Character Sketches of Romance
Chapter 117 : Why should I not, had I the heart to do it, Like to th' Egyptian thief at point o

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, hugged him with great energy, and called him the "eighth wonder." When Gil Blas replied that he did not know his name had spread so far, the parasite exclaimed, "How! we keep a register of all the celebrated names within twenty leagues, and have no doubt Spain will one day be as proud of you as Greece was of the seven sages." After this, Gil Blas could do no less than ask the man to sup with him. Omelet after omelet was despatched, trout was called for, bottle followed bottle, and when the parasite was gorged to satiety, he rose and said, "Signor Gil Blas, don't believe yourself to be the eighth wonder of the world because a hungry man would feast by flattering your vanity." So saying, he stalked away with a laugh.--Lesage, _Gil Blas_, i. 2 (1715).

(This incident is copied from Aleman's romance of _Guzman d'

Alfarache, q.v._)

EIKON BASIL'IKe (4 _syl_.), the portraiture of a king _(i.e._ Charles I.), once attributed to King Charles himself; but now admitted to be the production of Dr. John Gauden, who (after the restoration) was first created Bishop of Exeter, and then of Worcester (1605-1662).

In the _Eikon Basilike_ a strain of majestic melancholy is kept up, but the personated sovereign is rather too theatrical for real nature, the language is too rhetorical and amplified, the periods too artificially elaborated.--Hallam, _Literature of Europe_, iii. 662.

(Milton wrote his _Eikonoclasets_ in answer to Dr. Gauden's _Eikon Baslike_.)

EINER'IAR, the hall of Odin, and asylum of warriors slain in battle.

It had 540 gates, each sufficiently wide to admit eight men abreast to pa.s.s through.--_Scandinavian Mythology._

EINION (_Father_), Chaplain to Gwenwyn Prince of Powys-land.--Sir W.

Scott, _The Betrothed_ (time, Henry II.).

EIROS. Imaginary personage, who in the other world holds converse with "Charmion" upon the tragedy that has wrecked the world. The cause of the ruin was "the extraction of the nitrogen from the atmosphere."

"The whole inc.u.mbent ma.s.s of ether in which we existed burst at once into a species of intense flame for whose surpa.s.sing brilliancy and all fervid heat even the angels in the high Heaven of pure knowledge have no name. Thus ended all."--Edgar Allen Poe, _Conversation of Eiros and Charmion_ (1849).

ELVIR, a Danish maid, who a.s.sumes boy's clothing, and waits on Harold "the Dauntless," as his page! Subsequently her s.e.x is discovered, and Harold marries her.--Sir. W. Scott, _Harold the Dauntless_ (1817).

ELAIN, sister of King Arthur by the same mother. She married Sir Nentres of Carlot, and was by King Arthur the mother of Mordred. (See ELEIN)--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. (1470).

[Ill.u.s.tration] In some of the romances there is great confusion between Elain (the sister) and Morgause (the half-sister) of Arthur.

Both are called the mother of Mordred, and both are also called the wife of Lot. This, however, is a mistake. Elain was the wife of Sir Nentres, and Morgause of Lot; and if Gawain, Agrawain, Gareth and Gaheris were [half] brothers of Mordred, as we are told over and over again, then Morgause and not Elain was his mother. Tennyson makes Bellicent the wife of Lot, but this is not in accordance with any of the legends collected by Sir T. Malory.

ELAINE (_Dame_), daughter of King Pelles (2 _syl_.) "the foragn country," and the unwedded mother of Sir Galahad by Sir Launcelot du Lac.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, iii. 1 (1470).

_Elaine_, daughter of King Brandeg'oris, by whom Sir Bors de Ganis had a child.

[Ill.u.s.tration] It is by no means clear from the history whether Elaine was the daughter of King Brandegoris, or the daughter of Sir Bors and granddaughter of King Brandegoris.

_Elaine_' (2 _syl_.), the strong contrast of Guinevere. Guinevere's love for Launcelot was gross and sensual, Elaine's was platonic and pure as that of a child; but both were masterful in their strength.

Elaine is called "the lily maid of Astolat" (_Guildford_), and knowing that Launcelot was pledged to celibacy, she pined and died. According to her dying request, her dead body was placed on a bed in a barge, and was thus conveyed by a dumb servitor to the palace of King Arthur.

A letter was handed to the king, telling the tale of Elaine's love, and the king ordered the body to be buried, and her story to be blazoned on her tomb.--Tennyson, _Idylls of the King_ ("Elaine").

EL'AMITES (3 _syl_.), Persians. So called from Elam, son of Shem.

EL'BERICH, the most famous dwarf of German romance.--_The Heldenbuch_.

EL'BOW, a well-meaning but loutish constable.--Shakespeare, _Measure for Measure_ (1603).

EL'EANOR, queen-consort of Henry II., alluded to by the Presbyterian minister in _Woodstock_, x. (1826).

"Believe me, young man, thy servant was more likely to see visions than to dream idle dreams in that apartment; for I have always heard that, next to Rosamond's Bower, in which ... she played the wanton, and was afterwards poisoned by Queen Eleanor, Victor Lee's chamber was the place ... peculiarly the haunt of evil spirits."--Sir W. Scott, _Woodstock_ (time, Commonwealth).

