W I s 
WI'SHLY, adv. With longing; wishfully. Not in use. 
Devereux, that undaunted knight, 
Who stood astern his ship, and wishly ey’d 
How deep the skirmish drew on either side. Mir. for Mag. 
WISINGSOE, an island of Sweden, in the lake of Wet¬ 
ter, belonging to the province of Jonkopiug. Population 
900. 
W1SIR, a small island in the Eastern seas, near the west 
coast of Aroo. Lat. 15. 21. S. long. 134. 51. E. 
WI'SKET, s. A basket. Ainsworth. 
WISLAWA, a small river of Austrian Galicia, which 
falls into the Dniester. 
WISLEY, a parish of England, in Surrey ; 2 miles north- 
by-east of Ripley. 
WISLICA, a town of Poland, on an island in the Nidda, 
containing 1000 inhabitants; 37 miles east-north-east of 
Cracow. 
WISLOKA, a river of Austrian Galicia, which rises at the 
foot of the Carpathians, and falls into the San.—Another 
and larger river of the same name, rises among the same 
mountains, and flowing north, joins the Vistula. 
WISMAR, a seaport in the north of Germany, in the 
grand duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, on the Baltic, op¬ 
posite the island of Poel. It is surrounded with a wall and 
moat; has a safe harbour, though not of sufficient depth for 
large vessels; and contains 6700 inhabitants. It has a gym¬ 
nasium and public library, some manufactures of woollens 
and linens, and a considerable shipping trade, particularly in 
corn. Wismar is a place of old date, and was formerly one 
of the Hanse towns 16 miles north of Schwerin, and 30 east 
of Lubeck. Lat. 53. 52. 54. N. long. 11. 39. 24. E. 
WISNICZ, a small town of Austrian Poland; 24 miles 
east-south-east of Cracow. 
WISNICZ, a small town of European Turkey, in Servia, 
near Belgrade. 
WISP, s. [wisp, Swedish, and old Dutch.] A small 
bundle, as of hay or straw. 
Jews, who their whole wealth can lay 
In a small basket, on a wisp of hay. Dry den. 
WISPEL, a small town of Friesland, about 16 miles south 
of Leeuwarden. 
WISPINGTON, a parish of England, in Lincolnshire; 
4 miles from Horncastle. 
WISSE, a small river of Switzerland, which joins the 
Rhine, near Huningen. 
WISSET, a parish of England, in Suffolk; 2 miles north¬ 
west of Halesworth. 
WISSING (William), was born at Amsterdam in 1656. 
He received instructions in the art of painting from Dondyns, 
an historical painter at the Hague, but on leaving that master 
went to Paris, and in the year 1680 came to England, and 
assisted Lely in his numerous works. After Lely’s death, he 
became rather a favourite, and promised to become a formid¬ 
able rival to Kneller. He drew all the royal family, and was 
particularly favoured by the duke of Monmouth, whose por¬ 
trait he painted several times. The duke of Somerset also 
patronized him, and employed him to paint himself and his 
duchess, and the pictures are now at Petworth. 
Wissing was appointed principal painter to James II., and 
was sent by him into Holland, to paint portraits of William 
and Mary. He did not long survive his return to England, 
and died at Burleigh, the seat of the earl of Exeter in 1687, 
at the age of 31. His heads were painted with softness and 
delicacy, in a style quite distinct from that of his master, 
Lely, or his rival, Kneller; too soft indeed, for character; 
and his larger pictures lack composition and harmony, both 
in line and colour. 
WISSINGSET, a parish of England, in Norfolk, Popu¬ 
lation 434. 
WISSOWITZ, or Wysowitz, a small town of Moravia; 
50 miles east of Brunn, with 2500 inhabitants. 
WIST, pret. and part, of wis. 
WISTANSTOW, a parish of England, in Salop; 9| miles 
north-west of Ludlow. Population 669. 
Vol. XXIV. No. 1666. 
W I T 697 
WISTASTON, a township of England, in Cheshire; 2| 
miles north-east of Nantwich, 
WISTERNITZ, Upper, a small town of Moravia, on the 
Bistricza, with 1200 inhabitants; 4 miles east of Olmutz. 
WISTESTON, a township of England, in Herefordshire; 
7 miles from Hereford. 
WI'STFUL, adj. Attentive ; earnest; full of thought. 
Why, Grubbinel, dost thou so wistful seem ? 
There’s sorrow in thy look. Gay. 
It is used by Swift, as it seems, for wishful; though it may 
mean earnest, eager.—Lifting up one of my sashes, I cast 
many a wistful melancholy look towards the sea. Swift. 
WI'STFULLY, adv. Attentively ; earnestly. 
With that he fell again to pry 
Through perspective more wistfully. Hudibras. 
WISTLETON, a parish of England, in Suffolk, near 
Dunwich. Population 713. 
WI'STLY, adv. Attentively; earnestly. 
Speaking it, he wistly look’d on me; 
As who shall say,—1 would thou wert the man. 
Shakspeare. 
WISTON, or Wissington, a parish of England, in Suf¬ 
folk, near Nayland. 
WISTON, another parish in Suffolk; 1| mile west-by¬ 
south of Steyning. 
WISTON, a parish of England, in Huntingdonshire; 3 
miles south-south-west of Ramsey.—2. A township of Eng¬ 
land, in Yorkshire; 3 miles north-west of Selby. Popu¬ 
lation 623. 
WISTOWN, a parish of Scotland, in Lanarkshire, extend¬ 
ing along the banks of the Clyde. Population 836. 
WISNIA, a market town of Austrian Poland ; 27 miles 
east of Przemysl. 
To WIT, v. n. [pitan, Saxon.] To know; to be 
known. This word is now only used in the phrase to wit; 
that is to say. Formerly to weet, —There is an officer, to 
wit, the sheriff of the shire, whose office it is, to walk up and 
down his bailiwick. Spenser. 
WIT, s. [gepit, Sax. wit, Icel. from wita; witan, M. 
Goth, pitan, Sax. to know. Sereniusi] The powers of the 
mind; the mental faculties; the intellects. This is the ori¬ 
ginal signification.—Who would set his wit to so foolish a 
bird ? Shakspeare. 
The king your father was reputed for 
A prince most prudent, of an excellent 
And unmatch’d wit and judgement. Shakspeare. 
Imagination ; quickness of fancy.—They never meet, but 
there’s a skirmish of wit between them.—Alas, in our last 
conflict four of his five wits went halting off, and now is the 
whole man governed by one. Shakspeare. 
Cou’d any but a knowing prudent cause 
Begin such motions, and assign such laws ? 
If the great mind had form’d a different frame. 
Might not your wanton wit the system blame ? Blachnore. 
Sentiments produced by quickness of fancy; or by genius: 
the effect of wit.—All sorts of men take a pleasure to gird 
at me. The brain of this foolish compounded clay, man, is 
not able to invent any thing that tends more to laughter, 
than what I invent, and is invented on me. I am not only 
witty in myself, but the cause that wit is in other men. 
Shakspeare.- —A man of fancy. 
To tell them wou’d a hundred tongues require; 
Or one vain wit's, that might a hundred tire. Pope. 
A man of geuius. 
Nought but a genius can a genius fit; 
A wit herself, Amelia weds a wit. Young. 
Sense; judgment. 
Though his youthful blood be fir’d with wine. 
He wants not wit the danger to decline. Dryden. 
Faculty of the mind.— If our wits run the wild-goose 
chace, I have done; for thou hast more of the wild-goose in 
7 N one 
