1724); Hübner's (q. v.) Museum Geographicum.) Among the maps prepared of late years in Great Britain, those of Arrowsmith are distinguished. Tanner, in this country, is well known for his valuable maps of the U. States.

MAPLE (acer); a genus of plants, peculiar to the northern and temperate parts of the globe, consisting of trees or arborescent shrubs, having opposite and more or less lobed leaves, and small flowers, which are either axillary or disposed in racemes. The fruit consists of two capsules united at base, each containing a single seed, and terminated by a wing-like membrane. In one instance, the leaves are compound and pinnated. Twentyseven species are known, of which twelve inhabit North America, six are found in Europe, six very beautiful ones in the islands of Japan, and the remainder in different parts of Asia. The red maple (A. rubrum), is one of the most common and most extensively diffused of our native trees. It grows in moist situations, from lat. 49° to the gulf of Mexico, both in the Atlantic and Western States. The bright red blossoms, appearing at a time when there is no vestige of a leaf in the forest, render this tree very conspicuous at the opening of spring; and again, at the close of the season, it is not less conspicuous, from the scarlet color which the leaves assume when they have been touched by the frost. The leaves are cordate at base, unequally toothed, fivelobed, and glaucous beneath. It attains the height of 70 feet, with a diameter of three or four at the base. The wood is easily turned, and when polished acquires a silken lustre; it is hard and fine-grained, and is employed chiefly for the lower parts of Windsor chairs, sometimes for saddle trees, wooden dishes, and similar purposes. The variety called curled maple, from the accidental undulation of the fibres, is one of the most ornamental woods known, and bedsteads made of it exceed in richness and lustre, the finest mahogany. It is sometimes employed for inlaying, but its most constant use is for the stocks of rifles and fowling pieces. The white maple is chiefly remarkable for the beauty of its foliage, the leaves being larger and much more deeply lobed than those of the preceding, and glaucous beneath. The flowers are inconspicuous, and greenish yellow, and the fruit is larger than in any other of our species. It is not found so far south as the preceding, and is most abundant west of the mountains; its range extending beyond the

sources of the Mississippi, and within the basin of the Arkansaw. It attains large dimensions, having a trunk five, and sometimes eight feet in diameter. The wood is little used, but the charcoal is preferred by hatters in some places. The sugar maple (A. saccharinum) is one of the most valuable of our trees. Besides the sugar which is obtained from the sap, and which might be made in quantities sufficient to supply the whole consumption of the U. States, the wood affords excellent fuel; and from the ashes are procured four fifths of the potash which forms such an important item in our exports. The sugar is superior in quality to the common brown sugar of the West Indies, and when refined, equals the finest in beauty. It is, however, little used, except in the country, and even here will probably give place, at some future time, to that manufactured from the juice of the cane. The sap of all the maples contains a certain quantity of sugar, but in none, that we know of, does it exist in so great a proportion as in this and the following species. A single tree of this species will yield five or six pounds of sugar. The leaves are smooth, and five-lobed, with the lobes sinuately dentate. It grows in cold and moist situations, between the 42d and 48th parallels of latitude, and on the Alleghanies to their south-western termination, extending westward beyond lake Superior, and is abundant in the northern parts of Pennsylvania, the western portion of New York, Upper Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and in the northern parts of New England. The potash is exported from the two principal northern ports, New York and Boston. To the latter place the wood is brought in great quantities from Maine for fuel, and is esteemed hardly inferior to hickory. In Maine and New Hampshire, it is employed in shipbuilding, for the keel, and likewise in the lower frame; for the axletrees and spokes of wheels; and sometimes, in the country, for the frames of houses. A variety, with undulations, like the curled maple, and containing besides small spots, is called bird's eye maple, and forms exceedingly beautiful articles of furniture. The charcoal has the preference in the forges of Vermont and Maine. The black sugar maple (A. nigrum) is a more southern tree than the preceding, and is exceedingly abundant on the Ohio and the other great rivers of the West. It has not been observed north of latitude 44°, and does not extend into the lower parts of the more southern states. The leaves resem

