Character Sketches of Romance Volume I Part 39

How oft has death untied Bright links that glory wove, Sweet bonds entwined by love!

T. Moore, _Irish Melodies_, ii.

BENVO'LIO, nephew to Montague, and Romeo's friend. A testy, litigious fellow, who would quarrel about goat's wool or pigeon's milk. Mercutio says to him, "Thou hast quarrelled with a man for coughing in the street, because he hath wakened thy dog that hath lain asleep in the sun" (act iii. sc. 1),--Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_ (1598).

BEOWULF, the name of an Anglo-Saxon epic poem of the sixth century. It received its name from Beowulf, who delivered Hrothgar king of Denmark from the monster Grrendel. This Grendel was half monster and half man, and night after night stole into the king's palace called Heorot, and slew sometimes as many as thirty of the sleepers at a time. Beowulf put himself at the head of a mixed band of warriors, went against the monster and slew it. This epic is very Ossianic in style, is full of beauties, and is most interesting.--_Kemble's Translation._

(A.D. Wackerbarth published in 1849 a metrical translation of this Anglo-Saxon poem, of considerable merit.)

BEPPO. Byron's _Beppo_ is the husband of Laura, a Venetian lady. He was taken captive in Troy, turned Turk, joined a band of pirates, grew rich, and after several years returned to his native land. He found his wife at a carnival ball with a _cavaliero_, made himself known to her, and they lived together again as man and wife. (Beppo is a contraction of _Guiseppe_, as Joe is of _Joseph_, 1820.)

_Beppo_, in _Fra Diavolo_, an opera by Auber (1836).

BERALDE (2 _syl._), brother of Argan the _malade imaginaire_. He tells Argan that his doctors will confess this much, that the cure of a patient is a very minor consideration with them, "_toute l'excellence de leur art consiste en un pompeux galimatias, en un specieux babil, qui vous donne des mots pour des raisons, et des promesses pour des effets._" Again he says, "_presque tous les hommes meurent de leur remedes et non pas de leurs maladies_." He then proves that Argan's wife is a mere hypocrite, while his daughter is a true-hearted, loving girl; and he makes the invalid join in the dancing and singing provided for his cure.--Moliere, _Le Malade Imaginaire_ (1673).

BERCH'TA ("_the white lady_"), a fairy of southern Germany, answering to Hulda ("the gracious lady") of northern Germany. After the introduction of Christianity, Berchta lost her first estate and lapsed into a bogie.

BERECYNTHIAN G.o.dDESS (_The_). Cybele is so called from mount Berecyntus, in Phrygia, where she was held in especial adoration. She is represented as crowned with turrets, and holding keys in her hand.

Her helmed head Rose like the Berecynthian G.o.ddess crowned With towers.

Southey, _Roderick, etc._, ii. (1814).

BERECYN'THIAN HERO (_The_), Midas king of Phyrgia, so called from mount Berecyn'tus (4 _syl_.), in Phrygia.

BERENGA'RIA, queen-consort of Richard Coeur de Lion, introduced in _The Talisman_, a novel by sir W. Scott (1825). Berengaria died 1230.

BERENGER (_Sir Raymond_), an old Norman warrior, living at the castle of Garde Doloureuse.

_The lady Eveline_, sir Raymond's daughter, betrothed to sir Hugo de Lacy. Sir Hugo cancels his own betrothal in favor of his nephew (sir Damian de Lacy), who marries the lady Eveline, "the betrothed."--Sir W. Scott, _The Betrothed_ (time, Henry II.).

BERENI'CE (4 _syl_.), sister-wife of Ptolemy III. She vowed to sacrifice her hair to the G.o.ds if her husband returned home the vanquisher of Asia. On his return, she suspended her hair in the temple of the war-G.o.d, but it was stolen the first night, and Conon of Samos told the king that the winds had carried it to heaven, where it still forms the seven stars near the tail of Leo, called _Coma Berenices_.

Pope, in _his Rape of the Lock_, has borrowed this fable to account for the lock of hair cut from Belinda's head, the restoration of which the young lady insisted upon.

_Bereni'ce_ (4 _syl_.), a Jewish princess, daughter of Agrippa. She married Herod king of Chalcis, then Polemon king of Cilicia, and then went to live with Agrippa II. her brother. t.i.tus fell in love with her and would have married her, but the Romans compelled him to renounce the idea, and a separation took place. Otway (1672) made this the subject of a tragedy called _t.i.tus and Berenice_; and Jean Racine (1670), in his tragedy of _Berenice_, has made her a sort of Henriette d'Orleans.

(Henriette d'Orleans, daughter of Charles I. of England, married Philippe due d'Orleans, brother of Louis XIV. She was brilliant in talent and beautiful in person, but being neglected by her husband, she died suddenly after drinking a cup of chocolate, probably poisoned.)

_Berenice_, heroine of a tragic-comic fantasy by Edgar Allan Poe, in which Berenice's teeth hold a position as conspicuous as ghastly (1845).

BERINGHEN (_The Sieur de_), an old gourmand, who preferred patties to treason; but cardinal Richelieu banished him from France, saying:

Sleep not another night in Paris, Or else your precious life may be in danger.

Lord Lytton, _Richelieu_ (1839).

BERIN'THIA, cousin of Amanda; a beautiful young widow attached to colonel Townly. In order to win him she plays upon his jealousy by coquetting with Loveless.--Sheridan, _A Trip to Scarborough_ (1777).

