more pretension to gentility.
_Miss Lucinda Bridgemore_, the spiteful, purse-proud, malicious
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bridgemore, of Fish Street Hill. She was
engaged to lord Abberville, but her money would not out-balance her
vulgarity and ill-temper, so the young "fashionable lover" made his
bow and retired.--Cumberland, _The Fashionable Lover_ (1780).
BRIDGENORTH (_Major Ralph_), a roundhead and conspirator, neighbor of
sir Geoffrey Peveril of the Peak, a staunch cavalier.
_Mrs. Bridgenorth_, the major's wife.
_Alice Bridgenorth_, the major's daughter and heroine of the
novel. Her marriage with Julian Peveril, a cavalier, concludes the
novel.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
BRID´GET (_Miss_), the mother of Tom Jones, in Fielding's novel called
_The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling_ (1750).
It has been wondered why Fielding should
have chosen to leave the stain of illegitimacy on
the birth of his hero ... but had Miss Bridget
been privately married ... there could have
been no adequate motive assigned for keeping the
birth of the child a secret from a man so reasonable
and compassionate as Allworthy.--_Encyc.
Brit._ Art. "Fielding."
_Brid´get (Mrs.)_, in Sterne's novel called _The Life and Opinions of
Tristram Shandy, Gent._ (1759).
_Bridget (Mother)_, aunt of Catherine Seyton, and abbess of St.
Catherine.--Sir W. Scott, _The Abbot_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Bridget (May)_, the milkwoman at Falkland Castle.--Sir W. Scott,
_Fair Maid of Perth_ (time, Henry IV.).
BRIDGE´WARD (_Peter_), the bridgekeeper of Kennaquhair ("I know not
where").--Sir W. Scott, _The Abbot_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Bridgeward (Peter)_, warder of the bridge near St. Mary's Convent. He
refuses a passage to father Philip, who is carrying off the Bible of
lady Alice.--Sir W. Scott, _The Monastery_ (time, Elizabeth).
BRIDLE. John Grower says that Rosiphele princess of Armenia,
insensible to love, saw in a vision a troop of ladies splendidly
mounted, but one of them rode a wretched steed, wretchedly accoutred
except as to the bridle. On asking the reason, the princess was
informed that she was disgraced thus because of her cruelty to her
lovers, but that the splendid bridle had been recently given, because
the obdurate girl had for the last month shown symptoms of true love.
Moral--Hence let ladies warning take--
Of love that they be not idle,
And bid them think of my bridle.
_Confessio Amantis_ ("Episode of Rosiphele,"
1325-1402).
BRIDLEGOOSE _(Judge)_, a judge who decided the causes brought before
him, not by weighing the merits of the case, but by the more simple
process of throwing dice. Rabelais, _Pantag´ruel_, iii. 39 (1545.)
BRI´DLESLY (_Joe_), a horse-dealer at Liverpool, of whom Julian
Peveril buys a horse.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time,
Charles II.).
BRID´OISON _[Bree.dwoy.zong´]_, a stupid judge in the _Mariage de
Figaro_, a comedy in French, by Beaumarchais (1784).
BRIDOON (_Corporal_), in lieutenant Nosebag's regiment.--Sir W. Scott,
_Waverley_ (time, George II.).
BRIEN´NIUS (_Nicephorus_), the Cæsar of the Grecian empire, and
husband of Anna Comne´na (daughter of Alexius Comnenus, emperor of
Greece).--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).
BRIGADO´RE (4 _syl._), sir Guyon's horse. The word means "Golden
saddle."--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, v. 3 (1596).
BRIGAN´TES (3 _syl._), called by Drayton _Brig´ants_, the people of
Yorkshire, Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Durham.
Where in the Britons' rule of yore the Brigants swayed,
The powerful English established ... Northumberland [_Northumbria_].
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xvi. (1613).
BRIGGS, one of the ten young gentlemen in the school of Dr. Blimber
when Paul Dombey was a pupil there. Briggs was nicknamed the "Stoney,"
because his brains were petrified by the constant dropping of wisdom
upon them.--C. Dickens, _Dombey and Son_ (1846).
