the _ankle_ bespeaks modesty in men, courage in women; on the right
_breast_ is a sign of honesty, on the left forebodes poverty; on the
_chin_ promises wealth; on the right _ear_, respect; on the left
forebodes dishonor; on the centre of the _forehead_ bespeaks
treachery, sullenness and untidiness; on the right _temple_ foreshows
that you will enjoy the friendship of the great; on the left _temple_
forebodes distress; on the right _foot_ bespeaks wisdom, on the left,
rashness; on the right side of the _heart_ denotes virtue, on the left
side, wickedness; on the _knee_ of a man denotes that he will have a
rich wife, if on the left knee of a woman she may expect a large
family; on the _lip_ is a sign of gluttony and talkativeness; on the
_neck_ promises wealth; on the _nose_ indicates that a man will be a
great traveller; on the _thigh_ forebodes poverty and sorrow; on the
_throat_, wealth and health; on the _wrist_, ingenuity.
MOON (_The_). When the “mone lies sair on her back, or when her horns
are pointed towards the zenith, be warned in time, for foul weather is
nigh at hand.”--Dr. Jamieson.
Foul weather may also be expected “when the new moon appears with the
old one in her arms.”
Late yestreen I saw the new moone
Wi’ the auld moone in her arme,
And I feir, I feir, my deir master,
That we will come to harme.
_The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens._
To see a new moon for the first time on the right hand, and direct
before you, is lucky; but to see it on the left hand or to turn round
and see it behind you, is the contrary.
If you first see a new moon through glass, your wish will come to
pass.
NAILS. A white spot on the _thumb_ promises a present; on the _index
finger_ denotes a friend; on the _long finger_, a foe; on the _third
finger_, a letter or sweetheart; on the _little finger_, a journey to
go.
In America, white spots on the nails are considered lucky.
NOURGEHAN’S BRACELET gave warning of poison by a tremulous motion of
the stones, which increased as the poison approached nearer and
nearer.--Comte de Caylus, _Oriental Tales_ (“The Four Talismans”).
OPAL turns pale at the approach of poison.
OWLS. The screeching of an owl forebodes calamity, sickness, or death.
On one occasion an owl strayed into the Capitol, and the Romans, to
avert the evil, underwent a formal lustration.
The Roman senate, when within
The city walls an owl was seen,
Did cause their clergy with lustrations ...
The round-faced prodigy t’ avert.
Butler, _Hudibras_, II. iii. 707 (1664).
The death of Augustus was presaged by an owl singing [screeching] upon
the top of the Curia.--Xiphilinus, _Abridgment of Dion Cassius_.
The death of Commŏdus Antonius, the emperor, was forboded by an owl
sitting on the top of his chamber, at Lanuvium.--Julius Obsequens,
_Prodigies_, 85.
The murder of Julius Cæsar was presaged by the screeching of owls.
The bird of night did sit,
Even at noonday, upon the market-place,
Hooting and shrieking.
Shakespeare, _Julius Cæsar_, act i. sc. 3 (1607).
The death of Valentinian was presaged by an owl, which perched on the
top of a house where he used to bathe.--Alexander Boss, _Arcana
Microcosmi_.
Antony was warned of his defeat in the battle of Actium by an owl
flying into the temple of Concord.--Xiphilinus, _Abridgment of Dion
Cassius_.
The great plague of Würtzburg, in Franconia, in 1542, was foreboded by
the screeching of an owl.
Alexander Ross says: “About twenty years ago I did observe that, in
the house where I lodged, an owl groaning in the window presaged the
death of two eminent persons, who died there shortly after.”--_Arcana
Microcosmi._
PEACOCKS give warning of poison by ruffling their feathers.
PERVIZ’S STRING OF PEARLS (_Prince_). When Prince Perviz went on his
exploit, he gave his sister, Parizādê, a string of pearls, saying, “So
long as these pearls move readily on the string, you may feel assured
that I am alive and well; but if they stick fast, they will indicate
to you that I am dead.”--_Arabian Nights_ (“The Two Sisters”).
PIGEONS. It is considered by many a sure sign of death in a house if a
white pigeon perches on the chimney.
