Canto i. 16.

_Minstrel_ (_Lay of the Last_). Ladye Margaret, “the flower of Teviot,” was the daughter of Lord Walter Scott, of Branksome Hall. She loved Baron Henry, of Cranstown; but between the two families a deadly feud existed. One day the elfin page of Lord Cranstown inveigled the heir of Branksome Hall (then a lad) into the woods, where he fell into the hands of the English, who marched with 3000 men to Branksome Hall; but, being told that Douglas was coming to the rescue with 10,000 men, the two armies agreed to settle by single combat whether the lad should be given up to the mother or be made King Edward’s page. The two champions were Sir Richard Musgrave (_English_) and Sir William Deloraine (_Scotch_). The Scotch champion slew Sir Richard, and the boy was delivered to his mother. It now turned out that Sir William Deloraine was Lord Cranstown, who claimed and received the hand of Ladye Margaret as his reward.--Sir W. Scott (1805).

=Minstrel of the Border=, Sir W. Scott; also called “The Border Minstrel” (1771-1832).

My steps the Border Minstrel led.

Wordsworth, _Yarrow Revisited_.

Great Minstrel of the Border.

Wordsworth.

=Minstrel of the English Stage= (_The Last_), James Shirley, last of the Shakespeare school (1594-1666).

⁂ Then followed the licentious French school, headed by John Dryden.

=Minstrels= (_Royal Domestic_).

Of William I., Berdie, called _Regis Jocula´tor_.

Of Henry I., Galfrid and Royer, or Raher.

Of Richard I., Blondel.

=Mint Julep=, a Virginian beverage, celebrated in song by Charles Fenno Hoffman (185-). A favorite variety of this drink is compounded of brandy, water, sugar, mint-leaves and pounded ice, and is called a “hail-storm.”

“The draught was delicious, and loud the acclaim, ’Though something seemed wanting for all to bewail; But JULEPS the drink of immortals became When Jove himself added a handful of hail.”

Charles Fenno Hoffman, _Poems_ (1846).

=Mintz=, _alias_ Araminta Sophronia--the best cook and housemaid in town--rules the Stackpole family with a rod of red-hot steel until the son of the house defies her by marrying the head scholar in the Boston Cooking School.--Augusta Larned, _Village Photographs_ (1887).

=Miol´ner= (3 _syl._), Thor’s hammer.

This is my hammer, Miölner the mighty; Giants and sorcerers cannot withstand it.

Sæmund Sigfusson, _Edda_ (1130).

=Miquelets= (_Les_), soldiers of the Pyrenees, sent to co-operate with the dragoons of the _Grand Monarque_ against the Camisards of the Cevennes.

=Mir´abel=, the “wild goose,” a travelled Monsieur, who loves women in a loose way, but abhors matrimony, and especially dislikes Oria´na; but Oriana “chases” the “wild goose” with her woman’s wiles, and catches him.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Wild-goose Chase_ (1652).

_Mirabel_ (_Old_). He adores his son, and wishes him to marry Oria´na. As the young man shilly-shallies, the father enters into several schemes to entrap him into a declaration of love; but all his schemes are abortive.

_Young Mirabel_, the son, called “the inconstant.” A handsome, dashing young rake, who loves Oriana, but does not wish to marry. Whenever Oriana seems lost to him the ardor of his love revives; but immediately his path is made plain, he holds off. However, he ultimately marries her.--G. Farquhar, _The Inconstant_ (1702).

=Mirabell= (_Edward_), in love with Millamant. He liked her, “with all her faults; nay, liked her for her faults, ... which were so natural that (in his opinion) they became her.”--W. Congreve, _The Way of the World_ (1700).

Not all that Drury Lane affords Can paint the rakish “Charles” so well, Or give such life to “Mirabell” [_As Montague Talbot_, 1778-1831].

Crofton Croker.

=Mirabella=, “a maiden fair, clad in mourning weeds, upon a mangy jade unmeetly set, with a lewd fool called Disdain” (canto 6). Timias and Serena, after quitting the hermit’s cell, meet her. Though so sorely clad and mounted, the maiden was “a lady of great dignity and honor, but scornful and proud.” Many a wretch did languish for her through a long life. Being summoned to Cupid’s judgment hall, the sentence passed on her was that she should “ride on a mangy jade, accompanied by a fool, till she had saved as many lovers as she had slain” (canto 7). Mirabella was also doomed to carry a leaky bottle, which she was to fill with tears, and a torn wallet, which she was to fill with repentance: but her tears and her repentance dropped out as fast as they were put in, and were trampled under foot by Scorn (canto 8).--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, vi. 6-8 (1596).

⁂ “Mirabella” is supposed to be meant for Rosalind, who jilted Spenser, and who is called by the poet “a widow’s daughter of the glen, and poor.”

=Mir´amont=, brother of Justice Brisac, and uncle of the two brothers, Charles (the scholar) and Eustace (the courtier). Miramont is an ignorant, testy old man, but a great admirer of learning and scholars.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Elder Brother_ (1637).

=Miran´da=, daughter of Prospero, the exiled duke of Milan, and niece of Antonio, the usurping duke. She is brought up on a desert island, with Ariel, the fairy spirit, and Cal´iban, the monster, as her only companions. Ferdinand, son of the king of Naples, being shipwrecked on the island, falls in love with her, and marries her.--Shakespeare, _The Tempest_ (1609).

Identifying herself with the simple yet noble-minded Miranda in the isle of wonder and enchantment.--Sir W. Scott.

_Miranda_, an heiress, the ward of Sir Francis Gripe. As she must obtain his consent to her marriage before she could obtain possession of her fortune, she pretended to love him, although he was 64 years old; and the old fool believed it. When, therefore, Miranda asked his consent to marry, he readily gave it, thinking himself to be the man of her choice; but the sly little hussy laughed at her old guardian, and plighted her troth to Sir George Airy, a man of 24.--Mrs. Centlivre, _The Busy Body_ (1709).

=Mir´ja=, one of the six Wise Men of the East, led by the guiding star to Jesus. Mirja had five sons, who followed his holy life.--Klopstock, _The Messiah_, v. (1771).

=Mirror= (_Alasnam’s_), a mirror which showed Alasnam if “a beautiful girl was also chaste and virtuous.” The mirror was called “the touchstone of virtue.”--_Arabian Nights_ (“Prince Zeyn Alasnam”).

