Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 · Chapter 20Copyright, 1892, by SELMAR HESS (20)
This chapter is not translated yet. You are reading the original.
Bu´ridan's Ass. A man of indecision is so called from the hypothetical ass of Buridan, the Greek sophist. Buridan maintained that "if an ass could be placed between two hay-stacks in such a way that its choice was evenly balanced between them, it would starve to death, for there would be no motive why he should choose the one and reject the other."
Burleigh (William Cecil, lord), lord treasurer to queen Elizabeth (1520-1598), introduced by sir W. Scott in his historical novel called Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).
He is one the principal characters in The Earl of Essex, a tragedy by Henry Jones (1745).
Burleigh (Lord), a parliamentary leader in The Legend of Montrose, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, Charles I.).
A lord Burleigh shake of the head, a great deal meant by a look or movement, though little or nothing is said. Puff, in his tragedy of the "Spanish Armada," introduces lord Burleigh, "who has the affairs of the whole nation in his head, and has no time to talk;" but his lordship comes on the stage and shakes his head, by which he means far more than words could utter. Puff says:
Why, by that shake of the head he gave you
to understand that even though they had more
justice in their cause and wisdom in their measures,
yet, if there was not a greater spirit shown
on the part of the people, the country would at
last fall a sacrifice to the hostile ambition of the
Spanish monarchy.
Sneer
. Did he mean all that by shaking his
head?
Puff
. Every word of it.—Sheridan,
The Critic
,
ii. 1 (1779).
The original "lord Burleigh" was Irish Moody (1728-1813).—Cornhill Magazine (1867).
Burlesque Poetry (Father of), Hippo'nax of Ephesus (sixth century B.C.).
Burlong, a giant whose legs sir Try'amour cut off.—Romance of Sir Tryamour.
Burnbill, Henry de Londres, archbishop of Dublin and lord justice of Ireland, in the reign of Henry III. It is said that he fraudulently burnt all the "bills" or instruments by which the tenants of the archbishopric held their estates.
Burns of France (The), Jasmin, a barber of Gascony. Louis Philippe presented to him a gold watch and chain, and the duke of Orléans an emerald ring.
Bur'ris, an honest lord, favorite of the great-duke of Muscovia.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Loyal Subject (1618).
Burroughs (George), a Salem citizen whose trial for witchcraft is recorded by Rev. Cotton Mather. The counts are many, and in the opinion of the court are proven, George Burroughs being condemned to die. In the story of his crimes set down by Dr. Mather, the climax would seem to be a paper handed by the accused to the jury, "wherein he goes to evince 'That there neither are, nor ever were, witches that, having made a compact with the devil, can send a devil to torment other people at a distance.'"
"When he came to die, he utterly denied the fact whereof he had been convicted."—Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World (1693).
Bu'sirane (3 syl.), an enchanter who bound Am'oret by the waist to a brazen pillar, and, piercing her with a dart, wrote magic characters with the dropping blood, "all for to make her love him." When Brit'omart approached, the enchanter started up, and, running to Amoret, was about to plunge a knife into her heart; but Britomart intercepted the blow, overpowered the enchanter, compelled him to "reverse his charms," and then bound him fast with his own chain.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. 11, 12 (1590).
Busi'ris, king of Egypt, was told by a foreigner that the long drought of nine years would cease when the gods of the country were mollified by human sacrifice. "So be it," said the king, and ordered the man himself to be offered as the victim.—Herod, ii. 59-61.
'Tis said that Egypt for nine years was dry;
Nor Nile did floods nor heaven did rain supply.
A foreigner at length informed the king
That slaughtered guests would kindly moisture bring.
The king replied, "On thee the lot shall fall;
Be thou, my guest, the sacrifice for all."
Ovid, Art of Love, i.
Busi'ris, supposed by Milton to be the Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea.
Hath vexed the Red Sea coast, whose waves o'erthrew
Busiris and his Memphian chivalry.
Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 306 (1665).
Bus'ne (2 syl.). So the gipsies call all who do not belong to their race.
The gold of the Busnê; give me her gold. Longfellow, The Spanish Student.
