OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/White, Robert (1645-1703)

​WHITE, ROBERT (1645–1703), draughtsman and engraver, was born in London in 1645, and became a pupil of David Loggan [q. v.] He was the most esteemed and industrious portrait engraver of his time, and his plates, which number about four hundred, comprise most of the public and literary characters of the period. A large proportion of them were executed ad vivum, the rest from pictures by Lely, Kneller, Riley, Beale, and others, and they have always been greatly valued for their accuracy as likenesses. Of the plates engraved by White from his own drawings the best are the portraits of Prince George of Denmark, the Earl of Athlone, the Duke of Leeds, and the Earl of Seaforth; and the groups of the seven bishops, the bishops' council, the lords justices of England, and the Portsmouth captains who declared for King William. He engraved the plates to Sandford's account of the funeral of the Duke of Albemarle, 1670; the first Oxford 'Almanac,' 1674; a set of portraits of members of the Rawdon family; the plates to Gwillim's 'Heraldry' and Burnet's 'History of the Reformation,' and many book-titles and frontispieces. A few scarce mezzotint portraits of noblemen bear White's name as the publisher, and are assumed to have been executed by him. White was celebrated for his original portraits, which he drew in pencil on vellum with great delicacy and finish, in the manner of Loggan. He died in reduced circumstances in Bloomsbury Market, where he had long resided, in November 1703. A portrait of White was engraved by W. H. Worthington for Wornum's edition of Walpole's ' Anecdotes.'
George White (1684?-1732), mezzotint engraver, son of Robert, was born about 1684, and instructed by his father. He completed some of the plates left unfinished by the latter, and himself executed a few in the line manner; but, being deficient in industry, he at an early period turned to the less laborious method of mezzotint. A portrait of Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer, which he executed in this style from a painting by Kneller, was greatly admired and brought him much employment. He became the ablest mezzotint engraver that had yet appeared in England, and was the first to make use of the etched line to strengthen the work. White's plates number about sixty, of which the best are the portraits of William Dobson, George Hooper, bishop of St. Asaph, Tycho Wing, and 'Old' Parr. White, like his father, drew portraits in pencil on vellum with great success; he also practised in crayons, and latterly took to painting in oils. He died at his house in Bloomsbury on 27 May 1732. His plate of the 'Laughing Boy' after Hals, a masterly work, was published after his death, with laudatory verses.
F. M. O'D.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, John (1811-1871)

​WOOD, JOHN (1811–1871), geographer, born in 1811, entered the East India Company's naval service in 1826 and rose to the rank of lieutenant. At the close of 1835, through the exertions of government, the Indus was opened for commerce. The first to take advantage of this concession was Aga Mohammed Rahim, a Persian merchant of Bombay, who purchased a steamer for the navigation of the river. At his request, and with the permission of government, Wood took command of the vessel, named the Indus, which started on 31 Oct. 1835, and returned to Bombay in February 1836, leaving him on the banks of the river to ascertain the area of the annual inundation and the rise and fall of the tide. On the conclusion of these observations he returned to Bombay, and on 9 Nov. was appointed an assistant to the commercial mission to Afghanistan under the command of (Sir) Alexander Burnes [q. v.] Wood drew up a report of the geography of the Kábul Valley and discovered the source of the Oxus. In October 1838 Burnes mentioned Wood's services to the government with the highest praise. His industry was cut short by the differences which arose between Burnes and the governor-general, George Eden, earl of Auckland [q. v.], and Wood accompanied his chief into retirement.
​After leaving the service with the rank of captain, Wood emigrated to New Zealand in connection with the newly formed New Zealand Company, but, finding he had overestimated the advantages to be derived from association with the undertaking, he returned to Europe. Between 1843 and 1849 his time was chiefly given to mercantile pursuits. In 1849 Sir Charles James Napier [q. v.] wished Wood to accompany him to the Punjaub, but the court of directors refused their consent. Disappointed in this project, Wood emigrated to Victoria in 1852, returning to Europe in 1857, and in the following year he proceeded to Sind as manager of the Oriental Inland Steam Navigation Company. The project was a failure, and, the shareholders refusing to adopt Wood's suggestions for sending vessels suitable for the rapid current of the Indus, the concern was wound up. In 1861 (Sir) William Patrick Andrew, the projector of railway and river communication in western India, secured Wood's services for the Indus steam flotilla, which he continued to superintend until his death in Sind on 13 Nov. 1871. He was married, and left issue.
Wood was the author of: 1. ‘A Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Source of the Oxus,’ London, 1841, 8vo; new edit. by his son, Alexander Wood, London, 1872, 8vo. 2. ‘Twelve Months in Wellington,’ London, 1843, 12mo. 3. ‘New Zealand and its Claimants,’ London, 1845, 8vo.
E. I. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, John Muir

