w r ^ (Qornell ImnerBity Stbcaty FROM THE BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY COLLECTED BY BENNO LOEWY 1854-1919 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92401 31471 80 PR 5^ PR 2892.S56™" ""'"""'y "-iHrary ^ MteKi2,?,,:S!«™?. a cyclopaedia 3 1924 013 147 1 THE SHAKESPEARIAN REFEREE, A CYCLOP.<^DIA OF FOUR THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED WORDS, OBSOLETE AND MODERN, OCCURRING IN THE PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE, With original and other explanations, commentaries, annotations, etymologies, etc., derived from a great variety of authentic sources. TO WHICH ABE ADDED TRANSLATIONS OF ALL THE LATIN, FRENCH, ITALIAN, AND SPANISH WORDS OCCURRING IN THE PLAYS. BY J. H. SIDDONS. Tbe Work ^as suggested by the penurious character of the Glossaries. WASHINGTON : W. H. LOWDERMILK & Co. 1886. Copyriglit, 1880, By Mart Aonbb SxDDOHa, GfBsoN Bros., Printers, Washington, D, C. DEDICATED WITH PROFOUND RESPECT Mr. henry IRVING. IN PREFERENCE TO ANY DEDICATORY LANGUAGE OF MY OWN, I USE THE JUST AND BRILLIANT TRIBUTE PAID TO HIM BY THE LONDON TELEGRAPH, WHICH SAYS : " We hold of Mr, Henry Irving that during his career of management he has brought Shakespeare home to the people through the public presentation of his plays. Instead of destroying the garden he has cleared it of weeds. The Shakespeare of the stage has often been vulgarized by careless managers and vain actors. Some enemy in the night has sown tares among the wheat. By careful husbandry the Lyceum manager has cleared the crop of its noxious undergrowth. The heresies of David Garrick and CoUey Gibber have disappeared from the best known of the Shakespearian plays, and no one can honestly say that in any of Mi\ Irving's stage versions, however beautiful in colour, glowing in dress, or superb in panorama, he has ever rejected one beautiful thought, ever crushed one vital scene, or ever wilfully suppressed or mutilated one sublime passage. He has restored far more than he has omitted, and in the aftertime people will own, who have carefully followed his truly national work, that he, as much if not more than any English manager, has made Shakespeare undei-stood, appreciated, and loved by his countrymen." PREFACE. A love and veneration for Shakespeare's immortal crea- tions, and a familiarity with the mass of literature they have inspired, and v^hich has found its expressions in every con- ceivable form, in every country, and in every language of the globe, for the past three hundred years, will be con- ceded by the reader to the author of the following pages. A pure taste, a rare talent for research, a liberal education, which included the study of humanity in many of its ab- stract principles, as well as in its intellectual phases, will also be appreciated by the thoughtful scholar and ardent student of Shakespeare. A mind of such order, with a sin- gular industry as to time and opportunity, together with a memory as tenacious and clear at eighty-five as at eighteen, are certainly possessions of no mean value, and should at least entitle the owner to a fuU share of public confidence in any work which he might see fit to publish. Such a store of knowledge, gleaned from such rich fields of thought before and after other reapers had reaped, that no grain of fact or fancy should be lost by which his gift to posterity could be enriched, has been a cherished object for many years of Mr. Siddons' life. But, alas ! the hands which should have rounded to symmetry the work as it passed through the press are forever at rest. Death, vi Prefac-6. the mighty gleaner of all mortal life, has used his scythe. Still, the deep regret expressed by those interested in the labors of Mr. Siddons, that the present work must pass from the press without the v(iluable aid which his correction would give to his book, must not lead us, however, to forget, in our selfish disappointment, to thank those friends who, in the supreme moment of bereave- ment, gave .their services unstintingly to the correction of proof-sheets, and to forward in every way the object which the author held so dear at heart, namely, the production of the Shakespearian Referee. INTRODUCTION. The Shakespearian Referee is, we believe, the only work of its peculiar character extant. Glossaries without number, and more or less valuable to the student, acconipany many of the annotated editions of Shakespeare's works, and form part of the literature of each successive generation since the time of Shakespeare to the present period. A few of these works show an unmistakable intellectual calibre, with high scholastic attainments of the first order ; the majority, however, are obtuse and almost obscure when they seek to explain a word or passage that is in the least profound in its philosophy or uncertain in its meaning, and extreme tenuity of thought might very well apply in illus- trating the character of their pages. But in all human work error is a prime ingredient. Some workers have a wonderful knack of exposing defect, others the happy faculty of hiding fault, but it is never absent — it may sit in the aperture of the one lost brick, or support the failing strength of the one decaying beam, but it is always there. The circumstances surrounding the Shakespearian Eeferee as it went into the printer's hands, and during its progress to those of the public, are in themselves sufficient to mark it with error. Therefore, we hope that severe criticism will be turned aside, and judicious comment, like viii Introcktction. the pruning knife to the tree, will give strength to future editions of the book, and fruit that the readers and lovers of Shakespeare will enjoy without stint. The Shakespearian Beferee includes in its scope not only four thousand words, with their modern meaning ; not only original thought aud reflection apropos of so suggestive a theme; but rare scraps of information concerning their primitive state, their wondrous change, and subtle growth — showing how the domestic and political needs of the people, as they advanced toward a higher plane and achieved a loftier standard of intelligence, forced into life a more polished mode of expression, so that many words well equipped with sound reason at their first step fell in the ranks and were carried to the rear in the grand march of time. SHAKESPEARIAN REFEREE. A. A'. A vulgar substitute for "he." Abate. To subdue ; depress ; ' lower. Abated. Dejected. Abatement. Diminution. Abeeg.a'ny. An abbreviation of Abergavenny, (Wales,) and the ordinary method of pronouncing the longer word. Abhoe. To protest against. Abide. To wait upon ; be responsible for. Abikding. Hawking; falconry. Abjects. Debased individuals ; the lowest subjects in a mon- archy. Able. To qualify ; uphold. Abraham Cupid. It has been surmised in sundry editions of Shakespeare's plays that this is a mistake of the copyist or printer for '"Adam Cupid," or "Adam BeU," or "Au- burn Cupid." Why disturlj the original supposition that the author wrote "Abraham Cupid?" No man in Scripture history enjoyed more of the favor over which the mythological deity presided than "Father Abraham." God promised to make of him a great nation ; and his family alliances and affairs, in which Cupid officiated, seem to have contributed to the fulfilment of the promise. Abridgment. Brief entertainment. Abroach. Revived ; breach ; renewed quarrel. Abeook. To brook ; abide. Absey Book. ABC book — a catechism ; a rudimental work. Absolute. Positive; certain. Absque hoc nihil est. (Lat.) Without thee there is nothing. Absyotas. The brother of Medea, murdered by her when she fled from Colchos with Jason. Abused. Deceived. Abuser. Impostor; deluder. Aby. To suffer ; abide by experience. Abysm. Abyss; depth. AcciTE. To incite ; summon. Accomplished. Equipped. Accountant. Responsible; criminal. Accuse. An accusation. Acheron. One of the rivers of the infernal regions. Aches. Fains. That this word was pronounced " aitches " in Shakespeare's time is to be inferred from the poetical measure of the text in The Tempest, Timon of Athens, and. other plays. Achieve. To accomphsh. AcKNowN. Known to ; acknowledged. AcoNiTUM. Wolf's bane. Across. Unskilfully. Adam Bell. A famous archer, and, like Robin Hood, an out- law who was made the subject of a baUad. Adamant. Magnetic power. Addition. Character ; title ; rank. Address. To prepare oneself. Addressed. JEleady ! Admittance. Fashion. Ado. To do ; bother. Adsum. Present ! here ! at hand ! Advance. To prefer ; honor ; promote. Advertise. To admonish ; to procure a substitute. Advertising. Paying attention. Advise. Reflect; take heed; follow the counsel of older and wiser people. Advocation. Oratorical pleading. Aery, or Airie. An eagle's or hawk's nest. Affeard. Afraid. Affect the letter. To practice alliteration. Affects. Afflictions; passions. Affecteth. Inclines towards. Affiance. Trust ; confidence ; loyalty. Affianced — Affined. Allied to ; connected by blood or office. Affront. Confront ; encounter ; attack. Apfy. To betroth ; to rely upon. AriELD. In the field with the forces. ArooT. Ready ; standing ; prepared. Agate bing. The agate impUed a diminutive person. The addition " ring " suggests the rotundity of the' figure of the person addressed ; an inn-keeper. Agazed. Looking amazed. Agernon. The father of Europa, who was carried off by Ju- piter and married to him at Crete. Aggravate. Different significations are given to this word by lexicographers and common use. "Softening" and "ir- ritating " are equally applicable. Falstaff{ Merry Wives) uses the word in the latter and even a broader sense. Sottom, the weaver, employs it in the former sense, to render his voice more mellifluous. Agincotjrt, or Azincour. A village in France near which Henry V of England gained a great battle on St. Crispin's Day. Aglet, or Aigtjillette. (Prom the Fr. aiguille — a needle.) The tag or a point of a cord forming a decoration, either of worsted, cotton, or bullion, according to the rank and position of the wearer. Attached to the right shoulder and drawn to the celitre of the chest the points fall three or four inches below the attachment. Aglet-baby. An infant pleased with an aiguUlette. Agnise. Confess ; acknowledge. Agood. Earnestly ; heartily. Ahold. An old sea phrase, meaning "hauled up." AiDBNT. Helpful, (from the Pr. aider — to assist.) Aim. Guess ; experience. Aio. Aio te ^neide — Momanus vincere posse. "I say that thou, ^neas, the Romans may conquer." An am- biguous teply from the oracle. A LA NOSTRA CASA beu vcnuto molte honorato, Signor mio Pe- truchio. ( To our house right welcome with much honor, my lord Petruchio.) Alcides. Another name for Hercules. Shakespeare uses both names in the same speech, euphuistically, simply to avoid repetition. Alder-liepest. (Germ.) Best beloved. Ale. The Yule — a word of Scandinavian origin, implying the months of November and December, and having refer- ence to a feast, whence old England translated it to Christmas time, when ale was drank at the annual com- memoration. Alecto. One of the Furies. AxicE. "Alice tu as ete en Angleterre," &c. (See Appendix for the entire translation of the dialogue in Henry V, in which this passage, et seq., occurs.) Aliena. Celia (As You Like It) adopts this name because it is most alien to her social position at Court. All Hallown Summer. A whimsical title for an individual in whom the frost of age is combined with the frolicsome spirit of youth — Falstaff, for instance. Alliteration. For a happy satire on the tendency of Shakes- peare's contemporary writers to indulge in alliteration, see the Prologue to the artisan's play in A Midsummer NigMs Dream. Allons. (Fr.) Come ; come along ; let us go. Allowance. Favorable acceptance. All waters. An allusion to the hue, clearness, and brilliancy of jewels, the topaze being one of them. Timon of Athens. ^ All WAYS. In every direction ; as distinct from always; inva- riably. Allycholy. a queer corruption of melancholy. Alonson. a German ; a native of AUemania, the appellation of Germany when it formed a part of the ancient Roman empire. It is still called Allemagne by the French. Alms-drink. The name that was given to the remainder of the wine that had been left untouched at a banquet, and intended for the poor. In modem times waiters at taverns, and other domestics, do not disdain to appro- priate the " droppings." Amaimon. One of Satan's deputies who has a special charge in Acheron. Amaze. Alarm ; confound ; dismay. Amazonian chin. A chin as smooth as a woman's. Amerce. To fine. Ames-ace. Two aces— the lowest throw of a pair of dice. Amiss. Misfortune ; misshapen ; disaster. Amort. (Fr.) Half dead; dejected. Amueath. Turkish history records that the Emperor Amu- rath, who was the second son of his father, and there- fore not the legitimate heir to the throne, invited all his brothers to a banquet on his accession and caused them to be strangled. An, Used in the sense of "if;" "an'twere" — as if it were. Anchises. The father of JEneas. The instance of filial affec- tion referred to by Cassius (Julius Ccesar) is mentioned by Homer. Anchor. Anchoret or anchorite ; a hermit ; from the Greek root chores — " I retire." Ancient. A corruption of enseigne, (Fr.;) the.standard-bearer of a regiment or a commander-in-chief. The title " en- sign" is also given to the standard itself. Cassius XJulius QoBsar) uses it in both senses in the same speech : ' ' This ensign here of mine was turning back, I slew the villain and did take it from him." Andrew. The ship of the name to which allusion is made in the Merchant of Venice was probably the Andrea, a large Genoese vessel of which Shakespeare may have heard ; or he may have referred to a Scotch vessel, so called in compliment to James I, St. Andrew being the tutelar saint of Scotland. AjfGEL. A gold coin (originally French) current in England until the reign of Charles I. It bore the figure of an Angel* upon the obverse, because the complimentary re- mark of the Romish missionary who was struck with the beauty of the Anglo-Saxon children identified the ap- pearance of the English with the traditional winged messengers of the Supreme Deity. Non Angli sed An- geli was the memorable phrase of the pious monk who went to England to proselytize the disciples of the heathen Druids. The pbcuniarj' value of the angel (the coin) varied with the financial and commercial condition of successive reigns. It was sometimes worth 6s. 8(?., sometimes 10s. In the time of Henry IV it must have fallen in exchangeable value, for it would only purchase a small bottle of sack. * St. Michael piercing the dragon also appears ou some of the coinB. 6 " This bottle makes an angel," says Bardolph when FaU staff throws a bottle, as if it were a pistol, to his hench- man that it might be filled with sack. Annoy. Annoyance. Anointed. "Deputies of Heaven." Kings were formerly anointed at their coronation and were called the " depur ties of Heaven " from the doctrine of " Divine right " taught in the days of absolutism. (See Cardinal Farv- dulph, King J'ohn.) JRichard Til calls himself the '•Lord's anointed." Anon. Presently ; immediately : " coming " is the reply of a waiter at a hotel. -Another. Simply " the other." Anthbopophagi. Literally, eaters of human flesh ; cannibals. By " the other people," whom Othello mentions as wear- ing " their heads beneath their shoulders," Shakespeare probably intended to describe the mountaineers whose necks are so enlarged by swellings, (goitres,) from the use of molten snow, that the head is borne down by the weight below the level of the shoulders. Antiates. The people of Antium, the capital of the Volsce, (Coriolanus.) Antic. The fool in old farces ; also a piece of senile antiquity, as " Old Father Antic, the law." {Henry IV, first part.) AlNtics. Puppets. Antiopa, or Antiope. Another name for Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, (Midsummer Night's Dream.) Antipodes. The idea entertained by Hermia, {Midsummer Night's Dream,) that the moon would vex the sun by getting into the centre of the earth, is an ingenious poetic flight. The effect of such a catastrophe in crea- tion (admitting its possibility) was never dreamt of be- fone. Lorenzo {Merchant of Venice) correctly inter- prets the relative positions of the inhabitants of the earth's surface. Antique. Amongst modems the term implies the classical epochs of Greece and Kome, but when it is used by a Greek (as Theseus — Midsummer Night's Dream,) it may be taken in the sense of " antic " — farcical. Antoniad. Cleopatra's flag-ship, named after Marc Antony. Aktres. Deep caverns. Apparent. Evidently ; obvious ; clear to the apprehension. Appeach. To impeach. Appeal. Charge; accuse. Appeared. Shown. Appebil. Peril ; place in danger. Appertainment. Dignities ; prerogatives. Apple john. A shrivelled apple that will keep sweet for two years. Appointment. Preparation. Apprehension. Sarcasm. Apprehensive. Quick of comprehension. Approbation. Novitiate ; applicable to a lady taking the veU ; also, proof ; establishing by proof. Appropriation. Addition or embossment of one's own good parts. Approve. To prove or support an assertion. Approvers. A jury ; jiyiges. Apbicocks. Apricots. April day. An old term, indicating the youth of man. Apron men. Mechanics. Apt. Prepared ; to the purpose ; likely. Aqua vitze. Literally, the water of life, but applied, ironi- cally, to strong waters, i. e., alcoholic Uquids. Arabian bird. Certain commentators have supposed the Phoe- nix to be referred to in praise of Marc Antony. The parallel is not obvious. Phoenix is the name of the palm tree, which, being burnt to the ground, rises again from its own ashes. A bird was imagined to have the same property, and is hence called the Phoenix. Marc An- tony did not rise after Cleopatra had ruiaed him. Arch. A chief. The word is in great use as an affix or prefix to the official titles of magnates, as archbishop, arch- angel, monarch, Tetrarch, &c. [In the three last words arch is pronounced ark.'] Arden. (See As You Like It.) Ardour of the liver. The seat of the passions according to antique physiology. Argiers. The old name of Algiers. Aroel, Argal, or Argo. A corruption of ergo, (Lat.,) therefore. 8 Abgosy, AnaoBiES. The Argo, the ship which is fabled to have carried Jason and his comrades to Colchos, in search of the fleece, doubtless suggested to the Venetians this name for certain of their vessels which sailed to India ; but it is somewhere stated that the vessels were called Ragosies, because built at Ragusa. Shakespeare proba- bly adopted the earlier interpretation, as it helped to carry out the idea of Portia's suitors going in search of her wealth and herself. Aegtjment. Plot of a play : summary of an epic poem ; sub- ject of mirth. Akiachne. The passage which contains this word was prob- ably written Abachne by Shakespeare, as the aUusion to the "woof" suggests the spider's web. Arachnida is the technical term for certain invertebrate insects of a carnivorous character. Ariadne. The mythological tale of the unfortunate daughter of Minos of Crete has formed the subject of several plays and poems. Akiel. a creature of the air ; the slave of Prospero, ( Tem- pest.) Ahmed staves. Lances. Akm girt. Clothed in armor. Aemigero. Formally applied to men who wore armor. Justice Shallow employs the term to define his position as a squire or esquire. Aemiger is the correct word. Akoint. Avaunt ! vanish ! Akbas. Hangings of tapestry which were made at Arras, in France, and used to cover the bareness of walls before papering and pictures came in as substitutes. Some remnants of tapestry hangings are still to be found in old palaces in England, France, and Germany as curious specimens of an extinct art. Abt. An artificial style ; theory ; acquired knowledge. Arthur's bosom. A mistake of Mrs. Quickly's for Abraham's bosom. Arthur's show. A convention of toxopholites at MUe-end Green, near London. They called themselves Knights of King Arthur's Round Table. Articulate, v. To treat with, i. e., enter into treaties, politi- cal or military : to proclaim in public. Artificial gods. Heletia {Midsummer Nights Dream) inhere referring to Penelope's labors on a piece of tapestry. Abtless jealousy. Undisguised suspicions. As. "As if." AsoENius. The son of .ffineas. AsHER HOUSE " Esher " House. The residence of the Bishop of Winchester, cetat Henry Vm. Aside. The bracketed word which, in the printed plays, so often occurs in dialogues, is an instruction to the actor to deliver his words in a low tone, with head inverted, that the interlocutor may not be supposed to hear what is imparted to the audience alone. AsoAPART. A giant slain by Sir Bevis. Ask. Demand ; require. " My business asketh haste." Asperse, v. To sprinkle or disperse. Aspis. An asp or serpent. Assail. To address the ear. Assay, v. To essay ; endeavor to make assay. AssiNEGo. A little ass ; a foal. AssiNEGO. A donkey. Asquint. Cross-eyed ; sinister. AssuBJUGATE. To debase oneself. Astonished. Stunned. AsTRiNGEE. A falcon«r, who keeps a goshawk. As YOU like it. The origin of this play has been ascribed to Chaucer's " Gamelyn ;" but there is little doubt that Shakespeare owed some part of it to '■'■Rosalind, Eu- phue^s Golden Legacy,^'' by Thomas Lodge. The scene, ■ or supposed locality of the original, is Prance, and the period when the government of the country was vested in sundry independent dukedoms, owing suzerainete to the monarch. Some commentators, with the French lo- cale in their heads, have asserted that the forest of Ar- den was in the vicinity of Ardennes, one .of the depart- ments, and gave the name to the actual department But Mr. Green, in his elaborate and valuable work, " The Making of England,'^ has shown that the Arden of Shakespeare's play was more probably part of a dense woodland which stretched away from modern Rugby to Evesham, to the bounds of Cannock Chase, now called 10 " Woodend," and extended from the valley of the Sev- ern to the Umits of Leicestershire. Mr. Green says: "This was Arden,>the forest into whose depths Shakes- peare could stray, centuries later, from his childhood's home at Stratford, and in whose glades his fancy placed the scene of one of his loveliest dramas. But in Shakes- peare's day its moss was broken everywhere by the clear- ings of the Warwickshire men ; towns were planted in the very heart of the woodlands, and the miner had thinned its clumps with his forges." The identity of Arden with the French or English locality is therefore matter of conjecture. Atalanta. Mythology assigns to the lady a fair pair of heels and likewise severe chastity. The latter is the " better part'' attributed to Rosalind, {As You Like It.) Ate. The goddess of discord, who would seem to have been relegated to the infernal regions ; though Jupiter, accord- ing to the heathen idea, only banished her to the earth, where she raised commotions among men. Atomie. The smallest atom. At once. Once for all. Atone. Agree ; be reconciled : " at one " with a person or his ai'gument. Atkopos. One of the Fates. Attaint. Weariness. Attasked. Taken to task ; reproved. Attended. Expected ; waited for. Attorneys. Agents : a class of lawyers. In England they are a grade below the barristers, and prepare cases 'for them, and are now generally called solicitors. Attoknets general. Legal and general representatives ; coun- sel for the Crown. Attribute. Merit or quality ascribed to a person or object. Audit. Hearing ; account. AuGRE. An awl or gimlet. Aunts. A cant word for truths. Aurora. A poetical name for the dawn of day. Mythologi- caUy, "the mother of the winds and the stars," who fly at her approach from the east, heralding the sun. Avaunt. Away ! Vanish ! also dismissal. " Give him the avaunt,'' i. e., send him about his business. 11 Ave. (Lai) Hail! Ave Mabia. Hail, Mary ! An invocation to the Virgin by the Eoman Catholics, who pray to her as the mecLatrix be- tween man and the grace of Heaven. Avoid. Depart ! go hence ! Awake. Arouse thee ! Away with. To like or dislike a person. " I cannot away with him." Likewise a command to remove an offender to prison. Awe. Law ; lawful authority. Aweary. Tired ; fatigued. AwEFUL. Eightful ; lawful ; worshipful. Aweless. Unreverenced ; not feared. Axe. Hangmen were supplied with this implement of de- struction, that it might be used, if necessary, at execu- tions in lieu of a rope. Ay. Yes ! Pronounced " I," and therefore made the subject of puns, I doing duty for Ay. Aye. Forever. Ay me. a simple interjection, like " heigh ho !" B Baccabb, in. Stand back ! " Give place !" Backwaeds, ad. The past state. Bacon fed. Falstaff contemptuously terms the men he is, after his manner, assisting to rob, " bacon fed knaves." Bacon seems to have been the food of menials in England time out of mind. Langland, who wrote " Piers' Plow- man," (before Chaucer appeared,) has this line : "And as a bondman of his bacon, his beard was bedrivelled." Badge, n., (of faith.) Taken in the ordinary sense, a proof or mark of servitude. Baffle, v. To embarrass ; defeat ; treat with ignominy ; abuse. Baibn, n. Brushwood ; a child. Baked meats, n. A dish at funeral feasts. Balance, n. A measure ; scales. Baldbick, n. A belt crossing the chest from the shoulder to the waist. Bale, ad. Misery ; calamity ; synonymous also with bane ; harm ; mischief. 12 Bale, v. To pile up. Ballase, n. Ballast. Ballow. a cudgel. Balh, n. The oil of consecration. Used also in anointing a king at his coronation. Ban, n. Curse ; malediction ; v., to outlaw. Banbukt. a town in Oxfordshire celebrated for cheeses and pies. Band. Synonymous with bond. Ban-dog. Band-dog ; chained up ; banded ;■»,.,& watch-dog, formerly an " institution " in English villages. Bandy, v. To carry : reply ; retort. Bank, v. To sail between the banks of a river. Banked, ad. Enclosed. Bah, n. A court of law ; a barrier ; a sign in heraldry. Bakabbas, n. Shylock {Mercfiant of Venice) can find no bet- ter illustration of his contempt for a Christian than by expressing his wish that his daughter had married one of the tribe of the " impenitent thief " crucified at the same time with the Saviour. Barbahy hen, n. A bird from the North of Africa. From several aUu^ons in Shakespeare it would seem that there was a considerable importation of poultry from that region. The Barbary hen was accustomed to rufile its plumage when excited or alarmed. From its prolific- nature it is referred to in Othello as "a Guinea hen." Bakbason. The appellation of an imaginary fiend. Bakbe. a species of veU. \ Barbed, ad. Covered with armor. Horses, in the middle ages, were clothed in armor if they went to the battle- field. Spikes, protective and ofiensive, protruded from their chest and forehead. Barber monger. Habitual beard shaving in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was one of the signs of coxcombry. The man who resorted to a barber to have his chin " reaped " was stigmatized with this appellation. Bark, v. To strip the bark of a tree from the trunk. Barm. Yeast ; froth ; v., a necessary stage in the process of brewing or baking. Barnacle. The clakes or tree goose ^ also a shell-fish. 13 Barns. To keep in a barn. Barren. Empty; low; ignorant; sterile; bare. Base. Mean ; bad ; degraded ; also, a rustic game ; the coun- try base — orignally prisoners' base — now base ball ; v., to sound a deep note ; to challenge. Base court, {basse cour, Pr.) The lower court of a castle or superior domicile. Bases. A kind of embroidered mantle or loose breeches, worn on horseback. Basilisk. A cannon decorated with objects in cast-iron re- sembling dragons and the fabled cockatrice — a bird whose eyes were supposed to possess the power of striking one dead at a single glance. The basiliscus mitratus of natural history is a revolting object ; it is 10 inches in length, with a tail of 20 inches. Basilisco-like. Resembling a boastful knight of the name in an old drama. Basta. Enough, (Span, and Ital.) Bastard. It would appear from the application of this term to Faloonhridge {King John) and the Orleans noble- man {Henvy VI) that it was not considered an offen- sive appellation when a low standard (of morality pre- vailed. Bastinado. A severe punishment inflicted by beating on the soles of the feet of a prostrate culprit. It is common in Spain, Persia, Turkey, and China. Bate, n. Strife; v., to dwindle; fall away; to flutter the feathers. Bated. Excepted. Bat-fowling. Netting birds at night. Batlet. a small, flat, wooden implement used by laundresses in washing linen. Battalia. A large body of soldiers ; an army. Batten. To graze ; to eat of inferior food. " Go batten on cold bits." Battle, «. To fight ; n.^ a force ; a division of an army ; a fight. Batty, ad. Like a bat. Bauble. A trifle ; a fool's baton with a comical head, having a cap and bells at one end. 14: Bavin. A fire that is soon extinguished. Bawcock. a fine bird, (from the French beau coque;) a term expressive of admiration. Bay, v. To howl at ; rebuke ; check ; surround. To stand " at bay " is to confront a foe, when escape is hopeless, and a deadly combat imminent. As a noun, the word signifies the principal beam in a house. Bay cubtal. A bay horse with a shortened (or docked) taiL Baynard's castle. An edifice which stood in Thames street, London, near the river Thames. Bead. An old Saxon word, signifying " prayer." In Roman Catholic countries beads are perforated and strung to- gether, the better to enable the pious persons who use them to count the number of times in succession they utter a " Pater Noster " or an "Ave Maria." Beadsmen. Pious men who prayed for the well-being and eternal beatitude of the person or persons by whom they were succored or entertained. They resembled, in that respect, the fakirs (wandering mendicants) of India. Those who were in good condition were required to keep a bow and arrows of the yew tree in their abodes for the public service on emergencies. Beadle. Vide Blue Bottle Rogue ; also, an executioner. Beak. The prow or forepart of a ship. Beam. The staff of a lance. Bear, n. The "burning bear," a name of the Pleiades, or "Charles' Wain." To have a feeling of toleration to- wards a person. " Bear with me." Beab-head. a keeper of bears ; a common profession when bear-baiting and bear-dancing were popular entertain- ments. Bear in hand. An idiomatic form of intimating control ; keep in suspense ; keep in good humor ; delude with 'hopes. "Bear a hand" is a nautical phrase for "lend your aid." Bears. In calling Lord Warwick's family by this name, ref- erence is had to the crest of the Nevilles, which was a bear. Beabd, v. To defy ; n., a stage property for the use of a player. " What beard shall I play it in ?" asks Bottom, the weaver, when cast for the part of Fyramus. 15 Beabing. Demeanor. Bearing cloth. The mantle- -with -which an infant was gener- ally covered when taken to a church to be baptized. Beab-a-brain. To resemble another exactly. Beat-in falooney. To flutter ; desire ; hunt for. Bea-ver. a part of the ancient helmet moving on a swivel so that it could be raised in front, exposing the face and assisting the sight, or lowered to cover and protect the features in a combat or tourney. It was generally cross- barred or loopholed, so that it could be seen through by the wearer, and enabled him to breathe. The helmets of the middle ages had longitudinal apertures across the mouth. "Walter Scott describes certain warriors as " drinking red wine through their helmets barred." Beck. A salutation. " Nods and becks," &c. — Milton. Becomed, ad. Modest; prudent. Bedded, ad. Matted ; flattened ; flaked. Bedfellow. Intimate friend ; companion ; wife. Bedwabd. Going to bed. Bed of Vaee. A remarkably large bed originally forming an article of household furniture in the Mansion- House at Ware, in Hertfordshire. It was moved "thence to an inn in Ware, and was at a later period sold by auction, falling ultimately into the possession of Charles Dickens, the author. It was considered large in the 16th century, wherefore Shakespeare puts an allusion to it into the mouth of Sir Toby Belch, {Twelfth Night.) The date of its construction was marked on a part of the wood, "1463," and it was elaborately carved. The posts, of which there were four, represented urns ; they were of delicate workmanship ; equally so was the tester, which exhibited carved work of red and white roses emble- matic of the union of the houses of York and Lancaster. Bedlam. Corruption of Bethlehem, the name of a hospital for lunatics in London,f ounded early in the thirteenth century. Beef-witted. This compound occurs twice in Shakespeare, but it was founded on a wrong inference. No nations are more strong-witted (strong-minded) than the Eng- lish and the American, the greatest eaters of beef among civilized nations. 16 Beetle. To overhang, as of a rock or projecting summit of a mountain. Beetle-bkowed. Wearing a frowning aspect. The word is evidently derived from its precursor. (See, also, " Three man Beetle.") Beggak's book, a proverbial phrase for learning. Begbime. Blacken — render filthy and offensive. Beguile. Deceive ; make time pass agreeably. Behests. Commands. Beholding, ad. Under an obligation. Behowl. To howl at. Being. Abode. Belch up. To cast up from the sea. Beldame. Derived from a French complimentary term, (belle dame — beautiful lady.) It came to be applied, in its Anglicized and corrupt form, to hags and witches. (See Macbeth, King John, &c.) Beleed. Becalmed. Belike. Probably; "it seems that ;" perhaps. Bell, book, and candle. Implying excommunication. In the Papal ceremony a bell was tolled, some passages read from a holy book, and three candles extinguished. Belongings. Endowments ; all that pertains to an individual in property and family. Bemete. Bemeasured. Bemoiled. Covered with mire ; disgraced. Bend. To move in a given direction. Bends. Bows ; reverential curtesies. Benedicite. (Lat.) Be you blessed ! Benevolences. Taxes under an agreeable and charitable name ; compulsory exactions disguised as voluntary actions. Benumbed. Rendered insensible ; inflexible. Ben venuto. (Ital.) Welcome! Bebgomask. a rustic dance in Bergomisco, a Venetian prov- ince. Beemoothes. The old appellation for the cluster of islands now called Bermuda. The name is derived from Ber- mudez, the Spanish navigator, by whom they were dis- covered. 17 Beshbew. a phrase implying self-condemnation if the condi- tion of certain assertions be not fulfilled. "Beshrew me but I love her heartily" is equivalent to "May I suffer damage if I do not." " Upon my word," "upon my honor," are now in use with the same effect. The vocabulary of such protestations is extensive. Besmikch. To render foul or dirty. Besobt. Attention ; suitableness ; companionship. Best. Bravest. Bestel. Poor condition. Bestow. Put away ; deposit ; hide ; treat handsomely. Bestowing. Control. Bestbaught. Distracted. Besteide. The act of standing across an object. It was a chivalrous custom "once upon a time" te bestride a prostrate foe or friend killed in action. Falstaff expects Prince Hal to bestride him. The Colossus at Ehodes bestrode the channel, and the attitude of apparent sov- ereignty in that lofty statue has furnished a comparison, iif more than one instance, to a despotic dominance. Cassius speaks of Caesar {Jnlius Goesar) as bestriding " the narrow world like a Colossus." Beteem. Allow ; permit ; give ; pour out ; suffer, v Betid. Passed away. Bettering. Making one thing appear better than another. Bevis. Traditionally, a knight of Southampton who overcame the giant Ascapart. Bewitched. Supposed to be under a witch's influence ; a common interpretation of eccentric conduct. In former days — even less than a century ago — the assumption that a person was bewitched, too often formed an excuse for the maltreatment of an old woman or presumed sorceress. Bewraved. Betrayed. Bezonian. a poor wretch. From the Italian Msogna — want, need — or the French besoin, with the same signification. The question propounded by Pistol in Henry TV, sec- ond part, is from an old play current in Shakespeare's time. 2 18 Bias. A weight placed on one part of a bowl to incline it in a given direction. That part of the bowl was called "the eye." The Chinese use the bias in one of their most popular toys. BiAS-cHEEK. Swelling out. Bid. To invite. BiD-THE-BASE. To challenge. BiFOLD. Twofold. Biggin. A corruption of Beguine — a head-band of coarse cloth worn by the nuns of that Order. BiLBEKRY. The whortleberry. BiLBOA. A town in Spain, on the northern coast, where cul- prits worked on sea or land in fetters — whence called Bilboes. Bin, v. "Is." The word occurs in the beautiful song in Cymbeline : " Hark ! hark ! the lark at Heaven's gate sings, And Phoebus 'gins arise, « * * « lit With everything that pretty Kn ; My lady sweet, arise." Birnam wood. Not many years since there still stood the trunk of an old oak on the site of the wood in Scotland made famous in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Where Shakes- peare got the idea of an army moving hke a forest, be- cause the soldiers carried boughs and branches of the treesj^ is not traceable. There is a passage, however, in the Gospel according to St. Mark, which may have suggested the notion : The blind man says, (v. 24, chap, viii,) "I see men as trees walking." BissoN. Blind. Bit. "A half-checked bit " — an imperfect article in a horse's gear. In the speech of Biondello, {Ta/ming of the Shrew,) in which the word occurs, a description is given of Petruchio's wedding attire, which corresponds exactly with the words of the old ballad of "Abraham Bradley." Bite. Cut with a sword. Bite my thumb. The lower order of Italians had, and may still have, a practice of indicating their hostility to one another by putting the end of the right thumb between the teeth and jerking it out at their adversary. 19 Black Monday. The name given to Easter Monday, 1350, an. exceptionally dark, misty, and cold day in England. The chronicles say that many persons were kUled by the phenomenal severity of the temperature. Blacks. O'er dyed, alluding to cloths. Blames. Faults. Blank. The white spot in a target commonly called "the bull's eye;" also, signatures that might be attached to documents avowing a responsibility. Richard II adopted this scheme when he wanted money. Blanks. Blenches; blanchesT turns white. Blank and level, v. Mark and aim ; an old term in mihtary gunnery. Blaze. To make public. Bj,AzoN. " Eternal blazon." The Ghost, in Hamlet, is pre- sumed to have seen in the nether world (purgatory) sights of a terrible character, similar to those described in the Inferno of Dante ; and it is those eternal " secrets of the prison house " to which the spectre refers as cal- culated, in description, to freeze the blood of the listener. Blazonry. The objects forming the shield of a coat of arms. Bleab, v. To deceive. Bleeding rings. The sockets of gouged eyes, (King Lear.) Blench. To turn pale ; become blanch, (white ;) to fly oflf ; shift ; change. Blent. Blended. Blind worm. The coecilia, or slow worm. Blood, ad. Ancestry ; relationship ; consanguinity. " The part I had in Gloster's blood " {Richard II) means the degree of family relationship in which I stood towards him. Also, passion; impulse; feeling. "Our bloods no more obey the heavens" {Cymbeline) is tantamount to the expression there is no sympathy between us and Nature. " My blood has been too cold and temperate " is Henry IV's avowal of a toleration of indignity. " In blood," applicable to a deer in good condition. Blood-boltebed. Smeared with blood. Bloody flag. A signal of war. Blown. Puffed up ; swollen ; a grateful emotion. " This generosity blows my heart." 20 Blows. Swells ;m., Blue Caps, (the Scotch.) Blue bottle rogue. An old nickDame for a parish officer of police. The dress of that functionary of the Protestant Church, the beadle, is still a blue-cloth gown, or long coat, but he has ceased to be a public executioner. His duties are confined to the preservation of order during the church service, and the principal objects of the bea- dle's vfxath are the troublesome boys of a village. Blue caps, or blue bonnets. The national Scottish head- dress. Blunderbuss. A gun with a barrel of large caUbre, expand- ing at the muzzle to the dimensions of a trumpet bell, that the shot may be more widely scattered. Blunt. Stupid ; insensible. Blurt. An expression of contempt. Boak's head. The crest of the House of York. As a com- pliment to the dominant family, it was employed as the sign of a small inn in Eastcheap, London, to which Prince Henry and his companions were accustomed (see Henry JV) to resort. Bob. To filch ; swindle. Bodge. To move ; retreat. From bouger, Pr. Bodged. Botched ; clumsily performed ; boggled. Bodkin. A poniard. Bohemia. Shakespeare has made the grand mistake of plac- ing this country on the sea-shore of Italy. Boitier vert. (Pr.) A green box. Bolingbroke. The birthplace of Henry Plantagenet, after- wards Henry IV. He bears the title of " Earl JBoling- broke " in Richard II. Bolt, v. To sift ; thresh ; winnow ; refine ; n., a short, thick arrow, used in archery with the cross-bow. A thunder- bolt, as applicable to a destructive flash of lightning. Aerolites were supposed, by the heathen Greeks, to be fragments of the bolts shot by Jove as the expression of his displeasure. Bolts. Fastenings. When they are said to be " correspon- sive and fulfilling," they fit in their sockets. Bolter. One who smears, daubs, &c. Bolting hutch. The receptacle for sifted meal. 21 BoLTiNs CLOTH. The sieve used for separating flour from bran. Bombard, v. To throw bombshells into a town, encampment, or ship for destructive purposes ; n., a huge barrel or leather bottle for beer or wine. Bombast. The cotton wadding of a dress. Bona roba. A strumpet ; a fine wench. Bona tekba, mala gens. (Lat.) Good land, but bad people. Bond. Bounden duty. Bonnet, n. A covering for the head — the hat of the period. The removal of the bonnet from the head has for a long period been an act of courtesy and reverence in Euro- pean countries and their^ colonies. The obsequiousness of the courtier, Osric, {Hamlet,) is illustrated in his persistent refusal to put his bonnet to its " right uses " when urged to do so by the Prince Osric's readiness to admit that it is hot or cold, according to JTamlefs varied assertion, is akin to the sycophancy of Polonius, who can see a weasel or a whale in the clouds, just as Samlet whimsically suggests. The verb " to bonnet " means " to salute," and it was one of the privileges ac- corded to noblemen who had achieved distinction that they were permitted to stand " unbonnetted " in the presence of the monarch. Bonny, or Bonnie. Pretty. A Scotticism. Bonos dies. Good days ! Book. A contract. Boot. Profit ; something extra. Bootless. Useless. Boots. An instrument for squeezing the leg ; an ingenious piece of torture, used, like the rack, as part of the peine forte et dure, employed to extort confession from a prisoner suspected of a crime, or supposed to have un- discovered accomplices. The word " boots " was some- times used for "bootless." It likewise signified a rustic, humorous punishment at harvest time. Bore. Demeaned. Bores. Stabs. BosKY. Bushy ; covered with trees and shrubs. 22 BosoM-wisH. Heai't's desire. " Milk white bosom " is an al- lusion to the little pockets which ladies in the 15th and 16th centuries wore in the upper part of a dress. Boss'd. Embossed. Botch. A patch. BoTS. Worms in a horse. BoTTLED-SPIDER. Bloatcd. Bottle of hat. A measure which contained from two to five pounds weight of hay ; a sufficiency for a horse's meal. It is in reference to this measure that the difficulty of finding a needle in the hay is suggested. " Pottle " has the same meaning as " bottle " in this sense. Bottom. The cylindrical basis of a skein or spool of thread made by weavers. Hence, the just application of the name to the pompous artificer in A Midsummer Night's JJream. In Act IV, Scene I, Bottom, says he has a "reasonable good ear in music." .The weavers in the 16tli century were mostly Calvinists, addicted to " psalm singing.'' Falstaff {Henry IV) refers to their capa- bility in that respect — " I would I were a weaver ; I . could sing psalms." Bottoms. A nautical term for ships. A written acknowledg- ment for a loan of money on the security or mortgage of a ship is called " a bottomrj' bond." Bourne. A boundary ; a limit ; a rivulet. When applied to the latter, in Scotland or the north of England, it is called a hum. A " chalky-bourne " describes the white cliffs of old England. Bow, n. One of Cupid's weapons which discharged an arrow as effectively as that of a Turk or Tartar ; y., a reveren- tial act ; ?i., as applied to an ox, a yoke. Bowstrings. "Hold or cut bowstrings " was probably a piece of slang, and meant: "If you cannot continue to play or shoot, you had better cut the strings of your fiddle or your bow." Box. A coffin. The word is used in that sense by Hamlet in the graveyard. Boy quelleh. A murderer of boys. Beabblee. a brawler; a hound that gives tongue inoppor- tunely. 23 Beabe. An expression of scorn. Beace. Armor for the arm ; a style of defence. Beach. A dog used in hunting. Brack. To salt. Beaggabdism. Excess of praise ; boastfulness. Beaid. Crafty ; deceitful. Beain, v. Break a design, or a man's head. Beains-flow. Tears. Bbake. a thicket ; a rough brake ; a thicket of thorns. " The brake of vice" was a species of rack used for the torture of prisoners jvho would neither confess nor deny a crime, nor implicate others. Beands. a part of the andirons which supported the logs in a fireplace. Brass. " To live in brass " is to have the name, rank, and good qualities of a deceased individual engraved in brass and set into the marble which forms the tomb- stone or mural memorial. Beave. To defy ; to bully. Bravely. Gallantly ; gaily ; splendidly ; proudly. Bravery. Finery. Beave-bears. An allusion to the supporters of the coat-of- arms of the Earl of Warwick. Brawl. A species of stately dance borrowed from the French. Brawn. The arm ; a coarse appellation for a woman. Break, v. To broach or introduce a subject in conversation ; also, to violate a compact or obligation. The failure to meet an engagement at a given date was called " break- ing the day." Break with. To communicate with a person ; confide in him. Break up. Break open. Breast-voice. The voce de petto, (Ital.,) or voice from the chest ; a distinguishing feature in musical vocalization. Breath, v. To exercise ; (also, see Suffrage.) Beeathed. Inured by constant practice. Beecknock. In Wales — the locality of the castle of the Duke of Buckingham, {cetat Richard III.) Beeeched. Foully sheathed ; mired ; whipped. Beeeching school boy. Liable to be breeched. Beeedbate, or breed debate. The cause of a quarrel. 24 Breeding minds. Men of evil conceptions. Brentford. An old town, a few miles from London, where once abode an ancient female fortune-teller who kept an inn. Bretagne Richmond. After the battle of Tewkesbury the Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII, took refuge in the court of Francis, Duke of Bretagne. Brewer'.s bucket, a beer bai'rel slung on a pole or gibbet. Bribe-buck. A haunch 6f venison sent by the owner of a deer park as a present and mark of favor — often in the nature of gratitude for services to be perfonned. Bridge, v. To retreat. Brief. A small written note ; a programme, syllabus, or list. Briefly. Quickly. Bring in! The phrase anciently used in taverns when calling on the tapster or drawers for drink. Brize. The hornet or gadfly. Broach. To transfix ; place on a spit for roasting. From the French word broche, a spit. Also, to introduce a sub- ject in conversation. Brock. The badger. Brogues. Shoes, or half boots. Bboilo, ad. Heated by vociferous approbation. " He broils a loud applause." n. The word likewise signifies street quarrels. Broke. A pander. Broken music A humorous comparison to an instrument like the Panspipe or " mouth organ," which resembles in the order of the pipes one side of the human ribs. Brooch. An ornament of any kind. Bkooched. Adorned with brooches. Brook. " Flying at the brook." Hawking for water fowl. Bkoom groves, a collection of leguminous plants common in Scotland. Brought. Attended. Brown bill. A battle-axe — probably a cant name for the color of the handle, as " Brown Bess " became the appellation of a soldier's musket. Bbownist. a disciple of a sectarian named Brown, who op- posed Protestantism in the sixteenth century. 25 Bkuited. Reported. Buck. The male deer ; at the first year a fawn ; dirty linen. Buckle. Bind ; fasten ; engage ; fight with ; to yield. BucKLEB. A shield or target of the commonest Mnd. BucKLEBSBDEY. A narrow street in the heart of the city of London, where chemists and druggists abode. The ref- erences in Romeo and Juliet, and Merry Wives of Windsor to simples, demonstrate the backward state of pharmacology in Shakespeare's time. BucKWASHiNG. Washing a tubful of foul linen. BuDGER. A stirrer ; from " to budge — move." Burr-jEEKiN. A jacket or doublet of undressed leather ; buff from boeuf, Fr. , (ox. ) It was probably used to restrain vio- lent prisoners or lunatics. Bug. In Shakespeare's time, and its antecedent, this word meant more than the common house-bug, the cimex lec- tuarius. It was abridged from " bugaboo " — an imagi- nary object supposed to be capable of terrifying weak- minded people. The word bugbear — a false alarm — doubtless was derived from the same source. Bulk, or bulk-head, or bulwark. A projection from a wall intended to strengthen a building ; a buttress. Bullet-grazing. The ricochet or rebound of a ball or bullet. Bully. This term, of frequent use among the lower orders of the middle ages, was not applied or meant offensively, but rather the reverse, as expressive of somebody ad- mired or respected. "Bully" JBoUom, {Midsummer Nighfs .Dream/) "Bully Eook," (Merry Wives of Windsor/) the " lovely Bully," (.flewry V,) are exam- ples in point. BuMBABD. (See Bombard.) Bung. A cut-purse ; thief ; also the aperture of a cask. Bunting. A field-bird, like the lark in form and color, but in- ferior as a songster. The reference to the bunting in "All's Well that Ends Well" was one of many proofs of Shakespeare's familiarity with British birds. Bub, or bubb. The prickly head of a certain field-plant — the burdock. The word is used by Shakespeare to illustrate the fact of its adherence to any woollen cloth, &c., with which it may come into contact. Rosalind {As You 3 26 Like It) refers to it as a pecvUiar defect in the laryux, impeding speech if a certain accumulated phlegm is not expectorated or hemmed away. There are "biu's" at her heart which she would remove if she could hem ! and have him, {Orlando.) In the county of Northumberland . the "bur" is peculiar to the vocal organs, and is called "the Newcastle bur," caused, doubtless, by the coal smoke life in the city. BuRGONET, or BURGENET. A helmet profusely embellished with the features of a Gorgon, frightful to behold. Burton heath. A village in Warwickshire. Bush. Literally, (from the Saxon,) a wood or forest. In Aus- tralia the term is employed to distinguish the wilder- ness, to which lawless men betake themselves, from the populous towns and cities. In a more limited and common apphcation, "bush" means a single shrub or stunted tree. In an isolated position it formed the altar before which " hedge priests " — a sort of unlicensed Christian ministers — were wont to perform the marriage rites among rustics, whence it came to be called a " Beg- gar's bush." Beaumont & Fletcher wrote a play with that title; and Jaques {As You Like It) asks Touch- stone why he thinks of marrying Audrey "under a bush, like a beggar." Touchstones object is avowedly sinister — the ceremony being unlawful, the nuptial tie could the more easUy be loosened. In the phrase, "Good wine needs no bush," (to which Rosalind alludes in the epilogue,) another rendering of the word is conveyed. A shrub, or bunch of grape- vine or ivy, suspended over the door or upon the outer wall of an inn, was understood to announce that the land- lord sold good wine. The sign is still visible in many of the hostekies of the pubUc roads of Prance. But might it not be inferred from the presence of " the bush " that " mine host " sells bad wine ? BnsKiNED. The act of wearing a buskin, or short boot, an ancient appendage to tragic actors and athletes. Hip- polyta, wife of Theseus, {Midsum,mer Night's Dream,) is called the " buskined mistress," because, as an Ama- zon, her habits and pursuits were mascuUne. 