at Avignon, Carpi, Parma, Selvapiana, Mantua, Milan, Padua, Verona, Venice, Rome, Vaucluse, and Linterno, an estate near Milan. He also made several journeys, visiting, in 1333, the countries on the Rhine, and various cities of France, Germany and Flanders. We find interesting accounts of some of his travels in his Epistole Familiares. He also made the tour of Spain, and visited England; but of these excursions we have no account. He afterwards visited, in a public character, Naples, Venice, Avignon (in company with the celebrated Cola di Rienzi), Paris and Prague. Prelates and nobles loaded him with proofs of their esteem, and the German emperor, Charles IV, in particular, conferred on him the title of count palatine, and corresponded with him. Petrarch communicated to him his patriotic wishes, often with the most unrestrained boldness; for he was an ardent lover of his country. He exerted himself, especially, in concert with Clement VI, to induce him to unite the Guelfs and Gibelines. He made his learning of general utility by his writings, and by opening to others the access to the sources of his own information, the works of the ancient classic writers. (See Philology.) He brought to light Cicero's Epistola Familiares, formed a collection of manuscripts with great labor, and, with Boccaccio, promoted the study of the Greek language in Italy, which he had himself learned but imperfectly, and at a late period of his life. One of the first places, therefore, is due to him among the restorers of ancient literature. He studied the ancient philosophers, historians and poets, as far as they were then known, under the most discouraging difficulties, arising from the imperfection of the means; and he had more accurate philosophical notions, a more extensive knowledge of history, and a more correct taste, than any of his contemporaries. He paid particular attention to practical philosophy. In his lively dialogues, he endeavored to inculcate just notions of life and conduct. One of these is his book De Remediis utriusque Fortune. With equal zeal he investigated ancient history, and attended, especially, to the ancient Roman monuments, for the preservation of which he earnestly exerted himself, and began to form a collection of imperial coins. The unexampled homage which was paid to Petrarch during his life, was founded chiefly on his profound acquaintance with ancient writers, displayed in his Latin works. His his

torical treatises prove his extensive reading; and he also wrote an Itinerarium Syriacum-a Guide to the Holy Land His Latin, indeed, bears traces of the time in which he lived; but all will readily pardon this defect. He cultivated poetry not less than philosophy and history; and genius and study conspired to make him a poet. As models, he had the ancients and Provençal bards. The merits of Dante he seems not to have appreciated. His Latin poems are not, indeed, models, like those of the ancients, but they are excellent for the age in which he lived, and excited general admiration. They are eclogues, poetic epistles, and an epic entitled Africa, in which he celebrates Scipio, his favorite hero. It was never finished; but it gained him the poetic laurel, with which he was crowned in the capitol on Easter day, 1341, with the greatest parade. This poem he considered his best. His fame soon spread throughout Italy and the neighboring countries. His reputation as a poet now rests on his beautiful Italias poems, published in 1327-1354, in which he far excelled his predecessors the Troubadours. He was led to write poetry in his mother tongue, by his passion for the beautiful Laura. (q. v.) The ardent youth had just returned from the university of Bologna to Avignon, wher, one morning in Passion-week (April 1327), he went to the chapel of St. Clare according to his custom, where he saw Laura, full of youthful beauty and grace, and his whole soul was absorbed wits the most ardent passion, which was increased by the charms of her mind Laura was touched by his addresses; for she knew how to appreciate his merits his constancy and his admiration; yet she never forgot her character and her honor. She always kept him within the line its of propriety, and only vouchsafed to him a smile or a kind word, when moved to compassion by his fruitless love. He often resolved to tear himself away from her, because he felt how much his pas sion checked the activity of his mind. But he felt, likewise, that this passion had inspired him to high efforts, that be might deserve the regard of Laura. (Sec the canzone Gentil mia Donna.) He be took himself to travelling, and mingies in the bustle of the world; but in var The image of the object of his passic never left him. (See his beautiful carzone Di Pensier in Pensier.) He endeav ored to calm his passion by solitude; but it became more violent amid the his

