Gabble Rechet, a cry like that of hounds, heard at night, foreboding trouble. Said to be the souls of unbaptized children wandering through the air till the day of judgment.—Charles Reade, Put Yourself in His Place.
Gabor, a Hungarian who aided Ulric in saving Count Stral´enheim from the Oder, and was unjustly suspected of being his murderer.—Bryon, Werner (1822).
Ga´briel (2 or 3 syl.), according to Milton is called “chief of the angelic guards” (Paradise Lost, iv. 549); but in bk. vi. 44, etc., Michael is said to be “of celestial armies prince,” and Gabriel “in military prowess next.”
⁂ Gabriel is so called “The Messenger of the Messiah,” because he was sent by the Messiah to execute his orders on the earth. He is referred to in Daniel viii. 16, ix. 21; and in Luke i. 19, 26.
Gabriel (according to the Korân and Sale’s notes):
1. It is from this angel that Mahomet professes to have received the Korân; and he acts the part of the Holy Ghost in causing believers to receive the divine revelation.—Ch. ii.
2. It was the angel Gabriel that won the battle of Bedr. Mahomet’s forces were 319, and the enemy’s a thousand; but Gabriel (1) told Mahomet to throw a handful of dust in the air, and so doing the eyes of the enemy were “confounded;” (2) he caused the army of Mahomet to appear twice as many as the army opposed to it; (3) he brought from heaven 3000 angels, and, mounted on his horse Haïzûm, led them against the foe.—Ch. iii.
3. Gabriel appeared twice to Mahomet in his angelic form: first “in the highest part of the horizon,” and next “by the lote tree,” on the right hand of the throne of God.—Ch. liv.
5. Gabriel’s horse is called Haïzûm, and when the golden calf was made, a little of the dust from under this horse’s feet being thrown into its mouth, the calf began to low, and received life.—Ch. ii.
Gabriel (according to other legends):
The Persians call Gabriel “the angel of revelations,” because he is so frequently employed by God to carry His messages to man.
The Jews call Gabriel their enemy and the messenger of wrath; but Michael they call their friend, and the messenger of all good tidings.
In mediæval romance, Gabriel is the second of the seven spirits which stand before the throne of God, and he is frequently employed to carry the prayers of man to heaven, or bring the messages of God to man.
Longfellow, in the Golden Legend, makes Gabriel “the angel of the moon,” and says that he “brings to man the gift of hope.”
Gabriel Lajeunesse, son of Basil the blacksmith of Grand Pré, in Acadia (now Nova Scotia). He was legally plighted to Evangeline, daughter of Benedict Bellefontaine (the richest farmer of the village); but next day all the inhabitants were exiled by order of George II., and their property confiscated. Gabriel was parted from his troth-plight wife, and Evangeline spent her whole life in trying to find him. After many wanderings, she went to Philadelphia, and became a sister of mercy. The plague visited this city, and in the almshouse the sister saw an old man stricken down by the pestilence. It was Gabriel. He tried to whisper her name, but died in the attempt. He was buried, and Evangeline lies beside him in the grave.—Longfellow, Evangeline (1849).
Gabrielle (Charmante), or La Belle Gabrielle, daughter of Antoine d’Estrèes (grand-master of artillery and governor of the Ile de France). Henri IV. (1590) happened to stay for the night at the chateau de Cœuvres, and fell in love with Gabrielle, then 19 years old. To throw a veil over his intrigue, he gave her in marriage to Damerval de Liancourt, created her duchess of Beaufort, and took her to live with him at court.
The song beginning “Charmante Gabrielle ...” is ascribed to Henri VI.
Gabrielle (von Dohna). Brought up by her widowed father in singleness of heart and happiness until when she is over twenty he is again betrothed, and his fiancée persuades him to send his daughter to visit a relative, the Countess von Kronfels. She is a selfish old woman who adores her dog, and slights her invalid son. Gabrielle is dutiful to the old countess, and an angel of mercy to her son, although for awhile she dislikes and fears him. Finally, she tells the crippled man:
“You are a greater hero in my eyes than if you were leading men to battle. You may send me away if you will, but you will break my heart.”
