for a considerable time. They usually coine forth in the night, generally remaining in the burrows during the day time. Among the traders to the north, they are known under the name of musquash. MUSSCHENBROEK, Peter van, a celebrated natural philosopher, born at Leyden, in 1692, studied in the university of that city, and entered upon the practice of medicine. Similarity of scientific tastes united him (1717) in a close intimacy with the celebrated S'Gravesande, with whom he pursued his studies in natural philosophy. After practising his profession four years, Musschenbroek was appointed (1719) professor of philosophy and mathematics, and extraordinary professor of medicine at Duisburg, and soon acquired such a reputation that he was called (1723) to fill the philosophical and mathematical chair at Utrecht, and, in 1740, was invited to Leyden, to occupy the place left vacant by the death of Wittichius. He died there in 1761. His principal works are Elementa Physica; Tentamina Experimentorum (1731); Institutiones Physica (1748); Compendium Physica Experimentalis (1762). Musschenbroek rendered important services to science. His experiments and his calculations prove his sagacity and accuracy. He invented the pyrometer, which has since been improved by Lambert. MUST; the juice of the grape, which by fermentation is converted into wine. In the wine countries this unfermented sweet must is distinguished from the sour must, or unripe wine, of a year old. Fresh must contains a good deal of sugar and mucilage, which last disposes it to fermentation. It can be kept in close vessels, after the mucilage has been precipitated. MUSTARD (sinapis nigra) is a native of Europe, and is now naturalized, and a common weed in some parts of the United States. It is, besides, very comnonly cultivated for the sake of the seeds, which, when powdered and mixed with vinegar, form a well known pungent condiment in daily use. The root is annual; the stem three or four feet high; the lower leaves are lyrate, and the upper ones lanceolate and entire; the flowers are small and yellow. It belongs to the natural family crucifera, and is known by the smooth, four-cornered pods, which are pressed close to the stem. Table mustard, mixed with warm water, and taken in considerable quantities, acts as an emetic, and, as such, is so much the more valuable from its being always at hand. The white mustard (S. alba) is milder than the preceding, and, on this account, is more agreeable to some palates. MUSTER, in a military sense; a review of troops under arms, to see if they be com plete and in good order; to take an account of their numbers, the condition they are in, viewing their arms and accoutrements, &c. MUSTER ROLL; a list of the officers and men in every regiment, troop or company, which is delivered to the inspecting fieldofficer, muster-master, regimental or district pay-master (as the case may be), whereby their condition is known. MUSTOXIDI, Count Andrew, one of the most distinguished Greek scholars of the age, was born at Corfu, in 1785, and studied at Venice and Milan. His work on Corcyra, Per servire all' Istoria Corciresa dai Tempi eroici al Secolo XII, procured him the post of historiographer to the government of the Ionian Isles. In 1811 and 1814, appeared the two first volumes of his history of Corcyra, under the title of Illustrazioni Corciresi. In 1816, he wrote an essay on the horses of St. Mark's, Venice, in which he proves that they did not belong to the triumphal arch of Nero, in Rome, but that they were brought from the island of Chios, and placed in the circus in Constantinople, in the time of the emperor Theodosius. On the erection of a university in his native country, he returned to Corfu to fill one of the chairs, and, in 1827, accompanied count Capo d'Istria from Geneva to Ancona and Corfu. MUTIS, Joseph Celestino, a celebrated botanist, born at Cadiz, in 1732, was assistant professor of anatomy at Madrid, and made botany the particular object of his attention. Having accompanied the viceroy don Pedro Mesia de la Cerda to New Grenada, in the capacity of his physician, Mutis enriched his favorite science with the description of unknown plants in that region. We are indebted to him for the first accurate accounts of various sorts of cinchona, on which he published a treatise. He died in 1808. His Flora of Bogota, left unfinished at the time of his death, was completed by his nephew. MUTUAL INSTRUCTION is the name given to that arrangement of schools by which the more able scholars in every class assist and superintend their fellow pupils. This name, which originated in France, is not appropriate, as mutual instruction does not, in fact, take place, but some of the most distinguished scholars occupy the place of the master, while the less able do not in turn instruct them The origin of this systein may be traced MUTUAL INSTRUCTION. 