66 2. The hero of Thomas Moore's romance, The Epicurean," and also the title of a poem by the same author. We long to see one good solid rock or tree, on which to fasten our attention; but there is none. Like Alciphron we swing in air and darkness, and know not whither the wind blows us. Putnam's Mag. Alc-me'na. [Gr. 'Aλкμývп.] (Gr. 9 Rom. Myth.) The wife of Amphitryon, and the mother of Hercules by Jupiter, who visited her in the disguise of her husband. See AMPHIT RYON. Alcofribas Nasier (ål/ko/fre/ba' nå/se-a', 44). An anagrammatic pseudonym of François Rabelais (14831553), the celebrated French ro mancer. Al-cy'o-ne. [Gr. 'Aλkvóvn.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A daughter of Eolus, and the wife of Ceyx. On hearing of her husband's death by shipwreck, she threw herself into the sea, and was changed by the gods into a kingfisher. [Written also Halcyone.] Al'da (ål'da), or Al-da-bella (ål-dåbel'lå, 102). The name given to the wife of Orlando, and sister of Oliver, in the romantic poems of Italy. Al/di-bo-ron/te-phos/co-phor'ni-o. 1. A character in Henry Carey's play of "Chrononhotonthologos." I felt as if my understanding were no longer my own, but was alternately under the dominion of Aldiborontephoscophornio, and that of his facetious friend Rigdum Funnidos. Sir W. Scott. 2. A nickname given by Sir Walter Scott to his school-mate, printer, partner, and confidential friend, James Ballantyne, on account of his solemn and rather pompous manner. See RIGDUM FUNNIDOS. Al'din-gar, Sir. A character in an ancient legend, and the title of a celebrated ballad, preserved in Percy's "Reliques," which relates how the honor of Queen Eleanor, wife of Henry II. of England, impeached by Sir Aldingar, her steward, was submitted to the chance of a duel, and how an angel, in the form of a little child, appeared as her champion, and established her innocence. Å-lec'to. [Gr. 'Αληκτώ.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) One of the three Furies. Alexander of the North. A surname conferred upon Charles XII. of Sweden (1682-1718), whose military genius and success bore some resemblance to those of the Macedonian conqueror. A-lex'is. A youth of great beauty, of whom the shepherd Corydon, in Virgil's second Eclogue, was enamored. Alfadur (àl'fa'door). [That is, AllFather.] (Scand. Myth.) A name given to the Supreme Being, the uncreated, eternal, and omnipresent Deity, whose nature and attributes were unknown. The name was also used as a title of Odin. See ODIN. Allen-a-Dale. The hero of an old ballad which relates how his marriage to his true love who was on the point of being forcibly wedded to an old knight -was brought about by Robin Hood. Allen-a-Dale is described as "a brave young man," gayly dressed, who "did frisk it over the plain, And chanted a roundelay." Where is Allen-a-Dale, to chronicle me in a ballad, or if it were but a lay? Sir W. Scott. Alliance, Grand. See GRAND ALLIANCE; and for HOLY ALLIANCE, QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE, TRIPLE ALLIANCE, see the respective adjectives HOLY, QUADRUPLE, &c. All-the-Talents Administration. An administration formed by Lord Grenville on the death of Mr. Pitt (June 23, 1806). The friends of this ministry gave it the appellation of "All-the-Talents," which, being echoed in derision by the Opposition, became fixed upon it ever after. The death of Mr. Fox, one of the members, Sept. 13, 1806, led to various changes, and this ministry was finally dissolved in March, 1807. The members composing it were as follows: Lord Grenville, First Lord of the Treas ury. Earl Fitzwilliam, Lord President. Viscount Sidmouth (Henry Addington), Privy Seal. Rt. Hon. Charles James Fox, Foreign Seal. Earl Spencer, Home Secretary. Mr. Sheridan, Treasurer of the Navy. Lord Ellenborough (Lord Chief Justice) had a seat in the Cabinet. Allworthy, Mr. A character in Fielding's novel of "Tom Jones," distinguished for his worth and benevolence. This character was drawn for Fielding's private friend, Ralph Allen, of whom Pope said, — "Let humble Allen, with an awkward shame, Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.' The sturdy rectitude, the large charity, the good nature, the modesty, the independent spirit, the ardent philanthropy, the unaffected indifference to money and to fame, make up a character, which, while it has nothing unnatural, seems to us to approach nearer to perfection than any of the Grandisons and Allworthys of fiction. Macaulay. Al-main'. [Low Lat. Alemannia, Fr. Allemagne, Sp. Alemania; from Alemanni, the collective name of several ancient German tribes in the vicinity of the Lower and Middle Main; from Celt. allman, a stranger, foreigner, from all, another, man, place.] An old English name for Germany. I have seen Almain's proud champions prance; Have seen the gallant knights of France; . . . Have seen the sons of England true Wield the brown bill and bend the yew. Search France the fair, and England free, But bonny Blue-cap still for me! Al-man'zor. A prominent character Old Song. in Dryden's tragedy of "The Conquest of Granada." After all, I say with Almanzor,— Almighty Dollar. A personification of the supposed object of American idolatry, intended as a satire upon the prevailing passion for gain. The expression originated with Washington Irving. The