Chapter IV: Part 4

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

MAGPIE. To see _one_ magpie is unlucky; to see _two_ denotes merriment, or a marriage; to see _three_, a successful journey; _four_, good news; _five_, company.--Grose.

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

One’s sorrow, two’s mirth,
Three’s a wedding, four’s a birth,
Five’s a christening, six’s a dearth,
Seven’s heaven, eight is hell,
And nine’s the devil his ane sel.
_Old Scotch Rhyme._

In Lancashire, two magpies flying together is thought unlucky.

I have heard my gronny say, hoode os leef o seen two owd harries as
two pynots [_magpies_].--Tim Bobbin, _Lancashire Dialect_, 31 (1775).

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

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

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

There is a nation of pygmies.

The Patagonians are of gigantic stature.

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

MARTIN. It is unlucky to kill a martin.

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

Pray you tread softly, that the blind mole may not
Hear a footfall.
Shakespeare, _The Tempest_, act. iv. sc. 1 (1609).

MOON-CALF, the offspring of a woman, engendered solely by the power of the moon.--Pliny, _Natural History_, x. 64.

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

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

A fried mouse is a specific for small-pox.

OSTRICH. An ostrich can digest iron.

_Stephen._ I could eat the very hilts for anger.

_Kno´well._ A sign of your good digestion; you have an ostrich
stomach.--B. Jonson, _Every Man in His Humor_, iii. 1 (1598).

I’ll make thee eat iron like an ostrich, and swallow my
sword.--Shakespeare, _2 Henry VI._ act iv. sc. 10 (1591).

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

The oulê that of deth the bodê bringeth.
Chaucer, _Assembly of Foules_ (1358).

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

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

Then sayd the Pellycane,
“When my byrdts be slayne,
With my bloude I them reuyue [_revive_],”
Scrypture doth record,
The same dyd our Lord,
And rose from deth to lyue [_life_].
Skelton, _Armoury of Byrdts_ (died 1529).

And, like the kind, life rendering pelican,
Repast them with my blood.
Shakespeare, _Hamlet_, act iv. sc. 5 (1596).

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

Now I will believe, ... that in Arabia
There is one tree, the phœnix’ throne; one phœnix
At this hour reigning there.

Shakespeare, _The Tempest_, act iii. sc. 3 (1609).

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

The enchanted pile of that lonely bird
Who sings at the last his own death-lay.
And in music and perfume dies away.
T. Moore, _Lalla Rookh_ (“Paradise and the Peri,” 1817).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They prepared
A rotten carcass of a boat; the very rats
Instinctively had quit it.
Shakespeare, _The Tempest_, act i. sc. 2 (1609).

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

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

The Romans said that to see a _white_ rat was a certain presage of good luck.--Pliny, _Natural History_, viii. 57.

RAVEN. Ravens are ill-omened birds.

The hoarse night raven, trompe of doleful dreere.
Spenser.

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

Sæpe sinistra cava prædixit ab ilice cornix.
Virgil, _Ecl._, i.

Ravens call up rain.

Hark
How the curst raven, with her harmless voice,
Invokes the rain!
Smart, _Hop Garden_, ii. (died 1770).

When ravens forsake a wood, it prognosticates famine.

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

Ravens forebode pestilence and death.

Like the sad-presaging raven, that tolls
The sick man’s passport in her hollow beak,
And, in the shadow of the silent night,
Doth shake contagion from her sable wing.
Marlowe, _The Jew of Malta_ (1633).

Ravens foster forsaken children.

Some say that ravens foster forlorn children.
(?) Shakespeare, _Titus Andronicus_, act ii. sc. 3 (1593).

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

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

He [_Apollo_] blackened the raven o’er,
And bid him prate in his white plumes no more.
Addison’s _Translation of Ovid_, ii.

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

REM´ORA. A fish called the remora can arrest a ship in full sail.

A little fish that men call remora,
Which stopped her course ...
That wind nor tide could move her.
Spenser, _Sonnets_ (1591).

