Praed,
Winthrop
Mackworth.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v29 - BIographical Dictionary
, Sept.
23, 1892.
He graduated from
West Point in 1842, and had important com-
mands in the Civil War. Later in life he had
charge of various departments of the regular
army in the West. He published: (The Vir-
ginia Campaign of July and August 1862, a
defense of his campaign in command of the
Army of the Potomac.
Porphyrius (por-fi'rē-us). A celebrated Neo-
Platonic philosopher; born at Batanea in Syria,
233 A. D. ; died at Rome, 304 A. D. He was a
disciple first of Longinus, then of Plotinus,
whose works he edited, and whom he succeeded
as master of a school of philosophy at Rome.
But few of his writings have come down to us.
He wrote a History of Philosophy,' to which
probably belongs the extant Life of Pythago-
ras. Some fragments of his work against the
Christian religion - condemned to the flames
by the emperor Theodosius II. in 453 -- are
preserved in the writings of his adversaries.
We have his tractate (Оn Abstinence from
Animal Food); also his (Homeric Questions,
in 32 chapters; his Epistle to Marcella) on
the right conduct of life; his letter to the
a
## p. 437 (#453) ############################################
PORSON - PORTER
437
)
(
Egyptian priest Anebon in condemnation of
magic and theurgy; Introduction to Philoso-
phy,' in which the question of realism and
. nominalism is first mooted; "On Deriving a
Philosophy from Oracles); and “On the Cave
of the Nymphs.
Porson, Richard. An eminent English
scholar and critic; born in Norfolk, Dec. 25,
1759; died in London, Sept. 25, 1808. He was
educated at Eton and Cambridge, and regius
professor of Greek at Cambridge from 1792
till his death. He possessed phenomenal pow-
ers of memory, great critical acumen, and a
knowledge of Greek unequaled in his day. His
emendations and critical notes on the Greek
writers are accepted as authoritative. He wrote
for the literary reviews on many subjects; ed.
ited Æschylus (1795); the (Hecuba, Orestes,
(Phænissæ, and Medea) of Euripides (1797-
1801): and published Adversaria) ( 1812 );
(Tracts and Criticisms) (1815); (Aristophanica)
(1820); 'Photii Lexicon' (1822); «Notæ in Sui-
dam' (1834). His Letters to Archdeacon Travis
on the « Three Witnesses) are monuments of
analytic and argumentative power.
Port, Elizabeth-Marie (port). A Dutch poet
and novelist; born in the second half of the
eighteenth century. Her writings are: (The
Country) (1792), prose and poetry; (For the
Solitary' ( 1789 ); (Reinhart on Nature and Re-
ligion (1793); "Elegies) (1794); (True Enjoy.
ment of Life) (1796); My Childhood's Tears)
(1804), domestic tableaux; Frederick Weit
and his Children'; On Society and Solitude)
(1806); and New Poems) (1807).
Porter, Anna Maria. An English novelist;
born at Durham, 1780; died 1832. Sister of
Jane and Sir R. K. ; she wrote (Artless Tales)
(1793-95), which was succeeded by a long series
of novels, among them :(Walsh Colville (1797);
(The Lakes of Killarney) (1804); (The Hun-
garian Brothers) (1807); (The Recluse of Nor-
way) (1814); ( The Knight of St. John (1817);
(The Fast of St. Magdalen) (1818); (Roche
Blanche) (1822); Honor O'Hara! (1826);
(Barony) (1830); also Ballads, Romances, and
Other Poems) (1811).
Porter, David. An American naval officer
and diplomat; born in Boston, Feb. I, 1780;
died near Constantinople, March 3, 1843. He
commanded in several naval engagements of
the Tripoli war (1801-6) and the War of 1812.
From 1831 to 1843 he held important diplomatic
positions at Constantinople. His chief work is
Constantinople and its Environs) (1835).
Porter, David Dixon. An American admi.
ral, son of David; born at Chester, Pa. , June
8, 1813; died at Washington, D. C. , Feb. 13,
1891. He came into prominence in the Mexi-
can War, and during the Civil War held im-
portant naval commands at New Orleans, Vicks-
burg, and Fort Fisher. As an author he will
be best remembered for his nautical romance,
(The Adventures of Harry Marline) (1886).
ong his other works are : "Life of Commo-
dore David Porter) ( 1875 ); (Allan Dare and
Robert le Diable) (1885), a romance; “History
of the Navy in the War of the Rebellion)
(1887).
Porter, Horace. An American general and
military writer; born at Huntingdon, Pa. , April
15, 1837. He graduated from West Point, and
during the Civil War was a staff officer of
McClellan and Rosecrans, and subsequently
Grant's trusted aide and personal friend in Vir-
ginia during the last two years of the War. He
is the author of "Campaigning with Grant,
which first appeared serially in the Century
Magazine.
Porter, Jane. An English novelist ; born at
Durham, 1776; died at Bristol, May 24, 1850.
Among her stories, some of which still enjoy
a wide popularity, are: (Thaddeus of Warsaw)
(1803), which has been translated into several
languages, and for which she was elected can-
oness of the Teutonic Order of St. Joachim;
( The Scottish Chiefs) (1810); (The Pastor's
Fireside) (1815); “Duke Christian of Lüneburg
(1824); (Coming Out) (1828); “The Field of
Forty Footsteps) (1828). In collaboration with
her sister she wrote (Tales round a Winter
Hearth) (1826). She was long credited with
the authorship of (Sir Edward Seward's Diary)
(1831); but it was written by her elder brother,
Dr. Wm. Ogilvie Porter.
Porter, John Addison. An American jour-
nalist; born at New Haven, Conn. , April 17,
1856. He is editor of the Hartford Post. His
works are: (The Corporation of Yale College)
(1885); Administration of the City of Wash-
ington) (1885); “Sketches of Yale Life) (1886).
He is now (1897-98) private secretary to Presi-
dent McKinley.
Porter, Linn Boyd. An American novelist
of Cambridge, Mass. ; born about 1840. He is
the author of numerous sensational novels,
published under the pseudonym of «Albert
Ross, which have had a large sale. Among
the most popular are: (Thou Shalt Not (1889);
(Speaking of Ellen (1890); “Out of Wedlock)
(1894); "Love Gone Astray) (1896).
Porter, Noah. An eminent American clergy-
man, educator, and author; born at Farming-
ton, Conn. , Dec. 14, 1811; died in New Haven,
Conn. , March 4, 1892. In 1846 he was ap-
pointed professor of metaphysics at Yale Uni-
versity; and was president of that institution
from 1871 to 1885. The most valuable of his
numerous works are : Human Intellect) (1868);
( Books and Reading (1870); (American Col-
leges and the American Public) (1870); (Moral
Science) (1885).
Porter, Sir Robert Ker. An English tray-
eler, brother of Jane and Anna Maria ; born
at Durham, 1775; died at St. Petersburg, May
4, 1842. He traveled extensively in Europe,
Asia, and South America; and wrote: (Travel-
ing Sketches in Russia and Sweden) (1808);
(Letters from Portugal and Spain' (1809);
(Narrative of the Late Campaign in Russia)
(1813); “Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia,
(
(
## p. 438 (#454) ############################################
438
POSIDONIUS - POWELL
Ancient Babylonia, etc. , during the Years 1817-
20) (1821-22).
Posidonius (pos-i-do'ni-us). A Greek Stoic
philosopher; born at Apamea in Syria, but styled
(the Rhodian” by reason of his long residence
in the island of Rhodes; lived from 135 to 50
B. C. He was one of the most learned men
of antiquity, his knowledge and his writings
extending over every branch of science. Only
fragments of his works are extant. His great.
est work was a universal history in 52 books,
held in high esteem by the ancients : it was a
continuation of Polybius, and covered the pe-
riod 145-82 B. C. His lectures on (Tactics)
would seem to be the basis of the tractate of
his disciple Asclepiodotus on the same sub-
ject.
