Madrid (522), since 1561 the capital of Spain, on the Manzanares, a mere mountain torrent, on an arid plateau in New Castile, the centre of the peninsula; is an insanitary city, and liable to great extremes of temperature; it is regularly built, sometimes picturesque, with great open spaces, such as the Prado, 3 m. long; fine buildings and handsome streets. It contains the royal palace, parliament and law-court houses, a university, magnificent picture-gallery, many charitable institutions, and a bull-ring. The book-publishing, tapestry weaving, and tobacco industries are the most important. It is a growing and prosperous city.
Madrigal, a short lyric containing some pleasant thought or sweet sentiment daintily expressed; applied also to vocal music of a similar character.
Madvig, Johan Nicolai, Danish scholar and politician, born at Svaneke, Bornholm; studied at Copenhagen, where he became professor of Latin in 1829; his studies of the Latin prose authors brought him world-wide fame, and his Latin Grammar (1841) and Greek Syntax (1846) were invaluable contributions to scholarship; he entered parliament, was repeatedly its president, and was Liberal Minister of Education and Religion 1848 to 1851; he died blind (1804-1886).
Mæander, a river in Phrygia, flowing through the Plain of Troy, and noted for its numerous windings.
Mæcenas, a wealthy Roman statesman, celebrated for his patronage of letters; was the friend and adviser of Augustus Cæsar, and the patron of Virgil and Horace; claimed descent from the ancient Etruscan kings; left the most of his property to Augustus; d. 8 B.C.
Mænades, the priestesses of Bacchus, who at the celebration of his festivals gave way to expressions of frenzied enthusiasm, as if they were under the spell of some demonic power.
Mæonides, a name given to Homer, either as the son of Mæon, or as born, according to one tradition, in Mæonia.
Maestricht (33), capital of Dutch Limburg, on the Maes, 57 m. E. of Brussels; has manufactures of glass, earthenware, and carpets; near it are the vast subterranean quarries of the Pietersberg, opened by the Romans.
Maeterlinck, Maurice, Belgian dramatist, born at Ghent; earned his fame by "La Princesse Maleine," produced in Paris 1890, and followed by "L'Intruse," "Les Aveugles," and several other plays; his essays show religious sympathies; b. 1864.
Mafeking, a station in NE. of British Bechuanaland, on the Transvaal frontier, on the railway from Cape Town.
Maffia, a Sicilian secret society which aims at boycotting the law-courts, superseding the law, and ruling the island; its chief weapon is the boycott; violence is only resorted to for vengeance; funds are raised by blackmail; popular support enables it to control elections, avoid legal proceedings, and influence industrial questions. The Italian government try in vain to put it down.
Magdala, an Abyssinian hill fortress on a lofty plateau 300 m. S. of Massowah; captured by Lord Napier, who had been sent in 1868 to rescue certain British subjects held prisoners there, and which he succeeded in doing.
Magdalene, Mary, a Galilæan, belonging to Magdala, on the Sea of Galilee, who followed Christ, stood by the cross, prepared spices for His sepulchre, to whom He first appeared after His resurrection, and who is supposed by some recent critics to be the sole voucher for His rising again.
Magdeburg (202), on the Elbe, 75 m. SW. of Berlin, is the capital of Prussian Saxony, one of the most important fortresses, the chief sugar market of Germany, and the seat of large iron manufactures; it has also distilleries and cotton mills, and is a busy railway centre; it is a place of ancient date and historical interest.
Magellan, Ferdinand, Portuguese navigator; served his country first in the East Indies and Morocco, but dissatisfied with King Manuel's treatment of him, offered himself to Spain; under Charles V.'s patronage he and Ruy Falero set out to reach the Moluccas by the west in 1519; he reached the Philippines, and died in battle in Matan; on this voyage he discovered the Magellan Strait, 375 m. long and 15 m. wide, between the South American mainland and Tierra del Fuego; he gave name to the Pacific from the calm he exceptionally, it appears, experienced on entering it (1470-1521).
Magellanic Clouds, two masses of stars and nebulæ seen in the southern hemisphere, not far from the South Pole.
Magendie, François, a celebrated French physiologist, born at Bordeaux; was the author of several works on physiology, made important discoveries in connection with the animal system, and was an unscrupulous vivisectionist (1783-1855).
