PRIMROSE, the name of a family in Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield."

PRIMROSE LEAGUE, a politico-Conservative organisation founded in

1883 in memory of Lord Beaconsfield, and so called because the primrose

was popularly reported to be his favourite flower. It includes a large

membership, nearly a million, comprising women as well as men; is divided

into district habitations; confers honours and badges in the style of

Freemasonry, and has extensive political influence under a grand-master.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (109), an island province of Canada, in the S.

of Gulf of St. Lawrence, occupies a great bay formed by New Brunswick,

Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, and is somewhat larger than Northumberland.

The coast-line is exceedingly broken, the surface low and undulating, and

very fertile. The chief industry is agriculture, oats and potatoes are

the best crops; decayed shells found in beds on the shore are an

excellent manure; sheep and horses are raised with great success. The

climate is healthy, milder and clearer than on the mainland, but with a

tedious winter. Coal exists, but is not wrought. The fisheries are the

best on the Gulf, but are not developed. Manufactures are inconsiderable.

Discovered by the Cabots, it was settled by the French in 1715, and ceded

to Great Britain in 1763. Constituted a province in 1768, the name was

changed from St. John to Prince Edward in 1799. Since 1875 the local

government have bought out most of the great proprietors, and resold the

land to occupying owners. Education is free. There are normal schools and

two colleges. Half the people are Roman Catholics. A railway traverses

the island, and there is daily steam communication with the mainland. The

capital is Charlottetown (13); Summerside, Georgetown, and Sourio are the

other towns.

PRINCE OF PEACE, a title given by Charles IV. of Spain to his Prime

Minister, DON MANUEL GODOY (q. v.).

PRINCETON (3), a town of New Jersey, 50 m. SW. of New York; was the

scene of a battle in the War of Independence, and the meeting-place of

the Continental Congress of 1783; now noted as the seat of the College of

New Jersey, founded at Newark 1746, and removed to Princeton ten years

later, with now 50 teachers and 600 students; Jonathan Edwards and Dr.

James M'Cosh as presidents, James Madison and others as alumni, have

given it lustre. The Theological Seminary, the oldest and largest

Presbyterian one in the States, was founded in 1812, and a School of

Science in 1871. The college is rich in museums, observatories,

laboratories, libraries, and funds.

PRINGLE, THOMAS, minor poet, born in Roxburghshire; edited the

_Monthly Magazine_; emigrated to South Africa; held a small government

appointment; was bullied out of it; returned home, and became Secretary

to the Anti-Slavery Society (1789-1834).

PRINTED PAPER, Carlyle's satirical name for the literature of France

prior to the Revolution.

PRINZENRAUB (the stealing of the princes), name given to an attempt,

to satisfy a private grudge of his, on the part of Kunz von Kaufingen to

carry off, on the night of the 7th July 1455, two Saxon princes from the

castle of Altenburg, in which he was defeated by apprehension at the

hands of a collier named Schmidt, through whom he was handed over to

justice and beheaded. See CARLYLE'S ACCOUNT OF THIS IN HIS

"MISCELLANIES."

PRIOR, MATTHEW, English poet and diplomatist, born near Wimborne,

East Dorset; studied at Cambridge; became Fellow of Trinity College; was

ambassador to France; involved himself in an intrigue, was imprisoned,

and on his release lived in retirement; he is remembered as a poet; wrote

in 1687 a parody of Dryden's "Hind and Panther," entitled "The Story of

the Country Mouse and the City Mouse," and afterwards, "Solomon on the

Vanity of the World," "Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind," after Butler,

as well as tales, lyrics, and epigrams; Professor Saintsbury calls him

"the king of 'verse of society'" (1664-1721).

PRISCIAN, Latin grammarian of the 6th century, born in Cæsarea; was

author of "Grammatical Commentaries" in 18 books, a standard work during

the Middle Ages, and in universal use at that time.

PRISCILLIAN, a Spaniard of noble birth, who introduced a Gnostic and

Manichæan heresy into Spain, and founded a sect called after him, and was

put to death by the Emperor Maximius in 385; his followers were an idly

speculative sect, who practised a rigidly ascetic style of life, and

after being much calumniated did not survive him over 60 years.

PRISMATIC COLOURS, the seven colours a ray of pure white light is

resolved into when refracted through a prism, applied figuratively by

Carlyle to the pure light refracted through the soul of a man of genius.

PRISONER OF CHILLON, the name given to FRANÇOIS DE BONIVARD

(q. v.), who was for six years kept prisoner in the castle of Chillon,

on the Lake of Geneva, and is the subject of a well-known poem by Byron.

PRIVATEER, a private vessel licensed by Government under a letter of

marque to seize and plunder the ships of an enemy, otherwise an act of

the kind is treated as piracy.

PRIVY COUNCIL, is theoretically a council associated with the

sovereign to advise him in matters of government. As at present

constituted it includes the members of the royal family, the Cabinet, the

two archbishops and the bishop of London, the principal English and

Scotch judges, some of the chief ambassadors and governors of colonies,

the Commander-in-Chief, the First Lord of the Admiralty, &c. No members

attend except those summoned, usually the Cabinet, the officers of the

Household, and the Primate. The functions of the Privy Council may be

grouped as: (1) executive, in which its duties are discharged by the

Cabinet, which is technically a committee of the Privy Council; (2)

administrative--the Board of Trade, the Local Government Board, and the

Board of Agriculture originated in committees; the Education Department

is still a committee, and the Council retains such branches as the

supervision of medical, pharmaceutical, and veterinary practice, the

granting of municipal charters, &c.; (3) judicial--the Judicial Committee

is a court of law, whose principal function is the hearing of appeals

from ecclesiastical courts and from Indian and colonial courts.

PRIVY SEAL, the seal of the sovereign appended to grants that do not

require to pass the great seal.

PROBUS, MARCUS AURELIUS, Roman emperor from 276 to 282, born in

Pannonia; having distinguished himself in the field as a soldier, was

elected by the army and the citizens to succeed Tacitus; defended the

empire successfully against all encroachments, and afterwards devoted

himself to home administration, but requiring the service of the soldiers

in public works, which they considered degrading, was seized by a body of

them compelled so to drudge, and put to death.

PROCLUS, a Neo-Platonic philosopher, born in Constantinople; appears

to have held a Trinitarian view of the universe, and to have regarded the

All abstractly viewed as contained in the Divine ever emerging from it

and returning into it, a doctrine Implied in John i. 1, but far short of

the corresponding trinity in the ripe philosophy of Hegel (412-485).

PROCONSUL, name given to the governor of a Roman province who was

absolute ruler of it, disposed of the army, dispensed justice, controlled

administration, and was represented by legates.

PROCOP, the name of two Hussite leaders of the Taborites, who after

leading successful forays on all hands from their head-quarters in

Bohemia, fell in battle with their rivals the Calixtines at Lippau in

1434.

PROCOPIUS, a Greek historian, born at Cæsarea, the secretary of

Belisarius, and author of a History of the Wars of Justinian, which is

still the chief authority for the events of his reign; _d_. 565.

PROCRUSTES, a brigand of ancient Attica, who when any one fell into

his hands placed him on a bed, stretching him out if he was too short for

it and amputating him if he was too long till he died; he was one day

overpowered by Theseus, who tortured him to death as he had done his own

victims; his practice has given name to any attempt to enforce conformity

by violent measures.

PROCTER, BRYAN WALTER, English lyrist, known by his pseudonym as

Barry Cornwall, born in London; was bred to the bar, and was for 30 years

a Commissioner of Lunacy, and is chiefly memorable as the friend of all

the eminent literary men of two generations, such as Wordsworth, Lamb,

and Scott on the one hand and Carlyle, Thackeray, and Tennyson on the

other; he was no great poet (1787-1874).

PROCTOR, RICHARD ANTONY, astronomer and lecturer on Astronomy;

determined the rotation of the planet Mars, and propounded the theory of

the solar corona (1837-1888).

PROCURATOR-FISCAL, is a Scottish law officer appointed by the

sheriff, and irremovable on efficient and good behaviour, whose duties

are to initiate the prosecution of crimes and inquire into deaths under

suspicious circumstances.

PROGNE, the sister of Philomela and wife of Tereus, changed into a

swallow by the gods. See TEREUS.

PROGRESS OF THE SPECIES MAGAZINES, Carlyle's name for the literature

of the day which does nothing to help the progress in question, but keeps

idly boasting of the fact, taking all the credit to itself, like Æsop's

fly on the axle of the careering chariot soliloquising, "What a dust I

raise!"

PROHIBITIONIST, one who would prohibit the sale of all intoxicating

liquors.

PROLETARIAT, the name given to the lowest and poorest class in the

State, and which still retains the original Roman meaning, as denoting,

from _proles_, offspring, one who enriches the State not by his

prosperity, but by his progeny.

PROMETHEUS (i. e. Forethought), a Titan, the son of lapetus and

Klymene, and the brother of EPIMETHEUS (q. v.), who, when the

gods, just installed on Olympus, met with men at Mekone to arrange with

them as to their dues in sacrifice, came boldly forth as the

representative and protector of the human race and slew a bullock in

sacrifice, putting the flesh of it in one pile and the entrails with the

bones in another, veiled temptingly with fat, and invited Zeus to make

his choice, whereupon, knowing well what he was about, Zeus chose the

latter, but in revenge took away with him the fire which had been

bestowed by the gods upon mortals. It was a strife of wit _versus_ wit,

and Prometheus, as the defender of the rights of man, was not to be

outwitted even by the gods, so he reached up a hollow fennel stalk to the

sun and brought the fire back again, whereupon the strife was transformed

into one of force _versus_ force, and Zeus caught the audacious Titan and

chained him to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where an eagle gnawed all day at

his liver which grew again by night, though, in inflicting this

punishment, Zeus was soon visited with a relenting heart, for it was by

express commission from him that Hercules, as a son of his, scaled the

rock and slew the eagle. The myth is one of the deepest significance,

reflecting an old belief, and one which has on it the seal of Christ, as

sanctioned of Heaven, that the world was made for man and not man for

the world, only there is included within it an expression of the jealousy

with which Heaven watches the use mankind make of the gifts that, out of

her own special store, she bestows upon them. Prometheus is properly the

incarnation of the divine fire latent from the beginning in the soul of

man.

PROPAGANDA, a congregation, as it is called, at Rome, originated by

Gregory XIII., and organised in 1622 by Gregory XV., the object of which

is to propagate the faith of the Church among heathen nations and in

countries where there is no established hierarchy, connected with which

there is a college at Rome called the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide,

where pupils are instructed for different fields of missionary

enterprise.

PROPERTIUS, SEXTUS, a Latin elegaic poet, born in Umbria; went to

Rome and became a protégé of Mæcenas; devoted himself to the cultivation

of the poetic art; came under the spell of a gifted lady, to whom, under

the name of Cynthia, he dedicated the first products of his muse, and

whom he has immortalised in his poems; in his elegies he follows Greek

models; his poetry, and the poetic quality it displays, have been much

admired by Goethe (51-14 B.C.).

PROPHECY, properly not a forecasting of particular events and the

succession of them, but so far as it refers to the future at all is an

insight into the course of things in the time to come from insight into

the course of them in days gone by or now, and that is believed to be the

character of Hebrew prophecy, founded on faith in the immutability of the

divine order of things.

PROPHETS. See PRIESTS, HEBREW PROPHECY.

PROSELYTES, converts from heathenism to Judaism, of which there were

two classes: Proselytes of the Temple, those who accepted the ceremonial

law and were admitted into the inner court of The temple; and Proselytes

of the Gate, who accepted only the moral law, and were admitted only into

the outer court. They were a numerous class after the Dispersion, and

were reckoned at hundreds of thousands.

PROSERPINA, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, who was carried off

while gathering flowers by PLUTO (q. v.), became Queen of Hades,

and is represented as sitting on an ebony throne beside him wearing a

crown. According to later tradition Pluto had to allow her to revisit the

upper world for two-thirds of the year to compromise matters with her

mother, her arrival being coincident with the beginning of spring and her

return to Hades coincident with the beginning of winter. She became by

Pluto the mother of the Furies.

PROSPERO, one of the chief characters in Shakespeare's "Tempest," an

exiled king of Milan, who, during his exile, practises magic, and breaks

his wand when he has accomplished his purpose.

PROTAGORAS, one of the earliest of the Greek Sophists, born at

Abdera, and who flourished in 440 B.C., and taught at Athens, from which

he was banished as a blasphemer, as having called in question the

existence of the gods; he taught that man was the measure of all things,

of those that exist, that they are; and of those things that do not

exist, that they are not; and that there is nothing absolute, that all is

an affair of subjective conception.

PROTECTION, name given to the encouragement of certain home products

of a country by imposing duties on foreign products of the class, opposed

to free-trade.

