Home Site Menu Religion Menu Interesting Menu Humour Menu Guestbook Forum Email

Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

E. Cobham Brewer From The Edition Of 1894

powered by FreeFind

P This letter is a rude outline of a man's mouth, the upright being the neck. In Hebrew it is called pe (the mouth).

P The five P's. William Oxberry was so called, because he was Printer, Poet, Publisher, Publican, and Player. (1784—1824.)

P

[alliterative]. In 1548, Placentius, a Dominican monk, wrote a poem of 253 hexameter verses (called Pugna Porcorum), every word of which begins with the letter p. It opens thus:—

“Praise Paul's prize pig's prolific progeny.”

In English heroics the letter A or T would be far more easy, as they would give us articles.

P.C

(patres conscripti). The Roman senate. The hundred senators appointed by Romulus were called simply patres; a second hundred added by Tatius, upon the union of the Sabines with the Romans, were called patres minorum gentium; a third hundred subsequently added by Tarquinius Priscus were termed patres conscripti, an expression applied to a fourth and fifth hundred conscribed to the original patres or senators. Latterly the term was applied to the whole body.

P., P.P., P.P.P

(in music). P = piano, pp = pianissimo, and ppp = pianississimo. Sometimes pp means più piano (more softly).

So f = forte, ff = fortissimo, and fff = fortississimo.

P.P.C

(pour prendre congé). For leave—taking; sometimes written on the address cards of persons about to leave a locality when they pay their farewell visits. In English, paid parting call.

P.S

(post—scriptum). Written afterwards— i.e. after the letter or book was finished. (Latin.)

P's and Q's

Mind your P's and Q's. Be very circumspect in your behaviour. Several explanations have been suggested, but none seems to be wholly satisfactory. The following comes nearest to the point of the caution:— In the reign of Louis XIV., when wigs of unwieldy size were worn, and bows were made with very great formality; two things were specially required, a “step” with the feet, and a low bend of the body. In the latter the wig would be very apt to get deranged, and even to fall off. The caution, therefore, of the French dancing—master to his pupils was, “Mind your P's [i.e. pieds, feet] and Q's

[i.e. queues, wigs].”

Pabana

(The) or Peacock Dance. A grave and stately Spanish dance, so called from the manner in which the lady held up her skirt during the performance.

Pacific Ocean

(The). So called by Magellan, because he enjoyed calm weather and a placid sea when he sailed across it. All the more striking after the stormy and tempestuous passage of the adjoining straits.

The Pacific.

Amadeus VIII., Count of Savoy. (1383, 1391—1439; died 1451.) Frederick III., Emperor of Germany. (1415, 1440—1493.)

Olaus III. of Norway. (*, 1030—1093.)

Packing a Jury

Selecting persons on a jury whose verdict may be relied on from proclivity, far more than on evidence.

Pacolet

A dwarf in the service of Lady Clerimond. He had a winged horse, which carried off Valentine, Orson, and Clerimond from the dungeon of Ferragus to the palace of King Pepin, and afterwards carried Valentine to the palace of Alexander, Emperor of Constantinople, his father. (Valentine and Orson.)

It is a horse of Pacolet. (French.) A very swift one, that will carry the rider anywhere; in allusion to the enchanted flying horse of wood, belonging to the dwarf Pacolet. (See above.

“I fear neither shot nor arrow, nor any horse how swift soever he may be, not though he could outstrip the Pegasus of Perseus or of Pacolet, being assured that I can make good my escape.” — Rabelais: Gargantua, bk. ii. 24.

Pactolus

The golden sands of the Pactolus. The gold found in the Pactolian sands was from the mines of Mount Tmolus; but the supply ceased at the commencement of the Christian era. (See Midas. ) Now called Bagouly.

Padding

The filling—up stuff of serials. The padding of coats and gowns is the wool, etc., put in to make the figure of the wearer more shapely. Figuratively, stuff in books or speeches to spin them out.

Paddington Fair

A public execution. Tyburn, where executions formerly took place, is in the parish of Paddington. Public executions were abolished in 1868.

Paddle Your Own Canoe

Mind your own business. The caution was given by President Lincoln, of North America.

Paddock

Cold as a paddock. A paddock is a toad or frog; and we have the corresponding phrases “cold as a toad,” and “cold as a frog.” Both are cold—blooded. “Paddock calls.” (Macbeth, i. 1.)

Paddi—whack

means an Irish wag, wag being from the Saxon wág—ian.

Paddy

An Irishman. A corruption of St. Patrick, Irish Padhrig.

Padua

was long supposed by the Scotch to be the chief school of necromancy; hence Sir Walter Scott says of the Earl of Gowrie —

“He learned the art that none may name

In Padua, far beyond the sea.”

Lay of the Last Minstrel.

Paduasoy

or Padësoy. A silk stuff originally made at Padua.

Paean

The physician of the celestial gods; the deliverer from any evil or calamity. (Greek, pauo, to make to cease.)

Paean

A hymn to Apollo, and applied to the god himself. We are told in Dr. Smith's Classical Dictionary, that this word is from Paean, the physician of the Olympian gods; but surely it could be no honour to the Sun—god to be called by the name of his own vassal. Hermsterhuis suggests pauo, to make to cease, meaning to make diseases to cease; but why supply diseases rather than any other noun? The more likely derivation, me judice, is the Greek verb paio, to dart; Apollo being called the “far—darter.” The hymn began with “Io Paean.” Homer applies it to a triumphal song in general.

Pagan

properly means “belonging to a village” (Latin, pagus). The Christian Church fixed itself first in cities, the centres of intelligence. Long after it had been established in towns, idolatrous practices continued to be observed in rural districts and villages, so pagan and villager came to mean the same thing. (See Heathen. )

Pagan Works of Art

In Rome there are numerous works of art intended for Pagan deities and Roman emperors perverted into Christian notabilities.

ANGELS, in St. Peter's of Rome, are old Pagan statues of Cupids and winged genii. GABRIEL in St. Peter's of Rome, is an old Pagan statue of the god Mercury.

JOHN THE BAPTIST, in St. Peter's of Rome, is made out of a statue of Hercules. ST. CATHERINE, in St. Peter's of Rome, is made out of a statue of the goddess Fortuna. ST. GILES (or EGIDIUS), in St. Peter's of Rome, is a statue of Vulcan.

ST. PAUL. Sixtus V. perverted the original statue of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus into that of St. Paul. This beautiful marble column, 170 feet in height, contains a spiral of bas—reliefs of the wars of the Roman emperor, wholly out of character with the statue which surmounts it.

ST. PETER. The same Pope (Sixtus V.) converted the original statue of Trajan, on Trajan's column, into a statue of St. Peter. This exquisite column, like that of Antoninus, contains a spiral of bas—reliefs, representing the wars of Trajan. Surmounted by St. Peter, the perversion is absolutely, ludicrous. In St. Peter's of Rome the statue of St. Peter was meant for the old Roman god Jupiter.

VIRGIN MARY. This statue, in St. Peter's of Rome, is in reality a statue of Isis, standing on the crescent Moon. See Twentieth Century, 1892: Rome.

Page

A boy attendant. (Russian, paj, a boy; Greek, pais; Italian, paggio; Spanish, page; Welsh, bachgen. But page, the leaf of a book, is the Latin pagina.)

Page

(Mr. and Mrs.). Inhabitants of Windsor. The lady joins with Mrs. Ford to trick Sir John Falstaff.

Anne Page. Daughter of the above in love with Fenton. Slender, the son of a country squire, shy, awkward, and a booby, greatly admires the lady, but has too faint a heart to urge his suit further than to sigh in audible whispers, “Sweet Anne Page!”

William Page. A school—boy, the brother of Anne. (Shakespeare: The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Pagoda

A temple in China, Hindustan, etc. (Hindustanee, boot—khuda, abode of God; Persian, put—gada, idol—house; Spanish, pagoda.)

Paint

The North American Indians paint their faces only when they go to war; hostilities over, they wash it off.

Paint the Lion

(To), on board ship, means to strip a person naked and then smear the body all over with tar. (See Notes and Queries, 6th August, 1892.)

Painter

The rope which binds a ship's boat to the ship. (Latin, panthera; French, pantière, a drag—net; panteur, a stretcher.)

I'll cut your painter for you. I'll send you to the right about in double quick time. If the painter is cut, of course the boat drifts away.

Painter of the Graces

Andrea Appiani is so called. (1754—1817.)

Painter of Nature

Remi Belleau, author of Loves and Transformations of the Precious Stones. One of the Pleiad poets is so called, and well deserves the compliment. The Shepherd's Calendar of Spenser is largely borrowed from Belleau's Song on April. (1528—1577.)

Painters and Artists

Characteristics of great artists. The brilliant truth of a Watteau, the dead reality of a Poussin, the touching grace of a Reynolds.

“The colouring of Titian, the expression of Rubens, the grace of Raphael, the purity of Domenichino, the correggioscity of Correggio, the learning of Poussin, the airs of Guido, the taste of the Caracci, the grand contour of Angelo.” Sterne.

“The April freshness of Giotto, the piety of Fra Angelo, the virginal purity of the young Raphael, the sweet gravity of John Bellini, the philosophic depth of Da Vinci, the sublime clevation of Michael Angelo, the suavity of Fra Bartolommco, the delicacy of the Della

Robbia the restrained powers of Roscellini.”

Defects of great artists.

In MICHAEL ANGELO the ankles are too narrow. In TITIAN the palm of the thumb is too prominent. In RAPHAEL the ears are badly drawn.

IN PINTURICCHIO both ears and hands are badly drawn.

Prince of painters. Parrhasios, the Greek painter, so called himself. (Fifth century B.C.) Apelles of Cos. (Fourth century B.C.)

Painting

It is said that Apelles, being at a loss to delineate the foam of Alexander's horse, dashed his brush at the picture in despair, and did by accident what he could not accomplish by art.

Pair Off

When two members of Parliament, or two opposing electors, agree to absent themselves, and not to vote, so that one neutralises the vote of the other. The Whips generally find the pairs for members.

Paishdadian Dynasty

The Kai—Omurs dynasty of Persia was so called from the third of the line (Houshung), who was surnamed Paishdad, or the just lawgiver (B.C. 910—870). (See Kai Omurs .)

Paix

La Paix des Dames. The treaty concluded at Cambray, in 1529 between Franois I. and Charles V. of Germany; so called because it was brought about by Louise of Savoy (mother of the French king) and Margaret, the emperor's aunt.

Pal

(A). A gipsy—word, meaning a brother, or companion.

Palace

originally meant a dwelling on the Palatine Hill of Rome. This hill was so called from Pales, a pastoral deity, whose festival was celebrated on April 21st, the “birthday of Rome,” to commemorate the day when Romulus,

the wolf—child, drew the first furrow at the foot of the hill, and thus laid the foundation of the “Roma Quadrata,” the most ancient part of the city. On this hill Augustus built his mansion, and his example was followed by Tiberius and Nero. Under the last—named emperor, all private houses on the hill had to be pulled down to make room for “The Golden House,” called the Palatium, the palace of palaces. It continued to be the residence of the Roman emperors to the time of Alexander Severus. (See Pallace.)

Paladin

An officer of the Palatium or Byzantine palace, a high dignitary.

Paladins. The knights of King Charlemagne. The most noted are Allory de l'Estoc; Astolfo; Basin de Genevois; Fierambras or Ferumbras; Florismart; Ganelon, the traitor; Geoffroy, Seigneur de Bordelois, and Geoffroy de Frises; Guerin, Duc de Lorraine; Guillaume de l'Estoc, brother of Allory; Guy de Bourgogne; Hoë, Comte de Nantes; Lambert, Prince de Bruxelles; Malagigi; Nami or Nayme de Bavièe; Ogier or Oger the Dane; Olivier, son of Regnier, Comte de Gennes, Orlando (see Roland); Otuë; Richard, Duc de Normandie; Rinaldo; Riol du Mans; Roland, Comte de Cenouta, son of Milon and Dame Berthe, Charlemagne's sister, Samson, Duc de Bourgogne; and Thiry or Thiery d'Ardaine. Of these, twelve at a time seemed to have formed the coterie of the king. (Latin, palatimus, one of the palace.)

“Who bear the bows were knights in Arthur's reign,

Twelve they, and twelve the peers of Charlemain.” Dryden: The Flower and the Leaf

Palaemon

originally called Melicertes. Son of Ino; called Palaemon after he was made a sea—god. The Roman Portunus, the protecting god of harbours, is the same. (See Palemon. )

Palais des Thermes Once the abode of the Roman government of Gaul, as well as of the kings of the first and second dynasties. Here Julius fixed his residence when he was Caesar of Gaul. It is in Paris, but the only part now extant is a vast hall, formerly the chamber of cold baths (frigidarium), restored by Napoleon III.

Palamedes of Lombardy

joined the squadron of adventurers with his two brothers, Achilles and Sforza, in the allied Christian army. He was shot by Clorinda with an arrow. (Tasso Jerusalem Delivered, book iii. c. ii. 4.)

He is a Palamedes. A clever, ingenious person. The allusion is to the son of Nauplios, who invented measures, scales, dice, etc. He also detected that the madness of Ulysses was only assumed.

Sir Palamedes. A Saracen knight overcome in single combat by Sir Tristram. Both loved Isolde, the wife of King Mark; and after the lady was given up by the Saracen, Sir Tristram converted him to the Christian faith, and stood his godfather at the font. (Thomas the Rhymer.

Palamon and Arcite

(2 syl.). Two young Theban knights who fell into the hands of “Duke Theseus,” and were shut up in a donjon at Athens. Both fell in love with Emily, the duke's sister—in—law. In time they obtained their liberty, and the duke appointed a tournament, promising Emily to the vietor. Arcite prayed to Mars to grant him victory, Palamon prayed to Venus to grant him Emily, and both obtained their petition. Arcite won the victory, but, being thrown from his horse, died, Palamon, therefore, though not the winner, won the prize for which he fought. The story is borrowed from Le Teseide of Boccaccio. The Black Horse, a drama by John Fletcher, is the same tale; so called because it was a black horse from which Arcite was thrown. (Chancer. The Knight's Tale.)

Palatinate

(4 syl.). The province of a palatine, as the Palatinate of the Rhine, in Germany A palatine is an officer whose court is held in the royal palace, also called a palace—greave or pfalzgraf. There were three palatine counties in England — viz. Chester, Durham, and Lancaster, in which the count exercised a royal authority, just as supreme as though he had been the regal tenant of the palace itself

Palaver

comes from the Portuguese palavra (talk), which is palaver, a council of African chiefs.

“Comparisons are odorous: palabras [words], neighbour Verges.” — Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing, iii. 4.

Pale

Within the pale of my observation— i.e. the scope thereof. The dominion of King John and his successors in Ireland was marked off, and the part belonging to the English crown was called the pale, or the part paled off.

Pale Faces

So Indians call the European settlers.

Palemon

“The pride of swains” in Thomson's Autumn; a poetical representation of Boaz, while the “lovely young Lavinia” is Ruth.

Palemon, in love with the captain's daughter, in Falconer's Shipwreck.

Palermo Razors

Razors of supreme excellence, made in Palermo.

“It is a rayser, and that's a very good one,

It came lately from Palermo.”

Damon and Pithias, i. 227.

Pales

The god of shepherds and their flocks. (Roman mythology. )

Palestine Soup

Soup made of Jerusalem artichokes. This is a good example of blunder begetting blunder. Jerusalem artichoke is a corruption of the Italian Girasole articiocco— i.e. the “sunflower artichoke.” From girasole we make Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem artichokes we make Palestine soup.

Palestra

(3 syl.). Either the act of wrestling, etc., or the place in which the Grecian youths practised athletic exercises. (Greek, pale, wrestling.)

Palestrina

or Pelestrina. An island nearly south of Venice, noted for its glass—houses.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, called “The Prince of Music.” (1529—1594.)

Paletot

[pal'—c—to ]. A corruption of palla—toque, a cloak with a hood. Called by Piers Plowman a paltock. The hood or toque has disappeared, but the word remains the same.

Palimpsest

A parchment on which the original writing has been effaced, and something else has been written. (Greek, palin, again; psao, I rub or efface.) When parchment was not supplied in sufficient quantities, the monks and others used to wash or rub out the writing in a parchment and use it again. As they did not wash or rub it out entirely, many works have been recovered by modern ingenuity. Thus Cicero's De Republica has been restored; it was partially erased to make room for a commentary of St. Augustine on the Psalms. Of course St. Augustine's commentary was first copied, then erased from the parchment, and the original MS. of Cicero made its appearance.

“Central Asia is a palimpsest; everywhere actual barbarism overlays a by gone civilisation”— The Times.

Palindrome

(3 syl.). A word or line which reads backwards and forwards alike, as Madam, also Roma tibi subito motibus ibit amor. (Greek, palin dromo, to run back again.) (See Sotadic. )

The following Greek palindrome is very celebrated:—

NI$si$ONANOMHMATAMHMONANO$si$IN (Wash my transgressions, not only my face). The legend round the font at St. Mary's, Nottingham. Also on the font in the basilica of St. Sophia, Constantinople; also on the font of St. Stephen d'Egres, Paris; at St. Menin's Abbey, Orléans; at Dulwich College; and at the following churches: Worlingsworth (Suffolk), Harlow

(Essex), Knapton (Norfolk), Melton Mowbray (it has been removed to a neighbouring hamlet), St. Martin's, Ludgate (London), and Hadleigh (Suffolk). (See Ingram: Churches of London, vol. ii.; Malcolm: Londinum Redivivum, vol. iv. p. 356; Allen: London, vol. iii. p. 530.)

It is said that when Napoleon was asked whether he could have invaded England, he answered “Able was I ere I saw Elba.”

Palinode

(3 syl.). A song or discourse recanting a previous one. A good specimen of the palinode is Horace, book i. ode 16, translated by Swift. Watts has a palinode in which he retracts the praise bestowed upon Queen Anne. In the first part of her reign he wrote a laudatory poem to the queen, but he says that the latter part deluded his hopes and proved him a false prophet. Samuel Butler has also a palinode to recant what he said in a previous poem to the Hon. Edward Howard, who wrote a poem called The British Princes. (Greek, palin ode, a song again.)

Palinurus

(in English, Palinure). Any pilot; so called from Palinurus, the steersman of AEneas.

“Oh! think how to this [Pitt's ] latest day,

When death, just hovering, claimed his prey,

With Palinure's unaltered mood,

Firm at his dangerous post he stood;

Each call for needful rest repelled,

With dying hand the rudder held,

Till in his fall with fateful sway

The steerage of the realm gave way.”

Palissy Ware

Dishes and other similar articles covered with models from nature of fish, reptiles, shells, flowers, and leaves, most carefully coloured and in high relief, like the wares of Della Robbia. Bernard Palissy was born at Saintes. (1510—1590.)

Pall

the covering thrown over a coffin, is the Latin pallium, a square piece of cloth used by the Romans to throw over their shoulders, or to cover them in bed; hence a coverlet.

Pall, the long sweeping robe, is the Roman palla, worn only by princes and women of honest fame. This differed greatly from the pallium, which was worn by freemen and slaves, soldiers, and philosophers.

“Sometimes let gorgeous Tragedy

In sceptred pall come sweeping by.”

Milton: Il Peuseroso

Pall—bearers

The custom of appointing men of mark for pall—bearers, has come to us from the Romans. Julius Caesar had magistrates for his pall—bearers, Augustus Caesar had senators; Germanicus had tribunes and centurions; AEmilis L. Paulus had the chief men of Macedonia who happened to be at Rome at the time; but the poor were carried on a plain bier on men's shoulders.

Pall Mall

A game in which a palle or iron ball is struck through an iron ring with a mall or mallet

Pallace

is by Phillips derived from pallicia, pales or paled fences. In Devonshire, a palace means a

“storehouse;” in Totness, “a landing—place enclosed but not roofed in.” (See Palace. )

“All that cellar and the chambers over the same, and the little pallace and landing—place adjoining the River Dart.”— Lease granted by the Corporation of Totness in 1703.

“Out of the ivory palaces” (Psalm xiv 8)— i.e. store—places or cabinets made of ivory. For “palaces” read pallaces.

Palladium

Something that affords effectual protection and safety. The Palladium was a colossal wooden statue of Pallas in the city of Troy, said to have fallen from heaven. It was believed that so long as this statue remained within the city, Troy would be safe, but if removed, the city would fall into the hands of the enemy. The statue was carried away by the Greeks, and the city burnt by them to the ground.

The Scotch had a similar tradition attached to the great stone of Scone, near Perth. Edward I. removed it to Westminster, and it is still framed in the Coronation Chair of England, (See Coronation, Scone.)

Palladium of Rome. Ancile (q.v.). Palladium of Megara. A golden hair of King Nisus. (See Scylla, Eden Hall.)

Pallas

A name of Minerva, sometimes called Pallas Minerva. According to fable, Pallas was one of the Titans, of giant size, killed by Minerva, who flayed him, and used his skin for armour; whence she was called Pallas Minerva. More likely the word Pallas is from pallo, to brandish; and the compound means Minerva who brandishes the spear.

Pallet

The painter in Smollett's Peregrine Pickle. A man without one jot of reverence for ancient customs or modern etiquette.

Palliate

(3 syl.) means simply to cloak. (Latin, pallium, a cloak.)

“That we should not dissemble nor cloke them [our sins]. but confess them with a humble, lowly, and obedient heart.”— Common Prauer Book.

Palm

An itching palm. A hand ready to receive bribes. The old superstition is that if your palm itches you are going to receive money.

“Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself

Are much condemned to have an itching palm.” Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, iv. 3.

To bear the palm. To be the best. The allusion is to the Roman custom of giving the victorious gladiator a branch of the palm—tree.

Palm Off

(To) wares, tricks, etc., upon the unwary. The allusion is to jugglers, who conceal in the palm of their hand what they pretend to dispose of in some other way. These jugglers were sometimes called palmers.

“You may palm upon us new for old.”

Dryden

Palm Oil

Bribes, or rather money for bribes, fees, etc.

“In Ireland the machinery of a political movement will not work unless there is plenty of palm—oil to prevent friction.”— Irish Seditions from 1792 to 1880, p. 39.

“The rich may escape with whole skins, but those without `palm—oil' have scant mercy.”— Nineteenth Century, Aug., 1892, p. 312.

Palm Sunday The Sunday next before Easter. So called in memory of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when the multitude strewed the way with palm branches and leaves. (John xii.)

Sad Palm Sunday. March 29, 1461, the day of the battle of Towton, the most fatal of all the battles in the domestic war between the White and Red Roses. Above 37,000 Englishmen were slain.

“Whose banks received the blood of many thousand men,

On `Sad Palm Sunday' slain, that Towton field we call ... The bloodiest field betwixt the White Rose and the Red.” Drayton: Polyolbion, xxviii

Palm Tree

is said to grow faster for being weighed down. Hence it is the symbol of resolution overcoming calamity. It is believed by Orientals to have sprung from the residue of the clay of which Adam was formed.

Palmer

A pilgrim privileged to carry a palm—staff: In Fosbroke's British Monachism we read that “certain prayers and psalms being said over the pilgrims, as they lay prostrate before the altar, they were sprinkled with holy water, and received a consecrated palm—staff. Palmers differed from pilgrims in this respect: a pilgrim made his pilgrimage and returned to public or private life; but a palmer spent all his days in visiting holy shrines, and lived on charity.

“His sandals were with travel tore,

Staff, budget, bottle, scrip he wore;

The faded palm—branch in his hand

Showed pilgrim from the Holy Land.”

Sir Walter Scott: Marmion, i. 27.

Palmerin of England

A romance of chivalry, in which Palmerin is the hero. There is another romance called Palmerin de Oliva. (See Southey's Palmerin.)

Palmy Days

Prosperous or happy days, as those were to a victorious gladiator when he went to receive the palm branch as the reward of his prowess.

Palsy

The gentlemen's palsy, ruin from gambling. (Elizabeth's reign.)

Paludamentum

A distinctive mantle worn by a Roman general in the time of war. This was the “scarlet robe” in which Christ was invested. (Matt. xxvii. 28.)

“They flung on him an old scarlet paludamentum— some cast—off war—cloak with its purple laticlave from the Praetorian wardrobe.”— Farrar: Life of Christ, chap. lx. p. 429.

Pam

The knave of clubs, short for Pamphile, the French word for the knave of clubs.

“Dr. Johnson's derivation of Pam from palm, because `Pam' triumphs over other cards, is extremely comic. Of course, Pam is short for Pamphile, the French name for the knave of clubs.”— Notes and Queries (W. W. Skeat, 1 May, 1886), p. 358.

Pamela

The title of the finest of Richardson's novels, which once enjoyed a popularity almost equal to that of the romances of Sir Walter Scott.

Pamela. Lady Edward Fitzgerald (died 1831).

Pampas

Treeless plains, some 2,000 miles long and from 300 to 500 broad, in South America. They cover an area of 750,000 square miles. It is an Indian word meaning flats or plains.

Pamper according to Junius, is from the Latin pampinus, French pampre (vine—tendril). Hence Milton—

“Where any row

Of fruit—trees, over—woody, reached too far

Their pampered boughs, and needed hands to check Fruitless embraces.”

Paradise Lost, v. 214.

The Italian pamberato (well—fed) is a compound of pane (bread) and bere (drink).

Pamphlet

said to be from Pamphila, a Greek lady, whose chief work is a commonplace book of anecdotes, epitomes, notes, etc. Dr. Johnson suggests par—un—filet (held “by a thread")— i.e. stitched, but not bound; another derivation is paginae filatae (pages tacked together). It was anciently written panfletus, pamflete, and by Caxton paunflet.

Pamphyle

(3 syl.). A sorceress who converted herself into an owl (Apuleius). There was another Pamphyle, the daughter of Apollo, who first taught women to embroider with silk.

“In one very remote village lives the sorceress Pamphyle, who turns her neighbours into various animals ... Lucius, peeping ... thro' a chink in the door [saw] the old witch transform herself into an owl.”— Pater: Marius the Epicurean, chap. v.

Pan

The personification of deity displayed in creation and pervading all things. As flocks and herds were the chief property of the pastoral age, Pan was called the god of flocks and herds. He is also called the god of hyle, not the “woods” only, but “all material substances.” The lower part was that of a goat, because of the asperity of the earth; the upper part was that of a man, because ether is the “hegemonic of the world;” the lustful nature of the god symbolised the spermatic principle of the world; the libbard's skin was to indicate the immense variety of created things; and the character of “blameless Pan” symbolised that wisdom which governs the world. (Greek, pan, everything.) (Phornutus: De Natura Deorum, xxvii. 203.)

“Universal Pan,

Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance,

Led on the eternal spring.”

Milton: Paradise Lost, iv. 265.

In the National Museum of Naples is the celebrated marble of “Pan teaching Apollo to play on the panpipe.”

The Great Pan. Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire, also called the Dictator of Letters. (1694—1778.)

Panace'a

A universal cure. Panacea was the daughter of Esculapios (god of medicine). The name is evidently composed of two Greek words panakeomai (all I cure). Of course the medicine that cures is the daughter or child of the healing art.

Panace'a. An Orkney proverb says the well of Kildinguie and the dulse (sea—weed) of Guiodin will cure every

malady save Black Death. (Sir Walter Scott: The Pirate, chap. xxix.) (See Azoth.)

Other famous panaceas.

Prince Ahmed's apple, or apple of Samarcand, cured all disorders. (See under Apple.) The balsam of Fierbras (q.v.).

The Promethean unguent rendered the body invulnerable.

Aladdin's ring (q.v.) was a preservative against all the ills which flesh is heir to. Sir Gilbert's sword. Sir T. Malory, in his History of Prince Arthur (i. 116), says:—

“Sir Launcelot touched the wounds of Sir Meliot with Sir Gilbert's sword, and wiped them with the cerecloth, and anon a wholler man was he never in all his life.”

(See also Achilles' Spear, Medea's Kettle, Reynard's Ring [see Ring], Panthera, etc.)

Panama

A word which, in 1892, became synonymous with government corruptions. M. de Lesseps undertook to cut a sea passage through the Isthmus of Panama, and in order to raise money from the general public, bribed French senators, deputies, and editors of journals to an enormous extent. An investigation was made into the matter in 1892, and the results were most damaging. In the beginning of 1893 Germany was charged with a similar misappropriation of money connected with the Guelph Fund, in which Prince Ludwig of Bavaria was involved.

“On the other side of the Vosges people will exult that Germany has also her Panama.”— Reuter's Telegram, Berlin, January 2nd, 1893.

Pancake

(2 syl.) is a pudding or “cake” made in a frying—pan. It was originally to be eaten after dinner, to stay the stomachs of those who went to be shriven. The Shrove—bell was called the Pancake Bell, and the day of shriving “Pancake Tuesday.”

Pancaste

(3 syl.). An Athenian hetaera, and her companion in sin, Phryne, were the models of Venus Rising from the Sea, by Apelles. (See Phryne. )

Pancras

(St.). Patron saint of children. He was a noble Roman youth, martyred by Diocletian at the age of fourteen (A.D. 304). (See Nicholas. )

St. Pancras, in Christian art, is represented as treading on a Saracen and bearing either a stone and sword, or a book and palm—branch. The allusions are to his hatred of infidelity, and the implements of his martyrdom.

Pandarus

Leader of the Lycians in the Trojan war, but represented as a pimp in mediaeval romances. (See Pander. )

Pandects of Justinian

(The), found at Amalfi (1137), gave a spur to the study of civil law which changed the whole literary and legal aspect of Europe. The word means much the same as “cyclopaedia.” (Greek, pan, everything; dech'—omai, I receive.)

Pandemonium

(A). A perfect pandemonium. A bear—garden for disorder and licentiousness. In allusion to the parliament of hell in Milton's Paradise Lost, book i. (Greek, pan daimon, every demon.) (See Cordeliers. )

Pander

To pander to one's vices is to act as an agent to them, and such an agent is termed a pander, from Pandarus, who procures for Troilus the love and graces of Cressida. In Much Ado about Nothing it is said that Troilus was “the first employer of pandars” (v. 2). (Shakespeare: Troilus and Cressida; Chaucer: Troilus and Cresseide.)

“Let all pitiful goers—between be called to the world's end after my name, call them all `Pandars.' Let all constant men be `Troiluses,' all false women be `Cressids,' and all brokers—between, `Pandars.' Say, Amen.”— Troilus and Cressida, iii. 2.

Pandora's Box

(A). A present which seems valuable, but which is in reality a curse; as when Midas was permitted, according to his request, to turn whatever he touched into gold, and found his very food became gold, and therefore uneatable. Prometheus made an image and stole fire from heaven to endow it with life. In revenge, Jupiter told Vulcan to make a female statue, and gave her a box which she was to present to the man who married her. Prometheus distrusted Jove and his gifts, but Epimetheus, his brother, married the beautiful

Pandora, and received the box. Immediately the bridegroom opened the box all the evils that flesh is heir to flew forth, and have ever since continued to afflict the world. The last thing that flew from the box was Hope.

Panel

(A), means simply a piece of rag or skin. (Latin, pannus; Greek, penos.) In law it means a piece of parchment containing the names of jurors. To empanel a jury is to enter their names on the panel or roll. The panels of a room are the framed wainscot which supplies the place of tapestry, and the panels of doors are the thin boards like wainscot.

Pangloss

(Dr.). A learned pedant, very poor and very conceited, pluming himself on the titles of LL.D. and

A.SS. (Greek, “All—tongue.”) (Colman: Heir—at—Law.)

Panic

On one occasion Bacchus, in his Indian expeditions, was encompassed with an army far superior to his own; one of his chief captains, named Pan, advised him to command all his men at the dead of night to raise a simultaneous shout. The shout was rolled from mountain to mountain by innumerable echoes, and the Indians, thinking they were surrounded on all sides, took to sudden flight. From this incident, all sudden fits of great terror have been termed panies. (See Judges vii. 18—21.)

Theon gives another derivation, and says that the god Pan struck terror into the hearts of the giants, when they warred against heaven, by blowing into a sea—shell.

Panjandrum

The Grand Panjandrum. A village boss, who imagines himself the “Magnus Apollo” of his neighbours. The word occurs in Foote's farrago of nonsense which he composed to test the memory of old Macklin, who said he had brought his memory to such perfection that he could remember anything by reading it over once.

I myself knew a man at college who could do the same. He would repeat accurately one hundred lines of Greek by reading them twice over, although he could not accurately translate them. His memory was marvellous, but its uselessness was still more so.

Pantables

To stand upon one's pantables. To stand upon one's dignity. Pantables are slippers, and the idea is se tenir sur le haut bout— i.e. to remit nothing.

“Hee standeth upon his pantables and regardeth greatly his reputation.”— Saker: Narbonus (1590).

Pantagruel'

So called because he was born during the drought which lasted thirty and six months, three weeks, four days, thirteen hours, and a little more, in that year of grace noted for having “three Thursdays in one week.” His father was Gargantua, the giant, who was four hundred fourscore and forty—four years old at the time; his mother, Badebec, died in giving him birth; his grandfather was Grangousier (q.v. ). He was so strong that he was chained in his cradle with four great iron chains, like those used in ships of the largest size; being angry at this, he stamped out the bottom of his bassanet, which was made of weavers' beams, and, when loosed by the servants, broke his bonds into five hundred thousand pieces with one blow of his infant fist. When he grew to manhood he knew all languages, all sciences, and all knowledge of every sort,

out—Solomoning Solomon in wisdom. Having defeated Anarchus, King of the Dipsodes, all submitted except the Almirods. Marching against these people, a heavy rain fell, and Pantagruel covered his whole army with his tongue. While so doing, Alcofribas crawled into his mouth, where he lived six months, taking toll of every morsel that his lord ate. His immortal achievement was his voyage from Utopia in quest of the “oracle of the Holy Bottle” (q.v.).

“Wouldst thou not issue forth ...

To see the third part in this earthy cell

Of the brave acts of good Pantagruel'.”

Rabelais: To the Spirit of the Queen of Navarre.

Pantagruel was the last of the race of giants.

“My thirst with Pantagruel's own would rank.”— Punch, June 15th, 1893, p. 17.

Pantagruel' (meant for Henri II., son of Francois I.), in the satirical romance of Rabelais, entitled History of Gargantua and Pantagruel.

Pantagruelion

The great Pantagruelion law case (Lord Busqueue v. Lord Suckfist). This case, having nonplussed all the judges in Paris, was referred to Lord Pantagruel for decision. The writs, etc., were as much as four asses could carry, but the arbiter determined to hear the plaintiff and defendant state their own cases. Lord Busqueue spoke first, and pleaded such a rigmarole that no one on earth could unravel its meaning; Lord Suckfist replied, and the bench declared “We have not understood one single circumstance of the defence.” Then Pantagruel gave sentence, but his judgment was as obscure and unintelligible as the case itself. So, as no one understood a single sentence of the whole affair, all were perfectly satisfied, a “thing unparalleled in the annals of the law.” (Rabelais: Pantagruel, book ii.)

Pantagruelion Herb

(The). Hemp; so called “because Pantagruel was the inventor of a certain use which it serves for, exceeding hateful to felons, unto whom it is more hurtful than strangle—weed to flax.”

“The figure and shape of the leaves are not much different from those of the ash—tree or the agrimony, the herb itself being so like the Eupatorio that many herbalists have called it the

`Domestic Eupatorio,' and the Eupatorio the `Wild Pantagruelion.”'— Rabelais: Pantagruel,

iii. 49.

Pantaloon

A feeble—minded old man, the foil of the clown, whom he aids and abets in all his knavery. The word is derived from the dress he used to wear, a loose suit down to the heels.

“That Licentio that comes a—wooing is my man Tramo bearing my port, that we might beguile the old pantaloon.”— Shakespeare: Taming of the Shrew, iii. 1.

Pantaloon. Lord Byron says the Venetians were called the Planters of the Lion— i.e. the Lion of St. Mark, the standard of the republic; and further tells us that the character of “pantaloon,” being Venetian, was called Piantaleone (Planter of the Lion). (Childe Harold, bk. iv. stanza 14, note 9.)

Playing Pantaloon. Playing second fiddle, being the cat's—paw of another; servilely imitating.

Pantechnicon

A place where all sorts of manufactured articles are exposed for sale; a storehouse for furniture.

Panthe'a

wife of Abradatus, King of Susa. Abradatus joined the Assyrians against Cyrus, and his wife was taken captive. Cyrus refused to visit her, that he might not be tempted by her beauty to outstep the bounds of modesty. Abradatus was so charmed by this continence that he joined the party of Cyrus, and, being slain in battle, his wife put an end to her life, and fell on the body of her husband.

“Here stands Lady Rachel Russell— there the arch—virago old Bess of Hardwicke. The one is our English version of Panthea of Arria; the other of Xantippe in a coif and peaked stomacher.”— Mrs. Lynn Linton: Nineteenth Century, Oct., 1891, p. 606.

Panthe'a (Greek). Statues carrying symbols of several deities, as in the medal of Antoninus Pius, where Serapis is represented by a modius, Apollo by rays, Jupiter Ammon by ram's horns, Pluto by a large beard, and AEsculapius by a wand, around which a serpent is twined.

Pantheon

The finest is that erected in Rome by Agrippa (son—in—law of Augustus). It is circular, 150 feet in diameter, and the same in height. It is now a church, with statues of heathen gods, and is called the Rotunda. In Paris the Pantheon was the church of St. Geneviève, built by Louis XV., finished 1790. Next year the Convention called it the Pantheon, and set it apart as the shrine of those Frenchmen whom their country wished to honour (“aux grands hommes la patrie reconnaissante”). (Greek, pantes theory, all the gods.)

Panther

The Spotted Panther in Dryden's Hind and Panther means the Church of England full of the spots of error; whereas the Church of Rome is faultless as the milk—white hind

“The panther, sure the noblest next the hind,

And fairest creature of the spotted kind,

Ah, could her inborn stains be washed away,

She were too good to be a beast of prey.”

Part 1.

Panthera

A hypothetical beast which lived in the East. Reynard affirmed that he had sent her majesty the queen a comb made of panthera bone, “more lustrous than the rainbow, more odoriferous than any perfume, a charm against every ill, and a universal panacea.” (H. von Alkmar: Reynard the Fox.) (1498.)

She wears a comb made of panthera bone. She is all perfection. (See above.

Pantile Shop

A meeting—house, from the fact that dissenting chapels were often roofed with pantiles. Hence pantile was used in the sense of dissenting. Mrs. Centlivre, in the Gortiam Election, contrasts the pantile crew with a good churchman.

Pantomime

(3 syl.), according to etymology, should be all dumb show, but in modern practice it is partly dumb show and partly grotesque speaking. Harlequin and Columbine never speak, but Clown and Pantaloon keep up a constant fire of fun. Dr. Clarke says that Harlequin is the god Mercury, with his short sword called

“herpe;” he is supposed to be invisible, and to be able to transport himself to the ends of the earth as quick as thought. Columbine, he says, is Psyche (the soul); the old man is Charon; and the Clown Momus (the buffoon of heaven), whose large gaping mouth is an imitation of the ancient masks. (Travels, iv. 459.)

The best Roman pantomimists were Bathylus (a freedman of Maecenas), Pylades, and Hylas

Panton Gates

Old as Panton Gates. A corruption of Panton Gates at Newcastle—on—Tyne.

Pantry

(French, paneteric (2 syl.). Latin, panarium, from pams, bread.) An archiac form is “panary.” The keeper of a pantry was at one time called a “panterer.” (French, panterer.)

Panurge

(2 syl.). A companion of Pantagruel's, not unlike our Rochester and Buckingham in the reign of the mutton—eating king. Panurge was a desperate rake, was always in debt, had a dodge for every scheme, knew everything and something more, was a boon companion of the mirthfullest temper and most licentious bias; but was timid of danger, and a desperate coward. He enters upon ten thousand adventures for the solution of this knotty point. “Whether or not he ought to marry?” and although every response is in the negative, disputes the ostensible meaning, and stoutly maintains that no means yes. (Greek for factotum.) (Rabelais.)

Panurge, probably meant for Calvin, though some think it is Cardinal Lorraine. He is a licentious, intemperate libertine, a coward and knave. Of course, the satire points to the celibacy of the clergy.

“Sam Slick is the thoroughbred Yankee, bold, cunning, and, above all, a merchant. In short, he is a sort of Republican Panurge.”— Globe.

As Panurge asked if he should marry. Asking advice merely to contradict the giver of it. Panurge asked Pantagruel' whether he advised him to marry, “Yes,” said Pantagruel. When Panurge urged some strong objection, “Then don't marry,” said Pantagruel; to which the favourite replied, “His whole heart was bent on so doing.” “Marry then, by all means,” said the prince, but Panurge again found some insuperable barrier. And so they went on; every time Pantagruel said “Yea,” new reasons were found against this advice; and every time he said “Nay,” reasons no less cogent were discovered for the affirmative. (Rabelais: Gargantua and Pantagruel, bk. iii. 9.)

Besides Pantagruel', Panurge consulted lots, dreams, a sibyl, a deaf and dumb man, the old poet Rominagrobis, the chiromancer Herr Trippa, the theologian Hippothadée, the physician Rondibilis, the philosopher Trouillogan, the court fool Triboulet, and, lastly, the Oracle of the Holy Bottle.

Panyer Stone

(The). A stone let into the wall of a house in Panyer Alley. It is a rude representation of a boy sitting on a pannier. (French, panier; Latin, panarium, a bread—basket.) The stone has the following inscription:—

“When you have sought the city round,

Yet still this is the highest ground.

August 27th, 1688.”

This is not correct, for there are higher spots both in Cornhill, and in Cannon Street.

Pap

He gives pap with a hatchet. He does or says a kind thing in a very brusque and ungracious manner. The Spartan children were fed by the point of a sword, and the Teuton children with hatchets, or instruments so called— probably of the doll type. “Ursus,” in Victor Hugo's novel of “L'Homme qui Rit, ” gives “pap with a hatchet.”

Papa

Father The former is Greek pappas (father); Chaldee, abba. For many centuries after the Conquest, the

“gentry” taught their children to use the word “papa,” but this custom is now almost gone out.

Papal Slippers

(The) are wrought with a cross of rubies over each instep.

Paper

So called from the papyrus or Egyptian reed used at one time for the manufacture of a writing material. Bryan Donkin, in 1803, perfected a machine for making a sheet of paper to any required length.

Paper a House

(To), in theatrical phraseology, means to fill a house with “deadheads,” or non—paying spectators, admitted by paper orders. The women admitted thus, not being dressed so smartly as the paying ones, used to cover their shoulders with a “scarlet opera cloak,” often lent or hired for the occasion.

Paper King

John Law, the projector of the Mississippi Scheme. (1671—1729.)

Paper Marriages

Weddings of dons, who pay their fees in bank—notes.

Paper—stainer

(A). An author of small repute.

Paphian

Relating to Venus, or rather to Paphos, a city of Cyprus, where Venus was worshipped; a Cyprian; a prostitute.

Papimany

The country of the Papimans; the country subject to the Pope, or any priest—ridden country, as Spain. (Rabelais: Gargantua and Pantagruel, iv. 45.)

Papyra The goddess of printing; so called from papyrus, the Nile—reed, from which at one time paper was made, and from which it borrows its name.

“Till to astonished realms Papyra taught

To paint in mystic colours sound and thought, With Wisdom's voice to print the page sublime. And mark in adamant the steps of Time.”

Darwin: Loves of the Plants, canto ii

Papyri

Written scrolls made of the Papyrus, found in Egypt and Herculaneum.

Par

(A). A newspaper paragraph. (Press slang.)

Par

(At). Stock at par means that it is to be bought at the price it represents. Thus, 100 stock in the 2 1/2 per cent. quoted at par would mean that it would require 100 to invest in this stock; if quoted at 105, it would be 5 above par; if at 95, it would be 5 below par. (Latin, par, equal.)

Paracelsists

Disciples of Paracelsus in medicine, physics, and mystic sciences. A Swiss physician. (1493—1541.)

Paraclete

The advocate; one called to aid or support another. (The word paraclete is from the Greek para—kaleo, to call to; and advocate is from the Latin ad—voco, the same thing.)

Paradise

The Greeks used this word to denote the extensive parks and pleasure—grounds of the Persian kings.

“An old word, `paradise,' which the Hebrews had borrowed from the Persians, and which at first designated the `parks of the Achaemenidae,' summed up the general dream.”— Renan: Life of Jesus, xi.

Upper and Lower Paradise. The rabbins say there is an earthly or lower paradise under the equator, divided into seven dwellings, and twelve times ten thousand miles square. A column reaches from this paradise to the upper or heavenly one, by which the souls mount upwards after a short sojourn on the earthly one.

The ten dumb animals admitted to the Moslem's paradise are:— (1) The dog Kratim, which accompanied the Seven Sleepers.

(2) Balaam's ass, which spoke with the voice of a man to reprove the disobedient prophet. (3) Solomon's ant, of which he said, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard ...”

(4) Jonah's whale.

(5) The ram caught in the thicket, and offered in sacrifice in lieu of Isaac.

(6) The calf of Abraham.

(7) The camel of Saleb.

(8) The cuckoo of Belkis.

(9) The ox of Moses.

(10) Mahomet's mare, called Borak.

Paradise Lost

Satan rouses the panic—stricken host of fallen angels to tell them about a rumour current in Heaven of a new world about to be created. He calls a council to deliberate what should be done, and they agree to send Satan to search out for the new world. Satan, passing the gulf between Hell and Heaven and the limbo of Vanity, enters the orb of the Sun (in the guise of an angel) to make inquiries as to the new planet's whereabouts; and, having obtained the necessary information, alights on Mount Niphates, and goes to Paradise in the form of a cormorant. Seating himself on the Tree of Life, he overhears Adam and Eve talking about the prohibition made by God, and at once resolves upon the nature of his attack. Gabriel sends two angels to watch over the bower of Paradise, and Satan flees. Raphael is sent to warn Adam of his danger, and

tells him the story of Satan's revolt and expulsion out of Heaven, and why and how this world was made. After a time Satan returns to Paradise in the form of a mist, and, entering the serpent, induces Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. Adam eats “that he may perish with the woman whom he loved.” Satan returns to Hell to tell his triumph, and Michael is sent to lead the guilty pair out of the garden. (Milton. )

Paradise Regained

(in four books). The subject is the Temptation. Eve, being tempted, fell, and lost Paradise; Jesus, being tempted, resisted, and regained Paradise. (Milton.)

Paradise Shoots

The lign aloe; said to be the only plant descended to us from the Garden of Eden. When Adam left Paradise, it is said, he took with him a shoot of this tree, which he planted in the land where he settled, and from which all other lign aloes have been propagated.

Paradise of Fools

The Hindus, Mahometans, Scandinavians, and Roman Catholics have devised a place between Paradise and “Purgatory” to get rid of a theological difficulty. If there is no sin without intention, then infants and idiots cannot commit sin, and if they die cannot be consigned to the purgatory of evil—doers; but, not being believers or good—doers, they cannot be placed with the saints. The Roman Catholics place them in the Paradise of Infants and the Paradise of Fools.

