Mentor, a friend of Ulysses, and the tutor of his son Telemachus, whose form and voice Athena assumed in order to persuade his pupil to retain and maintain the courage and astuteness of his father.
Menzel, Adolf, German painter, born at Breslau, professor at Berlin; best known for his historical pictures and drawings; b. 1815.
Menzel, Wolfgang, German author and critic, born in Silesia; wrote on German history, literature, and poetry, as well as general history, and maintained a vigorous polemic against all who by their writings or their politics sought to subvert the Christian religion or the orthodox policy of the German monarchies (1789-1873).
Mephistopheles, the impersonation in Goethe's "Faust" of the modern devil, the incarnation of the spirit of universal scepticism and scoffing, who can see not only no beauty in goodness but no deforming in iniquity, alike without reverence for God and fear of his adversary, blind as a mole to all worth and all unworth throughout the universe, yet knowing and boastful of knowledge, by means of which he sees only "the ridiculous, the unsuitable, the bad, but for the solemn, the noble, the worthy is blind as his ancient mother."
Mercator, a celebrated Dutch geographer who has given name to a projection of the earth's surface on a plane (1512-1592).
Mercenaries, originally hired soldiers as distinguished from feudal levies, now bodies of foreign troops in the service of the State; the Scots Guards in France from the 15th to 18th centuries were famous, and Swiss auxiliaries once belonged to most European armies; William III. had Dutch mercenaries in England; under the Georges, German were hired and were used in the American War, the Irish rebellion, and the Napoleonic struggle; in the Crimean War German, Swiss, and Italian were enrolled.
Mercia, one of the three chief kingdoms of early England; founded by Anglian settlers in the Upper Trent Valley (now South Staffordshire) In the 6th century; it rose to greatness under Penda 626-655, subsequently succeeded Northumberland in the supremacy, but after the death of Cenwulf 819, waned in turn before Wessex and the Danes.
Mercury, the Roman name for the Greek Hermes, the son of Jupiter and Maia, the messenger of the gods, the patron of merchants and travellers, and the conductor of the souls of the dead to the nether world.
Mercury, an interior planet of the Solar system, whose orbit is nearest the sun, the greatest distance being nearly 43,000,000 m. and the least over 28,000,000, is one-seventeenth the size of the earth, but is of greater density, and accomplishes its revolution in about 84 days; it is visible just before the sun rises and after it sets, but that very seldom owing to the sun's neighbourhood.
Mer-de-glace, the great glacier of the Alps near Chamouni, was the subject of the experiments of Professor J. D. Forbes of Edinburgh about 1843, and on which the movement of the glaciers was first observed.
Meredith, George, poet and novelist, born in Hampshire; began his literary career 1851 as a poet, in which capacity he has since distinguished himself and given expression to his deepest personal convictions, but it is chiefly as a novelist he is most widely known and is generally judged of; as a novel-writer he occupies a supreme place, and is reckoned superior in that department to all his contemporaries in the same line by the unanimous consent of one and all of them; his novels, however, appeal only to a select few, but by them they are regarded with unbounded admiration, some giving preference to this and others to that of the series; "The Ordeal of Richard Feveril," published in 1859, is by many considered his best, though it is over "The Egoist" that Louis Stevenson breaks out into raptures; Meredith has most sympathetic insights into nature and life, has a marvellous power in analysing and construing character, and shows himself alive to all the great immediate interests of humanity; b. 1828.
Meredith, Owen, the nom de plume assumed by Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, from his descent from a Welsh noble of the name.
Mergui, a small seaport near the mouth of the Tenasserim, British Burma, which exports birds' nests to China.
Meridian, an imaginary great circle passing through the poles at right angles to the equator.
Mèrimèe, Prosper, a great French writer, born in Paris; abandoned law, to which he was bred, for literature; became under Louis Philippe inspector-general of historical documents, and travelled in that capacity in the S. and W. of France, publishing from time to time the fruits of his researches; he wrote in exquisite style stories, historical dissertations, and travels, among other works "Guzla," "Chronicles of Charles IX.," the "History of Don Pedro, King of Castile," "Letters to an Unknown"; he was a man of singularly enigmatic character (1802-1870).
Merio`neth (49), a mountainous county of North Wales, abutting on Cardigan Bay, between Carnarvon and Cardigan; lofty peaks, Aran Mowddy, Cader Idris, and Aran Benllyn; rivers, Dee and Dovey, and Lake Bala afford picturesque scenery; the soil is fit only for sheep-grazing; but there are slate and limestone quarries, manganese and gold mines; the county town, Dolgelly (2), on the Wnion, has woollen and tweed manufactures.
