Part 22

=Pius X.= The Vatican Journal _Voce Della Verita_ recently gave an authorised explanation as to why the present Pope chose to be styled “Pius the Tenth.” It said: “The Holy Father preferred a name that would emphasise the undying struggle of the Holy See against the Revolution. From the very beginning _Pius_ has been the name of predilection assumed by our most illustrious Pontiffs. His present Holiness, whose Pontificate opens under a hostile Government, and at a time when both Pope and State are the victims of imperious revolution, was determined to adopt the title of ‘Pius the Tenth.’”

=Plain.= The name given to the Girondist party on the floor of the French House of Assembly during the Revolution, as opposed to the “Mountain” party.

=Plantagenet.= The family name of the House of Anjou, which succeeded to the throne of England at the extinction of the Norman dynasty. It was assumed by Fulke Martel, the first of this line, as a perpetual reminder of the incident of having allowed himself to be scourged by two attendants with branches of the _genista_, or broom plant, while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, as an atonement for his murder of the Earl of Brittany.

=Platonic Affection.= The kind of mutual esteem between persons of opposite sexes free from carnal desires or love in an earthly sense, as advocated by Plato and his school of philosophers.

=Platonists.= The disciples of Plato. See “Academy.”

=Play Fast and Loose.= An expression derived from a very old cheating game called “Pricking the Belt,” which in the modified form of “Prick the Garter,” may yet be met with at fairs and race meetings. The victim was invited to stick a skewer through a folded belt so as to pin it to the table; whereupon the other, taking the two ends, proved that the belt had not been made fast at all; hence to “play fast and loose with a man.”

=Playhouse Yard.= Marks the site of the “Fortune Theatre,” the second regular playhouse opened in the city of London.

=Please the Pigs.= A corruption of “Please the Pixies,” or woodland fairies, still common in many rural districts.

=Plebeians.= The ordinary citizens among the Romans, so called from _plebs_, the people, as distinguished from the “Patricians,” or fathers of the State.

=Plough Monday.= The first Monday after the Epiphany, when, the Christmas festivities having come to an end, farm labourers were supposed to return to the plough. Instead of which they dragged a plough round the parish, begging for “plough money” from door to door, and spent the evening at the alehouse.

=Plume and Feathers.= An inn sign, corrupted from “The Plume of Feathers,” in allusion to the plume of ostrich feathers adopted as his crest by Edward the Black Prince. See “Ich Dien.”

=Plunger.= A gambler who plunges into bets without considering the risks he incurs. Recklessness is his characteristic. To retrieve his losses he plays for high stakes, which make or break him in a very short time.

=Plymouth.= The seaport town at the mouth of the Plym.

=Plymouth Brethren.= A sect which sprang into existence at Plymouth in 1830. It has extended far and wide, both on the Continent of Europe and in America. Its chief tenet is the utter rejection of priestly or ministerial organisation.

=Pocket Borough.= An old Parliamentary term for a borough in which the votes at an election could generally be commanded by one influential person.

=Poet Laureate.= The officially appointed poet of any nation, so called from the Roman custom of crowning a favourite poet with laurel, symbolical of Apollo, the god of poetry.

=Pogrom.= Expresses the Slavonic for “devastation” or “desolation.” The word is allied to _grom_, thunder, thunder clash, and _gromit_, to thunder, batter down, as with a thunderbolt; utterly overthrow, destroy without mercy.

=Pointer.= This dog is so called on account of its remarkable instinct for pointing out or indicating to sportsmen the presence of game.

=Point Lace.= So called because it is worked with the point of a needle.

=Poke Bonnet.= One which poked out beyond the face on all sides. See “Kiss-me-Quick.”

=Poland.= From the Slavonic _poln_, “a country of plains.” Its original settlers were a tribe called the _Polnali_, “men of the plains.” When this country was an independent kingdom it bore the name of “Polska,” and its people “Polacks.” Shakespeare mentions “the sledded Polacks on the ice” in _Hamlet_ Act i. sc. i.

=Poland Street.= From the Polish refugees who congregated in it soon after this street was built.

=Police.= The appropriate designation of civil guardians of the peace, from the Greek _polis_, city.

=Polka.= Originally a Bohemian dance, so called from the native word _pulka_, a half, on account of the half step peculiar to it.