115 were established under the cortes of 1821 and 1822, in the principal towns, they were prohibited in 1823. France had, in 1821, as many as 1197 schools for children, and 166 regimental schools, according to this system. The latter were compelled, under the Bourbons, to renounce this method entirely, and the constant opposition of the ecclesiastics and the ministry lessened the number of the former, it being considered dangerous, and savoring of liberalism, to keep on foot such an institution for the improvement of the nation, in a country, where, amongst 24,000,000 of adults, only 9,000,000 could write and read, and of 6,000,000 of children, only 1,600,000 enjoyed the benefit of school education. From a similar cause, this system was prohibited in the Austrian army and throughout Austria; and, in Russia, the zeal with which it was at first received soon abated, so that only attempts on a very small scale were allowed. The Danish government, on the contrary, began, in 1819, with great zeal and success, to introduce these schools in Denmark, Holstein and Sleswick. The plan, though not the same in all particulars, resembles, in its chief traits, that of Bell and Lancaster. The number of schools in that country has rapidly increased, and, according to a late report, amounted, in 1829, to 2646. Professor Schuhmacher, rector of the cathedral school at Sleswick, in a report on the system of mutua. instruction, observes, that it is excellent, as long as it limits itself to matters of mechanical skill or of mere memory. It saves time for the teacher and pupil; it saves expense in the business of education, and is highly beneficial for all elementary schools containing a large number of pupils, differing so much in knowledge and intelligence, that one teacher cannot instruct them all at the same time, but is obliged to divide them into many classes. This method however, is superfluous in schools in which the number of pupils is so small that the teacher can superintend and instruct them conveniently, particularly where all the members of one class have made nearly equal progress. And even in common schools, it would be injurious to strive to bring every thing into this form, as it would put a stop to the highest kind of instruction; and in the institutions for a more advanced stage of education, where a scientific spirit, independent thought, the formation of the dginent and taste, are the objects, it is more peculiarly inapplicable. In Na- liarly inapplicable. Much informatiou respecting this method in Denmark is to India, where the traveller Della Valle found it established as early as the sixteenth century. The object of this system is to carry on schools chiefly by means of the scholars themselves, and to instruct an uncommon number of pupils at once (Lancaster had 880 together, and says that he could teach 1000), with comparatively few masters and little expense. The pupils are divided into small classes, each instructed by one of the more advanced scholars, in reading, writing, arithmetic, &c., as far as the little teacher has been taught previously by the master. Such little teachers are called monitors, and have a class of about ten on a bench, or, as Bell prefers, standing in a semicircle. The oldest and most trustworthy pupils have the superintendence as general monitors. Other assistants take care of the lower departments of service, or the police of the school; one notes down the absent, one rules the writing-books, attends to the distribution of slates, &c. The strictest discipline and order being observed, the whole appears like a great piece of clock-work, which moves without the interference of one part with another. The school resembles an army, which a single man is enabled to command by means of order and discipline, and because every one knows precisely his duty. All are instructed, and teachers are formed at the same time. Cheapness is always kept in view. The pupils commence learning writing by making figures on tables covered with sand; then old paper, written or printed on one side, is taken. In England, where this system was first introduced from India, 500,000 (in London alone, 8000, in 43 schools), in Ireland, 30,000 children, are educated according to this method, which has been greatly improved of late years. Lancaster was engaged, in 1824, in establishing similar schools, under the protection of Bolivar, in the South American republic Colombia. In the British East Indies, a society at Calcutta has established 88 schools on his plan, which has been also adopted at Malta, the cape of Good Hope, on the Senegal, in Sierra Leone, and other English colonies. The Greeks also have made use of this means for the establishment of elementary schools (in which they were entirely deficient), on a cheap plan, at Athens, Argos, and on the islands. From France, an interest for them was excited in Italy, where Tuscany and Parma (the latter since 1822) have permitted their