_Mirror_ (_Cambuscan’s_), a mirror sent to Cambuscan´, king of Tartary, by the king of Araby and Ind. It showed those who consulted it if any adversity were about to befall them; if any one they loved were friend or foe.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ (“The Squire’s Tale,” unfinished.)

“Or call up him who left half-told, The story of Cambuscan bold.

* * * * *

That owned the virtuous ring and glass.”

Milton, _Il Penseroso_.

_Mirror_ (_Kelly’s_), Dr. Dee’s speculum. Kelly was the doctor’s speculator or seer. The speculum resembled a “piece of polished cannel coal.”

Kelly did all his feats upon The devil’s looking-glass, a stone.

S. Butler, _Hudibras_ (1663-78).

_Mirror_ (_Lao’s_), a looking-glass which reflected the mind as well as the outward form.--Goldsmith, _Citizen of the World_, xlv. (1759).

_Mirror_ (_Merlin’s Magic_) or Venus’s looking-glass, fabricated in South Wales, in the days of King Ryence. It would show to those that looked therein anything which pertained to them, anything that a friend or foe was doing. It was round like a sphere, and was given by Merlin to King Ryence.

That never foe his kingdom might invade But he it knew at home before he heard Tidings thereof.

Britomart, who was King Ryence’s daughter and heiress, saw in the mirror her future husband and also his name, which was Sir Artegal.--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, iii. 2 (1590).

_Mirror_ (_Prester John’s_), a mirror which possessed similar virtues to that made by Merlin. Prester John could see therein whatever was taking place in any part of his dominions.

⁂ Dr. Dee’s speculum was also spherical, and possessed a similar reputed virtue.

_Mirror_ (_Reynard’s Wonderful_). This mirror existed only in the brain of Master Fox. He told the queen lion that whoever looked therein could see what was being done a mile off. The wood of the frame was part of the same block out of which Crampart’s magic horse was made.--_Reynard the Fox_, xii. (1498).

_Mirror_ (_Venus’s_), generally called “Venus’s looking-glass,” the same as Merlin’s magic mirror (_q.v._).[TN-13]

_Mirror_ (_Vulcan’s_). Vulcan made a mirror which showed those who looked into it the past, present, and future. Sir John Davies says that Cupid handed this mirror to Antin´ous, when he was in the court of Ulysses, and Antinous gave it to Penel´opê, who beheld therein the court of Queen Elizabeth and all its grandeur.

Vulcan, the king of fire, that mirror wrought ... As there did represent in lively show Our glorious English court’s divine image As it should be in this our golden age.

Sir John Davies, _Orchestra_ (1615).

=Mirror of King Ryence=, a mirror made by Merlin. It showed those who looked into it whatever they wished to see.--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, iii. (1590).

=Mirror of Knighthood=, a romance of chivalry. It was one of the books in Don Quixote’s library, and the curé said to the barber:

“In this same _Mirror of Knighthood_ we meet with Rinaldo de Montalban and his companions, with the twelve peers of France, and Turpin, the historian. These gentlemen we will condemn only to perpetual exile, as they contain something of the famous Bojardo’s invention, whence the Christian poet Ariosto borrowed the groundwork of his ingenious compositions; to whom I should pay little regard if he had not written in his own language [_Italian_].”--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. i. 6 (1605).

=Mirror of all Martial Men=, Thomas, earl of Salisbury (died 1428).

=Mirrour for Magistraytes=, begun by Thomas Sackville, and intended to be a poetical biography of remarkable Englishmen. Sackville wrote the “Induction,” and furnished one of the sketches, that of Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham (the tool of Richard III.). Baldwynne, Ferrers, Churchyard, Phair, etc., added others. Subsequently, John Higgins, Richard Nichols, Thomas Blenerhasset, etc., supplied additional characters; but Sackville alone stands out pre-eminent in merit. In the “Induction,” Sackville tells us he was conducted by Sorrowe into the infernal regions. At the porch sat Remorse and Dread, and within the porch were Revenge, Miserie, Care, and Slepe. Passing on, he beheld Old Age, Maladie, Famine, and Warre. Sorrowe then took him to Achĕron, and ordered Charon to ferry them across. They passed the three-headed Cerbĕrus and came to Pluto, where the poet saw several ghosts, the last of all being the duke of Buckingham, whose “_complaynt_” finishes the part written by Thomas Sackville (1557). (See BUCKINGHAM.)

⁂ Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, must not be mistaken for George Villiers, duke of Buckingham 150 years later.

=Mirza= (_The Vision of_). Mirza, being at Grand Cairo on the fifth day of the moon, which he always kept holy, ascended a high hill, and, falling into a trance, beheld a vision of human life. First he saw a prodigious tide of water rolling through a valley with a thick mist at each end--this was the river of time. Over the river was a bridge of a thousand arches, but only three score and ten were unbroken. By these, men were crossing, the arches representing the number of years the traveller lived before he tumbled into the river. Lastly, he saw the happy valley, but when he asked to see the secrets hidden under the dark clouds on the other side, the vision was ended, and he only beheld the valley of Bagdad, with its oxen, sheep, and camels grazing on its sides.--Addison, _Vision of Mirza_ (_Spectator_, 159).

=Misbegot= (_Malcolm_), natural son of Sybil Knockwinnock, and an ancestor of Sir Arthur Wardour.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).

=Miser= (_The_), a comedy by H. Fielding, a _réchauffé_ of Molière’s comedy _L’Avare_. Lovegold is “Harpagon,” Frederick is “Cléante,” Mariana is “Mariane,” and Ramilie is “La Fléche.” Lovegold, a man of 60, and his son Frederick, both wish to marry Mariana, and, in order to divert the old miser from his foolish passion, Mariana pretends to be most extravagant. She orders a necklace and ear-rings of the value of £3000, a petticoat and gown from a fabric which is £12 a yard, and besets the house with duns. Lovegold gives £2000 to break off the bargain, and Frederick becomes the bridegroom of Mariana.

=Misers.=--See _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_.

=Misere´re= (_The_), sung on Good Fridays in Catholic churches, is the composition of Gregorio Allegri, who died in 1640.

=Mishe-Mok´wa=, the great bear slain by Mudjekeewis.--Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, ii. (1855).

