Peder, Count 



Griffenfeld, 



Danish statesman 



GRIERSON 



Grierson, SIR ROBERT (c. 1655- 

 1733). Laird of Lag, and perse- 

 cutor of the Covenanters. He was 

 appointed president of the, military 

 court at Kircudbright in 1681, was 

 made a baronet and pensioned by 

 James II in 1685 ; presided at the 

 trial and execution of the Wigtown 

 Martyrs, and after the revolution 

 of 1689 was fined and imprisoned. 

 He died of apoplexy. He used the 

 thumbkins in enforcing the Test 

 Act, systematically refused his 

 victims permission to prepare for 

 death by prayer, and is said to 

 have rolled them down a slope in 

 barrels fitted with spikes and 

 knife- blades. He was the original 

 of Sir Robert Redgauntlet in 

 Wandering Willie's Tale. 



Griffenfeld, PEDER, COUNT 

 (1635-99). Danish statesman. He 

 was born in Copenhagen, his name 

 before he was 

 ennobled being 

 Peder Schu- 

 macher. In 

 1663 he became 

 librarian to 

 Frederick III, 

 and keeper of 

 the royal 

 archives, and 

 later the king's 

 secretary. In 

 1670 he was 

 created a count, and from 1673-76 

 he was chancellor, controlled the 

 country's foreign policy, and aimed 

 at establishing a Scandinavian 

 League. In 1676 he was the victim 

 of an intrigue, was charged with 

 treason, and sentenced to death, 

 but on the scaffold the sentence was 

 commuted to imprisonment for life. 

 Griffin OR GRYPHON (Gr. gryps, 

 Lat. gryphus). Mythical monster, 

 part lion, part eagle, supposed to 

 typify strength 

 and vigilance. It 

 figures in Persian 

 sculpture as a 

 guardian of 

 treasure, on 

 Greek coins, in 

 classical architec- 

 t u r e, Teutonic 

 legend, and 

 heraldry. 

 Often confused with the dragon, 

 it is represented in heraldry with 

 the body, tail, and hind legs of a 

 lion, and head, neck, breast, fore 

 legs, and wings of an eagle, and 

 with f orwardly pointed ears. When 

 represented rampant it is said to be 

 segreant. The male griffin has no 

 wings, but is armed with protrud- 

 ing rays or tufts of hair, and some- 

 times horned like the unicorn. 



The armorial crest of the city of 

 London (q.v.) is a griffin's sinister 

 wing argent, charged with a cross 

 gules; the supporters are griffins 



37O5 



elevated and endorsed, argent and 

 charged on the wings with a cross 

 gules. The Temple Bar Memorial, 

 at the junction of Fleet Street and 

 the Strand, popularly known as The 

 Griffin, erected at a cost of 10,600, 

 and unveiled Sept. 8, 1880, is sur- 

 mounted by a "griffin," designed 

 by C. B. Birch. See Gray's Inn. 



Griffin, GERALD (1803-1840). 

 Irish dramatist, novelist, and poet. 

 He was born in Limerick. Dec. 12, 

 1803. His 

 works include 

 Tales of the 

 Munster Fes- 

 tivals, 1827, 

 and The Col- 

 1 e g i a n s, a 

 novel, 1829, 

 new ed. 1896, 

 on which Dion 

 Boucicault 

 founded the 

 play of The 

 Colleen Bawn. I. ater in life he formed 

 the teaching society of The Christian 

 Brothers and died in Cork, June 12, 

 1840. His novels reflect very 

 faithfully the life and scenery of 

 southern Ireland. See Life, by his 

 brother, 1843 ; novels and poems, 

 ed. W. Griffin, 8 vote., 1842-43; 

 Poetical and Dramatic Works, 

 1857-59. 



Griffmia. Genus of bulbous 

 perennials of the natural order 

 Amaryllidaceae. They are natives 

 of Brazil, and have large bulbs and 

 oblong lance-shaped netted leaves, 

 and white, blue, or lilac flowers 

 forming an umbel. 



Griffith, ARTHUR (1867-1922). 

 Irish politician Griffith worked in 

 his early vears as a compositor and 

 journalist Travelling widely, he at 

 one time edited a newspaper in S. 

 Africa. In 1899 he founded the 

 short-lived journal The United 

 Irishman, but the publication of 



Gerald Griffin, 

 Irish novelist 



After Mercier 



GRIGGS 



his historical study The Resurrec- 

 tion of Hungary, 1904, is a land- 

 mark in the early history of the 

 Sinn Fein movement, of which he 

 may be counted one of the foun- 

 ders. He was arrested in May , 1 9 1 8, 

 but whilst interned in England was 

 returned as Sinn Fein member for 

 E. Cavan at the by-election in 

 June, and again in Dec., 1918. Re- 

 leased in 1919, Griffith was acting 

 president of Dail Eireann. and in 

 1922 head of the Irish Free State 

 executive. He died Aug. 12, 1922. 



Griffith, SIR SAMUEL WALKER 

 (1845-1920). Australian lawyer 

 and politician. Born at Merthyr 

 Tydvil, June 21, 1845, the son of a 

 Nonconformist minister, he emi- 

 grated when young to Australia. 

 Educated at the university of 

 Sydney, in 1867 he was called to 

 the bar. Having settled in Queens- 

 land, he became associated with the 

 politics of that state. In ] 883 he was 

 made premier. 

 He held the 

 latter office 

 until 1888, 

 and again 

 1890 -93, when 

 he resigned to 

 become chief 

 justice of 

 Queensland. 

 He held that 

 post until 

 1919, and died 

 at Brisbane, Aug. 9, 1920. He had 

 much to do with drawing up the 

 constitution of the Commonwealth 

 of Australia, and in 1903 was 

 chosen its chief justice, becoming 

 later a member of the judicial com- 

 mittee of the privy council. 



Griffon. European breed of 

 dog. A rough-coated animal, it is 

 somewhat taller than the setter 



Sir Samuel Griffith, 

 Australian lawyer 



Russell 



Griffin. The memorial erected in 



1880 on the site of old Temple 



Bar, London 



Griffon. Copthorne Wiseacre, a 

 champion Brussels griffon 



and of a grizzly liver colour. The 

 dogs are used in hunting game birds. 

 The Brussels griffon is a Belgian 

 dog ; it is small, red, short-nosed, 

 and at one time was very popular 

 as a pet in England. The word is 

 used sometimes as a variant of 

 griffin. See Dog : colour plate. 



Griggs, JOHN WILLIAM (b.1849). 

 American politician. Born July 10, 

 1849, he was admitted to the bar in 



