charged his arrow into the air with such force that it took fire, and marked out a pathway of flame, until it was wholly consumed and disappeared from sight.

Thy destiny remains untold;
For, like Acestes' shaft of old,
The swift thought kindles as it flies,
And burns to ashes in the skies.

А-chā'teṣ.

Longfellow.

[Gr. 'Axarns.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A companion and friend of Æneas. His fidelity was so exemplary that "fidus Achates,” faithful Achates, became a proverb.

Old enough, perhaps, but scarce wise enough, if he has chosen this fellow for his "fidus Achates." Sir W. Scott.

Ach'e-ron. [Gr. 'Axέpwv; as if ó uxea péwv, the stream of woe, or from å privative, and xaípɛw, to rejoice, the joyless stream.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A son of Sol and Terra, changed into a river in hell; sometimes used in a general sense to designate hell itself.

Abhorred Styx, the flood of deadly hate,
Sad Acheron, of sorrow black and deep.
Milton.

A-chil'lės. [Gr. Axıλλεúç.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) The principal hero of Homer's "Iliad," the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, in Thessaly, and of Thetis, a Nereid. He was distinguished above all the rest of the Greeks in the Trojan war by his strength, beauty, and bravery. At his birth, he was dipped by his mother in the river Styx, and was thus made invulnerable except in the right heel,

or, as some say, the ankles, - by which she held him; but he was at length killed by Paris, or, according to some accounts, by Apollo. See HECTOR.

An unfortunate country [Hanover], if the English would but think; liable to be strangled, at any time, for England's quarrels; the Achilles-heel to invulnerable England. Carlyle.

A-chil'les of Germany. A title given, on account of his bravery, to Albert, Margrave of Brandenburg and Culmbach (1414-1486), "a tall, fiery, tough old gentleman," says Carlyle, in his day, a very blazing, far-seen character, dim as he has now grown."

A-chit'o-phel. A nickname given to the Earl of Shaftesbury (1621–1683) by his contemporaries, and made use of by Dryden in his poem of "Absalom and Achitophel," a masterly satire, springing from the political commotions of the times, and designed as a defense of Charles II. against the Whig party. There is a striking resemblance between the character and career of Shaftesbury and those of Achitophel, or Ahitophel, the treacherous friend and counselor of David, and the fellow-conspirator of Absalom.

Of this denial and this apology, we shall only say that the first seems very apocryphal, and the second would justify any crime which Machiavel or Achitophel could invent or recommend. Sir W. Scott.

A'cis. [Gr. 'Akis.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A Sicilian shepherd, beloved by the nymph Galatea, and crushed under a huge rock by Polyphemus, the Cyclops, who was jealous of him. His blood gushing forth from under the rock was changed by the nymph into a river, the Acis, or Acinius, at the foot of Mount Etna.

Thus equipped, he would manfully sally forth, with pipe in mouth, to besiege some fair damsel's obdurate heart, net such a pipe, good reader, as that which Acis did sweetly tune in praise of his Galatea, but one of true Delft manufacture, and furnished with a charge of fragrant tobacco. W. Irving.

A-crā'si-a (¿-krā/zhí-). [From Gr. akpaoía, want of self-control or moderation, intemperance, from & privative and κpúros, strength, power.] A witch in Spenser's "Faëry Queen," represented as a lovely and charming woman, whose dwelling is the Bower of Bliss, situated on an island floating in a lake or gulf, and adorned with every thing in nature that could delight the senses. Acrasia typifies the vice of Intemperance, and Sir Guyon, who illustrates the opposite virtue, is commissioned by the fairy queen to bring her into subjection, and to destroy her residence. A'creş, Bob (a'kerz). A character in Sheridan's comedy of "The Rivals;" celebrated for his cowardice, and his system of referential or allegorical swearing.

As through his palms Bob Acres' valor oozed, So Juan's virtue ebbed, I know not how.

Byron.

Besides, terror, as Bob Acres says of its counterpart, courage, will come and go; and few people can afford timidity enough for the writer's purpose who is determined on horrifying" them through three thick volumes. Sir W. Scott.

Ac-tæ'on. [Gr. 'AkTaiwv.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A famous hunter, who, having surprised Diana while she was bathing, was changed by her into a stag, and, in that form, was torn to pieces by his own hounds. He [Byron], as I guess, Had gazed on Nature's naked loveliness, Acteon-like, and now he fled astray With feeble steps o'er the world's wilderness; And his own thoughts, along that rugged

way,

Pursued, like raging hounds, their father and their prey. Shelley.

Adam. 1. Formerly a jocular name for a sergeant or bailiff.

Not that Adam that kept the paradise, but that Adam that keeps the prison. Shak.

2. An aged servant to Oliver, in Shakespeare's "As You Like It."

"The serving-man Adam, humbly born and coarsely nurtured, is no insignificant personage in the drama; and we find in the healthy tone of his mind, and in his generous heart, which, under reverses and wrongs, still preserves its charitable trust in his fellows, as well as in his kindly, though frosty, age, a delightful and instructive contrast to the character of Jaques, which could hardly have been accidental." R. G. White.