Posnett, Mrs. George. An English novel.
ist; born 18–. Her books are: (The Touch
of Fate) (1884); (On the Square ) (1884); (Her
Golden Forget-Me-Not) (1885); and (Who Am
I? ) (1885).
Potier, Charles Joseph Edward (põt-yā').
A French actor and dramatic author; born at
Bordeaux in 1806; died at Paris in 1870. His
principal dramatic works are : (Factor) (1834),
a five-act drama with Charles Desnoyer and
Boulé; (Because) (1835), (The Drunkard's Sis-
ter) (1839), one-act vaudevilles; Everybody's
Master' (1840), a two-act comedy with Antony
Béraud ; (The Clothing Merchant' (1841), a
five-act drama with Desnoyer and Béraud;
(Estelle and Némorin) (1844), a two-act pas-
toral bouffe ; and (The National Sickness)
(1846), a three-act vaudeville with Brissebarre.
Potter, Henry Codman. An American clergy-
man and author, bishop of New York; born at
Schenectady, N. Y. , May 25, 1835. Educated
in theology in Virginia, he became rector of
Grace Church, New York city, in 1868; and
was consecrated bishop of New York in 1887.
His works include: (Gates of the East: A
Winter in Egypt and Syria' (1876); “Sermons
of the City) (1881); “Waymarks) (1892).
Potts, William. An American writer on
nature, also on political and social reform ; born
in Philadelphia, May 5, 1838. For many years
he was secretary and he is now vice-president
of the National Civil Service League. He was
chief examiner of the Civil Service Commission
for New York State in 1887. He has published
a volume of nature studies, From a New Eng.
land Hillside,' and a Sunday-school service
book, Noblesse Oblige. He is also the author
of numerous pamphlets.
Potvin, Charles (põ-van'). A Belgian poet,
and historian of literature; born at Mons, Dec.
2, 1818. He wrote several volumes of lyric
poetry : (Poems and Amours) (1838); Poems,
Historical and Romantic) (2 vols. , 1840); (Po.
litical and Elegiac Poems) (1849); “Satires)
(1852); (The Beggar-Woman) (1856). On the
drama he wrote: (The Theatre in Belgium)
(1862); (Essays on Dramatic Literature ) (2
vols. , 1880); and some comedies, as (Choice
of an Occupation) and (War. He also wrote
many volumes of literary history and criticism,
among them (Our Early Literary Periods) (2
vols. , 1870), and French Literature in Belgium
before 1830.
Pougin, François-Auguste Arthur (pö-
zhan'). A French musician and author ; born
at Chateauroux, 1834. Besides pseudonymous
contributions to various journals, he published
among others the following volumes : (French
Musicians of the 18th Century) (1863); Meyer-
beer: A Biographical Sketch) (1864); (William
Vincent Wallace) (1865); (F. Halévy, Writer)
(1865); (Bellini, his Life and Works) (1867);
(Rossini' (1869); (Musical Literature in France)
(1869); and (Albert Grisar) (1870).
Poujol, Adolph (pö-zhol'). A French dra.
matic author ; born at Paris, 1811 (? ). He wrote
very many plays in collaboration. Among his
writings are: "A Service of Love) (1840);
The Pastry-Cook of Danaustadt) (1842); (Re-
sults of a Fault! (1842); (Jeanne de Naples!
(1842); A Daughter of the Legion of Honor
(1843); December 10) (1849); Marguerite !
(1851); (A Maiden's Heart) (1854); Doctor
Momus) (1857); and (The Art of Managing
Women (1859).
Poujoulat, Jean Joseph François (pö-zhö-
lä'). A French historian; born at La Fare,
Bouches-du-Rhône, Jan. 26, 1800; died at Paris,
Jan. 5, 1880. His principal works are : (His-
tory of Jerusalem (2 vols. , 1840-42); (Cardinal
Maury) (1855); (History of the French Revolu-
tion) (2 vols. , 1855); History of France from
1814' (4 vols. , 1865-67); "Insanities of the Pres.
ent Time regarding Religion ( 1877 ); (The
Bedawîn Woman' (2 vols. , 1835), a novel,
crowned by the Academy.
Pouvillon, Émile (pö-vē-yôn'). A French
novelist; born at Montauban, 1840. His novel
(Césette) (1880), a tale of village life, won the
Academy's Lambert prize. It was followed
by (Jennie's John (1886); (The Blue Horse)
(1888); (Singing-Weeping'; and "Bernadotte,
a cabinet drama,- an antithesis of Zola's
(Lourdes.
Powell, John Wesley. An American soldier,
geologist, and author; born in Mount Morris,
N. Y. , March 24, 1834. He was educated at
Oberlin College; was a lieutenant-colonel of
artillery at the close of the Civil War; pro-
fessor of geology in the Illinois Wesleyan Uni.
versity, 1865; explored the cañon of the Colo-
rado River in 1867, and again in 1870–74. He
succeeded Clarence King as director of the
the United States Geological Survey (1879-96).
The special volumes of reports written by
Major Powell are: (Exploration of the Colorado
River in 1869-72) (1875); (Geology of the
Uinta Mountains) (1876); (The Arid Regions
of the United States) (1879); (Introduction to
Study of Indian Languages) (1880).
Powell, Thomas. An American playwright
and author; born in London, Sept. 3, 1809;
died in Newark, N. J. , Jan. 13, 1887. For
## p. 439 (#455) ############################################
POWERS--PRENTICE
439
(
many years he was connected with the Frank
Leslie publications. Besides two acted plays,
(True at Last) and (The Shepherd's Well," he
published: (Florentine Tales) (1847); Living
Authors of England) (1849); Living Authors
of America) (1850).
Powers, Horatio Nelson. An American
clergyman, literary critic, and poet; born at
Amenia, N. Y. , April 30, 1826; died in 1890.
Among his works are: (Through the Year)
(1875); Poems, Early and Late) (1876); (Ten
Years of Song) (1887); (Lyrics of the Hudson.
Pradon, Nicolas (prä-dôn'). A French tragic
poet; born at Rouen, 1632 ; died at Paris, 1698.
Besides many fugitive poems, he wrote : (Tam-
erlane (1677); Phædra and Hippolytus' (1677);
(The Troad) (1679); (Statira) (1683); “Regu-
lus' (1688); (Scipio Africanus) (1697); and his
most famous work, Pyramus and Thisbe.
Pradt, Dominique Dufour de (prät). A
French statesman and historian; born at Al-
lanches in Auvergne, April 23, 1759; died March
18, 1837. He wrote: (Historic Narrative of
the Restoration of Royalty in France (1814);
History of the Embassy to the Grand Duchy
of Warsaw in 1812) (1815); (The Congress of
Vienna' (2 vols. , 1815-16); (Historical Memoirs
on the Spanish Revolution' (1816); (The Colo-
nies and the Present Revolution in [Spanish]
America) (2 vols. , 1817); (The Congress of
Carlsbad) (2 vols. , 1819-20).
Praed, Mrs. Campbell Mackworth (prād)
(Rose Caroline Murray - Prior ). An Aus-
tralian novelist, wife of the nephew of W. M.
Praed; born in Bromelton, Queensland, March
27, 1852. In 1876 she came to London and
began to write her noted Australian stories.
Her most popular works are: An Austra-
lian Heroine) (1880); Moloch) (1883); (The
Head Station (1885); December Roses)
(1892); "Outlaw and Lawmaker (1893);
Nulma) (1897). In collaboration with Justin
McCarthy she has written (The Right Hon-
ourable) (1886), and “The Ladies' Gallery)
(1889), novels of political and social life.
Praed, Winthrop Mackworth. An English
poet (1802-39); born in London. He wrote
society verse and occasional poetry. Among
his best-known pieces are: (The Red Fisher-
man”; “Every-Day Characters); Private The-
atricals); (School and Schoolfellows); A Let-
ter of Advice); (Our Ball); My Partner);
My Little Cousins); etc.