Merivale, Charles, dean of Ely, born at Exeter; held a succession of appointments as lecturer; wrote a history of Rome from its foundation in 753 to the fall of Augustus in 476, but his chief work is the "History of the Romans under the Empire," indispensable as an Introduction to Gibbon (1808-1893).
Merle d'Aubigné, Jean-Henri. See D'Aubigné, Merle.
Merlin, a legendary Welsh prophet and magician, child of a wizard and a princess, who lived in the 5th century, and was subsequently a prominent personage at King Arthur's' court; prophecies attributed to him existed as far back as the 14th century; Tennyson represents him as bewitched by Vivian; legend also tells of a Clydesdale Merlin of the 6th century; his prophecies, published in 1615, include the former; both legends are based on Armorican materials.
Mermaids and Mermen (i. e. sea-maids and sea-men), a class of beings fabled to inhabit the sea, with a human body as far as the waist, ending in the tail of a fish; the females of them represented above the surface of the sea combing their long hair with one hand and holding a mirror with the other; they are supposed to be endowed with the gift of prophecy, and are of an amorous temper.
Merovingians, a name given to the first dynasty that ruled over France, and which derives its name from Merovig, the founder of the family.
Merrilees, Meg, a half-crazy Border gipsy; one of the characters in Scott's "Guy Mannering."
Merry Monarch, a title by which Charles II. of England was at one time familiarly known.
Mersey, river rising in NW. Derbyshire, flows westward 70 m. between Lancashire and Cheshire to the Irish Sea; is of great commercial importance, having Liverpool on its estuary; its chief tributary is the Irwell, on which stands Manchester.
Merthyr-Tydvil (58), industrial town in Glamorganshire, on the Taff, 15 m. NW. of Cardiff; is the centre of great coal-fields and of enormous iron and steel works, which constitute the only industry.
Merv (500), an oasis in Turkestan, belonging to Russia, being conquered in 1883, 60 m. long by 40 broad, producing cereals, cotton, silk, &c.; breeds horses, camels, sheep, with a capital of the same name, on the Transcaspian railway.
Meryon, Charles, etcher of street scenes, born at Paris; son of English doctor; died insane (18211868).
Mesmer, Friedrich Anton, a German physician, born near Constance; bred for the Church, but took to medicine; was the founder of animal magnetism, called mesmerism after him, his experiments in connection with which created a great sensation, particularly in Paris, until the quackery of it was discovered by scientific investigation, upon which he retired into obscurity, "to walk silent on the shore of the Bodensee, meditating on much" (1733-1815).
Mesmerism, animal magnetism so called, or the alleged power which, by operating on the nervous system, one person obtains control over the thoughts and actions of another.
Mesopotamia, the name given after Alexander the Great's time to the territory "between the rivers" Euphrates and Tigris, stretching from Babylonia NW. to the Armenian mountains; under irrigation it was very fertile, but is now little cultivated; once the scene of high civilisation when Nineveh ruled it; it passed from Assyrian hands successively to Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, and Arab; now, after many vicissitudes, it is in the deathly grasp of Turkish rule.
Messenia, a province of Greece, mainly the fertile peninsula between the Gulfs of Arcadia and Coron; in ancient times the Messenians were prosperous, excited Spartan envy, and after two long wars were conquered in 668 B.C. and fled to Sicily.
Messiah (i. e. the Anointed one), one consecrated of God, who the Jewish prophets predicted would one day appear to emancipate the Jewish people from bondage and exalt them in the eyes of all the other nations of the earth as His elect nation, and for the glory of His name.
Messina (78), on a bay at the NE. corner of Sicily; is a very ancient city, but rebuilt after the earthquake of 1783; has a 12th-century cathedral, two old castles, and a university, founded 1549; it manufactures light textiles, coral ornaments, and fruit essences; its excellent harbour encourages a good trade.
Messina, Strait of, 24 m. long, and at its narrowest 2½ broad; separates Sicily from the Italian mainland; here were the Scylla and Charybdis of the ancients.
Messuage, a dwelling-house with buildings and land attached for the use of the household.
Metabolism, name given to a chemical change in the cells or tissues of living matter.