PROTESTANTISM, the name given to a movement headed by Luther in the

16th century, in protestation of the supremacy in spiritual things

claimed by the Church of Rome, and made on the ground of the authority of

conscience enlightened by the Word of God, conceived of as the ultimate

revelation of God to man.

PROTESTANTS, a name given to the adherents of Luther, who, at the

second Diet of Spires in 1529, protested against the revocation of

certain privileges granted at the first Diet in 1526.

PROTEUS, in the Greek mythology a divinity of the sea endowed with

the gift of prophecy, but from whom it was difficult to extort the

secrets of fate, as he immediately changed his shape when any one

attempted to force him, for it was only in his proper form he could

enunciate these secrets.

PROTOGENES, a Greek painter of the time of Alexander the Great, born

in Caria; lived chiefly at Rhodes; was discovered by Apelles, who brought

him into note; his masterpiece is a picture of Ialysus, the tutelary hero

of Rhodes, on which he spent seven years, and which he painted four times

over.

PROTOPLASM, a name given to presumed living matter forming the

physical bases of all forms of animal and vegetable life; the term is now

superseded by the term bioplasm. See DR. STIRLING, "AS REGARDS

PROTOPLASM."

PROUDHON, PIERRE JOSEPH, French Socialist, born at Besançon, the son

of a cooper; worked in a printing establishment, spent his spare hours in

study, specially of the social problem, and in 1840 published a work

entitled "What is Property?" and in which he boldly enunciated the

startling proposition, "Property is theft"; for the publication of this

thesis he was at first unmolested, and only with its application was he

called to account, and for which at last, in 1849, he was committed to

prison, where, however, he kept himself busy with his pen, and whence he

from time to time emitted socialistic publications till his release in

1852, after which he was in 1858 compelled to flee the country, to return

again under an act of amnesty in 1860 and die; he was not only the

assailant of property, but of government itself, and preached anarchy as

the goal of all social progress and not the starting-point, as so many

unfortunately fancy; but by anarchy, it would seem, he meant the right of

government spiritually free, and, in the Christian sense of that

expression, to exemption from all external control (see I Tim. i. 9)

(1809-1865).

PROUT, SAMUEL, eminent English water-colour artist, born at

Plymouth; had from a child an irrepressible penchant for drawing, which,

though discouraged at first by his father, was fostered by his

schoolmaster; was patronised by Britton the antiquary, and employed by

him to assist him in collecting materials for his "Beauties of England

and Wales," but it was not till his visit to Rouen in 1818 that he was

first fascinated with the subject that henceforth occupied him; from this

time excursions were continually made to the Continent, and every corner

of France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy ransacked for its

fragments of carved stone; the old architecture that then fascinated him

henceforth became a conspicuous feature in all his after-works; "the

works of Prout," says Ruskin, "will one day become memorials of the most

precious of things that have been ... A time will come when that zeal

will be understood, and his works will be cherished with a melancholy

gratitude, when the pillars of Venice shall be mouldering in the salt

shallows of her sea, and the stones of the goodly towers of Rouen have

become ballast for the barges of the Seine" (1789-1852).

PROUT, FATHER. See MAHONY, FRANCIS.

PROVENÇAL LANGUAGE, one of the Romance dialects of France, spoken in

the South of France, and different from that spoken in the N. as in

closer connection with the original Latin than that of the N., which was

modified by Teutonic influence.

PROVENCE, a maritime province in the South of France, originally

called Provincia by the Romans, and which included the departments of

Bouches-du-Rhône, Basses-Alpes, Var, and part of Vaucluse.

PROVERBS, BOOK OF, a book of the Hebrew Scriptures, full of the

teachings of wisdom bearing on the conduct of life, and though ascribed

to Solomon, obviously not all of his composition, or even collection, and

probably ascribed to him because of his fondness for wisdom in that form,

and from his having procured the first collection. The principles

inculcated are purely ethical, resting, however, on a religious basis,

and concern the individual not as a member of any particular community,

but as a member of the human race; the lessons of life and death are the

same as in the covenant with Moses, and the condition in both cases is

the observance or non-observance of God's commandments. There is no

change in the principle, but in the expansion of it, and that amounts to

the foundation of a kingdom of God which shall include all nations. In

them the bonds of Jewish exclusiveness are burst, and a catholic religion

virtually established.

PROVIDENCE (175), a seaport and semi-capital of Rhode Island, U.S.,

on a river of the name, 44 m. SW. of Boston; it is a centre of a large

manufacturing district, and has a large trade in woollens, jewellery, and

hardware; has a number of public buildings, and institutions, churches,

schools, libraries, and hospitals, as well as beautiful villas and

gardens.

PRUDENTIUS, MARCUS AURELIUS CLEMENS. Christian poet of the 4th

century, born in Spain; after spending the greater part of his life in

secular affairs, gave himself up to religious meditation, and wrote

hymns, lyrics, and polemics in verse.

PRUSSIA (24,690), the leading State of the German Empire, occupies

about two-thirds of the imperial territory, and contributes three-fifths

of the population; it stretches from Holland and Belgium in the W. to

Russia in the E., has Jutland and the sea on the N., and Lorraine,

Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Saxony, and Austria on the S.; the SW. portion

is hilly and the soil often poor, but containing valuable mineral

deposits; the N. and E. belongs to the great European plain, devoted to

agriculture and grazing; Hesse-Cassel is extremely fertile, and Nassau

produces excellent wine; in the E. and in Hanover are extensive forests;

Silesia, Westphalia, and Rhenish Prussia contain the chief coal-fields,

and are consequently the chief industrial provinces; half the zinc of the

world is mined in Prussia; lead, iron, copper, antimony, &c., are also

wrought; the Hartz Mountains are noted for their mines; Salt, amber, and

precious stones are found on the Baltic shores; textiles, metal wares,

and beer are the main industries; Berlin and Elberfeld are the two chief

manufacturing centres on the Continent; the great navigable rivers,

Niemen, Vistula, Oder, Elbe, Weser, Rhine, and their tributaries and

canals, excellent railways, and her central European position all favour

Prussia's commerce, while her coast-line, harbours, and growing

mercantile fleet put her in communication with the markets of the world;

seven-eighths of the people are Germans; Slavonic races are represented

by Poles, Wends, Lithuanians, and Czechs, while the Danes appear in

Schleswig-Holstein; the prevailing religion is Protestant; education is

compulsory and good; there are ten universities, and many great libraries

and educational institutions; the Prussian is the largest contingent in

the German army; the king of Prussia is emperor of Germany. The basis of

the Prussian people was laid by German colonists placed amid the pagan

Slavs whom they had conquered by the Teutonic knights of the 13th

century; in 1511 their descendants chose a Hohenzollern prince; a century

later the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg succeeded; despite the Thirty

Years' War Prussia became a European State, and was recognised as a

kingdom in 1703; Frederick the Great (1740-1786) enlarged its bounds and

developed its resources; the successive partitions of Poland added to her

territory; humiliated by the peace of Tilsit 1807, and ruined by the

French occupation, she recovered after Waterloo; William I. and Bismarck

still further increased her territory and prestige; by the Austrian War

of 1866 and the French War of 1870-71 her position as premier State in

the German Confederation was assured.

PRYNNE, WILLIAM, a Puritan _censor morum_, born near Bath, bred to

the bar; wrote a book or pamphlet called "Histrio-Mastix, or the Player's

Scourge," against the stage, for which and a reflection in it against the

virtue of the queen he was brought before the Star Chamber in 1634,

sentenced to the pillory, and had his ears cropped off, and for an

offence against Laud, whether by order of the Star Chamber or not is

uncertain, was in 1637 sentenced anew, and "lost his ears a second and

final time, having had them 'sewed on again' before; this time a heroine

on the scaffold," adds Carlyle, "received them on her lap and kissed

him"; after this the zeal of Prynne appears to have waxed cold, for he

was as a recalcitrant imprisoned by Cromwell, after whose death he

espoused the Royalist cause, and was appointed Keeper of the Records of

the Tower (1600-1669).

PRYTANE`UM, name given to the public hall in Greek cities, and the

head-quarters of the Executive.

PSALMANAZAR, GEORGE, an impostor, born in the South of France, who,

being brought to London, imposed on Compton, bishop of London, by

fabricating a history of Formosa, of which he professed to be a native,

but was convicted of the error of his ways by Law's "Serious Call," and

led afterwards what seemed a sober life, and one to commend the regard of

Johnson (1679-1763).

PSALMS, THE BOOK OF, the name given in the Septuagint to a

collection of sacred songs in the Hebrew Bible, which are all of a

lyrical character, and appear to have been at first collected for

liturgical purposes. Their range is co-extensive with nearly all divine

truth, and there are tones in them in accord with the experience and

feelings of devout men in all ages. Nay, "the Psalter alone," says

Ruskin, "which practically was the service-book of the Church for many

ages, contains, merely in the first half of it, the sum of personal and

social wisdom,... while the 48th, 72nd, and 75th have in them the law and

the prophecy of all righteous government, and every real triumph of

natural science is anticipated in the 104th." The collection bears the

name of David, but it is clear the great body of them are of later date

as well as of divers authorship, although it is often difficult to

determine by whom some of them were written, and when. The determination

of this, however, is of the less consequence, as the question is more a

speculative one than a spiritual one, and whatever may be the result of

inquiry in this matter now going on, the spiritual value of the Psalms,

which is their real value, is nowise affected thereby. It matters nothing

who wrote them or when they were written; they are _there_, are conceived

from situations such as are obvious enough and common to the lot of all

good men, and they bear on spiritual interests, which are our primary

ones, and these, still, as in every other time, the alone really pressing

ones. They express the real experiences of living men, who lay under an

inner necessity to utter such a song, relieving themselves by the effort

and ministering a means of relief to others in a like situation of soul.

PSYCHE (i. e. the soul), in the later Greek mythology the youngest

of three daughters of a king, and of such beauty as to eclipse the

attractions and awake the jealousy of Venus, the goddess of beauty, who

in consequence sent Cupid, her son, to inspire her with love for a

hideous monster, and so compass her ruin. Cupid, fascinated with her

himself, spirited her away to a palace furnished with every delight, but

instead of delivering her over to the monster, visited her himself at

night as her husband, and left her before daybreak in the morning,

because she must on no account know who he was. Here her sisters came to

see her, and in their jealousy persuaded her to assure herself that it

was not a monster that she slept with, so that she lit a lamp the next

night to discover, when a drop of oil from it fell on his shoulder as he

lay asleep beside her, upon which he at a bound started up and vanished

out of sight. She thereupon gave way to a long wail of lamentation and

set off a-wandering over the wide world in search of her lost love, till

she came to the palace of Venus, her arch-enemy, who seized on her person

and made her her slave, subjecting her to a series of services, all of

which she accomplished to the letter, so that Venus was obliged to relent

and consent that, in the presence of all the gods of Olympus, Cupid and

she should be united in immortal wedlock. It is the story of the trials

of the soul to achieve immortality. See "Stories from the Greek

Mythology," by the Editor.

PSYCHICAL RESEARCH, SOCIETY FOR, a society founded in 1882 to

inquire into the phenomena of spiritualism and kindred subjects of a

recondite kind, the subject of Telepathy having engaged recently a good

deal of attention.

PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM, the highly complex system of astronomy ascribed to

Claudius Ptolemy, which assumed that the earth was the centre of a sphere

which carried the heavenly bodies along in its daily revolution,

accounted for the revolutions of the sun and moon by supposing they moved

in eccentric circles round the earth, and regarded the planets as moving

in epicycles round a point which itself revolved in an eccentric circle

round the earth like the sun and moon.

PTOLEMAÏS, the name of certain cities of antiquity, the most

celebrated being Acre, in SYRIA (q. v.).

PTOLEMY, the name of the Macedonian kings of Egypt, of which there

were 14 in succession, of whom Ptolemy I., SOTER, was a favourite

general of Alexander the Great, and who ruled Egypt from 328 to 285 B.C.;

Ptolemy II., PHILADELPHUS, who ruled from 285 to 247, a patron

of letters and an able administrator; Ptolemy III., EUERGETES, who

ruled from 247 to 222; Ptolemy IV., PHILOPATOR, who ruled from 222

to 205; Ptolemy V., EPIPHANES, who ruled from 205 to 181; Ptolemy

VI., PHILOMETOR, who ruled from 181 to 146; Ptolemy VII., EUERGETES

II., who ruled from 146 to 117; Ptolemy VIII., SOTER, who ruled

from 117 to 107, was driven from Alexandria, returning to it in 88, and

reigning till 81; Ptolemy X., ALEXANDER I., who ruled from 107 to

88; Ptolemy X. ALEXANDER II., who ruled from 81 to 80; Ptolemy XI.,

AULETES, who ruled from 80 to 51; Ptolemy XII., who ruled from 51

to 47; Ptolemy XIII., the INFANT KING, who ruled from 47 to 43;

Ptolemy XIV., CESARION, the son of Julius Cæsar and Cleopatra, who

ruled from 43 to 30.