BRIGLIADORO [_Bril´.ye.dor´.ro_], Orlando's steed. The word means
"Gold bridle."--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
Sir Guyon's horse, in Spenser's _Faëry Queen_, is called by a similar
name.
BRILLIANT _(Sir Philip)_, a great fop, but brave soldier, like the
famous Murat. He would dress with all the finery of a vain girl, but
would share watching, toil, and peril with the meanest soldier. "A
butterfly in the drawing-room, but a Hector on the battle-field."
He was a "blade of proof; you might laugh at the scabbard, but you
wouldn't at the blade." He falls in love with lady Anne, reforms his
vanities, and marries.--S. Knowles, _Old Maids_ (1841).
BRILLIANT MADMAN _(The)_, Charles XII. of Sweden (1682, 1697-1718).
BRILLIANTA _(The lady)_, a great wit in the ancient romance entitled
_Tirante le Blanc_, author unknown.
Here (in _Tirante le Blanc_) we shall find the famous knight don Kyrie
Elyson of Montalban, his brother Thomas, the knight Fonseca ... the
stratagems of the widow Tranquil ... and the witticisms of
lady Brillianta. This is one of the most amusing books ever
written.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. i. 6 (1605).
BRIS _(Il conte di San)_, governor of the Louvre. He is father of
Valenti'na and leader of the St. Bartholomew massacre.--Meyerbeer,
_Les Huguenots_ (1836).
BRISAC' _(Justice)_, brother of Miramont.
_Charles Brisac_, a scholar, son of justice Brisac.
_Eustace Brisac_, a courtier, brother of Charles.--Beaumont and
Fletcher, _The Elder Brother_ (1637).
BRISE'IS _(3 syl.)_, whose real name was Hippodamï'a, was the daughter
of Brisês, brother of the priest Chrysês. She was the concubine of
Achillês, but when Achillês bullied Agamemnon for not giving Chryse'is
to her father, who offered a ransom for her, Agamemnon turned upon
him and said he would let Chryseis go, but should take Briseis
instead.--Homer, _Iliad_, i.
BRISK, a good-natured conceited coxcomb, with a most voluble tongue.
Fond of saying "good things," and pointing them out with such
expressions as "There I had you, eh?" "That was pretty well, egad,
eh?" "I hit you in the teeth there, egad!" His ordinary oath was "Let
me perish!" He makes love to lady Froth.--W. Congreve, _The Double
Dealer_ (1694).
BRIS'KIE (2 _syl_.), disguised under the name of Putskie. A captain in
the Moscovite army, and brother of general Archas "the loyal subject"
of the great-duke of Moscovia.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Loyal
Subject_ (1618).
BRIS'SOTIN, one of the followers of Jean Pierre Brissot, an advanced
revolutionist. The Brissotins were subsequently merged in the
Girondists, and the word dropped out of use.
BRISTOL BOY (_The_), Thomas Chatterton, the poet, born at Bristol.
Also called "The Marvellous Boy." Byron calls him "The wondrous boy
who perished in his pride" (1752-1770).
BRITAN'NIA. The Romans represented the island of Great Britain by
the figure of a woman seated on a rock, from a fanciful resemblance
thereto in the general outline of the island. The idea is less
poetically expressed by "An old witch on a broomstick."
The effigy of Britannia on British copper coin dates from the reign
of Charles II. (1672), and was engraved by Roetier from a drawing by
Evelyn. It is meant for one of the king's court favorites, some say
Frances Theresa Stuart, duchess of Richmond, and others Barbara
Villiers, duchess of Cleveland.
BRITISH HISTORY of Geoffrey of Monmouth, is a translation of a Welsh
Chronicle. It is in nine books, and contains a "history" of the
Britons and Welsh from Brutus, great-grandson of Trojan Æneas to the
death of Cadwallo or Cadwallader in 688. This Geoffrey was first
archdeacon of Monmouth and then bishop of St. Asaph. The general
outline of the work is the same as that given by Nennius three
centuries previously. Geoffrey's _Chronicle_, published about 1143,
formed a basis for many subsequent historical works. A compendium by
Diceto is published in Gale's _Chronicles_.