=Mishe-Nah´ma=, the great sturgeon, “king of fishes,” subdued by Hiawatha. With this labor, the “great teacher” taught the Indians how to make oil for winter. When Hiawatha threw his line for the sturgeon, that king of fishes first persuaded a pike to swallow the bait and try to break the line, but Hiawatha threw it back into the water. Next, a sun-fish was persuaded to try the bait, with the same result. Then the sturgeon, in anger, swallowed Hiawatha and canoe also; but Hiawatha smote the heart of the sturgeon with his fist, and the king of fishes swam to the shore and died. Then the sea-gulls opened a rift in the dead body, out of which Hiawatha made his escape.

“I have slain the Mishê-Nahma, Slain the king of fishes” said he.

Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, vii. (1855).

=Misnar=, sultan of India, transformed by Ulin into a toad. “He[TN-14] was disenchanted by the dervise Shemshel´nar, the most “pious worshipper of Alla amongst all the sons of Asia.” By prudence and piety, Misnar and his vizier, Horam, destroyed all the enchanters who filled India with rebellion, and, having secured peace, married Hem´junah, daughter of Zebenezer, sultan of Cassimir, to whom he had been betrothed when he was known only as the prince of Georgia.--James Ridley, _Tales of the Genii_, vi., vii. (1751).

=Misog´onus=, by Thomas Rychardes, the third English comedy (1560). It is written in rhyming quatrains, and not in couplets like _Ralph Roister Doister_ and _Gammer Gurton’s Needle_.

=Miss in Her Teens=, a farce by David Garrick (1753). Miss Biddy Bellair is in love with Captain Loveit, who is known to her only by the name of Rhodophil; but she coquets with Captain Flash and Mr. Fribble, while her aunt wants her to marry an elderly man by the name of Stephen Loveit, whom she detests. When the Captain returns from the wars, she sets Captain Flash and Mr. Fribble together by the ears; and while they stand fronting each other, but afraid to fight, Captain Loveit enters, recognizes Flash as a deserter, takes away his sword, and dismisses Fribble as beneath contempt.

=Mississippi Bubble=, the “South Sea scheme” of France, projected by John Law, a Scotchman. So called because the projector was to have the exclusive trade of Louisiana, on the banks of the Mississippi, on condition of his taking on himself the National Debt (incorporated 1717, failed 1720).

The debt was 208 millions sterling. Law made himself sole creditor of this debt, and was allowed to issue ten times the amount in paper money, and to open “the Royal Bank of France,” empowered to issue this paper currency. So long as a 20-franc note was worth 20 francs, the scheme was a prodigious success, but immediately the paper money was at a discount, a run on the bank set in, and the whole scheme burst.

=Miss Ludington.= A beautiful girl changed by illness into “a sad and faded woman.” She had a portrait painted from an ivory miniature of herself, taken before the change, and conceives the idea that _what she was once_ must still exist somewhere. The phantasy is played upon by impostors, who undertake to materialize the fancied creature and introduce her as the soul-sister of the credulous spinster. The instrument of the audacious fraud becomes conscience stricken and reveals it.--Edward Bellamy, _Miss Ludington’s Sister_ (1884).

=Mistletoe Bough= (_The_). The song so called is by Thomas Haynes Bayley, who died 1839. The tale is this: Lord Lovel married a young lady, a baron’s daughter, and on the wedding night the bride proposed that the guest should play “hide-and-seek.” The bride hid in an old oak chest, and the lid, falling down, shut her in, for it went with a spring-lock. Lord Lovel sought her that night and sought next day, and so on for a week, but nowhere could he find her. Some years later, the old chest was sold, and, on being opened, was found to contain the skeleton of the bride.

Rogers, in his _Italy_, gives the same story, and calls the lady “Ginevra” of Modĕna.

Collet, in his _Relics of Literature_, has a similar story.

Another is inserted in the _Causes Célèbres_.

Marwell Old Hall (near Winchester), once the residence of the Seymours, and afterwards of the Dacre family, has a similar tradition attached to it, and “the very chest is said to be now the property of the Rev. J. Haygarth, rector of Upham.”

Bramshall, Hampshire, has a similar tale and chest.

The great house at Malsanger, near Basingstoke, also in Hampshire, has a similar tradition connected with it.

=Mi´ta=, sister of Aude. She married Sir Miton de Rennes, and became the mother of Mitaine. (See next art.)--_Croquemitaine_, xv.

=Mitaine=, daughter of Mita and Miton, and godchild of Charlemagne. She went in search of Fear Fortress, and found that it existed only in the imagination, for as she boldly advanced towards it, the castle gradually faded into thin air. Charlemagne made Mitaine, for this achievement, Roland’s squire, and she fell with him in the memorable attack at Roncesvallês. (See previous art.)--_Croquemitaine_, iii.

=Mite= (_Sir Matthew_), a returned East Indian merchant, dissolute, dogmatical, ashamed of his former acquaintances, hating the aristocracy, yet longing to be acknowledged by them. He squanders his wealth on toadies, dresses his livery servants most gorgeously, and gives his chairmen the most costly exotics to wear in their coats. Sir Matthew is forever astonishing weak minds with his talk about rupees, lacs, jaghires, and so on.--S. Foote, _The Nabob_.

=Mithra= or =Mithras=, a supreme divinity of the ancient Persians, confounded by the Greeks and Romans with the _sun_. He is the personification of Ormuzd, representing fecundity and perpetual renovation. Mithra is represented as a young man with a Phrygian cap, a tunic, a mantle on his left shoulder, and plunging a sword into the neck of a bull. Scaliger says the word means “greatest” or “supreme.” Mithra is the middle of the triplasian deity: the Mediator, Eternal Intellect, and Architect of the world.

Her towers, where Mithra once had burned, To Moslem shrines--oh shame!--were turned; Where slaves, converted by the sword, Their mean apostate worship poured, And cursed the faith their sires adored.

Moore, _Lalla Rookh_ (“The Fire-Worshippers,” 1817).

=Mithridate= (3 _syl._), a medicinal confection, invented by Damoc´ratês, physician to Mithrida´tês, king of Pontus, and supposed to be an antidote to all poisons and contagion. It contained seventy-two ingredients. Any panacea is called a “mithridate.”

Their kinsman garlic bring, the poor man’s mithridate.

Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xx. (1622).

_Mithridate_ (3 _syl._), a tragedy by Racine, (1673). “Monime” (2 _syl._), in this drama, was one of Mdlle. Rachel’s great characters.

=Mithrida´tes= (4 _syl._), surnamed “the Great.” Being conquered by the Romans, he tried to poison himself, but poison had no effect on him, and he was slain by a Gaul. Mithridatês was active, intrepid, indefatigable, and fruitful in resources; but he had to oppose such generals as Sulla, Lucullus, and Pompey. His ferocity was unbounded, his perfidy was even grand.

