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Character Sketches of Romance Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the Character Sketches of Romance novel. A total of 291 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama.Vol 1.by The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer,
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama.Vol 1.by The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.VOLUME I CHARACTER SKETCHES OF ROMANCE, FICTION, AND THE DRAMA.AA'RON, a Moor, beloved by Tam'ora, queen of the Goths, in the tragedy of _t.i.tus Andro
- 101 DIVAN _(The)_, the supreme council and court of justice of the caliphs. The abba.s.sides always sat in person in this court to aid in the redress of wrongs. It was called "a divan" from the benches covered with cus.h.i.+ons on which the members sat.--D
- 102 _The Most Resolute Doctor_, Durand de St. Pourcain (1267-1332)._The Perspicuous Doctor_, Walter Burley (fourteenth century)._The Profound Doctor_, Thomas Bradwardine (_-1349)._The Scholastic Doctor_, Anselm of Laon (1050-1117)._The Seraphic Doctor_, St. B
- 103 _Eurytion's Dog_ (herdsman of Geryon), "Orthros." It had two heads._Fingal's Dog_ was named "Bran."_Geryon's Dogs_. One was "Gargittos" and the other "Orthros." The latter was brother of Cerberos, but it had only two heads. Hercules killed both
- 104 Byron, _Don Juan_, xiii. 105 (1824).DOLOPA'TOS, the Sicilian king, who placed his son Lucien under the charge of "seven wise masters." When grown to man's estate, Lucien's step-mother made improper advances to him, which he repulsed, and she accused
- 105 Sir Walter Raleigh twice visited Gruia'na as the spot indicated, and published highly colored accounts of its enormous wealth.DORALI'CE (4 _syl_.) a lady beloved by Rodomont, but who married Mandricardo.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).DOR'ALIS, the
- 106 DORRILLON _(Sir William_), a rich Indian merchant and a widower. He had one daughter, placed under the care of Mr. and Miss Norberry. When this daughter (Maria) was grown to womanhood, Sir William returned to England, and wis.h.i.+ng to learn the characte
- 107 _Lady Dove_, twice married, first to Mr. Searcher, king's messenger, and next to Sir Benjamin Dove. She had a _tendresse_ for Mr. Paterson.Lady Dove was a terrible termagant, and when scolding failed used to lament for "poor dear dead Searcher, who--, e
- 108 _Drama (Father of the French)_, Etienne, Jodell (1532-1573)._Father of the Greek Drama_, Thespis (B.C. sixth century)._Father of the Spanish Drama_, Lopez de Vega (1562-1635).DRAP, one of Queen Mab's maids of honor.--Drayton, _Nymphidia_.DRA'PIER'S LET
- 109 DRUGGET, a rich London haberdasher, who has married one of his daughters to Sir Charles Racket. Drugget is "very fond of his garden,"but his taste goes no further than a suburban tea-garden with leaden images, c.o.c.kney fountains, trees cut into the sh
- 110 _Louisa Dudley_, daughter of Captain Dudley. Young, fair, tall, fresh, and lovely. She is courted by Belcour the rich West Indian, to whom ultimately she is married.--c.u.mberland, _The West Indian_ (1771).DUDLEY DIAMOND (_The_). In 1868 a black shepherd
- 111 DUMMY or SUPERNUMERARY. "Celimene," in the _Precieuses Ridicules_, does not utter a single word, although she enters with other characters on the stage.DUMTOUS'TIE (_Mr. Daniel_), a young barrister, and nephew of Lord Bladderskate.--Sir W. Scott, _Redg
- 112 [Ill.u.s.tration] Charlemagne's sword "Joyeuse" was also buried with him, and "Tizo'na" was buried with the Cid.DUROTI'GES (4. _syl_.). Below the Hedui (those of Somersets.h.i.+re) came the Durotiges, sometimes called Mor'ini. Their capital was Du
