QUART 



QUARTER SESSIONS 



so that each successive vertical 

 layer has one free end, and a gang 

 of men can be employed on each 

 " wall." The blocks of stone are 

 generally lifted out of the quarry 

 with cranes, and carried to a con- 

 venient railway or harbour by 

 trucks run on rails, though in 

 some cases the material is carted 

 away, or is let down a hill slope 

 with rope gear. See Building; 

 Marble; Mason; Stone. 



Quart. British measure of 

 liquid capacity, the fourth part of 

 a gallon. It contains 69 '3 185 cub. 

 ins., or 2\ Ib. of distilled water. 

 The old English quart for wine 

 contained 57 '75 cub. ins. and for 

 beer 70'5 cub. ins. In the U.S.A. 

 the quart contains 67 '2 cub. ins. 



Quartan Fever. Form of in- 

 termittent fever in which two 

 days intervene between consecu- 

 tive attacks. The attacks, therefore, 

 follow each other on the fourth 

 day from the beginning of the 

 previous attack. 



Quarter. As a measure of 

 weight or capacity, the fourth part 

 of a larger measure, e.g. 28 Ib. 

 the quarter of a hundredweight. 

 It is generally used for corn mea- 

 sure, when it equals eight bushels. 

 The four principal points of the 

 compass are known as the four 

 quarters. In the plural the term is 

 used for the place where soldiers 

 are accommodated, and from this 

 probably comes the phrase to give 

 quarter, i.e. to show mercy, imply- 

 ing that the vanquished man will 

 be sent to the soldiers' quarters 

 instead of being killed. Nautically, 

 the quarter is that part of the 

 ship's side situated between the 

 mainmast and the stern. 



Quarter Days. In England, the 

 days which mark the four quarters 

 of the year. They are Lady day, 

 Mar. 25; midsummer day, June 24; 

 Michaelmas day, Sept. 29 ; and 

 Christmas day, Dec. 25. The days 

 are the same in Ireland, but in 

 Scotland quarter days are Feb. 2, 

 May 15, Aug. 1, and Nov. 11. 



Quarterdeck. After-deck of a 

 warship. It is set apart for the 

 officers, whose cabins are gener- 

 ally on the decks below it, and 

 hence arises the use of the term 

 quarterdeck as a synonym for the 

 commissioned officers of the navy. 

 In pre-Reformation days a crucifix 

 stood on the quarterdeck, and to 

 this everyone used to do reverence 

 when going to that part of the 

 ship. From this arose the custom 

 of saluting the quarterdeck, which 

 still survives in the British navy. 



Quartering. In heraldry, a 

 method of marshalling (q.v.) 

 whereby two or more coats-of- 

 arms are shown on one shield. In 

 the simplest form when two coats 



are concerned, the principal one, 

 usually the paternal arms, are 

 placed in the first and fourth 

 quarters, and 

 the other in 

 the second 

 and third. If 

 there are three 

 coats, the 

 principal one 

 again occupies 

 the first and 

 fourth quar- 



Quartering in 

 heraldry 



ters, and the 

 others respec- 

 tively the second and third. There 

 may be four coats, five, or even 

 many more, but however many the 

 divisions, it is still called a " quar- 

 tered shield." Usually divisions are 

 of an even number, the principal 

 coat being repeated in the last 

 quarter if necessary. But quarter- 

 ing by uneven numbers is often 

 met with. Moreover, one of the 

 coats to be introduced may already 

 be quartered, which is then known 

 as " grand quarter." Impaled 

 quarters are also seen. 



On the Continent, irregular divi- 

 sions are much used. The lower 

 part of the shield cut off by a 

 horizontal line is called a " cham- 

 pagne," a squat pile (q.v.) reversed, 

 a " chape," and if the lines are 

 curved, the shield is said to be 

 " chape ploye." Quarterings of 

 this kind are said to " ente on 

 point." Continental heralds also 

 quarter per saltire (q.v. ), and " en 

 pairle," which may be described 

 as " per chevron reversed and per 

 pale." See Heraldry. 



