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less in expression, but animated and forcible.

PETER THE HERMIT; an enthusiastic monk of Amiens, who, about the close of the eleventh century, roused Europe to the first crusade. (q. v.) Peter, who had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, instigated by the difficulties he had undergone, flew, at his return, to pope Martin the Second, and, under the auspices of that pontiff, preached to an assembly of more than 4000 of the clergy, with 30,000 laymen, that met at Piacenza, the wild project of driving the Mohammedans from Jerusalem. The success of his enthusiastic harangues was proportionate to the boldness of his scheme and the ignorance of his auditors. Peter himself led the way through Hungary, at the head of an undisciplined multitude of more than 300,000 men, a comparatively small number of whom survived to reach the city. Peter distinguished himself by his personal courage at the storming of the holy city; and, having witnessed the accomplishment of his undertaking, returned to his native country, where he founded the abbey of Noirmoutier, and died its first superior.

PETERBOROUGH, Charles Mordaunt, earl of, son of lord Mordaunt, whom he succeeded in his title and estate, in 1675, was engaged in the expedition to Tangier, in 1680, in which he served with distinction against the Mohammedans. He went over to Holland in the reign of James II, and, entering into the scheme of his dethronement, returned to England with his successor, by whom he was created earl of Monmouth, and appointed first commissioner of the treasury. He succeeded to the earldom of Peterborough on the death of his uncle, in 1697, and was subsequently employed as commander of the English army in Spain, in the war of the Spanish succession. He distinguished himself greatly by his courage, activity and conduct in taking Barcelona, and obtaining many other advantages over the French, in consequence of which he was appointed generalissimo of the imperial forces, and received the thanks of the British parliament. In the reign of George I, he was made a knight of the garter, and received the appointment of general of marines. His death took place during a voyage to Lisbon, in 1735. Lord Peterborough was intimate with his literary contemporaries, and was himself a writer of poetry, some of which has been published. In the Correspondence of the Countess of Suffolk, edited by Mr. Cro

ker, are several of his letters.-Sir Walter Scott has been said to be preparing a Life of the Earl of Peterborough.

PETERBOROUGH, BISHOP OF. (See Marsh, Herbert.)

PETERERO, or PATTERERO; a small piece of ordnance used on board ships for the discharging of nails, broken iron, or partridge-shot, on an enemy attempting to board. They are generally open at the breech, and their chamber made to take out to be loaded that way, instead of at the muzzle.

PETERS, Hugh, minister of Salem, Massachusetts, was born at Fowey, in Cornwall, England, in 1599, and, in 1622, took his degree of master of arts at Trinity college, Cambridge. After obtaining a license, and preaching in London, with great success, he removed to Holland, and, several years afterwards, to America, on account of his non-conformity. In 1636, he was intrusted with the charge of the church at Salem, and remained there five years. He did not, however, confine his attention exclusively to spiritual concerns, but took an active interest in mercantile and civil affairs; he assisted in reforming the police of the town; suggested the plan of the fishery, and of the coasting and foreign voyages; procured carpenters, and engaged in trade with great success. In 1641, he went to England on a mission to procure an alteration in the laws of excise and trade, but never returned. During the civil war, he advocated the cause of parliament by his preaching, and was appointed by Cromwell one of the licensers of ministers, and also a commissioner for amending the laws, though totally disqualified for such employment. After the restoration, he was tried for conspiring with Cromwell, and compassing the king's death, and was executed October 16, 1660, aged sixty-one years. He is accused by Burnet of having pressed the condemnation of the unfortunate Charles, but he himself declared, in his will, that he opposed it. He was a man of no learning, but of impetuous zeal, and peculiar native vigor of mind. His sermons, several of which were published, produced a great effect upon the populace by their striking, though vulgar eloquence. His coarse and familiar images never failed to answer their purpose; and he possessed the faculty of associating his thoughts in such a manner as to prevent them from being easily forgotten.

