notti was astonished to find that his pupil had already composed an opera, Les Aveux indiscrets., which he brought out, after having recast it, three years afterwards (1759). Encouraged by its success, he produced, in 1760, Le Cadi dupé and Le Maître en Droit. The opera On ne s'Avise jamais de tout, brought forward in 1761, completed the musical revolution at the théâtre de la Foire, which then took the name of the Italian opera. Le Roi et le Fermier; Rose et Colas; Aline, Reine de Golconde; L'Isle sonnante; Le Deserteur, &c., were received with great applause. On the death of Grétry, Monsigny succeeded him in the institute, and on the death of Piccini, in 1800, he was appointed director of the conservatoire, at Paris. He died in 1817.

MONSOONS (from the Malay mussin, season); periodical trade-winds, which blow six months in one direction, and the rest of the year in an opposite one. They prevail in the Indian ocean, north of the 10th degree of south latitude. From April to October, a violent south-west wind blows, accompanied with rain, and from October to April a gentle, dry north-east breeze prevails. The change of the winds, or the breaking up of the monsoons, as it is called, is accompanied by storms and hurricanes. These periodical currents of winds do not reach very high, as their progress is arrested by mountains of a moderate height. (See Winds.)

MONSTERS; in physiology, creatures whose formation deviates in some remarkable way from the usual formation of their kind. The deviation consists sometimes in an unusual number of one or several organs; sometimes, on the contrary, in a deficiency of parts; sometimes in a malformation of the whole or some portion of the system, and sometimes in the presence of organs or parts not ordinarily belonging to the sex or species.

In most cases, these unusual formations are not incompatible with the regular performance of the natural functions, although they sometimes impede them, and, in some cases, are entirely inconsistent with the continuance of the vital action. It is not surprising that we should be ignorant of the manner in which monsters, or irregular births, are generated or produced; though it is probable that the laws by which these are governed are as regular, both as to cause and effect, as in common or natural productions. Formerly, it was a general opinion, that monsters were not primordial or aboriginal, but that they were caused

subsequently by the power of the imagination of the mother, transferring the imperfection of some external object, or the mark of something for which she longed, and with which she was not indulged, to the child of which she was pregnant, or by some accident which happened to her during her pregnancy. But this has been disproved by common observation, and by philosophy, not, perhaps, by positive proofs, but by many strong negative facts; as the improbability of any child being born perfect, had such a power existed; the freedom of children from any blemish, though their mothers had been in situations most exposed to objects likely to produce them; the ignorance of the mother of any thing being wrong in the child, till, from information of the fact, she begins to recollect every accident which happened during her pregnancy, and assigns the worst or the most plausible as the cause; the organization and color of these adventitious substances; the frequent occurrence of monsters in the brute creation, in which the power of the imagination cannot be great; and the analogous appearances in the vegetable system. Judging, however, from appearances, accidents may perhaps be allowed to have considerable influence in the production of monsters of some kinds, either by actual injury upon parts, or by suppressing or deranging the principle of growth, because, when an arm, for instance, is wanting, the rudiments of the deficient parts may generally be discovered.

MONSTRELET, Enguerrand de, a chronicler of the fifteenth century, born at Cambray, of which he became governor, was the author of a history in French, of his own times. The history extends from 1400 to 1467; but the last fifteen years were furnished by another hand. It contains a narrative of the contentions of the houses of Orleans and Burgundy, the capture of Normandy and Paris by the English, with their expulsion, &c. Monstrelet died in 1453.

MONT BLANC (white mountain); the loftiest mountain of Europe, one of the summits of the Pennine Alps, on the borders of Savoy and Aosta, between the valleys of Chamouni (q. v.) and Entreves; lat. 45° 50′ N.; lon. 6° 52′ E. The following measurements of its elevation above the surface of the Mediterranean sea are deemed the most accurate: by M. Deluc, 15,302 feet; M. Pictet, 15,520; sir George Shuckburgh, 15,662; M. Saussure, 15,670; M. Tralles, 15,780.