BRIT'OMART, the representative of chastity. She was the daughter and
heiress of king Ryence of Wales, and her legend forms the third book
of the _Faëry Queen_. One day, looking into Venus's looking-glass,
given by Merlin to her father, she saw therein sir Artegal, and fell
in love with him. Her nurse Glaucê (2 _syl_.) tried by charms "to undo
her love," but love that is in gentle heart begun no idle charm can
remove. Finding her "charms" ineffectual, she took her to Merlin's
cave in Caermarthen, and the magician told her she would be the mother
of a line of kings (_the Tudors_), and after twice 400 years one of
her offspring, "a royal virgin," would shake the power of Spain.
Glaucê now suggested that they should start in quest of sir Artegal,
and Britomart donned the armor of An'gela (queen of the Angles), which
she found in her father's armory, and taking a magic spear which
"nothing could resist," she sallied forth. Her adventures allegorize
the triumph of chastity over impurity: Thus in Castle Joyous,
Malacasta _(lust)_, not knowing her sex, tried to seduce her, "but she
flees youthful lust, which wars against the soul." She next overthrew
Marinel, son of Cym'oent. Then made her appearance as the Squire of
Dames. Her last achievement was the deliverance of Am'oret _(wifely
love)_ from the enchanter Busirane. Her marriage is deferred to bk. v.
6, when she tilted with sir Artegal, who "shares away the ventail of
her helmet with his sword," and was about to strike again when he
became so amazed at her beauty that he thought she must be a goddess.
She bade the knight remove his helmet, at once recognized him,
consented "to be his love, and to take him for her lord."--Spenser,
_Faëry Queen_, iii. (1590).
She charmed at once and tamed the heart, Incomparable Britomart.
Sir W. Scott.
BRITON _(Colonel)_, a Scotch officer, who sees donna Isabella jump
from a window in order to escape from a marriage she dislikes. The
colonel catches her, and takes her to the house of donna Violante, her
friend. Here he calls upon her, but don Felix, the lover of Violante,
supposing Violante to be the object of his visits, becomes jealous,
till at the end the mystery is cleared up, and a double marriage is
the result.--Mrs. Centlivre, _The Wonder_ (1714).
BROB'DINGNAG, a country of enormous giants, to whom Gulliver was a
tiny dwarf. They were as tall "as an ordinary church steeple," and all
their surroundings were in proportion.
Yon high church steeple, yon gawky stag. Your husband must come from
Brobdingnag. Kane O'Hara, _Midas_.
BROCK _(Adam)_, in _Charles XII._, an historical drama by J. E.
Planché.
BROKEN-GIRTH-FLOW (_Laird of_), one of the Jacobite conspirators in
_The Black Dwarf_, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, Anne).
BROKER OF THE EMPIRE (_The_). Dari´us, son of Hystaspês, was so called
by the Persians from his great care of the financial condition of his
empire.
BRO´MIA, wife of Sosia (slave of Amphitryon), in the service of
Alcme´na. A nagging termagant, who keeps her husband in petticoat
subjection. She is not one of the characters in Molière's comedy of
_Amphitryon_.--Dryden, _Amphitryon_ (1690).
BROMTON'S CHRONICLE (time, Edward III.), that is, "The Chronicle of
John Bromton" printed among the _Decem Scriptores_, under the titles
of "Chronicon Johannis Bromton," and "Joralanensis Historia a Johanne
Bromton," abbot of Jerevaux, in Yorkshire. It commences with the
conversion of the Saxons by St. Augustin, and closes with the death
of Richard I. in 1199. Selden has proved that the chronicle was not
_written_ by Bromton, but was merely brought to the abbey while he was
abbot.
BRON´TES (2 _syl._), one of the Cyclops, hence a blacksmith generally.
Called Bronteus (2 _syl._), by Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, iv. 5 (1596).
Not with such weight, to frame the forky brand,
The ponderous hammer falls from Brontês' hand.
_Jerusalem Delivered_, xx. (Hool's translation).
BRONZELY (2 _syl._), a mere rake, whose vanity was to be thought "a
general seducer."--Mrs. Inchbald, _Wives as they Were, and Maids as
they Are_ (1797).