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

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

He brings cool dew in his little bill,
And lets it fall on the souls of sin;
You can see the mark on his red breast still,
Of fires that scorch as he drops it in.
J. G. Whittier, _The Robin_.

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

The robins so red, now these babies are dead,
Ripe strawberry leaves doth over them spread.
_Babes in the Wood._

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

SALAMANDER. The salamander lives in the fire.

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

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

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

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

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

The human saliva is a charm against fascination and witchcraft.

Thrice on my breast I spit, to guard me safe
From fascinating charms.
Theocritos.

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

Spitting for luck is a most common superstition.

Fishwomen generally spit upon their hansel.--Grose.

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

The swarty smith spits in his buckthorne fist.
Browne, _Britannia’s Pastorals_, i.

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

SCORPION. Scorpions sting themselves.

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

’Tis true the scorpion’s oil is said
To cure the wound the venom made.
S. Butler, _Hudibras_, iii. 2 (1678).

SPIDER. It is unlucky to kill a moneyspinner.

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

The bite of a spider is venomous.

No spider will spin its web on an Irish oak.

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

Spiders indicate where gold is to be found. (See SPIDERS INDICATORS OF GOLD.)

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

Spiders envenom whatever they touch.

There may be in the cup
A spider steeped, and one may drink, depart,
And yet partake no evil.
Shakespeare, _Winter’s Tale_, act iii. sc. 1 (1604).

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

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

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

Cured by the wearing a spider around one’s neck in a nutshell.
Longfellow, _Evangeline_, ii. (1849).

Spiders spin only on dark days.

The subtle spider never spins
But on dark days his slimy gins.
S. Butler, _On a Nonconformist_, iv.

Spiders have a natural antipathy to toads.

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

STORK. It is unlucky to kill a stork.

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

SWALLOW. According to Scandinavian legend, the bird hovered over the cross of Christ, crying, _Svalê! svalê!_ (“Cheer up! cheer up!”), and hence it received the name of _svalê_ or _swallow_, “the bird of consolation.”

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

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

Seeking with eager eyes that wondrous stone which the swallow
Brings from the shore of the sea, to restore the sight of its
fledglings.
Longfellow, _Evangeline_, i. 1 (1849).

To kill a swallow is unlucky.

When swallows fly high, the weather will be fine.

When swallows fleet soar high and sport in air,
He told us that the welkin would be clear.
Gay, _Pastoral_, i. (1714).

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

Swans a little before their death sing most sweetly.--Pliny, _Natural
History_, x. 23.

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

TARANTULA. The tarantula is poisonous.

The music of a tarantula will cure its venomous bite.

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

... the toad ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in its head.
Shakespeare, _As You Like It_, act ii. sc. 1 (1600).

In the dog days, toads never open their mouths.

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

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

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

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

WEASEL. To meet a weasel is unlucky.--Congreve, _Love for Love_.

You never catch a weasel asleep.

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

Men are sometimes changed into wolves.--Pliny, _Natural History_.

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

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

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

=Superstitions about Precious Stones.=

R. B. means Rabbi Benoni (fourteenth century); S. means Streeter, _Precious Stones_ (1877).

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

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

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

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

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

Around thee shall glisten the lovliest amber
That ever the sorrowing sea-bird hath wept.
T. Moore, Lalla Rookh (“Fire-Worshippers,” 1817).

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

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

The Greeks thought that it counteracted the effects of wine.

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

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

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

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

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

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

DIAMOND produces somnambulism, and promotes spiritual ecstasy.--R. B.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOADSTONE produces somnambulism.--R. B.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All precious stones are purified by honey.

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

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

=Surface= (_Sir Oliver_), the rich uncle of Joseph and Charles Surface. He appears under the assumed name of Premium Stanley.

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

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

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

=Surgery= (_Father of French_), Ambrose Paré (1517-1590).

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

=Surplus= (_Mr._), a lawyer, Mrs. Surplus, and Charles Surplus, the nephew.--J. M. Morton, _A Regular Fix_.

