_Lancelot and Elaine._
NORTHUMBERLAND.
_See_ =Northumbria=.
_Coming of Arthur_;
_Harold_.
NORTHUMBERLAND (Earl of).
John Dudley, first duke of Northumberland; executed (1553) for
resisting the accession of Mary to the throne. His son lord Guildford
Dudley was married to lady Jane Grey.
_Queen Mary._
NORTHUMBRIA.
An ancient British kingdom reaching from the Humber to the Firth of
Forth and from the North Sea westward to the Celtic Strathclyde. It
was founded by Ida in 547.
_Harold._
NORWAY.
but came
As night to him that sitting on a hill
Sees the midsummer, midnight, Norway sun
Set into sunrise; then we moved away.
Has reference to the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.
_The Princess._
NORWAY (King of).
_See_ =Hardrada=.
NORWAY.
The northernmost country of Europe.
_Harold._
NOTTINGHAM.
_The Foresters._
NOX.
In Greek mythology the goddess of night.
_Gareth and Lynette._
NUDD.
Father of Edyrn (_q.v._).
_Marriage of Geraint_;
_Geraint and Enid_.
OAF.
A changeling left by the fairies.
_The Foresters._
OAK.
OAK-TREE.
A tree of about 300 species.
_Buonaparte_;
_Talking Oak_;
_Amphion_;
_Lord of Burleigh_;
_Aylmer’s Field_;
_The Princess_;
_Boädicea_;
_In Memoriam_;
_Geraint and Enid_;
_Balin and Balan_;
_Merlin and Vivien_;
_Last Tournament_;
_Hands all Round_;
_To Mary Boyle_;
_The Oak_;
_The Tourney_;
_Claribel_;
_Gareth and Lynette_;
_The Cup_;
_The Foresters_.
OBALISQUE.
A name given to a female slave in the Turkish harem.
_The Princess._
OBERON.
King of the Fairies. He is one of the characters in Shakespeare’s
_Midsummer-Night’s Dream_.
_The Foresters._
ODIN.
or Wodin, the chief god of the Teutonic tribes. His seat was Hlidskialf
in Asgard and he held his court in Walhalla (_q.v._), where the
warriors slain in battle spent their future existence. He was attended
by two black ravens, Hugun and Munin, representing Thought and Memory
respectively.
_The Victim._
ODO.
Half-brother of William the Conqueror, who created him bishop of Bayeux
in 1049. Accompanied the Conqueror to England and fought at the battle
of Senlac, for which service he was created earl of Kent and rewarded
with Dover Castle. During William’s absence from England was viceroy;
built himself a palace at Rome, and even aspired to the popedom;
arrested and imprisoned at Rouen. During the reign of William II he
became the centre of conspiracy and was compelled to flee to Normandy.
In 1085 was present at the proclamation of the first Crusade and in the
following year accompanied duke Robert of Normandy as a crusader. He
died at Palermo in 1097.
_Harold._
ŒNONE.
A nymph of Mount Ida, daughter of Kebren, the river-god, and the wife
of Paris (_q.v._) the shepherd-prince of Troy. She was endowed with
the gift of prophecy and told her husband that his journey to Greece
would be his ruin. During the siege of Troy he was wounded by an arrow,
and sent for Œnone, but on her arrival she found him dead and stabbed
herself over the body.
And muffling up her comely head, and crying
‘Husband’ she leapt upon the funeral pile,
And mixt herself with _him_ and past in fire.
_Œnone_;
_Death of Œnone_.
OLAF.
St. Olaf, not while I am by! Come, come,
Join hands, let brethren dwell in unity;
Olaf II, king of Norway; wrested the throne of Norway from Eric and
Jarl; endeavoured to exterminate paganism by fire and sword; excited
disaffection among his subjects, who rebelled, and with the assistance
of Canute overpowered him. Fled to the court of his brother-in-law,
Jaroslav of Russia; by his help he tried to recover his throne, but
was defeated and slain by Canute at Stiklestad. Was canonized in 1164
and is the patron saint of Norway (995-1030).
_Harold._
OLDCASTLE (Sir John).
_See_ =Cobham=.
OLDHAM.
