The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 317

MOSCHUS, a Greek pastoral poet, author of lyrics which have been translated by Andrew Lang; lived 150 B.C.

MOSCOW (799), on the Moskwa River, in the centre of European Russia, 370 m. SE. of St. Petersburg; was before 1713 the capital, and is still a great industrial and commercial centre; its manufactures include textiles, leather, chemicals, and machinery; it does a great trade in grain, timber, metals from the Urals, and furs, hides, &c., from Asia; besides the great cathedral there are many churches, palaces, and museums, a university, library, picture-gallery, and observatory; the enclosure called the Kremlin or citadel is the most sacred spot in Russia; thrice in the 18th century the city was devastated by fire, and again in 1812 to compel Napoleon to retire.

MOSELLE, river, rising W. of the Vosges Mountains, flows NW. through French and German Lorraine, then NE. through Rhenish Prussia to join the Rhine at Coblenz, 315 m. long, two-thirds of it navigable; it pa.s.ses in its tortuous course Metz, Thionville, and Treves.

MOSES, the great Hebrew law-giver, under whose leaders.h.i.+p the Jews achieved their emanc.i.p.ation from the bondage of Egypt, and began to a.s.sert themselves as an independent people among the nations of the earth; in requiring of the people the fear of G.o.d and the observance of His commandments, he laid the national life on a sure basis, and he was succeeded by a race of prophets who from age to age reminded the people that in regard or disregard for what he required of them depended their prosperity or their ruin as a nation, of which from their extreme obduracy they had again and again to be admonished.

MOSHEIM, a Protestant Church historian, born at Lubeck, was professor at Gottingen; his princ.i.p.al work a History of the Church, written in Latin, and translated into English and other languages (1694-1755).

MOSS-TROOPERS, maurauders who formerly raided the moss-grown borderland of England and Scotland.

MOTHERWELL, WILLIAM, Scottish poet, born in Glasgow, educated in Edinburgh; entered a lawyer's office in Paisley in 1811 and became Sheriff-Clerk Depute of Renfrews.h.i.+re 1818; he was editor of the Paisley Advertiser in 1828, and of the Glasgow Courier in 1830; he wrote biographical notices of local poets, and edited "Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern," in 1827; but his own fame was established by "Poems, Narrative and Lyrical," 1832, the gem of the collection being "Jeanie Morison"; he died in Glasgow (1797-1835).

MOTLEY, JOHN LOTHROP, historian and diplomatist, born in Ma.s.sachusetts; commenced his literary career as a novelist, but soon turned all his thoughts to the study of history; spent years in the study of Dutch history; wrote the "History of the Dutch Republic," which was published in 1856, the "History of the United Netherlands," publis.h.i.+ng the first part in 1860 and the second in 1868, and the "Life and Death of John Barnevelde" in 1874; was appointed the United States minister at Vienna in 1861, and at St. James's in 1869; he ranks high as a historian, being both faithful and graphic (1814-1877).

MOTOR CAR, a vehicle propelled by petroleum, electricity, &c.

MOUNTAIN, THE, the name given to the Jacobins, or the extreme democratic party, at the French Revolution, from their occupying the highest benches in the hall of the National Convention, and included such men as Marat, Danton, Robespierre, and the men of the Reign of Terror.

MOVABLE FEASTS, festivals of the Church, the date of which varies with the date of Easter.

MOZAMBIQUE (1,000), the general name for Portuguese East Africa, lies between Cape Delgado and Delagoa Bay on the mainland, opposite Madagascar; the Rovuma River separates it from German territory in the N.; in the S. it touches British Maputaland, while inland it borders on British Central and South Africa and the Transvaal; the Zambesi divides it into two; the coast is low and wet, inland are richly wooded plateaux; the soil is fertile, and minerals abound, but the government is bad, and industry does not develop; 52 miles of railway connect Lorenzo Marques with the Transvaal; other chief towns are Quilimane (6), and the capital MOZAMBIQUE (7), on an island.

MOZART, WOLFGANG AMADEUS CHRYSOSTOM, eminent musical composer, born at Salzburg; was distinguished for his musical genius as a boy, and produced over 600 musical compositions, but his princ.i.p.al works were his operas, the "Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni," and the "Magic Flute"; his fate was an unhappy one; he suffered much from poverty and neglect; the last piece he wrote was a Requiem Ma.s.s, which he felt, he said, as if he were writing for himself, and he died at Prague on the evening of its rehearsal (1756-1791).