⁂ Racine has written a French tragedy on the subject, called _Mithridate_ (1673); and N. Lee brought out his _Mithridatês_ in English about the same time.

=Mixit= (_Dr._), the apothecary at the Black Bear inn at Darlington.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).

=M’liss=, brave, arch, and loving girl of the Wild West; the heroine of one of Bret Harte’s most popular sketches.

=M. M. Sketch= (_An_), a memorandum sketch.

=Mne´me= (2 _syl._), a well-spring of Bœo´tia, which quickens the memory. The other well-spring in the same vicinity, called _Lê´thê_, has the opposite effect, causing blank forgetfulness.--Pliny.

Dantê calls this river Eu´noê. It had the power of calling to the memory all the good acts done, all the graces bestowed, all the mercies received, but no evil.--Dantê, _Purgatory_, xxxiii. (1308).

=Mo´ath=, a well-to-do Bedouin, father of Onei´za (3 _syl._), the beloved of Thalaba. Oneiza, having married Thalaba, died on the bridal night, and Moath arrived just in time to witness the mad grief of his son-in-law.--Southey, _Thalaba, the Destroyer_, ii., viii. (1798).

=Mocca´sins=, an Indian buskin.

He laced his moccasins [_sic_] in act to go.

Campbell, _Gertrude of Wyoming_, i. 24 (1809).

=Mochingo=, an ignorant servant of the Princess Ero´ta.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Laws of Candy_ (1647).

=Mock Doctor= (_The_), a farce by H. Fielding (1733), epitomized from _Le Médecin Malgré Lui_, of Molière (1666). Sir Jasper wants to make his daughter marry a Mr. Dapper; but she is in love with Leander and pretends to be dumb. Sir Jasper hears of a dumb doctor, and sends his two flunkies to fetch him. They ask one Dorcas to direct them to him, and she points them to her husband, Gregory, a faggot-maker; but tells them he is very eccentric, and must be well beaten, or he will deny being a physician. The faggot-maker is accordingly beaten into compliance, and taken to the patient. He soon learns the facts of the case, and employs Leander as apothecary. Leander makes the lady speak, and completes his cure with “pills matrimoniac.” Sir Jasper takes the joke in good part, and becomes reconciled to the alliance.

=Mocking-Bird.= “During the space of a minute, I have heard it imitate the woodlark, chaffinch, blackbird, thrush, and sparrow.... Their few natural notes resemble those of the nightingale, but their song is of greater compass and more varied.”--Ashe, _Travels in America_, ii. 73.

=Moclas=, a famous Arabian robber, whose name is synonymous with “thief.” (See ALMANZOR, the caliph.)

=Mode= (_Sir William_), in Mrs. Centlivre’s drama, _The Beaux’ Duel_ (1703).

=Mode´love= (_Sir Philip_), one of the four guardians of Anne Lovely, the heiress. Sir Philip is an “old beau, that has May in his fancy and dress, but December in his face and his heels. He admires all new fashions ... loves operas, balls, and masquerades” (act i. 1). Colonel Freeman personates a French fop, and obtains his consent to marry his ward, the heiress.--Mrs. Centlivre, _A Bold Stroke for a Wife_ (1717).

=Modely=, a man of the world, gay, fashionable, and a libertine. He had scores of “lovers,” but never loved till he saw the little rustic lass named Aura Freehold, a farmer’s daughter, to whom he proposed matrimony.--John Philip Kemble, _The Farm-house_.

=Modish= (_Lady Betty_), really in love with Lord Morelove, but treats him with assumed scorn or indifference, because her pride prefers “power to ease.” Hence she coquets with Lord Foppington (a married man), to mortify Morelove and arouse his jealousy. By the advice of Sir Charles Easy, Lord Morelove pays her out in her own coin, by flirting with Lady Graveairs, and assuming an air of indifference. Ultimately, Lady Betty is reduced to common sense, and gives her heart and hand to Lord Morelove.--Colley Cibber, _The Careless Husband_ (1704).

=Modo=, the fiend that urges to murder, and one of the five that possessed “poor Tom.”--Shakespeare, _King Lear_, act iv. sc. 1 (1605).

=Modred=, son of Lot, king of Norway, and Anne, own sister of King Arthur (pt. viii. 21; ix. 9). He is always called “the traitor.” While King Arthur was absent, warring with the Romans, Modred was left regent, but usurped the crown, and married his aunt, the queen (pt. x. 13). When Arthur heard thereof, he returned, and attacked the usurper, who fled to Winchester (pt. xi. 1). The king followed him, and Modred drew up his army at Cambula, in Cornwall, where another battle was fought. In this engagement Modred was slain, and Arthur also received his death-wound (pt. xi. 2). The queen, called Guanhuma´ra (but better known as Guen´evere), retired to a convent in the City of Legions, and entered the order of Julius the Martyr (pt. xi. 1).--Geoffrey, _British History_ (1142).

⁂ This is so very different from the accounts given in Arthurian romance of Mordred, that it is better to give the two names as if they were different individuals.

_Modred_ (_Sir_), nephew of King Arthur. He hated Sir Lancelot, and sowed discord among the knights of the Round Table. Tennyson says that Modred “tampered with the lords of the White Horse,” the brood that Hengist left. Geoffrey of Monmouth says, he made a league with Cheldric, the Saxon leader in Germany, and promised to give him all that part of England which lies between the Humber and Scotland, together with all that Hengist and Horsa held in Kent, if he would aid him against King Arthur. Accordingly, Cheldric came over with 800 ships, filled “with pagan soldiers” (_British History_, xi. 1).

When the king was in Brittany, whither he had gone to chastise Sir Lancelot for adultery with the queen, he left Sir Modred regent, and Sir Modred raised a revolt. The king returned, drew up his army against the traitor, and in this “great battle of the West” Modred was slain and Arthur received his death-wound.--Tennyson, _Idylls of the King_ (“Guinevere,” 1858).

⁂ This version is in accordance neither with Geoffrey of Monmouth (see previous art.), nor with Arthurian romance (see MORDRED), and is, therefore, given separately.

=Modu=, the prince of all devils that take possession of a human being.

_Mado_ was the chief devil that had possession of Sarah Williams; but ... Richard Mainy was molested by a still more considerable fiend called _Modu_, ... the prince of all other devils.--Harsnett; _Declaration of Popish Impostures_, 268.