and woods of Vaucluse, where he spent the principal part of his time in deep study. (See Epistle 116, and his sonnets and canzoni.) This love, however, did not extinguish all others; he had a natural son, who died of the plague in 1361, and a daughter, who was married to a nobleman. The news of Laura's death, which reached him in Verona, April 8, 1348, was a severe blow to him; yet he did not cease to celebrate her. In his old age, however, he declared that he was ashamed of his youthful infatuation, and that he regretted having written his amatory poems. Yet he did not censure his love so much as its excess, and as he advanced in years, he became a contemner of the female sex. The account of his early passion is to be found chiefly in his Latin epistles, his treatise entitled My Secret, or On the Contempt of the World, and the poem the Triumph of Death. After a lapse of 500 years, we still enjoy the fruits of his love in those admirable sonnets and canzoni which paint the joys and sorrows, the admiration and desire, and all the tender thoughts and emotions, of a poetic and glowing love. Petrarch is truly the prince of love poets; some of his poems may be censured for their monotony and the traces of the age in which they were written, for cold thoughts and allusions, false wit, a tasteless play upon words, and far-fetched epithets. But the greater part of them will ever be looked upon as among the most perfect masterpieces of lyric poetry. His poems contain many difficult passages, but numerous annotators have undertaken to explain them; as Gesualdo, Castelvetro, Velutello, Tassoni, and others. They have been published more than 200 times. His Latin works were printed at Basle, 1496 and 1581, and often separately. Petrarch was likewise constant in his friendship. This we know from collections of his letters, which are likewise useful for their historical information. He was religious after the fashion of his age, venerated what was esteemed sacred by his contemporaries, observed fasts, bequeathed a portion of his property to the churches, revered saints, especially the Virgin Mary (to whom he wrote a canzonet full of humility and devotion), and relics. If we add to these characteristic traits, his gratitude to his instructers, faithfulness to his patrons, and universal benevolence, we can easily account for the esteem which he enjoyed; especially when we remember that he had a pleasing exterior to recommend his merits. In

The

his youth, he was well-formed, lively, fond of the most beautiful dresses (see Var. Epist., ix), and vain, and he played on the lute. His diligence was very great, and his talents brilliant. events of the latter part of his life are his journey to Rome to attend the jubilee; the restoration of his property by the city of Florence; his invitation to the chair of professor in the new university in that city, which he refused; his visit to Italy, after the death of Clement VI; the distinguished reception which he met from Galeazzo Visconti, at Milan, and Charles IV, at Mantua; the long desired removal of the papal chair to Rome, under Urban, in 1367, which was brought about by his influence; and his mediation of the peace between the Carrarese and the Venetians, in 1373. He died in 1374, as is supposed on the night of July 18, in the village of Arquà, near Padua, where he had retired to end his days. He was found dead early in the morning, in his library, with his head resting on a book. He was interred, with great pomp, at Arquà, although he had forbidden all ceremony. His valuable library he bequeathed to the republic of Venice; but no portion of it is now to be found. The account of his life is derived chiefly from his own writings-his Letters, his Secret, and his Address to Posterity on his life and character. The best of his biographers are the abbé de Sade (a descendant of his Laura), Tiraboschi, Baldelli, Fernow, Wismayr, Ugo Foscolo, Woodhouslee, Ginguené, &c.

PETREL (thalassidroma); a genus of oceanic birds, well known to seamen by the name of Mother Carey's chickens. They are found in every part of the world, on the ocean, at great distances from land, generally at twilight, or in stormy weather. They feed on small marine animals, and seeds of sea-weeds, and appear exceedingly fond of fat or grease, for which, and for the animals put in motion, they will follow in the wake of ships for great distances. They breed in rocks adjoining the sea, forming their nests in cavities; the female lays two eggs. They fly rapidly, and generally close to the water; and, when in pursuit of food, they suspend themselves by extending their wings, and appear to run on the surface of the water. Buffon says it is from this circumstance that they are called petrels, after the apostle Peter, who walked on the water. The appearance of these birds is considered by seamen to presage a storm, and it is thought peculiarly un

lucky to kill one of them. There are four species, which are so closely allied to each other as to be generally confounded. C. Bonaparte, who paid much attention to this genus, designates them as follows:-T. Wilsonii (stormy petrel); deep sooty black; tail even; wings reaching a little beyond its tip; tube of the nostrils recurved; tarsus one and a half inch long. T. Leachii (fork-tailed petrel); brownish black; tail forked; wings not reaching beyond the tip; tube of the nostrils straight; tarsus one inch long, T. pelagica; sooty black; tail even; wings reaching a little beyond it; tube of the nostrils almost straight; tarsus seven eighths of an inch long. T. oceanica; brownish black; tail slightly emarginate; wings reaching more than an inch beyond it; tube of the nostrils recurved; tarsus nearly one and three fourths of an inch long. (See Puffin.)

