Part 9

=Gallegher=, audacious errand-boy in the office of a daily newspaper. He outwits police and sporting-men, and shows detective genius unequalled by a “professional,” becoming the means of arresting a noted murderer, and driving into town after midnight with the news of this event and of a big prize-fight, sinking exhausted on the office floor with the exclamation, “I beat the town!”—Richard Harding Davis, _Gallegher_ (1890).

=Gallegos= [_Gal´.le.goze_], the people of Galacia (once a province of Spain).

=Gallice´næ=, priestesses of Gallic mythology, who had power over the winds and waves. There were nine of them, all virgins.

=Galligan´tus=, the giant who lived with Hocus-Pocus, the conjuror. When Jack the Giant-killer blew the magic horn, both the giant and conjuror were overthrown.—_Jack the Giant-killer._

=Gallo-ma´nia=, a _furor_ for everything French. Generally applied to that vile imitation of French literature and customs which prevailed in Germany in the time of Frederick II. of Prussia. It is very conspicuous in the writings of Wieland (1733-1813).

=Galloping Dick=, Richard Ferguson, the highwayman, executed in 1800.

=Galloway= (_The Fair Maid of_), Margaret, only daughter of Archibald, fifth earl of Douglas. She married her cousin William, to whom the earldom passed in 1443. After the death of her first husband, she married his brother James (the last earl of Douglas).

=Gallowglasses=, heavy-armed foot-soldiers of Ireland and the western isles; the light-armed troops were called kernes.

—— the merciless Macdonwald —— from the western isles Of kernes and gallowglasses is supplied. Shakespeare’s _Macbeth_, act i. sc. 2.

=Gallura’s Bird=, the cock, the emblem of Gallura in Sardinia, ruled by Nino di Gallura de’Visconti. Dante meets Nino in purgatory, who sends a message to his daughter, but reproaches the mother with her marriage after his death, to Galeazzo de’Visconti of Milan, whose emblem was a viper.

For her so fair a burial will not make The viper which calls Milan to the field, As had been made by shrill Gallura’s bird. Dante, _Purgatorio_, viii.

=Gal´way Jury=, an independent jury, neither to be brow-beaten nor led by the nose. In 1635, certain trials were held in Ireland, respecting the right of the Crown to the counties of Ireland. Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo, and Mayo gave judgment for the Crown, but Galway stood out, whereupon each of the jury was fined £4000.

=Ga´ma= (_Vasco da_), the hero of Camoëns’s _Lusiad_. Sagacious, intrepid, tender-hearted, pious, and patriotic. He was the first European navigator who doubled the Cape of Good Hope (1497).

Gama, captain of the venturous band, Of bold emprise, and born for high command, Whose martial fires, with prudence close allied, Ensured the smiles of fortune on his side. Camoens, _Lusiad_, i. (1569).

⁂ Gama is also the hero of Meyerbeer’s posthumous opera called _L’Africaine_ (1865).

=Gam´elyn= (3 _syl._), youngest of the three sons of Sir Johan di Boundys, who, on his death-bed, left “five plowes of land” to each of his two elder sons, and the residue of his property to the youngest. The eldest son took charge of Gamelyn, but treated him shamefully. On one occasion he said to him, “Stand still, gadelyng, and hold thy peace.” To which the proud boy retorted, “I am no gadelyng, but the lawful son of a lady and true knight.” On this, the elder brother sent his servants to chastise him, but he drove them off “with a pestel.” At a wrestling match young Gamelyn threw the champion, and carried off the prize ram; but on reaching home found the door closed against him. He at once kicked the door down, and threw the porter into a well. The elder brother now bound the young madcap to a tree, and left him two days without food; but Adam the spencer, unloosed him; and Gamelyn fell upon a party of ecclesiastics, who had come to dine with his brother, and “sprinkled holy water on them with a stout oaken cudgel.” The sheriff sent to apprehend the young spitfire, but he fled with Adam into the woods, and came upon a party of foresters sitting at meat. The captain gave him welcome, and Gamelyn in time became “king of the outlaws.” His brother being sheriff, would have put him to death, but Gamelyn hanged his brother on a forest tree. After this the king appointed him chief ranger, and he married.—The Coke’s _Tale of Gamelyn_, formerly attributed to Chaucer.

