ABSOLUTE, Sir Anthony, a leading character in Sheridan's play of The RivalsA darker and fiercer spirit, Jonathan Swift, the great Tory writer (1667-1745)Agbarus or Abgarus, the alleged author of a spurious letter to Jesus Christ.Edessa is in Mesopotamia.
Alboin, King of the Lombards, 561-573, he invaded Italy as far as the TiberAlcina, the personification of carnal pleasure in the Orlando FuriosoAldus, the famous Venetian printer (1447-1515), who issued the Aldine editions of the classics and invented italic typeAlfieri, Italian dramatist, and one of the pioneers of the revolt against eighteenth-century literary and society models (1749-1803)
Algarotti, Francesco, a litterateur, friend of Voltaire.Frederic made him a count (1764)Alnaschar, see "The History of the Barber's Fifth Brother,"in the Arabian NightsAlva, Duke of, the infamous governor of the Netherlands (1508-82)
Amadeus, Victor, "the faithless ruler of Savoy," who for a bribe deserted Austria, whose troops he was commander-in chief of for France, in 1692Arbuthnot, Dr., author of the History of John Bull, friend of Swift and Pope (1679-1735)Arminius, a German who, as a hostage, entered the Roman army, but afterwards revolted and led his countrymen against Rome (d.23A.D.)
Armorica, France between the Seine and the Loire, BrittanyArtevelde, Von., Jacob v.A.and Philip, his son, led the people of Flanders in their revolt against Count Louis and his French supporters (fourteenth century)Ascham, Roger, and Aylmer, John, tutors of Queen Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey respectivelyAthalie, Saul, Cinna, dramas by Racine Alfieri, and Corneille respectivelyAtticus, Sporus, i.e.Addison and Lord John Hervey, satirized in Pope's Epistle to Dr.ArbuthnotAttila, King of the Huns, the "Scourge of God" who overran the Roman Empire but was finally beaten by the allied Goths and Romans (d.453)Aubrey, John, an eminent antiquary who lost a number of inherited estates by lawsuits and bad management (1624-97)BADAJOZ and St.Sebastian, towns in Spain captured from the French during the Peninsular WarBastiani, was at first one of the big Potsdam grenadiers;Frederic made him Abbot of SilesiaBayes, Miss, with reference to the name used in The Rehearsal, by George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, to satirize Dryden, the poet-laureateBayle, Pierre, author of the famous Dictionnaire Historique et Critique; professor of philosophy at Padua and at Rotterdam (1647-1706)Beauclerk, Topham, Johnson's friend, "the chivalrous T.B., with his sharp wit and gallant, courtly ways" (Carlyle), (1739-80)Beaumarchais, see Carlyle's French Revolution.As a comic dramatist he ranks second only to Moliere.He supported the Revolution with his money and his versatile powers of speech and writing.He edited an edition de luxe of Voltaire's works (1732-99)
Behn, Afra, the licentious novelist and mistress of Charles 11.
(1640-89), who, as a spy in Holland, discovered the Dutch plans for burning the Thames shippingBelle-Isle, French marshal; fought in the Austrian campaign of 1740 and repelled the Austrian invasion of 1744 (d.1761)Beloe William, a miscellaneous writer, whose version of Herodotus, so far from being flat, is, while "infinitely below the modern standard in point of accuracy, much above modern performance in point of readableness" (Dr.Garnett), (1756-1817)Bender, 80 miles N.W.from Odessa, in S.RussiaBentley, Richard, master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and an eminent philologist (1662-1742)Bettesworth, an Irishman, lampooned in Swift's MiscellaniesBetty Careless, one of Macaulay's inventions which sufficiently explains itselfBetty, Master, a boy-actor, known as the Infant Roscius.Having acquired a fortune he lived in retirement (1791-1874)Black Frank, Johnson's negro servant, Frank BarberBlackmore, Sir Richard, a wordy poetaster (d.1729), who was the butt of all contemporary witsBlair, Dr.Hugh, Scotch divine an critic, encouraged Macpherson to publish the Ossian poetry (1718-1800)Blatant cast, the, does not really die.See the end of Faery Queen vi.
Bobadil and Beseus, Pistol and Parolles, braggart characters in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour, Beaumont and Fletcher's King and no King, Shakespeare's Henry V., and All's Well that Ends Well, respectivelyBoileau, Nicholas, the great French critic, whose Art of Poetry long constituted the canons of French and English literary art (1636-1711)Bolt Court, on the N.side of Fleet Street.Johnson lived at No.
8 from 1777 till his death in 1784
Borodino, 70 miles west from Moscow, where the Russians made a stand against Napoleon, 1812Boscan, a Spanish imitator of Petrarch Alva's tutor; served in Italy (1485-1533)Bourne, Vincent, an usher at Westminster School, mentioned early in the "Essay on Warren Hastings,"Boyle, Hon.Charles, edited the Letters of Phalaris which gave rise to the famous controversy with Bentley, for which, see the essay on Sir William Temple (vol.iii.of this edition)Bradamante, in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, a Christian lady who loves the Saracen knight, RuggieroBrothers, Richard, a fanatic who held that the English were the lost ten tribes of Israel (1757-1824)Brownrigg, Mrs., executed at Tyburn (1767) for abusing and murdering her apprenticesBruhl, Count, the favourite of Augustus III.of Saxony who enriched himself at the risk of ruining his master and his country.