Part ii.

BENAI'AH (3 _syl_.), in _Absalom and Achitophel_, is meant for general George Edward Sackville. As Benaiah, captain of David's guard, adhered to Solomon against Adonijah, so general Sackville adhered to the duke of York against the prince of Orange (1590-1652).

Nor can Benaiah's worth forgotten lie, Of steady soul when public storms were high.

Dryden and Tate, part ii.

BENAS'KAR or BENNASKAR, a wealthy merchant and magician of Delhi.--James Ridley, _Tales of the Genii_ ("History of Mahoud," tale vii., 1751).

BENBOW (_Admiral_). In an engagement with the French near St. Martha on the Spanish coast in 1701, admiral Benbow had his legs and thighs shivered into splinters by chain-shot, but supported in a wooden frame he remained on the quarter-deck till morning, when Du Casse sheered off.

Similar acts of heroism are recorded of Almeyda, the Portuguese governor of India, of Cynaegiros brother of the poet AEschylos, of Jaafer the standard-bearer of "the prophet" in the battle of Muta, and of some others.

_Benbow_, an idle, generous, free-and-easy sot, who spent a good inheritance in dissipation, and ended life in the workhouse.

Benbow, a boon companion, long approved By jovial sets, and (as he thought) beloved, Was judged as one to joy and friendship prone, And deemed injurious to himself alone.

Crabbe, _Borough_, xvi. (1810).

BEND-THE-BOW, an English archer at Dickson's cottage.--Sir W. Scott, _Castle Dangerous_ (time, Henry I.).

BENEDICK, a wild, witty, and light-hearted young lord of Padua, who vowed celibacy, but fell in love with Beatrice and married her. It fell out thus: He went on a visit to Leonato, governor of Messina; here he sees Beatrice, the governor's niece, as wild and witty as himself, but he dislikes her, thinks her pert and forward, and somewhat ill-mannered withal. However, he hears Claudio speaking to Leonata about Beatrice, saying how deeply she loves Benedick, and bewailing that so nice a girl should break her heart with unrequited love. This conversation was a mere ruse, but Benedick believed it to be true, and resolved to reward the love of Beatrice with love and marriage. It so happened that Beatrice had been entrapped by a similar conversation which she had overheard from her cousin Hero. The end was they sincerely loved each other, and became man and wife.--Shakespeare, _Much Ado about Nothing_ (1600). BENEDICT [BELLEFONTAINE], the wealthiest farmer of Grand Pré, in Acadia, father of Evangeline ("the pride of the village"). He was a stalwart man of seventy, hale as an oak, but his hair was white as snow. Colonel Winslow in 1713 informed the villagers of Grand Pré that the French had formally ceded their village to the English, that George II. now confiscated all their lands, houses, and cattle, and that the people, amounting to nearly 2000, were to be "exiled into other lands without delay." The people assembled on the sea-shore; old Benedict Bellefontaine sat to rest himself, and fell dead in a fit. The old priest buried him in the sand, and the exiles left their village homes forever.--Longfellow, _Evangeline_ (1849).

BEN'ENGEL'I (_Cid Hamet_), the hypothetical Moorish chronicler from whom Cervantês pretends he derived the account of the adventures of don Quixote.

The Spanish commentators ... have discovered that _cid Hamet Benengeli_ is after all no more than an Arabic version of the name of Cervantês himself. _Hamet_ is a Moorish prefix, and _Benengeli_ signifies "son of a stag," in Spanish _Cervanteno._--Lockhart.

_Benengeli_ (_Cid Hamet_), Thomas Babington lord Macaulay. His signature in his _Fragment of an Ancient Romance_ (1826). (See Cid, etc.)

BENEV'OLUS, in Cowper's _Task_, is John Courtney Throckmorton, of Weston Underwood.

BENJAMIN PENGUILLAN. _The Pioneers_, by J. F. Cooper. A servant in the family of Judge Temple. His sobriquet is "Ben Pump." (1823.)

BENJIE _(Little)_, or Benjamin Colthred, a spy employed by Cristal Nixon, the agent of Redgauntlet.--Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).

BEN'NET _(Brother)_, a monk at St. Mary's convent.--Sir W. Scott, _The Monastery_ (time, Elizabeth).

_Ben'net (Mrs.)_, a demure, intriguing woman in _Amelia_, a novel by Fielding (1751).

BEN'OITON _(Madame)_, a woman who has been the ruin of the family by neglect. In the "famille Benoiton" the constant question was "_Où est Madame?_" and the invariable answer "_Elle est sortie_" At the _dénouement_ the question was asked again, and the answer was varied thus, "Madam has been at home, but is gone out again."--_La Famille Benoiton_.

