Artemis'ia, daughter of Hecatomnus and sister-wife of Mauso'lus. Artemisia was queen of Caria, and at the death of her fraternal husband raised a monument to his memory (called a mausole'um), which was one of the "Seven Wonders of the World." It was built by four different architects: Scopas, Timotheus, Leocharês, and Bruxis.

Lord Brooke, An Inquiry upon Fame, etc. (1554-1628).

Artemus Ward, travelling showman and philosopher, whose adventures and sayings as given by Charles Brown were a new departure in the history of American dialect literature (1862).

Artful Dodger, the sobriquet of John Dawkins, a young thief, up to every sort of dodge, and a most marvellous adept in villainy.—Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).

Arthgallo, a mythical British king, brother of Gorbonian, his predecessor on the throne, and son of Mor'vidus, the tyrant who was swallowed by a sea-monster. Arthgallo was deposed, and his brother El'idure was advanced to the throne instead.—Geoffrey, British History, iii. 17 (1142).

Arthur (King), parentage of. His father was Uther the pendragon, and his mother Ygernê (3 syl.), widow of Gorloïs duke of Cornwall. But Ygernê had been a widow only three hours, and knew not that the duke was dead (pt. i. 2), and her marriage with the pendragon was not consummated till thirteen days afterwards. When the boy was born Merlin took him, and he was brought up as the foster-son of sir Ector (Tennyson says "sir Anton"), till Merlin thought proper to announce him as the lawful successor of Uther, and had him crowned. Uther lived two years after his marriage with Ygernê.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 2, 6 (1470).

Coming of Arthur. Leod'ogran, king of Cam'eliard (3 syl.), appealed to Arthur to assist him in clearing his kingdom of robbers and wild beasts. This being done, Arthur sent three of his knights to Leodogran, to beg the hand of his daughter Guenever in marriage. To this Leodogran, after some little hesitation, agreed, and sir Lancelot was sent to escort the lady to Arthur's court.

Arthur not dead. According to tradition Arthur is not dead, but rests in Glastonbury, "till he shall come again full twice as fair, to rule over his people." (See BARBAROSSA.)

According to tradition, Arthur never died, but was converted into a raven by enchantment, and will, in the fulness of time, appear again in his original shape, to recover his throne and sceptre. For this reason there is never a raven killed in England.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I ii. 5 (1605).

Arthur's Twelve Battles (or victories over the Saxons). I. The battle of the river Glem (i.e. the glen of Northumberland). 2 to 5. The four battles of the Duglas (which falls into the estuary of the Ribble). 6. The battle of Bassa, said to be Bashall Brook, which joins the Ribble near Clithero. 7. The battle of Celidon, said to be Tweeddale. 8. The battle of Castle Gwenion (i.e. Caer Wen, in Wedale, Stow). 9. The battle of Caerleon, i.e. Carlisle; which Tennyson makes to be Caerleon-upon-Usk. 10. The battle of Trath Treroit, in Anglesey, some say the Solway Frith. 11. The battle of Agned Cathregonion (i.e. Edinburgh). 12. The battle of Badon Hill (i.e. the Hill of Bath, now Bannerdown).

Then bravely chanted they The several twelve pitched fields he [Arthur] with the Saxons fought. M. Drayton, Polyolbion, iv. (1612).

Arthur, one of the Nine Worthies. Three were Gentiles: Hector, Alexander, and Julius Cæsar; three were Jews: Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabæus; three were Christians: Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillon.

Arthur's Foster-Father and Mother, sir Ector and his lady. Their son, sir Key (his foster-brother), was his seneschal or steward.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 3, 8 (1470).

N.B.—Tennyson makes sir Anton the foster-father of Arthur.

Arthur's Butler, sir Lucas or Lucan, son of duke Corneus; but sir Griflet, son of Cardol, assisted sir Key and sir Lucas "in the rule of the service."—History of Prince Arthur, i. 8 (1470).

Arthur's Sisters [half-sisters], Morgause or Margawse (wife of king Lot); Elain (wife of king Nentres of Carlot); and Morgan le Fay, the "great clark of Nigromancy," who wedded king Vrience, of the land of Corê, father of Ewayns le Blanchemayne. Only the last had the same mother (Ygraine or Ygernê) as the king.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 2.