=Polynesia.= Greek for “many islands.”

=Polytechnic.= An institute or academy of the Arts, so called from the Greek _polys_, many, and _techne_, art.

=Pompeii.= So called by the Romans in honour of Pompeius Magnus, or Pompey the Great.

=Pomeranian.= A valuable breed of dog from Pomerania in Prussia.

=Pomeroy.= From _pomme roi_; expresses the French for “King’s Apple.”

=Pommery.= After Madame Pommery, mother of the Duchess de Polignac, and owner of the estate near Rheims where this fine brand of champagne is produced.

=Pompadour.= Both the puce colour and the dress material of this name were first popularised by Madame le Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV.

=Pompadours.= The nickname of the 56th Foot on account of their claret or Pompadour facings.

=Pontac.= From the town of the same name in the south of France.

=Pontefract.= Literally “broken bridge.” The popular corruption of this name is “Pomfret.”

=Pontiff.= The Pope of Rome bears this name conformably to the Latin _pons_, bridge, and _facere_, to make, because the earliest bridge over the Tiber was constructed at the sole cost of the High Priest of the Romans.

=Pontius Pilate’s Bodyguard.= The first regiment of Foot, the oldest in the service.

=Poole.= From the pool or inlet of the sea on which this Dorsetshire port is situated.

=Pope.= From the Greek _papas_, and Latin _papa_, father.

=Poplar.= From the poplar-trees formerly abounding in this district.

=Poppin’s Court.= A corruption of “Poppingay Court”; originally, in the reign of Elizabeth, “Poppingay Alley,” so called because it marked the site of an ancient inn or mansion owned by the Abbots of Cirencester, and displaying the sign of “the Poppinjaye” or parrot.

=Pop the Question.= A corruption of “Propose the question of marriage.”

=Porkopolis.= The nickname of Chicago and Cincinnati, both world-renowned cities in relation to the pork-packing industry.

=Port.= The native wine of Portugal, shipped from Oporto.

=Porte.= The official designation of the Government of Turkey, because anciently justice was administered at the _porta_, or gate, of the Sultan’s palace.

=Porter.= Another name for “Entire,” which was first retailed at “The Blue Last” in Curtain Road, Finsbury. Finding that it was in great request by the porters who frequented that house of call, the publican dropped the name of “Entire” and called it “Porter.”

=Portland Place.= After William Bentinck, second Duke of Portland, the owner of the estate.

=Portman Square.= After Edward Berkeley Portman, Viscount Portman of Bryanstone, Dorsetshire, the great ground landlord.

=Portmanteau.= From the French _porter_, to carry, and _manteau_, a cloak; literally a receptacle for a cloak on a journey.

=Porto Rico.= Express the Spanish for “rich port.”

=Portsmouth.= The seaport town built at the mouth of the harbour.

=Portsoken Ward.= One of the wards of the city of London, so called because anciently the thirteen knights styled the “English Knighten Guild,” claimed the _soken_, or franchise, at the _porta_, or gate, to their ward in return for services rendered to King Edgar by their ancestors.

=Portugal.= From the ancient name of the capital city, _Portus Cale_, “the gate of Gaul.”

=Portugal Street.= In compliment to Catherine of Braganza, queen of Charles II.

=Portuguese Hymn.= The “Adesta Fidelis,” so called from the erroneous assumption of the Duke of Leeds that it was part of the regular service in Catholic Portugal, since he first heard it sung in the private chapel of the Portuguese Ambassador in London.

=Portway.= The name given to that portion of a great Roman highway in this country wherever it was crossed by an arch or within sight of a walled city; from _porta_, gate.

=Poser.= A corruption of “Opposer”; derived from collegiate argumentative examinations.

=Poses Plastiques.= French for “statuesque attitudes.”

=Poster.= So called because auction, play, and other public announcements were first exhibited on the posts separating the roadway from the side walk. Being stuck on these posts, the bills were said to be “posted.”

=Post Paper.= So called from the original watermark, a post horn, which it bore.

=Pot Boilers.= Specifically pictures painted by a poor artist for ready sale to a dealer in order to “Keep the pot boiling.” The term is also employed by authors and journalists in the same sense.

