Part 52

=She Stoops to Conquer=, a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith (1773). Miss Hardcastle, knowing how bashful young Marlow is before ladies, _stoops_ to the manners and condition of a barmaid, with whom he feels quite at his ease, and by this artifice wins the man of her choice.

⁂ It is said that when Goldsmith was about 16 years old, he set out for Edgworthstown, and finding night coming on when at Ardagh, asked a man “which was the best house in town”--meaning the best inn. The man, who was Cornelius O’Kelly, the great fencing-master, pointed to that of Mr. Ralph Fetherstone, as being the best house in the vicinity. Oliver entered the parlor, found the master of the mansion sitting over a good fire, and said he intended to pass the night there, and should like to have supper. Mr. Fetherstone happened to know Goldsmith’s father, and, to humor the joke, pretended to be the landlord of “the public,” nor did he reveal himself till next morning at breakfast, when Oliver called for his bill. It was not Sir Ralph Fetherstone, as is generally said, but Mr. Ralph Fetherstone, whose grandson was Sir Thomas.

=Sheba.= The queen of Sheba, or Saba (_i.e._ the Sabeans) came to visit Solomon, and tested his wisdom by sundry questions, but affirmed that his wisdom and wealth exceeded even her expectations.--1 _Kings_ x.; 2 _Chron._ ix.

No, not to answer, madam, all those hard things That Sheba came to ask of Solomon.

Tennyson, _The Princess_, ii.

⁂ The Arabs call her name Balkis, or Belkis; the Abyssinians, Macqueda; and others, Aazis.

_Sheba_ (_The queen of_), a name given to Mde. Montreville (the Begum Mootee Mahul).--Sir W. Scott, _The Surgeon’s Daughter_ (time, George II.).

=Shebdiz=, the Persian Bucephalos, the favorite charger of Chosroës II., or Khosrou Parvis, of Persia (590-628).

=Shedad=, king of Ad, who built a most magnificent palace, and laid out a garden called “The Garden of Irem,” like “the bowers of Eden.” All men admired this palace and garden, except the prophet Houd, who told the king that the foundation of his palace was not secure. And so it was, that God, to punish his pride, first sent a drought of three years’ duration, and then the Sarsar, or icy wind, for seven days, in which the garden was destroyed, the palace ruined, and Shedad, with all his subjects, died.

It is said that the palace of Shedad, or Shuddaud, took 500 years in building, and when it was finished the angel of death would not allow him even to enter his garden, but struck him dead, and the rose garden of Irem was ever after invisible to the eye of man.--Southey, _Thalaba, the Destroyer_, 1. (1797).

=Sheep-Dog= (_A_), a lady-companion, who occupies the back seat of the barouche, carries wraps, etc., goes to church with the lady,and[TN-174] “guards her from the wolves,” as much as the lady wishes to be guarded, but no more.

“Rawdon,” said Becky, ... “I must have a sheep-dog ... I mean a _moral_ shepherd’s dog ... to keep the wolves off me.” ... “A sheep-dog, a companion! Becky Sharp with a sheep-dog! Isn’t that good fun!”--Thackeray, _Vanity Fair_, xxxvii. (1848).

=Sheep of the Prisons=, a cant term in the French Revolution for a spy under the jailers.--C. Dickens, _A Tale of Two Cities_, iii. 7 (1859).

=Sheep Tilted at.= Don Quixote saw the dust of two flocks of sheep coming in opposite directions, and told Sancho they were two armies--one commanded by the Emperor Alifanfaron, sovereign of the island of Trap´oban, and the other by the king of the Garaman´teans, called “Pentap´olin with the Naked Arm.” He said that Alifanfaron was in love with Pentapolin’s daughter, but Pentapolin refused to sanction the alliance, because Alifanfaron was a Mohammedan. The mad knight rushed on the flock “led by Alifanfaron,” and killed seven of the sheep, but was stunned by stones thrown at him by the shepherds. When Sancho told his master that the two armies were only two flocks of sheep, the knight replied that the enchanter Freston had “metamorphosed the two grand armies” in order to show his malice.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. iii. 4 (1605).

