Part 5

=Merlin= (_Ambrose_), prince of enchanters. His mother was Matilda, a nun, who was seduced by a “guileful sprite,” or incubus, “half angel and half man, dwelling in mid-air betwixt the earth and moon.” Some say his mother was the daughter of Pubidius, lord of Math-traval, in Wales; and others make her a princess, daughter of Demetius, king of Demet´ia. Blaise baptized the infant, and thus rescued it from the powers of darkness.

Merlin died spell-bound, but the author and manner of his death are given differently by different authorities. Thus, in the _History of Prince Arthur_ (Sir T. Malory, 1470), we are told that the enchantress Nimue or Ninive inveigled the old man, and “covered him with a stone under a rock.” In the _Morte d’Arthur_ it is said “he sleeps and sighs in an old tree, spell-bound by Vivien.” Tennyson, in his _Idylls_ (“Vivien”), says that Vivien induced Merlin to take shelter from a storm in a hollow oak tree, and left him spell-bound. Others say he was spell-bound in a hawthorn bush, but this is evidently a blunder. (See MERLIN THE WILD.)

⁂ Merlin made “the fountain of love,” mentioned by Bojardo in _Orlando Innamorato_, l. 3.

Ariosto, in _Orlando Furioso_, says he made “one of the four fountains” (ch. xxvi).

He also made the Round Table at Carduel for 150 knights, which came into the possession of King Arthur on his marriage with Queen Guinever; and brought from Ireland the stones of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain.

Allusion is made to him in the _Faëry Queen_; in Ellis’s _Specimens of Early English Metrical Romances_; in Drayton’s _Polyolbion_; in _Kenilworth_, by Sir W. Scott, etc. T. Heywood has attempted to show the fulfilment of Merlin’s prophecies.

Of Merlin and his skill what region doth not hear?... Who of a British nymph was gotten, whilst she played With a seducing sprite ... But all Demetia thro’ there was not found her peer.

Drayton, _Polyolbion_, v. (1612).

_Merlin_ (_The English_), W. Lilly, the astrologer, who assumed the _nom de plume_ of “Mer´linus Anglĭcus” (1602-1681).

=Merlin the Wild=, a native of Caledonia, who lived in the sixteenth century, about a century after the great Ambrose Merlin, the sorcerer. Fordun, in his _Scotichronicon_, gives particulars about him. It was predicted that he would die by earth, wood, and water, which prediction was fulfilled thus: A mob of rustics hounded him, and he jumped from a rock into the Tweed, and was impaled on a stake fixed in the river bed. His grave is still shown beneath an aged hawthorn bush at Drummelzier, a village on the Tweed.

=Merlin’s Cave=, in Dynevor, near Carmarthen, noted for its ghastly noises of rattling iron chains, brazen caldrons, groans, strokes of hammers, and ringing of anvils. The cause is this: Merlin set his spirits to fabricate a brazen wall to encompass the city of Carmarthen, and as he had to call on the Lady of the Lake, bade them not to slacken their labor till he returned; but he never did return, for Vivien by craft got him under the enchanted stone, and kept him there. Tennyson says he was spell-bound by Vivien in a hollow oak tree, but the _History of Prince Arthur_ (Sir T. Malory) gives the other version.--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, iii. 3 (1590).

=Merop’s Son=, a nobody, a _terræ filius_, who thinks himself somebody. Thus Phaëton (Merop’s son), forgetting that his mother was an earthborn woman, thought he could drive the horses of the sun, but not being able to guide them, nearly set the earth on fire. Many presume like him, and think themselves capable or worthy of great things, forgetting all the while that they are only “Merop’s son.”

Why, Phaëton (for thou art Merop’s son), Wilt thou aspire to guide the heavenly car, And with thy daring folly burn the world?

Shakespeare, _Two Gentlemen of Verona_, act iii. sc. 1 (1594).

=Merrilees= (_Meg_), a half-crazy woman, part sibyl and part gypsy. She is the ruler and terror of the gypsy race. Meg Merrilees was the nurse of Harry Bertram.--Sir W. Scott, _Gay Mannering_ (time, George II.).