​WOOD, JOHN MUIR (1805–1892), editor of the ‘Songs of Scotland,’ son of Andrew Wood and Jacobina Ferrier, was born at Edinburgh on 31 July 1805. His father was the founder of the firm of Wood & Co., music publishers. Young Wood, after at​tending successively Edinburgh high school and college, began to study music at Edinburgh under Kalkbrenner. Afterwards he was sent to Paris for two years to study under Pixis, and from Paris he proceeded to Vienna to study for two years under Czerny. About 1828 he began his career at Edinburgh as a teacher of music, and was a remarkably good pianist and sight-reader. He then spent several years in London, where he occupied himself mostly in literary pursuits. His half-brother George, afterwards senior partner of Messrs. Cramer & Co. (he died in 1893), had completed an apprenticeship with Messrs. Blackwood, and joined John in the business of music-sellers in Edinburgh and afterwards in Glasgow. John managed the Glasgow establishment. He was associated with Chopin (1848), Grisi, and other great artists who visited Scotland on concert-giving enterprises (cf. Nieck, Biography). He also helped to organise the lecture tours of Thackeray and Dickens. In conjunction with George Farquhar Graham [q. v.], the nominal editor, he brought out in 1849 an important collection of the ‘Songs of Scotland,’ with critical notices, in three volumes. The materials were collected by Wood. The airs were harmonised by Edinburgh musicians, including Thomas Molleson Mudie [q. v.], Finlay Dun [q. v.], John Thomas Surenne [q. v.], and Graham; Wood spared neither time nor trouble in tracing old airs to their earliest appearance in print, deciphering tablature and comparing versions. The work was reissued in an enlarged form in 1887, with a dedication to the queen, and the arrangements of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Sir George Alexander Macfarren [q. v.], and others. Wood's revisions and additions to the notes in the latest edition contain a mass of information regarding each air. In 1876 Wood edited and published ‘The Scottish Monthly Musical Times,’ which came to an end in 1878. To Grove's ‘Dictionary of Music and Musicians’ he contributed the articles on ‘Scottish Music,’ ‘The Coronach,’ ‘The Scotch Snap,’ and ‘The Skene Manuscript’ (preserved in the Advocates' Library). He was an extremely good linguist, writing and speaking fluently French, German, and Italian; and, having resided at Frankfort with the celebrated Polish violinist Lipinski, he acquired from him a knowledge of Polish which enabled him to converse with Chopin on his visit to Scotland. Wood, during his residence in Glasgow, was the leader of musical enterprise there, and before the days of the Orchestral Society he brought Hallé's band to give concerts. He died at Armadale, Cove, on 25 June 1892, and was buried in the Glasgow necropolis. On 22 Jan. 1851 Wood married Helen Kemlo Stephen. She survived him, with three sons and five daughters.
G. S-h.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, John (1801-1870)

