Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1: A Revised American Edition of the Reader's HandbookBrewer, Ebenezer Cobham
General
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1: A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook
Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham
Allusions; Fiction -- Dictionaries; Literature -- Dictionaries
"I have fed purely upon ale. I have eat my
ale, drank my ale, and I always sleep upon my
ale."--George Farquhar, _The Beaux' Stratagem_,
i. I (1707).
BONNE REINE, Claude de France, daughter of Louis XII. and wife of
François I. (1499-1524).
BONNET ROUGE, a red republican, so called from the red cap of liberty
which he wore.
BONNIBEL, southern beauty in Constance Cary Harrison's tale, _Flower
de Hundred._
The perfection of blonde prettiness, with a
mouth like Cupid's bow, a tiny tip-tilted nose,
eyes gold-brown to match her hair, a color like
crushed roses in her cheeks (1891).
BONNIVARD (_François de_), the prisoner of Chillon. In Byron's poem he
was one of six brothers, five of whom died violent deaths. The father
and two sons died on the battle-field; one was burnt at the stake;
three were imprisoned in the dungeon of Chillon, near the lake of
Geneva. Two of the three died, and François was set at liberty by
Henri the Bearnais. They were incarcerated by the duke-bishop of Savoy
for republican principles (1496-1570).
BONSTET'TIN (_Nicholas_), the old deputy of Schwitz, and one of the
deputies of the Swiss confederacy to Charles duke of Burgundy.--Sir W.
Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
BON'TEMPS (_Roger_), the personification of that buoyant spirit
which is always "inclined to hope rather than fear," and in the very
midnight of distress is ready to exclaim, "There's a good time coming,
wait a little longer." The character is the creation of Béranger.
Vous, pauvres pleins d'envie,
Vous, riches désireux;
Vous, dont le char dévie
Aprés un cours heureux;
Vous, qui perdrez peut-être
Des titres éclatans,
Eh gai! prenez pour maître
Le gros Roger Bontemps.
Béranger (1814).
BON'THORN (_Anthony_), one of Ramorny's followers; employed to murder
Smith, the lover of Catherine Glover ("the fair maid of Perth"), but
he murdered Oliver instead, by mistake. When charged with the crime,
he demanded a trial by combat, and being defeated by Smith, confessed
his guilt and was hanged. He was restored to life, but being again
apprehended was executed.--Sir W. Scott, _Fair Maid of Perth_ (time,
Henry IV.).
BON TON, a farce by Garrick. Its design is to show the evil effects of
the introduction of foreign morals and foreign manners. Lord Minikin
neglects his wife, and flirts with Miss Tittup. Lady Minikin hates her
husband, and flirts with colonel Tivy. Miss Tittup is engaged to the
colonel. Sir John Trotley, who does not understand _bon ton_, thinks
this sort of flirtation very objectionable. "You'll excuse me, for
such old-fashioned notions, I am sure" (1760).
BOO'BY (_Lady_), a vulgar upstart, who tries to seduce her footman,
Joseph Andrews. Parson Adams reproves her for laughing in church. Lady
Booby is a caricature of Richardson's "Pamela."--Fielding, _Joseph
Andrews_ (1742).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account