Chapter 15

Le Perche, qui se trouve partagé entre les départements de l’Orne et d’Eure-et-Loir, est un contrée fort boisée, dans laquelle la plupart des champs sont entourés de haies dans lesquelles sont ménagées certaines ouvertures propres à donner passage aux piétons seulement, et que l’on nommeéchalliers.—Hilaire le Gai.

Percinet, a fairy prince, in love with Graciosa. The prince succeeds in thwarting the malicious designs of Grognon, the step-mother of the lovely princess.—Percinet and Graciosa(a fairy tale).

Percival(Sir), the third son of Sir Pellinore, king of Wales. His brothers were Sir Aglavale and Sir Lamorake Dornar, usually called Sir Lamorake de Galis (Wales). Sir Tor was his half-brother. Sir Percival caught a sight of the Holy Graal after his combat with Sir Ector de Maris (brother of Sir Launcelot), and both were miraculously healed by it. Crétien de Troyes wrote theRoman de Perceval(before 1200), and Menessier produced the same story in a metrical form. (SeeParzival.)

Sir Percivale had a glimmering of the Sancgreall and of the maiden that bare it, for he wasperfect and clean. And forthwith they were both as whole of limb and hide as ever they were in their life days. “O, mercy!” said Sir Percival, “what may this mean?” ... “I wot well,” said Sir Ector ... “it is the holy vessel, wherein is a part of the holy blood of our blessed Saviour; but it may not be seen but by a perfect man.”—Pt. iii. 14.

Sir Percival was with Sir Bors and Sir Galahad, when the visible Saviour went into the consecrated wafer which was given to them by the bishop. This is called the achievement of the quest of the Holy Graal (pt. iii. 101,102.—Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthur(1470).

Percival Glyde(Sir). Rascally husband ofLaura Fairlie. To possess himself of her fortune, he incarcerates her in an insane asylum, gives out that she is dead, and uses the corpse of her half-sister to confirm the rumor.—Wilkie Collins,The Woman in White.

Percy Arundel(Lord Ashdale), son of Lady Arundel, by her second husband. A hot, fiery youth, proud and overbearing. When grown to manhood, a “sea-captain” named Norman, made love to Violet, Lord Ashdale’s cousin. The young “Hotspur” was indignant and somewhat jealous, but discovered that Norman was the son of Lady Arundel by her first husband, and the heir to the title and estates. In the end, Norman agreed to divide the property equally, but claimed Violet for his bride.—Lord Lytton,The Sea-Captain(1839).

Per´dita, the daughter of the Queen Hermionê, born in prison. Her father, King Leontês, commanded the infant to be cast on a desert shore, and left to perish there. Being put to sea, the vessel was driven by a storm to the “coast” of Bohemia, and the infant child was brought up by a shepherd, who called its name Perdĭta. Flor´izel, the son of the Bohemian king, fell in love with Perdita, and courted her under the assumed name of Doriclês; but the king, having tracked his son to the shepherd’s hut, told Perdita that if she did not at once discontinue this foolery, he would command her and the shepherd too to be put to death. Florizel and Perdita now fled from Bohemia to Sicily, and being introduced to the king, it was soon discovered that Perdita was Leontês’s daughter. The Bohemian king, having tracked his son to Sicily, arrived just in time to hear the news, and gave his joyful consent to the union which he had before forbidden.—Shakespeare,The Winter’s Tale(1604).

Perdita, Mrs. Mary Robinson (born Darby), the victim of George IV., while prince of Wales. She first attracted his notice while acting the part of “Perdĭta,” and the prince called himself “Florizel.” George, prince of Wales, settled a pension for life on her, £500 a year for herself, and £200 a year for her daughter. She caught cold one winter, and losing the use of her limbs, could neither walk nor stand (1758-1799, not 1800 as is given usually).

Perdrix, toujours Perdrix!Walpole tells us that the confessor of one of the French kings, having reproved the monarch for his conjugal infidelities, was asked what dish he liked best. The confessor replied, “Partridges;” and the king had partridges served to him every day, till the confessor got quite sick of them. “Perdrix, toujours perdrix!” he would exclaim, as the dish was set before him. After a time, the king visited him, and hoped his favorite dish had been supplied him. “Mais oui,” he replied, “toujours perdrix, toujours perdrix!” “Ah, ah!” saidthe amorous monarch, “and one mistress is all very well, but notperdrix, toujours perdrix!”—SeeNotes and Queries, 337, October 23, 1869).

The story is at least as old as theCent Nouvelles Nouvelles, compiled between 1450-1461, for the amusement of the dauphin of France, afterwards Louis XI. (Notes and Queries, November 27, 1869).

***Farquhar parodies the French expression into “Soup for breakfast, soup for dinner, soup for supper, and soup for breakfast again.”—Farquhar,The Inconstant, iv. 2 (1702).

Père Duchesne(Le), Jacques René Hébert; so called from thePère Duchesne, a newspaper of which he was the editor (1755-1794).