PTOLEMY (CLAUDIUS PTOLEMÆUS), ancient astronomer and geographer,

born in Egypt; lived in Alexandria in the 2nd century; was the author of

the system of astronomy called after him; left behind him two writings

bearing one on astronomy and one on geography, along with other works of

inferior importance.

PUBLICANS or PUBLICANI, a name given by the Romans to persons

who farmed the public revenues; specially a class of the Jewish people,

often mentioned in the New Testament, and specially odious to the rest of

the community as the farmers of the taxes imposed upon them, mostly at

the instance of their foreign oppressors the Romans, and in the

collection of which they had recourse to the most unjust exactions. They

were in their regard not merely the tools of a foreign oppression, but

traitors to their country and apostates from the faith of their fathers,

and were to be classed, as they were, with heathens, sinners, and

harlots.

PUCCINOTTI, FRANCESCO, eminent Italian pathologist, born in Urbino,

and author of the "Storia delle Medicina" (History of Medicine), the

fruit of the labour of twenty years (1794-1872).

PUCELLE LA (i. e. the Maid), Joan of Arc, the maid _par

excellence_.

PUCK, a tricky, mischievous fairy, identified with Robin Goodfellow,

and sometimes confounded with a house spirit, propitiated by kind words

and the liberty of the cream-bowl.

PUEBLA (79), on an elevated plateau 7000 ft. above the sea, 68 m.

due SE. of Mexico, is the third city of the republic, and a beautiful

town, with Doric cathedral, theological, medical, and other schools, a

museum, and two libraries; cotton goods, iron, paper, and glass are

manufactured; it is a commercial city, and carries on a brisk trade. Is

the name also of a Colorado town (24) on the Arkansas River; it is in a

rich mineral district, and is engaged in the manufacture of steel and

iron wares.

PUERTO DE SANTA MARIA (22), a seaport in Spain, on the Bay of Cadiz,

9 m. SW. of Xeres, and the chief place of export of Xeres port or sherry

wines.

PUERTO PLATA (15), the chief port of the Dominican Republic, on the

N. of Hayti; exports tobacco, sugar, coffee, &c.

PUERTO PRINCIPE (46), a town on the E. of Cuba; manufactures cigars,

and exports sugar, hides, and molasses; originally on the shore, but

removed inland.

PUFFENDORF, SAMUEL, Baron von, eminent German jurist, born at

Chemnitz, Saxony; wrote several works on jurisprudence, one of which,

under the ban of Austria, was burned there by the hangman, but his "De

Jure Naturæ et Gentium" is the one on which his fame rests; was

successively in the service of Charles XI. of Sweden and the Elector of

Brandenburg (1632-1694).

PUGIN, AUGUSTUS WELBY, architect, born in London, of French

parentage; made a special study of Gothic architecture; assisted in

decorating the new Houses of Parliament, but becoming a Roman Catholic he

gave himself to designing a good number of Roman Catholic churches,

including cathedrals; he wrote several works on architecture, and was

the chief promoter of the "Mediæval Court" in the Crystal Palace; he was

afflicted in the prime of life with insanity, and died at Ramsgate

(1812-1852).

PULCI, LUINI, Italian poet, born at Florence; the personal friend of

Lorenzo de' Medici, and the author of a burlesque poem of which Roland is

the hero, entitled in Tuscan "Il Morgante Maggiore" ("Morgante the

Great"); he wrote also several humorous sonnets; two brothers of his had

similar gifts (1432-1484).

PULQUE, a favourite beverage of the Mexicans and in Central America,

from the fermented juice of the agave.

PULTENEY, WILLIAM, Earl of Bath, English statesman; in 1705 entered

Parliament zealous in the Whig interest; was for years the friend and

colleague of Walpole, but afterwards, from a slight, became his bitterest

enemy and most formidable opponent; he contributed a good deal to his

fall, but, unable to take his place, contented himself with a peerage,

his popularity being gone (1682-1764).

PULTOWA (43), a town in Southern Russia, 90 m. by rail SW. of

Kharkoff, on an affluent of the Dnieper; manufactures leather and

tobacco; here Peter the Great won his victory over Charles XII. of Sweden

in 1709.

PULTUSK, a Polish town, 33 m. N. of Warsaw; here Charles XII. gained

a victory over the Saxons in 1703, and the French over the Russians in

1806.

PULU, a kind of silk obtained from the fibres of a fern-tree of

Hawaii.

PUNCH, the name of the chief character in a well-known puppet show

of Italian origin, and appropriated as the title of the leading English

comic journal, which is accompanied with illustrations conceived in a

humorous vein and conducted in satire, from a liberal Englishman's

standpoint, of the follies and weaknesses of the leaders of public

opinion and fashion in modern social life. It was started in 1841 under

the editorship of Henry Mayhew and Mark Lemon; and the wittiest literary

men of the time as well as the cleverest artists have contributed to its

pages, enough to mention of the former Thackeray, Douglas Jerrold, and

Tom Hood, and of the latter Doyle, Leech, Tenniel, Du Maurier, and

Lindley Sambourne.

PUNDIT, a Brahmin learned in Sanskrit and in the language,

literature, and laws of the Hindus.

PUNIC FAITH, a plighted promise that one can put no trust in, such

as the Romans alleged they systematically had experience of at the hands

of the Poeni or Carthaginians.

PUNIC WARS, the name given to the wars between Rome and Carthage for

the empire of the world, of date, the first from 264 to 241, the second

from 218 to 201, and the third from 149 to 146 B.C., due all to

transgressions on the one side or the other of boundaries fixed by

treaty, which it was impossible for either in their passion of empire to

respect. It was a struggle which, though it ended in the overthrow of

Carthage, proved at one time the most critical in the history of Rome.

PUNJAB (25,130), "five rivers," a province in the extreme NW. of

India, watered by the Indus and its four tributaries, Jhelum, Chenab,

Ravee, and Sutlej; its frontiers touch Afghanistan and Cashmir. Mountain

ranges traverse the N., W., and S; little rain falls; the plains are dry

and hot in summer. There is little timber, cow-dung is common fuel; the

soil is barren, but under irrigation there are fertile stretches; wheat,

indigo, sugar, cotton, tobacco, opium, and tea are largely grown; cotton,

silk, lace, iron, and leather are manufactured; indigo, grain, cotton,

and manufactured products are exported in exchange for raw material,

dyes, horses, and timber. The population is mixed, Sikhs, Jats, and

Rajputs predominate; more than a half are Mohammedan, and more than a

third Hindu. Lahore is the capital, but Delhi and Amritsar are larger

towns. Several railways run through the province. The natives remained

loyal throughout the Mutiny of 1857-58, Sikhs and Pathans joining the

British troops before Delhi.

PURÁNAS, a body of religious works which rank second to the Vedas,

and form the basis of the popular belief of the Hindus. There are 18

principal Puránas and 18 secondary Puránas, of various dates, but

believed to be of remote antiquity, though modern critical research

proves that in their present form they are not of very ancient origin.

PURBECK, ISLE OF, the peninsula in South Dorsetshire lying between

the river Frome, Poole Harbour, and the English Channel; formerly a royal

deer-forest; has a precipitous coast, and inland consists of chalk downs;

nearly 100 quarries are wrought of "Purbeck marble."

PURCELL, HENRY, eminent English musician, born at Westminster; was

successively organist at Westminster Abbey and to the Chapel Royal;

excelled in all forms of musical composition; was the author of anthems,

cantatas, glees, &c., which attained great popularity; he set the songs

of Shakespeare's "Tempest" to music (1658-1695).

PURCHAS, SAMUEL, collector of works of travel and continuator of the

work of Hakluyt, in two curious works entitled "Purchas his Pilgrimage,"

and "Hakluyt's his Posthumous, or Purchas his Pilgrimmes," and was rector

of St. Martin's, Ludgate, and chaplain to Archbishop Abbot (1577-1626).

PURGATORIO, region in Dante's "Commedia" intermediate between the

Inferno, region of lost souls, and the Paradiso, region of saved souls,

and full of all manner of obstructions which the penitent, who would pass

from the one to the other, must struggle with in soul-wrestle till he

overcome, the most Christian section, thinks Carlyle, of Dante's poem.

PURGATORY, in the creed of the Church of Rome a place in which the

souls of the dead, saved from hell by the death of Christ, are chastened

and purified from venial sins, a result which is, in great part, ascribed

to the prayers of the faithful and the sacrifice of the Mass. The creed

of the Church in this matter was first formulated by Gregory the Great,

and was based by him, as it has been vindicated since, on passages of

Scripture as well as the writings of the Fathers. The conception of it,

as wrought out by Dante, Carlyle considers "a noble embodiment of a true

noble thought." See his "Heroes."

PURIM, THE FEAST OF, or LOTS, an annual festival of the Jews in

commemoration of the preservation, as recorded in "Esther," of their race

from the threatened wholesale massacre of it in Persia at the instance of

Haman, and which was so called because it was by casting "lots" that the

day was fixed for the execution of the purpose. It lasts two days, being

observed on the 14th and 15th of the month Adar.

PURITAN CITY, name given to Boston, U.S., from its founders and

inhabitants who were originally of Puritan stock.

PURITANS, a name given to a body of clergymen of the Church of

England who refused to assent to the Act of Uniformity passed in the

reign of Queen Elizabeth, because it required them to conform to Popish

doctrine and ritual; and afterwards applied to the whole body of

Nonconformists in England in the 16th and 17th centuries, who insisted on

rigid adherence to the simplicity prescribed in these matters by the

sacred Scriptures. In the days of Cromwell they were, "with musket on

shoulder," the uncompromising foes of all forms, particularly in the

worship of God, that affected to be alive after the soul had gone out of

them.

PURSUIVANT, one of the junior officers in the Heralds' College, four

in England, named respectively Rouge Croix, Blue Mantle, Rouge Dragon,

and Portcullis; and three in Scotland, named respectively Bute, Carrick,

and Unicorn.

PUSEY, EDWARD BOUVERIE, English theologian, born in Berkshire, of

Flemish descent; studied at Christ's Church, Oxford, and became a Fellow

of Oriel, where he was brought into relationship with Newman, Keble, and

Whately; spent some time in Germany studying Rationalism, and, after his

return, was in 1828 appointed Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford; in

1833 he joined the Tractarian Movement, to which he contributed by his

learning, and which, from his standing in the University, as well as from

the part he played in it, was at length called by his name; he was not so

conspicuous as other members of the movement, but he gained some

notoriety by a sermon he preached on the Eucharist, which led to his

suspension for three years, and notwithstanding his life of seclusion, he

took an active part in all questions affecting the interests he held to

be at stake; he was the author of several learned works, among them the

"Minor Prophets, a Commentary," and "Daniel the Prophet" (1800-1882).

PUSEYISM, defined by Carlyle to be "a noisy theoretic demonstration

and laudation of _the_ Church, instead of some unnoisy, unconscious, but

_practical_, total, heart-and-soul demonstration of _a_ Church, ... a

matter to strike one dumb," and apropos to which he asks pertinently, "if

there is no atmosphere, what will it serve a man to demonstrate the

excellence of lungs?"

PUSHKIN, a distinguished Russian poet, considered the greatest, born

at Moscow; his chief works are "Ruslan and Liudmila" (a heroic poem),

"Eugene Onegin" (a romance), and "Boris Godunov" (a drama); was mortally

wounded in a duel (1799-1837).

PUSHTOO or PUSHTO, the language of the Afghans, said to be

derived from the Zend, with admixtures from the neighbouring tribes.

PUTEAUX (17), a suburb of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine, a

favourite residence of the Parisians, who have villas here.

PUTNEY (18), a London suburb on the Surrey side, 6 m. from Waterloo,

has a bridge across the Thames 300 yards long; the parish church tower

dates from the 15th century. The river here affords favourite rowing

water, the starting-place of the inter-universities boat-race; Putney

Heath was a favourite duelling resort; Gibbon was a native; Pitt and

Leigh Hunt died here.

PUY, LE (20), a picturesque town, 70 m. SW. of Lyons, a bishop's

seat, with a 10th-century cathedral; is the centre of a great lace

manufacture.

PUY-DU-DÔME (564), a department in Central France, in the upper

valley of the Allier, on the slopes of the Auvergne Mountains. The soil

is poor, but agriculture and cattle-breeding are the chief industries; in

the mountains coal and lead are found, and there are many mineral

springs; there are paper and oil manufactures. The principal town is

Clermont-Ferrand (45), where Peter the Hermit preached the first crusade.