establishment. In Naples and in Spain, where similar schools contained in the Progrès de l'Enseignement Mutuel en Danemark, extrait d'un Rapport au Roi, par M. d'Abramson, Major, &c. (Copenhagen, 1825). The proper field of this system is, undoubtedly, elementary instruction. It will hardly be denied that it is of great assistance in teaching the rudiments of knowledge, reading, writing, and ciphering, besides accustoming the pupils to habits of order. It will also be admitted, at least by all who live in popular governments, that every individual ought to be taught reading and writing, without which, in the present state of the world, he is excluded from half the benefits of existence. Where, therefore, a large population is imperfectly supplied with the means of instruction, schools of this character will be of great benefit. Besides, all primary instruction must be addressed chiefly to the memory, notwithstanding learning by rote is so much decried in our day; and teachers, we imagine, might often accelerate the progress of their pupils in the branches taught in early childhood, by a more extensive application of the system of mutual instruction. The late king of Portugal established, in 1824, a central school on these principles, at Lisbon, hrough the instrumentality of professor Lecocq; but it has probably long since been destroyed by the violent convulsions of that unhappy country. MYCENE; an ancient city of Argolis, Peloponnesus, eighty stadia from Argos, built by Perseus. It was the residence of Agamemnon, and its ruins are still seen in the state in which they were described by Pausanias. The Lions' gate, the vaulted building of enormous stones, called the treasury of Atreus, &c., are minutely described by Leake (Travels in the Morea, 1830). MYCONI (anciently Myconus); an island in the department of the Northern Cyclades, in the Grecian Archipelago, about 21 miles in circuit; lon. 25° 23′ E.; lat. 37° 27' N.; the population, at present, is about 4500,according to Anderson (Observations, &c., 1830). They are Greek Christians, and distinguished navigators. The chief town, Myconi, a seaport, contains about 4000 inhabitants. The soil is dry and mountainous, but the mountains are not very high. It produces little wheat, but plenty of barley, raisins and figs, with some olives. Partridges, quails, turtle-doves, beccaficos and rabbits, are in the greatest plenty. MYLITTA; the Venus of the Assyrians with the Arabians, Alitta, and with the Persians, Mythra! She was, as goddess of the moon, the female principle of generation. Among the licentious Babylonians, it was the custom for every woman to prostitute herself once to a stranger for a certain sum of money, in the temple of Venus Mylitta. The money was deposited by the woman in the treasury of the temple. Herodotus relates, that the women, with wreaths on their heads, seated themselves in the porticoes of the temple, through which the strangers passed to make their selection. They dared not return home till some stranger had thrown into their lap the money, with these words, "I invoke for you the goddess Mylitta." MYLNE, Robert; an architect of considerable eminence, memorable as the builder of Blackfriars bridge across the Thames, which was commenced in 1760, and completed in 1770. It was the first work of the kind executed in England, in which arches approaching to the form of an ellipsis were substituted for semicircles, by means of which the roadway is brought much nearer to a level surface than in bridges constructed on the old plan. Mr. Mylne obtained the appointment of surveyor of St. Paul's cathedral, and was employed in the erection of many private edifices in various parts of the kingdom. He died in 1811. MYOLOGY; the branch of anatomy relating to the muscles. (See Anatomy.) MYOPIA. (See Short-sightedness.) MYRIAD; ten thousand in poetical language, it generally implies an innumerable multitude. MYRIORAMA (Greek, pupias, ten thousand, papa, view); a sort of landscape kaleidoscope recently invented by Brés, of Paris, and improved by Clark, of London. It is a movable picture, capable of forming an almost endless variety of picturesque scenes, by means of several fragments or sections of landscapes on cards, which may be placed together in numberless combinations. With 16 cards 20,922,789,888,000 changes may be made. MYRMIDONS; a people on the southern borders of Thessaly, who accompanied Achilles to the Trojan war. They received their name from Myrmidon, a son of Jupiter and Eurymedusa, or, according to some, from their having been originally ants, pvpμnkes. (See Eacus.) The term has received the signification of a bully, ruffian, or satellite of tyranny. MYRON; a celebrated statuary of Greece, who was peculiarly happy in imitating nature. He made a cow so much resembling life, that even bulls were deceived, and MYRON-MYSIA. approached her as if alive, as is mentioned by many epigrams in the Anthologia. He