BRON´ZOMARTE (3 _syl._), the sorrel steed of sir Launcelot Greaves.
The word means a "mettlesome sorrel."--Smollett, _Sir Launcelot
Greaves_ (1756).
BROOK (_Master_), the name assumed by Ford when sir John Falstaff
makes love to his wife. Sir John, not knowing him, confides to him
every item of his amour, and tells him how cleverly he has duped
Ford by being carried out in a buck-basket before his very
face.--Shakespeare, _Merry Wives of Windsor_ (1601).
BROOKE (_Dorothea_), calm, queenly heroine of _Middlemarch_, by George
Eliot.
BROO'KER, the man who stole the son of Ralph Nickleby out of revenge,
called him "Smike," and put him to school at Dotheboy's Hall,
Yorkshire.--C. Dickens, _Nicholas Nickleby_ (1838).
BROOKS OF SHEFFIELD, name by which Murdstone alludes to David
Copperfield in novel of that name.
BROTHER JON'ATHAN. When Washington was in want of ammunition, he
called a council of officers; but no practical suggestion being
offered, he said, "We must consult brother Jonathan," meaning his
excellency Jonathan Trumbull, the elder governor of the state of
Connecticut. This was done, and the difficulty surmounted. "To consult
brother Jonathan" then became a set phrase, and "Brother Jonathan"
became the "John Bull" of the United States.--J. R. Bartlett,
_Dictionary of Americanisms_.
BROTHER SAM, the brother of lord Dundreary, the hero of a comedy based
on a German drama, by John Oxenford, with additions and alterations by
E. A. Sothern and T. B. Buckstone.--Supplied by T. B. Buckstone, Esq.
BROWDIE (_John_), a brawny, big-made Yorkshire corn-factor, bluff,
brusque, honest, and kind-hearted. He befriends poor Smike, and is
much, attached to Nicholas Nickleby. John Browdie marries Matilda
Price, a miller's daughter.--C. Dickens, _Nicholas Nickleby_ (1838).
BROWN (_Hablot_) illustrated some of Dickens's novels and took the
pseudonym of "Phiz" (1812-).
_Brown (Jonathan)_, landlord of the Black Bear at Darlington. Here
Frank Osbaldistone meets Rob Roy at dinner.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob Roy_
(time, George I.).
_Brown (Mrs.)_, the widow of the brother-in-law of the Hon. Mrs.
Skewton. She had one daughter, Alice Marwood, who was first cousin to
Edith (Mr. Dombey's second wife). Mrs. Brown lived in great poverty,
her only known vocation being to "strip children of their clothes,
which she sold or pawned."--C. Dickens, _Dombey and Son_ (1846).
_Brown (Mrs.)_, a "Mrs. John Bull," with all the practical sense,
kind-heartedness, absence of conventionality, and the prejudices of a
well-to-do but half-educated Englishwoman of the middle shop class.
She passes her opinions on all current events, and travels about,
taking with her all her prejudices, and despising everything which is
not English.--Arthur Sketchley [Rev. George Rose].
_Brown (Tom)_, hero of _Tom Brown's School-Days_ and _Tom Brown at
Oxford_, by Thomas Hughes.
_Brown (Vanbeest)_, lieutenant of Dirk Hatteraick.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy
Mannering_ (time, George II.).
BROWN, JONES, AND ROBINSON, three Englishmen who travel together.
Their adventures, by Richard Doyle, were published in _Punch_. In them
is held up to ridicule the _gaucherie_, the contracted notions, the
vulgarity, the conceit, and the general snobbism of the middle-class
English abroad.
BROWN OF CALAVERAS, a dissipated blackleg and ne'er-do-weel, whose
handsome wife, arriving unexpectedly from the East, retrieves his
fortune and risks his honor by falling in love with another man, a
brother-gambler.--Bret Harte, _Brown of Calaveras_ (1871).
BROWN THE YOUNGER (_Thomas_), the _nom de plume_ of Thomas Moore in
_The Two-Penny Post-Bag_, a series of witty and very popular satires
on the prince regent (afterwards George IV.), his ministers, and his
boon companions. Also in _The Fudge Family in Paris_, and in _The
Fudges in England_ (1835).