PYGMALION, king of Cyprus, is said to have fallen in love with an

ivory statue of a maiden he had himself made, and to have prayed

Aphrodité to breathe life into it. The request being granted, he married

the maiden and became by her the father of Paphus.

PYGMIES, a fabulous people, their height 13½ inches, mentioned by

Homer as dwelling on the shores of the ocean and attacked by cranes in

spring-time, the theme of numerous stories.

PYM, JOHN, Puritan statesman, born in Somersetshire, educated at

Oxford; bred to law, entered Parliament in 1621, opposed the arbitrary

measures of the king, took a prominent part in the impeachment of

Buckingham; at the opening of the Long Parliament procured the

impeachment of the Earl of Strafford, and conducted the proceedings

against him; he was one of the five members illegally arrested by Charles

I., and was brought back again in triumph to Westminster; was appointed

Lieutenant of the Ordnance, and a month after died (1584-1643).

PYRAMIDS, ancient structures of stone or sometimes brick, resting

generally on square bases and tapering upwards with triangular sides,

found in different parts of the world, but chiefly in Egypt, where they

exist to the number of 70 or 80, and of which the most celebrated are

those of Ghizeh, 10 m. W. of Cairo, three in number, viz., the Great

Pyramid of Cheop, 449 ft. high, and the sides at base 746 ft. long, that

named Chefren, nearly the same size, and that of Mykerinos, not half the

height of the other two, but excelling them in beauty of execution. The

original object of these structures has been matter of debate, but there

seems to be now no doubt that they are sepulchral monuments of kings of

Egypt from the first to the twelfth dynasty of them.

PYRAMUS AND THISBE, two lovers who lived in adjoining houses in

Babylon, and who used to converse with each other through a hole in the

wall, because their parents would not allow them open intimacy, but who

arranged to meet one evening at the tomb of Nisus. The maiden appearing

at the spot and being confronted by a lioness who had just killed an ox,

took to flight and left her garment behind her, which the lioness had

soiled with blood. Pyramus arriving after this saw only the bloody

garment on the spot and immediately killed himself, concluding she had

been murdered, while she on return finding him lying in his blood, threw

herself upon his dead body and was found a corpse at his side in the

morning.

PYRENE, a crystalline substance obtained from coal tar, fats, &c.

PYRENEES, a broad chain of lofty mountains running from the Bay of

Biscay, 276 m. eastwards, to the Mediterranean, form the boundary between

France and Spain. They are highest in the centre, Mount Maladetta

reaching 11,168 ft. The snow-line is about 8000 or 9000 ft., and there

are glaciers on the French side. Valleys run up either side, ending in

precipitous "pot-holes," with great regularity. The passes are very

dangerous from wind and snow storms. The streams to the N. feed the Adour

and Garonne; those to the S., the Ebro and Douro. Vegetation in the W. is

European, in the E. sub-tropical. Minerals are few, though both iron and

coal are worked. The basis of the system is granite with limestone strata

superimposed.

PYROXYLINE, an explosive substance obtained by steeping vegetable

fibre in nitro-sulphuric acid and drying after it is washed.

PYRRHA, in Greek mythology the wife of DEUCALION (q. v.).

PYRRHIC DANCE, the chief war-dance of the Greeks, of quick, light

movement to the music of flutes; was of Cretan or Spartan origin. It was

subsequently danced for display by the Athenian youths and by women to

entertain company, and in the Roman empire was a favourite item in the

public games.

PYRRHO, the father of the Greek sceptics, born in Elis, a

contemporary of Aristotle; his doctrine was, that as we cannot know

things as they are, only as they seem to be, we must be content to

suspend our judgment on such matters and maintain a perfect

imperturbability of soul if we would live to any good.

PYRRHONISM, philosophic scepticism. See PYRRHO.

PYRRHUS, king of Epirus, and kinsman of Alexander the Great; essayed

to emulate the Macedonian by conquering the western World, and in 280 B.C.

invaded Italy with a huge army, directed to assist the Italian Greeks

against Rome; in the decisive battles of that year and the next, he won

"Pyrrhic victories" over the Romans, losing so many men that he could not

pursue his advantage; 278 to 276 he spent helping the Greek colonies in

Sicily against Carthage; his success was not uniform, and a Carthaginian

fleet inflicted a serious defeat on his fleet returning to Italy; in 274

he was thoroughly vanquished by the Romans, and retired to Epirus;

subsequent wars against Sparta and Argos were marked by disaster; in the

latter he was killed by a tile thrown by a woman (318-272 B.C.).

PYRRHUS, called also NEOPTOLEMUS, son of Achilles; was one of

the heroes concealed in the wooden horse by means of which Troy was

entered, slew Priam by the altar of Zeus, and sacrificed Polyxena to the

manes of his father. Andromache, the widow of Hector, fell to him on the

division of the captives after the fall of Troy, and became his wife.

PYTHAGORAS, a celebrated Greek philosopher and founder of a school

named after him Pythagoreans, born at Samos, and who seems to have

flourished between 540 and 500 B.C.; after travels in many lands settled

at Crotona in Magna Græcia, where he founded a fraternity, the members of

which bound themselves in closest ties of friendship to purity of life

and to active co-operation in disseminating and encouraging a kindred

spirit in the community around them, the final aim of it being the

establishment of a model social organisation. He left no writings behind

him, and we know of his philosophy chiefly from the philosophy of his

disciples.

PYTHAGOREANS, the school of philosophy founded by Pythagoras, "the

fundamental thought of which," according to SCHWEGLER, "was that

of proportion and harmony, and this idea is to them as well the principle

of practical life, as the supreme law of the universe." It was a kind of

"arithmetical mysticism, and the leading thought was that law, order, and

agreement obtain in the affairs of Nature, and that these relations are

capable of being expressed in number and in measure." The whole tendency

of the Pythagoreans, in a practical aspect, was ascetic, and aimed only

at a rigid castigation of the moral principle in order thereby to ensure

the emancipation of the soul from its mortal prison-house and its

transmigration into a nobler form. It is with the doctrine of the

transmigration of souls that the Pythagorean philosophy is specially

associated.

PYTHEAS, a celebrated Greek navigator of Massilia, in Gaul, probably

lived in the time of Alexander the Great; in his first voyage visited

Britain and Thule, and in his second coasted along the western shore of

Europe from Cadiz to the Elbe.

PYTHIAN GAMES, celebrated from very early times till the 4th century

A.D. every four years, near Delphi, in honour of Apollo, who was said to

have instituted them to commemorate his victory over the Python;

originally were contests in singing only, but after the middle of the 6th

century B.C. they included instrumental music, contests in poetry and

art, athletic exercises, and horse-racing.

PYTHON, in the Greek mythology a serpent or dragon produced from the

mud left on the earth after the deluge of Deucalion, a brood of sheer

chaos and the dark, who lived in a cave of Parnassus, and was slain by

Apollo, who founded the Pythian Games in commemoration of his victory,

and was in consequence called Pythius.

PYTHONESS, the priestess of APOLLO AT DELPHI (q. v.), so

called from the PYTHON (q. v.), the dragon slain by the god.

PYX, the name of a cup-shaped, gold-lined vessel, with lid, used in

the Roman Catholic churches for containing the eucharistic elements after

their consecration either for adoration in the churches or for conveying

to sick-rooms. Pyx means "box." Hence TRIAL OF THE PYX is the annual

test of the British coinage, for which purpose one coin in every 15 lbs.

of gold and one in every 60 lbs. of silver coined is set aside in a pyx

or box.

Q

QUADRAGESIMA (i. e. fortieth), a name given to Lent because it

lasts forty days, and assigned also to the first Sunday in Lent, the

three Sundays which precede it being called respectively Septuagesima,

Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima.

QUADRANT, an instrument for taking altitudes, consisting of the

graduated arc of a circle of ninety degrees.

QUADRATIC EQUATION, an equation involving the square of the unknown

quantity.

QUADRIGA, a two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses abreast, used

in the ancient chariot races.

QUADRILATERAL, THE, the name given to a combination of four

fortresses, or the space enclosed by them, in North Italy, at Mantua,

Legnago, Verona, and Peschiera.

QUADROON, the name given to a person quarter-blooded, in particular

the offspring of a mulatto and a white person.

QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE, an alliance formed in 1719 between England,

France, Austria, and Holland to secure the thrones of France and England

to the reigning families, and to defeat the schemes of Alberoni to the

aggrandisement of Spain.

QUÆSTORS, the name given in Roman history to the officers entrusted

with the care of the public treasury, originally two in number, one of

them to see to the corn supply in Rome, but eventually, as the empire

extended, increased, till in Cæsar's time they amounted to forty. Under

the kings they were the public prosecutors in cases of murder.

QUAIGH, a name formerly given to a wooden drinking-cup in Scotland.

QUAIN, JONES, anatomist, born at Mallow, Ireland; was professor of

Anatomy and Physiology in London University; was author of "Elements of

Anatomy," of which the first edition was published in 1828, and the tenth

in 1800 (1796-1865).

QUAIN, RICHARD, anatomist, born at Fermoy, Ireland, brother of

preceding, and professor in London University; author of a number of

medical works; bequeathed a large legacy to the university for "education

in modern languages" (1800-1887).

QUAIN, SIR RICHARD, physician, born at Mallow, cousin of preceding;

edited "Dictionary of Medicine," and was President of Medical Council in

1891 (1816-1898).

QUAIR, an old Scotch name for a book.

QUAKERS, the SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (q. v.), so called first by

Justice Bennet of Derby, because Fox bade him quake before the Lord.

QUARANTINE, the prescribed time, generally 40 days (hence the name),

of non-intercourse with the shore for a ship suspected of infection,

latterly enforced, and that very strictly, in the cases of infection with

yellow fever or plague; since November 1896, the system of quarantine as

regards the British Islands has ceased to exist.

QUARLES, FRANCIS, religious poet, born in Essex, of good family; a

member of Christ's College, Cambridge, and Lincoln's Inn; held divers

offices at the Court, in the city, and the Church; was a bigoted Royalist

and Churchman, a voluminous author, both in prose and verse, but is now

remembered for his "Divine Emblems," and perhaps his "Enchiridion"; he

wrote in his quaint way not a few good things (1592-1644).

QUARTER DAYS, in England and Ireland Lady Day, 25th March; Midsummer

Day, 24th June; Michaelmas Day, 29th September; and Christmas Day, 25th

December; while in Scotland the legal terms are Whitsunday, 15th May, and

Martinmas, 11th November, though the Whitsunday term is now changed to

the 28th May.

QUARTER-DECK, the part of a ship abaft the main-mast, or between the

main and mizzen, where there is a poop.

QUARTER-SESSIONS, a court held every quarter by justices of the

peace in the several divisions of a county to try offences against the

peace.

QUARTER-STAFF, strong wooden staff 6½ ft. long, shod with iron,

grasped in the middle; formerly used in England for attack and defence.

QUARTERLY REVIEW, a review started by John Murray, the celebrated

London publisher, in February 1809, in rivalry with the _Edinburgh_,

which had been seven years in possession of the field, and was exerting,

as he judged, an evil influence on public opinion; in this enterprise he

was seconded by Southey and Scott, the more cordially that the

_Edinburgh_ had given offence to the latter by its criticism of

"Marmion." It was founded in the Tory interest for the defence of Church

and State, and it had Gifford for its first editor, while the

contributors included, besides Southey and Scott, all the ablest literary

celebrities on the Tory side, of which the most zealous and frequent was

John Wilson Croker.

QUARTERMASTER, in the army an officer whose duty it is to look after

the quarters, clothing, rations, stores, ammunition, &c., of the

regiment, and in the navy a petty officer who has to see to the stowage,

steerage, soundings, &c., of the ship.

QUARTETTE, a musical piece in four parts, or for four voices or

instruments.

QUARTO, a book having the sheet folded into four leaves.

QUASIMODO SUNDAY, the first Sunday after Easter.

QUASS, a beer made in Russia from rye grain, employed as vinegar

when sour.

QUATRE-BRAS (i. e. four arms), a village 10 m. SE. of Waterloo,

where the roads from Brussels to Charleroi and from Nivelles to Namur

intersect: was the scene of an obstinate conflict between the English

under Wellington and the French under Ney, two days before the battle of

Waterloo.

QUATREFAGES DE BRÉAU, French naturalist and anthropologist, born at

Berthezenne (Gard); studied medicine at Strasburg; was professor at the

Natural History Museum in Paris; devoted himself chiefly to anthropology

and the study of annelides (1810-1892).

QUATREMÈRE, ÉTIENNE MARC, French Orientalist, born in Paris; was

professor at the College of France; was distinguished for his knowledge

of Arabic and Persian, as well as for his works on Egypt; was of vast

learning, but defective in critical ability (1782-1857).

