duration of these assemblies, under the limitations which the English constitution has prescribed; so that, on the one hand, they may frequently and regularly come together for the despatch of business and redress of grievances, and may not, on the other, even with the consent of the crown, be continued to an inconvenient or unconstitutional length. 2. A parliament may be dissolved by the demise of the crown. This dissolution formerly happened immediately upon the death of the reigning sovereign: for be being considered in law as the head of the parliament (caput, principium, et finis), that failing, the whole body was held to be extinct. But the calling a new parliament immediately on the inauguration of the successor being found inconvenient, and dangers being apprehended from having no parliament in being in case of a disputed succession, it was enacted by the statutes 7 and 8 Will. III. c. 15, and 6 Ann. c. 7, that the parliament in being shall continue for six months after the death of any king or queen, unless sooner prorogued or dissolved by the successor; that if the parliament be. at the time of the king's death. separated by adjournment or prorogation, it shall notwithstanding assemble immediately and that, if no parliament is then in being, the members of the last parliament shall assemble, and be again a parliament. 3. Lastly, a parliament may be dissolved or expire by length of time. For if either the legislative body were perpetual, or might last for the life of the prince who convened them, as formerly, and were so to be supplied, by occasionally filling the vacancies with new representatives; in these cases, if it were once corrupted, the evil would be past all remedy; but, when different bodies succeed each other, if the people see cause to disapprove of the present, they may rectify its faults in the next. A legislative assembly also, which is sure to be separated again (whereby its members will themselves become private men, and subject to the full extent of the laws which they have enacted for others), will think themselves bound, in interest as well as duty, to make only such laws as are good. The utmost extent of time that the same parliament was allowed to sit, by the statute 6 W. & M. c. 3, was three years; after the expiration of which, reckoning from the return of the first summons, the parliament was to have no longer continuance. But by statute 1 Geo. I. st. 2, c. 38 (in order, professedly, to prevent the great and continued expences of frequent elections, and the violent heats and animosities consequent thereupon, and for the peace and security of the government then just recovering from the late rebellion), this term was prolonged to seven years; and, what alone is an instance of the vast authority of parliament, the very same house that was chosen for three years enacted its own continuance for seven. So that, as our constitution now stands, the parliament must expire, or die a natural death, at the end of every seventh year, if not sooner dissolved by the royal prerogative. In the house of lords, the princes of the blood sit by themselves on the sides of the throne; at the wall, on the king's right hand, the two archVOL. XVI bishops sit by themselves on a form. Below them the bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, and all the other bishops, sit according to the priority of their consecration. On the king's left hand the lord treasurer, lord president, and lord privy-seal, sit upon forms above all dukes, except the royal blood; then the dukes, marquisses, and earls, according to their creation. Across the room are wool-sacks, continued from an ancient custom; and the chancellor, or keeper, being of course the speaker of the house of lords, sits on the first wool-sack before the throne, with the great seal or mace lying by him; below these are forms for the viscounts and barons. On the other wool-sacks are seated the judges, masters in chancery, and king's council, who are only to give their advice in points of law: but they all stand up till the king gives them leave to sit. 2. The commons sit promiscuously; only the speaker has a chair at the upper end of the house, and the clerk and his assistant sit at the table near him. When a member of the house of commons speaks, he stands up uncovered, and directs his speech to the speaker only. If what he says be answered by another, he is not allowed to reply the same day, unless personal reflections have been cast upon him: but when the commons, in order to have a greater freedom of debate, have resolved themselves into a committee of the whole house, every member may speak to a question as often as he thinks necessary. In the house of lords they vote, beginning at the puisne, or lowest baron, and so up orderly to the highest, every one answering, Content or Not content. In the house of commons they vote by yeas and nays; and, if it be dubious which are the greater