on May-day, Little John used to occupy the right hand side of Robin
Hood, and Will Stukely the left. (See STUTLY.)
_Stukely_ (_Captain Harry_), nephew of Sir Gilbert Pumpkin of Strawberry
Hall.--I. Jackman, _All the World’s a Stage_.
=Stupid Boy= (_The_), St. Thomas Aquinas; also called at school “The
Dumb Ox” (1224-1274).
=Sturgeon= (_Major_), J.P., “the fishmonger from Brentford,” who turned
volunteer. This bragging major makes love to Mrs. Jerry Sneak.--S.
Foote, _The Mayor of Garratt_ (1763).
We had some desperate duty, Sir Jacob ... such marchings and
counter-marchings, from Brentford to Ealing, from Ealing to Acton,
from Acton to Uxbridge. Why, there was our last expedition to
Hounslow; that day’s work carried off Major Molossas.... But to
proceed. On we marched, the men all in high spirits, to attack the
gibbet where Gardel is hanging; but, turning down a narrow lane to the
left, as it might be about there, in order to possess a pigstye, that
we might take the gallows in flank and secure a retreat, who should
come by but a drove of fat oxen for Smithfield. The drums beat in
front, the dogs barked in the rear, the oxen set up a gallop; on they
came, thundering upon us, broke through our ranks in an instant, and
threw the whole corps into confusion.--Act i. 1.
=Sturmthal= (_Melchoir_), the banneret of Berne, one of the Swiss
deputies.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Stutly= (_Will_), sometimes called _Will Stukely_, a companion of
Little John. In the morris-dance on May-day, Little John occupied the
right hand side of Robin Hood, and Will Stutly the left. His rescue from
the sheriff of [Notts.] by Robin Hood forms the subject of one of the
Robin Hood Ballads.
When Robin Hood in the greenwood lived,
Under the greenwood tree,
Tidings there came to him with speed,
Tidings for certaintie,
That Will Stutley surprisëd was,
And eke in prison lay;
Three varlets that the sheriff hired,
Did likely him betray.
_Robin Hood’s Rescuing Will Stutly_, iv. 15.
=Stuyvesant= (_Peter_).
“If, from all I have said, thou dost not gather, worthy reader, that
Peter Stuyvesant was a tough, sturdy, valiant, weather-beaten,
mettlesome, obstinate, leather-sided, lion-hearted, generous-spirited
old governor, either I have written to but little purpose, or thou art
very dull at drawing conclusions.”--Diedrich Knickerbocker (Washington
Irving), _A History of New York_ (1809).
=Styles= (_Tom_ or _John_), or _Tom o’ Styles_, a phrase name at one
time used by lawyers in actions of ejectment. Jack Noakes and Tom Styles
used to act in law the part that N or M acts in the church. The legal
fiction has been abolished.
I have no connection with the company further than giving them, for a
certain fee and reward, my poor opinion as a medical man, precisely as
I may give it to Jack Noakes or Tom Styles.--Dickens.
⁂ Tom Styles, Jack Noakes, John Doe, and Richard Roe, are all Mrs.
Harrises of the legal profession, _nomina et præterea nihil_.
=Subtle=, the “alchemist,” an artful quack, who pretends to be on the
eve of discovering the philosopher’s stone. Sir Epicure Mammon, a rich
knight, is his principal dupe, but by no means his only one.--Ben
Jonson, _The Alchemist_ (1610).
_Subtle_, an Englishman settled in Paris. He earns a living by the
follies of his countrymen who visit the gay capital.
_Mrs. Subtle_, wife of Mr. Subtle, and a help-meet for him.--Foote, _The
Englishman in Paris_ (1753).
=Subtle Doctor= (_The_), Duns Scotus, famous for his metaphysical
speculations in theology (1265-1308).
=Subvolvans=, inhabitants of the moon, in everlasting strife with the
Privolvans. The former live under ground in cavities, “eight miles deep
and eighty round;” the latter on “the upper ground.” Every summer the
under-ground lunatics come to the surface to attack the “grounders,” but
at the approach of winter slink back again into their holes.--S. Butler,
_The Elephant in the Moon_ (1754).
