teacher was in my class for five years.
-- George Burns
The ranks of the infantry disappeared amid the smoke but their long- drawn shout and rapid musketry firing could still be heard. A few minutes later crowds of wounded men and stretcher-bearers came back from that direction. Projectiles began to fall still more frequently in the battery. Several men were lying about who had not been removed. Around the cannon the men moved still more briskly and busily. No one any longer took notice of Pierre. Once or twice he was shouted at for being in the way. The senior officer moved with big, rapid strides from one gun to another with a frowning face. The young officer, with his face still more flushed, commanded the men more scrupulously than ever. The soldiers handed up the charges, turned, loaded, and did their business with strained smartness. They gave little jumps as they walked, as though they were on springs.
This was a new aspect of the thing. His smartness of the morning had seemed to Tom a good joke before, and very ingenious. It merely looked mean and shabby now. He hung his head and could not think of anything to say for a moment. Then he said:
Marya Dmitrievna and the countess burst out laughing, and all the guests joined in. Everyone laughed, not at Marya Dmitrievna's answer but at the incredible boldness and smartness of this little girl who had dared to treat Marya Dmitrievna in this fashion.
Mr Brailsford was the secretary of the show at Birmingham, and he had classes for pointers, English and Irish setters, retrievers and Clumber spaniels. Another big success was scored, and the National Dog Show Society was established for the purpose of holding a show of sporting dogs in Birmingham every winter. Three years later proposals were made in _The Field_ to promote public trials of pointers and setters over game, but it was not until the 18th of April 1865 that a further step was taken in the recognition of the value of the dog by the promotion of working trials. They were held at Southill, near Bedford, on the estate of S. Whitbread, M.P., and they attracted great interest. The order of procedure at the early field trials was similar to what it is to-day, only the awards were given in accordance with a scale of points as follows: nose, 40; pace and range, 30; temperament, 10; staunchness before, 10; behind, 10. Style of working was also taken into consideration. In 1865 a show was held in Paris, and after the National Dog Club--not the Birmingham society--had failed, as the result of a disastrous show at the Crystal Palace, a further exhibition was arranged to be held in June 1870 under the management of G. Nutt and a very strong committee, among whom were many of the most noted owners of sporting dogs of that time. The details of the show were arranged by S. E. Shirley and J. H. Murchison, but the exhibition, although a most interesting one, was a failure, and the guarantors had to face a heavy loss. A second venture proved to be a little more encouraging, although again there was a loss; but in April 1873, the Kennel Club, which is now the governing body of the canine world, was founded by S. E. Shirley, who, after acting as its chairman for many years, was elected the president, and occupied that position until his death in March 1904. His successor was the duke of Connaught and Strathearn; the vice-presidents including the duke of Portland, Lord Algernon Gordon Lennox, J. H. Salter and H. Richards. The progress of the club has been remarkable, and that its formation did much to improve the conditions of the various breeds of dogs, to encourage their use in the field by the promotion of working trials, and to check abuses which were common with regard to the registration of pedigrees, &c., cannot be denied. The abolition of the cropping of the ears of Great Danes, bull terriers, black and tan terriers, white English terriers, Irish terriers and toy terriers, in 1889 gained the approval of all humane lovers of dogs, and although attempts have been made to induce the club to modify the rule which prohibits the exhibition of cropped dogs, the practice has not been revived; it is declared, however, that the toy terriers and white English terriers have lost such smartness by the retention of the ears that they are becoming extinct. The club has control over all the shows held in the United Kingdom, no fewer than 519 being held in 1905, the actual number of dogs which were entered at the leading fixtures being: Kennel Club show 1789, Cruft's 1768, Ladies' Kennel Association 1306, Manchester 1190, Edinburgh 896 and Birmingham 892. In 1906, however, no fewer than 1956 dogs were entered at the show of the Westminster Kennel Club, held in Madison Square Garden, New York; a fact proving that the show is as popular in America as it is in the United Kingdom, the home of the movement. The enormous sum of £1500 has been paid for a collie, and 1000 guineas for a bulldog, both show dogs pure and simple; while £500 is no uncommon price for a fox terrier. Excepting for greyhounds, however, high prices are rarely offered for sporting dogs, 300 guineas for the pointer "Coronation" and 200 guineas for the retriever "High Legh Blarney" being the best reported prices for gun dogs during the last few years. Entry: BOSTON