In the dramatized version of Scott’s novel, Miss Cushman [1845-9] made “Meg Merrilees” her own. She showed therein indisputably the attributes of genius. Such was her power over the intention and feeling of the part, that the mere words were quite a secondary matter. It was the figure, the gait, the look, the gesture, the tone, by which she put beauty and passion into language the most indifferent.--Henry Morley.

=Merry Andrew=, Andrew Borde, physician to Henry VIII. (1500-1549).

⁂ Prior has a poem on _Merry Andrew_.

=Merry Monarch= (_The_), Charles II., of England (1630, 1660-1685).

=Merry Mount.= Name of the home of a certain Englishman, called in the chronicle “the pestilent Morton,” who set up a May-pole in colonial Massachusetts.

“That worthy gentleman, Mr. John Endicott, ... visiting those parts, caused that May-pole to be cut down, and rebuked them for their profaneness ... so they now (or others) changed the name of their place, ‘Merry Mount,’ again, and called it ‘Mount Dagon.’”--William Bradford, _History of the Plymouth Plantation_ (1630-50).

=Mer´rylegs=, a highly trained, performing dog, belonging to Signor Jupe, clown in Sleary’s circus. This dog leaves the circus when his master disappears, but several years afterwards finds its way back and dies.--C. Dickens, _Hard Times_ (1854).

=Merthyr Tydvil=, a corruption of _Martyr St. Tidfil_, a Welsh princess who suffered martyrdom.

=Merton= (_Tommy_), one of the chief characters in _Sanford and Merton_, a tale for boys, by Thomas Day (1783-9).

_Merton_ (_Tristram_). Thomas Babington Macaulay (Lord Macaulay), so signs the ballads and sketches which he inserted in _Knight’s Quarterly Magazine_.

=Mertoun= (_Basil_), _alias_ VAUGHAN, formerly a pirate.

_Mordaunt Mertoun_, son of Basil Mertoun. He marries Brenda Troil.--Sir W. Scott, _The Pirate_ (time, William III.).

=Merveilleuse= [_Mair.vay.´uze_], the sword of Doolin of Mayence. It was so sharp that, if placed edge downwards on a block of wood, it would cut through it of itself.

=Mervett= (_Gustavus de_), in _Charles XII._, an historical drama by J. R. Planché (1826).

=Mervyn= (_Mr. Arthur_), guardian of Julia Mannering.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.).

=Messali´na=, wife of the Emperor Claudius of Rome. Her name is a by-word for incontinency (A.D. *-48).

_Messalina_ (_The Modern_), Catherine II. of Russia (1729-1796).

=Messalina of Germany=, Barbary of Cilley, second wife of Kaiser Sigismund of Germany (fifteenth century).

=Messala.= Haughty young Roman who feigns friendship for Ben-Hur, and betrays his confidence. In after years the scheme of revenge nursed by the ruined youth is fulfilled in the famous chariot-race.--Lew Wallace, _Ben Hur_, _A Tale of the Christ_ (1880).

=Messiah= (_The_), an epic poem in fifteen books, by F. G. Klopstock. The first three were published in 1748, and the last in 1773. The subject is the last days of Jesus, His crucifixion and resurrection. Bk. i. Jesus ascends the Mount of Olives, to spend the night in prayer. Bk. ii. John the Beloved, failing to exorcise a demoniac, Jesus goes to his assistance; and Satan, rebuked, returns to hell, where he tells the fallen angels his version of the birth and ministry of Christ, whose death he resolves on. Bk. iii. Messiah sleeps for the last time on the Mount of Olives; the tutelar angels of the twelve apostles, and a description of the apostles are given. Satan gives Judas a dream, and then enters the heart of Caiaphas. Bk. iv. The council in the palace of Caiaphas decree that Jesus must die; Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare the Passover, and eats His Last Supper with His apostles. Bk. v. The three hours of agony in the garden. Bk. vi. Jesus, bound, is taken before Annas, and then before Caiaphas. Peter denies his Master. Bk. vii. Christ is brought before Pilate; Judas hangs himself; Pilate sends Jesus to Herod, but Herod sends Him again to Pilate, who delivers Him to the Jews. Bk. viii. Christ nailed to the cross. Bk. ix. Christ on the cross. Bk. x. The Death of Christ. Bk. xi. The vail[TN-10] of the Temple rent, and the resurrection of many from their graves. Bk. xii. The burial of the body, and death of Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Bk. xiii. The resurrection and suicide of Philo. Bk. xiv. Jesus shows Himself to His disciples. Bk. xv. Many of those who had risen from their graves show themselves to others. Conclusion.