Its elevation above the valley of Chamouni is 12,160 feet. It is discernible from Dijon and Langres, 140 miles distant. It receives its name from the immense mantle of snow with which its summit and sides are covered, and which is estimated to extend not less than 12,000 feet, without the least appearance of rock to interrupt its glaring whiteness. An ascent to the summit was first made, in 1786, by doctor Pacard, of Chamouni, and his guide, James Balma. In August, 1787, Saussure ascended it with 18 guides, and remained on the summit five hours. The pulse was found to beat more rapidly, and the party complained of exhaustion, thirst, and want of appetite. The color of the sky was very deep blue bordering on black, and in the shade the stars were visible. Up to 1828, fourteen ascents had been made. In 1818, Messrs. Howard and Van Renssalaer from New York, in 1825, doctor Clark and captain Sherwill, ascended it. See Sherwill's Visit to the Summit of Mont Blanc (London, 1827). In 1827, two English gentlemen, who made the attempt, were obliged, by a new cleft in the ice, to take a new course, which has proved to be less toilsome and hazardous than the former. Eighteen glaciers lie around, whose various and fantastic forms increase the magical effect of the wonderful spectacle from the summit, from which the view extends nearly 150 miles in almost every direction. The highest summit is a small ridge, about six feet wide, precipitous on the north side, and called in Savoy, the dromedary's back. It is covered with a solid body of snow. (See Alps, Glaciers, Andes, Himalaya, and Mountains.)

MONT D'OR; a mountain of France, in Puy-de-Dôme, about 6130 feet above the level of the sea, abounding in curious plants and mineral springs.

MONT PERDU; summit of the Pyrenees, on the frontier line between France and Spain; about 100 miles east of the bay of Biscay, and further west from the Mediterranean. It has a double summit, one computed at 10,700 feet, or, by another statement, 11,265 feet high; the other at 10,400. The line of perpetual congelation here is about 7500 feet in height.

MONTAGU, Charles, earl of Halifax; an English statesman and poet, born at Horton, in Northamptonshire, in 1661. He was descended from the family of the Montagus, earls of Manchester, and was educated at Westminster school, and Trinity college, Cambridge. From the university he went to London, where he

attracted notice by his verses on the death of Charles II; and, in 1687, he wrote, in conjunction with Prior, the City Mouse and Country Mouse-a travesty on Dryden's Hind and Panther. In the reign of William III, he obtained the place of clerk of the privy council, and became a member of the house of commons. In 1694, he was made chancellor of the exchequer, and subsequently first. lord of the treasury. His administration was distinguished by the adoption of the funding system, and the establishment of the bank of England. In 1698, Montagu was a member of the council of regency during the absence of the king, and, in 1700, was raised to the peerage. In the reign of Anne, when tory influence prevailed, he was twice impeached before the house of lords; but the proceedings against him fell to the ground. George I created him earl, and bestowed on him the order of the garter; but Halifax, being disappointed in his expectation of obtaining the office of lord treasurer, joined the opposition. His death took place May 19, 1715. The poems and speeches of lord Halifax were published, with biographical memoirs, in 1715 (8vo.); and the former were included in the edition of English Poets, by doctor Johnson. He aspired to the character of the Mæcenas of his age, and his patronage of Addison is creditable to his discrimination, though little can be said in praise of his munificence.

She

MONTAGU, lady Mary Wortley, one of the most celebrated among the female literary characters of England, was the eldest daughter of Evelyn, duke of Kingston, by his wife lady Mary Fielding, the daughter of the earl of Denbigh. was born about 1690, at Thoresby, in Nottinghamshire, and displaying uncommon abilities at an early age, was educated upon a liberal plan, and instructed by the same masters as her brother, in the Greek, Latin and French languages. In her twentieth year, she gave an extraordinary proof of her erudition, by a translation of the Enchiridion of Epictetus, which was revised by bishop Burnet, by whom her education was ultimately superintended. Her mind was nourished in great comparative retirement, previously to her marriage, in 1712, with Edward Wortley Montagu. Even after her marriage, she lived chiefly at her husband's seat of Wharncliffe, near Sheffield, until the latter, being introduced to a seat in the treasury, by the earl of Halifax (see the preceding article), brought his lady to

