346 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



Arthur's Sword. Esral'ibur or Excal'iber. Geoffrey 

 calls it Caliburn. and .-ays it was made in the isle of 

 Avallon. by Merlin. 



Arthur's Round Table. It contained seats for 150 

 kniiihts. Tin. rved. two for honor, MM one 



(called the "siege perilous "> for Sir Galaliad, destined 

 to achieve the quest of the Holy Grail. 



A-ra-part. The name of a giant whom 1- 

 Southampton conquered. This is a favorite story of 

 the old British romancers. The effigy of As'ca-part 

 may be seen on the city gates of Southampton. He is*' 

 said to have been thirty feet high, and to have carried 

 .nd horse, under his arm. Allusions 



to him occur in Shakespere, Drayton, and other English 

 poets. 



A-h'ton. Sir William. The Lord Keeper of Scot- 

 land; a prominent character in Scott's "Bride of Lam- 

 mermoor." 



A- ino-de M-. In the Jewish demonology, an evil 

 spirit, the demon of vanity, or dress. In modern times 

 he has been spoken of as the destroying demon of matri- 

 monial happiness. 



A --pa ti-:i. The unfortunate heroine of Beaumont 



and Fletcher's play "The Maid's Tragedy." 



As'tolpt. The hoi 

 of the King." 



"home of Elaine in Tennyson's "Idylls 



A--tol io or As-tol'pho. A celebrated character 

 in the romantic tales and poems founded upon the sup- 

 posed adventures of Charlemange and his Paladins. 



A - You Like It, a comedy by Shakespere. A French 

 duke, driven from his dukedom by bis brother, sought 

 a refuge in the forest of Arden with a few of his followers. 

 Here they lived a free and easy life. Rosalind, the 

 daughter of the banished duke, remained at court 

 with her cousin Celia. At a wrestling match Rosalind 

 fell in love with Orlando, who threw his antagonist, a 

 giant and professional athlete. The usurping duke 

 (Frederick) now banished her from the court, but her 

 cousin Celia resolved to go to Arden with her; so Rosa- 

 lind, in boy's clothes, and Celia, as a rustic maiden, started 

 to find the deposed duke. Orlando being driven from 

 home by his elder brother, also went to the forest of 

 Arden, and was taken under the duke's protection. 

 Here he met the ladies, and a double marriage was the 

 re-nit Orlando married Rosalind, and his elder 

 brother Oliver married Celia. The* usurper retired to 

 a religious house, and the deposed duke was restored to 

 his dominions. 



Ath'a-lie. Athalie, Racine. Daughter of Ahab 

 and Jezebel in Racine's famous tragedy by this name. 



Auburn. The name of a village immortalized by 

 Oliver Goldsmith in his "Deserted Village"; it has been 

 identified with Lissoy, in Ireland, near Athlone. 



Au'drey. A country wench, in Shakespere's "As 

 You Like It." 



Autol'ycus. The craftiest of thieves. He stole the 

 flocks of his neighbors, and changed their marks. Si'sy- 

 phus outwitted him by marking his sheep under their 

 feet. Shakespere introduces him in "The Winter's 

 Tale" as a peddler, and says he was called the son of 

 Mercury. 



Av'a-lon, or A-vll'ion. The earthly paradise of 

 the Bri tains. In Middle- Age romance, the name of an 

 ocean island, and of a castle. It is represented as the 

 abode of Arthur and Oberon and Morgan le Fay. It is 

 most fully described in the old French romance of "Ogier 

 le Danois." It is the Island Kingdom to which King 

 Arthur is finally borne by the mysterious barge in 

 Tennyson's "Passing of Arthur." Some identify 

 Avalon with the modern Glastonbury. 



Aver'nus. A lake in Campania so called from the 

 belief that its vapors would kill all life. Poets call it 

 the entrance to the infernal regions. 



Ay'mer, Prior. A Benedictine Monk, prior of Jor- 

 vaulx Abbey, in Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe." 



Ay'mon. A semi-mythical personage who figures 

 in romances. 



Aza'zil. Paradise Lost, Milton. Represented 

 in this poem as Satan's standard bearer. According to 

 the Koran, when God commanded the angels to worship 

 Adam, Azazil replied, "Why should the son of fire fall 

 down before a son df clay?" and God cast him out of 

 heaven. 



A'zo. The name given by Byron to the Prince of 

 Este, in his poem of "Parisina." 



Az'rafll. In the Koran the archangel commis- 

 sioned to blow the trumpet of the resurrection. 



Babes in the Wood. Wonderful Gent's Last 

 Will, Ancient Ballad. According to some authori- 

 ties this old story in verse was founded on the deed of 

 King Richard III., of England, who made his two young 

 nephews prisoners in the Tower of London from which 

 they disappeared. It was believed that they were mur- 



dered by his orders. A common tale, much liked by 

 Kimhsh children, in its many torms. grew from this 

 ballad. Perhaps the best known was the one in which 

 the lost babes were covered with leaves by the birds in 

 the woods. 