PETERS, Richard, an eminent American judge and agriculturist, was born near Philadelphia, Aug. 22, 1744. He received

his education in Philadelphia, at the college of which city he was graduated. In entering into active life, he was a good Latin and Greek scholar, and acquainted with the French and German languages. He adopted the profession of the law, in which he obtained early and considerable success, particularly by means of his intimate knowledge of the land laws of the commonwealth, and the fluency with which he spoke German. Even in his youth, he was distinguished for wit and humor. His powers of pleasantry were felt even by the Indians, when he accompanied a delegation from Pennsylvania to the Six Nations. The Indian chiefs, delighted with his vivacity, formally adopted him into their tribes. At the opening of the American revolution, Mr. Peters became captain of a company of volunteers, but was soon transferred by congress to the board of war, in which he continued until the year 1781, when he resigned his post, and received from congress a vote of thanks for his services. He was closely connected with Robert Morris in all the exertions and sacrifices which were made for supplying the necessities of the American army. No one possessed more curious and instructive anecdotes of the distresses and trials of the American government. Some of these are well related in the sketch of his life by Samuel Breck, esquire. After Mr. Peters quitted the war office, he was elected a member of congress. When the new government was organized, under the present constitution, president Washington offered him the place of comptroller of the treasury of the U. States. This he declined, but accepted that of judge of the district court of Pennsylvania. He occupied this station for thirty-six years, until his death, always assiduous, and highly useful, particularly in admiralty cases. Agriculture and public works formed the chief objects of judge Peters, besides his duties on the bench. He was the first president of the company at whose expense the great bridge, at Philadelphia, over the Schuylkill, was built. To him its preservation may be ascribed. The country is indebted to him, also, for the use of gypsum in agriculture. In 1797, he published a relation of his experiments with it on his own farm, which was widely circulated, and produced important improvements in American husbandry. He was president of the Philadelphia agricultural society, and enriched its memoirs with many valuable communications. In private life, he was preeminent for convivial humor, and equalled, proba

bly, any one of his contemporaries in the number and felicity of his bon mots. He was an exemplary husband, parent, neighbor, citizen and Christian.

PETER'S, ST.; one of the largest tributary rivers of the Upper Mississippi. Its course is in the Missouri Territory, and it joins the Mississippi at the falls of St. Anthony. The length of the St. Peter's is 250 miles. It affords good navigation for boats, is 150 yards wide at its mouth, and has 15 feet water.

PETERSBURG; a borough and port of entry in Dinwiddie county, Virginia, on the south bank of the Appomattox. It is just below the falls on that river, twelve miles above its junction with James river, at City Point; twenty-five miles south-byeast from Richmond, and 146 from Washington; lat. 37° 14′ N.; lon. 77° 20′ W. The river is navigable to this place for vessels of 100 tons. In 1815, this town lost, by fire, about 400 buildings. It has since been rebuilt of brick, and the new houses are principally three stories high. The general appearance of the town indicates business, wealth and enterprise, and it is of the first class of towns in Virginia. The town contained in 1830, 3440 whites, 2850 slaves, and 2032 free blacks total, 8322.

PETERSBURG, ST., capital of the Russian empire, occupying more space than any city in Europe, except London and Moscow, is situated at the mouth of the Neva, at the eastern extremity of the gulf of Finland; lat. 59° 56′ N.; lon. 29° 48′ E.; 485 miles north-west of Moscow, and about 1400 miles north-east of Paris and London. Petersburg is the seat of the court, of the senate, the holy synod, of a university, &c., &c., and, for beauty and splendor, surpasses every other city of Europe. The population, which, in 1818, was 313,000, amounted, in 1828, including the garrison, to 422,166, of which only 124,721 were females. The stranger wanders with admiration through the broad, regular streets, surrounded with the most magnificent palaces, churches with gilded towers, and other massive and colossal edifices; his eye every where rests on masterpieces of architecture. On entering the imperial gardens on the Neva, the majestic stream presents a fine prospect, with its ships, boats and bridges. On both banks are rich palaces, churches, and towers glittering with gold, charming islands, and beautiful gardens. Each side of the river is lined with a broad quay for the distance of nearly three miles. The excellent water of the Neva supplies the