Pram, Christen Henriksen (präm). А
Danish poet; born at Gudbrandsdal in Nor-
way, 1756; died in the island of St. Thomas,
W. I. , 1821. He was editor of the periodical
Minerva, at Copenhagen; wrote the romantic
epic (Staerkodder) (1785), and two tragedies,
'Damon and Pythias) and Frode and Fingal. ”
Prati, Giovanni (prä'tē). An Italian lyric
poet; born at Dascindo near Trent, Jan. 27,
1815; died at Rome, May 9, 1884. He wrote (Ed.
menegarda) (1841), a powerful narrative poem
after the Byronic manner, which was received
with extraordinary favor. Then followed sev-
eral volumes of lyric poetry, which still further
enhanced the poet's reputation. His satire
"Satan and the Graces) (1855), and his epics
(Count Riga) (1856), (Rudolf (1858), Aribert)
(1860), were equally successful.
Pratt, Anne. An English nature-writer,
whose numerous books achieved great pop-
ularity. Among them are: (Flowers and their
Associations) (new ed. 1840); (Field, Garden,
and Woodland) (for the young, new ed. 1843);
(Chapters on Common Things of the Seaside)
(1850); (Green Fields, their Grasses) (1852);
(Our Native Songsters) (1852); “Wild Flowers)
(1853); (Flowering Plants, Grasses, and Ferns
of Great Britain (1854); Haunts of the Wild
Flowers) (1863).
Pratt, Mrs. Ella (Farman). An American
writer of juvenile literature. She has been
editor of Wide Awake, and at present has
charge of Our Little Men and Women. Among
her works are: Anna Maylie) (1873); (A
White Hand' (1875); (Good-for-Nothing Polly)
(1877); (A Girl's Money. )
Pratt, Orson. A Mormon apostle, educator,
and professor; born in Hartford, Conn. , Sept.
19, 1811; died in Salt Lake City, Oct. 3, 1881.
He was one of the twelve apostles of the Mor-
mon Church (1835), and was in charge of Euro-
pean missions from 1840, many successive years.
He was professor of mathematics in Deseret
University; also church historian and recorder.
His writings include : Divine Authenticity of
the Book of Mormon) (6 parts, 1851); (Patri-
archal Order, or Plurality of Wives) (1853);
"Cubic and Biquadratic Equations? ( 1866 );
(Key to the Universe) (1879); and (The Great
First Cause. He left in manuscript a (Trea-
tise on the Differential Calculus. )
Pratt, Samuel Jackson. An English poet
and novelist; born at St. Ives, Cornwall, Dec.
25, 1749; died at Birmingham, Oct. 4, 1814.
Besides his translation Goethe's "Sorrows
of Werther' (1813), his books are: (Sympathy,'
a poem ; (Tears of Genius) (1774), a poem on
Goldsmith; (Landscapes in Verse); Liberal
Opinion' (1775), a novel; (Emma Corbett)
(1776), a novel; Apology for David Hume)
(1777); Pupils of Pleasure) (1779), a novel;
(Gleanings through Wales, Holland,' etc. (1795);
Gleanings in England (1796); (The Fair Cir-
cassian,' a tragedy ; (Family Secrets) (1797), a
novel; (Cabinet of Poetry) (1808).
Prentice, George Denison. An American
journalist, author, and poet; born at Preston,
Conn. , Dec. 18, 1802; died at Louisville, Ky. ,
Jan. 22, 1870. He was on the staff of the Hart-
ford Weekly Review from 1828 to 1830, when
he became editor of the Louisville Journal, and
held that position until his death, making the
paper famous for satiric wit and exuberant fun.
His best-known work is a volume of witticisms
entitled Prenticeana) (1859). His other pub-
lications are "Life of Henry Clay) (1831), and
(Poems) (1876).
## p. 440 (#456) ############################################
440
PRENTISS - PRIDEAUX
Prentiss, Mrs. Elizabeth (Payson). An
American writer of fiction; born at Portland,
Me. , Oct. 26, 1818; died at Dorset, Vt. , Aug. 13,
1878. Her most popular work was “Stepping
Heavenward (1869), which was translated into
several languages. She also published: (Little
Susy's Six Birthdays) (1853); (Fred and Maria
and Me) (1867); (Aunt Jane's Hero) (1871);
(Pemaquid) (1877); "Gentleman Jim (1878).
Preradović, Peter (prer-a-do'vich). The
most eminent of modern Croatian lyric poets;
born at Grabonitza, March 19, 1818; died Aug.
18, 1872. He wrote : Firstlings,' a collection of
short poems (1846); New Songs) (1851); "The
First Men) and (The Slavic Dioscuri, epics.
Prescott, William Hickling. An eminent
American historian; born at Salem, Mass. ,
May 4, 1796; died at New York, Jan. 28, 1859.
His works are: (History of Ferdinand and Is-
abella) (3 vols. , 1838); (History of the Conquest
of Mexico) (3 vols. , 1843); History of the
Conquest of Peru) (3 vols. , 1847); (History of
the Reign of Philip II. of Spain' (3 vols. , 1855-
58); Biographical and Critical Miscellanies)
(1843); “Critical Essays) (1852). *
Pressensé, Edmond Déhoult de (prā-son-
sā'). An eminent French theologian and his-
torian; born at Paris, Jan. 7, 1824; died there,
April 8, 1891. Among his numerous writings
are : (The Church and the French Revolution)
(1864); Jesus Christ, his Life and his Work)
(1866; 7th ed. 1884), written in opposition to
Renan's Life of Jesus); (History of the First
Three Centuries of the Christian Church' (6
vols. , 1858–77); (The Council of the Vatican)
(1872); Origins : The Problem of Cognition,
the Cosmologic Problem,' etc. (1883); Moral
and Political Miscellanies) (1885); (Alexander
Vinet and his Unpublished Correspondence
with H. Lutteroth) (1890).
Preston, Harriet Waters. An American
scholar, translator, and writer ; born in Danvers,
Mass. , about 1843; now resident at Leland Stan-
ford University, California. At an early age she
became noted as a linguist, and now has achieved
a brilliant reputation as a translator from the
Latin and Provençal languages, and as an essay-
ist. Besides her translations of Mistral's (Mi-
rèio (1873), Virgil's (Georgics) (1881), and sev-
eral others, she has published of her own ori-
ginal work : (Aspendale) (1881); «Troubadours
and Trouvères) (1876); (A Year in Eden,
with Louise Dodge (1886); 'Private Life of the
Romans) (1893); and "Love in the Nineteenth
Century.
Preston, Mrs. Margaret (Junkin). An
American poet and miscellaneous writer; born
in Philadelphia about 1825; died 1897. She
was a resident of Lexington, Va. , and later of
Baltimore, Md. Her writings deal chiefly with
the period of the Civil War, the best known
being : (Silverwood (1856), a novel; (Beechen-
brook, a Rhyme of the War) (1866); (Cartoons)
(1875); “Colonial Ballads) (1887); Aunt Dor-
othy) (1890).
Prévost, Eugène Marcel (prā-võ'). A French
novelist; born at Paris, May 1, 1862. His first
story, 'The Scorpion (1887), the tragic history
of a clerical tutor in a Jesuit school, made a
deep impression because of the fine psycho-
logical insight and intimate knowledge of the
priestly life it displayed. It was followed by
(Our Helpmate: Provincials and Parisiennes)
(1885); (Chonchette) (1888); (Mlle. Jaufre)
(1889), perhaps his best work; (Cousin Laura:
Stage Morality) (1890); (A Lover's Confession
(1891); “Women's Letters) (1892); “A Woman's
Autumn) ( 1893 ); (The Mill at Nazareth
(1894); (The Demi-Virgins) (1894); More of
the Women's Letters) (1894).