Paradise and the Peri

The second tale in Moore's poetical romance of Lalla Rookh. The Peri laments her expulsion from Heaven, and is told she will be readmitted if she will bring to the Gate of Heaven the “gift most dear to the Almighty.” First she went to a battle—field, where the tyrant Mahmoud, having won a victory, promised life to a young warrior, but the warrior struck the tyrant with a dart. The wound, however, was not mortal, so “The tyrant lived, the hero fell.” The Peri took to Heaven's Gate the last drop of the patriot's blood as her offering, but the gates would not open to her. Next she flew to Egypt, where the plague was raging, and saw a young man dying; presently his betrothed bride sought him out, caught the disease, and both died. The Peri took to Heaven's Gate the last sigh of that self—sacrificed damsel, but the offering was not good enough to open the gates to her. Lastly, she flew to Syria, and there saw an innocent child and guilty old man. The vesper call sounded, and the child knelt down to prayer. The old man wept with repentance, and knelt to pray beside the child. The Peri offered the Repentant Tear, and the gates flew open to receive the gift.

Parallel

None but himself can be his parallel. Wholly without a peer; “Quaris Alcidae parem;” “nemo proximus nec secundus.” There are many similar sentences; for example:—

“Nemo est nisi ipse.”— Sencca: Hercules Furens, i. 81. (Seneca lived B.C. 53—32.)

“And but herself admits no parallel.”

Massinger: Duke of Millaine, iii. 4. (1662.)

“None but himself himself can parallel.”

Anagram on John Lilburn. (1658.)

“Is there a treachery like this in baseness ... None but itself can be its parallel.” Theobeld: Double Falsehood, iii. 1. (1721.)

Paramatta

A fabric of wool and cotton. So called from a town in New South Wales, where the wool was originally bought.

Parapet

Fortification, the shot—proof covering of a mass of earth on the exterior edge of the ramparts. The openings cut through the parapets to permit guns to fire in the required direction are called embrasures: about 18 feet is allowed from one embrasure to another, and the solid intervening part is called the merlon. An indented parapet is a battlement. (Italian, parapetto, breastwork.)

Paraphernalia

means all that a woman can claim at the death of her husband beyond her jointure. In the Roman law her paraphernalia included the furniture of her chamber, her wearing apparel, her jewels, etc. Hence personal attire, fittings generally, anything for show or decoration. (Greek, parapherne, beyond dower.)

Parasite

(Greek, para sitos, eating at another's cost). A plant or animal that lives on another; hence a hanger—on, who fawns and flatters for the sake of his food.

Parc aux Cerfs

[deer parks ]. A mansion fitted up in a remote corner of Versailles, whither girls were inveigled for the licentious pleasure, of Louis XV. The rank of the person who visited them was scrupulously kept concealed; but one girl, more bold than the rest, rifled the pockets of M. le Comte, and found that he was no other than the king. Madame de Pompadour did not shrink from superintending the labours of the royal valets to procure victims for this infamous establishment. The term is now used for an Alsatia, or haven of shipwrecked characters.

“Boulogne may be proud of being `parc aux cerfs' to those whom remorseless greed drives from their island home.”— Saturday Review.

Parcae The Fates. The three were Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. (Latin mythology.) Parcae is from pars, a lot; and the corresponding Moirae is from meros, a lot. The Fates were so called because they decided the lot of every man.

Parchment

So called from Pergamon in Lesser Asia, where it was used for purposes of writing when Ptolemy prohibited the exportation of paper from Egypt.

Pardon Bell

The Angelus bell. So called because of the indulgence once given for reciting certain prayers forming the angelus.

Pardouneres Tale

in Chaucer, is Death and the Rioters. Three rioters in a tavern agreed to hunt down Death and kill him. As they went their way they met an old man, who told them that he had just left him sitting under a tree in the lane close by. Off posted the three rioters, but when they came to the tree they found a great treasure, which they agreed to divide equally. They cast lots which was to carry it home, and the lot fell to the youngest, who was sent to the village to buy food and wine. While he was gone the two who were left agreed to kill him, and so increase their share; but the third bought poison to put into the wine, in order to kill his two confrères. On his return with his stores, the two set upon him and slew him, then sat down to drink and be merry together; but, the wine being poisoned, all the three rioters found Death under the tree as the old man had said.

Pari Passu

At the same time; in equal degrees; two or more schemes carried on at once and driven forward with equal energy, are said to be carried on pari passu, which is Latin for equal strides or the equally measured pace of persons marching together.

“The cooling effects of surrounding matter go on nearly pari passu with the heating.”— Grove: Correlation of Physical Forces, p. 64.

Parian Chronicle

A chronological register of the chief events in the mythology and history of ancient Greece during a series of 1,318 years, beginning with the reign of Cecrops, and ending with the archonship of Diognetos. It is ongraved on Parian marble, and was found in the island of Paros. It is one of the Arundelian Marbles (q.v.).

Parian Verse

Ill—natured satire; so called from Archilochos, a native of Paros.

Parias

or Pariahs. The lowest class of the Hindu population, below the four castes. Literally drummers, from parai, a large drum.

“The lodgers overhead may perhaps be able to take a more comprehensive view of public questions; but they are political Helots, they are the Pariahs of our constitutional Brahminism.”— The Times, March 20, 1867.

Paridel

A young gentleman that travels about and seeks adventure, because he is young, rich, and at leisure. (See below.)

“Thee, too, my Paridel, she marked thee there,

Stretched on the rack of a too—easy chair,

And heard thy everlasting yawn confess

The pains and penalties of idleness.”

Pope: Dunciad, iv. 341.

Sir Paridel. A male coquette, whose delight was to win women's hearts, and then desert them. The model was the Earl of Westmoreland. (Spenser: Faërie Queene, bk. iii. cant. 10; bk. iv. c. 1.)

Paris

or Alexander. Son of Priam, and cause of the siege of Troy. He was hospitably entertained by Menelaos, King of Sparta; and eloped with Helen, his host's wife. This brought about the siege. Post Homeric tradition says that Paris slew Achilles, and was himself slain either by Pyrrhos or Philoctetes. (Homer: Iliad.)

Paris. Kinsman to the Prince of Verona, the unsuccessful suitor of Juliet. (Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet. Paris. Rabelais says that Gargantua played on the Parisians who came to stare at him a practical joke, and the men said it was a sport “par ris” (to be laughed at); wherefore the city was called Par—'is. It was called before Leucotia, from the “white skin of the ladies.” (Greek, leukotes, whiteness.) ( Gargantua and Pantagruel, bk. i. 17.)

Paris, called by the Romans “Lutetia Parisiorum” (the mud—city of the Parisii) The Parisii were the Gallic tribe which dwelt in the “Ile du Palais” when the Romans invaded Gaul. (See Isis.)

Mons. de Paris. The public executioner of Paris. Little Paris.

The “Galleria Vittorio Emanuele” of Milan is so called on account of its brilliant shops, its numerous cafés, and its general gay appearance.

Brussels, the capital of Belgium, situate on the Senne, is also called “Little Paris.”

Paris—Garden

A bear—garden; a noisy, disorderly place. In allusion to the bear—garden so called on the Thames bank—side, kept by Robert de Paris in the reign of Richard II.

“Do you take the court for a Paris—garden?”— Shakespeare: Henry VIII., v. 3.

Parish Registers

Bills of mortality. George Crabbe, author of The Borough, has a poem in three parts, in ten—syllable verse with rhymes, entitled The Parish Register.

Parisian

Made at Paris; after the mode of Paris; a native of Paris; like a native of Paris.

Parisian Wedding

(The). The massacre of St. Bartholomew, part of the wedding festivity at the marriage of Henri of Navarre and Margaret of France.

“Charles IX., although it was not possible for him to recall to life the countless victims of the Parisian Wedding, was ready to explain those murders to every unprejudiced mind.”— Motley: Dutch Republic, iii. 9.

Parisienne

(La). A celebrated song by Casimir Delavigne, called the Marseillaise of 1830.

“Paris n'a plus qu'un cri de gloire;

En avant marchons,

Contre leurs canons.

A travers le feu des battaillons,

Courons a la victoire!”

Parisina

the beautiful young wife of Azo. She falls in love with Hugo, her stepson, and betrays herself to her husband in a dream. Azo condemns his son to be executed, but the fate of Parisina, says Byron, is unknown. (Parisina.)

Frizzi, in his History of Ferrara, tells us that Parisina Malatesta was the second wife of Niccolo, Marquis of Este; that she fell in love with Ogo, her stepson, and that the infidelity of Parisina was revealed by a servant named Zoese. He says that both Ogo and Parisina were beheaded, and that the marquis commanded all the faithless wives he knew to be beheaded to the Moloch of his passion.

Parizade (4 syl.). A lady whose adventures in search of the Talking Bird, Singing Tree, and Yellow Water, are related in the Story of the Sisters who Envied their Younger Sister, in the Arabian Nights. This tale has been closely imitated in Chery and Fairstar (q.v.).

Parkership

The office of poundkeeper; from parcus (a pound).

Parks

There are in England 334 parks stocked with deer; red deer are kept in 31 of them. The oldest is Eridge Park, in Sussex, called in Domesday Book Reredfelle (Rotherfield). The largest private deer park is Lord Egerton's, Tatton, in Cheshire, which contains 2,500 acres. Blenheim Park contains 2,800 acres, but only

1,150 acres of it are open to deer. Almost as extensive as Tatton Park are Richmond Park, in Surrey; Eastwell Park, in Kent; Grimsthrope Park, in Lincolnshire; Thoresby Park, in Notts; and Knowesley Park, in Lancashire. (E. P. Shirley: English Deer Parks.) Woburn Park is 3,500 acres.

Parlance

In common parlance. In the usual or vulgar phraseology. An English—French word; the French have parler, parlant, parlage, etc.— to speak, speaking, talk— but not parlance.

Parlement

(French). A crown court, where, in the old régime, councillors were allowed to plead, and where justice was administered in the king's name. The Paris Parlement received appeals from all inferior tribunals, but its own judgments were final. It took cognisance of all offences against the crown, the peers, the bishops, the corporations, and all high officers of state; and, though it had no legislative power, had to register the royal edicts before they could become law. Abolished by the Constituent Assembly in 1790.

Parliament

“My Lord Coke tells us Parliament is derived from `parler le ment' (to speak one's mind). He might as honestly have taught us that firmament is `firma mentis' (a farm for the mind) or

`fundament' the bottom of the mind.”— Rymer: On Parliaments.

The Addled Parliament (between April 5th, 1614, and June 7th, 1615); so called because it remonstrated with the king on his levying “benevolences,” but passed no acts.

The Barebone Parliament. The Parliament convened July 4th, 1653; overridden by Praise—God Barebone. The Black Parliament. Held by Henry VIII. in Bridewell.

The Club Parliament. (See Parliament Of Bats.)

The Convention Parliament. Two Parliaments were so called; one in 1660, because it was not held by the order of the king, but was convened by General Monk; the second was convened January 22nd, 1689, to confer the crown on William and Mary.

The Devil's Parliament. The Parliament convened at Coventry by Henry VI., in 1459, which passed attainders on the Duke of York and his supporters.

The Drunken Parliament. The Parliament assembled at Edinburgh, January 1st, 1661, of which Burnet says

the members “were almost perpetually drunk.”

The Good Parliament (1376, in the reign of Edward III., while the Black Prince was still alive). So called from the severity with which it pursued the unpopular party of the Duke of Lancaster.

Grattan's Parliament (1782—1801). In 1782 Grattan moved the “Declaration of Rights,” repudiating the right of the British Parliament to interfere in the government of Ireland. Pitt pronounced the Parliament unworkable.

The Illiterate or Lack—learning Parliament. (See Unlearned Parliament.) The Little Parliament. Same as “the Barebone Parliament” (q.v.).

The Long Parliament sat 12 years and 5 months, from November 2nd, 1640, to April 20th, 1653, when it was dissolved by Cromwell; but a fragment of it, called “The Rump,” continued till the Restoration, in 1660.

Historian of the Long Parliament. Thomas May, buried in Westminster Abbey. (1595—1650.) The Med Parliament, in the reign of Henry III. (1258), was so called from its opposition to the king. It insisted on his confirming the Magna Charta, and even appointed twenty—four of its own members, with Simon de Montfort as president, to administer the government.

The Merciless (or Unmerciful) Parliament (from February 3rd to June 3rd, 1388). A junto of fourteen tools of Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, which assumed royal prerogatives, and attempted to depose Richard II.

The Mongrel Parliament (1681), held at Oxford, consisting of Whigs and Tories, by whom the Exclusion Bill was passed.

The Pacific Parliament. A triennial Parliament, dissolved August 8th, 1713. It signed the treaty of peace at Utrecht, after a war of eleven years.

The Pensioner (or Pensionary) Parliament (from May 8th, 1661, to January 24th, 1678 [i.e. 16 years and 260 days]). It was convened by Charles II., and was called “Pensionary” from the many pensions it granted to the adherents of the king.

The Rump Parliament, in the Protectorate; so called because it contained the rump or fag—end of the Long Parliament (1659). It was this Parliament that voted the trial of Charles I.

The Running Parliament. A Scotch Parliament; so called from its constantly being shifted from place to place.

The Unlearned or Lawless Parliament (Parliamentum Indoctum) (1404). So called by Sir E. Coke, because it contained no lawyer.

The Unmerciful Parliament, in the reign of Richard II.; so called by the people from its tyrannical proceedings.

The Useless Parliament. The Parliament convened by Charles I., on June 18th, 1625; adjourned to Oxford, August 1st; and dissolved August 12th; having done nothing but offend the king.

The Wondermaking Parliament. The same as “The Unmerciful Parliament;” convened February 3rd, 1388. By playing into the hands of the Duke of Gloucester it checkmated the king.

Parliament Soldiers

The soldiers of General Monk, who restored Charles II. to the throne.

“Ring a ding—ding; ring a ding—ding!

The Parliament soldiers are gone for the king. Some they did laugh, and some they did cry

To see the Parliament soldiers go by,

[To fetch back the king.]”

Parliament of Bats

(The), 1426, during the regency in the reign of Henry VI. So called because the members, being forbidden by the Duke of Gloucester to wear swords, armed themselves with clubs or bats.

Parliament of Dunces

Convened by Henry IV. at Coventry, in 1404, and so called because all lawyers were excluded from it.

Parliamentarian

(A). One who favoured the Parliament in opposition to Charles I.

Parlour (A). The reception room in a religious house where the religious see their friends. (French, parlour.)

Parlous

A corrupt form of perilous, in slang = our modern use of “awful,” amazing, wondrous.

“Oh! 'tis a parlous lad.”

Shakespeare: As You Like It, iii. 2.

Parmenianists

A name given to the Donatists; so called from Parmenianus, Bishop of Carthage, the great antagonist of Augustine.

Parmesan'

A cheese made at Parma, in Italy.

Parnassos

(Greek), Parnassus (Latin). A mountain near Delphi, in Greece. It has two summits, one of which was consecrated to Apollo and the Muses, the other to Bacchus. It was anciently called Larnassos, from larnax, an ark, because Deucalion's ark stranded there after the flood. After the oracle of Delphi was built at its foot it received the name of Parnassos, which Peucerus says is a corruption of Har Nahas (hill of divination). The Turks call it Liakura.

Parnassus. The region of poetry. Properly a mountain of Phocis, in Greece, sacred to Apollo and the Muses.

“Where lies your vein? Are you inclined to soar to the higher regions of Parnassus or to flutter round the base of the hill?” (The Antiquary)— i.e. Are you going to attempt the higher walks of poetry, such as epic and dramatic, or some more modest kind, as simple song?

To climb Parnassus. To write poetry.

Parochial

Relating to a parish. Hence, petty, narrow. (See Little Englanders .)

Parody

Father of Parody. Hippomax of Ephesus, The word parody means an ode which perverts the meaning of another ode. (Greek, para ode. )

Parole

(French). A verbal promise given by a soldier or prisoner of war, that he will not abuse his leave of absence; the watchword of the day.

Parolles

(3 syl.). A man of vain words, who dubs himself “captain,” pretends to knowledge which he has not, and to sentiments he never feels. (French, paroles, a creature of empty words.) (Shakespeare: All's Well that Ends Well.)

“I know him a notorious liar,

Think him a great way fool, solely a coward;

Yet these fixed evils sit so fit on him

That they take place ...”

Act i. 1.

He was a mere Parolles in a pedagogue's wig. A pretender, a man of words, and a pedant. The allusion is to the bragging, faithless, slandering villain mentioned above.

“Rust, sword; cool, blushes; and, Parolles, live Safest in shame; being fooled, by fooling thrive;

There's place and means for every man alive.”

Shakespeare: All's Well that Ends Well, iv. 3.

Parr

Old Parr. Thomas Parr lived in the reigns of ten sovereigns; married a second wife when he was 120 years old, and had a child by her. He was a husbandman, born at Salop in 1483, and died 1635, aged 152 years. Mr. Thoms, in his Records of Longevity, denies the truth of Parr's great age.

Parricide

(3 syl.). La Belle Parricide. Beatrice Cenci (—1599.)

Parrot—coal

A name given to anthracite because of the crackling or chattering noise it makes when burnt.

Parsees

or Ghebers. Fire—worshippers. We use the word for Persian refugees driven out of their country by the persecutions of the Mussulmans. They now inhabit various parts of India. (The word means People of Pars or Fars— i.e. Persia.)

Parsley

He has need now of nothing but a little parsley— i.e. he is dead. The Greeks decked tombs with parsley, because it keeps green a long time.

he needs parsley; that is, he is dead, and should be strewed with parsley.

Parson

says Blackstone, is “persona ecclesiae, one that hath full rights of the parochial church.” (See Clerical Titles.)

“Among wyves and wodewes ich am ywoned sute [wont to set],

Yparroked [impaled] in puwes. The person hit knoweth.” Robert Langland: Piers Plowmes Vision.

“God give you good morrow, master, person” (i.e. Sir Nathaniel, a parson).— Shakespeare: Love's Labour's Lost, iv. 2.

Parson Adams

A simple—minded country clergyman of the eighteenth century, in Fielding's Joseph Andrews. Fielding says that Parson Adams at the age of fifty was provided with a handsome income of 30 a year.

(Sussex Archoeological Collections, vol. iii. p. 172.) (See Passing Rich.)

Parson Bate

A stalwart, choleric, sporting parson, editor of the Morning Post in the latter half of the eighteenth century. He was afterwards Sir Henry Bate Dudley, Bart.

“When Sir Henry Bate Dudley was appointed an Irish dean, a young lady of Dublin said,

“Oh, how I long to see our dane. They say he is a very handsome man, and that he fights like an angel.”— Cassell's Magazine: London Legends, iii.

Parson Trulliber

in Fielding's Joseph Andrews. A slothful, ignorant, and self—willed bigot. Other parsons famous in story are the Rev. Micah Balwidder, the vicar of Bray, Brocklehurst. Dr. Primrose,

the parson in Goldsmith's Deserted Village, the parson in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and some others.

Parsons

(Walter), the giant porter of King James, died in 1622. (Fuller's Worthies.)

Part

The character assigned to an actor in a play.

Part

A portion, piece, or fragment.

For my part. As far as concerns me. For the most part. Generally, as a rule. In good part. Favourably.

Part and parcel. An essential part, portion, or element.

Partant pour la Syrie

The national air of the French Empire. The words were composed by M. de Laborde in 1809; the music by Queen Hortense, mother of Napoleon III. It is a ballad, the subject of which is as follows:— Young Dunois followed the count, his lord, to Syria, and prayed the Virgin “that he might prove the bravest warrior, and love the fairest maiden.” After the battle, the count said to Dunois, “To thee we owe the victory, and my daughter I give to thee.” Moral: “Amour à la plus belle; honneur au plus vaillant.”

Parthenia

Mistress of Argalus, in the Arcadia, of Sir Philip Sydney.

Parthenope

(4 syl.). Naples; so called from Parthenope, the siren, who threw herself into the sea out of love for Ulysses, and was cast up on the bay of Naples.

Parthenopean Republic

That of Naples, from January 22, 1799, to the June following.

Parti

(A). An eligible person for a big marriage.

“Prince Frederick Leopold is a parti, as he has inherited the bulk of his father's immense fortune [twenty—four millions sterling].”— Newspaper Paragraph, 1885.

Particular Baptists

That branch of the Baptist Dissenters who limit the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to those who have been recipients of adult baptism. Open Baptists admit any baptised person to receive it.

Particularists

Those who hold the doctrine of particular election and reprobation.

Parting

“Parting is such sweet sorrow,

That I shall say `Good Night' till it be morrow.” Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, ii. 2.

Parting Cup

(A), was, by the ancient Romans, drunk in honour of Mercury to insure sound sleep. (See Ovid, Fasti, ii. 635.) (See Stirrup Cup .)

Partington

A Mrs. Malaprop, or Tabitha Bramble, famous for her misuse of hard words. (B. P. Shillaber; an American author.)

Dame Partington and her mop. A taunt against those who try to withstand progress. The newspapers say that a Mrs. Partington had a cottage at Sidmouth, in Devonshire. In November, 1824, a heavy gale drove the seawaves into her house, and the old lady laboured with a mop to sop the wet up, till she was obliged to take refuge in the upper part of the house. The Rev. Sydney Smith, speaking on the Lords rejection of the Reform Bill, October, 1831, compares them to Dame Partington with her mop, trying to push back the Atlantic. “She

was excellent,” he says, “at a slop or puddle, but should never have meddled with a tempest.”

Partlet

The hen in Chaucer's Nun's Priest's Tale, and in the tale of Reynard the Fox (fourteenth century). So called from the partlet or loose collar of “the doublet,” referring to the frill—like feathers round the neck of certain hens. (A partlet was a ruff worn in the 16th century by women.)

“In the barn the tenant cock

Close to partlet perched on high.”

Cuningham.

Sister Partlet with her hooded head, allegorises the cloistered community of nuns in Dryden's Hind and Panther, where the Roman Catholic clergy are likened to barnyard fowls.

Partridge

The attendant of Jones, half — barber and half — schoolmaster; shrewd, but simple as a child. His simplicity, and his strong excitement at the play—house, when he went to see Garrick in Hamlet, are admirably portrayed. (Fielding: Tom Jones.)

Partridge's Day

(St.), September 1, the first day of partridge shooting.

Partula

according to Tertullian, was the goddess of pregnancy, who determined the time of gestation. (Aulus Gellius, iii. c. 16.)

Parturiunt Montes

“Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.” The Egyptian king Tachos sustained a long war against Artaxerxes Ochus, and sent to the Lacedemonians for aid. King Agesilaos went with a contingent, but when the Egyptians saw a little, ill—dressed lame man, they said: “Parturiebat mons; formidabat Jupiter; ille vero murem peperit.” (“The mountain laboured, Jupiter stood aghast, and a mouse ran out.”) Agesilaos replied, “You call me a mouse, but I will soon show you I am a lion.”

Party

Person or persons under consideration. “This is the next party, your worship”— i.e. the next case to be examined. “This is the party that stole the things”— the person or persons accused. (French, partie, a person.)

“If an evil spirit trouble any, one must make a smoke ... and the party shall be no more vexed.”— Tobit vi. 7.

Party Spirit

The animus or feeling of a party man.

Parvenu'

(French). An upstart; one who has risen from the ranks.

Parvis

(London). The “place” or court before the main entrance of a cathedral. In the parvis of St. Paul's lawyers used to meet for consultation, as brokers do in exchange. The word is now applied to the room above the church porch. (Paravisus, a Low Latin corruption of paradisus, a church close.)

“A sergeant of lawe, war and wvs,

That often haddé ben atté parvys.”

Chaucer: Canterbury Tales (Introduction)

Parviz'

[Victorious ]. Surname of Khosru or Chosroes II., the grandson of Khosru the Magnificent. The reigns of Khosru I. and II. were the golden period of Persian history. Parviz' kept 15,000 female musicians, 6,000 household officers, 20,500 saddle—mules, 960 elephants, 200 slaves to scatter perfumes when he went abroad, 1,000 sekabers to water the roads before him, and sat on a pillared throne of almost inconceivable splendour.

The horse of Chosroes Parviz. Shibdiz, the Persian Bucephalos. (See Horse.)

Parysatis Wife of Darius Nothos. (A corruption of Peri 'Zadcher [fairy bird—of—Paradise], sometimes called Azadcher [bird—of—Paradise].)

Pascal's Thoughts

Pensées sur la Religion (1670). Fugitive reflections and short sentences chiefly of a religious character, by Blaise Pascal (1623—1662).

Pasch Eggs

(pron. Pask). Easter eggs, given as an emblem of the resurrection. They are generally coloured. Not, unfrequently a name written with grease, which does not absorb the colouring matter, causes a pasch egg to appear with a name on it.

The day before Easter Sunday is called Egg Saturday.

Donner un oeuf, pour avoir un boeuf. Giving a sprat to catch a mackerel. To give an egg at Easter under the expeetation of receiving a more substantial present later on.

Pasha of Three Tails

(A). There are three grades of pashas distinguished by the number of horse—tails on their standard. In war the horse—tail standard is carried before the pasha, and planted in front of his tent. The highest rank of pashas are those of three tails; the grand vizier is always ex officio such a pasha. Pashas of two tails are governors of provinces; it is one of these officers that we mean when we speak of a pasha in a general way. A pasha of one tail is a sanjak or lowest of provincial governors. (The word pasha is the Persian pa, support of Shah, the ruler.)

Pasque Eggs

(See Pasch Eggs .)

Pasquinade

(3 syl.). A lampoon or political squib, having ridicule for its object; so called from Pasquino, an Italian tailor of the fifteenth century, noted for his caustic wit. Some time after his death a mutilated statue was dug up, representing either Ajax supporting Menelaos, or Menelaos carrying the dead body of Patroclos, or else a gladiator, and was placed at the end of the Braschi Palace near the Piazza Navoni. As it was not clear what the statute represented, and as it stood opposite Pasquin's house, the Italians called it “Pasquin.” The Romans made this torso the depository of their political, religious, and personal satires, which were therefore called Pasquin—songs or Pasquinades. In the Capitol is a rival statue called Marforio, to which are affixed replies to the Pasquinades.

Pass

A pass or A common pass. An ordinary degree, without honours. Where a person is allowed to pass up the senate—house to his degree without being “plucked.” (See Pluck. )

Well to pass. Well to do. Here “pass” is the synonym of fare (Saxon, faran, to go or pass). Shakespeare has the expression, “How goes it?”— i.e. How fares it, how passes it?

Passe Brewell

Sir Tristram's horse. Sir Tristram was one of the round—table knights. (History of Prince Arthur, ii. 68.)

Passe—partout

A sort of picture—frame. The middle is cut out to the size of the picture, and the border or edge is embossed, so as to present a raised margin. The passe—partout and picture, being backed and faced with a glass, are held together by an edging of paper which shows on the glass face. The word means

something to “pass over all.”

A master—key is also called a passe—partout (a pass through all the rooms).

Passelourdin

(3 syl.). A great rock near Poitiers, where there is a very narrow hole on the edge of a precipice, through which the university freshmen are made to pass, to “matriculate” them. The same is done at Mantua, where the freshmen are made to pass under the arch of St. Longinus. Passe—lourdan means “lubber—pass.”

Passelyon

A young foundling brought up by Morgane la Fée. He was detected in an intrigue with Morgane's daughter, and the adventures of this amorous youth are related ìn the romance called Perceforest, vol. iii.

Passing Bell

(The). It now means the bell tolled to announce the death of one who has died in the parish; but originally it meant the bell which announced that the person was in extremis, or passing from time into eternity.

“When a person lies in agony, the bells of the parish he belongs to are touched with the clappers until either he dies or recovers again. As soon as this sign is given, everybody in the street, as well as in the houses, falls on his knees, offering prayer for the sick person.” (See

lxvii. of the Canon Law.)— Diary of the Duke of Stettin's Journey.

Passing Fair

Admirably fair. (Dutch, passen, to admire.)

Passing Rich

Goldsmith tells us in his Deserted Village, that the clergyman was “passing rich with 350.

“A man he was to all the country dear, And passing rich with forty pounds a year.” Goldsmith: Deserted Village.

In Norway and Sweden the clergy are paid from 40 a year is the usual stipend of the working clergy. Of St. Yves it was said (1251—1303):—

“Il distribuait, avec une sainte profusion aux pauvres, les revenus de son benefice et ceux de fon patrimoine, qui étaient de 60 de rente, alors une sonime très notable, particulierement en Basse Bretagne.”— Dom Lobineau: Lives of the Saints of Great Britain.

Passion Flower

The leaf symbolises the spear.

The five anthers, the five wounds.

The tendrils, the cords or whips.

The column of the ovary, the pillar of the cross. The stamens, the hammers.

The three styles, the three nails.

The fleshy threads within the flowers, the crown of thorns. The calyx, the glory or nimbus.

The white tint, purity.

The blue tint, heaven.

It keeps open three days; symbolising the three years' ministry. (Matt. xii. 40.) (See Pike's Head.)

Passionists

Certain priests of the Roman Catholic Church, who mutually agreed to preach “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” The founder of this “congregation” was Paul Francis, surnamed Paul of the Cross. (1694—1775.)

Passover A Jewish festival to commemorate the deliverance of the Israelites, when the angel of death (that slew the first—born of the Egyptians) passed over their houses, and spared all who did as Moses commanded them.

Passy—measure

or Passing—measure. A slow, stately dance; a corruption of the Italian passamezzo (a middle pace or step). It is called a cinque measure, because it consists of five measures— “two singles and a double forward, with two singles side.” (Collier.)

Passy—measure Pavin

A pavin is a stately dance (see Pavan) ; a passy—measure pavin is a reeling dance or motion, like that of a drunken man, from side to side. Sir Toby Belch says of Dick Surgeon—

“He's a rogue and a passy—measure pavin. I hate a drunken rogue.”— Shakespeare: Twelfth Night, v. 1.

Pasteboard

A visiting card; so called from the material of which it is made.

Paston Letters

The first two volumes appeared in 1787, entitled Original Letters written during the Reigns of Henry VI., Edward IV., and Richard III. by various Persons of Rank; edited by Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Fenn. They are called Paston because chiefly written by or to members of the Paston family in Norfolk. They passed from the Earl of Yarmouth to Peter le Neve, antiquary; then to Mr. Martin, of Palgrave, Suffolk; were then bought by Mr. Worth, of Diss; then passed to the editor. Charles Knight calls them “an invaluable record of the social customs of the fifteenth century” (the time of the Wars of the Roses), but of late some doubt has been raised respecting their authenticity. Three extra volumes were subsequently added.

Pastorale of Pope Gregory

by Alfred the Great.

Patavinity

A provincial idiom in speech or writing; so called from Patavium (Padua), the birthplace of Livy. (See Patois. )

Patch

A fool; so called from the motley or patched dress worn by licensed fools.

“What a pied ninny's this! thou scurvy patch!”

Shakespeare: The Tempest, iii. 2.

Cross—patch. An ill—tempered person. (See above. Not a patch upon. Not to be compared with; as, “His horse is not a patch upon mine,” “My patch is better than his garment.”

Patch

(To). To express certain political views. The allusion is to the custom, in Queen Anne's reign, of wearing on the face little black patches. If the patch was on the right cheek, it indicated that the wearer was a Whig; if on the left cheek, that she was a Tory; if on the forehead between the eyes, or on both cheeks, that she was of no political bias. (See Court Plaster .)

“Whatever might be her husband's politics, she was at liberty to patch as she pleased.”— Nineteenth Century, February, 1890, p. 58.

Patelin

The artful dodger. The French say, Savoir son Patelin (to know how to bamboozle you). Patelin is the name of an artful cheat in a farce of the fifteenth century so called. On one occasion he wanted William Josseaume to sell him cloth on credit, and artfully fell on praising the father of the merchant, winding up his laudation with this ne plus ultra: “He did sell on credit, or even lend to those who wished to borrow.” This farce was reproduced in 1706 by Brueys, under the name of L'Avocat Patelin.

“Consider, sir, I pray you, how the noble Patelin, having a mind to extol to the third heaven the father of William Josseaume, said no more than this: `And he did lend to those who were desirous to borrow of him.' ”— Rabelais: Pantagruel, iii. 4.

Patelinage

Foolery, buffoonery; acting like Patelin in the French farce.

“I never in my life laughed so much as at the acting of that Patelinage.”— Rabelais: Pantagruel, iii. 34.

Patent Rolls

Letters patent collected together on parchment rolls. Each roll is a year, though in some cases the roll is subdivided into two or more parts. Each sheet of parchment is numbered, and called a membrane: for example, the 8th or any other sheet, say of the 10th year of Henry III., is cited thus: “Pat. 10, Hen. III., m.

8.” If the document is on the back of the roll it is called dorso, and “d” is added to the citation.

Pater Noster

The Lord's Prayer; so called from the first two words in the Latin version. Every tenth bead of a rosary is so called, because at that bead the Lord's Prayer is repeated. Formerly applied to the Rosary beads.

Pater Patrum

St. Gregory of Nyssa was so entitled by the Nicaean Council. (332—395.)

Paternoster Row

(London) was so named from the rosary or paternoster makers. We read of “one Robert Nikke, a paternoster maker and citizen, in the reign of Henry IV.” Some say it was so called because funeral processions on their way to St. Paul's began their pater noster at the beginning of the Row, and went on repeating it till they reached the church—gate.

Pathfinder

Major—General John Charles Fremont, who conducted four expeditions across the Rocky Mountains. (1842).

Pathfinder, in Fenimore Cooper's five novels, is Natty Bumppo, called the Pathfinder, the Deerslayer, the Hawkeye, and the Trapper. (See Natty Bumppo.)

Patience cry the Lepers

A punning proverbial phrase. Lepers seek diligently the herb patience (lapathum) relieve them from their suffering.

Patient

(The). Albert IV., Duke of Austria. (1377—1404.) (See Helena. )

Patient Grisel

Grisildes, Grisild, Grisilde, or Grisildis, according to Chaucer, was the wife of Wautier, Marquis of Saluces (Clerkes Tale ). According to Boccaccio, Griselda, a poor country lass, became the wife of Gualtiere, Marquis of Saluzzo (Tenth Day, novel x.). She is put upon by her husband in the most wanton and gratuitous manner, but bears it all, not only without a murmur, but even without loss of temper. She is the model of patience under injuries. The allegory means that God takes away our children and goods, afflicts us in sundry ways, and tries us “so as with fire;” but we should always say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Patin

Brother of the Emperor of Rome, who fought with Amadis of Gaul, and had his horse killed under him.

Patina

A beautiful surface deposit or fine rust, with which, in time, buried coins and bronzes become covered. It is at once preservative and ornamental, and may be seen to advantage in the ancient bronzes of Pompeii. (Greek, patane, a paten.)

Patmos (My). My solitude, my place of banishment from society, my out—of—the—way home. As

“Good—b'ye, I must go to my Patmos.” The allusion, of course, is to the banishment of St. John to the island of Patmos, in the reign of Domitian.

Patois

(2 syl.). Dialectic peculiarity, provincialism. Asinius Pollio noticed something of the kind in Livy, which he called patavinitas, from Patavium, Livy's birth—town.

Patri—Passians

One of the most ancient sectaries of the Christian Church, who maintained the oneness of the

God—head. The founder was Praxeas, of Phrygia, in the second century. The appellation was given to them by their opponents, who affirmed that, according to their theory, the Father must have suffered on the cross.

Patrician

properly speaking, is one of the patres or fathers of Rome. These patres were the senators, and their descendants were the patricians. As they held for many years all the honours of the state, the word came to signify the magnates or nobility of a nation.

N.B. In Rome the patrician class was twice augmented: first by Tatius, after the Sabine war, who added a whole “century;” and again by Tarquinius Priscus, who added another. The Sabine century went by the name of patricians of the senior races (majorum gentium), and the Tarquinian patricians were termed of the junior creation (minorum gentium).

Patrick

Chambers says, “We can trace the footsteps of St. Patrick almost from his cradle to his grave by the names of places called after him.” Thus, assuming the Scottish origin, he was born at Kil—patrick (the cell of Patrick), in Dumbartonshire; he resided for some time at Dal—patrick (the district of Patrick), in Lanarkshire; and visited Cragphadrig (the rock of Patrick), near Inverness. He founded two churches, Kirk—patrick in Kirkcudbright, and Kirk—patrick in Dumfries; and ultimately sailed from Port—patrick, leaving behind him such an odour of sanctity that among the most distinguished families of the Scottish aristocracy Patrick has been a favourite name down to the present day.

Arriving in England, he preached at Patter—dale (Patrick's valley), in Westmoreland; and founded the church of Kirk—patrick, in Durham. Visiting Wales, he walked over Sarn—badrig (causeway of Patrick), which now forms a dangerous shoal in Carnarvon Bay; and, departing for the Continent, sailed from Llan—badrig (church of Patrick), in the isle of Anglesea. Undertaking his mission to convert the Irish, he first landed at Innis—patrick (island of Patrick), and next at Holm—patrick, on the opposite shore of the mainland, in the county of Dublin. Sailing northwards, he touched at the Isle of Man, called Innis—patrick, where he founded another church of Kirk—patrick, near the town of Peel. Again landing on the coast of Ireland, in the county of Down, he converted and baptised the chieftain Dichu on his own threshing—floor, an event perpetuated in the word Saul— i.e. Sabbal—patrick (barn of Patrick). He then proceeded to Temple—patrick, in Antrim; and from thence to a lofty mountain in Mayo, ever since called Croagh—patrick. In East Meath he founded the abbey of Domnach—Padraig (house of Patrick) and built a church in Dublin on the spot where St. Patrick's Cathedral now stands. In an island of Lough Derg, in Donegal, there is St. Patrick's Purgatory; in Leinster, St. Patrick's Wood; at Cashel, St. Patrick's Rock. There are scores of St. Patrick's Wells from which he drank; and he died at Saul, March 17th, 493. (Book of Days.)

St. Patrick's real name was Succat, changed first into Cothraige, then to Magonus, and afterwards (on his ordination) to Patricius. (See Dr. Todd, in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. vi.)

Patrick's Cave

(St.), through which was a descent to purgatory, for the behoof of the living who wished to expiate their evil deeds before death.

Patrick's Cross

(St.). The same shape as St. Andrew's Cross (X), only different in colour, viz. red on a white field. (See Andrew. )

Patrick's Grave

(St.), in the yard of Downpatrick cathedral. The visitor is shown a spot where some of the mould has been removed, and is told that pilgrims take away a few grains as a charm, under the belief that the

relic will insure good health, and help to atone for sin.

Patrick's Monument

(St.), in the cemetery of Downpatrick cathedral. Visitors are shown the spot where the

“saint” was buried, but, on asking why there is no memorial, is informed that both Protestants and Catholics agreed to erect a suitable one, but could not agree upon the inscription. Whatever the Protestants erected in the day the Catholics pulled down at night, and vice versâ. Tired of this toil of Penelope, the idea was abandoned, and the grave was left unmarked by monumental stone.

Patrick's Purgatory

(St.), Ireland, described in the Italian romance called Guerino Meschino. Here gourmands are tantalised with delicious banquets which elude their grasp, and are at the same time troubled with colic. (See Tantalus. )

Patrick and the Serpent

(St.). According to tradition, St. Patrick cleared Ireland of its vermin; one old serpent resisted him; but St. Patrick overcame it by cunning. He made a box, and invited the serpent to enter it. The serpent objected, saying it was too small; but St. Patrick insisted it was quite large enough to be comfortable. After a long contention, the serpent got in to prove it was too small, when St. Patrick slammed down the lid, and threw the box into the sea. To complete this wonderful tale, the legend says the waves of the sea are made by the writhings of this serpent, and the noise of the sea is that of the serpent imploring the saint to release it.

Patrico

or Pater—cove. Hedge priests who for a fee married people under a hedge, as Abraham—men (q.v.).

Patroclos

The gentle and amiable friend of Achilles, in Homer's Iliad. When Achilles refused to fight in order to annoy Agamemnon, he sent his friend Patroclos to battle, and he was slain by Euphorbos.

Patten

Martha or Patty, says Gay, was the daughter of a Lincolnshire farmer, with whom the village blacksmith fell in love. To save her from wet feet when she went to milk the cows, the village Mulciber invented a clog, mounted on iron, which he called patty, after his mistress. This pretty fable is of no literary value, as the word is the French patin (a high—heeled shoe or skate), from the Greek patein (to walk).

`The patten now supports each frugal dame, Which from the blue—eyed Patty takes its name.” Gay: Trivia, i.

Pattens—Money

(Chapins de la Reina). A subsidy levied in Spain on all crown tenants at the time of a royal marriage.

Patter

To chatter, to clack. Dr. Pusey thinks it is derived from Paternoster (the Lord's Prayer). The priest recited it in a low, mumbling voice till he came to the words, “and lead us not into temptation,” which he spoke aloud, and the choir responded, “but deliver us from evil.” In our reformed Prayer Book, the priest is directed to say the whole prayer “with a loud voice.” Probably the “pattering of rain”— i.e. the rain coming with its pit—pat, is after all the better derivation.

Gipsy talk is so called from the French patois. (See Patavinity.)

Pattern

A corruption of patron. As a patron is a guide, and ought to be an example, so the word has come to signify an artistic model. (French, patron Latin, Patronus.)

Pattieson

(Mr. Peter). Introduced by Sir Walter Scott in the Introductions of the Heart of Midlothian and Bride of Lammermoor. He is represented as “assistant” at Gandercleugh, and author of the Tales of My Landlord, published posthumously by Jedidiah Cleishbotham.

Paul

(St.). Patron saint of preachers and tentmakers. Originally called Saul. The name was changed in honour of Serigus Paulus, whom he converted.

His symbol are a sword and open book, the former the instrument of his martyrdom, and the latter indicative of the new law propagated by him as the apostle of the Gentiles. He is represented of short stature, with bald head and grey, bushy beard.

Born at Giscalis, a town of Judaea, from which he removed, with his parents, to Tarsus, of Cilicia. Tribe, that of Benjamin.

Taught by Gamaliel.

Beheaded by a sword in the fourteenth year of Nero. On the same day as Peter was crucified. Buried in the Ostian Way.

(See Eusebius: Hicronymus.)

Paul Pry

An idle, meddlesome fellow, who has no occupation of his own, and is always interfering with other folk's business. (John Poole: Paul Pry, a comedy.) The original was Thomas Hill.

Paul and Virginia A tale by Bernardin de St. Pierre. At one time this little romance was as popular as Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Paul the Hermit

(St.) is represented as an old man, clothed with palm—leaves, and seated under a palm—tree, near which are a river and loaf of bread.

Paul of the Cross

Paul Francis, founder of the Passionists. (1694—1775.)

Paul's Man

(A). A braggart; a captain out of service, with a long rapier; so called because St. Paul's Walk was at one time the haunt of stale knights. Jonson called Bobadil (q.v.) a Paul's man.

Paul's Pigeons

The boys of St. Paul's School, London.

Paul's Walkers

Loungers who frequented the middle of St. Paul's, which was the Bond Street of London up to the time of the Commonwealth. (See Ben Jonson's Every Man out of his Humour, where are a variety of scenes given in the interior of St. Paul's. Harrison Ainsworth describes these “walkers” in his novel entitled Old St. Paul's.)

“The young gallants ... used to meet at the central point, St. Paul's: and from this circumstance obtained the appellation of Paul's Walkers, as we now say Bond Street Lungers.”— Moser: European Magazine, July, 1807.

Paulianists

A sect of heretics so called from Paulianus Samosatanus (Paul of Samosata), elected Bishop of Antioch in 262. He may be considered the father of the Socinians.

Paulicians

A religious sect of the Eastern Empire, an offshoot of the Manichaeans. It originated in an Armenian named Paul, who lived under Justinian II. Neander says they were the followers of Constantine of Mananalis, and were called Paulicians because the apostle Paul was their guide. He says they rejected the worship of the Virgin and of saints, denied the doctrine of transubstantiation, and maintained the right of everyone to read the Scriptures freely.

Paulina

wife of Antigonus, a Sicilian nobleman, takes charge of Queen Hermione, when unjustly sent to prison by her jealous husband, and after a time presents her again to Leontes as a statue “by that rare Italian master, Julio Romano.” (Shakespeare: Winter's Tale.)

Paulo

The cardinal, brother of Count Guido Franceschini, who advised his scapegrace bankrupt brother to marry an heiress, in order to repair his fortune. (Robert Browning: The Ring and the Book.)

Pavan

or Pavin. Every pavan has its galliard (Spanish). Every sage has his moments of folly. Every white must have its black, and every sweet its sour. The pavan was a stately Spanish dance, in which the ladies and gentlemen stalked like peacocks (Latin, pavones ), the gentlemen with their long robes of office, and the ladies with trains like peacocks' tails. The pavan, like the minuet, ended with a quick movement called the galliard, a sort of gavotte.

Pavilion of Prince Ahmed

(The). This pavilion was so small it could be covered with the hand, and yet would expand so largely as to encamp a whole army. (Arabian Nights: Ahmed and Pari—Banon.) (See Solomon's Carpet .)

Pawnbroker

The three golden balls. The Lombards were the first money—lenders in England, and those who borrowed money of them deposited some security or pawn. The Medici family, whose arms were three gilded pills, in allusion to their profession of medicine, were the richest merchants of Florence, and greatest

money—lenders. (See Balls. )

Roscoe, in his Life of Lorenzo de Medici, gives a different solution. He says that Averardo de' Medici, a commander under Charlemagne, slew the giant Mugello, whose club he bore as a trophy. This club or mace had three iron balls, which the family adopted as their device.

Pawn is the Latin pign[us] (a pawn or pledge).

Pawnee

Brandy pawnee. Brandy grog. (Hindu, pani, water.)

Pax

The “kiss of peace.” Also a sacred utensil used when mass is celebrated by a high dignitary. It is sometimes a crucifix, sometimes a tablet, and sometimes a reliquary. The pax is omitted on Maundy Thursday, from horror at the kiss of Judas.

Pay

(sea term). To cover with pitch. (Latin, picare, to cover with pitch.)

Here's the devil to pay, and no pitch hot. (See under Devil.)

Pay

(To). To discharge a debt. (French, payer.)

Who's to pay the piper? Who is to stand Sam? who is to pay the score? The phrase comes from the tradition about the Pied Piper of Hameln, who agreed to cure the town of rats and mice; when he had done so, the people of Hameln refused to pay him, whereupon he piped again, and led all the children to Koppelberg Hill, which closed over them.

From the corresponding French phrase, “payer les violons,” it would seem to mean who is to pay the fiddler or piper if we have a dance [on the green]; who is going to stand Sam?

Pay

(To). To slacken a cable; as, “Pay away” [more cable]; that is, “discharge” more cable. (French, payer.)

Pay

(To). To requite, to punish.

I'll pay him out. I'll be a match for him, I'll punish him.

“They with a foxe—tale him soundly did paye.”

The King and Northerne Man (1640).

Pay off old Scores

(To). To pay off a debt, whether of money or revenge.

Pay with the Roll of the Drum

(To). Not to pay at all. No soldier can be arrested for debt when on the march.

“How happy the soldier who lives on his pay,

And spends half—a—crown out of sixpence a day; He cares not for justices, beadles, or bum,

But pays all his debts with the roll of the drum.” O'Keefe.

Paynising

A process of preserving and hardening wood invented by Mr. Payne. (See Kyanise. )

Pea—jacket

(A). Dutch, pig or pije, a coarse thick cloth or felt. A “pije jacket.”

