Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction, and the Drama, Vol. 4: A Revised American Edition of the Reader's HandbookBrewer, Ebenezer Cobham
General
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction, and the Drama, Vol. 4: A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook
Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham
Allusions; Fiction -- Dictionaries; Literature -- Dictionaries
=Valerian=, husband of St. Cecilia. Cecilia told him she was beloved
by an angel, who constantly visited her; and Valerian requested to see
this visitant. Cecilia replied that he should do so, if he went to
Pope Urban to be baptized. This he did, and on returning home, the
angel gave him a crown of lilies, and to Cecilia, a crown of roses,
both from the garden of paradise. Valerian, being brought before the
Prefect Almachius for heresy, was executed.--Chaucer, _Canterbury
Tales_ (“The Second Nun’s Tale,” 1388).
=Vale´rio=, a noble young Neapolitan lord, husband of Evanthê (3
_syl._). This chaste young wife was parted from her husband by
Frederick, the licentious brother of Alphonso, king of Naples, who
tried in vain to seduce her, and then offered to make her any one’s
wife for a month, at the end of which time the libertine should suffer
death. No one would accept the offer, and ultimately the lady was
restored to her husband.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _A Wife for a Month_
(1624).
=Valerius=, the hero and title of a novel by J. G. Lockhart (1821).
Valerius is the son of a Roman commander, settled in Britain. After
the death of his father, he is summoned to Rome, to take possession of
an estate to which he is the heir. At the villa of Capĭto he meets
with Athanasia, a lady who unites the Roman grace with the elevation
of the Christian. Valerius becomes a Christian also, and brings
Athanasia to Britain. The display at the Flavian amphitheatre is
admirably described. A Christian prisoner is brought forward, either
to renounce his faith or die in the arena; of course the latter is his
lot.
This is one of the best Roman stories in the language.
_Valerius_, the brother of Valeria. He is in love with Horatia, but
Horatia is betrothed to Caius Curiatius.--Whitehead, _The Roman
Father_ (1741).
=Valiant= (_The_), Jean IV. of Brittany (1338, 1364-1399).
=Valiant-for-Truth=, a brave Christian, who fought three foes at once.
His sword was “a right Jerusalem blade,” so he prevailed, but was
wounded in the encounter. He joined Christiana’s party in their
journey to the Celestial City.--Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress, ii (1684).
=Valjean= (_Jean_), ex-convict, whose efforts at re-habilitation meet
with rebuff and misconstruction. The best qualities of a really noble
nature appear in his care for his adopted child, the daughter of poor
Fantine.--Victor Hugo, _Les Miserables_.
=Valkyrior= or _Valkyrs_, stern, beautiful maidens, who hover over
battle-fields to bear away to Valhalla the souls of slain heroes. They
also wait at table in the halls of Valhalla.--_Scandinavian
Mythology._
=Val´ladolid´= (_The doctor of_), Sangrado, who applied depletion for
every disease, and thought the best diet consisted of roast apples and
warm water.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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