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

Saddle White Surrey for the field to-morrow.
Shakespeare, _King Richard III._ act v. sc. 3 (1597).

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

=Sur´ya= (2 _syl._), the sun-god, whose car is drawn by seven green horses, the charioteer being Dawn.--Sir W. Jones, _From the Veda_.

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

=Susannah=, in Sterne’s novel entitled _The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman_ (1759).

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

=Sussex= (_The earl of_), a rival of the earl of Leicester, in the court of Queen Elizabeth; introduced by Sir W. Scott in _Kenilworth_.

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

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

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

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

=Sutton= (_Sir William_), uncle of Hero Sutton, the City maiden.--S. Knowles, _Woman’s Wit, etc._ (1838).

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

A town which did a famous siege endure ...
By Suvaroff or _Anglicè_ Suwarrow.
Byron, _Don Juan_, vii. 8 (1824).

=Suzanne=, the wife of Chalomel, the chemist and druggist.--J. R. Ware, _Piperman’s Predicament_.

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

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

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

_Swan_ (_The_), called the bird of Apollo or of Orpheus (2 _syl._). (See “Swan.”)

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

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

_Swan_ (_The Mantuan_), Virgil, born at Mantua (B.C. 70-19).

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

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

=Swan of Avon= (_The Sweet_). Shakespeare was so called by Ben Jonson (1564-1616).

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

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

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

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

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

Taylor, their better Charon, lends an oar,
Once Swan of Thames, tho’ now he sings no more.
Pope, _The Duncaid_, iii. 19 (1728).

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

The Danes landed here again ...
With those disordered troops by Alaff hither led,
In seconding their Swane ... but an English yet there was ...
Who washed his secret knife in Swane’s relentless gore.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xii. (1613).

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

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

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

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

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

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

=Sweepclean= (_Saunders_), a king’s messenger at Knockwinnock Castle.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).

=Sweet Singer of Israel= (_The_), King David.

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

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

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

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

=Swidger= (_William_), custodian of a college. His wife was Milly, and his father, Philip. Mr. Swidger was a great talker, and generally began with, “That’s what I say,” _à propos_ of nothing.--C. Dickens, _The Haunted Man_ (1848).

=Swimmers.= Leander used to swim across the Hellespont every night to visit Hero.--Musæus, _De Amore Herois et Leandri_.

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

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

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

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

H. Gurr was one of the best swimmers ever known. J. B. Johnson, in 1871, won the championship for swimming.

=Swing= (_Captain_), a name assumed by certain persons, who, between 1830 and 1833, used to send threatening letters to those who used threshing-machines. The letters ran thus:

Sir, if you do not lay by your threshing-machine, you will hear from
Swing.

=Swiss Family Robinson.= This tale is an abridgment of a German tale, by Joachim Heinrich Kampe.

=Switzers=, guards attendant on a king, irrespective of their nationality. So called because at one time the Swiss were always ready to fight for hire.

The king, in _Hamlet_, says, “Where are my Switzers?” _i.e._, my attendants; and in Paris, to the present day, we may see written up, _Parlez au Suisse_ (“speak to the porter”), be he Frenchman, German, or any other nation.

Law, logicke, and the Switzers may be hired to fight for
anybody.--Nashe, _Christ’s Tears over Jerusalem_ (1594).

