Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/703

 POLLOCK Feb. 25, 1692, died in Berlin, June 23, 1775. He was highly educated, and was attached successively to the service- of the Prussian kings, the dowager duchess of Orleans, the pope, the duke of Brunswick, the king of Spain, and various petty sovereigns, and final- ly became grand master of ceremonies under Frederick the Great. In 1744 Frederick gave him a whimsical parting testimonial, but sub- sequently employed him again in the subaltern office of chamberlain, and made him director of theatres and member of the academy. He changed his religion a number of times. Fred- erick wrote to Voltaire that " Pollnitz died as he had lived, swindling the very night before his decease ;" and Carlyle says that " Frederick was always rather kind to the poor old dog, though bantering him a good deal." He wrote exclusively in French, and acquired celebrity by his Memoires (3 vols., Liege, 1734), Nou- veaux memoires (2 vols., Amsterdam, 1737; republished together with the preceding work, 5 vols., London, 1747), and by other records of his experiences at the courts and of his adventures. His authorship of the anonymous La Saxe galante (1737) is contested. POLLOCK (a fish). See POLLACK. POLLOCK. I. Sir George, an English soldier, born in London in 1786, died at W aimer, Oct. 6, 1872. He was the son of a saddler, and was educated at Woolwich. In 1802 he entered the army of the East India company as a lieu- tenant of the Bengal artillery. In 1841 he was made major general, and in 1842 received the command of the British troops against the Afghans. He forced the Khyber pass at the end of March, and on Sept. 15, after several battles, became master of Cabool. In 1843 he was envoy in Oude. After his return to London he received the freedom of the city and other marks of distinction, and a pension of 1,000 from the East India company, of which he was a director for two years. He was brevetted field marshal in June, 1870, made constable of the tower of London in December, 1871, and a baronet in March, 1872. II. Sir Frederick, an English jurist, brother of . the preceding, born Sept. 23, 1783, died Aug. 23, 1870. He graduated at Cambridge in 1806, was called to the bar, and attained a wide reputation. He was attorney general in 1834- '5, and again from 1841 to 1844, and lord chief baron of the court of exchequer from 1844 to 1866, when he retired and was cre- ated a baronet. POLLOK, Robert, a Scottish author, born at Muirhouse, Eaglesham parish, Kenfrewshire, in 1799, died near Southampton, Sept. 15, 1827. He graduated at the university of Glasgow, studied theology there, and became a licentiate of the United Secession church in 1 827. While a student he published anonymously three prose tales, " Helen of the Glen," " Ralph Gemmell," and " The Persecuted Family," which were re- published collectively under the title "Tales of the Covenanters" (Edinburgh, 1833; new ed., POLO 683 1867). His reputation rests upon " The Course of Time," a long poem in blank verse (1827), which has enjoyed immense popularity, quite as much for its religious sentiments as for its poetical merits. Some portions of the closing books were written at the rate of 1,000 lines a week. The 78th thousand was issued in Edin- burgh in 1868, and more than 20 editions have appeared in the United States. Pollok was about to embark for Italy, for his health, when he died. His life was written by his brother (Edinburgh, 1843). POLLUX. See CASTOR AND POLLUX. POLLUX, Julius. I. A Greek grammarian and sophist, born at Naucratis in Egypt, flourished about A. D. 183. He studied at Athens, where subsequently he taught grammar and rhetoric. His only extant work is the Onomasticon, a dictionary of Greek words classified according to their subjects, with definitions and illustra- tive quotations from the ancient writers. The first edition was published in Venice (1502) ; subsequent editions are by Hemsterhuys, with a commentary (2 vols. fol., Amsterdam, 1706), Dindorf (5 vols. 8vo, Leipsic, 1824), and Bek- ker (Berlin, 1846). Kirchhoff's dissertation on Pollux (Berlin, 1874) is valuable. II. A Byzantine author, who wrote a universal his- tory, beginning with the creation of the world, and extending to the reign of Valens; one manuscript is said to continue the narration to the death of Romanus II. (963). It is a compilation, and is devoted chiefly to ecclesi- astical history. There are editions by Bian- coni (fol., 1779) and Hardt (8vo, 1792). POLO, Marco, a Venetian traveller, born about 1254, died about 1324. His father Nicol6 and his uncle Maffeo sailed shortly before Marco's birth on a trading voyage to Constantinople, there exchanged their merchandise for jewels, crossed the Black sea to the Crimea, and trav- elled overland to Bokhara, where they passed several years. Thence they went to Cathay, where Kublai Khan treated them with great honor, and intrusted them with an embassy to the pope. Reaching Italy after 19 years' ab- sence, they found the papal chair vacant, and after waiting two years for a new pontiff to be chosen, they set out for the East again in 1271, accompanied by Marco. They passed through Palestine, and at Ptolemais (St. Jean d'Acre) met the newly elected pope, Gregory X., who gave them presents and letters for the khan. Traversing the northern part of Persia, they journeyed by the city of Balkh and visited many parts of Tartary; but as they followed no direct track, it is impossible to describe their route. In Badakhshan Marco fell sick, and the party were detained a year. Resuming their journey toward the north- east, they proceeded to Kasbgar, Yarkand, and Khoten, and reached the city of Lop or Lok on the borders of a great desert of the same name (the desert of Gobi). Cross- ing this desert, they arrived at Shatchen in Tangut, travelled to the city of Karakorum,