Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 · Chapter 4Copyright, 1892, by SELMAR HESS (4)
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Al'i, cousin and son-in-law of Mahomet. The beauty of his eyes is proverbial in Persia. Ayn Hali ("eyes of Ali") is the highest compliment a Persian can pay to beauty.—Chardin.
Ali Baba, a poor Persian wood-carrier, who accidentally learns the magic words, "Open Sesamê!" "Shut Sesamê!" by which he gains entrance into a vast cavern, the repository of stolen wealth and the lair of forty thieves. He makes himself rich by plundering from these stores; and by the shrewd cunning of Morgiana, his female slave, the captain and his whole band of thieves are extirpated. In reward of these services, Ali Baba gives Morgiana her freedom, and marries her to his own son.—Arabian Nights ("Ali Baba or the Forty Thieves").
Al'ice (2 syl.), sister of Valentine, in Mons. Thomas, a comedy by Beaumont and Fletcher (1619).
Al'ice (2 syl.), foster-sister of Robert le Diable, and bride of Rambaldo, the Norman troubadour, in Meyerbeer's opera of Roberto il Diavolo. She comes to Palermo to place in the duke's hand his mother's "will," which he is enjoined not to read till he is a virtuous man. She is Robert's good genius, and when Bertram, the fiend, claims his soul as the price of his ill deeds, Alice, by reading the will, reclaims him.
Al'ice (2 syl.), the servant-girl of dame Whitecraft, wife of the innkeeper at Altringham.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Al'ice, the miller's daughter, a story of happy first love told in later years by an old man who had married the rustic beauty. He was a dreamy lad when he first loved Alice, and the passion roused him into manhood. (See ROSE.)—Tennyson, The Miller's Daughter.
Al'ice (The Lady), widow of Walter, knight of Avenel (2 syl).—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
Al'ice [GRAY], called "Old Alice Gray," a quondam tenant of the lord of Ravenswood. Lucy Ashton visits her after the funeral of the old lord.—Sir W. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Alice Munro, one of the sisters taken captive by Indians in Cooper's Last of the Mohicans (1821).
Alichi'no. a devil in Dante's Inferno.
Alicia gave her heart to Mosby, but married Arden for his position. As a wife, she played falsely with her husband, and even joined Mosby in a plot to murder him. Vacillating between love for Mosby and respect for Arden, she repents, and goes on sinning; wishes to get disentangled, but is overmastered by Mosby's stronger will. Alicia's passions impel her to evil, but her judgment accuses her and prompts her to the right course. She halts, and parleys with sin, like Balaam, and of course is lost. —Anon., Arden of Feversham (1592).
Alic'ia, "a laughing, toying, wheedling, whimpering she," who once held lord Hastings under her distaff, but her annoying jealousy, "vexatious days, and jarring, joyless nights," drove him away from her. Being jealous of Jane Shore, she accused her to the duke of Gloster of alluring lord Hastings from his allegiance, and the lord protector soon trumped up a charge against both; the lord chamberlain he ordered to execution for treason, and Jane Shore he persecuted for witchcraft. Alicia goes raving mad.—Rowe, Jane Shore (1713).
Alic'ia (The lady), daughter of lord Waldemar Fitzurse.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Alick [POLWORTH], one of the servants of Waverley.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Alifan'faron, emperor of the island Trap'oban, a Mahometan, the suitor of Pentap'olin's daughter, a Christian. Pentapolin refused to sanction this alliance, and the emperor raised a vast army to enforce his suit. This is don Quixote's solution of two flocks of sheep coming in opposite directions, which he told Sancho were the armies of Alifanfaron and Pentapolin.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. iii. 4 (1605).
Ajax the Greater had a similar encounter. (See AJAX.)
Alin'da, daughter of Alphonso, an irascible old lord of Sego'via.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Pilgrim (1621).
(Alinda is the name assumed by young Archas when he dresses in woman's attire. This young man is the son of general Archas, "the loyal subject" of the great duke of Moscovia, in the drama by Beaumont and Fletcher, called The Loyal Subject, 1618.)
