364 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



heroine, is quite thrown into the shade by the gentle, 

 meek, yet high-souled Rebecca. 



Iva'novitch, Ivan. An imaginary personage, who 

 is the embodiment of the peculiarities of the Russian 

 people, in the same way as John Bull represents the 

 English, and Jean Crapaud the French character, and 

 Brother Jonathan the American character. 



I'vory Gate of Dreams. Dreams which delude 

 pass through the ivory gate, but those which come true 

 through the horn gate. 



Jack and the Bean-Stalk. A nursery legend said 

 to be an allegory of the Teutonic Al-fader: the "red 

 hen" representing the all-producing sun, the "money- 

 bags" the fertilizing rain, and the "harp" the winds. 



Jack-in-t he-Green. A prominent character in 

 May-pole dances. 



Jack Robinson. A famous comic song by Hudson. 



Jack Sprat. The hero of a nursery rhyme. Jack 

 ami his wife form a fine combination in domestic economy. 



Jack, the Giant-killer. The name of a famous hero 

 in the literature of the nursery, the subject of one of the 

 Teutonic or Indo-European legends, which have become 

 nationalized in England and America. 



Jaques. A lord attending upon the exiled duke, in 

 Shakespere's "As You Like It." A contemplative char- 

 acter who thinks and does nothing. He is called the 

 "melancholy Jaques," and affects a cynical philosophy. 

 He could "suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel 

 sucks eggs." 



Jaquenet'ta. Love's Labor's Lost, Shakespere. 

 A country wench courted by Don Adriano de Armado. 



Jar'ley, Mrs. The proprietor of a waxwork show in 

 Dickens's "Old Curiosity Shop." She has lent her name 

 to a popular game of parlor tableaux. 



Jarn'dyce. A prominent figure in Dickens's "Bleak 

 House," distinguished for his philanthropy, easy good- 

 nature and good sense, and for always saying, "The wind 

 is in the east," when anything went wrong with him. 

 The famous suit of "Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce," in this 

 novel, is* a satire upon the Court of Chancery. 



Jar' vie, Baillie Nic'ol. A prominent character in 

 Sir Walter Scott's novel "Rob Roy." He is a magis- 

 trate of Glasgow. 



Jek'yll, Doctor, and Mr. Hyde. The duplex hero 

 of Robert Louis Stevenson's singular romance of the 

 same name. Doctor Jekyll is a benevolent and upright 

 physician, who by means of a potion is able to transform 

 himself for a time into a second personality, Mr. Hyde, 

 of a brutal and animal nature. 



Jel'ly-by, Mrs. A character in Dickens's novel 

 "Bleak House," a type of sham philanthropy. She 

 spends her time and energy on foreign missions to the 

 neglect of her family. Mrs. Jellyby is quite overwhelmed 

 with business correspondence relative to the affairs of 

 Borrioboola Gha. 



Jen'kins, >Vin'i-fred. The name of Miss Tabitha 

 Bramble's maid in Smollett's "Expedition of Humphry 

 Clinker." She makes ridiculous blunders in speaking 

 and writing. 



Jenkinson, Ephraim. A green old swindler, whom 

 Dr. Primrose met in a public tavern. Dr. Primrose sold 

 the swindler his horse, Old Blackberry, for a draft upon 

 Farmer Flamborough. 



Jeroboam Sermon. One of Dr. Emmons's sermons 

 which made a great noise at the time. It was known as 

 his Jeroboam Sermon. It was written on the occasion 

 of Jefferspn's inauguration as president, and although 

 Jefferson is not named, the delineation of the character 

 of Jeroboam is such that no one can doubt the personal 

 application intended. 



Jerusalem Delivered. An epic in twenty books, 

 by Torquato Tasso (1544-1595). The crusaders, en- 

 camped on the plains of Torto'sa, chose Godfrey for their 

 chief, and Alandine, King of Jerusalem, made prepara- 

 tions of defense. The Christian army having reached 

 Jerusalem, the King of Damascus sent Armi'da to be- 

 guile the Christians. It was found that Jerusalem could 

 neyei be taken without the aid of Rinaldo. Godfrey, 

 being informed that the hero was dallying with Armi'da 

 in the enchanted island, sent to invite him back to the 

 army; he returned, and Jerusalem was taken. Armi'da 

 fled into Egypt, and offered to marry any knight who 

 slew Rinaldo. The love of Rinaldo returned, he pur- 

 sued her and she relented. The poem concludes with the 

 triumphant entry of the Christian army into the Holy 

 City, and their devotions at the tomb of the Redeemer. 

 The two chief episodes are the loves of Olindo and So- 

 phro'nia, and of Tancred and Corinda. 



