P.S. i 



a determined effort to relieve it al- 

 together. Heavy fighting took 

 place around it on Oct. 16, and an 

 attempt was made to cross the San 

 on Oct. 18, which failed. For 

 several days there were bitter 

 struggles near Jaroslav, and about 

 Sambor and Sanok, but the Aus- 

 trians were repulsed, and with 

 their complete defeat early in Nov. 

 on the San, the way was opened for 

 a resumption of the Russian ad- 

 vance upon Cracow, and the lines 

 of investment were drawn tight 

 about Przemysl again. 



Early in Dec., 1914, Hinden- 

 burg began an offensive for the re- 

 lief of Cracow, and it also included 

 operations for the relief of Prze- 

 mysl. On Dec. 15 a flanking attack 

 from the passes of the Carpathians 

 resulted in the capture from the 

 Russians of Sanok, on the San, not 

 30 m. from the fortress, the garri- 

 son of which made about the same 

 date a sortie in conjunction with 

 this effort. General Arpad von 

 Tamassy, at the head of five Hun- 

 garian regiments, broke through 

 the line of investment on the S.E., 

 and succeeded in advancing 15 m. 

 from the outer fortifications to 

 Bireoza, on the road to Sanok. 



General Selivanoff, who com- 

 manded the Russian besieging 

 force of 100,000 men, defeated 

 Tamassy, and drove him back, 

 with heavy losses, into Przemysl, 

 after a bitter struggle lasting four 

 days. During Dec. other sorties 

 failed, and by Dec. 25 the counter- 

 offensive of Brusiloff in the Car- 

 pathians had completely taken off 

 the pressure from the S. on the in- 

 vesting force, which thereafter 

 made light rlys. round the fortress, 

 and otherwise perfected its posi- 

 tion. Another effort made by the 

 Austrians from the passes to 

 relieve Przemysl in Jan.-Feb., 

 1915, likewise failed. 



The fortress was threatened with 

 famine. The Russians had sapped 

 up to the forts, over against which 

 stood the broader ring of fortifica- 

 tions which Selivanoff had erected. 

 It was known in Austria that 

 Przemysl was now in desperate 

 straits, and in the beginning of 

 March a new offensive was under- 

 taken across the Carpathians 

 direct towards the fortress, but it 

 got no farther than Baligrod and 

 Lutoviska. Daily the forts of 

 Przemysl bombarded the Russians 

 with scant results. On March 13 

 the village of Malkovice, on the 

 N.E. towards Jaroslav, was car- 

 ried by assault by Selivanoff, who 

 thus breached the outer line of the 

 defence. Consolidating themselves 

 on the ground they had taken, the 

 Russians now began a heavy 

 bombardment. 



6376 



On March 18 Kusmanek, the 

 commandant, called on his troops 

 to make a last sortie, but the Aus- 

 trian-Slav regiments would not 

 respond. Yet 30,000 men, includ- 

 ing the 23rd Hungarian Division, 

 broke out E. across the plain of the 

 San towards Mosciska, but were 

 driven back with a loss in prisoners 

 alone of 4,000 men. During the 

 night of March 21-22 the garrison 

 blew up the main forts, and at nine 

 o'clock in the morning of March 22 

 Kusmanek formally surrendered 

 the fortress. 



The captured garrison com- 

 prised nine generals, 93 superior 

 officers, 2,500 subalterns and 

 officials, and 117,000 rank and file, 

 while 700 big guns were taken. 



The Russians, however, were not 

 allowed to keep the fortress very 

 long. The tide of war was soon turned 

 in favour of the Austro-Germans, 

 and as the result of his successful 

 operations in Galici? in April-May, 

 1915, Mackensen was closing in on 

 Przemysl. At the end of May the 

 fortress was completely surrounded 

 except for a gap of ten miles, bi- 

 sected by the rly. to Lemberg, on 

 the E., which the Russians by 

 great efforts kept open for their re- 

 treat. As early as May 20 Ivanoff 

 had decided on the evacuation of 

 Przemysl, but as Mackensen's en- 

 veloping moves threatened it, he 

 undertook an offensive, beginning 

 with May 21, which enabled him 

 to carry out his plans. 



