Chapter I: Front Matter (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
VOLUME III
[Colophon]
NEW YORK SELMAR HESS PUBLISHER
MDCCCXCII
Copyright, 1892, by SELMAR HESS.
PHOTOGRAVURES PRINTED ON THE HESS PRESS.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOLUME III.
PHOTOGRAVURES AND ETCHINGS.
_Illustration_ _Artist_
DEATH OF MINNEHAHA (_colored_) W. L. DODGE
MADAME CHRYSANTHÈME
MEPHISTOPHELES AND FAUST A. JACOMIN
MILLER (THE), HIS SON AND THE ASS EUGÈNE LEJEUNE
NEWCOME (COLONEL) FREDERICK BARNARD
OPHELIA MADELEINE LEMAIRE
ORPHEUS G. MOREAU
PECKSNIFF (MR.) FREDERICK BARNARD
PENDENNIS (MAJOR) FREDERICK BARNARD
WOOD ENGRAVINGS AND TYPOGRAVURES.
MACARTHY (LAWRENCE) AND HIS SISTER ELLEN SCANLAN
MACHEATH WITH LUCY AND POLLY STUART NEWTON
MAIDEN (THE) AND LOVER BENCZUR-GYULA
MANFRED AND ASTARTE K. LISKA
MANON LESCAUT (THE BURIAL OF) P. A. J. DAGNAN-BOUVERET
MANRICO AND LEONORA FERD. KELLER
MANUEL (DON) DISCOVERS BEATRICE C. JAEGER
MARGARET BEFORE THE MATER DOLOROSA
MARIE ANTOINETTE ON HER WAY TO THE GUILLOTINE F. FLAMING
MARIE MICHON (THE ADVENTURE OF) G. BOULANGER
MARY (HIGHLAND) B. E. SPENCE
MASANIELLO EDOUARD HAMMAN
MASCARILLE (COQUELIN AS)
MATHIAS (THE MESMERIST AND) ADRIEN MARIE
MATTHEW (FATHER) AND SIR ROLFE W. B. DAVIS
MAUPRAT (BERNARD) AND JEAN MAUPRAT
MAZEPPA A. WAGNER
MEDEA N. SICHEL
MERMAIDENS (THE) ARNOLD BÖCKLIN
METAMORA (FORREST AS)
MICAWBER (MR. WILKINS) FREDERICK BARNARD
MIGNON G. HOM
MIRANDA AND FERDINAND R. E. PINE
M'LISS EDWARD LONG
MOOR (FRANZ) FR. PECHT
MORLAND (CATHARINE) R. W. BUSS
MOSES (PREPARING) FOR THE FAIR D. MACLISE
MOYA (THE POET PEDRO DE) AND THE PLAYERS D. MACLISE
MULLER (MAUD)
NIOBE WITH HER CHILDREN SOLOMON J. SOLOMON
NORMA AND POLLIONE ALBERT BAUER
OLDBUCK (MR.) AND JENNY ROB. HERDMAN
OLIVIA
OLIVIA (THE RETURN OF) G. S. NEWTON
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE L. THIERSCH
OTTILIA AND THE CHILD
OTTOCAR (PRINCE) AND MAX EUGEN KLIMSCH
PALISSY THE POTTER MRS. E. M. WARD
PANGLOSS (JEFFERSON AS DOCTOR)
PEGGY (MISS) AND HER FRIENDS DUDLEY HARDY
PENELOPE R. VON DEUTSCH
PENSEROSO (IL) J. C. HORSLEY
PENTHESILEA, QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS
PERI AT HEAVEN'S GATE (THE) FR. HEYSER
PHARAOH AND THE BEARERS OF EVIL TIDINGS LECOMTE-DU-NOUY
PHEDRA AND HIPPOLYTUS PIERRE GUÉRIN
PHOEBUS DE CHATEAUPERS G. BRION
PICCIOLA (CHARNEY EXAMINING) BARRIAS
PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN (THE) H. KAULBACH
PIZARRO BEFORE CHARLES V.
PORTIA AND THE CASKETS ALEX. CABANEL
PORTIA AT THE GRAVE OF THE MESSIAH H. FÜGER
POSA (DON CARLOS, THE KING AND THE MARQUIS OF) FERDINAND RITTER
PRISCILLA DAVIDSON KNOWLES
PROMETHEUS AND THE OCEAN NYMPHS EDUARD MÜLLER
PRYNNE (HESTER) H. G. BOUGHTON
PSYCHE (CUPID AND) PAUL BAUDRY
PSYCHE AND CHARON A. ZICK
PUCK AND THE FAIRIES ARTHUR HUGHES
PUSS-IN-BOOTS GUSTAVE DORÉ
PYGMALION AND GALATEA JEAN RAOUX
QUIXOTE (DON) IN HIS STUDY GUSTAVE DORÉ
REBECCA (THE ABDUCTION OF) LÉON COGNIET
RED RIDINGHOOD (LITTLE) EUGÈNE LEJEUNE
REINIKE FOX BEFORE KING LION W. VON KAULBACH
REINIKE FOX TO BE HUNG W. VON KAULBACH
RHODOPE, THE EGYPTIAN PRINCESS FERD. KELLER
RICHLAND (MISS) VISITS MR. HONEYWOOD W. P. FRITH
ROB ROY PARTING RASHLEIGH AND FRANCIS
OSBALDISTONE J. B. MCDONALD
ROBSART (AMY)
ROLAND (MADAME) ALBERT LYNCH
ROLAND AT THE BATTLE OF RONCESVALLES LOUIS GUESNET
ROMEO AND JULIET IN FRIAR LAWRENCE'S CELL CARL BECKER
ROSE AND BLANCHE (DAGOBERT WITH) EDWARD H. CORBOULD
ROUMESTAN (NUMA) EMILE BAYARD
RUGGIERO ON THE HIPPOGRIFF GUSTAVE DORÉ
CHARACTER SKETCHES OF ROMANCE, FICTION, AND THE DRAMA.
=Mark Tapley=, a serving companion of Martin Chuzzlewit, who goes out with him to Eden, in North America. Mark Tapley thinks there is no credit in being jolly in easy circumstances; but when in Eden he found every discomfort, lost all his money, was swindled by every one, and was almost killed by fevers, then indeed he felt it would be a real credit “to be jolly under the circumstances.”--C. Dickens, _Martin Chuzzlewit_ (1843).
=Markham=, a gentleman in the train of the earl of Sussex.--Sir W. Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Markham_ (_Mrs._), pseudonym of Mrs. Elizabeth Perrose[TN-1] (born Elizabeth Cartwright), authoress of _History of England_, etc.
=Markleham= (_Mrs._), the mother of Annie. Devoted to pleasure, she always maintained that she indulged in it for “Annie’s sake.” Mrs. Markleham is generally referred to as “the old soldier.”--C. Dickens, _David Copperfield_ (1849).
=Marksman=, one of Fortunio’s seven attendants. He saw so clearly and to such a distance, that he generally bandaged his eyes in order to temper the great keenness of his sight.--Comtesse D’Aunoy, _Fairy Tales_ (“Fortunio,” 1682).