want of springs. The czar Peter the Great laid the foundations of the city during the northern war (1703), when he constructed a fort on an island in the Neva, for its defence against the Swedes. To superintend the work in person, Peter built a small wooden hut opposite it, which is still standing, and is now surrounded with a stone building to preserve it. Public and private buildings were soon erected, and the nobles and rich merchants of Moscow, Novgorod, &c., were induced to settle there, so that, in a short time, the place assumed the appearance of a considerable city, which, during the succeeding reigns, particularly in those of Catharine II and Alexander, reached an almost unexampled degree of magnificence. The environs are level and low, in many places consisting of morasses: they therefore suffer from inundations, which sometimes occasion great ravages: in 1824, 15,000 persons perished by an inundation, which destroyed many villages, and caused great damage to the shipping. Petersburg is an open city, without walls, and only in some places surrounded with a ditch. Among the inhabitants there are a great number of foreigners, particularly Germans, who have intermixed much with the Russians, and fill many civil and military posts. The Neva divides the city into two parts, of which the southern or continental part is the largest and most populous: the northern part is again divided by a branch of the Neva. The city is divided into nine quarters-the three admiralty quarters, the foundery, the Moscow, the Jæmskoy, the Vasili-Ostrov, the Petersburg, and the Wiburg quarters. Each quarter is subdivided into districts, and these into inferior sections, at the head of each of which is a police-officer, usually a retired major. The whole organization of the police is military; and the military judges are too often entirely ignorant of the laws. When they find themselves embarrassed by the contradictory provisions of different ukases, they cut the knot, and, if the parties show any dissatisfaction with the decision, it is sealed by a blow or a kick. These inferior officers of police are subordinate to the police court in the centre of the city, the presiding officer of which is a general. In the admiralty quarter, which is the finest part of the city, is the imperial winter palace, on the banks of the Neva, the interior of which is adorned with statues and mythological figures. Catharine added to it a smaller palace, called the Hermitage. This building contains a rich col

lection of works of art, among which are a large number of original paintings of the great masters; and attached to it is a garden, in which, as in the garden of Calypso, reigns a perpetual spring. Some hundred paces distant, in the splendid street called the Great Million, is the Marble Palace, of colossal dimensions, which is built on a granite basement, and was given by Catharine to her favorite count Orloff. On the other side of the admiralty, which, towards the land side, is enclosed by a ditch and wall, is a walk planted with beautiful lime trees, and some of the finest buildings of the city, particularly Isaac's church, built entirely of marble (1766-1812), at an expense of 26,500,000 roubles, and which has, since its completion, been continually receiving additional embellishments. Not far off is seen the palace of the prince Labanoff, a gigantic work, even for Petersburg, and built at an enormous expense. Farther down, near the Neva, is the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, cast by Falconet. It stands in a spacious square, on an immense block of granite, about the size of a small house, and weighing above 800 tons. In Romanzoff place is a marble obelisk, erected by Catharine, in honor of Romanzoff's victories, and, in Suwarroff place, a bronze statue of Suwarroff. Among the numerous remarkable edifices and institutions, we shall mention the academy of sciences, to which belongs a very valuable library, a cabinet of natural science, and an observatory; the new exchange, finished in 1816, a splendid building, surrounded by a colonnade of 44 pillars; the house of the first corps of cadets, occupied by nearly 4000 men, and embracing a circuit of above a mile; the spacious building of the academy of fine arts, which, besides accommodations for 300-400 pupils, who are maintained and educated at the expense of the crown, contains every thing suitable for such an establishment; the second, or naval, mining, artillery and engineer cadet corps; the university (instituted in 1819), with its collections, and above 50 public institutions for education, supported at the expense of the state. These institutions lie in the Vasili-Ostrov (Basil's island), to which there is access from the continent by a bridge of boats. There are also similar institutions in other quarters of the city, particularly the great imperial gymnasium, and numerous benevolent establishments, such as military and other hospitals, the insane hospital, the institutions for the blind, and for the deaf and dumb, various medical and surgical establish

