WHI
WHIFFLER, of a Company of London, a young Free- man, who goes before, and w a Jt s on the Company on oc- casions of public Solemnity. Sec Company.
WHIGS, a Party or Faction in England, oppofite to .the Series. See Tory.
The Origin of the Names of thefe two mighty Factions
is very oblcure. If fome little trivial Circumstance or
Adventure, which efcapes the Knowledge of Mankind, give the Name to a Party, which afterwards becomes famous; Posterity labours in vain to find the Original of fuch Names : It fearches the Sources, forms Conjec- tures, invents Reafons, and fometimes meets the Truth, but always without knowing it afTuredly.
Thus, in France, ihe. Calvinijls are cM'A Huguenots i yet no body was ever able certainly to affign the Caule of that Appellation. SeeHuoooNOT.
Whig is a Scottifh, and fome fay, too, an Irifi Word, li- terally Signifying Wbeyt 'Tory is another Irifi Word,
Signifying a Robber or Highwayman.
Now, underthe Reign of King Charles theSecond,while bis Brother, then Duke of Tork, was obliged to retire into
Scotland, there were two Parties form'd in that Country
That of the Duke, which was flrongetl, perfecuted the other, and frequently reduced them to fly into the Moun- tains and Woods, where thofe unhappy Fugitives had often no other Sublicence for a long time but Cows Milk. Hence their Adverfaties they call'd Tories, q d. Robbers; and the Tories upbraiding them with their Unhappinefs, and
from the Milk whereof they liv'd, cali'd them Whigs
From Scotland the two Names came over with the Duke into Englajtd.
Others give the Origin and Etymology of the two Words
thus During rheunhapjy War which brought King
Charles 1. to the Scaffold, the Partizans of that Prince were at firrl call'd Cavaliers, and thofeof the Parliament Round- Heads. Now^cry was a Name for a kind of Banditti m
Ireland, who Shelter 'd themfelves in the Mountains and the lilands form'd by the Bogs 5 as, then, the King's Enemies charged him with favouring the Rebellion in Ireland,whic'a broke out at that time, they changed the Name Cavalier into that of l"ory- — -And thefe last, to be even wim their Enemies, who were Strictly leagued with theoiroft, changed Round-Heads for Whigs, the Name of a fort of Enthufialts in Scotland, who living in the open Fields and Woods, fed mucn on Milk. Dijfert. de Monf. Rapin Thoiras fur les Wighs c5 ZuTorys. Haye Ann. 1717.
WHINE, a hunting Term, ufed in refpect of the Cry of an Otter. SeeHuNTiNc.
WHIP, or Whip Staff, in a Ship, a Piece of Timber in form of a Strong Staff, faflen'd into the Helm, for the Steers-Man in fmall Ships, to hold in his Hand; thereby to move the Helm and direct the Ship. See Helm and Steering.
WHIPPING, a Termufed by Anglers, when they fallen aline to the Hook, or Rod. SeeANGLiNG.
The Word is alfo taken for the catting in of the Hook, tnd drawing it gently on the Water.
WHIRL-FOOL, an Eddy, Vortex, or Gulph, where the Water is continually turning round. See Gulph, Ed- dy, Vortex, t$C.
WFIIRL-Wind, a Wind that rifes fuddenly, is excee- dingly rapid and impetuous, when rifen, but foon fpenr. See Wine and Hurricane.
There are divers forts of Whirl Winds, difljnguifli'd by their peculiar Names; as the Prefter, 7j)'pho, 'I'urbo, Exhydria, and Ecnephia.
The Prejler is a violent Wind breaking forth with flafhes of Lightning This is rarely obferv'd, fcarceever with- out the Ecnephia. Seneca fays 'tis a Typho, or I'urbo,
kindled or ignited in the Air. SeeFRESTER.
The Ecnephia is a fudden and impetuous Wind breaking out of fome Cloud; frequent in the JEthiopic Sea, particu- larly about the Cape of Good Hope The Seamen call
them Travados. SeeTRAvAoos.
The Exhydria is a Wind burfling out of a Cloud with a
great quantity of Water This only feems to differ in
degree from the Ecnephias, which is frequently attended with Showers.
AZypho is an impetuous Wind, running rapidly every
■way, and fweeping all round the Place It frequently
defcends from on high. The Indians call ir Orancan, the
- turks, Sic. Oliphant. 'Tis frequent in the Eaflern Ocean,
chiefly about Siarn, China, &c. and renders the Navigation of thofe Parts exceeding dangerous. See Vortex, Spout,
ISc.
WHISPERING; fee Hearing, Attention, isc.
WtuspERiNG-fP/acej depend on this Principle, That the Voice being apply'd to one end of an Arch, eafily rolls to the other. See Sound, Arch, \$c.