_Messiah_, an oratorio by Handel (1749). The liberetto was by Charles Jennens, nicknamed “Soliman the Magnificent.”

=Metanoi´a=, Repentance personified, by William Browne, in _Britannia’s Pastorals_, v. (Greek, _mĕtanoia_, “repentance”.)

Faire Metanoia is attending To croune thee with those joys that know no ending.

_Pastorals_, v. 1 (1613).

=Metasta´sio.= The real name of this Italian poet was Trapassi (_death_). He was brought up by Gravina, who Grecized the name (1698-1782).

⁂ So “Melancthon” is the Greek form of _Schwarzerdê_ (“black earth”); “Œcolampadius” is the Greek form of the German name _Hausschein_; “Desiderius Erasmus” is _Gheraerd Gheraerd_ (the first “Gheraerd” is Latinized into _Desiderius_, and the latter is Grecized into _Erasmus_).

=Meth´os=, drunkenness personified. He is twin-brother of Gluttony, their mother being Caro (_fleshly lust_). In the battle of Mansoul, Methos is slain by Agnei´a (_wifely chastity_) spouse of Eucra´tês (_temperance_), and sister of Parthen´ia (_maiden chastity_). (Greek, _methê_ or _methŭs_ is “drunkenness.”)--Phineas Fletcher, _The Purple Island_, vii., xi. (1633).

=Met´ophis=, the corrupt chief minister of Sesostris.

Il avait l’ame aussi corrumpue et aussi artificieuse que Sesostris était sincère et généreux.--Fénelon, _Télémaque_ (1700).

=Mexit´li=, chief god and idol of the Az´tecas. He leaped full-grown into life, and with a spear slew those who mocked his mother, Coatlan´tona (4 _syl._).

Already at [_his mother’s breast_] the blow was aimed, When forth Mexitli leapt, and in his hand The angry spear.

Southey, _Madoc_, ii. 21 (1805).

⁂ Of course, it will be remembered that Minerva, like Mexitli, was born full-grown and fully armed.

=Mezen´tius=, king of the Tyrrhenians, who put criminals to death by tying them face to face with dead bodies.--Virgil, _Æneid_, viii. 485.

=Mezzora´mia=, an earthly paradise in Africa, accessible by only one road. Gaudentio di Lucca discovered the road, and lived at Mezzoramia for twenty-five years.--Simon Berington, _Gaudentio di Lucca_.

=M. F. H.=, Master [_of the_] Fox-hounds.

=Micaw´ber= (_Mr. Wilkins_), a most unpractical, half-clever man, a great speechifier, letter writer, projector of bubble schemes, and, though confident of success, never succeeding. Having failed in everything in the old country, he migrated to Australia, and became a magistrate at Middlebay.--C. Dickens, _David Copperfield_ (1849).

⁂ This truly amiable, erratic genius is a portrait of Dickens’s own father, “David Copperfield” being Dickens, and “Mrs. Nickleby” (one can hardly believe it) is said to be Dickens’s mother.

=Mi´chael= (2 _syl._), the special protector and guardian of the Jews. This archangel is messenger of peace and plenty.--Sale’s _Korân_, ii. notes.

⁂ That Michael was really the protector and guardian angel of the Jews we know from _Dan._ x. 13, 21; xii. 1.

Milton makes Michael the leader of the heavenly host in the war in heaven. The word means “God’s power.” Gabriel was next in command to the archangel Michael.

Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince

_Paradise Lost_, vi. 44 (1665).

⁂ Longfellow, in his _Golden Legend_, says that Michael is the presiding spirit of the planet Mercury, and brings to man the gift of prudence (“The Miracle-Play,” iii., 1851).

_Michael_, the “trencher favorite” of Arden of Feversham, in love with Maria, sister of Mosby. A weak man, who both loves and honors Arden, but is inveigled by Mosby to admit ruffians into Arden’s house to murder him.--Geo. Lillo, _Arden of Feversham_ (1592).

