768 P E S 
Whatever brings it more near to contaft with a powerful 
European nation, both expofes it to more formidable 
enemies, and entangles the Indian policy of this country 
tyith the nearer and more important principles of her 
wedern fyflem. Circumfiances have now rendered fuch 
an approach the mod critical part of Indian politics. 
Thirty years ago the Mahrattas and Tippoo Sultaun 
were the mod powerful of our immediate neighbours. 
The fame dation is now occupied by Caubul and Perfia. 
Nor would this change be alarming, if the lad of thefe 
powers were left to her own drength, and moved by no 
external force. But it cannot be doubted that an Euro¬ 
pean nation, occupying Georgia with a difciplined army, 
and maintaining no contemptible marine on the Cafpian, 
mud have a mod prevailing influence with the Court of 
Teheran. Ruffia, the mod powerful empire of Chriden- 
dom now occupies that commanding pofition ; and the 
magnificent embafi’y of general Yermalow manifeds no in¬ 
tention to negledt this advantage. (Seep. 691.) Embol¬ 
dened by their new alliance, and aware of the ancient hofti- 
lity of Rudia toT urkey, the Perfian shave made in roads into 
theTurkifh territory, on every point of the frontier from 
Erivan to Bagdad. They even compelled the pacha of Kars 
(a government far within theTurkifh frontier) to do homage 
to the king of Perfia. Thus Turkey has been made to 
feel, that in a new war a new enemy is ready to be let 
loofe agair.d her on her eadern frontier. 
PESINGAN', a town of Candahar: ninety miles fouth- 
ead of Candahar. 
PES'ME, a town of France, in the department of ..the 
upper Saone : ten miles fouth of Gray, and eight north- 
eafl of Anxonne. Lat. 47. 17. N. Ion. 5. 39. E. 
PES'NITZ (Upper), a river of Stiria, which rifes near 
Schmierenberg, and runs into the Salm near Wipplefpach. 
PES'NITZ (Lou'er), a river of Stiria, which rifes near 
Schmierenberg, and runs into the Drave two miles wed 
of Fridau. 
PESO'LA, a lake of Naples, in Bafilicata, at the foot 
of the Appenines. 
PESOE'GA. SeePosEGA. 
PESQUE'RA, a town of Spain, in the province of 
Leon, near theDuero: twenty-eight miles fouth-ead of 
Leon. 
PESS'AC, a town of France, in the department of the 
Gironde, and chief place of a canton, in the didridt of 
Bourdeaux. The place contains 1336 inhabitants. 
PESS'AN, a town of France, in the department of the 
Gers: three miles (outh-ead of Auch. 
PESS'ARY, /. See the article Pathology, p. 332, 3, 
of this volume. 
PESS'ER, a mountain of the county of Tyrol. 
PESSI'NUS, a town of Phrygia, famous for a temple 
and a datue of the goddefs Cybele, who was from thence 
called Peffinuntia. 
PEST, /, [pejle, Fr. pejlis, Lat.] Plague 3 pedilence : 
Let fierce Achilles 
The god propitiate, and the pfft afiuage. Pope. 
Any thing mifchievous or definitive.—Wretches, the 
common poifoners of youth, equally defperate in their 
fortunes and their manners, and getting their very bread 
by the damnation of fouls. So that, if any unexperienced 
young novice happens into the fatal neighbourhood of 
inch pejls, prefently they are upon him, plying his full 
purfe, and his empty pate, with addrefies fuitable to his 
vanity. South’s Sernmis. 
Of all the virtues, juftice is the bed; 
Valour without it is a common pejl. Waller. 
The Pejl a virgin’s face and bofom bears, 
High on hercrown a riling fnake appears, 
Guards her black front, and hides in her hairs. Pope. 
