonant with the old structure of versification which I have adopted.”

Children in the Wood.—Two characters in an ancient and well-known ballad entitled The Children in the Wood, or The Norfolk Gent’s Last Will and Testament. This is said to be a disguised recital of the alleged murder of his nephews by Richard III.

Chillingly, Kenelm.—The hero in a novel by this name by Bulwer.

Chillon (shē-yôn), The Prisoner of.—A poem by Lord Byron, founded on the story of Francois de Bonnivard, the hero of Genevan independence, and published in 1816. Bonnivard was born in 1496, and died in 1571. An account of his life, in France, is prefixed to the poem.

Chingachgook.—A sagamore of the Mohicans and father of Uncas, in Cooper’s Leather-Stocking Tales.

Chloe (klō´ē).—Daphnis and Chloe, Longus. (1) The shepherdess loved by Daphne. (2) Paul and Virginia by St. Pierre is founded on this romance. (3) Chloe is also a shepherdess in Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

Chœreas.—The lover of Callirrhoë, in Chariton’s Greek romance.

Chriemhild, or Kriemhild (krēm´hild).—The heroine of the German epic poem, the Nibelungenlied. She is represented as a woman of the rarest grace and beauty, and rich beyond conception. By the treacherous murder of her husband she is transformed into a furious creature of revenge. For plot of this epic cycle, see “Kriemhild.”

Christabel (kris´ta-bel).—(1) The subject and heroine of an old romance by Sir Eglamour of Artois. (2) The heroine of an ancient ballad Sir Cauline. (3) The lady in Coleridge’s poem Christabel.

Christian (kris´tian).—The hero of John Bunyan’s allegory Pilgrim’s Progress. He flees from the “City of Destruction,” and journeys to the “Celestial City.” He starts with a heavy burden on his back, but it falls off when he stands at the foot of the cross. All his trials on the way are depicted.

Christiana (kris-tē-ä´nä).—The wife of Christian, who, starting with her children and Mercy from the “City of Destruction,” forms the subject of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, part II. She was placed under the guidance of Mr. Great-Heart, and met her husband at the Celestial City.

Christmas Carol, A.—A ghost story of Christmas, by Charles Dickens, published in 1843, with illustrations by John Leech. “We are all charmed,” wrote Lord Jeffrey to the author, “with your Carol, chiefly, I think, for the genuine goodness which breathes all through it, and is the true inspiring angel by which its genius has been awakened. The whole scene of the Cratchits is like the dream of a benevolent angel, in spite of its broad reality, and little Tiny Tim in life and death almost as sweet and touching as Nelly.”

Christmas Eve.—A poem by Robert Browning, in which, “after following through a long course of reflection the successive phases of religious belief, he arrives at the certainty that, however confused be the vision of Christ, where His love is, there is the Life; and that, the more direct the revelation of that Love, the deeper and more vital is its power.”

Christopher, St.—The giant that carried a child over a brook, and said, “Chylde, thou has put me in grete peryll. I might bere no greater burden.” The Chylde was the Christ and the burden was the “Sin of the World.” This has been a favorite theme for painters.

Chrysalde (krē-zäld´).—A character in Molière’s L’Ecole des Femmes; a friend of Arnolphe.

Chrysale (krē-zäl´).—An honest, simple-minded, henpecked tradesman, in the same comedy by Molière.

Chuzzlewit, Martin.—The hero of Dickens’ novel of the same name. The story is remarkable for the attention it directed to the system of ship hospitals and to the workhouse nurses whose prototype in Sarah Gamp has become famous all over the world.

Chuzzlewit, Jonas.—A miser and a murderer, the opposite type of character from Martin.

Cimmerians (si-mē´ri-anz).—A people described by Homer dwelling “beyond the ocean stream,” in a land where the sun never shines.

Cinderella.—Heroine of a fairy tale. She is the drudge of the house, while her elder sisters go to fine balls. At length a fairy enables her to go to the prince’s ball; the prince falls in love with her, and she is discovered by means of a glass slipper which she drops, and which will fit no foot but her own. She is represented as returning good for evil and heaping upon her half-sisters every kindness a princess can show.

Cipango (si-pang´gō).—A marvelous island, described in the Voyages of Marco Polo, the Venetian traveler. It is represented as lying in the Eastern seas, some one thousand five hundred miles from land, and of its beauty and wealth many stories are related. Columbus made a diligent search for this island.

Clärchen (klār´chen).—A female character in Goethe’s Egmont, noted for her constancy and devotion.

Clare, Ada.—The wife of Carstone, and one of the most important characters in Dickens’ Bleak House.

Clavileño (klä-vē-lān´yō), El Alígero.—The wooden horse on which Don Quixote got astride in order to disenchant the Infanta Antonomasia, her husband, and the Countess Trifaldi. It was “the very horse on which Peter of Provence carried off the fair Magalona, and was constructed by Merlin.” This horse was called Clavileño, or Wooden Peg, because it was governed by a wooden pin in the forehead.

Cléante (klā-ont´).—Brother-in-law of Orgon in Molière’s Tartuffe. He is distinguished for his genuine piety, and is both high-minded and compassionate. The same name occurs in two other plays by Molière.

Cleishbotham (klēsh´boTH-am), Jedediah.—Schoolmaster and parish clerk of Gandercleuch, who employed his assistant teacher to arrange and edit the tales told by the landlord of the Wallace inn of the same parish. These tales the editor disposed in three series, called by the general title of The Tales of My Landlord. Of course the real author is Sir Walter Scott.

Clementina, Lady.—A beautiful and accomplished woman, deeply in love with Sir Charles Grandison, in Richardson’s novel of this name.

Cleon (klē´on).—(1) In Shakespeare’s Pericles, governor of Tarsus, burned to death with his wife Dionysia by the enraged citizens, to revenge the supposed murder of Marina, daughter of Pericles, prince of Tyre. (2) The personification of glory in Spenser’s Faërie Queene.

Clifford, Paul.—An attractive highwayman and an interesting hero in Bulwer’s novel by the same name. He is familiar with the haunts of low vice and dissipation, but afterward is reformed and elevated by the power of love.

Clinker, Humphrey.—A novel by Smollett. The hero, by the same name, a philosophic youth, meets many adventures. Brought up in the workhouse, put out by the parish as apprentice to a blacksmith, he was afterward employed as a hostler’s assistant. Having been dismissed from the stable, and reduced to great want, he at length attracts the notice of Mr. Bramble who takes him into his family as a servant. He becomes the accepted lover of Winifred Jenkins, and at length turns out to be a natural son of Mr. Bramble.

Cloten (klō´ten).—A rejected lover of Imogen, in Shakespeare’s play of Cymbeline.

Clorinda (klō-rin´dä).—Jerusalem Delivered, Tasso. Clorinda, the heroine of this poem, is represented as an Amazon inspiring the most tender affection in others, especially in the Christian chief Tancred; yet she is herself susceptible of no passion but the love of military fame.