The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 295

MACKENZIE, HENRY, novelist, born in Edinburgh; bred to law; author of "The Man of Feeling," "The Man of the World," and "Julia de Roubigne,"

written in a sentimental style; held the office of Controller of Taxes in Scotland by favour of Pitt (1745-1831).

MACKENZIE RIVER, a river in N. America, rises in the Rocky Mountains; is fed by mighty streams in its course, and falls into the Arctic Ocean after a course of over 2000 m. in length.

M'KINLEY, WILLIAM, American statesman, of Scottish parentage; served in the Civil War; born at Niles, Ohio; entered Congress in 1877; made his mark as a zealous Protectionist; pa.s.sed in 1890 a tariff measure named after him; was elected to Presidency as the champion of a sound currency in opposition to Mr. Bryan in November 1896; _b_. 1844.

MACKINTOSH, SIR JAMES, philosopher and politician, born in Inverness-shire; took his degree in medicine, but went to the London bar; was a Whig in politics; wrote "Vindiciae Gallicae" in reply to Burke's philippic; defended Peltier, Bonaparte's enemy, in a magnificent style, and contributed a masterly preliminary "Dissertation on Ethics" to the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" (1763-1832).

MACLAREN, IAN (_nom de plume_ of Rev. John Watson), born in Ess.e.x, of Scottish parents; studied in Edinburgh; was minister of the Free Church in Logiealmond and in Glasgow, and translated to Sefton Park Presbyterian Church, Liverpool, In 1880; wrote a series of idylls ent.i.tled "Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush," and a second series ent.i.tled "The Days of Auld Lang Syne"; both had a large circulation, and a number of other works, religious as well as fict.i.tious; _b_. 1850.

MACLAURIN, COLIN, mathematician, born in Kilmoden, Argyllshire; was professor of Mathematics in Aberdeen and in Edinburgh; wrote a "Treatise on Fluxions," in defence of Newton against Berkeley, and an "Account of Newton's Discoveries"; did much to give an impetus to mathematical study in Scotland (1698-1746).

MACLEOD, NORMAN, liberal Scottish clergyman, born at Campbeltown, son of the manse; a genial, warm-hearted man; an earnest, powerful, and vigorous preacher, and a humorous writer; a visit to India in connection with missions shortened his days (1817-1872).

MACLISE, DANIEL, painter, born at Cork, of Scottish extraction; among his oil-paintings are "Mokanna Unveiling," "All Hallow Eve,"

"Bohemian Gipsies," and the "Banquet Scene in Macbeth," his last work being a series of cartoons painted in fresco for the palace of Westminster ill.u.s.trative of the glories of England (1811-1870).

MACMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA, marshal of France, born at Sully, of Irish descent, second President of the third French republic from 1873 to 1879; distinguished himself in Algeria and at the Crimea, and took part in the Franco-German War to his defeat and capture (1808-1893).

MACPHERSON, JAMES, a Gaelic scholar, born in Ruthven, Inverness-shire; identified with the publication of the poems of Ossian, the originals of which he professed to have discovered in the course of a tour through the Highlands, and about the authenticity of which there has been much debate, though they were the making of his fortune; he was buried in Westminster Abbey at his own request and expense (1738-1796).

MACRAMe LACE, a coa.r.s.e lace made of twine, used to decorate furniture generally.

MACREADY, WILLIAM CHARLES, English tragedian, born in London; he began his career as an actor in Birmingham in the character of Romeo, and was enthusiastically received on his first appearance in London; was distinguished for his impersonation of Shakespeare's characters, but suffered a good deal from professional rivalries; leased in succession Covent Garden and Drury Lane theatres with pecuniary loss, and when he took farewell of the stage he was entertained at a banquet, attended by a host of friends eminent in both art and literature (1793-1873).

MACROMETER, an optical instrument to determine the size or distance of inaccessible objects.

MACTURK, CAPTAIN HECTOR, "the man of peace" in "St. Ronan's Well."

MADAGASCAR (3,500), largest island in the world but two, in the Indian Ocean, 300 m. off the Mozambique coast, SE. Africa; is nearly three times the size of Great Britain, a plateau in the centre, with low, fertile, wooded ground round about; has many extinct volcanoes and active hot springs; the highest peak is Ankaratra (9000 ft.), in the centre; the NW. coast has some good harbours; there are 300 m. of lagoons on the E.; the biggest lake is Alaotra, and the rivers flow mostly W.; the climate is hot, with copious rains, except in the S.; rice, coffee, sugar, and vanilla are cultivated; many kinds of valuable timber grow in the forests, and these, with cattle, hides, and india-rubber, const.i.tute the exports; gold, iron, copper, lead, and sulphur are found, and the natives are skilled in working metals; the Malagasys possess civilised inst.i.tutions; slavery was abolished in 1879; a quarter of the population is Christian; the heathen section, though untruthful and immoral, are affectionate, courageous, and loyal; Antananarvo (100), the capital, is situated in the interior, and has many fine buildings; chief ports, Tamatave on the E. and Majunga on the NW. coasts; the island has been under French protection since 1890, and is a French colony since 1896.

