The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
by
Edited by Rev. James Wood
Part 32 out of 53
very fertile valley which it often inundates. It is navigable for 550 m.,
but its lower waters are obstructed by islands and shoals; it is
connected by canals with the Seine, Saone, and Brest Harbour.
LOKI, in the Norse mythology, a primitive spirit of evil who mingles
with the Norse gods, distinguished for his cunning and ensnaring ways,
whose devices are only evil in appearance, and are overruled for good.
LOLLARDS, originally a religious community established at Antwerp in
1300, devoted to the care of the sick and burial of the dead, and as
persecuted by the Church, regarded as heretics. Their name became a
synonym for heretic, and was hence applied to the followers of Wycliffe
in England and certain sectaries in Ayrshire.
LOMBARD, PETER, a famous schoolman, born in Lombardy in the 12th
century, of poor parents; was a disciple of Abelard; taught theology at,
and became Bishop of, Paris; was styled the Master of Sentences, as
author of a compilation of sentences from Augustine and other Church
Fathers on points of Christian doctrine, and long used as a manual in
scholastic disputations.
LOMBARDS, a German people, settled at the beginning of our era about
the lower Elbe. In the 5th century we find them in Moravia, and a century
later established, a powerful people, between the Adriatic and the
Danube. They invaded Italy in 568, and in three years had mastered the
North, but abandoning their Arian faith they gradually became
Italianised, and after the overthrow of their dynasty by Charlemagne in
774 they became merged in the Italians. From the 13th century Italian
merchants, known as Lombards, from Lucca, Florence, Venice, and Genoa,
traded under much odium, largely in England as wool-dealers and bankers,
whence the name Lombard Street.
LOMBARDY (3,982), an inland territory of Northern Italy between the
Alps and the Po, Piedmont, and Venetia. In the N. are Alpine mountains
and valleys rich in pasturage; in the S. a very fertile, well irrigated
plain, which produces cereals, rice, and sub-tropical plants. The culture
of the silkworm is extensive; there are textile and hardware
manufactures. The chief towns are Milan, Pavia, and Corno. Austrian in
1713, Napoleon made it part of the kingdom of Italy in 1805; it was
restored to Austria in 1815, and finally again to Italy in 1859.
LOMOND, LOCH, an irregularly-shaped lake in Dumbarton and Stirling
shires, 22 m. long and of varying breadth; contains a number of small
wooded islands; on the eastern shore rises Ben Lomond to the height of
3192 ft.
LONDON (5,633), on the Thames, 50 m. from the sea, the capital of
the British Empire, is the most populous and wealthiest city in the
world. An important place in Roman times, it was the cap. of the East
Saxons, and has been the metropolis of England since the Norman Conquest;
it possesses, therefore, innumerable historic buildings and associations.
Often devastated by plague and fire, its progress has never been stayed;
its population has more than quadrupled itself this century, and more
than doubled since 1850. The City of London proper occupies one square
mile in the centre, is wholly a commercial part, and is governed by an
annually elected mayor and aldermen; is the seat of a bishopric, with St.
Paul's for cathedral. The City of Westminster is also a bishopric under a
high steward and high bailiff, chosen by the dean and chapter. These two
cities, with twenty-five boroughs under local officers, constitute the
metropolis, and since 1888 the county of the city of London, and send 59
members to Parliament. Streets in the older parts are narrow, but newer
districts are well built; the level ground and density of building
detracts from the effect of innumerable magnificent edifices. Buckingham,
Kensington, and St. James's are royal residences; the Houses of
Parliament are the biggest Gothic building in the world; St. Paul's,
built by Sir Christopher Wren, contains the remains of Nelson and
Wellington, Reynolds, Turner, and Wren himself. Westminster, consecrated
1269, is the burial-place of England's greatest poets and statesmen, and
of many kings; the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand were opened in
1882. London has a University (an examining body), 700 colleges and
endowed schools, among which Westminster, Christ's Hospital, and the
Charterhouse are famous, many medical hospitals, and schools and
charitable institutions of all kinds. London is the centre of the English
literary and artistic world, and of scientific interest and research;
here are the largest publishing houses, the chief libraries and
art-galleries, and museums; the British Museum and Library, the National
Galleries, &c., and magnificent botanical and zoological gardens. London
is also a grand emporium of commerce, and the banking centre of the
world. It has nine principal docks; its shipping trade is unrivalled,
55,000 vessels enter and clear annually; it pays more than half the
custom duties of the kingdom, and handles more than a quarter of the
total exports; its warehouse trade is second only to that of Manchester;
it manufactures everything, chiefly watches, jewellery, leather goods,
cycles, pianos, and glass. The control of traffic, the lighting, and
water-supply of so large a city are causing yearly more serious problems.
LONDON (30), the cap. of Middlesex county, Ontario, near the S. end
of the peninsula, in the middle of a fertile district, and a rising
place.
LONDONDERRY (152), maritime county in Ulster, washed by Lough Foyle
and the Atlantic, surrounded by Donegal in the W., Tyrone in the S., and
Antrim in the W., and watered by the Foyle, Roe, and Bann Rivers,
somewhat hilly towards the S., is largely under pasture; the cultivated
parts grow oats, potatoes, and flax; granted to the Corporation and
Guilds of London in 1609, a large part of the land is still owned by
them. The county town, LONDONDERRY (33), manufactures linen shirts,
whisky, and iron goods, and does a considerable shipping trade. Its siege
by the troops of James II. in 1689 is memorable.
LONG, GEORGE, a distinguished classical scholar, born in Lancashire;
became professor of Greek in London University; edited several useful
works, among others the "Penny Cyclopaedia," on which he spent 11 years of
his life (1800-1870).
LONG ISLAND (774), a long narrow island, 115 m. long by from 12 to
24 broad, belonging to New York State, off the shores of New York and
Connecticut, from which it is separated by the East River and Long Island
Sound. It is low, much of it forest and sandy waste land, with great
lagoons in the S. The chief industry is market-gardening; fisheries and
oyster-beds are valuable. Principal towns, Brooklyn, Long Island City,
and Flushing.
LONG PARLIAMENT, the celebrated English Parliament which assembled
3rd November 1640, and was dissolved by Cromwell 20th April 1653, and
which was afterwards restored, and did not finally decease till 16th
March 1660.
LONG TOM COFFIN, a character in Cooper's novel "The Pilot," and of
wider celebrity than any of the sailor class.
LONGCHAMP, a racecourse on the W. side of the Bois du Boulogne,
Paris.
LONGCHAMP, WILLIAM DE, a low-born Norman favourite of Richard I.,
made by him bishop of Ely; became Justiciar of England 1190, and Papal
Legate 1191; clever, energetic, just, and faithful, he yet incurred
dislike by his ambition and arrogance, and was banished to Normandy; his
energy in gathering the money for Richard's ransom restored him to
favour, and he became Chancellor; _d_. 1197.
LONGFELLOW, HENRY WADSWORTH, American poet, born at Portland, Maine;
after studying on the Continent, became professor of Modern Languages in
Harvard University; wrote "Hyperion," a romance in prose, and a
succession of poems as well as lyrics, among the former "Evangeline,"
"The Golden Legend," "Hiawatha," and "Miles Standish" (1807-1882).
LONGINUS, DIONYSIUS CASSIUS, a learned Greek philosopher,
rhetorician, and critic, and eminent in all three departments, being in
philosophy a Platonist of pure blood; his fame as a teacher reached the
ears of Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, and being invited to her court he
became her political adviser as well as the educator of her children, but
on the surrender of the place he was beheaded by order of the Emperor
Aurelian as a traitor; he wrote several works, but the only one that
survives to some extent is his "Treatise on the Sublime," translated by
Boileau (210-273).
LONGMANS, famous and oldest publishing house in London; founded by
Thomas Longman of Bristol in 1726, and now in the hands of the fifth
generation; has been associated with the production of Johnson's
"Dictionary," Lindley Murray's "Grammar," the works of Wordsworth,
Southey, Coleridge, and Scott, and Macaulay's "Lays," "Essays," and
"History"; it absorbed the firm of Parker in 1863, and of Rivington in
1890.