=Swiveller= (_Mr. Dick_), a dirty, smart, young man, living in apartments near Drury Lane. His language was extremely flowery, and interlarded with quotations: “What’s the odds,” said Mr. Swiveller, _à propos_ of nothing, “so long as the fire of the soul is kindled at the taper of conwiviality, and the wing of friendship never moults a feather?” His dress was a brown body-coat, with a great many brass buttons up the front, and only one behind, a bright check neckcloth, a plaid waistcoat, soiled white trousers, and a very limp hat, worn the wrong side foremost, to hide a hole in the brim. The breast of his coat was ornamented with the cleanest end of a very large pocket-handkerchief; his dirty wristbands were pulled down and folded over his cuffs; he had no gloves, and carried a yellow cane, having a bone handle, and a little ring. He was forever humming some dismal air. He said _min_ for “man,” _forgit_, _jine_; called wine or spirits “the rosy,” sleep “the balmy,” and generally shouted in conversation, as if making a speech from the chair of the “Glorious Apollers” of which he was perpetual “grand.” Mr. Swiveller looked amiably towards Miss Sophy Wackles, of Chelsea. Quilp introduced him as clerk, to Mr. Samson Brass, solicitor, Bevis Marks. By Quilp’s request, he was afterwards turned away, fell sick of a fever, through which he was nursed by “the marchioness” (a poor house-drab), whom he married, and was left by his Aunt Rebecca an annuity of £125.

“Is that a reminder to go and pay?” said Trent, with a sneer. “Not
exactly, Fred,” replied Richard. “I enter in this little book the
names of the streets that I can’t go down while the shops are open.
This dinner to-day closes Long Acre. I bought a pair of boots in Great
Queen Street, last week, and made that ‘no thoroughfare’ too. There’s
only one avenue to the Strand left open now, and I shall have to stop
up that to-night with a pair of gloves. The roads are closing so fast
in every direction, that in about a month’s time, unless my aunt sends
me a remittance, I shall have to go three or four miles out of town to
get over the way.”--C. Dickens, _The Old Curiosity Shop_, viii (1840).

=Sword.= (For the names of the most famous swords in history and fiction, see _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_, 869.) Add the following:--

Ali’s sword, Zulfagar.

Koll, the Thrall’s sword, named Greysteel.

Ogier, the Dane, had two swords, made by Munifican, viz., Sauvagine and Courtain or Curtāna.

He [_Ogier_] drew Courtain his sword from out its sheath.
W. Morris, _Earthly Paradise_, 634.

Strong-o’-the-Arm had three swords, viz., Baptism, Florence, and Graban made by Ansias.

_Sword_ (_The Marvel of the_). When King Arthur first appears on the scene, he is brought into notice by the “Marvel of the Sword;” and Sir Galahad, who was to achieve the Holy Graal, was introduced to knighthood by a similar adventure. That of Arthur is thus described:

In the greatest church of London ... there was seen in the churchyard,
against the high altar, a great stone, foursquare, like to a marble
stone, and in the midst thereof, was an anvil of steel a foot in
height, and therein stuck a fair sword, naked by the point, and
letters of gold were written about the sword that said thus: _Whoso
pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born
of England._ [_Arthur was the only person who could draw it out, so he
was acknowledged to be the rightful king._]--Pt. i. 3, 4.

The sword adventure of Sir Galahad, at the age of 15, is thus given:

The king and his knights came to the river and they found there a
stone floating, as it had been of red marble, and therein stuck a fair
and rich sword, and in the pomell thereof were precious stones,
wrought with subtil letters of gold. Then the barons read the letters,
which said in this wise: _Never shall man take me hence, but only he
by whom I ought to hang, and he shall be the best knight of the
world._ [_Sir Galahad drew the sword easily, but no other knight was
able to pull it forth._]--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_,
iii. 30, 31 (1470).

A somewhat similar adventure occurs in the _Amădis de Gaul_. Whoever succeeded in drawing from a rock an enchanted sword, was to gain access to a subterranean treasure (ch. cxxx.; see also lxxii. xcix.).

_Sword_ (_The Irresistible_). The king of Araby and Ind sent Cambuscan´, king of Tartary, a sword that would pierce any armor, and if the smiter chose he could heal the wound again by striking it with the flat of the blade.--Chaucer, _The Squire’s Tale_ (1388).