BEN'SHEE, the domestic spirit or demon of certain Irish families. The benshee takes an interest in the prosperity of the family to which it is attached, and intimates to it approaching disaster or death by wailings or shrieks. The Scotch Bodach Glay or "grey spectre" is a similar spirit. Same as _Banshee_ (which see).

How oft has the Benshee cried! How oft has death untied Bright links that glory wove, Sweet bonds entwined by love!

T. Moore, _Irish Melodies_, ii.

BENVO'LIO, nephew to Montague, and Romeo's friend. A testy, litigious fellow, who would quarrel about goat's wool or pigeon's milk. Mercutio says to him, "Thou hast quarrelled with a man for coughing in the street, because he hath wakened thy dog that hath lain asleep in the sun" (act iii. sc. 1),--Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_ (1598).

BEOWULF, the name of an Anglo-Saxon epic poem of the sixth century. It received its name from Beowulf, who delivered Hrothgar king of Denmark from the monster Grrendel. This Grendel was half monster and half man, and night after night stole into the king's palace called Heorot, and slew sometimes as many as thirty of the sleepers at a time. Beowulf put himself at the head of a mixed band of warriors, went against the monster and slew it. This epic is very Ossianic in style, is full of beauties, and is most interesting.--_Kemble's Translation._

(A.D. Wackerbarth published in 1849 a metrical translation of this Anglo-Saxon poem, of considerable merit.)

BEPPO. Byron's _Beppo_ is the husband of Laura, a Venetian lady. He was taken captive in Troy, turned Turk, joined a band of pirates, grew rich, and after several years returned to his native land. He found his wife at a carnival ball with a _cavaliero_, made himself known to her, and they lived together again as man and wife. (Beppo is a contraction of _Guiseppe_, as Joe is of _Joseph_, 1820.)

_Beppo_, in _Fra Diavolo_, an opera by Auber (1836).

BERALDE (2 _syl._), brother of Argan the _malade imaginaire_. He tells Argan that his doctors will confess this much, that the cure of a patient is a very minor consideration with them, "_toute l'excellence de leur art consiste en un pompeux galimatias, en un spécieux babil, qui vous donne des mots pour des raisons, et des promesses pour des effets._" Again he says, "_presque tous les hommes meurent de leur remèdes et non pas de leurs maladies_." He then proves that Argan's wife is a mere hypocrite, while his daughter is a true-hearted, loving girl; and he makes the invalid join in the dancing and singing provided for his cure.--Molière, _Le Malade Imaginaire_ (1673). BERCH'TA ("_the white lady_"), a fairy of southern Germany, answering to Hulda ("the gracious lady") of northern Germany. After the introduction of Christianity, Berchta lost her first estate and lapsed into a bogie.

BERECYNTHIAN GODDESS (_The_). Cybelê is so called from mount Berecyntus, in Phrygia, where she was held in especial adoration. She is represented as crowned with turrets, and holding keys in her hand.

Her helmèd head Rose like the Berecynthian goddess crowned With towers.

Southey, _Roderick, etc._, ii. (1814).

BERECYN'THIAN HERO (_The_), Midas king of Phyrgia, so called from mount Berecyn'tus (4 _syl_.), in Phrygia.

BERENGA'RIA, queen-consort of Richard Coeur de Lion, introduced in _The Talisman_, a novel by sir W. Scott (1825). Berengaria died 1230.

BERENGER (_Sir Raymond_), an old Norman warrior, living at the castle of Garde Doloureuse.

_The lady Eveline_, sir Raymond's daughter, betrothed to sir Hugo de Lacy. Sir Hugo cancels his own betrothal in favor of his nephew (sir Damian de Lacy), who marries the lady Eveline, "the betrothed."--Sir W. Scott, _The Betrothed_ (time, Henry II.).

BERENI'CE (4 _syl_.), sister-wife of Ptolemy III. She vowed to sacrifice her hair to the gods if her husband returned home the vanquisher of Asia. On his return, she suspended her hair in the temple of the war-god, but it was stolen the first night, and Conon of Samos told the king that the winds had carried it to heaven, where it still forms the seven stars near the tail of Leo, called _Coma Berenices_.

Pope, in _his Rape of the Lock_, has borrowed this fable to account for the lock of hair cut from Belinda's head, the restoration of which the young lady insisted upon.

_Bereni'ce_ (4 _syl_.), a Jewish princess, daughter of Agrippa. She married Herod king of Chalcis, then Polemon king of Cilicia, and then went to live with Agrippa II. her brother. Titus fell in love with her and would have married her, but the Romans compelled him to renounce the idea, and a separation took place. Otway (1672) made this the subject of a tragedy called _Titus and Berenicê_; and Jean Racine (1670), in his tragedy of _Bérénice_, has made her a sort of Henriette d'Orleans.