A farm labourer.
_Promise of May._
OLEANDER.
An evergreen shrub having clusters of beautiful red or white flowers.
_The Daisy._
OLIVE.
A tree cultivated in the East for its oily fruit. Its branches are the
emblems of peace.
_The Princess_;
_The Daisy_;
_Maud_;
_Frater Ave Atque Vale_.
OLIVE.
And hear me swear a solemn oath,
That only by thy side
Will I to Olive plight my troth
And gain her for my bride.
= A girl’s name.
_Talking Oak._
OLIVET.
Mount of Olivet or Olives, also called Mount of Corruption. A rising
ground to the east of Jerusalem over against the Temple hill, and
separated from it by the Kidron valley. At its summit is the church of
the Ascension, and on its west slope Gethsemane.
_In Memoriam._
OLIVIA.
Betrothed to a young Englishman named Walter. During his absence she
spent much of her time beneath the boughs of an old oak-tree. When
Walter returned, the oak-tree--supposed to be gifted with speech--gave
him an account of her doings during his absence. In return for the
information he vowed to make for his bride a bridal wreath of alternate
leaf and acorn ball.
_Talking Oak._
OLYMPIAN.
From out the Ghost of Pindar in you
Roll’d an Olympian;
Has reference to an Olympian Ode, written by Pindar in honour of the
victors at the Olympian games.
_To Professor Jebb._
OMAR.
that large infidel
Your Omar; and your Omar drew
Full-handed plaudits from our best
In modern letters,
Fitzgerald’s translation of _Omar Khayyám_, the astronomer poet of
Persia.
_To E. Fitzgerald._
OPHIR.
but _had_ I brought
From Solomon’s now-recover’d Ophir all
The gold that Solomon’s navies carried home,
In his fourth voyage Columbus arrived at Veragua, and the amount of
gold obtained from the mines of that district led him to believe that
he had discovered the place from which Solomon obtained his supplies of
gold. _See_ 1 Kings ix. 28.
_Columbus._
OPPIAN LAW.
for on one side arose
The women up in wild revolt, and storm’d
At the Oppian law.
_See_ =Cato=.
_The Princess._
ORAN.
A port in Algeria.
_Ballad of Oriana._
ORANGE.
A tree of the genus _Citrus_.
_Queen Mary_;
_Promise of May_.
ORANGE.
Was the capital of the small principality of Orange in France. Passed
by marriage into the hands of the house of Nassau in 1531, and the
first Nassau prince of Orange was the father of William the Silent. The
principality was annexed by France in 1713.
_Queen Mary._
ORCHIS.
A genus containing ten of the British species of orchids.
_In Memoriam._
OREAD.
A mountain-nymph.
_Œnone_;
_Lucretius_;
_Maud_.
ORIANA.
Heroine of the _Ballad of Oriana_. As she stood on the castle wall,
watching her lover go forth to battle, she was pierced through the
heart by an arrow.
_Ballad of Oriana._
ORIEL.
She took her throne:
She sat betwixt the shining Oriels,
To sing her songs alone.
A recess in a room with a bay-window.
_Palace of Art_;
_Day-Dream_;
_Lancelot and Elaine_;
_Holy Grail_.
ORION.
In Greek mythology a giant and hunter, son of Hyrieus. He fell in love
with Merope, daughter of Œnopion, but was struck blind by Œnopion
because of his treatment of her, but recovered his sight by exposing
his eyeballs to the rays of the rising sun. At his death he was placed
in the heavens as a constellation.
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,
Or loose the bands of Orion?
_Job xxxviii. 31._
_Locksley Hall_;
_Maud_.
ORKNEY.
A group of islands north of Scotland.
_Coming of Arthur_;
_Harold_.
ORM.
Father of Gamel.
_Harold._
O’ROON (Danny).
_See_ =Dan, Danny O’Roon=.
O’SHEA (Shamus).
_See_ =Shamus, Shamus O’Shea=.
OSIER.
A water-willow, from withes of which baskets are made.
_Enoch Arden._
OUTRAM (Sir James).
