ments of infantry, 24 of cavalry, and 58,000 garrison troops, he commenced his campaign in Livonia and Carelia, which were conquered in 1710. The Turks, instigated by Charles XII, had, meanwhile, declared war against him. Peter immediately established a senate to administer the affairs of the empire, and, having restored to the bishoprics and monasteries the property before taken from them, in order to gain the favor of the clergy and the nation, he advanced to the Pruth, opposite the camp of Mehemed, the grand-vizier. The soldiers were here reduced to the greatest extremes from want of provision, and their condition was the more desperate on account of the defection of the prince of Walachia, and his refusal to furnish the promised supplies. Peter, nevertheless, crossed the river, but was forced to retreat, and his exhausted army was surrounded by a numerous enemy. Peter saw nothing before him but captivity or death. He was delivered from this difficulty by his new wife, Catharine (whom he had privately married in 1707, and declared his lawful wife March 6, 1711). Assisted by the field-marshal Scheremeteff, she sent to the grand-vizier proposals of peace. A large sum of money, and valuable jewels, with promises of further remittances, all without the knowledge of Peter, are said to have accompanied the letter of Scheremeteff to the grand-vizier. During this time, Peter, despairing of any favorable results from this mission, and reduced to despondency, wrote to the senate in Moscow-"If I fall into the hands of the enemy, consider me no longer as your sovereign, and obey no commands which shall proceed from the place of my confinement, though it should be signed by my own hand. If I perish, choose the worthiest among you to succeed me." July 23, 1711, the peace of Hus was concluded, in spite of all the opposition of count Poniatowski, the agent of Charles XII. Peter purchased his own safety, and that of his army and empire, by the sacrifice of Azoph. (See Russia, and the Ottoman Empire.) Cantemir, prince of Moldavia, whom Peter refused to give up on any condition, followed the czar, and continued to receive from him a pension until his death, twelve years afterwards. He now applied himself with great activity to the prosecution of the war in Pomerania against Sweden. To restore his health, he went to Carlsbad, in the summer of 1711, and, on his return to Moscow, publicly solemnized his marriage with Catharine (Feb. 19, 1712). The trans

lation of the senate of regency to Petersburg took place two months later. In June, 1712, he again visited Carlsbad, with his wife. After having taken the waters three weeks, he proceeded to his army in Holstein, where Steenbock, the Swedish general, had obtained some successes over the Danes. He shut up this general in Tönningen, and returned to Petersburg, to effect the conquest of Swedish Finland, and, in 1713, penetrated beyond Abo to Tavasthus, while the Swedes in Tönningen were compelled to surrender. But the neutrality of Pomerania, proposed by Prussia, and consented to by Menzikoff, thwarted his plans: for this act, even the intercession of the czarina was hardly able to save the favorite from ruin. Peter continued his efforts to improve the Russian marine; but he was obliged to submit when the college of admiralty refused to promote him to the dignity of vice-admiral, "because he had not sufficiently distinguished himself at sea, to be preferred over other officers." His chief object was now to merit that distinction. Having obtained the naval victory at Twermunde, and completed the subjugation of Finland by the subsequent capture of the fortress of Nyslot, he was received, on his triumphal entry into Petersburg, by the viceczar Romanadowski, with the salutation,

66

Hail, vice-admiral!" Perceiving the oppressions exercised by the nobility upon the lower classes, he established a board to inquire into abuses. The investigation ended in the exile to Siberia of a great number of civil officers from the first to the third rank, and strict provisions against future abuses. He did not consider it prudent to attempt to abolish slavery for the present. He repaired the devastations which the war had caused in Ingria, by settling in that country a number of rich peasants from the interior of Russia. He exercised the greatest prudence in regard to the religious contests between the Roskolnicks (those of the ancient faith) and the Orthodox, but was obliged to put to death a Roskolnick, who sought to obtain a martyr's crown by assassinating the czar. Events of this nature increased Peter's aversion to Moscow, and confirmed his determination to make Petersburg the capital of the empire. All his commercial ordinances, and his measures for the growth and embellishment of the city, were directed to this object. In the midst of these plans, he was informed that Charles XII had returned, and was now in Stralsund. But as this headstrong prince refused to consent to the neutrality

of Pomerania, and thus offended England as well as Holland, he prepared for the czar the way to new and easy conquests. Stralsund was taken December 23, 1715, by the Prussians and Danes, without the aid of Peter; and in the first impulse of anger, the czar was on the point of siding with Charles, because his troops were refused admittance into the works, and were even driven back by force. Before his visit to Pyrmont for the recovery of his health, he agreed with the king of Denmark upon a landing at Schonen; in pursuance of which, he went to Copenhagen. Four fleets, Russian, Danish, English and Dutch, were united, forming a squadron of 80 sail, partly to cover the disembarkation at Schonen, and partly to make head against the Swedish fleet, which was cruising in the Baltic. The command of the combined fleet was unanimously committed to the czar; and he convoyed 100 merchant vessels, lying in the sound, by the fleet of Sweden. The landing at Schonen was abandoned by the advice of the Russian generals; this excited suspicions in the mind of the Danish king, and Peter left Denmark and took possession of Mecklenburg. For the accomplishment of certain political plans, he undertook a journey to Holland and France, towards the end of 1716. In Amsterdam, besides the naval and commercial objects of his visit, he also attended to all the subjects of art and science. His wife, who visited him after her delivery in February, 1717, remained at the Hague, while Peter, in the beginning of April, went through Brabant to Paris, where he visited all the literary, military, mechanical and other institutions and collections of art, &c., and concluded a treaty of amity and commerce with France, in behalf of himself and Prussia. His main object, the separation of France from England, and his designs on Mecklenburg, were not accomplished. In October, 1717, he returned to Petersburg, and instituted investigations into charges of abuses and acts of oppression. Prince Wolkonski, the governor of Archangel, was shot, and military courts were commissioned to inquire into accusations against others. He then went to Moscow, to judge his only son, Alexis (q. v.), who was condemned to death by the high officers of the empire. Though pardoned shortly after, he is said to have died of the agitation into which the trial and sentence had thrown him. At his funeral, which was solemnized with great pomp, the czar melted into tears. Many persons, in

volved in the guilt of Alexis, were executed with great cruelty. Peter treated with equal severity the nobles who oppressed the people, and did not even spare his favorites Menzikoff and Apraxin. He endeavored to introduce a more regular administration of justice by the institution of the colleges of the governments, and a legislative committee, taking the code of his father, Alexis, for the basis of his new system. A commercial college was also erected, and the commercial class treated with distinction. His amusements consisted in ornamenting his capital, collecting a cabinet of natural curiosities, encouraging art, and raising the tone of society; he, likewise, provided amusements for the court and people, by public shows, masquerades, &c. (among which the papal election, intended to expose the head of the Roman church to ridicule, was particularly remarkable). Peter now landed troops on almost every point of the Swedish coast, and commenced a war of devastation, never to be forgotten in the annals of that country. Jealousy of the growing power of Russia united Poland, Prussia and Denmark with Sweden. But Peter resisted all, and maintained his dignity in a dispute with Austria. He banished the Jesuits from the empire, because they meddled with affairs in which they had no concern, and prepared for a conflict with England. In 1719, all the English merchants in Russia were arrested, and threatened with the seizure of their property. Peter was now called to endure the severest trials, in the death of Scheremeteff, his companion in arms, and (on the 25th of April, old style) of the heir to the throne, Peter Petrowitsch, his son by Catharine, born November 8, 1717. The czar remained alone for three days and three nights after the death of his son, without food or drink; fears were at length entertained for his life. But he resumed his firmness, and one of his first measures was the institution of the "holy directing synod," designed to put an end to the hierarchy. (See Greek Church.) In 1720, Sweden was again devastated; the Swedish king having resolved on the invasion of Finland, with the aid of an English fleet. Peter, however, continued his negotiations, while he prepared for action, and directed the construction of the port of Royerwick. At length a third expedition against the Swedish coasts, successfully conducted by Peter in 1721, in spite of the English fleet, led to the peace of Nystädt (August 30, 1721, old style), by which Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, with

