According to the legend, "Thundering Legion" was the popular name given to the twelfth legion of the Roman army after the defeat of the Quadi (174 A.D.). The legion being shut up in a defile and reduced to great straits for want of water, the Christian soldiers united in prayer; and, in answer to their prayers, not only was rain sent, which enabled the Romans to quench their thirst, but the rain was followed by a fierce storm of hail, with thunder and lightning, which threw the enemy into disorder and enabled the Romans to gain a complete victory.

Jacobites (from the Lat. Jacobus, "James") was the name given after the Revolution of 1688 to the adherents of the exiled Stuarts-James II., (1633-1701) and his son and two grandsons, James Francis Edward, the Chevalier de St. George (1688-1766), Charles Edward (1720-88), and Henry Benedict, Cardinal York (1725–1807). Those adherents were recruited from the Catholics, the Nonjurors, the High Churchmen and Tories generally, discontented and place-seeking Whigs, the Episcopalians and Highlanders of Scotland and the great body of the Irish people.

The Independents or Puritans in the reign of Charles I, were called "Roundheads." The royalists were nicknamed "The Cavaliers." The former wore their hair short, and dressed with great simplicity; the latter wore their hair flowing over their shoulders, and dressed showily and expensively. The two came into collision about the expulsion of the bishops from the House of Lords. The Roundheads insisted on their expulsion, and the severance of the clergy from all secular and state offices. It was in this brawl that the two parties gave each other the nicknames of Roundheads and Cavaliers.

The Doomsday Book, or "Domesday Book" (1085-1086), was a statistical survey of that part of England which was under the sway of William the Conqueror. So called, probably, because it was of authority in all dooms, i.e., judgments in disputed questions which afterwards arose on matters contained therein. It was anciently known as the "Liber de Wintonia" (Book of Winchester), because at one time it was preserved in the royal treasury of that city under three locks and keys. It was printed and published in 1783 in two folio volumes. In 1816 two supplementary volumes were published.

The "Ça ira" ("It will go on!")was a popular song which arose in the fever of the French Revolution. It receives its name from its refrain:

Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira!

Les aristocrates á la lanterne!

Like the Marseillaise, the Carmagnole and the Chant du Départ it became a French national song, and was styled the Carillon National. The words, which are worthless rubbish enough, were due to a street singer named Ladré; the melody to Bécourt, a stage-drummer. The song was prohibited by the Directory in 1797.

In England there were anciently two ordeals-one of water and the other of fire. The water ordeal was for the laity, and the fire ordeal for the nobility. If a noble was accused of a crime, he or his deputy was tried by ordeal thus: He had either to hold in his hand a piece of redhot iron, or had to walk blindfold and barefoot over nine red-hot ploughshares laid lengthwise at unequal distances. If he passed the ordeal unhurt, he was declared innocent; if not, he was accounted guilty. This method of punishment arose from the notion that "God would defend the right," even by miracle, if needs be.

Guillotine, the instrument of decapitation introduced during the French Revolution by the Convention, and named after its supposed inventor, Joseph Ignace Guillotin, a physician, who, however, was only the person who first proposed its adoption. It was erected and first employed to execute a highwayman on the Place de Grève, Paris, 25th April, 1792. It is composed of two upright posts, grooved on the inside, and connected at the top by a cross-beam. In these grooves a sharp iron blade, having its edge cut obliquely, descends by its own weight on the neck of the victim, who is bound to a board laid below.

Conspicuous among diplomatic assemblies was the Berlin Congress (1878), consisting of the representatives of the six great powers and Turkey, who met to discuss the Eastern question arising out of the Treaty of San Stefano previously made between Russia and Turkey. The Berlin Congress resulted in the signing of the Berlin Treaty. Representatives of the various countries besides the resident ambassadors: England, Lord Beaconsfield and the Marquis of Salisbury; Germany, Fürst Bismarck (president); Austria, Count Andrassy; France, M. Waddington; Russia, Prince Gortschakoff; Italy, Count Corti; Turkey, Caratheodori Pasha.

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The "Triple Alliance" is the name by which various treaties are known: (1) A treaty concluded in 1668 at the Hague between England, Holland, and Sweden, having for its object the protection of the Spanish Netherlands and the checking of the conquests of Louis XIV An alliance concluded in 1717 between Britain, Prance, and Holland against Spain. (3) Between Britain, Russia, and Austria in 1795. (4) Between Germany, Austria, and Italy, formed and confirmed between 1883 and 1887. This superseded the "alliance of the three emperors" (Dreikaiserbund) between William I. of Germany, Francis Joseph of Austria, and Alexander II. of Russia, 1872-84.

Among the Persians, the usual mode of punishment is the bastinado, from which men of the highest rank are not exempt. It is inflicted with very great severity, frequently so as to render the sufferer almost a cripple for life. The victim is thrown upon his face, each foot is passed through a loop of strong cord attached to a pole, which is raised horizontally by men, who, twisting it around, tighten the ropes and render the feet immovable. Two executioners then strike the soles alternately with switches of the pomegranate tree, well steeped in water to render them supple. A store of these switches is generally ready for use in the pond which adjoins the courtyards of the houses of the great. The punishment frequently lasts an hour, or until the unfortunate victim faints from pain.