Young foxes can be tamed to a certain extent, and do not then emit the well-known odour to any great degree unless excited. The species cannot, however, be completely domesticated, and never displays the affectionate traits of the dog. It was long believed that foxes and dogs would never interbreed; but several instances of such unions have been recorded, although they are undoubtedly rare. When suddenly confronted in a situation where immediate escape is impossible, the fox, like the wolf, will not hesitate to resort to the death-feigning instinct. Smartness in avoiding traps is one of the most distinctive traits in the character of the species; but when a trap has once claimed its victim, and is consequently no longer dangerous, the fox is always ready to take advantage of the gratuitous meal. Entry: FOX
CHIC (a French word, either a shortened form of _chicane_, or derived from the Ger. _Schick_, tact or skill), a term properly used, in French artistic slang, of a work of art possessing brilliant but superficial technical ability, or of one executed without reference to a model or study of nature. The use of the word in French dates from the reign of Louis XIV. and then denoted a lawyer who was master of "chicane." "Chic," in general use, now connotes "smartness," in dress, speech, &c. Entry: CHIC
The method of delivering fire originally used by the Spaniards, in which each man in succession fired and fell back to the rear of the file to reload, required for its continued and exact performance a degree of coolness and individual smartness which was probably rarely attained in practice. This was not of serious moment when the "shot" were simple auxiliaries, but when under Gustavus the offensive idea came to the front, and the bullets of the infantry were expected to do something more than merely annoy the hostile pikemen, a more effective method had to be devised. First, the handiness of the musket was so far improved that one man could reload while five, instead of as formerly ten, fired. Then, as the enhanced rate of fire made the file-firing still more disorderly than before, two ranks and three were set to fire "volews" or "salvees" together, and before 1640 it had become the general custom for the musketeers to fire one or two volleys and then, along with the pikemen, to "fall on." It was of course no mean task to charge even a disordered mass of pikes with a short sword or a clubbed musket, and usually after a few minutes the combatants would drift apart and the musketeers on either side would keep up an irregular fire until the officers urged the whole forward for a second attempt. Entry: APPROACH
Improvisation is a gift which properly belongs to those languages in which a great variety of grammatical inflections, wedded to simplicity of rhythm and abundance of rhyme, enable a poet to slur over difficulties in such a way as to satisfy the ear of his audience. In ancient times the greater part of the popular poetry with which the leisure of listeners was beguiled was of this rhapsodical nature. But in modern Europe it was the troubadours, owing to the extreme flexibility of the languages of Provence, who distinguished themselves above all others as improvisatores. It is difficult to believe, however, that the elaborate compositions of these poets, which have come down to us, in which every exquisite artifice of versification is taken advantage of, can have been poured forth without premeditation. These poets, we must rather suppose, took a pride in the ostentation of a prodigious memory, most carefully trained, and poured forth in public what they had laboriously learned by heart in private. The Italians, however, in the 16th century, cultivated what seems to have been a genuine improvisation, in which the bards rhapsodized, not as they themselves pleased, but on subjects which were unexpected by them, and which were chosen on the spot by their patrons. Of these, the most extraordinary is said to have been Silvio Antoniano (1540-1603), who from the age of ten was able to pour out melodious verse on any subject which was suggested to him. He was brought to Rome, where successive popes so delighted in his talent that in 1598 he was made a cardinal. In the 17th century the celebrated Metastasio first attracted attention by his skill as an improvisatore. But he was excelled by Bernardino Perfetti (1681-1747), who was perhaps the most extraordinary genius of this class who has ever lived. He was seized, in his moments of composition, with a transport which transfigured his whole person, and under this excitement he poured forth verses in a miraculous flow. It was his custom to be attended by a guitarist, who played a recitative accompaniment. In this way Perfetti made a triumphal procession through the cities of Italy, ending up with the Capitol of Rome, where Pope Benedict XIII. crowned him with laurel, and created him a Roman citizen. One of the most remarkable improvisatores of modern times appeared in Sweden, in the person of Karl Mikael Bellman (1740-1795), who used to take up a position in the public gardens and parks of Stockholm, accompanying himself on a guitar, and treating metre and rhythm with a virtuosity and originality which place him among the leading poets of Swedish literature. In England, somewhat later, Theodore Hook (1788-1841) developed a surprising talent for this kind, but his verses were rarely of the serious or sentimental character of which we have hitherto spoken. Hook's animal spirits were unfortunately mingled with vulgarity, and his clever _jeux d'esprit_ had little but their smartness to recommend them. A similar talent, exercised in a somewhat more literary direction, made Joseph Méry (1798-1865) a delightful companion in the Parisian society of his day. It is rare indeed that the productions of the improvisatore, taken down in shorthand, and read in the cold light of criticism, are found to justify the impression which the author produced on his original audience. Imperfections of every kind become patent when we read these transcripts, and the reader cannot avoid perceiving weaknesses of style and grammar. The eye and voice of the improvisatore so hypnotize his auditors as to make them incapable of forming a sober judgment on matters of mere literature. Entry: IMPROVISATORE
GRIMALD (or GRIMOALD), NICHOLAS (1519-1562), English poet, was born in Huntingdonshire, the son probably of Giovanni Baptista Grimaldi, who had been a clerk in the service of Empson and Dudley in the reign of Henry VII. He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. degree in 1540. He then removed to Oxford, becoming a probationer-fellow of Merton College in 1541. In 1547 he was lecturing on rhetoric at Christ Church, and shortly afterwards became chaplain to Bishop Ridley, who, when he was in prison, desired Grimald to translate Laurentius Valla's book against the alleged _Donation of Constantine_, and the _De gestis Basiliensis Concilii_ of Aeneas Sylvius (Pius II.). His connexion with Ridley brought him under suspicion, and he was imprisoned in the Marshalsea. It is said that he escaped the penalties of heresy by recanting his errors, and was despised accordingly by his Protestant contemporaries. Grimald contributed to the original edition (June 1557) of _Songes and Sonettes_ (commonly known as _Tottel's Miscellany_), forty poems, only ten of which are retained in the second edition published in the next month. He translated (1553) Cicero's _De officiis as Marcus Tullius Ciceroes thre bokes of duties_ (2nd ed., 1556); a Latin paraphrase of Virgil's _Georgics_ (printed 1591) is attributed to him, but most of the works assigned to him by Bale are lost. Two Latin tragedies are extant; _Archipropheta sive Johannes Baptista_, printed at Cologne in 1548, probably performed at Oxford the year before, and _Christus redivivus_ (Cologne, 1543), edited by Prof. J. M. Hart (for the Modern Language Association of America, 1886, separately issued 1899). It cannot be determined whether Grimald was familiar with Buchanan's _Baptistes_ (1543), or with J. Schoeppe's _Johannes decollatus vel Ectrachelistes_ (1546). Grimald provides a purely romantic motive for the catastrophe in the passionate attachment of Herodias to Herod, and constantly resorts to lyrical methods. As a poet Grimald is memorable as the earliest follower of Surrey in the production of blank verse. He writes sometimes simply enough, as in the lines on his own childhood addressed to his mother, but in general his style is more artificial, and his metaphors more studied than is the case with the other contributors to the _Miscellany_. His classical reading shows itself in the comparative terseness and smartness of his verses. His epitaph was written by Barnabe Googe in May 1562. Entry: GRIMALD