⁂ Lodge has made this tale the basis of his romance entitled _Rosalynd_ or _Eupheus’ Golden Legacye_ (1590); and from Lodge’s novel Shakespeare has borrowed the plot, with some of the character and dialogue, of _As You Like It_.

=Gamelyn de Guar´dover= (_Sir_), an ancestor of Sir Arthur Wardour.—Sir W. Scott, _Antiquary_ (time, George III.).

=Gamester= (_The_), a tragedy by Ed. Moore (1753). The name of the gamester is Beverley, who in despair commits suicide; and the object of the play is to show the great evils of gambling.

_Gamester (The)_, by Mrs. Centlivre (1705). The hero is Valere, to whom Angelica gives a picture, which she enjoins him not to lose on pain of forfeiting her hand. Valere loses it in play, and Angelica, in disguise, is the winner. After much tribulation, Valere is cured of his vice, the picture is restored, and the two are happily united in marriage.

=Gammer Gurton’s Needle=, by Mr. S., Master of Arts. It was in existence, says Warton, in 1551 (_English Poetry_, iv. 32). Sir Walter Scott says; “It was the supposed composition of John Still, M.A., afterwards bishop of Bath and Wells;” but in 1551 John Still was a boy not nine years old. The fun of this comedy turns on the loss and recovery of a _needle_, with which Gammer Gurton was repairing the breeches of her man Hodge. The comedy contains the famous drinking song, “I cannot eat but little Meat.”

=Gamp= (_Sarah_), a monthly nurse, residing in Kingsgate Street, High Holborn. Sarah was noted for her gouty umbrella, and for her perpetual reference to an hypothetical Mrs. Harris, whose opinions were a confirmation of her own. She was fond of strong tea and strong stimulants. “Don’t ask me,” she said, “whether I won’t take none, or whether I will, but leave the bottle on the chimley piece, and let me put my lips to it when I am so dispoged.” When Mrs. Prig “her pardner,” stretched out her hand to the teapot [_filled with gin_], Mrs. Gamp stopped the hand and said with great feeling, “No, Betsy! drink fair, wotever you do.” (See HARRIS.)—C. Dickens, _Martin Chuzzlewit_, xlix. (1843).

⁂ A big, pawky umbrella is called a _Mrs. Gamp_, and in France, _un Robinson_, from Robinson Crusoe’s umbrella.

⁂ Mrs. Gamp and Mrs. Harris have Parisian sisters in Mde. Pochet and Mde. Gibou, creations of Henri Monnier.

=Gan.= (See GANELON.)

=Gan´dalin=, earl of the Firm Island, and ’squire of Am´adis de Gaul.

Gandalin, though an earl, never spoke to his master but cap in hand, his head bowing all the time, and his body bent after the Turkish manner.—Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. iii. 6 (1605).

=Gan´elon= (2 _syl._), count of Mayence, the “Judas” of Charlemagne’s paladins. His castle was built on the Blocksberg, the loftiest peak of the Hartz Mountains. Charlemagne was always trusting this base knight, and was as often betrayed by him. Although the very business of the paladins was the upholding of Christianity, Sir Ganelon was constantly intriguing for its overthrow. No doubt jealousy of Sir Roland made him a traitor, and he basely planned with Marsillus (the Moorish king), the attack of Roncesvallês. The character of Sir Ganelon was marked with spite, dissimulation, and intrigue, but he was patient, obstinate and enduring. He was six feet and a half in height, had large glaring eyes and fiery red hair. He loved solitude, was very taciturn, disbelieved in the existence of moral good, and has become a by-word for a false and faithless friend. Dantê has placed him in his “Inferno.” (Sometimes called GAN.)

