Montresor describes Fortunato as someone who has injured and insulted him one too many times, and so now Montresor has sworn revenge. Montresor also says that Fortunato has only one flaw, and though he never names it explicitly, it seems likely that this flaw is pride because it is Fortunato's pride that Montresor exploits in order to lure Fortunato to his vaults so that he can kill him. However, he also claims that Fortunato, other than this one weak point, is actually a man who many respect and even fear. He is a true connoisseur of wine, and he takes great pride in his expertise (which Montresor admits is real), though he has no real skill in painting or gemmary. When Montresor finds Fortunato on the night the story takes place, Fortunato is dressed as a jester and has been celebrating Carnival by drinking heavily.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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