Parchment

“ There was a boat lying upon a sea-coast, and not far from the boat was a parchment—not a paper—with a skull depicted upon it. You will, of course, ask, 'Where is the connection?' I reply that the skull, or death's-head, is the well-known emblem of the pirate. The flag of the death's-head is hoisted in all engagements.
"I have said that the scrap was parchment, and not paper. Parchment is durable,—almost imperishable. Matters of little moment are rarely consigned to parchment; since, for the mere ordinary purposes of drawing or writing, it is not nearly so well adapted as paper. ”

“ For many years parchment was used in England for all deeds of real estate, and so lengthy were these documents that it was said it took a flock of sheep to convey an acre of land or make a marriage settlement. As the age of stone, the carved obelisk, the clay tablet, and other crude materials was outgrown, so was that of papyrus and parchment. With the next step forward came paper, and the improvements in its manufacture with regard to quality, variety, and increase of production, have kept pace with the varying and growing demands. ”

“ Parchment.—Parchment succeeded papyrus as an excellent writing material, being devised as a substitute for the latter by the inhabitants of Pergamus on account of the prohibited exportation of Egyptian papyrus. For many centuries parchment held a foremost place amongst the available materials serving the purpose of paper, and even to-day it is used for important legal documents. This parchment was made from the skins of sheep and goats, which were first steeped in lime pits, and then scraped. ”

“ Parchment and vellum. Parchment. With regard to the preparation of parchment and other kinds of skin for writing on (Pergamena and Membrana) there is little to be said. The skins of many different animals have been used for this purpose both in classical and mediaeval times, especially skins of calves, sheep, goats and pigs. Unlike manuscripts on papyrus, parchment or vellum [8] manuscripts were usually covered with writing on both sides, since the ink does not show through from one side to the other, as it is liable to do on the more absorbent and spongy papyrus paper. ”

“ The fabrication of both parchment and vellum in the Middle Ages was quite as important a matter as that of paper at the present time, and certain monastic establishments had a special reputation for the excellence of their manufacture. Thus the “parcheminerie,” as it was called, of the Abbey of Cluny, in France, was quite celebrated in the twelfth century. ”

“ He showed us a very old Bible in parchment, a specimen of the earliest printing, beautifully ornamented with pictures, and some monkish illuminations of indescribable delicacy and elaboration. No artist could afford to produce such work, if the life that he thus lavished on one sheet of parchment had any value to him, either for what could be done or enjoyed in it. There are about eight thousand volumes in this library, and, judging by their outward aspect, the collection must be curious and valuable ”

“ Varro ascribes this invention to Alexander the Great, when he built Alexandria; but he had only the merit of making paper more common, for the invention was of much greater antiquity. The same Pliny adds, that Eumenes, king of Pergamus, substituted parchment instead of paper, in emulation of Ptolemy, king of Egypt, whose library he was ambitious to excel by this invention, which had the advantage over paper. Parchment is the skin of a sheep dressed and made fit to write upon. It was called Pergamenum from Pergamus, whose kings had the honour of the invention. ”

“ Parchment—Pergamena, so called long after the time of its first use, from Pergamus, a city of Mysia, where the manufacture was improved and carried on to a great extent, is mentioned by Herodotus and Ctesias as a material which had been from time immemorial used for books: it has proved to be of all others, except that abovementioned, the most durable. The greater part of all manuscripts that are of higher antiquity than the sixth century are on parchment ”

“ After the eighth century the papyrus was superseded by parchment. The Chinese make their paper with silk. The use of paper is of great antiquity. It is what the ancient Latinists call charta or chartae. Before the use of parchment and paper passed to the Romans, they used the thin peel found between the wood and the bark of trees. This skinny substance they called liber, from whence the Latin word liber, a book, and library and librarian in the European languages, and the French livre for book ”

“ Is not this a lamentable
thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should
be made parchment? that parchment, being scribbled
o'er, should undo a man? Some say the bee stings:
but I say, 'tis the bee's wax; for I did but seal
once to a thing, and I was never mine own man
since. ”

“ I dare say some other man somewhere or other keeps locked up in his desk a dirty little piece of crabbed parchment, which he calls a title-deed, and which gives him some sort of illusory claim to the productive power of the few square yards of dirt upon its surface. ”

“ The scribe should have a sharp scraper or knife to rub down the roughnesses of his parchment or vellum. He should also have a piece of 'biting' pumice-stone and a flat tool to smooth down and make even the surface of his parchment. He should have a lead pencil and a ruler with which to rule lines on the parchment, leaving a margin free (from lines) on both sides of the parchment, on the back of the leaf as well as on the flesh side....
The scribe should sit in an arm chair, with arms raised on each side to support a desk or ?; a footstool should be conveniently placed under his feet. ”

“ Unfortunately, there remains to us no writing on parchment dating from this distant period. The Virgil in the Vatican, and the Terence at Florence, are of the fourth and fifth century of our era. Admitting that time destroys all, and also that the work of the rude tribes on many occasions assisted this natural cause of destruction, we must not forget that at certain periods, to supply the place of new parchment when it was scarce, a plan had been devised of making the parchment rolls which had already been used for manuscripts serve again{415}
Fig. ”

“ Those exposed to the air have all disappeared ages ago. In the second century parchment was brought into common use as a writing material, and papyrus paper gradually fell into disuse. And with the change of material the shape of manuscripts was changed; the ancient form of the papyrus-roll giving place, in manuscripts written on parchment, to the form of books with leaves. How we should value the original rolls which contained the handwriting of the evangelists and apostles! ”

“ Please your noble grace, that man lies. I found that parchment in an hostelry-yard at Gloucester, six years ago—I know it by the seals; and that John Oakley told me it was an old lease of no use, and so I gave it to him. ”

“ Blue Linen, wrought with gilt thin parchment; pattern, an oval, filled in with another oval, surrounded by six-petaled flowers, all in outline; this piece is put upon another of a different design, of which the pattern is an eagle on the wing. Spanish, 14th century. 71⁄2 inches by 4-5⁄8 inches.
This is another specimen of gilt parchment being used instead of gold thread.
7099.
Foot-cloth; ground, green worsted; pattern, birds and flowers. German, 16th century. 4 feet 7 inches by 2 feet 7 inches. ”

“ PARGETTING (from O. Fr. pargeter or parjeter; par, all over, and jeter, to throw, i.e. “rough cast”; other derivations suggested have been from Lat. spargere, to sprinkle, and from paries, a wall, the last due to writing the parjet in the form pariet) , a term applied to the decoration in relief of the plastering between the studwork on the outside of half-timber houses, or sometimes covering the whole wall. ”

“ From where Parpon sat he could see the House with the Tall Porch, and, as he sang, his eyes ran from the miller's doorway to it.
Off in the grounds of the dead Seigneur's manor he could see a man push the pebbles with his foot, or twist the branch of a shrub thoughtfully as he walked. At last another man entered the garden. ”

“ Never, under the impenetrable mail of paladin or crusader, beat a heart of more intrepid mettle than within the stoic panoply that armed the breast of La Salle. To estimate aright the marvels of his patient fortitude, one must follow on his track through the vast scene of his interminable journeyings,—those thousands of weary miles of forest, marsh, and river, where, again and again, in the bitterness of baffled striving, the untiring pilgrim pushed onward towards the goal which he was never to attain. ”

“ The hazy sunlight, the warm and drowsy air, the tender foliage, the opening flowers, betokened the reviving life of Nature. For several days more they followed the writhings of the great river on its tortuous course through wastes of swamp and cane-brake, till on the thirteenth of March [235] they found themselves wrapped in a thick fog. Neither shore was visible; but they heard on the right the booming of an Indian drum and the shrill outcries of the war-dance. La Salle at once crossed to the opposite side, where, in less than an hour, his men threw up a rude fort of felled trees. ”