number, the house divides. If the question be about bringing any thing into the house, the yeas go out; but, if it be about any thing the house already has, the nays go out. In all divisions the speaker appoints four tellers, two of each opinion. In a committee of the whole house, they divide by changing sides, the yeas taking the right and the nays the left of the chair; and then there are but two tellers. If a bill pass one house, and the other demur to it, a conference is demanded in the painted chainber, where certain members are deputed from each house; and here the lords sit covered, and the commons stand bare, and debate the case. If they disagree, the affair is null; and if they agree, this, with the other bills that have passed both houses, is brought down to the king in the house of lords, who comes thither clothed in his royal robes; before him the clerk of the parliament reads the title of each bill, and, as he reads, the clerk of the crown pronounces the royal assent or dissent. If it be a public bill, the royal assent is given in these words, Le roy le veut, The king will have it so; if private, Soit fait comme il est desirê, Let the request be complied with; if the king refuses the bill, the answer is, Le roy s'avisera, The king will think of it; and, if it be a money bill, the answer is, Le roy remercie ses loyaux sujets, accepte leur benevolence, et aussi le veut; The king thanks his loyal subjects, accepts their benevolence, and therefore grants his consent. The High Court of Parliament is the supreme 2 R court in the kingdom, not only for the making, but also for the execution, of laws, by the trial of great and enormous offenders, whether lords or commoners, in the method of parliamentary impeachment. As for acts of parliament to attaint particular persous of treason or felony, or to inflict pains and penalties, beyond or contrary to the common law, to serve a special purpose, we speak not of them; being to all intents and purposes new laws, made pro re nata, and by no means an execution of such as are already in being. But an impeachment before the lords by the commons of Great Britain, in parliament, is a prosecution of the already known and established law, and has been frequently put in practice; being a presentment to the most high and supreme court of criminal jurisdiction by the most solemn grand inquest of the whole king dom. A commoner cannot, however, be impeached before the lords for any capital offence, but only for any high misdemeanors; a peer may be impeached for any crime. And they usually (in case of any impeachment of a peer for treason), address the crown to appoint a lord high steward, for the greater dignity and regularity of their proceedings; which high steward was formerly elected by the peers themselves, though he was generally commissioned by the king; but it has of late years been strenuously maintained that the appointment of a high steward in such cases is not indispensably necessary, but that the house may proceed without one. The articles of impeachment are a kind of bills of indictment, found by the house of commons, and afterwards tried by the lords; who are in cases of misdemeanors considered not only as their own peers, but as the peers of the whole nation. This is a custom derived to us from the constitution of the ancient Germans; who in their great councils sometimes tried capital accusations relating to the public: Licet apud concilium accusare quoque, et discrimen capitis intendere. And it has a peculiar proFriety in the English constitution; which has much improved upon the ancient model imported hither from the Continent. For, though in general the union of the legislative and judicial powers ought to be most carefully avoided, yet it may happen that a subject, entrusted with the administration of public affairs, may infringe the rights of the people, and be guilty of such crimes as the ordinary magistrate either dares not or cannot punish. Of these the representatives of the people, or house of commons, cannot properly judge; because their constituents are the parties injured, and can therefore only impeach. But before what court shall this impeachment be tried? Not before the ordinary tribunals, which would naturally be swayed by the authority of so powerful an accuser. Reason therefore will suggest that this branch of the legislature, which represents the people, must bring its charge before the other branch, which consists of the nobility, who have neither the same interests, nor the same passions, as popular assemblies. This is a vast superiority which the constitution of this island enjoys over those of the Grecian or Roman republics; where the people were at the same time both judges and accusers. It is proper that the nobility should judge, to insure justice to the accused; as it is proper that the people should accuse, to insure justice to the commonwealth. And therefore, among other