Peace

The Perpetual Peace. The peace concluded January 24th, 1502, between England and Scotland. But a few years afterwards the battle of Flodden Field was fought.

Peace—makers

(The). The nickname of the Bedfordshire regiment. So called from having no battles on the colours.

Peace of Antalcidas (The), between Artaxerxes and the states of Greece. It was brought about by Antalcidas, the Spartan (B.C. 387).

Peace of God

In 1035 the clergy interfered to prevent the constant feuds between baron and baron; they commanded all men to lay down their arms on pain of excommunication. The command and malediction were read daily from the pulpits by the officiating priests after the proper gospel:— “May they who refuse to obey be accursed, and have their portion with Cain, the first murderer; with Judas, the arch—traitor; and with Dathan and Abiram, who went down alive into the pit. May they be accursed in the life that now is; and in that which is to come may their light be put out as a candle.” So saying, all the candles were instantly extinguished, and the congregation had to make its way in the dark out of church as it best could.

Peace with Honour

The rallying cry of the late Lord Beaconsfield; it originated with his speech after the Berlin Conference (1878), when he stated that he had brought back Peace with Honour.

Peaceful

(The). Kang—wâng, third of the Thow dynasty of China, in whose reign no one was either put to death or imprisoned. (1098—1152.)

Peach

To inform, to “split;” a contraction of impeach.

Peacock

Let him keep peacock to himself. Let him keep to himself his eccentricities. When George III. had partly recovered from one of his attacks, his Ministers got him to read the King's Speech, but he ended every sentence with the word “peacock.” The Minister who drilled him said that peacock was an excellent word for ending a sentence, only kings should not let subjects hear it, but should whisper it softly. The result was a perfect success: the pause at the close of each sentence had an excellent effect.

By the peacock! A common oath which at one time was thought sacred. The fabled incorruptibility of the peacock's flesh caused the bird to be adopted as a type of the resurrection.

Peacock's Feather Unlucky

(A). The peacock's tail is emblem of an Evil Eye, or an ever—vigilant traitor. The tale is this: Argus was the chief Minister of Osiris, King of Egypt. When the king started on his Indian expedition, he left his queen, Isis, regent, and Argus was to be her chief adviser. Argus, with one hundred spies (called eyes), soon made himself so powerful and formidable that he shut up the queen—regent in a strong castle, and proclaimed himself king. Mercury marched against him, took him prisoner, and cut off his head; whereupon Juno metamorphosed Argus into a peacock, and set his eyes in its tale.

Peak

(The), Derbyshire. “The Queen of Scots' Pillar” is a column in the cave of the peak as clear as alabaster, and so called because Mary Queen of Scots proceeded thus far, and then returned.

Peal

To ring a peal is to ring 5,040 changes; any number of changes less than that is technically called a touch or flourish. Bells are first raised, and then pealed. (Qy. Latin pello, to strike?)

“This society rung ... a true and complete peal of 5,040 grandsire triples in three hours and fourteen minutes.”— Inscription in Windsor Curfew Tower.

Pearl

(The). Dioscorides and Pliny mention the belief that pearls are formed by drops of rain falling into the

oyster—shells while open; the rain—drops thus received being hardened into pearls by some secretions of the animal.

According to Richardson, the Persians say when drops of spring—rain fall into the pearl—oyster they produce pearls.

“Precious the tear as that rain from the sky

Which turns into pearls as it falls on the sea.”

Thomas Moore.

“Pearls ... are believed to be the result of an abnormal secretory process caused by an irritation of the mollusk consequent on the intrusion into the shell of some foreign body, as a grain of sand, an egg of the mollusk itself, or perhaps some cercarian parasite.”— G. F. King: Gems, etc., chap. xii. p. 211.

Cardan says that pearls are polished by being pecked and played with by doves. (De Revum Varietate, vii.

34.)

Pearl

For Cleopatra melting her pearl in honour of Antony, see Cleopatra. A similar act of vanity and folly is told by Horace (2 Satire, iii. verse 239). Clodius, son of AEsop the tragedian, drew a pearl from his ear of great value, melted it in a strong acid, and drank to the health of Cecilia Metella. This story is referred to by Valerius Maximus, Macrobius, and Pliny. Horace says,

“Qui sanior, ac si

Illud idem in rapidum flumen jaceretve cloacam!'

Sir Thomas Gresham, it is said, when Queen Elizabeth dined with him at the City banquet, melted a pearl worth 15,000, and drank to her health.

“Here fifteen thousand pounds alone clap goes

Instead of sugar, Gresham drinks the pearl

Unto his queen and mistress.”

Thomas Heywood.

Pearl of the East

Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra (reigned 266—272).

Peasant Bard

Robert Burns, the lyric poet of Scotland. (1759—1796.)

Peasant—boy Philosopher

(The). James Ferguson. (1710—1776.)

Peasants' War

(The), between 1500 and 1525. It was a frequent rising of the peasantry of Swabia, Franconia, Saxony, and other German states, in consequence of the tyranny and oppression of the nobles. In 1502 was the rebellion called the Laced Shoe, from its cognisance; in 1514, the League of Poor Conrad; in 1523, the Latin War. The insurgents were put down, and whereas they had been whipped before with scourges, they were now chastised with scorpions.

Peascod

Father of Peasblossom, if Bottom's pedigree may be accepted.

“I pray you commend me to Mistress Squash your mother, and to Master Peascod your father, good Master Peasblossom.”— Shakespeare: Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 1.

Winter for shoeing, peascod for wooding. The allusion in the latter clause is to the custom of placing a peascod with nine peas in it on the door—lintel, under the notion that the first man who entered through the door would be the husband of the person who did so. Another custom is alluded to by Browne—

“The peascod greene oft with no little toyle

Hee'd seeke for in the fattest, fertiPst soile,

And rend it from the stalke to bring it to her,

Apd in her bosome for acceptance woo her.”

Britannia's Pastorals.

Pec

Eton slang for money. A contraction of the Latin pecunia.

Peceavi

To cry peceavi. To acknowledge oneself in the wrong. It is said that Sir Charles Napier, after the battle of Hyderabad, in 1843, used this word as a pun upon his victory— “Peceavi (I have sinned, i.e. Sinde).

Peck

(A). Some food. “To have a peck,” is to have something to eat.

Peckish. Hungry, or desirous of something to eat. Of course “peck” refers to fowls, etc., which peck their food.

“When shall I feel peckish again.”— Disraeli: Sybil, book vi. chap. iii.

Pecker

Keep your pecker up. As the mouth is in the head, pecker (the mouth) means the head; and to “keep your pecker up,” means to keep your head up, or, more familiarly, “keep your tail up;” “never say die.”

Peckham:

All holiday at Peckham.— i.e. no appetite, not peckish; a pun on the word peck, as going to Bedfordshire is a pun on the word bed.

Going to Peckham. Going to dinner.

Pecksniff

A canting hypocrite, who speaks homilies of morality, does the most heartless things “as a duty to society,” and forgives wrong—doing in nobody but himself. (Dickens: Martin Chuzzlewit.)

Peculiar

A parish or church exempt from episcopal jurisdiction, as a royal chapel, etc.

Peculiars

(The Court of). A branch of the Court of Arches having jurisdiction over the “peculiars” of the archbishop of Canterbury. (See above.)

Peculium

My own peculium. Private and individual property or possession. The Roman slaves were allowed to acquire property, over which their masters had no right or control; this was called their peculium.

Pecuniary

From pecus, cattle, especially sheep. Varo says that sheep were the ancient medium of barter and standard of value. Ancient coin was marked with the image of an ox or sheep. We have the Gold Sheep

(mouton d'or) and Gold Lamb (agneau d'or) of ancient France, so called from the figure struck on them, and worth about a shilling. (Latin, pecuniarius, pecunia.)

Pedagogue

(3 syl.) means a boy—leader. It was a slave whose duty it was to attend the boy whenever he left home. A schoolmaster “leads” his boys, morally and otherwise. (Greek, pais agogenus.)

Pedlar is not a tramp who goes on his feet, as if from the Latin pedes (feet), but a man who carries a ped or hamper without a lid, in which are stored fish or other articles to hawk about the streets. In Norwich there is a place called the Ped—market, where women expose eggs, butter, cheese, etc., in open hampers.

Pedlar's Acre

(Lambeth). According to tradition, a pedlar of this parish left a sum of money, on condition that his picture, with a dog, should be preserved for ever in glass in one of the church—windows. In the south window of the middle aisle, sure enough, such a picture exists; but probably it is a rebus on Chapman, the name of some benefactor. In Swaffham church there is a portrait of one John Chapman, a great benefactor, who is represented as a pedlar with his pack; and in that town a similar tradition exists.

Pedlars' French

The slang of the Romany folk. Even Bracton uses the word Frenchman as a synonym of foreigner, and it is not long since that everyone who could not speak English was called a Frenchman. The Jews, with a similar width, used the word Greek.

“Instead of Pedlars' French, gives him plain language.”— Beaumont and Fletcher: Faithful Friends, i. 2.

Peebles

Poor Peter Peebles. The pauper litigant in Redgauntlet, by Sir Walter Scott.

Peel

A Peel district. A clerical district (not a parish) devised by Sir Robert Peel.

Peeler

(A). Slang for a policeman; so called from Sir Robert Peel, who reconstructed the police system. Bobby, being the nickname of Robert, is applied to the same force. (See Bobby. )

Peeler. It is an extraordinary circumstance that this word, now applied to a policeman or thief—catcher, was in the sixteenth century applied to robbers. Holinshed, in his Scottish Chronicle (1570), refers to Patrick Dunbar, who “delivered the countrie of these peelers.” Thomas Mortimer, in his British Plutarch; Milton, in his Paradise Regained (book iv.); and Dryden, all use the word “peeler” as a plunderer or robber. The old Border towers were called “peels.” The two words are, of course, quite distinct.

Peep

To look at. As a specimen of the ingenuity of certain etymologists in tracing our language to Latin and Greek sources, may be mentioned Mr. Casaubon's derivation of peep from the Greek opipteuo (to stare at).

(Pe—pe—pe bo!)

Playing bo—peep or peep—bo. Hiding or skulking from creditors; in allusion to the infant nursery game.

Peep—o'—Day Boys

The Irish insurgents of 1784; so called because they used to visit the houses of their opponents (called defenders) at peep of day searching for arms or plunder.

Peeping Tom of Coventry

Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry, imposed some very severe imposts on the people of Coventry, which his countess, Godiva, tried to get mitigated. The earl, thinking to silence her importunity, said he would comply when she had ridden naked from one end of the town to the other. Godiva took him at his word, actually rode through the town naked, and Leofric remitted the imposts. Before Godiva started, all the inhibitants voluntarily confined themselves to their houses, and resolved that anyone who stirred abroad should be put to death. A tailor thought to have a peep, but was rewarded with the loss of his eyes, and has ever since been called Peeping Tom of Coventry. There is still a figure in a house at Coventry said to represent Peeping Tom.

Matthew of Westminster (1307) is the first to record the story of Lady Godiva: the addition of Peeping Tom dates from the reign of Charles II. In Smithfield Wall is a grotesque figure of the inquisitive tailor in “flowing wig and Stuart cravat.”

In regard to the terms made by Leofric, it may be mentioned that Rudder, in his History of Gloucester, tells

us that “the privilege of cutting wood in the Herduoles was granted to the parishioners of St. Briavel's Castle, in Gloucestershire, on precisely similar terms by the Earl of Hereford, who was at the time lord of Dean Forest.

Tennyson, in his Godiva, has reproduced the story.

Peerage of the Apostles

In the preamble of the statutes instituting the Order of St. Michael, founded in 1469 by Louis XI., the archangel is styled “my lord,” and is created a knight. The apostles had been already ennobled and knighted. We read of “the Earl Peter,” “Count Paul,” “the Baron Stephen,” and so on. Thus, in the introduction of a sermon upon St. Stephen's Day, we have these lines:—

“Contes vous vueille la patron

De St. Estienl le baron.”

“The A postles were gentlemen of bloude ... and Christ ... might, if He had esteemed of the vayne glorye of this world, have borne coat armour.”— The Blazon of Gentrie.

I myself was intimate with a rector who always laid especial stress on the word Lord, applied to Jesus Christ.

Peers of the Realm

The five orders of duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron. The word peer is the Latin pares (equals), and in feudal times all great vassals were held equal in rank. The following is well fitted to a dictionary of Phrase and Fable:—

“It is well known that, although the English aristocracy recruits itself from the sons of barbers, as Lord Tenterden; merchant tailors, as Count Craven; mercers, as the Counts of Coventry, etc., it will never tolerate poverty within its ranks. The male representative of Simon de Montfort is now a saddler in Tooley Street; the great—grandson of Oliver Cromwell, a porter in Cork market; and Stephen James Penny, Verger of St. George's, Hanover Square, is a direct descendant of the fifth son of Edward III.”— The Gaulois.

Peg

or Peggy, for Margaret, corrupted into Meg or Meggy. Thus, Pat or Patty for Martha; Poll or Polly, for Mary, corrupted into Moll or Molly; etc.

Peg too Low

(A). Low—spirited, moody. Our Saxon ancestors were accustomed to use peg—tankards, or tankards with a peg inserted at equal intervals, that when two or more drank from the same bowl, no one might exceed his fair proportion. We are told that St. Dunstan introduced the fashion to prevent brawling.

I am a peg too low means, I want another draught to cheer me up.

“Come, old fellow, drink down to your peg!

But do not drink any farther, I beg.”

Longfellow: Golden Legend, iv.

To take one down a peg. To take the conceit out of a braggart or pretentious person. The allusion here is not to pegtankards, but to a ship's colours, which used to be raised and lowered by pegs; the higher the colours are raised the greater the honour, and to take them down a peg would be to award less honour.

“Trepanned your party with intrigue,

And took your grandees down a peg.”

Butler: Hudibras, ii. 2.

There are always more round pegs than round holes. Always more candidates for office than places to dispose of.

Pegasos

(Greek; Pegasus, Latin). The inspiration of poetry, or, according to Boiardo (Orlando Inamorato), the horse of the Muses. A poet speaks of his Pegasus, as “My Pegasus will not go this morning,” meaning his brain will not work. “I am mounting Pegasus”— i.e. going to write poetry. “I am on my Pegasus,” i.e. engaged in writing verses.

Pegasus or Pegasos, according to classic mythology, was the winged horse on which Bellerophon rode against the Chimaera. When the Muses contended with the daughters of Pieros, Helicon rose heavenward with delight; but Pegasos gave it a kick, stopped its ascent, and brought out of the mountain the soul—inspiring waters of Hippocrene [Hip'—po—creen ].

Pegg

(Katharine). One of the mistresses of Charles II., daughter of Thomas Pegg, of Yeldersey, in Derbyshire, Esquire.

Pegging Away

(Keep). Keep on attacking, and you will assuredly prevail. “But screw your courage to the sticking—place, and we'll not fail” (Macbeth). Patience and perseverance will overcome mountains. It was President Lincoln who gave this advice to the Federals in the American civil war.

Peine Forte et Dure

A species of torture applied to contumacious felons. In the reign of Henri IV. the accused was pressed to death by weights; in later reigns the practice prevailed of tying the thumbs tightly together with whipcord, to induce the accused to plead. The following persons were pressed to death by weights:— Juliana Quick, in 1442; Anthony Arrowsmith, in 1598; Walter Calverly, in 1605; Major Strangways, in 1657; and even in 1741 a person was pressed to death at the Cambridge assizes. Abolished 1772.

Pelagianism

The system or doctrines taught by Pelagius (q.v.). He denied what is termed birth—sin or the taint of Adam, and he maintained that we have power of ourselves to receive or reject the Gospel.

Pelagius

A Latinised Greek form of the name Morgan— the Welsh môr, like the Greek pelagos, meaning the sea.

Pelf

Filthy pelf. Money. The word was anciently used for refuse or rubbish. “Who steals my purse steals trash.” Filthy means ungodly; the Scripture expression is “unrighteous mammon.” It is certainly not connected with pilfer, as it is usually given; but it may possibly be with the Anglo—Saxon pila, a pile or heap. The old French word pelfre means spoil.

Pelias

The huge spear of Achilles, which none but the hero could wield; so called because it was cut from an ash growing on Mount Pelion, in Thessaly.

Pelican

in Christian art, is a symbol of charity. It is also an emblem of Jesus Christ, by “whose blood we are healed” (Eucherius and Jerome). (See below.)

Pelican. A mystic emblem of Christ, called by Dante nostro Pelicano. St. Hieronymus gives the story of the pelican restoring its young ones destroyed by serpents, and his salvation by the blood of Christ. The Bestiarium says that Physiologus tells us that the pelican is very fond of its brood, but when the young ones begin to grow they rebel against the male bird and provoke his anger, so that he kills them, the mother returns to the nest in three days, sits on the dead birds, pours her blood over them, revives them, and they feed on the blood. (Bibl. Nat. Belg., No. 10,074.)

“Than sayd the Pellycane,

When my byrdts be slayne

With any bloude I them renyue [revive].

Scrypture doth record,

The same dyd our Lord,

And rose from deth to lyue.”

Skelton: Armoury of Birdts

Pelicans.

The notion that pelicans feed their young with their blood arose from the following habit:— They have a large bag attached to their under bill. When the parent bird is about to feed its brood, it macerates small fish in this bag or pouch, then pressing the bag against its breast, transfers the macerated food to the mouths of the young.

A pelican in her piety is the representation of a pelican feeding her young with her blood. The Romans called filial love piety, hence Virgil's hero is called pius AEneas, because he rescued his father from the flames of Troy.

Pelides

Son of Peleus (2 syl.)— that is, Achilles, the hero of Homer's Iliad, and chief of the Greek warriors that besieged Troy.

“When, like Pelides, bold beyond control,

Homer raised high to heaven the loud impetnous song.” Beattie. Minstrel.

Pelion

Heaping Ossa upon Pelion. Adding difficulty to difficulty, embarassment to embarrassment, etc. When the giants tried to scale heaven, they placed Mount Ossa upon Mount Pelion for a scaling ladder.

“Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam”

Virgil: Georgics, i. 281.

A noteworthy hexameter verse. The i of “conati” does not elide, nor yet the o of “Pelio.”

Pell—mell

Headlong; in reckless confusion. From the players of pallmall, who rush heedlessly to strike the ball. The “pall” is the ball (Italian, palla), and the “mall” is the mallet or bat (Italian, maglia; Latin, malleus). Sometimes the game is called “pall mall;” and sometimes the ground set apart for the game, as Pall Mall, Londo

It is not quite certain that pell—mell is the same compound word as pall—mall.

Pellean Conqueror

Alexander the Great, born at Pella, in Macedonia.

“Remember that Pellean conqueror.”

Milton: Paradise Regained, ii.

Pelleas

(Sir). One of the knights of the Round Table. In the Faëric Queene he goes after the “blatant beast” when it breaks the chain with which it had been bound by Sir Calidore.

Pells

Clerk of the Pells. An officer of the Exchequer, whose duty it was to make entries on the pells or parchment rolls. Abolished in 1834.

Pelops

Son of Tantalos, cut to pieces and served as food to the gods. The More'a was called Peloponue sos or the “island of Pelops,” from this mythical king.

The ivory shoulder of the sons of Pelops. The distinguishing or distinctive mark of anyone. The tale is that Demeter ate the shoulder of Pelops when it was served up by Tantalos, and when the gods put the body back into the cauldron to restore it to life, he came forth lacking a shoulder. Demeter supplied an ivory shoulder, and all his descendants carried this mark in their bodies. (See Pythagoras.)

Pelorus Cape di Faro, a promontory of Sicily. (Virgil AEneid, iii. 6, 7.)

“As when the force

Of subterranean wind transports a hill

Torn from Pelorus.”

Milton: Paradise Lost, bk. i. 232.

Pelos

[mud ]. Father of Physignathos, king of the frogs. (Battle of the Frogs and Mice.)

Pelt

in printing. Untanned sheepskins used for printing—balls. (French, pelte, Latin, pellis, a skin.)

Pen Name

sometimes written nomde—plume. A fictitious name assumed by an author who does not wish to reveal his real name. (See Nom De Guerre .)

Pen and Feather

are varieties of the same word, the root being the Sanskrit pat, to fly. (We have the Sanskrit pattra, a wing or instrument for flying; Latin, petna or, penna, pen; Greek, pteron; Teutonic, phathra; Anglo—Saxon, fether; our “feather.”)

Analogous examples are TEAR and LARME, NAG and EQUUS, WIG and PERUKE, HEART and COEUR, etc.

Penang Lawyers

Clubs. Penang sticks come from Penang, or the Prince of Wales Island, in the Malaccas.

Penates

(3 syl.). The household gods of the Romans.

Pencil of Rays

All the rays that issue from one point, or that can be focussed at one point (Latin, penicillus, little tail, whence penicillum, a painter's brush made of the hair of a cow's tail); so called because they are like the hairs of a paint—brush, except at the point where they aggregate.

Pendennis

(Arthur). The hero of Thackeray's novel, entitled The History of Pendennis, etc.

Major Pendennis. A tuft—hunter, similar in character to Macklin's celebrated Sir Pertinax M'Sycophant.

Pendente Lite

(Latin). Pending the suit; while the suit is going on.

Pendragon

A title conferred on several British chiefs in times of great danger, when they were invested with dictatorial power: thus Uter and Arthur were each appointed to the office to repel the Saxon invaders. Cassibelaun was pendragon when Julius Caesar invaded the island; and so on. The word pen is British for head, and dragon for leader, ruler, or chief. The word therefore means summus rex (chief of the kings).

So much for fact, and now for the table: Geoffrey of Monmouth says, when Aurelius, the British king, was poisoned by Ambron, during the invasion of Pascentius, son of Vortigern, there “appeared a star at Winchester of wonderful magnitude and brightness, darting forth a ray, at the end of which was a globe of fire in form of a dragon, out of whose mouth issued forth two rays, one of which extended to Gaul and the other to Ireland.” Uter ordered two golden dragons to be made, one of which he presented to Winchester, and the other he carried with him as his royal standard, whence he received the name of Uter Pendragon. (Books viii. xiv. xvii.)

Penelope

(4 syl.). The Web or Shroud of Penelope. A work “never ending, still beginning;” never done, but ever in hand. Penelopë, according to Homer, was pestered by suitors while her husband, Ulysses, was absent at the siege of Troy. To relieve herself of their importunities, she promised to make a choice of one as soon as she had finished weaving a shroud for her father—in—law. Every night she unravelled what she had done in the day, and so deferred making any choice till Ulysses returned, when the suitors were sent to the right—about without ceremony.

Penelophon The beggar loved by King Cophetua. (See Cophetua. )

Penelva

A knight whose adventures and exploits form a supplemental part of the Spanish romance entitled Amadis of Gaul. The first four books of the romance, and the part above referred to, were by Portuguese

authors— the former by Vasco de Lobeira, of Oporto, who died 1403; the latter by an unknown author.

Penetralia

The private rooms of a house; the secrets of a family. That part of a Roman temple into which the priest alone had access; here were the sacred images, here the responses of the oracles were made, and here the sacred mysteries were performed. The Holy of Holies was the penetralia of the Jewish Temple. (Latin plural of penetralis. )

Penfeather

(Lady Penelope). The lady patroness of the Spa. (Sir Walter Scott: St. Ronan's Well.)

Peninsular War

The war carried on, under the Duke of Wellington, against the French in Portugal and Spain, between 1808 and 1812.

Penitential Psalms

The seven psalms expressive of contrition— viz. the vi., xxxii., xxxviii., li., cii., cxxx., cxliii., of the Authorised Version, or vi., xxxi., xxxvii., l., ci., cxxix., cxlii., of the Vulgate.

Penmanship

The “Good King Réné,” titular king of Naples in the middle of the fifteenth century, was noted for his initial letters.

St. Theela, of Isauria, wrote the entire Scriptures out without a blot or mistake. St. Theodosius wrote the Gospels in letters of gold without a single mistake or blur. (See Longfellow's Golden Legend, iv.) (See Angel.)

Ponmanship

Dickens says of John Bell, of the Chancery, that he wrote three hands: one which only he himself could read, one which only his clerk could read, and one which nobody could read. Dean Stanley wrote about as bad a hand as man could write.

Pennals

[pen—cases ]. So the Freshmen of the Protestant universities of Germany were called, from the pennale or inkhorn which they carried with them when they attended lectures.

Pennalism

Fagging, bullying, petty persecution. The pennals or freshmen of the Protestant universities were the fags of the elder students, called schorists. Abolished at the close of the seventeenth century. (See above.)

Pennant

The common legend is, that when Tromp, the Dutch admiral, appeared on our coast, he hoisted a broom on his ship, to signify his intention of sweeping the ships of England from the sea; and that the English admiral hoisted a horsewhip to indicate his intention of drubbing the Dutch. According to this legend, the pennant symbolises a horsewhip, and it is not unfrequently called “the whip.”

Penniless

(The). The Italians called Maximilian I. of Germany Pochi Danari. (1459, 1493—1519.)

Penny

(in the sense of pound). Sixpenny, eightpenny, and tenpenny nails are nails of three sizes. A thousand of the first will weigh six pounds; of the second, eight pounds; of the third, ten pounds.

Penny sometimes expresses the duodecimal part, as tenpenny and elevenpenny silver— meaning silver 10—12ths and 11—12ths fine.

“One was to be tenpenny, another eleven, another sterling silver.”— Weidenfeld: Secrets of the Adepts.

Penny

(A) (Anglo—Saxon, penning or penig). For many hundred years the unit of money currency, hence pening—moncgre (a money—changer). There were two coins so named, one called the greater = the fifth part of a shilling, and the other called the less = the 12th part of a shilling.

My penny of observation (Love's Labour's Lost, iii. 1). My pennyworth of wit; my natural observation or mother—wit. Probably there is some pun or confusion between penetration and “penny of observation” or “penn'orth of wit.”

A penny for your thoughts. See Heywood's Dialogue, pt. ii. 4. (See Pennyworth.)

Penny—a—liner

(A). A contributor to the local newspapers, but not on the staff. At one time these collectors of news used to be paid a penny a line, and it was to their interest to spin out their report as much as possible. The word remains, but is now a misnomer.

Penny Dredfuls

Penny sensational papers, which delight in horrors.

Penny—father

(A). A miser, a penurious person, who “husbands” his pence

“Good old penny—father was glad of his liquor.”

Pasquil: Jests (1629).

Penny Gaff

(A). A theatre the admission to which is one penny. Properly a gaff is a ring for cock—fighting, a sensational amusement which has been made to yield to sensational dramas of the Richardson type. (Irish, gaf,

a hook.)

Penny Hop

(A). A rustic dancing club, in which each person pays a penny to the fiddler. In towns, private dancing parties were at one time not uncommon, the admission money at the doors being one penny.

Penny Lattice—house

(A). A low pothouse. Lattice shutters are a public—house sign, being the arms of Fitzwarren, which family, in the days of the Henrys, had the monopoly of licensing vintners and publicans.

Penny Pots

Pimples and spots on the tippler's face, from the too great indulgence in penny pots of beer.

Penny Readings

Parochial entertainments, consisting of readings, music, etc., for which one penny admission is charged.

Penny Saved

(A). A penny saved is twopence gained. In French, “Uncentime épargné en vant deux.” Well, suppose a man asks twopence a piece for his oranges, and a baggler obtains hundred at a penny a piece, would he save 200 pence by his bargain? If so, let him go on spending, and he will soon become a millionaire. Or suppose, instead of paying 1,000 for a bad bet, I had not wagered any money at all, would this have been worth 2,000 to me?

Penny Weddings

Wedding banquets in Scotland, to which a number of persons were invited, each of whom paid a small sum of money not exceeding a shilling. After defraying the expenses of the feast, the residue went to the newly—married pair, to aid in furnishing their house. Abolished in 1645.

“Vera true, vera true. We'll have a' to pay ... a sort of penny—wedding it will prove, where all men contribute to the young folks' maintenance.”— Sir Walter Scott: Fortunes of Nigel, chap.

xxvii.

Penny Wise

Unwise thrift. The whole proverb is Penny wise—and pound foolish, like the man who lost his horse from his penny wisdom in saving the expense of shoeing it a fresh when one of its shoes was loose.

Pennyroyal

Flea—bane, the odour being, as it is supposed, hateful to fleas This is a real curiosity of blundering derivation. The Latin word is pulecium, the flea destroyer, from pulex, a flea, softened into pulegium, and corrupted into the English—Latin pule'—regium. “Pule,” changed first into puny, then into penny, gives us “penny—regium,” whence “penny—royal.” The French call the herb pouliot, from pou (a louse or flea).

Pennyweight

So called from being the weight of an Anglo—Norman penny. Dwt. is d = penny wt.

Pennyworth

or Penoth. A small quantity, as much as can be bought for a penny. Butler says, “This was the penoth of his thought” (Hudibras, ii. 3), meaning that its scope or amount was extremely small.

He has got his pennyworth. He has got due value for his money. To turn an honest penny. To earn a little money by working for it.

Pension

is something weighed out. Originally money was weighed, hence our pound. When the Gauls were bribed to leave Rome the ransom money was weighed in scales, and then Brennus threw his sword into the weight—pan. (Latin, pendo, to weigh money.)

Pensioners

at the Universities and Inns of Court. So called from the French pension (board), pensionnaire (a boarder, one who pays a sum of money to dine and lodge with someone else).

Pentacle A five—sided head—dress of fine linen, meant to represent the five senses, and worn as a defence against demons in the act of conjuration. It is also called Solomon's Seal (signum Salamonis ). A pentacle was extended by the magician towards the spirits when they proved contumacious.

“And on her head, lest spirits should invade,

A pentacle, for more assurance, laid.”

Rose: Orlando Furioso, iii. 21.

The Holy Pentacles numbered forty—four, of which seven were consecrated to each of the planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and the Sun: five to both Venus and Mercury: and six to the Moon. The divers figures were enclosed in a double circle, containing the name of God in Hebrew, and other mystical words.

Pentapolin

An imaginary chieftain, but in reality the drover of a flock of sheep. Don Quixote conceived him to be the Christian King of the Garamantians, surnamed the Naked Arm, because he always entered the field with his right arm bare. The driver of a flock from the opposite direction was dubbed by the Don the Emperor Alifanfaron of the isle of Taprobana, a pagan (Cervantes. Don Quixote, pt. i. bk. iii. 4.)

Pentapolis

(Greek, pente polis.) (1) The five cities of the plain: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Zoar, four of which were consumed with fire, and their site covered with the Lake Asphaltites, or the Dead Sea.

(2) The five cities of Oyrenaica, in Egypt: Berenice, Arsinoe, Ptolemais, Cyrene, and Apollonia.

(3) The five cities of the Philistines Gaza, Gath, Ascalon, Ashdod, and Ekron.

(4) The five cites of Italy in the exarchate of Ravenna. Rimini, Pesaro, Fano, Sinigaglia, and Ancona. These were given by Pepin to the Pope.

(5) The Dorian pentapolis: Cnidos, Cos, Lindos, Ialysos, and Camiros.

Pentateuch

The first five books of the Old Testament, supposed to be written by Moses. (Greek, pente, five; teuchos, a book.)

The Chinese Pentateuch. The five books of Confucius:— (1) The Shoo—King, or Book of History; (2) The Lee—King, or Book of Rites; (3) The Book of Odes, or Chinese Homer; (4) The Yih—King, or Book of Changes; and (5) The Chun—Tseu, or Spring and Autumn Annals.

The Samaritan Pentateuch. A version of the Pentateuch in the Samaritan character. It varies in some measure from the Jewish version. Not earlier than the fourth, nor later than the seventh, century. (See Apocrypha: 2 Esdras xiv. 21—48.)

Pentecost

(Greek, pentecostê, fiftieth). The festival held by the Jews on the fiftieth day after the Passover; our Whit—Sunday.

Penthesile'a

Queen of the Amazons, slain by Achilles. Sir Toby Belch says to Maria, in the service of Olivia—

“Good—night, Penthesilea [my fine woman].”—

Shakespeare: Twelfth Night, ii. 2.

Penthouse

(2 syl.). A hat with a broad brim. The allusion is to the hood of a door, or coping of a roof. (Welsh, penty; Spanish, pentice, French, appentice, also pente, a slope.)

Pentreath

(Dolly). The last person who spoke Cornish. Daines Barrington went from London to the Land's End to visit her. She lived at Mousehole.

“Hail, Mousehole! birthplace of old Doll Pentreath,

The last who jabbered Cornish, so says Daines ...” Peter Pindar (Ode xxi., To Myself).

Peony

(The). So called, according to fable, from Paeon, the physician who cured the wounds received by the gods in the Trojan war. The seeds were, at one time, worn round the neck as a charm against the powers of darkness. Virgil and Ovid speak of its sanative virtues. Others tell us Paeon was a chieftain who discovered the plant.

“Vetustissima inventu paeonia est, nomenque auctoris retinet, quam quidam pentorobon appellant, alii glycysiden.”— Pliny, xxv. 10.

People

The people's friend. Dr. William Gordon, the philanthropist. (1801—1849.)

People's Charter

(The).— The six points of the People's Charter, formulated in 1848, are:— Manhood Suffrage (now practically established).

Annual Parliaments.

Vote by Ballot (established).

Abolition of Property.

Qualification for Members of Parliament (the Qualification Test is abolished). Equal Electoral Districts.

Pepper

To pepper one well. To give one a good basting or thrashing.

To take pepper i' the nose. To take offence. The French have a similar locution, “La moutarde lui monte au nez.”

“Take you pepper in your nose, you mar our sport.”— The Spanish Gipsy, iv. 190.

Pepper Gate

When your daughter is stolen close Pepper Gate. Pepper Gate used to be on the east side of the city of Chester. It is said that the daughter of the mayor eloped, and the mayor ordered the gate to be closed up. “Lock the stable—door when the steed is stolen.” (Albert Smith: Christopher Tadpole, chap. i.)

Pepper—and—Salt

A light grey colour, especially applied to cloth for dresses.

Peppercorn Rent

(A). A nominal rent. A pepper—berry is of no appreciable value, and given as rent is a simple acknowledgment that the tenement virtually belongs to the person to whom the peppercorn is given.

Peppy Bap

A large erratic boulder, east of Leith.

Per Saltum

(Latin). By a leap. A promotion or degree given without going over the ground usually prescribed. Thus, a clergyman on being made a bishop has the degree of D.D. given him per saltum— i.e. without taking the B.D. degree, and waiting the usual five years.

“They dare not attempt to examine for the superior degree but elect per saltum.”— Nineteenth Century, January, 1893, p. 66.

Perceforest

(King). A prose romance, printed at Paris in 1528, and said to have been discovered in a cabinet hid in the massive wall of an ancient tower on the banks of the Humber, named Burtimer, from a king of that name who built it. The MS was said to be in Greek, and was translated through the Latin into French.

It is also used for Perceval, an Arthurian knight, in many of the ancient romances.

Perceval

(Sir), of Wales. A knight of the Round Table, son of Sir Pellinore, and brother of Sir Lamerock. He went in quest of the St. Graal (q.v.). Chrétien de Troyes wrote the Roman de Perceval. (1541—1596.) Mebessier wrote the same in verse.

Percinet

A fairy prince, who thwarts the malicious designs of Grognon, the cruel stepmother of Craciosa. (Fairy Tales.)

Percy

[pierce—eye ]. When Malcolm III. of Scotland invaded England, and reduced the castle of Alnwick, Robert de Mowbray brought to him the keys of the castle suspended on his lance; and, handing them from the wall, thrust his lance into the king's eye; from which circumstance, the tradition says, he received the name of “Pierce—eye,” which has ever since been borne by the Dukes of Northumberland.

“This is all a fable. The Percies are descended from a great Norman a baron, who came over with William, and who took his name from his castle and estate in Normandy.”— Sir Walter Scott: Tales of a Grandfather, iv.

Perdita

Daughter of Leontes and Hermione of Sicily. She was born when her mother was imprisoned by Leontes out of causeless jealousy. Paulina, a noble lady, hoping to soften the king's heart, took the infant and laid it at its father's feet; but Leontes ordered it to be put to sea, under the expectation that it would drift to some desert island. The vessel drifted to Bohemia, where the infant was discovered by a shepherd, who brought it up as his own daughter. In time Florizel, the son and heir of the Bohemian king Polixenes, fell in love with the supposed shepherdess. The match was forbidden by Polixenes, and the young lovers fled, under the charge of Camillo, to Sicily. Here the story is cleared up, Polixenes and Leontes are

reconciled, and the young lovers married. (Shakespeare: Winter's Tale.) Polixenes (4 syl.), Leontes (3 syl.)

Perdrix, toujours Perdrix

Too much of the same thing. Walpole tells us that the confessor of one of the French kings reproved him for conjugal infidelity, and was asked by the king what he liked best. “Partridge,” replied the priest, and the king ordered him to be served with partridge every day, till he quite loathed the sight of his favourite dish. After a time, the king visited him, and hoped he had been well served, when the confessor replied, “Mais oua, perdrix, toujours perdrix.” “Ah! ah!” replied the amorous monarch, “and one mistress is all very well, but not `perdrix, toujours perdrix. ' “

“Soup for dinner, soup for supper, and soup for breakfast again.”— Farquhar: The Inconstant.

iv. 2.

Pere Duchene

Jacques Réné Hébert, one of the most profligate characters of the French Revolution. He was editor of a vile newspaper so called, containing the grossest insinuations against Marie Antoinette.

(1755—1794.)

Pere la Chaise

the Parisian cemetery, is the site of a great monastery founded by Louis XIV., of which his confessor, Père la Chaise, was made the superior. After the Revolution, the grounds were laid out for a public cemetery; first used in May, 1804.

Peregrine (3 syl.) ran away from home, and obtained a loan of £10 from Job Thornbury, with which he went abroad and traded; he returned a wealthy man, and arrived in London on the very day Job Thornbury was made a bankrupt. Having paid the creditors out of the proceeds made from the hardwareman's loan, he married his daughter. (George Colman the Younger: John Bull.)

Peregrine Falcon

(A). The female is larger than the male, as is the case with most birds of prey. The female is the falcon of falconers, and the male the tercel. It is called peregrine from its wandering habits.

Peregrine Pickle

The hero of Smollett's novel so called. A savage, ungrateful spendthrift; fond of practical jokes to the annoyance of others, and suffering with evil temper the misfortunes brought on by his own wilfulness.

Perfectionists

A society founded by Father Noyes in Oneida Creek. They take St. Pàul for their law—giver, but read his epistles in a new light. They reject all law, saying the guidance of the Spirit is superior to all human codes. If they would know how to act in matters affecting others, they consult “public opinion,” expressed by a committee; and the “law of sympathy” so expressed is their law of action. In material prosperity, this society is unmatched by all the societies of North America. (W. Hepworth Dixon: New America, vii. 20, 21.)

Perfide Albion!

(French) The words of Napoleon I.

Perfume

(2 syl.) means simply “from smoke” (Latin, per fumum), the first perfumes having been obtained by the combustion of aromatic woods and gums. Their original use was in sacrifices, to counteract the offensive odours of the burning flesh.

Perfumed Terms of the Time

So Ben Jonson calls euphemisms.

Peri

(plur. PERIS). Peris are delicate, gentle, fairy—like beings of Eastern mythology, begotten by fallen spirits. They direct with a wand the pure in mind the way to heaven. These lovely creatures, according to the Koran, are under the sovereignty of Eblis; and Mahomet was sent for their conversion, as well as for that of man.

“Like peris' wands, when pointing out the road

For some pure spirit to the blest abode.”

Thomas Moore. Lalla Rookh, pt. i.

Pericles

Prince of Tyre (Shakespeare). The story is from the Gesta Romanorum, where Pericles, is called “Apollonius, King of Tyre.” The story is also related by Gower in his Confessio Amantis (bk. viii.).

Pericles' Boast

When Periclee, Tyrant of Athens, was on his death—bed, he overheard his friends recounting his various merits, and told them they had omitted the greatest of all, that no Athenian through his whole administration had put on mourning through his severity— i.e. he had caused no Athenian to be put to death arbitrarily.

Perillo Swords

Perillo is a “little stone,” a mark by which Julian del Rey, a famous armourer of Toledo and Zaragoza, authenticated the swords of his manufacture. All perillo swords were made of the steel produced from the mines of Mondragon. The swords given by Katharine of Aragon to Henry VIII. on his wedding—day were all Perillo blades.

The most common inscription was, “Draw me not without reason, sheathe me not without honour. “

Perillos and the Brazen Bull Perillos of Athens made a brazen bull for Phalaris, Tyrant of Agrigentum, intended for the execution of criminals. They were shut up in the bull, and, fires being lighted below the belly, the metal was made “red hot.” The cries of the victims, reverberating, sounded like the lowing of the bull. Phalaris admired the invention, but tested it on Perillos himself. (See Inventors .)

Perilous Castle

The castle of Lord Douglas was so called in the reign of Edward I., because good Lord Douglas destroyed several English garrisons stationed there, and vowed to be revenged on anyone who should dare to take possession of it. Sir Walter Scott calls it “Castle Dangerous.” (See Introduction of Castle Dangerous.)

Perion

A fabulous king of Gaul, father of “Amadis of Gaul.” His encounter with the lion is one of his best exploits. It is said that he was hunting. when his horse reared and snorted at seeing a lion in the path. Perion leaped to the ground and attacked the lion, but the lion overthrew him; whereupon the king drove his sword into the belly of the beast and killed him. (Amadis de Gaul, chap. i.)

Peripatetics

Founder of the Peripatetics — Aristotle, who used to teach his disciples in the covered walk of the Lyceum. This colonnade was called the peripatos, because it was a place for walking about (peri pateo).

Peris

(See Peri .)

Perissa

(excess or prodigality; Greek, Perissos). Step—sister of Elissa and Medina. These ladies could never agree on any subject. (Spenser: Faërie Queene, bk. ii.)

Periwig

or Peruke Menage ingeniously derives these words from the Latin pilus (“hair"). Thus, pilus, pelus, pelutus, peluticus, pelutica, peru'a, perruque. The wigs are first mentioned in the 16th century; in the next century they became very large. The fashion began to wane in the reign of George III. Periwig is a corrupt form of the French word perruque

Pescecoia The famous swimmer drowned in the pool of Charybdis. The tale says he dived one into the pool, and was quite satisfied with its pool, and wonders; but the King Frederick then tossed in a golder cup, which Fescecola dived for, and was never seen again. (See Schiller's Diver.)

Periwinkle

The bind—around plant. (Anglo—Saxon, pinewincle; French, pervenche; Latin, pervincio, to bind thoroughly.) In Italy it used to be wreathed round dead infants, and hence its Italian name, fior di morto.

Perk

To perk oneself. To plume oneself on anything. (Welsh, percu, to smarten or plume feathers, perc, neat.)

You begin to perk up a bit — i.e. to get a little fatter and more plump after an illness. (See above.

Perkunos

God of the elements. The Sclavonic Trinity was Perkunos, Rikollos, and Potrinpos. (Grumm: Deutsche Mythologie.)

Permian Strata

So called from Perm, in Russia, where they are most distinctly developed.

Pernelle

(Madame). A scolding old woman in Molière's Tartuffe.

Perpendiculars Parties called crushes, in which persons have to stand almost stationary from the time of entering the suite of rooms to the time of leaving them.

“The night before I duly attended my whether to three fashionable crowds, `perpendiculars' is the best name for them, for there is seldom more than standing room.”— Edna Lyali: Done van, chap. ix.

Perpetual Motion

Restlessness; fidgety or nervous disquiet; also a chimerical scheme wholly impracticable. Many have tried to invent a machine that shall move of itself, and never stop; but, as all materials must suffer from wear and tear, it is evident that such an invention is impossible.

“It were better to be eaten to death with rust than to be scoured to nothing with perpetual motion.”— Shakespeare: 2 Henry IV., i. 2.

Pers

Persia; called Fars. (French, Perse.)

Persecutions

(The ten great). (1) Under Nero, A.D. 64; (2) Domitian, 95; (3) Trajan, 98; (4) Hadrian, 118; (5) Pertinax, 202, chiefly in Egypt; (6) Maximin, 236; (7) Decius, 249; (8) Valerian, 257; (9) Aurelian, 272; (10) Diocletian, 302.

“It would be well if these were the only religious persecutions; but, alas! those on the ether side prove the truth of the Founder. “I came not to send peace [on earth]. but a sword” (Matt.

x. 34). Witness the long and relentless pers cutions of the Waldenses and Albigenses, the sixty seven crusades, the wars of Charlemagne against the Saxons, and the thirty years' war of Germany. Witness, again, the persecution of the Guises, the Bartholomew slaughter, the wars of Louis XIV, on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the Dragonnades, and the wars against Holland, Witness the bitter rersecutions stirred up by Luther, which spread to England and Scotland. No wars so lasting, so relentless, so bloody as religious wars. It has been no thin red line.

Persepolis

called by the Persians “The Throne of Jam—sheid,” by whom it was founded. Jam—sheid removed the seat of government from Balk to Istakhar.

Perseus

(2 syl.). A bronze statue in the Loggia dei Lanzi, at Florence. The best work of Renvennto Cellini (1500—1562).

Perseus' flying horse. A ship.

“Perseus conquered the head of Medusa, and did make Pegase, the most swift ship, which he always calls Perseus' flying horse.”— Destruction of Troy.

“The strong—ribbed bark through liquid mountains cut ...

Like Perseus' horse.”

Shakespeare: Troilus and Cressida, i. 3.

Persevere

(3 syl.). This word comes from an obsolete Latin verb, severo (to stick rigidly); hence severus (severe or rigid). Asseverate is to stick rigidly to what you say; persevere is to stick rigidly to what you undertake till you have accomplished it. (Per—severo.)

Persian Alexander

(The). Sandjar (1117—1158). (See Alexander .)

Persian Bucephalos

(The). Shebdiz, the charger of Chosroes Parviz. (See Bucephalos .)

Person (Latin, persona, a mask; personatus, one who wears a mask, an actor). A “person” is one who impersonates a character. Shakespeare says, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely

players” or persons. When we speak of the “person of the Deity” we mean the same thing, the character represented, as that of the Father, or that of the Son, or that of the Holy Ghost. There is no more notion of corporeality connected with the word than there is any assumption of the body of Hamlet when an actor impersonates that character.

Persona Grata

(Latin). An acceptable person; one liked.

“The Count [Münster] is not a persona grata at court, as the royal family did not relish the course he took in Hanoverian affairs in 1866.”— Truth, October 22nd, 1885.

Perth

is Celtic for a bush. The county of Perth is the county of bushes.

Fair Maid of Perth. Catherine Glover, daughter of Simon Glover, glover, of Perth. Her lover is Henry Gow, alias Henry Smith, alias Gow Chrom, alias Hal of the Wynd, the armourer, foster—son of Dame Shoolbred.

(Sir Walter Scott: Fair Maid of Perth.

The Five Articles of Perth were those passed in 1618 by order of James VI., enjoining the attitude of kneeling to receive the elements; the observance of Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost; the right of confirmation, etc. They were ratified August 4, 1621, called Black Saturday, and condemned in the General Assembly of Glasgow in 1638.

Peru

That's not Peru. Said of something utterly worthless. A French expression, fourded on the notion that Peru is the El Dorado of the world.