=Sword and the Maiden= (_The_). Soon after King Arthur succeeded to the throne, a damsel came to Camelot girded with a sword which no man defiled by “shame, treachery, or guile” could draw from its scabbard. She had been to the court of King Ryence, but no knight there could draw it. King Arthur tried to draw it, but with no better success; all his knights tried also, but none could draw it. At last a poor ragged knight named Balin, who had been held in prison for six months, made the attempt, and drew the sword with the utmost ease, but the knights insisted it had been done by witchcraft. The maiden asked Sir Balin to give her the sword, but he refused to do so, and she then told him it would bring death to himself and his dearest friend; and so it did; for when he and his brother, Balan, jousted together, unknown to each other, both were slain, and were buried in one tomb.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 27-44 (1470).

=Sword in the City Arms= (_London_). Stow asserts that the sword or dagger in the City arms was not added in commemoration of Walworth’s attack on Wat Tyler, but that it represents the sword of St. Paul, the patron saint of London. This is not correct. Without doubt the cognizance of the City, previous to 1381, was St. Paul’s sword, but after the death of Tyler, it was changed into Walworth’s dagger.

Brave Walworth, knight, lord mayor, that slew
Rebellious Tyler in his alarmes;
The king, therefore, did give him in lieu
The dagger to the city armes.
_Fishmongers’ Hall_ (“Fourth Year of Richard II.,” 1381).

=Sword of God= (_The_). Khaled, the conqueror of Syria (632-8), was so called by Mohammedans.

=Sword of Rome= (_The_), Marcellus. Fabius was called “The Shield of Rome” (time of Hannibal’s invasion).

=Swordsman= (_The Handsome_). Joachim Murat was called _Le Beau Sabreur_ (1767-1815).

=Syb´arite= (3 _syl._), an effeminate man, a man of pampered self-indulgence. Seneca tells us of a sybarite who could not endure the nubble of a folded rose leaf in his bed.

[_Her bed_] softer than the soft sybarite’s, who cried
Aloud because his feelings were too tender
To brook a ruffled rose leaf by his side.
Byron, _Don Juan_, vi. 89 (1824).

=Sybrandt=, cousin and lover of Catalina, in _The Dutchman’s Fireside_, by James Kirke Paulding. The girl, half-spoiled by city life, is now ashamed of her rustic lover in his snuff-colored suit; anon, believes all the slanderous tales she hears of him, and, when she witnesses his terrible struggle with the Indian who sought her life, knows that she loves him truly and entirely (1831).

=Syc´orax=, a foul witch, the mistress of Ariel, the fairy spirit, by whom for some offence he was imprisoned in the rift of a cloven pine tree. After he had been kept there for twelve years, he was liberated by Prospero, the rightful duke of Milan, and father of Miranda. Sycorax was the mother of Caliban.--Shakespeare, _The Tempest_ (1609).

If you had told Sycorax that her son, Caliban, was as handsome as
Apollo, she would have been pleased, witch as she was.--Thackeray.

Those foul and impure mists which their pens, like the raven wings of
Sycorax, had brushed from fern and bog.--Sir W. Scott, _The Drama_.

=Syddall= (_Anthony_), house-steward at Osbaldistone Hall.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).

=Sydenham= (_Charles_), the frank, open-hearted, trusty friend of the Woodvilles.--Cumberland, _The Wheel of Fortune_ (1779).

=Syl=, a monster like a basilisk, with human face, but so terrible that no one could look on it and live.

=Sylla= (_Cornelius_), the rival of Ma´rius. Being consul, he had, _ex-officio_, a right to lead in the Mithridatic war (B.C. 88), but Marius got the appointment of Sylla set aside in favor of himself. Sylla, in dudgeon, hastened back to Rome, and insisted that the “recall” should be reversed. Marius fled. Sylla pursued the war with success, returned to Rome in triumph, and made a wholesale slaughter of the Romans who had opposed him. As many as 7000 soldiers and 5000 private citizens fell in this massacre, and all their goods were distributed among his own partisans. Sylla was now called “Perpetual Dictator,” but in two years retired into private life, and died the year following (B.C. 78).

Jouy has a good tragedy in French called _Sylla_ (1822), and the character of “Sylla” was a favorite one with Talma, the French actor. In 1594, Thomas Lodge produced his historical play called _Wounds of Civil War, lively set forth in the True Tragedies of Marius and Sylla_.

