Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/274

* PONIATOWSKI. 234 PONT-A-MOUSSON. commanderin-iliiof of the army of the south In 179-> he .lcfeali-<l superior Kussiau forces, but PoniatowKki's uncle, Kin^' Stanislas, by joimng the confederation of Tarf;ovil/.a. put an en.l to the contest in 17!);i. The I'rince then resi-ned his command and went into volunlary exile, but returned in the following year to aid Kosciusicko. iiovv dictator, in his fruitless opposition to the third partition of Poland. On the I'loposal of Napoleon to reconstitute the Kingdom of Poland, Poniato«ski joined the French (1800) at the liead of a Polish force and did good service a-ainst the Russians. After the erection of the ijuchv of Warsaw (1807) Poniatowski was ap- pointed Jlinister of War. and in 1809, when the war between Fiance and Austria was resumed, he drove the Austrians out of Polish territory and overran a considerable part of Galicia. In 1812 he ioincd the French army destined to invade Russia, with a Polish force of 100,000 men. The greater part of his army was broken up into detachments, which were incorporated with the various French legions, and Poniatowski was left with not more than .30,000 men under his direct command. At the head of this division he distinf.mishe<l himself in the campaign, hut was so severelv injured at Smolensk during the retreat that he was obliged to return to War- saw in December. 1812. He rejoined the I'leiici army in the autumn of 1813 and fought with sueli remarkable valor during the first day of the battle of Udpzig (see Leipzig. Battles of) as to gain the title of Jlarshal of France. hen the French abandoned Leipzig, on October lOth. Poniatowski was left with the remnant of his Polish division to protect the retreat. Ihe only bridge across the Elster being wrecked through a mistaken order, lie attemiited to swim his horse across the river, and had reached the farther bank when he fell back exhausted into the flood. His body was recovered six days after, and was embalmed and carried to Warsaw, wheiice it was afterward removed to Cracow, and placed beside the ashes of Sobieski and Kosciuszko. — Pkince Joseph Poniatow.ski, a second cousin of the preceding, musical com- poser, author of Don ncsirlcrio and other operas, and several masses, was born in Rome, Febru- ary 21. ISlfi, and died in London, July 4, 1873. PONSARD, pON'sUr', FRAN901.S (1814-67). A French dramatist, leader of the 'School of Good Sense' in a reaction from the dramatic vagaries of Romanticism. lie was born June 1 ^1814. at Vienne. He studied law, but soon {.'live it up for letters, at first as a follower of Hugo, in which capacity he translated Ryron's Manfred (18.37). His reaction from Romanticism ^vas heralded by Liicrrcc (1843). which, aided by the genius of Rachel, achieved in 18.53 great iiopuTaritv. He fcdloweil this by Afpics de Miranie "(1840). Chnrhiltr Cordny (18.50). 77or- ace et Lydie (18.501. Vhfsse (1852), L'honnrtir ct Vargcnl, his best comedy (18.53), La houme (18.56)', Le lion amoiirciix (1866). and flalil/n (1867), but from 18:53 onward his reformed Classicism was superseded by the modern social drama inaugurated by Dumas the Younger and bis own former pupil. Augier. The Academy elected him a member in 18.5.5. He died in Paris July 13, 1867. L'honneur et Varqent still holds'the stage. His characterization in general is shallow and his situations are sentimental and romanesque, but his ver.->u is sonorous and his style clear. Ponsard's works were collected in 3 vols. (1876). PONS A'SINO'RXJM (Lat., asses' bridge). The name popularly t;iveii to the fifth proposi- tion of the first book of Euclid, from its sup- posed dilUculty to beginners. PONT (Kylpoxt. or Kynpoxt), Robkrt (1524-1000). A Scottish reformer, born at (or near) Cubross, Perlhshirc. He studied at Saint Leonard's College in Saint Andrews Uni- versity, was one of the committee appointed to revise the Book of Discipline (1.561), and. in 1502, became minister at Dunkeld. He became provost of Trinity College (n.'ar Edinbui;-h) in 1571, and in 1572", by cxcc])tion. a lord of session. In 1584 he protested against the acts of Par- liament resi)ecting the Kirk's jurisdiction, was thereupon deprived of his seat as lord of session, and lied to England. He was prominently ac- tive in the cooperation of the Kirk with the Crown in the sujijiression of Roman Catholicism, and was a member of various commissions ap- pointed to confer with James VI. His published writings include: Pai-vnlux Catcchisniiis (1573); A ew Treatise on the Uiiiht lleekoninii of Years and ges (1599) ; Dc Vnione Itritunniac (1604); and a transktion (1566) of the Helvetic Con- fession. His rendering of Pindar's Olympic Odes v:is not juinted. PONT, Timothy (c.1:560-c. 16.30). A Scottish topo 84) Hi pher. educated at Saint Andrews ( 1579- ,-,-,,. Ae was minister of Dunnet. Caithness, from 1601 until 1609. wdien he took up forfeited lands in Ulster. The result of his extensive travels through every district of his native land and the isles adjacent was the earliest Scottish atlas, which he did not live to com- plete His clear and faithful maps were first published in vol. v. of Bleau's Atlas (1668), and the originals are to be seen in the Advocates Librarv'; Endinburgh. In 1850 appeared The Topo(iraphieal Account of the District of Cun- ninriiidme. Aiirshire. compiled about the Year HUK) hji Mr. Tiwolhn I'oitt. PONTA DELGADA, ])An'ta delgu'da. The principal city of the Azores, situated on the south coast of the island of Saint Michaels (X«o Miyuel) (Map: Spain, B .5). It has » roadstead protected by a breakwater 2800 feet long, and an extensive commerce and shipping. Th^ chief exports are oranges, lemons, and other fruits, most of which are shipped to England. Population, in 1890. 16.767; in 1900, 17.67o. PONT-A-MOUSSON, ])oN't; moo'sOx'. A town in the Department of iMcurthe-et-Moselle, France 17 miles northwest oi N:iiicy by rail (Map- France, N 3). The Moselle Hows through the town, which is situated in a fruitful yal- lev The principal buildings are the fine Gothic Church of Saint IMartin, the sixtcenth-cpiitury Late Gothic Church of Saint Laurent, the hotel de ville, and a handsomely ornamented Renais- sance house, the last two on the triangular and arcaded Place Duroe. The town is domi- nated on the east by a hill 1010 feet high, crowned bv a ruined castle and the village ot Mousson. There are manufactures of pottery, woolens, plush, velvet, an.l beet «"?»'■• »™ ,f tensive iron foundries. Population, in 1901, l^r 847.
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