Peruvian Bark

called also Jesuit's Bark, because it was introduced into Spain by the Jesuits. “Quinine,” from the same tree, is called by the Indians quinquina. (See Cinchona.)

Peruke

or Periwig. Menage ingeniously derives these words from the Latin pilus (“hair"). Thus, pilus, pelus, pelutus, peluticus, pelutica, peru'a, perruque. The wigs are first mentioned in the 16th century; in the next century they became very large. The fashion began to wane in the reign of George III. Periwig is a corrupt form of the French word perruque

Pescecoia

The famous swimmer drowned in the pool of Charybdis. The tale says he dived one into the pool, and was quite satisfied with its pool, and wonders; but the King Frederick then tossed in a golder cup, which Fescecola dived for, and was never seen again. (See Schiller's Diver.)

Pessimist

One who fancies everything is as bad as possible. (Latin, Pessimus, the worst.)

Petard'

Hoist on his own petard. Caught in his own trap, involved in the danger he meant for others. The petard was a conical instrument of war employed at one time for blowing open gates with gunpowder. The engineers used to carry the petard to the place they intended to blow up, and fire it at the small end by a fusee. Shakespeare spells the word petar. “'Tis the sport to have the engineer hoist with his own petar.” (Hamlet, ii. 4.)

“Turning the muzzles of the guns Magdalawards, and getting a piece of lighted rope [the party] blazed away as vigorously as possible ... and tried to hoist Theodore on his own petar.” Daily paper.

Petaud

Tis the court of King Petaud, where everyone is master. There is no order or discipline at all. This is a French proverb. Petaud is a corruption of peto (I beg), and King Petaud means king of the beggam, in whose court all are equal. (See Alsatia .)

Peter (See Blue Peter .)

Great Peter. A bell in York Minister, weighing 10 3/4 tons, and hung in 1845. Lord Peter. The Pope in Swift's Tale ej'a Tub.

Rob Peter to pay Paul. (See Robbing.)

St. Peter. Patron saint of fishers and fishmongers, being himself a fisherman. St. Peter, in Christian art, is represented as an old man, bald, but with a flowing beard; he is usually dressed in a white mantle and blue tunic, and holds in his hand a book or scroll. His peculiar symbols are the keys, and a sword, the instrument of his martyrdom.

He has got St. Peter's fingers — i.e. the fingers of a thief. The allusion is to the fish caught by St. Peter with a piece of money in its mouth. They say that a thief has a fish—hook on every finger.

Peter Botte Mountain

in the island of Mauritius; so called from a Dutchman who scaled its summit, but lost his life in coming down. It is a rugged cone, more than 2,800 feet in height.

Peter Parley

The nom de plume of Samuel G. Goodrich, an American (1793—1860).

Peter Peebles

Peter Peebles' Lawsuit. In Sir Walter Scott's novel of Redgauntlet. Peter is a litigious hardhearted drunkard, poor as a churchmouse, and a liar to the backbone. His “ganging plea” is Hogarthian comic, as Carlyle says.

Peter—pence

An annual tribute of one penny, paid at the feast of St. Peter to the see of Rome. At one time it was collected from every family, but afterwards it was restricted to those “who had the value of thirty pence in quick or live stock.” This tax was collected in England from 740 till it was abolished by Henry VIII.

Peter Pindar

The nom de plume of Dr. John Wolcot (Wool—cut), of Dodbrooke, Devonshire. (1738—1819.)

Peter Porcupine

William Cobbett, when he was a Tory. We have Peter Porcupine's Gazette and the Porcupine Papers, in twelve volumes. (1762—1835.)

Peter Wilkins

was written by Robert Pultock, of Clifford's Inn, and sold to Dodsley, the publisher, for 20.

Peter of Provence

came into possession of Merlin's wooden horse. There is a French romance called Peter of Provence and the Fair Magalona, the chief incidents of which are connected with this flying charger.

Peter the Great

of Russia built St. Petersburg, and gave Russia a place among the nations of Europe. He laid aside his crown and sceptre, came to England, and worked as a common labourer in our dockyards, that he might teach his subjects how to build ships.

Peter the Hermit

(in Tasso), “the holy author of the crusade” (bk. i.). It is said that six millions of persons assumed the cross at his preaching.

Peter the Wild Boy

found 1725 in a wood near Hameln, in Hanover, at the supposed age of thirteen. (Died 1785.)

Peterboat

A boat made to go either way, the stem and stern being both alike.

Peterborough

(Northamptonshire). So called from the monastery of St. Peter, founded in 655. Tracts relating to this monastery are published in Sparke's collection.

Peterloo The dispersal of a large meeting in St. Peter's Field, Manchester, by an armed force, August 16th, 1819. The assemblage consisted of operatives, and the question was parliamentary reform. The word, suggested by Hunt, is a parody upon what he absurdly called “the bloody butchers of Waterloo.”

It is a most exaggerated phrase. The massacre consisted of six persons accidentally killed by the rush of the crowd, when the military and some 400 special constables appeared on the field.

Petit—Maitre

A fop; a lad who assumes the manners, dress, and affectations of a man. The term arose before the Revolution, when a great $$$ was styled a grand—maître, and a $$$ one a petit—maître.

Petit Serjeantry

Holding lande of the Crown by the service of rendering annually some small implement of war, as a bow, a sword, a lance, a flag, an arrow, and the like. Thus the Duke of Wellington holds his country seat at Strathfieldsaye and Apsley House, London, by presenting a flag annually to the Crown on the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo. The flag is hung in the guard—room of the state apartments of Windsor Castle till the next anniversary, when it becomes the perquisite of the officer of the guard. The Duke of Marlborough presents also a flag on the anniversary of the battle of Blenheim for his estate at Blenheim. This also in placed in the guard—room of $$$ Castle.

Petitio Principii

(A). A begging of the question, or assuming in the premises the question you undertake to prove. Thus, if a person undertook to prove the infallibility of the pope, and were to take for his premises— (1) Jesus Christ promised to keep the apostles and their successors in all the truth; (2) the popes are the regular successors of the apostles, and therefore the popes are infallible— it would be a vicious syllogism from a petitio principii.

Petitioners and Abhorrers

Two political parties in the reign of Charles II. When that monarch was first restored he used to grant everything he was asked for; but after a time this became a great evil, and Charles enjoined his loving subjects to discontinue their practice of “petitioning.” Those who agreed with the king, and disapproved of petitioning, were called Abhorrers; those who were favourable to the objectionable practice were nicknamed Petitioners.

Petrarch

The English Petrarch. Sir Philip Sidney; so called by Sir Walter Raleigh. Cowper styles him “the warbler of poetic prose.” (1554—1586.)

Petrel

The stormy petrel. So named, according to tradition, from the Italian Petrello (little Peter), in allusion to St. Peter, who walked on the sea. Our sailors call them “Mother Carey's chickens.” They are called stormy because in a gale they surround a ship to catch small animals which rise to the surface of the rough sea; when the gale ceases they are no longer seen.

Petrified

(3 syl.). The petrified city. Ishmonie, in Upper Egypt, is so called from the number of petrified bodies of men, women, and children to be seen there. (Latin, petra—fio, to become rock.)

Petrobrussians

or Petrobrusians. A religious sect, founded in 1110, and so called from Peter Bruys, a Provencal. He declaimed against churches, asserting that a stable was as good as a cathedral for worship, and a manager equal to an altar. He also declaimed against the use of crucifixes.

Petronel

Sir Petronel Flash. A braggadocio, a tongue—doughty warrior.

“Give your scholler degrees and your lawyer his fees,

And some dice for Sir Petronell Flash.”

Brit. Bibl.

Petruchio A gentleman of Verona who undertakes to tame the haughty Katharine, called the Shrew. He marries her, and without the least personal chastisement brings her to lamb—like submission. (Shakespeare: Taming of the Shrow.)

Petticoat

A woman.

“There's a petticoat will prove to be the cause of this.”— Hawley Smart: Struck Down, chap. xi.

Petticoat Government

Female rule.

Petticoat and Gown

The dress. When the gown was looped up, the petticoat was an important item of dress. The poppy is said to have a red petticoat and a green gown; the daffodil, a yellow petticoat and green gown; a candle, a white petticoat; and so on in our common nursery rhymes—

1 “The King's daughter is coming to town,

With a red petticoat and a green gown.”

2 “Daffadown dilly is now coine to town,

In a yellow petticoat and a green gown.”

Petto

It petto. In secrecy, in reserve (Italian, in the breast ). The pope creates cardinals in petto — i.e. in his own mind— and keeps the appointment to himself till he thinks proper to announce it.

“Belgium, a department of France in petto — i.e. in the intention of the people.” — The Herald, 1837.

Petty Cury

(Cambridge) means “The Street of Cooks.” It is called Parva Cokeria in a deed dated 13 Edward

III. Probably at one time it was part of the Market Hall. It is a mistake to derive Cury from Ecurie. Dr. Pegge derives it from curare, to cure or dress food.

Peutingerian Map

A map of the roads of the ancient Roman world, constructed in the time of Alexander Severus (A.D. 226), made known to us by Conrad Peutinger, of Augsburg.

Peveril of the Peak

Sir Geoffrey the Cavalier, and Lady Margaret his wife; Julian Peveril, their son, in love with Alice Bridgenorth, daughter of Major Bridgenorth, a Boundhead, and William Peveril, natural son of William the Conqueror, ancestor of Sir Geoffrey. (Sir Walter Scott: Peveril of the Peak.)

Pewter

To scour the pewter, To do one's work.

“But if she neatly scour her pewter,

Give her the money that is dust' her.”

King: Orpheus and Eurydice.

Phædria

[wantonnese ]. Handmaid of Acrasia the enchantress. She sails about Idle Lake in a gondola. Seeing Sir Guyon she ferries him across the lake to the floating island, where Cymochles attacks him. Phædria interposes, the combatants desist, and the little wanton ferries the knight Temperance over the lake again.

(Spenser: Faërie Qucene, ii.)

Phaeton

The son of Phoebus, who undertook to drive the chariot of the sun, was upset, and caused great mischief; Libya was parched into barren sands, and all Africa was more or less injured, the inhabitants blackened, and vegetation nearly destroyed.

“Gallop apace, you fiery—footed steeds,

Towards Phoebus' mansion; such a waggoner

As Phaeton would whip you to the west,

And bring in cloudy night immediately.”

Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, iii. 2.

Phaeton. A sort of carriage; so called from the sun—car driven by Phaeton. (See above. Phaeton's bird. The swan. Cyenus was the friend of Phaeton, and lamented his fate so grievously that Apollo changed her into a swan, and placed her among the constellations.

Phalanx

The close order of battle in which the heavy—armed troops of a Grecian army were usually drawn up. Hence, any number of people distinguished for firmness and solidity of union.

Phalaris

The brazen bull of Phalaris. Perillos, a brass—founder of Athens, proposed to Phalaris, Tyrant of Agrigentum, to invent for him a new species of punishment; accordingly, he cast a brazen bull, with a door in the side. The victim was shut up in the bull and roasted to death, but the throat of the engine was so contrived that the groans of the sufferer resembled the bellowings of a mad bull. Phalaris commended the invention, and ordered its merits to be tested by Perillos himself.

The epistles of Phalaris. Certain letters said to have been written by Phalaris, Tyrant of Agrigentum, in Sicily. Boyle maintained them to be genuine, Bentley affirmed that they were forgeries. No doubt Bentley is right.

Phaleg

in the satire of Absalom and Achitophel, by Dryden and Tate, is Mr. Forbes, a Scotchman.

Phantom Ship

(See Carmilhan .)

“Or of that phantom ship, whose form

Shoots like a meteor through the storm;

When the dark scud comes driving hard,

And lowered is every topsail yard ...

And well the doomed spectators know

`Tis harbinger of wreck and woe.”

Sir Walter Scott: Rokeby, ii. 11.

Phaon

A young man greatly illtreated by Furor, and rescued by Sir Guyon. He loved Claribel, but Philemon, his friend, persuaded him that Claribel was unfaithful, and, to prove his words, told him to watch in a given place. He saw what he thought was claribel holding an assignation with what seemed to be a groom, and, rushing forth, met the true Claribel, whom he slew on the spot. Being tried for the murder, it came out that the groom was Philemon, and the supposed Claribel only her lady's maid. He poisoned Philemon, and would have murdered the handmaid, but she escaped, and while he pursued her he was attacked by Furor. This tale is to expose the intemperance of revenge. (Spenser: Qucene, ii. 4, 28.)

Pharamond

King of the Franks and a knight of the Round Table. He is said to have been the first king of France. This reputed son of Marcomir and father of Clodion, is the hero of one of Calprenède's novels.

Pharaoh

(2 syl.). The king. It is the Coptic article P and the word oure (king). There are eleven of this title mentioned in Holy Scripture:—

i. Before Solomon's time.

(1) The Pharaoh contemporary with Abraham (Gen. xii. 25).

(2) The good Pharaoh who advanced Joseph (Gen. xli.). (3) The Pharaoh who `knew not Joseph” (Exod. i. 8).

(4) The Pharaoh who was drowned in the Red Sea (Exod. siv. 28); said to be Menephthes or Meneptah, son of Rameses II.

(5) The Pharaoh that protected Hadad (1 Kings xi. 19).

(6) The Pharaoh whose daughter Solomon married (1 Kings iii. 1; ix. 16).

ii. After Solomon's time.

(7) Pharaoh Shishak, who warred against Rehoboam (1. Kings xiv. 25, 26).

(8) Pharaoh Shabakok, or “So,” with whom Hoshea made an alliance (2 Kings xvii. 4).

(9) The Pharaoh that made a leagua with Hezekiah against Sennacherib, called Tirbakah (2 Kings xviii. 20;

xix. 9). (10) Pharaoh Necho, who warred against Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 29, etc.). (11) Pharaoh Hophra, the ally of Zedekiah (Jer. xliv. 30); said to be Apries, who was strangled B.C. 570. (See King.)

After Solomon's time the titular word Pharaoh is joined to a proper name. iii. Other Pharaohs of historic note.

(1) Cheops or Suphis I. (Dynasty IV.), who built the great pyramid.

(2) Cephrenes or Suphis II., his brother, who built the second pyramid.

(3) Mencheres, his successor, who built the most beautiful pyramid of the three. (4) Memnon or A—menophis III. (Dynasty XVIII.), whose musical statue is so celebrated. (5) Sethos I., the Great (Dynasty XIX.), whose tomb was discovered by Belzoni.

(6) Sethos II., called Proteus (Dynasty XIX.), who detained Helen and Paris in Egypt.

(7) Phuoris or Thuoris, who sent aid to Priam in the siege of Troy.

(8) Rampsinitus or Rameses Neter, the miser (Dynasty XX.), mentioned by Herodotos.

(9) Osorthon IV. or Osorkon (Dynasty XXIII.), the Egyptian Hercules.

Pharaoh

in Dryden's satire of Absalom and Achitophel, means Louis XIV. of France.

“If Pharaoh's doubtful succour he [Charles II.] should use,

A foreign aid would more incense the Jews [English nation].”

Pharaoh who Knew not Joseph

Supposed to be Menephtah, son of Rameses the Great. Rider Haggard adopts this hypothesis. After Rameses the Great came a period of confusion in Egypt, and it is supposed the Pharaoh who succeeded was a usurper. No trace of the destruction of Pharaoh and his host has been discovered by Egyptologists.

His wife was Asia, daughter of Mozahem. Pharaoh cruelly maltreated her for believing in Moses. He fastened her hands and feet to four stakes, and laid a millstone on her as she lay exposed to the scorching sun; but God took her, without dying, into Paradise. (Sale: Al Koran, lxvi. note.

Among women, four have been perfect: Asia, wife of Pharaoh: Mary, daughter of Imran; Khadijah, daughter of Khowailed (Mahomet's first wife); and Fatima, Mahomet's daughter. Attributed to Mahomet.

Pharaoh who made Joseph his Viceroy

Supposed to be Osertesen II. There is a tablet in the sixth year of his reign which is thought to represent Jacob and his household.

Pharaoh's Chicken

The Egyptian vulture, so called from its frequent representation in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Pharaoh's Daughter

who brought up Moses, Bathia.

“Bathia, the daughter of Pharaoh, came, attended by her maidens, and entering the water she chanced to see the box of bulrushes, and, pitying the infant, she rescued him from death.”—

The Talmud.

Pharian Fields

Egypt. So called from Pharos, an island on the coast, noted for its lighthouse.

“And passed from Pharian fields to Caussu land.”

Milton: Psalm cxiv.

Pharisees

means “separatists” (Heb. parash, to separate), men who looked upon themselves as holier than other men, and therefore refused to hold social intercourse with them. The Talmud mentions the following classes:—

(1) The “Dashers,” or “Bandylegged” (Nikfi), who scarcely lifted their feet from the ground in walking, but

“dashed them against the stones,” that people might think them absorbed in holy thought (Matt. xxi. 44).

(2) The “Mortars,” who wore a “mortier,” or cap, which would not allow them to see the passers—by, that their mediations might not be disturbed. “Having eyes, they saw not” (Mark viii. 18).

(3) The “Bleedeis,” who inserted thorns in the borders of their gaberdines to prick their legs in walking.

(4) The “Cryers,” or “Inquirers,” who went about crying out, “Let me know my duty, and I will do it” (Matt.

xix. 16—22). (5) The “Almsgivers,” who had a trumpet sounded before them to summon the poor together (Matt. vi. 2). (6) The “Stumblers,” or “Bloody—browed” (Kizai), who shun their eyes when they went abroad that they might see no women, being “blind leaders of the blind" (Matt. xv. 14). Our Lord calls them “blind Pharisees,” “fools and blind.”

(7) The “Immovables,” who stood like statues for hours together, “praying in the market places” (Matt. vi.

5). (8) The “Pestle Pharisees” (Medinkia), who kept themselves bent double like the handle of a pestle. (9) The “Strong—shouldered” (Shikmi), who walked with their back bent as if carrying on their shoulders the whole burden of the law.

(10) The “Dyed Pharisees,” called by our Lord “Whited Sepulchres,” whose externals of devotion cloaked hypocrisy and moral uncleanness. (Talmud of Jerusalem, Berakoth, ix; Sota, v. 7; Talmud of Babylon, Sota, 22 b.)

Pharos

A lighthouse; so called from the lighthouse built by Sostratus Cnidius in the island of Pharos, near the port of Alexandria, in Egypt. It was 450 feet high, and could be seen at the distance of 100 miles. Part was blown down in 793. This Pharos was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Pharsalia

An epic in Latin hexameters by Lucan. The battle of Pharsalia was between Pompey and Cæsar. Pompey had 45,000 legionaries, 7,000 cavalry, and a large number of auxiliaries; Cæsar had 22,000 legionaries and 1,000 cavalry. Pompey's battle—cry was “Hercules invictus; ” that of Cæsar was “Venus victrix. ” On this occasion Cæsar won the battle.

Pheasant

So called from Phasis, a stream of the Black Sea.

“There was formerly at the fort of Poti a preserve of pheasants, which birds derive their European name from the river Phasis (the present Rion).”— Lieut—General Monteith.

Phebe

(2 syl.). A shepherdess. (Shakespeare: As You Like It.)

Phelis

called the Fair. The wife of Sir Guy, Earl of Warwick. (See Guy .)

Phenomenon

(plural, phenomena) means simply what has appeared (Greek, phainomai, to appear). It is used in science to express the visible result of an experiment. In popular language it means a prodigy. (Greek, phainomenon.)

Phidias

The French Phidias. Jean Goujon (1510—1572); also called the Correggio of sculptors. (2) J. B. Pigalle (1714—1785).

Phigalian Marbles

A series of twenty—three sculptures in alto—relievo, discovered in 1812 at Phigalia, in Arcadia, and in 1814 purchased for the British Museum. They represent the combat of the Centaurs and Lapithæ, and that of the Greeks and Amazons. They are part of the “Elgin Marbles” (q.v.).

Philadelphia Stones

called Christian Bones. It is said that the walls of Philadelphia, in Turkey, were built of the bones of Christians killed in the Holy Wars. This idle tale has gained credit from the nature of the stones, full of pores and very light, not unlike petrified bones. Similar incrustations are found at Knaresborough and elsewhere.

Philander

(in Orlando Furioso). A sort of Joseph. (See Gabrina .)

Philandering

Coquetting with a woman; paying court, and leading her to think you love her, but never declaring your preference. The word is coined from Philander, the Dutch knight who coquetted with Gabrina (q.v. ).

Philanthropist

(The). John Howard, who spent much of his life in visiting the prisons and hospitals of Europe. (1726—1790.) (Greek, phil—anthropos.)

Philemon and Baucis entertained Jupiter and Mercury when everyone else refused them hospitality. Being asked to make a request, they begged that they might both die at the same time. When they were very old, Philemon was changed into an oak, and Baucis into a linden tree. (Ovid: Metamorphoses, iii. 631, etc.)

Philip

Philip, remember thou art mortal. A sentence repeated to the Macedonian king every time he gave an audience.

Philip sober. When a woman who asked Philip of Macedon to do her justice was snubbed by the petulant monarch, she exclaimed, “Philip, I shall appeal against this judgment.” “Appeal!” thundered the enraged king, “and to whom will you appeal?” “To Philip sober,” was her reply.

St. Philip is usually represented bearing a large cross, or a basket containing loaves, in allusion to St. John vi. 5—7.

Philip Nye

(in Hædibras). One of the assembly of Dissenting ministers, noted for his ugly beard.

Philip Quarl

A castaway sailor, solaced off a desert island by a monkey. Imitation of Robinson Crusoe. (1727.)

Philippe Egalite

Louis Philippe Joseph, Duc d'Orléad (1747—1793).

Philippic

A severs scolding; an invective. So called from the orations of Demosthenes against Philip of Macedon, to rouse the Athenians to resist his encroachments. The orations of Cicero against Anthony are called “Philippies.”

Philippius

A Russian sect: so called from the founder, Philip Pustoswiät. They are called Old Faith Men, because they cling with tenacity to the old service books, old version of the Bible, old hymn—book, old

prayer—book, and all customs previous to the reforms of Nekor, in the 17th century.

Philips

(John);author of The Splendid Shilling, wrote a georgic on Order in blank verse— a serious poem modelled upon Miltes epics.

“Philips, Pomona's bard, the second thou

Who nobly durst, in rhyme—unfettered verse.

With British freedom sing the British song.”

Thomson: Autumn.

Philisides

(4 syl.). Philip Sidney (Phili' Sid). Spenser uses the word in the Pastoral Æglogue on the Death of Sir Philip.

“Philisides is dead.”

Philistines

meaning the ill—behaved and ignorant. The word so applied arose in Germany from the Charlies or Philisters, who were in everlasting collision with the students; and in these “town and gown rows” identified themselves with the town, called in our universities “the snobs.” Matthew Arnold, in the Cornhill Magazine, applied the term Philistine to the middle class, which he says is “ignorant, narrow—minded, and deficient in great ideas,” insomuch that the middle—class English are objects of contempt in the eyes of foreigners.

Philistines

(3 syl.). Earwigs and other insect tormentors are so called in Norfolk. Bailifis, constables, etc.

“The Philistines are upon thee, Samson” (Judges xvi.).

Philistinism A cynical indifference and supercilious sneering at religion. The allusion is to the Philistines of Palestine.

Phillis

A play written in Spanish by Lupercio Leonardo of Argensola. (See Don Quixote, vol. iii. p. 70.)

Philoclea

in Sidney's Arcadia, is Lady Penelope Devereux, with whom he was in love; but the lady married another, and Sir Philip transferred his affections to Frances, eldest daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham.

Philoctetes

The most famous archer in the Trojan war, to whom Hercules, at death, gave his arrows. He joined the allied Greeks, with seven ships, but in the island of Lemnos, his foot being bitten by a serpent, ulcerated, and became so offensive that the Greeks left him behind. In the tenth year of the siege Ulysses commanded that he should be sent for, as an oracle had declared that Troy could not be taken without the arrows of Hercules. Philoctetes accordingly went to Troy, slew Paris, and Troy fell.

The Philoctetes of Sophocles is one of the most famous Greek tragedies. Laharpe wrote a French tragedy, and Warren, in 1871, a metrical drama on the same subject.

Philomel

or Philomela. Tereus, King of Thrace, fetched Philomela to visit his wife; but when he reached the “solitudes of Heleas” he dishonoured her, and cut out her tongue that she might not reveal his conduct. Tereus told his wife that Philomela was dead, but Philomela made her story known by weaving it into a peplus, which she sent to her sister, the wife of Tereus, whose name was Procne. Procne, out of revenge, cut up her own son and served it to Tereus; but as soon as the king discovered it he pursued his wife, who fled to Philomela, her sister. To put an end to the sad tale, the gods changed all three into birds; Tereus (2 syl.) became the hawk, his wife the swallow, and Philomela the nightingale.

Arcadian nightingales. Asses. Cambridgeshire nightingales. Edible frogs. Liege and Dutch “nightingales” are edible.

Philomelus

The Druid bard that accompanied Sir Industry to the Castle of Indolence. (Thomson, canto ii. 34.)

Philopoemen

general of the Achæan league, made Epaminondas his model. He slew Mechanidas, tyrant of Sparta, and was himself killed by poison.

Philosopher

The sages of Greece used to be called sophoi (wise men), but Pythagoras thought the word too arrogant, and adopted the compound philosophoi (lover of wisdom), whence “philosopher,” one who courts or loves wisdom.

Philosopher. “There was never yes philosopher who could endure the toothache patiently, however they have writ the style of gods, and made a push at chance and sufferance.” (Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing, v. 1.)

The Philosopher. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus is so called by Justin Martyr. (121, 161—180.) Leo VI., Emperor of the East. (866, 886—911.)

Porphyry, the Antichristian. (233—305.)

The Philosopher of China. Confucius. His mother called him Little Hillock,, from a knob on the top of his head (B.C. 551—479.)

The Philosopher of Ferney. Voltaire; so called from his château of Ferney, near Geneva. (1694—1778.) The Philosopher of Malmesbury. Thomas Hobbes, author of Leviathan. (1588—1679.)

The Philosopher of Persia. Abou Ebn Sina, of Shiraz. (Died 1037.) The Philosopher of Samosata. I acan.

“Just such another feast as was that of the Lapithæ described by the philosopher of Samosata.”— Rabelais: Pantagruel, book iv. 15.

The Philosopher of Sans—Souci'. Frederick the Great (1712, 1740—1786). The Philosopher of Wimbledon. John Horne Took, author of Diversions of Purley. (1736—1812.)

Philosopher with the Golden Thigh

Pythagoras. General Zelislaus had a golden hand, which was given him by Bolislaus III. when he lost his right hand in battle. Nuad had an artificial hand made of silver by Cred.

“Quite discard the symbol of the old philosopher with the golden thigh.”— Rabelais Pantagruel (Prologue to book v.).

Philosopher's Egg (The). A preservative against poison, and a cure for the plague; a panacea. The shell of a new egg being pricked, the white is blown out, and the place filed with saffron or a yolk of an egg mixed with saffron.

Philosopher's Stone

The way to wealth. The ancient alchemists thought there was a substance which would convert all baser metals into gold. This substance they called the philosopher's stone. Here the word stone is about equal to the word substratum, which is compounded of the Latin sub and stratus (spread—under), the latter being related to the verb stand, stood, and meaning something on which the experiment stands. It was, in fact, a red powder or amalgam to drive off the impurities of baser metals. (Stone, Saxon, stán.)

Philosopher's stone. According to legend, Noah was commanded to hang up the true and genuine philosopher's stone in the ark, to give light to every living creature therein.

Inventions discovered in searching for the philosopher's stone. It was in searching for this treasure that Boticher stumbled on the invention of Dresden porcelain manufacture; Roger Bacon on the composition of gunpowder; Geber on the properties of acids; Van Helmont on the nature of gas; and Dr. Glauber on the “salts” which bear his name.

Philosopher's Tree

(The), or Diana's tree. An amalgam of crystallised silver, obtained from mercury in a solution of silver; so called by the alchemists, with whom Diana stood for silver.

Philosophers

The Seven Sages or Wise Men of Greece. Thale, Solon, Chilon, Pittacos, Bias, Cleobulos, Periander; to which add Sosiade, Anacharsis the Scythian, Myson the Spartan, Epimenide the Cretan; and Pherecyde of Syros.

Philosophers of the Academic scct. Plato, Speusippos, Xenocrate, Polemon, Crate, Crantor, Arcesilaos, Careade, Clitomachos, Philo, and Antiochos.

Philosophers of the Cynic sect. Antisthene, Diogene of Sinope Monimos, Onesicritos, Crate, Metrocle, Hipparchia, Menippos, and Menedemos of Lampsacos.

Philosophers of the Cyrenaie sect. Aristippos, Hegesias, Anniceris. Theodoros, and Bion. Philosophers of the Eleax or Eretriac sect. Phædo, Plisthene, and Menedemos of Eretria. Philosophers of the Eleatic sect. Xenophanes, Parmenide, Melissos, Zeno of Tarsos, Leucippos, Democritos, Protagoras, and Anaxarchos.

Philosophers of the Epicurean sect. Epicuros, and a host of disciples. Philosophers of the Heraclitan sect. Heraclitos; the names of his disciples are unknown. Philosophers of the Ionic sect. Anaximander, Anaximene, Anaximene, and Archelaos. Philosophers of the Italic sect. Pythagoras, Empedocle, Epicharmos, Archytas, Alcmæon, Hippasos, Philolaos, and Eudoxos.

Philosophers of the Megaric sect. Euclid, Eubulide, Alexions, Euphantos, Apollonios, Chronos, Diodoros, Ich' thyas, Clinomachos, and Stilpo.

Philosophers of the Peripatetic sect. Aristotle, Theophrastos, Straton, Lyco, Aristo, Critolaos, and Diodoros. Philosophers of the Sccptic sect. Pyrrho and Timon.

Philosophers of the Socratic sect. Socrate, Xenophon, Æs'chine, Crito, Simon, Glauco, Simmias, and Cebe. Philosophers of the Stoic sect. Zeno, Cleanthe, Chrysippos, Zeno the Less, Diogenes of Babylon, Antipater, Panætios, and Posidonios.

Philosophy

Father of Philosophy. Albrecht von Haller, of Berne. (1708—1777.)

Philotime

The word means lover of honour. The presiding Queen of Hell, and daughter of Mammon. (Spenser: Faërie Queene, ii.)

“And fair Philotime, the rightly hight,

The fairest wight that wonneth under sky.”

Book ii. canto vii.

Philoxenos of Cythera

A most distinguished dithyrambic poet. He was invited to the court of Dionysius of Syracuse, who placed some poems in his hand to correct. Philoxenos said the only thing to do was to run a

line through them and put them in the fire. For this frankness he was cast into prison, but, being released, he retired to Ephesus. The case of Voltaire and Frederick II. the Great of Prussia is an exact parallel.

“Bolder than Philoxenus,

Down the veil of truth I tear.”

Amand Charlemdgne: Les Grandes Verite's.

Philoxenos of Leucadia

A great epicure, who wished he had the neck of a crane, that he might enjoy the taste of his food the longer. (Aristotle: Ethies, iii. 10.)

Philter

(A). A draught or charm to incite in another the passion of love. The Thessalian philters were the most renowned, but both the Greeks and Romans used these dangerous potions, which sometimes produced insanity. Lucretius is said to have been driven mad by a love—potion, and Caligula's death is attributed to some philters

administered to him by his wife, Cæsonia. Brabantio says to Othello—

“Thou hast practised on her [Desdemona] with foul charms,

Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals

That weaken motion.”

Shakespeare: Othello, i. 1. (“Philter,” Greek, philtron, philos, loving.)

Phineus

(2 syl.). A blind king of Thrace, who had the gift of prophecy. Whenever he wanted to eat, the Harpies came and took away or defiled his food.

“Blind Thamyris, and blind Moeonides,

And Tiresias, and Phineus, prophets old.”

Milton: Paradise Lost, iii. 34.

Phiz

the face, is a contraction of physiognomy.

Phiz

Hablot K. Browne, who illustrated the Pickwick Papers, etc.

Phlegethon

A river of liquid fire in Hades. (Greek, phlego, to burn.)

“Fierce Phlegethon,

Whose waves of torrent fire inflame with rage.”

Milton: Paradise Lost, ii.

Phlegra

in Macedonia, was where the giants attacked the gods. Encelados was the chief of the giants.

Phlogiston

The principle or element of heat, according to Stahl. When latent the effect is imperceptible, but when operative it produces all the effects of heat from warmth to combustion. Of course, this theory has long been exploded. (Greek, phlogiston, inflammable.)

Phocensian Despair

Desperation which terminates in victory. In the days of Philip, King of Macedon, the men of Phocis had to defend themselves single—handed against the united forces of all their neighbours, because they presumed to plough a sacred field belonging to Delphi. The Phocensians suggested that they

should make a huge pile, and that all the women and children should join the men in one vast human sacrifice. The pile was made, and everything was ready, but the men of Phocis, before mounting the pile, rushed in desperation on the foe, and obtained a signal victory.

Phocion

surnamed The Good, who resisted all the bribes of Alexander and his successor. It was this real patriot who told Alexander to turn his arms against Persia, their common enemy, rather than against the states of Greece, his natural allies.

“Phocion the Good, in public life severe.

To virtue still inexorably firm.”

Thomson: Winter.

Phoebe

The moon, sister of Phoebus.

Phoebus

The sun or sun—god. In Greek mythology Apollo is called Phoebos (the sun—god), from the Greek verb phao (to shine).

“The rays divine of vernal Phoebus shine.”

Thomson: Spring.

Phoenix

Said to live a certain number of years, when it makes in Arabia a nest of spices, sings a melodious dirge, flaps his wings to set fire to the pile, burns itself to ashes, and comes forth with new life, to repeat the former one. (See Phoenix Period .)

“The enchanted pile of that lonely bird,

Who sings at the last his own death—lay,

And in music and perfume dies away.”

Thomas Moore: Paradisc and the Pert.

Phoenix, as a sign over chemists' shops, was adopted from the association of this fabulous bird with alchemy. Paracelsus wrote about it, and several of the alchemists employed it to symbolise their vocation.

A phoenix among women. A phoenix of his kind. A paragon, unique; because there was but one phoenix at a time.

“If she be furnished with a mind so rare,

She is alone the Arabian bird.”

Shakespeare: Cymbeline, 1.7. The Spanish Phoenix. Lope de Vega is so called by G. H. Lewes.

“Insigne poeta, a cuyo verso o prosa

Ninguno le aventaja ni aun Mega.”

Phoenix Alley

(London). The alley leading to the Phoenix theatre, now called Drury Lane.

Phoenix Park

(Dublin). A corruption of the Gaelic Fion—uise (fair water), so called from a spring at one time resorted to as a chalybeate spa.

Phoenix Period or Cycle, generally supposed to be 500 years; Tacitus tells us it was 250 years; R. Stuart Poole that it was 1,460 Julian years, like the Sothic Cycle; and Lipsius that it was 1,500 years. Now, the phoenix is said to have appeared in Egypt five times: (1) in the reign of Sesostris; (2) in the reign of Am—asis;

(3) in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphos; (4) a year or two prior to the death of Tiberius; and (5) in A.D. 334, during the reign of Constantine. These dates being accepted, a Phoenix Cycle consists of 300 years: thus, Sesostris, B.C. 866; Am—asis, B.C. 566; Ptolemy, B.C. 266; Tiberius, A.D. 34; Constantine, A.D. 334. In corroboration of this suggestion it must be borne in mind that Jesus Christ, who died A.D. 34, is termed the Phoenix by monastic writers.Tacitus mentions the first three of these appearances. (Annales, vi. 28.)

Phoenix Theatre

(See Phoenix Alley .)

Phoenix Tree

The palm. In Greek, phoinix means both phoenix and palm—tree.

“Now I will believe ... that in Arabia

There is one tree, the phoenix' throne— one phoenix At this hour reigneth there.”

Shakespeare: The Tempest, iii. 3.

Phooka

or Pooka. A spirit of most malignant disposition, who hurries people to their destruction. He sometimes comes in the form of an eagle, and sometimes in that of a horse, like the Scotch kelpie (q.v.). (Irish superstition.)

Phorcos

“The old man of the sea.” He was the father of the three Graiæ, who were grey from their birth, and had but one eye and one tooth common to the three. (Greek mythology.)

Phormio

A parasite who accommodates himself to the humour of everyone. (Terence: Phormio.)

Phrygians

An early Christian sect, so called from Phrygia, where they abounded. They regarded Montanus as their prophet, and laid claim to the spirit of prophecy.

Phryne

(2 syl.). A courtesan or Athenian hetæra. She acquired so much wealth by her beauty that she offered to rebuild the walls of Thebes if she might put on them this inscription: “Alexander destroyed them, but Phryne the hetæra rebuilt them.” The Cnidian Venus of Praxiteles was taken from this courtesan. Apelles' picture of Venus Rising from the Sea was partly from his wife Campaspe, and partly from Phryne, who entered the sea with dishevelled hair as a model.

Phylactery

A charm or amulet. The Jews wore on their wrist or forehead a slip of parchment bearing a text of Scripture. Strictly speaking, a phylactery consisted of four pieces of parchment, enclosed in two black leather cases, and fastened to the forehead or wrist of the left hand. One case contained Ex. xiii. 1—10, 11—16; and the other case Deut. vi. 4—9, xi. 13—21. The idea arose from the command of Moses, “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart ... and bind them for a sign upon your hand ... as frontlets between your eyes"

(Deut. xi. 18). (Greek, phylacterion, from the verb phylasso to watch.)

Phyllis

A country girl. (Virgil: Eclogues, iii. and v.)

“Country messes,

Which the neat—handed Phyllis dresses.”

Milton: L'Allegro.

Phyllis and Brunetta

Rival beauties who for a long time vied with each other on equal terms. For a certain festival Phyllis procured some marvellous fabric of gold brocade to outshine her rival; but Brunetta dressed the slave who bore her train in the same material, clothing herself in simple black. Upon this crushing mortification Phyllis went home and died. (Spectator.)

Phyllising the Fair

Philandering— making soft speeches and winning faces at them. Garth says of Dr. Atterbury—

“He passed his easy hours, instead of prayer,

In madrigals and phyllising the fair.”

The Dispensary. i.

Phynnodderee

[the Hairy—one]. A Manx spirit, similar to the Scotch “brownie,” and German “kobold.” He is said to be an outlawed fairy, and the offence was this: He absented himself without leave from Fairy—court on the great levée—day of the Harvest—moon, being in the glen of Rushen, dancing with a pretty Manx maid whom he was courting.

Physician

The Beloved Physician. Lucius, supposed to be St. Luke, the evangelist (Col. iv. 14).

The Prince of Physicians. Avicenna, the Arabian (980—1037).

Physician or Fool

Plutarch, in his treatise On the Preservation of Health, tells us that Tiberius was wont to say, “A man of thirty is his own physician or a fool.”

Physician, heal Thyself

“First cast out the beam from thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote which is in thy brother's eye.”

Physignathos

[one who swells the checks]. King of the Frogs, and son of Pelus [mud], slain by Troxartas, the Mouse—king.

“Great Physignathos I, from Peleus' race,

Begot in fair Hydromede's embrace.

Where, by the nuptial bank that paints his side, The swift Eridanus delights to glide.”

Parnell: Battle of the Frogs, bk. i.

Piarists

or Brethren of the Pious School. A religious congregation founded in the 16th century by Joseph of Calasanza, for the better instruction and education of the middle and higher classes.

Pic—nic

Dr. John Anthony derives it from the Italian piccola nicchia (a small task), each person being set a small task towards the general entertainment. (French, pique—nique.)

The modern custom dates from 1802, but picnics, called eranot, where each person contributed something, and one was appointed “master of the feast,” are mentioned by Homer, in his Odyssey, i. 226.

Picador

(Spanish). A horseman; one who in bull fights is armed with a gilt spear (pica—dorada), with which he pricks the bull to madden him for the combat.

Picards An immoral sect of fanatics in the 15th century; so called from Picard of Flanders, their founder, who called himself the New Adam, and tried to introduce the custom of living nude, like Adam in Paradise.

You are as hot—headed as a Picard. This is a French expression, and is tantamount to our “Peppery as a Welshman.”

Picaroon

A pirate; one who plunders wrecks. (French, picoreur, picorer, to plunder; Scotch, pikary, rapine; Spanish, picaron, a villain.)

Picatrix

The pseudonym of a Spanish monk, author of a book on demonology, collected from the writings of 224 Arabic magicians. It was dedicated to King Alfonso.

“At the time when I was a student in the University of Toulouse, that same reverend Picatrix, rector of the Diabolical Faculty, was wont to tell us that devils did naturally fear the bright glancing of swords, as much as the splendour and light of the sun.”— Rabelais: Pantagruel, iii. 23.

Piccadilly

(London). So called from Piccadilla Hall, the chief depôt of a certain sort of lace, much in vogue during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The lace was called piccadilly lace, from its little spear—points (a diminutive of pica, a pike or spear). In the reign of James I. the high ruff was called a piccadilly, though divested of its lace edging. Barnaby Rice, speaking of the piccadillies, says— “He that some forty years sithen should have asked after a piccadilly, I wonder who would have understood him, and would have told him whether it was fish or flesh” (1614). Another derivation is given in the Glossographia (1681). Piccadilly, we are there told, was named from Higgins' famous ordinary near St. James's, called Higgins's Pickadilly, “because he made his money by selling piccadillies” (p. 495). (See also Hone: Everyday Book, vol. ii. p. 381.)

“Where Sackville Street now stands was Piccadilla Hall, where piccadillies or turnovers were sold, which gave name to Piccadilly.”— Pennant.

Piccinists

(1774—1780). A French musico—political faction, who contended that pure Italian music is higher art than the mixed German school. In other words, that music is the Alpha and Omega of opera, and the dramatic part is of very minor importance.

Niccolo Piccino, of Naples (1728—1801), was the rival of Christopher Gluck, of Bohemia, and these two musicians gave birth to a long paper war. Those who sided with the Italian were called Piccinists, those who sided with the German were called Gluckists.

Pick

To throw; same as pitch. The instrument that throws the shuttle is called the picker. (Anglo—Saxon, pyc—an, to throw, pull, or pick.)

“Ill pick you o'er the pales.”

Shakespeare: Henry VIII., v. 3.

Pick Straws

(To). To show fatigue or weariness, as birds pick up straws to make their nests (or bed).

“Their eyelids did not once pick straws,

And wink, and sink away;

No, no; they were as brisk as bees,

And loving things did say.”

Peter Pindar: Orson and Ellen, canto v.

Pick a Hole in his Coat

(To). To find fault with one; to fix on some small offence as censurable.

“And shall such mob as thou, not worth a groat,

Dare pick a hole in such a great man's coat?”

Peter Pindar: Epistle to John Nichols.

Pickaninny

A young child. A West Indian negro word. (Spanish, pequeno, little; nino, child.)

Pickelherringe

(5 syl.) A buffoon is so called by the Dutch.

Pickers and Stealers

The hands. In French argot hands are called harpe, which is a contracted form of harpions; and harpion is the Italian arpione, a hook used by thieves to pick linen, etc., from hedges. A harpe d'un chien means a dog's paw, and “Il mania très bien ses harpes” means he used his fingers very dexterously.

“Rosencrantz. My lord, you once did love me. Hamlet. And do still, by these pickers and stcalers.”— Shakespeare: Hamlet, iii. 3.

Pickle

A rod in pickle. One ready to chastise with at any moment. Pickled means preserved for use. (Danish, pekel.)

I'm in a pretty pickle. In a sorry plight, or state of disorder.

“How camst thou in this pickle?”

Shakespeare: Tempest, v. 1.

Pickwick

(Mr. Samuel). The hero of the Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens. He is a simple—minded, benevolent old gentleman, who wears spectacles, breeches, and short black gaiters, has a bald head, and “good round belly.” He founds a club, and travels with its members over England, each member being under his guardianship.

Pickwickian

In a Pickwickian sense. An insult whitewashed. Mr. Pickwick accused Mr. Blotton of acting in “a vile and calumnious manner,” whereupon Mr. Blotton retorted by calling Mr. Pickwick “a humbug.” It finally was made to appear that both had used the offensive words only in a Pickwickian sense, and that each had, in fact, the highest regard and esteem for the other. So the affront was adjusted, and both were satisfied.

“Lawyers and politicians daily abuse each other in a Pickwickian sense.”— Bowditch.

Picrochole

King of Lerne. A Greek compound, meaning “bitterbile,” or choleric. The rustics of Utopia one day asked the cake—bakers of Lerne to sell them some cakes, but received only abuse; whereupon a quarrel ensued. When Picrochole was informed thereof, he marched with all his men against Utopia. King Grangousier tried to appease the choleric king, but all his efforts were in vain. At length Gargantua arrived, defeated Picrochole, and put his army to the rout. (Rabelais: Gargantua, bk. i.)

King Picrochole's statesman. One who without his host reckons of mighty achievements to be accomplished. The Duke of Smalltrash, Earl of Swashbuckler, and Captain Durtaille advised King Picrochole to divide his army into two parts: one was to be left to carry on the war in hand, and the other to be sent forth to make conquests. They were to take England, France and Spain, Asia Minor, the Greek Islands, and Turkey, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Russia, etc., and to divide the lands thus taken among the conquerors. Echephron, an old soldier, replied— “A shoemaker bought a hapoth of milk; with this he was going to make butter, the butter was to buy a cow, the cow was to have a calf, the calf was to be changed for a colt, and the man was to become a nabob; only he cracked his jug, spilt his milk, and went supperless to bed.” (Rabelais: Gargantua, bk. i. 33.)

In 1870 the French emperor (Napoleon III.) was induced to declare was against Germany. He was to make a demonstration and march in triumph to Berlin. Having taken Berlin, he was to march to Italy to restore the Pope to his dominions, and then to restore the Queen of Spain to her throne; but he failed in the first, lost his throne, and Paris fell into the hands of the allied Prussian army.

His uncle's “Berlin Decree,” for the subjection of Great Britain, was a similar miscalculation. This decree ordained that no European state was to deal with England; and, the trade of England being thus ruined, the kingdom must perforce submit to Napoleon. But as England was the best customer of the European states, the states of Europe were so impoverished that they revolted against the dictator, and the battle of Waterloo was his utter downfall.

Picts

The inhabitants of Albin, north—east of Scotland. The name is usually said to be the Latin picti (painted [or tattooed] with woad), but in the Irish chronicles the Picts are called Pictones, Pictores, Piccardaig, etc.

Picts' Houses

Those underground buildings more accurately termed “earth houses,” as the Pict's House at Kettleburn, in Caithness.

Picture

A model, or beau—ideal, as, He is the picture of health; A perfect picture of a house. (Latin, pictura.)

The Picture. Massinger has borrowed the plot of this play from Bandello of Piedmont, who wrote novelles or tales in the fifteenth century.

Picture Bible

(See Biblia .)

Picture Galleries

London is famous for its Constables, Turners, Landseers, Gainsboroughs, etc. Madrid for its Murillos, Van Dycks, Da Vincis, Rubenses, etc.

Dresden for its Raphael, Titian, and Correggio. Amsterdam for its Dutch masters.

Rome for its Italian masters.

Pictures

(See Cabinet, Cartoons , etc.)

