Chapter DEATH to Dee's Speculum of D by Brewer's Readers Handbook

DEATH to Dee's Speculum

DEATH or Mors. So Tennyson calls sir Ironside the Red Knight of the Red Lands, who kept Lyonors (or Lionês) captive in Castle Perilous. The name “Mors,” which is Latin, is very inconsistent with a purely British tale, and of course does not appear in the original story.—Tennyson: Idylls (“Gareth and Lynette”); Sir T. Malory: History of Prince Arthur, i. 134–137 (1470).

Death (The Ferry of). The ferry of the Irtish, leading to Siberia, is so called because it leads the Russian exile to political and almost certain physical death. To be “laid on the shelf” is to cross the ferry of the Irtish.

Death and Dr. Hornbook. A satirical poem by Burns. Death tells Burns that Dr. Hornbook, the apothecary, kills so many with his physic, that he has quite ruined his trade. He recites several instances, and then says—

That’s just a swatch o’ Hornbook’s way;
Thus goes he on from day to day;
Thus does he poison, kill, an’ slay,
An’s weel paid for ’t.

Hornbook was John Wilson, who was obliged to leave the county, migrated to Glasgow, and died in 1839.

Death and Music. Leopold I. of Germany (1650–1705), on his death-bed requested that the court musicians might be sent for, that he might die to the sounds of sweet music.

Mirabeau’s last words were, “Let me fall asleep to the sounds of delicious music.”

N.B.—Sometimes the dying seem to hear sweet music. This, of course, is simply physical.

Hark! they whisper, angels say,
“Sister spirit, come away.”

Death from Strange Causes. Æschylus was killed by the fall of a tortoise on his head from the claws of an eagle in the air.—Pliny: Hist, vii. 7.

Agathocles, tyrant of Sicily, was killed by a tooth-pick, at the age of 95.

Anacreon was choked by a grapestone.—Pliny: Hist. vii. 7.

Bassus (Q. Lecanius) died from the prick of a fine needle in his left thumb.

Chalchas, the soothsayer, died of laughter at the thought of his having outlived the time predicted for his death.

Charles VIII., conducting his queen into a tennis-court, struck his head against the lintel, and it caused his death.

Fabius, the Roman prætor, was choked by a single goat-hair in the milk which he was drinking.—Pliny: Hist. vii. 7.

Frederick Lewis, prince of Wales, died from the blow of a cricket-ball.

Itadach died of thirst in the harvest-field, because (in observance of the rule of St. Patrick) he refused to drink a drop of anything.

Louis VI. met with his death from a pig running under his horse, and causing it to stumble.

Margutte died of laughter on seeing a monkey trying to pull on a pair of his boots.

Otway, the poet, in a starving condition had a guinea given him; bought a loaf of bread, and died swallowing the first mouthful.