Adamastor (ăd'a-măs'tor; Port. pron. a-da-más-tor', 64). The Spirit of the Stormy Cape, i. e., the Cape of Good Hope, a hideous phantom described by Camoens, in the fifth canto of the "Lusiad," as appearing by night to the fleet of Vasco da Gama, and predicting the woes which would befall subsequent expeditions to India. Mickle supposes that by Adamastor the genius of Mohammedanism is intended. According to Barreto, he was one of the Giants who made an attack on heaven, and were killed by the gods or buried under various mountains.

Were Adamastor to appear to him [the "gamin" of Paris], he would shout out, "Hallo there, old Bug-a-boo!" V. Hugo, Trans. Adam Kad'mon. In the Cabalistic doctrine, the name given to the first

emanation from the Eternal Fountain. It signifies the First Man, or the first production of divine energy, or the Son of God; and to it the other and inferior emanations are subordinate.

Adam, Master. See MASTER ADAM.

Adams, Parson Abraham. A country curate in Fielding's novel of

66

Joseph Andrews; " distinguished for his goodness of heart, poverty, learning, and ignorance of the world, combined with courage, modesty, and a thousand oddities.

"As to Parson Adams, and his fist, and his good heart, and his Eschylus which he couldn't see to read, and his rejoicing at being delivered from a ride in the carriage with Mr. Peter Pounce, whom he had erroneously complimented on the smallness of his parochial means, let every body rejoice that there has been a man in the world called Henry Fielding to think of such a character, and thousands of good people sprinkled about. that world to answer for the truth of it; for had there not been, what would have been its value? He is one of

the simplest, but at the same time manliest of men; is anxious to read a man of the world his sermon on 'vanity; " preaches patience under affliction, and is ready to lose his senses on the death of his little boy; in short, has ' every virtue under heaven,' except that of superiority to the common failings of humanity, or of being able to resist knocking a rascal down when he insults the innocent. He is very poor; and, agreeably to the notions of refinement in those days, is treated by the rich as if he were little better than a servant himself. Even their stewards think it a condescension to treat him on equal terms." Leigh Hunt.

"The humanity, benevolence, and goodness of heart so conspicuous in Mr. Adams, his unswerving integrity, his zeal in the cause of the oppressed, his unaffected nature, independent of his talent and learning, win our esteem and respect, even while his virtuous simplicity provokes our smiles; and the little predicaments into which he falls, owing to his absence of mind, are such as excite our mirth without a shadow of derision or malevolence." Thomas Roscoe.

As to his [Hugo von Trimberg's] inward man, we can still be sure that he was no mere bookworm, or simple Parson Adams.

Carlyle.

Myth.) A king of Athens from whom the Ægean Sea received its name. His son Theseus went to Crete to deliver Athens from the tribute it had to pay to Minos, promising that, on his return, he would hoist white sails as a signal of his safety. This he forgot to do, and Ægeus, who was watching for him on a rock on the sea-coast, on perceiving a black sail, thought that his son had perished, and threw himself into the sea. -gi'na. (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A daughter of the river-god Asopus, and a favorite of Jupiter.

'gis. [Gr. Aiyís.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) 1. The shield of Jove, fashioned by Vulcan, and described as striking terror and amazement into the beholders.

2. A sort of short cloak, worn by Minerva, which was covered with scales, set with the Gorgon's head, and fringed with snakes.

-gis'thus. [Gr. Aiyiovos.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A son of Thyestes, and the paramour of Clytemnestra, whose husband, Agamemnon, he treacherously murdered at a repast. He was subsequently killed by Orestes, a son of Agamemnon, who thus See avenged his father's death. THYESTES.

Egle (eg/le). [Gr. Aiy2n.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) 1. One of the Hesperides.

2. The most beautiful of the Naiads, and the mother of the Graces. -gyp'tus. [Gr. Alyvπτoç.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A son of Belus, and twin brother of Danaus. He had by several wives fifty sons, who were married to their fifty cousins, the daughters of Danaus, and all but one of whom were murdered by their wives on the bridal night. Ali- Læ'li-& Cris'pis.

The unknown subject of a very celebrated enigmatical inscription, preserved in Bologna, which has puzzled the heads of many learned men who have attempted to explain it. It is as follows:

Elia Lælia Crispis,

Nec vir, nec mulier, nec androgyna; Nec puella, nec juvenis, nec anus;

Nec meretrix, nec pudica;
Sed omnia:

Sublata neque fame, nec ferro, neque veneno;
Sed omnibus:

Nec cælo, nec aquis, nec terris;
Sed ubique jacet.

Lucius Agatho Priscus,

Nec maritus, nec amator, nec necessarius; Neque mærens, neque gaudens, neque flens; Sed omnia:

Hanc neque molem, neque pyramidem, neque sepulchrum,

Hoc est,

Hoc est,

Scit et nescit quid posuerit. sepulchrum intùs cadaver habens;

non

cadaver, sepulchrum, extrà non, habens;

Sed cadaver idem est, et sepulchrum sibi.

