6. The Teutonic knights were originally called “Knights of St. George.”

=Knights of St. Jago=, a Spanish order, instituted under Pope Alexander

III., the grand-master of which is next in rank to the sovereign. St.

Jago or James (the Greater) is the patron saint of Spain.

=Knights of St. John at Jerusalem=, instituted in 1120. This order took

its name from John, patriarch of Alexandria, and from the place of their

abode(_Jerusalem_.) These knights subsequently resided at Rhodes

(between 1310 and 1523). Being driven out by the Turks in 1523, they

took up their abode in Malta, and were called “Knights of Malta.”

=Knights of St. Lazare= (2 _syl._), a religious and military order of

Knights Hospitallers, established in the twelfth century, and confirmed

by the pope in 1255. Their special mission was to take care of lepers.

The name is derived from Lazarus, the beggar, who lay at the gate of

Divês. The order was introduced into France under Louis VII., and was

abolished in the first Revolution.

=Knights of St. Magdalene= (3 _syl._), a French order, instituted by St.

Louis (IX.) to suppress duels.

=Knights of St. Maria de Mercede= (3 _syl._), a Spanish order, for the

redemption of captives.

=Knights of St. Michael the Archangel= (_Chevaliers de l’Ordre de St.

Michel_), a French order, instituted by Louis XI. in 1469. The king was

at the head of the order. M. Bouillet says: “St. Michel est regardé

comme le protecteur et l’ange tutélaire de la France.”

=Knights of St. Patrick=, instituted in 1783. The ruling sovereign of

Great Britain and Ireland, and the lord-lieutenant of Ireland, are

_ex-officio_ members of this order. The order is named after St.

Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

=Knights of St. Salvador=, in Aragon, instituted by Alphonso I. in 1118.

=Knights of Windsor=, formerly called “Poor Knights of Windsor,” but now

entitled “The Military Knights of Windsor,” a body of military

pensioners, who have their residence within the precincts of Windsor

Castle.

=Knights of the Bath=, an order of knighthood derived from the ancient

Franks, and so termed because the members originally “bathed” before

they performed their vigils. The last knights created in this ancient

form were at the coronation of Charles II., in 1661.

G. C. B. stands for _Grand Cross of the Bath_ (the first class); K. C.

B. for _Knight Commander of the Bath_ (the second class); and C. B. for

_Companion of the Bath_ (the third class).

=Knights of the Blood of Our Saviour=, an order of knighthood in Mantua,

instituted by Duke Vincent Gonzaga, in 1608, on his marriage. It

consisted of twenty Mantuan dukes. The name originated in the belief

that in St. Andrew’s Church, Mantua, certain drops of our Saviour’s

blood are preserved as a relic.

=Knights of the Broom Flower= (_Chevaliers de l’Ordre de la Geneste_),

instituted by St. Louis (IX.) of France, on his marriage. The collar was

decorated with broom flowers, intermixed with _fleurs de lys_ in gold.

The motto was _Exaltat Humĭlês_.

=Knights of the Carpet= or CARPET KNIGHTS, _i. e._ non-military or civil

knights, such as mayors, lawyers, authors, artists, physicians, and so

on, who receive their knighthood kneeling on a _carpet_, and not in the

tented field.

=Knights of the Chamber= or CHAMBER KNIGHTS, knights bachelors made in

times of peace in _the presence chamber_, and not in the camp. These are

always military men, and therefore differ from “Carpet Knights,” who are

always civilians.

=Knights of the Cock and Dog=, founded by Philippe I., _Auguste_, of

France.

=Knights of the Crescent=, a military order, instituted by Renatus, of

Anjou, king of Sicily, etc., in 1448. So called from the badge, which is

a crescent of gold enamelled. What gave rise to this institution was

that Renatus took for his device a crescent, with the word _loz_

(“praise”), which, in the style of _rebus_, makes _loz in crescent_, _i.

e._ “by advancing in virtue one merits praise.”

=Knights of the Dove=, a Spanish order, instituted in 1379, by John I.,

of Castile.

=Knights of the Dragon=, created by the emperor Sigismond, in 1417, upon

the condemnation of Huss and Jerome, of Prague, “the heretics.”

=Knights of the Ermine= (_Chevaliers de l’Ordre de l’Epi_), instituted

in 1450 by François I., duc de Bretagne. The collar was of gold,

composed of _ears of corn_ in saltier, at the end of which hung an

_ermine_, with the legend _à ma vie_. The order expired when the dukedom

was annexed to the crown of France.

=Knights of the Garter=, instituted by Edward III. of England, in 1344.

According to Selden, “it exceeds in majesty, honor, and fame, all

chivalrous orders in the world.” The story is that Joan, countess of

Salisbury, while dancing with the king, let fall her garter, and the

gallant Edward, perceiving a smile on the face of the courtiers, picked

it up, bound it round his own knee, and exclaimed, “Honi soit qui mal y

pense.” The blue garter and the motto of the order are thus accounted

for.

=Knights of the Golden Fleece=, a military order of knighthood,

instituted by Philippe, _le Bon_, of Burgundy, in 1429. It took its name

from a representation of the golden fleece on the collar of the order.

The king of Spain is grand-master, and the motto is _Ante feret quam

flamma micet_.

=Knights of the Golden Shield=, an order instituted by Louis II., of

France, for the defence of the country. The motto is _Allons_ (_i. e._

“Let us go in defence of our country”).

=Knights of the Hare=, an order of twelve knights, instituted by Edward

III. while he was in France. The French raised a tremendous shout, and

Edward thought it was the cry of battle, but it was occasioned by a hare

running between the two armies. From this incident the knights created

on the field after this battle were termed “Knights of the Order of the

Hare.”

=Knights of the Holy Ghost= (_Chevalier de l’Ordre du Saint Esprit_),

instituted by Henri III., of France, on his return from Poland. Henri

III. was both born and crowned on Whit-Sunday, and hence the origin of

the order.

=Knights of the Holy Sepulchre=, an order of knighthood founded by St.

Hel´ena, when she visited Jerusalem, at the age of 80, and found (as it

is said) the cross on which Christ was crucified, in a cavern under the

temple of Venus, A. D. 328. This order was confirmed by Pope Pascal II.

in 1114.

=Knights of the Lily=, an order of knighthood in Navarre, founded by

Garcia, in 1048.

=Knights of the Order of Fools=, established November, 1381, and

continued to the beginning of the sixteenth century. The insignia was a

jester or fool embroidered on the left side of their mantles, cap and

bells, yellow stockings, a cup of fruit in the right hand, and a gold

key in the left. It resembled the “Odd Fellows” of more modern times.

=Knights of the Porcupine= (_Chevaliers de l’Ordre du Porcépic_), a

French order of knighthood. The original motto was _Cominus et eminus_,

changed by Louis XII. into _Ultus avos Trojæ_.

=Knights of the Red Staff=, an order instituted by Alfonso XI. of

Castile and Leon, in 1330.

=Knights of the Round Table=. King Arthur’s knights were so called,

because they sat with him at a round table made by Merlin, for King

Leodegraunce. This king gave it to Arthur on his marriage with Guinever,

his daughter. It contained seats for 150 knights, 100 of which King

Leodegraunce furnished when he sent the table.

=Knights of the Shell=. The argonauts of St. Nicholas were so called

from the shells worked on the collar of the order.

=Knights of the Ship=, an order of knighthood founded by St. Louis IX.,

of France, in his expedition to Egypt.

=Knights of the Star= (_Chevaliers de l’Ordre de l’Etoile_), an ancient

order of knighthood in France. The motto of the order was _Monstrant

regibus astra viam_.

=Knights of the Swan= (_Chevalier de l’Ordre du Cygne_), an order of

knighthood founded in 1443 by the elector Frederick II., of Brandenburg,

and restored in 1843 by Frederick William IV., of Prussia. Its object is

the relief of distress generally. The king of Prussia is grand-master.

The motto is _Gott mit uns_ (“God be with you”); and the collar is of

gold. The white swan is the badge of the house of Cleves (Westphalia).

Lord Berners has a novel called _The Knight of the Swan_ (sixteenth

century).

=Knights of the Thistle=, said to be founded by Archaicus, king of the

Scots, in 809; revived in 1530 by James V., of Scotland; again in 1687

by James II., of Great Britain; and again by Queen Anne, who placed the

order on a permanent footing. The decoration consists of a collar of

enamelled gold, composed of sixteen thistles interlaced with sprigs of

rue, and a small golden image of St. Andrew within a circle. The motto

is _Nemo me impune lacessit_. The members are sometimes called “Knights

of St Andrew.”

The _rue_ mixed with the thistles is a pun on the word “Andrew”

_thistles And-rue_.

⁂ There was at one time a French “Order of the Thistle” in the house of

Bourbon, with the same decoration and motto.

=Knights of the Virgin’s Looking-Glass=, an order instituted in 1411 by

Ferdinand of Castile.

=Knights Teutonic=, originally called “Knights of St. George,” then

“Knights of the Virgin Mary,” and lastly “Teutonic Knights of the

Hospital of St. Mary the Virgin.” This order was instituted by Henry,

king of Jerusalem, in compliment to the German volunteers who

accompanied Frederick Barbarossa on his crusade. The knights were soon

afterwards placed under the tutelage of the Virgin, to whom a hospital

had been dedicated for the relief of German Pilgrims; and in 1191, Pope

Celestine III. confirmed the privileges, and changed the name of the

order into the “Teutonic Knights,” etc. Abolished by Napoleon in 1809.

=Knights of To-day=, under this caption Charles Barnard has given us

stories of engineers, mechanics, inventors, and other followers of

peaceful arts that make for the enduring prosperity of the race, and

call into practice nobler virtues than the trade of war and greed of

conquest.

=Knighton=, groom of the duke of Buckingham.—Sir. W. Scott, _Fortunes of

Nigel_ (time, James I.).

=Knockwinnock= (_Sybil_), wife of Sir Richard of the Redhand, and mother

of Malcolm Misbegot.—Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).

=Koh-i-noor= (“_mountain of light_”), a diamond once called “The Great

Mogul.” Held in the fourteenth century by the rajah of Malwa. Later it

fell into the hands of the sultans of Delhi, after their conquest of

Malwa. It belonged in the seventeenth century, to Aurungzebe the Great.

The Schah Jihan sent it to Hortensio Borgio to be cut, but the Venetian

lapidary re-reduced it from 793-5/8 carats to 186, and left it dull and

lustreless. It next passed into the hands of Aurungzebe’s

great-grandson, who hid it in his turban. Nadir Schah invited the

possessor to a feast, and insisted on changing turbans, “to cement their

love,” and thus it fell into Nadir’s hands, who gave it the name of

“Koh-i-noor.” It next passed into the hands of Ahmed Shah, founder of

the Cabûl dynasty; was extorted from Shah Shuja by Runjet Singh, who

wore it set in a bracelet. After the murder of Shu Singh, it was

deposited in the Lahore treasury, and after the annexation of the

Punjaub, was presented to Queen Victoria, in 1850. It has been recut,

and, though reduced to 106 carats, is supposed to be worth £140,000.

⁂ There is another diamond of the same name belonging to the shah of

Persia.

=Kohlhass= (_Michael_), an excellent historical novel of the Lutheran

period, by Henry Kleist, a German (1776-1811).

=Kolao,= the wild man of Misanichis. He had a son who died in early

youth, and he went to Pat-Koot-Parout to crave his son’s restoration to

life. Pat-Koot-Parout put the soul of the dead body in a leather bag,

which he fastened with packthread, and hung round the neck of Kolao,

telling him to lay the body in a new hut, put the bag near the mouth,

and so let the soul return to it, but on no account to open the bag

before everything was ready. Kolao placed the bag in his wife’s hands

while he built the hut, strictly enjoining her not to open it; but

curiosity led her to open the bag, and out flew the soul to the country

of Pat-Koot-Parout again.—T. S. Gueulette, _Chinese Tales_ (“Kolao, the

Wild Man,” 1723).

⁂ Orpheus, having lost his wife, Eurydĭcê, by the bite of a serpent,

obtained permission of Pluto for her restoration, provided he looked not

back till he reached the upper world. He had got to the end of his

journey, when he turned round to see if Pluto had kept his word. As he

turned he just caught sight of Eurydicê, who was instantly caught back

again to the infernal regions.

=Korigans= or _Korrigans_, nine fays of Brittany, who can predict future

events, assume any shape, and move from place to place as quick as

thought. They do not exceed two feet in height, sing like syrens, and

comb their long hair like mermaids. They haunt fountains, and flee at

the sound of bells, and their breath is deadly.—_Breton Mythology._

=Kosciusko= (_Thaddœus_), the Polish general who contended against the

allied army of Russia under the command of Suwarrow, in 1794. He was

taken prisoner and sent to Russia, but in 1796 was set at liberty by the

Czar.

Hope for a season bade the world farewell,

And Freedom shrieked—as Kosciusko fell.

Campbell, _Pleasures of Hope_, i. (1799).

=Kriemhild= [_Kreem.hild_], daughter of Dancrat, and sister of Günther,

king of Burgundy. She first married Siegfried, king of the

Netherlanders, who was murdered by Hagan. Thirteen years afterwards, she

married Etzel (_Atilla_), king of the Huns. Some time after her

marriage, she invited Günther, Hagan, and others to visit her, and Hagan

slew Etzel’s young son. Kriemhild now became a perfect fury, and cut off

the head of both Günther and Hagan with her own hand, but was herself

slain by Hildebrand. Till the death of Siegfried, Kriemhild was gentle,

modest, and lovable, but afterwards she became vindictive, bold and

hateful.—_The Nibelungen Lied_ (by the German minnesingers, 1210).

=Kriss Kringle.= (See ST. NICHOLAS, SANTA CLAUS, etc.)

=Krook,= proprietor of a rag and bone warehouse, where everything seems

to be bought and nothing sold. He is a grasping drunkard, who eventually

dies of spontaneous combustion. Krook is always attended by a large cat,

which he calls “Lady Jane,” as uncanny as her master.—C. Dickens, _Bleak

House_ (1852).

=Kruitz´ner,= or the “German’s Tale,” in Miss H. Lee’s _Canterbury

Tales_. Lord Byron founded his tragedy of _Werner_ on this tale.

The drama [_of Werner_] is taken entirely from the “German’s Tale”

[_Kruitzner_], published in Lee’s _Canterbury Tales_, written by two

sisters.... I have adopted the characters, plan, and even the language

of many parts of the story.—Lord Byron, _Preface to Werner_ (1822).

=Kubla Kahn.= Coleridge says that he composed the poem in a dream,

immediately after reading in Purchas’s _Pilgrimage_ a description of the

Khan Kubla’s palace, and he wrote it down on awaking, in its present

fragmentary state.

=Kudrun,= called the German _Odyssey_ (thirteenth century); divided into

three parts called _Hagen_, _Hilde_ (_2 syl._), and _Kudrun_—same as

_Gudrun_ (_q. v._).