27 Btjss. To kiss. From the Latin basio. Butchbk's cue. Cardinal Wolsey, to whom this epithet ap- plies, was the son of a butcher. Buttery bar. The dairy. Sir Andrew Ague-cheek ( Twelfth JVight) is invited to let his hand drmk there, "for "'tis dry." Butt-shaft. An- arrow wherewith to shoot at butts. Buttock or the night. Late hours. Buxom. Obedient ; gay ; brisk ; lusty ; rampant. Buzzard. A degenerate hawk ; a blockhead. Bif'R LADY. " By our lady ;" " by'r lakin ;" by our little lady. A common form of adjuration in Roman Catholic times, when the holy mediatrix, the Virgin, was (as she still is among Papists) invoked in reverent fashion. By it. Aby it ; suffer for it. c Cable. Latitude in action. " Give him rope enough." — Pro- verb. Caoodemon. An evil spirit. Caddis. A species of worsted galloon ; a kind of shoddy. Cade. A cask of salt herrings. Cadent. Falling. Cadmus. The person who introduced Greece to letters ; the founder of a city ; a hunter ; the destroyer of a dragon. Hyppolyta, the Amazon, wife of Theseus, {Midsummer Nights Dream,^ says she was with Cadmus and Her- cules when they baye& a bear in Crete. Caduceus. a wand of great power carried by Mercury. Cadwal. Brief for Cadwallader, a Welsh name. C^SAR. (See Julius C^sar.) Cage. A prison of wood for the confinement of drunkards, rioters, and thieves, in villages. Cain colored. In some old tapestries Cain was represented with red hair and beard. There is nothing in Scripture as authority for the complexion of the first fratricide, but as he was red-handed it may have occurred to the Italian painters to give him a sanguinary hue. Or may not " cain " be intended for " cane," which is yellow ? 28 Caitiff. A term of contempt which originally meant nothing more than captive, as we may see in Wickliffe's translar tion of the Scriptures. "Wickliffe's contemporary, the father of English poetry, has iji the " Knight's Tale :" "And now I am so catif and so thral that he that is my mortal enemy I serve him as his squier ponrely." And Chaucer's immediate predecessor, WUliam Langland, au- thor of Piers' " Plowman's Vision," writes of '' Chille and caytif poverte." The word very soon began to show the impress of an instinctive conviction that slavery breaks down the moral character and induces a base, abject disposition ; for only a hundred years after Chau- cer's death we find the Scotch bishop, Gawin Douglas, (famous for having given to the world the first metrical translation of any ancient classics in his translation of Virgil's "^neid,") writing of the " Grete outrage to strange Enee In his absence thus catifely to fle." The etymological distinction between "captive!' and "caitiff" is that the first is taken directly from the Latin, and the latter indirectly from the same through the me- dium of the French chetif or Italian cattivo. Cake's douoh. A failure, as an ill-baked cake. Calculate. To foretell. Calendar. A chronological record of human evAits and as- tronomical changes. Calipolis. a character in the old play of "The Battle of Al- cazar." Calivek. a hand-gun. * Call. To visit. Callet. a common scold ; a beggar's wife. Callini custora me. a line from an old Iiish (Celtic) ditty. Calling. Profession ; trade ; appellation. Calm. Qualm. Calphhrnla. The wife of Julius Caesar. Calydon. By the " Prince's heart of Calydon " is meant Me- leager, the story of whose exploits in destroying the Calydonean boar is told by Homer, Ovid, and others. Camblet. An inferior kind of cloth. Cambria. The ancient (Roman) name of Wales. 29 Cambyses. An imaginary Persian sovereign ; the hero of a play by one Preston. King Cambyses is represented as a person of violent passion, whose eyes are, therefore, red. Camelot. a marsh in the west of England resorted to by geese. * * " The laud of Gameliard was waste, Thick with wet grass." — Tennyson. It was the place where, tradition says, King Arthur held his court. Again referring to the locality, Tennyson * * " The gardens and the halls Of Camelot, as in the days that were." Can. To know. A Scotch word, usually spelt "ken.'' Canary. A dance ; likewise a wine from the Canaries. Candle-holders. Before chandeliers, girondoles, &c., came into fashion, the lights at festivals, dances, &c., were candles and torches, held by men. Candle mire. An accumulation of taUow. Candle wasters. People who sit up atnight to carouse. Canis, or Canus. (Lat.) A dog. Cankers. Worms in a plant. The canker blossom is called the dog rose. Cannakin. a small drinking vessel. Canon. A law ; a rule ; a clerical functionary. Canonize. To bless ; pray for ; inter with religious solemnity ; enrol among the saints. Cansonet. a short song. From chansons, (Fr.,) songs. Canstick. Abbreviation of candle-stick. Cantle. a fragment ; a slice. Cantons. Cantos ; parts of a poem. Canvas. To sift ; search. From the Fr. canabesser. Canvas climber. A sailor. Canvass. To beat soundly. Cap. The top ; the chief ; v., to salute by removing the hat. (See Bonnet " of time," foremost in the fashion.) Capable. Capacious. Capable impressure. Indenture ; hollow mark. Cap-a-pied. From head to foot. Caper. A motion in dancing; to "cut a caper" was a proof of a genteel education. 30 Capitol. The Capitolium of ancient Borne. Shakespeare has chosen this locality for the scene of the murder of Julius Ceesar. But the deed was really done in Pom- pey's theatre, at the foot of the statue of Pompey. Capitulate. To make head against ; agreement to combine ; to surrender ; to form a chapter. Capocchia. (Ital.) A simpleton. Capon. Metaphorically, a love letter. Capriccio. (Ital.) Caprice. Capmciotjs. Lascivious. Caps, (Monmouth.) The city of Monmouth had a good repu- tation as a factory of caps. Captious. Capacious. Captivate. To capture. Car. To plough. Cakac, or Karrack. A Spanish galleon, so called from cara- coa, a barge, or carina, freight. Caracts. Characters. Carat. A weight of four ounces, used by goldsmiths . and jewellers to estimate the value of deposits in gold. Caebonade, v. To cut or hack. Carbonado, n. A meat cutlet. Carbuncle, w. A stone of a ruby red ; ad., protuberant ; an- gry ; afflicted with scarlet sores. Carcanet. a necklace. Card, v. To "speak by the card" was to speak literally, by rule ; matter of fact ; n., the shipman's card, the chart or compass. Carded. Mixed; debased. Carddtal. Chief; pre-eminent. Some scholars derive the word from cardo, " hinge," because the Papacy is always understood to hang or turn upon the choice of the College of Cardinals. Cardinally. Carnally. Cardus benedictus. An herb of healing property. Care. Inclination. Caretul. Anxious ; full of cares. Career. The meeting or crossing of lances in a tournament. Careire. The curvetting of a horse. Caret. (Lat.) " There are wanting." 31 Carines. liardolph is either blundering through some at- tempt to apply the verb careo, "to want," or "be in want," or indulging in a slang phrase of the age. Carl, or carlot. A boor ; a peasant. Carlot. a peasant. Carnal. Sanguinary. Caeowses. Drinking bouts. Carp. To rally ; argue ; criticise ; object ; dcaw nice distinc- tions. Carpet-consideration. Knighted in a chamber, in contradis- tinction to the higher honor of being knighted on the field of battle. Caeraway. a seed formerly eaten at dessert, and stUl used to flavor pastry. Carriage. Deportment ; conduct. Carried. Conducted. Carrion. Dead flesh converted into maggots by the sun's rays. Carry. To prevail with ; conquer ; overcome. Cart. A carriage. Carthage queen. Hermia {Midsummev NigMs Dream) swears by the funeral pile on which Dido is said to have stabbed herself (earning thereby the appellation of " val- iant woman ") in her misery caused by tte departure of iEneas. Shakespeare, in this, has adopted the popular anachronism which makes the Tunisian lady contempo- rary with JEneas, whereas scholars and poets assign her an antiquity 300 years greater than that of iEneas. Carve. Performing the office of carving at the table was a compliment to guests. Carved-bone. a cameo formed of the bones of animals or flshes ; an ornament of great antiquity. Case. The eye socket ; skin ; outward garb ; v., to cover ; con- ceal. "On with your visors," i. e., hide your faces. Case of lives. A set of hves. Cask. A casket. Casque. A helmet. Cassibelan. The ancient Briton named in the Eoman records " Cassibelaunus." 32 Cassids. The "lean and hungry" Caius Cassius was a pecu- liar object of Julius CsBsar's dislike and suspicion. Csesar rejects with disdain the supposition that he was liable to fear, but when he tells Marc Antony to pass to his right side, on the pretence that he is deaf of the left ear, he evidently wishes to place Marc Antony between himself and the risk of assassination. Cassock. An overcoat worn by horsemen, in the nature of a tabard. Cast. To calculate ; analyze. "Cast the waters of my land — find her disease," {Macbeth.) To cast beyond oneself is to look far off. To be discharged ; superseded. Castilian. An offensive term of Spanish (Castile) origin, derived from contempt for the people of Castile, although it was then a kingdom. " Oastiliano vulgo " is an ex- pression of contempt. Castle. A kind of close helmet. Catatn. a thief ; a native of Cathay, (China.) Cataplasm. A plaster wherewith to raise a gentle blister. Gates. Provision ; nice food ; dainties. Cattings. Cat-guts,; harp strings, originally supposed to have been formed from the entrails of cats — whence the com- mon phrase " cat-gut." Cautj;l. a corner or piece of anything ; deceit. Cautelous ; crafty ; ultra cautious. Cavaleko. Cavalier ; chevalier ; knight ; " sir knight." Caveto. From the Latin caveo, be on your guard ; take heed. Caviar. The roe of the sturgeon, much eaten as a preserve or pickle by the people on the Russian shores of the Baltic. The expense of the article, when imported into other nations, necessarily confines its use to the higher orders of society ; whence Hamlet's remark that a good thing is " caviar to the general " — the multitude. Cease. Decease ; to stop, or cause to be stopped. Censure, v. To rebuke ; blame ; condemn ; pass sentence ; n., criticism ; opinion ; judgment ; rebuke. Centre. The middle of the earth, or of any circumference. Century. One hundred of anything — ^men, animals, articles, years. Cere, v. To close up with wax. 33 Ceebments. Cere cloth ; the waxed cloths with which it was the custom to envelop the dead. Cekemonibs. Auguries ; omens. Ceetes. Certainly. Cess. Measure ; assessment. Chafe. Heat ; anger. Chaffless. Bare ; modest. Chafing. Rubbing. Chaib. Throne. Chaib days. Days of rest. Chaliced. Flowers, cup-formed. Challenge. A term in law; the option of objecting to a juror. Cham. Benedick {Mitch Ado About Nothing) speaks of a hair of the Cham's beard. This points to the Khan of Tartary. Marco Polo, Chardin, and other early travel- lers in the East, always wrote Cham for Khan, as that is the French method of spelling and pronouncing the title. In all likelihood Shakespeare was not aware of the true pronunciation of the word, as he had only seen it in print. Chamber. An old legal name for London — Camera Regis — HteraUy, the "king's chamber;" also, a piece of ord- nance, but now confined to describe parts of a cannon. Chambebeb. A plotter ; intriguer. Chambeelain. a male servant at an inn who had charge of the chambers — a duty now confined to women; chamber- maids ; also, a city oflftciaJ, but, with the prefix " Lord," a Court officer. Chameleon's dish. The minute insects which form the food of the lizard are so invisible to the naked eye that the animal is vulgarly supposed to Hve on air. Chance. Fortune. Changeling. A child stolen in infancy and substituted by another. In A Midsum,m,er NigMs Dream there is clearly a discrepancy between JPuoKs description of the Indian child possessed by Titania and that which Titania herself gives. Puck says it was stolen from an Indian king, but Titania declares that the chUd's mother, " being mortal, of the boy did die," and for her sake, for they were friends, the fairy queen " reared up the boy." 34 Channel. Kennel; gutter. Chanson. A song. " Pious chansons " were much in vogue in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Hymns, carols, and songs, turning upon the incidents in the New Tes- tament, were and are popular in all Roman Catholic countries. Chantry. A small chapel in a cathedral where the mass, or other service, was intoned. Chape. A hook by which a sword or dagger was suspended to the person. Chapeless. Devoid of a chape. Chapman. A broker, in fact, but the word was equally appli- cable to buyers and sellers on their own account. The gUbness of the chapman's tongue was proverbial. Chabact. Affected ; quality. Chabactek, ad. Disposition ; temperament ; morale ; written description ; v., to describe. The illiterate English and Irish lay the accent in pronunciation on the second or penultimate syllable, as character. Shakespeare like- wise gives it in the same way as a verb. Characteey. Letters ; cause ; features of a troubled mind. Chabes. Common duties ; drudgery ; patches of work. Charge-house. A free school. Charges. Condition ; expense. Chariest. Most cautious. Chariness. Caution. Charitable. Dear; honorable, as contrasted with wicked. "Be thy intents wicked or charitable." {Hamlet.) Charles the emperob was Charles V of France, Spain, &c. Chables' wain, a corruption of churls' wain or wagon ; the name was given by rustics to the Pleiades, (in Ursa Major,) on account of their peculiar collective form, resembling a team. Charm, v. To enchant ; entreat ; elicit. Charmer. A sorceress ; a female magician ; one who sold " charms " to fools who believed in their efficacy as a life preserver. Charming words. Words that are literally enchanted. Chabms. Amulets ; talismans ; instruments of witchery. Chaeneco. a sweet wine. CnABrER. Privilege. 35 Charters. The " blank charters " mentioned in Richard II were a mock kind of exchequer bill with which the King's officers obtained money from rich people. They were often converted into bonds and obligations to pay certain sums. Chaby. Cautious; modest. Chases. Matches at tennis. Chaddron. The entraUs of an animal. Cheater. Short of escheater ; an officer of the exchequer ; also, a thief. Check. Eeproof ; in falconry, the refusal of a hawk toi fly at a bird which is not its proper game. Cheek by jole, or jowl. A rustic form of expressing juxta- position. Cheer, w. To comfort; welcome; applaud; n., good food; a joyful cry; ad., approbation; encouragement; good looks. Prom the Pr. chere. Chehey-pit. a game played with cherry stones. Cherub. A child angel. Cherubim in the pliiral. Cheveril. a kid, from whose skin gloves are made. The word is from the French chevreuil. Chew. Ruminate ; reflect. Chewet. a bird of the daw tribe, addicted to perpetual chattering. Chide. To resound ; echo ; reprove. Chiding. The music of a pack of hounds in full cry after the game. Chien. (Pr;) Ziechienestretourne a sonproprevomissement. "The dOg has returned to his own vomit." Childe. a knight ; a hero ; a youth. Childing. Unseasonably pregnant ; also, fruitful. Chill. "I shall." la namg this woid ^dgar, in. ITing lear, is affecting to speak the patois of western England. Chibdrgeon. a surgeon. Choice-spirits. Piends who abode in the north of Europe. Choose. Having or not having a choice. " I cannot choose . but weep," i. e., I cannot help weeping. NChop. To change. ^opiNi:. A high-heeled shoe. CmippiNG. Jabbering. 36 Chorus. A personage of the ancient Greek and Roman drama, whose office it was to interpret the story of a play and describe the action which did not pass in view of the audience. He was, in fact, the connecting link of the incidents, a comprehension of which was necessary to the continuance of an interest in the representation. The best imitation of this agency will be found in Henry T^and in the part of Gower, in Pericles. Chough. A chattering bird of the daw species. Shakespeare knew the bii-ds and wild fowl, and knew them perhaps as a hunter as well as a poet. At least this passage would indicate as much : " As -wild geese that the creeping fowler eye, Or ruHset-pated ohonghs, many in sort, Rising and cawing at the sun's report. Sever themselves and madly sweep the sky." In calling the choughs " russet-pated," he makes the bill tinge the whole head, or perhaps gives the effect of ' the bird's markings when seen at a distance ; the bill is red, the head is black. Christendom. The whole realm of Christianity; also, the ceremony of baptism in christenings. Christianity. The innumerable references to Christian doc- trine, and the frequent insistance upon following the precepts of the Saviour throughout the plays treating of modern life, must carry conviction to the mind of every patient and candid reader that Shakespeare had a pure and devout faith in the principles inculcated in the New Testament. He adopted Christianity in the widest acceptation of the term. Perhaps he did not belong to any one of the denominations formed in his day. He was evidently too settled and pure in his creed — too catholic in his love of his species — to have embraced either of the narrow systems of church government which have rent society asunder, all over the world, since Luther preached and Henry VIII plundered and aboUshed the monasteries. It is quite certain he could not have been a Papist, or he would not have put into King JohrCs mouth the reproach and defiance addressed to Cardinal Pandulph when he apostrophizes John re- specting the suspension of Layton, chosen Archbishop 37 of Canterbury. Neither, as a Eoman Catholic, would he have brought into so much prominence the vices and in- firmities of Wolsey and Beaufort, Archbishop Scroop, and the Bishop of Winchester. He would also have been more sparing of the reputation of the monks. He might have been a Protestant of the established chui-ch, for he makes the clergy of that denomination very respectable guides of men and members of society. Sir Hugh JEvans' Christian utterances, in the Merry Wives of Windsor, are perfectly orthodox, though his oddities and pedant- ries are unsparingly ridiculed. Sir Nathaniel is unex- ceptionally- righteous ; but Sir Oliver Mar-text {As You Like It) is justly denounced as a quack. "Get you to church," quoth Jaques to Touchstone, " and have a good priest that can tell you what marriage is ; this fellow will but join you together as they join wainscot; then oneof you will prove a shrunk panel, and, like green timber, warp, warp." Shakespeare, however, did not consider the clergy altogether free from hypocrisy, for he makes the Clown, in Twelfth Night, say : " I will dis- semble myself in the priestly gown, and I would I were the first that ever dissembled in such a gown." But true godliness he invariably favors. The "good divine " that follows his own instructions is everywhere spoken of with profound respect ; Christian precepts are introduced and inculcated on all convenient occasions, and the truths of revealed religion are unreservedly pronounced. Allud- ing to the absurd utterances of Malvolio, in Twelfth Night, Maria exclaims : " No Christian that means to he saved by believing rightly can ever believe such im- possible passages of grossness." The saving quality of faith in the Redeemer is here distinctly enunciated, But, indeed, the acceptance of Christian doctrine and a rev- erence for the actions of the Saviour of men occur in almost every play which does not turn upon the events in pagan Greece and Rome. Henry IV, referring to an intended crusade in Palestine, mentions " the blessed cross " under which he proposes to chase the pagans on the holy fields over which walked the " blessed feet that were nailed for our advantage on the bitter cross." 38 Henry VI, at the bedside of Cardinal Jienufort, im- plores him to hold up his hand "in signal of his hopes of heaven's bliss." The cardinal "dies and makes no sign." Warwick, the earl, remarks that so bad a death argues a monstrous life ; whereupon Henri/ exclaims : "Forbear to judge, for we are sinners all.'' Henry I' builds chan- tries, that sad and solemn priests " may sing for the soul " of Bichard II ; and he has, he says, " on yearly pay five hundred poor, who twice a day hold their withered hands up to Heaven, praying God to pardon blood." The practice of knolling to church with holy bell re- ceives respectful recognition, {As You lAke It.) I'ortia {Merchant of Venice) does not forget the prayer for mercy offered up in the sermon on the Mount. The Doctor, in Macbeth, calls upon God " to forgive us all." Macduff prays the pious Edward, the holy King, (Ed- ward the Confessor,) to help Scotland in her extremity, "with Him above to ratify the work." In Hamlet we find an allusion to the Chiistian anniversary, and the Prince, at the sight of his father's ghost, invokes the protection of "angels and ministers of grace." And where do we find a more pregnant reference to immor- tality than in the glorious soUloquy on the folly and wickedness of a suicidal act as an escape from the " ills we have ■?" In Othello, where human vices and weak- nesses are the dominant features of the play, we find Desdemona calling upon the Lord to have " mercy on her soul," and Othello himself, with crude notions upon the subject, nevertheless reverences Christian doctrine. In Hichard III the Duke of Gloster seeks the aid of two clergymen "as props of virtue for a Christian prince." In Hichard II the Bishop of Carlisle is spoken of as a clergyman of holy reverence, and the bishop, in his turn, alludes to Norfolk as fighting for Jesus Christ " in glorious Christian field, strewing the ensign of the Christian cross." And does not Cardinal Wolsey, at the close of his career, declare that he had better have displayed zeal in the service of the Almighty than in that of a king w^io had left him naked to his enemies ? But without dwelling further upon the direct and frequent 39 allusions to the doctrines of Christianity, we may find proofs in the plays of a recognition of the saving influ- ence of prayer and repentance. They are to be found in abundance. The King, in Hamlet, praying in his closet, oifers a striking exemplification of these virtues: "Try what repentance can; what can it not?" Isabella, in Measure for Measure, pleads for mercy on her brother's behalf, and dwells on the efficacy of prayer. And many other instances may be traced incidentally scattered through the plays. But beyond all this, Nature (God's own works) receives the continual expression of Shakes- peare's homage to the Giver of all Good. He bids his readers find tongues in trees ; books in the running brooks ; sermons in stones ; " good in everything." How eloquent is the Friar, in Romeo and Juliet, on the pow- erfiil grace that lies in herbs, stones, , and theii- true qualities ! The whole universe, in fact, is made tributary to Shakespeare's efforts to instruct. And the pleasing mediums of romance and poetry are as often employed as the forms of didactic homilies to impart a feeling of godliness to the student. What more can or need be said? Chbistom. Mrs. Quickly means chrisom. A chrisom child is one that died within a month after its birth. The chrisom cloth was a white cloth put on at baptism and retained to be used, if necessary, as a shroud. Chbonicle. To record ; to describe. Chuck. Chicken ; a term of endearment. Chuffs. Vulgar clowns ; misers ; fat men. Cicatrice. The scar left by a wound. CiCESTEE. Corruption of " Chichester " in Sussex. Ciel! (Pr.) Heaven! Cincture. A girdle. CiNNA. (Helvetius.) There were several Cinnas, but Helve- tius being a friend of Oassius he is naturally the per- sonage of the name in Julius Gmsar. Cinque ports. Five ports on the Kentish coast of England under the special guard of a nobleman called "the warden." Cipher, v. To decipher. 40 Circe, n. A mythical enchantress who metamorphosed men into beasts. CnicuMMURED, ad. Enclosed by a circular wall. CiKCUMSTANCE, 1%. Argument ; conduct ; detail ; circumlocu- tion. CiRCDMSTANCED, ad. Govcmed by circumstances. CiKUM CIRCE. All round the circle. CiT L. Mention ; recital ; quotation. Cite. To incite. Cittern. A musical instrument. Civet. The foul flux of a cat which supplied a perfume much used at a period when chemical science had not evolved and condensed the odor of flowers. The smell must have been powerfully offensive. Cowper, the poet, writes : " I cannot talk \fith civet in the room, A fine jmss gentleman that's all perfume. The sight's enough— no need to smeUp, beau." Civil. Grave ; solemn ; human. A branch of the law dis- tinct from that applied to criminals. The initials LL. D. indicate a person who has obtained the degree of " doc- tor of civil law." ad., civilized. Civil, as applied to oranges, is a mistake for " Seville," in Spain, whence a certain acid class of oranges is exported. Civil monster. A man whose wife is faithless. Clack dish. Mendicants were accustomed to go about the streets with wooden dishes for the reception of broken meats, and they " clacked " the dishes to announce their presence to benevolent housekeepers. Clamorous. Dolorous ; noisy ; demonstrative. Clamour. A term in bell-ringing ; a chime. Clamoub-moistened. Noisy grief, accompanied by tears. Clap in. Fall to. Clap i' the clout. To hit the mark in archery. Clapper-claw. A free use of the nails ; a woman's weapon in hostUities. Clasp. To clasp hands ; ratifying an agreement. Claw. To flatter. Clean-timbered. Symmetrically-shaped. Clear. Pure ; v., to purify ; absolve ; purge ; acquit. Cleaeest. Purest. 41 Clearness. Exemption ; not to be compromised. Cleft. Cove ; split. Cleft the boof. Split the heart with false vows, as one would cleave the mark in a target. Cleopatra. Queen of Egypt ; the daughter of one Ptolemy and the wife of another. The name of Cleopatra is Greek, and signifies "the glory of her country." Clepe. To call ; term ; name. Clept and yclept are indiffer- ently found in the oldest poets. Clbrkli. Scholarly. Cliff. From clef, (Fr.) Key ; a note in miisic. The word in JKing Lear refers to a chalky height near Folkestone, on the coast of Kent, (England,) which is popularly called, because of its mention in the play, "Shakes- peare's cliff." Cling. To dry ; wither ; shrink up. Clinquant. (Fr.) Gay; gaudy; decorated with gold and silver. Clip. To embrace. Clipped. Enclosed ; debased, as of coin. Clock. Shakespeare has committed a mistake in assigning to Brutus {Julius Caesar) the possession of a clock that struck the hours. The first clock of that kind was con- structed in the eleventh century, A. D., by a monk, the Abbot of Hirsham. Close. To agree with. Close exploit. A private deed. Clot, or clod poll. A heavy-headed rustic. Clout. A naU, (from the French clou;) also, the white cen- tral spot in a target, commonly called the bull's-eye. Clouted shoon, or brogues. Hob-nailed shoes or boots. Clown. Lexicographers assign several meanings to this term. A vulgar, ignorant rustic is called " a clown ;" and the same title is bestowed on a sharp-witted rascal, like the scaramuccio of the Italians. The clown of a circus or a modem pantomime is a mixture of the acrobat and the jester. He tumbles, he struts, he utters jokelets. The Clown in Twelfth Night combines the qualities of the court-fool and the droU. He is, in fact, called "Peste, the jester ;" and in other dramas the clown's wit elevates him to the rank of the wearer of the cap and bells. 4 42 Clubs ! A ciy for physical aid corresponding with the mod- ern appeal to the "poUee!" It was at one time the practice of shop-keepers to keep clubs in their shops for protection. Cnydds, or cNiDtrs. Often misspelt, and pronounced " Cid- nus." The river on which Cleopatra made a grand dis- play {Antony and Cleopatra) in honor of Antony. Coach fellow. A comrade ; a confidant. Coals. To carry coals was deemed a degrading occupation. The calm endurance of an ignominy was likened to the operation. ' CoASTiNa. Conciliating ; proceeding cautiously. Coasts and hedges. Insidious advances. CoAT-OF-ABMS. A term in heraldry denotative of the rank and descent of many knights and noblemen. The coat of Sir Thomas Lucy is made the subject of sundry sly allu- sions in the Merry Wives of Windsor. Sir Thomas is said to have punished Shakespeare's early transgression as a poacher on the justice's manor. The "luces" or coat-of-arms were, in fact, ih.6 fleurs-de-lis, (lUies,) but the word had likewise an offensive signification. Cob loaf. A crusty, uneven loaf of bread. Cock. A small boat (cock-boat) attached to a ship ; also, the faucet or fixture by which the flood or stoppage of water from a pipe, or wine and beer from a barrel, is regulated. "A wasteful cock " is a figurative form of saying " I have opened the floodgates of my tears." — "The trumpet of the morn" — the chanticleer — which "proclaims the dawn." The idea, expressed in Hamlet, that on the eve of the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ the barn- door fowl singeth aU the night long, was a tradition long current in Catholic countries, and is not without war- ranty elsewhere. It has been heard by persons of credit in England, as well as Palestine, in recent years. Cock a hoop. A signal for a fight. Cock and pye. Some commentators allege that "cock" is a corruption of the sacred name of "God," and the "pye" a table in the old Roman Catholic offices, showing how the service fixed for the day may be found. They add that " cock and pye " was a familiar oath until the 43 Elizabethan era. But for this elaborate exposition, plain readers would suppose that Page, (Merry Wives of Windsor,) in the exuberance of his hospitality, was only swearing by the toothsome oates he proposed to offer his guests — possibly a roast capon and a venison pasty. He says, in fact, " they have a hot venison pasty to dinner." Page was not a Papist, and would hardly have been made to swear a Catholic oath. CocKATKicB. The fabled Basilisk, with an evil eye, that could strike a person dead with a glance. Cockle. A corn weed ; " the cockle of rebellion '* — the seed of a revolt ; tares or darn weed. Cockle hat. The hat of a pilgrim to which a cockle-shell was attached. Cockney. A cook. The word comes from the French cocagne, an imaginary land of luxury and idleness. Cock sure. Certain ; infallible. Cook shut-time. TwUight ; the time when nets were spread to snare woodcocks and fowls that go to roost. Cod. a pea or pea shell. Codding. Amorous. Codling. An unripe apple. Codpiece. A part of a man's costume. Coffin. The cavity of a raised pie. Cog. To cheat ; to lie. Cognizance. A mark ; a badge. CoiGNE. An angle of a building. Coil. Bustle ; stir ; tumult. Coin. (See Angel, Cross, Three Paethings, Tester, &c.) CoLBRAND. A Danish giant, said to have been overcome by the redoubtable Guy, Earl of Warwick. Cold. Naked. Collection. Drawing a conclusion. Collied. Blackened ; covered, as it were, with coal. Collier. Another name for a cheat. Colliers were notorious for giving short measure. CoLLOP. A slice of flesh. Colorable. Specious. Colors. Frauds ; deceits ; disguises. Colour, or color. Argument ; false appearance. 44 CoLOQuiNTiDA. A bitter drug ; colocynth. Colt. To tease ; to cheat. GoLTED. Bidden ; possessed of a colt ; cheated. CoMART. A joint bargain. CoMATE. Companion in exile or on a voyage ; a wife. Combine. To bind. Combination. Betrothal. CoMEDDLED. Mingled. Comedy of erroes. The Menocapone of Plautus appears to have provided the origin of this diverting piny. Come off. To pay. Come of will. To succeed. Comfort. To aid ; abet ; give ease and peace to another. Comma. Connection. Commence. Put in operation. Commends. Recommends ; to commend oneself to another through a letter or a third person is equivalent to the transmission of friendly greetings. Commission. Authority. Commodity. Trade; credit. Commonty. a comedy. Community. Frequency. Compact. Agreement ; put together ; composed. Companies. Companions ; good fellowship. Companion Originally used contemptuously, as " fellow, be- gone !" The word is now of opposite meaning. Compare. Comparison, when used as a noun. Comparative. A dealer in comparisons ; a punster ; open to comparison ; also, suitable compensation. Compassed. Round, as " compassed window ; '' a bow window i '' compassed cape," as, rounded the cape. Compassionate. Plaintive. Competitor. Confidant. Complement. Accomplishment ; decoration ; disguise. Complement extern. Outward display. Complexion. The use of this word in the Merchant of Ven- ice shows that the aversion of the white to the colored races was very strong three or four centuries ago. Mis- cegenation, on a large scale, will never be perpetrated while the antagonism of races prevail. It was not " a 45 good inspiration " on the part of Portia! s father to ex- pose his daughter to the risk of being compelled to marry a Moor. * * "Good my complexion!" an exclamation in As You Like It, may have had no more literal signification than "Bless my soul!" "Bless my heart alive!" — phrases of frequent modern utterance. Complices. Accomplices. Compliments. Eegards. Comply. Handle carelessly ; to trifle with. Compose. To agree. Composition. Bargain ; consistency. CoMPOSTDKE. Composition. Composure. A combination. CoMPT. Account. CoMPTiBLB. Submissive ; susceptible ; disposed to examine ; liable to be called to account. Con. Give ; study ; owe. Conclusions. Experiments. To " try conclusions " was a phrase for an encounter of wits or weapons. When Launcelot Gobbo {Merchant of Venice) says " confu- sions," which is the reading suggested by some annota- tors, he probably means the same thing, but utters a word more in accordance with his own comprehension of the context of language. Launcelot, like all the other characters in Shakespeare of the same class of life, talks a great deal of nonsense in the plenitude of his ignor- ance. Whether the frequent instance of the inversion of phrases was actually a feature of the colloquy of the common people, or a trick of Shakespeare's to raise a laugh at their expense, mnst remain a question. Dog- berry, (Much Ado About Nothing ;) CapuMs servant, {Romeo and Juliet,) and others have the same hq,bit of speech. Concavity. Depth ; a cave. Conceit. Imagination ; wit ; guess ; idea. Concealments. Wonderful secrets. Conceived to scope. Reaching the highest point of imagina- tion. Concent. Harmony of action. 46 CoNCEBT. Concerted harmony. CoNcuPY. Concupiscence. Condition. Nature ; disposition ; profession. Conditioned. Well disposed ; generous ; noble. CONDOLEMENT. Grief. Conduct. Escort ; a military term ; a conductor. Conduit. A channel formed for the distribution of water. CoNBT CATCHING. Tricking ; poaching ; pilfering. CoNFECT. To prepare as sweetmeats. Confession. Profession. Confines. Borders ; boundaries. CoNFINELEbS. BoUndlcSS. Confiscate. To appropriate to State uses the private property of individuals who have violated the law. All smuggled goods, when seized, are confiscated, and the property of felons is similarly sequestrated. The pronunciation of this word in Shaiespeare is regulated by the claims of euphony. Thus, in one passage in the Merchant of Venice it is necessarily pronounced con/iscate — the em- phasis being placed on the penultimate ; in another the stress falls on con, the first syllable. CoNFiNERS. Persons who stay at home and lead idle lives. Confound. Employ ; expend ; confuse ; trouble ; destroy in combat. Conge d. (Fr.) Taken leave, or congL Conger. The sea eel. CoNGBEE. To agree. Congruent epitheton. An epithet agreeing with the subject in hand. Conject. Conjecture. Conjunction. Matrimonial engagement ; betrothal. Considerate stone. "IwiUbesUentand only think.'' {Antony and Cleopatra.) Consign. To confirm ; sign ; seal. Consigned. Sealed. Consist. Insist; stand. Consistory. The assemblage of cardinals. CoNSONANCY. Corresponding with equality. Consort, 'v. Associate with ; companionship. CoNSPECTiviTY. Eaculty of observation ; visual power. 47 Constancy. Consistency, as well as adherence to one love or one purpose. Constant. Firm of purpose. Constantly. Firmly. Constantinople. King Henry V talks of taking the Turk by the beard at Constantinople, but the Turks did not occupy the city for thirty years after his death. Constee. To construe. , Consuls. Statesmen in office exercising joint rule ; counsel- lors. The "toged consuls," referred to by lago, (Othello,) indicate senators in their robes. Contagion. Venomous ; poisonous. Contemptible. Synonymous with contemptuous. Continents. Eanks of earth holding rivers in restraint. Continuance — continuate. Uninterruptedly. Continuation teem. An unbroken period. Conteaction. a marriage contract. CoNTEAKious. Different. Contrary. Opposite to. The stress is sometimes laid on the middle syllable. Contrive. To conspire ; beguile ; assist. Con tutto il cuoke ben teovato. (Ital.) " With all my heart, right welcome." Control, v. To confute ; n., controlment ; punishment. Convent. Agree to or with. CoNVENTED. Convened ; summoned. Conversion. Change of condition. Convert. To change. Convertite. a convert. Convey. To steal ; to pass oneself off as another. Conveyance. Trick ; juggling ; sleight of hand ; putting awaj' ; murder. Conveyed himself. Derived his title. Convince. Overcome. Convicted. Baffled ; overpowered. " A whole armada of con- victed sail is scattered by a roaring tempest." — King John. Convive. To be convivial ; n., a feast. Convocation. Congress ; assembly. Cooling card. Metaphorically, an insurmountable obstacle. 48 CoPATAiN HAT. A hat with a conical crown. Cope. Encounter; covering. CoPHETTJA. A king who fell in love with a beggar girl. CopiE. Main part ; burthen or subject. Copped. Rising to a top or head. Copt. Theme; example. CoBAGio. (Ital.) Courage ! be of good cheer ! Coral. Ariel, in the Tempest, says : " Of his bones is coral made." This is a mistake, even metaphorically. A pene- tration into the mysteries of the deep has shown that the coral polyps are beautiful marine insects. CoKAM. The presence. Coram judice. Before a judge. CoRANTO. A dance in which there was much running and leaping. Corinth. A brothel. The Corinth of ancient Greece was deemed the most Hcentious city of the time. Corinthian. A cant name for a dissolute person. Corky. Dry. Corner-cap. A corner-stone. Cornets. Troops of dragoons. Cornuto. (Ital.) A cuckold. Literally, a horned person. Corporal. Corporeal. Corollary. A surplus of anything ; a logical deduction from a fact or hypothesis. Corrigible. Corrected. CoRRivAL. Opponent. Corrosive. Apt to decay. Corse. A corpse. Costard. A small apple. Coster monger. A dealer in costards. Cote, v. To overtake and accompany ; n., a cottage. Cotquean. a frivolous person ; an incontinent female. CoTSELL. For Cotswold, in Gloucestershire, where coursing matches took place. Couch. To lie with ; to crouch ; bow low. Coulter. The sharp edge of a plougb. Count, v. To reckon ; depend upon ; n., a title of nobility. Countenance. Favor ; false appearance ; hypocrisy. Count cardinal. A title applied to Wolsey {Henry VIII) as a Count Palatine. 49 CouNTEB. To oppose ; conflict ; act in a contrary direction ; also, a term in hunting when a hound doubles in his path, missing the game. CoTJNTEES. Representatives pf and substitutes for coins used in games and in reckoning up accounts. CouNTEEFEiT. A portrait. CouNTERFULLY. Deceptive ; falsely. CouNTEE-GATE. The door of a debtor's prison. Originally written " compter," to indicate that the court held there took cognizance of " accompt " or " account " cases. Counterpoint. A term in music. Identical, according to Gremio, {Taming of the Shrew,) with counterpanes, bed-coverings. OoDNTEKVAiL. To outweigh ; counterpoise. Country base. Prisoner's base or bars. County. A count. Coup le gorge. (Fr.) Cut the (his) throat ! COUPLEMENT. A OOUple. Course. Race ground ; arena for athletic games. " The or- der of the course " was the arrangement at the starting point, and the programme of the entertainment. Also, a sail of a ship. Court confegt. A spurious nobleman. Court cupboard. A sideboard. Court op guaed. The station of the main guard of an army or at the entrance of the court or square of a palace or citadel. Court hand. The manuscript of legal documents. Court holy-wateb. Mattery. Cousin, or coz. A friendly term, not always referring to kin- ship. At the present day the British sovereign sends, commands, or assigns duties to her "right trusty cousia" and "counsellor."' Covent. a convent. Cover. To wear the hat. (See Bonnet.) Cowed. Awed ; frightened. CowiSH. Timid. CowER-STAFF, Or COWL-STAFF. A stafif Or pole used in carrying a basket. 50 Cowslips. The passage in Midsummer NigMs Dream, — " The cowslips tall her pensioners be "— has been said to mean an allusion to the costumes of the EngUsh guards in the reigns of Henry VTII and his daughters. They were then, and for a long time after- wards, called " gentlemen pensioners," now " gentlemen- at-arms." The "rubies" and "fairy favors," causing freckles, are the little red spots in the cowslip. Cox MY PASSION. An old oath ; an euphuism for God's passion. Coxcomb, or cock's comb. (See Fool.) Coy, v. To caress; n., modest; timid. CoYED. Acted with reserve. CoYSTBiL. A mongrel hawk ; a menial servant. Cozen. To cheat. CoziEE. A clumsy workman ; a botcher. Cozier's catches. The feongs of a low class of winebibbers. Ckab. a word of double signification — a shell-fish and a fruit. The latter is called a crab-apple. Cbace. a small bark. Crack, n. A smart boy ; a., dissolute. Cracker. A boaster. Crack hemp. One destined to be hung. Ceaftilt. Carefully ; secretly ; cleverly. Crank. To crook ; to wind. Cranking, or crankling. The rush of a river. Crants. Funeral garlands ; broken crockery used at funerals. Crabe. a small ship. Crash. To be merry over. Craven, v. Makes cowardly ; «., coward ; a., applied to a degenerate game-cock. Create. To compound. Credent. Credible ; in good credit. Credit. Report. Crescent. Growing in that form. Crescive. Growing. Cressets. Small iron baskets stuck on posts to hold the ma- terial for torches or bonfires. Cressida's uncle. Pandorus, ( Troilus and Cressida.) Crest. The very top ; the highest, whether of a coat-of-arms, 51 the superlative beauty of a woman, or the summit of a mountain. Ckestless. The having no right to armorial bearings. Cebwett. Worsted. Cbisp channels; i. e., curled — curled by the breeze. Crisp heaven. {Timon of Athens.) Probably a misprint of crypt or " vaulted." Crispin Ckispinus. The saint -who followed the business of a cobbler or shoemaker. Canonized for his endeavors to propagate Christianity, the 25th October was named as his day in the Christian calendar. The battle of Agin- court, or Azincour, was fought on that day in 1415, and furnished some striking scenes and speeches in Henry Y- Critic. Cynic. Critical. Censorious. Crocodile. Moisture oozing from the eyes of the reptile gave the idea that it wept — an emotion so opposed to its savage nature as to suggest the comparison of its tears to hypocrisy. Crone. A very old woman. Crook. To bend in the form of a hook. Crosby place, or obosby hall. The whilom dwelling of the Duke of GRoster {Richard III) is in Bishopsgate street, London. It has been ascertained that Shakespeare re- sided in the immediate neighborhood and attended at the church, nearly opposite to the " Place," in memory of which possible incident a memorial window was placed in the church in 1884. Cross, v. To confront ; interpose an obstacle. From Horor- tio's {Hamlet) declaration that he would cross the ghost, though it might blast him, the inference may be drawn that it was at one time supposed that spirits could act hostilely. n. A coLq stamped with a cross ; also, a lofty erection, resembling the cross at Golgotha, often found at the roadsides in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Rus- sia, Ireland, the Northern (French) part of Canada, and other lands where the Roman Catholic religion prevails. Sometimes all the paraphernalia of the crucifixion are attached, the more powerfully to sway the imaginations and excite the sympathies of the poor pedestrians who 52 stop on their way to kneel and offer a prayer at the foot of the cross. Cross-ways. The intersection of four roads. TJntU a compar- atively recent period the dead bodies of suicides were perforated with stakes and buried at those points. Crow-keeper. A scare-crow ; one employed to shoot at crows. Crowned. Dignified; advanced; honored. Crownet. a coronet. Crowner's quest, a coroner's inquest. The blunders occa- sionally perpetrated by these inquisitors into the cause of death is covertly satiiized in the verdict of felo de se pronounced in the case of Ophelia, {Hamlet.) The cir- cumstances of her death, as conjectured, or known to the Queen, point directly to an accidental drowning. She was reaching for a flower while seated on the branch of a tree ; the branch broke, and she fell into the lake. At the worst, it may have been a case of " temporary insan- ity," yet she is found to have " wilfully sought her own salvation," in the language of the Ghave-digger, and her remains only obtained benefit of clergy by the high command of the King ! Cry. The music of the bark of a pack of hounds. Cry aim. To encourage. Cuckoo. Rosalind (As You Like It) speaks of the song or call of the cuckoo as unpleasing to the married man, be- cause it sounds like Cuckold, a man dishonored by his wife's infidelity. Cuckoo buds. Wild flowers of a yeUow hue. CucuLLus NON FACiT MONACHUM. (Lat.) "A hood does not make a monk." Cue. From the French word queue ; the tail or end of a speech, which is the signal for the next actor to speak or do. CuissEs. (Fr. cwisse— thigh.) Armor for the thighs. CuLLioN. A bad feUow. CuLVEHiN. A piece of ordnance embellished with representar tions of deadly, venomous objects, especially snakes, couleuvres, (serpents,) whence probably the name of the cannon. Cunning. Skill; knowledge. 53 Ctikb and woo. Possibly " curve " was written, as it implied a bowing or bending of the person in solicitation or deference, and accords with the test better than curbing. CuEiosiTY. Finical delicacy. CuBious. Scrupulous. Curiously; neatly; ingeniously. Curled. Foppishly dressed. Currents. Passing events ; circumstances ; occurrences. CuRSOBARY. Cursory. Curst. Shrewish ; cross ; Hi-tempered. Curtail. A cur. Curtailed. Shortened; diminished. Cuetel. a horse whose tail has been docked. Curtle axe. a small sword, or hatchet, hung across the thigh. Cuetness. Sharp tongue. Curtsy, as applicable to the courtesies of ships towards each other (see Merchant of Venice) when meeting at sea, has undergone some change. It was the practice • for the smaller barks to lower a top-sail or dip a flag when meeting a large vessel. The usage has been su- perseded by the system of signalling, and the inter- change of civilities is expressed by each mentioning the longitude by observation on the particular day of en- counter, or communicating the latest intelHgence from the port lately quitted. Cushion. A head dress, somewhat resembling a turban, pecu- liar to Henry PV and his time ; also, the seat of civil power. -Custalorum. a vulgar abridgment of oustos rotulorum — keeper of the records ; a justice of the peace. Custard. This pleasant compound was the material of very large pies — " quaking custards," as they were called — a coinmon feature of grand feasts. Their enormous size justified the allusion, in AWs Well That JSnds Well, to the man who jumped into one. Custom. It is not unworthily denominated a " tyrant " and a " monster," for it often governs men in defiance of their sense of propriety. Customer. An opprobrious term for a loose woman. 54 Cut. Call me " cut " — one of the contemptuous phrasee of the Elizabethan age. " Spit in my face and call me horse" was another. It were superfluous to seek their meaning and origin. Cut and long tail. Poor and rich. The phrase was pro- verbial. The " cut " meant the short " bolt " or arrow, and " long " indicated the feathered arrow. CuTPUHSE. A highway robber. Cuttle. The kmfe of a cutpurse. Cymbeline, or Ktmbeline. One of the most puzzling of Shakespeare's plays. It is replete with incongruities and anachronisms. The era of Augustus Ceesar is con- founded with that of the Italy of the sixteenth century. The rude dwelling (in Wales) of the chief of an Anglo- Saxon tribe — such as Cymbeline would have been — is depicted as palatial, with rooms of state, a bed-room decorated with pictures, sculpture, tapestry, curtains, &c., and the young lady of the family reads herself to sleep at a time when English women had not even the rudunents of literature. She reads the tale of Tereas ! Knighthood is mentioned before any Order was dreamt of, and there are other inconsistencies and contradictions throughout. Yet the play is interesting in the develop- ment of the plot, and it aboiuids with poetic beauties, exceptionably Shakespearian. Cypkess. Branches of the tree were used by the Romans at funeral rites. It is, therefore, spoken of as an ill-boding plant. Cyprus. At the period supposed in Othello this island was, under the sovereignty of Venice. It was, however, taken by the Turks in 1370, and retained by them until, in 1870, it was ceded to Great Britain. The word " Cy- prus " signified a transparent stuff. Cytheeean. Apphed to Venus, because she was an object of worship in Cytherea. Daff. To put aside ; put off. Dapfodil. Shakespeare's familiarity with the floral kingdom enabled him to adapt his references to the period of the 55 year when the wild flowers severally blossom. His March flowers were the daffodil and the violet. Autoly- eus, in the Winter's Tale, sings : ' ' When daffodils begin to peer, "With heigh ! the doxy over the dale, Why, then comes in the sweet o' the year. For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale. And Perdita, in the same play, says : " Daffodils, That come before the swallow dares, and take The winds of March with beauty ; violets dim, But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes Or Cytherea's breath." An eloquent writer observes : " This last passage is proba- bly the most perfectly f eUcitous piece of expression in the language, and our best example of discreet and faultless art, co-existing with the flowing opulence of an apparently spontaneous evolution. Much of the exqui- site harmony of the lines wiU be found to depend on the way in which alUteration, not too conspicuous, is carried from line to line, and on the fact that, perhaps with one exception, there are not in any one line two accented feet carrying the same vowel sound. The older poets were fond of the daffodil. Michael Dray- ton uses it as a simile for a shepherd's maid. Daggek. A- thin sword-shaped elastic weapon of wood carried by the Vice in masques and mummeries. It is now used only by harlequins in pantomimes. The steel dagger, as a weapon of offence or defence, has been used in all countries time out of mind. Daintry. The ordinary abbreviation of Daventry, a town in Northamptonshire. Daisy. Chaucer connects the daisy with the month of May ; Shakespeare makes it an April flower. In The Rape of Lucrece there is an exquisite image : " Without the bed her other fair hand was On the green coverlet ; whose perfect white Shew'd like an April daisy on the grass." And in the song which concludes the play of Love's La- bors Lost, the white and red of the flower are alluded to : " Daisies pied and violets blue. And lady smocks all silver white." 