The most faithless spy since the days of Ganelon.—Sir W. Scott, _The Abbot_, xxiv. (1820).

=Ganem=, “The Slave of Love.” The hero and title of one of the _Arabian Nights_ tales. Ganem was the son of a rich merchant of Damascus, named Abou Aibou. On the death of his father he went to Bagdad, to dispose of the merchandise left, and accidentally saw three slaves secretly burying a chest in the earth. Curiosity induced him to disinter the chest, when lo! it contained a beautiful woman, sleeping from the effects of a narcotic drug. He took her to the lodgings, and discovered that the victim was Fetnab, the caliph’s favorite, who had been buried alive by order of the sultana, out of jealousy. When the caliph heard thereof, he was extremely jealous of the young merchant, and ordered him to be put to death, but he made good his escape in the guise of a waiter, and lay concealed till the angry fit of the caliph had subsided. When Haroun-al-Raschid (the caliph) came to himself, and heard the unvarnished facts of the case, he pardoned Ganem, gave to him Fetnab for a wife, and appointed him to a lucrative post about the court.

=Gan´esa=, goddess of wisdom, in Hindû mythology.

Then Camdeo _[Love]_ bright and Ganesa sublime Shall bless with joy their own propitious clime. Campbell, _Pleasures of Hope_, i. (1799).

=Ganlesse= (_Richard_), _alias_ SIMON CANTER, _alias_ EDWARD CHRISTIAN, one of the conspirators.—Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).

=Ganna=, the Celtic prophetess, who succeeded Velle´da. She went to Rome, and was received by Domitian with great honor.—Tacitus, _Annals_, 55.

=Ganor=, Gano´ra, Geneura, Ginevra, Genievre, Guinevere, Guenever, are different ways of spelling the name of Arthur’s wife; called by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Guanhuma´ra or Guan´humar; but Tennyson has made Guenevere the popular English form.

=Gants Jaunes= (_Des_), dandies, men of fashion.

=Gan´ymede= (3 _syl._), a beautiful Phrygian boy, who was carried up to Olympos on the back of an eagle, to become cup-bearer to the gods instead of Hebê. At the time of his capture he was playing a flute while tending his father’s sheep.

There fell a flute when Ganymede went up— The flute that he was wont to play upon. Jean Ingelow, _Honours_, ii.

(Jupiter compensated the boy’s father for the loss of his son, by a pair of horses.)

Tennyson, speaking of a great reverse of fortune from the highest glory to the lowest shame, says:

They mounted _Ganymedes_, To tumble _Vulcans_ on the second morn. _The Princess_, iii.

_The Birds of Ganymede_, eagles. Ganymede is represented as sitting on an eagle, or attended by that bird.

To see upon her shores her foul and conies feed, And wantonly to hatch the birds of Ganymede. Drayton, _Polyolbion_, iv. (1612).

⁂ Ganymede is the constellation _Aquarius_.

=Garagan´tua=, a giant, who swallowed five pilgrims with their staves in a salad.—Rabelais, _The History of Garagantua_ (1533).

“You must borrow me Garagantua’s mouth first: ’tis a word too great for any mouth of this age’s size.”—Shakespeare, _As You Like It_, act iii. sc. 2.

=Gar´cias=. _The soul of Peter Garcias_, money. Two scholars, journeying to Salamanca, came to a fountain, which bore this inscription; “Here is buried the soul of the licentiate Peter Garcias.” One scholar went away laughing at the notion of a buried _soul_, but the other, cutting with his knife, loosened a stone, and found a purse containing 100 ducats.—Lesage, _Gil Blas_ (to the reader, 1715).

=Garcilas´o=, surnamed “the Inca,” descended on the mother’s side from the royal family of Peru (1530-1568). He was the son of Sebastian Garcilaso, a lieutenant of Alvarado and Pizarro. Author of _Commentaries on the Origin of the Incas, their Laws and Government_.

