Chapter I: Part 1
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CHARACTER SKETCHES OF ROMANCE, FICTION AND THE DRAMA::::
A REVISED AMERICAN EDITION
OF THE READER’S HANDBOOK
BY
THE REV. E. COBHAM BREWER, LL.D.
EDITED BY
MARION HARLAND
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VOLUME II
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NEW YORK SELMAR HESS PUBLISHER
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MDCCCXCII
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Copyright, 1892, by
SELMAR HESS.
PHOTOGRAVURES PRINTED ON THE
HESS PRESS.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
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VOLUME II.
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PHOTOGRAVURES AND ETCHINGS.
_Illustration_ _Artist_ LA CIGALE (_colored_) E. METZMACHER _Frontispiece_ FATES (THE) PAUL THUMANN 6 GABRIEL AND EVANGELINE FRANK DICKSEE 56 GANYMEDE F. KIRCHBACH 64 HAMLET AND THE GRAVEDIGGER P.A.J. DAGNAN-BOUVERET 140 HAMLET AND HIS FATHER’S GHOST E. VON HOFFTEN 142 HERODIAS BENJAMIN CONSTANT 172 LORELEI (THE) W. KRAY 340
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WOOD ENGRAVINGS AND TYPOGRAVURES. FALSTAFF AND MRS. FORD. 2 FARIA ENTERS DANTES’S CELL JANET LANGE 4 FATIMA AND ANNA GUSTAVE DORÉ 8 FATINITZA ADRIEN MARIE 10 FATMÉ N. SICHEL 12 FAUNTLEROY (LITTLE LORD) F. M. SPIEGLE 14 FAUST AND MARGARET IN THE GARDEN GABRIEL MAX 16 FITZJAMES AND RODERICK DHU J. B. MCDONALD 22 FITZWALTER (ALURED) AND ROSE HIS WIFE BEAR HOME THE FLITCH OF BACON;—JOHN GILPIN THOMAS STOTHARD 24 FLAVIO AND HILARIA 26 FLORESTAN SAVED BY LEONORA EUGEN KLIMSCH 30 FRANZ, ADELAIDE AND THE BISHOP OF BAMBERG CARL BECKER 46 FRITHIOF AND INGEBORG R. BENDEMANN 50 FRITHIOF AT THE COURT OF KING RING FERD. LEEKE 52 FROU-FROU GEORGES CLAIRIN 54 GAMP (SAIREY) FREDERICK BARNARD 60 GANN (CAROLINE), THE LITTLE SISTER FREDERICK BARNARD 62 GARRICK (DAVID) AS ABEL DRUGGER JOHANN ZOFFANY 66 GAUTHIER (MARGUÉRITE), LA DAME AUX CAMÉLIAS 68 GAVROCHE E. BAYARD 70 GHENT TO AIX (HOW WE BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM) 78 GILDA AND RIGOLETTO HERMANN KAULBACH 86 GLAUCUS AND NYDIA W. E. LOCKHART 94 GOBBO (LAUNCELOT) 98 GODIVA J. VON LERIUS 100 GRACCHI (THE MOTHER OF THE) SCHOPIN 108 GRASSHOPPER (THE) AND THE ANT J. G. VIBERT 112 GREY (LADY JANE), EXECUTION OF PAUL DELAROCHE 118 GULLIVER CHAINED J. G. VIBERT 130 GUNTHER (KING) B. GUTH 132 HADWIG (FRAU) INTO THE CONVENT, EKKEHARD BRINGING CARL VON BLAAS 134 HAIDÉE 136 HALIFAX (JOHN) SAVING THE BANK J. NASH 138 HARLOWE (CLARISSA) C. LANDSEER 144 HAROLD (EDITH FINDING THE BODY OF) 146 HAROLD (KING) AND THE ELFINS ALBERT TSCHAUTSCH 148 HATTERAICK (DIRK) AND MEG MERRILEES J.B. MCDONALD 150 HEBE CANOVA 154 HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE A. MAIGNAN 156 HEEP (URIAH) FREDERICK BARNARD 158 HELEN (THE ABDUCTION OF) R. VON DEUTSCH 160 HELOISE GLEYRE 163 HENRY THE EIGHTH AND ANNE BOLEYN C. VON PILOTY 164 HERMANN AND DOROTHEA W. VON KAULBACH 166 HERMIONE 168 HERO AND LEANDER FERDINAND KELLER 170 HETTY (DINAH AND) 174 HIPPOLYTUS (DEATH OF) RUBENS 176 HOFER (ANDREAS) AT INNSBRUCK FRANZ VON DEFREGGER 178 HOP-O’-MY-THUMB GUSTAVE DORÉ 182 HORATII (THE OATH OF THE) L. DAVID 184 HYPATIA A. SEIFERT 198 IANTHE 200 ILSE IN THE FARM-STABLE PAUL MEYERHEIM 202 IMMO AND HILDEGARD HERMANN KAULBACH 204 IMOGEN IN THE CAVE T. GRAHAM 206 INGOMAR (PARTHENIA AND) G. H. SWINSTEAD 212 IPHIGENIA EDMUND KANOLDT 214 IRENE AND KLEA E. TESCHENDORFF 216 ISABELLA AND THE POT OF BASIL HOLMAN HUNT 218 ISABELLE OF CROYE AND CHARLES OF BURGUNDY (INTERVIEW BETWEEN) A. ELMORE 220 JINGLE (ALFRED) FREDERICK BARNARD 240 JOAN OF ARC EMMANUEL FRÉMIET 242 JOHN OF LEYDEN FERDINAND KELLE 248 JOURDAIN (MONSIEUR) AND NICOLE C.R. LESLIE 250 JUAN (DON) IN THE BARQUE EUGÈNE DELACROIX 252 KÄGEBEIN AND BODINUS CONRAD BECKMANN 256 LALLA ROOKH A. DE VALENTINE 292 LANCELOT AND ELAINE 294 LANTENAC AT THE STONE PILLAR G. BRION 296 LEAR (KING) AND THE FOOL GUSTAV SCHAUER 310 LECOUVREUR (ADRIENNE) AS CORNELIA ANTOINE COYPEL 312 LEIGH (SIR AMYAS) C. J. STANILAND 314 LEONORA AND FERDINANDO J. B. DUFFAUD 318 LOHENGRIN (ELSA AND) 336 LOUIS XI M. BAFFIER 342 LOUISE, THE GLEE-MAIDEN ROBERT HERDMAN 344
PREFACE.
An American reprint of “_The Reader’s Handbook of allusions, references, plots and stories, by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D., of Trinity Hall, Cambridge_,” has been for several years in the hands of cis-Atlantic students.
Too much praise cannot be awarded to the erudition and patient diligence displayed in the compilation of this volume of nearly twelve hundred pages. The breadth of range contemplated by the learned editor is best indicated in his own words:
“The object of this _Handbook_ is to supply readers and speakers with a lucid, but very brief account of such names as are used in allusions and references, whether by poets or prose writers;—to furnish those who consult it with the plot of popular dramas, the story of epic poems, and the outline of well-known tales. The number of dramatic plots sketched out is many hundreds. Another striking and interesting feature of the book is the revelation of the source from which dramatists and romancers have derived their stories, and the strange repetitions of historic incidents. It has been borne in mind throughout that it is not enough to state a fact. It must be stated attractively, and the character described must be drawn characteristically if the reader is to appreciate it, and feel an interest in what he reads.”
