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FEEBLES-SHIRE PENANG. 



were, a paper communicated to the Edinburgh 

 -Medical Journal, on the preference to be given in 

 medicine to the seeds over the other parts of plants, 

 where the former were found to possess equal 

 medicinal properties ; and a tract in illustration of 

 the principle, published in his last illness, on the 

 medical properties of the seeds of the Spanish 

 broom. Dr Pearson's death took place at War- 

 wick, on the llth of January, 1836. In private 

 life, he was an affectionate father, and a warm and 

 steady friend. With great independence of thought 

 he united perfect charity. His unusual conversa- 

 tional powers were marked by a cheerful readi- 

 ness to impart to all ages his varied information. 

 His benevolence was unbounded, and displayed 

 itself daily and hourly, to the poor by open- 

 handed generosity, to his friends by unceasing acts 

 of kindness, and to all mankind by his constant 

 endeavours to promote every thing which could 

 benefit the human race. 



PEEBLES-SHIRE, OR TWEEDDALE, a 

 county of Scotland, bounded on the north by the 

 county of Mid-Lothian, on the south by Selkirk- 

 shire and Dumfries-shire, on the east by Selkirk- 

 shire and Mid-Lothian, and on the west by Lan- 

 arkshire. Its extreme length, from north to south 

 is about thirty miles ; its greatest breadth from east 

 to west is about twenty-two. It is a hilly pasto- 

 ral county, the general elevation of the pasture- 

 lands being about 1200 feet, yet these are mostly 

 covered with green herbage, and on the banks of 

 the streams are many fertile spots. The river 

 Tweed rises in the south-western extremity of the 

 county, and flowing first north-east and then east, 

 divides it into two nearly equal parts. The other 

 streams of the county are, the Biggar, the Lyne, 

 the Eddlestone, the Leithan, the Manner and the 

 Quair, which all fall into the Tweed ; and the 

 North and South Esk, which fall into the sea at 

 Musselburgb. Peebles-shire is deficient in mine- 

 rals, particularly coal, which circumstance accounts 

 in some measure for the absence of any consider- 

 able manufacture in the county. The population 

 is thinly scattered, and mostly engaged in agricul- 

 tural and pastoral pursuits. The number of sheep 

 which pasture in the county is estimated at above 

 120,000. The majority of these are of the Cheviot 

 breed, which has of late years supplanted the old 

 Tweeddale variety, being found more valuable for 

 its fleece. The county has only one town, Peebles, 

 and a few villages, namely, Linton, Eddlestone, 

 Skirling, Broughton, and Innerleithen, the latter 

 place celebrated for its mineral waters, which are 

 said to be good for the cure of old wounds, diseases 

 of the eyes, and for relieving stomach and bilious 

 complaints. The town of Peebles is situated 

 twenty-one miles south from Edinburgh, and is of 

 great antiquity as a seat of population. It seems 

 to have been occasionally visited by the Scottish 

 sovereigns in their hunting excursions, and one of 

 our finest old Scottish descriptive poems, " Peebles 

 to the Play," attributed to the first James, cele- 

 brates a festival which annually took place at 

 Peebles on Beltane day or the first of May. Peebles 

 is divided into an Old and New Town, and is 

 bounded on the south by the Tweed, on the north 

 by the Eddlestone water. The inhabitants are 

 chiefly employed in hand-loom weaving, fishing, 

 country labour, &e. The town, from its interest- 

 ing and healthy situation in a pastoral district, its 

 excellent -seminaries, and other advantages, is often 

 selected as a place of residence by families in easy 



circumstances. Population of the burgh and parish 

 in 1841, 2632; of the county, 10,499. 



PEMBROKESHIRE; a maritime county in 

 South Wales, surrounded by the sea every where 

 except on the eastern side, which is bounded by 

 Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire. Its extreme 

 length is thirty miles, and its greatest breadth 

 twenty-seven. It forms the most level portion of 

 Wales, the hills being all of moderate elevation. 

 The principal rivers of the county are the Tivy, 

 and the Eastern Cleddaus and Western Cleddaus. 

 These two latter unite, and form the excellent 

 estuary of Milford Haven. The agriculture of the 

 county is in general in a backward state, but great 

 numbers of black cattle and sheep are reared and 

 sent to the south of England, where they are much 

 prized for their flesh. The manufactures of the 

 county are trifling, but coal is largely exported, and 

 there are a number of fishing-towns along the 

 coast. The inhabitants of Pembrokeshire are di- 

 vided into English and Welsh. Between the two 

 classes, in former times, great animosity and a com- 

 plete separation existed, but intermarriages are now 

 frequent. Between Milford Haven and St George's 

 channel, where the English live, a colony of Flem- 

 ings was permitted to settle in the reign of Henry 

 I. and the district is commonly called Little Eng- 

 land beyond Wales. The English language is ad- 

 mitted to be here spoken with great purity. The 

 towns of Pembrokeshire, with a population above 

 2000, are, Pembroke, 7412 ; Haverford West, 

 5941; Narberth, 2670; St David's (city) 2413; 

 Tenby, 2912 ; and Dogmels, 2478, Pembroke, 

 the county town, stands on a singular neck of land, 

 dividing the small estuary of Down Pool, which 

 flows from Milford Haven. It is 250 miles from 

 London, and 10 from Haverford West. It was 

 once defended by strong walls and a powerful cas- 

 tle, the ruins of which still remain. The town 

 consists chiefly of one long street, which is wide 

 and well-built, extending from east to west on the 

 ridge of a hill, and terminating at the west end in 

 a steep precipice, on which the castle is situated. 

 The county assizes and elections are held here, and 

 there is a considerable market on the Saturdays. 

 Population of the county in 1841, 88,044. 



PENANG, OR PRINCE OF WALES' IS- 

 LAND,* an island of the Indian ocean, situated 

 on the west coast of the Malayan peninsula, in 

 latitude from 5 15' to 5 29' north, and longitude 

 100 east ; its greatest length is sixteen statute 

 miles from north to south, and its greatest breadth 

 twelve miles at the north, and decreasing to eight 

 miles at the south, thus forming an irregular four 

 sided shape, with a range of lofty hills in the cen- 

 tre, the whole computed to contain 160 square 

 miles. The valley of Penang, about three miles 

 in breadth, is the level part of the island on its 

 eastern side, extending from the hills to the sea, of 

 a triangular shape, the ranges of mountains form- 

 ing the base and the apex, called Tanjong, jutting 

 into the harbour, and having George Town (the 

 capital) and the Fort, of Penang built on it, on 

 which, for three miles in every direction from the 

 point, private houses extend. Almost the whole 

 of the northern shore is mountainous, and through 

 the centre of the island runs a range of hills, de- 

 creasing in height and magnitude as they reach to- 

 wards the south. On the west and south of the 

 mountains there is a considerable quantity of level 



* Abridged from "The British Colonial Library," by E. 

 Montgomery Martin, Esq. 