56 Dally. To trifle. DAMA.8E. A rose of mixed colors. Dancing horse. A horse trained to an intelligence almost human, and exhibited in England three or four centuries ago. It was a Barbary horse called " Morocco." Dancing BAPmR. A sword worn in dancing. It is mentioned in Titus Andronicus, though it does not appear to have been a Boman appendage. Danger. Control ; power ; reach. Danish sword. This refers to soiae very remote period of history, when ipngland had suffered discomfiture at the hands of Denmark, and cheerfully paid tribute to the Northern Kingdom. Dank. Damp; vmwholesome. Daniel. The Jews had great reverence for Daniel, the inter- preter, prophet, and judge in Israel. When Alexander the Great visited Jerusalem, the Book of Daniel was placed before him, and his conquests and ultimate do- minion were said by the Jews to be predicted in the 2d chapter, 2-40 — a piece of flattery very agreeable to the Macedonian madman, who, therefore, spared Jerusalem. Shylock can find no complimentary term more expres- sive of his admiration of Portia! s wisdom than "a Daniel come to judgment." Danskeb. a Dane. Daphne. The young person who fled from the attentions of ApoUo, and was by him transformed into a laurel, the branches of which were to be typical of honor. Darlings. A slang or contemptuous word for fops. Darnel. A coarse kind of grass. Dardanian. Trojan. Dardanus, a city, according to the Iliad, situated at the foot of Mount Ida. King Dardanus was the putative ancestor of the Trojans. Dare the field. A phrase in falconry indicating that the game is afraid to rise. Darker. Hidden. Dark house. Gloomy home. Darkling. In the dark. Daeius. The rich jewelled coffin of this Assyrian prince had been taken from him by Alexander the Great and used 57 to enclose the poems of Homer, for which Alexander had great taste. Daebaign. To act on ; array. Daetina. Skilful in the use of the javelin and arrow. The Parthians were famous, above all ancient persons, for their skill as archers. Date. Duration ; Ukewise an Oriental fruit. The orthogra- phy supplies Shakespeare with a pun. Daub. To disguise with paint, rags, &c.; or, in the assump- tion of a character, to paint badly. Daubeby. Falsehood; counterfeit. Daw. The generic term for a large class of birds remarkable for their chattering propensities and marauding habits. The chough, the chewet, the starling, the jackdaw, the magot or magpie, all fall under this denomination, and find frequent mention in Shakespeare's works. Day-bed. A sofa. Day. woman, a dairy-maid. Dear. Extreme ; excessive ; intense ; beloved ; worthy ; val- ued ; momentous. Sometimes used for dire or dread. Deab a halfpenny. Scarcely worth a half-penny. Deabbst. Best ; greatest. Deabn. Lonely. Death's head. A memento mori in the form of a skull cut out of a precious stone and worn as the decoration of a pin's head. The practice of wearing such things is not extinct, but it is more a whimsical fancy than an article of moral significance. Death's fool. The clown in a Morality. Death tokens. Black spots on the skiQ indicative of the dis- ease called the plague. Debile. Feeble. Debitob. a debtor. " Debitor and creditor " was the title of a once popular volume which treated of pecuniary trans- actions. Debobah. The sword of Deborah {Henry IV, First Part) is a figurative allusion to the prophetess who judged Israel and encouraged Barak to attack Sisera. (See Judges, chap, iv.) Shakespeare, in this, attempts a par- allel between Deborah and La Pucelle, Joan of Arc. 68 Deboshed. Debauched. Decay. Poverty ; misfortune. Deck, v. Adorn ; picture ; bedeck ; n., a pack of cards. Decked. The sea. A north country word for " sprinkled." Declinb. To fall ; also, to give all the grammatical uses of a noun substantive. Decline upon. Sinking. Deem. Thought; judgment : suppositious ; surprise. Deep fet. ©eep fetched. Deer. Animals. Deer's tears. Although these are called lachrymal sinus, "tear channels," they have no discovered connection ■with the nostrils, lungs, or heart of a deer. They are probably one of fatigued nature's outlets. Default, v. To fail ; ad., at a need. Defeat. Utter ruin ; destruction. In war, the loss of the battle. Defeated joy. Qualified pleasure. Defeature. Disfigurement. Defence. The act of fencing ; to forbid. Deftly. Dexterously. Defy. Renounce ; reject. Degrees. Steps. Delation. Close connection. Delay. To let sUp. Deliculo surgere saluberrimum est. " It is profitable to rise above effeminate pleasures." Delighted spirit. Taken in the sense of enticed away, (Lat., delectare,) the phrase may mean the spirit released, separated from the body ; " to bathe in fiery floods." See Dante's "Inferno " and the Ghost of Samlefa father's description of purgatory. Deliver. To communicate ; give utterance to purpose and thoughts. Demerits. Virtues ; merit. Demurely. Gracefully, solemnly. Den. Evening. "Good den," brief for good evening. Denay. Denial. Denmark. The King of Denmark. Denier. A farthing ; the lowest coin ; the twelfth part of a French sou. 59 Denotement. The act of noting or marking. Denude. Strip; divest. Denunciation. Public announcement. Also, a mistake for annunciation. Dent. Refuse. Dbpakt. To part. Depabting. Separating life from death. Depend. To be in service or dependence. Depose. Affirm ; make a deposition in law. Deracinate. To root up. Derived. Of good origin or parentage. Derogate. Debased. Descant. To reflect upon ; a variation in music. Deserved. Deserving. Designed. Marked out. Despatched. Bereft. Desperate. Bold ; determined. Despised. Wasted. Destinies. The Pates. Detected. Suspected. Determined. Put an end to ; termination. Determined time. The settled period of death. Detest. A mistake for " protest." Deucalion. An individual who Uved fifteen centuries before the Christian era, and in whose time the earth is said to have been flooded. This is one of the incidents in the classical (Greek) traditions analogous to the facts re- corded in Scripture history. The great flood referred to by Gassius {Julius Gaesar) was doubtless that in which Deucalion, and not Noah, figured. Devise. Invent ; plot ; scheme. Dew. This noun is occasionally used by Shakespeare as a verb. A fairy says {Midsummer JVtght's Dream) she is employed by Titania "to dew her orbs upon the green." Diana. The goddess of the chase ; the moon ; the patroness of foresters, &c. "Diana at the fountain" {As You Like It) is a supposed allusion to a statue ornamenting a fountain, the water flowing from her bosom. Diana's priests. Vestal virgins. 60 Dian's bud. Diana was supposed to control, the unruly pas- sions. The adjective " chaste " was often applied to her. Her " force and blessed power " over Cupid's sugges- tions has led botanists to call the tree Agnex castes. Dick. " May it do," or serve. Dickon. A nickname for Richard III. DiCTYANA. Diana ; the moon. Dido. "Widow Dido," of course the Queen of Carthage, widowed because deserted (as alleged) by jEneas. Die. a spotted ivory cube used in gambling. The fortune of a player is decided by a throw of the dice, (plural of die.) To stand the "hazard of the die" was to risk one's choice of life or fortune on the number of spots displayed in a cast of the cubes. Diet. Compelling to fast ; taking food under restriction. Dieter. A caterer ; one who cuts bulbous fruits or vegetables into shapes as decorations of a dish. DiEu DE BATAiLLES. (Fr.) " God of battles." DiEc viVANT. " By the living God." Difference. In heraldry, a distinguishing badge. Differing. Mixed in rank and opinion ' confused ; strange ; dark. Dn-FUBED. Disorderly. Digress. To transgress ; stray from the right path ; break a promise. DiG-vou-GOOD-DEN. Givc you good evening. Dn FAciANT, LAUDis suMMA SIT iSTA ivM. (Lat.) " The gods grant this may be the sum total of thy glory." DiLDOs. The burthen of a song. Dint. Impression. DiRECTiTUDE, (vulgar.) Disgrace. Direction. Judgment ; skill. DiRENESS. The acme of all that is terrible. Disable. To disparage ; undervalue ; dispraise ; impeach. Disappointed. Unprepared. Disastrous. In an astrological understanding it signifies dis- placement. Dis. " Dusky Dis;" Pluto. DisBENCH. To cause a person to rise from a seat. Discahting. To dissolve ; removing the candies — sweets. 61 DiscASE. To undress. Discharge. To perforin. Discontent. Malcontep.t. Discourse of reason. Power of argument. Discreet. Used in the sense of decent, to distinguisli certain songs from the obscene. Disdained. Disdainful. DisEDGED. Satiated ; the edge of the appetite removed. Disgrace. Misfortune. DisHABiTED. Dislodged. DiSLiMN. To remove or efface a painting. Dislike. Displease. DiSME. A tenth. Dismembered. Quartered ; cut to pieces. Dispark. To deprive a park of its enclosures, and therefore of its exclusiveness. Disperge. To sprinkle. DispoNGE. To squeeze out of a sponge. Dispose, v. To command ; incline ; ad., personal appearance. A " smooth dispose " implies a handsome face. Disposition. Frame. Dissemble. To glaze over ; disguise. DissEMBLY. Assembly. Dissent. Displace. Distent. Instant. Distaste. Operate disagreeably. Distempered. Ruffled. DisTEMPERATURE. Planetary or mental disturbance ; disorder ; out of time and season. Distraction. Small detachment. Distemper. Intemperance. Distraught. Distracted. Distressful. PuU of misery. Disvouched. Contradicted. Divert. To turn aside. Divines. Ministers of the Gospel. Dives. The rich man. Division. In connection with music the word means " varia- tion." "With ravishing division to her lute," {Henry IV.) 62 DivTJLGED. Published. Do. (Ital.) A note in music. Do ME RIGHT. Pledge me ; drink to me ! Doff. To put off; cast aside. Dog fox. The male fox. Doit. A small coin formerly used in Holland. Dole. Portion ; share ; cause for dolor, (grief.) Dolphin. The Dauphin ; heir to the throne of France. Dolphin chamber. Rooms in inns and hotels bore names to distinguish them at a time when only a small num- ber of guests could be received, and numerals had not, therefore, necessarily come into use. Mrs. Quickly, the hostess at the Boar's Head in Eastcheap, had several apartments in her inn named, respectively, the Pome- granate, the Half Moon, the Dolphin, &c. The rooms of a certain hotel at Stratford-on-Avon are named after Shakespeare's plays. Don. To put off. Done. Expended ; east aside ; put off. Done to death. Murdered. Done upon the gad. Suddenly. Doomsday. The day of judgment ; the day of all men's eter- nal doom — not to be confounded ■with Domes or Do- mus day, the day when a tax on the lands assigned to WUliam the Conqueror by his barons and other adhe- rents was payable. The register of all these lands was called the Domesday Book, a copy of which is stiU ex- tant in the British Museum. DoRicLES. The name by which Prince Florizel ( Winter's Tale) passes at the shepherd's dwelling. Dotent, or DoTANT. Dotard ; one who foolishly dotes ; an imbecile. Double. False; deceitful. Doublet. A wadded coat reaching below the waist. Double- VOUCHERS. DupUcate documents ; a law term. Dough. This word, occurring in the proverb, "My cake is dough," expresses that a purpose is not yet accom- plished, the " dough " being simply a cake in a stage of preparation. It was a common form of expressing a disappointment. 63 DouT. Extinguish. Doves. "A dish of doves," the present which Old Gobbo takes to Launcelot for his master, {Merchant of Ven- ice,) was a remnant of the old custom of offering a pair of doves as a token of gratitude or propitiation of favors. The readers of Scripture will recall the incident. Dowager. A widow with a jointure or dower of which a young man had the reversion. In modern times the term is used to describe a lady who retains the title, though the husband from whom she derived it may have died and her son possess a wife who shares the position he has inherited. Thus, a dowager queen or a dowager duchess, marchioness, or countess may coexist with a queen, a duchess, &c. DowLASS. A coarse kind of cloth. DowLE. The swM of a feather. Down gyved. Shoes down at the heel." Down eoping. Flowing down. Drab. A dirty woman of a low class. Drachm. A Greek coin of small value, worth about ten pence English, or a quarter of an American dollar. It nearly corresponded with the Roman denarius, the value of which was ten asses or pounds of brass. The as or libra was a pound in weight. Dragon. Night was fabled to be drawn in a chariot by dragons. The dragons were supposed to be sleepless. Draught. A cesspool. Deave. Preterite of the verb to draw. Draw. The abbreviation of withdraw (your action at-law.) Also, tune a violin. Drawn fox. The trail of a fox drawn across a hunting ground. Dread. Dreaded; feared. Dress. Prepare. Dressings. Appearance of virtue. Dribbley. Weak. Dribbling. Ineffective ; pointless. DHrra. To rush impetuously. Drollery. A comic entertainment, sometimes represented by puppets ; occasionally by living persons. Drowned. Defeated in naval warfare ; sunken ships. 64 Drugs. Drudges. Drug damn'd. Badly renowned for poisonous practices. Drumble. Slow ; sluggard. Dry. Thirsty. DucDAME, or DUO ADME. Lead me. Ducat. A Venetian coin of fluctuating value, averaging four or five shillings English, or an American-Spanish dollar. The name came from the Due, Duke, or Doge, the chief ruler in Venice. Duck. To bend the head rapidly ; to nod. Due. Owing ; pertaining to, or endued with ; invested. Dug. The nipple. Dudgeon. The handle or hilt of a dagger. In old Scotland the hilts were basket-shaped and of steel, and called Dagge-a-ruellas . Duke. From Dux, (Lat.,) a leader. The title is used indiffer- ently by Shakespeare, either to indicate asuccessf ul com- mander, the ruler of a landed estate, or the possessor of an aristocratic title, which, in an English table of pre- cedence, follows the Prince of Wales. The title in Eng- land is hereditary and creative. France in the lith and 15th centuries, and down to the period of the great revolution, contained many " kingly dukedoms," (Henry F!) They were also numerous in Germany, the dukes either exercising supreme authority, or holding their es- tate as viceroys. The greater portion of these small Ger- man dukedoms are now absorbed in the unification of the empire, while those in France have been extinguished infuturo by the establishment of a repubUc, but retained by the original possessors of the title. Dull, v. To stupefy ; make indifferent ; render insensible. If the palm of the hand be dulled by frequent shaking, it loses its connection with the heart, and becomes a mere instrument of form and ceremony. Dulling the palm is expressive of the effect of spending money in entertaiaing people. Polonius {Samlet) gives excellent advice to his son on this subject. Dullard. A cipher ; a nobody. Dumb show. Dumb significants ; signs with the hands, aided by expressive looks. The Itahans brought the art of 65 representing the story or business of a drama by signs to perfection ; the actors were called " mime" whence the words mimicry, imitation, pantomime. Dump. A heavy and melancholy tune in music. Dun. "Dun's the mouse," a hint to silence, equivalent to " Mum, don't say a word !" The word " dun " was in use in an old game caUed " Drawing Dun," possibly re- ferring to a horse, " We'll draw Dun out of the mire." Ddp. To do up ; to raise up. Durance. A stuff of permanent value. Duties. Qualities ; natural appurtenances. E iEsop. The fabulist, who, being hump-backed, supplied a par- allel to Richard III. Eagek. Acrid; sharp. Eager words. Harsh language. Eanlings. Lambs. Ear, v. To plough the land that it may produce ears of wheat. Earnest. Pecuniary gratuity ; fee. Earing, ad. The ripening of wheat, corn, and other cereals. Earth treading. A complimentary term, comparing women to heavenly objects. Earthly happier. The idea that this is merely the compara- tive adjective in the sense of "more earthly," "more comparedly," may be safely accepted. Ear kissing. Whispering. Eastcheap. a narrow street in the east of London, Fal- staff's alleged place of resort. Easy. Pickle ; easily changed ; endurable. Eat him quick. Swallow him alive. Ebbed. Gone away ; turned like the tide. Ebon. Dark. Eche. To eke out. Ecstasy. Insanity. Edict. A law. In utterance the accent occurs on the first or second syllable, according to the application of the word. As a verb, the accent is on the last syllable. Edge, v. To sharpen ; give an edge to a weapon. 6 66 Ediles, or ^DiLES. Roman magistrates or officers of police who had the care of cities. Edward shovel-boards. Broad shillings, coined in the reign of Edward the Third or Fourth, and used as counters of pecuniary value at the game of shovel-board. Effects. Affections. Eftest. Readiest. Egos. Will you take eggs for money ? A proverbial expres- sion, used reproachfully when a man sees himself wronged and takes no steps to punish the aggressor. .SiGLE. A nymph mentioned by Virgil. Theseus, whose amours seem to have been the sport of Oberon, {vide Titania's reproachful, jealous speech,) was not merely a hero in war. He appears to have had many amatory pas- sages of a profligate character. Ego et rex meus. "I and my king." The arrogant egotism of Cardinal Wolsey, manifested in his letter to the Pope. Egregious. Extraordinary. In some instances the modifica- tion of meaning which words have undergone amounts to a complete reversal of their original signification. An example of this is in the word " egregious," which, ac- cording to its etymology, would denote any species of distinction from the grex, or common herd. And such seems to have been the earhest sense in which the word was used. It would be far from comphmentary now to tell a man that he spoke egregiously. How thoroughly inverted had become the sentiments that dictated the use of this word may be seen by compar- ing a passage in a poem on the battle of Blenheim by John Philips : " One to empire born, Egregious prince, whose manly childhood shewed His mingled parents, and portended joy unspeakable." And Pope, in the year 1733, wrote : "How much, egregious Moore, are we Deceived by shows and forms !" And Dr. Johnson in his life of Pope : " This essay (On Man) affords an egregious instance of the predominance of genius, the dazzling splendor of imagery, and the seductive power of eloquence." 67 Travelling back in English literature, we find Milton writ- ing : "It may be denied that bishops were our first re- formers, for Wickliffe was before them, and his egregious labors are not to be neglected." And in the " Tambur- lane " of Marlowe, Shakespeare's predecessor, him of the " mighty line," we have " egregious viceroys of those eastern parts." Shakespeare himself speaks of an " egre- gious murderer," where the word simply means extra- ordinary, as it does also in the following sentence from Holiashed, whose "Chronicles of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland" was the source whence Shakes- peare drew the materials for his historical plays : " Glut- tons and raveners, droonkards, and egregious devourers of victuals." Egypt. A gipsy. Egyptian thief. Thrames, a robber of Memphis, who slew his captive mistress to prevent her falhng into other hands. EisEL. A misprint, or Shakespeare's own mistake, for Iser or Wesel. Or may he not have meant " Weser," the river in Germany contiguous to Denmark, presuming that he did not mean vinegar ? Eke. Besides. Eld. Old time ; old people. Elder. Heart of elder. In the profusion of compliments which the Host of the Garter is paying to Dr. Gaius {Merry Wives of Windsor) he may be supposed to mean the heart or pith of the elder tree. Shakespeare may have been thinking of the line in Spenser : " Great nature, ever young, yet full of elder." Elder gun. A pop-gun of the wood of .the elder tree. Elected deer. Imogen {Gymbeline) thus describes herself as the deer that has been selected for slaughter by the huntsman. Elements. Leading spirits. Elf, v. To elf the hair is to leave it unkempt tUl it hangs from the head in a matted mass. Elf-skin. Possibly Shakespeare may have written " eel-skin." In either case the word signifies slenderness. Elvish marked. Marked by fairies. 68 Emanuel. This word was generally placed at the top of let- ters in the time of Henry VI. It was akin to the com- plimentary phrase which occurs in Oriental correspond- ence, " God bless us !" EMBALLn^G. Holding the orb or baU while being crowned. Embare. To expose the person. Embahquements. Impediments. Embassade. An embassy. Embossed. Enclosed ; swollen ; puffy ; raised up in alto-ri- lievo ; foaming at the mouth like an exhausted deer. Embowelled. Exhausted ; also, prepared for embalmment by the removal of the entrails. Embraced. Encountered in combat, hand-to-hand ; also, in- dulged in. Embrasure. An embrace. Eminence. Exaltation ; the title of a cardinal. Emmew. In falconry, to restrain ; to force a hawk to lie in cover. Empericatick. Impirical ; charlatanism. Empert. Imperial power ; allied to royalty. Embold. The emerald. Emulate. To rival honestly without base envy. Emulation. Envious rivalry. Enact, v. To act. I'olonius {Hamlet) says he did enact Goesar and was killed by Brutus in the Capitol. Ham- let's reply, that it was " a brute part in him to kill so capital a calf there " must have been intended by Shakes- peare to be a remark " aside," for the Prince was too much of a gentleman to insult I'olonius by saying so to his face. The pun on " capital " would not have been made if Shakespeare had been aware that Ccesar was not killed in the Capitol, but in Pompey's theatre. Enactures. Public decrees. Encase. See Case. Enoave. To enclose oneself in a cave. End. " StUl an end " forever ; continually. Endabt. To dart from ; thrust in. Endeared. Pledged. Endtmion. The handsome shepherd for whom the chaste 69 Diana thought it worth while to leave her dwelling-place in the skies and pay him a visit as he slept on the hiU. " Those who called her chaste Methinks began too soon their nomenclature." — Btron. EsTFEorp. To surrender one's independence and dignity ; to give oneself up ; to invest with possession on payment or reception of a fee. Engaged. Entangled ; foils twisted together in fencing ; fight- ing. Engines. Artillery pieces ; " counterfeits of the immortal Jove's dread thunderbolt." Engineers. The artificers and officers who manage engines. England. "A little body with a mighty heart." Poud as Shakespeare was of his native land, he nevertheless seized every opportunity of ridiculing the weaknesses of his countrymen. See the Tempest, where Trinculo discovers Caliban; see also the Grave-digger in Ham- let; Fortia!a description of her English suitor, Falcon- bridge, &c., in the Merchant of Venice. England's chaik. The throne. The false setting referred to in Richard III (Act V, Scene m) matins the gems of paste. Pieces of glass, with colored foil beneath them, represented the usurper's crown. Englut. To swallow up ; dissipate. Engboss. To foUow ; add up ; multiply ; fatten. Engbossments. Accumulations. Enkindle. To stimulate. Enmesh. To enclose, as in meshes or. nets. Enbidged. Bordered roughly, irregularly. Ensconce. To hide oneself. Enseamed. Greasy. Enseak. To destroy, burn up, or exhaust prematurely. Enshield. To conceal ; protect ; mask. Ensign. A standard, flag, or banner. The Roman ensign consisted of a gilt eagle on a pole, with a label beneath bearing the initials S. P. Q. JR. — Salus Fopulus qua Romanorum, ("the safety or protection of the Roman people. ") The title of " ensign " is that of the lowest com- missioned rank in certain armies or navies. See Ancient. 70 Entertain. Encounter ; experience. Entertainment. Consideration of a proposal. Entreated. Treated. Entreatment. Interview. Envious. Malicious. Envoy. See L'envot, or L'envoi. Envy. Enmity ; malice. Ephesian. It is vain to attempt explanations of all the words used by the Host of the Garter, {Merry Wives of Windsor.) He has but Uttle conception himself of the meaning of half the terms he inflicts upon the guests. '■'■Bohemian Tartar" is another of his nonsensical com- binations. Equipage. Attendance. I'istol (Merry Wives of Windsor) uses it to signify stolen goods. Ercles. Hercules. Bottom, the weaver, in the Midsummer NigMs Bream, is made the vehicle for the ridicule of some of the bombastic dramatic dialogue of the time. Fury and alUteration were two of its characteristics. One of Seneca's heavy plays entitled " Hercules " pos- sibly suggested the desire, put into Bottorris mouth, to play a part " to tear a cat in." Erebus. A very dark part- of the infernal regions ; the tem- porary abode of those who are ultimately to be trans- ferred to Elysium — the purgatory, in fact, of heathenism. Ere. Before. Eeewhile. Recently. Ergo. (Lat.) Therefore. ' Erring. Errant ; wandering. Error. " Melancholy's child." When men lose heart " they often fail in great attempts." Messala {■Julius (Joesar) means that the doubts which oppressed Gassius led him to commit the great mistake of suicide. Escape. An illegitimate child. EscoTED. Paid; supported. Estate, v. To resign ; transfer ; bestow. Esperance! Hope — the motto of the Percy family. Espials. Spies. Essential. Existent; real. Estimate. Price ; the value at which an article is esteemed. 71 * Estimation. Surmise ; conjecture. EsTBiDGES. Ostriches. Eteenal. Perennial. Eteene. Eternal. Ethiope. The black bomplexion of a native of Egypt or Ethiopia. Et tu, Beute ! "And thou too, Brutus ! " Caesar's surprise that Brutus, whom he loved so vrell, should have taken part in his assassination naturally suggested the use- lessness of resistance. " Then, fall, Caesar !" But these alleged last words of eminent men have been so often proved to be the mere emanations of the minds of sur- vivors that it has come to be doubted if Gcesar did really use the expression. Who heard him *? Euphuism. This affectation in language employed by Osric {Hamlet) and ridiculed by the Prince was for a time very popular at the court of Queen Elizabeth. In a preface to one of Lily's plays, " Euphues, or the Anat- omy of Wit" or "Euphues and His English," whence the term " euphuism " is derived, Blount, an editor and critic, remarks that " that beautie in Court which could not parley Euphuism was as little regarded as shee which now there speaks not French." Even. To make evident. Even chbistian. Fellow christian of humble rank. Even plucked. Intertwined. EvEE among. At the same time. Eveelasting, n. The Almighty ; also durable, in relation to wearing apparel. Evils. Jokes. Evitate. Avoid ; escape. Examined. Doubted. Excellent dieteeences. Distinguished excellencies. Exceement. a superfluity in growth; an excrescence; the beard; "valor's excrement." Execute. To use or employ. ExEOUTOE. Executioner. Exempt. Deprived of ; separated ; parted ; excluded. Exequies. Funeral rites. Exercise. Homily ; religious discourse. Exeunt. , See Exit. ' 72 Exhale. Used extravagantly by blustering JPistxil, who prob- ably means " draw " your sword, or " your last breath." Exhaust. To draw forth. Exhibition. Allowance ; display ; accommodation. Exhortation. In severe Puritanical times, when preaching and prayer entered into aU the concerns of life, certain " over-righteous " persons had a practice, when called upon to say grace before meat, of inflicting grave gene- ral homilies upon the host and his guests. A grace " as lang's my arm " is referred to by Robert Burns in his apostrophe to a haggis. As this usage was consid- ered rather tedious by hungry guests at a feast, Gra- tiano {Merchant of Venice) considerately proposes to end his exhortation " after dinner.'' Exigent. Extremity ; pressing ; the end. Exigencies. Funeral ceremonies. ExioN, (vulgar.) Action. Exit. (Lat.) To depart. In the plays it means [as a stage direction] he or she quits the stage. When more than one person goes out the plural " Exeunt " is employed. Exorcise. To raise spirits. Expect. Expectation. Expedience. Haste ; expedition. Expedient. Expeditious. Expend. To spend. Expense. A dear expense ; an act worthy of the expenditure of trouble. Expiate. To end. Expostulate. To expound ; discuss. ExposTUKE. Exposure. Expressed in fancy. An allusion to the gay colors and frip- peries of costume. ExpuLSED. Expelled. Exsueflicate. Blown upon; hissed oiGf; extravagant. Extend. To seize ; a legal form. Extent. Violence ; seizure. Extenuate. Mitigate; relax; palliate. Extern. Outside. Extinct, v. To extinguish. ExTiRp. Efface ; abolish ; root out. 73 Extract. Extracted. Extracting. Distracting. ExTRAUGHT. Descehdcd ; extracted. Extravagant. Erratic. Extremes. Extremities. Eyasbes. Eaglets ; young hawks and kites. The name applied by Rosencrantz {Hamlet) to aspiring children who occu- pied the stage of the city to the exclusion of the adult actors. This is one of the instances in which Shakespeare availed himself of events passing at home, within his own sphere, to create incidents in his dramas. His pro- fessional brethren, and perhaps himself, were suffering at the moment from the passing popular curiosity about a corps of juvenUe players, the choir of the Royal Chapel. When Hamlet speaks of the children exclaimiag against " their own succession," he simply foreshadows what has often happened in the case of precocity. It seldom reaches a healthy and enduring maturity. Pew actors or actresses realize the promise of their early youth. Eyas musket. A young hawk. Eye. Shade of color ; a glance. Eye of green. Shade of color. Eyliads. Soft glances. From oeillades, (Fr.) Eyne. Eyes. Eysel. Vinegar. Hwnlet refers to this or the river of the name in his struggle with Laertes. F Fa. a note in music. The scale is do, re, mA,fa, sol, la. "An you re us, and fa us, you note us," {Romeo and Juliet.) It is worth remarking that originally there were seven syllables in the gamut — the initial syllables of a verse of a hymn to St. John. Do was, at a later period, substituted for ut, for the sake of the better emission of sound. Fable. "When Othello says " that's a fable," he refers to the cloven foot of Satan's fancied personality. Its presence in lago would have proved him to be the devil in the fabled form, and, therefore, unassailable by human 7 74 weapons. "If that thou be'st a devil, I cannot kill thee." Face, v. To pretend ; play the hypocrite ; to oppose ; trim ; decorate. Face-eoyal. a privileged face. Facinoboxjs. Wicked. Fact. Guilt. ■ Factious. Impatient ; urgent ; insistent. Faculty. Exercise of power ; honors ; offices ; duties. Fade. Vanish. From vado, (Lat.) Fadge. To suit. Fadingo. a dance. Fail. Failure. Fain. Fond ; gladly ; willingly. Faint primrose beds. Referring either to their perfume or their softness in accumulation. Fair. Fairly f fairness. Fairer table. A better map ; a more promising future ; a more satisfactory record ; the lines on the palm of the hand ; the fortune-teller's chart ; palmistry. Fairy-take. There was no limit to the alleged powers and tricks of faii-ies. Amongst the superstitious they suffi- ciently accounted for the burglaries and larcenies in a household. The "harmless necessary cat " and the mod- em policeman were not then the imputed aggressors. Faitor, or taitour. Traitor ; a vagabond. Faith. FideUty. Faithfully. Fervently. Faithless. Unbelieving. The Catholics seldom spoke of the Jews without the prefix " infidel " in some form or other. Fall. To drop. Falchion. A sword. Falling sickness. Epileptic fits, to which, according to Plu- tarch and Suetonius, Caesar was subject. Falsely. Illegally. False prints. Erroneous or fraudulent impressions. Falsing. Falsifying. Familiar. A demon ; an attendant evil spirit. Fancies and good-nights. Ballads ; brief poems. Fancy. Love. 75 Fancy-free. Free to give latitude to the thoughts, untram- melled by love fancies. Fancy-sick. Love-sick ; the very opposite of " fancy-free.'' Fane. A temple or monument. Fang. A curved and venomous tooth. FangIed. Dressed up ; decorated. Fantastical. Imaginative. Fantasticoes. Affected persons. Fantasy. Imagination. Fap. An obsolete slang term for stupefied by drink. Farced. Stuffed, (from the Ital. farci.) Applicable to a form of cookery, or to the florid titles of a sovereign. Fardel. A burthen, {ixoraihs'Fr. fardeau.) Fare. Food ; entertainment ; form of life. " How fare youf was a mode of salutation equivalent to the modern "How do you do ?" Farfet. Far-fetched. Fab forth. In advance. Fartheranoe. Assistance ; co-operation. Farthingale. A roll used in female attire for raising the gown above the hips. Far-tuous, {vulgo.) Virtuous. Fashion. Method ; form ; the popular style in dress and manners. Fashions. The farcens, (or farcy,) a disease of horses. Fast. Unalterablv ; constant. Fat. Dull. Fate. Decreed or destined fortunes. Father, v. To assume a responsibihty. Fathom Capacity. Faulconbridge. The gallant bastard son of Richard Coeur de Lion {King John) must not be confounded with the typical "young English baron," who ia the subject of J'ortia's {Merchant of Venice) ridicule, as a traveller who has seen nothing and can speak no language but his own. Shakespeare seemed to have a just contempt for the superficial tourists who returned to their native country with no higher profit than certain exotic man- ners and an eccentric costume. (See Hosalind's rebuke to " Monsieur Traveller," and the sly sarcasm levelled at Lepidus in Antony and Cleopatra.) In the third part 76 of Henry VI the name again occurs as indicating " Thomas, the natural son of William Neville, Lord Faulconbridge." Faul. Fault. FaTJSTE ! PRECOR GELIDA QUANDO PECUS OMNE SUB UMBRA. " Oh, Fortune ! I pray for cold when all are under shelter." Favor. Feature ; countenance ; general appearance ; also, the silken scarf worn over armor ; a lady's gift to a knight or warrior going forth to Palestine. Fear, ii. To alarm. Feared, or Ajfeaeed. Afraid. Fearful. Timorous ; also the opposite, " formidable." Feat, a. Dextrous ; ready ; v., to fashion ; " a glass that feated him "— i. e., gave him a model. Feater. More neatly. Feature. Beauty. Federaoy. Confederate. Federary. Confederate. .Fee. a lover's fee was understood to mean three kisses. Feeder, A dependant ; a servant. Feeding. Pasturage. Fee farm, or FRANfe free. Unlimited duration. Fee grief. A peculiar sorrow ; a grief held in fee-simple. Feere. a companion ; a husband. Fee-simple. Land which (in EngUsh law) a man holds in per- petuity for himself and his heirs, and which exempts liitn from all service. Feet. Footing. Felicitate. Happy. Feill (of hair.) Flowing; the hide; also fierce, cruel, in- human ; u., to cut down. Fell feats. Savage deeds. Fen. a cave ; a marsh. Fence, v. The art of self-defence. Fennell. An herb eaten with certain fish. Fen-sucked. Marshes abounding in frogs; the supposed abode of the fabulous dragon. Feodart. An agent ; steward ; accomplice ; one who accepts a fee or gift for public service rendered ; also, one who holds lands or a position contingent upon his rendering service when called upon. 77 Fern seed. This seed, so small as nearly to escape the naked eye, was not only called invisible, but supposed to con- fer invisibility. Fester. To rankle ; wax virulent. Festinately. Quickly; hastily. Festival terms. Elegant phrases. Fet. Fetched ; descended from. Fetches. Excuses ; pretexts. Fetch of warrant. A justifiable procedure. Few. " In few ;" in short ; briefly. Fico. A fig ! The word in the original Italian is used con- temptuously. Ficq ! " Fig me ! treat me with disdain." FiDELE. Faithful ; the name assumed by Imogen, the heroic wife of Posthumus, {Oymbeline,) when she adopts male attire to go in search of her husband. FiDiusED. A play on the name of Aufldius, with whom Cori- olanus had been fighting. Fielded. Experience of battle. Fifteen. A tax on the fifteenth part of a person's property. Fig. To insult. Fights. Parapets ; protection ; cover from an enemy in the field, and protection of a ship in war. Figures. Phantoms of a disordered fancy. Filch. To steal. File, v. To keep pace with ; n., a list ; roll ; record. " The greater file " — the greater number. Filed. Abbreviation of defiled ; also, polished. Fills. Shafts of a wagon or other vehicle. Fill-hoesb. See Thill-Hoese. Filly. The female foal of a mare. Filths. Drains ; sewers. Finch egg. A fop gaily attired. Find. To penetrate ; see through.. Finder. A juror on inquests appointed to determine a per- son's sanity. Fine, n. The end ; a penalty ; ad., cunning ; finesse ; v., to embelUsh. Fine issues. Great consequences. Fineless. Without fine, end, or limit. Fine new. Bright as newly forged metal. T8 FiNSBTJEY. A parish in the east of London — once a fashion- able promenade. FiKAGO. Virago; scold. FntE DRAKE. Will-o'-the-wisp ; the fiery dragon of romance. FiBK. To chastise. First house. The chief branch of a family. FiKSTLiNGS. Earliest produce. Fit. a division of a song or poem. Fitchew. A polecat ; an offensive epithet applied to a loose vcoman. Fit o' the face. A grimace. Fits o' the season. Disorders of the time. FrvE-FiNGEH tied. Clasped by the hand. Fives. A distemper in horses. Fixture, Fixure. Position. Flag. A reed. Flamens. Boman priests of particular deities. The Flamens (or Flamines) of Jupiter were subjected to many re- strictions. Flapdragon, or Snap-dragon. Eaisias steeped in brandy and set on fire, "to be thus conveyed to the mouth. They are snapped out of the burning mass. Flapjack. A pancake. Flat. Positive. Flatness. Profundity. Flaunts. Disguises. Flaw. A gust of wind ; a lump of ice or congealation of any kind ; v., to break. Flayed. Stuffed. Flecked. Streaked; spotted. Fleece. The golden fleece which led Jason and the Argo- nauts to Colchos. Fleer. To cope with ; encounter ; argue. Fleet, v. Float ; flit ; change ; n., action or opinion ; an old debtors' prison in London, now extinct. Flemish. Dutch. The term " swag-bellied Hollander" ( Othel- lo) being synonymous with " Flemish drunkard," Mrs. Quickly applies the latter term to Falstaff. Flesh. To commence practice; initiate; experiment. To flesh a maiden sword expresses a first introduction to practical warfare. 79 Fleshed. Flushed ; satiated. Fleshment. Performance. Flewed. Deep-mouthed ; with broad, pendent chaps. Flexuke. The faculty of bowing. Flibbektigibbet. a goblin ; a sprite. Flicker. To flutter. Flight. The passage of an arrow. FLtRTGiLLS. Wantons ; women of loose character. Flobentius' love. Florent is a character in an old tale of Gower's — the Confessio Amantes. Florent's life de- pending on the solution of a riddle, he married a de- formed woman that she might solve it for him. Flote. a wave of the sea. Flouhish. To ornament ; to sanction. Flout. To flutter ; insult. Flowers. See Plants and Flowers. Flowery. Abundant ; plenteous. Flush. Bipe ; attained to manhood when the blood is on the flow. Flushing. Causing redness. Fob. To impose upon f rob. FoEMAN. An enemy in war. FoH ! Faugh ! or fie ! — an expression of disgust. * Foil. Defeat ; placed at disadvantage. FoiN. To inflict a scratch or slight puncture in fencing. FoisoN, or FoizoN. Abundance ; rich harvest. From fusco, (Lat.,) outpouring. Folly. Depravity. Fond. FooUsh; weak. Fools. Shakespeare has introduced court fools into several of his plays, for he knew that they were of all ages and styles. But he has drawn nice distinctions in their characters. Some are mere jesters ; others, like Touch- stone, {As You Like It,) are sound philosophical reason- ers, and one is a type of affection, {King Lear.) The annals of folly hold nothing more curious than the his- tory of professional fools, who lived by their wit or their weakness. The custom of keeping court and do- mestic fools must have been very common at an early period. The Athenians had their public fools, called 80 "Flies," because they were free to enter into any ban- quet without invitation. Rome had her naturals and her monstrosities, manufactured expressly for the fool market. Haroun-al-Raschid kept a noted jester named Bahalul, most probably an Armenian, for Armenia was held to produce the choicest strain of fools in the East. There are very early notices of fools in German courts, but not until after the Crusades did they become common among the Latin nations. Troyes would appear to have been the Armenia of the West, for there is a letter extant from Charles V of France to the mayor and burgesses asking them to supply him with another fool. Leo X kept .a pack of jesters. Nor were they confined to the Old World, for Cortes saw at the court of Montezuma, in Mexico, a company of humorous misshapen beings, two of whom he procured and piously sent to Rome for the amusement of Clement VII. The pleasant folly spread ; women took to fooling, and nobles and men of learning jangled the bells and trifled with the dagger of lath. Fools amassed fortunes; estates were given to them; witness one who held his lands upon the condition of executing " a saltus, a sufflattis, and a bambulus '' yearly beforfe the king. They were benefactors and founders of religious houses ; they became the confidants of kings and the mouth-pieces of poUtical parties ; they were even sent on secret missions. In later times, Peter the Great recruited the ranks of his fools, who were divided into classes according to their qualifications, by enrolUng among them those ambassadors or men of science whose negotiations or researches were not to his Uking. The Franciscans borrowed their name, calling themselves "Fools of the world." The Jack Puddings, who fre- quented fairs and markets, stole their jokes. The fool's head was shaven, nor were the ladies spared this dis- figurement. Pools, being so constantly near the persons of great men, had often to stand amid the wreck of their fortunes, silent witnesses that favor, honor, and rank may be empty as the emptiest of jests. The fash- ion of humors has changed ; the old jests have lost their flavor. Muckle John, fool to Charles I, was the last 81 official royal fo6l in England, and in 1680 fools were reported "out of fashion." Fools carried little batons with fools' heads at the top, and they wore on their heads a decoration in form like a cock's-comb, whence the title "The King's cock-crower." Amongst the fools of Shakespeare none are so interesting as Learns fool. He is a youth, not a grown man ; a pet- ted lad, to whom his royal master looks for quaint say- ings and whimsical sentences when vexed or irritable ; a favored fellow, whose wayward speeches are tolerated and even liked when graver cares press hard upon the old monarch, and to whose -playful salUes he turns when desiring to fill a vacant half hour or beguile a leisure interval. The personal and affectionate interest taken by Lear in the lad is denoted at the very outset, and several expressions that fall from the King, when told that the fool is " pining away," exhibit his distress on the lad's account. Autolycus, the pedlar in the Winter's Tale, is not gen- erally placed among the fools and jesters of Shakespeare, but the songs he sings and the wit he utters are wit- nesses to the truth that he was intended to fiU that po- sition in the play, while " the Clown " introduced is but a country booby. By his own account A utolycus was at one time in the service of Prince Florizel, and wore "three pile," that is, very rich velvet; but having dis- honored that service by some rascality he had been whipped out of the court, had passed through several grades of degradation, at last marrying a tinker's wife and turning piMerer. It is somewhat singular that the term " Fool " should have been applied to a class of jesters who were remarkable for acute observation and original witticisms. Their utUity at a court was shown in the freedom of speech which exhibited the vices and exposed the rogueries of treasonous parasites. They jested with impunity, not even sparing the sovereign they served if he per- petrated any special folly. Practically, the professional fool was a serviceable satirist in an age '(^hen there was no press. He spoke what the modern Punch and Charivari print. 82 Fool-begged. Petitions to the Crown on behalf of idiots, who were so called. Foot, n. An inferior. " My foot my tutor !" exclaims Pros- pero, apparently indignant that any one beneath him should presume to teach him his office ; v., to seize by the claws, as eagles, hawks, Ac, pounce on their prey and tear it in pieces. FooT-ciiOTH. Covering for a horse. For. Because. Forage, v. To plunder ; revel. " Forage in bljpod " explains the violence used by soldiers in procuring food for them- selves and their horses. • Forbid. Accursed. "A man forbid" implied that he was suffering under a Papal ban — i. e., denied benefit of clergy by a decree of the Pope of Rome. FoBCE. To stuff; enclose; n., minced (or forced) meat in a vegetable or pastry. Forced. False ; of force ; perforce. Fordid. Destroyed. Fordo. To ruin ; undo. Fordone. Overcome ; vanquished. Foreign. Obliged to live abroad. FoBEND. Previous part. FoRFEND. To forbid. FoEEHABD. Shaft; a powerful arrow used in point-blank shooting. FoBEPAST. Already possessed. FoBESLOw. To loiter ; to be dilatory. FoBESPENT. Exhausted. Forestalled. Anticipated; eclipsed; prevented. FoBTEiT. Transgression. Forfeited. An offender against the laws ; one who breaks a bond and thereby incurs a penalty or forfeit. Forfeits. Penalties enforced by barbers in their shops if certain ridiculous rules were broken. Forfend. Prohibit. Forge, v. To suggest fears ; anticipate danger. FoRGETivE. Inventive ; capable of forging ; mentally. Forked. Horned; cuckolded. Forks. The fingers. 83 FoEMAL. Proper form. Former. Foremost. Forspent. Exhausted ; weary. FoRSPOKE. Contradicted. Forth. Through ; right through. " Hear this matter forth." FoRTiNBRAS. The name of this Norwegian, who fulfils an un- important place in the imaginary epoch of Hamlet, has long since been incorporated among English proper names as Strong i' tK arm. It was, perhaps, adopted during the Commonwealth, or later, when the revoca- tion of the Edict of Nantes compelled many French families to resort to England and adopt translations of their names, as Brown (Le Brun,) White (Le Blanc,) Black (Le Noir,) &c. FoETHEiGHTS. PubHc paths. Forty. A word often used by Shakespeare to express an in- definite number. Forty pence expressed a wager. FoRTUNA DELLA GUERRA. (Ital.) Fortuue of War. FORWEARIED. Wom Out. PossETT, or Faucet. A tap and spigot comprehended. FossETT-SELLER. Ouc who dlsposcs of the foregoing articles. FouiTD. Experienced. FouTRE. (Pr.) A disgusting, untranslatable epithet. Fox. A sword. A drawn fox is a dead fox drawn over hunt- ing ground to give the scent to the dogs. FoxsHip. A cunning man. Pract. To break ; commercially, to faU in the date of a con- tract. Feampold. Cross ; negligent. Frank. The feeding place of a hog ; a sty. Franked. Confined in a sty. Feanklin. a small freeholder. Feaught. Freighted. Pbautagb. Freight. Feay. a fight; sometimes written "afiray." Peayed. Alarmed. Free. Artless ; open. Free-gait. Military step. Fbeeness. Clemency ; giving freedom to bondsmen. 84 Fkesh. a spring of fresh water. Fret. The stop or string of a harp or lute. Fretted. Dotted ; decorated ; embossed. Friend, n. A lover ; ad., friendship ; v., to befriend. Frippery. A rag store ; a shop for second-hand clothes. Frize. a coarse Welch cloth. Froissart. a French chronicler. Much of the early history of England is derived from the " Chronicles " of this writer. He seems to have judged the character of the people correctly. Frolic. Fun ; gaiety. From. In opposition to. Front. The forehead. Fronted. Opposed. Frontier. A frowning aspect. "The moody frontier of a servant brow "^-an index of rebellion. Frontlet. A cloth for the forehead. Froth and lime. This was an instruction to Bardolph {Henry IV) to qualify the ale or sack for JFalstaff. The froth- ing was produced by greasing the bottom of a tankard. For the explanation of the "lime," see Sack. Fruit. The practice of eating fruit as a dessert, or sequel to a dinner, explains the comparison suggested by Polo- nius {Hamlet) for his appearance after a great feast. Frush. To crush ; break to pieces. FuB off. Postpone ; ppt aside on frivolous grounds. Fulfil. To fiU full. FuLHAM. False dice. Full. Complete. " A full soldier." Full-fraught. Perfect in the possession of good qualities. Fulsome. Obscene. Fumiter. Smoking manure. Function. Office ; place ; or a bodily organ. Furnished. Equipped. " Furnished forth." Furnishings. Pretences ; colorings. FuRNiTOR. An herb. Fust. To decay ; grow mouldy. FusTiLARioN. Probably a nickname for a sheriff's officer, who carried a staff or fustis. 85 a Gaberdine. A long cloak worn by the Jews in other times, and even by many at the present day. The gaher, or garher, is the cloak that gives the name to the entire article. The blue-cloaked beggars in Scotland were called Gaberlunzies, from their costume. It may be that the name came from the East, as the kabba or gabba is worn by the people in Mesopotamia. Gabbiel. The first or christifin name of an actor who played the small part of a messenger in the Third Part of Henry VI. Gad, ad. The moment ; suddenly ; also, n., a sharp-pointed instrument. Gadfly. A troublesome insect with brilliant wings. Gadshill. a rising ground in Kent, overlooking the river Medway and the town of Rochester. The place where Charles Dickens hved and died. Gage. A pledge. Gain. Giving ; misgiving. Gainsay. To unsay ; deny. Gait. Pace ; step ; carriage. Equally applicable to the mo- tions of the human body or the progress of a transac- tion. Galen and Paracelsus. Physicians of some celebrity A. D. 200. Galias. (From the Itahan galliazza.) A heavy, three-masted vessel. Gall. To irritate. Galled-jade. The horse or mule chafed on the withers by the collar or other piece of harness. Gallia. Gaul, the ancient name of France. Galliabd. a French dance. Gallian. The territory of Gaul. Gallimaupry, or Gallimaufrie. A medley dish of various meats. Gallow. To frighten. Gallowglasses. Stanislaus, who lived in 1570, describes these people as heavUy-armed infantry — " men grim of countenance, taU of stature, big of limb, burly of body, ' 86 well and strongly timbered, and chiefly fed on beef, pork, and butter. The meat they eat half raw. and then com- plete the cooking of it in their own stomachs, where it is boiled with whiskey, (usquebaugh.