He loves her too well to let her go.—Blanche Willis Howard, The Open Door (1889).
Gabri´na, wife of Arge´o, baron of Servia, tried to seduce Philandre, a Dutch knight; but Philandre fled from the house, where he was a guest. She then accused him to her husband of a wanton insult, and Argeo, having apprehended him, confined him in a dungeon. One day, Gabrina visited him there, and implored him to save her from a knight who sought to dishonor her. Philandre willingly espoused her cause, and slew the knight, who proved to be her husband. Gabrina then told her champion that if he refused to marry her, she would accuse him of murder to the magistrates. On this threat he married her, but ere long was killed by poison. Gabrina now wandered about the country as an old hag, and being fastened on Odori´co, was hung by him to the branch of an elm.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Gabriolet´ta, governess of Brittany, rescued by Am´adis de Gaul from the hands of Balan (“the bravest and strongest of all giants”).—Vasco de Lobeira, Amadis de Gaul, iv. 129 (fourteenth century.)
Gadshill, a companion of Sir John Falstaff. This thief receives his name from a place called Gadshill, on the Kentish road, notorious for the many robberies committed there.—Shakespeare, 1 Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4 (1597).
Ga´heris (Sir), son of Lot (king of Orkney) and Morgause (King Arthur’s sister). Being taken captive by Sir Turquine, he was liberated by Sir Launcelot du Lac. One night, Sir Gaheris caught his mother in adultery with Sir Lamorake, and, holding her by the hair, struck off her head.
Gaiour [Djow.´r], emperor of China, and father, of Badour´a (the “most beautiful woman ever seen upon earth”). Badoura married Camaral´zaman, the most beautiful of men.—Arabian Nights (“Camaralzaman and Badoura”). (See Giaour).
Gal´ahad (Sir), the chaste son of Sir Launcelot and the fair Elaine (King Pelles’s daughter, pt. iii. 2), and thus was fulfilled a prophecy that she should become the mother of the noblest knight that was ever born. Queen Guenevere says that Sir Launcelot “came of the eighth degree from our Saviour, and Sir Galahad is of the ninth ... and, therefore, be they the greatest gentlemen of all the world” (pt. iii. 35). His sword was that which Sir Balin released from the maiden’s scabbard (see Balin), and his shield belonged to King Euelake [Evelake], who received it from Joseph of Arimathy. It was a snow-white shield, on which Joseph had made a cross with his blood (pt. iii. 39). After divers adventures, Sir Galahad came to Sarras, where he was made king, was shown the sangraal by Joseph of Arimathy, and “took“took the Lord’s body between his hands,” and died. Then suddenly “a great multitude of angels bear his soul up to heaven,” and “sithence was never no man that could say he had seen the sangraal” (pt. iii. 103).
Sir Galahad was the only knight who could sit in the “Siege Perilous,” a seat in the Round Table reserved for the knight destined to achieve the quest of the holy graal, and no other person could sit in it without peril of his life (pt. iii. 32). He also drew from the iron and marble rock the sword which no other knight could release (pt. iii. 33). His great achievement was that of the Holy Graal.
Then the bishop took a wafer, which was made in the likeness of bread, and at the lifting up [the elevation of the host] there came a figure in the likeness of a child, and the visage was as red and as bright as fire; and he smote himself into that bread; so they saw that the bread was formed of a fleshly man, and then he put it into the holy vessel again ... then he took the holy vessel and came to Sir Galahad as he kneeled down, and there he received his Saviour ... then went he and kissed Sir Bors ... and kneeled at the table and made his prayers; and suddenly his soul departed ... and a great multitude of angels bear his soul to heaven.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, iii. 101-103 (1470).
⁂ Sir Galahalt, the son of Sir Brewnor, must not be confounded with Sir Galahad, the son of Sir Launcelot.
Galahalt (Sir), called “The Haut Prince,” son of Sir Brewnor. He was one of the knights of the Round Table.
Gal´antyse (3 syl.), the steed given to Graunde Armoure by King Melyzyus.
Ga´laor (Don), brother of Am´adis de Gaul. A desultor amoris, who, as Don Quixote says, “made love to every pretty girl he met.” His adventures form a strong contrast to those of his more serious brother.—Amadis de Gaul (fourteenth century).