All that Dr. Brewer claims for his book is sustained by examination of it. It is nevertheless true that there is in it a mass of matter comparatively unattractive to the American student and to the general reader. Many of his “allusions” are to localities and neighborhood traditions that, however interesting to English people, seem to us trivial, verbose and inopportune, while he, whose chief object in the purchase of the work is to possess a popular encyclopædia of literature, is rather annoyed than edified by even an erudite author when his “talk is of oxen,” fish, flesh and fowl.
Furthermore, the _Handbook_ was prepared so long ago that the popular literature of the last dozen years is unrecorded; writers who now occupy the foremost places in the public eye not being so much as named.
In view of these and other drawbacks to the extended usefulness of the manual, the publishing-house whose imprint is upon the title-page of the present work, taking the stanch foundation laid by Dr. Brewer, have caused to be constructed upon it a work that, while retaining all of the original material that can interest and aid the English-speaking student, gives also “characters and sketches found in _American_ novels, poetry and drama.”
It goes without saying that in the attempt to do this, it was necessary to leave out a greater bulk of entertaining matter than could be wrought in upon the original design. The imagination of the compiler, to whose reverent hands the task was entrusted, recurred continually, while it was in progress, to the magnificent hyperbole of the sacred narrator—“The which, if they should be written, every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” Appreciation of the honor put upon her by the commission deepened into delight as the work went on—prideful delight in the richness and variety of our national literature. To do ample justice to every writer and book would have been impossible, but the leading works of every author of note have the honorable place. It is hoped that the company of “characters” introduced among _dramatis personæ_ of English and foreign classics, ancient and modern, will enliven pages that are already fascinating. Many names of English authors omitted from the _Handbook_ for the reason stated awhile ago, will also be found in their proper positions.
The compiler and editor of this volume would be ungrateful did she not express her sense of obligation for assistance received in the work of collecting lists of writers and books from “_The Library of American Literature_,” prepared by Mr. Edmund Clarence Stedman and Miss Ellen Hutchinson.
Besides this, and a tolerable degree of personal familiarity with the leading literature of her own land, her resort has been to the public libraries in New York City—notably, to _The Astor_ and _The Mercantile_. For the uniform courtesy she has received from those in charge of these institutions she herewith makes acknowledgement in the publisher’s name and in her own.
MARION HARLAND.
CHARACTER SKETCHES OF ROMANCE,
FICTION, AND THE DRAMA.
=Falkland=, an aristocratic gentleman, of a noble, loving nature, but the victim of false honor and morbid refinement of feeling. Under great provocation, he was goaded on to commit murder, but being tried was honorably acquitted, and another person was executed for the crime. Caleb Williams, a lad in Falkland’s service, accidently became acquainted with these secret facts, but, unable to live in the house under the suspicious eyes of Falkland, he ran away. Falkland tracked him from place to place, like a blood-hound, and at length arrested him for robbery. The true statement now came out, and Falkland died of shame and broken spirit. —W. Godwin, _Caleb Williams_ (1794).
⁂ This tale has been dramatized by G. Colman, under the title of _The Iron Chest_, in which Falkland is called “Sir Edward Mortimer,” and Caleb Williams is called “Wilford.”
=False One= (_The_), a tragedy by Beaumont and Fletcher (1619). The subject is the amours of Julius Caesar and Cleopat´ra.
=Falsetto= (_Signor_), a man who fawns on Fazio in prosperity, and turns his back on him when fallen into disgrace.—Dean Milman, _Fazio_ (1815).
=Falstaff= (_Sir John_), in _The Merry Wives of Windsor_, and in the two parts of _Henry IV._, by Shakespeare. In _Henry V._, his death is described by Mrs. Quickly, hostess of an inn in Eastcheap. In the comedy, Sir John is represented as making love to Mrs. Page, who “fools him to the top of his bent.” In the historic plays, he is represented as a soldier and a wit, the boon companion of “Mad-cap Hal” (the prince of Wales). In both cases, he is a mountain of fat, sensual, mendacious, boastful, and fond of practical jokes.
In the king’s army, “Sir John” was Captain, “Peto” Lieutenant, “Pistol” ancient [ensign], and “Bardolph” Corporal.
C.R. Leslie says: “Quin’s ‘Falstaff’ must have been glorious. Since Garrick’s time there have been more than one ‘Richard,’ ‘Hamlet,’ ‘Romeo,’ ‘Macbeth,’ and ‘Lear;’ but since Quin [1693-1766] only one 'Falstaff,' John Henderson [1747-1786].”
Falstaff, unimitated, inimitable, Falstaff, how shall I describe thee? Thou compound of sense and vice: of sense which may be admired, but not esteemed; of vice which may be despised, but hardly detested. “Falstaff ” is a character loaded with faults, and with those faults which naturally produce contempt. He is a thief and a glutton, a coward and a boaster, always ready to cheat the weak and prey upon the poor, to terrify the timorous and insult the defenceless. At once obsequious and malignant—yet the man thus corrupt, thus despicable, makes himself necessary to the prince by perpetual gaiety, and by unfailing power of exciting laughter.—Dr. Johnson.
=Fanciful= (_Lady_), a vain, conceited beauty, who calls herself “nice, strangely nice,” and says she was formed “to make the whole creation uneasy.” She loves Heartfree, a railer against women, and when he proposes marriage to Belinda, a rival beauty, spreads a most impudent scandal, which, however, reflects only on herself. Heartfree, who at one time was partly in love with her, says to her:
“Nature made you handsome, gave you beauty to a miracle, a shape without a fault, wit enough to make them relish ... but art has made you become the pity of our sex, and the jest of your own. There’s not a feature in your face but you have found the way to teach it some affected convulsion. Your feet, your hands, your very finger-ends, are directed never to move without some ridiculous air, and your language is a suitable trumpet to draw people’s eyes upon the raree-show” (act ii. 1).—Vanbrugh, _The Provoked Wife_ (1697).
=Fan-Fan=, _alias_ =Phelin O’Tug=, “a lolly-pop maker, and manufacturer of maids of honor to the court.” This merry, shy, and blundering elf, concealed in a bear-skin, makes love to Christine, the faithful attendant on the Countess Marie. Phelin O’Tug says his mother was too bashful ever to let him know her, and his father always kept in the back-ground.—E. Stirling, _The Prisoner of State_ (1847).
=Fang=, a bullying, insolent magistrate, who would have sent Oliver Twist to prison, on suspicion of theft, if Mr. Brownlow had not interposed on the boy’s behalf.—C. Dickens, _Oliver Twist_ (1837).
The original of this ill-tempered, bullying magistrate was Mr. Laing, of Hatton Garden, removed from the bench by the home secretary.—John Foster, _Life of Dickens_, iii. 4.
=Fang and Snare=, two sheriff’s officers.—Shakespeare, _2 Henry IV_ (1598).
=Fanny= (_Robin_). Country girl seduced under promise of marriage by Sergeant Troy. She dies with her child and is buried by Troy’s betrothed, who learns after her marriage the tale of Fanny’s wrongs.—T. Hardy, _Far from the Madding Crowd_ (1874).
_Fanny_ (_Lord_). So John Lord Hervey was usually called by the wits of the time, in consequence of his effeminate habits. His appearance was that of a “half-wit, half-fool, half-man, half-beau.” He used rouge, drank ass’s milk, and took Scotch pills (1694-1743).
Consult Lord Fanny, and confide in Curll [_publisher_]. Byron, _English Bards and Scotch Reviewers_ (1809).
_Fanny_ (_Miss_), younger daughter of Mr. Sterling, a rich City merchant. She was clandestinely married to Lovewell. “Gentle-looking, soft-speaking, sweet-smiling, and affable,” wanting “nothing but a crook in her hand and a lamb under her arm to be a perfect picture of innocence and simplicity.” Every one loved her, and as her marriage was a secret, Sir John Melvil and Lord Ogleby both proposed to her. Her marriage with Lovewell being ultimately made known, her dilemma was removed.—Colman and Garrick, _The Clandestine Marriage_ (1766).
=Fan´teries= (3 _syl._), foot-soldiers, infantry.
Five other bandes of English fanteries. G. Gascoigne, 1535-1577, _The Fruites of Warre_ (1575)
=Fantine=. Parisian girl, deserted by her lover and left to support her child as best she can. Her heroic self-devotion is one of the most interesting episodes of _Les Miserables_, a romance by Victor Hugo.
=Faquir´=, a religious anchorite, whose life is spent in the severest austerities and mortification.
He diverted himself, however ... especially with the Brahmins, faquirs, and other enthusiasts who had travelled from the heart of India, and halted on their way with the emir.—W. Beckford, _Vathek_ (1786).
=Farçeur= (_The_), Angelo Beolco, the Italian farce-writer. Called _Ruzzante_ in Italian, from _ruzzare_, “to play the fool” (1502-1542).
=Farina´ta= [DEGLI UBERTI], a noble Florentine, leader of the Ghibeline faction, and driven from his country in 1250 by the Guelfs (1 _syl._). Some ten years later by the aid of Manfred of Naples, he beat the Guelfs, and took all the towns of Tuscany and Florence. Danté conversed with him in the city of Dis, and represents him as lying in a fiery tomb yet open, and not to be closed till the last judgment day. When the council agreed to raze Florence to the ground, Farinata opposed the measure, and saved the city. Dantê refers to this:
Lo! Farinata ... his brow
Somewhat uplifted, cried ...
“In that affray [i.e. _at Montaperto, near the river Arbia_]
I stood not singly ...
But singly there I stood, when by consent
Of all, Florence had to the ground been razed,—
The one who openly forbade the deed.”
Dante, _Inferno_, x. (1300).
Like Farinata from his fiery tomb.
Longfellow, _Dante_.
=Farm-boy.=
“Over the hill the farm-boy goes,
His shadow lengthens along the land,
A giant staff in a giant hand.
In the poplar tree above the spring
The katydid begins to sing;
The early dews are falling.
* * * * *
And home to the woodland fly the crows,
While over the hill the farm-boy goes,
Cheerily calling,
‘Co’ boss! co’ boss! co’! co’! co’!’”
J.T. Trowbridge, _Evening at the Farm_ (1857).
=Farmer Finch=, girl who works her invalid father’s farm for him and makes it pay.—Sarah Orne Jewett, _Farmer Finch_.
=Farm-house= (_The_). Modely and Heartwell, two gentlemen of fashion, come into the country and receive hospitality from old Farmer Freehold. Here they make love to his daughter Aura and his niece Flora. The girls, being high-principled, convert the flirtation of the two guests into love, and Heartwell marries the niece, while Modely proposes to Aura, who accepts him, provided he will wait two months and remain constant to her.—John Philip Kemble.
=Farmer George=, George III.; so called because he was like a farmer in dress, manners, and tastes (1738-1820).
=Farmer’s Wife= (_The_), a musical drama by C. Dibdin (1780). Cornflower, a benevolent, high-minded farmer, having saved Emma Belton from the flames of a house on fire, married her, and they lived together in love and peace till Sir Charles Courtly took a fancy to Mrs. Cornflower, and abducted her. She was soon tracked, and as it was evident that she was no _particeps criminis_, she was restored to her husband, and Sir Charles gave his sister to Mrs. Cornflower’s brother in marriage as a peace-offering.
=Farnese Bull= [_Far.nay´.ze_], a colossal group of sculpture, attributed to Apollõnius and Tauriscus of Trallês, in Asia Minor. The group represents Dircê bound by Zethus and Amphi´on to the horns of a bull, for ill-using their mother. It was restored by Bianchi, in 1546, and placed in the Farnesê palace, in Italy.
=Farnese He´rcules= [_Far.nay´.ze_], a name given to Glykon’s copy of the famous statue by Lysippos (a Greek sculptor in the time of Alexander “the Great”). It represents Hercules leaning on his club, with one hand on his back. The Farnesê family became extinct in 1731.
=Fashion= (_Sir Brilliant_), a man of the world, who “dresses fashionably, lives fashionably, wins your money fashionably, loses his own fashionably, and does everything fashionably.” His fashionable asservations are, “Let me perish, if ...!” “May fortune eternally frown on me, if ...!” “May I never hold four by honors, if ...!” “May the first woman I meet strike me with a supercilious eyebrow, if ...!” and so on.—A. Murphy, _The Way to Keep Him_ (1760).
_Fashion_ (_Tom_), or “Young Fashion,” younger brother of Lord Foppington. As his elder brother did not behave well to him, Tom resolved to outwit him, and to this end introduced himself to Sir Tunbelly Clumsy and his daughter, Miss Hoyden, as Lord Foppington, between whom and the knight a negotiation of marriage had been carried on. Being established in the house, Tom married the heiress, and when the veritable lord appeared, he was treated as an impositor. Tom, however, explained his ruse, and as his lordship treated the knight with great contempt and quitted the house, a reconciliation was easily effected.—Sheridan, _A Trip to Scarborough_ (1777).
=Fashionable Lover= (_The_). Lord Abberville, a young man of 23 years of age, promises marriage to Lucinda Bridgemore, the vulgar, spiteful, purse-proud daughter of a London merchant, living in Fish Street Hill. At the house of this merchant Lord Abberville sees a Miss Aubrey, a handsome, modest, lady-like girl, with whom he is greatly smitten. He first tries to corrupt her, and then promises marriage; but Miss Aubrey is already engaged to a Mr. Tyrrel. The vulgarity and ill-nature of Lucinda being quite insurmountable, “the fashionable lover” abandons her, The chief object of the drama is to root out the prejudice which Englishmen at one time entertained against the Scotch, and the chief character is in reality Colin or Cawdie Macleod, a Scotch servant of Lord Abberville.—R. Cumberland (1780).
=Fastolfe= (_Sir John_), in _1 Henry VI_. This is not the “Sir John Falstaff” of huge proportions and facetious wit, but the Lieutenant-general of the duke of Bedford, and a knight of Garter.
Here had the conquest fully been sealed up
If Sir John Fastolfe had not played the coward:
He being in the vanward ...
Cowardly fled, not having struck one stroke.
Shakespeare, _1 Henry VI_. act i. sc. 1 (1589).
From this battell [_of Pataie, in France_] departed without anie stroke striken, Sir John Fastolfe.... The duke of Bedford tooke from him the image of St. George and his garter.—Holinshed, ii. 601.
=Fastra´da= or FASTRADE, daughter of Count Rudolph and Luitgarde. She was one of the nine wives of Charlemagne.
Those same soft bells at even-tide
Rang in the ears of Charlemagne,
As seated by Fastrada’s side,
At Ingelheim, in all his pride,
He heard their sound with secret pain.
Longfellow, _Golden Legend_, vi.
=Fat= (_The_). Alfonso II. of Portugal (1185, 1212-1223). Charles II. (_le Gros_) of France (832-882). Louis VI. (_le Gros_) of France (1078, 1108-1137).
Edward Bright of Essex weighed 44 stone (616 lbs.) at death (1720-1750). David Lambert of Leicester weighed above 52 stone (739 lbs.) at death (1770-1809).
=Fata Alci´na=, sister of Fata Morga´na. She carried off Astolfo on the back of a whale to her isle, but turned him into a myrtle tree when she tired of him.—Bojardo, _Orlando Innamorato_ (1495); Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
=Fata Ar´gea= (“_le reina della Fata_”), protectress Floridantê.
=Fata Falsire´na=, an enchantress in the _Adonê_ of Marini (1623).
=Fata della Fonti=, an enchantress, from whom Mandricardo obtained the arms of Hector.—Bojardo, _Orlando Innamorato_ (1495).
=Fata Morga´na=, sister of Arthur, and pupil of Merlin. She lived at the bottom of a lake, and dispensed her treasures to whom she willed. This fairy is introduced by Bojardo in his _Orlando Innamorato_, first as “Lady Fortune,” but subsequently as an enchantress. In Tasso her three daughters (Morganetta, Nivetta, and Carvilia) are introduced.
⁂ “Fata Morgana” is the name given to a sort of mirage occasionally seen in the Straits of Messi´na.
=Fata Nera and Fata Bianca=, protectresses of Guido´nê and Aquilantê.—Bojardo, _Orlando Innamorato_ (1495).
=Fata Silvanella=, an enchantress in _Orlando Innamorato_, by Bojardo (1495).
=Fatal Curiosity=, an epilogue in _Don Quixote_ (pt. I. iv. 5, 6). The subject of this tale is the trial of a wife’s fidelity. Anselmo, a Florentine gentleman, had married Camilla, and wishing to rejoice over her incorruptible fidelity, induced his friend Lothario to put it to the test. The lady was not trial-proof, but eloped with Lothario. The end was that Anselmo died of grief, Lothario was slain in battle, and Camilla died in a convent (1605).
_Fatal Curiosity_, by George Lillo. Young Wilmot, supposed to have perished at sea, goes to India, and having made his fortune, returns to England. He instantly visits Charlotte, whom he finds still faithful and devotedly attached to him, and then in disguise visits his parents, with whom he deposits a casket. Agnes Wilmot, out of curiosity, opens the casket, and when she discovers that it contains jewels, she and her husband resolve to murder the owner, and secure the contents of the casket. Scarcely have they committed the fatal deed, when Charlotte enters, and tells them it is their own son whom they have killed, whereupon old Wilmot first stabs his wife and then himself. Thus was the “curiosity” of Agnes fatal to herself, her husband, and her son (1736).
=Fatal Dowry= (_The_), a tragedy by Philip Massinger (1632). Rowe has borrowed much of his _Fair Penitent_ from this drama.
=Fatal Marriage= (_The_), a tragedy by Thomas Southern (1659-1746). Isabella, a nun, marries Biron, the eldest son of Count Baldwin. The count disinherits his son for this marriage, and Biron, entering the army, is sent to the siege of Candy, where he is seen to fall, and is reported dead. Isabella, reduced to the utmost poverty, after seven years of “widowhood,” prays Count Baldwin to do something for her child, but he turns her out of doors. Villeroy (2 _syl._) proposes marriage to her, and her acceptance of him was “the fatal marriage,” for the very next day Biron returns and is set upon by ruffians in the pay of his brother Carlos, who assassinate him. Carlos accuses Villeroy of the murder, but one of the ruffians confesses, and Carlos is apprehended. As for Isabella, she stabs herself and dies.
=Fat Boy= (_Jo._). Obese page, or foot-boy of Mr. Wardell in _Pickwick Papers_.—Charles Dickens.
=Fates.= _The three Fatal Sisters_ were Clo´tho, Lachesis [_Lak´.e.sis_]. and At´ropos. They dwelt in the deep abyss of Demogorgon, “with unwearied fingers drawing out the threads of life.” Clotho held the spindle or distaff; Lachesis drew out the thread; and Atropos cut it off.
Sad Clotho held the rock, the whiles the thread
By grisly Lachesis was spun with pain,
That cruel Atropos eftsoon undid,
With cursëd knife cutting the twist in twain.
Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, iv. 2. (1595).
=Father—Son.= It is a common observation that a father above the common rate of men has usually a son below it. Witness King John son of Henry II.; Edward II. son of Edward I.; Richard II. son of the Black Prince; Henry VI. son of Henry V.; Lord Chesterfield’s son, etc. So in French history: Louis VIII. was the son of Philippe _Auguste_; Charles _the Idiot_ was the son of Charles _le Sage_; Henri II. of François I. Again, in German history: Heinrich VI. was the son of Barbarossa; Albrecht I. of Rudolf; and so on, in all directions. _Heroum filii noxæ_ is a Latin proverb.
My trust,
Like a good parent, did beget of him
A falsehood, in its contrary as great
As my trust was.
Shakespeare, _The Tempest_, act i. sc. 2 (1609).
=Father Suckled by His own Daughter.= Euphrasia, called “The Grecian Daughter,” thus preserved the life of her father Evander in prison. (SEE EUPHRASIA.)
Xantippê thus preserved the life of her father Cimonos in prison.
=A Father’s Head Nursed by a Daughter after Death.= Margaret Roper “clasped in her last trance her murdered father’s head.” (SEE DAUGHTER.)
=Father of His Country.=
CICERO, who broke up the Catiline conspiracy (B.C. 106-43).
⁂ The Romans offered the same title to Marĭus after his annihilation of the Teutŏnês and Cimbri, but he would not accept it.
JULIUS CÆSAR, after he had quelled the Spanish insurrection (B.C. 100-44). AUGUSTUS, _P_ (B.C. 63-31 to A.D. 14).