=Marlborough= (_The duke of_), John Churchill. He was called by Marshal Turenne _Le Bel Anglais_ (1650-1722).
=Marlow= (_Sir Charles_), the kind-hearted old friend of Squire Hardcastle.
_Young Marlow_, son of Sir Charles. “Among women of reputation and virtue he is the modestest man alive; but his acquaintances give him a very different character among women of another stamp” (act i. 1). Having mistaken Hardcastle’s house for an inn, and Miss Hardcastle for the barmaid, he is quite at his ease, and makes love freely. When fairly caught, he discovers that the supposed “inn” is a private house, and the supposed barmaid is the squire’s daughter; but the ice of his shyness being broken, he has no longer any difficulty in loving according to his station.--Goldsmith, _She Stoops to Conquer_ (1773).
When Goldsmith was between 16 and 17 he set out for Edgworthstown, and finding night coming on, asked a man which was the “best house” in the town--meaning the best inn. The man pointed to the house of Sir Ralph Fetherstone (or _Mr. Fetherstone_), and Oliver, entering the parlor, found the master of the mansion sitting at a good fire. Oliver told him he desired to pass the night there, and ordered him to bring in supper. “Sir Ralph” knowing his customer, humored the joke, which Oliver did not discover till next day, when he called for his bill. (We are told in _Notes and Queries_ that Ralph Fetherstone was only _Mr._, but his grandson was _Sir Thomas_).
=Marmaduke Wharne.= Eccentric old Englishman long resident in America. Benevolent and beneficent, but gruff in manner and speech.--A. D. T. Whitney, _Leslie Goldthwaite’s Summer_ (1866).
=Marmaduke= (_Sir_). A man who has lost all earth can give--wealth, love, fame and friends, but thus comforts himself:
“I account it worth
All pangs of fair hopes crossed,--
All loves and honors lost,--
To gain the heavens, at cost
Of losing earth.”
Theodore Tilton, _Sir Marmaduke’s Musings_ (1867).
=Marmion.= Lord Marmion was betrothed to Constance de Beverley, but he jilted her for Lady Clare, an heiress, who was in love with Ralph de Wilton. The Lady Clare rejected Lord Marmion’s suit, and took refuge from him in the convent of St. Hilda, in Whitby. Constance took the veil in the convent of St. Cuthbert, in Holy Isle, but after a time left the convent clandestinely, was captured, taken back, and buried alive in the walls of a deep cell. In the mean time, Lord Marmion, being sent by Henry VIII. on an embassy to James IV. of Scotland, stopped at the hall of Sir Hugh de Heron, who sent a palmer as his guide. On his return, Lord Marmion commanded the abbess of St. Hilda to release the Lady Clare, and place her under the charge of her kinsman, Fitzclare of Tantallon Hall. Here she met the palmer, who was Ralph de Wilton, and as Lord Marmion was slain in the battle of Flodden Field, she was free to marry the man she loved.--Sir W. Scott, _Marmion_ (1808).
_Marmion_ (_Lord_), a descendant of Robert de Marmion, who obtained from William the Conqueror, the manor of Scrivelby, in Lincolnshire. This Robert de Marmion was the first royal champion of England, and the office remained in the family till the reign of Edward I., when in default of male issue it passed to John Dymoke, son-in-law of Philip Marmion, in whose family it remains still.
=Marnally= (_Bernard_). Good-looking Irish tutor at “Happy-go-Lucky,” a country house. He is accused of murdering the infant children of a young widow with whom he is in love, but is acquitted and goes back to Ireland. Some years later, he revisits America, meets his old love and marries her.--Miriam Coles Harris, _Happy-go-Lucky_ (1881).
=Marner= (_Silas_). Miser and misogynist in humble life, who finds a baby-girl in his cottage one night, and in bringing her up, learns to have patience with life and charity with his kind.--George Eliot, _Silas Marner_.
=Ma´ro=, Virgil, whose full name was Publius Virgilius Maro (B.C. 70-19).
Oh, were it mine with the sacred Maro’s art
To wake to sympathy the feeling heart,
Like him the smooth and mournful verse to dress
In all the pomp of exquisite distress ...
Then might I ...
Falconer, _The Shipwreck_, iii. 5 (1756).
=Mar´onites= (3 _syl._), a religious semi-Catholic sect of Syria, constantly at war with their near neighbors, the Druses, a semi-Mohammedan sect. Both are now tributaries of the sultan, but enjoy their own laws. The Maronites number about 400,000, and the Druses about half that number. The Maronites owe their name to J. Maron, their founder; the Druses to Durzi, who led them out of Egypt into Syria. The patriarch of the Maronites resides at Kanobin; the hakem of the Druses at Deir-el-kamar. The Maronites, or “Catholics of Lebanon,” differ from the Roman Catholics in several points, and have a pope or patriarch of their own. In 1860 the Druses made on them a horrible onslaught, which called forth the intervention of Europe.
=Marotte= (2 _syl._), a footman of Gorgibus; a plain bourgeois, who hates affectation. When the fine ladies of the house try to convert him into a fashionable flunky, and teach him a little grandiloquence, he bluntly tells them he does not understand Latin.
_Marotte._ Voilà un laquais qui demande si vous êtes au logis, et
dit que son maître, vous venir voir.
_Madelon._ Apprenez, sotte, à vous énoncer moins vulgaiment. Dites:
Voilà un nécessaire que demande si vous êtes en commodité d’etre
visibles.
_Marotte._ Je n’entends point le Latin.--Molière, _Les Précieuses
Ridicules_, vii. (1659).
=Marphi´sa=, sister of Roge´ro, and a female knight of amazing prowess. She was brought up by a magician, but being stolen at the age of seven, was sold to the king of Persia. When she was 18, her royal master assailed her honor; but she slew him, and usurped the crown. Marphisa went to Gaul to join the army of Agramant, but subsequently entered the camp of Charlemagne, and was baptized.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
=Marphu´rius=, a doctor of the Pyrrhonian school. Sganarelle consults him about his marriage; but the philosopher replies, “Perhaps; it is possible; it may be so; everything is doubtful;” till at last Sganarelle beats him, and Marphurius says he shall bring an action against him for battery. “Perhaps,” replies Sganarelle; “it is possible; it may be so,” etc., using the very words of the philosopher (sc. ix.).--Molière, _Le Mariage Forcé_ (1664).
=Marplot=, “the busy body.” A blundering, good-natured, meddlesome young man, very inquisitive, too officious by half, and always bungling whatever he interferes in. Marplot is introduced by Mrs. Centlivre in two comedies, _The Busy Body_ and _Marplot in Lisbon_.
That unlucky dog Marplot ... is ever doing mischief, and yet (to
give him his due) he never designs it. This is some blundering
adventure, wherein he thought to show his friendship, as he calls
it.--Mrs. Centlivre, _The Busy Body_, iii. 5 (1709).
⁂ This was Henry Woodward’s great part (1717-1777). His unappeasable curiosity, his slow comprehension, his annihilation under the sense of his dilemmas, were so diverting, that even Garrick confessed him the decided “Marplot” of the stage.--Boaden, _Life of Siddons_.