A barber in the village insisted that none equalled “The Knight of the Sun” [i.e. Amadis], except Don Galaor his brother.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. 1 (1605).
Gal´apas, a giant of “marvellous height” in the army of Lucius, king of Rome. He was slain by King Arthur.
[King Arthur] slew a great giant named Galapas ... He shortened him by smiting off both his legs at the knees, saying, “Now art thou better of a size to deal with than thou wert.” And after, he smote off his head.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, I. 115 (1470).
Gal´aphron or Gallaphrone (3 syl.), a king of Cathay, father of Angelica.—Bojardo, Orlando Innamorato (1495); Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Galasp, or rather George Gillespie, mentioned by Milton in Sonnet, x., was a Scottish writer against the independents, and one of the “Assembly of Divines” (1583-1648). See Colkitto.
Galatea. Lovely statue, made by Pygmalion, and endued with life by Venus at the prayer of the sculptor-lover.
Galate´a, a sea-nymph, beloved by Polypheme (3 syl.) She herself had a heartache for Acis. The jealous giant crushed his rival under a huge rock, and Galatēa, inconsolable at the loss of her lover, was changed into a fountain. The word Galatea is used poetically for any rustic maiden.
⁂ Handel has an opera called Acis and Galatea (1710).
Galatea, a wise and modest lady attending on the princess in the drama of Philaster or Love Lies a-bleeding, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1608).
Gala´tine (3 syl.), the sword of Sir Gaw´ain, King Arthur’s nephew.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 93 (1470).
Galbraith (Miss Lucy), a young lady who finds herself en tête-a-tête with her çi-devant lover in a parlor-car. Conversation ensues and a quarrel. Upon attempting to leave the car, she discovers that it is uncoupled and solitary upon the track. In the fright of the alarm caused by what she assumes to be peril, she falls into her lover’s arms entreating forgiveness. The reconciliation is complete by the time they arrive safely at Schenectady.—W. D. Howells, The Parlor Car, A Farce (1876).
Galbraith (Major Duncan), of Garschattachin, a militia officer.—Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).
Ga´len, an apothecary, a medical man (in disparagement). Galen was the most celebrated physician of ancient Greece, and had a greater influence on medical science than any other man before or since (A. D. 130-200).
Dr.Dr. William Cullen, of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, author of Nosology, (1712-1790).
Gal´enist, a herb doctor.
Galeotti Martivalle, (Martius), astrologerastrologer of Louis XI. Being asked by the superstitious king if he knew the day of his own death, the crafty astrologer replied that he could not name the exact day, but he had learnt thus much by his art—that it would occur just twenty-four hours before the decease of his majesty (ch. xxix.).—Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward (time, Edward IV.).
⁂ Thrasullus the soothsayer made precisely the same answer to Tibe´rius, emperor of Rome.
Galera´na is called by Ariosto the wife of Charlemagne; but the nine wives of that emperor are usually given as Hamiltrude (3 syl.), Desidera´ta, Hil´degarde (3 syl.), Fastrade (2 syl.), Luitgarde, Maltegarde, Gersuinde, Regi´na, and Adalin´da.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, xxi. (1516).
Galère (2 syl.). Que diable allait-il faire dans cette galère? Scapin wants to get from Géronte (a miserly old hunks) £1500, to help Leandre, the old man’s son, out of a money difficulty. So Scapin vamps up a cock-and-bull story about Leandre being invited by a Turk on board his galley, where he was treated to a most sumptuous repast; but when the young man was about to quit the galley, the Turk told him he was a prisoner, and demanded £1500 for his ransom within two hours’ time. When GéronteGéronte hears this, he exclaims, “Que diable allait-il faire dans cette galère?” and he swears he will arrest the Turk for extortion. Being shown the impossibility of so doing, he again exclaims, “Que diable allait-il faire dans cette galère?” and it flashes into his mind that Scapin should give himself up as surety for the payment of the ransom. This of course Scapin objects to. The old man again exclaims, “Que diable allait-il faire dans cette galère?” and commands Scapin to go and tell the Turk that £1500 is not to be picked off a hedge. Scapin says the Turk does not care a straw about that, and insists on the ransom. “Mais, que diable allait-il faire dans cette galère?” cries the old hunks; and tells Scapin to go and pawn certain goods. Scapin replies there is no time, the two hours are nearly exhausted. “Que diable,” cries the old man again, “allait-il faire dans cette galère?” and when at last he gives the money, he repeats the same words, “Mais, que diable allait-il faire dans cette galère?”—Molière, Les Fourberies de Scapin. ii. 11 (1671).