Son of Benjamin Outram of Butterley Hall, Derbyshire. Appointed in
1840 a British Political Agent in Sind, and distinguished himself by
his heroic defence of the British Residency at Hyderabad. Appointed
Chief Commissioner of Oudh in 1843, and in 1857 joined the Persian
expedition. During his absence the Mutiny broke out, and on his return
was offered the commandership of the Lucknow Relief Force, but waived
his military rank and acted as a volunteer under Havelock (_q.v._),
who had already fought eight victorious battles with the rebels. After
Lucknow was relieved he assumed the command, only to be in turn himself
besieged, and relieved by sir Colin Campbell. Was rewarded with a
baronetcy, a pension of £1,000 and the Freedom of London. He died at
Paris in 1863, and was buried in Westminster Abbey where the slab on
his grave bears the epitaph: _The Bayard of India_. Statues have been
erected to his memory in London and Calcutta.
_Defence of Lucknow._
OUZEL.
One of the several species of thrushes, especially the blackbird.
_Gardener’s Daughter._
OWL.
A bird that seeks its food by night, noted for its howling or hooting
noise.
_The Owl_;
_St. Simeon Stylites_;
_The Princess_;
_Gareth and Lynette_;
_Balin and Balan_;
_Lancelot and Elaine_;
_Holy Grail_;
_Despair_;
_Forlorn_.
OWLBY.
He’ll niver swap Owlby an’ Scratby fur owt but the Kingdom o’
Heaven;
_Church-warden and the Curate._
OWLET.
A young owl.
_Leonine Elegiacs._
OXFORD.
A city and capital of Oxfordshire. It is the seat of one of the English
Universities.
_Queen Mary_;
_Becket_;
_The Foresters_.
OXLIP.
A species of primrose.
_Talking Oak._
PADRE (Goan).
_See_ =Goan Padre=.
PADUA.
A city of Venetia.
_Queen Mary._
PÆAN.
An ancient Greek hymn, sung in honour of Apollo.
_Two Voices._
PAGET (Lord).
William Paget, first baron; played a prominent part in the plot to
set aside the will of Henry VIII; joined queen Jane’s council on the
death of Edward VI, but sanctioned the proclamation of Mary. Made Lord
Privy Seal, but on accession of Elizabeth he relinquished the office
(1505-1563).
_Queen Mary._
PALLAS.
PALLAS ATHENE.
In Greek mythology the goddess of Wisdom, daughter of Zeus, identified
with the Roman Minerva. She was produced from Zeus’ brain without a
mother. The story is that Zeus in fear that a son stronger than himself
would be born, devoured his first wife Metis, but Hephæstus clave
open his head with an axe and Athene sprang forth in full armour, the
goddess of eternal virginity. Her powers were equal to those of Zeus;
she could hurl the thunder of Jupiter, and bestow the gift of prophecy.
A yearly festival, called Panathenæa, was founded in her honour by
Theseus, one of the Greek heroes. A magnificent temple called the
Parthenon was built on top of the Acropolis at Athens in her honour,
and a colossal statue wrought in ivory and gold, some thirty feet in
height, was erected. Her attributes are the helmet, the lance, the
round shield with the Gorgon’s head, the olive branch and the owl. When
Paris (_q.v._) the shepherd-prince of Troy was appointed to decide
which of the three goddesses (Juno, Pallas Athene, and Venus) was the
most beautiful, and to which should be awarded the golden apple, the
prize of beauty, Pallas attempted to bribe him by promising him wisdom.
‘Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,
These three alone lead life to sovereign power.
Yet not for power (power of herself
Would come uncall’d for) but to live by law,
Acting the law we live by without fear;
And, because right is right, to follow right
Were wisdom in the scorn of consequence.’
* * * * *
Again she said: ‘I woo thee not with gifts.
Sequel to guerdon could not alter me
To fairer. Judge thou me by what I am,
So shalt thou find me fairest.
* * * * *
Here she ceas’d.
And Paris ponder’d, and I cried, ‘O Paris,
Give it to Pallas!’ but he heard me not,
Or hearing would not hear me, woe is me!
Paris decided in favour of Venus.
_A Character_;
_Œnone_;
_The Princess_;
_In Memoriam_;
_Achilles over the Trench_;
_Tiresias_.