Pereard(Sir), the Black Knight of the Black Lands. Called by Tennyson “Night” or “Nox.” He was one of the four brothers who kept the passages to Castle Perilous, and was overthrown by Sir Gareth.—Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthur, i. 126 (1470); Tennyson,Idylls(“Gareth and Lynette”).

Peredur(Sir), son of Evrawe, called “Sir Peredur of the Long Spear,” one of the knights of the Round Table. He was for many years called “The Dumb Youth,” from a vow he made to speak to no Christian till Angharad of the Golden Hand loved him better than she loved any other man. His great achievements were: (1) the conquest of the Black Oppressor, “who oppressed every one and did justice to no one;” (2) killing the Addanc of the Lake, a monster that devoured daily some of the sons of the king of Tortures. This exploit he was enabled to achieve by means of a stone which kept him invisible; (3) slaying the three hundred heroes privileged to sit round the countess of the Achievements; on the death of these men the seat next the countess was freely given to him; (4) the achievement of the Mount of Mourning, where was a serpent with a stone in its tail which would give inexhaustible wealth to its possessor; Sir Peredur killed the serpent, but gave the stone to his companion, Earl Etlym of the east country. These exploits over, Sir Peredur lived fourteen years with the Empress Cristinobyl the Great.

Sir Peredur is the Welsh name for Sir Percival of Wales.—The Mabinogion(from the Red Book of Hergest, twelfth century).

Per´egrine(3syl.), a sentimental prig, who talks by the book. At the age of 15 he runs away from home, and Job Thornberry lends him ten guineas, “the first earnings of his trade as a brazier.” After thirty years absence, Peregrine returns just as the old brazier is made a bankrupt “through the treachery of a friend.” He tells the bankrupt that his loan of ten guineas has by honest trade grown to 10,000, and these he returns to Thornberry as his own by right. It turns out that Peregrine is the eldest brother of Sir Simon Rochdale, J. P., and when Sir Simon refuses justice to the old brazier Peregrine asserts his right to the estate, etc. At the same time, he hears that the ship he thought was wrecked has come safe into port, and has thus brought him £100,000.—G. Colman, junior,John Bull(1805).

Peregrine Pickle, the hero and title of a novel by Smollett (1751). Peregrine Pickle is a savage, ungrateful spendthrift, fond of practical jokes, and suffering with evil temper the misfortunes brought on himself by his own wilfulness.

Peregri´nus Proteus, a cynic philosopher, born at Parium, on the Hellespont. After a youth spent in debauchery and crimes, he turned Christian, and, to obliterate the memory of his youthful ill practices, divided his inheritance among the people. Ultimately he burned himself to death in public at the Olympic games,A.D.165. Lucan has held up this immolation to ridicule in hisDeath of Peregrinus; and C. M. Wieland has an historic romance in German entitledPeregrinus Proteus(1733-1813).

Per´es(Gil), a canon, and the eldest brother of Gil Blas’ mother. Gil was a little punchy man, three feet and a half high, with his head sunk between his shoulders. He lived well, and brought up his nephew and godchild, Gil Blas. “In so doing, Perês taught himself also to read his breviary without stumbling.” He was the most illiterate canon of the whole chapter.—Lesage,Gil Blas, i. (1715).

Perez(Michael), the “copper captain,” a brave Spanish soldier, duped into marrying Estifania, a servant of intrigue, who passed herself off as a lady of property. Being reduced to great extremities, Estifania pawned the clothes and valuables of her husband; but these “valuables” were but of little worth—a jewel which sparkled as the “light of a dark lanthorn,” a “chain of whitings’ eyes” for pearls, and as for his clothes, she tauntingly says to her husband:

Put these and them [his jewels] on, and you’re a man of copper,A copper, copper captain.Beaumont and Fletcher,Rule a Wife and Have a Wife(1640).

Peri, (plu.,Peris), gentle, fairy-like beings of Eastern mythology, offspring of the fallen angels, and constituting a race of beings between angels and men. They direct with a wand the pure-minded the way to heaven, and dwell in Shadu´kiam´ and Am´bre-abad, two cities subject to Eblis.

Are the peries coming down from their spheres?W. Beckford,Vathek(1786).

Pe´richole(La), the heroine of Offenbach’s comic opera (opera bouffe) of that name. She was originally a street-singer of Lima, the capital of Peru, but became the mistress of the viceroy. She was not a native of Lima and offended the Creole ladies by calling them, in her bad Spanish,pericholas, “flaunting, bedizened creatures,” and they, in retaliation, called her “La Périchole,”i.e., “the flaunting onepar excellence.”

Pericles, the Athenian who raised himself to royal supremacy (diedB.C.429). On his death-bed he overheard his friends recalling his various merits, and told them they had forgotten his greatest praise, viz., that no Athenian through his administration had had to put on mourning,i.e.he had caused no one to be put to death.

Perī´cles was a famous man of warre ...Yet at his death he rather did rejoiceIn clemencie.... “Be still,” quoth he, “you grave Athenians”(Who whisperèd and told his valiant acts);“You have forgot my greatest glorie got:For yet by me nor mine occasionWas never sene a mourning garment worn.”G. Gascoigne,The Steele Glas(died 1577).

Per´icles, prince of Tyre, a voluntary exile, in order to avert the calamities which Anti´ochus, emperor of Greece, vowed against the Tyrians. Pericles, in his wanderings, first came to Tarsus, which he relieved from famine, but was obliged to quit the city to avoid the persecution of Antiochus. He was then shipwrecked, and cast on the shore of Pentap´olis, where he distinguished himself in the public games, and being introduced to the king, fell in love with the Princess Thaïs´a, and married her. At the death of Antiochus, he returned to Tyre; but his wife, supposed to be dead in giving birth to a daughter (Marina), was thrown into the sea. Periclês entrusted his infant child to Cleon (governor of Tarsus), and his wife, Dionysia, who brought her up excellently well till she became a young woman, when Dionysia employed a man to murder her; and when Periclês came to see her, he was shown a splendid sepulchre which had been raised to her honor. On his return home, the ship stopped at Metalinê, and Marina was introduced to Periclês to divert his melancholy. She told him the tale of her life, and he discovered that she was his daughter. Marina was now betrothed to Lysim´achus, governor of Metalinê; and the party, going to the shrine of Diana of Ephesus to return thanks to the goddess, discovered the priestess to be Thaïsa, the wife of Periclês, and mother of Marina.—Shakespeare,Pericles, Prince of Tyre(1608).

***This is the story ofIsmene and Ismeniasby Eustathius. The tale was known to Gower by the translation of Godfrey Viterbo.

Perigort(Cardinal). Previous to the battle of Poitiers, he endeavors to negotiate terms with the French king, but the only terms he can obtain, he tells Prince Edward, are:

That to the castles, towns, and plunder ta’en,And offered now by you to be restored,Your royal person with a hundred knightsAre to be added prisoners at discretion.Shirley,Edward the Black Prince, iv. 2 (1640).

Peri´got(thetpronounced, so as to rhyme withnot), a shepherd in love with Am´oret; but the shepherdess Amaryllis also loves him, and, by the aid of the Sullen Shepherd, gets transformed into the exact likeness of the modest Amoret. By her wanton conduct she disgusts Perigot, who casts her off; and by and by, meeting Amoret, whom he believes to be the same person, rejects her with scorn, and even wounds her with intent to kill. Ultimately the truth is discovered by Clor´in, “the faithful shepherdess,” and the lovers, being reconciled, are married to each other.—John Fletcher,The Faithful Shepherdess(1610).

Periklym´enos, son of Neleus (2syl.). He had the power of changing his form into a bird, beast, reptile, or insect. As a bee, he perched on the chariot of Heraklês (Herculês), and was killed.

Peril´los, of Athens, made a brazen bull for Phal´aris, tyrant of Agrigentum, intended for the execution of criminals. They were to be shut up in the bull, and the metal of the bull was to be made red hot. The cries of the victims inside were so reverberated as to resemble the roarings of a gigantic bull. Phalaris made the first experiment by shutting up the inventor himself in his own bull.

What’s a protector?A tragic actor, Cæsar in a clown;He’s a brass farthing stamped with a crown;A bladder blown with other breaths puffed full;Not a Perillus, but a Perillus’ bull.John Cleveland,A Definition of a Protector(died 1650).

Perilous Castle.The castle of Lord Douglas was so called in the reign of Edward I., because the good Lord Douglas destroyed several English garrisons stationed there, and vowed to be revengedon any one who dared to take possession of it. Sir W. Scott calls it “Castle Dangerous” in his novel so entitled.

***In the story of Gareth and Linet, the castle in which Lionês was held prisoner by Sir Ironside, the Red Knight of the Red Lands, was called Castle Perilous. The passages to the castle were held by four knights, all of whom Sir Gareth overthrew; lastly he conquered Sir Ironside, liberated the lady, and married her.—Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthur, i. 120-153 (1470).

Perimo´nes(Sir), the Red Knight, one of the four brothers who kept the passages to Castle Perilous. He was overthrown by Sir Gareth. Tennyson calls him “Noonday Sun” or “Meridies.”—Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthur, i. 129 (1470); Tennyson,Idylls(“Gareth and Lynette”).

Per´ion, king of Gaul, father of Am´adis of Gaul. His “exploits and adventures” form part of the series calledLe Roman des Romans. This part was added by Juan Diaz (fifteenth century).

***It is generally thought that “Gaul” in this romance is the same asGalis, that is “Wales.”

Perissa, the personification of extravagance, step-sister of Elissa (meanness) and of Medi´na (the golden mean); but they never agreed in any single thing. Perissa’s suitor is Sir Huddibras, a man “more huge in strength than wise in works.” (Greek,perissos, “extravagant,”perissotês,“excess.”).—Spenser,Faëry Queen, ii. 2 (1590).

Per´iwinkle(Mr.), one of the four guardians of Anne Lovely, the heiress. He is a silly, half-witted virtuoso, positive and surly; fond of everything antique and foreign; and wears clothes of the last century. Mr. Periwinkle dotes upon travellers, and believes more of Sir John Mandeville than he does of the Bible. Colonel Feignwell, to obtain his consent to his marriage with Mr. Periwinkle’s ward, disguised himself as an Egyptian, and passed himself off as a great traveller. His dress, he said, “belonged to the famous Claudius Ptolemēus, who lived in the year 135.” One of his curiosities waspoluflosboio, “part of those waves which bore Cleopatra’s vessel, when she went to meet Antony.” Another was themoros musphonon, or girdle of invisibility. His trick, however, miscarried, and he then personated Pillage, the steward of Periwinkle’s father, and obtained Periwinkle’s signature to the marriage by a fluke.—Mrs. Centlivre,A Bold Stroke For a Wife(1717).

Perker(Mr.), the lawyer employed for the defence in the famous suit of “Bardellv.Pickwick” for the breach of promise.—C. Dickens,The Pickwick Papers(1836).

Perkin Warbeck, an historic play or “chronicle history,” by John Ford (1635).

Perley Kelso.A woman with “a weakness for an occupation, who suffers passions of superfluous life. At the Cape she rebelled because Providence did not create her a bluefisher. In Paris, she would make muslin flowers, and learn themétierto-morrow.”—Elizabeth Stuart Phelps,The Silent Partner(1871).

Pernelle(Madame), mother of Orgon; a regular vixen, who interrupts every one, without waiting to hear what was to have been said to her.—Molière,Tartuffe(1664).

Peronella, a pretty country lass, who changes places with an old decrepit queen. Peronella rejoices for a time in the idolatry paid to her rank, but gladly resumes her beauty, youth, and rags.—A Fairy Tale.

Perrette and her Milk-Pail.Perrette, carrying her milk-pail well-poised upon her head, began to speculate on its value. She would sell the milk and buy eggs; she would set the eggs and rear chickens; the chickens she would sell and buy a pig; this she would fatten and change for a cow and calf, and would it not be delightful to see the little calf skip and play? So saying, she gave a skip, let the milk-pail fall, and all the milk ran to waste. “Le lait tombe. Adieu, veau, vache, cochon, couvée,” and poor Perrette “va s’excuser à son mari, en grand danger d’etre battue.”

Quel esprit ne bat la campagne?Qui ne fait château en Espagne?Picrochole[q.v.], Pyrrhus, la laitière, enfin tous,Autant les sages que les fous....Quelque accident fait-il que je rentre en moi-même;Je suis Gros-Jean comme devant.Lafontaine,Fables(“La Laitière et lePo tauLait,” 1668).

(Dodsley has this fable, and makes his milkmaid speculate on the gown she would buy with her money. It should be green, and all the young fellows would ask her to dance, but she would toss her head at them all—but ah! in tossing her head, she tossed over her milk-pail.)

***Echephron, an old soldier, related this fable to the advisers of King Picrochole, when they persuaded the king to go to war: A shoemaker bought a ha’p’orth of milk; this he intended to make into butter, and with the money thus obtained he would buy a cow. The cow in due time would have a calf, the calf was to be sold, and the man when he became a nabob would marry a princess; only the jug fell, the milk was spilt, and the dreamer went supperless to bed.—Rabelais,Gargantua, i. 33 (1533).

In a similar day-dream, Alnaschar invested all his money in a basket of glassware, which he intended to sell, and buy other wares, till by barter he became a princely merchant, when he should marry the vizier’s daughter. Being offended with his wife, he became so excited that he kicked out his foot, smashed all his wares, and found himself penniless.—Arabian Nights(“The Barber’s Fifth Brother”).

Perrin, a peasant, the son of Thibaut.—Molière,Le Médecin Malgré Lui(1666).

Persaunt of India(Sir), the Blue Knight, called by Tennyson “Morning Star,” or “Phosphŏrus.” One of the four brothers who kept the passages to Castle Perilous. Overthrown by Sir Gareth.—Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthur, i. 131 (1470); Tennyson,Idylls.

“Then, at his call, ‘O, daughters of the Dawn,And servants of the Morning Star, approach,Arm me,’ from out the silken curtain-foldsBare-footed and bare-headed three fair girlsIn gilt and rosy raiment came; their feetIn dewy grasses glisten’d; and the hairAll over glanced with dewdrop or with gem,Like sparkles in the stone Avanturine.These arm’d him in blue arms, and gave a shield,Blue also, and thereon the morning star.”Tennyson,Gareth and Lynette.

Perseus[Per.suce], a famous Argive hero, whose exploits resemble those of Herculês, and hence he was called “The Argive Herculês.”

Benvenuto Cellini made a bronze statue of Perseus, which is in the Loggia dei Lanzi, in Florence.

Perseus’s Horse, a ship. Perseus having cut off Medusa’s head, made the shipPegasê, the swiftest ship hitherto known, and generally called “Perseus’s flying horse.”

The thick-ribbed bark thro’ liquid mountains cut ...Like Perseus’ horse.Shakespeare,Troilus and Cressida, act i. sc. 3 (1602).

Persian Creed(The). Zoroaster supposes there are two gods or spirit-principles—one good and the other evil. The good is Yezad, and the evil, Ahriman.

Perth(The Fair Maid of), Catharine, or Katie Glover, “universally acknowledged to be the most beautiful young woman of the city or its vicinity.” Catharine was the daughter of Simon Glover (the glover of Perth), and married Henry Smith, the armorer.—Sir W. Scott,Fair Maid of Perth(time, Henry IV.).

Pertinax(Sir). (SeeMacSycophant.)

Pertolope(Sir), the Green Knight. One of the four brothers who kept the passages to Castle Perilous. He was overthrown by Sir Gareth. Tennyson calls him “Evening Star,” or “Hesperus.”—Sir T. Malory,History of Prince Arthur, i. 127 (1470); Tennyson,Idylls.

“For there, beyond a bridge of treble bow,All in a rose-red from the west, and allNaked it seem’d, and glowing in the broad,Deep-dimpled current underneath, the knightThat named himself the Star of Evening, stood,And Gareth, ‘Wherefore waits the madman thereNaked in open dayshine?’ ‘Nay,’ she cried,‘Not naked, only wrapt in harden’d skinsThat fit him like his own; and so ye cleaveHis armor off him, these will turn the blade.’”Tennyson,Gareth and Lynette.

Perviz(Prince), son of the Sultan Khrosru-schar of Persia. At birth he was taken away by the sultana’s sisters, and set adrift on a canal, but was rescued and brought up by the superintendent of the sultan’s gardens. When grown to manhood, “the talking-bird” told the sultan that Pervis was his son, and the young prince, with his brother and sister, were restored to their rank and position in the empire of Persia.—Arabian Nights(“The Two Sisters”).

Prince Perviz’s String of Pearls.When Prince Perviz went on his exploits, he gave his sister, Parizādê, a string of pearls, saying, “So long as these pearls move readily on the string, you will know that I am alive and well; but if they stick fast and will not move, it will signify that I am dead.”—Arabian Nights(“The Two Sisters”).

***Birtha’s emerald ring, and Prince Bahman’s knife gave similar warning. (SeeBirthaandBahman.)

Pescec´ola, a famous diver, whose English name wasFish(Italian,Pesce= fish). He dived in the pool of Charybdis and returned. King Frederick then threw a golden cup into the pool; Pescecola dived for it, and was drowned.

Schiller, inThe Diver, tells the story, but gives the diver no name.

Pest(Mr.), a barrister.—Sir W. Scott,Redgauntlet(time, George III.).

Pet, a fair girl, with rich brown hair hanging free in natural ringlets. A lovely girl, with a free, frank face, and most wonderful eyes—so large, so soft, so bright, and set to perfection in her kind, good face. She was round, and fresh, and dimpled, and spoilt, most charmingly timid, most bewitchingly self-willed. She was the daughter of Mr. Meagles, andmarried Henry Gowan.—C. Dickens,Little Dorrit(1857).

Pétaud(King), king of the beggars.

“It is an old saying,” replied the Abbé Huet, “Petaud being derived from the Latinpeto, ‘I beg.’”—Asylum Christi, ii.

The court of King Pétaud, a disorderly assembly, a place of utter confusion, a bear-garden.

On n’y respecte rien, chacun y parle haut,Et c’est tout justement le cour du roi Pétaud.MolièreTartuffe, i. 1 (1664).

Le cour du roi Pétaud, où chacun est maitre.—French Proverb.

Petella, the waiting-woman of Rosalura and Lillia-Bianca, the two daughters of Nantolet.—Beaumont and Fletcher,The Wild-goose Chase(1652).

Peter, the stupid son of Solomon, butler of the Count Wintersen. He grotesquely parrots in an abridged form whatever his father says. Thus:Sol.“we are acquainted with the reverence due to exalted personages.”Pet.“Yes, we are acquainted with exalted personages.” Again:Sol.“Extremely sorry it is not in my power to entertain your lordship.”Pet.“Extremely sorry.”Sol.“Your lordship’s most obedient, humble, and devoted servant.”Pet.“Devoted servant.”—Benjamin Thompson,The Stranger(1797).

Peter, the pseudonym of John Gibson Lockhart, in a work entitledPeter’s Letters to his Kinsfolk(1819).

Peter(Lord), the pope of Rome.—Dean Swift,Tale of a Tub(1704).

Peter Botte, a steep, almost perpendicular “mountain” in the Mauritius, more than 2800 feet in height. It is so called from Peter Botte, a Dutch sailor, who scaled it and fixed a flag on its summit, but lost his life in coming down.