Jes'sa-my Bride. A by-name given to Miss Mary 

 Horneck, afterward Mrs. Gwyn. She was a contempo- 

 rary and friend of Goldsmith. Also title of a novel by 

 F. F. Moore. 



Jes'sl-ca. The beautiful daughter of Shylock, ia 

 Shakespere's " Merchant of Venice. ' 



Jew, The Wandering. An imaginary person in a 

 legend connected with the history of Christ's passion. 

 As the Saviour was on the way to the place of execution, 

 ovfirome with the weight of the cross, he wished to rest 

 mi a stone before the house of a Jew, who drove him away 

 with curses. Driven by fear and remorse, he has since 

 I wandered, according to the command of the Lord, from 

 place to place, and has never yet been able to find a 

 grave. Romances have been founded on this character 

 ranking among the best in literature. 



Jones, Tom. The hero of Fielding's novel entitled 

 "The History of a Foundling," represented as a model 

 of generosity, openness, and manly spirit, though thought- 

 less and dissipated. 



Joy'euse, La. The sword of Charlemagne as men- 

 tioned in romances of chivalry. 



Joyeuse' Garde, La. The residence of the famous 

 Lancelot du Lac. 



Juan, Don. A legendary personage made the hero 

 of many dramatic romances and poems. (See Don Juan.) 



Judith. The heroine in the book by the same name 

 in the Apocrapha. She was a beautiful Jewess of Be- 

 thulia, who, when her town was besieged by Holofernes, 

 the general of Nebuchadnezzar, attended him in his tent, 

 and, when he was drunk, killed him, whereupon her 

 townsmen fell upon the Assyrians and defeated them with 

 great slaughter. The tale is not mentioned by Josephus, 

 and has, from an early period, been held to be an allegory. 

 It has frequently furnished poets and painters with sub- 

 jects. 



Kadr, Al. The night on which the "Koran" was 

 sent down to Mahommed. Al Kadr is supposed to be the 

 seventh of the last ten nights of Ramadan, or the night 

 between the twenty-third and twenty-fourth days of 

 the month. 



Kay. A foster-brother of King Arthur, and a 

 rude and boastful knight of the Round Table. He was 

 the butt of King Arthur's court. Called also "Sir 

 Queux." He appears in the "Boy and the Mantle," in 

 Percy's "Reliques." Sir Kay is represented as the type 

 of rude boastfulness, Sir Gaw ain of courtesy, Sir Launce- 

 lot of chivalry, Sir Mordred of treachery, Sir Galahad of 

 chastity, Sir Mark of cowardice. 



Ke-ha'ma. A Hindoo rajah, who obtains and 

 sports with supernatural power. His adventures are 

 related in Southey's poem entitled ".The Curse of 

 Kehama." 



Kent, Earl of. A rough, plain-spoken, but faithful 

 nobleman in Shakespere's "King Lear," who follows 

 the fallen fortunes of the king, disguised as a servant, 

 under the assumed name of Caius. 



Ken'wigs. A family in Dickens's novel "Nicholas 

 Nickleby,' including a number of little girls who differed 

 from one another only in the length of their frilled 

 pantalettes and of their flaxen pigtails tied with bows 

 of blue ribbon. 



Kil-ken'ny Cats. Two cats, in an Irish story, 

 which fought till' nothing was left but their tails. It is 

 probably a parable of a local contest between Kilkenny 

 and Irishtown, which impoverished both boroughs. 



King Cam-by'ses. The hero of "A Lamentable 

 Tragedy" of the same name, by Thomas Preston, con- 

 temporary of Shakespere. A ranting character known 

 to modern readers by Falstaff's allusion to him in 

 Shakespere's first "Henry IV." 



King Es'ter-mere. The hero of an ancient and 

 beautiful legend, which, according to Bishop Percy, 

 should seem to have been written while a great part of 

 Spain was in the hands of the Saracens or Moors, whose 

 empire was not fully extinguished before the year 1491. 



King Horn. A metrical romance which was very 

 popular in the Thirteenth Century. King Horn is a 

 beautiful young prince who is carried away by pirates; 

 but his life is spared, and after many wonderful adven- 

 tures he weds a princess, and regains his father's kingdom. 



King Log and King Stork. Characters in a cele- 

 brated fable of w^Esop, which relates that the f rot's, 

 grown weary of living without government, petitioned 

 Jupiter for a king. Jupiter accordingly threw down a 

 log among them, which made a satisfactory ruler till 

 the frogs recovered from their fright and discovered his 

 real nature. They, therefore, entreated Jupiter for an- 

 other king, whereupon he sent them a stork, who imme- 

 diately began to devour them. 



Klaus, Peter. The hero of an old popular tradition 

 of Germany the prototype of Rip Van Winkle 

 represented as a goatherd. 



Knick'er-bock'er, Die'drich. The imaginary author 

 of a humorous fictitious "History of New York," written 

 by Washington Irving. 