Aliprando, a Christian knight, who discovered the armor of Rinaldo, and took it to Godfrey. Both inferred that Rinaldo had been slain, but were mistaken.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Al'iris, sultan of Lower Buchar'ia, who, under the assumed name of Fer'amorz, accompanies Lalla Rookh from Delhi, on her way to be married to the sultan. He wins her love, and amuses the tedium of the journey by telling her tales. When introduced to the sultan, her joy is unbounded on discovering that Feramorz the poet, who has won her heart, is the sultan to whom she is betrothed.—T. Moore, Lalla Rookh.
Alisaunder (Sir), surnamed LORFELIN, son of the good prince Boudwine and his wife An'glides (3 syl.). Sir Mark, king of Cornwall, murdered sir Boudwine, who was his brother, while Alisaunder was a mere child. When Alisaunder was knighted, his mother gave him his father's doublet, "bebled with old blood," and charged him to revenge his father's death. Alisaunder married Alis la Beale Pilgrim, and had one son called Bellen'gerus le Beuse. Instead of fulfilling his mother's charge, he was himself "falsely and feloniously slain" by king Mark.—Sir T. Malory, History of King Arthur, ii. 119-125 (1470).
Al'ison, the young wife of John, a rich old miserly carpenter. Absolon, a priggish parish clerk, paid her attention, but she herself loved a poor scholar named Nicholas, lodging in her husband's house. Fair she was, and her body lithe as a weasel. She had a rouguish eye, small eyebrows, was "long as a mast and upright as a bolt," more "pleasant to look on than a flowering pear tree," and her skin "was softer than the wool of a wether."—Chaucer, "The Miller's Tale," Canterbury Tales, (1388).
Al'ison, in sir W. Scott's Kenilworth, is an old domestic in the service of the earl of Leicester at Cumnor Place.
Al'ken, an old shepherd, who instructs Robin Hood's men how to find a witch, and how she is to be hunted.—Ben Jonson, The Sad Shepherd (1637).
All's Well that Ends Well, a comedy by Shakespeare (1598). The hero and heroine are Bertram of Rousillon, and Hel'ena a physician's daughter, who are married by the command of the king of France, but part because Bertram thought the lady not sufficiently well-born for him. Ultimately, however, all ends well.—(See HELENA.)
The story of this play is from Painter's Gilletta of Narbon.
All the Talents Administration, formed by lord Grenville, in 1806, on the death of William Pitt. The members were lord Grenville, the earl Fitzwilliam, viscount Sidmouth, Charles James Fox, earl Spencer, William Windham, lord Erskine, sir Charles Grey, lord Minto, lord Auckland, lord Moira, Sheridan, Richard Fitzpatrick, and lord Ellenborough. It was dissolved in 1807.
On "all the talents" vent your venal spleen.
Byron, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers.
Allan, lord of Ravenswood, a decayed Scotch nobleman.—Sir W. Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Al'lan (Mrs.), colonel Mannering's housekeeper at Woodburne.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Al'lan [Breck Cameron], the sergeant sent to arrest Hamish Bean McTavish, by whom he is shot. Sir W. Scott, The Highland Widow (time, George II.).
Allan-a-Dale, one of Robin Hood's men, introduced by sir W. Scott in Ivanhoe. (See ALLIN-A-DALE.)
Allan Quartermain, hunter and traveller whose adventures are recorded in She, King Solomon's Mines, and Allan Quartermain, by W. Rider Haggard (1886-1891).
Alle'gre (3 syl.), the faithful servant of Philip Chabot. When Chabot was accused of treason, Allegre was put to the rack to make him confess something to his master's damage, but the brave fellow was true as steel, and it was afterwards shown that the accusation had no foundation but jealousy.—G. Chapman and J. Shirley, The Tragedy of Philip Chabot.
Allen (Ralph), the friend of Pope, and benefactor of Fielding.
Let humble Allen, with an awkward shame,
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Pope.
Allen (Long), a soldier in the "guards" of king Richard I.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman.
Allen (Major), an officer in the duke of Monmouth's army.—Sir W. Scott, Old Mortality (time, Charles II.).