Arthur's Sons—Urien, Llew, and Arawn. Borre was his son by Lyonors, daughter of the earl Sanam.—History of Prince Arthur, i. 15. Mordred was his son by Elain, wife of king Nentres of Carlot. In some of the romances collated by sir T. Malory he is called the son of Morgause and Arthur; Morgause being called the wife of king Lot, and sister of Arthur. This incest is said to have been the cause of Mordred's hatred of Arthur.—Pt. i. 17, 36, etc.

Arthur's Drinking-Horn. No one could drink from this horn who was either unchaste or unfaithful.—Lai du Corn and Morte d'Arthur. (See CHASTITY.)

Arthur's Shield, Pridwin. Geoffrey calls it Priwen, and says it was adorned with the picture of the Virgin Mary.—British History, ix. 4 (1142).

Arthur's Spear, Rone. Geoffrey calls it Ron. It was made of ebony.—British History, ix. 4 (1142).

Arthur's Sword, Escal'ibur or Excal'ibur. Geoffrey calls it Caliburn, and says it was made in the isle of Avallon.—British History, ix. 4 (1142).

Drayton, Polyolbion, iv. (1612).

Arthur's Round Table. It contained seats for 150 knights. Three were reserved, two for honor, and one (called the "siege perilous") for sir Galahad, destined to achieve the quest of the sangreal. If any one else attempted to sit in it, his death was the certain penalty.

therefore.jpg There is a table so called at Winchester, and Henry VIII. showed it to François I. as the very table made by Merlin for Uther the pendragon.

M. Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. (1612).

Arthur (King), in the burlesque opera of

Tom Thumb, has Dollallolla for his queen, and Huncamunca for his daughter. This dramatic piece, by Henry Fielding, the novelist, was produced in 1730, but was altered by Kane O'Hara, author of Midas, about half a century later.

Arthurian Romances.

King Arthur and the Round Table, a romance in verse (1096).

The Holy Graal (in verse, 1100).

Titurel, or The Guardian of the Holy Graal, by Wolfram von Eschenbach. Titurel founded the temple of Graalburg as a shrine for the holy graal.

The Romance of Parzival, prince of the race of the kings of Graalburg. By Wolfram of Eschenbach (in verse). This romance (written about 1205) was partly founded upon a French poem by Chrétien de Troyes, Parceval le Gallois (1170).

Launcelot of the Lake, by Ulrich of Zazikoven, contemporary with William Rufus.

Wigalois, or The Knight of the Wheel, by Wirnd of Graffenberg. This adventurer leaves his mother in Syria, and goes in search of his father, a knight of the Round Table.

I'wain, or The Knight of the Lion, and Ereck, by Hartmann von der Aue (thirteenth century).

Tristan and Yseult (in verse), by Master Grottfried of Strasburg (thirteenth century). This is also the subject of Luc du Grast's prose romance, which was revised by Elie de Borron, and turned into verse by Thomas the Rhymer, of Erceldoune, under the title of the Romance of Tristram.

Merlyn Ambroise, by Robert de Borron.

Roman des diverses Quétes de St. Graal, by Walter Mapes (prose).

La Morte d'Arthur, by Walter Mapes.

A Life of Joseph of Arimathea, by Robert de Borron.

The Idylls of the King, by Tennyson, in blank verse, containing "The Coming of Arthur," "Gareth and Lynette," "Geraint and Enid," "Merlin and Vivien," "Lancelot and Elaine," "The Holy Graal," "Peleas and Ettarre" (2 syl.), "The Last Tournament," "Guinevere" (3 syl.) and "The Passing of Arthur," which is the "Morte d'Arthur" with an introduction added to it.

(The old Arthurian Romances have been collated and rendered into English by sir Thomas Malory, in three parts. Part i. contains the early history of Arthur and the beautiful allegory of Gareth and Linet; part ii. contains the adventures of sir Tristram; and part iii. the adventures of sir Launcelot, with the death of Arthur and his knights. Sir Frederick Madden and J.T.K. have also contributed to the same series of legends.)

therefore.jpgSources of the Arthurian Romances. The prose series of romances called Arthurian, owe their origin to: 1. The legendary chronicles composed in Wales or Brittany, such as De Excidio Britanniae of Gildas. 2. The chronicles of Nennius (ninth century). 3. The Armoric collections of Walter [Cale'nius] or Gauliter, archdeacon of Oxford. 4. The Chronicon sive Historia Britonum of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 5. Floating traditions and metrical ballads and romances. (See CHARLEMAGNE.)