(Henriette d'Orleans, daughter of Charles I. of England, married Philippe due d'Orléans, brother of Louis XIV. She was brilliant in talent and beautiful in person, but being neglected by her husband, she died suddenly after drinking a cup of chocolate, probably poisoned.)

_Berenice_, heroine of a tragic-comic fantasy by Edgar Allan Poe, in which Berenice's teeth hold a position as conspicuous as ghastly (1845).

BERINGHEN (_The Sieur de_), an old gourmand, who preferred patties to treason; but cardinal Richelieu banished him from France, saying:

Sleep not another night in Paris, Or else your precious life may be in danger.

Lord Lytton, _Richelieu_ (1839).

BERIN'THIA, cousin of Amanda; a beautiful young widow attached to colonel Townly. In order to win him she plays upon his jealousy by coquetting with Loveless.--Sheridan, _A Trip to Scarborough_ (1777).

BERKE'LEY (_The Old Woman of_), a woman whose life had been very wicked. On her death-bed she sent for her son who was a monk, and for her daughter who was a nun, and bade them put her in a strong stone coffin, and to fasten the coffin to the ground with strong bands of iron. Fifty priests and fifty choristers were to pray and sing over her for three days, and the bell was to toll without ceasing. The first night passed without much disturbance. The second night the candles burnt blue and dreadful yells were heard outside the church. But the third night the devil broke into the church and carried off the old woman on his black horse.--R. Southey, _The Old Woman of Berkeley_ (a ballad from Olaus Magnus).

Dr. Sayers pointed out to us in conversation a story related by Olaus Magnus of a witch whose coffin was confined by three chains, but nevertheless was carried off by demons. Dr. Sayers had made a ballad on the subject; so had I; but after seeing _The Old Woman of Berkeley_, we awarded it the preference.--W. Taylor.

BERKE'LY (_The lady Augusta_), plighted to sir John de Walton, governor of Douglas Castle. She first appears under the name of Augustine, disguised as the son of Bertram the minstrel, and the novel concludes with her marriage to De Walton, to whom Douglas Castle had been surrendered.--Sir W. Scott, _Castle Dangerous_ (time, Henry I.).

BERKSHIRE LADY (_The_), Miss Frances Kendrick, daughter of sir William Kendrick, second baronet; his father was created baronet by Charles II. The line, "Faint heart never won fair lady," was the advice of a friend to Mr. Child, the son of a brewer, who sought the hand of the lady.--_Quarterly Review_, cvi. 205-245.

BERNARD. Solomon Bernard, engraver of Lions (sixteenth century), called _Le petit Bernard_. Claud Bernard of Dijon, the philanthropist (1588-1641), is called _Poor Bernard._ Pierre Joseph Bernard, the French poet (1710-1755), is called _Le gentil Bernard._

_Bernard_, an ass; in Italian _Bernardo_. In the beast-epic called _Reynard the Fox_, the _sheep_ is called "Bernard," and the _ass_ is "Bernard l'archipêtre" (1498).

BERNARD LANGDON, fine young fellow of the "Brahmin Caste," who teaches school while preparing for a profession.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, _Elsie Venner_ (1861).

BERNAR'DO, an officer in Denmark, to whom the ghost of the murdured king appeared during the night-watch at the royal castle.--Shakespeare, _Hamlet_ (1596).

BERNARDO DEL CARPIO, one of the favorite subjects of the old Spanish minstrels. The other two were _The Cid_ and _Lara's Seven Infants_. Bernardo del Carpio was the person who assailed Orlando (or Rowland) at Roncesvalles, and finding him invulnerable, took him up in his arms and squeezed him to death, as Hercules did Antae'os.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II. ii. 13 (1615).

(in _Notes and Queries_), the Right Hon. John Wilson Croker.

CACAFO'GO, a rich, drunken usurer, stumpy and fat, choleric, a coward, and a bully. He fancies money will buy everything and every one.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _Rule a Wife and Have a Wife_ (1640).

CACUR'GUS, the fool or domestic jester of Misog'onus. Cacurgus is a rustic simpleton and cunning mischief-maker.--Thomas Rychardes, _Misogonus_ (the third English comedy, 1560).

CA'CUS, a giant who lived in a cave on mount Av'entine (3 _syl_.). When Herculês came to Italy with the oxen which he had taken from Ger'yon of Spain, Cacus stole part of the herd, but dragged the animals by their tails into his cave, that it might be supposed they had come _out_ of it.

If he falls into slips, it is equally clear they were introduced by him on purpose to confuse like Caeus, the traces of his retreat.--_Encyc. Brit_. Art. "Romance."

CAD, a low-born, vulgar fellow. A cadie in Scotland was a carrier of a sedan-chair.

All Edinburgh men and boys know that when sedan-chairs were discontinued, the old cadies sank into ruinous poverty, and became synonymous with roughs. The word was brought to London by James Hannay, who frequently used it.--M. Pringle.