princes, against the emperor. This league, encouraged by Henry II. of France, was more dangerous than that of Smalkalde. The pretext for the association was to deliver the Landgrave of Hesse, whom the emperor kept prisoner. Maurice and the confederates marched, in 1552, to the defiles of the Tyrol, and put to flight the Imperial troops. The emperor and his brother Ferdinand narrowly escaped, and fled in great disorder. Charles having retired into Passau, where he had collected an army, brought the princes of the league to terms of accommodation. By the famous peace of Passau, in 1552, the emperor granted an amnesty to all who had borne arms against him from 1546. The protestants not only obtained the free exercise of their religion, but were admitted into the imperial chamber, from which they had been excluded since the victory of Mulberg. Maurice soon after joined the emperor against the Margrave of Brandenburgh, who laid waste the German provinces. He defeated him in 1553, at Silvershausen, but died of his wounds two days after. He was one of the greatest protectors of the Lutherans in Germany; and, after he had profited by the spoils of John Frederick, the chief of the Protestants, he became himself the leader of the party, and maintained the balance of power against the emperor. MAURICE OF NASSAU, prince of Orange, succeeded to the government of the Low Countries after the death of his father William I., who was killed in 1584 by the fanatic Gerard. The young prince was then only eighteen; but he was appointed captain general of the United Provinces; and, in 1599, Breda submitted to him, and Zutphen, Deventer, Hulst, and Nimeguen, in 1591. He gained several important advantages in 1592, and made himself master of Gertrudenburg in 1593. He returned to the Netherlands by the way of Zealand. His fleet was attacked by a dreadful tempest, in which he lost forty vessels, and he himself narrowly escaped. Maurice, increasing in reputation, defeated the troops of the archduke Albert in 1597, and drove the Spaniards entirely out of Holland. In 1600 he was obliged to raise the siege of Dunkirk; but he took ample vengeance on Albert, whom he again defeated in a pitched battle near Newport. Before the action, this great general sent back the ships which had brought his troops into Flanders: My brethren,' said he to his army, we must conquer the enemy or drink up the waters of the sea. Determine for yourselves; I have determined I will either conquer by your bravery, or I will never survive the disgrace of being conquered by men in every respect our inferiors.' This speech elevated the spirits of the men, and the victory was complete. In 1598 Rhinberg, Grave, and Ecluse, cities in Flanders, submitted to him. Maurice, however, now aimed at the sovereignty of Holland, but was opposed in his design by the patriot Barneveldt. The zeal and activity of this wise republican cost him his life. He was an Arminian. Maurice defended Gomar against Arminius; and, taking advantage of the general odium under which the latter lay, he had Barneveldt condemned in 1619. His death, wholly owing to the ambition of Maurice, made a deep impression on the Hollanders. The truce with · Spain being expired, Spinola laid siege to Breda in 1624; and in six months, after great slaughter of his troops, he took the place. Maurice, unsuccessful in every attempt to raise the siege, died of vexation in 1625, with the reputation of the greatest warrior of his time. His life,' says abbé Raynal, 'was almost an uninterrupted series of battles, sieges, and victories. moderate abilities in every thing else, he shone conspicuous in his military capacity.' Telescopes were first used by this prince for military purposes. He was succeeded as stadtholder by Frederick Henry his brother. Of MAURICE (St.), commander of the Theban legion of Christian martyrs. See THEBAN LEGION. He was the patron of a celebrated order in the king of Sardinia's dominions, created by Emanuel Philibert, duke of Savey, to reward military merit, and approved by Gregory XIII. in 1572. MAURICE (St.), or Sr. MORTIZEN, a town of Switzerland, in the Valais, nineteen miles west of Sion, between two hills, on the Rhone; over which it has a stately stone bridge, from the one hill to the other. This pass is supposed to be the ancient Agaunum, where the Theban legion suffered martyrdom. It is a great thoroughfare for goods