extraordinary circumstances attending the authority of this court, there is one of a very singular nature, which was insisted on by the house of commons, in the case of the earl of Danby in the reign of Charles II., and is now enacted by statute 12 and 13 Wil. III., c. 2, that no pardon under the great seal shall be pleadable to an impeachment by the commons of Great Britain in parliament. PARLOUR, n. s. Fr. purloir; Ital. parlatorio. A room in monasteries where the religious meet to converse; a room in houses on the first floor furnished for the reception of company; one which, according to modern usage, belongs only to the middle classes of society, or to the old English farm-house. Back again fair Alma led them right And soon into a goodly parlour brought. Spenser. Roof and sides were like a parlour made A soft recess, and a cool summer shade. Dryden. It would be infinitely more shameful, in the dress of the kitchen, to receive the entertainments of the parlour. South. The first, forgive my verse if too diffuse, Performed the kitchen's and the parlour's use; The second, better bolted and immured, From wolves his out-door family secured. Harte. I always admitted them into the parlour after supper, when, the carpet affording their feet a firm hold, they would frisk, and bound, and play a thousand gambols. Cowper. PAR'LOUS, adj. ? Perhaps from French PAR LOUSNESS, n. s. S parler, to speak ; but Junius derives it from perilous, in which it answers to the Latin improbus. Quick of temper; sprightly; keen. Midas durst communicate To none but to his wife his ears of state; PARMA, a duchy of the north of Italy, bounded on the north by Lombardy, on the east by Modena, and on the south and west by Tuscany. It extends from 9° 28′ to 10° 46′ of E. long. and from 44° 14′ to 44° 59′ of N. lat., and is divided into the districts of Parma, Piacenza, Borgo San Domino, and Guastalla. Its surface is partly mountainous and stony; but in the north are extensive and fertile plains: the south is traversed by several branches of the Apennines. The principal rivers are the Po, which separates it from Lombardy; the Taro, the Trebia, the Lenza, and a number of smaller streams, all having a common origin in the Apennines, and discharging themselves into the Po. The products are vines, wheat, maize; vegetables and various fruits: hemp and saffron. The pastures are fine and the cattle numerous. The famous Par mesan cheese, originally a product of this country, is now made chiefly in the district of Lodi. Bees and silk-worms are objects of considerable attention, and silk articles constitute the chief manufacture. Iron, copper, and vitriol, are obtained in the mountains. Population 380,000. The government is absolute, the legislative and executive powers being wholly in the hands of the reigning prince. The religion is Catholic; the army about 2400; and the revenue of the state nearly £160,000 annually; but it is encumbered with a public debt. The inhabitants are considered as frugal and industrious, and less addicted to sensual pleasures than in some of the other states. The other chief city of this duchy is PLACENTIA, which see. PARMA, the capital of these dominions, is delightfully situated on a fertile plain, and watered by a small river of the same name. Though not so well built as many of the other large towns of Italy, it has a handsome square near the centre, surrounded with arcades. Its fortifications are of little importance, but its pentagonal citadel is esteemed one of the strongest in Italy. The dome of the cathedral is noted for its paintings by Correggio; and the cupola of St. John's was painted by this artist. The other public buildings present nothing remarkable. Its university is not numerously attended. It is the see of an archbishop and the seat of ducal administration. Its manufactures are principally silk and hats. Population about 30,000. Parma, founded by the ancient Etrurians, has ever since retained its name. After the Etrurians it came into possession of the Boii,a tribe of Gauls, and subsequently into that of the Romans. On the decline of the empire it assumed a republican form, and asserted its liberty with great firmness; but, falling a prey to faction, fell ultimately into the hands of the pope, and Paul III. gave it to his son Luigi Farnese, whose descendants continued to reign as dukes of Parma, till the extinction of the male branch. Elizabeth Farnese, in 1714, married Philip V. of Spain, and brought him the duchy as a dowry. After this her son Don Carlos, being made king of the Two Sicilies, the duchy of Parma and Piacenza was ceded to the emperor, and governed by the house of Austria till 1748, when they were ceded to Don Philip, the second son of Philip V. and Eliza beth Farnese. By the peace of Luneville (1801) the duke of Parma was raised to the throne of Tuscany, with the title of king of Etruria, and in 1805 Parma and Piacenza were united to