=Michael, God of Wind= (_St._). At the promontory of Malea is a chapel built to St. Michael, and the sailors say when the wind blows from that quarter it is occasioned by the violent motion of St. Michael’s wings. Whenever they sail by that promontory, they pray St. Michael to keep his wings still.

_St. Michael’s Chair._ It is said that any woman who has sat on Michael’s chair (on St. Michael’s Mount, in Cornwall), will rule her husband ever after.

=Michael Angelo of Battle-Scenes= (_The_), Michael Angelo Cerquozzi, of Rome (1600-1660).

=Michael Angelo of France= (_The_), Jean Cousin (1500-1590).

=Michael Angelo des Kermesses=, Peter van Laar, called _Le Bamboche_, born at Laaren (1613-1673).

Or _Michel-Ange des Bamboches_.

=Michael Angelo of Music= (_The_), Johann Christoph von Glück (1714-1787).

=Michael Angelo of Sculptors= (_The_), Pierre Puget (1623-1694).

Réné Michael Slodtz is also called the same (1705-1764).

=Michael Angelo Titmarsh=, one of the pseudonyms under which Thackeray contributed to _Frazer’s Magazine_ (1811-1863).

=Michael Armstrong=, “the factory boy.” The hero and title of a novel by Mrs. Trollope (1839). The object of this novel is to expose what the authoress considered to be the evils of the factory system.

=Michael Perez=, the copper captain. (See PEREZ.)

=Michael, the Stammerer=, born at Armorium, in Phrygia, mounted the throne as emperor of Greece in A.D. 820. He used all his efforts to introduce the Jewish Sabbath and sacrifice.

I think I have proved ... The error of all those doctrines so vicious ... That are making such terrible work in the Churches By Michael the Stammerer.

Longfellow, _The Golden Legend_ (1851).

=Michal=, in the satire of _Absalom and Achitophel_, by Dryden and Tate, is meant for Catharine, the wife of Charles II.--Pt. ii. (1682).

=Michelot=, an unprincipled, cowardly, greedy man, who tries to discover the secret of “the gold-mine.” Being procurator of the president of Lyons, his office was “to capture and arrest” those charged with civil or criminal offences.--E. Stirling, _The Gold-Mine, or Miller of Grenoble_ (1854).

=Micomico´na=, the pretended queen of Micomicon. Don Quixote’s adventure to Micomiconnia came to nothing, for he was taken home in a cage, almost as soon as he was told of the wonderful enchantments.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. iv. 2 (1605.)

=Mi´das= (_Justice_), appointed to adjudge a musical contest between Pol and Pan. He decides in favor of Pan, whereupon Pol throws off his disguise, appears as the god Apollo, and, being indignant at the decision, gives Midas “the ears of an ass.”--Kane O’Hara, _Midas_ (1764).

Edward Shuter (1728-1776) was pronounced by Garrick “the greatest comic actor;” and C. Dibdin says: “Nothing on earth could have been superior to his ‘Midas.’”

_Midas’s Ears._ The servant who used to cut the king’s hair, discovering the deformity, was afraid to whisper the secret to any one, but, being unable to contain himself, he dug a hole in the earth, and, putting his mouth into it, cried out, “King Midas has ass’s ears!” He then filled up the hole and felt relieved.

Tennyson makes the barber a woman:

No livelier than the dame That whispered “Asses’ ears” among the sedge.

Tennyson, _The Princess_.

=Middleburgh= (_Mr. James_), an Edinburgh magistrate.--Sir W. Scott, _Heart of Midlothian_ (time, George II.).

=Middlemas= (_Mr. Matthew_), a name assumed by General Witherington.

_Mrs. Middlemas_, wife of the general (born Zelia de Monçada).

_Richard Middlemas_, alias _Richard Tresham_, a foundling, apprenticed to Dr Gray. He discovers that he is the son of General Witherington, and goes to India, where he assumes the character of Sadoc, a black slave in the service of Mde. Montreville. He delivers Menie Gray by treachery to Tippoo Saib, and Hyder Ali gives him up to be crushed to death by an elephant.--Sir W. Scott, _The Surgeon’s Daughter_ (time, George II.).