⁂ After the death of Achillês, Ajax and Ulysses both claimed the armor of Hector. The dispute was settled by the sons of Atreus (2 _syl._), who awarded the prize to Ulysses. This so enraged Ajax that it drove him mad, and he fell upon a flock of sheep driven at night into the camp, supposing it to be an army led by Ulysses and the sons of Atreus. When he found out his mistake, he stabbed himself. This is the subject of a tragedy by Soph´oclês called _Ajax Mad_.

⁂ Orlando in his madness also fell foul of a flock of sheep.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).

=Sheffield= (_The Bard of_), James Montgomery, author of _The Wanderer of Switzerland_, etc. (1771-1854).

With broken lyre and cheek serenely pale, Lo! Sad Alcæns wanders down the vale ... O’er his lost works let classic Sheffield weep; May no rude hand disturb their early sleep!

Byron, _English Bards and Scotch Reviewers_ (1809).

=Sheila=, pretty, simple-hearted girl, whose father is a magnate among his neighbors in the Orkney Islands. Sheila is won by a Londoner--Lavender by name--who visits her island home. He transplants the Northern wild flower into a London home, where she pines for a while, homesick and heart-sick. In time, her sound sense enables her to adjust herself to altered conditions, and her stronger nature raises and ennobles her husband’s.--William Black, _A Princess of Thulè_.

=Shelby= (_Mr._), Uncle Tom’s first master. Being in commercial difficulties, he was obliged to sell his faithful slave. His son afterwards endeavored to buy Uncle Tom back again, but found that he had been whipped to death by the villain Legree.--Harriet Beecher Stowe, _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_ (1852).

=Shell= (_A_). Amongst the ancient Gaels a shell was emblematic of peace. Hence when Bosmi´na, Fingal’s daughter, was sent to propitiate King Erragon, who had invaded Morven, she carried with her a “sparkling shell as a symbol of peace, and a golden arrow as a symbol of war.”--Ossian, _The Battle of Lora_.

=Shells=, _i.e._, hospitality. “Semo, king of shells” (“hospitality”). When Cuthullin invites Swaran to a banquet, his messenger says, “Cuthullin gives the joy of shells; come and partake the feast of Erin’s blue-eyed chief.” The ancient Gaels drank from shells; and hence such phrases as “chief of shells,” “hall of shells,” “king of shells,” etc. (king of hospitality). “To rejoice in the shell” is to feast sumptuously and drink freely.

=Shemus-an-Snachad=, or “James of the Needle,” M’Ivor’s tailor at Edinburgh.--Sir W. Scott, _Waverley_ (time, George II.)

=Shepheardes Calendar= (_The_), twelve eclogues in various metres, by Spenser, one for each month. _January_: Colin Clout (_Spenser_) bewails that Rosalind does not return his love, and compares his forlorn condition to the season itself. _February_: Cuddy, a lad, complains of the cold, and Thenot laments the degeneracy of pastoral life. _March_: Willie and Thomalin discourse of love (described as a person just aroused from sleep). _April_: Hobbinol sings a song on Eliza, queen of shepherds. _May_: Palinode (3 _syl._) exhorts Piers to join the festivities of May, but Piers replies that good shepherds who seek their own indulgence expose their flocks to the wolves. He then relates the fable of the kid and her dam. _June_: Hobbinol exhorts Colin to greater cheerfulness, but Colin replies there is no cheer for him while Rosalind remains unkind and loves Menalcas better than himself. _July_: Morrel, a goat-herd, invites Thomalin to come with him to the uplands, but Thomalin replies that humility better becomes a shepherd (_i.e._, a pastor or clergyman). _August_: Perigot and Willie contend in song, and Cuddy is appointed arbiter. _September_: Diggon Davie complains to Hobbinol of clerical abuses. _October_: On poetry, which Cuddy says has no encouragement, and laments that Colin neglects it, being crossed in love. _November_;[TN-175] Colin, being asked by Thenot to sing, excuses himself because of his grief for Dido, but finally he sings her elegy. _December_: Colin again complains that his heart is desolate because Rosalind loves him not (1579).