LOeNNROT, ELIAS, a great Finnish scholar, born in Nyland; was
professor at Helsingfors; was editor of ancient Finnish compositions, and
author of a Finnish-Swedish Dictionary (1802-1884).
LOPE DE VEGA. See VEGA.
LORD OF THE ISLES, assumed title of Donald, a chief of Islay, who in
1346 reduced the whole of the Western Isles under his authority, and
borne by his successors, and, as some allege, his ancestors as well.
LORELEI or LURLEI, a famous steep rock, 430 ft. high, on the
Rhine, near St. Goar; dangerous to boatmen, on which it was fabled a
siren sat combing her hair and singing to lure them to ruin; the subject
of an exquisite Volkslied by Heine.
LORETTO, a city in Italy, 14 m. SE. of Ancona; celebrated as the
site of the SANTA CASA (q. v.), and for the numerous pilgrims
that annually resort to the holy shrine.
L'ORIENT (41), a seaport in Morbihan; contains the principal
shipbuilding yard in France; was founded by the French East India Company
in 1664 in connection with their trade in the East.
LORNE, MARQUIS OF, eldest son of the Duke of Argyll; entered
Parliament in 1868; married Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen
Victoria, in 1871; became Governor-General of Canada in 1878, member of
Parliament for South Manchester in 1895, and is Governor of Windsor
Castle; _b_. 1845.
LORRAINE, a district in France, between Metz and the Vosges;
belonged originally to Germany, became French in 1766, and was restored
to Germany in 1871.
LORRAINE, CLAUDE. See CLAUDE LORRAINE.
LOS ANGELES (11), a city in South California, 345 m. SE. of San
Francisco, and founded in 1781; is the centre of a great orange-growing
district, and a health resort.
LOST TRIBES, the ten tribes of the race of Israel whom the Assyrians
carried off into captivity (see 2 Kings xvii. 6), and of whom all trace
has been lost, and only in recent years guessed at.
LOTOPHAGI. See LOTUS EATERS.
LOTUS EATERS or LOTOPHAGI, an ancient people inhabiting a
district of Cyrenaica, on the NE. coast of Africa, who lived on the fruit
of the lotus-tree, from which they made wine. Ulysses and his companions
in their wanderings landed on their shores, but the soothing influence of
the lotus fruit so overpowered them with languor, that they felt no
inclination to leave, or any more a desire to pursue the journey
homewards. See Tennyson's poem "The Lotus-eaters."
LOTZE, RUDOLF HERMANN, German philosopher, born at Bautzen, in
Saxony; professor successively at Goettingen and Berlin; believed in
metaphysics as well as physics, and was versant in both; "Microcosmus" is
his principal work, published in 1864; he founded the system of
"teleological idealism," based on ethical considerations; he repudiated
agnosticism, and had as little patience with a mere mechanical view of
the universe as Carlyle (1817-1881).
LOUDON, JOHN CLAUDIUS, botanist and horticulturist, born at
Cambuslang, Lanarkshire; wrote largely on plants and their cultivation,
and an "Arboretum" on trees and shrubs (1783-1843).
LOUIS I., LE DEBONNAIRE (i. e. the Gentle), was king of France
from 814 to 840 in succession to his father Charlemagne, but was too meek
and lowly to rule, and fitter for a monk than a king; suffered himself to
be taken advantage of by his nobles and the clergy; was dethroned by his
sons, and compelled to retire into a cloister, from which he was twice
over brought forth to stay the ravages of their enemies; he divided his
kingdom among them during his lifetime, and bequeathed it to them to
guard over it when he was gone, to its dismemberment.
LOUIS VI., LE GROS (i. e. the Fat), was son of Philip I.; was
associated in the royal power with his father from 1098 to 1108, and sole
king from 1108 till 1137; in his struggle against the great vassals he,
by the help of the clergy and the bourgeois, centralised the government
in the crown; had trouble with Henry I. of England as Lord Superior of
Normandy, and was defeated by him in battle in 1119; under his reign the
burgesses achieved their independence, and though he did nothing to
initiate the movement he knew how to profit from the achievement in the
interest of the monarchy.
LOUIS VII., THE YOUNG, son of the preceding, married Eleanor of
Aquitaine; took part in the second crusade; on his return divorced his
queen for her profligacy in his absence, who married Henry II. of
England, and brought with her as dowry to Henry the richest provinces of
France, which gave rise to the Hundred Years' War (1120-1180).
LOUIS VIII., THE LION, son of Philip Augustus; offered by the barons
of England the crown of England, he was crowned at London in 1216, but
defeated at Lincoln next year, he was obliged to recross the Channel;
became king of France in 1223; he took several towns from the English,
and conducted a crusade against the Albigenses (1187-1226).
LOUIS IX., SAINT LOUIS, son of the preceding; was a minor at the
death of his father, and the country was governed by his mother, Blanche
of Castile, with a strong hand; on attaining his majority he found
himself engaged with the English under Henry, who had been called on to
assist certain of the great barons in revolt, but in 1242 he defeated
them in three engagements; under a vow he made during a dangerous illness
he became a crusader, and in 1249 landed in Egypt with 40,000 men, but in
an engagement was taken prisoner by the Saracens; released in 1250 on
payment of a large ransom, though he did not return home for two years
after, till on hearing of the death of his mother, who had been regent
during his absence; on his return he applied himself to the affairs of
his kingdom and the establishment of the royal power, but undertaking a
second crusade in 1270, he got as far as Tunis, where a plague broke out
in the camp, and he became one of the victims, and one of his sons before
him; he was an eminently good and pious man, and was canonised by
Boniface VIII. in 1297 (1215-1270).
LOUIS XI., son of Charles VII., born at Bourges, of a cruel and
treacherous nature, took part in two insurrections against his father, by
whom he had been pardoned after the first and from whom he had to flee
after the second for refuge to Burgundy, where he remained till his
father's death in 1461; he signalised the commencement of his reign by
severe measures against the great vassals, which provoked a revolt,
headed by the Dukes of Burgundy and Bretagne, which he succeeded in
subduing more by his crafty policy than force of arms; involved
afterwards in a war with Charles the Bold of Burgundy and soliciting an
interview, he was discovered by Charles to have been sowing treason among
his subjects, taken prisoner, and only released on a solemn protestation
of innocence; notwithstanding the sinister and often cruel character of
his policy, he did much to develop the resources of the country and
advance the cause of good government by the patronage of learning; the
crimes he had committed weighed heavily on his mind towards the end of
his days, and he died in great fear of death and the judgment
(1423-1483).
LOUIS XIII., the son of Henry IV.; being only nine years old at the
death of his father, the government was conducted by Marie de' Medicis,
his mother, and at his accession the country was a prey to civil
dissensions, which increased on the young king's marriage with a Spanish
princess; the Huguenots rose in arms, but a peace was concluded in 1623;
it was now Richelieu came to the front and assumed the reins with his
threefold policy of taming the nobles, checkmating the Huguenots, and
humbling the house of Austria; Rochelle, the head-quarters of the
Huguenots, revolted, the English assisting them, but by the strategy
adopted the city was taken and the English driven to sea; henceforth the
king was nobody and the cardinal was king; the cardinal died in 1642 and
the king the year after, leaving two sons, Louis, who succeeded him, and
Philip, Duke of Orleans and the first of his line (1601-1644).