“ On the 10th it fell again into the hands of the Germans, to be definitely retaken by the French on the 11th.
CHURCH AND RUINS OF PARGNY
Pargny church (331⁄2 km.) , in front of which we pass, had its roof pierced, and the vaulting broken in. The spire was truncated by shells.
After having [Pg 227] passed the church, we reach the principal street, in which we turn to the left. The scene is very desolate (see pp. 226-227) .
RUINS OF PARGNY
Having followed the principal street, we take the first turning on the right towards the level-crossing. ”

“ The Journal of the chaplain, Bonnecamp (Dépôt de la Marine) , is shorter, but is the work of an intelligent and observing man. The author, a Jesuit, was skilled in mathematics, made daily observations, and constructed a map of the route, still preserved at the Dépôt de la Marine. Concurrently with these French narratives, one may consult the English letters and documents bearing on the same subjects, in the Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, the Archives of Pennsylvania, and the Colonial Documents of New York. ”

“ Materials contrasting in colour and grain, such as oak, walnut, cherry, lime, pine, &c. are employed; and in the more expensive kinds the richly coloured tropical woods are also used. The patterns of parquet flooring are entirely geometrical and angular (squares, triangles, lozenges, &c.) , curved and irregular forms being avoided on account of the expense and difficulty of fitting. There are two classes of parquetry in use—veneers and solid parquet. ”

“ We advanced side by side along what was once a well-trodden path, making no attempt at concealment. Indeed, any such effort would have been useless, as the crest of the ridge lay open, and bare of vegetation, but I was so fully convinced we were unobserved that I took no precaution—my entire thought, indeed, centered upon the girl at my side. The small door at the rear of the church resisted our efforts at opening, and we advanced to the front entrance, passing between the walls of the church and the row of hitching posts. ”

“ In the intervening spaces, the soil had been feebly scratched with hoes of wood or bone, and a crop of maize was growing, now some four inches high. The dwellings of these slovenly farmers, framed of poles covered with sheets of bark, were scattered here and there, singly or in groups, while their tenants were running to the shore in amazement. The chief, Nibachis, offered the calumet, then harangued the crowd: "These white men must have fallen from the clouds. How else could they have reached us through the woods and rapids which even we find it hard to pass? The French chief can do anything. ”

“ PERCH (through Fr. perche from Lat. pertica, a pole or rod used for measurement) , a bar or rod used for various purposes, as e.g. for a navigation mark in shallow waters, for a support on which a bird may rest, or for a pole which joins the back with the fore part of a wagon or other four-wheeled vehicle. ”

“ A “bed” of clay-shale is formed close to the wall where it is to be used, sufficient to do one perch. A perch is superficial measurement described as 161⁄2 ft. long, 1 ft. high, and the amount of material will vary according to the thickness of wall required. Four men usually work together. The big stones are picked out. The material is arranged in a circular heap about 5 or 6 ft. in diameter.
Starting at the edge the men turn over the material with cob picks, standing and treading on the material all the time. ”

“ Mr. Parkman’s winter home, where he did the most of his work, was in the house of his sister, Miss Parkman, at 50 Chestnut Street, Boston—a quiet locality on the western slope of Beacon Hill. His study was a plain, comfortable, front room at the top of the house, with an open fire, a small writing-table beside the window, and shelves of books covering the walls. The most valuable of his treasures were manuscript copies of both public and private documents. ”

“ A prism, in strictness, is a piece of glass cut in a particular way, so that the colourless sunbeams which pass through it are divided into their many-coloured members. But other things act as prisms,—the rain-drops in a shower—the lustres upon your church chandelier. ”

“ Here they passed through a succession of rooms filled with men engaged in various games of hazard, more or less deep, and came at length to two small apartments, which seemed to form the penetralia of the temple. ”

“ La Salle, with the rest of the party, was to follow as soon as he could finish his preparations. It was a boisterous and gusty day, the eighteenth of November. The sails were spread; the shore receded,—the stone walls of the fort, the huge cross that the friar had reared, the wigwams, the settlers' cabins, the group of staring Indians on the strand. The lake was rough; and the men, crowded in so small a craft, grew nervous and uneasy. They hugged the northern shore, to escape the fury of the wind, which blew savagely from the northeast ”