_Garcilaso_ [DE LA VEGA], called “The Petrarch of Spain”, born at Toledo (1503-1536). His poems are eclogues, odes, and elegies of great _naïveté_, grace, and harmony.

Sometimes he turned to gaze upon his book, Boscan or Garcilasso [_sic_]. Byron, _Don Juan_ i. 95 (1819).

=Garda= (_Thorne_). Beautiful, untaught and utterly unreasonable girl, whom everybody pets and who always gets her own way. She fascinates men and outwits women, defies all authority, and never loses her temper. In a lazy way she falls in love with one man after another, and is most constant to the least worthy. The best and kindest woman among her friends suffers in reputation from her escapades, and Garda accepts the sacrifice as a matter of course. The incarnation of sensuous selfishness.—Constance Fennimore Woolson, _East Angels_ (1886).

=Gardening= (_Father of Landscape_), Lenotre (1613-1700).

=Gar´diner= (_Richard_), porter to Miss Seraphine Arthuret and her sister Angelica.—Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).

_Gardiner (Colonel)_, colonel of Waverley’s Regiment.—Sir W. Scott, _Waverley_ (time, George II.).

=Gareth= (_Sir_), according to Ancient romance, was the youngest son of Lot, king of Orkney and Morgawse, Arthur’s [half] sister. His mother, to deter him from entering Arthur’s court, said, jestingly, she would consent to his so doing if he concealed his name and went as a scullion for twelve months. To this he agreed, and Sir Kay, the king’s steward, nicknamed him “Beaumains,” because his hands were unusually large. At the end of the year he was knighted, and obtained the quest of Linet, who craved the aid of some knight to liberate her sister Lionês, who was held prisoner by Sir Ironside in Castle Perilous. Linet treated Sir Gareth with great contumely, calling him a washer of dishes and a kitchen knave; but he overthrew the five knights and liberated the lady, whom he married. The knights were—first, the Black Knight of the Black Lands _or_ Sir Pere´ard (2 _syl._), the Green Knight _or_ Sir Pertolope, the Red Knight _or_ Sir Perimo´nês, the Blue Knight _or_ Sir Persaunt of India (four brothers), and lastly, the Red Knight of the Red Lands or Sir Ironside.—Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 120-153 (1470).

⁂ According to Tennyson, Sir Gareth was “the last and tallest son of Lot, king of Orkney, and of Bellicent his wife.” He served as kitchen knave in King Arthur’s hall a twelvemonth and a day, and was nicknamed “Fair-hands” (_Beaumains_). At the end of twelve months he was knighted, and obtained leave to accompany Lynette to the liberation of her sister Lyonors, who was held captive in Castle Perilous by a knight called Death or Mors. The passages to the castle were kept by four brothers, called by Tennyson, Morning Star _or_ Phos´phorus, Noonday Sun _or_ Meridies, Evening Star _or_ Hespĕrus, and Night _or_ Nox, all of whom he overthrew. At length Death leapt from the cleft skull of Night, and prayed the knight not to kill him, seeing that what he did his brothers had made him do. At starting, Lynette treated Gareth with great contumely, but softened to him more and more after each victory, and at last married him.

He that told the tale in olden times Says that Sir Gareth wedded Lyonors; But he that told it later says Lynette. Tennyson, _Idylls of the King_ (“Gareth and Lynette”).

_Gareth and Linet´_ is in reality an allegory, a sort of Bunyan’s _Pilgrim’s Progress_, describing the warfare of a Christian from birth to his entrance into glory. The “Bride” lived in Castle Perilous, and was named Lionês; Linet´ represents the “carnal world,” which, like the inhabitants of the City of Destruction, jest and jeer at everything the Christian does. Sir Gareth fought with four knights, keepers of the roads “to Zion” or Castle Perilous, viz., Night, Dawn, Midday, and Evening, meaning the temptations of the four ages of man. Having conquered in all these, he had to encounter the last enemy, which is Death, and then the bride was won—the bride who lived in Castle Perilous or Mount Zion.

