Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/368

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354 PETERBOROUGH to Jerusalem, where the oppressions which he witnessed and experienced determined him to arouse the people of Christendom to undertake a war for the liberation of the holy sepulchre. (See CRUSADES.) The first host of crusaders was led by Peter himself. A part of it sepa- rated from the rest under the command of "Walter the Penniless, and was destroyed in Bulgaria. The principal division reached no further than Nice, where they were defeated by the Moslems. Peter had left them before this, and his name was associated with the succeeding expedition under Godfrey of Bou- illon. While the crusaders were besieged in Antioch, he deserted, but was captured by Tancred and brought back. On the conquest of Jerusalem he preached a sermon to the cru- saders on the mount of Olives. After this he returned to Europe and founded the abbey of Neufmoutier, near Huy, where he passed the rest of his life. There is a statue in bronze of Peter the Hermit in the place St. Michel in Amiens. PETERBOROUGH. I. An E. central county of Ontario, Canada, watered by the Otonabee ; area, 2,485 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 30,473, of whom 15,287 were of Irish, 7,949 of English, 4,947 of Scotch, 1,024 of French, and 794 of German origin or descent. It contains numer- ous lakes, and is connected by a branch with the Midland railway. The surface is undula- ting. II. A town, capital of the county, on the Otonabee river, which is here crossed by a bridge, and on the Midland railway, 67 m. N. E. of Toronto; pop. in 1871, 4,611. The riv- er is here navigable by steamers. The streets are well laid out and are lighted with gas. The town contains several saw and grist mills, manufactories of iron castings, steam engines, machinery, agricultural implements, leather, woollens, wooden ware, &c., and has a large export trade in grain, pork, and lumber. There are four branch banks, three weekly newspa- pers, and churches of six denominations. PETERBOROUGH, a city of Northampton- shire, England, on the left bank of the Nene, 37 in. N. E. of Northampton, and 76 m. N. by W. of London; pop. in 1871, 17,429. The cathedral is a fine specimen of Norman and early English architecture. It was founded in 655 by Peada, king of Mercia, but was de- stroyed by the Danes, and afterward rebuilt. It is in the form of a cross, 476 ft. long, with transepts 203 ft. broad, ceiling 78 and tower 150 ft. high. Catharine of Aragon, wife of Henry VIII., and Mary, queen of Scots, were both buried in Peterborough cathedral ; but the remains of the latter were removed by James I. to Westminster abbey. Peterborough is the seat of a bishop, and the dean and chapter ex- ercise a certain jurisdiction over the town. PETERBOROUGH, harles Mordaunt, earl of, a British soldier, born in 1658, died in Lisbon, Oct. 25, 1735. His youth until his 17th year was passed in the frivolous and profligate amusements of the court, wearying of which he joined an expedition sent to chastise the Bar- bary corsairs of the Mediterranean. Having seen severe service at Tripoli and elsewhere, he returned to England, was married, and succeed- ed to his father's title of Viscount Mordaunt. In 1678-' 9 he again served against the Algerines, and on his return to England took his seat in the house of lords as an opponent of the court. Subsequently he showed a strong sympathy for Lord Russell and Algernon Sidney, the latter of whom, in spite of the menaces of Jeffrey, he supported to the last and accompanied to the scaffold. His pecuniary circumstances becom- ing embarrassed in consequence of a reckless generosity, he went in 1686 to Holland, whence he returned to England with the prince of Orange. In April, 1689, he was created first commissioner of the treasury and earl of Mou- rn outh, but retired from office in a few months with no great credit for political integrity. Af- ter serving in the campaign of 1691 on- the con- tinent, he lived for several years on his estates ; but his restless ambition and vanity, which the king's refusal to recall him to power only in- flamed, prompted him in 1696 to engage in the Fenwick plot, and he was for several months a prisoner in the tower. Released by William, and finding himself an object of detestation to both whigs and tories, he again went into re- tirement, and in 1697 succeeded to the title of earl of Peterborough, inherited from his uncle, Henry Mordaunt. At this time he was reduced to poverty. The accession of Queen Anne opened the path of preferment to him, and by paying court to the duchess of Maryborough he procured the appointment of general-in-chief of the forces sent in 1705 to assist the cause of the archduke Charles of Austria, claimant of the crown of Spain. With 7,000 undisciplined troops, principally Dutch and English, he cap- tured Barcelona, having first carried by assault the almost impregnable citadel of Montjuich, which commanded the city, and, in the face of a vastly superior force having every advan- tage of position, began a remarkably success- ful campaign against the supporters of Philip V., the rival of Charles. He quickly overran Catalonia, Aragon, and Valencia, and parts of Murcia and Castile, outwitting and alarming his enemies by the rapidity, secrecy, and mys- tery of his movements, defeating thousands of men with a mere handful, and not scrupling at any artifice which would insure success or increase his numbers or prestige. The advance in April, 1706, of an army of 20,000 men un- der Philip V. toward Barcelona, checked the triumphant career of Peterborough, and he hastened back to the city, into which he threw a portion of his forces, while the remainder occupied the heights surrounding the enemy's camp and cut off their supplies. After an ob- stinate resistance the Barcelonese were relieved by the arrival of a British fleet with supplies and reinforcements, and the besieging force retreated with precipitation, closely followed by Peterborough. Had the advice of the lat-