​WOOD, JOHN (1801–1870), painter, son of a drawing-master, was born in London on 29 June 1801. He studied in Sass's school and at the Royal Academy, where in 1825 he gained the gold medal for painting. In the two previous years he had exhibited ‘Adam and Eve lamenting over the Body of Abel,’ and ‘Michael contending with Satan,’ and in 1826 he sent ‘Psyche wafted by the Zephyrs.’ These and other works displayed unusual powers of invention and design, and gained for him a great temporary reputation. In 1834 he competed successfully for the commission for the altar-piece of St. James's, Bermondsey, and in 1836 gained a prize at Manchester for his ‘Elizabeth in the Tower.’ During the latter part of his career he painted chiefly scripture subjects and portraits, which he exhibited largely at the Royal Academy and British Institution down to 1862. His portraits of Sir Robert Peel, Earl Grey, John Britton (in the National Portrait Gallery), and others have been engraved, as well as several of his fancy subjects. Wood died on 19 April 1870.
[Art Journal, 1870; Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Graves's Dict. of Artists, 1760–1893.]
F. M. O'D.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, John (fl.1596)

​WOOD, JOHN (fl. 1596), medical writer, was the author of ‘Practicæ Medicinæ Liber, vocatus Amalgama, quo artificiosa methodo, et incredibili mortales sanandi studio, sine ​inuidia, causæ, symptomata, et remediorum præsidia præcipuorum capitis morborum exponuntur. Authore Iohanne Wood, generoso artis Medicinæ studioso, et professore,’ which was published in London in quarto in 1596 by Humfrey Hooper. The treatise, which has no preface nor dedication, is devoted entirely to diseases and disorders affecting the head. In 1602 the unsold copies of the work were reissued by John Bayly with a new title-page, in which the authorship was ascribed to D. Johnson. It has been supposed that Johnson was a pseudonym of Wood, but it is more probable that the authorship was falsely claimed by Johnson after Wood's death.
E. I. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, John (fl.1482)

​WOOD or WODE, JOHN (fl. 1482), speaker of the House of Commons, is said to have been the son of John Wood or Wode, a burgess for Horsham, Sussex, in 1414, and to have belonged to a family that owned much property in Surrey and Sussex. He was probably the sheriff of those counties of the same name in 1476. A John Wood, described as ‘armiger,’ was returned for Midhurst, Sussex, in 1467; another, or the same, described as ‘senior’ for Sussex in 1472, and John Wood, ‘armiger,’ sat for Surrey in 1477–8. The returns for the parliament of 1482 are lost; it met on 20 Jan., and Wood was chosen speaker.
W. H.
# Distances of the Stars

* Search for titles containing or beginning with: "Distances of the Stars."
* sister projects: Wikidata item.
This is a disambiguation page. It lists works that share the same title. If an article link referred you here, please consider editing it to point directly to the intended page.
* "Distances of the Stars" by Camille Flammarion in Popular Science Monthly, 5 (August 1874)
* "Distances of the Stars" in Littell's Living Age, 134 (1731)
# Dissertations and Discussions

* Volume 1
* Volume 2
* Volume 3
* Volume 4
** Plato
# Distance—is not the Realm of Fox

Distance — is not the Realm of Fox Nor by Relay of Bird Abated — Distance is Until thyself, Beloved.
# Disciplina Clericalis/Tale 6