COSMO DE MEDICI (1389-1464).
ANDREA DOREA; called so on his statue at Genoa (1468-1560).
ANDRONI´CUS PALÆOL´OGUS assumed the title (1260-1332).
GEORGE WASHINGTON, “Defender and Paternal Counseller of the American States” (1732-1799).
=Father of the People=.
LOUIS XII. of France (1462, 1498-1515).
HENRI IV. of France, “The Father and Friend of the People” (1553, 1589-1610).
LOUIS XVIII. of France (1755, 1814-1824).
GABRIEL DU PINEAU, a French lawyer, (1573-1644).
CHRISTIAN III. of Denmark (1502, 1534-1559).
⁂ For other “Fathers,” see under the specific name or vocation, as BOTANY, LITERATURE, and so on.
=Fathers= (_Last of the_), St. Bernard (1091-1153).
⁂ The “Fathers of the Church” were followed by “the Schoolmen.”
=Fatherless=. Merlin never had a father; his mother was a nun, the daughter of the king of Dimetia.
=Fathom= (_Ferdinand Count_), a villain who robs his benefactors, pillages any one, and finally dies in misery and despair.—T. Smollett, _The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom_ (1754).
(The gang being absent, an old beldame conveys the count to a rude apartment to sleep in. Here he found the dead body of a man lately stabbed and concealed in some straw; and the account of his sensations during the night, the horrid device by which he saved his life (by lifting the corpse into his own bed), and his escape, guided by the hag, is terrifically tragic).
=Fatima=, daughter of Mahomet, and one of the four perfect women. The other three are Khadîjah, the prophet’s first wife; Mary, daughter of Imrân; and Asia, wife of that Pharaoh who was drowned in the Red Sea.
_Fat´ima_, a holy woman of China, who lived a hermit’s life. There was “no one affected with headache whom she did not cure by simply laying her hands on them.” An African magician induced this devotee to lend him her clothes and stick, and to make him the fac-simile of herself. He then murdered her, and got introduced into the palace of Aladdin. Aladdin, being informed of the trick, pretended to have a bad headache, and when the false Fatima approached, under the pretence of curing it, he plunged a dagger into the heart of the magician and killed him.—_Arabian Nights_ (“Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp”).
_Fat´ima_, the mother of Prince Camaral´zaman. Her husband was Schah´zaman, Sultan of the “Isle of the Children of Khal´edan, some twenty days’ sail from the coast of Persia, in the open sea.”—_Arabian Nights_ (“Camaralzaman and Badoura”).
_Fat´ima_, the last of Bluebeard´s wives. She was saved from death by the timely arrival of her brothers with a party of friends.—C. Perrault, _Contes de Fées_ (1697).
=Fat´imite= (3 _syl._). _The Third Fatimite_, the Caliph Hakem B’amr-ellah, who professed to be incarnate deity, and the last prophet who had communication between God and man. He was the founder of the Druses (_q.v._).
What say you does this wizard style himself—
Hakeem Biamrallah, the Third Fatimite?
Robt. Browning, _The Return of the Druses_, v.
=Fatme=. Beautiful sultana, who, looking down from her lattice into the courtyard wept to see a lamb slaughtered, yet turned from the window to ask in eager hope if the poison administered to her rival had produced the desired effect.—_Heine_.
=Faulconbridge= (_Philip_), called “the Bastard,” natural son of King Richard I. and Lady Robert Faulconbridge. An admirable admixture of greatness and levity, daring and recklessness. He was generous and open-hearted, but hated foreigners like a true-born islander.—Shakespeare, _King John_ (1596).
=Faulkland=, the over-anxious lover of Julia [_Melville_], always fretting and tormenting himself about her whims, spirit, health, life. Every feature in the sky, every shift of the wind was a source of anxiety to him. If she was gay, he fretted that she should care so little for his absence; if she was low-spirited, he feared she was going to die; if she danced with another, he was jealous; if she didn´t, she was out of sorts.—Sheridan, _The Rivals_ (1775).
=Faultless Painter= (_The_), Andrea del Sarto (1488-1630).—R. Browning, _Andrea del Sarto_.
=Fauntleroy= (_Little Lord_). The story of Cedric Errol, heir to his grandfather, Lord Fauntleroy, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, has been dramatized, Elsie Leslie, a child of rare promise, taking the part of Cedric, and Kathryn Kidder that of his mother. (See ERROL).
=Faun=. Tennyson uses this sylvan deity of the classics as the symbol of a drunkard.
Arise and fly
The reeling Faun, the sensual feast.
_In Memoriam_, cxviii
=Faust=, a famous magician of the sixteenth century, a native of Suabia. A rich uncle having left him a fortune, Faust ran to every excess, and when his fortune was exhausted, made a pact with the devil (who assumed the name of Mephistoph´elês, and the appearance of a little grey monk) that if he might indulge his propensities freely for twenty-four years, he would at the end of that period consign to the devil both body and soul. The compact terminated in 1550, when Faust disappeared. His sweetheart was Margheri´ta [_Margaret_], whom he seduced, and his faithful servant was Wagner.
Goethê has a noble tragedy entitled _Faust_ (1798); Gounod an opera called _Faust e Margherita_ (1859) (See FAUSTUS.)
=Faustus= (_Dr._), the same as Faust; but Marlowe, in his admirable tragedy, makes the doctor sell himself to Lucifer and Mephistophilis.
=Favor= (_Anna_). Young Anna Favor, married to Ezra Dalton, conceives the insane idea that her baby is a changeling, and asks her husband to rake open the coals that she may lay it upon them, and the witch shall have her own.
“She’ll come when she hears it crying,
In the shape of an owl or bat,
And she’ll bring us our darling Anna
In place of her screeching brat.”
The delusion is removed and her senses restored in answer to the prayer of her husband.
“Now, mount and ride, my goodman,
As thou lovest thy own soul!
Woe’s me if my wicked fancies
Be the death of Goodwife Cole!”
J.G. Whittier, _The Changeling_.
W. Bayle Bernard, of Boston, Mass., has a tragedy on the same subject.
=Favori´ta= (_La_), Leonora de Guzman, “favorite” of Alfonzo XI. of Castile. Ferdinando fell in love with her; and the king, to save himself from excommunication, sanctioned the marriage. But when Ferdinando learned that Leonora was the king’s mistress, he rejected the alliance with indignation, and became a monk. Leonora also became a novice in the same monastery, saw Ferdinando, obtained his forgiveness, and died.—Donizetti, _La Favorita_ (an opera, 1842).
=Faw= (_Tibbie_), the ostler’s wife, in Wandering Willie’s tale.—Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
=Faw´nia=, the lady beloved by Dorastus.—R. Greene, _Pandosto, The Triumph of Time_ (1588).
⁂ Shakespeare founded his _Winter’s Tale_ on Greene’s romance.
