328 PERSIAN GULF PERSIGNY Kheyam, a modern poet, who is also a famous mathematician, is said to bear comparison to Goethe and Heine for extent of knowledge, keenness of wit, and the materialism of his phi- losophical views. Some of his poems have been translated by Nicolas (Paris, 1867). In recent times have appeared translations of celebrated European works. Noteworthy among these are a version of some of the writings of Descartes (1863), Mirza Habib's translations of Moliere and La Fontaine (1870), which are remarkable for the fidelity and facility with which the niceties of the French language are reproduced, and several medical treatises. Similar works are published every year in Tabriz, Teheran, Bombay, Delhi, and Lucknow. In Moslem the- ology and jurisprudence, as was to be expect- ed, the Persians are chiefly dependent upon Arabic authorities. In philosophy and the ex- act sciences nearly the same is the case, yet a large portion of the most highly esteemed sci- entific works in the Arabic literature are by Persian authors. The best earlier Persian grammar in English is Sir William Jones's, and there are later ones by Lumsden, Lee, Forbes, and others, as well as one by a native Persian, Mirza Mohammed Ibrahim ; this last has been translated into German, with considerable im- provements, by Fleischer (2d ed. } 1875). Vul- lers of Giessen has written in Latin a Persian grammar of some pretension, which has reached a second edition ; he has also put forth a dic- tionary, explained in Latin (2 vols. 8vo, 1855- '64, with a supplement, Bonn, 1867), and found- ed mainly on the native lexicons, of which there are many, the most noted being the FarJiang- i-SV&ri (Constantinople, 1742), the Burhdn- i-Qatih (Calcutta, 1818), and the Haft Kul- zum, "Seven Seas" (Lucknow, 1822). The best Persian-English dictionary is that of Fran- cis Johnson (3d ed., London, 1852). A con- venient dictionary in one volume is Berge's Dictionnaire persan-francais (Paris, 1868). PERSIAN GULF, an arm of the Indian ocean, between Persia and Arabia, extending mainly from lat. 24 to 30 K, and from Ion. 48 to 56 30' E. ; extreme length 550 m., breadth from 40 to 250 m. ; area estimated at about 80,000 sq. m. Its entrance from the Indian ocean is through the Arabian sea, the gulf of Oman, and the strait of Ormuz, the last of which is about 35 m. wide. The shores are much indented ; but the only harbor of im- portance is Bushire, besides Bassorah on the Shat-el-Arab. The coasts are low, except near the entrance, where the mountains on both sides rise to a considerable height and come close to the sea. On the S. W. or Arabian side there are numerous shoals and reefs. There are several islands in the neighborhood of the Arabian shore and the strait of Ormuz, the most im- portant of which are Kishm, Ormuz, and the Bahrein or Aval islands. The only consider- able river that falls into the gulf is the Shat-el- Arab, or the united stream of the Euphrates and Tigris. At the straits of Ormuz the tide rises 12 ft., and about the 1ST. end of the gulf 6 ft. There are valuable pearl fisheries in the neigh- borhood of the W. and S. shores. The shores of the Persian gulf are inhabited almost exclu- sively by Arabs. For many years the gulf was infested by pirates, who found safety among the shoals and islands on the coast of Arabia. In 1809, and again in 1819, the British sent ex- peditions against them from Bombay, which, in conjunction with the imam of Muscat's forces, completely destroyed their vessels. The Per- sian gulf is the ancient sea of Babylon, and the earliest record (besides the Scriptural accounts) which we have of its navigation is that of the voyage of Nearchus in 325 B. C. PERSIAJVI, Fanny, an Italian vocalist, born in Rome, Oct. 14, 1818, died in May, 1867. She was a daughter of the singer Tacchinardi and the wife of the composer Persiani. She first appeared at Leghorn, achieved a brilliant suc- cess in Rome in Lucia di Lammermoor, and was the principal soprano singer at the Italian opera in Paris from 1838 to 1850. The com- pass and flexibility of her voice were great, and besides Lucia she chiefly excelled in the Matri- monio segreto and Linda di Chamouni. PERSIAN POWDER, a substance consisting of the dried and pulverized flowers of the py- rethrum carneum and P. roseum, which is re- puted to be very efficacious in destroying in- sects, and is extensively used in Persia, Turkey, and Russia. The plant is a native of the Cau- casus, and bears a composite flower, which is gathered wild and sent chiefly to Tiflis for manufacture. It was introduced into France about 1850. Since then M. Willemot has pro- cured the seed from the Caucasus and has raised the plant in England ; and as the species thus raised differs from any previously known, it has been named pyrethrum, Willemoti. Al- though destructive to insects, it is said to be harmless to man. It is stated by Prof. Lan- derer in a scientific periodical (April, 1874) that the common oxeye daisy, chrysanthemum leucanthemum, has long been employed in Dal- matia for preparing a powder like the Persian, and that both this and C. segetum are now largely used in Germany as a substitute, and found particularly effective against parasites in sheep and cattle. PERSIGNY, Jean Gilbert Victor Fialin, duke de, a French politician, born in the department of Loire, Jan. 11, 1808, died in Nice, Jan. 13, 1872. His family being in reduced circumstances, he enlisted in the army as a private when 17 years old, was afterward admitted to the military school of Saumur, and rejoined the army as a non-commissioned officer of hussars. After the revolution of 1830, his loyalty being suspected, he was dismissed on a charge of insubordina- tion. Going to Paris in search of employment, he joined the editorial staff of the Temps. He is said to have been strongly attracted at this time by the doctrines of the Saint-Simonians, and to have proposed sharing the retreat of Pere Enf antin at Menilmontant ; but the state-