Cleveland, Ohio: Western Reserve University, pages 24–25
VI. The Poet Turned Porter.
"Suche a versifiour [was] makyng vers to a kyng, and the kyng praised his wisdam [and] bad hym aske a yift for his deede. The whiche asked suche a thyng as for to be a porter at oon of the yates of the Citee bi the space of a Moneth, and to have of every courbed man a peny and of every ooneyed a peny, of every scald a peny, of every lepre a peny, of every Roughhered a peny (f. 122$^b$). Whiche that the Kyng graunted and strengthed with his seale; whiche in his mynisterie taken and in his seruice and office sat at the yaate. In a day suche a courbed and wele hooded [man] beryng a staf in his hand wold han entred. To whom the versifiour mette askyng hym a peny, whiche he denyed. And with strength the versifiour pullid of his hoode and tooke with oon eye, and asked of two pens, where that first he myght have escaped with oo peny; ​but [he] withhield it and nat havyng any help wold have fled. But he hield hym bi the hoode and pullid of his Cappe, and than his hede appiered scalled, for the whiche than he asked thre pens. Than this courbed man seeyng hymsilf havyng non help nor myght nat flee bigan to Resiste and withstond with naked armes, in whiche [he] apperid [a] lepre; for the whiche than he asked the fourth peny. To whom the defendaunt tooke awey his capp and cast it to the grounde, and [he] appered than Roughered, for the whiche than he toke of hym five pens. So it happed for that he wold [nat] paie oo peny, vnwares paied fyve pens." A certain philosopher said to his son: "Son, refrain from passing through the house of wicked people, for passing results in stopping, and stopping leads to sitting and sitting ends in a deed. It is related, by way of illustration, that two priests went forth from the city one evening for a walk, and they came to a house where some drinkers had met together.
* ↑ I, 12, l. 13.
* ↑ M. E. version omits et a scabioso denarium.
* ↑ At this point two short exampla are omitted from our English version; these occur in the Latin (I, 13) as Nos. VII and VIII and have the titles, About a Priest entering the House of Drinkers (Exemplum de Clerico domum potatorum intrante) and The Voice of the Owl (Exemplum de voce bubonis). The English also omits the brief discussion which links VI and VII together in the Latin (I, 12, l. 28).
# Disciplina Clericalis/Tale 8

Cleveland, Ohio: Western Reserve University, pages 28–29
VIII The Husband Deceived by Means of a Sheet.
"It is saide that suche oon went on pilgremage and committed his wif vnto his stepmoder. Whiche wif loved another and shewed it vnto hir moder, whiche even moeved for hir doughter yaf a favour to the lover and cald hym and bigan to talke apart with hym and with the doughter to feede and to feeste. And in their feestyng came the husbond to the dore and knocked. And the wif arisyng hid the lover and after that opened the doore, whiche after he was entred [he] bad array his bedde for he wold rest hym, insomoche that he was wery. The wif Was troubled and in doubte what she shuld do. The Moder seeyng that saide vnto the doughter: 'Ne haastow nat to arraie his bedde til we han shewed to thy husbond the lynnen that we han made.' And thold wif drewe out the lynnen as moche as she mgyht to a corner and toke hir doughter another end to another corner. Whiche lynnen [was] so stretched and lift vp in height. And so was the husbond mocked and bijaped til the lovier that was hid went out at the doore. Than saide thold wif vnto hir doughter: 'Stretche this lynnen vpon thi husbondes bedde, forwhi myn handis and thyn han made (f. 123$^b$) it and woven it.' To whom the husbond saide: 'And thow, lady or dame, canstow array suche lynnen?' 'O sone, moche have I made and ​arraied in this maner.' In this maner is the husbond disceived of his wif."
To this the disciple: "What I have heard is wonderful; but I wish thou wouldest give me more advice, for the more I consider the nature of those women the more I am concerned about my own protection." The master replied: "To this end I will tell you a third tale and then our exempla will suffice for thy instruction." The disciple: "If it please thee."
* ↑ No. X in the original, I, 15, l. 1.
* ↑ Ms. 'vnto his wif vnto his stepmoder' (Lat. socrui, 'mother-in-law.')
* ↑ Ms. 'take.'
* ↑ For this sentence see Latin I, 15, l. 12 f.
# Disciplina Clericalis/Tale 9

