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
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.
"Help, help, Kehama! help!" he cried.
But Baly tarried not to abide
That mightier power. With irresistible feet
He stampt and cleft the earth. It opened wide,
And gave him way to his own judgment-seat.
Down like a plummet to the world below
He sank ... to punishment deserved and endless woe.
Southey, _Curse of Kehama_, xvii. 12 (1809).
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_)--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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