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PEEK, in the sea-language, is a word used in various senses. Thus the anchor is said to be a-peek, when the ship being about to weigh comes over her anchor in such a manner that the cable hangs perpendicularly between the hause and the anchor.

To heave a peek, is to bring the peek so as that the anchor may hang a-peek. A ship is said to ride a-peck, when lying with her main and foreyards hoisted up, one end of her yards is brought down to the shrouds, and the other raised up on end; which is chiefly done when she lies in rivers, lest other ships falling foul of the gards should break them. Riding a-broad peek, denotes much the same, excepting that the yards are only raised to half the height.

Peek is also used for a room in the bold, extending from the bitts forward to the stern: in this room men of war keep their powder, and merchantmen their victuals.

PEEL, a town in the isle of Man, formerly called Holmstown, bas a fort in a small island, and a garrison well supplied with cannon. In it are the ancient cathedral, the lord's house, with some lodgings of the bishops, and other remains of antiquity.

In a judicative capacity, the house of peers is the snpreme court of the kingdom, having at present no original jurisdiction over causes, but only upon appeals and writs of error; to rectify any injustice or mistake of the Jaw.committed by the courts below. To this authority they succeeded of course upon the dissolution of the Aule Regia. For as the harons of parliament were constituent members of that court, and the rest of its jurisdiction was dealt out to other tribunals, over which the great officers who accompanied those barons were respectively delegated to preside, it followed, that the right of receiving appeals, and superintending all other jurisdictions, still remained in that noble assembly, from which every other great court was derived. They are therefore in all cases the last resort, from whose judgment-no farther appeal is permitted; but every subordinate tribunal must conform to their determinations: The law reposing an entire confidence in the honour and conscience of the noble persons who compose this important assembly, that they will make themselves masters of those questions upon which they undertake to decide; since upon their decision all property must finally depend. See LORDS, NOBILITY, &c.

PEERS, in the former government of France, were twelve great lords of that kingdom; of which six were dukes and six counts; and of these, six were ecclesiastics and six laymen: thus the archbishop of Rheims, and the bishop of Loan and Langres, were dukes and peers; and the bishops of Chalons on the Marn, Noyons, and Beauvais, were counts and peers. The dukes of Burgundy, Normandy, and Aquitain, were lay peers and dukes; and the counts of Flanders, Champagne, and Toulouse, lay peers and counts. These peers assisted at the coronation of kings, either in person or by their representatives, where each performed the functions attached to his respective dignity: but as the six lay peerages were all united to the crown, except that of the

lord.

The term peers is now applied to those who are impannelled in an inquest upon a person for convicting or acquitting him of any offence laid to his charge: and the reason why the jury is so called, is because, by the common law and the custom of this kingdom, every person is to be tried by his peers or equals; a lord by the lords, and a commoner by commoners. See the article JURY.

PEER of the Realm, a noble lord who has a seat and vote in the house of lords, which is also called the House of Peers.

These lords are called peers, because though there is a distinction of degrees in our nobility, yet in public actions they are equal, as in their votes in parliament, and im trying any nobleman or other person impeached by the commons, &c. See PARLIAMENT.

sen to represent them: but the ecclesiastical peers generally assisted in person. The title of peer was lately bestowed on every lord whose estate was erected into a «peerage; the number of which, as it depended entirely on the king, was uncertain.

PEERESS, a woman who is noble by descent, creation, or marriage. For, as we have noblemen of several ranks, so we may have noblewomen; thus King Henry VIII. made Anne Bullen marchioness of Pembroke; King James I. created the lady Compton, wife to Sir Thomas Compton, countess of Buckingham, in the lifetime of her husband, without any addition of honour to him; and also the same king made the lady Finch, viscountess of Maidstone, and afterwards countess of Winchelsea, to her and the heirs of her body; and King George I..made the lady Schulenberg, duchess of Ken-dal.

If a peeress, by descent or creation, marry a person under the degree of nobility, she still continues noble : but if she obtain that dignity only by marriage, she loses it, on her afterwards, marrying a commoner; yet by the courtesy of England, she generally retains the »title of her nobility.

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Peeress

Pegu.

A countess or baroness may not be arrested for debt or trespass; for though in respect of their sex, they cannot sit in parliament, they are nevertheless peers of the realm, and shall be tried by their peers, &c.

PEWIT, a species of gull. See LARUS, ORNITHOLOGY Index.

PEGASUS, among the poets, a horse imagined to have wings; being that on which Bellerophon was fabled to be mounted when he engaged the Chimera. See CHIMERA.

The opening of the fountain Hippocrene on Mount Hellicon is ascribed to a blow of Pegasus's hoof. It was feigned to have flown away to heaven, where it became a constellation. Hence

PEGASUS, in Astronomy, the name of a constellation of the northern hemisphere, in form of a flying horse. See ASTRONOMY.

PEGMARES, a name by which certain gladiators were distinguished, who fought upon moveable scaffolds called pegmata, which were sometimes unexpectedly raised, and by this means surprised the people with gladia tors in hot contention. They were sometimes so suddenly lifted up as to throw the combatants into the air; and sometimes they were let down into dark and deep holes, and then set on fire, thus becoming the funeralpiles of those miserable wretches; and roasting them alive to divert the populace.