_Hagen_ is the son of Siegebrand, king of Ireland, and is carried off by

a griffin to a distant island, where three princesses take charge of

him. In due time a ship touches on the island, takes all the four to

Ireland, and Hagen marries Hilda, the youngest of the three sisters.

_Hilda._ In due time Hilda has a daughter, who is called by the same

name, and at a marriageable age she becomes the wife of Hedel, king of

Friesland.

_Kudrun._ Hilda has two children, Otwein [_Ot.vine_] a son, and Kudrun,

a daughter. Kudrun is affianced to Herwig, but, while preparing the

wedding dresses, is carried off by Hartmut, son of Ludwig, king of

Normandy. Her father goes in pursuit, but is slain by Ludwig. On

reaching Normandy, Gerlinde (3 _syl._), the queen-mother, treats Kudrun

with the greatest cruelty, and puts her to the most menial work, because

she refuses to marry her son. At length, succor is at hand. Her lover

and brother arrive and slay Ludwig. Gerlinde is just about to put Kudrun

to death, when Watt Long-beard rushes in, slays the queen, and rescues

Kudrun, who is forthwith married to Herwig, her affianced lover.—Author

unknown (some of the minnesingers).

=Kwa´sind,= the strongest man that ever lived, the Herculês of the North

America Indians. He could pull up cedars and pines by the roots, and

toss huge rocks about like playthings. His wondrous strength was “seated

in his crown,” and there of course lay his point of weakness, but the

only weapon which could injure him was the “blue cone of the fir tree,”

a secret known only to the pygmies or Little-folk. This mischievous

race, out of jealousy, determined to kill the strong man, and one day,

finding him asleep in a boat, pelted him with fir cones till he died;

and now, whenever the tempest rages through the forests, and the

branches of the trees creak and groan and split, they say “Kwasind is

gathering in his firewood.”

Dear, too, unto Hiawatha

Was the very strong man Kwasind;

He the strongest of all mortals.

Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, vi. and xviii.

=Kyrie Elyson de Montalban= (_Don_) or “Don Quirieleyson de Montalvan,”

brother of Thomas de Montalban, in the romance called _Tirante le

Blanc_.—Author unknown.

⁂ Dr. Warburton, in his essay on the old romances, falls into the

strange error of calling this character an “early romance of chivalry.”

As well might he call Claudius, king of Denmark, a play of

Shakespeare’s, instead of a character in the tragedy of _Hamlet_.

A large quarto dropped at the barber’s feet ... it was the history of

that famous knight _Tirante le Blanc_. “Pray let me look at that

book,” said the priest; “we shall find in it a fund of amusement. Here

shall we find the famous knight Don Kyrie Elyson of Montalban, and his

brother Thomas.... This is one of the most amusing books ever

written.”—Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. i. 6 (1605).

=Lab´arum=, the imperial standard carried before the Roman emperors in

war. Constantine, having seen a luminous cross in the sky the night

before the battle of Saxa Rubra, added the sacred monogram XP

(_Christos_).—Gibbon, _Decline and Fall, etc._, xx. note (1788).

R. Browning erroneously calls the word _labā´rum_.

... stars would write his will in heaven,

As once when a labarum was not deemed

Too much for the old founder of these walls

[_Constantinople_].

R. Browning, _Paracelsus_, ii.

=Labe= (2 syl.), the sorceress-queen of the Island of Enchantments. She

tried to change Beder, the young king of Persia, into a halting,

one-eyed hack; but Beder was forewarned, and changed Labê herself into a

mare.—_Arabian Nights_ (“Beder and Giauharê”).

=Labe´rius,= a Roman writer of mimes contemporary with Julius Cæsar.

Laberius would be always sure of more followers than Sophoclês.—J.

Macpherson, _Dissertation on Ossian_.

=La Creevy= (_Miss_), a little talkative, bustling, cheery

miniature-painter. Simple-minded, kind-hearted, and bright as a lark.

She marries Tim Linkinwater, the old clerk of the brothers Cheeryble.—C.

Dickens, _Nicholas Nickleby_ (1838).

=Lackitt= (_Widow_), the widow of an Indian planter. This rich, vulgar

widow falls in love with Charlotte Weldon, who assumes the dress of a

young man, and calls herself Mr. Welden. Charlotte even marries the

widow, but then informs her that she is a girl in male apparel, engaged

to Mr. Stanmore. The widow consoles herself by marrying Jack

Stanmore.—Thomas Southern, _Oroonoko_ (1696).

=Lacy= (_Sir Hugo de_), constable of Chester, a crusader.

_Sir Damian de Lacy_, nephew of Sir Hugo. He marries Lady Eveline.

_Randal de Lacy_, Sir Hugo’s cousin, introduced in several disguises, as

a merchant, a hawk-seller, and a robber-captain.—Sir W. Scott, _The

Betrothed_ (time, Henry II.).

=La´das,= Alexander’s messenger, noted for his swiftness of foot.

=Ladislaus,= a cynic, whose humor is healthy and amusing.—Massinger,

_The Picture_ (1629).

=Ladon,= the dragon or hydra that assisted the Hesperidês in keeping

watch over the golden apples of the Hesperian grove.

So oft th’ unamiable dragon hath slept,

That the garden’s imperfectly watched after all.

T. Moore, _Irish Melodies_ (1814).

=Ladur´lad,= the father of Kail´yal (_2 syl._). He killed Ar´valan for

attempting to dishonor his daughter, and thereby incurred the “curse of

Keha´ma” (Arvalan’s father). The curse was that water should not wet him

nor fire consume him, that sleep should not visit him nor death release

him, etc. After enduring a time of agony, these curses turned to

blessings. Thus, when his daughter was exposed to the fire of the

burning pagoda, he was enabled to rescue her, because he was “charmed

from fire.” When her lover was carried by the witch Lorrimite (_3 syl._)

to the city of Baly, under the ocean, he was able to deliver the

captive, because he was “charmed from water, the serpent’s tooth, and

all beasts of blood.” He could even descend to the infernal regions to

crave vengeance against Kehama, because “he was charmed against death.”

When Kehama drank the cup of “immortal death,” Ladurlad was taken to

Paradise.—Southey, _The Curse of Kehama_ (1809).

=Lady= (_A_), authoress of _A New System of Domestic Cookery_ (1808), is

Mrs. Rundell.

_Lady_ (_A_), authoress of _The Diary of an Ennuyée_ (1826), is Mrs.

Anna Jameson.

Several other authoresses have adopted the same signature, as Miss Gunn

of Christchurch, _Conversations on Church Polity_ (1833); Mrs. Palmer,

_A Dialogue in the Devonshire Dialect_ (1837); Miss S. Fenimore Cooper,

_Rural Hours_ (1854); Julia Ward, _Passion-flowers_, _etc._, (1854);

Miss E. M. Sewell, _Amy Herbert_ (1865); etc.

=Lady of the Aroostook.= A young girl educated in a provincial town,

wishes to visit relatives in Italy, and takes passage in a

sailing-vessel, not knowing that there was to be no other woman on

board. She is treated with chivalric respect by all on board.—W. D.

Howells, _Lady of the Aroostook_ (1879).

=Lady Bountiful= (_A_). The benevolent lady of a village is so called,

from “Lady Bountiful” in the _Beaux’ Stratagem_, by Farquhar. (See

BOUNTIFUL, p. 125).

=Lady of Castelnore.= _Châtelaine_ of Bretagne, sought by many in

marriage, but reputed haughtily cold up to the day of her death. One

November morning a long delayed ship brought home her lover to weep “too

late” over her grave.

“And they called her cold. God knows! underneath the winter snows,

The invisible hearts of flowers grow ripe for blossoming!

And the lives that look so cold, if their stories could be told,

Would seem cast in gentler mould, would seem full of love and spring.”

T. B. Aldrich, _The Lady of Castelnore_ (1856).

=Lady Freemason,= the Hon. Miss Elizabeth St. Leger, daughter of Lord

Doneraile. The tale is that, in order to witness the proceedings of a

Freemason’s lodge, she hid herself in an empty clock-case when the lodge

was held in her father’s house; but, being discovered, she was compelled

to submit to initiation as a member of the craft.

=Lady Magistrate,= Lady Berkley, made justice of the peace for

Gloucestershire by Queen Mary. She sat on the bench at assizes and

sessions girt with a sword.

=Lady Margaret,= mother of Henry VII. She founded a professorship of

divinity in the University of Cambridge, 1502; and a preachership in

both universities.

=Lady in the Sacque.= The apparition of this hag forms the story of the

_Tapestried Chamber_, by Sir W. Scott.

=Lady of England,= Maud, daughter of Henry I. The title of _Domina

Anglorum_ was conferred upon her by the council of Winchester, held

April 7, 1141.—See Rymer’s _Fœdera_, i. (1703).

=Lady of Lyons= (_The_), Pauline Deschappelles, daughter of a Lyonese

merchant. She rejected the suits of Beauseant, Glavis, and Claude

Melnotte, who therefore combined on vengeance. To this end, Claude, who

was a gardener’s son, aided by the other two, passed himself off as

Prince of Como, married Pauline, and brought her home to his mother’s

cottage. The proud beauty was very indignant, and Claude left her to

join the French army. In two years and a half he became a colonel and

returned to Lyons. He found that his father-in-law was on the eve of

bankruptcy, and that Beauseant had promised to satisfy the creditors if

Pauline would consent to marry him. Pauline was heart-broken; Claude

revealed himself, paid the money required, and carried home Pauline as

his loving and true-hearted wife.—L. B. Lytton, _Lady of Lyons_ (1838).

=Lady of Mercy= (_Our_), an order of knighthood in Spain, instituted in

1218 by James I., of Aragon, for the deliverance of Christian captives

amongst the Moors. As many as 400 captives were rescued in six years by

these knights.

=Lady of Shalott=, a maiden who died for love of Sir Lancelot of the

Lake. Tennyson has a poem so entitled.

⁂ The story of Elaine, “the lily maid of Astolat,” in Tennyson’s _Idylls

of the King_, is substantially the same.

=Lady of the Bleeding Heart,= Ellen Douglas. The cognizance of the

Douglas family is a “bleeding heart.”—Sir W. Scott, _Lady of the Lake_

(1810).

=Lady of the Lake= (_A_), a harlot. (Anglo-Saxon, _lác_, “a present.”) A

“guinea-fowl” or “guinea-hen” is a similar term.

But for the difference marriage makes

’Twixt wives and “ladies of the lake.”

S. Butler, _Hudibras_, iii. 1 (1668)

_Lady of the Lake (The),_ Nimue [_sic_], one of the damsels of the lake,

that King Pellinore took to his court. Merlin, in his dotage, fell in

love with her, when she wheedled him out of all his secrets, and

enclosed him in a rock, where he died. Subsequently, Nimue married Sir

Pelleas.

⁂ Tennyson, in his _Idylls of the King_ (“Merlin and Vivien”), makes

Vivien the enchantress who wheedled old Merlin out of his secrets; and

then, “in a hollow oak,” she shut him fast, and there “he lay as dead,

and lost to life and use, and name, and fame.”

Tennyson takes a poet’s privilege, and varies the old legend at

pleasure.

_Lady of the Lake (The)_, Nineve. The name of the Lady of the Lake is

variously spelled in the old editions of the _Mort d’ Arthur_. We find:

1, Nimue; 2, Nineve; 3, Vivien; 4, Vivienne. 4 is the French of 3; 1 is

probably a misprint for Ninve; and 1, 2, 3 are probably anagrams.

_Lady of the Lake_ (_The_). Vivienne (_3 syl._) is called _La Dame du

Lac_, and dwelt _en la marche de la petite Bretaigne_. She stole

Lancelot in his infancy, and plunged with him into her home lake; hence

was Lancelot called _du Lac_. When her _protégé_ was grown to manhood,

she presented him to King Arthur.

_Lady of the Lake_ (_The_), Ellen Douglas, once a favorite of King

James; but when her father fell into disgrace, she retired with him into

the vicinity of Loch Katrine.—Sir W. Scott, _Lady of the Lake_ (1810).

=Lady of the Lake and Arthur’s Sword.= The lady of the Lake gave to King

Arthur the sword “Excalibur.” “Well,” said she, “go into yonder barge

and row yourself to the sword, and take it.” So Arthur and Merlin came

to the sword that a hand held up, and took it by the handles, and the

arm and hand went under the lake again (pt. i. 23).

The Lady of the Lake asked in recompense, the head of Sir Balin, because

he had slain her brother; but the king refused the request. Then said

Balin, “Evil be ye found! Ye would have my head; therefore ye shall lose

thine own.” So saying, with his sword he smote off her head in the

presence of King Arthur.—Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i.

28 (1470).

=Lady of the Mercians,= Æthelflæd or El´flida, daughter of King Alfred.

She married Æthelred, chief of that portion of Mercia not claimed by the

Danes.

=Lady of the Sun,= Alice Perrers (or Pierce), a mistress of Edward III.,

of England. She was a married woman, and had been lady of the

bed-chamber to Queen Philippa. Edwin lavished on her both riches and

honors; but when the king was dying, she stole his jewels, and even the

rings from his fingers.

=Lady or the Tiger?= (_The_). A princess is beloved by a subject, and

for this crime he is condemned to die by the king. Two doors open from

the amphitheatre. Behind one crouches a tiger; behind the other smiles a

woman whom the condemned is to marry. The princess, who loves the doomed

man madly, knows which door conceals death, and which marriage, and by

preconcert with her lover, gives him a secret signal which to open. He

walks directly to the door on the right and opens it.

“Did the tiger come out of the door, or did the lady?”—Francis Richard

Stockton, _The Lady or the Tiger?_ (1884).

=Lady with a Lamp,= Florence Nightingale (1820- ).

In England’s annals ...

A lady with a lamp shall stand ...

A noble type of good,

Heroic womanhood.

Longfellow, _Santa Filomena_.

=Laer´tes= (_3 syl._), son of Polōnius, lord chamberlain of Denmark, and

brother of Ophelia. He is induced by the king to challenge Hamlet to a

“friendly” duel, but poisons his own rapier. He wounds Hamlet; and in

the scuffle which ensues, the combatants change swords, and Hamlet

wounds Laertês, so that both die.—Shakespeare, _Hamlet_ (1596).

_Laertes_ (_3 syl._), a Dane, whose life Gustavus Vasa had spared in

battle. He becomes the trusty attendant of Christi´na, daughter of the

king of Sweden, and never proves ungrateful to the noble Swede.—H.

Brooke, _Gustavus Vasa_ (1730).

=Laer´tes’s Son,= Ulysses.

But when his strings with mournful magic tell

What dire distress Laertês’ son befell,

The streams meandering thro’ the maze of woe,

Bid sacred sympathy the heart o’erflow.

Falconer, _The Shipwreck_, iii. 1 (1756).

=Lafeu=, an old French lord, sent to conduct Bertram, count of

Rousillon, to the king of France, by whom he was invited to the royal

court.—Shakespeare, _All’s Well that Ends Well_ (1598).

