actions of the Lusians, or Portuguese, of all ages, but deals principally with the exploits of Vasco da Gama and his comrades in their "discovery of India." Gama sailed three times to India. It is the first of these voyages (1497) which is the groundwork of the epic; but its wealth of episode, the constant introduction of mythological "machinery," and the intervention of Bacchus, Venus, and other deities, make it far more than a mere chronicle of a voyage. Bacchus was the guardian power of the Mohammedans, and Venus, or Divine Love, of the Lusians. The fleet first sailed to Mozambique, then to Quil'oa, then to Melinda (in África), where the adventures were hospitably received and provided with a pilot to conduct them to India. In the Indian Ocean, Bacchus tried to destroy the fleet; but the "silver star of Divine Love" calmed the sea, and Gama arrived in India in safety. Lusitania. (1) The ancient name for Portugal. (2) The name of a passenger ship sunk by a German submarine (May 7, 1915). This event did much to solidify feeling against the German war policy and to bring about the entrance of the United States into the World War. Lute'tia (Lat. lutum, mud). The ancient name of Paris, which, in Roman times, was merely a collection of mud hovels. Cæsar called it Lutetia Parisiorum (the mud-town of the Parisii), which gives the present name Paris. Luther, Martin. See Schonberg Cotta Family. Lu'tin. A goblin in the folklore of Normandy; similar to the house-spirits of Germany. The name was formerly netun, and is said to come from the Roman sea-god Neptune. When the lutin assumes the form of a horse ready equipped it is called Le Cheval Bayard. To lutin. To twist hair into elf-locks. These mischievous urchins are said to tangle the mane of a horse or head of a child so that the hair must be cut off. Lyca'on. In classical mythology, a king of Arcadia, who, desirous of testing the divine knowledge of Jove, served up human flesh on his table; for which the god changed him into a wolf. His daughter, Callisto, was changed into the constellation the Bear, whence this is sometimes called Lycaonis Arctos. Lyce'um. A gymnasium on the banks of the Ilissus, in Attica, where Aristotle taught philosophy as he paced the walks. Lyc'idas. The name under which Milton celebrates the untimely death of Edward King, Fellow of Christ College, Cambridge, who was drowned in his passage from Chester to Ireland, August 10th, 1637. He was the son of Sir John King, secretary for Ireland. In Virgil's Eclogue III Lycidas is the name of a shepherd, and Milton borrowed the connotations as well as the name. Lycidas is one of the most famous elegies in the English language. Lycurgus. A legislator, from the legendary Spartan lawgiver of antiquity. Lydford Law. Punish first and try afterwards. Lydford, in the county of Devon, was a fortified town, where were held the courts of the Duchy of Cornwall. Offenders against the statutory laws were confined before trial in a dungeon so loathsome and dreary that the prisoners frequently died before they could be brought to trial. I oft have heard of Lydford law, A Devonshire Poet. Lydgate, Dr. In George Eliot's Middlemarch (q.v.) a doctor whose medical ideals gradually became dulled and tainted with a commercial spirit. Lydia Blood. In Howells' Lady of the Aroostook (q.v.). Lydia Languish. (In Sheridan's Rivals.) See Languish, Lydia. Lygia. In Sienkiewicz' Quo Vadis (q.v.), a beautiful Christian maiden who undergoes many trials for her faith. Lying Traveller, The. So Sir John Mandeville (q.v.), an explorer of the 14th century, has been called. Lyly, John (1553-1606). English dramatist and prose writer of the Elizabethan era. His most important plays are Alexander and Campaspe, Endymion and The Woman in the Moon. Lyly is best known, however, for his Euphues, The Anatomy of Wit (q.v.), a prose romance written in an ornate, affected style that gave rise to the adjective "euphuistic." Lyn'ceus. One of the Argonauts (q.v.). He was so sharp-sighted that he could see through the earth, and distinguish objects nine miles off. Lynch Law. Mob-law, law administered by private persons. The origin of the term is unknown; old editions of Webster's Dictionary referred it to James Lynch, a farmer of Piedmont, Virginia, saying that, as Piedmont was seven miles from any law court, the neighbors, in 1686, selected him to pass sentence on offenders for the nonce. Other conjectures father the phrase on a certain James Lynch Fitz-Stephen, said to have been warden of Galway in 1526, and to have passed sentence of death on his own son for murder; on Charles Lynch, a Virginian justice of the peace who was indemnified in 1782 for having imprisoned political opponents on his own responsibility, and on Lynche's Creek, South Carolina, where, in 1786, a body of men known as Regulators used to meet and try cases themselves because the regular administration of justice in those