=Middlewick= (_Mr. Perkyn_), a retired butterman, the neighbor of Sir Geoffrey Champneys, and the father of Charles. The butterman is innately vulgar, drops his _h’s_ and inserts them out of place, makes the greatest geographical and historical blunders, has a tyrannical temper, but a tender heart. He turns his son adrift for marrying Violet Melrose, an heiress, who snubbed the plebeian father. When reduced to great distress, the old butterman goes to his son’s squalid lodgings and relents. So all ends happily.

_Charles Middlewick_, son of the retired butterman, well educated, and a gentleman. His father wanted him to marry Mary Melrose, a girl without a penny, but he preferred Violet, an heiress.--H. J. Byron, _Our Boys_ (1875).

=Midge=, the miller’s son, one of the companions of Robin Hood. (See MUCH.)

_Midge_ (_The_), a well-born but friendless waif, thrown at the age of thirteen upon the charity of Dr. Peters, an eccentric bachelor. She cares for his house and for him in quaint, womanly fashion, very bewitching, until she is grown. The suit of another and a younger man, makes the doctor know, to his cost, how well he loves her. He holds his peace, and marries Midge to her lover.

“Then he went into the big pantry. In the corner on the shelf, still lay the crock in which the Midge had hidden her head, heavy with childish grief, years before. The old stool stood before it. He sat down on it and rested his hot forehead on the cool rim of the jar.

“And that’s the end of the story.”--H. C. Bunner, _The Midge_ (1886).

=Midian Mara=, the Celtic mermaid.

=Midlo´thian= (_The Heart of_), a tale of the Porteous riot, in which the incidents of Effie and Jeanie Deans are of absorbing interest. Effie was seduced by Geordie Robertson (_alias_ George Staunton), while in the service of Mrs. Saddletree. She murdered her infant, and was condemned to death; but her half-sister, Jeanie, went to London, pleaded her cause before the queen, and obtained her pardon. Jeanie, on her return to Scotland, married Reuben Butler; and Geordie Robertson (then Sir George Staunton) married Effie. Sir George being shot by a gypsy boy, Effie (_i.e._ Lady Staunton), retired to a convent on the Continent.--Sir W. Scott, _Heart of Midlothian_ (time, George II.).

=Midshipman Easy.= (See EASY.)

=Midsummer Night’s Dream.= Shakespeare says there was a law in Athens, that if a daughter refused to marry the husband selected for her by her father, she might be put to death. Egēus (3 _syl._), an Athenian, promised to give his daughter, Hermia, in marriage to Demētrius; but, as the lady loved Lysander, she refused to marry the man selected by her father, and fled from Athens with her lover. Demetrius went in pursuit of her, followed by Helĕna, who doted on him. All four came to a forest, and fell asleep. In their dreams a vision of fairies passed before them, and on awaking, Demetrius resolved to forego Hermia, who disliked him, and to take to wife Helena, who sincerely loved him. When Egeus was informed thereof, he readily agreed to give his daughter to Lysander, and the force of the law was not called into action (1592).

⁂ Several of the incidents of this comedy are borrowed from the _Diana_ of Montemayor, a Spaniard (sixteenth century).

=Midwinter= (_Ozias_), the _alias_ of another Allan Armadale. His father has murdered the father of the real Allan, and the son of the homicide resolves to keep his own identity a secret, while trying to atone to Allan for the wrong done him. He loves and marries the perfidious governess of Allan’s betrothed.--Wilkie Collins, _Armadale_.

=Miggs= (_Miss_), the handmaiden and “comforter” of Mrs. Varden. A tall, gaunt young woman, addicted to pattens; slender and shrewish, of a sharp and acid visage. She held the male sex in utter contempt, but had a secret exception in favor of Sim Tappertit, who irreverently called her “scraggy.” Miss Miggs always sided with madam against master, and made out that she was a suffering martyr, and he an inhuman Nero. She called ma’am “mim;” said her sister lived at “twenty-sivin;” Simon she called “Simmun.” She said Mrs. Varden was “the mildest, amiablest, forgivingest-sperited, longest-sufferingest female in existence.” Baffled in all her matrimonial hopes, she was at last appointed female turnkey to a county Bridewell, which office she held for thirty years, when she died.