=Lafontaine= (_The Danish_), Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875).

=Lafontaine of the Vaudeville.= So C. F. Panard is called (1691-1765).

=Lag´ado,= capital of Balnibarbi, celebrated for its grand school of

projectors, where the scholars have a technical education, being taught

to make pincushions from softened granite, to extract from cucumbers the

sunbeams which ripened them, and to convert ice into gunpowder.—Swift,

_Gulliver’s Travels_ (“Voyage to Lapu´ta,” 1726).

=La Grange= and his friend Du Croisy pay their addresses to two young

ladies whose heads have been turned by novels. The girls think their

manners too natural to be aristocratic, so the gentlemen send to them

their lackeys, as “the marquis of Mascarille” and “the viscount of

Jodelet.” The girls are delighted with their “aristocratic visitors;”

but when the game has been played far enough, the masters enter and

unmask the whole trick. By this means the girls are taught a most useful

lesson, without suffering any serious ill consequences.—Molière, _Les

Précieuses Ridicules_ (1659).

=Laider= (_Donald_), one of the prisoners at Portanferry.—Sir W. Scott,

_Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.)

=Laidley= (_Genevieve_). An _ingénue_, whose sentimental heroics and

tearful blandishments nearly dupe her fifty year old guardian (rich and

distinguished) into a proposal.—Frank Lee Benedict, _My Daughter Elinor_

(1869).

=Lai´la= (_2 syl._), a Moorish maiden, of great beauty and purity, who

loved Manuel, a youth worthy of her. The father disapproved of the

match; and they eloped, were pursued, and overtaken near a precipice on

the Gruádalhorcê (_4 syl._). They climbed to the top of the precipice,

and the father bade his followers discharge their arrows at them. Laila

and Manuel, seeing death to be inevitable, threw themselves from the

precipice, and perished in the fall. It is from this incident that the

rock was called “The Lovers’ Leap.”

And every Moorish maid can tell

Where Laila lies, who loved so well;

And every youth who passes there,

Says for Manuel’s soul a prayer.

Southey, _The Lovers’ Rock_ (a ballad, 1798, taken from Mariana, _De la

Pena de los Enamorados_.)

_Laila_, daughter of Okba, the sorcerer. It was decreed that either

Laila or Thalaba must die. Thalaba refused to redeem his own life by

killing Laila; and Okba exultingly cried, “As thou hast disobeyed the

voice of Allah, God hath abandoned thee, and this hour is mine.” So

saying, he rushed on the youth; but Laila, intervening to protect him,

received the blow, and was killed. Thalaba lived on, and the spirit of

Laila, in the form of a green bird, conducted him to the simorg

(_q.v._), which he sought, that he might be directed to Dom-Daniel, the

cavern “under the roots of the ocean.”—Southey, _Thalaba the Destroyer_,

x. (1797).

=La´is= (_2 syl._), a generic name for a courtezan. Laïs was a Greek

hetæra who sold her favors for £200 English money. When Demosthenês was

told the amount of the fee, he said he had “no mind to buy repentance at

such a price.” One of her great admirers was Diog´enês, the cynic.

This is the cause

That Lais leads a lady’s life aloft.

G. Gascoigne, _The Steele Glas_ (died 1577).

=Lake Poets= (_The_), Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge, who lived

about the lakes of Cumberland. According to Mr. Jeffrey, the conductor

of the _Edinburgh Review_, they combined the sentimentality of Rousseau

with the simplicity of Kotzebue and the homeliness of Cowper. Of the

same school were Lamb, Lloyd, and Wilson. Also called “Lakers” and

“Lakists.”

=Laked´ion= (_Isaac_), the name given in France to the Wandering Jew

(_q.v._).

=Lalla Rookh=, the supposed daughter of Aurungzebe, emperor of Delhi.

She was betrothed to Alĭris, sultan of Lesser Bucharia. On her journey

from Delhi to Cashmere, she was entertained by Fer´amorz, a young

Persian poet, with whom she fell in love, and unbounded was her delight

when she discovered that the young poet was the sultan to whom she was

betrothed.—T. Moore, _Lalla Rookh_ (1817).

=Lambert= (_General_), parliamentary leader.—Sir W. Scott, _Woodstock_

(time, Commonwealth).

_Lambert_ (_Sir John_), the dupe of Dr. Cantwell, “the hypocrite.” He

entertains him as his guest, settles on him £400 a year, and tries to

make his daughter Charlotte marry him, although he is 59 and she under

20. His eyes are opened at length by the mercenary and licentious

conduct of the doctor. Lady Lambert assists in exposing him, but old

lady Lambert remains to the last a believer in the “saint.” In Molière’s

comedy, “Orgon” takes the place of Lambert, “Mde. Parnelle” of the old

lady, and “Tartuffe” of Dr. Cantwell.

_Lady Lambert_, the gentle, loving wife of Sir John. By a stratagem, she

convinces her husband of Dr. Cantwell’s true character.

_Colonel Lambert_, son of Sir John and Lady Lambert. He assists in

unmasking “the hypocrite.”

_Charlotte Lambert_, daughter of Sir John and Lady Lambert. A pretty,

bright girl, somewhat giddy, and fond of teasing her sweetheart, Darnley

(see act i. 1).—I. Bickerstaff, _The Hypocrite_ (1769).

=Lambourne= (_Michael_), a retainer of the earl of Leicester.—Sir W.

Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time Elizabeth).

=Lambro=, a Greek pirate, father of Haidée (_q.v._).—Bryon, _Don Juan_,

iii. 26, etc. (1820).

⁂ The original of this character was Major Lambro, who was captain

(1791) of a Russian piratical squadron, which plundered the islands of

the Greek Archipelago, and did great damage. When his squadron was

attacked by seven Algerine corsairs, Major Lambro was wounded, but

escaped. The incidents referred to in canto vi., etc., are historical.

=Lamderg and Gelchossa.= Gelchossa was beloved by Lamderg and Ullin, son

of Cairbar. The rivals fought, and Ullin fell. Lamderg, all bleeding

with wounds, just reached Gelchossa to announce the death of his rival,

and expired also. “Three days Gelchossa mourned, and then the hunters

found her cold,” and all three were buried in one grave.—Ossian,

_Fingal_, ii.

=Lame= (_The_).

Jehan de Meung, called “Clopinet,” because he was lame, and hobbled.

Tyrtæus, the Greek poet, was called the lame or hobbling poet, because

he introduced the pentameter verse alternately with the hexameter. Thus

his distich consisted of one line with six feet and one line with only

five.

_The Lame King_, Charles II., of Naples, _Boiteux_ (1248, 1289-1309).

=Lamech’s Song.= “Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have

slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt! If Cain shall be

avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.”—_Gen._ iv. 23,

24.

As Lamech grew old, his eyes became dim, and finally all sight was taken

from them, and Tubal-Cain, his son, led him by the hand when he walked

abroad. And it came to pass ... that he led his father into the fields

to hunt, and said to his father: “Lo! yonder is a beast of prey; shoot

thine arrow in that direction.” Lamech did as his son had spoken, and

the arrow struck Cain, who was walking afar off, and killed him.... Now

when Lamech ... saw [_sic_] that he had killed Cain, he trembled

exceedingly ... and being blind, he saw not his son, but struck the

lad’s head between his hands, and killed him.... And he cried to his

wives, Ada and Zillah, “Listen to my voice, ye wives of Lamech.... I

have slain a man to my hurt, and a child to my wounding!”—_The Talmud_,

i.

=Lamia.= Libyan Queen, wronged by Jupiter and hated by Juno. Robbed of

her children, she became a child murderess and a monster.—_Greek and

Roman Mythology._

_Lamia._

“I kissed her hand, I called her blest,

I held her leal and fair—

She turned to shadow on my breast

And melted into air!

And lo! about me, fold on fold,

A writhing serpent hung—

An eye of jet, a skin of gold,

A garnet for a tongue.”

Thomas Bailey Aldrich, _Lamia_.

_Lamia._ Beautiful woman, with a serpent’s nature and much of the

serpent’s glittering, sinuous charm. A seductive creature who lures men

only to destroy.—_Lamia_, poem by John Keats (1820).

=Lamin´ak.= Basque fairies, little folk, who live under ground, and

sometimes come into houses down the chimney, in order to change a fairy

child for a human one. They bring good luck with them, but insist on

great cleanliness, and always give their orders in words the very

opposite of their intention. They hate church bells. Every Basque

Laminak is named Guïllen (William). (See SAY AND MEAN).

=Lamington,= a follower of Sir Geoffrey Peveril.—Sir W. Scott, _Peveril

of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).

=Lami´ra,= wife of Champernel, and daughter of Vertaigné (_2 syl._), a

nobleman and a judge.—Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Little French Lawyer_

(1647).

=Lamkin= (_Mrs. Alice_), companion to Mrs. Bethune Baliol.—Sir W. Scott,

_The Highland Widow_ (time, George II.).

=Lammeter= (_Nancy_), fair, good and sensible girl, who marries Geoffrey

Cass, in _Silas Warner_, and when she learns that the waif brought up by

Silas is her husband’s child, would gladly adopt her.—George Eliot,

_Silas Marner_.

=Lammikin,= a blood-thirsty builder, who built and baptized his castle

with blood. He was long a nursery ogre, like Lunsford.—_Scotch Ballad._

=Lammle= (_Alfred_), a “mature young gentleman with too much nose on his

face, too much ginger in his whiskers, too much torso in his waistcoat,

too much sparkle in his studs, his eyes, his buttons, his talk, his

teeth.” He married Miss Akershem, thinking she had money, and she

married him under the same delusion; and the two kept up a fine

appearance on nothing at all. Alfred Lammle had many schemes for making

money; one was to oust Rokesmith from his post of secretary to Mr.

Boffin, and get his wife adopted by Mrs. Boffin in the place of Bella

Wilfer; but Mr. Boffin saw through the scheme, and Lammle, with his

wife, retired to live on the Continent. In public they appeared very

loving and amiable to each other, but led at home a cat-and-dog life.

_Sophronia Lammle_, wife of Alfred Lammle. “A mature young lady, with

raven locks, and complexion that lit up well when well powdered.”—C.

Dickens, _Our Mutual Friend_ (1864).

=Lamoracke= (_Sir_), LAMEROCKE, LAMORAKE, LAMOROCK, or LAMARECKE, one of

the knights of the Round Table, and one of the three most noted for

deeds of prowess. The other two were Sir Launcelot and Sir Tristram. Sir

Lamoracke’s father was King Pellinore of Wales, who slew King Lot. His

brothers were Sir Aglavale and Sir Percival; Sir Tor, whose mother was

the wife of Aries, the cowherd, was his half-brother (pt. ii. 108). Sir

Lamoracke was detected by the sons of King Lot in adultery with their

mother, and they conspired his death.

Sir Gawain and his three brethren, Sir Agrawain, Sir Gahĕris, and Sir

Modred, met him [_Sir Lamoracke_] in a privy place, and there they slew

his horse; then they fought with him on foot for more than three hours,

both before him and behind his back, and all-to hewed him in pieces.—Sir

T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, ii. 144 (1470).

Roger Ascham says: “The whole pleasure of _La Mort d’Arthur_ standeth in

two special poyntes: in open manslaughter and bold bawdye, in which

booke they are counted the noblest knights that doe kill most men

without any quarrell, and commit foulest adulteries by sutlest shiftes;

as Sir Launcelote, with the wife of King Arthur, his master, Sir

Tristram, with the wife of King Marke, his uncle, and Sir Lamerocke with

the wife of King Lote, that was his aunt.”—_Works_, 254 (fourth edit.).

=Lamorce´= (_2 syl._), a woman of bad reputation, who inveigles young

Mirabel into her house, where he would have been murdered by four

bravoes, if Oriana, dressed as a page, had not been by.—G. Farquhar,

_The Inconstant_ (1702).

=Lamourette’s Kiss= (_A_), a kiss of peace when there is no peace; a

kiss of apparent reconciliation, but with secret hostility. On July 7,

1792, the Abbé Lamourette induced the different factions of the

Legislative Assembly of France to lay aside their differences; so the

deputies of the Royalists, Constitutionalists, Girondists, Jacobins, and

Orleanists, rushed into each others’ arms, and the king was sent for,

that he might see “how these Christians loved one another;” but the

reconciliation was hardly made when the old animosities burst forth more

furiously than ever.

=Lampad´ion,= a lively, petulant courtezan. A name common in the later

Greek comedy.

=Lampe´do,= of Lacedæmon. She was daughter, wife, sister, and mother of

a king. Agrippina was granddaughter, wife, sister, and mother of a

king.—Tacitus, _Annales_, xii. 22, 37.

⁂ The wife of Raymond Ber´enger (count of Provence), was grandmother of

four kings, for her four daughters married four kings; Margaret married

Louis IX., king of France; Eleanor married Henry III., king of England;

Sancha married Richard, king of the Romans; and Beatrice married Charles

I., king of Naples and Sicily.

_Lampedo_, a country apothecary-surgeon, without practice; so poor and

ill-fed that he was but “the sketch and outline of a man.” He says of

himself:

Altho’ to cure men be beyond my skill,

’Tis hard, indeed, if I can’t keep them ill.

J. Tobin, _The Honeymoon_, iii. 3 (1804).

=Lamplugh= (_Will_), a smuggler.—Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time,

George III.).

=Lance= (_1 syl._), falconer and ancient servant to the father of

Valentine, the gallant, who would not be persuaded to keep his

estate.—Beaumont and Fletcher, _Wit Without Money_ (1622).

=Lancelot= or LAUNCELOT GOBBO, servant of Shylock. He assists Jessica,

Shylock’s daughter, in running away from her father, and accompanies her

in her flight.—Shakespeare, _Merchant of Venice_ (1598).

=Lancelot du Lac,= by Ulrich of Zazikoven, the most ancient poem of the

Arthurian series. It tells the adventures of a young knight, gay and

joyous, with animal spirits and light-heartedness. (See LAUNCELOT.)—_One

of the minnesongs of Germany_ (twelfth century).

=Lancelot du Lac and Tarquin.= Sir Lancelot, seeking adventures, met

with a lady who prayed him to deliver certain knights of the Round Table

from the power of Tarquin. Coming to a river, he saw a copper basin hung

on a tree for gong, and he struck it so hard that it broke. This brought

out Tarquin, and a furious combat ensued, in which Tarquin was slain.

Sir Lancelot then liberated three score and four knights, who had been

made captives by Tarquin. (See LAUNCELOT.)—Percy, _Reliques_, I. ii. 9.

=Lancelot of the Laik,= a Scotch metrical romance, taken from the French

_Launcelot du Lac_. Galiot, a neighboring king, invaded Arthur’s

territories, and captured the castle of Lady Melyhalt among others. When

Sir Lancelot went to chastise Galiot, he saw Queen Guinevere, and fell

in love with her. The French romance makes Galiot submit to King Arthur;

but the Scotch tale terminates with his capture. (See LAUNCELOT.)

