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PEECEPTION 181 PERCY ANECDOTES feapital is Kwala Kansar. Taiping and Kinta are the principal tin mining towns. There are over 70 miles of railway. Pop. (1911) 494,057. PERCEPTION, the reception of knowl- edge through the senses, and the faculty by which knowledge is so received and communication maintained between the subject and the external world. Percep- tion differs from conception, in dealing with things that have an actual, not merely a possible existence; and from consciousness, in that it is concerned with objects external to the mind of the percipient. It is, in brief, the taking cognizance of impressions received by the senses. PERCH, Perca fluviatilis, the river perch. The upper part of the body is of a warm, greenish-bi-own tint, becoming golden on the sides, and white on the belly; there are always broad, vertical, dark bands passing down the sides. The perch is generally distributed over America, Europe, and northern Asia, frequenting still waters, and sometimes descending into brackish waters. Perch feed on smaller fish, insects, and worms. The female deposits her eggs, united by a viscous matter, in long bands, on aqua- tic plants. The Great Lakes in the United States abound in perch. PERCHLORIC ACID, (CIHO4) a colorless liquid obtained by distilling po- tassium perchlorate with sulphuric acid. "When brought in contact vdth organic substances, it explodes with great vio- lence. PERCUSSION, a method of physical examination, performed by gently strik- ing some part of the body — especially the chest or the abdomen — with the fingers or an instrument, to ascertain its healthy or diseased condition. Also in music, an ingenious contrivance whereby a hammer strikes the_ tongue of a reed and sets it in motion simultaneously with the admis- sion of air from the wind chest, thus se- curing the rapid speech of the reed. It is commonly used in cabinet organs, but has also been applied to the largest reeds of a church organ. PERCY, the name of a noble family who went to England with William the Conqueror, and whose head, William DE Percy, obtained 30 knights' fees in the N. of England. A descendant, also named William, who lived in the early part of the 12th century, left behind him two daughters, the elder of whom died childless, and the younger, Agnes, mar- ried Josceline of Lorain, brother-in-law of Henry I., who assumed the surname of his bride. His son, Richard de Percy, was one of the 25 barons who extorted Magna Charta from King John. His great-grandson, Henry, Lord Percy, was created Earl of Northumberland in 1337. He was marshal of England at the coronation of Richard II., against whom, however, he took up arms, and succeeded in placing the crown on the head of the Lancastrian aspirant, Henry IV. He took up arms against this king also, but his forces were beaten at Shrewsbury (1403), whei-e his son, Henry Percy (Hotspur), fell; and again at Bramham Moor (Feb., 1408), where he himself fell. His titles were forfeited, but were revived in favor of his grand- son Henry, who was appointed lord high constable of England, and who fell fight- ing in the Lancastrian cause at St. Al- bans (1453). For the same cause his son and successor shared the same fate at Towton (1461). The 4th earl was mur- dered during a popular rising, caused by his enforcing a subsidy ordered by the avaricious Henry VII. The 6th and 7th earls fell by the hands of the executioner in the reigns of Edward VI. and Eliza- beth respectively. The 8th died a violent death in the Tower, where he was con- fined on a charge of taking part in a plot in favor of Mary of Scotland. Alger- non, the 10th earl, took part in the civil war against Charles I., and afterward used all his influence to bring about the Restoration. Josceline, the 11th earl, died without male issue; his only daugh- ter married Charles, Duke of Somerset, and became the mother of Algernon, Duke of Somerset, who was created Earl of Northumberland, with remainder to his son-in-law, Sir Hugh Smithson, a Yorkshire baronet of good family. The latter succeeded to the earldom in 1750, assuming the name of Percy, and in 1766 received the ducal title. The present uuke thus represents the female line of the ancient historical house. PERCY, THOMAS, an English poet; born in Bridgenorth, Shropshire, April 13, 1728 or 1729; was a minister of the English Church; was made dean of Car- lisle in 1778, and bishop of Dromore in 1782. He made a collection of old popu- lar ballads and songs, published under the title "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry" (1765), which ultimately trans- formed English poetic style and matter. He vn-ote the ballad "The Hermit oi Warkworth," and the song "0 Nanny, Wilt Thou Gang wi' Me?" He died in Dromore, Ireland, Sept. 30, 1811. PERCY ANECDOTES, a collection of extraordinary popularity, published in monthly parts (1820-1823) by "Sholto