Pie

Looking for a pie's nest (French). Looking for something you are not likely to find. (See below.)

He is in the pie's nest (French). In a fix, in great doubt, in a quandary. The pie places her nest out of reach, and fortifies it with thorny sticks, leaving only a small aperture just large enough to admit her body. She generally sits with her head towards the hole, watching against intruders.

“Je m'en vay chercher un grand peut—estre. II est au nid de la pie.”— Rabclais.

Pie Corner

(London). So named from an eating—house— the [Mag]pie.

Pie Poudre

A court formerly held at a fair on St. Giles's Hill, near Winchester. It was originally authorised by the Bishop of Winton from a grant of Edward IV. Similar courts were held elsewhere at wakes and fairs for the rough—and—ready treatment of pedlars and hawkers, to compel them and those with whom they dealt to fulfil their contracts. (French, pied poudreux, dusty foot. A vagabond is called in French pied poudreux.)

“Have its proceedings disallowed or

Allowed, at fancy of pie—powder.”

Butler: Hudibras, pt. ii. 2.

Piebald

Party—coloured. A corruption of pie—balled, speckled like a pie. The words Ball, Dun, and Favel are frequently given as names to cows. “Ball” means the cow with a mark on its face; “Dun" means the cow of a dun or brownish—yellow colour; and “Favel” means the bay cow. (Ball, in Gaelic, means a mark; ballach, speckled.)

Pied de la Lettre

(Au). Quite literally.

“Of course, you will not take everything I have said quite au pied de la lettre.”— Fra. Olloe: A Philosophical Trilogy.

Pied Piper of Hamelin

The Pied Piper was promised a reward if he would drive the rats and mice out of Hameln (Westphalia). This he did, for he gathered them together by his pipe, and then drowned them in the Weser. As the people refused to pay him, he next led the children to Koppelberg Hill, where 130 of them perished (July 22nd, 1376). (See Hatto .)

“To blow the pipe his lips he wrinkled,

And green and blue his sharp eyes twinkled ... And ere three notes his pipe had uttered ...

Out of the houses rats came tumbling—

Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,

Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats,

And step by step they followed him dancing,

Till they came to the river Weser.”

Robert Browning.

Hameln, on the river Hamel, is where the Rattenfänger played this prank. It is said that the children did not perish in the mountain, but were led over it to Transylvania, where they formed a German colony.

Pierre

A conspirator in Otway's Venice Preserved. He is described as a patriot of the bluntest manners, and a stoical heart.

Uglier than Pierre du Coignet (French). Coignèes was an advocate—general in the reign of Philippe de Valois, who stoutly opposed the encroachments of the Church. The monks, in revenge, called, by way of pun, those grotesque monkey—like figures carved in stone, used in church architecture, pierres du Coignet or pierres du Coignères. At Notre Dame de Paris they used to extinguish their torches in the mouths and nostrils of these figures, which thus acquired a superadded ugliness. (See Recherches de Pasquier, iii. chap. xxvii.)

“You may associate them with Master Peter du Coignet ... in the middle of the porch ... to perform the office of extinguishers, and with their noses put out the lighted candles, torches, tapers, and flambeaux.”— Rabelais.

Pierrot

[peer—ro]. A character in French pantomime representing a man in growth and a child in mind and manners. He is generally the tallest and thinnest man that can be got, has his face and hair covered with white powder or flour, and wears a white gown with very long sleeves, and a row of big buttons down the front. The word means Little Peter.

Piers

The shepherd who relates the fable of the Kid and her Dam, to show the danger of bad company. (Spenser: Shepherd's Calendar.)

Piers Plowman

The hero of a satirical poem of the fourteenth century. He falls asleep, like John Bunyan, on the Malvern Hills, and has different visions, which he describes, and in which he exposes the corruptions of society, the dissoluteness of the clergy, and the allurements to sin, with considerable bitterness. The author is supposed to be Robert or William Langland.

Pieta'

A representation of the Virgin Mary embracing the dead body of her Son. Filial or parental love was called piety by the Romans. (See Pious .)

Pietists

A sect of Lutherans in the seventeenth century, who sought to introduce a more moral life and a more “evangelical” spirit of doctrine into the reformed church. In Germany the word Pietist is about equal to our vulgar use of Methodist.

Pietro

(2 syl.). The putative father of Pompilia, criminally assumed as his child to prevent certain property from passing to an heir not his own. (Robert Browning: The Ring and the Book, ii. 580.) (See Ring .)

Pig

(The) was held sacred by the ancient Cretans, because Jupiter was suckled by a sow; it was immolated in the mysteries of Eleusis; was sacrificed to Hercules, to Venus, the Lares (2 syl.), and all those who sought relief from bodily ailments. The sow was sacrificed to Ceres (2 syl.), “because it taught men to turn up the earth;” and in Egypt it was slain on grand weddings on account of its fecundity.

Pig

In the forefeet of pigs is a very small hole, which may be seen when the hair has been carefully removed. The tradition is that the legion of devils entered by these apertures. There are also round it some six rings, the whole together not larger than a small spangle; they look as if burnt or branded into the skin, and the tradition is that they are the marks of the devil's claws when he entered the swine (Mark v. 11—15). (See Christian Traditions .)

Riding on a pig. It was Jane, afterwards Duchess of Gordon, who, in 1770, undertook for a wager to ride down the High Street of Edinburgh, in broad day—light, on the back of a pig, and she won her bet.

Some men there are love not a gaping pig (Merchant of Venice, iv. 1). Marshal d'Albert always fainted at the sight of a roast sucking pig. (See Antipathy, Cat.)

The same is said of Vaugheim, the renowned Hanoverian huntsman. Keller used to faint at the sight of smoked bacon.

Pig—back

Picka—back or a—Pigger—back, does not mean as a pig is carried by a butcher, but as a piga or child is carried. It should be written apiggaback. A butcher carries a pig head downwards, with its legs over his shoulders; but a child is carried with its arms round your neck, and legs under your arms.

“She carries the other a pickapack upon her shoulders.”— L'Estrange.

Pig—eyes

Very small black eyes, like those of a pig. Southey says, “Those eyes have taught the lover flattery.” The ace of diamonds is called “a pig's eye.”

Pig Hunt

(A). A village sport, in which a certain number of persons blindfolded hunt a small pig confined by hurdles within a limited space. The winner, having caught the pig, tucks it under his arm, and keeps it as his prize.

Pig—iron

This is a mere play upon the word sow. When iron is melted it runs off into a channel called a sow, the lateral branches of which are called the pigs; here the iron cools, and is called pig—iron.

Pig and Tinderbox

The Elephant and Castle.

Pig and Whistle

The bowl and wassail, or the wassail—cup and wassail. A piggen is a pail, especially a milk—pail; and a pig is a small bowl, cup, or mug, making “milk and wassail;” similar to the modern sign of Jug and Glass— i.e. beer and wine. Thus a crockery—dealer is called a pig—wife.

Pig in a Poke

(A). A blind bargain. The French say Acheter chat en poche. The reference is to a common trick in days gone by of substituting a cat for a sucking—pig, and trying to palm it off on greenhorns. If anyone heedlessly bought the article without examination he bought a “cat” for a “pig;” but if he opened the sack he

“let the cat out of the bag,” and the trick was disclosed. The French chat en poche refers to the fact, while our proverb regards the trick. Pocket is diminutive of poke.

Pigs (See Bartholomew Pigs .)

He has brought his pigs to a pretty market. He has made a very bad bargain; he has managed his business in a very bad way. Pigs were the chief articles of sale with our Saxon herdsmen, and till recently the village cottager looked to pay his rent by the sale of his pigs.

He follows me about like an Anthony pig, or such and such a one is a Tantony pig; meaning a beggar, a hanger on. Stow says that the officers of the market used to slit the ears of pigs unfit for food. One day one of the proctors of St. Anthony's Hospital tied a bell about a pig whose ear was slit, and no one would ever hurt it. The pig would follow like a dog anyone who fed it.

Please the pigs. If the Virgin permits. (Saxon, piga, a virgin.) In the Danish New Testament “maiden” is generally rendered pigen. “Pig Cross,” dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is Virgin Cross, or the Lady Cross. So also “Pig's Hill,” “Pig's Ditch,” in some instances at least, are the field and diggin' attached to the Lady's Chapel, though in others they are simply the hill and ditch where pigs were offered for sale. Another etymology is Please the pixies (fairies), a saying still common in Devonshire.

It is somewhat remarkable that pige should be Norse for maiden, and noq or og Gaelic for young generally. Thus ogan (a young man), and voie (a young woman).

Pigskin

(A). A gentleman's saddle, made of pigskin. “To throw a leg across a pigskin” is to mount a horse.

Pigtails

(The). The Chinese; so called because the Tartar tonsure and braided queue are very general.

“We laid away telling one another of the pigtails till we both dropped off to sleep.”— Tales about the Chinese.

Pigeon

(To). To cheat, to gull one of his money by almost self—evident hoaxes. Pigeons are very easily gulled, caught by snares, or scared by malkins. One easily gulled is called a pigeon. The French pigeon means a dupe.

“Je me deffleroy tantost que tu serois un de ceux qui ne se laissent si facilement pigeonner a tellesgens — Les Dialogues de Jacques Tahureau, (1585).

Flying the pigeons. Stealing coals from a cart or sack between the coal—dealer's yard and the house of the customer.

Flying the blue pigeon. Stealing the lead from off the roofs of churches or buildings of any kind. To pigeon a person is to cheat him clandestinely. A gullible person is called a pigeon, and in the sporting world sharps and flats are called “rooks and pigeons.” The brigands of Spain used to be called palomos (pigeons); and in French argot a dupe is called pechon, or peschon de ruby; where pechon or peschon is the Italian piccione (a pigeon), and de ruby is a pun on dérobé, bamboozled.

To pluck a pigeon. To cheat a gullible person of his money. To fleece a green—horn. (See Greenhorn.)

“ `Here comes a nice pigeon to pluck,' said one of the thieves.”— C. Reade.

Pigeon, Pigeons

Pitt says in Mecca no one will kill the blue pigeons, because they are held sacred.

The black pigeons of Dodona. Two black pigeons, we are told, took their flight from Thebes, in Egypt; one flew to Libya, and the other to Dodona, in Greece. On the spot where the former alighted, the temple of Jupiter Ammon was erected; in the place where the other settled, the oracle of Jupiter was established, and there the responses were made by the balck pigeons that inhabited the surrounding groves. This fable is probably based on a pun upon the word pelciai, which usually means “old women,” but in the dialect of the Epirots signifies pigeons or doves.

Mahomet's pigeon. (See Mahomet.) In Russia pigeons are not served for human food, because the Holy Ghost assumed the likeness of a dove at the baptism of Jesus; and part of the marriage service consists in letting loose two pigeons. (See The Sporting

Magazine, January, 1825, p. 307.)

Pigeon lays only two eggs. Hence the Queen says of Hamlet, after his fit he will be—

“As patient as the female dove

When that her golden couplets are disclosed [i.e. hatched].” Hamlet, v. 1.

He who is sprinkled with pigeon's blood will never die a natural death. A soulptor carrying home a bust of Charles I. stopped to rest on the way; at the moment a pigeon overhead was struck by a hawk, and the blood of the bird fell on the neck of the bust. The sculptor thought it ominous, and after the king was beheaded the saying became current.

Flocks of wild pigeons presage the pestilence, at least in Louisiana. Longfellow says they come with “naught in their craws but an acorn.” (Evangeline.)

Pigeon—English

or Pigeon—talk. A corruption of business—talk. Thus: business, bidginess, bidgin, pidgin, pigeon. A mixture of English, Portuguese, and Chinese, used in business transactions in “The Flowery Empire.”

“The traders care nothing for the Chinese language, and are content to carry on their business transactions in a hideous jargon called “pigeon English.”— The Times.

Pigeon—hole

(A). A small compartment for filing papers. In pigeon—lockers a small hole is left for the pigeons to walk in and out.

Pigeon—livered

Timid, easily frightened, like a pigeon. The bile rules the temper, and the liver the bile.

Pigeon Pair

A boy and girl, twins. It was once supposed that pigeons always sit on two eggs which produce a male and a female, and these twin birds live together in love the rest of their lives.

Pigg

The Brewer of Ghent. James van Artevelde. (Fourteenth century.) It may here be remarked that it is a great error to derive proper names of any antiquity from modern words of a similar sound or spelling. As a rule, very few ancient names are the names of trades; and to suppose that such words as Bacon, Hogg, and Pigg refer to swineherds, or Gaiter, Miller, Tanner, Ringer, and Bottles to handicrafts, is a great mistake. A few examples of a more scientific derivation will suffice for a hint:—

BREWER. This name, which exists in France as Bruhière and Brugière, is not derived from the Saxon briwan (to brew), but the French bruyère (heath), and is about tantamount to the German “Plantagenet” (broom—plant). (See Rymer's Fædera, William I.)

BACON is from the High German verb began (to fight), and means “the fighter.” PIGG and BIGG are from the old High German pichan (to slash).

HOGG is the Anglo—Saxon hyge (scholar), from the verb hogan (to study). In some cases it may be from the German hoch (high).

BOTTLE is the Anglo—Saxon Bod'—el (little envoy). Norse, bodi; Danish, bud. GAITER is the Saxon Gaid—er (the darter). Celtic, gais, our goad.

MILLER is the old Norse, melia, our mill and maul, and means a “mauler” or “fighter.”

RINGER is the Anglo—Saxon hring gar (the mailed warrior)

SMITH is the man who smites.

TANNER (German Thanger, old German Danegaud) is the Dane—Goth. This list might easily be extended.

Piggy—wiggy

or Piggy—whidden. A word of endearment; a pet pig, which, being the smallest of the litter, is called by the diminutive Piggy, the wiggy being merely alliterative.

Pightel

or Pightle. A small parcel of land enclosed with a hedge. In the eastern counties called a pikle.

“Never had that noyelty in manure whitened the ... pightels of Court Farm.”— Miss Mitford: Our Village, p. 68.

Pigmy

A dwarf. In fabulous history the pigmies were a nation of dwarfs devoured by cranes. (See Pygmies .)

Pigsney

or Pigsnie. A word of endearment to a girl. (Diminutive of the Anglo—Saxon piga, a little girl.)

Pigwiggin

An elf in love with Queen Mab. He combats the jealous O'beron with great fury. (Drayton: Nymphidia.)

Pike's Head

(A). A pike's head has all the parts of the crucifixion of Christ. There are the cross, three nails, and a sword distinctly recognisable. The German tradition is that when Christ was crucified all fishes dived under the waters in terror, except the pike, which, out of curiosity, lifted up its head and beheld the whole scene. (See Passion Flower .)

Pikestaff

Plain as a pikestaff. Quite obvious and unmistakable. The pikestaff was the staff carried by pilgrims, which plainly and somewhat ostentatiously announced their “devotion.” It has been suggested that

“pikestaff” is a corruption of “packstaff,” meaning the staff on which a pedlar carries his pack, but there is no need for the change.

Pilate Voice

A loud ranting voice. In the old mysteries all tyrants were made to speak in a rough ranting manner. Thus Bottom the Weaver, after a rant “to show his quality,” exclaims, “That's 'Ercles' vein, a tyrant's vein;” and Hamlet describes a ranting actor as “out—heroding Herod.”

“In Pilate voys he gan to cry,

And swor by armës, and by blood and bones.”

Chaucer: Canterbury Tales, 3126.

Pilate's Wife

who warned Pilate to have nothing to do with Jesus, is called Procla. (E. Johnson: The Rise of Christendom, p. 416.)

Others call her Justitia, evidently an assumed name.

Pilatus

(Mount) in Switzerland. The similarity of the word with the name of Pontius Pilate has given rise to the tradition that the Roman Governor, being banished to Gaul by Tiberius, wandered to this mount and threw himself into a black lake on its summit. But Mont Pileatus means the “hatted mountain,” because it is frequently capped with clouds.

The story goes, that once a year Pilate appears in his robes of office, and whoever sees the ghost will die before the year is out. In the sixteenth century a law was passed forbidding anyone to throw stones in the lake, for fear of bringing a tempest on the country.

There is a town called Pilate in the island of Hispaniola, and a Mont Pilate in France.

Pilch

The flannel napkin of an infant; a buff or leather jerkin. (Anglo—Saxon pylce, a pilch.)

Pilcher

A scabbard. (Anglo—Saxon, pylce; Latin, pellis, skin.)

“Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher?” — Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, iii. 1.

Pilgarlio

or Pill'd Garlic (A). One whose hair has fallen off from dissipation. Stow says of one getting bald:

“He will soon be a peeled garlic like myself.” Generally a poor wretch avoided and forsaken by his fellows. The editor of Notes and Queries says that garlic was a prime specific for leprosy, so that garlic and leprosy became inseparably associated. As lepers had to pill their own garlie, they were nicknamed Pil—garlics, and anyone shunned like a leper was so called likewise. (To pill = to peel; see Gen. xxx. 37.)

It must be borne in mind that at one time garlic was much more commonly used in England than it is now.

“After this [feast] we jogged off to bed for the night; but never a bit could poor pilgarlic sleep one wink, for the everlasting jingle of bells.”— Rabelais: Pantagruel, v. 7.

Pilgrim Fathers

(The). The 102 English, Scotch, and Dutch Puritans who, in December, 1620, went to North America in the ship called the Mayflower, and colonised Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Pilgrimage

(3 syl.). The chief places in the West were (1) Walsingham and Canterbury (England); (2)

Four—vières, Puy, and St. Denis (France); (3) Rome, Loretto, Genetsano, and Assisi (Italy); (4) Compostella, Guadalupe, and Montserrat (Spain); (5) Oetting, Zell, Cologne, Trier, and Einsiedelu (Germany). Chaucer has an admirable account, chiefly in verse, of a pilgrimage to Becket's tomb in Canterbury Cathedral. The pilgrims beguile the weariness of the way by telling tales. These Canterbury Tales were never completed.

Pillar Saints

or Stylites. A class of ascetics, chiefly of Syria, who took up their abode on the top of a pillar, from which they never descended. (See Stylites .)

Pillar to Post

Running from pillar to post — from one thing to another without any definite purpose. This is an allusion to the manege. The pillar is the centre of the riding ground, and the posts are the columns at equal distances, placed two and two round the circumstance of the ring.

Pillars of Heaven

(The). The Atlas Mountains are so called by the natives.

Pillars of Hercules

(The). The opposite rocks at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea, one in Spain and the other on the African continent. The tale is that they were bound together till Hercules tore them asunder in order to get to Gades (Cadiz). The ancients called them Calpe and Abyla; we call them Gibraltar Rock and Mount Hacho, on which stands the fortress of Ceuta (Kutah).

Pillory

The following eminent men have been put in the pillory for literary offences:— Leighton, for tracts against Charles I.; Lilburn, for circulating the tracts of Dr. Bastwick; Bastwick, for attacking the Church of England; Warton the publisher; Prynne, for a satire on the wife of Charles I.; Daniel Defoe, for a pamphlet entitled The Shortest Way with Dissenters, etc.

Pilot

according to Scaliger, is from an old French word, pile (a ship).

Pilot Balloon

(A). A political feeler; a hint thrown out to ascertain public opinion on some moot point.

“As this gentleman is in the confidence of ministers, it is fair to assume that he was deputed to start this statement as a pilot balloon.”— Newspaper leader, 1885.

Pilot Fish

So called because it is supposed to pilot the shark to its prey.

Pilot that weathered the Storm (The). William Pitt, son of the first Earl of Chatham. George Canning, in 1802, wrote a song so called in compliment to William Pitt, who steered us safely through the European storm stirred up by Napoleon.

Pilpay'

or Bidpay. The Indian Esop. His compilation was in Sanskrit, and entitled Pantcha—Tantra. Khosru (Chosroes) the Great, of Persia, ordered them to be transiated into Pehlvi, an idiom of Medish, at that time the language of Persia. This was in the middle of the sixth century.

Pimlico

(London). At one time a district of public gardens much frequented on holidays. According to tradition, it received its name from Ben Pimlico, famous for his nut—brown ale, His tea—gardens, however, were near Hoxton, and the road to them was termed Pimlico Path, so that what is now called Pimlico was so named from the popularity of the Hoxton resort.

“Have at thee, then, my merrie boyes, and beg for old Ben Pimlicos nut—brown ale.”— Newes from Hogsdon (1598).

Pimlico

To walk in Pimlico. To promenade, handsomely dressed, along Pimlico Path.

“Not far from this place were the Asparagus Gardens and Pimlico Path, where were fine walks, cool arbours, etc., much used by the citizens of London and their families.”— Nat. Hist. Surrey, v. 221.

Pin

(A). A cask holding 4 1/2 gallons of ale or beer. This is the smallest of the casks. Two pins = a firkin or 9 gallons, and 2 firkins = a kilderkin or 18 gallons.

Pin

Not worth a pin. Wholly worthless.

I don't care a pin, or a pin's point. In the least.

The pin. The centre; as, “the pin of the heart” (Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, ii. 4). The allusion is to the pin which fastened the clout or white mark on a target in archery.

Weak on his pins. Weak in his legs, the legs being a man's pegs or supporters. A merry pin. A roysterer.

We are told that St. Dunstan introduced the plan of pegging tankards to check the intemperate habits of the English in his time. Called “pin—tankards.”

In merry pin. In merry mood,in good spirits. Pegge, in his Anonymsina says that the old tankards were divided into eight equal parts, and each part was marked with a silver pin. The enps held two quarts, consequently the quantity from pin to pin was half a Winchester pint. By the rules of “good fellowship” a drinker was supposed to stop drinking only at a pin, and if he drank beyond it, was to drink to the next one. As it was very hard to stop exactly at the pin, the vain efforts gave rise to much mirch and the drinker had generally to drain the tankard. (See Peg.)

“No song, no laugh, no jovial din

Of drinking wassail to the pin.”

Longfellow: Golden Isgend.

I do not pin my faith upon your sleeve I am not going to take your ipse dixit for gospel. In feudal times badgas were worn, and the partisans of a leader used to wear his badge, which was pinned on the sleeve. Sometimes these badges were changed for specific purposes, and persons learned to doubt. Hence the phrase, “You wear the badge, but I do not intend to pin my faith on your sleeve.”

He tirled at the pin. Rattled at the latch to give notice that he was about to enter. The pin was not only the latch of chamber—doors and cottages, but the “rasp” of castles used instead of the modern knocker. It was attached to a ring, which produced a grating sound to give notice to the warder.

“Sae licht he jumpëd up the stair,

And tirled at the pin;

And wha sae ready as hersel'

To let the laddie in.”

Charlie is my Darling.

Pin Money

A lady's allowance of money for her own personal expenditure. Long after the invention of pins, in the fourteenth century, the maker was allowed to sell them in open shop only on January 1st and 2nd. It was then that the court ladies and city dames flocked to the depôts to buy them, having been first provided with money by their husbands. When pins became cheap and common, the ladies spent their allowances on other fancies, but the term pin money remained in vogue.

It is quite an error to suppose that pins were invented in the reign of Francois I., and introduced into England by Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. In 1347, just 200 years before the death of Francois,

12,000 pins were delivered from the royal wardrobe for the use of the Princess Joan, and in 1400 (more than a century before Francois ascended the throne) the Duchess of Orleans purchased of Jehan le Breconnier, espirglier, of Paris, several thousand long and short pins, besides 500 de la facon d' Angleterre. So that pins were not only manufactured in England, but were of high repute even in the reign of Henry IV. of England (1399—1413).

Pinabello

or Pinabel (in Orlando Furioso). Son of Anselmo, King of Maganza. Marphisa, having

over—thrown him, and taken the steed of his dame, Pinabello, at her instigation, decreed that nothing would wipe out the disgrace except a thousand dames and a thousand warriors unhorsed, and spoiled of their arms, steed, and vest. He was slain by Bradamant.

Pinchbeck

So called from Christopher Pinchbeck, a musical—clock maker, of Fleet Street. (Died 1732.) The word is used for Brummagem gold; and the metal is a compound of copper, zinc, and tin.

“Where, in these pinchbeck days, can we hope to find the old agricultural virtue in all its purity?”— Anthony Trollope: Framley Personace.

Pindar

The French Pindar. Jean Dorat (1507—1588). Also Ponce Denis Lebrun (1729—1807).

The Italian Pindar. Gabriello Chiabrera; whence Chiabreresco is in Italian tantamount to “Pindaric.” (1552—1637.)

Peter Pindar. Dr. John Wolcott (1738—1812).

Pindar of England. George, Duke of Buckingham, most extravagantly declared Cowley to be the Pindar, Horacé and Virgil of England.

In Westminster Abbey, the last line of Gray's tablet claims the honour of British Pindar for the author of The Bard.

“She [Britain] felt a Homer's fire in Mliton's strains,

A Pindar's rapture in the lyre of Gray.”

Pindar and the Bees

(See Plato .)

Pindar of Wakefield (George—a—Green) has given his name to a celebrated house on the west side of the Gray's Inn Road; and a house with that name still exists in St. Chad's Row, on the other side of the street. (The Times.) (See Pinder .)

Pindaric Verse

Irregular verse; a poem of various metres, but of lofty style, in imitation of the odes of Pindar. Alexander's Feast, by Dryden, is the best specimen in English.

Pinder

One who impounds cattle, or takes care of the cattle impounded; thus George—a—Green was the

“Pinder of Wakefield,” and his encounter with Robin Hood, Scarlet, and Little John forms the subject of one of the Robin Hood ballads. (Anglo—Saxon pund, a fold.)

Pindorus

(in Jerusalem Delivered). One or the two heralds; the other is Arideus.

Pine—bender

(The). Sinis, the Corinthian robber; so called because he used to fasten his victims to two pinetrees bent towards the earth, and then leave them to be rent asunder by the rebound.

Pink

(A). The flower is so called because the edges of the petals are pinked or notched. (See below.)

Pink of Perfection

(The). The acme; the beau—ideal. Shakespeare has “the pink of courtsey” (Rome and Juliet, ii. 4); the pink of politerase. (Welsh, pwnc, a point, an acme our pink, to stab; pinking, cutting into points.)

Piony or Peony

A flower; so called from the chieftain Paion, who discovered it. (Saxon Leechdoms, i.)

Piou—piou

An infantry soldier. This is probably a corruption of pion, a pawn or foot—soldier. Cotgrave, however, thinks the French foot—soldiers are so called from their habit of pilfering chickens, whose cry is piou piou.

Pious

(2 syl.). The Romans called a man who revered his father pius; hence Antoninus was called pius, because he requested that his adopted father (Hadrian) might be ranked among the gods. AEneas was called pius because he rescued his father from the burning city of Troy. The Italian word pietà (q.v.) has a similar meaning.

The Pious. Ernst I., founder of the House of Gotha. (1601—1674.)

Robert, son of Hugues Capet, (971, 996—1031.)

Eric IX. of Sweden. (*, 1155—1161.)

Pip

The hero of Dickens's Great Expectations. He is first a poor boy, and then a man of wealth.

Pipe

Anglo—Saxon pip, a pipe or flute.

Put that into your pipe and smoke it. Digest that, if you can. An expression used by one who has given an adversary a severe rebuke. The allusion is to the pipes of peace and war smoked by the American Indians.

Put your pipe out. Spoil your piping or singing; make you sing another tune, or in another key. “Take your shine out” has a similar force.

As you pipe, I must dance. I must accommodate myself to your wishes. To pipe your eye. To snivel; to cry.

Pipe Rolls

or Great Rolls of the Pipe. The series of Great Rolls of the Exchequer, beginning 2 Henry II., and continued to 1834, when the Pipe Office was abolished. These rolls are now in the Public Record Office, Chancery Lane.

“Take, for instance the Pipe Rolls, that magnificent series of documents on which, from the middle of the 12th century until well on in the 19th, we have a perfect account of the Crown revenue, rendered by the sheriffs of the different countries.”— Notes and Queries, June 3, 1893, p. 421.

Office of the Clerk of the Pipe. A very ancient office in the Court of Exchequer, where leases of Crown lands, sheriffs' accounts, etc., were made out. It existed in the reign of Henry II., and was abolished in the reign of William IV. Lord Bacon says, “The office is so called because the whole receipt of the court is finally conveyed into it by means of divers small pipes or quills, as water into a cistern.

Pipe of Peace

The North American Indians present a pipe to anyone they wish to be on good terms with. To receive the pipe and smoke together is to promote friendship and goodwill, but to refuse the offer is virtually a declaration of hostility.

Pipeclay

Routine; fossilised military dogmas of no real worth. In government offices the term red—tape is used to express the same idea. Pipeclay was at one time largely used by soldiers for making their gloves, accoutrements, and clothes look clean and smart.

Pipelet

A concierge or French door—porter; so called from a character in Eugène Sue's Mysteris of pans of Paris.

Piper

The Pied Piper. (See Pied. ) Who's to pay the piper? (See Pay.) Tom Piper. So the piper is called in the morris dance.

There is apparently another Tom Piper, referred to by Drayton and others, of whom nothing is now known. He seems to have been a sort of Mother Goose, or raconteur of short tales

“Tom Piper is gone out, and mirth bewall's,

He never will come in to tell us tales.”

Piper that Played before Moses

(By the). Per tibicinem qm coram Mose modulatus est. This oath is from Tales in Blackwood [Magazine, May, 1838]: Father Tom and the Pope (name of the tale). (Notes and Queries, April 2, 1887, p. 276.)

Piper's News

or Hawker's Hews, Fiddler's News. News known to all the world. “Le secret de polichinelle.”

Piping Hot

Hot as water which pipes or sings.

Pippa Passes

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Some casual influence has dropped good seed, which has taken root and beareth fruit to perfection. The words are the title of a dramatic poem by Robert Browning. Pippa is a chaste—minded, light—hearted peasant maiden, who resolves to enjoy New Year's Day, her only holiday. Various groups of persons overhear her as she passes—by singing her innocent ditties, and some of her stray words, falling into their hearts, act with secret but sure influence for good. (1842.)

Piraeus

Now called the port Leone.

Pirie's Chair

“The lowest seat o' hell.” “If you do not mend your ways, you will be sent to Pirie's chair, the lowest seat of hell.”

“In Pirie's chair you'll sit, I say,

The lowest seat o' hell;

If ye do not amend your ways,

It's there that ye must dwell.” Child's English and Scottish Ballads: The Courteous Knight.

Pirrie or pyrrie means a sudden storm at sea (Scotch pirr). “They were driven back by storme of winde and pyrries of the sea.” (North: Plutarch, p. 355.)

Pirithoos

King of the Lapithae, proverbial for his love of Theseus (2 syl.), King of Athens.

Pis—aller

(French). As a shift; for want of a better; a dernier ressort; better than nothing.

“She contended herself with a pis—aller, and gave her hand ... in six months to the son of the baronet's steward.”— Sir W. Scott: Waverley. chap. v.

Pisanio

A servant noted for his attachment to Imogen. (Shakespeare: Cymbeline.)

Piso's Justice

That is Piso's justice. Verbally right, but morally wrong. Seneca tells us that Piso condemned a man on circumstancial evidence for murder; but when the suspect was at the place of execution, the man supposed to have been murdered exclaimed, “Hold, hold! I am the man supposed to have been killed.” The centurion sent back the prisoner to Piso, and explained the case to him; whereupon Piso condemned all three to death, saying, “Fiat justitia.” The man condemned is to be executed because sentence of death has been passed upon him, and fiat justitia; the centurion is to be executed because he has disobeyed orders, and fiat justitia; the man supposed to have been murdered is to be executed because he has been the cause of death to two innocent men, and fiat justitia etsi coelum ruat.

Pistol

Falstaff's lieutenant or ancient; a bully, but a coward, a rogue, and always poor. (Shakespeare: 1 and 2 Henry IV.; Merry Wives of Windsor.)

Pistols

So called from Pistoja, in Tuscany, where they were invented in 1545. (Latin, pistorium.)

To discharge one's pistol in the air. To fight a man of straw; to fight harmlessly in order to make up a foolish quarrel.

“Dr. Réyille has discharged his pistol in the air [that is, he pretends to fight against me, but discharges his shot against objections which I never made].”— W. E. Gladstone: Nineteenth Centary, November, 1885.

Pistris, Pistrix, Pristis

or Pristrix. The sea—monster sent to devour Andromeda. In ancient art it is represented with a dragon's head, the neck and head of a beast, fins for the forelegs and the body and tail of a fish. In Christian art the pistris was usually employed to represent the whale which swallowed Jonah. (Aratus: commentaries.) Aratus died A.D. 213.

Pit—a—pat

My heart goes pit—a—pat. Throbs, palpitates. “Pat” is a gentle blow (Welsh, ffat), and “pit” is a mere ricochet expletive. We have a vast number of such ricochot words, as “fiddle—faddle,” “harum—scarum,” “ding—dong,” etc.

“Anything like the sound of a rat

Makes my heart go pit—a—pat.”

Browning: Pied Piver of Hamelin.

Pitch

Touch pitch, and you will be defiled. “The finger that touches rougs will be red.” “Evil communications corrupt good manners” “A rotten apple injures its companions.”

Pitch and Pay

Pitch down your money and pay at once. There is a suppressed pun in the phrase: “to pay a ship” is to pitch it.

“The word is pitch and pay— next none”

Shakespeare: Henry V., ii.f.

Pitch into Him

Thrust or dart your fists into him.

Pitcher

The pitcher went once too often to the well. The dodge was tried once too often, and utterly failed. The same sentiment is proverbial in most European languages.

Pitchers

Little pitchers have long ears. Little folk or children hear what is said when you little think it. The ear of a pitcher is the handle, made in the shape of a man's ear. The handle of a cream—ewer and of other small jugs is quite out of proportion to the size of the vessel, compared with the handles of large jars.

Pithos

A large jar to keep wine or oil in. Winckelmann has engraved a copy of a curious bas—relief representing Diogenes occupying a pithos and holding conversation with Alexander the Great. (Greek pithos, a large wine jar.)

Pitri

(plur. PITARAS). An order of divine beings in Hindu mythology inhabiting celestial regions of their own, and receiving into their society the spirits of those mortals whose funeral rites have been duly performed.

Pitt Diamond

or The Regent. Called Pitt diamond because it once belonged to Mr. Pitt, grandfather of the famous Earl of Chatham. Called the Regent diamond from the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France, who purchased it. This famous diamond was worn in the sword—hilt of Napoleon, and now belongs to the King of Prussia.

Pitt's Mark

The printer's name and place of business affixed to printed books, according to William Pitt's Act, 39 Geo. III., c. 79.

Pitt's Pictures or Billy Pitt's Pictures. Blind windows; so called because many windows were blocked up when William Pitt augmented the Window Tax in 1784, and again in 1797.

Pittacus

(Greek, Pittakos). One of the “Seven Sages” of Greece. His great sayings were: (1) “Know the right time” (“Gnothi kairon” ), and (2) “'Tis a sore thing to be eminent” (“chalepon esthlon emmenai”).

Pittance

An allowance of victuals over and above bread and wine. Anthony du Pinet, in his translation of Pliny, applies the term over and over again to figs and beans. The word originally comes from the people's piety in giving to poor mendicants food for their subsistence. (Probably connected with pietas. Monkish Latin, pietancia; Spanish, pitar, to distribute a dole of food; pitancero, one who distributes the dole, or a begging friar who subsists by charity.)

Pixies

(2 syl.). The Devonshire Robin Goodfellows; said to be the spirits of infants who have died before baptism. The Pixy monarch holds his court like Titania, and sends his subjects on their several tasks. The word is a diminutive of Pix, probably the same as Puck. (Swedish, pyke; old English, pouk, bug, bogie; Danish, pog and pokker.)

“Ne let the pouke nor other evil sprites ...

Fray us with things that be not.”

Spenser: Epithalamion.

Pixy—led

(Devonshire), Poakeledden (Worcestershire). Misled into bogs and ditches.

Place aux Dames

Make way for the ladies; give place to the ladies; the ladies first, if you please. Indirectly it means women beat the men hollow in every contest.

Placebo

One of the brothers of January, au old baron of Lombardy. When January held a family council to know whether he should marry, Placebo very wisely told him to do as he liked, for says he—

“A ful gret fool is eny counselour;

That servith any lord of high honour;

That dar presume, or cones [once] thenken it.

That his counseilschuld pass his lordes wit.”

Chaucer: The Marchaundes Tale, line 9, 121, etc.

To sing Placebo. To seek to please; to trim in order not to offend. The word Placeo is often used to denote vespers for the dead, from the fact that it is the first word of the first Antiphon of that Office.

Plagiarist

means strictly one who kidnaps a slave. Martial applies the word to the kidnappers of other men's brains. Literary theft unacknowledged is called plagiarism. (Latin, plagrarius.)

Plain

(The). The Girondists were so called in the National Convention, because they sat on the level floor or plain of the hall. After the overthrow of the Girondists this part of the House was called the marsh or swamp (marais), and included such members as were under the control of the Mountain (q.v.).

Plain Dealer

(The). Wycherly was so called, from his celebrated comedy of the same title. (1640—1715.)

“The Countess of Drogheda inquired for the Plain Dealer. `Madame,' says Mr. Fairbeard, `since you are for the “Plain Dealer,” there he is for you,' pushing Mr. Wycherly towards her.”— Cibber: Lives of the Poets, iii. p. 252.

Plan of Campaign (The). Often cited shortly as “The Plan,” promulgated by John Dillon in October, 1886. It provided that Irish tenants on an estate should band together, and determine what abatement of rent they considered to be called for. If the landlord accepted the abatement, well and good, if not, the tenants were to pay into a compaign fund the amount offered to the landlord, and the money thus funded should be used in fighting the landlord if he went to law to recover his rents.

“The Plan of Campaign proposed to reduce rents by an average of some 30 per cent.— Nineteenth Century, April, 1894, p. 500.

In 1885 the Land Commission reduced all the rents from 10 to 14 per cent.; so that 30 per cent. more would equal from 40 to 45 per cent.

Planets

i. In astrology there are seven planets:—

APOLLO, the sun, represents gold.

DIANA, the moon, represents silver.

MERCURY represents quicksilver.

VENUS represents copper.

MARS represents iron.

JUPITER represents tin.

SATURN represents lead, ii. In heraldry the arms of royal personages used to be blazoned by the names of planets, and those of noblemen by precious stones, instead of the corresponding colours.

SOL— topaz— or (gold — bezants.

LUNA— pearl— argent (silver)— plates.

SATURN— diamond— sable (black)— pellets.

MARS— ruby— gules (red)— torteaux.

JUPITER— sapphire— azure (blue)— hurts.

VENUS— emerald— vert (green)— pommes.

MERCURY— amethyst— purpure (violet)— golpes.

Inferior planets. Mercury and Venus; so called because their orbits are within the orbit of the earth. Superior planets. Mars, the Planetoids, Jupiter, Saturn, U'ranus, and Neptune; so called because their orbits are outside the earth's orbit— i.e. farther from the sun.

iii. Planets represented by symbols.

MERCURY, ; VENUS, ; EARTH ; MARS, ; the PLANETOIDS, in the order of discovery— (1), (2), (3), etc.; JUPITER, ; SATURN, ; URANUS, ; NEPTUNE, ; the SUN, ; the MOON, .

iv. The planets in Greece were symbolised by—seven letters:

JUPITER, (u—psilon); MARS, o(o—micron); MERCURY, (e—psilon); THE MOON, (alpha); SATURN,

(o—mega); THE SUN, (iota); VENUS, (eta).

To be born under a lucky [or unlucky] planet. According to astrology, some planet, at the birth of every individual, presides over his destiny. Some of the planets, like Jupiter, are lucky; and others, like Saturn, are unlucky. In casting a horoscope the heavens must be divided into twelve parts or houses, called (1) the House of Life; (2) the House of Fortune; (3) the House of Brethren; (4) the House of Relations; (5) the House of Children; (6) the House of Health; (7) the House of Marriage; (8) the House of Death; (9) the House of Religion; (10) the House of Dignities; (11) the House of Friends and Benefactors; (12) the House of Enemies. Each house had one of the heavenly bodies as its lord. (See Star In The Ascendant.)

Planet—struck

A blighted tree is said to be planet—struck. Epilepsy, paralysis, lunacy, etc., are attributed to the malignant aspects of the planets. Horses are said to be planet—struck when they seem stupefied, whether from want of food, colic, or stoppage. The Latin word is sideratus.

“Evidentissimum id fuit, quod quacunque equo invectus est, ibi haud secus quam pestifero sidre icti pavebant.”— Livy, viii. 9.

Plank

(A). Any one principle of a political platform. (See Platform. )

Plank

To walk the plank. To be about to die. Walking the plank was a mode of disposing of prisoners at sea, much in vogue among the South Sea pirates in the 17th century.

Plantagenet

from planta gemeta (broom—plant), the family cognisance first assumed by the Earl of Anjou, the first of his race, during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, as a symbol of humility. (Sir George Buck: Richara

III. ) Died 1622.

Plaster of Paris

Gypsum, found in large quantities in the quarries of Montmartre, near Paris.

Plate

(A). A race in which a prize is given out of the race fund, or from some other source, without any stakes being made by the owners of the horses engaged. Usually entrance money is required. (See Sweepstakes, Handicap, Plate, Selling Race, Weight—For—Age Race .)

Plate, meaning silver, in the Spanish plata.

Platen

among printers, is the power or weight which presses on the tympan (q.v.), to cause the impression of the letters to be given off and transferred to the sheet. (French, plat, flat.)

In type—writing machines, the platen is the feeding roller on which the paper rests to receive the proper impressions.

Plates

or Plates of Ment. Slang for feet. One of the chief sources of slang is rhyme. Thus meat rhymes with feet, and “warming my plates” is slang for warming my fect. Similarly, “Pory O'More” is slang for door, and “there came a knock at the Rory O'More" means there was a knock at the door. A prescott is slang for waistcoat (See Chivy. )

Platform

in the United States, is the policy of a political or religious party. Of course the meaning is the policy on which the party stands. An American revival. Each separate principle is a plank of the platform. Queen Elizabeth, in answer to the Supplication of the Puritants (offered to the Parliament in 1506), said she “had examined the platform, and account it most prejudicial to the religion established, to her crown, her government, and her subjects.”

Again, the Rev. John Norris writes, in 1687, that Plato said, “God created implying that all things were

formed according to His special platforms, meaning the ideas formed in the divine mind.” The word has been resuscitated in North America. Lily, in 1581, says he “discovered the whole platform of the conspiracie.” (Discovery of the New World, p. 115.)

“Their declaration of principles— their `platform,' to use the appropriate term— was settled and published to the world. Its distinctive elements, or `planks,' are financial.”— The Times.

Plato

His original name was Aristocles, but he was called Platon from the great breadth of his shoulders.

The German Plato. Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (1743—1819). The Jewish Plato. Philo Judaeus, an Alexandrine philosopher. (Flourished 20—40.) The Puritan Plato. John Howe, the Nonconformist (1630—1706).

Plato and the Bees

When Plato was an infant, some bees settled on his lips when he was asleep, indicating that he would become famous for his honeyed words. The same is said of Sophocles, Pindar, St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, and others.

“And as when Plato did i' the cradle thrive.

Bees to his lips brought honey from their hive.”

W. Browne: Britannia's Pastorals, ii.

Plato's Year

A revolution of 25,000 years, in which period the stars and constellations return to their former places in respect to the equinoxes.

“Cut out more work than can be done

In Plato's year, but finish none.”

Butler: Hudibras, pt. iii. 1.

Platonic Bodies

The five regular geometric solids described by Plato— viz. the tetrahedron, hexahedron, octhedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron, all of which are bounded by like, equal, and regular planes.

Platonic Love

Spiritual love between persons of opposite sexes. It is the friendship of man and woman, without mixture of what is usually called love. Plato strongly advocated this pure affection, and hence its distinctive name.

Platonic Puritan

(The). John Howe, the Nonconformist divine. (1630—1706.)

Platonism

The philosophical system of Plato; dialectics. Locke maintains that the mind is by nature a sheet of white paper, the five senses being the doors of knowledge. Plato maintained the opposite theory, drawing a strong line of demarcation between the province of thought and that of sensations in the production of ideas.

(See Dialectics. )

It is characterised by the doctrine of pre—existing eternal ideas, and teaches the immortality and pre—existence of the soul, the dependence of virtue upon discipline, and the trust worthiness of cognition. In theology, he taught that there are two eternal, primary, independent, and incorruptible causes of material things— God the maker, and matter the substance.

In psychology, he maintained the ultimate unity and mutual dependence of all knowledge. In physics, he said that God is the measure of all things, and that from God, in whom reason and being are one, proceed human reason and those “ideas” or laws which constitute all that can do called real in nature.

Platter with Two Eyes

(A). Emblematic of St. Lucy, in allusion to her sending her two eyes to a nobleman who wanted to marry her for the exceeding beauty of her eyes. (See Lucy. )

Play “This may be play to you, `tis death to us.” The allusion is to the fable of the boys throwing stones at some frogs. (Roger L'Estrange.)

As good as a play. So said King Charles when he attended the discussion of Lord Ross's “Divorce Bill.”

Play the Deuce

The Irish say, Play the pooka. Pooka or Pouke is an evil spirit in the form of a wild colt, who does great hurt to benighted travellers.

Played Out

Out of date; no longer in vogue; exhausted.

“Valentines, I suppose, are played one, said Milton.”— Truth: Queer Story Feb. 18, 1886.

Playing to the Gods

Degrading one's vocation ad captanduin vulgus. The gods, in theatrical phrase, are the spectators in the uppermost gallery, the ignobile vulgus. The ceiling of Drury Lane theatre was at one time painted in imitation of the sky, with Cupids and other deities here and there represented. As the gallery referred to was near the ceiling, the occupants were called the gods. In French this gallery is nick—named paradis.

Please the Pigs

(See under Pigs. )

Pleased as Punch

Greatly delighted. Our old friend Punch is always singing with self—satisfaction in all his naughty ways, and his evident “pleasure" is contageous to the beholders.

“You could skip over to Europe whenever you liked; mamma would be pleased as Punch.”—

R. Grant.

Pleasure

It was Xerxes who offered a reward to anyone who could invent a new pleasure,

Plebeians

Common people; properly it means the free citizens of Rome, who were neither patricians nor clients. They were, however, free landowners, and had their own “gentës.” (Latin, plebes, 2 syl.)

Plebiscite

(3 syl.). A decree of the people. In Roman history, a law enacted by the “comitia” or assembly of tribes. In France, the resolutions adopted in the Revolution by the voice of the people, and the general votes given during the Second Empire— such as the general vote to elect Napoleon III. emperor of the French.

Pledge

I pledge you in this wine— i.e. I drink to your health or success.

“Drink to me only with thine eyes,

And I will pledge with mine.”

Ben Jonson (translated from Philostratus) second century.

To pledge. To guarantee. Pledging a drinker's security arose in the tenth century, when it was thought necessary for one person to watch over the safety of a companion while in the act of drinking. It was by no means unusual with the fierce Danes to stab a person under such circumstances.

“If I

Were a huge man, I should fear to drink at meals, Lest they should spy my windpipe's dangerous notes. Great men should drink with harness on their throats.” Timon of Athens, i.2.

Pleiades

(3 syl.) means the “sailing stars” (Greek, pleo, to sail), because the Greeks considered navigation safe at the return of the Pleiades, and never attempted it after those stars disappeared.

