commonly called El Puerto ("The Port"), a town of Spain, Andalusia, in the province and 7 miles N.E. of Cadiz, near the mouth and on the right bank of the Guadalete, which is crossed by a suspension-bridge. It is a pleasant and well-built though somewhat dull town, in a fertile country; and its houses resemble those of Cadiz, though they are often larger, and profusely decorated with painting. The principal street, called the Calle Larga, about a mile long, is handsome and well paved, which cannot be said of the other thoroughfares. There are several beautiful public walks shaded with trees; that called La Victoria being the finest. The places of public amusement include a theatre and a ring for bull-fights; the scene of one given in honour of Wellington, and described by Byron. Puerto is chiefly important as a place of exportation of wine. The bodegas, or wine stores, are large and lofty buildings, with thick walls and narrow windows; but they are not on such a large scale as those of Xeres. The people are employed to a large extent in farming. So excellent is the water of this place, that most of the drinking-water of Cadiz is conveyed from hence. The harbour of Puerto is formed by the river, but its mouth is obstructed by a dangerous bar. Steamers ply between this port and Cadiz. Timber and iron are the chief imports of the town. Pop. 17,930.

Puerto Cabello, a town of Venezuela, in the province of Carabobo, on a small island connected with the mainland by a bridge, 20 miles N.W. of Valencia. It is well built but unhealthy, has an excellent harbour, and a flourishing commerce. Pop. 7500.

Puerto Llano, a town of Spain, in the province and 20 miles S.S.W. of Ciudad Real. It has manufactures of lace, pottery, flour, &c. Near it there are mineral baths. Pop. 5000.

Puerto Principe, a town of Cuba, capital of a jurisdiction of the same name, stands in the interior of the island, 36 miles W.S.W. of its port, Las Nuevitas, with which it is connected by a railway. It was formerly the seat of the supreme court of justice for the island, but this is now at Havana. A considerable trade is carried on through the port, sugar and tobacco being the chief exports. Pop. of the jurisdiction (1854) 46,532; of the town, 26,648.

Puffendorf, Samuel, a distinguished juridical writer and historian, was born in 1632 at Chemnitz, a small town in Saxony, where his father, Elias Puffendorf, was a Lutheran clergyman. He received his elementary education from his father, and studied the humanities at the school of Grimma, theology at Leipzig, and philosophy under Erhard Weigel at Jena. The teaching of Weigel was then exciting considerable attention in Germany, and Puffendorf seems to have eagerly availed himself of his instructions. It was here he seems to have first applied himself to the study of the law of nature on which he was destined to become an eminent writer. Full of the philosophy of Descartes, of the jurisprudence of Grotius, and of the rigorous method of Weigel, he offered his services to his country. His brother Isaac, who was employed by Oxenstierna in lucrative and confidential offices under the government of Sweden, prevailed upon him to seek his fortune in foreign diplomacy; and with that intent he became tutor to the son of the Swedish ambassador at Copenhagen. He had hardly joined the legation when a rupture occurring between the governments of Denmark and Sweden, the embassy was detained as prisoners for eight months in the Danish capital. Puffendorf employed his leisure in reducing to writing, with occasional reflections of his own, the principles of general law contained in the works of Grotius, Hobbes, and other writers of that class. He published this work shortly afterwards, on visiting Holland, with the title of Elementa Jurisprudentiae Universalis, 1660. This crabb'd yet original work was dedicated to the elector-palatine Charles Louis, which laid the foundation, perhaps more than the substantial merits of his book would warrant, of the subsequent fortunes of the author. In the university of Heidelberg, which had been gradually falling into decay, Charles Louis founded a professorship of the law of nature and of nations, and chose Puffendorf to fill the chair. He had no sooner opened his course in 1661 than the class-room was crowded with eager listeners to the new professor of law. Flattered by this encouragement, he pursued his juridical studies with unabated zeal; and shortly afterwards published anonymously, at Geneva, Severini de Mozambano, De Statu Imperii Germanici. This book exhibited in somewhat strong colours the absurdities and incongruities of that strange compound called the Germanic empire, urging at the same time certain practical remedies for the grievous abuses which had grown up under it. The work created great excitement throughout Europe, and particularly in Austria, where it was put upon the Index Expurgatorius, and the executioner was ordered to burn it. Puffendorf defended the work without daring to declare himself the author. The work was printed again and again, and translated into almost all the languages of modern Europe. Meanwhile Puffendorf found his position so uncomfortable that, to avert the possible consequences of the stir, he was glad to accept in 1670, from Charles XI. of Sweden, the chair of the law of nations at the university of Lund, then recently founded. He had hardly occupied his new position two years, when the great work on which his reputation now chiefly rests made its appearance. It bore the title De Jure Naturae et Gentium. It was much more scientifically constructed than the De Jure Belli et Pacis of Grotius. Puffendorf, though without the genius or learning of his master, commences with the law of nature, discusses the subject as applied to individuals, and finally investigates the numerous complicated questions which emerge in the intercourse of nations. The new views contained in the work were virulently assailed by some of his contemporaries, and as enthusiastically admired by others, while the tide of his reputation steadily arose until it flooded over Europe. A few years afterwards he removed to Stockholm at the request of the King of Sweden, who appointed him his historiographer, and bestowed upon him the title of Counsellor of State. In this official capacity he published Commentarius de rebus Suecicis ab expeditione Gustari Adolphi usque ad abdicationem Christianae, Utrecht, 1686. The theme was promising, but Puffendorf was more familiar with the law of nations than he was with the rich details of their history. The work had gained the favour, however, of Frederic William, Elector of Brandenburg; for in 1688 he invited him to Berlin, and, with the consent of the King of Sweden, employed him to write the history of his life and reign. He was again made counsellor of state, and what was more to the purpose, he received an annual pension of 2000 crowns. Accordingly, there appeared in due time Commentarius de Rebus Gestis Frederici Wilhelmi Magni, Electoris Brandeburgicis; and we hope the Elector of Brandenburg received the performance with great enthusiasm, for it has to be recorded that nobody else did. His engagement at Berlin being merely temporary, he purposed returning to Stockholm; but as the King of Sweden had raised him to the dignity of a baron while resident at Berlin, and the climate being less severe in the southern metropolis, Puffendorf preferred postponing his journey northward. He died at Berlin on the 26th October 1694.