N. B.--William Cavendish, duke of Newcastle, brought out a free tranlation[TN-2] of Molière’s _L’Etourdi_, which he entitled _Marplot_.
=Marquis de Basqueville=, being one night at the opera, was told by a messenger that his mansion was on fire. “Eh bien,” he said to the messenger, “adressez-vous à Mme. la marquise qui est en face dans cette loge; car c’est affaire de ménage.”--Chapus, _Dieppe et ses Environs_ (1853).
=Marrall= (_Jack_), a mean-spirited, revengeful time-server. He is the clerk and tool of Sir Giles Overreach. When Marrall thinks Wellborn penniless, he treats him like a dog; but as soon as he fancies he is about to marry the wealthy dowager, Lady Allworth, he is most servile, and offers to lend him money. Marrall now plays the traitor to his master, Sir Giles, and reveals to Wellborn the scurvy tricks by which he has been cheated of his estates. When, however, he asks Wellborn to take him into his service, Wellborn replies, “He who is false to one master will betray another;” and will have nothing to say to him.--Massinger, _A New Way to Pay Old Debts_ (1628).
=Married Men of Genius.= The number of men of genius unhappy in their wives is very large. The following are notorious examples:--Socratês and Xantippê; Saadi, the Persian poet; Dantê and Gemma Donati; Milton, with Mary Powell; Marlborough and Sarah Jennings; Gustavus Adolphus and his flighty queen; Byron and Miss Milbanke; Dickens and Miss Hogarth; etc. Every reader will be able to add to the list.
=Mars=, divine Fortitude personified. Bacchus is the tutelary demon of the Mahommedans, and Mars the guardian potentate of the Christians.--Camoens, _The Lusiad_ (1569).
_That Young Mars of Men_, Edward the Black prince, who with 8,000 men defeated, at Poitiers, the French king, John, whose army amounted to 60,000--some say even more (A. D. 1356).[TN-3]
_The Mars of Men_, Henry Plantagenet, earl of Derby, third son of Henry, earl of Lancaster, and near kinsman of Edward III. (See DERBY.)
=Marse’ Chan.= Brave Virginian soldier whose lady-love enacts “My Lady Disdain” until news is brought her that he has fallen in battle. Then she grieves for him as a widow for her husband, and when she dies, she is buried by him.--Thomas Nelson Page, _In Ole Virginia_ (1887).
=Mars of Portugal= (_The_), Alfonso de Albuquerque, viceroy of India (1452-1515).
=Mars Wounded.= A very remarkable parallel to the encounter of Diŏmed and Mars in the _Iliad_, v., occurs in Ossian. Homer says that Diomed hurled his spear against Mars, which, piercing the belt, wounded the war-god in the bowels; “Loud bellowed Mars, nine thousand men, ten thousand, scarce so loud, joining fierce battle.” Then Mars ascending, wrapped in clouds, was borne upwards to Olympus.
Ossian, in _Carrick-Thura_, says that Loda, the god of his foes, came like a “blast from the mountain. He came in his terror and shook his dusky spear. His eyes were flames, and his voice like distant thunder. ‘Son of night,’ said Fingal, ‘retire. Do I fear thy gloomy form, spirit of dismal Loda? Weak is thy shield of cloud, feeble thy meteor sword.’”[TN-4] Then cleft he the gloomy shadow with his sword. It fell like a column of smoke. It shrieked. Then rolling itself up, the wounded spirit rose on the wind, and the island shook to its foundation.”
=Marseilles’ Good Bishop=, Henri François Xavier de Belsunce (1671-1775). Immortalized by his philanthropic diligence in the plague at Marseilles (1720-1722).
Charles Borromēo, archbishop of Milan a century previously (1576), was equally diligent and self-sacrificing in the plague of Milan (1538-1584).
Sir John Lawrence, lord mayor of London during the great plague, supported 40,000 dismissed servants, and deserves immortal honor.
Darwin refers to Belsunce and Lawrence in his _Loves of the Plants_, ii. 433.
=Marshal Forwards=, Blücher; so called for his dash in battle, and the rapidity of his movements, in the campaign of 1813 (1742-1819).
=Marsi=, a part of the Sabellian race, noted for Magic, and said to have been descended from Circê.
Marsis vi quadam genitali datum, ut serpentium virulentorum
domitores sint, et incantationibus herbarumque succis faciant
medelarum mira.--_Gellius_, xvi. 11.
=Marsig´lio=, a Saracen king, who plotted the attack upon Roland, “under the tree on which Judas hanged himself.” With a force of 600,000 men, divided into three companies, Marsiglio attacked the paladin in Roncesvallês and overthrew him; but Charlemagne, coming up, routed the Saracen, and hanged him on the very tree under which he planned the attack.--Turpin, _Chronicle_ (1122).
=Marsilia=, “who bears up great Cynthia’s train,” is the marchioness of Northampton, to whom Spenser dedicated his _Daphnaida_. This lady was Helena, daughter of Wolfgangus Swavenburgh, a Swede.
No less praiseworthy is Marsilia,
Best known by bearing up great Cynthia’s train.
She is the pattern of true womanhead....
Worthy next after Cynthia [_queen Elizabeth_] to tread,
As she is next her in nobility.
Spenser, _Colin Clout’s Come Home Again_ (1595).
=Mar´syas=, the Phrygian flute-player. He challenged Apollo to a contest of skill, but being beaten by the god, was flayed alive for his presumption.
=Mar´tafax and Ler´mites= (3 _syl._), two famous rats brought up before the White Cat for treason, but acquitted.--Comtesse D’Aunoy, _Fairy Tales_ (“The White Cat,” 1682).
=Marta´no=, a great coward, who stole the armor of Gryphon, and presented himself in it before King Norandi´no. Having received the honors due to the owner, Martano quitted Damascus with Origilla; but Aquilant unmasked the villain, and he was hanged (bks. viii., ix.).--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
=Marteau des Heretiques=, Pierre d’Ailly; also called _L’Aigle de la France_ (1350-1420).
=Martel= (_Charles_), Charles, natural son of Pépin d’Héristal.
M. Collin de Plancy says that this “palace mayor” of France was not called “Martel” because he _martelé_ (“hammered”) the Saracens under Abd-el-Rahman in 732, but because his patron saint was _Martellus_ (or _St. Martin_).--_Bibliothèque des Légendes._
Thomas Delf, in his translation of Chevreuil’s _Principles of Harmony, etc., of Colors_ (1847), signs himself “Charles Martel.”
=Martext= (_Sir Oliver_), a vicar in Shakespeare’s comedy of _As You Like It_ (1600).
=Martha:=
“Yea, Lord! Yet man must earn
And woman bake the bread;
And some must watch and wake
Early for other’s sake
Who pray instead.”
Julia C. R. Dorr, _Afternoon Songs_ (1885).
_Martha_, sister to “The Scornful Lady” (no name given).--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Scornful Lady_ (1616).
_Martha_, the servant-girl at Shaw’s Castle.--Sir W. Scott, _St. Ronan’s Well_ (time, George III.).
_Martha_, the old housekeeper at Osbaldistone Hall.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).