Gal´gacus, chief of the Caledonians, who resisted Agricŏla with great valor. In A. D. 84 he was defeated, and died on the field. Tacĭtus puts into his mouth a noble speech, made to his army before the battle.
Galia´na, a Moorish princess, daughter of Gadalfe, king of Tolēdo. Her father built for her a palace on the Tagus, so splendid that “a palace of Galiana” has become a proverb in Spain.
Galien Restored, a mediæval romance of chivalry. Galien was the son of Jaqueline (daughter of Hugh, king of Constantinople). His father was Count Oliver of Vienne. Two fairies interested themselves in Jaqueline’s infant son; one, named Galienne, had the child named after her, Galien; and the other insisted that he should be called “Restored,” for that the boy would restore the chivalry of Charlemagne.—Author unknown.
Galile´o [Galilei], born at Pisa, but lived chiefly in Florence. In 1633 he published his work on the Copernican system, showing that “the earth moved and the sun stood still.” For this he was denounced by the Inquisition of Rome, and accused of contradicting the Bible. At the age of 70 he was obliged to abjure his system, in order to gain his liberty. After pronouncing his abjuration, he said, in a stage whisper, E pur si muove (“It does move, though”). This is said to be a romance (1564-1642).
Galinthia, daughter of Prœtus, king of Argos. She was changed by the Fates into a cat, and in that shape was made by Hecate her high priestess.—Antonius Liberalis, Metam, xxix.
Gallegher, audacious errand-boy in the office of a daily newspaper. He outwits police and sporting-men, and shows detective genius unequalled by a “professional,” becoming the means of arresting a noted murderer, and driving into town after midnight with the news of this event and of a big prize-fight, sinking exhausted on the office floor with the exclamation, “I beat the town!”—Richard Harding Davis, Gallegher (1890).
Gallegos [Gal´.le.goze], the people of Galacia (once a province of Spain).
Gallice´næ, priestesses of Gallic mythology, who had power over the winds and waves. There were nine of them, all virgins.
Galligan´tus, the giant who lived with Hocus-Pocus, the conjuror. When Jack the Giant-killer blew the magic horn, both the giant and conjuror were overthrown.—Jack the Giant-killer.
Gallo-ma´nia, a furor for everything French. Generally applied to that vile imitation of French literature and customs which prevailed in Germany in the time of Frederick II. of Prussia. It is very conspicuous in the writings of Wieland (1733-1813).
Galloping Dick, Richard Ferguson, the highwayman, executed in 1800.
Galloway (The Fair Maid of), Margaret, only daughter of Archibald, fifth earl of Douglas. She married her cousin William, to whom the earldom passed in 1443. After the death of her first husband, she married his brother James (the last earl of Douglas).
Gallowglasses, heavy-armed foot-soldiers of Ireland and the western isles; the light-armed troops were called kernes.
Gallura’s Bird, the cock, the emblem of Gallura in Sardinia, ruled by Nino di Gallura de’Visconti. Dante meets Nino in purgatory, who sends a message to his daughter, but reproaches the mother with her marriage after his death, to Galeazzo de’Visconti of Milan, whose emblem was a viper.
Gal´way Jury, an independent jury, neither to be brow-beaten nor led by the nose. In 1635, certain trials were held in Ireland, respecting the right of the Crown to the counties of Ireland. Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo, and Mayo gave judgment for the Crown, but Galway stood out, whereupon each of the jury was fined £4000.
Ga´ma (Vasco da), the hero of Camoëns’s Lusiad. Sagacious, intrepid, tender-hearted, pious, and patriotic. He was the first European navigator who doubled the Cape of Good Hope (1497).