Puffendorf's works, which were somewhat voluminous, will be found in a detailed list appended to his Life in the Biographie Universelle.

Puget, Pierre, a celebrated sculptor, architect, painter, and ship-builder, was born at Marseilles on the 31st October 1622. His genius developed itself under very unfavourable circumstances. He had little artistic education and few facilities for artistic study; yet his own innate bias forced him on towards excellence. Every opportunity, however unfavourable, was seized for giving embodiment to those great ideas that began to rise vaguely before his boyish mind. Design in any of its branches, and on any occasion, was ardently practised by the precocious youth. When a mere lad of sixteen, he was superintending the building of a galley in the dockyards of his native city. At the age of eighteen he was gaining a livelihood in Florence by carving in wood. A year had not elapsed before he was found in Rome the favourite pupil of the famous painter Pietro de Cortona. He then returned home at the age of twenty-one, ready to practise in any department of art that might suit his purpose. The established reputation of Puget now secured for him a series of commissions. The building of a most magnificent vessel, named La Reine in honour of Anne of Austria, was entrusted to his superintendence. No sooner had that been completed in 1646 than he was despatched to Rome to make drawings of the most celebrated monuments of antiquity. Six years were spent in this employment; and he then came back to France to undertake the painting of several pictures. His pencil was plied vigorously, until the towns of Marseilles, Aix, Toulon, Cuers, and Ciotat, were embellished with his productions, and his health gave way under the continued toil. Puget, thus compelled to change his vocation, turned his attention to sculpture and architecture. In no long time he began to take a prominent place in the profession. His own native genius, in spite of an imperfect education, led him to discover the secrets of his art. The edifices which he erected at Marseilles and Toulon were remarkable for the boldness, the originality, and the grandeur of their architecture. The statues which he set up at Genoa and other places were unrivalled for their rough vigour and intense expression. Especially did the colossal group of Milo excite the admiration of his contemporaries. While it was still unfinished, intelligence reached the French court about the figure, instinct with the throes of pain and baffled strength, which was gradually coming out from the dull, formless marble in a quiet studio at Toulon. King Louis XIV. issued orders that it should be conveyed to Versailles as soon as it was completed. A chest containing it arrived at the palace in the spring of 1683, and the court gathered round to see it produced. "Ah, poor man!" exclaimed the queen Maria Theresa, as she saw the agonized face of the statue appear. This cry of pity brought the reputation of Puget to a climax. From that time till the time when he died at Marseilles in 1694, he was recognised by his sovereign and countrymen as the greatest sculptor in Europe.