ments, the great foundling hospital, in which about 5000 children are nursed and educated, and in which the mother is permitted to lie-in without charges, and then to leave or take away her child, whether legitimate or not, without being questioned as to her name and station. With this is connected the great pawn-house, in which loans are made, even on real property. In all the institutions for instruction (as is also the case with the high schools throughout the empire), Russian, German and French, and, in many, English, are taught: Latin and Greek are also publicly taught; and the young Russian shows a decided taste for dancing, music and painting. There are eleven public libraries: the most important is the imperial, containing 300,000 volumes and 12,000 manuscripts. Among the palaces should be mentioned the splendid Michailoff palace, built by Paul, near the summer-garden, at an expense of 10,000,000 roubles; the Taurian palace, with its admirable gardens, built and occupied by Potemkin, and much enlarged and embellished by Catharine during his absence. The roofs of all the palaces, and most of the houses, are covered with thin iron plates, varnished black or green. The summer residences also deserve to be seen on account of their natural and artificial beauties. Petersburg contains 115 churches for the established worship, and 33 for other rites. The most splendid are Isaac's church, and that of Our Lady of Kazan: the latter is of great dimensions: the nave and cupola are supported by 56 granite columns, with bronze capitals: the pavement is of different kinds of marble, the steps to the choir of porphyry, with a silver balustrade. Among the towers, the most remarkable are that of the admiralty, and that of the fortress, of a pyramidal form, and more than half covered with plates of pure gold. Public worship is performed in fifteen languages, and according to eleven different rites. Organs and other instrumental music are not heard in the Russian churches, ⚫ but singing is much cultivated. There are no seats in them. The worshippers come and go at pleasure, and are crowded together without distinction of rank, each, as his feelings dictate, crossing himself, falling upon his knees, touching his forehead to the ground, and murmuring, for the hundredth time, Hospodin pomillny (Lord, have mercy upon me). The Lutherans, Calvinists, Armenians, &c., have churches, and there is one Mohammedan house of prayer. The most remarkable monasteries are that of Alexander New

skoi (q. v.), the residence of the metropolitan, and which contains, in a silver tomb, the bones of the saint, and the Smolnui nunnery. The commerce and navigation are very extensive: more than 1100 vessels, from all parts of Europe and from America, arrive yearly. Vessels which draw much water cannot come up to Petersburg, but unload by means of lighters at Cronstadt. (q. v.) Provisions are in general very high. As sources of amusement, we may mention the grand opera and other theatres; in winter, sleigh-riding, and, in summer, sailing on the Neva; sliding down artificial elevations, &c., &c. The climate is very severe: the sleighing continues nearly five months. (See Russia.) In the neighborhood are several imperial palaces, such as Peterhof, Kammenoi Ostrov, Pawlovsk and Zarskoi Zelo.

PETER'S PENCE; a tax which England paid, from the eighth century down to the time of Henry VIII, to the pope. The Anglo-Saxon king Ira is said to have first granted it to the pope, in 725, in order to maintain a seminary of English ecclesiastics in Rome, and to keep in order the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul in that city. It was collected every year on St. Peter's day, one penny on every house, and considerably exceeded the income of the kings of England in the thirteenth century.

PETERWARDEIN, or PETERWARADIN (anciently Acunum); a town of Sclavonia, capital of a military district (see Military Districts), on the Danube, strongly fortified, 38 miles north-west of Belgrade, 216 south-south-east of Vienna; lon. 19° 37 E.; lat. 45° 16′ N.; population, 3847. It consists of the upper fortress, overlooking the Danube, the lower fortress, the horn work, and the suburbs. It is remarkable for the defeat of the Turks by prince Eugene in 1716. (See Eugene.)