- 113 DWARF ALBERICH, the guardian of the Niebelungen h.o.a.rd. He is twice vanquished by Siegfried, who gets possession of his cloak of invisibility, and makes himself master of the h.o.a.rd.--_The Niebelungen Lied_ (1210).DWARF PETER, an allegorical romance b
- 114 MARIE ANTOINETTE. Farewell, my children, for ever. I go to your father.[--] MASANIELLO. Ungratetul traitors! (Said to the a.s.sa.s.sins.) MATHEWS (_Charles_). I am ready.MIRABEAU. Let me die to the sounds of delicious music.MOODY (the actor): Reason thus
- 115 _Easy (Sir Charles)_, a man who hates trouble; "so lazy, even in his pleasures, that he would rather lose the woman of his pursuit, than go through any trouble in securing or keeping her." He says he is resolved in future to "follow no pleasure that ri
- 116 Dombey's second wife, but the marriage was altogether an unhappy one, and she eloped with Mr. Carker to Dijon, where she left him, having taken this foolish step merely to annoy her husband for the slights to which he had subjected her. On leaving Carker
- 117 Why should I not, had I the heart to do it, Like to th' Egyptian thief at point of death, Kill what I love?Shakespeare, _Twelth Night_, act v. sc. 1 (1614).EIGHTH WONDER (_The_). When Gil Blas reached Pennaflor, a parasite entered his room in the inn, hu
- 118 17,18 (1470).Then Elidure again, crowned with applausive praise, As he a brother raised, by brothers was deposed And put into the Tower ... but, the usurpers dead, Thrice was the British crown set on his reverend head.Drayton, _Polyolbion_, viii. (1612).[
- 119 EL'OPS. There was a fish so-called, but Milton uses the word (_Paradise Lost_, x. 525) for the dumb serpent or serpent which gives no warning of its approach by hissing or otherwise. (Greek, _ellops_, "mute or dumb.") ELOQUENCE (_The Four Monarchs of_)
- 120 EMMA "the Saxon" or Emma Plantagenet, the beautiful, gentle, and loving wife of David, king of North Wales (twelfth century).--Southey, _Madoc_ (1805).EMMONS (_David_), slow, gentle fellow who never "comes to the point"in his courts.h.i.+p, but visits
- 121 EPHE'SIAN POET (_The_), Hippo'nax, born at Ephesus (sixth century B.C.).EPIC POETRY (_The Father of_), Homer (about 950 B.C.).EP'ICENE (_3 syl._), or _The Silent Woman_, one of the three great comedies of Ben Jonson (1609).The other two are _Volpone_ (
- 122 EREEN'IA (3 _syl._), a glendoveer' or good spirit, the beloved son of Cas'yapa (_3 syl_.), father of the immortals. Ereenia took pity on Kail'yal (_2 syl_.), daughter of Ladur'lad, and carried her to his Bower of Bliss in paradise (canto vii.). Here
- 123 She answers that talk of matron dignities and household tasks wearies her: "I would renounce them all for Sappho's bay: Forego them all for room to chant out free The silent rhythms I hum within my heart, And so for ever leave my weary spinning!"Margar
- 124 CID (_The_). When Alfonso succeeded his brother Sancho and banished the Cid, Rodrigo is made to say: Prithee say where were these gallants (Bold enough when far from blows)?Where were they when I, unaided, Rescued thee from thirteen foes?The historic fact
- 125 She _[Effie Deans_] amused herself with visiting the dairy ... and was so near discovering herself to Mary Hetly by betraying her aquaintance with the celebrated receipt for Dunlop cheese, that she compared herself to Bedredeen Ha.s.san, whom the vizier h
- 126 Bk. ix. 571.Then: Obvius ambustum torrem Chorinseus ab ara Corripit, et venienti Ebuso plagamque ferenti Occupat os flammis, etc.Bk. xii. 298, etc.Again in bk. ix. Numa is slain by Nisus, (ver. 554); but in bk. x. 562 Numa is alive, and aeneas kills him.O