Almighty Dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land, seems to have no genuine devotees in these peculiar villages. W. Irving, The Creole Village. Ålp. The hero of Byron's "Siege of Corinth." Alph. A river mentioned by Coleridge in his poem entitled "Kubla Khan," composed during a dream, immediately after a perusal of Purchas's Pilgrimage," and written down from memory. This name is not found in Purchas, but was invented by Coleridge, and was probably suggested by the Alpheus of classical mythology. "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree, Alquife (ål-ke'fa). A personage who figures in almost all the books of the lineage of Amadis as a potent wizard. Then... thou hadst not, as now, . . . converted, in thy vain imagination, honest Griffiths, citizen and broker, . . . into some... sage Alquife, the mystical and magical protector of thy peerless destiny. Sir W. Scott. Al Rakim (år rå-keem'). [Ar., from rakam, to write, rakimeh, something written or sent.] A fabulous dog connected with the legend of the Seven Sleepers. The Mohammedans have given him a place in Paradise, where he has the care of all letters and correspondence. See SEVEN SLEEPERS. Al-sa'ti-a (al-sa'shĭ-). A popular name formerly given to Whitefriars, a precinct in London, without the Temple, and west of Blackfriars. It was for a long time an asylum or sanctuary for insolvent debtors and persons who had offended against the laws. The scene of Shadwell's comedy of the "Squire of Alsatia" is laid in this place; and Scott has rendered it familiar to all readers by his "Fortunes of Nigel." "It is not unlikely that the Landgraviate of Alsace [Ger. Elsass, Lat. Alsatia]- -now the frontier province of France, on the left bank of the Rhine, long a cause of contention, often the seat of war, and familiarly known to many British soldiers-suggested the application of the name Alsatia to the precinct of Whitefriars. This privileged spot stood in the same relation to the Temple as Alsace did to France and the central powers of Europe. In the Temple, students were studying to observe the law; and in Alsatia, adjoining, debtors to avoid and violate it. The Alsatians were troublesome neighbors to the Templars, and the Templars as troublesome neighbors to the Alsatians." Cunningham. The furious German comes, with his clarions and his drums, His bravoes of Alsatia, and pages of Whitehall. Macaulay. Al Sirat (as se-rat'). [Ar., the path.] A bridge extending from this world to the next, over the abyss of hell, which must be passed by every one who would enter the Mohammedan paradise. It is very narrow, the breadth being less than the thread of a famished spider, according to some writers; others compare it to the edge of a sword, or of a razor. The deceased cross with a rapidity proportioned to their virtue. Some, it is said, pass with the swiftness of lightning, others with the speed of a horse at full gallop, others like a horse at a slow pace, others still slower, on account of the weight of their sins, and many fall down from it, and are precipitated into hell. Am'a-dis de Gaul. [Sp. Amadis de Gaula.] The hero of an ancient and celebrated romance of chivalry, originally the work of Portuguese, Vasco de Lobeira, who died, as Ticknor conjectures, in 1403. It was translated into Spanish by Montalvo, between 1492 and 1504. The Porguese original is no longer extant. French version was made by Herberay, and was printed, in 1555, under the mistranslated title of "Amadis des Gaules," meaning France. In the original romance, Gaula is Wales; A and the subject, characters, and localities are British. The other Amadises that figure in romance are represented as descendants, more or less remote, of Amadis de Gaul. He himself was a love-child of a fabulous King Perion of Wales, and of Elisena, a British princess. -mai'mon, or A-may'mon. An imaginary king of the East, one of the principal devils who might be bound or restrained from doing hurt from the third hour till noon, and from the ninth hour till evening. He is alluded to in Shakespeare' "1 Henry IV." (a. ii., sc. 4), and "Merry Wives of Windsor" (a. ii., sc. 2). According to Holme, he was "the chief whose dominion is on the north part of the infernal gulf;" but Mr. Christmas says he ruled over the easternmost of the four provinces into which the world of devils was thought to be divided. Asmodeus was his lieutenant. Am al-the'. [Gr. 'Aμúhveα.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) The name of a goat with whose milk the infant Jupiter was fed, and one of whose horns he is said to have broken off, and given to the daughters of Melisseus, a Cretan king. This he endowed with such powers, that, whenever the possessor wished, it would instantaneously become filled with whatever might be desired: hence it was called the cornucopia, or horn of plenty. According to other accounts, Amalthea was the name of a nymph by whom Jupiter was nursed in his infancy. The Britannic Fountain . . . flowed like an Amalthaa's horn for seven years to come, refreshing Austria and all thirsty Pragmatic Nations, to defend the Key-stone of this UniCarlyle. verse. Am'a-ryl'lis. The name of a countrygirl in the Idyls of Theocritus and in the Eclogues of Virgil, adopted into modern pastoral poetry as the name of a mistress or sweetheart. To sport with Amaryllis in the shade. Milton. Am'a-zo'ni-a. A name given by Francisco Orellana, in 1580, to the country on either side of the river Marañon, from the companies of women in arms whom he observed on its banks. He also gave the name Amazon to the river, and it has since been generally known under this designation. A-me'li-a (or a-meel'ya). 