Peter Parley, thenom de plumeof Samuel G. Goodrich, an American, whose books for children had an enormous circulation in the middle of the nineteenth century (1793-1860).

The name was pirated by numerous persons. Darton and Co., Simkins, Bogue, Tegg, Hodson, Clements, etc., brought out books under the name, but not written by S. G. Goodrich.

Peter Peebles, a litigious, hard-hearted drunkard, noted for his lawsuit.—Sir W. Scott,Redgauntlet(time, George III.).

Peter Pindar, the pseudonym of Dr. John Wolcot, of Dodbrooke, Devonshire (1738-1819).

Peter Plymley’s Letters, attributed to the Rev. Sydney Smith (1769-1845).

Peter Porcupine, William Cobbett, when he was a tory. He brought outPeter Porcupine’s Gazette,The Porcupine Papers, etc. (1762-1835).

Peter Wilkins, the hero of a tale of adventures, by Robert Pultock, of Clifford’s Inn. His “flying woman” (gawreys) suggested to Southey the “glendoveer” inThe Curse of Kehama.

Peter of Provence and the Fair Magalo´na, the chief characters of a French romance so called. Peter comes into possession of Merlin’s wooden horse.

Peter the Great of Egypt, Mehemet Ali(1768-1848.

Peter the Hermit, a gentleman of Amiens, who renounced the military life for the religious. He preached up the first crusade, and put himself at the head of 100,000 men, all of whom, except a few stragglers, perished at Nicea.

He is introduced by Tasso inJerusalem Delivered(1575); and by Sir W. Scott inCount Robert of Paris, a novel laid in the time of Rufus. A statue was erected to him at Amiens in 1854.

Peter, the Wild Boy, a savage discovered in November, 1725, in the forest of Hertswold, Hanover. He walked on all fours, climbed trees like a monkey, ate grass and other herbage. Efforts were made to reclaim him, but without success. He died February, 1785.

Peter’s Gate(St.), the gate of purgatory, guarded by an angel stationed there by St. Peter. Virgil conducted Dantê through hell and purgatory, and Beatrice was his guide through the planetary spheres. Dantê says to the Mantuan bard:

... lead me,That I St. Peter’s gate may view ...Onward he moved, I close his steps pursued.Dantê,Hell, i. (1300).

Peterborough, in Northamptonshire; so called from Peada (son of Pendar, king of Mercia), who founded here a monastery in the seventh century. In 1541 the monastery (then a mitred abbey) was converted by Henry VIII. into a cathedral and bishop’s see. Before Peada’s time, Peterborough was a village called Medhamsted.—See Drayton,Polyolbion, xxiii. (1622).

Peters(Dr.), benevolent, eccentric physician, who is a sympathetic fellow-sinner to the most depraved of his patients, going through it all “with a grimly humorous hope that some good, in some unseen direction, may come of it.” The waif,Midge, committed by fate to his guardianship, steals his heart, and finally wrings it to bleeding by marrying another man.—H. C. Bunner,The Midge(1886).

Peterson, a Swede, who deserts from Gustavus Vasa to Christian II., king of Denmark.—H. Brooke,Gustavus Vasa(1730).

Petit André, executioner.—Sir W. Scott,Quentin Durward(time, Edward IV.).

Petit Perroquet, a king’s gardener, with whom the king’s daughter fell in love. It so happened that a prince was courting the lady, and, being jealous of Petit Perroquet, said to the king that the young man boasted he could bring hither Tartaro’s horse. Now Tartaro was a huge giant and a cannibal. Petit Perroquet, however, made himself master of the horse. The prince next told the king that the young gardener boasted he could get possession of the giant’s diamond. This he also contrived to make himself master of. The prince then told the king that the young man boasted he could bring hither the giant himself; and the way he accomplished the feat was to cover himself first, with honey, and then with feathers and horns. Thus disguised, he told the giant, to get into the coach he was driving, and he drove him to the king’s court, and then married the princess.—Rev. W. Webster,Basque Legends(1877).

Pe´to, lieutenant of “Captain” Sir John Falstaff’s regiment. Pistol was his ensign or ancient, and Bardolph his corporal.—Shakespeare, 1 and 2Henry IV.(1597-8).

Petow´ker(Miss Henrietta), of theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane. She marries Mr. Lillyvick, the collector of water-rates, but elopes with an officer.—C. Dickens,Nicholas Nickleby(1838).

Petrarch(The English). Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) is so called by Sir Walter Raleigh.

Petrarch and Laura.Laura was a lady of Avignon, the wife of Hugues de Sade,néeLaura de Noves, the mistress of the poet Petrarch. (SeeLaura and Petrarch.)

Petrarch of Spain, Garcilaso de la Vega, born at Toledo (1530-1568, or, according to others, 1503-1536).

Petro´nius(C.orT.), a kind of Roman “beau Brummell” in the court of Nero. He was a great voluptuary and profligate, whom Nero appointedArbiter Elegantiæ, and considered nothingcomme il fauttill it had received the sanction of this dictator-in-chief of the imperial pleasures. Tigellinus accused him of treason, and Petronius committed suicide by opening his veins (A.D.66).