flourished about 442 years before Christ. MYRRH; a fragrant, bitter, aromatic gum resin, which is obtained from an undetermined tree in Arabia, and especially in Abyssinia. It comes to us in grains having a resinous fracture, and a slightly acrid taste. According to Pelletier, it is composed of thirty-four parts of resin and sixty-six of gum. The Abyssinian myrrh is brought from the East Indies, and the Arabian comes by the way of Turkey, It is used in a great variety of medicinal preparations. MYRRHA; a daughter of Cinyras, king of Cyprus. She became enamored of her father, and introduced herself into his bed unknown. She had a son by him called Adonis. When Cinyras was apprized of the incest he had committed, he attempted to stab his daughter, and Myrrha fled into Arabia, where she was changed into a tree called myrrh. MYRTLE; a genus of plants consisting of aromatic trees or shrubs, with simple opposite leaves, which are sprinkled with pellucid glandular points, and having axillary or terminal white or rose-colored flowers. One species, the common myrtle, is a native of the south of Europe, and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean. It has been celebrated from remote antiquity on account of its fragrance and the beauty of its evergreen foliage, and, by different nations, was consecrated to various religious purposes. Myrtle wreaths adorned the brows of bloodless victors, and were the symbol of authority for magistrates at Athens. With the moderns, it has always been a favorite ornamental plant, and is commonly cultivated in gardens both in Europe and America. Pimento or allspice is the produce of a species of myrtle inhabiting tropical America, and consists of the berries, which are collected before they are ripe, and dried in the sun. No species of myrtle, nor, indeed, of the large family myrtacea, inhabits any part of the U. States. MYRTLE WAX; a concrete oil, or vegetable wax, the product of the class of plants myrica, more commonly known by the name of candleberry myrtle. There are many plants which afford a concrete oil or wax; and even the light matter which is called the down of fruits, and which silvers the surface of prunes and other stone fruits, Proust has shown to be wax; but the indigenous family of myrica affords much the greatest abundance, and, in many respects, is entitled to the atten 117 tion of cultivators. “The advantageous properties that this tree appears to possess," says M. Cadet, in the Annales de Chimie, tome 44, "ought to have induced philosophers to make inquiry to ascertain the various properties of the vegetable, and what attention its culture might require: it has long been considered merely as an object of curiosity." The plant abounds in nearly all parts of the U. States, distinguished into four species: viz.-1. Gale; 2. Cerifera; 3. Caroliniensis; 4. Pennsylvanica. It varies in size from four to eighteen feet, becoming taller as it extends into the warmer regions. The bush or tree has somewhat the appearance of the common myrtle (myrtus communis), and bears a berry of the size of the pepper-grain or coriander-seed. These grains are of a common ash-color, containing a small, round, hard kernel, which is covered with a shining wax, that may be obtained by boiling the grains in water. Toscan, in a memoir inserted in his work entitled L'Ami de la Nature, gives a full account of the manner of procuring the berries, and preparing the wax. The plant itself has always been esteemed a great ornament in foreign countries, and much exertion and expense have been bestowed to promote its growth in the European gardens. The wax is prepared for commerce by the poor people along the northern lakes, and might, by proper attention, be rendered an important article of traffic. .So much was the product of the plant valued by the king of Prussia, that the tapers made of it were reserved entirely for the sick-room of the royal household, it emitting, when burning, the most delicious and balsamic odor. It was noticed, as early as the year 1722, in a memoir of M. Alexandre, published in the History of the Academy of Sciences. Charles Louis Cadet has given an excellent account of the natural history, &c., in the Ann. de Chimie, already referred to; and doctor John Bostock has furnished a chemical analysis of its properties and habitudes, in Nicholson's Journal, vol. iv. It has recently been introduced to the notice of the medical public, as possessing anti-dysenteric properties, by William M. Fahnestock, M. D., who used it very successfully in that disease which was epidemic at Harrisburg, Pa., during the sum mer of 1822.