Magenta (6), Italian town, 15 m. W. of Milan, where Macmahon defeated a superior Austrian force in 1859.
Maggiore, Lago (i. e. the Greater Lake), a large lake in the N. of Italy, partly in Switzerland, 37 m. in length, and 8 m. in greatest breadth, the river Ticino flowing through it. The Borromean Islands (q. v.) occupy a western arm of the lake.
Magi, a priestly caste in the East, constituting the "learned" class, as the Druids in the West: the custodiers of religion and the rites connected therewith, and who gave themselves up to the study of sciences of a recondite character, but with a human interest, such as astrology and magic, and who were held in great reverence by, and exercised a great influence over, the people.
Magi, the Three, the "wise men from the East" mentioned in Matt. ii.—Melchior, an old man, who brought gold, the emblem of royalty; Gaspar, a youth, who brought frankincense, the emblem of divinity; Balthazar, a Moor, who brought myrrh, the emblem of humanity—and who were eventually regarded as the patron saints of travellers.
Magic, the pretended art to which extraordinary and marvellous effects are ascribed, of evoking and subjecting to the human will supernatural powers, and of producing by means of them apparitions, incantations, cures, &c., and the practice of which we find prevailing in all superstitious ages of the world and among superstitious people. See Superstition.
Maginn, William, a witty, generous-hearted Irishman, born in Cork; a man of versatile ability, who contributed largely to Blackwood, and became editor of Fraser's Magazine, in the conduct of which latter he gathered round him as contributors a number of the most eminent literary men; the stories and verses he wrote gave signs of something like genius (1793-1842).
Magliabecchi, an inordinate bookworm, born in Florence; became librarian of the Grand-Duke; his book-knowledge was as unbounded as his avidity for knowledge; his memory was extraordinary; he carried in his head the page of a passage in a book as well as the passage itself in the ipsissima verba, (1633-1714).
Magna Charta, "the great charter," extorted from King John by the barons of England at Runnymede on June 5, 1215, that guaranteed certain rights and privileges to the subjects of the realm, which were pronounced inviolable, and that established the supremacy of the law over the will of the monarch.
Magna Græca, the ancient name of the southern part of Italy, so called in early times as it was extensively colonised by Greeks.
Magnet, the name given to loadstone as first discovered in Magnesia, a town in Asia Minor; also to a piece of iron, nickel, or cobalt having similar properties, notably the power of setting itself in a definite direction; also a coil of wire carrying an electric current, because such a coil really possesses the properties characteristic of an iron magnet.
Magnetic Induction, power in a magnet of imparting its qualities to certain other substances.
Magnetism, the branch of science devoted to the study of the properties of magnets, and of electric currents in their magnetic relations; sometimes also used to denote the subtle influence supposed to lie at the root of all magnetic phenomena, of the true nature of which nothing is known. See Animal Magnetism.
Magnificat, The, a musical composition embracing the song of the Virgin Mary in Luke I. 46-55, so called from the first word of the song in the Vulgate; it belongs to, and forms part of, the evening service.
Magnussen, Finn, a Scandinavian scholar and archæologist, born in Iceland; became professor of Literature at Copenhagen in 1815; distinguished for his translation and exposition of the "Elder Edda" (1781-1847).
Magyars, a people of Mongolian origin from the highlands of Central Asia that migrated westward and settled in Hungary and Transylvania, where they now form the dominant race.
Mahâbhârata, one of the two great epic poems of ancient India, a work of slow growth, extending through ages, and of an essentially encyclopædic character; one of the main sources of our knowledge of the ancient Indian religions and their mythologies; it is said to consist of upwards of 100,000 verses.
Mahâdêva, the great god of the Hindus; an appellation of Siva (q. v.), as Mahâdêvi is of Durgâ, his wife.
Mahánadé, a great Indian river which, after flowing eastward for over 500 m., the last 300 of which are navigable, falls into the Bay of Bengal near Cape Palmyras; its volume in flood is enormous, and renders it invaluable for irrigation.
Mahatma, one who, according to the Theosophists, has passed through the complete cycle of incarnation, has thereby attained perfection of being, and acquired the rank of high priesthood and miraculous powers in the spirit world, one, it would seem, of "the spirits of just men made perfect."