ble, in form, those of the sugar maple, but may be distinguished by the pubescence of the inferior surface. It attains very lofty dimensions. The wood is little used, but is preferred for the frames of Windsor chairs, and furnishes the best fuel, after the hickories. The sap yields abundance of sugar, which is manufactured to a vast amount annually. The ash-leaved maple, or box elder (A. negundo), abounds chiefly west of the Alleghanies, where it has a very wide range, extending from lat. 53° to the gulf of Mexico, and also within the chains of the Rocky Mountains. It is easily known by its compound leaves, and becomes a large tree. The wood is fine-grained, but is little used. The striped maple, or moose-wood (A. striatum) is a large shrub, chiefly remarkable from the white lines on the bark, which give it an elegant appearance. It is a northern plant, and in some places the cattle are turned loose into the woods to browse on the young shoots at the beginning of spring. The wood has been sometimes employed for inlaying mahogany, but it is of inferior quality. Six other species of maple inhabit the territory of the U. States; one of them is found on the rocky Mountains, and another in the basin of the Oregon river. The wood of the common European maple is much used by turners, and on account of its lightness is frequently employed for musical instruments, particularly for violins.

MAPPE-MONDES; the French term for maps of the world. (See Maps.)

MARA, Gertrude Elizabeth, daughter of a Mr. Schmähling (born, according to some, in 1750, in Cassel; others say in 1743, at Eischbach, in the territory of Eisenach; others say in 1749), was one of the greatest singers of our time. Her father, city musician in Cassel, instructed her in music. When she was seven years old, she played the violin admirably. In her 10th year, she performed before the queen, in London, whither she had accompanied her father, and where she remained two or three years. In her 14th year, she appeared as a singer at court. In 1766, she went with her father to Leipsic, and received an appointment there. Frederic the Great, though much prejudiced against German performers, was induced to invite her, in 1770, to Potsdam, his residence, showed great admiration of her powers, and gave her an appointment immediately, with 3000 Prussian dollars salary (about $2000). In 1774, she married a violoncello player named Mara, a man of careless habits, who in

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volved her in many difficulties, and she was dismissed by the king, in 1780. In 1782, she went to Vienna and Paris, where she received the title of a first concert singer of the queen. In 1784, she went to London, where she was received with the greatest enthusiasm. For 13 evenings' performance at the Pantheon concert, she received 1000 guineas. In 1785 and 1786, she was engaged for the London opera, and appeared at one of the annual concerts in honor of Handel, as first singer, and, in the winter of 1785 and 1786, was established at the London opera. But her obstinacy offended as much as her powers delighted. In 1802, she went to Paris, and in 1803, to Germany. At a later period, she went to Petersburg, and, in 1808, she was at Moscow, where she is said to have married her companion Florio, after the death of Mara, from whom she had been separated long before. By the burning of Moscow, she lost her house and fortune; she therefore went to Reval, and gave lessons in music. In 1819, she went through Berlin to England, and, in 1821, returned to Esthonia. The latest accounts of her were, that she celebrated her birthday at Reval, February 23, 1831, having completed her 83d year, on which occasion Göthe offered her a poetical tribute. The fame of this singer is founded not only on the strength and fullness of her tone, and the extraordinary compass of her voice, which extends from G to the triple-marked ƒ (nearly three octaves), but also on the admirable ease, quickness and spirit, with which she sung the most difficult passages, and her simple and enchanting expression in the adagio. Her singing of Handel's airs-for instance, "1 know that my Redeemer liveth"-in the Messiah, was particularly celebrated.

MARABOOTS; among the Berbers (q. v.) of northern Africa, a sort of saints, or sorcerers, who are held in high estimation, and who exercise, in some villages, a despotic authority. They distribute amulets, affect to work miracles, and are thought to exercise the gift of prophecy. The rich presents which they receive from a superstitious people, enable them to live with a good deal of pomp, often keeping an armed force, and maintaining a numerous train of wives and concubines. They make, indeed, no pretensions to abstinence or self-denial.

