Chapter Peter Botte Mountain to Phaeton of P by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Peter Botte Mountain to Phaeton

Peter Botte Mountain in the island of Mauritius; so called from a Dutchman who scaled its summit, but lost his life in coming down. It is a rugged cone, more than 2,800 feet in height.

Peter Parley The nom de plume of Samuel G. Goodrich, an American (1793-1860).

Peter Peebles Peter Peebles' Lawsuit. In Sir Walter Scott's novel of Redgauntlet. Peter is a litigious hardhearted drunkard, poor as a churchmouse, and a liar to the backbone. His “ganging plea” is Hogarthian comic, as Carlyle says.

Peter-pence An annual tribute of one penny, paid at the feast of St. Peter to the see of Rome. At one time it was collected from every family, but afterwards it was restricted to those “who had the value of thirty pence in quick or live stock.” This tax was collected in England from 740 till it was abolished by Henry VIII.

Peter Pindar The nom de plume of Dr. John Wolcot (Wool-cut), of Dodbrooke, Devonshire. (1738- 1819.)

Peter Porcupine William Cobbett, when he was a Tory. We have Peter Porcupine's Gazette and the Porcupine Papers, in twelve volumes. (1762-1835.)

Peter Wilkins was written by Robert Pultock, of Clifford's Inn, and sold to Dodsley, the publisher, for £20.

Peter of Provence came into possession of Merlin's wooden horse. There is a French romance called Peter of Provence and the Fair Magalona, the chief incidents of which are connected with this flying charger.

Peter the Great of Russia built St. Petersburg, and gave Russia a place among the nations of Europe. He laid aside his crown and sceptre, came to England, and worked as a common labourer in our dockyards, that he might teach his subjects how to build ships.

Peter the Hermit (in Tasso), “the holy author of the crusade” (bk. i.). It is said that six millions of persons assumed the cross at his preaching.

Peter the Wild Boy found 1725 in a wood near Hameln, in Hanover, at the supposed age of thirteen. (Died 1785.)

Peterboat A boat made to go either way, the stem and stern being both alike.

Peterborough (Northamptonshire). So called from the monastery of St. Peter, founded in 655. Tracts relating to this monastery are published in Sparke's collection.

Peterloo The dispersal of a large meeting in St. Peter's Field, Manchester, by an armed force, August 16th, 1819. The assemblage consisted of operatives, and the question was parliamentary reform. The word, suggested by Hunt, is a parody upon what he absurdly called “the bloody butchers of Waterloo.”
   It is a most exaggerated phrase. The massacre consisted of six persons accidentally killed by the rush of the crowd, when the military and some 400 special constables appeared on the field.

Petit-Maitre A fop; a lad who assumes the manners, dress, and affectations of a man. The term arose before the Revolution, when a great dignitary was styled a grand-maître, and a pretentious one a petit- maître.

Petit Serjeantry Holding lands of the Crown by the service of rendering annually some small implement of war, as a bow, a sword, a lance, a flag, an arrow, and the like. Thus the Duke of Wellington holds his country seat at Strathfieldsaye and Apsley House, London, by presenting a flag annually to the Crown on the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo. The flag is hung in the guard-room of the state apartments of Windsor Castle till the next anniversary, when it becomes the perquisite of the officer of the guard.