Surnamed the Tyrant?... Evander came from Greece,
And sent the tyrant to his humble rank,
Once more reduced to roam for vile subsistence,
A wandering sophist thro' the realms of Greece.
It was not Dionysius the _Elder_, but Dionysius the _Younger_, who was
the "wandering sophist;" and it was not Evander, but Timoleon, who
dethroned him. The elder Dionysius was not dethroned at all, nor
even reduced "to humble rank." He reigned thirty-eight years without
interruption, and died a king, in the plentitude of his glory, at the
age of 63.
In the same play (act iv. 1) Euphrasia says to Dionysius the Younger:
Think of thy father's fate at Corinth, Dionysius.
It was not the father, but the son, (Dionysius the Younger) who lived
in exile at Corinth.
In the same play he makes Timo'leon victorious over the Syracusans
(that is historically correct); and he makes Euphrasia stab Dionysius
the Younger, whereas he retreated to Corinth, and spent his time in
debauchery, but supported himself by keeping a school. Of his death
nothing is known, but certainly he was not stabbed to death by
Euphrasia.--See Plutarch.
RYMER, in his _Foedera_, ascribes to Henry I. (who died in 1135) a
preaching expedition for the restoration of Rochester Church, injured
by fire in 1177 (vol. I i. 9).
In the previous page Rymer ascribes to Henry I. a deed of gift from
"Henry, king of England and _lord of Ireland_;" but every one knows
that Ireland was conquered by Henry II., and the deed referred to was
the act of Henry III.
On p. 71 of the same vol. Odo is made, in 1298, to swear "in no wise
to confederate with Richard I."; whereas Richard I. died in 1199.
SABINE MAID (_The_). G. Gilfillan, in his introductory essay to
Longfellow, says: "His ornaments, unlike those of the Sabine maid,
have not crushed him." Tarpeia, who opened the gates of Rome to the
Sabines, and was crushed to death by their shields, was not a _Sabine_
maid, but a Roman.
SCOTT (_Sir Walter_). In the _Heart of Midlothian_ we read;:
She _[Effie Deans_] amused herself with visiting the dairy ... and was
so near discovering herself to Mary Hetly by betraying her aquaintance
with the celebrated receipt for Dunlop cheese, that she compared
herself to Bedredeen Hassan, whom the vizier his father in-law
discovered by his superlative skill in composing cream-tarts with
pepper in them.
In these few lines are several gross errors: (1) cream-tarts should
be _cheese-cakes_; (2) the charge was "that he made cheese-cakes
_without_ putting pepper in them," and not that he made "cream-tarts
_with_ pepper;" (3) it was not the vizier, his father-in-law and
uncle, but his mother, the widow of Nouredeen, who made the discovery,
and why? for the best of all reasons--because she herself had taught
her son the receipt. The party were at Damascus at the time.--_Arabian
Nights_ ("Nouredeen Ali," etc.). (See page 389, "Thackeray.")
"What!" said Bedredeen, "was everything in
my house to be broken and destroyed ... only
because I did not put pepper in a cheese-cake!"
_Arabian Nights_ ("Nouredeen Ali," etc.).
Again, Sir Walter Scott speaks of "the philosopher who appealed
from Philip inflamed with wine to Philip in his hours of sobriety"
(_Antiquary_, x.). This "philosopher" was a poor old woman.
SHAKESPEARE. _Althaea and the Fire-brand_. Shakespeare says, (_Henry
IV_. act ii. sc. 2) that "Althaea dreamt that she was delivered of a
fire-brand." It was not Althaea, but Hecuba, who dreamed, a little
before Paris was born, that her offspring was a brand that consumed
the kingdom. The tale of Althaea is, that the Fates laid a log of wood
on a fire, and told her that her son would live till that log was
consumed; whereupon she snatched up the log and kept it from the fire,
till one day her son Melea'ger offended her, when she flung the log on
the fire, and her son died, as the Fates predicted.
_Bohemia's Coast_. In the _Winter's Tale_ the vessel bearing the
infant Perdita is "driven by storm on the coast of Bohemia;" but
Bohemia has no seaboard at all.