LOUIS XIV., the "Grand Monarque," son of the preceding, was only
nine when his father died, and the government was in the hands of his
mother, Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Mazarin, her minister; under the
regency the glory of France was maintained in the field, but her internal
peace was disturbed by the insubordination of the parlement and the
troubles of the Fronde; by a compact on the part of Mazarin with Spain
before he died Louis was married to the Infanta Maria Theresa in 1659,
and in 1660 he announced his intention to rule the kingdom alone, which
he did for 54 years with a decision and energy no one gave him credit
for, in fulfilment of his famous protestation _L'etat, c'est moi_,
choosing Colbert to control finance, Louvois to reorganise the army, and
Vauban to fortify the frontier towns; he sought to be as absolute in his
foreign relations as in his internal administration, and hence the long
succession of wars which, while they brought glory to France, ended in
exhausting her; at home he suffered no one in religious matters to think
otherwise than himself; he revoked the Edict of Nantes, sanctioned the
dragonnades in the Cevennes, and to extirpate heresy encouraged every
form of cruelty; yet when we look at the men who adorned it, the reign of
Louis XIV. was one of the most illustrious in letters and the arts in the
history of France: Corneille, Racine, and Moliere eminent in the drama,
La Fontaine and Boileau in poetry, Bossuet in oratory, Bruyere and
Rochefoucauld in morals, Pascal in philosophy, Saint-Simon and Retz in
history, and Poussin, Lorraine, Lebrun, Perault, &c., in art (1636-1715).
LOUIS XV., _Bien-Aime_ (i. e. Well-Beloved), great-grandson of the
preceding, and only five at his death, the country during his minority
being under the regency of Philip, Duke of Orleans; the regency was
rendered disastrous by the failure of the Mississippi Scheme of Law and a
war with Spain, caused by the rejection of a Spanish princess for Louis,
and by his marriage to Maria Lesczynski, the daughter of Stanislas of
Poland; Louis was crowned king in 1722 and declared of age the following
year; in 1726 Cardinal Fleury, who had been his tutor, became his
minister, and under him occurred the war of the succession to Poland,
concluded by the treaty of Vienna, and the war of the Austrian
succession, concluded by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; with the death of
his minister Louis gave way to his licentious propensities, and in all
matters of state allowed himself to be swayed by unworthy favourites who
pandered to his lusts, the most conspicuous among them being Madame de
Pompadour and Dame de Barry, her successor in crime; under them, and the
corrupt court they presided over, the country went step by step to ruin,
and she was powerless to withstand the military ascendency of England,
which deprived her of all her colonies both in the East and in the West;
though Choiseul, his last "substantial" minister, tried hard by a family
compact of the Bourbons to collect her scattered strength; the situation
did not trouble Louis; "it will last all my time," he said, and he let
things go; suffering from a disease contracted by vice, he was seized
with confluent smallpox, and died in misery, to the relief of the nation,
which could not restrain its joy (1710-1774).
LOUIS XVI., the grandson of the preceding and his successor; had in
1770 married Marie Antoinette, the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa of
Austria, and a woman young, beautiful, and accomplished, in high esteem
for the purity of her character; his accession was hailed with
enthusiasm, and he set himself to restore the ruined finances of the
country by taking into his counsel those who could best advise him in her
straitened state, but these one and all found the problem an impossible
one, owing to the unwillingness of the nobility to sacrifice any of their
privileges for the public good; this led to the summoning of the
States-General in 1789, and the outbreak of the Revolution by the fall of
the Bastille in July of that year; in the midst of this Louis,
well-intentioned but without strength of character, was submissive to the
wishes of his court and the queen, lost his popularity by his hesitating
conduct, the secret support he gave to the EMIGRANTS (q. v.),
his attempt at flight, and by his negotiations with foreign enemies, and
subjected himself to persecution at the hands of the nation; he was
therefore suspended from his functions, shut up in the Temple, arraigned
before the Convention, and condemned to death as "guilty of conspiracy
against the liberty of the nation and a crime against the general safety
of the State"; he was accordingly guillotined on the 21st January; he
protested his innocence on the scaffold, but his voice was drowned by the
beating of drums; he was accompanied by the Abbe Edgeworth, his
confessor, who, as he laid his head on the block, exclaimed, "Son of St.
Louis, ascend to heaven" (1754-1793).
LOUIS XVII., second son of the preceding, shut up in the Temple,
was, after the execution of his mother, proclaimed king by the Emigrants,
and handed over in his prison to the care of one Simon, a shoemaker, in
service about the prison, to bring him up in the principles of
Sansculottism; Simon taught him to drink, dance, and sing the
_carmagnole_; he died in prison "amid squalor and darkness," his shirt
not changed for six months (1785-1796).
LOUIS XVIII., brother of Louis XVI., and called Monsieur during his
brother's reign, flew from Paris and joined the Emigrants along with his
brother, Count d'Artois, and took up arms, which he was compelled to
forego, to wander from one foreign Court to another and find refuge at
last in England; on Napoleon's departure for Elba he returned to France
and was installed on the throne as _Louis le Desire_, but by the
reappearance of the former on the scene he was obliged to seek refuge in
Belgium, to return for good after the battle of Waterloo, July 9, 1815,
with Talleyrand for minister and Fouche as minister of police; he reigned
but a few years, his constitution being much enfeebled by a disease
(1755-1824).
LOUIS NAPOLEON (Napoleon III.), nephew of the first emperor, born at
Paris, brought up at Augsburg and in Switzerland; became head of the
family in 1832; he began a Bonapartist propaganda, and set himself to
recover the throne of France; an abortive attempt in 1836 ended in a
short exile in America and London, and a second at Boulogne in 1840
landed him in the fortress of Ham under sentence of perpetual
imprisonment; escaping in 1846 he spent two years in England, returning
to France after the Revolution of 1848; elected to the Constituent
Assembly and the same year to the Presidency he assumed the headship of
the Republic, and posed as the protector of popular liberties and
national prosperity; struggles with the Assembly followed; he won the
favour of the army, filled the most important posts with his friends,
dissolved the Constitution in 1851 (Dec. 2), was immediately re-elected
President for ten years, and a year later assumed the title of Emperor;
he married the Spanish Countess Eugenie in 1853, and exerted himself by
public works, exhibitions, courting of the clergy, gagging of the press,
and so on to strengthen his hold on the populace; in the Crimean War
(1854-56) and the Lombardy campaign (1859) he was supported by Britain;
in 1860 he annexed Savoy and Nice; ten years later suspecting the
enthusiasm of the army, he plunged into war with Germany to rekindle its
ardour, on a protest arising from the scheme to put Leopold of
Hohenzollern on the Spanish throne; France was unprepared, disaster
followed disaster; the Emperor surrendered to the Germans at Sedan, Sept.
2, 1870; a prisoner till the close of the war, he came to England in 1871
and resided with the Empress at Chislehurst till his death (1808-1873).
LOUIS PHILIPPE, king of the French from 1830 till 1848, born at
Paris, eldest son of the Duke of Orleans, renounced his titles along with
his father, and joined the National Guard and the Jacobins at the
Revolution as M. Egalite; after the defeat of Neerwinden 1793, where he
commanded the centre, he fled to Austria and Switzerland and supported
himself by teaching; after three years in the United States he came to
London in 1800, and on the fall of Napoleon repaired to Paris and
recovered his estates; he gained popularity with the _bourgeoisie_, and
when the Revolution of July 1830 overthrew Charles X. he succeeded to the
throne as the elected sovereign of the people; under the "citizen king"
France prospered; but his government gradually became reactionary and
violent; he used his great wealth in giving bribes, tampered with trial
by jury and the freedom of the press, and so raised against him both the
old aristocracy and the working-classes; political agitation culminated
in the Revolution of February 1848; he was forced to abdicate and escaped
with his queen to England, where he died (1773-1850).
LOUIS-D'OR, an old French gold coin which ranged in value from 16s.
7d. to 18s. 93/4d., and ceased to be issued in 1795.
LOUISIANA (1,119), an American State on the Gulf of Mexico, between
the Mississippi and Sabine Rivers, with Arkansas on the N. and traversed
diagonally by the Red River, is half upland and half alluvial; much of
the lower level in the S. is marshy, subject to tidal flow or river
inundation, and is covered by swampy woods, but is being reclaimed and
planted with rice; on the uplands cattle are grazed, there are pine and
oak forests, while the arable land is under cotton, sugar, oranges, and
figs; the principal manufactures are shingles and tanks, cotton-seed oil,
tobacco, and clothing; there is a State University and agricultural and
mechanical college at Baton Rouge; the Southern and Tulane Universities
are in New Orleans; free schools are throughout the State. Founded by
France, but held by Spain from 1762 till 1800, ceded again to France and
sold to the United States by Napoleon, it was admitted to the Union in
1812. In the Civil War a hundred battles were fought within the State and
New Orleans was captured, which left ruin behind; but since 1880
prosperity has returned, property is increasing fast, and finances are
healthy.
LOUISVILLE (205), on the left bank of the Ohio River, the largest
city in Kentucky, is well built and regular, with a Roman Catholic
cathedral, many colleges and charitable institutions; it is the largest
tobacco market in the world, has pork packing, distilling, tanning, and
many other industries.
LOURDES, a French town in the dep. of the Hautes-Pyrenees, with a
grotto near by in which the Virgin Mary, as is alleged, appeared to a
girl of the place in 1858, and to which multitudes have since resorted in
the hope of being healed of their maladies from the waters which spring
up on the spot.
LOUTH (71), the smallest Irish county, in Leinster, stretches from
Carlingford Bay to the estuary of the Boyne, washed by the Irish Sea; the
country is flat and the soil fertile, potatoes, oats, and barley are
grown; there are coarse linen manufactures and oyster fisheries; rich in
antiquities, its chief towns are Dundalk (12), Drogheda (12), and Ardee
(2).
LOUVET, French romancer, born in Paris; author of the "Chevalier de
Faublas," which gives a picture of French society on the eve of the
Revolution, in which the author played a part (1760-1797).
LOUVOIS, MARQUIS OF, War Minister of Louis XIV., born in Paris; was
a man of great administrative ability in his department, but for the
glory of France and his own was savage for war and relentless in the
conduct of it, till one day in his obstinate zeal, as he threatened to
lay the cathedral city of Treves in ashes, the king, seizing the tongs
from the chimney, was about to strike him therewith, and would have
struck him, had not Madame de Maintenon, his mistress, interfered and
stayed his hand; he died suddenly, to the manifest relief of his royal
master (1641-1691).
LOUVRE, an open turret or lantern on ancient roofs for the escape of
smoke or foul air.
LOUVRE, a great art museum and gallery in Paris, containing
Egyptian, Assyrian, classic, mediaeval, and modern relics and art
treasures of priceless value; here is housed the Venus of Milo.
LOVAT, SIMON FRASER, LORD, a Highland chief connected with
Inverness, who, being outlawed, fled to France and got acquainted with
the Pretender, in whose interest he returned to Scotland to excite a
rising, but betraying the secret to the government was imprisoned in the
Bastille on his going back to France; on his release and return he
opposed the Pretender in 1715, but in 1745 espoused the cause of Prince
Edward; was arrested for treason, convicted, and beheaded on Tower Hill
(1667-1747).
LOVEDALE, a mission station in South Africa, 650 m. NE. of Cape
Town, founded in 1841, and supported by the Free Church of Scotland.
LOVELACE, one of the principal characters in Richardson's "Clarissa
Harlowe"; is the type of a young heartless seducer.
LOVELACE, RICHARD, English cavalier and poet, born at Woolwich, heir
of great wealth, but lost his all in supporting the royal cause, and died
a ruined man; was the handsomest man of his time, and the author of a
collection of poems entitled "Lucasta" (1618-1658).
LOVER, SAMUEL, an Irish novelist and poet, born in Dublin; started
as a painter, but soon gave himself to literature; was the author of
"Rory O'More" and "Handy Andy," as also of some lyrics and ballads of a
stirring character (1797-1868).
LOW CHURCH, that section of the Church of England which, in contrast
with the High Church party, is not exclusive in its assertion of Church
authority and observances, and in contrast with the Broad Church party is
narrowly evangelical in its teaching.
LOW LATIN, Latin as spoken and written in the Middle Ages, being a
degeneration of the classical which began as early as the time of Cicero
and developed unchecked with the dismemberment of the Roman empire.
LOW MASS, mass performed by a single priest and without musical
accompaniment.
LOW SUNDAY, name given in Catholic countries to the next Sunday
after Easter, in contrast with the style of the festival just closed.
LOWE, SIR HUDSON, English general, born in Ireland; served with
credit in various military enterprises, and was appointed governor of St.
Helena in 1815, and held that office during Napoleon's incarceration
there; a much abused-man for his treatment of his prisoner, particularly
by the French, who dub him "Napoleon's jailer"; died in London in poor
circumstances; wrote a defence of his conduct (1770-1844).
LOWELL, JAMES RUSSELL, American essayist, poet, and diplomatist,
born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, son of a clergyman; graduated at
Harvard in 1838, studied law, but acquiring extensive scholarship devoted
himself to literature; volumes of poems were published by him in 1840 and
1844, but the Mexican War of 1846 and the Civil War of 1861-65 called
forth respectively the first and second series of "Biglow Papers," in
rustic dialect, the highest expression of his genius and the finest
modern English satire; he was an ardent abolitionist; succeeding
Longfellow in the chair of Modern Languages and Literature in Harvard in
1855, he visited Europe to study, returned as U.S. minister to Spain in
1877, was transferred to England 1880-1885; of his prose work "My Study
Windows" and "Among my Books" are essays on literary subjects, "Fireside
Travels" contain reminiscences, and his last work was a "Life of
Hawthorne"; he died at Cambridge in the house of his birth (1818-1891).
LOWER EMPIRE, name given to the Byzantine empire.
LOWESTOFT (23), seaport and watering-place at the mouth of the
Waveney, in Suffolk, 120 m. NE. of London, the most easterly town in
England; has a good harbour, an old parish church, and a large
fish-market; the Dutch were defeated off Lowestoft in 1665.
LOWTH, ROBERT, a distinguished English prelate, born in Hants; was
professor of Poetry in Oxford, and bishop in succession of St. Davids,
Oxford, and London; wrote "Prelectiones" on the poetry of the Hebrews, a
celebrated work, and executed a translation of Isaiah (1710-1787).
LOYOLA, IGNATIUS, the founder of the Order of the Jesuits, born in
the castle of Loyola, in the Basque Provinces of Spain, of a noble
Spanish family; entered the army, and served with distinction, but being
severely wounded at the siege of Pampeluna, he gave himself up to a life
of austere religious devotion, and conceived the idea of enlisting and
organising a spiritual army for the defence of the Church at home and the
propagation of the faith in the realms of heathendom; it seemed to him a
time when such an organisation should be formed, and he by-and-by got a
number of kindred spirits to join him, with the result that he and his
confederates did, on Ascension Day, 1534, solemnly pledge themselves in
the subterranean chapel of the Abbey of Montserrat to, through life and
death, embark in this great undertaking; the pledge thus given was
confirmed by the pope, Pope Pius III., the Order formed, and Ignatius, in
1547, installed as general, with absolute authority subject only to the
Pope, to receive canonisation by Gregory XV. in 1622 (1481-1566).
LUBBOCK, SIR JOHN, scientist, born in London; banker by profession;
as a member of Parliament has accomplished several economic reforms; is
author of "Prehistoric Times," "The Origin of Civilisation and the
Primitive Condition of Man," and various books on natural science; his
"Pleasures of Life" has been very popular, and gone through between 30
and 40 editions; _b_. 1834.
LUeBECK (64), a German free city on the Trave, an old-fashioned
place, but with wide, open streets, 12 m. from the Baltic, 40 m. NE. of
Hamburg; joined the North German Federation in 1866, and the Customs
Union in 1868. It has a 12th-century cathedral, some fine old churches,
scientific and art collections; with unimportant industries; its Baltic
and German transit trade is extensive.
LUCAN, a Latin poet, born at Corduba (Cordova), in Spain; was a
nephew of Seneca, and brought early to Rome; gave offence to Nero, and
was banished from the city; joined in a conspiracy against the tyrant,
and was convicted, whereupon he caused his veins to be opened and bled to
death, repeating the while the speech he had composed of a wounded
soldier on the battlefield dying a like death; he was the author of a
poem entitled "Pharsalia" on the civil war between Caesar and Pompey
(39-65).