-See American Journal of the Medical Sciences (vol. ii, 1828). MYSIA; a country of Asia Minor, which, in the most extensive sense. comprehended all the north-western portion of the peninsula, and bordered on the Ægean, the Propontis, Bithynia and Lydia. The coast was inhabited by Æolian Greeks, the interior by different tribes. Lampsacus, Cyzicus and Pergamus were the principal cities. MYSORE, OF MAISOOR; a principality of South India, chiefly between lat. 11° and 15° N., surrounded by the British territories subject to the presidency of Madras; about 210 miles long, and 140 broad; population in 1804, 2,171,754; families, 482,612; Mohammedan families, 17,000; Brainin families, 25,370; Lingait families, 72,627; Jain families, 2063. It consists of high table-land, elevated about 3000 feet above the level of the sea, from which rise a number of lofty hills, containing the sources of many rivers, the principal of which are the Cauvery, Toombuddra, Vedawati, Bradri and Penar. The climate, on account of the elevation of the country, is temperate. The soil produces all the grains and vegetables of the other parts of India, and many of the fruits of Europe. The rajah is tributary to the British. The first rajah mentioned in history is Cham Raj, who began to reign in 1507. But the territories of Mysore received their most important accessions from the victories of Hyder Ali (q. v.), in the middle of the eighteenth century, who, without assuming the title, exercised all the power of sovereignty. His son Tippoo Salb (q. v.) perished in defending his capital in 1799, after an unsuccessful struggle with the British, who placed a descendant of the ancient rajahs on the tlfrone. (See East India Companies.) MYSTAGOGUE, in the mysteries of antiquity; he who introduced the person to be initiated, also he who showed the interior of the temple. Hence mystagogue has been used, in modern times, for a person who pretends to deal in mysteries. MYSTERIES were, among the Greeks, and afterwards, also, among the Romans, secret religious assemblies, which no uninitiated person was permitted to approach. They originated at a very early period. They were designed to interpret those mythological fables and religious rites, the true meaning of which it was thought expedient to conceal from the people. They were perhaps necessary in those times, in which the superstitions, the errors and the prejudices of the people could not be openly exposed without danger to the public peace. Upon this ground they were tolerated and protected by the state. Their first and fundamental law was a profound secrecy. In all mysteries there were dramatic exhibitions, relating to the exploits of the deities, in whose honor they were celebrated. The most important Greek mysteries were, 1. the Eleu siniau (described in the article Eleusis) 2. The Samothracian, which originated in Crete and Phrygia, and were celebrated in the former country in honor of Jupiter. From these countries they were introduced among the Thracians or Pelasgians in the island of Samothrace, and extended from thence into Greece. They were celebrated sometimes in honor of Jupiter, sometimes of Bacchus, and sometimes of Ceres. (For further information respecting the Samothracian mysteries, see Cabiri). 3. The Dionysia, which were brought from Thrace to Thebes, and were very similar to the former. They were celebrated every second year. The transition of men from barbarism to civilization was likewise represented in them. The women were clothed in skins of beasts. With a spear (thyrsus) bound with ivy in their hands, they ascended mount Cithæron, where, after the religious ceremonies, wild dances were performed, which ended with the dispersion of the priestesses and the initiated in the neighboring woods. They had also symbols, chiefly relating to Bacchus, who was the hero of these mysteries. These celebrations were forbidden in Thebes, even in the time of Epaminondas, and afterwards in all Greece, as prejudicial to the public peace and morals. 4. The Orphic, chiefly deserving mention as the probable foundation of the Eleusinian. 5. The mysteries of Isis (q. v.) were not in vogue in Greece, but were very popular in Italy, particularly in Rome. An excellent work upon mysteries is St. Croix's Recherches historiques et critiques sur les Mystères du Paganisme (second edition, revised by Sylv. de Sacy, Paris, 1817, 2 vols.). MYSTERIES, or more properly MIRACLES; a kind of rude drama, which was a favorite spectacle in the middle ages, represented at solemn festivals. The subjects were of a religious character, and the ecclesiastics were at first the performers and authors. They were called mysteries and miracles, because they taught the mysterious doctrines of Christianity, and represented the miracles of the first founders of the faith, of the saints and martyrs. (See France, Literature of, division Dramatic Poetry.) The first play of this sort, specified by name, appears to have been St. Catharine, written, according to Matthew Paris, by Geoffrey, a Norman, about 1110. They sometimes lasted several days. Thus we hear of one which lasted eight days, and contained the greater part of the scripture history. The Corpus Christi, the famous |