In _Coriolanus_, Shakespeare makes Volumnia the mother, and Virgilia
the wife, of Coriolanus; but his _wife_ was Volumnia, and his _mother_
Veturia.
_Delphi an Island_. In the same drama (act iii. sc. 1) Delphi is
spoken of as an island; but Delphi is a city of Phocis, containing a
temple to Apollo. It is no island at all.
_Duncan's Murder_. Macbeth did not murder Duncan in the castle of
Inverness, as stated in the play, but at "the smith's house," near
Elgin (1039).
_Elsinore_. Shakespeare speaks of the beetling cliff of Elsinore,
whereas Elsinore has no cliffs at all.
What if it [_the ghost_] tempt you toward the flood.
Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles o'er its base into the sea?
_Hamlet_, act i. sc. 4.
_The Ghost_, in _Hamlet_, is evidently a Roman Catholic; he talks of
purgatory, absolution, and other Catholic dogmas; but the Danes at the
time were pagans.
_St. Louis_. Shakespeare, in _Henry V_. act i. sc. 2, calls Louis X.
"St. Louis," but "St. Louis" was Louis IX. It was Louis IX. whose
"grandmother was Isabel," issue of Charles de Lorraine, the last of
the Carlovingians. Louis X. was the son of Philippe IV. (_le Bel_) and
grandson of Philippe III. and "Isabel of Aragon," not Isabel, "heir of
Capet of the line of Charles the duke of Lorain."
_Macbeth_ was no tyrant, as Shakespeare makes him out to be, but a
firm and equitable prince, whose title to the throne was better than
that of Duncan.
Again, _Macbeth_ was not slain by Macduff at Dunsin'ane, but made his
escape from the battle, and was slain in 1056, at Lumphanan.--Lardner,
_Cabinet Cyc_., 17-19.
In _The Winter's Tale_, act v. sc. 2, one of the gentlemen refers to
Julio Romano, the Italian artist and architect (1492-1546), certainly
some 1800 years or more before Romano was born.
In _Twelfth Night_, the Illyrian clown speaks of St. Bennet's Church,
London. "The triplex, sir, is a good tripping measure, or the bells of
St. Bennet's sure may put you in mind: one, two, three" (act v. sc.
1); as if the duke was a Londoner.
SPENSER. _Bacchus_ or _Saturn_? In the _Faëry Queen_, iii. 11,
Britomart saw in the castle of Bu'sirane (_3 syl_.), a picture
descriptive of the love of Saturn, who had changed himself into a
centaur out of love for Erig'onê. It was not Saturn, but Bacchus who
loved Erig'onê, and he was not tranformed into a centaur, but to a
horse.
_Beonê_ or _Oenonê_? In bk. vi. 9 (_Faëry Queen_) the lady-love of
Paris is called Benonê, which ought to be Oenonê. The poet says that
Paris was "by Plexippus' brook" when the golden apple was brought to
him; but no such brook is mentioned by any classic author.
_Critias and Socrates_. In bk. ii. 7 _(Faëry Queen)_ Spenser says:
"The wise Socrates ... poured out his life ... to the dear Critias;
his dearest bel-amie." It was not Socratês, but Theram'enes, one of
the thirty tyrants, who in quaffing the poison-cup, said smiling,
"This I drink to the health of fair Critias."--Cicero, _Tusculan
Questions_.
_Critias_ or _Crito_? In _Faëry Queen_, iv. (introduction), Spenser
says that Socrates often discoursed of love to his friend Critias; but
it was Crito, or rather Criton that the poet means.
_Cyprus_ and _Paphos_. Spenser makes Sir Scudamore speak of a temple
of Venus, far more beautiful than "that in Paphos, or that in Cyprus;"
but Paphos was merely a town in the island of Cyprus, and the "two"
are but one and the same temple.--_Faëry Queen_, iv. 10.
_Hippomanês_. Spenser says the golden apples of Mammon's garden were
better than Those with which the Eubaean young man won Swift Atalanta.
_Faëry Queen_, ii. 7.
The young man was Hippom'anês. He was not a "Eubaean," but a native of
Onchestos, in Boeo'tia.
TENNYSON, in the _Last Tournament_, says (ver. I), Dagonet was
knighted in mockery by Sir Gaw'ain; but in the _History of Prince
Arthur_ we are distinctly told that King Arthur knighted him with his
own hand (pt. ii. 91).