_Martha_, daughter of Ralph and Louise de Lascours, and sister of Diana de Lascours. When the crew of the _Urania_ rebelled, Martha, with Ralph de Lascours (the captain), Louise de Lascours, and Barabas, were put adrift in a boat, and cast on an iceberg in “the Frozen Sea.” The iceberg broke, Ralph and Louise were drowned, Barabas was picked up by a vessel, and Martha fell into the hands of an Indian tribe, who gave her the name of Orgari´ta (“withered corn”). She married Carlos, but as he married under a false name, the marriage was illegal, and when Carlos was given up to the hands of justice, Orgarita was placed under the charge of her grandmother, Mde. de Théringe, and [probably] espoused Horace de Brienne.--E. Stirling, _The Orphan of the Frozen Sea_ (1856).
_Martha_, a friend of Margaret. She makes love to Mephistophelês, with great worldly shrewdness.--Goethe, _Faust_ (1798).
_Martha, alias_ ULRICA, mother of Bertha, who is betrothed to Hereward and marries him.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).
_Martha_ (_The Abbess_), abbess of Elcho Nunnery. She is a kinswoman of the Glover family.--Sir W. Scott, _Fair Maid of Perth_ (time, Henry IV.).
_Martha_ (_Dame_), housekeeper to major Bridgenorth.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
=Martha Hilton=, serving-maid in the household of the widowed Governor Wentworth, until, on his sixtieth birthday, he surprised the guests assembled to do him honor by wedding her in their sight.--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, _Lady Wentworth_.
=Marthé=, a young orphan, in love with Frédéric Auvray, a young artist who loves her in return, but leaves her, goes to Rome, and falls in love with another lady, Elena, sister of the Duke Strozzi. Marthé leaves the Swiss pastor, who is her guardian, and travels in midwinter to Rome, dressed as a boy, and under the name of Piccolino. She tells her tale to Elena, who abandons the fickle, false one, and Frédéric forbids the Swiss wanderer ever again to approach him. Marthé, in despair, throws herself into the Tiber, but is rescued. Frédéric repents, is reconciled, and marries the forlorn maiden.--Mons. Guiraud, _Piccolino_ (an opera, 1875).
=Marthon=, an old cook at Arnheim Castle.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
_Marthon, alias_ RIZPAH, a Bohemian woman, attendant on the Countess Hameline of Croye.--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Martian Laws= (not _Mercian_ as Wharton gives it in his _Law Dictionary_) are the laws collected by Martia, the wife of Guithelin, great grand-son of Mulmutius, who established in Britain the “Mulmutian Laws” (_q.v._). Alfred translated both these codes into Saxon-English, and called the Martian code _Pa Marchitle Lage_. These laws have no connection with the kingdom of Mercia.--Geoffrey, _British History_, iii. 13 (1142).
Guynteline, ... whose queen, ... to show her upright mind,
To wise Mulmutius’ laws her Martian first did frame.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, viii. (1612).
=Martigny= (_Marie le comptesse de_), wife of the earl of Etherington.--Sir W. Scott, _St. Ronan’s Well_ (time, George III.).
=Martin=, in Swift’s _Tale of the Tub_, is Martin Luther; “John” is Calvin; and “Peter” the pope of Rome (1704).
In Dryden’s _Hind and Panther_, “Martin” means the Lutheran party (1687).
_Martin_, the old verdurer near Sir Henry Lee’s lodge.--Sir W. Scott, _Woodstock_ (time, Commonwealth).
_Martin_, the old shepherd in the service of the lady of Avenel.--Sir W. Scott, _The Monastery_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Martin_, the ape in the beast-epic of _Reynard the Fox_ (1498).
_Martin_ (_Dame_), partner of Darsie Latimer at the fishers’ dance.--Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
_Martin_ (_Sarah_), the prison reformer of Great Yarmouth. This young woman, though but a poor dressmaker, conceived a device for the reformation of prisoners in her native town, and continued for twenty-four years her earnest and useful labor of love, acting as schoolmistress, chaplain and industrial superintendent. In 1835, Captain Williams, inspector of prisons, brought her plans before the Government, under the conviction that the nation at large might be benefitted by their practical good sense (1791-1843).
=Martin Weldeck=, the miner. His story is read by Lovel to a picnic party at St. Ruth’s ruins.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
=Martine= (3 _syl._), wife of Sganarelle. She has a furious quarrel with her husband, who beats her, and she screams. M. Robert, a neighbor, interferes, says to Sganarelle, “Quelle infamie! Peste soit le coquin, de battre ainsi sa femme.” The woman snubs him for his impertinence, and says, “Je veux qu’il me battre, moi;” and Sganarelle beats him soundly for meddling with what does not concern him.--Molière, _Le Médecin Malgré Lui_ (1666).
=Martival= (_Stephen de_), a steward of the field at the tournament.--Sir W. Scott, _Ivanhoe_ (time, Richard I.).
=Martivalle= (_Martius Galeotti_), astrologer to Louis XI. of France.--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Martyr King= (_The_), Henry VI., buried at Windsor beside Edward IV.
Here o’er the Martyr King [_Henry VI._] the marble weeps.
And fast beside him once-feared Edward [_IV._] sleeps;
The grave unites where e’en the grave finds rest,
And mingled lie the oppressor and th’opprest.
Pope.
_Martyr King_ (_The_), Charles I. of England (1600, 1625-1649).
Louis XVI. of France is also called Louis “the Martyr” (1754, 1774-1793).
=Martyrs to Science.=
Claude Louis, Count Berthollet, who tested on himself the effects of carbonic acid on the human frame, and died under the experiment (1748-1822).
Giordano Bruno, who was burnt alive for maintaining that matter is the mother of all things (1550-1600).
Galileo, who was imprisoned twice by the Inquisition for maintaining that the earth moved round the sun, and not the sun round the earth (1564-1642).
And scores of others.
=Marvellous Boy= (_The_), Thomas Chatterton (1752-1770).
I thought of Chatterton, the marvellous boy,
The sleepless soul that perished in his pride.
Wordsworth.
=Marwood= (_Alice_), daughter of an old woman who called herself Mrs. Brown. When a mere girl she was concerned in a burglary and was transported. Carker, manager in the firm of Dombey and Son, seduced her, and both she and her mother determined on revenge. Alice bore a striking resemblance to Edith (Mr. Dombey’s second wife), and in fact they were cousins, for Mrs. Brown was “wife” of the brother-in-law of the Hon. Mrs. Skewton (Edith’s mother).--C. Dickens, _Dombey and Son_ (1846).
_Marwood_ (_Mistress_), jilted by Fainall, and soured against the whole male sex. She says, “I have done hating those vipers--men, and am now come to despise them;” but she thinks of marrying to keep her husband “on the rack of fear and jealousy.”--W. Congreve, _The Way of the World_ (1700).
=Mary=, the pretty housemaid of the worshipful, the mayor of Ipswich (_Nupkins_). When Arabella Allen marries Mr. Winkle, Mary enters her service; but eventually marries Sam Weller, and lives at Dulwich, as Mr. Pickwick’s housekeeper.--C. Dickens, _The Pickwick Papers_ (1836).
_Mary_, niece of Valentine, and his sister Alice. In love with Mons. Thomas.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _Mons. Thomas_ (1619).