=Fazio=, a Florentine, who first tried to make a fortune by alchemy, but being present when Bartoldo died, he buried the body secretly, and stole the miser’s money-bags. Being now rich he passed his time with the Marchioness Aldabella in licentious pleasure, and his wife Bianca, out of jealousy, accused him to the duke of being privy to Bartoldo’s death. For this offence Fazio was condemned to die; and Bianca, having tried in vain to save him, went mad with grief, and died of a broken heart.—Dean Milman, _Fazio_ (1815).
=Fea= (_Euphane_), the old house-keeper of the old udaller at Burgh-Westra. (A “udaller” is one who holds land by allodial tenure.)—Sir W. Scott, _The Pirate_ (time, William III.).
=Fear Fortress=, near Saragossa. An allegorical bogie fort, conjured up by fear, which vanishes as it is courageously approached and boldly besieged.
If a child disappeared, or any cattle were carried off, the frightened
peasants said: “The Lord of Fear Fortress has taken them.” If a fire
broke out anywhere, it was the Lord of Fear Fortress who must have lit
it. The origin of all accidents, mishaps, and disasters, was traced to
the mysterious owner of this invisible castle.—L’Epine,
_Croquemitaine_, iii. 1.
=Fearless= (_The_), Jean duc de Bourgoigne, called _Sans Peur_ (1371-1419).
=Featherhead= (_John_), Esq., an opponent of Sir Thomas Kittlecourt, M.P.—Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.).
=Fedalina=. Daughter of the gypsy chief and heroine of _The Spanish Gypsy_, by George Eliot.
=Fee= and =Fairy=. Fee is the more general term, including the latter. _The Arabian Nights_ are not all fairy tales, but they are all fee tales or _contes des fées_. So again, the Ossianic tales, Campbell’s _Tales of the West Highlands_, the mythological tales of the Basques, Irish, Scandinavians, Germans, French, etc., may all be ranged under fee tales.
=Feeble= (_Francis_), a woman’s tailor, and one of the recruits of Sir John Falstaff. Although a thin, starveling yard-wand of a man, he expresses great willingness to be drawn. Sir John compliments him as “courageous Feeble,” and says to him, “Thou wilt be as valiant as the wrathful dove, or most magnanimous mouse.... most forcible Feeble.”—Shakespeare, _2 Henry IV_. act iii. sc. 2 (1598).
=Feeder= (_Mr._), B.A., usher in the school of Dr. Blimber of Brighton. He was “a kind of human barrel-organ, which played only one tune.” He was in the habit of shaving his head to keep it cool. Mr. Feeder married Miss Blimber, the doctor’s daughter, and succeeded to the school.—C. Dickens, _Dombey and Son_ (1846).
=Feenix=, nephew of the Hon. Mrs. Skewton (mother of Edith, Mr. Dombey’s second wife), Feenix was a very old gentleman, patched up to look as much like a young fop as possible.
Cousin Feenix was a man about town forty years ago; but he is still so
juvenile in figure and manner that strangers are amazed when they
discover latent wrinkles in his lordship’s face, and crow’s feet in
his eyes. But cousin Feenix getting up at half-past seven, is quite
another thing from cousin Feenix got up.—C. Dickens, _Dombey and Son_,
xxxi. (1846).
=Feignwell= (_Colonel_) the suitor of Anne Lovely, an heiress. Anne Lovely had to obtain the consent of her four guardians before she could marry. One was an old beau, another a virtuoso, a third a broker on ’Change, and the fourth a canting quaker. The colonel made himself agreeable to all, and carried off his prize.—Mrs. Centlivre, _A Bold Stroke for a Wife_ (1717).
=Feinai´gle= (_Gregory de_), a German mnemonist (1765-1820). He obtained some success by his aids to memory, but in Paris he was an object of ridicule.
Her memory was a mine ... For her Feinaigle’s was a useless art Byron,
_Don Juan_, i. 11 (1819).
=Felice=, wife of Sir Guy Warwick, said to have “the same high forehead as Venus.”
=Felic´ian= (_Father_), a catholic priest and schoolmaster of Grand Pré, in Acadia (now called _Nova Scotia_). He accompanied Evangeline in part of her wanderings to find Gabriel, her affianced husband.—Longfellow, _Evangeline_ (1849).
=Felicians= (_The_), the happy nation. The Felicians live under a free sovereignty, where the laws are absolute. Felicia is the French “Utopia.”—Mercier de la Rivière, _L’Heureuse Nation_ (1767).
=Feliciano de Sylva=, Don Quixote’s favorite author. The two following extracts were, in his opinion, unsurpassed and unsurpassable:—
The reason, most adored one, of your unreasonable unreasonableness
hath so unreasonably unseated my reason, that I have no reasonable
reason for reasoning against such unreasonableness.
The bright heaven of your divinity that lifts you to the stars, most
celestial of women, renders you deserving of every desert which your
charms so deservedly deserve.—Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. i. 8
(1605).
=Félicie=, happy French girl, the daughter of Jean and Gabrielle Waldo. Her mother gives her poison by mistake, from the effects of which she is relieved by John of Lugio, summoned from his home many leagues away, “IN HIS NAME.”—Edward Everett Hale, _In His Name_ (1887).
=Felix=, a monk who listened to the singing of a milk-white bird for a hundred years; which length of time seemed to him “but a single hour,” so enchanted was he with the song.—Longfellow, _The Golden Legend_. (See also _Hildesheim_.)
_Felix_ (_Don_), son of Don Lopez. He was a Portuguese nobleman, in love with Violante; but Violante’s father, Don Pedro, intended to make her a nun. Donna Isabella, having fled from home to avoid a marriage disagreeable to her, took refuge with Violante; and when Colonel Briton called at the house to see Donna Isabella, her brother Don Felix was jealous, believing that Violante was the object of his visits. Violante kept “her friend’s secret,” even at the risk of losing her lover; but ultimately the mystery was cleared up, and a double marriage took place.—Mrs. Centlivre, _The Wonder_ (1714).
_Felix Holt_ (See Holt).
_Felix_ (_M. Minucius_), a Roman lawyer, who flourished A.D. 230; he wrote a dialogue entitled _Octavius_, which occupies a conspicuous place among the early Apologies of Christianity.
Like Menucius Felix, she believed that evil demons hid themselves in
the marbles [_statues_].—Ouida, _Ariadnê_, i. 9.
_Felix_ (_St._), of Burgundy, who converted Sigbert (Sigebert or Sabert) king of the East Saxons, (A.D. 604).—Ethelwerd, _Chronicles_, v.
So Burgundy to us three men most reverend bare ...
Of which way Felix first, who in th’ East Saxon reign
Converted to the faith King Sigbert. Him again
Ensueth Anselm ... and Hugh ... [_bishop of Lincoln_].
Drayton _Polyolbion_, xxiv. (1622).
=Fe´lixmar´te= (4 _syl._) of Hyrcania, son of Flo´risan and Martedi´na, the hero of a Spanish romance of chivalry. The curate in _Don Quixote_ condemned this work to the flames.—Melchior de Orteza, _Caballera de Ubĕda_ (1566).
=Felix= (_Varian_). The Adonis of his circle, who falls in love with a beautiful woman, already the wife of another man. He flies from temptation and does not return until she is the other man’s widow; then woos and weds her.—Miriam Coles Harris, _A Perfect Adonis_ (1875).