Mahdi (i. e. religious leader), a name given to any Mohammedan fanatic who arises in the interest of the Mohammedan faith, summons the Moslems to war, and leads them to repel the infidel; a kind of Mohammed Messiah armed with the sword for the conquest of the world to the faith.
Mahdi, Mohammed Ahmed, a Mohammedan fanatic, born in Dongola, and who, at the head of an army of dervishes, raised his standard for the revival of Islam in the Soudan; he was unsuccessfully opposed by the Egyptians, and Khartoum, occupied by them, fell into his hands, to the sacrifice of General Gordon, just as the British relief army under Lord Wolseley approached its walls in 1885, a few months after which he died at Omdurman.
Mahdism, a hope cherished by devout Moslems of a Mahdi to come who will lead them on to victory against the infidel and to the conquest of the world.
Mahmud II., Sultan of Turkey; crushed a rebellion on his accession by putting his brother to death, on whose behalf the janissaries had risen, as they afterwards did to their annihilation at his hands by wholesale massacre; by the victory of Navarino in 1827 he lost his hold of Greece, which declared its independence, and was near losing his suzerainty in Egypt when he died; his reign was an eventful one (1785-1839).
Mahon, Lord, Earl Stanhope, statesman and historian; wrote "History of the War of the Succession in Spain," "History of the Reign of Queen Anne," and "History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Versailles" (1805-1875).
Mahony, Francis, an Irish priest, born in Cork, who took to journalism, and is known by his nom de plume of Father Prout; contributed to Fraser's Magazine, and was foreign correspondent to the Daily News and the Globe; was famous for his elegant translations (1804-1866).
Mahoun, a contemptuous name for Mahomet, transferred in Scotland to the devil, who was called Old Mahoun.
Mahrattas, a warlike Hindu race in Central India, occupying a territory watered by the Nerbudda, Godavari, and Kistna, who at one time kept up a struggle for the supremacy of India with the British, but were finally subdued in 1843.
Maï, Angelo, cardinal, distinguished scholar and editor; became librarian of the Vatican; was distinguished for deciphering palimpsests (q. v.), and thus disclosing lost classical works or fragments of them; he edited a number of unedited MSS. which he found in the Vatican, and in particular the Vatican codex of the Bible (1782-1854).
Maia, the daughter of Atlas, the eldest of the seven Pleiades (q. v.), and the mother by Zeus of Hermes or Mercury.
Maid Marian, a man dressed as a woman who grimaced and performed antics in the morris dances.
Maid of Norway, daughter of Eric II., king of Norway, and through her mother heiress to the Scottish crown; died on her passage to Scotland in 1240.
Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc, so called from her defence of Orleans against the English. See Joan.
Maiden, The, a sort of guillotine that appears to have been in use in Scotland during the 15th and 16th centuries, of which there is one in the Antiquarian Museum, Edinburgh.
Maidment, James, antiquary and collector, born in London; passed through Edinburgh University to the Scotch bar, and was chief authority on genealogical cases; his hobby was the collection of literary rarities, and he published editions of ancient literary remains; he died at Edinburgh (1794-1879).
Maidstone (32), county town of Kent, on the Medway, 30 m. SE. of London; has several fine old churches and historical buildings, a grammar school and a school of art and music, numerous paper-mills, and breweries, and does a large trade in hops; Woollett the engraver and Hazlitt the essayist were born here.
Maimon, Solomon, philosopher, born, of Jewish parents, in a village of Minsk; came to Berlin, where he studied, lived an eccentric, vagabond life, dependent mostly on his friends; made the acquaintance of Kant and Goethe, and attempted and published an eclectic system of philosophy in 1790, being Kant's system supplemented from Spinoza, Leibnitz, and Locke, and even Hume; his last patron was Count Kalkreuth, at whose house in Siegersdorf he died (1754-1800).
Maimonides, Moses, a Jewish rabbi, born at Cordova, whom the Jews regarded as their Plato, and called the "Lamp of Israel" and the "Eagle of the doctors"; was a man of immense learning, and was physician to the Sultan of Egypt; in his relation to the Jews he ranks next to Moses, and taught them to interpret their religion in the light of reason; he wrote a "Commentary on the Mishna and the Second Law," but his chief work is the "Moreh Nebochim," or "Guide to the Perplexed" (1135-1204).