=Modus=, cousin of Helen; a “musty library, who loved Greek and Latin;” but cousin Helen loved the bookworm, and taught him how to love far better than Ovid could with his _Art of Love_. Having so good a teacher, Modus became an apt scholar, and eloped with Cousin Helen.--S. Knowles, _The Hunchback_ (1831).

=Mœ´chus=, adultery personified; one of four sons of Caro (_fleshly lust_). His brothers were Pornei´us (_fornication_), Acath´arus and Asel´gês (_lasciviousness_). In the battle of Mansoul, Mœchus is slain by Agnei´a (_wifely chastity_), the spouse of Encra´tês (_temperance_) and sister of Parthen´ia (_maidenly chastity_). (Greek, _moichos_ “an adulterer.”)--Phineas Fletcher, _The Purple Island_, xi. (1633).

=Mœli´ades= (4 _syl._). Under this name William Drummond signalized Henry, prince of Wales, eldest son of James I., in the monody entitled _Tears on the Death of Mœliadës_. The word is an anagram of _Milês a Deo_. The prince, in his masquerades and martial sports, used to call himself “Mœliadês of the Isles.”

Mœliadês, bright day-star of the West.

W. Drummond, _Tears on the Death of Mœliades_ (1612).

The burden of the monody is:

Mœliadês sweet courtly nymphs deplore, From Thulê to Hydaspês’ pearly shore.

=Moffat= (_Mabel_), domestic of Edward Redgauntlet.--Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).

=Mogg Megone.= Indian sachem who, at the behest of a white girl, kills her betrayer, and brings his scalp to her. In the storm of anguished remorse awakened by the sight of the bloody trophy, the woman murders Megone in his sleep, and is henceforth banned by the church, driven by conscience, a miserable wanderer upon the earth.--John Greenleaf Whittier, _Mogg Megone_.

=Moha´di= (_Mahommed_), the twelfth imaum, whom the Orientals believe is not dead, but is destined to return and combat Antichrist before the consummation of all things.

⁂ Prince Arthur, Merlin, Charlemagne, Barbarossa, Dom Sebastian, Charles V., Elijah Mansur, Desmond of Kilmallock, etc., are traditionally not dead, but only sleeping till the fullness of time, when each will awake and effect most wondrous restorations.

=Mohair= (_The Men of_), the citizens of France.

The men of mohair, as the citizens were called.--_Asylum Christi_, viii.

=Moha´reb=, one of the evil spirits of Dom-Daniel, a cave “under the roots of the ocean.” It was given out that these spirits would be extirpated by one of the family of Hodei´rah (3 _syl._), so they leagued against the whole race. First, Okba was sent against the obnoxious race, and succeeeded[TN-15] in killing eight of them, Thalaba alone having escaped alive. Next, Abaldar was sent against Thalaba, but was killed by a simoom. Then Loba´ba was sent to cut him off, but perished in a whirlwind. Lastly, Mohareb undertook to destroy him. He assumed the guise of a warrior, and succeeded in alluring the youth to the very “mouth of hell;” but Thalaba, being alive to the deceit, flung Mohareb into the abyss.--Southey, _Thalaba, the Destroyer_, v. (1797).

=Mohicans= (_Last of the_), Uncas, the Indian chief, son of Chingachook, and called “Deerfoot.”--J. F. Cooper, _The Last of the Mohicans_ (a novel, 1826).

The word ought to be pronounced _Mo.hek´.kanz_, but is usually called _Mo.hĕ.kanz_.

=Mohocks=, a class of ruffians who at one time infested the streets of London. So called from the Indian Mohocks. At the Restoration, the street bullies were called Muns and Tityre Tus; they were next called Hectors and Scourers; later still, Nickers and Hawcabites; and lastly, Mohocks.

Now is the time that rakes their revels keep, Kindlers of riot, enemies of sleep; His scattered pence the flying Nicker flings, And with the copper shower the casement rings; Who has not heard the Scowerer’s midnight fame? Who has not trembled at the Mohock’s name?

Gay, _Trivia_, iii. 321, etc. (1712).

=Mohun= (_Lord_), the person who joined Captain Hill in a dastardly attack on the actor, Mountford, on his way to Mrs. Bracegirdle’s house, in Howard Street. Captain Hill was jealous of Mountford, and induced Lord Mohun to join him in this “valiant exploit.” Mountford died next day, Captain Hill fled from the country, and Mohun was tried but acquitted.

The general features of this cowardly attack are very like that of the Count Koningsmark on Thomas Thynne of Lingleate Hill. Count Koningsmark was in love with Elizabeth Percy (widow of the earl of Ogle), who was contracted to Mr. Thynne; but before the wedding day arrived, the count, with some hired ruffians, assassinated his rival in his carriage as it was passing down Pall Mall.

⁂ Elizabeth Percy, within three months of the murder, married the duke of Somerset.

=Moidart= (_John of_), captain of the clan Ronald, and a chief in the army of Montrose.--Sir W. Scott, _Legend of Montrose_, (time, Charles I.).

=Moi´na= (2 _syl._), daughter of Reutha´mir, the principal man of Balclu´tha, a town on the Clyde, belonging to the Britons. Moina married Clessammor (the maternal uncle of Fingal), and died in childbirth of her son Carthon, during the absence of her husband.--Ossian, _Carthon_.

=Mokanna=, the name given to Hakem ben Haschem, from a silver gauze veil worn by him “to dim the lustre of his face,” or rather to hide its extreme ugliness. The history of this impostor is given by D’Herbelot, _Bibliothèque Orientale_ (1697).

⁂ Mokanna forms the first story of _Lalla Rookh_ (“The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan”), by Thomas Moore (1817).

=Mokattam= (_Mount_), near Cairo (Egypt), noted for the massacre of the Caliph Hakem B’amr-ellah, who was given out to be incarnate deity, and the last prophet who communicated between God and man (eleventh century). Here, also;[TN-16] fell in the same massacre his chief prophet, and many of his followers. In consequence of this persecution, Durzi, one of the “prophet’s” chief apostles, led the survivors into Syria, where they settled between the Libanus and Anti-Libanus, and took the name of Durzis, corrupted into Druses.

As the khalif vanished erst, In what seemed death to uninstructed eyes, On red Mokattam’s verge.

Robert Browning, _The Return of the Druses_, i.