Ha boon. Lewis. History of John Bull, Arbuth- 

 not. A name given to Louis XI \. of France. The 



name Philip Baboon was given in the same writing to 

 Philip Bourbon, Duke of Anjou. 



Backbite, Sir Benjamin. School for Scandal, 

 Sheridan. A vacantly busy man who peddled scandal. 



Kaustock. Joe. Dombey and Son, Dickens. The 

 insistent and selfish " J. B.," "old J. B.," and "Joey B." 

 of the story. 



Baillif, Harry. Canterbury Talcs, Chaucer. 

 The jolly landlord at Tabard Inn. where the Canterbury 

 Pilgrims gathered in making ready for their journey. 



Balafre. Quentin Durward, Scott. Name given 

 to an old archer belonging to the Scottish Guards. 



Balderstone, Caleb. Bride of Laniniermoor, 

 Scott. A bore and an intrusive buffoon who tries to 

 appear rich but lives in discomfort and often in hunger 

 and want. His pretentious have often been laughingly 

 quoted. 



Baldwin. Jerusalem Delivered, Tasso. The 

 brother of Godfrey of Bouillon. In the tale of "Rey- 

 nard the Fox " the name, Baldwin, is given to one of the 

 beasts. 



Balmawhapple. Waverly, Scott. An obstinate 

 stupid-faced blundering Scotch laird. 



Balthazar. Comedy of Errors, Shakespere. 

 A merchant ordered to furnish impossible merchandise. 

 In "Much Ado About Nothing" Balthazar appears as 

 servant to Don Pedro. Balthazar is also the name of 

 one of the Wise Men who followed the star to Bethle- 

 hem. 



Balwhidder. Annals of the Parish, Gait. A sin- 

 cere, kind, talkative Scotch Presbyterian clergyman. 

 With natural prejudices and old-fashioned ways he is 

 too "easy" to carry on his parish work with zeal. His 

 friends enjoy Balwhidder's jokes. 



Banquo. Macbeth, Shakespere. A thane of 

 Scotland said to belong to the Eleventh Century and 

 ancestor of the Stuarts. In fiction made immortal as 

 the innocent laird murdered by Macbeth. Banquo's 

 ghost is more famous than Banquo himself. 



Barabas. The Jew of Malta, Marlowe. A mon- 

 ster, the hero of the tragedy, who wears a big nose and 

 invents infernal machines. 



Bardell, Mrs. Pickwick Papers, Dickens. The 

 landlady, a widow, who sues Mr. Pickwick for breach of 

 promise to marry her. 



Bard of Avon. Name given to Shakespere who was 

 born and buried in Stratford-on-Avon. 



Bard of Ayrshire. A name often given to Robert 

 Burns, the great poet of Scotland, who was a native and 

 resident of the county of Ayr. 



Bard of Hope. A title sometimes given to Thomas 

 Campbell, author of "The Pleasures of Hope," one of the 

 most beautiful didactic poems in the language. 



Bard of Memory. A name used to designate the 

 poet Rogers, author of "The Pleasures of Memory." 



Bard of Rydal Mount. An epithet sometimes ap- 

 plied to the poet Wordsworth, who resided at Rydal, a 

 chapelry of England, in the County of Wes'tmoreland. 

 His dwelling overlooked a beautiful view of Lake 

 Rydal. 



Bardolph. Merry Wives of Windsor, Shake- 

 spere. A follower of Falstaff, known as "the knight of 

 the burning lamp," from his red nose. He is a poor, low- 

 bred drunkard. 



Barkis. David Copperfleld, Dickens. Remem- 

 bered by the much-quoted "Barkis is willing, his form 

 of proposing marriage to his beloved Clara Pegotty. 



Barley-Corn, Sir John. Tarn O'Shanter, Burns. 

 Name given to the personification of a malt liquor 

 made from barley. Sir Barley-corn has also been 

 noticed by the authors Scott and Hawthorne. The 

 name comes down to us from an old English pamphlet 

 of uncertain date in which Sir John Barley-corn is 

 arraigned in court, tried by jury and acquitted. 



Barnaby Rudee. Barnaby Rudce, Dickens. 

 A half-witted lad who wanders about with a pet raven. 

 They flit together through many adventures, including a 

 No-popery riot. 



Basiiisco. Soliman, and Perseda, old Play. 

 A boasting knight who became so popular with his 

 foolish bragging that his name grew into a proverb. 



Bassanio. Merchant of Venice, Shakespere. 

 The lover of Portia who won her when he chose a leaden 

 casket in which her portrait was hidden. 



Bath, Maior. Amelia, Henry Fielding. A noble- 

 minded gentleman, pompous in spite of poverty, and 