⁂ Gama is also the hero of Meyerbeer’s posthumous opera called L’Africaine (1865).
Gam´elyn (3 syl.), youngest of the three sons of Sir Johan di Boundys, who, on his death-bed, left “five plowes of land” to each of his two elder sons, and the residue of his property to the youngest. The eldest son took charge of Gamelyn, but treated him shamefully. On one occasion he said to him, “Stand still, gadelyng, and hold thy peace.” To which the proud boy retorted, “I am no gadelyng, but the lawful son of a lady and true knight.” On this, the elder brother sent his servants to chastise him, but he drove them off “with a pestel.” At a wrestling match young Gamelyn threw the champion, and carried off the prize ram; but on reaching home found the door closed against him. He at once kicked the door down, and threw the porter into a well. The elder brother now bound the young madcap to a tree, and left him two days without food; but Adam the spencer, unloosed him; and Gamelyn fell upon a party of ecclesiastics, who had come to dine with his brother, and “sprinkled holy water on them with a stout oaken cudgel.” The sheriff sent to apprehend the young spitfire, but he fled with Adam into the woods, and came upon a party of foresters sitting at meat. The captain gave him welcome, and Gamelyn in time became “king of the outlaws.” His brother being sheriff, would have put him to death, but Gamelyn hanged his brother on a forest tree. After this the king appointed him chief ranger, and he married.—The Coke’s Tale of Gamelyn, formerly attributed to Chaucer.
⁂ Lodge has made this tale the basis of his romance entitled Rosalynd or Eupheus’ Golden Legacye (1590); and from Lodge’s novel Shakespeare has borrowed the plot, with some of the character and dialogue, of As You Like It.
Gamelyn de Guar´dover (Sir), an ancestor of Sir Arthur Wardour.—Sir W. Scott, Antiquary (time, George III.).
Gamester (The), a tragedy by Ed. Moore (1753). The name of the gamester is Beverley, who in despair commits suicide; and the object of the play is to show the great evils of gambling.
Gamester (The), by Mrs. Centlivre (1705). The hero is Valere, to whom Angelica gives a picture, which she enjoins him not to lose on pain of forfeiting her hand. Valere loses it in play, and Angelica, in disguise, is the winner. After much tribulation, Valere is cured of his vice, the picture is restored, and the two are happily united in marriage.
Gammer Gurton’s Needle, by Mr. S., Master of Arts. It was in existence, says Warton, in 1551 (English Poetry, iv. 32). Sir Walter Scott says; “It was the supposed composition of John Still, M.A., afterwards bishop of Bath and Wells;” but in 1551 John Still was a boy not nine years old. The fun of this comedy turns on the loss and recovery of a needle, with which Gammer Gurton was repairing the breeches of her man Hodge. The comedy contains the famous drinking song, “I cannot eat but little Meat.”
Gamp (Sarah), a monthly nurse, residing in Kingsgate Street, High Holborn. Sarah was noted for her gouty umbrella, and for her perpetual reference to an hypothetical Mrs. Harris, whose opinions were a confirmation of her own. She was fond of strong tea and strong stimulants. “Don’t ask me,” she said, “whether I won’t take none, or whether I will, but leave the bottle on the chimley piece, and let me put my lips to it when I am so dispoged.” When Mrs. Prig “her pardner,” stretched out her hand to the teapot [filled with gin], Mrs. Gamp stopped the hand and said with great feeling, “No, Betsy! drink fair, wotever you do.” (See Harris.)—C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, xlix. (1843).
⁂ A big, pawky umbrella is called a Mrs. Gamp, and in France, un Robinson, from Robinson Crusoe’s umbrella.
⁂ Mrs. Gamp and Mrs. Harris have Parisian sisters in Mde. Pochet and Mde. Gibou, creations of Henri Monnier.
Gan. (See Ganelon.)
Gan´dalin, earl of the Firm Island, and ’squire of Am´adis de Gaul.
Gandalin, though an earl, never spoke to his master but cap in hand, his head bowing all the time, and his body bent after the Turkish manner.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. iii. 6 (1605).