Wiburg and Kexholm, were ceded to Russia. But the duke of Holstein, whom he had promised to aid in the recovery of Sleswick, was made the victim of political expediency. Thus, after twenty-one years, the northern war was concluded without exhausting the resources of Peter, and the power of Russia was fixed upon an immovable basis. The czar celebrated the peace by thanksgivings and festivals, and a general pardon (murderers and irreclaimable highwaymen only excepted), and by a remission of all the claims of the crown previous to 1717. The senate and the holy synod requested him, in the name of the nation, to accept the titles of "father of his country, and emperor of all the Russias, with the surname of the Great." He was proclaimed emperor on the grand celebration of the peace, Oct. 22, 1721. This title was immediately acknowledged by Prussia, Holland and Sweden, and, at a later period, by all the other powers. To prevent his great creation from falling to pieces in weak or incompetent hands, he decreed (Feb. 5, 1722), that the sovereign of Russia should have full power to elect his successor, and to change this appointment, if he should see fit. By the new judicial organization, it was provided that no actual senator should sit in a court of justice, and no president of a court of justice in the senate. The emperor now undertook his long meditated expedition to Persia, to secure the Russian trade on the Caspian sea. In 1715, 1716 and 1719, he had sent experienced naval officers to examine this sea and its coasts, and to hold vessels necessary for an expedition in readiness. In the first year of the war, he took Derbent, and built several fortified towns, which he peopled with Cossacks of the Don. The domestic confusions in Persia compelled the shah to yield, and by the treaty of Sept. 12, 1723 (to which the Porte likewise assented July 8, 1724), to cede to Russia the cities of Derbent and Baku, with their territory, and the provinces Ghilan, Mazanderan and Astarabad. After his return, Dec. 26, 1722, he instituted new examinations for maladministration. The vice-chancellor Schaffiroff, one of his favorites, was condemned to death, but, on the scaffold, his punishment was commuted to banishment. Menzikoff was sentenced to pay 200,000 roubles into the exchequer; he was deprived of a large part of his income, and flogged by the emperor's own hand: for the infliction of this punishment, Peter used his dubina (a cane of thick Spanish reed). Several others were disgraced or flogged, or heavily fined.

July 12, 1724, Peter again conducted a fleet against Sweden, to enforce his claims on Sweden and Denmark, in behalf of the duke of Holstein: having effected this purpose, Peter returned to Cronstadt, where he celebrated by a splendid parade the creation of his navy,which now consisted of 41 ships of war, with 2106 cannonsand 14,960 sailors. This great monarch employed the last years of his life in providing against the inundations, to which Petersburg was exposed in the autumn; in continuing the Ladoga canal, and in the erection of an academy of sciences (Feb. 1, 1725). He turned his attention next to the examination and punishment of state criminals; to the promotion of the labors of the legislative body; the establishment of the order of Alexander-Newsky; the improvement of the condition of the monks; the banishment of the Capuchins from Russia; and a new commercial treaty with Sweden. He also betrothed his favorite daughter Anna to the duke of Holstein, Nov. 24, 1724, having already placed the crown upon the head of his wife, Catharine, on the 18th of the preceding May, in token of his love and gratitude. He likewise provided that an education should be given to the surviving son of the unhappy Alexis, such as would become a future emperor of Russia. But Peter had long felt his strength declining, from the pains he had suffered through the strangury, ever since 1723: hence the gloom, alternating with violent bursts of passion, to which he became subject; and to this, perhaps, is to be ascribed the execution of Mons, first chamberlain, and favorite of the empress Catharine; the reason assigned for which was neglect of duty, bribery, &c. Late in the autumn of 1724, going to visit the forge and manufactory of arms at Systerbeck, he saw a boat filled with soldiers and sailors stranded, and sent a shallop, which did not succeed in getting it off; determined to gain his end, he set out for the spot himself, and, as his vessel could not quite reach the spot, he leaped into the water and waded to the boat, which he aided in getting off. But the cold which he caught rendered his condition extremely dangerous. He celebrated the new year, 1725, according to his usual custom, chose a new antipope, and ordered the demolition of the superfluous chapels, and the removal of the images. A surgical operation gave him no relief; his pain often deprived him of reason. his intervals of sanity, he was soothed with the consolations of religion, by Theophanes, archbishop of Pleskow. In one