In _Gareth and Lynette_ the same poet says that Grareth was the son
of Lot and Bellicent; but we are told a score times and more in the
_History of Prince Arthur_, that he was the son of Margawse (Arthur's
sister and Lot's wife, pt. i. 36).
King Lot ... wedded Margawse; Nentres ... wedded Elain.--Sir T.
Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 2, 35, 36.
In the same _Idyll_ Tennyson has changed Lionês to Lyonors; but,
according to the collection of romances edited by Sir T. Malory, these
were quite different persons. Lionês, daughter of Sir Persaunt, and
sister of Linet of Castle Perilous, married Sir Gareth (pt. i. 153);
but Lyonors was the daughter of Earl Sanam, and was the unwedded
mother of Sir Borre by King Arthur (pt. i. 15).
Again, Tennyson makes Gareth marry Lynette, and leaves the true
heroine, Lyonors, in the cold; but the _History_ makes Grareth marry
Lionês _(Lyonors)_, and Gaheris his brother marries Linet.
Thus endeth the history of Sir Gareth, that wedded Dame Liones of the
Castle Perilous; and also of Sir Gaheris, who wedded her sister Dame
Linet.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_ (end of pt. i.).
Again, in _Gareth and Lynette_, by erroneously beginning day with
sunrise instead of the previous eve, Tennyson reverses the order of
the knights, and makes the _fresh green morn_ represent the decline of
day, or, as he calls it, "Hesperus" or "Evening Star;" and the blue
star of evening he makes "Phosphorus" or the "Morning Star."
Once more, in _Gareth and Lynette_, the poet-laureate makes the
combat between Gareth and Death finished at a single blow, but in the
_History_, Gareth fights from dawn to dewy eve.
Thus they fought [_from sunrise_] till it was past noon, and would not
stint, till, at last both lacked wind, and then stood they wagging,
staggering, panting, blowing, and bleeding ... and when they had
rested them awhile, they went to battle again, trasing, rasing,
and foyning, as two boars ... Thus they endured till evening-song
time.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 136.
In _the Last Tournament_, Tennyson makes Sir Tristram stabbed to
death, by Sir Mark in Tintag'il Castle, Cornwall, while toying with
his aunt, Isolt _the Fair_, but in the _History_ he was in bed in
Brittany, severely wounded, and dies of a shock, because his wife
tells him the ship in which he expected his aunt to come was sailing
into port with a _black_ sail instead of a white one.
The poet-laureate has deviated so often from the collection of tales
edited by Sir Thomas Malory, that it would occupy too much space to
point out his deviations even in the briefest manner.
THACKERAY, in _Vanity Fair_, has taken from Sir Walter Scott his
allusion to Bedredeen, and not from the _Arabian Nights._ He has,
therefore, fallen into the same error, and added two more. He says: "I
ought to have remembered the pepper which the Princess of Persia puts
into the cream-tarts in India, sir" (ch. iii.). The charge was that
Bedredeen made his _cheese-cakes without_ putting pepper into them.
But Thackeray has committed in this allusion other blunders. It was
not a "princess" at all, but Bedredeen Hassan, who for the nonce had
become a confectioner. He learned the art of making cheese-cakes from
his mother (a widow). Again, it was not a "princess of Persia," for
Bedredeen's mother was the widow of the vizier of Balsora, at that
time quite independent of Persia.
VICTOR HUGO, in _Les Travailleurs de la Mer_, renders "the Frith of
Forth" by the phrase _Premier des quatre_, mistaking "Frith" _for
first_, and "Forth" _for fourth_ or four.
In his _Marie Tudor_ he refers to the _History and Annals of Henry
VII_. par Franc Baronum, "meaning" _Historia, etc_.
_Henrici Septimi_, per Franciscum Baconum.
VIEGIL has placed Æneas in a harbor which did not exist at the time.
"Portusque require Velinos" _(Æneid_, vi. 366). It was Curius Dentatus
who cut a gorge through the rocks to let the waters of the Velinus
into the Nar. Before this was done, the Velinus was merely a number of
stagnant lakes, and the blunder is about the same as if a modern poet
were to make Columbus pass through the Suez Canal.