LUCARIS, CYRIL, eminent ecclesiastic in the Greek Church, born in
Crete, who embraced and propagated Protestantism; became a victim of
persecution, and had a mysterious fate (1572-1637).
LUCCA (20), cap. of the Italian prov. of Lucca (309), on the
Serchio, 12 m. NE. of Pisa; has an extensive trade in olive-oil, silk,
and capers, the specialty of the province. Its cathedral has a very
ancient cedar crucifix, fine paintings, and valuable archives. There are
other ancient churches, scientific and artistic institutes, and a
wonderful aqueduct of 459 arches. The natives are known over Europe as
stucco figure-sellers and organ-grinders.
LUCERNE (36), a Swiss canton E. of Berne, mountainous in the S.,
where cattle are pastured and much cheese made; in the N. and in the
valleys fertile with corn and fruit crops; is German speaking, and Roman
Catholic; its highest elevation, Mount Pilatus, is 7000 ft. Stretching
from the eastern corner is Lake Lucerne, one of the most beautiful in
Europe. The cap. Lucerne (20), on the shores of the lake, is a busy
tourist centre; outside its walls is the famous Lion of Lucerne, designed
by Thorwaldsen, in memory of the Swiss Guard slain while defending the
Tuileries in Paris in 1792, and cut out of the solid rock.
LUCIAN, a Greek writer, born in Samosata, in Syria, in the early
part of the 2nd century; he travelled much in his youth; acquired a
cynical view of the world, and gave himself to ridicule the philosophical
sects and the pagan mythology; his principal writings consist of
"Dialogues," of which the "Dialogues of the Dead" are the best known, the
subject being one affording him scope for exposing the vanity of human
pursuits; he was an out and out sceptic, found nothing worthy of
reverence in heaven or on earth.
LUCIFER (i. e. light-bringer), name given to Venus as the morning
star, and by the Church Fathers to Satan in interpretation of Isaiah xiv.
12.
LUeCKE, FRIEDRICH, German theologian, professor first at Bonn and
then at Goettingen; wrote commentaries on John's Gospel and the Apocalypse
(1791-1855).
LUCKNOW (273), fourth city in India, cap. of the prov. of Oudh, on
the Gumti, a tributary of the Ganges, 200 m. NW. of Benares; is a centre
of Indian culture and Mohammedan theology, an industrial and commercial
city. It has many magnificent buildings, Canning and Martiniere Colleges,
various schools and Government offices. It manufactures brocades, shawls,
muslins, and embroideries, and trades in country products, European
cloth, salt, and leather. Its siege from July 1857 to March 1858, its
relief by Havelock and Outram, and final deliverance by Sir Colin
Campbell, form the most stirring incidents of the Indian Mutiny.
LUCRETIA, a Roman matron, the wife of Collatinus, whose rape by a
son of Tarquinus Superbus led to the dethronement of the tyrant, the
expulsion of his family from Rome, and the establishment of the Roman
republic.
LUCRETIUS, TITUS CARUS, a Roman poet of whose personal history
nothing is known, only that he was the author of a poem entitled "De
Rerum Natura," a philosophic, didactic composition in six books, in which
he expounds the atomic theory of Leucippus, and the philosophy of
Epicurus; the philosophy of the work commends itself only to the atheist
and the materialist, but the style is the admiration of all scholars, and
has ensured its translation into most modern languages (about 95-31 B.C.).
LUCULLUS, LUCIUS, a Roman general, celebrated as conqueror of
Mithridates, king of Pontus, and for the luxurious life he afterwards led
at Rome on the wealth he had amassed in Asia and brought home with him;
one day as he sat down to dine alone, and he observed his servant had
provided for him a less sumptuous repast than usual, he took him sharply
to task, and haughtily remarked, "Are you not aware, sirrah, that
Lucullus dines with Lucullus to-day?"
LUDDISM, fanatical opposition to the introduction of machinery as it
originally manifested itself among the hand-loom weavers of the Midlands.
LUDDITES name assumed by the anti-machinery rioters of 1812-1861,
after a Leicestershire idiot, Ned Ludd, of 1780; appearing first at
Nottingham, the agitation spread through Derby, Leicester, Cheshire,
Lancashire, and Yorkshire, finally merging in the wider industrial and
political agitations and riots that marked the years that followed the
peace after Waterloo.
LUDLOW, EDMUND, a republican leader in the Civil War against Charles
I., born in Wiltshire of good family; entered the army of the Parliament,
and was present in successive engagements, but opposed Cromwell on his
assumption of the Protectorate, and was put under arrest; reasserted his
republicanism on Cromwell's death, but died in exile after the
Restoration; left "Memoirs" (1630-1693).
LUDOVICUS VIVES, a humourist, born in Valentia, Spain; studied at
Paris, wrote against scholasticism, taught at Oxford, was imprisoned for
opposing Henry VIII.'s divorce; died at Bruges (1472-1540).
LUGA`NO, a lake partly in the Swiss canton of Ticino and partly in
the Italian province of Como, 15 m. by 2 m., in the midst of picturesque
grand scenery, with a town of the name on the NW. side amid vineyards and
olive plantations.
LUINI, BERNARDINO, a painter of the Lombard school, born at Luino,
in the territory of Milan, and a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci, so that some
of his works, which though they show a grace and delicacy of their own,
pass for those of his master; is famed for his works in oil as well as in
fresco; is, in Ruskin's regard, one of the master painters of the world
(1460-1540).
LUKE or LUCANUS, author of the third Gospel, as well as the
Acts, born in Antioch, a Greek by birth and a physician by profession,
probably a convert, as he was a companion, of St. Paul; is said to have
suffered martyrdom and been buried at Constantinople; is the patron saint
of artists, and represented in Christian art with an ox lying near him,
or in the act of painting; his Gospel appears to have been written before
the year 63, and shows a Pauline interest in Christ, who is represented
as the Saviour of Jew and Gentile alike; it was written for a Gentile
Christian and in correspondence with eye-witnesses of Christ's life and
death.
LULLI, a composer of operatic music, born in Provence; was director
of the French opera in the reign of Louis XIV. (1633-1687).
LULLY, RAYMOND, the _Doctor Illuminatus_, as he was called, born at
Palma, in Majorca, who was early smitten with a zeal for the conversion
of the Mohammedans, in the prosecution of which mission he invented a new
method of dialectic, called after him _Ars Lullia_; held public
discussions with the Mohammedans, who showed themselves as zealous to
convert him as he was to convert them, till he ventured in his over-zeal
when in Africa among them to threaten them with divine judgment if they
did not abjure their faith, upon which they waxed furious, dragged him
out of the city, and stoned him to death in the year 1315; his works,
several on alchemy, fill 16 volumes.
LUNAR CYCLE, a period of time at the close of which the new moons
return on the same days of the year.
LUNAR MONTH, a month of 29 days, the time of the revolution of the
moon, a lunar year consisting of 12 times the number.
LUNAR THEORY, an explanation by mathematical reasoning of
perturbations in the movements of the moon founded on the law of
gravitation.
LUNAR YEAR, a period of 12 synodic lunar months, being about 354.5
days.
LUND (14), a city in the S. of Sweden, 10 m. NE. of Malmoe, once the
capital of the Danish kingdom, the seat of an archbishop, with a
Romanesque cathedral and a flourishing university.
LUNDY ISLAND, a precipitous rugged island 3 m. long by 1 m. broad,
belonging to Devon, with the remains of an old castle, and frequented by
myriads of sea-fowl.
LUeNEBURG (21), on the Ilmenau, 30 m. SE. of Hamburg, an ancient
German city with old Gothic churches, once the capital of an independent
duchy, now in Hanover; has salt and gypsum mines, iron and chemical
manufactures; the British royal house is descended from the princes of
Brunswick-Lueneburg.
LUPERCALIA, a Roman festival held on Feb. 15 in honour of Lupercus,
regarded as the god of fertility, in the celebration of which dogs and
goats were sacrificed and their skins cut up into thongs, with which the
priests ran through the city striking every one, particularly women, that
threw themselves in their way.