Miss Miggs, baffled in all her schemes ... and cast upon a thankless, undeserving world, turned very sharp and sour ... but the justices of the peace for Middlesex ... selected her from 124 competitors to the office of turnkey for a county Bridewell, which she held till her decease, more than thirty years afterwards, remaining single all that time.--C. Dickens, _Barnaby Rudge_ (1841).

=Mign´on=, a beautiful, dwarfish, fairy-like Italian girl, in love with Wilhelm, her protector. She glides before us in the mazy dance, or whirls her tambourine like an Ariel. Full of fervor, full of love, full of rapture, she is overwhelmed with the torrent of despair at finding her love is not returned, becomes insane, and dies.--Goethe, _Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship_ (1794-6).

Sir W. Scott drew his “Fenella,” in _Peveril of the Peak_, from this character; and Victor Hugo has reproduced her in his _Notre Dame_, under the name of “Esmeralda.”

=Mignonette:=

“A pitcher of mignonette In a tenement’s highest casement Queer sort of flower-pot--yet That pitcher of mignonette Is a garden in heaven set To the little sick child in the basement, The pitcher of mignonette. In the tenement’s highest casement.”

Henry Cuyler Bunner, _Airs from Arcady and Elsewhere_ (1884).

=Migonnet=, a fairy king, who wished to marry the princess brought up by Violenta, the fairy mother.

Of all dwarfs he was the smallest. His feet were like an eagle’s, and close to the knees, for legs he had none. His royal robes were not above half a yard long, and trailed one-third part upon the ground. His head was as big as a peck, and his nose long enough for twelve birds to perch on. His beard was bushy enough for a canary’s nest, and his ears reached a foot above his head.--Comtesse D’Aulnoy, _Fairy Tales_ (“The White Cat,” 1682).

=Mikado= (_of Japan_), the hero of Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera “The Mikado.” The plot turns upon the complications brought about [TN-11] the Mikado’s severe laws against flirting:

“So he decreed in words succint, That all who flirted, leered or winked, Unless connubially linked, Should forthwith be beheaded.”

=Mi´lan= (_The duke of_), an Italian prince, an ally of the Lancastrians.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).

=Milan Decree=, a decree of Napoleon Bonaparte, dated Milan, December 27, 1807, declaring “the whole British empire to be in a state of blockade, and prohibiting all countries from trading with Great Britain, or using any article made therein.”

⁂ As Britain was the best customer of the very nations forbidden to deal with her, this very absurd decree was a two-edged sword, cutting both ways.

=Mildred=, the bride, “fresh and fair as May,” whom Philip, the pastor, installs as _Mistress of the Manse_, in Josiah Gilbert Holland’s poem of that name (1874).

=Mildmay= (_Frank_), hero of sea-story bearing his name.--Frederick Marryatt.

=Mile´sian Fables= (_Milesiæ Fabulæ_), very wanton and ludicrous tales. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton (Lord Lytton) published six of the _Lost Tales of Milētus_ in rhymeless verse. He pretends he borrowed them from the scattered remnants preserved by Apollodo´rus and Conon, contained in the pages of Pausa´nias and Athenæus, or dispersed throughout the Scholiasts. The Milesian tales were, for the most part, in prose; but Ovid tells us that Aristi´dês rendered some of them into verse, and Sisenna into Latin.

Junxit Aristides Milesia carmina secum Pulsus Aristides nec tamen urba sua est.

The original tales by Antonius Diog´enês are described by Photius. It appears that they were great favorites with the luxurious Sybarites. A compilation was made by Aristīdês, by whom (according to Ovid) some were versified also. The Latin translation by Sisenna was made about the time of the civil wars of Ma´rius and Sylla. Parthen´ius Nice´nus, who taught Virgil Greek, borrowed thirty-six of the tales, which he dedicated to Cornelius Gallus, and entitled _Erôtikôn Pathêmatôn_ (“love stories”).

_Milesia Crimina_, amatory offences. Venus was worshipped at Milētus, and hence the loose amatory tales of Antonius Diogenês were entitled _Milesiæ Fabulæ_.

=Mile´sians=, the “ancient” Irish. The legend is that Ireland was once peopled by the Fir-bolg or Belgæ from Britain, who were subdued by Milesians from Asia Minor, called the Gaels of Ireland.