Prévost d'Exiles, Antoine François (prā-vo-
deg-zēl'), commonly called Abbé Prévost. A
notable French novelist; born at Hesdin in
Artois, April 1, 1697; died near Chantilly, Nov.
23, 1763. He gained great celebrity through his
remarkable novels : Memoirs of a Man of
Quality) (1728); (Cleveland); Manon Lescaut,'
his greatest work (1731); (Story of a Modern
Greek Woman' (1741). He also wrote some
historical works and moral essays, and trans-
lated Richardson's (Pamela' and (Clarissa. ' *
Prévost-Paradol, Lucien Anatole (prā-võ'
pä-rä-dol'). A distinguished French journalist;
born at Paris, Aug. 8, 1829; died by suicide at
Washington, D. C. , July 20, 1870, while he was
French envoy to the United States. He wrote:
Essay on Universal History) (2 vols. , 1854);
(Rôle of the Family in Education (1857);
(Essays on Politics and Literature) (3 vols. ,
1859–63); (Pages of Contemporary History) (4
vols. , 1862–64); (Studies on the French Moral-
ists) (1865); (The New France) (1868).
Price, Eleanor C. An English novelist; born
18–. Her books are: (One Only) (1874);
(Constantia) (1875); (A French Heiress in her
Own Château) (1878); (Mrs. Lancaster's Rival
(1879);(Valentina : A Sketch' (1882); (The For-
eigners) (1883); (High Aims) (1884); "Gerald'
(1885); (Alexia) (1887); (Red Towers) (1888).
Price, Richard. A notable English philoso-
pher and man of science; born at Tynton in
Glamorganshire, Feb. 22, 1723; died April 19,
1791. He was a Dissenting minister, and was
pastor of a congregation at Hackney. He was
the friend of Benjamin Franklin, and sympa-
thized warmly with the American colonists.
His tables of vital statistics and calculations
of expectancy of life were the basis of modern
annuities and life insurance ; his economic and
financial writings were of a high order, and
the younger Pitt consulted him on finance.
His principal writings are : An Appeal to the
Public on the Subject of the National Debt'
(1771); (Civil Liberty and the Justice and
Policy of the War with America) (1776); (Re-
view of the Principal Questions in Morals) (3d
ed. 1787); (The American Revolution and the
Means of Rendering It a Benefit to the World
(1784).
Prideaux, Humphrey. An English theolo-
gian and historical writer; born at Place in
:
## p. 441 (#457) ############################################
PRIEST -- PROCOPIUS
441
>
Cornwall, May 2, 1648; died at Norwich, Nov.
1, 1724. He was a minister of the established
Church, and became dean of Norwich in 1702.
His chief writings are : (Validity of the Orders
of the Church of England) (1088); (The Case
of Clandestine Marriages Stated’ (1691); Life
of Mahomet! ( 1697 ); (The Old and New
Testament Connected in the History of the
Jews,' a work of great research and learning
(1716).
Priest, Josiah. An American writer ; born
in New York, about 1790; died about 1850.
He was an unschooled man, a harness-maker
by trade; but published several books, some of
which became very popular. Among them
were : (Wonders of Nature) (1826); «View of
the Millennium) (1828); "Stories of the Revo-
lution (1836); (American Antiquities) (1838);
and "Slavery in the Light of History and
Scripture) (1843).
Priestley, Joseph. A celebrated English
philosopher, theologian, physicist, and chemist;
born at Fieldhead near Leeds, March 13, 1733;
died near Philadelphia, Feb. 6, 1804. He was
a Dissenting minister of Unitarian or Socinian
principles, and served as such in various towns,
the last being Hackney, a London suburb.
Among his writings are: Institutes of Natural
and Revealed Religion (1754); History of
Electricity) (1767); Disquisitions on Matter
and Spirit,' his most noteworthy philosophical
treatise (1777); “History of the Corruptions of
Christianity) (1782); «Observations on Differ-
ent kinds of Air) (3 vols. , 1774-77); (The
Doctrine of Phlogiston Established) (1800).
Prime, Samuel Irenæus. An American
clergyman, editor, and author; born at Balls-
ton, N. Y. , Nov. 4, 1812; died at Manchester,
Vt. , July 18, 1885. He was first a minister in
the Presbyterian Church. About 1840 he be-
came editor of the New York Observer, and
remained in charge until his death. He is the
author of over forty volumes, the best known
being : (Travels in Europe and the East)
(1855); "Letters from Switzerland) (1860); (The
Alhambra and the Kremlin (1873); Life of
Samuel F. B. Morse) (1874).
Prime, William Cowper. An American man
of letters; born at Cambridge, N. Y. . Oct. 31,
1825. He wrote : "Owl Creek Letters) (1848);
(The Old House by the River) (1853); Later
Years) (1854); (Boat Life in Egypt and Nubia)
(1857); (Tent Life in the Holy Land); “Coins,
Medals, and Seals) (1861); a work on the
hymn O Mother Dear, Jerusalem) (1865); (I
Go a-Fishing) (1873); (The Holy Cross) (1877);
(Pottery and Porcelain of all Times and Na-
tions) (1878). He edited (McClellan's Own
Story, with biography (1886). *
Prince, Mrs. Helen Choate (Pratt). An
American novelist, granddaughter of Rufus
Choate; born in Massachusetts in 1857. She
is at present residing in France. Her works
are: 'The Story of Christine Rochefort) (1895);
(A Transatlantic Châtelaine) (1897).
Prince, John Critchley. An English poet-
workingman; born in 1808; died in 1866; a
Lancashireman. He wrote: Hours with the
Muses) (1842); (Dreams and Realities); Poetic
Rosary' (1851); and Autumn Leaves) (1856).
Prince, Le Baron Bradford. An American
historical writer, descendant of William Brad-
ford of the Mayflower; born in Flushing, L. I. ,
July 3, 1840. He was a prominent jurist of
New Mexico. His works include : (E Pluribus
Unum; or, American Nationality) (1868); (A
Nation, or a League) (1880); History of New
Mexico) (1883); and (The American Church
and its Name) (1887).
Principe, Miguel Agustin (prēn'the-pā).
A Spanish writer; born at Caspa, 1811. He
was at one time professor of literature and his-
tory at the University of Saragossa, and after-
wards connected with the Royal Library of
Madrid. He has written a "History of the War
of Independence); “Verses, Serious and Gay);
the three dramas (Count Julian,' 'Cerdan,
Judge of Aragon,' and Mauregato, as well as
several comedies, among them (Periquito and
(The House of Pero Hernandez. )
Prior, Matthew. A distinguished English
poet; born at Wimborne in Dorsetshire, July
21, 1664; died at Wimpole in Cambridgeshire,
Sept. 18, 1721. With Charles Montagu, after-
ward Lord Halifax, he wrote (The City Mouse
and the Country Mouse) (1687), in ridicule of
Dryden's 'Hind and Panther. His other works
are : (Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind
(1718); (Solomon, his most ambitious poetic
Aight (1718); Poems on Several Occasions)
(1718). *
Privat d'Anglemont, Alexandre (pré-vä'.
dängl-môn'). A French man of letters; born
at St. Rose, W. I. , about 1820 ; died at Paris,
1859. He first became known through a small
volume, (The Prado) (1846); but all his days
he led the life of a bohemian, and finally died
in a hospital. He published (Anecdotes of
Paris) (1854); and one of his friends has col.
lected and published Privat's fugitive efforts
under the title "Unknown Paris) (1861).
Proclus (prōʻklus. ) A Greek Neo-Platonic
philosopher; born at Constantinople, 412; died
there, 485. He wrote hymns and epigrams,
some of which have come down to us. He
wrote also works on astronomy and mathe-
matics, among them a Commentary on Euclid,
which is extant; and a commentary on Plato's
Dialogues, of which the commentary on 'The
Republic) has come down to our time.
Procopius (pro-ko'pē-us). An eminent Greek
historian of the sixth century, the leading au-
thority for Justinian's reign; born at Cæsarea
in Palestine.
West Point in 1842, and had important com-
mands in the Civil War. Later in life he had
charge of various departments of the regular
army in the West. He published: (The Vir-
ginia Campaign of July and August 1862, a
defense of his campaign in command of the
Army of the Potomac.
Porphyrius (por-fi'rē-us). A celebrated Neo-
Platonic philosopher; born at Batanea in Syria,
233 A. D. ; died at Rome, 304 A. D. He was a
disciple first of Longinus, then of Plotinus,
whose works he edited, and whom he succeeded
as master of a school of philosophy at Rome.
But few of his writings have come down to us.
He wrote a History of Philosophy,' to which
probably belongs the extant Life of Pythago-
ras. Some fragments of his work against the
Christian religion - condemned to the flames
by the emperor Theodosius II. in 453 -- are
preserved in the writings of his adversaries.
We have his tractate (Оn Abstinence from
Animal Food); also his (Homeric Questions,
in 32 chapters; his Epistle to Marcella) on
the right conduct of life; his letter to the
a
## p. 437 (#453) ############################################
PORSON - PORTER
437
)
(
Egyptian priest Anebon in condemnation of
magic and theurgy; Introduction to Philoso-
phy,' in which the question of realism and
. nominalism is first mooted; "On Deriving a
Philosophy from Oracles); and “On the Cave
of the Nymphs.
Porson, Richard. An eminent English
scholar and critic; born in Norfolk, Dec. 25,
1759; died in London, Sept. 25, 1808. He was
educated at Eton and Cambridge, and regius
professor of Greek at Cambridge from 1792
till his death. He possessed phenomenal pow-
ers of memory, great critical acumen, and a
knowledge of Greek unequaled in his day. His
emendations and critical notes on the Greek
writers are accepted as authoritative. He wrote
for the literary reviews on many subjects; ed.
ited Æschylus (1795); the (Hecuba, Orestes,
(Phænissæ, and Medea) of Euripides (1797-
1801): and published Adversaria) ( 1812 );
(Tracts and Criticisms) (1815); (Aristophanica)
(1820); 'Photii Lexicon' (1822); «Notæ in Sui-
dam' (1834). His Letters to Archdeacon Travis
on the « Three Witnesses) are monuments of
analytic and argumentative power.
Port, Elizabeth-Marie (port). A Dutch poet
and novelist; born in the second half of the
eighteenth century. Her writings are: (The
Country) (1792), prose and poetry; (For the
Solitary' ( 1789 ); (Reinhart on Nature and Re-
ligion (1793); "Elegies) (1794); (True Enjoy.
ment of Life) (1796); My Childhood's Tears)
(1804), domestic tableaux; Frederick Weit
and his Children'; On Society and Solitude)
(1806); and New Poems) (1807).
Porter, Anna Maria. An English novelist;
born at Durham, 1780; died 1832. Sister of
Jane and Sir R. K. ; she wrote (Artless Tales)
(1793-95), which was succeeded by a long series
of novels, among them :(Walsh Colville (1797);
(The Lakes of Killarney) (1804); (The Hun-
garian Brothers) (1807); (The Recluse of Nor-
way) (1814); ( The Knight of St. John (1817);
(The Fast of St. Magdalen) (1818); (Roche
Blanche) (1822); Honor O'Hara! (1826);
(Barony) (1830); also Ballads, Romances, and
Other Poems) (1811).
Porter, David. An American naval officer
and diplomat; born in Boston, Feb. I, 1780;
died near Constantinople, March 3, 1843. He
commanded in several naval engagements of
the Tripoli war (1801-6) and the War of 1812.
From 1831 to 1843 he held important diplomatic
positions at Constantinople. His chief work is
Constantinople and its Environs) (1835).
Porter, David Dixon. An American admi.
ral, son of David; born at Chester, Pa. , June
8, 1813; died at Washington, D. C. , Feb. 13,
1891. He came into prominence in the Mexi-
can War, and during the Civil War held im-
portant naval commands at New Orleans, Vicks-
burg, and Fort Fisher. As an author he will
be best remembered for his nautical romance,
(The Adventures of Harry Marline) (1886).
ong his other works are : "Life of Commo-
dore David Porter) ( 1875 ); (Allan Dare and
Robert le Diable) (1885), a romance; “History
of the Navy in the War of the Rebellion)
(1887).
Porter, Horace. An American general and
military writer; born at Huntingdon, Pa. , April
15, 1837. He graduated from West Point, and
during the Civil War was a staff officer of
McClellan and Rosecrans, and subsequently
Grant's trusted aide and personal friend in Vir-
ginia during the last two years of the War. He
is the author of "Campaigning with Grant,
which first appeared serially in the Century
Magazine.
Porter, Jane. An English novelist ; born at
Durham, 1776; died at Bristol, May 24, 1850.
Among her stories, some of which still enjoy
a wide popularity, are: (Thaddeus of Warsaw)
(1803), which has been translated into several
languages, and for which she was elected can-
oness of the Teutonic Order of St. Joachim;
( The Scottish Chiefs) (1810); (The Pastor's
Fireside) (1815); “Duke Christian of Lüneburg
(1824); (Coming Out) (1828); “The Field of
Forty Footsteps) (1828). In collaboration with
her sister she wrote (Tales round a Winter
Hearth) (1826). She was long credited with
the authorship of (Sir Edward Seward's Diary)
(1831); but it was written by her elder brother,
Dr. Wm. Ogilvie Porter.
Porter, John Addison. An American jour-
nalist; born at New Haven, Conn. , April 17,
1856. He is editor of the Hartford Post. His
works are: (The Corporation of Yale College)
(1885); Administration of the City of Wash-
ington) (1885); “Sketches of Yale Life) (1886).
He is now (1897-98) private secretary to Presi-
dent McKinley.
Porter, Linn Boyd. An American novelist
of Cambridge, Mass. ; born about 1840. He is
the author of numerous sensational novels,
published under the pseudonym of «Albert
Ross, which have had a large sale. Among
the most popular are: (Thou Shalt Not (1889);
(Speaking of Ellen (1890); “Out of Wedlock)
(1894); "Love Gone Astray) (1896).
Porter, Noah. An eminent American clergy-
man, educator, and author; born at Farming-
ton, Conn. , Dec. 14, 1811; died in New Haven,
Conn. , March 4, 1892. In 1846 he was ap-
pointed professor of metaphysics at Yale Uni-
versity; and was president of that institution
from 1871 to 1885. The most valuable of his
numerous works are : Human Intellect) (1868);
( Books and Reading (1870); (American Col-
leges and the American Public) (1870); (Moral
Science) (1885).
Porter, Sir Robert Ker. An English tray-
eler, brother of Jane and Anna Maria ; born
at Durham, 1775; died at St. Petersburg, May
4, 1842. He traveled extensively in Europe,
Asia, and South America; and wrote: (Travel-
ing Sketches in Russia and Sweden) (1808);
(Letters from Portugal and Spain' (1809);
(Narrative of the Late Campaign in Russia)
(1813); “Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia,
(
(
## p. 438 (#454) ############################################
438
POSIDONIUS - POWELL
Ancient Babylonia, etc. , during the Years 1817-
20) (1821-22).
Posidonius (pos-i-do'ni-us). A Greek Stoic
philosopher; born at Apamea in Syria, but styled
(the Rhodian” by reason of his long residence
in the island of Rhodes; lived from 135 to 50
B. C. He was one of the most learned men
of antiquity, his knowledge and his writings
extending over every branch of science. Only
fragments of his works are extant. His great.
est work was a universal history in 52 books,
held in high esteem by the ancients : it was a
continuation of Polybius, and covered the pe-
riod 145-82 B. C. His lectures on (Tactics)
would seem to be the basis of the tractate of
his disciple Asclepiodotus on the same sub-
ject.