=Lanciotto Da Rimini.= The brave, deformed victim of a state-marriage.

Loving his wife and brother best of created things, he is deceived by

both, and goaded to fury by the discovery and the taunts of the spy,

Pepe, seeks to wash out his dishonor in blood.—George Henry Boker,

_Francesca Da Rimini; A Tragedy_ (1856).

=Landois= (_Peter_), the favorite minister of the Duc de Bretagne.—Sir.

W. Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).

=Landscape Gardening= (_Father of_), Lenôtre (1613-1700).

=Lane= (_Mr._). The victim of another man’s dishonesty. Retires from the

world and lives in Ivy Lane, London, in rags and poverty, lamenting “a

lost life.” Meeting him to whom he owes his ruin, he pursues him,

overtakes him at the river, seizes him and sinks with him to rise no

more.

“When the victim recovered _his_ life, what did his tempter and

oppressor recover?”—Walter Besant; _Children of Gibeon_, (1890).

_Lane_ (_Jane_), daughter of Thomas, and sister of Colonel John Lane. To

save King Charles II. after the battle of Worcester, she rode behind him

from Bentley, in Staffordshire, to the house of her cousin, Mrs. Norton,

near Bristol. For this act of loyalty, the king granted the family the

following armorial device: A strawberry horse saliant (couped at the

flank), bridled, bitted, and garnished, supporting between its feet a

royal crown proper. Motto: _Garde le roy_.

=Laneham= (_Master Robert_), clerk of the council-chamber door.

_Sybil Laneham_, his wife, one of the revellers at Kenilworth

Castle.—Sir W. Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).

=Langcale= (_The laird of_), a leader in the covenanters’ army.—Sir W.

Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).

=Langley= (_Sir Frederick_), a suitor to Miss Vere, and one of the

Jacobite conspirators with the laird of Ellieslaw.—Sir W. Scott, _The

Black Dwarf_ (time, Anne).

=Langosta= (_Duke of_), the Spanish nickname of Aosta, the elected king

of Spain. The word means “a locust” or “plunderer.”

=Language:= (_The Primeval_).

Psammetichus, king of Egypt, desiring to learn what was the original

language, shut up two infants with a goat to suckle them, in a place

where they could hear no human voice, and gave orders to report to him

the first word they should utter. At the end of two years they cried

“Bekos,” and as this resembled the Phrygian word for “bread,”

Psammetichus decided that the Phrygians were older than the Egyptians.

The word was really the echo of the cry of the goat.

=Languish= (_Lydia_), a romantic young lady, who is for ever reading

sensational novels, and molding her behavior on the characters which she

reads of in these books of fiction. Hence she is a very female Quixote

in romantic notions of a sentimental type (see act i. 2).—Sheridan, _The

Rivals_ (1775).

=Lantern-Land=, the land of authors, whose works are their lanterns. The

inhabitants, called “Lanterners” (_Lanternois_), are bachelors and

masters of arts, doctors, and professors, prelates and divines of the

council of Trent, and all other wise ones of the earth. Here are the

lanterns of Aristotle, Epicūros, and Aristophănês; the dark earthen

lantern of Epictētos, the duplex lantern of Martial, and many others.

The sovereign was a queen when Pantag´ruel visited the realm to make

inquiry about the “Oracle of the Holy Bottle.”—Rabelais, _Pantagruel_,

v. 32, 33 (1545).

=Lanternois=, pretenders to science, quacks of all sorts, and authors

generally. They are the inhabitants of Lantern-land,¤ and their literary

productions are “lanterns.”—Rabelais, _Pantagruel_, v. 32, 33 (1545).

=Laocoon= [_La.ok´.o.on_], a Trojan priest, who, with his two sons, was

crushed to death by serpents. Thomson, in his _Liberty_, iv., has

described the group, which represents these three in their death agony.

It was discovered in 1506, in the baths of Titus, and is now in the

Vatican. This exquisite group was sculptured at the command of Titus by

Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus, in the fifth century B.C.—Virgil,

_Æneid_, ii. 201-227.

=Laodami´a=, wife of Protesila´os, who was slain at the siege of Troy.

She prayed that she might be allowed to converse with her dead husband

for three hours, and her request was granted; but when her husband

returned to hadês, she accompanied him thither.

⁂ Wordsworth has a poem on this subject, entitled _Laodamia_.

=Laodice´a=, now _Lataki´a,_ noted for its tobacco and sponge.—See

_Rev._ iii. 14-18.

=Lapet= (_Mons._), a model of poltroonery, the very “Ercles’ Vein” of

fanatical cowardice. M. Lapet would fancy the world out of joint if no

one gave him a tweak of the nose or lug of the ear. He was the author of

a book on the “punctilios of duelling.”—Beaumont and Fletcher, _Nice

Valour_ or _The Passionate Madman_ (1647).

=Lapham= (_Silas_). Boston man who has made a fortune, and means to

enjoy it. His future son-in-law thus hits him off: “Simple-hearted and

rather wholesome. He could be tiresome, and his range of ideas is

limited. But he is a force, and not a bad one. He hasn’t got over being

surprised at the effect of rubbing his lamp.” His most attractive

qualities are his appreciation of his faithful wife, _Persis_, and

prideful fondness for his pretty daughters. He is honest, too, through

and through, and sacrifices much to sturdy integrity.—W. D. Howells,

_The Rise of Silas Lapham_ (1885).

=Lappet,= the “glory of all chambermaids.”—H. Fielding, _The Miser_.

=Lapraick= (_Laurie_), friend of Steenie Steenson, in Wandering Willie’s

tale.—Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).

=Laprel=, the rabbit, in the beast-epic entitled _Reynard the Fox_

(1498).

=Lara=, the name assumed by Conrad, the corsair, after the death of

Medo´ra. On his return to his native country, he was recognized by Sir

Ezzelin, at the table of Lord Otho, and charged home by him. Lara

arranged a duel for the day following, but Sir Ezzelin disappeared

mysteriously. Subsequently, Lara headed a rebellion, and was shot by

Otho.—Byron, _Lara_ (1814).

_Lara_ (_The Seven Sons of_), sons of Gonzalez Gustios de Lara, a

Castilian hero, brother of Ferdinand Gonzalez, count of Castile. A

quarrel having arisen between Gustios and Rodrigo Velasquez, his

brother-in-law, Rodrigo caused him to be imprisoned in Cor´dova, and

then allured his seven nephews into a ravine, where they were all slain

by an ambuscade, after performing prodigies of valor. While in prison,

Zaïda, daughter of Almanzor, the Moorish prince, fell in love with

Gustios, and became the mother of Mudarra, who avenged the death of his

seven brothers (A.D. 993).

⁂ Lope de Vega has made this the subject of a Spanish drama, which has

several imitations, one by Mallefille, in 1835.—See Ferd. Denis,

_Chroniques Chevaleresques d’Espagne_ (1839).

=Larder= (_The Douglas_), the flour, meal, wheat, and malt of Douglas

Castle, emptied on the floor by good Lord James Douglas, in 1307, when

he took the castle from the English garrison. Having staved in all the

barrels of food, he next emptied all the wine and ale, and then, having

slain the garrison, threw the dead bodies into this disgusting mess, “to

eat, drink, and be merry.”—Sir W. Scott, _Tales of a Grandfather_, ix.

_Wallace’s Larder_ is a similar mess. It consisted of the dead bodies of

the garrison of Ardrossan, in Ayrshire, cast into the dungeon keep. The

castle was surprised by him in the reign of Edward I.

=Lardoon= (_Lady Bab_), a caricature of fine life, the “princess of

dissipation,” and the “greatest gamester of the times.” She becomes

engaged to Sir Charles Dupely, and says, “to follow fashion where we

feel shame, is the strongest of all hypocrisy, and from this moment I

renounce it.”—J. Burgoyne, _The Maid of the Oaks_.

=La Roche=, a Swiss pastor, travelling through France with his daughter

Margaret, was taken ill, and like to die. There was only a wayside inn

in the place, but Hume, the philosopher, heard of the circumstance, and

removed the sick man to his own house. Here, with good nursing, La Roche

recovered, and a strong friendship sprang up between the two. Hume even

accompanied La Roche to his manse in Berne. After the lapse of three

years, Hume was informed that Mademoiselle was about to be married to a

young Swiss officer, and hastened to Berne to be present at the wedding.

On reaching the neighborhood, he observed some men filling up a grave,

and found on inquiry that Mademoiselle had just died of a broken heart.

In fact, her lover had been shot in a duel, and the shock was too much

for her. The old pastor bore up heroically, and Hume admired the faith

which could sustain a man in such an affliction.—H. Mackenzie, “Story of

La Roche” (in _The Mirror_).

=Lars=, the emperor or over-king of the ancient Etruscans. A khedive,

satrap, or under-king, was called _lŭcŭmo_. Thus the king of Prussia, as

emperor of Germany, is _lars_, but the king of Bavaria is a _lucumo_.

There be thirty chosen prophets.

The wisest of the land,

Who alway by lars Por´sena,

Both morn and evening stand.

Lord Macaulay, _Lays of Ancient Rome_

(“Horatius,” ix. 1842).

=Larthmor=, petty king of Ber´rathon, one of the Scandinavian islands.

He was dethroned by his son, Uthal, but Fingal sent Ossian and Toscar to

his aid. Uthal was slain in single combat, and Larthmor was restored to

his throne.—Ossian, _Berrathon_.

=Larthon=. the leader of the Fir-bolg or Belgæ of Britain, who settled

in the southern parts of Ireland.

Larthon, the first of Bolga’s race who travelled in the winds. White

bosomed spread the sails of the king towards streamy Inisfail

[_Ireland_]. Dun night was rolled before him, with its skirts of mist.

Unconstant blew the winds and rolled him from wave to wave.—Ossian,

_Temora_, vii.

=Lascaris=, a citizen. Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time,

Rufus).

=Las-Ca´sas=, a noble old Spaniard, who vainly attempted to put a stop

to the barbarities of his countrymen, and even denounced them (act i.

1).—Sheridan, _Pizarro_ (1799, altered from Kotzebue).

=Lascelles= (_Lady Caroline_), supposed to be Miss M. E.

Braddon.—_Athenæum_, 2073, _p._ 82 (C. R. Jackson).

=Last Man= (_The_), Charles I.; so called by the parliamentarians,

meaning _the last man who would wear a crown in Great Britain_. Charles

II. was called “The son of the Last man.”

=Last of the Fathers=, St. Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux (1091-1153).

=Last of the Goths=, Roderick, the thirty-fourth and last of the

Visigothic line of kings in Spain (414-711). He was dethroned by the

African Moors.

⁂ Southey has an historical tale in blank verse, entitled _Roderick, the

Last of the Goths_.

=Last of the Greeks=, (_The_), Philopœmen of Arcadia (B.C. 253-183).

=Last of the Knights=, Maximilian I., _the Penniless_, emperor of

Germany (1459, 1493-1519).

=Last of the Mo´hicans.=, Uncas, the Indian chief, is so called by J. F.

Cooper, in his novel of that title.

⁂ The word ought to be pronounced _Mo.hic.´kanz_, but custom has ruled

it otherwise.

=Last of the Romans=, Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the assassins of

Cæsar (B.C. 85-42).

Caius Cassius Longīnus is so called by Brutus (B.C.*-42).

Aëtius, a general who defended the Gauls against the Franks, and

defeated Attila in 451, is so called by Proco´pius.

Congreve is called by Pope, _Ultimus Romanus_ (1670-1729).

Horace Walpole is called _Ultimus Romanorum_ (1717-1797).

François Joseph Terasse Desbillons was called _Ultimus Romanus_, from

his elegant and pure Latinity (1751-1789).

=Last of the Tribunes=, Cola di Rienzi (1313-1354).

⁂ Lord Lytton has a novel so entitled (1835).

=Last of the Troubadors=, Jacques Jasmin, of Gascony (1798-1864).

=Last who Spoke Cornish= (_The_), Doll Pentreath (1686-1777).

=Last Words,= (SEE DYING SAYINGS).

=Lath´erum=, the barber at the Black Bear inn, at Darlington.—Sir W.

Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).

=Lathmon=, son of Nuäth, a British prince. He invades Morven while

Fingal is in Ireland with his army; but Fingal returns unexpectedly. At

dead of night, Ossian (Fingal’s son) and his friend Gaul, the son of

Morni, go to the enemy’s camp, and “strike the shield” to arouse the

sleepers, then rush on, and a great slaughter ensues in the panic.

Lathmon sees the two opponents moving off, and sends a challenge to

Ossian; so Ossian returns, and the duel begins. Lathmon flings down his

sword, and submits; and Fingal, coming up, conducts Lathmon to his

“feast of shells.” After passing the night in banquet and song, Fingal

dismisses his guest next morning, saying, “Lathmon, retire to thy place;

turn thy battles to other lands. The race of Morven are renowned, and

their foes are the sons of the unhappy.”—Ossian, _Lathmon_.

⁂ In _Oithona_ he is again introduced, and Oithona is called Lathmon’s

brother.

[_Donrommath_] feared the returning Lathmon, the brother of unhappy

Oithona.—Ossian, _Oithona_.

=Lat´imer= (_Mr. Ralph_), the supposed father of Darsie Latimer, _alias_

Sir Arthur Darsie Redgauntlet.

_Darsie Latimer_, _alias_ Sir Arthur Darsie Redgauntlet, supposed to be

the son of Ralph Latimer, but really the son of Sir Henry Darsie

Redgauntlet, and grandson of Sir Redwald Redgauntlet.—Sir W. Scott,

_Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).

=Latin Church= (_Fathers of the_): Lactantius, Hilăry, Ambrose, of

Milan, Jer´ome, Augustin of Hippo, and St. Bernard, “Last of the

Fathers.”

=Lati´nus=, king of the Laurentians, who first opposed Æne´as, but

afterwards formed an alliance with him, and gave him his daughter

Lavinia in marriage.—Virgil, _Æneid_.

_Latinus_, an Italian, who went with his five sons to the siege of

Jerusalem. His eldest son was slain by Solyman; the second son,

Aramantês, running to his brother’s aid, was next slain; then the third

son, Sabi´nus; and lastly, Picus and Laurentës, who were twins. The

father, having lost his five sons, rushed madly on the soldan, and was

slain also. In one hour fell the father and his five sons.—Tasso,

_Jerusalem Delivered_ (1575).

=Latmian Swain= (_The_), Endym´ion. So called because it was on Mount

Latmos, in Caria, that Cynthia (_the moon_) descended to hold converse

with him.

Thou dids’t not, Cynthia, scorn the Latmian swain.

Ovid, _Art of Love_, iii.

=Lato´na=, mother of Apollo (_the sun_) and Diana (_the moon_). Some

Lycian hinds jeered at her as she knelt by a fountain in Delos to drink,

and were changed into frogs.