PETRIFACTIONS. (See Organic Remains.) PETROBRUSIANS. (See Sects.) PETROLEUM. (See Bitumen.) PETRONIUS, Titus, surnamed Arbiter, a Roman author, notorious for his licentiousness and obscenity, was born at Marseilles, and lived in the court of Nero. He was, for a time, the favorite of the emperor, who made him master (arbiter) of his voluptuous banquets and revelries. But he finally fell a victim to the suspicions of the tyrant, by whose command he was obliged to put himself to death. The corruption and dissoluteness of Roman manners, at that period, are portrayed in the fragments of the Satyricon Libri, in which Petronius describes, in prose and in verse, the profligacy of the times, and which are, therefore, valuable, at least as a picture of manners. Some attribute it, on account of several allusions, to another author, who lived for some time, in the reign of Commodus, in Naples. The best critical edition is that of Burmann (Leyden, 1743, 2 vols., 4to.); there is a later edition, by Anton, on the basis of Burmann's (Leipsic, 1781). The supposed supplements, lately discovered, are spurious. PETTY. (See Lansdowne.)

PETTY BAG; an office in chancery, in England, the three clerks of which record the return of all inquisitions out of every county, and make all patents of comptrollers, gaugers, customers, &c.

PEUTINGER TABLE; a map showing the military roads of the greater part of the kingdom of the Visigoths, drawn, it was formerly believed, for Theodosius the Great. It is called after Conrad Peutinger, a German scholar, born 1465, and

who died in 1547. Among his papers was this famous map. Conrad Celtes had found it in the Benedictine monastery of Tegernsee, borrowed and not returned it. Such a mappa mundi in rotulo was extant in that convent, in 1502; and the Tabula Peutingeriana at Vienna, is probably the same which Werinher, a poet, made or copied in 1190. Celtes gave this map to Peutinger, who intended to publish it. After his death, it disappeared for many years, until Marx Welser published fragments of it, under the title of Fragmenta Tabula antiquæ ex Peutingerorum Bibliotheca (Venice, 1591). It was not found entire, among Peutinger's manuscripts, until the eighteenth century, when Scheyb published a beautiful impression, with remarks, folio (Vienna, 1753). The manuscript of the map is at present in the imperial library at Vienna. The characters and figures show that the map is not the original. Docen thinks that it belongs to the twelfth century. A new impression of this ancient map was published in Leipsic (1824), not entirely free from faults, with a treatise by Mannert. new edition, with commentaries, has been announced by Dr. Tross, of Münster. Peutinger was the first who collected Roman inscriptions on stone, in a small work,-Romana Vetustatis Fragmenta (Augsburg, 1505). He wrote, besides, other valuable works on the decline of the Roman empire. Peutinger long held important public offices.

A

PEWTER Consists of tin alloyed with a quantity of copper, or other metallic bodies, as the experience of the workmen has shown to be the most conducive to the improvement of its hardness and color, such as lead, zinc, bismuth and antimony. The best sort of pewter is formed from antimony 17 parts, tin 100 parts. French add a little copper to this kind of pewter. A very fine silver-looking metal is composed of 100 pounds of tin, 8 of antimony, 1 of bismuth, and 4 of copper.