Cleveland, Ohio: Western Reserve University, page 29
IX. The Mother-in-Law With the Drawn Sword.
It is also had in relacioun that suche a pilgrym commytted his wif to his stepmoder to kepe. The wif secretly loved a yong man ; that to hir moder redily she told and shewed. She forsoth consentyng to the lover arraied a feeste and cald hym therto; whiche so feestyng the husbond cam and knocked at the gate. The wif therfor aros and lete the husbond [enter]. But the Moder with the doughters love remayneng, forwhy ther was no place wher to huyde hym, doubted what she and he shuld do. But while the doughter opened the dore vnto hir husbond thold wif tooke a naked swerd and yaf to the lover [and] bad hym to stonde streight bif ore thentre of hir doughters husbond with the same swerd drawen. 'And if the husbond saye ought vnto the, aunswer nat ageyn.' And he dide as he was boden. The dore opened [and] the husbond seeyng hym standyng so askid hym what he was; the whiche aunswerd nat. Than if he were abasshed at the first sight, in that he yaf non aunswer, he drad moche more. Than thold wif aunswerd: 'Dere sone, be stille lest any man here the.' To that he wondryng saide: 'What is that, faire dame?' Than thold wif: 'Thre yong men pursued this man hider and we than opened the dore [and] suffred hym to entre thus with his swerd til thei wern gon that wold have slayne hym. Whiche now dredith the to be oon of theym, is astonyed and aunswerith nat.' Than the husbond saide: 'Wele mote ye fare that in this maner han delyvered hym from deth.' And so entrying [he] cald his wifes love and made hym to sitte with hym. And so with swete spechis sported hem and at nyght leete hym go."
* ↑ No. XI in the original, I, 15, l. 16 ff.
* ↑ The Worcester version omits the tale which follows this immediately in the Latin, (No. XXII) The King and his Jester or Storyteller (cf. I, 16, l. 9); but since the tale in a slightly different version was printed by Caxton in 1483 (see Introduction p. 9), I supply this lacuna by reprinting it from Caxton's first edition. There it is No. 8, 'The eyght fable is of the discyple and of the sheep.'
# Disciplina Clericalis/Tale 6/Tale A

Cleveland, Ohio: Western Reserve University, pages 25–26
A Priest in the House of Drinkers
Petrus Alphonsus tellis how on a tyme two clerkis went samen before a place ther thar was many drynkers, and thai callid thaim in. And the tone of thaim went into thaim and the toder wold nott, bod went on hys wais; and it was fer within nyght. So the wachis of the town fande all thies drynkers syttand samen, and the clerk with thaim, and becauce a man of the town was robbid that nyght, thai tuke thaim all and the clerk with thaim, and hanged thaim. And the clerke at bade with, thaim, or he was hanged, sayd on this maner of wyse; "Quisquis inique gentis consorcio fruitur, procul dubio mortis immerite penas lucratur. What- somevur he be at vsis ill company, na dowte of he sall hafe ane ill dead."
The Latin version of this tale (No. vii, see I, 12, l. 2) is as follows: Dictum enim est duos clericos de ciuitate quadam vespere ut exspatiarentur exisse. Venerunt ergo in locum ubi potatores convenerant. Dixit alter socio suo: Divertamus alia via, quia philosophus dicit: Non est transeundum per sedem gentis iniquae. Respondit socius : Transitus non novebit, si aliud non affuerit. Et transeuntes andierunt in domo catilenam. Substitit alter retentus ​dulcedine cantus. Monuit socius ire: noluit. Recedente socio remansit solus illectusque cantu domum intravit. Undique vocatus sedit sedensque cum aliis potavit. Et ecce preco exploratorem civitatis fugientem sequens post ilium domum protantium intravit. Invento exploratore in ilia domo ipse et omnes capti sunt. Hic, inquit, hospitium huius exploratoris fuit: hinc exiit, hue rediit; omnes conscii et socii huius fuistis. Ducti sunt omnes ad patibulum, et clericus inter illos magna voce praedicabat omnibus: Quisquis iniquae gentis consortio fruitur, procul dubio mortis immeritae poenas lucratur.
* ↑ This exemplum in an abbreviated form is found in the Middle English Alphabet of Tales (Ed. Banks, Pt. II, No. 721, p. 483).
* ↑ I have preserved the spelling and punctuation of the EETS edition, only substituting th for the early English thorn and and for &.
# Disciplina Clericalis/Tale 5