and travellers from Geneva, through Valais, and over Mount St. Bernard. MAURICE (Rev. Thomas), was born in 1754, at Hertford, where his father conducted the school attached to Christ's Hospital. On his death, in 1763, the widow took a second husband, and the subject of this article was placed in Christ's Hospital; but his health declining he was removed to Ealing; and soon after taken under the patronage of the late Dr. Parr, at Stanmore. At the age of nineteen he went to St. John's College, Oxford, and about a year afterwards removed to University College. Having taken his bachelor's degree, he was ordained to the curacy of Woodford, Essex, when he married, and continued to reside here till 1785, when he removed to Epping. About this time he devoted his attention to the history and antiquities of India; and in 1790 published A Letter to the Directors, containing Proposals for a History of Hindostan. In the year following he printed the first two volumes of his Indian Antiquities; succeeded, at intervals, by five more. In 1795 appeared the first volume of the History of Hindostan, which was completed in a third volume in 1799. In 1802 he published the first volume of the Modern History of Hindostan; and in 1804 the second. In this last year he was presented, by the chancellor, to the vicarage of Cudham, in Kent. He also obtained the pension that had been bestowed upon Cowper; and was likewise appointed one of the librarians of the British Museum. Besides the works already mentioned, Mr. Maurice was the author of various Poems, Sermons, Tracts on various subjects, and latterly of his own Memoirs, from which this account is taken. He died March 30th, 1824, and was buried at Woodford. MAURICEAU (Francis), a French surgeon, who applied with great success and reputation to the theory and practice of his art for several years in Paris. He afterwards confined himself to the disorders of pregnant women, and was at the head of all the operators in his way. His Observations sur la Grossesse et sur l'Accouche. ment des Femmes, sur leurs Maladies, et celles des Enfans Nouveaux, 1694, in 4to., is reckoned an excellent work, and has been translated into German, Flemish, Italian, and English, and by the author himself into Latin. He published some supplementary pieces on the same subject; and died in Paris in 1709. MAURITANIA, an ancient kingdom of Africa, bounded on the west by the Atlantic; on the south by Getulia, or Libya Interior; and on the north by the Mediterranean; and comprehending the greater part of the kingdoms of Fez and Morocco. Its ancient limits are not exactly mentioned by any historian. This country was originally inhabited by a people called Mauri, concerning the etymology of which name authors are not agreed. From the Jerusalem Targum it appears that part of the Mauri may be deemed the offspring of Lud, the son of Misraim, as his descendants, mentioned Gen. x., are there called , Mauri, or Mauritani. It is certain that this region, as well as the others east of it, had many colonies planted in it by the Phonicians. Procopius tells us that, in his time, two pillars of white stone were to be seen there, with the following inscription, in the Phoenician language and character, upon them: We are the Canaanites that fled from Joshua, the son of Nun, that notorious robber.' Ibnu Rachic, or Ibnu Raquig, an African writer cited by Leo, together with Evagrius and Nicephorus Callistus, assert the same thing. The earliest prince of Mauritania, mentioned in history, is Neptune; and next to him were Atlas and Antæus, his two sons, both famous in the Grecian fables on account of their wars with Hercules. See ANTEUS, and ATLAS. Without adopting every particular of Sir Isaac Newton's System, it appears plain from scripture, that neither the western extremity of Libya, nor even the other parts of that region, could have been so well peopled before the time of David or Solomon, as to have sent a numerous army to invade Egypt. For Egypt and Phoenicia, whence the greatest part of the ancestors of the Libyans came, and which were much nearer the place whence the first dispersion of mankind was made, could not themselves have been greatly overstocked with inhabitants any considerable time before the reign of Saul. And that such an invasion happened in the reign of Neptune, or his son Antæus, has been fully evinced by this most excellent chronologer. From the defeat of Antæus nothing remarkable occurs in the history of Mauritania till the times of the Romans, who at last brought the whole kingdom under their jurisdiction. See ROME. MAURITANIANS, the natives of Mauritania. According to Ptolemy, they were divided into several cantons or tribes. The Metagonite were seated near the straits of Hercules, now those of Gibraltar. The Saccosii, or Cocosii, occupied the coast of the Iberian Sea. Under these two petty nations the Masices, Verues, and Verbica or Vervice, were settled. The Salisa, or Salinsa, were situated lower, towards the ocean; and still more to the south the Volubiliani. The Maurensii and Herpiditani possessed the east part of this country, which was terminated by the Mulucha. The Angaucani or Jangacaucani, Nectiberes, Zagrensii, Baniubæ, and Vacunæ, extended themselves from the south foot of Ptolemy's Atlas Minor to his Atlas Major. Pliny mentions the Baniuræ, whom Harduin takes to be Ptolemy's Baniubæ, and Mela the Atlantes, whom he represents as possessed of the western parts of this district. With regard to the customs, &c., of this people, Hyginus insinuates that they fought only with clubs, till one Belus, the son of Neptune, taught them the use of the sword. Sir Isaac Newton makes this Belus the same with Sesostris, king of Egypt, who overran a great part of the then known world. All persons of distinction in Mauritania went richly attired, wearing much gold and silver in their clothes. They took great pains in cleansing their teeth, and curled their hair in an elegant manner. They combed their beards, which were very long, and always had their nails pared close. When they walked out in any numbers, they never touched one another, for fear of disconThe Mauritanian infantry, certing their curls. in time of action, used shields made of elephants' MAURITIA, the ginkgo, or maiden-hair tree, a genus of the order of palmæ: CAL. of the male monophyllous: COR. monopetalous, with six stamina. It is a native of Japan, where it is named ginan and itsio. It rises with a long, erect, thick, and branched stem, to the size of a walnut tree. The bark is ash-colored, the wood brittle and smooth, the pith soft and fungous. The leaves are large, expanded from a narrow bottom into the figure of a maiden-hair leaf, unequally parted, streaked, without fibres; both surfaces having the same appearance, and supported upon foot-stalks, which are compressed upon the upper surface, and extended into the leaf. From the uppermost shoots hang the flowers in long catkins filled with the fertilising powder; to which succeeds the fruit, adhering to a long fleshy pedicle, which proceeds from the bosom of the leaves. This fruit is round, of the appearance and size of a damask plum. The substance surrounding it is fleshy, juicy, white, very harsh, and adheres so firmly to the enclosed nut as not to be separated from it, except by putrefaction. The nut, termed gineau, resembles the pistachia nut, especially a Persian species named bergjes pistai; but is almost double in size, and of the figure of an apricot stone. The shell is somewhat white, woody, and brittle; and encloses a white loose kernel, having the sweetness cf an almond along with a degree of harshness. These kernels are said to promote digestion, and to give relief in surfeits; whence they make part of the dessert in great feasts. They seem to be very hardy, and thrive in this country in the open air. MAURITIUS, or the Isle of France, an island of the Indian Ocean, 600 miles east of Madagascar, was discovered by the Portuguese in 1500, and named Acerno, or the Isle of Swans; but, being neglected by them, the Dutch took possession of it in 1598, and named it Mauritius, after their stadtholder, prince Maurice. It was not, however, till 1640 that they formed an establishment on it at Grosport, but in 1712 they again abandoned it; and, three years after, the French East India Company formed an establishment at Port Louis, and gave the island its present name. In 1764 the company ceded it, together with the Isle of Bourbon, to the crown. Its greatest benefactor was the French governor de la Bourdonnais, who fortified it in such a manner as to be considered at the time almost impregnable, and rendered it the chief naval station of the French in the Indian seas. He also encouraged cultivation, and introduced coffee, sugar, cloves, nutmegs, and cinnamon. It preserved its importance after we had annihilated the French power on the continent of India, and became then a grand privateering station against the British shipping. It was calculated that, in ten years, prizes to the value of £2,500,000 had been taken and carried into Mauritius. The vessels, after being emptied of their goods, were commonly sold to the Arabs. At length, in 1810, an expedition was despatched against it, when it was found incapable of making that defence which had been anticipated. After a short resistance the governor offered terms of capitulation, and the place was surrendered, with six frigates, three East Indiamen, and twenty-four large ne chant vessels. This settlement was retained at the peace, and may now be considered as a s tled British colony. This island is fourteen leagues long, and eight broad, being of an irregular oval figure, contan ing 340,000 square acres, and is surrounded by coral reefs and islets. The island gradually rises from the shore towards the centre of the island where is a woody plain, elevated 1500 feet abere the level of the sea. In the midst of this plat is a sharp conical mountain, called Le Piton de Milieu de l'Isle. There are several other disting mountains, the principal of which is named Pite Boot, surmounted by an enormous and in cessible rock, the elevation being 3000 feet: its base is surrounded by marshes, whence the principal rivers of the island issue. These river have, however, sensibly diminished by the indiscriminate destruction of the forests that clothed the sides of the hills, so that the island, which was formerly profusely watered, is now, partic larly on the north, where the rivulets are all dried up, almost in want of it. lakes among the mountains. There are some The vegetable productions of the island are extremely numerous, and afford a vast harvest to a botanist: it is said, however, that one-half the flora of the island is composed of ferns and cryptogams. Though, in general, the soil is less fertile than that of Bourbon, and is every where covered with rocks that preclude the use of the plough, yet a considerabie quantity of land is in cultivation, producing coffee, cotton, indigo, sugar, and some rice in the swampy spots. The wild animals of the islands are, deer. hedge-hogs, monkeys, and rats of various kinds. The horned cattle are of the small Madagascar breed, with humps; and the horses, of Arabias extraction, much degenerated. Birds are not numerous, and are chiefly of the smaller species. Some of them are foreigners, particularly the calfat, which is said to be propagated from some individual escaped from captivity, and the martin, purposely introduced from the Philippines to destroy the insects which devoured the vegetables. It has completely succeeded in extirpating caterpillars, grasshoppers, &c., but these birds have also maluplied so prodigiously as to be almost as destruc tive as the insects to the crops; hence every proprietor is obliged to present a certain number of their heads, as well as those of sparrows, to the magistrates annually. The population of the island in Whites. People of color. Slaves. 500 3431 7000 1190 . 15,000 25,154 7000 70,000 The island is divided into twelve quarters, viz. Port Louis, Poudre d'Or, Pamplemousses (celebrated by the pen of St. Pierre), Flac, La Riviere des Ramparts, Trois Islets, Gros Port, Savannah, the military quarter (in the centre of the island and almost uninhabited and uncultivated), Moka, the Plains of Willems, and the Plains of St. Pierre. Port Louis, in the revolution called Port Liberty, Port North-west, and Port Napoleon, is the only town in the island: it contains about 5000 whites, and double that number of people of color. The houses are chiefly of wood, and few of them have more than the ground floor, in consequence of the heavy storms the island is subject to. The entrance of the port is between two reefs, running out from each point, and is so narrow that but one vessel can be warped or towed in at a time; for the south-east wind, blowing almost constantly, prevents their sailing in, except occasionally when the south-west wind serves for an hour or two; and a light air from the north-west also sometimes prevails, but this is very precarious. The port is capable of holding about fifty ships. Cooper's Island off the North Point of the entrance of the port, to which it is joined