PIGS running about with straws in their mouths give warning of
approaching rain.
RATS forsaking a ship forebode its wreck, and forsaking a house
indicate that it is on the point of falling down. (See “Mice.”)
RAVENS. The raven is said to be the most prophetic of “inspired
birds.” It bodes both private and public calamities. “To have the
foresight of a raven” is a proverbial expression.
The great battle fought between Beneventum and Apicium, was portended
by a skirmish between ravens and kites on the same spot.--Jovianus
Pontanus.
An irruption of the Scythians into Thrace was presaged by a skirmish
between crows and ravens.--Nicetas.
Cicero was warned of his approaching death by some ravens fluttering
about him just before he was murdered by Popilius Cænas.--Macaulay,
_History of St. Kilda_, 176.
Alexander Ross says: “Mr. Draper, a young gentleman, and my intimate
friend, about four or five years ago had one or two ravens, which had
been quarrelling on the chimney, fly into his chamber, and he died
shortly after.”--_Arcana Microcosmi._
RHINOCEROS’S HORNS. Cups made of this material will give warning of
poison in a liquid by causing it to effervesce.
SALT spilt towards a person indicates contention, but the evil may be
averted by throwing a part of the spilt salt over the left shoulder.
Prodige, subverso casu leviore salino,
Si mal venturum conjicis omen; adest.
R. Keuchen, _Crepundia_, 215 (1662).
SHEARS AND SIEVE (_The_), ordeals by fire, water, etc., single
combats, the corsned or cursed morsel, the Urim and Thummim, the
casting of lots, were all employed as tests of innocence or guilt in
olden times, under the notion that God would direct the lot aright.
(See JONAH, i. 7.)
SHOES. It was thought by the Romans a bad omen to put a shoe on the
wrong foot.
Augustus, having b’ oversight,
Put on his left shoe for his right,
Had like to have been slain that day
By soldiers mutin’ing for pay.
Butler, _Hudibras_.
Auguste ... restoit immobile et consterné lorsqu’il lui arrivoit par
mégarde de mettre le soulier droit au pied gauche.--ST. FOIX, _Essais
sur Paris_, v. 145.
SHOOTING PAINS. All sudden pains are warnings of evil at hand.
Timeo quod rerum gesserim hic, ita dorsus totus prurit.--Plautus,
_Miles Gloriosus_.
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
Shakespeare, _Macbeth_ (1606).
SNEEZING. Once, a wish, twice, a kiss, thrice, a letter, and oftener
than thrice, something better.
_Sneezing before breakfast_ is a forecast that a stranger or a present
is coming.
_Sneezing at night-time_. To sneeze twice for three successive nights
denotes a death, a loss, or a great gain.
Si duæ sternutationes fiant omni nocte ab aliquo, et illud continuitur
per tres noctes, signo est quod aliquis vel aliqua de domo morietur
vel aliud damnum domui continget, vel maximum lucrum.--Hornmannus, _De
Miraculis Mortuorum_, 163.
Eustathius says that sneezing to the left is unlucky, but to the right
lucky. Hence, when Themistoclês was offering sacrifice before his
engagement with Xerxes, and one of the soldiers on his right hand
sneezed, Euphrantīdês, the soothsayer, declared the Greeks would
surely gain the victory.--Plutarch, _Lives_ (“Themistoclês”).
SOOT ON BARS. Flakes of sheeted soot hanging from the bars of a grate
foretell the introduction of a stranger.
Nor less amused have I quiescent watched
The sooty films that play upon the bars
Pendulous, and foreboding ... some stranger’s near approach.
Cowper, _Winter Evening_.
SOPHIA’S PICTURE, given to Mathias, turned yellow if the giver was in
danger or in temptation; and black if she could not escape from the
danger, or if she yielded to the temptation.--Massinger, _The Picture_
(1629).
SPIDERS indicate to gold-searchers where it is to be found.
STAG’S HORN is considered in Spain to give warning of an evil eye, and
to be a safeguard against its malignant influences.
STONE. To find a perforated stone is a presage of good luck.
SWALLOWS forecast bad weather by flying low, and the fine weather by
flying high.
