PET 
783 PET 
ings and hypocaufts, teflelated pavements, pottery, 
paintings in frefco, fculptured (tones, coins, &c. 
Monthly Mas;. Aug. 1822. Beauties of England and Wales, 
vol. xi. Wilkes's Britijh Directory, vol. iv. Gent. Mag. 
1814, 1818, 1820. Monthly Rev. -Mar. 1820. Gunton's 
Ilijl. of the Church of Peterborough, 1670. 
PF/TERBOROUGH, a town of New Hampfltire: 
twenty-two miles eaft of Chefterfield. 
PE'TERDORF, a town of Germany, in the duchy of 
Stiria: four miles north-north-eaft of Muckrau. 
PET'EREL, or Petrel, f. A kind of fea bird. See 
Procellaria. —The peterels, to which failors have given 
the name of Mother Carey’s chickens.- Hawkefworth’s 
Voyages. 
PE'TERFFI, (Charles), an Hungarian Jefuit who 
flourifhed in the iSth century, was defcended from a 
noble family, but concerning the time of his birth we 
have no information. He entered the fociety in the year 
1715; and, when he had finiflied his courfe of academical 
Itudies, was appointed profetfor of the belles lettres in 
the feminary belonging to his order at Tyrnaw. From 
that office he was removed by his fuperiors, to fill the 
philofophical chair at Vienna. Afterwards he devoted 
himfelf entirely to the ftudy of the hiftory of his country ; 
and in the year 1742 he prefented the public with the 
fruits of his application, in a work entitled, “ Sacra 
Concilia in Regno Hungariae celebrata, abanno 1016 uf- 
que ad annum 1715,” in folio, publifhed at Vienna and 
Pietburg. Thiscollefition comprifes, befides the councils 
of Hungary, the ecclefiaftical conftitutions of the kings 
of Hungary, and of the legates of the papal fee. It 
comes recommended to the reader by great beauty of ftyle, 
as well as'excellence of arrangement, and is accompanied 
by a variety of curious refearches. It is alfo illuftrated 
with engravings of the ancient monuments, &c. He 
died in the year 1746. Gen. Biog. 
PE'TERHEAD, a market-town and fea-port in the 
county of Aberdeen, Scotland, is feated upon a penin- 
fula projecting into the German Ocean, and connected 
with the main land by an ifthmus about 800 yards in 
breadth. It is built in the form of a crofs, and is divi¬ 
ded into four wards. The town-houfe, placed at the 
bead of the principal ftreet, is a fine building of hewn 
ltone, furmounted by a fpire upwards of an hundred feet 
in height. Many of the private houfes are alfo handfome 
in their exterior appearance. Peterhead is a borough of 
barony, under the fuperiority of the Merchants’ Maiden 
Hofpital; and is governed by a baillie and eight coun- 
fellors: the baillie is in the nomination of the fuperiors, 
and has his commiffion from them ; but the counfellors 
are chofen by the feuars, at a general meeting called for 
that purpofe. The revenue of the burgh, which is con- 
fiderable, is expended in various improvements. The 
market day is Friday; and there are two annual fairs. 
Peterhead occupies the molt wefterly point of Scotland ; 
and is the neareft land to the northern continent of 
Europe. It lies within 300 miles of the cape which is 
called the Naze of Norway. Through this channel the 
grand body of the herrings pafs in their annual migra¬ 
tions from Shetland and the North Seas to the more 
fouthern latitudes, attended with the all-devouring cod 
and ling 5 on which account Peterhead, or, as it is fome- 
times called, Buchannefs, hath always been the fecond 
llation of the Dutch bufles after leaving the Shetland 
illands. Tradition fays, that fome hundred years ago the 
Dutch offered the Earl Marifchal, then the proprietor of 
the coaft, to cover a filial 1 ifland called Inch-Keith with 
filver for the purchafe of it to carry on their fiflieries; 
which for obvious reafons could not be accepted. Be 
that as it may, the Dutch, in time of peace, (till frequent 
the coaft in July and Auguft, and fometimes a hundred 
fail are feen within fight of land, bufily employed in the 
herring and white fiflieries. The natives, to whom this 
treafure properly belongs, have lately made fome attempts 
towards the white fifhery, of which they cure and vend, 
chiefly at the London market, 4000 barrels of delicate 
fmall cod and ling annually. They alfo fit out fome 
vefl’els for the Hebride fifhery off Barrahead for the Bar¬ 
celona market; and they claim the merit of having 
taught the iflanders how to take and cure the large fi(h 
which abound on their coafts. They have often gained 
the higheft premiums allowed by government for curing 
white fifh. 