EXMOUTH, EDWARD PELLEW, 1ST VISCOUNT (1757-1833), English admiral, was descended from a family which came originally from Normandy, but had for many centuries been settled in the west of Cornwall. He was born at Dover, on the 19th of April 1757. At the age of thirteen he entered the navy, and even then his smartness and activity, his feats of daring, and his spirit of resolute independence awakened remark, and pointed him out as one specially fitted to distinguish himself in his profession. He had, however, no opportunity of active service till 1776, when, at the battle of Lake Champlain, his gallantry, promptitude and skill, not only saved the "Carleton"--whose command had devolved upon him during the progress of the battle--from imminent danger, but enabled her to take a prominent part in sinking two of the enemy's ships. For his services on this occasion he obtained a lieutenant's commission, and the command of the schooner in which he had so bravely done his duty. The following year, in command of a brigade of seamen, he shared in the hardships and perils of the American campaign of General Burgoyne. In 1782, in command of the "Pelican," he attacked three French privateers inside the Île de Batz, and compelled them to run themselves on shore--a feat for which he was rewarded by the rank of post-captain. On the outbreak of the French War in 1793, he was appointed to the "Nymphe," a frigate of 36 guns; and, notwithstanding that for the sake of expedition she was manned chiefly by Cornish miners, he captured, after a desperate conflict, the French frigate "La Cléopâtre," a vessel of equal strength. For this act he obtained the honour of knighthood. In 1794 he received the command of the "Arethusa" (38), and in a fight with the French frigate squadron off the Île de Batz he compelled the "Pomona" (44) to surrender. The same year the western squadron was increased and its command divided, the second squadron being given to Sir Edward Pellew in the "Indefatigable" (44). While in command of this squadron he, on several occasions, performed acts of great personal daring; and for his bravery in boarding the wrecked transport "Dutton," and his promptitude and resolution in adopting measures so as to save the lives of all on board, he was in 1796 created a baronet. In 1798 he joined the channel fleet, and in command of the "Impétueux" (74) took part in several actions with great distinction. In 1802 Sir Edward Pellew was elected member of parliament for Dunstable, and during the time that he sat in the Commons he was a strenuous supporter of Pitt. In 1804 he was made rear-admiral of the blue, and appointed commander-in-chief in India, where, by his vigilance and rapidity of movement, he entirely cleared the seas of French cruisers, and secured complete protection to English commerce. He returned to England in 1809, and in 1810 was appointed commander-in-chief in the North Sea, and in 1811 commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. In 1814 he was created Baron Exmouth of Canonteign, and in the following year was made K.C.B., and a little later G.C.B. When the dey of Algiers, in 1816, violated the treaty for the abolition of slavery, Exmouth was directed to attack the town. Accordingly, on the 26th of August, he engaged the Algerine battery and fleet, and after a severe action of nine hours' duration, he set on fire the arsenal and every vessel of the enemy's fleet, and shattered the sea defences into ruins. At the close of the action the dey apologized for his conduct, and agreed to a renewal of the treaty, at the same time delivering up over three thousand persons of various nationalities who had been Algerine slaves. For this splendid victory Exmouth was advanced to the dignity of viscount. Shortly before his death, which took place on the 23rd of January 1833, he was made vice-admiral. Entry: EXMOUTH
If all these helpers come together, no matter how high the rank of the individual commanders, the senior officer of the fire brigade, even if he holds only non-commissioned officer's rank, should have control, and his authority be fully recognized. Unfortunately, there are not many countries where this is the case. The efficiency of outside help depends in the first instance on the clear definition of the duties and powers of all concerned--on the legal foundation, in fact; then on the organization, the theoretically as well as practically correct executive; and, last but by no means least, on the prestige, the social standing, the education of commanders and their ability to handle men. Among the rank and file of the brigade, clear-headedness, pluck, smartness and agility will be as invaluable as reckless dare-devilry; showy acrobatism, or an unhealthy ambition for public applause, will be dangerous. Entry: 1843