After its occupation by Seli- 

 vanoff Przemysl had been partly 

 put into a state of defence by Arta- 

 manoff, who succeeded him as 

 commandant, but it was not in a 

 condition to stand a siege, and the 

 last stages of its resistance really 

 covered the completion of the 

 evacuation. On May 30 Bavarian 

 troops captured the Russian posi- 

 tions on the N. of the outer ring of 

 the forts, these forts being sub- 

 jected to a violent bombardment. 

 During the night of May 30-31 

 Austrian troops gained a footing 

 in one of the forts, but were held up 

 and repulsed. On May 31 the Ba- 

 varians stormed the forts round 

 Dunkovicski, and the Austrians 

 assaulted Przemysl from the S. 

 During the night of June 2-3 Ger- 

 man and Austrian troops broke 

 through on both the N. and the 

 S., and in the morning of June 3 

 Austrians and Bavarians entered 

 the town. 



P.S. (postscriptum). Abbrevia- 

 tion for postscript. 



P.S.A. Abbreviation for Plea- 

 sant Sunday Afternoon. The move- 

 ment for providing people with 

 pleasant Sunday afternoons under 

 religious influences was started by 

 John Blackham of West Bromwich 



PSALMODY 



in 1875, and soon took a firm hold 

 in the midland counties of England, 

 becoming widely known as the 

 P.S.A. The meetings were chiefly 

 organized in connexion with the 

 Free Churches, especially the Con- 

 gregational ists and Baptists, and 

 the movement spread all over the 

 country. The meetings took the 

 form of gatherings on Sunday 

 afternoons in churches and chapels, 

 separate meetings being held for 

 men and women, when popular 

 music was rendered and addresses 

 of a semi- religious or social 

 character were delivered. In con- 

 nexion with some of the meetings 

 social and benevolent work of 

 various kinds was organized. In 

 the 20th century the movement be- 

 came merged in that known as the 

 Brotherhood, of which the P.S.A. 

 was the parent. See Brotherhood. 

 Psalm (Gr. psalmos, a twanging 

 of the strings of a harp). Term for 

 a sacred song accompanied by 

 stringed instruments. The Psalter 

 derives its name from the Gr. 

 psalterion, a harp. See Psalms. 



Psalmanazar, GEORGE (c. 1679- 

 1763). Name adopted by a literary 

 impostor. He is believed to have 

 been born in the S. of France, and 

 to have been educated by the 

 Jesuits, but nothing is known as 

 to his real name. As a young man 

 wandering about on the Continent 

 in search of oc- 

 cupation, he 

 gave out that 

 he was a native 

 of Formosa. He 

 was brought to 

 England by an 

 army chaplain, 

 was converted 

 to Christianity, 

 and sent to Ox- 

 ford by zealous 

 patrons to con- 

 He published 



George 



Psalmanazar, 



Literary impostor 



tinue his studies, 

 in 1704 a Historical and Geographi- 

 cal Description of Formosa, partly 

 taken from a Latin work and partly 

 invented, with an elaborately in- 

 vented grammar of the Formosan 

 language. About 1712 he repented 

 of his elaborate imposture, con- 

 fessed it, and became a literary 

 hack in London, in his later years 

 winning the cordial esteem of Dr. 

 Johnson by his piety. He died 

 May 3, 1763. The following year 



was published his Memoirs of , 



Commonly Known as George Psal- 

 manazar. See Literary Forgery. 



Psalmody. Practice of singing 

 psalms and other spiritual songs. 

 Although the character of the 

 music used by the ancient Hebrews 

 is not known with certainty, it is 

 clear that singing formed an im- 

 portant part of their religious ser- 

 vices. The practice persisted 