All-Fair, a princess, who was saved from the two lions (which guarded the Desert Fairy) by the Yellow Dwarf, on condition that she would become his wife. On her return home she hoped to evade this promise by marrying the brave king of the Gold Mines, but on the wedding day Yellow Dwarf carried her off on a Spanish cat, and confined her in Steel Castle. Here Gold Mine came to her rescue with a magic sword, but in his joy at finding her, he dropped his sword, and was stabbed to the heart with it by Yellow Dwarf. All-Fair, falling on the body of her lover, died of a broken heart. The syren changed the dead lovers into two palm trees.—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("The Yellow Dwarf," 1682). Allin-a-Dale or Allen-a-Dale, of Nottinghamshire, was to be married to a lady who returned his love, but her parents compelled her to forego young Allin for an old knight of wealth. Allin told his tale to Robin Hood, and the bold forester, in the disguise of a harper, went to the church where the wedding ceremony was to take place. When the wedding party stepped in, Robin Hood exclaimed, "This is no fit match; the bride shall be married only to the man of her choice." Then, sounding his horn, Allin-a-Dale with four and twenty bowmen entered the church. The bishop refused to marry the woman to Allin till the banns had been asked three times, whereupon Robin pulled off the bishop's gown, and invested Little John in it, who asked the banns seven times, and performed the ceremony.—Robin Hood and Allin-a-Dale (a ballad).
All'it. Captain of Nebuchadrezzar's guards in The Master of the Magicians, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward. He is flattered and content to be the queen's favorite until he meets Lalitha, a Jewish damsel. He braves death to save her from runaway horses attached to a chariot, is captivated by her beauty, and forgets his royal mistress in an honorable love (1890).
Allnut (Noll), landlord of the Swan, Lambythe Ferry (1625).
Grace Allnut, his wife.
Oliver Allnut, the landlord's son.—Sterling, John Felton (1852).
Allworth (Lady), stepmother to Tom Allworth. Sir Giles Overreach thought she would marry his nephew Wellborn, but she married lord Lovel.
Tom Allworth, stepson of lady Allworth, in love with Margaret Overreach, whom he marries.—Massinger, A New Way to pay Old Debts (1625).
All'worthy, in Fielding's Tom Jones, a man of sturdy rectitude, large charity, infinite modesty, independent spirit, and untiring philanthropy, with an utter disregard of money or fame. Fielding's friend, Ralph Allen, was the academy figure of this character.
Alma (the human soul) queen of a Castle, which for seven years was beset by a rabble rout. Arthur and sir Guyon were conducted by Alma over this castle, which though not named is intended to represent the human body.—Spenser, The Faërie Queene, ii. 9 (1590).
Almansor ("the invincible"), a title assumed by several Mussulman princes, as by the second caliph of the Abbasside dynasty, named Abou Giafar Abdallah (the invincible, or al mansor). Also by the famous captain of the Moors in Spain, named Mohammed. In Africa, Yacoubal-Modjahed was entitled "al mansor," a royal name of dignity given to the kings of Fez, Morocco, and Algiers.
The kingdoms of Almansor, Fez, and Sus,
Marocco and Algiers.
Milton, Paradise Lost, xi. 403 (1665).
Almanzor, the caliph, wishing to found a city in a certain spot, was told by a hermit named Bag dad that a man called Moclas was destined to be its founder. "I am that man," said the caliph, and he then told the hermit how in his boyhood he once stole a bracelet and pawned it, whereupon his nurse ever after called him "Moclas" (thief). Almanzor founded the city, and called it Bag dad, the name of the hermit.—Marigny.
Alman'zor, in Dryden's tragedy of The Conquest of Grana'da.
Alman'zor, lackey of Madelon and her cousin Cathos, the affected fine ladies in Molière's comedy of Les Précieuses Ridicules (1659).
Almavi'va, (Count), in The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais. The Follies of a Day by T. Holcroft (1745-1809) is borrowed from Beaumarchais.
Alme'ria, daughter of Manuel king of Grana'da. While captive of Valentia, prince Alphonso fell in love with her, and being compelled to fight, married her; but on the very day of espousal the ship in which they were sailing was wrecked, and each thought the other had perished. Both, however, were saved, and met unexpectedly on the coast of Granada, to which Alphonso was brought as a captive. Here Alphonso, under the assumed name of Osmyn, was imprisoned, but made his escape, and at the head of an army invaded Granada, found Manuel dead, and "the mournful bride" became converted into the joyful wife.—W. Congreve, The Mourning Bride (1697).