PEGU, a very considerable kingdom of Asia, beyond the Ganges. The country properly so called is but about 350 miles in length from north to south, and as much in breadth from east to west. It is situated on the eastern side of the bay of Bengal, nearly opposite to Arixa, and to the north-east of the coast of Coromandel. It is bounded on the north by the kingdoms of Arrakan and Ava; on the east by the Upper and Lower Siam, on the south by part of Siam and the sea; and on the west by the sea and part of Arrakan.

The kingdom of Pegu is said to have been founded about 1100 years ago. Its first king was a seaman; concerning whom and his successors we know nothing till the discovery of the East Indies by the Portuguese in the beginning of the 16th century. In 1518 the throne of Pegu was possessed by one Bressagukan, with whom Antony Correa the Portuguese ambassador solemnly concluded a peace in 1519. This monarch was possessed of a very large and rich empire, nine kingdoms being in subjection to him, whose revenues amounted to three millions of gold. We hear no farther accounts of his transactions after the conclusion of the treaty with the Portuguese. In 1539 he was murdered on the following occasions Among other princes who were his tributaries was Para Mandara, king of the Birmans or Barmans. These people inhabited the high lands called Pangavirau, to the northward of the kingdom of Pegu. Their prince, by one of the terms of his vassalage, was obliged to furnish the king of Pegu with 30,000 Birmans to labour in his mines and other public works. As the king used frequently to go and see how his works went forward, and in these journeys took along with him none but his women, the Birmans observing these visits frequently repeated, formed a design of robbing the queen and all the concubines of their jewels; and pursuant to this design, the next time the king visited the works, they murdered him, and having stripped the ladies, fled to their own country.

VOL. XVI. Part I.

By this enormity all Pegu was thrown into confu- Pegu. sion: but, instead of revenging the death of their king, the people divided everywhere into factions; so that Dacha Rupi, the lawful heir to the crown, found himself unable to maintain his authority. Of these commotions, the king of the Birmans taking the advantage, not only shook off the yoke, but formed a design of conquering the kingdom of Pegu itself.-With this view he invaded the country with an army of more than a million of foot, and 5000 elephants; besides a great fleet which he sent down the river Ava towards Bagou or Pegu, the capital of the empire; while he himself marched thither by land. Just at this time Ferdinand de Mirales arrived at Pegu from Goa with a large galleon richly laden on account of the king of Portugal, As soon as Dacha Rupi heard of his coming, he sent to desire his assistance against the enemy. This he obtained by great presents and promises: and Mirales, setting out in a galliot, joined the king's ships. Had the numbers been any thing near an equality, the superior skill of Mirales would undoubtedly have gained the victory: But the fleet of the Birmans covered the whole river, though as large as the Ganges, while that of Dacha Rupi could scarcely be observed in comparison with them. Mirales did every thing that man could do, and even held out alone after the natives had deserted him; but at last, oppressed and overwhelmed with numbers, he was killed with all his men.

Thus Para Mandara became master of all Pegu; after which he attacked the tributary kingdoms. In 1544 he besieged Martavan, the capital of a kingdom of the same name, then very great and flourishing. The land forces which he brought against it consisted of 700,000 men, while by sea he attacked it with a fleet of 1700 sail; 100 of which were large galleys, and in them 700 Portuguese commanded by John Cayero, who had the reputation of being a valiant and experienced officer. The siege, however, continued seven months, during which time the Birmans lost 120,000 men; but at last the besieged king, finding himself straitened for want of provisions, and unable to withstand so great a power, offered terms of capitulation. The besiegers would admit of no terms, upon which the distressed king applied to the Portuguese in the service of his enemy; for by their assistance he doubted not to be able to drive away the Birmans. Accordingly, he sent one Seixas to Cayero, intreating him to receive himself, his family, and trea sure, on board the four ships he had under his com mand; offering, on that condition, to give half his riches to the king of Portugal, to become his vassal, and pay such tribute as should be agreed upon. Cayero consulted the principal officers, and in their presence asked Seixas what he thought the treasure might amount to. Seixas answered, that out of what he had seen, for he had not seen all, two ships might be loaded with gold, and four or five with silver. This proposal was too advantageous to be slighted; but the rest of the officers envying the great fortune which Cayero would make, threatened to discover the whole to the king of Barma or Birma if he did not reject it. The unhappy king of Martavan had now no other resource but to set fire to the city, make a sally, and die honourably with the few men he had with him: but even here he was disappointed; for by the desertion of 4000 of his troops the enemy were apprised of his design, and prevented it. Thus M

betrayed,

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people, that in three weeks time all the strong holds of Pegu fell into his hands.

On this news the king immediately raised the siege in which he was engaged, and in 17 days got to Martavan. Here he was informed, that Shemindoo had posted 500,000 men in different places, in order to intercept his passage; at the same time that he had the mortification to find 50,000 of his best troops deserted. To prevent a greater desertion, after 14 days stay, he departed from Martavan, and soon met Shemindoo at the head of 600,000 men. A desperate engagement followed; in which Shemindoo was entirely defeated, with the loss of 300,000 men. Of the Birman troops were slain 60,000; among whom were 280 Portuguese.