PALM.
PALM-TREE.
A tropical tree of many varieties bearing at the summit large leaves
like the palm of the hand. A leaf of the palm, anciently borne was a
symbol of victory or rejoicing.
_Arabian Nights_;
_Palace of Art_;
_Lotos Eaters_;
_‘You ask me why,’ etc._;
_St. Simeon Stylites_;
_Locksley Hall_;
_Enoch Arden_;
_Aylmer’s Field_;
_The Princess_;
_A Welcome to Her Royal Highness Marie Alexandrovna,
Duchess of Edinburgh_;
_The Daisy_;
_The Islet_;
_In Memoriam_;
_Gareth and Lynette_;
_Lover’s Tale_;
_Columbus_;
_The Wreck_;
_To Ulysses_;
_Akbar’s Dream_;
_Harold_;
_The Foresters_.
PALMYRENE.
Zenobia, wife of Bedouin Septimius Odenathus, king of Palmyra. After
her husband’s death she was appointed queen and conquered Egypt. She
then aimed at the complete independence of the Roman empire but was
defeated by Aurelian at Hemesa, +A.D.+ 272, and herself captured. She
was taken to Rome, but was presented by Aurelian with possessions at
Tivoli, where she passed the rest of her life in the society of her
two sons. She was a beautiful woman, endowed with prudence and great
courage.
_The Princess._
PAN.
In Greek mythology the son of Hermes and the god of shepherds. The
Romans identified the Greek Pan with their god Faunus (_q.v._). He is
represented with horns and goat’s feet; hence is derived the modern
devil of Christianity.
_In Memoriam._
PANCRATIUS (St. Pancras).
Son of a heathen noble of Synnada in Phrygia. Being taken to Rome he
was during the persecution of Diocletian executed, when only fourteen
years of age. He is represented as the Latin saint of children, with
a sword in one hand and a palm in the other. St. Pancras Station, the
terminus of the Midland Railway in London, is named from the parish in
which it is situated.
_Harold._
PANDORA-BOX.
This beggarly life,
This poor, flat, hedged-in-field--no distance--this
Hollow Pandora-box,
With all the pleasures flown, not even Hope
Left at the bottom!
In Greek mythology a beautiful woman whom Jupiter in order to
punish the human race--because Prometheus had stolen the heavenly
fire--constructed on earth. Jupiter gave her a box containing all human
ills which, when opened, escaped and spread over all the earth, Hope
alone remaining at the bottom of the box.
_Promise of May._
PANSY.
A species of violet.
_Gardener’s Daughter._
PANTHER.
A fierce spotted quadruped, allied to the leopard.
_Œnone_;
_Death of Œnone_.
PAPHIAN.
Paphos, a town in Cyprus, chiefly identified as a centre of the worship
of Aphroditè, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Aphroditè means
‘sea-foam’ and Paphos is the place where she is said to have landed
after her birth from the sea.
_Œnone._
PAPHLAGONIA.
Have you alliances?
Bithynia, Pontus, Paphlagonia?
An ancient country in Asia Minor. The country was independent under
Persian and Macedonian rule. It passed later to Pontus and subsequently
became a Roman province, +B.C.+ 65.
_The Cup._
PARAGUAY.
A South American state.
_To Ulysses._
PARIS.
He groan’d, he turn’d, and in the mist at once
Became a shadow, sank and disappear’d,
But, ere the mountain rolls into the plain,
Fell headlong dead; and of the shepherds one
Their oldest, and the same who first had found
Paris, a naked babe, among the woods
Of Ida, following lighted on him there,
And shouted, and the shepherds heard and came.