LUPERCUS, an ancient Italian god, worshipped by shepherds as the
protector of their flocks against wolves.
LUPUS, a chronic disease of the skin, characterised by the
tuberculous eruptions which eat into the skin, particularly of the face,
and disfigure it.
LUSATIA, a district of Germany, between the Elbe and the Oder,
originally divided into Upper and Lower, belongs partly to Saxony and
partly to Prussia; it swarmed at one time with Wends.
LUSIAD or LUSIADES, a poem of Camoens in ten cantos, in
celebration of the discoveries of the Portuguese in the East Indies, and
in which Vasco da Gama is the principal figure; it is a genuine national
epic, in which the poet passes in review all the celebrated exploits and
feats that glorify the history of Portugal.
LUSITANIA, the ancient name of Portugal, still used as the name of
it in modern poetry.
LUSTRUM, a sacrifice for expiation and purification offered by one
of the censors of Rome in name of the Roman people at the close of the
taking of the census, and which took place after a period of five years,
so that the name came to denote a period of that length.
LUTETIA, the ancient name of Paris, _Lutetia Parisiorum_, mud-town
of the borderers, as Carlyle translates it.
LUTHER, MARTIN, the great Protestant Reformer, born at Eisleben, in
Prussian Saxony, the son of a miner, was born poor and brought up poor,
familiar from his childhood with hardship; was sent to study law at
Erfurt, but was one day at the age of 19 awakened to a sense of higher
interests, and in spite of remonstrances became a monk; was for a time in
deep spiritual misery, till one day he found a Bible in the convent,
which taught him for the first time that "a man was not saved by singing
masses, but by the infinite grace of God"; this was his awakening from
death to life, and to a sense of his proper mission as a man; at this
stage the Elector of Saxony was attracted to him, and he appointed him
preacher and professor at Wittenberg; on a visit to Rome his heart sank
within him, but he left it to its evil courses to pursue his own way
apart; if Rome had let him alone he would have let it, but it would not;
monk Tetzel arrived at Wittenberg selling indulgences, and his
indignation was roused; remonstrance after remonstrance followed, but the
Pope gave no heed, till the agitation being troublesome, he issued his
famous "fire-decree," condemning Luther's writings to the flames; this
answer fired Luther to the quick, and he "took the indignant step of
burning the decree in 1520 at the Elster Gate of Wittenberg, Wittenberg
looking on with shoutings, the whole world looking on"; after this Luther
was summoned to the Diet of Worms, and he appeared there before the
magnates, lay and clerical, of the German empire on April 17, 1521; how
he demeaned himself on that high occasion is known to all the world, and
his answer as well: "Here stand I; I can do no other; so help me God";
"it was the grandest moment in the modern history of man"; of the
awakening this produced Luther was the ruling spirit, as he had been the
moving one, and he continued to be so to the end of his life; his
writings show the man as well as his deeds, and amid all the turmoil that
enveloped him he found leisure to write and leave behind him 25 quarto
volumes; it is known the German Bible in use is his work, executed by him
in the Castle of Wartburg; it was begun by him with his back to the wall,
as it were, and under the protestation, as it seemed to him, of the
prince of darkness himself, and finished in this obstructive element
pretty much throughout, the New Testament in 1522, the Pentateuch in
1523, and the whole, the Apocrypha included, in 1534; he was fond of
music, and uttered many an otherwise unutterable thing in the tones of
his flute; "the devils fled from his flute," he says; "death-defiance on
the one hand, and such love of music on the other, I could call these,"
says Carlyle, "the two opposite poles of a great soul, between these two
all great things had room.... Luther," he adds, "was a true great man,
great in intellect, in courage, in affection, and integrity,... great as
an Alpine mountain, but not setting up to be great at all--his, as all
greatness is, an unconscious greatness" (1488-1546).
LUTHERANISM, that form of Protestantism which prevails in Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, and Northern Germany. See LUTHERANS.
LUTHERANS, the name given to that school of the Protestant Church
which accepted Luther's doctrine, especially that of the Eucharist, in
opposition to that of the members of the Reformed Church, who assented to
the views in that matter of Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer; the former
maintaining the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and that the grace
of Christ is communicated in the celebration of it, and the latter
maintaining that it is a merely commemorative ordinance, and the means of
grace to the believing recipient only.
LUTTERWORTH, a small town in Leicestershire, on the Swift, 8 m. NE.
of Rugby, of the church of which Wiclif was rector, and where he was
buried, though his bones were afterwards, in 1428, dug up and burned, and
the ashes cast into the river.
LUeTZEN, a small town in Prussian Saxony, the vicinity of it the
scene of a victory of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, and of another by
Napoleon over the combined forces of Russia and Prussia in 1813.
LUX, the name given to the unit of the intensity of electric light.
LUX, ADAM, a young Parisian; smitten with love for Charlotte Corday,
proposed a statue to her with the inscription "Greater than Brutus,"
which brought him to the guillotine.
LUXEMBURG (211), grand-duchy, a small, independent territory at the
corner where Belgium, France, and Rhenish Prussia meet, is a plateau
watered by the Moselle on its eastern boundary, and the tributary Sauer;
is well wooded and fertile, yielding wheat, flax, hemp, and wine. Iron
ore is mined and smelted; leather, pottery, sugar, and spirits
manufactured. The population is Low-German and Roman Catholic; the
language of the educated, French. The government is in the hands of a
grand-duke, the Duke of Nassau, and a house of 42 representatives. For
commercial purposes Luxemburg belongs to the German Customs Union. The
capital is LUXEMBURG (18). There is a Belgian province of
LUXEMBURG (212), until 1839 part of the grand-duchy.
LUZON (3,200), the largest of the Philippines; about one-half larger
than Ireland; is the most northerly of the group; is clad with forests,
and yields grain, sugar, hemp, and numerous tropical products. The
capital is Manila.
LYCAON, a king of Arcadia; changed into a wolf for offering human
flesh to Zeus, who came, disguised as mortal, to his palace on the same
errand as the angels who visited Lot in Sodom. According to another
tradition he was consumed, along with his sons, by fire from heaven.
LYCEUM, a promenade in Athens where Aristotle taught his pupils as
he walked to and fro within its precincts.
LYCIAS, an Athenian orator, who flourished in the 4th century B.C.;
assisted in the expulsion of the Thirty Tyrants, and distributed among
the citizens his large fortune which the Tyrants had confiscated.
LYCIDAS, the name of an exquisite dirge by Milton over the death by
drowning of his friend Edward King.
LYCURGUS, the legislator of Sparta, who lived in the 9th century
B.C.; in the interest of it as king visited the wise in other lands, and
returned with the wise lessons he had learned from them to frame a code
of laws for his country, which was fast lapsing into a state of anarchy;
when he had finished his work under the sanction of the oracle at Delphi
he set put again on a journey to other lands, but previously took oath of
the citizens that they would observe his laws till his return; it was his
purpose not to return, and he never did, in order to bind his countrymen
to maintain the constitution he gave them inviolate for ever.
LYDGATE, JOHN, an early English poet; was a monk of Bury St. Edmunds
in the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries; was a teacher
of rhetoric as well as a poet, and a man of some note in his day.
LYDIA, a country of Asia Minor; seat of an early civilisation, and a
centre of influences which affected both the religion and culture of
Greece; was noted for its music and purple dyes.
LYELL, SIR CHARLES, celebrated English geologist, born at Kinnordy,
in Forfarshire; bred for and called to the bar; he left his practice, and
gave himself to the study of geology, to which he had been attracted by
Alexander Buckland's lectures when he was at Oxford; his great work was
his "Principles of Geology," which, published in 1830, created quite a
revolution in the science; it was followed by his "Student's Elements of
Geology," which was modified by his conversion to Darwin's views, and by
"Antiquity of Man," written in defence of Darwin's theory (17971875).
LYLY, JOHN, English dramatist, born in Kent; was the author of nine
plays on classical subjects, written for the court, which were preceded
in 1579 by his once famous "Euphues, or Anatomy of Wit," followed by a
second part next year, and entitled "Euphues and his England," and that
from the fantastic, pompous, and affected style in which they were
written gave a new word, Euphuism, to the English language (1553-1606).