Busqueue (Lord), plaintiff in the great Pantagruelian lawsuit known as "lord Busqueue v. lord Suckfist," in which the parties concerned pleaded for themselves. Lord Busqueue stated his grievance and spoke so learnedly and at such length, that no one understood one word about the matter; then lord Suckfist replied, and the bench declared "We have not understood one iota of the defence." Pantag'ruel, however, gave judgment, and as both plaintiff and defendant considered he had got the verdict, both were fully satisfied, "a thing without parallel in all the annals of the court."—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. (1533).
Busy Body (The), a comedy by Mrs. Centlivre (1709). Sir Francis Gripe (guardian of Miranda, an heiress, and father of Charles), a man sixty-five years old, wishes to marry his ward for the sake of her money, but Miranda loves and is beloved by sir George Airy, a man of twenty-four. She pretends to love "Gardy," and dupes him into yielding up her money, and giving his consent to her marriage with "the man of her choice," believing himself to be the person. Charles is in love with Isabinda, daughter of sir Jealous Traffick, who has made up his mind that she shall marry a Spaniard named don Diego Babinetto, expected to arrive forthwith. Charles dresses in a Spanish costume, passes himself off as the expected don, and is married to the lady of his choice; so both the old men are duped, and all the young people wed according to their wishes.
Butcher (The), Achmet pasha, who struck off the heads of seven of his wives at once. He defended Acre against Napoleon I.
John ninth lord Clifford, called "The Black Clifford" (died 1461).
Oliver de Clisson, constable of France (1320-1407).
Butcher (The Bloody), the duke of Cumberland, second son of Gleorge II.; so called for his great barbarities in suppressing the rebellion of Charles Edward, the young pretender (1726-1765).
Butcher of England, John Tiptoft, earl of Worcester, a man of great learning and a patron of learning (died 1470).
On one occasion in the reign of Edward IV. he ordered Clapham (a squire to lord Warwick) and nineteen others, all gentlemen, to be impaled. —Stow, Warkworth Chronicle ("Cont. Croyl.")
Yet so barbarous was the age, that this same learned man impaled forty Lancastrian prisoners at Southampton, put to death the infant children of the Irish chief Desmond, and acquired the nickname of "The Butcher of England."—Old and New London, ii. 21.
Butler (Reuben), a presbyterian minister, married to Jeanie Deans.
Benjamin Butler, father of Reuben.
Stephen Butler, generally called "Bible Butler," grandfather of Reuben and father of Benjamin.
Widow Judith Butler, Reuben's grandmother and Stephen's wife.
Euphemia or Femie Butler, Reuben's daughter.
David and Reuben Butler, Reuben's sons.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Butler (The Rev. Mr.), military chaplain at Madras.—Sir W. Scott, The Surgeon's Daughter (time, George II.).
Buttercup (John), a milkman.—W. Brough, A Phenomenon in a Smock Frock.
Buttercup (Little), Bumboat woman, who in her youth, took to baby-farming, and "mixed those babies up," i.e. Ralph Rackstraw and the Captain of the Pinafore.—W.S. Gilbert, Pinafore (1877).
Buxo´ma, a shepherdess with whom Cuddy is in love.
My Brown Buxoma is the featest maid
That e'er at wake delightsome gambol played ...
And neither lamb, nor kid, nor calf, nor Tray,
Dance like Buxoma on the first of May.
Gay, Pastoral, i. (1714).
Buz´fuz (Sergeant), the pleader retained by Dodson and Fogg for the plaintiff in the celebrated case of "Bardell v. Pickwick." Sergeant Buzfuz is a driving, chaffing, masculine bar orator, who proved that Mr. Pickwick's note about "chops and tomato sauce" was a declaration of love; and that his reminder "not to forget the warming-pan" was only a flimsy cover to express the ardor of his affection. Of course the defendant was found guilty by the enlightened jury. (His junior was Skimpin.)—C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).
Buz'zard (The), in The Hind and the Panther, by Dryden (pt. iii.), is meant for Dr. Gilbert Burnet, whose figure was lusty (1643-1715).