⁂ Tennyson, in his version of this beautiful allegory, has fallen into several grave errors, the worst of which is his making Gareth marry Linet instead of the true bride. This is like landing his Pilgrim in the City of Destruction, after having finished his journey and passed the flood. Gareth’s _brother_ was wedded to the world (_i.e._ Linet), but Gareth himself was married to the “true Bride,” who dwelt in Castle Perilous. Another grave error is making Death crave of Gareth not to kill him, as what he did he was compelled to do by his elder brothers. I must confess that this to me is quite past understanding.—See _Notes and Queries_, January 19, February 16, March 16, 1878.

=Gar´gamelle= (3 _syl._), wife of Grangousier and daughter of the Parpaillons. On the day that she gave birth to Gargantua, she ate 16 qrs. 2 bush. 3 pecks and a pipkin of dirt, the mere remains left in the tripe which she had for supper, although the tripe had been cleaned with the utmost care.—Rabelais, _Gargantua_, i. 4 (1533).

⁂ Gargamelle is an allegorical skit on the extravagance of queens, and the dirt is their pin-money.

=Gargan´tua=, son of Grangousier and Gargamelle. It needed 17,913 cows to supply the babe with milk. Like Garagantua (_q.v._), he ate in his salad lettuces as big as walnut trees, in which were lurking six pilgrims from Sebastian. He founded and endowed the abbey of Theleme (2 _syl._), in remembrance of his victory over Picrochole (3 _syl._).—Rabelais, _Gargantua_, i. 7 (1533).

⁂ Of course, Gargantua is an allegorical skit on the allowance accorded to princes for their maintenance.

_Gargantua’s Mare._ This mare was as big as six elephants, and had feet with fingers. On one occasion, going to school, the “boy” hung the bells of Notre Dame de Paris on his mare’s neck, as jingles; but when the Parisians promised to feed his beast for nothing, he restored the peal. This mare had a terrible tail “every whit as big as the steeple of St. Mark’s,” and on one occasion being annoyed by wasps, she switched it about so vigorously that she knocked down all the trees in the vicinity. Gargantua roared with laughter, and cried, “Je trouve beau ce!” where upon the locality was called “Beauce.”—Rabelais, _Gargantua_, i. 16 (1533).

⁂ Of course this “mare” is an allegorical skit on the extravagance of court mistresses, and the “tail” is the suite in attendance on them.

=Gargan´tuan Curriculum=, a course of studies including all languages, all sciences, all the fine arts, with all athletic sports and calisthenic exercises.—Grangousier wrote to his son, saying:

“There should not be a river in the world, no matter how small, thou dost not know the name of, with the nature and habits of all fishes, all fowls of the air, all shrubs and trees, all metals, minerals, gems and precious stones. I would, furthermore, have thee study the Talmudists and Cabalists, and get a perfect knowledge of man, together with every language, ancient and modern, living or dead.”—Rabelais, _Pantag´ruel´_ ii. 8 (1533).

=Gar´gery= (_Mrs. Joe_), Pip’s sister. A virago, who kept her husband and Pip in constant awe.

_Joe Gargery_, a blacksmith, married to Pip’s sister. A noble-hearted simple-minded man who loved Pip sincerely. Though uncouth in manners and ungainly in appearance, Joe Gargery was one of nature’s gentlemen.—C. Dickens, _Great Expectations_ (1860).

=Gargouille= (2 _syl._), the great dragon that lived in the Seine, ravaged Rouen, and was slain by St. Roma´nus in the seventh century.

=Garlic.= The purveyor of the sultan of Casgar says he knew a man who lost his thumbs and great toes from eating garlic. The facts were these: A young man was married to the favorite of Zobeidê, and partook of a dish containing garlic; when he went to his bride, she ordered him to be bound, and cut off his two thumbs and two great toes, for presuming to appear before her without having purified his fingers. Ever after this he always washed his hands 120 times with alkali and soap after partaking of garlic in a ragout.—_Arabian Nights_ (“The Purveyor’s Story”).

