Jesses. Straps for hawk’s bells. (See Fig. [405].)
Jet. A variety of soft bituminous coal, admitting of a fine polish, which is used for ornaments. It is, in its natural state, soft and brittle, of a velvet-black colour, and lustrous. Ornaments of jet are found in ancient tumuli.
Jet d’Eau, Fr. A fountain. That at Chatsworth springs 267 feet in the air, and is the highest in existence.
Jew’s Harp or Jew’s Trump (from the French jeu and trompe). A small musical instrument, known for centuries all over Europe, consisting of a metal frame with two branches, and a vibrating tongue of steel in the middle. It has suggested a number of modern instruments, including the Harmonium.
Jew’s Pitch. A kind of asphaltum used as a brown pigment. It attracts dust, and never dries perfectly.
Jewes Light, O. E. (See Judas Light.)
Jogues or Yugs. In Hindoo chronology, eras or periods of years. (1) The Suttee Yug, or age of purity, lasted 3,200,000 years; the life of man being then 100,000 years, and his stature 21 cubits. (2) The Tirtar Yug, in which one-third of man was corrupted, lasted 2,400,000 years; the life of man being then 10,000 years. (3) The Dwapaar Yug, in which half the human race became depraved, lasted 1,600,000 years; the life of man being 1000 years. (4) The Collee Yug, in which all mankind are corrupt, is the present era, ordained to subsist 400,000 years (of which about 5000 have elapsed); the life of man being limited to 100 years. There are, however, conflicting accounts of the duration of the different Jogues. (See Halhed’s Preface to the Gentoo Laws.)
Joinery (in Latin, intestinum opus) has to deal with the addition in a building of all the fixed wood-work necessary for convenience or ornament. The most celebrated work on the subject is Nicholson’s Carpenter’s Guide, and Carpenters and Joiner’s Assistant, published in 1792. The modern art of joinery properly dates from the introduction of the geometrical staircase, or stair supported by the wall only, the first English example of which is said to have been erected by Sir Christopher Wren in St. Paul’s. [See Joinery in Ency. Brit. 8th ed.]
Joseph, O. E. A lady’s riding-habit, buttoned down the front.
Jousting-helmets were made wide and large, resting on the shoulders, and decorated with a crest. It was common to make them of comical, fantastic designs; such as weathercocks with the points of the compass, immense figures of birds and beasts, &c.