Posnett, Mrs. George. An English novel.
ist; born 18–. Her books are: (The Touch
of Fate) (1884); (On the Square ) (1884); (Her
Golden Forget-Me-Not) (1885); and (Who Am
I? ) (1885).
Potier, Charles Joseph Edward (põt-yā').
A French actor and dramatic author; born at
Bordeaux in 1806; died at Paris in 1870. His
principal dramatic works are : (Factor) (1834),
a five-act drama with Charles Desnoyer and
Boulé; (Because) (1835), (The Drunkard's Sis-
ter) (1839), one-act vaudevilles; Everybody's
Master' (1840), a two-act comedy with Antony
Béraud ; (The Clothing Merchant' (1841), a
five-act drama with Desnoyer and Béraud;
(Estelle and Némorin) (1844), a two-act pas-
toral bouffe ; and (The National Sickness)
(1846), a three-act vaudeville with Brissebarre.
Potter, Henry Codman. An American clergy-
man and author, bishop of New York; born at
Schenectady, N. Y. , May 25, 1835. Educated
in theology in Virginia, he became rector of
Grace Church, New York city, in 1868; and
was consecrated bishop of New York in 1887.
His works include: (Gates of the East: A
Winter in Egypt and Syria' (1876); “Sermons
of the City) (1881); “Waymarks) (1892).
Potts, William. An American writer on
nature, also on political and social reform ; born
in Philadelphia, May 5, 1838. For many years
he was secretary and he is now vice-president
of the National Civil Service League. He was
chief examiner of the Civil Service Commission
for New York State in 1887. He has published
a volume of nature studies, From a New Eng.
land Hillside,' and a Sunday-school service
book, Noblesse Oblige. He is also the author
of numerous pamphlets.
Potvin, Charles (põ-van'). A Belgian poet,
and historian of literature; born at Mons, Dec.
2, 1818. He wrote several volumes of lyric
poetry : (Poems and Amours) (1838); Poems,
Historical and Romantic) (2 vols. , 1840); (Po.
litical and Elegiac Poems) (1849); “Satires)
(1852); (The Beggar-Woman) (1856). On the
drama he wrote: (The Theatre in Belgium)
(1862); (Essays on Dramatic Literature ) (2
vols. , 1880); and some comedies, as (Choice
of an Occupation) and (War. He also wrote
many volumes of literary history and criticism,
among them (Our Early Literary Periods) (2
vols. , 1870), and French Literature in Belgium
before 1830.
Pougin, François-Auguste Arthur (pö-
zhan'). A French musician and author ; born
at Chateauroux, 1834. Besides pseudonymous
contributions to various journals, he published
among others the following volumes : (French
Musicians of the 18th Century) (1863); Meyer-
beer: A Biographical Sketch) (1864); (William
Vincent Wallace) (1865); (F. Halévy, Writer)
(1865); (Bellini, his Life and Works) (1867);
(Rossini' (1869); (Musical Literature in France)
(1869); and (Albert Grisar) (1870).
Poujol, Adolph (pö-zhol'). A French dra.
matic author ; born at Paris, 1811 (? ). He wrote
very many plays in collaboration. Among his
writings are: "A Service of Love) (1840);
The Pastry-Cook of Danaustadt) (1842); (Re-
sults of a Fault! (1842); (Jeanne de Naples!
(1842); A Daughter of the Legion of Honor
(1843); December 10) (1849); Marguerite !
(1851); (A Maiden's Heart) (1854); Doctor
Momus) (1857); and (The Art of Managing
Women (1859).
Poujoulat, Jean Joseph François (pö-zhö-
lä'). A French historian; born at La Fare,
Bouches-du-Rhône, Jan. 26, 1800; died at Paris,
Jan. 5, 1880. His principal works are : (His-
tory of Jerusalem (2 vols. , 1840-42); (Cardinal
Maury) (1855); (History of the French Revolu-
tion) (2 vols. , 1855); History of France from
1814' (4 vols. , 1865-67); "Insanities of the Pres.
ent Time regarding Religion ( 1877 ); (The
Bedawîn Woman' (2 vols. , 1835), a novel,
crowned by the Academy.
Pouvillon, Émile (pö-vē-yôn'). A French
novelist; born at Montauban, 1840. His novel
(Césette) (1880), a tale of village life, won the
Academy's Lambert prize. It was followed
by (Jennie's John (1886); (The Blue Horse)
(1888); (Singing-Weeping'; and "Bernadotte,
a cabinet drama,- an antithesis of Zola's
(Lourdes.
Powell, John Wesley. An American soldier,
geologist, and author; born in Mount Morris,
N. Y. , March 24, 1834. He was educated at
Oberlin College; was a lieutenant-colonel of
artillery at the close of the Civil War; pro-
fessor of geology in the Illinois Wesleyan Uni.
versity, 1865; explored the cañon of the Colo-
rado River in 1867, and again in 1870–74. He
succeeded Clarence King as director of the
the United States Geological Survey (1879-96).
The special volumes of reports written by
Major Powell are: (Exploration of the Colorado
River in 1869-72) (1875); (Geology of the
Uinta Mountains) (1876); (The Arid Regions
of the United States) (1879); (Introduction to
Study of Indian Languages) (1880).
Powell, Thomas. An American playwright
and author; born in London, Sept. 3, 1809;
died in Newark, N. J. , Jan. 13, 1887. For
## p. 439 (#455) ############################################
POWERS--PRENTICE
439
(
many years he was connected with the Frank
Leslie publications. Besides two acted plays,
(True at Last) and (The Shepherd's Well," he
published: (Florentine Tales) (1847); Living
Authors of England) (1849); Living Authors
of America) (1850).
Powers, Horatio Nelson. An American
clergyman, literary critic, and poet; born at
Amenia, N. Y. , April 30, 1826; died in 1890.
Among his works are: (Through the Year)
(1875); Poems, Early and Late) (1876); (Ten
Years of Song) (1887); (Lyrics of the Hudson.
Pradon, Nicolas (prä-dôn'). A French tragic
poet; born at Rouen, 1632 ; died at Paris, 1698.
Besides many fugitive poems, he wrote : (Tam-
erlane (1677); Phædra and Hippolytus' (1677);
(The Troad) (1679); (Statira) (1683); “Regu-
lus' (1688); (Scipio Africanus) (1697); and his
most famous work, Pyramus and Thisbe.
Pradt, Dominique Dufour de (prät). A
French statesman and historian; born at Al-
lanches in Auvergne, April 23, 1759; died March
18, 1837. He wrote: (Historic Narrative of
the Restoration of Royalty in France (1814);
History of the Embassy to the Grand Duchy
of Warsaw in 1812) (1815); (The Congress of
Vienna' (2 vols. , 1815-16); (Historical Memoirs
on the Spanish Revolution' (1816); (The Colo-
nies and the Present Revolution in [Spanish]
America) (2 vols. , 1817); (The Congress of
Carlsbad) (2 vols. , 1819-20).
Praed, Mrs. Campbell Mackworth (prād)
(Rose Caroline Murray - Prior ). An Aus-
tralian novelist, wife of the nephew of W. M.
Praed; born in Bromelton, Queensland, March
27, 1852. In 1876 she came to London and
began to write her noted Australian stories.
Her most popular works are: An Austra-
lian Heroine) (1880); Moloch) (1883); (The
Head Station (1885); December Roses)
(1892); "Outlaw and Lawmaker (1893);
Nulma) (1897). In collaboration with Justin
McCarthy she has written (The Right Hon-
ourable) (1886), and “The Ladies' Gallery)
(1889), novels of political and social life.
Praed, Winthrop Mackworth. An English
poet (1802-39); born in London. He wrote
society verse and occasional poetry. Among
his best-known pieces are: (The Red Fisher-
man”; “Every-Day Characters); Private The-
atricals); (School and Schoolfellows); A Let-
ter of Advice); (Our Ball); My Partner);
My Little Cousins); etc.