_Mary. The queen’s Marys_, four young ladies of quality, of the same age as Mary, afterwards “queen of Scots.” They embarked with her in 1548, on board the French galleys, and were destined to be her playmates in childhood, and her companions when she grew up. Their names were Mary Beaton (or _Bethune_), Mary Livingston (or _Leuison_), Mary Fleming (or _Flemyng_), and Mary Seaton (_Seton_ or _Seyton_).
⁂ Mary Carmichael has no place in authentic history, although an old ballad says:
Yestrien the queen had four Marys;
This night she’ll hae but three:
There was Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.
⁂ One of Whyte Melville’s novels is called _The Queen’s Marys_.
=Mary Anne=, a slang name for the guillotine; also called _L’abbaye de monte-à-regret_ (“the mountain of mournful ascent”). (See MARIANNE.)
_Mary Anne_, a generic name for a secret republican society in France. [TN-5]See MARIANNE.)--B. Disraeli, _Lothair_.
Mary Anne was the red-name for the republic years ago, and there
always was a sort of myth that these secret societies had been
founded by a woman.
The Mary-Anne associations, which are essentially republic, are
scattered about all the provinces of France.--_Lothair._
=Mary Graham=, an orphan adopted by old Martin Chuzzlewit. She eventually married Martin Chuzzlewit, the grandson, and hero of the tale.
=Mary Scudder.= Blue-eyed daughter of a “capable” New England housewife. From childhood she has loved her cousin. Her mother objects on the ground that James is “unregenerate,” and brings Mary to accept Dr. Hopkins, her pastor. The doctor, upon discovering the truth, resigns his betrothed to the younger lover.--Harriet Beecher Stowe, _The Minister’s Wooing_ (1862).
=Mary Stuart=, an historical tragedy by J. Haynes (1840). The subject is the death of David Rizzio.
⁂ Schiller has taken Mary Stuart for the subject of a tragedy. P. Lebrun turned the German drama into a French play. Sir W. Scott, in _The Abbot_, has taken for his subject the flight of Mary to England.
=Mary Tudor.= Victor Hugo has a tragedy so called (1833), and Tennyson, in 1878, issued a play entitled _Queen Mary_, an epitome of the reign of the Tudor Mary.
=Mary and Byron.= The “Mary” of Lord Byron was Miss Chaworth. Both were under the guardianship of Mr. White. Miss Chaworth married John Musters, and Lord Byron married Miss Milbanke; both equally unfortunate. Lord Byron, in _The Dream_, refers to his love-affair with Mary Chaworth.
=Mary in Heaven= (_To_) and _Highland Mary_, lyrics addressed by Robert Burns to Mary Campbell, between whom and the poet there existed a strong attachment previous to the latter’s departure from Ayrshire to Nithsdale. _Mary Morison_, a youthful effusion, was written to the object of a prior passion. The lines in the latter
Those smiles and glances let me see,
That make the miser’s treasure poor,
resembles those in _Highland Mary_--
Still o’er those scenes my mem’ry wakes,
And fondly broods with miser care.
=Mary of Mode´na=, the second wife of James II. of England, and mother of “The Pretender.”
Mamma was to assume the character and stately way of the royal
“Mary of Modena.”--Percy Fitzgerald, _The Parvenu Family_, iii.
239.
=Mary Queen of Scots= was confined first at Carlisle; she was removed in 1568 to Bolton; in 1569 she was confined at Tutbury, Wingfield, Tutbury, Ashby-de-la-Zouche, and Coventry; in 1570 she was removed to Tutbury, Chatsworth, and Sheffield; in 1577 to Chatsworth; in 1578 to Sheffield; in 1584 to Wingfield; in 1585 to Tutbury, Chartley, Tixhall, and Chartley; in 1586 (September 25) to Fotheringay.
⁂ She is introduced by Sir W. Scott, in his novel entitled _The Abbot_.
Schiller has taken Mary Stuart for the subject of his best tragedy, and P. Lebrun brought out in France a French version thereof (1729-1807).
_Mary queen of Scots._ The most elegant and poetical compliment ever paid to woman was paid to Mary queen of Scots, by Shakespeare, in _Midsummer Night’s Dream_. Remember, the _mermaid_ is “Queen Mary;” the _dolphin_ means the “dauphin of France,” whom Mary married; the _rude sea_ means the “Scotch rebels;” and the _stars that shot from their spheres_ means “the princes who sprang from their allegiance to Queen Elizabeth.”
Thou remember’st
Since once I sat upon a promontory,
And heard a _mermaid_, on a _dolphin’s_ back,
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,
That the _rude sea_ grew civil at her song;
And certain _stars shot madly from their spheres_,
To hear the sea-maid’s music.
Act ii. sc. 1 (1592).
These “stars” were the earl of Northumberland, the earl of Westmoreland, and the duke of Norfolk.
=Mary, the Maid of the Inn=, the delight and sunshine of the parish, about to be married to Richard, an idle, worthless fellow. One autumn night, two guests were drinking at the inn, and one remarked he should not much like to go to the abbey on such a night. “I’ll wager that Mary will go,” said the other, and the bet was accepted. Mary went, and, hearing footsteps, stepped into a place of concealment, when presently passed her two young men carrying a young woman they had just murdered. The hat of one blew off, and fell at Mary’s feet. She picked it up, and flew to the inn, told her story, and then, producing the hat, found it was Richard’s. Her senses gave way, and she became a confirmed maniac for life.--R. Southey, _Mary, the Maid of the Inn_ (from Dr. Plot’s _History of Staffordshire_, 1686).
=Mary Pyncheon.= (See PYNCHEON.)
=Mary Woodcock.= (See WOODCOCK.)
=Mar´zavan=, foster-brother of the Princess Badou´ra.--_Arabian Nights_ (“Camaralzaman and Badoura”).
=Masaniello=, a corruption of [Tom]maso Aniello, a Neapolitan fisherman, who headed an insurrection in 1647 against the duke of Arcos; and he resolved to kill the duke’s son for having seduced Fenella, his sister, who was deaf and dumb. The insurrection succeeded, and Masaniello was elected by his rabble “chief magistrate of Portici;” but he became intoxicated with his greatness, so the mob shot him, and flung his dead body into a ditch. Next day, however, it was taken out and interred with much ceremony and pomp. When Fenella heard of her brother’s death, she threw herself into the crater of Vesuvius.
⁂ Auber has an opera on the subject (1831), the libretto by Scribe. Caraffa had chosen the same subject for an opera previously.
=Mascarille= (3 _syl._), the valet of La Grange. In order to reform two silly, romantic girls, La Grange and Du Croisy introduce to them their valets, as the “marquis of Mascarille” and the “viscount of Jodelet.” The girls are taken with their “aristocratic visitors;” but when the game has gone far enough, the masters enter and unmask the trick. By this means the girls are taught a most useful lesson, and are saved from any serious ill consequences.--Molière, _Les Précieuses Ridicules_ (1659).
⁂ Molière had already introduced the same name in two other of his comedies, _L’Etourdi_ (1653) and _Le Dépit Amoureux_ (1654).
