LITERATURE 



He was persuaded by the king's daughter to raise the 

 siege. The King of Armenia would not give up the 

 project, and Alcestes slew him. Lydia now sets him all 

 sorts of dangerous tasks to "prove his love," all of which 

 he surmounted. Lastly, she induced him to kill all his 

 allies, and when this was done she mocked him. Alcestes 

 pined and died, and Lydia was doomed to endless tor- 

 ment in hell, where Astolpho saw her, to whom she told 

 her story. (Orlando Furioso. bk. XVII.) 



Lyd'i-a Lan uui-h. The heroine of Sheridan's com- 

 -." distinguished for the extravagance 

 of her romantic notions. 



l.\ re. The name of the earliest known of all stringed 



instruments of music, invented, according to Egyptian 



n, by the god Mercury, and regarded among poets, 



-. and statuaries as an emblem of Apollo and the 



Muses. It is supposed to have had, originally, only 



three strings; afterwards it had eleven. The lyre of 



ler and Olympus had only three strings; the 



n lyre had five; that of Simonids had eight. It 



was played with a plectrum, or stick of ivory or polished 



wood, and sometimes with the fingers. It is said to have 



been primarily constructed of tortoise-shell. Amphion 



built Thebes with the music of his lyre. The very stones 



of their own accord into walls and houses. 



Ari'on charmed the dolphins by the music of his lyre, and 



when the bard was thrown overboard one of them carried 



him safely to Tse'narus. Hercules was taught music by 



Linus. One day, being reproved, the strong man broke 



the head of his master with his own lyre. Orpheus 



charmed savage beasts, and even the infernal gods, with 



the music of his lyre. 



Lyric. Literally, pertaining to the lyre. In poetry 

 a name originally applied to what was sung or recited 

 with an accompaniment to the lyre, but it is now applied 

 to odes, ballads, and other verses, such as may be set to 

 music. Lyrics were originally employed in celebrating 

 the praises of gods and heroes, and its characteristic was 

 melodiousness. The Greeks cultivated it with effect, 

 particularly Anacreon and Sappho, but among the 

 Romans, Horace was the first and principal lyric poet. 

 It has been said that all poets are singers and these singers 

 are divided into three classes. First, the lyric poet, who 

 can sing but one tune with his one voice. Second, the 

 epic poet, who with his one voice can sing several tunes. 

 Third, the true dramatist, who has many tongues and 

 ran sing all tunes. 



M.ih. Queen. Romeo and Juliet, Shakespere. 

 The origin of the name is obscure. By some it is derived 

 fmm the Midgard of the Eddas. The name is given by 

 the English poets of the Fifteenth and succeeding cen- 

 turies to the imaginary queen of the fairies. 



M.I Mnouion. A series of Welsh tales, chiefly relating 

 to Arthur and the Round Table. A MS. volume of some 

 7iM pages is preserved in the library of Jesus College, 



Macbeth. The tale of Macbeth and Banquo was 

 borrowed from the legendary history of Scotland, but 

 the interest of the play is not historical. It is a tragedy 

 of human life, intensely real, the soul, with all its powers 

 for good or evil, deliberately choosing evil. The three 

 witches in the desert place, in thunder, lightning, storm, 

 strike the keynote of evil suggestion. The awfulness of 

 soul destruction is felt in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth 

 as in no other of Shakespere's dramas. 



>l;t<-ln at ir. < apt. tin. A highwayman who is the 



v's Beggar's. Opera." 



M.i hi. i \el i-m. The name came from a writing by 



Machiavelli. under the title " De Principatibus" (the 



treatise, written probably to gratify 



the Medici, and m which are expounded those principle* 



of political cunning and artifice, intended to promote 



v power, ever since designated "machin 

 M.K-l\or. \\a\erle.\, -M,,II. i .-utas Mac- Ivor 

 is a prominent character in the novel, and his sister. 

 u Ivor, the heroine. They are of the family of 

 iin. 

 I he |s|. m d of. PaaUg'niel. It.it.e- 



1 he title is given to Great Britain, derived from 

 a Greek word, meaning tone-lived, "because no one 



i- put to death there for h 



says the island "is full of antmue ruins and relics of 



popery and ancient superstit 



M.I In'gal. . rumbuir, , 



Madge Wildfire. The insane daughter of old Meg 

 Murdochson. the gipsy thief. Madge was a beautiful but 

 giddy girl, whose brain was crazed by her own downfall 

 and the murder of her infant. 



Marine. A poem by Southey; is founded on one of 

 the legends connected with the early history of America. 