Son of Priam and Hecuba, king and queen of Troy. When an infant his
mother dreamed that she saw a flaming brand in the cradle where the
child lay. Hecuba, very anxious to know the meaning of the dream,
decided to ask an oracle to explain it, and was informed that the
child was destined to bring destruction on his native city. To escape
this calamity Paris was carried away to a forest to die of hunger,
but was found by shepherds who brought him up, hence he is called the
shepherd-prince of Troy. He married Œnone, daughter of the river-god
Kebren, but was afterwards rewarded by Venus with the love of the
beautiful Helen of Sparta whom he carried off to Greece and which led
to the Trojan War. The story is, that on the occasion of the marriage
of Peleus and Thetis, Eris the goddess of strife was the only goddess
not invited to the wedding, and to show her displeasure threw among
the guests a golden apple on which was written ‘For the fairest.’ The
three goddesses (Juno, Pallas Athene, and Venus), each claimed the
apple, and Paris was appointed to judge which of the three was the most
beautiful. On appearing before Paris they each made attempts to bribe
him in order to gain the verdict. Juno promised him sovereignty:
She to Paris made
Proffer of ample power, ample rule
Unquestion’d, overflowing revenue
Wherewith to embellish state, ‘from many a vale
And river-sunder’d champaign clothed with corn,
Or labour’d mine undrainable of ore.
* * * * *
Still she spake on and still she spake of power,
‘Which in all action is the end of all;
Power fitted to the season; wisdom-bred
And throned of wisdom--from all neighbour crowns
Alliance and allegiance, till thy hand
Fail from the sceptre-staff.
Pallas Athene promised him wisdom:
‘Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,
These three alone lead life to sovereign power.
Yet not for power (power of herself
Would come uncall’d for) but to live by law,
Acting the law we live by without fear;
And, because right is right, to follow right
Were wisdom in the scorn of consequence.’
* * * * *
Again she said: ‘I woo thee not with gifts,
Sequel of guerdon could not alter me
To fairer. Judge thou me by what I am,
So shalt thou find me fairest.
* * * * *
‘Here she ceas’d,
And Paris ponder’d, and I cried, ‘O Paris,
Give it to Pallas!’ but he heard me not,
Or hearing would not hear me, woe is me!
Venus promised him the fairest woman in Greece for his wife:
Idalian Aphroditè beautiful,
Fresh as the foam, new-bathed in Paphian wells,
With rosy slender fingers backward drew
From her warm brows and bosom her deep hair
Ambrosial, golden round her lucid throat
And shoulder; from the violets her light foot
Shone rosy-white, and o’er her rounded form
Between the shadows of the vine-bunches
Floated the glowing sunlights, as she moved.
* * * * *
She with a subtle smile in her mild eyes,
The herald of her triumph, drawing nigh
Half-whisper’d in his ear, ‘I promise thee
The fairest and most loving wife in Greece,’
She spoke and laugh’d: I shut my sight for fear:
But when I look’d, Paris had raised his arm,
And I beheld great Herè’s angry eyes,
As she withdrew into the golden cloud,
And I was left alone within the bower;
And from that time to this I am alone,
And I shall be alone until I die.
Paris handed the apple to Venus. Subsequently during a visit to Sparta
he abused the hospitality of Menelaos, for during his absence in Crete
Paris eloped with Helen. To avenge this insult Menelaos laid siege
to the city of Troy, and fought a single combat with Paris, whom he
defeated, and who would have perished had not Venus interfered. In a
succeeding battle Paris slew Achilles, the most famous of all the Greek
heroes in the war, but on the fall of the city, being himself mortally
wounded by a poisoned arrow of Philocteles, he sent for Œnone whom he
had abandoned, but upon her arrival she found him dead, and in despair
threw herself upon his body and stabbed herself.
_Œnone_;
_Death of Œnone_.
PARIS (city of).
_Locksley Hall Sixty Years After_;
_Romney’s Remorse_;
_The Dawn_.
PARMA.
An Italian town.
_The Daisy._
PARNASSUS.
The highest peak of a range of mountains in Greece, dedicated to the
Muses, Apollo and Bacchus.
_In Memoriam._
PARROT.
One of a family of tropical birds, remarkable for its beautiful
plumage, and its powers of imitating the human voice.
_Locksley Hall_;
_Day-Dream_;
_The Princess_.
PARTHENON.
O thou so fair in summers gone,
While yet thy fresh and virgin soul
Inform’d the pillar’d Parthenon,
The glittering Capitol;
A celebrated temple on the Acropolis at Athens, built under Pericles
and dedicated +B.C.+ 438 to Athena. It is considered the finest
specimen of Greek architecture extant. A gold and ivory statue of the
goddess Athene stands in the midst of the Parthenon.