=Masetto=, a rustic engaged to Zerlīna; but Don Giovanni intervenes before the wedding, and deludes the foolish girl into believing that he means to make her a great lady and his wife.--Mozart, _Don Giovanni_ (libretto by L. da Ponte, 1787).
=Mask´well=, the “double dealer.” He pretends to love Lady Touchwood, but it is only to make her a tool for breaking the attachment between Mellefont (2 _syl._) and Cynthia. Maskwell pretends friendship for Mellefont merely to throw dust in his eyes respecting his designs to carry off Cynthia, to whom Mellefont is betrothed. Cunning and hypocrisy are Maskwell’s substitutes for wisdom and honesty.--W. Congreve, _The Double Dealer_ (1700).
=Massasowat.= The account given by Edward Winslow of the illness of Massasowat--the friendly Indian chief whose alliance with the pilgrim father ceased only with his life--is a curious contribution to colonial literature. The remedies and diet used by Winslow are so extraordinary as to give unintentional point to his remark--“We, with admiration, blessed GOD for giving his blessing to such rare and ignorant means.”--Edward Winslow, _Good News from New England_ (1624).
=Mason= (_William_). The medallion to this poet in Westminster Abbey was by Bacon.
_Mason_ (_Lady_). She forges a will purporting to be by her husband, securing his estate to herself and her son. Nobody suspects the fraud for years. When inquiry arises, Lady Mason is engaged to a gallant old baronet who will not credit her guilt until, conscience-smitten, she throws herself at his feet and acknowledges all.
_Lucius Mason._ The priggish, good-looking youth for whom Lady Mason risks so much. When he learns the truth he is stern in his judgment of the unhappy woman.--Anthony Trollope, _Orley Farm_.
=Master= (_The_). Goethe is called _Der Meister_ (1749-1832).
I beseech you, Mr. Tickler, not to be so sarcastic on “The
Master.”--_Noctes Ambrosiana._
_Master_ (_The Old_). Mythical personage, whose breakfast-table monologues are among the most charming that enliven the pages of Oliver Wendell Holmes’s _Poet at the Breakfast Table_. “I think he suspects himself of a three-story intellect, and I don’t feel sure that he isn’t right.”
=Master Adam=, Adam Billaut, the French poet (1602-1662).
=Master Humphrey=, the narrator of the story called “The Old Curiosity Shop.”--C. Dickens, _Master Humphrey’s Clock_ (1840).
=Master Leonard=, grand-master of the nocturnal orgies of the demons. He presided at these meetings in the form of a three-horned goat with a black human face.--_Middle Age Demonology._
=Master, like Man= (_Like_).
Such mistress, such Nan;
Such master, such man.
Tusser, xxxviii. 22.
Again:
Such master, such man; and such mistress, such maid;
Such husband and huswife; such houses arraid.
T. Tusser, _Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry_,
xxxix. 22 (1557).
=Master Matthew=, a town gull.--Ben Jonson, _Every Man in His Humor_ (1598).
=Master Stephen=, a country gull of melancholy humor. (See MASTER MATTHEW).--Ben Jonson, _Every Man in His Humor_ (1598).
=Master of Sentences=, Pierre Lombard, author of a book called _Sentences_ (1100-1164).
=Masters= (_Doctor_), physician to Queen Elizabeth.--Sir W. Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Masters_ (The Four): (1) Michael O’Clerighe (_or_ Clery), who died 1643; (2) Cucoirighe O’Clerighe; (3) Maurice Conry; (4) Fearfeafa Conry; authors of _Annals of Donegal_.
=Mat Mizen=, mate of H.M. ship _Tiger_. The type of a daring, reckless, dare-devil English sailor. His adventures with Harry Clifton, in Delhi, form the main incidents of Barrymore’s melodrama, _El Hyder, Chief of the Ghaut Mountains_.
=Mat-o’-the Mint=, a highwayman in Captain Macheath’s gang. Peachum says, “He is a promising, sturdy fellow, and diligent in his way. Somewhat too bold and hasty; one that may raise good contributions on the public if he does not cut himself short by murder.”--Gay, _The Beggar’s Opera_, i. (1727).
=Matabrune= (3 _syl._), wife of King Pierron of the Strong Island, and mother of Prince Oriant, one of the ancestors of Godfrey of Bouillon.--_Mediæval Romance of Chivalry._
=Mathematical Calculators.=
George Parkes Bidder, president of the Institution of Civil Engineers (1800- ).
Jedediah Buxton, of Elmeton, in Derbyshire. He would tell how many letters were in any one of his father’s sermons, after hearing it from the pulpit. He went to hear Garrick, in _Richard III._, and told how many words each actor uttered (1705-1775).
Zerah Colburn, of Vermont, U. S., came to London in 1812, when he was eight years old. The duke of Gloucester set him to multiply five figures by three, and he gave the answer instantly. He would extract the cube root of nine figures in a few seconds (1804- ).
Vito Mangiamele, son of a Sicilian shepherd. In 1839 MM. Arago, Lacroix, Libri, and Sturm examined the boy, then 11 years old, and in half a minute he told them the cube root of seven figures, and in three seconds of nine figures (1818- ).
Alfragan, the Arabian astronomer (died 820).
=Mathilde= (2 _syl._), heroine of a tale so called by Sophie Ristaud, Dame Cottin (1773-1807).
_Mathilde_ (3 _syl._), sister of Gessler, the tyrannical governor of Switzerland, in love with Arnoldo, a Swiss, who saved her life when it was imperilled by an avalanche. After the death of Gessler she married the bold Swiss.--Rossini, _Guglielmo Tell_ (an opera, 1829).
=Mathis=, a German miller, greatly in debt. One Christmas Eve a Polish Jew came to his house in a sledge, and, after rest and refreshment, started for Nantzig, “four leagues off.” Mathis followed him, killed him with an axe, and burnt the body in a lime-kiln. He then paid his debts, greatly prospered, and became a highly respected burgomaster. On the wedding night of his only child, Annette, he died of apoplexy, of which he had previous warning by the constant sound of sledge-bells in his ears. In his dream he supposed himself put into a mesmeric sleep in open court, when he confessed everything, and was executed.--J. R. Ware, _The Polish Jew_.
⁂ This is the character which first introduced H. Irving to public notice.
=Math´isen=, one of the three anabaptists who induced John of Leyden to join their rebellion; but no sooner was John proclaimed “the prophet-king” than the three rebels betrayed him to the emperor. When the villains entered the banquet-hall to arrest their dupe, they all perished in the flames of the burning palace.--Meyerbeer, _Le Prophète_ (an opera, 1849).
=Matilda=, wife of the earl of Leicester, in the “first American tragedy regularly produced” in the United States.
She plans to poison her lord, a plot discovered and thwarted by him. In shame and remorse she stabs herself to the heart, praying Leicester to “pity her youthful paramour.”--William Dunlap, _Leicester, A Tragedy_ (1794).
_Matilda_, sister of Rollo and Otto, dukes of Normandy, and daughter of Sophia.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Bloody Brother_ (1639).
_Matilda_, daughter of Lord Robert Fitzwalter.
⁂ Michael Drayton has a poem of some 650 lines, so called.