PETHION, OF PETION DE VILLeneuve, Jerome, a French revolutionary statesman, originally an advocate at Chartres, was chosen deputy, by the tiers état of that city, to the states-general. The character, conduct and talents of Péthion have been variously represented; but his great influ ence over public affairs is a proof that he was not destitute of ability. In the early part of his career, he acted with Mirabeau, but did not join in such of his measures as were calculated to impede the extension of liberty and equality of rights. In October, 1789, he was appointed a member of the first committee of general safety, and, December 4, 1790, was elected president of the national assembly. In

June following, he became president of the criminal tribunal of Paris, and, together with Barnave and Latour-Maubourg, was appointed commissioner to attend the return of the monarch. He was elected mayor of Paris, November 14, 1791, and, in consequence of his implication in the attack on the Tuileries, June 20, 1792, was suspended from his functions, July 6, but restored by the assembly on the 13th. His behavior on the 10th of August has, by some, been interpreted as the result of weakness, and by others as the effect of design, to avoid betraying his character as an abettor of the violence. Being nominated a deputy from the department of Eure and Loire to the convention which met in September, he became the first president of that assembly. Soon after the death of the king, Pethion was accused of having contributed to the massacres of September; but against this charge he successfully defended himself. He now, however, became the object of jealousy to Robespierre, and was included in the proscription of the Girondists, May 31, 1793. (See Girondists.) He made his escape, with some other deputies of the same party, to the department of Calvados, where they in vain endeavored to avail themselves of the insurrections against the terrorists. Some time after, the body of Péthion, with that of Buzot, one of his confederates, was found in a field, in the department of the Gironde, half devoured by wolves, and it was supposed that he had perished from hunger. His works were printed in 1793, in 4 vols., 8vo.

PETION, Alexandre, president of the southern parts of the island of Hayti, was a mulatto, and received his education in the military school of Paris. Being a man of cultivated understanding and attractive manners, and moreover well instructed in the art of war, he served in the French, and afterwards in the Haytian armies, with success and reputation. He was in high credit as a skilful engineer, in which capacity he rendered the most essential services to Toussaint and Dessalines, from whom he received many marks of attention, and rapid advancement in his profession. He succeeded Clervaux in the government of Port au Prince, and the command of the mulattoes, and held this post at the time of Dessalines' death. Petion was highly respected by the people for his talents and virtues; and upon the dissolution of the government by the death of Dessalines, the people of color rallied around

him as their chief, in preference to Christophe, who became the leader of the blacks. Christophe, deeming himself entitled to the undivided succession of Toussaint and Dessalines, the two chiefs took up arms, and had many rencounters, in one of which particularly, a pitched battle, fought January 1, 1807, Petion was defeated and pursued by Christophe to the very gates of Port au Prince. This campaign secured to Christophe a decided and unquestioned ascendency in the northern part of the island, where his chief strength lay. Still Petion's personal popularity, and the hostility of the mulattoes to the negroes, enabled him to maintain his ground at the south; and a bloody war ensued between the rival chieftains, of several years' duration, favorable, in its issue, to Christophe on the whole, but not sufficiently so to dispossess Petion of his power. Wearied, at length, of their unavailing struggle, both parties tacitly suspended the contest, and devoted themselves to the improvement of their respective dominions. Petion's gover.ament took the form of republican institutions, consisting of himself, as president for life, and a legislative body so constituted as to be completely under his influence. Petion was a man of fine talents and of honorable feelings and intentions, but not well adapted for the station which he was called upon to fill. The Haytians, just liberated from absolute slavery, without the education, habits of thought, moral energy and rectitude of character, which are necessary in a government perfectly republican, stood in need of a ruler less kind, gentle and humane than Petion. In consequence of this, his people relaxed in their attention to agriculture, his finances become disorganized, and his country impoverished; and, disheartened at a state of things which he saw no means of remedying, he sank into a state of despondency, which ended in voluntary death. His final illness lasted only eight days, during which he resolutely refused all remedies, and every species of aliment, even to water, dying, at length, of mere inanition and despondency. His physicians, upon examining his borly atter death, found all its functions perfectly sound, and without any trace of malady. He died March 29, 1818, and was succeeded by president Boyer.-Malo, Haiti (published 1825); Franklin's Hayti, ch. 8.

PETITION, in politics. The right of petitioning is indispensable to complete the constitutional or representative system. In absolute governments, and in those

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