France. On the fall of Buonaparte they were taken possession of by the Austrians, and given by the treaty of Paris in 1814 to the ex-empress Maria Louisa, devolving on her death to Austria and Sardinia; a provision modified by subsequent arrangements, the latest of which, in 1818, stipulated, that, in return for certain equivalents, this territory should finally devolve to Spain. Parma is thirty miles west of Modena, and seventy south-east of Milan. PARMENIDES, an ancient Greek philosopher, born in Elis, about A. A. C. 505. He studied under Xenophanes, or Anaximander. He taught that there were only two elements, fire and earth; and that the first generation of men was produced from the sun. Along with these and other absurdities, he taught some philosophical truths. He first discovered that the earth is round, but he placed it, like Ptolemy, in the centre of the solar system. He wrote his system in verse; and fragments of it were collected by Henry Stephanus, and published under the title of De Poesi Philosophica. PARMENIO, a celebrated and popular general, in the army of Alexander the Great, who long enjoyed that prince's confidence, and was much attached to him. Yet in a moment of suspicion, excited by false information, Alexander ordered this faithful friend to be put to death, in his seventieth year, with his son. Plutarch remarks that Parmenio gained many victories without Alexander, but Alexander not one without Parmenio. PARMENTIER (John), a celebrated French navigator, born at Dieppe, in 1494. He was the first pilot who conducted vessels to Brasil, and the first Frenchman who sailed as far as Sumatra. He was a good astronomer, and laid down several excellent maps. He died at Sumatra in 1530. PARMESAN CHEESE, a sort of cheese much esteemed among the Italians; so named from the duchy of Parma where it is made, and whence it is conveyed to various parts of Europe. Of this cheese there are three sorts; the fromaggio di forma, about two palms in diameter, and seven or eight inches thick; and the formaggio di ribiole and di ribolini, which are not so large. It is of a saffron color; and the best is kept three or four years. PARMIGIANO, a celebrated painter, whose true name was Francis Mazzuoli; but named Parmigiano from Parma, where he was born in 1504. He was educated under his two uncles, and was an eminent painter when but sixteen years of age. He was celebrated all over Italy at nineteen; and at the age of twenty-three, when the general of Charles V. took Rome by storm, some of the soldiers, having, in sacking the town, broken into his apartments, found him intent upon his work, and were so struck with the beauty of his pieces that, instead of involving him in the plunder and destruction in which they were then engaged, they protected him from all manner of violence. His works are distinguished by the beauty of the coloring, invention, and drawing. His figures are spirited and graceful, particularly with respect to attitude and dresses. His paintings in oil are few, but held in high esteem, as are also his drawings and etchings. At Rome he was employed by pope Clement VII., who was highly pleased with his performances and rewarded him liberally. Parmigiano painted a circumcision, which he presented to the pope, who prized it as one of the most capital works in his palace. That picture was not only excellent for the composition, coloring, and execution, but remarkable for the introduction of three different lights, without destroying the harmony of the whole. The light diffused on the principal figure was from the irradiation of the Infant Jesus; the second was illuminated by a torch carried by one who attended the sacrifice; the others were in the open air, enlightened by the early dawn, which showed a lovely landscape, diversified with a number of cottages and villas. In the Houghton collection of pictures, now in possession of the emperor of Russia, is one of his finest pictures, representing Christ laid in the sepulchre, for which he is said to have been knighted by the duke of Parma. The best of his performances was Moses breaking the Tables of the Law, at Parma, of which Sir Joshua Reynolds says, we are at a loss which to adinire most, the correctness of drawing, or the grandeur of the conception. Parmigiano had a fine taste for music, and, if he did not invent etching, he was at least the first who practised that art in Italy. He also engraved some of his designs; but it is to be regretted that, with such talents, he should have wasted his time and property in the study of alchemy, with a view to the discovery of the philosopher's stone. He died of a fever in 1540. PARNASSIA, grass of Parnassus, in botany, a genus of the tetragynia order, and pentandria class of plants: CAL. quinquepartite; petals five; nectaria five, heart-shaped, and ciliated with globular tops: CAPS. quadrivalved: species one, having a stalk about a foot high, angular, and