parts was lacking. The term is first recorded in 1817, and is certainly American in origin, though there is an old northern English dialect word linch, meaning to beat or maltreat. Lyndall. The heroine of Olive Schreiner's Story of an African Farm (q.v.). Lyndon, Barry. See Barry Lyndon. Countess Lyndon. The wife of Barry Lyndon (q.v.). Lynette or Linet. A heroine of Arthurian romance (the first spelling is Tennyson's, the second Malory's), whose story Tennyson has told in his Gareth and Lynette (q.v.). Tennyson, however, makes a radical departure from the old romances by marrying Gareth to Lynette instead of her sister Lyonors (or Liones). Tennyson describes Lynette thus: A damsel of high lineage; and a brow Lyon, Rufus. A lovable old Independent clergyman in George Eliot's Felix Holt the Radical (q.v.). His adopted daughter Esther is the heroine of the novel Rufus Lyon is said to have been drawn from Rev. Francis Franklin, a Baptist minister, the pastor of the Cow Lane Chapel in Coventry. At the first glance, every one thought him a very odd-looking rusty old man; the free-school boys often hooted after him and called him "Revelations"; and to many respectable church people old Lyon's little legs and large head seemed to make Dissent additionally preposterous. But he was too shortsighted to notice those who tittered at him-too absent from the world of small facts and petty impulses in which titterers live. Ch. IV. Lyonors or Liones. A heroine of Arthurian romance (the first spelling is Tennyson's, the second Malory's) who was held captive in Castle Perilous by several knights until rescued by Gareth (q.v.). See also Lynette. Lyonnesse. Lyonnesse "That sweet land of a tract of land fabled to stretch between the Land's End and the Scilly Isles, now submerged full "forty fathoms under water." Arthur came from this mythical country. The battle of Lyonnesse was the "last great battle of the West," and the scene of the final conflict between Arthur and Sir Modred. For variant spellings, see under Leonesse; Liones. Lys, Diane de. See Diane de Lys. Lysander. In Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream (q.v.), a young Athenian, in love with Hermia, daughter of Egeus. Lysistrata. The title and heroine of a comedy by Aristophanes (c. B. C. 415), dealing with an effective women's peace organization. In the twenty-first year of the Peloponnesian War Lysistrata persuades the wives of Athens to shut themselves up in the Acropolis away from their husbands until peace shall be concluded. She has the satisfaction of dictating the terms. M.P. Member of Parliament, but in slang use in England, Member of the Police. Mab (perhaps the Welsh mab, a baby). In 15th century English and Welsh legend, Queen of the fairies, an honor later given to Titania. She is described in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as the "fairies' midwife "- i.e. employed by the fairies as midwife to deliver man's brain of dreams. Excellent descriptions of Mab are given by Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, i. 4), by Ben Jonson, by Herrick, and by Drayton in Nymphidea. Queen Mab. A speculative poem by Shelley (1810) written when he was about eighteen. Ianthe falls asleep, visits the court of Queen Mab in her dreams and hears of the scheme of the universe from Ahasuerus, the Wandering Jew (q.v.). Mabinogion. A series of Welsh tales, chiefly relating to Arthur and the Round Table. These tales were long inaccessible because of the difficulties in the language but are now available. Many interesting variations from the legends of Arthur and his court as given in Malory's Morte d'Arthur, etc., are to be found in the Welsh version. Macaber, The Dance. See Dance of Death. Macaire. Robert Macaire. The typical villain of French comedy; from the play of this name (a sequel to L'Auberge des Adrets) by Frédéric Lemaître and Benjamin Antier (1834): Macaire is le type de la perversité, de l'impudence, de la friponnerie audacieuse, le heros fanfaron du vol et de l'assassinat. Macaire was the name of the murderer of Aubrey de Montdidier in a famous old French legend. He was brought to justice by the sagacity of Aubrey's dog, Dragon, the Dog of Montargis, who showed such an aversion to Macaire that suspicion was aroused, and the man and dog were pitted to single combat. The result was fatal to the man, who died confessing his guilt. Macaro'ni. A coxcomb (Ital. un maccheróne). The word is derived from the Macaroni Club, instituted in London about 1760 by a set of flashy men who had travelled in Italy, and introduced at Almack's subscription table the newfashioned Italian food, macaroni. The Macaronies were the most exquisite fops that ever disgraced the name of man; vicious, insolent, fond of gambling, drink M ing, and duelling, they were (about 1773) the curse of Vauxhall Gardens. There is a tradition that an American regiment raised in Maryland during the War of