Tripping as an Omen.
When Julius Cæsar landed at Adrumētum, in Africa, he happened to trip and fall on his face. This would have been considered a fatal omen by his army, but, with admirable presence of mind, he exclaimed, “Thus take I possession of thee, O Africa!”
A similar story is told of Scipio. Upon his arrival in Africa, he also happened to trip, and, observing that his soldiers looked upon this as a bad omen, he clutched the earth with his two hands, and cried aloud, “Now, Africa, I hold thee in my grasp!”--Don Quixote, II. iv. 6.
When William the Conqueror leaped on shore at Bulverhythe, he fell on his face, and a great cry went forth that the omen was unlucky; but the duke exclaimed, “I take seisin of this land with both my hands!”
The same story is told of Napoleon in Egypt; of King Olaf, son of Harald, in Norway; of Junius Brutus, who, returning from the oracle, fell on the earth, and cried, “’Tis thus I kiss thee, mother Earth!”
When Captain Jean Cœurpreux tripped in dancing at the Tuileries, Napoleon III. held out his hand to help him up, and said, “Captain, this is the second time I have seen you fall. The first was by my side in the field of Magenta.” Then, turning to the lady, he added, “Madam, Captain Cœurpreux is henceforth commandant of my Guards, and will never fall in duty or allegiance, I am persuaded.”
Trismegistus (“thrice greatest”), Hermês, the Egyptian philosopher, or Thoth, councillor of Osīris. He invented the art of writing in hieroglyphics, harmony, astrology, magic, the lute and lyre, and many other things.
Tris´sotin, a bel esprit. Philaminte (3 syl.), a femme savante, wishes him to marry her daughter, Henriette, but Henriette is in love with Clitandre. The difficulty is soon solved by the announcement that Henriette’s father is on the verge of bankruptcy, whereupon Trissotin makes his bow and retires.--Molière, Les Femmes Savantes (1672).
Trissotin is meant for the Abbé Crotin, who affected to be poet, gallant and preacher. His dramatic name was “Tricotin.”
Tristram (Sir), son of Sir Meliŏdas, king of Li´onês, and Elizabeth, his wife (daughter of Sir Mark, king of Cornwall). He was called Tristram (“sorrowful”) because his mother died in giving him birth. His father also died when Tristram was a mere lad (pt. ii. 1). He was knighted by his uncle, Mark (pt. ii. 5), and married Isond le Blanch Mains, daughter of Howell, king of Britain (Brittany); but he never loved her, nor would he live with her. His whole love was centered on his aunt, La Belle Isond, wife of King Mark, and this unhappy attachment was the cause of numberless troubles, and ultimately of his death. La Belle Isond, however, was quite as culpable as the knight, for she herself told him, “My measure of hate for Mark is as the measure of my love for thee;” and when she found out that her husband would not allow Sir Tristram to remain at Tintag´il Castle, she eloped with him, and lived three years at Joyous Guard, near Carlisle. At length she returned home, and Sir Tristram followed her. His death is variously related. Thus the History of Prince Arthur says: