Diary, a scholarly man and
respected as connected with different grades of society; held a clerkship
in the Admiralty, and finally the secretaryship; kept a diary of events
from 1660 to 1669, which remained in MS. till 1826, when it was published
in part by Lord Braybrooke, and is of interest for the insight it gives
into the manners of the time and the character of the author; the latest
and completest edition of this Diary is that of H. B. Wheatley, published
in 1893-96, in eight vols. (1633-1703).

PERA, a suburb of Constantinople, on the N. side of the Golden Horn,
and the foreign diplomatic quarter.

PERAEA, "the country beyond," designated that part of Palestine
beyond or E. of the Jordan.

PERCEVAL, a hero of the legends of chivalry, famed for his
adventures in quest of the Holy Graal.

PERCEVAL, SPENCER, English statesman, born in London, son of the
Earl of Egmont; bred to the bar; entered Parliament as a supporter of
Pitt, and held a succession of posts under different administrations,
attaining the Premiership, which he held from 1800 to 1812, on the 11th
of May, of which year he was shot dead by a madman of the name of
Bellingham in the lobby of the House; he was devoted to the throne, and a
man of upright character but narrow sympathies (1762-1812).

PERCIVAL, JAMES GATES, American poet and geologist, born at
Kensington, Connecticut; took his degree at Yale in 1815, and qualified
as a medical practitioner; he was for a few months professor of Chemistry
at West Point, but retired and gave himself to literature and geology;
his scientific works are valuable; "Prometheus and Clio" appeared in
1822, "Dream of a Day" in 1843; he died at Hazel Green, Wisconsin
(1795-1856).

PERCY, a noble English family of Norman origin, the founder of which
accompanied the Conqueror, and was rewarded with grants of land for his
services; a successor of whom in the female line, Henry, the father of
the famous Hotspur, was created Duke of Northumberland in 1377.

PERCY, THOMAS, English prelate and antiquary, born at Bridgenorth,
Shropshire, the son of a grocer; devoted himself to the collection of old
ballads, and published in 1765 "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry"; he
published also ballads of his own, among them "The Hermit of Warkworth,"
and was the author of "O Nannie, wilt thou gang wi' me?" he associated
with Johnson, Burke, and other notables of the period, and was a member
of Dr. Johnson's Literary