Bycorn, a fat cow, so fat that its sides were nigh to bursting, but this is no wonder, for its food was "good and enduring husbands," of which there is good store, (See CHICHI-VACHE.)
Byron (Miss Harriet), a beautiful and accomplished woman of high rank, devotedly attached to sir Charles Grandison, whom ultimately she marries.—Richardson, Sir Charles Grandison (1753).
Byron (The Polish), Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855).
Byron (The Russian), Alexander Sergeivitch Puschkin (1799-1837).
Byron and Mary. The Mary of Byron's song is Miss Chaworth. Both Miss Chaworth and lord Byron were wards of Mr. White. Miss Chaworth married John Musters, and lord Byron married Miss Anna Isabella Milbanke: both were equally unhappy.
I have a passion for the name of "Mary,"
For once it was a magic name to me.
Byron, Don Juan, v. 4 (1820).
Byron and Teresa Guiccioli. This lady was the wife of count Guiccioli, an old man, but very rich. Moore says that Byron "never loved but once, till he loved Teresa."
Byron and the Edinburgh Review. It was Jeffrey and not Brougham who wrote the article which provoked the poet's reply.
(in Notes and Queries), the Right Hon. John Wilson Croker.
acafo'go, a rich, drunken usurer, stumpy and fat, choleric, a coward, and a bully. He fancies money will buy everything and every one.—Beaumont and Fletcher, Rule a Wife and Have a Wife (1640).
Cacur'gus, the fool or domestic jester of Misog'onus. Cacurgus is a rustic simpleton and cunning mischief-maker.—Thomas Rychardes, Misogonus (the third English comedy, 1560).
Ca'cus, a giant who lived in a cave on mount Av'entine (3 syl.). When Herculês came to Italy with the oxen which he had taken from Ger'yon of Spain, Cacus stole part of the herd, but dragged the animals by their tails into his cave, that it might be supposed they had come out of it.
If he falls into slips, it is equally clear they were introduced by him on purpose to confuse like Caeus, the traces of his retreat.—Encyc. Brit. Art. "Romance."
Cad, a low-born, vulgar fellow. A cadie in Scotland was a carrier of a sedan-chair.
All Edinburgh men and boys know that when sedan-chairs were discontinued, the old cadies sank into ruinous poverty, and became synonymous with roughs. The word was brought to London by James Hannay, who frequently used it.—M. Pringle.
M. Pringle assures us that the word came from Turkey.
Cade (Jack), Irish insurgent in reign of Henry VII. Assuming the name of Mortimer, he led a company of rebels from Kent, defeated the king's army, and entered London. His short-lived triumph was ended by his death at Lewes. He appears in Henry VI. by Shakespeare.
Cade´nus (3 syl.) dean Swift. The word is simply de-ca-nus ("a dean"), with the first two syllables transposed (ca-de-nus). Vanessa is Miss Esther Vanhomrigh, a young lady who fell in love with Swift, and proposed marriage. The dean's reply is given in the poem entitled Cadenus and Vanessa [i.e. Van-Esther].
Caduceus meant generally a herald's staff; as an emblem of a peaceful errand it was made of a branch of olive-wood with the twigs, which, later, were transformed to serpents. In this form it is associated with Mercury, the herald and messenger of the gods—that "beautiful golden rod with which he both puts men to sleep and wakens them from slumber." Homer, Odyssey, xxiv.
Cadur´ci, the people of Aquita´nia.
Cad´wal. Arvir´agus, son of Cym´beline, was so called while he lived in the woods with Bela´rius, who called himself Morgan, and whom Cadwal supposed to be his father.—Shakespeare, Cymbeline (1605).
Cadwallader, called by Bede (1 syl.) Elidwalda, son of Cadwalla king of Wales. Being compelled by pestilence and famine to leave Britain, he went to Armorica. After the plague ceased he went to Rome, where, in 689, he was baptized, and received the name of Peter, but died very soon afterwards.
Cadwallader that drave [
sailed
] to the Armoric shore.
Drayton, Polyolbion, ix. (1612).