Gan´elon (2 syl.), count of Mayence, the “Judas” of Charlemagne’s paladins. His castle was built on the Blocksberg, the loftiest peak of the Hartz Mountains. Charlemagne was always trusting this base knight, and was as often betrayed by him. Although the very business of the paladins was the upholding of Christianity, Sir Ganelon was constantly intriguing for its overthrow. No doubt jealousy of Sir Roland made him a traitor, and he basely planned with Marsillus (the Moorish king), the attack of Roncesvallês. The character of Sir Ganelon was marked with spite, dissimulation, and intrigue, but he was patient, obstinate and enduring. He was six feet and a half in height, had large glaring eyes and fiery red hair. He loved solitude, was very taciturn, disbelieved in the existence of moral good, and has become a by-word for a false and faithless friend. Dantê has placed him in his “Inferno.” (Sometimes called Gan.)
The most faithless spy since the days of Ganelon.—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot, xxiv. (1820).
Ganem, “The Slave of Love.” The hero and title of one of the Arabian Nights tales. Ganem was the son of a rich merchant of Damascus, named Abou Aibou. On the death of his father he went to Bagdad, to dispose of the merchandise left, and accidentally saw three slaves secretly burying a chest in the earth. Curiosity induced him to disinter the chest, when lo! it contained a beautiful woman, sleeping from the effects of a narcotic drug. He took her to the lodgings, and discovered that the victim was Fetnab, the caliph’s favorite, who had been buried alive by order of the sultana, out of jealousy. When the caliph heard thereof, he was extremely jealous of the young merchant, and ordered him to be put to death, but he made good his escape in the guise of a waiter, and lay concealed till the angry fit of the caliph had subsided. When Haroun-al-Raschid (the caliph) came to himself, and heard the unvarnished facts of the case, he pardoned Ganem, gave to him Fetnab for a wife, and appointed him to a lucrative post about the court.
Gan´esa, goddess of wisdom, in Hindû mythology.
Ganlesse (Richard), alias Simon Canter, alias Edward Christian, one of the conspirators.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Ganna, the Celtic prophetess, who succeeded Velle´da. She went to Rome, and was received by Domitian with great honor.—Tacitus, Annals, 55.
Ganor, Gano´ra, Geneura, Ginevra, Genievre, Guinevere, Guenever, are different ways of spelling the name of Arthur’s wife; called by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Guanhuma´ra or Guan´humar; but Tennyson has made Guenevere the popular English form.
Gants Jaunes (Des), dandies, men of fashion.
Gan´ymede (3 syl.), a beautiful Phrygian boy, who was carried up to Olympos on the back of an eagle, to become cup-bearer to the gods instead of Hebê. At the time of his capture he was playing a flute while tending his father’s sheep.
(Jupiter compensated the boy’s father for the loss of his son, by a pair of horses.)
Tennyson, speaking of a great reverse of fortune from the highest glory to the lowest shame, says:
The Birds of Ganymede, eagles. Ganymede is represented as sitting on an eagle, or attended by that bird.
⁂ Ganymede is the constellation Aquarius.
Garagan´tua, a giant, who swallowed five pilgrims with their staves in a salad.—Rabelais, The History of Garagantua (1533).
“You must borrow me Garagantua’s mouth first: ’tis a word too great for any mouth of this age’s size.”—Shakespeare, As You Like It, act iii. sc. 2.
Gar´cias. The soul of Peter Garcias, money. Two scholars, journeying to Salamanca, came to a fountain, which bore this inscription; “Here is buried the soul of the licentiate Peter Garcias.” One scholar went away laughing at the notion of a buried soul, but the other, cutting with his knife, loosened a stone, and found a purse containing 100 ducats.—Lesage, Gil Blas (to the reader, 1715).
Garcilas´o, surnamed “the Inca,” descended on the mother’s side from the royal family of Peru (1530-1568). He was the son of Sebastian Garcilaso, a lieutenant of Alvarado and Pizarro. Author of Commentaries on the Origin of the Incas, their Laws and Government.
Garcilaso [de la Vega], called “The Petrarch of Spain”Spain”, born at Toledo (1503-1536). His poems are eclogues, odes, and elegies of great naïveté, grace, and harmony.