As when those hinds that were transformed to frogs,

Railed at Latona’s twin-born progeny,

Which after held the sun and moon in fee.

Milton, _Sonnets_.

=Latorch=, Duke Rollo’s “earwig,” in the tragedy called _The Bloody

Brother_, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1639).

=Latro= (_Marcus Porcius_), a Roman rhetorician in the reign of

Augustus; a Spaniard by birth.

I became as mad as the disciples of Porcius Latro, who, when they had

made themselves as pale as their master by drinking decoctions of cumin,

imagined themselves as learned.—Lesage, _Gil Blas_, vii. 9 (1735).

=Laud= (_Archbishop_). One day, when the archbishop was about to say

grace before dinner, Archie Armstrong, the royal jester, begged

permission of Charles I. to perform the office instead. The request

being granted, the wise fool said, “All _praise_ to the Lord, and little

_Laud_ to the devil!” the point of which is much increased by the fact

that the archbishop was a very small man.

=Lauderdale= (_The Duke of_), president of the privy council.—Sir W.

Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).

=Laugh= (_Jupiter’s_). Jupiter, we are told, laughed incessantly for

seven days after he was born.—Ptol. Hephæstion, _Nov. Hist._, vii.

=Laughing Philosopher= (_The_), Democ´rītos, of Abde´ra (B.C. 460-357).

⁂He laughed or jeered at the feeble powers of man so wholly in the hands

of fate, that nothing he did or said was uncontrolled. The “Weeping

Philosopher” was Heraclitos.

Dr. Jeddler, the philosopher, who looked upon the world as a “great

practical joke, something too absurd to be considered seriously by any

rational man.”—C. Dickens, _The Battle of Life_ (1846).

=Laughter= (_Death from_). A fellow in rags told Chalchas, the

soothsayer, that he would never drink the wine of the grapes growing in

his vineyard; and added, “If these words do not come true, you may claim

me for your slave.” When the wine was made, Chalchas made a feast, and

sent for the fellow to see how his prediction had failed; and when he

appeared, the soothsayer laughed so immoderately at the would-be prophet

that he died.—Lord Lytton, _Tales of Miletus_, iv.

Somewhat similar is the tale of Ancæos. This king of the Lelĕgês, in

Samos, planted a vineyard, but was warned by one of his slaves that he

would never live to taste the wine thereof. Wine was made from the

grapes, and the king sent for his slave, and said, “What do you think of

your prophecy now?” The slave made answer, “There’s many a slip ’twixt

the cup and the lip;” and the words were scarcely uttered, when the king

rushed from table to drive out of his vineyard a boar which was laying

waste the vines, but was killed in the encounter.—Pausanias.

Crassus died from laughter on seeing an ass eat thistles. Margutte, the

giant, died of laughter on seeing an ape trying to pull on his boots.

Philemon or Philomēnês died of laughter on seeing an ass eat the figs

provided for his own dinner (_Lucian_, i. 2). Zeuxis died of laughter at

sight of an old woman he had painted.

=Launay= (_Vicomte de_), pseudonym of Mde. Emile de Girardin (_née_

Delphine Gay).

=Launce=, the clownish servant of Proteus, one of the two “gentlemen

of Verona.” He is in love with Julia. Launce is especially famous

for soliloquies to his dog, Crab, “the sourest-natured dog that

lives.” Speed is the serving-man of Valentine, the other

“gentleman.”—Shakespeare, _The Two Gentlemen of Verona_ (1594).

=Launcelot=, bard to the Countess Brenhilda’s father.—Sir W. Scott,

_Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).

_Launcelot_ (_Sir_), originally called Galahad, was the son of Ban, king

of Benwick (_Brittany_), and his wife, Elein (pt. i. 60). He was stolen

in infancy by Vivienne, the Lady of the Lake, who brought him up till he

was presented to King Arthur and knighted. In consequence, he is usually

called Sir Launcelot du Lac. He was in “the eighth degree [_or

generation_] of our Saviour” (pt. iii. 35); was uncle to Sir Bors de

Ganis (pt. iii. 4); his brother was Sir Ector de Maris (pt. ii. 127);

and his son, by Elaine, daughter of King Pelles, was Sir Galahad, the

chastest of the 150 knights of the Round Table, and therefore allotted

to the “Siege Perilous” and the quest of the Holy Graal, which he

achieved. Sir Launcelot had from time to time a glimpse of the Holy

Graal; but in consequence of his amours with Queen Guenever, was never

allowed more than a distant and fleeting glance at it (pt. iii. 18, 22,

45).

Sir Launcelot was the strongest and bravest of the 150 knights of the

Round Table; the two next were Sir Tristram and Sir Lamoracke. His

adultery with Queen Guenever was directly or indirectly the cause of the

death of King Arthur, the breaking up of the Round Table, and the death

of most of the knights. The tale runs thus: Mordred and Agravain hated

Sir Launcelot, told the king he was too familiar with the queen, and, in

order to make good their charge, persuaded Arthur to go a-hunting. While

absent in the chase, the queen sent for Sir Launcelot to her private

chamber, when Mordred, Agravain, and twelve other knights beset the

door, and commanded him to come forth. In coming forth he slew Sir

Agravain and the twelve knights; but Mordred escaped and told the king,

who condemned Guenever to be burned to death. She was brought to the

stake, but rescued by Sir Launcelot, who carried her off to Joyous

Guard, near Carlisle. The king besieged the castle, but received a bull

from the pope, commanding him to take back the queen. This he did, but

refused to be reconciled to Sir Launcelot, who accordingly left the

realm and went to Benwick. Arthur crossed over with an army to besiege

Benwick, leaving Mordred regent. The traitor, Mordred, usurped the

crown, and tried to make the queen marry him; but she rejected his

proposal with contempt. When Arthur heard thereof, he returned, and

fought three battles with his nephew, in the last of which Mordred was

slain, and the king received from his nephew his death-wound. The queen

now retired to the convent of Almesbury, where she was visited by Sir

Launcelot; but as she refused to leave the convent, Sir Launcelot turned

monk, died “in the odor of sanctity,” and was buried in Joyous Guard

(pt. iii. 143-175).

“Ah! Sir Launcelot,” said Sir Ector; “thou were [_sic_] head of all

Christian knights.” “I dare say,” said Sir Bors, “that Sir Launcelot

there thou liest, thou were never matched of none earthly knight’s hand;

and thou were the courteoust knight that ever bare shield; and thou were

the truest friend to thy lover that ever bestrode horse; and thou were

the truest lover of sinfull man that ever loved woman; and thou were the

kindest man that ever struck with sword; and thou were the goodliest

person that ever came among press of knights; and thou were the meekest

man and the gentlest that ever eat in hall among ladies; and thou were

the sternest knight to thy mortal foe that ever put spear in rest.”—Sir

T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, iii. 176 (1470).

N. B.—The Elaine above referred to is not the Elaine of Astolat, the

heroine of Tennyson’s _Idyll_. Sir Ector de Maris is not Sir Ector, the

foster-father of King Arthur; and Sir Bors de Ganis must be kept

distinct from Sir Bors of Gaul, and also from Sir Borre or Sir Bors, a

natural son of King Arthur, by Lyonors, daughter of the Earl Sanam (pt.

i. 15).

_Sir Launcelot and Elaine._ The Elaine of Tennyson’s _Idyll_, called the

“fair maid of Astolat,” was the daughter of Sir Bernard, lord of

Astolat, and her two brothers were Sir Tirre (not _Sir Torre_, as

Tennyson writes the word) and Lavaine (pt. iii. 122). The whole tale and

the beautiful picture of Elaine propelled by the old dumb servitor down

the river to the king’s palace, is all borrowed from Sir T. Malory’s

compilation. “The fair maid of Astolat” asked Sir Launcelot to marry

her, but the knight replied, “Fair damsel, I thank you, but certainly

cast me never to be married;” and when the maid asked if she might be

ever with him without being wed, he made answer, “Mercy defend me, no!”

“Then,” said Elaine, “I needs must die for love of you;” and when Sir

Launcelot quitted Astolat, she drooped and died. But before she died she

called her brother, Sir Tirre (not _Sir Lavaine_, as Tennyson says,

because Sir Lavaine went with Sir Launcelot as his squire), and dictated

the letter that her brother was to write, and spake thus:

“While my body is whole, let this letter be put into my right hand, and

my hand bound fast with the letter until that I be cold, and let me be

put in a fair bed, with all my richest clothes.... and be laid in a

chariot to the next place, whereas the Thames is, and there let me be

put in a barge, and but one man with me ... to steer me thither, and

that my barge be covered with black samite.”... So her father granted

... that all this should be done ... and she died. And so, when she was

dead, the corpse and the bed ... were put in a barge ... and the man

steered the barge to Westminster.—Pt. iii. 123.

The narrative then goes on to say that King Arthur had the letter read,

and commanded the corpse to be buried right royally, and all the knights

then present made offerings over her grave. Not only the tale, but much

of the antique flavor of the original is preserved in the version of the

laureate.—Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_ (1470).

_Launcelot and Guenever._ Sir Launcelot was chosen by King Arthur to

conduct Guenever (his bride) to court; and then began that disloyalty

between them which lasted to the end. Gottfried, the German minnesinger

(twelfth century), who wrote the tale of Sir Tristan [our _Tristram_],

makes King Mark send Tristan to Ireland, to conduct Yseult to Cornwall,

and then commenced that disloyalty between Sir Tristram and his uncle’s

wife, which also lasted to the end, and was the death of both.

_Launcelot Mad._ Sir Launcelot, having offended the queen, was so vexed,

that he went mad for two years, half raving and half melancholy. Being

partly cured by a vision of the Holy Graal, he settled for a time in

Joyous Isle, under the assumed name of _La Chevalier Mal-Fet_. His deeds

of prowess soon got blazed abroad, and brought about him certain knights

of the Round Table, who prevailed on him to return to court. Then

followed the famous quest of the Holy Graal. The quest of the graal is

the subject of a minnesong by Wolfram (thirteenth century), entitled

_Parzival_. (In the _History of Prince Arthur_, complied by Sir T.

Malory, it is Galahad, son of Sir Launcelot, not Percival, who

accomplished the quest).

⁂ The madness of Orlando, by Ariosto, resembles that of Sir Launcelot.

_Launcelot a Monk._ When Sir Launcelot discovered that Guenever was

resolved to remain a nun, he himself retired to a monastery, and was

consecrated a hermit by the bishop of Canterbury. After twelve months,

he was miraculously summoned to Almesbury, to remove to Glastonbury the

queen, who was at the point of death. Guenever died half an hour before

Sir Launcelot arrived, and he himself died soon afterwards (pt. iii.

174). The bishop in attendance on the dying knight affirmed that “he saw

angels heave Sir Launcelot up to heaven, and the gates of paradise open

to receive him” (pt. iii. 175). Sir Bors, his nephew, discovered the

dead body in the cell, and had it buried with all honors at Joyous Guard

(pt. iii. 175).—Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_ (1470), and

also Walter Mapes.

When Sir Bors and his fellows came to his (Sir Launcelot’s) bed, they

found him stark dead, and he lay as he had smiled, and the sweetest

savor about him that ever they smelled.—Sir T. Malory, _History of

Prince Arthur_, iii. 175 (1470).

N.B.—Sir Launcelot intended, when he quitted the court of Arthur, and

retired to Benwick, to found religious houses every ten miles between

Sandwich and Carlisle, and to visit every one of them barefoot; but King

Arthur made war upon him, and put an end to this intention.

⁂ _Other particulars of Sir Launcelot._ The tale of Sir Launcelot was

first composed in monkish Latin, and was translated by Walter Mapes

(about 1180). Robert de Borron wrote a French version, and Sir T. Malory

took his _History of Prince Arthur_ from the French, the third part

being chiefly confined to the adventures and death of this favorite

knight. There is a metrical romance called _La Charrette_, begun by

Chrestiens de Troyes (twelfth century), and finished by Geoffrey de

Ligny.

_Launcelot_, the man of Mons. Thomas. (See LANCELOT.)—Beaumont and

Fletcher, _Mons. Thomas_ (1619).

=Launfal= (_Sir_), steward of King Arthur. Detesting Queen Gwennere, he

retired to Carlyoun, and fell in love with a lady named Tryamour. She

gave him an unfailing purse, and told him if he ever wished to see her,

all he had to do was to retire into a private room, and she would be

instantly with him. Sir Launfal now returned to court, and excited much

attention by his great wealth. Gwennere made advances to him, but he

told her she was not worthy to kiss the feet of the lady to whom he was

devoted. At this repulse, the angry queen complained to the king, and

declared to him that she had been most grossly insulted by his steward.

Arthur bade Sir Launfal produce this paragon of woman. On her arrival,

Sir Launfal was allowed to accompany her to the isle of Ole´ron; and no

one ever saw him afterwards.—Thomas Chestre, _Sir Launfal_ (a metrical

romance, time, Henri VI.).

⁂ James Russell Lowell has a poem entitled _The Vision of Sir Launfal_.

=Laura=, niece of Duke Gondibert, loved by two brothers, Arnold and

Hugo, the latter dwarfed in stature. Laura herself loved Arnold; but

both brothers were slain in the faction fight stirred up by Prince

Oswald against Duke Gondibert, his rival in the love of Rhodalind, only

child of Aribert, king of Lombardy. On the death of Arnold and Hugo,

Laura became attached to Tybalt. As the tale was never finished, we have

no key to the poet’s intention respecting Laura and Tybalt.—Sir Wm.

Davenant, _Gondibert_ (died 1668).

_Laura_, a Venetian lady, who married Beppo. Beppo being taken captive,

turned Turk, joined a band of pirates, and grew rich. He then returned

to his wife, made himself known to her, and “had his claim allowed.”

Laura is represented as a frivolous mixture of millinery and religion.

She admires her husband’s turban, and dreads his new religion. “Are you

really, truly, now a Turk?” she says. “Well, that’s the prettiest shawl!

Will you give it me? They say you eat no pork. Bless me! Did I ever? No,

I never saw a man grown so yellow! How’s your liver?” and so she rattles

on.—Byron, _Beppo_ (1820).

=Laura Fairlie=, innocent victim of the machinations of _Sir Percival

Glyde_ and _Count Tosco_. The former marries her for her fortune, then

imprisons her in an insane asylum, and announces her death. In the end

she becomes a widow, and weds Walter Harbright, who has long loved

her.—Wilkie Collins, _The Woman in White_.

=Laura and Petrarch.= Some say _La belle Laure_ was only an hypothetical

name used by the poet to hang the incidents of his life and love on. If

a real person, it was Laura de Noves, the wife of Hugues de Sade, of

Avignon, and she died of the plague in 1348.

Think you, if Laura had been Petrarch’s wife,

He would have written sonnets all his life?

Byron, _Don Juan_, iii. 8 (1820).

=Laurana=, the lady-love of Prince Parismus of Bohemia.—Emanuel Foord,

_The History of Parismus_ (1598).