Cadwallader, the misanthrope in Smollett's Peregrine Pickle (1751).
Cadwallader (Mrs.), character in Middle-march, by George Eliot.
Cadwall'on, son of the blinded Cyne'tha. Both father and son accompanied prince Madoc to North America in the twelfth century.—Southey, Madoc (1805).
Cadwal'lon, the favorite bard of prince Gwenwyn. He entered the service of sir Hugo de Lacy, disguised, under the assumed name of Renault Vidal.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Cæ'cias, the north-west wind. Argestês is the north-east, and Bo'reas the full north.
Boreas and Cæcias and Argestes loud
...rend the woods, and seas upturn.
Milton, Paradise Lost, x. 699, etc. (1665).
Cælesti'na, the bride of sir Walter Terill. The king commanded sir Walter to bring his bride to court on the night of her marriage. Her father, to save her honor, gave her a mixture supposed to be poison, but in reality it was only a sleeping draught. In due time the bride recovered, to the amusement of the king and delight of her husband.—Th. Dekker, Satiromastix (1602).
Cæ'neus [Se.nuce] was born of the female sex, and was originally called Cænis. Vain of her beauty, she rejected all lovers, but was one day surprised by Neptune, who offered her violence, changed her sex, converted her name to Ceneus, and gave her (or rather him) the gift of being invulnerable. In the wars of the Lap'ithæ, Ceneus offended Jupiter, and was overwhelmed under a pile of wood, but came forth converted into a yellow bird. Æneas found Ceneus in the infernal regions restored to the feminine sex. The order is inverted by sir John Davies:
And how was Caeneus made at first a man,
And then a woman, then a man again.
Orchestra, etc. (1615).
Cæsar (Caius Julius).
Somewhere I've read, but where I forget, he could dictate
Seven letters at once, at the same time writing his memoirs....
Better be first, he said, in a little Iberian village
Than be second in Rome; and I think he was right when he said it.
Twice was he married before he was twenty, and many times after;
Battles five hundred he fought, and a thousand cities he conquered;
But was finally stabbed by his friend the orator Brutus.
Longfellow, Courtship of Miles Standish, ii.
Longfellow refers to Pliny, vii. 25, where he says that Cæsar "could employ, at one and the same time, his ears to listen, his eyes to read, his hand to write, and his tongue to dictate." He is said to have conquered three hundred nations; to have taken eight hundred cities, to have slain in battle a million men, and to have defeated three millions. (See below, CÆSAR'S WARS.)
Cæsar and his Fortune. Plutarch says that Cæsar told the captain of the vessel in which he sailed that no harm could come to his ship, for that he had "Cæsar and his fortune with him."
Now am I like that proud insulting ship,
Which Cæsar and his fortune bare at once.
Shakespeare, 1 Henry VI. act i. sc. 2 (1589).
Cæsar saves his Commentaries. Once, when Julius Cæsar was in danger of being upset into the sea by the overloading of a boat, he swam to the nearest ship, with his book of Commentaries in his hand.—Suetonius.
Cæsar's Death. Both Chaucer and Shakespeare say that Julius Cæsar was killed in the capitol. Thus Polonius says to Hamlet, "I did enact Julius Cæsar; I was killed i' the capitol" (Hamlet, act iii. sc. 2). And Chaucer says:
This Julius to the capitolê wente ...
And in the capitole anon him hente
This falsê Brutus, and his other soon,
And sticked him with bodëkins anon.
Canterbury Tales ("The Monk's Tale," 1388).
Plutarch expressly tells us he was killed in Pompey's Porch or Piazza; and in Julius Cæsar Shakespeare says he fell "e'en at the base of Pompey's statue" (act iii. sc. 2).
Cæsar's Famous Despatch, "Veni, vidi, vici," written to the senate to announce his overthrow of Pharnacês king of Pontus. This "hop, skip, and a jump" was, however, the work of three days.
Cæsar's Wars. The carnage occasioned by the wars of Cæsar is usually estimated at a million fighting men. He won 320 triumphs, and fought 500 battles. See above, CÆSAR (Caius Julius).