^ They were Scotch-Irish — i. e., natives of the north of Ireland. Gallowat-nags. Small horses bred in Galloway, a district of Scotland. Gamut. The scale of notes in music — do, (or ut,) re, mi, fa, sol, la. Gangrene. A mortification of the flesh. Gamester. A lively person ; a wanton. Gap and trade. The high road to preferment. Gaping. Shouting ; open-mouthed. See Pig. Garagantua. a gigantic personage who figures in the witty work of Rabelais — so called by his father because his first words were " drink, drink." Hearing them, the father said: '■'Que grand tu as et souple le gosier" — "How large you are, and pliant is your throat !" Garb. The " rank garb ;" a condition of sensuality. Garboils. Disturbances ; commotions. Garish. Gaudy; exposed. Garnered. Treasured up. Garter. When very long hose formed part of a man's equip- ment the garter was an indispensable adjunct. The " Order of the Garter " is an English distinction, dating from the reign of Edward III, and conferred on noble- men of high rank for important services rendered the Crown or the country. See Honi soit qui mal y pense. Falstaff veievs to the Order when he teUs Prince Henry to " hang himself in his own heir apparent garters." Gasted. Frightened. The word is obsolete, but perhaps it is the parent of the slang word " flabbergasted." Gaunt. Meagre. The word is a corruption of Ghent, in Bel- gium. John of Gaunt — " time-honored Lancaster " — was descended from a Flemish family of Ghent, where he also was bom. Gawds, Gawdt, Gawdry. Pertaining to vulgar finery and frippery as distinct from solid ornament. The French people were held to be most select and gracious in their apparel — " rich, not gaudy " — that proclaimed the man. 87 {Hamlet.) Clinquant, decorated, bagatelles, knick- knacks — all pertain to the gawdy family. Gaze. Attention. Gear. Business in hand ; things or matters. Gbck. a fool. Geek. Troublesome affair. Gelded. Emasculated. Gelidus TIMOR occDPAT ARTTjs. (Lat.) Cold fear seizes his limbs. General. The masses ; the public at large ; the lower classes. General gender. The mass of men. Generations. Children. Generosity. High quality ; nobihty. Generous. Noble ; free ; lavish ; munificent. Genius. Inventive power. " The genius and the mortal in- struments are then in council." This passage in Julius Goesar, which seems to have puzzled certain commenta- tors, was probably intended to convey the idea that the inventive faculty and the means to give it operation were at once and together the subject of the thoughts of the conspirators. Gbnnets. Small Spanish horses. Gentile. This term, originally signifying all sorts of heath- ens and unbelievers, gradually came to be applied by the Jews to the Christians, for, of coiu-se, the latter were as sceptical of the doctrines of the Israelites as the. Jews had been. Gentility. Politeness ; urbanity ; refinement. Gentle, v. To ennoble ; ad., noble ; well born and bred. Gentleness. " True gentleness ;" the spirit of a gentleman. No one better understood or more highly valued the character of a true gentleman than William Shakespeare. He felt that it pertained to all ranks in Ufe. It is the attribute alike of the prince and the peasant ; and Shakes- peare mentions the word fifty times in connection wittT all that is great and good in man. A modern writer (W. M. Thackeray) seems to have embodied the ideas of the mighty dramatist in one or two striking paragraphs of a popular lecture. He says : " Wherever the English language is spoken there is no man that does not feel 88 and understand and use the noble English word 'gen- tleman.' " " Gentle in our bearing through life ; gentle and courteous to our neighbor — gentle in dealing with his follies and weaknesses ; gentle in treating his oppo- sites ; deferential to the old ; kindly to the poor and those below us in degree" — this it is to be a gentle- man, whether in the political circles of Europe, in Cali- fornia, New York, the backwoods, or the mining districts of America. That Shakespeare should manifest more interest in the aristocracy than in the lower classes is not simply the result of lais own perception of the dif- ference in men wrought by education. He was much in the society of true gentlemen. The Earls of South- ampton and Surry were frequently with him. He must have been in communication with Lord Bacon, and pos- sibly he may have seen Sir Philip Sidney, though Sidney died in the year 1587, when Shakespeare first went to London. Gentry. Complaisance. Geohge. The title of an English knight who wears the " Gar- ter." German, or Germane. Akin to ; suited to. Germany. " Our neighbors, the Tipper Germany," refers to some Lutheran disturbances in Saxony. Germen, Germins. Seeds beginning to sprout. Gest. (From giste, Er.) A lodging-house or place — originally the halting stages of kings on a " progress ;" exploit in action. Get. To go ; to betake oneself. Ghastnbss. Having a ghastly, hideous appearance. Ghost. The Bible reading of this word is not precisely that which Shakespeare adopts. With him, a ghost is not simply the spirit of an individual utterly divorced from the body, but the representation of a deceased person ■^ returning to earth " in his habit as he lived," and actu- ally holding communication with living men. This was, in aU probability, a concession to the credulous spirit of a half-civUized society rather than the result of Shakes- peare's own convictions, and perhaps its utility in the production of stage effect may have induced its adop- 89 tion ; hence the talkiBg ghosts in Samlet, Julius Ccesar, Richard III, Henry V-T, &c. Gib. a worn-out, emasculated cat. Giddy. Inconstant ; unreliable. GiGLET. A giddy girl ; a wanton. GiLDEE, or GmLDEB. A coin of the value of Is. Gd., Enghsh. Gifts. Talents ; natural endowments. Gilt. Money. GiMMEL. (From the Latin gemellus — twin-doubled.) A ma- chine for producing motion ; a motor. In the instance in which Shakespeare uses it an interlocked instrument is meant, such as clock-work, the snaffle of a horse, &c.; or it is possible that Shakespeare was thinking of gimmal rings, some of which had engraven on them a hand with a heart in it, when (in the Tempest) he makes Ferdinand say to Miranda, " Here's my hand," and she answers, "And mine, with my heart in it." A beautiful enamelled ring of this kind is extant. It opens horizontally, thus forming two rings, which are, nevertheless, hnked to- gether and respectively inscribed on the inner side with a Scripture posy ; " quod. devs. conjvnxit," (" What God didjoin,^') is engraved on one half, and " homo non sepa- RAT," (" let not man separate,") on the other. The ring is beautifully enamelled: GiMMEL bit. a double bit. GiMMEK. Contrivance. GiNG. An old word for " gang." Gingerly. Dehcately. GiBD. To jeer, scoff, dare, encounter ; a gentle rebuke. GiEDLE. A belt to which the sword was attached, when worn. "When it was said that " an angry man knows how to turn his girdle," the inference was that he had to get at his sword, draw, and use it. The buckle of the girdle of wrestlers was also turned back when they were going to operate. Its reversal gave them a better grip of the adversary's girdle. Glaive. A sword. Glass-gazing. Fond of consulting a mirror. Glassy essence. Fragile being or existence. 8 90 Gleek. To joke ; crack jokes. GiiOOMiKG. Gloomy. Gloze. To expound ; polish ; lie ; flatter. Glut. To swallow. Gnakl. To snarl ; to gnaw. God ! It is worthy of note that the use of the name of the Most High having been forbidden by an Act of Parliament in the reign of James I, some of the editions of Shakespeare substitute the word " heaven,"' a distinction almost with- out a difference, unless we are to understand that " God " means the Almighty Power himself, and heaven merely the supposed place of His abode, which in itself is pow- erless. It is more in accordance with our convictions that God is omnipotent, everywhere and at all times, that we should accept the first idea, and the profanity of the use of His holy name depends on the circum- stances in which it is employed. Taking the name " in vain " implies the violation of an oath. God befoee ! God be my guide ! Godded. Deified. God 'ild yod ! God shield you ! Godfatheks. Sponsors at the baptism of a Protestant chris- tian child. When Gratiano {Merchant of Venice) pro- poses to add ten to the two sponsors for Shylock, at his anticipated baptism, he alludes to a jury of twelve who would infallibly have condemned the Jew to death. But this is a palpable anachronism, for trial by jury was not a Venetian institution. God's boddikins. An ejaculation referring to the Saviour's person. Gondola. A covered boat used on the canals of Venice. To have " swam in a gondola " was a proof of foreign travel in the sixteenth century. Gondolier. The oarsman of a gondola. GoNGAKiAN. J^istol confounds the word with Hungarian, {Henri/ IV, Second Part.) Good. Commercially responsible ; good security. Good deed ! Indeed ! Good den. Good evening. Good jer ! " Good yer !" Tantamount to " "What, the deuce !" 91 Good-nights. Last dying speeches. Good time. " In good time ;" apropos ; opportunity offering ; maturity. Goose. A " Winchester goose " was an offensive appellation, indicating that the individual was the subject of a dis- gusting disease. GoEBELLiED. SwoUen by luxury. Gok'd. Soiled ; tarnished. " My fame is shrewdly gored," {Troilus and Oressida.) GoROE. The throat. The rising in the gorge is a symptom of anger, indignation, (morally,) or (physically) a (£spo- sition to vomit. GoESE. A species of furze. Gospellers. Puritanically religious. Gossamer. Atoms that float in the sunbeams. Gossips. Midwives ; talkative women. Got. God. " Got wot," God knows. The mispronunciation of the sacred word is a Welsh characteristic. Go TO. An obsolete phrase in the sense of " very well !" GoujEEB. A scooper out. To gouge is hterally " to tear out the eyes." iSome commentators call the word " a name- less disease," because it is so in the French language, but the context in King Lear denotes its true applica- tion — Gloster's eyes have just been torn out by the bru- tal order of Cornwall. Gourds. Dice. Gourd and Fulham. Obsolete cant words for false (loaded) dice. Gouts. Drops. . Government. Discretion ; good management. Go your gait ! Go away ! vanish ! Grace. See Exhortation ; also. Good Fortune. Gracious. Grace and beauty combined. Grace to boot ! An exclamation equivalent to " Give us grace !" Ghained. Furrowed ; also, dyed ingrain. Grained ash. The staff or pole of a lance. Grange. A lone farm-house ; a barn or granary. Gramercy. Grand merci, " many thanks." It was originally used in a pious sense, as Grace a Dieu ! " Thank God !" Grass. " While the grass grows the steed starves " is the proverb which Hamlet calls " musty." 92 Grapple. To grasp ; grip ; as an anchor clings to the bottom of the sea. Gratift, v. Eecompense ; fee ; reward. Gkatillitt. a euphuism for gratuity. " I will impetticose your gratUlity" — i. e., I will pocket your gift. Grates. Offends. Grats. Pleasure. Gratulate. To congratulate. Grave. To entomb. Grave man. A man in his grave. Graymalkin. a name given to cats, with which witches were supposed to sort. Greasily. Grossly. Great morning. The dawn ; daybreak. Greaves. The armor of the legs. Greek, with the prefix "fooUsh," {Timon of Athens,) was said to be synonymous with pander or pimp. A " merry Greek " was a term for a jester. Green. Young ; inexperienced. Green-eyed. This is rather a singular epithet to apply to jealousy, for it is not the fact that cats, the only well- known " green-eyed " animals, are more jealous than other animals ; nor is there any known "monster" that makes the meat it feeds on. A jealous disposition no doubt creates the misery of its owner by converting " trifles light as aii- " into " confirmation strong as proofs of Holy Writ," but the metaphorical allusion is not happy. " Mocks the meat " better expresses the inten- tion. Gr^en sleeves. The title of an old once popular song. Greet. To weep. Greyhound's mouth. The greyhound can pick up its game while running at full speed, a feat no other dog can ac- complish. Griefs. Grievances. Griffin. A fabulous animal, which often figures as a crest or one of the supporters of a coat-of-arms in aristocratic societies. In form it is represented with the body of a horse, the tail of a Uon, the claws and wings of an eagle, and a head which combines the features of the horse 93 and the eagle. May not this be derived from the Assy- rian figures, emblematic of physical power, wisdom, and ubiquity, which have been found in the buried ruins of Nineveh ? Gkise, Geize. Step. From Fr. gre. Gkissell. An abbreviation of Griselda, the heroine of one of Chaucer's tales, and also of one of the tales in Boccacio's Decameron. The English poet no doubt borrowed from ' the Italian. Groat. Pourpence English. When Goriolanus speaks of an inferior class of people who bought and sold with " groats " he means either that they were retail dealers who sold their goods for small coin or trafficked in oats and grain beaten out of the husks. Gboom. Not merely a stable-keeper, but a mean, low fellow of any or no occupation. Singularly enough, the term is employed to indicate a Court position or function, and, as an affix, it denotes the henchman or squire, for the moment, of a man about to be married. Gross. Palpable ; coarse ; exaggerated ; the sum total. Gkossness. Simplicity. Groitndlings. The people who occupied in a theatre the bare space between the stage and the circular seats, and now called the pit, parquet, or parterre. Guard. To fringe. GuARDAGE. Custody ; protection. Guarded. Ornamented with lace. Gudgeon. A small fish found in English and French rivers, easily caught, and used by anglers as bait for larger fish. Guerdon. A reward. GuiLED. Treacherous. Guinea-hen. The speckled peafowl, originally from the coast of Guinea, Africa ; an offensive appellation of a woman. GuisNES and Ard. Two towns in Picardy. Gules. Red ; a term in heraldry. Gulp. The throat. Gull. The young cuckoo ; an unfledged bird ; figuratively, a fool ; easily deceived. Gummed VELVET. In rubbing dried gum off velvet a ruffling noise is produced like the twanging of a tightened harp 94 or guitar string. In music, the twang was called fret- ting. "I'll fret you." {^ee Taming of the Shrew.) Gun stone. A cannon ball. GuENET. A coarse sea fish. When stale it is soused in vine- gar — i. e., pickled, to render it still edible. Gust. (Fi-om gusto, Ital.) Taste. Guts. The entrails ; the bowels. It is now considered a gross term. Gyve, v. To shackle ; n., gyves ; shackles. " Down gyved," as applied to loose hose reaching to the ankle, is a not inapt comparison as to appearances. Disconsolate lov- ers were accustomed to forget their garters. Hag. (Latin ablative of Aoec, a demonstrative pronoun. It has three terms, varied by circumstances, as hie, hcee, hoc.) The Latin verse with which Lucentio (^Taming of the Shrew) beguiles Ilortensio runs thus : " Hac ibat Simois ; hie est Sigeia tellus ; Hio steterat Priami regia celsa senis." Bhymer has thus musically rendered the passage : " This Simois— that the Sigseau land, And there did Priam's lofty palace stand." Hack. To notch ; make common ; hence, " hacknied." Hackney. Common ; stale. Haggard, ad Pale ; wan ; wild. In falconry, a hawk that is untrue to its training. Hail ! A salutation — " all hail !" from the Saxon " hael " — a good health ! Hair. Quahty ; complexion. Wigs and false ringlets must have been as much in fashion in Shakespeare's day, and long previously, as they are at the present time. Bas- sanio refers to the crisp, snaky, golden locks that came from skulls then "in the sepulchre." Hair taken from the hving and the dead in South America and Mexico, still forms a large article of commercial import into Europe, where, by the coiffeurs', dyers', and perfumers' " cunning " it is changed into a variety of hues, and worn by women ,to whom nature has assigned but a small 95 quantity of hirsute decoration. Hair was also synony- mous with complexion, (metaphorically.) In Henry IV occurs the expression, " the quality and hair of our at- tempt." "To be merry 'against the hair' was the equiv- alent of " against the grain." Halcyon. Calm ; like the kingfisher's period of incubation on the water. Hale. To drag away forcibly. Half caps. A cold courtesy. Half cheek. A profile. Half-faced. In profile ; insincere ; imperfect. Half-faced sun. The device of Edward III of England was a representation of the sun bursting through the clouds ; possibly a reference to the Ught suddenly cast on truth and Christianity by Wickhfife in that reign. Half kiktles. Short cloaks. Halidom. An oath or adjuration, derived from an Anglo-Saxon expression equivalent to " By my sacrament !" Hall ! Make room ! Hallidon. Man's doom at the day of judgment. Hallowed. Made sacred. Trinkets touched by the reliques of a saint acquired a value when the CathoUc priesthood governed the miads of the people. Hallowmas. All Saints' Day. At Hallow fair, near Edin- burgh, (Scotland.) and other places, a vast crowd usually assemUed, and beggars found a fitting opportunity of procuring alms. Hamlet. Two plays with this title are still extant : one of them is spurious, though assigned to Shakespeare, the other genuine, and clearly the result of his own genius in working up old material. The following explanation is suppHed by Mr. Richard Grant White, a distinguished American scholar and philologist : This is the story of the two Hamlets. Shakespeare, in 1599-1600, wrote his great tragedy, founding it upon the plot of an old play known as " The Revenge of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark," which itself was founded on an old story told by Saxo Grammaticus. Shakespeare's play, produced in 1600, made such an impression upon gentle and simple, upon the highly-educated olaBses as well as upon the public in general, that it was acted not only in Lon- don, but at Oxford and Cambridgfe, and elsewhere. There was 96 an eager desire to read it ; but, according to the cuBtom of the day, the text was jealously guarded by its theatrical proprietors. Under these circumstances, a piratical priuter named James Rob- erts set himself to get for publication a copy of this wonderful play, which all the world was going to and talking of ; and natu- rally applying to the minor actors in Shakespeare's company, he succeeded in corrupting the man who played Voltimand, and in- duced him to undertake to get a copy. He, however, was able to get only fragments, great and small. Some parts of the play he gave from memory ; some he got by surreptitious examination of the stage copy and of actors' parts ; and all this being still not enough, James Roberts had some of the play taken down in shorthand during the performance, which was very lamely done. Some passages were taken from the old play, which had the same plot. This mass of heterogeneous stuff, some of it just what the author wrote, but the greater part of it what no dramatist ever wrote, was pieced and patched together, and hurriedly published, to the horror of "William Shakespeare, and so much to the injury of the tragedy, as it was thought, that a ' ' true and perfect copy," containing much that never at any time was heard on Shake- speare's stage, was immediately sent to the publisher, who soon issued it cured, and perfect of its limbs and absolute in its mem- bers, as it had been conceived by its great creator. The copy of the play now extant and cordially accepted as Shakespeare's is replete with evidences of his rare genius. The plot, the characters, and the dialogue are unmistakably the offspring of a dramatic power to which no one else of his or any other time could possibly lay claim. Much of the poetry, however, has been traced to other sources. Even the admired soliloquy on sui- cide beginning " To be or not to be " has an antique origin. Mr. Langhom, in his translation of Plutarch's " Lives," shows that the speech in question was trans- lated almost verbatim from Flato. It is probably the reasoning of the old Greek philosopher in that disser- tation on self-murder which led Addison to put into the mouth of Cato (in the tragedy of that title) the speech beginning with the observation, " It must be so ; Plato, thou reasonest well," &c. Cato has been reading Plato; doubtless the soliloquy on self-murder. Hampton. Southampton, in Hampshire. Handed. Free or mischievous with the hand. Handsaw. See Hawk. Hangers. The supports of a sword. 97 Hannibal. A vulgar blunder for "cannibal." Hap. Chance ; fortune. Happily. Fortunately. Haply. Surely ; possibly ; perhaps. The word is modestly and diffidently used, and sometimes in the sense of " happily." Happy. Accomplished. Hammes Castle, in Picardy. Haebingee. a herald ; a sort of prognostic of events. Haed. Difficult. "I did full hard forbear him "7— I could scarcely restrain my inclination to punish him. Haediment. Boldness ; bravery ; blows. Haelocks. Wild mustard. Haelot. a person of vagabond habits. Haelotey. Coarse ; vulgar ; immoral. Haep, v. To dwell upon; iterate; n., a "miraculous" instru- ment in the hands of Ai'ion, which attracted the dolphins around his ship. Haepee. One of the familiar spirits of the weird "sisters three," at whose bidding those mysterious hags had to move. Paddock, the toad, and Graymalkin, the cat, had the same influence over them. Haepy. a fabulous, malignant object, supposed to be en- dowed with wings, claws, and offensive powers gener- ally. Haeeows. Subdues. Haeey. To worry. Haet. The buck or male deer. Hatch. "Take the hatch," {King John,) equivalent to remove a hedge or obstruction by, in sporting phrase, "taking" it or leaping it. Hatched in silvee. An evident mistake for " thatched," in reference to the silver hairs which covered Nestor's head. Hatchment. A corruption of *' achievement;'' an armorial es- ' cutcheon representing the heraldic coat-of-arms of a deceased nobleman or other person of "quality." It is often placed on the fa9ade of a house in England which has been recently vacated by the death of the noble occupant. 9 98 Hatjd ceedo. (Lat.) I do not believe. Haught. Haughty; high, lofty in deportment and senti- ment. Haughty. High spirited. Haunt. A place of resort. Haunted. Disturbed by fancies. Have with you ! Come along ! Haveb. Possessor. Ha ing. Property ; possessions. Haviob. Behavior ; bearing. Havoc. An old Saxon war-cry, (Hafoc !) intimating that no quarter will be given or accepted in battle. Hawk. A bricklayer's hod for carrying bricks and mortar ; also, a bird of prey (a falcon) trained to hunt feathered game. Hawk. The passage in Hamlet, "when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw,'' (or hemshaw,) has been a source of serious trouble to innumerable stu- dents and annotators, because the hieroglyphical char- acter of Shakespeare's caligraphy has left it doubtful whether he wrote "handsaw" or ''hernshaw." It is most likely that the latter word, meaning a young heron, was the one he used, judging from the context. In hawking, i. e., hunting the heron with the trained fal- con, the falconer would sometimes be dependent on the state of the atmosphere to distinguish between the hawk and its prey. In flying after the quarry the hawk would, of course, try to rise above the young heron or hern- shaw, (Walter Scott writes hernshew,) and the latter would naturally seek to prevent its being pounced upon were the antagonist uppermost. The circling manoeu- vres of the two birds when at a great distance from the earth, if the air were thick, made it a trouble to tell the ''hawk from the hernshaw,'' and hence the import- ance of a southerly wind. Hamlet would not have required any particular condition of the atmosphere to distinguish between two of a builder's tools. Besides, if " I know a hawk from a handsaw " were a common saying, it would be found in some of the works of Shake- speare's contemporaries, but it is not traceable in any of their dialogues. Foreigners who have attempted to translate Shakespeare invariably selected the bird (epervier) as the object of the proverb in preference to the conjectured implement. Hay. a term in fencing. Hazard. A part of a tennis-court into which a ball is cast. Head. A force ; a body of soldiers. " We'll save our heads by raising of a head." Head-lug, v. To pull the hair. Heady. Violent ; fierce. Health, in its moral application, means that which is sound, of good purpose. We speak of the healthy tone of a book — a wholesome tone that recommends the work to our better sense. In Hamlet the " spirit of health " is antagonized with "the gobhn damned" — the principle of good contrasted with the symbol of evil. Heat, v. To excite ; ra., rage ; pursuit ; race. Heaven, Heavens. Employed in some cases as a substitute for " God Almighty ;" in others to represent the skies, the atmosphere. Hbabts ! A familiar apostrophe ia the mouths of rustics and other common people in Shakespeare's time. Hebenon. Henbane, a deadly poison. Hecate, The chief of the malevolent witches, represented in antiq'ue statues as a triple figure, bearing in her hands a snake, a dagger, a torch, and the key of Avernus. In As You I/ike It she is spoken of as the " thrice-crowned queen of night." Hedge. To proceed covertly ; to creep by the hedge instead of marching in the open road. Heed. Obstinate ; rash. Heels. To " lay by the heels,'' or " punish of the heels," was a figurative and vulgar form of expressing a depriva- tion of the liberty of locomotion ; in other words, it meant sending a man to prison. Hefted. Heaved ; agitated ; delicately formed. Hefts. Things that have been thrown up by the agitation of the sea. Heib. Heirs and heiresses to estates were at one time at the disposal of the King. Gloster {Henry V) reproaches Edward for having given the daughter of Lord Scales to the brother of Lady Gray. 100 Helen's beatjty — i. e., the beauty of Helen of Troy — is here contrasted with that of Cleopatra. The olive " brow of Egypt " was antagonized by the reputed fairness of the woman who enslaved Paris. (See Homer's Iliad.) It is a proof of the effect of love in disordering the fancy that one can see equal beauty in either form. Shake- speare has made little use of Helen as one of his dramatis personoB. She only appears in one or two scenes in Troilus and Oressida. Helicons. A corruption of Heleconiades — the nine Muses. Hell. A dungeon. "Hollow hell," an old notion that the infernal regions were a vast hollow in the centre of the earth. Helm, v. To take the direction of any business. Helmed. Steered through. Hempen homespdns. This explains that the artisans were all weavers of hemp. Hence. Henceforward ; thereafter. Henchman. The squire, page, or other follower of a knigfit. Lord Byron (Don Juan) puts the word into the mouth of a robber addressing his comrade. Henry V. Few plays more emphatically display the strength and audacity of the English character than this noble di'ama. Its outline was borrowed from a poo'r thing of the time, called " The famous victories of Henry V." Henby VI. Of the three parts of this play, two at least were partially written by Greene, one of Shakespeare's con- temporaries. There was great difference in their re- spective styles, Greene wanting the virtue of simplicity and constantly making pedantic classical references with- out either taste or discretion. Shakespeare supplied all . that was necessary to impart vigor and naturalness to the characters and true poetry to the dialogue. Parts of Henry VIII were in like manner contributed by Fletcher, the partner in dramatic authorship of Beau- mont. Hent. Seized ; take ; leap over. Heraldbt. The science of blazonry — the decoration of lofty genealogy and knightly rank, comprised in a coat-of- arms, representing a shield, surmounted by a crista or 101 crest, with figures as supporters, and, beneath, a scroll, bearing a motto descriptive of the family sentiment. Ich dien, " I serve," was the modest motto adopted by the Black Prince (son of Edward III) when he had scored his knighthood on the field of battle. Hercules. The name used in connection " with his load " re- fers to Atlas, who bore the whole world on his shoulders. Herculean Roman. A reference to Mark Antony's boast that he was descended from Hercules. Herb or grace. Rue Heresy. Opposition to and disbelief in a certain accepted form of rehgion. Roman Catholics denounced Protestants as " heretics," and Moslems have the same detestation of Christians. It is, in fact, odium theologicum under sev- eral aspects. . Hermes. Mercury, the messenger. Hermits. Beadsmen who lived in seclusion. Herne the hunter. There was an oak in Windsor forest or park called " Heme's," because it was once peculiarly guarded by him as gate-keeper, and a superstition existed that after his death his spirit haunted the vicinity of the oak, and punished transgressors on the sacred ^pot. Herod. An extravagant hero of an old play. To " out-Herod Herod " was to exceed the character in rant and violence. Hereby. "That's hereby" — that depends on circumstances. Herring. See Shotten Herring. Hesperus. The evening star. Hest. Behest; command. Hey-day. The prime. Hibocrates. a Welsh mispronunciation of Hippocrates. Hic. See Hac. Hic JACET. " Here lieth " — a frequent commencement of an inscription on a tombstone. Hide-pox. A children's game. High-day. A holiday, though not always a "holy" or saint's day. High-engendered. Begotten of Heaven ; the elements. High-fantastical. Very fanciful. HiGHT. Called; named. High-tides. Solemn festivals. 102 High top-gallant. The summit of a top-gallant mast of a ship; a mast above the "gallant," which is immediately above the mainmast. HiGH-wKOTJGHT. Lifted up. HiLD. Held. HiLDiNG. A poltroon ; a., paltry ; cowardly. Hint. Suggestion. Hip. Amongst the Lancashire and Cornish wrestlers it was held to be an advantage to grip an adversary by the hip ; whence the phrase, "If I can catch him once upon the hip " — a queer expression in Shylock's mouth. HiEEN. A great part of the slang and braggart language of some of Shakespeare's characters must be conjectural. When I^istol {Henry lY) says, " Have we not Hiren here?" it has been supposed that he was quoting from an old play called Irene, then acting, in which the fair Calipolis, to whom he alludes, is mentioned. But Pis- tol would hardly have used the word, as it was not applicable to the moment. Other commentators have, with greater reason, suggested that, as Pistol is flour- ishing his sword as he speaks, he means to say, "Have we not iron here?" Nym calls his sword his "iron." Falstaff s^e&]i.s of his as a "toasting-iron." His. Often used for "its." His cocTus. (Lat.) "These things are tormenting." Hit. To agree. Hoar. Aged; mouldy. Hoar-dock. A wild flower. HoAK-LEAVES. White leaves. Hobnob. A corruption of hap or nehap — " Gome what may ;" "That depends on circumstances." A clinking together of wine or beer glasses in a toast, tete a tete, is called hobnobbing. Hobby-horse. In the character figured in an old rustic enter- tainment composed mainly of the Robin Hood family (Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, &c.) a mock horse was intro- duced, formed of basket-work, and borne by a man who seemed to bestride and give it motion ; but, after a time, this figure became an excrescence of the pageant, and wad gradually discontinued; whence the line, "The hobby- 103 horse is forgot.'' A hobby or hobby-horse also meant a person's fancy, and is still in use. Hobgoblins. Imps of darkness; creatures of a disordered fancy. HoiSE. To hoist ; raise up. Hold, v. To esteem; interjec, hold! stop! stay! Also, to agree with ; maintain ; keep faith. Holding. The chorus or refrain in a glee. It originates in the suspension of the breath for a time. Hold-taking. Beer-handling. Holds on. Firmly maintains. Holiday. As applied to language, choice, select. Holla ! An old term in equitation. HoLP. Helped. HoLMEDON. On the Scottish border, the scene of a contest in the reign of Henry IV. HoLYROOD DAY. The 14th September. A festal day in cele- bration of the recovery by the Emperor Heraclius of a piece of the Holy Cross, (rood,) which, 600 years after the death of Jesus Christ, was carried from Jerusalem by Cyrus, King of Assyria. HoLY-WATEB. In general acceptance, water that has been consecrated by a Roman Catholic priest. " Court holy- water,'' as used by the Fool in King Lear, implies a contrast to rain. Home. To the uttermost. Homely. Plain person ; uncultivated ; simple. Home-keeping. Untravelled ; disinclined to travel abroad. Honesty. Truth; propriety; hberality. Honey. A preface to moral or personal sweetness ; as, "honey heavy dew" — slumber as nice as honey and refreshing as dew; "honey sweet" — a term of endearment. HoNEY-SEBD. A Corruption {Mrs. Quickly, passim) of homi- cide. Honey stalks. Red clover. HoNEY-sucKLE. A Corresponding corruption of homicidal. HoNi soiT QUI MAL Y PENSE. {Hoiii, the ancient Norman word for honte, shame.) "Shame, or evil, to him who think- eth evil of this" — a phrase embroidered on the Garter of the Order, (K. G.,) and encircling the EngHsh coat-of- 104 arms. It is said to have originated with Edward III, when he exhibited the garter which had fallen from the leg of the Countess of Salisbury, with whom His Maj- esty had been dancing. The exclamation, afterwards crystallized, happily deprecated unworthy suspicions of the lady's chastity. Honor. A courteous appellation. "Your honor;" "his honor." Honorable dangerous. Rather a comprehensive and convert- ible term. "There is honor in the danger;" "there is danger in honorable work." Hood, n. The part of a cloak which covered the head. Worn at masquerades, it was called a domino — probably be- cause such cloaks and hoods were worn by Dominican friars and other monks. But the hood was not always regarded as a symbol of sanctity. CucuUus not facit nwnachum — "the hood does not make the monk" — passed into a proverb when the venality of the profes- sors of holiness in monasteries was exposed, v., to cover or hide. "I will hood mine eyes." It was likewise a term in falconry. The hawk's eyes were covered until the game was espied, when the hood was removed and the bird's legs loosened for flight. Shakespeare uses it as a figure in Romeo and Juliet — " Hood my unmann'd blood bating in my cheeks ;" and Gratiano says he will " hood his eyes " with his hat during divine service as an outward mark of respect and attention. HooDMAN BLIND. The old appellation of "blindman's buff." Made blind by having a hood drawn over the head and eyes. Hooked nose. The ancient Roman nose. Hoops. Quart pots. Hop'd for day. a suggestion as to the importance of "mak- ing hay while the sun shines." Horn. It is typical at once of the grossness of the age and the incontinency prevailing in married circles in the six- teenth and seventeenth centuries, that this word should be so frequently employed by Shakespeare to indicate the risks which a man incurs in matrimony. The horns of a beast denote its promiscuous amours, and a man was said to have been cornuted (horned) when his wife had been, or was, unfaithful to her vows. 105 HoBNED MOON. Shrcwd attempts have been made to show a connection between this term and the lanthorn carried by the "man in the moon." (Midsnmmer-N'ighfis Dream.) It is, however, a term of considerable antiquity, and refers to the crescent shape of the young moon. Robert Burns makes use of the idea in one of his songs : " It is the mune, I ken her horn." HoKOLOGE. A clock ; a time-piece indicating the hour. (Fr., derived from Latin.) HoBNPiPE. A solo dance. Hot at hand. Under a slight restraint. Hot-house. A bagnio ; a house of ill-fame. How ? An idiomatic and elliptical use of the question, " How much?" or " What say you ?" House. The etymon of " husband." Hox, (hough.) To hamstring. Hugger-mugger. Confused ; slovenly ; secretly. Hull. To float, without a rudder ; to sway ; to swing ; ships at anchor ; nautically, to lie to. Humming. Overwhelming. Humphrey hour. The hour when poor men "dined with- Duke Humphrey" — a proverbial expression denoting that when they had no means of procuring a dinner they were accustomed to promenade the aisle in St. Paul's Cathedral called " Duke Humphrey's walk." The Duke ( Gloucester) is represented in Henry VI (First Part) as a worthy nobleman, treacherously put to death. Humphrey. The name of an actor who played one of the park- keepers in Act 3, Henry VI. Humble-bees. A modern writer points out that Shakespeare did not quite understand the economy of the bee. He pictures a colony of bees as a kingdom, with "A king and ofScers of sorts," (see Henry V,) whereas a colony of bees is an absolute democracy ; the rulers and governors and " officers of sorts " are the workers, the masses, the common people. A strict regard to fact also would spoil those fairy tapers in Midsummer-NigM s Dream " — " The honey-bags steal from the humble-bees, And, fi)r night-tapers, crop their waxen thighs, And light them at the fiery glow-worm's eyes," — 106 since it is not wax that bees bear upon their thighs, but pollen, the dust of the flowers, with which bees make their bread. Wax is made from honey. HuMOE. Fancy; mood; inclination; idiosyncrasy; disposi- tion ; a feeling that governs passion. Perhaps Ben Jon- son, who wrote an admirable comedy entitled " Every Man in his Humor," offers the best definition of the term: ' ' When some one peculiar faculty Doth so possess a man that it shall draw All his effects, his spirits, and his powers In their complexions all to run one way, This may be truly said to be 'a humor.' " Shakespeare illustrates and confirms this disposition in Shylock. The word "humor" is now popularly con- fined to a definition of drollery, wit, satire. HuMOEOus. Damp ; humid. Hungry. Unprolific. Hungry beach. Sterile land near the sea. Hunt-counter. A worthless dog that cannot follow the scent ; also, a limb of the law attending the " compter," an ancient police station and magisterial court. Hunts up. A morning call ; a hunting reveillee. Hungarian. Not a native of Hungary, but, in the slang of the age, a term of contempt. HuRLY-BUELY. Noisc ; tumult. Hurt. Harm ; injury. Hurtle. To dash against ; violent disturbance ; loud noise. Hurtling. Boisterous mirth. Husband, v. To marry ; care for. Husbandry Industry ; thrift. Huswife. A jilt ; a hussey. Hybla. Ancient writers affirm that a mountain of this name in Sicily was famous for the honey produced by the bees, which gathered their materiel from the flowers which grew on the mountain. Hydra. The many-headed monster which Hercules slew. Hyrcanium. Of Hyrcania, a woody country in Turkistan ; the eastern shore of the Caspian sea. 107 I. This vowel is often used by Shakespeare as a pun on " Ay " — yes — which corresponds with it in sound. IcEBROOK. Temper. Ides. A Roman division of months. The Ides fell on the 15th March, May, July, and October. The other months were called Calends or Nones. Idle, ad. Barren ; desert ; silly, empty, as to speech ; v., to waste time — do absolutely nothing. I' feeks. In faith! — an old ejaculation. Ignomy. Ignominy. Ilium. Priam's place of residence, as indicated in Homer's Eiad. Ill erected. Raised for evil purposes. Ill inhabited. Ill lodged. Illusteiods. -Without lustre, (or with !) Images. Children ; representatives. Imbar, or Imbare, v. To lay bare ; expose. Imagination. This quality " all compact " is derived from "antique fables, fairy toys, &c., &c." (See Theseus, \st scene of Midsummer-NigMs Dream.) Imitabi. Imitative. Immanity. Barbarity. Immediacy. Close connection ; superiority in rank and power. Immoment. Unimportant. . Imp. a stripling ; a diminutive demon ; also, v., a term in falconry, to graft artificial feathers on the wing of a bird that has lost some of its plumage. Impair. Unsuitable ; unworthy. Impale. To encircle. Impartial. Partial. Impawn. To stake ; compromise. Impeachment. Impediment ; a reproach. Impeeator. a great commander. Imperious. Imperial. Imperseveeant. Dull of apprehension. Impertinency. Not relevant ; extraneous. Impetticose. To pocket. Impone. To wager, pledge, or pawn. 108 Importance. Importunity ; import. Important. Importunate. Importing. Meaning ; significant. Importune. To urgently beg or entreat. In utterance, the accent is sometimes on the ultimate, sometimes on the penultimate, according to the measure of the line in which the word occurs. Impose. An injunction ; command. Imposition. A duty or condition imposed on one individual by another. Impossible. Incredible. Imposthttme. An abscess "that inward breaks." Impout. Supply a deficiency. Imprese. a device with a motto attached. Impress, v. To press or force into the public service ; «., the heraldic motto on a coat-of-arms. Imprisoned angels. Money enclosed in a chest. - Vide Angel. Incapable. Deficient of intelligence. In capite. (Lat.) In chief ; a term in law signifying a king's claim to a subject's fealty or his head ; literally, in mod- ern times, a capitation tax. Incarnadine. To dye a red color. Incensed. Informed; instructed; instigated. Inch-meal. Doled out by inches. Incision. The proposal of the Prince of Morocco {Merchant of Venice) to bleed himself simply to show that his blood was as red as that of any of the other suitors of Portia was characteristic of the African. The practice of wounding themselves in proof of what they would readily undergo for the woman of their choice and affec- tion is common also among certain classes of Asiatics. Inclining. Compliant; following; alliance. Inclip. To embrace. Include. To conclude. Inclusive. Enclosed. Incompt. Subject to account. Incont. Delicate; pretty; unknown; ignorant. Incorrect. HI regulated. Incontinently. Immediately. Inde. Shakespeare knew but Uttle of India, (naturally,) or 109 he would not have claBsed her intelligent people with Indent. To sign a contract ; to temporize. Incorporate. United in one body. Index. Prologue; indication. Indifferent. Tolerably; impartial. Indirectly. Opposed to the direct and straightforward. Indigest. Confused; chaotic. Indirection. Irregularly; dishonestly. Indite. To convict. Inducement. Companionship and example. Induction. Preparation; commencement; prologue. Indurance. Delay. Inequality. Of inferior rank. Infected. Poisoned. Inf|!r. To report. Infinite. Extent or power. Informal. Deranged. Ingraft. Grafted. Inhabitable. Uninhabitable. Ingaged. Unengaged. Inherit. Possess; adopt. Inhibit. To prevent ; forbid ; decline. The passage in Mac- beth, "If, trembling, I inhibit thee," has given rise to much feeble and useless discussion. It seems clear from the context that Macbeth dares Banquo's Qhost to fight . with him. He will not "inhibit" or prevent the action of the Ghost. Inhibition. A euphuism for "prevention;" stoppage, or prohi- bition. Inhooped. Caged. The Romans delighted in cock or quail fights, and to prevent the birds from getting away dur- ing a contest they enclosed them in an arena formed of iron hoops. Inkle. A kind of narrow tape. Iniquity. Another appellation of the Vice or Harlequin in the old Moralities. Prince Henry calls Falstaff a "grey- beard iniquity,^' a "reverend vice." In good time. A propos ; " a la bonne heure ; " a fortunate moment; "all right." 110 Initiate. Young. Inkhorn." a horn usually suspended to the button-hole of the coat of book- worms to hold ink for immediate use ; whence the term "inkhorn mate" came to be scornfully applied to a pedant or a student at the book-stalls. Inland. Civilized — ^in contradistinction to the people dwell- ing on the sea-coast, where education was rarely obtained. In little, a miniature likeness. It is on this reference to the sums people were said by Hamlet to be ready to pay for portraits of his father that the conjecture has been hazarded that the Prince should carry a minia- ture suspended from his neck, while the Queen wears that of her husband, the King de facto. But the de- scription which Hamlet gives of his father's "station," like "the herald Mercury on a heaven-kissing hill," would seem to destroy the notion that the portrait could be represented iu a miniature. Equally objectionable is the idea that the portraits of the two kings appear on the arras, for there was no scenery employed at the theatre in Shakespeare's time, in which such paintings could have been given. The whole speech, describing the deceased as embodying the forms of all the gods, is probably founded on the objects pictured to Hamlefa imagination alone. Inly. Inward. Inn of court. Colleges and lodgings for law students, pre- sided over by special law societies. Young barristers in England are said to be " entered " of a certain inn of court, of which there are four in the city of London. Innocent, n. An idiot. I'th'. Brief for "in the." In place. Present. Inquisition. A court of inquiry; an examination. Insane. A cause of insanity. Insconced. Fortified. Insculped. See Angel. Insinuation. Interference in any matter. Insistence. Persistence. Instance. Intelligence ; suggestion ; proof, in evidence. Instances. Proverbs ; motions ; purposes and action. Ill Insupprbssivb. Incapable of suppression. Insepakatb. Inseparable. Insuit. Solicitation. Integrity. Consistency; completeness. Intend. Pretend; purpose. Intending. Regarding; pretending. Intendment. Intention. Intention. Eager desire. Intentivbly. Attentively. Intents. Purposes; endeavors. Interres'd. Interested. Inter'gatoeies. An abridgment of interrogatories — a law term used in setting forth the details of an examination. Intermission. Pause; hesitation. Intervallums. Pauses; intervals. Inteenchant. Intrenchment ; v?hat cannot be cloven. Inirinse. Intricate. Inteinsicatb. Intricate. Investing. Clothing. Investments. White "investments" constituted the robes or rochet of bishops. Invincible. Not to be computed. Invites nubibds. (Lat.) "The unvcilling clouds." Inward. Intimate. Inward motion. Intellectual faculty. Inwardness. Intimacy. Ira furor brevis est. (Lat.) "Anger is brief madness.'' Iris. The colors of the rainbow. "They round the eye'' when it has been wetted with tears. (^J Ws Well that Ends Well.) It is also the name of the rainbow as Jove's messenger. Irish rats. These animals, having no taste for music or poetry, were, it was thought, to be got rid of by hum- ming an old tune. Irks. Annoys; distresses. Iron. Clad in armor. Irregulous. The reverse of regular and good, morally and materially. Issue. Result or termination. Iterance. Iteration; repetition. 112 Iteration. Recitation. Ivy. See BnsH. Jack. A common fellow ; a knave. " Playing the jack with us" corresponded with "playing us knavish tricks." In a pack of cards one of the court or trump cards, called the "jack," is synonymous with "knave." Jack. A small bowl in a game of bowls. Jacks. Contemptible swaggerers. Jack and Jill. Geperic titles for a man and a woman asso- ciated. Jack-guardent. a jack in office. Jack o 'lent. A puppet thrown at by boys for sport during Lent. The term was also brief for "jack o' lantern," the ignis fatuus which floats over marshy land, mislead- ing "night wanderers." Jack o' the clock. A little figure on a clock, which seems mechanically to strike the hour. Jacob's sTAPr. Shy lock, swearing by this, refers to the pas-' sage in the Bible, "With my staff," &c. Gen. xxxii, verse 10. Jade. A worthless woman ; a worn-out horse. Jaded. Fatigued ; mastered ; bulhed ; n., a jaded groom meant a low fellow. Jakes. A place of necessary resort. Janus. A myth ; an inferior deity represented with two faces to indicate the possession of the faculty of beholding at once the past, the present, and the future. lago ( Othello) and Grratiano (Merchant of Venice) swear by Janus for no other apparent reason that it was, and is, the prac- tice of the Italians, though chiefly Roman CathoHcs, to invoke one of the heathen gods. Jfer Ghiove ! Gorpo di Bacco ! (by Jove ! by the body of Bacchus !) are con- stantlj' on their lips. Jangling. Harsh ; out of tune. Jar. The tick of a clock. Jars. Quarrels ; diflferences. Jauncing. Rough riding. Jaundice. A disease which, arising from an excess of bile, turns the skin yellow. 113 Jay. a loose woman. The Italians use the word putta or puta to indicate a harlot ; but the word likewise applies to a bird of the crow family. Jeeonimy. a corruption of Hieronymus, the hero of a Span- ish tragedy, who uses words corresponding with those of the Spanish. Jepense. (Fr.) "I think." Scene from Henky V, Act IV. Freneli Soldier. Je peuse que vous estes le gentilhomme de bonne qualitu; r believe that you are a gentleman of good quality. French Soldier. O Seigneur Dieu ! Lord God! French Soldier. prennez miscricorde ! ayez piti6 de moy ! be merciful! Home pity on me ! French Soldier. Est-il impossible d'esohapper la force de ton bras ? Is it impossible to escape the strength of your arm ? French Soldier. O pardonnez moyl forgive me! Boy. Escoutez ; comment estes vous appellc ! Listen ! How are you called ? — i. e., what is your vMtne ? French Soldie/r. Monsieur le Fer. French Soldier. Que dit-il, monsieur ? What does he say, sir ? Boy. II me commande de vous dire que vous faites vous prest ; car qe soldat icy est dispose tout i cette heure de couper vostre gorge. He commands me to tell you to get ready, for this soldier is disposed to immediately out your throat French Soldier. O je vous supplie pour I'amour de Dieu, me par- donner ! Je suis gentilhomme de bonne maison ; gardez ma vie et je vous donneray deux cents escus. Oh, J beg of you for the love of Ood to forgive me. I am, a gentleman of a good family Qiouse.') Spare my life, and I will give you two hun- dred crowns. French Soldier. Petit monsieur, que dit-il? Little gentleman, what says lie f Boy Encore qu'il est contre son jurement de pardonner aucun prisonnier ; nuanmoins, pour les escus que vous I'avez promis, il est content de vous donner la liberty,, le francbisement. A gain, that it is contrary to his oath to pardon {liberate) any prisoner; nevertheless, for the crowns that you home promised him,, he is content to give you liberty — enfra/nohisement. French Soldier. Sur mes genoux je vous donne mille remerciemens ; et je m'estime heureux que je suis tomb6 entre les mains d'un chevalier, je pense, le plus brave, valliant, et tres distingu6 seigneur d'Angleterre. On my knees I give you a thousand thanks ; and I esteem myself 10 114 happy that I heme fallen into the hands of a knight who, I think, is the bra/oest, most valiant, and distinguished nobleman of England. Boy. Suivez voua le grand capitaine. Follow the great captain. Jephthah. The reference to the •" Judge of Israel " and his daughter in Hamlet springs from the fact of the mel- ancholy story having formed the subject of an ancient and popular ballad as well as a fact in Scripture. Jerkin. A short frock, sometimes made of leather and wadded. What Stepfiano { I'enipest) means is a problem. He may refer to the practice (nearly extinct) on board ship of shaving a man as the vessel crosses the equinoctial line, or to the removal of the hairy skin which covers Calibmi. Jekus.ilem. It had been prophesied that if Henry IV carried out his purpose of heading a crusade to Palestine, he would die in Jerusalem. Nominally to fulfil the predic- tion, he retires to the Jerusalem chamber in his palace that he may die there. Jesses. The Ugature by which the hawk in falconry is at- tached to the wrist of the falconer. The jesses were loosened when the bird was dispatched after the quarry. Jest. To take part in an entertainment. Jet. In walking, to strut. Jewel. See Toad. Jewess' eye. An organ capable of appreciating a handsome Christian. Jigging. Dancing; rhyming. Jig maker. The author of a low class of song. Jill. A young woman ; a drinking measure. John a Dreams. A current designation of a heavy, dull sort of person. It is vain to attempt to trace the origin of this and other of the obsolete nicknames in Shakespeare. John Drum. John, or Jack, in Tom Drum's entertainment, is recorded to have been derived from a farce in which Drum is represented as an intriguing servant who con- stantly gets into scrapes. The personal servant or valet of a gentleman is the scamp and scapegoat of many dramas of all nations, as Martin, (Fr.,) L&porello, (Sp.,) Figaro, (Ital.,) &c. John — " King John." This play was obviously founded on an older one called " The troublesome reign of King John." 115 Joint ring. Two rings joined together, illustrative of the close tie of affection. See Gimmal. JouENAL. Daily. Jovial. Pertaining to Jove. Jowls. Thrown down ; cast out. Joy. To enjoy. Judas. In old paintings the betrayer is always represented with red hair. Judicious. Critical ; capable of judgment. Julius C«;sak. This interesting play, which follows the his- tory of the close of Caesar's life with considerable accu- racy, was, in all likelihood, borrowed from Plutarch. In that event it is singular that no mention is made by Plutarch of the dying exclamation of the great soldier — '■^Et tu, Brute /" — if, indeed, he ever did utter the words. At any rate, his surprise at being assailed by the, man he so deeply loved must have been felt, if not verbally expressed ; and on this point Plutarch is ex^ct and de- scriptive. It was a saying in the sixteenth century that there were two Charles V : one made by nature and one by Titian. Perhaps the same thing might be said of every histor- ical personage that Shakespeare has delineated. There are two : one presented by history and one by Shakes- peare. In nearly every instance his sketches are what we would term historically correct, so far as a strict adherence to historical statement of facts • can make them so ; but they are so much more than historically correct ; they are so wondrously life-like. History gives us but a mere outline of any particular character. We are too apt to have the picture only in the silhouette form — either all light or all shadow. Seldom indeed do we know these historical personages as simple men or women. As presented by the partisan chronicler, they appear either a little less or a little more than human. It requires the genius of Shakespeare to breathe into these images the breath of life, and make of them men and women whom we know to be of hke passions with ourselves, and whom, therefore, we can comprehend and love. The play of Julius Ccesar is a good illustration 116 of this. Who but Shakespeare could have placed com- mon-place people of the nineteenth century so thor- oughly in sympathy with an age utterly unlike our own? An age in which everything was in extremes, when there were no quietists and positively no moderate men, would be most enigmatical for us were it not for that revivify- ing genius which has brought it back within the realms of the real. What he has- done for the age itself he has done pre-eminently for the man Julius Caesar. History presents Caesar to us as a general, or an intriguer for power only. We see him simply as he poses for the public eye ; we know what he said on this occasion and what he did on that. But it was reserved for Shakes- peare to tell us what he was and how he felt ; to make our actual acquaintance with him as a man a possibility. In every history of Caesar, including his own commen- taries, he appears like some gigantic shadow ; and his figure is impressive indeed, but somewhat vague. How completely is all this chjCnged when the magic wand of Shakespeare touches him; that touch is his accolade. At once and forever he is received into the full dignity and vivid reality of his order; he is made a man, and we know him almost as we know one another. But for Shakespeare's clear-cut picture of him, we should never have known and felt for Coesar .as we now do. By that indefinable faculty of sympathy which he possessed in such an eminent degree, Shakespeare had the ability to throw himself completely into whatever character he was describing. Given the natural disposition and sur- roundings of a man, he knew intuitively just what that man would feel or say or do on any special occasion, because he knew what he himself would do if similarly placed. It was not so much a projecting of himself into the character as it was allowing the character to take complete possession of him, for his self-conscious- ness is so utterly lost in the intensity of his sympathy that there is absolutely nothing subjective in his repre- sentations, for the time being Shakespeare has no independent existence, but is the man or woman he por- trays. We do not discover him behind the mask, for 117 there is no mask; his characters are living, breathing men and women. We never see him in aiij' play he has written ; for the moment he is JOear, Othello, or Caesar. So it is that they appear to us as veritable flesh and blood, not merely as soulless tenements of painted dust. It is Shakespeare who makes us see "the angry spot that glows on Caesar's brow." The little fact of Caesar's partial deafness is impressed upon us : " Come upon my right side, for this ear is deaf." We see him a man of "feeble temper," a victim of epilepsy, foaming at the mouth and speechless. Later we see him drinking wine with his friends, and joking with his reckless favorite, Antony. We see him donning his robe, that robe which we learn to love and almost regard as a sentient thing, when Antony tells us "through this rent the well- beloved Brutus stabbed." So much for the outward man so vividly presented ; but our insight goes much deeper, for Shakespeare shows us the man's mind as historians never do. He is sus- picious: "Yond' Oassius has a lean and hungry look; he thinks too much. Such men are dangerous." He is public-spirited : " What touches us ourselves shall be last served." He is superstitious: "What say the au- gurers?" "Thrice hath Calphurnia in her sleep cried out, Help! ho! they murder Csesar!" He is polite: "I thank you for your pains and courtesy ; I am to blame to be thus waited for." He is positive: "Know Csesar doth no wrong. Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?" He is philosophical and somewhat of a fatalist, as per- sons who think deeply are apt to be : " What can be avoided whose ends are purposed by the mighty gods?" "Death, the necessary end, will come when it will come.'' He is brave and fuU of a sublime faith in himself: " The things that threatened me ne'er looked but on my back." "Wilt thou lift up Olympus?" "Always I am Csesar." And, alas! he was ambitious: "He put the coronet by ; but, for all that, he would fain have had it." By such inimitable touches does Shakespeare pre- sent to us the man Caesar as history can never do. Our wonder is enhanced when we remember that such noble lis work is done for a character subordinate in the play, for Ccesar is far from being the hero, Antony and Brutus both being much more prominent, and Srutus unques- tionably the author's favorite, "the noblest Roman of them all." Jump, v. To guess ; suppose ; to agree with ; to dispense mth ; shorten ; pass over ; ad., coincident ; correspond- ing with. Jure. To swear on oath. JusTicER. A judge. Jut, or Jet. A projection — whence "jetty;" v., to thi'ow ; encroach ; " collide with." Juvenal. A youth. K Kaiser. Csesar. Kam. Kim-kam ; all awry. Karrack. An Italian merchant ship. KioESEY. Hemlock. Keech. a lump of lard or fat. Keel. To cool. Keep. To dwell; reside; entertain. Keep house. Stop at home. Keeper. A park or game-keeper. ^ Kendal green. A cloth manufactured at Kendal, in West- moreland. Kent. A midland county in England. It has always enjoyed credit for the fertility of the soil and the gallantry of the men ; wherefore Goesar extoUed it. Kernes. Stanislaus, who describes the Kerne as armed with sword and target, says: "The word Kern signifies a shower of hell, because the Kernes were taken for no better than rakehells, or the Devil's blackguards." The mercenaries of this appellation who served in wars were from the north of Ireland and the western highlands of Scotland. Kersey. An old woollen garment. Kibe. A sore on the heel ; a chilblain. Kickshaws. A corruption of quelque chose, (Fr., "some- thing.") Trifles; side dishes; condiments; anything. 119 Kicky wicky, or Kicksy, wicksy. Applicable to a jade, whether horse or woman. ., KiLLiNGwoETH. The old name of "Kenilworth." KiLN-HOLE. The ash-hole beneath, a kilp ; also, the chimney- corner ; a gossiping place. Kin. When Hamlet, commenting aside on the King's calling him his "cousin and his son," says, "A little more than kin and less than kind,'' he probably means that the King has got a little beyond the w in "kin'' without reaching the (^in "kind." Kind. Nature ; of the same nature. Kindle. To biing forth young, animals ; to urge ; egg on. KiNDLESs. Unnatural. Kindly. Naturally. Kinged. Ruled by a monarch. KiRTLE. A jacket and mantle in one piece, sometimes with and sometimes without sleeves. Kitchen-malkin. Scullion; kitchen wench. See Malkin. Knacks. Knick-knacks. See Gawds, &c. Knap. To snap ; break short off. Knave. A servant; a rogue. To "bear the knave" is to sub- mit to being called by opprobrious names'. The word was also used in a friendly sense, as "honest knaves." Knee. To bow down in homage. "Knee his throne." (King Lear.) "Knee the way into his mercy." {Ooriolanus.) Knives. When guests were invited to a banquet in remote times, each man took his own knife with him. (See Tlmon of Athens.) The practice is perpetuated in the Highland costume, the knife being worn in the hose. Knock it. Expressive of orchestral music, as now familiarly called " playing up " " Let the musiq knock it." Knot. A gang ; a combination. Knots. Flowers planted in box, to form a cluster. Knot grass. A herb that was, in former times, supposed to have the property of checking the growth of a child to whom it might be given as food. Know. To acknowledge. Knowing. Accomplishment; attainment. Know op. To reason ; consider. 120 Ktbe, or Kibe. An ulcerated chilblain, or a sore on the heel. Key-cold. An iron key retains its surface temperature long after its application to a warm body. The intensity is of service, if applied to the spine, in stopping hemor- rhage. The cold operates on the nervous system. Label. Bond; confirmation. Labias. a slender fist ; also, " lips." Laced mctton. A gross term for a loose woman. Lackeying. Behaving obsequiously. Lade. To drain earth dry. La fin coubonne le tout, ou les ceuvbes. (Fr.) "The end crowns all, or all works." Lag. The rabble; ad., slow; late. Lakin. Lady kin. "By'r Lakin," or "By our Lady Kind," was a common form of adjuring the Holy Virgin. Lambkins. Young sheep. Lammas-tide. The month of August. Lampedusa. Li a brochure, long since forgotten, one Joseph Hunter, an antiquarian, endeavored to show that this little island in the Mediterranean was tlie one selected by Shakespeare for the abode of Frospero. ( 2'empest.) Lances. Men bearing spears. Land-dam. A process of stopping the flow of water, and a phrase for making a place too hot for an offender against usage. Land eakees. Travellers afoot. Lane. The "strait lane," the locality of the retreat of Uym- beline's army before the Roman, affords the occasion for a description by Fosthumus of the heroic deeds of Bela- rius and his two putative sons, which, though imaginary, finds its parallel in the defence of the bridge by Hora- tius, and later in the repulse of three thousand Busnian troopers by three hundred British cavalry at Balaklava. When soldiers are "confident in act" they perform prodigies of valor. Marathon and Thermopylse are cases in point Lapsed. Apprehended ; made prisoner. 121 Lapwing. A bird that has the credit of being able, by its pe- culiar cry, to lead people from the vicinity of its nest. Lakd. To decorate ; grease ; fertilize. Large. Free ; wanton. Largesse. Bounty. Lass lorn. Forsaken by one's mistress. Latch, or Catch. To lay hold of ; to smear. From licher, (Fr.) Latched. Closed up. Lated. Belated ; benighted. Late. Lately. Latruite. See Truite, (Fr.) Latten. Thin as a lath. Laugher. A jester, or a person easily moved to mirth. Launch. Lance. Laund. a plain lying between two forests. Launde. a lawn. Laundering. Wetting ; washing. Lavoi-ta. (Ital.) A dance, of which leaping or up-springing was a feature. i Law or arms. Down to the middle of the 16th century, men settled their disputes in a combat, but the authority of the King was necessary before a " trial by battle " could take place. In a case where one man accused another of a crime, the death of the vanquished (accused) in a combat was held to have proved his guUt. Law or Heraldry. Law and proclamation. The legal com- pact as sealed, certified, and publicly advertised. Lear. Unquestionably the finest and most affecting of the plays of Shakespeare. Nowhere has Shakespeare shown greater creative power than in that weird, crazed old man, Lear. He had only to paint melancholy in his Hamlet, jealousy in Othello, and avarice in Shylook, and, with Lear, the picture was complete. In Lear, we see a combination of as varied passions as there are dif- ferent emotions in the human heart. Now Pity looks down upon us from the canvas, then Revenge, here ■ Pride, there Humility, sometimes Love, oftener Hate, all setting off the face of an old man, appalling in its agony, and terrible in its madness. 11 122 It is in the supernatural Lear that Shakespeare displays his wonderful genius. The man loses his identity, and becomes a god — a raving fury. Who would not sooner meet Mars himself than that raving, old, maltreated King, with his streaming hair, grizzly countenance, and ghostly eyes, wandering over that lonely heath, as he is pelted by hail, and blown about by the wind and rain, crying in his maniacal voice, " Spit fire ! spout rain ! singe my white head?" Pandemonium itself could not exhibit so hideous a pic- ture as that muddy hut and its surroundings, nor the infernal council so diabolical a phantasm as the " mock trial." The supernatural in Milton's Satan was pro- duced as much by his appearance as his sentiments. We see him ' ' Prone on the flood, extended long and large, and hear his voice Call so loud that all the hollow deep of hell resounded," while Lear is nowhere described, and his voice some- times sounds like falling leaves, often like a child's prattle, and again like rolUng thunder. The super- natural in Satan is seen in his entrance into Pandemo- nium, his encounter with Sin and Death, his journeys through chaos, and his battle with the angels. Lear and Satan I alike, yet unlike, human, yet superhuman, must ever be regarded as the sublimest conceptions of then' kind in fiction. One of the many writers of modern times, himself pre- eminent for critical discernment and good taste, thus writes of the play : The noble tragedy of "King Lean-" has long stood, by the unani- mous judgment of critics, pre-eminent for sublimity and pathos, among the majestic creations of Shakspere's mighty mind. The subject of this drama is drawn from a period far removed among the mists of antiquity, and obscured by the shadows of legend and tradition — an age of heathenism aud barbarism. And yet, with the rough stones hewn out of this rude quarry, the master- mason has constructed a shapely and imposing edifice, which has been the delight of all the generations of worshippers that have crowded the shrines of his genius. The dependency of genius upon antecedent laborers to provide it with the raw material to be woven into its wondrous fabrics has been frequently illustrated in literary history, but in no case 123 more clearly than In the history of this particular play of Shake- speare's. The original of the story is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth, an old Welsh chronicler, who, during the twelfth century, occupied the leisure of his convent-life in reooi'ding, in his monkish Latin, the legendary narrations which had been compiled by an un- known predecessor, in the Welsh tongue, from oral traditions and ballads and such sources, and entitled the " Chronicle of the Kings of the Isle of Britain." Lege Domine. (Lat.) Bead, my Lord. Dominus (house- holder, master, lord) was with our forefathers an hono- rary prefix corresponding to the modern Mr. (which is also Latin, viz : magister, syncopated to mayster, mai- stre, master, mister,) and applied to persons of considera- tion. In the fourteenth centiiry it was abbreviated to Danz and Dan. The now universal Mr. has finally ex- pelled its rival Dan. In Portuguese and in Spanish, on the contrary, it is dominus that has triumphed, remain- ing in those languages as the ordinary prefatory titles of respect, Dom and Don. The use of Dan by the English as a complimentary prefix continued even, to the beginning of the Elizabethan era, for we find Spencer calling Chaucer '' Dan Geoffrey," and the Earl of Surrey, in the reign of Henry VIII, wrote of " Dan Homer." Lay, n. A wager ; a bet ; a stake ; ad., one of the laity. Lat by ! The challenge of highwaymen to passengers to " stand and deliver," and remain quiet while they were being robbed of their property. Lazak-like. Covered with tatters and sores like Lazarus — the result of poison. Shakespeare seems to have been fa- mihar with the variety of poisons used by the Italians. He lived in an age when poisons were in frequent use for deadly purposes. League, Leaguer — from the German " Lager " — a besieging camp. Learn. To teach or learn. Lease. To he. Leash. Leading-string.' Leasing. Speaking falsely. Leather-coats. Russet apples. Leathern jerkin. A jacket or doublet of buff leather. With the addition of crystal buttons the garment was much fancied by persons of the middle class. 124 Leavened. Matured. Le cheval volant. (Fr.) The flying horse. Leech. A surgeon addicted to phlebotomizing his patients. Leeb. Complexion ; look. Leets. Courts of law for periodical adjudications in small cases. Leeb-look. Not always immodest. Lsa. Obeisance. Legerity. Alertness ; light and sprightly. Leges. Alleges. Leiger. An Envoy Extraordinai-y ; a distant Ambassador. Le jotjr est perdu. (Fr.) The day is lost ! Leman. a mistress ; a paramour. Lend. Impart ; to lend a grace was understood to confer one ; also, to listen ; attend. » Leno. a pander. Leonatus. Sprung from a lion. Lenten. Poor fare ; such as is supposed to distinguish fast- ing days during Lent. Lenten pie. A game pie. L'Envoy. Literally a message, but usually employed at the close of a book, either as a complimentary dedication or as descriptive of the purpose of the work. It foxms the " moral " of French ballads or songs. Lepidus. This triumvir was a man of weak intellect, held in contempt by Mark Antony. (Julius Ocesar.) His im- becility is the subject of quiet ridicule by the Bomans who accost him on his return from Egypt. {Antony and Cleopatra.) Let. To hinder. Let, v. To stop ; stay. Le Roy. (Ze Hoi, Fr.) The king. Lethe. The stream which effaced the past from the mem- ory of those who bathed in its waters. Letter. Recommendation to favor. Letters patent. An official document conveying a privi- lege or conferring rank. Leviathan. The monster of the deep alluded to in the Bible — whether a whale or a sea-serpent is unknown. Possibly a shark, because alleged to be carnivorous ; the whale cannot swallow a human being. 125 Letched. Licked over. Level. A direct line. Lewd. Idle; knavish. Lewdsteks. Disreputable persons. Levy. To raise ; recruit a force. Leopards. A crest in heraldry. It was the crest of the House of Howard, and in ancient representations of English heraldry the lion passant gardant was so like a leopard that the idea prevailed that it was the Royal crest also. But in the middle of the fifteenth century the idea was dissipated and the Lion was the acknowledged English crest. Shakespeare makes Richard II speak of the lion as the emblem of English sovereignty — "Lions make leopards tame," — but as Richard reigned in the four- teenth century the allusion is anachronic. Napoleon I, who did not relish the application of any superior at- tribute to Great Britain, always spoke of his British ad- versaries as " les leopards.''' Level. To aim ; guess ; an object aimed at. LiBBARD.. The leopard. Liberal. Too free ; licentious. 'Liberty. Libertinism. License. Licentiousness. LicHAS. The page of Hercules, as Alcides. Lief. " As lief ;" as soon as ; as readily as. Liefest. Dearest. Lies. Resides ; abides. Leiger. a resident ; an ambassador. Liegemen. Men who had vowed allegiance to the sovereign. " My Liege " was often used for " Your Majesty." Lieu. (Fr.; In place of. LiBUTENANTRY. Perfunctorily ; working by a deputy. Life. See "Wife." Lifter. A thief Now confined in use to one who slyly steals in a shop ; a " shop-lifter ; " a person addicted to kleptomania. Lightly. Commonly ; ordinarily ; of little value. Light o' love. The title of an old tune. Like and Unlike. To compare. Likelihood. Similitude ; promising. 126 Liking. Condition of the body. Likeness. Speciousness ; appeai'ance. Likes me. Pleases me. Lily livered. White livered ; cowardly. LiMANDEE. An illiterate artist's blunder for Leander, who swam across the Hellespont to visit Helen of Sestos. Limbeck. The vessel which receives the vapor or steam of distilled liquors. Limbo patkum. A place of temporary confinement in purga- tory, for the especial benefit of the clergy of the Bomish Church, until their release on the day of judgment. Lime. Cement ; also, one kind of lemon ; likewise, a sub- stance used to catch birds with, for which purpose branches are smeared with it. Limed. Caught with bird-hme. Limited. Appointed. Limits. Estimates. Line. To strengthen. Lined, or Limn'd. Delineated. Linstock, or Lint-stock. Before portfires or gunlocks were invented, twisted cotton rope attached to a stick formed the match used for igniting the gunpowder priming of ' a cannon. Lithe. Pliant ; flexible ; yielding. LiTHER. Soft ; pleasant. List. To wish ; want ; listen. Lists. Boundaries ; shares ; enclosures for a tournament. Also, chooses — " turns which way he lists." Literal. Plain spoken. Little. Miniature. Liver. Once supposed to be the test of love. Livery. Property. Still used to describe the possession of an office or benefice by a minister of the Church of England. Living. Ocular demonstration of a fact ; something tangible. " Give me a living reason." {Othello.) Livelihood. Evidence in one's looks of a happy state. Lizards' stings. A mistake ; lizards do not sting. Loach. A small prolific fish. Loam. Mortar ; cement ; clay. 127 Lob. a lout; a lubber; likewise, a mischievouB clown as jPuck is called by one of the fairies. {Midsummer- Night'' s Dream,.) Lock. A small curl of hair fastened with a ribbon and worn on the forehead. It was called a love-lock. LocKRAM. A coarse cloth. Locks. Wooden obstacles or weights attached to the hoofs of horses or cattle to prevent their straying from the pasture. Locusts, Beans; ths vegetable which, with wild honey, con- stituted the food of St: John the Baptist. There is a cluster of locust trees still extant in the locality of the Saint's early abode in Palestine. A convent exists near the spot, and beneath the altar is a star or slab of marble inscribed : " Hie precursor Doraine Christi natus est." " Here the herald of the Lord Christ was born." Persons of the Baptist denomination frequently make pilgrimages to the locality. Lode stab. The leading or guiding planet— that is, the Pole star. Lodge. Sometimes used in the sense of lay or lie ; ad., pros- trate ; s., a lonely abode in a warren. LoFFE. To laugh. LoGGATTs. A kind of dice ; castors ; dumps to gamble with. They were originally clipped from logs of wood — whence the word. Long. Along. " Long of you ;" caused by you ; it is your fault. Long engrafted. Confirmed by long habit. Longing. Belonging to. LoNGLY. Longingly. Long purples Flowers. Loon or Loun. Abbreviation of " clown." LooFBD. To luff ; brought close to the wind ; a sea term. Looped. Pierced with apertures ; applicable to the walls of fortresses whence musketry fire can be dehvered. Luffd, luffed. Sea phrase, " to windward." Loose, v. To let go ; " loose the forfeiture set on ;" sug- gest ; "loose my daughter." {Merchant of Venice.) 128 Loose shot. Random shooters, (boys ;) ti., a departure. Lop. The branch of a tree. LoKDLiNG. A little lord. Lots. Prizes. Lottery. " Dropping by -lottery," {Julius OoBsar;) proscrib- ing individuals by decimation, i. "., naming the tenth man of a certain number accused of treason or con- spiracy, or guilty of revolt. An old Roman practice. LouTED. Treated contemptuously — as one would treat a lout ; humbled ; depressed. LonvKB. Once the rendezvous of wolf (loup) hunters in Paris — afterwards enlarged to a palace. Love or Lover. An attached friend; a mistress or sweet-- heart ; a term for Venus. Loves. "Of all loves;" "In the name of our love;" "For love's sake ;" appeals to the afifection. Love in Idleness. A flower of purple dye ; the heartsease. Love Springs. The buds of love. LowTED. Vanquished. LozEL. A worthless fellow. Derived from the Italian, Laz- zaroni. Lubber's Head. A corruption of LeoparA's Head ; the sign of an old hostelry in London. Luce. The flower de luc — le fleur de lis. (Fr.) The lily; also the pike, a fish When Slender (Merry Wives of Windsor) refers to the dozen white luces on the coats- of-arms of Justice Shallow's ancestors, he intends either the flower or the fish — probably the latter, for it is an object frequently seen on the shields of old families of Norman descent. Shakespeare makes use of S'r Hugh Enans' supposed ignorance of the meaning of the word luce to indulge in a pun at the expense of Sir Thomas Lucy, the magistrate, who is said to have imprisoned the di-amatist, when a mere youth, for trespass on his park. Luce, with a little alteration in the orthography, would give the wild xjerson's utterance the appellation of an offensive insect sometimes to be found in a dirty old coat. Lud's town. The ancient name of " London " — the city of King Lud. 129 Lugged. Heavy. Lullaby. A cradle ; a song to send a child to sleep. LuNES. Whims ; changeable as Luna, the moon ; moments of lunacy. LuPEECAL. An annual feast held in Rome in honor of Luper- cas, (Pan ;) or of Lupa, a woman ; or Lupas, the wolf- ^ nurse of Komulus and Remus ; or Laperces, a famous wolf destroyer. Lurch. To win ; purloin. Lurched. Intercepted. Lure. A thing staffed to resemble the game a hawk was to pursue. Lush. Luscious; juicy; succulent; rank. Lust. Inclination ; will, or pleasure ; vigorous. LusTio. For lustig, (Dutch ;) cheerful ; lusty ; strong. Lusty. Saucy; stout. Luxurious. Lascivious. Luxury. Lust. Lym or Lyme. A blood-hound. Mab. See Queen Mab. Macbeth. If the truth supposed to be involved in the his- torical plays of Shakespeare were subjected to a severe scrutiny it would probably be found that he was more indebted to his imagination for his facts than to any records quasi authentic. We ought to be content with HoUingshed's statement that Generals Macbeth and JBanquo, having left their victorious troops to enjoy a little hunting, encountered the weird sisters upon a " blasted heath," and that what followed, in respect to the murder of Duncan, &c., was the natural fulfilment of their prophecies. Macbeth, in this view, is an odious assassin, governed exclusively by his desire to wear the crown of Scotland, and obeying the dictates of an ambi- tious wife. But Wright, in his History of Scotland from the earliest period to the present time, leads us to suppose that Macbeth had a political as well as a per- sonal motive for the murder of Duncan. He had a legiti- mate claim to th* throne. 130 It would simply confuse the reader of the play, and disturb the interest in the tradition, were Mr. Wright quoted in this place. We must be content to follow Hollibgsbed and leave the story esta posita which he has assigned it. Macduff. The realization of the prophecy of the witches that Macbeth should never be done to death by " man of woman born," goes to prove that Shakespeare was well acquainted with the Csesarean operation, which " untimely rips " the embryo chUd from the womb of a dying mother. Shakespeare possibly derived his acquaintance with the subject from a translation of Roslem's " Rose Garden of Medicine,^'' published at Worms in 1513, or, more probably, from a treatise by Franqois Rousset, a Parisian surgeon, published in 1581, nearer to Shake- speare's time, and in a language of which the poet had some knowledge. Mace. A heavy kind of sceptre ; a symbol of regal authority. The Lord Mayor of London, on state occasions, and as he takes his seat in the judgment hall of the Mansion house, (London,) is preceded by a mace-bearer. The mace, as the silent representative of the royal presence, is placed upon the table of the House of Commons be- fore the debates commence. Oliver Cromwell's com- mand that the mace (" the bauble ") should be removed was significant of a desire for the extinction of sovereign poweV. In the description of the procession in Henry VIII, at the coronation of Anne Boleyn, the Lord Mayor himself bears the mace. It was with this weighty em- blem of monarchy that Sir WiUiam Walworth, the Lord Mayor in attendance on Richard II, is said to have as- saulted the insurgent, Wat Tyler. Machiavel. The comparison of Alenqon (Henry VI) to the Italian statesman, Machiavelli, seems to be founded on the suggestion of perfidy, which occurs later in the same scene. Machiavelli's morale in diplomacy was a mass of hypocrisy and studied deceit. Alenqon carries out the same principle in saying to Charles, the French king : •' Take this compact of a truce, Althongh you break it when yowr pleasure semes." Mad. Angry ; wild ; inconsistent ; rollicky. This word is 131 used in that sense in tbe United States of America ; but in England it denotes insanity. Made. Equipped by fortune ; " A made man ;" magnificent ; boastful. Magnipico. The Italian appellation of a high class of officers. Senators bore this title. Magot-pie. See Daw. Mahomet. The founder of the faith (Islam) called after his name, Mahometan or Mahommedan. He was, say his biographers, visited by a dove, which he fed with wheat from his ear, and made his Arabian disciples believe that it was the Holy Spirit giving him ghostly counsel in whispers. Maiden flowees. Garlands ; wreaths ; coronals. Maid Marian. The supposed cAere aimee of Robin Hood. A character in the masques usually played by a rough boy. Mail. A budget or wallet. Mailed. Clad in mail (or chain) armor. Mailbd-up. Enveloped in a penitential sheet, after the man- ner in which women were publicly disgi;aced. Main course. A nautical term ; technical. Major. The premises in a logical argument. Make. To do ; to shut ; to bar. " What make you here ? " is evidently borrowed from the French /aire — to do or make. It serves Shakespeare for a pun — "I do not make, I mar.'^ Male. A bag. Malecto. Mischief. (Sp.) Malkin. Mary — abridged, as Mai, Mol. Mallard. A species of aquatic wild fowl. Malmsey nose. A scoffing name for Hardolph, {Henry 1 Y,) whose nose had been reddened by numerous potations of Malmsey Madeira. Malt worms. Beer drinkers. Mammering. Stammering ; hesitating.' Mammets. Lexicographers explain this word by " puppets " — marionettes; but Hotspur {Henry IV) evidently re- fers to the female bosom, or why connect it with " tilting with lips \ " Mammock. To cut in pieces. 132 Man. To arm ; to tame a hawk. Manacle. A hand-cuff. Manage. Good housekeeping ; from the French menage ; also, horse government, equitation, (from manege, Fr. ;) also, circumstance; peculiar. Mandkake. a root. Mandsagora. a wild plant of narcotic property. Identical, perhaps, with mandrake. Mankind witch. A ferocious female ; wild and pernicious. Manner. Custom ; an act ; stolen property. Manningtree. a town in Essex, (England,) where cattle fairs were held and miracles performed. Manqueller. Man-killer. Mantuan. a Carmelite monk; his name was Mantuarus, and he was the author of Sunday Eclogues. Manus. (Lat.) The hand. Many a time, and oft. A tautologous phrase, apparently com- mon ill Shakespeare's time Marches. Borders of land ; confines. Marchpane. A sweet kind of cake or bread, {pain, ox pane,) compounded of flour, sugar, or treacle and almonds. Mare. This was a nickname for a two or three-legged scaf- fold, on which malefactors were hung. Margent. a margin or border. Mark. A coin worth thirteen shillings and four pence English. The exclamation, " God bless the mark," originated with the Venetians ; but whether it referred to the coin, or to St. Mark, the patron saint, is difiB.cuIt of explanation. Marmoset. The flying squirrel. Marry ! At a time when the Boman Catholic religion pre- vailed in England, the name of the Virgin " Mary " was continually in the mouths of the people. It was gradually corrupted to '■ Marry," as " God's wounds !" and other pious adjurations became " Zounds !" '' Ouns," '' Blood and OunS," &c. But Shakespeare makes the mistake of putting the ejaculation into the mouths of heathen Eomans, {Julius Coesar.) What did Republican Rome know of the Holy Virgin? Makry trap. An oath. Marshal, v. To indicate ; to lead ; n., a title of military and 133 civil dignity. The " Lord High Marshal " is an officer of great state. Martial. Military ; authoritative ; " martial stalk," the pace of a soldier. Maetial hand, a careless scrawl. Mart, n. A market or exchange ; v., to bargain ; exchange. Maetlemas or Martinmas. (St. Martin's feast.) A term for smoked beef for winter use. Martlet. Another name for the marten, or swallow, which always builds its nest in eaves, the corners of roofs and buttresses. Mass. " By the mass !" by the by ; by the way ; an old ex- clamation or oath, as we now say " By Jove !" or " By Jingo !" Massy. Weary. Master. A familiar form of personal address among ple- beians. Match. Wager ; undertaking ; duty ; engagement ; equal ; to set a match, was the thieves' phrase for devising a plot. Mated. Confounded. Material. PuU of matter. Material fool. A fool gifted with knowledge. Matin. The morning ; also, the mass at a Catholic altar per- formed in the morning, Matter. Variety of business. Maugre. Corruption of malgre, (Fr.;) notwithstanding. Madnd. a basket. May OS Life. The spring-time of existence ; often errone- ously printed " Way of Life " in Macbeth. See Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing, where " May " rep- resents youth. May pole. A lofty pole, around which rustics danced in the month of May. Maze. An abridgment of amaze ; perplex ; also, as a noun, '■ a tangled wood," through which a traveller makes his way with difficulty. Mazes. Marks made by the foot ; an old boyish game. Mazzahd. The head. Meacock. Tame ; yielding. 134 Mealed. Fed ; supplied with meals ; powdered ; dusted. Mean. A method ; a way ; a tenor singer ; a mezzo-so-prano ; gifted with a note or voice needed to blend the base with atto. Meanders. Irregular curving paths or roads. Means. Source of livelihood ; interest. Mean eves. Inferior spectators. Measure, v. To dance ; " tread a measure ;" also, a space or degree ; precautionary action. Measure for Measure. This play was founded on the play of Pomos and Cassandra, written by Geo. Whelstone, and produced in 1578. Meazels. a low class of people ; lepers. Mechanical. The profession of cobblers, carpenters, and all who Uved by handicraft. The scornful way in which the artificers were addressed by the Tribunes {Julius Ccesar, Act I, Scene I) sufficiently indicates that the great Roman Republic, which existed for 500 years, had dwindled to an oligarchy, and was now on the verge of imperialism. Mbchante fortune. (Pr.) Sad misfortune; malignant for- tune. Medal. Poi'trait. Meddle. To mingle. Medea. The nocturnal gathering of herbs for old Eson's sake was the only good action recorded of this horrible personage. Medici te ipsum. (Lat.) Physician, heal thyself! Medicine. A female physician. Meed. Reward ; praise. Meet. A match ; fitting. Meherde ! By Hercules ! Meiney. Domestics. Meleager. When York {Henry VI, Act I, Scene II) speaks of the "Prince's heart of Calydon," he refers to the hero of antiquity who slew the boar that was devasta- ting the country. Mell. Mingle with men ; trifle with, &c. Memmerino. Hesitating. Memory. Memorial. 135 Memories. Memorials. Memorize. To be remembered. Mends. Remedies. Menelaus. The unfortunate husband of Helen of Troy, who eloped with Paris. Her incontineney justified the al- lusion in 3d part of Henry VI. Mephistopbiles. a familiar spirit, of whom the German poet, Goethe, has made great use in the story of Faust. Meeoatante. (Ital.) A merchant. Merchant. The affix " Koyal," which the Doge of Venice ap- plies to Antonio., (^Merchant of V&tdce,) represents, as far as words go, the exalted character of a trader in a city which had become rich, warlike, and politically powerful through its commerce with other nations. Merchant of Venice. The two principal incidents of this charming play are to be found separately in a collection of old stories, which were very popular, at least five hundred years ago, under the title of " Gesta Romano- rum." The stories, with some changes of name, are fol- lowed so literally in the play, that it would be a waste of space and type to quote them. Mercy. " I cry you mercy ! " a colloquial idiom tantamount to the modern " I beg your pardon." Pew passages in the whole range of Shakespeare s plays has a greater vogue than t'ortiaHa futile attempt to move Shylook from his purpose by her appeal to his sense of the "quality of mercy." In rendering the speech practically ineffective, (i. e., as far as its ultimate results are depicted in the play,) Shakespeare mani- fested a fair comprehension of the intensity of the Jewish hate inspired by centuries of Christian persecu- tion. '■ The villainy you (the Christian) teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard, but I will better the in- struction." The rebuke is striking, and well merited. Even in Shakespeare's time the Spanish Inquisition persecuted the Jews, and put them to death, and in modern times, Russian Gentiles have had legal author- ity for the wholesale eviction, if not worse, of thou- sands of Hebrews. It was deemed a clever proof of the thoughtfulness and originality of a Scotch actor, named 136 Macklin, who was considered by the public, for his mas- terly personation, " The Jew That Shakespeare drew," that when Portia says, " we pray for mercy," he shook his head, thereby negativing the proposition; but if this were his pm-pose he manifested much ignorance, for the words " forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," not only occur in the Old Testament but in the Hebrew Talmud also. Shakespeare was not content to confine his observations on the divine quality of mercy to the famous speech in the Merchant of Venice. It occurs in Measure for Meastire and forms a touching portion of Isabella's ap- peal to Angelo. Likewise it is incidentally spoken of in 2'itus Andronicus : " Sweet mercy is nobility's ia:ue badge." Mered. Limited. IUebely. Simply ; coldly ; solely ; purely ; absolutely. Merlin. A mythical enchanter, supposed to be contempo- rary with King Arthur. Mermaid. The " fabulous animal " referred to by Oberon {Midsummer-Night'' s Dream) as riding on a dolphin's back, is supposed to image Mary, Queen of Scots, who married the Dauphin of Prance. The allegory may be accepted as readily as its sequel, which implied that " the fair vestal throned in the West," meant the Virgin Queen Elizabeth whom Cupid's arrow missed. Was it a merit in the throned vestal to be insensible to the ten- der passion? If she were, history lies in ascribing to her a womanly interest in Essex and Leicester at differ- ' ent periods. Merry Bond. A bond in jest, having no legal significance or intended operation if the penalty were incurred. Merry Wives of Windsor. This very amusing comedy is said to have been written at the express desire of Queen Elizabeth, who wished to see how Shakespeare would treat Sir John Palstaff in love. Shakespeare knew that love in its purer form could never have found a place in the heart of the sensuous knight, hence his rep- 137 resentation of Falstaff''s attempted violation of the seventh commandment. A popular modern writer has made good three points of interest in connection with The Merry Wives of Windsor : First, that it is most likely that the poet did write the piece by the command of the Queen, because he had never been in the habit of localizing his comedies in England, and nothing less than her Majesty's orders could have induced him to desert from a practice that had obvious advantages. Secondly, the comedy bears traces of close study of locality. The Garter Tavern, in which it is known Shakespeare's comrades — probably Gascoyne, the Queen's messenger — indulged ; "mine host"— a big, influential, self-conceited burgher, as big as a brewer in our day— sitting at table with his guests, and giving to whomsoever he pleased the place at his right hand as the place of honor, and " bully-rooking," doubtless, those who grumbled at his insolence; the red-tiled house, in which the Fords hved, over the street on the slope under Salisbury Tower, a house with its porch and windows bo overlooked by the tavern that Ford's wife could not possibly step over her door with- out being seen straight in the face by any idler at " The Garter " — a house, therefore, especially fit for the scene of a merry intrigue ; " The Fields," away out in the Great Park on the road to Frogmore — a proper ground for a duel in sport ; the goblin-haunted " Puck's-lane," running from these fields into the town ; the haunted oak tree in the Queeu's-walk in the Little Park, and close by it the pretty fairy dell carpeted with flowers and draped with ferns and all manner of winsome verdure : in these it is shown that names, scenes, and legends for the play not only came ready to Shakespeare's hand, but that he must have carefully studied them every one. Lastly, by an elaborate and minute comparison of the first and second drafts of the play, it is shown that they represent two different states of the poet's mind — states that differ as two lives — the difference being due to the fact that Shakespeare refined upon the original, purified it from its first grossness, excising all the oaths and . 12 138 coarse expressions which, if truth must be told,' he had even the bad taste to put into the mouths of timid Master Slender and '■'■Sweet Anne Page." Nay, he knows that the poet went further in his work of peni- tential purification. He heightened the very moral of his play, and so it came to pass that Sir John, who in the first draft was not forgiven and reconciled, in the second had extended to him the sweet, wise charity of Mrs. Page : " Good husband, let us every one go home, and laugh this sport o'er by a country fire. Sir John and all" — "not" to rejoice in the old sinner's burns and pinches, but to crown a merry day, a day that never had a spice of serious mischief, in the cheer of an Eng- Ush fire and the fellowship of an English board. Mess. A party of four persons. Messes. A household degree ; the " lower messes " were the parts of the tables of the retainers and others who sat '' below the salt," which was placed in the middle of the board. Metaphysical. Supernatural. Meteors. The tilting of the heart's meteors is obviously a picture of internal struggles. Methinks. I think. Method. (In madness,) would imply that the state of insan- ity is under certain regulations. Meteyabd. a measuring yard. Mettle. Spu-it ; courage ; often confounded with or treated as a synonym of " metal ;'' the two words have the same etymology. Mew, v. To shut up ; encage. When falconry was a Eoyal pastime, the trained hawks were kept in London in the King's grounds, in a building called, on that account, "The Mews." The buildings now form the Royal Sta- bles, but the name is preserved. MicHBR. A thief ; a bad fellow. MicHiNG Mallecho. Doiug mischief. (From the Spanish.) MiCKLE. Much ; great. A Scotch word at one time in con- siderable use in England. The word, as used by the Friar, in Romeo and Juliet, proclaims the " powerful grace " that lies in herbs, plants, &c. Shakespeare ap- 139 pears to have been acquainted with fifteen kinds of wild flowers, nine or ten garden exotics, and a great variety of trees, shrubs, and weeds. He had likewise acquired a familiar knowledge of their value as spices, medicines or poisons. See Plants and Plowebs. Microcosm. The entire composition of Man. Midas. The " hard food " of the foolish King of Phrygia is felicitously glanced at in the contemplation of the golden casket. {Merchant of Venice.) Middle Summer's Spring. The description given by Titania {Midsummer-NigM s Dream) of the strange changes and fluctuations in the English climate was borne out in the season of 1594 when, as in several years of later cen- turies, winter was found "in the lap of spring," and summer was a continuous period of heavy rains and cold winds. MiLroED Haven. A port in the western extremity of England. Mill Sixpences. Coins rendered smooth by being turned in a mill. They were used as counters in games of chance and skill. MiNXE, V. To walk affectedly. Mincing, ad. Small ; delicate ; dainty. Mind, v. To remind ; remember. Mines, w. Undermined. Minimus. Small ; dwarfed. Minion. A favorite ; a pet. Minnow. A small fish antithetical to the poetical Triton. Minotaurs. Hideous objects. See " Minotaurus " in any classical dictionary. Minstrelsy. The office of a minstrel ; the results of his per- formance. A minstrel was an attendant upon a king. Minute Jack. Jack-o'-Lantern, (q. v.) Friends and compan- ions of the moment ; sunshine friends. Mi peedonte. Pardon me, (Ital.) MiEABLE. Wonderful. Misconceived. Mistaken. La PuceUe {Henry VI) calls her captors " misconceivers " MiscEEATE. Illegitimate ; spurious. Misdoubt. To suspect. MiSEE. A poor wretch — not merely a hoarder of money. 140 Misery. Avarice. MisGRAPFED. Badly matched or grafted, as flowers are some- times, in error, attached to unsuitable stoplet. MisuEE. Dislike. MisPBiSED. Mistaken. Miss, V. To spare ; dispense with ; do without. MoBLED. This word has crept in probably all of the modern editions of Shakespeare through the egregious blunder of a copyist. It is not Shakespeare's. It occurs in Hamlet. The player describing ^neas^ tale to Dido of the distraction of Hecuba, uses the phrase, " The Mobled Queen." Hamlet, with the instincts of a scholar and a man of sense, interrupts the player with an interrogation, "Mobled?" Polonius, the seM-elected critic, " most ignorant of what he's most assured ! " does not offer an explanation of the term, but in the confi- dence that his ipse dixit wUl be accepted, as a matter of course, exclaims, '' That's good ; ' Mobled Queen ' is good !" Now, the context and the poet himself show that the term is anything but " good." The lexicogra- phers, " holding their farthing candle to the sun," state that the word is obsolete, but when in use meant Muf- fled. Was Queen Hecuba muffled ? She had a blanket thrown over her loins and a clout upon the head which once had worn a diadem. Ergo, the term is not " good," as applied to her condition, and when we turn to the first printed edition .of Hamlet, in 1623, we find the word iwobled, short for igrnobled, as antagonistic to ennobled, and " ignobled " fitly describes Queen Hecuba's degraded state. The close proximity of the " i " to the " n " in " inobled " seems to have caused the first copyist to have mistaken the combined letters for " m /" and though the word is. repeated thrice in good, legible print, it has not escaped being printed erroneously three times. Missives. Messengers. MiSTEMPERED. AugTy ; lU-humored. MiSTFuii. Disposed to weep. MiSTHiNK. To think unfavorably of any one. Mistress. The Jack in a game at bowlsa To " kiss the mis- 141 tress " was to strike the bowl forming what in billiards is called a carom. 'tl Mistress Moll. A woman notorious in the sixteenth century for her masculine habits. Mo'. More. ''Sigh no mo',- ladies." Moan. To make moan ; regret. Moated Grange. A lonely farm surrounded (protected) by a moat. MoBLED. Veiled ; muffled, (perhaps mobbled.) The word, as it occurs in Samlet, has often been pronounced Mob-led, as if many persons were preceding and approaching the raving queen mentioned in the player's speech. Mock-wateb. a mispronunciation of ilfMc/c-water ; the liquid strained from a dung-heap. Mock, v. To make light of — treat contemptuously — work, or any charge, by going to sleep over it. In the phrase " mocks the meat it feeds on," which occurs in some of the editions of Shakespeare, it is conjectured that the author wrote or meant " makes the meat it feeds ou," i. e., continually imagines or conjures up objects of jealousy, " trifles light as air," to strengthen and con- firm previous suspicions. Model, n. An example ; a platform ; a guide ; a figure ; v., to construct after an example ; to fashion. Modern. Moderate ; slight ; ordinary. Modesty. Moderation. Module. A model. MoE. To grin ; make ugly faces ; mutter. Moiety. A portion ; from the Fr. moitee ; half. Moist-stab. See Moon. MoLD-wARP or Mould-warp. The mole. Mole. Not only a tenant of the earth, but a blemish ; a scar " despised in nativity." Mollification, Softening ; ^'jEJmolUt tnores,^' &c. Molles aer. Mild atmosphere Mome. An extremely dull, silent person. " Sitting mum chance," or " mome chance," is still in modern use and applies to a person who never speaks unless " by chance ' spoken to. MoMENTANY. Synouymous with " momentary." 142 MoNAKCHo. A hair-brained Italian who fancied himself Mon- arch of the Universe. MoNGKEL. A creature of mixed breed. (Qy., a Mongrelian?) MoNS. (Lat.) Hill or mountain. MoNSTEK, V. To make monstrous. Monsters. Superhuman ; but in Hamlet's reproachful speech to Ophelia, implying " horned beasts." MoNTANTo. An old term in fencing; also, a large sword, grasped and wielded by both hands. Heatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, in applying the word to Benedick, is ironically reflecting on his valor. Month's mind. Disposed to say masses for an entire month in the hope of gaining an object. MoNTEz A CHEVAL. (Fr.) Mouut youF horse ! Mood. Anger ; humor. Moody. Melancholy. Moon. No planet has been more serviceable to poets than Luna, Diana, Cynthia, Phcebe, or by whatever name it hath pleased them to designate her. The attributes as- signed to the moon are numerous. In Shakespeare alone we find "the cold moon," "the watery,'" "the pale- faced," "the inconstant,'" the "aboue of light honor." When Titania {Midsummer- Nig hffs Dream) says that when the moon "weeps," " Every little flower weeps also," she refers to the fact that the clouds which cover the moon's face, rendering it "hazy," in modern parlance, indicates the general humidity of the atmosphere, and is the precursor of rain. The " moist star '' is another appellation, originating in an old idea that the moon ex- ercised an influence upon the tides. The odd conceit of " The Man in the Moon," was, in all Ukelihood, de- rived from the resemblance which the arrangement of the mountains, volcanoes, and plains, when the moon is at " the full," bears to a grotesque human face. And that resemblance has suggested to many persons the no- tion that the moon (or " the man " within it) sees what- ever passes on the earth. Lord Byron adopted the idea, (see the mythological story of JSndym,ion,) and rebuked Diana for contemplatmg wicked sights and looking " so 143 modest all the while." Byron's conceit had its precur- sor in the " Amphitryon " of Moliere. Apostrophizing the Moon, Amphitryon says: " Ou Yous fait confidante, en cent olimats divers, De beaucoup de bonnes affaires. " Which may be freely rendered : " You are made the con- fidante, in a hundred different climates, of many pleas- ant deeds " Moon calp. A monstrous conception ; a dolt. MooNiSH. Variable ; whimsical. Moor. See Othello. Mope, v. To ruminate ; sulk ; give way to melancholy. Mops and Mowes. Grimaces ; giins. Mopping. Making hideous faces. Moral. The concealed meaning ; the true purpose of an ac- tion, or the philosophical deduction from an incident or a fable. Moralize.^ To descant upon ; to draw a moral conclusion from a natural occurrence. More-bettbb. The double adverb and similar linguistic re- dundancies were in common use in the Elizabethan era, and for some time before and since. " Most boldest," " most unkindest," were the superlatives of the common tautology. MoBisco. A native of Morocco. Morsel. A very small person. Most. Greatest. MooRDiTCH. A part of the fosse enveloping old London ; the soil being swampy in the vicinity, it was avoided by the citizens, who feared malaria ; hence the term " melan- choly." Morris. A rustic game. Several descriptions of the " Nine Men's Morris," as it was called, are extant. It was, per- haps, of Moorish origin, whence its corrupted title. Al- chorne describes the game as it was played by rustics in the midland counties of England : Three squares were cut in the turf, and two persons each took nine stones (as " men," " chickens," draughts, or checkers, &c.,) and placed them by turns at the several angles. He could place them in a straight line, might then take off any 144 t of his adversaiys whenever he pleased, and the one who was thus deprived of all his men lost the game. It is conjectured .by some old writers that the " Morris dance " was either a dance when the game had been played, or was simply a rustic revel, confined to nine men. MoRKis PIKE. A Moorish spear. Morsel. A very sweet person. MoRT. Death. "A mort" described a state of stupefaction — a suspension of the faculties ; but commonly addressed to persons who were either sulky or dumb from surprise. MoRT OF THE DEER. A blast On the huntsman's honi, announc- ing the death of the chased deer. MoRT DE MA VIE ! (i'V.) Death of my life ! — equivalent to " By my life ! " It is extinct as a French oath or ejaculation. MoRT Du ViNAiGRE. Death by vinegar. An old French ex- clamation. Mortal. Murderous ; fatal ; abounding ; extreme. Mortal engines. Cannon. Mortal gate. The entrance to a besieged city, where a mor- tal conflict would naturally take place if an attempt were made to seize the place by storm. Mortal staring. Killed by a look ; the Evil Bye ; the glance of the basilisk. Mortal worm. A deadly serpent. Mortified. Ascetic; abstinent. MosE., An equine disorder. Mot. a motto. Mote. A trifling incident calculated to " trouble the mind's eye." Mother. Hysteric passion. Motion. Desires ; divinitory agitation ; a puppet. Motions. Indignation. Motive. Motion ; movement ; principle ; and that which im- parts motion ; a motor. Moth of peace. An idler at home during a war. Motley. Vari-colored. Motley-minded. Capricious. Mouse, n. A term of endearment; v., to tear in pieces as a cat would tear a captive mouse. 