The PLEIADES were the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. They were transformed into stars, one of which (Merope) is invisible out of shame, because she alone married a human being. Some call the invisible star “Electra,” and say she hides herself from grief for the destruction of the city and royal race of Troy.

i. The Pleiad of Alexandria. A group of seven contemporary poets in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphos; so called in reference to the cluster of stars in the back of Taurus. Their names are— Callimachos, Apollonios of Rhodes, Aratos, Philiscos (called Homer the Younger), Lycophron, Nicander, and Theocritos.

There are in reality eleven stars in the Pleiades. ii. The literary Pleiad of Charlemagne. Alcuin (Albinus), Angilbert (Homer), Adelard (Augustine), Riculfe (Damaetas), Charlemagne (David), Varnefrid, and Eginhard.

iii. The first French Pleiad. Seven contemporary poets in the sixteenth century, in the reign of Henri III., who wrote French poetry in the metres, style, and verbiage of the ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Of these, Ronsard was by far the most talented; but much that would be otherwise excellent is spoilt by pedantry and Frenchified Latin. The seven names are Ronsard, Dorat, Du Bellay, Remi—Belleau, Jodelle, Baïf, and Thiard.

The second French Pleiad. Seven contemporary poets in the reign of Louis XIII., very inferior to the “first

Pleiad.” Their names are Rapin, Commire, Larue, Santeuil, Méage, Dupéier, and Petit. iv. The lost Pleiad. Electra, one of the Pleiades, wife of Dardanus, disappeared a little before the Trojan war (B.C. 1193), that she might be saved the mortification of seeing the ruin of her beloved city. She showed herself occasionally to mortal eye, but always in the guise of a comet. Mons. Fréret says this tradition arose from the fact that a comet does sometimes appear in the vicinity of the Pleiades, rushes in a northerly direction, and passes out of sight. (See Odyss. v. and Iliad, xviii.)

Letitia Elizabeth Landon published, in 1829, a poem entitled The Lost Pleiad. (See above, Pleiades.)

Plet

is a lash like a knout, but not made of raw hides. (Russian, pletu, a whip.)

Pleydell

(Mr. Paulus). An advocate in Edinburgh, formerly sheriff of Ellangowan.

“Mr. Counsellor Pleydell was a lively, sharp—looking gentleman, with a professional shrewdness in his eye, and, generally speaking, a professional formality in his manner; but this he could slip off on a Saturday evening when ... he joined in the ancient pastime of High Jinks.”— Sir. W. Scott: Guy Mannering. xxxix.

Pliable

One of Christian's neighbours, who went with him as far as the Slough of Despond, and then turned back again. (Bunyan: Pilgrim's Progress, pt. i.)

Pliny

The German Pliny. Konrad von Gesner, of Zürich (1516—1565).

Pliny of the East. (See Zakarija.)

Pliny's Doves

In one of the rooms on the upper floor of the museum of the Capitol at Rome are the celebrated Doves of Pliny, one of the finest and most perfectly preserved specimens of ancient mosaic. It represents four doves drinking, with a beautiful border surrounding the composition. The mosaic is formed of natural stones, so small that 160 pieces cover only a square inch. It is supposed to be the work of Sosus, and is described by Pliny as a proof of the perfection to which that art had arrived. He says:—

“At Pergamos is a wonderful specimen of a dove drinking, and darkening the water with the shadow of her head; on the lip of the vessel are other doves pluming themselves.”

This exquisite specimen of art was found in Villa Adriana, in 1737, by Cardinal Furietti, from whom it was purchased by Clement XIII.

Plith

A piece of iron made hot and put into an iron box, to be held for punishment by a criminal. (See Plet. )

Plon—plon

The sobriquet of Prince Napoleon Joseph Charles Bonaparte, son of Jerome Bonaparte. He was nick—named Craint—plon (Fear—bullet) in the Crimean war (1854—1856), a nickname afterwards perverted into Plon—plon. (1822—1891.)

Plot

in a theatrical sense, does not only mean the incidents which lead to the development of a play, but half a dozen other things; thus, the “scene plot” is a list of the various scenes to be used; the “flyman's plot” is a list of the articles required by the flyman in the “flies;” there is also the “gasman's plot;” the “property plot” is a list of all the properties required in the play, for which the manager is responsible.

Plotcock

The old Scotch form of the Roman Pluto, by which Satan is meant. Chaucer calls Plato the “king of Faërie,” and Dunbar names him “Pluto the elrich incubus.”

Plough Fond, Fool, or White Plough. The plough dragged about a village on Plough Monday. Called white, because the mummers who drag it about are dressed in white, gaudily trimmed with flowers and ribbons. Called fond or fool, because the procession is fond or foolish— not serious, or of a business character.

Plough Monday

The first Monday after Twelfth Day is so called because it is the end of the Christmas holidays, and the day when men return to their plough or daily work. It was customary on this day for farm labourers to draw a plough from door to door of the parish, and solicit “plough—money” to spend in a frolic. The queen of the banquet was called Bessy. (See Distaff. )

Plover

To live like a plover, i.e. to live on nothing, to live on air. Plovers do not, however, live on air, but feed largely on small insects. They also eat worms, which they hunt for in newly—ploughed fields.

Plowden

“The case is altered.” quoth Plowden. Plowden was a priest, very unpopular, and in order to bring him into trouble some men inveigled him into attending mass performed by a layman, and then impeached him for so doing. Being brought before the tribunal, the cunning priest asked the layman if it was he who officiated. “Yes,” said the man. “And are you a priest?” said Plowden. “No,” said the man. “Then,” said Plowden, turning to the tribunal, “that alters the case, for it is an axiom with the church, `No priest, no mass.' “

Plowman

The Vision of Piers Plowman is a satirical poem by W. [or R.] Langland, completed in 1362. The poet supposes himself falling asleep on the Malvern Hills, and in his dream sees various visions of an allegorical character, bearing on the vices of the times. In one of the allegories, the Lady Anima (the soul) is placed in Castle Caro (flesh) under the charge of Sir Constable Inwit, and his sons See—well, Hear—well,

Work—well, and Go—well. The whole poem consists of nearly 15,000 verses, and is divided into twenty parts, each part being called a passus, or separate vision.

Pluck

To reject a candidate for literary honours because he is not up to the required mark. The rejected candidate is said to be plucked.

When degrees are conferred the name of each person is read out before he is presented to the

Vice—Chancellor. The proctor used at one time to walk once up and down the room, and anyone who objected to the degree being conferred might signify his dissent by plucking or twitching the proctor's gown. This was occasionally done by tradesmen to whom the candidate was in debt; but now all persons likely to be objected to, either by tradesmen or examiners, know it beforehand, and keep away. They are virtually plucked, but not really so.

A case of pluck. An instance of one who has been plucked: as “Tom Jones is a case of pluck,” i.e. is a plucked man.

A man of pluck. Of courage or spirit. The pluck is the heart, liver, and whatever else is “plucked” away from the chest of a sheep or hog. We also use the expressions bold heart, lily—livered, a man of another kidney, bowels of mercy, a vein of fun, it raised his bile, etc. (See Liver.)

Pluck his Goose

I'll pluck his goose for him. That is: I'll cut his crest, I'll lower his pride, I'll make him eat umble pie. Comparing the person to a goose, the threat is to pluck off his feathers in which he prides himself.

Plucked Pigeon

(A). One fleeced out of his money; one plucked by a rook or sharper.

“There were no smart fellows whom fortune had troubled, ... no plucked pigeons or winged rooks, no disappointed speculators, no ruined miners.”— Sir W. Scott: Peveril of the Peak, c. xi.

Plugson of Undershot

Carlyle's typical commercial Radical in the middle of the 19th century, who found that no decent Tory would shake hands with him; but at the close of the century found free—competition company with latter—day Tories.

“There are two motive forces which may impel the Plugsons of Toryism ... the pressure is not great enough to ... overcome the vis inertia of Plug&sgrave;on and Co.”— Nineteenth Century, Dec., 1892, p. 878.

Plum

A plum bed (Devonshire). A soft bed, in which the down lies light.

The dough plums well (Devonshire). Rises well, and will not be heavy. The cake is nice and plum (Devonshire). Light. (Plump, swelled out.) He is worth a plum. The Spanish pluma means both plumage and wealth. Hence tiene pluma (he has feathered his nest). We arbitrarily place this desideratum at 50,000 has got only half a plum. “Either a plum or a plumstone”— i.e. “Aut Casar aut nullus.”

Plume Oneself

(To). To be conceited of ...; to boast of ... A plume is a feather, and to plume oneself is to feather one's own conceit.

“Mrs. Bute Crawley ... plumed herself upon her resolute manner of performing [what she thought right].”— Thackeray: Vanity Fair.

Plumes

In borrowed plumes. Assumed merit; airs and graces not merited. The allusion is to the fable of the jackdaw who dressed up in peacock's feathers.

Plumper

(A). Every elector represented in Parliament by two members has the power of voting for both candidates at an election. To give a plumper is to vote for only one of the candidates, and not to use the second vote. If he votes for two candidates of opposite politics, his vote is termed a split vote.

Plunger

One who plunges, or spends money recklessly in bets, etc. The Marquis of Hastings was the first person so called by the turf. One night he played three games of draughts for 5,000 in an hour and a half. He

paid both debts at once before he left the room.

Plus Ultra

The motto in the royal arms of Spain. It was once Ne plus ultra, in allusion to the pillars of Hercules, the ne plus ultra of the world; but after the discovery of America, and when Charles V. inherited the crown of Aragon and Castile, with all the vast American possessions, he struck out ne, and assumed the words plus ultra for the national motto, as much as to say Spain and the plus ultra country.

Plush

(John). A gorgeous footman, conspicuous for his plush breeches.

To take plush. To take a subordinate place in the ministry, where one can only act as a government flunkey.

“Lord Rosebery perhaps remembers that, years ago, a young politician who had just finished his education, was warned by an old and affectionate teacher `not to take plush ... The reply was, `I have been offered plush tied with red tape, and have refused it.”— Nineteenth Century, Jan., 1892, p. 137.

Pluto

The grave, or the god of that region where the dead go to before they are admitted into Elysium or sent to Tartaros.

“Brothers, be of good cheer, this night we shall sup with Pluto.”— Leonidas to the three hundred Spartans before the battle of Thermopylae.

“Give the untasted portion you have won ...

To those who mock you, gone to Pluto's reign.” Thomson: Castle of Indolence, canto 1.

Pluto

Many artists of great repute have painted this god, the three most famous being that by Jule—Romain (1492—1546), a pupil of Raphael, in Mantua; one by Augustin Carrache (1558—1601), in Modena, generally called Il Famoso; and the third by Luc Giordano (1632—1701), in the gallery of the Palace Riccardi. Raphael has introduced Pluto in his Assembly of the Gods.

In the Villa Albani of Rome is the famous antique statue of Pluto and Cerberus.

Plutonic Rocks

Granites, and certain porphyries, supposed to be of igneous, but not of volcanic, origin. So called by Lyell from Pluto, the principle of elemental fire.

Plutus

Rich as Plutus. In Greek mythology Plutos is the god of riches. Plutus and Pluto are widely different.

Plymouth Brethren

A sect that protests against all sectarianism, and advocates the unity of the church; some even go so far as to advocate a community of goods. So called from Plymouth, where they sprang into existence in 1830.

Plymouth Cloak

(A). A good stout cudgel. In the time of the Crusades many men of good family used to land at Plymouth utterly destitute. They went to a neighbouring wood, cut themselves a good stout club, and, stopping the first passenger that passed by, provided themselves with money and clothing. (Fuller: Worthies.)

Pocahontas

Daughter of Powhatan, an Indian chief of Virginia, who rescued Captain John Smith when her father's hand was on the point of killing him. She subsequently married John Rolfe, and was baptised under the name of Rebecca. (1595—1617.) (See Old and New London, ii. 481.)

Pocket

(diminutive of poche, a pouch).

To put one's hand in one's pocket. To give money (generally to some charity). Put your pride in your pocket. Lay your pride aside for the nonce.

To be in pocket. To be a gainer by some transaction. To be out of pocket. To be a loser by some transaction.

Pocket an Insult

(To). To submit to an insult without apparent displeasure.

Pocket Borough

(A). A borough where the influence of the magnate is so powerful as to be able to control the election of any candidate he may choose to support. Well nigh a thing of the past since the introduction of voting by ballot.

Pocket Judgment

(A). A bond under the hand of a debtor, countersigned by the sovereign. This bond can be enforced without legal process, but has quite fallen into disuse.

Pocket Pistol

(A). A dram—flask for the pocket, in “self—defence,” because we may be unable to get a dram on the road.

Pocket Pistol

(Queen Bess's). A formidable piece of ordnance given to Queen Elizabeth by the Low Countries in recognition of her efforts to protect them in their reformed religion. It used to overlook the Channel from Dover Cliffs, but in 1894 was removed to make room for a battery of modern guns. It is said that it contains in Flemish the equivalent of the following words:—

“Load me well and keep me clean,

And I'll carry a ball to Calais Green.”

But this translation is only fanciful.

Poco

rather, as a poco forte, poco animato.

Pococurante

(5 syl.). Insouciant, devil—may—care, easy—go—lucky. As the “Pococurante Guardsman” (the imperturbable and impassive ...). Also used for one who in argument leaves the main gist and rides off on some minor and indifferent point.

Pococurantism

Insouciance, imperturbability. Also indifference to important matters, but concern about trifles.

Podgers

Toadies, venerators (real or pretended) of everything and everyone with a name. (John Hollingshead: The Birthplace of Podgers, a farce.)

Podsnap

A type of the heavy gentry, lumbering and straight—backed as Elizabethan furniture. (Dickens: Our Mutual Friend.)

Podsnappery

The etiquette of the fossil gentry, stiff—starched and extremely proper.

“It may not be so in the Gospel according to Podsnappery ... but it has been the truth since the foundations of the universe were laid.”— Our Mutual Friend.

Poe

(Edgar Allan). The alias of Arthur Gordon Pym, the American poet. (1811—1849.)

Poet Squab

So Rochester calls Dryden, who was very corpulent. (1631—1701.)

Poets

(Greek, poieo, to make).

Skalds of Scandinavia (etym., scalla, to sing, Swedish, etc.)

Minnesingers of the Holy Empire (Germany), love—singers.

Troubadours of Provenee in France (troubar, to invent, in the proveneal dialect). Trouvères of Normandy (trouver, to invent, in the Walloon dialect).

Bards of Wales (bardgan, a song, Celtic).

Poet of Haslemere (The). Alfred Tennyson (Lord Tennyson), poet laureate (1809—1893). (See Bard.) Poet of the poor. Rev. George Crabbe (1754—1832).

Prince of poets. Edmund Spenser is so called on his monument in Westminster Abbey. (1553—1598.) Prince of Spanish poets. Garcilaso de la Vega, frequently so called by Cervantes. (1503—1536.) Quaker poet (The). Bernard Barton (1784—1849).

Poets' Corner

(The). In Westminster Abbey. The popular name given to the south corner, because some sort of recognition is made of several British poets of very varied merits. As a national Valhalla, it is a national disgrace. It is but scant honour to be ranked with Davenant, Mason, and Shadwell. Some recognition is taken of five of our firstclass poets— viz. Chaucer, Dryden, Milton, Shakespeare, and Spenser. Wordsworth and Tennyson are recognised, but not Byron, Pope, Scott, and Southey. Gray is very properly acknowledged, but not Cowper. Room is found for Longfellow, an American, but none for Burns and Hogg, both Scotchmen.

Poets Laureate

appointed by letters patent.

The following are sometimes included, though not appointed by letters patent: — Chaucer, Gower, John Key, Bernard, Skelton, Rob. Whittington, Richard Edwards, Spenser, and Sam. Daniel.

(!) Five of the fourteen known only by their names. Three others quite third—rate poets. The remaining five were distinguished men.

A poet laureate is one who has received a laurel crown. There were at one time “doctors laureate,” “bachelors laureate,” etc.

Poetaster

A very inferior poet. The suffix—aster is depreciative (compare “disaster"). At one time we had also “grammatic—aster,” “politic—aster,” “critic—aster,” and some others. (Italian, poetastro, a paltry poet.)

Poetical

Poetical, pertaining to the Muses. The Muses, according to Grecian mythology, dwelt in Aonia, that part of Boetia which contains Mount Helicon and the Muses' Fountain. Thomson calls the fraternity of poets

“The Aonian hive
Who praised are, and starve right merrily.” Castle of Indolence, ii. 2.

Poetical Justice

That ideal justice which poets exercise in making the good happy, and the bad unsuccessful in their evil schemes.

Poetry on the Greek Model

Chiabreresco (Italian). Poetry formed on the Greek model; so called from Gabriel Chiabrera, surnamed the “Pindar of Italy” (1552—1637).

Father of English poetry. Geoffrey Chaucer (1328—1400); so called by Dryden. Spenser calls him “the pure well of English undefiled.” He was not the first English poet, but was so superior to his predecessors that he laid the foundation of a new era. He is sometimes termed “the day—starre,” and Spenser the “sun—rise” of English poetry.

Pogram

A “creak—shoes,” a Puritanical starch mawworm.

Poille

An Apulian horse. The horses of Apulia were very greatly valued at one time. Richard, Archbishop of Armagh in the fourteenth century, says of St. Thomas, “Neither the mule of Spain, the courser of Apulia, the repedo of Ethiopia, the elephant of Asia, the camel of Syria, nor the English ass, is bolder or more combative than he.”

“Therto so horsly, and so quyk of ye,

As if a gentil Poille hys courser were;

For certes, fro his tayl unto his cere

Nature ne art ne couthe him nought amend.”

Chaucer: Canterbury Tales, line 10,536.

Poins

One of the companions of Sir John Falstaff. (Shakespeare: 1 and 2 Henry IV.)

Point

Defined by Euclid as “that which hath no parts.” Playfair defines it as “that which has position but not magnitude,” and Legendre says it “is a limit terminating a line;” but none of these definitions can be called either philosophical or exact. A point is not necessarily a “limit terminating a line,” for if so a point could not exist, even in imagination, without a line. Besides, Legendre's definition presupposes that we know what a line is; but assuredly a “point" precedes a “line,” as a line precedes a “superficies.” To arrive at Legendre's idea we must begin with a solid, and say a superficies is the “limit terminating each face of a solid,” lines are the “limits terminating a superficies,” and points are the “limits terminating a line.” In regard to Euclid's definition, we say: Ex nihilo nihil fit.

In good point (French, embonpoint, plump.) (See Stretch a point.

To carry one's point. To gain the object sought for. The allusion is to archery. To dine on potatoes and point. To have potatoes without salt, a very meagre dinner indeed. When salt was very dear, and the cellar was empty, parents used to tell their children to point their potato to the salt cellar, and eat it.

This was potato and point. In the tale of Ralph Richards the Miser, we are told that he gave his boy dry bread, and whipped him for pointing it towards the cupboard where a bit of cheese was kept in a bottle.

To make a point of [doing something]. To consider the matter as a point of duty. The reference is to the old Roman way of voting by ballot. The ballot tablets were thrown by the voters into a chest, and were afterwards counted by points marked on a tablet, and to obtain every vote was to “carry every point” (“Omne talit punctum” [Horace]). Hence a point of duty or point of conscience is a plank on the platform of duty or conscience.

To stretch a point. To exceed what is strictly right. Points were the tagged laces used in ancient dress: hence, to “truss a point,” to truss or tie the laces which held the breeches; to “stretch a point” is to stretch these laces, so as to adjust the dress to extra growth, or the temporary fulness of good feeding. At Whitsuntide these points or tags were given away by the churchwardens.

“Their points being broken, down fell their hose.”— Shakespeare: 1 Henry IV., ii. 4.

Point—blank

Direct. A term in gunnery; when a cannon is so placed that the line of sight is parallel to the axis and horizontal, the discharge is point—blank, and is supposed to go direct to the object without a curve. In French point blanc is the white mark or bull's eye of a target, to hit which the ball or arrow must not deviate in the least from the exact path.

“Now art thou within point—blank of our jurisdiction regal.”— Shakespeare: 2 Henry VI., iv. 7.

Point d'Appui

(French). A standpoint; a fulcrum; a position from which you can operate; a pretext to conceal the real intention. Literally the point of support.

“The material which gives name to the dish is but the point d'appui for the literary cayenne and curry—powder by which it is recommended to the palate of the 'cader.”— The Athenoeum.

Point de Judas

(French). The number 13. The twelve apostles and our Lord made thirteen at the Last Supper.

Point—devise Punctilious: minutely exact. Holofernes says, “I abhor such insociable and point de vise companions, such rackers of orthography.” (French, point de vise.)

“You are rather point de vise in your accoutrements.”— Shakespeare: As You Like It, iii. 2.

Points

Armed at all points. “Armé de toutes pièces,” or “Armé jusqu' aux dents.” “Armed at all points exactly cap—à—pie. “

To stand on points. On punctilios; delicacy of behaviour.

“This fellow doth not stand upon points.”— Shakespeare: Midsummer Night's Dream, v. 1.

Points of the Escutcheon

There are nine points distinguished in heraldry by the first nine letters of the

alphabet— three at top, A, B, C; three down the middle, D, E, F; and three at the bottom, G, H, I. The first three are chiefs; the middle three are the collar point, fess point, and nombril or navel point; the bottom three are the base points.

Poison

It is said that poisons had no effect on Mithridates, King of Pontus. This was Mithridates VI., called the Great, who succeeded his father at the age of eleven, and fortified his constitution by drinking antidotes to poisons which might at any moment be administered to him by persons about the court. (See Aqua Tofana .)

Poison Detectors

Aladdin's ring was a preservative against every evil Gundoforus. No one could pass with poison the gate of Gundoforus. Nourgehan's bracelet. When poison was present the stones of this bracelet seemed agitated. Opals turn pale at the approach of poison.

Peacocks ruffle their feathers at the sight of poison. Rhinoccros. If poison is put into a cup made of rhinoceros' horn, the liquid will effervesce. Sign of the Cross was supposed in the Middle Ages to be a poison detector.

Venetian glass will shiver at the approach of poison. (See also Philosopher's Egg.)

Poison of Khaibar

refers to the poisoned leg of mutton of which Mahomet partook while in the citadel of Khaibar. It was poisoned by Zainab, a Jewess, and Mahomet felt the effects of the poison to the end of his life.

Poisoners

(Secret). (1) Locusta, a woman of ancient Rome, who was employed by the Empress Agrippina to poison her husband Claudius. Nero employed the same woman to poison Britannicus and others.

(2) The Borgias (Pope Alexander VI. and his children, Caesar and Lucrezia) were noted poisoners.

(3) Hieronyma Spara and Toffania, of Italy. (See Aqua Tofana.)

(4) Marquise de Brinvilliers, a young profligate French woman, taught the art by an officer named Sainte Croix, who learnt it in Italy. (See World of Wonders, part vii. p. 203.)

(5) Lavoisin and Lavigoreux, French midwives and fortune—tellers.

(6) Anna Maria Zweinziger, sentenced to death in 1811.

In English history we have a few instances: e.g. Sir Thomas Overbury was so murdered by the Countess of Somerset. King James, it has been said, was a victim to similar poisoning, by Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.

Poisson d'Avril

An April fool. The poisson d'Avril is the mackerel, and we have the expression “You silly mackerel,” and silly indeed are those who allow themselves to be caught by the palpable jokes engendered on the 1st of April. The Scotch say “hunting the gowk” (cuckoo). It is said that the best explanation is a reference to Matt. xxix. 2.

The mackerel, says Oudin, is called the poisson d'Avril, “parce que les macquereaux se prennent et se mangent environ ce mois—la.”

A correspondent of Notes and Queries (June 20, 1891, p. 494) says that the April fish is the aurata, sacred to Venus.

Poke

A bag, pouch, or sack.

Poke

A lazy person, a loafer, a dawdler.

Poke

To thrust or push against; to thrust or butt with the horns. Also to busy oneself without any definite object.

“Poking about where we had no business.”— Kingsley: Two Years Ago

To poke fun at one is to make one a laughing—stock.

“At—table he was hospitable and jecose, always poking good—natured fun at Luke.”— E. Lynn Lynton: Lizzie Lorton of Greyrigg, chap. xii.

Poke Bonnet

A long, straight, projecting bonnet, formerly commonly worn by women.

Poker

A poker set leaning against the upper bars of a fire to draw it up. This is to make a cross to keep off Lob, the house spirit, who loves to lie before the fire, and, like Puck and Robin Good—fellow, dearly loves mischief and practical jokes.

Poker Pictures

Drawings executed by the point of a hot poker or “heater” of an Italian iron. By charring different parts more or less, various tints are obtained.

Poker Talk

Gossip, fireside chitahat.

“Gaston rattled forth this specimen or poker talk lightly.”— Mrs. Edwardes: 4 Girton Girl, ch. ii.

Pokers

The 'squire Bedels who carry a silver mace or poker before the Vice—Chancellor are so called at Cambridge.

Poky Cramped, narrow, confined; as, a poky corner. Also poor and shabby.

“The ladies were in their pokiest old headgear.”— Thackeray: The Newcomes, chap. lvii.

Polack

An inhabitant of Poland. (French, Polaque.)

“So frowned be once, when, in angry parlc,

He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice.”

Shakespeare: Hamlet, i. I.

Polarisation of Light

is the absorption of those rays which are at right angles to the rays preserved: Thus A B is one ray in which A is reflected to B and B to A; C D is a ray, in which C is reflected to D and D to C. In E G F H, if the light is polarised, either E F or G H is absorbed. A B and C D are the poles of light, or the directions in which the rays are reflected.

Poleas

(2 syl.). The labouring class of India.

“Poleas the labouring lower clans are named,

By the proud Nayres the noble rank is claimed.”

Poles

Under bare poles. Said of a ship when all her sails are furled.

Polichinelle

Le secret de ... (See Secret .)

Polinesso

(in Orlando Furioso). Duke of Albany, who falsely accused Geneura of incontinency, and was slain in single combat by Ariodantes.

Polish off

To finish out of hand. In allusion to articles polished.

I'll polish him off in no time means I'll set him down, I'll give him a drubbing. To polish off a meal is to eat it quickly, and not keep anyone waiting.

Political Economy

This term was invented by Francois Quesnay, the French physician. (1694—1774.)

Polixene

(3 syl.). The name assumed by Madelon in Molière's Précicuses Ridicules.

Polixenes

(4 syl.), King of Bohemia, being invited to Sicily by King Leontes, excites unwittingly the jealousy of his friend, because he prolongs his stay at the entreaty of Queen Hermione. Leontes orders Camillo to poison the royal guest, but, instead of doing so, Camillo flees with him to Bohemia. In time Florizel, the son and heir of Polixenes, falls in love with Perdita, the lost daughter of Leontes. Polixenes forbids the match, and the young lovers, under the charge of Camillo, flee to Sicily. Polixenes follows the fugitives, the mystery of Perdita is cleared up, the lovers are married, and the two kings resume their friendship. (shakespeare: Winter's Tale.)

Poll

To go out in the poll. To take an ordinary degree— a degree without university “honours.” (Greek, hoi polloi, the many.)

Poll Degree

(See above.)

Poll Men

Those of the “hoi polloi,” the many, not the honour—men.

Pollente The puissant Saracen, father of Munera. He took his station on “Bridge Perilous,” and attacked everyone who crossed it, bestowing the spoil upon his daughter. Sir Artegal slew the monster. Pollente is meant for Charles IX. of France, sadly notorious for the slaughter of Protestants on St. Bartholomew's Eve. (Spenser: Faërie Queene, book v. 2.)

Pollio

to whom Virgil addresses his Fourth Eclogue, and to whom he ascribes the remarkable advent of the

“golden age,” was the founder of the first public library of Rome. (B.C. 76 A.D. 4.)

Pollux

The horses of Castor and Pollux. Cyllaros and Harpagos. Seneca and Claudian give Cyllaros to Castor, but Virgil (Georgic iii.) to Pollux. The two brothers mount it alternatively on their return from the infernal regions. Harpagos, the horse from Harpagium in Phrygia, was common to both brothers.

Polly

Mary. The change of M for P in pet names is by no means rare; e.g. —

Margaret. Maggie or Meggy, becomes Peggie, and Pegg or Peg. Martha. Matty becomes Patty.

Mary. Molly becomes Polly or Poll.

Here we see another change by no means unusual— that of r into l or ll. Similarly, Sarah becomes Sally; Dorothea, Dora, becomes Dolly; Harry, Hal.

Polonius

An old courtier, garrulous, conceited, and politic. He was father of Ophelia, and lord chamberlain to the king of Denmark. (Shakespeare: Hamlet.)

Polony

A vulgar corruption of Bologna sausage.

Polt—foot

A club—foot. Ben Jonson calls Vulcan, who was lame, the “polt—footed philosopher.” (Swedish, bult, a club; bulta, to beat; our bolt.)

Poltron

A bird of prey, with the talons of the hind toes cut off to prevent its flying at game. (Latin, pollicetruncato, deprived of its toe or thumb.)

Poltroon'

A coward. Menage derives it from the Italian poltro, a bed, because cowards feign themselves sick

a—bed in times of war. Saumaise says it means “maimed of the thumb,” because in times of conscription those who had no stomach for the field disqualified themselves by cutting off their right thumb. More probably a poltroon is a hawk that will not or cannot fly at game. (See above.)

Polybotes

(4 syl.). One of the giants who fought against the gods. The sea—god pursued him to the island of Cos, and, tearing away part of the island, throw it on him and buried him beneath the mass. (Greek fable.)

(See Giants .)

Polycletus

A statuary of Sicyon, who deduced a canon of the proportions of the several parts of the human body, and made a statue of a Persian body—guard, which was admitted by all to be a model of the human form, and was called “The Rule” (the standard).

Polyerates

(4 syl.), Tyrant of Samos, was so fortunate in all things that Amasis, King of Egypt, advised him to chequer his pleasures by relinquishing something he greatly prized. Whereupon Polycrates threw into the sea a beautiful seal, the most valuable of his jewels. A few days afterwards a fine fish was sent him as a present, and in its belly was found the jewel. Amasis, alarmed at this good fortune, broke off his alliance, declaring that sooner or later this good fortune would fail; and not long afterwards Polycrates was shamefully put to death by Oroetes, who had invited him to his court.

“Richard [Mutimer], in surveying his guests, ... had feelings not unlike those which lulled King Polycrates of old.”— G. Gissing: Demos, chap. xii.

Polycrates' Ring

(See above.)

Polycraticon

in eight books, by John of Salisbury. This is his chief work, and is an exposé of the frivolities of courtiers and philosophers. It is learned, judicious, and very satirical. (He died 1182.)

Polydamas

A Grecian athlete of immense size and strength. He killed a fierce lion without any weapon, stopped a chariot in full career, lifted a mad bull. and died at last in attempting to stop a falling rock. (See Milo.)

Polydore

(3 syl.). The name assumed by Guiderius, in Shakespeare's Cymbeline.

Polypheme

(3 syl.). One of the Cyclops, who lived in Sicily. He was an enormous giant, with only one eye, and that in the middle of his forehead. When Ulysses landed on the island, this monster made him and twelve of his crew captives; six of them he ate, and then Ulysses contrived to blind him, and make good his escape with the rest of the crew. Polypheme was most passionately in love with Galate'a, a sea—nymph, but Galate'a had set her heart on the shepherd Acis, whom Polypheme, in a fit of jealousy, crushed beneath a rock.

In the gallery of the Farnese palace is a superb painting of Polyphemus, in three parts; (1) playing a flute to Galatea; (2) burling a rock at Acis; and (3) pursuing the ships of Ulysses. Poussin has also introduced, in one of his landscapes. Polyphemus sitting on a rock and playing a flute.

Poma Alcinoo Dare

(2 syl.). (See Alcinoo .)

Pomatum

So called because it was originally made by macerating over—ripe apples in grease. (Dr. John Quiney: Lexicon Physico—Medicum, 1723.)

Pommard

(French). Beer. This is a pun on the word pomme. The Normans called cider pommé; whence pomat, a sort of beer.

“Ils tiennent leure chaloupes ... bien pourvues ou garnies de pain, de vin, de pomat, cidre, outre d'autre boisson. ...”— Cleirac: Les Us et Coutumes de la Mer, p. 127.

Pommel

The pommel of a saddle is the apple of it, called by the French pommeau. The Spaniards use the expression pomo de espada (the pommel of a sword). To “pommel a person” is to beat him with the pommel of your sword. The ball used as an ornament on pointed roofs is termed a pomel. (Latin, pomum, an apple.)

Pomona

Fruit; goddess of fruits and fruit—trees—one of the Roman divinities. (Latin, pomum.)

“Bade the wide fabric unimpaired sustain

Pomona's store, and cheese, and golden grain.” Bloomfield: Farmer's Boy.

Pompadour

as a colour, is claret purple. The 56th Foot is called the Pompadours, from the claret facings of their regimental uniforms. There is an old song supposed to be an elegy on John Broadwood, a Quaker, which introduces the word:—

“Sometimes he wore an old brown coat,

Sometimes a pompadore.

Sometimes 't was buttoned up behind.

And sometimes down before.”

Pompey

A generic name for a black footman, as Abigail used to be of a lady's maid. Moll or Molly is a cook; Betty, a housemaid; Sambo, a black “buttons;” etc. One of Hood's jokes for a list of library books was, Pompeii; or, Memoirs of a Black Footman, by Sir W. Gill. (Sir W. Gell wrote a book on Pompeii.) Pompey is also a common name for a dog.

Pompey's Pillar

in Alexandria. A pillar erected by Publius, Prefect of Egypt, in honour of the Emperor Diocletian, to record the conquest of Alexandria in 296. It has about as much right to be called Pompey's pillar as the obelisk of Heliopolis, re—erected by Rameses II. at Alexandria, has to be called Cleopatra's Needle, or Gibraltar Rock to be called a Pillar of Hercules.

Pompey's pillar is a Corinthian column nearly 100 feet high, the shaft being of red granite.

Pompilia

The bride of Count Guido Franceschini, who is brutally treated by him, but makes her escape under the protection of a young priest, named Caponsacchi. She subsequently gives birth to a son, but is stabbed to death by her husband. (Robert Browning: The Ring and the Book.) (See Ring .)

Pongo

The terrible monster of Sicily. A cross between a “land—tiger and sea—shark.” He devoured five hundred Sicilians, and left the island for twenty miles round without inhabitant. This amphibious monster was slain by the three sons of St. George. (The Seven Champions of Christendom, iii. 2.) A loose name for African anthropoid apes.

Ponoerates

(4 syl.). Gargantua's tutor, in the romance of Pantagruel' and Gargantua, by Rabelais.

Pons Asinorum

The fifth proposition, book i., of Euclid— the first difficult theorem, which dunces rarely get over for the first time without stumbling. It is anything but a “bridge;” it is really pedica asinorum, the “dolt's stumbling—block.”

Pontefract Cakes

Liquorice lozenges impressed with a castle; so called from being made at Pontefract. “Pontefract” pronounce “Pomfret.”

Pontiff

means one who has charge of the bridges. According to Varro, the highest class of the Roman priesthood had to superintend the construction of the bridges (ponies). (See Ramsay: Roman Antiquities, p. 51.)

“Well has the name of Pontifex been given

Unto the church's head, as the chief builder

And architect of the invisible bridge

That leads from earth to heaven.”

Longfellow: Golden Legend, v.

Here Longfellow follows the general notion that “pontiff” is from pons—facio, and refers to the tradition that a Roman priest threw over the Tiber, in the time of Numa, a sublician, or wooden bridge.

Salflieius means made of timber or piles. There were subsequently eight stone bridges, and Æmilius converted the sublician bridge into a stone one. There were fifteen pontiffs in the time of Sylla.

Pontius Pilate's Body—Guard

The 1st Foot Regiment, now called the Royal Scots, the oldest regiment in the service. When called Le Regiment de Douglas, and in the French service, they had a dispute with the Picardy regiment about the antiquity of their respective corps. The Picardy officers declared they were on duty on the night of the Crucifixion, when the colonel of the 1st Foot replied, “If we had been on guard, we should not have slept at our posts.”

Pony (A). Twenty—five pounds. A sporting term; a translation crib = to carry one over a difficulty.

Pony in vingt—et—un. The person on the right—hand of the dealer, whose duty it is to collect the cards for the dealer; so called from the Latin ponc, “behind,” being behind the dealer.

Poona

A sovereign. Lingua Franca for pound.

Poor

Poor as Job. The allusion is to Job, who was by Satan deprived of everything he possessed.

Poor as Lazarus. This is the beggar Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at the rich man's gate, and desired to be fed from the crumbs that fell from Dive' table (Luke xvi. 13—31).

Poor as a church mouse. In a church there is no cupboard or pantry, where mice most do congregate. There are none poor but those whom God hates. This does not mean that poverty is a punishment, but that the only poverty worthy of the name is poverty of God's grace. In this sense Dive may be the poor man, and Lazarus the beggar abounding in that “blessing of the Lord which maketh rich.”

Poor Jack

or John (A). Dried hake. We have “john—dory,” a “jack” (pike), a “jack shark,” and a “jack of Dover.” Probably the word Jack is a mere play on the word “Hake,” and John a substitute for Jack.

“ 'Tis well thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor—john.”— Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet, i. 1.

We have a similar perversion in the school—boy proof that a pigeon—pie is a fish—pie. A pigeon—pie is a pie—john, and a pie—john is a jack—pie, and a jack—pie is a fish—pie.

Poor Man

The blade—bone of a shoulder of mutton, so called in Scotland. In some parts of England it is termed a “poor knight of Windsor,” because it holds the same relation to Sir Loin as a Windsor knight does to a baronet. Sir Walter Scott tells of a Scotch laird who, being asked by an English landlord what he would have for dinner, produced the utmost consternation by saying, “I think I could relish a morsel of a poor man.” (See Bride of Lammermoor, chap. xix.)

Poor Richard

The assumed name of Benjamin Franklin in a series of almanacks from 1732 to 1757. These almanacks contain maxims and precepts on temperance, economy, cleanliness, chastity, and other homely virtues; and to several of the maxims are added the words, “as poor Richard says.” Nearly a century before Robert Herrick had brought out a series of almanacks under the name of Poor Robin's Almanack.

Poor Tassel

(A). A poor hand, a bad workman, no great shakes. The tassel or tiercel was a male goshawk, restricted to princes, and called a “tassel gentle.”

“Venturing this opinion to the brick—maker, he laughingly replied, `Come, then, and try your hand at a brick.' The trial, however, proved me a `poor tassel,' amidst the jeers and laughter of the men.”— C. Thomson: Autobiography, p. 52.

Poorer than Irus

(“Iro pauperior”). Irus was the beggar employed by the suitors of Penelope to carry to her their tokens of love. When Ulysses returned home, Irus attempted to prevent his entering the gates, but Ulysses felled him to the ground, and threw the dead body into the road.

Pop the Question

(To). To propose or make an offer of marriage. As this important demand is supposed to be unexpected, the question is said to be popped.

Pope

lived at Twickenham. (1688—1744.)

“For though not sweeter his own Homer sings,

Yet is his life the more endearing song.”

Thomson: Summer.

Pope

(1 syl.), in Latin popa (plur. popoe). A priest who knocked on the head the ox offered in sacrifice, and cut it up, a very small part being burnt, and all the rest distributed to those concerned in the sacrifice. Wine was poured between the horns, but the priest first sipped it, and all those who assisted him. After the beast had been stunned it was stabbed, and the blood was caught in a vessel used for the purpose, for the shedding of blood was indispensable in every sacrifice. It was the duty of the pope to see that the victim to be sacrificed was without spot or blemish, and to ascertain that it had never been yoked to the plough. The head was crowned with a fillet, and the horns gift. Apparently the Roman soldiers of Pontius Pilate made a mockery imitation of these Roman and Greek sacrifices.

Pope

The Pope changing his name. According to Platina, Sergius II. was the first pope who changed his name on ascending the papal chair. His proper name was Hogsmouth. Chambers says his name was “Peter di Porca,” and it was the name Peter he changed, out of deference to St. Peter, thinking it arrogant to style himself Peter II. (844—847).

I know no more about it than the Pope of Rome — than a man living as far off as the Cham of Tartary or Pope of Rome.

Drunk like a pope. Benedict XII. was an enormous eater and such a wine—drinker that he gave rise to the bacchanalian expression, bibamus papaliter (See Drunk.)

Pope

Titles assumed by the popes.

Universal Bishop. Prior to Gregory the Great. Serrus Servorum. Assumed by Gregory the Great in 591. The Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the World. Martin IV. in 1281. Divine Majesty; Husband of the Church; Prince of the Apostles; Key of the whole Universe; the Pastor and Physician possessed of all Power both in Heaven and Earth. Leo X. in 1513.

Monarch of Christendom; Vice—God; Lord God the Pope. Paul V. in 1635. Masier of the World; the Universal Father; Viceregent of the Most High. Subsequent to Paul V. (See Brady: Clavis Calendaria, 247.)

Pope Joan

Said to have succeeded Leo IV. Gibbon says, “Two Protestants, Blondel and Bayle, annihilated her;” but Mosheim seems half—inclined to believe there was such a person. The vulgar tale is that Joan conceived a violent passion for the monk Folda, and in order to get admission to him assumed the monastic habit. Being clever and popular, she got to be elected pope.

Pope's Sermon

(A). Only once has a pope been known to preach a sermon in three hundred years. In 1847 a great crowd had assembled to hear the famous Padre Ventura preach in Santa Andrea della Valle, of Rome, but the preacher failed to appear; whereupon Pius IX. ascended the pulpit, and gave a sermon. (De Liancourt: History of Pius IX.)

The Pope's slave. So Cardinal Cajetan calls the Church. (Sixteenth century.)

Pope's Tiara

(The). He calls himself (1) Head of the Catholic or Universal Church; (2) Sole Arbiter of its Rights; and (3) Sovereign Father of all the kings of the earth. From these assumptions he wears a triple

crown— one as High Priest, one as Emperor, and one as King. (See Brady, 250, 251.)

For the first five centuries the Bishops of Rome wore a bonnet, like other ecclesiastics. Pope Hormasdas (514—523) placed on his bonnet the crown sent him by Clovis.

Boniface VIII. (1224—1303) added a second crown during his struggles with Philip the Fair. John XXII. (1410—1415) assumed the third crown.

Popefigland An island inhabited by the Gaillardets (French, gaillard, gay people), rich and free, till, being shown one day the pope's image, they exclaimed, “A fig for the pope!” whereupon the whole island was put to the sword. Its name was then changed to Popefigland, and the people were called Popefigs.

Popinjay

A butterfly man, a fop; so called from the popinjay or figure of a bird shot at for practice. The jay was decked with parti—coloured feathers so as to resemble a parrot, and, being suspended on a pole, served as a target. He whose ball or arrow brought down the bird by cutting the string by which it was hung, received the proud title of “Captain Popinjay,” or “Captain of the Popinjay,” for the rest of the day, and was escorted home in triumph. (See Old Mortality, ch. ii.)

“I then, all smarting with my wounds being cold,

To be so pestered with a popinjay,

Answered neglectingly I know not what,

He should or he should not.”

Shakespeare: 1 Henry IV., i. 3.

The Festival of the Popinjay. The first Sunday in May. (See above.

Popish Plot

A plot in the reign of Charles II. to massacre the Protestants, burn London, and assassinate the king. Titus Oates invented this “wise" scheme, and obtained great wealth by revealing it; but ultimately he was pilloried, whipped, and imprisoned. (See Gunpowder Plot .)

Poplar

(The). (Latin, populus, from populus, the people.) Being symbolical of the people, both because its leaves are dark on one side and white on the other, and also because they are never still, but blown about by the least gust of wind. In France, to the present day, the poplar is an emblem of democracy. There are black and white poplars, and the aspen—tree is one of the species.

The white poplar was consecrated to Hercule, because he destroyed Kakos in a cavern of Mount Aventine, which was covered with poplars. In the moment of triumph the hero plucked a branch from one of the trees and bound it round his head. When he descended to the infernal regions, the heat caused a profuse perspiration which blanched the under surface of the leaves, while the smoke of the eternal flames blackened the upper surface. Hence the Herculean poplar has its leaves black on one side and white on the other.

Porcelain

(3 syl.), from porcelana, “a little pig.” So called by the Portuguese traders, from its resemblance to cowrie—shells, the shape of which is not unlike a pig's back. The Chinese earthenware being white and glossy, like the inside of the shells, suggested the application of the name. (See Marryatt's History of Pottery and Porcelain.)

Porch

(The). A philosophic sect generally called Stoics (Greek, stoa, a porch), because Zeno, the founder, gave his lectures in the Athenian picture gallery, called the porch Poecile.

“The successors of Socrates formed societies which lasted several centuries; the Academy, the Porch, the Garden.”— Professor Seeley: Ecce Homo.

Porcupine

(See Peter .)

Porcus

The Latins call me “porcus.” A sly reproof to anyone boasting, showing off, or trying to make himself appear greater than he is. The fable says that a wolf was going to devour a pig, when the pig observed that it was Friday, and no good Catholic would eat meat on a Friday. Going on together, the wolf said to the pig, “They seem to call you by many names.” “Yes,” said the pig, “I am called swine, grunter, hog, and I know not what besides. The Latins call me porcus. ” “Porpus, do they?” said the wolf, making an intentional blunder. “Well, porpoise is a fish, and we may eat fish on a Friday.” So saying, he devoured him without another word.”

Porcus Literarum A literary glutton, one who devours books without regard to quality.

Pork! Pork!

Sylvester, in his translation of Du Bartas, gives this instead of caw, caw, as the cry of the raven.

Pork. Sir Thomas Browne says that the Jews abstain from pork not from fear of leprosy, as Tacitus alleges, but because the swine is an emblem of impurity. (Vulgar Errors.)

Pork

Pig. The former is Norman—French, the latter Saxon.

“Pork, I think, is good Norman—French; and so, when the brute lives, and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes a Norman, and is called pork, when she is carried to the castle—hall.”— Sir Walter Scott; Ivanhoe.

Porphyrion

One of the giants who made war with the gods. He hurled the island of Delos against Zens (Jupiter); but Zeus, with the aid of Hercules, overcame him. (Greek fable.) (See Giants .)

Porridge

Everything tastes of porridge. However we may deceive ourselves, whatever castles in the air we may construct, the fact of home life will always intrude. Sir Walter Scott tells us of an insane man who thought the asylum his castle, the servants his own menials, the inmates his guests. “Although,” said he, “I am provided with a first—rate cook and proper assistants, and although my table is regularly furnished with every delicacy of the season, yet so depraved is my palate that everything I eat tastes of porridge.” His palate was less vitiated than his imagination.

Port

meaning larboard or left side, is an abbreviation of porta il timone (carry the helm). Porting arms is carrying them on the left hand.

“To heel to port” is to lean on the leftside (Saxon, hyldan, to incline). “To lurch to port” is to leap or roll over on the left side (Welsh, llercian).

“She gave a heel, and then a lurch to port,

And, going down head—foremost, sunk in short.” Byron: Don Juan.

Port. An air of music; martial music. Hence Tytler says, “I have never been able to meet with any of the ports here referred to” (Dissertation on Scotch Music). The word is Gaelic.