In

of these intervals, he granted full pardon to Menzikoff, at the earnest desire of Catharine. He expressed a wish to speak with his favorite daughter, Anna; but when she came, the emperor was speechless. He expired February 8, 1725, in the arms of his wife, who had not left him for three nights. Peter was 53 years of age, and, according to his physicians, might have lived 40 more, if he had not so long concealed his disorder. Peter was a man of powerful and original genius, who did every thing himself, and was never the instrument of others. His ardor was joined with prudence, resolution, and a generous humanity. His violent passions and sensual excesses were the fruits of the barbarism of his nation, his imperfect education and uncontrolled power. On the the centennial celebration of his accession to the throne, an equestrian monument by Falconet, representing him at full speed springing up a rock, with his hand extended, and the inscription Petro Primo, Catharina Secunda, MDCCLXXXII, was exposed to view in Petersburg. Voltaire wrote the life of Peter.

PETER II, emperor of Russia, grandson of Peter the Great, and son of Ålexis, ascended the throne in consequence of the will of Catharine I (q. v.), in 1727, when but thirteen years old. He died in 1730, of the small pox, and was succeeded by Anna Ivanowna. (q. v.)

PETER III (Fedrowitch); emperor of Russia. As the male line of the Romanoffs ceased with Peter II, the empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter I and Catharine I, agreeably to the order of succession enjoined by her father, appointed Charles Peter Ulrich, duke of Holstein-Gottorp, son of her sister Anna Petrowna and the duke of Holstein, her successor, in 1742; and, in 1745, she married him to the princess Sophia Augusta, of Anhalt-Zerbst (at a later period the famous Catharine II). Peter III ascended the throne in 1762. : His first step was a reconciliation with Frederic II, to whom he restored the couquered kingdom of Prussia Proper, and sent 15,000 men to assist him. He established some salutary laws; but a conspiracy broke out, which put an end to his life, after a reign of six months. His predilection for the people of Holstein; his attempts to establish Prussian tactics, and to overthrow the privileges of the great, had made him numerous enemies. This conspiracy broke out in the night of July 8, in 1762. (See Catharine II.) He abdicated the throne July 10, but could not save his life by this means. He was, it is

said, killed at Ropscha, a seat of count Rasumoffsky, July 14 (3 old style), 1762. (See Orloff.)

PETER, ST., CHURCH OF. (See Rome.) PETER, the apostle (whose original name was Simon), was a Galilean fisherman from Bethsaida. His brother Andrew, having been received by Jesus among his disciples, introduced Simon to the divine instructer. He promptly resolved to leave all and follow Jesus, at whose command he had made a most remarkable draught of fishes. After this event, we find him always among the followers of Christ, and one of his most confidential disciples. From the firmness of his faith, Jesus named him Cephas (in Greek, Petros), a rock, and bestowed upon him peculiar marks of affection; yet he never gave him any superiority over the other apostles, as the Roman Catholics maintain, nor did Peter himself ever assume it. On the contrary, Jesus reminded him, in their presence,of his faults, and his impetuosity; and, in the last dreadful night before the crucifixion, Peter encountered the reproving look of his master, whom he had followed at a distance to the house of the high priest, and there basely denied, from fear of punishment. Repentance for this crime purified and strengthened his noble heart, which glowed with a warm love of Jesus. His zeal and eloquence made him often the speaker in behalf of his fellow apostles on important occasions; as, for instance, at the feast of pentecost, after the ascension of Christ, where Peter had the boldness to preach the gospel publicly, for the first time, and converted several thousands by his powerful eloquence; and before the Jewish council, where he defended the new faith. His opinions had great influence in the Christian churches; and, on his proposal, the apostles and elders of the first synod at Jerusalem resolved that a conformity to the laws of Moses should not be required of the Gentile converts to Christianity. Peter probably travelled through several countries of Middle and Western Asia, as a teacher of Christianity; but the tradition that he went to Rome, and was crucified there, in the year 67, rests only on the legends of the Roman church, on which, also, the pope rests his claims to be considered the successor of this apostle. The two Epistles of Peter, in the New Testament, were written in Greek, and directed to the churches in Asia Minor. In their style, and in the exposition of doctrines, they bear strong marks of his ardent mind, hurrying from thought to thought, care

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