=Sylli= (_Signor_), an Italian exquisite, who walks fantastically, talks affectedly, and thinks himself irresistible. He makes love to Cami´ola, “the maid of honor,” and fancies, by posturing, grimaces, and affectation, to “make her dote on him.” He says to her, “In singing, I am a Siren,” in dancing, a Terpsichŏrê. “He could tune a ditty lovely well,” and prided himself “on his pretty spider fingers, and the twinkling of his two eyes.” Of course, Camiŏla sees no charms in these effeminacies; but the conceited puppy says he “is not so sorry for himself as he is for her” that she rejects him. Signor Sylli is the silliest of all the Syllis.--Massinger, _The Maid of Honor_ (1637). (See TAPPERTIT.)

=Sylvia=, daughter of Justice Balance, and an heiress. She is in love with Captain Plume, but promised her father not to “dispose of herself to any man without his consent.” As her father feared Plume was too much a libertine to make a steady husband, he sent Sylvia into the country to withdraw her from his society; but she dressed in her brother’s military suit, assumed the name of Jack Wilful, _alias_ Pinch, and enlisted. When the names were called over by the justices, and that of “Pinch” was brought forward, Justice Balance “gave his consent for the recruit to dispose of [_himself_] to Captain Plume,” and the permission was kept to the letter, though not in its intent. However, the matter had gone too far to be revoked, and the father made up his mind to bear with grace what without disgrace he could not prevent.--G. Farquhar, _The Recruiting Officer_ (1705).

I am troubled neither with spleen, colic, nor vapors, I need no salts
for my stomach, no harts-horn for my head, nor any wash for my
complexion. I can gallop all the morning after the hunting-horn, and
all the evening after a fiddle.--Act i. 2.

=Sylvio de Rosalva= (_Don_), the hero and title of a novel by C. M. Wieland (1733-1813). Don Sylvio, a quixotic believer in fairyism, is gradually converted to common sense by the extravagant demands which are made on his belief, assisted by the charms of a mortal beauty. The object of this romance is a crusade against the sentimentalism and religious foolery of the period.

=Symkyn= (_Symond_), nicknamed “Disdainful,” a miller, living at Trompington, near Cambridge. His face was round, his nose flat, and his skull “pilled as an ape’s.” He was a thief of corn and meal, but stole craftily. His wife was the village parson’s daughter, very proud and arrogant. He tried to outwit Aleyn and John, two Cambridge scholars, but was himself outwitted, and most roughly handled also.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ “The Reeve’s Tale,” (1388).

=Symmes’s Hole.= Captain John Cleve Symmes maintained that there was, at 82° N. lat., an enormous opening through the crust of the earth into the globe. The place to which it led he asserted to be well stocked with animals and plants, and to be lighted by two under-ground planets named Pluto and Proserpine. Captain Symmes asked Sir Humphrey Davy to accompany him in the exploration of this enormous “hole” (*-1829).

Halley, the astronomer (1656-1742), and Holberg, of Norway (1684-1754), believed in the existence of this hole.

=Symon´ides the Good=, king of Pentap´olis.--Shakespeare, _Pericles, Prince of Tyre_ (1608).

=Symphony= (_The Father of_) Francis Joseph Haydn (1732-1809).

=Synia=, the portress of Valhalla.--_Scandinavian Mythology._

=Syntax= (_Dr._), a simple-minded, pious, hen-pecked clergyman, green as grass, but of excellent taste and scholarship, who left home in search of the picturesque. His adventures are told by William Coombe in eight-syllable verse, called _The Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque_ (1812.)

_Dr. Syntax’s Horse_ was called Grizzle, all skin and bone.

=Synter´esis=, Conscience personified.

On her a royal damsel still attends,
And faithful counsellor, Synter´esis.
Phineas Fletcher, _The Purple Island_, vi. (1633).