- 127 Good Ethelbert of Kent, first christened English king.To preach the faith of Christ was first did hither bring Wise Au'gustine the monk, from holy Gregory sent...That mighty fane to Paul in London did erect.Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xi. (1613).ETH'ERINGTON
- 128 [Greek, _eumnestis_, "good memory," _anamnestis_, "research."--_Faery Queen_, ii. 9 (1590).]EUNICE (_Alias "Nixey_"). A friendless, ignorant girl, who bears an illegitimate child, while almost a child herself. She is taken from the street by a Chris
- 129 Mr. Bently, May 6, 1796, took leave of the stage in the character of "Evander."--W.C. Russell, _Representative Actors_, 426.EVANGELIC DOCTOR _(The)_, John Wycliffe, "the Morning Star of the Reformation" (1324-1384).EVANGELINE, the heroine and t.i.tle
- 130 _Fabric'ius_, an author, whose composition was so obscure that Gil Blas could not comprehend the meaning of a single line of his writings. His poetry was verbose fustian, and his prose a maze of far-fetched expressions and perplexed phrases.FABRIT'IO, a
- 131 Overflowing with a humor as peculiar in its way as the humors of Andrew Fairservice.--_London Athenaeum_.FAIRSTAR _(Princess)_, daughter of Queen Blon'dina (who had at one birth two boys and a girl, all "with stars on their foreheads, and a chain of gol
- 132 Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama.by E. Cobham Brewer.VOLUME III 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
- 133 =Martha Hilton=, serving-maid in the household of the widowed Governor Wentworth, until, on his sixtieth birthday, he surprised the guests a.s.sembled to do him honor by wedding her in their sight.--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, _Lady Wentworth_.=Marthe=, a
- 134 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 ca
- 135 _Mason_ (_Lady_). She forges a will purporting to be by her husband, securing his estate to herself and her son. n.o.body suspects the fraud for years. When inquiry arises, Lady Mason is engaged to a gallant old baronet who will not credit her guilt until
- 136 =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 Moncada=, a merchant. He is th
- 137 =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" becaus
- 138 =Mayor of Garratt= (_The_). Garratt is between Wandsworth and Tooting. The first mayor of this village was elected towards the close of the eighteenth century, and the election came about thus: Garratt Common had often been encroached on, and in 1780 the
- 139 =Medina=, the Golden Mean personified, Step-sister of Elissa (_parsimony_) and Perissa (_extravagance_). The three sisters could never agree on any subject.--Spenser, _Faery Queen_, ii. (1590).=Medley= (_Matthew_), the factotum of Sir Walter Waring. He ma
- 140 Sat the poet Melchior, singing kaiser Maximilian's praise.Longfellow, _Nuremberg_.=Melea'ger=, son of Althaea, who was doomed to live while a certain log remained unconsumed. Althaea kept the log for several years, but being one day angry with her son,
- 141 =Melo= (_Juan de_), born at Castile in the fifteenth century. A dispute having arisen at Esalo'na upon the question whether Achilles or Hector were the braver warrior, the Marquis de Ville'na called out, "Let us see if the advocates of Achilles can fig
- 142 Varro wrote in Latin a work called _The Satires of Menippus_ (_Satyrae Menippeae_).=Mennibojou=, a North American Indian deity.=Mentz= (_Baron von_), a Heidelberg bully, whose humiliation at the hands of the fellow-student he has insulted is the theme of
- 143 =Merle= (_Madame_), a plausible woman with an ambition to be thought the incarnation of propriety, who carries with her the knowledge that she is the mistress of a man who has a wife, and that Madame Merle's illegitimate daughter is brought up by the ste
