A letter written to extort money. (See Vidocq: Les Voleurs, i. 240-253.) Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894LeucadiaLettre de Cachet A B C D E F G H I…
(Encyclopedia) De-shimaDe-shimadāˈ-shĭmä [key] or De-jimaDe-shimadāˈ-jĭmä [key], artificial island, c.40 acres (16 hectares), Nagasaki prefecture, W Kyushu, Japan, in Nagasaki harbor. It has many…
(Encyclopedia) Éboli, Ana de Mendoza de la Cerda, princesa deÉboli, Ana de Mendoza de la Cerda, princesa deäˈnä ᵺā māndōˈthä ᵺā lä thārˈdä prēnthāˈsä ᵺā āˈbōlē [key], 1540–92, Spanish noblewoman.…
(Encyclopedia) Sablé, Madeleine de Souvré, marquise deSablé, Madeleine de Souvré, marquise demädəlĕnˈ də s&oomacr;vrāˈ, märkēzˈ də säblāˈ [key], 1599–1678, French woman of letters. Her salon was…
Brandy. A French translation of the Latin aqua vitæ (water of life). This is a curious perversion of the Spanish acqua di vitæ (water or juice of the vine), rendered by the monks into aqua…
(French). An arbitrary warrant of imprisonment; a letter folded and sealed with the king's cachet or little seal. These were secret instructions to the person addressed to proceed against…
The act of a suicide when he commits self-murder. Murder is felony, and a man who murders himself commits this felony —felo de se. “A felo-de-se, therefore, is he that deliberately puts an…
(Encyclopedia) Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne, marquise deRambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne, marquise dekätrēnˈ də vēvônˈ märkēzˈ də räNb&oomacr;yāˈ [key], 1588–1665, famous Frenchwoman, whose…
(Encyclopedia) De LanceyDe Lanceydə lănˈsē [key], family of political leaders, soldiers, and merchants prominent in colonial New York. Étienne De Lancey or Stephen De Lancey, 1663–1741, b. Caen,…