=Fell= (_Dr._). Tom Brown, being in disgrace, was sent by Dr. Fell, dean of Christ Church (1625-1686), to translate the thirty-third epigram of Martial.
Non amo te, Zabidi, nec possum dicere quare;
Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te.
Which he rendered thus:
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell—
The reason why I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell.
=Feltham= (_Black_), a highwayman with Captain Colepepper or Peppercull (the Alsatian bully).—Sir W. Scott, _Fortunes of Nigel_ (time, James I.).
=Femmes Savantes= (_Les_), women who go in for women’s rights, science, and philosophy, to the neglect of domestic duties and wifely amenities. The “blue-stockings” are (1) Philaminte (3 _syl._) the mother of Henriette, who discharges one of her servants because she speaks ungrammatically; (2) Armande (2 _syl._) sister of Henriette, who advocates platonic love and science; and (3) Bélise, sister of Philaminte, who sides with her in all things, but imagines that every one is in love with her. Henriette, who has no sympathy with these “lofty flights,” is in love with Clitandre, but Philaminte wants her to marry Trissotin, a _bel esprit_. However, the father loses his property through the “savant” proclivities of his wife, Trissotin retires, and Clitandre marries Henriette, the “perfect” or thorough woman.—Moliere, _Les Femmes Savantes_ (1672).
=Fenella=, _alias_ Zarah (daughter of Edward Christian), a pretended deaf and dumb fairy-like attendant on the countess of Derby. The character seems to have been suggested by that of Mignon, the Italian girl in Goethê’s _Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship._—Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
Let be _tableaux vivants_, and I will appear as
“Fenella.”
Percy Fitzgerald, _Parvenu Family_, iii. 224.
_Fenella_, a deaf and dumb girl, sister of Masaniello the fisherman. She was seduced by Alfonso, son of the Duke of Arcos; and Masaniello resolved to kill him. He accordingly headed an insurrection, and met with such great success that the mob made him chief magistrate of Portici, but afterwards shot him. Fenella, on hearing of her brother’s death, threw herself into the crater of Vesuvius.—Auber, _Masaniello_ (an opera, 1831).
=Fenris=, the demon wolf of Niflheim. When he gapes one jaw touches the earth and the other heaven. This monster will swallow up Odin at the day of doom. (Often but incorrectly written FENRIR.)—_Scandinavian Mythology_.
=Fenton=, clever fellow who makes caricatures while Browning is read, and when called upon for the substance of his notes by the president of the Club, rises with perfect coolness and pronounces opinion upon the poem.—Arlo Bates, _The Philistines_ (1889).
_Fenton_, the lover of Anne Page, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Page, gentle-folks living at Windsor. Fenton is of good birth, and seeks to marry a fortune to “heal his poverty.” In “sweet Anne Page” he soon discovers that which makes him love her for herself more than for her money.—Shakespeare, _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc. 4 (1601).
=Ferad-Artho,= son of Cairbre and only surviving descendant of the line of Conar (the first king of Ireland.) On the death of Cathmor (brother of the rebel Cairbar) in battle, Ferad-Artho was placed by Fingal on the throne as “king of Ireland.” The race was thus: (1) Conar (a Caledonian); (2) Cormac I., his son; (3) Cairbre, his son; (4) Artho, his son; (5) Cormac II., his son, (a minor); (6) Ferad-Artho, his cousin.—Ossian, _Temora_, vii.
=Fer´amorz,= the young Cashmerian poet who relates poetical tales to Lalla Rookh on her journey from Delhi to Lesser Bucharĭa. Lalla is going to be married to the young sultan, but falls in love with the poet. On the wedding morn she is led to her bridegroom, and finds with unspeakable joy that the poet is the sultan himself.—T. Moore, _Lalla Rookh_ (1817).
=Ferda=, son of Damman, chief of a hundred hills in Albion. Ferda was the friend of Cuthullin, general of the Irish forces in the time of king Cormac I. Deuga´la (spouse of Cairbar) loved the youth, and told her husband if he would not divide the herd she would no longer live with him. Cuthullin, being appointed to make the division, enraged the lady by assigning a snow-white bull to the husband, whereupon Duegala induced her lover to challenge Cuthullin to mortal combat. Most unwillingly the two friends fought, and Ferda fell. “The sunbeam of battle fell—the first of Cuthullin’s friends. Unhappy [_unlucky_] is the hand of Cuthullin since the hero fell.”—Ossian, _Fingal_, ii.
=Ferdinand=, king of Navarre. He agreed with three young lords to spend three years in severe study, during which time no woman was to approach his court; but no sooner was the agreement made than he fell in love with the princess of France. In consequence of the death of her father, the lady deferred the marriage for twelve months and a day.
... the sole inheritor
Of all perfections that a man may owe [_own_]
Matchless Navarre.
Shakespeare, _Love’s Labor’s Lost_ (1594).
_Fer´dinand,_ son of Alonso, king of Naples. He falls in love with Miranda, daughter of Prospero, the exiled duke of Milan.—Shakespeare, _The Tempest_ (1609).
Haply so
Miranda’s hope had pictured Ferdinand
Long ere the gaunt wave tossed him on the shore.
Lowell.
_Ferdinand_, a fiery young Spaniard, in love with Leonora.—Jephson, _Two Strings to your Bow_ (1792).
_Ferdinand_ (_Don_), the son of Don Jerome of Seville, in love with Clara d’Almanza, daughter of Don Guzman.—Sheridan, _The Duenna_ (1773).
=Ferdinan´do,= a brave soldier who having won the battle of Tari´fa, in 1340, was created Count of Zamo´ra and Marquis of Montreal. The king, Alfonso XI., knowing his love for Leonora de Guzman, gave him the bride in marriage; but no sooner was this done than Ferdinando discovered that she was the king’s mistress, so he at once repudiated her, restored his ranks and honors to the king, and retired to the monastry of St. James de Compostella. Leonora entered the same monastery as a novice, obtained the pardon of Ferdinando, and died.—Donizetti, _La Favori´ta_ (1842).
=Fergus= (_Derrick_). Engineer in the coalpits of Lancashire. “A young son of Anak, brains and muscle evenly balanced and fully developed.” Is interested in Joan Lowrie and at last wins her to a promise “to work an’ strive to make herself worthy of the man she loves.”—Frances Hodgson Burnett, _That Lass of Lowrie’s_ (1877).
_Fergus_, fourth son of Fingal, and the only one that had issue at the death of his father. Ossian, the eldest brother, had a son named Oscar, but Oscar was slain at a feast by Cairbar “Lord of Atha;” and of the other two brothers, Fillan was slain before he had married, and Ryno, though married, died without issue.
According to tradition, Fergus (son of Fingal) was the father of Congal; Congal of Arcath; and Arcath of Fergus II., with whom begins the real history of the Scots.—Ossian.
_Fergus_, son of Rossa, a brave hero in the army of Cuthullin, general of the Irish tribes.
Fergus first in our joy at the feast; son of Rossa; arm of death.—Ossian, _Fingal_, i.
=Fern= (_Fanny_) the pseudonym of Sarah Payson Willis, sister of N.P. Willis. She married James Parton, the author. (1811-1872).
_Fern_ (_Will_), a poor fellow who, being found asleep in a shed, is brought before Alderman Cute. He says emphatically “he must be put down.” The poor fellow takes charge of his brother’s child, and is both honest and kind, but, alas! he dared to fall asleep in a shed, an offence which must be “put down.”— C. Dickens, _The Chimes_, third quarter (1844).
=Fernan Calbal´lero,= the pseudonym of Cecilia Böhl de Faber, a Spanish novelist (1797-1877).
=Fernando=, son of John of Procĭda, and husband of Isoline (3 _syl._), daughter of the French governor of Messina. The butchery of the Sicilian Vespers occurred the night after their espousals. Fernando was among the slain, and Isoline died of a broken heart.—S. Knowles, _John of Procida_ (1840).
_Fernando_ (_Don_), youngest son of the Duke Ricardo. Gay, handsome, generous, and polite; but faithless to his friend Cardenio, for, contrary to the lady’s inclination, and in violation of every principle of honor, he prevailed on Lucinda’s father to break off the betrothal between his daughter and Cardenio, and to bestow the lady on himself. On the wedding day Lucinda was in a swoon, and a letter informed the bridegroom that she was married already to Cardenio; she then left the house privately, and retired to a convent. Don Fernando, having entered the convent, carries her off, but stopping at an inn, found there Dorothea his wife, with Cardenio the husband of Lucinda, and the two parties paired off with their respective spouses.—Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. iv. (1605).
_Fernan´do,_ a Venetian captain, servant to Annophel (daughter of the governor of Candy).—Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Laws of Candy_ (1647).
_Fernan´do_ [FLORESTAN], a State prisoner of Seville, married to Leonora, who (in boy’s attire and under the name of Fidēlio) became the servant of Rocco the jailer. Pizarro, governor of the jail, conceived a hatred to the State prisoner, and resolved to murder him, so Rocco and Leonora were sent to dig his grave. The arrival of the minister of State put an end to the infamous design, and Fernando was set at liberty.—Beethoven, _Fidelio_ (1791).
=Ferney= (_The Patriarch of_), Voltaire; so called because he lived in retirement at Ferney, near Geneva (1694-1778).
=Ferquhard Day=, the absentee from the Clan Chattan at the combat.—Sir W. Scott, _Fair Maid of Perth_ (time, Henry IV.).
=Fer´racute,= a giant who had the strength of forty men, and was thirty-six feet high. He was slain by Orlando, who wounded him in the navel, his only vulnerable part.—Turpin, _Chronicle of Charlemagne_.
⁂ Ferracute is the prototype of Pulci’s “Morgante,” in his serio-comic poem entitled _Morgante Maggiore_ (1494).
=Fer´ragus=, the Portuguese giant, who took Bellisant under his care after her divorce from Alexander, emperor of Constantinople.—_Valentine and Orson_ (fifteenth century).
My sire’s tall form might grace the part
Of Ferragus or Ascapart.
Sir W. Scott.
=Fer´ramond= (_Sir_), a knight, whose lady-love was Lucĭda.
=Ferrand de Vaudemont= (_Count_), duc de Lorraine, son of René, king of Provence. He first appears disguised as Laurence Neipperg.—Sir W. Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Ferrardo= [GONZAGA], reigning duke of Mantua in the absence of his cousin Leonardo. He was a villain, and tried to prove Mariana (the bride of Leonardo) guilty of adultery. His scheme was this: He made Julian St. Pierre drunk with drugged wine, and in his sleep conveyed him to the duke’s bed, throwing his scarf under the bed of the duchess, which was in an adjoining chamber. He then revealed these proofs of guilt to his cousin Leonardo, but Leonardo refused to believe in his wife’s guilt, and Julian St. Pierre exposed the whole scheme of villainy, amply vindicating the innocence of Mariana, who turned out to be Julian’s sister.—S. Knowles, _The Wife_ (1833).
=Ferrau=, a Saracen, son of Landfu´sa. Having dropped his helmet in a river, he vowed never to wear another till he won that worn by Orlando. Orlando slew him by a wound in the navel, his only vulnerable part.—Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
=Ferraugh= (_Sir_), introduced in bk. iii. 8, but without a name, as carrying off the false Florimel from Braggadoccio. In bk. iv. 2, the name is given. He is there overthrown by Sir Blandamour, who takes away with him the false Florimel, the lady of snow and wax.—Spenser, _Faëry Queen_ (1590, 1596).
=Ferret=, an avaricious, mean-spirited slanderer, who blasts by innuendoes, and blights by hints and cautions. He hates young Heartall, and misinterprets all his generous acts, attributing his benevolence to hush-money. The rascal is at last found out and foiled.—Cherry, _The Soldier’s Daughter_ (1804).
=Ferrex=, eldest son of Gorboduc, a legendary king of Britain. Being driven by his brother Porrex from the kingdom, he returned with a large army, but was defeated and slain by Porrex.—_Gorboduc_, a tragedy by Thom. Norton and Thom. Sackville (1561).
=Ferris= (_Henry_). Artist and American consul at Venice. In love with Florida Vervain, but believes her infatuated by an Italian priest who longs to leave his vocation. He learns the truth at the priest’s death-bed. Finds Florida in New York, explains, receives absolution and is married.—W.D. Howells, _A Foregone Conclusion_ (1874).
=Ferrol=. Northern man of letters who makes “a study” of Louisiana and Louisiana’s father. The honest planter surveys him with curiosity as “‘a littery man. I had an idee that thar was only one on ye now an’ ag’in—jest now an’ ag’in.’ Ferrol did not smile at all. His manner was perfect—so full of interest that Mr. Rogers quite warmed and expanded under it.”—Frances Hodgson Burnett, _Louisiana_ (1880).
=Fetnab= (“_a tormentor of hearts_”), the favorite of the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid. While the caliph was absent in his wars, Zobeidê (3 _syl._), the caliph’s wife, out of jealousy, ordered Fetnab to be buried alive. Ganem happened accidentally to see the interment, rescued her, and took her home to his own private lodgings in Bagdad. The caliph, on his return, mourned for Fetnab; but receiving from her a letter of explanation, he became jealous of Ganem, and ordered him to be put to death. Ganem, however, contrived to escape. When the fit of jealousy was over, the caliph heard the facts plainly stated, whereupon he released Fetnab, and gave her in marriage to Ganem, and appointed the young man to a very lucrative post about the court.—_Arabian Nights_, (“Ganem, the slave of Love”).
=Fe´zon,= daughter of Savary, duke of Aquitaine. The Green Knight, who was a pagan, demanded her in marriage, but Orson (brother of Valentine), called “The Wild Man of the Forest,” overthrew the pagan and married Fezon.—_Valentine and Orson_ (fifteenth century).
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Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction, and the Drama, Vol. 2Chapter I: Part 1
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