northern arm of Hudson bay, 66° 15´ N. lat., 83° W. long.; the second at Igloolik. a small island lying at the eastern entrance of Fury and Hecla strait, 69° 20´ N. lat., 81° 35´ W. long. In a third arctic voyage, in 1824, Captain Parry proceeded, with the same two ships as on the last occasion (sailing himself, however, in the Hecla) through Lancaster Sound and down Prince Regent Inlet, upon the eastern shore of which, at Port Bowen, he passed the winter of 1824-25. The Fury, which had sustained irreparable damage, was abandoned in the ensuing spring, and the two ships' companies returned to England in the Hecla. Parry's fourth and latest undertaking in polar navigation was an attempt to reach the North Pole by way of boats and sledges in 1827, on which occasion he again sailed in the Hecla, and advanced from Spitzbergen northward over the ice to the latitude of 82° 40´, the furthest that has been reached, at which point the southwardly drift of the whole body of ice compelled his return. Though leaving the North-west passage unaccomplished, Parry prepared the way for its final completion under M'Clure, and to the example of his successes, more than to those of any other single explorer, may the later achievements in arctic navigation be mainly attributed. Narratives of Parry's voyages proceeded at various times from his own pen. He was twice married, first, in 1826, to Isabella Louisa, fourth daughter of Sir John Stanley, afterwards Lord Stanley of Alderley, who died in 1839; the second time, June, 1841, to Catherine, daughter of the Rev. R. Hankinson, who survived him.—W. H.
PARSONS, James, M.D., a distinguished physician, anatomist, and antiquary, was born at Barnstaple, Devon, in March, 1705. His father having removed to Ireland, Parsons received his general education at Dublin. On its completion he became tutor to Lord Kingston, but subsequently he resolved to study medicine, and proceeded to Paris for that purpose, where he remained several years. He obtained his doctor's degree at Rheims, June 11, 1736. He then came to London with letters of recommendation to Sir Hans Sloane, Dr. Mead, and Dr. James Douglas. He assisted the latter in his anatomical pursuits, and through his interest was appointed in 1738 physician to St. Giles' infirmary, and became introduced to extensive obstetric practice. In 1740 he was admitted a fellow, and in 1751 was elected foreign secretary of the Royal Society. In the same year he obtained the license of the Royal College of Physicians. He resided in Red Lion Square, where his house was for many years a centre of meeting for much of the literary and scientific society of the period. His health failing, in 1769 he proposed retiring from business; he disposed of many of his books and fossils, and went to Bristol. He soon, however, returned to his old house, where he died on April 4, 1770, in his sixty-sixth year. He was buried at Hendon. A portrait of Dr. Parsons, by Wilson, is preserved in the British Museum. He published several anatomical and scientific works; amongst which is a treatise on the nature of hermaphrodites, London, 1741; the Croonian lectures on muscular motion, 1745; and philosophical observations on the analogy between the propagation of animals and that of vegetables, with observations on the polypus, 1752. He was a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. His principal work in this department of science is entitled "Remains of Japhet; "being historical inquiries into the affinity and origin of the European languages.—F. C. W.