=Shepheards Hunting= (_The_), four “eglogues” by George Wither, while confined in the Marshalsea (1615). The shepherd, Roget, is the poet himself, and his “hunting” is a satire called _Abuses Stript and Whipt_, for which he was imprisoned. The first three eglogues are upon the subject of Roget’s imprisonment, and the fourth is on his love of poetry. “Willy” is the poet’s friend, William Browne, of the Inner Temple, author of _Britannia’s Pastorals_. He was two years the junior of Wither.

=Shepherd= (_The_), Moses, who for forty years fed the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law.

Sing, heavenly Muse, that on the secret top Of Oreb or of Sinai, didst inspire That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed, “In the beginning,” how the heaven and earth Rose out of chaos.

Milton, _Paradise Lost_, i. (1665).

_Shepherd_ (_The Gentle_), George Grenville, the statesman. One day, in addressing the House, George Grenville said, “Tell me where! tell me where!...” Pitt hummed the line of a song then very popular, beginning, “Gentle shepherd, tell me where!” and the whole House was convulsed with laughter (1712-1770).

⁂ Allan Ramsay has a beautiful Scotch pastoral called _The Gentle Shepherd_ (1725).

_Shepherd_ (_John Claridge_), the signature adopted by the author of _The Shepherd of Banbury’s Rules to Judge of the Changes of Weather, etc._ (1744). Supposed to be Dr. John Campbell, author of _A Political Survey of Britain_.

=Shepherd-Kings= (_The_), or _Hyksos_. These Hyksos were a tribe of Cuthites driven from Assyria by Aralius and the Shemites. Their names were: (1) SAĪTÊS or Salātês, called by the Arabs El-Weleed, and said to be a descendant of Esau (B.C. 1870-1851); (2) BEON, called by the Arabs Er-Reiyan, son of El-Weleed (B.C. 1851-1811); (3) APACHNAS (B.C. 1811-1750); (4) APŌPHIS, called by the Arabs Er-Reiyan II., in whose reign Joseph was sold into Egypt and was made viceroy (B.C. 1750-1700); (5) JANIAS (B.C. 1700-1651); (6) ASSETH (1651-1610).[TN-176] The Hyksos were driven out of Egypt by Amŏsis or Thetmosis, the founder of the eighteenth dynasty, and retired to Palestine, where they formed the chiefs or lords of the Philistines. (Hyksos is compounded of _hyk_, “king,” and _sos_, “shepherd.”)

⁂ Apophis or Aphophis was not a shepherd-king, but a pharaoh or native ruler, who made Apachnas tributary, and succeeded him, but on the death of Aphophis the hyksos were restored.

=Shepherd Lord= (_The_), Lord Henry de Clifford, brought up by his mother as a shepherd to save him from the vengeance of the Yorkists. Henry VII. restored him to his birthright and estates (1455-1543).

The gracious fairy, Who loved the shepherd lord to meet In his wanderings solitary.

Wordsworth, _The White Doe of Rylstone_ (1815).

=Shepherd of Banbury.= (See SHEPHERD, JOHN CLARIDGE.)

=Shepherd of Filida.=

“Preserve him, Mr. Nicholas, as thou wouldst a diamond. He is not a shepherd, but an elegant courtier,” said the curé.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. i. 6 (1605).

=Shepherd of Salisbury Plain= (_The_), the hero and title of a religious tract by Hannah More. The shepherd is noted for his homely wisdom and simple piety. The academy figure of this shepherd was David Saunders, who, with his father, had kept sheep on the plain for a century.

=Shepherd of the Ocean.= So Colin Clout (_Spenser_) calls Sir Walter Raleigh in his _Colin Clout’s Come Home Again_ (1591).

=Shepherdess= (_The Faithful_), a pastoral drama by John Fletcher (1610). The “faithful shepherdess” is Corin, who remains faithful to her lover although dead. Milton has borrowed rather largely from this pastoral in his _Comus_.