In _Æneid_, in. 171 Virgil makes Æneas speak of "Ausonia;" but as
Italy was so called from Auson, son of Ulysses and Calypso, of course
Æneas could not have known the name.
Again, in _Æneid_ ix. 571, he represents Chorinseus as slain by
Asy'las; but in bk. xii. 298 he is alive again. Thus:
Chorinaeum sternit Asylas
Bk. ix. 571.
Then:
Obvius ambustum torrem Chorinseus ab ara
Corripit, et venienti Ebuso plagamque ferenti
Occupat os flammis, etc.
Bk. xii. 298, etc.
Again in bk. ix. Numa is slain by Nisus, (ver. 554); but in bk. x. 562
Numa is alive, and Æneas kills him.
Once more, in bk. x. Æneas slays Camertês (ver. 562); but in bk. xii.
224 Jaturna, the sister of Turnus, assumes his shape. But if he was
dead, no one would have been deluded into supposing the figure to be
the living man.
[Illustration] Of course, every intelligent reader will be able to add
to this list; but no more space can be allowed for the subject in this
dictionary.
ER'RUA ("_the mad-cap_"), a young man whose wit defeated the strength
of the giant Tartaro (a sort of one-eyed Polypheme). Thus the first
competition was in throwing a stone. The giant threw his stone, but
Errua threw a _bird_, which the giant supposed to be a stone, and as
it flew out of sight, Errua won the wager. The next wager was a bar
of iron. After the giant had thrown, Errua said, "From here to
Salamanca;" whereupon the giant bade him not to throw, lest the bar of
iron should kill his father and mother, who lived there; so the giant
lost the second wager. The third was to pull a tree up by the roots;
and the giant gave in because Errua had run a cord around a host of
trees, and said, "You pull up one, but I pull up all these." The next
exploit was at bed-time; Errua was to sleep in a certain bed; but
he placed a dead man in the bed, while he himself got under it. At
midnight Tartaro took his club and belabored the dead body most
unmercifully. When Errua stood before Tartaro next morning, the giant
was dumbfounded. He asked Errua how he had slept. "Excellently well,"
said Errua, "but somewhat troubled by fleas." Other trials were made,
but always in favor of Errua. At length a race was proposed, and Errua
sewed into a bag the bowels of a pig. When he started, he cut the bag,
strewing the bowels on the road. When Tartaro was told that his rival
had done this to make himself more fleet, he cut his belly, and of
course killed himself.--Rev. W. Webster, _Basque Legends_ (1877).
ERS'KINE _(The. Rev. Dr_.), minister of Grayfriar's Church,
Edinburgh.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.).
ER'TANAX, a fish common in the Euphratês. The bones of this fish
impart courage and strength.
A fish ... haunteth the flood of Eufratês ...
it is called an ertanax, and his bones be of such
a manner of kind that whoso handleth them he
shall have so much courage that he shall never
be weary, and he shall not think on joy nor
sorrow that he hath had, but only on the thing
he beholdeth before him.--Sir T. Malory, _History
of Prince Arthur_, iii. 84, (1470).
ERUDITE (_Most_). Marcus Terentius Varro is called "the most erudite
of the Romans" (B.C. 116-27).
ER'YTHRE, modesty personified, the virgin page of Parthen'ia or maiden
of chastity, in _The Purple Island_, by Phineas Fletcher (1633). Fully
described in canto x. (Greek, _cruthros_, "red," from _eruthriao_, "to
blush.")
ERYSICHTHON [_Erri. sik'. thon_], a grandson of Neptune, who was
punished by Cerês with insatiable hunger, for cutting down some trees
in a grove sacred to that goddess. (See ERISICHTHON.)
ES'CALUS, an ancient, kind-hearted lord in the deputation of the duke
of Vienna.--Shakespeare, _Measure for Measure_ (1603).
_Es'calus_, Prince of Vero'na.--Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_
(1598).
ES'CANES (_3 syl_.), one of the lords of Tyre.--Shakespeare,
_Pericles, Prince of Tyre_ (1608).
ESCOBAR (_Mons. L_') the French, name for a fox, so called from M.