- 144 The three hours of agony in the garden. Bk. vi. Jesus, bound, is taken before Annas, and then before Caiaphas. Peter denies his Master. Bk.vii. Christ is brought before Pilate; Judas hangs himself; Pilate sends Jesus to Herod, but Herod sends Him again to
- 145 =Michael Perez=, the copper captain. (See PEREZ.) =Michael, the Stammerer=, born at Armorium, in Phrygia, mounted the throne as emperor of Greece in A.D. 820. He used all his efforts to introduce the Jewish Sabbath and sacrifice.I think I have proved ...T
- 146 =Mikado= (_of j.a.pan_), the hero of Gilbert and Sullivan's opera "The Mikado." The plot turns upon the complications brought about [TN-11] the Mikado's severe laws against flirting: "So he decreed in words succint, That all who flirted, leered or wi
- 147 =Milvey= (_The Rev. Frank_), a "young man expensively educated and wretchedly paid, with quite a young wife and half a dozen young children. He was under the necessity of teaching ... to eke out his scanty means, yet was generally expected to have more t
- 148 =Mint Julep=, a Virginian beverage, celebrated in song by Charles Fenno Hoffman (185-). A favorite variety of this drink is compounded of brandy, water, sugar, mint-leaves and pounded ice, and is called a "hail-storm.""The draught was delicious, and lo
- 149 "In this same _Mirror of Knighthood_ we meet with Rinaldo de Montalban and his companions, with the twelve peers of France, and Turpin, the historian. These gentlemen we will condemn only to perpetual exile, as they contain something of the famous Bojard
- 150 ? Racine has written a French tragedy on the subject, called _Mithridate_ (1673); and N. Lee brought out his _Mithridates_ in English about the same time.=Mixit= (_Dr._), the apothecary at the Black Bear inn at Darlington.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time,
- 151 =Mohair= (_The Men of_), the citizens of France.The men of mohair, as the citizens were called.--_Asylum Christi_, viii.=Moha'reb=, one of the evil spirits of Dom-Daniel, a cave "under the roots of the ocean." It was given out that these spirits would
- 152 Homer, _Odyssey_, x. (Cowper's trans.).=Momus's Lattice.= Momus, son of Nox, blamed Vulcan, because, in making the human form, he had not placed a window in the breast for the discerning of secret thoughts.Were Momus' lattice in our b.r.e.a.s.t.s, My s
- 153 =Monkbarns= (_Laird of_), Mr Jonathan Oldbuck, the antiquary.--Sir W.Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).=Mon'ker and Nakir= [_Na.keer'_], the two examiners of the dead, who put questions to departed spirits respecting their belief in G.o.d and M
- 154 a.s.suming the t.i.tle of "count," he adds the name of the island on which his treasure is buried, and plays the grande seignior in society, punis.h.i.+ng his former persecutors and false friends, and rewarding his old allies. Finally he is brought to c
- 155 _Moon_ (_Minions of the_), thieves or highwaymen. (See MOON'S MEN.) =Moon and Mahomet.= Mahomet made the moon perform seven circuits round Caaba or the holy shrine of Mecca, then enter the right sleeve of his mantle and go out at the left. At its exit, i
- 156 =Morell= (_Sir Charles_), the pseudonym of the Rev. James Ridley, affixed to some of the early editions of _The Tales of the Genii_, from 1764.=More'love= (_Lord_), in love with Lady Betty Modish, who torments him almost to madness by an a.s.sumed indiff
- 157 ("Wasp" in _Bartholomew Fair_, "Corbaccio" in _The Fox_, and "Ananias"in _The Alchemist_.) =Moroug=, the monkey mistaken for the devil. A woman of Cambalu died, and Moroug, wis.h.i.+ng to personate her, slipped into her bed, and dressed himself in h