=Sheppard= (_Jack_), immortalized for his burglaries and escapes from Newgate. He was the son of a carpenter in Spitalfields, and was an ardent, reckless and generous youth. Certainly the most popular criminal ever led to Tyburn for execution (1701-1724).

⁂ Daniel Defoe made _Jack Sheppard_ the hero of a romance in 1724, and W. H. Ainsworth, in 1839.

=Sherborne=, in Dorsetshire, always brings ill luck to the possessor. It belonged at one time to the see of Canterbury, and Osmond pronounced a curse on any laymen who wrested it from the Church.

The first laymen who held these lands was the Protector Somerset, who was beheaded by Edward VI.

The next laymen was Sir Walter Raleigh, who was also beheaded.

At the death of Raleigh, James I. seized on the lands, and conferred them on Car, earl of Somerset, who died prematurely. His younger son, Carew, was attainted, committed to the Tower, and lost his estates by forfeiture.

⁂ James I. was no exception. He lost his eldest son, the prince of Wales, Charles I. was beheaded, James II. was forced to abdicate, and the two Pretenders consummated the ill luck of the family.

Sherborne is now in the possession of Digby, earl of Bristol.

(For other possessions which carry with them ill luck, see GOLD OF TOLOSA, GOLD OF NIBELUNGEN, GRAYSTEEL, HARMONIA’S NECKLACE, etc.)

=Sheridan’s Ride=, the story of the brilliant dash of Sheridan upon Winchester, that turned the fortunes of the day in favor of the Federal forces. Early, in command of the Confederates, had driven the United States troops out of the town. When Sheridan met them, they were in full retreat.

“Hurrah! hurrah for horse and man, And when their statues are placed on high, Under the dome of the Union sky, The American soldier’s Temple of Fame, There, with the glorious General’s name Be it said, in letters both bold and bright:-- Here is the steed that saved the day By carrying Sheridan into the fight, From Winchester--twenty miles away!’”

Thomas Buchanan Read, _Sheridan’s Ride_.

=Sheva=, the philanthropic Jew, most modest, but most benevolent. He “stints his appetite to pamper his affections, and lives in poverty that the poor may live in plenty.” Sheva is “the widows’ friend, the orphans’ father, the poor man’s protector, and the universal dispenser of charity, but he ever shrank to let his left hand know what his right hand did.” Ratcliffe’s father rescued him at Cadiz, from an _auto da fe_, and Ratcliffe himself rescued him from a howling London mob. This noble heart settled £10,000 on Miss Ratcliffe at her marriage, and left Charles the heir of all his property.--Cumberland, _The Jew_ (1776).

⁂ The Jews of England made up a very handsome purse, which they presented to the dramatist for this championship of their race.

_Sheva_, in the satire of _Absalom and Achitophel_, by Dryden and Tate, is designed for Sir Roger Lestrange, censor of the press, in the reign of Charles II. Sheva was one of David’s scribes (2 _Sam._ xx. 25), and Sir Roger was editor of the _Observator_, in which he vindicated the court measures, for which he was knighted.

Than Sheva, none more loyal zeal have shown, Wakeful as Judah’s lion for the crown.

Tate, _Absalom and Achitophel_, ii. (1682).

=Shib´boleth=, the test pass-word of a secret society. When the Ephraimites tried to pass the Jordan, after their defeat by Jephthah, the guard tested whether they were Ephraimites or not, by asking them to say the word “Shibboleth,” which the Ephraimites pronounced “Sibboleth” (_Judges_ xii. 1-6).

In the Sicilian Vespers, a word was given as a test of nationality. Some dried peas (_ciceri_) were shown to a suspect: if he called them _cheecharee_, he was a Sicilian, and allowed to pass; but if _siseri_, he was a Frenchman, and was put to death.

In the great Danish slaughter on St. Bryce’s Day (November 13, 1002), according to tradition, a similar test was made with the words “Chichester Church,” which, being pronounced hard or soft, decided whether the speaker were Dane or Saxon.