Metamorphosis is a classical name for the changing of a human being into a beast, an inanimate object, or an element, stories of which are common in all folk-lore.
Metaphysics, the science of being as being in contradistinction from a science of a particular species of being, the science of sciences, or the science of the ultimate grounds of all these, and presupposed by them, called by Plato dialectics, or the logic of being.
Metastasio, an Italian poet, born at Rome, the son of a common soldier named Trapassi; his power of improvising verse attracted the attention of one Gravina, a lawyer, who educated him and left him his fortune; he wrote opera librettoes, which were set to music by the most eminent composers, was court poet at Vienna, and died there 40 years after his active powers were spent (1698-1782).
Meteors or Shooting Stars are small bodies consisting of iron, stone, and certain other familiar elements which are scattered in immense numbers through planetary space; they revolve round the sun in clouds or in long strings, and when the earth gets close to them numbers are drawn down to its surface, friction with the atmosphere rendering them luminous and grinding them usually to fine dust; larger meteors are known as fireballs and aërolites, many of which have reached the earth; comets are masses of meteors.
Methodists, a body of Christians founded by John Wesley in the interests of personal religion, ecclesiastically governed by a Conference with subordinate district synods, and holding and professing evangelical principles, which they teach agreeably to the theology of Arminius; the name is also given to the followers of Whitefield, who are Calvinists in certain respects.
Methylated Spirit, is alcohol adulterated with 10 per cent. of wood-spirit.
Metis (i. e. wise counsel), in the Greek mythology the daughter of Oceanos and Tethys, and the first wife of Zeus; afraid lest she should give birth to a child wiser and more powerful than himself, he devoured her on the first month of her pregnancy, and some time afterwards being seized with pains, he gave birth to Athena (q. v.) from his head.
Mètre, the name given to the unit of length in the metric or decimal system, and equal to 39.37 English inches, the tenths, the hundreds, and the thousands of which are called from the Latin respectively decimetres, centimetres, and millimetres, and ten times, a hundred times, and a thousand times, which are called from the Greek respectively decamètres, hectomètres, and kilomètres.
Metternich, Clement, Prince von, Austrian diplomatist, born at Coblenz; served as ambassador successively at the courts of Dresden, Berlin, and Paris, and became first Minister of State in 1809, exercising for 40 years from that date the supreme control of affairs in Austria; one of his first acts as such was to effectuate a marriage between Napoleon and the Archduchess Maria Theresa, himself escorting her to Paris; he presided at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and from that date dominated in foreign affairs in the interest of the rights of kings and the repression of popular insurrection; he had to flee from Vienna in 1848, but returned in 1851, after which, though not called back to office, he continued to influence affairs by his advice (1773-1859).
Metz (60), strongest fortress in Lorraine, on the Moselle, 105 m. SW. of Coblenz, captured in 1870 from the French, who had held it since 1552; has a cathedral, library, museum, and school of music; industries are unimportant; the trade is in liquor, leather, and preserved fruits.
Meung, Jean de, mediæval French satirist; continued the unfinished "Roman de la Rose," in which he embodied a vivid satiric portraiture of contemporary life (1250-1305 ?).
Meuse, river, 500 m. long, rises in Haute-Marne, France, and becoming navigable flows N. through Belgium, turns E. at Namur, where the Sambre enters from the left, N. again at Liège, where it receives the Ourthe from the right; enters Holland at Maastricht, is for a time the boundary, finally trends westward, and joins the Rhine at the delta.