145 Mouse-hunt. A weasel ; a nocturnal libertine. Mountain foreigner. A Welshman. Mountain sire. A reference to Edward III of England who was of Welsh extraction. His father, born at Carnar- von, having been proclaimed the first Prince of Wales. Mountebank. Prom Saltimbanque, Pr.; a tumbler, (acrobat,) or a quack who mounts a bench whence to proclaim his infalhble specifics. Moys. a gold Portuguese coin ; the Moidore. Pistol mis- takes the pronoun moi (me) uttered by the French soldier ( Henry V) iat an allusion to the money. The value of the coin was twenty-seven shillings English. Much. Strange ; wonderful ; indeed ! (sarcastically. ) MuEFLEE. A cloak or covering for the lower part of the face. MuLiER, (Lat.) A woman. Mules. Silent witnesses. MuLETiES. Mule drivers. MuLMUTics. The traditional feast of the Anglo-Saxon Kings. Mulled. Softened. Multiplied. Multitudinous. Multitudinous. Innumerable ; full of multitudes. Mum budget. A cant compound for silence and immobility. It was used by the gipsies as a sort of watchword or shibboleth. Mummies. The drops of liquor exuding from the bodies in the sarcophagi. Mummy. A kind of gum or wax which was formerly supposed to have a curative property. It is much used still in Per- sia, where it is called Mome, and is employed to close up wounds and set bones. Mural clown. Exit the actor {Midsummer- NigM s Dream) who had been playing Wall (Muse) in the comical tragedy of JPyramus and Thisbe. Mure. A wall ; from the Prench muraille, whence " to im- mure ;" wall up ; confine. Murderinq-piece. a piece that " gives superfluous death in many places ;" apparently an ancestor of the Gatling or Mitrailleuse. MuBKY. Darkf Murrain. A cattle plague. Shakespeare uses the word as 13 ( 146 an adjective, the "murrain flock." Sheep losing their wool by the disease become the prey of the crows. MuRTHERED. The old orthography of " murdered." MuscADEL. A Spanish wine, in greater use three centuries ago than at the present day. MusoLE-SHELL, or rather (as it should be) Mussel-sheW.. The open shell-iish to which JP'alstaff compares Simple, {Merry Wives of Windsor,) who is a kind of gobe mouche, or fly-catcher, with his mouth ever open — a characteristic of idiots. Muse, v. To wonder ; marvel. Muses. " The thrice three Muses mourning for the death of learning " was a cunning shaft at the neglect of letters at the time. Music. The softening and refining influence of music is a favorite topic of Shakespeare's. He evidently had a vile opinion of those who were not moved by " concord of sweet sounds," but he lost sight of the fact that the people, as a nation, most given to the patronage of the " heavenly maid " are the Italians, and none are more addicted to " treasons, stratagems, and spoils." Musk roses. Does not this mean the yellow flower now called the musk? There is nothing in the Herbal of 1597 to show that it had any affinity with the rose either in perfume or color. Perhaps Shakespeare wrote Moss rose. Muss or Must. A scramble. Mutine. a meeting ; a mutineer. Mysteries. Strange objects and appearances. N" Naked frailties. Half-clothed persons. Names. It is rather singular that in the plays derived from the Italian, or where the scene is laid in Italy or France, Shakespeare should give all his low comedy characters English names. Thus Dogberry and Verges, Sir Toby Bdeh, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Speed, Launce, Elbow, Froth, Overdone, Finch, Dull, Moth, ' Touchstone, Martext, William, Curtis, &c., illustrate the incon- 147 gruity of preserving an Italian nomenclature among the serious characters, and giving odd English names to the vulgar and humorous personages. In the trage- dies more consistency of purpose is apparent. "What could be Shakespeare's object in this incongruity ? Did he consider ignorance and vulgarity exclusively English ? Napkin. A handkerchief. Napless. Threadbare; shabby. Native. Naturally. Nature. Natural parent. Natural, n. An idiot. Nature's liveev. The outer indication of the inward and spiritual. Naught, Nought. Nothing ;^ unworthy. " Be naught ;" Be out of the way. Naughty. Unfit. Nay-word. A by-word. Neaf. The hand, or the fist. Neat. A calf ; a young bullock. Neb. The mouth. Need, v. To be inclined. " Much I need to help you were there need." (Richard III.) Needs. Of a certainty ; necessity. Neelds. Needles. Nbeze, v. To sneeze. Nemean. The "hardy lion" slain by Hercules. Nephew. A lineal descendant. Neptune's Salt Wash. An estuary in Lincolnshire. Nerve. Strength of will. NERvn. The warlike Belgians who occupied the province now called Hainault. Nervy. Strong. Nestor. The old Greek commander who led his friends against the Trojans. The gravity of his speeches ( Troilus and Cressida) justifies Qratiand's observation that he could not relish a jest. Nessus. The shirt of this Centaui- was supposed to possess the power of wooing a faithless husband from his illicit attachments. Mark Antony alludes to the garment as giving him, the wearer, the faculty of casting ofi^ 148 Cleopatra. Nessus had a bad notoriety for his amours and ravishments. Netteb stocks. Stockings, or socks. Never so. Ever so ; a convertible term meaning "very much so." New added. Reinforced ; strengthened in numbers. New create. Give sudden birth to. Newness. Innovation. News crammed. In the passage in the dialogue between Rosalind and Celia, {As You Like It,) Celia observes that Le Beau wUl put news upon them "as pigeons feed their young." In this Shakespeare presents the reader with another of those bits of natural history,with which he had become familiar. The mother pigeon carries the food she has collected in her croup, whence she transfers it to her beak, and therewith crams the young whose mandibles are opened wide for the wel- come repast. Newt. The eft — a small Uzard supposed to be venomous. Next. Nearest. Nice. Small ; petty j trifling ; foolish. Nicholas, or St. Nicholas. The tutelary deity of boys and thieves. Nick, v. To cut short the hair. Court fools had their hair nicked to make room for their close-fitting caps. Nick, n. Credit at an ale-house — the reckoning was kept by nicks on a tally, slate, or sUp of wood; beyond all reckoning. NiEF. See Neat. Niggard, ad. Parsimonious ; n., a miser. NiGHTED. Gloomy ; dark ; unhappy. Night dogs. The lurchers of poachers. Night Rule. See Rule. NrLL. Will not ; a familiar version of " Nolens, volens '' — " Nill you, win you," whether you will or not. Nine Men's Morris. See Morris Dance. NiNNT. A fool. Niobe. The princess of Lydia, who wept unceasingly for the loss of her children at one fell swoop, furnished the "all tears " allusion for JSamlet. 149 Noble. A coin worth six shillings and eight pence, (English.) Noble having. Elevation to noble rank. Noble respect. The speech of Theseus, {Midsummer- NigM s Dream,) in which this compound occurs, is grand and generous. It teaches the grace and duty of accepting works done with a good intention, and happily de- scribes the embarrassment of " great clerks " (or may- ors, aldermen, and such like personages) when they greet a superior or popular man with "'premeditated welcome" awkwardly expressed. NoBLESs. Noblesse, (Fr.;) nobility ; nobleness. Noble touch. Unalloyed metal. Nobody. The picture of a head attached to limbs only — once a common sign for stores and ale-houses. Noddy. A foolish person ; a game at cards, in which " Neddy " was " nothing," whence the pun Ned-I or Noday. Noise. An old technical term for a band of music, or, rather, the music of a band. Nonce. " Nones ;" occasion ; purpose. " Then ones '' — for once in a way. NoN COM. Brief for non compos mentis, (Lat.;) a disturbed state of mind. None. Non-existent; dead. Non egit Mauki Jaculis nec akcu. (Lat.) Non nobis. The first words of a hymn of thankfulness to God ; " not us, or ours." Nonpareil, (Fr.) Without equal or parallel. Nook shotten. A shore full of nooks, capes, creeks, corners ; irregular of form. Noontide pbick. The dial point at noon. Northekn man. a country clown. NoRWEYAN. A Norwegian. Note. Notice ; a receipt. Nothing. A cipher ; a nonentity. It is also used for " Not at all;" "Not by any means." Notre tres oher pils, Henry, Eoi d'Angleterre, hebitier de France. (Fr.) Our well-beloved son, Henry, King of England and heir of France. , NoTT pated. With the head shorn of hair. Nourish, v. To nurse ; likewise, a nurse, as the name was so spelled in Shakespeare's time. 150 NousLE. To fondle as a nurse. Novum. A game with dice, called usually novum quinqne, from the principal and most lucky throw being nine and five. Novum hominem tanquam te. (Lat.) A new (or inexperienced) man like thyself. NowLE or Nole. An antiquated name for the head. NoTANCE. Annoyance ; nuisance. Nun. Shakespeare uses this appellation (in Midsummer- NigMs Dream) in preference to "vestal," possibly, because he did not suppose his readers or auditors were acquainted with the class of Roman and Greek virgins who Uved " barren sisters " out of respect to Diana. NuBSE. A controversy arose some years since in the United States (suggested by an amateur Shakespearian scholar) as to the applicability of the epithet " old " to the nurse in Rom,eo and Juliet. It was held that although Juliet calls her nurse " old," she could not have been a person advanced in years. The position was correct. The term " old " is relative ; what is old in Italy and in America is young in colder latitudes. Simply because Juliet, in her impatience, classes her among "old folks," and the Nurse herself says she has only four teeth left, the majority of English and American actresses act the part as if the woman were seventy years of age. Now, the inference which students of Shakespeare, who are acquainted with the climate of Italy and its effects upon the human frame, draw from the allusions to the age and infirmity of the garrulous gossip is that she wag probably sixteen or seventeen years of age when she wet-nvu:sed Juliet. She would, therefore, be thirty- one at the supposed time of the play — for Juliet is not fourteen, and the precocity which makes Italian women mothers at fourteen, and even earUer, carries them into the infirmities of old age at thirty. We know that in warm latitudes life is discounted by the chmate, and there are thousands of women who at thirty have not four teeth in their head. Moreover, the habits of lite in America, Italy, and Spain (candies, tight lacing, late 151 hours, over-eating, iced water, etc.) advance life terribly among the sex, and destroy the teeth, and she who would be buxom in England, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, and North Germany, is decrepit elsewhere at an early period. Ergo, Shakespeare's iVwrse is "old" at thirty-one. The " childish treble " adopted by the majority of nurses on the stage is a conventional ab- surdity, and leads inconsiderate hearers into a false impression. Actresses are generally uneducated per- sons. They are, for the most part, reflections of their illiterate predecessors, and in their ignorance they transmit and perpetuate error. NuBSEE. One who fosters anybody, thing, or project. NuKTUBE. Good bu'th and breeding. Nut hook. An expressive term for a gatherer of i^uts or other men's goods. o O'. An abbreviation of "on." The "O" mentioned by the Chorus in Henry V refers to the form of the Globe Theatre. Oab. To row. Obdurate. Hard ; obstinate. In uttering some of the pas- sages in which the word occurs, the accent lies either on the penultimate or the final syllable, according to the music or measure of the line, without changing the signification of the word. Object. As a noun, the accent is laid on the first syllable ; when a verb is expressed, the stress hes on the last. — v. To propose justly. Obligations. Bonds. Oblivion. Porgetfulness. Obolum. (Lat.) A halfpenny. Obscenely. Unseemly ; Bottom, the weaver, in his ignorance, uses "obscenely" for "obscurely." Obsequious. Funereal; mUd; obedient. Observation. Celebration. Observe. Bespect ; to bow to. Obstacle. Corruption of obstinate. 152 Occasions. Circumstances of which advantage can be taken. "To breed occasions." Occupation. Mechanical. Occupy. To wench. OccuRKENCE. Incident. Odd even. Between one time and another; twilight and midnight. Oddly. Unequally. Odds. Hostilities ; " Living at odds ; " abiding in a state of enmity. Od's body. One of the many ancient interjections ; Od's be- ing a euphuism for God's — Od's plessing (blessing,) Od's heartlings, &c., are of this character ; " Od's nouns " is Mr. Quickly's mistake for " God's wounds," or " Od zouns." Odds pitikens ! God pity me ! Oeillakd. (Pr. ceillade.) A glance. O'er. Over. O'eeblows. Prevails ; blows away. O'ebcrow. Overcome. O'ebeaten faith. Surfeited with and voided. O'erlook. To pass over ; overflow ; fascinate. O'ebparted. Overweighted with a part in a drama. O'ekraught. Overreached. O'ertook. Overcome by drink. Oes, pi. n. Stars ; spangles ; anything circular. Or, jorep. Often used for " by " or " with." Off. Irrelevant. Offering. Challenge. Office, n. Service ; place of business. Office, v. To render service ; do duty for another. Offices. Culinary apartments ; rooms in a palace. Old. Enough to do. Old age. Ages past. Old ends. Shght terminations of letters. Old-faced. Rugged ; defaced. Olivers and Rowlands. Two pieces of equal power in Char- lemagne's list of twelve. " Give him a Rowland for his Oliver," a common form, even in modern times, of giv- ing " tit for tat." 153 Omen. A sign; an augury. "A prologue to an omen," in Hamlet, seems de trop, omens being themselves the prologues of dire events, according to ancient supersti- tions. Once. In the sense of " at once," and once for all. One. Equal; "That's all one;" no matter; "All's one for that." Oneybes. Exclusives. On't. Of it. Ooze. The various meanings of ooze, (still in use,) whether as a noun or verb, are employed by Shakespeare, some- times to express flowing out, or caused to flow ; some- times to signify softness, mud, slime, &c. Open. " In open ; " openly ; publicly. Operant. Capable of action. Opinion. Obstinacy ; conceit ; reputation. Opposbless. Invincible ; not to be effectually opposed. Opposite. Opposed to ; confronting. Opposition. Face to face in a combat. Oppugnancy. Opposition. Oebs. Fairy circles on the grass. Orbs. In Midsummer- 17'ight's Dream, a fairy speaks of its duty on "dewing the orbs'' of Titania. The fairy rings or orbs are those circular patches found some- times in meadows, caused probably by the sheep avoid- ing the herb within a certain circumference — "grass whereof the ewe not bites" — (Tempest,) because it may have been poisoned by snakes or other deleterious visit- ors, or have natural poisonous qualities. Amongst the peasantry in England, and especially in Ireland, the notion prevails that these "orbs" are the dancing ground of the "good people," (the fairies.) Titania speaks of dancing a "roundel;" dancing "in our round," and our "ringlets." In a modern English periodical, the sub- joined explanation of the rings is given by two well- known agricultural chemists : " The circles of dark-green grass which frequently occur on pasture land, and which haYe been long known by the name of ' fairy rings,' have attracted much attention from botanists and vege- table physiologists. Professor Way, in 1846, explained this phenomenon as follows : 'A fungus is developed on a single 154 spot of ground, sheds its seeds, and dies. On the spot where it grows it leaves a valuable manuring of phosphoric acid and alkalies, etc. : the ground then becomes occupied by a vigorous ci op of grass, rising like a phcenix on the ashes of its prede- cessor. The grass crop is then removed, and with it the greater part of the inorganic materials the fungus had collected.' Pro- fessor Way, therefore, attributed the effect chiefly to the inor- ganic elements." Ordee. Authority ; measure ; take order ; arrange. Ordinance. Bank ; degree ; a mistake for ordnance. Ordinaries. Public dinners. Ordnance. Shakespeare had evidently a very imperfect ac- quaintance with the history of the invention and use of cannon in Europe. In Hamlet, King John, and other plays, ordnance is adverted to as if in use before it was invented. Or e'er. Before. Orgulous. Proud ; derived from the Fr. orgueilleux. Orisons. Prayers said aloud. Orphan heirs, or Ouphen heirs. " Of fixed destiny." This curious combination has never been satisfactorily solved. It has been supposed to imply that ouphens (fairies) had neither parentage nor a future. Orpheus. A youth of rare musical taste and capacity who, according to Virgil, Ovid, and Horace, conceived an un- fortunate passion for Eurydice. Ort. a fragment. OspREY. A fish-hawk. Ossa. According to Ovid, a lofty mountain in Thessaly. OsTENT. Pomp ; ostentatious ; appearance ; display. Ottomites. Turks, who derived their appellation from 0th- man, a Sultan of the 13th century. Ohergate. Otherways or otherwise. Ounce. A species of lynx. OupH. A fairy. Ousel cock. The male blackbird. - black of hue, With orange tawny bill." Out. Domestic discord ; difference ; in hostility. Jessica, (MerchMnt of Venice^ in saying that she and Launce- lot are " out," intimates that they are not on good terms. When Prospero {Tempest) says that his daughter was 155 not •' out three years old," he means that she had not completed her third year when they arrived at the " island home." At the supposed date of his speech they had been on the island for twelve years, con- sequently Miranda may be presumed to be fifteen. It is clear from this, and the fact that Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) is described by the Nurse as just fourteen, that Shakespeare was well aware of the physical precocity of Italian girls, for he makes them marriageable at a period when in more northerly climates they are only emerging from childhood. Perdita ( Winter's Tale) is another illustration of female precocity, the place of her birth being Sicily. She is supposed to be sixteen, for Time,'BB "Chorus," in a prologue to Act IV, says: " 1 slide O'er sixteen years,'' the interval between the commencement and the close of the play. Our has another (a third) signification, as "Out of one's self ; " at an end. Out ! Out ! Fie, fie ! Outlaw. Guiderius {Cymbeline) justifies his slaying Cloten on the ground that the law did not protect him and his fellows, and therefore he disregarded it. Outvied. Defeated in a game of gleek. Out- WALL. Profession ; assurance. Outward. Not in confidence. Over lusty. Sprightly. OvERPEER. Overflow ; look down upon. OvBRSKUTCHED. Whipped at the cart's tail — an old public disgrace for minor offences. Owe. Own. Own. Self-possession. "No man was his own," i. e., in his senses. OxLip. A larger kind of cowslip. O Yes. Oyez, (Fr.,) an old law term for "Hear." The crier in a vDlage street, or a court of law, called the attention of the populace to a proclamation by this appeal to their auricular faculty : " Oyez, Oyez, all ye manner of people," &c. 156 Othello. It has been supposed by certain critics and actors that the Moor of Venice was a negro because he says he is "black" and lago speaks of "his thick lips." But Shakespeare must have known that the "Moors" in the service of the Republic of Venice were only a dark- brown race with handsome features and silky hair, for such are the characteristics of the natives of the north of Africa, Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, &c , as far easterly as Egypt. There would be some excuse for Desdemona if the miscegenation to which she was a party were con- tracted with a handsome native of northern Morocco, instead of with one of the woolly-headed natives of the banks of the Niger, or any part of the " Dark Continent " south of the desert of Sahara. What was Othello's supposed religion, if Shakespeare meant to endow him with the attributes of any sect ? It is a curious question. He was not one of the Africans who had been converted to Mohammedanism, for he de- spises the " circumcised dog " of Aleppo. It is certainly meant that he was a Christian, but not a Roman Cath- olic. He has no faith in the personality of Satan, for he treats the cloven-foot as " a fable ;" yet he believes in iihe monkish form of obtaining absolution, inasmuch as he commends to Desdemo7ia, as a remedy for her unhealthy physique, "A sequester from liberty, fasting, and prayer, Much oastigation — exercise devout." He has the notion that St. Peter keeps the keys of the celestial gate, for in his anger he compares JEmilia to the opposite person who " keeps the gate of hell." And in his final speeches to Desdemona, whom he believes to be guilty of marital infidelity, he urges prayer and re- pentance, and he cries " Amen ! " to her appeal to Heaven for mercy. Yet, in the face of these evidences of Christianity, he talks of the handkerchief which an Egyptian gave to his mother as only a superstitious pagan could speak. Shakespeare, perhaps, wrote as one would write in the spirit of the age when the Ref- ormation was contending with the bigotry of past times and all its associate absurdities, and the disciples of Wicklifife and Martin Luther were in a doubtful state of religious transition. 157- As, in Shakespeare's time, unacknowledged literary thefts were in fashion among all classes of writers, and es- pecially poets and dramatists, it is not surprising that he should have plagiarized ideas, figures of speech, and even language from the Italian. It was the popular literature of the day. Thus we find the play of Othello enriched with contributions from the Orlando Furioso and the Orlando Innamorato. The episode of the handkerchief doubtless is to be traced to the pas- sage in the former poem descriptive of " a tent which Cassandra gave to Hector, and which descended through Cleopatra to Constantine, who gave it to Melissa." The original manufacturer of the tent is spoken of as " Una donzella de la terra d' Ilia," (Troy,) who, in a " furor profetioa," embroidered the whole " storied sheet " with her own hands two thousand years previously. To the Orlando Innamorato Shakespeare was probably in- debted for the exquisite passage, " Who steals my purse steals trash," and for the comparison of the pal- try theft to the terrible robbery of reputation. The original Italian is very striking : Gim ruba un corno, un camallo, un annella E aimil cose, tra quehlie discrezione E potrebbi chiama/rsi ladroncello; Ma quel elie ruba la reputaeione Et de V altrui fatiche si fa belle 8i puo chiamase assassino e ladrone, &o. The whole passage has been felicitously rendered by a distinguished American philologist in these words : " The man who steals a horn, a horse, a ring, Or such a trifle, thieves with moderation, And may be justly called a robberling ; But he who takes away a reputation And pranks the feathers from another's wing. His deed is robbery, assassination. And merits punishment so much the greater As he to right and truth is more a traitor." The original of the character of Othello is said to have been one Cristofero Moro, Venetian Lord-Lieutenant of Cyprus from 1506 to 1508. There still exists on the island a round tower called Torsedel Moro, (the tower of the Moor,) which formed the headquarters of Cristo- fero. 158 Pabsxon. In the Welsh parson's mode of pronouncing the "B," Sir Hugh Evans means Babylon. He is para- phrasing the 137th Psalm, " By the rivers," &c. Pack, n. An accomplice ; v., to bargain with. Packing. Plotting; fraud; schemes; combination. Pacobus. The son of Grades, King of Parthia. Paddock. The name by which toads were called, (from the Anglo-Saxon joaieu, " By God." Perfect. Certain ; well informed. Perfections. Liver, brains, and heart. Perqe. (Lat.) Proceed. Periapts. Charms worn about the person. Perigenia. a myth, if not a mistake for Perigore, a robber's daughter, by whom Theseus had a son. Period, v. To conclude ; extinguish. Periwig. A corruption of perruque, an arrangement of false hair not unknown in the Elizabethan era. Perjure. A perjurer. False swearing was punished by ex- posure in a pillory. Perpend. A pedantic substitute for reflect ; consider. Persantly. Powerfully; authoritatively. Per se. (Lat.) Of himself or by himself ; but, complimen- tally, a man without a parallel. Perseus' horse. The flying-horse, Pegasus, which sprang from the blood of Medusa when Perseus decapitated that personage. Person. Parson. Personage. Figure ; appearance. The word is applied com- 163 plimentally to men and women of high rank. An " illustrious personage " implies a titled individual ; " illustrious " by courtesy only, for brains are not neces- sary to render adventitious rank even nominally lustrous. Peespectives. Telescopes. Per Styga pee manes vehoe, (Lat.) Thro' Styx the spirits are borne. Pekfse. (In fencing,) to examine the foils. Peevekt. To avert. Pestilence. Poison. Petard. An engine charged with explosive material for the purpose of blowing open gates of fortresses or explod- ing mines. It takes its name from the inventor, a French engineer. Petticose. To pocket ; appropriate. Pettiwaed. a district in Windsor. Pewpellow. a companion. PnaiTON. The clumsy fellow who upset Sol's car was not Merope's son, (Two Gentlemen of Verona,) but Me- rope's brother. Merope was one of the Heliades who mourned the unhappy creature's fate. Phaeton was first drowned, then fished up and burnt. Phantasma. a fantastical vision. Pheere. Companion; associate. Pheese. To tease ; wony. Philemon. See the story of Baucis and Philemon in Lem- pri^re's or Anthon's classical dictionaries. Philip and Jacob (or James.) To intimate that an event wUl occur ; " Come, such a time," is a form of saying, " When that time shall arrive." Philippa. The name of a sword used by Mark Antony in record of his conduct at the battle of PhUippi. Philippi. a plain in Macedonia, which derived its appellation from Philip, the warlike father of Alexander the Great. Phill horse. See Thill hobse. Philomel. The nightingale. Philomel. The story of Philomela, as told by Ovid, Virgil, &c., is, strangely enough, quoted by Aaron, the Moor, in Titles Andronicus, in allusion to his purpose of cutting out the tongue of Lavinia as Tereus did that of his 164 victim. Virgil lived and wrote in the reign of Augus- tus Gsesar, and if the whole play of Titus Andronicua were not the ghostly phantasm of some wUd contempo- rary of Shakespeare, one might fancy the Moor to have read or heard the horrible story. But the whole of the drama is a confused heap of monstrosities and anachro- nisms. It was not whoUy Shakespeare's ; he may have contributed the better portion, poetically considered. Phisonomt. Corruption of physiognomy. Phoebe. One of the appellations of the moon, derived from the circumstance of her light resembling that of the sun. PntEBUs' CART, or CAR. The chariot of the sun. Bottom {Mid- summer-Night's Dream) calls it Phibbus' car. Physic To heal. PiA MATEB. The membrane which covers the brain. Pick. To pitch or throw. Pick axes. The fingers. Picked. Foppish. Picked men. Very particular persons. Pickers and "Steaiebs." The hands ; the fingers. Picking. Paltry ; insignificant. PioKT HATCH. Ouce a vile place in London noted for numer- ous brothels. Pick-think. A parasite. Piece. A contemptuous term for a woman of loost character and habits. Piece or work. The quality of a drama. Critics and report- ers commonly Speak of a drama as a " piece." Pied ninny. A fool in motley or vari-colored costume. PiELED. Bald. Monks and friars who inhabited monasteries caused the crowns of their heads to be shaven. Pig. a " gaping pig." The sight of a boar's head with a lemon in the mouth, commonly exhibited at a Christ- mas dinner, was very offensive to some dainty persons, and especially to the Hebrews. Pigeon livered. Lacking gall. PiGHT. Kesolved. PiLCHER. A sword sheath. Piled. See Pieled. 166 Piled esteemed. Bereft of honors. Pilled. Pillaged ; peeled. Pin. a term in archery. Pinch and pat. Pay on delivery. Pinched thing. A puppet. Pinfold. A pound. Pinked pobkingeb. A cap shaped like a porringer. PiNK-EYENE, EYNE. Small Gyes. Pinnace. A large, swift sailing boat. Pin of web. Disorder of the eye. Pioneer. From peon, (Hindostanee.) A foot runner or pionrder; foot soldier. The word has come to signify a guide or pilot. In modern armies the pioneers are the men who carry axes, picks, spades, &c., and march in front to clear roads and forests, establish pontoon bridges, &c., to facilitate the progress of the force. The French call them sapeurs, and a corps of sappers, directed by officers of the engineer corps, are now a separate branch of the British army. PlONED. Dug. Pip. a spot upon a card used in an old game called one-and- thirty. Pipes. Eeeds which erst formed the shepherd's musical in- strument. Pipe wine. Wine from the wood or cask. Pippins. A superior kind of apple eaten with cheese at old English desserts. Pitch a field. To establish stockades and palisades in order to defend a position in battle. Pitch and pay. Pay under any circumstances. Pith. Substance ; consequence. Pithless. Devoid of stamina. Pitted. Spotted ; marked, as with the small-pox. Pix. The box that contains the wafer consecrated by Boman Catholic priests, and called the " host," or emblem of the Saviour. The " elevation of the host " by a priest at the performance of mass is a signal for all present to fall upon their knees and strike their breasts, invoking pardon, and significantly declaring their penitence. Place. A mansion. 166 Place's PRn'iLEGE. The sanctuary recognized in the Temple, (London.) Placket. A petticoat ; also, a purse. Plague. To punish. Plain. To complain. Plainly. Openly. Plain song. Uniformity of tone. The cuckoo's note is of this character. Plaited. Complicated. Planched. Made of planks. Planets-strike. Affected by the planets. To be moon-struck is almost as common in some climates as in others to experience a coup-de-soleil. Plant. The foot. Plantage. Vegetation ; the plantain. It was believed that the moon had an influence on the growth of plants, " Hence, true as steel, or plantage to the moon." Plantagenet. The agenet or broom having been worn as a crest by a descendant of Geoffry, Earl of Anjou, with the prefix " plant," it became the adopted surname of the family. Plants and Flowebs. Of the English wild flowers Shakes-' peare mentions about fifteen, alluding to some only once or twice. Of exotic flowers, or such as were cul- tivated in the scanty gardens of his period, he mentions nine or ten. Of trees and shrubs, exotics included, there are notices of about twenty -five. Of fruits, whether ripened in England or imported from foreign countries, there are given the names (often recurrent) of about thirty. Vegetables are spoken of in about equal proportion. Products of the nature of spices and medicines are mentioned to the extent of a score, and the same is nearly the number of what are contemptuously called "weeds." The total is thus about one hundred and fifty, or considerably higher. And it must be remem- bered that Shakespeare did not set out with a view of talking about trees and plants. His designs were very different, and the allusions are only casual and inci- dental, a circumstance which renders the total of one hundred and fifty truly remarkable. Botany in Shakes- 167 peare's time had scarcely obtained a footing, and few of the English wild flowers had been discriminated. Shakespeare had no " Floras " to consult. It is doubt- ful if he could have found even a botanical teacher. His library was Nature ; his vocabulary little more than the vernacular, and glorious is the use he has made of it. Having only simple plants to deal with, he has shown us how all comes right to a master ; that the cowslip is every bit as good an Ulustration and comes charged with as much beauty as the proudest ladia, or any other floral aristocrat, that science and an enlarged botanical field has provided us. Plate. A silver coin. Platform. Plans ; schemes ; principles. The word occurs in Dr. Heylin's History of the Sabbath, published in 1636, and refers to the platform of Geneva, or the religious code established by Calvin. The word is likewise used by Lord Bacon. Plausive. Plausible. Play a woman. See Women. Players. Shakespeare's sympathy with the profession of which he was at one time a member is made manifest on several occasions. He especially recognizes the principles and purposes of the stage (as laid down by Jeremy Collier) in JIamlefs interviews with the players. The -Prince right royally desires that they "be well bestowed," for, as he says, " they are the abstracts and brief chronicles of the time, and 't were better to have a bad epitaph after one's death than their ill repast while their entertainer liveth. " Further, Shakespeare ridicules the artificers who play Pyramus and Thisbe because they usurp the functions of the professional actor, and he uses the poor player to illustrate the evanescence of hfe — " the walking shadow." Play the man. Show yourselves like men.' Pleach. To fold the arms. Pleasaunce. Pleasure. Pleasure. Gracious ; applauded. Plebeii. The common people. Pleurisy. A disease of the throat or chest. 168 Plueisy. Superabundance. There is some confusion respecting the orthography of the two foregoing words. In some editions the latter is used to signify the former. Plind. Blind. The Welsh, like the Germans, often pro- nounce the letter " B " in English as if it were P, and vice versa. Plot. Portion. Pluck. To urge ; to induce : snatch. Pluck off. To abate consequence and discard. Plume up. Decorate ; finish. Plummet. A leaden weight. In alluding to the influence of the leamingof Sir Hugh Evans, in his speech, Falstaff unconsciously employs an old French phrase, " he gives leplomb to hie parlance." Plutus The heathen god of riches had the credit of being a good alchemist, who by means of a tinct and multi- plying medicine {AlPs Well That JSnds Well) could transmute metals, converting the basest to gold. Point, v. Allay ; direct ; minutely to observe instruction. Point de vice. (Fr.) Neat and nice at all points, especially in costumes and appliances. Points. Periods ; punctuation ; full stops. Poise, v To weigh ; n., weight. Poking Stick. A laundress's implement for fluting frills and ruflfs. PoLACKS. Poles. We are to suppose that the buried Majesty of Denmark was, in his lifetime, a formidable warrior, fighting with all his northern neighbors, the Norwegians and the Poles. The Polish territory, before the dis- memberment of the Kingdom, stretched to the very confines of Denmark, which, when Schlesyrig Holstein formed part of the State, extended to the east far be- yond its present limits. Poll. To crop the 'hair close. Polled. Laid bare. Pomander. A little ball of perfumed paste carried about the person as an antidote to infection. Pome, (or JPomme, Fr.) water ; the juice of a certain apple. PoMPEY. Pompeius Magnus. Pompey the Great in the 169 plenitude of his power, erected a spacious theatre in Rome, and it is to the porch of that theatre itself that reference is made in Act I, Scene I, of Julius Ccesar. It was likewise, in truth, the scene of the murder of Csesar, but Shakespeare has adopted the capital as the actual locality of that event. Pontic Sea. The Pontus Euxinus — the Euxine, or Black Sea. Poor John. An inferior kind of fish, dried and salted ; probably the hake. Popinjay. A parrot ; an object for marksmen. Popularity. Familiarity with the common herd. PoRPENTiNE. The porcupine. It has been assumed that Shakespeare was unacquainted with the name which naturalists have given to this animal, corotimxag porcus (the pig) with spina (thorn. ) But that he was familiar with the nature and properties of the porcupine is clear from the allusion to its quills and fretfuhiess in Ham- let. Port. Carriage ; appearance ; " a swelling port ;" outward show ; also, the gate of a fortress or castle. Portable. Endurable. Portage. Loop-holes. PoRTANCE. Importance ; carriage ; deportment. Portia. Roman history has assigned so lofty a character to " Cato's daughter, Brutus' Portia," that Shakespeare supplied Bassanio {Merchant of Venice) with an apt comparison when he likened the lady of Belmont to the Rom&n matron. There is no morie beautiful picture extant of a true gentlewoman than Shakespeare's Vene- tian Portia. Possess. To inform ; haunt the mind ; bewitch. Possession. Property. Post. To score ; to announce. Out of this word that of " posted," or become familiar with any fact or branch of knowledge, has been adopted in the United States of America. The ancients were accustomed to make use of posts or pillars of wood on which " the news " was inscribed from day to day. As sculpture in marble su- perseded wood, these pillars were dedicated to Mercury, 15 170 the messenger of the gods, whence the proverb, " Eay- guores ligno non Jit Mercurius" " You cannot make a Mercury of wood." This proverb has degenerated, and "You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear," is its ignoble successor. Postern gate. The smaller gate of a fortress. Posts. Messengers ; post-horses. The compound, " Post- haste," implied the rapidity with which the messengers travelled. Post. A couplet. It was a practice to inscribe posies on sword and knife blades and on the inner circle of rings. Potations. Draughts of drink of pottle measure. PoTATO-FiNGEEs. A lascivious tendency. PoTCH. To push ; poke. PoTENTs. Potentates. PoTTLTER. A poulterer. PouNCET BOX. A small box perforated ; a depository of per- fumery. Pound. Twenty shillings in coin ; an enclosure for captured stray animals ; a weight. PouEQUoi'? (Fr.) Why? For what? Powers. Military strength ; battalions. PoYNT. The former method of spelling point; a French word often used as a negation. Practice. Treachery. Practisants. Confederates in schemes. Prank. To adorn. Precedent. The draft of a law or indictment ; the original of any document ; a previous event quoted as -authority for a later action. Precept. A judge's warrant. Preciously. Engaged in important business. Precision. The Puritans of the 16th and 17th centuries be- ing very precise and matter-of-fact in their language, as well as severe in their manner and simple in their cos- tume, acquired this appellation. In Massinger's play, A New Way to Pay Old Debts, the uncharitableness of a Puritan is rebuked by Wellborn in the phrase, " The devil turned Precision." Predominence. Arrogance; assumption. 171 Peeeohes or preeched (for breeched.) Flagged. PiffiiGNANT. FuU ; quick ; ready ; compliajit ; palpable ; sup- ple. Pregnancy. Large capacity. Premised. Sent before their time ; susceptible of proof. Pbenez misericoede, &c. See Appendix for a translation of the dialogues in Henry V. Prenominate. The crimes already charged in an indictment or arraignment. Pkeobdinance. An old estabUshed law. Preposterously. Extravagantly ; egregiously ; perversely. Presage. To foretell, or foresee. Presence. The royal person, or the chief room in a regal abode. Presently. Quickly ; instantly. Press-money. Cash paid to impress men for service in the army or navy. Prest. Eeady. Pretence. Design. Pretend. Portends. Prevent. Anticipate. Also see Suicide. Prick. To note; mark. Pricket. A buck (deer) of the second year. Prick- SONG. A song set to music. Pride. Power. Prig. To pilfer ; n., a thief. Prime. The vigor and climax of health ; the spring. Primer. Superior ; of chief consequence ; time of life. Primero. a popular game with cards. Principality. The highest position in a State; next to royalty. Pbincox. a fop. Priority. Precedence. Prisee. An athlete who contended for a prize. Privilegio (Lat.) With privilege. "The place's privilege," meant the protection afforded by the Temple in London, then a sanctuary in virtue of its being a place of worship. Prize. Privilege ; the licensed prerogative of victory. Probal. Probable. Probation. Proof ; anything proved. 172 Proceeding. Advancement ; action. ■Process. Summons ; command ; " Fulvia's process " — the jealous suggestion of Cleopatra that Pulvia^s power over Antony is equivalent to Coesar^s. Procurator. A deputy or agent for another. Procure. To bring. Prodigious. Portentous ; something wonderful. Proditor. Traitor. Prcemunire. a writ in law ; warning of a prohibition. A praemunire puts a certain class of offenders out of the protection of the law. Propace. To talk grossly, (Ital.) An expression tantamont to much good may it do you. Profanely. Libellously; heathenly. Prognostication. An altaanac. Progress. A royal journey in state. Project, v. To shape ; delineate. Promised forth. Engaged from home by invitation. Prompture. Suggestion. Prone. Humble; also, prompt; ready-witted; influence; " a prone and speechless dialect." Pronounce. Speak out ! Proof. Armored protection ; puberty. Propagate. To advance ; spread ; improve. Propagation. Obtaining. Propension. Inclination; tendency. Proper. As applied to the person, " handsome," and (as prop- erty) to a quality of possession " peculiar to one's self.'' Proper-false. Deceptive. Propertied. Possessed ; appropriated. Properties. Necessaries incidental to stage plays. Property, v. To take possession. Prophet. The individual named Feter, whom the Bastard {King John) brought with him from the streets of Ponte- fract, (Pomfret,) gave utterance to a prophecy that cost him his life. Proportion. Relative fitness ; form or formula. Propose. Discuss. Proscription. Condemnation. Protixious. Coy ; delaying ; tedious. 173 Pkovand. Pood. Pro VI FAccio. (Ital.) " For you I have done this." Provincial, n. Principal of a religious order in a French province. Provision, Prevision. Forethought or calculation. Provost. A magistrate ; a jailor. Prune, v. To ruffle and dress the feathers as hawks do in falconry ; n., a " stewed prune " expresses a doubt of the genuine prune. Pto£emy, (Queen.) See Cleopatra, {Antony and Cleopatra.) Pdoelle, (La Pccelle.) The name by which Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, the Maid of Orleans) was called by the French. Puck. A very mischievous sprite, sometimes called JRoMn Qoodfellow. In the old ballads, anterior to Shakes- peare, the name is spelt Pouk and Fouke. The milk- maids called him " sweet Puck" because they had a notion that while they slept he did the churning for them. He asserts his " honesty " in the concluding lines of Midsummer- Nighfs Dream, — Qui s^excuse, s'accuse. Puddle. A pool of water. Gilded, as applied to this affair, refers to. the shining, slimy surface. Puddled. Muddied ; thickened. PuBviTiA. Little boy. Pug. To steal. PuGGARD. A thief. PuGomG. Thievish. Puissant. Powerful. Puke. A kind of brown color. Pull. To falter ; hesitate. Pullet sperm. Eggs. PuLSiDGE. Pulse. ," Pummel. A sword handle or hilt. Pumps. Thin shoes. Pun. To pound. Purchased. Purloined ; irregularly obtained. Purl. To curl. Purlieu. Border; neighborhood. Purple. Bloody ; incarnadined. •Purse. To wrinkle; contract; deposit money. 174 Pdksuivant. a herald ; a foreininner. Ptjrsy. Inflated ; swollen ; heavy. PuKVETOR. One who provides food, or news. PnssEix. A low woman. Put. To compel. Puttee out. A money-lender. Putting on. Inciting. PuTTocK. A hawk. Pyramus. The hero of Ovid's fable of " Pyramus and Thisby," dramatized after a fashion in Midsummer- Night's Dream,. Pyrrhus. One of the heroes of the Odyssey. Pythagoras. The doctrine of Metempsychosis, the transition of the soul from one body to another, was borrowed by this old philosopher of Samos either from the Egyptians or a caste of Indians. It has furnished Shakespeare with more than one happy jest. Q. QuAH,, V. To sink ; faint ; be vanquished. Quaint, n. Majes — an old game ; neat ; unpretending ; graceful. Quaintly. Daintily ; delicately ; gracefully ; also, artfully. Quaked. Thrown into grateful trepidation. Qualification. Pacification. Quality. To moderate ; dilute. Quality. Condition; class; confederates. Quantity. Holding no quantity ; signifies having nothing lovable in them. Quarrel. A disputant. Quarrel in print. A book on " Honor and Honorable Quar- rel " was a noted guide for duellists in 1594. Quarry. A pile ; .a heap ; slaughtered game. Quart d'ecu. (Fr.) The quarter of a French crown piece. Quarter, v. To spare life in war ; to mingle the devices of the coat-of-arms of one family with those of another. Quartered fires. Fires in soldiers' quarters. Quasi. (Lat.) As if ; as it were. QuAT. A simpleton ; a pimple. 175 Quean. A low woman. QuEASiNEss. Nausea. Queasy. Delicate ; unsettled. Que dit il ? What does he say ? (N. B. The residue of the French dialogue beginning thus is given elsewhere.) Queen Mab. The fair queen of dreams, called the " fairy midwife " because the accoucheuse of steange thoughts and whimsical images. Queen of Tunis. " She that dwells ten leagues beyond man's life." Taking the life of man at the Scriptural estimate of three score and ten, this is a roundabout way of saying 100 miles from Naples — one of Shakespeare's guesses at localities on the shores of the Mediterranean. Either the charts in his day were very rare and imper- fect, or he was not addicted to " peering for ports and places." Quell, v. To crush ; subdue ; n., a crime. Quench. To grow cool. QuEBN. A chum or hand-mill for grinding corn. Quest. Pursuit. QuESTEKiST. One sent in quest or search of others. Quests. Searchers, as " Crowner's Quests ;" investigators of causes of death. Question. Either a verb or a noun according to circumstan- ces. As a verb, " to argue with any one ;" question (examine) your thoughts. As a noun, a point to be con- sidered— »" that's the question.'' Qui. (Fr.) Who; whom. Qui a les narines defeu : "Whose nostrils are of fire." Qui va la ? (Fr.) " Who goes there ?" A military challenge. Qui vive ? " Who lives ?" is more common in modem times. Quick. Sensitive of a wound or ulcer. Quicken. To revive ; come to life again. Quiddits — Quiddities. Subtleties ; ambiguities. Quid pro quo. (Lat.) Which for what ; one thing for another ; " tit for tat ;" a fair exchange. Quietus. In legal phrase, " a discharge ;" employed fig- uratively, it implies suicide. Quill, ad. Altogether ; n., a little feather ; a delicate pipe. 176 Quillets. Legal niceties. Quilt. A bed coverlet. Quintain. A figure set up as a target for sport of archers, lancers, and other marksmen. Synonymous with Pop- injay. Quips. Taunts ; repartees. Quire, (Choir.) To sing or play in concert. QuiKKS. Sharp passages. Quit. Away from ; requite ; getting rid of a trouble. Quittance. Revival ; a return blow. QumEK Active ; nimble ; " a little quiver fellow." QuoiF, A cap. Quoit, v. To throw ; pitch ; as at a game of quoits. Quondam. (Lat.) Former; late. Quoniam. (Lat.) Albeit. Quote. To observe ; note ; cite. QuoTiDioN. Daily. R Eabato. a neck ornament. Rabbit-sucker. A leveret ; a sucking rabbit. Rabelais. A witty work by a Frenchman. Raos, n. Flavor ; breed ; inherited nature. Rack, ad. The floating away of clouds ; v., to wreck ; ex- aggerate ; value exceedingly ; n., an ingenious instru- ment used by the Spaniards and Venetians to break the bones of people who would not confess their own guilt or betray their friends and confederates. If confession (for, under the torture, "men would say anything,") implied culpability, the rack would answer the purpose of a guillotine and take away the life of the culprit. The justice of the operation was akin to that which in- duced ignorant, brutal rustics in England, and New England, U. S. America, to cast a poor woman into a pond on the supposition that she was a witch. If she escaped drowning her guilt was clear, and therefore it was deemed right to put her to death as the penalty of practising her alleged mischievous profession. Racking. In rapid motion. 177 Rag. An opprobrious term. Ragged. Rugged ; rough. Rake. To cover. Rakes. Stern instruments ; lean, starved men. Ram. a weapon used in sieges. It was a long and heavy pole having a large brass head resembling that of the male sheep, and was used by the Roman soldiers to swing with main force against the gate or wall of a for- tress to make breaching gaps. Ramp. Abridgment of rampallion ; a strumpet. Rampehed. Fortified. Rang'd. Well arranged. Rank, ad. Lofty ; n., slow rate or pace ; a trot or amble ; a., offensive from excess of ripeness. Rank garb. Straightforward fashion. Rankness. Straying beyond the ranks of regularity. Rapt. Lost in meditation ; delighted ; in a state of rapture. Rapture. A fit. Rarely. Curiously. Rascal. An inferior deer ; a scamp. Rasoal-countees. Common money. Rase. To tear off. Rash remonstrance. Premature discovery. Rate. Opinion ; value. Ratotokum. a mistake for ratulorum. The rolls ; public records. Rat tail. The witch in Macbeth, who proposes to play the part of a " rat without a tail," suggests that the caudal appendage would be in the way of her mischievous per- formance, or that its absence rendered the animal vengeful. Raught. Seized ; reached. Ravel. To sew up. Raven. This bird, which our remote forefathers supposed to be of ill omen, is glanced at by Lady Macbeth : " The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements." Shakespeare owed something to his predecessor, Christopher Marlowe, and it is not unlikely that he caught the idea expressed in the above line from Marlowe's Jew of Malta : " Like 178 the sad presaging raven that tolls the sick man's pass- ports in her hollow beak." The raven has formed the subject of one of the most striking and original poems the Muse ever suggested to the American mind. Edgar Allan Poe's narrative of a midnight incident in a "bleak December " vyill be read and recited wherever and whenever the English language is spoken. An at- tempt was made by a writer in an English periodical, some years ago, to prove that Poe had derived the poem from the Persian. The best Oriental scholars proved the fallacy of this conjecture, for it could have been nothing more. The raven is not deemed a bird of ill omen in Persia. No Persian could have a bust of Pal- las, or any one else, in his house, and as for pondering over old books, the Persian knows of nothing older than Hafiz, Perdosi, Jami, or Sadi. Eavin. To swallow hastily ; devour greedily. Ea VISED. Glutted with prey. Eawlt. Suddenly; imperfectly; poorly. Eawness. Unprovided condition. Eayed. Betrayed. Eazed, or ROOT, n. A measure applied to ginger and bul- bous vegetables ; a bale ; v., to efface. Eazed. Slashed ; bUsterod ; an opening made in a doublet, or breeches, and filled up with a puff of satin or velvet as a decoration ; sometimes called a " blister." Eeae-motjse. a bat. Eeason. Discourse; argue. Eebate. To blunt ; reduce ; qualify ; dull. Eebece. a musical instrument. Eebuse. Abuse. Eeceipt. Eeceptacle. EECEryiNG. Quick of apprehension. Eecheat. a horn blast in hunting to call off the dogs. Eeck, v. To care for. Eeceonee. Eauk ; character. Eecord, v. To sing. Eecoedee. a musical instrument, in structure like a flageolet. Its tones are described as resembling the warbling and whistling of birds. 