 Madoc. a Welsh prince of the Twelfth Century, is repre- 

 sented as making the discovery of the \\ e>tern world. 

 His contests with the Mexicans form the subject. 



Madrigal. Is a short lyric poem, generally on the 

 subject of love, and characterized by some epigrammatic 

 terseness or quaint ness, and composed of a nun. 1 

 free and unequal verses, confined neither to the regularity 

 of .the sonnet, nor to the subtlety of the epigram. The 

 madrigals of Tasso are noted in Italian p 



. The three " Wise Men " w ho followed the star 

 to Bethlehem. The traditional names of the three 

 Magi are Melchior, represented as an old man with a 

 long beard, offering gold; Jasper, a beardless youth 

 who offers frankincense; Balthazar, a black, or Moor. 

 who tenders myrrh. 



Magic Rings. These are mentioned by Plato. Cicero. 

 and other writers and supposed to make the wearer in- 

 \ -i-ilile. 



Ma trie Staff. The story of the magic staff belongs 

 to the days of legends and seems to be of French origin, 

 but has found its way into other lands. This staff would 



Guarantee the bearer from all the perils and mishaps 

 icidental to travelers. According to earliest traditions 

 the staff was a willow branch cut on the eve of All Saints' 



Magic Wands. These are found in many old tales 

 or writings. In Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered" the 

 hermit gave to Charles the Dane and Ubaldo a wand. 

 which, being shaken, infused terror into all who saw it. 

 and in Spenser's Faery Queen the palmer who accom- 

 panied Sir Guyon had a wand of like virtue. It was 

 made of the same wood as Mercury's caduceus. 



Magna'lia. The best-known in the long list of Cotton 

 Mather's works was his "Magnalia Christi Americana." 

 purporting to be an ecclesiastical history of New Eng- 

 land, from its first planting in ItiJo to the year 1608. 

 but including also civil history, an account of Harvard 

 College, of the Indian Wars, and the witchcraft troubles, 

 and a large number of biographies. 



Magna'no. Hudibras, Butler. One of the leaders 

 of the rabble that attacked Hudibras at a bear-baiting. 



Magnificat. In the ritual of the Roman Catholic 

 Church, the name given to the "Song of the Virgin 

 Mary," derived from the opening invocation in the Latin 

 Vulgate. 



Maidens* Castle. An allegorical castle mentioned 

 in Malory's "History of Prince Arthur." It was taken 

 from a duke by seven knights, and held by them till Sir 

 Galahad expelled them. It wa-s called "The Maidens' 

 Castle," because these knights made a vow that every 

 maiden wh passed it should be made a captive. 



Maid Marian. A half mythical character, but the 

 name is said to have been assumed by Matilda, daughter 

 of Robert Lord Fitwalter. while Robin Hood remained 

 in a .state of OUtlawrv . The name i> considered 

 dation of the word marionettes, from Maid Marian's 

 connection with the Morns dance, or May-day dance, at 

 whieh she was said to appear. 



Maid of Athens. Made famou Hymn's 



song <f this title Twent \ -f..ur years after thin w>njr was 

 written, an Kndi^hman sought out 'the Athenian maid," 

 and found a beggar without a vestige of beauty 



Maid of Suragossa. < IHI.IC M.M..I.I. 11% n.n. A 



young Spanish woman distinguished for her heroism 



during the defense of Saragassa in 1808-00. She hn>t 



1 n. it ice by munt im- I here her lover 



had fallen, and working a gun in hi* room 



Mal'apmp. Mrs. A character in Sheridan's "Ri- 

 vals." noted lor her blundering use of words. 



M.,l-he, .... ! -r. Thrhu*- 



band of a young wife. IfeUnof*, and himself a crabbed, 

 jealous old fellow. 



ime; represented an a burly New England 



"piire. v of the 



>|iition. ainl constant Iv flunked in con- 

 v with MI. ii. -nils, the champion of the Whiff*. 

 Madatl ma. Queen. An important character in 

 the old romaii'-e .-.-died "Am'ndia de Gaul"; 

 - KliVabat. a famous surge 

 whom she roamed in solitary retreats. 



The name has grown to mean 



..I tlVt.-l \ 



M.,1. par ,li.s. 



D the beast ;.;, ,,f " Heynard the I 



haltoof. 



IIIK knu 



Sir .MlK.it de Malvoisin was a preceptor of the Kmghu 



Poem*. Artonto. etc. A king of the 



iSrsfScxHtfa 



.dm* of 

 rat borne away by the 



lar. 



H 

 Mwr*. who wan 



helm- 



ChnrlcmagO*. 