- 158 Scott, _The Bride of Lammermoor_ (time, William III.).=Morvi'dus=, son of Danius by his concubine, Tangustela. In his reign, there "came from the Irish coasts a most cruel monster, which devoured the people continually, but as soon as Morvidus heard the
- 159 Amongst the rest a good old woman was Hight Mother Hubberd, who did far surpa.s.s The rest in honest mirth that seemed her well; She, when her turn was come her tale to tell, Told of a strange adventure that betided Betwixt a fox and ape by him misguided;
- 160 _Mozart_ (_The Italian_), Cherubini, of Florence (1760-1842).=Much=, the miller's son, the bailiff or "acater" of Robin Hood. (See MIDGE.) Robyn stode in Bernysdale, And lened hym to a tree; And by hym stode Lytell Johan, A good yeman was he; And also
- 161 ? Mull sack is spiced sherry negus.=Mulla's Bard=, Spenser, author of the _Faery Queen_. The Mulla, a tributary of the Blackwater, in Ireland, flowed close by the spot where the poet's house stood. He was born and died in London (1553-1599).... it irks
- 162 c.o.c.kneys of London! Muscadins of Paris!Byron, _Don Juan_, viii. 124 (1824).=Mus'carol=, king of flies, and father of Clarion, the most beautiful of the race.--Spenser, _Muiopotmos, or The b.u.t.terfly's Fate_ (1590).=Muse= (_The Tenth_), Marie Lejars
- 163 (1569).=Mutton-Eating King= (_The_), Charles II. of England (1630, 1659-1685).Here lies our mutton-eating king, Whose word no man relies on; He never _said_ a foolish thing, And never _did_ a wise on'.Earl of Rochester.=Mutual Friend= (_Our_), a novel by
- 164 =Nama=, a daughter of man, beloved by the angel Zaraph. Her wish was to love intensely and to love holily, but as she fixed her love on a seraph, and not on G.o.d, she was doomed to abide on earth, "unchanged in heart and frame," so long as the earth en
- 165 =Nannie=, Miss Fleming, daughter of a farmer in the parish of Tarbolton, in Ayrs.h.i.+re. Immortalized by R. Burns._Nannie (Little)._ "This world, whose brightest day Seems to us so dreary, Nannie found all bright and gay, Love-alight and cheery, Stayed
- 166 =Narcissa=, meant for Elizabeth Lee, the step-daughter of Dr. Young. In Night ii. the poet says she was clandestinely buried at Montpelier, because she was a Protestant.--Dr. Young, _Night Thoughts_ (1742-6)._Narcissa_, Mrs. Oldfield, the actress, who ins
- 167 Scott, _The Talisman_ (time, Richard I.).=Nectar=, the beverage of the G.o.ds. It was white as cream, for when Hebe spilt some of it, the white arch of heaven, called the Milky Way, was made. The food of the G.o.ds was _ambrosia_.=Ned= (_Lying_), "the ch
- 168 =Nereus= (2 _syl._), father of the water-nymphs. A very old prophetic G.o.d of great kindliness. The scalp, chin and breast of Nereus were covered with seaweed instead of hair.By h.o.a.ry Nereus' wrinkled look.Milton, _Comus_, (1634).=Neri'ne=, =Doto=,
- 169 and hence the popular song, "I've often heard say, sham Ab'ram you may, but must not sham Abraham Newland."Trees are notes issued from the bank of nature, and as current as those payable to Abraham Newland.--G. Colman, _The Poor Gentleman_, i. 2 (1802
- 170 ? "The original of 'Mrs. Nickleby,'" says John Foster, "was the mother of Charles d.i.c.kens."--_Life of d.i.c.kens_, iii. 8._Kate Nickleby_, sister of Nicholas; beautiful, pure-minded, and loving.Kate works hard to a.s.sist in the expenses of house
- 171 Three were _Christians_: Arthur, Charlemagne, and G.o.dfrey of Bouillon._Nine.[TN-38] Worthies_ (privy councillors to William III.). Four were _Whigs_: Devons.h.i.+re, Dorset, Monmouth, and Edward Russell. Five were _Tories_: Caermarthen, Pembroke, Nottin