=Such Things Are=, a comedy by Mrs. Inchbald (1786). The scene lies in
India, and the object of the play is to represent the tyranny of the old
_régime_, and the good influence of the British element, represented by
Haswell, the royal physician. The main feature is an introduction to the
dungeons, and the infamous neglect of the prisoners, amongst whom is
Arabella, the sultan’s beloved English wife, whom he has been searching
for unsuccessfully for fifteen years. Haswell receives the royal signet,
and is entrusted with unlimited power by the sultan.
=Suckfist= (_Lord_), defendant in the great Pantagruelian lawsuit, known
as “Lord Busqueue _v._ Lord Suckfist,” in which the plaintiff and
defendant pleaded in person. After hearing the case, the bench declared,
“We have not understood one single circumstance of the matter on either
side.” But Pantagruel gave judgment, and as both plaintiff and defendant
left the court fully persuaded that the verdict was in his own favor,
they were both highly satisfied, “a thing without parallel in the annals
of the law.”--Rabelais, _Pantagruel_, ii. 11-13 (1533).
=Suddlechop= (_Benjamin_), “the most renowned barber in all Fleet
Street.” A thin, half-starved creature.
_Dame Ursula Suddlechop_, the barber’s wife. “She could contrive
interviews for lovers, and relieve frail fair ones of the burden of a
guilty passion.” She had been a pupil of Mrs. Turner, and learnt of her
the secret of making yellow starch, and two or three other prescriptions
more lucrative still. The dame was scarcely 40 years of age, of full
form and comely features, with a joyous, good-humored expression.
Dame Ursula had acquaintances ... among the quality, and maintained
her intercourse ... partly by driving a trade in perfumes, essences,
pomades, head-gears from France, not to mention drugs of various
descriptions, chiefly for the use of ladies, and partly by other
services, more or less connected with the esoteric branches of her
profession.--Sir W. Scott, _Fortunes of Nigel_, viii. (time, James
I.).
=Suds= (_Mrs._), any washerwoman or laundress.
=Suicides from Books.=
CLEOM´BROTOS, the Academic philosopher, killed himself after reading
Plato’s _Phædon_, that he might enjoy the happiness of the future life,
so enchantingly described.
FRÄULEIN VON LASSBERG drowned herself in spleen, after reading Goethe’s
_Sorrows of Werther_.
=Sulin-Sifad´da=, one of the two steeds of Cuthullin, general of the
Irish tribes. The name of the other was Dusronnal.
Before the right side of the car is seen the snorting horse; the
high-maned, broad-breasted, proud, wide-leaping, strong steed of the
hill. Loud and resounding is his hoof; the spreading of his mane above
is like a stream of smoke on a ridge of rocks. Bright are the sides of
his steed. His name is Sulin-Sifadda.--Ossian, _Fingal_, i.
Dusronnal snorted over the bodies of heroes.
Sifadda bathed his hoof in blood.--Ditto.
=Sulky= (_Mr._), executor of Mr. Warren, and partner in Dornton’s bank.
With a sulky, grumpy exterior, he has a kind heart, and is strictly
honest. When Dornton is brought to the brink of ruin by his son’s
extravagance, Sulky comes nobly forward to the rescue. (See SILKY.)--T.
Holcroft, _The Road to Ruin_ (1792).
And oh! for monopoly. What a blest day,
When the lank and the silk shall, in fond combination
(Like Sulky and Silky, that pair in the play).
Cry out with one voice for “high rents” and “starvation!”
T. Moore, _Ode to the Goddess Ceres_ (1806).
=Sullen= (_Squire_), son of Lady Bountiful by her first husband. He
married the sister of Sir Charles Freeman, but after fourteen months,
their tempers and dispositions were found so incompatible that they
mutually agreed to a divorce.
He says little, thinks less, and does nothing at all. Faith! but he’s
a man of great estate, and values nobody.--Act i. 1.
Parson Trulliber, Sir Wilful Witwould, Sir Francis Wronghead, Squire
Western, Squire Sullen--such were the people who composed the main
strength of the tory party for sixty years after the Revolution.--Lord
Macaulay.