Independence was called The Macaronies from its showy uniform. This presumably explains the allusion in the American song, Yankee Doodle: Yankee Doodle went to town And called it macaroni. Macaron'ic Latin. Dog Latin (q.v.), modern words with Latin endings, or a mixture of Latin and some modern language. From the Italian macheroni (macaroni), originally a medley or mixture of coarse meal, eggs, and cheese. The law pleadings of G. Steevens, as Daniel v. Dishclout and Bullum v. Boatum, are excellent examples. Macaro'nic Verse. Verses in which foreign words are ludicrously distorted and jumbled together, as in Porson's lines on the threatened invasion of England by Napoleon or J. A. Morgan's "translation" of Canning's The Elderly Gentleman, the first two verses of which are Prope ripam fluvii solus Dum elderly gentleman sat; It seems to have been originated by Odaxius of Padua (born c. 1450), but was popularized by his pupil, Teof'ilo Folengo (Merlinus Coccaius), a Mantuan monk of noble family, who published a book entitled Liber Macaronico'rum, a poetical rhapsody made up of words of different languages, and treating of "pleasant matters" (1520). A. Cunningham in 1801 published Delectus Macaronicorum Carminum, a history of macaronic poetry. Macaulay, Rose. English novelist, author of Potterism (1920) (q.v.). Macaulay, Thomas Babington (18001859). English historian and poet, famous for his Essays. As a poet he is best known for his Lays of Ancient Rome. Macaulay's Schoolboy. An imaginary schoolboy. The phrase "Every schoolboy knows was so frequently used by Macaulay to refute and put to shame his opponents that the boy became proverbial. Macbeth. A tragedy by Shakespeare (c. 1606), based on an episode in Scottish and his wife and babes "savagely slaughtered." Macduff vowed vengeance and joined the army of Siward, to dethrone the tyrant. On reaching the royal castle of Dunsinane he attacked Macbeth and slew him. McFee, William (1881- ). American novelist, author of Casuals of the Sea (q.v.). history as recorded in Holinshed's Chroni- | Kennoway was surprised by Macbeth, cles. The victorious general Macbeth is hailed by three mysterious witches as thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor (to be) and future king of Scotland. To his companion, Banquo, the witches promise that his children shall be kings. Macbeth is soon made thane of Cawdor; and urged by his own and Lady Macbeth's ambition, he murders King Duncan, is proclaimed king and encompasses the murder of Banquo. Banquo's ghost appears at a great banquet unseen by any but Macbeth, and one disaster now follows another. Lady Macbeth, tormented by conscience, walks in her sleep, washing from her hands imaginary blood stains, and finally takes her own life. Macbeth had been promised by the witches that none of woman born should kill him and that he should not die till Birnam Wood removed to Dunsinane. He was finally slain in battle by Macduff, who was "from his mother's womb untimely ripped"; and as for the moving wood, the soldiers of Macduff, in their march to Dunsinane, were commanded to carry boughs of the forest before them, to conceal their numbers. Duncan's son Malcolm was proclaimed king. Maccabæ us. The surname given to Judas (the central figure in the struggle for Jewish independence, about B. C. 170-160), third son of Mattathias, the Hasmonean, and hence to his family or clan. Longfellow has a poem called Judas Maccabæus. Maccabees, The. The family of Jewish heroes, descended from Mattathias the Hasmoæan (see above) and his five sons, John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar and Jonathan, which delivered its race from the persecutions of the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes (B. C. 175-164), and established a line of priest-kings which lasted till supplanted by Herod in B. C. 40. Their exploits are told in the two Books of the Maccabees, the last books in the Apocrypha. McChestney, Emma. A breezy, energetic, whole-souled travelling saleswoman in the skirt and petticoat line, the heroine of many stories of business life by Edna Ferber (Am. 1887- ), notably Personality Plus. Her son Jock, to whose interests she is devoted, is prominent in many of the stories. Macdonald, Ranald. The hero of Ralph Connor's Man from Glengarry (q.v.). Macduff'. The thane of Fife in Shakespeare's Macbeth (q.v.). His castle of McFingal. An early American satire in verse by John Trumbull (1750-1830). The first canto was published shortly after Lexington and Concord in 1775 and greatly aided the Revolutionary cause. "Great Squire McFingal" is a ScotchAmerican Tory who exercises his oracular talents at a New England town meeting. After he is tarred and feathered, he repents his sins and prophesies final victory for the Whigs. Thus stored with intellectual riches Skilled was our Squire in making speeches, With strength of lungs surpassing Stentor's. MacFleck'noe, in