Escobar the probabilist, whence also the verb _escobarder_, "to play
the fox," "to play fast and loose."
The French have a capital name for the fox, namely, M. L'Escobar,
which may be translated the "shuffler," or more freely, "sly
boots."--_The Daily News_, March 25, 1878.
ESCOTILLO (_i.e. little Michael Scott_), considered by the common
people as a magician, because he possessed more knowledge of natural
and experimental philosophy than his contemporaries.
ES'DALE (_Mr_.), a surgeon at Madras.--Sir W. Scott, _The Surgeon's
Daughter_ (time, George II.).
ES'INGS, the king of Kent. So called from Eisc, the father of Hengist,
as the Tuscans receive their name from Tuscus, the Romans from
Romulus, the Cecrop'idae from Cecrops, the Britons from Brutus, and so
on.--Ethelwerd, _Chron_., ii.
ESMERALDA, a beautiful gypsy-girl, who, with tambourine and goat,
dances in the _place_ before Notre Dame de Paris, and is looked on as
a witch. Quasimodo conceals her for a time in the church, but after
various adventures she is gibbeted.--Victor Hugo, _Notre Dame de
Paris_.
_Esmeralda_; humbly-born heroine of Frances Hodgson Burnett's work of
same name. The story has been dramatized and played with great effect.
ESMOND (_Henry_), a chivalrous cavalier in the reign of Queen Anne;
the hero of Thackeray's novel called _Henry Esmond_ (1852).
ESPLAN'DIAN, son of Am'adis and Oria'na. Montalvo has made him the
subject of a fifth book to the four original books of _Amadis of Gaul_
(1460).
The description of the most furious battles, carried on with all the
bloody-mindedness of an Esplandian or a Bobadil [Ben Jonson, _Every
Man in his Humor_].--_Encyc. Brit_., Art. "Romance."
ESPRIEL'LA (_Manuel Alvarez_), the apocryphal name of Robert Southey.
The poet-laureate pretends that certain "letters from England,"
written by this Spaniard, were translated by him from the original
Spanish (three vols., 1807).
ESSEX (_The earl of_), a tragedy by Henry Jones (1745.) Lord Burleigh
and Sir Walter Raleigh entertained a mortal hatred of the earl of
Essex, and accused him to the queen of treason. Elizabeth disbelieved
the charge; but at this juncture the earl left Ireland, whither the
queen had sent him, and presented himself before her. She was very
angry, and struck him, and Essex rushed into open rebellion, was
taken, and condemned to death. The queen had given him a ring before
the trial, telling him whatever petition he asked should be granted,
if he sent to her this ring. When the time of execution drew nigh, the
queen sent the countess of Nottingham to the Tower, to ask Essex if he
had any plea to make. The earl entreated her to present the ring
to her majesty, and petition her to spare the life of his friend
Southampton. The countess purposely neglected this charge, and Essex
was executed. The queen, it is true, sent a reprieve, but Lord
Burleigh took care it should arrive too late. The poet says that Essex
had recently married the countess of Rutland, that both the queen and
the countess of Nottingham were jealous, and that this jealousy was
the chief cause of the earl's death.
The Abbè Boyer, La Calprènede, and Th. Corneille have tragedies on the
some subject.
_Essex_ (_The earl of_), lord high constable of England, introduced by
Sir W. Scott in his novel called _Ivanhoe_ (time, Richard I.).
ESTEL'LA, a haughty beauty, adopted by Miss Havisham. She was
affianced by her wish to Pip, but married Bentley Drummle.--C.
Dickens, _Great Expectations_ (1860).
ESTHER, housekeeper to Muhldenau, minister of Mariendorpt. She loves
Hans, a servant to the minister, but Hans is shy, and Esther has to
teach him how to woo and win her. Esther and Hans are similar to Helen
and Modus, only in lower social grade.--S. Knowles, _The Maid of
Mariendorpt_ (1838).
ESTHER HAWDON, better known through the tale as Esther Summerson,
natural daughter of Captain Hawdon and Lady Dedlock (before her
marriage with Sir Leicester Dedlock). Esther is a most lovable, gentle
creature, called by those who know and love her, "Dame Durden" or
"Dame Trot." She is the heroine of the tale, and a ward in Chancery.