⁂ “Parson Trulliber,” in _Joseph Andrews_ (by Fielding); “Sir Wilful
Witwould,” in _The Way of the World_ (Congreve); “Sir Francis
Wronghead,” in _The Provoked Husband_ (by Cibber); “Squire Western,” in
_Tom Jones_ (by Fielding).
_Mrs. Sullen_, sister of Sir Charles Freeman, and wife of Squire Sullen.
They had been married fourteen months, when they agreed mutually to a
separation, for in no one single point was there any compatibility
between them. The squire was sullen, the lady sprightly; he could not
drink tea with her, and she could not drink ale with him; he hated ombre
and picquet, she hated cock-fighting and racing; he would not dance, and
she would not hunt. Mrs. Sullen liked Archer, friend of Thomas Viscount
Aimwell, both fortune-hunters; and Squire Sullen, when he separated from
his wife, was obliged to resign the £20,000, which he received with her
as a dowry.--George Farquhar, _The Beaux’ Stratagem_ (1707).
=Sul-Malla=, daughter of Conmor, king of Inis-Huna and his wife,
Clun-galo. Disguised as a warrior, Sul-Malla follows Cathmor to the war;
but Cathmor, walking his round, discovers Sul-Malla asleep, falls in
love with her, but exclaims, “This is no time for love.” He strikes his
shield to rouse the host to battle, and is slain by Fingal. The sequel
of Sul-Malla is not given.
Clun-galo came. She missed the maid. “Where art thou, beam of light?
Hunters from the mossy rock, saw you the blue-eyed fair? Are her steps
on grassy Lumon, near the bed of roses? Ah, me! I beheld her bow in
the hall. Where art thou, beam of light?”--Ossian, _Temora_, vi. (Set
to music by Sir H. Bishop.)
=Summerson= (_Esther_). (See ESTHER HAWDON.)
=Summons to Death.=
JACQUES MOLAY, grand-master of the Knights Templars, as he was led to
the stake, summoned the Pope (Clement V.) within forty days, and the
king (Philippe IV.) within forty weeks to appear before the throne of
God to answer for his murder. They both died within the stated time.
MONTREAL D’ALBANO, called “Fra Moriale,” knight of St. John of
Jerusalem, and captain of the Grand Company in the fourteenth century,
when sentenced to death by Rienzi, summoned him to follow within the
month. Rienzi was within the month killed by the fickle mob.
PETER and JOHN DE CARVAJAL, being condemned to death on circumstantial
evidence alone, appealed, but without success, to Ferdinand IV. of
Spain. On their way to execution, they declared their innocence, and
summoned the king to appear before God within thirty days. Ferdinand was
quite well on the thirtieth day, but was found dead in his bed next
morning.
GEORGE WISHART, a Scotch reformer, was condemned to the stake by
Cardinal Beaton. While the fire was blazing about him, the martyr
exclaimed in a loud voice, “He who from yon high place beholdeth me with
such pride, shall be brought low, even to the ground, before the trees
which have supplied these faggots have shed their leaves.” It was March
when these words were uttered, and the cardinal died in June.
=Sun= (_The_). The device of Edward III., was the sun bursting through a
cloud. Hence Edward III. is called “our half-faced sun.”--Shakespeare,
_2 Henry VI._ act iv. sc. 1 (1592).
=Sun-Steeds.= Brontê (“thunder”) and Amethēa (“no loiterer”), Æthon
(“fiery red”) and Pyroïs (“fire”); Lampos (“shining like a lamp”), used
only at noon; Philogēa (“effulgence”), used only in the westering
course.
⁂ Phaĕton (“the shining one”) and Abraxas (the Greek numeral for 365)
were the horses of Aurora, or the morning sun.
=Sun´ith=, one of the six Wise Men of the East led by the guiding star
to Jesus. He had three holy daughters.--Klopstock, _The Messiah_, v.
(1771).
=Sunshine of St. Eulalie´= (3 _syl._), Evangeline.
Sunshine of St. Eulălie was she called, for that was the sunshine
Which, as the farmers believed, would load their orchards with apples.
Longfellow, _Evangeline_, i. 1 (1849).
=Super Grammat´icam=, Sigismund, emperor of Germany (1366, 1411-1437).
