PRECEDENCE. 



wife's dignities can come by marriage to 

 her husband, but are to descend to her 

 next heir. 



If a woman have precedency by crea- 

 tion or birth, she retains the same, though 

 she marry any commoner : but if a woman 

 nobly born marry any Peer, she shall 

 take place according to the degree of her 

 husband only, though she be a Duke s 

 daughter. 



A woman privileged by marriage with 

 one of noble degree, shall retain the pri- 

 vilege due to her by her husband, though 

 he should be degraded by forfeiture, &c. 

 for crimes are personal. 



The wife of the eldest son of any d^. 

 gree takes place of the daughters of the 

 same degree, who always have place im- 

 mediately after the wives of such eldest 

 sons, and both of them take place of the 

 younger sons of the preceding degree. 

 Thus the lady of the eldest son of an 

 Earl takes place of an Earl's daughter, 

 and both of them precede the wife of the 

 younger son of a Marquis; also the wife 

 of any degree precedes the wife or the 

 eldest son of the preceding degree. Thus, 

 the wife of a Marquis precedes the wife 

 of the eldest son of a Duke. 



The Queen. 



Princess of Wales. 



Princesses, and Duchesses of the Blood. 



Duchesses. 



Wives of the eldest ^ of Dukes of the 



sons ; daughters, 3 Blood. 



Marchionesses. 

 Wives oftheeldesO ofDukes> 



sons ; daughters, 3 

 Countesses. 

 Wives of the eldest 7 Qf Marquisaes . 



sons; daughters, 5 

 Wives of the younger sons of Dukes. 

 Viscountesses. 

 Wives of the eldest7 cv . 



sons ; daughters, 5 * 

 Wives of the younger sons of Marquis- 



ses. 



Baronesses. 

 Wives of the eldest") 



sons ; daughters, 3 

 Wives of the younger sons of Earls. 

 Wives of the eldest 7 e 



sons; daughters, $ of Barons ' 

 Wives of the younger sons of Viscounts. 

 Wives of the younger sons of Barons. 

 Wives of Baronets. 

 Wives of Knights of the Garter. 

 Wives of Knights of the Bath. 

 Wives of Knights Bachelors. 

 Wives of the eldest ? ,. 



sons; daughters, of Baronets. 



of Viscounts. 



Wives of the eldest 7 of Knights of the 

 sons ; daughters. 5 Garter, 



Wives ot the eldest > of Knights of the 

 sons ; daughters, > Bath. 



Wives of the eldest ? of Knights-Bache- 

 sons; daughters, 5 lors. 



Wives of the youngest sons of Baronets, 



Wives of Esquires, by creation. 



Wives of Esquires, by office. 



Wives of Gentlemen. 



Daughters of Esquires. 



Daughters of Gentlemen. 



W T ives of Citizens. 



Wives of Burgesses, &c. 



The wives of Privy Counsellors, Judges, 



&c. are to take the same place as their 



husbands do. See the former list. 



PRECENTOR, a dignitary in cathe- 

 drals, popularly called the chantor, or 



master of the choir. 



PRECESSION of the equinoxes, is a very 



slow motion of them, by which they 



change their place, going from east to 

 west, or backward, in antecedentia, as 

 astronomers call it, or contrary to the 

 order of the signs. 



From the late improvements in astrono- 

 my it appears, that the pole, the solstices, 

 the equinoxes, and all the other points of 

 the ecliptic, have a retrogade motion, and 

 are constantly moving from east to west, 

 or from Aries towards Pisces, &c. by 

 means of which, the equinoctial points 

 are carried further and further back- 

 among the preceding signs of stars, at the 

 rate of about 50"i each year; which retro- 

 grade motion is called the precession, re- 

 cession, or retrocession of the equinoxes. 

 Hence, as the stars remain immoveable, 

 and the equinoxes go backward, the stars 

 will seem to move more and more east- 

 ward with respect to them ; for which 

 reason the longitudes of all the stars, 

 being reckoned from the first point of 

 Aries, or the vernal equinox, are continu- 

 ally increasing. 



From this cause it is, that the constel- 

 lations seem all to have changed the pla- 

 ces assigned to them by the ancient astro- 

 nomers. In the time of Hipparchus, and 

 the oldest astronomers, the equinoctial 

 points were fixed to the first stars of 

 Aries and Libra : but the signs do not 

 now answer to the same points ; and the 

 stars which were then in conjunction 

 with the sun, when he was in the equinox, 

 are now. a whole sign, or 30 degrees, to 

 the eastward of it: so, the first star 

 of Arit-s is now in the portion of the 

 ecliptic, called Taurus? and the stars 

 of Taurus are now in Gemini; and those 

 of Gemini in Cancer ; and so on. 



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