Port Royal Society

In 1637, Le Maître, a celebrated advocate, resigned the honour of being Counseiller d'Etat, and with his brother De Sericourt consecrated himself to the service of religion. The two brothers retired to a small house near the Port Royal of Paris, where in time they were joined by their three other brothers— De Sacy, De St. Elme, and De Valmont. Afterwards, being obliged to remove, they fixed their residence a short distance from the city, and called it Port Royal des Champs. These illustrious recluses were subsequently joined by other distinguished persons, and the community was called the Society of Port Royal.

Port Wine

Lord Pembroke's port wine. This renowned wine is thus made— 27 gallons of rough cider, 13 gallons of Bone Carlo wine, 3 gallons of brandy. To make a hogshead of port.

Porte

(The) or The Sublime Porte. The Ottoman Empire. In the Byzantine Empire, the gates of the palace were the place of assembly for judicial and legal administration. The word sublime is French for “lofty,” and the term was adopted naturally, as French has long been the language of diplomacy. The whole building contains four Turkish departments of state— viz. (1) the Grand Vizierat; (2) the Foreign Office; (3) the Interior; and (4) the State Council.

“The government is to blame for not having done all in its power, like the Porte.”— The Times.

Porteous Riot

This notorious tumult took place at Edinburgh in September, 1736. Porteous was captain of the city guard. At the examination of a criminal named Wilson, Captain Porteous, fearing a rescue, ordered the guards to fire on the mob, which had become tumultuous; in this discharge six persons were killed, and eleven wounded. Porteous was tried for this attack and condemned to death, but reprieved. The mob, at his reprieve, burst into the jail where he was confined, and, dragging him to the Grassmarket (the usual place of execution), hanged him by torchlight on a dyer's pole.

Portia

A rich heiress in The Merchant of Venice, in love with Bassanio. Her father had ordained that three caskets should be offered to all who sought her hand— one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead— with this proviso: he only who selected the casket which contained the portrait of the lady should possess her hand and fortune. (Shakespeare.)

Portland Stone

So called from the island of Portland, where it is quarried. It hardens by exposure to the atmosphere. St. Paul's Cathedral and Somerset House (London) are built of this stone.

Portland Vase

A cinerary urn of transparent dark—blue glass, long in possession of the Barberini family. In 1770 it was purchased by Sir William Hamilton, for 1,000 guineas, and cams afterwards into the possession of the Duchess of Portland. In 1810, the Duke of Portland, one of the trustees of the British Museum, allowed it to be placed in that institution for exhibition. William Lloyd, in 1845, dashed it to pieces; it has since been carefully repaired, but is not now shown to the public. It is ten inches high, and six in diameter at the broadest

part.

Portmanteau Word

(A). A word, like post, which contains several meanings packed together; as, post (a stake), post for letters, post paper, slow as a post, fast as a post, post—horses, and so on.

Portobello Arms

A public—house sign. The Mirror says: “In 1739, after the capture of Portobello, Admiral Vernon's portrait dangled from every sign—post, and he may figuratively be said to have sold the ale, beer, porter, and purl of England for six years.” The Portobello Arms is a mere substitution for the admiral.

Portsoken Ward

(London). The soken or franchise at the port or gate. It was formerly a guild called the

“English Knighten Guild,” because it was given by King Edgar to thirteen knights for services done by them. (See Knighten Guild .)

Portuguese

(3 syl.). A native of Portugal, the language of Portugal, pertaining to Portugal, etc.; as Camoëns was a Portuguese, and wrote in Portuguese.

Poser

The bishop's examining chaplain; the examiner at Eton for the King's College fellowship. (Welsh, posiaw, to examine; French, poser; Latin, pono.) Hence, a puzzling question.

Posse

A whole posse of men. A large number; a crowd. (See next article.)

Posse Comitatus

(Latin). Power of the county. The whole force of the county— that is, all the male members of a county over fifteen, who may be summoned by a sheriff to assist in preventing a riot, the rescue of prisoners, or other unlawful disorders. Clergymen, peers, and the infirm are exempt.

Posset

properly means a drink taken before going to bed; it was milk curdled with wine.

“In his morning's draught ... his concerves or cates ... and when he goeth to bedde his posset smoaking hot.”— Man in the Moone (1609).

Post

means placed. (Latin, positus.)

Post. A piece of timber placed in the ground. A military post. A station where a man is placed, with instructions not to quit it without orders. An official post is where a man is placed in office.

To post accounts is to place them under certain heads in methodical order. (Trench. Post haste. Travelling by relays of horses, or where horses are placed on the road to expedite the journey, Post office. An office where letters are placed.

Post paper. So called from its watermark, a post—horn, or a post—boy blowing his horn.

“The old original post [paper] with the stamp in the corner representing a post—boy riding for life, and twanging his horn.”— Mrs. Gaskell: Cranford, chap. v.

Stiff as a post. That is, stiff [in the ground] like a gate—post. To run your head against a post. To go to work heedlessly and stupidly, or as if you had no eyes.

Post Factum

(Latin). After the act has been committed.

Post Meridian

(Latin). After noon.

“ `Twas post meridian half—past four,

By signal I from Nancy parted.”

Dibdin: Sea Songs.

Post—mortem

(Latin). After death; as a post—mortem examination for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of death.

Post—mortem Degree

(A). A degree after having failed at the poll.

“He had not even the merit of being a plodding man, and be finally took what used to be called a post—mortem degree.”— My Rectors, p. 63.

Post Obit

An agreement to pay for a loan a larger sum of money, together with interest at death. (Latin post obitum, after the death of the person named in the bond.)

Poste Restante

(French). To remain at the post till called for. In the British post—office letters so addressed are kept one month, and then returned to the writer.

Posted

Well posted up in the subject. Thoroughly informed. The metaphor is from posting up accounts, where one can see everything at a glance.

Posteriori

An argument a posteriori is one from effects to cause. Thus, to prove the existence of God a posteriori, we take the works of creation and show how they manifest power, wisdom, goodness, and so on; and then we claim the inference that the maker of these things is powerful, wise, and good. Robinson Crusoe found the footprints of a man on the sand, and inferred that there must be a man on the island besides himself. (See Priori .)

Posthumus

(Leona'tus). Husband of Imogen. Under the erroneous persuasion of his wife's infidelity, he plots her death, but his plot miscarries. (Shakespeare: Cymbeline.)

Posting—Bills

Before the Great Fire the space for foot—passengers in London was defended by rails and posts; the latter served for theatrical placards and general announcements, which were therefore called posters or posting—bills.

Posy

properly means a copy of verses presented with a bouquet. It now means the verses without the flowers, as the “posy of a ring,” or the flowers without the verses, as a “pretty posy.”

“He could make anything in poetry, from the posy of a ring to the chronicle of its most heroid wearer.”— Stedman: Victorian Poets (Landor), p. 47.

Pot

This word, like “father,” “mother,” “daughter,” etc., is common to the whole A'ryan family. Greek, poter, a drinking—vessel; Latin, poc—ulum— i.e. potaculum; Irish and Swedish, pota; Spanish, pote; German, pott; Danish, potte; French, Welsh, Anglo—Saxon, pott, etc.

Gone to pot. Ruined, gone to the bad. The allusion is to the pot into which refuse metal is cast to be remelted, or to be discarded as waste.

“Now and then a farm went to pot.”— Dr. Arbuthnot.

The pot calls the kettle black. This is said of a person who accuses another of faults committed by himself. The French say, “The shovel mocks the poker” (La pelle se moque du fourgon).

To betray the pot to the roses. To betray the rose pot— that is, the pot which contains the rose—nobles. To “let the cat out of the bag.” (French, Decouvrir le pot aux roses.)

Brazen and earthen pots. Gentlemen and artisans, rich and poor, men of mark and those unstamped. From

the fable of the Brazen and Earthen Pots.

“Brazen and earthen pots float together in juxtaposition down the stream of life.”— Pall Mall Gazette.

Pot—boilers

Articles written for periodicals or publishers, and pictures of small merit drawn or painted for the sake of earning daily bread, or making the pot supply needful food.

Pot—luck

Come and take pot—luck with me. Come and take a family dinner at my house. The French pot au feu is the ordinary dinner of those who dine at home.

Pot Paper

A Dutch paper; so called from its bearing a pot as its water—mark.

Pot—Pourri

(French). A mixture of dried sweet—smelling flower—petals and herbs preserved in a vase. Also a

hotch—potch or olla podrida. In music, a medley of favourite tunes strung together. (See Pasticcio .)

Pourri means dead [flowers], and pot—pourri, strictly speaking, is the vase containing the sweet mixture.

Pot Valiant

Made courageous by liquor.

Pot de Biere

French slang for an Englishman.

Pot of Hospitality

(The). The pot au feu which in Ireland used to be shared with anyone who dropped in at mealtimes, or required refreshment.

“And the `pot of hospitality' was set to boil upon the fire, and there was much mirth and heartiness and entertainment.”— Nineteenth Century, Oct., 1891, p. 643.

Potage

(Jean). The Jack Pudding of the French stage; very like the German “Hanswurst,” the Dutch “Pickel herringe,” and the Italian “Macaroni.”

Potato—bogle

So the Scotch call a scarecrow. The head of these birdbogies being a big potato or a turnip.

Potato—bury

(A). A pit or trench for preserving potatoes for winter use. A turnip—bury is a similar pit for turnips.

Potato—talk

(German, Kartoffel gesprach.) That chit—chat common in Germany at the five o'clock

tea—drinkings, when neighbours of the “gentler sex” take their work to the house of muster and talk chiefly of the dainties of the table, their ingredients, admixture, and the methods of cooking there.

Poteen

(pron, pu—teen). Whisky that has not paid duty. (Irish poitin, diminutive of poite, a pot.)

“Come and taste some good poteon

That has not paid a rap to the Quest.”

Pother or Bother. Mr. Garnett states this to be a Celtic word, and says it often occurs in the Irish translations of the Bible, in the sense of to be or troubled in mind. (Greek, , to regret.)

“Friends, cried the umpire, cease your pother

The creature's neither one nor t'other

The Chameleon

Pothooks

The 77th Foot; so called because the two sevens resemble two pothooks. Now called the Second Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. The first battalion is the old 57th.

Potiphar's Wife

According to the Koran her name was Zuleika, but some Arabian writers call her Rail.

Pots

A Stock Exchange term, signifying the “North Staffordshire Railway stock.” Of course, the word means “the potteries” (See Stock Exchange Slang .)

Potter

To go poking about, meddling and making, in a listless, purposeless manner. Pudder, podder, pother, bother, and puddle are varieties of the same word. To pudder is to stir with a puddering pole; hence, to confuse. Lear says of the tempest— “May the great gods that keep this dreadful puider o'er our head,” meaning confusion. To puddle iron is to stir it about with a puddering—pole.

Potwallopers

before the passing of the Reform Bill (1832), were those who claimed a vote because they had boiled their own pot in the parish for six months. (Saxon, to boil; Dutch, opwallen, our wallop.)

Strictly speaking, a pot—walloper is one who wallops or boils his own pot—au—feu.

Poult

a young turkey. Pullet, a young chicken. (Latin, pullus, the young of any animal, whence poultry, young domestic fowls; filly, a young horse. foal; French, poule; Italian, pollo, etc.)

Pound

The unit of weight (Latin, pondus, weight); also cash to the value of twenty shillings sterling, because in the Carlovingian period the Roman pound (twelve ounces) of pure silver was coined into 240 silver pennies. The

symbols and lb. are for libra, the Latin for a pound. (See Penny for Pound.)

Pound of Flesh

The whole bargain, the exact terms of the agreement, the bond literatim et verbatim. The allusion is to Shylock, in The Merchant of Venice, who bargained with Antonio for a “pound of flesh,” but was foiled in his suit by Portia, who said the bond was expressly a pound of flesh, and therefore (1) the Jew must cut the exact quantity, neither more nor less than a just pound; and (2) in so doing he must not shed a drop of blood.

Poundtext

(Peter). An “indulged pastor” with the Covenanters' army. (Sir Walter Scott: Old Mortality.)

Pourceaugnac

(Monsieur de) (pron. Poor—sone—yak). A pompous country gentleman who comes to Paris to marry Julie, but the lady has a lover of her own choice, and Monsieur is so mystified and played upon by Julie and her ami du coeur that he relinquishes his suit in despair. (Molière: Pourceaugnac.)

Poussin

The British Poussin. Richard Cooper, painter and engraver, well known for his Views of Windsor. (—1806.)

Gaspar Poussin. So Gaspar Dughet, the French painter, is called. (1613—1675.)

Pouting Place of Princes

(The). Leicester Square is so called by Pennant, because George II., when Prince of Wales, having quarrelled with his father, retired to Leicester House; and his son Frederick, Prince of Wales, did the same, for the very same reason.

Poverty ... Love “When poverty comes in at the door, love flies out at the window.” “Sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus.”

Powder

I'll powder your jacket for you. A corruption of poudrer (to dust). (See Dust .)

“Lo! in powdur [dust] ye schall slepe,

For out of powdur fyrst ye came.”

Quoted by Halliwell under “Poudre.”

Not worth powder and shot. “Le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle.” The thing shot won't pay the cost of powder and shot.

Poyning's Law

or Statute of Drog—heda (pron. Drohe—dah). An Act of Parliament made in Ireland in 1495 (10 Henry VII., chap. 22), declaring all general statutes hitherto made in England to be in force in Ireland also. It received its name from Sir Edward Poyning, Lieutenant of Ireland at the time.

P.P., Clerk of this Parish

The name given to a volume of memoirs, written by Dr. Arbuthnot, as a satire on Bishop Burnet's Own Times.

Praemonstratensian Monks

(See Premonstratensian .)

Praemunire

A barbarous word from the Latin præmoneri (to be forewarned). The words of the writ begin “Præmunire facias A.B.”— i.e. “Cause A.B. to be forewarned,” to appear before us to answer the contempt wherewith he stands charged. If A.B. refuses to do so, he loses all civil rights, and before the reign of Elizabeth might have been slain by anyone with impunity.

Pragmatic Sanction

Sanctio in Latin means a “decree or ordinance with a penalty attached,” or, in other words, a “penal statute.” Pragmaticus means “relating to state affairs,” so that Pragmatic Sanction is a penal statute bearing on some important question of state. The term was first applied by the Romans to those statutes which related to their provinces. The French applied the phrase to certain statutes which limited the jurisdiction of the Pope; but generally it is applied to an ordinance, fixing the succession in a certain line.

Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VII. (of France), 1438, defining and limiting the power of the Pope in France. By this ordinance the authority of a general council was declared superior to the dictum of the Pope; the clergy were forbidden to appeal to Rome on any point affecting the secular condition of the nation; and the Roman pontiff was forbidden to appropriate a vacant benefice, or to appoint either bishop or parish priest.

Pragmatic Sanction of St. Louis, 1268, forbade the court of Rome to levy taxes or collect subsciptions in France without the express sanction of the king. It also gave plaintiffs in the ecclesiastical courts the right to appeal to the civil courts. The Constitutions of Clarendon” were to England what the “Pragmatic Sanction” was to France.

Pragmatic Sanction of Germany, 1713. Whereby the succession of the empire was made hereditary in the female line, in order to transmit the crown to Maria Theresa, the daughter of Charles VI.

This is emphatically the Pragmatic Sanction, unless some qualifying word or date is added, to restrict it to some other instrument.

Pragmatic Sanction of Naples, 1759, whereby Carlos II. of Spain ceded the succession to his third son in perpetuity.

Prairie Fever

(The). An enthusiastic love of prairie life, which seems to be part of our being, to strengthen our strength, invigorate our spirit, and endow us with new life.

“What with gallops by day and the wild tales by the night watch—fires, I became intoxicated with the romance of my new life; I had caught the prairie fever.”— Mayne Reid: The Scalp Hunters, ch. iii.

Prating Sophists

The doctors of the Sorbonne were so called by Budæus of Paris. (1467—1540.)

Prayer—book Parade

The promenade in fashionable watering—places and other places of resort, after morning service on Sundays till luncheon or early dinner—time.

Praying—wheels

It is said that the Buddhists pray by machinery; that they put prayers into a wheel, and unroll them by the length. This notion arises from a misconception. Saky'a—muni, the Buddha, is said to have “turned the wheel of the law”— i,e. to have preached Buddhism incessantly— we should say as a horse in a mill.

Pre—Adamites

Before Adam was created. Isaac de la Peyreri maintained that only the Jews are descended from Adam, and that the Gentiles are descended from a race of men existing before Adam; as the book of Genesis is the history of the Jews only, it does not concern itself with other races. (1655.)

Pre—Raphaelites

A term introduced by Hunt and his friends, who wished to intimate that they preferred the simplicity and truthfulness of the painters who preceded Raphael. The term now signifies a very minute imitation of nature, brilliant colouring, and not much shadow.

Preacher

(The). Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes (the Preacher).

The glorious preacher. Saint John Chrysostom. (347—407.) The king of preachers. Louis Bourdaloue. (1632—1704.) The little preacher. Samuel de Marets, Protestant controversialist. (1599—1663.)

Prebend

meaning a “clergyman attached to a prebendal stall,” is a vulgarism. The prebend is the stipend given out of the revenues of the college or cathedral, he who enjoys the prebend is the prebendary. (Latin, Præbeo, to give.)

Precarious

is what depends on our prayers or requests. A precarious tenure is one that depends solely on the will of the owner to concede to our prayer; hence uncertain, not to be depended on. (Latin, precor.)

Preceptor

The superior of a preceptory was called by the Templars a Knight Preceptor; a “Grand Proceptor” was the head of all the preceptories, or houses of the Knights Templars, in an entire province, the three of,

highest rank being the Grand Preceptors of Jerusalem, Tripolis, and Antioch. Houses of these knights which were not preceptories were called commanderies.

Precieuses Ridicules

(in Molière's comedy so called). Aminte and Polixéne, who assume the airs of the Hotel de Rambouillet, a coterie of savants of both sexes in the seventeenth century. The members of this society were termed précieuses— i.e. “persons of distinguished merit”— and the précieuses ridicules means a ridiculous apeing of their ways and manners.

Preciosa

The heroine of Long—fellow's Spanish Student, threatened with the vengeance of the Inquisition.

Precious Stones

(1) Each month, according to the Poles, is under the influence of a precious stone:—

(2) In relation to the signs of the Zodiac:—

(3) In relation to the planets.—

The ancients divided precious stones into male and female. The darker stones were called the male, and the light ones were called the females. Male sapphires approach indigo in colour, but the female ones are

sky—blue. Theophartos mentions the distinction.

Precocious

means ripened by the sun before it has attained its full growth; premature; a development of mind or body beyond one's age. (Latin, præ coquo.)

“Many precocious trees, and such as have their spring in winter, may be found.”— Brown.

Prelate

means simply a man preferred, a man promoted to an ecclesiastical office which gives him jurisdiction over other clergymen. Cardinals, bishops, abbots, and archdeacons were at one time so called, but the term, is restricted in the Protestant Church to bishops. (Latin, præfero, preoelatus.)

Preliminary Canter

(A). Metaphorically, means something which precedes the real business in hand. The reference is to the preliminary canter of horses before the race itself begins.

“The real business of the sessions commenced last night ... Everything that has preceded the introduction of this measure has been a preliminary canter.”— Newspaper paragraph, April 14th, 1894.

Premier Pas

Ce n'est que le premier pas qui coûte. Pythagoras used to say, “The beginning is half the whole.”

“Incipe Dimidium facti est coepisse.”— Ausonius,

“Dimidium facti, qui coepit, habet.”— Horace.

“Well begun is half done.”

The reverse of these proverbs is: “Cest le plus difficile que d'écorcher la queue.”

Premonstratensian

or Norbertine Order. Founded in the twelfth century by St. Norbert, who obtained permission, in 1120, to found a cloister in the diocese of Laon, in France. A spot was pointed out to him in a vision, and he termed the spot Pré Montré or it Pratum Monstrátum (the meadow pointed out). The order might be called the reformed Augustine, or the White canons of the rule of St. Augustine.

Prendre un Rat par la Queue To pick a pocket. This proverb is very old— it was popular in the reign of Louis XIII.

Prepense

(2 syl.). Malice prepense is malice designed or before deliberated. (Latin, præ pensus.)

Preposterous

means “the cart before the horse.” (Latin, præ posterus, the first last and the last first.)

Presbyterian

(See Blue .)

Prescott

A waistcoat. Rhyming slang. (See Chivy .)

Presents

Know all men by these presents— i.e. by the writings or documents now present. (Latin, per presentes, by the [writings] present.)

Preserver

[Soter]. Ptolemy I. of Egypt was called Soter by the Rhodians, because he compelled Demetrios to raise the siege of Rhodes. (B.C. 367, 323—285.)

Press—money

and Press—men do not mean money given to impress men into the service and men so impressed; but ready money, and men ready for service. When a recruit has received the money, he binds himself to be ready for service whenever his attendance is required. Similarly, a press—gang is a gang to get ready men. (Old French prest, now prêt; Italian presto.)

Prester John

according to Mandeville, a lineal descendant of Ogier the Dane. This Ogier penetrated into the north of India, with fifteen barons of his own country, among whom he divided the land. John was made sovereign of Tenedue, and was called Prester because he converted the natives. Another tradition says he had seventy kings for his vassals, and was seen by his subjects only three times in a year. In Much Ado about Nothing, Benedick says:—

“I will fetch you a tooth—picker from the farthest inch of Asia; bring you the length of Prester John's foot: fetch you a hair off the great Cham's beard. rather than hold three words' conference with this harpy.”— Act ii. 1.

Prester John (in Orlando Furioso, bk. xvii.), called by his subjects Senapus, King of Ethiopia. He was blind. Though the richest monarch of the world, he pined “in plenty's lap with endless famine,” for whenever his table was spread hell—born harpies flew away with the food. This was in punishment of his great pride and impiety in wishing to add Paradise to his dominion. The plague was to cease “when a stranger came to his kingdom on a winged horse.” Astolpho came on his flying griffin, and with his magic horn chased the harpies into Cocytus. The king sent 100,000 Nubians to the aid of Charlemagne; they were provided with horse by Astolpho, who threw stones into the air, which became steeds fully equipped (bk. xviii.) and were transported to France by Astolpho, who filled his hands with leaves, which he cast into the sea, and they instantly became ships (bk. xix.). When Agramant was dead, the Nubians were sent back to their country, and the ships turned to leaves and the horses to stones again.

Prestige

This word has a strangely metamorphosed meaning. The Latin præstig'iæ means juggling tricks, hence prestidigitateur' (French), one who juggles with his fingers. We use the word for that favourable impression which results from good antecedents. The history of the change is this: Juggling tricks were once considered a sort of enchantment; to enchant is to charm, and to charm is to win the heart.

Presto

Quick. A name given to Swift by the Duchess of Shrewsbury, a foreigner. Of course, the pun is obvious: presto means swift (or quick).

Preston and his Mastiffs

To oppose Preston and his mastiffs is to be foolhardy, to resist what is irresistible. Christopher Preston established the Bear Garden at Hockley—in—the—Hole in the time of Charles II. The Bible says he that employs the sword “shall perish by the sword,” and Preston was killed in 1709 by one of his own bears.

“... I'd as good oppose

Myself to Preston and his mastiffs loose.”

Oldham: III. Satyr of Juvenal.

Pretender

The Old Pretender. James F. E. Stuart, son of James II. (1688—1766.)

The Young Pretender. Charles Edward Stuart, son of the “Old Pretender.” (1720—1788.)

“God bless the king, I mean the faith's defender;

God bless— no harm in blessing— the Pretender. Who that Pretender is and who is king—

God bless us all!— that's quite another thing.”

John Byrom.

Pretenders.

Tanyoxarke, in the time of Cambyses, King of Persia, pretended to be Smerdis; but one of his wives felt his head while he was asleep, and discovered that he had no ears.

Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, in the reign of Henry VIII.

Otrefief, a monk, pretended to be Demetrius, younger son of Czar Ivan Basilowitz II., murdered by Boris in 1598. In 1605 Demetrius “the False” became Czar, but was killed at Moscow the year following, in an insurrection.

Pretext

A pretence. From the Latin prætexta, a dress embroidered in the front worn by the Roman magistrates, priests, and children of the aristocracy between the age of thirteen and seventeen. The prætexta'tæ were dramas in which actors personated those who wore the prætexta; hence persons who pretend to be what they are not.

Prettyman (Prince), who figures sometimes as a fisherman's son, and sometimes as a prince, to gain the heart of Cloris. (Buckingham The Rehearsal.)

Prevarication

The Latin word varico is to straddle, and prævanicor to go zigzag or crooked. The verb, says Pliny, was first applied to men who ploughed crooked ridges, and afterwards to men who gave crooked answers in the law courts, or deviated from the straight line of truth. (it See Delirium .)

Prevent

Precede, anticipate. (Latin præ—venio, to go before.) And as what goes before us may hinder us, so prevent means to binder or keep back.

“My eyes prevent the night watches.”— Psalm cxix. 148.

“Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings.”— Common Prayer Book.

Previous Question

To move the previous question No one seems able to give any clear and satisfactory explanation of this phrase. Erskine May, in his Parliamentary Practice, p. 303 (9th edition), says: “It is an ingenious method of avoiding a vote upon any question that has been proposed, but the technical phrase does little to elucidate its operation. When there is no debate, or after a debate is closed, the Speaker ordinarily puts the question as a matter of course, ... but by a motion for the previous question, this act may be intercepted and forbidden. The custom [used to be] `that the question be now put,' but Arthur Wellesley Peel, while Speaker, changed the words `be now put' into `be not put.'” The former process was obviously absurd. To continue the quotation from Erskine May: “Those who wish to avoid the putting of the main question, vote against the previous (or latter question), and if it be resolved in the negative, the Speaker is prevented from putting the main question, as the House has refused to allow it to be put. It may, however, be brought forward again another day.”

Of course this is correct, but what it means is quite another matter; and why “the main question” is called the “previous question" is past understanding

Question. When members of the House of Commons or other debaters call out Question, they mean that the person speaking is wandering away from the subject under consideration.

Priam

King of Troy when that city was sacked by the allied Greeks. His wife's name was Hecuba; she was the mother of nineteen children, the eldest of whom was Hector. When the gates of Troy were thrown open by the Greeks concealed in the Wooden Horse, Pyrrhos, the son of Achilles, slew the aged Priam. (See Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Æneid.)

Priamond

Son of Agape, a fairy. He was very daring, and fought on foot with battle—axe and spear. He was slain by Cambalo. (Spenser: Faërie Queene, bk. iv.) (See Diamond .)

Priapus

in classical mythology, is a hideous, sensual, disgusting deity, the impersonation of the principle of fertility. (See Baal Peor , etc.)

Prick—eared

So the Roundheads were called, because they covered their heads with a black skull—cap drawn down tight, leaving the ears exposed.

Prick the Garter

(See Fast And Loose .)

“Why, who cries out on pride [dress]

That can therein tax any private party?

What woman in the city do I name

When that I say `the city woman bears

The cost of princes on unworthy shoulders'?

... What is he of baser function

That says his bravery [finery] is not of my cost?” Shakespeare: As You Like It, ii. 7.

Fly pride, says the peacock, proverbial for pride. (Shakespeare: Comedy of Errors, iv. 3.) The pot calling the kettle “black face.”

Sir Pride. First a drayman, then a colonel in the Parliamentary army. (Butler: Hudibras.

Pride of the Morning

That early mist or shower which promises a fine day. The Morning is too proud to come out in her glory all at once— or the proud beauty being thwarted weeps and pouts awhile. Keble uses the phrase in a different sense when he says:—

“Pride of the dewy Morning,

The swain's experienced eye

From thee takes timely warning,

Nor trusts the gorgeous sky.”

Keble: 25th Sunday after Trinity.

Pride's Purge

The Long Parliament, not proving itself willing to condemn Charles I., was purged of its unruly members by Colonel Pride, who entered the House with two regiments of soldiers, imprisoned sixty members, drove one hundred and sixty out into the streets, and left only sixty of the most complaisant.

Pridwen

The name of Prince Arthur's shield.

“He henge an his sweore [neck] acne sceld deore,

His nome on Brutisc [in British] Pridwen ihaten [called].” Layamon: Brut (twelfth century)

Pridwin

Same as pridwen. This shield had represented on it a picture of the Virgin.

“The temper of his sword, the tried `Excaliber,'

The bigness and the length of `Rone,' his noble spear, With `Pridwin,' his great shield, and what the proof could bear” Drayton.

Priest ... Knight

I would rather walk with Sir Priest than Sir Knight. I prefer peace to strife.

Priest of the Blue—bag

A barrister. A blue—bag is a cant name for a barrister. (See Barrister's Bag .)

“He [O'Flynn] had twice pleaded his own cause, without help of attorney, and showed himself as practised in every law quibble ... as if he had been a regularly ordained priest of the blue bag.”— C. Kingsley: Alton Locke, chap. xx.

Prig

A knavish beggar in the Beggar's Bush, by Beaumont and Fletcher.

Prig. A coxcomb, a conceited person Probably the Anglo—Saxon pryt or pryd. Prig. To filch or steal. Also a pick—pocket or thief. The clown calls Autolycus a “prig that haunts wakes, fairs, and bear — baitings.” (Shakespeare: Winter's Tale, iv. 3.)

In Scotch, to prig means to cheapen, or haggle over the price asked; priggin means cheapening.

Prima Donna

(Italian). A first—class lady; applied to public singers.

Prima Facie

(Latin). At first sight. A prima facie case is a case or statement which, without minute examination into its merits, seems plausible and correct.

It would be easy to make out a strong prima facie case, but I should advise the more cautious policy of audi alteram partem.

Primary Colours

(See Colours .)

Prime

(l syl.). In the Catholic Church the first canonical hour after lauds. Milton terms sunrise “that sweet hour of prime.” (Paradise Lost, bk. v. 170.)

“All night long ... came the sound of chanting ... as the monks sang the service of matins, lauds, and prime.”— Shorthouse: John Inglesant, chap. 1. p. 10.

Primed Full and ready to deliver a speech. We say of a man whose head is full of his subject, “He is primed to the muzzle.” Of course, the allusion is to firearms.

Primero

A game at cards.

“I left him at primero with the Duke of Suffolk.”— Shakespeare: H enry VIII., i. 2.

... “Four cards were dealt to each player, the principal groups being flush, prime, and point Flush was the same as in `poker,' prime was one card of each suit, and point was reckoned as in `piquet.”'— Cyclopoedia of Games, p. 270.

Primitive Fathers

(The). The five Christian fathers supposed to be contemporary with the Apostles: viz. Clement of Rome (30—102); Barnabas, cousin of Mark the Evangelist, and schoolfellow of Paul the Apostle; Hermas, author of The Shepherd, Ignatius, martyred A.D. 115; and Polycarp (85—169).

The first two Epistles to the Corinthians are probably by Clement Romanus, but everything else ascribed to him is undoubtedly spurious.

The epistle ascribed to Barrabas is of very doubtful authenticity.

Hermas, — It is very doubtful whether this is a proper name at all; and, if a proper name, many think it is a Hermas in the second century, brother of Pius I.

Polycarp, some say, was a pupil of John the Evangelist, by whom he was made Bishop of Smyrna, addressed in the Revelation: but if the Revelation was written in 96, Polycarp was not eleven years old at the time, and could not possibly have been a bishop. It is extremely doubtful whether he knew the Evangelist at all, and certainly he did not know either the Fourth Gospel or the Book of the Revelation.

Primrose

(George). Son of the worthy Vicar of Wakefield. He went to Amsterdam to teach the people English, but forgot that he could not do so till he knew something of Dutch himself. (Goldsmith: Vicar of Wakefield.)

Moses Primrose. Brother of the above, noted for giving in barter a good horse for a gross of worthless green spectacles with copper rims and shagreen cases. (Goldsmith: Vicar of Wakefield.

Mrs. Deborah Primrose. Mother of the above; noted for her motherly vanity, her skill in housewifery, and her desire to be genteel. Her wedding gown is a standing simile for things that “wear well.” Her daughters' names are Olivia and Sophia. (Goldsmith: Vicar of Wakefield.)

The Rev. Dr. Primrose. Husband of Mrs. Deborah, and Vicar of Wakefield. As simple—minded and unskilled in the world as Goldsmith himself, unaffectedly pious, and beloved by all who knew him.

(Goldsmith: Vicar of Wakefield.

Primrose

A curious corruption of the French primeverole, Italian primeverola, compounds of the Latin primavera (first spring flower). Chaucer calls the word primirole, which is a contraction of the Italian primerola. The flower is no rose at all.

Primum Mobile

in the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, was the tenth (not ninth) sphere, supposed to revolve from east to west in twenty—four hours, carrying with it all the other spheres. The eleven spheres are: (1) Diana or the Moon, (2) Mercury, (3) Venus, (4) Apollo or the Sun, (5) Mars, (6) Jupiter, (7) Saturn, (8) the starry sphere or that of the fixed stars, (9) the crystalline, (10) the primum mobile, and (11) the empyrean. Ptolemy himself acknowledged only the first nine; the two latter were devised by his disciples. The motion of the crystalline, according to this system, causes the precession of the equinoxes, its axis being that of the ecliptic. The motion of the primum mobile produces the alternation of day and night; its axis is that of the equator, and its extremities the poles of the heavens.

“They pass the planets seven, and pass the `fixed' [starry sphere],

And that crystallin sphere ... and that `First—Moved.”'

Milton: Paradise Lost, iii. 482.

Primum Mobile is figuratively applied to that machine which communicates motion to several others; and also to persons and ideas suggestive of complicated systems. Socrate was the primum mobile of the Dialectic, Megaric, Cyrenaic, and Cynic systems of philosophy.

Primus

The archbishop, or rather “presiding bishop,” of the Episcopal Church of Scotland. He is elected by the other six bishops, and presides in Convocation, or meetings relative to church matters.

Prince

The Latin principes formed one of the great divisions of the Roman infantry; so called because they were originally the first to begin the fight. After the Hastati were instituted, this privilege was transferred to the new division.

Prince. (See Black.)

Prince of alchemy. Rudolph II., Emperor of Germany, also called The German Hermes Trismegistus. Prince of gossips. Samuel Pepys, noted for his gossiping Diary, commencing January 1st, 1659, and continued for nine years. (1632—1703.)

Prince of grammarians. (See Grammarians.) Prince of Peace. The Messiah (Isaiah ix. 6). Prince of the Power of the Air. Satan (Eph. ii. 2). Prince of the vegetable kingdom. So Linnæus calls the palm—tree.

Prince of Wales

(The). This title arose thus: When Edward I. subdued Wales, he promised the Welsh, if they would lay down their arms, that he would give them a native prince. His queen having given birth to a son in Wales, the new—born child was entitled Edward, Prince of Wales; and ever since then the eldest son of the

British sovereign has retained the title.

Prince of Wales Dragoon Guards. The 3rd Dragoon Guards.

Prince Rupert's Drops

Drops of molten glass, consolidated by falling into water. Their form is that of a tadpole. The thick end may be hammered pretty smartly without its breaking, but if the smallest portion of the thin end is nipped off, the whole flies into fine dust with explosive violence. These toys, if not invented by Prince Rupert, were introduced by him into England.

Prince's Peers

A term of contempt applied to peers of low birth. The son of Charles VII. of France (afterwards Louis XI.), in order to weaken the influence of the aristocracy, created a host of riff—raff peers, such as tradesmen, farmers, and mechanics, who were tools in his hands.

Princox

or Princocks. (Probably from prime and cock. ) Capulet calls Tybalt a princox, or wilful spoilt boy. (Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet.)

Prink

She was prinked in all her finery. Adorned. Prink and prank. Dutch pronken, to make a show; German prangen, Danish prange, Swedish prunka.

Printer's Devil

The newest apprentice lad in the press—room, whose duty it is to run errands, and to help the pressmen.

Printing used to be called the Black Art, and the boys who assisted the pressmen were called imps. (See under Devil.)

Printers Marks

? is — that is, the first and last letters of quæstio (question). ! is . lo in Latin is the interjection of joy.

S is a Greek p (), the initial letter of paragraph. is used by the Greek grammarians to arrest attention to something striking (asterisk or star). is used by the Greek grammarians to indicate something objectionable (obelisk or dagger).

(See Marks In Grammar.)

Printing

An em is a unit of measurement in the field of typography. The unit is defined in the terms of a specific typeface, and thus varies in length.

Father of English printing. William Caxton (1412—1491).

It is a mistake to suppose that Caxton (1471) was the first printer in England. A book has been accidentally discovered with the date 1478 (Oxford). The Rev. T. Wilson says, “The press at Oxford existed ten years before there was any press in Europe, except those at Haarlem and Mentz. The person who set up the Oxford press was Corsellis.”

Priori

An argument a priori is one from cause to effect. To prove the existence of God a priori, you must show that every other hypothesis is more unlikely, and therefore this hypothesis is the most likely. All mathematical proofs are of this kind. (See Posteriori .)

Priscian's Head

To break Priscian's head (in Latin, “Diminuere Prisciani caput”). To violate the rules of grammar. Priscian was a great grammarian of the fifth century, whose name is almost synonymous with grammar.

“Priscian's head is often bruised without remorse.”— P. Thompson.

“And held no sin so deeply red

As that of breaking Priscian's head.”

Butler: Hudibras, Pt. ii. 2.

Priscillanists Followers of Priscillian, a Spaniard; an heretical sect which sprang up in Spain in the fourth century. They were a branch of the Manichæans.

Prisoner at the Bar

The prisoner in the dock, who is on his trial; so called because anciently he stood at the bar which separated the barristers from the common pleaders.

Prisoner of Chillon:

Francois de Bonnivard, a Frenchman confined for six years in the dungeon of the Chateau de Chillon, by Charles III, of Savoy. Lord Byron, in his poem so called, has welded together this incident with Dante's Count Ugolino. (See Chillon .)

Prithu

The favourite hero of the Indian Purânas. Vena having been slain for his wickedness, and leaving no offspring, the saints rubbed his right arm, and the friction brought forth Prithu. Being told that the earth had suspended for a time its fertility, Prithu went forth to punish it, and the Earth, under the form of a cow, fled at his approach; but being unable to escape, promised that in future “seed—time and harvest should never fail.”

Priuli

Senator of Venice, noted for his unbending pride, and his unnatural harshness to his daughter Belyidera. (Otway: Venice Preserved.)

Privolvans'

The antagonists of the Subvolvans, in S. Butler's satirical poem called The Elephant in the Moon.

“These, silly ranting Privolyans

Have every summer their campaigns,

And muster like the warlike sons

Of Rawhead and of Bloodybones.” v. 85. etc.

Privy Council

The council chosen by the sovereign to administer public affairs. It consists of the Royal Family, the two Primates, the Bishop of London, the great officers of State, the Lord Chancellor and Judges of the Courts of Equity, the Chief Justices of the Courts of Common Law, the Judge Advocate, some of the Pusine Judges, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Ambassadors, Governors of Colonies,

Commander—in—Chief, Master—General of the Ordnance, First Lord of the Admiralty, Vice—President of the Board of Trade, Paymaster of the Forces, President of the Poor—law Board, etc. etc.; a committee of which forms the Cabinet or Ministry. The number of neither the Privy Council nor Cabinet is fixed, but the latter generally includes about fifteen or sixteen gentlemen specially qualified to advise on different departments of state business. Much of the business of the Privy Council is performed by Boards or subdivisions, as the Board of Trade, the Board of Quarantine, the Committee of Council on Education, etc.

Privy Seal

The seal which the sovereign uses in proof of assent to a document. In matters of minor importance it is sufficient to pass the privy seal, but instruments of greater moment must have the great seal also.

Pro and Con

(Latin). For and against. “Con.” is a contraction of contra.

Pro Tanto

As an instalment, good enough as far as it goes, but not final; for what it is worth.

“I heard Mr. Parnell accept the Bill of 1886 as a measure that would close the differences between the two countries; but since then he stated that he had accepted it as a pro tanto measure. ... It was a parliamentary bet, and he hoped to make future amendments on it.”— Mr. Chamberlain's speech, April 10th, 1893.

Pro Tempore

(3 syl.). Temporarily; for the time being, till something is permanently settled. Contracted into pro tem.

Probate of a Will

A certified copy of a will by an officer whose duty it is to attest it. The original is retained in the court registry, and executors act on the proved copy. Anyone may see an official copy of any will at the registry office on payment of a shilling.

Probe

I must probe that matter to the bottom— must narrowly examine into it. The allusion is to a surgeon probing a wound, or searching for some extraneous substance in the body.

Probole

(3 syl.), as applied to Jesus Christ, is this: that He was divine only because He was divinely begotten; in fact, He was a shoot of the divine stem. This heterodox notion was combated by Irenæus, but was subsequently revived by Montanus and Tertullian. The word is properly applied to the process of a bone— that is, a bone growing out of a normal bone. (Greek, pro—ballo.)

Proces—Verbal

A minute and official statement of some fact.

“We (says the procès—verbal) asked him what use he had made of the pistol [i.e. We, says the official report, etc.].”— The Times (Law Report).

Procession of the Black Breeches

This is the heading of a chapter in vol. ii. of Carlyle's French Revolution. The chapter contains a description of the mob procession, headed by Santerre carrying a pair of black satin breeches on a pole. The mob forced its way into the Tuileries on June 20th, 1792, and presented the king

(Louis XVI.) with the bonnet rouge and a tricolour cockade.

Proclaim on the Housetop

To proclaim or make known to everyone; to blab in public. Dr. Jahn says that the ancient Jews “ascended their roofs to announce anything to the multitude, to pray to God, and to perform sacrifices" (Matt. x. 27).

“No secret can escape being proclaimed from the housetop.”— London Review.

Proclivity His proclivities are all evil. His tendencies or propensities have a wrong bias. The word means downhill tendency. (Latin, proclivis.)

Procris

Unerring as the dart of Procris. When Procris fled from Cephalus out of shame, Diana gave her a dog that never failed to secure its prey, and a dart which not only never missed aim, but which always returned of its own accord to the shooter. (See Cephalus .)

Procrustes' Bed

Procrustes was a robber of Attica, who placed all who fell into his hands upon an iron bed. If they were longer than the bed, he cut off the redundant part; if shorter, he stretched them till they fitted it. Any attempt to reduce men to one standard, one way of thinking, or one way of acting, is called placing them on Procrustes' bed, and the person who makes the attempt is called Procrustes. (See Girdle .)

“Tyrant more cruel than Procrustes old,

Who to his iron—bed by torture fits

Their nobler parts, the souls of suffering wits.” Mallet: Verbal Criticism.

Procrustean

Pertaining to Procrustes, and his mode of procedure. (See above. )

Prodigal

Festus says the Romans called victims wholly consumed by fire prodigæ hostiæ (victims prodigalised), and adds that those who waste their substance are therefore called prodigals. This derivation can hardly be considered correct. Prodigal is pro—ago or prod—igo (to drive forth), and persons who had spent all their patrimony were “driven forth” to be sold as slaves to their creditors.

Prodigal (The). Albert VI., Duke of Austria. (1418—1463.)

Prodigy

The prodigy of France. Guillaume Budé; so called by Erasmus. (1467—1540.)

The prodigy of learning. Samuel Hahnemann, the German, was so called by J. Paul Richter. (1755—1843.)

Profane

means literally before the temple (Latin, pro fanum). Those persons who came to the temple and were not initiated were called profane by the Romans.

Profile

(2 syl.) means shown by a thread. (Italian, profilo; Latin, filum, a thread.) A profile is an outline. In sculpture or painting it means to give the contour or side—face.

Profound

(The). Richard Middleton, theologian. ( — 1304.) The Profound Doctor. Thomas Bradwarden, a schoolman. (Fourteenth century.)

Most Profound Doctor. Ægidius de Columna, a Sicilian schoolman. (Died 1316.)

Prog

Food (connected with prod, and perhaps prov [ender] ). Burke says, “You are the lion, and I have been endeavouring to prog [procure food] for you.”

“So saying, with a smile she left the rogue

To weave more lines of death, and plan for prog.” Dr. Wolcot: Spider and Fly.

Progn'e

or Prokne. The swallow. (See Nightingale.)

“As Progne or as Philomela mourns ...

That finds the nest by cruel hands dispoiled; ... So Bradamant laments her absent knight.”

Orlando Furioso, book xxiii.

Progress

To report progress, in parliamentary language, is to conclude for the night the business of a bill, and defer the consideration of all subsequent items thereof till the day nominated by the chief Minister of the Crown.

Projection

Powder of projection, or the “Philosopher's Stone.” A powder supposed to have the virtue of changing baser metals into gold or silver. A little of this powder, being cast into molten metal of the baser sort, was to project from it pure gold or silver. Education may be called the true “powder of projection.”

Proletaire

(3 syl.). One of the rabble. Prolétaires in French means the lowest and poorest class in the community. Proletarian, mean or vulgar. The sixth class of Servius Tullius consisted of proletarii and the capite censi— i.e. breeders and human heads. The proletaries could not enter the army, but were useful as breeders of the race (proles). The capite censi were not enrolled in the census by the value of their estates, but simply by their polls.

Proletariat

Commonalty. (See Proletaire .)

“Italy has a clerical aristocracy, rich, idle, and corrupt; and a clerical proletariat, needy and grossly ignorant.”— The Times.

Prometheus

(3 syl.) made men of clay, and stole fire from heaven to animate them. For this he was chained by Zeus to Mount Caucasus, where an eagle preyed on his liver daily. The word means Forethought, and one of his brothers was Epimetheus or Afterthought.

“Faster bound to Aaron's charming eyes

Than is Prometheus tied to Caucasus.”

Shakespeare: Titus Andronicus, ii. 1.

Promethean

Capable of producing fire; pertaining to Prometheus (q.v. ).

Promethean Fire

The vital principle; the fire with which Prometheus quickened into life his clay images. (See Prometheus .)

“I know not where is that Promethean heat

That can thy life relume.”

Shakespeare: Othello, v. 2.

Promethean Unguent

(The). Made from a herb on which some of the blood of Prometheus (3syl.) had fallen. Medea gave Jason some of this unguent, which rendered his body proof against fire and warlike instruments.

Prometheans

The first invention which developed into Bryant and May's “safety matches.” They were originally made in 1805 by Chancel, a French chemist, who tipped cedar splints with paste of chlorate of potash and sugar. On dipping one of these matches into a little bottle containing asbestos wetted with sulphuric acid, it burst into flame on drawing it out. It was not introduced into England till after the battle of Waterloo. (See Hugh Perry .)

Promise of Odin

(The). The most binding of all promises to a Scandinavian. In making this promise the person passed his hand through a massive silver ring kept for the purpose; or through a sacrificial stone, like that called the “Circle of Stennis.”

“I will bind myself to you ... by the promise of Odin, the most sacred of our northern rites.”— Sir W. Scott: The Pirate, chap. xxii.

Promised Land

or Land of Promise. Canaan; so called because God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that their offspring should possess it.

Pronesia

(in Orlando Furioso). One of Logistilla's handmaids, famous for her wisdom.

Proof

A printed sheet to be examined and approved before it is finally printed. The first proof is that which contains all the workman's errors; when these are corrected the impression next taken is called a clean proof and is submitted to the author; the final impression, which is corrected by the reader ad unguem, is termed the press proof.