Maine (662), the most north-easterly State in the American Union, lies between Quebec and New Hampshire on the W. and New Brunswick and the Atlantic on the E., and is a little larger than Ireland, a picturesque State with high mountains in the W., Katahdin (5000 ft), many large lakes like Moosehead, numerous rivers, and a much indented rocky coast; the climate is severe but healthy, the soil only in some places fertile, the rainfall is abundant; dense forests cover the north; hay, potatoes, apples, and sweet corn are chief crops; cotton, woollen, leather manufactures, lumber working, and fruit canning are principal industries; the fisheries are valuable; timber, building stone, cattle, wool, and in winter ice are exported; early Dutch, English, and French settlements were unsuccessful till 1630; from 1651 Maine was part of Massachusetts, till made a separate State in 1820; the population is English-Puritan and French-Canadian in origin; education is advancing; the State's Liquor Law of 1851 was among the first of the kind: the capital is Augusta (11); Portland (36) is the largest city and chief seaport; Lewiston (22) has cotton manufactures.
Maine, Sir Henry, English jurist, legal member of the Council in India, and professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford; wrote on "Ancient Law," and important works on ancient institutions generally; regarded the social system as a development of the patriarchal system (1822-1888).
Maintenance, Cap of, an ermine-lined, crimson velvet cap, the wearing of which was a distinction granted first to dukes but subsequently to various other families.
Maintenon, Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de, born in the prison of Niort, where her father was incarcerated as a Protestant; though well inoculated with Protestant principles she turned a Catholic, married the poet Scarron in 1652, became a widow in 1660; was entrusted with the education of the children of Louis XIV. and Madame de Montespan; supplanted the latter in the king's affections, and was secretly married to him in 1684; she exercised a great influence over him, not always for good, and on his death in 1715 retired into the Convent of St. Cyr, which she had herself founded for young ladies of noble birth but in humble circumstances (1635-1719).
Mainz or Mayence (72), in Hesse-Darmstadt, on the Rhine, opposite the mouth of the Main, is an important German fortress and one of the oldest cities in Germany; it has a magnificent cathedral, restored in 1878, and is a stronghold of Catholicism; a large transit trade is done, and the making of furniture, leather goods, and machinery are important industries; Gutenberg was a native.
Maistre, Count, Joseph de, a keen and extreme Ultramontanist, born at Chambéry, of a noble French family; accompanied the king of Sardinia in his retreat while the French occupied Savoy in 1792; was ambassador at St. Petersburg from 1803 to 1817, when he was recalled to the home government at Turin; wrote numerous works, the chief "Du Pape" and "Soirées de St. Petersbourg" (1753-1821).
Maitland, William, Scottish politician and reformer, the Secretary Lethington of Queen Mary's reign; played a prominent part in the various movements of his time, but gained the confidence of no party; he adhered to the party of Moray as against the extreme measures of Knox, and proved a highly astute ambassador at the English Court; he connived at Rizzio's murder, but regained Mary's favour, and when she fled to England he, though joining with the new government, acted in her interest and formed a party to restore her to power; he and Kirkcaldy of Grange were forced to surrender, however, at Edinburgh in 1573, and Maitland afterwards died in Leith prison (1525-1573).
Majolica, a kind of enamelled pottery imported into Italy from Majorca, known also as faience from its manufacture at Faenza, and applied also to vessels made of coloured clay in imitation.
Majorca (234), the largest of the Balearic Isles, is 130 m. NE. of Cape San Antonio, in Spain; mountains in the N. rise to 5000 ft., their slopes covered with olives, oranges, and vines; the plains are extremely fertile, and the climate mild and equable; manufactures of cotton, silk, and shoes are the industries; the capital, Palma (61), is on the S. coast, at the head of a large bay of the same name.
Majuscule, a capital letter found in old Latin MSS. in and before the 6th century.
Makrizi, Taki-ed-din Ahmed el-, greatest Arabic historian of Egypt, born at Cairo; studied philosophy and theology, and in 1385 won the green turban; occupied several political and ecclesiastical offices; went to Damascus in 1408, but returning to Cairo devoted himself to history, and published among other works an important "History of Egypt and Cairo" (1364-1442).
