Chapter Immortal to In for It of I by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Imperial (An). A tuft of hair on the chin, all the rest of the beard and all the whiskers being shaved off. So called from the Emperor Napoleon III., who set the fashion.

Imperium in Imperio A government independent of the general authorised government.

Impertinence (4 syl.). A legal term meaning matter introduced into an affidavit, etc., not pertinent to the case.

Imponderables (Latin, things without weight). Heat, light, electricity, and magnetism were, it was at one time supposed, the phenomena of imponderable substances; that of heat was called caloric. This theory is now exploded, but the hypothetical ether is without appreciable weight.

Imposition A task given as a punishment. Of course the word is taken from the verb impose, as the task is imposed. The term is common in schools, colleges, and universities. In the sense of a deception it means to "put a trick on a person," hence, the expressions "to put on one." "to lay it on thick," etc.

Imposition of Hands The bishop, laying his hand on persons confirmed or ordained. (Acts vi., viii., xix.)

Impossibilities Latin phrases:
Æthiopem de-albare. Arenas arare. Laterem lavare. Pumice aridius. In asino lanam.
   English phrases:
Gathering grapes from thistles. Fetching water in a sieve. Washing a blackamoor white. Catching wind in cabbage nets. Flaying eels by the tail. Making cheese of chalk. Squaring the circle. Turning base metal into gold. The elixir of life. Making a silk purse of a sow's ear. (And hundreds more.)

Impropriation Profits of ecclesiastical property in the hands of a layman. Appropriation is when the profits of a benefice are in the hands of a college.

Impropriator A layman who has church lands or ecclesiastical preferment. (Latin, in-proprius, belonging to.)

Improve the Occasion (To). To draw a moral lesson from some event which has occurred. In French, "Profitons de l'occasion. "

Improvisators Persons who utter verses impromptu. The art was introduced by Petrarch, and is still a favourite amusement of the Italians. The most celebrated are:
ACCOLTI (Bernardo), of Arezzo, called the "Unico Aretino" (1465-1535).
ANTONIANO (Silvio). Eighteenth century.
AQUILANO (Serafino), of Aquila (1466-1500).
BANDETTINI. (See Improvisatrix.)
BERONICIUS (P.J.), who could covert extempore, into Greek or Latin verse, a Dutch newspaper or anything else (died 1676).
CHRISTOFORO, surnamed Altissimo, an Italian (1514).
CORILLA. (See Improvisatrix.)
GLANNI (Francis). An Italian, made imperial poet by Napoleon, whose victories he celebrated in verse (1759-1824).
JEHAN (Núr): (See Improvisatrix.)
KARSCHIN (Anna Louisa). (See Improvisatrix.)
MARONE (Andreas). An Italian (1474-1527).
METASTASIO (P. A. D. B.), of Assisi, who developed, at the age of ten, a great talent for extemporising in verse (1698-1782).
PERFETTI (Bernardino), of Sienna, who received a laurel crown in the capital, an honour conferred only on Petrarch and Tasso (1681-1747).
QUERNO (Camillo). An Italian (1470-1528).
ROSSI. Beheaded at Naples in 1799.
SERAFINO. (See above, Aquilano.)
SESTINI (Bartolomeo). An Italian (died 1822).
SGRICCI (Tommaso), of Tuscany (1788-1832). His Death of Charles I., Death of Mary Queen of Scots, and Fall of Missolonghi, are very celebrated.
TADDEI (Rosa). (See Improvisatrix.)
ZUCCO (Marco Antonio), of Verona (died 1764).

    To these add Ciccioni, Bindocci, the brothers Clerc of Holland, Wolf of Altona, Langenschwarz of Germany, Eugène de Pradel of France, and our own Thomas Hood (1798-1845).

Improvisatrix or Improvisatrice. The most famous improvisatrices or female improvisators are:
MARIA MAGDALE'NA MORELLI FERNANDEZ, surnamed the Olympic Corilla, crowned at Rome for improvisations (1740-1800).
TERE'SA BANDETTI'NI (1763-*).
ROSA TADDEI (1801-*).
SIGNORA MAZZEI, the most talented of all.
NUR JEHAN, of Bengal (d. 1645). She was the inventor of the Otto of Roses.
ANNA LOUISA KARCHIN, a German (1722-1791.)