=Laureate of the Gentle Craft=, Hans Sachs, the cobbler poet of

Nuremberg. (See TWELVE WISE MASTERS).

=Laurence= (_Friar_), the good friar who promises to marry Romeo and

Juliet. He supplies Juliet with the sleeping draught, to enable her to

quit her home without arousing scandal or suspicion. (See

LAWRENCE).—Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_ (1597).

_Laurence_, baby-boy whose brief life is the theme of Rossiter Johnson’s

poem bearing that caption:

“The newness of love at his coming,

The freshness of grief when he went,

The pitiless pain of his absence,

The effort at argued content,

The dim eye forever retracing

The few little footprints he made,

The quick thought forever recalling

The visions that never can fade—

For these but one comfort, one answer

In faith’s or philosophy’s roll;—

Came to us for a pure little body

Went to GOD for a glorified soul.”

Rossiter Johnson, _Idler and Poet_ (1883).

=Laurie,= favorite playfellow of _Little Women_, and when they are no

longer “little,” the husband of Amy.—L.M. Alcott, _Little Women_.

=Laurringtons= (_The_), a novel by Mrs. Trollope, a satire on “superior

people,” the bustling Bothebys of society (1843).

=Lauzun= (_The duke de_), a courtier in the court of Louis XIV.

Licentious, light-hearted, unprincipled and extravagant. To promote his

own fortune, he supplanted La Vallière by Mde. de Montespan in the

king’s favor. Montespan thought he loved her; but when he proposed to La

Vallière, the discarded favorite, Mde. de Montespan dismissed him. The

duke, in revenge, persuaded the king to banish the lady, and when La

Vallière took the veil, the king sent Mde. de Montespan this cutting

epistle:

We do not blame you; blame belongs to love,

And love had nought with you.

The duke de Lauzun, of these lines the bearer,

Confirms their purport. From our royal court

We do excuse your presence.

Lord E.L.B. Lytton, _The Duchess de la Vallière_, v. 5 (1836).

=Lavaine= (_Sir_), brother of Elaine, and son of the lord of As´tolat.

Young, brave and knightly. He accompanied Sir Lancelot when he went to

tilt for the ninth diamond.—Tennyson, _Idylls of the King_ (“Elaine”).

=Lavalette= (3 _syl._), condemned to death for sending to Napoleon

secret intelligence of Government despatches. He was set at liberty by

his wife, who took his place in prison, but became a confirmed lunatic.

Lord Nithsdale escaped in a similar manner from the Tower of London. His

wife disguised him as her maid, and he passed the sentries without being

detected.

=La Vallière= (_Louise, duchess de_), betrothed to the Marquis de

Bragelonê (4 _syl._), but in love with Louis XIV., whose mistress she

became. Conscience accused her, and she fled to a convent; but the king

took her out, and brought her to Versailles. He soon forsook her for

Mde. de Montespan, and advised her to marry. This message almost broke

her heart, and she said, “I will choose a bridegroom without delay.”

Accordingly she took the veil of a Carmelite nun, and discovered that

Bragelonê was a monk. Mde. de Montespan was banished from the court by

the capricious monarch. Lord E.L.B. Lytton, _The Duchess de la Vallière_

(1836).

=Liavin´ia,= daughter of Latīnus, betrothed to Turnus, king of the

Rutuli. When Æne´as landed in Italy, Latinus made an alliance with him,

and promised to give him Lavinia to wife. This brought on a war between

Turnus and Æneas, that was decided by single combat, in which Æneas was

the victor.—Virgil, _Æneid_.

_Lavinia_, daughter of Titus Andron´icus, a Roman general employed

against the Goths. She was betrothed to Bassia´nus, brother of

Saturnius, emperor of Rome. Being defiled by the sons of Tam´ora, queen

of the Goths, her hands were cut off and her tongue plucked out. At

length her father, Titus, killed her, saying, “I am as woeful as

Virginius was, and have a thousand times more cause than he to do this

outrage.”—(?) Shakespeare, _Titus Andron´icus_ (1593).

In the play, Andronicus is always called _An.dron´.i.kus_, but in

classic authors it is _An.dro.nī.kus_.

_Lavinia_, sister of Lord Al´tamont, and wife of Horatio.—N. Rowe, _The

Fair Penitent_ (1703).

=Lavinia and Pale´mon.= Lavinia was the daughter of Acasto, patron of

Palemon, from whom his “liberal fortune took its rise.” Acasto lost his

property, and dying, left a widow and daughter in very indigent

circumstances. Palemon often sought them out, but could never find them.

One day, a lovely, modest maiden came to glean in Palemon’s fields. The

young squire was greatly struck with her exceeding beauty and modesty,

but did not dare ally himself with a pauper. Upon inquiry, he found that

the beautiful gleaner was the daughter of Acasto; he proposed marriage,

and Lavinia “blushed assent.”—Thomson, _Seasons_, (“Autumn,” 1730).

⁂ The resemblance between this tale and the Bible story of Ruth and Boaz

must be obvious to every one.

=Law of Athens= (_The_). By Athenian law, a father could dispose of his

daughter in marriage as he liked. Egēus pleaded this law, and demanded

that his daughter Hermia should marry Demētrius, or suffer the penalty

of the law; if she will not

Consent to marry with Demetrius,

I beg the ancient privilege of Athens;

As she is mine, I may dispose of her:

Which shall be either to this gentleman,

Or to her death; according to our law.

Shakespeare, _Midsummer Night’s Dream_, act i. sc. 1 (1592).

=Law of Flanders= (_The_). Charles “the Good,” earl of Flanders, made a

law that a serf, unless legally emancipated, was always a serf, and that

whoever married a serf became a serf. S. Knowles has founded his tragedy

called _The Provost of Bruges_ on this law (1836).

=Law of Lombardy= (_The_).

We have a law peculiar to this realm,

That subjects to a mortal penalty

All women nobly born ... who, to the shame

Of chastity, o’erleap its thorny bounds,

To wanton in the flowery path of pleasure.

Act. ii. 2.

On this law Robert Jephson has founded the following tragedy: The Duke

Bire´no, heir to the crown, falsely charges the Princess Sophia of

incontinence. The villainy of the duke being discovered, he is slain in

combat by a Briton named Paladore, and the victor marries the princess

(1779).

=Lawrence= (_Steven_). Big yeoman, whose travels in America have added a

touch of the backwoodsman to the English rustic. Handsome, wholesome and

sensible, but unsophisticated. He is trapped into a marriage by a

scheming woman, while he loves another. A series of unhappy years

follow. His wife is shallow of heart and head, vain and ambitious; he

resolute, upright, and tender of heart. After her death, he meets and

marries the genuine woman of his first love.—Annie Edwards, _Steven

Lawrence, Yeoman_.

=Law’s Bubble,= the famous Mississippi scheme, devised by John Law

(1716-1720).

=Law’s Tale= (_The Man of_), the tale tells of Custance, daughter of the

emperor of Rome, affianced to the sultan of Syria. On the wedding night

the sultan’s mother murdered all the bridal party for apostacy, except

Custance, whom she turned adrift in a ship. The ship stranded on the

shores of Britain, where Custance was rescued by the lord-constable of

Northumberland, whose wife, Hermegild, became much attached to her. A

young knight wished to marry Custance, but she declined his suit;

whereupon he murdered Hermegild, and then laid the knife beside

Custance, to make it appear that she had committed the deed. King Alla,

who tried the case, soon discovered the truth, executed the knight, and

married Custance. Now was repeated the same infamy as occurred to her in

Syria; the queen-mother, Donegild, disapproved of the match, and, during

the absence of her son in Scotland, embarked Custance and her infant son

in the same ship, which she turned adrift. After floating about for five

years, it was taken in tow by the Roman fleet on its return from Syria,

and Custance was put under the charge of a Roman senator. It so happened

that Alla was at Rome at the very time on a pilgrimage, met his wife,

and they returned to Northumberland together.

This story is found in Gower, who probably took it from the French

chronicle of Nicholas Trivet.

A similar story forms the outline of _Emaărê_ (3 _syl._), a romance in

Ritson’s collection.

The knight murdering Hermegild, etc., resembles an incident in the

French _Roman de la Violette_, the English metrical romance of _Le Bone

Florence of Rome_ (in Ritson), and also a tale in the _Gesta Romanorum_,

69.

=Lawford= (_Mr._), the town clerk of Middlemas.—Sir W. Scott, _The

Surgeon’s Daughter_ (time, George II.).

=Lawrence= (_Friar_), a Franciscan who clandestinely marries Romeo and

Juliet. (See LAURENCE).

_Lawrence_ (_Tom_), _alias_ “Tyburn Tom” or Tuck, a highwayman. (See

LAURENCE).—Sir W. Scott, _Heart of Midlothian_ (time, George II.).

=Lawrence Arbuthnot=, dilettante society man, who disguises a kindly and

generous nature under a careless manner.—Frances Hodgson Burnett,

_Through One Administration_ (1883).

=La Writ=, a little, wrangling French advocate.—Beaumont and Fletcher,

_The Little French Lawyer_ (1647).

=Lawson= (_Sandie_), landlord of the Spa hotel—Sir W. Scott, _St.

Ronan’s Well_ (time, George III.).

=Lay of the Last Minstrel.= Ladye Margaret [Scott], of Branksome Hall,

the “flower of Teviot,” was beloved by Baron Henry, of Cranstown, but a

deadly feud existed between the two families. One day an elfin page

allured Ladye Margaret’s brother (the heir of Branksome Hall) into a

wood, where he fell into the hands of the Southerners. At the same time

an army of 3000 English marched to Branksome Hall to take it, but,

hearing that Douglas, with 10,000 men, was on the march against them,

the two chiefs agreed to decide the contest by single combat. The

English champion was Sir Richard Musgrave, the Scotch champion called

himself Sir William Deloraine. Victory fell to the Scotch, when it was

discovered that “Sir William Deloraine” was in reality Lord Cranstown,

who then claimed and received the hand of Ladye Margaret, as his

reward.—Sir W. Scott, _Lay of the Last Minstrel_ (1805).

=Lazarillo=, a humorsome valet, who serves two masters, “Don Felix” and

Octavio. Lazarillo makes the usual quota of mistakes, such as giving

letters and money to the wrong master; but it turns out that Don Felix

is Donna Clara, the _fiancée_ of Octavio, and so all comes

right.—Jephson, _Two Strings to your Bow_ (1792).

Joseph Munden [1758-1832] was the original Lazarillo.—_Memoir of J.S.

Munden_ (1832).

=Lazarillo de Tormes=, the hero of a romance of roguery, by Don Diego de

Mendo´za (1553). Lazarillo is a compound of poverty and pride, full of

stratagems and devices. The “hidalgo” walks the streets (as he says)

“like the duke of Arcos,” but is occupied at home “to procure a crust of

dry bread, and, having munched it, he is equally puzzled how to appear

in public with due decorum. He fits out a ruffle so as to suggest the

idea of a shirt, and so adjusts a cloak as to look as if there were

clothes under it.” We find him begging bread, “not for food,” but simply

for experiments. He eats it to see “if it is digestible and wholesome;”

yet he is gay withal, and always rakish.

=Lazarus and Dives.= Lazarus, a beggar whose fate is contrasted with

that of Dives, _i.e._ a rich man (Latin). At their death Lazarus goes to

heaven, the rich man goes to hell and begs that Lazarus may bring him a

drop of water to cool his tongue.—_Luke_, xvi. 19-31.

⁂ Lazarus is the only proper name given in any of the New Testament

parables. The rich man is not named.

=Lazy Lawrence of Lubber-Land=, the hero of a popular tale. He served

the schoolmaster, the squire’s cook, the farmer, and his own wife, all

which was accounted treason in Lubber-land.

=Lea=, one of the “daughters of men,” beloved by one of the “sons of

God.” The angel who loved her ranked with the least of the spirits of

light, whose post around the throne was in the outermost circle. Sent to

earth on a message, he saw Lea bathing, and fell in love with her; but

Lea was so heavenly minded that her only wish was to “dwell in purity

and serve God in singleness of heart.” Her angel lover, in the madness

of his passion, told Lea the spell-word that gave him admittance into

heaven. The moment Lea uttered it, her body became spiritual, rose

through the air, and vanished from sight. On the other hand, the angel

lost his ethereal nature, and became altogether earthly, like a child of

clay.—T. Moore, _Loves of the Angels_, i. (1822).

=League= (_The_), a league formed at Péronne in 1576, to prevent the

accession of Henri IV. to the throne of France, because he was of the

reformed religion. This league was mainly due to the Guises. It is

occasionally called “The Holy League;” but the “Holy League” strictly so

called is quite another thing, and it is better not to confound

different events by giving them the same name. (See LEAGUE, HOLY).

_League, (The Achæan)_, B.C. 281-146. The old league consisted of the

twelve Achæan cities confederated for self-defence from the remotest

times. The league properly so called was formed against the Macedonians.

_League (The Ætolian)_, formed some three centuries B.C., when it became

a formidable rival to the Macedonian monarchs and the Achæan League.

_League (The Grey)_, 1424, called _Lia Grischa_ or _Graubünd_, from the

grey homespun dress of the confederate peasants, the Grisons, in

Switzerland. This league combined with the League Caddee (1401), and the

League of the Ten Jurisdictions (1436), in a perpetual alliance in 1471.

The object of these leagues was to resist domestic tyranny.

_League_ (_The Hans_ or _Hanseatic_), 1241-1630, a great commercial

confederation of German towns, to protect their merchandise against the

Baltic pirates, and defend their rights against the German barons and

princes. It began with Hamburg and Lubeck, and was joined by Bremen,

Bruges, Bergen, Novogorod, London, Cologne, Brunswick, Danzig; and

afterwards, by Dunkerque, Anvers, Ostend, Dordrecht, Rotterdam,

Amsterdam, etc.; still later by Calais, Rouen, St. Malo, Bordeaux,

Bayonne, Marseilles, Barcelona, Seville, Cadiz, and Lisbon; and lastly

by Messina, Naples, etc.; in all, eighty cities.

_League_ (_The Holy_). Several leagues are so denominated, but that

emphatically so called is the league of 1511 against Louis XII., formed

by Pope Julius II., Ferdinand “the Catholic,” Henry VIII., the

Venetians, and the Swiss. Gaston de Foix obtained a victory over the

league at Ravenna in 1512, but died in the midst of his triumph.

_League_ (_The Solemn_), 1638, formed in Scotland against the Episcopal

government of the Church.

=League Caddee= (_The_), or _Ligue de la Maison de Dieu_ (1401), a

confederation of the Grisons for the purpose of resisting domestic

tyranny. (See LEAGUE, GREY).

=League of Augsburg= (1686), a confederation of the house of Austria

with Sweden, Saxony, Bavaria, the circles of Swabia and Franconia, etc.,

against Louis XIV. This league was the beginning of that war which

terminated in the peace of Ryswick (1698).

