PACTOLUb P^ONY. 



aas 



first Europeans who entered the Pacific, which they 

 did from the east. Balboa, in 1513, discovered it 

 from the summit of the mountains which traverse the 

 isthmus of Darien. Magellan sailed across it from 

 east to west in 1521. Drake, Tasman, Beering, 

 Anson, Byron, Bougainville, Cook, Vancouver, La- 

 perouse. and others, traversed it in different direc- 

 tions, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 

 D'Entrecasteaux, Krusenstern, Kotzebue, Beechey, 

 &c., have visited it more recently. See Burney's 

 Chronological History of Discoveries in the South 

 Sea (5 vols., 4to, 18031817). See, also, North 

 Polar Expeditions. 



PACTOLUS ; a river of Lydia, celebrated for its 

 golden sand. (See Midas.) After flowing by Sar- 

 dis, it emptied into the Hermus. 



PADANG. See Sumatra. 



PADERBORN, formerly an imperial bishopric, in 

 the circle of Westphalia, was attached, in 1802, to 

 Prussia, in 1806 to the kingdom of Westphalia; on 

 the dissolution of which, it was restored to Prussia. 

 The capital, of the same name, with 6700 inhabitants, 

 is situated at the sources of the Fader. The univer- 

 sity of Paderborn was suppressed in 1819. There is 

 still a gymnasium here, with a seminary for priests 

 five monasteries, and a cathedral. Lat. 51 43' N. ; 

 Ion. 8 43' E. 



PADISHAH ; a title assumed by the Turkish 

 sultan, derived from pad (protector or throne) , and 

 shah (king, prince). The Ottoman Porte formerly 

 applied this name only to the king of France, calling 

 the other European sovereigns kral ; but it has since 

 been applied to some of the other leading princes of 

 Europe. 



PADUA (in Italian Padova, anciently Patavium); 

 an old and strong city of the north of Italy, in a pro- 

 vince of the same name, in the Austrian government 

 of Venice. It is connected with the Brenta by a 

 canal. Population, 46,600 ; lat. 45 24' N. ; Ion. 

 11 52' E. Among the ninety-six churches is the 

 cathedral, which is one of the richest in Italy. The 

 sacristy contains a portrait of Petrarch, who held a 

 canonry in it, and bequeathed it a part of his library. 

 The church of St Justina is esteemed one of the most 

 beautiful in Upper Italy. In front of it is the public 

 square prato della valle, anciently campus Martius, 

 adorned with statues of celebrated Paduans. The 

 Franciscan church chiesa del santo contains many 

 splendid monuments and valuable curiosities. In 

 front of it stands the equestrian statue erected by the 

 republic of Venice to her general Gattamelata. The 

 Episcopal seminary, restored by cardinal Barbarigo, 

 an excellent institution for the education of 100 young 

 clergymen, contains a celebrated printing establish- 

 ment, to which belongs a collection of Latin, Greek, 

 and Oriental manuscripts. The celebrated university 

 was founded by the emperor Frederic II., who, in 

 1222, transferred the university of Bologna to Padua. 

 The medical faculty is the most highly esteemed. 

 The number of students was formerly several thou- 

 sands, from all the countries of Europe ; at present it 

 is about 400 in all departments. The celebrity of 

 this institution procured for the city the epithet la 

 dotta (the learned) among the Italians. The princi- 

 pal university building, il palazzo degli studj, is 

 adorned with portraits of the most eminent profes- 

 sors. It has twelve colleges, an observatory, a bota- 

 nical garden, an anatomical theatre, &c. There is 

 also in Padua a branch of the royal institute of science 

 and art, a society of science and agriculture, &c. 

 Among the buildings, the town-house (palazzo della 

 ragwne), containing a bust of Livy (q. v.), who was 

 a nntive of Padua ; the palazzo della podesid, with a 

 public library ; the theatre, &c., are particularly 

 worthy of mention. The grave of the Trojan hero 



Antenor, who, according to Virgil, was the builder 

 of Padua, is still shown here. After the fall of the 

 Roman empire, Padua fell into the hands of the 

 Lombards, from whom it was taken by Charlemagne. 

 Under his successors, it came under the dominion of 

 Ezzelin, afterwards received a republican govern- 

 ment, but, in the fourteenth century, came under the, 

 dominion of the powerful family of Carrara, and was 

 conquered by Venice in 1405. Commerce is chiefly 

 in the hands of the Jews, who live in a separate 

 quarter of the city. The woollen and silk manu- 

 factures are considerable. In summer the city is 

 thronged by the rich from the neighbourhood, parti- 

 cularly at the time of the fair in June. The terri- 

 tory of Padua (il Padovano) is one of the most fer- 

 tile and beautiful countries in Europe, and contains 

 300,000 inhabitants. On the abolition of the republic 

 of Venice, the town and territory fell to Austria; 

 were afterwards ceded to Napoleon ; but, in 1814, 

 were restored to Austria, and now form a part of the 

 Lombardo- Venetian kingdom. 



P^EAN, or PJ5ON (n-/v, vraiiuv) ; a surname of 

 the healing power, particularly of Apollo. The ety- 

 mology and signification of this epithet are differently 

 explained by different critics. In the hymns to 

 Apollo, the phrase lo Paean was frequently repeated, 

 and hence they were also called paeans. They were 

 sung in time of sickness, and on other occasions, 

 when it was desirable to propitiate the favour of the 

 god. Hymns to other deities, or songs in praise of 

 heroes, were at a later period likewise called peenns. 

 A paean was sung, previous to battle, in honour of 

 Mars, and after a victory, in praise of Apollo. 



P^E DO BAPTISTS. See Baptists. 



P^EONY (pasmia) ; a genus of plants belonging 

 to the natural family ranunculaceae, distinguished for 

 the size and magnificence of the flowers. The species 

 are herbaceous, or very rarely shrubby, having peren- 

 nial, tuberous roots, and large leaves, which are more 

 or less divided. The flowers are solitary, and of a 

 white or purplish colour. Seventeen species are 

 known, of which one inhabits the North-West coast 

 of America, and the other the temperate parts of the 

 Eastern continent. Several are cultivated in gar- 

 dens, where they are very conspicuous, especially 

 when the flowers are doubled. The common paeony 

 (P. officinalis} grows from ten to twenty inches in 

 height. The leaves are bi or triternate, and the 

 flowers are disposed at the extremity of the branches, 

 are very large, and ordinarily of a fine red colour. 

 The double variety, which is now so common every 

 where, when introduced at Antwerp, about the end 

 of the sixteenth century, sold for twelve crowns a 

 root. This plant is a native of the mountains of the 

 south of France, Spain, and Siberia. It was cele- 

 brated among the ancients, who attributed to it 

 various marvellous properties, but has now lost all 

 such reputation. The tree paeony (P. moutari), in 

 our climate, is not usually more than three or four feet 

 high, but, in China, its native country, is said to at- 

 tain the elevation of ten feet, or even a much greater. 

 It was discovered in the mountains of Honan about 

 the year 400, but did not attract the attention of the 

 Chinese till two or three'centuries after. When once 

 known, its culture spread with amazing rapidity, and 

 large sums of money were sacrificed to procure fine 

 varieties. For more than a thousand years, it has 

 been generally cultivated by the Chinese, who plant 

 it in the open air, but take unwearied pains during 

 its growth, protecting it from the dust, high winds, 

 and heavy rains, by means of tents, and dispensing 

 the heat and light of the sun at their pleasure. They 

 have varieties of all colours, white, yellow, red, 

 purple, violet, blue, and even black. The Chinese 

 name is moutan. The most common variety with 



2B 



