512 



PYTHON 



re very lethargic. 'The animals on which the 

 pythons ordinarily feed are seldom larger than a 

 mall dog, and though they may Keize and over- 

 power animal* an large as a goat, to swallow them 

 " horns and all" is absolutely impossible.' We 

 must allow for about fifty per cent, of exaggeration 

 in almost all the popular storieH iilmitt |iy ihons. 1 1 

 is true, however, that the mother reptile coils ln-r 

 self around her pile of eggs and incubates them for 

 about three months. Among the pythons are the 

 following: the Netted Python (P. reticulatus) of 

 the Malay Arehji>elago, Burma, and Sinin ; /'. 

 mdurm, the Aiijiger of the Hindus ; P. rerjia, the 

 Royal Rock-snake of West Africa ; /'. natalcnsis, 



Python (Pytlion eta). 



the Natal Rock snake; P. sebtr, the 'fetich' 

 snake of tropical Africa; and several Australasian 

 geneia e.g. Morel ia, Aspidiotes. See ANACONDA, 

 BOA. 



Pyx (Gr. pyxu, 'a box,' properly of boxwood), 

 the sacred vessel used in the Catholic Church 

 to contain the consecrated eucharistic elements 

 which are preserved after consecration, whether for 

 the communion of the sick or for the adoration of 

 the faithful in the churches. It is sometimes 

 called ciborium a name, however, also given to the 

 Baldachin (q.v. ). The form of the pyx has varied 

 very much at different times. Anciently it was 



PYX 



sometimes of the form of a dove, which was hung 

 suspended over the altar. More commonly, how- 

 ever, it was, as its name implies, a simple box, 

 generally of the precious metals, or, at least, of 

 metal plated with gold or silver. At present tin- 

 pyx is commonly cup-shaped, with a close-fitting 

 cover of the same material. The interior is ordered 

 to be of gold, or at least plated with gold. Like 

 all the other sacred utensils connected with the 

 administration of the eurlmrist. it must be blessed 

 either by a bishop, or by a priest delegated by a 

 bishop. 



Pyx, TRIAL OF THE, the annual trial by weight 

 and assay of the gold and silver coins of the I'nited 



Kingdom ironed from the mint during the pi <1 



ing year. It is so called from the Pyx i.e. box or 

 chest in which are deposited specimen coins. 

 Before the coins are weighed into bags at the mint 

 for issue to the public, two pieces are taken out of 

 each 'journey- weight' ( 180 oz. Troy in the case of 

 gold, ami 720 oz. in that of silver coin), one for 

 assay within the mint, the other for the pyx. The 

 latter are sealed up and deposited in the clu-M or 

 pyx. The trials were formerly held at West- 

 minster at uncertain intervals of several years, 

 the jury being sworn before the Lord Chancellor or 

 an archbishop, itntl the president once bring Prince 

 Rupert, another time Pitt Now the trial takes 

 place, to use the words of the Coinage Act, 1870, 

 ' at least once in each year in which coins have 

 been issued from the mint,' at Goldsmiths' Hall, 

 and is made by a jury of goldsmiths presided over 

 by the King's or Queen's Remembrancer, who from 

 1874 to 1886 was Sir Frederick Pollock (cf. his 

 Remembrances, vol. ii. pp. 272-4). The pyx chest, 

 having been brought to the Hall in the custody 

 of officers of the mint, is oj>ened in the presence 

 of the jury, who proceed to examine the coins 

 in regard to their number, weight, and linene-s, 

 in accordance with the provisions of an order in 

 council dated the 20th .lime 1871. The standard 

 weights used, as well as the trial-plates, are pro- 

 duced by an officer of the Board of Trade. The 

 weight of the total bulk is ascertained, as well as 

 that of selected specimen pieces, and assays are 

 taken from a bar formed by melting a number of 

 coins as well as from separate coins. The verdict 

 recording the results of these several trials releases 

 the officers of the mint from their responsibility 

 in regard to the coinage, and affords a public 

 guarantee that the standard of the currency is 

 well maintained. See ASSAYING, MINT. 



