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
CARTAPH'ILUS, the Wandering Jew of _Jewish_ story. Tradition says he
was doorkeeper of the judgment-hall, in the service of Pontius Pilate,
and, as he led our Lord from the judgment-hall, struck Him, saying
"Get on! Faster, Jesus!" Whereupon the Man of Sorrows replied, "I am
going fast, Cartaphilus; but tarry thou till I come again." After
the crucifixion, Cartaphilus was baptized by the same Anani'as who
baptized Paul, and received the name of Joseph. At the close of every
century he falls into a trance, and wakes up after a time a young man
about thirty years of age.--_Book of the Chronicles of the Abbey of
St. Allans_.
(This "book" was copied and continued by Matthew Paris, and contains
the earliest account of the Wandering Jew, A.D. 1228. In 1242 Philip
Mouskes, afterwards bishop of Tournay, wrote the "rhymed chronicle.")
CARTER _(Mrs. Deborah_), housekeeper to Surplus the lawyer.--J. M.
Morton, _A Regular Fix_.
CAR'THAGE (2 _syl_.). When Dido came to Africa she bought of the
natives "as much land as could be encompassed with a bull's hide." The
agreement being made, Dido cut the hide into thongs, so as to enclose
a space sufficiently large for a citadel, which she called Bursa "the
hide." (Greek, _bursa_, "a bull's hide.")
The following is a similar story in Russian history:--The Yakutsks
granted to the Russian explorers as much land as they could encompass
with a cow's hide; but the Russians, cutting the hide into strips,
obtained land enough for the town and fort which they called Yakutsk.
CARTHAGE OF THE NORTH. Lübeck was so called when it was the head of
the Hanseatic League.
CAR'THON, son of Cless'ammor and Moina, was born while Clessammor was
in flight, and his mother died in childbirth. When he was three
years old, Comhal (Fingal's father) took and burnt Balclutha (a town
belonging to the Britons, on the Clyde), but Carthon was carried away
safely by his nurse. When grown to man's estate, Carthon resolved to
revenge this attack on Balclutha, and accordingly invaded Morven, the
kingdom of Fingal. After overthrowing two of Fingal's heroes, Carthon
was slain by his own father, who knew him not; but when Clessammor
learnt that it was his own son whom he had slain, he mourned for him
three days, and on the fourth he died.--Ossian, _Carthon_.
CAR'TON _(Sydney)_, a friend of Charles Darnay, whom he personally
resembled. Sydney Carton loved Lucie Manette, but knowing of her
attachment to Darnay, never attempted to win her. Her friendship,
however, called out his good qualities, and he nobly died instead of
his friend.--C. Dickens, _A Tale of Two Cities_ (1859).
CARTOUCHE, an eighteenth century highwayman. He is the French Dick
Turpin.
CA'RUS _(Slow)_, in Garth's _Dispensary_, is Dr. Tyson (1649-1708).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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