LITERATURE 



379 



the siege it was produced, much to the amazement of 

 General Hamilton. Alice forgot her flag for a moment 

 in the appearance of her lover, Beverly, whom she had 

 mourned as dead, but Jean raised it on a staff from 

 which the stars and stripes still float. 



Ruach. Pantagruel, Rabelais. The isle of winds, 

 visjted by Pantag'ruel and his companions. The people 

 of this island live on wind, such as flattery, promises, 

 and hope. The poorer sort are very ill-fed, but the 

 great are stuffed with huge mill-draughts of the same 

 unsubstantial puffs. 



Ru'be-rahl. The name of a famous spirit of the 

 Riesen-Gebirge in Germany, corresponding to the Puck 

 of England. He is celebrated in innumerable sagas, 

 ballads, and tales, under the various forms of a miner. 

 hunter, monk, dwarf, giant, etc. He is said to aid the 

 poor and oppressed, and show benighted wanderers their 

 road, but to wage incessant war with the proud and 

 wicked. 



it mice. Barnaby Rudge, Dickens. Barnaby. a 

 half-witted lad, with pale face, red hair and protruding 

 eyes, dressed in tawdry finery including peacock feathers 

 in his hat. is the hero of the novel with his inseparable 

 companion, a raven, also of much interest. Barnaby 

 joined the Gordon rioters for the proud pleasure 

 of carrying a flag and wearing a blue bow. He was 

 arrested, and lodged in Newgate, from whence he made 

 his escape, with other prisoners, when the jail was burned 

 but both he and his father being betrayed, were recap- 

 tured, brought to trial, and condemned to death. By 

 the influence of Gabriel Varden, the locksmith, the 

 poor half-witted lad was reprieved. Mr. Rudge, the 

 father of Barnaby, supposed to have been murdered the 

 same night as Mr. Haredale, to whom he was steward. 

 Rudge himself was the murderer both of Mr. Haredale 

 and also of his faithful servant, to whom the crime was 

 attributed. After the murder, he was seen by many 

 haunting the locality, and was supposed to be a ghost. 

 He joined the Gordon rioters. Mrs. [Mary] Rudge. 

 mother of Barnaby, and very like him, "but where in 

 in his face there was wildness and vacancy, in hers there 

 was the patient composure of sorrow. 



RiiKgie'ro. Orlando Furioso, Ariosto. A young 

 p knight born of Christian parents, who falls in 

 love with Bradamante, a Christian Amazon, and sister 

 to Rinaldo. After numerous adventures and crosses, 

 they marry and found the house of Este. Ruggiero 

 is noted for the possession of a JbippogrifT, or winged 

 horse, and also a veiled shield, the dazzling splendor of 

 which, when suddenly disclosed, struck with blindness 

 and astonishment all eyes that beheld it. 



Kumpelstilz'chen. Old German Tales. Accord- 

 ing to Grimm, this name is a compound, but the spirit 

 represented is one familiar to all German children. The 

 nal story tells of him as a dwarf who spun straw 

 into gold for a certain miller's daughter. He has since 

 favors to many people and paid visits from his 

 .tain home only known by the results of his help- 



(IsHSS*. 



1C uries, the earliest alphabet in use among the nations 



<.f Northern Europe. The exact period of their origin is 



not known. They are found engraved on rocks, crosses. 



i mental stones, coins, medals, rings, brooches, ami 



the hilts and blades of swords. There is no reason to 



believe that thev were at any time in the familiar use 



in which we find the characters of a written language in 



rn times, nor have we any traces of their .being used 



>ks or on parchment. 



Hi i pert. KM IK lit. Formerly in the villages of 

 < lermany, a personage clad in high buskins, 

 white robe, mask, and enormous wig, who at Chr 



distributes presents to the children. Like St. 

 <>las. he keeps watch over naughty children. 

 horseman in the May pageant is in some parts of Germany 

 called Ruprecht, or Rupert. 



Kii-t.iin. ivr-.i.m Uomanrcs. He is the chief of 

 n mythical heroes, son of Zal, King of India. 

 and dem-endant of Benjamin, the beloved son of Jacob, 

 lelivered King Caicaus from prison, but afterwards 

 tito disgrace because he refused to embrace the 

 religious system of Zoroaster. Caicaus sent his son 

 Aflfendiar to convert him. and. as persuasioji availed 

 . single combat was resorted to. 

 two days, and then Rtwtam d 

 ore a * charmed life. The valor of these two 

 is proverbial I'emmn romances are full 



deeds. "Schrab and RuHtam " form the subject 

 a poetical romance by Matthew Arnold. 

 Kuy'dera. Don gui\<. . i . rvantes. A dt 

 who had seven daughter* and two niece- 

 imprisoned for 600 years in a cavern in Spain. 