by an artificial causeway 800 feet long, is nearly level with the water, and is strongly fortified, but commanded by batteries on the main. Port Bourbon, the ancient Gros Port, at the revolution named Port South-east, and since Port Imperial, is defended by Isle Passe, a coral rock, one league off shore, on which is a circular battery and barracks. This island has no fresh water. Port de la Savannah, or Souillac, on the south is a tolerable road defended by a battery. Great Black River, on the south-west, has a good road before it, within coral reefs. It is defended by some batteries, but has not water for large ships within gun-shot of them. Small craft only can enter the river. Off the north end of the Isle of France are several small volcanic isles, viz. Coin de Mire, three miles and a half north of Cape Malheureux (the north point of the island), with a safe channel between this island is entirely composed of beds of lava. Flat Island, north of Coin du Mire, is less elevated than the others; the shore is a white calcareous stone, and the other parts of a reddish color: on it is the appearance of a volcanic crater. Pigeon-House Island, a little west of Flat Island, is an enormous lump of basaltic lava, of a reddish-brown color. Round Island rises in the form of a cone, about 200 feet high; its shores are rugged, precipitous, and inaccessible. Serpent's Island, the northernmost, is five leagues distant from the main. It has its name from small serpents being said to be found on it, although this reptile is unknown in the Isle of France, or any of the surrounding islets. The administration of the isles of France and Bourbon was confided to a governor-general residing at the former island. Roderigue, or Diego Rays, is a dependency of the Isle of France, from which it is distant 100 leagues eastward. The south-west point of Mauritius is in long. 57° 16′ E., lat. 20° 27′ S. The north-east point is in long. 57° 35′ E., lat. 19° 53' S. MAURUS (Terentianus), a Latin poet and grammarian, who flourished under Trajan, Adrian, and the Antonines. He was governor of Syene in Upper Egypt about A. D. 140. He wrote an elegant poem, De Literis, Syllabis, Pedibus, et Metris Horatii; published by Mycillus at Francfort, in 1584, 8vo.; and by Mattaire in his Corpus Poetarum. MAURY (Jean Siffrein), a modern French cardinal, was born in 1746 at Vabees, in the ancient comté of Venaisson. He studied at Lyons, and, on entering into orders, became a celebrated preacher at Paris, and obtained a place in the academy, and the government of an abbey. When the revolution broke out, he was one of the representatives of the clergy in the states-general, where he distinguished himself by his eloquence in behalf of his order, and of royalty. On the dissolution of the constituent assembly, he went to Italy, where he became bishop of Nicæa, and in 1799 was made a cardinal. In 1807 he tendered his submission to Buonaparte, who in 1810 appointed him archbishop of Paris. The cardinal was obliged to leave France, it is said, on the fall of the emperor, and died at Rome in 1817. He published several works, the best of which is An Essay on Eloquence. MAUSOLEUM, n. s. Fr. mausolée; Latin mausoleum. A name first given to a stately monument erected by his queen Artimesia to her husband Mausolus, king of Caria; a pompous funeral monument. Mausolus, the name of a king of Caria, to whom Artemisia, his widow, erected a most stately monument, that has since been reckoned among the seven wonders of the world; calling it from his name mau soleum. It was sixty-three feet long, almost 411 rounded with thirty-six columns, that were beautified feet in compass, and about thirty-five feet high, surin a wonderful manner. Pliny has described it, lib. xxxvi. MAW, n. s. MAW'KISI, adj. MAW'KISHNESS, n. s. MAW MET, MAW'MISH, adj. Dr. A. Rees. Sax. maga; Gothic maga; Swedish mage; Teut. magen. The stomach of animals and craw of birds; used centemptuously of the human stomach. Mawkish and mawmish, apt to excite satiety or loathing; nauseous. Mawmet (see MAMMET), a puppet, or idol. Maw-worm, a worm often found in the stomach. . MAW'WORM, n. s. Gramvorous birds have the mechanism of a mill; their maw is the hopper which holds and softens the grain, letting it down by degrees into the stomach, where it is ground by two strong muscles; in which action they are assisted by small stones, which they