London. Being thus placed in the sphere of the court, she attracted that admiration which beauty and elegance, joined to wit and the charms of conversation, never fail to inspire. She became familiarly acquainted with Addison, Pope, and other distinguished writers. In 1716, Mr. Wortley being appointed ambassador to the Porte, lady Mary determined to accompany him, and hence her admirable correspondence, chiefly consisting of letters addressed to the countess of Mar, lady Rich and Mr. Pope; to whom she communicated her observations on the new and interesting scenes to which she was a witness. On many occasions she displayed a mind superior to common prejudices, but in none so happily as in a courageous adoption of the Turkish practice of inoculation for the small-pox in the case of her own son, and a zealous patronage of its introduction into England. In 1718, Mr. Wortley returned to England, and at the request of Pope, lady Mary took up her summer residence at Twickenham, and a friendship was formed between these kindred genuises, which gradually gave way to dislike, produced by difference of political opinion, petulance and irritability on the side of the poet, and no small disposition to sarcastic keenness on that of the lady; and a literary war ensued, which did honor to neither party. Lady Mary preserved her ascendency in the world of rank and fashion until 1739, when, her health declining, she took the resolution of passing the remainder of her days on the continent, not without the world surmising that other causes concurred to induce her to form this resolution. She, however, retired with the full concurrence of her husband, with whom her subsequent correspondence betrays neither resentment nor humiliation. Venice, Avignon and Chamberry were, in turn, her residence, until the death of Mr. Wortley, in 1761, when she complied with the solicitations of her daughter, the countess of Bute, and returned to England, after an absence of twenty-two years. She enjoyed a renewal of family intercourse for a short time only, as she died of a gradual decay, in 1762, aged seventy-two. As a poetess, lady Mary Wortley Montagu exhibits ease, and some powers of description; but she is negligent and incorrect. The principal of her performances in this class is her Town Eclogues, a satirical parody of the common pastoral, applied to fashionable life and manners. As a letter-writer, her fame stands very high; her letters were collected and

copied by herself, and presented, in 1766, to the reverend Mr. Sowden, of Amsterdam, of whom they were purchased by the earl of Bute: a surreptitious copy of them was published in 1763, in 3 vols., 12mo. The authenticity of these letters, which obtained universal admiration for their wit, judgment and descriptive powers, was, for a long time, doubted; but all distrust was done away by the following publication, under the sanction of the earl of Bute: the Works of the Right Honorable Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, including her Correspondence, Poems and Essays, published by permission from her genuine papers (London, 1803, 6 vols., 12mo.), with a Life, by Mr. Dallaway. This edition contains many additional letters, written in the latter part of her life, which display much excellent sense and solid reflection, although tinged with some of the prejudices of rank, and indicative of increasing misanthropy.

MONTAGU, Edward Wortley, the only son of the subject of the preceding article, was born in 1713. At an early age, he was sent to Westminster school, from which he ran away three times, and, associating himself with the lowest classes of society, passed through some extraordinary adventures, sailed to Spain as a cabinboy, and was at length discovered by the British consul at Cadiz, and restored to his family. A private tutor was then provided for him, with whom he travelled on the continent. During his residence abroad, he wrote a tract, entitled Reflections on the Rise and Fall of Ancient Republics. On his return to England, he obtained a seat in the house of commons; but, living extravagantly, he became involved in debt, and left his native country never to return. His future conduct was marked by eccentricities not less extraordinary than those by which he had been distinguished in the early part of his life. He went to Italy, where he professed the Roman Catholic religion; and from that he apostatized to become a disciple of Mohammed, and a scrupulous practiser of the formalities of Islamism. After passing many years in Egypt, and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean, he was about to return to England, when his death took place at Padua, in Italy, in 1776. He was the author of an Examination into the Causes of Earthquakes, and some papers in the Philosophical Transactions.