Elia Lælia Crispis, neither man, nor woman, nor hermaphrodite; neither girl, nor boy, nor old woman; neither harlot nor virgin; but all of these: destroyed neither by hunger, nor sword, nor poison; but by all of them: lies neither in heaven, nor in the water, nor in the ground, but everywhere. Lucius Agatho Priscus, neither her husband, nor her lover, nor her kinsman; neither sad, glad, nor weeping, but all at once; knows and knows not what he has built, which is neither a funeral-pile, nor a pyramid, nor a tomb; that is, a tomb without a corpse, a corpse without a tomb; for corpse and tomb are one and the

same.

Various explanations of the meaning of this curious epitaph have, from time to time, been put forward; but there is much reason for doubting whether it has any. Some have thought the true interpretation to be rain-water; some, the so-called "materia prima; " some, the reasoning faculty; some, the philosopher's stone; some, love; some, a dissected person; some, a shadow; some, hemp; some, an embryo. Professor Schwartz, of Coburg, explained it of the Christian Church, referring, in support of his opinion, to Galatians iii. 28,"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Spondanus, in his "Voyage d'Italie," affirms that the inscription is only a copy, and that it is not known what has become of the original. He denies its antiquity, regarding it as the ludicrous fancy of a modern author, who, he insists, was ignorant of the principles of Latin family nomenclature. But Franckenstein says that this assertion has been confuted by Misson, in the appendix to his Travels."

I might add what attracted considerable notice at the time, and that is my paper in the "Gentleman's Magazine" upon the inscription Elia Lalia, which I subscribed dipus. Sir W. Scott.

Bacon's system is, in its own terms, an idol of the theater. It would scarcely guide a man to a solution of the riddle Elia Lalia Crispis, or to that of the charade of Sir Hilary [by Praed]. J. W. Draper.

'o-lus. [Gr. Aloλos.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) The ruler and god of the winds, who resided in the islands in the Tyrrhenian sea, which were called from him the Eolian Islands.

s'a-cus. [Gr. Aloakos.] (Gr. f Rom. Myth.) A son of Priam, who was enamored of the nymph Hesperia, and, on her death, threw himself into the sea, and was changed by Thetis into a cormorant.

As cu-la'pi-us. [Gr. Ασκληπιός.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) The son of Apollo, and the god of the medical art. He was killed with a flash of lightning by Jupiter, because he had restored several persons to life.

'son. [Gr. Alowv.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) The father of Jason. He was restored to youth by Medea. Afric. A poetical contraction of Africa.

Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand.

Heber.

See

Ag'a-mem'non. [Gr. 'Ayauέuvwv.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) King of Mycenæ, brother of Menelaus, and commander-in-chief of the Grecian forces in the Trojan war. ÆGISTHUS. Ag'a-nip'pe. [Gr. 'Aуаvíππη.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A fountain at the foot of Mount Helicon, in Boeotia, consecrated to Apollo and the Muses, and believed to have the power of inspiring those who drank of it. The Muses are sometimes called Aganippides.

Agapida, Fray Antonio (frī ånto'ne-o ȧ-gå-pe'då). The imaginary

chronicler of the "Conquest of Granada," written by Washington Irving. A-ga've. [Gr. 'Ayavý.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) A daughter of Cadmus, and the mother of Pentheus, whom, in a fit of frenzy, she tore to pieces on Mount Citharon, believing him to be a wild beast. A'gib.

The third Calendar in the story of "The Three Calendars," in the "Arabian Nights' Entertainments."

Agitator, The Irish. See IRISH AG

ITATOR.

Ag-la'i-a (20). [Gr. 'Ayλain.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) One of the three Graces.

Ag'nes (Fr. pron. an'yes'); 1. A young girl in Molière's "L'École des Femmes," who is, or affects to be, remarkably simple and ingenuous. The name has passed into popular use, and is applied to any young woman unsophisticated in affairs of the heart.

Agnes is the original from which Wycherley took his Mrs. Pinchwife, in the "Country Wife," subsequently altered by Garrick into the "Country Girl."

2. A character in Dickens's novel of "David Copperfield." See WICKFIELD, AGNES.

Ag'nî. [Sansk., fire.] (Hindu Myth.) The god of lightning and the sun's fire. Agramante (å-grå-mån'tă), or Ag'ramant. King of the Moors, in Bojardo's poem of "Orlando Innamorato," and in Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso."

Ag'ra-vaine, Sir. A knight of the Round Table, celebrated in the old romances of chivalry. He was surnamed "L'Orgueilleux," or "The Proud."

A-Green, George. See GEORGE A-GREEN.

Agricane (å-gre-kå'nā), or Ag'ri-cặn. A fabulous king of Tartary, in Bojardo's "Orlando Innamorato," who besieges Angelica in the castle of Albracca, and is killed by Orlando in single contest. In his dying moments, he requests baptism at the