MADEIRA (140), the chief of a group of small volcanic islands with precipitous coasts, in the Atlantic, 400 m. off Morocco; has peaks 6000 ft. high and deep picturesque ravines; the island is a favourite resort for consumptives; the climate is very mild and equable, the rainfall moderate, and the soil fertile; crops of cereals and potatoes are raised; oranges, lemons, grapes, figs, and bananas abound; Madeira wine is famous, and the chief export; Funchal (21) is the capital, with an exposed harbour and some good buildings; the islands form a province of Portugal.

MADEIRA RIVER (i. e. river of the wood), formed by the junction of the Mamore and Beni on the borders of Bolivia and Brazil, flows 900 m.

NE., and joins the Amazon, as an affluent its longest and largest, and forms a magnificent navigable waterway.

MADELEINE, CHURCH OF THE, one of the princ.i.p.al and wealthiest churches in Paris, erected in the style of a Greek temple, and the building of which, began in 1764, was not finished till 1842, both the interior and exterior of which has been adorned by the most distinguished artists.

MADGE WILDFIRE, a pretty but giddy girl in the "Heart of Midlothian," whom seduction and the murder of her child drove crazy.

MADISON, JAMES, American statesman and President, born at Port Conway, Virginia, educated at Princeton; devoted himself to politics in 1776; he took part in framing the Virginia const.i.tution, and subsequently secured religious liberty in the State; with Jay and Hamilton he collaborated to establish the federation of the States and to frame the Federal Const.i.tution; the "three-fifths" rule, which won the adhesion of the slave-holding States, was his suggestion; elected to the first Congress, he attached himself to Jefferson's party, and was Secretary of State during Jefferson's Presidency, 1801-1809; he succeeded his former leader and held office for two terms, during which the war of 1812-14 with England was waged; his public life closed with his term of office, 1817 (1751-1836).

MADMAN OF THE NORTH, Charles XII. of Sweden, so called from his temerity and impetuosity.

MADOC, a Welshman who, according to Welsh tradition, discovered America 300 years before Columbus, after staying in which for a time he returned, gave an account of what he had seen and experienced, and went back, but was never heard of more; his story has been amplified by Southey in an epic.

MADONNA is the name given to pictures of the Virgin with the infant Christ, and more generally to all sacred pictures in which the Virgin is a prominent figure; the Virgin has been a favourite subject of art from the earliest times, the first representation of her being, according to legend, by St. Luke; different countries and schools have depicted their Madonnas, each in its own characteristic style; the greatest of all are the Sistine and Della Sedia of Raphael.

MADRAS (35,630), one of the three Indian Presidencies, occupies the S. and E. of the peninsula, and is one-half as large again as Great Britain; the chief mountains are the Ghats, from which flow SE. the G.o.davari, Kistna, and Kavari Rivers, which, by means of extensive irrigation works, fertilise the plains; climate is various; on the W.

coast very hot and with a rainfall from June to October of 120 inches, producing luxurious vegetation; on the E. the heat is also great, but the rainfall, which comes chiefly between October and December, is only 40 inches; in the hill country, e. g. Ootacamund, the government summer quarters, it is genial and temperate all the year, and but for the monsoons the finest in the world; rice is everywhere the chief crop; cotton is grown in the E., tobacco in the G.o.davari region, tea, coffee, and cinchona on the hills, and sugar-cane in different districts; gold is found in Mysore (native State), and diamonds in the Karnul; iron abounds, but without coal; the teak forests are of great value; cotton, gunny-bags, sugar, and tiles are the chief manufactures; English settlements date from 1611; the population, chiefly Hindu, includes 2 million Mohammedans and million Christians; the chief towns are Rujumahendri (28), Vizugapatam (34), Trichinopoli (91), of cheroot fame, and Mangalore (41), on the W. coast, and the capital MADRAS (453), on the E., Coromandel, coast, a straggling city, hot but healthy, with an open roadstead, pier, and harbour exposed to cyclones, a university, examining body only, colleges of science, medicine, art, and agriculture, and a large museum; the chief exports are coffee, tea, cotton, and indigo.

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 s.p.a.ces, 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 inst.i.tutions, 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).

MaeANDER, a river in Phrygia, flowing through the Plain of Troy, and noted for its numerous windings.

MaeCENAS, a wealthy Roman statesman, celebrated for his patronage of letters; was the friend and adviser of Augustus Caesar, 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.

MAELSTRoM. See MALSTRoM.

MaeNADES, 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.

MaeONIDES, a name given to Homer, either as the son of Maeon, or as born, according to one tradition, in Maeonia.