_Matilda_, daughter of Rokeby, and niece of Mortham. Matilda was beloved by Wilfred, son of Oswald; but she herself loved Redmond, her father’s page, who turned out to be Mortham’s son.--Sir W. Scott, _Rokeby_ (1812).
=Matsys= (_Quintin_), a blacksmith of Antwerp. He fell in love with Liza, the daughter of Johann Mandyn, the artist. The father declared that none but an artist should have her to wife; so Matsys relinquished his trade, and devoted himself to painting. After a while, he went into the studio of Mandyn to see his picture of the fallen angel; and on the outstretehed[TN-6] leg of one of the figures painted a bee. This was so life-like, that when the old man returned, he proceeded to frighten it off with his handkerchief. When he discovered the deception, and found out it was done by Matsys, he was so delighted that he at once gave Liza to him for wife.
=Matthew Merrygreek=, the servant of Ralph Roister Doister. He is a flesh-and-blood representative of “vice” in the old morality-plays.--Nicholas Udall, _Ralph Roister Doister_ (the first English comedy, 1634).
=Matthias de Monçada=, a merchant. He is the father of Mrs. Witherington, wife of General Witherington.--Sir W. Scott, _The Surgeon’s Daughter_ (time, George II.).
=Matthias de Silva= (_Don_), a Spanish beau. This exquisite one day received a challenge for defamation, soon after he had retired to bed, and said to his valet, “I would not get up before noon to make one in the best party of pleasure that was ever projected. Judge, then, if I shall rise at six o’clock in the morning to get my throat cut.”--Lesage, _Gil Blas_, iii. 8 (1715).
(This reply was borrowed from the romance of Espinel, entitled _Vida del Escudero Marços de Obregon_, 1618).
=Mattie=, maid servant of Bailie Nicol Jarvie, and afterwards his wife.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).
=Maud Muller=, pretty, shy haymaker, of whom the judge, passing by, craves a cup of water. He falls in love with the rustic maiden, but dare not wed her. She, too, recollects him with tenderness, dreaming vainly of what might have been her different lot.
“Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’”
J. G. Whittier, _Maud Muller_.
Bret Harte has written a clever parody upon Maud Muller,--“_Mrs. Judge Jenkins_.”
“There are no sadder words of tongue or pen,
Than ‘It is, but _it hadn’t orter been!_’”
=Maude=, (1 _syl._), wife of Peter Pratefast, “who loved cleanliness.”
She kepe her dishes from all foulenes;
And when she lacked clowtes withouten fayle,
She wyped her dishes with her dogges tayll.
Stephen Hawes, _The Pastyme of Pleasure_, xxix. (1515).
=Maugis=, the Nestor of French romance. He was one of Charlemagne’s paladins, a magician and champion.
⁂ In Italian romance he is called “Malagigi” (_q.v._).
=Maugis d’Aygremont=, son of Duke Bevis d’Aygremont, stolen in infancy by a female slave. As the slave rested under a white-thorn, a lion and a leopard devoured her, and then killed each other in disputing over the infant. Oriande la fèe, attracted to the spot by the crying of the child, exclaimed, “by the powers above, the child is _mal gist_ (‘badly nursed’)!” and ever after it was called Mal-gist or Mau-gis’. When grown to manhood, he obtained the enchanted horse Bayard, and took from Anthenor (the Saracen) the the[TN-7] sword Flamberge. Subsequently he gave both to his cousin Renaud (_Renaldo_). Romance of _Maugis d’Aygremont et de Vivian son Frère_.
⁂ In the Italian romance, Maugis is called “Malagigi,” Bevis is “Buovo,” Bayard is “Bayardo,” Flamberge is “Fusberta,” and Renaud is “Renaldo.”
=Maugrabin= (_Zamet_), a Bohemian, hung near Plessis lés Tours.
_Hayraddin Maugrabin_, the “Zingaro,” brother of Zamet Maugrabin. He assumes the disguise of Rouge Sanglier, and pretends to be a herald from Liège [_Le.aje_].--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Mau´graby=, son of Hal-il-Maugrăby and his wife Yandar. Hal-il-Maugraby founded Dom-Daniel “under the roots of the ocean” near the coast of Tunis, and his son completed it. He and his son were the greatest magicians that ever lived. Maugraby was killed by Prince Habed-il-Rouman, son of the caliph of Syria, and with his death Dom-Daniel ceased to exist.--_Continuation of Arabian Nights_ (“History of Maugraby”).
Did they not say to us every day that if we were naughty the
Maugraby would take us?--_Continuation of Arabian Nights_, iv. 74.
=Maugys=, a giant who kept the bridge leading to a castle in which a lady was besieged. Sir Lybius, one of the knights of the Round Table, did battle with him, slew him, and liberated the lady.--_Libeaux_ (a romance).
=Maul=, a giant who used to spoil young pilgrims with sophistry. He attacked Mr. Greatheart with a club; but Greatheart pierced him under the fifth rib, and then cut off his head.--Bunyan, _Pilgrim’s Progress_, ii. (1684).
=Maul of Monks=, Thomas Cromwell, visitor-general of English monasteries, which he summarily suppressed (1490-1540).
=Maulstatute= (_Master_), a magistrate.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
=Maun´drel=, a wearisome gossip, a chattering woman.
_Maundrels_, vagaries, especially those of a person in delirium, or the disjointed gabble of a sleeper.
⁂ The word is said to be a corruption of Mandeville (_Sir John_), who published a book of travels, full of idle tales and maundering gossip.
=Mauprat= (_Adrien de_), colonel and chevalier in the king’s army; “the wildest gallant and bravest knight of France.” He married Julie; but the king accused him of treason for so doing, and sent him to the Bastille. Being released by the Cardinal Richelieu, he was forgiven, and made happy with the blessing of the king.--Lord Lytton, _Richelieu_ (1839).
_Mauprat_, the last of a fierce race of French robber nobles. His wild nature is subdued into real nobility by his love for his beautiful cousin.--George Sand, _Mauprat_ (1836).
=Maurice Beevor= (_Sir_), a miser, and (failing the children of the countess) heir to the Arundel estates. The countess having two sons (Arthur and Percy), Sir Maurice hired assassins to murder them; but his plots were frustrated, and the miser went to his grave “a sordid, spat-upon, revengeless, worthless, and rascally poor cousin.”--Lord Lytton, _The Sea-Captain_ (1839).
=Mause= (_Old_), mother of Cuddie Headrigg, and a covenanter.--Sir W. Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
=Mauso´lus=, king of Caria, to whom his wife Artĕmisia erected a sepulchre which was one of the “Seven Wonders of the World” (B.C. 353).
The chief mausoleums besides this are those of Augustus; Hadrian (now called the castle of St. Angelo) at Rome; Henri II., erected by Catherine de Medicis; St. Peter the martyr, in the church of St. Eustatius, by G. Balduccio; that to the memory of Louis XVI.; and the tomb of Napoleon in Les Invalides, Paris. The one erected by Queen Victoria to Prince Albert may also be mentioned.
=Mauthe Dog=, a black spectre spaniel that haunted the guard-room of Peeltown in the Isle of Man. One day a drunken trooper entered the guard-room while the dog was there, but lost his speech, and died within three days.--Sir W. Scott, _Lay of the Last Minstrel_, vi. 26 (1805).
