PORTAMENTO DI VOCE PORTLAND. 



647 



Its ruins still form a place of pilgrimage for tlie 

 more devout Parisian, and Gregoire has erected a 

 monument to its memory in his work entitled Les 

 Ruines de Port Royal (1809.) 



PORTAMENTO DI VOCE (Italian, conduct of 

 the voice], in music, signifies the skill of the singer 

 to connect one sound so closely with the others, 

 that no interruption is perceptible, and that all seem 

 to be but one long breathing. The art of the 

 singer, in this respect, is to breathe at the proper 

 time. 



PORTCULLIS, in fortification, is an assemblage 

 of several large pieces of wood, joined across one 

 another like a harrow, and each pointed with iron 

 at the bottom. They are sometimes hung over the 

 gateway of old fortified towns, ready to be let down 

 in case of surprise, when the gates cannot be shut. 



PORTE, OTTOMAN, OR SUBLIME PORTE; 

 the court of the Turkish sultan, so called from the 

 gate (porta in Italian) of the imperial palace. See 

 Ottoman Empire. 



PORTER, SIR ROBERT KKR, an eminent artist and 

 traveller, was born at Durham. His mother was 

 left a widow with five children, and in scanty cir- 

 cumstances. Robert early manifested an uncommon 

 genius for drawing, many of his sketches, made 

 when he was only six years of age, being remark- 

 able for their spirit ; and, in 1790, he became a 

 student at the royal academy, under the auspices of 

 Mr West. Not more than two years had elapsed, 

 since his commencing his studies at the academy, 

 when he was employed to paint the figures of Moses 

 and Aaron, for the communion-table of Shoreditch 

 church. In 1794, he presented to the Roman 

 Catholic chapel, at Portsea, an altar-piece repre- 

 senting Christ calming the storm ; and, in 1798, 

 he gave to St John's college, Cambridge, an altar- 

 piece, the subject of which is St John preaching in 

 the wilderness. He was only twenty-two when he 

 began his large picture of the storming of Seringa- 

 patam. Though it contained nearly seven hundred 

 figures as large as life, it was finished in ten weeks ; 

 nor did it bear any marks of haste, it being-, both in 

 composition and colouring, a work of high merit. 

 It was succeeded by two other pictures of the same 

 magnitude the Siege of Acre, and the Battle of 

 Agincourt. In 1804, he was invited to Russia by 

 the emperor, who made him his historical painter. 

 He consequently visited St Petersburg, where he 

 was received with distinction, and employed to 

 decorate the admiralty hall, in the Russian capital. 

 While residing there, he gained the affections of the 

 princess Scherbatoff, and was on the point of marry- 

 ing her, when a rupture with Britain obliged him 

 to leave Russia. He passed into Sweden to join the 

 British forces under Sir John Moore, whom he ac- 

 companied to Spain, sharing in the hardships and 

 perils of the campaign, which ended with the battle 

 of Corunna. After having remained for some time 

 in Britain, he again went to Russia, and received 

 the hand of the princess Scherbatoff. With her he 

 revisited his native country, where, in 1813, he ob- 

 tained the honour of knighthood. From 1817 to 

 1820 inclusive, he was engaged in travelling 

 through the East ; and, in the course of his travels, 

 explored the countries from the banks of the Black 

 sea to the Euphrates, and from the Euphrates to 

 the mouth of the Persian gulf. Among his works 

 are Travelling Sketches in Russia and Sweden (2 

 vols., 4to, 1808) ; Letters from Portugal and Spain 

 (8vo, 1809) ; Narrative of the Campaign in Russia 

 (1813) ; Travels in Georgia, Persia, and Armenia 

 (1822.) 



PORTER. See Brewing. 

 PORT-GLASGOW; a seaport town in Renfrew- 



shire, situated on the southern banks of the Clyde, 

 nineteen miles west from Glasgow. It was founded 

 in 1 668, the magistrates of Glasgow having, in that 

 year, feued about eleven acres of land adjoining to 

 the ancient village of Newark, for the purpose of 

 forming a harbour for the accommodation of their 

 shipping. This they called New Port-Glasgow. 

 The place originally belonged to the parish of 

 Kilmalcolm, but in 1695, it was erected into a dis- 

 tinct parish. 



Port-Glasgow is built on a regular plan, the 

 streets crossing each other at right angles. The 

 houses are in general well constructed, and the 

 streets are paved and lighted. The vicinity of the 

 town is adorned with handsome villas and luxuriant 

 gardens, behind which, to the south, stretches a 

 range of high hills. The harbour is excellent, hav- 

 ing extensive warehouses on the quay, and sheds 

 for the protection of goods. In 1760, the first dry 

 dock in Scotland was constructed here by the mer- 

 chants of Glasgow, who sold it at a late period to 

 the magistrates of the town. It is still in good 

 preservation, and is productive of a considerable 

 revenue. In 1791, there belonged to this port 126 

 vessels, whose united burden was 12,760 tons ; but 

 since that time the shipping seems to have decreas- 

 ed ; for, from the returns of vessels belonging to the 

 different British ports, published by order of Parlia- 

 ment in 1829, it appears that the ships of Port- 

 Glasgow were but forty-six in number, and their 

 total burden 6,807 tons. Since the deepening and 

 widening of the Clyde at Glasgow, which of late 

 years has been carried on so extensively, neither tlie 

 shipping of Port-Glasgow, nor that of its rivaJ 

 port, Greenock, is likely to increase. 



Port-Glasgow possesses a public coffee-house, 

 council chamber, court-hall, prison and bridewell ; 

 a custom-house ; a parish church, with several 

 meeting-houses ; public schools, public markets, 

 and a theatre. The chief trade of the place consists 

 in ship-building, sugar refining, and rope and sail 

 making. It joins with Kilmarnock, Rutherglen, 

 Dumbarton, and Renfrew in sending a member to 

 parliament. Population of town and parish in 1821, 

 5,262 ; in 1831, 5,192 ; 1841, 7,007. 



PORTICI. See Naples, and Herculaneum. 



PORTICO (Italian, from portions, Lat.) ; a con- 

 tinued range of columns, covered at top, in order 

 to serve as a shelter from the weather ; also a com- 

 mon name for buildings which had such covered 

 walks supported by pillars. Among the ancients, 

 these were highly ornamented, and of great extent. 

 The remains of the portico at Palmyra (q. v.) show 

 it to have been full 4000 feet long. There was a 

 famous portico at Athens, called Pcecile. (q. v.) 

 Among modern porticoes, those of the grand 

 facade of the Louvre and of the great court of the 

 hospital of invalids at Paris, and that at Greenwich 

 hospital, deserve mention. 



PORTIUNCULA. See Franciscans. 



PORTLAND. The Bentinck family is Dutch, 

 the founder of it in England having been count 

 Bentinck, created earl of Portland by William III.; 

 his son was created duke by George the First. The 

 grandson of the latter, William Henry Cavendish 

 Bentinck, third duke, was born in 1738, and, after 

 sitting for some time in the house of commons, was 

 called to the upper house by the death of his father, 

 in 17G2,from which time he voted with the marquis 

 of Rockingham (q. v.), in whose administration he 

 was lord chamberlain. During the American war, 

 he acted with the opposition, and, in 1782, was ap- 

 pointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, where he remain- 

 ed only three months, in consequence of the death 

 of the marquis of Rockingham. From tlie acces- 