=League of Cambray= (1508), formed by the Emperor Maximilian I., Louis

XII., of France, Ferdinand “the Catholic,” and Pope Julius II., against

the republic of Venice.

=League of Ratisbonne= (1524), by the Catholic powers of Germany against

the progress of the Reformation.

=League of Smalkalde= (December 31, 1530), the Protestant states of

Germany leagued against Charles the Fifth. It was almost broken up by

the victory obtained over it at Mühlberg in 1547.

=League of Wurtzburg= (1610), formed by the Catholic states of Germany

against the “Protestant Union” of Hall. Maximilian I., of Bavaria, was

at its head.

=League of the Beggars= (1560), a combination formed against the

Inquisition in Flanders.

=League of the Cities of Lombardy= (1167), under the patronage of Pope

Alexander III., against Frederick Barbarossa, emperor of Germany. In

1225, the cities combined against Frederick II., of Germany.

=League of the Public Weal= (_Ligue du Bien Public_), 1464, a league

between the dukes of Burgundy, Brittany, Bourbon, and other princes,

against Louis XI., of France.

=Leah Holland.= Handsome granddaughter of an English farmer. Michael

Standish, an artist lodger, paints her portrait and falls in love with

her. His mother and friends oppose the match, and Leah, in proper pride,

eludes his pursuit. In the end, he weds a girl in his own rank, and Leah

becomes a useful and contented trained nurse.—Georgiana M. Craik, _A

Daughter of the People_.

=Lean´der= (_3 syl._), a young man of Aby´dos, who swam nightly across

the Hellespont to visit his lady-love, Hero, a priestess of Sestos. One

night he was drowned in his attempt, and Hero leaped into the Hellespont

and died also.

The story is told by Musæus in his poem called _Hero and Leander_.

Schiller has made it the subject of a ballad.

⁂ Lord Byron and Lieutenant Ekenhead repeated the feat of Leander, and

accomplished it in 1 hr. 10 min.; the distance (allowing for drifting)

would be about four miles.

_Leander_, a young Spanish scholar, smitten with Leonora, a maiden under

the charge of Don Diego, and whom the Don wished to make his wife. The

young scholar disguised himself as a minstrel to amuse Mungo, the slave,

and with a little flattery and a few gold pieces lulled the vigilance of

Ursula, the duenna, and gained admittance to the lady. As the lovers

were about to elope, Don Diego unexpectedly returned; but being a man of

60, and, what is more, a man of sense, he at once perceived that Leander

was a more suitable husband for Leonora than himself, and accordingly

sanctioned their union and gave the bride a handsome dowry.—I.

Bickerstaff, _The Padlock_.

=Leandra=, daughter of an opulent Spanish farmer, who eloped with

Vincent de la Rosa, a heartless adventurer, who robbed her of all her

money, jewels, and other valuables, and then left her to make her way

home as best she could. Leandra was placed in a convent till the scandal

had blown over.—Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. iv. 20 (“The Goat-herd’s

Story,” 1605).

=Léandre= (_2 syl._), son of Géronte (_2 syl._). During the absence of

his father, he fell in love with Zerbinette, whom he supposed to be a

young gypsy, but who was in reality the daughter of Argante (_2 syl._),

his father’s friend. Some gypsies had stolen the child when only four

years old, and required £1500 for her ransom—a sum of money which Scapin

contrived to obtain from Léandre’s father under false pretences. When

Géronte discovered that his son’s bride was the daughter of his friend

Argante, he was quite willing to excuse Scapin for the deceit practiced

on him.—Molière, _Les Fourberies de Scapin_ (1671).

(In Otway’s version of this comedy, called _The Cheats of Scapin_,

Léandre is Anglicized into “Leander;” Géronte is called “Gripe;”

Zerbinette is “Lucia;” Argante is “Thrifty;” and the sum of money £200).

_Léandre_, the lover of Lucinde, daughter of Géronte (_2 syl._). Being

forbidden the house, Lucinde pretended to be dumb, and Léandre, being

introduced in the guise of an apothecary, effects a cure by “pills

matrimoniac.”—Molière, _Le Médecin Malgré Lui_ (1666).

=Lean´dro=, a gentleman who wantonly loves Amaranta (the wife of

Bar´tolus, a covetous lawyer).—Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Spanish

Curate_ (1632).

=Lean´dro the Fair= (_The Exploits and Adventures of_), part of the

series called _Le Roman des Romans_, pertaining to “Am´adis of Gaul.”

This part was added by Pedro de Lujan.

=Lear=, mythical king of Britain, son of Bladud. He had three daughters,

and when four score years old, wishing to retire from the active duties

of sovereignty, resolved to divide his kingdom between them in

proportion to their love. The two elder said they loved him more than

their tongue could express, but Cordelia, the youngest, said she loved

him as it became a daughter to love her father. The old king, displeased

with her answer, disinherited Cordelia, and divided his kingdom between

the other two, with the condition that each alternately, month by month,

should give him a home, with a suite of a hundred knights. He spent the

first month with his eldest daughter, who showed him scant hospitality.

Then going to the second, she refused to entertain so large a suite;

whereupon the old man would not enter her house, but spent the night

abroad in a storm. When Cordelia, who had married the king of France,

heard of this, she brought an army over to dethrone her sisters, but was

taken prisoner and died in jail. In the meantime the elder sister

(Goneril) first poisoned her younger sister from jealousy, and

afterwards put an end to her own life. Lear also died.—Shakespeare,

_King Lear_ (1605).

(The stage _Lear_ is a corrupt version by Nahum Tate (Tate and Brady);

as the stage _Richard III_. is Colley Cibber’s travesty.)

⁂ Percy, in his _Reliques of Ancient English Poetry_, has a ballad about

“King Leir and His Three Daughters” (series I. ii.).

The story is given by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his _British History_.

Spenser has introduced the tale in his _Faëry Queen_ (ii. 10.)

Camden tells a similar story of Ina, the king of the West

Saxons(_Remains_, 306).

_Lear_ (_King_), Shakespeare’s drama, first printed in quarto (1608), is

founded on _The True Chronicle History of King Leir and His Three

Daughters, Gonorill, Ragan, and Cordelia_ (1605).

=Learned= (_The_), Coloman, king of Hungary (*, 1095-1114).

=Learned Blacksmith= (_The_), Elihu Burritt, the linguist (1811-1879).

He studied Latin in the evening after working at the forge all day, and

carried his Greek grammar in his hat, finding opportunity to place the

book, now and then, against the forge-chimney and go through with

_tupto, tupteis, tuptei_, unperceived by his fellow-apprentices.

Unassisted and at night he, one winter, read twenty books of _The

Iliad_. He also mastered, but with the aid of teachers, French, Spanish,

German and Italian, and read, at the forge, works in these tongues.

Hebrew he studied alone. By studying seven hours a day (never remitting

his manual labor) he learned _fifty_ languages and dialects, besides

acquiring much and valuable scientific information.

=Learned Painter= (_The_), Charles Lebrun, noted for the accuracy of his

costumes (1619-1690).

=Learned Tailor= (_The_), Henry Wild, of Norwich, who mastered, while he

worked at his trade, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Chaldaic, Syriac, Persian,

and Arabic (1684-1734).

=Learned Theban= (_A_), a guesser of riddles or dark sayings; in

allusion to Œdipos, king of Thebes, who solved the riddle of the Sphinx.

I’ll talk a word with this same learned Theban.

Shakespeare, _King Lear_, act iii. sc. 4 (1605).

=Learoyd.= The Yorkshireman who completes the trio of friends in Rudyard

Kipling’s story _Soldiers Three_. He “was born on the wolds and bred in

the dales. ... His chief virtue was an unmitigated patience which helped

him to win fights.”—_Soldiers Three_.

=Leather-Stockings=, the nickname of Natty Bumppo, a half-savage and

half-Christian chevalier of American wild-life. He appears in five of J.

F. Cooper’s novels, hence called the Leather-stocking Tales.—See

_Bumppo_.

=Le Castre=, the indulgent father of Mirable “the wild goose,” Beaumont

and Fletcher, _The Wild-goose Chase_ (1652).

=L’Eclair= (_Philippe_), orderly of Captain Florian. L’Eclair is a great

boaster, who masks his brag under the guise of modesty. He pays his

court to Rosabelle, the lady’s-maid of Lady Geraldine.—W. Dimond, _The

Foundling of the Forest_.

=Led Captain= (_A_), an obsequious person, who styles himself “Captain;”

and, out of cupboard love, dances attendance on the master and mistress

of a house.

Mr. Wagg, the celebrated wit, and a led captain and trencherman of my

Lord Steyne, was caused by the ladies to make the assault.—Thackeray,

_Vanity Fair_, li. (1848).

=Lee= (_Sir Henry_), an officer in attendance at Greenwich Palace.—Sir

W. Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).

_Lee_ (_Sir Henry_), an old royalist, and head-ranger of Woodstock

Forest.

_Alice Lee_, daughter of the old knight. She married Markham Everard.

_Colonel Albert Lee_, her brother, the friend of Charles II.—Sir W.

Scott, _Woodstock_ (time, commonwealth).

=Leek=, worn on St. David’s Day. The general tale is that King

Cadwallader, in 640, gained a complete victory over the Saxons by the

special interposition of St. David, who ordered the Britons to wear

leeks in their caps, that they might recognize each other. The Saxons,

for want of some common cognizance, often mistook friends for foes.

Drayton gives another version: He says the saint lived in the valley

Ewias (_2 syl._), situated between the Hatterill Hills, in

Monmouthshire. It was here “that reverend British saint to contemplation

lived,”

... and did so truly fast,

As he did only drink what crystal Hodney yields,

And fed upon the leeks he gathered in the fields,

In memory of whom, in each revolving year,

The Welshmen, on his day [_March 1_], that sacred herb do wear.

_Polyolbion_, iv. (1612).

=Lefevre= (_Lieutenant_), a poor officer dying from want and sickness.

His pathetic story is told by Sterne, in a novel called _The Life and

Opinions of Tristram Shandy_ (1759).

“Mr. Fulmer, I have borrowed a book from your shop. ’Tis the sixth

volume of my deceased friend, Tristram.... The divine story of Lefevre,

which makes part of this book, ... does honor, not to its author only,

but to human nature.”—Cumberland, _The West Indian_, ii. 1.

=Legend= (_Sir Sampson_), a foolish, testy, prejudiced, and obstinate

old man, between 50 and 60. His favorite oath is “Odd!” He tries to

disinherit his elder son, Valentine, for his favorite son Ben, a sailor;

and he fancies Angelica is in love with him, when she only intends to

fool him.

He says: “I know the length of the emperor of China’s foot, have kissed

the Great Mogul’s slipper, and have rid a-hunting upon an elephant with

the cham of Tartary.”—W. Congreve, _Love for Love_, ii. (1695).

“Sir Sampson Legend” is such another lying, over-bearing character, but

he does not come up to “Sir Epicure Mammon” [in Ben Jonson’s play, _The

Alchemist_].—C. Lamb.

_Legend_ (_The Golden_), a semi-dramatic poem by Longfellow, taken from

an old German tale by Hartmann von der Aue [_Our_], called _Poor Henry_

(1851). Hartmann was one of the minnesingers, and lived in the twelfth

century. (See HENRY, POOR.)

=Legend of Montrose=, a novel by Sir W. Scott (1819). This brief,

imperfect story contains one of Scott’s best characters, the redoubted

Rittmaster, Dugald Dalgetty, a combination of soldado and pedantic

student of Mareschal College, Aberdeen.

=Legends= (_Golden_), a collection of monkish legends, in Latin, by

Jacob de Voragine or Varagine, born at Varaggio, in Grenoa. He wrote

_Legenda Sancta_, which was so popular that it was called “Legenda

Aurea” (1230-1298).

=Legion of Honor=, an order of merit, instituted by Napoleon I. when

“first consul,” in 1802. The undress badges are, for:

_Chevaliers_, a bow of red ribbon in the buttonhole of their coat, to

which a medal is attached.

_Officers_, a rosette of red ribbon, etc., with medal.

_Commanders_, a collar-ribbon.

_Grand-officers,_ a broad ribbon _under_ the waistcoat.

_Grand-cross,_ a broad ribbon, with a star on the breast, and a

jewel-cross pendant.

⁂ Napoleon III. instituted a lower degree than _Chevalier_, called

_Médaille Militaire_, distinguished by a _yellow_ ribbon.

=Legree=, a slave-dealer and hideous villain, brutalized by

slave-dealing and slave-driving.—Harriet Beecher Stowe _Uncle Tom’s

Cabin_ (1853).

=Leicester= (_The earl of_), in the court of Queen Elizabeth.

_The countess of Leicester_ (born Amy Robsart), but previously betrothed

to Edmund Tressilian.—Sir W. Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).

=Leigh= (_Aurora_), the heroine and title of a poem by Mrs. Browning.

The design of this poem is to show the noble aim of true art.

=Leila=, the young Turkish child rescued by Don Juan at the siege of

Ismail (canto viii. 93-102). She went with him to St. Petersburg, and

then he brought her to England. As _Don Juan_ was never completed, the

future history of Leila has no sequel.

... at his side

Sat little Leila, who survived the parries

He made ’gainst Cossack sabres, in the wide

Slaughter of Ismail.

Byron, _Don Juan_, x. 51 (1824).

_Leila_ (_2 syl._), the beautiful slave of the Caliph Hassan. She falls

in love with “the Giaour” [_djow´.er_], flees from the seraglio, is

overtaken, and cast into the sea.

Her eyes’ dark charm ’twere vain to tell;

But gaze on that of the gazelle—

It will assist thy fancy well.

Byron, _The Giaour_ (1813).

=Leilah=, the Oriental type of female loveliness, chastity, and

impassioned affection. Her love for Mejnôun, in Mohammedan romance, is

held in much the same light as that of the bride for the bridegroom in

Solomon’s song, or Cupid and Psychê among the Greeks.

When he sang the loves of Megnôun and Leileh [_sic_] ... tears

insensibly overflowed the cheeks of his auditors.—W. Beckford, _Vathek_

(1786).

=L. E. L.=, pseudonym of Letitia Elizabeth Landon (afterwards Mrs.

Maclean), poetess (1802-1838).

=Lela Marien=, the Virgin Mary.

In my childhood, my father kept a slave, who, in my own tongue

[_Arabic_], instructed me in the Christian worship, and informed me of

many things of Lela Marien.—Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. iv. 10 (1605).

=Le´lia=, a cunning, wanton widow, with whom Julio is in love.—Beaumont

and Fletcher, _The Captain_ (1613).

=Lélie= (_2 syl._) a young man engaged to Célie, daughter of Gorgibus;

but Gorgibus insists that his daughter shall give up Lélie for Valère, a

much richer man. Célie faints on hearing this, and drops the miniature

of Lélie, which is picked up by Sganarelle’s wife. Sganarelle finds it,

and, supposing it to be a lover of his wife, takes possession of it, and

recognizes Lélie as the living original. Lélie asks how he came by it,

is told he took it from his wife, and concludes that he means Célie. He

accuses her of infidelity in the presence of Sganarelle, and the whole

mystery is cleared up.—Molière, _Sganarelle_ (1660).