- 172 =Noel= (_Eusebe_), schoolmaster of Bout du Monde. "His clothes are old and worn, and his manner vacant."--E. Stirling, _The Gold Mine_, or _Miller of Gren.o.ble_, act i. sc. 2 (1854).=Noggs= (_Newman_), Ralph Nickleby's clerk. A tall man of middle age,
- 173 =Norway= (_The Fair Maid of_), Margaret, granddaughter of Alexander III.of Scotland. She died (1290) of sea-sickness on her pa.s.sage from Norway to Scotland. Her father was Eric II., king of Norway, and her mother was Margaret, only daughter of Alexander
- 174 Horace, _Satires_, i. 6.These people seem to be of the race of Novius, that Roman banker, whose voice exceeded the noise of carmen.--Lesage, _Gil Blas_, vii.13 (1735).=Now-now= (_Old Anthony_), an itinerant fiddler. The character is a skit on Anthony Mund
- 175 WILLIAM RUFUS, by _St. Luke's face_.King JOHN, by _G.o.d's Tooth_.HENRY VIII., by _G.o.d's Wounds_.CHARLES II., by _Ods fish_ [G.o.d's Flesh].LOUIS XI. of France, by _G.o.d's Easter_.CHARLES VIII. of France, by _G.o.d's Light_.LOUIS XII., by _The De
- 176 =Octavian=, the lover of Floranthe. He goes mad because he imagines Floranthe loves another; but Roque, a blunt, kind-hearted old man, a.s.sures him that Dona Floranthe is true to him, and induces him to return home.--Colman, the younger, _The Mountaineer
- 177 XXI. Penelope is pestered by suitors. To excuse herself, Penelope tells her suitors he only shall be her husband who can bend Odysseus's bow.None can do so but the stranger, who bends it with ease. Concealment is no longer possible or desirable; XXII. He
- 178 "Okba, wert thou weak of heart?Okba, wert thou blind of eye?Thy fate and ours were on the lot ...Thou hast let slip the reins of Destiny.Curse thee, curse thee, Okba!"Southey, _Thalaba, the Destroyer_, ii. 7 (1797).=O'Kean= (_Lieutenant_), a quondam ad
- 179 =Oldboy= (_Colonel_), a manly retired officer, fond of his gla.s.s, and not averse to a little spice of the Lothario spirit._Lady Mary Oldboy_, daughter of Lord Jessamy, and wife of the colonel. A sickly nonent.i.ty, "ever complaining, ever having someth
- 180 _Olivia_, young girl who hearkens to _The Talking Oak_ in Tennyson's poem of that name (1842).=Olivia de Zenuga=, daughter of Don Caesar. She fixed her heart on having Julio de Melessina for her husband, and so behaved to all other suitors as to drive th
- 181 =Orania=, the lady-love of Am'adis of Gaul.--Lobeira, _Amadis of Gaul_ (fourteenth century).=Orator Henley=, the Rev. John Henley, who for about thirty years delivered lectures on theological, political, and literary subjects (1692-1756).? Hogarth has in
- 182 Mirabel, to whom she is betrothed, and whose wife she ultimately becomes.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Wild-Goose Chase_ (1652)._Oriana_, the ward of old Mirabel, and bound by contract to her guardian's son whom she loves; but young Mirabel s.h.i.+lly-sh
- 183 =Orlando Furioso=, a continuation of Bojardo's story, with the same hero.Bojardo leaves Orlando in love with Angelica, whom he fetched from Cathay and brought to Paris. Here, says Ariosto, Rinaldo falls in love with her, and, to prevent mischief, the kin
- 184 =Or'raca= (_Queen_), wife of Affonso II. The legend says that five friars of Morocco, went to her, and said, "Three things we prophesy to you: (1) we five shall all suffer martyrdom; (2) our bodies will be brought to Coimbra; and (3) which ever see our
- 185 Spenser, _Faery Queen_, v. 7 (1596).=Osman=, sultan of the East, the great conqueror of the Christians, a man of most magnanimous mind and of n.o.ble generosity. He loved Zara, a young Christian captive, and was by her beloved with equal ardor and sinceri