Mexico (12,050), a federal republic of 27 States, a district, and two territories, lying S. of the United States, between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific, and including the peninsulas of Lower California in the W. and Yucatan in the E.; is nearly half as large as Europe without Russia; it consists of an immense plateau 3000 to 8000 ft. high, from which rises the Sierra Nevada, 10,000 ft., running N. and S., and other parallel ranges, as also single peaks. Toluca (19,340 ft.), Orizaba (18,000), and Popocatapetl (17,000); the largest lake is Chapala, in the centre; the rivers are mostly rapid and unnavigable; the chief seaports are Vera Cruz (29) and Tampico (5) on the E. and Acapulco on the W., but the coast-line is little indented and affords no good harbours; along the eastern seaboard runs a strip of low-lying unhealthy country, 60 m. broad; on the Pacific side the coast land is sometimes broader; these coast-lines are well watered, with tropical vegetation, tropical and sub-tropical fruits; the higher ground has a varied climate; in the N. are great cattle ranches; all over the country the mineral wealth is enormous, gold, silver, copper, iron, sulphur, zinc, quicksilver, and platinum are wrought; coal also exists; the bulk of Mexican exports is of precious metals and ores; there are cotton, paper, glass, and pottery manufactures; trade is chiefly with the United States and Britain; imports being textile fabrics, hardware, machinery, and coal; one-fifth of the population is white, the rest Indian and half-caste; education is backward, though there are free schools in every town; the religion is Roman Catholic, the language Spanish; conquered by Cortez in 1519, the country was ruled by Spain and spoiled for 300 years; a rebellion established its independence in 1821, but the first 50 years saw perpetual civil strife, and wars with the United States in 1848 and France in 1862; since 1867, however, when the constitution was modelled on that of the United States, there has been peace and progress, Ponfirio Diaz, President since 1876, having proved a masterly ruler. Mexico (327), the capital of the republic, 7000 ft. above the level of the sea, in the centre of the country, is a handsome though unhealthy city, with many fine buildings, a cathedral, a picture-gallery, schools of law, mining, and engineering, a conservatory of music, and an academy of art; there are few manufactures; the trade is chiefly transit.
Mexico, Gulf Of, a large basin between United States and Mexican territory; is shut in by the peninsulas of Florida and Yucatan, 500 m. apart, and the western extremity of Cuba, which lies between them; it receives the Mississippi, Rio Grande, and many other rivers; the coasts are low, with many lagoons; ports like New Orleans, Havana, and Vera Cruz make it a highway for ships; north-easterly hurricanes blow in March and October.
Meyer, Conrad Ferdinand, Swiss poet and novelist, native of Zurich; has written "Der Heilige" and many other novels; b. 1825.
Meyerbeer, illustrious musical composer, born at Berlin, of Jewish birth; composer of operatic music, and for over 30 years supreme in French opera; produced "Robert le Diable" in 1831, the "Huguenots" in 1833, "Le Prophète" in 1844, "L'Étoile du Nord" in 1854, the "Dinorah" in 1859 (1791-1864).
Mezzofanti, Giuseppe, cardinal and linguist, born at Bologna; celebrated for the number of languages he knew, some 58 in all; lived chiefly in Rome, and was keeper of the Vatican library; Byron called him "a walking polyglot" (1771-1848).
Mezzotint, a mode of engraving on steel or copper in imitation of Indian ink drawings, the lights and shades of the picture being produced by scraping on a black ground.
Miall, Edward, journalist, English apostle of disestablishment, founder of the Liberation Society; sat for Rochdale and Bradford; was presented on his retirement with a sum of ten thousand guineas for his services (1809-1881).
Micah, one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament, a contemporary of Isaiah, Hosea, and Amos; his prophecies are in the same strain as those of Isaiah, and numerous are the coincidences traceable between them; though a great sternness of temper and severity of tone appears in his prophecies, a deep tenderness of heart from time to time reveals itself, and a winning persuasiveness (chap. vi. 8); chap. vii. 8-20 has been quoted as one of the sweetest passages of prophetic writing; his prophecies predict the destruction both of Samaria and Jerusalem, the captivity and the return, with the re-establishment of the theocracy, and the advent of the Messiah.
Micawber, a character in "David Copperfield," a schemer whose schemes regularly came to grief, yet who always wakes up after his depression, and hopes something will turn up to his advantage.
Michael, an archangel, the leader of the heavenly host, at never-ending war with the devil and his angels in their arrogance of claim; is represented in art as clad in armour, with a sword in one hand and a pair of scales in the other to weigh the souls of men at the judgment. Festival, September 20.
Michael, the name of a succession of eight emperors who, at different periods, occupied the throne of the East from 811 to 1282, the last being Michael VIII., the founder of the Palæologic dynasty.
Michael Angelo Buonarotti, painter, sculptor, architect, and poet, born at Caprese, in Tuscany, one of the greatest artists that ever lived; studied art as apprentice for three years under Domenico Ghirlandajo, and at seventeen his talents attracted the notice of Lorenzo de' Medici, who received him into his palace at Florence, and employed as well as encouraged him; on the death of his patron he left for Bologna, and afterwards, in 1496, went to Rome, whither his renown as a sculptor had gone before him, and there he executed his antiques "Bacchus" and "Cupid," followed by his "Pieta," or Virgin weeping over the dead Christ; from 1503 to 1513 he was engaged on the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel; in 1530 we find him at Florence dividing his time between work as an engineer in the defence of the city and his art as a sculptor; three years after this he was back in Rome, and by-and-by busy painting his great fresco in the Sistine Chapel, the "Last Judgment," which occupied him eight years; in 1542 he was appointed architect of St. Peter's, and he planned and built the dome; sculpture was his great forte, but his genius was equal to any task imposed on him, and he has left poems to show what he might have done in the domain of letters as he has done in those of arts, with which his fame is more intimately associated (1474-1564).