What millions died that Cæsar might be great!
Campbell. The Pleasures of Hope, ii. (1799).
Cæsar, the Mephistoph'elês of Byron's unfinished drama called The Deformed Transformed. This Cæsar changes Arnold (the hunchback) into the form of Achilles, and assumes himself the deformity and ugliness which Arnold casts off. The drama being incomplete, all that can be said is that Cæsar, in cynicism, effrontery, and snarling bitterness of spirit, is the exact counterpart of his prototype, Mephistophelês (1821).
Cæsar (Don), an old man of sixty-three, the father of Olivia. In order to induce his daughter to marry, he makes love to Marcella, a girl of sixteen.—Mrs. Cowley, A Bold Stroke for a Husband (1782).
Cael, a Highlander of the western coast of Scotland. These Cael had colonized, in very remote times, the northern parts of Ireland, as the Fir-bolg or Belgae of Britain had colonized the southern parts. The two colonies had each a separate king. When Crothar was king of the Fir-bolg (or "lord of Atha"), he carried off Conla'ma, daughter of the king of Ulster (i.e. "chief of the Cael"), and a general war ensued between the two races. The Cael, being reduced to the last extremity, sent to Trathal (Fingal's grandfather) for help, and Trathal sent over Con'ar, who was chosen "king of the Cael" immediately he landed in Ulster; and having reduced the Fir-bolg to submission, he assumed the title of "king of Ireland." The Fir-bolg, though conquered, often rose in rebellion, and made many efforts to expel the race of Conar, but never succeeded in so doing.—Ossian.
Cages for Men. Alexander the Great had the philosopher Callisthenês chained for seven months in an iron cage, for refusing to pay him divine honors.
Catherine II. of Eussia kept her perruquier for more than three years in an iron cage in her bed-chamber, to prevent his telling people that she wore a wig.—Mons. de Masson, Mémoires Secrets sur la Russie.
Edward I. confined the countess of Buchan in an iron cage, for placing the crown of Scotland on the head of Bruce. This cage was erected on one of the towers of Berwick Castle, where the countess was exposed to the rigor of the elements and the gaze of passers-by. One of the sisters of Bruce was similarly dealt with.
Louis XI. confined cardinal Balue (grand-almoner of France) for ten years in an iron cage in the castle of Loches [Losh].
Tamerlane enclosed the sultan Bajazet in an iron cage, and made of him a public show. So says D'Herbelot.
An iron cage was made by Timour's command,
composed on every side of iron gratings, through
which the captive sultan [Bajazet] could be seen
in any direction. He travelled in this den slung
between two horses.—Leunclavius.
Caglios´tro (Count de), the assumed name of Joseph Balsamo (1743-1795).
Cain and Abel are called in the Korân "Kâbil and Hâbil." The tradition is that Cain was commanded to marry Abel's sister, and Abel to marry Cain's, but Cain demurred because his own sister was the more beautiful, and so the matter was referred to God, and God answered "No" by rejecting Cain's sacrifice.
The Mohammedans also say that Cain carried about with him the dead body of Abel till he saw a raven scratch a hole in the ground to bury a dead bird. The hint was taken, and Abel was buried under ground.—Sale's Koran, v. (notes).
Cair´bar, son of Borbar-Duthul, "lord of Atha" (Connaught), the most potent of the race of the Fir-bolg. He rose in rebellion against Cormac "king of Ireland," murdered him (Temora, i.), and usurped the throne; but Fingal (who was distantly related to Cormac) went to Ireland with an army, to restore the ancient dynasty. Cairbar invited Oscar (Fingal's grandson) to a feast, and Oscar accepted the invitation, but Cairbar having provoked a quarrel with his guest, the two fought, and both were slain.
"Thy heart is a rock. Thy thoughts are dark
and bloody. Thou art the brother of Cathmor
... but my soul is not like thine, thou feeble
hand in fight. The light of my bosom is stained
by thy deeds."—Ossian,
Temora
, i.
