Bold Stroke for a Wife. Old Lovely at death left his daughter Anne £30,000, but with this proviso, that she was to forfeit the money if she married without the consent of her guardians. Now her guardians were four in number, and their characters so widely different that "they never agreed on any one thing." They were sir Philip Modelove, an old beau; Mr. Periwinkle, a silly virtuoso; Mr. Tradelove, a broker on 'Change; and Mr. Obadiah Prim, a hypocritical quaker. Colonel Feignwell contrived to flatter all the guardians to the top of their bent, and won the heiress.—Mrs. Centlivre (1717).
Boldwood (Farmer), one of the wooers of Bathsheba Everdene. He serves for her seven years and loses her at last, after killing her husband to free her from his tyranny. He is sentenced to penal servitude "during Her Majesty's pleasure."—Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd (1874).
Bolster, a famous Wrath, who compelled St. Agnes to gather up the boulders which infested his territory. She carried three apronfuls to the top of a hill, hence called St. Agnes' Beacon. (See WRATH'S HOLE.)
Bol'ton (Stawarth), an English officer in The Monastery, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, Elizabeth).
Bolton Ass. This creature is said to have chewed tobacco and taken snuff.—Dr. Doran.
Bomba (King), a nickname given to Ferdinand II. of Naples, in consequence of his cruel bombardment of Messi'na in 1848. His son, who bombarded Palermo in 1860, is called Bombali'no ("Little Bomba").
A young Sicilian, too, was there...
[
Who
] being rebellious to his liege,