Michaelis, Johann David, an Orientalist and Biblical scholar, born at Halle; was a man of vast learning; professor of Philosophy as well as of Oriental Languages at Göttingen; wrote an "Introduction to the New Testament," and "Commentaries on the Legislation of Moses"; was one of the first to correlate the history of the Jews with that of the other Oriental nations of antiquity (1717-1791).
Michaelmas is the festival in honour of St. Michael and the angels, held on the 20th September, the day being one of the quarter days on which rents are levied.
Michel, Francesque, French antiquary, born at Lyons; was commissioned by the French Government in 1835 to visit the libraries of England in the interest of the history and literature of France; was a most erudite man, and edited a great many works belonging to the Middle Ages; wrote even on the Scottish language and Scottish civilisation (1809-1887).
Michelet, Jules, French historian, born in Paris; was the author among other works of a "History of France" in 18 vols., and a "History of the Revolution" in 7 vols.; he cherished a great animosity against the priests, and especially the Jesuits, whom he assailed with remorseless invective; he was from 1838, for 13 years, professor of History in the College of France, but he lost the appointment because he refused to take the oath of allegiance to Louis Napoleon; from this date he abandoned all interest in public affairs, and gave himself to the quiet study of nature and animal life; wrote on birds and insects, on the sea, on women, on love, on witchcraft, and the Bible and humanity; as a writer of history he gave his imagination free scope, and he painted it less as it was than as he regarded it from his own personal likes and dislikes (1798-1874).
Michigan (2,094), a State of the American Union, larger than England and Wales, is broken in two by Lake Michigan; the western portion has Wisconsin on its S. border, the eastern portion has Indiana and Ohio on the S.; the rest of the State is surrounded by Lakes Superior, Huron, and Erie. The western section is mountainous, with great forests of pine, little agriculture, rich mines of copper and iron, and some gold; the eastern section is much larger, very flat and low, has coal, gypsum, and marble quarries, but is chiefly a wheat-growing area; in the Saginaw Valley are great salt wells; the climate is modified by the lakes. At first a French colony, the country was handed over to England in 1760, and to the United States in 1776; it was organised as a territory in 1805, and admitted a State in 1837; the chief commercial city is Detroit (206), on Detroit River, in the E., has manufactures of machinery and railway plant, leather, and beer, and a large shipping trade. Grand Rapids (60), on the Grand River, has furniture works, and makes stucco-plaster and white bricks. Lansing (13) is the State capital, and an important railway centre.
Michigan, Lake, in the N. of the United States, between Michigan and Wisconsin, is the third largest of the fresh-water seas, its surface being three-fourths that of Scotland; it is 335 m. long and 50 to 80 broad, bears much commerce, has low sandy shores and no islands; the chief ports are Chicago, Milwaukee, and Racine.
Mickiewicz, Adam, Polish poet, born in Lithuania, of a noble family; in 1822 published at Kovno a collection of poems instinct with patriotic feeling; was exiled into the interior of Russia, in 1824, for secret intrigues in the interest of his nation; while there published three epics, conceived in the same patriotic spirit; left Russia in 1829 for Italy by way of Germany; was warmly welcomed by Goethe in passing; in 1834 published his great poem "Sir Thaddeus," and in 1840 was appointed to a professorship of Polish Literature in Paris, where to the last he laboured for his country; died at Constantinople, whence his bones were transferred to lie beside those of Kosciusko at Cracow (1798-1855).
Mickle, William Julius, translator of the "Lusiad" (q. v.), born at Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, author of "There's nae Luck aboot the Hoose" (1734-1788).
Microbe, a minute organism found in the blood of animals, especially when suffering from disease. See Bacteria.
Microcosm, name given by the Middle Age philosophers to man as representing the macrocosm or universe in miniature.
Microphone, an instrument invented in 1878 by Professor Hughes, and consisting of charcoal tempered in mercury, which intensifies and renders audible the faintest possible sound.
