Nicolas de Pierola. 

 President of Peru 



PIEROLA 



Pierola, NICOLAS DE (1839- 

 1913). President of Peru, 1895-99. 

 He was born at Camana, Peru. 

 Jan. 6, 1839, 

 and educated 

 at the college 

 of Santo Tori- 

 bio, Lima. He 

 was called to 

 the bar in 

 1860; shortly 

 afterwards 

 founded the 

 review. El 

 Progreso Cat- 

 olico, and in 1864 became editor 

 of El Tiempo. After travelling in 

 Europe, he was, 1869, appointed 

 minister of finance, but in 1872 

 was charged with misappropriat- 

 ing public funds, and went to 

 the U.S.A. In 1874 he headed an 

 insurrection, but was defeated at 

 Scrota near Tarata, Dec. 3. Re- 

 volting again in 1877, he effected a 

 revolution at Lima, and in 1879 

 became provisional president, but 

 was defeated, and resigned in Nov., 

 1881. In 1894 he organized a revolt, 

 and became president in the fol- 

 lowing year. He retired in Sept., 

 1899, dying June 24, 1913. 



Pierre. Capital of S. Dakota, 

 U.S.A., and the co. seat of Hughes 

 co. It is situated on the Missouri, 

 and the Chicago and N. W. Rly., 1 19 

 m. W. of Huron, and contains a 

 government industrial school for 

 Indians, a Federal court house, the 

 State Capitol, and S. Mary's Hos- 

 pital. It is a great cattle market, 

 and uses natural gas. It was settled 

 in 1880 and incorporated in 1883. 

 Pop. 3,200. 



Piers Plowman, THE VISION 

 OF. Early English (14th century) 

 allegorical poem written in about 

 14,000 short alliterative lines on 

 the Anglo-Saxon model. Generally 

 accepted as the work of William 

 Langland, the poem achieved con- 

 siderable contemporary popularity. 

 Between three and four dozen old 

 MSS. of it are known, these being 

 divisible into three distinct ver- 

 sions. It has been suggested that 

 the poem might be the work of 

 several authors, but the three ver- 

 sions probably represent Lang- 

 land's first text and two later re- 

 censions. The poem throws con- 

 siderable light on contemporary 

 life and thought, and includes much 

 vigorous satire on the prelates 

 and friars. It was first printed in 

 1550. Recent editions are that by 

 W W. Skeat, new ed. 1907, and 

 one in Everyman's Library. 



Piestany. Town in the Slovakia 

 division of the Czecho-Slovak re- 

 public, the former Postyen (q.v. ). 



Pieta (Ital., piety, compassion). 

 Representation, in painting or 

 sculpture, of the Virgin mourning 



PIETERSBURG 



Pieta painted by Francesco Francia, representing the Virgin holding the dead 

 Christ, with S. John at His head and S. Mary Magdalene at His feet 



National Gallery, London 



over the dead Christ taken down 

 from the cross ; also of any group 

 of the holy women at the Deposi- 

 tion. The episode has formed the 

 motive of innumerable pictures, 

 among which those by G. Bellini, 

 Correggio, Quinten Massys, Van 

 Dyck, F. Francia, and Rubens are 

 noteworthy. See Michelangelo. 



Pietermaritzburg OR MARITZ- 

 BURG. City of S. Africa, the capital 

 of the prov. of Natal. It stands 

 near the Umsin- 

 dusi river, 73 m. 

 N.W. of Durban 

 by rly. The chief 

 buildings a re the 

 town hall, cpened 

 hi 1901, the Ang- 

 lican cathedral, 

 the buildings 

 where the legisla- 

 ture of Natal meets, and others 

 erected for official use, including 

 the law courts. There are also a 

 university college, in the suburb 

 of Scottsville, hospital, library, mu- 

 seum, and theatre. The city has 

 a public park, and there is a botan- 

 ical garden. The barracks at Fort 

 Napier overlook the city. Pieter- 

 maritzburg is an important rly. 



Pietermaritzburg 

 arms 



junction, being on the main line 

 from Durban to the Orange Free 

 State and the Transvaal. The in 

 dustries include tanning and brew- 

 ing, and the making of wagons and 

 bricks. There is a service of 

 electric tramways. 



Pietermaritzburg was founded 

 by the Boers in 1839, the name 

 being formed by those of two of 

 their leaders, Piet Retief and 

 Saloman Maritz. It became the 

 capital of Natal hi 1842, and was 

 made a borough in 1854. During 

 the Great War German prisoners 

 were confined at Fort Napier. Pop. 

 30,600, about half whites. See 

 Natal. 



Pietersburg. Town and ad- 

 ministrative unit of the Trans- 

 vaal. It stands near the source of 

 the Sand river, 176 m. by rail N.E. 

 of Pretoria. The centre for the 

 Waterberg goldfields, tin, gold, and 

 corundum are also mined in the 

 neighbourhood. The town was 

 taken by the British in April, 1900. 

 Pietersburg dist. lies W. of Portu- 

 guese E. Africa, between the Oli- 

 fants and Great Shingwetsi rivers. 

 Pop. 4,500, about 1,500 of whom 

 are whites. 



Pietermaritzbmg, South Africa. General view of the town, with Piovmciai 

 Council House in the foreground. To the right is the Town Hall 



