strong wooden span bridge placed horizontally above the strings at about two-fifths of the length from the front. On the point of the arm is the name of the note, and behind this the felt ledge struck by the fist. Two belly bridges and two wrest-plank bridges, one set for each octave, determine the vibrating length of the strings, and the belly bridge, as in other stringed instruments, is the medium through which the vibrations of the strings are communicated to the soundboard. The arrangement of pegs and wrest-pins is much the same as on the piano.
The realism demanded by modern dramatic music taxes the resources of the orchestra to the utmost when the composer aims at reproducing on the stage the effect of church bells, as, for instance, in the Golden Legend, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Rienzi and Parsifal. The most serious difficulty of all arose in the last-mentioned drama, where the solemnity of the scene and its deep religious significance demand a corresponding atmosphere on the stage. Real church bells for the notes Wagner has scored in the familiar chime would overpower the orchestra. All substitutes for bells were tried in vain; no other instrument, leaving aside the question of pitch, gave a tone in the least similar to that of the bell. Independently of the rich harmonics composing the clang, the bell has two distinct simultaneous notes, first the tap tone, which gives the pitch, and the hum tone or lower accompanying note. On the interval separating the hum from the tap tone depend the dignity and beauty of the bell tone and the emotional atmosphere produced. A stringed instrument, similar to the one here described but with four notes only, was used at Bayreuth for the first performance of Parsifal, and with it tam-tams or gongs, but after many trials the following combination was adopted as the best makeshift; (1) the stringed instrument with four keys; (2) four tam-tams or gongs tuned to the pitch of the four notes composing the chime; (3) a bass-tuba, which plays the notes staccato in quavers to help make them more distinct; (4) a fifth tam-tam, on which a roll is executed with a drumstick.
The special peal of hemispherical bells constructed for Sir A. Sullivan’s Golden Legend is the only other successful substitute known to the writer; the lowest of these bells is a minor tenth higher than the lowest note required for Parsifal, and the aggregate weight of the four bells is 11 cwt. The bells are struck with mallets and have both tap and hum tone. (K. S.)
PARSIMONY, LAW OF (Lat. parsimonia, from parcere, to save), the name given to William of Occam’s principle “Entia non sunt multiplicand praeter necessitatem,” i.e. that it is scientifically unsound to set up more than one hypothesis at once to explain a phenomenon. This principle is known as “Occam’s razor” (see Occam, William of).
PARSLEY, a hardy biennial herb known botanically as
Petroselinum sativum (natural order Umbelliferae), the leaves of which are much used for garnishing and flavouring. It occurs as a garden escape in waste places in Britain and it is doubtful if it is known anywhere as a truly wild plant; A. de Candolle, however (Origin of Cultivated Plants) considers it to be wild in the Mediterranean region. It grows best in a partially shaded
position, in good soil of considerable depth and not too light; a thick dressing of manure should be given before sowing. For a continuous supply three sowings should be made, as early in February as the weather permits, in April or early in May and in July—the last for the winter supply in a sheltered position with southern exposure. Sow thinly in drills from 12 to 15 in.
apart and about 1 in. deep; thin out to 3 in. and finally to 6 in. each. In winter the plants should be protected by frames or hand-glasses. The curled and mossy-leaved varieties are
preferable. The Hamburg or turnip-rooted variety is grown for
the root, which is cut up and used for flavouring.
PARSNIP, botanically known as Pastinaca sativa (or Peucedanum sativum), a member of the natural order Umbelliferae, found wild in roadsides and waste places in England and throughout Europe and temperate Asia, and as an introduced plant in North America. It has been cultivated since the time of the Romans for the sake of its long fleshy whitish root, which has a peculiar but agreeable flavour. It succeeds best on a free sandy loam, which should be trenched and manured in the previous
autumn, the manure being well buried. The seed should be
sown thinly in March, in rows 15 to 18 in. apart, and finally thinned out to 1 ft. apart. The leaves will decay in October or November, when a portion of the roots may be taken up and
stored in dryish sand for immediate use, the rest being left in the
ground, to be taken up as required, but the whole should be
removed by February to a dry cool place, or they will begin to
grow. The best sorts are the Hollow-crowned, the Maltese and
the Student. Dusting the ground with soot when sowing the
seed and again when the leaves appear will keep the plants free
from pests.
PARSON, a technical term in English law for the clergyman of the parish. It is a corruption of persona, the parson being, as it were, the persona ecclesiae, or representative of the Church in the parish. Parson imparsonee (persona impersonata) is he that as
rector is in possession of a church parochial, and of whom the church is full, whether it be preventative or impropriate (Coke upon Littleton, 300 b). The word parson is properly used only
of a rector. A parson must be in holy orders; hence a lay
rector could not be called a parson. There are four requisites
to the appointment of a parson, viz. holy orders, presentation,
institution and induction. The parson is tenant for life of the
parsonage house, the glebe, the tithes and other dues, so far
as they are not appropriated.
PARSONS (or Persons), ROBERT (1546–1610), English Jesuit and political agitator, son of a blacksmith, was born at Nether Stowey, Somerset, on the 24th of June 1546. The vicar of the parish gave him instruction and procured his entrance in 1563 as an exhibitioner to Balliol College, Oxford. He graduated B.A. in 1568, and M.A. in 1572. He was fellow, bursar and dean of his college, but in 1574 he resigned or was dismissed his fellowship and offices, for reasons which have been disputed, some alleging improprieties of conduct, and others suspected disloyalty. Soon after his resignation he went to London, and thence in June to Louvain, where he entered the Roman Catholic Church and spent some time in the company of Father William Good, a Jesuit. In July 1575 he entered the Jesuit Society at Rome. In 1580 he was selected, along with Edmund Campion, a former associate at Oxford, and others, to undertake a secret religious and political mission to England. The two emissaries engaged in political intrigue in England and on the Continent. In 1581 Campion was arrested, but Parsons made his escape to Rouen, whence he returned to Rome, where he continued to direct the English mission. In 1588 he went to Spain, where he remained for nine years, founding seminaries for the training of English priests at Valladolid, Lucar, Seville, Lisbon and St Omer. On the death of Cardinal Allen in 1594 he made strenuous efforts to be appointed his successor. He failed in this, but was made rector of the English college at Rome in 1597, and died there on the 18th of April 1610.
Parsons was the author of over 30 polemical writings, mostly tracts. Among the more important are Certayne Reasons why Catholiques refuse to goe to Church (Douai, 1580), A Christian Directorie guiding Men to their Saluation (London, 1583–1591, 2 parts), A Conference about the Next Succession to the Crowne of Ingland (1594), Treatise of the Three Conversions of England (1603–1604, 3 parts), an answer to Foxe’s Acts and Monuments. For portrait, see Gentleman’s Magazine, lxiv.
PARSONS, THEOPHILUS (1750–1813), American jurist, was born in Byfield, Massachusetts, on the 24th of February 1750, the son of a clergyman. He graduated from Harvard College in 1769, was a schoolmaster at Falmouth (now Portland), Maine, in 1770–1773, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1774. In 1800 he removed to Boston. He was chief justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts from 1806 until his death in Boston on the 30th of October 1813. In politics he took an active part as one of the Federalist leaders in the state. He was a member of the Essex County convention of 1778, called to protest against the proposed state constitution, and as a member of the “Essex Junto” was probably the author of The Essex