often a little twisted, bearing a single white flower at top. The flowers are very beautifully streaked with yellow; so that though it is a common plant, growing naturally in moist pastures, it is frequently admitted into gardens. PARNASSUS, in ancient geography, a mountain of Phocis, near Delphi, and the mounts Citharon and Helicon, with two tops; the one called Cirrha, sacred to Apollo; and the other Nisa, sacred to Bacchus. It was covered with bay-trees, and originally called Larnassus, from Deucalion's larnax or ark, thither conveyed by the flood; after the flood Parnassus from Har Nahas, changing the h into p, the hill of divination or augury; the oracle of Delphi standing at its foot. Dr. Chandler, who visited it, thus describes it in his Travels in Greece: Par nassus was the western boundary of Phocis, and, stretching north from about Delphi toward the Etæan Mountains, separated the western Locri from those who possessed the sea-coast before Eubœa. It was a place of refuge to the Delphians in times of danger. In the deluge, which happened under Deucalion, the natives were saved on it. On the invasion of Xerxes, some transported their families to Achaia, but many concealed them in this mountain, and in Corycium, a grotto of the nymphs. All Parnassus was renowned for sanctity; but Corycium was the most noted among the hallowed caves and places.' On the way to the summits of Parnassus,' says Pausanias, sixty stadia beyond Delphi, is a brazen image; and thence the ascent to Corycium is easier for a man on foot than for mules and horses. Of all the caves in which I have been, this appeared to me the best worth seeing. On the coasts and by the sea-side are more than can be numbered; but some are very famous both in Greece and in other countries. The Corycian cave exceeds in magnitude those I have mentioned, and for the most part may be passed without a light. The PAROCHIAL, adj. Lat. parochialis, from parochia. Belonging to a parish. The married state of parochial pastors hath given them the opportunity of setting a more exact and universal pattern of holy living to the people committed to their charge. Atterbury. Gr. PAR'ODY, n. s. & v. a. Fr. parodie; apodia. A mode of writing in which the words or thoughts of an author are taken, and by a slight change adapted to a new purpose: to parody is, to copy or change in this way. with some of the parodies and allusions to the most The imitations of the ancients are added together excellent of the moderns. Pope's Dunciad. of Parody is an ancient flower both of ancient and modern literature. It is a species of ludicrous composition, which derives its wit from association: and never fails to produce admiration and delight, when it unites taste in selection with felicity of application. Percival. PARODY, in poetry, consists in applying the verses written on one subject, by way of ridicule to another; or in turning a serious work into a burlesque, by affecting to observe as near as possible the same rhymes, words, and cadences. The parody was first attempted by the Greeks, from whom we borrow the name. It is the same with what some writers call travesty. Thus Cato exposed the inconstant disposition of Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, by changing Nobilior into Mobilior. Another kind of parody consists in the mere application of some known verse, or part of a verse, of a writer, without making any change in it, with a view to expose it. PARONYMOUS, adj. Gr. πapwvvpos : #a pa near, and ονομα a name. Resembling another word. Shew your critical learning in the etymology of terms, the synonymous and the paronymous or kindred names. Watts. PAROLE', n. s. & adj. Fr. parole, from parler; Ital. parola. Word given as an assurance; verbal promise, particularly by a prisoner not to go away: the adjective is used in law for verbal ; by word of mouth. Love's votaries enthral each other's soul, Be very tender of your honour, and not fall in love; because I have a scruple whether you can keep your parole, if you become a prisoner to the ladies. Swift. PAROLE, in a military sense, the promise made by a prisoner of war, when he has leave to go any where, of returning at a time appointed, or not to take up arms, if not exchanged. Hence to put an officer on parole is to take his word, whether a prisoner of war or under arrest, that he will not exceed certain limits, and be always forthcoming when called for. PAROLE means also a word given out every day in orders by the commanding officer, both in camp and garrison, in order to know friends from enemies. PARONOMA'SIA, n. s. Gr. Tapwvoμaoia; Lat. agnominatio: a rhetorical figure, in which, by the change of a letter or syllable, several things are alluded to. PARONYC'HIA, n. s. Fr. paronychie; Gr. παρωνυχία. A preternatural swelling or sore under the root of the finger nail; a whitlow. PARONYCHIA, the whitlow, in surgery, is an abscess at the end of the fingers. According