Ar'thuret (Miss Seraphina the papist and Miss Angelica), two sisters in sir W. Scott's novel called Redgauntlet (time, George III.).

Arthur Kavanagh, the new pastor in the Fairmeadow parish, endowed "with the zeal of Peter and the gentleness of John," who writes on his study-door Dante's injunction—

Think that To-day will never dawn again. Kavanagh. A Tale, by H.W. Longfellow (1872).

Arthur Livingston, an American traveller in Egypt who falls in love, at first leisurely, finally desperately, with the heroine of Kismet by George Fleming (Julia C. Fletcher) (1877).

Arthur Ripley, young New York lawyer employed in the criminal case that is the pivotal centre of interest in Sidney Luska's (Harry Harland) novel, Mrs. Peixada (1886).

Ar'turo (lord Arthur Talbot), a cavalier affianced to Elvi'ra "the puritan," daughter of lord Walton. On the day appointed for the wedding, Arturo has to aid Enrichetta (Henrietta, widow of Charles I.) in her escape, and Elvira, supposing he is eloping with a rival, temporarily loses her reason. On his return, Arturo explains the circumstances, and they vow never more to part. At this juncture Arturo is arrested for treason, and led away to execution; but a herald announces the defeat of the Stuarts, and free pardon of all political offenders, whereupon Arturo is released, and marries "the fair puritan."—Bellini's opera, I Puritani (1834).

Ar'turo [BUCKLAW]. So Frank Hayston is called in Donizetti's opera of Lucia di Lammermoor (1835). (See HAYSTON.)

Ar'valan, the wicked son of Keha'ma, slain by Ladur'lad for attempting to dishonor his daughter Kail'yal (2 syl.). After this, his spirit became the relentless persecutor of the holy maiden, but holiness and chastity triumphed over sin and lust. Thus when Kailyal was taken to the bower of bliss in paradise, Arvalan borrowed the dragon-car of the witch Lor'rimite (3 syl.) to carry her off; but when the dragons came in sight of the holy place they were unable to mount, and went perpetually downwards, till Arvalan was dropped into an ice-rift of perpetual snow. When he presented himself before her in the temple of Jaganaut, she set fire to the pagoda. And when he caught the maiden waiting for her father, who was gone to release the glendoveer from the submerged city of Baly, Baly himself came to her rescue.

Arvi'da (Prince), a noble friend of Gustavus Vasa. Both Arvida and Gustavus are in love with Christi'na, daughter of Christian II. king of Scandinavia. Christian employs the prince to entrap Gustavus, but when he approaches him the better instincts of old friendship and the nobleness of Gustavus prevail, so that Arvida not only refuses to betray his friend, but even abandons to him all further rivalry in the love of Christina.—H. Brooke, Gustavus Vasa (1730).

Arvir'agus, the husband of Do'rigen. Aurelius tried to win her love, but Dorigen made answer that she would never listen to his suit till the rocks that beset the coast were removed, "and there n'is no stone y-seen." By the aid of magic, Aurelius caused all the rocks of the coast to disappear, and Dorigen's husband insisted that she should keep her word. When Aurelius saw how sad she was, and was told that she had come in obedience to her husband's wishes, he said he would rather die than injure so true a wife and noble a gentleman.—Chaucer, Canterbury Tales ("The Franklin's Tale," 1388).

(This is substantially the same as Boccaccio's tale of Dianora and Gilberto, day x. 5. See DIANORA.)

Arvir'agus, younger son of Cym'beline (3 syl.) king of Britain, and brother of Guide'rius. The two in early childhood were kidnapped by Bela'rius, out of revenge for being unjustly banished, and were brought up by him in a cave. When they were grown to manhood, Belarius, having rescued the king from the Romans, was restored to favor. He then introduced the two young men to Cymbeline, and told their story, upon which the king was rejoiced to find that his two sons whom he thought dead were both living.—Shakespeare, Cymbeline (1605).