QUATREMÈRE DE QUINCY, a learned French archæologist and writer on

art, born in Paris; was involved in the troubles of the Revolution;

narrowly, as a constitutionalist, escaped the guillotine, and was

deported to Cayenne in 1797, but after his return took no part in

political affairs; wrote a "Dictionary of Antiquities" (1755-1849).

QUATRO CENTO (i. e. four hundred), a term employed by the Italians

to signify one thousand four hundred, that is, the 15th century, and

applied by them to the literature and art of the period.

QUEBEC (1,359), formerly called Lower Canada, one of the Canadian

provinces occupying that part of the valley of the St. Lawrence, and a

narrow stretch of fertile, well-cultivated land on the S. of the river,

which is bounded on the S. by the States of New York and Maine, and on

the E. by New Brunswick; it is twice the size of Great Britain, and

consists of extensive tracks of cultivated land and forests interspersed

with lakes and rivers, affluents of the St. Lawrence; the soil, which is

fertile, yields good crops of cereals, hay, and fruit, and excellent

pasturage, and there is abundance of mineral wealth; it was colonised by

the French in 1608, was taken by the English in 1759-60, and the great

majority of the population is of French extraction.

QUEBEC (63), the capital of the above province, and once of all

Canada, a city of historical interest, is situated on the steep

promontory, 333 feet in height, of the NW. bank of the St. Lawrence, at

the mouth of the St. Charles River, 300 m. from the sea, and 180 m. below

Montreal; it is divided into Upper and Lower, the latter the business

quarter and the former the west-end, as it were; there are numerous

public buildings, including the governor's residence, an Anglican

cathedral, and a university; it is a commercial centre, has a large trade

in timber, besides several manufacturing industries; the aspect of the

town is Norman-French, and there is much about it and the people to

remind one of Normandy.

QUEDLINBURG (19), an old town of Prussian Saxony, on the river Bode,

at the foot of the Harz Mountains, 32 m. SW. of Magdeburg, founded by

Henry the Fowler, and where his remains lie; was long a favourite

residence of the emperors of the Saxon line; it has large nurseries, an

extensive trade in flower seeds, and sundry manufactures.

QUEEN ANNE'S BOUNTY, a fund established in 1704 for the augmentation

of the incomes of the poorer clergy, the amount of which for distribution

in 1890 was £176,896; it was the revenue from a tax on the Church prior

to the Reformation, and which after that was appropriated by the Crown.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, a small group of islands on the W. coast of

North America, N. of Vancouver's Island, 80 m. off the coast of British

Columbia, a half-submerged mountain range, densely wooded, with peaks

that rise sheer up 2000 ft.

QUEENBOROUGH, a town on the Isle of Sheppey, 2 m. S. of Sheerness,

between which and Flushing, in Holland, a line of steamers plies daily.

QUEEN'S COLLEGE, a college for women in Harley Street, London,

founded in 1848, and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1853, of which

Maurice, Trench, and Kingsley were among the originators; attendance of

three years entitles to the rank of "Associate," and of six or more to

that of "Fellow"; it is self-supporting.

QUEEN'S COLLEGES, colleges established in Ireland in 1845 to afford

a university education to members of all religious denominations, and

opened at Belfast, Cork, and Galway in 1849, the first having 23

professors, with 343 students; the second 23 professors, with 181

students; and the third 37 professors, with 91 students. There is also a

Queen's College in Melbourne.

QUEEN'S COUNTY (6), one of the inland counties of Leinster, in

Ireland, N. of King's County, mostly flat; agriculture and dairy-farming

are carried on, with a little woollen and cotton-weaving; population

mostly Roman Catholics.

QUEEN'S METAL, an alloy of nine parts tin and one each of antimony,

lead, and bismuth, is intermediate in hardness between pewter and

britannia metal.

QUEENSLAND, a British colony occupying the NE. of Australia, 1300 m.

from N. to S. and 800 m. from E. to W., two-thirds of it within the

tropics, and occupying an area three times as large as that of France.

Mountains stretch away N. parallel to the coast, and much of the centre

is tableland; one-half of it is covered with forests, and it is fairly

well watered, the rivers being numerous, and the chief the Fitzroy and

the Burdekin. The population is only half a million, and the chief towns

are Brisbane, the capital, Gympie, Maryborough, Rockhampton, and

Townsville. The pastoral industry is very large, and there is

considerable mining for gold. The mineral resources are great, and a

coal-field still to be worked exists in it as large as the whole of

Scotland. Maize and sugar are the principal products of the soil, and

wool, gold, and sugar are the principal exports; the colony is capable of

immense developments. Until 1859 the territory was administered by New

South Wales, but in that year it became an independent colony, with a

government of its own under a Governor appointed by the Crown; the

Parliament consists of two Houses, a Legislative Council of 41 members,

nominated by the Governor, and the Legislative Assembly of 72 members,

elected for three years by manhood suffrage.

QUEENSTOWN, a seaport, formerly called the Cove of Cork, on the S.

shore of Great Island, and 14 m. SE. of Cork; a port of call for the

Atlantic line of steamers, specially important for the receipt and

landing of the mails.

QUELPART (10), an island 52 m. S. of the Corea, 40 m. long by 17

broad, surrounded with small islets in situation to the Corea as Sicily

to Italy.

QUERCITRON, a yellow dye obtained from the bark of a North American

oak.

QUERÉTARO (36), a high-lying Mexican town in a province of the same

name, 150 m. NW. of Mexico; has large cotton-spinning mills; here the

Emperor Maximilian was shot by order of court-martial in 1867.

QUERN, a handmill of stone for grinding corn, of primitive

contrivance, and still used in remote parts of Ireland and Scotland.

QUESNAY, FRANÇOIS, a great French economist, born at Mérez

(Seine-et-Oise), bred to the medical profession, and eminent as a medical

practitioner, was consulting physician to Louis XV., but distinguished

for his articles in the "Encyclopédie" on political economy, and as the

founder of the PHYSIOCRATIC SCHOOL (q. v.), the school which

attaches special importance in State economy to agriculture (1694-1774).

QUESNEL, PASQUIER, a French Jansenist theologian, born in Paris; was

the author of a great many works, but the most celebrated is his

"Reflexions Morales"; was educated at the Sorbonne, and became head of

the congregation of the Oratory in Paris, but was obliged to seek refuge

in Holland with Arnauld on embracing Jansenism; his views exposed him to

severe persecution at the hands of the Jesuits, and his "Reflexions" were

condemned in 101 propositions by the celebrated bull _Unigenitus_; spent

his last years at Amsterdam, and died there (1634-1719).

QUÉTELET, ADOLPHE, Belgian astronomer and statistician, born at

Ghent; wrote on meteorology and anthropology, in the light especially of

statistics (1796-1874).

QUETTA, a strongly fortified town in the N. of Beluchistan,

commanding the Bolan Pass, and occupied by a British garrison. It is also

a health resort from the temperate climate it enjoys.

QUEUES, BAKERS', "long strings of purchasers arranged _in tail_ at

the bakers' shop doors in Paris during the Revolution period, so that

first come be first served, were the shops once open," and that came to

be a Parisian institution.

QUEVEDO Y VILLEGAS, Francisco Gomez de, a Spanish poet, born at

Madrid, of an old illustrious family; left an orphan at an early age, and

educated at Alcalá, the university of which he left with a great name for

scholarship; served as diplomatist and administrator in Sicily under the

Duke of Ossuna, the viceroy, and returned to the Court of Philip IV. in

Spain at his death; struggled hard to purify the corrupt system of

appointments to office in the State then prevailing but was seized and

thrown into confinement, from which, after four years, he was released,

broken in health; he wrote much in verse, but only for his own solace and

in communication with his friends, and still more in prose on a variety

of themes, he being a writer of the most versatile ability, of great

range and attainment (1580-1645).

QUIBÉRON, a small fishing village on a peninsula of the name,

stretching southward from Morbihan, France, near which Hawke defeated a

French fleet in 1759, and where a body of French emigrants attempted to

land in 1795 in order to raise an insurrection, but were defeated by

General Hoche.

QUICHUAS, a civilised people who flourished at one time in Ecuador,

Peru, and Bolivia, and spoke a highly-cultivated language called Quichua

after them.

QUICK, ROBERT HEBERT, English educationist; wrote "Essays on

Educational Reformers"; was in holy orders (1832-1891).

QUICKSAND, sandbank so saturated with water that it gives way under

pressure; found near the mouths of rivers.

QUIETISM, the name given to a mystical religious turn of mind which

seeks to attain spiritual illumination and perfection by maintaining a

purely passive and susceptive attitude to Divine communication and

revelation, shutting out all consciousness of self and all sense of

external things, and independently of the observance of the practical

virtues. The high-priest of Quietism was the Spanish priest

MOLINOS (q. v.), and his chief disciple in France was Madame de

Guyon, who infected the mind of the saintly Fénélon. The appearance of it

in France, and especially Fénélon's partiality to it, awoke the hostility

of Bossuet, who roused the Church against it, as calculated to have an

injurious effect on the interests of practical morality; indeed the

hostility became so pronounced that Fénélon was forced to retract, to the

gradual dying out of the fanaticism.

QUILIMANE (6), a seaport of East Africa, on the Mozambique Channel,

in a district subject to Portugal; stands 15 m. from the mouth of a river

of the name.

QUILON, a trading town on the W. coast of Travancore, 85 m. N. of

Comorin.

QUIMPER (17), a French town 63 m. SE. of Brest, with a much admired

cathedral; has sundry manufactures, and a fishing industry.

QUIN, JAMES, a celebrated actor, born in London; was celebrated for

his representation of Falstaff, and was the first actor of the day till

the appearance of Garrick in 1741 (1693-1766).

QUINAULT, French poet; his first performances procured for him the

censure of Boileau, but his operas, for which Luini composed the music,

earned for him a good standing among lyric poets (1635-1688).

QUINCEY, DE. See DE QUINCEY.

QUINCY (31), a city in Illinois, U.S., on the Mississippi, 160 m.

above St. Louis; a handsome city, with a large trade and extensive

factories; is a great railway centre.

QUINCY, JOSIAH, American statesman, born at Boston; was bred to the

bar, and entered Congress in 1804, where he distinguished himself by his

oratory as leader of the Federal party, as the sworn foe of

slave-holding, and as an opponent of the admission of the Western States

into the Union; in 1812 he retired from Congress, gave himself for a time

to purely local affairs in Massachusetts, and at length to literary

labours, editing his speeches for one thing, without ceasing to interest

himself in the anti-slavery movement (1772-1864).

QUINET, EDGAR, a French man of letters, born at Bourg, in the

department of Ain; was educated at Bourg and Lyons, went to Paris in

1820, and in 1823 produced a satire called "Les Tablettes du

Juif-Errant," at which time he came under the influence of HERDER

(q. v.) and executed in French a translation of his "Philosophy of

Humanity," prefaced with an introduction which procured him the

friendship of Michelet, a friendship which lasted with life; appointed to

a post in Greece, he collected materials for a work on Modern Greece, and

this, the first fruit of his own view of things as a speculative Radical,

he published in 1830; he now entered the service of the _Revue des Deux

Mondes_, and in the pages of it his prose poem "Ahasuérus" appeared,

which was afterwards published in a book form and soon found a place in

the "Index Expurgatorius" of the Church; this was followed by other

democratic poems, "Napoleon" in 1835 and "Prometheus" in 1838; from 1838

to 1842 he occupied the chair of Foreign Literature in Lyons, and passed

from it to that of the Literature of Southern Europe in the College of

France; here, along with Michelet, he commenced a vehement crusade

against the clerical party, which was brought to a head by his attack on

the Jesuits, and which led to his suspension from the duties of the chair

in 1846; he distrusted Louis Napoleon, and was exiled in 1852, taking up

his abode at Brussels, to return to Paris again only after the Emperor's

fall; through all these troubles he was busy with his pen, in 1838

published his "Examen de la Vie de Jésus," his "Du Genie des Religions,"

"La Révolution Religieuse au xix^{e} Siècle," and other works; he was a

disciple of Herder to the last; he believed in humanity, and religion as

the soul of it (1803-1875).

QUININE, an alkaloid obtained from the bark of several species of

the cinchona tree and others, and which is employed in medicine specially

as a ferbrifuge and a tonic.

QUINISEXT, an ecclesiastical council held at Constantinople in 692,

composed chiefly of Eastern bishops, and not reckoned among the councils

of the Western Church.

QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY, the Sunday before the beginning of Lent.

QUINSY, inflammation of the tonsils of the throat.