TEETH WIDE APART warn a person to seek his fortune away from his
native place.
THUNDER. Thunder on Sunday portends the death of some learned man,
judge, or author; on Monday, the death of women; on Tuesday, plenty of
grain; on Wednesday, the death of harlots, or bloodshed; on Thursday,
plenty of sheep, cattle, and corn; on Friday, the death of some great
man, murder, or battle; on Saturday it forebodes pestilence or
sickness.--Leonard Digges, _A Prognostication Everlasting of Ryght
Good Effecte_ (1556).
TOLLING BELL. You will be sure of tooth-ache if you eat while a
funeral bell is tolling. Be warned in time by this American
superstition, or take the consequences.
VEIPSEY, a spring in Yorkshire, called “prophetic,” gives due warning
of a dearth by rising to an unusual height.
VENETIAN GLASS. If poison is put into liquor contained in a vessel
made of Venetian glass, the vessel will crack and fall to pieces.
WARNING STONES. Bakers in Wiltshire and in some other counties used to
put a certain kind of pebble in their ovens, to give notice when the
oven was hot enough for baking. When the stone turned white, the oven
was fit for use.
WATER OF JEALOUSY (_The_). This was a beverage which the Jews used to
assert no adulteress could drink without bursting.--_Five
Philosophical Questions Answered_ (1653).
WHITE ROSE (_The_). A white rose gave assurance to a twin-brother of
the safety or danger of his brother during his absence. So long as it
flourished and remained in its pride of beauty, it indicated that all
went well, but as it drooped, faded, or died, it was a warning of
danger, sickness, or death.--_The Twin-Brothers._
WITCH HAZEL. A forked twig of witch hazel, made into a divining-rod,
was supposed, in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries,
to give warning of witches, and to be efficacious in discovering them.
WORMS. If, on your way to a sick person, you pick up a stone and find
no living thing under it, it tells you that the sick person will die,
but if you find there an ant or worm, it presages the patient’s
recovery.
Si visitans ægrum, lapidem inventum per viam attollat, et sub lapide
inveniatur vermis se movens, aut formica vivens, faustum omen est, et
indicium fore ut æger convalescat, si nihil invenitur res est
conclamata et certa mors.--Buchardus, _Drecretorum, lib._ xix.
=Warren= (_Widow_), “twice married and twice a widow.” A coquette of
40, aping the airs of a girl; vain, weak, and detestable. Harry
Dornton, the banker’s son, is in love with her daughter, Sophia
Freelove; but the widow tries to win the young man for herself, by
advancing money to pay off his friend’s debts. When the father hears
of this he comes to the rescue, returns the money advanced, and
enables the son to follow his natural inclinations by marrying the
daughter instead of the designing mother.
A girlish, old coquette, who would rob her daughter, and leave her
husband’s son to rot in a dungeon, that she might marry the first fool
she could find.--Holcroft, _The Road to Ruin_, v. 2, (1792).
=Wart= (_Thomas_), a poor, feeble, ragged creature, one of the
recruits in the army of Sir John Falstaff.--Shakespeare, _2 Henry
IV._, act iii. sc. 2 (1598).
=Warwick= (_The earl of_), a tragedy by Dr. T. Franklin. The theme is
the last days and death of the “king maker” (1767).
=Washington of Africa= (_The_). William Wilberforce is so called by
Lord Byron. As Washington was the chief instrument in liberating
America, so Wilberforce was the chief instigator of slave
emancipation.
Thou moral Washington of Africa.
_Don Juan_, xiv. 82 (1824).
=Washington of Colombia=, Simon Bolivar (1785-1831).
=Wasky=, Sir Iring’s sword.
Right through the head-piece straight
The knight Sir Hagan paid,
With his resistless Wasky,
That sharp and peerless blade.
_Nibelungen Lied_, 35 (1210).
=Wasp=, in the drama called _Bartholomew Fair_, by Ben Jonson
(1574-1637).
Benjamin Johnson, an actor [1665-1742], commonly called Ben Johnson,
... seemed to be proud to wear the poet’s name, being particularly
great in all that author’s plays that were usually performed, viz.,
“Wasp,” “Corbaccio,” “Morose,” and “Ananias.”--Chetwood, _History of
the Stage_.