The morning after this victory, the tyrant marched to the city the inhabitants of which surrendered, on condition of having their lives and effects spared. The kingdom being thus again brought under his subjection, his next step was to punish the principal persons concerned in the rebellion: their heads he cut off, and confiscated their estates, which amounted to no less then ten millions of gold. Others say, that he put all without distinction to the sword, excepting only 12,000, who took shelter in James Suarez's house; that alone affording an asylum from the general slaughter. The plunder was incredible, Suarez alone getting three millions. All these cruelties, however, were insufficient to secure the allegiance of the tyrant's subjects; for in less than three months news was brought that the city of Martavan had revolted; and that the governor had not only declared for Shemindoo, but murdered 2000 Birmans. Mandara then summoned all the lords of the kingdom to meet him with their force, within 15 days, at a place called Mouchau, not far from his capital, whither he himself went with 300 men, to wait their arrival. But in the meantime he received intelligence that the shemin or governor of Zatan, a city of some consequence, had submitted to Shemindoo, and also lent him a large sum of gold. The shemin was immediately sent for in order to be put to death: but he, suspecting Mandara's design, excused himself by pretending sickness; after which, having consulted with his friends, he drew together about 600 men; and having with these privately advanced to the place where the king was, he killed him, with the few attendants that were about him at the time. The guards in the court being alarmed with the noise, a skirmish ensued with the shemin's men, in which about 800 were slain on both sides, most of them Birmans. The shemin then retreated to a place called Pontel; whither the people of the country, hearing of the death of the king, who was universally bated, resorted to him. When he had assembled about 5000 men, he returned to seek the troops which the late king had with him; and finding them dispersed in several places, easily killed them all. With the Birmans were slain 80 out of 30 Portuguese. The remainder surrendered, with Suarez their leader; and were spared, on condition of their remaining in the service of the shemin.

The shemin, now finding his forces daily increase, assumed the title of king; and, to render himself the more popular, gave out that he would exterminate the Birmans so effectually, as not to leave one in all the kingdom. It happened, however, that one of those who were

with the late king at the time he was murdered, escaped the general slaughter; and, swimming over the river, informed Chaumigrem of the king's death. He had with him 180,000 men, all of them natives of Pegu, excepting 30,000 Barmas. He knew very well, that if the natives had known that the king was dead, he and all his Barmas would have instantly been put to the sword. Pretending, therefore, that he had received orders to put garrisons into several places, Chaumigrem dispatched all the natives into different parts; and thus got rid of those whom he had so much cause to fear. As soon as they were marched, he turned back upon the capital, and seized the king's treasure, together with all the arms and ammunition. He then set fire to the magazines, arsenals, palace, some of whose apartments were ceiled with gold, and 2000 rowing vessels which were on the river. Then destroying all the artillery, he fled with the 30,000 Barmas to his own country, being pursued in vain by the natives of Pegu.

Thus the shemin of Zatan was left in quiet possession of the kingdom; but, by his repeated acts of tyranny and cruelty, he so disgusted his subjects, that many fled to foreign countries, while others went over to Shemindoo, who began now to gather strength again. In the mean time, James Suarez, the Portuguese whom we have often mentioned, lost his life by attempting to ravish a young woman of distinction; the shemin being unable to protect him, and obliged to give him up to the mob, who stoned him to death. The shemin himself did not long survive him; for, being grown intolerable by his oppressions, most of his followers abandoned him, and he was besieged in his capital by Shemindoo with an army of 200,000 men, and soon after slain in a sally; so that Shemindoo now seemed to be fully established on the throne. But in the mean time Chaumigrem, the foster-brother to the deceased king, hear ing that Pegu was very ill provided with the means of defence, invaded the kingdom with an army of 300,000 men. Shemindoo met him with three times their number; but his men, being all natives of Pegu, were inferior in strength, notwithstanding their numbers, to the enemy. The consequence was, that Shemindoo was defeated with prodigious slaughter, and Chaumigrem caused himself to be proclaimed king of Pegu. Shortly after, Shemindoo himself was taken; and, after being treated with the utmost cruelty, was beheaded.

The history of Chaumigrem is very imperfect. However, we know that he was a very great conqueror, and not at all inferior in cruelty to his predecessors. He reduced the empire of Siam and Aracan, and died in 1583; being succeeded by his son named Pranjinoku, then about 50 years of age. When this prince ascended the throne, the kingdom of Pegu was in its greatest height of grandeur; but by his tyranny and obstinacy he lost all that his father had gained. He died in 1599, and after his death the kingdom of Pegu became subject to Aracan. For some time past it has been tributary to the more powerful kingdom of Ava; the sovereigns of which country have hitherto been extremely cautious of permitting Europeans to obtain any settlement among them.

The air of Pegu is very healthy, and presently recovers sick strangers. The soil also is very rich and fertile in corn, rice, fruit, and roots; being enriched by the inundations of the river Pegu, which are almost increM 2

dible;