BERKE'LEY (_The Old Woman of_), a woman whose life had been very wicked. On her death-bed she sent for her son who was a monk, and for her daughter who was a nun, and bade them put her in a strong stone coffin, and to fasten the coffin to the ground with strong bands of iron. Fifty priests and fifty choristers were to pray and sing over her for three days, and the bell was to toll without ceasing. The first night pa.s.sed without much disturbance. The second night the candles burnt blue and dreadful yells were heard outside the church.

But the third night the devil broke into the church and carried off the old woman on his black horse.--R. Southey, _The Old Woman of Berkeley_ (a ballad from Olaus Magnus).

Dr. Sayers pointed out to us in conversation a story related by Olaus Magnus of a witch whose coffin was confined by three chains, but nevertheless was carried off by demons. Dr. Sayers had made a ballad on the subject; so had I; but after seeing _The Old Woman of Berkeley_, we awarded it the preference.--W. Taylor.

BERKE'LY (_The lady Augusta_), plighted to sir John de Walton, governor of Douglas Castle. She first appears under the name of Augustine, disguised as the son of Bertram the minstrel, and the novel concludes with her marriage to De Walton, to whom Douglas Castle had been surrendered.--Sir W. Scott, _Castle Dangerous_ (time, Henry I.).

BERKs.h.i.+RE LADY (_The_), Miss Frances Kendrick, daughter of sir William Kendrick, second baronet; his father was created baronet by Charles II. The line, "Faint heart never won fair lady," was the advice of a friend to Mr. Child, the son of a brewer, who sought the hand of the lady.--_Quarterly Review_, cvi. 205-245.

BERNARD. Solomon Bernard, engraver of Lions (sixteenth century), called _Le pet.i.t Bernard_. Claud Bernard of Dijon, the philanthropist (1588-1641), is called _Poor Bernard._ Pierre Joseph Bernard, the French poet (1710-1755), is called _Le gentil Bernard._

_Bernard_, an a.s.s; in Italian _Bernardo_. In the beast-epic called _Reynard the Fox_, the _sheep_ is called "Bernard," and the _a.s.s_ is "Bernard l'archipetre" (1498).

BERNARD LANGDON, fine young fellow of the "Brahmin Caste," who teaches school while preparing for a profession.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, _Elsie Venner_ (1861).

BERNAR'DO, an officer in Denmark, to whom the ghost of the murdured king appeared during the night-watch at the royal castle.--Shakespeare, _Hamlet_ (1596).

BERNARDO DEL CARPIO, one of the favorite subjects of the old Spanish minstrels. The other two were _The Cid_ and _Lara's Seven Infants_.

Bernardo del Carpio was the person who a.s.sailed Orlando (or Rowland) at Roncesvalles, and finding him invulnerable, took him up in his arms and squeezed him to death, as Hercules did Antae'os.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II. ii. 13 (1615).

[Ill.u.s.tration] The only vulnerable part of Orlando was the sole of the foot.

BERSER'KER, grandson of the eight-handed Starka'der and the beautiful Alfhil'de. He was so called because he wore "no s.h.i.+rt of mail," but went to battle unharnessed. He married the daughter of Swaf'urlam, and had twelve sons. (_Baer-syrce_, Anglo-Saxon, "bare of s.h.i.+rt;" Scotch, "bare-sark.")

You say that I am a Berserker, and ... bare-sark I go to-morrow to the war, and bare-sark I win that war or die.--Rev. C. Kingsley, _Hereward the Wake_, i. 247.

BERTHA, the supposed daughter of Vandunke (2 _syl_.), burgomaster of Bruges, and mistress of Goswin, a rich merchant of the same city. In reality. Bertha is the duke of Brabant's daughter _Gertrude_, and Goswin is _Florez_, son of Gerrard king of the beggars.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Beggars' Bush_ (1622).

_Ber'tha_, daughter of Burkhard duke of the Alemanni, and wife of Rudolf II. king of Burgundy beyond Jura. She is represented on monuments of the time as sitting on her throne spinning.

Yon are the beautiful Bertha the Spinner, the queen of Helvetia; ...

Who as she rode on her palfrey o'er valley, and meadow, and mountain, Ever was spinning her thread from the distaff fixed to her saddle.

She was so thrifty and good that her name pa.s.sed into a proverb.

Longfellow, _Courts.h.i.+p of Miles Standish_, viii.

_Bertha, alias_ AGATHA, the betrothed of Hereward (3 _syl_.), one of the emperor's Varangian guards. The novel concludes with Hereward enlisting under the banner of count Robert, and marrying Bertha.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).

_Ber'tha_, the betrothed of John of Leyden. When she went with her mother to ask count Oberthal's permission to marry, the count resolved to make his pretty va.s.sal his mistress, and confined her in his castle. She made her escape and went to Munster, intending to set fire to the palace of "the prophet," who, she thought, had caused the death of her lover. Being seized and brought before the prophet, she recognized in him her lover, and exclaiming, "I loved thee once, but now my love is turned to hate," stabbed herself and died.--Meyerbeer, _Le Prophete_ (an opera, 1849).

BERTHA AMORY, wife of Richard Amory and used by him in political intrigues, in _Through One Administration_, by Francis Hodgson Burnett. Secretly, and against her will, in love with Trevannion, an army officer whom she has known from childhood (1883).

BERTHE AN GRAND-PIED, mother of Charlemagne, so called from a club-foot.

BERTIE CECIL, n.o.ble young Englishman who a.s.sumes his brother's crime to save the family name, and exiles himself as a soldier in the French army of Algiers. Eventually his fame is cleared and he returns to England as lord Royalieu.--Ouida, _Under Two Flags_.