=Molay= (_Jacques_), grand-master of the Knights Templar, as he was led to the stake, summoned the pope (Clement V.), within forty days, and the king (Philippe IV.), within forty weeks, to appear before the throne of God to answer for his death. They both died within the stated periods. (See SUMMONS TO DEATH.)

=Molière= (_The Italian_), Charlo Goldoni (1707-1793).

_Molière_ (_The Spanish_), Leandro Fernandez Moratin (1760-1828).

=Moll Cutpurse=, Mary Frith, who once attacked General Fairfax on Hounslow Heath.

=Moll Flanders=, a woman of great beauty, born in the Old Bailey. She was twelve years a courtezan, five years a wife, twelve years a thief, eight years a convict in Virginia; but ultimately grew rich, and died a penitent in the reign of Charles II.

⁂ Daniel Defoe wrote her life and adventures, which he called _The Fortunes of Moll Flanders_ (1722).

=Molly=, Jaggers’s housekeeper. A mysterious, scared-looking woman, with a deep scar across one of her wrists. Her antecedents were full of mystery, and Pip suspected her of being Estella’s mother.--C. Dickens, _Great Expectations_ (1860).

=Molly Maggs=, a pert young housemaid, in love with Robin. She hates Polyglot, the tutor of “Master Charles,” but is very fond of Charles. Molly tries to get “the tuterer Polypot” into a scrape, but finds, to her consternation, that Master Charles is in reality the party to be blamed.--J. Poole, _The Scapegoat_.

=Molly Maguires=, stout, active young men, dressed up in women’s clothes, with faces blackened, or otherwise disguised. This secret society was organized in 1843, to terrify the officials employed by Irish landlords to distrain for rent, either by grippers, (_bumbailiffs_), process-servers, keepers, or drivers (_persons who impound cattle till the rent is paid_.[TN-17]--W. S. Trench, _Realities of Irish Life_, 82.

=Molly Mog=, an innkeeper’s daughter at Oakingham, Berks. Molly Mog was the toast of all the gay sparks in the former half of the eighteenth century; but died a spinster at the age of 67 (1699-1766).

⁂ Gay has a ballad on this _Fair Maid of the Inn_. Mr. Standen, of Arborfield, the “enamoured swain,” died in 1730. Molly’s sister was quite as beautiful as “the fair maid” herself. A portrait of Gay still hangs in Oakingham Inn.

=Molly Wilder=, New England girl, who shelters and cares for a young French nobleman wrecked on the Cape Cod coast. A love affair and a clandestine marriage follow. The marriage is acknowledged when peace is established between the French and English.--Jane G. Austin, _A Nameless Nobleman_ (1881).

=Molmu´tius.= (See MULMUTIUS.)

=Moloch= (_ch = k_), the third in rank of the Satanic hierarchy, Satan being first, and Beëlzebub second. The word means “king.” The rabbins say the idol was of brass, with the head of a calf. Moloch was the god of the Am´monites (3 _syl._), and was worshipped in Rabba, their chief city.

First Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood Of human sacrifice, and parents’ tears, Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud, Their children’s cries unheard, that passed thro’ fire To his grim idol. Him the Ammonite Worshipped in Rabba.

Milton, _Paradise Lost_, i. 392, etc. (1665).

=Mo´ly= (Greek, _môlu_), mentioned in Homer’s _Odyssey_. An herb with a black root and white blossom, given by Hermês to Ulysses, to counteract the spells of Circê, (See HÆMONY.)

... that Mō´ly That Hermês once to wise Ulysses gave.

Milton, _Comus_ (1634).

The root was black, Milk-white the blossom; Môly is its name In heaven.

Homer, _Odyssey_, x. (Cowper’s trans.).

=Momus’s Lattice.= Momus, son of Nox, blamed Vulcan, because, in making the human form, he had not placed a window in the breast for the discerning of secret thoughts.

Were Momus’ lattice in our breasts, My soul might brook to open it more widely Than theirs [i. e. _the nobles_].

Byron, _Werner_, iii., 1 (1822).

=Mon= or =Mona=, Anglesia, the residence of the Druids. Suetonius Paulīnus, who had the command of Britain in the reign of Nero (from A.D. 59 to 62), attacked Mona, because it gave succor to the rebellious. The frantic inhabitants ran about with fire-brands, their long hair streaming to the wind, and the Druids invoked vengeance on the Roman army.--See Drayton, _Polyolbion_, viii. (1612).

=Mon´aco= (_The king of_), noted because whatever he did was never right in the opinion of his people, especially in that of Rabagas, the demagogue: If he went out, he was “given to pleasure;” if he stayed at home, he was “given to idleness;” if he declared war, he was “wasteful of the public money;” if he did not, he was “pusillanimous;” if he ate, he was “self-indulgent;” if he abstained, he was “priest-ridden.”--M. Sardou, _Rabagas_ (1872).

_Monaco._ _Proud as a Monegasque._ A French phrase. The tradition is that Charles Quint ennobled every one of the inhabitants of Monaco.

=Monaldini= (_Signor_), rich, _bourgeois_ citizen of Rome, who purchases, fits up and lets to desirable tenants an old palace.--Mary Agnes Tincker, _Signor Monaldini’s Niece_ (1879).

=Monarch of Mont Blanc=, Albert Smith; so-called, because for many years he amused a large London audience, night after night, by relating “his ascent of Mont Blanc” (1816-1860).

=Monarque= (_Le Grand_), Louis XIV., of France (1638, 1643-1715).

=Monastery= (_The_), a novel by Sir W. Scott (1820). _The Abbot_ appeared the same year. These two stories are tame and very defective in plot; but the character of Mary queen of Scots, in _The Abbot_, is a correct and beautiful historical portrait. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth is in _Kenilworth_.

=Monçada= (_Matthias de_), a merchant, stern and relentless. He arrests his daughter the day after her confinement of a natural son.

_Zilia de Monçada_, daughter of Matthias, and wife of General Witherington.--Sir W. Scott, _The Surgeon’s Daughter_, (time, George II.).

=Monda´min=, maize or Indian corn (_mon-da-min_, “the Spirit’s grain”).

Sing the mysteries of mondamin, Sing the blessing of the corn-fields.

Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, xiii. (1855).