=Syphax=, chief of the Arabs who joined the Egyptian armament against the crusaders. “The voices of these allies were feminine, and their stature small.”--Tasso, _Jerusalem Delivered_, xvii. (1575).

_Syphax_, an old Numidian soldier in the suite of Prince Juba, in Utĭca. He tried to win the prince from Cato to the side of Cæsar; but Juba was too much in love with Marcia (Cato’s daughter) to listen to him. Syphax, with his “Numidian horse,” deserted in the battle to Cæsar, but the “hoary traitor” was slain by Marcus, the son of Cato.--Addison, _Cato_ (1713).

=Syrinx=, a nymph beloved by Pan, and changed at her own request into a reed, of which Pan made his pipe.--_Greek Fable._

_Syrinx_, in Spenser’s _Eclogue_, iv., is Anne Boleyn, and “Pan” is
Henry VIII. (1579).

Tusser has a poem on _Thriftiness_, twelve lines in length, and in rhyme, every word of which begins with _t_ (died 1580). Leon Placentius, a Dominican, wrote a poem in Latin hexameters, called _Pugna Porcorum_, 253 lines long, every word of which begins with _p_ (died 1548).

The thrifty that teacheth the thriving to thrive,
Teach timely to traverse, the thing that thou ’trive,
Transferring thy toiling, to timeliness taught,
This teacheth thee temp’rance, to temper thy thought.
Take Trusty (to trust to) that thinkest to thee,
That trustily thriftiness trowleth to thee.
Then temper thy traveil, to tarry the tide;
This teacheth thee thriftiness, twenty times tryed.
Take thankfull thy talent, thank thankfully those
That thriftily teacheth [_? teach thee_] thy time to transpose.
Troth twice to be teached, teach twenty times ten,
This trade thou that takest, take thrift to thee then.
_Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry_, xlix. (1557).

=Taau=, the god of thunder. The natives of the Hervey Islands believe that thunder is produced by the shaking of Taau’s wings.--John Williams, _Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands_, 109 (1837).

=Tabakiera=, a magic snuff-box which, upon being opened, said, _Que quieres?_ (“What do you want?”); and, upon being told the wish, it was there and then accomplished. The snuff-box is the counterpart of Aladdin’s lamp, but appears in numerous legends slightly varied (see for example Campbell’s _Tales of the West Highlands_, ii. 293-303, “The Widow’s Son”).--Rev. W. Webster, _Basque Legends_, 94 (1876).

=Tabarin=, a famous vender of quack medicines, born at Milan, who went to Paris in the seventeenth century. By his antics and rude wit he collected great crowds together, and in ten years (1620-30) became rich enough to buy a handsome château in Dauphine. The French aristocracy, unable to bear the satire of a charlatan in a château, murdered him.

The jests and witty sayings of this _farceur_ were collected together in 1622, and published under the title of _L’inventaire Universel des Œuvres de Tabarin, contenant ses Fantaisies, Dialogues, Paradoxes, Farces, etc._

In 1858 an edition of his works was published by G. Aventin.

=Tachebrune= (2 _syl._), the horse of Ogier le Dane. The word means “brown spot.”

=Taciturnian=, an inhabitant of _L’Isle Taciturne_, or Taciturna, meaning London and the Londoners.

A thick and perpetual vapor covers this island, and fills the souls of
the inhabitants with a certain sadness, misanthropy, and irksomeness
of their own existence. Alaciel [_the genius_] was hardly at the first
barriers of the metropolis when he fell in with a peasant bending
under the weight of a bag of gold ... but his heart was sad and gloomy
... and he said to the genius, “Joy! I know it not; I never heard of
it in this island.”--De la Dixmie, _L’Isle Taciturne et l’Isle
Enjouée_ (1759).

=Tacket= (_Tibb_), the wife of old Martin, the shepherd of Julian Avenel, of Avenel Castle.--Sir W. Scott, _The Monastery_ (time, Elizabeth).