QUINTANA, MANUEL JOSÉ, a Spanish lyric and dramatic poet, born in

Madrid; was for a time the champion of liberal ideas in politics, which

he ceased to advocate before he died; is celebrated as the author of a

classic work, being "Lives of Celebrated Spaniards" (1772-1857).

QUINTETTE, a musical composition in obligato parts for five voices

or five instruments.

QUINTILIAN, MARCUS FABIUS, celebrated Latin rhetorician, born in

Spain; went to Rome in the train of Galba, and began to practise at the

bar, but achieved his fame more as teacher in rhetoric than a

practitioner at the bar, a function he discharged with brilliant success

for 20 years under the patronage and favour of the Emperor Vespasian in

particular, being invested by him in consequence with the insignia and

title of consul; with posterity his fame rests on his "Institutes," a

great work, being a complete system of rhetoric in 12 books; he commenced

it in the reign of Domitian after his retirement from his duties as a

public instructor, and it occupied him two years; it is a wise book, ably

written, and fraught with manifold instruction to all whose chosen

profession it is to persuade men (35-92).

QUIPO, knotted cords of different colours used by the ancient

Mexicans and Peruvians for conveying orders or recording events.

QUIRINAL, one of the seven hills on which Rome was built, N. of the

Palatine, and one of the oldest quarters of the city.

QUIRITES, the name the citizens of Rome assumed in their civic

capacity.

QUITO (80), the capital of Ecuador, situated at an elevation of

nearly 9000 ft. above the sea-level, and cut up with ravines; stands in a

region of perpetual spring and amid picturesque surroundings, the air

clear and the sky a dark deep blue. The chief buildings are of stone, but

all the ordinary dwellings are of sun-dried brick and without chimneys.

It is in the heart of a volcanic region, and is subject to frequent

earthquakes, in one of which, in 1797, 40,000 of the inhabitants

perished. The population consists chiefly of Indians, whose religious

interests must be well cared for, for there are no fewer than 400 priests

to watch over their spiritual welfare.

QUITO, CORDILLERA OF, a chain of mountains, the chief of them

volcanic, in Ecuador, containing the loftiest peaks of the Andes, and

including among them Antisana, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo.

QUIT-RENT, a rent the payment of which frees the tenant of a

holding from other services such as were obligatory under feudal tenure.

QUORRA, the name given to the middle and lower course of the Niger.

QUORUM, the number of the members of a governing body required by

law to give legality to any transaction in the name of it.

QURÂN. See KORÂN.

R

RAAB (20), a town in Hungary, 67 m. NW. of Buda Pesth, manufactures

tobacco and cutlery.

RAASAY, one of the Inner Hebrides, belonging to Inverness-shire,

lies between Skye and Ross-shire; bare on the W., picturesque on the E.;

has interesting ruins of Brochel Castle.

RABANT DE ST. ÉTIENNE, a moderate French Revolutionary; member of

the Constituent Assembly; one of the Girondists; opposed the extreme

party, and concealed himself between two walls he had built in his

brother's house; was discovered, and doomed to the guillotine, as were

also those who protected him (1743-1793).

RABAT (26), known also as NEW SALLEE, a declining port in

Morocco, finely situated on elevated ground overlooking the mouth of the

Bu-Ragrag River, 115 m. SE. of Fez; is surrounded by walls, and has a

commanding citadel, a noted tower, interesting ruins, &c.; manufactures

carpets, mats, &c., and exports olive-oil, grain, wool, &c.

RABBI (lit. my master), an appellation of honour applied to a

teacher of the Law among the Jews, in frequent use among them in the days

of Christ, who was frequently saluted by this title.

RABBISM, the name applied in modern times to the principles and

methods of the Jewish Rabbis, particularly in the interpretation of the

Jewish Scriptures.

RABELAIS, FRANÇOIS, great French humorist, born at Chinon, the son

of a poor apothecary; was sent to a convent at nine; became a Franciscan

monk; read and studied a great deal, but, sick of convent life, ran away

at forty years of age; went to Montpellier, and studied medicine, and for

a time practised it, particularly at Lyons; here he commenced the series

of writings that have immortalised his name, his "Gargantua" and

"Pantagruel," which he finished as curé of Meudon, forming a succession

of satires in a vein of riotous mirth on monks, priests, pedants, and all

the incarnate solecisms of the time, yet with all their licentiousness

revealing a heart in love with mankind, and a passionate desire for the

establishment of truth and justice among men (1495-1553).

RACES OF MANKIND. These have been divided into five, the

CAUCASIAN (q. v.) or Indo-European, the Mongolian or Yellow, the

Negro or Black, the Malayan or Tawny, and the India or Copper-coloured.

RACHEL, ELIZA, a great French tragédienne, born in Switzerland, of

Jewish parents; made her _début_ in Paris in 1838, and soon became famous

as the interpreter of the principal characters in the masterpieces of

Racine and Corneille, her crowning triumph being the representation, in

1843, of Phèdre in the tragedy of Racine; she made a great impression

wherever she appeared, realised a large fortune, and died of decline

(1821-1858).

RACINE (21), a flourishing city of Wisconsin, U.S.A., capital of

Racine County, at the entrance of Root River into Lake Michigan, 62 m. N.

of Chicago; has an Episcopal university: trades in lumber, flax, and the

products of various factories.

RACINE, JEAN, great French tragic poet, born at La Ferté Milon, in

the dep. of Aisne; was educated at Beauvais and the Port Royal; in 1663

settled in Paris, gained the favour of Louis XIV. and the friendship of

Boileau, La Fontaine, and Molière, though he quarrelled with the latter,

and finally lost favour with the king, which he never recovered, and

which hastened his death; he raised the French language to the highest

pitch of perfection in his tragedies, of which the chief are "Andromaque"

(1667), "Britannicus" (1669), "Mithridate" (1673), "Iphigénie" (1774),

"Phèdre" (1677), "Esther" (1688), and "Athalie" (1691), as well as an

exquisite comedy entitled "Les Plaideurs" (1669); when Voltaire was asked

to write a commentary on Racine, his answer was, "One had only to write

at the foot of each page, _beau, pathétique, harmonieux, admirable,

sublime_" (1639-1699).

RACK, an instrument of torture; consisted of an oblong wooden frame,

fitted with cords and levers, by means of which the victim's limbs were

racked to the point of dislocation; dates back to Roman times, and was

used against the early Christians; much resorted to by the Spanish

Inquisition, and also at times by the Tudor monarchs of England, though

subsequently prohibited by law in England.

RADCLIFFE (20), a prosperous town of Lancashire, on the Irwell, 7 m.

NW. of Manchester; manufactures cotton, calico, and paper; has bleaching

and dye works, and good coal-mines.

RADCLIFFE, MRS. ANN, _née_ WARD, English novelist, born in

London; wrote a series of popular works which abound in weird tales and

scenes of old castles and gloomy forests, and of which the best known is

the "Mysteries of Udolpho" (1764-1823).

RADCLIFFE, JOHN, physician, born at Wakefield, studied at Oxford;

commenced practice in London; by his art and professional skill rose to

eminence; attended King William and Queen Mary; summoned to attend Queen

Anne but did not, pleading illness, and on the queen's death was obliged

to disappear from London; left £40,000 to found a public library in the

University of Oxford (1650-1714).

RADETZKY, JOHANN, COUNT VON, Austrian field-marshal, born in

Bohemia; entered the Austrian army in 1784; distinguished himself in the

war with Turkey in 1788-89, and in all the wars of Austria with France;

checked the Revolution in Lombardy in 1848; defeated and almost

annihilated the Piedmontese army under Charles Albert in 1849, and

compelled Venice to capitulate in the same year, after which he was

appointed Governor of Lombardy (1766-1858).

RADICALS, a class of English politicians who, at the end of the 18th

century and the beginning of the 19th, aimed at the political

emancipation of the mass of the people by giving them a share in the

election of parliamentary representatives. Their Radicalism went no

farther than that, and on principle could not go farther.

RADNORSHIRE (22), the least populous of the Welsh counties; lies on

the English border between Montgomery (N.) and Brecknock (S.); has a wild

and dreary surface, mountainous and woody. RADNOR FOREST covers an

elevated heathy tract in the E.; is watered by the Wye and the Teme. The

soil does not favour agriculture, and stock-raising is the chief

industry. Contains some excellent spas, that at Llandrindod the most

popular. County town, Presteign.

RADOWITZ, JOSEPH VON, Prussian statesman; entered the army as an

artillery officer, rose to be chief of the artillery staff; by marriage

became connected with the aristocracy; at length head of the

Anti-Revolutionary party in the State, and the political adviser of

William IV., in which capacity he endeavoured to effect a reform of the

German Diet, and to give a political constitution to Germany (1797-1853).

RAE, JOHN, Arctic voyager, born in Orkney, studied medicine in

Edinburgh; first visited the Arctic regions as a surgeon; was engaged in

three expeditions to these regions, of which he published reports; was

made a LL.D. of Edinburgh University on the occasion of Carlyle's

installation as Lord Rector (1813-1893).

RAEBURN, SIR HENRY, portrait-painter, born at Stockbridge,

Edinburgh; was educated at George Heriot's Hospital; apprenticed to a

goldsmith in the city, and gave early promise of his abilities as an

artist; went to Italy; was introduced to Reynolds by the way, and after

two years' absence settled in Edinburgh, and became famous as one of the

greatest painters of the day; the portraits he painted included

likenesses of all the distinguished Scotsmen of the period, at the head

of them Sir Walter Scott; was knighted by George IV. a short time before

his death (1756-1823).

RAFF, JOACHIM, musical composer of the Wagner School, born at

Lachen, in Switzerland; began life as a schoolmaster; was attracted to

music; studied at Weimar; lived near Liszt, and became Director of the

Conservatorium at Frankfort-on-Main; his works include symphonies,

overtures, with pieces for the violin and the piano (1822-1882).

RAFFLES, SIR THOMAS STAMFORD, English administrator, born in

Jamaica; entered the East India Company's service, and rose in it; became

Governor of Java, and wrote a history of it; held afterwards an important

post in Sumatra, and formed a settlement at Singapore; returned to

England with a rich collection of natural objects and documents, but lost

most of them by the ship taking fire (1781-1826).

RAFN, KARL CHRISTIAN, Danish archæologist, born in Fünen; devoted

his life to the study of northern antiquities; edited numerous Norse

MSS.; executed translations of Norse literature; wrote original treatises

in the same interest, and by his researches established the fact of the

discovery of America by the Norsemen in the 10th century (1796-1864).

RAGGED SCHOOLS, a name given to the charity schools which provide

education and, in most cases, food, clothing, and lodging for destitute

children; they receive no Government support. The movement had its

beginning in the magnanimous efforts of John Pounds (_d_. 1839), a

shoemaker of Portsmouth; but the zeal and eloquence of Dr. GUTHRIE

(q. v.) of Edinburgh greatly furthered the development and spread of

these schools throughout the kingdom.

RAGLAN, FITZROY SOMERSET, LORD, youngest son of the Duke of

Beaufort; entered the army at sixteen; served with distinction all

through the Peninsular War; became aide-de-camp to the Duke of

Wellington, and his military secretary; lost his right arm at Waterloo;

did diplomatic service at Paris in 1815, and held afterwards a succession

of important military posts; was appointed commander-in-chief of the

British forces in the Crimea, and was present at all the engagements till

attacked by cholera, aggravated by a repulse and unjust reflections on

his conduct of the war, he sank exhausted and died (1788-1855).

RAGMAN ROLL, the name given to a record of the acts of fealty and

homage done by the Scottish nobility and gentry in 1296 to Edward I. of

England, and of value for the list it supplies of the nobles, gentry,

burgesses, and clergy of the country at that period. The original written

rolls of parchment have perished, but an abridged form is extant, and

preserved in the Tower of London.

RAGNARÖK, in the Norse mythology the twilight of the gods, when it

was predicted "the Divine powers and the chaotic brute ones, after long

contest and partial victory by the former, should meet at last in

universal, world-embracing wrestle and duel, strength against strength,

mutually extinctive, and ruin, 'twilight' sinking into darkness, shall

swallow up the whole created universe, the old universe of the Norse

gods"; in which catastrophe Vidar and another are to be spared to found a

new heaven and a new earth, the sovereign of which shall be Justice.

"Insight this," says Carlyle, "of how, though all dies, and even gods

die, yet all death is but a Phoenix fire-death, and new birth into the

greater and the better as the fundamental law of being."

RAGUSA, a decayed Austrian city on the Dalmatian coast, fronting the

Adriatic; has interesting remains of its ancient greatness, and still

contains several fine monastic and other buildings.

