P R A ( 673 ) P R E
PRETORI AN I MILITARES, Lai.the general’s body guard. They origi-nally consisted of a cohort, and werefirst established as a guard by ScipioAfrican us.
PR/ETORI AN BANDS, aselect bodyof troops among the Romans, which gra-dually obtained so much ascendancy,that they elected emperors at will, anddethroned them at pleasure. They be-came enervated at last, and the powerthey had possessed was absorbed by thelegions, or regular soldiers, who, asJunius somewhere says, came from thedistant provinces and gave away theempire. These bands, indeed, were ori-ginally chosen on account of their merit,(as all life and body-guards ought to be,)and when first instituted, always accom-panied the commander in chief, or thegeneral, into action.
The consular guard and the legion ofhonour, established by the late Emperor Napoleon , were, in some degree, imita-tions of these bands; and the janissariesof Constantinople have sometimes fol-lowed their example, in disposing of theGrand Signor’s title.
PR/ETORIUM, Lat. (pr'doire, Fr.)the Roman general’s tent or pavilion.Italso signifies whatwecall head-quarters.
PRAIRIE, hr. meadow or field.
FRAME, Fr. This word is some-times written Praam : it is a sort of flat-bottomed boat or barge which is usedon the canals in France , &c.
Pramk, in military history, a kind offloating battery, being a flat-bottomedvessel, which draws little water, mountsseveral guns, and is very useful in cover-ing the disembarkation of troops.—Theyare generally made use of in transportingthe troops over the lakes in America .These vessels are well calculated for thedefence of large havens and seaports.Belair, in his Elemens de Fortification,page 397, strongly recommends the useof prames in cases of inundation, &c.See the improvements proposed by himin page 310, where hespeaks of “ Bateauxinsubmersibtes.”
Di PRATICA, Ital. free intercourse;admitted to pratique. Persons who,having performed quarantine, are per-mitted to land in Italy , and mix withthe inhabitants.
PIIATICABLE, Fr. See Practi-cable. This word is in general useamong the French , viz.
Les chemins ne sont pas Praticables,the roads are not passable.
Le gue nest pas Praticable dans cemoment-ci, the river is not fordable atthis moment; verbatim, the ford is notpracticable at this moment.
PRATIQUE, Fr. practice. The termlikewise signifies, among the French ,commerce, intercourse, traffic, &c.
Avoir Pratique avec dei insulaires,Fr. to trade, or have intercourse withthe inhabitants of islands.
Une Pratique eclair'ee, Fr. a projectundertaken and put into execution uponsolid principles.
Une Pratique aveugle, Fr. a planill-digested, and executed without dis-cernment or ability.
Donner Pratique d un vaisseau, Er.to allow a vessel to enter into port andunload. This expression is used in theMediterranean under circumstances ofquarantine, and comes from Pratica ,
Pratiques, Fr. In the plural, thisterm signifies the same as mal-practices,or secret intelligence with an enemy, viz.
Entretenir des Pratiques avec lecommandant d’une place, Fr. to hold com*munication, or keep up a secret corre-spondence with the commandant of afortified place.
PRATIQUER des intelligences, Fr. tocollect; to gather useful information.
II avail Pratique dans cette place desintelligences qui lui out donn't le moyen dela surprendre, Fr. he had gathered suchinformation, by holding secret intelli-gence with the inhabitants, as to be ableto surprize the place.
Pratiquer, Fr. in architecture, tocontrive, to make, to render convenient.
Pratiquer, Fr. to practise. Pra-tiquer une homme, to try a man; to puthis abilities to the test. It likewise sig-nifies to gain over, to suborn.
PREACHAT, Fr. payment made be-fore hand; or anterior to any circum-stance alluded to.
PREAU, Fr. a yard, a green.
PRECEDENCE, priority. Priorityin rank, or precedence in military lile,arises from the date of an officer’scommission, or the corps in which heserves.
PRECEDENT. Any actwlijchcan beinterpreted into an example for futuretimes, is called a precedent. Persons inhiah official situations are extremely4 R