Accordingly, all the Contrivance in a Whifpering-Plaee, it, that near the Perfon who whifpers there be a fmooth
t&l
WHI
Wall, arch'd, either Cylindrically, or Elliptkally — — »A circular Arch will do, but not fo well. See Phonics.
Places form'd for the Conveyance of Whifpers, are the i"[ on of l^ionyfius at Syracufe, which increales a foft Whifper to aNoile, the Clap of one's Hand to the Sound
of a cannon, &c. The AquteduBs of Claudius, which
carry a Vo.ce sixteen Miles : And divers others enumerated by Kircher in his Phonurgia.
The moil considerable in England, arej the Dome of bt.Paul s.MondonMKK the Ticking of a Watch may be heard from Side to Side; and a very eafy Whifper be fent all round the Dome. — This, Mr. 2)erham found to hold not only in the Gallery below, but above upon the Scaffold, where a Whifper would be carried over one's Head round the T. op of the Arch, tho' there be a large Opening in ths Middle of it into the upper Part of the Dome.
The famous Whifpering-'Plaee in Glouceftcr Cathedral, is no other than a Gallery above the Eatt End of the Cho!r,lea- ding from one Side thereof to the other. — It confifts uf'five Angles and fix Sides, the Middlemoft of which is a naked Window; yet two Whifperers hear each other at the. distance of twenty-five Yards.
WHITE, one of the Colours of natural Bodies. See Colour and Body.
White is not fo properly faid to be any one Colour, as* Compoiition of all the Colours.
his demonflrated by Sir If aac Newton, that thofe Bodies only appear White, which reflect all the kinds of colour'd Rays alike. See Whiteness.
Hevelius affirms it as a thing moft certain, that in the Northern Countries, Animals, as Hares, Foxes, Bears, ££?c. become White in the Winter-time; and in Summer relume their natural Colours. See Hair.
Black Bodies are found to take heat fooner than vsbitt ones 5 by reafon the former abfurb or imbibe Rays of all Kinds and Colours, and the latter reflea all. See Black- ness.
Thus black Paper is fooner put into Flame, by a Burning-Glafs, than white; and black Clothes hung up by the Dyers in the Sun, dry fooner than white ones. See Black.
W hi te -Taper is that intended for Writing, Printing, £=?<;. in contradistinction to brown Paper, marbled Paper, 'blot- ting Paper, &c. See Paper.
White Pepper is black pepper blanch'd or whiten'd, by Shelling off its upper Skin. SeeFEPFER.
White Wine is that of a clear, bright, tranfparent Co- lour, bordering on white. — -'Tis thus call'd, to distinguish it from the red Wines or Clarets.
The generality of white Wines are made from whitb Grapes; tho' there are fome from black ones. See Wine.
White Wax, is yellow Wax blanch'd, and purify'd by the Sun and Dew. See Wax.
White Linnen, is Cloth of Hemp or Flax, bleach 'd by divers Lyes and Waterings on the Ground. See Blea- ching.
White Salt is Common, or Sea-Salt dried and calcined by the Fire, fo as not to leave any Moisture *-h"r"in. j
The Chymiiis call it decrepitated Salt,
There are fome Salts naturally white; and others that need to be whiten 'd either by difl'olving and purifying 'em in clear Water, which is afterwards evaporated 3 or by means of F'ire; or bythe Sun. See Salt.
Spanifi White, isakind of Fucusufed by the Ladies to whiten the Complexion, and hide the defects thereof.
'Tis made of Tin of Glafs diffolved in Spirit of Nitre,
and precipitated into a very fine Powder, by means of Salt, water. See Tin.
White Lead, isaRuft of Lead; or Lead diffolved with Vinegar; much ufed by the Painters. See Lead.
'Tis prepared two ways- either by reducing the Lead
into thin Lamina:, fleeping 'em in ftrong Vinegar, and every ten days fcraping off the Ruft form'd on the Surface: and repeating this till the Lead be quite confumed.
Or, by roiling the Lamina into Cylinders like Sheets of Paper, only fo as that there be a little Space left between
thefeveral FoldsorTurns. -Thefe Lamina: they fufpend
in the middle of Earthen Pots, at bottom of which is Vi- negar—The Pots being well clofed, are buried in a Dunghill for thirty days; after which being open'd, ths Lead is found, as it were, calcined and reduced into what they call white Lead, to be broke into Pieces, and dried in the Sun.
'Tis ufed both in painting in Oil and in Water- Col ours,
and makes a beautiful Colour in each -But 'tis fomewhat
dangerous both in the grinding and ufing it, as being a rank Poifon. See Colour.
Of this white Lead it is that the Paint ufed by ths Ladies, call'd Cerufs, is made. See Cehuss.
A a aa *
Wi«ti
