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PEEBLESSHIRE 159 PEELE three days deserted her, and devoted himself to his mistress, Donna Maria Padilla. Subsquently he poisoned his queen, and cruelly persecuted members of his own family and Castilian grandees, till an insurrection was raised against him under the lead of Harry of Trasta- mara, who finally defeated and slew him in the battle of Montiel, March 14, 1369. PEEBLESSHIRE, a county of Scot- land, in the S. E., with ranges of hills, and traversed by the River Tweed, which empties itself into the North Sea. There are many villages, but no large towns. Manufactures include tweeds, and there is dairy farming, with ordi- nary agricultural products like wheat, potatoes and green crops. Capital, Fee- ble. Pop. about 16,000. PEEKSKILL, a village in Westchester CO., N. Y.; on the Hudson river, and on the New York Central and Hudson River railroad; 42 miles N. of New York. It is noted for the picturesque mountain scenery which surrounds it. The town contains a military academy, St. Ga- briel's School, Helping Hand Hospital, Field Library, the New York State Mili- tary Camp, House of Good Shepherd, waterworks, gas, and electric lights, and several weekly newspapers. It has man- ufactories of fire brick, stoves, foundry facings, underwear, and hats. Pop. (1910) 15,245; (1920) 15,868. PEEL, SIR ROBERT, an English statesman, son of Sir Robert Peel, a wealthy manufacturer; born in 1788, and studied at Harrow and Oxford. When just 21 years of age he entered Parliament. He was no orator, nor was he, properly speaking, a natural and sim- ple debater. His manner was the artifi- cial one of thorough training, and the House from his practice got to like it. In 1811 he was made under-secretary for the colonies, and in 1812, when only 24, he received the very responsible appoint- ment of chief secretary for Ireland. After carrying his celebrated currency measure of 1819, he became, in 1822, home secretary. Refusing to take office under Canning, he ioined the ministry of the Duke of Wellington in 1828. Here, by conceding Catholic emancipa- tion (against which he had previously protested), he did one of those acts which have been called tergiversation by some. He still, however, professed to belong to the Conservative party, and he became a strenuous opponent of Earl Grey's min- istry, and the Reform Bill. When a Con- servative government was established in 1834, he gallantly undertook the attempt to work it, though conscious that the task was hopeless. He became prime minis- ter in 1841. The position was that of the head of a protectionist government, established to defeat and suppress the free trade party. As circumstances de- veloped from 1841 to 1846, it was seen that the prime minister, becoming con- vinced of the truth of free trade, was determined to carry its principles into practice. After the repeal of the Corn Laws and other measures in the same spirit, he resig^ned office in 1846. He died in 1850. SIR ROBERT PEEL PEELE, JOHN THOMAS, an Amer- can artist; born in Petersborough, Eng- land, in 1822 ; settled in New York City in 1835; early manifested a genius for por- trait painting and went to Europe to study; returned to New York in 1846, and studied in the National Academy of Design, of which he became an As- sociate. Later, he devoted himself to genre painting, becoming a specialist in studies of child life. His chief produc- tions include "Children in the Wood" (1847); the "Girl and Kitten"; "Sunny Days of Childhood"; "Jennie's Pet"; "Music of the Reeds"; "Grandma's First Lesson in Knitting"; "Asleep on Duty"; "The Wealth of Wild Flowers"; "The Little Laundress"; "Recitation for