=Pothooks.= The nickname of the 77th Foot, owing to the fancied resemblance of these two figures to pothooks.

=Pot Luck.= Anything ready at hand for a meal. The allusion is to the primitive stock pot, into which meat and vegetables were thrown at any time for boiling up as required.

=Potomac.= Indian for “place of the burning pine.”

=Poultry.= Where the scorchers and stuffers of poultry in connection with the old Stocks Market on the site of the Mansion House had their shops.

=Pouter Pigeon.= So called on account of its pouting or bulging breast.

=Powis Place.= Marks the site of the town house of William Herbert, Marquis of Powis, _temp._ Charles I.

=Prairie State.= Illinois, which for the most part consists of prairie lands.

=Praise-God Barebone.= A fanatical leader of the time of the Commonwealth, and a prominent member of the “Barebone Parliament,” who was addicted to praising God and damning his neighbours. This kind of hypocrisy was characteristic of the Puritans.

=Pratt Street.= After one of the family names of the Earl of Brecknock, Marquis of Camden, landlord of the estate.

=Presbyterians.= From the Greek _presbuteros_, an elder. The National Church of Scotland is governed not by prelates, as in England, but by elders, equal in office and power.

=Press Yard.= The open courtyard between the Sessions House and Newgate Prison. Those who refused to plead when put upon their trial were pressed to death with heavy weights.

=Preston.= A corruption of “Priests’ Town,” so called on account of its many ancient monastic establishments.

=Pretoria.= In honour of Pretorius, the first President of the Boer Republic in South Africa.

=Pretty Kettle of Fish.= Save that the second word should be “Kiddle,” expressive of a basket placed in a river for catching fish, this expression is very old. During the time of the Plantagenets the warder of the Tower claimed the right of trapping fish outside Traitors’ Gate in this way for his own benefit; but the citizens of London systematically made a raid upon his kiddles, and destroyed them. “A pretty kiddle of fish indeed!” he was wont to exclaim to the Beefeaters on discovering the damage done to his preserves.

=Primitive Methodists.= The original Methodists, those who resort to open-air preaching and singing, after the style of Wesley and Whitfield. On account of their “Camp Meetings” they are styled also Ranters.

=Primrose.= So far from expressing the first or spring rose, the term is a corruption of the Italian _primerola_, the first spring flower.

=Primrose Day.= The 19th of April bears this name because it is the anniversary of the death of Lord Beaconsfield, 1881. When the body of this great statesman was laid to rest his coffin was adorned by a wreath sent by Queen Victoria, and superscribed “His favourite flower.” This gave rise to the formation of the Primrose League and the annual decoration of the Beaconsfield Statue at Westminster with a wreath of primroses on this day.

=Prince of Wales’s Feathers.= See “Plume and Feathers.”

=Prince of Wales Island.= Named in compliment to the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV.

=Princes Street.= Laid out on the site of the old Westminster Mews, and so named on account of its proximity to King Street.

=Printer’s Devil.= When Caxton introduced printing into England many people regarded it as an invention of the devil. This idea was also fostered by his boys, whose hands and faces were besmeared with ink. They were accordingly called “Imps” and “Devils.” Since his day the boys engaged in feeding the printing press have not improved in their personal appearance. Young devils they are, and young devils they will remain until the end of time.

=Printing House Square.= This, the courtyard of _The Times_ office, was formerly covered by the King’s Printing House, where King James’s Bible was printed, and which for centuries had the monopoly of turning out Bibles for the people.

=Priory.= This term denoted a lesser house or branch establishment of an abbey, under the control of a Prior or Prioress, who had the prior claim to election as Abbot or Abbess of the mother community.

=Private Boxes.= The idea of these adjuncts to a theatre auditorium was derived from Spain, where plays were formerly performed in a public square, the ordinary spectators being accommodated on the ground, while the grandees looked on from the windows of the houses.

=Privy.= See “Petty.”

=Pro-Cathedral.= The beautiful Catholic Church in High Street, Kensington, erected as a provisional cathedral at the time when the present Westminster Cathedral was first mooted.

=Profile.= The outline of a side view, so called from the Italian _profilo_, and Latin _filum_, a thread.

=Protectionist.= One who advocates the protection of home industries by levying imposts on foreign merchandise.

=Protestants.= Those who, with the Lutherans of Germany, protested against the decree of the Emperor Charles V. This decree was ostensibly to invoke the aid of the German princes against the Turks, but really to restore peace and order after the disturbances caused by Martin Luther’s opposition to the Church of Rome. From this protest the Reformers received the name of “Protestants.”

=Prussia.= A Western corruption of _Porussia_, which expresses the Slavonic for “near Russia.”

=Prussian Blue.= After its inventor, Diesbach of Berlin, in 1710.

=Prussic Acid.= Originally the acid of “Prussian Blue,” but nowadays obtained from cyanide of iron.

=Pye Street= (Old and New). See “New Way.”

=Pymmes Park.= This new suburban “lung” at Edmonton comprised the grounds in connection with the lordly mansion built by William Pymme, which was mentioned in 1593 as the residence of the great Lord Burleigh, and in 1612 as that of Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury.

=Pythagoreans.= The school of philosophy founded by Pythagoras.

=Public-house.= A house of public resort for refreshment and conviviality. It may be either an inn or a tavern in the modern sense.

=Pudding.= From Stow’s description of “Pudding Lane” it would seem that the puddings of his day were scarcely edible productions. The word is derived from the Celtic _poten_, a bag, and was applied originally in the sense of a modern hog’s pudding or black pudding--to wit, a sausage.

=Pudding Lane.= Whether or not the Great Fire of London broke out in the house of the King’s baker, as generally stated, the lane did not receive its name from the royal bakery. Old Stow tells us it was so called “because the butchers of Eastcheap have their scalding-house for hogs there, and their puddings with other filth of beasts are voided down that way to their dung boats on the Thames.”

=Pudding-time.= The old name for “dinner-time,” because, as still is the custom in some parts of the country, the pudding was served before the meat.

=Pueblo Indian.= One who in the western states has been brought under Catholic influences, and lives in a village, where he subsists by agriculture. The word _Pueblo_ is Spanish for village.

=Pukes.= A corruption of Pikes, generally applied to the natives of Missouri, who originally settled in Pike County of that state.

=Pullman Car.= After its inventor, Pullman of Chicago.

=Pull up Stakes.= An Americanism for to pack up one’s belongings and remove elsewhere. The expression has, of course, reference to dismantling a tent among a mining community.

=Pumps.= Dancing shoes bear this name in allusion to the fashionable assemblies in the pump-room at the Western Spas when Beau Nash, styled “King of Bath,” presided over the ceremonies.

=Punch.= From the Hindoo _panch_, five, this beverage being composed of five ingredients: spirit, sugar, lemon juice, spice, and water.

=Punch and Judy.= A hybrid form of entertainment evolved out of an old mystery play, _Pontius cum Judæis_ (“Pontius Pilate and the Jews”).

=Punic Wars.= Those waged between Rome and Carthage. By the Romans the Carthaginians were called the _Puni_, a corruption of _Phœni_, in allusion to their descent from the Phœnicians.

=Punitive Expedition.= A petty war with the set purpose of inflicting a well-merited punishment upon a rebellious tribe. The word “punitive” is derived from the Latin _pœna_, penalty.

=Punjab.= Expresses the Persian for “five rivers.”

=Punkah.= From the Hindoo _pankha_, a fan.

=Puritans.= Those who affected a greater degree of holiness or purity than their neighbours. They were to the Anglicans and Roman Catholics of the time of Charles I. and the Commonwealth what the Pharisees were to the Jews.

=Purple.= This dye, in which the people of Tyre excelled, was discovered in the following manner:--One day a favourite dog of Hercules of Tyre ate a species of fish known to the ancients by the name of _purpura_, and on returning to his master his lips were found to be tinged with the colour, which, after a few experiments, Hercules successfully imitated.

=Purse Strings.= In the days of our grandfathers, when hasp and clasp purses were unknown, the only kind of purse was a small money bag secured round its mouth by a tape or string. To “tighten one’s purse strings” was therefore to be proof against almsgiving or money-lending.

=Putney.= Described in ancient documents as _Puttaney_, or “Putta’s Isle.”

