55 G 
P I T 
abbey of St. Andrew’s. This priory had lafge landed 
poffeffions, together with the churches of Rhind, Anftru- 
ther, Welter, See. which are now eredted into a regality 
called the Regality ofPittenweem, under the jurifdietion of 
lairds of A-nflruther as heritable bailies. This edifice 
itfelf, which feems never to have been large, was, with 
other monuments of mi (taken piety, alienated from the 
church at the Reformation; and what parts of it now 
remain are put to very different ufes. Some of the cells 
of the monks furnifii habitations tolerably convenient 
for the fervants of him who, in the ceafelefs change of 
property, has got poffe.Tion of the lands which formerly 
belonged to them. That which feems to have been the 
granary is a parifh-church. The porch of the chapel, 
the only part of that building which exifts, has been al¬ 
ternately employed as a (table and a (laughter-houfe; and 
the meat killed there has been commonly expofed to (ale 
in the lower parr of the fteeple of that edifice which is 
now dedicated to the offices of parochial devotion. Had 
the moralizing traveller (Johnfon), who compofed the 
beautiful and pathetic meditation on the ruins of Iona, 
condefcended to vifit Pittenweem, he would not have 
viewed the abbey without emotion. 
About half-way between the ruins and the beach is a 
great cave, or weetn, whence the burgh derives its name. 
It confifts of two fpacious apartments, at the junction of 
which is a ftaircafe leading to a fubterraneous paffage, 
which formerly communicated with the monaftery, but 
which has long been blocked up by the earth falling in. 
There is alfo another fet of ftairs (till remaining, which 
leads from the refectory to the further extremity of this 
paffage. 
Pittenweem, with refpefl to church-government, is in 
the prefbytery of St. Andrew’s, and fynod of Fife. It is 
diftant about 33-J- miles north-eaft by north from Edin¬ 
burgh; and according to the parliamentary returns of 
1811, contained 194 houfes and 1096 inhabitants. The 
late learned John Douglas, bifhop of Salifbury, was a 
native of this town. His lordfhip is well known in the 
literary world as the vindicator of Milton from the charge 
of plagiarifin brought againft him by Lauder. Beauties of 
Scotland, vol. iv. « 
PIT'TERI (Giovanni-Marco), an Italian engraver, 
was born at Venice A.D. 1703, and died in the fame city 
in 1767. Ke (hidied engraving for a fnort time under 
Jof. Baroni, whom he loon quitted for J. A. Faldoni, 
The works of this admirable artilt are executed in a very 
remarkable ftyle, with fingle courfes of lines, which, 
though very differently difpofed from thofe of Mellan, 
run perpendicularly from the top to the bottom of the 
plate; and the lhadows are expreffed by (lengthening 
them as occafion required. The effe£t lie produced in 
this new mode of engraving is far more pleafing and har¬ 
monious than could have been expe&ed ; efpecially where, 
by partially notching his lines, he has imparted (tony cha- 
radlerand richnefs, to fuch parts of his prints as required 
it. This artift, being always occupied with engraving, 
never travelled out of his native place. 
Among his works, the following heads are worthy of 
notice: A buff of himfelf, from Piazzetta ; a buff of 
J. B. Piazzetta, a Venetian painter; Charles Goldini, a 
Venetian comic poet; John Mocenigo, a Venetian noble¬ 
man ; Jofeph Nogari, a Venetian painter, with his hand 
on the hilt of his fword; and a fet of heads on fixteen 
plates, which are prefumptuouffy entitled God the eter¬ 
nal Father, Our Saviour, the Virgin Mary, the twelve 
Apoftles, and St. Paul. 
Amongft the hiftorical fubjefts, we have noticed, Chrift 
expiring on the Crofs, with the effeft of night; Religion 
and Herefy, an allegory, both from Piazzetta; a Holy 
Family, from Pietro Longhi, in large folio ; feven folio 
upright plates of the Sacraments ; iix large folio plates 
reprefenting Chaces in the neighbourhood of Venice, 
from the fame malter; St. Peter delivered from Prifon ; 
the Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, St. Catharine of 
P I T 
Sienna, and the Penitent Magdalen, for the Drefden gal¬ 
lery ; the Drunken King, after D. Teniers; and two 
ruffic fubjecls, after the fame painter, (the Shoe-maker, 
inferibed, “Nefutor ultra crepidam,” and the Miller, 
inferibed “ Sudat rotator fua forte contemns,”) in large 
folio. 