Microzyme, a minute organism which acts as a ferment when it enters the blood and produces zymotic diseases.
Midas, a king of Phrygia who, in his lust of riches, begged of Bacchus and obtained the power of turning everything he touched into gold, a gift which he prayed him to revoke when he found it affected his very meat and drink, which the god consented to do, only he must bathe in the waters of the Pactolus, the sands of which ever after were found mixed with gold; appointed umpire at a musical contest between Pan and Apollo, he preferred the pipes of the former to the lyre of the latter, who thereupon awarded him a pair of ass-ears, the which he concealed with a cap, but could not hide them from his barber, who could not retain the secret, but whispered it into a hole in the ground, around which sprang up a forest of reeds, which as the wind passed through them told the tale into the general ear, to the owner's discomfiture.
Middle Ages, is a term used in connection with European history to denote the period beginning with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, and closing with the invention of printing, the discovery of America, and the revival of learning in the 15th century.
Middle English, the English in use for two centuries and a half from 1200 to 1460.
Middle Passage, in the slave-trade the part of the Atlantic stretching between Africa and the West Indies.
Middlesbrough (99), iron manufacturing and shipping town at the mouth of the Tees, in the N. of Yorkshire, 45 m. N. of York; has also shipbuilding yards and chemical works, and exports coal. It owes its growth to the discovery of one of the largest iron-fields in the country in the Cleveland hills, near at hand, in 1850.
Middlesex (560), a small county on the N. of the Thames, adjacent to and W. of London; has no hills and no rivers, only undulating pasture land and small streams. In 1888 the populous part next the metropolis was detached for the new county of London, leaving no big town but many suburban villages, Brentford, reckoned the county town, Harrow with its school, Highgate, and Hornsey. Hampton Court, Hampstead Heath, and Enfield Chase are in the county. There are many market gardens.
Middleton, Conyers, a liberal theologian, Fellow of Cambridge; was engaged a good deal in controversy, particularly with Bentley; wrote an able Life of Cicero; is distinguished among English authors for his "absolutely plain style" of writing (1683-1750).
Middleton, Thomas, dramatist, born in London, where he was afterwards City Chronicler, married Mary Morbeck, and died; was fond of collaboration, and received assistance in his best work from Drayton, Webster, Dekker, Rowley, and Jonson; his comedies are smart and buoyant, sometimes indecorous; his masques more than usually elaborate and careful; in the comedy of "The Spanish Gypsy," and the tragedies of "The Changeling," and "Women beware Women," is found the best fruit of his genius (1570-1627).
Midgard, a name given in the Norse mythology to the earth as intermediate between the Asgard (q. v.) of the gods and Utgard of the Jötuns (q. v.).
Midianites, a race of Arabs descended from Abraham by Keturah, who dwelt to the E. of Akaba; though related, were troublesome to the Hebrews, but were subdued by Gideon.
Midrash, the earliest Hebrew exposition of the Old Testament; included the Halacha, or development of the legal system on Pentateuchal lines, and the Hagada, a commentary on the whole Scripture, with ethical, social, and religious applications. The name Midrash came to refer exclusively to the latter, in which much fanciful interpretation was mixed with sound practical sense.
Mights and Rights, the Carlyle doctrine that Rights are nothing till they have realised and established themselves as Mights; they are rights first only then.
Migne, the Abbé, French Catholic theologian, born at St. Flour; edited a great many works on theology, such as "Patrologiæ Cursus Completus," and "Orateurs Sacrés," and founded L'Univers journal (1800-1875).
Mignet, François August, French historian, born at Aix, settled at Paris; was a friend of Thiers; became keeper of the archives of the Foreign Office, and had thus access to important historical documents; wrote a number of historical works, among others a "History of the French Revolution," and "History of Marie Stuart" (1796-1884).
Mignon, an impassioned Italian child, a creation of Goethe's in his "Wilhelm Meister," of mysterious origin and history; represented as a compact of vague aspirations and longings under which, as never fulfilled, she at length pines away and dies.
Miguel, Don, king of Portugal, born at Lisbon; usurped the throne in defiance of the right of his brother, Don Pedro, emperor of Brazil, who, however, conceded to him the title of regent on condition of his marrying Donna Maria, his daughter; on his arrival in Portugal he had himself proclaimed king, but refused to marry Maria, who followed him, and prohibited her landing, which, together with his conduct of affairs, provoked a civil war, in which the party of Don Pedro prevailed, and which ended in the capitulation of the usurper and his withdrawal to Italy (1802-1866).
