The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 364

QUAIGH, a name formerly given to a wooden drinking-cup in Scotland.

QUAIN, JONES, anatomist, born at Mallow, Ireland; was professor of Anatomy and Physiology in London University; was author of "Elements of Anatomy," of which the first edition was published in 1828, and the tenth in 1800 (1796-1865).

QUAIN, RICHARD, anatomist, born at Fermoy, Ireland, brother of preceding, and professor in London University; author of a number of medical works; bequeathed a large legacy to the university for "education in modern languages" (1800-1887).

QUAIN, SIR RICHARD, physician, born at Mallow, cousin of preceding; edited "Dictionary of Medicine," and was President of Medical Council in 1891 (1816-1898).

QUAIR, an old Scotch name for a book.

QUAKERS, the SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (q. v.), so called first by Justice Bennet of Derby, because Fox bade him quake before the Lord.

QUARANTINE, the prescribed time, generally 40 days (hence the name), of non-intercourse with the sh.o.r.e for a s.h.i.+p suspected of infection, latterly enforced, and that very strictly, in the cases of infection with yellow fever or plague; since November 1896, the system of quarantine as regards the British Islands has ceased to exist.

QUARLES, FRANCIS, religious poet, born in Ess.e.x, of good family; a member of Christ's College, Cambridge, and Lincoln's Inn; held divers offices at the Court, in the city, and the Church; was a bigoted Royalist and Churchman, a voluminous author, both in prose and verse, but is now remembered for his "Divine Emblems," and perhaps his "Enchiridion"; he wrote in his quaint way not a few good things (1592-1644).

QUARTER DAYS, in England and Ireland Lady Day, 25th March; Midsummer Day, 24th June; Michaelmas Day, 29th September; and Christmas Day, 25th December; while in Scotland the legal terms are Whitsunday, 15th May, and Martinmas, 11th November, though the Whitsunday term is now changed to the 28th May.

QUARTER-DECK, the part of a s.h.i.+p abaft the main-mast, or between the main and mizzen, where there is a p.o.o.p.

QUARTER-SESSIONS, a court held every quarter by justices of the peace in the several divisions of a county to try offences against the peace.

QUARTER-STAFF, strong wooden staff 6 ft. long, shod with iron, grasped in the middle; formerly used in England for attack and defence.

QUARTERLY REVIEW, a review started by John Murray, the celebrated London publisher, in February 1809, in rivalry with the _Edinburgh_, which had been seven years in possession of the field, and was exerting, as he judged, an evil influence on public opinion; in this enterprise he was seconded by Southey and Scott, the more cordially that the _Edinburgh_ had given offence to the latter by its criticism of "Marmion." It was founded in the Tory interest for the defence of Church and State, and it had Gifford for its first editor, while the contributors included, besides Southey and Scott, all the ablest literary celebrities on the Tory side, of which the most zealous and frequent was John Wilson Croker.

QUARTERMASTER, in the army an officer whose duty it is to look after the quarters, clothing, rations, stores, ammunition, &c., of the regiment, and in the navy a petty officer who has to see to the stowage, steerage, soundings, &c., of the s.h.i.+p.

QUARTETTE, a musical piece in four parts, or for four voices or instruments.

QUARTO, a book having the sheet folded into four leaves.

QUASIMODO SUNDAY, the first Sunday after Easter.

QUa.s.s, a beer made in Russia from rye grain, employed as vinegar when sour.

QUATRE-BRAS (i. e. four arms), a village 10 m. SE. of Waterloo, where the roads from Brussels to Charleroi and from Nivelles to Namur intersect: was the scene of an obstinate conflict between the English under Wellington and the French under Ney, two days before the battle of Waterloo.

QUATREf.a.gES DE BReAU, French naturalist and anthropologist, born at Berthezenne (Gard); studied medicine at Strasburg; was professor at the Natural History Museum in Paris; devoted himself chiefly to anthropology and the study of annelides (1810-1892).