Dryden's famous satire so called (1682), is meant for Thomas Shadwell, who was promoted to the office of poet-laureate. The design of Dryden's poem is to represent the inauguration of one dullard as successor of another in the monarchy of nonsense. Flecknoe was an Irish priest and hackney poet of no reputation, and Mac is Celtic for son; MacFlecknoe, therefore, means the son of the poet so named. Flecknoe, seeking for a successor to his own dulness, selects Shadwell to bear his mantle. Shadwell alone my perfect image bears, Dryden: Mac Fleckna. MacGregor, Rob Roy. See Rob Roy. Macheath, Captain. A highwayman, hero of The Beggar's Opera, by Gay. A fine, gay, bold-faced and dissolute ruffian, game to the very last. He is married to Polly Peachum, but finds himself dreadfully embarrassed between Polly, his wife, and Lucy to whom he has promised marriage. Betrayed by eight women at a drinking bout, the Captain. is lodged in Newgate, but Lucy effects his escape. He is recaptured, tried, and condemned to death; but upon being reprieved, acknowledges Polly to be his wife, and promises to remain constant to her for the future. Mac'hiavelli, Niccolo (1469-1527). The celebrated Florentine statesman, author of Il Principe, whose name has long been used as an epithet or synonym for an unscrupulous politician. Political cunning and overreaching by diplomacy and intrigue are known as Machiavellianism or Machiavellism. The general trend of his treatise, Il Principe (The Prince, 1573) is to show that rulers may resort to any treachery and artifice to uphold their arbitrary power, and whatever dishonorable acts princes may indulge in are fully set off by the insubordination of their subjects. The Imperial Machiavelli. Tiberius, the Roman emperor (B. C. 42 to 37 A. D.). H. G. Wells has a novel called The New Machiavelli (q.v.). MacIan, Gilchrist. In Scott's Fair Maid of Perth, chief of the Clan Quhele and father of Ian Eachin M'Ian. Ian Eachin (or Hector) M'Ian. One of Scott's most famous characters, better known, however, under the name of Conachar (q.v.). MacIvor, Fergus. In Scott's Waverley (q.v.) the chief of Glennaquoich, also known as Vich Ian Vohr." Flora M'Ivor. Sister of Fergus, and the heroine of Waverley. Mackaye, Percy (1875– ). American poet and dramatist. His best-known dramas are Fenris the Wolf (see under Fenris), Jeanne d'Arc (see Joan of Arc), The Scarecrow (q.v.), Sappho and Phaon (q.v.), The Canterbury Pilgrims (see under Canterbury Tales) and Caliban (q.v.). See also Rip Van Winkle. Mackaye, Saunders. A prominent character in Kingsley's Alton Locke, said to have been drawn from Thomas Carlyle. McKenna, Mr. One of the frequenters of Mr. Dooley's saloon. See Dooley. McKenna, Stephen (1888- ). English novelist, author of Sonia: Between Two Worlds, etc. lish poet, famous for his rendition of Ossian (q.v.). Macquart, Nana. The heroine of Zola's Nana (q.v.). Nana's mother Gervaise and other of the Macquarts and their offspring appear in other novels of the Rougon-Macquart series (q.v.), which deals with the complete history of the family. Mac'reons. The island of the Macreons in Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, (Bk. IV. ch. xxv), has been taken by some commentators - rather unconvincingly - to be intended for Great Britain. The word is Greek, and means long-lived. Rabelais describes a terrible storm at sea (possibly a typification of the persecutions of the Reformers), in which Pantag'ruel and his fleet were tempesttossed, but contrived to enter one of the harbors of this island, which was so called because no one was put to death there for his religious opinions. It was full of antique ruins, which may be taken as a symbol of decayed popery and ancient superstitions. MacSyc'ophant, Sir Pertinax. In Macklin's comedy The Man of the World (1764), the hot-headed, ambitious father of Charles Egerton. His love for Scotland is very great, and he is continually quarrelling with his family because they do not hold his country in sufficient rever ence. MacTurk, Captain Mungo or Hector. In Scott's St. Ronan's Well, "the man of peace," in the managing committee of the Spa hotel. Mad. Mad as a hatter. The probable origin of this phrase is " Mad as an adder (A.S. næddre, A.S. atter being 'poison"), but evidence is wanting. It was popularized by Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland, 1865), but was well known earlier, and was used by Thackeray (Pendennis, Ch. x) in 1849. Mad as a March hare. See Hare. The Mad Cavalier. Prince Rupert (1619-1682), noted for his rash courage and impatience of control. The Mad Parliament. See Parliament. The Mad Poet. Nathaniel Lee (about 1653-1692), who was confined for four years in Bedlam, and wrote some of his best poetry there. Madame. So the wife of Philippe, duc d'Orléans, was styled in the reign of Louis XIV; other ladies were only Madame This or That. Madame la Duchesse. Wife of Henri |