Behold the new Petronius of the day,The arbiter of pleasure and of play.Byron,English Bards and Scotch Reviewers(1809).

Petruccio=Pe.truch´.e.o, governor of Bologna.—Beaumont and Fletcher,The Chances(1620).

Petru´chio, a gentleman of Vero´na who undertakes to tame the haughty Katharina, called “the Shrew.” He marries her, and, without the least personal chastisement, reduces her to lamb-like submission. Being a fine compound of bodily and mental vigor, with plenty of wit, spirit, and good-nature, he rules his subordinates dictatorially, and shows he will have his own way, whatever the consequences.—Shakespeare,Taming of the Shrew(1594).

Beaumont and Fletcher wrote a comedy calledThe Tamer Tamed, in which Petruchio is supposed to marry a second wife, by whom he is hen-pecked (1647).

Pet´ulant, an “odd sort of small wit,” “without manners or breeding.” In controversy he would bluntly contradict, and he never spoke the truth. When in his “club,” in order to be thought a man of intrigue, he would steal out quietly, and then in disguise return and call for himself, or leave a letter for himself. He not unfrequently mistook impudence and malice for wit, and looked upon a modest blush in woman as a mark of “guilt or ill-breeding.”—W. Congreve,The Way of the World(1700).

Peu-à-Peu.So George IV. called Prince Leopold. Stein, speaking of the prince’s vacillating conduct in reference to the throne of Greece, says of him, “He has no color,”i.e.no fixed plan of his own, but is blown about by every wind.

Peveril(William), natural son of William the Conqueror, and ancestor of Peveril of the Peak.

Sir Geoffrey Peveril, a cavalier, called “Peveril of the Peak.”

Lady Margaret Peveril, wife of Sir Geoffrey.

Julian Peveril, son of Sir Geoffrey; in love with Alice Bridgenorth. He was named by the author after Julian Young, son of the famous actor.—Sir W. Scott,Peveril of the Peak(time, Charles II.).

“Whom is he called after!” said Scott. “It is a fancy name,” said Young: “in memoriamof his mother, Julia Ann.” “Well, it is a capital name for a novel, I must say,” he replied. In the very next novel by the author ofWaverley, the hero’s name is “Julian.” I allude, of course, toPeveril of the Peak.—J. Young,Memoirs, 91.

Peveril of the Peak, the hero of Sir W. Scott’s novel of that name (1823).

Peyton(Dunwoodie), fine young fellow, major in the American army, and in love with Frances Wharton. Yet, when forced to choose between marrying her at once or doing his duty in keeping her brother under arrest, he plays the man of honor and true soldier. After many vicissitudes he becomes the husband of Frances.

Peyton(Miss Jeannette), sister-in-law to Mr. Wharton, relative of Major Dunwoodie, and affectionate guardian of her nieces. A warm friend of Dr. Sitgreaves, the American surgeon.—JamesFennimoreCooper,The Spy.

Phædra, daughter of Minos, and wife of Theseus. (SeePhedre.)

Phædra, waiting-woman of Alcme´na (wife of Amphit´ryon). A type of venality of the lowest and grossest kind. Phædra is betrothed to Judge Gripus, a stupid magistrate, ready to sell justice to the highest bidder. Neither Phædra nor Gripus forms any part of thedramatis personæof Molière’sAmphitryon(1668).—Dryden,Amphitryon(1690).

Phædria, the impersonation of wantonness. She is handmaid of the enchantress Acrasia, and sails about Idle Lake in a gondola. Seeing Sir Guyon, she ferries him across the lake to the floating island, where he is set upon by Cymoch´les. Phædria interposes, and ferries Sir Guyon (the Knight Temperance) over the lake again.—Spenser,Faëry Queen, ii. (1590).

Pha´eton(3syl.), son, of Helĭos and Clymēnê. He obtained leave to drive his father’s sun-car for one day, but was overthrown, and nearly set the world on fire. Jove or Zeus (1syl.) struck him with a thunderbolt for his presumption, and cast him into the river Po.

Phal´aris, tyrant of Agrigentum, in Sicily. When Perillos, the brass-founder of Athens, brought to him a brazen bull, and told the tyrant it was intended for the punishment of criminals, Phalăris inquired into its merits. Perillos said the victim was to be enclosed in the bull, and roasted alive, by making the figure red hot. Certain tubes were so constructed as to make the groans of the victim resemble the bellowings of a mad bull. The tyrant much commended the ingenuity, and ordered the invention to be tried on Perillos himself.

Letters of Phalaris, certain apocryphal letters ascribed to Phalaris, the tyrant, and published at Oxford, in 1718, by Charles Boyle. There was an edition in 1777 by Walckenaer; another in 1823, by G. H. Schæfer, with notes by Boyle and others. Bentley maintained that the letters were forgeries, and no doubt Bentley was right.