179 Records. Documents ; memoranda. Recourse. Recurrence. Recover wind. To get to the windward again in coursing. Recreant. False-hearted ; pusillanimous. Rectorship. Righteousness. Recube. To cure; recover. Redbreast teacher. A vocal instructor. The Robin Red- breast has a pretty note. Redime tb captum quam queas minimo, (Lat.) Redeem (or Ransom) thyself, a captive,- for the smallest sum thou canst. Red dominical. The Sunday letter in calendars. Red-hot steel. An iron crown heated red-hot and placed on the heads of regicides and other great criminals. Red-lettuce (or lattice) phrases. Ale-house talk ; work painted red. The windows of such places were filled with lattice-work. Red Plague. A disease known as St. Anthony's fire ; erysip- elas. Reduce. Restore. Reechy. Discolored with smoke. It is sometimes called and written Reekie. Reedipt. To restore ; beautify. Reek. Smoke. Refell. To refute an argument or contradict a statement. Refer. To reserve to. Regal. A circlet ; a crovsm. Regard. Look. Regiment. Authority; government. Region. The empyreum ; a space ; a kingdom. Regreet. To salute in return for a polite greeting. Reguerdon. Recompense. Reins. The kidneys ; a French word Anglicised. Rejourn. Adjourn. Relative. Applicable. Religious. This word, used as an adjective in As You Idke It, shows that something of the phraseology of the play had a French origin. A beligieux simply means an an- chorite. JRosalind, in mentioning an old religious uncle, does not mean a person of a peculiarly pious habit and 180 turn of mind, but a hermit, who, having been crossed in love, retired from the world to meditate on the insta- bility of human affairs. Relume. Inght again that which has been extinguished. Remembers. Reminders. Remembbance. Admiration. Remission. Pardon. Remonstkance. Display. Remoese. Pity ; compassion ; sorrow ; repentance. Remorseful. Pitiful. Remotion. The act of removing. Removed, n. Remote ; sequestered. lago used the v&rh "remove" in the sense of murder. He speaks of the " removing " of Gassio by knocking him on the head. Removes. Stages of a journey. Renages or Raneges. Disdains ; refuses ; casts off. Render. To describe ; reply to ; return ; confess. " Sor- rowed render," a confession. Bendezvous. (Fr.) Repair thither ; an intended place of meet- ing. Repair, v. To renovate ; renew. Repairing. Capable of rallying. Repeal. Recall ; also a plea for pardon. Reports. Reporters. Reproof. Confutation. Reprove. Disprove. Repugn. To resist. Repute. To boast. Requiem. A mass for the repose of departed souls. Reserve. To keep ; preserve. Resolve. To inform decisively. Resolve. To dissolve ; to be assured. Respect. Contrast ; comparison ; opinion. Respective. Respectful ; comparative ; corresponding. Respects. Motives of action. Respice finem. (Lat.) Hiive respect to the end. Be provi- dent ; forewarned. Rest. Determination ; resolution. Rested. Abbreviation of arrested. In the dialogue of Dro- mio and Adrian, ( Comedy of Errors,) the vulgar law 181 terms of the former imply a form of suit more applica^ ble to English than Athenian practice. Restern. To wind about ; return. Kest your pair, a salutation of bygone times similar to the Salaam Aleikoram, " Peace be with you," of the Ori- entals. Eesty. Dull ; heavy. Retailed. Entailed, (in law;) handed down to immediate posterity ; recounted. Retire. Withdraw. In military parlance, " retreat." Retook. To repay. "I will retook the sum in equipage '' — i. e., give service in repayment. Retort. Refer back. RBTRoaRADE. Oppossd to ; goiug back. Return. Make reply. Revenue. Public or private means and resources. In the pronunciation of this word the emphasis is laid upon rev or ven according to the metre of the verse. Reverb. To reverberate. Reverbnoe. a title of respect which an elder son inherited from his sire. Revolt. To turn back. Revolt or mien. A change of countenance ; an altered ex- pression, the danger of which lies in its raising suspi- cion. " To be Kke the time look like the time." (Mac- beth.) Revolts. Rebels. Rheum. A watery effusion irom the head, whence "rheumy,'' (damp,) rheumatic ; also, tears. « Rib. To enclose. Rid. Destroy ; kill ; "The red plague rid you !" Riddling. Prom " riddle ; " ambiguous ; figurative ; enig- matical. RiEN puis ■? l'air et le feu ! (Pr.) " Nothing more ? Air and fire !" Rift. Riven ; torn ; split. RiGGiSH. Wanton. Right, n. Justice ; v., to avenge. EiGHTrDKAWN. The sword drawn in a good and justifiable 182 RiGOT. A circle. Rim. Money. Ringed. Encircled. Rings. " Bleeding rings " — the bleeding sockets of Gloster's eyes. {King Lear.) Ring-time. The time of marriage. Ripe. Tipsy. Ripened. Maturity. Ripeness. Readiness. Rites. Funereal ceremonies: Rivage. The sea-shore. RrvALiTY. Equal rank. Rivals. Corrivals ; comrades on a military guard or watch ; equals. Rive. To burst ; to fire. Rivo ! A Spanish call for " More drink !" Unde derivatus 1 Attach rivus iof antes and we get at the etymon. RoBA. One of the many terms applied to a lost woman. Robin Goodfellow. See Puck. Robin Hood. A famous forester and robber, the subject of many a baUad. Tradition says he was Earl of Hunt- ingdon, banished in the reign of Cceur de Lion. Rod. The silver sceptre held by sovereigns at a coronation ; the emblem of the power to chastise. The same symbol is seen on the figures of the Assyrian rulers discovered amidst the ruins of Nineveh. Roister or Roister. Violent ; dissipated. RoMAGE. Disturbance ; bustle ; vulgarised to " rummage." Rome. Roum ; »Room. As Shakespeare has punned on the appellation of the capital of Italy, it is conjectured that " Room " must have represented the pronunciation in force in the Elizabethan era. To this hour Constanti- nople is called Mourn by the people of Asia Minor and the Danubian principalities, because Byzantium was the seat of the government of the Romans under Constan- tine. Roumelia perpetuates the name. The city was the seat of the Pontificate in the 16th century. Romish. Roman. Ronyon. a poor creature fed on the coarsest meat ; also a scrofulous person. 183 Rood. The Holy Cross " by the rood ;" an old adjuration, " by. the holy rood." EooK. To squat ; to adopt as a dwelling. BoPERY. Roguery ; banter. RoPETRioK. .A cant term for rogueries. RosciDS. A Roman actor of great renown. Rose. The origin of the adoption of the red and white roses by the respective representatives of the Houses of York and Lancaster, as given in Shakespeare's Henry VI. First Part, Scene IV, "The Temple Garden, London," was the popular tradition in the reign of Elizabeth, but there is no written authority for the incident. It is certain, however, that the Yorkists adopted the white and the Lancasters the red rose, and Shakespeare found in the selection, by the disputative noblemen, a field for a happy reference to the colors and supposed attributes of the flowers. RosEMAKT. A plant emblematic of grace. The language of flowers, of which use as made by Ophelia was a favorite means of silent and secret communication in olden times as it still is said to be in Turkey. The^herb pos- sesses a peculiar flavor and was used to impart a pleas- ant taste to a cup of beer. Walter Scott alludes to it in Woodstock : " De Eochecliffe preferred a cup of small beer stirred with a sprig of rosemary to strong potations." Rote. To get by rote means that the letter has been mas- tered but not the spirit. By frequent repetition, the words of any poem, speech, or dramatic role may be got by rote. In stage parlance, to be " letter perfect " is a great matter, but it' does not help the understand- ing of a duU man. Round, n. A diadem ; a dance ; a., blunt ; direct ; to the point. See Roundly. Rounded. Whispered sinisterly. Roundel. A country dance. Roundly. Fearlessly; openly. RouNDURB. Circled enclosure. Rouse. Brief for "carouse." The word is said to be of Danish origin. The Danes had a bad repute for intem- perance in the 16th century. See Samlet and Othello. 184 Roy. The King. The ancient mode of spelling Roi, (Fr.) EoYAL. A coin (real) valued at ten shillings English. EoYAL Meechant. See Meeohant. RoYNisH, n. Mangy ; «., to be roynish — from the French w.ord ronger, to gnaw ; rust. Rub. The point ; the difficulty ; the hitch ; impediment. Rubious. Ruddy. Rub on and kiss the mistkess. A phrase in the old game of bowls. Ruddock. The redbreast. BuE. A wild flower ; the emblem of sorrow ; regret. RuFFiANED. Roughened. Rutfle. To be noisy. Ruffling. RustUng. Ruffs. The decorations of the cuffs of coats and the tops of boots. Rugged or ragged. These words had the same signification in Shakespeare's time. Rug-headed. Having rough, unkempt hair, pecuUar to the dirty Irish peasantry. Rule. Synonymous with "Revel." The master of the Revels was called " The Abbot of Misrule." Rump fed. Fed with offal. Rush. A straw. RusHLiNG. Rustling. Russet-pated. See Chough. Ruth. Pity. RuTHFUL. Woful. Rut time. The breeding time of deer. RuTTiSH. Lascivious. 8 Saba. There are three persons of this name mentioned in Scripture, but as Saba and Sheba are synonymous (de- scended from Ham,) the famous Queen who visited Solo- mon is no doubt the person meant in Act V, Scene IV, Henry VIII. Sabbath. Shylock swears by the " Holy Sabbath " of the 185 Jews. The prevalent idea is that the Jewish Sabbath was instituted by Moses when the fourth commandment was promulgated. This is an error. Moses only by divine inspiration and authority gave a religious signifi- cance to a day already established. He laid down rules for its observance, and in the fourth commandment the reason for the rules was given. Long before the time of Moses a race called the Sabsens existed. This race is referred to in Job i, 16, and the wise men of the race were called Sabse. They came together at certain phases of the mOon for consultation on state and religious mat- ters. These days were called Sabadays from this cir- cumstance. It is therefore aprobabUity that the Hebrew nation borrowed the name from the earlier race and applied it to the seventh day of their week. The He- brew word Shabath, meaning to cease or to rest, is prob- ably drawn from the Sabsean race. Be this, however, as it may, the fact remains that the Jews were accus- tomed to rest one day in seven, before the law was pro- claimed by Moses, (see Exodus, xx,) and that law \\ras binding upoiu the Jews alone. It was not given to the Gentiles. The law prohibited servile work upon that day, but made no mention of pleasure or amusements. It did not command attendance on religious worship, and it was not until the time of Nehemiah that any but casual references are made to it, and these references are to a day of rest and Joy exalted above other days, but with no deeper significance. Nehemiah, how- ever, gave more rigid construction to the law, and it was so rigorously upheld that about one hundred years after the people would not stir in defence of the city of Jerusa- lem when it was stormed by the soldiers of Ptolemy on the Sabbath. But Moses had no idea of all this, and his Sabbath was purely a day of rest. The religious duties of the ancient Hebrews, who were led by Moses and Aaron, were continuous and not intermittent from Sabbath to Sabbath. Sables. In northern Europe the entire costumes of the peo- ple were originally composed of sable fur. It had not then 'entered the market of more southerly states. 16 186 Sack, v. To plunder ; pillage. Sack, n. Of the quality of this drink there have been and are differences of opinion. That it was a sweet wine is clear from the words of an act passed in the reign of Henry Vin specifying the duties on imports; and it is also called " Spanish sacke '' — not as sweet as " Canary wines." That it was a dri/ wine may be inferred from the terms of a proclamation by the French Privy Coun- cil, (1633.) wherein it is called vin sec. It was fre- quently adulterated by vintners with lime if it was not dry enough for the tastes of their guests ; but all did not admire the adulteration. " There's lime in this sack," quoth Falstaff indignantly ; it was preferable with sugar, according to that immortal connoisseur. "If sack and sugar be a fault, God help the wicked!" The same notorious authority pronounces it an exhilarating , Spanish wine from Xeres, (which in England is pro- nounced Sheres or Sherry,) and he calls it " Sherris." A good " Sherris sack " receives the tribute of a com- mentary from Falstaff. Sackebson. When dancing bears were common objects of exhibition in England, this was the name of a rather famous Ursa Major, let loose for the diversion of the pubUc. Sacrament. An oath. Sacred, (satirically.) Accursed. Sacking bexl. The bell announcing the approach of the host in Catholic processions. Sad-eyed. Serious. Sadness. A serious mood. Safe. Sound ; a clear conscience ; u. , to make secui-e. Saffron. The popularity of this plant in confectionery and in dying for costumes during the 16th and 17th cen- turies was extraordinary. The wearing of saffron linen, universally followed though it must have been, did not escape censm-e and scorn. Lafeu, in AlVs Well that Ends Well, says of Bertram, to his mother : " Your son was misled by that snift-taffat a fellow there, whose villainous saffron would have made all the unbaked and doughy youth of a nation in his color." 187 Sag. To give way ; be depressed by care and apprehension. Sagittahy. The sign of Sagittarius over a house of call ; it was hkewise the sign of the Armory in Venice. Sail or greatness. Full flow of power. Saliqtje. An ancient term for the land lying between the Sale and the Elbe, afterwards called Meisen. Charle- magne established a law that no female should inherit title or property in that land : " Zn terrain Saliem mulierus ne succedent." The same law is still in force in some parts of Europe. It prevailed in the Hanove- rian electorate at the time of the accession of Queen Victoria to. the throne of England, and consequently Hanover then passed from British hands and became a separate kingdom. It has since been extinguished — " unified " with Germany. Sallet. a helmet ; also, " salads," pickles, and other table condiments. Salt, a. Sensuous ; lascivious ; tearful. Saltibes. Satyrs. Salute. Excite. Salviges or Sblviges. Savages. Samingo. An abridgment of San Domingo, who has the credit of being the patron saint of topers. The name occurs in a play by Nashe. Sancta Majestas. Holy Majesty. Sanctuaey. a place of refuge even for assassins and other criminals. Sanded. Colored like sand. Sands. The hour-glass. " The sands that run on the' clock's behalf." Sans. (Pr.) Without. This word has never been thoroughly Aaghcized ; it remains purely French, but seems to liave been much employed in the Elizabethan literature as more serviceable in poetic measure than the word translated into English. Sakdis. Formerly the capital of Lydia in Asia Minor. Satis quod sufficit. (Lat.) It is enough which suf&ces. Satyrs. The Sylvan deities, half men half goats, typify utter sensuality. No greater contrast can be imagined than that conjured up by Hamlet to describe the difference 188 between his father and his uncle — " Hyperion to a Satyr." Saucy. Lascivious. Savage. Sylvan. Savage strangeness. Rude distance of manner. Save. Except ; excepting. Saw. a wise saying, apostrophe, or proverb. Say. Silk ; a sample. S'blood. Brief for " His blood !" an old oath. Scaffoldings, or Scaffoldages. The gallery of a theatre. Scald. Beggarly; "Scald rhymers" — poor poets. Scale, v. To scatter; disperse; widen; climb; extend. Scaled. Overreached. Scaling. Weighing. ScALL. Scab. ScAMBLE. To scramble ; shuffle ; shift. Scamels. Limpets; anemones; zoophytes. Scan, v. To examine minutely. Scant, ad. Deficient ; v., to abridge ; restrain. Scantling. Proportion ; a small sample ; a measure. Scape. To escape ; ii., a sally. Scarfed. Festooned and dressed with scarves. Scarlet. The color of the robe of a cardinal or bishop. Scarlet and John. Part of a line descriptive of the characters in the rustic show of " Eobin Hood." ScATH ; Scathe. Destruction. Scatheful. Destructive. School, v. To scold. Sconce. The human head ; a circular redoubt. Scope. Extent of power. Score. To mark for punishment; allot proscription; debit in an account. Scotch, or Scot. To bruise ; cut in pieces. ScEiMEBS. Fencers. From Vescrime, (Fr.,) the science of fencing. Scrip. A written list ; a scroU. ScKiPTUEES. Writings of any kind. ScEOGLES. Scurvy fellows ; people covered with sores. Scrubbed. Stunted in growth ; small ; insig^nificant ; well washed. 189 Scullion. A kitchen servant who does the dirty work. Sculls. Shoals or schools of fish. SouBVT, ad. A disease arising from the consumption of salt meat ; a., dirty ; mean ; scabby. Scutched. Whipped. St. Colm's Inch. An island (Inchcolm) in the Firth of "Scot- land. ScYLLA. A rock in the Straits of Messina as dangerous to ships on one side as Charybdis, a whirlpool, was on the other. Seal, v. To complete ; strengthen. Seam. Animal fat. Seamel. A bird. Seamy. Showing the seams in a dress. Sear. To stigmatize. Sbakch, v. Probe ; discover. Seah up, Solder. Sea Monsteb. This animal or specimen of ichthyology has furnished a field of speculation to the crowd of com- mentators. One of the latest (Halliwell) supposes, with another, (Upton,) that the Hippopotamus is here intended and meant. But the Hippopotamus is not a sea monster ; it only inhabits rivers. Sealed. Resolved ; confirmed ; stamped. Sea or wax. A large sheet covered with wax, in which, when dry, the Romans indented words with a stylus ; paper, for writing purposes, was scarce. Season. To impress ; temper ; fix. Seasoned. Long established. Seat. Throne. Seconds. Military supports. Sect. In botany, a scion or offshaot. Sectary. Astroaomioal. Secukity. Over confidence ; dangerous, reliance. Sedge. A reed ; a rough leaved plant found on the banks of rivers. It belongs to the genus Canex in botany. Seel. To close up ; blind. Seel. To close up the eyes. Seemery. Appearance ; character. Seemeth. Me seemeth ; it seems to me. 190 Seen. Versed ; well informed of. Seethes. Boiling hot. Seigneur Dieu. (Fr.) Lord God. Seld. Seldom. Self. Self- same. Self bounty. Generosity; confidence in others. Self covered. Hypocritically disguised. Semblably. Like unto. Semper idem. (Lat.) Always the same. Seniory. Seniority. Sennet. A technical term for a trumpet blast. Senois, Senoys, or Sanesb. Inhabitants of Sienna in Italy who had formed a sort of republic. Sense. Sensual desires. . Senseless. Devoid of feeling. Sensible. Sensitive ; susceptible. Septentrion. The north. Sequent. A follower. Sequestration. Separation ; cloistered ; mewed up. In law it means the issue of a suit in the seizure of the de- fendant's property. Sere or Sear. Decay ; the falling leaf ; the autumn of life. " To tickle o' the sear " (Hamlet) seems to imply that the clown shall be able to i-aise a laugh among the old and feeble. " My May of life has fallen into the sere," expresses the premature decay of Macbeth, who has not lived a summer. In some editions " Way " has been printed for "-May" — an obvious mistake. The latter word is used in several of the plays to convey the same idea. Serjeant-Death. Not an inapt name for pallida mora. Sheriffs officers who made arrests and seizures were called " Serjeants," and who so strict and punctual in his office as the final visitor who arrests life itself ? Serpent's' CURSE. To crawl on the earth forever. Serpent's toSgue. The hissing in a theatre. In this phrase, J'uek refers to the sibUations of a dissatisfied audience. Serpigo. A cutaneous disorder ; ringworm. Servant. Signifying sometimes a suitor. Serve, ad. Sufficient. JHercuter's wound serves to kill him. V. To fulfil. 191 Serves. Attends upon. Sekviceable. Pull of promise to serve. Sessa ! Be quiet ! Set, n. The technical term for a game at tenuis ; v., tc wager ; to defy. Set a match. To make an appointment for a jocular purpose, or a robbery. Set off. Excepted ; put aside. Set of wit. Also a term in tennis. Setter. A thief's watch or lookout. Sevebal. Separated. In saying, " they are no common,'' Maria {Lovers Labor Lost) means that although her lips are not enclosed like lands having owners, they are, nevertheless, not open to the public. Sevbrals. Details. Sevebell. a field set apart for grass or corn. Sewee. a household butler who arranged the dishes on the table. Sexton. The sacriston ; an ecclesiastic of an inferior order. In England he performs the office of grave-digger. Shaft. An arrow. Shag eared. Having ears like a hound. Shale. An old form of shell. Shallow. A good name for an empty country justice of the peace. In the character of Justice Shallow, Shake- speare satirizes Sir Thomas Lucy who, says tradition, punished him for some youthful transgression. Shalls. Shells. Shame. Modesty. Shaed. The beetle's back. Shard borne. Carried by a winged beetle. Shards. Broken crockery ; wings. Sharked fp. Thrown up by the sea ; picked up ; pressed into the naval service by "land sharks" — a name given to pimps, kidnappers, and the lowest class of attorneys. Shaven. Hercules ; Samson. Sheen. A blaze of beauty. Sheer. Pure; transparent. Shent. Rebuked ; put to the blush. 192 SfiEPHEKD. A lover. Because Christopher Marlowe, a dramatist preceding and contemporary with Shakespeare, wrote the line, " Who ever loved that loved not at first sight," it has been as- sumed that Phebe {As You Like It) alludes to Marlowe in the apostrophe, " Dead Shepherd," &c. It is true that Marlowe had died before tlie play had been performed, but Phebe is supposed to have lived long anterior to Chiistopher Marlowe and could have known nothing about him or his work. It is not unlikely that Shake- speare wrote ■' Deed (indeed) Shepherd," or lover, the terms being thus synonymous, and that Phebe may have derived the sentiment from some supposed conversation with Cor in. The word " shepherd " could not directly apply to Marlowe himself under the circumstances. Shekiff's post, a post erected in certain streets to which a sheriff's proclamation was attached that it might be seen by all people. Shekves. Sack composed partly of sherry. See Sack. Ship tire. The gay attire of a ship with all sail set and " streamers waving on the wind ;" a fair appellation for a lady's variegated costume. Shive. a slice. Shog or JOG. To go away. Shogan. The name of two men of note in the reign of Henry IV, one a scholar, the other an athlete. Shoon. Shoes. Shot. A good marksman. Shotten. Projected. Shotten herring, a dry, lean fish that has shed its roe. Shough or shock. A dog of woful aspect. Shoulder clapper. A bailiff. The old form of arrest for debt consisted in a bailiff's putting a hand on the shoulder of the defendant while with the other he exhibited the warrant. Shouldered. Thrust in. Shoulders. The young prince who speaks of being carried by Gloster {Richard III) refers to the Duke's hump. Shove board. See Edward ; " Edward Shovel-board." Shove groat. A game in which a smooth coin was shoved off a table by the finger and thumb. 193 Shbewd. Clever; acute; accurate. Shbewdly. Sadly; injuriously. Shrewish. Bad tempered. Shrift, ad. Atonement ; n., & place for shriving ; an altar ; a confessional. Sheixls. Screams. Shrive. To confess. Shroud, v. To cover ; conceal. Shrove-tide. The immediate precursor of Lent. Shylook. This revolting character — a Jewish usurer and prospective assassin — would appear to be entirely a creature of Shakespeare's fancy. Apart from the per- version of the attitude of the borrower and lender re- ferred to in .the story of the caskets, &c., (whoever the Merchant of Venice ever borrowed,) it is emphatically asserted by a learned and distinguished Eabbi that it is simply impossible for a Jew to have meditated the crime ascribed to Shylock. The opinion and allegations of the learned Rabbi throw so much light upon the subject that they seem worthy of preservation in these pages, though some of the positions are open to dispute : The Eabbi maintains that the Merchant of Venice, is, in point of art, the greatest masterpiece of dramatic writings: "Art, in its largest scope, is a child of imagination or fantasy. Art, as such, isoreating, not imitating. It createsimagesinperfectrhythm, har- mony, and consonance. In agreeing with all critics that the Merchant of Venice is the greatest masterpiece of art, I meant to say so because art has its source in religious sentiments. The work mentioned had its origin, indeed, in the religious senti- ments, nay, prejudices prevailing at that time, from the influence of which even so great a man as William Shakespeare could not escape. Shylock is an artistic figure produced by a phantasmal imagination. I maintain that Bhyhck was and is not only not a copy of an Israelite ; nay, such sentiments had not even the possibilities of real existence in a single Jew. Shylock, if he was a real Jew, sharing the fate of his co-religionists, all the degrada- tions and persecution of his brethren, because he loved his God, His word, and His truth more than his own life — then, I say, he would and could not act as represented by Shakespeare. Jessica is certainly less a type of Jewish womanhood. No true daughter of Zion ever left her old, grieved father and eloped either with Jew or Gentile. To the contrary, Jewish maidens always sat with their people in gloom and sorrow, as they shared the fate of their nation on the streams of Babel with tears on their lovely cheeks. 17 194 Shakespeare's Jessica is no prototype of Jewish womanhood. Neither is Shylock, as represented, an Israelite, who adhered to his Bible, for there is written, " Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbor," (Leviticus, xix, 16,) and neighbor means not a co-religionist only, but Jew and Gentile alike ; nor is he a believer in the Talmud, for there we are taught, (Sabb., 88, b,) " Always prefer to be one of the accused than of the ac- cusers ; bear rather contempt than strive to insult ; act for the sake of love and charity, and endure rather pain and persecution " Shakespeare was the most eminent judge of human nature, and traced in this drama certain traits of character. He took into account the fact that the Israelites of bis time were, if not su- perior, certainly equal to his Christian brethren in civilization and culture. He then considered the oppression and unreason- able persecution, the intolerance and inhuman treatment, to which they were subjected at the hands of the Christians, and came to the conclusion that such injustice ought not to have made of every -Jew a Shylock — nay, more, a very brute. But, despite his just calculations, Shakespeare made a mistake. He had never seen our people in this country, for they were banished from England in 1290, under Edward I, and therefore could not know that the Israelites could never become Shylocks or Jessicas ; for blessed be the Protector of Israel, His watch and care never suffered His chosen people to become so degraded. On the con- trary, the immortal crown of resignation, martyrdom, and suffer- ings adorn the heads of the men and women and maidens of Israel, like the golden beams of the luminary "when it goeth forth in its strength and majesty." Gregorie Leli, a renowned biographer of Pope Sixtus V, related a remarkable coincidence which occurred before Sixtus when he was Inquisitor at Venice in 1567, viz., thirty years before Shakespeare wrote his Merchant of Venice. Leli relates that a Jew and a Christian appeared before Sixtus to submit to his de- cision. A debtor had bonded a hand's breadth of flesh to a creditor, and the debtor failing to pay his debt, the creditor in- sisted unmercifully on his bond. But listen ; the revengeful creditor, Gertendus, is a Christian, and Manu, the unfortunate debtor, is' an Israelite. This is an historical fact, for Leli relates it -with the full record of the proceedings, and with the literal decision of the great and aoble Inquisitor in favor of the Jew. Sixtus, who was once a common shepherd, deserved, indeed, by his inborn nobleness, the highest honor Christianity could be- stow to become the high priest of the Christians, and his memory, as a benefactor of our people, is cherished in our history. The inhuman attempt of Gertendus was wrong. Wrong, for a Chris- tian never had a good reason for persecuting an Israelite for the sake of his religion ; and the solemn reproof from the highest Christian tribunal in favor of a Jew against a Christian noble- 195 man, which was as natural as just, caused, nevertheless, no little sensation. William Shakespeare therefore now stands before us justly accused of misrepresenting wilfully a historical fact, and as having pol- luted his hands by a misstatement. But, to be lenient with such a great genius, we have only a slight excuse for him if we con- sider his Merchomt of Venice in the light of history. Another and more recent writer has grappled with the subject, and thus declares himseK ; Critics and casuists may fall out m attempting to settle among themselves what moved the conscience of Shakespeare, and what influence for good he desired to exercise on the prejudices of his age, in drawing the dark and gloomy Shyhek, and it is possible that these commentators may not be reconciled until it is ascer- tained by induction that the master had no further object than to produce a stage play, abounding in characters touched in fiom the life around him, and crowned with a central figure, partly evolved from the far-reaching sympathies of his wonder- ful mind. To be fair, we ought not to take the Jew of Venice and compare him with all we know of the enlightened Jews of this age and country, or attempt to forte upon them a partner- ship in his failings. We must take him as he is — the foreign Jew of the last decade of the sixteenth century, the product of ages of nameless oppression. The critics who ui-ge that Shakespeare meant to stand between the Jews and the prejudices of his au- dience should first inform their minds of what opportunity the dramatist or his patrons had of comparing the likeness with the original ; and to arrive at a just conclusion they must not lose sight of the fact that there could have been but very few Jews in England in 1594, because of the undisputed fait of the ancient race having been driven out of the country in 1290, and were never openly readmitted until Oliver Cromwell, yielding to the solicitations of the learned Jewish physician, Manasseh ben Israel, summoned a council of lawyers and divines, whose dis- cussions, although without immediate result, gradually led to the Jews regaining a footing in England. For many centuries before Shakespeare's time, kings and people had rivalled one an- other in persecuting the Jews, and the Inquisition had not been idle in lending the name of religion to cruelties as despicable as that planned in the fancy of the poet by Shylock against Antonio, Driven from England, from France, from Spain, from city to city, and from town to town, the free Kepublic of Venice, with the instinct of a great trading community, gave an asylum to the Jews, and granted them restricted privileges. In Venice the Jews were scholars and painters, and also usurers, doing business mostly with the humbler sort of people. A Jewish Shylock was well nigh impossible in the England of that day, and therefore no necessity could have existed for Shakespeare to act 196 as a mediator between the audiences patronizing Henslowe's company of players at the theatre at Newington Butts and the Jews of London ; but a Shylock was far from improbable in Venice at that period. Taken as a typical character, no liberal-minded Jew need deny the authenticity of the Venetian Shylock, and as the product of tradition, of hearsay, and of book-learning, mixed with slight personal observation, he may have been the ideal Jew of Shakespeare audiences. The main features of his character are not ignoble. Ip some respects he must have been a valuable citizen. He was an affectionate father and a sympathetic friend, but his mind was warped and his worst passions aroused at the recollection of the wrongs inflicted and the insults heaped upon his long-suffering nationality. The evil spirit of revienge, for which Shylock paid the just penalty, was grafted upon his origi- nal nature, and it is another tribute to the genius of Shakespeare that he saw and marked the fact. Only by keeping these cir- cumstances in view can we thoroughly appreciate the human side of Shylock's devilish disposition. He hoped to pay back upon Antonio personal and national wrongs. He fought for the Mosaic creed of an eye for an eye in a Christian city. But the evil spirit of revenge did not leave him utterly lost to all nobility. This was Shakespeare's meaning ; and now after three centuries of theatrical tradition, during which time Shylock has been enacted sometimes as a mountebank, and more often as an unmitigated fiend, a modem manager (Mr. Irving) restores him to his true place as the type of a proud soul lashed into malignity by the stigma of contempt. The play of the Merchant of Venice is not wholly a study of individual character. It is the picture of a gay and romantic age, capable of heroic friendship, of girlish love, and abounding in that spirit of adventure and intrigue which is the chief characteristic of the dawn of modem polite- ness. The personages of the play — one and all — are human be- ings, full of faults and foibles, and among the best of them beauty and grace are made to appear as virtues. The gaunt shadow of Shylock passes across the light and glitter of the comedy — in it but not of it. SiBTL. A prophetess who wrote her predictions on leaves. SiBTLLi OP CuMffi received a conditional privilege of Apollo and then cheated him. The age of this apocryphal fe- male exceeded 700 years. SiOK. Bodily ailment. The use of the word in this sense is obsolete in England, where the word " ill " is substi- tuted, and " sick " is only used to describe nausea or a vomit. In the United States of America '' sick " is still used in the Shakespearean sense. "When a person is very ill indeed it is said he or she is " quite sick." And in the military reports after a battle the English official authorities speak of the sick and wounded. 197 Side. A purpose. Side-sleeves. Long sleeves. Siege. A throne ; royal origin. Also a seat of any kind. Si rORTUNA ME TOKMENTO, IL SPEBATO ME OONTENTO. (Ital.) "If Fortune torments (opposes or deserts) me, Hope will sustain me." This was a motto on a sword-blade. Sightless. "Unseen. Sights op steel. The perforated parts of a helmet which en- abled the wearer to see his foe without exposing his own face ; that portion of the casque which could be moved on a swivel to conceal or show the face, and was called the "beaver." Sign. To soothsay ; foretell. Significant. Signs. SiGNioKiES. The divisions! of a kingdom into petty states, dukedoms, &c. Silly. Simple truth. Silver pillars. Ensigns of dignity borne before cardinals in processions. Simple. Unmixed; unqualified. SiMULAB. Hypocritical. Sinel. The father of Macbeth. By his death Macbeth suc- ceeded as Thane of Elands. Sinew. Strength of limb; a "rated sinew" — as strength on which we reckoned. Single. Simple ; decayed ; wish. Sink a pace. A corruption of cinque pas, (Fr.) Five steps; a figure in an old dance. Sir. a courteous prefix of knighthood, and formerly bestowed on ministers of the Gospel. Sirrah. A playful, inoffensive term used among friends. Sister. To imitate or re-echo. Sisters Three. The Fates, (Parcce.) Shakespeare has im- ported them into Macbeth as " Witches." Sith. Since, or "As." SiTHENCE. Since. Sits. Direction ; position. Sitting. A session of council. Sixpenny stickers. Pickpockets. Sized. Assized ; measured. 198 Sizes. Eations of food. Skains-mates. Low companions. The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet is indignant at Merentid's banter, (see, also, Flintgills,) because it may have meant Skeins-mates — a skein being a spool of thread. A skein arskain likewise meant a sword, even in the hands of gallants of the time. But the Nurse was more likely to under- stand that some allusion was intended to female asso- ciates, and was ireful accordingly. Skill. Beason. Skilless. Ignorant. Skills not. It matters not. Skimble-Skamble. Irregular talk; nonsense; rambling. Skink. To drink. Skinkeb. a tapster ; a waiter at an inn. Skins. Covering an ulcer with a fresh skin. Skipper. Youth. Skipping. Tripling ; given to frolicking. Skirr. To scour ; scorch. Skogan. The name of a famous fool or jester in the reign of Henry IV. Slack. To slacken. Slander. Bebuke ; waste time. Slave. To treat with indignity. Sleave. The knotty part of silk. Sleave silk. Eaw ; unwrought. Sleeve hand. The cuff of a garment. Sledded. Borne on a sleigh or sledge. Sleided. Untwisted. Slight, v. To throw ; n., contemptible. Slights. Tricks. Slip. Counterfeit coin. Slipper. Slippery. Slips. Leathern thongs used to restrain dogs in couples. Sliver, v. To slice ; w., a branch of a tree. Slobbery. Miry; muddy. Slops. Loose trowsers. Slough. An outer skin, (pronounced sluff-^ a mire. Slower. More serious. Slubber. To perform roughly, hastily, imperfectly. 199 Slugabed. A sluggard. Slutting. The characteristics of a dirty, careless woman. Small. EUiptically used for small portions. Smilets. Slight smiles. Smirched. Soiled. Smolkix. No definite meaning is assignable to this word. Edgar, {King Lear,) who uses it under an assump- tion of lunacy, talks " an infinite deal of nothing." Smooth. To flatter. Smooth dispose. A soft, engaging manner. Smug. Smart, trim. Sneak's noise. Sneak was a street minstrel with a band of musicians. Sneak up. One who temporarily avoids too much drink. Sneap. To check ; to snub. SNEApmG. Nipping. Sneck up ! Hang thyself ! Snipe. A pitiful fellow. Snort. To snore. Snupf, n. Wick of a candle ; displeasure ; v., to extinguish a light. Snuffs. Expressions of contempt. So. Very good; be it so. Soft you. Stay a moment. So HOUGH. An old hunting cry ; now written So, ho ! Soil. Spot ; turpitude ; disgrace. SoiLURE. Loss of virginity. Solace. To thrive ; prosper ; comfort. Sole. This word, under the varied orthography of Soul, Soal, Sole, admits of so much punning, either as an adjective or a noun, that the student must be guided by the con- text in settling its immediate intention. Sol fa. The notes g and /"in music. Solicit. To excite. Soliciting. Information. Solicits. Applications. SoLiDABES. The solidas was a Roman gold coin originally called the Aureus. If Shakespeare meant this coin in Timon of Athens he probably forgot that it was not a Greek coin. 200 Solon's happiness. Indicating that no man can be pronounced happy before his death. Sometime. Lately ; at one time ; former. SoNTiES. Saints. " God's sonties " (or saints) was a common expression on the lips when papistry was dominant in England. Sooth. The truth ; sweetness ; o., to countenance a forgery or a lie. Soothe. To comfort ; to flatter. SooTHSAYEB. Not always an utterer of the truth or of sweet expressions. The soothsayers of old Rome had credit for clairvoyance, but those people were little better than gipsies in their oracular promises and threats ; they spoke ambiguously at the best. Soon. By and by. Sophy. The Persian King referred to by the Prince of Mo- rocco {Merchant of Venice) was probably a very earnest Sufi or Soofee — the sect of Mahommedanism which triumphed over the Sonnees or earlier sect. Sufism (or Sofism) was, until very recently, almost universal in Persia. The word is derived from Suffee, purity. The doctrines are those of pure Deism. But a new re- ligion has now arisen ; it is called Luzdani, and sup- ports doctrines altogether opposed to the lesson of the Koran. SoREL. A three-year-old buck (deer.) SoBEB. Worse ; more criminal. Sorry. Sorrowful; poor; dismal. SoBT, V. To accord ; happen ; choose ; n., a class of persons ; ad., manner ; rank ; character ; degree ; associate. Sot. a fool ; idiot. SouD. Soft. The words Loud, Soud, uttered by Petruchio, {Taming of the Shrew,) indicate a state of perspiration and fatigue. The word comes from the Latin. The ancient Romans used a sudarium to remove the sweat from their faces. SouL-FEAEiNG. Appalled. Sound. To publish ; fathom purposes. Soundings. Depths ; to take soundings is a figurative form of proposing to make enquiries. 201 Sour ferryman. Charon, the boatman on the Styx. Sour words. Bitter phrases. SowLE. To pull the ears. Spaniblled. Dogged ; followed obsequiously. Spartan dog. The fiercest animal of the kind. Spavin or Spring-halt. A disease among horses. Specialty. Particular rights ; a special pursuit. Speculation. Sight. Speculative. Seeing. Sped. Settled ; exhausted. Speed. Event. Speeh. To enclose. Spherical. In the use of this word in the dialogue between Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse, {Oomedy of Er- rors,) Shakespeare has supposed an amount of geo- graphical knowledge which was quite foreign to the ancient Greeks. Sphery eyne. Round eyes ; heavenly eyes. Spial. a spy. Spiced Indian air. True of Ceylon where the fragrance of coffee and spices fills the air. Spicery., The supposed nest of the fabled Phoenix. Spill. To destroy. Spital. Abridgment of hospital. Spit-white. A proof of thirst. Spleen. Ill humor — sometimes active ; passionate ; some- times exhibited in sullenness ; also a fit of laughter. Splenetive. Under the influence of spleen. Split. A common phrase to indicate the effect of a tempest in splitting oaks, &c. Hamlet speaks of an actor's " split- ting the ears," and Bottom proposes to rant and " make all spKt." Spon counter, a juvenile game, like pitch and toss. Sponge. One who absorbs facts ; also a swindler. Spoon. In saying " I have no long spoon," Stephano, ( Tem^ pest,) supposing Trinoulo and Caliban (conjoined) to be one extraordinary being, has in his mind the old pro- verb which holds that a long spoon is requisite to eat with the Devil for fear of getting too near him with the ordinary utensils. 202 Spoons. The passage in Henry VIII, "You'd spare your spoons," refers to the practice at baptisms of the pres- entation by the chUd's spousers of a set of " apostle spoons," i. e., spoons with handles engraved or em- bossed with figures of Christ's twelve apostles. Spotted. Wicked ; notoriously bad. Spbag or Spback. Quick to learn ; apprehension ; retentive. Sprighted. Haunted ; beset by spirits. Sprightly. Ghostly. Sprights. Spirits. Springes. Traps ; vsdres for birds, hares, &c. Spurn. To catch, or snatch. Spurns. Contemptuous looks. Spurs. The large roots of trees. Squandered. Scattered. Square, a. Pair ; just ; v., to quarrel ; n., the front of a female dress ; the stomachers. Squash. An immature peas cod. Squiney. To squint. Squire, (Fr.) n. Es quiere. A rule or square for measuring ; v., to quarrel. Stables. Station. Stage, v. To place conspicuously. Stage, n. Inl586, when Shakespeareissupposed to have gone up to London, he in every likelihood became a member of the company then playing at the " Blackfriars," which association of gentlemen afterwards (1594) buUt another and probably more commodious theatre on the south bank of the Thames, which they called the " Globe." The " Blackfriars," a tightly-built house, seems to have been used by the company in the winter, and the " Globe," partly an open-air theatre, (such as exist in Italy and Spain,) they played in during the summer season. The " Blackfriars " stood in an opening called Playhouse Yard, the locality still bearing the same name. Besides the " Theatre," the " Curtain,'^ the " Blackfriars," and the " Globe," there were several other playhouses in London while Shakespeare resided there. Ere the erection of regularly established theatres, and even for a period long after, plays were acted in certain inn-yards. 203 It is interesting to examine the structure of the theatres of Shakespeare's time. First there were the tiers of gal- leries with small rooms under known as boxes. Second was the pit, as it was called in the private playhouses, or yard, as it was called at the public ones. The former had seats, but in the latter the audience had to stand. The "groundlings" (since become the "gods of the gal- lery ") paid a penny admittance. A box or room cost from sixpence in the smaller theatres to half-a-crown in the larger or more fashionable. The " yard " or pit was sometimes open to the weather, being roofless, while the " boxes " or tiers were inclosed and protected from the elements for the accommodation of the better classes. The wits, gallants, and critics were furnished with stools upon the stage at the sides, they paying from sixpence to a shilling for the same, according to the convenience of the location. Here these privileged beaux, both old and young, were supplied with pipes and ale and spent the evening in smoking, drinking, and flirting with the ladies between the acts. The scenery of the play in those early days of the British drama was of the simplest, if any there was at all. A scaffolding arose at the back of the stage some six or eight feet from the floor, on which scenes supposed to occur on towers or in upper rooms were enacted, in front of which balcony were colored curtains of pleasing tints, looped back or drawn at will, as the passing plot de- manded. The wings of the stage were hung with paint- ings or tapestry, and the ceiling was concealed by or con- structed of blue drapery studded with starry spangles, except during the representation of tragedy, when the whole stage was rendered sombre with black stuffs. The platform was commonly strewn with fresh green rushes, though sometimes covered with gay mats. The house was opened at two in the afternoon and the play began at three, it being one of the city ordinances that " no playing be in the dark, so that the auditory may return home after sunset." The signal for commencing was the third of a series of trumpet calls. A prologue was invariably spoken by an actor dressed in a Spanish 204 cloak of dark velvet. Between the acts a clown, or buf- foon, would tumble and troll comic ditties, or a trifling ballet (of French origin) would be danced. The scenery was not changed for the different situations, but a large board was bung upon the back wall, on which was scrawled the name of the place where the incidents were understood to occur ; thus everything being left to the fancy as in a novel or tale. All of Shakespeare's early dramas were acted amid this highly imaginary picturesqueness. At the end of the entertainment a prayer was put up for the reigning sovereign by the com- pany on their knees, the audience saying, Amen ; after which a jig was gone through with by the clown to jolly music as the spectators dispersed into the still stream- ing sunlight of the street. Such was the stage of Shake- speare, in substance. Staooebs, n. A disease among horses which manifests itself in trembling and an irresistible inclination to fall ; v., to doubt. Stale, v. To make common ; entrap ; to decoy ; n., a butt ; an object of ridicule ; a., worn ; faded ; corrupt ; spoiled by usage. Stalk in. In approaching some timid game it was the cus- tom to walk by the side of a horse, unseen by the prey, and thus gradually to get within gunshot of the object. The practice is stUl in force in India when the florican is the prey, n., a stalking horse. Standing. Attitude. Standing bed. A four-post bedstead, only used by the upper classes. Stands me. Imperative on me. Stannyel. a hawk ; an entire horse. Stab. A scar. Stab chamber. An arbitrary court which pronounced decrees without the aid or presence of a jury. It was abolished more than two centuries ago. Stabk. Stiff. Stabbed. Destined. Stabs. " Happy stars " — a propitious nativity. " Tempering all the stars," meant conforming nature and human ac- 205 tions to the influences of the heavenly bodies. Astrol- ogy was still a supposed science in Shakespeare's time. Starved. Hungry; ravenous. Starving. Craving. State. The thrpne of majesty. Station. Attitude. Statists. Statesmen. StatIja. a statue. Statue. A portrait. Statute caps. Rustics or citizens seeking employment were obliged to wear a head-gear (Rotated by the law. Stat. To prevent ; remain ; delay. Stai upon. "Wait upon. Steed. Assist ; " stand in my steed " — i. e., put yourself in my place. Steep, v. Absorb | n., height or steppe. Stelled. Stellated ; starry. Steenage. The hinder part ; steerage ; course. Stew. A low-class hotel ; a place of ill-fame. Sticking place. The stop in a machine. Sticklers. Judges ; umpires ; also men who used to assist at amateur combats to part the antagonists. Stigmatic. Deformed. Stigmatioal. Stigmatized. Stile. Position ; rank. Still, Stithy. A blacksmith's anvil and workshop. Suitrage. Literally, the faculty of speech, but generally used to imply a political vote. Suggest. To seduce. Suggestion. Temptation. Suicide and homicide are naturally leading features in trag- edy, and, therefore, constitute an element in several of Shakespeare's plays. The crimes follow each other as the orcQnary result of the gratification of the worst pas- sions that deform human nature, the concomitants of warfare, and the despair engendered by misfortune or disappointment. Where the tenets of Christianity enter into opposition with heathen philosophy, (Plato's, for example,) suicide fails to receive a justification, but, de- prived of this wholesome counterpoise, it becomes the 206 pusillanimous resort of men aud women driveti to ex- tremities. Thus, in Julius Caesar, we find Brutus and Cassius, after their discomfiture at Philippi, falling upon th^ir swords after the manner of Saul, the persecutor of David. Titnon of Athens, tired of life and hating all mankind, entombs himself " upon the very hem of the sea." Rotneo and Juliet commit self-slaughter under mistaken impressions. Hamlet completes with the poi- soned cup what the envenomed rapier had previously in- flicted. Goneril makes her own quietus after poisoning her sister. Othello, full of remorse, smites himself as he did the turbaned Turk. Cleopatra unties the " knot in- trinsicate " of hfe with the help of an asp ; Charmion follows the imperial example. Cymbeline^s wicked wife rids herself of a wretched criminaJ life by the very means she had taken to destroy others of her family ; and Mac- beth only hesitates " to play the Roman fool " because he sees better employment for his sword in " gashes " in other lives. But all these incidents of self-murder fail to horrify or nauseate the readers and spectators of Shakespeare's tragedies, because he has adroitly made them the sequence of vice which has failed to achieve its malignant objects, or represented them as the con- sequence of egregious folly or deplorable ignorance. Stilty. Gladly ; lowly ; quietly. ■ Stint. To stop ; retard. Stir. To rise from bed ; raise a commotion ; opposition. Stithied. Forgotten. St. Martin's Summer. Warm %veather in England in the month of November; metaphorically — prosperity after adversity. St. Nicholas. The patron saint of thieves, who, in the 15th century, were called St. Nicholas' clerks. Stocoato. a stab ; a hit in fencing. Stock. A stocking (or stuck) ; a term in fencing. Stock-fish. Dried fish of any kind. Stomach. Pride ; obstinacy ; inclination. Stone. Artificial ; figurative ; the philosopher's stone. The word in King Lear meant polished slate, as mirrors of glass were unknown. 207 Stone bow. A cross-bow ; a small arbalist. Stoop. The action of the eagle or hawk in pouncing on its prey. Stops. The orifices in a flute or flageolet. Stoby. To describe a person. Stodp. a flagon, holding a pint. Stove. Lot ; number. Stovee. a thatch ; grass fodder for cattle. St. Patkick. The fame of this Scotchman, who is the patron saint of Ireland, must have been famUiar to the Danish Christians, or Samlet covld. scarcely have sworn by him. St. Peteb. The alleged ieeper of the Celestial Gate. St. Philip's Daughters. Virgins " who did prophecy." See Acts of the Apostles, xxi, v. 9. Strachy. No authority for the exact meaning of this word is traceable. It may have had reference to some old song or romance in which a lady of high degree married an inferior officer of her own household. Straight. Immediately. Stbaight-pight. Represented erect. Strain. A breed ; descent ; race ; class ; doubt ; inclination ; tone; ad., demur. Strait. Parsimonious ; narrow-minded. Strange, a. Shy ; backward ; distant ; n., a foreigner ; a stranger. Strappado. A barbarous punishment resorted to by the Span- ish Inquisition to extort confessions from prisoners. It consisted of strapping the arms, hoisting the body up- wards by ropes attached to the wrists, and then sud- denly letting them drop that the bones might be dislo- cated. Stratagem. A great or dreadful event. Strawy. Straying. Stricture. Strictness. Strike. To lower a sail or flag in a sea-fight in token of sub- mission ; to give way. Striker. A borrower. Stronds. Strands ; lands. Strossers. Trowsers. 208 Stuff. A point of honor ; substance ; essence ; luggage ; nonsehse. Stuited. Sufficient ; replete ; well educated. Sty. To treat or harbor a man as if he were no better than a hog. Stygian. Having reference to the fabled river Stjrx. SuBSCKiBEs. Submits; yields. Success. Issue ; result ; not always happy fortune. The word (and Succession) also implies excess. Successively. Order of succession. Sudden. Violent; hasty. Suet. Sweated. Sufferance. Endurance ; pardon ; exoneration. Sufficiency. Abilities. Suited. Dressed. Suitor. The allusion to the "woman that bears the bow," in Ziove^s Labor's Lost, can only be understood by sup- posing that the word was pronounced shooter, as it still is in Ireland. Suits. Here is a word of many significations which Shake- speare has not failed to press into his service. Rosalind (As You Like It) says she is " out of suits with fortune," which may mean that she does not wear Fortune's livery, or is not one of her followers (suite.) On another occa- sion she bids "Monsieur Traveller" wear "strange suits" — foreign costumes — as evidences of his travel. Falstaff talks of waiting in the courts " for the obtain- ing of suits," actions at law, or favors at court, punning upon the word to designate the dress of an executed criminal — the perquisite of the hangman. SuMLESs. Countless. Summer's day. A promising period. Sumpter. a carrier— horse or mule. Sun. The " sun of York," in the opening soliloquy of Rich- ard III, is a reference to the device of Edward IV. Superfluous. Over clothed ; very particular. SuPEKFLux. Superfluity. Superstitious. Over watchful. Supplyment. Continuation to the close. Supposed. Counterfeit. 