“It is an old saying,” replied the Abbé Huet, “Petaud being derived from the Latin _peto_, ‘I beg.’”--_Asylum Christi_, ii. _The court of King Pétaud_, a disorderly assembly, a place of utter confusion, a bear-garden. On n’y respecte rien, chacun y parle haut, Et c’est tout justement le cour du roi Pétaud. Molière _Tartuffe_, i. 1 (1664). Le cour du roi Pétaud, où chacun est maitre.--_French Proverb._ =Petella=, the waiting-woman of Rosalura and Lillia-Bianca, the two daughters of Nantolet.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Wild-goose Chase_ (1652). =Peter=, the stupid son of Solomon, butler of the Count Wintersen. He grotesquely parrots in an abridged form whatever his father says. Thus: _Sol._ “we are acquainted with the reverence due to exalted personages.” _Pet._ “Yes, we are acquainted with exalted personages.” Again: _Sol._ “Extremely sorry it is not in my power to entertain your lordship.” _Pet._ “Extremely sorry.” _Sol._ “Your lordship’s most obedient, humble, and devoted servant.” _Pet._ “Devoted servant.”--Benjamin Thompson, _The Stranger_ (1797). _Peter_, the pseudonym of John Gibson Lockhart, in a work entitled _Peter’s Letters to his Kinsfolk_ (1819). _Peter_ (_Lord_), the pope of Rome.--Dean Swift, _Tale of a Tub_ (1704). =Peter Botte=, a steep, almost perpendicular “mountain” in the Mauritius, more than 2800 feet in height. It is so called from Peter Botte, a Dutch sailor, who scaled it and fixed a flag on its summit, but lost his life in coming down. =Peter Parley=, the _nom de plume_ of Samuel G. Goodrich, an American, whose books for children had an enormous circulation in the middle of the nineteenth century (1793-1860). The name was pirated by numerous persons. Darton and Co., Simkins, Bogue, Tegg, Hodson, Clements, etc., brought out books under the name, but not written by S. G. Goodrich. =Peter Peebles=, a litigious, hard-hearted drunkard, noted for his lawsuit.--Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.). =Peter Pindar=, the pseudonym of Dr. John Wolcot, of Dodbrooke, Devonshire (1738-1819). =Peter Plymley’s Letters=, attributed to the Rev. Sydney Smith (1769-1845). =Peter Porcupine=, William Cobbett, when he was a tory. He brought out _Peter Porcupine’s Gazette_, _The Porcupine Papers_, etc. (1762-1835). =Peter Wilkins=, the hero of a tale of adventures, by Robert Pultock, of Clifford’s Inn. His “flying woman” (gawreys) suggested to Southey the “glendoveer” in _The Curse of Kehama_. =Peter of Provence and the Fair Magalo´na=, the chief characters of a French romance so called. Peter comes into possession of Merlin’s wooden horse. =Peter the Great of Egypt=, Mehemet Ali (1768-1848.[TN-86] =Peter the Hermit=, a gentleman of Amiens, who renounced the military life for the religious. He preached up the first crusade, and put himself at the head of 100,000 men, all of whom, except a few stragglers, perished at Nicea.