PERCIVAL 
 
 
    Pepita, Spanish beauty of whom the 
 poet sings:                0 
       I, who dwell over the way 
       Watch where Pepita is hid, 
       Safe from the glare of the day, 
       Like an eye under its lid; 
       Over and over I say- 
       Name like the song of a bird, 
       Melody shut in a word- 
                "Pepita I " 
   Frank Dempster Sherman, Madrigals and 
 Catches (1887). 
 
   Pepperpot (Sir Peter), a West Indian 
 epicure, immensely rich, conceited and 
 irritable.-Foote, The Patron (1764). 
 
   Peppers. (See WHITE HORSE OF THE 
 PEPPERS.) 
 
   Peps (Dr Parker), a court physician 
 who attended the first Mrs. Dombey on 
 her death-bed. Dr. Peps always gave his 
 patients (by mistake, of course), a title, 
 to impress them with the idea that his 
 practice was exclusively confined to the 
 upper ten thousand.-C. Dickens, Dombey 
 and Son (1846). 
 
   Perceforest (King), the hero of a prose 
 romance "in Greek." The MS. is said to 
 have been found by Count William of 
 Hainault in a cabinet at "Burtimer" Ab- 
 bey, on the Humber; and in the same 
 cabinet was deposited a crown, which the 
 count sent to King Edward. The MS. 
 was turned into Latin by St. Landelain, 
 and thence into French under the title of 
 La Tres Elegante Deliceux Melliflue et Tres 
 Plaisante Hystoire du Tres Noble Boy 
 Perceforest (printed at Paris in 1528). 
   (Of course, this pretended discovery is 
.only an invention. An analysis of the 
romance is given in Dunlop's History of 
Fiction.) 
   He was called "Perceforest," because 
 he dared to pierce, almost .alone, an en- 
 
 
chanted forest, where women and children 
were most evilly treated. Charles IX., of 
France, was especially fond of this ro- 
mance. 
 
   Perch, messenger in the house of Mr. 
Dombey, merchant, whom he adored, and 
plainly showed by his manner to the 
great man: "You are the light of my 
eyes," "You are the breath of my soul." 
-C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846). 
 
  Perche Notary (A), a lawyer who sets 
people together by the ears, one who 
makes more quarrels than contracts. The 
French proverb is, Notaire du Perche, qui 
passe plus djchalliers que de contrat. 
  Le Perche, qui se trouve partag6 entre les 
d~partements de 1'Orne et d'Eure-et-Loir, est un 
contr~e fort bois~e, dans laquelle la plupart des 
champs sont entourms de hales dans lesquelles 
sont m6nag6es certaines ouvertures propres A 
donner passage aux pi~tons seulement, et que 
l'on nomme 6challiers.-Hilaire le Gai. 
 
  Percinet, a fairy prince, in love with 
Graciosa. The prince succeeds in thwart- 
ing the malicious designs of Grognon, the 
step-mother of the lovely princess.-Per- 
cinet and Graciosa (a fairy tale). 
 
  Percival (Sir), the third son of Sir 
Pellinore, king of Wales. His brothers 
were Sir Aglavale and Sir Lamorake 
Dornar, usually called Sir Lamorake de 
Galis (Wales). Sir Tor was his half- 
brother. Sir Percival caught a sight of 
the Holy Graal after his combat with Sir 
Ector de Marns (brother of Sir Launcelot), 
and both were miraculously healed by it. 
Cr~tien de Troyes wrote the Roman de 
Perceval (before 1200), and Menessier pro- 
duced the same story in a metrical form. 
(See PARzIvAL.) 
  Sir Percivale had a glimmering of the Sane- 
greall and of the maiden that bare it, for he was 
 
 
PEPITA 
 
 
184