“Fair Maiden Lilliard lies under this stene,
Little was her stature, but great was her fame;
Upon the English loons she laid many thumps,
And when her legs were cutted off, she fought upon her stumps.”
The spot where she fell still bears the name of “Lilliard’s Edge.” Then, of course, we have the celebrated Joan of Arc, The Maid of Orleans (born 1412, burnt at the stake 1431), who placed herself at the head of the attacking party and effected the capture of the city of Orleans from the English. Neither must we omit a passing allusion to Augustine Zaragossa, better known as The Maid of Saragossa, owing to the signal heroism which she displayed during the siege of her native city in 1808-9. The Honourable Elizabeth St. Leger, the niece of Colonel Anthony St. Leger, who founded the Stakes named after him in connection with Doncaster races, is known to posterity as The Lady Freemason, because on one occasion she overheard the proceedings of an assembly of Freemasons, and, being discovered, was, as the only way of meeting an unprecedented difficulty, duly elected a member of the craft and initiated into its peculiar rites and ceremonies. Madame Jenny Lind Goldschmidt (born 1821, died 1887) was styled The Swedish Nightingale on account of her vocal genius and her birth in the city of Stockholm. The now popular society actress, Mrs. Langtry, bears the somewhat punning though highly complimentary sobriquet of The Jersey Lily, because she was born in Jersey and her Christian name is Lillie.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (flourished 500 B.C.) was known as The Weeping Philosopher, because he spent the latter years of his life in grieving over the folly of men; on the other hand, Democritus of Abdera (born 460 B.C., died 357 B.C.) merited the surname of The Laughing Philosopher, because he jeered at the feeble powers of man, whose every act was in the hands of fate. Duns Scotus, the Scottish schoolman (born 1272, died 1308), was styled The Subtle Doctor by reason of his learning; while St. Thomas Aquinas (born 1227, died 1274) was denominated The Angelic Doctor because he belonged to the priesthood. St. Paul of the Cross is the name by which Paul Francis (born 1694, died 1775), founder of the religious Order of the Passionists, is best known.
The famous English outlaw who flourished between the years 1180 and 1247, and whose real name was Robert Fitz-ooth, Earl of Huntingdon, adopted the style of Robin Hood, in deference to the example set by the people of Nottinghamshire, who, while dropping the Fitz, corrupted the Robert into Robin and the ooth into Hood. Little John was properly called John Little, but being a great, stalwart fellow, the outlaw chief took a fancy to invert his name for the sake of the contrast. We can quite understand “the merry men of Sherwood Forest” cultivating an objection to hard-sounding words; therefore it could not have been long before William Scathelocke, another prominent member of Robin Hood’s band, found his name reduced to the more euphonious form of Will Scarlet. Friar Tuck was so called because his habit was tucked in around the waist by a girdle.
Sixteen-string Jack was the name popularly bestowed upon Jack Rann, a notorious highwayman hanged in 1791, owing to the sixteen tags he wore on his breeches, eight at each knee. Another notorious representative of the great family of Jacks, good, bad, and otherwise, was the Marquis of Waterford, commonly known as Spring-heel Jack, from his habit of frightening people by springing upon them out of obscure corners after nightfall during the early part of the present century. Gentleman Jack and Gentleman Smith were the titles respectively borne by John Bannister and William Smith, both actors of the century gone by. The former was noted for his straightforward dealings with his fellow-men in private life, the latter for his gentlemanly deportment on the stage.
Who has not heard of Admirable Crichton? This extraordinary Scottish prodigy, James Crichton (born 1560, died 1583), is said to have given such early proofs of his learning that the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him at the age of fourteen. In addition to his classical knowledge, he was a poet, a musician, a sculptor, an artist, an actor, a brilliant conversationalist, a good horseman, and an excellent fencer. Surely the possessor of such varied accomplishments deserved a better fate than that which befell him in the very prime of his life! He was stabbed by a band of masked desperadoes led by his own pupil, Vincenzo Gonzaga, the son of the Duke of Mantua. A genius of a totally different stamp was George Robert Fitzgerald, better known, owing to his duelling proclivities, as Fighting Fitzgerald. This individual was one of the most infamous characters of the last century. No enemy ever escaped him with life; being a sure shot and an expert swordsman, his intense love of gambling and duelling, united to a haughty and overbearing disposition, habitually prompted him to shed the blood of his fellow-men without the least compunction.