At the council of Constance, held 1414, Sigismund used the word
_schisma_ as a noun of the feminine gender (_illa nefanda schisma_). A
prig of a cardinal corrected him, saying “‘Schisma,’ your highness, is
neuter gender;” when the kaiser turned on him with ineffable scorn,
and said, “I am king of the Romans, and what is grammar to me?” [_Ego
sum rex Romanus et super grammaticam._]--Carlyle, _Frederick the
Great_ (1858).
=Superstitions about Animals.=
ANT. When ants are unusually busy, foul weather is at hand.
Ants never sleep.--Emerson, _Nature_, iv.
Ants lay up food for winter use.--_Prov._ vi. 6-8; xxx. 25.
Ants’ eggs are an antidote to love.
ASS. The mark running down the back of an ass, and cut at right angles
over the shoulders, is the cross of Christ impressed on the animal
because Christ rode on an ass in His triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
Three hairs taken from the “cross” of an ass will cure the
whooping-cough, but the ass from which the hairs are plucked will die.
The ass is deaf to music, and hence Apollo gave Midas the ears of an
ass, because he preferred the piping of Pan to the music of Apollo’s
lute.
BARNACLE. A barnacle broken off a ship turns into a Solan goose.
Like your Scotch barnacle, now a block,
Instantly a worm, and presently a great goose.
Marston, _The Malecontent_ (1604).
BASILISK. The basilisk can kill at a distance by the “poison” of its
glance.
There’s not a glance of thine
But, like a basilisk, comes winged with death.
Lee, _Alexander the Great_, v. 1 (1678).
BEAR. The cub of a bear is licked into shape and life by its dam.
So watchful Bruin forms with plastic care
Each growing lump and brings it to a bear.
Pope, _The Dunciad_, i. 101 (1728).
BEAVER. When a beaver is hunted, it bites off the part which the
hunters seek, and then, standing upright, shows the hunters it is
useless to continue the pursuit. [Æsop tells a similar story of a
civet-cat.]--Eugenius Philalethes, _Brief Natural History_, 89.
BEE. If bees swarm on a rotten tree, a death in the family will occur
within the twelvemonth.
Swarmed on a rotten stick the bees I spied,
Which erst I saw when Goody Dobson dyed.
Gay, _Pastoral_, v. (1714).
Bees will never thrive if you quarrel with them or about them.
If a member of the family dies and the bees are not put into mourning,
they will forsake their hive.
It is unlucky for a stray swarm of bees to alight on your premises.
BEETLES. Beetles are both deaf and blind.
CAT. When cats wash their ears more than usual, rain is at hand.
When the cat washes her face over her ears, wee shall have great shore
of raine.--Melton, _Astrologastor_, 45.
The sneezing of a cat indicates good luck to a bride.
Crastina nupturæ lux est prosperrima sponsæ:
Felix fele bonum sternuit omen amor.
Robert Keuchen, _Crepundia_, 413.
If a cat sneezes thrice, a cold will run through the family.
Satan’s favorite form is that of a black cat, and hence is it the
familiar of witches.
A cat has nine lives.
_Tybalt._ What wouldst thou have with me?
_Mer._ Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine
lives.--Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_, act iii. sc. 1 (1595).
CHAMELEONS live on air only.
I saw him eat the air for food.
Lloyd, _The Chameleon_.
COW. If a milkmaid neglects to wash her hands after milking, her cows
will go dry.
Curst cows have curt horns. _Curst_ means “angry, fierce.”
God sends a curst cow short horns.--Shakespeare, _Much Ado About
Nothing_, act ii. sc. 1 (1600).
CRICKET. Crickets bring good luck to a house. To kill crickets is
unlucky. If crickets forsake a house, a death in the family will soon
follow.
It is a signe of death to some in a house, if the crickets on a sudden
forsake the chimney.--Melton, _Astrologastor_, 45.
CROCODILES moan and sigh, like persons in distress, to allure travellers
and make them their prey.
As the mournful crocodile
With sorrow snares relentless passengers.
Shakespeare, _2 Henry VI._ act iii. sc. 1 (1591).
Crocodiles weep over the prey which they devour.