Aryan Languages (The)—

As You Like It, a comedy by Shakespeare. One of the French dukes, being driven from his dukedom by his brother, went with certain followers to the forest of Arden, where they lived a free and easy life, chiefly occupied in the chase. The deposed duke had one daughter, named Rosalind, whom the usurper kept at court as the companion of his own daughter Celia, and the two cousins were very fond of each other. At a wrestling match Rosalind fell in love with Orlando, who threw his antagonist, a giant and professional athlete. The usurping duke (Frederick) now banished her from the court, but her cousin Celia resolved to go to Arden with her; so Rosalind in boy's clothes (under the name of Ganymede), and Celia as a rustic maiden (under the name of Alie'na), started to find the deposed duke. Orlando being driven from home by his elder brother, also went to the forest of Arden, and was taken under the duke's protection. Here he met the ladies, and a double marriage was the result—Orlando married Rosalind, and his elder brother Oliver married Celia. The usurper retired to a religious house, and the deposed duke was restored to his dominions.—(1598.)

Asaph. So Tate calls Dryden in Absalom and Achitophel.

Asaph (St.) a British [i.e. Welsh] monk of the sixth century, abbot of Llan-Elvy, which changed its name to St. Asaph, in honor of him.

Ascal'aphos, son of Acheron, turned into an owl for tale-telling and trying to make mischief.—Greek Fable.

Asca'nio, son of don Henrique (2 syl.), in the comedy called The Spanish Curate, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1622).

As'capart or As'cupart, an enormous giant, thirty feet high, who carried off sir Bevis, his wife Jos'ian, his sword Morglay, and his steed Ar'undel, under his arm. Sir Bevis afterwards made Ascapart his slave, to run beside his horse. The effigy of sir Bevis is on the city gates of Southampton.—Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. (1612).

He was a man whose huge stature, thews, sinews, and bulk ... would have enabled him to enact "Colbrand," "Ascapart," or any other giant of romance, without raising himself nearer to heaven even by the altitude of a chopin.—Sir W. Scott.

Thus imitated by Pope (1688-1744)—

Ascræ'an Sage, or Ascræan poet, Hesiod, who was born at Ascra, in Boeo'tia. Virgil calls him "The Old Ascræan."

As'ebie (3 syl.), Irreligion personified in The Purple Island (1633), by Phineas Fletcher (canto vii.). He had four sons: Idol'atros (idolatry), Phar'makeus (3 syl.) (witchcraft), Hæret'icus, and Hypocrisy; all fully described by the poet. (Greek, asebeia, "impiety.")

Asel'ges (3 syl.), Lasciviousness personified. One of the four sons of Anag'nus (inchastity), his three brothers being Mæchus (adultery), Pornei'us (fornication), and Acath'arus. Seeing his brother Porneius fall by the spear of Parthen'ia (maidenly chastity), Aselgês rushes forward to avenge his death, but the martial maid caught him with her spear, and tossed him so high i' the air "that he hardly knew whither his course was bent." (Greek, aselgês, "intemperate, wanton.")—Phineas Fletcher, The Purple Island, xi. (1633).

As'en, strictly speaking, are only the three gods next in rank to the twelve male Asir; but the word is not unfrequently used for the Scandinavian deities generally.

Ashburton (Mary), heroine of Hyperion, by H.W. Longfellow (1839).

Ash'field (Farmer), a truly John Bull farmer, tender-hearted, noble-minded but homely, generous but hot-tempered. He loves his daughter Susan with the love of a woman. His favorite expression is "Behave pratty," and he himself always tries to do so. His daughter Susan marries Robert Handy, the son of sir Abel Handy.

Dame Ashfield, the farmer's wife, whose bête noire is a neighboring farmer named Grundy. What Mrs. Grundy will say, or what Mrs. Grundy will think or do, is dame Ashfield's decalogue and gospel too.

Susan Ashfield, daughter of farmer and dame Ashfield.—Thom. Morton, Speed the Plough (1764-1838).

Ash'ford (Isaac), "a wise, good man, contented to be poor."—Crabbe, Parish Register (1807).

Ashpenaz, chief of eunuchs, and majordomo to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian monarch. Wily, corpulent, and avaricious, a creature to be at once feared and despised.—The Master of the Magicians, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward (1890).

Ash'taroth, a general name for all Syrian goddesses. (See ASTORETH.)

Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 422 (1665).

Ash'ton (Sir William), the lord keeper of Scotland, and father of Lucy Ashton.

Lady Eleanor Ashton, wife of sir William.

Colonel Sholto Douglas Ashton, eldest son of sir William.

Lucy Ashton, daughter of sir William, betrothed to Edgar (the master of Ravenswood); but being compelled to marry Frank Hayston (laird of Bucklaw), she tries to murder him in the bridal chamber, and becomes insane. Lucy dies, but the laird recovers.—Sir W. Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).