Mikado, the emperor of Japan, regarded as the head of both Church and State in his dominions.
Miklosich, Franz von, philologist, born at Luttenberg, studied at Grätz; in 1844 was appointed to an office in the Imperial Library, Vienna, where from 1850 to 1885 he was professor of Slavonic; his works, all philological, are the authority on the Slavonic languages; b. 1813.
Milan (296), the largest city in Italy except Naples, is in Lombardy, 25 m. S. of Lake Como; of old much vexed by war, it is now prosperous, manufacturing silks and velvets, gold, silver, and porcelain ware, and trading in raw silk, grain, and tobacco, with great printing works, and is the chief banking centre of N. Italy; it is rich in architectural treasures, foremost of which is the magnificent Gothic cathedral of white marble; has a splendid picture-gallery, and many rich frescoes; in 1848 it revolted finally from Austrian oppression.
Milan Decree, a decree of Napoleon dated Milan, 27th Dec. 1807, declaring the British dominions in a state of blockade, and under penalty prohibiting all trade with them.
Miletus, the foremost Ionian city of ancient Asia Minor, at the mouth of the Mæander, was the mother of many colonies, and the port from which vessels traded to all the Mediterranean countries and to the Atlantic; its carpets and cloth were far-famed; its first greatness passed away when Darius stormed it in 494 B.C., and it was finally ruined by the Turks; Thales the philosopher and Cadmus the historian were among its famous sons.
Military Orders were in crusading times associations of knights sworn to chastity and devoted to religious service; the Hospitallers, the earliest, tended sick pilgrims at Jerusalem; the Templars protected pilgrims and guarded the Temple; the Knights of St. John were also celibate, but the orders of Alcantara and others in Spain, of St. Bennet in Portugal, and others elsewhere, with different objects, were permitted to marry.
Militia, a body of troops in the British service for home defence, the members of which have as a rule never served in the regular army, nor have, except for a short period each year, any proper military training.
Mill, James, economist, born in Logie Pert, near Montrose, the son of a shoemaker, bred for the Church; was a disciple of Locke and Jeremy Bentham; wrote a "History of British India," "Elements of Political Economy," and an "Analysis of the Human Mind"; held an important lucrative post in the East India Company's service (1773-1836).
Mill, John Stuart, logician and economist, born in London, son of the preceding; was educated pedantically by his father; began to learn Greek at 3, could read it and Latin at 14, "never was a boy," he says, and was debarred from all imaginative literature, so that in after years the poetry of Wordsworth came to him as a revelation; entered the service of the East India Company in 1823, but devoted himself to philosophic discussion; contributed to the Westminster Review, of which he was for some time editor; published his "System of Logic" in 1843, and in 1848 his "Political Economy"; entered Parliament in 1865, but lost his seat in 1868, on which he retired to Avignon, where he died; he wrote a book on "Liberty" in 1859, on "Utilitarianism" in 1863, on "Comte" in 1865, and on "Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy" the same year, and left an "Autobiography"; he was a calm thinker and an impartial critic; he befriended Carlyle when he went to London, and Carlyle rather took to him, but divergences soon appeared, which, as it could not fail, ended in total estrangement; he had an Egeria in a Mrs. Taylor, whom he married when she became a widow; it was she, it would almost seem, who was responsible for the fate of Carlyle's MS. (1806-1873).
Millais, Sir John Everett, painter, born of Jersey parentage, at Southampton; studied at the Royal Academy, and at 17 exhibited a notable historical work; early associated with Rossetti and Holman Hunt, he remained for over 20 years under their influence; to this period belong "The Carpenter's Shop," 1851, "Autumn Leaves," 1856, and "The Minuet," 1866; "The Gambler's Wife" marks the transition from Pre-Raphaelitism; his chief subsequent work, in which technical interest predominates, was portraiture, including Gladstone and Beaconsfield; he was a profuse illustrator, and wrought some etchings; he was made R.A. 1864, a baronet in 1885, and P.R.A. February 1896 (1829-1896).
Millbank Prison, Westminster, constructed 1812-21 on the plans of Howard and Bentham, so that each of its 1100 cells were visible from the governor's room, was used for solitary confinement preparatory to penal servitude, and as a convict prison until 1886, and demolished 1890.