The

PEYRONNET, Pierre Dénis, count de, was born in 1778, at Bordeaux, where he studied law. When a young man, he was distinguished as a petit maitre and a beau. He became very zealous in the cause of the Bourbons, when the English and Spanish troops entered France, in conse quence of which he was appointed president of the tribunal of the first instance, at Bordeaux, in 1816, and, after two years, procureur-général at the cour royale of Bourges. When M. Decazes (q. v.) was at the head of the government, Peyronnet was a warm constitutionalist, and pro

nounced a discourse at Bourges, which might have come from a member of the left side. But he soon saw that a devotion to the royalist doctrines would advance him more rapidly than adherence to constitutional principles, and he changed sides accordingly. He was called to Paris to support, before the peers, the act of accusation of the conspirators of Aug. 19, 1819, jointly with Marchangy and Vatisménil, and was distinguished for his zeal. Périer said of him, at a later period, in the chamber, in reference to his zeal on this occasion, that he had demanded the heads of twenty persons. Soon after, he was elected deputy of the department of the Cher, and, a little later, appointed procureur-général at Rouen, whither, how ever, he never went. He became the favorite of a lady then very powerful with Louis XVIII, and, when Villèle's administration was formed, Peyronnet, to the utter astonishment of the public, was made, in December, 1821, keeper of the seals, having, as it was universally asserted, no claim whatever to this important office; and the only explanation of this surprising phenomenon was believed to be the favor of Mad. de Cayla. (See France, and Villèle.) His first measures were the suppression of the liberty of the press, depriving those accused of political libels of trial by jury, and empowering the royal courts to suppress journals which had a tendency to disturb the public peace, religion, &c., and authorizing the crown to establish the censorship by a mere ordinance. His language was often the subject of ridicule in the chamber, whilst his measures were but too much calculated to excite anxiety, and his overbearing manner gave offence. Aug. 17, 1822, Peyronnet, Corbière and Villèle were made counts. In order to remove those judges who were not thoroughly royalist, yet by the constitution were immovable, he conceived the plan of diminishing the number of courts. In November, 1822, he procured an ordinance by which the bar was subjected to many of the old restrictions, and to the influence of the keep er of the seals, and arbitrarily interfered in several legal processes. After the congress of Verona, he declared himself in favor of the war against Spain, in opposition to Villèle, and, shortly before the death of Louis XVIII, he effected the establishment of the censorship, which Charles X abolished when he ascended the throne. In 1824, he issued a circular, in which he ordered his agents to denounce to him all persons, employ

ed in his department, who would not vote for the ministerial candidates: the question of septennial elections of the chamber of deputies was then to be de-. cided. In 1825, Peyronnet brought forward, in the chamber of peers, the cruel law against sacrilege, which was adopted with some modifications. He is supposed to have first suggested the disbanding of the national guards. In Villèle's ministry' he was noted as the most efficient member of the cabinet, in carrying into execution the measures of the president of the council, and was one of the three obnoxious ministers, popularly known under the name of the triumvirate, composed of Corbière (q. v.), Villèle and the keeper of the seals. The elections in the autumn of 1827 resulted in the entire discomfiture of the ministry, and, on their resignation (Jan. 4, 1828), the three above named went to swell the number of peers, already increased, through their ordinance of Nov. 5, 1827, by the elevation of seventysix new members. (See Villèle, and France, History of.) The Polignac ministry, which had succeeded to the shortlived cabinet of Martignac (Aug. 9, 1829), was already at open war with the nation, when the public astonishment and indignation were increased by the nomination of M. de Peyronnet to the place of minister of the interior (May 20, 1830). The measures of this administration are related elsewhere. (See Polignac, and France, History of.) The position of Peyronnet in the ministry placing him in correspondence with the prefects and agents of the internal administration, his zeal, energy, activity, capacity, and unshrinking readi ness to go all lengths, made it obvious that he was called in to manage the elections, and secure a ministerial majority by the unsparing employment of fraud, terror and violence. All these arts, however, backed by the royal proclamation to the electors, failed before the resolute purpose of the nation; the liberal party was completely successful in the elections (June and July), and the ministry determined on violent measures. Peyronnet is understood to have been opposed to this plan previous to the elections; but it was finally adopted between the 10th and 15th of July; and to him was intrusted the drawing up of the ordinance changing the electoral laws, which, with the other three, was signed July 25, and published in the next Moniteur. On Thursday, the 29th, the ministry resigned, and, in the middle of August, Peyronnet, with several of his colleagues, was arrested at Tours, and im