LYNCH LAW, the name given in America to the trial and punishment of
offenders without form of law, or by mob law; derived from the name of a
man Lynch, dubbed Judge, who being referred to used to administer justice
in the far West in this informal way.
LYNDHURST, JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, BARON, thrice Lord Chancellor of
England, born at Boston, Massachusetts, son of an artist; was brought up
in London, educated at Cambridge, and called to the bar in 1804;
acquiring fame in the treason trials of the second decade, he entered
Parliament in 1808, was Solicitor-General 1819, Attorney-General 1819,
Master of the Rolls 1826, and Lord Chancellor in three governments
1827-30; Chief Baron of the Exchequer 1830-34; he was Lord Chancellor in
Peel's administrations of 1834-35 and 1841-46; he was great as a debater,
and a clear-headed lawyer, but not earnest enough for a statesman
(1772-1863).
LYNEDOCH, THOMAS GRAHAM, LORD, soldier, born in Perthshire; raised
in 1793 the 90th Regiment of Foot, and served with it at Quiberon and
Isle Dieu; thereafter distinguished himself in various ways at Minorca
1798, and Malta 1800, in the Peninsular wars, and in Holland; founded the
Senior United Service Club in 1817; was created baron and general 1821,
and died in London (1748-1843).
LYON COURT, the Herald's College of Scotland, consisting of three
heralds and three pursuivants.
LYON KING OF ARMS, the legal heraldic officer of Scotland, who
presides over the Lyon Court.
LYONS (398), the second city of France, at the junction of the Rhone
and Saone, 250 m. S. of Paris; has a Roman Catholic university, and
valuable museum, library, and art collections, many old churches and
buildings, and schools of art and industries; the staple industry is
silk, weaving, dyeing, and printing; there are also chemical, machinery,
and fancy ware manufactures, and it is an emporium of commerce between
Central and Southern Europe; of late years Lyons has been a hot-bed of
ultra-republicanism.
LYRIC POETRY, poetry originally accompanied by the lyre, in which
the poet sings his own passions, sure of a sympathetic response from
others in like circumstances with himself.
LYSANDER, a Spartan general and admiral who put an end to the
Peloponnesian War by defeat of the Athenian fleet off AEgospotami, and of
whom Plutarch says in characterisation of him, he knew how to sew the
skin of the fox on that of the lion; fell in battle in 395 B.C.
LYSIMACHUS, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, who became
king of Thrace and afterwards of Macedonia; _d_. 281 B.C.
LYTTON, EDWARD ROBERT, EARL OF, statesman and novelist, under the
_nom de plume_ of Owen Meredith; entered the diplomatic service at an
early age, became viceroy of India in 1876, and ambassador at Paris in
1892.
LYTTON, GEORGE EDWARD BULWER, LORD, statesman and novelist, born in
London; entered Parliament at the age of 26, began his parliamentary
career as a Whig, but became a Conservative and ranked in that party for
the greater part of his life; "Pelham," published in 1828, was his first
novel, and this was followed by a long list of others of endless variety,
all indicative of the conspicuous ability of the author, and to the last
giving no sign of decay in power; he was the author of plays as well as
novels (1803-1873).
M
MAB, QUEEN, the fairies' midwife that brings dreams to the birth, to
be distinguished from Titania, the Queen.
MABILLON, JEAN, a French Benedictine and eminent scholar; wrote a
history of his order and edited St. Bernard's works (1632-1707).
MABLY, GABRIEL BONNET DE, French author, was born at Grenoble,
brother of Condillac; educated at Lyons, and became secretary to Cardinal
Tencin, but most of his life was spent in study, and he died in Paris;
his "Romans and the French" is not complimentary to his countrymen; he
was a great admirer of the ancients (1709-1785).
MABUSA, JAN, real name Gossaert, Flemish artist, born at Mabuse,
lived and died at Antwerp; his work is not great but careful, his figures
catch the stiffness of his favourite architectural backgrounds; his early
period is strongly national, but a visit to Italy with Philip of Burgundy
brought him under southern influences and contributed to intensify his
colour (1470-1532).
MACADAM, JOHN LOUDON, Scottish engineer, born at Ayr; inventor of
the system of road-making which bears his name; he made his fortune as a
merchant in New York, but spent it in road-making (1756-1836).
MACAIRE, ROBERT, a noted criminal and assassin that figures in
French plays; was convicted of a murder in trial by combat with a witness
in the shape of the dog of the murdered man.
MACAO, small island at the mouth of the Canton River, 100 m. S. of
Canton, forming with Colovane and Taipa since 1557 a Portuguese station
(50, mostly Chinese); is a very healthy port, though very hot; formerly
it was a centre of the Coolie trade, abolished in 1873, but its anchorage
is bad, and since the rise of Hong-Kong its commerce has suffered
severely; chief import opium, export tea; it is the head-quarters of
French missions in China.
MACARIUS, ST., a hermit of the Thebaid, where he spent 60 years of a
life of solitude and austerity (300-390). Festival, January 13.
MACARONI, a fine wheaten paste made into long thin tubes, and
manufactured in Italy and the S. of France.
MACASSAR, southern portion and chief town (20) at SW. corner of
Celebes; exports coffee, spices, timber, and "Macassar" oil.
MACAULAY, THOMAS BABINGTON, LORD, essayist and historian, born at
Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, son of Zachary Macaulay the
philanthropist, and so of Scottish descent; graduated at Cambridge 1822,
proving a brilliant debater in the Union, and became Fellow of Trinity
1824; called to the bar 1826, he preferred to follow literature, having
already gained a footing by some poems in _Knight's Quarterly_ and by his
essay on "Milton" in the _Edinburgh Review_ (1825); in 1830 he entered
Parliament for a pocket-borough, took an honourable part in the Reform
debates, and in the new Parliament sat for Leeds; his family were now in
straitened circumstances, and to be able to help them he went out to
India as legal adviser to the Supreme Council; to his credit chiefly
belongs the Indian Penal Code; returning in 1838, he represented
Edinburgh in the Commons with five years' interval till 1856; the "Lays
of Ancient Rome" appeared in 1842, his collected "Essays" in 1843, two
years later he ceased writing for the _Edinburgh;_ he was now working
hard at his "History," of which the first two volumes attained a quite
unprecedented success in 1848; next year he was chosen Lord Rector of
Glasgow University; 1855 saw the third and fourth volumes of his
"History"; in 1857 he was made a peer, and many other honours were
showered upon him; with a tendency to too much declamation in style, a
point of view not free from bias, and a lack of depth and modesty in his
thinking, he yet attained a remarkable amount and variety of knowledge,
great intellectual energy, and unrivalled lucidity in narration
(1800-1859).
MACBETH, a thane of the north of Scotland who, by assassination of
King Duncan, became king; reigned 17 years, but his right was disputed by
Malcolm, Duncan's son, and he was defeated by him and fell at Lumphanan,
December 5, 1056.
MACCABEES, a body of Jewish patriots, followers of Judas Maccabaeus,
who in 2nd century B.C. and in the interest of the Jewish faith
withstood the oppression of Syria and held their own for a goodly number
of years against not only the foreign yoke that oppressed them, but
against the Hellenising corruption of their faith at home.
MACCABEES, BOOKS OF, two books of the Apocrypha which give, the
first, an account of the heroic struggle which the Maccabees maintained
from 175 to 135 B.C. against the kings of Syria, and the second, of an
intercalary period of Jewish history from 175 to 160 B.C., much of it of
legendary unreliable matter; besides these two a third and a fourth of a
still more apocryphal character are extant.
M'CARTHY, JUSTIN, writer and politician, began life as a journalist;
is the author of a "History of Our Own Times" and a "History of the Four
Georges," as well as a number of novels; represents North Longford in
Parliament; _b_. 1830.
