P R A 



139 



P R E 



Practice, 

 Prague. 



the fourteen cities of Asia Minor destroyed by an earth- chin, and contains the rich monument of 9t. 



quake, and rebuilt by Tiberius. It supported a statue mene, the guardian saint of the city, and the chapel of . I 



cities. The remains St. Winceslaus. Among the numerous churches in . rf j udtc *'' 



of that emperor erected by these 

 of the temple of Jupiter Serapis stand in tin- precincts 

 of the town, it is nearly square, and is about 130 

 feet long, and a little less in breadth. Three of the 

 four columns and the portico are standing. They are 

 of marble, and its roof is supported by sixteen pillars. 

 Several fine statues, and fragments of capitals and cor- 

 nices, have been found among the rubbish around it. 



The remains of the mole form one of the most strik- 

 ing monuments of the ancient city. Several piles of 

 the mole still stand unbroken, but they are sunk in 

 deep water. The cathedral church was built from the 

 temple of Jupiter, in the highest part of the city, and 

 was constructed of large blocks of marble. It was of 

 the Corinthian order. The town contains two parish 

 churches, eight convents, and about 1000 inhabitants. 



PRACTICE, is the name given to an arithmetical 

 operation-, by which questions in the rule of propor- 

 tion are solved by means of aliquot parts. The general 

 rule is, to multiply the highest denominations of the 

 given quantities together, and then to take the aliquot 

 parts for the lower. The sum of the aliquot parts will 

 be the answer. 



Ex. Let it be required to find the price of 840 yards 

 of linen, at Ss. 5d. per yard. We have 



840 yards at 3/5 per yard. 

 8 tO will be the price of 840 yards, at 20s. per yard. 



2/6 = ft of l 



/10= 4 of 2/6 



/l = T ' of/lO 







3/5 



105 



35 











10 



143 10 OAns. 



In toke mannner may all similar questions be re- 

 solved. See Thomson's Treatise on Arithmetic, p. 139, 

 for a very useful explanation of these operations. 



PRAGUE, the capital of Bohemia, is situated nearly 

 in the centre of the kingdom, on the right and left 

 bank of the river Moldau. The city consists of the 

 old town, stretching in an oblong form along the bank 

 of the river ; the new town, separated from the river 

 by the old town ; and the detached quarter of Hradschin, 

 on the left bank of the Moldau. The old town, which 

 is the largest, contains the quarter of the Jews. The 

 new town has the best streets ; and Hradschin, occu- 

 pying a high hill at some distance from the river, com- 

 mands very fine views. It contains the cathedral and 

 the archiepiscopal palace, besides many houses belong- 

 ing to the nobility and gentry. The Lesser Town, as 

 it is called, which is said to be the oldest part of it, 

 lies to the north and east of Hradschin ; and the suburb 

 of Smichow lies on the side of the river. The houses 

 are in general of stone. Some of the buildings erect- 

 ed since the bombardment of 1757 are modern, but 

 the greater number are in the old style. The whole 

 city is encircled with a moat, or mound of earth, which 

 is nearly ten miles in circumference. The ancient pa- 

 lace of Prague stood at the south side of the city, with- 

 in the citadel, which has an arsenal, and is well forti- 

 fied. Another large edifice, which bears the name of 

 a palace, is situated at the other end of the town. It 

 has 1 50 rooms, which are appropriated for public of- 

 fices, and a hall nearly equal to that of Westminster. 



The dome, or cathedral, is a fine old Gothic struc- 

 ture, which stands on a steep declivity of the Hrads- 



Among 



Prague may be mentioned that of St. Winceslaus, the 

 most ancient, of St. James, and that of Tien, which 

 contains the monument of Tycho Brahe. Among the 

 other public buildings are the Hotel de Ville ; the 

 bridge over the Moldau, which, according to some, is 

 1850 feet long, and according to others only 742 ; the 

 palace of the archlmhop; thut of the Grand Duke of 

 Tuscany ; that of Prince Schwartzenberg, which resem- 

 bles in its magnitude and ancient style those of the 

 fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Italy ; the palace 

 of the Count Czernin, (formerly the site of Tycho 

 Brahe's observatory,) and various others of the nobility. 

 There is also here a theatre, a fine fountain in the old 

 town, the house of Schaubitzer, the royal baths, the 

 buildings of the university, the ruins and antiquities of 

 the chateau of Wischehrade, and the cavern of St. Pro- 

 copius about a league from the city. 



The university of Prague dates from the year 1348. 

 At one time the students are said to have amounted 

 to 30,000, but they now scarcely amount to 900. 

 There are forty professors. The library contains above 

 100,000 volumes, and a MS. of Pliny. The obser- 

 vatory contains a few vestiges of Tycho Brahe. The 

 university has also a cabinet of curiosities and of ma- 

 chines, and a collection of natural history. There are 

 various private collections and cabinets of medals in 

 the city. There is here a Royal Society of Sciences, 

 a Patriotic Society for the Arts, a Society of Agricul- 

 ture, an institution for training schoolmasters, three 

 gymnasia, and an Academy for Drawing and Paint- 

 ing. Among the charitable institutions there are three 

 hospitals, two orphan-houses, and a lying-in hospital. 

 The principal manufactures of Prague are those of 

 linen, woollen, cotton, silk, hats, gloves, lace, woollen 

 stockings, paper, and the ordinary articles which every 

 large town supplies. 



The environs of Prague are ornamented with nume- 

 rous gardens and public walks, among which are the 

 grand promenade, the gardens of Bucquoi, of the 

 Count de Cunal, of Colonel Wimmer, of the Count de 

 Waldstein, the Count de Clumm, the Farber hie, and 

 the Isles of Great and Little Venice. The monument 

 erected by Joseph II. to Marshal Schwerin, in a village 

 about a league from Prague, deserves to be mentioned. 

 It occupies the spot on which he fell at the head of his 

 grenadiers, in the battle of 1 757- Population of Prague 

 about 85,000, of whom nearly 8000 are Jews. East 

 Long, of observatory 14 25' 15", North Lat. 50 5' 19". 

 See the article BOHEMIA, Vol. III. p. 632. 



PRAXITELES. See SCULPTURE. 



PRECEDENCY. See HERALDRY, Vol. X. p. 736, 737. 



PRECESSION OP THE EQUINOXES. See ASTRONO- 

 MY, Vol. II. p. 664, 71 '2, 713. 



PREDESTINATION. See CALVINISM, Vol. V. 

 p. 277. 



PREJUDICES.* The name of prejudice is applica- 

 ble to all the opinions which we form before reason 

 can discuss, or judgment confirm them, and to all ihe 

 motives which, without due examination, are the foun- 

 dations of these opinions. Prejudices may, therefore, 

 be either favourable or unfavourable: they may second 

 a good resolution, or subvert our best principles and 

 tendencies ; and we ought no more to reject them with 

 contempt, than to submit to them with confidence. 



* The Editor ha* been indebted for this article to M. SIMONDE DE SISMONDI. 