=Mauxalin´da=, in love with Moore, of Moore Hall; but the valiant combatant of the dragon deserts her for Margery, daughter of Gubbins, of Roth’ram Green.--H. Carey, _Dragon of Wantley_ (1696-1743).
=Mavortian=, a soldier or son of Mavors (_Mars_).
Hew dreadfull Mavortian the poor price of a dinner.--Richard Brome,
_Plays_ (1653).
=Mawworm=, a vulgar copy of Dr. Cantwell “the hypocrite.” He is a most gross abuser of his mother tongue, but believes he has a call to preach. He tells old Lady Lambert that he has made several sermons already, but “always does ’em extrumpery” because he could not write. He finds his “religious vocation” more profitable than selling “grocery, tea, small beer, charcoal, butter, brickdust, and other spices,” and so comes to the conclusion that it “is sinful to keep shop.” He is a convert of Dr. Cantwell, and believes in him to the last.
Do despise me; I’m the prouder for it. I like to be despised.--I.
Bickerstaff, _The Hypocrite_, ii. 1 (1768).
=Max=, a huntsman, and the best marksman in Germany. He was plighted to Agatha, who was to be his wife, if he won the prize in the annual match. Caspar induced Max to go to the wolf’s glen at midnight and obtain seven charmed balls from Samiel, the Black Huntsman. On the day of contest, while Max was shooting, he killed Caspar, who was concealed in a tree, and the king in consequence abolished this annual _fête_.--Weber, _Der Freischütz_ (an opera, 1822).
=Maxime= (2 _syl._), an officer of the Prefect Almachius. He was ordered to put to death Valerian and Tibur´cê, because they refused to worship the image of Jupiter; but he took pity on them, took them to his house, became converted and was baptized. When Valerian and Tiburcê were afterwards martyred, Maxime said he saw angels come and carry them to heaven, whereupon Almachius caused him to be beaten with rods “til he his lif gan lete.”--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ (“Second Nun’s Tale,” 1388).
⁂ This is based on the story of “Cecilia” in the _Legenda Aurea_; and both are imitations of the story of Paul and the jailer of Philippi (_Acts_ xvi. 19-34).
=Maximil´ian= (son of Frederick III.), the hero of the _Teuerdank_, the _Orlando Furioso_ of the Germans, by Melchior Pfinzing.
....[_here_] in old heroic days
Sat the poet Melchoir, singing Kaiser Maximilian’s praise.
Longfellow, _Nuremberg_.
=Maximin=, a Roman tyrant.--Dryden, _Tyrannic Love_, or _the Royal Martyr_.
=Maximus=, (called by Geoffrey, “Maximian”), a Roman senator, who in 381, was invited to become king of Britain. He conquered Armorica (_Bretagne_), and “published a decree for the assembling together there of 100,000 of the common people of Britain, to colonize the land, and 30,000 soldiers to defend the colony.” Hence Armorica was called, “The other Britain” or “Little Britain.”--Geoffrey, _British History_, v. 14 (1142).
Got Maximus at length the victory in Gaul,
... where after Gratian’s fall.
Armorica to them the valiant victor gave....
Which colony ... is “Little Britain” called.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, ix. (1612).
=Maxwell=, deputy chamberlain at Whitehall.--Sir W. Scott, _Fortunes of Nigel_ (time, James I.).
_Maxwell_ (_Mr. Pate_), laird of Summertrees, called “Pate in Peril;” one of the papist conspirators with Redgauntlet.--Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
_Maxwell_ (_The Right Hon. William_), Lord Evandale, an officer in the king’s army.--Sir W. Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
=May=, a girl who married January, a Lombard baron 60 years old. She loved Damyan, a young squire; and one day the baron caught Damyan and May fondling each other, but the young wife told her husband his eyes were so defective that they could not be trusted. The old man accepted the solution--for what is better than “a fruitful wife and a confiding spouse?”--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ (“The Merchant’s Tale,” 1388).
=May unlucky for Brides.= Mary, queen of Scotland, married Bothwell, the murderer of her husband, Lord Darnley, on May 12.
Mense malum Maio nubere vulgus ait.
Ovid, _Fasti_, v.
=May-Day= (_Evil_), May 1, 1517, when the London apprentices rose up against the foreign residents and did incalcuable[TN-8] mischief. This riot began May 1, and lasted till May 22.
=May Queen= (_The_), a poem in three parts by Tennyson (1842). Alice, a bright-eyed, merry child, was chosen May queen, and, being afraid she might oversleep herself, told her mother to be sure to call her early.
I sleep so sound all night, mother, that I shall never wake,
If you do not call me loud when the day begins to break;
But I must gather knots of flowers, and buds and garlands gay,
For I’m to be queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be queen o’ the May.
The old year passed away, and the black-eyed rustic maiden was dying. She hoped to greet the new year before her eyes closed in death, and bade her mother once again to be sure to call her early; but it was not now because she slept so soundly. Alas! no.
Good night, sweet mother; call me before the day is born.
All night I lie awake, but I fall asleep at morn;
But I would see the sun rise upon the glad New Year,
So, if you’re waking, call me, call me early, mother dear.
The day rose and passed away, but Alice lingered on till March. The snow-drops had gone before her, and the violets were in bloom. Robin had dearly loved the child, but the thoughtless village beauty, in her joyous girlhood, tossed her head at him, and never thought of love, but now, that she was going to the land of shadows, her dying words were:
And say to Robin a kind word, and tell him not to fret;
There’s many worthier than I, would make him happy yet.
If I had lived--I cannot tell--I might have been his wife;
But all these things have ceased to be, with my desire of life.
=Maye= (_The_), that subtle and abstruse sense which the goddess Maya inspires. Plato, Epicharmos, and some other ancient philosophers refer it to the presence of divinity. “It is the divinity which stirs within us.” In poetry it gives an inner sense to the outward word, and in common minds it degenerates into delusion or second sight. Maya is an Indian deity, and personates the “power of creation.”
Hartmann possède la Mâye ... il laisse pénétrer dans ses écrits les
sentiments, et les pensées dont son âme est remplie, et cherche
sans cesse à resoudre les antithèses.--G. Weber, _Hist. de la
Littérature Allemande_.
=Mayeux=, a stock name in France for a man deformed, vain, and licentious, but witty and brave. It occurs in a large number of French romances and caricatures.
=Mayflower=, a ship of 180 tons, which in December, 1620, started from Plymouth, and conveyed to Massachusetts 102 puritans, called the “Pilgrim Fathers,” who named their settlement New Plymouth.
... the _Mayflower_ sailed from the harbor [_Plymouth_],
Took the wind on her quarter, and stood for the open Atlantic,
Borne on the sand of the sea, and the swelling hearts of the pilgrims.
Longfellow, _Courtship of Miles Standish_, v. (1858).
_Men of the Mayflower_, the Pilgrim Fathers, who went out in the _Mayflower_ to North America in 1620.
_Mayflower_ (_Phœbe_), servant at Sir Henry Lee’s lodge.--Sir W. Scott, _Woodstock_ (time, commonwealth).
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Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 3Chapter I: Front Matter (1)
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