QUATREMeRE, eTIENNE MARC, French Orientalist, born in Paris; was professor at the College of France; was distinguished for his knowledge of Arabic and Persian, as well as for his works on Egypt; was of vast learning, but defective in critical ability (1782-1857).

QUATREMeRE DE QUINCY, a learned French archaeologist and writer on art, born in Paris; was involved in the troubles of the Revolution; narrowly, as a const.i.tutionalist, escaped the guillotine, and was deported to Cayenne in 1797, but after his return took no part in political affairs; wrote a "Dictionary of Antiquities" (1755-1849).

QUATRO CENTO (i. e. four hundred), a term employed by the Italians to signify one thousand four hundred, that is, the 15th century, and applied by them to the literature and art of the period.

QUEBEC (1,359), formerly called Lower Canada, one of the Canadian provinces occupying that part of the valley of the St. Lawrence, and a narrow stretch of fertile, well-cultivated land on the S. of the river, which is bounded on the S. by the States of New York and Maine, and on the E. by New Brunswick; it is twice the size of Great Britain, and consists of extensive tracks of cultivated land and forests interspersed with lakes and rivers, affluents of the St. Lawrence; the soil, which is fertile, yields good crops of cereals, hay, and fruit, and excellent pasturage, and there is abundance of mineral wealth; it was colonised by the French in 1608, was taken by the English in 1759-60, and the great majority of the population is of French extraction.

QUEBEC (63), the capital of the above province, and once of all Canada, a city of historical interest, is situated on the steep promontory, 333 feet in height, of the NW. bank of the St. Lawrence, at the mouth of the St. Charles River, 300 m. from the sea, and 180 m. below Montreal; it is divided into Upper and Lower, the latter the business quarter and the former the west-end, as it were; there are numerous public buildings, including the governor's residence, an Anglican cathedral, and a university; it is a commercial centre, has a large trade in timber, besides several manufacturing industries; the aspect of the town is Norman-French, and there is much about it and the people to remind one of Normandy.

QUEDLINBURG (19), an old town of Prussian Saxony, on the river Bode, at the foot of the Harz Mountains, 32 m. SW. of Magdeburg, founded by Henry the Fowler, and where his remains lie; was long a favourite residence of the emperors of the Saxon line; it has large nurseries, an extensive trade in flower seeds, and sundry manufactures.

QUEEN ANNE'S BOUNTY, a fund established in 1704 for the augmentation of the incomes of the poorer clergy, the amount of which for distribution in 1890 was 176,896; it was the revenue from a tax on the Church prior to the Reformation, and which after that was appropriated by the Crown.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, a small group of islands on the W. coast of North America, N. of Vancouver's Island, 80 m. off the coast of British Columbia, a half-submerged mountain range, densely wooded, with peaks that rise sheer up 2000 ft.

QUEENBOROUGH, a town on the Isle of Sheppey, 2 m. S. of Sheerness, between which and Flus.h.i.+ng, in Holland, a line of steamers plies daily.

QUEEN'S COLLEGE, a college for women in Harley Street, London, founded in 1848, and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1853, of which Maurice, Trench, and Kingsley were among the originators; attendance of three years ent.i.tles to the rank of "a.s.sociate," and of six or more to that of "Fellow"; it is self-supporting.

QUEEN'S COLLEGES, colleges established in Ireland in 1845 to afford a university education to members of all religious denominations, and opened at Belfast, Cork, and Galway in 1849, the first having 23 professors, with 343 students; the second 23 professors, with 181 students; and the third 37 professors, with 91 students. There is also a Queen's College in Melbourne.

QUEEN'S COUNTY (6), one of the inland counties of Leinster, in Ireland, N. of King's County, mostly flat; agriculture and dairy-farming are carried on, with a little woollen and cotton-weaving; population mostly Roman Catholics.

QUEEN'S METAL, an alloy of nine parts tin and one each of antimony, lead, and bis.m.u.th, is intermediate in hardness between pewter and britannia metal.

QUEENSLAND, a British colony occupying the NE. of Australia, 1300 m.