(This has been made the subject of an opera by Donizetti, called Lucia di Lammermoor, 1835.)

Asia, the wife of that Pharaoh who brought up Moses. She was the daughter of Mozahem. Her husband tortured her for believing in Moses; but she was taken alive into paradise.—Sale, Al Korân, xx., note, and Ixvi., note.

Mahomet says, "Among women four have been perfect: Asia, wife of Pharaoh; Mary, daughter of Imran; Khadijah, the prophet's first wife; and Fatima, his own daughter."

As'ir, the twelve chief gods of Scandinavian mythology—Odin, Thor, Baldr, Niord, Frey, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Vidar, Vali, Ullur, and Forseti.

Sometimes the goddesses—Frigga, Freyja, Idu'na, and Saga, are ranked among the Asir also.

As'madai (3 syl.) the same as As-mode'us (4 syl.) the lustful and destroying angel, who robbed Sara of her seven husbands (Tobit iii. 8). Milton makes him one of the rebellious angels overthrown by Uriel and Ra'phael. Hume says the word means "the destroyer."—Paradise Lost, vi 365 (1665).

Asmode'us (4 syl.), the demon of vanity and dress, called in the Talmud "king of the devils." As "dress" is one of the bitterest evils of modern life, it is termed "the Asmodeus of domestic peace," a phrase employed to express any "skeleton" in the house of a private family.

In the book of Tobit Asmodeus falls in love with Sara, daughter of Rag'uël, and causes the successive deaths of seven husbands each on his bridal night, but when Sara married Tobit, Asmodeus was driven into Egypt by a charm made of the heart and liver of a fish burnt on perfumed ashes.

(Milton throws the accent on the third syl., Tennyson on the second.)

Milton, Paradise Lost, iv. 168.

Tennyson, St. Simeon Stylitês.

Asmode'us, a "diable bon-homme," with more gaiety than malice; not the least like Mephistophelês. He is the companion of Cle'ofas, whom he carries through the air, and shows him the inside of houses, where they see what is being done in private or secrecy without being seen. Although Asmodeus is not malignant, yet with all his wit, acuteness, and playful malice, we never forget the fiend.—Le Sage, Le Diable Boiteux.

(Such was the popularity of the Diable Boiteux, that two young men fought a duel in a bookseller's shop over the only remaining copy, an incident worthy to be recorded by Asmodeus himself.)

Miss Austen gives us just such a picture of domestic life as Asmodeus would present could he remove the roof of many an English home.—Encyc. Brit. Art. "Romance."

Aso'tus, Prodigality personified in The Purple Island (1633), by Phineas Fletcher, fully described in canto viii. (Greek, asotos, "a profligate.")

Aspa'tia, a maiden the very ideal of ill-fortune and wretchedness. She is the troth-plight wife of Amintor, but Amintor, at the king's request, marries Evad'ne (3 syl.). "Women point with scorn at the forsaken Aspatia, but she bears it all with patience. The pathos of her speeches is most touching, and her death forms the tragical event which gives name to the drama."—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Maid's Tragedy (1610).

As'pramonte (3 syl.), in Sir W. Scott's Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).

As'rael or Az'rael, an angel of death. He is immeasurable in height, insomuch that the space between his eyes equals a 70,000 days' journey.—Mohammedan Mythology.

As'sad, son of Camaral'zaman and Haiatal'nefous (5 syl.), and half-brother of Amgiad (son of Camaralzaman and Badoura). Each of the two mothers conceived a base passion for the other's son, and when the young men repulsed their advances, accused them to their father of gross designs upon their honor. Camaralzaman commanded his vizier to put them both to death; but instead of doing so, he conducted them out of the city, and told them not to return to their father's kingdom (the island of Ebony). They wandered on for ten days, when Assad went to a city in sight to obtain provisions. Here he was entrapped by an old fire-worshipper, who offered him hospitality, but cast him into a dungeon, intending to offer him up a human victim on the "mountain of fire." The ship in which he was sent being driven on the coast of queen Margiana, Assad was sold to her as a slave, but being recaptured was carried back to his old dungeon. Here Bosta'na, one of the old man's daughters, took pity on him, and released him, and ere long Assad married queen Margiana, while Amgiad, out of gratitude, married Bostana.—Arabian Nights ("Amgiad and Assad").