Pram, Christen Henriksen (präm). А
Danish poet; born at Gudbrandsdal in Nor-
way, 1756; died in the island of St. Thomas,
W. I. , 1821. He was editor of the periodical
Minerva, at Copenhagen; wrote the romantic
epic (Staerkodder) (1785), and two tragedies,
'Damon and Pythias) and Frode and Fingal. ”
Prati, Giovanni (prä'tē). An Italian lyric
poet; born at Dascindo near Trent, Jan. 27,
1815; died at Rome, May 9, 1884. He wrote (Ed.
menegarda) (1841), a powerful narrative poem
after the Byronic manner, which was received
with extraordinary favor. Then followed sev-
eral volumes of lyric poetry, which still further
enhanced the poet's reputation. His satire
"Satan and the Graces) (1855), and his epics
(Count Riga) (1856), (Rudolf (1858), Aribert)
(1860), were equally successful.
Pratt, Anne. An English nature-writer,
whose numerous books achieved great pop-
ularity. Among them are: (Flowers and their
Associations) (new ed. 1840); (Field, Garden,
and Woodland) (for the young, new ed. 1843);
(Chapters on Common Things of the Seaside)
(1850); (Green Fields, their Grasses) (1852);
(Our Native Songsters) (1852); “Wild Flowers)
(1853); (Flowering Plants, Grasses, and Ferns
of Great Britain (1854); Haunts of the Wild
Flowers) (1863).
Pratt, Mrs. Ella (Farman). An American
writer of juvenile literature. She has been
editor of Wide Awake, and at present has
charge of Our Little Men and Women. Among
her works are: Anna Maylie) (1873); (A
White Hand' (1875); (Good-for-Nothing Polly)
(1877); (A Girl's Money. )
Pratt, Orson. A Mormon apostle, educator,
and professor; born in Hartford, Conn. , Sept.
19, 1811; died in Salt Lake City, Oct. 3, 1881.
He was one of the twelve apostles of the Mor-
mon Church (1835), and was in charge of Euro-
pean missions from 1840, many successive years.
He was professor of mathematics in Deseret
University; also church historian and recorder.
His writings include : Divine Authenticity of
the Book of Mormon) (6 parts, 1851); (Patri-
archal Order, or Plurality of Wives) (1853);
"Cubic and Biquadratic Equations? ( 1866 );
(Key to the Universe) (1879); and (The Great
First Cause. He left in manuscript a (Trea-
tise on the Differential Calculus. )
Pratt, Samuel Jackson. An English poet
and novelist; born at St. Ives, Cornwall, Dec.
25, 1749; died at Birmingham, Oct. 4, 1814.
Besides his translation Goethe's "Sorrows
of Werther' (1813), his books are: (Sympathy,'
a poem ; (Tears of Genius) (1774), a poem on
Goldsmith; (Landscapes in Verse); Liberal
Opinion' (1775), a novel; (Emma Corbett)
(1776), a novel; Apology for David Hume)
(1777); Pupils of Pleasure) (1779), a novel;
(Gleanings through Wales, Holland,' etc. (1795);
Gleanings in England (1796); (The Fair Cir-
cassian,' a tragedy ; (Family Secrets) (1797), a
novel; (Cabinet of Poetry) (1808).
Prentice, George Denison. An American
journalist, author, and poet; born at Preston,
Conn. , Dec. 18, 1802; died at Louisville, Ky. ,
Jan. 22, 1870. He was on the staff of the Hart-
ford Weekly Review from 1828 to 1830, when
he became editor of the Louisville Journal, and
held that position until his death, making the
paper famous for satiric wit and exuberant fun.
His best-known work is a volume of witticisms
entitled Prenticeana) (1859). His other pub-
lications are "Life of Henry Clay) (1831), and
(Poems) (1876).
## p. 440 (#456) ############################################
440
PRENTISS - PRIDEAUX
Prentiss, Mrs. Elizabeth (Payson). An
American writer of fiction; born at Portland,
Me. , Oct. 26, 1818; died at Dorset, Vt. , Aug. 13,
1878. Her most popular work was “Stepping
Heavenward (1869), which was translated into
several languages. She also published: (Little
Susy's Six Birthdays) (1853); (Fred and Maria
and Me) (1867); (Aunt Jane's Hero) (1871);
(Pemaquid) (1877); "Gentleman Jim (1878).
Preradović, Peter (prer-a-do'vich). The
most eminent of modern Croatian lyric poets;
born at Grabonitza, March 19, 1818; died Aug.
18, 1872. He wrote : Firstlings,' a collection of
short poems (1846); New Songs) (1851); "The
First Men) and (The Slavic Dioscuri, epics.
Prescott, William Hickling. An eminent
American historian; born at Salem, Mass. ,
May 4, 1796; died at New York, Jan. 28, 1859.
His works are: (History of Ferdinand and Is-
abella) (3 vols. , 1838); (History of the Conquest
of Mexico) (3 vols. , 1843); History of the
Conquest of Peru) (3 vols. , 1847); (History of
the Reign of Philip II. of Spain' (3 vols. , 1855-
58); Biographical and Critical Miscellanies)
(1843); “Critical Essays) (1852). *
Pressensé, Edmond Déhoult de (prā-son-
sā'). An eminent French theologian and his-
torian; born at Paris, Jan. 7, 1824; died there,
April 8, 1891. Among his numerous writings
are : (The Church and the French Revolution)
(1864); Jesus Christ, his Life and his Work)
(1866; 7th ed. 1884), written in opposition to
Renan's Life of Jesus); (History of the First
Three Centuries of the Christian Church' (6
vols. , 1858–77); (The Council of the Vatican)
(1872); Origins : The Problem of Cognition,
the Cosmologic Problem,' etc. (1883); Moral
and Political Miscellanies) (1885); (Alexander
Vinet and his Unpublished Correspondence
with H. Lutteroth) (1890).
Preston, Harriet Waters. An American
scholar, translator, and writer ; born in Danvers,
Mass. , about 1843; now resident at Leland Stan-
ford University, California. At an early age she
became noted as a linguist, and now has achieved
a brilliant reputation as a translator from the
Latin and Provençal languages, and as an essay-
ist. Besides her translations of Mistral's (Mi-
rèio (1873), Virgil's (Georgics) (1881), and sev-
eral others, she has published of her own ori-
ginal work : (Aspendale) (1881); «Troubadours
and Trouvères) (1876); (A Year in Eden,
with Louise Dodge (1886); 'Private Life of the
Romans) (1893); and "Love in the Nineteenth
Century.
Preston, Mrs. Margaret (Junkin). An
American poet and miscellaneous writer; born
in Philadelphia about 1825; died 1897. She
was a resident of Lexington, Va. , and later of
Baltimore, Md. Her writings deal chiefly with
the period of the Civil War, the best known
being : (Silverwood (1856), a novel; (Beechen-
brook, a Rhyme of the War) (1866); (Cartoons)
(1875); “Colonial Ballads) (1887); Aunt Dor-
othy) (1890).
Prévost, Eugène Marcel (prā-võ'). A French
novelist; born at Paris, May 1, 1862. His first
story, 'The Scorpion (1887), the tragic history
of a clerical tutor in a Jesuit school, made a
deep impression because of the fine psycho-
logical insight and intimate knowledge of the
priestly life it displayed. It was followed by
(Our Helpmate: Provincials and Parisiennes)
(1885); (Chonchette) (1888); (Mlle. Jaufre)
(1889), perhaps his best work; (Cousin Laura:
Stage Morality) (1890); (A Lover's Confession
(1891); “Women's Letters) (1892); “A Woman's
Autumn) ( 1893 ); (The Mill at Nazareth
(1894); (The Demi-Virgins) (1894); More of
the Women's Letters) (1894).