Garda (Thorne). Beautiful, untaught and utterly unreasonable girl, whom everybody pets and who always gets her own way. She fascinates men and outwits women, defies all authority, and never loses her temper. In a lazy way she falls in love with one man after another, and is most constant to the least worthy. The best and kindest woman among her friends suffers in reputation from her escapades, and Garda accepts the sacrifice as a matter of course. The incarnation of sensuous selfishness.—Constance Fennimore Woolson, East Angels (1886).
Gardening (Father of Landscape), Lenotre (1613-1700).
Gar´diner (Richard), porter to Miss Seraphine Arthuret and her sister Angelica.—Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).
Gardiner (Colonel), colonel of Waverley’s Regiment.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Gareth (Sir), according to Ancient romance, was the youngest son of Lot, king of Orkney and Morgawse, Arthur’s [half] sister. His mother, to deter him from entering Arthur’s court, said, jestingly, she would consent to his so doing if he concealed his name and went as a scullion for twelve months. To this he agreed, and Sir Kay, the king’s steward, nicknamed him “Beaumains,” because his hands were unusually large. At the end of the year he was knighted, and obtained the quest of Linet, who craved the aid of some knight to liberate her sister Lionês, who was held prisoner by Sir Ironside in Castle Perilous. Linet treated Sir Gareth with great contumely, calling him a washer of dishes and a kitchen knave; but he overthrew the five knights and liberated the lady, whom he married. The knights were—first, the Black Knight of the Black Lands or Sir Pere´ard (2 syl.), the Green Knight or Sir Pertolope, the Red Knight or Sir Perimo´nês, the Blue Knight or Sir Persaunt of India (four brothers), and lastly, the Red Knight of the Red Lands or Sir Ironside.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 120-153 (1470).
⁂ According to Tennyson, Sir Gareth was “the last and tallest son of Lot, king of Orkney, and of Bellicent his wife.” He served as kitchen knave in King Arthur’s hall a twelvemonth and a day, and was nicknamed “Fair-hands” (Beaumains). At the end of twelve months he was knighted, and obtained leave to accompany Lynette to the liberation of her sister Lyonors, who was held captive in Castle Perilous by a knight called Death or Mors. The passages to the castle were kept by four brothers, called by Tennyson, Morning Star or Phos´phorus, Noonday Sun or Meridies, Evening Star or Hespĕrus, and Night or Nox, all of whom he overthrew. At length Death leapt from the cleft skull of Night, and prayed the knight not to kill him, seeing that what he did his brothers had made him do. At starting, Lynette treated Gareth with great contumely, but softened to him more and more after each victory, and at last married him.
Gareth and Linet´ is in reality an allegory, a sort of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, describing the warfare of a Christian from birth to his entrance into glory. The “Bride” lived in Castle Perilous, and was named Lionês; Linet´ represents the “carnal world,” which, like the inhabitants of the City of Destruction, jest and jeer at everything the Christian does. Sir Gareth fought with four knights, keepers of the roads “to Zion” or Castle Perilous, viz., Night, Dawn, Midday, and Evening, meaning the temptations of the four ages of man. Having conquered in all these, he had to encounter the last enemy, which is Death, and then the bride was won—the bride who lived in Castle Perilous or Mount Zion.
⁂ Tennyson, in his version of this beautiful allegory, has fallen into several grave errors, the worst of which is his making Gareth marry Linet instead of the true bride. This is like landing his Pilgrim in the City of Destruction, after having finished his journey and passed the flood. Gareth’s brother was wedded to the world (i.e. Linet), but Gareth himself was married to the “true Bride,” who dwelt in Castle Perilous. Another grave error is making Death crave of Gareth not to kill him, as what he did he was compelled to do by his elder brothers. I must confess that this to me is quite past understanding.—See Notes and Queries, January 19, February 16, March 16, 1878.
Gar´gamelle (3 syl.), wife of Grangousier and daughter of the Parpaillons. On the day that she gave birth to Gargantua, she ate 16 qrs. 2 bush. 3 pecks and a pipkin of dirt, the mere remains left in the tripe which she had for supper, although the tripe had been cleaned with the utmost care.—Rabelais, Gargantua, i. 4 (1533).