1. The title of one of Fielding's novels, and the name of its heroine, who is distinguished for her conjugal tenderness and affection. The character of Amelia is said to have been drawn for Fielding's wife, even down to an accident which disfigured her beauty. "To have invented that character is not only a triumph of art, but it is a good action." Thackeray. 2. A young woman killed in her lover's arms by a stroke of lightning, who forms the subject of a wellknown episode in the poem of " Summer," " in Thomson's "Seasons." American Fa'bi-us. An appellation often given to General Washington (1732-1799), whose military policy resembled that of the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, who conducted operations against Hannibal by declining to risk a battle in the open field, harassing him by marches, counter-marches, and ambuscades. A-mîne'. A character in the "Arabian Nights' Entertainments " who leads her three sisters by her side as a leash of hounds. Aminte (å'mǎnt', 62). The assumed name of a female character in Molière's celebrated comedy, "Les Précieuses Ridicules." Her real name is Cathos, which she has discarded for a more sentimental one, in accordance with the prevailing fashion. She dismisses her admirer for proposing to marry her, scolds her uncle (see GORGIBUS) for not possessing the air of a gentleman, and is taken in by a valet whom she believes to be a nobleman, and who easily imitates the foppery and sentimentalism which she so much admires. Am'let, Richard. The name of a gamester in Vanbrugh's "Confederacy." Richard Amlet, Esq., in the play, is a nota ble instance of the disadvantages to which this chimerical notion of affinity constituting a claim to acquaintance may subject the spirit of a gentleman. Charles Lamb. Am'mon. [Gr. "Aμμwv.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) The name of an Ethiopian or Libyan divinity, identified by the Greeks and Romans with Jupiter. He was represented in the form of a ram, or as a human being with the head of a ram, or sometimes with only the horns. [Written also Hammon.] Am'o-ret. The name of a lady married to Sir Scudamore, in Spenser's "Faëry Queen." She expresses the affectionate devotedness of a loving and tender wife. Am-phi'on. [Gr. 'Aupiwv.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A son of Jupiter and Antiope, who built a wall round the city of Thebes by the music of his lyre. It is said, that, when he played, the stones moved of their own accord, and fitted themselves together so as to form the wall. It was like a sudden pause in one of Amphion's country-dances, when the huts which were to form the future Thebes were jigging it to his lute. Sir W. Scott. Am/phĭ-tri'te. [Gr. 'Αμφιτρίτη.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) The wife of Neptune, goddess of the sea, and mother of Triton. Am-phit'ry-on. [Gr. 'Αμφιτρύων.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A son of Alcæus and Hippomene. He was king of Thebes, and husband of Alcmena, who bore at the same time Iphicles, his son, and Hercules, the son of Jupiter. See ALCMENA. [Written also Amphitryo.] Am'ri. See FATHER OF EQUITY. Amrita (am-re'tå). (Hindu Myth.) A beverage of immortality, churned from the sea by the gods, who were mortal until they discovered this potent elixir. A An'a-char'sis Clōotz (klōts). Julia sat within as pretty a bower A-nac're-on of Painters. A name See A-nac're-ḍn of the Guillotine. A name given by the French to Bertrand Barère (or Barrère) de Vieuzac (1755-1841), president of the National Convention in 1792, on account of the flowery and poetical language in which he spoke upon all the measures of the reign of terror. WITLING OF TERROR. An'as-ta'si-us (an'as-tā'zhi-us). The hero and title of a novel by Thomas Hope (1770-1831), - - a work purporting to be the autobiography of a Greek, who, to escape the consequences of his own crimes and villainies of every kind, becomes a renegade, and passes through a long series of the most extraordinary and romantic vicissitudes. Anastasius Grün. See GRÜN, ANAS TASIUS. An-cæ'us. [Gr. 'Aуkcioс.] (Gr. & "Since then, at an uncertain hour, and drives him on, like the Wander- The conception of this poem and the mystical imagery of the skeleton-ship are said by Dyce to have been borrowed by Coleridge from a friend who had experienced a strange dream. But De Quincey asserts that the germ of the story is contained in a passage of Shelvocke, one of the classical circumnavigators of the earth, who states that his second captain, being a melancholy man, was possessed by a fancy that some long season of foul weather was owing to an albatross which had steadily pursued the ship, upon which he shot the bird, but without mending their condition. Andrews, Joseph. The title of a novel by Fielding, and the name of its hero, a footman who marries a maid - servant. To ridicule Richardson's "Pamela," Fielding made Joseph Andrews a brother of that renowned lady, and, by way of con |