ELEANOR CROSSES, twelve or fourteen crosses erected by Edward I. in the various towns where the body of his queen rested, when it was conveyed from Herdelie, near Lincoln, to Westminster. The three that still remain are Geddington, Northampton, and Waltham. ELEAZAR the Moor, insolent, bloodthirsty, l.u.s.tful, and vindictive, like "Aaron,"

in [Shakespeare's?] _t.i.tus An-dron'icus._ The lascivious queen of Spain is in love with this monster.--C. Marlowe, _l.u.s.t's dominion_ or _The Lascivious Queen_ (1588).

_Elea'zar_, a famous mathematician, who cast out devils by tying to the nose of the possessed a mystical ring, which the demon no sooner smelled than he abandoned the victim. He performed before the Emperor Vespasian; and to prove that something came out of the possessed, he commanded the demon in making off to upset a pitcher of water, which it did.

I imagine if Eleazar's ring had been put under their noses, we should have seen devils issue with their breath, so loud were these disputants.-- Lesage, _Gil Blas_, v. 12 (1724).

ELECTOR (_The Great_), Frederick William of Brandenburg (1620-1688).

ELEIN, wife of King Ban of Benwick (_Brittany_), and mother of Sir Launcelot and Sir Lionell. (See ELAIN.)--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 60 (1470)

ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGINS (_The_), the virgins who followed St. Ur'sula in her flight towards Rome. They were all ma.s.sacred at Cologne by a party of Huns, and even to the present hour "their bones" are shown lining the whole interior of the Church of Ste. Ursula.

A calendar in the Freisingen codex notices them as "SS. M. XL VIRGINUM," this is, eleven virgin martyrs; but "M" (martyrs) being taken for 1000, we get 11,000. It is furthermore remarkable that the number of names known of these virgins is eleven; (1) Ursula, (2) Sencia, (3) Gregoria, (4) Pinnosa, (5) Martha, (6) Saula, (7) Brittola, (8) Saturnina, (9) Rabacia or Sabatia, (10) Saturia or Saturnia, and (11) Palladia.

ELFENREIGEN [_el.f'n-ri.gn_] (4 _syl_.) or Alpleich, that weird music with which Bunting, the pied piper of Hamelin, led forth the rats into the river Weser, and the children into a cave in the mountain Koppenberg. The song of the sirens is so called.

EL'FETA, wife of Cambuscan', king of Tartary.

EL'FLIDA or AETHELFLAEDA, daughter of King Alfred, and wife of Aethelred, chief of that part of Mercia not claimed by the Danes. She was a woman of enormous energy and masculine mind. At the death of her husband, she ruled over Mercia, and proceeded to fortify city after city, as Bridgenorth, Tamworth, Warwick, Hertford, Witham, and so on.

Then attacking the Danes, she drove them from place to place, and kept them from molesting her.

When Elflida up-grew ...

The puissant Danish powers victoriously pursued, And resolutely here thro' their thick squadrons hewed Her way into the north.

Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xii. (1613).

ELFRIDE (_Swancourt_). Blue-eyed girl, betrothed first to Stephen Smith; afterwards she loves pa.s.sionately Henry Knight. He leaves her in pique, and she weds Lord Luxellian, dying soon after the marriage.--Thomas Hardy, _A Pair of Blue Eyes_ (1873).

ELF'THRYTH or AELF'THRYTH, daughter of Ordgar, noted for her great beauty. King Edgar sent Aethelwald, his friend, to ascertain if she were really as beautiful as report made her out to be. When aethelwald saw her he fell in love with her, and then, returning to the king, said she was not handsome enough for the king, but was rich enough to make a very eligible wife for himself. The king a.s.sented to the match, and became G.o.dfather to the first child, who was called Edgar. One day the king told his friend he intended to pay him a visit, and Aethelwald revealed to his wife the story of his deceit, imploring her at the same time to conceal her beauty. But Elfthryth, extremely indignant, did all she could to set forth her beauty. The king fell in love with her, slew Aethelwald, and married the widow.

A similar story is told by Herodotus; Prexaspes being the lady's name, and Kambyses the king's.

EL'GITHA, a female attendant at Rotherwood on the Lady Rowe'na.--Sir W. Scott, _Ivanhoe_ (time, Richard I.).

E'LIA, pseudonym of Charles Lamb, author of the _Essays of Elia_ (1823).--_London Magazine_.

ELI'AB, in the satire of _Absalom and Achitophel_, by Dry den and Tate, is Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington. As Eliab befriended David (1 _Chron_. xii. 9), so the earl befriended Charles II.

Hard the task to do Eliab right; Long with the royal wanderer he roved, And firm in all the turns of fortune proved.

_Absalom and Achitophel_, ii. (1682).

E'LIAN G.o.d (_The_), Bacchus. An error for 'Eleuan, _i.e._ "the G.o.d Eleleus" (3 _syl_). Bacchus was called _El'eleus_ from the Bacchic cry, _eleleu_!

As when with crowned cups unto the Elian G.o.d Those priests high orgies held.

Drayton, _Polyolbion_, vi. (1612).

EL'IDURE (3 _syl_.), surnamed "the Pious," brother of Gorbonian, and one of the five sons of Morvi'dus (_q.v._). He resigned the crown to his brother Arthgallo, who had been deposed. Ten years afterwards, Arthgallo died, and Elidure was again advanced to the throne, but was deposed and imprisoned by his two younger brothers. At the death of these two brothers, Elidure was taken from prison, and mounted the British throne for the third time.--Geoffrey, _British History_, iii.