⁂ Gargamelle is an allegorical skit on the extravagance of queens, and the dirt is their pin-money.
Gargan´tua, son of Grangousier and Gargamelle. It needed 17,913 cows to supply the babe with milk. Like Garagantua (q.v.), he ate in his salad lettuces as big as walnut trees, in which were lurking six pilgrims from Sebastian. He founded and endowed the abbey of Theleme (2 syl.), in remembrance of his victory over Picrochole (3 syl.).—Rabelais, Gargantua, i. 7 (1533).
⁂ Of course, Gargantua is an allegorical skit on the allowance accorded to princes for their maintenance.
Gargantua’s Mare. This mare was as big as six elephants, and had feet with fingers. On one occasion, going to school, the “boy” hung the bells of Notre Dame de Paris on his mare’s neck, as jingles; but when the Parisians promised to feed his beast for nothing, he restored the peal. This mare had a terrible tail “every whit as big as the steeple of St. Mark’s,” and on one occasion being annoyed by wasps, she switched it about so vigorously that she knocked down all the trees in the vicinity. Gargantua roared with laughter, and cried, “Je trouve beau ce!” where upon the locality was called “Beauce.”—Rabelais, Gargantua, i. 16 (1533).
⁂ Of course this “mare” is an allegorical skit on the extravagance of court mistresses, and the “tail” is the suite in attendance on them.
Gargan´tuan Curriculum, a course of studies including all languages, all sciences, all the fine arts, with all athletic sports and calisthenic exercises.—Grangousier wrote to his son, saying:
“There should not be a river in the world, no matter how small, thou dost not know the name of, with the nature and habits of all fishes, all fowls of the air, all shrubs and trees, all metals, minerals, gems and precious stones. I would, furthermore, have thee study the Talmudists and Cabalists, and get a perfect knowledge of man, together with every language, ancient and modern, living or dead.”—Rabelais, Pantag´ruel´ ii. 8 (1533).
Gar´gery (Mrs. Joe), Pip’s sister. A virago, who kept her husband and Pip in constant awe.
Joe Gargery, a blacksmith, married to Pip’s sister. A noble-hearted simple-minded man who loved Pip sincerely. Though uncouth in manners and ungainly in appearance, Joe Gargery was one of nature’s gentlemen.—C. Dickens, Great Expectations (1860).
Gargouille (2 syl.), the great dragon that lived in the Seine, ravaged Rouen, and was slain by St. Roma´nus in the seventh century.
Garlic. The purveyor of the sultan of Casgar says he knew a man who lost his thumbs and great toes from eating garlic. The facts were these: A young man was married to the favorite of Zobeidê, and partook of a dish containing garlic; when he went to his bride, she ordered him to be bound, and cut off his two thumbs and two great toes, for presuming to appear before her without having purified his fingers. Ever after this he always washed his hands 120 times with alkali and soap after partaking of garlic in a ragout.—Arabian Nights (“The Purveyor’s Story”).
Gar´rat (The mayor of). Garrat is a village between Wandsworth and Tooling. In 1780 the inhabitants associated themselves together to resist any further encroachments on their common, and the chairman was called the Mayor. The first “mayor” happened to be chosen on a general election, and so it was decreed that a new mayor should be appointed at each general election. This made excellent capital for electioneering squibs, and some of the greatest wits of the day have ventilated political grievances, gibbeted political characters, and sprinkled holy water with good stout oaken cudgels under the mask of “addresses by the mayors of Garrat.”
The Mayor of Garrat, a farce by S. Foote (1762).
Garrick. Cool-headed, cool-hearted Federal agent who runs all sorts of dangers to bear into camp dispatches found upon a dead comrade, and marries a woman many degrees too noble for one whose ideals of morality are lower than becomes a man so brave in other matters.—Rebecca Harding Davis, Waiting for the Verdict (1866).
Garter. According to legend, Joan, countess of Salisbury, accidentally dropped her garter at a court ball. It was picked up by her royal partner, Edward III., who gallantly diverted the attention of the guests from the lady by binding the blue band round his own knee, saying, as he did so,“Honi soit qui mal y pense.”