MARACAYBO; a town of Colombia, capital of the department of Zulia (see Colombia), formerly capital of the province of Maracaybo, in Venezuela; lon. 71° 17′ W.; lat. 10° 13′ N. It is situated on the

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western side of the lake Maracaybo, about 20 miles from the sea. Most of the houses are covered with reeds; but the town is fortified, and the number of the inhabitants, in 1801, amounted to 22,000; which number was afterwards increased to 24,000, by an accession of refugees from St. Domingo. Here is a large parochial church, an hospital, and four convents. Large vessels cannot come up to the town, on account of the bar at the mouth of the harbor.

MARACAYBO, a lake, or rather gulf, of South America, about 200 miles long, and 70 broad, running from S. to N., empties itself into the North sea; the entrance is defended by strong forts. As the tide flows into this lake, its water is somewhat brackish, notwithstanding the many rivers it receives. It abounds with fish. The lake becomes narrower towards the middle, where the town is erected.

MARANHAM, OF MARANHAO; a province of Brazil, between 1° 20′ and 10° 50′ S. latitude, and 45° 10′ and 53° 20′ W. longitude. It takes its name from an island situated at the mouth of three rivers, about 42 miles in circumference, which is fertile and well inhabited. The island itself is very difficult of access, by reason of the rapidity of the three rivers which form it; so that vessels must wait for proper winds and seasons to visit it. The natives have about twenty-seven hamlets called oc, or tave, each consisting of only four large huts, forming a square in the middle; but from 300 to 500 paces in length, and about 20 or 30 feet in depth; all being built of large timber, and covered from top to bottom with leaves, so that each may contain 200 or 300 inhabitants. The air is serene, seldom incommoded with storms, excessive drought, or moisture, except in the time of the periodical rains, which last from February to June. The soil of the province is very fertile, producing maize, cotton, sugar, rice, cocoa, pimento, ginger, &c. Population, 183,000, exclusive of the savages. The number of negroes is very great. The capital is Maranhao, or S. Luiz, with 12,000 inhabitants; lat. 2° 29′ S.; lon. 48° 45′ W.

MARANON. (See Amazon.)

MARAT, Jean Paul, whose name is odiously notorious in the most hateful times of the French revolution, was born at Boudry, in Neufchatel, in 1744, and studied medicine at Paris, where he practised his profession at the beginning of the revolutionary movements. Previous to 1789, he had published several works on medical and scientific subjects, which

display considerable acuteness and learning. Of a small and even diminutive stature, with the most hideous features, in which some traits of insanity were perceptible, his whole appearance was calculated to excite at once terror, pity, ridicule and disgust. The first breath of the revolution converted the industrious and obscure doctor into an audacious demagogue, if not into a ferocious maniac. He began by haranguing the populace of one of the sections, but was treated with ridicule, and hustled by the crowd, who amused themselves with treading on his toes. Still be persisted, and finally succeeded, by his violence and energy, in commanding attention. Danton (q. v.) had just instituted the club of the Cordeliers (q. v.), and collected around him all the fiercest spirits, and Marat among the number, who became the editor of the Ami du Peuple, a journal which was the organ of that society, and soon became the oracle of the mob. As early as August 1789, he declared it necessary to hang up 800 of the deputies, with Mirabeau (q. v.) at their head, in the garden of the Tuileries, and, though he was denounced to the constitutional assembly, and proceeded against by the municipal authority of Paris, he contrived to escape, with the assistance of Danton, Legendre and others, and by concealing himself in the most obscure corner of the city. His journal, meanwhile, continued to appear regularly, was openly hawked about the streets, and assumed a more furious and atrocious tone, as he was inflamed by the prosecutions of the authorities, and encouraged by the increasing strength of his party. During the exist ence of the legislative assembly, he continued his outrages, figured among the actors of the 10th of August (see France), and in the assassinations of September (1792). He was a member of the terrible committee of public safety, then formed, although without any official capacity, and signed the circular to the departments, recommending a similar massacre in each. Marat was chosen a member of the convention; and in spite of the contempt and abhorrence with which he was received in that body, particularly by the Girondists (q. v.), who endeavored, at first, to prevent his taking his seat, and, afterwards, to effect his expulsion, soon found encouragement to proceed with his sanguinary denunciations. The ministers, general Dumouriez (q. v.), and the Girondists, whom he contemptuously called hommes d'état, were the objects of his attack. Being charged, in the convention, with de