The crocodile will weep over a man’s head when he [_it_] hath devoured
the body, and then he will eat up the head too.--Bullokar, _English
Expositor_ (1616).
Paul Lucas tells us that the hummingbird and lapwing enter fearlessly
the crocodile’s mouth, and the creature never injures them, because they
pick its teeth.--_Voyage fait en_ 1714.
CROW. If a crow croaks an odd number of times, look out for foul
weather; if an even number, it will be fine.
[_The superstitious_] listen in the morning whether the crow crieth
even or odd, and by that token presage the weather.--Dr. Hall,
_Characters of Vertues and Vices_, 87.
If a crow flies over a house and croaks thrice, it is a bad
omen.--Ramesey, _Elminthologia_, 271 (1668).
If a crow flutters about a window and caws, it forbodes a death.
Night crowes screech aloud,
Fluttering ’bout casements of departing soules.
Marston, _Antonio and Mellida_, ii. (1602).
Several crows fluttered about the head of Cicero on the day that he
was murdered by Popilius Lænas ... one of them even made its way into
his chamber, and pulled away the bedclothes.--Macaulay, _History of
St. Kilda_, 176.
If crows flock together early in the morning, and gape at the sun, the
weather will be hot and dry; but if they stalk at nightfall into water,
and croak, rain is at hand.--Willsford, _Nature’s Secrets_, 133.
When crows forsake a wood in a flock, it forebodes a
famine.--_Supplement to the Athenian Oracle_, 476.
DEATH-WATCH. The clicking or tapping of the beetle called a death-watch
is an omen of death to some one in the house.
Chamber-maids christen this worm a “Death-watch,”
Because, like a watch, it always cries “click;”
Then woe be to those in the house that are sick,
For sure as a gun they will give up the ghost ...
But a kettle of scalding hot water injected
Infallibly cures the timber infected;
The omen is broken, the danger is over,
The maggot will die, and the sick will recover.
Swift, _Wood an Insect_ (1725).
DOG. If dogs howl by night near a house, it presages the death of a sick
inmate.
If doggs howle in the night neer an house where somebody is sick, ’tis
a signe of death.--Dr. N. Home, _Dæmonologie_, 60.
When dogs wallow in the dust, expect foul weather: “Canis in pulvere
volutans....”
Præscia ventorum, se volvit odora canum vis;
Numina difflatur pulveris instar homo.
Robert Keuchen, _Crepundia_, 211.
ECHINUS. An echīnus, fastening itself on a ship’s keel, will arrest its
motion like an anchor.--Pliny, _Natural History_, xxxii. 1.
EGG. The tenth egg is always the largest.
Decumana ova dicuntur, quia ovum decimum majus nascitur.--Festus.
ELEPHANT. Elephants celebrate religious rites.--Pliny, _Natural
History_, viii. 1.
Elephants have no knees.--Eugenius Philalethes, _Brief Natural History_,
89.
The elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy; his legs are for
necessity, not for flexure.--Shakespeare, _Troilus and Cressida_, act
iii. sc. 3 (1602).
FISH. If you count the number of fish you have caught, you will catch no
more that day.
FROG. To meet a frog is lucky, indicating that the person is about to
receive money.
Some man hadde levyr to mete a frogge on the way than a knight ... for
than they say and ’leve that they shal have golde.--_Dives and Pauper_
(first precepte, xlvi. 1493).
When frogs croak more than usual, it is a sign of bad weather.
GUINEA-PIG. A guinea-pig has no ears.
HADDOCK. The black spot on each side of a haddock, near the gills, is
the impression of St. Peter’s finger and thumb, when he took the tribute
money from the fish’s mouth.
The haddock has spots on either side, which are the marks of St.
Peter’s fingers when he catched that fish for the tribute.--Metellus,
_Dialogues, etc._, 57 (1693).
HAIR. If a dog bites you, any evil consequences may be prevented by
applying three of the dog’s hairs to the wound.
Take the hair, it is well written,
Of the dog by which you’re bitten;
Work off one wine by his brother,
And one labor by another.
Athenæus (ascribed to Aristophanês).
HARE. It is unlucky if a hare runs across a road in front of a
traveller. The Roman augurs considered this an ill omen.