Cair´bre (2 syl.), sometimes called Cair´bar, third king of Ireland, of the Caledonian line. (There was also a Cairbar, "lord of Atha," a Fir-bolg, quite a different person.)
The Caledonian line ran thus: (1) Conar, first "king of Ireland;" (2) Cormac I., his son; (3) Cairbre, his son; (4) Artho, his son; (5) Cormac II., his son; (6) Ferad-Artho, his cousin.—Ossian.
Cai´us (2 syl.), the assumed name of the earl of Kent when he attended on king Lear, after Goneril and Re´gan refused to entertain their aged father with his suite.—Shakespeare, King Lear (1605).
Cai´us (Dr.), a French physician, whose servants are Rugby and Mrs. Quickly.— Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor (1601).
The clipped English of Dr. Cains.—Macau lay.
Calandri´no, a character in the Decameron, whose "misfortunes have made all Europe merry for four centuries."—Boccaccio, Decameron, viii. 9 (1350).
Calan´tha, princess of Sparta, loved by Ith´oclês. Ithoclês induces his sister, Penthe´a, to break the matter to the princess. This she does; the princess is won to requite his love, and the king consents to the union. During a grand court ceremony Calantha is informed of the sudden death of her father, another announces to her that Penthea had starved herself to death from hatred to Bass´anês, and a third follows to tell her that Ithoclês, her betrothed husband, has been murdered. Calantha bates no jot of the ceremony, but continues the dance even to the bitter end. The coronation ensues, but scarcely is the ceremony over than she can support the strain no longer, and, broken-hearted, she falls dead.—John Ford, The Broken Heart (1633).
Calan'the (3 syl.), the betrothed wife of Pyth'ias the Syracusian.—J. Banim, Damon and Pythias (1825).
Cal'culator (The). Alfragan the Arabian astronomer was so called (died A.D. 820). Jedediah Buxton, of Elmeton, in Derbyshire, was also called "The Calculator" (1705-1775). George Bidder, Zerah Colburn, and a girl named Heywood (whose father was a Mile End weaver) all exhibited their calculating powers in public.
Pascal, in 1642, made a calculating machine, which was improved by Leibnitz. C. Babbage also invented a calculating machine (1790-1871).
Cal'deron (Don Pedro), a Spanish poet born at Madrid (1600-1681). At the age of fifty-two he became an ecclesiastic, and composed religious poetry only. Altogether he wrote about 1000 dramatic pieces.
Her memory was a mine. She knew by heart
All Cal'deron and greater part of Lopé.
Byron, Don Juan, i. 11 (1819).
"Lope," that is Lopê de Vega, the Spanish poet (1562-1635).
Caleb, the enchantress who carried off St. George in infancy.
Ca'leb, in Dryden's satire of Absalom and Achitophel, is meant for lord Grey of Wark, in Northumberland, an adherent of the duke of Monmouth.
And, therefore, in the name of dulness be
The well-hung Balaam and cold Caleb free.
Part i.
"Balaam" is the earl of Huntingdon.
Ca'led, commander-in-chief of the Arabs in the siege of Damascus. He is brave, fierce, and revengeful. War is his delight. When Pho'cyas, the Syrian, deserts Eu'menês, Caled asks him to point out the governor's tent; he refuses; they fight, and Caled falls.—John Hughes, Siege of Damascus (1720).
Caledo´nians, Gauls from France who colonized south Britain, whence they journeyed to Inverness and Ross. The word is compounded of two Celtic words, Cael ("Gaul" or "Celt") and don or dun ("a hill"), so that Cael-don means "Celts of the highlands."
The Highlanders to this day call themselves
"
Cael
" and their language "
Caelic
" or "
Gaelic
"
and their country "
Caeldock
" which the Romans
softened into Caledonia.—
Dissertation on the Poems of Ossian
.
Ca´lenders, a class of Mohammedans who abandoned father and mother, wife and children, relations and possessions, to wander through the world as religious devotees, living on the bounty of those whom they made their dupes.—D'Herbelot, Supplement, 204.