RAHEL, wife of Varnhagen von Ense, born in Berlin, of Jewish

parentage; was a woman of "rare gifts, worth, and true genius, and equal

to the highest thoughts of her century," and lived in intimate relation

with all the intellectual lights of Germany at the time; worshipped at

the shrine of Goethe, and was the foster-mother of German genius

generally in her day; she did nothing of a literary kind herself; all

that remains of her gifts in that line are her Letters, published by her

husband on her death, which letters, however, are intensively subjective,

and reveal the state rather of her feelings than the thoughts of her mind

(1771-1833).

RAIKES, ROBERT, the founder of Sunday Schools, born in Gloucester;

by profession a printer; lived to see his pet institution established far

and wide over England; left a fortune for benevolent objects (1735-1811).

RAILWAY KING, name given by Sydney Smith to GEORGE HUDSON

(q. v.), the great railway speculator, who is said to have one day in

the course of his speculations realised as much in scrip as £100,000.

RAINY, ROBERT, eminent Scottish ecclesiastic, born in Glasgow;

professor of Church History and Principal in the Free Church College,

Edinburgh; an able man, a sagacious and an earnest, a distinguished

leader of the Free Church; forced into that position more by

circumstances, it is believed, than by natural inclination, and in that

situation some think more a loss than a gain to the Church catholic, to

which in heart and as a scholar he belongs; _b_. 1826.

RAJAH, a title which originally belonged to princes of the Hindu

race, who exercised sovereign rights over some tract of territory; now

applied loosely to native princes or nobles with or without territorial

lordship.

RAJMAHAL (4), an interesting old Indian town, crowns an elevated

site on the Ganges, 170 m. NW. of Calcutta; has ruins of several palaces.

RAJON, PAUL ADOLPHE, French etcher, born at Dijon; made his mark in

1866 with his "Rembrandt at Work"; carried off medals at the Salon;

visited England in 1872, and executed notable etchings of portraits of

J.S. Mill, Darwin, Tennyson, &c. (1842-1888).

RAJPUT, a name given to a Hindu of royal descent or of the high

military caste. See CASTE.

RAJPUTANA (12,016), an extensive tract of country in the NW. of

India, S. of the Punjab, embracing some twenty native States and the

British district, Ajmere-Merwara. The Aravalli Hills traverse the S.,

while the Thar or Great Indian Desert occupies the N. and W. Jodhpur is

the largest of the native territories, and the Rajputs, a proud and

warlike people are the dominant race in many of the States.

RAKOCZY MARCH, the national anthem of the Hungarians, composed about

the end of the 17th century by an unknown composer, and said to have been

the favourite march of Francis Rakoczy II. of Transylvania.

RAKSHASAS, in the Hindu mythology a species of evil spirits, akin to

ogres.

RALEIGH, SIR WALTER, courtier, soldier, and man of letters, born

near Budleigh, in E. Devon, of ancient family; entered as student at

Oxford, but at 17 joined a small volunteer force in aid of the

Protestants in France; in 1580 distinguished himself in suppressing a

rebellion in Ireland; was in 1582 introduced at court, fascinated the

heart of the Queen by his handsome presence and his gallant bearing, and

received no end of favours at her hand; joined his half-brother, Sir

Humphrey Gilbert, in an expedition to North America, founded a colony,

which he called Virginia in honour of the queen, and brought home with

him the potato and the tobacco plants, till then unknown in this country;

rendered distinguished services in the destruction of the Armada; visited

and explored Guiana, and brought back tidings of its wealth in gold and

precious things; fell into disfavour with the queen, but regained her

esteem; under King James he became suspected of disloyalty, and was

committed to the Tower, where he remained 12 years, and wrote his

"History of the World"; on his release, but without a pardon, he set out

to the Orinoco in quest of gold-mines there, but returned heart-broken

and to be sentenced to die; he met his fate with calm courage, and was

beheaded in the Old Palace Yard; of the executioner's axe he smilingly

remarked, "A sharp medicine, but an infallible cure" (1552-1618).

RALSTON, WILLIAM SHEDDEN, a noted Russian scholar and translator,

born in London; studied at Cambridge, and in 1862 was called to the bar,

but never practised; assistant in the British Museum library till 1875;

visited Russia; his works embrace "Songs of the Russian People," "Russian

Folk-Tales," &c. (1828-1889).

RÂMA, in the Hindu mythology an avatar of Vishnu, being the seventh,

in the character of a hero, a destroyer of monsters and a bringer of joy,

as the name signifies, the narrative of whose exploits are given in the

"RÂMÂYANA" (q. v.).

RAMADAN, the ninth month of the Mohammedan year, a kind of Lent,

held sacred as a month of fasting by all Moslems, being the month in the

life of Mahomet when, as he spent it alone in meditation and prayer, his

eyes were opened to see, through the shows of things, into the one

eternal Reality, the greatness and absolute sovereignty of Allah.

RÂMÂYANA, one of the two great epic poems, and the best, of the

Hindus, celebrating the life and exploits of Râma, "a work of art in

which an elevated religious and moral spirit is allied with much poetic

fiction, ... written in accents of an ardent charity, of a compassion, a

tenderness, and a humility at once sweet and plaintive, which ever and

anon suggest Christian influences."

RAMBLER, a periodical containing essays by Johnson in the

_Spectator_ vein, issued in 1750-52, but written in that "stiff and

cumbrous style which," as Professor Saintsbury remarks, "has been rather

unjustly identified with Johnson's manner of writing generally."

RAMBOUILLET, MARQUISE DE, a lady of wealth and a lover of literature

and art, born in Rome, who settled in Paris, and conceiving the idea of

forming a society of her own, gathered together into her salon a select

circle of intellectual people, which, degenerating into pedantry, became

an object of general ridicule, and was dissolved at her death

(1588-1665).

RAMEAU, JEAN PHILIPPE, French composer, born at Dijon; wrote on

harmony, and, settling in Paris, composed operas, his first "Hippolyte et

Aricie," and his best "Castor et Pollux" (1683-1764).

RAMESES, the name of several ancient kings of Egypt, of which the

most famous are R. II., who erected a number of monuments in token of his

greatness, and at whose court Moses was brought up; and R. III., the

first king of the twentieth dynasty, under whose successors the power of

Egypt fell into decay.

RAMILLIES, Belgian village in Brabant, 14 m. N. of Namur; scene of

Marlborough's victory over the French under Villeroy in 1706.

RAMMOHUN ROY, a Brahman, founder of the Brahmo-Somaj, born at

Burdwân, Lower Bengal; by study of the theology of the West was led to

embrace deism, and tried to persuade his countrymen to accept the same

faith, by proofs which he advanced to show that it was the doctrine of

their own sacred books, in particular the Upanishads; with this view he

translated and published a number of texts from them in vindication of

his contention, as well as expounded his own conviction in original

treatises; in doing so he naturally became an object of attack, and was

put on his defence, which he conducted in a succession of writings that

remain models of controversial literature; died in Bristol (1772-1833).

RAMSAY, ALLAN, Scottish poet, born in Crawford, Lanarkshire; bred a

wig-maker; took to bookselling, and published his own poems, "The Gentle

Shepherd," a pastoral, among the number, a piece which describes and

depicts manners very charmingly (1686-1758).

RAMSAY, ALLAN, portrait-painter, son of preceding; studied three

years in Italy, settled in London, and was named first painter to George

III. (1715-1764).

RAMSAY, EDWARD BANNERMAN, dean of Edinburgh, born at Aberdeen,

graduated at Cambridge; held several curacies; became incumbent of St.

John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, in 1830, and dean of the diocese in

1840; declined a bishopric twice over; is widely known as the author of

"Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character"; was a most genial,

lovable man, a great lover of his country, and much esteemed in his day

by all the citizens of Edinburgh (1793-1872).

RAMSBOTTOM (17), a busy manufacturing town in Lancashire, on the

Irwell, 4 m. N. of Bury, engaged in cotton-weaving, calico-printing,

rope-making, &c.

RAMSDEN, JESSE, mathematical instrument-maker and inventor, born in

Yorkshire; invented the theodolite for the Ordnance Survey of Great

Britain (1735-1800).

RAMSEY, a beautifully situated, healthy watering-place, 14 m. NE. of

Douglas, in the Isle of Man.

RAMSGATE (25), a popular watering-place in the Isle of Thanet, Kent,

fronting the Downs, 72 m. E. by S. of London; has a famous harbour of

refuge; to the W. lies Pegwell Bay with Ebbsfleet.

RAMUS, PETER, or PIERRE DE LA RAMÉE, a French philosopher and

humanist, son of poor parents; became a servant in the College of

Navarre; devoted his leisure to study, and became a great scholar;

attacked scholasticism in a work against Aristotle as the main pillar of

the system, and was interdicted from teaching philosophy, but the

judgment was reversed by Henry II., and he was made a royal professor; he

turned Protestant in the end, and was massacred on the eve of St.

Bartholomew (1515-1572).

RANAVALONA III., queen of Madagascar; was crowned in 1883, but her

kingdom and capital were taken from her by the French in 1893, and she is

now queen only in name; _b_. 1861.

RANCHING, a term of Spanish derivation applied to the business of

rearing cattle, as carried on in the southern and western States of

America; vast herds of cattle in a half-wild condition are raised on the

wide stretches of prairie land, and are tended by "cowboys," whose free,

adventurous life attracts men of all sorts and conditions.

RANDALL, JAMES RYDER, American journalist; author of "Maryland, my

Maryland," "Stonewall Jackson," and other popular lyrics, which greatly

heartened the Southern cause in the Civil War; born in Baltimore; engaged

in teaching till he took to journalism; _b_. 1839.

RANDOLPH, JOHN, a noted eccentric American politician, born at

Cawsons, Virginia; entered Congress in 1799, and held a commanding

position there as leader of the Democratic party; was a witty, sarcastic

speaker; sat in the Senate from 1825 to 1827, and in 1830 was Minister to

Russia; liberated and provided for his slaves (1773-1833).

RANDOLPH, SIR THOMAS, English diplomatist, was sent on diplomatic

missions by Queen Elizabeth, and particularly mixed up in Scotch

intrigues, and had to flee from Scotland for his life; left Memoirs

(1523-1590).

RANDOLPH, THOMAS, English poet, wrote odes and sundry dramas, of

which the "Muses' Looking-Glass" and "Amyntas" are the best, though not

absolutely good (1605-1634).

RANEE, name given to a Hindu princess or queen; a rajah's wife.

RANELAGH, a place of resort in grounds at Chelsea of people of

fashion during the last half of the 18th century, with a promenade where

music and dancing were the chief attractions.

RANGOON (180), capital and chief port of British Burmah, situated 20

m. inland from the Gulf of Martaban, on the Hlaing or Rangoon River, the

eastmost of the delta streams of the Irrawaddy; British since 1852; a

well-appointed city of modern appearance, strongly fortified; contains

the famous Shway-Dagon pagoda erected in the 6th century B.C.; has

extensive docks, and negotiates the vast bulk of Burmese exports and

imports; the former include teak, gums, spices, and rice.

RANJIT SINGH, the maharajah of the Sikhs, after taking possession of

Lahore, became undisputed master of the Punjab, and imposed on his

subjects the monarchical form of government, which was shattered to

fragments after his death; he was the possessor of the Koh-i-Nur diamond

(1797-1839).

RANJITSINHJI, Indian prince, born at Sarodar; studied at Cambridge;

devoted himself to cricket, and became famous for his brilliant play;

_b_. 1872.

RANKE, LEOPOLD VON, distinguished German historian, born in

Thüringia just 16 days after Thomas Carlyle; began life similarly as a

teacher and devoted his leisure hours to the study of history and the

publication of historical works; was in 1825 appointed professor of

History at Berlin; was commissioned by the Prussian government to explore

the historical archives of Vienna, Rome, and Venice, the fruit of which

was seen in his subsequent historical labours, which bore not only upon

the critical periods of German history, but those of Italy, France, and

even England; of his numerous works, all founded on the impartial study

of facts, it is enough to mention here his "History of the Popes in the

Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries" and his "German History in the Times

of the Reformation" (1795-1886).

RANKINE, W. J. MACQUORN, mathematician and physicist, born in

Edinburgh; devoted himself to engineering, and held the chair of

Engineering in Glasgow University; wrote extensively on mathematical and

physical subjects, both theoretical and practical (1820-1872).

RANNOCH, an elevated, dreary moorland in NW. of Perthshire, crossed

by the West Highland Railway; Lochs Rannoch and Tummel lie to the E. and

Loch Lydoch in the W.

RANTERS, a name given to the Primitive Methodists who seceded from

the Wesleyan body on account of a deficiency of zeal.

RANZ DES VACHES, a simple melody, played on the horn by the Swiss

Alpine herdsmen as they drive their cattle to or from the pasture, and

which, when played in foreign lands, produces on a Swiss an almost

irrepressible yearning for home.

