Chapter Caligula's Horse to Calumet of C by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Caligula's Horse to Calumet

Caligula's Horse Incitatus. It was made a priest and consul, had a manger of ivory, and drank wine from a golden goblet. (See Horse.)

Caliph or Calif. A title given to the successors of Mahomet. Among the Saracens a caliph is one vested with supreme dignity. The caliphat of Bagdad reached its highest splendour under Haroun al Raschid, in the ninth century. For the last 200 years the appellation has been swallowed up in the titles of Shah, Sultan, Emir, and so on. (Arabic, Khalifah, a successor; khalafa, to succeed.)

Calista The heroine of Rowe's Fair Penitent.

Calisto and Arcas Calisto was an Arcadian nymph metamorphosed into a she-bear by Jupiter. Her son Arcas having met her in the chase, would have killed her, but Jupiter converted him into a he-bear, and placed them both in the heavens, where they are recognised as the Great and Little Bear.

Calixtines (3 syl.). A religious sect of Bohemians in the fifteenth century; so called from Calix (the chalice), which they insisted should be given to the laity in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, as well as the bread or wafer.

Call (A ). A “divine” summons or invitation, as “a call to the ministry.”
   A call before the curtain. An applause inviting a favourite actor to appear before the curtain, and make his bow to the audience.
   A Gospel call. The invitation of the Gospel to men to believe in Jesus to the saving of their souls.
   A morning call. A short morning visit.
   A call on shareholders. A demand to pay up a part of the money due for shares allotted in a company.
   Payable at call. To be paid on demand.

Call Bird (A ). A bird trained as a decoy.

Call-boy (The ). A boy employed in theatres to “call” or summon actors, when it is time for them to make their appearance on the stage.

Call of Abraham The invitation or command of God to Abraham, to leave his idolatrous country, under the promise of being made a great nation.

Call of God An invitation, exhortation, or warning, by the dispensations of Providence (Isa. xxii. 12); divine influence on the mind to do or avoid something (Heb. iii. 1).

Call of the House An imperative summons sent to every Member of Parliament to attend. This is done when the sense of the whole House is required. At the muster the names of the members are called over, and defaulters reported.

Call to Arms (To ). To summon to prepare for battle. “Ad arma vocare. ”

Call to the Bar The admission of a law student to the privileges of a barrister. The names of those qualified are called over. (See page 94, col. 1, Bar.)

Call to the Pastorate An invitation to a minister by the members of a Presbyterian or Nonconformist church to preside over a certain congregation.

Call to the Unconverted An invitation accompanied with promises and threats, to induce the unconverted to receive the gospel. Richard Baxter wrote a book so entitled.

Call (To). I call God to witness. I solemnly declare that what I state is true.
   To call. To invite: as, the trumpet calls.

“If honour calls, where'er she points the way,
The sons of honour follow and obey.”
Churchill: The Farewell, stanza 7.

   To call [a man] out. To challenge him; to appeal to a man's honour to come forth and fight a duel.
   To call in question. To doubt the truth of a statement; to challenge the truth of a statement. “In