Astag'oras, a female fiend, who has the power of raising storms.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).

Astar'te (3 syl.), the Phoenician moon-goddess, the Astoreth of the Syrians.

As'tarte (2 syl.), an attendant on the princess Anna Comne'na.—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Eufus).

Astarte a woman, beloved by Manfred.—Byron, Manfred.

We think of Astarte as young, beautiful, innocent,—guilty, lost, murdered, judged, pardoned; but still, in her permitted visit to earth, speaking in a voice of sorrow, and with a countenance yet pale with mortal trouble. We had but a glimpse of her in her beauty and innocence, but at last she rises before us in all the moral silence of a ghost, with fixed, glazed, and passionless eyes, revealing death, judgment, and eternity.—Professor Wilson.

As'tery, a nymph in the train of Venus; the lightest of foot and most active of all. One day the goddess, walking abroad with her nymphs, bade them go gather flowers. Astery gathered most of all; but Venus, in a fit of jealousy, turned her into a butterfly, and threw the flowers into the wings. Since then all butterflies have borne wings of many gay colors.—Spenser, Muiopotmos or the Butterfly's Fate (1590).

Astol'pho, the English cousin of Orlando; his father was Otho. He was a great boaster, but was generous, courteous, gay, and singularly handsome. Astolpho was carried to Alci'na's isle on the back of a whale; and when Alcina tired of him, she changed him into a myrtle tree, but Melissa disenchanted him. Astolpho descended into the infernal regions; he also went to the moon, to cure Orlando of his madness by bringing back his lost wits in a phial.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

As'ton (Sir Jacob), a cavalier during the Commonwealth; one of the partisans of the late king.—Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (period, Commonwealth).

As'ton (Enrico). So Henry Ashton is called in Donizetti's opera of Lucia di Lammermoor (1835). (See ASHTON.)

As'torax, king of Paphos and brother of the princess Calis.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (before 1618).

As'toreth, the goddess-moon of Syrian mythology; called by Jeremiah, "The Queen of Heaven," and by the Phoenicians, "Astar'tê."

(Milton does not always preserve the difference between Ashtaroth and Ashtoreth; for he speaks of the "moonèd Ashtaroth, heaven's queen and mother.")

As'tragon, the philosopher and great physician, by whom Gondibert and his friends were cured of the wounds received in the faction fight stirred up by prince Oswald. Astragon had a splendid library and museum. One room was called "Great Nature's Office," another "Nature's Nursery," and the library was called "The Monument of Vanished Mind." Astragon (the poet says) discovered the loadstone and its use in navigation. He had one child, Bertha, who loved duke Gondibert, and to whom she was promised in marriage. The tale being unfinished, the sequel is not known.—Sir W. Davenant, Gondibert (died 1668).

Astre'a (Mrs. Alphra Behn), an authoress. She published the story of Prince Oroonoka (died 1689).

The stage now loosely does Astrea tread. Pope.

Astringer, a falconer. Shakespeare introduces an astringer in All's Well that Ends Well, act v. sc. 1. (From the French austour, Latin austercus, "a goshawk.") A "gentle astringer" is a gentleman falconer.

We usually call a falconer who keeps that kind of hawk [the goshawk] an austringer.—Cowell, Law Dictionary.

As'tro-fiamman'te (5 syl.), queen of the night. The word means "flaming star."—Mozart, Die Zauberflöte (1791).

Astronomer (The), in Rasselas, an old enthusiast, who believed himself to have the control and direction of the weather. He leaves Imlac his successor, but implores him not to interfere with the constituted order.

"I have possessed," said he to Imlac, "for five years the regulation of the weather, and the distribution of the seasons: the sun has listened to my dictates, and passed from tropic to tropic by my direction; the clouds, at my call, have poured their waters, and the Nile has overflowed at my command; I have restrained the rage of the Dog-star, and mitigated the fervor of the Crab. The winds alone ... have hitherto refused my authority.... I am the first of human beings to whom this trust has been imparted."—Dr. Johnson, Rasselas, xli.—xliii. (1759).

As'trophel (Sir Philip Sidney). "Phil. Sid." may be a contraction of philos sidus, and the Latin sidus being changed to the Greek astron, we get astron philos ("star-lover"). The "star" he loved was Penelopê Devereux, whom he calls Stella ("star"), and to whom he was betrothed. Spenser wrote a poem called Astrophel, to the memory of Sir Philip Sidney.