PIT'TERSBERG, a town of the duchy of Carinthia : 
three .miles north of Mauten. 
PIT FHE'A, in ancient geography, a town near Trce- 
zene. Hence the epithet of Pittheus in Ovid. Met. xv. 
PITTHE'US, a king of Trcezene in Argolis, fon of 
Pelops and Hippodamia. He was univerfally admired for 
his learning, wifdom, and application ; he publicly taught 
in a fchool at Trcezene, and even compofed a book, 
which was feen by Paufanias the geographer. He gave 
his daughter ASthra in marriage to Aigeus king of Athens; 
and he himfelf took particular care of tlie youth and 
education of his grandfon Thefeus. He was buried at 
Trcezene, which he had founded; and on his tomb was 
feen, for many ages, three feats of white marble, on which 
he fat, with two other judges, whenever he gave laws to 
his fubjeffs, or fettled their difputes. 
PIT' n, a fmall ifland in the Straits of Malacca. Lat. 
2. N. Ion. 101.29. E. 
PITTING, J. The aft of putting cocks to fight on 
the pit. 
PIT'TINGTON, a village in the county of Durham* 
about four miles from the city of Durham. 
The farm called Little Town in this parifh, contains 
fifty acres of land, which were till lately a morafs, produ¬ 
cing nothing but infulated tufts or hillocks of very coarfe 
grafs, and a few ftunted fallows, and on which cattle 
could only go in dry fummers; the annual value of the 
land in that ffate was, at mod, 2s. < 3 d. per acre. Dr. 
Haggitt (who has only a liFe-interelt in the effate as a 
prebendary of Durham) had long vvifited to underdrain 
this bog, but was difluaded from the undertaking, on the 
fuppofition that a fufficient fall could not be obtained. 
At length, however, he determined to make the trial, and 
accordingly began the work in January 1810, and com¬ 
pleted it in July 1811. The drains vary in depth from 
three to feven feet, according to circumftances, and are 
laid in the conduit-form, with fide-ftones, and a cover 
(wherever it appeared neceffary), with flag-ftones at the 
bottom, forming an open (pace of feven inches by five 
for the paffage of the water. But a difficulty occurred 
in many places on account of quick-fands, which were 
fo loofe and foft that the ftones would have funk in them ; 
to obviate which, planks were laid at the bottom for the 
fide-walls to reft upon, with fhoulders to prevent the 
ftones from flipping inwards on the boards; and by this 
contrivance any dislocation of the drain was efteCluaily 
prevented. The foil, which is now laid perfectly dry, 
proves to be a rich ftrongloam; and the tenant, although 
lie had a leafe of the farm, of which feveral years are un¬ 
expired, confented to give immediately 40;. per acre for 
the newly-drained ground; and accordingly he now 
pays iool. per annum for the fifty acres above mentioned, 
which is confidered a very moderate rent, although the 
reft of the land on the fame farm is let below the average 
of twenty (hillings per acre. The drained ground has 
been fince divided into feven fields, by quick-fet hedges. 
Molt of it has been ploughed (at firlt with great difficulty), 
and is intended to remain in tillage; and has already- 
produced good crops of oats or turnips. The whole 
expenfe of cutting the drains, quarrying and leading the 
ftones, laying and filling-in, amounted to 822k 2s. 41k 
and the timber for planking coft 25k The above account, 
dated Jan. ax 1812, was tranfmitted by the Rev. Dr. 
Haggitt to the Society of Arts, who voted him a gold 
medal for the communication. See their Tranfadtions, 
vol. xxx. 
PITT'ONI, (Giovanni-Batifta), an Italian engraver, 
was born at Vicenza in 1690, and died at Venice in 
1767. He was the nephew and difciple of Francifco 
, Pittoni, 
/ 