Eventually she marries Allan Woodcourt, a surgeon.--C. Dickens, _Bleak
House_ (1852).
ESTHER _Bush_: Wife of the squatter Ishmael Bush. Loud-voiced, sharp
of temper and hard of hand, yet loyal in her way to husband and
children.--James Fennimore Cooper, _The Prairie_, (1827).
_Esther_ (_Queen_), Indian monarch who, during the Wyoming massacre,
dashes out the brains of sixteen prisoners with her own hands, as a
sacrifice to the manes of her son. Queen Esther's Rock is still shown
to travelers.--Ann Sophia Stevens, _Mary Derwent_ (1845).
ESTIFA'NIA, an intriguing woman, servant of donna Margaritta, the
Spanish heiress. She palms herself off on Don Michael Perez (the
copper captain) as an heiress, and the mistress of Margaritta's
mansion. The captain marries her, and finds out that all her swans
are only geese.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _Rule a Wife and Have a Wife_
(1640).
EST-IL-POSSSIBLE? A nickname given to George of Denmark (Queen
Anne's husband), because his general remark to the most startling
announcement was, _Est-il possible?_ With this exclamation he
exhausted the vials of his wrath. It was James II. who gave him the
sobriquet.
EST'MERE (_2 syl_.), king of England. He went with his younger brother
Adler to the court of King Adlands, to crave his daughter in marriage;
but King Adlands replied that Bremor, the sowdan, or sultan of Spain,
had forestalled him. However, the lady, being consulted, gave her
voice in favor of the king of England. While Estmere and his brother
went to make preparations for the wedding, the "sowdan" arrived, and
demanded the lady to wife. A messenger was immediately despatched to
inform Estmere, and the two brothers returned, disguised as a _harper
and his boy_. They gained entrance into the palace, and Adler sang,
saying, "O ladye, this is thy owne true love; no harper, but a king;"
and then drawing his sword he slew the "sowdan," Estmere at the same
time chasing from the hall the "kempery men." Being now master of
the position, Estmere took "the ladye faire," made her his wife, and
brought her home to England.--Percy, _Reliques_, 1. i. 5.
ESTRILDIS OR ELSTRED, daughter of the Emperor of Germany. She was
taken captive in war by Locrin (king of Britain), by whom she became
the mother of Sabrin or Sabre. Gwendolen, the wife of Locrin, feeling
insulted by this liaison, slew her husband, and had Estrildis and
her daughter thrown into a river, since called the Sabri'na or
Severn.--Geoffrey, _British History_, ii. 2, etc.
ESTWICKE (_John_), hero of Charles Egbert Craddock's book, _Where the
Battle was Fought_ (1884). His real name was John Fortescue.
ETE'OCLES AND POLYNI'CES, the two sons Oe'dipos. After the expulsion
of their father, these two young princes agreed to reign alternate
years in Thebes. Eteoclês, being the elder, took the first turn, but
at the close of the year refused to resign the sceptre to his brother;
whereupon Polynicês, aided by six other chiefs, laid seige to the
city. The two brothers met in combat, and each was slain by the
other's hand.
[Illustration] A similar fratricidal struggle is told of Don Pedro of
Castile and his half-brother Don Henry. When Don Pedro had estranged
the Castilians by his cruelty, Don Henry invaded Castile with a body
of French auxiliaries, and took his brother prisoner. Don Henry
visited him in prison, and the two brothers fell on each other like
lions. Henry wounded Pedro in the face, but fell over a bench, when
Pedro seized him. At that moment a Frenchman seized Pedro by the
leg, tossed him over, and Henry slew him.--Menard, _History of Du
Gueselin._
ETHAN (_Allen_). He gives under his own hand the history of the
capture of Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775, and corroborates the popular
story that he demanded the surrender of the fortress, "_In the name of
the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!_" _Allen's Narrative
of Captivity_ (1779).
ETH'ELBERT, king of Kent, and the first of the Anglo-Saxon kings
who was a Christian. He persuaded Gregory to send over Augustine to
convert the English to "the true faith" (596), and built St. Paul's,
London.--Ethelwerd's _Chronicle_, ii.