M'CHEYNE, ROBERT MURRAY, the subject of a well-known memoir by
Andrew Bonar, was born in Edinburgh, educated at the university there,
and was minister of St. Peter's, Dundee, from 1836 till his death; he is
esteemed a saint by pious evangelical people, by whom the memoirs of him
are much prized (1813-1843).
M'CLELLAN, American general, born in Philadelphia; served in the
Mexican War, and in the War of Secession, eventually as
commander-in-chief; was author of military engineering works (1826-1882).
MACCLESFIELD (36), Cheshire manufacturing town on the Bollin, 15 m.
S. of Manchester; has a 13th-century church, and a grammar-school founded
by Edward VI.; its staple industry is silk manufactures; there are
breweries, and mining and quarrying near.
MACCLINTOCK, Arctic navigator, born at Dundalk; sent out by Lady
Franklin to discover the fate of Sir John and his crew; wrote an account
of the voyage (1819-1891).
M'CLURE, Arctic navigator, born in Wexford; went out in search of
Franklin, and discovered the North-West Passage in 1850 (1807-1873).
M'CRIE, THOMAS, a Scotch seceder, born in Dunse; was minister in
Edinburgh; author of the "Life of John Knox," published in 1812; defended
the Covenanters against Scott; he was a man of dignified military
presence (1772-1835).
M'CULLOCH, HORATIO, a Scottish landscape-painter, born in Glasgow;
was distinguished for his Highland landscapes (1806-1867).
M'CULLOCH, JOHN RAMSEY, political economist, born in Isle of
Whithorn; contributed to the _Scotsman_ and _Edinburgh Review;_ wrote
"Principles of Political Economy," and edited Dictionaries of Commerce
and Geography (1789-1864).
MACCUNN, HAMISH, Scottish composer, born at Greenock; entered the
Royal College of Music in 1883, and became junior professor of Harmony at
the Royal Academy; his fertility in melody and mastery of the orchestra
are devoted to music of strong national characteristics, as his overture
"Land of the Mountain and the Flood," and his choral work "The Lay of the
Last Minstrel" show; _b_. 1868.
MACDONALD, marshal of France, born at Sancerre, of Scotch descent,
entered the army at the time of the Revolution as a lieutenant, and
rapidly rose in rank; served with distinction under Napoleon, especially
at Wagram, when he was made Duke of Taranto; supported the Bourbons on
their restoration (1765-1840).
MACDONALD, SIR CLAUDE M., British Minister at Peking; served in the
army in Egypt in 1882 and 1884, as a diplomatist in Zanzibar in 1887, and
on the coast of Africa as commissioner in 1888; was sent to Peking in
1896; _b_. 1852.
MACDONALD, FLORA, a devoted Jacobite who, at the risk of her own
life, screened Prince Charles Edward after his defeat at Culloden from
his pursuers, and saw him safe off to France, for which she was
afterwards confined for a short time in the Tower (1722-1790).
MACDONALD, GEORGE, novelist, born in Huntly; trained for the
ministry, but devoted himself to literature; is the author, among other
works, of "Robert Falconer," "David Elginbrod," and "Alec Forbes"; his
interests are religious, and his views liberal, particularly on religious
matters; _b_., 1824.
MACE, THE, the symbol of authority in the House of Commons; is
placed on the table when the House is sitting, and is under the table as
a rule when the Speaker is not in the chair.
MACEDONIA, an ancient kingdom lying between Thrace and Illyria, the
Balkans and the AEgean; mostly mountainous, but with some fertile plains;
watered by the Strymon, Axius, and Heliacmon Rivers; was noted for its
gold and silver, its oil and wine. Founded seven centuries B.C., the
monarchy was raised to dignity and power by Archelaus in the 5th century.
Philip II. (359 B.C.) established it yet more firmly; and his son,
Alexander the Great, extended its sway over half the world. His empire
broke up after his death, and the Romans conquered it in 168 B.C. AEgae
and Pella were its ancient capitals, Philippi, Thessalonica, and
Amphipolis among its towns. After many vicissitudes during the Middle
Ages it is now a province of Turkey.
MACEDONIANS, a sect in the early Church who taught that the Holy
Ghost was inferior to the Father and the Son, so called from Macedonius,
bishop of Constantinople, their leader.
MACFARREN, SIR GEORGE ALEXANDER, musical author and composer, born
in London; studied at the Royal Academy, and became professor there in
1834; in many operatic works he aimed at restoring old English musical
characteristics, and wrote also cantatas "Lenore," "May-Day," &c., and
oratorios, of which "John the Baptist" (1873) was the first; but his
chief merit lies in his writings on theory (1813-1887).
MACHIAVELLI, NICCOLO, statesman and historian, born in Florence, of
an ancient family; was secretary of the Florentine Republic from 1498 to
1512, and during that time conducted its diplomatic affairs with a skill
which led to his being sent on a number of foreign embassies; he was
opposed to the restoration of the Medici family, and on the return of it
to power was subjected to imprisonment and torture as a conspirator, but
was at last set at liberty; he spent the remainder of his life chiefly in
literary labours, producing among other works a treatise on government,
entitled "The Prince," the principles of which have established for him a
notoriety wide as the civilised world (1469-1530).
MACHIAVELLISM, the doctrine taught by Machiavelli in "The Prince,"
that to preserve the integrity of a State the ruler should not feel
himself bound by any scruple such as may suggest itself by considerations
of justice and humanity; the State he regards as too precious an
institution to endanger by scruples of that sort.
M'IVOR, FLORA, the heroine in Scott's "Waverley."
MACK, KARL, Austrian general, born in Franconia; notorious for his
military incapacity and defeats; confronted by Napoleon at Ulm in 1805,
he surrendered with 28,000 men without striking a blow; for this he was
tried by court-martial, and sentenced to death, which was commuted to
imprisonment for life, from which he was released at the end of a year
(1752-1826).
MACKAY, CHARLES, journalist, novelist, and critic; wrote an
autobiography entitled, "Forty Years' Recollections of Life, Literature,
and Public Affairs"; was the father of Eric Mackay, author of
"Love-Letters of a Violinist" (1814-1889).
MACKENZIE, SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, composer, born at Edinburgh;
studied in Germany and at the Royal Academy; was teacher and conductor in
his native city from 1865 to 1878, lived thereafter in Italy; was made
Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in 1887, and knighted in 1895;
his opera "Colomba" (1883) first brought him fame; among his works, which
are of every kind, his oratorio, "The Rose of Sharon" (1884), is reckoned
best; _b_. 1847.
MACKENZIE, SIR GEORGE, eminent Scottish lawyer, born in Dundee;
became King's Advocate for Scotland; wrote on law and on other subjects
in a style which commended itself to such a critic as Dryden, though by
his severe treatment of the Covenanters he earned in Scotland the
opprobrious title of the "bluidy Mackenzie" (1636-1691).
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; passed 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 Essex,
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
entitled "Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush," and a second series entitled
"The Days of Auld Lang Syne"; both had a large circulation, and a number
of other works, religious as well as fictitious; _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 illustrative 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 coarse 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, constitute the
exports; gold, iron, copper, lead, and sulphur are found, and the natives
are skilled in working metals; the Malagasys possess civilised
institutions; slavery was abolished in 1879; a quarter of the population
is Christian; the heathen section, though untruthful and immoral, are
affectionate, courageous, and loyal; Antananarivo (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 principal 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 constitution, 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 Constitution; 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
Godavari, 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 Godavari 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 3/4 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 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).
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.
MAELSTROeM. See MALSTROeM.
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.
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 Galilaean, 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 nebulae seen in the
southern hemisphere, not far from the South Pole.
MAGENDIE, FRANCOIS, 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 GRAECA, 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 archaeologist, 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.
MAHABHARATA, one of the two great epic poems of ancient India, a
work of slow growth, extending through ages, and of an essentially
encyclopaedic 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.
MAHADEVA, the great god of the Hindus; an appellation of SIVA
(q. v.), as Mahadevi is of Durga, his wife.
MAHANADE, 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).
MAHOMET. See MOHAMMED.
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.
MAI, 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, FRANCOISE D'AUBIGNE, 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,
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