=Tackleton=, a toy merchant, called Gruff and Tackleton, because at one time Gruff had been his partner; he had, however, been bought out long ago. Tackleton was a stern, sordid, grinding man; ugly in looks, and uglier in his nature; cold and callous, selfish and unfeeling; his look was sarcastic and malicious; one eye was always wide open, and one nearly shut. He ought to have been a money-lender, a sheriff’s officer, or a broker, for he hated children and hated playthings. It was his greatest delight to make toys which scared children, and you could not please him better than to say that a toy from his warehouse had made a child miserable the whole Christmas holidays, and had been a nightmare to it for half its child-life. This amiable creature was about to marry May Fielding, when her old sweetheart, Edward Plummer, thought to be dead, returned from South America, and married her. Tackleton was reformed by Peerybingle, the carrier, bore his disappointment manfully, sent the bride and bridegroom his own wedding-cake, and joined the festivities of the marriage banquet.--C. Dickens, _The Cricket on the Hearth_ (1845).

=Taffril= (_Lieutenant_), of H. M. gunbrig _Search_. He is in love with Jenny Caxton, the milliner.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).

=Taffy=, a Welshman. The word is simply Davy (_David_) pronounced with aspiration. David is the most common Welsh name; Sawney (_Alexander_), the most common Scotch; Pat (_Patrick_), the most common Irish; and John (_John Bull_), the most common English. So we have Cousin Michael for a German, Micaire for a Frenchman, Colin Tampon for a Swiss, and Brother Jonathan in the United States.

=Tag=, wife of Puff, and lady’s maid to Miss Biddy Bellair.--D. Garrick, _Miss in Her Teens_ (1753).

=Tahmuras=, a king of Persia, whose exploits in Fairy-land among the peris and deevs are fully set forth by Richardson, in his _Dissertation_.

=Tails= (_Men with_). The Niam-niams, an African race between the gulf of Benin and Abyssinia, are said to have tails. Mons. de Castlenau (1851) tells us that the Niam-niams “have tails forty centimetres long, and between two and three centimetres in diameter.” Dr. Hubsch, physician to the hospitals of Constantinople, says, in 1853, that he carefully examined a Niam-niam negress, and that her tail was two inches long. Mons. d’Abbadie, in his _Abyssynian Travels_ (1852), tells us that south of the Herrar is a place where all the _men_ have tails, but not the females. “I have examined,” he says, “fifteen of them, and am positive that the tail is a natural appendage.” Dr. Wolf, in his _Travels and Adventures_, ii. (1861), says: “There are both men and women in Abyssinia with tails like dogs and horses.” He heard that, near Narea, in Abyssinia, there were men and women with tails so muscular that they could “knock down a horse with a blow.”

John Struys, a Dutch traveller, says, in his _Voyages_ (1650), that “all the natives on the south of Formosa have tails.” He adds that he himself personally saw one of these islanders with a tail “more than a foot long.”

It is said that the Ghilane race, which numbers between 30,000 and 40,000 souls, and dwell “far beyond the Senaar,” have tails three or four inches long. Colonel du Corret assures us that he himself most carefully examined one of the race named Bellal, a slave belonging to an emir in Mecca, whose house he frequented.--_World of Wonders_, 206.

The Poonangs, of Borneo, are said to be a tail-bearing race.

_Individual Examples._ Dr. Hubsch says that he examined at Constantinople the son of a physician whom he knew intimately, who had a decided tail, and so had his grandfather.

In the middle of the present (the nineteenth) century, all the newspapers made mention of the birth of a boy at Newcastle-on-Tyne with a tail, which “wagged when he was pleased.”

In the College of Surgeons at Dublin may be seen a human skeleton with a tail seven inches long.

_Tails given by way of Punishment._ Polydore Vergil asserts that when Thomas á Becket came to Stroud, the mob cut off the tail of his horse, and in eternal reproach, “both they and their offspring bore tails.” Lambarde repeats the same story in his _Perambulation of Kent_ (1576).

For Becket’s sake Kent always shall have tails.--Andrew Marvel.