Proof Prints

The first impressions of an engraving. India—proofs are those taken off on India—paper. Proofs before lettering are those taken off before the plate is sent to the writing engraver. After the proofs the orders of merit are

— (1) the prints which have the letters only in outline; (2) those in which the letters are shaded with a black line; (3) those in which some slight ornament is introduced into the letters; (4) those in which the letters are filled up quite black.

Proof Spirit

A mixture of equal parts (by weight) of alcohol and water. The proof of spirit consists in little bubbles or beads which appear on the top of the liquor after agitation. When any mixture has more alcohol than water it is called over proof, and when less it is termed under proof.

Prooshan Blue

(My). A term of great endearment. After the battle of Waterloo the Prussians were immensely popular in England, and in connection with the Loyal True Blue Club gave rise to the toasts, “The True Blue” and the “Prussian Blue.” Sam Weller addresses his father as “Vell, my Prooshan Blue.”

Propaganda

The name given to the “congregation” de propaganda fide, established at Rome by Gregory

XV., in 1622, for propagating throughout the world the Roman Catholic religion. Any institution for making religious or political proselytes.

Proper Names used as Common Nouns

Crebillon = terrible. Dumas = imaginative Fénelon = fabulous. Le Sage = humorous. Molière = comic. Montaigne = thoughtful. Rabelais = unclean. Rousseau = amorous, Victor Hugo = incendiary.

Zola = licentious; Zolaesque, in the manner or style of Zola, the French novelist.

Property Plot

(The), in theatrical language, means a list of all the “properties” or articles which will be required in the play produced. Such as the bell, when Macbeth says, “The bell invites me;” the knock, when it is said, “Heard you that knocking?” tables, chairs, banquets, tankards, etc, etc.

Prophesy upon Velvet

(To). To prophesy what is already a known fact. Thus, the issue of a battle flashed to an individual may, by some chance, get to the knowledge of a “sibyl,” who may securely prophesy the issue to others; but such a prediction would be a “prophecy on velvet;” it goes on velvet slippers without fear of stumbling.

“If one of those three had spoken the news over again ... the old lady [or sibyl] prophesies upon velvet.”— Sir W. Scott: The Pirate, ch. xxi.

Prophet

(The). Mahomet is so called. (570—632.)

The Koran says there have been 200,000 prophets, only six of whom have brought new laws or dispensations; Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet.

The Prophet. Joachim, Abbot of Fiore. (1130—1202.)

Prophet of the Syrians. Ephraem Syrus (4th century). The Great Prophets. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel; so called because their writings are more extensive than the prophecies of the other twelve.

The Minor or Lesser Prophets. Hose'a, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; so called because their writings are less extensive than those of the four Great Prophets.

Prophetess (The). Ay—e'shah, the second wife of Mahomet; so called, not because she had any gift of prophecy, but simply because she was the favourite wife of the “prophet;” she was, therefore, emphatically “Mrs. Prophet.”

Propositions

in logic, are of four kinds, called A, E, I, O. “A” is a universal affirmative, and “E” a universal negative; “I” a particular affirmative, and “O” a particular negative.

“Asserit A, negat E, verum generaliter ambo I

Asserit I, negat O, sed particulariter ambo.”

A asserts and E denies some universal proposition; I asserts and O denies, but with particular precision.

Props

in theatrical slang, means properties, of which it is a contraction. Everything stored in a theatre for general use on the stage is a “prop,” but these stores are the manager's props. An actor's “props” are the clothing and other articles which he provides for his own use on the stage. In many good theatres the manager provides everything but tights and a few minor articles; but in minor theatres each actor must provide a wardrobe and properties.

Prorogue

(2 syl.). The Parliament was prorogued. Dismissed for the holidays, or suspended for a time. (Latin, pro—rogo, to prolong.) If dismissed entirely it is said to be “dissolved.”

Pro.'s

Professionals— that is, actors by profession.

“A big crowd slowly gathers,

And stretches across the street;

The pit door opens sharply,

And I hear the trampling feet;

And the quiet pro.'s pass onward

To the stage—door up the court.”

Sims: Ballads of Babylon; Forgotten, etc.

Proscenium

The front part of the stage, between the drop—curtain and orchestra. (Greek, proskenion; Latin, proscenium.)

Proscription

A sort of hue and cry; so called because among the Romans the names of the persons proscribed were written out, and the tablets bearing their names were fixed up in the public forum, sometimes with the offer of a reward for those who should aid in bringing them before the court. If the proscribed did not answer the summons, their goods were confiscated and their persons outlawed. In this case the name was engraved on brass or marble, the offence stated, and the tablet placed conspicuously in the market—place.

Prose

means straightforward speaking or writing (Latin, oratio prosa— i.e. proversa), in opposition to foot—bound speaking or writing, oratio vincta (fettered speech— i.e. poetry).

Prose

Il y a plus de vingt ans que je dis de la prose, sans que j'en susse rien. I have known this these twenty years without being conscious of it. (Molière: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme.)

“ `Really,' exclaimed Lady Ambrose, brightening, `Il y a plus de vingt ans que je dis de la prose, sans que j'en susse rien.' And so it seems that I have known history without suspecting it, just as Mons. Jourdain talked prose.”— Mallock: The New Republic, bk. iii. chap. 2.

Father of Greek prose. Herodotos (B.C. 484—405). Father of English prose. Wycliffe (1324—1384); and Roger Ascham (1515—1568). Father of French prose. Villehardouin (pron. Veal—hard—whah'n.) (1167—1213.)

Proselytes

(3 syl.) among Jèwish writers were of two kinds— viz. “The proselyte of righteousness” and the

“stranger of the gate.” The former submitted to circumcision and conformed to the laws of Moses. The latter abstained from offering sacrifice to heathen gods, and from working on the Sabbath. “The stranger that is within thy gate” = the stranger of the gate.

“I must confess that his society was at first irksome; but ... I now have hope that he may become a stranger of the gate.”— Eldad the Pilgrim, ch. iii.

Proserpina

or Proserpine (3 syl.). One day, as she was amusing herself in the meadows of Sicily, Pluto seized her and carried her off in his chariot to the infernal regions for his bride. In her terror she dropped some of the lilies she had been gathering, and they turned to daffodils.

“O Proserpina,

For the flowers now, that frighted thou let at fall From Dis's waggon! daffodils,

That come before the swallow dares, and take

The winds of March with beauty.”

Shakespeare: Winter's Tale, iv. 4.

Proserpine's Divine Calidore

Sleep. In the beautiful legend of Cupid and Psyche, by Apuleius, after Psyche had long wandered about searching for her lost Cupid, she is sent to Prosperine for “the casket of divine beauty,” which she was not to open till she came into the light of day. Psyche received the casket, but just as she was about to step on earth, she thought how much more Cupid would love her if she was divinely beautiful; so she opened the casket and found the calidore it contained was sleep, which instantly filled all her limbs with drowsiness, and she slept as it were the sleep of death.

This is the very perfection of allegory. Of course, sleep is the only beautifler of the weary and heart—sick; and this calidore Psyche found before Cupid again came to her.

Prosperity Robinson

Viscount Goderich, Earl of Ripon, Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1823. In 1825 he boasted in the House of the prosperity of the nation, and his boast was not yet cold when the great financial crisis occurred. It was Cobbett who gave him the name of “Prosperity Robinson.”

Prospero

Rightful Duke of Milan, deposed by his brother. Drifted on a desert island, he practised magic, and raised a tempest in which his brother was shipwrecked. Ultimately Prospero broke his wand, and his daughter married the son of the King of Naples. (Shakespeare: Tempest.)

Protagoras of Abdera

was the first who took the name of “Sophist.” (B.C. 480—411.)

Protean

Having the aptitude to change its form: ready to assume different shapes. (See Proteus .)

Protectionist

One who advocates the imposition of import duties, to “protect" home produce or manufactures.

Protector

The Earl of Pembroke (1216).

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1422—1447). Richard, Duke of Gloucester (1483).

The Duke of Somerset (1548).

The Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. Oliver Cromwell (1653—1658).

Protesilaos

in Fénelon's Télémaque, is meant to represent Louvios, the French Minister of State.

Protestant

One of the party who adhered to Luther at the Reformation. These Lutherans, in 1529, “protested” against the decree of Charles V. of Germany, and appealed from the Diet of Spires to a general council. A Protestant now means one of the Reformed Church.

Protestant Pope. Clement XIV.

Proteus

(pron. Pro'—tuce). As many shapes as Proteus— i.e. full of shifts, aliases, disguises, etc. Proteus was Neptune's herdsman, an old man and a prophet. He lived in a vast cave, and his custom was to tell over his herds of sea—calves at noon, and then to sleep. There was no way of catching him but by stealing upon him during sleep and binding him; if not so captured, he would clude anyone who came to consult him by changing his shape, for he had the power of changing it in an instant into any form he chose.

“The changeful Proteus, whose prophetic mind,

The secret cause of Bacchus' rage divined,

Attending, left the flocks, his scaly charge,

To graze the bitter weedy foam at large.”

Camoens: Lusiad, vi.

Proteus

One of the two gentlemen of Verona; his serving—man is Launce. Valentine is the other gentleman, whose serving—man is Speed. (Shakespeare. Two Gentlemen of Verona.)

Prothalamion

Marriage song by Edmund Spenser, peculiarly exquisite— probably the noblest ever sung.

Proto—martyr

The first martyr. Stephen the deacon is so called (Acts v. vii.).

Protocol

The first rough draft or original copy of a despatch, which is to form the basis of a treaty. (Greek, proto—koleon, a sheet glued to the front of a manuscript, and bearing an abstract of the contents and purport. (Harmolaus Barbarus.)

<Protoplasm, Sarcode The material or cells of which all living things are built up. Each is a jelly—like substance, the former being the nucleus of plants and the latter of animals. Max Schultz proved the identity of these substances.

Protoplasm is not a simple but a complicated structure, sometimes called a “colony of plasts,” or nuclear granules. (Greek, proto—plasma, the first model; proto—sarkodes, the first flesh—like entity.)

Protozo'a

The lowest class of animal life (Greek, protos zoon). In a figurative sense, a young aspirant for literary honours: “They were young intellectual protozoa.”

Proud (The). Otho IV., Emperor of Germany. (1175, 1209—1218.)

Tarquin II. of Rome. Superbus. (Reigned B.C. 535—510, died 496.)

The proud Duke. Charles Seymour, Duke of Somerset. He would never suffer his children to sit in his presence, and would never speak to his servants except by signs. (Died 1748.)

Proud as Lucifer; proud as a peacock

Proudfute

(Oliver). A boasting bonnet—maker of Perth. His widow is Magdalen or Maudie. (Sir Walter Scott: Fair Maid of Perth.)

Prout

(See under Father .)

Province

means a country previously conquered. (Latin, pro vinco. )

Provincial

Like or in the manner of those who live in the provinces.

Provincial of an Order. The superior of all the monastic houses of a province.

Prudent Tree

(The). Pliny calls the mulberry the most prudent of all trees, because it waits till winter is well over before it puts forth its leaves. Ludovico Sforza, who prided himself on his prudence, chose a mulberry—tree for his device, and was called “Il Moro.”

Prudhomme

A Mons. Prud'homme. A man of experience and great prudence, of estimable character and practical good sense. Your Mons. Prudhomme is never a man of genius and originality, but what we in England should term a “Quaker of the old school.”

The council of prud'hommes. A council of arbiters to settle disputes between masters and workmen.

Prunello

Stuff. Prunello really means that woollen stuff of which common ecclesiastical gowns used to be made; it was also employed for the uppers of women's boots and shoes; everlasting. A corruption of Brignoles.

“Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow;

The rest is all but leather or prunello,”

Pope: Essay on Man, iv.

Prussia

means near Russia, the country bordering on Russia. In Neo—Latin, Borussia; in Slavonic, Porussia; po in Slavonic signifying “near.”

Prussian Blue

So called because it was discovered by a Prussian, viz. Diesbach, a colourman of Berlin, in 1710. It is sometimes called Berlin blue.

Prussic Acid

means the acid of Prussian blue. It is now termed in science hydrocyanic acid, because it is made from a cyanide of iron.

Psalm cv. 28

The Prayer Book version is: “They were not obedient unto his word.” The Bible version and the new version is: “They rebelled not against his word.”

Psalms

Seventy—three psalms are inscribed with David's name, twelve with that of Asaph the singer; eleven go under the name of the Sons of Korah, a family of singers; one (i.e. Ps. xc.) is attributed to Mosses. The whole compilation is divided into five books: bk. 1, from i. to xli.; bk. 2, from xlii. to lxxii.; bk. 3, from lxxiii. to lxxxix.; bk. 4, from xc. to cvi.; bk. 5, from cvii. to cl.

Psalmist The sweet psalmist of Israel. King David, who composed many of the Bible Psalms. (See Psalm lxxii. 20.)

Psalter of Tara

(The). It contains a narrative of the early kings of Ireland from Ollam Fodlah to B.C. 900.

“Their tribe, they said, their high degree,

Was sung in Tara's Psaltery.”

Campbell: O'Connor's Child.

Psaphon's Birds

(Psaphonis aves). Puffers, flatterers. Psaphon, in order to attract the attention of the world, reared a multitude of birds, and having taught them to pronounce his name, let them fly.

“To what far region have his songs not flown,

Like Psaphon's birds, speaking their master's name.” Moore: Rhymes on the Road, iii.

Psycarpax

[granary thief]. Son of Troxartas, King of the Mice. The Frogking offered to carry the young prince over a lake, but scarcely had he got midway when a water—hydra appeared, and King Frog, to save himself, dived under water. The mouse, being thus left on the surface, was drowned, and this catastrophe brought about the battle of the Frogs and Mice.

“The soul of great Psycarpax lives in me,

Of great Troxartas' line.”

Parnell: Battle of the Frogs and Mice, i.

Psyche

[Syke]. A beautiful maiden beloved by Cupid, who visited her every night, but left her at sunrise. Cupid bade her never seek to know who he was, but one night curiosity overcame her prudence, and she went to look at him. A drop of hot oil fell on his shoulder, awoke him, and he fled. Psyche next became the slave of Venus, who treated her most cruelly; but ultimately she was married to Cupid, and became immortal, Mrs. Henry Tighe has embodied in six cantos this exquisite allegory from Apuléios.

This subject was represented by Raphael in a suite of thirty—two pictures, and numerous artists have taken the loves of Cupid and Psyche for their subject; as, for example, Canova, Gerard. Chaudet, etc. The cameo of the Duke of Marlborough is said to have been the work of Tryphon of Athens.

Raphael's illustrations of the adventures of Psyche were engraved for a superb edition in 4 to (De la Fable de Psyche), published by Henri Didot.

“Fair Psyche, kneeling at the ethereal throne,

Warmed the fond bosom of unconquered love.” Darwin: Economy of Vegetation, iv.

Psychography

Spirit—writing; writing said by spiritualists to be done by spirits.

Ptolemaic System

The system of Claudius Ptolemæus, a celebrated astronomer of Palusium, in Egypt, of the eleventh century. He taught that the earth is fixed in the centre of the universe, and the heavens revolve round it from east to west, carrying with them the sun, planets, and fixed stars, in their respective spheres. He said that the Moon was next above the earth, then Mercury, then Venus; the Sun he placed between Venus and Mars, and after Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, beyond which came the two crystalline spheres.

This system was accepted, till it was replaced in the sixteenth century by the Copernican system.

Public

The people generally and collectively; the members generally of a state, nation, or community.

Public—house Signs Much of a nation's history, and more of its manners and feelings, may be gleaned from its public—house signs. A very large number of them are selected out of compliment to the lord of the manor, either because he is the “great man” of the neighbourhood, or because the proprietor is some servant whom “it delighted the lord to honour;” thus we have the Earl of March, in compliment to the Duke of Richmond: the Green Man or gamekeeper, married and promoted “to a public.” When the name and titles of the lord have been exhausted, we get his cognisance or his favourite pursuit, as the Bear and Ragged Staff, the Fox and Hounds. As the object of the sign is to speak to the feelings and attract, another fruitful source is either some national hero or great battle; thus we get the Marquis of Granby and the Duke of Wellington, the Waterloo and the Alma. The proverbial loyalty of our nation has naturally shown itself in our tavern signs, giving us the Victoria, Prince of Wales, the Albert, the Crown, and so on. Some signs indicate a speciality of the house, as the Bowling Green, the Skittles; some a political bias, as the Royal Oak; some are an attempt at wit, as the Five Alls; and some are purely fanciful. The following list will serve to exemplify the subject:—

The Angel. In allusion to the angel that saluted the Virgin Mary. The Bag o'Nails. A corruption of the “Bacchanals.”

The Bear. From the popular sport of bear—baiting.

The Bear and Bacchus, in High Street, Warwick. A corruption of Bear and Baculus— i.e. Bear and Ragged Staff, the badge of the Earl of Warwick.

The Bear and Ragged Staff. The cognisance of the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Leicester, etc. The Bell. In allusion to races, a silver bell having been the winner's prize up to the reign of Charles II. La Belle Sauvage. (See Bell Savage.)

The Blue Boar. The cognisance of Richard III. The Blue Pig (Bevis Marks). A corruption of the Blue Boar. (See above.) The Boar's Head. The cognisance of the Gordons, etc.

The Bolt—in—Tun. The punning heraldic badge of Prior Bolton, last of the clerical rulers of Bartholomew's, previous to the Reformation.

Bosom's Inn. A public—house sign in St. Lawrence Lane, London; a corruption of Blossom's Inn, as it is now called, in allusion to the hawthorn blossoms surrounding the effigy of St. Lawrence on the sign.

The Bowling Green. Signifying that there are arrangements on the premises for playing bowls. The Bull. The cognisance of Richard, Duke of York. The Black Bull is the cognisance of the house of Clare. The Bull's Head. The cognisance of Henry VIII.

The Bully Ruffian. A corruption of the Bellerophon (a ship).

The Castle. This, being the arms of Spain, symbolises that Spanish wines are to be obtained within. In some cases, without doubt, it is a complimentary sign of the manor castle.

The Cat and Fiddle. A corruption of Caton Fidèle— i.e. Caton, the faithful governor of Calais. In Farringdon (Devon) is the sign of La Chatte Fidèle, in commemoration of a faithful cat. Without scanning the phrase so nicely, it may simply indicate that the game of cat (trap—ball) and a fiddle for dancing are provided for customers.

The Cat and Mutton, Hackney, which gives name to the Cat and Mutton Fields. The Cat and Wheel. A corruption of “St. Catherine's Wheel;” or an announcement that cat and balance—wheels are provided for the amusement of customers.

The Chequers. (1) In honour of the Stuarts, whose shield was “checky,” like a Scotch plaid. (2) In commemoration of the licence granted by the Earls of Arundel or Lords Warrenne. (3) An intimation that a room is set apart for merchants and accountants, where they can be private and make up their accounts, or use their “chequers” undisturbed. (See Lattice.)

The Coach and Horses. This sign signifies that it is a posting—house, a stage—coach house, or both. The Cock and Bottle. A corruption of the “Cork and Bottle,” meaning that wine is sold there in bottles. Probably in some cases it may indicate that the house provides poultry, eggs, and wine.

The Cow and Skittles. The cow is the real sign, and alludes to the dairy of the hostess, or some noted dairy in the neighbourhood. Skittles is added to indicate that there is a skittle ground on the premises.

The Cross Keys. Common in the mediaeval ages, and in allusion to St. Peter, or one of the bishops whose cognisance it is— probably the lord of the manor or the patron saint of the parish church. The cross keys are emblems of the papacy, St. Peter, the Bishop of Gloucester, St. Servatus, St. Hippolytus, St. Genevièe, St. Petronilla, St. Osyth, St. Martha, and St. Germanus.

The Devil. A public—house sign two doors from Temple Bar, Fleet Street. The sign represents St. Dunstan seizing the devil by the nose. (See under Devil, Proverbial Phrases.

The Dog and Duck. Tea gardens at Lambeth (suppressed); to signify that the sport so called could be seen there. A duck was put into water, and a dog set to hunt it; the fun was to see the duck diving and the dog following it under water.

The Red Dragon. The cognisance of Henry VII. or the principality of Wales. The Spread Eagle. The arms of Germany; to indicate that German wines may be obtained within. The Fox and Goose. To signify that there are arrangements within for playing the royal game of Fox and Goose.

St. George and the Dragon. In compliment to the patron saint of England, and his combat with the dragon. The legend is still stamped upon our gold coin.

The George and Cannon. A corruption of “George Canning.”

The Globe. The cognisance of Alfonso, King of Portugal; and intimating that Portuguese wines may be obtained within.

The Goat in Golden Boots. A corruption of the Dutch Goed in der Gouden Boots (the god Mercury in his golden sandals).

The Goat and Compasses. A Puritan sign, a corrupt hieroglyphic reading of “God encompasses us.” The Black Goats. A public—house sign, High Bridge, Lincoln, formerly The Three Goats— i.e. three gowts (gutters or drains), by which the water from the Swan Pool (a large lake that formerly existed to the west of the city) was conducted into the bed of the Witham.

The Golden Cross. This refers to the ensigns carried by the Crusaders. The Grecian Stairs. A corruption of “The Greesen or Stairs” (Greesen is gree, a step, our de—gree). The allusion is to a flight of steps from the New Road to the Minister Yard. In Wickliffe's Bible, Acts xxi. 40 is rendered— “Poul stood on the greezen.”

“Let me speak like yourself, and lay a sentence

Which, like a grize or step, may help these lovers Into your favour.”

Shakespeare: Othello, i. 3.

The Green Man. The late game—keeper of the lord of the manor turned publican. At one time these servants were dressed in green.

The Green Man and Still— i.e. the herbalist bringing his herbs to be distilled. The Hare and Hounds. In compliment to the sporting squire or lord of the manor. The Hole—in—the—Wall (London). So called because it was approached by a passage or “hole” in the wall of the house standing in front of the tavern.

The Iron Devil. A corruption of “Hirondelle” (the swallow). There are numerous public—house signs referring to birds; as, the Blackbird, the Thrush, the Peacock, the Martin, the Bird—in—the—Hand, etc. etc.

The Three Kings. A public—house sign of the mediæval ages, in allusion to the three kings of Cologne, the Magi who presented offerings to the infant Jesus. Very many public—house signs of the mediaeval period had a reference to ecclesiastical matters, either because their landlords were ecclesiastics, or else from a superstitious reverence for “saints” and “holy things.”

The Man Laden with Mischief. A public—house sign, Oxford Street, nearly opposite to Hanway Yard. The sign is said to have been painted by Hogarth, and represents a man carrying a woman and a good many other creatures on his back.

The Marquis of Granby (London, etc.). In compliment to John Manners, eldest son of John, third Duke of

Rutland— a bluff, brave soldier, generous, and greatly beloved by his men.

“What conquest now will Britain boast,

Or where display her banners?

Alas! in Granby she has lost

True courage and good Manners.”

The Packhorse. To signify that pack—horses could be hired there.

The Palgrave's Head. A public—house sign near Temple Bar, in honour of Frederick, Palgrave of the Rhine. The Pig and Tinder Box. A corrupt rendering of The Elephant and Castle; the “pig” is really an elephant, and the “tinder—box” the castle on its back.

The Pig and Whistle. Wassail is made of apples, sugar, and ale.

The Plum and Feathers. A public—house sign near Stoken Church Hill, Oxford. A corruption of the “Plume of Feathers,” meaning that of the Prince of Wales.

The Queen of Bohemia. In honour of Lady Elizabeth Stuart. (See Bohemia.) The Queer Door. A corruption of Coeur Doré} (Golden Heart).

The Rose. A symbol of England, as the Thistle is of Scotland, and the Shamrock of Ireland. The Red Rose. The badge of the Lancastrians in the Civil War of the Roses.

The White Rose. The badge of the Yorkists in the Civil War of the Roses. The Rose of the Quarter Sessions. A corruption of La Rose des Quatre Saisons. The Salutation and Cat. The “Salutation” (which refers to the angel saluting the Virgin Mary) is the sign of the house, and the “Cat” is added to signify that arrangements are made for playing cat or tipcat.

The Saracen's Head. In allusion to what are preposterously termed “The Holy Wars;" adopted probably by some Crusader after his return home, or at any rate to flatter the natural sympathy for these Quixotic expeditions.

The Ship, near Temple Bar, and opposite The Palgrave's Head; in honour of Sir Francis Drake, the circumnavigator.

The Ship and Shovel. Referring to Sir Cloudesley Shovel, a favourite admiral in Queen Anne's reign. The Seven Stars. An astrological sign of the mediaeval ages.

The Three Suns. The cognisance of Edward IV.

The Sun and the Rose. The cognisance of the House of York. The Swan with Three Necks. A public—house sign in Lad Lane, etc.; a corruption of “three nicks" (on the bill)

The Swan and Antelope. The cognisance of Henry V. The Talbot [a hound] The arms of the Talbot family. The Turk's Head Alluding to the Holy Wars, when the Crusaders fought against the Turks. The Unicorn. The Scottish supporter in the royal arms of Great Britain.

The White Hart. The cognisance of Richard II.: the White Lion, of Edward IV., as Earl of March; the White Swan, of Henry IV. and Edward III.

Publicans of the New Testament

were the provincial underlings of the Magister or master collector who resided at Rome. The taxes were farmed by a contractor called the Manceps; this Manceps divided his contract into different societies; each society had a Magister, under whom were a number of underlings called Publicani or servants of the state.

Pucelle

(La) The Maid of Orleans, Jeanne d'Arc (1410—1431). (See Shakespeare's 1 Henry VI., v. 4.)

Puck

or Robin Goodfellow, A fairy and merry wanderer of the night, “rough, knurly—limbed, faun—faced, and shock—pated, a very Shetlander among the gossamer—winged” fairies around him. (See Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, ii. 1; iii. 1.)

Pucka

an Indian word in very common use, means real, bona fide; as, “He is a commander, but not a pucka one” (i.e. not officially appointed, but only acting as such, pro tempore). “The queen reigns, but her ministers are the pucka rulers.” A suffragan bishop, an honorary canon, a Lynch—judge, a lieutenant—colonel, the temporary editor of a journal, are not “pucka,” or bona fide so.

Pudding

Jack Pudding The merry andrew, zany, or jester to a mountebank.

Pudding—time

properly means just as dinner is about to begin, for our forefathers took their pudding before their meat. It also means in the nick of time.

“But Mars

In pudding—time came to his aid.”

Butler: Hudibras, i. 2.

Pudens

A soldier in the Roman army, mentioned in 2 Tim. iv. 21, in connection with Linus and Claudia. According to tradition, Claudia, the wife of Pudens, was a British lady; Linus, otherwise called Cyllen, was her brother; and Lucius, “the British king,” the grandson of Linus. Tradition further adds that Lucius wrote to Eleutherus, Bishop of Rome, to send missionaries to Britain to convert the people

Puff

Exaggerated praise. The most popular etymology of this word is pouff, a coiffure employed by the ladies of France in the reign of the Grand Monarque to announce events of interest, or render persons patronised by them popular. Thus, Madame d'Egmont, Duke of Richelieu's daughter, wore on her head a little diamond fortress, with moving sentinels, after her father had taken Port Mahon; and the Duchess of Orleans wore a little nursery, with cradle, baby, and toys complete, after the birth of her son and heir. These, no doubt, were pouffs and puffs, but Lord Bacon uses the word puff a century before the head—gear was brought into fashion. Two other etymons present themselves the old pictures of Fame puffing forth the praises of some hero with her trumpet; and the puffing out of slain beasts and birds in order to make them look plumper and better for food— a plan universally adopted in the abattoirs of Paris. (German, puffen, to brag or make a noise; and

French, pouf, our puff.)

Puff, in The Critic, by Sheridan. An impudent literary quack.

Puff—ball

A sort of fungus. The word is a corruption of Puck or Pouk ball, anciently called Puck—fist. The Irish name is Pooka—foot. (Saxon, Pulker—fist, a toadstool.) Shakespeare alludes to this superstition when Prospero summons amongst his elves—

“You whose pastime

Is to make midnight mushrooms.”

Shakespeare: Tempest, v. 1.

Puffed Up

Conceited; elated with conceit or praise; filled with wind. A puff is a tartlet with a very light or puffy crust.

“That no one of you be puffed up one against another.”— 1 Cor. iv. 5.

Pug

a variant of puck, is used to a child, monkey, dog, etc., as a pet term.

You mischievous little pug. A playful reproof to a favourite. Pug. A mischievous little goblin in Ben Jonson's drama of The Devil is an Ass.

Pugna Porcorum

(Battle of the Pigs). The most celebrated poem of alliterative verse, extending to 253 Latin hexameters, in which every word begins with p.

Puisne Judges

means the younger—born judges, at one time called puny judges. They are the four, inferior judges of the Court of Queen's Bench, and the four inferior judges of the Court of Common Pleas. (French, puisné, subsequently born; Latin, post natus.)

Pukwana

(North American Indian). The curling smoke of the Peace—pipe; a signal or beacon.

Pull

A long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together— i.e. a steady, energetic, and systematic co—operation. The reference may be either to a boat, where all the oarsmen pull together with a long and strong pull at the oars; or it may be to the act of hauling with a rope, when a simultaneous strong pull is indispensable.

Pull Bacon

(To). To spread the fingers out after having placed one's thumb on the nose.

“The officers spoke to him, when the man put his fingers to his nose and pulled bacon.”— Leeds Police Report, Oct. 6, 1887.

Pull Devil, Pull Baker

Let each one do the best for himself in his own line of business, but let not one man interfere in that of another.

“It's all fair pulling, `pull devil, pull baker;' someone has to get the worst of it. Now it's us [bushrangers], now it's them [the police] that gets ... rubbed out.”— Boldrewood: Robbery under Arms, chap. xxxvii.

Pulling

A jockey trick, which used to be called “playing booty”— i.e. appearing to use every effort to come in first, but really determined to lose the race.

“Mr. Kemble [in the Iron Chest] gave a slight touch of the jockey, and `played booty.' He seemed to do justice to the play, but really ruined its success.”— George Colman the Younger.

Pumblechook (Uncle). He bullied Pip when only a poor boy, but when the boy became wealthy was his

lick—spittle, fawning on him most servilely with his “May I, Mr. Pip” [have the honour of shaking hands with you]; “Might I, Mr. Pip" [take the liberty of saluting you]. (Dickens Great Expectations. )

Pummel

or Pommel. To beat black and blue. (French, pommeler, to dapple.)

Pump

To sift, to extract information by indirect questions. In allusion to pumping up water.

“But pump not me for politics.”

Otway.

Pumpernickel

Brown George or rye—bread used by Westphalian peasants.

His Transparency of Pumpernickel. So the Times satirised the minor German princes, “whose ninety men and ten drummers constituted their whole embattled host on the parade—ground before their palace; and whose revenue was supplied by a percentage on the tax levied on strangers at the Pumpernickel Kursaal.” (July 18, 1866.)

Thackeray was author of the phrase.

Pun

is the Welsh pun, equivalent; it means a word equally applicable to two things. The application should be remote and odd in order to give piquancy to the play. (See Calembourg .)

Pun and Pickpocket

He who would make a pun would pick a pocket. Dr. Johnson is generally credited with this silly dictum (1709—1784), but Dennis had said before to Purcell, “Any man who would make such an execrable pun would not scruple to pick my pocket” (1657—1734). (Sir W. H. Pyne: Wine and Walnuts, vol. ii.

p. 277.)

The “execrable pun” was this: Purcell rang the bell for the drawer or waiter, but no one answered it. Purcell, tapping the table, asked Dennis “why the table was like the tavern?” Ans. “Because there is no drawer in it.”

Punch

from the Indian word punj (five); so called from its five ingredients— viz. spirit, water, lemon, sugar, and spice. It was introduced into England from Spain, where it is called ponche. It is called “Contradiction,” because it is composed of spirits to make it strong, and water to make it weak; of lemon—juice to make it sour, and sugar to make it sweet.

Mr. Punch. A Roman mime called Maccus was the original of Punch. A statuette of this buffon was discovered in 1727, containing all the well—known features of our friend— the long nose and goggle eyes, the hunch back and protruding breast.

The most popular derivation of Punch and Judy is Pontius cum Judæis (Matt. xxvii. 19), an old mystery play of Pontius Pilate and the Jews; but the Italian policinello seems to be from pollice, a thumb (Tom—thumb figures), and our Punch is from paunch.}

The drama or story of our Punch and Judy is attributed to Silvio Fiorillo, an Italian comedian of the seventeenth century. The tale is this: Punch, in a fit of jealousy, strangles his infant child, when Judy flies to her revenge. She fetches a bludgeon, with which she belabours her husband, till Punch, exasperated, seizes another bludgeon and beats her to death, then flings into the street the two dead bodies. The bodies attract the notice of a police officer, who enters the house. Punch flees for his life; being arrested by an officer of the Inquisition, he is shut up in prison, from which he escapes by means of a golden key. The rest is an allegory, showing how Punch triumphs over all the ills that flesh is heir to. (1) Ennui, in the shape of a dog, is overcome; (2) Disease, in the disguise of a doctor, is kicked out; (3) Death is beaten to death; and (4) the Devil himself is outwitted.

Pleased as Punch. (See Pleased.)

Punch

A Suffolk punch. A short, thick—set cart—horse.

“I did hear them call their child Punch, which pleased me mightily, that word having become a word of common use for everything that is thick and short.”— Pepys's Diary.

Punctual

No bigger than a point, exact to a point or moment. (Latin, ad punctum.) Hence the angel, describing this earth to Adam, calls it “This spacious earth, this punctual spot”— i.e. a spot no bigger than a point. (Milton: Paradise Lost, viii. 23.)

Punctuality

Punctuality is the politeness of kings. Attributed to Louis XVIII.

Punctuation

The following advice of Bishop Orleton to Gourney and Maltravers in 1327 is an excellent example of the importance of punctuation:— Edwardum occidere nolite timere bonum est— “Refrain not to kill King Edward is right.” If the point is placed after the first word, the sentence reads, “Not to kill the king is right;” but if after the second word, the direction becomes, “Refrain not; to kill the king is right.” (See Oracle)

Pundit

An East Indian scholar, skilled in Sanskrit, and learned in law, divinity, and science. We use the word for a porcus literarum, one more stocked with book lore than deep erudition.

Punic Apple

A pomegranate; so called because it is the pomum or “apple" belonging to the genus Punica.

Punic Faith

Treachery, violation of faith. “Punic faith” is about equal to “Spanish honesty.” The Puni (a corruption of Poeni) were accused by the Romans of breaking faith with them, a most extraordinary instance of the “pot calling the kettle black;” for whatever infidelity the Carthaginians were guilty of, it could scarcely equal that of their accusers.

The Roman Poeni is the word Phoeni (Phoenicians), the Carthaginians being of Phoenician descent.

“Our Punic faith

Is infamous, and branded to a proverb.”

Addison: Cato, ii.

Punish a Bottle

(To). To drink a bottle of wine or spirits. When the contents have been punished, the empty bottles are “dead men.”

“After we'd punished a couple of bottles of old Crow whisky ... he caved in all of a sudden [he got completely powerless].”— The Barton Experiment, chap. xiv.

Punjab [five rivers]. They are the Jelum, Chenab, Ravee, Beas, and Sutlej; called by the Greeks pente—potamia.

Pup

properly means a little boy or girl. A little dog is so called because it is a pet. An insect in the third stage of existence. (Latin, pupus, fem. pupa; French, poupée, a doll; German, puppe.)

Purbeck

(Dorsetshire). Noted for a marble used in ecclesiastical ornaments. Chichester cathedral has a row of columns of this limestone. The columns of the Temple church, London; the tomb of Queen Eleanor, in Westminster Abbey; and the throne of the archbishop in Canterbury cathedral, are other specimens.

Purgatory

The Jewish Rabbi believed that the soul of the deceased was consigned to a sort of purgatory for twelve months after death, during which time it was allowed to visit its dead body and the places or persons it especially loved. This intermediate state they called by various names, as “the bosom of Abraham,” “the garden of Eden,” “upper Gehenna.” The Sabbath was always a free day, and prayer was supposed to benefit those in this intermediate state.

Puritani

(I). The Paritans. Elvira, daughter of Lord Walton, a Puritan, is affianced to Lord Arthur Talbot, a Cavalier. On the day of espousals, Lord Arthur aids Henrietta, the widow of Charles I., to escape; and Elvira, thinking him faithless, loses her reason. On his return to England, Lord Arthur explains the circumstances, and the two lovers vow that nothing on earth shall part them more. The vow is scarcely uttered, when Cromwell's soldiers enter and arrest Lord Talbot for treason; but as they lead him forth to execution a herald announces the defeat of the Stuarts, and free pardon to all political prisoners, whereupon Lord Arthur is liberated, and marries Elvira. (Bellini: I Puritani; libretto by C. Pepoli.)

Puritans

Seceders from the Reformed Church; so called because they rejected all human traditions and interference in religion, acknowledging the sole authority of the “pure Word of God,” without “note or comment.” Their motto was: “The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible.” The English Puritans were sometimes by the Reformers called Precisionists, from their preciseness in matters called “indifferent.” Andrew Fuller named them Non—conformists, because they refused to subscribe to the Act of Uniformity.

Purkinge's Figures

In optics, figures produced on a wall of uniform colour when a person entering a dark room with a candle moves it up and down approximately on a level with the eyes. From the eye near the candle an image of the retinal vessels will appear projected on the wall.

Purler

(A). A cropper, or heavy fall from one's horse in a steeplechase or in the hunting—field (probably allied to hurl and whirl).

“Seraph's white horse ... cleared it, but falling with a mighty crash, gave him a purler on the opposite side.”— Ouida: Under Two Flags, chap. vi.

Purlieu

(2 syl.). Frenen pourallé lieu (a place free from the forest laws). Henry II., Richard I., and John made certain lands forest lands; Henry III. allowed certain portions all round to be severed. These “rues,” or forest borders were freed from that servitude which was laid on the royal forests. The “perambulation” by which this was effected was technically called pourallée.

“In the purlieus of this forest stands

A sheepcote fenced about with olive—trees.”

Shakespeare: As You Like It, iv. 3.

Purple

(blue and red) indicates the love of truth even unto martyrdom. (See under Colour , for its symbolisms, etc.)

Purple (Promotion to the). Promotion to the rank of cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church.

“Dr. Moran's promotion to the purple is certain.”— Newspaper paragraph.

Purpure

[purple]. One of the colours of an heraldic escutcheon. It is expressed by vertical lines running down towards the left hand (as you look at the shield lying before you); “Vert” runs the contrary way.

English heralds vary escutcheons by seven colours; foreign heralds by nine. (See Heralds.)

Pursy, Pursiness

Broken—winded, or in a bloated state in which the wind is short and difficult. (French, poussi—f, same meaning.)

A fat and pursy man. Shakespeare has “pursy Insolence,” the insolence of Jesurun, “who waxed fat and kicked.” In Hamlet we have “the fatness of these pursy times”— i.e. wanton or self—indulgent times.

Pururavas and Urvasi

An Indian myth similar to that of “Apollo and Daphne.” Purûravas is a legendary king who fell in love with Urvasi, a heavenly nymph, who consented to become his wife on certain conditions. These conditions being violated, Urvasi disappeared, and Pururavas, inconsolable, wandered everywhere to find her. Ultimately he succeeded, and they were indissolubly united. (See Psyche .)

Puseyite

(3 syl.). A High Churchman; so called from Dr. Pusey, of Oxford, a chief contributor to the Tracts for the Times. (See Tractarians .)

Puss

A cat, hare, or rabbit. (Irish, pus, a cat.) It is said that the word, applied to a hare or rabbit, is from the Latin lepus, Frenchified into le pus. True or not, the pun may pass muster.

“Oh, puss, it bodes thee dire disgrace,

When I defy thee to the race,

Come, `tis a bet; nay, no denial,

I'll lay my shell upon the trial.”

The Hare and the Tortoise.

Puss in Boots

[Le Chat Botté}], from the Eleventh Night of Straparola's Italian fairy tales, where Constantine's cat procures his master a fine castle and the king's heiress. First translated into French in 1585. Our version is taken from that of Charles Perrault. There is a similar one in the Scandinavian nursery tales. This clever cat secures a fortune and a royal partner for his master, who passes off as the Marquis of Carabas, but is in reality a young miller without a penny in the world.

Put

A clown, a silly shallow—pate, a butt, one easily “put upon.”

“Queer country puts extol Queen Bess's reign.” Bramson.

Put the Cart before the Horse

(See Cart .)

Put up the Shutters

(To). To announce oneself a bankrupt.

Do you think I am going to put up the shutters if we can manage to keep going?

Putney and Mortlake Race

The annual eight—oared boat—race between the two universities of Cambridge and Oxford.

Putting on Frills

(American). Giving oneself airs.

Putting on Side

Giving oneself airs. Side is an archaic word for a train or trailing gown; also long, as “his beard was side.” A side—coat means a long trailing coat. (Anglo—Saxon sid, great, wide, long— as sid—feax, long hair.)

“I do not like side frocks for little girls.”— Skinner.

Pygmalion

A statuary of Cyprus, who hated women and resolved never to marry, but fell in love with his own statue of the goddess Venus. At his earnest prayer the statue was vivified, and he married it. (Ovid: Metamorphoses, x.; Earthly Paradise, August.)

“Few, like Pygmalion, doat on lifeless charms.

Or care to clasp a statue in their arms.”

S. Jenyns: Art of Dancing, canto i.

In Gilbert's comedy of Pygmalion and Galatea, the sculptor is a married man, whose wife (Cynisca) was jealous of the animated statue (Galatea), which, after enduring great misery, voluntarily returned to its original state. This, of course, is mixing up two Pygmalions, wide as the poles apart.

John Marston wrote certain satires called The Metamorphoses of Pygmalion's Image. These satires were suppressed, and are now very rare.

Pygmies

(2 syl.). A nation of dwarfs on the banks of the Upper Nile. Every spring the cranes made war upon them and devoured them. They cut down every corn—ear with an axe. When Hercules went to the country they climbed up his goblet by ladders to drink from it; and while he was asleep two whole armies of them fell upon his right hand, and two upon his left; but Hercules rolled them all in his lion's skin. It is easy to see how Swift has availed himself of this Grecian legend in his Gulliver's Travels. Stanley met with a race of Pygmies in his

search for Emin Pasha.

Pylades and Orestes

Two model friends, whose names have become proverbial for friendship, like those of Damon and Pythias, David and Jonathan.

Pyramid

The largest is that of Cholula, in Mexico, which covers fifty acres of ground. The largest in Egypt is that of Cheops, near Cairo, which covers thirteen acres. Sir William Tite tells us it contains ninety million cubic feet of stone, and could not be now built for less than thirty millions of money (sterling).

Pyramus

The lover of Thisbë. Supposing Thisbe to be torn to pieces by a lion, he stabbed himself, and Thisbe, finding the dead body, stabbed herself also. Both fell dead under a mulberry—tree, which has ever since borne bloodred fruit. Shakespeare has a travesty of this tale in his Midsummer Night's Dream. (Ovid: Metamorphoses, bk. iv.)

Pyrocles and Musidorus

Heroes whose exploits, previous to their arrival in Arcadia, are detailed in the Arcadia of Sir Philip Sidney.

Pyrodes

(3 syl.), son of Clias was so called, according to Pliny (vii. 56), because he was the first to strike fire from flint. (Greek, pur, fire; = ignitus.)

Pyrrha

Sæculum Pyrrhæ. The Flood. Pyrrha was the wife of Deucalion (Horace: 1 Odes, ii. 6). So much rain has fallen, it looks as if the days of Pyrrha were about to return.

Pyrrhic Dance

the most famous war—dance of antiquity, received its name from Pyrrichos, a Dorian. It was danced to the flute, and its time was very quick. Julius Caesar introduced it into Rome. The Romaika, still danced in Greece, is a relic of the ancient Pyrrhic dance.

“Ye have the Pyrrhic dance as often,

Where is the Pyrrhic phalanx gone?”

Byron.

Pyrrhic Victory

(A). A ruinous victory. Pyrrhus, after his victory over the Romans, near the river Siris, said to those sent to congratulate him, “One more such victory and Pyrrhus is undone.”

“The railway companies see that in fighting their customers they gain but a very Pyrrhic sort of victory.”— Newspaper article, Feb. 13th, 1893.

Pyrrho

A sceptic. Pyrrho was the founder of the sceptical school of philosophy. He was a native of Elis, in Peloponnesos.

“Blessed be the day I'scaped the wrangling crew

From Pyrrho's maze and Epicurus' sty.”

Beattie: Minstrel.

Pyrrhonian School

(The). The sceptical platform founded by Pyrrho. (See above.)

Pyrrhonism

Infidelity. (See above.)

Pythagoras

son of Mnesarchos, was called son of Apollo or Pythios, from the first two syllables of his name; but he was called Pythagoras because the Pythian oracle predicted his birth.

Pythagoras, generally called The Long—haired Samian. A native of Samos, noted for his manly beauty and

long hair. The Greeks applied the phrase to any venerable man or philosopher.

Pythagoras maintained that he distinctly recollected having occupied other human forms before his birth at Samos: (1) He was AEthalides, son of Mercury; (2) Euphorbos the Phrygian, son of Panthoos, in which form he ran Patroclos through with a lance, leaving Hector to dispatch the hateful friend of Achilles; (3) Hermotimos, the prophet of Clazomenae; and'(4) a fisherman. To prove his Phrygian existence he was taken to the temple of Hera, in Argos, and asked to point out the shield of the son of Panthoos, which he did without hesitation. (See Rat.)

The golden thigh of Pythagoras. This thigh he showed to Abaris, the Hyperborean priest, and exhibited it in the Olympic games.

Abaris, priest of the Hyperboreans, gave him a dart, by which he was carried through the air, over inaccessible rivers, lakes and mountains; expelled pestilence; lulled storms; and performed other wonderful exploits.

Pythagoras maintained that the soul has three vehicles: (1) the ethereal, which is luminous and celestial, in which the soul resides in a state of bliss in the stars; (2) the luminous, which suffers the punishment of sin after death; and (3) the terrestrial, which is the vehicle it occupies on this earth.

Pythagoras asserted he could write on the moon. His plan of operation was to write on a looking—glass in blood, and place it opposite the moon, when the inscription would appear photographed or reflected on the moon's disc.

Pythagoras. Mesmerism was practised by Pythagoras, if we may credit Iamblichus, who tells us that he tamed a savage Daunian bear by “stroking it gently with his hand;” subdued an eagle by the same means; and held absolute dominion over beasts and birds by “the power of his voice,” or “influence of his touch.”

Pythagorean System

Pythagoras taught that the sun is a movable sphere in the centre of the universe, and that all the planets revolve round it. This is substantially the same as the Copernican and Newtonian systems.

Pythian Games

The games held by the Greeks at Pytho, in Phocis, subsequently called Delphi. They took place every fourth year, the second of each Olympiad.

Pythias

Damon and Pythias Inseparable friends. They were two Syracusian youths. Damon, being condemned to death by Dionysius the tyrant, obtained leave to go home to arrange his affairs if Pythias became his security. Damon being delayed, Pythias was led to execution, but his friend arrived in time to save him. Dionysius was so struck with this honourable friendship that he pardoned both of them.

Python

The monster serpent hatched from the mud of Deucalion's deluge, and slain near Delphi by Apollo.