⁂ “Corbaccio,” in _The Fox_; “Morose,” in _The Silent Woman_; and
“Ananias,” in _The Alchemist_.
=Waste Time Utilized.=
BAXTER wrote his _Saints’ Everlasting Rest_ on a bed of sickness
(1615-1691).
BLOOMFIELD composed _The Farmer’s Boy_ in the intervals of shoemaking
(1766-1823).
BRAMAH (_Joseph_), a peasant’s son, occupied his spare time when a
mere boy in making musical instruments, aided by the village
blacksmith. At the age of 16 he hurt his ankle while ploughing, and
employed his time while confined to the house in carving and making
woodwares. In another forced leisure from a severe fall, he employed
his time in contriving and making useful inventions, which ultimately
led him to fame and fortune (1749-1814).
BUNYAN wrote his _Pilgrim’s Progress_ while confined in Bedford jail
(1628-1688).
BURRITT (_Elihu_) made himself acquainted with ten languages while
plying his trade as a village blacksmith (Hebrew, Greek, Syriac,
Spanish, Bohemian, Polish, Danish, Persian, Turkish, and Ethiopic).
His father was a village cobbler, and Elihu had only six months’
education, and that at the school of his brother (1811-1879).
CAREY, the missionary and Oriental translator, learnt the rudiments of
Eastern languages while employed in making and mending shoes
(1761-1834).
CLEMENT (_Joseph_), son of a poor weaver, was brought up as a
thatcher, but, by utilizing his waste moments in self-education and
works of skill, raised himself to a position of great note, giving
employment to thirty workmen (1779-1844).
COBBETT learnt grammar in the waste time of his service as a common
soldier (1762-1835).
D’AGUESSEAU, the great French chancellor, observing that Mde.
D’Aguesseau always delayed ten or twelve minutes before she came down
to dinner, began and completed a learned book of three volumes (large
quarto), solely during these “waste minutes.” This work went through
several editions (1668-1751).
ETTY utilized indefatigably every spare moment he could pick up when a
journeyman printer (1787-1849).
FERGUSON taught himself astronomy while tending sheep in the service
of a Scotch farmer (1710-1776).
FRANKLIN, while working as a journeyman printer, produced his
_Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain_
(1706-1790).
MILLER (_Hugh_) taught himself geology while working as a mason
(1802-1856).
PAUL worked as a tentmaker in intervals of travel and preaching.
⁂ This brief list must be considered only as a hint and heading for
enlargement. Henry Cort, William Fairbairn, Fox of Derby, H. Maudslay,
David Mushet, Murray of Leeds, J. Nasmyth, J. B. Neilson, Roberts of
Manchester, Whitworth, and scores of others will occur to every
reader. Indeed, genius for the most part owes its success to the
utilization of waste time.
=Wastle= (_William_), pseudonym of John Gibson Lockhart, in
_Blackwood’s Magazine_ (1794-1854).
=Wat Dreary=, _alias_ BROWN WILL, a highwayman, in Captain Macheath’s
gang. Peachum says, “he has an underhand way of disposing of the goods
he stole,” and therefore he should allow him to remain a little longer
“upon his good behavior.”--Gay, _The Beggar’s Opera_, i. (1727).
=Water-Poet= (_The_), John Taylor, a Thames waterman (1580-1654).
=Water-Wraith=, the evil spirit of the waters.
By this the storm grew loud apace,
The water-wraith was shrieking.
Campbell, _Lord Ullin’s Daughter_.
=Waterman= (_The_), Tom Tug. It is the title of a ballad opera by
Charles Dibdin (1774). (For the plot, see WILELMINA BUNDLE.)
=Watkins= (_William_), the English attendant on the prince of
Scotland.--Sir W. Scott, _Fair Maid of Perth_ (time, Henry IV.).
=Watts= (_Dr. Isaac_). It is said that Isaac Watts, being beaten by
his father for wasting his time in writing verses, exclaimed:
O, father, pity on me take,
And I will no more verses make.
A similar anecdote is told of Ovid, the Latin poet:
Parce, precor, genitor, posthac non versificabo.