=Mone´ses= (3 _syl._), a Greek prince, betrothed to Arpasia, whom for the nonce he called his sister. Both were taken captive by Baj´azet. Bajazet fell in love with Arpasia, and gave Monēsês a command in his army. When Tamerlane overthrew Bajazet, Monēsês explained to the Tartar king how it was that he was found in arms against him, and said his best wish was to serve Tamerlane. Bajazet now hated the Greek, and, as Arpasia proved obdurate, thought to frighten her into compliance by having Monēsês bow-strung in her presence; but the sight was so terrible that it killed her.--N. Rowe, _Tamerlane_ (1702).

=Money=, a drama by Lord E. L. B. Lytton (1840). Alfred Evelyn, a poor scholar, was secretary and factotum of Sir John Vesey, but received no wages. He loved Clara Douglas, a poor dependent of Lady Franklin; proposed to her, but was not accepted, “because both were too poor to keep house.” A large fortune being left to the poor scholar, he proposed to Georgina, the daughter of Sir John Vesey; but Georgina loved Sir Frederick Blount, and married him. Evelyn, who loved Clara, pretended to have lost his fortune, and, being satisfied that she really loved him, proposed a second time, and was accepted.

=Moneytrap=, husband of Araminta, but with a _tendresse_ for Clarissa, the wife of his friend Gripe.--Sir John Vanbrugh, _The Confederacy_ (1695).

=Monflathers= (_Miss_), mistress of a boarding and day establishment, to whom Mrs. Jarley sent little Nell, to ask her to patronize the wax-work collection. Miss Monflathers received the child with frigid virtue, and said to her, “Don’t you think you must be very wicked to be a wax-work child? Don’t you know it is very naughty to be a wax child when you might have the proud consciousness of assisting, to the extent of your infant powers, the noble manufacturers of your country?” One of the teachers here chimed in with “How doth the little--;” but Miss Monflathers remarked, with an indignant frown, that “the little busy bee” applied only to genteel children, and the “works of labor and of skill” to painting and embroidery, not to vulgar children and wax-work shows.”[TN-18]--Charles Dickens, _The Old Curiosity Shop_, xxxi. (1840).

=Monford=, the lover of Charlotte Whimsey. He plans various devices to hoodwink her old father, in order to elope with the daughter.--James Cobb, _The First Floor_ (1756-1818).

=Monime= (2 _syl._), in Racine’s tragedy of _Mithridate_. This was one of Mdlle. Rachel’s great characters, first preformed[TN-19] by her in 1838.

=Monim´ia=, “the orphan,” sister of Chamont, and ward of Lord Acasto. Monimia was in love with Acasto’s son, Castalio, and privately married him. Polydore (the brother of Castalio) also loved her, but his love was dishonorable love. By treachery, Polydore obtained admission to Monimia’s chamber, and passed the bridal night with her, Monimia supposing him to be her husband; but when the next day she discovered the deceit, she poisoned herself; and Polydore, being apprised that Monimia was his brother’s wife, provoked a quarrel with him, ran on his brother’s sword, and died.--Otway, _The Orphan_ (1680).

More tears have been shed for the sorrows of “Belvidēra” and “Monimia,” than for those of “Juliet” and “Desdemona.”--Sir W. Scott, _The Drama_.

_Monimia_, in Smollett’s novel of _Count Fathom_ (1754).

=Moniplies= (_Richie_), the honest, self-willed Scotch servant of Lord Nigel Olifaunt, of Glenverloch.--Sir W. Scott, _Fortunes of Nigel_ (time, James I.).

=Monk= (_General_), introduced by Sir Walter Scott in _Woodstock_ (time, Commonwealth.[TN-20]

_Monk_ (_The Bird Singing to a_). The monk is Felix, who listened to a bird for a hundred years, and thought the time only an hour.--Longfellow, _The Golden Legend_, ii. (1851).

_Monk_ (_The_), a novel, by Sir Matthew G. Lewis (1794).

=Monk Lewis.= Matthew Gregory Lewis; so called from his novel (1773-1818).

=Monk of Bury=, John Lydgate, poet, who wrote the _Siege of Troy_, the _Story of Thebes_, and the _Fall of Princes_ (1375-1460).

Nothynge I am experte in poetry, As the monke of Bury, floure of eloquence.

Stephen Hawes, _The Passe-Tyme[TN-21] of Plesure_ (1515).

=Monk of Westminister=, Richard, of Cirencester, the chronicler (fourteenth century).

This chronicle, _On the Ancient State of Britain_, was first brought to light in 1747, by Dr. Charles Julius Bertram, professor of English at Copenhagen; but the original being no better known than that of Thomas Rowley’s poems, published by Chatterton, grave suspicions exist that Dr. Bertram was himself the author of the chronicles.

=Monks= (_The Father of_), Ethelwold, of Winchester (*-984).

_Monks_, _alias_ Edward Leeford, a violent man, subject to fits. Edward Leeford, though half-brother to Oliver Twist, was in collusion with Bill Sykes, to ruin him. Failing in this, he retired to America, and died in jail.--C. Dickens, _Oliver Twist_ (1837).

=Monkbarns= (_Laird of_), Mr Jonathan Oldbuck, the antiquary.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).

=Mon´ker and Nakir= [_Na.keer´_], the two examiners of the dead, who put questions to departed spirits respecting their belief in God and Mahomet, and award their state in after-life according to their answers.--_Al Korân._

“Do you not see those spectres that are stirring the burning coals? Are they Monker and Nakir come to throw us into them?”--W. Beckford, _Vathek_ (1786).

=Monmouth=, the surname of Henry V. of England, who was born in that town (1388, 1413-1422).

⁂ Mon-mouth is the _mouth of the Monnow_.

_Monmouth_ (_The duke of_), commander-in-chief of the royal army.--Sir W. Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).

⁂ The duke of Monmouth was nicknamed “The Little Duke,” because he was diminutive in size. Having no name of his own, he took that of his wife, “Scott,” countess of Buccleuch. Pepys says: “It is reported that the king will be tempted to set the crown on the Little Duke” (_Diary_, seventeenth century).

=Mon´ema=, wife of Quia´ra, the only persons of the whole of the Guārani race who escaped the small-pox plague which ravaged that part of Paraguay. They left the fatal spot, and settled in the Modai woods. Here they had one son, Yerūti, and one daughter, Mooma, but Quiāra was killed by a jagŭar before the latter was born. Monĕma left the Mondai woods, and went to live at St. Joăchin, in Paraguay, but soon died from the effects of a house and city life.--Southey, _A Tale of Paraguay_ (1814).

Mononia, when nature embellished the tint Of thy fields and thy mountains so fair, Did she ever intend that a tyrant should print The footstep of slavery there?