Almes'bury (3 syl.). It was in a sanctuary of Almesbury that queen Guenever took refuge, after her adulterous passion for sir Lancelot was made known to the king. Here she died, but her body was buried at Glastonbury.
Almey'da, the Portuguese governor of India. In his engagement with the united fleets of Cambaya and Egypt, he had his legs and thighs shattered by chain-shot, but instead of retreating to the back, he had himself bound to the shipmast, where he "waved his sword to cheer on the combatants," till he died from loss of blood.
Similar stories are told of admiral Benbow, Cynaegeros brother of the poet Æschylos, Jaafer who carried the sacred banner of "the prophet" in the battle of Muta, and of some others.
Whirled by the cannons' rage, in shivers torn,
His thighs far scattered o'er the waves are borne;
Bound to the mast the godlike hero stands,
Waves his proud sword and cheers his woeful hands:
Tho' winds and seas their wonted aid deny,
To yield he knows not; but he knows to die.
Camoens, Lusiad, x. (1569).
Almirods (The), a rebellions people, who refused to submit to prince Pantag'ruel after his subjugation of Anarchus king of the Dipsodes (2 syl). It was while Pantagruel was marching against these rebels that a tremendous shower of rain fell, and the prince, putting out his tongue "halfway," sheltered his whole army.—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. 32 (1533).
Alnas'char, the dreamer, the "barber's fifth brother." He invested all his money in a basket of glassware, on which he was to gain so much, and then to invest again and again, till he grew so rich that he would marry the vizier's daughter and live in grandeur; but being angry with his supposed wife, he gave a kick with his foot and smashed all the ware which had given birth to his dream of wealth.—The Arabian Nights' Entertainments.
The Alnaschar of Modern Literature, S.T. Coleridge, so called because he was constantly planning magnificent literary enterprises which he never carried out (1772-1834).
Aloa'din (4 syl.), a sorcerer, who made for himself a palace and garden in Arabia called "The Earthly Paradise." Thalaba slew him with a club, and the scene of enchantment disappeared.—Southey, Thalaba the Destroyer, vii. (1797).
Alon'so, king of Naples, father of Ferdinand and brother of Sebastian, in The Tempest, by Shakespeare (1609).
Alonzo the brave, the name of a ballad by M.G. Lewis. The fair Imogene was betrothed to Alonzo, but during his absence in the wars became the bride of another. At the wedding-feast Alonzo's ghost sat beside the bride, and, after rebuking her for her infidelity, carried her off to the grave.
Alonzo the brave was the name of the knight;
The maid was the fair Imogene.
M.G. Lewis.
Alon'zo, a Portuguese gentleman, the sworn enemy of the vainglorious Duarte (3 syl.), in the drama called The Custom of the Country, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1647).
Alonzo, the husband of Cora. He is a brave Peruvian knight, the friend of Rolla, and beloved by king Atali'ba. Alonzo, being taken prisoner of war, is set at liberty by Rolla, who changes clothes with him. At the end he fights with Pizarro and kills him.—Sheridan, Pizarro (altered from Kotzebue).
Alonzo (Don), "the conqueror of Afric," friend of don Carlos, and husband of Leonora. Don Carlos had been betrothed to Leonora, but out of friendship resigned her to the conqueror. Zanga, the Moor, out of revenge, persuaded Alonzo that his wife and don Carlos still entertained for each other their former love, and out of jealousy Alonzo has his friend put to death, while Leonora makes away with herself. Zanga now informs Alonzo that his jealousy was groundless, and mad with grief he kills himself.—Edw. Young, The Revenge (1721).
Alonzo Fernandez de Avellaneda, author of a spurious Don Quixote, who makes a third sally. This was published during the lifetime of Cervantes, and caused him great annoyance.
Alp, a Venetian renegade, who was commander of the Turkish army in the siege of Corinth. He loved Francesca, daughter of old Minotti, governor of Corinth, but she refused to marry a renegade and apostate. Alp was shot in the siege, and Francesca died of a broken heart.—Byron, Siege of Corinth.