- 186 =Overreach= (_Sir Giles_), Wellborn's uncle. An unscrupulous, hard-hearted rascal, grasping and proud. He ruined the estates both of Wellborn and Allworth, and by overreaching grew enormously rich. His ambition was to see his daughter Margaret marry a pe
- 187 Vanish, vile vengeance! vanish, victory vain!Wisdom walls war--wails warring words. What were Xerxes, Xantippe, Ximenes, Xavier?Yet Ya.s.sy's youth, ye yield your youthful yest Zealously, zanies, zealously, zeal's zest.From H. Southgate, _Many Thoughts
- 188 Why, it is no more like a fly than I am like--;" but, as he approached his finger to the picture, the fly flew away (1772)[TN-60]_Grapes._ Zeuxis (2 _syl._) a Grecian painter, painted some grapes so well that birds came and pecked at them, thinking them
- 189 =Pale= (_The_), or THE ENGLISH PALE, a part of Ireland, including Dublin, Meath, Carlow, Kilkenny and Louth.=Pale Faces.= So the American Indians call the European settlers.=Pale'mon=, son of a rich merchant. He fell in love with Anna, daughter of Albert
- 190 =Pam=, Henry John Temple, viscount Palmerston (1784-1865).=Pam'ela.= Lady Edward Fitzgerald is so called (*-1831)._Pam'ela_ [ANDREWS], a simple, unsophisticated country girl, the daughter of two aged parents, and maid-servant of a rich young squire, cal
- 191 =Panjandrum= (_The Grand_), and village potentate or Brummagem magnate.The word occurs in S. Foote's farrago of nonsense, which he wrote to test the memory of old Macklin, who said in a lecture "he had brought his own memory to such perfection that he c
- 192 =Papy'ra=, G.o.ddess of printing and literature; so called from papyrus, a substance once used for books, before the invention of paper.Till to astonished realms Papyra taught To paint in mystic colors sound and thought.With Wisdom's voice to pr
- 193 One day, with the hope of lessening this strong aversion, he sent Ugo to escort her on a journey, and the two fell in love with each other. After their return the affection of Parisina and Ugo continued unabated, and a servant, named Zoe'se (3 _syl._
- 194 Loitering by the sea That laves the pa.s.sionate sh.o.r.es of soft Parthenope.Lord Lytton, _Ode_, iii. 2 (1839).(The three syrens were Parthenope, Ligea, and Leucos'ia, not _Leucoth'ea_, _q.v._) _Parthenope_ (4 _syl._), the damsel beloved by Pri
- 195 =Patelin= (2 _syl._), the hero of an ancient French comedy. He contrives to obtain on credit six ells of cloth from William Josseaume, by artfully praising the tradesman's father. Any subtle, crafty fellow, who entices by flattery and insinuating art
- 196 =Patton= (_Mrs._). Tailoress and talker, otherwise known as "the Widow Jim," who has all genealogy and relations.h.i.+p at her tongue's end. "She chatters all day as the swallows chatter, and you do not tire of her."--Sarah Orne J
- 197 =Pavillon= (_Meinheer Hermann_), the syndic at Liege [_Le-aje_]._Mother Mabel Pavillon_, wife of Meinheer Hermann._Trudchen_ or _Gertrude Pavillon_, their daughter, betrothed to Hans Glover.--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward IV.).=Pawkins= (_
- 198 =Pedant=, an old fellow set up to personate Vincentio in Shakespeare's comedy called _The Taming of the Shrew_ (1695).=Pedre= (_Don_), a Sicilian n.o.bleman, who has a Greek slave of great beauty, named Isidore (3 _syl._). This slave is loved by Adra
- 199 _To break Pegasus's neck_, to write halting poetry.Some, free from rhyme or reason, rule or check, Break Priscian's head, and Pegasus's neck.Pope, _The Dunciad_, iii. 161 (1728).? To "break Priscian's head," is to write ungra
- 200 For when they went into the castle to take their repast ... there came a dove to the window, and in her bill was a little censer of gold, and there withall was such a savour as though all the spicery of the world had been there ... and a damsel, pa.s.sing