Phallas, the horse of Heraclius (Greek,phalios, “a grey horse.”).

Pha´on, a young man who loved Claribel, but being told that she was unfaithful to him, watched her. He saw, as he thought, Claribel holding an assignation with some one he supposed to be a groom.Returning home, he encountered Claribel herself, and “with wrathfull hand he slew her innocent.” On the trial for murder, “the lady” was proved to be Claribel’s servant. Phaon would have slain her also, but while he was in pursuit of her he was attacked by Furor.—Spenser,Faëry Queen, ii. 4, 28, etc. (1590).

***Shakespeare’sMuch Ado about Nothingis a similar story. Both are taken from a novel by Belleforest, copied from one by Bandello. Ariosto, in hisOrlando Furioso, has introduced a similar story (bk. v.), and Turbervil’sGeneurais the same tale.

Pharamond, king of the Franks, who visited,incognito, the court of King Arthur, to obtain by his exploits a place among the knights of the Round Table. He was the son of Marcomir, and father of Clodion.

Calprenède has an heroic romance so called, which (like hisCleopatra and Cassandra) is aRoman de Longue Haleine(1612-1666).

Pharamond, prince of Spain, in the drama calledPhilaster, orLove Lies a-bleeding, by Beaumont and Fletcher (date uncertain, probably about 1662).

Pharaoh, the titular name of all the Egyptian kings till the time of Solomon, as the Roman emperors took the titular name of Cæsar. After Solomon’s time, the titular name Pharaoh never occurs alone, but only as a forename, as Pharaoh Necho, Pharaoh Hophra, Pharaoh Shishak. After the division of Alexander’s kingdom, the kings of Egypt were all called Ptolemy, generally with some distinctive after-name, as Ptolemy Philadelphos, Ptolemy Euergetês, Ptolemy Philopător, etc.—Selden,Titles of Honor, v. 50 (1614).

Pharaohs before Solomon(mentioned in the Old Testament):

1. Pharaoh contemporary with Abraham (Gen.xii. 15). This may be Osirtesen I. (dynasty xii.).

2. ThegoodPharaoh who advanced Joseph (Gen.xli.). This was, perhaps, Apōphis (one of the Hyksos).

3. The Pharaoh who “knew not Joseph” (Exod.i. 8). This may be Amen´ophis I. (dynasty xviii.). The king, at the flight of Moses, I think, was Thothmes II.

4. The Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea. As this was at least eighty years after the persecutions began, probably this was another king. Some say it was Menephthes, son of Ram´eses II., but it seems quite impossible to reconcile the account inExoduswith any extant historical account of Egypt (Exod.xiv. 28). Was it Thothmes III.?

5. The Pharaoh who protected Hadad (1Kingsxi. 19).

6. The Pharaoh whose daughter Solomon married (1Kingsiii. 1; ix. 16). I think this was Psusennes I. (dynasty xxi.).

Pharaohs after Solomon’s time(mentioned in the Old Testament):

1. Pharaoh Shishak, who warred against Rehoboam (1Kingsxiv. 25, 26; 2Chron.xii. 2).

2. The Pharaoh called “So” king of Egypt, with whom Hoshea made an alliance (2Kingsxvii. 4).

3. The Pharaoh who made a league with Hezekiah against Sennacherib. He is called Tirhākah (2Kings, xviii. 21; xix. 9).

4. Pharaoh Necho, who warred against Josiah (2Kingsxxiii. 29, etc.).

5. Pharaoh Hophra, the ally of Zedekiah. Said to be Pharaoh Apries, who was strangled,B.C.569-525 (Jer.xliv. 30).

***Bunsen’s solution of the Egyptian dynasties cannot possibly be correct.

Pharaohs noted in romance:

1. Cheops, or Suphis I., who built the great pyramid (dynasty iv.).

2. Cephrenês, or Suphis II., his brother, who built the second pyramid.

3. Mencherês, his successor, who built the most beautiful, though not the largest, of the pyramids.

4. Memnon, or A-menophis III., whose musical statue is so celebrated (dynasty xviii.).

5. Sethos I. the Great, whose tomb was discovered by Belzoni (dynasty xix.).

6. Sethos II., called “Proteus,” who detained Helen and Paris in Egypt (dynasty xix.).

7. Phuōris or Thuōris, who sent aid to Priam in the siege of Troy.

8. Rampsinītus or Rameses Nēter, the miser, mentioned by Herodotus (dynasty xx.).

9. Osorthon IV. (or Osorkon), the Egyptian Herculês (dynasty xxiii.).

Pharaoh’s Daughter.The daughter of Pharaoh, who brought up Moses, was Bathia.

Pharaoh’s Wife, Asia, daughter of Mozâhem. Her husband cruelly tormented her because she believed in Moses. He fastened her hands and feet to four stakes, and laid a millstone on her as she lay in the hot sun with her face upwards; but angels shaded off the sun with their wings, and God took her, without dying, into Paradise.—Sale,Al Korân, lxvi. note.

Back to Index Next