209 Surcease. The end ; cessation. Surety. Secure ; extra confidence. Surge. A wave of the sea. SuRREiN. To overdrive a horse. Suspect, ad. Suspicion. Suspire. To breathe. Swabber. An inferior class of sailor who cleans the decks with a swab formed of rope threads. Swan-like. The peculiar noise made by a dying swan fur- nishes the poetical mind with the idea that the bird sings as it expires. Tennyson, following Shakespeare, writes : ' ' With an inner voice the river ran, Above it floated a dying swan, And loudly did lament." And on another occasion the same poet sings — " The wild swan's death hymn." Swart. Dark brown. Swashers. Swaggerers ; bullies. Swath or Swarth. Cut at one stroke. Swathed. Cradled in infancy. Swathling. Swaddling. Sway. To weigh ; consider. Sway on. March rapidly. Sweat. A sudorific process in medicine. Sweet. Sagacious; pleasant. Sweeting. An apple. Swelling. Noble; daring; eager; vain. Sweltered. Steamed ; accumulated. Swift. Eeady. Swilled. Violently washed by the sea. Swinge bucklers. Swordsmen who rattled their swords upon their shields. Swinish. Gluttonous. Switzers. The phrase ^' point d'argent, point de Suisse," ap- plied satirically to the personal guards of a French monarch, occurs first in Racine's only comedy of Zies J^laideuis. " Suisse " is the appellative of the porter, or doorkeeper of the house, and the " Suisse " in " Zies JPlaideuis is debating the advisibUity of giving admis- 18 210 sion to strangers unless they pay him for the indulgence. If they refuse, the porter's bolt is not drawn for them. " Point d'argent, {no money,) point de Suisse," {no por- ter/) SwiTZERS. The Swiss have been the faithful personal guards of European (not English) sovereigns from a very early period of history. They were the protectors of Louis XI, and later of Louis XVI, but it is not very probable they were at the court of Denmark. The French, who were always very jealous of the preference shown the Swiss guards, indicated their mercenary character by an epigram. Point d^argent, point de Suisse, *' No money, no Swiss," derived from Racine's Plaideuis, where the Suisse, or porter, at a house claims a fee as the ad- mission of visitors. Swoop. The descent of an eagle on its prey. SwoopSTAKEs. Sweeping away all the money staked on a game or race. SwoRD. Christian soldiers swear by the hilts of their swords because the guard of the hilt resembles a cross. SwoRD OF Spain. A weapon manufactured at Toledo once famous for its steel. Sworn brether. Hhe fratris jurate who bound themselves by oath to act together. SwauNDED. Swooned. Sycorax. a witch, the supposed mother of Caliban, ( Tem- pest), " so strong she could control the moon." T Table. The palm of the hand ; a picture ; a skeleton map. Table, tables, tablet. A memorandum book. Tabor. A small tambouiine beaten with a stick. Taboubine. An ancient drum. Tackle. Raiment. Tappeta. a silken stuff formerly much in use. Tag-rag. The rabble ; the rabblement. Tailor. As tailors sit cross-legged at their work it was sup- posed that when a person fell others would, in ridicule, call out tailor ! But the word was once equivalent to 211 " thief," and may have been used to raise an alarm, as modern folk are wont to call out " murder !" when ^ny simple outrage occurs. Taintuee. Defilement. . Take. To infect; strike with disease. A planet was sup- posed to strike and paralyze animals. Take in. To capture ; conquer. Take out. To copy. Take up. To contradict ; to obtain goods on credit. Taking. Infection ; to make peace. Talent. Talon. Tale-tally. To calculate. Tall. Stout; brave. Tall. Antithetical to short. It was at one time used to im- ■ ply boastfulness. Tallow keech. Tub of tallow. Talon. Talent. Tame. Ineffectual. Tame snake. A coward. Tan«. Hound. Tanlino. One tanned by the sun. Tanny coats. The liveries of officers and retainers in eccle siastical service. Tanta est ergo te mentis, regina serenissima. (Lat.) " So great is the integrity of our purpose towards your Serene Majesty." Tantoene animes celestibos ivoe ? (Lat.) " Can heavenly souls cherish so much anger? " Targe. A shield; a target. Taepeian. a precipice near the Capitol of Bome, whence criminals were hurled. Tabre. To urge ; encourage. Taeblvnce. Delay. Tarby. To stop ; stay ; pause. Tartab. Tartarus ; *' vasty tartar ;" the inferno. Tartae-limbo. Intended by Dromio of Ephesus ( Comedy of^ JErrors) to convey the idea of a moral purgatory — an intermediate position between temporary detention and permanent imprisonment. Tase. Tax; challenge; tease with scruples. 212 Tassex gentle or tercel gentle. A tame hawk. Taste. To try ; prove. Kings were so constantly in fear of being poisoned that almost every European and Asiatic monarch had an official " taster," whose duty it was to taste of every dish before it was touched by the King. In King John allusion is made to a treacherous monk who tasted for the King and died a victim to the poisoned food. Tatjkus. Supposed in Shakespeare's time to be a mountain in Asia. The Zodiacal sign (Taurus) was alleged by as- trologers to preside over man's lower limbs. Tawdrt. Necklaces worn by country girls. . Tawney coat. The dress of an apparitor. • Tawnet front. Referring to Cleopatra's complexion. Tax, v. To condemn ; censure ; satirise ; n., & duty or im- post. Taxation. Satire ; censure. Teaches. This word, the third person singular in the pres- ent tense of the verb " to teach," unaccountably fol- lows a plural noun in more than one play. "Hard dealings teaches us '' is clearly ungrammatjcal. Per- haps Shakespeare wrote " Hard deaUng," and the error Ues with the printers and editors. Tear a cat. To rant ; bluster. Tears. Grief ; trouble. See Deer's tears. Te Deum. Thou, Lord ; the first words of a hymn of thankfulness. Teen. Grief. Tellus. According to Hesiod, "Mother Earth," the most ancient of the planets and an emblem of productive- ness. Temper, v. To mould ; soften ; manipulate ; n., disposition. Temperalitt. Perhaps Mrs. Quickly means "condition." Temperance. Temperature ; moderate speech and action ; also, a mild climate. Tempest dropping fire. The Campagna of Rome was cer- tainly the abode of electric fire, and there must have been frequent exhibits of mephitic vapors when miasmai lurked in the foul city. Excepting the Cloacoe, there was no outlet for accumulated filth. Excessive hea^ -21S and its ordinary results in the spring and summer, made Rome intolerable as a place of residence. Violent storms were the only depurators of the polluted at- mosphere. Temple. A religious house in the city of London, and there- fore a sanctuary. There was also probably a temple in Venice for the accommodatioil of Moors who visited or traded with the famous Republic. It is to that temple Portia {Mercfiant of Venice) sends the Prince of Morocco to take his oath. The word " temple " is fig- uratively used by Hamlet to represent the human body. Tenable. Capable of being held or retained in memory or confidence. Tenas Astrea keliquit. (Lat.) Leave the snares of Astrea. Ten bones. The hands ; an old form of oath. Tench. A fresh- water fish with red spots on the skin. Ten Commandments. The finger nails. Tend. Await ; ready to lead. Tender. To regard with affection. Tenders. Assurances ;" oflfers. Tenjjis balls. Balls stuffed with hair and knocked about with battledores of rope stretched on a frame. The game of tennis is likewise partially enclosed by a network of rope. Tent, «. To probe; fathom; hold; n., a lint bandage for wounds. Tents. Hangings and canopies of beds ; canvas residences. Tercel. The male hawk. (Falcon, the female.) Tercus. The hero of an old story. Termagant. A violent character in an old play; a., fiery; furious woman. Terms. The periods at which law courts are held. Tertian. A fevffl- which recurs every third day. Tested. Attested ; put to the test ; assayed. Tester. A coin of the value of an English sixpence. The word " Tanner " has now superseded it. Testekn. To pay with a tester. Tetchy. Irritable; peevish. Tether. A rope by which animals are fastened to a stake while they graze. Tewkesbdrt mustard. The reputation which the town of 214 Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire, once enjoyed for the manufacture of this condimeut has been eclipsed by the product of Durham, in the . North. Thamyris. Queen of the Massagetse who slew Cyrus. Than£. a Scottish nobleman. The title has since been sup- planted by that of " Earl." Tharborough. (See Third borough.) •■_ Tha8st7s. Shakespeare probably meant Thasos, a small island on the Thracian coast at no great distance from FhiUppi, where the battle was fought in which Brutus and Cassius were defeated. Or he may have intended Thapsas, in Africa, for, iaiter the death of Csesai', Cassius received the conquered part of Africa as his share of the terri- tory divided among the assassins. Theoric. Theory. Thersites. Antagonized to Ajax by Guiderius, ( Oymbeline,) the former Thersites being a deformed and scurrilous Greek, and Ajax a hero. Thetis. One of the sea goddesses, said to b© the mother of Achilles. Thewes. Muscles; integuments. Thick. To "speak thick " is to utter volubly. Thicker. Faster ; crowded on. Thick pleached. Closely intertwined. Thick skin. Courageous ; generous ; antithetical to thin- skinned. Thill. The shaft of a waggon or wagon. The thill horse is the strongest of the team. Some of the American com- mentators insist upon " Till," because the word is in use in New England. It is bad enough to be obliged to sub- stitute words for those which it is conjectured Shake- speare wrote when his undecipherable capography left th j meaning doubtful, but it is absurd to dismiss the pal- pable for the Diere display of hypercriticism. Thin. Bare ; poorly dressed. Thin helm. A scanty covering of hair. Think. Grieve, taken in connection with the sorrow (of Cleo- patra) caused by Mark Antony's defeat. Third borough A constable ; a peace officer in old times. Thisbb. (See Pyramus.) 215 Thought. To take thought meant to be anxious ; despondent. Thought executing. Destructive of the mental faculties. Thought-sick. Melancholy. Thobough. Identical in several plays with " through." Thraoian poet. Orpheus. Thbasonical. After the manner of Thrason, a braggadocio in an old Greek play. ■Thbead. To pass through ; find a passage. Thread and Thrum. Implements in weaving. Three. " We three loggerheads be " is the motto appended to the sign of some ol.L public house which represents two men grinning through a horse collar. The reader of the inscription supplies the third loggerhead. Three farthings. The Tudors introduced a fuU blown rose upon their coins. It was the united York and Lancas- ter badge. As the smaller denominations of silver coin were of values, and consequently of sizes, very closely ap- proximating to each other, the odd and alternate pieces were distinguished by a rose. Upon the sixpence, three- pence, three-halfpence, and three-farthings the rose was engraved, while the shilling, groat, half-groat, penny, and halfpenny were without it. This explains Falconbridge^s remark that his face is so thin he durst not stick a rose, (behind the ear was the place where it was worn,) "Lest men should say, ' Look where three-farthings goes.' " But the coin in question was only introduced in the reign of Queen Elizabeth ; consequently, to make Falconbridge speak of it was clearly an anachronism. Three men beetle. A weighty mallet which required, in use, the force of three men. Three men song men. Singers of glees, catches, and madri- gals in three parts. Threepence bow'd. A bent coin of the value of threepence, held to be a token of good luck. Three pile. Rich velvet. Trene. Lament. Thrice driven. A process in the manufacture of feather beds. Thrid. Thread. Thrift. A prospect of success. Thbiftt. Careful ; unthinking ; careless ; (not the only in- 216 stance in wliich Shakespeare uses the same word to convey opposite meanings.) Thkoe. To put in pain. Throstle. The thrush. Thrdm and thread. Machinery in weaving. In putting this expression into the mouth of Jiottom (or Pyramui) Shakespeare preserves his consistency in making the artisans weavers. Thrum hat. Head-gear composed of the end of a weaver's warp. Thumb. See Bite my thumb. Thunder-stone. Acolytes, supposed by the ancients to fall with the lightning which precedes a thunder-clap. Tib a common prostitute. Tickle. Tickled ; rickety ; brittle. Tickle-brain. The vender of strong drinks. Tick-tack. An old French game like backgammon. Tide. Sometimes expresses " Time." Tidy. Plump. Tied. Held fast by contract or family connection. Tight. Nimble; active. Tike. A hound ; a lout. Till. To ; a Scotticism. TlLLEV ALLEY. Pooh ! pOoh ! Tilth. Tillage. TiLTER. An awkward with a lance at a tourney. Timber, v. To shape wood delicately. Timeless. Untimely. Timely parted. Recently deceased. Tinct. Essence ; tint. " Tinct and multiplying evidence." (The philosopher's stone.) Tinctures. " Stains, relics, and cognizance." (Julius Cmsar.) Doubtless it was among the Roman superstitions of the age that there were curative and protective virtues in the blood of distinguished characters. Mark Antony has this in his mind when he exposes Caesar's ensan- guined mantle to the assembled citizens. Tire, v. To fasten ; to be idly engaged ; in falconry, to tear with the beak ; n., a head-dress ; " tire valiant." Tibed. Adorned; tiring (or attiring) house — the dressing apartment. 217 TiRKA-HREA. The song of the lark. TiKRiTS. Terrors. Titan. The sun ; " common kissing " Sol shines on all alike. Title leap. It was the practice to illustrate books with characteristic vignettes rudely executed. Toad. The idea that the poor reptile had a jewel in his head furnished rustic boys with an excuse for destroy- ing it that they might get at the imagined jewel Tod. a weight of 28 pounds — a quarter of a cwt., English measure ; it was used in weighing coral. ToPFS. Tassels. ToGED. Wearing the toga proetexta — the privileged mantle of the superior magistrates of Italy. Toiled. Taxed ; strained. Tokened. Spotted. Toll. A tax payable for a license, or the privilege of travelling upon a road. Tolling. Taking toll. Tomb enough, and continent. Insufficiency of space. Tomboys. Wild girls who used to dress and act as boys. The word comes from tumbe — to dance. Tom o' Bedlam. A poor lunatic turned out of Bethlehem Hospital in London, called familiarly " Bedlam." The name is quite out of place in King Lear.' Tongs and Bones. The implements of a noisy concert, called by the French oharivarl. At the nuptials of a butcher in England a serenade is performed with marrow bones and cleavers, and among the negroes of America and the West Indies the bones are substituted for the Castanet as accompaniments of the banjo or guitar. Tongue. A language. " Double-tongue " venom — the prop- erty of an adder. Took it. A form of pledge ; an assumption of responsibil- ity, as " I took it on me to say, or do." Toothpick. All fops in the 16th century used long toothpicks after a meal and in idle moments. Too TOO. Excessive. Topas. " Sir Topas " is the title assumed by the Clown in Twelfth Night in his attempt to impose on Malvolio, but the word is used as a pun on topers, in reference to Sir Toby BeloKis habits. 19 218 Topless. Supreme. Topple To tumble. ToRTivE. Twisted. Toss. To handle a pike or musket. To be tossed was to be cast into a pit. Tottering. Tatteritig ; tattered — referring to the colors of an army. Touch, n. A stone for testing gold, whence " touchstone ;" ad., touching ; touched ; feelingly affected ; trying ; reach- ing; attaining J to prick ; n., features. Touse. To pull ; drag. Toward. In preparation, going forward ; in readiness, well disposed. Tower, u. Soar. Toys. Whims ; trifles ; rumors ; idle suggestions of the fancy. TozE. To unravel. Trace. Accompany ; foUow ; keep up with. Trade. Established practice ; business ; profession. Traded. Practised. Tradition. Traditional usages. Traditional. Governed by old customs. Trail. Scent left by game, or the human foot. Trains. Forces ; followers. Traitress. A term of endearment ; from traditore. Trammel. To gather up ; collect. Tranect. a ferry. Tranquillity. Gentlemen who live at home at ease. Translate. To transform ; interpret. Teash, v. To restrain the speed of a hound ; check growth in its exuberance ; ad., worthless stuff. Travail. Labor; toil. Traverse. An old word of command in musketry exercise ; hkewise an order to march. Traversed arms. Folded arms. Tray-trip. A game resembling draughts. Treachebs. Traitors. Treaties. Entreaties. Trenched. Carved. Tbenoher friends. People who are " friends " as long as you 219 entertain them. A broad plate or dish used at the dinner table was a trencher, the word being derived from the French, tranche, a slice ; trencher, to cut or carve. Teeys. Threes ; a corruption of Tres (Lat.) in the throw of dice. Tribunal plebs. A clown's mistake for the tribune of the people. Trick, n. Peculiarity of feature ; a facial expression ; silly practice. Trick, v. To dress out. Tricking. Dressing; ornament. Trick of fame. A trifle of reputation. Tbicksey. Adroit. Trigon. a fiery junction of three signs of the Zodiac, and therefore appHcable to the red spots on HardolpKs nose, and to the group of Falstaff, Bardolph, and Doll Tearsheet. Trim, v. To practise; decorate; a., (ironically,) nice; credit- able. Trip. To move forward ; dance ; stumble. Triple. One of three ; the triumvirs who seized on the gov- ernment of Rome after Caesar's death. Tristful. Sorrowful ; melancholy. Triton. A huge sea-god attendant upon Neptune. Often contrasted with the minnow, the smallest of fish, il- lustrating the position of a man who is only relatively considerable or great. Triumphs. Shows ; processions. Thoilus. One of the sons of Priam, King of Troy. Trojan. A cant name for a thief. Troll. To sing trippingly. Trol-my-dames. An old game resembling bagatelle ; minor billiards. Tropically. In the sense of tropics ; metaphorically. Trossees. Trowsers. Trot. A term of contempt. Troth. Truth ; pledge of love, loyalty, and obedience. Trout-tickling. Maria, in Twelfth Night, seeing MdlvoKo approaching, says : " Here comes the trout that must be caught with tickling." Shakespeare knew that fact, 220 so familiar to river poachers and many a school-boy, that a trout likes to be tickled, or behaves as if he did, aijd that by gently tickling his sides and belly you can so mesmerize hira, as it were, that he will allow you to get your hands in position to grasp him firmly near the surface of the stream. Trow. Belief. Tkowel. Metaphorically, one who spreads gross flattery. Tbuckle-bed. a bedstead on castors raised but a foot from the ground. Servants usually slept on such beds at the feet of their masters. Teue. Brave ; honest. Tbuepenny and old mole are rather familiar phrases for Samlet to use in speaking of the ghost of the father he has just been treating so reverentially. Perhaps he may be supposed to be seeking relief from the emotions which 80 recently oppressed him. It is natural to in- dulge in a forced jocularity after a severe strain upon the sterner passions. TEniTB. (Fr.) Trout. La truite lav^e au bourbier — The trout washed in the mud. Tbundle-tail. The name of a dog. Tbusted. Thrust. Tbusteb. Depository ; receptive of confidence. Tet. To shift the sails of a ship. Tey conclusions. Try experiments ; argue ; contend. Tub-fast. A process for exciting violent perspirations. Tuck. Sundry annotators give, in explanation, " a rapier, a thin sword," but this cannot be reconciled with a " vile standing tuck," which, judging by the context, meant a slight pole on which clothes were hung to be beaten. Tucked. Adorned. Tucket. A toccata {Ital., trumpet) or a trumpet blast. Tully's oratoe. a treatise by Cicero called " The Orator." Tumblee's hoop, a sheet of thin paper hooped for acrobats to leap through in a circus. TuNDiSH. A funnel. TuBBANS. Belarius {Cymbeline) speaks of "impious tur- bans,"' implying that giants and Turks were identical. TuEK. To turn Turk ; to revolt ; become savage. 221 TuEK Gkegoky. Hildebrand, the Pope Gregory VII, made war on all the princes in Christendom to assure the Papal supremacy. To call him a " Turk " was simply to BXb" express the fierce energy of his warfare. TuELET aooD. A gypsy, or probably a lunatic. TuBN. To moderate. TuKQuoiSE. A sky blue stone (the lapis lazuli) found in Persia. In superstitious times particular virtues were ascribed to stones which underwent changes in hue ac- cording to the fluctuations in. the atmosphere. The opal showed this character — or supposed character — with the turquoise, which imparted to both stones a value beyond their decorative quality. But Shylock . cherished his turquoise less for its reputed attributes than from the fact of its having been a present from his Jjeah. It is almost the only gentle touch exhibited in his nature. TuEEE. To whisper. TwANGLiNG Jack. An opprobrious term for a musician. Twice the othee twain. Pompey {Antony and Cleopatra) means that Marie Antony is twice as good a soldier as Augustus and Lepidus put together. Twicken bottle, a wicker bottle. Twigging. Wickered ; formed of twigs. Twinkling or an eye. Rapidity of action. Twieb. To peep ; twinkle. Twofold balls and teebly sceptees. A ghostly foreshadow- ing of the Union of England and Scotland under James I. Had Shakespeare, who knew so much of the past and all of the present, the gift of penetrating the probable future? Tybuen. The ancient locality of the gallows in London. Type. A symbol. Typhon. a very noisy giant. Tyeant, ad. Oppressive, whether applied to custom, inca- pacity of motive, or severity of rule. Tything. a district ; likewise the act of taxing the tenth of one's property. 222 XJ Ubique. (Lat.) Here and everywhere. Umbered. Brown from exposure to the sun and shadowed {ombre, Fr.) from melancholy. Unaccustomed. Unusual ; unbecoming ; indecent. Unannealed. Not oiled; not in reception of extreme unction — a Roman Catholic ceremonial applied to persons in a moribund condition. Unavoided. Unavoidable. Unbarbed. Beardless; shaven. Undated. Not blunted; a foil not tipped with a button for safety in fencing. Unbitted. Unbridled. Unbolt, v. To explain. Unbolted. Coarse ; unsifted. Unbonneted. With the hat or cap removed. Unbooked. Unlearned; illiterate. Unbkeathed. Unpractised ; unrehearsed. Uncape. To open the bag in which a fox had been oaped (cap- tured) or kept, to let the animal run off before being chased secundum vitem. Unchanged. Unattached. Uncharged. Undefended. Uncleanly. Impure. Unclew. To unwind ; unravel ; undo ; ruin. Unclog. Open ; remorse. Uncoined. Unalloyed ; open ; unfeigned. Unconstant tay. Caprice ; change. Uncouple. Loosening the leashes by which hounds are linked in couples. Uncrossed. Uncancelled ; a debt unpaid ; not crossed out of the creditor's book. Unction. Ointment. " Flattering unction " is a happy form of indicating a pleasant method of easing the conscience. Uncurbent. Irregular. Undercraft. To wear beneath the crest. Undeecrest. To add to honors by further exercise. Undergoing stomach. Stamina ; the faculty of bearing up. Underskinkner. a subordinate tapster. 223 Understand. To stand under. Undektakee. a participator in the quarrel of another. TJndekweite. To subscribe ; vouch for ; to obey ; take note. Undekweought. Undermined. Uneath. Scarcely. Unexpbessive. Inexpressible. Unfair. To deprive of beauty. Unfatheeed. Fatherless. Un aAE90N. A boy. The unit in the French language is represented by the indefinite article un — a or one. Ungenituebd. Not begotten after the ordinary usage of na- ture. Unhappily. Mischievously. Unhappiness. "Evil propensities," as applied by Lady Anne to the Duke of Gloster. {Richard III.) Unhappy. Wicked ; mischievous. Unhaiekd. Without a beard or moustache ; youthful. Unhatched. Undisclosed. Unheabts. Distresses. Unhoused. Free from domestic cares. Unhouselled. Bereft of the last Roman CathoHc sacrament. Unicorns. Modern travellers, seeing at a distance, in profile, a deer vrhose. horns projecting from the forehead vrere parallel, and therefore appeared to be but one horn, have conjectured that the Bomans brought from Africa the impression that they had seen homed horses. The unicorn is, however, deemed a fabulous animal, or one of an extinct species, and is merely figured as a sup- porter on a coat-of-arms. UNiMPEoyED. As appUed to " mettle," unregulated. Union ; A precious stone ; a kind of pearl susceptible of solution. Unjust. Dishonest. Unkind. Unnatural. Unlived. Deprived of life. Unmanned. A term in falconry applicable to a hawk. Unmasteeed. Licentious. Unowed. Unowned. Unpaved. Castrated. {Cymbeline.) The voice is affected by the operation, wherefore the boys in the choirs of Ital- 224 ian catholic. churches, who are destined to lead Hves of celibacy as priests, are called castrate, from castra, a stone. Unplausive. Inexpressive. Uin>BEGNANT. Quickened ; also, stupid. TJnpkopek. Common. Unqualified. Unmanned, {q. v.) Unquestionable. Disinclined to inquisitiveness. Unready. Unprepared ; undrest. Unrespecting. Unobservant; regardless. Unrespective. Regardless ; inconsiderate. Unrest. Disquiet. Unrough. Beardless. Unseminared. Bereft of the faculty of procreation ; castrated. Unshunned. Inevitable. Unsmirched. Undefiled. Unsquared. Unadapted. Unstained. Spotless; innocent. Unstaunched. Incontinent. Untempeeing. Hard; not even susceptible of being softened. Untent. To vacate a tent. Untented. Not probed ; virulent ; unsearchable. Unthread. Retrace ; to get through or thread an intricate forest or pathway. Unthript. . Prodigal. Unteaded. Not in common use. Untrimmed. Undrest ; destitute of ornament. Unvalued. Invaluable. Unyoke, v. To separate one's self from another yoke-fellow or workingman ; to cast off a control of any kind. Upspking. Jumping up, either in dancing or jocund drinking, was a common custom among the Scandinavians. URcmNS. Hedgehogs. Ursa major. The Great Bear in Astronomy, called by country people Charles's Wain or Wagdn, because of its resem- blance to a team of horses drawing a vehicle. Usance. Extravagant interest on money lent. Use, v. To behave ; n., intent ; usage. UsuRPEEY hair. False hair ; a wig. Utes. " Old Utes " — old custom — alleged to be derived 225 from huit, (Ft., eight,) because of certain merrymakings on the eighth day of a certain festival. Utter. To expel ; to seU. Utterance. From the French outrance, extremity. , V Vade. To fade. Vail. To lower ; abate ; " vaU your stomach," control your pride. {Taming of the Shrew.) *' Vailing her high top lower than her ribs," (Merchant of Venice,) presents a striking picture of a ship on her beam ends. " Vailing of the sun " is another term for sunset. Vain, Vainness. Vanity ; light of tongue. Valentine. The saint of this name being unknown to -the Greeks, Shakespeare has perpetrated an anachronism in intruding mention of the saint's day. Validity. Force ; worth ; eifectiveness ; value. Vallanced. Cut in zig-zag ; a common sort of trimming first introduced at Valencia, in Spain. Applied, also, to the lace manipulated at Valenciennes, and to the wrinkles on the human face. Vanity. Illusion. Vantage. Opportunity; advantage. Vaktbeacb. a protection for the arm. (Avant bras, Fr.) Vablet or valet. A personal servant ; a retainer. Littre, in his " Histoire de la Langue Franqaise," says : " Words, in passing from one country to another, or from one age to another, become ennobled or degraded in a remarka- ble manner." He instances, in illustration, the word varlet, which he says is a corruption of vaslet, " little vassal," and the word 'Sassal, he says, "signifiat un vaUlant guerrier, (warrior.) et varlet un jeune homme (a young man) qui pouvait (might) aspire aux (to the) honneurs de la chevalerie." Vossius says that vassal is from vas, " a pledge " — the word being applied to " tenants in vadio^'' that is, who were under a pledge to follow their lords to battle ; Latin, vadere. " to go." Our older English poets, such as Chaucer, (" Knight's Tale," verse 3054,) Gower, and Gawin Douglas, always used the word vassal in connec- 22G tions where personal bravery and prowess seem to be the leading conceptions that inform the word. Vast. Waste ; extensive ; dreary ; the dead of night (meta- phorically.) ' Vastiditt. The whole earth. Vastly. Vast ; like a waste. Vault or volt (Fr.) or volte. (Ital.) Leap. Vaunt. The avant (Pr.) or forepart. Vaunt conRiEKS. From the French avant couriers — forerun- ners. Vawaed. The front ; towards the front ; vanguard. Velure. Velvet. Velvet gijards. Trimmings ; applied to the citizens who wore - them. Venetian. A native of Venice. It is worthy of remark that Shakespeare, in compliment, perhaps, to the followers of the Ambassador from the Republic to Queen Eliza- beth, draws a nice distinction in tracing the character of the Italians. Portia {Merchant of Venice) ridicules the Neapolitans ; lago ( Othello) speaks contemptuously of the Florentines ; but Bassarius, the Venetian, is " a gentleman." Venew. a bout in fencing. Veney. a thrust or blow in a cudgel (or waster) contest ; a corruption of venez, (Fr.) "come on." Vengeance proud. Proud " with a vengeance." Vent. Bumor ; v., to invent or spend. Vent, v. To blow off. Ventages. The small holes in flutes which are closed or opened by the fingers when the instrument is played upon to exclude or introduce air. Venus. The evening star ; the type of all that is good and beautiful in womankind. Verbal. Verbose ; tedious ; wordy ; literal. Verbatim. (Lat.) Word for word. Verify. To prove the truth. Veronese. A ship from Verona. This is one of Shake- speare's topographical mistakes. Verona is not a sea- port. Versing. Writing verses. 227 Veby. Immediate ; really ; truly. Via. Go ! fly ! Take to the road ! An old Italian word of command to servants, messengers, and attendants. Via, (Lat.,) n., a street or road. Also, an expression of joy. Via les eaux et le tbrre. (Fr.) " Away, both the waters and the earth !" Vials. " Sacred vials," lachrymatory vessels, which, fiUed with tears for a deceased individual, were deposited by the Romans in the sarcophagus with the ashes of the defunct. Vice. The Harlequia or Motley Fool of the Old Moralities ; the original of the modern pantomime dram. pers. His parti-colored dress suggests the taunt, " a . thing of shreds aiid patches." (ITamlet.) He carried a thin lath, sword, or wand. The word " vice " is used in the West of England iovjist. Video et gaudeo. (Lat.) I see and rejoice. ViDES NB QUES vENiT? (Lat.) Do you see who comes? Vie. To boast ; to stake cards in the old game of Primero. Viewless. Invisible. ViLD. VUe. Villain. A servant ; a worthless fellow. ViNEWED. Eotten; mouldy. Violentett. Rageth. Viol de gamboys. The violoncello ; called " de gambi," or " of the legs," (Ital.,) because it is supported by them on being played upon. ViKGiNAL. A musical instrument ; a kind of spirit. ViBGrtTALLiNG. Toying with the fingers as on a virginal. ViEGDT KNIGHT. A -virgin. ViK SAPiT QUI PAucA LOQUITUR, (Lat.) He is wise who speaks but little. Virtue. Valor ; worth ; a good quality. Virtuous. Healthy ; safe ; serviceable. " Virtuous prop- erty," medicinal eificacy. Viva voce. Openly spoken. VrvES. A distemper in horses. VrxiN. A female fox. Vizaments. Advisements ; deliberations. Vizard. A mask. 228 VoLQUESSiN. A part of Normandy now called Le Vexion. Voluble. Flighty ; fickle. Voluntary. Volunteer. VoTAKisT. A monk or nun who has taken a vow. Vox. (Lat.) The voice, or a tone of the voice. Vulcan's smithy. The forge where Jove's thunderbolts were manufactured. Vulgar, a. Common ; n., the lower classes. Vulgarly. Commonly. Vulture. The " vulture of sedition " is likened to the bird which fed upon chained Prometheus who stole fire from heaven. Waftage. Passage. Wafts. "Waves ; v., beckons. Wafture. Waving away with the hand. Wag. To shake to and fro. Wage. To combat ; pay wages. Waist. A part of a ship between the quarter-deck and the forecastle ; the middle of the night. Wake. Arouse ; excite. Walk. An avenue or part of a forest. Wanned. Waned ; become pale. Wannem. Vengeance. Wanton. Descriptive in every sense of lightness of action or character ; synonymous with gaiety ; sensuousness, an- imal spirits, &c. Shakespeare sometimes uses the word as a noun, sometimes as an adjective or adverb. Wappen'd. Used up. Ward. Guard ; defence ; attitude of defiance ; guardianships custody; imprisonment. Warden. A large kind of pear adapted to baking. Warder. A baton, staff, or truncheon. Warn. Summon. Warp. The warp of waters is the natural result of frost ; congelation expands them. Warrior. Used complimentaUy by Othello to Desdemona because she accompanied him to the wars. 229 Wash. The estuary in Lincolnshire where King John lost his luggage. Wassail. From Was-hael, a Saxon word signifying " Good health ! " at drinking bouts. Wassel candle. The light used at festivals. Wassels. Drinking bouts. Waste. Spend. Wat. a hare. Watch, v. (In falconry,) to tame ; n., a light kept burning the entire night. Watch case. A sentry box provided with an alarm bell. Water bug. A species of dog distemper. Waters. SeeToPAS. Water work. Water colors. Wax, v. To grow ; increase ; n., perfection of form. Waxen. Increased. Waxen-coat. A garment or breastplate easily penetrated by a sword thrust. Waxen epitaphs. Such as are perishable or easUy defaced. Waxen thighs. Here, for once, Shakespeare's natural history- is at fault. The " humble bees " do not carry wax upon their thighs, but pollen, the dust of the flowers, with which they make their bread. Wax is made from honey. Way of life. See May. Wealsmen. Statesmen; persons charged with the common weal. Wealth. Weal ; advantage. Wear. The fashion. Weasels. The familiarity of Shakespeare with the habits of animals was one of the results of his woodland wander- ings. Hence he became aware that weasels destroy the eggs of birds of all kinds — song birds, game and domestic fowls ; and he partially uses his knowledge in Jaques' {As You Like It) remark : " I can suck melancholy out of a song as a weasel sucks eggs." Weather. In a nautical sense the weather (or windward) side is an advantage. Weather BITTEN. Kusted; corroded by exposure. Weather ferns. Shelter from bad weather. Web and pin. The cataract in the eye. 230 Wee. Very little. 3XH Weeds. Wide clothes folded over the person and worn by the Athenians. Ween. To fancy ; to think ; to hope. Weeping philosophek. Heraolitus, (a Greek,) who, in contrast to Democritus, (a laughter loving person,) obtained the appellation of the mourner, because he continually la- mented the folUes of man and was otherwise of a glooniy temperament. Weet or Wheet. Witness ; v., to- wit ; know. Weigh. To value or esteem. Weighodt. Outweigh. Webbd. Prophetic; ghastly. Welsh-hook. See Bill. The same kind of weapon, but crossed with a sharp piece of steel on the upper part of the 8ta£f. Welked. The whelk is a shell fish; the edges of the shell are irregular. Welkin. The upper region of the air ; the sky. Welkin eye. Blue eye. Well a neab. Alack the day. Well-liking. Plump. Wend. To go. Wesand. The windpipe. Westward, ho ! The title of an old play. Wether. The ram. Whale's bone. Probably the tusk of the walrus, which is white. What ' what ho ! A mode of calling a servant who is invisi- ble. Likewise a friendly salutation. Wheeling. Wheeling; coaxing. Whelked. Twisted; convolved. When ? Used in the same interrogative sense as What ? How now? Whenas. Whereas. Whe'e. Whether. Wheee Whereas. Where-against. Against, or upon which. Whifflek. a processional oflScer who clears the way. While. The while ; the present moment. 231 While ebe. A short time ago. Whiles. While ; during the time ; until. Whincast. Mouldy. Whip. The crack ; the best ; the scourge. Whipstock. The carter's whip. Whirring. Hurrying. Whist. Silent ; still. Whistle. A sign for calling a dog. White. The mark (or bull's-eye) in the target. White death. The green sickness peculiar to youth. Whiteeaced shore. Albion, (England,) from her white chffs. Whiting time. Bleaching time. Whitsters. Linen bleachers ; laundresses. Whittle. A knife. Whole. Sound ; restored to health. Whooping. Measure and reckoning. Whoop jug. Supposed to be the refrain of an old love song. " Jug " was a term of endearment and appUed by poets to the nightingale. Who's there? The ordinary summons addressed by a senti- nel to any one approaching his post. Shakespeare_has purposely made Bernardo{JIanilet) challenge Francisco that the latter might put him right : " Nay, answer me ; stand a,nd unfold yourself." Wide. Remote from ; away from the subject in hand or sim- ple matter of conversation. Widowhood.' A widow's dowry. Wife. In some editions of Shakespeare's Plays the mistake is made of causing lago ( Othello) to say of Gassio that he is " damned in a fair wife," instead of " life" (idleness,) which the context shows is the proper word, irrespec- tive of the fact that Cassio is unmarried. Wight. A youthful person of either sex. Wild. Synonymous with Weald, a woody district. Wilderness. Wildness. Willow- WILLOW. The melancholy refrain of a song in lam- entation, still sometimes heard in Ireland ; or wirra- wirra ! Wimple. A hood or veil. Winchester goose. One of the many opprobrious terms ap - plied to foolish women. 232 Windlasses. Circumlocutory measures ; " assays of bias ;" crooked or curved means. Window baks. A gauze lattice-work covering for the female bosom. Windows. (Metaphorically) the eye-lids ; the " two blue win- dows " of FewMs are spoken of in Venus and Adonis. WiNDEiNG. Winding. Winking. Half closed ; appUed to flowers and gates. Winnowed. Sifted; examined. Winter oROirND. To protect a plant from frost. Winter's Tale. This strangely interesting play, in which both comedy and tragedy are presented, has all the errors and all the beauties conspicuous in Shakespeare. The story is said to have been borrowed from Greene's tale of J'andosto, but it is replete with incongruities. The dramatis personce all bear Greek or Koman names ; Bo- hemia is placed on the shores of the Mediterranean ; Hermione calls herself the daughter of the Emperor of Russia ; Leontes consults the oracle of Delphos ; the Clown makes his calculations in shillings, and talks ,of purchasing articles that had not found their way into "Europe at the supposed, time of the play. The same individual refers to Puritans, psalms and hornpipes — anachronical, clearly. Autolycus speaks of " the prodi- gal son " before the Sublime Author of the parable had -appeared on the earth, and in several other instances anachronisms are obvious ; still the play is well con- structed. Wis. To know. Wise woman. A witch ; a fortune-teller ; an empirical doc- tor, supposed to be learned in simples and symptoms. Wisp of straw. A mark of disgrace whjch scolding wives were compelled to wear. WiSTLY. Wistfully. WiSTLY. Wedfully. Wit. Knowledge ; experience ; polished drollery ; know- ingly. A happily conceived and quickly uttered idea. Witch, v. To astonish ; n., a woman supposed to be gifted with the faculty of vaticination and qualities of a ma- lignant character. It was a popular notion in former 233 times that blood drawn from a witch would annihilate her prophetic and mischievous power. A more certain method of dealing with the poor creatures was immer- sion in a pond of water. Witches. It is alleged upon what has been regarded as re- liable evidence that Shakespeare borrowed his incanta- tion sorig in Macbeth from Middleton's ' ' charm song " of the " Witch." Middleton, born in 1570, was con- temporaneous with Shakespeare, and it is therefore a question whether he borrowed from Shakespeare or Shakespeare borrowed from Middleton. Plagiarism was so common among the Elizabethan dramatists that it lost some of the turpitude attached nowadays to liter- ary thefts. Here is the song as I find it given in some sketches of the poets of the 16th and 17th centuries and ascribed to Middleton : THE WITCHES GOING ABOUT THE CALDBON. Black spirits and white, red spirits and gray, Mingle, mingle, mingle, you that mingle.may, Titty, Tiffin, keep it stiff in ; Firedrake, Puokey, make it lucky ; Liard, Kobin, you must bob in. Bound, ground, around, about, about, AH ill come running in, all good keep out ! 1st Witdh. — Here's the blood of a bat. Hecate. — Put in that; oh, put in that ! 2,d Witch. — Here's libbard's bane. Hecate.— VvA, in again. 1st Witch. — The juice of toad, the oil of adder. 2d Witch. — Those will make the younker madder. All. — Round, around, around, about, about ; All ill come running in, all good keep out ! Witch's blood. If drawn by any individual it was supposed to render him invulnerable. Withdraw. Go away. " Withdraw with you " {Samlet) is either a misprint for " Withdraw, will you," or we must accept the former phrase as equivalent to the modern, " Be off with you !" WiTHEEING ANT. See DoWAGER. Withy. Judicious ; sagacious ; cunning. Wits. Senses; "five wits," five senses. WiTTENBEEa. The university where, it is presumed, Horatio 20 234 was educated, {Hamlet) was founded in 1502, probably 300 to 400 years after the hypothetical period of Ham- lets existence. One of the many anachronisms of Shake- speare. Famous for the daring exploit of Martin Luther in publicly burning the Pope's Bull. WiTTOL. A contented cuckold — one whose philosophy con- trasted with Othello's, who believed that ignorance was "bliss." Wives. Women generally. Wo. To be sorry. WoDE. Frantic with rage. A word still in use in the North of England. Woe the while. Woful times. WoLSEY. The Wolsey of Shakespeare is not bo much the Wolsey of fact as the Wolsey of truth. There are two Wolseys, the outer and the inner. The Cardinal profuse and splendid, yet meek and humble-mouthed, " signing his place and calling in full seeming with meekness and humility," and the man, Thomas Wolsey, whose heart is " crammed with arrogancy, spleen, and pride." The feminine perception of Katherine discerns what the judgment of Henry is slow to admit, and she charges Wol- sey home. As the play of action developes, we see these two Wolseys, first distinct and consciously separate, gradually coalescing, until at last the deceiver of others is by himself deceived, and the peculiar interest attach- ing to the great man's farewell to g^reatness is derived from the exhibition it affords of his own self-deception. The habit of forensic expression of that " full seeming," which the Queen had signalized, now clings like the shirt of Nessus to him, and be is the victim of that very speciousness and fair semblance wherewith full often he had cajoled and misled others. Time had been when the Queen could truly tell him — " Your words, Domestics to yon, serve your will, as't please Yourself pronounce their office." Now this very power of speech proves a fatal facility of self-deception, and the faculties he had exercised with- out sincerity delude and mock himself. Tet, ere the 235 curtaia falls upon this " child of honour," both Wolseys are revived to our retrospect, and from Griffith, the honest chronicler, and from the half-relenting Queen, we have both sides of the shield which had borne the honors and covered the "Dl example" of the "Little good Lord Cardinal." The character is worth a patient study. Woman, ad. Peeling deeply ; giving way to grief. WoMAN-TiEED. HeupBcked ; from " tire ;" in falconry, " to peck." WoNDEBED. Capable of performing wonders ; wondrous. Woo. To wait upon. Wood. Mad. Wood. Crazy ; irantic. Woodbine. The tendril which supports the honeysuckle. WooDoooK. A foolish sort of fellow. Shakespeare must have held the bird identical with the Snipe Both are easily entrapped — caught with " springes." Wooden thong. An unattainable object — one that cannot be moulded at will. Woodman. A huntsman ; a rake ; a forester's assistant. Wooed. Actually married, as well as courted. The wooing of Theseus was of the rough kind acceptable to the Ama- zonian females. He "wooed" her with his sword, in- flicting wounds upon her person — a barbarous usage still in force in a modified form in parts of Turkestan. WooLvisH. Made of wool. WooLWAED. Wearing wool, or without a shirt. Woo't. a Lancashire and Somersetshire abridgment of "Would'stthou?" WoED. To put off with words. WoEK. A fortification. Workings. Thoughts ; designs ; decrees. World. " Go to the world " — get married. World to bee. Wonderful. Worm holes. Deposits of old records. Wormwood. A shrub, the stems of which are very bitter to the taste. WoESHip. Dignity. It was formerly the mode of address of or to a Knight or a Squire. It is now confined to mayors of cities. 236 WoET. A sort of cabbage ; an edible vegetable. Sir Hugh Evans' Welsh pronunciation of " words " (worts) en- ables Falstaff to jeer him. " Good worts ! Good cab- bage." WoKTHiEs. "The nine worthies," viz., Hector, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Joshua, David, Judas Maccabeas, King Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey de Bouillon. WoETmi-ESs. Emulation ; unworthy ; rivalry. Wot. Know. An old word still used in the rural districts of Scotland. Weack. Back ; wreck ; destruction. Weangle, v. Dispute ; n., play false. Wkeak. To inflict vengeance. Weeath, v. To fold the arms defiantly. Weest. An instrument for tuning the harp ; a key. Fig- uratively, it is a means of closely connecting people and objects. Wbetch. a fond term. Weit. Writing; written. Weite. To pronounce confidently. Weithed. Wrinkled. Wringing. Writhing. Wrong. Hurt; injury. Weongled. Misled. Weoth. Anger; angry; misfortune. Weought. Agitated. Weung. Pressed ; strained. Wby. To deviate ; to wander from virtue's path. Weinecked fife. In playing the fife or flute the head of the performer unconsciously inclines downwards to the right, and he becomes "wrynecked." Shakespeare has con- founded the instrument with the performer. Yaee. Quick ; light ; be quick ! Tabely. Seldom ; readily. Yaeelt fbame. Dexterously perform. Tatjghan. a village near Elsinorey, Denmark. Yea, forsooth. A sycophantic form of compliance common to 237 the trading and similar classes in their intercourse with the aristocracy. Yean. To produce young. Yeakn. Crave for ; move with pain ; grieve ; annoy. Yearned. Grieved ; heart moved ; vexed. YcLAD. Clothed. Yclept. Called (from "to clip.") Yellowness. Jealousy. Yeoman. A country gentleman not entitled to a coat-of-arms -, also, a bailiff's follower. Yerk. To jerk or stab. Yesty. Fermenting ; folly. Yet. As yet ; hitherto. Yew. This tree was called- double-fated because its leaves were supposed to be poisonous and the branches were convertible to bows in archery. Yield, v. To impart. YiBLDERS. Those who give way easily. Yoke. Control ; dejfendence. " Their yokes," {Merry Wives of Windsor) refers to the horns. YoND. Yonder. Young. Early in the day. Youngling. Youth ; a stripling. YouNKEE. Youth. YouK. This pronoun has no reference to the quality of pos- session when colloquially applied, as "Your Dove," "Your Lion," "Your Wildfowl," &c. It was an old form of speech, the pronoun simply doing duty for the definite article " the." Zany. A fool ; a buffoon. Zealous. Pious. Zed. a term of contempt. Zodiac. An annual circle. APPENDIX Scene from Act III, Scenb IV, op Heney V. Translated. [The old French orthography has been followed literally.] Kath. Alice ; tu as est6 en Angleterre et tu paries bien le langage. Alice, you home leen in Englcmd and can speak the langtiage well. Alice. Un peu, madame. A little, my lady. Kath. Je te prie m'enseignez ; il faut que j'apprenne a parler. Comment appellez vous la main en Anglois ? T beg of you to teach me ; I mutit learn to speak (the language.) What do you call " la main " in England ? Alice. ' ' La main ?" EUe est appellee, de hand. It is called the hand. Kate. De hand ; est les doights ? And the fingers ? Alice. Les doights ? ma foi j'oublie les doights, mais je me souvi- endray. Les doights ? Je pense qu'ils sont appellee des fingres, oui, fingres. Les doights ? Faith, I forgot ' ' les doights, " Imt I shall remember. I think they are called the fingers— yes, the fingers. Kath. La main, d£ hand; les doights, de fingers. Je pense que je suis le bon ecolier. J'ai gagn6 deux mots de I'Angloise vistement. Comment appellez vous les ongles ? I think I am a good scholwr. I home acquired two English wwds very quickly. What do you call " les ongles .'" Alice. Les ongles ? Les appeUons, " de najls." The " ongles?" They call them the naits. Kath. De nails ! Ecoutez ; dites moi si je parle bien. De hand, de fingres, de nails. De nails. Listen ! Tell me if I apeak well. Alice. C'est bien dit, madame ; il est fort bon Anglois. It is well said, madam. It is very good English. Kath. Dit moi en Anglois, " les bras." Tell me in English, " les bras." Alice. De a/rmx, madame. Kath. Est le coude. And the eoude. Alice. De elbow. 240 Eaih. De elbow ? Je m'eii faitz la repetition de tons les mote, que vous m'avez sppris des a present. , The elbow f I must now repeat all the loords ymt Jiave taught me to the present time. AiiicE. II est trop difficile, madame, comme je pense. It is rather difficult, madam, T think. Kath. Excusez moi, Alice ; esooutez. Excuse me, Alice; listen. (She repeats then, however, calling the elbow t/ie bilbow.) OSeignenr Die(i, je m'en oublie; de elbow. Comment appellez vous le col? Oh, Lord, I am forgetting it. " De elbow." What do you call "leeol?" Alice. De neck, madam. Kath. De neck. Etlementon? [Alice. " Le m^nton." The chin. Kath. De sin, &c.] Alice. Oui. Sauf vostre honneur ; en veritd vous prononcez les mots aussi droits ; que les natifs d'Angleterre. Yes. Save your honor. In truth, you pronounce the wordf as correctly as the natives of England. Kath. Je ne doute point d'apprendre, par la grace de Dieu, et en pen de temps. / do not doubt of being able to learn, by the grace of Chd, and in a short tirne. Alice. N'avez vous pas deja oublie oe que je vous ay enseignez ? Ha/ee you not already forgotten what I taught you f Kath. Non je reciteray a vous promptement. De hand, Ac. No ; I will repeat it all to you quickly. (She makes two mistakes in calling the nails " the mails " and elbow "the ilbow.") Kath. Ainsi dis je, de elbow, &c. Comment appellez vous les pieds et la robe ? , How do you tramalate " les pieds " et " la robe." Alice. De foot, madame, et de gown. Kath. Je reciterai une autr^ fois ma le^on ensemble. I will at another time repeat the lesson with you. AiiicE. Excellent, madame. Kath. C'est assez pour une fois ; allons nous a disuer. ThaBs enough for one time ; let us go to dinner. [There are two or three words at the close of the dialogue which, as pronounced by the Princess Katharine, have so immodest an interpre- tation that they have been left untranslated. — J. H. S.] Extract fbom Act V, Scene II. Henbx V. You are like an angel. Kath. Que dit il ? Que je suis semblable aux anges ? Whait sayeth he f That I resemble angels ? AiiiOE. Oui vraiment, (sauf votre grace,) ainsi dit il. Tes, truly, saming your grace ; that's what he says. 241 Kath. 0, bon Dieu, les langues des hommes sont pleiue de trompe- ries. 0, good heaven, the tongues of men are full of deceits. Kath. Sauf Totre honneur. Scmng your honor. Henby V. Quand j'ay la possession de France, et quand vous avez la possession de moi — done, vostre est France, et vous etes mienne. When I home possession of France and you possess me, then France is yours and you are mine ! Kath. Sauf Totre honneur, le Pran9oiB que vous parlez est meilleur que TAnglois que je parle. Saming your honor, the French that you speak is better than the English that I speak. Henbt V. La plus belle Katharine du monde ; men tres oher^ et divine d^esse. Th£ most beautiful Katharine in the world ; my very dear and Kath. Laissez, mon seigneur, laissez, laissez ; ma foy, je ne veux point que vous abaissez votre grandeur, en baisant la main d'une votre indigne serviteur ; excusez moi, je vous supplie, mon tres puissant seig- neur. Stay, let go, my lord. Faith, I would not have you lower your greatness in Jdssing the hand of your unworthy servant. Excuse me, I entreat of you, most powerful lord. Les dames, et damoiselles, pour estre baisees devant leurs nooes ; 11 n'est pas le coutume de France. It is not the custom in France for ladies, or young ladies, to be kissed before marriage.