swallow for the purpose. Arbuthnot. Flow, Welsted! flow, like thine inspirer beer, Pope. So sweetly mawkish, and so smoothly dull. MAWES (St.), a borough and market-town of Cornwall, on the east side of Falmouth Haven. Though but a hamlet of the parish of St. Just, two miles off, it has sent members to parliament ever since 1562, who are returned by its mayor or portreve. It consists of one street, under a hill, fronting the sea, and its inhabitants subsist by fishing. King Henry VIII. built a castle here, over against Pendennis, for the security of Falmouth Haven. Anew chapel has been erected here, at the expense of the marquis of Buckingham. It has a governor, a deputy, and two gunners, with a platform of guns; and a market on Friday. MAXENTIUS (Marcus Aurelius Valerius), son of the emperor Maximianus Herculeus, was, by the voluntary abdication of Dioclesian, and of his father, raised to the purple, A. D. 306. He afterwards incited his father to re-assume his imperial authority and perfidiously destroyed Severus. His successes were impeded by Galerius Maximianus, who opposed him with a powerful force; but the defeat of Galerius restored peace to Italy and Maxentius went into Africa, where he rendered himself odious by his cruelty and oppression. He soon after returned to Rome, but, being defeated by Constantine fled back to the city; but, the bridge over the Tiber giving way, he fell into the river, and was drowned, A. D. 312. His cowardice and luxuries were as conspicuous as his cruelties. : MAXILLAR, adj. Lat. maxillaris. BeMAX'ILLARY. longing to the jaw-bone. The greatest quantity of hard substance continued is toward the head; there is the skull, the teeth, and the maxillary bones. Bacon. MAXIMIANUS (Galerius Valerius), a se herd of Dacia, and afterwards a soldier, who was raised by Dioclesian, who gave him his daughter in marriage, to the imperial dignity. He coquered the Goths, Dalmatians, and Persiaas. He proved a cruel tyrant; persecuted the Christians; and died miserably A. D. 311. See ROME. MAXIMILIAN I., emperor of Germany, signalised himself against the French, while be was king of the Romans, and after he wai emperor entered into the army of Henry VIII af England as a volunteer against that nation. He was a protector of learned men, and abolished an iniquitous tribunal styled Judicium occultam Westphalia. He composed some poems, and Memoirs of his own life. He died in 1519, aged sixty. See GERMANY. MAXIMINUS (Caius Julius Verus), the son of a Thracian peasant, who, having displayed great bravery as a soldier, rose to the highest offices, after which he promoted a sedition among the soldiers against the emperor Alexander Severus, and upon his murder was elected in his place, A.D. 325. But, proving a cruel tyrant, he wu assassinated by his soldiers near Aquileia, A. D. 236. See ROME. He is said to have been eight feet high; and his limbs, strength, and voracions appetite, in proportion. MAXIMUS, a celebrated Cynic philosopher and magician of Ephesus. He instructed the emperor Julian in magic; and, according to some historians, from his conversation and company the apostasy of Julian originated; as he not only visited him, but even submitted his writings to his critical inspection. Maximus, however, te fused to live in the court of Julian, who, far fme being displeased, appointed him high pontiff in Lydia, an office which he discharged with gree moderation and justice. When Julian went into the east, the magician promised him success, and that his conquests would be more numerous and extensive than those of Alexander. He persuaded his imperial pupil, that, according to the doctrine of metempsychosis, his body was an mated by the soul of Alexander. After the death of Julian, Maximus was almost sacrificed to the fury of the soldiers; but was saved by his friends, and he retired to Constantinople. He was ac cused of magical practices, before the emperor Valens, and beheaded at Ephesus, A. D. 366. He wrote some philosophical and rhetorical treatises, some of which were dedicated to Julian. They are all now lost. MAY, aux. v. Preterite might. Sax. mage, MAY-BE. mazan; Teut. moge; Goth ma, meiga, to have power. To be permitted ; be at liberty; be possible; be by chance; expres sing desire: may-be signifies perhaps; it may be that;' perchance. Sin that I may not seen your Emelie, May-be the amorous count solicits her the work. |