Chapter Scriptores post Bedam to Sea of S by Brewer's Readers Handbook

Scrubinda, the lady who “lived by the scouring of pots in Dyot Street, Bloomsbury Square.”

Oh, was I a quart, pint, or gill,
To be scrubbed by her delicate hands!…
My parlour that’s next to the sky
I’d quit, her blest mansion to share;
So happy to live and to die
In Dyot Street, Bloomsbury Square.
   —Rhodes: Bombastes Furioso (1790).

Scruple, the friend of Random. He is too honest for a rogue, and too conscientious for a rake. At Calais he met Harriet, the elder daughter of sir David Dunder of Dunder Hall, near Dover, and fell in love with her. Scruple subsequently got invited to Dunder Hall, and was told that his Harriet was to be married next day to lord Snolt, a stumpy, “gummy” fogey of five and forty. Harriet hated the idea, and agreed to elope with Scruple; but her father discovered by accident the intention, and intercepted it. However, to prevent scandal, he gave his consent to the union, and discovered that Scruple, both in family and fortune, was quite suitable for a son-in-law.—Colman: Ways and Means (1788).

Scudamour (Sir), the knight beloved by Am’oret (whom Britomart delivered from Busyrane the enchanter), and whom she ultimately married. He is called Scudamour from [e]scu d’amour (“the shield of love”), which he carried (bk. iv. 10). This shield was hung by golden bands in the temple of Venus, and under it was written—

Blessed the man that well can use this bliss:
Whoseever be the shield, faire Amoret be his.

Sir Scudamour, determined to win the prize, had to fight with twenty combatants, overthrew them all, and the shield was his. When he saw Amoret in the company of Britomart dressed as a knight, he was racked with jealousy, and went on his wanderings, accompanied by nurse Glaucê for “his ’squire;” but somewhat later, seeing Britomart without her helmet, he felt that his jealousy was groundless (bk. iv. 6). His tale is told by himself (bk. iv. 10).—Spenser: Faërie Queene, iii., iv. (1590-6).

Sculpture (Father of French), Jean Goujon (1510–1572). G. Pilon is so called also (1515–1590).

Scyld, the king of Denmark preceding Beowulf. The Anglo-Saxon epic poem called Beowulf (sixth century) begins with the death of Scyld.

At his appointed time, Scyld deceased, very decrepit, and went into the peace of the Lord. They…bore him to the sea-shore as he himself requested. …There on the beach stood the ring-prowed ship, the vehicle of the noble…ready to set out. They laid down the dear prince, the distributor of rings, in the bosom of the ship, the mighty one beside the mast…they set up a golden ensign high overhead…they gave him to the deep. Sad was their spirit, mournful their mood.—Kemble: Beowulf (an Anglo-Saxon poem, 1833).

Scylla and Charybdis. The former was a rock, in which dwelt Scylla, a hideous monster encompassed with dogs and wolves. The latter was a whirlpool, into which Charybdis was metamorphosed.—Classic Fable.

Scylla and Charybdis of Scotland, the “Swalchie whirlpool,” and the “Merry Men of Mey,” a bed of broken water which boils like a witch’s caldron, on the south side of the Stroma Channel. (“Merry Men;” “men” is a corruption of main in this phrase.)

Scythian (That Brave), Darius the Persian. According to Herod’otos, all the south-east of Europe used to be called Scythia, and Xenophon calls the dwellers south of the Caspian Sea “Scythians” also. In fact, by Scythia was meant the south of Russia and west of Asia; hence the Hungarians, a Tartar horde settled on the east coast of the Caspian, who, in 889, crossed into Europe, are spoken of as “Scythians,” and lord Brooke calls the Persians “Scythians.” The reference below is to the following event in Persian history: The death of Smerdis was kept for a time a profound secret, and one of the officers about the court who resembled him, usurped the crown, calling himself brother of the late monarch. Seven of the high nobles conspired together, and slew the usurper, but it then became a question to which of the seven the crown should be offered. They did not toss for it, but they did much the same