Alphe'us (3 syl.), a magician and prophet in the army of Charlemagne, slain in sleep by Clorida'no.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Alphe'us (3 syl.), of classic story, being passionately in love with Arethu'sa, pursued her, but she fled from him in a fright, and was changed by Diana into a fountain, which bears her name.
Alphon'so, an irascible old lord in The Pilgrim, a comedy by Beaumont and Fletcher (1621).
Alphon'so, king of Naples, deposed by his brother Frederick. Sora'no tried to poison him, but did not succeed. Ultimately he recovered his crown, and Frederick and Sorano were sent to a monastery for the rest of their lives.—Beaumont and Fletcher, A Wife for a Month (1624).
Alphonso, son of count Pedro of Cantabria, afterwards king of Spain. He was plighted to Hermesind, daughter of lord Pelayo.
The young Alphonso was in truth an heir
Of nature's largest patrimony; rich
In form and feature, growing strength of limb,
A gentle heart, a soul affectionate,
A joyous spirit, filled with generous thoughts,
And genius heightening and ennobling all.
Southey, Roderick, etc., viii. (1814).
Alqui'fe (3 syl.), a famous enchanter in Amadis of Gaul, by Vasco de Lobeira, of Oporto, who died 1403.
La Noue denounces such beneficent enchanters as Alquife and Urganda, because they serve "as a vindication of those who traffic with the powers of darkness."—Francis de la Noue, Discourses, 87 (1587).
Alrinach, the demon who causes shipwrecks, and presides over storms and earthquakes. When visible it is always in the form and dress of a woman.—Eastern Mythology.
Alscrip (Miss), "the heiress," a vulgar parvenue, affected, conceited, ill-natured, and ignorant. Having had a fortune left her, she assumes the airs of a woman of fashion, and exhibits the follies without possessing the merits of the upper ten.
Mr. Alscrip, the vulgar father of "the heiress," who finds the grandeur of sudden wealth a great bore, and in his new mansion, Berkeley Square, sighs for the snug comforts he once enjoyed as scrivener in Furnival's Inn.—General Burgoyne, The Heiress (1781).
Al'tamont, a young Genoese lord, who marries Calista, daughter of lord Sciol'to (3 syl). On his wedding day he discovers that his bride has been seduced by Lotha'rio, and a duel ensues, in which Lothario is killed, whereupon Calista stabs herself.—N. Rowe, The Fair Penitent (1703). (Rowe makes Sciolto three syllables always.)
Altamo'rus, king of Samarcand', who joined the Egyptian armament against the crusaders. He surrendered himself to Godfrey (bk. xx.).—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Altascar (Señor). A courtly old Spaniard in Bret Harte's Notes by Flood and Field. He is dispossessed of his corral in the Sacramento Valley by a party of government surveyors, who have come to correct boundaries (1878).
Altemera. Typical far-southern girl, with a lovely face, creamy skin, and a "lazy sweet voice," who takes the leading part in Annie Eliot's An Hour's Promise (1888).
Althaea's Brand. The Fates told Althaea that her son Melea'ger would live just as long as a log of wood then on the fire remained unconsumed. Althaea contrived to keep the log unconsumed for many years, but when her son killed her two brothers, she threw it angrily into the fire, where it was quickly consumed, and Meleager expired at the same time.—Ovid, Metaph. viii. 4.
The fatal brand Althaea burned.
Shakespeare, 2
Henry VI
. act i. sc. 1 (1591).
Althe'a (The divine), of Richard Lovelace, was Lucy Saeheverell, also called by the poet, Lucasta.
When love with unconfinèd wings
Hovers within my gates,
And my divine Althea brings
To whisper at my grates.
(The "grates" here referred to were those of a prison in which Lovelace was confined by the Long Parliament, for his petition from Kent in favor of the king.)
Altheetar, one of the seven bridegrooms of Lopluël, condemned to die successively, by a malignant spirit. He is young, beautiful, and endowed with rare gifts of soul and mind. While singing to her, his lyre falls from his hand and he dies in her arms, her loosened hair falling about him as a shroud.