Malabar (2,653), a district in the W. of Madras, sloping from the Ghâts down to the Indian Ocean, very rainy, covered with vast forests of teak; produces rice, coffee, and pepper.
Malacca is a name given to the whole Malay Peninsula, that remarkable tongue of land 44 to 210 m. wide, stretching 800 m. SE. from Burma between the Strait of Malacca and the Gulf of Siam; mountain ranges 7000 ft. high from the backbone; along the coast are deep mangrove swamps; the plains between yield rice, sugar-cane, cotton, and tobacco; there are forests of teak, camphor, ebony, and sandal-wood, and the richest tin mines in the world; the climate is unhealthy; the northern portion is Siamese, the southern constitutes the British Straits Settlements, of which one, on the W. coast, is specifically called Malacca (92); it exports tin and tapioca; the capital, Malacca (20), 120 m. NW. of Singapore, was the scene of Francis Xavier's labours.
Malachi, a prophetic book of the Old Testament, the author of which is otherwise unknown, as the name, which means the "Messenger of Jehovah," occurs nowhere else in the Bible, and it is a question whether the name is that of a person or a mere appellative; the prophecy it contains appears to have been uttered 420 B.C., and refers to abuses which came to a head between the first and second visits of Nehemiah to Jerusalem; it lacks the old prophetic fire, and gives the impression that the prophetic office is ended.
Malachy, St., archbishop of Armagh in the 12th century; was a friend of St. Bernard's, who wrote his Life and in whose arms he died at Clairvaux; was renowned for his sanctity as well as learning; a book of prophecies ascribed to him bearing on the Roman pontiffs is a forgery.
Maladetta, Mount (i. e. the accursed), the name of the highest summit of the Pyrenees, 11,168 ft. high, in NE. of Zaragoza.
Malaga (132), Spanish seaport, 65 m. NE. of Gibraltar, an ancient Phoenician town, is now an important but declining centre of commerce; it exports olive-oil, wine, raisins, lead, &c., and manufactures cotton, linen, machinery, fine-art pottery, &c.; its magnificent climate makes it an excellent health resort.
Malagrowther, an old courtier in the "Fortunes of Nigel" soured by misfortune, and who would have every one be as discontented as himself.
Malaise, an uneasy feeling which often precedes a serious attack of some disease.
Malaprop, Mrs., a character in Sheridan's "Rivals," noted for her blunders in the use of fine or learned words, as in the use of "allegory" for "alligator."
Mälar Lake, large and beautiful Swedish lake, stretching 80 m. westward from Stockholm; its shores are deeply indented with bays, and the surrounding hills as well as the thousand islands it contains are well wooded.
Malay Archipelago or Indian Archipelago is that group of many hundred islands stretching from the Malay Peninsula SE. to Australia between the North Pacific and the Indian Ocean, of which Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Celebes are the largest.
Malays, a branch of the human family now classed among the Mongols, and which inhabit the Malay Peninsula, the islands of the Indian Archipelago, as well as Madagascar, and many of the islands in the Pacific; they are of a dark-brown or tawny complexion, short of stature, have flat faces, black coarse hair, and high cheek-bones; there are three classes of them, distinguished from each other in character and habits of life; the more civilised of them are Mohammedans.
Malcolm, Sir John, Indian soldier and statesman, born in Dumfriesshire; went as cadet to the Madras army in 1785, and for over 30 years was an important figure in Eastern affairs; he was ambassador to Persia 1800, governor of Mysore 1803, again in Persia as plenipotentiary in 1807 and 1810, political agent in the Deccan 1817, and governor of Bombay 1827-30; he distinguished himself also in several wars; wrote "A History of Persia" and other historical works, and returning to England entered Parliament in 1831, opposed to the Reform Bill; two years later he died in London (1769-1833).
Malcolm Canmore, son of Duncan, whom Macbeth slew, succeeded his father in 1040 as king of Cumbria and Lothian, and in 1057, on Macbeth's death, became king of all Scotland; till 1066 his reign was peaceful, but thereafter it was one long conflict with the Normans in England; raids and counter-raids succeeded each other till, in 1091, Malcolm was forced to do homage to William Rufus; next year he lost his possessions S. of the Solway, and in 1093 he was slain in battle at Alnwick; the influence of his second wife, the saintly Margaret, did much to promote the civilisation of Scotland and to bring the Scottish Church into harmony with the rest of Christendom.