MUCKLEBACKIT, SAUNDERS, an old fisherman in Scott's "Antiquary."

MUCKLEWRATH, a fanatic preacher in Scott's "Old Mortality."

MUCOUS MEMBRANE, a delicate membrane which lines the cavities and the ca.n.a.ls of the human body.

MUEZZIN, an official, usually blind, attached to a Mohammedan mosque, summons the faithful to prayers with a chant from a minaret.

MUFTI, a doctor and interpreter of Mohammedan law.

MUFTI, THE GRAND, is head of the Ulema, or interpreters of the Koran; holds his appointment from the Sultan, and exercises great influence at the Porte; legal advisers to local and general councils in the Turkish empire are also styled Mufti.

MUGGLETON, founder of the Muggletonians, a tailor who, along with one Reeve, at the time of the Commonwealth, pretended to be the two witnesses of the Revelation and the last of G.o.d's prophets, invested with power to save and to d.a.m.n; individuals of the sect founded by him existed so recently as the beginning of this century.

MUIR, JOHN, a Sanskrit scholar, born in Glasgow; was of the Indian Civil Service; was a man of liberal views, particularly in religion, and a patron of learning; endowed the Chair of Sanskrit in Edinburgh University (1810-1882).

MUIR, SIR WILLIAM, an Arabic scholar, brother of the preceding; Princ.i.p.al of Edinburgh University; was in the Indian Civil Service; wrote a "Life of Mahomet," on the rise of Mohammedanism, and on the Koran; _b_.

1819.

MUKDEN (250), in Chinese s.h.i.+ng-king, the capital of Manchuria, on a tributary of the Liao, in the S. of the province; is a city of considerable commercial importance, and has good coal-mines in the neighbourhood; there are a great palace, and numerous temples; Irish and Scotch Presbyterian and Roman Catholic missions have a centre here; the j.a.panese invasion of 1894-98 was directed towards it.

MULL (5), large island in the NW. of Argylls.h.i.+re, third of the Hebrides; is mountainous and picturesque, with greatly indented coast-line; the highest peak is Ben More, 3185 ft., the largest inlet Loch-na-Keal; the soil is best adapted for grazing. TOBERMORY (1), in the N., is the only town.

MuLLER, GEORGE, founder of the Orphan Homes near Bristol; born in Prussia; founded the Orphan Home, in 1836, on voluntary subscriptions, in answer to prayer, to the support one year of more than 2000 orphans (1805-1898).

MuLLER, JOHANNES, eminent German physiologist, born at Coblenz; professor at Berlin; ranks as the founder of modern physiology, and famed as author of a text-book on the science, ent.i.tled "Handbuch der Physiologie des Menschen" (1801-1858).

MuLLER, JOHANNES VON, celebrated historian, born at Schaffhausen, the "History of Switzerland" his princ.i.p.al work (1752-1809).

MuLLER, JULIUS, a German theologian, born at Brieg; professor at Halle; his great work, the "Christian Doctrine of Sin"; he collaborated on theological subjects with Neander and Nitzsch (1801-1878).

MuLLER, KARL OTFRIED, archaeologist and philologist, born at Brieg, brother of the preceding; was professor at Gottingen, and distinguished for his researches in Grecian antiquities and his endeavour to construe all that concerns the history and life of ancient Greece, including mythology, literature, and art (1797-1840).

MULOCK, DINAH MARIA (Mrs. Craik), English novelist, born in Stock-upon-Trent, auth.o.r.ess of "John Halifax, Gentleman," and other novels (1820-1887).

MULREADY, WILLIAM, _genre_ painter, born at Ennis, Ireland, ill.u.s.trated the "Vicar of Wakefield" and other works (1786-1863).

MULTAN (75), a Punjab city near the Chenab River, 200 m. SW. of Lah.o.r.e; has many mosques and temples; manufactures of silks, carpets, pottery, and enamel ware, and considerable trade.

MuNCHHAUSEN, BARON VON, a cavalry officer in the service of Hanover famed for the extravagant stories he used to relate of his adventures and exploits which, with exaggerations, were collected by one Raspe, and published in 1785 under Munchhausen's name (1720-1797).