as it is situated more or less deep, it is differently denominated. It begins with a slow heavy pain, attended with a slight pulsation, without swelling, redness, or heat; but soon the pain, heat, and throbbing, are intolerable; the parts grow large and red, the adjoining fingers and the whole hand swell up; in some cases a kind of red and inflated streak may be observed, which, beginning at the affected part, is continued almost to the elbow; nor is it unusual for the patient to complain of a very sharp pain under the shoulder, and sometimes the whole arm is excessively inflamed and swelled; the patient cannot sleep, the fever, &c., increasing; and sometimes delirium or convulsions follow. When it is seated in the skin or fat, in the back or the fore part of the finger, or under or near the nail, the pain is severe, but ends well. When the periosteum is inflamed or corroded the pain is tormenting. When the nervous coats of the flexor tendons of the fingers or nerves near them are seized the worst symptoms attend. If the first kind suppurates, it must be opened, and treated as abscesses in general; but the best method of treating the other two species is, on the first, or at furthest the second day, to cut the part where the pain is seated, quite to the bone; if this operation is longer deferred, a suppuration will come on; in which case suppuration should be speedily promoted, and as early a discharge given to the matter as possible. As the pain is so considerable as to occasion a fever, and sometimes convulsions, the tinct. theb. may be added, the suppurating applications, and also given in a draught at bedtime. The second kind proves very troublesome, and sometimes ends in a caries of the subjacent bone. The third is very tedious in the cure, and usually the phalanx on which it is seated is destroyed. PAROPAMISUS, in ancient geography, a ridge of mountains and an extensive territory in the north of India, which took Alexander the Great and his army sixteen days to cross it. The great, red, and blue, are parrots; the middlemost, called popinjays; and the lesser, paroquets; in all above twenty sorts. Grew. Prior. I would not give my paroquet the gean Sea, one of the Cyclades, thirtyeight miles from Delos, anciently called Pactye and Minoa; also Demetrius, Zacynthus, Hyria, Hylessea, and Cabarnis. It was the country of Archilochus, the Iambic poet, and famous for its white marble, called lychnites, because dug by the light of lamps. The name of Cabarnis is derived, according to Stephanus, from one Cabarnus, who informed Ceres of the rape of her daughter Proserpine; or, according to Hesychius, from the Cabarni, the priests of Ceres, so called by the Parians. The name of Minoa is borrowed from Minos, king of Crete, who subdued this, as he did most of the other islands of the Egean Sea. It was called Paros, which name it retains to this day, from Paros the son of Parrhasius, or of Jason the Argonaut. Paros, according to Pliny, is seven miles and a half from Naxos, and twenty-eight from Delos. It was a rich and powerful island, being reckoned the most wealthy of the Cyclades. It is provided with several capacious and safe harbours, and was anciently much resorted to by traders. It was, according to Thucydides, originally peopled by the Phoenicians, who were the first masters of the sea. Afterwards the Carians settled here. Thucydides says, the Carians were driven out by the Cretans under Minos; but Diodorus writes, that the Carians did not settle here till after the Trojan war, when they found the Cretans in the island. Stephanus thinks that the Cretans, mixed with some Arcadians, were the only people that ever possessed this island. Minos himself, Pliny says, resided some time in this island, and received here the news of the death of his son Androgeus, who was killed in Attica after he had distinguished himself at the public games. The Parians assisted Darius in his expedition against Greece with a considerable squadron; but, after the victory obtained by Miltiades at Marathon, they were reduced to great straits by that general. However, after blocking up the city for twenty-six days, he was obliged to quit the enterprize, and return to Athens with disgrace. After the battle of Salamis, Themistocles subjected Paros and most of the neighbouring islands to Athens, exacting large sums from them for having favored the Persians. It appears from the famous monument of Adulas, which Cosmos of Egypt has described with great exactness, that Paros and the other Cyclades were once subject to the Ptolemies of Egypt. However, Paros fell again under the power of the Athenians, who continued masters of it till they were driven out by Mithridates the Great. But that prince being obliged to yield to Sylla, Lucullus, and Pompey, this and the other islands of the Archipelago submitted to the Romans, who reduced them to a province with Lydia, Phrygia, and Caria. During the |