Prévost d'Exiles, Antoine François (prā-vo-
deg-zēl'), commonly called Abbé Prévost. A
notable French novelist; born at Hesdin in
Artois, April 1, 1697; died near Chantilly, Nov.
23, 1763. He gained great celebrity through his
remarkable novels : Memoirs of a Man of
Quality) (1728); (Cleveland); Manon Lescaut,'
his greatest work (1731); (Story of a Modern
Greek Woman' (1741). He also wrote some
historical works and moral essays, and trans-
lated Richardson's (Pamela' and (Clarissa. ' *
Prévost-Paradol, Lucien Anatole (prā-võ'
pä-rä-dol'). A distinguished French journalist;
born at Paris, Aug. 8, 1829; died by suicide at
Washington, D. C. , July 20, 1870, while he was
French envoy to the United States. He wrote:
Essay on Universal History) (2 vols. , 1854);
(Rôle of the Family in Education (1857);
(Essays on Politics and Literature) (3 vols. ,
1859–63); (Pages of Contemporary History) (4
vols. , 1862–64); (Studies on the French Moral-
ists) (1865); (The New France) (1868).
Price, Eleanor C. An English novelist; born
18–. Her books are: (One Only) (1874);
(Constantia) (1875); (A French Heiress in her
Own Château) (1878); (Mrs. Lancaster's Rival
(1879);(Valentina : A Sketch' (1882); (The For-
eigners) (1883); (High Aims) (1884); "Gerald'
(1885); (Alexia) (1887); (Red Towers) (1888).
Price, Richard. A notable English philoso-
pher and man of science; born at Tynton in
Glamorganshire, Feb. 22, 1723; died April 19,
1791. He was a Dissenting minister, and was
pastor of a congregation at Hackney. He was
the friend of Benjamin Franklin, and sympa-
thized warmly with the American colonists.
His tables of vital statistics and calculations
of expectancy of life were the basis of modern
annuities and life insurance ; his economic and
financial writings were of a high order, and
the younger Pitt consulted him on finance.
His principal writings are : An Appeal to the
Public on the Subject of the National Debt'
(1771); (Civil Liberty and the Justice and
Policy of the War with America) (1776); (Re-
view of the Principal Questions in Morals) (3d
ed. 1787); (The American Revolution and the
Means of Rendering It a Benefit to the World
(1784).
Prideaux, Humphrey. An English theolo-
gian and historical writer; born at Place in
:
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Cornwall, May 2, 1648; died at Norwich, Nov.
1, 1724. He was a minister of the established
Church, and became dean of Norwich in 1702.
His chief writings are : (Validity of the Orders
of the Church of England) (1088); (The Case
of Clandestine Marriages Stated’ (1691); Life
of Mahomet! ( 1697 ); (The Old and New
Testament Connected in the History of the
Jews,' a work of great research and learning
(1716).
Priest, Josiah. An American writer ; born
in New York, about 1790; died about 1850.
He was an unschooled man, a harness-maker
by trade; but published several books, some of
which became very popular. Among them
were : (Wonders of Nature) (1826); «View of
the Millennium) (1828); "Stories of the Revo-
lution (1836); (American Antiquities) (1838);
and "Slavery in the Light of History and
Scripture) (1843).
Priestley, Joseph. A celebrated English
philosopher, theologian, physicist, and chemist;
born at Fieldhead near Leeds, March 13, 1733;
died near Philadelphia, Feb. 6, 1804. He was
a Dissenting minister of Unitarian or Socinian
principles, and served as such in various towns,
the last being Hackney, a London suburb.
Among his writings are: Institutes of Natural
and Revealed Religion (1754); History of
Electricity) (1767); Disquisitions on Matter
and Spirit,' his most noteworthy philosophical
treatise (1777); “History of the Corruptions of
Christianity) (1782); «Observations on Differ-
ent kinds of Air) (3 vols. , 1774-77); (The
Doctrine of Phlogiston Established) (1800).
Prime, Samuel Irenæus. An American
clergyman, editor, and author; born at Balls-
ton, N. Y. , Nov. 4, 1812; died at Manchester,
Vt. , July 18, 1885. He was first a minister in
the Presbyterian Church. About 1840 he be-
came editor of the New York Observer, and
remained in charge until his death. He is the
author of over forty volumes, the best known
being : (Travels in Europe and the East)
(1855); "Letters from Switzerland) (1860); (The
Alhambra and the Kremlin (1873); Life of
Samuel F. B. Morse) (1874).
Prime, William Cowper. An American man
of letters; born at Cambridge, N. Y. . Oct. 31,
1825. He wrote : "Owl Creek Letters) (1848);
(The Old House by the River) (1853); Later
Years) (1854); (Boat Life in Egypt and Nubia)
(1857); (Tent Life in the Holy Land); “Coins,
Medals, and Seals) (1861); a work on the
hymn O Mother Dear, Jerusalem) (1865); (I
Go a-Fishing) (1873); (The Holy Cross) (1877);
(Pottery and Porcelain of all Times and Na-
tions) (1878). He edited (McClellan's Own
Story, with biography (1886). *
Prince, Mrs. Helen Choate (Pratt). An
American novelist, granddaughter of Rufus
Choate; born in Massachusetts in 1857. She
is at present residing in France. Her works
are: 'The Story of Christine Rochefort) (1895);
(A Transatlantic Châtelaine) (1897).
Prince, John Critchley. An English poet-
workingman; born in 1808; died in 1866; a
Lancashireman. He wrote: Hours with the
Muses) (1842); (Dreams and Realities); Poetic
Rosary' (1851); and Autumn Leaves) (1856).
Prince, Le Baron Bradford. An American
historical writer, descendant of William Brad-
ford of the Mayflower; born in Flushing, L. I. ,
July 3, 1840. He was a prominent jurist of
New Mexico. His works include : (E Pluribus
Unum; or, American Nationality) (1868); (A
Nation, or a League) (1880); History of New
Mexico) (1883); and (The American Church
and its Name) (1887).
Principe, Miguel Agustin (prēn'the-pā).
A Spanish writer; born at Caspa, 1811. He
was at one time professor of literature and his-
tory at the University of Saragossa, and after-
wards connected with the Royal Library of
Madrid. He has written a "History of the War
of Independence); “Verses, Serious and Gay);
the three dramas (Count Julian,' 'Cerdan,
Judge of Aragon,' and Mauregato, as well as
several comedies, among them (Periquito and
(The House of Pero Hernandez. )
Prior, Matthew. A distinguished English
poet; born at Wimborne in Dorsetshire, July
21, 1664; died at Wimpole in Cambridgeshire,
Sept. 18, 1721. With Charles Montagu, after-
ward Lord Halifax, he wrote (The City Mouse
and the Country Mouse) (1687), in ridicule of
Dryden's 'Hind and Panther. His other works
are : (Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind
(1718); (Solomon, his most ambitious poetic
Aight (1718); Poems on Several Occasions)
(1718). *
Privat d'Anglemont, Alexandre (pré-vä'.
dängl-môn'). A French man of letters; born
at St. Rose, W. I. , about 1820 ; died at Paris,
1859. He first became known through a small
volume, (The Prado) (1846); but all his days
he led the life of a bohemian, and finally died
in a hospital. He published (Anecdotes of
Paris) (1854); and one of his friends has col.
lected and published Privat's fugitive efforts
under the title "Unknown Paris) (1861).
Proclus (prōʻklus. ) A Greek Neo-Platonic
philosopher; born at Constantinople, 412; died
there, 485. He wrote hymns and epigrams,
some of which have come down to us. He
wrote also works on astronomy and mathe-
matics, among them a Commentary on Euclid,
which is extant; and a commentary on Plato's
Dialogues, of which the commentary on 'The
Republic) has come down to our time.
Procopius (pro-ko'pē-us). An eminent Greek
historian of the sixth century, the leading au-
thority for Justinian's reign; born at Cæsarea
in Palestine.