BROWNE (_General_), pays a visit to lord Woodville. His bedroom for
the night is the "tapestried chamber," where he sees the apparition of
"the lady in the sacque," and next morning relates his adventure.--Sir
W. Scott, _The Tapestried Chamber_ (time, George III.).
BROWNLOW, a most benevolent old gentleman, who rescues Oliver Twist
from his vile associates. He refuses to believe in Oliver's guilt of
theft, although appearances were certainly against him, and he even
takes the boy into his service.--C. Dickens, _Oliver Twist_ (1837).
BROWNS. _To astonish the Browns_, to do or say something regardless of
the annoyance it may cause, or the shock it may give to Mrs. Grundy.
Anne Boleyn had a whole clan of Browns, or "country cousins," who were
welcomed at court in the reign of Elizabeth. The queen, however, was
quick to see what was _gauche_, and did not scruple to reprove them
for uncourtly manners. Her plainness of speech used quite to "astonish
the Browns."
BROX´MOUTH (_John_), a neighbor of Happer the miller.--Sir W. Scott,
_The Monastery_ (time, Elizabeth).
BRUCE (_Mr. Robert_), mate on a bark trading between Liverpool and St.
John's, N.B., sees a man writing in the captain's cabin, a stranger
who disappears after pencilling certain lines on the slate. These
prove a providential warning by which the vessel escapes certain
destruction. The story is told by Robert Dale Owen in _Footfalls on
the Boundary of Another World_, and vouched for as authentic (1860).
_Bruce (The)_, an epic poem by John Barbour (1320-1395).
BRU´EL, the name of the goose in the tale of _Reynard the Fox_. The
word means the "Little roarer" (1498).
BRU´IN, the name of the bear, in the beast-epic called _Reynard the
Fox_. Hence a bear in general.
The word means "the brown one" (1498).
_Bru´in_, one of the leaders arrayed against Hudibras. He is meant for
one Talgol, a Newgate butcher, who obtained a captain's commission for
valor at Naseby. He marched next to Orsin [_Joshua Gosling_, landlord
of the bear-gardens at Southwark].--S. Butler, _Hudibras_, i. 3.
_Bruin_ (_Mrs._ and _Mr._), daughter and son-in-law to sir Jacob
Jollup. Mr. Bruin is a huge bear of a fellow, and rules his wife with
scant courtesy.--S. Foote, _The Mayor of Garratt_ (1763).
BRULGRUD'DERY (_Dennis_), landlord of the Red Cow, on Muckslush Heath.
He calls himself "an Irish gintleman bred and born." He was "brought
up to the church," _i.e._ to be a church beadle, but lost his place
for snoring at sermon-time. He is a sot, with a very kind heart, and
is honest in great matters, although in business he will palm off an
old cock for a young capon.
_Mrs. Brulgruddery_, wife of Dennis, and widow of Mr. Skinnygauge,
former landlord of the Red Cow. Unprincipled, self-willed,
ill-tempered, and over-reaching. Money is the only thing that moves
her, and when she has taken a bribe she will whittle down the service
to the finest point.--G. Colman, jun., _John Bull_ (1805).
BRUN'CHEVAL "the Bold," a paynim knight, who tilted with sir
Satyrane, and both were thrown to the ground together at the first
encounter.--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, iv. 4 (1596).
BRUNEL'O, a deformed dwarf, who at the siege of Albracca stole
Sacripan'te's charger from between his legs without his knowing it.
He also stole Angelica's magic ring, by means of which he released
Roge'ro from the castle in which he was imprisoned. Ariosto says
that Agramant gave the dwarf a ring which had the power of resisting
magic.--Bojardo, _Orlando Innamorato_ (1495); and Ariosto, _Orlando
Furioso_ (1516).
"I," says Sancho, "slept so soundly upon Dapple, that the thief had
time enough to clap four stakes under the four corners of my pannel
and to lead away the beast from under my legs without waking
me."--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II. i. 4 (1615).
BRUNETTA, mother of Chery (who married his cousin Fairstar).--Comtesse
D'Aunoy, _Fairy Tales_ ("Princess Fairstar," 1682).