Cleveland, Ohio: Western Reserve University, page 24
V. The Ungrateful Serpent.
"Suche oon passyng bi the woode fonde a serpent of shepardis strayned and to stokkes bounden, whom in maner loosed cured to chaufe. The serpent chauffed aboute the faverer bigan to gnawe and bite and somoche the bond hard he constreyned. Than the man saide: 'What doestow? Whi yieldistow evil for goode?' The serpent saide: 'I do my nature and kynde.' Quod he; 'And I have don wele to the, and that evil doestow only to me?' So they strivyng wern cald to the jugement of the fox. To whom whan he was com [and] was shewed al the matier bi order, than the fox saide: 'This cause can I nat deme bi heryng, but as it was at the first bitwixt yow I may see it at eye.' Than was the serpent bounde ageyn as she was afore. 'Now,' quod the fox, 'thow serpent, if thow maist eschape, departe.' Whiche to the man: 'To loose the serpent nil thow nat labour.' Whether hastow nat Red, 'who that loosith the dowte, vpon hym shalbe the falle'."
The Arabik saide to his sone: "If thow be any tyme and maist lightly be delyvered, abide nat to long; for while thow abidest haply ther may falle a more grevous blame, as fil to the gibbous or courbed of the versifiour." "And how," quod the sone? [The fader]:
* ↑ I, 12, l. 1.
* ↑ Lat. Quern mox solutum calefacere curavit.
* ↑ Lat. ruina erit.
* ↑ Lat. gravatus fueris.
# Disciplina Clericalis/Tale 7

Cleveland, Ohio: Western Reserve University, pages 27–28
VII. The Vine-dresser Deceived by His Wife.
"Suche a man went to cut his vyne. That his wif seeyng than vndirstode hym to dwelle and tarie long aboute it and sent a messangier to cal (f. 123) hir love and lemman, and arraied a feeste. Forsoth it happened and fil so that the lord of the vyne smyten with a braunche in the eye, yeede ageyn anon vnto his house nothyng seeyng with the hurt eye. Comyng to the gate of his [house he] knocked at the doore. That the wif withynfurth [heryng] gretly troubled cald hir love and hid hym, and after that opened the doore vnto hir husbonde. Whiche entryng and gretly sorrowyng for his hurt eye bad array his chamber and make his bedde, as that he myght rest hym. The wif dred lest he entryng the chamber shuld see hir love ther hid, and saide: 'What hastest thow to bedde? First tel me what is the befalle.' And he told hir what was hym befalle. 'O diere sir,' quod she, 'soeffre me that I conferme with ​craft of medicyne and charme that it come nat to the hool eye as is comen to the hurt eye, forwhi thi hurt and damage is comune to vs both,' settyng hir mowth to the hol eye til hir love from the place wher he was hid went his way and departed, vnwityng the husbond. Than quod she: 'Arise now, diere husbond, for I am sure it shall nat come to the holl eye that is come to the hurt. Now maistow, if it please the to go to thy bedde.' And so was the husbond scorned and bijaped of his wif."
Then the disciple said to his master: "Thou hast advised me well, and what thou hast told me about their guile and wiles I commend to the thirsty and yearning soul; and I would not exchange what I have learned about it for the riches of the Arabs. But if thou pleasest to proceed, instruct me how we may succeed in converting it into action for the future direction of the public." "I will do it," said the master.
* ↑ This is No. IV in the Latin, I, 14, l. 13.
* ↑ Ms. 'that'.
* ↑ There is nothing in the Latin (cf. I, 14, l. 26) corresponding to this sentence. And the following discussion which connects exempla IX and X in the Latin version is omitted from the English.