manding in his Journal 270,000 heads, he openly avowed and boasted of that demand, and declared that he should call for many more if those were not yielded to him. During the long struggle of the Mountain party and the Girondists, his conduct was that of a maniac. The establishment of the revolutionary tribunal, and of the committee for arresting the suspected, was adopted on his motions. On the approach of May 31 (see Jacobins), as president of the Jacobin club, he signed an address instigating the people to an insurrection, and to massacre all traitors. Even the Mountain party denounced this measure, and Marat was delivered over to the revolutionary tribunal, which acquitted him; the people received him in triumph, covered him with civic wreaths, and conducted him to the hall of the convention. July 13, 1793, his bloody career was closed by assassination. (See Corday, Charlotte.) Proclaimed the martyr of liberty, he received the honors of an apotheosis, and his remains were placed in the Pantheon. It was not till some time after the dispersion of the Jacobins, that the busts of this monstrous divinity were broken, and his ashes removed, and then it was as a royalist that he suffered this disgrace.

MARATHON; a village of Greece, in Attica, about 15 miles N. E. of Athens, celebrated by the victory gained over the Persians by Miltiades, 490 B. C. (See Miltiades.)

MARATTAS. (See Mahrattas.)

MARATTI, Carlo, painter and engraver, born at Camerino, in the marquisate of Ancona, in 1626, while a child, amused himself with painting all sorts of figures drawn by himself on the walls of his father's house. In his 11th year, he went to Rome, studied the works of Raphael, of the Caracci, and of Guido Reni, in the school of Sacchi, and formed himself on their manner. His Madonnas were particularly admired. Louis XIV employed him to paint his celebrated picture of Daphne. Clement IX, whose portrait he painted, appointed him overseer of the Vatican gallery. He died at Rome in 1713. We are much indebted to him for the preservation of the works of Raphael, in the Vatican, and of the Caracci in the Farnese palace. He also erected monuments to those masters in the church della Rotonda. As an artist, Maratti deserves the title given him by Richardson, of the last painter of the Roman school. His design was correct, and although he was not a creative genius, he showed him

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self a successful imitator of his great predecessors. His composition was good, his expression pleasing, his touch judicious, and his coloring agreeable. He was acquainted with history, architecture and perspective, and used his knowledge skilfully in his pictures. The good taste which prevails in all his works is remarkable. His chief works are in Rome. He also etched successfully, among other things, the life of Mary, in 10 parts. Chiari, Berettoni and Passori were his pupils. MARAVEDIE, or MARVADIS; a small Spanish copper coin, of about the value of three mills.

MARBLE, in common language, is the name applied to all sorts of polished stones, employed in the decoration of monuments and public edifices, or in the construction of private houses; but among the materials thus made use of, it is necessary to distinguish the true marbles from those stones which have no just title to such a designation. In giving a short but universal character of marble, it may be said, that it effervesces with dilute nitric acid, and is capable of being scratched with fluor, while it easily marks gypsum. These properties will separate it, at once, from the granites, porphyries and silicious pudding-stones, with which it has been confounded, on one side, and from the gypseous alabaster on the other. From the hard rocks having been formerly included under the marbles, comes the adage, "hard as marble." Marbles have been treated of, under various divisions, by different writers. The most frequent division has been that of two great sections-primitive marbles, which have a brilliant or shining fracture, and secondary marbles, or those which are possessed of a dull fracture. This classification has grown out of the idea that the former class was more anciently created-an opinion which the deductions of geology, for the most part, sufficiently confirm, though occasionally we find a marble of a compact and close texture, in old rocks, and, on the other hand, those which are highly crystalline, in very recent formations. Daubenton has founded a classification of marbles upon the colors which they present; those of a uniform color forming one class; those with two colors, another; those with three shades, a third; and so on. The best classification of these substances, however, is that of M. Brard, which divides all marbles into seven varieties or classes, viz. 1. marbles of a uniform color, comprehending solely those which are either white or black:

2. variegated marbles, or those in which the spots and veins are interlaced and disposed without regularity; occasionally, this variety embraces traces of organic remains; when these are disposed in star-like masses, they are sometimes called madrepore marbles: 3. shell marbles, or those which are, in part, made up of shells: 4. lumachelli marbles, or those which are, apparently, wholly formed of shells: 5. cipolin marbles, or those which are veined with green tale: 6. breccia marbles, or those which are formed of angular fragments of different marbles, united by a cement of some different color: 7. pudding-stone marbles, or those which are formed of reunited fragments, like the breccia marbles, only with the difference of having the pebbles rounded, in place of being angular. Before speaking of the localities of the foregoing classes of marbles, we shall allude to the ancient or antique marbles, by which is understood those kinds made use of by the ancients, the quarries of which are now, for the most part, exhausted or unknown.-Parian marble. Its color is snow-white, inclining to yellowish-white; it is fine, granular, and, when polished, has somewhat of a waxy appearance. It hardens by exposure to the air, which enables it to resist decomposition for ages. Diponus, Scyllis, Malas and Micciades, employed this marble, and were imitated by their successors. It receives, with accuracy, the most delicate touches of the chisel, and retains for ages, with all the softness of wax, the mild lustre even of the original polish. The finest Grecian sculpture which has been preserved to the present time, is generally of Parian marble; as the Medicean Venus, the Diana Venatrix, the colossal Minerva (called Pallas of Velletri), Ariadne (called Cleopatra), and Juno (called Capitolina). It is also Parian marble on which the celebrated tables at Oxford are inscribed.-Pentelican marble, from mount Pentelicus, near Athens, resembles, very closely, the preceding, but is more compact and finer granular. At a very early period, when the arts had attained their full splendor, in the age of Pericles, the preference was given, by the Greeks, not to the marble of Paros, but to that of mount Pentelicus, because it was whiter, and also, perhaps, because it was found in the vicinity of Athens. The Parthenon was constructed entirely of Pentelican marble. Among the statues of this marble in the royal museum at Paris, are the Torso, a Bacchus in repose, a Paris, the throne of Saturn, and the

tripod of Apollo.-Carrara marble is of a beautiful white color, but is often traversed by gray veins, so that it is difficult to procure large blocks wholly free from them. It is not subject to turn yellow, as the Parian. This marble, which is almost the only one used by modern sculptors, was also quarried and wrought by the ancients. Its quarries are said to have been opened in the time of Julius Cæsar.-Red antique marble (rosso antico of the Italians; Egyptium of the ancients). This marble, according to antiquaries, is of a deep blood-red color, here and there traversed by veins of white, and, if closely inspected, appears to be sprinkled over with minute white dots, as if it were strewed with sand. Another variety of this marble is of a very deep red, without veins, of which a specimen may be seen in the Indian Bacchus, in the royal museum of ParisGreen antique marble (verde antico of the Italians), is an indeterminate mixture of white marble and green serpentine. It was known to the ancients under the name marmor Spartanum, or Lacedæmonium

African breccia marble (antique African breccia). It has a black ground, in which are imbedded fragments or portions of a grayish-white, of a deep red, or of a purple wine color. This is said to be one of the most beautiful marbles hitherto found, and has a superb effect when accompanied with gilt ornaments. Its native place is not known with certainty; it is conjectured to be Africa. The pedestal of Venus leaving the bath, and a large column, both in the royal museum in Paris, are of this marble.

Marbles of the U. States. Although the U. States are known to be rich in marbles, hitherto very little pains have been taken to explore them. The quarries of Pennsylvania, which are distant about 20 miles from Philadelphia, afford a handsome veined or clouded primitive marble. Very fine specimens have been obtained from these quarries. A very similar variety is quarried, also, in Thomaston, Maine. Of black marble, resembling the Irish luculite, the quarry at Shoreham, Vermont, furnishes the chief supply consumed in the U. States. This deposit exists directly upon the borders of lake Champlain, so as to allow the blocks, which may be obtained of any size desired, to be lifted directly from the quarry into boats, for transportation. The greatest part of it, however, is carried to Middlebury, 15 miles from the lake, to be sawn and polished, before it is shipped. The town of Middlebury yields a handsome white and clouded granular