=Shield of Rome= (_The_), Fabius “Cunctātor.” Marcellus was called “The Sword of Rome.” (See FABIUS.)

=Shift= (_Samuel_), a wonderful mimic, who, like Charles Mathews, the elder, could turn his face to anything. He is employed by Sir William Wealthy, to assist in saving his son, George, from ruin, and accordingly helps the young man in his money difficulties by becoming his agent. Ultimately, it is found that Sir George’s father is his creditor, the young man is saved from ruin, marries, and becomes a reformed and honorable member of society, who has “sown his wild oats.”--Foote, _The Minor_ (1760).

=Shilling= (_To cut one off with a_). A tale is told of Charles and John Banister. John, having irritated his father, the old man said, “Jack, I’ll cut you off with a shilling.” To which the son replied, “I wish, dad, you would give it to me now.”

⁂ The same identical anecdote is told of Sheridan and his son Tom.

=Shingle= (_Solon_), prominent personage in J. S. Jones’s farce, _The People’s Lawyer_.

=Ship= (_The Intelligent_). _Ellīda_ (Frithjof’s ship) understood what was said to it; hence in the _Frithjof Saga_ the son of Thornsten constantly addresses it, and the ship always obeys what is said to it.--Tegner, _Frithjof Saga_, x. (1825).

=Shipton= (_Mother_), the heroine of an ancient tale entitled _The Strange and Wonderful History and Prophecies of Mother Shipton_, etc.--T. Evan Preece.

=Shipwreck= (_The_), a poem in three cantos, by William Falconer (1762). Supposed to occupy six days. The ship was the _Britannia_, under the command of Albert, and bound for Venice. Being overtaken in a squall, she is driven out of her course from Candia, and four seamen are lost off the lee main-yardarm. A fearful storm greatly distresses the vessel and the captain gives command “to bear away.” As she passes the island of St. George, the helmsman is struck blind by lightning. Bowsprit, foremast, and main-topmast being carried away, the officers try to save themselves on the wreck of the foremast. The ship splits on the projecting verge of Cape Colonna. The captain and all his crew are lost except Arion (_Falconer_), who is washed ashore, and being befriended by the natives, returns to England to tell this mournful story.

=Shirley.= Bright, independent heiress of Yorkshire, beautiful and courted, who chooses her own way and her own husband.--Charlotte Brontè, _Shirley_.

=Shoo-King= (_The_), the history of the Chinese monarchs, by Confucius. It begins with Yoo, B.C. 2205.

=Shoolbred= (_Dame_), the foster-mother of Henry Smith.--Sir W. Scott, _Fair Maid of Perth_ (time, Henry IV.).

=Shore= (_Jane_), the heroine and title of a tragedy by N. Rowe (1312). Jane Shore was the wife of a London merchant, but left her husband to become the mistress of Edward IV. At the death of that monarch, Lord Hastings wished to obtain her, but she rejected his advances. This drew on her the jealous wrath of Alicia (Lord Hastings’s mistress), who induced her to accuse Lord Hastings of want of allegiance to the lord protector. The duke of Gloucester commanded the instant execution of Hastings; and, accusing Jane Shore of having bewitched him, condemned her to wander about in a sheet, holding a taper in her hand, and decreed that any one who offered her food or shelter should be put to death. Jane continued an outcast for three days, when her husband came to her succor, but he was seized by Gloucester’s myrmidons, and Jane Shore died.

=Shoreditch= (_Duke of_). Barlow, the favorite archer of Henry VIII., was so entitled by the Merry Monarch, in royal sport. Barlow’s two skillful companions were created at the same time, “marquis of Islington,” and “earl of Pancras.”

Good king, make not good lord of Lincoln “duke of Shoreditche.”--_The Poore Man’s Petition to the Kinge_ (art. xvi. 1603).

=Shorne= (_Sir John_) noted for his feat of conjuring the devil into a boot.