Maldive Islands (20), a chain of several hundred tiny coral islands in the Indian Ocean stretching 550 m. southward from a point 300 m. SW. of Cape Comorin, 200 of which are inhabited; Malé is the residence of the sultan, who is a tributary of the governor of Ceylon; the natives are akin to the Singhalese, and occupy themselves gathering cowries, cocoa-nuts, and tortoise-shell for exportation.
Malebolge, the name given to the eighth circle in Dante's "Inferno," as consisting of "evil pits," which the name means, 10 in number, for those guilty of frauds: contains (1) seducers, (2) flatterers, (3) simonists, (4) soothsayers, (5) bribers and receivers of bribes, (6) hypocrites, (7) robbers, (8) evil advisers, (9) slanderers, (10) forgers.
Malebranche, Nicholas, a French metaphysician, born in Paris; determined to embrace a monastic life, entered the congregation of the Oratory at the age of 22, and devoted himself to theological study, till the treatise of Descartes on "Man" falling into his hands, he gave himself up to philosophy; his famous work "De la Recherche de la Vérité" was published in 1673, the main object of which was to bridge over the gulf which separates mind from matter by the establishment of the thesis that the mind immediately perceives God, and sees all things in God, who in Himself includes the presumed irreconcilable antithesis (1638-1715).
Malesherbes, Lamoignon de, French statesman, born in Paris; a good and upright man; was twice over called to be one of Louis XVI.'s advisers, but his advice was not taken and he retired; defended Louis at his trial; pled for him "with eloquent want of eloquence, in broken sentences, in embarrassment and sobs," and was guillotined for it; he had been censor of the press, and to his liberal-minded censorship the world owes the publication of the "Encyclopédie" (1721-1794).
Malherbe, François de, a French lyric poet and miscellaneous writer of great industry, born at Caen, is, from his correct though affected style, regarded as one of the reformers of the French language (1555-1628).
Malignants, the advisers of Charles I., chief among whom were Strafford and Laud; were so called by the Parliamentarians, who blamed them for the evils of the country; the name was afterwards applied to the whole Royalist party.
Malines or Mechlin (52), a Belgian city on the Dyle, 14 m. S. of Antwerp; has lost its old commercial activity, and is now the quiet ecclesiastical capital; masterpieces of Van Dyck and Rubens adorn its churches.
Malingering, a name given in the army to the crime of feigning illness to evade duty or obtain a discharge.
Mallet, David, originally Malloch, Scottish littérateur, born in Crieff; wrote several plays, and is remembered for his ballad entitled "William and Margaret"; he was a friend of Thomson, and divided with him the honour of the authorship of "Rule Britannia," the merit of which, however, is more in the music than in the poetry, about which they contested (1702-1765).
Mallock, William Hurrell, author, born in Devonshire, educated at Oxford; published "The New Republic," 1876, a masterly satire on prominent contemporaries, which none of his subsequent work has excelled; b. 1849.
Malmaison, a historical château 10 m. W. of Paris; belonged originally to Richelieu; saw the last days of Joséphine, whose favourite residence it was, and was the scene of the repulse of Ducrot's sortie in October 1870.
Malmesbury, William of, an English chronicler of the 12th century; his chief work "Gesta Regum Anglorum" and "Gesta Pontificum Anglorum," followed by his "Historia Novella."
Malmö (50), important seaport and third town of Sweden, opposite Copenhagen; ships farm produce, cement, and timber; imports machinery, textile fabrics, and coffee; has cigar and sugar factories, and some shipbuilding.
Malone, Edmund, a Shakespearian critic and editor, born in Dublin, was a stickler for literary accuracy and honesty (1741-1812).
Malory, Sir Thomas, flourished in the 15th century; was the author of "Morte d'Arthur," being a translation in prose of a labyrinthine selection of Arthurian legends, which was finished in the ninth year of Edward IV., and printed fifteen years after by Caxton "with all care."
