Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/767

 POSEIDON POSEIDON. See NEPTUNE. POSEJV. I. An E. province of Prussia, bound- ed E. by Russian Poland, and bordering on the Erovinces of West Prussia, Brandenburg, and ilesia; area, 11,178 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 1,583,843, including 1,009,491 Catholics, 511,- 292 Protestants, and 61,982 Jews. It is di- vided into the districts of Posen and Bromberg. The German element in the population is gain- ing ground, the Poles in the former district being in 1871 reduced to 59 per cent, and in the latter to 47 per cent. The country is level and has many lakes and marshes. The main rivers are the Vistula, Warthe or Warta, Netze, and Brahe. Posen is one of the most important ag- ricultural regions of Prussia, and also exports much timber. There are manufactories of lin- ens, woollens, and other goods. The first par- tition of Poland (1772) gave to Prussia the Netze district of Great Poland, including all the territory of Posen N. of the Netze. The further spoliation of Poland gave to Prussia the rest of the province, which formed a part of what was then named South Prussia. In 1807 Napoleon annexed Posen to the duchy of Warsaw. The treaty of Vienna in 1815 restored it to Prussia as a grand duchy. A Polish outbreak in 1846 was easily suppressed, and in 1848 the insurgents under Mieroslawski were disarmed after a severe struggle. II. A city (Pol. Poznan), capital of the province and of the district of Posen, on the Warthe, in a sandy region, 145 m. E. of Berlin ; pop. in 1871, 56,374. The fortifications, begun in 1827, are very strong, and consist of outer works and three forts, one a citadel. The principal public buildings are the fine old town hall, the church of St. Stanislas, the cathedral with a rich chapel containing statues by Rauch, and the palace of the archbishop of Gnesen and Posen. There are a Catholic and a Protestant gymnasium and several seminaries, and the city is one of the centres of Polish literature. Grain, timber, wool, cloth, and linen are the chief articles of trade. Furniture and other articles are manu- factured. Posen is of great antiquity. The see dates from the 10th century. The monarchs of Poland resided here till the end of the 13th century. In the middle ages it belonged to the Hanseatic league. Subsequently it de- clined until the present century, when the Prussians considerably enlarged and embel- lished the town. POSEY, the S. W. county of Indiana, separated from Kentucky by the Ohio river and from Illinois by the Wabash ; area, about 400 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 19,185. It has an undulating surface, a very fertile soil, composed in part of extremely rich bottom lands, and an abun- dance of coal. It is intersected by the St. Louis and Southeastern railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 393,930 bushels of wheat, 931,936 of Indian corn, 80,633 of oats, 38,321 of barley, 30,041 of potatoes, 118,408 Ibs. of butter, 23,748 of wool, 56,450 of tobac- co, and 7,027 tons of hay. There were 5,383 POST T47 horses, 1,052 mules and asses, 4,101 milch cows, 5,517 other cattle, 9,422 sheep, and 27,157 swine; 13 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 19 of cooperage, 6 of furniture, 7 of saddlery and harness, 1 of woollens, 1 dis- tillery, 13 flour mills, and 4 saw mills. Capi- tal, Mount Vernon. POSEY, Thomas, an American general, born on the banks of the Potomac, Va., July 9, 1750, died in Shawneetown, 111., March 19, 1818. In 1774 he took part in Lord Dunmore's ex- pedition against the Indians, and participated in the battle at Point Pleasant, Oct. 10. In 1775 he was a captain in the 7th Virginia regi- ment, aided in defeating Dunmore at Gwyn's island, and afterward joined Washington's army. In 1777, as a captain in Col. Morgan's rifle corps, he distinguished himself in the ac- tions of Piscatancey, Bemus Heights, and Still- water. In 1778 he was temporarily in com- mand, and in October led his corps in an expe- dition against the Indians. In 1779 he took command of the llth Virginia regiment, and afterward of a battery under Gen. Wayne. He took part in the assault on Stony Point, was present at the surrender of Yorktown, and served in Georgia till the conclusion of peace, when he removed to Spottsylvania co., Va. In 1793 he was appointed brigadier gen- eral in Wayne's army for the protection of settlers in the Northwestern territory. He afterward removed to Kentucky, where he was elected to the state senate, of which from Nov. 4, 1805, to Nov. 3, 1806, he was presiding officer, and acting lieutenant governor of the state. In 1812 he removed to Louisiana and was elected United States senator. From 1813 to 1816 he was governor of Indiana. POSIDONIUS, a Greek stoic philosopher, born in Apamea in Syria, probably about 135 B. 0., died in Rome about 51. He studied at Athens under Pansetius, and settled in Rhodes, where he became the head of the stoic school, was elected prytanis, and in 86 was sent as am- bassador to Rome. He gave instruction to Cicero, and was on friendly terms with Pom- pey. None of his works exist entire ; the frag- ments were published by Jacobus Bake (Posido- nii Rhodii Reliquiae Doctrines, Leyden, 1810). POSITIVISM, or Positive Philosophy. See COMTE. POST, a public establishment for the con- veyance of letters, newspapers, &c. The As- syrian and Persian monarchs had their posts placed at stations a day's journey from each other, with horses saddled, ready to carry with the utmost despatch the decrees of the despot, In the Roman empire couriers on swift horsea passed from hand to hand the imperial edicts to every province. Private letters were sent by slaves, or intrusted to casual opportunities. Charlemagne, -it is said, established stations for couriers, who delivered small packets, let- ters, and decrees, from the court to every part of the realm; but after his death these sta- tions were abandoned. In 1464 Louis XL re- vived the system of mounted posts, stationing