He diverted himself with the multitude of calenders,
santons, and dervises, who had travelled
from the heart of India, and halted on their way
with the emir.—W. Beckford,
Vathek
(1786).
The Three Calenders, three royal princes, disguised as begging dervishes, each of whom had lost his right eye. Their adventures form three tales in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.
Tale of the First Calender. No names are given. This calender was the son of a king, and nephew of another king. While on a visit to his uncle his father died, and the vizier usurped the throne. When the prince returned, he was seized, and the usurper pulled out his right eye. The uncle died, and the usurping vizier made himself master of this kingdom also. So the hapless young prince assumed the garb of a calender, wandered to Baghdad, and being received into the house of "the three sisters," told his tale in the hearing of the caliph Haroun-al-Raschid.—The Arabian Nights.
Tale of the Second Calender. No names given. This calender, like the first, was the son of a king. On his way to India he was attacked by robbers, and though he contrived to escape, he lost all his effects. In his flight he came to a large city, where he encountered a tailor, who gave him food and lodging. In order to earn a living, he turned woodman for the nonce, and accidentally discovered an underground palace, in which lived a beautiful lady, confined there by an evil genius. With a view of liberating her, he kicked down the talisman, when the genius appeared, killed the lady, and turned the prince into an ape. As an ape he was taken on board ship, and transported to a large commercial city, where his penmanship recommended him to the sultan, who made him his vizier. The sultan's daughter undertook to disenchant him and restore him to his proper form; but to accomplish this she had to fight with the malignant genius. She succeeded in killing the genius, and restoring the enchanted prince; but received such severe injuries in the struggle that she died, and a spark of fire which flew into the right eye of the prince destroyed it. The sultan was so heart-broken at the death of his only child, that he insisted on the prince quitting the kingdom without delay. So he assumed the garb of a calender, and being received into the hospitable house of "the three sisters," told his tale in the hearing of the caliph Haroun-al-Raschid.—The Arabian Nights.
Tale of the Third Calender. This tale is given under the word AGIB.
"I am called Agib," he says, "and am the son
of a king whose name was Cassib."—
Arabian Nights
.
Calepine (Sir), the knight attached to Sere´na (canto 3). Seeing a bear carrying off a child, he attacked it, and squeezed it to death, then committed the babe to the care of Matilde, wife of sir Bruin. As Matilde had no child of her own, she adopted it (canto 4).—Spenser, Faëry Queen, vi. (1596).
Upton says, "the child" in this incident is meant for M'Mahon, of Ireland, and that "Mac Mahon" means the "son of a bear." He furthermore says that the M'Mahons were descended from the Fitz-Ursulas, a noble English family.
Ca´les (2 syl.). So gipsies call themselves.
Beltran Cruzado, count of the Cales.
Longfellow, The Spanish Student.
Calf-skin. Fools and jesters used to wear a calf-skin coat buttoned down the back, and hence Faulconbridge says insolently to the arch-duke of Austria, who had acted very basely towards Richard Lion-heart:
Thou wear a lion's hide! doff it for shame,
And hang a calf-skin on those recreant limbs.
Shakespeare, King John, act ii. sc. I (1596).
Cal´ianax, a humorous old lord, father of Aspatia, the troth-plight wife of Amin´tor. It is the death of Aspatia which gives name to the drama.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Maid's Tragedy (1610).
Caliban, a savage, deformed slave of Prospero (the rightful duke of Milan and father of Miranda). Caliban is the "freckled whelp" of the witch Syc´orax. Mrs. Shelley's "Frankenstein" is a sort of Caliban.—Shakespeare, The Tempest (1609).
"Caliban" ... is all earth ... he has the
dawnings of understanding without reason or the
moral sense ... this advance to the intellectual
faculties without the moral sense is marked by
the appearance of vice.—Coleridge.
Cal´iburn, same as Excalibur, the famous sword of king Arthur.
Onward Arthur paced, with hand
On Caliburn's resistless brand.
Sir W. Scott,
Bridal of Triermain
(1813).
Arthur ... drew out his Caliburn, and ...
rushed forward with great fury into the thickest
of the enemy's ranks ... nor did he give over