To Master John Shorne, That blessêd man borne, Which jugeleth with a bote; I beschrewe his herte rote That will trust him, and it be I.

_Fantassie of Idolatrie._

=Short-Lived Administration= (_The_). the[TN-177] administration formed February 12, 1746, by William Pulteney. It lasted only two days.

=Shortcake= (_Mrs._), the baker’s wife, one of Mrs. Mailsetter’s friends.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).

=Shortell= (_Master_), the mercer at Liverpool.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).

=Short´hose= (2 _syl._), a clown, servant to Lady Hartwell, the widow.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _Wit Without Money_ (1539).

=Shorthouse= (_Tom_), epitaph of.

_Hic Jacet_ Tom Shorthouse, _sine_ Tom, _sine_ Sheets, _sine_ Riches; _Qui Vixit sine_ Gown, _sine_ Cloak, _sine_ Shirt, _sine_ Breeches.

_Old London_ (taken from the _Magna Britannia_)

=Shovel-Boards= or _Edward Shovel-Boards_, broad shillings of Edward III. Taylor, the water-poet, tells us “they were used for the most part at shoave-board.”

... the unthrift every day, With my face downwards do at shoave-board play.

Taylor, the water-poet (1580-1754).

=Shewsberry= (_Lord_), the earl marshall in the court of Queen Elizabeth.--Sir W. Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).

=Shufflebottom= (_Abel_), a name assumed by Robert Southey in some of his amatory productions (1774-1843).

=Shuffles= (_Robert_). One of the “bad boys,” whose misdemeanors and reformation are sketched in _Outward Bound_, by William T. Adams (Oliver Optic).

=Shuffleton= (_The Hon. Tom_), a man of very slender estate, who borrows of all who will lend, but always forgets to repay or return the loans. When spoken to about it, he interrupts the speaker before he comes to the point, and diverts the conversation to some other subject. He is one of the new school, always emotionless, looks on money as the _summum bonum_, and all as fair that puts money in his purse. The Hon. Tom Shuffleton marries Lady Caroline Braymore, who has £4000 a year. (See DIMANCHE.)--G. Colman, Jr., _John Bull_.

=Shylock=, the Jew, who lends Antonio (a Venetian merchant) 3000 ducats for three months, on these conditions: If repaid within the time, only the principal would be required; if not, the Jew should be at liberty to cut from Antonio’s body a pound of flesh. The ships of Antonio being delayed by contrary winds, the merchant was unable to meet his bill, and the Jew claimed the forfeiture. Portia, in the dress of a law doctor, conducted the trial, and when the Jew was about to take his bond, reminded him that he must shed no drop of blood, nor must he cut either more or less than an exact pound. If these conditions were infringed his life would be forfeit. The Jew, feeling it to be impossible to exact the bond under such conditions, gave up the claim, but was heavily fined for seeking the life of a Venetian citizen.--Shakespeare, _The Merchant of Venice_ (1598).

Among modern actors, _Henry Irving_, as Shylock, stands unsurpassed.

According to the kindred authority of Shylock, no man hates the thing he would not kill.--Sir W. Scott.

⁂ Paul Secchi tells us a similar tale: A merchant of Venice, having been informed by private letter that Drake had taken and plundered St. Domingo, sent word to Sampson Ceneda, a Jewish usurer. Ceneda would not believe it, and bet a pound of flesh it was not true. When the report was confirmed the pope told Secchi he might lawfully claim his bet if he chose, only he must draw no blood, nor take either more or less than an exact pound, on the penalty of being hanged.--Gregorio Leti, _Life of Sextus V._ (1666).

=Sibbald=, an attendant on the earl of Menteith.--Sir W. Scott, _Legend of Montrose_ (time, Charles I.).

=Sibylla=, the sibyl. (See SIBYLS.)

And thou, Alecto, feede me wyth thy foode ... And thou, Sibilla, when thou seest me faynte, Addres thyselfe the gyde of my complaynte.

Sackville, _Mirrour for Magistraytes_ (“Complaynte,” etc., (1557).[TN-178]