PARSONS or PERSONS, Robert, for he wrote his name both ways, was one of the founders of the English province of the order of the Jesuits, and a most daring and skilful agent of the Roman catholic powers, who conspired the overthrow of our Queen Elizabeth. He was born in 1546 in the parish of Stowey, Somersetshire, and educated at Balliol college, Oxford, where he became master of arts, fellow of the college, and a celebrated tutor in the university. On two occasions he swore the oath of abjuration of the pope's supremacy, for which he reproaches himself bitterly in one of his published writings. In 1574 he was for some unexplained reason expelled the college, and being a man of proud vindictive nature, the humiliation doubtless rankled in his mind for years. Quitting England he went to Calais, to Antwerp, and to Louvain, having passed through his "spiritual exercises," under the direction of his countryman Father William Good. Proceeding then to Padua, he began to study medicine and civil law, but changing his mind and course of study, he went to the English college at Rome, and in 1575 had already entered the company of Jesus. His term of probation was made shorter than usual, for in 1578 he was ordained priest, and in 1580 he started with the pope's benediction on his celebrated mission to England, accompanied by Father Campion and eleven other persons, lay and clerical. Disguised as a blustering captain returning from Flanders, he passed into England alone, braving the severe proclamations of the government, and followed by his accomplices as opportunity served. By secret visits, by the publication of books controversial and otherwise, by all the arts which a subtle and determined spirit could suggest, Parsons strove to keep alive in the Roman catholic party the hopes of recovering ascendancy, and occasionally let fall cautious hints touching the deposition of the queen. The government felt the effects, and took vigorous measures to repress the cause. Roman catholics, and especially jesuits, were exposed to a harsh persecution; but though Campion was taken and tortured. Parsons escaped from every snare with the most extraordinary dexterity and good luck. He spent some time on the continent in carrying out a scheme for binding James of Scotland to Rome, and uniting him with his unhappy mother in common sovereignty. For this purpose he went to Paris to consult with the duke of Guise, to Valladolid, to obtain money from Philip II., and to Rome, where he procured a certain sum from the pope. But Elizabeth and her wise counsellors having baffled all his schemes, at the cost indeed of much suffering to Roman catholics in England, Parsons went to reside in Rome. The scurrilous "Admonition to the nobility and people of England," published at Antwerp, to justify the invasion by the Spanish armada, is said to have been the work of Parsons, a long list of whose writings will be found in Lowndes' Manual, Bohn's edition. Under the assumed name of Doleman he endeavoured to defeat the succession of King James to the throne of England in a celebrated treatise entitled "A Conference about the next Succession to the Crown of England," 1594. He visited Spain and Naples, always keeping in view the prime object of his life—the humiliation of protestant England, but returned to Rome in 1606, and died there at the English college, of which he was rector, in 1610.—(Steinmetz's History of Jesuits; Lingard's History of England, vi.)—R. H.
* PARTIN, Sarah P., a lady writer in America, whose works are very popular among a certain class of children and young ladies. Thuy consist of remarks, moral, social, and scientific (chiefly botanical), strung upon an exceedingly simple narrative, with the evident intention of making conversation instructive and instruction pleasant. The principal among her numerous publications, which appear under the pseudonym of Fanny Fern, are—"Fern Leaves from Fanny Fern's Portfolio;" "Shadows and Sunbeams;" and "Fresh Leaves."—R. H.
PAS, Antoine de, Marquis de Fenquières, the son and grandson of eminent French commanders, was born in 1648, and, devoting himself to the military career, rapidly proved that he was fully endowed with the remarkable courage and talent of his family. In 1688 he performed such brilliant services at the head of a small detachment of cavalry (only one thousand sabres) that he was raised to the rank of maréchal-de-camp in the ensuing year. A master not only of the practice but also of the theory of his profession, Fenquières left Mémoires on the generals of Louis XIV. which still retain interest and value. In the course of them he enumerates no less than twelve capital errors committed by the French at the battle of Blenheim.—W. J. P.
PASCAL, Blaise, a name second to none among those of the illustrious men whose genius, learning, and ability shed an extraordinary splendour upon the seventeenth century. France, rich as it was at that time in minds of the highest class, makes her boast of Pascal as standing foremost in the company of her worthies. Distinguished as he was in the departments of mathematical and physical science, he was distinguished also as a religious controversialist; and distinguished too, in profound theological thought; and moreover quite unrivalled as the originator of the modern French style—pure, clear, luminous, and free from barbarisms.
Blaise Pascal, born July 19, 1623, was the son of Stephen Pascal, then president of the court of aids in Auvergne, and of Antonette Begon his wife. His two sisters, Gilberte (Madame Perier) and Jacqueline, were women of intelligence, and eminent for piety. Almost from the cradle, or, says his sister, as soon as he could speak, he gave evidence that he was endowed by nature with extraordinary faculties, asking questions and giving answers that were quite beyond his age; and his father, animated by the prospect of the brilliant course which such a son might