"So calm, so fair,
He rested on the purple, tapestried floor,
It seemed an angel lay reposing there."
Lopluel, or the Bride of Seven, by Maria del Occidente (Maria Gowen Brooks) (1833).
Altisido'ra, one of the duchess's servants, who pretends to be in love with don Quixote, and serenades him. The don sings his response that he has no other love than what he gives to his Dulcin'ea, and while he is still singing he is assailed by a string of cats, let into the room by a rope. As the knight is leaving the mansion, Altisidora accuses him of having stolen her garters, but when the knight denies the charge, the damsel protests that she said so in her distraction, for her garters were not stolen. "I am like the man looking for his mule at the time he was astride its back."—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. iii. 9, etc.; iv. 5 (1615).
Al'ton (Miss), alias Miss CLIFFORD, a sweet, modest young lady, the companion of Miss Alscrip, "the heiress," a vulgar, conceited parvenue. Lord Gayville is expected to marry "the heiress," but detests her, and loves Miss Alton, her humble companion. It turns out that £2000 a year of "the heiress's" fortune belongs to Mr. Clifford (Miss Alton's brother), and is by him settled on his sister. Sir Clement Flint destroys this bond, whereby the money returns to Clifford, who marries lady Emily Gayville, and sir Clement settles the same on his nephew, lord Gayville, who marries Miss Alton.—General Burgoyne, The Heiress (1781).
Al'ton Locke, tailor and poet, a novel by the Rev. Charles Kingsley (1850). This novel won for the author the title of "The Chartist Clergyman."
Alvira Roberts, hired "girl" and faithful retainer of the Fairchild family. For many years she and Milton Squires, the hired man, have "kept company." In his prosperity he deserts her. When he is convicted of murder, she kisses him. "Ef 'twas the last thing I ever done in my life, I'd dew it. We was—engaged—once't on a time!"—Seth's Brother's Wife, by Harold Frederic (1886).
Alzir'do, king of Trem'izen, in Africa, overthrown by Orlando in his march to join the allied army of Ag'ramant.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Am'adis of Gaul, a love-child of king Per'ion and the princess Elize'na. He is the hero of a famous prose romance of chivalry, the first four books of which are attributed to Lobeira, of Portugal (died 1403). These books were translated into Spanish in 1460 by Montal'vo, who added the fifth book. The five were rendered into French by Herberay, who increased the series to twenty-four books. Lastly, Gilbert Saunier added seven more volumes, and called the entire series Le Roman des Romans.
Whether Amadis was French or British is disputed. Some maintain that "Gaul" means Wales, not France; that Elizena was princess of Brittany (Bretagne), and that Perion was king of Gaul (Wales), not Gaul (France).
Amadis de Gaul was a tall man, of a fair complexion,
his aspect something between mild and
austere, and had a handsome black beard. He
was a person of very few words, was not easily
provoked, and was soon appeased.—Cervantes,
Don Quixote
, II. i. 1 (1615).
As Arthur is the central figure of British romance, Charlemagne of French, and Diderick of German, so Amadis is the central figure of Spanish and Portuguese romance; but there is this difference—the tale of Amadis is a connected whole, terminating with his marriage with Oria'na, the intervening parts being only the obstacles he encountered and overcame in obtaining this consummation. In the Arthurian romances, and those of the Charlemagne series, we have a number of adventures of different heroes, but there is no unity of purpose; each set of adventures is complete in itself.
Ama'dis of Greece, a supplemental part of Amadis of Gaul, by Felicia'no de Silva. There are also several other Amadises—as Amadis of Colchis, Amadis of Trebisond, Amadis of Cathay, but all these are very inferior to the original Amadis of Gaul.
The ancient fables, whose relickes doe yet remain, namely, Lancelot of the Lake, Pierceforest, Tristram, Giron the Courteous, etc., doe beare witnesse of this odde vanitie. Herewith were men fed for the space of 500 yeeres, untill our language growing more polished, and our minds more ticklish, they were driven to invent some novelties wherewith to delight us. Thus came ye bookes of Amadis into light among us in this last age.—Francis de la Noue, Discourses, 87 (1587).