If an hare cross their way, they suspect they shall be rob’d, or come
to some mischance.--Ramesay, _Elminthologia_, 271 (1668).
It was believed at one time that hares changed their sex every year.
HEDGEHOG. Hedgehogs foresee a coming storm.--Bodenham, _Garden of the
Muses_, 153 (1600).
Hedgehogs fasten on the dugs of cows, and drain off the milk.
HORSE. If a person suffering from whooping-cough asks advice of a man
riding on a piebald horse, the malady will be cured by doing what the
man tells him to do.
JACKAL. The jackal is the lion’s provider. It hunts with the lion, and
provides it with food by starting prey, as dogs start game.
LADY-BUG. It is unlucky to kill a lady-bug.
LION. The lion will not injure a royal prince.
Fetch the Numidian lion I brought over;
If she be sprung from royal blood, the lion
Will do her reverence, else he will tear her.
Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (1617).
The lion will not touch the true prince.--Shakespeare, _1 Henry IV._
act ii. sc. 4 (1598).
The lion hates the game-cock, and is jealous of it. Some say because the
cock wears a crown (its crest), and others because it comes into the
royal presence “booted and spurred.”
The fiercest lion trembles at the crowing of a cock.--Pliny, _Natural
History_, viii. 19.
According to legend, the lion’s whelp is born dead, and remains so for
three days, when the father breathes on it, and it receives life.
LIZARD. The lizard is man’s special enemy, but warns him of the approach
of a serpent.
MAGPIE. To see _one_ magpie is unlucky; to see _two_ denotes merriment,
or a marriage; to see _three_, a successful journey; _four_, good news;
_five_, company.--Grose.
Another superstition is: “One for sorrow; two for mirth; three, a
wedding; four, a death.”
One’s sorrow, two’s mirth,
Three’s a wedding, four’s a birth,
Five’s a christening, six’s a dearth,
Seven’s heaven, eight is hell,
And nine’s the devil his ane sel.
_Old Scotch Rhyme._
In Lancashire, two magpies flying together is thought unlucky.
I have heard my gronny say, hoode os leef o seen two owd harries as
two pynots [_magpies_].--Tim Bobbin, _Lancashire Dialect_, 31 (1775).
When the magpie chatters, it denotes that you will see strangers.
MAN. A person weighs more fasting than after a good meal.
The Jews maintained that man has three natures--body, soul, and spirit.
Diogĕnês Laertius calls the three natures body, phrên, and thumos; and
the Romans called them manês, anĭma, and umbra.
There is a nation of pygmies.
The Patagonians are of gigantic stature.
There are men with tails, as the Ghilanes, a race of men “beyond the
Sennaar;” the Niam-niams, of Africa, the Narea tribes, certain others
south of Herrar, in Abyssinia, and the natives in the south of Formosa.
MARTIN. It is unlucky to kill a martin.
MOLE. Moles are blind. Hence the common expression, “Blind as a mole.”
Pray you tread softly, that the blind mole may not
Hear a footfall.
Shakespeare, _The Tempest_, act. iv. sc. 1 (1609).
MOON-CALF, the offspring of a woman, engendered solely by the power of
the moon.--Pliny, _Natural History_, x. 64.
MOUSE. To eat food which a mouse has nibbled, will give a sore throat.
It is a bad omen if a mouse gnaws the clothes which a person is
wearing.--Burton, _Anatomy of Melancholy_, 214 (1621).
A fried mouse is a specific for small-pox.
OSTRICH. An ostrich can digest iron.
_Stephen._ I could eat the very hilts for anger.
_Kno´well._ A sign of your good digestion; you have an ostrich
stomach.--B. Jonson, _Every Man in His Humor_, iii. 1 (1598).
I’ll make thee eat iron like an ostrich, and swallow my
sword.--Shakespeare, _2 Henry VI._ act iv. sc. 10 (1591).
OWL. If owls screech with a hoarse and dismal voice, it bodes impending
calamity. (See OWL.)
The oulê that of deth the bodê bringeth.
Chaucer, _Assembly of Foules_ (1358).
PELICAN. A pelican feeds its young brood with its blood.