_Brunetta_, the rival beauty of Phyllis. On one occasion Phyllis
procured a most marvellous fabric of gold brocade in order to eclipse
her rival, but Brunetta arrayed her train-bearer in a dress of the
same material and cut in the same fashion. Phyllis was so mortified
that she went home and died.--_The Spectator_.
BRUNHILD, queen of Issland, who made a vow that none should win her
who could not surpass her in three trials of skill and strength: (1)
hurling a spear; (2) throwing a stone; and (3) jumping. Günther king
of Burgundy undertook the three contests, and by the aid of Siegfried
succeeded in winning the martial queen. _First_, hurling a spear that
three men could scarcely lift: the queen hurled it towards Günther,
but Siegfried, in his invisible cloak, reversed its direction, causing
it to strike the queen and knock her down. _Next_, throwing a stone so
huge that twelve brawny men were employed to carry it: Brunhild lifted
it on high, flung it twelve fathoms, and jumped beyond it. Again
Siegfried helped his friend to throw it further, and in leaping beyond
the stone. The queen, being fairly beaten, exclaimed to her liegemen,
"I am no longer your queen and mistress; henceforth are ye the
liegemen of Günther" (lied vii.). After marriage Brunhild was so
obstreperous that the king again applied to Siegfried, who succeeded
in depriving her of her ring and girdle, after which she became a very
submissive wife.--_The Niebelungen Lied_.
BRU´NO (_Bishop_), bishop of Herbipolita´num. Sailing one day on the
Danube with Henry III. emperor of Germany, they came to Ben Strudel
("the devouring-gulf"), near Grinon Castle, in Austria. Here the voice
of a spirit clamored aloud, "Ho! ho! Bishop Bruno, whither art thou
travelling? But go thy ways, bishop Bruno, for thou shalt travel with
me tonight." At night, while feasting with the emperor, a rafter
fell on his head and killed him. Southey has a ballad called _Bishop
Bruno_, but it deviates from the original legend given by Heywood in
several particulars: It makes bishop Bruno hear the voice first on
his way to the emperor, who had invited him to dinner; next, at the
beginning of dinner; and thirdly, when the guests had well feasted. At
the last warning an ice-cold hand touched him, and Bruno fell dead in
the banquet hall.
BRUSH, the impertinent English valet of lord Ogleby. If his lordship
calls he never hears unless he chooses; if his bell rings he never
answers it till it suits his pleasure. He helps himself freely to all
his master's things, and makes love to all the pretty chambermaids
he comes into contact with.--Colman and Garrick, _The Clandestine
Marriage_ (1766).
BRUTE (1 _syl_.), the first king of Britain (in mythical history). He
was the son of Æneas Silvius (grandson of Ascanius and great-grandson
of Æneas of Troy). Brute called London (the capital of his adopted
country) Troynovant (_New Troy_). The legend is this: An oracle
declared that Brute should be the death of both his parents; his
mother died in child-birth, and at the age of fifteen Brute shot his
father accidentally in a deer-hunt. Being driven from Alba Longa, he
collected a band of old Trojans and landed at Totness, in Devonshire.
His wife was Innogen, daughter of Pandra'sus king of Greece. His tale
is told at length in the _Chronicles_ of Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the
first song of Drayton's _Polyolbion_, and in Spenser's _Faëry Queen_,
ii.
_Brute (Sir John)_, a coarse, surly, ill-mannered brute, whose delight
was to "provoke" his young wife, who he tells us "is a young lady, a
fine lady, a witty lady, and a virtuous lady, but yet I hate her." In
a drunken frolic he intercepts a tailor taking home a new dress to
lady Brute; he insists on arraying himself therein, is arrested for a
street row, and taken before the justice of the peace. Being asked his
name, he gives it as "lady John Brute," and is dismissed.
_Lady Brute_, wife of sir John. She is subjected to divers
indignities, and insulted morn, noon, and night by her surly, drunken
husband. Lady Brute intrigues with Constant, a former lover; but her
intrigues are more mischievous than vicious.--Vanbrugh, _The Provoked
Wife_ (1697).