 CSSSBlsss we. i the compassion of Merl 



converted them into lakes in the *n 



Sac'ri-pant, King. (1) King of Circassia, and a 

 lover of Angelica, in Bojardo and Ariosto. (2) A per- 

 sonage introduced by Alessandro Tassoni. the Italian 

 poet, in his mock-heroic poem, entitled the "Rape of 

 the Bucket," represented as false, brave, noisy, and 

 hectoring. The name is quoted as a synonym with 

 vanity and braggart courage. 



Sagas. The name given to those ancient tradi- 

 tions which form the substance of the history and mythol- 

 ogy of the Scandinavian races: the language in which 

 they are written is supposed to be the old Icelandic. In 

 the "Edda" there are numerous sagas. As our Bible 

 contains the history of the Jews, religious songs, moral 

 proverbs, and religious stories, so the "Edda" con- 

 tained the history of Norway, religious songs, a book of 

 proverbs, and numerous stories. The original "Edda" 

 was compiled and edited by Sirmund Sigfusson. an Ice- 

 landic priest and scald, in the Eleventh Century. It 

 , contains twenty-eight parts or books, all of which are 

 in verse. Two hundred years later, Snorro Sturleson 

 of Iceland abridged, rearranged, and reduced to prose 

 the "Edda," and his work was called "The Younger 

 Edda." In this we find the famous story called by the 

 (iermans the "Nibelungen Lied." Besides the sagas 

 contained in the "Eddas," there are numerous others, 

 and the whole saga literature makes over 200 volumes. 

 Among them are the "Volsunga Saga" which is a col- 

 lection of lays about the early Teutonic heroes. The 

 "Saga of St. Olaf " is the history of this Norwegian king. 

 " Frithjof s Saga" contains the life and adventures of 

 Frithjof of Iceland. Snorro Sturleson, at the close of 

 the Twelfth Century, made the second great collection 

 of chronicles in verse, called the " Heimskringla Saga," 

 This is a most valuable record of the laws, customs, and 

 manners of the ancient Scandinavians. 



Seasons. A well-known poem said to be the founda- 

 tion of Thomson's literary fame. Its description of the 

 phenomena of nature during an English year is minute, 

 ; and the poem has been much read by foreigners. 



St. Leon. The title of a novel by William Goodwin 

 and the name of its hero, a man who becomes possessed 

 I of the elixir of life, and the secret of the transmutation 

 <>f metals acquisitions which only bring him mis- 

 fortunes and much protracted mi 



St. Nlch'o-las. The patron saint of boys. He is 

 I said to have been Bishop of Myra, and to have died in 



the year 326. The young were universally taught to 



,*h represents 

 him as the bearer of presents to children on Christmas 



revere him, and the popular fiction whirl 

 f presents to children o 

 He is the Santa Claus (or Klaus) of 



i eve is well known, 

 the Dutch. 



St. Patrick's Purgatory. The subject and locality 

 of a legend long famous throughout Europe. The scene 

 is laid in Ireland, upon an islet in Lough Derg. The 

 punishments undergone here are analogous to those 

 described by Dante in his "Divina Com; The 



story was made the subject of a romance in the Four- 

 teenth Century: and. in Spain, in the Seventeenth Cen- 

 tury, it was dramatized by Calderon. 



St. Swlth'in. According to legend this saint was 

 , tutor to King Alfred and Bishop of Winchester, and 

 . many miracles are attributed to him, especially the 

 rain of St. Swithin's Day. 



Salmagundi. The name of a periodical started by 

 Washington Irving, his brother, and Jamcw K. Faulding. 



in the year 1807. The object of the paper wn- 

 as that of the "Spectator, "to reform the town.' 

 publishers became tired of their venture before their 

 subscribers did, and only twenty number* were issued. 

 The political pieces were full of humor, but were i. 

 support of any party. The wit and satire were con- 



nected with things local and would not be thoroughly 

 mdtntood now, or appreciated. The writer* touched 

 upon the follies of fashionable hfo as well as other 



of their day. 



- .it-Box House. Title of book by J. D. Shslton 

 and name given to an imaginary house supposed to stand 



in a Connect irut lull t..\sn more than a century ago. 

 The life of the family to u !>,.,,> the house belonged in 

 followed for three generation*. The people, like most 

 families of the same social station, had no sympathy 

 with the war for colonial independence. They have Mile 

 to do with political life, but in their everyday concerns, 

 work and play, Hchool and ,-hur, 1>. low and marriage. 



,,,-k 



mid death. with Thnr ,.|.|-t:me MsstMM, 



. .- 



I Imliit* of thought they re very interesting. 

 Miss Mary, the last mistress of the Salt-Box House, is a 



-..i. Hirer. An imaginary river, up which defeated 



! parties are supposed to be sent to oblivion. 



>e and application mid to have originated in the 



Mate* an.l -h a river of Ken- 



tucky. *n rant or 