=Wauch= (_Mansie_), fictitious name of D. M. Moir, author of _The Life
of Mansie Wauch, Tailor in Dalkeith, written by himself_ (1828).
=Waverley=, the first of Scott’s historical novels, published in 1814.
The materials are Highland feudalism, military bravery, and
description of natural scenery. There is a fine vein of humor, and a
union of fiction with history. The chief characters are Charles
Edward, the Chevalier, the noble old baron of Bradwardine, the simple,
faithful clansman, Evan Dhu, and the poor fool, Davie Gellatley, with
his fragments of song and scattered gleams of fancy.
Scott did not prefix his name to _Waverley_, being afraid that it
might compromise his poetical reputation.--Chambers, _English
Literature_, ii. 586.
_Waverley_ (_Captain Edward_), of Waverley Honor, and hero of the
novel called by his name. Being gored by a stag, he resigned his
commission, and proposed marriage to Flora M’Ivor, but was not
accepted. Fergus M’Ivor (Flora’s brother) introduced him to Prince
Charles Edward. He entered the service of the Young Chevalier, and in
the battle of Preston Pans saved the life of Colonel Talbot. The
colonel, out of gratitude, obtained the pardon of young Waverley, who
then married Rose Bradwardine, and settled down quietly in Waverley
Honor.
_Mr. Richard Waverley_, the captain’s father, of Waverley Honor.
_Sir Everard Waverley_, the captain’s uncle.
_Mistress Rachel Waverley_, sister of Sir Everard.--Sir W. Scott,
_Waverley_ (time, George II.).
=Wax= (_A lad o’_), a spruce young man, like a model in wax. Lucretius
speaks of _persona cerea_, and Horace of the waxen arms of Telĕphus,
meaning beautiful in shape and color.
A man, young lady! Lady, such a man
As all the world----Why, he’s a man o’ wax!
Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_ (1595).
=Way of the World= (_The_), a comedy by W. Congreve (1700). The “way
of the world” is to tie up settlements to wives, to prevent their
husbands squandering their wives’ fortunes. Thus, Fainall wanted to
get into his power the fortune of his wife, whom he hated, but found
it was “in trust to Edward Mirabell,” and consequently could not be
tampered with.
=Way to Keep Him= (_The_), a comedy by A. Murphy (1760). The object of
this drama is to show that women, after marriage, should not wholly
neglect their husbands, but should try to please them, and make home
agreeable and attractive. The chief persons are Mr. and Mrs. Lovemore.
Mr. Lovemore has a virtuous and excellent wife, whom he esteems and
loves; but, finding his home insufferably dull, he seeks amusement
abroad; and those passions which have no play at home lead him to
intrigue and card-playing, routes and dubious society. The under-plot
is this: Sir Bashful Constant is a mere imitator of Mr. Lovemore, and
Lady Constant suffers neglect from her husband and insult from his
friends, because he foolishly thinks it is not _comme il faut_ to love
after he has married the woman of his choice.
=Ways and Means=, a comedy by Colman, the younger (1788). Random and
Scruple meet at Calais two young ladies, Harriet and Kitty, daughters
of Sir David Dunder, and fall in love with them. They come to Dover,
and accidentally meet Sir David, who invites them over to Dunder Hall,
where they are introduced to the two young ladies. Harriet is to be
married next day, against her will, to Lord Snolts, a stumpy, “gummy”
nobleman of five and forty; and, to avoid this hateful match, she and
her sister agree to elope at night with the two young guests. It so
happens that a series of blunders in the dark occur, and Sir David
himself becomes privy to the whole plot, but, to prevent scandal, he
agrees to the two marriages, and discovers that the young men, both in
family and fortune, are quite suitable to be his sons-in-law.
=Wayland= (_Launcelot_), or WAYLAND SMITH, farrier in the vale of
Whitehorse. Afterwards disguised as a pedlar at Cumnor Place.--Sir W.
Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).
=Wealtheow= (2 _syl._), wife of Hrothgar, king of Denmark.