Few harbours in Great Britain are of more importance 
to navigation than this of Peterhead, as, in cafe of 
violent rtorms from the eafterly points, large veflels 
embayed betwixt this and the mouth of the Forth have 
not a port that they can fafely take at every time of the 
tide, that of Aberdeen excepted. If therefore they can¬ 
not make their way to fea in the teeth of a ftrong eaft¬ 
erly wind, or double this headland that they may gain, 
the Murray frith, they muft inevitably come on-fiiore. 
This harbour lies on a fpacious bay, where veflels of any 
burden may ride in all other winds; and is therefore the 
general rendezvous of the (hipping which frequent the 
northern feas, where they caft anchor on clean ground, 
and ride fafely till the ftorms have abated. But, though 
nature hath done fo much for the benefit of navigation, 
fomething is left for the exercife of human aid. The 
harbour can at prefent contain in perfedt fafety forty or 
fifty fail of veflels drawing twelve feet water; but is 
capable of being extended fo as to admit a greater number 
of (hips drawing twenty feet; by which means not only 
cafual merchantmen, but fmall (hips of war with their 
convoys, would find this a molt definable refuge when 
purfued by fuperior force. The harbour is defended 
by a good battery. A mineral well in the fuftimer-months 
givds great gaiety to the place; its falutary virtues have 
long, and we believe veryjuftly, been celebrated. The 
waters of this fpring are powerfully diuretic, and are 
thought to be efficacious in removing complaints in the 
bowels. Twelve pounds avoirdupois of this water were 
analyzed by Dr. Laing, who found it compofed of 
Muriate of iron, . . 30^75 grains. 
Carbonate of iron, . . 3-25 
Muriate of lime, . . . 7-00 
Siliceous earth, . . . 2-00 
Sulphate of lime, . . . 2-00 
—————foda, . . 13-25 
Muriate of foda, . . . 7-5 
Peterhead has long been a place of confiderable trade; 
and has an extenfive manufafture of thread, woollen cloth, 
and cotton, befides a large falt-work. Here is a refpeft- 
able parochial fchool ; alfo a fchool for writing and 
arithmetic, endowed by Dr. Anderfon’s truftees, with a 
falary of 20I. fterling. The town, with the lands in the 
vicinity, were formerly the property of the abbey of Deer, 
which was eredted into a temporal lordftiip in 1589 
in favour of Robert Keith, then commendator of Deer, 
by the title of Lord Altree. This peerage becoming 
extindt in 1593, the fuperiority of the town became the 
property of the Earl Marifchal, by whom it was conftitu- 
ted a burgh of barony, under the name of Keith Inch. 
In 1715 it was fold to an Englifli fiftiing-company, whofe 
truftees transferred it to the prefent proprietors. 
The parifli of Peterhead, anciently called Peter Ugie, 
extends about four miles along the coaft, and comprifes 
nearly (even thoufand acres of land, of which five thou- 
fand are arable, and the remainder confifts of moor and 
mofs ground. In this parifli are the ruins of Old-Craig 
or Raven’s-Craig caftle. In 1793, the population was 
reckoned at 4100; and has been gradually increafing 
fince. According to the firft parliamentary returns, the 
number was 4491; in 1811, the returns were, 919 houfes, 
and 4707 inhabitants ; and by the laft cenfus, in 1821, 
the number of inhabitants is dated to be 4783. Beauties 
of Scotland, vol. iv. 
PE'TERHOFF, in Ruflia, is fituated about 20 miles 
from Peterfburg, and is diftinguiftied for its palace and 
gardens. 