=Gar´rat= (_The mayor of_). Garrat is a village between Wandsworth and Tooling. In 1780 the inhabitants associated themselves together to resist any further encroachments on their common, and the chairman was called the _Mayor_. The first “mayor” happened to be chosen on a general election, and so it was decreed that a new mayor should be appointed at each general election. This made excellent capital for electioneering squibs, and some of the greatest wits of the day have ventilated political grievances, gibbeted political characters, and sprinkled holy water with good stout oaken cudgels under the mask of “addresses by the mayors of Garrat.”

_The Mayor of Garrat_, a farce by S. Foote (1762).

=Garrick.= Cool-headed, cool-hearted Federal agent who runs all sorts of dangers to bear into camp dispatches found upon a dead comrade, and marries a woman many degrees too noble for one whose ideals of morality are lower than becomes a man so brave in other matters.—Rebecca Harding Davis, _Waiting for the Verdict_ (1866).

=Garter.= According to legend, Joan, countess of Salisbury, accidentally dropped her garter at a court ball. It was picked up by her royal partner, Edward III., who gallantly diverted the attention of the guests from the lady by binding the blue band round his own knee, saying, as he did so,“Honi soit qui mal y pense.”

The earl’s greatest of all grandmothers Was grander daughter still to that fair dame Whose garter slipped down at the famous ball. Robert Browning, _A Blot on the ’Scutcheon_, i., 3.

=Gartha=, sister of Prince Oswald of Vero´na. When Oswald was slain in single combat by Gondibert (a combat provoked by his own treachery), Gartha used all her efforts to stir up civil war; but Hermegild, a man of great prudence, who loved her, was the author of wiser counsel, and diverted the anger of the camp by a funeral pageant of unusual splendor. As the tale is not finished, the ultimate lot of Gartha is unknown.—Sir William Davenant, _Gondibert_ (died 1668).

=Garth= (_Sip_), woman of the people, who “puts” everything “honest” to people. Shrewd, deep of heart and almost fierce of will, girding at her limitations, yet profoundly in sympathy with her fellow-sufferers, she becomes a valuable ally to her high-bred friend, Perley Kelso, in her efforts to bring comfort and beauty into the dwellings of the poor.—Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, _The Silent Partner_ (1871).

_Garth_ (_Caleb_), surveyor and land-agent. Excellent man, but better at lending than keeping money.

_Mary Garth_, his daughter; sensible and true woman, with few graces of person and no affectations.—George Eliot, _Middlemarch._

=Gas´abal,= the ’squire of Don Galaor.

Gasabal was a man of such silence that the author names him only once in the course of his voluminous history.—_Don Quixote_, I. iii. 6 (1605).

=Gascoigne= (_Sir William_). Shakespeare says that Prince Henry “struck the chief justice in the open court;” but it does not appear from history that any blow was given. The fact is this:

One of the gay companions of the prince being committed for felony, the prince demanded his release, but Sir William told him the only way of obtaining a release would be to get from the king a free pardon. Prince Henry now tried to rescue the prisoner by force, when the judge ordered him out of court. In a towering fury, the prince flew to the judgment seat, and all thought he was about to slay the judge; but Sir William said very firmly and quietly. “Syr, remember yourselfe. I kepe here the place of the kynge, your sovereigne lorde and father, to whom you owe double obedience; wherefore I charge you in his name to desyste of your wylfulnes.... And nowe for your contempte goo you to the pryson of the Kynges Benche, whereunto I commytte you, and remayne ye there prisoner untyll the pleasure of the kynge be further known.” With which words the prince being abashed, the noble prisoner departed and went to the King’s Bench.—Sir Thomas Elyot, _The Governour_ (1531).