Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama Part 82

=Pinnit= (_Orson_), keeper of the bears.--Sir W. Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).

=Pinto= (_Ferdinand Mendez_), a Portuguese traveller, whose "voyages" were at one time wholly discredited, but have since been verified (1509-1583).

Ferdinand Mendez Pinto was but a type of thee, thou liar of the first magnitude.--W. Congreve, _Love for Love_ (1695).

=Pious= (_The_), Ernst I., founder of the house of Gotha (1601-1674).

Robert, son of Hugues Capet (971, 996-1031).

Eric IX. of Sweden (*, 1155-1161).

=Pip=, the hero of d.i.c.kens's novel called _Great Expectations_. His family name was Pirrip, and his Christian name Philip. He was enriched by a convict named Abel Magwitch; and was brought up by Joe Gargery, a smith, whose wife was a woman of thunder and lightning, storm and tempest.

Magwitch, having made his escape to Australia, became a sheep farmer, grew very rich, and deposited 500 a year with Mr. Jaggers, a lawyer, for the education of Pip, and to make a gentleman of him. Ultimately, Pip married Estella, the daughter of Magwitch, but adopted from infancy by Miss Havisham, a rich banker's daughter. His friend, Herbert Pocket, used to call him "Handel."--C. d.i.c.kens, _Great Expectations_ (1860).

=Pipchin= (_Mrs._), an exceedingly "well-connected lady," living at Brighton, where she kept an establishment for the training of _enfants_. Her "respectability" chiefly consisted in the circ.u.mstance of her husband having broken his heart in pumping water out of some Peruvian mines (that is, in having invested in these mines and been let in). Mrs. Pipchin was an ill-favored old woman, with mottled cheeks and grey eyes. She was given to b.u.t.tered toast and sweetbreads, but kept her _enfants_ on the plainest possible fare.--C. d.i.c.kens, _Dombey and Son_ (1846).

=Piper= (_Tom_), one of the characters in a morris-dance.

So have I seen Tom Piper stand upon our village green, Backed with the May-pole.

William Browne, _Shepherd's Pipe_ (1614).

_Piper_ (_Paddy, the_), an Irish piper, supposed to have been eaten by a cow. Going along one night during the "troubles," he knocked his head against the body of a dead man dangling from a tree. The sight of the "iligant" boots was too great a temptation: and as they refused to come off without the legs, Paddy took them too, and sought shelter for the night in a cowshed. The moon rose, and Paddy, mistaking the moon-light for the dawn, started for the fair, having drawn on the boots and left the "legs" behind. At daybreak, some of the piper's friends went in search of him, and found, to their horror, that the cow, as they supposed, had devoured him with the exception of his legs--clothes, bags, and all. They were horror-struck, and of course the cow was condemned to be sold; but while driving her to the fair, they were attracted by the strains of a piper coming towards them. The cow startled, made a bolt, with a view, as it was supposed, of making a meal on another piper. "Help, help!" they shouted; when Paddy himself ran to their aid. The mystery was soon explained over a drop of the "cratur,"

and the cow was taken home again.--S. Lover, _Legends and Stories of Ireland_ (1834).

=Piper of Hamelin= (_The Pied_), Bunting, who first charmed the rats of Hamelin into the Weser, and then allured the children (to the number of 130) to Koppenberg Hill, which opened upon them. (See PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN.)

=Piperman=, the factotum of Chalomel, chemist and druggist. He was "so handy" that he was never at his post; and being "so handy," he took ten times the trouble of doing anything that another would need to bestow.

For the self-same reason, he stumbled and blundered about, muddled and marred everything he touched, and being a Jack-of-all-trades was master of none.

There has been an accident because I am so handy. I went to the dairy at a bound, came back at other, and fell down in the open street, where I spilt the milk. I tried to bale it up--no go. Then I ran back or ran home, I forget which, and left the money somewhere; and then, in fact, I have been four times to and fro, because I am so handy.--J. R. Ware, _Piperman's Predicament_.

=Pipes= (_Tom_), a retired boatswain's mate, living with Commodore Trunnion to keep the servants in order. Tom Pipes is noted for his taciturnity.--Tobias Smollett, _The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle_ (1751).

(The incident of Tom Pipes concealing in his shoe his master's letter to Emilia was suggested by Ovid.[TN-95]

c.u.m possit solea chartas celare ligatas, Et vincto blandas sub pede ferre notas,[TN-96]

_Art of Love._

=Pippa.= Peasant maid who sings in tripping through the streets on the morning of her holiday. The song reaches the windows of those who sorrow, doubt and sin, and thus influences other lives than her own.--Robert Browning, _Pippa Pa.s.ses_ (1842).

=Pirate= (_The_), a novel by Sir W. Scott (1821). In this novel we are introduced to the wild sea scenery of the Shetlands; the primitive manners of the old udaller, Magnus Troil, and his fair daughters Minna and Brenda; lovely pictures, drawn with nice discrimination, and most interesting.

? A udaller is one who holds his lands on allodial tenure.

=Pirner= (_John_), a fisherman at Old St. Ronan's.--Sir W. Scott, _St.

Ronan's Well_ (time, George III.).

=Pisa.= The banner of Pisa is a cross on a crimson field, said to have been brought from heaven by Michael the archangel, and delivered by him to St. Efeso, the patron saint of that city.

=Pisanio=, servant of Posthu'mus. Being sent to murder Imogen, the wife of Posthumus, he persuades her to escape to Milford Haven in boy's clothes, and sends a b.l.o.o.d.y napkin to Posthumus, to make him believe that she has been murdered. Ultimately, Imogen becomes reconciled to her husband.

(See POSTHUMUS.)--Shakespeare, _Cymbeline_ (1605).

