PASSOVER, the chief festival of the Jews in commemoration of the passing of the destroying angel over the houses of the Israelites on the night when he slew the first-born of the Egyptians; it was celebrated in April, lasted eight days, only unleavened bread was used in its observance, and a lamb roasted whole was eaten with bitter herbs, the partakers standing and road-ready as on their departure from the land of bondage.

PASSOW, FRANZ, German philologist, born in Mecklenburg, professor at Breslau; his chief work “Hand-Woerterbuch der Griechischen Sprache”; an authority in subsequent Greek lexicography (1786-1833).

PASTA, JUDITH, a famous Italian operatic singer, born near Milan, of Jewish birth; her celebrity lasted from 1822 to 1835, after which she retired into private life; she had a voice of great compass (1798-1865).

PASTEUR, LOUIS, an eminent French chemist, born at Dole, in dep. of Jura, celebrated for his studies and discoveries in fermentation, and also for his researches in hydrophobia and his suggestion of inoculation as a cure; the Pasteur Institute in Paris was the scene of his researches from 1886 (1822-1895).

PASTON LETTERS, a series of letters and papers, over a thousand in number, belonging to a Norfolk family of the name, and published by Sir John Fenn over a century ago, dating from the reign of Henry V. to the close of the reign of Henry VII.; of importance in connection with the political and social history of the period.

PASTORAL STAFF, a bishop’s staff with a crooked head, symbolical of his authority and function as a shepherd in spiritual matters of the souls in his diocese.

PATAGONIA is the territory at the extreme S. of South America, lying between the Rio Colorado and the Strait of Magellan.  Chilian Patagonia is a narrow strip W. of the Andes, with a broken coast-line, many rocky islands and peninsulas.  Its climate is temperate but very rainy, and much of it is covered with dense forests which yield valuable timber; coal is found at Punta Arenas on the Strait.  The population (3) consists chiefly of migratory Araucanian Indians and the Chilian settlers at Punta Arenas.  Eastern or Argentine Patagonia is an extensive stretch of undulating plateaux intersected by ravines, swept by cold W. winds, and rainless for eight months of the year.  The base of the Andes is fertile and forest-clad, the river valleys can be cultivated, but most of the plains are covered with coarse grass or sparse scrub, and there are some utterly desolate regions.  Lagoons abound, and there are many rivers running eastward from the Andes.  Herds of horses and cattle are bred on the pampas.  The Indians of this region (7) are among the tallest races of the world.  There are 2000 settlers at Patagones on the Rio Negro, and a Welsh colony on the Chubut.

PATANJALI is the name of two ancient Indian authors, of whom one is the author of the “Yoga,” a theistic system of philosophy, and the other of a criticism on the Sanskrit grammarian Panini.