PEST, or Pesth, a royal and free town of Hungary, 
on the ead fide of the Danube, oppofite Buda. Here is 
held the fupreme court of appeal: a large military hofpital; 
P £ S 
fix convents, and feveral churches. The town is fur- 
rounded with a wall and moat. In the year 1526, and 
again in the year 154.1, it was taken by the Turks, who 
held it till 1602, when it was retaken by the Hungarians, 
and defended by them againd a frelli attack of the Turks. 
But in the following year, being abandoned through fear, 
it fell once more into the hands of the Turks, who, in 
1684, fet fire to it, and marched to Buda. The Imperi- 
alids, upon this, indeed, took pofieffion of the town, but 
abandoned it again, not returning till two years after, 
when it was reduced to a very poor condition, but was 
railed by the liberality of the emperor Leopold. 
For farther particulars of thefe fieges, &c. we refer to 
the article Buda, vol. iii. for Ped and Buda form almod 
one city, which is the capital of Hungary. They are 
feparated by the Danube, here feen in all its majefty ; 
over which is an eafy communication by a bridge formed 
of forty-feven large boats, united by chains and covered 
with planks. The length of the bridge is nearly three 
hundred yards; and it is fo confirudled, that two or three 
boats, with fheir planks and railings, may at any time be 
removed; and every morning and evening, at dated 
hours, the vefiels and the rafts of timber which navigate 
or float down the Danube, are permitted to pafs. Buda, 
the feat of the Hungarian government, and the refidence 
of the Palatine, contains 30,000 inhabitants. Ped, the 
Tra.iifacincum of the Romans, occupies the left bank of the 
river. It is the feat of commerce, and contained 41,882 
inhabitants in the year 1817. It is built upon a plain 
where it extends itfelf more and more every day, and is 
one of the very few towns upon the continent which 
feems to have fuffered little during the late periods of 
didurbance. It may be divided into the Old and New 
Town, of which the latter has by far the mod regularity 
in its flructure. In many different parts of the town are 
feen large buildings, facing to the dreets, entered by 
covered gateways, and known by the name of the noble¬ 
man to whom they belong, which is often infcribed above 
the chief entrance. 
Four annual fairs are held here, each lading a week. 
Dr. Bright was at Ped during the great fpring-fair in 
1814; and has explained to us the mode in which trade 
is condudled in Hungary. “ The fair was held in a large 
open ipace within the town, where a great quantity of 
manufadlured goods, of various kinds, Ivere expofed to 
fale. Almod the whole of thefe, however, were brought 
from Vienna, for no country in Europe is perhaps 
lefs indebted to her own manufadfures than Hungary. 
An extenfion of the market, where agricultural produce, 
the true riches of the country, was chiefly feen, occupied 
fome dreets in the fuburbs. The Greeks, and a few 
Turkifh merchants, had taken up their flations in differ¬ 
ent parts; and the whole prefented a pidfure of that bar¬ 
tering traffic which marks the early flages of commercial 
intercourfe. The manner in which the Hungarian pea- 
fant condndls hitnfelf in the fale of his produce is, when 
compared to that of the Sclavonian, the German, and the 
Jew', with whom he is furrounded, remarkable and in- 
tereding. The Sclavonian enlarges on the excellence 
and cheapnefs of his ware, with palpable and fufpicious 
eagernefs. The German drefies out his merchandife, 
turns it from one fide to the other, and prefents himfelf 
to the purchafers with a commanding felf-fufficiency. 
The Jew fwears with heart and foul that he will 
injure no man; and the Raitzer is flern, filent, and un¬ 
accommodating: but, on that account, his charadferiitic 
and fiery eye pleads .with the greater eloquence. The 
Hungarian alone keeps himfelf perfeftly pafiive in his 
dealings. He allows his goods to be infpedled, anfwers 
fhortly and directly to the queflion, and attempts not to 
impofe either by words or artifice. You perceive by his 
embarraflment that he is unaccudomed to low arts : his 
good temper evidently counteradfs the feeling of poverty, 
which is therefore bqrne with e-afe and content.” Tra¬ 
vels through Lower Hungary, by Rd. Bright, M. D. 4to. 
1821,— 
