150 



Prejudices. presented as a virtuous senti- 

 V'-"'' r rnent, 146 



Antipathy is an artifice which 

 kings and chiefs make use of 

 to excite their followers or 

 subjects against their neigh- 

 bours or rivals, 147 

 The sentiments natural to man 

 could never have given it ori- 

 gin, 147 



IV. Prejudices of Mental Indo- 

 lence and Inactivity. 



The activity of the mind decays, 

 and the most part of men re- 

 gard mental application, and 



PREJUDICES. 



the jarring and opposition of 

 different opinions, as a fatigue, 

 and avoid it, 147 



The less we have submitted our 

 prejudices to examination, the 

 more we fear to do so, 147 



In a mind which has lost the habit 

 of reflecting, doubt conducts 

 directly to incredulity ; whilst 

 by an active mind, it forms 

 the basis of investigation, and 

 excites to it, 14T 



Men resist with obstinacy the 

 first symptoms of suspicion and 

 of doubt, 148 



The less they have investigated 

 the nature and merit of their 

 public institutions, the more 

 prepared are they to defend 

 them with obstinacy, 148 



This obstinacy is increased by 

 personal and national pride, 

 148 



The unshaken stability of the 

 oppressive governments of the 

 east, takes its rise in this men- 

 tal indolence, 148 



This same prejudice gives per- 

 manency to the works and en- 

 actments of legislators, though 



their tendency be ever so des- Prejudices 

 potical and injurious, 148 _* -u. 



Nations, where civilization is 

 making no progress, deterio- 

 rate, from the indolence and in- 

 activity of the human mind, 

 148 



There is a prejudice against in- 

 novations among all people, 

 149 



The classification of prejudices, 

 which has been established in 

 this treatise, may be of use in 

 our inquiry after truth, and in 

 avoiding error, 149 



Treposi- 

 tion 



P R E 



PREPOSITION. See GRAMMAR, Vol. X. Chap. 

 VIII. p. 439442. -> 



PRESBURG, or POSING, a town of Hungary, and 

 tne ca pi ta ^ of the kingdom, is agreeably situated on 

 an eminence, on the north side of the Danube, and 

 commanding a view of the extensive plains through 

 which that river flows. The town is ill built; the 

 streets are steep and narrow, and the houses rather 

 mean. The suburbs are much handsomer, and dis- 

 play some modern improvements. The town contains 

 two squares, ornamented with statues. The princi- 

 pal churches are old gothic edifices, built in 1090. 

 Among the other public buildings, are the residence of 

 the palatine of the country, the town-house, the bar- 

 racks, the corn.market, the public granaries, the pa- 

 lace of Bathiany, the cupolajpf the church of St. Eliza- 

 beth, a college with a gymnasium and church, be- 

 sides seven convents, a Protestant school, a Lutheran 

 church, and two hospitals. The Danube, which is 

 about 125 fathoms wide, is crossed by a flying bridge. 

 The Chateau of Lanschitz, in the neighbourhood of 

 Presburg, and the chateau of Esterhazy, are well wor- 

 thy of being visited. The principal promenades are 

 the one on the island at the flying bridge, that at the 

 mills, the one before the great Cafe, and that opposite 

 the palace of Bathiany, besides the gardens of Counts 

 Erdoedy and Groschalkowitzi. The principal manu- 

 factures are those of woollen, silk, oil, tobacco, and 

 snuff. Population about 30,000. East Long. 1 7' 10' 

 45", North Lat. 48 8' 28". 



PRESBYTERY. See SCOTLAND. 

 PRESCOT, a market town of England, in Lan- 

 cashire. It is situated on an eminence on the great 

 road from London to Liverpool and consists princi- 

 pally of three paved streets, surrounded by numer- 

 ous collieries, some of which are beneath the town. 

 The church, which is large and spacious, has a steeple 

 156 feet high. There are also here a meeting-house 

 for dissenters, a free school, and several alms houses. 



Prescot has long been known for its manufacture of 

 watch-tools and of watch-movements, of pinion-wire, 

 and files. Coarse earthen ware, cotton goods, and sail- 

 cloths, are also made here. For a brief account of the 

 plate-glass works at Ravenhead, see ENGLAND, Vol. 

 IX. p. 10. Population of the township in 1821, 

 4468. West Long. 2 48', North Lat. 53' 26'. See 

 Dr. Aikin's Description of the Country thirty or forty 

 miles round Manchester, 1795; and the" Beauties of 

 England and Wales, vol. ix. p. 226. 



P R E 



PRESERVERS, LIFE, is a name which has been Preserver 

 given to various mechanical contrivances, for saving Life, 

 the lives of individuals, either in cases of shipwreck, v -*~~ y ^ 

 drowning, or exposure to fire. 



Under the article BOAT Life, in Vol. III. p. 619, 

 we have already given a full account of the life boats 

 of Lukin, Wilson, Greathead, and Bremner, and of 

 other inventions for preserving lives in cases of ship- 

 wreck, &c. 



Different contrivances have, since that time, been Captain 

 proposed for giving assistance in case of shipwreck ; Manby's 

 but the most important of them is that of Captain Man- apparatus 

 by, which he has explained at length in his Essay on 

 the Preservation of Shipwrecked Persons, Lond. 1812. 

 This plan consists in affixing a rope to a shot, and 

 firing it from a light piece of ordnance over a vessel 

 in distress, and near enough the shore. A communi- 

 cation with the shore being thus established, a boat 

 can be hauled to the relief of the crew. 



This ingenious contrivance was in many cases emi- 

 nently successful in saving the crew of different ships; 

 and Captain Manby was honoured with a parliamen- 

 tary reward for his apparatus, having previously re- 

 ceived the gold medal of the Society of arts in 1 808. 

 The following results of some of Captain Manby's 

 experiments, will show the effects which are produced 

 by the apparatus. 



S^ Inch Brass Moitar. 

 A ngle of elevation 1 7. 

 Weight of mortar and bed, 3 cwt. 



Ounces of Powder 

 used. 



4 



6 



8 

 10 

 12 

 14 



Yards of Inch and Half 

 Rope. 



134 

 159 

 184 

 207 

 235 

 250 



Yards of Deep Sea 

 Line. 



148 

 182 

 215 

 249 

 290 

 310 



With a short eight inch mortar, the weight of which, 

 and its bed, was 7 cwt. the elevation being unknown, 

 32 ounces of powder projected in one experiment 439 

 yards of deep sea line, and in another 479 yards ; 

 while in a third experiment it projected 3367 yards of 

 2^ inch patent Sunderland rope, which had strength 

 enough to haul the largest boat from a beach. 



As there is necessarily considerable practical diffi- Mr. Mur- 

 culty in managing Captain Manby's apparatus, both ray's appa 

 from the snapping of the rope and the difficulty of ad- ratus> 