MONTAGU, Elizabeth, a lady of literary celebrity, was the daughter of Matthew Robinson, of the Rokeby family, and was

born in 1720. She had an opportunity of prosecuting her studies under the direction of doctor Conyers Middleton, to whom she was probably indebted for the tincture of learning which so remarkably influenced her character and manners. In 1742, she became the wife of Mr. Montagu, who left her mistress of a handsome fortune, which enabled her to gratify her taste for study and literary society. In 1769, she published an Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakspeare. This work raised Mrs. Montagu to the rank of an arbitress of public taste. She opened her house, in Portman-square, to the BlueStocking Club-a society so denominated from a peculiarity in the dress of Mr. Benjamin Stillingfleet, one of the members; and carried on an epistolary correspondence with men of letters, published after her death, August 25, 1800.

MONTAIGNE, Michel de, one of the most ingenious French writers, was born Feb. 28, 1533, at the castle of the same name, belonging to his family, in Perigord. His father, Pierre Eyghem, seigneur de Montaigne, an Englishman by birth, and a brave soldier, who had been chosen mayor of Bordeaux, bestowed the greatest care on the cultivation of young Michel's promising talents, but adopted a peculiar mode of education. In order to facilitate his son's acquisition of the Latin language, which he had himself found difficult, he employed a German tutor, entirely ignorant of French, but complete master of Latin, before the child had left the nurse's arms; and as all the family were never permitted to speak any other language in the presence of the child, he had the pleasure of seeing the infant so completely matriculated into it as to be obliged to learn the French as a foreign tongue. "We all Latinized," says Montaigne, "at the castle, in such a manner that several Latin expressions came into use in the villages around, which exist to this time." Greek he learned in the usual manner, after it had been attempted in vain to delude him into a knowledge of it. The treatment of his father was peculiar in some other respects; thus he caused him to be waked in the morning by the sound of musical instruments, lest the genius of the boy should be injured by his being roused too suddenly; he allowed him the most unrestrained indulgence in his plays, and endeavored to lead him to the faithful performance of his duties solely by inspiring him with a sense of right and wrong. Montaigne always shows the greatest regard for his father's memory.

At the age of 13, he had finished his studies at the college of Bordeaux, under Grouchy, Buchanan and Muret. His father destined him for a judicial station, and married him somewhat later to Françoise de la Chassaigne, daughter of a counsellor of the parliament of Bordeaux. Montaigne was for some time a parliamentary counsellor, but his aversion to the duties of the station led him to retire from it. The study of man was his favorite occupation. To extend his observations, and to restore his health, which had been shattered by the attacks of a hereditary disease (the stone), he travelled in Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and was every where received with great distinction. At Rome, which he visited in 1581, he received the title of a Roman citizen. In 1582, he was chosen mayor of Bordeaux, and the citizens of that place were so well satisfied with his administration, that they sent him to the court (in 1584), to attend to their interests there. Without doubt, the order of St. Michael was conferred on him by Charles IX, at this time, without any solicitation on his part, as has been reported. After making several other journeys of business, he returned to his castle, and devoted himself entirely to philosophy. His quiet, however, was disturbed by the troubles which distracted France in consequence of the cruel persecutions of the Huguenots; his castle was plundered by the leaguers, and he himself was ill treated by their adversaries. To these causes of distress was added the plague, which broke out in Guyenne, in 1586, and compelled him to leave his estate, with his family, and wander through the country, which was then the theatre of all kinds of atrocities. He then resided some time in Paris, but finally returned home, and died in 1592, after much bodily suffering, with the composure of a philosopher. Montaigne has described himself in his celebrated Essais; but he confesses only the lighter faults. He acknowledges himself indolent and averse to restraint, and complains of the badness of his memory. He had few of what are commonly called friends, but to his chosen intimates he was warmly attached. He loved to converse on familiar terms with educated men, whose observations were teints d'un jugement mûr et constant, et mêlés de bonté, de franchise, de gaieté et d'amitié. He was also fond of the society of handsome and intelligent women, although he says one should be on his guard against them. The imagination he considered a fruitful