T. Moore, _Irish Melodies_, i. (“War Song,” 1814).

=Monsieur=, Philippe, Duc d’Orléans, brother of Louis XIV. (1674-1723).

⁂ Other gentlemen were Mons. A or Mons. B, but the regent was Mons. without any adjunct.

Similarly, the daughter of the duc de Chartres (the regent’s grandson) was Mademoiselle.

=Monsieur le Coadjuteur=, Paul de Gondi, afterwards Cardinal de Retz (1614-1679).

=Monsieur le duc=, Louis Henri de Bourbon, eldest son of the prince de Condé (1692-1740).

=Monsieur Thomas=, a drama by Beaumont and Fletcher (1619).

=Monsieur Tonson=, a farce by Moncrieff. Jack Ardourly fails in love with Adolphine de Courcy in the street, and gets Tom King to assist in ferreting her out. Tom King discovers that his sweeting lives in the house of a French refugee, a barber, named Mons. Morbleu; but not knowing the name of the young lady, he inquires for Mr. Thompson, hoping to pick up information. Mons. Morbleu says no Mons. Tonson lives in the house, but only Mde. Bellegarde and Mdlle. Adolphine de Courcy. The old Frenchman is driven almost crazy by different persons inquiring for Mons. Tonson; but ultimately Jack Ardourly marries Adolphine, whose mother is Mrs. Thompson after all.

Taylor wrote a drama of the same title in 1767.

=Monster= (_The_), Renwick Williams, a wretch who used to prowl about London by night, armed with a double-edged knife, with which he mutilated women. He was condemned July 8, 1790.

=Mont Rognon= (_Baron of_), a giant of enormous strength and insatiable appetite. He was bandy-legged, had an elastic stomach, and four rows of teeth. He was a paladin of Charlemagne, and one of the four sent in search of Croquemitaine and Fear Fortress.--_Croquemitaine._

=Mont St. Michel=, in Normandy. Here nine druidesses used to sell arrows to sailors to charm away storms. The arrows had to be discharged by a young man 25 years of age.

The Laplanders drove a profitable trade by selling winds to sailors. Even so late as 1814, Bessie Millie, of Pomōna (Orkney Islands), helped to eke out a livelihood by selling winds for sixpence.

Eric, king of Sweden, could make the winds blow from any quarter he liked by a turn of his cap. Hence, he was nicknamed “Windy Cap.”

=Mont Trésor=, in France; so called by Gontran “the Good,” king of Burgundy (sixteenth century). One day, weary with the chase, Gontran laid himself down near a small river, and fell asleep. The squire who watched his master, saw a little animal come from the king’s mouth, and walk to the stream, over which the squire laid his sword, and the animal running across, entered a hole in the mountain. When Gontran was told of this incident, he said he had dreamt that he crossed a bridge of steel, and, having entered a cave at the foot of a mountain, entered a palace of gold. Gontran employed men to undermine the hill, and found there vast treasures, which he employed in works of charity and religion. In order to commemorate this event he called the hill Mont Trésor.--Claud Paradin, _Symbola Heroica_.

⁂ This story has been ascribed to numerous persons.

=Mon´tague= (3 _syl._), head of a noble house in Verona, at feudal enmity with the house of Capŭlet. Romeo belonged to the former, and Juliet to the latter house.

_Lady Montague_, wife of Lord Montague, and mother of Romeo.--Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_ (1598).

=Montalban.=

_Don Kyrie Elyson de Montalban_, a hero of romance, in the _History of Tirante the White_.

_Thomas de Montalban_, brother of Don Kyrie Elyson, in the same romance of chivalry.

_Rinaldo de Montalban_, a hero of romance, in the _Mirror of Knighthood_, from which work both Bojardo and Ariosto have largely borrowed.

_Montalban_, now called Montauban (a contraction of _Mons Alba´nus_), in France, in the department of Tarn-et-Garonne.

Jousted in Aspramont or Montalban.

Milton, _Paradise Lost_, i. 583 (1665).

_Montalban_ (_The Count_), in love with Volantê (3 _syl._), daughter of Balthazar. In order to sound her, the count disguised himself as a father confessor; but Volantê detected the trick instantly, and said to him, “Come, come, count, pull off your lion’s hide, and confess yourself an ass.” However, as Volantê really loved him, all came right at last.--J. Tobin, _The Honeymoon_ (1804).

=Montanto= (_Signor_), a master of fence and a great braggart.--Ben Jonson, _Every Man in His Humour_ (1598).

=Montargis= (_The Dog of_), named Dragon. It belonged to Captain Aubri de Montdidier, and is especially noted for his fight with the Chevalier Richard Macaire. The dog was called Montargis, because the encounter was depicted over the chimney of the great hall in the castle of Montargis. It was in the forest of Bondi, close by this castle, that Aubri was assassinated.

=Monte Christo= (_Count_), convict who escapes from prison, and finds immense treasure, with which he does incredible things.

Assuming the title of “count,” he adds the name of the island on which his treasure is buried, and plays the grande seignior in society, punishing his former persecutors and false friends, and rewarding his old allies. Finally he is brought to confess that man cannot play providence, and to recall the words “Vengeance is mine!”--Alexander Dumas, _Count of Monte Christo_.

=Montenay= (_Sir Philip de_), an old English knight.--Sir W. Scott, _Castle Dangerous_ (time, Henry I.).

=Montesi´nos=, a legendary hero, who received some affront at the French court, and retired to La Mancha, in Spain. Here he lived in a cavern, some sixty feet deep, called “The Cavern of Montesinos.” Don Quixote descended part of the way down this cavern, and fell into a trance, in which he saw Montesinos himself, Durandartê and Belerma under the spell of Merlin, Dulcin´ea del Toboso enchanted into a country wench, and other visions, which he more than half believed to be realities.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II. ii. 5, 6 (1615).

⁂ This Durandartê was the cousin of Montesinos, and Belerma the lady he served for seven years. When he fell at Roncesvallês, he prayed his cousin to carry his heart to Belerma.

=Montespan= (_The marquis de_), a conceited court fop, silly and heartless. When Louis XIV. took Mde. de Montespan for his concubine, he banished the marquis, saying:

Your strange and countless follies-- The scenes you make--your loud domestic broils-- Bring scandal on our court. Decorum needs Your banishment.... Go! And for your separate household, which entails A double cost, our treasure shall accord you A hundred thousand crowns.