RAPE OF THE LOCK, a dainty production of Pope's, pronounced by

Stopford Brooke to be "the most brilliant occasional poem in the

language."

RAPHAEL, one of the seven archangels and the guardian of mankind,

conducted Tobias to the country of the Medes and aided him in capturing

the miraculous fish, an effigies of which, as also a pilgrim's staff, is

an attribute of the archangel.

RAPHAEL, SANTI, celebrated painter, sculptor, and architect, born at

Urbino, son of a painter; studied under Perugino for several years,

visited Florence in 1504, and chiefly lived there till 1508, when he was

called to Rome by Pope Julius II., where he spent the rest of his short

life and founded a school, several of the members of which became eminent

in art; he was one of the greatest of artists, and his works were

numerous and varied, which included frescoes, cartoons, madonnas,

portraits, easel pictures, drawings, &c., besides sculpture and

architectural designs, and all within the brief period of 37 years; he

had nearly finished "The Transfiguration" when he died of fever caught in

the excavations of Rome; he was what might be called a learned artist,

and his works were the fruits of the study of the masters that preceded

him, particularly Perugino and the Florentines, and only in the end might

his work be called his own; it is for this reason that modern

Pre-Raphaelitism is so called, as presumed to be observant of the simple

dictum of Ruskin, "Look at Nature with your own eyes, and paint only what

yourselves see" (1483-1520). See PRE-RAPHAELITISM.

RAPIN DE THOYRAS, French historian, born at Castres; driven from

France by the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, settled in Holland, came

over to England with and served under the Prince of Orange, withdrew to

Holland and wrote a "History of England," deservedly much in repute for

long, if not still (1661-1725).

RAPP, GEORGE, German fanatic, born in Würtemberg, emigrated to

America, and founded a fraternity called Harmonites, who by tillage of

land on the Ohio and otherwise amassed great wealth, to be kept in store

for the service of Christ at His second coming (1770-1847).

RAPP, JEAN, French general, born at Colmar; served under Napoleon

with distinction all through his wars, held Danzig for a whole year

against a powerful Russian army, was kept prisoner by the Russians after

surrender, returned to France, and submitted to Louis XVIII. after

Waterloo (1772-1821).

RAPPAHANNOCK, a navigable river of Virginia State, rises in the

Alleghanies, and after a course of 125 m. to the SE. discharges into

Chesapeake Bay.

RASHI, a Jewish scholar and exegete, born at Troyes; was an expert

in all departments of Jewish lore as contained in both the Scriptures and

the Talmud, and indulged much in the favourite Rabbinical allegorical

style of interpretation (1040-1105).

RASK, RASMUS CHRISTIAN, Danish philologist, born near Odense;

studied first the primitive languages of the North, chiefly Icelandic,

and then those of the East, and published the results of his researches

both by his writings and as professor of Oriental Languages and of

Icelandic in the university of Copenhagen (1787-1832).

RASKOLINK (lit. a separatist), in Russia a sect, of which there

are many varieties, of dissenters from the Greek Church.

RASPAIL, FRANÇOIS VINCENT, French chemist, physiologist, and

socialist; got into trouble both under Louis Philippe and Louis Napoleon

for his political opinions (1794-1878).

RASSAM, HORMUZD, Assyriologist, born at Mosul; assisted Layard in

his explorations at Nineveh, and was subsequently, under support from

Britain, engaged in further explorations both there and elsewhere; being

sent on a mission to Abyssinia, was put in prison and only released after

the defeat of Theodore; _b_. 1826.

RASSELAS, a quasi-novel written in 1759 by Johnson to pay the

expenses of his mother's funeral, the subject of which is an imaginary

prince of Abyssinia, and its aim a satire in sombre vein on human life.

RASTATT or RASTADT (12), a town in Baden, on the Murg, 15 m.

SW. of Carlsruhe; is fortified, and manufactures hardware, beer, and

tobacco.

RATAÑA, a brandy flavoured with kernels of fruits.

RATHLIN (1), a picturesque, cliff-girt island (6½ by 1-1/3 m.) off

the N. coast of Antrim; fishing is the chief industry; has interesting

historical associations.

RATICH, WOLFGANG, German educationalist, born in Wilster (Holstein);

a forerunner of Comenius; his theory of education, which in his hands

proved a failure, was based on Baconian principles; proceeded from things

to names, and from the mother tongue to foreign ones (1571-1635).

RATIONAL HORIZON, a great circle parallel to the horizon, the centre

of which is the centre of the earth.

RATIONALISM, MODERN, a speculative point of view that resolves the

supernatural into the natural, inspiration into observation, and

revelation into what its adherents called reason, when they mean simply

understanding, and which ends in stripping us naked, and leaving us empty

of all the spiritual wealth accumulated by the wise in past ages, and

bequeathed to us as an inheritance that had cost them their life's blood.

RATISBON or REGENSBURG (38), one of the oldest and most

interesting of German towns in Bavaria, on the Danube, 82 m. NE. of

Münich; has a quaint and mediæval appearance, with Gothic buildings and

winding streets; associated with many stirring historical events; till

1806 the seat of the imperial diet; does an active trade in salt and

corn, and manufactures porcelain, brass, steel, and other wares.

RATTAZZI, URBANO, Italian statesman, born at Alessandria; was leader

of the extreme party in the Sardinian Chamber in 1849, and was several

times minister, but was unstable in his politics (1808-1873).

RAUCH, CHRISTIAN, eminent Prussian sculptor, born in Waldeck;

patronised by royalty; studied at Rome under Thorwaldsen and Canova;

resided chiefly in Berlin; executed statues of Blücher, Dürer, Goethe,

Schiller, and others, as well as busts; his masterpiece is a colossal

monument in Berlin of Frederick the Great (1777-1857).

RAUHES HAUS ("Rough House"), a remarkable institution for the

reclamation and training of neglected children, founded (1831), and for

many years managed by Johann Heinrich Wichern at Hoon, near Hamburg; it

is affiliated to the German Home Mission.

RAUMER, FRIEDRICH LUDWIG GEORG VON, German historian; was professor

of History at Berlin; wrote the "History of the Hohenstaufen and their

Times," and a "History of Europe from the End of the 15th Century"

(1781-1873).

RAVAILLAC, FRANÇOIS, the assassin of Henry IV., born at Angoulême; a

Roman Catholic fanatic, who regarded the king as the arch-enemy of the

Church, and stabbed him to the heart as he sat in his carriage; was

instantly seized, subjected to torture, and had his body torn by horses

limb from limb (1578-1640).

RAVANA, in the Hindu mythology the king of the demons, who carried

off Sita, the wife of Râma, to Ceylon, which, with the help of the

monkey-god Hanuman, and a host of quadrumana, Râma invaded and conquered,

slaying his wife's ravisher, and bringing her off safe, a story which

forms the subject of the Hindu epic, "Râmâyana."

RAVENNA (12), a venerable walled city of Italy; once a seaport, now

5 m. inland from the Adriatic, and 43 m. E. of Bologna; was capital of

the Western Empire for some 350 years; a republic in the Middle Ages, and

a papal possession till 1860; especially rich in monuments and buildings

of early Christian art; has also picture gallery, museum, library,

leaning tower, etc.; manufactures silk, linen, paper, etc.

RAVENNA, EXARCH OF, the viceroy of the Byzantine Empire in Italy

while the latter was a dependency of the former, and who resided at

Ravenna.

RAVENSCROFT, THOMAS, musical composer, born in London; was a

chorister in St. Paul's Cathedral; composed many part-songs, etc., but is

chiefly remembered for his "Book of Psalmes," which he edited and partly

composed; some of the oldest and best known Psalms (e. g. Bangor, St

David's) are by him (1592-1640).

RAVENSWOOD, a Scottish Jacobite, the hero of Scott's "Bride of

Lammermoor."

RAVIGNAN, GUSTAVE DELACROIX DE, a noted Jesuit preacher, born at

Bayonne; won wide celebrity by his powerful preaching in Notre Dame,

Paris; wrote books in defence of his order (1795-1858).

RAWAL PINDI (74), a trading and military town in the Punjab, 160 m.

NW. of Lahore; has an arsenal, fort, etc., and is an important centre for

the Afghanistan and Cashmere trades.

RAWLINSON, GEORGE, Orientalist, brother of following, Canon of

Canterbury; has written extensively on Eastern and Biblical subjects:

_b_. 1815.

RAWLINSON, SIR HENRY, Assyriologist, born in Oxfordshire; entered

the Indian Army in 1827; held several diplomatic posts, particularly in

Persia; gave himself to the study of cuneiform inscriptions, and became

an authority in the rendering of them and matters relative (1810-1895).

RAY, JOHN, English naturalist, born in Essex; studied at Cambridge;

travelled extensively collecting specimens in the departments of both

botany and zoology, and classifying them, and wrote works on both as well

as on theology (1628-1705).

RAYLEIGH, LORD, physicist, was senior wrangler at Cambridge; is

professor of Natural Philosophy in the Royal Institution; author of "The

Theory of Sound"; discovered, along with Professor Ramsay, "argon" in the

atmosphere; _b_. 1842.

RAYMOND, name of a succession of Counts of Toulouse, in France,

seven in number, of which the fourth count, from 1088 to 1105, was a

leader in the first crusade, and the sixth, who became Count in 1194, was

stripped of his estate by Simon de Montfort.

RAYNAL, THE ABBÉ, French philosopher; wrote "Histoire des Indes" and

edited "Philosophic History," distinguished for its "lubricity,

unveracity, loose, loud eleutheromaniac rant," saw it burnt by the common

hangman, and his wish fulfilled as a "martyr" to liberty (1713-1796).

RAYNOUARD, FRANÇOIS, French littérateur and philologist, born in

Provence; was of the Girondist party at the time of the Revolution, and

imprisoned; wrote poems and tragedies, but eventually gave himself up to

the study of the language and literature of Provence (1761-1836).

RÉ, ISLE OF (16), small island, 18 m. by 3, off the French coast,

opposite La Rochelle; salt manufacturing chief industry; also oysters and

wine are exported. Chief town, St. Martin (2).

READE, CHARLES, English novelist, born at Ipsden, in Oxfordshire;

studied at Oxford; became a Fellow of Magdalen College, and was called to

the bar in 1842; began his literary life by play-writing; studied the art

of fiction for 15 years, and first made his mark as novelist in 1852,

when he was nearly 40, by the publication of "Peg Woffington," which was

followed in 1856 by "It is Never too Late to Mend," and in 1861 by "The

Cloister and the Hearth," the last his best and the most popular; several

of his later novels are written with a purpose, such as "Hard Cash" and

"Foul Play"; his most popular plays are "Masks and Faces" and "Drink"

(1814-1884).

READING (61), capital of Berkshire, on the Kennet, 36 m. N. of

London; a town of considerable historic interest; was ravaged by the

Danes; has imposing ruins of a 12th-century Benedictine abbey, &c.; was

besieged and taken by Essex in the Civil War (1643); birthplace of

Archbishop Laud; has an important agricultural produce-market, and its

manufactures include iron-ware, paper, sauce, and biscuits.

READING (79), capital of Berks Co., Pennsylvania, on the Schuylkill

River, 58 m. NW. of Philadelphia; has flourishing iron and steel works;

population includes a large German settlement.

REAL, an old Spanish silver coin still in use in Spain, Mexico, and

some other of the old Spanish colonies, also is a money of account in

Portugal; equals one-fourth of the _peseta_, and varies in value from 2½

d. to 5d. with the rise and fall of exchange.

REAL, a legal term in English law applied to property of a permanent

or immovable kind, e. g. land, to distinguish it from _personal_ or

movable property.

REAL PRESENCE, the assumed presence, really and substantially, in

the bread and wine of the Eucharist of the body and blood, the soul and

divinity, of Christ, a doctrine of the Romish and certain other Churches.

REALISM, as opposed to Nominalism, is the belief that general terms

denote real things and are not mere names or answerable to the mere

conception of them, and as opposed to idealism, is in philosophy the

belief that we have an immediate cognition of things external to us, and

that they are as they seem. In art and literature it is the tendency to

conceive and represent things as they are, however unsightly and immoral

they may be, without any respect to the beautiful, the true, or the good.

In Ruskin's teaching mere realism is not art; according to him art is

concerned with the rendering and portrayal of ideals.

REALM, ESTATES OF THE, the Sovereign, the House of Lords, and the

House of Commons in Great Britain.

REAL-SCHULE, a German school in which languages, sciences, and arts

are taught to qualify for apprenticeship in some special business or

craft.

REASON, in philosophy is more than mere understanding or reasoning

power; it is the constitutive and regulative soul of the universe assumed

to live and breathe in the inner life or soul of man, as that develops

itself in the creations of human genius working in accord with and

revealing the deep purpose of the Maker.