Q

=Quack.= The name borne by an itinerant trader, who makes a great noise in open market, quacking like a duck in his efforts to dispose of wares that are not genuine; hence anyone nowadays who follows a profession which he does not rightly understand. A “Quack Doctor” was formerly styled a _Quack Salver_, from the salves, lotions, and medicines he dispensed to the crowd at the street corners.

=Quadragesima Sunday.= The first Sunday of Lent, expressing in round numbers forty days before Easter.

=Quadrant.= The Piccadilly end of Regent Street, so called because it describes a quarter of a circle.

=Quadrille.= Expresses the French for “a little square,” in allusion to the positions taken up by the dancers.

=Quadroon.= A Mulatto being half-blooded, like a mule, the offspring of such a woman by a white man is black-blooded to the degree of one-fourth.

=Quaker City.= Philadelphia, the seat of the Quaker colony founded by William Penn.

=Quaker Poet.= The sobriquet of Bernard Barton.

=Quakers.= The origin of this designation of the “Society of Friends” is thus given by George Fox, the founder of the sect in his _Journal_: “Justice Bennet of Derby was the first to call us ‘Quakers,’ because I bade him quake and tremble at the word of the Lord.” This occurred in 1650.

=Quarantine.= Agreeably to the French _quarantaine_, the period of a ship’s detention outside a port in the circumstances of infectious disease should be forty days.

=Quarter Sessions.= See “Petty Sessions.”

=Quarto.= In the printing and stationery trades this term expresses a sheet of paper which, when folded into quarters, makes four leaves or eight pages.

=Quassia.= A tonic obtained from the bark of a tree of South America, the virtues of which were discovered by a Negro of this name.

=Quatemala.= When the Indians who accompanied Alvarado into this region discovered the ruins of an ancient palace of the kings beside an old worm-eaten tree they assumed this to be the centre of the country, and gave it the name of _Quahtemali_, “a decayed log of wood.”

=Quebec.= Indian for “take care of the rock.”

=Queen Anne’s Bounty.= A perpetual fund raised by the augmentation of the tithes and first-fruits at the instance of Queen Anne for the benefit of the poor clergy whose incomes are insufficient for their proper maintenance.

=Queen Anne’s Square.= Like the gate and the street further west of the same name, this was built during the reign of Queen Anne.

=Queen Charlotte Island.= In honour of Queen Charlotte, the consort of George III.

=Queen City of the Lakes.= Buffalo, in the state of New York, situated at the junction of the Erie Canal with Lake Erie.

=Queen City of the Mountains.= Knoxville (Tennessee), admirably situated on the hills overlooking the Upper Tennessee River.

=Queen City of the Plains.= Regina, in the north-western territory.

=Queen City of the West.= Cincinnati (Ohio), so called in virtue of its fine situation, beautiful parks, and noble architectural features. Also styled “The Queen City” and “Queen of the West.”

=Queen Elizabeth’s Walk.= In compliment to Queen Elizabeth, who often visited the Earl of Leicester when he resided in this portion of Stoke Newington.

=Queenhithe.= So called because the tolls collected at this _hithe_, or wharf, were appropriated by Eleanor, Queen of Henry II., for her pin money.

=Queen of Hearts.= Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, the daughter of James I., who by her amiable disposition endeared herself to all hearts.

=Queen of Watering-places.= Scarborough.

=Queen’s College.= At Oxford, founded by Robert de Eglesfield, the confessor of Philippa, queen of Edward III., in her honour. At Cambridge, founded by Margaret of Anjou, queen of Henry VI.

=Queen’s Hall.= Built on the site of the Langham Hall, and opened in 1893, this high-class concert hall was named after the late Queen Victoria.

=Queen’s Head Street.= From the ancient inn, “The Queen’s Head,” now modernised, at its juncture with Essex Road. Queen Elizabeth is said to have slept at this hostelry on several occasions.

=Queensland.= This portion of Australia received its name in honour of Queen Victoria, when in 1859 it became an independent colony.

=Queen’s Square.= After Queen Anne, in whose reign it was laid out.

=Queen Street.= In Cheapside, from a permanent wooden balcony situated between Bow Church and this corner for the accommodation of the reigning queen and her ladies when jousts and tournaments were held here. In Mayfair, after the queen of Charles II., in whose reign it was built.