Wealtheow went forth; mindful of their races, she ... greeted the men
in the hall. The freeborn lady first handed the cup to the prince of
the East Danes.... The lady of the Helmings then went about every part
... she gave treasure-vessels, until the opportunity occurred that she
(a queen hung round with rings) ... bore forth the mead-cup to Beowolf
... and thanked God that her will was accomplished, that an earl of
Denmark was a guarantee against crime.--_Beowulf_ (Anglo-Saxon epic,
sixth century).
=Wealthy Hoogs.= Yankee housewife, “hungry for books, full of keen
thought, energetic to preëminence even among Yankee notables”--“she
lived here, simply where she had been put, made and packed her butter,
wove her homespun, and loved faithfully--and forbearingly, for the
most part--(were it praise worth a woman’s having to say more?) the
man whose name and home she shared.”--A. D. T. Whitney, _The
Gayworthys_ (1865).
=Wealthy= (_Sir William_), a retired City merchant, with one son of
prodigal propensities. In order to save the young man from ruin, the
father pretends to be dead, disguises himself as a German baron, and,
with the aid of coadjutors, becomes the chief creditor of the young
scapegrace.
_Sir George Wealthy_, the son of Sir William. After having run out his
money, Lucy is brought to him as a courtezan; but the young man is so
moved with her manifest innocence and tale of sorrow that he places
her in an asylum where here distresses would be sacred, “and her
indigent beauty would be guarded from temptation.” Afterwards she
becomes his wife.
_Mr. Richard Wealthy_, merchant, the brother of Sir William; choleric,
straightforward, and tyrannical. He thinks obedience is both law and
gospel.
_Lucy Wealthy_, daughter of Richard. Her father wants her to marry a
rich tradesman, and, as she refuses to do so turns her out of doors.
She is brought to Sir George Wealthy as a _fille de joie_; but the
young man, discerning her innocence and modesty, places her in
safe-keeping. He ultimately finds out that she is his cousin, and the
two parents rejoice in consummating a union so entirely in accordance
with both their wishes.--Foote, _The Minor_ (1760).
=Weary-all Hill=, above Glastonbury, to the left of Tor Hill. This
spot is the traditional landing-place of Joseph of Arimathea; and here
is the site (marked by a stone bearing the letters A. I. A.D. xxxi.)
of the holy thorn.
When the saint arrived at Glastonbury, _weary_ with his long journey,
he struck his staff into the ground, and the staff became the famous
thorn, the site being called “Weary-all Hill.”
=Weatherport= (_Captain_), a naval officer.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Pirate_ (time, William III.).
=Weaver-Poet of Inverary= (_The_), William Thom (1799-1850).
=Wea´zel= (_Timothy_), attorney-at-law at Lestwithiel, employed as the
agent of Penruddock.--Cumberland, _The Wheel of Fortune_ (1778).
=Wedding Day= (_The_), a comedy by Mrs. Inchbald (1790). The plot is
this: Sir Adam Contest lost his first wife by shipwreck, and “twelve
or fourteen years” afterwards he led to the altar a young girl of 18,
to whom he was always singing the praises of his first wife--a
phœnix, a paragon, the _ne plus ultra_ of wives and women. She did
everything to make him happy. She loved him, obeyed him; ah! “he would
never look upon her like again.” On the wedding day this pink of wives
and women made her appearance, and told how she had been rescued, and
Sir Adam was dumfounded. “He was happy to bewail her loss,” but to
rejoice in her restoration was quite another matter.
=Weeping Philosopher= (_The_), Heraclītos, who looked at the folly of
man with grief (fl. B.C. 500). (See JEDDLER).
=Wegg= (_Silas_), wooden-legged ballad-monger and humbug, who “reads”
for the confiding Boffins, and does his best to ruin them.--Charles
Dickens, _Our Mutual Friend_.
=Weir= (_Major_), the favorite baboon of Sir Robert Redgauntlet. In
the tale of “Wandering Willie,” Sir Robert’s piper went to the
infernal regions to obtain the knight’s receipt of rent, which had
been paid; but no receipt could be found, because the monkey had
carried it to the castle turret.--Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time,
George III.).
=Weird Sisters.= The three witches in Shakespeare’s play _Macbeth_.