P R U 



190 



P R U 



first, part first, of his " Elements of Chemical Philo- 

 sophy," Sir H. adopts the system of chemical proper, 

 tion, for most part as Mr. Dalton does; but he gives 

 the name of proportion to what Dalton calls an atom, 

 and Wollaston an equivalent. 



In Germany, M. Gilbert has carefully collected, in 

 the Journal conducted by him, under the title of 

 Annalen der Physik, whatever has a reference to the 

 subject of chemical proportions. A statement of the 

 doctrine was given so early as the number for Dec. 

 1811. M. Schweigger, too, in his Journal fur Chemie 

 und Physik, has in like manner adopted the system of 

 chemical proportions, without, however, approving of 

 the atomic theory, perhaps because it is too repugnant 

 to the ideas entertained by the school, of which he 

 seems to be a follower. 



Among French chemists, Messrs. Gay Lussac and 

 Thenard appear, by their latest writings, to have like- 

 .wise begun to adopt the system of chemical propor- 



tions, though they have as yet published nothing spe- 

 cially on the subject. 



Thus it would seem that the doctrine of determi- 

 nate proportions in chemistry may be regarded as a 

 settled truth, generally acknowledged among men of 

 science, although the corpuscular theory, or the hypo- 

 thesis concerning the cause of these proportions, is ad- 

 hered to by a smaller number. 



PROPORTIONAL COMPASSES. See DRAW- 

 ING INSTRUMENTS, Vol. VIII. p. 125. 



PROSODY, from TT^OO-^IX, is a name given to the 

 doctrine of the proper accent of syllables ; and com- 

 prehends the rules for determining the quantity of the 

 syllables which compose the ancitnt languages. 



PROTRACTOR. See DRAWING INSTRUMENTS, 

 Vol. VIII. p. 121 ; and Dr. Brewster's Treatise on 

 New Philosophical Instruments, p. 129- 



PROVIDENCE. See RHODE ISLAND. 



Propo 

 tions, 

 Determ!. 

 nate, 



II 



Provi- 

 dence. 



PRUSSIA. 



Prussia. PRUSSIA, formerly a duchy, but now a powerful and 

 "**i~Y^f' extensive kingdom in Europe, is thought by some to 

 have derived its name from its vicinity to the vast 

 country of Russia. The Sclavonic word po signifying 

 near or adjacent, the district lich Prussia originally 

 comprehended was in reference to Russia, as is sup- 

 posed, denominated Po- Russia, a term afterwards soft- 

 ened into Prussia. Nor is this derivation of names en- 

 tirely fanciful or unprecedented. The river Elbe, in 

 the Sclavonic speech, was termed Labe ; and hence, 

 on the principle referred to above, the tribes which 

 inhabited its banks were called Po-Labae, or Polabae. 

 The word Prussia, however, whatever probability 

 there may be in the foregoing etymology, has been 

 traced by others to a different source, and has been 

 supposed to be obtained from the Prusi or Pruzi, 

 a Sclavonic people, whom ancient chroniclers men- 

 tion as inhabiting a portion of the country which we 

 are now considering. In which of these conjectures 

 the greater confidence may be placed, it is now too 

 late to determine : but it may not be uninteresting 

 to state, that the former, namely, the derivation of the 

 word from Po and Russia, has obtained the sanction of 

 ;i late illustrious king of Prussia, (Frederick the Great,) 

 -in his Memoirs of the House of Brandenburg. 

 Extent and The extent of Prussia has been different at various 

 Divisions, periods. Its size is now greater than at any former 

 date; and while under this and the succeeding heads, 

 we give an account of it according to its present cir- 

 cumstances, we shall, when treating of its history, in- 

 vestigate its gradual accumulation of territory, until 

 from a petty duchy it has become one of the first pow- 

 ers in Europe. Its figure is extremely disjointed, and 

 indeed has long been so, being from a very remote pe- 

 riod composed of small and distinct states, without 

 any regard to compactness or regularity of form. The 

 remark of Voltaire, that the Prussian dominions stretch- 

 ed along the map of Europe like a pair of garters, 

 -is, if possible, more applicable at the present moment 

 -than a century ago when it was made. Its breadth 

 from north to south varies from 70 to 350 miles, its 

 greatest breadth being between the Baltic at Dantz- 

 ick and the south of Silesia; its length is not less 



than 12,00 miles, stretching in a line from south- 

 west to north-east, or from the borders of France to 

 the river Memel, which divides it from Russia. It 

 lies between 50 and 55 of north lat. and between 

 6 30' and 24 of east longitude. The length, however, 

 given above; is not continuous ; and between the east- 

 ern and western provinces there is no direct inter- 

 course without the intervention of other states. Thus, 

 Hanover on the north stretches a considerable way 

 into the Prussian dominions ; and towards the south, 

 the states of Brunswick, Hesse-Cassel, Waldeck, Darm- 

 stadt, Nassau, and others, intercept the direct commu- 

 nication. Prussia is, besides, possessed of other terri- 

 tories, detached from those which the foregoing mea- 

 surement embraces, and forming insulated spots in the 

 centre of the dominions of other powers, such as 

 Neufchatel, one of the Swiss cantons, as well as small 

 detached portions in Saxony, Saxe Weimar, &c. And 

 Prussia formerly included Anspach in Franconia, which, 

 in 1806 was given by Bonaparte to Bavaria, and has 

 been confirmed to that power by subsequent treaties. 

 The whole dominions of Prussia were, after the peace 

 of 1814, divided and subdivided according to the fol- 

 lowing 'Table : 



Prussia. 