Malpighi, Marcello, Italian anatomist and professor of Medicine; noted for his discovery of the corpuscles of the kidney and the spleen, named after him (1628-1694).
Malström, or Maelström, a dangerous whirlpool off the coast of Norway, caused by the rushing of the currents of the ocean in a channel between two of the Loffoden Islands, and intensified at times by contrary winds, to the destruction often of particularly small craft caught in the eddies of it, and sometimes of whales attempting to pass through it.
Malta (with Gozo) (177), a small British island in the Mediterranean, 80 m. S. of Sicily; is a strongly fortified and a most important naval station, head-quarters of the British Mediterranean fleet, and coaling-station for naval and mercantile marine; with a history of great interest, Malta was annexed to Britain in 1814. The island is treeless, and with few streams, but fertile, and has many wells. Wheat, potatoes, and fruit are largely cultivated, and filigree work and cotton manufactured. The people are industrious and thrifty; population is the densest in Europe. The Roman Catholic Church is very powerful. There is a university at Valetta, and since 1887 Malta has been self-governing.
Maltebrun, Conrad, geographer, born in Denmark; studied in Copenhagen, but banished for his revolutionary sympathies; settled in Paris; was the author of several geographical works, his "Geographic Universelle" the chief (1775-1826).
Malthus, Thomas R., an English economist, born near Dorking, in Surrey; is famous as the author of an "Essay on the Principle of Population," of which the first edition appeared in 1798, and the final, greatly enlarged, in 1803; the publication provoked much hostile criticism, as it propounded a doctrine which was disastrous to the accepted theory of perfectibility, and which aimed at showing how the progress of the race was held in check by the limited supply of the means of subsistence, a doctrine that admittedly anticipated that struggle for life on a larger scale which the Darwinian hypothesis requires for its "survival of the fittest" (1766-1834).
Malvern, Great (6), a watering-place in Worcestershire, on the side of the Malvern Hills, with a clear and bracing air, a plentiful supply of water, and much frequented by invalids.
Mambrino, a Moorish king, celebrated in the romances of chivalry, who possessed a helmet of pure gold which rendered the wearer of it invulnerable, the possession of which was the ambition of all the paladins of Charlemagne, and which was carried off by Rinaldo, who slew the original owner; Cervantes makes his hero persuade himself that he has found it in a barber's brass basin.
Mamelukes, originally slaves from the regions of the Caucasus, captured in war or bought in the market-place, who became the bodyguard of the Sultan in Egypt, and by-and-by his master to the extent of ruling the country and supplying a long line of Sultans of their own election from themselves, many of them enlightened rulers, governing the country well, but their supremacy was crushed by the Sultan of Turkey in 1517; after this, however, they retained much of their power, and they offered a brilliant resistance to Bonaparte at the battle of the Pyramids in 1798, who defeated them; but recovering their power after his withdrawal and proving troublesome, they were by two treacherous massacres annihilated in 1811 by Mehemet Ali, who became Viceroy of Egypt under the Porte.
Mammon, the Syrian god of riches, which has given name to the modern passion for material wealth, specially conceived of as an abnegation of Christianity, the profession of which is in flat antagonism to it.
Mammoth, an extinct species of elephant of enormous size found fossilised in Northern Europe and Asia in deposits alongside of human remains, and yielding a supply of fossil ivory.
Mammoth Cave, a cave in Kentucky, U.S., about 10 m., the largest in the world, and rising at one point to 300 ft. in height, with numerous side branches leading into grottoes traversed by rivers, which here and there collect into lakes; name also of another of smaller dimensions in California.
Man, Isle Of (56), a small island in the Irish Sea, 35 m. W. of Cumberland and about the same distance E. of Co. Down; from its equable climate and picturesque scenery is a favourite holiday resort; it has important lead mines at Laxey and Foxdale; fishing and cattle-grazing are profitable industries; the people are Keltic, with a language and government of their own; the island is a bishopric, with the title Sodor and Man.
Man of Destiny, name given to Napoleon Bonaparte as reflecting his own belief, for he was a fatalist.
Man of Feeling, the title of a novel by Henry Mackenzie, frequently applied to himself as well as his hero.
Man of Ross, John Kyrle, a public-spirited gentleman, immortalised by Pope from the name of his parish in Hereford. See Kyrle.