=Pisis'tratos=, of Athens, being asked by his wife to punish with death a young man who had dared to kiss their daughter, replied, "How shall we requite those who wish us evil, if we condemn to death those who love us?" This anecdote is referred to by Dante, in his _Purgatory_, xv.--Valerius Maximus, _Memorable Acts and Sayings_, v.

=Pisis'tratos and His Two Sons.= The history of Pisistratos and his two sons is repeated in that of Cosmo de Medici, of Florence, and his two grandsons. It would be difficult to find a more striking parallel, whether we regard the characters or the incidents of the two families.

Pisistratos was a great favorite of the Athenian populace; so was Cosmo de Medici with the populace of Florence. Pisistratos was banished, but, being recalled by the people, was raised to sovereign power in the republic of Athens; so Cosmo was banished, but, being recalled by the people, was raised to supreme power in the republic of Florence.

Pisistratos was just and merciful, a great patron of literature, and spent large sums of money in beautifying Athens with architecture; the same may be said of Cosmo de Medici. To Pisistratos we owe the poems of Homer in a connected form; and to Cosmo we owe the best literature of Europe, for he spent fortunes in the copying of valuable MSS. The two sons of Pisistratos were Hipparchos and Hippias; and the two grandsons of Cosmo were Guiliano and Lorenzo. Two of the most honored citizens of Athens (Harmodios and Aristogiton) conspired against the sons of Pisistratos--Hipparchos was a.s.sa.s.sinated, but Hippias escaped; so Francesco Pazzi and the archbishop of Pisa conspired against the grandsons of Cosmo--Guiliano was a.s.sa.s.sinated, but Lorenzo escaped. In both cases it was the elder brother who fell, and the younger who escaped. Hippias quelled the tumult, and succeeded in placing himself at the head of Athens; so did Lorenzo in Florence.

=Pistol=, in _The Merry Wives of Windsor_ and the two parts of _Henry IV._, is the ancient or ensign of Captain Sir John Falstaff. Peto is his lieutenant, and Bardolph his corporal. Peto being removed, (probably killed), we find in _Henry V._, Pistol is lieutenant, Bardolph ancient, and Nym corporal. Pistol is also introduced as married to Mistress Nell Quickly, hostess of the tavern in Eastcheap. Both Pistol and his wife die before the play is over; so does Sir John Falstaff; Bardolph and Nym are both hanged. Pistol is a model bully, wholly unprincipled, and utterly despicable; but he treats his wife kindly, and she is certainly fond of him.--Shakespeare.

=Pistris=, the sea-monster sent to devour Androm'eda. It had a dragon's head and a fish's tail.--Aratus, _Commentaries_.

=Pithyrian= [_Pi.thirry.an_], a pagan of Antioch. He had one daughter, named Mara'na, who was a Christian. A young dragon of most formidable character infested the city of Antioch, and demanded a virgin to be sent out daily for its meal. The Antioch'eans cast lots for the first victim, and the lot fell on Marana, who was led forth in grand procession as the victim of the dragon. Pithyrian, in distraction, rushed into a Christian church, and fell before an image which attracted his attention, at the base of which was the real arm of a saint. The sacristan handed the holy relic to Pithyrian, who kissed it, and then restored it to the sacristan; but the servitor did not observe that a thumb was missing.

Off ran Pithyrian with the thumb, and joined his daughter. On came the dragon, with tail erect, wings extended, and mouth wide open, when Pithyrian threw into the gaping jaws the "sacred thumb." Down fell the tail, the wings drooped, the jaws were locked, and up rose the dragon into the air to the height of three miles, when it blew up into a myriad pieces. So the lady was rescued, Antioch delivered; and the relic, minus a thumb, testifies the fact of this wonderful miracle.--Southey, _The Young Dragon_ (Spanish legend).

=Pitt Diamond= (_The_), the sixth largest cut diamond in the world. It weighed 410 carats uncut, and 136-3/4 carats cut. It once belonged to Mr. Pitt, grandfather of the famous earl of Chatham. The duke of Orleans, regent of France, bought it for 135,000, whence it is often called "The Regent." The French republic sold it to Treskon, a merchant of Berlin. Napoleon I. bought it to ornament his sword. It now belongs to the king of Prussia. (See DIAMONDS.)

=Pizarro=, a Spanish adventurer, who made war on Atali'ba, inca of Peru.

Elvi'ra, mistress of Pizarro, vainly endeavored to soften his cruel heart. Before the battle, Alonzo, the husband of Cora, confided his wife and child to Rolla, the beloved friend of the inca. The Peruvians were on the point of being routed, when Rolla came to the rescue, and redeemed the day; but Alonzo was made a prisoner of war. Rolla, thinking Alonzo to be dead, proposed to Cora; but she declined his suit, and having heard that her husband had fallen into the hands of the Spaniards, she implored Rolla to set him free. Accordingly, he entered the prison where Alonzo was confined, and changed clothes with him, but Elvira liberated him on condition that he would kill Pizarro. Rolla found his enemy sleeping in his tent, spared his life, and made him his friend. The infant child of Cora being lost, Rolla recovered it, and was so severely wounded in this heroic act that he died. Pizarro was slain in combat by Alonzo; Elvira retired to a convent; and the play ends with a grand funeral march, in which the dead body of Rolla is borne to the tomb.--Sheridan, _Pizarro_ (1814).

(Sheridan's drama of _Pizarro_ is taken from that of Kotzebue, but there are several alterations: Thus, Sheridan makes Pizarro killed by Alonzo, which is a departure both from Kotzebue and also from historic truth.

Pizarro lived to conquer Peru, and was a.s.sa.s.sinated in his palace at Lima, by the son of his friend, Almagro.)

_Pizarro_, "the ready tool of fell Velasquez' crimes."--R. Jephson, _Braganza_ (1775).