Quartering is the term applied 

 in woodwork to strips of wood of 

 any length, but square in section, 

 known as 2 -in. quartering, etc. 



Quarterly Review, THE. Brit- 

 ish periodical, devoted chiefly to 

 literary criticism. It was projected 

 by John Murray and Sir Walter 

 Scott in opposition to The Edin- 

 burgh Review, which had become 

 a purely Whig organ. The first 

 number appeared in Feb., 1809. 

 William Gifford (q.v.) was editor, 

 1809-24, and among the early con- 

 tributors were Sir W. Scott, R. 

 Southey, G. Canning, J. W. Croker, 

 and Reginald Heber. Mingling 

 party politics with literary criti- 

 cism, The Quarterly was for many 

 years a staunch supporter of the 

 Tory cause, and was famous for its 

 attacks on authors obnoxious to 

 that party, especially Hazlitt, 

 Leigh Hunt, and other members of 

 the so-called Cockney school. Its 

 virulent review of Keats's Endy- 

 mion, in Oct., 1818, gave rise to 

 the baseless legend that The Quar- 

 terly " killed Jack Keats." After 

 the brief editorship of Sir J. T. Cole- 

 ridge, J. G. Lockhart (q.v.) con- 



ducted The Quarterly, 1825-53, 

 Sir William Smith, the classical 

 scholar, 1867-93, being followed by 

 R. E. and G. W. Prothero. 



Quartermaster. Regimental 

 officer generally with the rank of 

 lieutenant, though he may be of 

 higher rank. He assists the com- 

 manding officer to provision and 

 clothe the unit. He receives, issues, 

 and accounts for rations, stores, and 

 ammunition. The post carries a 

 special rate of pay, and is per- 

 manent. Being a commissioned 

 officer, the quartermaster is a 

 member of the officers' mess. He 

 is assisted by N.C.O.'s called quar- 

 termaster-serjeants (Q.M.S. ). 



The word quartermaster also oc- 

 curs in ranks of higher grade, e.g. 

 quartermaster-general (Q.M.G.), a 

 general officer in charge of the sup- 

 ply departments of the army, hav- 

 ing under him assistant quarter- 

 masters-general (A.Q.M.G.). 



Quartern. Old English term for 

 a measure of capacity, as the fourth 

 part of a pint, the fourth of a peck 

 or stone. A 4-lb. loaf is generally 

 known as a quartern loaf. 



Quarters. Accommodation for 

 troops, whether camp, billets, or 

 barracks. Formerly winter quar- 

 ters meant a billeting area, and the 

 duties of a modern billeting party 

 were discharged by a quartermas- 

 ter. The term quarters has also a 

 local meaning, e.g. the officers' quar- 

 ters in barracks, and headquarters. 

 See Headquarters ; Barracks. 



Quarter Sessions. English 

 court of law, so called because it usu- 

 ally meets four times a year. In 

 the counties it consists of the justices 

 of the peace for the shire, riding, or 

 other division thereof, and they ap- 

 point two of their number as chair- 

 man and vice-chairman respec- 

 tively. Certain cities and boroughs 

 have also a court of quarter sessions, 

 presided over by the recorder. 



These courts hear appeals from 

 the ordinary magistrates' courts 

 and also appeals about rating and 

 licensing matters, but have very 

 little other civil jurisdiction. As 

 courts of first instance they try in- 

 dictable offences of almost every 

 kind except treason, homicide, and 

 criminal libel. From their decision 

 a convicted person can appeal to 

 the court of criminal appeal, except 

 when quarter sessions sits solely 

 as a court of appeal from a sum- 

 mary jurisdiction. Similar courts 

 exist in Scotland, Ireland, and 

 other parts of the Empire ; in Ire- 

 land the chairmen are paid judges. 

 Quarter sessions arose in Eng- 

 land in the 14th century owing to 

 the fact that the magistrates were 

 ordered to meet four times a year 

 to discharge the business of the 

 county. For this purpose the 