Amai'mon (3 syl.), one of the principal devils. Asmode'us is one of his lieutenants. Shakespeare twice refers to him, in 1 Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4, and in The Merry Wives of Windsor, act ii. sc. 2.
Amal'ahta, son of Erill'yab the deposed queen of the Hoamen (2 syl.), an Indian tribe settled on the south of the Missouri. He is described as a brutal savage, wily, deceitful, and cruel. Amalahta wished to marry the princess Goer'vyl, Madoc's sister, and even seized her by force, but was killed in his flight.—Southey, Madoc, ii. 16 (1805).
Amalthae'a, the sibyl who offered to sell to Tarquin nine books of prophetic oracles. When the king refused to give her the price demanded, she went away, burnt three of them, and returning to the king, demanded the same price for the remaining six. Again the king declined the purchase. The sibyl, after burning three more of the volumes, demanded the original sum for the remaining three. Tarquin paid the money, and Amalthaea was never more seen. Aulus Gellius says that Amalthaea burnt the books in the king's presence. Pliny affirms that the original number of volumes was only three, two of which the sibyl burnt, and the third was purchased by king Tarquin.
Amalthe'a, a mistress of Ammon and mother of Bacchus. Ammon hid his mistress in the island Nysa (in Africa), in order to elude the vigilance and jealousy of his wife Rhea. This account (given by Diodorus Sic'ulus, bk. iii., and by sir Walter Raleigh in his History of the World, I. vi. 5) differs from the ordinary story, which makes Sem'elê the mother of Bacchus, and Rhea his nurse. (Ammon is Ham or Cham, the son of Noah, founder of the African race.)
... that Nyseian ile,
Girt with the river Triton, where old Cham
(Whom Gentiles Ammon call, and Libyan Jove)
Hid Amalthea and her florid son,
Young Bacchus, from his stepdame Rhea's eye.
Milton, Paradise Lost, iv. 275 (1665).
Amanda, wife of Loveless. Lord Foppington pays her amorous attentions, but she utterly despises the conceited coxcomb, and treats him with contumely. Colonel Townly, in order to pique his lady-love, also pays attention to Loveless's wife, but she repels his advances with indignation, and Loveless, who overhears her, conscious of his own shortcomings, resolves to reform his ways, and, "forsaking all other," to remain true to Amanda, "so long as they both should live."—Sheridan, A Trip to Scarborough.
Aman'da, in Thomson's Seasons, is meant for Miss Young, who married admiral Campbell.
And thou, Amanda, come, pride of my song!
Formed by the Graces, loveliness itself.
"Spring," 480, 481 (1728).
Amanda, the victim of Peregrine Pickle's seduction, in Smollett's novel of Peregrine Pickle (1751).
Amanda, worldly woman in Julia Ward Howe's poem, Amanda's Inventory, who sums up her wealth and honors, and is forced to conclude the list with death (1866).
Amaran'ta, wife of Bar'tolus, the covetous lawyer. She was wantonly loved by Leandro, a Spanish gentleman.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Spanish Curate (1622).
Am'aranth (Lady), in Wild Oats, by John O'Keefe, a famous part of Mrs. Pope (1740-1797).
Amaril'lis, a shepherdess in love with Per'igot (t sounded), but Perigot loved Am'oret. In order to break off this affection, Amarillis induced "the sullen shepherd" to dip her in "the magic well," whereby she became transformed into the perfect resemblance of her rival, and soon effectually disgusted Perigot with her bold and wanton conduct. When afterwards he met the true Amoret, he repulsed her, and even wounded her with intent to kill. Ultimately, the trick was discovered by Cor'in, "the faithful shepherdess," and Perigot was married to his true love.—John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherd (1610).
Amaryllis, in Spenser's pastoral Colin Clout's Come Home Again, was the countess of Derby. Her name was Alice, and she was the youngest of the six daughters of sir John Spenser, of Althorpe, ancestor of the noble houses of Spenser and Marlborough. After the death of the earl, the widow married sir Thomas Egerton, keeper of the Great Seal (afterwards baron of Ellesmere and viscount Brackley). It was for this very lady, during her widowhood, that Milton wrote his Ar'cades (3 syl.).