The Iron Crown of Lombardy is not an iron crown, but a magnificent gold diadem, containing a narrow iron band about three-eighths of an inch broad, and one-tenth of an inch in thickness. This band was made out of a nail given to Constantine by his mother, and said to be one of the nails used in the crucifixion. The outer circlet of the crown is of beaten gold, set with large rubies, emeralds and sapphires, and the iron band is within this circlet. The first Lombard king crowned with it was Agilulph, at Milan, in 591. Charlemagne was crowned with it in 774; Friederich III., in 1452; Karl V., in 1530; and Napoleon I., May 23, 1805, crowned himself with it as "King of Italy" in Milan Cathedral. It was given up to Victor Emmanuel on the conclusion of peace with Austria in 1866. The motto on the crown is "God has given it me; beware who touches it."

U. I.-20

Filibuster is a corrupt spelling of the French flibustier, called in English a buccaneer. Filibusters were piratical seamen, resolved to force their way into the New World, jealously guarded by the Spanish, The most famous were Morgan (a Welshman), who took Panama in 1670; Pierre Legrande, of Dieppe. who, with twenty-eight men, took the ship of a Spanish admiral; Nau l'Olonnais, Michael le Basque, who made themselves masters of Vera Cruz in 1683; and Monbars the Exterminator, who, in 1683, took Vera Cruz. After the accession of William III. the French flibustiers and the English buccaneers were in deadly antagonism; but after the Treaty of Ryswick, in 1697, the piratical expeditions were put an end to.

The dancing mania is a form of epidemic disorder allied to hysteria, and evidently the result of imitative emotions, acting upon susceptible subjects, under the influence of a craving for sympathy or notoriety. There is little doubt that imposture entered to a considerable extent into all the epidemic forms of the dancing mania, which indeed were usually attended and followed by consequences that showed but too clearly the presence of impure motives; but there is also evidence that in many cases the convulsive movements were really beyond the control of the will, whatever may have been the original character of the motives that prompted them. Epidemics of this sort were common in Germany during the middle ages.

The Magna Charta was the great charter or document, founded mainly upon earlier Saxon charters, which the English barons compelled King John to sign at Runnymede (June 15, 1215). The most important provisions are: (1) no scutage or aid shall be raised, except in the case of the king's captivity, the knighting of his eldest son, or the marriage of his eldest daughter, except by the general council of the kingdom; (2) no freeman shall be imprisoned or disseised, outlawed or proceeded against other than by the legal judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land: (3) that right or justice shall not be sold, delayed or denied to any; (4) that the civil court shall be stationary, and not follow the king's person. Other provisions were directed against the abuse of the power of the king as lord paramount, the tyrrany of the forest laws, and grievances connected with feudal tenure. The Charter of Forests was granted at the same time. Both documents have been confirmed by Act of Parliament thirty-two times.

We give the name of autocracy (Gr., "sole mastery," "ruling by one's self") to that form of government in which the sovereign unites in himself the legislative and the executive powers of the state, and thus rules uncontrolled. Such a sovereign is therefore called an autocrat. Nearly all eastern governments are of this form. Among European rulers, the emperor of Russia alone bears the title of Autocrat, the name indicating his freedom from constitutional restraint of every kind. Such is the theory or principle of an autocracy, but it should be remembered that even the most rigorous autocrat must in practice have regard to the feelings and opinions of those about him. There are real though not formal checks. In autocratic states, palace or court revolutions are not infrequent. This has been a marked feature of Russian history, especially in the eighteenth century. These revolutions often result in the deposition and assassination of the sovereign. In point of fact, the peculiar feature of an autocracy is the absence of regular and constitutional limits; it is a strong form of "personal rule."

The Girondins, in English “The Girondists,” were the pure republican party in the National Assembly and National Convention of the first French Revolution. So called because it consisted mainly of the deputies of the Gironde. This party was distinguished for its oratory, and for a time dominated the assembly; but, horrified at the September massacres, they condemned the Reign of Terror, and tried to bring in more moderate measures. This drew upon them the hatred of the demagogues, and on May 31, 1793, some twenty-nine of the Girondists were arrested at the instigation of Robespierre, and on October 31 twenty of them were guillotined, amongst whom were Brissot, Gensonné, Vergniaud, Ducos and Sillery. Valazé stabbed himself while he stood in the dock.

The Diamond Necklace was presented through Madame de Lamotte by Cardinal de la Rohan, as he supposed, to Marie Antoinette. It was a swindling transaction of the Countess de Lamotte. The Cardinal de Rohan, a profligate churchman, entertained a love passion for the queen, and the Countess de Lamotte induced him to purchase for $425,000, a diamond necklace, made for Madame Dubarry, and present it to the queen. The cardinal handed the necklace to the countess, and when the time of payment arrived Boehmer, the jeweler, sent his bill into the queen, Marie Antoinette denied all knowledge of the matter, and in the trial which ensued it was proved that the countess had sold the necklace to an English jeweler and kept the money. The trial lasted nine months, and created immense scandal.