_Freedom._
PARTHIAN.
The last Parthian shaft of a forlorn Cupid at the King’s left breast,
and all left-handedness and under-handedness.
An arrow discharged at an enemy when retreating from him, as was the
custom of the ancient Parthians.
_Becket._
PARTRIDGE.
A wild gallinaceous bird of the genus _Perdix_. It is noted as a game
bird.
_Lover’s Tale._
PASSION-FLOWER.
A flower so-called from a fanciful resemblance to a crown of thorns,
the emblem of Christ’s passion.
_Maud_;
_Voyage of Maeldune_.
PAUL.
Saint Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles.
_Godiva_;
_In Memoriam_;
_Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham_;
_Queen Mary_.
PAUL THE FOURTH (Pope).
_See_ =Caraffa=.
PAUL’S.
Right down by smoky Paul’s they bore,
Till, where the street grows straiter,
One fix’d for ever at the door,
And one became head-waiter.
= St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. Founded by Ethelbert. In Roman times a
temple of Diana is believed to have stood on the site, as a stone altar
sculptured with the image of Diana was found during the excavations for
the foundations of Goldsmith’s hall, in 1830. Destroyed by fire 1087,
and again in the great fire of 1666; rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren
1675-1710.
_Will Waterproof’s Lyrical Monologue._
‘PEACE, BE STILL!’
and while I spoke
The crowd’s roar fell as at the ‘Peace be still!’
Has reference to the words of Christ in the storm on the Sea of Galilee.
_Columbus._
PAYNIM.
= Pagan.
_Balin and Balan_;
_Holy Grail_;
_Last Tournament_.
PEACH.
A tree with a delicious juicy fruit.
_Progress of Spring_;
_The Falcon_.
PEACOCK.
A large bird of the pheasant kind remarkable for the beauty of its
plumage, especially that of its tail.
_Œnone_;
_Day-Dream_;
_The Princess_;
_The Daisy_;
_Maud_;
_Gareth and Lynette_;
_Queen Mary_.
PEACOCK-YEWTREE.
A yewtree clipped into the shape of a peacock.
_Enoch Arden._
PEA-HEN.
The female of the peacock.
_The Falcon._
PEELÈ.
A goddess who had her home in a great lake of fire nine miles
round--Kilauēä--(_q.v._) the largest active volcano in the world.
_Kapiolani._
PELEÏAN BANQUET-HALL.
The Abominable, that uninvited came
Into the fair Peleïan banquet-hall,
The banquet-hall in which the guests at the marriage of Peleus and
Thetis assembled, and where Eris the goddess of strife threw among the
guests the golden apple of discord.
_Œnone._
PELEION.
unweariable fire
That always o’er the great Peleion’s head
Burn’d,
= Achilles, so-called because he was the son of Peleus.
_Achilles over the Trench._
PELEUS.
‘This was cast upon the board,
When all the full-faced presence of the Gods
Ranged in the halls of Peleus; whereupon
Rose feud, with question unto whom ’twere due;
Has reference to the marriage of Peleus with the sea-nymph Thetis, and
where Eris the goddess of discord threw the golden apple among the
guests, to show her resentment at not being invited.
_Œnone._
PELICAN.
I saw
The pelican on the casque of our Sir Bors
All in the middle of the rising moon:
The pelican used as a crest was a symbol of devotion to a kinsman.
_Holy Grail._
PELLAM.
King of Listengise. He gave a feast to all the knights of the Round
Table and their ladies; and they all rose from the table and attacked
Balin for having slain sir Galon, Pellam himself being wounded by a
miraculous spear but was healed of the wound by sir Galahad.
_Balin and Balan._
PELLEAS.
A Knight of the Round Table, created to fill one of the gaps made by
the quest of the Holy Grail, and lord of many Isles. Fell in love with
the lady Ettarre (_q.v._) but the lady did not return his love. For
some time was knight to queen Guinevere. Was slain by sir Meliagrance
in defending his mistress.
_Pelleas and Ettarre._
PEMBROKE (Earl of).