_Lélie_, an inconsequential, light-headed, but gentlemanly

coxcomb.—Molière, _L’Etourdi_ (1653).

=Lemnian Deed= (_A_), one of unparalleled cruelty and barbarity. This

Greek phrase owes its origin to the legend that the Lemnian women rose

one night, and put to death every man and male child in the island.

On another occasion they slew all the men and all the children born of

Athenian parents.

=Lemuel Barker=, young rustic, who, encouraged by Rev. Mr. Sewall’s

praise of certain of his verses, comes to Boston in the hope of

achieving literary fame. He is, in turn, fleeced by sharpers, almost

starved, put into the positions of elevator boy, private reader,

horse-car conductor, etc. Is entrapped into an engagement of marriage

with a vulgar, but respectable girl, and wiser and soberer for each

experience, takes his place as a worthy citizen.—W. D. Howells, _The

Minister’s Charge_ (1886).

=Lenore=, a name which Edgar Poe has introduced in two of his poems; one

called _The Raven_, and the other called _Lenore_ (1811-1849).

_Lenore_, the heroine of Bürger’s ballad of that name, in which a

spectral lover appears to his mistress after death, and carries her on

horseback, behind him, to the graveyard, where their marriage is

celebrated amid a crew of howling goblins.

⁂ _The Suffolk Miracle_ is an old English ballad of like character.

=Lenormand= (_Mdlle._), a famous _tireuse de cartes_. She was a squat,

fussy, little old woman, with a gnarled and knotted visage, and an

imperturbable eye. She wore her hair cut short, and parted on one side,

like that of a man; dressed in an odd-looking _casaquin_, embroidered

and frogged like the jacket of an hussar; and snuffed continually. This

was the little old woman whom Napoleon I. regularly consulted before

setting out on a campaign. Mdlle. Lenormand foretold to Josephine her

divorce; and when Murat, king of Naples, visited her in disguise, she

gave him the cards to cut, and he cut four times in succession _le grand

pendu_ (king of diamonds); whereupon Mdlle. rose and said, “La séance

est terminée; c’est dix louis pour les rois;” pocketed the fee, and left

the room taking snuff.

(In cartomancy, _le grand pendu_ signifies that the person to which it

is dealt, or who cuts it, will die by the hands of the executioner.)

Lent (_Galeazzo’s_), a form of torture devised by Galeazzo Visconti,

calculated to prolong the victim’s life for forty days.

=Len´ville= (_2 syl._), first tragedian at the Portsmouth Theatre. When

Nicholas Nickleby joined the company Mr. Lenville was jealous, and

attempted to pull his nose; but Nicholas pulled the nose of Mr. Lenville

instead.—C. Dickens, _Nicholas Nickleby_ (1888).

=Leodegraunce= or LEODEGRAN, king of Camelyard, father of Guenever (King

Arthur’s wife). Uther, the pendragon, gave him the famous Round Table,

which would seat 150 knights (pt. i. 45); and when Arthur married

Guenever, Leodegraunce gave him the table and 100 knights as a wedding

gift (pt. i. 45). The table was made by Merlin, and each seat had on it

the name of the knight to whom it belonged. One of the seats was called

the “Siege Perilous,” because no one could sit on it without “peril of

his life,” except Sir Galahad, the virtuous and chaste, who accomplished

the quest of the Holy Graal.—Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_

(1470).

Leodogran, the king of Cameliard _(sic),_

Had one fair daughter and none other child;

And she was fairest of all flesh on earth,

Guinevere, and in her his one delight.

Tennyson, _Coming of Arthur_.

=Le´oline= (_3 syl._) one of the male attendants of Dionys´ia, wife of

Cleon, governor of Tarsus, and employed by his mistress to murder

Mari´na, the orphan daughter of Prince Periclês, who had been committed

to her charge to bring up. Leoline took Marina to the shore with this

view, when some pirates seized her, and sold her at Metali´nê for a

slave. Leoline told his mistress that the orphan was dead, and Dionysia

raised a splendid sepulchre to her memory.—Shakespeare, _Pericles,

Prince of Tyre_ (1608).

=Leon=, son of Constantine, the Greek emperor. Amon and Beatrice, the

parents of Bradamant, promise to him their daughter Bradamant in

marriage; but the lady is in love with Roge´ro. When Leon discovers this

attachment, he withdraws his suit, and Bradamant marries

Rogero.—Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).

_Leon_, the hero who rules Margaritta, his wife, wisely, and wins her

esteem and wifely obedience. Margaritta is a wealthy Spanish heiress,

who married in order to indulge in wanton intrigues more freely. She

selected Leon because he was supposed to be a milksop whom she could

bend to her will; but no sooner is she married than Leon acts with manly

firmness and determination, but with great affection also. He wins the

esteem of every one, and Margaritta becomes a loving, devoted, virtuous,

and obedient wife.—Beaumont and Fletcher, _Rule a Wife and Have a Wife_

(1640).

Edward Kynaston [1619-1687] executed the part of “Leon” with a

determined manliness, well worth the best actor’s imitation. He had a

piercing eye, and a quick, imperious vivacity of voice.—Colley Cibber.

=Leonard=, a real scholar, forced for daily bread to keep a common

school.—Crabbe, _Borough_, xxiv. (1810).

=Leonardo= [GONZAGA], duke of Mantua, travelling in Switzerland, an

avalanche fell on him, and he was nursed through a severe illness by

Mariana, the daughter of a Swiss burgher and they fell in love with each

other. On his return home he was entrapped by brigands, and kept

prisoner for two years. Mariana, seeking him, went to Mantua, where

Count Florio fell in love with her, and obtained her guardian’s consent

to their union; but Mariana refused to comply. The case was referred to

the duke (Ferrardo), who gave judgment in favor of the count. Leonardo

happened to be present, and throwing off his disguise, assumed his rank

as duke, and married Mariana; but being called away to the camp, left

Ferrardo regent. Ferrardo laid a most villainous scheme to prove Mariana

guilty of adultery with Julian St. Pierre; but Leonardo refused to

credit her guilt. Julian turned out to be her brother, exposed the whole

plot, and amply vindicated Mariana of the slightest indiscretion.—S.

Knowles, _The Wife_ (1833).

=Leona´to=, governor of Messina, father of Hero and uncle of

Beatrice.—Shakespeare, _Much Ado About Nothing_ (1600).

=Leonesse= (_3 syl._) LEONESSE, LEONNAIS, LEONES, LEONNOYS, LYONNOYS,

etc., a mythical country belonging to Cornwall, supposed to have been

sunk under the sea since the time of King Arthur. It is very frequently

mentioned in the Arthurian romances.

=Leonidas of Modern Greece=, Marco Bozzaris, a Greek patriot, who with

1200 men, put to rout 4000 Turco-Albanians, at Kerpenisi, but was killed

in the attack (1823). He was buried at Mesolonghi.

=Leonilla Lynmore.= Artless girl brought up by her mother in ignorance

of all sorts of superstitious fancies. At eighteen, she visits the

Rookleys, an old Boston family, with whom belief in portents and

apparitions is a part of religious belief. The result of signs and

wonders, apparently accomplished is a brain fever. She recovers, shaken

in nerve, but sane, and shows it by marrying Captain Seaforth. Eliza

Leslie, _Leonilla Lynmore_ (1840).

=Le´onine= (_3 syl._), servant to Dionyza.—Shakespeare, _Pericles,

Prince of Tyre_ (1608).

=Leonine Verse.= So called from Leonius, a canon of the church of St.

Victor in Paris, in the twelfth century, who first composed them. It is

a verse with a rhyme in the middle as:

Pepper is black, though it hath a good smack.

Est avis in dextra melior quam quatuor extra.

=Leonnoys= or _Leonesse (q.v.)_, a country once joining Cornwall, but

now sunk in the sea full forty fathoms deep. Sir Tristram was born in

Leonês or Leonnoys, and is always called a Cornish knight.

⁂ Tennyson calls the word “Lyonesse,” but Sir T. Malory “Leonês.”

=Léonor=, sister of Isabelle, an orphan; brought up by Ariste (_2

syl._), according to his notions of training a girl to make him a good

wife. He put her on her honor, tried to win her confidence and love,

gave her all the liberty consistent with propriety and social etiquette,

and found that she loved him, and made him a fond and faithful wife.

(See ISABELLE.)—Molière, _L’école des Maris_ (1661).

=Leono´ra=, the usurping queen of Aragon, betrothed to Bertran, a prince

of the blood-royal, but in love with Torrismond, general of the forces.

It turns out that Torrismond is son and heir of Sancho the deposed king.

Sancho is restored, and Torrismond marries Leonora.—Dryden, _The Spanish

Fryar_ (1680).

_Leonora_, betrothed to Don Carlos, but Don Carlos resigned her to Don

Alonzo, to whom she proved a very tender and loving wife. Zanga the

Moor, out of revenge, poisoned the mind of Alonzo against his wife by

insinuating her criminal love for Don Carlos. Out of jealousy, Alonzo

had his friend put to death, and Leonora, knowing herself suspected, put

an end to her life.—Edward Young, _The Revenge_ (1721).

_Leonora_, the daughter of poor parents, who struck the fancy of Don

Diego. The Don made a compact with her parents to take her home with him

and place her under a duenna for three months, to ascertain if her

temper was as sweet as her face was pretty, and at the expiration of

that time, either to return her spotless or to make her his wife. At the

end of three months, Don Diego (a man of 60) goes to arrange for the

marriage, locking his house and garden, as he supposes, securely; but

Leander, a young student, smitten with Leonora, makes his way into the

house, and is about to elope with her when the don returns. Like a man

of sense, Don Diego at once sees the suitability of the match, consents

to the union of the young people, and even settles a marriage portion on

Leonora, his ward if not his wife.—I. Bickerstaff, _The Padlock_.

_Leonora_, betrothed to Ferdinand, a fiery young Spaniard (jealous of

Donna Clara, who has assumed boy’s clothes for a time). Ferdinand

despises the “amphibious coxcomb,” and calls his rival “a vile compound

of fringe, lace, and powder.”—Jephson, _Two Strings to your Bow_ (1792).

_Leonora_, the heroine of Miss Edgeworth’s novel of the same name. The

object of the tale is to make the reader feel what is good, and desirous

of being so (1806).

_Leonora_, wife of Fernando Florestan, a State prisoner in Seville. In

order to effect her husband’s release, she assumed the attire of a man,

and the name of Fidelio. In this disguise she entered the service of

Rocco, the jailer, and Marcellina, the jailer’s daughter, fell in love

with her. Pizzaro, the governor of the prison resolving to assassinate

Fernando Florestan, sent Rocco and Fidelio to dig his grave in the

prison-cell. When Pizarro descended to perpetrate the deed of blood,

Fidelio drew a pistol on him; and the minister of State, arriving at

this crisis, ordered the prisoner to be released. Leonora (_Fidelio_)

was allowed to unlock her husband’s chains, and Pizarro’s revenge came

to naught.—Beethoven, _Fidelio_ (an opera, 1791).

_Leonora_, a princess, who falls in love with Manri´co, the supposed son

of Azuce´na, a gypsy, but in reality the son of Garzia (brother of the

Conte di Luna). The Conte di Luna entertains a base passion for the

princess, and, getting Manrico into his power, is about to kill him,

when Leonora intercedes, and promises to give herself to the count if he

will spare his nephew’s life. The count consents; but while he goes to

release Manrico, Leonora kills herself by sucking poison from a ring,

and Manrico dies also.—Verdi, _Il Trovato´rê_ (an opera, 1853).

_Leonora_ (_The History of_), an episode in the novel of _Joseph

Andrews_, by Fielding (1742).

_Leonora_ [D’ESTE] (_2 syl._), sister of Alfonso II., reigning duke of

Ferrara. The poet Tasso conceived a violent passion for this princess,

“but she knew it not nor viewed it with disdain.” Leonora never married,

but lived with her eldest sister, Lauretta, duchess of Urbino, who was

separated from her husband. The episode of Sophronia and Olindo

(_Jerusalem Delivered_, ii.) is based on this love incident. The

description of Sophronia is that of Leonora, and her ignorance of

Olindo’s love points to the poet’s unregarded devotion.

But thou ... shalt have

One half the laurel which o’ershades my grave ...

Yes, Leonora, it shall be our fate

To be entwined forever—but too late.

Byron, _The Lament of Tasso_ (1817).

=Leonora de Guzman=, the “favorite” of Alfonzo XI., of Castile.

Fernando, not knowing that she was the king’s mistress, fell in love

with her; and Alfonzo, to reward Fernando’s services, gave her to him in

marriage. No sooner was this done, than the bridegroom learned the

character of his bride, rejected her with scorn, and became a monk.

Leonora became a noviciate in the same convent, obtained her husband’s

forgiveness, and died.—Donizetti, _La Favorita_ (an opera, 1842).

=Leon´tes= (_3 syl._), king of Sicily. He invited his old friend

Polixenês, king of Bohemia, to come and stay with him, but became so

jealous of him that he commanded Camillo to poison him. Instead of doing

so, Camillo warned Polixenês of his danger, and fled with him to

Bohemia. The rage of Leontês was now unbounded, and he cast his wife

Hermionê into prison, where she gave birth to a daughter. The king

ordered the infant to be cast out on a desert shore, and then brought

his wife to a public trial. Hermionê fainted in court, the king had her

removed, and Paulina soon came to announce that the queen was dead.

Ultimately, the infant daughter was discovered under the name of

Perdĭta, and was married to Florizel, the son of Polixenês. Hermionê was

also discovered to the king in a _tableau vivant_, and the joy of

Leontês was complete.—Shakespeare, _The Winter’s Tale_ (1604).

=Leon´tius=, a brave but merry old soldier.—Beaumont and Fletcher, _The

Humorous Lieutenant_ (1647).

=Le´opold=, a sea-captain, enamoured of Hippol´yta, a rich lady,

wantonly in love with Arnoldo. Arnoldo, however, is contracted to the

chaste Zeno´cia, who is basely pursued by the governor, Count

Clodio.—Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Custom of the Country_ (1647).

_Leopold_, archduke of Austria, a crusader who arrested Richard I. on

his way home from the Holy Land.—Sir W. Scott, _The Talisman_ (time,

Richard I.).

_Leopold_, nicknamed _Peu-à-peu_ by George IV. Stein, speaking of

Leopold’s vacillating conduct in reference to the Greek throne, says of

him: “He has no color,” _i.e._, no fixed plan of his own, but only

reflects the color of those around him; in other words, he is “blown

about by every wind.”

=Lepol´emo= (_The Exploits and Adventures of_), part of the series

called _Le Roman des Romans_, pertaining to “Amadis, of Gaul.” This part

was added by Pedro de Lujan.

=Leporello=, in _The Libertine_, by Shadwell (1676).