source of evil. He had many ideas on education which have been revived in our times, without his receiving the credit of them; he wished that children should enjoy both physical and moral freedom; swathing he considered as injurious, and was of opinion that habit would enable us to dispense with all clothing. His views on legislation and the administration of justice enlightened his own age and have been useful to ours. He endeavored to simplify the laws and legal processes, and very justly remarks that laws are often rendered futile or injurious by their excessive rigor. His moral system was in general indulgent, but on some points strict. Speculative philosophy he rejected, devoting himself to the lessons of experience. He studied human nature in children and illiterate peasants. Equally removed from a general skepticism and from dogmatism, he was accustomed to suggest possibilities instead of making assertions, and to throw light on his subject from every point. His motto was Que sais-je? His great work, his Essais (first published in 1580, and often republished and translated into many languages), contains a treasure of wisdom. It may still be deemed one of the most popular books in the French language. The essays embrace a great variety of topics, which are touched upon in a lively, entertaining manner, with all the raciness of strong, native good sense, careless of system or regularity. Sentences and anecdotes from the ancients are interspersed at random with his own remarks and opinions, and with stories of himself, in a pleasant strain of egotism, and with an occasional license, to which severer casuists can with some difficulty reconcile themselves. Their style, without being pure or correct, is simple, bold, lively and energetic, and, according to La Harpe, he "impressed on the French language an energy which it did not before possess, and which has not become antiquated, because it is that of sentiments and ideas, and not alien to its idiom. It is not a book we are reading, but a conversation to which we are listening; and he persuades, because he does not teach." The best edition is that of Coste (3 vols., 4to., London, 1724). His style, though not always pure and correct, accurate and elevated, is original, simple, lively, bold and vigorous. Besides his Essays, his Voyages deserve mention, although not intended for publication. Montaigne also translated, at the request of his father, a treatise on Natural Theology, by Raymond Sebonde. There are

two English translations of the Essays, one by Charles Cotton, and an earlier one by John Florio.

MONTALEMBERT, Marc René, marquis. de, born at Angoulême, in 1714, entered the army in his 18th year, served in the campaign of 1733, and distinguished himself at the sieges of Kehl and Philippsburg. As a reward for his services, the company of the prince of Conti's guards was given him. After the peace, he devoted his leisure to the sciences, and entered the academy in 1747, whose memoirs contain some of his papers, no less remarkable for the originality of their ideas than fortheir purity and elegance of style. During the seven years' war, he was stationed with the Russian and Swedish_armies, and, at later periods, was sent to Brittany and the isle of Oleron, the latter of which he fortified on his new system. In 1779, he erected a wooden fort on the island of Aix, which astonished scientific men by its strength and completeness. His extravagance obliged him, in 1790, to sell his estate in the Angoumois, for which he received payment in assignats, and passed the rest of his life in poverty. As a partisan of the revolution, he (1789) surrendered his pension, which had been conferred on him on account of the loss of an eye. During the stormy period of the revolution, he was imprisoned. He died in 1800. Among his works are La Fortification perpendiculaire, ou Art défensif supérieur à l'Art offensif (11 vols., 4to.); Mémoire sur les Affûts de la Marine; Réflexions sur le Siége de Saint-Jean d'Arc ; Mémoires ou Correspondance avec les Généraux et les Ministres, from 1761 to 1791; with some comedies, tales and chansons.

MONTANUS, in the middle of the second century, bishop of Pepuza, in Phrygia, an illiterate man, who gave himself out for the promised Comforter, who was to bring to perfect maturity the Christian system. In his doctrines, he deviates from the received opinions only in maintaining that all true Christians receive the inspirations of the Holy Ghost. The chiliastic or millennarian notions, and his rigid adherence to the letter of the law, he had in common with the Judaizing Christians; and the moral peculiarities of his sect consisted merely in a more strict observance of externals, frequent fasts, the contempt of heathenish learning and worldly conven iences, abstinence from second marriage, and a willingness to submit to celibacy and martyrdom. His disciples called themselves Pneumatici, from a belief in their superior spiritual perfection; they