The Falk Laws, 1873, were so called from Dr. Falk, who insisted on the compulsory education of the clergy of Prussia. The laws are four in number: (1) The first was directed against the abuse of ecclesiastical discipline for political purposes, such as "boycotting," excommunication, and anathemas; (2) the next regulated the effect of secession from the Church on the obligation to meet certain taxes; (3) the third law was directed at the evasions by Roman Catholics of state education incumbent on all Germans; and (4) abolished the legality of papal tribunals, recognizing the judgments of the German ecclesiastical courts as the only authority on Church matters. In 1874 these four laws were supplemented by others to ensure more perfect obedience. Dr. Adalbert Falk was appointed by Prince Bismarck "Minister of Public Worship," 22 January, 1872. In 1872 Prince Bismarck carried through the Prussian Houses a bill to transfer the control of primary education from the Church to the State authorities.

Peine Forte et Dure, the "strong and sore torture," is a species of torture formerly applied by the law of England to those who, on being arraigned for felony, refused to plead, and stood mute, or who were guilty of equivalent contumacy. In the reign of Henry IV. it had become the practice to load the offender with iron weights, and thus press him to death; and til nearly the middle of the eighteenth century pressing to death in this horrible manner was the regular and lawful mode of punishing persons who stood mute on their arraignment for felony. As late as 1741 a person is said to have been pressed to death at the Cambridge assizes, the tying of his thumbs having been first tried without effect. A statute of 1772 virtually abolished the peine forte et dure, by enacting that any person who shall stand mute when arraigned for felony or piracy shall be convicted, and have the same judgment and execution awarded against him as if he had been convicted by verdict or confession. A later statute (1828) made standing mute equal to a plea of "not guilty."

The phrase "freedom of the city" is thus explained. In olden times each trade in a European city formed a close corporation, and no person could carry on business without belonging to the particular guild or association of those in the same trade. As a rule, a man, to become a member of a guild, had to serve seven years as an apprentice, several years as a journeyman and finally he was admitted to the craft, became a master and gained the freedom of his trade. As a special honor, the mayor of the town, with the heads of the guild, would confer the freedom of the city upon a distinguished guest. It was purely an honor. The guild system never was established here as abroad; but as the conferring of the freedom of the city was the highest honor which a city, as a city, could bestow, we have retained the custom of giving that freedom from time to time.

The great result of the Berlin Congress was the Treaty of Berlin (signed July 12, ratified August 3, 1878). Its principal articles constitituted the autonomous principality of Bulgaria and the new province of Eastern Roumelia; ceded certain parts of Armenia to Persia and Russia; secured the independence of Servia, Roumania and Montenegro; transferred Herzegovina and Bosnia to Austrian administration and occupation; retrocession to Russia of Bessarabia, Batoum (made a free port), Kars and Ardahan; Alasgird and Bayazid restored to Turkey, which undertook certain legal and religious reforms in Crete and its other dependencies. Greece also obtained an accesson of territory. The treaties of London and of Paris, when not modified by this treaty, to be maintained. England, by a separate agreement previously made with Turkey, obtained the administration of Cyprus.

The Star-chamber, a tribunal which met in the old council chamber of the palace of Westminster, and is said to have got its name from the roof of that apartment being decorated with gilt stars, or because in it "starres" or Jewish bonds had been kept. It is supposed to have originated in early times out of the exercise of jurisdiction by the king's council, whose powers in this respect had greatly declined when in 1487 Henry VII., anxious to repress the indolence and illegal exertions of powerful landowners, revived and remodelled them, or, according to some investigators, instituted what was practically an entirely new tribunal. The statute conferred on the Chancellor, the Treasurer and the Keeper of the Privy Seal, with the assistance of a bishop and a temporal Lord of the Council, Chief justices, or two other justices in their absence, a jurisdiction to punish, without a jury, the misdemeanors of sheriffs and juries, as well as riots and unlawful assemblies. Henry VIII. added to the other members of the court the President of the Council, and ultimately all the privy-councillors.

The rack, an instrument of torture, used for extracting confessions from actual or suspected criminals, consisted of an oblong frame of wood, with a windlass arrangement at each end, to which the sufferer was bound by cords attached to his arms and legs. The unfortunate being was then stretched or pulled till he made confession, or till his limbs were dislocated. The rack was known to the Romans in Cicero's time, and in the first and second centuries A.D. was applied to the early Christians. According to Coke, it was introduced into England by the Duke of Exeter, Constable of the Tower in 1447, whence it came to be called the "Duke of Exeter's daughter." Its use first became common in the time of Henry VIII., but could only take place by warrant of council, or under the sign