QUAESTOR 



-1SSJ 



QUAKERS 



Poule, La Trenitz, La Pastourelle. In the 

 quadrille dances in the United States the five 

 figures are sometimes called La Promenade, Le 

 Moulinets, Les Chevaux de Bois, La Passe and 

 La Corbeille. 



The writing of music for quadrilles developed 

 into a high art, and the quadrille held the 

 popular fancy for longer than any other single 

 dance, with the exception of the minuet (which 

 see). The steps and movements of the qua- 

 drille are graceful and more dignified than those 

 of modern "round" dances, though it has now 

 been almost entirely superseded by the waltz. 

 the two-step and the more modern dances 

 which have largely supplanted the two latter, 

 such as the tango, the hesitation waltz and the 

 like. See DANCING. 



QUAESTOR, kites' tor, an ancient Roman 

 magistrate. When authentic history began in 

 Rome, the consuls were the executive officers 

 of the republic, and as such they had charge of 

 criminal and financial matters. The quaestors 

 soon appeared as assistants to the consuls, and 

 were at first probably appointed by them to act 

 as their representatives in some matters, and 

 they always stood in special relations to the 

 consul. At first their functions seem to have 

 been mainly concerned with criminal matters, in 

 which they were judges or presidents of trial 

 courts, but later, and under the Empire, their 

 duties were mainly of a financial nature, for 

 they served as state treasurers. Their number 

 at first, like the consuls, was two; under the 

 Empire they increased to twenty, as necessi- 

 ties of state required. 



Consult Greenldgre's Roman Public Lift-. 



QUAIL, kwail, a family of North American 

 birds which includes about sixty species. 

 The best-known member of the group is the 

 bird which is called bobwhite in the Northern 

 :>nl Eastern United States and partridge in tin 

 South (see article PARTRIDGE for illustration). 



The bobwhite, so-called from its clear, whis- 

 tling notes (ah bob-while, with the last syllable 

 sharply accented), is the only species of quail 

 found east of the Mississippi River, its ordinary 

 range extending from the Gulf states to Soutli- 

 ' )ntario. It is ten inches in length and has 

 reddish-brown plumage, with markings of black, 

 white and buff, aptly described as a "speck 1..1 

 is a bird of the grasses 



rather than the trees, and its nest is always 

 found on the ground. There are ten to eight- 

 een pun- white eggs in a brood. Weed seeds 

 comprise half tin- food of this quail, and th. 



remainder consists of grain (from the stubble), 

 wild fruits and insects. It devours such } 

 as chinch bugs, .grasshoppers, the cotton boll 

 weevil, army worms and cutworms, 140 differ- 

 ent species in all, thus proving itself a trur 

 friend of the farmer. The flesh of the bobwhite 

 is a popular table food, and so many of the 

 birds have been killed by hunters that many 

 states have adopted laws restricting their de- 

 struction. 



Other species of American quail are the Cali- 

 fornia, Gambel's, mountain, blue and Massena. 

 The mountain is the largest and the Massena 

 the smallest of the group. All have noticeable 

 crests and beautiful plumage, slate-blue, olivr- 

 brown and black and white being prominent col- 

 ors. They are found in the Western and the 

 Southwestern states. Most of the other mem- 

 bers of the family are tropical birds. 



There are also several species of small game 

 birds found in Europe and Asia, to which tin 

 name quail is applied. 



QUAKERS, kwayk'crz, or SOCIETY OF 

 FRIENDS, a Christian sect founded in Eng- 

 land about 1648, by George Fox (which see). 

 The members of this body have always called 

 themselves Friends; the name Quaker, be- 



FIRST QUAKER MEETINGHOUSE 

 The illustration, drawn from nn old enpra\ injr. 

 is that >f th<- first house of worship of the Society 

 <>f i'i it tul.s In America. 



stowed in derision, originated in Fox's exhorta- 

 tion to the magistrates to "tremble at the word 

 of the Lord." Notwithstanding severe perse- 

 cution, both in tli* British Isles and in America, 

 where the Quake r movement took root in 1656, 

 the Society of Friends spread rapidly. Penn- 

 sylvania Colony was founded by a famous 

 Quaker, the good William Pcnn (which see), 

 and the denomination exercised considerable 

 influence in colonial days in several of the 

 other middle colonies. 



hi the United States a division occurred in 

 ranks of the Friends in 1827. when 1 



