Part 145 (1/2)
fogey of five and forty. Harriet hated the idea, and agreed to elope with Scruple; but her father discovered by accident the intention, and intercepted it. However, to prevent scandal, he gave his consent to the union, and discovered that Scruple, both in family and fortune, was quite suitable for a son-in-law.--G. Colman, _Ways and Means_ (1788).
=Scu'damour= (_Sir_), the knight beloved by Am'oret (whom Britomart delivered from Busyrane, the enchanter), and whom she ultimately married. He is called Scudamour (3 _syl._) from [_e_]_scu d'amour_ (”the s.h.i.+eld of love”), which he carried (bk. iv. 10). This s.h.i.+eld was hung by golden bands in the temple of Venus, and under it was written: ”WHOSOEVER BE THIS s.h.i.+ELD, FAIRE AMORET BE HIS.” Sir Scudamour, determined to win the prize, had to fight with twenty combatants, overthrew them all, and the s.h.i.+eld was his. When he saw Amoret in the company of Britomart, dressed as a knight, he was racked with jealousy, and went on his wanderings, accompanied by nurse Glauce for ”his squire;” but somewhat later, seeing Britomart, without her hemlet,[TN-163]
he felt that his jealousy was groundless (bk. iv. 6). His tale is told by himself (bk. iv. 10).--Spenser, _Faery Queen_, iii., iv. (1590-6).
=Sculpture= (_Father of French_), Jean Goujon (1510-1572). G. Pilon is so called also (1515-1590).
=Scyld=, the king of Denmark preceding Beowulf. The Anglo-Saxon epic poem called _Beowulf_ (sixth century) begins with the death of Scyld.
At his appointed time, Scyld deceased, very decrepit, and went into the peace of the Lord. They ... bore him to the sea-sh.o.r.e as he himself requested.... There on the beach stood the ring-prowed s.h.i.+p, the vehicle of the n.o.ble ... ready to set out. They laid down the dear prince, the distributer of rings, in the bosom of the s.h.i.+p, the mighty one beside the mast ... they set up a golden ensign high overhead ... they gave him to the deep. Sad was their spirit, mournful their mood.--Kemble, _Beowulf_ (an Anglo-Saxon poem, 1833).
=Scylla and Charybdis.= The former was a rock, in which dwelt Scylla, a hideous monster, encompa.s.sed with dogs and wolves. The latter was a whirlpool, into which Charybdis was metamorphosed.--_Cla.s.sic Fable._
=Scythian= (_That Brave_), Darius, the Persian. According to Herod'otus, all the south-east of Europe used to be called Scythia, and Xenophon calls the dwellers south of the Caspian Sea ”Scythians,” also. In fact, by Scythia was meant the south of Russia and west of Asia; hence, the Hungarians, a Tartar horde, settled on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, who, in 889, crossed into Europe, are spoken of as ”Scythians,” and Lord Brooke calls the Persians ”Scythians.” The reference below is to the following event in Persian history:--The death of Smerdis was kept for a time a profound secret, and one of the officers about the court who resembled him usurped the crown, calling himself brother of the late monarch. Seven of the high n.o.bles conspired together, and slew the usurper, but it then became a question to which of the seven the crown should be offered. They did not toss for it, but they did much the same thing. They agreed to give the crown to him whose horse neighed first.
Darius's horse won, and thus Darius became king of the Persian empire.
That brave Scythian, Who found more sweetness in his horse's neighing Than all the Phrygian, Dorian, Lydian playing.
Lord Brooke, (1554-1628).
? Marlowe calls Tamburlaine of Tartary ”a Scythian.”
You shall hear the Scythian Tamburlaine Threatening the world with high astounding terms.
Marlowe, _Tamburlaine_ (prologue, 1587).
=Scythian's Name= (_The_). Humber or Humbert, king of the Huns, invaded England during the reign of Locrin, some 1000 years B.C. In his flight, he was drowned in the river Abus, which has ever since been called the Humber, after ”the Scythian's name.”--Geoffrey, _British History_, ii. 2 (1142); and Milton's _History of England_.
Or Humber loud that keeps the Scythian's name.
Milton, _Vacation Exercise_ (1627).
=Sea-Captain= (_The_), a drama by Lord Lytton (1839). Norman, ”the sea-captain,” was the son of Lady Arundel by her first husband, who was murdered. He was born three days after his father's murder, and was brought up by Onslow, a village priest. At 14 he went to sea, and became the captain of a man-of-war. Lady Arundel married again, and had another son named Percy. She wished to ignore Norman, and to settle the t.i.tle and estates on Percy, but it was not to be. Norman and Percy both loved Violet, a ward of Lady Arundel. Violet, however, loved Norman only. A scheme was laid to murder Norman, but failed; and at the end Norman was acknowledged by his mother, reconciled to his brother, and married to the ward.
=Seaforth= (_The earl of_), a royalist, in the service of King Charles I.--Sir W. Scott, _Legend of Montrose_ (time, Charles I.).
=Seasons= (_The_), a descriptive poem in blank verse, by James Thomson, ”Winter” (1726), ”Summer” (1727), ”Spring” (1728), ”Autumn” (1730).
”Winter” is inscribed to the earl of Wilmington; ”Summer” to Mr.
Doddington; ”Spring” to the countess of Hertford; and ”Autumn” to Mr.
Onslow.
1. In ”Winter,” after describing the season, the poet introduces his episode of a traveller lost in a snowstorm, ”the creeping cold lays him along the snow, a stiffened corse,”[TN-164] of wife, of children, and of friends unseen. The whole book containing 1069 lines.